Pregnancy-induced remodelling and enhanced endothelium-derived hyperpolarization-type vasodilator activity in rat uterine radial artery: transient receptor potential vanilloid type 4 channels, caveolae and myoendothelial gap junctions.

In pregnancy, the vasculature of the uterus undergoes rapid remodelling to increase blood flow and maintain perfusion to the fetus. The present study determines the distribution and density of caveolae, transient receptor potential vanilloid type 4 channels (TRPV4) and myoendothelial gap junctions, and the relative contribution of related endothelium-dependent vasodilator components in uterine radial arteries of control virgin non-pregnant and 20-day late-pregnant rats. The hypothesis examined is that specific components of endothelium-dependent vasodilator mechanisms are altered in pregnancy-related uterine radial artery remodelling.

A role for BLM in double-strand break repair pathway choice: prevention of CtIP/Mre11-mediated alternative nonhomologous end-joining.

The choice of the appropriate double-strand break (DSB) repair pathway is essential for the maintenance of genomic stability. Here, we show that the Bloom syndrome gene product, BLM, counteracts CtIP/MRE11-dependent long-range deletions (>200 bp) generated by alternative end-joining (A-EJ). BLM represses A-EJ in an epistatic manner with 53BP1 and RIF1 and is required for ionizing-radiation-induced 53BP1 focus assembly.

[Prevalence of sudden death syndrome among children].

Background: The sudden infant's death syndrome (SD) is the leading cause of death in children under one year. Despite advances in its study, the pathogenesis has not been yet fully elucidated.

Aim: To assess the prevalence of SD in Chilean infants and its changes in recent years.

Molecular depth profiling of organic photovoltaic heterojunction layers by ToF-SIMS: comparative evaluation of three sputtering beams.

With the recent developments in secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), it is now possible to obtain molecular depth profiles and 3D molecular images of organic thin films, i.e. SIMS depth profiles where the molecular information of the mass spectrum is retained through the sputtering of the sample.

Enhanced contractility in pregnancy is associated with augmented TRPC3, L-type, and T-type voltage-dependent calcium channel function in rat uterine radial artery.

In pregnancy, α-adrenoceptor-mediated vasoconstriction is augmented in uterine radial arteries and is accompanied by underlying changes in smooth muscle (SM) Ca(2+) activity. This study aims to determine the Ca(2+) entry channels associated with altered vasoconstriction in pregnancy, with the hypothesis that augmented vasoconstriction involves transient receptor potential canonical type-3 (TRPC3) and L- and T-type voltage-dependent Ca(2+) channels. Immunohistochemistry showed TRPC3, L-type Cav1.

Is it mandatory to carry out completion arteriography after carotid endarterectomy with patch angioplasty?

Background: This study compares the neurologic evolution and number of restenoses between 2 groups of patients who underwent internal carotid endarterectomy with patch angioplasty (CEP): one group with systematic intraoperative completion arteriography (CA) and another group without.

Methods: This monocentric retrospective study was performed from January 2000 to December 2008 on 559 consecutive CEPs; 179 were controlled with CA and 380 were not. Surgery was chosen for patients with greater than 50% symptomatic or greater than 60% asymptomatic stenosis (North American Symptomatic Carotid Endarterectomy Trial criteria).

Tricuspid annuloplasty concomitant with mitral valve surgery: effects on right ventricular remodeling.

Objectives: Tricuspid valve annuloplasty (TVP) has been advocated concomitantly with left-sided cardiac surgery in case of more than moderate tricuspid regurgitation (TR) or tricuspid annular dilation (TAD) (diameter >40 mm or 21 mm/m²) even in the absence of significant TR. Data on postoperative right ventricular (RV) remodeling are lacking in such patients.

Methods: Preoperative and postoperative echocardiography data from 45 consecutive TVP procedures, performed in mitral valve surgery in a single tertiary center, were retrospectively analyzed and compared with a propensity-matched control group of 33 procedures without concomitant TVP.

Altered mitral inflow orifice in severe aortic regurgitation: real time three-dimensional echocardiographic findings.

