The relationship between the local and systemic inflammatory responses and survival in patients undergoing resection for localized renal cancer

To examine the relationship between the systemic inflammatory response (C-reactive protein, CRP), tumour interleukin-6 receptor and cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 expression, tumour T-lymphocytic (CD4+, CD8+) infiltration and cancer survival in patients undergoing resection for renal cell carcinoma (RCC), as both the local and systemic inflammatory responses appear to predict the outcome in these patients. <b>PATIENTS AND METHODS:</b> The study included 60 patients undergoing nephrectomy for localized RCC. Pre-operative circulating CRP levels were measured and tumour interleukin-6 receptor and COX-2 expression, tumour CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes were assessed using immunohistochemical analysis. <b>RESULTS:</b> The median follow-up was 78 months, with 14 patients relapsing from their disease and nine cancer-specific deaths. On univariate and multivariate survival analysis, tumour stage and grade and CRP levels were identified as significant factors associated with relapse-free and cancer-specific survival. There was a significant direct relationship between Fuhrman grade and CD4+ T-lymphocytic infiltrate (P > 0.05). An increase in tumour expression of interleukin-6 receptor was weakly associated with an increase in tumour CD8+ T-lymphocytic infiltration (P = 0.057). An increase in tumour CD4+ T-lymphocytic infiltration was associated with an increase in CD8+ T-lymphocytic infiltration (P > 0.01). <b>CONCLUSIONS:</b> The present results suggest that tumour-based factors such as interleukin-6 receptor and COX-2 expression or T-lymphocytic subset infiltration are subordinate to systemic factors such as CRP level in determining survival in patients with localized RCC

Does the French Bioethics Law create a 'moral exception' to the use of human cells for health ?:A legal and organisational issue

This article focuses on the legal and organisational regulation of human cells in the United Kingdom and France. French Bioethics Law regulates human cells for health according to European Union law where it is enforceable. But products unregulated by EU law and based on human cells are never considered as medicinal products, given the strict implementation of the principle of “nonpatrimonialité” of the human body and its elements. By comparison, in the UK such products can be qualified as medicinal products. Moreover, the setting up of the UK stem cell bank gives rise to the development of policies which expand the stem cell as a legal object. The paper discusses how these societies’ ethical and legal commitments underlie organisational practices in order to analyse the relationship between the existence (or not) of a national stem cell bank and the broader regulation of human cells.Este artículo se centra en la regulación legal y organizativa sobre células humanas en el Reino Unido y Francia. La ley de bioética francesa regula las células humanas para la salud de acuerdo con la legislación de la Unión Europea, donde ésta tiene vigencia. Sin embargo, los productos no regulados por la legislación de la UE que hacen referencia a las células humanas no son considerados como medicamentos sujetos a la estricta aplicación del principio de "no patrimonialidad" del cuerpo humano y sus elementos. En comparación, estos productos en el Reino Unido pueden ser calificados como productos medicinales. Por otra parte, la creación del banco de células madre en el Reino Unido da lugar al desarrollo de políticas de elaboración que se expande a las célulasmadre en el campo de los objetos jurídicos. Este artículo muestra cómo los compromisos éticos y legales que estas sociedades han adoptado subyacen a las prácticas organizativas de estos países. Su propósito es analizar la relación entre la existencia (o no) de un banco nacional de células madre y la regulación más amplia del uso de células humanas

Bone marrow chimeric mice reveal a dual role for CD36 in Plasmodium berghei ANKA infection

BACKGROUND: Adhesion of Plasmodium-infected red blood cells (iRBC) to different host cells, ranging from endothelial to red blood cells, is associated to malaria pathology. In vitro studies have shown the relevance of CD36 for adhesion phenotypes of Plasmodium falciparum iRBC such as sequestration, platelet mediated clumping and non-opsonic uptake of iRBC. Different adhesion phenotypes involve different host cells and are associated with different pathological outcomes of disease. Studies with different human populations with CD36 polymorphisms failed to attribute a clear role to CD36 expression in human malaria. Up to the present, no in vivo model has been available to study the relevance of different CD36 adhesion phenotypes to the pathological course of Plasmodium infection. METHODS: Using CD36-deficient mice and their control littermates, CD36 bone marrow chimeric mice, expressing CD36 exclusively in haematopoietic cells or in non-haematopoietic cells, were generated. Irradiated CD36(-/- )and wild type mice were also reconstituted with syngeneic cells to control for the effects of irradiation. The reconstituted mice were infected with Plasmodium berghei ANKA and analysed for the development of blood parasitaemia and neurological symptoms. RESULTS: All mice reconstituted with syngeneic bone marrow cells as well as chimeric mice expressing CD36 exclusively in non-haematopoietic cells died from experimental cerebral malaria between day 6 and 12 after infection. A significant proportion of chimeric mice expressing CD36 only in haematopoietic cells did not die from cerebral malaria. CONCLUSION: The analysis of bone marrow chimeric mice reveals a dual role of CD36 in P. berghei ANKA infection. Expression of CD36 in haematopoietic cells, most likely macrophages and dendritic cells, has a beneficial effect that is masked in normal mice by adverse effects of CD36 expression in non-haematopoietic cells, most likely endothelial cells

Stability of finite volume schemes for hyperbolic systems in two space dimensions

We study the stability of finite volume schemes for symmetric hyperbolic systems in two space dimensions, with the Lax-Friedrichs flux. We first show a sufficient condition for the L2-stability of the scheme on a general triangulation. Then we show that this stability condition can be improved when the triangulation is composed of equilateral triangles

How realistic are claims about the benefits of using digital technologies for GHG emissions mitigation?

