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To assess the long-term incidence and predictive factors for recurrence after laparoscopic ventral hernia repair using a bridging technique. The study group consisted of 213 consecutive patients operated by laparoscopy for primary ventral (n= 158) or incisional hernia (n= 55) between 2001 and 2014. Patients had a repair without fascia closure by intra-peritoneal onlay placement of a Parietex®composite mesh centred on the defect with an overlap of at least 3 cm. Clinical outcome was assessed by a combination of office consultation, patient’s electronic medical file review and telephone interview. There were 144 men and 69 women with a mean age of 55 ± 12 years and a BMI of 32 ± 6. With a mean follow-up of 69 ± 44 months, a recurrent hernia was noted in 16 patients (7.5%). Univariate analysis showed a statistically significant higher recurrence rate in the following conditions: incisional hernia (15%), BMI ≥ 35 (21%), defect width >4 cm (27%), defect area >20 cm2(27%), mesh overlap <5 cm (32%) and ratio of mesh area to defect area (M/D ratio) ≤12 (48%). Multivariate logistic analysis revealed that M/D ratio was the only independent predictive factor for recurrence (coefficient −0.79, OR 0.46, p< 0.002). With a M/D ratio ≤8, between 9 and 12, between 13 and 16, and ≥17, the recurrence rate was, respectively, 70, 35, 9 and 0% (p< 0.001). In laparoscopic repair of ventral hernia using a bridging technique, an overlap of at least 5 cm is not all that is required to prevent hernia recurrence. The M/D ratio is the most important predictive factor for recurrence. A ratio of 13 appears as the threshold under which that technique cannot be recommended and 16 as the threshold over which the risk of recurrence is virtually nil. If a satisfactory M/D ratio cannot be achieved, other surgical repair should be proposed to the patient.

In the Lower Palaeozoic Anglo–Brabant fold belt in Belgium, a detailed study of the geochemistry of different generations of pyrite has been carried out by electron microprobe analysis. The occurrence of pyrite is related to different episodes in the evolution of this fold belt. Pyrite occurs either as a pre- or as a syn-deformation phase in the metamorphosed sedimentary and igneous rocks. Pre-cleavage pyrite in greenschist metamorphosed sedimentary rocks has a relative higher Ni-content. As illustrated in the Kupferschiefer, this could be due to the release of Ni from organic matter during diagenesis. Pre-cleavage pyrite in the igneous rocks has higher Cu, Pb, Cd and Zn contents, which could be caused by the incorporation of these elements in the sulphide phase during the final stage of the crystallisation of the magma. Syn-deformation pyrite along cleavage planes and in quartz/carbonate veins is characterised by higher As, Sb, Se and Au contents, typical for hydrothermal mineralisation in a greenschist facies fold belt.

The Trichoderma harzianum imidazoleglycerolphosphate dehydratase gene (igh) has been isolated by complementation of a Saccharomyces cerevisiae his3 mutant using a direct expression vector. This Escherichia coli-yeast shuttle vector was developed to allow efficient cloning and expression of cDNA libraries. The cDNA is 627 nucleotides long and codes for a protein of 209 amino acids with an apparent molecular mass of 22 466 daltons. The predicted protein sequence showed 63.6%, 58.7%, and 38.4% identity respectively to the corresponding enzymes from S. cerevisiae, Pichia pastoris and E. coli. Northern analysis showed that the expression of the igh gene in T. harzianum is not inhibited by external histidine and the level of igh mRNA was about threefold higher in cells starved of histidine.

Tribasic lead sulfate (3BS) and tetrabasic lead sulfate (4BS), used as precursors of the positive active material in the lead/acid batteries, were prepared by a new method: reactive grinding. The effects of various experimental parameters (stoichiometry, hygrometry of the starting compounds, duration of mechanical treatment) upon the nature and morphological features of the resulting phase were investigated. Among them, hygrometry turned out to be the most critical one. With water in excess, only 3BS was produced while dry reagents led to 4BS. In both cases, samples with a small particle size and high reactivity were obtained. In order to evaluate the influence of the morphology upon the electrochemical performances of such grinding produced samples, the capacity was measured and compared with that of traditional 3BS and 4BS samples.