Both the novel Bayer patch and the COC showed good contraceptive efficacy in this study, with no pregnancies occurring during either treatment. One pregnancy occurred during the second washout phase of this study; however, this occurred after intake of the last COC tablet. Despite these favorable results, caution should be taken when interpreting these findings with the aim of predicting VTE risk among users of different hormonal contraceptives. Although comparative pharmacodynamic

data may be used to indicate possible differences between products, there are no generally accepted surrogate endpoints. In addition, it should also be noted that the inability of this study to find any differences between click here treatments may be a reflection of its small sample size and relatively short treatment duration. In addition lipid metabolism was not

assessed in the present study. However, study data have shown that low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels (LDL-C) decrease and triglyceride and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels increase from baseline levels after treatment with a contraceptive preparation that contains gestodene and EE. These changes resulted in an increased HDL-C/LDL-C ratio, demonstrating that the contraceptive had an anti-atherogenic effect [29]. 5 Conclusion The results of AZD0156 concentration this crossover, comparative study demonstrate that both the novel Bayer 5-FU research buy patch delivering low doses of EE and gestodene and a low-dose, monophasic COC containing EE and levonorgestrel have comparable influence on hemostatic endpoints. Both treatments were well-tolerated by subjects, and no clinically significant laboratory changes were observed. Acknowledgments The study was funded by Bayer Pharma AG. Statistical support was provided by Mr Keith Falconer and Mr Florian Hiemeyer. Editorial assistance was provided by Ogilvy 4D, Oxford, UK, and was funded by Bayer Pharma AG. Professor Junge has no financial involvements to selleck chemicals llc disclose. Dr Heger-Mahn has received research funding

from Bayer Pharma AG. Mr Trummer and Dr Merz are employees of Bayer Pharma AG. Open AccessThis article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and the source are credited. References 1. Nelson HD. Commonly used types of postmenopausal estrogen for treatment of hot flashes: scientific review. JAMA. 2004;291(13):1610–20.PubMedCrossRef 2. Janssen–Cilag. Evra transdermal patch. Summary of product characteristics. 2012. http://​www.​medicines.​ie/​medicine/​2273/​SPC/​Evra+transdermal​+patch/​. Accessed 5 Mar 2013. 3. UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs Population Division. World contraceptive use. 2011. http://​www.​un.

g., Palmira, Pradera, Popayán buy SB202190 and Armenia) represent emerging markets for cooked peach palm

fruits. In Bogotá, Colombia’s capital and largest city, cooked fruits are sold in several places. Even in large franchise restaurants the fruit is an ingredient of some dishes. Most of the fruits consumed in Cali come from municipalities around Buenaventura on the Pacific Coast, though the city’s markets also provide fruits from quite distant regions. The harvested fruit bunches are usually transported by boat to small river ports connected to the road network; from there they are commercialized through local intermediaries and transported to the city (135 km on paved road). In 2009 farmers obtained around 0.60–0.90 US-$ for 1 kg of fruits. In Cali several peach palm traders are located at a place named “Puerto Chontaduro,” where much of the city’s peach palm supply is sold. One or two intermediaries merchandise

the fruit again until it is finally sold to street vendors (Giraldo et al. 2009). AZD3965 In Cali women referred to as platoneras have exclusive control of the business, with an estimated 3000, mostly from the poorest neighborhoods, depending on this activity as their main source of income (Rodriguez et al. 2009). According to a survey conducted by the provincial government of Valle del Cauca, the majority of platoneras have poor learn more access to education and health services and must finance their activities with informal credit at high interest rates (Gobernación Valle del Cauca 2007, unpublished). The commercial flow of fruits from the coastal region to Cali has increased significantly in recent decades; the city now accounts for an estimated 60 % of the consumption of

