Thyroid cancer following nuclear tests in French Polynesia

BACKGROUND: Between 1966 and 1974, France conducted 41 atmospheric nuclear tests in Polynesia, but their potential health effects have not previously been investigated. METHODS: In a case-control study, we compared the radiation exposure of almost all the French Polynesians diagnosed with differentiated thyroid carcinoma between 1981 and 2003 (n = 229) to the exposure of 373 French Polynesian control individuals without cancer from the general population. Radiation exposures were estimated using measurements after the nuclear tests, age at time of each test, residential and dietary information. RESULTS: The average thyroid dose before 15 years of age was about 1.8 mGy, and 5% of the cases and 3% of the controls received a dose above 10 mGy. Despite this low level of dose, and after adjusting for ethnic group, level of education, body surface area, family history of thyroid cancer and number of pregnancies for women, we observed an increasing risk (P = 0.04) of thyroid cancer with increasing thyroid dose received before age of 15 years, which remained after excluding non-aggressive differentiated thyroid micro-carcinomas. This increase of risk per unit of thyroid radiation dose was higher (P = 0.03) in women who later experienced four or more pregnancies than among other women. CONCLUSION: The risk estimate is low, but is based on limited exposure data. The release of information on exposure, currently classified, would greatly improve the reliability of the risk estimation. British Journal of Cancer (2010) 103, 1115-1121. doi: 10.1038/sj.bjc.6605862 www.bjcancer.com Published online 31 August 2010 (c) 2010 Cancer Research U

The Co-Existence of Rheumatoid Arthritis and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Biomarkers: Is It Rhupus?

Background: Rhupus is a rare clinical condition where rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) overlap and is characterized by the presence of erosive arthritis with symptoms and signs of SLE. This study aims to investigate the prevalence of anti-CCP antibodies in SLE patients from CHU BLIDA (Immunology unit) and its association with anti-DNA and Anti Sm, in order to make a diagnosis of rhupus among our patients. Methods: Our retrospective study included 96 patients fulfilling the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) classification criteria for lupus. anti-CCP antibodies, anti-Sm were analyzed by  ELISA, anti-DNA antibodies were determined by both IFI on Crithidia luciliae substrate and  ELISA. The FR by Laser Nephelemetry. Inclusion criteria are the presence of at least one immunological marker of LES with anti-CCP. The sex ratio F / H is equal to 13/1, where the average age is 37 years. Results: Anti-CCP was found in 14 patients  (14.6% ), 56.25% and 39.59%  had positive anti-DNA and antiSm respectively; rheumatoid factors (RF) were positive in 27.08% of cases; anti-CCP / FR combination was found in 7.3% of cases. Besides, the combination of anti-CCP and anti-DNA was found in 12.5%. These two autoantibodies were simultaneously absent in 49.92% of cases. Arthritis was found in 80 patients. Our results concerning the prevalence of immunological and clinical markers of RA such as anti-CCP, RF and arthritis in our lupus patients corroborate with those of the literature. Conclusion: Based on the presence of shared clinical features of RA and SLE along with the presence of anti-DNA and anti-CCP antibodies in our patients, our findings strongly support the contention that rhupus is a true overlap between RA and SLE. Despite being a rare entity, it is important to know the clinical and humoral elements that allow its early diagnosis, making it easier to start treatment in a timely manner and reduce its possible complications

Trans effect and inverse trans effect in MLX5 complexes (M=Mo, U; L=O, S; X=Cl, Br): A rationalization within density functional theory study

International audienc

Ocena zanieczyszczenia metalami osadów i tkanek cefala pospolitego (Mugil cephalus Linnaeus, 1758) ze wschodniego wybrzeża Algierii

