Sustainable and Scalable Enzymatic Production, Structural Elucidation, And Biological Evaluation of Novel Phlorizin Analogues.

It is not unusual for naturally occurring compounds to be limited for their use in cosmetics due to their low water solubility. Recently, aiming at accessing novel phlorizin (a glycosylated bioactive recovered from apple tree wood and already used in cosmetics as antioxidant ingredient) analogues, we reported the synthesis of very promising - but low water-soluble - biomass-derived chalcones (CHs) and dihydrochalcones (DHCs) exhibiting antioxidant and anti-tyrosinase activities. Glycosylating bioactive compounds being one of the most common strategies to increase their water solubility, herein we report the enzymatic glycosylation of the CHs mentioned above, as well as DHC using cyclodextrin glycosyltransferases (CGTase), enzymes well-known for catalyzing the selective α(1→4) transglycosylation.

Targeting B-cell maturation antigen for treatment and monitoring of relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma patients: a comprehensive review.

Despite major therapeutic advancements in recent years, multiple myeloma (MM) remains an incurable disease with nearly all patients experiencing relapsed and refractory disease over the course of treatment. Extending the duration and durability of clinical responses will necessitate the development of therapeutics with novel targets that are capable of robustly and specifically eliminating myeloma cells. B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) is a membrane-bound protein expressed predominantly on malignant plasma cells and has recently been the target of several novel therapeutics to treat MM patients.

Serum B-Cell Maturation Antigen Reflects Disease Status in a Patient Who Developed Nonsecretory Multiple Myeloma: A Case Report.

Introduction: Multiple myeloma (MM) is an incurable bone marrow (BM)-based cancer involving clonal plasma cells. Most patients show elevated levels of serum monoclonal protein (sMP) and kappa or lambda serum free light chains (sFLCs) at diagnosis. However, around 1-2% of patients, termed nonsecretory, do not produce these biomarkers.

Preclinical and clinical evaluation of the Janus Kinase inhibitor ruxolitinib in multiple myeloma.

Multiple myeloma (MM) is the most common primary malignancy of the bone marrow. No established curative treatment is currently available for patients diagnosed with MM. In recent years, new and more effective drugs have become available for the treatment of this B-cell malignancy.

Human cerebellar organoids with functional Purkinje cells.

Research on human cerebellar development and disease has been hampered by the need for a human cell-based system that recapitulates the human cerebellum's cellular diversity and functional features. Here, we report a human organoid model (human cerebellar organoids [hCerOs]) capable of developing the complex cellular diversity of the fetal cerebellum, including a human-specific rhombic lip progenitor population that have never been generated in vitro prior to this study. 2-month-old hCerOs form distinct cytoarchitectural features, including laminar organized layering, and create functional connections between inhibitory and excitatory neurons that display coordinated network activity.

"I'd do it for my baby": Lessons learned from qualitative research on COVID-19 vaccination among pregnant women in Côte d'Ivoire.

In January 2023, almost two years after the COVID-19 vaccines were authorized for the general Ivorian population, the Government of Côte d'Ivoire authorized the Pfizer vaccine for pregnant women. Qualitative research with 214 adults (including pregnant women) in three Ivorian cities in November 2022 revealed that most participants knew that the COVID-19 vaccine had not been recommended for pregnant women. Some participants felt that the policy change alone would be enough to motivate pregnant women to get vaccinated, but others felt that it would be difficult to convince pregnant women that the vaccine is safe for them and their babies.

"In our culture, if you quarantine someone, you stigmatize them": Qualitative insights on barriers to observing COVID-19 prevention behaviors in Côte d'Ivoire.

While vaccines are now authorized for use against the SARS-CoV2 virus, they remain inaccessible for much of the world and widespread hesitancy persists. Ending the COVID-19 pandemic depends on continued prevention behaviors such as mask wearing, distancing, hand hygiene, and limiting large gatherings. Research in low- and middle-income countries has focused on the prevalence of adherence and demographic determinants, but there is a need for a nuanced understanding of why people do or do not practice a given prevention behavior.

Present and Future Modeling of Human Psychiatric Connectopathies With Brain Organoids.

Brain organoids derived from human pluripotent stem cells are emerging as a powerful tool to model cellular aspects of neuropsychiatric disorders, including alterations in cell proliferation, differentiation, migration, and lineage trajectory. To date, most contributions in the field have focused on modeling cellular impairment of the cerebral cortex, with few studies probing dysfunction in local network connectivity. However, it is increasingly more apparent that these psychiatric disorders are connectopathies involving multiple brain structures and the connections between them.

The effect of sampling health facilities on estimates of effective coverage: a simulation study.

Background: Most existing facility assessments collect data on a sample of health facilities. Sampling of health facilities may introduce bias into estimates of effective coverage generated by ecologically linking individuals to health providers based on geographic proximity or administrative catchment.

Methods: We assessed the bias introduced to effective coverage estimates produced through two ecological linking approaches (administrative unit and Euclidean distance) applied to a sample of health facilities.

Ideational factors associated with consistent use of insecticide-treated nets: a multi-country, multilevel analysis.

Background: Malaria remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality in sub-Saharan Africa. Using insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) every night, year-round is critical to maximize protection against malaria. This study describes sociodemographic, psychosocial, and household factors associated with consistent ITN use in Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire and Sierra Leone.