International audienceWhile the direct environmental impacts of digital technologies are now well documented, it is often said that they could also help reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions significantly in many domains such as transportation, building, manufacturing, agriculture, and energy. Assessing such claims is essential to avoid delaying alternative action or research. This also applies to related claims about how much GHG emissions existing digital technologies are already avoiding. In this paper, we point out critical issues related to these topics in the state of the art. First, most papers do not provide enough details on the scenarios underlying their evaluations: which hypotheses they are based on and why, and why specific scenarios are chosen as the baseline. This is a key point because it may lead to overestimating the current or potential benefits of digital solutions. Second, results are rarely discussed in the context of global strategies for GHG emissions reduction. These leaves open how the proposed technologies would fit into a realistic plan for meeting current GHG reduction goals. To overcome the underlined limitations, we propose a set of guidelines that all studies on digital solutions for mitigating GHG emissions should satisfy, point out overlooked research directions, and provide concrete examples and initial results for the specific case of carpooling

Nutritional Assessment of Hip and Neck of Femur Fractures among Elderly Patients in Qatar

Introduction: Femoral neck fractures is one of the most common traumatic injuries in elderly and increasing continuously worldwide. The study aims to assess malnutrition among elderly admitted with hip and femur fracture in Qatar using different variables before and after surgery. Materials and methods: Cross sectional study of 93 patients (42 males, 51 females) with femur fracture (elderly over 65 years) admitted to Hamad General Hospital HGH for surgery within the study period. Malnutrition assessed using, Anthropometric measurements, Biochemical laboratory values before and after surgery. Food intake measured through tray percentage consumption of lunch tray and Geriatric Nutrition Risk Index (GNRI) calculated from variables collected. Results: Using GNRI 26.44% of patients were malnourished and increased to 46.91% after surgery. All variables decreased with age; females have higher anthropometric values than males, but significant difference only found for MUAMC (p value <0.05). Widowed females and married males have more tendency for femur fracture/malnutrition. Biochemical laboratory values decreased significantly after surgery except lymphocyte count. Laboratory values strongly correlated with each other except lymph count, negative correlation between age and anthropometric measurements positive correlation between BMI and anthropometric measurements. Conclusion: Laboratory values and food consumption were underestimated since blood transfer for some patients were not considered and those who did not eat were not included in calculation. All malnutrition assessment tools consider several variables to assess malnutrition the more variables assessed the better assessment tool. Keywords: Malnutrition, femur fracture, elderly, anthropometric measurements. DOI: 10.7176/JHMN/105-04 Publication date: January 31st 202

Does the French Bioethics Law create a 'moral exception' to the use of human cells for health ?:A legal and organisational issue

This article focuses on the legal and organisational regulation of human cells in the United Kingdom and France. French Bioethics Law regulates human cells for health according to European Union law where it is enforceable. But products unregulated by EU law and based on human cells are never considered as medicinal products, given the strict implementation of the principle of “nonpatrimonialité” of the human body and its elements. By comparison, in the UK such products can be qualified as medicinal products. Moreover, the setting up of the UK stem cell bank gives rise to the development of policies which expand the stem cell as a legal object. The paper discusses how these societies’ ethical and legal commitments underlie organisational practices in order to analyse the relationship between the existence (or not) of a national stem cell bank and the broader regulation of human cells.Este artículo se centra en la regulación legal y organizativa sobre células humanas en el Reino Unido y Francia. La ley de bioética francesa regula las células humanas para la salud de acuerdo con la legislación de la Unión Europea, donde ésta tiene vigencia. Sin embargo, los productos no regulados por la legislación de la UE que hacen referencia a las células humanas no son considerados como medicamentos sujetos a la estricta aplicación del principio de "no patrimonialidad" del cuerpo humano y sus elementos. En comparación, estos productos en el Reino Unido pueden ser calificados como productos medicinales. Por otra parte, la creación del banco de células madre en el Reino Unido da lugar al desarrollo de políticas de elaboración que se expande a las célulasmadre en el campo de los objetos jurídicos. Este artículo muestra cómo los compromisos éticos y legales que estas sociedades han adoptado subyacen a las prácticas organizativas de estos países. Su propósito es analizar la relación entre la existencia (o no) de un banco nacional de células madre y la regulación más amplia del uso de células humanas