Adapted educational health program among deprived subjects with prediabetes.

Aims: Assess the feasibility and benefit of a health educational program on global metabolic status in prediabetic deprived subjects.

Design: Case control study.

Methods: 693 subjects (466 men, 227 women), aged 16 to 95 years with prediabetes and low socioeconomic status, consulting at the IPC Center were included between September 2015 and June 2016.

Publisher Correction: The tuatara genome reveals ancient features of amniote evolution.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

The tuatara genome reveals ancient features of amniote evolution.

The tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus)-the only living member of the reptilian order Rhynchocephalia (Sphenodontia), once widespread across Gondwana-is an iconic species that is endemic to New Zealand. A key link to the now-extinct stem reptiles (from which dinosaurs, modern reptiles, birds and mammals evolved), the tuatara provides key insights into the ancestral amniotes. Here we analyse the genome of the tuatara, which-at approximately 5 Gb-is among the largest of the vertebrate genomes yet assembled.

Superior ab initio identification, annotation and characterisation of TEs and segmental duplications from genome assemblies.

Transposable Elements (TEs) are mobile DNA sequences that make up significant fractions of amniote genomes. However, they are difficult to detect and annotate ab initio because of their variable features, lengths and clade-specific variants. We have addressed this problem by refining and developing a Comprehensive ab initio Repeat Pipeline (CARP) to identify and cluster TEs and other repetitive sequences in genome assemblies.

A comprehensive genomic history of extinct and living elephants.

Elephantids are the world's most iconic megafaunal family, yet there is no comprehensive genomic assessment of their relationships. We report a total of 14 genomes, including 2 from the American mastodon, which is an extinct elephantid relative, and 12 spanning all three extant and three extinct elephantid species including an ∼120,000-y-old straight-tusked elephant, a Columbian mammoth, and woolly mammoths. Earlier genetic studies modeled elephantid evolution via simple bifurcating trees, but here we show that interspecies hybridization has been a recurrent feature of elephantid evolution.

Similar Evolutionary Trajectories for Retrotransposon Accumulation in Mammals.

The factors guiding retrotransposon insertion site preference are not well understood. Different types of retrotransposons share common replication machinery and yet occupy distinct genomic domains. Autonomous long interspersed elements accumulate in gene-poor domains and their nonautonomous short interspersed elements accumulate in gene-rich domains.

Identification of candidate anti-cancer molecular mechanisms of Compound Kushen Injection using functional genomics.

Compound Kushen Injection (CKI) has been clinically used in China for over 15 years to treat various types of solid tumours. However, because such Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) preparations are complex mixtures of plant secondary metabolites, it is essential to explore their underlying molecular mechanisms in a systematic fashion. We have used the MCF-7 human breast cancer cell line as an initial in vitro model to identify CKI induced changes in gene expression.

In depth analysis of the Sox4 gene locus that consists of sense and natural antisense transcripts.

SRY (Sex Determining Region Y)-Box 4 or Sox4 is an important regulator of the pan-neuronal gene expression during post-mitotic cell differentiation within the mammalian brain. Sox4 gene locus has been previously characterized with multiple sense and overlapping natural antisense transcripts [1], [2]. Here we provide accompanying data on various analyses performed and described in Ling et al.

Derivation of an endogenous small RNA from double-stranded Sox4 sense and natural antisense transcripts in the mouse brain.

Natural antisense transcripts (NATs) are involved in cellular development and regulatory processes. Multiple NATs at the Sox4 gene locus are spatiotemporally regulated throughout murine cerebral corticogenesis. In the study, we evaluated the potential functional role of Sox4 NATs at Sox4 gene locus.

Toxicity and in vitro activity of HIV-1 latency-reversing agents in primary CNS cells.

Despite the success of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART), HIV persists in long lived latently infected cells in the blood and tissue, and treatment is required lifelong. Recent clinical studies have trialed latency-reversing agents (LRA) as a method to eliminate latently infected cells; however, the effects of LRA on the central nervous system (CNS), a well-known site of virus persistence on cART, are unknown. In this study, we evaluated the toxicity and potency of a panel of commonly used and well-known LRA (panobinostat, romidepsin, vorinostat, chaetocin, disulfiram, hexamethylene bisacetamide [HMBA], and JQ-1) in primary fetal astrocytes (PFA) as well as monocyte-derived macrophages as a cellular model for brain perivascular macrophages.

Onset of exercise and diet program in obese women: metabolic and anorexigenic responses related to weight loss and physical capacities.

Perturbations of energy balance induce compensatory processes that may alter expected weight loss. In obese patients, our aim was to investigate the relationships that occurred between fasting plasma concentrations of anorexigenic peptides and metabolic parameters, appetite, physical capacity, and weight loss in the 5 first days of a program associating exercise and caloric reduction. Thirteen obese women were monitored from day 1 to day 5 with 2 exercise sessions in day 2 and day 4.

Deep sequencing analysis of the developing mouse brain reveals a novel microRNA.

Background: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs that can exert multilevel inhibition/repression at a post-transcriptional or protein synthesis level during disease or development. Characterisation of miRNAs in adult mammalian brains by deep sequencing has been reported previously. However, to date, no small RNA profiling of the developing brain has been undertaken using this method.

Interspersed repeats in the horse (Equus caballus); spatial correlations highlight conserved chromosomal domains.

