Progress in Atomic Fountains at LNE-SYRTE

We give an overview of the work done with the Laboratoire National de M\'etrologie et d'Essais-Syst\`emes de R\'ef\'erence Temps-Espace (LNE-SYRTE) fountain ensemble during the last five years. After a description of the clock ensemble, comprising three fountains, FO1, FO2, and FOM, and the newest developments, we review recent studies of several systematic frequency shifts. This includes the distributed cavity phase shift, which we evaluate for the FO1 and FOM fountains, applying the techniques of our recent work on FO2. We also report calculations of the microwave lensing frequency shift for the three fountains, review the status of the blackbody radiation shift, and summarize recent experimental work to control microwave leakage and spurious phase perturbations. We give current accuracy budgets. We also describe several applications in time and frequency metrology: fountain comparisons, calibrations of the international atomic time, secondary representation of the SI second based on the 87Rb hyperfine frequency, absolute measurements of optical frequencies, tests of the T2L2 satellite laser link, and review fundamental physics applications of the LNE-SYRTE fountain ensemble. Finally, we give a summary of the tests of the PHARAO cold atom space clock performed using the FOM transportable fountain.Comment: 19 pages, 12 figures, 5 tables, 126 reference

Video-assisted thyroidectomy performed in a one-day surgery setting

AbstractBackground and aimEvidence base data have demonstrated that video-assisted thyroidectomy (VAT) has good results regarding safety, morbidity, patient cure rate, pain and cosmesis. Aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of VAT in an ambulatory setting (i.e. one-day surgery, <24-h stay).Materials and methodsBetween September 2007 and July 2008, 43 patients underwent VAT in a one-day surgery division. Patient selection criteria for VAT were: thyroid nodules <30mm, gland volume <20ml, no history of thyroiditis or neck surgery or irradiation, “low risk” papillary carcinoma and absence of enlarged lymph nodes. One-day surgery patient selection criteria were medical and social logistic (Materazzi G, et al. Eur Surg Res 2007;39:182–8). Intraoperative neuromonitoring (IONM) was used for RLN identification. Intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH) levels were determined early postoperatively at +6-h. Postoperative complications, conversion rate were analyzed.ResultsNo cases required conversion to open surgery or ordinary recovery (i.e. >24h). Incidence of temporary hypoparathyroidism was 11.6% (5/43) with no case of symptomatic hypocalcemia. Incidence of temporary RLN injury was 2.3% (1 patient) with no case of permanent or bilateral RLN injury. All patients were satisfied with the type of recovery.ConclusionsThis preliminary report is an example of the safe incorporation between new technologies (IONM, early iPTH measurement) with improvement of the quality and safety of VAT performed in a one-day surgery setting

Lpa1-5525 : a new lpa1 mutant isolated in a mutagenized population by a novel non-disrupting screening method

Phytic acid, or myo-inositol 1,2,3,4,5,6-hexakisphosphate, is the main storage form of phosphorus in plants. It is localized in seeds, deposited as mixed salts of mineral cations in protein storage vacuoles; during germination, it is hydrolyzed by phytases to make available P together with all the other cations needed for seed germination. When seeds are used as food or feed, phytic acid and the bound cations are poorly bioavailable for human and monogastric livestock due to their lack of phytase activity. Therefore, reducing the amount of phytic acid is one strategy in breeding programs aimed to improve the nutritional properties of major crops. In this work, we present data on the isolation of a new maize (Zea mays L.) low phytic acid 1 (lpa1) mutant allele obtained by transposon tagging mutagenesis with the Ac element. We describe the generation of the mutagenized population and the screening to isolate new lpa1 mutants. In particular, we developed a fast, cheap and non-disrupting screening method based on the different density of lpa1 seed compared to the wild type. This assay allowed the isolation of the lpa1-5525 mutant characterized by a new mutation in the lpa1 locus associated with a lower amount of phytic phosphorus in the seeds in comparison with the wild type

Decontamination using a desiccant with air powder abrasion followed by biphasic calcium sulfate grafting: a new treatment for peri-implantitis.

