Biological Exploration of Immunoallergic Events at the Pasteur Institute of Côte d’Ivoire

Introduction : The Immunology Laboratory at the Pasteur Institute of Côte d\u27Ivoire (IPCI) provides the diagnosis of many diseases including immuno-allergic diseases. This study aimed to indicate the various biological tests used in the diagnosis of immuno-allergic diseases. Patients and methods: This was a retrospective study from 2012 to 2014with 113 patients. Multi allergenic specific IgE Test, ALL ONZE and ALL CHECK and automated assay VIDAS systemfor total IgE were used on sera of patients. Results: Private and public hospitals provided all the patients. The clinical manifestations were mostly skin,respiratory and ENT diseases (76,10%) .About 65,48 % of patients were aged 3 to 45 years. Pneumallergens occupied the first place,followed by dust cockroaches ,moulds, and pollens.Conclusion: It is necessary to advocate epidemiological investigation on a large scale following the U.S. and Europe investigation models to screen local allergens

Prenatal diagnosis of total and partial anomalous pulmonary venous connection: multicenter cohort study and meta-analysis

Objectives: The aims of this study were to review systematically literature on and describe the sonographic features and associated anomalies of total (TAPVC) and partial (PAPVC) anomalous pulmonary venous connection and scimitar syndrome (SS). Methods: A retrospective cohort study was carried out of cases of TAPVC, PAPVC and SS that underwent comprehensive ultrasound examination, seen over a 20-year period at two tertiary referral centers. Assessed variables included TAPVC subtype, gestational age at diagnosis, area behind the left atrium, ventricular disproportion, vertical vein, pulmonary venous obstruction, mode of diagnosis, association with cardiac and extracardiac conditions, and pregnancy and fetoneonatal outcomes. The outcome was considered favorable if the individual was alive and well (no functional impairment from surgery or cardiac or extracardiac conditions). Cases associated with right isomerism were excluded from the analysis, as TAPVC in these cases was only one of several major cardiac anomalies affecting sonographic signs. A systematic review was performed in order to obtain a synthesis of characteristics associated with TAPVC, PAPVC and SS. The literature search of PubMed and EMBASE (1970–2016) included reviews, case series and case reports. A meta-analysis was conducted only for TAPVC. Random-effects models were used to obtain pooled estimates of the frequencies of clinical characteristics and sonographic features. Results: For TAPVC, a total of 15 studies involving 71 patients (including 13 from the current cohort study) were included in the systematic review and meta-analysis. The pooled estimate for the association of TAPVC with congenital heart disease was 28.3% (95% CI, 18.1–41.3%) and with extracardiac anomalies it was 18.5% (95% CI, 10.5–30.6%). Of TAPVC cases, obstructed venous return was observed in 34.1% (95% CI, 22.7–47.7%), a favorable outcome in 43.8% (95% CI, 24.0–65.8%), ventricular disproportion in 59.2% (95% CI, 45.1–72.0%), increased area behind the left atrium in 58.1% (95% CI, 41.1–73.5%) and a vertical vein in 59.3% (95% CI, 41.1–75.3%). Diagnosis was established by using color or power Doppler in 84.9% (95% CI, 67.3–93.9%) of cases. For SS, there were only three studies describing eight cases, to which the current study added another five. Ventricular disproportion was present in three out of nine SS cases for which data were available, but for two of these, there was a concurrent heart anomaly. Color Doppler was used for all SS diagnoses, and four-dimensional echocardiography was useful in two out of six cases in which it was used. Outcome for SS cases was generally good. For PAPVC, there were only five studies describing five cases, to which the current study added another two. Major cardiac anomalies were associated in four out of seven of these cases, and extracardiac anomalies in three out of six cases for which data were available. Conclusions: TAPVC can be associated with other cardiac and extracardiac anomalies in a significant percentage of cases. Leading sonographic signs are ventricular disproportion, increased area behind the left atrium and the finding of a vertical vein. Color/power Doppler is the key mode for diagnosis of TAPVC. Obstructed venous return can be expected in roughly one-third of cases of TAPVC and outcome is favorable in less than half of cases. Data for SS and PAPVC are too few to synthesize. Copyright © 2017 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd

Multistage Random Growing Small-World Networks with Power-law degree Distribution

In this paper, a simply rule that generates scale-free networks with very large clustering coefficient and very small average distance is presented. These networks are called {\bf Multistage Random Growing Networks}(MRGN) as the adding process of a new node to the network is composed of two stages. The analytic results of power-law exponent $\gamma=3$ and clustering coefficient $C=0.81$ are obtained, which agree with the simulation results approximately. In addition, the average distance of the networks increases logarithmical with the number of the network vertices is proved analytically. Since many real-life networks are both scale-free and small-world networks, MRGN may perform well in mimicking reality.Comment: 3 figures, 4 page

