Late Miocene karst system at Sheikh Abdallah, between Bahariya and Farafra, Western Desert, Egypt : Implications for palaeoclimate and geomorphology

The extensive spelean deposits in the Western Desert of Egypt at Crystal Mountain (Gebel Bellorat) are considered to be 11-10 Ma, confirming the 'Vallesian' estimate made by Heissig (1982). Several new faunal elements have been discovered including anurans, snakes, soricids, bats, galagids, hystricids and glirids. This fauna indicates that the region was appreciably more humid 11-10 Ma than it is today, with at least 750 mm and possibly as much as 1,200 mm mean annual rainfall. The role of karst processes in the development of the oases of the Western Desert that may have been underestimated by previous researchers is emphasized

Chromosomal integration of LTR-flanked DNA in yeast expressing HIV-1 integrase: down regulation by RAD51

HIV-1 integrase (IN) is the key enzyme catalyzing the proviral DNA integration step. Although the enzyme catalyzes the integration step accurately in vitro, whether IN is sufficient for in vivo integration and how it interacts with the cellular machinery remains unclear. We set up a yeast cellular integration system where integrase was expressed as the sole HIV-1 protein and targeted the chromosomes. In this simple eukaryotic model, integrase is necessary and sufficient for the insertion of a DNA containing viral LTRs into the genome, thereby allowing the study of the isolated integration step independently of other viral mechanisms. Furthermore, the yeast system was used to identify cellular mechanisms involved in the integration step and allowed us to show the role of homologous recombination systems. We demonstrated physical interactions between HIV-1 IN and RAD51 protein and showed that HIV-1 integrase activity could be inhibited both in the cell and in vitro by RAD51 protein. Our data allowed the identification of RAD51 as a novel in vitro IN cofactor able to down regulate the activity of this retroviral enzyme, thereby acting as a potential cellular restriction factor to HIV infection

Évaluation du drainage par sonde double J après urétéroscopie pour maladie lithiasique

Objectives During ureteroscopy for urolithiasis, postoperative ureteral drainage with double J stent is frequently used. It may reduce acute postoperative pain and late ureteral stenosis. Double J stent can have negative impact on life quality. After uncomplicated intervention, double J stent is not mandatory. Objective of our study was to evaluate pain and complications after ureteroscopy with or without stent. Methods We retrospectively analyzed ureteroscopy performed between May 2014 and January 2017. Interventions were compared regarding ureteral drainage with double J stent or not. Our primary outcome was early postoperative pain evaluated with an oral pain scale form 1 to 10 on day one after intervention. Clinical characteristics, per- and postoperative data were collected. We also looked for risks factors of complications. Results Three hundred and sixty-six interventions were included, 259 (70.8%) with and 107 (29.2%) without double J stent. Stone burden was higher in stented group (18.3 vs 9.4 mm, P < 0.0001). Patients without postoperative stents had more ureteral preparation with double J stent (78.5% vs 62.5%, P = 0.0032) and had more ambulatory interventions (75.7% vs 52.5%, P < 0.0001). Postoperative pain was not different (22% vs 17.75%, P = 0.398). Complication rate was similar (29% vs 20.5%, P = 0.1181), so was rehospitalization rate (0.8% vs 0.9%, P = 1). In multivariate analysis, complications factors were unprepared ureter, experienced surgeons and access sheath. Conclusion Not stenting after ureteroscopy do not increase pain or complications. Stenting should not be used after uncomplicated interventions for centimetric stones

Agro-materials : a bibliographic review

Facing the problems of plastic recycling and fossil resources exhaustion, the use of biomass to conceive new materials appears like a reasonable solution. Two axes of research are nowadays developed : on the one hand the synthesis of biodegradable plastics, whichever the methods may be, on the other hand the utilization of raw biopolymers, which is the object of this paper. From this perspective, the “plastic” properties of natural polymers, the caracteristics of the different classes of polymers, the use of charge in vegetable matrix and the possible means of improving the durability of these agro-materials are reviewed

LGN regulates mitotic spindle orientation during epithelial morphogenesis

Disrupting LGN’s function at lateral membrane domains displaces the axis of cell division in cyst-forming MDCK cells