Demographics, health and travel characteristics of international travellers at a pre-travel clinic in Marseille, France.

With the aim to identify at-risk individuals among a cohort of international travellers, 3442 individuals who sought advice at Marseille travel health centre in 2009 were prospectively included. Demographics, travel characteristics, chronic medical conditions, vaccinations and antimalarial chemoprophylaxis were documented. Chronic medical conditions were reported by 11% of individuals, including hypertension (39%), asthma (20%), thyroid disease (15%) and depression (13%).

Tuning silica particle shape at fluid interfaces.

By exploring the phenomenon of water diffusion induced self-assembly of silica particle in microfluidic channels, we show that both the geometric confinement experienced by the droplet and the local Peclet number are responsible for the final particle shape. This study will facilitate the understanding and ultimately control of self assembly at fluid interfaces.

Platelets of patients with chronic kidney disease demonstrate deficient platelet reactivity in vitro.

Background: In patients with chronic kidney disease studies focusing on platelet function and properties often are non-conclusive whereas only few studies use functional platelet tests. In this study we evaluated a recently developed functional flow cytometry based assay for the analysis of platelet function in chronic kidney disease.

Methods: Platelet reactivity was measured using flow cytometric analysis.

Atherosclerotic renal artery stenosis is prevalent in cardiorenal patients but not associated with left ventricular function and myocardial fibrosis as assessed by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging.

Background: Atherosclerotic renal artery stenosis (ARAS) is common in cardiovascular diseases and associated with hypertension, renal dysfunction and/or heart failure. There is a paucity of data about the prevalence and the role of ARAS in the pathophysiology of combined chronic heart failure (CHF) and chronic kidney disease (CKD). We investigated the prevalence in patients with combined CHF/CKD and its association with renal function, cardiac dysfunction and the presence and extent of myocardial fibrosis.

Short-term erythropoietin treatment does not substantially modulate monocyte transcriptomes of patients with combined heart and renal failure.

Background: Combined heart and renal failure is associated with high cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory, non-hematopoietic effects of erythropoietin (EPO) treatment have been proposed. Monocytes may act as biosensors of the systemic environment.

Target organ cross talk in cardiorenal syndrome: animal models.

The combination of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and heart failure (HF) is associated with an adverse prognosis. Although clinical studies hint at a specific bidirectional interaction between HF and CKD, insight into the pathogenesis of cardiorenal syndrome (CRS) remains limited. We review available evidence on cardiorenal interactions from animal models of CKD and HF and discuss several studies that employed a "double-hit" model to research organ cross talk between the heart and kidneys.

Properties of cellulose/pectins composites: implication for structural and mechanical properties of cell wall.

The primary cell wall of dicotyledonous plants can be considered as a concentrated polymer assembly, containing in particular polysaccharides among which cellulose and pectins are known to be the major components. In order to understand and control the textural quality of plant-derived foods, it is highly important to elucidate the rheological and microstructural properties of these components, individually and in mixture, in order to define their implication for structural and mechanical properties of primary plant cell wall. In this study, the rheological and microstructural properties of model systems composed of sugar-beet microfibrillated cellulose and HM pectins from various sources, with varied degrees of methylation and containing different amounts of neutral sugar side chains, were investigated.

Hepcidin-25 in chronic hemodialysis patients is related to residual kidney function and not to treatment with erythropoiesis stimulating agents.

Hepcidin-25, the bioactive form of hepcidin, is a key regulator of iron homeostasis as it induces internalization and degradation of ferroportin, a cellular iron exporter on enterocytes, macrophages and hepatocytes. Hepcidin levels are increased in chronic hemodialysis (HD) patients, but as of yet, limited information on factors associated with hepcidin-25 in these patients is available. In the current cross-sectional study, potential patient-, laboratory- and treatment-related determinants of serum hepcidin-20 and -25, were assessed in a large cohort of stable, prevalent HD patients.

Tomato GDSL1 is required for cutin deposition in the fruit cuticle.