Peri-implantitis is characterized by inflammation and crestal bone loss in the tissues surrounding implants. Contamination by deleterious bacteria in the peri-implant microenvironment is believed to be a major factor in the etiology of peri-implantitis. Prior to any therapeutic regenerative treatment, adequate decontamination of the peri-implant microenvironment must occur. Herein we present a novel approach to the treatment of peri-implantitis that incorporates the use of a topical desiccant (HYBENX), along with air powder abrasives as a means of decontamination, followed by the application of biphasic calcium sulfate combined with inorganic bovine bone material to augment the intrabony defect. We highlight the case of a 62-year-old man presenting peri-implantitis at two neighboring implants in positions 12 and 13, who underwent access flap surgery, followed by our procedure. After an uneventful 2-year healing period, both implants showed an absence of bleeding on probing, near complete regeneration of the missing bone, probing pocket depth reduction, and clinical attachment gain. While we observed a slight mucosal recession, there was no reduction in keratinized tissue. Based on the results described within, we conclude that the use of HYBENX and air powder abrasives, followed by bone defect grafting, represents a viable option in the treatment of peri-implantitis

Postoperative laryngoscopy in thyroid surgery: proper timing to detect recurrent laryngeal nerve injury

BACKGROUND: There is currently a lack of consensus to support the proper timing for postoperative laryngoscopy that is reliable to diagnose recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy (RLNP) after thyroid surgery. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of different time intervals of fiber-optic nasolaryngoscopy (FNL) on the diagnosis of RLNP. METHOD: FNL was performed postoperatively at day 0 (T1), at second day post-op (T2), and +2 weeks (T3). For patients with RLNP, repeated examinations were performed at +2 (T4), +6 (T5), and +12 months (T6). RESULTS: Four hundred thirty-four patients appear for postoperative FNL, providing 825 nerves at risk. Permanent RLNP occurred in 0.7%, temporary RLNP in 6.7%. RLNP rate was 6.4% at T1, 6.7% at T2, 4.8% at T3, 2.5% at T4, 0.8% at T5, and 0.7% at T6. Full recovery of vocal cord function was confirmed after rehabilitation in 87.5% of cases at T5 and 89% in T6. T2 was significantly superior to T3 in terms of diagnosis of RLNP (P < 0.05). Of patients at T2, 10.7% did not see any reason to FNL because of their normal voice register. CONCLUSION: FNL is essential for the detection of vocal cord paralysis after thyroidectomy. We report different time evaluation criteria of vocal cord motility with great and significant variability of results. Second day post-op inspection of the larynx (T2) is suggested. Symptomatic voice assessment is insufficient

Neuroendocrine carcinomas of the breast

INTRODUCTION: Neuroendocrine (NE) breast cancers encompass a heterogeneous group of tumours showing morphological features similar to those of NE neoplasms of the gut and lung and expressing one or more neuroendocrine markers (neuron specific enolase, chromogranins synaptophysin) in at least 50% of tumour cells. They are rare lesions representing about 2-3% of all breast cancers and affecting more frequently elderly patients. AIM: Prospective observational study is to analyse the clinico-pathological aspects of NE carcinomas of the breast undergone surgical resection compared to breast carcinomas with a minor neuroendocrine component and to conventional invasive ductal or lobular cancers. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Thirty-five consecutive breast carcinomas showing morphological features suggestive of an endocrine differentiation were selected among breast cancers undergone surgical treatment during the period of January 1979-December 2004. RESULTS: The 35 patients were divided into two categories: 13 neuroendocrine carcinomas (NECs) and 22 ductal carcinomas with a minor neuroendocrine component (DC-NE). The average follow-up was 60 months. The patients with CNE developed breast cancer in an advanced age compared to the patients with infiltrating ductal carcinoma NAS or infiltrating lobular carcinoma. We did not find recurrent disease in the NEC group, while it was observed in 2 patients (9%) with DC-NE, in 6 cases (17%) with infiltrating ductal carcinoma NAS and in 7 cases (20%) with infiltrating lobular carcinoma. DISCUSSION: The CNE compared with the infiltrating ductal and lobular carcinoma are statistically different in relation to the expression of the receptor of c-erb-B2, p53, progesterone, for the lymph node state at diagnosis and the risk of reappearance of breast tumour. Our study confirms the choice to consider the neuroendocrine carcinoma of the breast as a separate histological group and seems to suggest a less aggressiveness of this type of tumou