Antifungal activity of Euphorbia species against moulds responsible of cereal ear rots.

AIMS: This work aimed to identify secondary metabolites from aerial parts of Euphorbia species functional for control of toxigenic Fusarium species responsible of cereal grain rots. METHODS AND RESULTS: Aerial parts of Euphorbia serpens, Euphorbia schickendantzii and Euphorbia collina were sequentially extracted with hexane, ethyl acetate and methanol. The extracts were tested against strains of Fusarium verticillioides and Fusarium graminearum by microdilution tests. The hexane extract of E. collina provided the lowest IC50 s on both fungal species. Further fractionation showed that cycloartenol (CA) and 24-methylenecycloartanol are associated to the moderate inhibitory effect of the hexane extract on fungal growth.Sublethal concentrations of CA and 24MCA blocked deoxynivalenol (DON) and fumonisins production.CA and 24MCA co-applied with potassium sorbate, a food preservative used for Fusarium control, synergized the growth inhibition of fungi. The mixtures reduced mycotoxins accumulation when applied at sublethal concentrations. CONCLUSIONS: CA and 24MCA inhibited both fungal growth and mycotoxins production. This fact is an advantage respect to potassium sorbate which increased the mycotoxins accumulation at sublethal concentrations. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: CA and 24MCA synergized potassium sorbate and their mixtures offer a lower mycotoxigenic risk than potassium sorbate for control of the Fusarium species.

What is driving the HIV epidemic in French Guiana?

Thirty years after the first HIV case in French Guiana, the drivers of the epidemic are not clearly known, but the epidemic is usually conceptualized as generalized. Cross-linking results from a study in the general population and a study in the HIV-infected population in Cayenne suggests that in the general population of HIV-positive men, 45% of HIV cases are attributable to having sex with someone they paid. Similarly, for HIV-positive women exchanging sex for presents or money, 10.7% of HIV cases are attributable to transactional sex. A surprising finding was that 16.8% of HIV patients had tried crack cocaine before. On the Maroni river, the female-biased sex ratio suggests the drivers in that remote area may be related to cultural polygyny. These observations have important consequences on communication and prevention strategies.

Fetal aqueductal glioneuronal hamartoma: a clinicopathological and physiopathological study of three cases.

UNLABELLED: Fetal hydrocephalus due to aqueductal stenosis is classified into two main groups: congenital (X-linked, atresia, septa and forking) and acquired (post-infectious or post-hemorrhagic, gliosis and tumors). MATERIAL AND METHODS: We report three fetal cases presenting with severe hydrocephalus, two of which being apparently sporadic, and the third possibly inherited. On macroscopic examination, no associated malformations were identified, either craniofacial dysmorphy, or visceral abnormalities. Neuropathological study revealed massive hydrocephalus caused by narrowing of the Aqueduct of Sylvius. Histological examination evidenced a nodular, well-demarcated mass producing into the aqueductal lumen, and containing numerous immature proliferating glioneuronal cells. Immunohistochemical analyses did not suggest a developmental abnormality of the subcommissural organ but rather a hamartomatous malformative process. RESULTS: Hamartoma of the posterior fossa has been rarely reported. Post-natal cases have been described in the cerebello-pontine angle or in the quadrigeminal plate, and have always been diagnosed as pilocytic or low-grade astrocytomas. In our cases, the lesions could be related to so-called pencil glioma, sometimes associated with type 1 neurofibromatosis and, to our knowledge, have never been described prior to birth. The occurrence during fetal life and the progressive maturation of the nodules are more likely in favor of a hamartomatous process. CONCLUSION: Even though they could sporadically occur, an accurate genetic counseling should be required in order to ensure that there is no familial history of Recklinghausen disease, and to provide a more precise evaluation of recurrence risk.

Mitral valve regurgitation: accurate blood flow quantification with MRI.

