A Review of the EUSO-Balloon Pathfinder for the JEM-EUSO Program.

EUSO-Balloon is a pathfinder for JEM-EUSO, the mission concept of a spaceborne observatory which is designed to observe Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Ray (UHECR)-induced Extensive Air Showers (EAS) by detecting their UltraViolet (UV) light tracks "from above." On August 25, 2014, EUSO-Balloon was launched from Timmins Stratospheric Balloon Base (Ontario, Canada) by the balloon division of the French Space Agency CNES. After reaching a floating altitude of 38 km, EUSO-Balloon imaged the UV light in the wavelength range ∼290-500 nm for more than 5 hours using the key technologies of JEM-EUSO. The flight allowed a good understanding of the performance of the detector to be developed, giving insights into possible improvements to be applied to future missions. A detailed measurement of the photoelectron counts in different atmospheric and ground conditions was achieved. By means of the simulation of the instrument response and by assuming atmospheric models, the absolute intensity of diffuse light was estimated. The instrument detected hundreds of laser tracks with similar characteristics to EASs shot by a helicopter flying underneath. These are the first recorded laser tracks measured from a fluorescence detector looking down on the atmosphere. The reconstruction of the direction of the laser tracks was performed. In this work, a review of the main results obtained by EUSO-Balloon is presented as well as implications for future space-based observations of UHECRs.

Congenital jaundice in bovine aborted foetuses: an emerging syndrome in southern Belgium.

Southern Belgium faces an unusual recent increase of icteric bovine aborted foetuses. In the necropsy room, the majority of foetuses presented jaundice and splenomegaly. Despite a wide range of analyses, no definitive cause of abortion has yet been established but some analysis results support the leptospirosis hypothesis. This first description of cases will help veterinary practitioners to recognize more cases and to conduct those to the laboratory for future investigations.

[Physical and chemical stability of fortified ophtalmic ready-to-use solutions: review of literature]. / Stabilité physico-chimique de solutions ophtalmiques renforcées prêtes à l'emploi : une revue de la littérature.

INTRODUCTION: Ophtalmic infections and inflammations are often encountered during hospitalization. They require the preparation of "fortified" ophtalmic solutions, i.e. pharmaceutical ophtalmic solutions which are hyperconcentrated in active substance. The data of physicochemical stabilities are modified and it is therefore essential to gather the results of the various publications devoted to this subject. METHOD: In 2006, an initial literature review was undertaken to identify the molecules mostly used in the preparation of fortified ophtalmic solutions in hospital. A second review of the literature in 2010 has enriched the knowledge about it. RESULTS: Two new drugs have entered the summary table: amikacin and ticarcillin disodium. Date on 12 molecules already known in 2006 were updated to improve clinical practices. A review of the literature was undertaken in order to collect the results of the molecules mostly used for the preparation of the fortified ophtalmic solutions in hospitals. A summary table, indicating the active substance, its concentration, the assay method, the storage temperature and physicochemical modifications, presents all the results. CONCLUSION: This review of literature makes it possible to match stability and validity period to these preparations.

Molecular and expression analysis of a LIM protein gene family from flowering plants.

LIM-domain proteins participate in important cellular processes in eukaryotes, including gene transcription and actin cytoskeleton organization. They are predominantly found in animals, but have also been identified in yeast and plants. Following the characterization ofa LIM-domain protein in sunflower pollen, we carried out an extensive search for these proteins in flowering plants. We have isolated and studied cDNAs and/or genomic sequences for two novel LIM-domain proteins from sunflower, three from tobacco, and one from Arabidopsis. The plant proteins are structurally related to the cytoskeleton-associated CRP class of LIM proteins in animals, but show several distinctive features, including a second, atypical, LIM domain. We have performed comparative expression studies of these genes, as well as of one other gene from tobacco and two additional Arabidopsis genes whose sequences are available from databases. These studies, carried out by RT-PCR in the presence of gene-specific primers, showed that, in sunflower and tobacco, pollen grains and sporophytic tissues express different sets of LIM proteins. With the exception of one Arabidopsis gene--which has two introns--all the genes analyzed contain four introns at conserved positions, indicating that the ancestral gene from which the various copies evolved in higher plants allready had this split structure.

A LIM-domain protein from sunflower is localized to the cytoplasm and/or nucleus in a wide variety of tissues and is associated with the phragmoplast in dividing cells.

LIM proteins are important eucaryotic developmental regulators characterized by the presence of one or several double zinc finger motifs, the LIM domains, which are protein-interacting domains. Using the cDNA of the previously described pollen LIM protein PLIM1 from sunflower as a hybridization probe we have isolated the coding sequence for a related protein from cDNA libraries from various sunflower organs. This protein, WLIM1, is 188 amino acids long and, like the pollen protein PLIM1, contains two LIM domains, separated by a 48 residue spacer region. The two sunflower proteins are structurally related to the animal LIM proteins CRP and MLP. A WLIM1 gene transcript was detected by RT-PCR in all vegetative and reproductive plant organs tested. Polyclonal antibodies raised against the bacterially expressed and affinity-purified protein recognize a polypeptide of ca. 50 kDa in these organs. Immunocytochemical studies detect the protein in many cell types in each of these organs where it is localized either to the cytoplasm, the nucleus, or both. The protein is often associated with plastids and smaller cellular structures or organelles. In late anaphase and early telophase of dividing cells from ovaries, stems and roots it accumulates in the phragmoplast, and may therefore also play a role in cytokinesis.

