Over the last decade, an increasing number of studies have used lake sediment DNA to trace past landscape changes, agricultural activities or human presence. However, the processes responsible for ...lake sediment formation and sediment properties might affect DNA records via taphonomic and analytical processes. It is crucial to understand these processes to ensure reliable interpretations for "palaeo" studies. Here, we combined plant and mammal DNA metabarcoding analyses with sedimentological and geochemical analyses from three lake-catchment systems that are characterised by different erosion dynamics. The new insights derived from this approach elucidate and assess issues relating to DNA sources and transfer processes. The sources of eroded materials strongly affect the "catchment-DNA" concentration in the sediments. For instance, erosion of upper organic and organo-mineral soil horizons provides a higher amount of plant DNA in lake sediments than deep horizons, bare soils or glacial flours. Moreover, high erosion rates, along with a well-developed hydrographic network, are proposed as factors positively affecting the representation of the catchment flora. The development of open and agricultural landscapes, which favour the erosion, could thus bias the reconstructed landscape trajectory but help the record of these human activities. Regarding domestic animals, pastoral practices and animal behaviour might affect their DNA record because they control the type of source of DNA ("point" vs. "diffuse").
Purpose
To determine changes in the prevalence of zolpidem consumption since the change in the regulations of prescription. Formulations containing zolpidem were subject to the regulations of ...narcotics by the French decree of April 7, 2017.
Methods
Longitudinal cohort study using data from the representative French healthcare database. The main outcome was the prevalence of oral hypnotic drug reimbursement before and after April 2017. The secondary outcome was the change in prescription habits for zolpidem since the decree in long-term users and excessive users.
Results
A total of 81,174 individuals had at least one hypnotic drug reimbursement; among, whom 2143 had at least one reimbursement of zolpidem. Before the decree, 26% had at least one reimbursement of zolpidem, whereas it dropped to 18.4% after the decree. Among the 545 long-term users, the reimbursement of zolpidem was discontinued after the decree for 60.4% and 24.2% retained zolpidem as a treatment. The main replacement drug was zopiclone for 6.4% of them. Among the 1598 excessive users, the reimbursement of zolpidem was stopped after the decree for 16.5% and 56.3% retained zolpidem as a treatment. The main replacement drug was zopiclone for 12.1% of them.
Conclusions
The French decree had a major impact on the reimbursement of oral zolpidem. Indeed, prescription of the hypnotic was discontinued for half of the long-term users of zolpidem, and just over one-sixth of the excessive users discontinued the prescription of zolpidem after the decree.
Appropriate prescribing of anti-infectives is a public health challenge. In our hospital, clinical microbiologists (clinical microbiology mobile unit, UMMc) and clinical pharmacists (clinical ...pharmacy, PHAc) carry out interventions on anti-infective prescriptions to improve practices. Our main objective was to evaluate the acceptance of UMMc and PHAc interventions on anti-infective prescriptions by quantifying the rate of prescription change 24 h after intervention. The secondary objective was to characterize the type of intervention and associate the rate of change for each. All prescriptions are computerized, and interventions traced via DxCare® software, which feeds a local data warehouse (HEGP-CDW). This descriptive, retrospective, single-center, uncontrolled study was conducted from January 2015 to December 2018. The data were extracted over this period from the data warehouse and analyzed using R software. UMMc interventions were accepted 72.2% of the time and PHA interventions 87.3%. The types of interventions found were mostly dose adjustments (61.1% for the UMMc and 54.2% for the PHAc) and proposals to change or stop a drug. Interventions have an impact on anti-infective prescriptions and are generally followed by clinicians. For the category “discontinuation of a molecule”, almost half of the advice from the UMMc was refused. The collaboration between the UMMc and PHAc should be reinforced to improve acceptance.
Real-life data consist of exhaustive data which are not subject to selection bias. These data enable to study drug-safety profiles but are underused because of their temporality, necessitating ...complex models (i.e., safety depends on the dose, timing, and duration of treatment). We aimed to create a data-driven pipeline strategy that manages the complex temporality of real-life data to highlight the safety profile of a given drug.
We proposed to apply the weighted cumulative exposure (WCE) statistical model to all health events occurring after a drug introduction (in this paper HCQ) and performed bootstrap to select relevant diagnoses, drugs and interventions which could reflect an adverse drug reactions (ADRs). We applied this data-driven pipeline on a French national medico-administrative database to extract the safety profile of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) from a cohort of 2,010 patients.
The proposed method selected eight drugs (metopimazine, anethole trithione, tropicamide, alendronic acid & colecalciferol, hydrocortisone, chlormadinone, valsartan and tixocortol), twelve procedures (six ophthalmic procedures, two dental procedures, two skin lesions procedures and osteodensitometry procedure) and two medical diagnoses (systemic lupus erythematous, unspecified and discoid lupus erythematous) to be significantly associated with HCQ exposure.
