Chiral and herringbone symmetry breaking in water-surface monolayers

We report the observation from monolayers of eicosanoic acid in the L′2 phase of three distinct out-of-plane first-order diffraction peaks, indicating molecular tilt in a nonsymmetry direction and hence the absence of mirror symmetry. At lower pressures the molecules tilt in the direction of their nearest neighbors. In this region we find a structural transition, which we tentatively identify as the rotator-herringbone transition L2d−L2h

Interactions between bacterial surfaces and milk proteins, impact on food emulsions stability

Bacteria possess physicochemical surface properties such as hydrophobicity, Lewis acid/base and charge which are involved in physicochemical interactions between cells and interfaces. Moreover, food matrices are complex and heterogeneous media, with a microstructure depending on interactions between the components in media (van der Waals, electrostatic or structural forces, etc.). Despite the presence of bacteria in fermented products, few works have investigated how bacteria interact with other food components. The objective of the present study was to determine the effects of the surface properties of lactic acid bacteria on the stability of model food emulsions. The bacteria were added to oil/water emulsions stabilized by milk proteins (sodium caseinate, whey proteins concentrate or whey proteins isolate) at different pH (from 3 to 7.5). The effect of bacteria on the emulsions stability depended on the surface properties of strains and also on the characteristics of emulsions. Flocculation and aggregation phenomena were observed in emulsion at pHs for which the bacterial surface charge was opposed to the one of the proteins. The effects of bacteria on the stability of emulsion depended also on the concentration of cations present in media such as Ca2+. These results show that the bacteria through their surface properties could interact with other compounds in matrices, consequently affecting the stability of emulsions. The knowledge and choice of bacteria depending on their surface properties could be one of the important factors to control the stability of matrices such as fermentation media or fermented products.Région Bourgogne, Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie

Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein Autoimmunity: A French Cohort Study

Background and ObjectivesTo report the clinical, biological, and imaging features and clinical course of a French cohort of patients with glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) autoantibodies.MethodsWe retrospectively included all patients who tested positive for GFAP antibodies in the CSF by immunohistochemistry and confirmed by cell-based assay using cells expressing human GFAPα since 2017 from 2 French referral centers.ResultsWe identified 46 patients with GFAP antibodies. Median age at onset was 43 years, and 65% were men. Infectious prodromal symptoms were found in 82%. Other autoimmune diseases were found in 22% of patients, and coexisting neural autoantibodies in 11%. Tumors were present in 24%, and T-cell dysfunction in 23%. The most frequent presentation was subacute meningoencephalitis (85%), with cerebellar dysfunction in 57% of cases. Other clinical presentations included myelitis (30%) and visual (35%) and peripheral nervous system involvement (24%). MRI showed perivascular radial enhancement in 32%, periventricular T2 hyperintensity in 41%, brainstem involvement in 31%, leptomeningeal enhancement in 26%, and reversible splenial lesions in 4 cases. A total of 33 of 40 patients had a monophasic course, associated with a good outcome at last follow-up (Rankin Score ≤2: 89%), despite a severe clinical presentation. Adult and pediatric features are similar. Thirty-two patients were treated with immunotherapy. A total of 11/22 patients showed negative conversion of GFAP antibodies.DiscussionGFAP autoimmunity is mainly associated with acute/subacute meningoencephalomyelitis with prodromal symptoms, for which tumors and T-cell dysfunction are frequent triggers. The majority of patients followed a monophasic course with a good outcome

Candidate gene resequencing in a large bicuspid aortic valve-associated thoracic aortic aneurysm cohort: SMAD6 as an important contributor

Bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) is the most common congenital heart defect. Although many BAV patients remain asymptomatic, at least 20% develop thoracic aortic aneurysm (TAA). Historically, BAV-related TAA was considered as a hemodynamic consequence of the valve defect. Multiple lines of evidence currently suggest that genetic determinants contribute to the pathogenesis of both BAV and TAA in affected individuals. Despite high heritability, only very few genes have been linked to BAV or BAV/TAA, such as NOTCH1, SMAD6, and MAT2A. Moreover, they only explain a minority of patients. Other candidate genes have been suggested based on the presence of BAV in knockout mouse models (e.g., GATA5, NOS3) or in syndromic (e.g., TGFBR1/2, TGFB2/3) or non-syndromic (e.g., ACTA2) TAA forms. We hypothesized that rare genetic variants in these genes may be enriched in patients presenting with both BAV and TAA. We performed targeted resequencing of 22 candidate genes using Haloplex target enrichment in a strictly defined BAV/TAA cohort (n = 441; BAV in addition to an aortic root or ascendens diameter = 4.0 cm in adults, or a Z-score = 3 in children) and in a collection of healthy controls with normal echocardiographic evaluation (n = 183). After additional burden analysis against the Exome Aggregation Consortium database, the strongest candidate susceptibility gene was SMAD6 (p = 0.002), with 2.5% (n = 11) of BAV/TAA patients harboring causal variants, including two nonsense, one in-frame deletion and two frameshift mutations. All six missense mutations were located in the functionally important MH1 and MH2 domains. In conclusion, we report a significant contribution of SMAD6 mutations to the etiology of the BAV/TAA phenotype

DMTs and Covid-19 severity in MS: a pooled analysis from Italy and France

We evaluated the effect of DMTs on Covid-19 severity in patients with MS, with a pooled-analysis of two large cohorts from Italy and France. The association of baseline characteristics and DMTs with Covid-19 severity was assessed by multivariate ordinal-logistic models and pooled by a fixed-effect meta-analysis. 1066 patients with MS from Italy and 721 from France were included. In the multivariate model, anti-CD20 therapies were significantly associated (OR = 2.05, 95%CI = 1.39–3.02, p < 0.001) with Covid-19 severity, whereas interferon indicated a decreased risk (OR = 0.42, 95%CI = 0.18–0.99, p = 0.047). This pooled-analysis confirms an increased risk of severe Covid-19 in patients on anti-CD20 therapies and supports the protective role of interferon

