Idiopathic Membranous Nephropathy Preceding the Onset of Rheumatoid Arthritis: a Case Report

Introduction: Membranous nephropathy (MN) in the context of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), is often an iatrogenic complication due to the nephrotoxic effects of antirheumatic drugs. Rare cases of non-iatrogenic association between these two diseases were reported in the literature.Case report: A 30-year-old female patient presented in September 2005 with nephrotic syndrome. Renal biopsy showed features consistent with MN. Search for etiology was negative, particularly lupus serology which remained negative throughout the course of her illness. Accordingly, she was diagnosed as a case of idiopathic MN. Initially, she was treated with angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers which maintained her protein excretion below nephrotic range for two years. Her nephrotic syndrome then relapsed and was treated with steroids and chlorambucil, according to the Ponticelli protocol. A few months later, she presented with early morning joint stiffness, polyarthritis involving the small joints of the hands, and strongly positive rheumatoid factor, fulfilling the diagnostic criteria of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Her serum creatinine remained normal and a second renal biopsy revealed the same features of MN. Her RA was treated with pulsed methylprednisolone followed by oral steroids and methotrexate resulting in remission of the joints disease and the nephrotic syndrome. Remission was maintained for the last two years up to the time of this report.Conclusion: We hereby report a case of secondary membranous nephropathy that preceded the onset of rheumatoid arthritis by three years.Keywords: Auto-immunity; Membranous nephropathy; Rheumatoid arthriti

Les complications chirurgicales de la transplantation rénale à partir du donneur vivant: expérience du CHU Ibn Sina de Rabat

Introduction: La transplantation rénale (TR) est actuellement considérée comme un traitement de choix de l’insuffisance rénale chronique terminale (IRCT). Ses résultats se sont améliorés au cours des dernières années. Cependant, les complications chirurgicales demeurent graves car elles touchent un rein unique et surviennent sur un terrain fragilisé par l’insuffisance rénale et l’immunosuppression. L’objectif de ce travail est d’évaluer la fréquence des complications chirurgicales lors de l’activité de TR au CHU Ibn Sina de Rabat, et de dégager les facteurs ayant influé l’apparition de ces complications. Méthodes : Étude rétrospective des patients transplantés rénaux à partir de donneurs vivants apparentés (DVA) de Juin 1999 à Décembre 2008 dans notre centre hospitalo-universitaire. Nous avons recensé les caractéristiques propres au receveur, au prélèvement, au donneur ainsi qu’au greffon. Les complications chirurgicales ont été colligées ainsi que leur prise en charge et évolution. Résultats: Soixante sept dossiers ont été analysés avec un suivi moyen de 55 +/- 28 mois. 38 complications chirurgicales ont été recensées : sténose des artères rénales (38,7%), lymphocèle (21%), hématome (12,7%), thrombose vasculaire (7,8%), reflux vésico-urétéral (4,8%), rupture du greffon (3,2%), calcul (1 cas), éventration (1 cas), L’analyse statistique de notre série n’a pas mis en évidence de facteurs de risque significatifs semblant influer sur l’incidence des complications chirurgicales. Conclusion: La morbidité liée aux complications chirurgicales de la TR reste élevée nécessitant un diagnostic et un traitement adéquat afin d’éviter les répercussions sur la survie des patients et des greffons

New insights into the phytochemical profile and biological properties of Lycium intricatum Bois. (Solanaceae)

This work aimed to boost the valorisation of Lycium intricatum Boiss. L. as a source of high added value bioproducts. For that purpose, leaves and root ethanol extracts and fractions (chloroform, ethyl acetate, n-butanol, and water) were prepared and evaluated for radical scavenging activity (RSA) on 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,20 -azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) radicals, ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), and metal chelating potential against copper and iron ions. Extracts were also appraised for in vitro inhibition of enzymes implicated on the onset of neurological diseases (acetylcholinesterase: AChE and butyrylcholinesterase: BuChE), type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM, α-glucosidase), obesity/acne (lipase), and skin hyperpigmentation/food oxidation (tyrosinase). The total content of phenolics (TPC), flavonoids (TFC), and hydrolysable tannins (THTC) was evaluated by colorimetric methods, while the phenolic profile was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography, coupled to a diode-array ultraviolet detector (HPLCUV-DAD). Extracts had significant RSA and FRAP, and moderate copper chelation, but no iron chelating capacity. Samples had a higher activity towards α-glucosidase and tyrosinase, especially those from roots, a low capacity to inhibit AChE, and no activity towards BuChE and lipase. The ethyl acetate fraction of roots had the highest TPC and THTC, whereas the ethyl acetate fraction of leaves had the highest flavonoid levels. Gallic, gentisic, ferulic, and trans-cinnamic acids were identified in both organs. The results suggest that L. intricatum is a promising source of bioactive compounds with food, pharmaceutical, and biomedical applications.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Anomalous strength of membranes with elastic ridges