peach palm fruits from this region. During the 1970s, in contrast, peach palm was mostly consumed in the municipality were it was cultivated (62 %) or marketed in the city of Buenaventura (34 %) (Mejía 1978). Reports from the 18th century indicate that during a period of food scarcity in Cali peach palm imports Ribose-5-phosphate isomerase from the Buenaventura region helped end the emergency (Patiño 1995). Today peach palm is considered a promising substitute for illicit crops cultivated in Colombia. Earnings from peach palm production have been estimated at about 2,500 US-$ ha−1 year−1 with yields of about 8 t ha−1 year−1. One major drawback is that it takes about 7 years to reach full production, though the palm trees begin producing after the third year. Investment costs of peach palm plantations are considered reasonable at approximately 400 US-$ ha−1 (Winogrond 2004). In 2008/2009 the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reported a reduction of coca plantations in areas where peach palm was commonly grown, especially in the Amazon region (Caqueta) (UNODC 2010). On Colombia’s Pacific coast peach palm is also considered to be a promising alternative crop.

Wet indentation can effectively reduce the adhesion between the atoms of the work material and the atoms of the indenter. It helps preserve the final indentation shape and geometry after the indenter is retracted. In dry indentation, the hardness-indentation depth curve exhibits the reverse indentation size effect. In wet indentation, the curve exhibits the regular indentation size effect. By analyzing the force distributions along the indenter/work interface, it is found that the existence of water molecules can significantly reduce Selleckchem PF-6463922 the friction force, but not the normal force. In dry indentation,

the maximum indentation force increases from 468.0 to 549.7 eV/Å as the indentation speed increases from 10 to 100 m/s. In wet indentation, the maximum indentation force increases from 423.2 to 565.6 eV/Å with the same increase of speed. However, the increase of indentation force is much less significant when the speed increases from 1 to 10 m/s. References 1. Beegan D, Chowdhury S, Laugier MT: A nanoindentation study of copper films on oxidised GS-9973 manufacturer silicon substrates. Surf Coatings Technol 2003,176(1):124.CrossRef 2. Kramer DE, Volinsky AA, Moody NR, Gerberich WW: Substrate effects on indentation plastic zone development in thin soft films. J Mater Res 2001,16(11):3150–3157.CrossRef 3. Cordill MJ,

Moody NR, Gerberich WW: The role of dislocation walls for nanoindentation to shallow depths. Int J Plast 2009,25(2):281–301.CrossRef GF120918 in vivo 4. Oliver WC, Pharr GM: Improved technique for determining hardness and elastic modulus using load and displacement sensing indentation experiments. J Mater Res 1992,7(6):1564–1583.CrossRef 5. Tuck JR, Korsunsky AM, Bull SJ, Davidson RI: On the application of the work-of-indentation approach to depth-sensing indentation experiments

in coated systems. Surf Coat Technol 2001,137(2):217–224.CrossRef 6. Zhou L, Yao Y: Single crystal many bulk material micro/nano indentation hardness testing by nanoindentation instrument and AFM. Mater Sci Eng A 2007, 460:95–100. 7. Beegan D, Chowdhury S, Laugier MT: Work of indentation methods for determining copper film hardness. Surf Coat Technol 2005,192(1):57–63.CrossRef 8. Bhushan B, Koinkar VN: Nanoindentation hardness measurements using atomic force microscopy. Appl Phys Lett 1994,64(13):1653–1655.CrossRef 9. Nix WD: Mechanical properties of thin films. Metall Mater Trans A 1989,20(11):2217–2245.CrossRef 10. Xue Z, Huang Y, Hwang KC, Li M: The influence of indenter tip radius on the micro-indentation hardness. J Eng Mater Technol 2002,124(3):371–379.CrossRef 11. McElhaney KW, Vlassak JJ, Nix WD: Determination of indenter tip geometry and indentation contact area for depth-sensing indentation experiments. J Mater Res 1998,13(5):1300–1306.CrossRef 12.

