Le Maitre Research Articles

Outcome evaluation of prophylactic internal iliac balloon occlusion in the management of patients with placenta accreta spectrum

PurposeTo evaluate outcomes and complications of prophylactic internal iliac balloon occlusion (PIIBO) in the management of patients with placenta accreta spectrum (PAS) at a large regional referral centre.Materials and methodsA retrospective review of all PIIBO for PAS performed over a 12-year period (2010–2022). Information for analysis was gathered from the local RIS/PACS and clinical documentation. Collected data included patient demographics, indication for procedure, sheath insertion and removal time, total duration of balloon inflation and complications that occurred.Results106 patients underwent temporary internal iliac artery balloon occlusion within the 12-year period. All procedures utilised bilateral common femoral artery punctures, 6Fr sheath and 5Fr Le Maitre occlusion balloons. Catheters were successfully positioned and balloons inflated in obstetric theatre following caesarean delivery in 100% of the cases. The uterus was conserved in every case. There was no maternal mortality or foetal morbidity.Twenty patients (18.9%) had some form of complication that required further intervention. Of these, 7(6.6%) had post-operative PPH, which was treated with uterine artery embolisation; and 13 (12.3%) had arterial thrombus which required aspiration thrombectomy. All procedures were technically successful with no long-term sequelae.ConclusionPIIBO plays an important part in reducing morbidity and mortality in patients with PAS. Clear pathways and multidisciplinary team working is critical in the management of these patients to ensure that any complications are dealt with promptly to avoid long-term sequelae.

K původu analcimu v mezozoických a kenozoických vulkanitech České republiky a jeho úloze v názvosloví hornin

Magmatic origin of analcime has been discussed for decades (e. g., Karlsson and Clayton 1991, 1993; Pearce 1993). Despite the fact that analcime has been re-classified as zeolite and its secondary (post-magmatic) origin is globally accepted (e. g., Roux and Hamilton 1976, Giannetti and Masi 1989, Wilkinson and Hensel 1994), it is still commonly used in classification of alkaline rocks in the Czech Republic. In these rocks, analcime can be mostly found in the pseudomorphs after leucite (Fig. 1a; see Rapprich 2003), or as a homogeneous anhedral filling in the groundmass (Fig. 1b). In the second case, the boundaries of individual analcime crystals cannot be identified due to the isotropic optical properties of analcime. Therefore, origin and growth of analcime is difficult to reconstruct. For this contribution, we have studied samples of Mesozoic and Cenozoic alkaline rocks from three localities across the Czech Republic, where partly analcimized glass in the groundmass was preserved, with an aim to better understand the origin of analcime in alkaline rocks. Mesozoic augitite from the southwestern slope of the Petřkovice Mt. near Nový Jičín (sample TG05) displays small isometric colourless, optically isotropic domains (analcime) enclosed in originally glassy groundmass (Fig. 1c–f ). This texture suggests the analcime is replacing original glass in the groundmass, enclosing also microcrysts of the stable minerals in groundmass. Very similar texture was observed also in Oligocene augitite from Mětikalov in Doupovské hory Mts. (sample DR338, Fig. 2). In this rock, the analcime domains either mantle larger phenocrysts, or are distributed within the groundmass. The growth of the analcime domains on the edges of larger phenocrysts resembles growth of spherulites, which represent products of silica-rich glass recrystallization (e. g., Breitkreuz 2013). To further investigate this possibility, additional samples were collected from Kamenický vrch near Zákupy (Fig. 3). In individual samples, number and size of analcime domains vary, which suggests, that these domains represent various stages of a continuous growth. The X-ray elemental mapping of Al and Na (Fig. 4) then shows, that the analcime domains are represented by single grains of cubic analcime. As a result, we may conclude that analcime in groundmass of Mesozoic and Cenozoic alkaline rocks originates from devitrification of original glass. These rocks hence should not be classified as “analcimites” or “analcimic …” but rather as “analcimized …” according to Le Maitre et al. (2005).