We present the case of a young man with severe eccentric aortic regurgitation, obstructing mitral inflow and provoking an audible Austin Flint murmur at clinical examination. Two-dimensional color Doppler echocardiography depicts the remarkable mechanical interaction between aortic regurgitant jet and anterior mitral leaflet opening. Three-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography aids in understanding the geometric and hemodynamic consequences of the regurgitant jet and in the genesis of the Austin Flint murmur.

Nanoparticles produced by ring-opening metathesis polymerization using norbornenyl-poly(ethylene oxide) as a ligand-free generic platform for highly selective in vivo tumor targeting.

We described a norbornenyl-poly(ethylene oxide) nanoparticles ligand-free generic platform, made fluorescent with straightforward preparation by ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP). Our method allowed to easily obtain a drug delivery system (DDS) with facilitated functionalization by means of azide-alkyne click chemistry and with a high selectivity for the tumor in vivo, while cellular internalization is obtained without cell targeting strategy. We demonstrated that our nanoparticles are internalized by endocytosis and colocalized with acidic intracellular compartments in two models of aggressive tumoral cell lines with low prognostic and limited therapeutic treatments.

The costimulatory molecule CD70 is regulated by distinct molecular mechanisms and is associated with overall survival in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

In diffuse large B-cell lymphomas (DLBCL), a recurrent deletion of the 19p13 region has recently been described. CD70 and TNFSF9 genes are suspected tumor suppressor genes, but previous studies suggest an oncogenic role for CD70. Therefore, we studied the consequences of variation in CD70 copy number and epigenetic modifications on CD70 expression.

Expression and localization of pannexin-1 hemichannels in human colon in health and disease.

Background: Pannexin-1 (Panx1) proteins can function as channels for adenosine triphosphate (ATP) release, but there have been limited studies investigating their potential role in the human intestine. The aim of this study was to characterize Panx1 expression and distribution in the human colon and its potential involvement in inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD).

Methods: Human colon segments were dissected into mucosa and muscularis layers, and evaluated for Panx1 expression by real-time PCR and Western blotting.

Computer simulations of cluster impacts: effects of the atomic masses of the projectile and target.

Cluster secondary ion mass spectrometry is now widely used for the characterization of nanostructures. In order to gain a better understanding of the physics of keV cluster bombardment of surfaces and nanoparticles (NPs), the effects of the atomic masses of the projectile and of the target on the energy deposition and induced sputtering have been studied by means of molecular dynamics simulations. 10 keV C60 was used as a model projectile and impacts on both a flat polymer surface and a metal NP were analyzed.

Web-based general public opinion study of automated versus manual external chest compression.

Background: Only a few cardiac-arrest victims receive external chest compression (ECC) by a bystander.

Objective: To test the hypothesis that the general public might start ECC more often if they used an automated device rather than a manual massage.

Methods: Web-based public opinion survey based on two short videos, one showing manual ECC and the other automated ECC (Autopulse, Zoll, France).

Design of pH responsive clickable prodrugs applied to histone deacetylase inhibitors: a new strategy for anticancer therapy.

The aim of this study was to develop clickable prodrugs bearing a tunable pH responsive linker designed for acidic pH-mediated release of histone deacetylase inhibitors. HDACi are an important class of molecules belonging to the epigenetic modulators used for innovative cancer strategies. The behavior of these prodrugs was determined by a bioluminescence resonance energy transfer assay in living tumor cells.

Identification and characterization of novel PDYN mutations in dominant cerebellar ataxia cases.

We have recently identified missense mutations in prodynorphin (PDYN), the precursor to dynorphin opioid peptides, as the cause for spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA23) in Dutch ataxia cases. We report a screen of PDYN for mutations in 371 cerebellar ataxia cases, which had a positive family history; most are of French origin. Sequencing revealed three novel putative missense mutations and one heterozygous two-base pair deletion in four independent SCA patients.

The association of smoking status with sleep disturbance, psychological functioning, and pain severity in patients with temporomandibular disorders.

Aims: To evaluate the impact of smoking on pain severity, psychosocial impairment, depression, anxiety, and sleep disturbances in a large sample of patients with temporomandibular disorders (TMD).

Methods: A retrospective database review was performed on data from 3,251 patients with TMD, diagnosed according to the Research Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders (RDC/TMD). Pain severity ratings and psychometric data regarding impairment, sleep disturbance, depression, and anxiety were obtained.