We provide a method extracting the broad spectrum of diagnoses, drugs and interventions associated to any given drug, potentially highlighting ADRs. Applied to hydroxychloroquine, this method extracted among others already known ADRs.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
A sediment core encompassing 3500 years of continuous sedimentation has been collected from a coastal lagoon located on the southwestern French Mediterranean coast. Lead concentrations and stable ...isotopes show that the sediments have recorded the three major periods of Pb pollution: the Etruscan–Greek–Roman period (650 BC to AD 50), the medieval period (AD 650 to AD 1450), and the modern period (from around AD 1850 to the present). These periods were separated by low pollution periods during the Dark Ages (between AD 50 and 650) and during the 16th century. From the end of the 19th century to the 1960s, Pb pollution increased exponentially. Coal combustion was the major source of Pb in the lagoon in the second half of the 20th century. Both the decrease in coal consumption and the ban on leaded gasoline resulted in a decrease in Pb pollution by a factor of 1.5 between 1973 and 1995. From 1991, sewage treatment plants and incinerators could be the major source of Pb. The average baseline Hg concentration from 1525 BC to AD 900 was 0.017 ± 0.003 μg g–1 (n = 54). The Hg concentrations profile shows three major peaks: in AD 1150, AD 1660, and AD 1969, with the concentrations being respectively 8, 5, and 34 times higher than the baseline levels. The medieval peak (AD 1150) is attributed the medical use of Hg in the town of Montpellier and/or the burning of soil and vegetation. Noticeable Hg pollution was also detected during the 17th century in relation to gold and silver amalgamation in Europe. From the end of the 19th century, Hg concentrations increased exponentially until 1969. This modern pollution is attributed to the burning of coal.
It has proven difficult to identify the underlying genes in complex autoimmune diseases. Here, we use forward genetics to identify polymorphisms in the vitamin D receptor gene (Vdr) promoter, ...controlling Vdr expression and T cell activation. We isolated these polymorphisms in a congenic mouse line, allowing us to study the immunomodulatory properties of VDR in a physiological context. Congenic mice overexpressed VDR selectively in T cells, and thus did not suffer from calcemic effects. VDR overexpression resulted in an enhanced antigen-specific T cell response and more severe autoimmune phenotypes. In contrast, vitamin D3-deficiency inhibited T cell responses and protected mice from developing autoimmune arthritis. Our observations are likely translatable to humans, as Vdr is overexpressed in rheumatic joints. Genetic control of VDR availability codetermines the proinflammatory behavior of T cells, suggesting that increased presence of VDR at the site of inflammation might limit the antiinflammatory properties of its ligand.
The seismic activity of the middle strand of the North Anatolian Fault (MNAF), Northwestern Turkey, is debated because of its quiescence during the instrumental period, in contrast to a significant ...historical activity documented by several chronicles over the last two millennia. Here, we focus on Lake Iznik, bordered by the MNAF, to get a new insight into its long‐term seismicity and its tectonic setting. The study of lacustrine sediment cores reveals 14 earthquake‐induced turbidites since their ages correspond to seismic events during the past two millennia. Bathymetry and high‐resolution seismic reflection data allow to describe two hitherto unknown subaquatic active fault structures (the South Boyalica and Iznik faults) that belong to the MNAF system. Sediment cores sampled on both sides of the Iznik Fault document an event deposit and a sedimentary unit vertically offset of ~40 cm interpreted as the last rupture during the 1065 CE destructive earthquake. Older events are supposed on this fault more than thousand years ago. Further studies will help to estimate the horizontal co‐seismic offset of this oblique‐slip fault and the calendar of older ruptures. The current seismic gap of thousand years on this segment greatly increases the seismic hazard in this region and must be considered in the seismic risk assessment of the NAF system.
Plain Language Summary
During large earthquakes, sediments are generally transported from lake slopes to the lake basin. The resulting event deposits can provide information on the recurrence of past regional earthquakes, which is crucial for seismic hazard assessment. In this study, we discovered two underwater fault structures in Lake Iznik, using geophysical methods. Studying the sedimentation on both sides of the southernmost fault, we observed an increased sedimentation rate on the hanging wall of the fault immediately after an event deposit, dated to 1077 ± 77 cal. CE. We interpreted these indicators as resulting from a co‐seismic displacement along the fault plane, linked to the 1065 CE historical earthquake, which had significantly impacted the city of Iznik. We also show that most of the other event deposits in the sediment cores are confidently associated to 14 historical earthquakes since 2,000 years.