City Symphony

City Symphony

P100 Research priorities to reduce the impact of musculoskeletal disorders

Abstract Background/Aims Involving research users in setting priorities for research is essential to ensure research outcomes are patient-centred and to maximise research value and impact. In 2019, Versus Arthritis convened a Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSKD) Research Advisory Group (RAG) which included 25 members: people with musculoskeletal conditions, researchers and healthcare professionals. The RAG identified a need for a research prioritisation exercise for adult non-inflammatory MSKD. Methods The Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative (CHNRI) method was selected. The MSKD RAG identified, through consensus, four research Domains: Mechanisms of Disease; Diagnosis and Impact; Living Well with MSK disorders and Successful Translation. Following ethical approval, an initial electronic survey was distributed to stakeholders (people with musculoskeletal conditions, researchers, healthcare professionals, industry, research funders, healthcare providers, government and charities) asking for important research uncertainties in the four domains. Uncertainties were organised into themes and refined into research questions using a series of MSKD RAG workshops. Research questions underwent lay review to optimise readability. A second e-survey was distributed to stakeholders as above, where participants were asked to score each research question for two criteria, importance and impact, on a 1-10 numeric rating scale. Median criterion scores for impact and importance were calculated for each question and summed to create a total score. Research questions were ranked according to total score. Results The first survey had 209 respondents, who described 1290 research uncertainties, which were refined into 68 research questions. 285 people responded to the second survey, of which 189 fully completed. 74(39.2%) were public/lay responders, 48(25.4%) researchers, 43(22.8%) clinicians, 24(12.6%) other/unrecorded. The research questions, total scores and rankings are summarised in Table 1. Total scores ranged from 12 to 18 (maximum possible score 20). Conclusion For the first time, we have summarised priorities for research across MSKD, from discovery science to applied clinical and health research, including translation. Key priorities include developing and testing new treatments, better targeting of treatments, early diagnosis, prevention and better understanding and management of pain, with an emphasis on understanding the underpinning mechanisms. We present a call to action to researchers and funders to target these priorities. Disclosure Z. Paskins: Grants/research support; NIHR, Versus Arthritis, Royal Osteoporosis Society. C.E. Farmer: None. R.K. Jones: None. A. Clark: None. L. Troeberg: Grants/research support; Versus Arthritis. H. Pandit: Consultancies; Depuy J&J, Zimmer Biomet, Smith and Nephew, Medacta International, Meril Life, JRI Orthopaedics, Invibio and Kennedy’s Law. Grants/research support; NIHR, VA (Versus Arthritis) and UKIERI (UK India Education and Research Initiative). S.M. Richardson: None. J. Loughlin: None. C.A. Brown: Grants/research support; Versus Arthrtitis. E.J. Taylor: None. C.L. Le Maitre: None. R.K. Wilcox: Grants/research support; EPSRC, Versus Arthritis, NIHR, DePuy Synthes. F.L. Bishop: None. E. Salt: None. E.M. Clark: Grants/research support; Versus Arthritis, NIHR. Other; I am Associate Editor of Journal of Bone and Mineral Research Plus for which I receive a salary, I am part of the Lot 2 provider for analysis of the national Joint Registry of England and Wales, funded by HQIP. D.A. Andersson: None. M. McCarron: None. D.J. Mason: None. C.M. Wilkinson: None. T. Barlow: None. G.M. Peat: None. F.E. Watt: Consultancies; Pfizer.

Cosmology with non-minimal coupled gravity: dynamical study of the inflationary universe in the deformed phase space scenario

In this work, we consider a noncommutative (NC) inflationary model with a homogeneous scalar field non-minimally coupled to gravity. We propose to use a canonical deformation between momenta in a spatially flat Friedmann–Le maitre–Robertson–Walker universe. This particular choice of noncommutativity allows interesting dynamics that other NC models seem not to allow. In this approach, the dimensional parameter $$\theta $$ , which considered as the length of Planck, presents the quantum regime. But also, it is crucial to recover the standard results by taking the appropriate limits of this parameter. To note that the $$1\mathrm{st}$$ Friedmann equation remains unaffected while both the Friedmann acceleration and the Klein-Gordon equations are affected by an additional term linear in the NC parameter.