BACKGROUND: The quantification of transvalvular blood flow through the mitral valve (MV) and regurgitant flow in particular is difficult with echocardiography, which is the method of choice to diagnose patients selected for valve repair or replacement. With magnetic resonance imaging, information on the intraventricular blood flow can be obtained. Several scanning techniques have attempted to assess the regurgitant flow. These techniques either do not directly assess the complete flow through the MV, or they do not measure the flow at the location of the valve. AIM: To investigate the accuracy of a novel method using three-directional velocity-encoded MRI to acquire the transvalvular blood flow directly from the intraventricular blood flow field, also representing the regurgitant flow during systole. METHODS: Ten volunteers without cardiac valvular disease were recruited. The transvalvular MV flow volume was measured with three-directional velocity-encoded MRI (3-dir MV flow). RESULTS: The transvalvular flow measurements correlate very well with the flow measured in the aorta (rp=0.92, p<0.01). The small differences (mean -5±7 ml) are insignificant (p=0.06) and demonstrate the high accuracy of the new method. Intra- and inter-observer studies showed non-significant mean differences of 0.9±5.1 ml and 1.3±5.6 ml, respectively, thereby proving the high reproducibility. CONCLUSION: Three-directional velocity-encoded MRI is a patient-friendly and easy-to-use method suitable for quantifying the regurgitant MV flow in clinical practice.

[Management of meconium peritonitis: a remarkable case of idiopathic meconium peritonitis diagnosed antenatally]. / Prise en charge de la péritonite méconiale: à propos d'un cas singulier de péritonite méconiale idiopathique à révélation anténatale.

Meconium peritonitis is an inflammatory peritonitis induced by meconium extruding into the peritoneal cavity through a perforation of the fetal intestine. Antenatal diagnosis is possible. Prognosis depends on the pathology having caused perforation. This is often unknown. The objectives of this article are to analyze the contribution of antenatal investigations to estimating neonatal prognosis of meconium peritonitis, and to define optimal management. We describe a case of meconium peritonitis diagnosed in utero with particularly severe ultrasound presentation suggesting a potentially lethal course for the neonate. An eutrophic infant was delivered vaginally after preliminary aspiration of the meconium ascites. The neonate presented with a very distended abdomen and responded well to neonatal resuscitation. Laparotomy exploration confirmed the diagnosis of meconium peritonitis. No cause was identified. No obvious perforation was found. The postsurgery period was uneventful. At later follow-up the infant was doing well, free of further problems notably of any digestive disorder. Antenatal ultrasound features suggestive of severe meconium peritonitis are distended fetal bowel loops, huge cystic masses, major meconium ascites, and polyhydramnios. These neonates have a high risk of obstruction and intestinal perforation. Intestinal resection is frequently required. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation is necessary more often in these neonates with a higher risk of fatal outcome due to respiratory distress syndrome or surgery complications. Prognosis remains good after antenatal diagnosis for neonates free of cystic fibrosis, providing delivery takes place in a center with adequate technical facilities.

Dilated coronary sinus in prenatal echocardiography; identification, associations and outcome.

The dilated coronary sinus (DCS) has only recently been clearly visualised in the fetus due to progress in prenatal echography. This is a retrospective study of 22 fetuses presenting with DCS revealed by prenatal echography. We report the circumstances leading to the detection of a DCS and the neonatal outcome of these fetuses. The coronary sinus was defined as dilated depending on its visualisation in cross-section from the '4 chamber' view, as well as a pseudo inter-atrial septal defect from a more posterior view. In each case the gestational age, circumstances of detection, associated anomalies and postnatal outcome are reported. The circumstances were: evaluation of a clearly identified DCS in four cases and during detailed fetal echocardiography because of suspected congenital heart disease in 18 cases. Five cases were associated with a cardiac anomaly, three with an extracardiac anomaly, six with both cardiac and extracardiac anomaly and eight were isolated. Postnatal outcome was related to the associated anomaly. In conclusion, it is important that the echography image be correctly interpreted, as a DCS often implies possible associated defects and therefore affects prognosis. When not associated with other anomalies this condition is not considered serious.

