Influence of microgravity on spontaneous calcium activity of primary hippocampal neurons grown in microfluidic chips.

The influence of variations of gravity, either hypergravity or microgravity, on the brain of astronauts is a major concern for long journeys in space, to the Moon or to Mars, or simply long-duration missions on the ISS (International Space Station). Monitoring brain activity, before and after ISS missions already demonstrated important and long term effects on the brains of astronauts. In this study, we focus on the influence of gravity variations at the cellular level on primary hippocampal neurons. A dedicated setup has been designed and built to perform live calcium imaging during parabolic flights. During a CNES (Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales) parabolic flight campaign, we were able to observe and monitor the calcium activity of 2D networks of neurons inside microfluidic devices during gravity changes over different parabolas. Our preliminary results clearly indicate a modification of the calcium activity associated to variations of gravity.

Chemical prioritisation strategy in the European Human Biomonitoring Initiative (HBM4EU) - Development and results.

The European Human Biomonitoring Initiative (HBM4EU1) has established a European Union-wide human biomonitoring (HBM) programme to generate knowledge on human internal exposure to chemical pollutants and their potential health impacts in Europe, in order to support policy makers' efforts to ensure chemical safety and improve health in Europe. A prioritisation strategy was necessary to determine and meet the most important needs of both policy makers and risk assessors, as well as common national needs of participating countries and a broad range of stakeholders. This strategy consisted of three mains steps: 1) mapping of knowledge gaps identified by policy makers, 2) prioritisation of substances using a scoring system, and 3) generation of a list of priority substances reflective of the scoring, as well as of public policy priorities and available resources. For the first step, relevant ministries and agencies at EU and national levels, as well as members of the Stakeholder Forum each nominated up to 5 substances/substance groups of concern for policy-makers. These nominations were collated into a preliminary list of 48 substances/substance groups, which was subsequently shortened to a list of 23 after considering the total number of nominations each substance/substance group received and the nature of the nominating entities. For the second step, a panel of 11 experts in epidemiology, toxicology, exposure sciences, and occupational and environmental health scored each of the substances/substance groups using prioritisation criteria including hazardous properties, exposure characteristics, and societal concern. The scores were used to rank the 23 substances/substance groups. In addition, substances were categorised according to the level of current knowledge about their hazards, extent of human exposure (through the availability of HBM data), regulatory status and availability of analytical methods for biomarker measurement. Finally, in addition to the ranking and categorisation of the substances, the resources available for the project and the alignment with the policy priorities at European level were considered to produce a final priority list of 9 substances/substance groups for research activities and surveys within the framework of the HBM4EU project.

Late anterior traumatic subluxation of a circular in-the-bag intraocular lens associated with lack of posterior capsule opacification.

We report a case of traumatic subluxation of a circular poly(methyl methacrylate) intraocular lens (IOL) 5 years after surgery. Slitlamp examination revealed the lack of epithelial cells or fibrosis in the intact capsule bag. Trauma was minor, and no other complication was found in the eye and orbit. The subluxated IOL was easily relocated in the bag with a hook, revealing the poor capsule sealing. Among the factors ensuring the fixation of IOLs placed in the bag after continuous curvilinear capsulotomy are sealing of the anterior and posterior capsules and proliferation of epithelial cells from the equator of the bag.