Anti-inflammatory recombinant TSG-6 stabilizes the progression of focal retinal degeneration in a murine model

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Inflammatory responses are detected in the retina of patients with age-related macular degeneration and <it>Ccl2^-/-/Cx3cr1^-/-</it>mice on rd8 background,(<it>Ccl2^-/-/Cx3cr1^-/-</it>mice) a model that develops progressive age-related macular degeneration-like retinal lesions including focal photoreceptor degeneration, abnormal retinal pigment epithelium and A2E accumulation. Tumor necrosis factor-inducible gene 6 protein is an anti-inflammatory protein and has been shown to improve myocardial infarction outcome and chemically injured cornea in mice by suppressing inflammation. In this study, we evaluated the effect of an intravitreous injection of recombinant TSG-6 on the retinal lesions of <it>Ccl2^-/-/Cx3cr1^-/-</it>mice.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Recombinant TSG-6 (400 ng) was administered by intravitreous injection into the right eye of six-week-old C<it>cl2^-/-/Cx3cr1^-/-</it>mice. Their left eye was injected with phosphate-buffered saline as a control. Funduscopic pictures were taken before injection and sequentially once a month after injection. The mice were killed two months after injection and the ocular histology examined. Retinal A2E, a major component of lipofuscin, was measured by high performance liquid chromatography. The microarray of ocular mRNA of 92 immunological genes was performed. The genes showing differentiated expression in microarray were further compared between the injected right eye and the contralateral (control) eye by [real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction] qRT-PCR.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The continuous monitoring of the fundus for two months showed a slower progression or alleviation of retinal lesions in the treated right eyes as compared with the untreated left eyes. Among 23 pairs of eyes, the lesion levels improved in 78.3%, stayed the same in 8.7% and progressed in 13.0%. Histology confirmed the clinical observation. Even though there was no difference in the level of A2E between the treated and the untreated eyes, microarray analysis of 92 immune genes showed that <it>IL-17a </it>was substantially decreased after the treatment. Expression of <it>TNF-α </it>showed a similar pattern to <it>IL-17a</it>. The results were consistent in duplicated arrays and confirmed by qRT-PCR.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We concluded that intravitreous administration of recombinant TSG-6 might stabilize retinal lesions in <it>Ccl2^-/-/Cx3cr1^-/-</it>mice on rd8 background. Modulation of ocular immunological gene expressions, especially IL-17a, could be one of the mechanisms.</p

Atypical cardiac defects in patients with RASopathies: Updated data on CARNET study

Background: RASopathies are a set of relatively common autosomal dominant clinically and genetically heterogeneous disorders. Cardiac outcomes in terms of mortality and morbidity for common heart defects (such as pulmonary valve stenosis and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy) have been reported. Nevertheless, also Atypical Cardiac Defects (ACDs) are described. The aim of the present study was to report both prevalence and cardiac outcome of ACDs in patients with RASopathies. Methods: A retrospective, multicentric observational study (CArdiac Rasopathy NETwork—CARNET study) was carried out. Clinical, surgical, and genetic data of the patients who were followed until December 2019 were collected. Results: Forty‐five patients out of 440 followed in CARNET centers had ACDs. Noonan Syndrome (NS), NS Multiple Lentigines (NSML) and CardioFacioCutaneous Syndrome (CFCS) were present in 36, 5 and 4 patients, respectively. Median age at last follow‐up was 20.1 years (range 6.9–47 years). Different ACDs were reported, including mitral and aortic valve dysfunction, ascending and descending aortic arch anomalies, coronary arteries dilation, enlargement of left atrial appendage and isolated pulmonary branches diseases. Five patients (11%) underwent cardiac surgery and one of them underwent a second intervention for mitral valve replacement and severe pericardial effusion. No patients died in our cohort until December 2019. Conclusions: Patients with RASopathies present a distinct CHD spectrum. Present data suggest that also ACDs must be carefully investigated for their possible impact on the clinical outcome. A careful longitudinal follow up until the individuals reach an adult age is recommended

A Search for Dark Higgs Bosons

Recent astrophysical and terrestrial experiments have motivated the proposal of a dark sector with GeV-scale gauge boson force carriers and new Higgs bosons. We present a search for a dark Higgs boson using 516 fb-1 of data collected with the BABAR detector. We do not observe a significant signal and we set 90% confidence level upper limits on the product of the Standard Model-dark sector mixing angle and the dark sector coupling constant.Comment: 7 pages, 5 postscript figures, published version with improved plots for b/w printin