Endocrine disruption in the Scheldt estuary distribution, exposure and effects (ENDIS-RISKS). Final report

ENDIS-RISKS is a multidisciplinary, research project conducted by five institutes. This project aimed to assess the distribution, exposure and effects of endocrine disruptors in the Scheldt estuary, with specific attention to invertebrates. The Scheldt estuary is known to be one of the most polluted estuaries in the world. The industrial areas of Ghent and Antwerp are to a large extent responsible for this pollution. To achieve these goals detailed knowledge of the distribution and long-term effects of these substances is needed. This information is crucial for the development of future-oriented policy measures at the national and European level. The project can be divided into four different research phases. In Phase I the occurance and distribution of endocrine disrupting substances in the Scheldt estuary was studied. Water, sediment, suspended solids and biota were sampled 3 times a year for a period of 4 years (2002-2006). In all these matrices, 7 groups of chemicals were analysed: estrogens, pesticides, phthalates, organotins, polyaromatic components (PCBs, PBDEs), polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and phenols. All the analyzed chemicals are on the OSPAR list of priority chemicals or are indicated as endocrine disruptors on this list. The different water samples were also tested using in vitro assays to assess their potential to bind to the (human) estrogen and androgen receptor. Phase II evaluated the exposure of biota occuring in the Scheldt estuary to endocrine disrupting substances. Based on the results of the chemical analysis, priority substances were selected. Phase III studied the effects of endocrine disrupting substances occurring in the Scheldt estuary on resident mysid shrimp populations (laboratory and field studies). Substances of concern were selected and tested in the laboratory to evaluate their effects on the estuarine mysid Neomysis integer. In the context of this project, three new assays using invertebrate-specific endpoints were developed to examine the effect of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) on molting, embryogenesis and vitellogenesis of N. integer. Finally, in Phase IV laboratory and field results were used to perform a preliminary environmental risk assessment of endocrine disruptors in the Scheldt estuary. Samples were collected along the salinity gradiënt of the Scheldt estuary with the RV Belgica. Water samples were taken with Teflon-coated Go-Flo bottles (10L), sediment samples with Van Veen Grab, biota with a hyperbentic sledge, and suspended particulate matter (SPM) was continuously sampled with an Alfa Laval flow-through centrifuge. For the chemical analysis, protocols were developed to analyse estrogens, organotriazine herbicides, organochlorine pesticides, phtalates, organotins, PAHs, PCBs, and PBDEs in the different matrices: i.e. water, sediment, SPM and biota.Experimental studies were performed to analyse growth, molting, embryogenesis and vitellogenesis of N. integer. These studies were needed to develop ecotoxicological assays to evaluate EDCs on these physiological processes. To study growth of N. integer, organisms were individually transferrred in exposure solutions and molts were collected to measure the growth after each molting. To study embryogenesis, embryos were taking out of the marsupium and placed in multiwell plates. Each day survival, developmental stages and hatching was analysed. To study vitellogenesis, vitellin was isolated from eggs with gelfitration and polyclonal antibodies were developed (in rabbits). With the isolated vitellin and the antibodies an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed. Vitellin was quatified in ovigerous females exposed to test compound in the laboratory and in females collected from the different sampling sites of the Scheldt estuary. In addition to vitellin levels, energy allocation and testosterone metabolism was examined in field collected mysids. Finally, results from population stu

A mutant isoform of ObgE causes cell death by interfering with cell division

\ua9 2017 Dewachter, Verstraeten, Jennes, Verbeelen, Biboy, Monteyne, P\ue9rez-Morga, Verstrepen, Vollmer, Fauvart and Michiels. Cell division is a vital part of the cell cycle that is fundamental to all life. Despite decades of intense investigation, this process is still incompletely understood. Previously, the essential GTPase ObgE, which plays a role in a myriad of basic cellular processes (such as initiation of DNA replication, chromosome segregation, and ribosome assembly), was proposed to act as a cell cycle checkpoint in Escherichia coli by licensing chromosome segregation. We here describe the effect of a mutant isoform of ObgE (ObgE*) that causes cell death by irreversible arrest of the cell cycle at the stage of cell division. Notably, chromosome segregation is allowed to proceed normally in the presence of ObgE*, after which cell division is blocked. Under conditions of rapid growth, ongoing cell cycles are completed before cell cycle arrest by ObgE* becomes effective. However, cell division defects caused by ObgE* then elicit lysis through formation of membrane blebs at aberrant division sites. Based on our results, and because ObgE was previously implicated in cell cycle regulation, we hypothesize that the mutation in ObgE* disrupts the normal role of ObgE in cell division. We discuss how ObgE* could reveal more about the intricate role of wild-type ObgE in division and cell cycle control. Moreover, since Obg is widely conserved and essential for viability, also in eukaryotes, our findings might be applicable to other organisms as well

Short-Communication: Ingestion of a Nucleotide-Rich Mixed Meal Increases Serum Uric Acid Concentrations but Does Not Affect Postprandial Blood Glucose or Serum Insulin Responses in Young Adults