Mass Spectrometry, Ion Mobility Separation and Molecular Modelling: A Powerful Combination for the Structural Characterisation of Substituted Cyclodextrins Mixtures.

When working on the synthesis of substituted cyclodextrins (CDs), the main challenge remains the analysis of the reaction media content. Our objective in this study was to fully characterise a complex isomers mixture of Lipidyl-βCDs (LipβCD) obtained with a degree of substitution 1 (DS = 1) from a one-step synthesis pathway. The benefit of tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) and ion mobility separation hyphenated with mass spectrometry (IM-MS) was investigated.

"On the last day of the last month, I will go": A qualitative exploration of COVID-19 vaccine confidence among Ivoirian adults.

The authorization of several high-efficacy vaccines for use against the novel SARS-CoV2 virus signals a transition in the global COVID-19 response. Vaccine acceptance is critical for pandemic control and has a variety of context- specific drivers that operate at the individual, group, and sociopolitical levels. Social and behavior change interventions can influence individual knowledge, attitudes, and intentions as well as community norms to facilitate widespread vaccine uptake.

Ideational factors associated with net care behaviour: a multi-country analysis.

Background: Malaria is endemic to sub-Saharan African countries. Mass and routine distribution, promotion, and use of ITNs are critical components of malaria prevention programmes. Correct and consistent use of insecticide-treated mosquito nets (ITN) is an effective strategy for malaria prevention.

Nests of dividing neuroblasts sustain interneuron production for the developing human brain.

The human cortex contains inhibitory interneurons derived from the medial ganglionic eminence (MGE), a germinal zone in the embryonic ventral forebrain. How this germinal zone generates sufficient interneurons for the human brain remains unclear. We found that the human MGE (hMGE) contains nests of proliferative neuroblasts with ultrastructural and transcriptomic features that distinguish them from other progenitors in the hMGE.

Determinants of childbirth care quality along the care continuum in limited resource settings: A structural equation modeling analysis of cross-sectional data from Burkina Faso and Côte d'Ivoire.

Introduction: Despite the important increase in in-facility births, perinatal mortality rates have remained high and slow to decrease in many developing countries. This situation is attributed to poor childbirth care quality. The reason why women delivering in health facilities do not always receive care of an adequate standard is unclear.

Real-Time Tracking of COVID-19 Rumors Using Community-Based Methods in Côte d'Ivoire.

Global misinformation and information overload have characterized the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Rumors are unverified pieces of information spreading online or person-to-person that reduce trust in health authorities and create barriers to protective practices. Risk communication and community engagement can increase transparency, build trust, and stop the spread of rumors.

Upgrading the Physiological Relevance of Human Brain Organoids.

The recent advent of human pluripotent stem cell (PSC)-derived 3D brain organoids has opened a window into aspects of human brain development that were not accessible before, allowing tractable monitoring and assessment of early developmental processes. However, their broad and effective use for modeling later stages of human brain development and disease is hampered by the lack of a stereotypic anatomical organization, which limits maturation processes dependent upon formation of unique cellular interactions and short- and long-range network connectivity. Emerging methods and technologies aimed at tighter regulatory control through bioengineering approaches, along with newer unbiased organoid analysis readouts, should resolve several of the current limitations.

Addressing Uptake of HIV Testing and Linkage to Care Among Men in Côte d'Ivoire: An Evaluation of the Brothers for Life Program Implementation.

Background: Historically, men in sub-Saharan Africa have worse outcomes along the HIV care continuum than women. Brothers for Life (BFL) is a community-based behavior change intervention for men, adapted for Côte d'Ivoire, involving group discussions that address salient gender norms and promote HIV prevention, testing, and linkage to care with support from peer navigators. The goal of this study was to describe the BFL program as implemented in Côte d'Ivoire, evaluate program implementation, and report uptake of HIV testing and treatment among BFL participants.

Bringing fear into focus: The intersections of HIV and masculine gender norms in Côte d'Ivoire.

This qualitative research study explored the role of masculinity in men's engagement in the HIV care continuum in Côte d'Ivoire. The researchers conducted 73 in-depth interviews and 28 focus group discussions with 227 Ivoirian men between November and December 2016 across three urban sites. Participants in the study expressed that fear was the primary barrier to HIV testing and treatment.

Men's perceptions of HIV care engagement at the facility- and provider-levels: Experiences in Cote d'Ivoire.

Men in sub-Saharan Africa have lower rates of HIV testing and are less likely to initiate treatment compared to women. Service delivery dimensions are a key factor in facilitating engagement along the HIV treatment continuum for men and women, yet male specific overall perceptions of the service delivery environment have received little attention in West Africa. This study draws on qualitative data collected in Côte d'Ivoire to explore provider-level and structural factors affecting men's engagement in HIV testing and treatment through interviews and focus group discussions conducted with health workers and men living with HIV (some on ART) or whose HIV status was unknown.

Linking household survey and health facility data for effective coverage measures: a comparison of ecological and individual linking methods using the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey in Côte d'Ivoire.

Background: Population-based measures of intervention coverage are used in low- and middle-income countries for program planning, prioritization, and evaluation. There is increased interest in effective coverage, which integrates information about service quality or health outcomes. Approaches proposed for quality-adjusted effective coverage include linking data on need and service contact from population-based surveys with data on service quality from health facility surveys.