[Infection prophylaxis in open leg fractures. Comparison of a dose of pefloxacin and 5 days of cefazolin-oxacillin. A randomized study of 616 cases]. / Prophylaxie des infections dans les fractures ouvertes de jambe. Comparaison entre une dose de péfloxacine et 5 jours cefazoline-oxacilline. Etude randomisée sur 616 cas.

THE PURPOSE OF THE STUDY: Was to compare the efficacy of a single 800 mg injection of Pefloxacin (PF) versus 2 days of cefazolin (1 gr.Q.6 H) followed by 3 days of oxacillin (1 gr.Q.8 H) in patients with an open tibial fracture and to examine the predictive factors for infection. A double-blind double dummy, multicentric, randomized trial was performed. 616 adults with an open tibial fracture requiring single-stage bone coverage were included. The end point was wound infection within 3 months. RESULTS: Within 3 months, 21/316 patients were infected in the PF group (6.6 p. 100) versus 24/300 in the CZ-OX group (8 p. 100), the difference was not significant (95 p. 100 Cl for difference: -4.8 p. 100 to 2.1 p. 100). Twenty one strains were isolated in 18 infected patients in the PF group, and 27 in 20 patients in the CZ-OX group. Negative gram bacteria were less frequent in the PF group (10 p. 100) than in the CZ-OX group (48 p. 100), and positive gram bacteria were more frequent in the PF group (90 p. 100) than in the CZ-OX group (52 p. 100). Independent risk factors for infection were severe contamination, widespread contusion, unstable fracture, positive sample in the emergency room and at the end of surgery. Resistant infecting bacteria rate was 24 p. 100 in infected cases. CONCLUSION: There was no difference in infection rates after surgery for open tibial fractures between a 800 mg injection of Pefloxacin and 2 days of pephazolin followed by 3 days of oxacillin. Infecting bacteria were mainly nosocomially acquired.

[Neonatal type 1 pneumococcal meningitis and maternal septicemia]. / Méningite néonatale à pneumocoque de type 1 et septicémie maternelle.

The most common organisms in neonatal meningitis are group B streptococcus and Gram negative enteric bacteriae. Although Neisseria meningitidis, Haemophilus influenzae and Streptococcus pneumoniae are the most frequent causes of meningitis in infancy and childhood, they are uncommon in newborns. We report one case of neonatal meningitis and maternal septicemia.

Clinical characteristics of Crohn's disease in 72 families.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Familial aggregation argues for genetic susceptibility to Crohn's disease. The aim of this study was to compare the age of onset and the clinical features of Crohn's disease between patients with familial disease and those with sporadic disease and investigate the concordance for disease location and type among relatives with Crohn's disease. METHODS: Seventy-two families with 2 (n = 55), 3 (n = 8), 4 (n = 6), and 5 or more (n = 3) affected first-degree relatives were selected for the study. A population of 1377 patients with sporadic nonfamilial Crohn's disease was used for comparison. RESULTS: Clinical data were obtained from 176 patients with familial Crohn's disease (79 men and 97 women). Median age at onset was younger in familial Crohn's disease than in sporadic cases: 22 vs. 26.5 years (P < 0.01). In familial cases, fewer patients had exclusively colonic involvement and more patients had both small bowel and colonic involvement. Among relatives of families with 2 affected members, 56% were concordant for disease location and 49% for disease type. These percentages reached 83% and 76%, respectively, within families with more than 2 affected members. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with familial Crohn's disease are characterized by an early age at onset with more extensive disease and may represent a homogeneous clinical subgroup with a particularly strong genetic influence.

Mirtazapine is more effective than trazodone: a double-blind controlled study in hospitalized patients with major depression.

Two hundred hospitalized patients with DSM-III diagnosis of moderate to severe major depressive episode were randomized to receive mirtazapine or trazodone for 6 weeks in a double-blind trial. The dosages were 24-72 mg/day for mirtazapine and 150-450 mg/day for trazodone. The improvement on all depression rating scales used was generally greater for mirtazapine, with statistically significant differences over trazodone in the Hamilton Psychiatric Rating Scale for Depression total score and two subscores (the Bech melancholia factor and retardation factor), the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale total score, the General Psychiatric Impression Global Assessment Scale, the Beck score and responder rates. Mirtazapine was well tolerated, while the trazodone-treated patients experienced somnolence more frequently, particularly during the first 2 weeks of treatment. Furthermore, postural symptoms were a clinical problem in 6% of the trazodone-treated patients. In this trial, mirtazapine showed significant clinical advantages over trazodone in terms of overall efficacy and tolerability.