Circulating uric acid concentrations have been linked to various metabolic diseases. Consumption of large boluses of nucleotides increases serum uric acid concentrations. We investigated the effect of a nucleotide-rich mixed meal on postprandial circulating uric acid, glucose, and insulin responses. Ten healthy adults participated in a randomised, controlled, double-blind, crossover trial in which they consumed a mixed-meal containing either nucleotide-depleted mycoprotein (L-NU) or high-nucleotide mycoprotein (H-NU) on two separate visits. Blood samples were collected in the postabsorptive state and throughout a 24 h postprandial period, and were used to determine circulating uric acid, glucose, and insulin concentrations. Mixed meal ingestion had divergent effects on serum uric acid concentrations across conditions (time x condition interaction; P < 0.001), with L-NU decreasing transiently (from 45 to 240 min postprandially) by ~7% (from 279 ± 16 to 257 ± 14 µmol·L -1) and H-NU resulting in a ~12% increase (from 284 ± 13 to 319 ± 12 µmol·L -1 after 210 min), remaining elevated for 12 h and returning to baseline concentrations after 24 h. There were no differences between conditions in blood glucose or serum insulin responses, nor in indices of insulin sensitivity. The ingestion of a nucleotide-rich mixed-meal increases serum uric acid concentrations for ~12 h, but does not influence postprandial blood glucose or serum insulin concentrations

2021 Update of the International Council for Standardization in Haematology Recommendations for Laboratory Measurement of Direct Oral Anticoagulants

International audienceIn 2018, the International Council for Standardization in Haematology (ICSH) published a consensus document providing guidance for laboratories on measuring direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs). Since that publication, several significant changes related to DOACs have occurred, including the approval of a new DOAC by the Food and Drug Administration, betrixaban, and a specific DOAC reversal agent intended for use when the reversal of anticoagulation with apixaban or rivaroxaban is needed due to life-threatening or uncontrolled bleeding, andexanet alfa. In addition, this ICSH Working Party recognized areas where additional information was warranted, including patient population considerations and updates in point-of-care testing. The information in this manuscript supplements our previous ICSH DOAC laboratory guidance document. The recommendations provided are based on (1) information from peer-reviewed publications about laboratory measurement of DOACs, (2) contributing author's personal experience/expert opinion and (3) good laboratory practice

Urban design for developing a sense of community in culturally-diverse neighbourhoods

A sense of community is a fundamental requirement for communities to thrive and prosper. However, in today’s multi-ethnic environments developing or maintaining a sense of community is becoming increasingly challenging especially in cities such as Calgary, Canada, which are experiencing rapid population diversification. Thus, there is a growing need for such cities to actively support their diverse populations in building a sense of community. Nearly a century of scholarship points to the link between the physical environment and social behaviour and recognizes the urban environment as a catalyst in enhancing a sense of community among citizens. However, assessments to identify how urban environments can facilitate a sense of community among diverse populations remain rare in urban planning and design. The aim of this case study was to identify how the physical environments can support building a sense of community among culturally-diverse populations, and thus identify strategies for making cities more resilient and sustainable in the face of rapid demographic changes. For this research, the Family Housing Complex at the University of Calgary was selected as a case study due to being a widely-diverse population living in a single neighbourhood. Using a number of observation techniques and interviews, the study focused on the diverse day-to-day encounters among residents to identify opportunities for developing a sense of community among them

Notice explicative de la carte de Tintigny-Etalle

La feuille de Tintigny-Etalle couvre 160 km2 d'une région située en Belgique aux confins sud de la province de Luxembourg. Située à cheval sur l'Ardenne et la Gaume, elle exprime un relief assez contrasté trahissant les grandes structures géologiques de son sous-sol. Le socle paléozoïque est représenté, sur une portion restreinte au nord de la feuille, par des terrains datés du Praguien (Dévonien inférieur), principalement des massifs schisteux à barres quartzitiques, et plissés au cours de l'orogenèse varisque. La partie sud, pour l'essentiel, est couverte par des séries sédimentaires mésozoïques déposées sur un socle émergé par plusieurs transgressions marines successives sur des périodes qui s'échelonnent du Trias supérieur au Jurassique inférieur. D'allure régulière et monoclinale en pente vers le sud, elles comportent des terrains cohérents ou non très variés qui forment la marge nord-est du Bassin de Paris et reposent en discordance sur le versant sud du massif ardennais. L'ossature du relief est marquée par deux lignes parallèles de cuestas, appelées rhétienne et sinémurienne, plus ou moins bien exprimées dans le paysage et localement perturbées par le cours de la Semois et de la Rulles. Les dépôts quaternaires sont représentés par des alluvions déposées par la Semois et ses affluents dans les vallées ou abandonnées sur des terrasses. L'exploitation des sables, grès, marnes et argiles et schistes constitue un secteur important de l'économie régionale d'hier et d'aujourd'hui