Otherwise known as mediastinal emphysema, pneumomediastinum (PNM) in connective tissue diseases is a rare clinical entity. Few cases have been described in the literature. In fact, it only exceptionally complicates the evolution of connective tissue diseases.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The Human Development Index (HDI)-a composite metric encompassing a population's life expectancy, education, and income-is used widely for assessing and comparing human development and wellbeing at the country level, but does not account for within-country inequality. In this study of the USA, we aimed to adapt the HDI framework to measure the HDI at an individual level to examine disparities in the distribution of wellbeing by race and ethnicity, sex, age, and geographical location.
Methods: We used individual-level data on adults aged 25 years and older from the 2008-21 American Community Survey (ACS) Public Use Microdata Sample.
Introduction: Facial gunshot wounds have devastating functional and aesthetic consequences for the patient. If associated with penetrating craniocerebral injuries, the prognosis is rather compromised even with appropriate medical and surgical treatment. Chop-off injuries with penetrating wounds constitute a challenging situation for the facial reconstructive surgeon in facial trauma.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis paper presents a mesoscale damage model for composite materials and its validation at the coupon level by predicting scaling effects in un-notched carbon-fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) laminates. The proposed material model presents a revised longitudinal damage law that accounts for the effect of complex 3D stress states in the prediction of onset and broadening of longitudinal compressive failure mechanisms. To predict transverse failure mechanisms of unidirectional CFRPs, this model was then combined with a 3D frictional smeared crack model.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Amyloidosis is an uncommon disorder characterized by the extracellular deposition of amorphous and insoluble proteins in an abnormal fibrillary configuration. Mammary amyloidosis is an unusual and easily overlooked diagnosis with an ambivalent presentation that could mimic breast cancer.
Case Report: We here report the case of 60-year-old Caucasian woman who presented to our surgical oncology department for clinically and radiologically suspicious breast mass.
A 32-year-old woman at 17 weeks' gestation presented with fever and a 1-week history of an acute nodular eruption involving her legs, along with bilateral ankle and knee pain. She also had had a recurrent right breast abscess for 2 months for which she had been treated with oral antibiotics and surgical drainage, but with slight improvement. Cultures of the abscess showed no bacteria or fungi.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF(1) Background: Percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) are performed with titanium-nitride-oxide-coated stents (TiNOSs) or drug-eluting stents (DESs). The initial completion of this prospective systematic literature review (SLR) of prospective randomized controlled trials (RCTs) showed that TiNOSs are non-inferior to DESs in major adverse cardiac event (MACE) rates and present a lower risk of recurrent myocardial infarction (MI) at 1-year follow-up. This iteration of the SLR protocol performs the critical assessment of 5-year follow-up outcomes with clinical validity and generalizability assessments.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInadequate adaption to mechanical forces, including blood pressure, contributes to development of arterial aneurysms. Recent studies have pointed to a mechanoprotective role of YAP and TAZ in vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs). Here, we identified reduced expression of YAP1 in human aortic aneurysms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: Dalbavancin is a lipoglycopeptide antibiotic approved for the treatment of acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections. However, several studies have suggested that it is used mostly for off-label indications. We aimed to describe the use of dalbavancin in patients who received at least one dose of the antibiotic in France.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The sinking of illegal migrant boats has been unpredictable. It has resulted in mass disasters that cause deaths and attracts huge media attention, thus making it a medico-social emergency.
Aims: This paper reports activities of the forensic medicine service in Sfax, Tunisia and describes the forensic management of mass disasters related to the sinking of illegal migrant boats as well as the main challenges.
(1) Background: Practice guidelines define drug-eluting stents (DES) as the standard of care in coronary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), including in acute coronary syndrome (ACS). This is based on comparisons with bare-metal stents (BMS). However, non-drug-eluting titanium-nitride-oxide-coated stents (TiNOS) have not been taken into account.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVascular smooth muscle cell plasticity plays a pivotal role in the pathophysiology of vascular diseases. Despite compelling evidence demonstrating the importance of transcription factor GATA6 in vascular smooth muscle, the functional role of GATA6 remains poorly understood. The aim of this study was to elucidate the role of GATA6 on cell migration and to gain insight into GATA6-sensitive genes in smooth muscle.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA ruptured arterial aneurysm, especially in the aorta, represents one of the most acute and mortal conditions encountered in clinical medicine. Population-based screening in elderly men, treatment of risk factors, such as hypertension, and endovascular or open repair of rupture-prone lesions, represent cornerstones in management. Surgical repair has a sizeable effect on life-expectancy, but medical therapy that retards aneurysm growth still represents a considerable and unmet clinical need.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFImportance: Some individuals experience persistent symptoms after initial symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection (often referred to as Long COVID).
