EXTRAITS HISTORIQUES.

Contient : Extraits du Miroir historial, de Jean de Noyal, abbé de Saint-Vincent de Laon [Molinier, Sources, n° 3101] ; « Extrait de l'histoire ms. de Gaston, comte de Foix, par Guillaume Le Seur, communiqué par M. Doihenard, qui en a l'original. » ; Pièces relatives à La Rochelle (1407-1498), extraites des registres du Trésor des chartes ; Lettre de Raimbaud, archevêque d'Arles, au pape Alexandre II, et bulle de celui-ci, concernant l'église de Barjols [Albanès, Gall. Christ. noviss., Arles, col. 173, nos 422 et 423] ; Charte de Raimond, comte de Saint-Gilles, pour l'église d'Arles. 1105 [ibid., col. 187, n° 464]

Automation in clinical bacteriology: what system to choose?

With increased activity and reduced financial and human resources, there is a need for automation in clinical bacteriology. Initial processing of clinical samples includes repetitive and fastidious steps. These tasks are suitable for automation, and several instruments are now available on the market, including the WASP (Copan), Previ-Isola (BioMerieux), Innova (Becton-Dickinson) and Inoqula (KIESTRA) systems. These new instruments allow efficient and accurate inoculation of samples, including four main steps: (i) selecting the appropriate Petri dish; (ii) inoculating the sample; (iii) spreading the inoculum on agar plates to obtain, upon incubation, well-separated bacterial colonies; and (iv) accurate labelling and sorting of each inoculated media. The challenge for clinical bacteriologists is to determine what is the ideal automated system for their own laboratory. Indeed, different solutions will be preferred, according to the number and variety of samples, and to the types of sample that will be processed with the automated system. The final choice is troublesome, because audits proposed by industrials risk being biased towards the solution proposed by their company, and because these automated systems may not be easily tested on site prior to the final decision, owing to the complexity of computer connections between the laboratory information system and the instrument. This article thus summarizes the main parameters that need to be taken into account for choosing the optimal system, and provides some clues to help clinical bacteriologists to make their choice.

Mastoparan, a novel mitogen for Swiss 3T3 cells, stimulates pertussis toxin-sensitive arachidonic acid release without inositol phosphate accumulation

Mastoparan, a basic tetradecapeptide isolated from wasp venom, is a novel mitogen for Swiss 3T3 cells. This peptide induced DNA synthesis in synergy with insulin in a concentration-dependent manner; half-maximum and maximum responses were achieved at 14 and 17 microM, respectively. Mastoparan also stimulated DNA synthesis in the presence of other growth promoting factors including bombesin, insulin-like growth factor-1, and platelet-derived growth factor. The synergistic mitogenic stimulation by mastoparan can be dissociated from activation of phospholipase C. Mastoparan did not stimulate phosphoinositide breakdown, Ca2+ mobilization or protein kinase C-mediated phosphorylation of a major cellular substrate or transmodulation of the epidermal growth factor receptor. In contrast, mastoparan stimulated arachidonic acid release, prostaglandin E2 production, and enhanced cAMP accumulation in the presence of forskolin. These responses were inhibited by prior treatment with pertussis toxin. Hence, mastoparan stimulates arachidonic acid release via a pertussis toxin-sensitive G protein in Swiss 3T3 cells. Arachidonic acid, like mastoparan, stimulated DNA synthesis in the presence of insulin. The ability of mastoparan to stimulate mitogenesis was reduced by pertussis toxin treatment. These results demonstrate, for the first time, that mastoparan stimulates reinitiation of DNA synthesis in Swiss 3T3 cells and indicate that this peptide may be a useful probe to elucidate signal transduction mechanisms in mitogenesis.

Population-based registration of phenotypic anatomic and familial data for melanoma: results from a Swiss multicentric study

CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVES: A multicentric study was set up to assess the feasibility for Swiss cancer registries of actively retrieving 3 additional variables of epidemiological and a etiological relevance for melanoma, and of potential use for the evaluation of prevention campaigns. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The skin type, family history of melanoma and precise anatomical site were retrieved for melanoma cases registered in 5 Swiss cantons (Neuchâtel, St-Gall and Appenzell, Vaud and Wallis) over 3 to 6 consecutive years (1995-2002). Data were obtained via a short questionnaire administered by the physicians - mostly dermatologists - who originally excised the lesions. As the detailed body site was routinely collected in Ticino, data from this Cancer Registry were included in the body site analysis. Relative melanoma density (RMD) was computed by the ratio of observed to expected numbers of melanomas allowing for body site surface areas, and further adjusted for site-specific melanocyte density. RESULTS: Of the 1,645 questionnaires sent, 1,420 (86.3%) were returned. The detailed cutaneous site and skin type were reliably obtained for 84.7% and 78.7% of questionnaires, and family history was known in 76% of instances. Prevalence of sun-sensitive subjects and patients with melanoma affected first-degree relatives, two target groups for early detection and surveillance campaigns were 54.1% and 3.4%, respectively. After translation into the 4th digit of the International Classification of Diseases for Oncology, the anatomical site codes from printed (original information) and pictorial support (body chart from the questionnaire) concurred for 94.6% of lesions. Discrepancies occurred mostly for lesions on the upper, outer part of the shoulder for which the clinician's textual description was "shoulder blade". This differential misclassification suggests under-estimation by about 10% of melanomas of the upper limbs and an over-estimation of 5% for truncal melanomas. Sites of highest melanoma risk were the face, the shoulder and the upper arm for sexes, the back for men and the leg for women. Three major features of this series were: (1) an unexpectedly high RMD for the face in women (6.2 vs 4.2 in men), (2) the absence of a male predominance for melanomas on the ears, and (3) for the upper limbs, a steady gradient of increasing melanoma density with increasing proximity to the trunk, regardless of sex. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: The feasibility of retrieving the skin type, the precise anatomical location and family history of melanoma in a reliable manner was demonstrated thanks to the collaboration of Swiss dermatologists. Use of a schematic body drawing improves the quality of the anatomical site data and facilitate the reporting task of doctors. Age and sex patterns of RMD paralleled general indicators of sun exposure and behaviour, except for the hand (RMD=0.2). These Swiss results support some site or sun exposure specificity in the aetiology of melanoma.

Differential effectiveness of microbially induced resistance against herbivorous insects in Arabidopsis.

Rhizobacteria-induced systemic resistance (ISR) and pathogen-induced systemic acquired resistance (SAR) have a broad, yet partly distinct, range of effectiveness against pathogenic microorganisms. Here, we investigated the effectiveness of ISR and SAR in Arabidopsis against the tissue-chewing insects Pieris rapae and Spodoptera exigua. Resistance against insects consists of direct defense, such as the production of toxins and feeding deterrents and indirect defense such as the production of plant volatiles that attract carnivorous enemies of the herbivores. Wind-tunnel experiments revealed that ISR and SAR did not affect herbivore-induced attraction of the parasitic wasp Cotesia rubecula (indirect defense). By contrast, ISR and SAR significantly reduced growth and development of the generalist herbivore S. exigua, although not that of the specialist P. rapae. This enhanced direct defense against S. exigua was associated with potentiated expression of the defense-related genes PDF1.2 and HEL. Expression profiling using a dedicated cDNA microarray revealed four additional, differentially primed genes in microbially induced S. exigua-challenged plants, three of which encode a lipid-transfer protein. Together, these results indicate that microbially induced plants are differentially primed for enhanced insect-responsive gene expression that is associated with increased direct defense against the generalist S. exigua but not against the specialist P. rapae.

Ecology and evolution of social-organization: insights from fire ants and other highly eusocial insects

Social organisms exhibit conspicuous intraspecific variation in all facets of their social organization. A prominent example of such variation in the highly eusocial Hymenoptera is differences in the number of reproductive queens per colony, Differences in queen number in ants are associated with differences in a host of reproductive and social traits, including queen phenotype and breeding strategy, mode of colony reproduction, and pattern of sex allocation. We examine the causes and consequences of changes in colony queen number and associated traits using the fire ant Solenopsis invicta as a principal model. Ecological constraints on mode of colony founding may act as important selective forces causing the evolution of queen number in this and many other ants, with social organization generally perpetuated across generations by means of the social environment molding appropriate queen phenotypes and reproductive strategies. Shifts in colony queen number have profound effects on genetic structure within nests and may also influence genetic structure at higher levels (aggregations of nests or local demes) because of the association of queen number with particular mating and dispersal habits. Divergence of breeding habits between populations with different social organizations has the potential to promote genetic differentiation between these social variants. Thus, evolution of social organization can be important in generating intrinsic selective regimes that channel subsequent social evolution and in initiating the development of significant population genetic structure, including barriers to gene flow important in cladogenesis.

