Evaluation of a Passive Upper Limb Exoskeleton in Healthcare Workers during a Surgical Instrument Cleaning Task.

(1) Background: Healthcare workers are highly affected by work-related musculoskeletal disorders, particularly in the lower back, neck and shoulders, as their occupational tasks expose them to biomechanical constraints. One solution to prevent these musculoskeletal disorders may be the use of a passive exoskeleton as it aims to reduce muscle solicitation. However, few studies have been carried out directly in this field to assess the impact of the use of a passive upper limb exoskeleton on this population.

Level of Onboard Care for Critical Patients: Analysis of the French Armed Forces Air Medical Evacuations From the Sahel Since 2013.

Objective: Since 2013, the French Armed Forces have been engaged in the Sahel. The aim of our work was to study the characteristics of severe patients evacuated according to the composition of the air medical staff (ie, an anesthesiologist/intensive care physician [AICP] or an emergency physician [EP]).

Methods: This was a retrospective cohort analysis including all French service members repatriated from the Sahel with a speedy evacuation priority between 2013 and 2019.

Safety of cefuroxime as an alternative in patients with a proven hypersensitivity to penicillins: a DAHD cohort survey.

Objective: In patients sensitized to beta-lactams, a safe beta-lactam alternative is often needed. The objective was to assess the safety of cefuroxime in patients with a proven beta-lactam allergy.

Design: Using the Drug Allergy and Hypersensitivity Database cohort, patients with a proven beta-lactam allergy and tested for cefuroxime between September 1996 and April 2007 were selected.

Pharmacovigilance of drug allergy and hypersensitivity using the ENDA-DAHD database and the GALEN platform. The Galenda project.

Nonallergic hypersensitivity and allergic reactions are part of the many different types of adverse drug reactions (ADRs). Databases exist for the collection of ADRs. Spontaneous reporting makes up the core data-generating system of pharmacovigilance, but there is a large under-estimation of allergy/hypersensitivity drug reactions.

Effects of L-arginine and phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitor, sildenafil, on inflammation and airway responsiveness of sensitized BP2 mice.

Nitric oxide (NO) levels are elevated in the exhaled breath of asthmatic patients and NO is considered as a biomarker of airway inflammation. However, the functions of NO in the airways are not completely understood. L-arginine, as the substrate of NO synthases, is the precursor of NO which stimulates guanylate cyclase and leads to the formation of cyclic GMP (cGMP).

Clinical presentation and time course in hypersensitivity reactions to beta-lactams.

Background: beta-lactam hypersensitivity reactions are classified as immediate or nonimmediate. Diagnosis is usually based upon skin tests and provocation challenges.

Objective: The time course of the reactions in proven beta-lactam hypersensitivities was studied and then correlated with the symptoms to determine the relationship between the clinical presentations and the time course.

Relevance of the determination of serum-specific IgE antibodies in the diagnosis of immediate beta-lactam allergy.

Background: Allergic reactions to beta-lactams are the most frequent cause of adverse drug reactions mediated by specific immunologic mechanisms. They can be explored by in vivo and/or in vitro tests. The measurement of serum-specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) presents several advantages: safety, simplicity, and availability to nonallergologist physicians.

Diagnosis of neuromuscular blocking agent hypersensitivity reactions using cytofluorimetric analysis of basophils.

Background: Immunoglobulin E (IgE)-mediated hypersensitivity reactions to neuromuscular blocking agents (NMBA) are common and life threatening. Basophil activation based upon the expression of CD63 in the presence of specific allergens was found to be of importance for the diagnosis of IgE-mediated hypersensibility.

Methods: The Basotest was evaluated for the diagnosis of NMBA in 47 patients with proven NMBA anaphylaxis, 40 atopic subjects nonallergic to NMBA and five healthy volunteers.

Confirmation of the diagnosis of natural rubber latex allergy by the Basotest method.

Background: The flow cytometry CD63-based basophil activation test (Basotest has already been validated for the diagnosis of immediate-type allergy such as venom, house dust mite or cypress pollen allergies. The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance (specificity and sensitivity) of Basotest in the diagnosis of natural rubber latex allergy.

Methods: We included 46 latex allergic patients (clinical symptoms of latex allergy, positive latex skin prick tests and/or latex specific IgE) and 33 control subjects and performed Basotest on all subjects.

Allergen-induced mediator release tests.

The diagnosis of allergic reactions in clinical practice is based on both clinical history and the determination of specific immunoglobulin E (IgE), either in the serum or on skin mast cells. However, for various reasons, identification of the causative factors is not possible in all the cases. Moreover, not all allergies are IgE-dependent.

Anisotropic behaviour of the C-terminal Kunitz-type domain of the alpha3 chain of human type VI collagen at atomic resolution (0.9 A).

