Tris[(R)-lactamide-kappa2O,O']zinc(II) tetrabromozincate.

The title compound, tris[(R)-2-hydroxypropanamide-kappa2O,O']zinc(II) tetrabromozincate, [Zn(C3H7NO2)3][ZnBr4], contains one monomeric six-coordinate zinc complex cation and one tetrahedral [ZnBr4]2- anion. Both Zn(II) atoms lie on threefold axes. Coordination in the cation occurs via the amide and hydroxy O atoms [Zn-O = 2.

[A persistent ulceration after a fortuitous BCG revaccination].

Introduction: We report a cutaneous ulceration which occurred following a BCG revaccination.

Observation: A 17 year old man, without previous history, presented a large and slow progressive ulceration of the left deltoid area following a fortuitous BCG revaccination. He did not complain of any other symptom.

The Huggins band of ozone: assignment of hot bands.

The "hot bands" of the Huggins band of ozone are assigned, in both the 218 K and the 295 K spectrum. The assignment is based on intensities calculated with three-dimensional vibrational wave functions for the electronic ground state (X) and the excited state (B). The hot-band structures in the 218 K spectrum all can be assigned to transitions starting from vibrational states with one quantum of stretching excitation in the ground electronic state.

Paraneoplastic acute diffuse encephalitis revealing Hodgkin's disease.

Paraneoplastic neurological syndromes are associated with various cancers. Cerebellar and limbic paraneoplastic manifestations are known to be associated with Hodgkin's disease (HD), but reports of diffuse encephalitis associated with HD are very rare. We report a case of acute severe diffuse encephalitis revealing a HD.

Astrocytic calcium/zinc binding protein S100A6 over expression in Alzheimer's disease and in PS1/APP transgenic mice models.

Astrocytes recruitment and activation are a hallmark of many neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's disease (AD). We have previously observed an overexpression for S100A6 protein, a Ca(2+)/Zn(2+) binding protein presenting more affinity for zinc than for calcium, in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Here we demonstrated in AD patients but also in two different AD mouse models, that astrocytic S100A6 protein was homogeneously up-regulated within the white matter.

Multifaceted role of galectin-3 on human glioblastoma cell motility.

Astrocytic tumors' aggressiveness results from an imbalance between cell proliferation and cell death favoring growth, but also from the propensity of tumor cells to detach from the primary tumor site, migrate, and invade the surrounding parenchyma. Astrocytic tumor progression is known to be associated with an increased expression of galectin-3. We investigated in cell culture how galectin-3 expression affects astrocytoma cell motility.

Characterization of six novel mutations in the CYBB gene leading to different sub-types of X-linked chronic granulomatous disease.

Chronic granulomatous disease is an inherited disorder in which phagocytes lack a functional NADPH oxidase and so cannot generate superoxide anions (O(2) (-)). The most common form is caused by mutations in CYBB encoding gp91 phox, the heavy chain of flavocytochrome b(558) (XCGD). We investigated 11 male patients and their families suspected of suffering from X-linked CGD.

A case of arthritis caused by cytomegalovirus after kidney transplantation.

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is the leading cause of infectious complications after organ transplantation. We report the case of a 55-year-old renal transplant recipient who presented with CMV infection 2 months after transplantation. During oral ganciclovir treatment (5 weeks after interruption of intravenous ganciclovir), he experienced a sharp pain in the right shoulder.

Expression of tau mRNA and soluble tau isoforms in affected and non-affected brain areas in Alzheimer's disease.

In Alzheimer's disease (AD), selective expression of tau isoforms might underlie the susceptibility of different brain areas to develop neurofibrillary tangles and this pattern might change in the disease. In this study, we have analyzed in control subjects and in sporadic AD patients the pattern of expression of tau mRNA and tau proteins in areas unaffected (cerebellar cortex, white matter), moderately affected (occipital striate cortex, thalamus, caudate nucleus, and putamen) or strongly affected by neurofibrillary tangles (temporal and frontal associative cortex). After RT-PCR amplification, five products corresponding to the tau mRNAs containing exons 2 and 3, exon 2, without exons 2 or 3, with exon 10 and without exon 10 were identified.

Validation of a clinical guideline on prevention of venous thromboembolism in medical inpatients: a before-and-after study with systematic ultrasound examination.

Background: Clinical practice guidelines on prevention of venous thromboembolism in medical inpatients have been implemented in various settings, although few studies have assessed their impact on venous thromboembolism events.

Objective: To determine whether the implementation of a locally developed guideline is followed by changes in the rate of deep vein thrombosis.

Design: A before-and-after study consisting in two "1-day" cross-sectional studies.

Acute pseudoseptic arthritis after intraarticular sodium hyaluronan.

A 70-year-old woman with a history of knee osteoarthritis was admitted for acute arthritis 9 days after a second intraarticular injection of sodium hyaluronan (Ostenil). The joint fluid was purulent, with no crystals, and laboratory tests showed marked inflammation, leading to antibiotic treatment for suspected septic arthritis. Incapacitating symptoms persisted, prompting surgical lavage of the knee, which failed to relieve the severe pain.

Funiculitis due to Schistosoma haematobium: uncommon diagnosis using parasitologic analysis of semen.