Key Points
Previously unknown faults that belong to the North Anatolian Fault system have been discovered in Lake Iznik through geophysical surveys (from multibeam bathymetry and high‐frequency seismic reflection data)
Assessment of the recent activity of the Iznik Fault, based on multiproxy analysis of sediment cores from each side of the fault
Evidence for the timing of the last rupture corresponding to the 1065 CE historical earthquake, which had significantly impacted the city of Iznik
For ecological and economic issues, evaluating the environmental fate of dissolved and suspended matter in catchments and river ecosystems still remains a challenge for the preservation and ...management of natural resources. Models are useful tools and may help to cope with this challenge, and especially to define the relationships between the state of natural systems and land and river management/uses. As it is difficult - even impossible - to carry out experiments on natural systems such as catchments, models are also useful to test hypotheses about the underlying processes acting on dissolved and suspended losses. We propose an innovative approach to achieve these objectives. By coupling environmental indicators and lumped modeling, this study aims to develop a conceptual and general framework to evaluate and test the functions that drive particulate and dissolved matter flows at the catchment and landscape scales, while respecting the constraint of parsimony for the number of model parameters. Calculated suspended matter (SM) and soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) losses agreed well with field data. 210Pbex (excess Pb) activities in core sediments were also compared to those of 210Pbex calculated from the filling of the reservoir. Our models are parsimonious and this does not impair their accuracy in reproducing recorded outflows or evaluating the sedimentation processes associated to particulate outflows. Considering the adequacy of our models, we validate the hypothesis that river bank erosion and water table behavior are the driving processes that govern losses of particulate and solute forms of P, in the studied extensive agriculture conditions.
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•We develop a conceptual framework to model particulate and dissolved losses.•Elaboration, mobilization and transfer functions were studied and compared.•Models are parsimonious and reproduce well particulate and soluble outflows.
Volcanism is one of the major natural processes emitting mercury (Hg) to the atmosphere, representing a significant component of the global Hg budget. The importance of volcanic eruptions for ...local-scale Hg deposition was investigated using analyses of Hg, inorganic elemental tracers, and organic biomarkers in a sediment sequence from Lake Chungará (4520 m a.s.l.). Environmental change and Hg deposition in the immediate vicinity of the Parinacota volcano were reconstructed over the last 2700 years, encompassing the pre-anthropogenic and anthropogenic periods. Twenty eruptions delivering large amounts of Hg (1 to 457 μg Hg m−2 yr−1 deposited at the timescale of the event) were locally recorded. Peaks of Hg concentration recorded after most of the eruptions were attributed to a decrease in sedimentation rate together with the rapid re-oxidation of gaseous elemental Hg and deposition with fine particles and incorporation into lake primary producers. Over the study period, the contribution of volcanic emissions has been estimated as 32% of the total Hg input to the lake. Sharp depletions in primary production occurred at each eruption, likely resulting from massive volcaniclastic inputs and changes in the lake-water physico-chemistry. Excluding the volcanic deposition periods, Hg accumulation rates rose from natural background values (1.9 ± 0.5 μg m−2 yr−1) by a factor of 2.3 during the pre-colonial mining period (1400–900 yr cal. BP), and by a factor of 6 and 7.6, respectively, during the Hispanic colonial epoch (400–150 yr cal. BP) and the industrial era (~140 yr cal. BP to present). Altogether, the dataset indicates that lake primary production has been the main, but not limiting, carrier for Hg to the sediment. Volcanic activity and climate change are only secondary drivers of local Hg deposition relative to the magnitude of regional and global anthropogenic emissions.
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•We studied mercury deposition in Lake Chungará (18°S) over the last ~2700 years.•Parinacota volcano produced 20 tephra layers recorded in lake sediments.•Lake primary production was the main, not limiting, carrier of Hg to the sediment.•Volcanoes contributed to ~30% of Hg inputs to the lake over the study period.•Last 400 years anthropogenic Hg emissions overwhelmed the volcanic activities.
Summary Low calcium intake hampers bone mineral acquisition in adolescent girls. This study explores dietary calcium sources and nutrients possibly associated with vertebral mass. Milk intake is not ...influenced by genetic variants of the lactase gene and is positively associated with serum IGF-1 and with lumbar vertebrae mineral content and density. Introduction Low calcium intake hampers bone mineral acquisition during adolescence. We identified calcium sources and nutrients possibly associated with lumbar bone mineralization and calcium metabolism in adolescent girls and evaluated the possible influence of a genetic polymorphic trait associated with adult-type hypolactasia. Methods Lumbar bone mineral content (BMC), bone mineral density (BMD), and area, circulating IGF-1, markers of bone metabolism, and -13910 LCT (lactase gene) polymorphism; and intakes of milk, dairy products, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, proteins, and energy were evaluated in 192 healthy adolescent girls. Results After menarche, BMC, BMD, serum IGF-1, and serum PTH were tightly associated with milk consumption, but not with other calcium sources. All four parameters were also associated with phosphorus, magnesium, protein, and energy from milk, but not from other sources. Girls with milk intakes below 55 mL/day have significantly lower BMD, BMC, and IGF-1 and higher PTH compared to girls consuming over 260 mL/day. Neither BMC, BMD, calcium intakes, nor milk consumption were associated with -13910 LCT polymorphism. Conclusions Milk consumption, preferably to other calcium sources, is associated with lumbar BMC and BMD in postmenarcheal girls. Aside from being a major source of calcium, milk provides phosphates, magnesium, proteins, and as yet unidentified nutrients likely to favor bone health.
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