Quality check of cardiac MRI exams for Fallot patients: Interest of a simple formula to detect invalid exams

PurposeCardiac MRI (CMR) is the key exam for Fallot patients but remains tricky. The CMR report should at least mention left and right ventricle end-diastole volumes (Vl and Vr), ejection fraction (EFl and EFr) and pulmonary regurgitation (PR). Obviously, these variables are linked together by basic physiology rules and indeed Vl×EFl=Vr×EFr×(1-PR). We investigated the interest of using such formula as quality check during Fallot CMR exams in our center.Methods98 consecutive CMR examinations for Fallot (or Fallot-like) cardiopathy between 2010 and 2014 were retrospectively included. The exams failing to pass the formula (with a 10% tolerance) constituted the Invalid-group and a control group of the same size was also constituted. CMR of both groups were randomly submitted to a blinded senior observer. The inter-observer limits of agreements were compared for the different variables within both groups.Results(Fig. 1) 12 CMR (12%) failed to pass the validation formula. From the 24 reanalyzed CMR, only 4 failed to pass the formula (all from the Invalid-group). Two had persistent defect (VSD or ASD) which were not mentioned to the radiologist and not detected during the CMR. Two had significant artefacts in the aorta or pulmonary trunk due to sterna wires. The inter-observer disagreements for the 8 other CMR of the Invalid-group concerned the Right ventricle end-diastole volume (P<0.05).ConclusionThe use of a simple formula as quality check of CMR examinations for Fallot patients was useful to detect a total of 12% of CMR with issues. 8% of the CMR corresponded to uncertain right ventricle contours, 2% to persistent septal defects that should have been noticed during the examination and 2% to unreliable aortic or pulmonary flow due to artifacts. The formula could have permitted either to detect the anomalies or at least to conclude that the quality of the exams was impaired

First electron beam polarization measurements with a Compton polarimeter at Jefferson Laboratory

A Compton polarimeter has been installed in Hall A at Jefferson Laboratory. This letter reports on the first electron beam polarization measurements performed during the HAPPEX experiment at an electron energy of 3.3 GeV and an average current of 40 $\mu$A. The heart of this device is a Fabry-Perot cavity which increased the luminosity for Compton scattering in the interaction region so much that a 1.4% statistical accuracy could be obtained within one hour, with a 3.3% total error

The Inflammasome Component Nlrp3 Impairs Antitumor Vaccine by Enhancing the Accumulation of Tumor-Associated Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells

The inflammasome is a proteolysis complex that generates the active forms of the pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1β and IL-18. Inflammasome activtation is mediated by NLR proteins that respond to microbial and nonmicrobial stimuli. Among NLRs, NLRP3 senses the widest array of stimuli and enhances adaptive immunity. However, its role in antitumor immunity is unknown. Therefore, we evaluated the function of the NLRP3 inflammasome in the immune response using dendritic cell vaccination against the poorly immunogenic melanoma cell line B16-F10. Vaccination of Nlrp3−/− mice led to a relative 4-fold improvement in survival relative to control animals. Immunity depended upon CD8+ T cells and exhibited immune specificity and memory. Increased vaccine efficacy in Nlrp3−/− hosts did not reflect differences in dendritic cells but rather differences in myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs). Although Nlrp3 was expressed in MDSCs, the absence of Nlrp3 did not alter either their functional capacity to inhibit T cells or their presence in peripheral lymphoid tissues. Instead, the absence of Nlrp3 caused a 5-fold reduction in the number of tumor-associated MDSCs found in host mice. Adoptive transfer experiments also showed that Nlrp3−/− MDSCs were less efficient in reaching the tumor site. Depleting MDSCs with an anti-Gr-1 antibody increased the survival of tumor-bearing wild-type mice but not Nlrp3−/− mice. We concluded that Nlrp3 was critical for accumulation of MDSCs in tumors and for inhibition of antitumor T cell immunity after dendritic cell vaccination. Our findings establish an unexpected role for Nlrp3 in impeding antitumor immune responses, suggesting novel approaches to improve the response to antitumor vaccines by limiting Nlrp3 signaling

A 1-Year Prospective French Nationwide Study of Emergency Hospital Admissions in Children and Adults with Primary Immunodeficiency.

PURPOSE: Patients with primary immunodeficiency (PID) are at risk of serious complications. However, data on the incidence and causes of emergency hospital admissions are scarce. The primary objective of the present study was to describe emergency hospital admissions among patients with PID, with a view to identifying "at-risk" patient profiles. METHODS: We performed a prospective observational 12-month multicenter study in France via the CEREDIH network of regional PID reference centers from November 2010 to October 2011. All patients with PIDs requiring emergency hospital admission were included. RESULTS: A total of 200 admissions concerned 137 patients (73 adults and 64 children, 53% of whom had antibody deficiencies). Thirty admissions were reported for 16 hematopoietic stem cell transplantation recipients. When considering the 170 admissions of non-transplant patients, 149 (85%) were related to acute infections (respiratory tract infections and gastrointestinal tract infections in 72 (36%) and 34 (17%) of cases, respectively). Seventy-seven percent of the admissions occurred during winter or spring (December to May). The in-hospital mortality rate was 8.8% (12 patients); death was related to a severe infection in 11 cases (8%) and Epstein-Barr virus-induced lymphoma in 1 case. Patients with a central venous catheter (n = 19, 13.9%) were significantly more hospitalized for an infection (94.7%) than for a non-infectious reason (5.3%) (p = 0.04). CONCLUSION: Our data showed that the annual incidence of emergency hospital admission among patients with PID is 3.4%. The leading cause of emergency hospital admission was an acute infection, and having a central venous catheter was associated with a significantly greater risk of admission for an infectious episode