The C-terminal Kunitz-type domain from the alpha3 chain of human type VI collagen (C5), a single amino-acid residue chain with three disulfide bridges, was refined at 0.9 A resolution in a monoclinic form, space group P2(1) with one molecule per asymmetric unit, using data collected at cryogenic temperature (110 K). The average protein factor decreases from 21 A(2) at room temperature (RT) to 12 A(2) at cryotemperature (100 K, CT).

Increased bronchoalveolar lavage CD8 lymphocyte subset population in wheezy infants.

Episodes of wheezing are very common in infancy but, despite their high prevalence, their mechanism is still poorly understood. To better understand the airway inflammation of wheezing infants, we examined cells of the bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL), focusing on the phenotype of lymphocytes and macrophages by using cytofluorimetry. Twenty-one wheezers (mean age 15.

Two-dimensional structure of the native light-harvesting complex LH2 from Rubrivivax gelatinosus and of a truncated form.

The light-harvesting complex LH2 of Rubrivivax gelatinosus has an oligomeric structure built from alpha-beta heterodimers containing three bacteriochlorophylls and one carotenoid each. The alpha subunit (71 residues) presents a C-terminal hydrophobic extension (residues 51-71) which is prone to attack by an endogenous protease. This extension can also be cleaved by a mild thermolysin treatment, as demonstrated by electrophoresis and by matrix-assisted laser desorption-time of flight mass spectrometry.

Basophil activation during pollen season in patients monosensitized to grass pollens.

Background: Basotest is a new basophil-activation test based upon the expression of CD63 (gp53) in the presence of allergens. It is an effective diagnostic test for pollen-allergic patients. However, it is not known whether Basotest results differ during the pollen season.

High resolution x-ray analysis of two mutants of a curaremimetic snake toxin.

A previous mutational analysis of erabutoxin a (Ea), a curaremimetic toxin from sea snake venom, showed that the substitutions S8G and S8T caused, respectively, 176-fold and 780-fold affinity decreases for the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (AchR). In view of the fact that the side-chain of Ser8 is buried in the wild-type toxin, we wondered whether these affinity changes reflect a direct binding contribution of S8 to the receptor and/or conformational changes that could have occurred in Ea as a result of the introduced mutations. To approach this question, we solved X-ray structures of the two mutants S8G and S8T at high resolution (0.

In vitro diagnosis of cypress pollen allergy by using cytofluorimetric analysis of basophils (Basotest).

Background: Cupressaceae pollen allergy is a worldwide pollinosis, but its in vitro diagnosis is notoriously difficult. The Basotest is a newly available in vitro test for the detection of allergen-specific IgE based on the level of cellular activation of basophils by using flow cytometry.

Objectives: The Basotest was compared with the measurement of cypress pollen-specific IgE in highly selected patients.

1.2 A refinement of the Kunitz-type domain from the alpha3 chain of human type VI collagen.

The recombinant Kunitz-type domain (C5) of human collagen alpha3(VI) chain was previously described at 1.6 A resolution at room temperature. By changing the crystallization conditions and using synchrotron radiation, we are able to record diffraction data to 1.

Cells and mediators from pharyngeal secretions in infants with acute wheezing episodes.

An acute wheezing episode is the most common feature of severe lower respiratory tract infection during infancy. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the major causative agent. In order to study inflammation during acute wheezing episodes in infants, we wanted to assess the feasibility and contribution of induction of pharyngeal secretions.

Modification of surface marker expression on CD14 monocytes of allergic patients after lysis or Ficoll purification.

It has been observed that peripheral blood monocytes are often in a primed or activated state in inflammatory diseases such as asthma. However, the majority of these studies have been performed using cells which have been purified by density gradient centrifugation on Percoll or Ficoll-Hypaque. Using cytofluorimetry, we compared the expression of monocyte surface markers of monocytes from untreated blood with monocytes purified by erythrocyte lysis or density centrifugation using the Ficoll technique.

Ex vivo pharmacologic modulation of basophil histamine release in asthmatic patients.

Histamine is one of a range of mediators which play an important role in asthma, and the "releasability" of basophils has been shown to be upregulated in this disease. In vitro, beta 2-agonists and to a lesser extent corticosteroids have been shown to reduce histamine release. The ex vivo effects of salmeterol and inhaled corticosteroids on histamine release were studied in 78 asthmatic patients with variable disease severity and 20 control subjects.

Biochemical and cellular effects of heparin-protamine injection in rabbits are partially inhibited by a PAF-acether receptor antagonist.

The origin of the thrombocytopenia and leucopenia induced by protamine-heparin complexes is unknown. We studied the biochemical and cellular effects of protamine (6 mg x kg-1, i.v.

1.8 A structure of Hypoderma lineatum collagenase: a member of the serine proteinase family.

Collagenase from the fly larvae Hypoderma lineatum cleaves triple-helical collagen in a single region. It was crystallized at neutral pH in the absence of inhibitor and 1.8 A data were collected using synchrotron radiation and a Mark II prototype detector.