Théâtralisation de la transmission dans le Maître de Santiago de Montherlant

La question du rapport maître-disciple est mise en évidence dans Le Maître de Santiago de Montherlant par une théâtralisation de la transmission. Dialogue vif et tendu, situations conflictuelles et divergences de points de vue ébranlent aussi bien les relations familiales et amicales que les affinités idéologiques. Pour les Espagnols de 1519 partir en Amérique est une aubaine. Cette course effrénée derrière le gain qui utilise l’évangélisation comme prétexte séduit les chevaliers de l’Ordre de Santiago mais elle déplaît énormément à leur chef. La focalisation de cette dramatisation sur le différend en question permet de dégager les figures du maître, celles du disciple et, à travers leurs relations, les valeurs affirmées. Alvaro Dabo, qui agit en tant que guide de l’Ordre de Santiago, est sans conteste la principale figure du maître. En cultivant le paradoxe et en s’opposant au désir de ses pairs, il ne s’érige pas en passeur de savoir-vivre et de savoir-faire, mais il parvient tout de même à formuler les valeurs auxquelles il est attaché : noblesse d’âme, générosité, humilité. Les disciples se répartissent en cinq catégories. La figure « aristotélicienne » (Bernal et Vargas) commente et interprète le discours du maître. La figure « épicurienne » (Olmeda) vise à atteindre le bonheur. Le disciple « parricide » souhaite éliminer Alvaro. Letamendi est l’illustration du mauvais élève. Mariana, incarnation de l’« alter ego », tient du maître sans en être une pâle copie. Tendues, les relations qui régissent les deux instances confèrent une dynamique au processus de transmission. Alvaro cherche à se murer dans le silence, mais il tient à transmettre avant de disparaître. Deux valeurs essentielles constituent la teneur de son message : l’histoire nous enseigne qu’il faut être méfiant à l’égard des forces négatives, l’engagement requiert des qualités morales telles que le sacrifice de soi et la charité. Montherlant approuve chez son personnage la condamnation de la colonisation, mais il n’adhère pas à son extrémisme.

Automorphism groups of countable structures and groups of measurable functions

Let G be a topological group and let μ be the Lebesgue measure on the interval [0, 1]. We let L0(G) be the topological group of all μ-equivalence classes of μ-measurable functions defined on [0, 1] with values in G, taken with the pointwise multiplication and the topology of convergence in measure. We show that for a Polish group G, if L0(G) has ample generics, then G has ample generics, thus the converse to a result of Kaichouh and Le Maitre. We further study topological similarity classes and conjugacy classes for many groups Aut(M) and L0(Aut(M)), where M is a countable structure. We make a connection between the structure of groups generated by tuples, the Hrushovski property, and the structure of their topological similarity classes. In particular, we prove the trichotomy that for every tuple $$\bar f$$ of Aut(M), where M is a countable structure such that algebraic closures of finite sets are finite, either the countable group $$\langle \bar f \rangle$$ is precompact, or it is discrete, or the similarity class of $$\bar f$$ is meager, in particular the conjugacy class of $$\bar f$$ is meager. We prove an analogous trichotomy for groups L0(Aut(M)).

Bioclimatic assessments for tea cultivation in Western Nghe An

Bioclimatic assessments for tea cultivation in Western Nghe An

The colonization history of largely isolated habitats

A recommendation – based on reviews by Florian Boucher, Simon Joly and two anonymous reviewers – of the article: Pirie, M. D., Kandziora, M., Nuerk, N. M., Le Maitre, N. C., de Kuppler, A. L. M., Gehrke, B., Oliver, E. G. H., and Bellstedt, D. U. (2018). Leaps and bounds: geographical and ecological distance constrained the colonisation of the Afrotemperate by Erica. bioRxiv, 290791. ver. 5 peer-reviewed and recommended by PCI Evol Biol. doi: 10.1101/290791. doi: 10.1101/290791

Early Bronze Age Basalt Vessel Remains from Tell eṣ-Ṣâfi/Gath

Basalt is long thought to have been one of the more valued geological materials from which ground stone objects were manufactured (Ebeling and Rowan 2004: 108; Milevski 2008). Although it was readily available in some regions of the southern Levant, the widespread utilization of basaltic material was likely due to its physical and aesthetic properties. As a quick-cooling, extrusive igneous rock, basalt is dominated by mafic minerals and characterized by a high durability and hardness (Mohs' scale 7), a fine-grained texture, and a green-black colored appearance (Le Maitre 2002). Furthermore, basalt sheens well and leaves less grit in processed food than other materials (Ebeling and Rowan 2004: 108).

