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Few studies have been conducted in the Eastern Mediterranean region on chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection with reference to genotypes. We investigated the response to standard combination therapy (pegylated interferon/ribavirin) of different genotypes of HCV in Kuwaiti patients and factors that could be associated with sustained virological response (SVR). The records of all Kuwaiti patients treated for chronic HCV between January 2003 and May 2009 were retrospectively identified and reviewed. Of 108 patients studied, 27.8% were infected with genotype 1, 25.0% with genotype 3 and 47.2% with genotype 4. Overall, 64.8% of patients achieved SVR, 25.9%, were non-responders and 9.3% were relapsers. Baseline viral load and alanine aminotransferase level in addition to early virological response to pegylated interferon-based therapy may serve as a decision tool for clinicians to identify patients who are unlikely to achieve SVR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In northern Italy, and especially in the Po Valley, instability phenomena such as hail and thunderstorms are mainly associated with the penetration of Atlantic disturbances, especially cold fronts, or prefrontal squall lines in the mid-seasons, and with the thermal convection of hot and moist air in the summer. Changes of their seasonal distribution may be considered as an index of anomalies in the synoptic pressure pattern, which determines the general circulation over Europe. Two different types of meteorological data have been analysed: (1) historical, non-specialist descriptions, taken from chronicles, annals or diaries after ad 1300, when people began to record, in addition to the most outstanding climatic events and natural hazards, minor observations including instability phenomena; (2) regular daily observations made by trained meteorologists after 1740. The historical descriptions show that in the Po Valley the highest thunderstorm frequency is in the summer, between June and August, but in the 1500s the distribution was anomalous. In that century, a broad maximum was found between March and August, and a secondary maximum was found in December. In the early period of observations made by trained meteorological personnel, i.e., 1740–1799, a summer maximum of thunderstorm frequency was found, almost equally distributed from June to August, followed by May and September. In the most recent period, i.e., 1940–1989, the seasonal distribution was very regular for three decades (1940 to 1969) with the mode in June, followed by July and August, and it then changed, with more late peaks. The historical written sources show that the seasonal distribution of hail was more homogeneous than thunderstorms. Hail was especially frequent in the summer, from June to August, except in the 1500s, when the seasonal distribution was practically one month earlier. In the early period of regular meteorological observations, hail was seasonally distributed less regularly than thunderstorms, with more skew and earlier in the year. The maximum frequency was in June, followed by April, May, July and August. In the most recent period, the distribution was still irregular, with marked fluctuations, the distribution being displaced later in the season. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are concerns that recent climate change is altering the frequency and magnitude of river floods in an unprecedented way 1 . Historical studies have identified flood-rich periods in the past half millennium in various regions of Europe 2 . However, because of the low temporal resolution of existing datasets and the relatively low number of series, it has remained unclear whether Europe is currently in a flood-rich period from a long-term perspective. Here we analyse how recent decades compare with the flood history of Europe, using a new database composed of more than 100 high-resolution (sub-annual) historical flood series based on documentary evidence covering all major regions of Europe. We show that the past three decades were among the most flood-rich periods in Europe in the past 500 years, and that this period differs from other flood-rich periods in terms of its extent, air temperatures and flood seasonality. We identified nine flood-rich periods and associated regions. Among the periods richest in floods are 1560-1580 (western and central Europe), 1760-1800 (most of Europe), 1840-1870 (western and southern Europe) and 1990-2016 (western and central Europe). In most parts of Europe, previous flood-rich periods occurred during cooler-than-usual phases, but the current flood-rich period has been much warmer. Flood seasonality is also more pronounced in the recent period. For example, during previous flood and interflood periods, 41 per cent and 42 per cent of central European floods occurred in summer, respectively, compared with 55 per cent of floods in the recent period. The exceptional nature of the present-day flood-rich period calls for process-based tools for flood-risk assessment that capture the physical mechanisms involved, and management strategies that can incorporate the recent changes in risk.

Insulin-like growth factor binding proteins (IGFBPs) play important physiological functions through the modulation of IGF signaling as well as IGF-independent mechanisms. Despite the established role of IGFs in development, a similar role for the seven known IGFBPs has not been established in humans. Here, we show that an autosomal-recessive syndrome that consists of progressive retinal arterial macroaneurysms and supravalvular pulmonic stenosis is caused by mutation of IGFBP7. Consistent with the recently established inhibitory role of IGFBP7 on BRAF signaling, the BRAF/MEK/ERK pathway is upregulated in these patients, which may explain why the cardiac phenotype overlaps with other disorders characterized by germline mutations in this pathway. The retinal phenotype appears to be mediated by a role in vascular endothelium, where IGFBP7 is highly expressed., (Copyright © 2011 The American Society of Human Genetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)