The plant cuticle consists of cutin, a polyester of glycerol, hydroxyl, and epoxy fatty acids, covered and filled by waxes. While the biosynthesis of cutin building blocks is well documented, the mechanisms underlining their extracellular deposition remain unknown. Among the proteins extracted from dewaxed tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) peels, we identified GDSL1, a member of the GDSL esterase/acylhydrolase family of plant proteins.

The egg, the vessels and the words. From Izdubar to Answer to Job for an imaging thinking.

This essay on The Red Book seeks to underscore a characteristic specific to Jung's approach to psychoanalysis. In this book, and more generally, in all of his writings, Jung's thinking is based on his personal experience of the unconscious, in which he leaves himself open to progressive encounters. Some of them, in the years 1913-14 and 1929-30, particularly his meeting with the giant Izdubar, were quite threatening.

Barriers to an early switch from intravenous to oral antibiotic therapy in hospitalised patients with CAP.

Do physicians apply an early-switch strategy (from intravenous to oral antibiotics) in clinically stable patients hospitalised with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP)? If not, why not? In a multicentre prospective cohort study, adult patients admitted for i.v. CAP treatment were included.

The role of melatonin treatment in chronic kidney disease.

The pineal hormone melatonin plays a major role in circadian sleep-wake rhythm. Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD), especially those who are on hemodialysis, frequently suffer from sleep disturbances. In this review an overview is given of the classification of stages of chronic kidney disease, followed by a presentation of the circadian rhythm disorders in renal disease involving sleep disturbances in relation to melatonin deficiency.

The late Barremian horizon of the Dolomites (Southern Alps, Italy).

A new trace fossil marker level, the horizon, is proposed for the Lower Cretaceous pelagic to hemipelagic succession of the Puez area (Southern Alps, Italy). The horizon occurs in the middle part of the late Barremian Zone ( Subzone). It is approximately 20 cm thick and restricted to the uppermost part of the Puez Limestone Member (marly limestones; Hauterivian-Barremian; Puez Formation).

Comparison of uranyl extraction mechanisms in an ionic liquid by use of malonamide or malonamide-functionalized ionic liquid.

The extraction of uranyl from acidic (HNO(3)) aqueous solutions toward an ionic liquid phase, C(1)-C(4)-imTf(2)N (1-methyl,3-butylimidazolium Tf(2)N), has been investigated as a function of initial acid concentration and ligand concentration for two different extracting moieties: a classical malonamide, N,N'-dimethyl-N,N'-dibutylmalonamide (DMDBMA) and a functionalized IL composed of the Tf(2)N(-) anion and an imidazolium cation on which a malonamide pattern has been grafted (FIL-MA). The extraction mechanism, as demonstrated through the influence of added C(1)-C(4)-imCl or added LiTf(2)N in the aqueous phase, is slightly different between the DMDBMA and FIL-MA extracting agents. Modeling of the extraction data evidences a double extraction mechanism, with cation exchange of UO(2)(2+)versus 2 H(+) for DMDBMA or versus C(1)-C(4) -im(+) and H(+) for FIL-MA at low acidic values, and through anion exchange of [UO(2)(NO(3))(3)](-)versus Tf(2)N(-) for both ligands at high HNO(3) concentrations.

Evidence for the formation of UO2(NO3)4(2-) in an ionic liquid by EXAFS.

The complexation between uranium(vi) and nitrate ions in a hydrophobic ionic liquid (IL), namely [BMI][NO(3)] (BMI = 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium(+)), is investigated by EXAFS spectroscopy. It was performed by dissolution of uranyl nitrate UO(2)(NO(3))(2)·6H(2)O or UO(2)(Tf(2)N)(2) (Tf(2)N = bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide (CF(3)SO(2))(2)N(-)). The formation of the complex UO(2)(NO(3))(4)(2-) is evidenced.

Acid extraction to a hydrophobic ionic liquid: the role of added tributylphosphate investigated by experiments and simulations.