Unusual concentration of Early Albian arthropod-bearing amber in the Basque-Cantabrian Basin (El Soplao, Cantabria, Spain): Palaeoenvironmental and paleobiological implications.

The El Soplao site is a recently-discovered Early Albian locality of the Basque-Cantabrian Basin (northern Spain) that has yielded a number of amber pieces with abundant bioinclusions. The amber-bearing deposit occurs in a non-marine to transitional marine siliciclastic unit (Las Peñosas Formation) that is interleaved within a regressive-transgressive, carbonate-dominated Lower Aptian-Upper Albian marine sequence. The Las Peñosas Formation corresponds to the regressive stage of this sequence and in its turn it splits into two smaller regressive-transgressive cycles. The coal and amber-bearing deposits occur in deltaic-estuarine environments developed during the maximum regressive episodes of these smaller regressive-transgressive cycles. The El Soplao amber shows Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy spectra similar to other Spanish Cretaceous ambers and it is characterized by the profusion of sub-aerial, stalactite-like flows. Well-preserved plant cuticles assigned to the conifer genera Frenelopsis and Mirovia are abundant in the beds associated with amber. Leaves of the ginkgoalean genera Nehvizdya and Pseudotorellia also occur occasionally. Bioinclusions mainly consist of fossil insects of the orders Blattaria, Hemiptera, Thysanoptera, Raphidioptera, Neuroptera, Coleoptera, Hymenoptera and Diptera, although some spiders and spider webs have been observed as well. Some insects belong to groups scarce in the fossil record, such as a new morphotype of the wasp Archaeromma (of the family Mymarommatidae) and the biting midge Lebanoculicoides (of the monogeneric subfamily Lebanoculicoidinae). This new amber locality constitutes a very significant finding that will contribute to improving the knowledge and comprehension of the Albian non-marine paleoarthropod fauna.

Etude épidémiologique inter-régionale suisse du risque de tumeur controlatérale du sein [Swiss interregional epidemiologic study of the risk of cancer in the contralateral breast].

This epidemiologic investigation in three Swiss regions (Geneva, St. Gall-Appenzell, Vaud) included 5,193 women diagnosed as having a first primary breast cancer. The patients were followed up for ten years (the observation totalled 24,994 women-years). Overall, these results confirmed that the relative risk of a second breast cancer was greatly increased during the first year following the primary diagnosis, but this was largely due to simultaneously discovered contralateral tumours. Beyond the first year of follow-up, the relative risk of a second tumour was lower but still significantly greater than unity. No significant diminution of the excess risk was observed in the first 10 years of follow-up. Relative risk of a second breast cancer was generally higher before age 50, independently of the latency. The relative risk of a second breast cancer differed significantly from one region to another, possibly due to specific techniques of registration.

