Estimating population size with noninvasive capture-mark-recapture data.

Estimating population size of elusive and rare species is challenging. The difficulties in catching such species has triggered the use of samples collected noninvasively, such as feces or hair; from which genetic analysis yields data similar to capture-mark-recapture (CMR) data. There are, however two differences between classical CMR and noninvasive CMR.

[Periconceptional folates and the prevention of orofacial clefts: role of dietary intakes in France].

Background: Orofacial clefts are among the most frequent congenital malformations at birth with a prevalence of 1 in 700 births in Europe. The implication of environmental factors in their etiology has been demonstrated. The role of folic acid, or folates, in the prevention of orofacial clefts is still debated although its efficacy has been demonstrated for the prevention of neural tube defects.

The reaction of anthracene with OH radicals: an experimental study of the kinetics between 58 and 470 K.

The first direct measurement of the reaction rate constant of a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon in the gas phase in the temperature range 58-470 K is reported. The reaction is OH+ anthracene and the experiment has been performed in a continuous flow Cinetique de Reaction en Ecoulement Supersonique Uniforme apparatus, which had to be modified for this purpose. Pulsed laser photolysis of H(2)O(2) has been used to generate OH radicals and laser-induced fluorescence to observe the kinetic decay of the radicals and hence determine the rate coefficients.

Structure of the mature P3-virus particle complex of cauliflower mosaic virus revealed by cryo-electron microscopy.

The cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) has an icosahedral capsid composed of the viral protein P4. The viral product P3 is a multifunctional protein closely associated with the virus particle within host cells. The best-characterized function of P3 is its implication in CaMV plant-to-plant transmission by aphid vectors, involving a P3-virion complex.

Single-crystal 2H NMR of deuterated 1,10-decanedicarboxylic acid included in hydrogenated urea channels.

The intergrowth of 1,10-decanedicarboxylic acid and urea give infinite hydrogen-bonded chains of the guest included in the hexagonal urea host. A deuterium high-resolution solid-state NMR study of the selectively deuterated intergrowth compound 1,10-decanedicarboxylic acid/hydrogenated urea at variable temperature in the range 90 < or = T < or = 300 K was performed on a single crystal. The analysis of the second moment as a function of temperature is shown to be compatible with the known phase transition occurring near T(c) = 203 K.

[A case of anaphylactic shock with tranexamique acid (Exacyl)].

A 72-year-old male patient was scheduled for coronary artery bypass graft surgery because of severe three-vessel disease. Induction of anaesthesia was uneventful. Following bolus infusion of tranexamic acid (Exacyl), the patient presented clinical signs consistent with anaphylactic shock.

Alterations of intracellular pH homeostasis in apoptosis: origins and roles.

Intracellular pH (pHi) has an important role in the maintenance of normal cell function, and hence this parameter has to be tightly controlled within a narrow range, largely through the activity of transporters located at the plasma membrane. These transporters can be modulated by endogenous or exogenous molecules as well as, in some pathological situations, leading to pHi changes that have been implicated in both cell proliferation and cell death. Whereas intracellular alkalinization seems to be a common feature of proliferative processes, the precise role of pHi in apoptosis is still unclear.

Apoptotic mitochondrial dysfunction induced by benzo(a)pyrene in liver epithelial cells: role of p53 and pHi changes.

How pH(i) changes, more specifically alkalinization, affect the apoptotic cascade has yet to be determined. The aim of the present work was to test the involvement of mitochondria in the apoptotic cascade triggered by benzo(a)pyrene [B(a)P] and to determine the role of pH(i) changes and p53 relative to mitochondria. Our results indicate that B(a)P-induced apoptosis might rely upon a p53-dependent and a pH-sensitive mitochondrial dysfunction.

Evidence of a phase transition of RbHCO3 from high-resolution solid-state 13C and 87Rb NMR by comparison with KHCO3.

A variable-temperature high-resolution 13C and 87Rb solid-state NMR study of powder rubidium hydrogencarbonate, RbHCO3, is presented for the first time. At ambient temperature, RbHCO3 is formed by centrosymmetric dimers linked by hydrogen bonds, but almost no information is available on this compound concerning proton disorder and the low-temperature phase. However, potassium hydrogencarbonate, KHCO3, which has an isomorphic structure for the high temperature phase, was well studied: it undergoes a non-ferroic, non-ferroelectric phase transition at Tc = 318 K between two monoclinic structures.

Alloreactive CD4+ and CD8+ T cells express the immunotolerant HLA-G molecule in mixed lymphocyte reactions: in vivo implications in transplanted patients.

HLA-G displays immunotolerogenic properties towards the main effector cells involved in graft rejection through inhibition of NK- and CTL-mediated cytolysis and CD4+ T cell alloproliferation. HLA-G expression is restricted in healthy tissues to trophoblast and thymus but is extended to various tissues under pathological conditions. HLA-G was detected in allograft biopsies and sera from transplanted patients who displayed a better graft acceptance.

Risk of congenital anomalies in the vicinity of municipal solid waste incinerators.

Background: Although municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) has contributed to increase the overall environmental load of particulate matter containing dioxins and metals, evidence of health consequences to populations is sparse.

Aims: To assess at a regional level (in southeast France) the impact of these emissions on birth defect rates.

Methods: Communities with fewer than 50 000 inhabitants surrounding the 70 incinerators that operated at least one year from 1988 to 1997 were studied.

[Antibacterial effect of two glycine betaine analogues against Escherichia coli].

