Endosulfan effects on Rana dalmatina tadpoles: Quantitative developmental and behavioural analysis

in Archives of Environmental Contamination & Toxicology (2013), 64(2), 253-262

Endosulfan is an organochlorine pesticide that was recently labeled as a persistent organic pollutant, but it is still widely employed, particularly in developing countries. The goal of this study is to ... [more ▼]

Endosulfan is an organochlorine pesticide that was recently labeled as a persistent organic pollutant, but it is still widely employed, particularly in developing countries. The goal of this study is to evaluate the acute (LC50) and chronic effects (developmental and behavioural traits) of this insecticide on Rana dalmatina tadpoles after exposure to ecologically relevant concentrations (0.005, 0.01, and 0.05 mg/L) by applying video-tracking techniques to evaluate the quantitative effect of endosulfan on amphibian behavioural patterns. The 96 h LC50 value was 0.074 mg endosulfan/L. Tadpoles chronically exposed to 0.01 and 0.05 mg endosulfan/L underwent high mortality rate, decreased larval growth, delayed development, and increased incidence of malformations, and they did not reach metamorphosis by the end of the experiment. Moreover, tadpoles exposed to these concentrations exhibited several abnormalities in swimming patterns, such as shorter distance moved, swirling, resting, and unusual use of space. The exposure to 0.005 mg endosulfan/L did not cause any significant effects on behaviour, larval growth, or development, but we observed a significant decrease in both survival and time to metamorphosis. We showed that developmental abnormalities are dose-dependent and that the pesticide effects could differ depending on the endosulfan concentration and the species tested. We also validated the hypothesis that behavioural analysis, along with the use of new analytical methods, could be a useful tool in amphibian ecotoxicological studies. [less ▲]

La dimension "travail", un élément clé pour le maintien de nos systèmes laitiers

in Centre wallon de Recherches agronomomiques (Ed.) 18ème Carrefour des Productions Animales "Nouvelles approches pour une optimisation de nos élevages laitiers" (2013)

Les agriculteurs sont les principaux architectes du milieu rural wallon. En effet, ils assurent la gestion de près de la moitié de la superficie de la Wallonie. On observe néanmoins, depuis quelques ... [more ▼]

Les agriculteurs sont les principaux architectes du milieu rural wallon. En effet, ils assurent la gestion de près de la moitié de la superficie de la Wallonie. On observe néanmoins, depuis quelques années, une régression lente (3%/an) et constante de leur effectif. Confrontés à un contexte changeant, de plus en plus concurrentiel, les agriculteurs sont face à des choix stratégiques difficiles en vue d’optimiser l’efficience de leur exploitation. Pour y parvenir, ils doivent mener une réflexion globale de leur mode de production et intégrer tous les aspects assurant la durabilité de leur exploitation. Pour les aider dans cette démarche, une analyse de la durabilité de 90 exploitations « 100% Lait » (>95% de vaches laitières et pas de culture de rente) a été réalisée dans le cadre de DuraLait et de DuraLait Plus. Ces études sont subsidiées par la DGARNE, Direction de la Qualité. Les piliers économique et social de la durabilité ont été plus particulièrement étudiés dans ces projets. L’organisation du travail a été spécifiquement traitée car elle constitue un enjeu essentiel pour l’avenir de l’agriculture. En effet, les agriculteurs souhaitent soulager la pénibilité de leur travail. Dans un contexte économique difficile, cette dimension est essentielle pour envisager le maintien de l’agriculture dans notre région. Le présent article s’intéresse uniquement aux données relatives à l’organisation du travail. [less ▲]

Development of organic farming in Wallonia

in Bran, Florina; Ioan, Ildiko; Maruntelu, Tudor-George (Eds.) et al 5th International Conference "Ecological performance in a competitive economy", Bucharest 7-8 March 2013 : proceedings (2013)

Belgium is a highly densely populated country where agricultural methods usually consume large quantities of inputs, including pesticides and chemical fertilizers. However, organic farming is practiced ... [more ▼]

Belgium is a highly densely populated country where agricultural methods usually consume large quantities of inputs, including pesticides and chemical fertilizers. However, organic farming is practiced since many years and has registered a significant development during the last years, reaching 7% of the number of farmers in Wallonia (South of Belgium) and 7% of the Walloon agricultural area. Presently, the Walloon Minister for Agriculture strongly supports this sector and has proposed a strategic development plan of organic farming, the target being to reach 14% of the Walloon agricultural area in 2020. This paper presents and discusses the situation of organic farming in Wallonia and the main features and challenges of the new strategic development plan. [less ▲]

Infusion of CliniMACS (Myltenyi Biotec) Enriched Regulatory T Cells Delays Experimental Xenogeneic Graft-versus-Host Disease

in Belgian Journal of Hematology (2013), Abstracts book(Supplement of 28th General Meeting of the Belgian Hematological Society), 15

Dimeric bisindole alkaloids from the stem bark of Strychnos nux-vomica L.

in Phytochemistry (2013), 87

Strychnos nux-vomica L. (Loganiaceae) is famous for its monomeric alkaloid content, such as strychnine, a convulsant poison. The stem bark of the tree is traditionally used to treat intermittent fever in ... [more ▼]