An assessment of the performance of elastography for the investigation of BI-RADS 4 and BI-RADS 5 breast lesions: correlations with pathological anatomy findings.

Purpose: To study the diagnostic value of static elastography of the breast (score, histogram, quantitative ratio) in masses classed as BI-RADS 4 and BI-RADS 5 on sonography using the findings from pathological anatomy analyses on the masses as a reference.

Materials And Methods: A prospective study using a representative sample into 68 masses seen on sonography and their elastography results. For each mass, we determined the elastography colourimetry score (UENO et al.

Increased caveolae density and caveolin-1 expression accompany impaired NO-mediated vasorelaxation in diet-induced obesity.

Diet-induced obesity induces changes in mechanisms that are essential for the regulation of normal artery function, and in particular the function of the vascular endothelium. Using a rodent model that reflects the characteristics of human dietary obesity, in the rat saphenous artery we have previously demonstrated that endothelium-dependent vasodilation shifts from an entirely nitric oxide (NO)-mediated mechanism to one involving upregulation of myoendothelial gap junctions and intermediate conductance calcium-activated potassium channel activity and expression. This study investigates the changes in NO-mediated mechanisms that accompany this shift.

Investigation of motorcyclist cervical spine trauma using HUMOS model.

Objective: With 16 percent of the total road user fatalities, motorcyclists represent the second highest rate of road fatalities in France after car occupants. Regarding road accidents, a large proportion of trauma was on the lower cervical spine. According to different clinical studies, it is postulated that the cervical spine fragility areas are located on the upper and lower cervical spine.

Alternative splicing of the TRPC3 ion channel calmodulin/IP3 receptor-binding domain in the hindbrain enhances cation flux.

Canonical transient receptor potential (TRPC3) nonselective cation channels are effectors of G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), activated via phospholipase C-diacylglycerol signaling. In cerebellar Purkinje cells, TRPC3 channels cause the metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR)-mediated slow EPSC (sEPSC). TRPC3 channels also provide negative feedback regulation of cytosolic Ca(2+), mediated by a C terminus "calmodulin and inositol trisphosphate receptor binding" (CIRB) domain.

Oxydative stress alters nuclear shape through lamins dysregulation: a route to senescence.

Progeroid phenotypes are mainly encountered in 2 types of syndromes: in laminopathies, which are characterized by nuclear shape abnormalities due to lamin A alteration, and in DNA damage response defect syndromes. Because lamin A dysregulation leads to DNA damages, it has been proposed that senescence occurs in both types of syndromes through the accumulation of damages. We recently showed that elevated oxidative stress is responsible for lamin B1 accumulation, nuclear shape alteration and senescence in the DDR syndrome, ataxia telangiectasia (A-T).

Cigarette smoking and brain regulation of energy homeostasis.

Cigarette smoking is an addictive behavior, and is the primary cause of cardiovascular and pulmonary disease, and cancer (among other diseases). Cigarette smoke contains thousands of components that may affect caloric intake and energy expenditure, although nicotine is the major addictive substance present, and has the best described actions. Nicotine exposure from cigarette smoke can change brain feeding regulation to reduce appetite via both energy homeostatic and reward mechanisms, causing a negative energy state which is characterized by reduced energy intake and increased energy expenditure that are linked to low body weight.

Multiscale grooved titanium processed with femtosecond laser influences mesenchymal stem cell morphology, adhesion, and matrix organization.

The femtosecond laser processing enabled the structuring of six types of surfaces on titanium-6aluminium-4vanadium (Ti-6Al-4V) plates. The obtained hierarchical features consisted of a combination of microgrooves and oriented nanostructures. By adjusting beam properties such as laser polarization, the width of the microgrooves (20 or 60 μm) and the orientation of the nanostructures (parallel or perpendicular to the microgrooves) can be precisely controlled.

Prevalence of habitual snoring and associated neurocognitive consequences among Chilean school aged children.

Objective: To assess the prevalence of habitual snoring and symptoms of sleep disordered breathing (SDB) and their association with neurocognitive consequences in school-aged children.

Methods: A population based cross-sectional study was carried out in a low income urban setting in Santiago, Chile. A parental SDB-questionnaire was adapted and applied to a community based sample of children aged 7-17 years.