Training of support afferentation in postmenopausal women.

We have recently shown a diminishing of the Menopause Index in old-aged women who underwent special training directed at the enhancement of support afferentation by increasing the plantar forefoot sensitivity (Bazanova et al., 2015). Based on these results we hypothesized, that purposeful training of support afferentation through stimulation of plantar graviceptors by Aikido practice will decrease excessive postural and psychoemotional tension not only in rest condition, but during cognitive and manual task performance too. Fluency of cognitive and motor task performance, EEG alpha power as an index of neuronal efficiency of cognitive control, amount of alpha power suppression as a visual activation measure and EMG power of forehead muscles as a sign of psychoemotional tension were compared in three groups of post-menopausal women: i) 8years training with forefeet support afferentation with Aikido practice (A), ii) 8years fitness training (F) and iii) no dedicated fitness training for past 8years (N). Simultaneous stabilometry, EEG, and frontal EMG recording were performed in sitting and standing up position in eyes closed and eyes open condition. Recording done at rest and while performing cognitive and finger motor tasks. We compared studied parameters between groups with one- and two-way analyses of variance (ANOVAs) with Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons, followed by post hoc two-tailed unpaired t-tests. The fluency of tasks performance, EMG and alpha-EEG-activity displayed similar values in all groups in a sitting position. Center of pressure (CoP) sway length, velocity and energy demands for saving balance increased when standing up, more in group N than in groups F and A (all contrasts p values<0.002, η2>0.89). Post hoc t-tests showed increased fluency in standing in both Aikido (p<0.01) and Fitness (p<0.05) subjects in relation to untrained subjects. Increasing fluency in motor task performance was in parallel with enhancing the EEG alpha-2-power and decreasing EMG power only in A group (η2>0.77). Fluency in motor task and alpha EEG power decreased, but frontal EMG power increased in response to standing in untrained women (group N) and did not change in F group. Post hoc t-tests showed that EEG amount of alpha-2 power suppression in response to visual activation and frontal EMG power was lower in A than F and N groups (p<0.004) during motor task performance in the standing position. These results were interpreted as showing that training of forefoot plantar surface sensitivity in postmenopausal women decreases levels of psychoemotional tension and increases cognitive control caused by the psychomotor and postural challenges. Thus, Aikido training aimed at learning coordination between manual task performance and balance control by increasing the plantar support zones sensation decreases the cost of maintained vertical position and dependence of motor coordination on visual contribution.

ACPA-positive primary Sjögren's syndrome: true primary or rheumatoid arthritis-associated Sjögren's syndrome?

OBJECTIVES: Anticyclic citrullinated protein antibodies (ACPA) are highly specific of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, they have also been detected in 5-10% of primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS). We compared ACPA-positive and negative patients with pSS and assessed the risk of evolution to RA. PATIENTS AND METHODS: ACPA-positive and negative patients with pSS were included in this study. For ACPA-positive patients, clinical and radiological re-evaluation was systematically performed after at least 5 years of follow-up. Diagnosis was reassessed at the end of the follow-up to identify patients that developed RA according to the American College of Rheumatology 1987 classification criteria. RESULTS: At inclusion in the cohort 16 patients with pSS were ACPA positive and 278 were ACPA negative. ACPA-positive patients, had more frequently arthritis (43.7% vs 12.2%; p=0.003) but not arthralgias. They also had more frequent lung involvement (25% vs 8.1%; p=0.05). After median follow-up of 8 (5-10) years, 7/16 (43.8%) patients developed RA including 5 (31.25%) with typical RA erosions. Elevation of acute phase reactants at inclusion was the only parameter associated with progression to erosive RA. CONCLUSIONS: Median term follow-up of ACPA-positive patients with pSS showed that almost half of them developed RA, particularly in the presence of elevation of acute phase reactants. These results support the usefulness of a close radiological monitoring of these patients for early detection of erosive change not to delay initiation of effective treatment. Indeed, number of these patients with ACPA-positive pSS may actually have RA and associated SS.

Individual site-specific bone mineral density gain in normocalcemic primary hyperparathyroidism.

UNLABELLED: In this study, we show that successful parathyroidectomy is followed at 1 year by a significant individual bone mineral density (BMD) gain in nearly half of normocalcemic PHPT patients with reduced bone mass. Alkaline phosphatase levels above median were identified as an independent predictor of individual BMD gain in normocalcemic PHPT patients. INTRODUCTION: The aims of this study were to assess bone mineral density (BMD) gains after parathyroidectomy (PTX) in normocalcemic primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) at the individual level and to identify predictors of BMD gain after PTX in this context. METHODS: Longitudinal cohort study of 55 PHPT patients referred for low bone mass and mild abnormalities of calcium/phosphorus metabolism, and successfully treated by PTX. BMD gain at 1 year was considered significant if ≥0.030 g/cm(2) at one site or more, without any equivalent BMD loss at another site. A logistic regression analysis was performed to identify predictive factors of individual BMD gain. RESULTS: Among the 55 PHPT patients included, 29 patients with hypercalcemia, 36 patients with normocalcemic PHPT, defined by normal pre-PTX serum total (albumin-corrected) calcium (tCa), including 15 patients with normal ionized calcium (iCa), were identified. At 1 year of PTX, an individual BMD gain was observed in 73.7 % of hypercalcemic, 44.4 % of normocalcemic, and 46 % of PHPT patients with both normal tCa and iCa. Site-specific BMD gains were most important at the spine and hip in all subgroups including patients with normal iCa. Alkaline phosphatase activity above median, which reflects high bone turnover, was predictive of individual BMD gain, both in the overall cohort (OR = 4.9, 95 % CI 1.3-18.9), and in the normocalcemic group: OR = 8.4, 95 % CI 1.4-56.6. CONCLUSIONS: Successful PTX is followed at 1 year by a significant individual BMD gain in nearly half of normocalcemic PHPT patients with osteoporosis. ALP levels above median could contribute to the therapeutic decision in this context.

