Une faune à conodontes du tournaisien dans le massif de la Vesdre

A conodont fauna is recorded from the Etroeungt and Pont d'Arcole Formations and from the base of the Landelies Formation in the Vesdre Massif ofBelgium. It is proposed to retain the name "Dolomie de la Vesdre" for the dolomites situated above the basal part of the Landelies Formation. This unit is the same as the "Obere Dolomit" in the German part of the massif

A conodont fauna of the Dinantian from the Kuznetsk Basin (Southern Siberia)

Lower to middle Tournaisian conodonts are recorded for the first time from southern Siberia. An exact correlation with Belgian and West-German Tournaisian stratotypes seems impossible. The conodont assemblage is characteristic of shallow marine costal areas

Microfossils and depositional environment of late Dinantian carbonates at Heibaart (Northern Belgium)

The core intervals of five boreholes in the Dinantian carbonates of the Heibaart area in northern Belgium have been investigated on their microfossil contents and lithofacies. The foraminifers suggest an early Warnantian age. No conodonts have been recovered. Twenty-eight species of ostracodes are described, two of them being new : Bairdia robinsoni nov. sp. and Rectobairdia conili nov. sp. The carbonates consist of bioclastic wackestones, bioclastic-peloid grainstones and algal bindstones. The depositional environment varied from an open marine shelf lagoon in the earliest Warnantian (Cf 6a zone) to very shallow lagoons with a restricted water circulation in the Cf 6a - ß zone. The extreme large size of the ostracode species recovered from the Cf 6a - ß zone is not characteristic of the very shallow lagoon environment. Extremely large ostracodes have also been recognized in other carbonate facies of Dinantian age

Effectiveness of Teriparatide in Women Over 75 Years of Age with Severe Osteoporosis: 36-Month Results from the European Forsteo Observational Study (EFOS)

This predefined analysis of the European Forsteo Observational Study (EFOS) aimed to describe clinical fracture incidence, back pain, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) during 18 months of teriparatide treatment and 18 months post-teriparatide in the subgroup of 589 postmenopausal women with osteoporosis aged ≥75 years. Data on clinical fractures, back pain (visual analogue scale, VAS), and HRQoL (EQ-5D) were collected over 36 months. Fracture data were summarized in 6-month intervals and analyzed using logistic regression with repeated measures. A repeated-measures model analyzed changes from baseline in back pain VAS and EQ-VAS. During the 36-month observation period, 87 (14.8 %) women aged ≥75 years sustained a total of 111 new fractures: 37 (33.3 %) vertebral fractures and 74 (66.7 %) nonvertebral fractures. Adjusted odds of fracture was decreased by 80 % in the 30 to <36–month interval compared with the first 6-month interval (P < 0.009). Although the older subgroup had higher back pain scores and poorer HRQoL at baseline than the younger subgroup, both age groups showed significant reductions in back pain and improvements in HRQoL postbaseline. In conclusion, women aged ≥75 years with severe postmenopausal osteoporosis treated with teriparatide in normal clinical practice showed a reduced clinical fracture incidence by 30 months compared with baseline. An improvement in HRQoL and, possibly, an early and significant reduction in back pain were also observed, which lasted for at least 18 months after teriparatide discontinuation when patients were taking other osteoporosis medication. The results should be interpreted in the context of an uncontrolled observational study

Matching commercial thrips predating phytoseids with the highly diversified climatic conditions of different strawberry production systems

Flower inhabiting thrips (Order: Thysanoptera) are a major threat to fruit quality in strawberry production around the world. As chemical control is often inefficient, alternative control measures are of broad and current interest. Their fast reproduction makes predatory mites highly suitable for thrips control in a crop with a relatively short cropping season like strawberry. However, climatic conditions of strawberry production can differ strongly depending on the production system (glasshouse, plastic tunnel, open field, etc.) and the time span of cultivation (depending mostly on planting date and the type of cultivar: summer-or everbearing). As predatory mites typically display a temperature-dependent life history and the current commercially available thrips predating phytoseids vary in geographic origin, one can assume that under certain climatic conditions some species will be more applicable than others. The goal of this study is to determine which species are suitable for which climatic conditions. Therefore all (Belgian) production systems and time spans are categorized into three climate types, simulated in the laboratory. The population build-up of seven predatory mite species (A. degenerans, A. montdorensis, A. andersoni, A. limonicus, A. swirskii, N. cucumeris and E. gallicus) were assessed for each of these climatic conditions. Under the coldest condition (A), the in West-Europe indigenous E. gallicus was the only species with a significant population build up. When moderate conditions (B) were simulated E. gallicus, N. cucumeris and A. limonicus were most successful. The warmest regime (C) was most adequate for E. gallicus and A. swirskii

Extraskeletal benefits and risks of calcium, vitamin D and anti-osteoporosis medications