Unlabelled target DNA was added to 20 μl of binding reaction where indicated as a negative control. Assays were loaded onto native

6% polyacrylamide gels pre-electrophoresed for 30 minutes in 0.5 × Tris borate/EDTA and electrophoresed at 100 V for 50 minutes. The DNA is then transferred to a positive nylon membrane, UV-crosslinked, probed with horseradish peroxidase conjugated streptavidin (LightShift™ chemiluminescent EMSA kit) according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Statistical analysis The results of each series of experiments (performed in triplicates) were expressed as the mean values ± standard deviation of the mean (SD). Statistical significance of differences Selleck HDAC inhibitor between groups was analyzed by using ANOVA analysis. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results Assembly of anti-CD20 scFvFc/CD28/CD3ζ The whole DNA fragment C188-9 solubility dmso coding for anti-CD20scFvFc/CD28/CD3ζ was shown in Fig. 1A. It was confirmed by restriction digestion mapping and DNA sequencing. Figure 1 A: Schematic diagram of the anti-CD20scFvFc-pLNCX and anti-CD20scFvFc/CD28/CD3ζ pLNCX, LTR: long term repeat, Neo: neomycin, CMV: cytomegalovirus. B: The CD3, CD4 and CD8 antigens

on surface of PBMCs, which incubated for 10 days after stimulation by PHA-L, OKT3 and IL-2 were analyzed by flow cytometry. A life gate was set around CD3 positive cells; only those cells expressing this membrane protein were included, and 20,000 events were analyzed. C: PBMCs grafted with anti-CD20scFvFc/CD28/CD3ζ after selected by G418 for 7 days and analysis of PBMCs grafted with anti-CD20scFvFc/CD28/CD3ζ FDA approval PARP inhibitor not by Western blot. D-a:PBMCs grafted with anti-CD20scFvFc/CD28/CD3ζ co-culture with Raji cells

for 12 hours. D-b: PBMCs grafted with anti-CD20scFvFc/CD28/CD3ζ co-culture with Raji cells for 24 hours. E: Cell lysis evaluated by [3H]TdR release assay. (In experimental group, *represents p < 0.05 compared to control group at the same time point). Expression of anti-CD20scFvFc/CD28/CD3ζ in PBMCs T Lymphocyte Subsets of PBMCs was analyzed by flow cytometry. As showed in Fig. 1B, the CD3 positive cell population of PBMCs was above 90% and the CD8 positive CTL cells accounted for the majority of PBMCs population. Cell lysates from transduced peripheral blood T lymphocytes were probed with an anti-CD3ζ mAb to detect the endogenous CD3ζ and the recombinant CD3ζ in transduced PBMCs. As shown in Fig. 1C, a 21 KDa band corresponding to wild-type CD3ζ and a 68 KDa band consistent with anti-CD20scFvFc/CD28/CD3ζ were present in cell lysates of transduced peripheral blood T lymphocytes after 7 days culture. Morphology The Raji cells adhered to T cells, but kept integrity of cell morphology after 2 hours co-culture with anti-CD20scFvFc/CD28/CD3ζ transduced T cells.

Figure  3b,c shows approximately 700-nm-thick TiO2 nanotube arrays. Figure 2 FESEM images of a Ti surface patterned with protruding dots and anodized for 1 min. The Ti surface was anodized at 60 V in an ethylene glycol solution containing 0.5 wt% NH4F.

(a) × 2,000 magnification, (b) × 15,000 magnification, (c) × 15,000 magnification, and (d) × 50,000 magnification. Figure 3 FESEM images of a Ti surface patterned with protruding dots and anodized for 2 min. The Ti surface was anodized at 60 V in an ethylene glycol solution containing 0.5 wt% NH4F. (a) × 1,000 magnification, (b) × 5,000 magnification, (c) × 15,000 magnification, and (d) × 50,000 magnification. Figure 4 FESEM images of a Ti surface patterned with protruding dots selleck kinase inhibitor and anodized for 4 min. The Ti surface was anodized at 60 V in an ethylene glycol solution containing 0.5 wt% NH4F. (a) × 1,000 magnification, (b) × 5,000 magnification, (c) × 10,000 selleck inhibitor magnification, and (d) × 45,000 magnification. Figure 5 FESEM images of a Ti surface patterned with protruding dots and anodized for 5 min. The Ti surface was anodized at 60 V in an ethylene glycol solution containing 0.5 wt% NH4F. (a) × 1,000 magnification,

