Who are the minors seeking an abortion for an unplanned pregnancy? A French observational study.

Aim: To investigate the demographic, social, familial environmental and medical characteristics of women under 18 years having recourse to elective abortion (EA).

Methods: cross-sectional observational study from 01/02/2015 to 01/02/2016.

Results: 2626 EA were performed during study period and 210 (8%) minor women were identified.

Analysis of green copper pigments in illuminated manuscripts by micro-Raman spectroscopy.

In the majority of the literature describing green coloured materials used on ancient painting layers (15th or 16th century), two copper greens are mainly cited: malachite [CuCOr3 x Cu(OH)2] and verdigris [Cu(CH3COO)2 x [Cu(OH)2]3 x 2H2O]. It is shown, by micro-Raman spectroscopy, that the artists were actually employing more than these two copper greens, in particular various copper sulfates, among which the most common pigment found is posnjakite [CuSO4 x 3Cu(OH)2 x H2O]. In contrast to the PIXE (particle induced X-ray emission) technique, Raman spectroscopy is a technique of choice, able to distinguish not only a copper sulfate from a carbonate or acetate but also the different sulfates themselves; in this respect, we found that the high wavenumber region (2800-4000 cm(-1)), characteristic of H2O vibrations, is of particular interest.

A simple method for performing routine histopathological examination of the cardiac conduction tissue in the dog.

In standard toxicity studies, the cardiac conduction tissue is not systematically sampled and examined for histopathological changes. Most methods described use serial sectioning perpendicular to the long axis of the sinoauricular node (SAN) and atrioventricular node (AVN). Dozens of slides are needed to allow examination of a significant portion of the SAN and AVN.