We have studied the extraction of four HA acids (HNO(3), HReO(4), HClO(4), HCl) to a hydrophobic ionic liquid (IL) 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium-bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)amide (BMI(+) Tf(2)N(-)) at room temperature, in a wide range of acidic concentrations in water. The effect of tributylphosphate (TBP) as co-solvent is investigated. According to experimental observations, water dragging to the IL phase increases with added TBP and/or acids.

Perrhenate complexation by uranyl in traditional solvents and in ionic liquids: a joint molecular dynamics/spectroscopic study.

The complexation of perrhenate (ReO(4)(-)) anions by the uranyl (UO(2)(2+)) cation has been investigated by joint molecular dynamics simulations and spectroscopic (UV-vis, TRLFS, and EXAFS) studies in aqueous solution, acetonitrile, and three ionic liquids (ILs), namely, [Bmi][Tf(2)N], [Me(3)BuN][Tf(2)N], and [Bu(3)MeN][Tf(2)N] that are based on the same Tf(2)N(-) anion (bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide) and either Bmi(+) (1-butyl,3-methylimidazolium), Me(3)BuN(+), or Bu(3)MeN(+) cations. They show that ReO(4)(-) behaves as a weak ligand in aqueous solution and as a strong ligand in acetonitrile and in the ILs. According to MD simulations in aqueous solution, the UO(2)(ReO(4))(2) complex quickly dissociates to form UO(2)(H(2)O)(5)(2+), while in acetonitrile, a stable UO(2)(ReO(4))(5)(3-) species forms from dissociated ions.

Subtotal nephrectomy plus coronary ligation leads to more pronounced damage in both organs than either nephrectomy or coronary ligation.

Coexistence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and heart failure (HF) in humans is associated with poor outcome. We hypothesized that preexistent CKD worsens cardiac outcome after myocardial infarction, and conversely that ensuing HF worsens progression of CKD. Subtotally nephrectomized (SNX) or sham-operated (CON) rats were subjected to coronary ligation (CL) or sham surgery in week 9 to realize four groups: CON, SNX, CON + CL, and SNX + CL.

A role for activated endothelial cells in red blood cell clearance: implications for vasopathology.

Background: Phosphatidylserine exposure by red blood cells is acknowledged as a signal that initiates phagocytic removal of the cells from the circulation. Several disorders and conditions are known to induce phosphatidylserine exposure. Removal of phosphatidylserine-exposing red blood cells generally occurs by macrophages in the spleen and liver.

DNA-polymer micelles as nanoparticles with recognition ability.

The Watson-Crick binding of DNA single strands is a powerful tool for the assembly of nanostructures. Our objective is to develop polymer nanoparticles equipped with DNA strands for surface-patterning applications, taking advantage of the DNA technology, in particular, recognition and reversibility. A hybrid DNA copolymer is synthesized through the conjugation of a ssDNA (22-mer) with a poly(ethylene oxide)-poly(caprolactone) diblock copolymer (PEO-b-PCl).

Serum neuron-specific enolase as predictor of outcome in comatose cardiac-arrest survivors: a prospective cohort study.

Background: The prediction of neurological outcome in comatose patients after cardiac arrest has major ethical and socioeconomic implications. The purpose of this study was to assess the capability of serum neuron-specific enolase (NSE), a biomarker of hypoxic brain damage, to predict death or vegetative state in comatose cardiac-arrest survivors.

Methods: We conducted a prospective observational cohort study in one university hospital and one general hospital Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

Accidental section of the ulnar nerve in the wrist during arthroscopy.

Arthroscopy of the wrist is a frequently performed procedure. Its role in diagnosis and treatment is significant. The complications of arthroscopy are well known and are described in the literature.

Overview of adverse events related to invasive procedures in the intensive care unit.

Background: This study was conducted to determine the frequency, predictors, and clinical impact of adverse events (AEs) related to invasive procedures in the intensive care unit (ICU).

Methods: This was a prospective observational study of ICUs in a university hospital.

Results: A total of 893 patients requiring invasive procedures were admitted over a 1-year period.