Investigating the impact of remediation efforts on Hedistediversicolor in the Seine estuary using multiple levels of biological organization.

The Seine Estuary is historically one of the most contaminated estuaries in Europe. In 2002 the estuary underwent major redevelopment which emphasized environmental remediation to measure biological effects. The present study investigated the health status of the sentinel species Hediste diversicolor in the Seine estuary by comparing data from a sampling campaign immediately after the Seine underwent reconstruction and 10 years afterward. Both studies implemented multiple levels of biological organization ranging from enzymatic biomarkers to population density. Integrative modeling was used to establish a holistic status assessment for H. diversicolor in the Seine. H. diversicolor populations in the Seine estuary were impacted in both campaigns suggesting no significant improvements over the 10-year period. This interpretation however can be improved by increasing the number of reference sites used to establish the baseline natural variation, integrating additional environmental parameters into the model and measuring additional biological endpoints, such as reproductive status.

A novel methodology for the determination of biomarker baseline levels in the marine polychaete Hediste diversicolor.

Identifying environmental damage due to anthropogenic activities is a focal point for scientists and policy makers like those involved in the European Water Framework Directive (WFD). Many of these approaches focus on ecological endpoints for assessing environmental perturbations, which lead to policies emphasizing mitigation rather than prevention. Biomarkers provide early-warning indicators of stress but it is necessary to distinguish their natural variations from those induced by chemical stress. The global aim of this study was to establish a baseline assessment criterion (BAC) using historical data in a reference site to define toxicity thresholds. We have developed a multiple polynomial regression model (MPR) accounting the influence of salinity, temperature and size of individual on energetic reserves (glycogen and lipids) in the marine polychaete Hediste diversicolor. The model identified a complex, orthogonal relationship between confounding factors and glycogen and a linear relationship between lipids and size of individuals.

Synaptic proteome changes in a DNA repair deficient ercc1 mouse model of accelerated aging.

Cognitive decline is one of the earliest hallmarks of both normal and pathological brain aging. Here we used Ercc1 mutant mice, which are impaired in multiple DNA repair systems and consequently show accelerated aging and progressive memory deficits, to identify changes in the levels of hippocampal synaptic proteins that potentially underlie these age-dependent deficits. Aged Ercc1 mutant mice show normal gross hippocampal dendritic morphology and synapse numbers, and Ercc1 mutant hippocampal neurons displayed normal outgrowth and synapse formation in vitro. However, using isobaric tag for relative and absolute quantification (iTRAQ) of hippocampal synaptic proteins at two different ages, postnatal days 28 and 112, we observed a progressive decrease in synaptic ionotropic glutamate receptor levels and increased levels of G-proteins and of cell adhesion proteins. These together may cause long-term changes in synapse function. In addition, we observed a downregulation of mitochondrial proteins and concomitant upregulation of Na,K-ATPase subunits, which might compensate for reduced mitochondrial activity. Thus, our findings show that under conditions of apparent intact neuronal connectivity, levels of specific synaptic proteins are already affected during the early stages of DNA damage-induced aging, which might contribute to age-dependent cognitive decline.

Adherence to a Mediterranean diet and plasma fatty acids: data from the Bordeaux sample of the Three-City study.

Higher adherence to a Mediterranean diet (MeDi) and n-3 PUFA may both contribute to decreased dementia risk, but the association between MeDi adherence and lipid status is unclear. The aim of the present study was to analyse the relationship between plasma fatty acids and MeDi adherence in French elderly community dwellers. The study population (mean age 75·9 years) consisted of 1050 subjects from Bordeaux (France) included in the Three-City cohort. Adherence to the MeDi (scored as 0-9) was computed from a FFQ and 24 h recall. The proportion of each plasma fatty acid was determined. Cross-sectional analysis of the association between plasma fatty acids and MeDi adherence was performed by multi-linear regression. After adjusting for age, sex, energy intake, physical activity, smoking status, BMI, plasma TAG and apoE-ɛ4 genotype, plasma palmitoleic acid was significantly inversely associated with MeDi adherence, whereas plasma DHA, the EPA+DHA index and total n-3 PUFA were positively associated with MeDi adherence. The n-6:n-3 PUFA, arachidonic acid (AA):EPA, AA:DHA and AA:(EPA+DHA) ratios were significantly inversely associated with MeDi adherence. Plasma EPA was positively associated with MeDi adherence only in apoE-ɛ4 non-carriers. There was no association between MeDi adherence and SFA and total MUFA. The present results suggest that the protective effect of the MeDi on cognitive functions might be mediated by higher plasma DHA and lower n-6:n-3 PUFA ratios.