[Antibiotic prophylaxis in open fractures]. / Antibioprophylaxie des fractures ouvertes.

The administration of antibiotics is now generally accepted as a prophylactic treatment of infection in compound fractures. Nevertheless the question is not completely resolved and many problems are still to be discussed.The efficacy of antibiotherapy in this field has just been recently demonstrated ; with the animals by Worlock et al. (1988) using an experimental rabbit model, and clinically by Braul et al. (1987) which randomized 87 patients with open fractures to receive either cloxacillin or placebo. The rate of infection was significantly lower in the antibiotic group.No reports comparing various antimicrobial drugs draw effective conclusions regarding the choice of antibiotics. In the same way it seems that the time of interval from injury to antibiotic administration was not associated with a significantly different incidence of infection.The study of duration of the treatment was perfectly conducted by Dellinger. In his prospective trial 248 patients received different doses of the same antibiotic, from a single dose to four doses daily during 5 days. In conclusion he found no relation between the duration of the treatment and the risk of infection.A semantic but very important question concerns the reality of a preventive action of antibiotics against infection in open fractures. In order to answer, it is necessary to assess the incidence of contamination, its nature and its density.According to papers reporting the results of early cultures of the fracture wound, bacterial contamination was present in 30-70% of the cases. But the bacteria most commonly isolated were members of the normal skin flora (Staphylococcus epidermidis, Propionibacterium acnes, Corynebacterium sp. Micrococcus) or environmental contaminants which infrequently were the cause of infection.The specimens taken from patients who have an infection show mostly hospitalacquired bacteria as Staphylococcus aureus or Pseudomonas aeruginosa. These findings emphasize the risk of colonization of the wound by nosocomial bacteria.In addition, it seems that the density of contamination may also be a determinant of subsequent clinical infection. Quantitative bacterial counts suggest a greater risk of infection when microorganisms were present in high number more than 105 colony forming unit per g. of tissue.In conclusion, the prophylactic action of antibiotics against infection in open fractures is well established, but many points are still subject to discussion and need further study. Furthermore antibioprophylaxis is only a complement to surgical treatment, debridement and immobilization, which remains of paramount importance.

Controlled comparison of nefazodone and amitriptyline in major depressive inpatients.

Nefazodone, a phenylpiperazine antidepressant, exhibits novel dual activity on serotonin (5-HT) neurons; it binds to 5-HT2 receptors and inhibits 5-HT reuptake. Flexible doses of nefazodone (100-400 mg/day) and amitriptyline (50-200 mg/day) were compared in 106 major depressive inpatients in a 6-week double-blind study. Results showed significant superiority of amitriptyline over nefazodone on all rating instruments: Montgomery and Asberg depression rating scale (P < 0.0001), Hamilton depression scale (P < 0.0006), Clinical Global Impressions (P < 0.0001) and Patient Global Assessment (P < 0.01). A total of 65% of patients under amitriptyline and 56% of patients under nefazodone reported adverse events during the study, with significantly more dry mouth in the amitriptyline group (39% versus 11%, P = 0.001). Modal daily doses within the last treatment week reached 242 mg with nefazodone and 124 mg with amitriptyline. The lower efficacy of nefazodone, which contradicts comparative trials with imipramine in US patients, is discussed with regard to the dose of nefazodone, probably below the optimal therapeutic range for melancholic patients, and to the clinical differences between the patient samples.

Infection in massive bone allografts sterilised by radiation.

Massive bone allografts sterilised by radiation have been used in our hospital since 1985. The 164 consecutive reconstructions which we carried out before December 1990 were in equal part for tumour resections and revision arthroplasties associated with major bone defects. The allografts were used as intercalary or composite graft-prosthesis reconstructions. Fourteen (8.5%) skin sloughs or infections occurred, all but one after operations for malignant tumours. The grafts never appeared to be responsible. Infection after malignant tumour resection most commonly occurred at the knee when preoperative radiation had been used. Twenty-five reconstructions were performed in the presence of infection, which only recurred in one case. Twelve infections were treated, but 2 other patients died for other reasons within a year. One patient had to have an amputation and one had persistent infection. In the other cases, the infection healed. Only two debridements alone were successful. Removal of the graft and replacement with antibiotic-loaded cement was the most effective treatment.

[Primary arthritis of the hip in adults]. / Arthrites primitives de hanche de l'adulte.

Between 1950 and 1991 the authors have treated 45 adults with primary septic arthritis of the hip, not including tuberculosis. The mortality rate was 13%. There is an accompanying septicaemia, or, more commonly, a bacteraemia, and other general and local factors are often present. The diagnosis may be obvious, but in 50% of cases the presentation may be atypical and the clinical diagnosis uncertain. Confirmation of the diagnosis is by a positive culture from the aspirate, and a Staphylococcus is the usual organism found. The various methods of management used are discussed and the literature analyzed. Wide drainage of the hip is recommended. Arthrodesis is now rarely necessary, and a total replacement arthroplasty may be undertaken when the infection has been controlled. Six out of seven such procedures carried out in their unit in the last 10 years have been successful.