Biomarkers of Osteoarthritis:Opportunities and Challenges for Clinicians, Basic Scientists and the Pharmaceutical Industry.

in SciTopics (2010)

Biomarkers of oxidative stress in critically ill patients: what should be measured, when and how?

in Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition & Metabolic Care (2006), 9(6), 704-710

Purpose of review This review is dedicated to updating the knowledge on oxidative stress in critically ill patients with an intense inflammatory reaction, and to link it with recent findings supporting ... [more ▼]

Purpose of review This review is dedicated to updating the knowledge on oxidative stress in critically ill patients with an intense inflammatory reaction, and to link it with recent findings supporting the possible involvement of oxidative injuries in systems and organs that frequently fail in the critically ill. Recent findings Some direct or indirect biomarkers of oxidative stress have been validated in critically ill patients, and further support the major role of oxidative stress in these conditions. Summary The assessment of oxidative stress, defined as the association between an increased production of oxygen-derived species and an exhaustion of the stores of antioxidants, requires a multimodal approach. Oxidative damage itself can be much better estimated by quantifying the oxidative byproducts of the lipids and proteins associated with an evaluation of the remaining stores of the corresponding functional antioxidants, or the activity of antioxidant enzymes, than by global tests of the total oxidative damage or the total antioxidant stores. Recent clinical data confirm an important role of increased oxidative stress in the acute dysfunctions of the respiratory, renal and cerebral systems. [less ▲]

Biomarkers useful in toxicology

Conference (2003)

Biomarquers d’exposition en milieu terrestre : impact d’hydrocarbures halogénés sur l’activité de trois systèmes enzymatiques chez Drosophila pseudoobscura

in Environnement Risques & Santé (2003), 2

Biomarqueurs de toxicité et anomalies métaboliques dans les principales intoxications graves. Symptomatologie clinique et toxique. Le prélèvement conservatoire.

in Annales de Biologie Clinique (2003), 61

Biomarqueurs et bioindicateurs chez les vertébrés : importance pour l’évaluation de la santé d’un écosystème

in Annales de Médecine Vétérinaire (1997), 141

Biomass hydrolyzing enzymes identified by functional screening of a metagenomic library from algal biofilms.

Poster (2013, June)

Biomass hydrolyzing enzymes are increasingly searched for the production of biofuels and renewable chemical compounds using biomass. Microorganisms living on algaes are an interesting reservoir of biomass ... [more ▼]

Biomass hydrolyzing enzymes are increasingly searched for the production of biofuels and renewable chemical compounds using biomass. Microorganisms living on algaes are an interesting reservoir of biomass hydrolyzing enzymes, as they are in constant interaction with algal biomass. Therefore, we are interested in looking for some of those enzymes synthesized by the microflora living on the surface of the brown algae Ascophyllum nodosum. Algae samples were collected in the winter 2012 and a microbial DNA extraction method was developed. The whole extracted microbial genomes of the microorganisms living on the algae were restricted, inserted in a cloning vector and ligated products were used for transformation of cultivable Escherichia coli host cells. This metagenomic library was then screened for diverse enzymatic activities (lipolytic enzymes, cellulases, beta-glucosidases, alpha-amylases, arabinanases, xylanases and proteases) on agar plates with specific substrates. Five putative lipolytic enzymes, one cellulase and one beta-glucosidase were identified. Sequence analysis revealed low (<50%) sequence identities with known enzymes sequences, meaning new enzymes from unknown genomes have been discovered. To our knowledge this is the first functional screening that was realized with a metagenomic library from algal biofilms and this is the first cellulase identified by marine metagenomics. A second library has been constructed from algae sample from summer 2012 and is currently being screened. New enzymatic tests are being developed for the identification of enzymes degrading specific algal polysaccharides like agarases, carrageenases, alginate lyases, laminarinases,… Those very specific enzymes aren’t well known yet, and our metagenomic approach will probably help us to identify new families and structures of those algal biomass hydrolyzing enzymes. [less ▲]

Biomass production in experimental grasslands of different species richness during three years of climate warming

in Biogeosciences Discussions (2007), 4

Here we report on the single and combined impacts of climate warming and species richness on the biomass production in experimental grassland communities. Projections of a future warmer climate have ... [more ▼]

Here we report on the single and combined impacts of climate warming and species richness on the biomass production in experimental grassland communities. Projections of a future warmer climate have stimulated studies on the response of terrestrial ecosystems to this global change. Experiments have likewise addressed the importance of species numbers for ecosystem functioning. There is, however, little knowledge on the interplay between warming and species richness. During three years, we grew experimental plant communities containing one, three or nine grassland species in 12 sunlit, climate-controlled chambers in Wilrijk, Belgium. Half of these chambers were exposed to ambient air temperatures (unheated), while the other half were warmed by 3 degrees C (heated). Equal amounts of water were added to heated and unheated communities, so that warming would imply drier soils if evapotranspiration was higher. Biomass production was decreased due to warming, both aboveground (-29%) and belowground (-25%), as negative impacts of increased heat and drought stress in summer prevailed. Complementarity effects, likely mostly through both increased aboveground spatial complementarity and facilitative effects of legumes, led to higher shoot and root biomass in multi-species communities, regardless of the induced warming. Surprisingly, warming suppressed productivity the most in 9-species communities, which may be attributed to negative impacts of intense interspecific competition for resources under conditions of high abiotic stress. Our results suggest that warming and the associated soil drying could reduce primary production in many temperate grasslands, and that this will not necessarily be mitigated by efforts to maintain or increase species richness. [less ▲]

Biomass production of 17 poplar clones in a short-rotation coppice culture and its relation to soil characteristics.

in Forest Ecology & Management (2004), 187(2), 295-309

Biomaterial Surface Characteristics Modulate the Outcome of Bone Regeneration around Endosseous Oral Implants: In Silico Modeling

in Miller, Karol; Nielsen, Poul M.F. (Eds.) MICCAI 2009 Workshop Proceedings (2009)

Experimental investigations have demonstrated the importance of platelets and their activation for bone regeneration around oral implants. This study aimed to numerically demonstrate the key role of ... [more ▼]

Experimental investigations have demonstrated the importance of platelets and their activation for bone regeneration around oral implants. This study aimed to numerically demonstrate the key role of activated platelets which is controlled by implant surface characteristics. The cellular activities involved in the process of peri-implant endosseous healing can be represented by migration, proliferation, differentiation, removal, extracellular matrix synthesis and degradation, and growth factor production/release and decay. These activities are described by a system of highly coupled non-linear partial differential equations of taxis–diffusion–reaction type. Moreover, cell–biomaterial interactions were treated by including surface-specific model parameters. A well-designed in vivo model that looked at healing around oral implants with different surface properties was selected from literature to validate the results. Numerical simulations agreed well with the experimentally observed healing response and demonstrated that platelet-related model parameters, which were dependent on implant surface characteristics, modulate the pattern of healing. [less ▲]