Multiplicative versus additive selection in relation to genome evolution: a simulation study.

The evolution of molecular quantitative traits, such as codon usage bias or base frequencies, can be explained as the result of mutational biases alone, or as the result of mutation and selection. Whereas mutation models can be investigated easily, realistic modelling of selection-directed genome evolution is analytically intractable, and numerical calculations require substantial computer resources. We investigated the evolution of optimal codon frequency under additive and multiplicative effects of selected linked codons.

Isolectins I-A and I-B of Griffonia (Bandeiraea) simplicifolia. Crystal structure of metal-free GS I-B(4) and molecular basis for metal binding and monosaccharide specificity.

Seeds from the African legume shrub Griffonia simplicifolia contain several lectins. Among them the tetrameric lectin GS I-B(4) has strict specificity for terminal alpha Gal residues, whereas the closely related lectin GS I-A(4) can also bind to alpha GalNAc. These two lectins are commonly used as markers in histology or for research in xenotransplantation.

[Techniques for evaluating the degree of carotid artery stenosis].

Conventional angiography is considered to be gold standard for evaluating the degree of carotid artery stenosis. However, this technique carries a risk of complications. Thus, noninvasive techniques have been developed to avoid conventional angiography.

[Post-irradiation axillo-subclavian arteriopathy: surgical revascularization].

Post-irradiation axillo-subclavian arteriopathy can develop 6 months to 20 years after radiotherapy. Incidence estimated from duplex scan screening is about 30%, half of the cases having no hemodynamic significance. In our experience, asymptomatic lesions are the most common.

[Better understanding of atheromatous ischemic renal vascular disease].

Atheromatous ischaemic renal vascular disease (AIRVD) comprises ischaemic renal disease, atheromatous disease of the large arteries and intra-renal atheromatosis. Cholesterol emboli and lesions of nephroangiosclerosis are often associated, affecting the two kidneys. It is an increasingly common cause of chronic renal failure in an aging population, affecting 12 to 14% of new patients requiring dialysis in the United States.

[Supra-aortic arteries angioplasty and stenting: an ultrasonographic follow up].

Purpose: Ultrasonographic follow up of patients with supra-aortic arteries angioplasty and stenting was performed to determine the normal characteristics and to detect restenosis or thrombosis at the repair site.

Material And Methods: Twenty-eight patients were followed. The delay between the procedure and the ultrasonographic examination was 1 to 5 years.

Amphetamine-induced dopamine release in human ventral striatum correlates with euphoria.

Background: Studies in experimental animals have implicated the mesolimbic dopaminergic projections into the ventral striatum in the neural processes underlying behavioral reinforcement and motivated behavior; however, understanding the relationship between subjective emotional experience and ventral striatal dopamine (DA) release has awaited human studies. Using positron emission tomography (PET), we correlated the change in endogenous dopamine concentrations following dextroamphetamine (AMPH) administration with the associated hedonic response in human subjects and compared the strength of this correlation across striatal subregions.

Methods: We obtained PET measures of [(11)C]raclopride specific binding to DA D2/D3 receptors before and after AMPH injection (0.

[Intravascular Doppler for the evaluation of renal blood flow: validation and demonstration of vessel reactivity].

Aim: To assess the feasibility and to demonstrate the potential clinical application of intravascular doppler in the evaluation of renal blood flow in patients with hypertension and normal renal arteries.

Materials And Methods: Intravascular doppler was used to measure renal blood flow in 19 patients (34 kidneys) during arteriography to rule out renovascular hypertension. Arteriography showed no evidence of renal artery stenosis in any patient.

Familial invasive breast cancers: worse outcome related to BRCA1 mutations.

Purpose: Although all studies confirm that BRCA1 tumors are highly proliferative and poorly differentiated, their outcomes remain controversial. We propose to examine, through a cohort study, the pathologic characteristics, overall survival, local recurrence, and metastasis-free intervals of 40 patients with BRCA1 breast cancer.

Patients And Methods: A cohort of 183 patients with invasive breast cancer, treated at the Institut Curie and presenting with a familial history of breast and/or ovarian cancer, were tested for BRCA1 germ-line mutation.

Compositional bias in DNA.

Experimental approaches, as well as computer analysis on genomic sequences, have revealed a large variability in base composition between regions in the same genome or between genomes of different species. In most cases, however, the biological causes of these compositional biases remain unknown. The recent large increase in the availability of completely sequenced genomes can give new insight into evolution processes involved in these compositional biases.

Doppler flow wire evaluation of renal blood flow reserve in hypertensive patients with normal renal arteries.

Purpose: To study the vasomotor responses of the renal microcirculation in patients with essential hypertension.

Methods: We studied the reactivity of the renal microcirculation to papaverine, with intraarterial Doppler and quantitative arteriography, in 34 renal arteries of 19 hypertensive patients without significant renal artery stenosis. Isosorbide dinitrate was given to maximally dilate proximal renal arteries.

Identification of essential amino acids in the bacterial alpha -mannosyltransferase aceA.

The alpha-mannosyltransferase AceA from Acetobacter xylinum belongs to the CaZY family 4 of retaining glycosyltransferases. We have identified a series of either highly conserved or invariant residues that are found in all family 4 enzymes as well as other retaining glycosyltransferases. These residues included Glu-287 and Glu-295, which comprise an EX(7)E motif and have been proposed to be involved in catalysis.

[Cervical cancer screening campaign in Doubs: evaluation of the first three years of the pilot program].