Strains of enterobacteria that cause urinary tract infections are able to grow in urine with high tonicity. In such conditions bacterias adapt to osmotic forces by incorporation of osmoprotectant compounds including glycine betaine. Accumulation of toxic analogues in bacteria, using inducible betaine transporters, has been previously proposed for development of antibiotics.

[Laryngeal mask airway in paediatrics: when? How?].

Since its introduction in 1981 by Brain, the laryngeal mask airway has achieved increased popularity in pediatrics. Despite widespread use, the definitive role of the laryngeal mask airway has yet to be established. We attempt to clarify the role of the laryngeal mask airway in airway management during anaesthesia by discussing the advantages and disadvantages as well as the indications and contra-indications of its use.

Structural characterization of HC-Pro, a plant virus multifunctional protein.

The helper component proteinase (HC-Pro) is a key protein encoded by plant viruses of the genus Potyvirus. HC-Pro is involved in different steps of the viral cycle, aphid transmission, replication, and virus cell-to-cell and systemic movement and is a suppressor of post-transcriptional gene silencing. Structural knowledge of HC-Pro is required to better understand its multiple functions.

The effect of local anesthetics and amitriptyline on peroxidation in vivo in an inflammatory rat model: preliminary reports.

We studied the inhibition of peroxidation by local anesthetics in an inflammatory animal model. Inflammatory lipid peroxidation was assessed by the thiobarbituric assay in plasma from rats injected or not injected with carrageenan (Carra) and killed 1, 2, 4, 6, 12, and 24 h thereafter. Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) values in inflammatory animals were maximal 6 h after Carra administration.

Experience modulates emission of food calls in broody hens.

The aim of these experiments was to determine if previous experience of chicks' response to food calling influences subsequent propension of maternal hens to utter food calls. Seventeen broody hens were tested three times a day without their 3- or 4-day-old chicks. Hens were tested in two situations: chicks were returned either after each test or at the end of all the day's tests.

Role of electrophoretic mobility of protein on its retention by an ultrafiltration membrane. Comparison to chromatography mechanisms.

Lysozyme and lactoferrin, two globular proteins, were first studied separately in order to elaborate a strategy for the improvement of their separation by ultrafiltration (UF) with zirconia-based membranes of different charge sign and pore radius. The electrophoretic mobility (mu) at fixed pH and variable ionic strength was used for the characterisation of both proteins and zirconia particles, similar to the active layer of the membrane during the UF run. Specific adsorption of phosphate ions was shown for both proteins resulting in new isoelectric points.

Regulation of phenobarbital-induction of CYP2B and CYP3A genes in rat cultured hepatocytes: involvement of several serine/threonine protein kinases and phosphatases.

We investigated the involvement of diverse protein kinases and phosphatases in the transduction pathways elicited by phenobarbital (PB), a well-known inducer of some hepatic cytochromes P450 (CYP). Different inhibitors or activators of protein kinases or phosphatases were assessed for their ability to modulate PB-induction of CYP2B and CYP3A mRNA expression. Rat hepatocytes in primary culture were treated with the test compounds one hour prior to, and then continuously, in the absence or presence of 1 mmol/L PB for 24 h.

Broadband echo sequence using a pi composite pulse for the pure NQR of a spin I = 32 powder sample.

This work presents a numerical approach to optimizing sequences with composite pulses for the pure NQR of a spin I = 32 powder sample. The calculations are based on a formalism developed in a previous paper, which allows a fast powder-averaging procedure to be implemented. The framework of the Cayley-Klein matrices to describe space rotations by 2 x 2 unitary and unimodular complex matrices is used to calculate the pulse propagators.

Calculations of multipulse sequence in NQR of spins 32.

The general formalism of the interaction representation with respect to an operator which is its own inverse is developed and applied to pure NQR of spins I = 32. Under the assumption of no relaxation and no dipolar coupling, it is shown that the calculation of the response to pure NQR multipulse sequences can be performed with the same concepts used in high field NMR, such as coherence pathways. All the tools and mathematical expressions to predict the time evolution of the signal created by a pure NQR multipulse sequence are presented explicitly.

Effect of bromazepam versus placebo on inhibition and waiting capacity in young women with traits of anxiety.

The effect of 3 dosages of bromazepam administered as single oral doses (1.5, 3 and 6 mg) on anxious inhibition phenomena was studied in a population of 16 young women (18-30 years) with anxiety-traits, selected on the criteria of Cattell's anxiety scale supported by two personality inventory (Eysenck's, MMPI). A double-blind, placebo study design was chosen.

[Hepatocytes in cell therapy].

Cell-based therapy could represent an alternative treatment to orthotopic liver transplantation in acute liver failures and for the correction of genetic defects of various enzymatic functions. Several recent studies indicate that hepatocytes injected either in the spleen or in portal vein can restore liver-specific function(s) in animal model systems. Alternatively, an extracorporal hybrid bioartificial liver might provide liver-specific functions, maintain the patient alive and allow spontaneous recovery of the patient's own liver, or act as a bridge toward liver transplantation in acute liver failures.

Characterization of vitellogenin from rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss).

The nucleotide sequence of the vitellogenin cDNA from the rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss was determined. Analysis of the deduced amino acid sequence (1659 residues) places the lipovitellin I, phosvitin and lipovitellin II domains between amino acids 16 to 1088, 1089 to 1145 and 1146 to 1659, respectively. The general structure is similar to other vertebrate vitellogenins except for the serine rich phosvitin domain which is the shortest identified so far in vertebrates (57 amino acids), being 2 to 4 times smaller than in other species.