Geochemistry of late miocene-pleistocene basalts in the Phu Quy island area (East Vietnam Sea): Implication for mantle source feature and melt generation

Geochemistry of late miocene-pleistocene basalts in the Phu Quy island area (East Vietnam Sea): Implication for mantle source feature and melt generation

Translation ~ Politics

To Lance, with thanksThis article must confess to a spirit of diffidence. Its goal simply to take up and, perhaps, verify a suggestion by Jacques Ranciere: to occupy very interval between . . . two in order to open the possibility of appealing from one to other.2 Politics and equality are so proximate in Ranciere's philosophy as to be synonymous, and yet egalitarian substance of his politics hangs on a second, more discreet term: of politics as emancipation3 to say translation.Where equality has obvious political implications, translation's politics are less conspicuous, muted even, but beginning with fable-history of Joseph Jacotot's accidental epiphany in Le Maitre ignorant, concept of translation reappears throughout Ranciere's writings as activity of equality par excellence. activity of thinking he writes, is primarily an activity of translation, and . . . anyone capable of making a translation.4 To think to translate, and translating egalitarian. Equality for Ranciere not in question. His an enviable political philosophy for which equality not endpoint but a presupposition, not a thesis to be argued but a founding tenet. Politics simply that activity which turns on equality as its principle.5 Posited in this way, as a given more or less compels reader to suspend any relativization, equality scarcely seems like a promising conceptual foundation for kind of specific politics Ranciere imagines.6 However, it through concept of translation direct equation of politics and equality can carry elegant paradox of a politics both universal and idiomatic. In many ways, translation represents principle underpins egalitarian politics, praxis confirms it, and style disseminates its authority.Jacotot stumbles across his enlightened pedagogy of emancipation thanks to efforts of his Flemish students, who circumvent need for instruction when they appropriate knowledge for themselves through spontaneous activity of translation.7 The obvious pedagogic resonance of Le Maitre ignorant continues to provoke education-related discussions, and commentators rightly describe Jacotot's radical ideology of equality as foundation for Ranciere's emancipatory politics.8 Crucially, however, although it a particular literary activity makes Jacotot's story possible, translation has remained unaccountably peripheral to our understanding of Ranciere's political philosophy.9 The metonymic function of translation, I argue, facilitates Ranciere's fabular style, but also encompasses an active labour-a labour of literature and of politics. Insisting on translation as a central component of Rancierean politics an obliquely paradoxical endeavour, however, since it precisely marginal role of translation marks it as indispensable site of egalitarian politics. In spirit of intellectual adventure,10 then, this paper undertakes to think, or rather rethink11 Ranciere's concepts of politics and translation, each in terms of other. In this exchange, translation, like equality, both self-evident and controversial.Ranciere's preoccupation with literature inescapable in this process of (re)translation. Literary politics for Ranciere involves breaking out of textual altogether by engaging each of senses in redistribution of perceptible. Seeing hidden partitions, speaking miscount, and hearing mute speech each constitutes a way of imagining a type of equality. By extension, translation-as a form of literature-has capacity to rearrange political topographies. In mapping translation and politics onto one another, I therefore deliberately mirror three-layered configuration Ranciere describes as manners in which [literature] labours to develop landscape of visible.12 In what follows, I pursue Ranciere's sensory analogy through three intersecting modes of translation: its pedagogical style, its political economy, and its literary poetics. …

A Novel Technique for Bifurcated Bovine Plus Omniflow Aortic Graft Reconstruction

Aortic graft infection is increasingly being treated by graft explantation and reimplantation of a cadaveric or venous graft, or alternatively with bioprosthetic material. This patient was admitted following angioplasty of the left limb of his EVAR (no antibiotics were given), resulting in an infected limb. He underwent stent excision followed by aorto-biiliac grafting to the iliac bifurcations. During aortic dissection an off-table graft was constructed using a XenoSure Bovine Pericardium Sheet (Le Maitre, Sulzbach, Germany) to form a 10-cm length bovine tube graft (Fig. 1). This is measured using pre-operative CT imaging, with the proximal anastomosis 6 mm diameter less than CT measurement (Fig. 1A, E) and the distal diameter calculated based on the combined circumferences of the two omniflow limbs (Fig. 1B). In addition, a 22-cm Omniflow II Biosynthetic Graft (Le Maitre, Sulzbach, Germany) graft was divided in half, and anastomosed into a trouser graft of 11-cm length (Fig. 1C and D) (total cost €1377). The bovine and omniflow grafts were then secured with an end-to-end anastomosis, with 4-0 prolene used throughout. The endovascular stent was excised as standard. The patient then underwent thorough sac debridement and excision, followed by washout with a 50:50 mix of betadine and chlorhexidine. The graft was secured as close to the level of the renal arteries as possible, and at both iliac bifurcations to reduce risk of reinfection (Fig. 2). The patient was placed on long-term antibiotics. This novel technique for manufacture of off-table bifurcated bioprosthetic aortic grafts is a useful adjunct to the armamentarium in a complex condition. The novel use of the trouser technique as opposed to securing two individual omniflow grafts to the distal end of the bovine tube is a simpler technique minimising the potential for stenosis at anastomotic lines.