(b) × 4,000 magnification, (c) × 10,000 magnification, and (d) × 40,000 magnification. Figure 6 FESEM images of a Ti surface patterned with protruding dots and anodized for 7 min. The Ti surface was anodized at 60 V in an ethylene glycol solution containing 0.5 wt% NH4F. (a) × 1,000 magnification, (b) × 4,000 magnification, (c) × 10,000 magnification, and (d) × 50,000

magnification. When the anodization time was increased to 4 min, beautiful TiO2 Selleck LY2835219 micro-flowers started to bloom. The arrays of TiO2 micro-flowers are shown in Figure  4a. The thickness of each TiO2 nanotube is linearly correlated with the extent to which the TiO2 micro-flowers bloom. The blooming of the TiO2 micro-flowers is due to the severe cleavages of the TiO2 nanotubes between the top areas and the side walls of the protruding dots. As the anodization time was increased to 5 min, core bundles of nanotubes in TiO2 micro-flowers were slightly bent in random directions, as shown in Figure  5a,b,c,d. This occurred due to the difference in the growing speed of each TiO2 nanotube in the C-X-C chemokine receptor type 7 (CXCR-7) core bundles. The measured thickness of the TiO2 nanotubes in Figure  5d was 2 μm. As the anodization time was increased to 7 min, the center area of the core nanotube bundles in the TiO2 micro-flowers was removed, as shown in Figure  6a,b,c. Figure  6d shows the cleavage areas of the TiO2 micro-flowers. The structure of the TiO2 nanotubes in that area collapsed due to the additional etching by the fluorine ions in the anodizing solution. Figure  7 shows the schematic mechanism involved in the blooming of the TiO2 micro-flowers. One of the Ti-protruding dots from the photolithography and RIE process shows a cylindrical shape in Figure  7a.

Figure 9 Comparision of chang in expression of apoptosis related genes as fold Epigenetics inhibitor change (ratio of target:reference gene) in MCF-7 cells after 48 hours of exposure of 150 μg/mL of catechin. Figure 10 Comparision of chang in expression of apoptosis related genes as fold change (ratio of target:reference gene) in MCF-7 cells after 48 hours of exposure of 300 μg/mL of catechin. Discussion The mechanism of action of many anticancer drugs is based on their ability to induce apoptosis [19, 20]. There

are many mechanisms through which apoptosis can be enhanced in cells. Agents suppressing the proliferation of malignant cells by enhancing apoptosis may constitute a useful mechanistic approach to both cancer chemoprevention and chemotherapy. However, unfavorable side effects and resistance of GSK1838705A chemical structure many of the anticancer agents that have been developed are serious find more problems [21]. Thus, there is a growing interest in

the use of plant-based compounds to develop safe and more effective therapeutic agents for cancer treatment [22]. Because the side effects of green tea are modest and well tolerated [23], increasing attention is being given to the application of tea catechins for cancer prevention and treatment. EGCG conjugated with capric acid has been shown to be the catechin that most potently induces apoptosis in U937 cells. C10 has been shown to enhance apoptosis in human colon cancer (HCT116) cells [24]. Catechin compounds have been shown to exhibit cytostatic properties in many tumor models [2, 3]. Babich et al. (2005) found that catechin and epicatechin (EC) are less toxic G protein-coupled receptor kinase than other catechin compounds, including ECG, CG, EGCG and EGC, in HSC-2 carcinoma cells and HGF-2 fibroblasts[25]. Hence,