We report on a simulational study of the compression and buckling of elastic ridges formed by joining the boundary of a flat sheet to itself. Such ridges store energy anomalously: their resting energy scales as the linear size of the sheet to the 1/3 power. We find that the energy required to buckle such a ridge is a fixed multiple of the resting energy. Thus thin sheets with elastic ridges such as crumpled sheets are qualitatively stronger than smoothly bent sheets.Comment: 4 pages, REVTEX, 3 figure

Simple system using natural mineral water for high-throughput phenotyping of Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings in liquid culture

Background: Phenotyping for plant stress tolerance is an essential component of many research projects. Because screening of high numbers of plants and multiple conditions remains technically challenging and costly, there is a need for simple methods to carry out large-scale phenotyping in the laboratory.Methods: We developed a method for phenotyping the germination and seedling growth of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) Col-0 in liquid culture. Culture was performed under rotary shaking in multiwell plates, using Evian natural mineral water as a medium. Nondestructive and accurate quantification of green pixels by digital image analysis allowed monitoring of growth. Results: The composition of the water prevented excessive root elongation growth that would otherwise lead to clumping of seedlings observed when classic nutrient-rich medium or deionized water is used. There was no need to maintain the cultures under aseptic conditions, and seedlings, which are photosynthetic, remained healthy for several weeks. Several proof-of-concept experiments demonstrated the usefulness of the approach for environmental stress phenotyping. Conclusion: The system described here is easy to set up, cost-effective, and enables a single researcher to screen large numbers of lines under various conditions. The simplicity of the method clearly makes it amenable to high-throughput phenotyping using robotics

Association myélome multiple – maladie de Kaposi: à propos d’un cas

L'association Kaposi–myélome multiple est extrêmement rare. Nous rapportons, le cas d'un patient âgé de 76 ans suivi dans notre formation pour un myélome à immunoglobuline A kappa stade III-B selon Durie et Salmon. Ceci a été associé à des lésions cutanées dont la biopsie cutanée était en faveur d’une maladie de Kaposi. La sérologie de l’herpès virus humain de type 8 (HHV8) est revenue positive. Une radiothérapie sur les lésions était refusée par le patient. L'évolution était marquée par une altération de l'état général. Le patient ayant refusé la radiothérapie et toute prise en charge thérapeutique est décédée deux mois plus tard. Nous rapportons, à notre connaissance, le 18ème cas mondial de maladie de Kaposi associée à un Kahler chez un patient HHV8 positif. C'est une association exceptionnelle rendant probable le rôle pathogénique de HHV8 dans le développement du myélome

Breakdown of Conformal Invariance at Strongly Random Critical Points

We consider the breakdown of conformal and scale invariance in random systems with strongly random critical points. Extending previous results on one-dimensional systems, we provide an example of a three-dimensional system which has a strongly random critical point. The average correlation functions of this system demonstrate a breakdown of conformal invariance, while the typical correlation functions demonstrate a breakdown of scale invariance. The breakdown of conformal invariance is due to the vanishing of the correlation functions at the infinite disorder fixed point, causing the critical correlation functions to be controlled by a dangerously irrelevant operator describing the approach to the fixed point. We relate the computation of average correlation functions to a problem of persistence in the RG flow.Comment: 9 page

Scaling of the buckling transition of ridges in thin sheets

When a thin elastic sheet crumples, the elastic energy condenses into a network of folding lines and point vertices. These folds and vertices have elastic energy densities much greater than the surrounding areas, and most of the work required to crumple the sheet is consumed in breaking the folding lines or ``ridges''. To understand crumpling it is then necessary to understand the strength of ridges. In this work, we consider the buckling of a single ridge under the action of inward forcing applied at its ends. We demonstrate a simple scaling relation for the response of the ridge to the force prior to buckling. We also show that the buckling instability depends only on the ratio of strain along the ridge to curvature across it. Numerically, we find for a wide range of boundary conditions that ridges buckle when our forcing has increased their elastic energy by 20% over their resting state value. We also observe a correlation between neighbor interactions and the location of initial buckling. Analytic arguments and numerical simulations are employed to prove these results. Implications for the strength of ridges as structural elements are discussed.Comment: 42 pages, latex, doctoral dissertation, to be submitted to Phys Rev

Nitric oxide sensing in plants is mediated by proteolytic control of group VII ERF transcription factors

Nitric oxide (NO) is an important signaling compound in prokaryotes and eukaryotes. In plants, NO regulates critical developmental transitions and stress responses. Here, we identify a mechanism for NO sensing that coordinates responses throughout development based on targeted degradation of plant-specific transcriptional regulators, the group VII ethylene response factors (ERFs). We show that the N-end rule pathway of targeted proteolysis targets these proteins for destruction in the presence of NO, and we establish them as critical regulators of diverse NO-regulated processes, including seed germination, stomatal closure, and hypocotyl elongation. Furthermore, we define the molecular mechanism for NO control of germination and crosstalk with abscisic acid (ABA) signaling through ERF-regulated expression of ABSCISIC ACID INSENSITIVE5 (ABI5). Our work demonstrates how NO sensing is integrated across multiple physiological processes by direct modulation of transcription factor stability and identifies group VII ERFs as central hubs for the perception of gaseous signals in plants