Routine use of natriuretic peptides: Lessons from a big data analysis

Background Natriuretic peptides have broad indications during heart failure and the detection of left ventricular dysfunction in high-risk patients. They can also be used for the diagnosis/management of other cardiac diseases. However, very little is known regarding their use in routine practice. Methods We examined all biological tests performed from February 2010 to August 2015 in two districts from the French Brittany, covering 13,653 km 2 and including 22,265 physicians. We report the settings and conditions of N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) measurements (the only locally natriuretic peptide available). Results From a total of 3,606,432 tests requested in 557,650 adult (older than 20 years) patients, only 56,653 (1.6%) included at least one NT-proBNP measurement. NT-proBNP measurements gradually increased, from 9188 in 2011 to 12,938 in 2014 ( P < 0.001). Most NT-proBNP tests were measured in urban laboratories (72.7%) and in private (62.9%) non-hospital/clinics laboratories; they were mostly ordered by general practitioners (66% compared with 11% by cardiologists). The number of NT-proBNP measurements increased with age up to 80–90 years, and 70.3% of tests were measured in ≥75 years patients. Creatinine and electrolytes were not associated with NT-proBNP in 15.8% and 19.7% of tests, respectively. Conclusion Among a very large cohort, we observed that natriuretic peptides remain largely undermeasured. NT-proBNP is mostly measured in elderly patients, and its interpretation may be hazardous in up to 16% of all individuals because no measurement of creatinine was associated to NT-proBNP

L’approche pluridisciplinaire des protocoles chirurgico-orthodontiques du service de chirurgie maxillo-faciale de l’hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière

La mise en place d’une consultation pluridisciplinaire orthodontico-chirurgicale, dans le service de chirurgie maxillo-faciale du groupe hospitalier Pitié-Salpêtrière – Charles-Foix, a permis d’améliorer la prise en charge des patients. Ils ne sont plus vus seulement par un orthodontiste et un chirurgien, ils sont également suivis sur le plan psychique, physiologique et nutritionnel. La journée pré-opératoire est l’élément central de la prise en charge; elle permet de faire le lien entre le temps préopératoire et le temps opératoire

Impact des recommandations de l’ANSM dans la prise en charge en cabinet libéral des collections circonscrites aiguës suppurées de la cavité orale d’origine dentaire : enquête nationale

Introduction: La prise en charge des collections circonscrites aiguës suppurées d’origine dentaire (CCASD) implique un drainage, le traitement de la dent causale ainsi que la mise en place d’une antibiothérapie dont le choix repose actuellement sur les recommandations de l’ANSM (recommandations AFSSAPS, 2011). En première intention, elles préconisent la prescription d’amoxicilline (2g/jours) ou clindamycine (1200g/jour) en cas d’allergie; en seconde intention, une bithérapie associant classiquement l’amoxicilline à l’acide clavulanique ou au métronidazole. L’émergence de mécanismes de résistances bactériennes a conduit à la mise en place d’actions favorisant une meilleure utilisation des antibiotiques. La France s’inscrit parmi les plus gros consommateurs en Europe (ANSM 2017): une surconsommation globale, une utilisation trop fréquente de molécules à large spectre en pratique courante. Dans ce contexte, l’ANSM a émis des recommandations sur la prescription des antibiotiques pour la prise en charge des CCASD. Sachant que 90% des prescriptions sont faites en ville dont 8% par les chirurgiens-dentistes (CD), il est paru nécessaire de connaître leur attitude. Nous avons donc souhaité évaluer l’impact des recommandations de l’ANSM chez les CD en France, dans la prise en charge des CCASD. Matériel et méthode: Nous avons réalisé une enquête nationale, en collaboration avec l’UFSBD (Union Francaise pour la Santé Bucco-Dentaire), regroupant 15000 praticiens, ayant recu le questionnaire par mail. Il comprenait 28 questions sur quatre thèmes principaux: prise en charge des CCASD, connaissance des recommandations, leur application, formations professionnelles initiales et continues. Résultats: Sur l’ensemble des praticiens, 690 (4,6%) ont participé à l’étude. 13% suivent de manière stricte les recommandations et 70,5% réalisent un acte clinique le jour de l’urgence : il correspond à 98% à un drainage (par voie muqueuse ou ouverture de la dent). Dans seulement 1/3 des cas la prescription de première intention se portait sur l’amoxicilline seule. 44% y associent des anti-inflammatoires. 68% des praticiens reconnaissent connaître les recommandations de l’ANSM par leur formation initiale (36%), une revue professionnelle (27%) ou un congrès (19%). La plupart suit une formation continue (77% une revue professionnelle, 90% un congrès, 38% un cursus de formation continue théorique). 89% prescrivent des anti-inflammatoires lors de la consultation d’urgence. Conclusion: Il existe peu de données évaluant l’impact des recommandations concernant ce sujet, mais il est communément admis qu’elles sont peu suivies (Gaillat et al 2005), ce que révèle également notre étude. Les raisons invoquées sont multiples : désaccord des praticiens sur l’efficacité des recommandations, manque de temps, contraintes organisationnelles. Bien que la bithérapie soit considérée comme plus efficace par les CD interrogés pour traiter les CCASD, les experts s’accordent à dire qu’elle participe à la création de la résistance bactérienne, considérée comme ≪ l’une des plus graves menaces pesant sur la santé mondiale ≫, et faisant l’objet d’un plan d’action mondial mis en place par l’OMS et l’ONU en 2015 (OMS, 2017)