The present work was designed to assess the contamination level in the coastal of Annaba, following the spectrophotometric determination of the level of some metallic elements (Fe, Cu, Pb, Zn, Ni and Cd) in the sediments along an increasing bathymetric gradient (10 m and 20 m), as well as in the biological indicator grey mullet (Mugil cephalus) muscle. During the winter period (2014), 12 surface sediment samples, and a total of 24 fish were collected. Once the samples are dried, crushed and sieved, 0.5 g dry weight of each sample was added to concentrated acids. The results showed that the levels of some metals are superior to the recommended guideline values, and consequently the sediment of this bay is contaminated by iron, lead and copper. The contamination index (CI) showed a general tendency in the concentration of the studied metals as follows: Fe > Pb > Cu > Zn > Ni > Cd, since the most studied metals occurred at higher concentration in depth (20 m). However, the average concentrations of metals in fishes were found to be as the following order: Fe > Zn > Pb > Cu > Ni > Cd. The consumption of fish from some contaminated sites can be dangerous because concentrations of lead, cadmium and zinc exceed the international standards. Moreover, the strong positive correlation observed between the metallic elements of sediments and fishes confirm that these metals resulted from the similar sources of the anthropic activities, such as domestic, port, industrial and agricultural waste discharges. This is confirmed by the determined of pollution load index (PLI) parameter. Conclusively, a regular monitoring program of heavy metal is recommended for protecting these organisms, and to reduce the environmental risks.W pracy oceniono poziom zanieczyszczenia strefy przybrzeżnej w okolicach Annaby na podstawie spektrofotometrycznych analiz metali (Fe, Cu, Pb, Zn, Ni and Cd) w osadach na różnej głębokości (10 i 20 m) i w mięśniach cefala pospolitego (Mugil cephalus) jako organizmu wskaźnikowego. W okresie zimowym (2014 r.) zebrano 12 próbek osadów powierzchniowych i łącznie 24 ryby. Po wysuszeniu, pokruszeniu i przesianiu próbek do stężonych kwasów dodano 0,5 g suchej masy każdej próbki. Wyniki dowodzą, że stężenie niektórych metali przekracza dopuszczalne normy, a osady w zatoce są zanieczyszczone żelazem, ołowiem i miedzią. Wskaźnik zanieczyszczenia (CI) kształtował się następująco: Fe > Pb > Cu > Zn > Ni > Cd, przy czym większe stężenie większości metali notowano na głębokości 20 m. Średnie stężenie metali w mięśniach ryb układało się natomiast w porządku: Fe > Zn > Pb > Cu > Ni > Cd. Konsumpcja ryb z niektórych skażonych stanowisk może być niebezpieczna, ponieważ stężenie ołowiu, kadmu i cynku przekracza międzynarodowe standardy. Ponadto, silna dodatnia korelacja między stężeniem metali w osadach i w rybach dowodzi, że metale te pochodzą z tych samych antropogenicznych źródeł takich jak zrzuty ścieków bytowych, portowych, przemysłowych i rolniczych. Potwierdza to oznaczony wskaźnik ładunku zanieczyszczeń (PLI). W podsumowaniu zaleca się wdrożenie regularnego programu monitoringu w celu ochrony organizmów wodnych i ograniczenia ryzyka środowiskowego

Kinetics and Mechanism of the Water-Gas Shift Reaction Over Platinum Supported Catalysts

INGENIERIE+KRA:OTH:YSCNon

DOCUMENTATION OF HISTORICAL BUILDING VIA VIRTUAL TOUR: THE COMPLEX BUILDING OF BATHS IN STRASBOURG

The virtual visits exist for several years and rest on open source or professional software packages allowing to realize complete animations. The historic buildings are often fragile, sometimes difficultly and only partially accessible. It is the complex case of the building of the municipal baths of Strasbourg, France, object of this study. It is thus interesting to use the technologies of the virtual visits to document a historic building. If we content ourselves only of panoramic images, the visitor cannot take completely advantage of the site, especially if he does not know it in advance. It is a question of proposing to the visitor a guided tour, constrained, allowing him to move on to all the recommended places. Then to supply him further information on the most significant parts and to propose him images of archive to make comparisons. Of course, if he wants to walk alone in and around the building, he will have the leisure of it, but at his own risk. To realize such a visit, the paper shows the various necessary stages of elaboration, in particular by beginning with the writing of a scenario of the visit. This project written in several hands allowed to combine the knowledge of diverse actors working in the field of the inventory and of the heritage valorisation

Visages du racisme contemporain. Les défis d’une approche interculturelle

Si la race n'existe pas, le racisme existe et il faut donc s'en préoccuper si on veut développer des sociétés plus interculturelles et plus inclusives. Les textes de cet ouvrage offrent divers ancrages nationaux et disciplinaires et dressent le paysage du racisme contemporain en interpellant les chercheurs et praticiens de l'interculturel. Aborder le-les racisme-s dans une perspective interculturelle comporte de nombreux défis, voire des paradoxes. La première partie de l'ouvrage s'intéresse aux dimensions épistémologiques, conceptuelles et éthiques sur ces racismes d'aujourd'hui alors que la seconde en cerne les effets psychosociaux au travers de plusieurs secteurs : la langue, l'emploi, l'éducation