Total synthesis of epothilone B.

[structure-see text] A convergent and stereoselective total synthesis of epothilone B (2) is described. The key steps are Normant reaction, Wadsworth-Emmons reaction of a methyl ketone 14 with the phosphonate reagent 7, diastereoselective aldol condensation of aldehyde 3 with enolate 4 to form the C6-C7 bond, and macrolactonization.

Amniotic fluid alpha-fetoprotein is not a useful biological marker of pregnancy outcome.

The aim of our study was to determine if the amniotic fluid alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) level could be a useful predictive biochemical marker of pregnancy outcome. Amniotic fluid AFP measurement was prospectively carried out over a three-year period. After excluding factors susceptible to modifying AFP measurements, 587 subjects with gestational age between 14 and 20 weeks were selected to compare the amniotic fluid AFP mean levels depending on the occurrence of an adverse outcome. No significant associations between amniotic fluid AFP level and poor pregnancy outcome, i.e. pre-eclampsia, preterm delivery, premature rupture of fetal membranes, fetal growth retardation and placental abnormalities were observed. The routine measurement of amniotic fluid alpha-fetoprotein during an amniocentesis procedure was not considered useful in predicting pregnancy complications.

[Microdeletion of 22q11 and conotruncal cardiopathies: contribution of prenatal diagnosis]. / Microdélétion 22q11 et cardiopathies conotroncales: apport du diagnostic prénatal.

OBJECTIVE: We report our experience on prenatal diagnosis of 22q11 deletion by fluorescent in situ hybridation (FISH). PATIENTS AND METHODS: From February 1997 to April 1998, prenatal diagnosis of 22q11 deletion was performed in 13 cases of congenital conotruncal heart defects. FISH was carried out using D22S75 DiGeorge's chromosome region probe. RESULTS: Microdeletions of 22q11 were detected in 4 fetuses with tetralogy of Fallot (3 cases) and pulmonary atresia with ventricular septal defect (1 case). Termination of pregnancy was performed in two cases for severe congenital heart defect. A third malformed fetus died immediately after a blood sampling procedure. The last fetus, with a tetralogy of Fallot malformation, was born and underwent corrective cardiac surgery. The dysmorphic features of this fetus was suggestive of DiGeorge's syndrome, and the development status was normal. CONCLUSION: Prenatal detection of 22q11 only played a minor role in the decision to terminate the pregnancy in our study.

Protective effect of glutathione (GSH) over glutathione monoethyl-ester (GSH-E) on cold preservation of isolated rat liver cells.

Hepatocyte suspensions provide a rapid method to determine how hypothermic storage affects liver cell metabolism and viability. We investigated whether reduced Glutathione (GSH) inclusion into a modified University of Wisconsin (UW) solution, has a protective effect over Glutathione derivatives, such as Glutathione-monoethylester (GSH-E), when suspensions of hepatocytes are cold stored for several days. Isolated rat liver cells were cold preserved 96 h in UW, UW plus 3 mM GSH and UW plus 3 mM GSH-E. During the cold storage, not significant changes in cell viability were observed, but the total Glutathione content was higher in systems with extracellular GSH over those with GSH-E or without. After cold storage, the liver cells were gently resuspended in Krebs-Henseleit-1% Albumin and used for 120 min of normothermic (37 degrees C) incubation. We evaluate the functional response of the cells measuring the exclusion of Trypan Blue (TBE). This response was clearly different in preserved cells in presence of GSH. These results indicate a protective role of extracellular Glutathione, due to an accumulation of it, rather than the derivative, for hepatic cell during the cold storage in UW solutions. And also, it is possible to extend experiments with hepatocytes from a single cell isolation over 4 or more consecutive days.

Biochemical studies on the juvenile form of ceroid-lipofuscinosis.

