Lombalgie chronique, COTOREP et reclassement professionnel en Moselle

Objectifs : Décrire les caractéristiques, la prise en charge, les résultats et le coût d\u27un reclassement professionnel concernant les assurés mosellans lombalgiques chroniques bénéficiant d’un accord de la Commission technique d\u27orientation et de reclassement professionnel (COTOREP). Méthodes : Etude descriptive menée entre août 2000 et mars 2001 dans le cadre d\u27un partenariat avec la COTOREP de Moselle intégrant 48 lombalgiques chroniques pour lesquels la COTOREP a donné en 1995 un accord de pré-orientation ou de reclassement professionnels. Résultats : Le lombalgique pris en charge était un homme jeune, de faible niveau scolaire et professionnel, en rupture avec le milieu du travail et souffrant d\u27une pathologie lombaire invalidante. Sur 32 formations suivies, 24 candidats ont réussi leur examen mais seuls dix diplômés ont trouvé un emploi. Huit diplômés ont trouvé un emploi conforme à la formation apprise. Le taux de reprise du travail était semblable pour les diplômés (10/24) et pour les autres lombalgiques (11/24). Le coût global pour l\u27assurance maladie variait de 25 000 en externat à 39 000 en internat. Conclusion : Devant la faible valeur ajoutée du reclassement professionnel que nous avons constatée, il paraît souhaitable de maintenir le lombalgique chronique dans son emploi en restaurant son rachis, en aménageant son poste de travail et, surtout, en gérant ses peurs et croyances liées au couple lombalgietravail

Variation in Wolbachia cidB gene, but not cidA, is associated with cytoplasmic incompatibility mod phenotype diversity in Culex pipiens

Endosymbiotic Wolbachia bacteria are, to date, considered the most widespread symbionts in arthropods and are the cornerstone of major biological control strategies. Such a high prevalence is based on the ability of Wolbachia to manipulate their hosts' reproduction. One manipulation called cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) is based on the death of the embryos generated by crosses between infected males and uninfected females or between individuals infected with incompatible Wolbachia strains. CI can be seen as a modification-rescue system (or mod-resc) in which paternal Wolbachia produce mod factors, inducing embryonic defects, unless the maternal Wolbachia produce compatible resc factors. Transgenic experiments in Drosophila melanogaster and Saccharomyces cerevisiae converged towards a model where the cidB Wolbachia gene is involved in the mod function while cidA is involved in the resc function. However, as cidA expression in Drosophila males was required to observe CI, it has been proposed that cidA could be involved in both resc and mod functions. A recent correlative study in natural Culex pipiens mosquito populations has revealed an association between specific cidA and cidB variations and changes in mod phenotype, also suggesting a role for both these genes in mod diversity. Here, by studying cidA and cidB genomic repertoires of individuals from newly sampled natural C. pipiens populations harbouring wPipIV strains from North Italy, we reinforce the link between cidB variation and mod phenotype variation fostering the involvement of cidB in the mod phenotype diversity. However, no association between any cidA variants or combination of cidA variants and mod phenotype variation was observed. Taken together our results in natural C. pipiens populations do not support the involvement of cidA in mod phenotype variation

The natural organosulfur compound dipropyltetrasulfide prevents HOCL-induced systemic sclerosis in the mouse

