Stents in pediatric and adult congenital cardiac catheterization in France in 2013

Stents have contributed to the development of the interventional catheterization for congenital heart diseases (CHD). The aim of this study was to describe indications, results and adverse events in current practice.MethodsThe participation to this study was proposed to all catheterization laboratories specialized in CHD in France (M3C network). All cases with stents implantation in 2013 in pediatric and adult CHD were retrospectively included. Adverse events were assessed using the Bergersen classification.Results174 stents were implanted during 132 procedures in 127 patients by 6 main operators in 9 centers. Patients were aged 15.7±15.1years old (min 5day-old - max 70years old). Sixteen types of procedures were identified. Main indications were transcatheter pulmonary valve replacement (29 patients, 23.0%), pulmonary artery branches angioplasty (34 patients, 27.0%), aortic (re)coarctation stenting (37 patients, 29.4%) and ductus arteriosus stenting (11 patients, 8.7%). 18 patients (14.3%) were under one y.o and 35 (27.8%) were over 18y.o. Main pathologies were tetralogy of Fallot and variants (ACC-CHD 8.3, n=45, 35.7%), and aortic coarctation (ACC-CHD 9.2, n=36, 28.6%). More than 1 stent was implanted in 32 procedures (24.4%, max. 5 stents). Main stents implanted were the CP stent (33.0%), EV3 LD max (22.0%), Valeo (16.2%) and valved stents (15.0%). 98.5% procedures were considered as successful. Serious adverse events were observed in 12.9%. After multivariate adjustment, only procedure type was related to the risk of total adverse events (OR: 3.0, 95%CI 1.1–7.9) but not to stent related adverse events. Age, weight, center, operator, type of stents, stent diameter, genetic disorder and type of CHD were not significantly related to the risk of adverse events.ConclusionStents are used in various CHD catheterization procedures, from infancy to adult age. Adverse events rate is significant and seems related to the type of procedure

Modifying effect of dual antiplatelet therapy on incidence of stent thrombosis according to implanted drug-eluting stent type

Aim To investigate the putative modifying effect of dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) use on the incidence of stent thrombosis at 3 years in patients randomized to Endeavor zotarolimus-eluting stent (E-ZES) or Cypher sirolimus-eluting stent (C-SES). Methods and results Of 8709 patients in PROTECT, 4357 were randomized to E-ZES and 4352 to C-SES. Aspirin was to be given indefinitely, and clopidogrel/ticlopidine for ≥3 months or up to 12 months after implantation. Main outcome measures were definite or probable stent thrombosis at 3 years. Multivariable Cox regression analysis was applied, with stent type, DAPT, and their interaction as the main outcome determinants. Dual antiplatelet therapy adherence remained the same in the E-ZES and C-SES groups (79.6% at 1 year, 32.8% at 2 years, and 21.6% at 3 years). We observed a statistically significant (P = 0.0052) heterogeneity in treatment effect of stent type in relation to DAPT. In the absence of DAPT, stent thrombosis was lower with E-ZES vs. C-SES (adjusted hazard ratio 0.38, 95% confidence interval 0.19, 0.75; P = 0.0056). In the presence of DAPT, no difference was found (1.18; 0.79, 1.77; P = 0.43). Conclusion A strong interaction was observed between drug-eluting stent type and DAPT use, most likely prompted by the vascular healing response induced by the implanted DES system. These results suggest that the incidence of stent thrombosis in DES trials should not be evaluated independently of DAPT use, and the optimal duration of DAPT will likely depend upon stent type (Clinicaltrials.gov number NCT00476957

The evolution of the plastid chromosome in land plants: gene content, gene order, gene function

This review bridges functional and evolutionary aspects of plastid chromosome architecture in land plants and their putative ancestors. We provide an overview on the structure and composition of the plastid genome of land plants as well as the functions of its genes in an explicit phylogenetic and evolutionary context. We will discuss the architecture of land plant plastid chromosomes, including gene content and synteny across land plants. Moreover, we will explore the functions and roles of plastid encoded genes in metabolism and their evolutionary importance regarding gene retention and conservation. We suggest that the slow mode at which the plastome typically evolves is likely to be influenced by a combination of different molecular mechanisms. These include the organization of plastid genes in operons, the usually uniparental mode of plastid inheritance, the activity of highly effective repair mechanisms as well as the rarity of plastid fusion. Nevertheless, structurally rearranged plastomes can be found in several unrelated lineages (e.g. ferns, Pinaceae, multiple angiosperm families). Rearrangements and gene losses seem to correlate with an unusual mode of plastid transmission, abundance of repeats, or a heterotrophic lifestyle (parasites or myco-heterotrophs). While only a few functional gene gains and more frequent gene losses have been inferred for land plants, the plastid Ndh complex is one example of multiple independent gene losses and will be discussed in detail. Patterns of ndh-gene loss and functional analyses indicate that these losses are usually found in plant groups with a certain degree of heterotrophy, might rendering plastid encoded Ndh1 subunits dispensable