Pièces relatives à l'histoire de la ville de TULLE. I

Contient : Copies de bulles, lettres royaux, etc., concernant l'histoire de la ville de Tulle (1372-1547), extraites des archives et de la Bibliothèque du Roi, des archives de l'église de Tulle et d'originaux en la possession de Baluze ; Accord entre l'évêque et le chapitre de Tulle (1429), extrait du « Codex magnorum statutorum » ; Accords entre Louis d'Aubusson, évêque de Tulle, et Guichard de Comborn, abbé d'Uzerche (1456-1465) ; Hommage fait par Charles de Malemont à Clément de Brillac, évêque de Tulle (18 avril 1503) ; « Acta primi ingressus Hugonis de Albuconia, episcopi Tutellensis » (1451) ; « Acta primi ingressus Dionysii de Barro, episcopi Tutelensis » (1472) ; Serments prêtés par les évêques de Tulle de respecter les libertés de la ville (1495-1561) ; Description de l'église cathédrale de Tulle ; Copie figurée d'une inscription de l'église de Moissac, relative à la dédicace de cette église en 1063 (Cf. Gall. christ., t. I, col. 158) ; Pièces relatives à l'envoi du comte de Ventadour comme gouverneur du Limousin (1634) ; originaux ; Catalogus abbatum et episcoporum Tullensium, par Et. Baluze (placard imprimé ; Tulle, 1669) ; Procès-verbaux « touchant l'argent que la ville a prins des coffres du Roi » (31 octobre 1685) ; copies contemporaines ; Lettres royaux portant convocation de l'assemblée des trois ordres à Tulle pour l'envoi de députés aux Etats généraux (août 1614) ; placard imprimé ; Confirmation par Louis XIII du droit, pour les habitants de Tulle, de percevoir un octroi aux portes de la ville (16 mars 1611-22 novembre 1612) ; Défense faite aux curés de Saint-Pierre et de Saint-Jacques de Tulle de marier des étrangers sans autorisation du maire et des consuls (10 mars 1586) ; Extrait des registres de la Maison de ville de Tulle (1587-1588) ; « Estat de la recette que j'ay fait durant mon quartier, qui a commencé le 1er de septembre 1599 et finy le dernier de novembre audit an ; » original, sans indication de provenance ; Etat de sommes à percevoir dans les diverses parroisses de l'évêché de Tulle (1589) ; original ; Inventaire de titres concernant les vicomtes de Comborn (1441-1489) ; Accensement des revenus de la prévôté de Clergoux (21 janvier 1531-1532 n. st.) ; copie contemporaine ; Pièces relatives au différend entre le vicaire général et le chapitre de Tulle au sujet de l'ouverture du jubilé (avril 1656) ; Lettre du vicaire général, Guillaume Dumas, à M. Javel, sénéchal de Turenne (21 juillet 1655) ; Bulletins de service pour la garde des portes de la ville de Tulle (1586) ; originaux ; Lettre écrite de Tulle [à Baluze ?] par M. Collier (13 mars 1679) ; Mémoires sur la ville de Tulle, par M. Brivazat, vissenéchal de Tulle ; Procès-verbal d'une assemblée de conseillers de ladite ville (20 mars 1586) ; Lettre de G. de Juré aux consuls de la ville de Tulle (s. d.) ; original ; Requête présentée à « nossieurs des Comptes » par Bertrand Fagerdie (s. d.) ; original ; Mémoire sur la gestion du même au siège royal de Tulle (1551) ; Accord entre les habitants de Tulle et ceux de Brive pour le rétablissement du siège royal (1553) ; copie contemporaine ; Lettre d'Etienne de l'Estang à [Antoine] de Noailles, lieutenant du roi en Guyenne, relative à la même affaire (1551) ; copie donnée à Baluze par vyon d'Herouval en 1684 ; Accord entre B. Fagerdie et Antoine de La Tour, chanoine de Tulle (1561) ; original ; Enquête faite au sujet de l'anoblissement de Guillaume de Marne, lieutenant-général au siège de Tulle (1597) ; original ; Anoblissement de Pierre Geneste et de divers autres jurats de la ville de Bordeaux (juin 1589) ; Rôle de taille et taillon de la ville de Tulle (février 1595) ; original ; Factum pour le syndic du clergé du diocèse de Tulle contre les prétendus reformez d'Argentat ; imprimé de 4 p. in-4°, s. d., avec une note relative à la destruction du temple d'Argentat en 1682 ; Mandements et ordonnances des évêques et des vicaires généraux de Tulle (1668-1696) ; placards imprimés

The number of Toll-like receptor 9-agonist motifs in the adenovirus genome correlates with induction of dendritic cell maturation by adenovirus immune complexes.

Adenovirus serotype 5 (Ad5) vectors and specific neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) generate immune complexes (ICs) which are potent inducers of dendritic cell (DC) maturation. Here we show that ICs generated with rare Ad vector serotypes, such as Ad26 and Ad35, which are lead candidates in HIV vaccine development, are poor inducers of DC maturation and that their potency in inducing DC maturation strongly correlated with the number of Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9)-agonist motifs present in the Ad vector's genome. In addition, we showed that antihexon but not antifiber antibodies are responsible for the induction of Ad IC-mediated DC maturation.

Analyse des résultats du dépistage systématique de la syphilis effectué dans le cadre de l'Etude Suisse de Cohorte VIH