[Social Autonomy Scale. First validation data]. / L'Echelle d'Autonomie Sociale. Premiers éléments de validation.

The Assessment of Social Self-Sufficiency (ASSS) is a scale of hetero-assessment, made up of seventeen items and five subsets, devised to investigate the self-sufficiency level of the persons who suffer from chronic psychiatric trouble. We know indeed that, for these patients, the success of their rehabilitation plans depends on their ability to face up to tangible problems in everyday life. This publication expounds the first work validating the ASSS. The "intercotators" accuracy of the work, its sensitiveness, its concurrent validity investigated with regard to the Global Assessment of Functioning Scale (GAF of the DSM III-R) as well as the inner contents seem to be very satisfactory.

Squamous cell carcinoma in epidermolysis bullosa. Treatment with systemic chemotherapy.

Dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa is associated with a high incidence of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma. Despite aggressive surgical treatment, metastases occur frequently, and survival is generally poor. Chemotherapy for advanced disease has usually been avoided because of the potential for severe cutaneous toxicity. Two patients with autosomal recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa and advanced squamous cell carcinoma are described. Both received cisplatin-based systemic chemotherapy without significant toxicity.

Necrotizing arteritis associated with blastomycosis.

We have described a patient with cavitary pulmonary fungal infection, probably blastomycosis, with necrotizing arteritis of the skin. The pulmonary and skin lesions resolved with amphotericin B therapy.

Precedents for meaningful recovery during treatment in a medical intensive care unit. Outcome in patients with hematologic malignancy.

The medical records of 77 patients with hematologic malignancy who were admitted to a medical intensive care unit over a 21-month period were reviewed. The overall hospital mortality rate was 80 percent. Sixteen patients (21 percent) were discharged from the intensive care unit but eventually died in the hospital. The cause of death was the result of a new problem in only three of these 16 patients. Hypotension (shock) and acute respiratory failure were the reasons prompting admission to the intensive care unit in 75 percent, but death in the intensive care unit was almost always the result of intractable hypotension rather than refractory hypoxemia. Only four of 52 patients who required mechanical ventilation left the hospital. In all four, the duration of ventilatory support was less than five days and the cause of respiratory failure was noninfectious in nature. Factors such as congestive heart failure, leukopenia, and abnormalities in mental status modified the hospital course, but did not alter outcome once prolonged mechanical ventilation became necessary. The data suggest that once acute respiratory failure develops in patients with lymphoma or leukemia, presumably as a result of infection, and mechanical ventilation for more than a relatively brief period is required, the prognosis is uniformly grim. Decisions to limit aggressive therapies is subsets of intensive care patients such as these should be aided by data that show a lack of precedent for meaningful recovery.

Unilateral lung function. Comparison of the lateral position test with radionuclide ventilation-perfusion studies.

Twenty-seven patients underwent studies of unilateral lung function by the lateral-position test (LPT) and by computer-analyzed radionuclide imaging of ventilation and perfusion. The patients were divided into two groups, symmetric or asymmetric, on the basis of the physical examination of the chest and the chest radiograph. In patients with symmetry, the estimate of unilateral lung function by the LPT and isotopic estimates for unilateral lung volume, unilateral distribution of tidal volume, and unilateral perfusion, agreed within 2 percent, 4 percent, and 3 percent, respectively. In patients with asymmetry, the differences were 9 percent, 8 percent, and 13 percent. In settings of marked unilateral ventilation-perfusion imbalance, the LPT primarily reflected ventilation. Prediction of unilateral ventilatory function based upon the LPT and spirometric measurements agreed closely with unilateral ventilation determined isotopically by 133xenon, even in the presence of chronic obstructive lung disease. Our results confirm that the LPT provides valid information about unilateral lung function.