Publications by authors named "Franck P"

Article Synopsis
  • The introduction of companion plants (CPs) like basil and French marigold in apple orchards aims to manage aphid populations and boost natural enemy (NE) presence.
  • Laboratory tests revealed that these CPs can affect the reproduction of the rosy apple aphid (RAA), with mixed results in orchards over two years.
  • While basil showed significant reductions in aphid colonies in 2019, more research is needed to understand the mechanisms at play and the long-term benefits of using CPs for sustainable apple production.
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The transformation of CO into value-added products from an impure CO stream, such as flue gas or exhaust gas, directly contributes to the principle of carbon capture and utilization (CCU). Thus, we have developed a robust iron-based heterogeneous photocatalyst that can convert the exhaust gas from the car into CO with an exceptional production rate of 145 μmol g h. We characterized this photocatalyst by PXRD, XPS, ssNMR, EXAFS, XANES, HR-TEM, and further provided mechanistic experiments, and multi-scale/level computational studies.

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Direct utilization of CO into organic synthesis finds enormous applications to synthesize pharmaceuticals and fine chemicals. However, pure CO gas is essential to achieve these transformations, and the purification of CO is highly cost and energy intensive. Considering this, we describe a straightforward synthetic route for the synthesis of γ-lactams, a pivotal core structure of bioactive molecules, by using commercially available starting materials (alkenes and amines) and impure CO stream (exhaust gas is collected from the car) as the carbon source.

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Background:  Little is known about the risk factors associated with complications after free flap scalp reconstruction. The purpose of this study was to identify patient, scalp defect, and flap characteristics associated with increased risk of surgical complications.

Methods:  A retrospective study was performed of free-flap scalp reconstruction in oncologic patients at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center from 2002 to 2017.

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Article Synopsis
  • Adding flowering companion plants in crop fields may enhance pest control by attracting natural enemies, but the impact of aromatic plants like basil and marigolds on these beneficial insects is not fully understood under real-world conditions.
  • In a field study, intercropping apple trees with basil increased parasitism of the codling moth but did not significantly affect the number of predatory arthropods like spiders and earwigs.
  • However, using marigolds seemed to decrease the diversity and abundance of both pests and their natural enemies, suggesting that while aromatic plants influence pest dynamics, they might not reduce pest density or damage to apples effectively.
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Introduction: Acellular dermal matrix (ADM) is frequently used during prepectoral tissue expander-based breast reconstruction. However, there has been a paucity of literature describing the experience of prepectoral reconstruction without the accompanying use of ADM. We seek to highlight our institutional experience with immediate prepectoral tissue expander placement without the use of ADM in breast reconstruction.

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Objectives: Validation of the measurement of erythrocyte deformability as a useful prognostic, rheological biomarker for patients with sickle cell disease (SCD).

Methods: The degree of reduced deformability was based on the value of the maximum elongation index (EI ) of the deformability curve of an osmotic gradient ektacytometer. The performance of this technique was analytically and clinically validated by analysing 200 normal subjects and 100 patients with well-documented thalassemia's and Hb variants in relation to their clinical condition.

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Here, we report about a preterm female newborn with a prolonged course of severe thrombocytopenia and hematomas. The family history was positive for von Willebrand disease type 2B (VWD 2B). Diagnosis of VWD 2B was identified analyzing von Willebrand factor (VWF) parameters (VWF:antigen, VWF:activity, VWF multimer analyses) and performing light transmission aggregometry (with half concentration of ristocetin).

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The Strecker reaction is a three-component condensation of an aldehyde, an amine, and hydrogen cyanide, delivering an α-amino carbonitrile. Despite extensive investigations, the possibility to use amides instead of amines as one of the three condensation partners has been largely neglected. Nonetheless, the -acylated α-aminocarbonitriles that are obtained in this way are of direct interest for drug discovery, because they make up a well-known class of mechanism-based inhibitors of serine- and cysteine-type hydrolases.

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Sebaceous carcinoma is a rare cutaneous malignancy that frequently mimics other dermatologic conditions. Extraocular subtypes are uncommon, but when present are frequently located in the head and neck region. Herein, we present a patient with a rapidly growing upper back mass eventually diagnosed as sebaceous carcinoma and managed with wide surgical excision.