Magma source feature and eruption age of volcanic rocks in the Tram Tau district, Tu Le Basin

Magma source feature and eruption age of volcanic rocks in the Tram Tau district, Tu Le Basin

Injectable platform hydrogel for musculoskeletal regeneration

Event Abstract Back to Event Injectable platform hydrogel for musculoskeletal regeneration Abbey Thorpe1, Christine L. Le Maitre1 and Chris Sammon2 1 Sheffield Hallam University, Biomedical Research Centre, United Kingdom 2 Sheffield Hallam University, Materials and Engineering Research Institute, United Kingdom Introduction: We describe the utilisation of precipitation polymerisation of poly (N-isopropylacrylamide) (pNIPAM) at the surface of dispersed Laponite® platelets that resist aggregation and can be maintained for long periods of time as a low viscosity liquid. Whilst in this colloidal liquid state, live cells, small molecules or particles can easily be incorporated. Upon cooling to body temperature the pNIPAM chains spontaneously transform to the 'coil' conformation, establishing multiple physical interactions and leading to irreversible gel formation without further addition of reagents (Fig 1), indicating it is an ideal platform for numerous tissue regeneration applications. Typically aqueous pNIPAM solutions are free-flowing liquids at room temperature and upon heating above ~32oC they form weak gels. The incorporation of a crosslinker increases the mechanical strength of the gel but the material ceases to be a liquid at lower temperatures and cannot easily be injected. Here we show how the incorporation of different triggers into the hydrogel via the use of a suitable comonomer and/or the incorporation of additives such as hydroxyapatite can induce differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSC) into bone, disc or cartilage dependant on target tissue. Methods: pNIPAM-Laponite® hydrogels were synthesised and the incorporation of comonomers and guest molecules were investigated to determine effects on setting temperature, mechanical properties and cellular behaviour. MSCs were incorporated in hydrogels with or without hydroxyapatite and investigated under hypoxic conditions to investigate differentiation towards osteoblasts and nucleus pulposus cells of the intervertebral disc. Results and Discussion: The solidified, mechanically robust pNIPAM-Laponite® hydrogels were shown to be fully biocompatible without the usual need for any purification steps and could be tailored to mechanically mimic a range of natural tissue types via the choice of comonomer and/or the incorporation of additives such as hyaluronic acid, hydroxyapatite. Tailored differentiation to osteoblast like cells or nucleus pulposus cells was successfully achieved over a 6 week time course, with appropriate deposition of matrix and marker expression (Fig 2). Conclusions: The relative simplicity and clinical convenience of the hydrogel synthesis method described here could provide an effective and minimally-invasive treatment platform for orthopaedic regenerative medicine. The ability to uniformly incorporate cells and other additives prior to injection and gelation opens up an extensive range of biological opportunities. In particular, the inherent low viscosity of the colloidal hydrogel enables application through fine bore needles minimising damage to the target tissues and enabling the hydrogel to fill micro fissures, which is not currently possible with existing hydrogel systems. The authors would like to thank EPSRC (EP/H000275/1, EP/I016473/1) for funding. Keywords: Cell Differentiation, Hydrogel, Regenerative Medicine, 3D scaffold Conference: 10th World Biomaterials Congress, Montréal, Canada, 17 May - 22 May, 2016. Presentation Type: New Frontier Oral Topic: Regenerative medicine: biomaterials for control of tissue induction Citation: Thorpe A, Le Maitre CL and Sammon C (2016). Injectable platform hydrogel for musculoskeletal regeneration. Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol. Conference Abstract: 10th World Biomaterials Congress. doi: 10.3389/conf.FBIOE.2016.01.00672 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 27 Mar 2016; Published Online: 30 Mar 2016. Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Abbey Thorpe Christine L Le Maitre Chris Sammon Google Abbey Thorpe Christine L Le Maitre Chris Sammon Google Scholar Abbey Thorpe Christine L Le Maitre Chris Sammon PubMed Abbey Thorpe Christine L Le Maitre Chris Sammon Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.

