Sex- and Diet-Specific Changes of Imprinted Gene Expression and DNA Methylation in Mouse Placenta under a High-Fat Diet

Changes in imprinted gene dosage in the placenta may compromise the prenatal control of nutritional resources. Indeed monoallelic behaviour and sensitivity to changes in regional epigenetic state render imprinted genes both vulnerable and adaptable

Comparison of two kinds of interface, based on guided navigation or usability principles, for improving the adoption of computerized decision support systems: application to the prescription of antibiotics

International audienceIt is important to consider the way in which information is presented by the interfaces of clinical decision support systems, to favor the adoption of these systems by physicians. Interface design can focus on decision processes (guided navigation) or usability principles

Comparison of two kinds of interface, based on guided navigation or usability principles, for improving the adoption of computerized decision support systems: application to the prescription of antibiotics

CONTEXT: It is important to consider the way in which information is presented by the interfaces of clinical decision support systems, to favor the adoption of these systems by physicians. Interface design can focus on decision processes (guided navigation) or usability principles. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to compare these two approaches in terms of perceived usability, accuracy rate, and confidence in the system. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We displayed clinical practice guidelines for antibiotic treatment via two types of interface, which we compared in a crossover design. General practitioners were asked to provide responses for 10 clinical cases and the System Usability Scale (SUS) for each interface. We assessed SUS scores, the number of correct responses, and the confidence level for each interface. RESULTS: SUS score and percentage confidence were significantly higher for the interface designed according to usability principles (81 vs 51, p=0.00004, and 88.8% vs 80.7%, p=0.004). The percentage of correct responses was similar for the two interfaces. DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION: The interface designed according to usability principles was perceived to be more usable and inspired greater confidence among physicians than the guided navigation interface. Consideration of usability principles in the construction of an interface—in particular ‘effective information presentation’, ‘consistency’, ‘efficient interactions’, ‘effective use of language’, and ‘minimizing cognitive load’—seemed to improve perceived usability and confidence in the system

Reports of hypoglycaemia associated with the use of ACE inhibitors and other drugs: a case/non-case study in the French pharmacovigilance system database

Aims To test the existence of an association between reports of hypoglycaemia and angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors, in a spontaneous reports database

Impact of Sexual Violence on Chemokines in the Female Genital Tract: Risk of HIV acquisition

Sexual violence is a known risk factor in HIV acquisition and transmission, and may cause dysregulation of genital immune microenvironment. IP-10, MCP-1 and MIP-3α are chemokines that act as chemo-attractants for macrophages and T-cells. Since macrophages and T-cells are targets for HIV, increase in these chemokines may lead to an increased risk of HIV infection in women experiencing sexual violence. Cases were defined as women who had experienced non-consensual vaginal intercourse in the last 3 months (n=42) and controls, defined as women who had no history of sexual violence, were recruited from the local Washington DC community (n=63). Cervical-vaginal lavage (CVL) samples were collected by washing the cervical-vaginal tract with 10 mL of sterile saline. Premenopausal women were asked to return 4 more times over 8 weeks to collect information about their menstrual cycle. Post-menopausal women were asked to return as well to match premenopausal women. Samples were analyzed by standard Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) (R&D Systems) for three chemokines, MCP-1, IP-10, and MIP-3α according to manufacturer’s protocol. Data was analyzed using GraphPad Prism (version 5.04) and SAS version 9.4. Multiple visits were treated as distinct records for analysis. We observed MIP-3α to have significantly lower levels (p\u3c0.0001) in Cases compared to Controls. In addition, MIP-3α levels were also affected by menopausal status showing significantly lower values for both premenopausal Cases (p=0.0004) and post-menopausal Cases (p=0.0147) relative to their respective Control groups. The results from MCP-1 was different, showing a significantly (p=0.0196) lower concentration in Cases compared to Controls. Stratifying by menopausal status, we found significantly lower levels of MCP-1 in post-menopausal Cases (p=0.0297). We also found that MCP-1 levels were decreased among pre-menopausal Cases but these results were not statistically significant. Analysis of IP-10 levels in CVL revealed no statistically significant differences in between Cases and Controls or between premenopausal and postmenopausal status. Our results indicate that sexual violence may cause immunological changes in the genital tract microenvironment in a manner that might enhance risk of HIV infection. All three chemokines that we analyzed function to attract T-cells and macrophages to an area of localized inflammation caused by damage to tissues or infection. Additionally, menopausal status might alter the immune environment further and therefore should be considered in studies involving women’s health and HIV

Prospective comparison of Abbott RealTime HBV DNA and Versant HBV DNA 3.0 assays for hepatitis B DNA quantitation: Impact on HBV genotype monitoring

International audienceThe quantitation of human hepatitis B virus (HBV) in the serum of infected patients is recommended to characterize the course of chronic HBV infection. The aim of this prospective study was to evaluate the performance of the Abbott RealTime PCR assay for HBV DNA quantitation by comparison with the standard Versant HBV DNA 3.0 assay. The better sensitivity and broader dynamic range of HBV DNA quantitation using the Abbott RealTime PCR assay was confirmed by the study of 362 serum samples from 311 patients. In addition, data analysis revealed the concordance of HBV DNA quantitations between the two assays. When this evaluation was assessed as a function of HBV genotype, there was discordance for HBV genotype C samples. Thus, we performed an in-house PCR to confirm the discrepancy observed regarding the HBV genotypes. The in-house PCR results agreed better with the Abbott RealTime PCR method when compared with the standard hybridization assay. In conclusion, the wide dynamic range of HBV DNA quantitation achieved with the Abbott RealTime PCR assay makes it appropriate for the clinical monitoring of HBV infected patients. However, a change of HBV DNA quantitation method could influence results on the follow-up of HBV genotype C infected patients