Drugs used for the prevention and the treatment of osteoporosis exert various favourable and unfavourable extra-skeletal effects whose importance is increasingly recognized notably for treatment selection. INTRODUCTION: The therapeutic armamentarium for the prevention and the treatment of osteoporosis is increasingly large, and possible extra-skeletal effects of available drugs could influence the choice of a particular compound. METHODS: The present document is the result of a national consensus, based on a systematic and critical review of the literature. RESULTS: Observational research has suggested an inverse relationship between calcium intake and cardiovascular diseases, notably through an effect on blood pressure, but recent data suggest a possible deleterious effect of calcium supplements on cardiovascular risk. Many diverse studies have implicated vitamin D in the pathogenesis of clinically important non-skeletal functions or diseases, especially muscle function, cardiovascular disease, autoimmune diseases and common cancers. The possible effects of oral or intravenous bisphosphonates are well-known. They have been associated with an increased risk of oesophageal cancer or atrial fibrillation, but large-scale studies have not found any association with bisphosphonate use. Selective oestrogen receptor modulators have demonstrated favourable or unfavourable extra-skeletal effects that vary between compounds. Strontium ranelate has a limited number of non-skeletal effects. A reported increase in the risk of venous thromboembolism is not found in observational studies, and very rare cases of cutaneous hypersensitivity reactions have been reported. Denosumab has been introduced recently, and its extra-skeletal effects still have to be assessed. CONCLUSION: Several non-skeletal effects of bone drugs are well demonstrated and influence treatment choices

Genome-wide DNA methylation analysis of transient neonatal diabetes type 1 patients with mutations in ZFP57

BackgroundTransient neonatal diabetes mellitus 1 (TNDM1) is a rare imprinting disorder characterized by intrautering growth retardation and diabetes mellitus usually presenting within the first six weeks of life and resolves by the age of 18 months. However, patients have an increased risk of developing diabetes mellitus type 2 later in life. Transient neonatal diabetes mellitus 1 is caused by overexpression of the maternally imprinted genes PLAGL1 and HYMAI on chromosome 6q24. One of the mechanisms leading to overexpression of the locus is hypomethylation of the maternal allele of PLAGL1 and HYMAI. A subset of patients with maternal hypomethylation at PLAGL1 have hypomethylation at additional imprinted loci throughout the genome, including GRB10, ZIM2 (PEG3), MEST (PEG1), KCNQ1OT1 and NESPAS (GNAS-AS1). About half of the TNDM1 patients carry mutations in ZFP57, a transcription factor involved in establishment and maintenance of methylation of imprinted loci. Our objective was to investigate whether additional regions are aberrantly methylated in ZFP57 mutation carriers.MethodsGenome-wide DNA methylation analysis was performed on four individuals with homozygous or compound heterozygous ZFP57 mutations, three relatives with heterozygous ZFP57 mutations and five controls. Methylation status of selected regions showing aberrant methylation in the patients was verified using bisulfite-sequencing.ResultsWe found large variability among the patients concerning the number and identity of the differentially methylated regions, but more than 60 regions were aberrantly methylated in two or more patients and a novel region within PPP1R13L was found to be hypomethylated in all the patients. The hypomethylated regions in common between the patients are enriched for the ZFP57 DNA binding motif.ConclusionsWe have expanded the epimutational spectrum of TNDM1 associated with ZFP57 mutations and found one novel region within PPP1R13L which is hypomethylated in all TNDM1 patients included in this study. Functional studies of the locus might provide further insight into the etiology of the disease.<br/

Pentafluorophenyl-based single-chain polymer nanoparticles as a versatile platform towards protein mimicry

Proteins are biopolymers folded into 3D-structures and are omnipresent in biological systems, where they fulfil a wide array of complex functions. Mimicking the exceptional characteristics of proteins with synthetic analogues may likewise give unprecedented control over a nanomaterial's pharmacokinetic behaviour, enabling controlled delivery of therapeutics or imaging agents. Recent advances in polymer science have enabled the formation of bio-inspired single-chain polymer nanoparticles (SCNPs), which are formed by intramolecular collapse of individual polymer chains, and display sizes ranging from 5-20 nm. Here, we describe the preparation of SCNPs containing activated ester moieties, facilitating SCNP functionalization without altering its backbone structure. Pentafluorophenyl-functional SCNPs were prepared through intramolecular thiol-Michael addition crosslinking of thiol-functional precursor copolymers. Post-formation functionalization of the resulting SCNPs through substitution of the activated pentafluorophenyl esters with a variety of amines resulted in a series of water-soluble SCNPs with fluorescent labels, 'click' functionality, amino acids and even peptides. This synthetic strategy offers a straightforward method towards SCNP modification and SCNP-protein hybrids, giving access to easily adjustable physicochemical properties and protein mimicry