¿Qué quiere de mí esa foto? La imagen de perpetrador de Bophana y su contracampo. Iconografías del genocídio camboyano

Imágenes de perpetradores son aquéllas que forman parte de la maquinaria de destrucción (tortura, genocidio...), es decir que entre el ejercicio de la violencia y el dispositivo de producción de imágenes existe una compenetración. Sin embargo, tal condición no prejuzga el grado de implicación (personal, temporal, espacial) entre estos dos procesos, entre los que pueden existir hiatos. El objetivo del presente texto es analizar la producción y migración de una imagen-icono de perpetrador asociada al genocidio camboyano (la de Hout Bophana). En un primer momento, se determina el proceso de gestación (pragmático) de estos mug shots que identificaban a los detenidos, poniendo de relieve su modalidad de perpetrador. En un segundo momento, se estudia el uso, reapropiación, inserción, détournement de esta misma imagen siñalética en dos films dirigidos por Rithy Panh: Bophana, une tragédie combodgienne (1996) y Duch. Le maître des forges de l’enfer (2011). En el itinerario propuesto se transita de la realización de una imagen performativa (que produce un enemigo, en lugar de sólo registrarlo) hasta su confrontación con el perpetrador responsable de su ejecución, pasando por la reelaboración pictórica y cinematográfica de la contrafigura, el contracampo, de esa imagen de perpetrador.

Degenerating and Painful Human Intervertebral Discs Release Pronociceptive Factors and Increase Neurite Sprouting and CGRP via Nerve Growth Factor

Introduction Increasing evidence suggests that healthy and painless intervertebral discs (IVDs) are largely aneural and that degenerating and painful IVDs often are innervated.1 Many inflammatory factors are unregulated in disc degeneration, such as interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and are believed to play important roles in degeneration and pain.2,3 Increased levels of neurotrophins, such as nerve growth factor (NGF) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), have also been associated with disc degeneration and could potentiate disc innervation.4 Inflammatory factors and neurotrophins can also have nociceptive roles that promote the development of chronic pain. While increased levels of inflammatory and nociceptive factors have been found by histological analysis in degenerating discs, in disc cell cultures, and in animal models,3 the ability of degenerating intervertebral discs from chronic low back pain patients to release increased levels of nociceptive factors compared with healthy discs from pain free donors is unknown. An understanding of the ability of degenerating discs to release nociceptive factors that may sensitize neurons and the mechanisms involved will provide evidence to develop effective pain management strategies. Materials and Methods Degenerating, painful IVDs were collected from patients undergoing surgery for low back pain and healthy, painless IVDs were collected from human organ donors through Transplant Quebec. IVDs were cultured ex vivo for 48 hours and the conditioned media was collected. Protein arrays were used to assess relative quantities of 23 cytokines and chemokines and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits were used to quantify TNF-α, NGF, and BDNF in the conditioned media. PC12 cells, a neuronal-like cell line, were exposed to the conditioned or NGF supplemented media and neurite sprouting was analyzed. Mouse sensory neurons were isolated from dorsal root ganglia and treated with conditioned media. Neuronal expression of CGRP, a peptide involved in pain modulation, was compared with the total number of neurons that were stained with PGP 9.5, a general neuronal marker and the percentage of CGRP immunoreactive neurons was determined. To determine the role of NGF in neurite sprouting and CGRP regulation NGF supplemented or degenerating IVD conditioned media was incubated with an anti-NGF antibody. Cytokine array data were analyzed by unpaired t-tests and neurite sprouting and CGRP expression was assessed by one-way ANOVA. Results Cytokine arrays found that degenerating painful IVDs released significantly higher levels of a majority of the factors represented in the array as compared with healthy painless IVDs. Many of them are nociceptive factors including IFN-γ, IL-6, MCP-1, GRO-α. IELISA assays demonstrated higher levels of the NGF and BDNF, in media from degenerating painful discs. Increased neurite growth was observed in PC12 cell cultures maintained in degenerating IVD media compared with healthy IVD media ( p < 0.001). Anti-NGF antibodies were able to prevent neurite growth to the level found in healthy IVD media cultures ( p = 0.929). In addition, a greater number of the mouse neurons cultured in degenerating IVD conditioned media were CGRP immunoreactive compared with those cultured in healthy IVD media ( p = 0.007). The number of CGRP immunoreactive neurons was significantly reduced in the presence of anti-NGF antibodies ( p > 0.999). Conclusion Increased levels of pronociceptive and neurotrophic factors released by degenerating painful IVDs could potentiate IVD innervation and neuronal hypersensitization. Prolonged neuronal exposure to these factors could promote the development of chronic pain. The induced neurite growth and CGRP expression suggests that degenerating IVDs secrete factors that can lead to IVD innervation and nociception. NGF inhibition studies found NGF released by degenerating IVDs is required for the increased neurite growth and CGRP expression, providing evidence to support an important role for NGF in chronic low back pain associated with disc degeneration. The roles of factors besides NGF in disc degeneration require further investigation. These results suggest that degenerating, painful IVDs produce factors, which may cause neoinnervation and pain in vivo. Furthermore, this study provides evidence to support further development of anti-NGF therapies as a pain management strategy for low back pain associated with disc degeneration. Disclosure of Interest None declared References Freemont AJ, Peacock TE, Goupille P, Hoyland JA, O’Brien J, Jayson MI. Nerve ingrowth into diseased intervertebral disc in chronic back pain. Lancet 1997;350(9072):178–181 Le Maitre CL, Freemont AJ, Hoyland JA. The role of interleukin-1 in the pathogenesis of human intervertebral disc degeneration. Arthritis Res Ther 2005;7(4):R732-R745 Wuertz K, Haglund L. Inflammatory mediators in intervertebral disk degeneration and discogenic pain. Global Spine J 2013;3(3):175–184 Richardson SM, Purmessur D, Baird P, Probyn B, Freemont AJ, Hoyland JA. Degenerate human nucleus pulposus cells promote neurite outgrowth in neural cells. PLoS ONE 2012;7(10):e47735

