Thermo-physiological changes and reproductive investment in a liolaemid lizard at the extreme of the slow-fast continuum.

Gravid female lizards often experience reduced thermal preferences and impaired locomotor performance. These changes have been attributed to the physical burden of the clutch, but some authors have suggested that they may be due to physiological adjustments. We compared the thermal biology and locomotor performance of the lizard Liolaemus wiegmannii 1 week before and 1 week after oviposition.

Jupiter-like planets might be common in a low-density environment.

Radial velocity surveys suggest that the Solar System may be unusual and that Jupiter-like planets have a frequency < 20% around solar-type stars. However, they may be much more common in one of the closest associations in the solar neighbourhood. Young moving stellar groups are the best targets for direct imaging of exoplanets and four massive Jupiter-like planets have been already discovered in the nearby young β Pic Moving Group (BPMG) via high-contrast imaging, and four others were suggested via high precision astrometry by the European Space Agency's Gaia satellite.

Orbital period change of Dimorphos due to the DART kinetic impact.

The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft successfully performed the first test of a kinetic impactor for asteroid deflection by impacting Dimorphos, the secondary of near-Earth binary asteroid (65803) Didymos, and changing the orbital period of Dimorphos. A change in orbital period of approximately 7 min was expected if the incident momentum from the DART spacecraft was directly transferred to the asteroid target in a perfectly inelastic collision, but studies of the probable impact conditions and asteroid properties indicated that a considerable momentum enhancement (β) was possible. In the years before impact, we used lightcurve observations to accurately determine the pre-impact orbit parameters of Dimorphos with respect to Didymos.

Mortality and its association with chronic alcohol-related diseases in patients admitted to the emergency department for acute alcoholic intoxication: retrospective cohort study.

We assessed long-term mortality and its association with chronic alcohol-related diseases in patients admitted to the emergency department (ED) because of acute alcoholic intoxication (AAI). A retrospective cohort study was performed at the ED of Sant'Orsola-Malpighi Hospital, Bologna, Italy. 3304 patients, corresponding to 6415 admissions for AAI, who accessed the ED from January 1, 2005, to December 31, 2017, were studied.

Chemosynthetic ectosymbionts associated with a shallow-water marine nematode.

Prokaryotes and free-living nematodes are both very abundant and co-occur in marine environments, but little is known about their possible association. Our objective was to characterize the microbiome of a neglected but ecologically important group of free-living benthic nematodes of the Oncholaimidae family. We used a multi-approach study based on microscopic observations (Scanning Electron Microscopy and Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization) coupled with an assessment of molecular diversity using metabarcoding based on the 16S rRNA gene.

Development and Validation of a Scoring System That Includes Corrected QT Interval for Risk Analysis of Patients With Cirrhosis and Gastrointestinal Bleeding.

Background & Aims: The electrocardiographic QT interval frequently is prolonged in patients with cirrhosis. Acute gastrointestinal bleeding further prolongs corrected QT (QTc) in patients with cirrhosis, which has been associated with an increased risk of death within 6 weeks. We aimed to confirm these findings and develop a mortality risk index that incorporates QTc.

Localized morphea after breast implant for breast cancer: A case report.

Purpose: Early breast cancer follow-up guidelines for patients who underwent surgery suggest a regular and accurate clinical examination of the breast area, for an early identification of cutaneous or subcutaneous breast cancer relapse. Nonetheless, breast skin lesions arising in patients treated with mastectomy for breast cancer can be caused by several diseases. A series of diagnostic hypotheses should be considered, not only focusing on cutaneous metastasis, but also on dermatologic and systemic diseases.

Accesses for alcohol intoxication to the emergency department and the risk of re-hospitalization: An observational retrospective study.

Background: Alcohol use disorders (AUD) are a frequent cause of admission to emergency departments (EDs) for acute alcohol intoxication (AAI). Patients with AUD present a higher risk of readmission to EDs for AAI than the general population, however, the distinction between sporadic AAI and AAI in the context of AUD in the ED setting is difficult.

Aims: To analyze the epidemiological characteristics of patients admitted to EDs because of AAI and to identify factors associated with repeated admissions in order to develop a risk stratification system for patients with AUD based on objective data that can be easily applied in an ED setting.

Comparison of microbial communities associated with three Atlantic ultramafic hydrothermal systems.

The distribution of Archaea and methanogenic, methanotrophic and sulfate-reducing communities in three Atlantic ultramafic-hosted hydrothermal systems (Rainbow, Ashadze, Lost City) was compared using 16S rRNA gene and functional gene (mcrA, pmoA and dsrA) clone libraries. The overall archaeal community was diverse and heterogeneously distributed between the hydrothermal sites and the types of samples analyzed (seawater, hydrothermal fluid, chimney and sediment). The Lost City hydrothermal field, characterized by high alkaline warm fluids (pH>11; T<95 °C), harbored a singular archaeal diversity mostly composed of unaffiliated Methanosarcinales.

Extending the sub-sea-floor biosphere.

