Impact of phosphate factory on the biological characteristics of North Lebanon surface sediments (Levantine Basin)

11 p.This study aims to analyse the surface sediment of Batroun coastal area in North Lebanon in order to reveal the integrating impact of Selaata chemical plant on its biological properties. Sediment samples were collected with cores by diving at 12 stations in summer period between mid July and beginning of August 2003. The values of the hydobiological parameters in the first 3 cm were ranging respectively between: 4.17 to 7.9 for pH, 0 to 171 mV for Eh,, 0 to 0.94 µg.g-1 for chlorophyll a and 24 to 4166 ind.10 cm-2 for meiofauna. The results showed that there was a reverse relationship between chlorophyll a and meiofauna and that Batroun marine area could be separated in two main areas of influence The first area includes the stations located in front of the main north-western emissary and where the sediments were more acid and less oxygenated with strong odour of hydrogen sulphide accompanied with high chlorophyll a contents and low numbers of meiofauna. The second area is consisted of stations located to the south or far offshore from the plant and where the sediments are characterized by lower acidity and higher redox potential with low chlorophyll a concentrations and higher population of meifauna. Exception could be found in some stations like M8 and M 13 that presented particular cases. The impact on the biological indices was limited to plant proximity where conditions were more perturbing and the variability in the concentrations of chlorophyll a and the numbers of meiofauna were not depending on sediments compositions but on the nature and toxicity of particulate matters rejected out of plant's emissaries such as the phosphogypsum

157 Percutaneous femoral implantation of aortic valve prosthesis without surgical cutdown. A single center experience

PurposeFemoral transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is usually done by surgical cut down under general anesthesia. Complete percutaneous approach has become widely accepted in endovascular management of aortic disease, and we have decided to apply this technique for TAVI. We aimed to evaluate the impact of the sheath size on safety and efficacy of this technique.MethodThe study cohort included 64 consecutive patients who underwent femoral approach using Prostar XL device at our institution between Mar 2008 and Feb 2010. The cohort was divided into two groups: group 1, 18 or 19 Fr sheath (1 Prostar XL device) and group 2, 22 or 24Fr (2 Prostar XL). The iliac and femoral angiogram was obtained before insertion and after removal of the sheath using contralateral approach. Device success was defined as immediate hemostasis without surgery or death related to access site during hospital stay.ResultsClinical characteristics were similar in both groups (83.6±5.7 years, male gender 50% and logistic Euroscore 25.3±11.0%) besides higher rate of hypertension (81.0% vs 56.1%; p=0.03) in group 1.In group 1, Corevalve was used in 14 cases and Edwards valve in 9 cases. In group 2, 22 Fr sheath was used in 22 cases and 24Fr in 19.The angiogram showed smaller femoral artery diameter in group 1 (7.7±1.2 vs 9.0±0.9mm; p=0.001 and common iliac artery 9.4±1.4 vs 11.5±1.8mm; p=0.001), a lower calcium score (0.6±0.8 vs 1.1±0.7; p=0.034) and tortuosity score (0.6±0.7 vs 1.2±0.7; p=0.001). Device success was achieved in 100% in group 1 and 95.1% in group 2 (p=ns).The rate of iliac artery perforation or rupture was lower in group 1 (0% vs 9.8%; p=0.044). Death due to access site complication was observed only in 1 case in group 2 (p=ns).ConclusionThanks to the development of lower profile devices, percutaneous approach for femoral arterial access is emerging as a promising method for TAVI and will decrease the need for general anesthesia in this high risk patients

Toward the effective surveillance of hypospadias.

Concern about apparent increases in the prevalence of hypospadias--a congenital male reproductive-tract abnormality--in the 1960s to 1980s and the possible connection to increasing exposures to endocrine-disrupting chemicals have underlined the importance of effective surveillance of hypospadias prevalence in the population. We report here the prevalence of hypospadias from 1980 to 1999 in 20 regions of Europe with EUROCAT (European Surveillance of Congenital Anomalies) population-based congenital anomaly registers, 14 of which implemented a guideline to exclude glanular hypospadias. We also report data from the England and Wales National Congenital Anomaly System (NCAS). Our results do not suggest a continuation of rising trends of hypospadias prevalence in Europe. However, a survey of the registers and a special validation study conducted for the years 1994-1996 in nine EUROCAT registers as well as NCAS identified a clear need for a change in the guidelines for registration of hypospadias. We recommend that all hypospadias be included in surveillance, but that information from surgeons be obtained to verify location of the meatus, and whether surgery was performed, in order to interpret trends. Investing resources in repeated special surveys may be more cost-effective than continuous population surveillance. We conclude that it is doubtful whether we have had the systems in place worldwide for the effective surveillance of hypospadias in relation to exposure to potential endocrine-disrupting chemicals

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements

The SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics' resources: focus on curated databases

The SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics (www.isb-sib.ch) provides world-class bioinformatics databases, software tools, services and training to the international life science community in academia and industry. These solutions allow life scientists to turn the exponentially growing amount of data into knowledge. Here, we provide an overview of SIB's resources and competence areas, with a strong focus on curated databases and SIB's most popular and widely used resources. In particular, SIB's Bioinformatics resource portal ExPASy features over 150 resources, including UniProtKB/Swiss-Prot, ENZYME, PROSITE, neXtProt, STRING, UniCarbKB, SugarBindDB, SwissRegulon, EPD, arrayMap, Bgee, SWISS-MODEL Repository, OMA, OrthoDB and other databases, which are briefly described in this article