Revision of Scheumann’s classification of melilitic lamprophyres and related melilitic rocks in light of new analytical data

Dykes of the Late Cretaceous to Early Tertiary (79.5 ± 3.5 to 60.7 ± 2.4 Ma) melilitic rock series of the Osecna Com- plex and the Devil’s Walls dyke swarm, including ultramafic lamprophyres – polzenites – of Scheumann (1913) occur dispersed in the entire Upper Ploucnice River basin in northern Bohemia. Polzenites and associated melilitic rocks are characterized by the mineral association of olivine + melilite ± nephe- line, hauyne, monticellite, phlogopite, calcite, perovskite, spinels and apatite. New data on their mineral and chemical compositions from original Scheumann’s localities (the Vesec, Modlibohov, Luhov types) argue against the abolition of the group of ultramafic lamprophyres and the terms ‘polzenite’ and ‘alnoite’ by the Le Maitre (2002) classification. Marginal facies and numerous flat apophyses of the lopolith-like body known as the Osecna Complex show an olivine micro-melilitolite composition (lamprophyric facies). The porphyritic texture, chemical composition and the presence of characteristic minerals such as monticellite and phlogopite point to their affinity with ultramafic lamprophyres – polze- nites of the Vesec type. Melilite-bearing olivine nephelinites to olivine melilitites (olivine + clinopyroxene + nepheline + melilite ± hauyne and spinels with apatite) form a swarm of subparallel dykes known as the Devil’s Walls. The Scheumann’s non-melilite dyke rock “wesselite”, spatially associated with polzenites and often erroneously attributed to the polzenite group, is an alkaline lamprophyre of monchiquite to camptonite composition (kaersutite + phlogopite + diopside + olivine phenocrysts in groundmass containing clinopyroxene, phlogopite, hauyne, analcime, titanian mag- netite, apatite ± glass/plagioclase). First K–Ar data show Oligocene ages (30.9 ± 1.2 to 27.8 ± 1.1 Ma) and an affinity to the common tephrite–basanite rock series.

Camille Saint-Saëns, 1835–1921: A Thematic Catalogue of His Complete Works, Volume II: The Dramatic Works by Sabina Teller Ratner (review)

