Salinity spatial patterns in Mediterranean coastal areas: The legacy of historical water infrastructures

Mediterranean coastal areas have been occupied and developed intensively for a long time facing issues related to agricultural production, urbanization, tourism, preservation of natural resources often linked to salinity. This article explores the relationship between historical land planning and water management, and current soil and water salinity to gain insights into future projections. Soil samples (1185) were collected in a coastal plain of 114 km2 in the south of France and saturated paste extract Electrical Conductivity (ECsp) was deduced from 1:5 dilution. Soil salinity exhibits a wide range of variation (from 0.54 to 113.1 mS cm-1) and spatial patterns. ECsp is significantly different among soil types, higher at depth than at the surface and influenced by the distance to ancient water infrastructures (Pettitt test). Surface water and shallow groundwater samples were collected for trace element concentrations and Oxygen (18O/16O) isotope ratio measurements. The geochemical signatures indicate a mixture between surface freshwater and seawater, reveal the presence of over-salted seawater and a stratification of salinity from the surface to the depth. Results suggest that groundwater is the source of soil salinity, and illustrate the long-term impact of old water infrastructures. Less saline soils are found near the freshwater supply channel (constructed from 15th to 18th), while more saline soils are located near drainage channels. The presence of over-salted water reflects temporal evolution of the plain over the last few centuries (initially under seawater, gradually filled in, presence of ponds and salt works that have now disappeared). The current soil salinity patches continue to be a visible reminder of this evolution. The trend towards desalinization of the plain over the last few centuries has been made possible by massive freshwater inflows, which are now under threat due to the general decrease of water resources availability.

Quantification of anti-angiogenesis using the capillaries of the chick chorioallantoic membrane demonstrates that the effect of human angiostatin is age-dependent

We present a method whereby en face estimation of the chorionic capillary plexus can be generated in the living chick chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) and confirmed by post-fixation cross section analysis. This value does not alter significantly with age and provides a reliable and simple method to evaluate anti-angiogenesis. Anti-angiogenesis may be induced by an intervention, such as a pharmacological agent, applied to the surface of the CAM. We describe the use of silastic rings that are associated with minimal inflammatory reaction, in this process. By estimating changes in the chorionic capillary plexus to quantify anti-angiogenesis, together with silastic rings, we examined the anti-angiogenic effect of human angiostatin and demonstrated that although there is a significant loss of capillaries en face after exposure from days 7 to 9 of incubation, in contrast there is no significant inhibition after exposure to a similar dose of angiostatin from days 11 to 13 of incubation. This not only demonstrates the important effects on neo-angiogenesis compared to mature vessels, but also illustrates the potential of the CAM to readily provide a means for such a comparison.

Development of a monoclonal antibody-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to quantify soluble beta-glucans in oats and barley

A set of 31 murine monoclonal antibodies was produced against (1-->3,1-->4)beta-d-glucan from oats (Avena sativa L.) chemically cross-linked to keyhole limpet hemocyanin. Monoclonal antibodies were tested for their cross-reactivity to related and unrelated polysaccharides. The antibodies reacted strongly to unmodified beta-glucan from oats and barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) and to lichenan from Icelandic moss, a polysaccharide with a structure similar to that of beta-glucan but which is not encountered in cereals. Cross-reaction to other polysaccharides tested was minimal at physiological levels. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) that could routinely detect and quantify nanogram levels of soluble beta-glucan extracted from the flour of oats or barley was designed with one of these monoclonal antibodies. The beta-glucan extraction procedure from ground oat and barley samples and the ELISA were both optimized for reproducibility, accuracy, and throughput, and results were compared to values obtained from an established, commercially available enzyme-based assay. Correlations between the two assays were consistently high (r (2) > 0.9), indicating that the ELISA presented in this paper is a valuable alternative for assaying beta-glucan levels in cereals and cereal products, both routinely and in preparations in which beta-glucans are present in nanogram amounts. Development of the extraction procedure for ELISA is discussed.

Angiostatin II is the predominant glycoform in pleural effusates of rabbit VX-2 lung tumors

Angiostatin (AST), a polypeptide with potent antiangiogenic properties, is released proteolytically from plasminogen in vivo. Plasminogen exists naturally in plasma as two glycoforms (PLGs), I and II. Recently it was shown with the use of a chick-embryo chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assay that rabbit PLG-I and -II yield distinct ASTs-AST-I and -II, respectively-with different antiangiogenic activities. AST glycoforms were of similar molecular weight, approximately 30 to 32,000 kD, and probably consisted of kringles 1 to 3 only. AST has now been identified in the interpleural effusate released from VX-2 lung tumors in rabbits. Effusate was collected from six rabbits with high tumor burdens and fractionated by means of lysine-Sepharose chromatography. The epsilon-aminohexanoic acid-eluted protein of all effusates contained AST (kringles 1-3) at a mean concentration of 1.2 microg/mL of effusate; with regard to AST content, 97% was AST-II. A CAM assay revealed that the lysine-Sepharose-bound fraction from all interpleural effusates contained potent antiangiogenic activity. Blood and urine from rabbits with high burdens of VX-2 contained essentially only AST-II, at mean concentrations of 145 and 4 ng/mL, respectively. AST was absent from the blood of control rabbits. In an attempt to compare their uptake by VX-2, iodine 125-labeled AST-I and iodine 131-labeled AST-II were injected intravenously into tumor-bearing rabbits. AST-I entered the tumor 1.6 times faster than AST-II. As a means of accounting for the preponderance of AST-II in the interpleural effusate, we postulate that VX-2 cells release proteolytic activity to activate plasminogen but that of the two PLGs, PLG-II may be the preferred substrate for AST formation in vivo.

Diarrhea associated with tube feeding in mechanically ventilated critically ill patients

This study was undertaken to determine the incidence and duration of diarrhea associated with tube feeding in critically ill adult patients who require mechanical ventilation. Of the 73 subjects studied, 63% had diarrhea associated with tube feeding. This incidence is higher than that reported from other studies of critically ill patients who were not mechanically ventilated. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that three variables (higher rates of infusion, greater tube-feeding osmolality, and change of tube-feeding product) were statistically significant predictors of diarrhea incidence. Antibiotic use and serum albumin levels were not predictors. In a stepwise multiple regression analysis, the duration of diarrhea was predicted by frequency of diarrhea, within the first 5 days of tube-feeding onset, tube-feeding product osmolality, and rate of tube-feeding infusion. Serum albumin levels and frequency of diarrhea beyond 6 days of tube-feeding onset did not predict duration of diarrhea. Higher osmolality and infusion rates of tube-feeding products did contribute to prediction of both incidence and duration of diarrhea.