Ecotoxicological effects of combined UVB and organic contaminants in coastal waters: A review.

Organisms living in coastal waters are exposed to anthropogenic contaminants from terrestrial drainage, ice melting and maritime traffic and to enhanced UVB radiation (UVBR; 280-320 nm) caused by decreased concentrations of ozone in the stratosphere. This article reviews available information about the combined effects of UVBR and selected hydrosoluble contaminants potentially present in surface waters on marine species and especially on plankton community structure in high-latitude coastal zones. Effects of UVBR on three selected pesticides (Atrazine, carbaryl and Acifluorfen) and possible induction of phototoxicity are reviewed. Most toxicological studies have been conducted under laboratory conditions with questionable relevance for coastal marine ecosystems. Similarly, photoactivation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) has been closely examined and reported effects on aquatic species summarized. Experiments with field-sampled communities demonstrated the complexity and the difficulty in determining the impact of multiple stressors on an aquatic ecosystem, even for ecosystems simplified by eliminating large grazers and fish. Nutrient status, specific composition and light history have influenced the different responses of planktonic assemblages exposed to enhanced UVBR and water-soluble fraction (WSF) from crude oil or to tributyltin. Plankton assemblages subjected to changes in the ozone hole were physiologically stressed and more susceptible to WSF toxicity than communities from less enhanced UVBR-impacted sites. A close relationship between phytoplankton assemblages and bacteria was observed in all experiments in mesocosms. A contaminant-induced phytoplankton crash after a bloom event may release important carbon and nutrient sources for bacteria. The magnitude of phytoplanktonic mortality induced by a contaminant probably influenced how rapidly bacteria grew over time. The transition from a herbivorous food web to a microbial food web has significant ecological implications for carbon cycling and energy flow in pelagic systems. A high phytoplankton mortality implies a situation in which the potential for downward carbon export from surface waters is high. In contrast, high bacterial enrichment implies that the phytoplankton carbon is largely recycled in surface waters through a microbial loop and does not contribute significantly to sinking particle flux. The most ecologically relevant results were obtained with mesocosm studies using field-collected communities. The enhancement of hydrocarbon toxicity in the presence of a high level of UVBR cannot be described as being a synergistic or an additive effect, because the WSF alone is not toxic and may even be beneficial by increasing bacterial activity. This is a case in which one stressor has the ability to modify another stressor to cause it to be toxic to target organisms. These abiotically induced interactions may be important for biological communities exposed to extreme conditions when physical, chemical or photochemical reactions modify the nature of environmental stressors before they interact with biological functions. The need for models on the impacts of multiple stressors on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning is emphasized.

Genetic dissection of a modern sugarcane cultivar ( Saccharum spp.).II. Detection of QTLs for yield components.

The genetics of current sugarcane cultivars ( Saccharum spp.) is outstandingly complex, due to a high ploidy level and an interspecific origin which leads to the presence of numerous chromosomes belonging to two ancestral genomes. In order to analyse the inheritance of quantitative traits, we have undertaken an extensive Quantitative Trait Allele (QTA) mapping study based on a population of 295 progenies derived from the selfing of cultivar R570, using about 1,000 AFLP markers scattered on about half of the genome. The population was evaluated in a replicated trial for four basic yield components, plant height, stalk number, stalk diameter and brix, in two successive crop-cycles. Forty putative QTAs were found for the four traits at P = 5 x 10(-3), of which five appeared in both years. Their individual size ranged between 3 and 7% of the whole variation. The stability across years was improved when limiting threshold stringency. All these results depict the presence in the genome of numerous QTAs, with little effects, fluctuating slightly across cycles, on the verge to being perceptible given the experimental resolution. Epistatic interactions were also explored and 41 independent di-genic interactions were found at P = (5 x 10(-3))(2). Altogether the putative genetic factors revealed here explain from 30 to 55% of the total phenotypic variance depending on the trait. The tentative assignment of some QTAs to the ancestral genomes showed a small majority of contributions as expected from the ancestral phenotypes. This is the first extensive QTL mapping study performed in cultivated sugarcane.

[Biological approach to adolescent suicide]. / Approches biologiques du suicide chez l'adolescent.

The high rating of suicide attempts and suicide in the general population and among adolescents justifies a lot of research studies, aiming to better define the genetic and biologic factors. The most relevant model and the most admitted is the role of serotonin which at low concentration in the brain causes more violent suicides or suicidal behaviors, as well as more aggressiveness and impulsiveness. It is not excluded that variations linked to the age could determine, among other factors, specific suicidal behaviors related to the adolescence.