Strychnos nux-vomica L. (Loganiaceae) is famous for its monomeric alkaloid content, such as strychnine, a convulsant poison. The stem bark of the tree is traditionally used to treat intermittent fever in South East Asia. In various studies, it appeared that dimeric indolo-monoterpenic alkaloids possess a promising activity on Plasmodium falciparum. Three bisindolomonoterpenic alkaloids together with strychnochrysine, previously identified in the root bark of S. nux-vomica, were isolated from the stem bark. The structures of these compounds were established using NMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. Stereochemistry of the compounds was confirmed by molecular modelling. This then allowed the structural determination of strychnoflavine, a coloured bisindole alkaloid previously isolated from the root bark of the tree. Moreover, the conformational inversion in alkaloids possessing an ether bond in the strychnane moiety could be easily predicted by specific δ 13C NMR values. These longicaudatine-type alkaloids were found to display in vitro antiplasmodial activity against a chloroquine resistant strain and a chloroquine sensitive strain. The most interesting was strychnochrysine showing an IC 50 value at around 10 μM. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. [less ▲]

Use of Raman spectrometry in the pharmaceutical field

in STP Pharma Pratiques (2013), 23(2), 97-117

This document sets out the theoretical and practical fundamentals to guide users in the imple- mentation of Raman spectroscopy in industry or the university-hospital sector. It describes the principle of ... [more ▼]

This document sets out the theoretical and practical fundamentals to guide users in the imple- mentation of Raman spectroscopy in industry or the university-hospital sector. It describes the principle of this technique and currently available instruments. Since Raman spectrometers are used in a regulated context, the methodology of instru- ment qualification is discussed. Different types of applications encountered in the pharmaceutical field are presented: process monitoring, searching for and detecting counterfeits, and identifying raw materials on receipt. [less ▲]

Oceanic forcing of Antarctic climate change: A study using a stretched-grid atmospheric general circulation model

E-print/Working paper (2013)

A variable-resolution atmospheric general circulation model is used for climate change projections over the Antarctic. The present-day simulation uses prescribed observed sea-surface conditions, while a ... [more ▼]

A variable-resolution atmospheric general circulation model is used for climate change projections over the Antarctic. The present-day simulation uses prescribed observed sea-surface conditions, while a set of five simulations for the end of the 21st century (2070-2099) under the SRES-A1B scenario uses sea-surface condition anomalies from selected CMIP3 coupled models. Analysis of the results shows that the prescribed sea- surface condition anomalies have a very strong influence on the simulated climate change on the Antarctic continent, up to twice the direct effect of the prescribed greenhouse gas concentration changes in the AGCM simulations. An analysis of circulation changes using self-organizing maps shows that the simulated climate change on regional scales is not principally caused by shifts of the frequencies of the dominant circulation patterns, except for precipitation changes in some coastal regions. We suggest that in some respects the use of bias-corrected sea-surface boundary conditions in climate projections with a variable-resolution atmospheric general circulation model has some distinct advantages over the use of limited-area atmospheric circulation models directly forced by generally biased AOGCM output. [less ▲]

Comparison of Immune Reconstitution after Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation with Flu-TBI versus TLI-ATG Conditioning

in Belgian Journal of Hematology (2013), Abstracts book(Supplement of 28th General Meeting of the Belgian Hematological Society), 38

Genetic analysis in young patients with sporadic pituitary macroadenomas:Beside AIP don't forget MEN1 genetic analysis.

in European Journal of Endocrinology (2013)

CONTEXT: germline mutations in the AIP gene have been identified in young patients (age </= 30 years old) with sporadic pituitary macroadenomas. Otherwise, there are few data concerning the prevalence of ... [more ▼]

CONTEXT: germline mutations in the AIP gene have been identified in young patients (age </= 30 years old) with sporadic pituitary macroadenomas. Otherwise, there are few data concerning the prevalence of MEN1 mutations in such population. OBJECTIVE: We assessed the prevalence of both AIP and MEN1 genetic abnormalities (mutations and large gene deletions) in young patients (age </= 30 years old) diagnosed with sporadic and isolated macroadenoma, without hypercalcemia and/or MEN1-associated lesions. DESIGN: The entire coding sequences of AIP and MEN1 were screened for mutations. In cases of negative sequencing screening, multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification was performed for the detection of large genetic deletions. PATIENTS AND SETTINGS: 174 patients from Endocrinology Departments of 15 French University Hospital Centers were eligible for this study. RESULTS: 21/174(12%) patients had AIP (n=15, 8.6%) or MEN1 (n=6, 3.4%) mutations. In pediatric patients (age </= 18 years old), AIP/MEN1 mutation frequency reached nearly 22% (n=10/46). AIPmut and MEN1mut were respectively identified in 8/79 (10.1%) and 1/79 (1.2%) somatotropinoma patients; they each accounted for 4/74 (5.4%) prolactinoma patients with mutations. Half of patients (n=3/6) with gigantism displayed mutations in AIP. Interestingly, 4/12 (33%) patients with non-secreting adenomas bore either AIP or MEN1 mutations, whereas none of the 8 corticotroph-adenomas and a single thyrotropinoma case had mutations. No large gene deletions were observed in sequencing-negative patients. CONCLUSION: mutations in MEN1 can be of significance in young patients with sporadic isolated pituitary macroadenomas, particularly prolactinomas, and together with AIP, we suggest genetic analysis of MEN1 in such population. [less ▲]

Chromatography in the detection and characterisation of illegal pharmaceutical preparations

in Journal of Chromatographic Science (2013)

Counterfeit and illegal pharmaceutical products are an increasing worldwide problem and constitute a major challenge for analytical laboratories to detect and characterize them. Spectroscopic techniques ... [more ▼]

Counterfeit and illegal pharmaceutical products are an increasing worldwide problem and constitute a major challenge for analytical laboratories to detect and characterize them. Spectroscopic techniques as infrared spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy were always the first methods of choice to detect counterfeits and illegal preparations, but due to the evolution in the products seized and the necessity of risk assessment, chromatographic methods are becoming more important in this domain. This review intends to give a general overview of the techniques described in literature to characterize counterfeit and illegal pharmaceutical preparations, focussing on the role of chromatographic techniques, with different detection tools. [less ▲]