Radiative recombination across the Epsilon(0) and Delta(0) band gap in CdTe

Resonantly excited photoluminescence spectroscopy has been used to investigate radiative recombination across the Epsilon 0 plus Delta 0 band gap in undoped bulk CdTe. For excitation with photon energies slightly higher than the Epsilon 0 plus Delta 0 band-gap energy, luminescence is observed at this gap energy. This emission is interpreted as the radiative recombination of photocreated electrons and holes localized in the lowest conduction band and in the spin-orbit-split-off Gamma 7 valence band, respectively. Similar photoluminescence transitions across the Epsilon 0 plus Delta 0 gap are also observed in Cd-rich Cd chi Hg1 minus chi Te

Hydrogen Diffusion and Trapping in Micro-Nanocrystalline Silicon

Effusion experiments and Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS) profiling are performed on post-hydrogenated (deuterated) micro-nanocrystallized silicon films obtained by thermal annealing of amorphous sputtered layers. The analysis of the effusion spectra and SIMS profiles allows to evidence the existence of cavities containing molecular hydrogen, the presence of weakly bonded hydrogen in small clusters and hydrogen trapped at grain boundaries. These results are analysed with regard to the microstructure of the crystallized layers studied by Transmission Electron Microscopy. This microstructure depends on the conditions of deposition of the original amorphous layers.Des expériences d'exodiffusion sont réalisées sur des échantillons de silicium déposés en couches minces par pulvérisation cathodique, cristallisés par recuit thermique et post-hydrogénés (deutérés). L'analyse des spectres d'exodiffusion et des profils de diffusion obtenus par spectrométrie de masse d'ions secondaires permet de conclure à la présence de cavités suffisamment larges pour contenir de l'hydrogène sous forme moléculaire, à la présence d'hydrogène faiblement lié situé dans des micro-cavités ainsi qu'à celle d'hydrogène piégé aux joints de grains. Ces résultats sont corrélés aux microstructures des couches analysées par Microscopie Electronique en Transmission, microstructures qui dépendent des conditions de depôt des couches initiales de silicium amorphes

White Light Emission from a Zero-Dimensional Lead Chloride Hybrid Material

International audienc

Flavor enhancement as a strategy to improve food liking in cancer patients with taste and smell alterations

Summary: Food liking is an essential component of the food intake experience. However, some conditions may alter the perception, thus the liking of food, leading to a reduced intake and increasing the risk of malnutrition. Particularly, in the context of cancer and related therapies, malnutrition is a major challenge with 25%–80% of cancer patients experiencing malnutrition at different degrees. The aim of the present exploratory study was to examine the effect of flavor enhancement on food liking in a group of cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy and with varying self-reported taste/smell abilities.The liking of four eggplant creams enhanced with either salt, lemon, garlic or cumin was evaluated in comparison to a reference eggplant cream by a group of 154 cancer patients. Patients were stratified in two subgroups according to their self-reported taste and smell perception abilities. Results showed that adding salt and garlic significantly increased patients' liking of the eggplant cream (P0.05), while adding lemon reduced liking compared to the reference (P<0.001).Enhancing food flavor is likely to be a promising way to increase food liking in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. Future studies should include measurements of food intake during a full meal and over a defined period to examine whether increasing food liking helps to reduce risks of malnutrition by improving food intake in cancer patients

Excitons in bulk black phosphorus evidenced by photoluminescence at low temperature

Atomic layers of Black Phosphorus (BP) present unique opto-electronic properties dominated by a direct tunable bandgap in a wide spectral range from visible to mid-infrared. In this work, we investigate the infrared photoluminescence of BP single crystals at very low temperature. Near-bandedge recombinations are observed at 2 K, including dominant excitonic transitions at 0.276 eV and a weaker one at 0.278 eV. The free-exciton binding energy is calculated with an anisotropic Wannier-Mott model and found equal to 9.1 meV. On the contrary, the PL intensity quenching of the 0.276 eV peak at high temperature is found with a much smaller activation energy, attributed to the localization of free excitons on a shallow impurity. This analysis leads us to attribute respectively the 0.276 eV and 0.278 eV PL lines to bound excitons and free excitons in BP. As a result, the value of bulk BP bandgap is refined to 0.287 eV at 2K