The interspersed repeat content of mammalian genomes has been best characterized in human, mouse and cow. In this study, we carried out de novo identification of repeated elements in the equine genome and identified previously unknown elements present at low copy number. The equine genome contains typical eutherian mammal repeats, but also has a significant number of hybrid repeats in addition to clade-specific Long Interspersed Nuclear Elements (LINE).

Body perception and satisfaction in obese, severely obese, and normal weight female patients.

The objective of this study was to investigate body perception and the associated level of dissatisfaction among obese patients. Twenty patients from each category of obese, severely obese, and normal weight individuals had their pictures enlarged or thinned using a computer program to manipulate photographs taken from the front, profile angle, and back. The pictures were shown to patients to represent both the way they thought they appeared and the way they would like to appear.

Genome sequence, comparative analysis, and population genetics of the domestic horse.

We report a high-quality draft sequence of the genome of the horse (Equus caballus). The genome is relatively repetitive but has little segmental duplication. Chromosomes appear to have undergone few historical rearrangements: 53% of equine chromosomes show conserved synteny to a single human chromosome.

Characterization and distribution of retrotransposons and simple sequence repeats in the bovine genome.

Interspersed repeat composition and distribution in mammals have been best characterized in the human and mouse genomes. The bovine genome contains typical eutherian mammal repeats, but also has a significant number of long interspersed nuclear element RTE (BovB) elements proposed to have been horizontally transferred from squamata. Our analysis of the BovB repeats has indicated that only a few of them are currently likely to retrotranspose in cattle.

[Primary brain stem hemorrhage: retrospective study of 25 cases].

Introduction: We report a retrospective series of 25 cases of brain stem hemorrhage.

Methods: Cases of spontaneous hemorrhage of the brain stem which were observed from 1990 to 2000 in a department of neurology were reviewed. Etiological factors, CT scan at admission, clinical signs and the course of the disease were analyzed retrospectively.

Lignans from Arnica species.

From four Arnica species (A. angustifolia Vahl ssp. attenuata (Greene) Maguire, A.

[Body composition and left ventricular geometry].

Left ventricular mass and cardiac output are, particularly in obesity, correlated with fat free body mass. We assessed the relationship between ventricular geometry and fat body mass in treated hypertensives with or without normalization of blood pressure We investigated 175 patients (age: 57 +/- 15 years, M/F: 111/64, Mean blood pressure (MBP): 111 +/- 18 mmHg, BMI: 27.02 +/- 3.

[High frequency ultrasonography and celluscore: an improvement in the objective evaluation of cellulite phenomenon].

As they usually do not have any serious effect on health condition, cellulite phenomenons are not considered as potentially hazardous by general practitioners; unfortunately they involve almost all the feminine population after the forties and may really induce bad side effects either psychological or physical whatever the confusing origin of that cutaneous deformation: heredity, nutrition, circulatory and hormonal diseases etc. Trying to appreciate in a more scientific way this superficial skin disorder, we have developed a computerised questionnaire which can be combined with the finest upto date way of skin exploration, high frequency ultrasonography. It seems possible to consider now cellulite as the result of various disorders which can be separate into fibrotic or retentional phenomenons (surrounding superficial fat tissues) and the direct adipocyte reaction (adiposis).

Effects of atorvastatin on aortic pulse wave velocity in patients with hypertension and hypercholesterolaemia: a preliminary study.

As statins may contribute to plaque stabilisation, it is important to evaluate whether these drugs may modify arterial stiffness. In 23 patients, aged 32-70 years, with hypertension and hypercholesterolaemia, a double-blind randomised study vs placebo was performed to evaluate whether atorvastatin was able to modify aortic stiffness, measured from aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV), after a 12-week treatment. The results revealed that atorvastatin did not change blood pressure, significantly lowered (P<0.

[Hypertension and obesity].

Hypertension is often associated with corpulence, an increased total and abdominal fatty mass. The fact of being corpulent exposes to the risk of error of measurement of the blood pressure which may be overestimated by 10 to 16 mmHg and lead to the unnecessary prescription of antihypertensive drugs. In order to analyse the nature of the corpulence, it is useful to define the condition as an increase in fatty and/or lean body mass.

Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), DHEA sulfate, and aging: contribution of the DHEAge Study to a sociobiomedical issue.

The secretion and the blood levels of the adrenal steroid dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and its sulfate ester (DHEAS) decrease profoundly with age, and the question is posed whether administration of the steroid to compensate for the decline counteracts defects associated with aging. The commercial availability of DHEA outside the regular pharmaceutical-medical network in the United States creates a real public health problem that may be resolved only by appropriate long-term clinical trials in elderly men and women. Two hundred and eighty healthy individuals (women and men 60-79 years old) were given DHEA, 50 mg, or placebo, orally, daily for a year in a double-blind, placebo-controlled study.

Plasma insulin, plasminogen activator inhibitor, and ankle-brachial systolic blood pressure ratio in overweight hypertensive subjects.

Background: In hypertensive subjects, the ratio between ankle and brachial systolic blood pressure (ABI) has been shown to be an independent risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, particularly in the elderly. Plasma insulin may be an important interconnecting factor explaining this observation.

Purpose: In a population of middle-aged subjects with essential hypertension and moderate overweight, we identified whether the decrease in the ABI ratio was associated with the clinical and biochemical factors involved in resistance to insulin.