PublishedArticleIntroduction: The aim of this study was to test the naturally occurring organosulfur compound dipropyltetrasulfide (DPTTS) found in plants, which has antibiotic and anti-cancer properties, as a treatment of HOCl-induced systemic sclerosis in the mouse. Methods: The pro-oxidative, anti-proliferative and cytotoxic effects of DPTTS were evaluated ex vivo on fibroblasts from normal and HOCl-mice. In vivo, the anti-fibrotic and immunomodulating properties of DPTTS were evaluated in the skin and lungs of HOCl-mice. Results: H2O2 production was higher in fibroblasts derived from HOCl-mice than in normal fibroblasts (P<0.05). DPTTS did not increase H2O2 production in normal fibroblasts, but DPTTS dose-dependently increased H2O2 production in HOCl-fibroblasts (P<0.001 with 40μM DPTTS). Because H2O2 reached a lethal threshold in cells from HOCl-mice, the anti-proliferative, cytotoxic and pro-apoptotic effects of DPTTS were significantly higher in HOCl-fibroblasts than for normal fibroblasts. In vivo, DPTTS decreased dermal thickness (P<0.001), collagen content in skin (P<0.01) and lungs (P<0.05), SMA (P<0.01) and pSMAD2/3 (P<0.01) expression in skin, formation of advanced oxidation protein products and anti-DNA topoisomerase-1 antibodies in serum (P<0.05) versus untreated HOCl- mice. Moreover, in HOCl-mice, DPTTS reduced splenic B cell counts (P<0.01), the proliferative rates of B-splenocytes stimulated by lipopolysaccharide (P<0.05) and T-splenocytes stimulated by anti-CD3/CD28 mAb (P<0.001). Ex vivo, it also reduced the production of IL-4 and IL-13 by activated T cells (P<0.05 in both cases). Conclusions: The natural organosulfur compound DPTTS prevents skin and lung fibrosis in the mouse through the selective killing of diseased fibroblasts and its immunomodulating properties. DPTTS may be a potential treatment of Systemic sclerosis.This work was supported by European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement 215009 RedCat for financial support. The authors are grateful to Ms Agnes for her excellent typing of the manuscript

Trends in Insecticide Resistance in Natural Populations of Malaria Vectors in Burkina Faso, West Africa: 10 Years’ Surveys

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The worldwide change in the behavior of interest rates and prices in 1914

This paper evaluates the role of the destruction of the gold standard and the founding of the Federal Reserve, both of which occured in 1914, in contributing to observed changes in the behavior of interest rates and prices after 1914. The paper presents a model of policy coordination in which the introduction of the Fed stabilizes interest rates, even it the gold standard remains intact, and it offers empirical evidence that the dismantling of the gold standard did not play a crucial role in precipitating the changes in interest rate behavior.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/27286/1/0000305.pd

Assessing the effect of flood restoration on surface–subsurface interactions in Rohrschollen Island (Upper Rhine river – France) using integrated hydrological modeling and thermal infrared imaging

Rohrschollen Island is an artificial island of the large Upper Rhine river whose geometry and hydrological dynamics are the result of engineering works during the 19th and 20th centuries. Before its channelization, the Rhine river was characterized by an intense hydromorphological activity which maintained a high level of biodiversity along the fluvial corridor. This functionality considerably decreased during the two last centuries. In 2012, a restoration project was launched to reactivate typical alluvial processes, including bedload transport, lateral channel dynamics, and surface–subsurface water exchanges. An integrated hydrological model has been applied to the area of Rohrschollen Island to assess the efficiency of the restoration regarding surface and subsurface flows. This model is calibrated using measured piezometric heads. Simulated patterns of water exchanges between the surface and subsurface compartments of the island are checked against the information derived from thermal infrared (TIR) imaging. The simulated results are then used to better understand the evolutions of the infiltration–exfiltration zones over time and space and to determine the physical controls of surface–subsurface interactions on the hydrographic network of Rohrschollen Island. The use of integrated hydrological modeling has proven to be an efficient approach to assess the efficiency of restoration actions regarding surface and subsurface flows.</p

Heterologous reporter expression in the planarian Schmidtea mediterranea through somatic mRNA transfection

Planarians have long been studied for their regenerative abilities. Moving forward, tools for ectopic expression of non-native proteins will be of substantial value. Using a luminescent reporter to overcome the strong autofluorescence of planarian tissues, we demonstrate heterologous protein expression in planarian cells and live animals. Our approach is based on the introduction of mRNA through several nanotechnological and chemical transfection methods. We improve reporter expression by altering untranslated region (UTR) sequences and codon bias, facilitating the measurement of expression kinetics in both isolated cells and whole planarians using luminescence imaging. We also examine protein expression as a function of variations in the UTRs of delivered mRNA, demonstrating a framework to investigate gene regulation at the post-transcriptional level. Together, these advances expand the toolbox for the mechanistic analysis of planarian biology and establish a foundation for the development and expansion of transgenic techniques in this unique model system