Objective: To estimate the proportion of males and females with COVID-19, younger or older than 20 years of age, who had Long COVID symptoms in 2020 and 2021 and their Long COVID symptom duration.
Design, Setting, And Participants: Bayesian meta-regression and pooling of 54 studies and 2 medical record databases with data for 1.
(1) Background: Three antimicrobial absorbable sutures have different triclosan (TS) loads, triclosan release kinetics and hydrolysis times. This in vitro study aims to analyse and compare their antimicrobial pharmacodynamics. (2) Methods: Time-kill assays were performed with eight triclosan-susceptible microorganisms common in surgical site infections (SSIs) and a segment of each TS.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHere, we described the synthesis of novel pyrazole--triazine derivatives via an easy one-pot procedure for the reaction of β-dicarbonyl compounds (ethylacetoacetate, 5,5-dimethyl-1,3-cyclohexadione or 1,3-cyclohexadionone) with ,-dimethylformamide dimethylacetal, followed by addition of 2-hydrazinyl-4,6-disubstituted--triazine either in ethanol-acetic acid or neat acetic acid to afford a novel pyrazole and pyrazole-fused cycloalkanone systems. The synthetic protocol proved to be efficient, with a shorter reaction time and high chemical yield with broad substrates. The new pyrazolyl--triazine derivatives were tested against the following cell lines: MCF-7 (breast cancer); MDA-MB-231 (triple-negative breast cancer); U-87 MG (glioblastoma); A549 (non-small cell lung cancer); PANC-1 (pancreatic cancer); and human dermal fibroblasts (HDFs).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFImportance: While much of the attention on the COVID-19 pandemic was directed at the daily counts of cases and those with serious disease overwhelming health services, increasingly, reports have appeared of people who experience debilitating symptoms after the initial infection. This is popularly known as long COVID.
Objective: To estimate by country and territory of the number of patients affected by long COVID in 2020 and 2021, the severity of their symptoms and expected pattern of recovery.
Randomised controlled clinical trials (RCTs) report a lower incidence rate of surgical site infections (SSIs) with triclosan sutures (TSs) compared with non-triclosan sutures (NTSs). Do triclosan sutures modify the microbial diversity of culture-confirmed SSIs (ccSSIs)? If so, this would support the association between TS antimicrobial activity and the SSI incidence rate. This prospective systematic literature review (PROSPERO CRD42019125099) was conducted according to PRISMA.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCurrently, the reference method for the diagnose of the osteoporosis pathology is the Dual energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA) technique which assesses Bone Mineral Density (BMD). As a major public health problem, classified as such by the World Health Organization, it is necessary to develop new techniques that are more accessible, especially for developing countries. The objective of this work is to propose a new technique based on laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) using calcium and sodium in hair as a biomarker for the detection of osteoporosis pathology.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF(1) Background: Sutures with triclosan (TS) are used to reduce the risk of surgical site infections (SSI), but most clinical trials are inconclusive. The traceability of SSI risk to antimicrobial activity in operated tissues is needed. (2) Objectives: This study aimed to predict triclosan antistaphylococcal activity in operated tissues.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol
April 2022
Background: Hypertension remains a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, but the underlying mechanisms are not well understood. We hypothesize that appropriate mechanotransduction and contractile function in vascular smooth muscle cells are crucial to maintain vascular wall integrity. The Hippo pathway effectors YAP (yes-associated protein 1) and TAZ (WW domain containing transcription regulator 1) have been identified as mechanosensitive transcriptional coactivators.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCurcumin (CUR) is a bioactive natural compound with potent antioxidant and anticancer properties. However, its poor water solubility has been a major limitation against its widespread clinical use. The aim of this study was to develop a nanoscale formulation for CUR to improve its solubility and potentially enhance its bioactivity, by leveraging the self-assembly behavior of tannic acid (TA) and amphiphilic poloxamers to form CUR-entrapped nanoassemblies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: to describe the epidemiological, clinical, therapeutic and evolving characteristics of Behçet´s disease and identify prognostic factors.
Methods: we have realized a retrospective, single-center study, conducted over a period of 26 years and including 130 patients presenting Behçet´s disease and hospitalized in an Internal Medicine Department.
Results: the mean age of the Behçet´s disease at onset was 30.