I was interested in identifying whether apoptosis was the mode of death for cancer cells treated with CH (the least toxic form). To do so, I sought to determine the role of CH in inhibiting cell growth and modulating the expression of caspases-3, -8, and -9 and p53. The data presented in this paper demonstrate a time- and dose-dependent inhibition by CH of MCF-7 human breast cancer cell proliferation. There are many mechanisms through which apoptosis can be induced in cells. The sensitivity of cells to any of these stimuli may vary depending on factors such as the expression of pro- and anti-apoptotic proteins. The mitochondrial apoptotic pathways and death receptor pathways are the two major pathways that have been characterized in mammalian cells. The mitochondria have a central role in regulating the caspase cascade and apoptosis [26]. Caspases have a central role in the apoptotic process in that they trigger a cascade of apoptotic pathways [27]. The release of cytochrome -c from mitochondria leads to the activation of procaspase-9 and then caspase-3 [26]. The activation of caspase-3 is an important downstream step in the apoptotic pathway [28].

1B). The motility of Herminiimonas arsenicoxydans, an arsenic-oxidising bacterium is greater in the presence MK-1775 price of arsenite [25]. Motility tests revealed that the five Thiomonas strains reacted differently to the metalloid (Table 1). Strain T. perometabolis was found to be non-motile irrespective of arsenite concentrations. Among the motile strains,

three distinct phenotypes were observed: those for whom motility was not affected by arsenite concentration (strain 3As); those who showed increased motility with increasing arsenite concentrations (strains T. arsenivorans and WJ68) and those who showed decreased motility with increasing arsenite concentration (Ynys1). WJ68 was three to four times more motile than all of the other strains. A concentration of 2.67 mM arsenite

appeared to have an inhibitory effect on T. arsenivorans and WJ68 motility (data not shown). All the physiological and genetic analyses revealed that the response to arsenic differed in the five Thiomonas strains; some of these differences were correlated with differences in the genetic content. As(III) as an check details energy source, and the fixation of carbon dioxide Only T. arsenivorans, 3As and WJ68 were able to grow in basal media with yeast extract as the sole energy source (Table 1). During these growth experiments, mTOR inhibitor soluble sulfate concentrations remained the same or decreased slightly (data not shown), indicating that energy was gained from the oxidation of compounds other than any trace RISCs in the yeast extract, most probably organic carbon.

These observations suggest that all strains except Ynys1 Astemizole and T. perometabolis are organotrophic. All strains were able to grow in the presence of YE and thiosulfate (Table 1). In these thiosulfate-amended cultures, sulfate concentrations increased following incubation (data not shown), indicating that thiosulfate had been oxidised. This suggests that all strains were able to use this RISC as an energy source and are therefore chemolithotrophic. In all cases, greater growth occurred in thiosulfate-amended cultures, suggesting that mixotrophic conditions are optimal for the growth of these strains. It was however observed that T. arsenivorans grew better in MCSM liquid medium, whereas T. perometabolis and Ynys1 grew better in m126 medium (3As and WJ68 grew equally well in both; data not shown). MCSM contains 2 times less thiosulfate and suggests that the optimal thiosulfate concentration is lower in the case of T. arsenivorans. Only T. arsenivorans was able to grow in basal media without yeast extract with either thiosulfate or arsenite as the sole energy source (Table 1). Although direct cell enumeration of T. perometabolis cultures was not possible due to its propensity to form flocs during growth, no growth, flocular or otherwise, was observed in the YE-free media. The growth of T.