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Despite the pandemic, data are limited regarding COVID-19 infection in pregnant women and newborns. This report aimed to bring new information about presentation that could modify precautionary measures for infants born of mothers with a remote history of COVID-19. We report two infants with possible maternofetal transmission, and four mothers without immunologic reactions.

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Background: Advances in surgical technology and adjuvant therapies along with an aging and increasingly morbid U.S. population have led to an increase in complex spine surgery.

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Objectives: The most common method of performing breast reconstruction after a mastectomy is using tissue expanders. Significant drainage that can lead to seromas and possible infection is a common sequela after mastectomies, and therefore, closed suction drains are routinely placed during the initial surgery (Vardanian et al. Plast Reconstr Surg.

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The codling moth, (L.) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), is a major pest introduced to almost all main pome fruit production regions worldwide. This species was detected in Chile during the last decade of the 19th century, and now has a widespread distribution in all major apple-growing regions.

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Human land use threatens global biodiversity and compromises multiple ecosystem functions critical to food production. Whether crop yield-related ecosystem services can be maintained by a few dominant species or rely on high richness remains unclear. Using a global database from 89 studies (with 1475 locations), we partition the relative importance of species richness, abundance, and dominance for pollination; biological pest control; and final yields in the context of ongoing land-use change.

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The codling moth Cydia pomonella, a major invasive pest of pome fruit, has spread around the globe in the last half century. We generated a chromosome-level scaffold assembly including the Z chromosome and a portion of the W chromosome. This assembly reveals the duplication of an olfactory receptor gene (OR3), which we demonstrate enhances the ability of C.

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Apocrine hidrocystoma is a benign, cystic lesion often presenting in the periorbital region. Apocrine adenocarcinoma is the rare, malignant counterpart occurring mainly in the axilla and anogenital region. There is a paucity of literature on both entities and co-occurrence has been reported in only 5 cases.

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Complex landscapes including semi-natural habitats are expected to favour natural enemies thereby enhancing natural pest biocontrol in crops. However, when considering a large number of situations, the response of natural biocontrol to landscape properties is globally inconsistent, a possible explanation being that local agricultural practices counteract landscape effects. In this study, along a crossed gradient of pesticide use intensity and landscape simplification, we analysed the interactive effects of landscape characteristics and local pesticide use intensity on natural biocontrol.

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(1) Background: Premature infants require mothers' milk fortification to meet nutrition needs, but breast milk composition may be variable, leading to the risk of inadequate nutrition. We aimed at determining the factors influencing mothers' milk macronutrients. (2) Methods: Milk samples were analyzed for the first five weeks after premature delivery by infrared spectroscopy.

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Article Synopsis
  • * Results indicate low genetic differentiation among populations, with notable isolation between Estonia and other samples, and suggest a recent population expansion linked to increased oilseed rape cultivation.
  • * Estimating current population size and dispersal based on genetic data is complex due to the beetle's demographic history, indicating the need for management strategies at a continental level in Europe.
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Article Synopsis
  • - The concept that noncrop habitats can improve pest control while supporting biodiversity has gained traction, but the results are inconsistent across different studies.
  • - An analysis of 132 studies showed that while landscape composition often influenced pest and natural enemy populations, the outcomes varied significantly, leading to no definitive improvement in overall pest management.
  • - The findings suggest that noncrop habitats do not uniformly enhance pest control, indicating a need for better guidelines to help farmers understand when habitat conservation will actually benefit crop yields.
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Objectives: Patients with neoplastic disease involving the spine either from primary or metastatic disease present a unique challenge given these patients' frequent poor nutritional status at the time of surgery, the delivery of early post-operative chemotherapy or radiation, and placement of large amounts of hardware and avascular bone graft into a wound bed that is atrophic, previously operated or irradiated. As a result, wound morbidity has traditionally been high in this cohort of patients. Herein we review the outcomes of patients at our institution who underwent local muscle flap closure following spinal tumor extirpation.

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Despite the availability of modern antibiotics, pneumococcal meningitis in both children and adults remains a severe disease-one known to frequently cause grave complications and residual disability. Although the appearance of arterial vasospasms in bacterial meningitis systematically has been investigated and reported on for adult patients, such research is lacking when it comes to infants. We report on a 4-week-old infant who, 6 days after onset of pneumococcal meningitis, suffered severe neurological deterioration with treatment-resistant seizures and coma.

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