Protocol for a partially nested randomised controlled trial to evaluate the effectiveness of the scleroderma patient-centered intervention network COVID-19 home-isolation activities together (SPIN-CHAT) program to reduce anxiety among at-risk scleroderma patients

Objective: Contagious disease outbreaks and related restrictions can lead to negative psychological outcomes, particularly in vulnerable populations at risk due to pre-existing medical conditions. No randomised controlled trials (RCTs) have tested interventions to reduce mental health consequences of contagious disease outbreaks. The primary objective of the Scleroderma Patient-centered Intervention Network COVID-19 Home-isolation Activities Together (SPIN-CHAT) Trial is to evaluate the effect of a videoconference-based program on symptoms of anxiety. Secondary objectives include evaluating effects on symptoms of depression, stress, loneliness, boredom, physical activity, and social interaction.Methods: The SPIN-CHAT Trial is a pragmatic RCT that will be conducted using the SPIN-COVID-19 Cohort, a sub-cohort of the SPIN Cohort. Eligible participants will be SPIN-COVID-19 Cohort participants without a positive COVID-19 test, with at least mild anxiety (PROMIS Anxiety 4a v1.0 T-score >= 55), not working from home, and not receiving current counselling or psychotherapy. We will randomly assign 162 participants to intervention groups of 7 to 10 participants each or waitlist control. We will use a partially nested RCT design to reflect dependence between individuals in training groups but not in the waitlist control. The SPIN-CHAT Program includes activity engagement, education on strategies to support mental health, and mutual participant support. Intervention participants will receive the 4-week (3 sessions per week) SPIN-CHAT Program via video-conference. The primary outcome is PROMIS Anxiety 4a score immediately post-intervention.Ethics and dissemination: The SPIN-CHAT Trial will test whether a brief videoconference-based intervention will improve mental health outcomes among at-risk individuals during contagious disease outbreak

Implications of serial measurements of natriuretic peptides in heart failure: insights from BIOSTAT‐CHF

No abstract available

Construction of a chimeric viral gene expressing plum pox virus coat protein

International audienc

Transgenic tobacco plants that contain the plum pox virus (PPV) coat protein gene

International audienc

Impact of meat cooking and masticatory efficiency on food bolus formation and amino acid absorption in human

International audienceObjectives: Previous studies have shown that both meat cooking conditions, and chewing efficiency, can affect meat protein digestion. The objective of the present study was to try to rank these factors according to the magnitude of their effect, and to evidence potential interactions. Methods: Ten young normo-dented volunteers were invited to participate to the experiment. Pork meat was cooked 10 min at 75°C or 45 min at 90°C, leading to different meat tenderness and cohesiveness. Volunteers were invited to ingest meat in two different situations: after normal mastication, or after deficient mastication (by wearing an occlusal appliance). Meat boluses have been collected before swallowing for assessment of their physical/rheological properties. Plasma aminoacidemia was recorded after ingestion of a meal containing the pork meat as main source of protein. Results: In normal chewing condition and with comparable masticatory durations, the kinetics of matrix disruption was much faster for high cooking meat, and boli were constituted of smaller particles than in low cooking meat. Whatever the meat sample, bolus was softened along the progress of the masticatory sequence and saliva impregnation was similar at the moment of swallowing. By contrast, impaired mastication led to longer and slower sequences, but failed in softening meat samples as well as in reducing it in small fragments. With deficient mastication, the plasma amino acids concentration increases more slowly, and reaches a lower maximal value. This effect was more pronounced for the low cooking meat. Conclusions: Overall, this study showed that a decreased chewing efficiency impairs amino acid absorption, but it also evidenced an interaction between chewing efficiency, the size of swallowed particles (linked to cooking conditions), and the amino acid absorption rate. This work highlights the important but disregarded role of the masticatory function in nutrition, and brings powerful prospects in developing foods for orally impaired people

Molecular characterization of banana virus X (BVX), a novel member of the Flexiviridae family

International audienceA novel virus was identified in banana (Musa spp). Analysis of the last 2917 nucleotides of its positive strand genomic RNA showed five open reading frames corresponding, from 5′ to 3′, to a truncated ORF coding for a replication-associated protein, three ORFs coding for a movement-associated triple gene block (TGB) and a capsid protein (CP) gene. This genome organization is similar to that of some members of the Flexiviridae family such as potexviruses and foveaviruses. This virus was named Banana virus X (BVX). Comparative sequence analysis showed that BVX is only distantly related to other members of the Flexiviridae family, in which it appears to define a new genus. BVX produces defective RNAs derived from its genomic RNA by non-homologous recombination. Three distinct pairs of donor/acceptor recombination sites involving short direct nucleotide repeats were characterized, accounting for deletions of 1268, 1358 and 1503 nucleotides. Contrary to the situation encountered for Potexviruses, these recombination sites are located within the TGB1 and CP genes and result in a truncated TGB1 protein