Publications by authors named "Francois Lucas"

Background: Surgical site infection (SSI) after thoracolumbar osteosynthesis is a common complication. Its management relies on surgical revision and antibiotic therapy, but treatment failure is not uncommon. The aim of our study was to assess the frequency of SSI management failure and its risk factors.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: The development of end-of-life primary care is a socio-medical and ethical challenge. However, general practitioners (GPs) face many difficulties when initiating appropriate discussion on proactive shared palliative care. Anticipating palliative care is increasingly important given the ageing population and is an aim shared by many countries.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The Harms technique is recognized as the best method for stabilizing the C1-C2 cervical spine, but it still carries a risk of vertebral artery injury, especially with long screws close to the artery.
  • A study aimed to compare the pull-out strength of long screws (LS) and short screws (SS) for C2 stabilization using 13 human cadaveric spines, measuring their effectiveness.
  • Results showed that LS provided significantly greater pull-out strength and stiffness compared to SS, making LS the preferred choice unless the isthmus width is too narrow for a 3.5-mm screw.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: The anterior lumbar spine approach has gained in popularity in recent years, but the associated access-related complications for obese patients have not been clearly established. This study aimed to analyze the relationship between obesity or overweight and the safety of the anterior lumbar spine approach.

Methods: Eighty-four consecutive patients admitted for lumbar spine surgery by anterior approach between 2011 and 2014 were included.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Rats learn to prefer foods based, in part, on postingestive nutrient actions. This study compared the effectiveness of intragastric (IG) infusions of fat emulsions which varied in their fatty acid composition (chain length and saturation) to condition preferences for flavored saccharin solutions. In Experiment 1, food-restricted rats were trained (30 min/day) with one flavor (CS+CO) paired with IG corn oil (CO) and a second flavor (CS+MCT) paired with IG medium chain triglyceride (MCT); the fats were prepared as isocaloric emulsions.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

We studied in details the ammonia or free amino acids (AA) effects on proteolytic activity of three ruminal bacteria: enzymatic activities and protein breakdown products were measured at the end of the exponential growth phase. In Streptococcus bovis the simultaneous uptake of ammonia and probably small peptides induced a decline in total proteolytic activity as a result of changes in endopeptidasic activities. With free AA, the tendency for the endopeptidasic activities to specialise was more evident and the total proteolytic activity decreased too.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF