Corbicula fluminea gene expression modulated by CeO nanomaterials and salinity.

Cerium dioxide nanomaterials (CeO NMs) are used in different fields and incorporated in daily products. Several studies highlighted their effects on organism physiology, although molecular studies remain scarce. NM behavior is strongly dependent on the environment but few data are available using complex exposure media, raising the question of its environmental impacts.

Genotoxicity and physiological effects of CeO NPs on a freshwater bivalve (Corbicula fluminea).

The rapid development of nanotechnology and the increased use of nanomaterials in products used in everyday life have raised the question of the potential release of nanoparticles into the aquatic environment. Their fate and effects in natural ecosystems are not currently well understood but harmful effects of nanoparticles have been demonstrated at low concentrations on some freshwater and marine species. Cerium dioxide nanoparticles (CeO NPs) are produced in large quantities and used in products in many different fields, such as automotives or optics.

Differential tolerance to nickel between Dreissena polymorpha and Dreissena rostriformis bugensis populations.

Differential tolerance to stress is partly responsible for the heterogeneity of biomarker responses between populations of a sentinel species. Although currently used for freshwater biomonitoring, studies concerning inter-populational variability in tolerance to contaminants for the zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) are scarce. Moreover, this well-known invader is currently replaced by another, the quagga mussel (Dreissena rostriformis bugensis).

The influence of salinity on the fate and behavior of silver standardized nanomaterial and toxicity effects in the estuarine bivalve Scrobicularia plana.

Because of their antibacterial properties, silver (Ag) engineered nanomaterials are included in many products. The present study used a standardized Ag nanomaterial (NM-300K, 20 nm) supplied with a stabilizing agent. The aim was to investigate the behavior of Ag nanomaterial in an estuarine-like medium at 2 salinities (15 psu and 30 psu).

Adaptation of the Daphnia sp. acute toxicity test: miniaturization and prolongation for the testing of nanomaterials.

Manufacturing of nanomaterials (NMs) is often complex and expensive, and their environmental risks are poorly understood or even unknown. An economization of testing NMs is therefore desirable, which can be achieved by miniaturizing test systems. However, the downsizing of test vessels and volumes can enlarge the surface/volume ratio (SVR) which in turn can affect the bioavailable concentration of adsorbing substances like NMs.

Quantitative assessment of hemolymph metabolites in two physiological states and two populations of the land snail Helix pomatia.

Hemolymph metabolite composition in ectothermic species is mainly constrained by trophic and climatic habitat conditions. In temperate regions, ectothermic species have to face subzero temperatures in winter, to which they typically respond with a state of inactivity. With use of ultra-performance liquid chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry techniques, we investigated the hemolymph metabolite composition of the land snail Helix pomatia with respect to physiological states (activity and hibernation) in a mountain population (800 m above sea level) and a valley population (150 m above sea level) in Germany.

Adjustment of metabolite composition in the haemolymph to seasonal variations in the land snail Helix pomatia.

In temperate regions, land snails are subjected to subzero temperatures in winter and hot temperatures often associated to drought in summer. The response to these environmental factors is usually a state of inactivity, hibernation and aestivation, respectively, in a temperature and humidity buffered refuge, accompanied by physiological adjustments to resist cold or heat stress. We investigated how environmental factors in the microhabitat and body condition influence the metabolite composition of haemolymph of the endangered species Helix pomatia.

Evaluation of the clinimetric properties of the Early Inflammatory Arthritis--self-administered comorbidity questionnaire.

Objectives: To adapt the self-administered comorbidity questionnaire (SCQ) into the Early Inflammatory Arthritis-SCQ (EIA-SCQ) and assess its clinimetric properties in EIA.

Methods: The EIA-SCQ and indices of disease activity, function, pain, health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and health resource utilization were administered to 320 patients with EIA. Twenty patients completed the EIA-SCQ a second time 1 week later.

Symptoms of depression predict the trajectory of pain among patients with early inflammatory arthritis: a path analysis approach to assessing change.

Objective: To assess the longitudinal relationships, including directionality, among chronic pain, symptoms of depression, and disease activity in patients with early inflammatory arthritis (EIA).

Methods: One hundred eighty patients with EIA completed an examination, including swollen joint count, and were administered the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) and the McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ) at 2 timepoints 6 months apart. Cross-lagged panel path analysis was used to simultaneously assess concurrent and longitudinal relationships among pain, symptoms of depression, and number of swollen joints.

Safety and efficacy of long-term intraarticular steroid injections in osteoarthritis of the knee: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

Objective: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of long-term intraarticular (IA) steroid injections for knee pain related to osteoarthritis (OA).

Methods: In a randomized, double-blind trial, 68 patients with OA of the knee received IA injections of triamcinolone acetonide 40 mg (34 patients) or saline (34 patients) into the study knee every 3 months for up to 2 years. The primary outcome variable was radiologic progression of joint space narrowing of the injected knee after 2 years.