L'Etude Suisse de Cohorte VIH a été mise en place en 1988. Plusieurs centres participent à cette étude : les hôpitaux universitaires de Zurich, Berne, Bâle, Genève et Lausanne, les hôpitaux cantonaux de Saint-Gall et du Tessin, 14 hôpitaux régionaux, ainsi que 35 praticiens privés. Cette étude a collecté des données de plus de 16500 personnes infectées par le VIH, de 1981 jusqu'aujourd'hui.¦Actuellement, plus de 7000 patients sont suivis tous les 6 mois. Parmi les analyses demandées au cours de ce suivi figure un test annuel de dépistage de la syphilis. Ce dépistage consiste en un test TPHA (Treponema Pallidum Haemagglutination Assay) où l'on observe l'hémagglutination de globules rouges qui ont absorbé des antigènes du tréponème, ou ses équivalents LIAISON et ARCHITECT.¦Si ce test TPHA est positif, un test VDRL, qui détecte des anticorps dirigés contre la cardiolipine, est effectué.¦Pour des raisons économiques, ce dépistage annuel systématique de la syphilis est remis en question par l'un des médecins praticiens participant à l'Etude Suisse de Cohorte VIH, estimant que ce dépistage ne devrait être demandé chaque année que chez les personnes étant identifiées comme à risque.¦Notre objectif est d'évaluer la nécessité de faire un dépistage de la syphilis annuel chez tous les patients de la Cohorte en comparaison à un dépistage annuel seulement chez le groupe jugé à risque.¦Pour pouvoir répondre à cette question, nous allons dans un premier temps faire une analyse descriptive : nous allons analyser quels patients ont développé une séroconversion en fonction de l'âge, du sexe et de la voie d'infection du VIH la plus probable (voie homosexuelle, hétérosexuelle ou consommation de drogues).¦Une conversion du test TPHA de négatif à positif n'est pas toujours synonyme d'infection à treponema pallidum. Une infection diagnostiquée au stade primaire et traitée efficacement ne provoque pas nécessairement des anticorps. A l'inverse, le test TPHA peut être faussement positif dû à une réaction croisée (p.ex. framboesie) ou non-spécifique (maladies auto-immunes). Pour l'analyse descriptive nous devons toutefois nous limiter à la séroconversion.¦Pour pouvoir faire cette analyse nous devons extraire certaines données, et procéder à un « nettoyage » de celles-ci : en effet, nous ne pouvons garder que les données des 700 patients ayant au moins un test initial de TPHA négatif, suivi d'un test TPHA positif avec un VDRL positif.¦Puis nous allons faire une étude « cas-témoins » pour comparer l'anamnèse sexuelle des patients présentant une séroconversion avec celle des patients qui n'ont pas développé d'anticorps, afin d'évaluer si nous pouvons définir, d'après l'anamnèse sexuelle, un groupe de sujets plus à risque de développer une syphilis. Cas et témoins seront stratifiés selon l'âge, le sexe et le mode d'infection du VIH.¦Comme troisième étape nous allons définir, pour un sous-échantillon, si le résultat positif du dépistage a permis de diagnostiquer la syphilis ou si le diagnostique avait déjà été établi grâce à la présence de symptômes.¦Etant donné que ce dépistage systématique est remis en cause pour des raisons financières, nous allons finalement, au cours de cette étude, estimer le coût des différentes options.¦Notre hypothèse, tirée d'après les déclarations de cas de syphilis de l'OFSP (Office Fédéral de la Santé Publique) et l'expérience des cliniciens, est que l'on trouve en effet que les homosexuels de moins de 50 ans représentent un grand pourcentage des personnes infectées par la syphilis. Cependant, nous ne savons pas si la fréquence d'infection des autres groupes de patients est suffisamment élevée pour justifier ce dépistage systématique.

Estrutura do dossel em pastagens de capim-marandu submetidas a quatro ofertas de lâminas foliares

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a estrutura do dossel, em pastagens de Brachiaria brizantha cultivar Marandu submetidas a quatro ofertas de lâminas foliares. A espécie forrageira foi semeada em janeiro de 2001, na área experimental da Embrapa Agropecuária Oeste, Dourados, MS, e as pastagens foram submetidas às ofertas de forragem de 4, 8, 12 e 16% (quilogramas de lâminas foliares verdes por 100 kg de peso vivo por dia). O delineamento experimental foi o de blocos ao acaso, com duas repetições. As unidades experimentais foram avaliadas mensalmente, de outubro de 2002 a maio de 2003, de outubro de 2003 a junho de 2004 e de novembro de 2004 a junho de 2005. As ofertas de forragem foram mantidas sob regime de lotação contínua. A massa de lâminas foliares verdes e a altura do dossel apresentaram aumento linear com o aumento das ofertas de lâminas. As regressões oferta de lâminas foliares, taxa de acúmulo de lâminas foliares e matéria seca de raízes não foram significativas. A massa de lâminas foliares e altura do dossel aumentam com a oferta.