A few aspects of transonychial water loss (TOWL): inter-individual, and intra-individual inter-finger, inter-hand and inter-day variabilities, and the influence of nail plate hydration, filing and varnish

The aim of the study was to measure transonychial water loss (TOWL) in order to identify the extent of inter-individual, intra-individual inter-finger, inter-hand, and inter-day variabilities, and the influence of nail wetting, filing and varnishing on TOWL, with a view to determine parameters for the measurement of TOWL and its possible applications. Fingernail and toenail TOWL was measured using the condenser-chamber AquaFlux (Biox) and a specially designed Nail Adaptor supplied by Biox. A wide range of TOWL values (28–75 g/m2 h for fingernails and 26–48 g/m2 h for toenails) were found, with significant inter-individual variability. Intra-individual variability was lower; however, in the same individual, inter-finger, inter-hand/foot and inter-day variabilities were found, as well as a strong correlation between nail plate thickness and TOWL. Wetting the nails, even briefly, resulted in a significant rise in TOWL, which subsequently took much longer to return to control values. Filing the nail plate surface with a pharmaceutical file caused large increases in TOWL, whose profile (with number of filing strokes) was fairly different among individuals. As expected, nail varnish application reduced TOWL; the different extent of TOWL reduction by different varnishes suggests a potential use of TOWL measurements for product comparisons

Aid conditionalities, international Good Manufacturing Practice standards and local production rights: a case study of local production in Nepal

© 2015 Brhlikova et al. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.This work was supported by the Economic and Social Research Council and the Department for International Development [RES-167-25-0110] through the collaborative research project Tracing Pharmaceuticals in South Asia (2006 – 2009). In addition to the authors of this paper, the project team included: Soumita Basu, Gitanjali Priti Bhatia, Erin Court, Abhijit Das, Stefan Ecks, Patricia Jeffery, Roger Jeffery, Rachel Manners, and Liz Richardson. Martin Chautari (Kathmandu) and the Centre for Health and Social Justice (New Delhi) provided resources drawn upon in writing this paper but are not responsible for the views expressed, nor are ESRC or DFID. Ethical review was provided by the School of Social and Political Science at the University of Edinburgh, and ethical approval in Nepal for the study granted by the Nepal Health Research Council (NHRC)

Performances de systèmes viticoles à faible niveau d’intrants phytopharmaceutiques dans le vignoble bordelais

Afin de répondre aux exigences de réduction de l'usage des produits phytosanitaires, ce projet vise à concevoir et à évaluer des systèmes viticoles qui en sont très économes. Ces systèmes, menés en agriculture conventionnelle ou biologique, sont basés essentiellement sur des leviers d'efficience de la lutte chimique pour la gestion des maladies et des ravageurs (règles de décision de traitement), et de substitution pour la maîtrise des adventices (travail du sol, couverts végétaux). Un autre type de système teste aussi le levier de la résistance variétale contre le mildiou et l'oïdium. Une évaluation multicritères de ces systèmes est effectuée pendant 5 ans au vignoble (réduction d’IFT, présence de résidus, maîtrise des bioagresseurs, atteinte des objectifs de rendement, coûts de production, temps de travail). Les résultats montrent que des systèmes basés essentiellement sur l'efficience permettent de réduire significativement l'IFT en maintenant des performances agronomiques et économiques satisfaisantes. Néanmoins, compte tenu d'une certaine prise de risque engendrée par ces systèmes, la diffusion des règles de décisions doit impliquer les viticulteurs. En viticulture biologique, il apparaît difficile de réduire les doses de cuivre et de soufre par rapport aux pratiques actuelles en maintenant des performances agronomiques stables. La mise en œuvre de variétés résistantes au mildiou et à l'oïdium permet de réduire l’IFT de 90 % par rapport aux références régionales

PPA2-associated sudden cardiac death: extending the clinical and allelic spectrum in 20 new families

Purpose Biallelic hypomorphic variants in PPA2, encoding the mitochondrial inorganic pyrophosphatase 2 protein, have been recently identified in individuals presenting with sudden cardiac death, occasionally triggered by alcohol intake or a viral infection. Here we report 20 new families harboring PPA2 variants. Methods Synthesis of clinical and molecular data concerning 34 individuals harboring five previously reported PPA2 variants and 12 novel variants, 11 of which were functionally characterized. Results Among the 34 individuals, only 6 remain alive. Twenty-three died before the age of 2 years while five died between 14 and 16 years. Within these 28 cases, 15 died of sudden cardiac arrest and 13 of acute heart failure. One case was diagnosed prenatally with cardiomyopathy. Four teenagers drank alcohol before sudden cardiac arrest. Progressive neurological signs were observed in 2/6 surviving individuals. For 11 variants, recombinant PPA2 enzyme activities were significantly decreased and sensitive to temperature, compared to wild-type PPA2 enzyme activity. Conclusion We expand the clinical and mutational spectrum associated with PPA2 dysfunction. Heart failure and sudden cardiac arrest occur at various ages with inter- and intrafamilial phenotypic variability, and presentation can include progressive neurological disease. Alcohol intake can trigger cardiac arrest and should be strictly avoided

Réseau Qualité Ouest. Favoriser la mise en place et le maintien d'un système de management par la qualité dans les laboratoires

International audienc

Greek contributions to tomb paintings in Etruria and Southern Italy: Colours, Painting techniques, Workshops and Iconography

This contributions is dealing with the manifold Greek influences in the paintings - specially tomb paintings - in Etruria and Southern Italy from the 6th to the 3rd cent. B.C

Biallelic alterations in PLXND1 cause common arterial trunk and other cardiac malformations in humans

This article is freely available online. Click on the 'Additional Link' above to access the full-text via the publisher's site.Published version, accepted version (12 month embargo), submitted versio