Schistosomal funiculitis is one of the rare localizations of longstanding chronic infection with schistosomiasis. We report a case of a 24-year-old-man who experienced iliac fossa pain and weight loss eight years after his last trip to Mali. Clinical diagnosis of lesions in the genitourinary tract due to schistosomiasis and biologic analysis are required to diagnose this uncommon localization of schistosomiasis.

Characterisation of cytoskeletal abnormalities in mice transgenic for wild-type human tau and familial Alzheimer's disease mutants of APP and presenilin-1.

To study the role of Abeta amyloid deposits in the generation of cytoskeletal lesions, we have generated a transgenic mouse line coexpressing in the same neurons a wild-type human tau isoform (0N3R), a mutant form of APP (751SL) and a mutant form of PS1 (M146L). These mice developed early cerebral extracellular deposits of Abeta, starting at 2.5 months.

Mutant presenilin 1 proteins induce cell death and reduce tau-dependent processes outgrowth.

The expression of familial Alzheimer's disease mutants of presenilin-1 (PS1) proteins has been observed to induce cell death in cellular systems. To investigate how this phenomenon might be associated to alterations of the microtubule network, we have studied the effect of wild-type and mutant (C263R, P264L and delta9) PS1 proteins expression on the formation of microtubule-dependent processes outgrowth and the association of PS1 to the insoluble cytoskeletal fraction in a cell line expressing the tau microtubule-associated protein. Expression of wild-type and mutant PS1 was associated with increased cell death, most marked for the P264L and delta9 mutants.

Severe clinical forms of cytochrome b-negative chronic granulomatous disease (X91-) in 3 brothers with a point mutation in the promoter region of CYBB.

Chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) is a rare congenital syndrome that results in severe, recurrent bacterial and fungal infections. The most common form is caused by defects in the CYBB gene, leading to the absence of gp91phox associated with totally abolished NADPH oxidase activity (X91(0) CGD). We report 3 brothers with atypical cases of X-linked CGD, characterized by low levels of expression of gp91phox (X91(-) CGD).

[Staphylococcus aureus meningitis with intermediate sensitivity to glycopeptides. Therapeutic indications].

Introduction: Since 1997, several observations of glycopeptide intermediate Staphylococcus aureus (GISA) infections have been described. We report the case of meningitis.

Observation: A 46 year-old man was treated surgically on several occasions for a meningioma of the back cranial fossa.

The complex relationship between soluble and insoluble tau in tauopathies revealed by efficient dephosphorylation and specific antibodies.

Phosphorylated tau is deposited as insoluble inclusion bodies in the tauopathies. We have used a new efficient method to dephosphorylate tau extracted from control and tauopathy brain. In some tauopathies, including Alzheimer's disease and progressive supranuclear palsy, the pattern of insoluble tau isoforms reflected that of soluble tau.

[New total synthesis of derrusnine].

The thermal condensation of diethyl 3,4-methylenedioxyphenylmalonate with 3,5-dimethoxyphenol (di-O-methylphloroglucinol) leads to the corresponding 3-(3,4-méthylenedioxyphenyl)-4-hydroxy-5,7-dimethoxycoumarine which is methylated further into derrusnine.

The active form of glycogen synthase kinase-3beta is associated with granulovacuolar degeneration in neurons in Alzheimer's disease.

Glycogen synthase kinase-3beta (GSK-3beta) is a physiological kinase for tau and is a candidate protein kinase involved in the hyperphosphorylation of tau present in paired helical filament (PHF)-tau of neurofibrillary tangles (NFT) in Alzheimer's disease (AD). GSK-3beta is also a key element of several signaling cascades (including cell death cascades). We have investigated the immunocytochemical localization of GSK-3 immunoreactivity in AD.

Increased tau phosphorylation but absence of formation of neurofibrillary tangles in mice double transgenic for human tau and Alzheimer mutant (M146L) presenilin-1.

Neurofibrillary tangles, composed of tau proteins, are a key lesion observed in sporadic forms of Alzheimer's disease and in familial forms associated with mutations of presenilin-1 (PS1). We have generated a double transgenic mouse line expressing a human tau isoform and a mutated form of PS1 (M146L) in neurons. Increased expression of the PS1 holoprotein was observed in the tau/PS1 transgenic mice and the proteolytic fragments of PS1 did not appear to be modified.

Presenilin 1 independently regulates beta-catenin stability and transcriptional activity.

Presenilin 1 (PS1) regulates beta-catenin stability; however, published data regarding the direction of the effect are contradictory. We examined the effects of wild-type and mutant forms of PS1 on the membrane, cytoplasmic, nuclear, and signaling pools of endogenous and exogenous beta-catenin by immunofluorescence microscopy, subcellular fractionation, and in a transcription assay. We found that PS1 destabilizes the cytoplasmic and nuclear pools of beta-catenin when stabilized by Wnt or Dvl but not when stabilized at lower levels of the Wnt pathway.

[Role of local immunity in invasive pulmonary aspergillosis].

A LEADING CAUSE OF MORTALITY: Inhalation of fungal spores may cause infection and/or inflammation, which is dependent on the nature of the fungus as well as the individual's immune status. Aspergillus fumigatus is responsible for a dramatic pathology, invasive aspergillosis (IA). IA has become a leading cause of death, mainly among bone marrow transplantation or solid-organ recipients, but also among AIDS patients.