Accumulation of oligosaccharyl diphosphodolichols (oligo-PP-Dol) in brains of patients with various forms of ceroid-lipofuscinoses (CL) is one of the most reproducible biochemical changes known so far. The objective of this study is to understand the biochemical basis of this observation. The biosynthesis of oligo-PP-Dol was studied by the incorporation of labelled glucose from UDP [14C]glucose into oligo-PP-Dol in cultured skin fibroblasts, and showed no changes in the level of synthesis. The level of labelled glucose incorporated into glycoproteins was also unchanged, suggesting that there is no decrease in the oligosaccharide transfer to proteins in this disorder. Since the biosynthesis and utilization of oligo-PP-dol are unaffected, a defect in the catabolism may be the only possibility for the storage of this compound in CL. Since terminal mannose residues are present in the accumulating oligo-PP-Dol, mannosidase activities at pH 4.4 and 6.0 were determined in cultured skin fibroblasts. Both mannosidase activities were unchanged in skin fibroblasts of juvenile CL. Endo-beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase-1 activities were determined in cultured skin fibroblasts using dansylated Man6GlcNAcGlcNAc-Asn as substrate. In three patients, a drastic reduction in the level of the pH 4.5 enzyme was shown, while the neutral pH enzyme activity was unaffected. A deficiency of the endo-beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase-1 will not only explain the accumulation of oligo-PP-Dol but also the known storage of high-mannose glycoproteins.

Low molecular weight urinary peptides in ceroid-lipofuscinoses: potential biochemical markers for the juvenile subtype.

Urine from patients with classical and atypical forms of juvenile ceroid-lipofuscinosis (CL) was analyzed for the presence of disease-specific peptides. Two distinct peptide patterns were recognized on lithium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in classical juvenile CL patients. Pattern 1 consisted of a single, intensely staining peptide of apparent Mr 2,000, and up to 4 heterogeneous, weakly staining peptides between 2,500 and 6,300 Mr. This peptide pattern was not seen in over 30 samples from patients with other neurodegenerative disorders, nor in normal control individuals. Reduced amounts of the 2,000 Mr peptide were seen in 2 of 3 female heterozygotes whose children had the peptide pattern 1. The presence of large amounts of the 2,000 Mr peptide in urine extracts made patient identification unequivocal. Pattern 2 had 2 to 3 intensely staining peptides of 3,800, 5,000 and 7,000 Mr, a variable number of minor bands, and diffuse staining above 7,000 and below 3,800 Mr. Parents had 2 to 3 weakly staining peptides with molecular weights similar to the major bands seen in the patients. No consistent peptide pattern was seen in 8 patients with atypical CL. Late infantile CL patients had no or very small amounts of low Mr urinary peptides. The urinary components stained well with silver, poorly with Coomassie Blue, and were digested by a nuclease-free protease, as expected for protein. They were distinctly different from the peptides isolated from ovine CL tissues. Amino acid composition analysis showed a predominantly normal spectrum of amino acids.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Causes of Uruguayan migration to Argentina.

PIP: 2 main hypotheses have been suggested to explain Uruguayan migration to Argentina: 1) political emigration because of the military regime imposed in June 1973 and 2) economic emigration because of the economic improvement in destination countries and the worsening conditions at home. A further formulation of the 2nd hypothesis incorporates sociodemographic factors in its theory. This paper elaborates a theoretical framework using human capital theories to formulate a model of the effects of the economic variables of wages and unemployment, and adds political and sociological variables to the model. The authors then quantify the relative effects of the political, human capital, and informational variables. Results of multivariate analysis show that for 1966-1981, 53.1% moved for economic reasons, 25.7% moved for political reasons, and 21.2% moved for social reasons. In the long run, the most important cause of migration to Argentina is related to the relative situation of regional labor markets and people's willingness to incur the costs of migration if there is a reasonable probability of economic improvement in the other country. Only from 1973-1975 are political and institution reasons of primary importance. In 1976, sociological reasons predominated.^ieng