Camille Saint-Saens, 1835-1921: A Thematic Catalogue of His Complete Works, Volume II: Dramatic Works. By Sabina Teller Ratner. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012. [xx, 582 p. ISBN 9780198163213. $350.] Music examples, illustrations, appendices, select bibliography, index.The voluminous oeuvre of Camille Saint- Saens surely deserves a catalogue raisonne, if only to demonstrate the prodigious creativity of a most prolific composer and to document the eight-decade career of a major musical force on the world stage during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Not surprisingly, its realization has required much time; the present volume follows the first (Sabina Teller Ratner, Camille Saint-Saens,1835-1921: A Thematic Catalogue of His Complete Works, Volume I: Instru - mental Works [Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002]; reviewed in Notes 59, no. 4 [ June 2003]: 914-16) by a decade, while the release of the third installment, devoted to Saint-Saens's vocal and choral music, has not yet been announced. Volume I won the Vincent H. Duckles Award in 2004, given by the Music Library Association for the best book-length bibliography or other research tool in music that year. Accordingly, the bar is high for Volume II, but it does not disappoint.In her preface to Volume II, Sabina Teller Ratner describes the diversity of dramatic works profiled: The subjects of Saint-Saens's compositions range from the historical to the fantastic, encompassing biblical, classical, mythological and exotic themes, and works of Japanese, Persian, and Egyptian inspiration. Tragedy and comedy are both represented (p. ix). While Saint-Saens authored only one operatic libretto of his own, that for his Greekthemed one-act opera Helene (1904), Ratner relates that he often adapted and added to what his librettists gave him, and participated in performances of his works whenever possible, shaping and shepherding his artistic conceptions in an almost paternal way (p. ix). We also learn that some of Saint-Saens's inspiration for his dramatic works came from exploration in libraries and archives such as the Bibliotheque nationale de France, where, for instance, he encountered the dancing manual Orcheso - graphie (1589) of Thoinot Arbeau, which he recognized had informed the later Le maItre a danser (1725) of Pierre Rameau, so essential to understanding authentic eighteenthcentury dance (p. x). And it was at the Bibliotheque nationale, he admitted in a letter to the critic Camille Bellaigue cited by Ratner, where he collected the majority of the celebrated airs de danse so evocative of the French baroque included in his grand opera of 1890, Ascanio (p. x). Perhaps most surprising, Ratner reveals that Saint-Saens even studied the metric structure of Latin verse for rhythmic inspiration in composing the ballets included within his operas Henry VIII (1883) and Ascanio (1890), as well as his incidental music for the play Antigone (1893) (p. x). Such pre-compositional research surely anticipates what would become common among twentieth-century composers, especially those involved with neoclassicism.The body of Volume II features entries for Saint-Saens's operas, such as La princesse jaune (1872) and L'Ancetre (1906), as well as his ballet Javotte (1896), in addition to incomplete instances of these two genres. There are also entries for his incidental music, including the two plein air spectacles involving spoken text, symphonic interludes, choruses, and ballets originally conceived for the Arenes de Beziers, Dejanire (1898) and Parysatis (1911). But some readers might be surprised to learn that other separate sections of the book detail a variety of lesser-known works, like much briefer scenes lyriques and scenes dramatiques, plus one of the silent film scores, commissioned in 1908 for the historical drama L'assassinat du duc de Guise, as well as collections of comic episodes and melodramas. Further, there are short sections that profile Saint- Saens's additions to and restorations of other composers' works, including operas of Gluck, Lully, Rameau, and Charpentier, and a section devoted to some varia. …

Link Protein N-terminal Peptide Binds to Bone Morphogenetic Protein (BMP) Type II Receptor and Drives Matrix Protein Expression in Rabbit Intervertebral Disc Cells

Intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration and associated spinal disorders are leading sources of morbidity, and they can be responsible for chronic low back pain. Treatments for degenerative disc diseases continue to be a challenge. Intensive research is now focusing on promoting regeneration of degenerated discs by stimulating production of the disc matrix. Link protein N-terminal peptide (LPP) is a proteolytic fragment of link protein, an important cross-linker and stabilizer of the major structural components of cartilage, aggrecan and hyaluronan. In this study we investigated LPP action in rabbit primary intervertebral disc cells cultured ex vivo in a three-dimensional alginate matrix. Our data reveal that LPP promotes disc matrix production, which was evidenced by increased expression of the chondrocyte-specific transcription factor SOX9 and the extracellular matrix macromolecules aggrecan and collagen II. Using colocalization and pulldown studies we further document a noggin-insensitive direct peptide-protein association between LPP and BMP-RII. This association mediated Smad signaling that converges on BMP genes leading to expression of BMP-4 and BMP-7. Furthermore, through a cell-autonomous loop BMP-4 and BMP-7 intensified Smad1/5 signaling though a feedforward circuit involving BMP-RI, ultimately promoting expression of SOX9 and downstream aggrecan and collagen II genes. Our data define a complex regulatory signaling cascade initiated by LPP and suggest that LPP may be a useful therapeutic substitute for direct BMP administration to treat IVD degeneration and to ameliorate IVD-associated chronic low back pain.