Written informed consent was obtained from each patient before tissue acquisition. All data were collected in the Department of Anatomical Pathology, Afflited hospital of Qingdao medical college, Qingdao university (Qingdao, China) from July 2000 to Sep. 2008. All tumors were defined as EHC, and pathological features of the tumors were determined histologically based on classifications of the Liver Cancer Study Group of China . Histological ARS-1620 ic50 grades of the tumors consisting of more than two features were defined by the most prominent feature, and those components were selected for immunohistochemical studies. Real-Time Quantitative RT-PCR of Snail and Slug Total RNA was extracted

and purified from 52 paired samples of fresh frozen cancerous tissues and noncancerous bile tissues using Trizol Reagent (Life Technologies, Inc.) according to the manufacturer’s instructions. For reverse transcriptase reaction, we used 5 μg of the RNA, random see more hexamers, and Superscript II reverse transcriptase (Life Technologies, Inc.) according to the manufacturer’s instructions. The oligonucleotide primers and

TaqMan probes designed for Snail and Slug were as follows: Snail (5′-ACCACTATGCCGCGCTCTT-3′ and 5′-GGTCGTAGGGCTGCTGGAA-3′); Slug (5′-TGTTGCAGTGAGGGCAAGAA-3′ and 5′-GACCCTGGTTGCTTCAAGGA3′); and TaqMan probe (Snail, 5′-6FAM-TCGTCAGGAAGCCCTCCGACCC-TAMRA-3′ and Slug, 5′-6FAM-AGGCTTCTCCCCCGTGTGAGTTCTAATG-TAMRA-3′). Each primer was placed in a different exon to avoid amplification of contaminating JNK-IN-8 ic50 genomic DNA. Primers and probe for GAPDH (TaqMan GAPDH control reagent kit) were purchased

from Perkin-Elmer Applied Biosystems (Foster City, CA). Real-time quantitative PCR was done using the ABI Prism 7700 Sequence Detection System (Perkin-Elmer Applied Biosystems), as described above. Real-time PCR assays were done in triplicate, and the mean values were used for calculations of mRNA expression. Finally, the Snail and Slug mRNA expression ratios for tumorous (T) and nontumorous (N) tissues were calculated as follows: R = [Snail or Slug (T)/GAPDH (T)]/[Snail or Slug (N)/GAPDH (N)] × 102. Cases SPTLC1 were designated as either overexpression (R > 100) or nonoverexpression (R ≤ 100) cases. Immunohistochemical Staining of E-Cadherin Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue sections from 52 EHC cases that corresponded to the RNA extracted cases were processed for immunohistochemical staining, as described previously [23] . A primary monoclonal Ab against E-cadherin (diluted 1:1000; Transduction Laboratories) was used. Positive immunoreactivity of normal bile duct epithelium was confirmed as a positive control for each specimen [24] . Immunohistochemical staining was examined under a light microscope by two pathologists. The cell staining of E-cadherin was evaluated semiquantitatively, and tumors were divided into two groups: (a) preserved pattern: >75% of tumor cells staining and (b) reduced pattern: <75% of tumor cells staining, as described elsewhere [23] .

The last up-regulated entry is transcriptional Seliciclib purchase regulator, merR family (MAP3267c) which is important

for the response to oxidative stress and antibiotics. Among the down-regulated genes are two sigma factors such as SigI which is activated in response to general stress and SigJ, required for the regulation of expression in stationary phase cultures [55]. The susceptibility to lipophilic antibiotics is repressed since four genes coding for transcriptional regulator, tetR family (MAP3052c MAP0155 MAP2262 MAP0335) are down-regulated along with the repression of the glyoxylate path with transcriptional regulator, iclR family (MAP1446c). With respect to the detoxification metabolism during macrophage infection, MAP up-regulates sodC in order to dismutate superoxides, RG-7388 mouse and increases its antibiotic resistance by up-regulating genes such as aminoglycoside phosphotransferase (MAP3197), prolyl 4-hydroxylase, alpha subunit (MAP1976) and antibiotic transport system permease (MAP3532c) for their efflux. Virulence and antigenicity of MAP during infection of THP-1 are dominated by the up-regulation of mpt64, tlyA, peptidase M22 glycoprotease (MAP4261), and family PE-PGRS protein (MAP4144). The