A pilot cervical screening program was established in 1993 in a french administrative area, the "département du Doubs". We report a program set-up, screening activities and the main results obtained within three years. The responsibility for its organization was assigned to a multidisciplinary health professional committee and screening policy was determined according to the recommendations of the consensus conference held in Lille.

Characterization of the binding of alpha-L-Fuc (1-->2)-beta-D-Gal (1-->), a xyloglucan signal, in blackberry protoplasts.

Previous work showed that the fucose-->galactose moiety of the xyloglucan nonasaccharide XXFG is responsable for its biological activity. We used this side chain of XXFG (alpha-L-Fuc (1-->2)-beta-D-Gal (1-->)) in ligand-binding experiments to demonstrate its role as a signal molecule in plant cells. Proteins solubilized from plasma membrane enriched fractions isolated from Rubus fruticosus protoplasts were tested for their ability to bind the side chain of XXFG, using a digoxigenin- or biotin-conjugated neoglycoprotein specific for 2'-fucosyl-lactose in blots and k-ELISA tests.

[Simultaneous management of coronary and cerebral vascular lesions in patients with multiple atheromatous lesions].

This case report highlights the complementarity of noninvasive imaging modalities in the diagnosis of extracranial cerebral arteries lesions. The need for a strategy in the treatment of patients with combined lesions is discussed.

[Carotid restenosis after endarterectomy. Treatment by angioplasty and endoprosthesis].

Endovascular treatment of carotid arteries stenoses is an acceptable therapeutic option to surgery in some selected patients. In this case report a patient successfully underwent carotid stenting in the presence of a severe restenosis following a surgical endarterectomy.

An unusual carbohydrate binding site revealed by the structures of two Maackia amurensis lectins complexed with sialic acid-containing oligosaccharides.

Seeds from the legume tree Maackia amurensis contain two lectins that can agglutinate different blood cell types. Their specificity toward sialylated oligosaccharides is unique among legume lectins; the leukoagglutinin preferentially binds to sialyllactosamine (alphaNeuAc(2-3)betaGal(1-4)betaGlcNAc), whereas the hemagglutinin displays higher affinity for a disialylated tetrasaccharide (alphaNeuAc(2-3)betaGal(1-3)[alphaNeuAc(2-6)]alphaG alNAc). The three-dimensional structure of the complex between M.

[Participation of women in cervical cancer screening. Results of the first 5 years of a pilot program in the province of Doubs].

Objective: To analyze women participation and test results during the 1993 to 1997 screening cycle.

Methods: The program was managed by a multidisciplinary health professional committee who determined the screening policy according to the recommendations of the French consensus (Lille 1990). All smears and cervical histological tests taken from women living in the area were collected by centralizing data from cytopathological laboratories.

[Importance of the echo-doppler and helical angioscanner of the renal arteries in the management of renovascular diseases. Results of a retrospective study in 113 patients].

The aim of this study was to determine the sensitivity and specificity of two non invasive methods for the diagnosis of renal artery stenosis, compared with renal angiography. Retrospective analysis of 113 hypertensive patients who underwent renal angiography permitted us to evaluate the results of echo-Doppler (n = 53) and helical computed tomography angiography (n = 50). Regarding echo-Doppler, sensitivity and specificity were 0.

[Anatomic results of the endoluminal revascularization of renal arterial stenoses. A retrospective study of 113 patients].

The aim of the study was to evaluate the anatomic results of percutaneous transluminal renal angioplasty in a population of 113 hypertensive patients (66 men, mean age 63 years) who had a significant renal artery stenosis (atheromatous in 105 patients and fibrodysplastic in the eight others). Conventional angioplasty was performed in 89 arteries, and stent implantation in 46 cases. Stenting was associated with a better immediate result than simple angioplasty for atheromatous stenoses (rate of residual stenosis < 30% = 93.

Chromosomal location effects on gene sequence evolution in mammals.

Background: Nucleotide substitution rates and G + C content vary considerably among mammalian genes. It has been proposed that the mammalian genome comprises a mosaic of regions - termed isochores - with differing G + C content. The regional variation in gene G + C content might therefore be a reflection of the isochore structure of chromosomes, but the factors influencing the variation of nucleotide substitution rate are still open to question.

Fibromuscular dysplasia of the renal arteries: comparison of helical CT angiography and arteriography.

Objective: We evaluated the role of helical CT angiography rendering techniques in the assessment of renal artery fibromuscular dysplasia.

Materials And Methods: Twenty hypertensive patients (mean age, 56 years) with angiographically proven renal artery fibromuscular dysplasia were studied by CT angiography. The acquisition protocol was collimation, 3 mm; table speed, 3 mm/sec; and incremental algorithm, one.

Molecular resolution of marine turtle stock composition in fishery bycatch: a case study in the Mediterranean.

Based on an extensive sampling regime from both nesting populations and bycatch, frequency analyses of mitochondrial (mt) DNA control region haplotypes in the Mediterranean were used to assess the genetic structure and stock composition of the loggerhead sea turtle, Caretta caretta, in different marine fisheries. The analyses show the following. (i) In drifting longline fisheries working in Mediterranean pelagic habitats 53-55% of turtles caught originated from the Mediterranean stock; (ii) In bottom-trawl fisheries all turtle bycatch is derived from this regional stock; (iii) This regional stock contribution to fishery bycatch suggests that the population size of the Mediterranean loggerhead nesting population is significantly larger than previously thought.