Sub-sea-floor sediments may contain two-thirds of Earth's total prokaryotic biomass. However, this has its basis in data extrapolation from ~500-meter to 4-kilometer depths, whereas the deepest documented prokaryotes are from only 842 meters. Here, we provide evidence for low concentrations of living prokaryotic cells in the deepest (1626 meters below the sea floor), oldest (111 million years old), and potentially hottest (~100 degrees C) marine sediments investigated.

[AP-HM tumour tissue bank: molecular signature of gliomas].

The AP-HM tissue bank is the largest one in France regarding some collections, including brain tumors. This collection was used to better characterize some gliomas. In particular because some benign gliomas such as pilocytic astrocytomas (WHO grade I) can be misclassified as malignant ones such as glioblastomas (grade IV) the first aim of our study was to find accurate diagnostic markers.

[The consortium of Biological Resource Centres (BRC) and tumour cell and tissue banks in the Marseilles metropolitan area].

The goal of this presentation is to describe current and future aspects of the operations within the consortium of Biological Resource Centres (BRC) and Tumour cell and tissue banks of the Marseilles metropolitan area. The consortium was created in year 2001, through the association of several tissue and cell banks that were operating for many years in Marseilles. Existing collections are not exclusively collections of tumour cells or tissues; however, the two tumour cell and tissue banks located at the Regional Cancer Research Centre and at the University Hospital account for a very significant proportion of the collections.

Role of nitric oxide in the early renal changes induced by high fructose diet in rats.

Background: Early glomerular hypertrophy and late glomerulosclerosis have been observed in rats fed high fructose diet (HFD), comparable with those of diabetic rats. Several studies suggest a role for nitric oxide (NO) in the pathogenesis of renal damage in diabetes. This study investigated the possible role of NO in the pathogenesis of HFD-induced glomerular changes.

Early effects of diabetes on inducible nitric oxide synthase in the kidney.

NO may be responsible for the glomerular hyperfiltration observed in diabetic kidney by inducing vasodilation of the afferent arteriole. The aim of this study was to evaluate which isoform of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) is responsible for increased renal production of NO in diabetic kidney. Thirty male WKY rats were divided into 6 groups.

Antihypertensive treatment with enrasentan (SB217242) in an animal model of hypertension and hyperinsulinemia.

Enrasentan is an antagonist of endothelin (ET) receptors. Previous studies have shown that antagonism of ET receptors might represent a new approach to the treatment of hypertension. Rats with a high-fructose diet (HFD) develop hyperinsulinemia, hypertriglyceridemia, and hypertension; renal and cardiac damage.

Unilateral adrenal hypersecretion of both aldosterone and cortisol in two first cousins with a syndrome of mineralocorticoid excess but without signs of hypercortisolism.

A 38 year old woman and her first cousin, a 41 year old man, presented both with hypertension, hypokalemia, hyperaldosteronism, and low plasma renin activity in our Hospital. In both patients, plasma and urine aldosterone were constantly above the normal range, even on a high NaCl diet (250 mEq/day), while the plasma aldosterone response to postural changes was normal. In the female patient abdominal ultrasonic scan, CT scan, MRI, and adrenal gland phlebography were normal, but blood from the left adrenal vein contained 1002 pg/ml of aldosterone, versus 91 pg/ml in the contralateral one.

Selective expansion of cytotoxic T lymphocytes with a CD4+CD56+ surface phenotype and a T helper type 1 profile of cytokine secretion in the liver of patients chronically infected with Hepatitis B virus.

Highly purified CD4+ T cells isolated from liver biopsies of patients with hepatitis B virus-induced CAH had a strong cytotoxic activity and were comprised of a substantial number of cells (25%-40%) expressing CD56 surface marker. These cells were absent in CD4+ T cells from the peripheral blood of CAH patients or normal controls and these suspensions did not have cytotoxic activity. CD4+CD56+ T cells were further characterized by studies at the clonal level.

[Pulmonary hypertension and systemic sclerosis].

Background: Pulmonary involvement in systemic sclerosis (SS) is a frequent complication and is associated with a poor prognosis. Pulmonary hypertension may or may not develop, however, its recognition is usually possible only in advanced stages.

Methods: In this study we noninvasively evaluated the pulmonary artery systolic pressure in 31 patients with SS using Doppler echocardiography.

Enhanced blood pressure response to cyclooxygenase inhibition in salt-sensitive human essential hypertension.

To evaluate the influence of salt sensitivity on the blood pressure response to oral indomethacin treatment, we studied 35 hospitalized essential hypertensive patients (24 men and 11 women, aged from 40 to 55 years). During a normal NaCl intake (120 mmol Na+ per day), patients were assigned to receive in a randomized double-blind fashion either 200 mg indomethacin (25 patients) or placebo (10 patients) for 5 days. Two weeks after the interruption of indomethacin treatment, during which the normal NaCl intake was continued, salt sensitivity was assessed by giving each patient a high (220 mmol Na+ per day for 10 days) and then a low (20 mmol Na+ per day for 10 days) NaCl diet.