hbha gene for host cell adhesion as well as mce1C for the invasion MK5108 supplier of mammalian host cells are down-regulated, thus limiting the invasive feature of MAP during intramacrophage infection. Lastly, there is a down-regulation of components belonging to antigenic variability such as four PPE family protein (MAP0966c, MAP2927, MAP1515, MAP3737) that are repressed. The stress metabolism shows an up-regulation of acid-resistance membrane protein (MAP1317c) specific for resistance to acidic environment, uspA (MAP1754c) and two entries for the repair of damaged DNA such as recR and end. On the other hand, within this metabolism two entries such as Hsp20 and dnaJ are repressed along with domain-containing protein Endonuclease PitT (MAP2680c, MAP2027c) required for MAP’s survival under nutritional stress. Comparison of

acid-nitrosative multi-stress and THP-1 infection MAP’s transcriptomes MAP’s transcriptome resulting from the acid-nitrosative stress is more complex and rich (n = 988) than the detectable transcriptome during infection of the macrophage line THP-1 (n = 455). Between the two transcriptomes it is possible to find analogies of up-regulation or down-regulation for several entries since 50 and 24 genes are commonly up-regulated and down-regulated, respectively (Figure 3). Homologies can be found in the intermediate metabolism, where there is a repression of the synthesis of glycogen both in the acid- nitrosative stress (glgB glgC) and in the cellular infection (glgC), thus highlighting a limitation in extracellular sources of carbohydrates.

Post-hoc Tukey Kramer tests showed that the helminth community selleck kinase inhibitor observed in voles sampled in the Northern massif des Ardennes significantly differed from the one observed in voles sampled in the Southern part of the crêtes pré-Ardennaises, either in wooded or hedgerow areas. This result was confirmed when we projected the F1 or F2 values on the site map. Sites appeared divided into two areas, corresponding to the Northern massif des Ardennes and to the

Southern crêtes pré-Ardennaises (Figure 3c). Most of the negative F1 values (squares) selleck compound were located in the northern part of the area whereas the F2 positive values (circles) were observed in the southern part. By plotting the gravity centres of each landscape configuration on the F1xF2 factorial plan, it appeared that northern sites were characterized by the presence of M. muris, A. muris-sylvatici (they were not detected in Southern sites) and T. arvicolae whereas Southern sites experienced more infections associated with T. taeniaeformis

and S. petrusewiczi (this latter species was not detected in Northern sites). We therefore tested whether the helminth community varied between PUUV infected and non-infected bank voles. We analysed data independently for the Northern IWP-2 and the Southern parts of the transect. The discriminant analyses revealed significant differences when considering the northern area only (Massif des Ardennes, p = 0.005; Crêtes pré-ardennaises, p = 0.551, Figure 4a). The main discriminant species variable was the presence of H. mixtum, and in a lesser extent of A. muris-sylvatici (Figure 4b). Bank voles exhibiting anti-PUUV antibodies were

more likely to be infected with these nematode species than bank voles with no anti-PUUV antibodies (H. mixtum: RR = 5.91, Fisher Phospholipase D1 exact test: p = 0.002; A. muris-sylvatici: RR = 2.34, Fisher exact test, p = 0.125). We obtained similar results when comparing PUUV infected (with anti-PUUV antibodies and PUUV RNA) and non infected (without anti-PUUV antibodies or PUUV RNA) bank voles (H. mixtum: RR = 4.74, Fisher exact test: p = 0.007; A. muris-sylvatici: RR = 2.53, Fisher exact test, p = 0.102). Figure 4 Results of the discriminant analysis performed on the helminth community of PUUV-seronegative and PUUV-seropositive bank voles sampled in the northern sites of the transect. a) Sample scores of the discriminant function for PUUV-seronegative and PUUV-seropositive bank voles. The symbols (-) and (+) represent the group averages of these two classes of individuals. b) Coefficient of the discriminant scores on this axis. The viral load in infected individuals tended to be higher in voles coinfected with H. mixtum than in voles that did not carry any infection with this helminth species (F 1,19 = 0.992, p = 0.331, Figure 5). Although the number of H.