Airway epithelium damage in acute respiratory distress syndrome.

Background: The airway epithelium (AE) fulfils multiple functions to maintain pulmonary homeostasis, among which ensuring adequate barrier function, cell differentiation and polarization, and actively transporting immunoglobulin A (IgA), the predominant mucosal immunoglobulin in the airway lumen, via the polymeric immunoglobulin receptor (pIgR). Morphological changes of the airways have been reported in ARDS, while their detailed features, impact for mucosal immunity, and causative mechanisms remain unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to assess epithelial alterations in the distal airways of patients with ARDS.

Validation and shortcomings of the most common mouse model of chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps.

Background: Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is a highly prevalent airway disease worldwide. Whereas eosinophilic CRS with nasal polyps (eCRSwNP) represents its most severe phenotype, pathogenic mechanisms remain poorly understood despite a wide spectrum of in vitro and in vivo experimental models. A mouse model of experimental ovalbumin (OVA)-induced airway allergy with coadministration of Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxin B (SEB) has been widely used to study eosinophilic eCRSwNP.

The memory of airway epithelium damage in smokers and COPD patients.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a devastating and irreversible lung disease, causes structural and functional defects in the bronchial epithelium, the (ir)reversibility of which remains unexplored in vitro. This study aimed to investigate the persistence of COPD-related epithelial defects in long-term airway epithelial cultures derived from non-smokers, smokers, and COPD patients. Barrier function, polarity, cell commitment, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, and inflammation were evaluated and compared with native epithelium characteristics.

Blocking μ-opioid receptors attenuates reinstatement of responding to an alcohol-predictive conditioned stimulus through actions in the ventral hippocampus.

The µ-opioid system is involved in the reinstatement of responding that is immediately evoked by alcohol-predictive cues. The extent of its involvement in reinstatement observed in a new model that evaluates the delayed effects of re-exposure to alcohol, however, is unclear. The current study investigated the role of µ-opioid receptors (MORs) in the delayed reinstatement of an extinguished, Pavlovian conditioned response that was evoked 24 h after alcohol re-exposure.

Restin protein expression in non-small cell lung cancer.

Background: Restin is a member of the melanoma-associated antigen (MAGE) superfamily. Its expression has been reported to be up- or downregulated in cancer. Preclinical data suggest it is a tumor suppressor.

[Potential therapeutic implication of focal adhesion kinase in small-cell lung cancer].

The molecular steps leading to small cell lung cancer (SCLC) development and progression are still poorly understood, resulting in the absence of targeted therapy and an extremely poor prognosis. Activation of Focal Adhesion Kinase (FAK) plays a key role in the invasive behavior of this cancer in vitro. Our hypothesis is that FAK could be a therapeutic target in SCLC.

Bleomycin-induced lung injury: Revisiting an old tool to model group III PH associated with pulmonary fibrosis.

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a chronic disorder of the pulmonary circulation that often associates with other respiratory diseases (i.e., group III PH), leading to worsened symptoms and prognosis, notably when combined with interstitial lung diseases such as pulmonary fibrosis (PF).

Perceived discomfort and neuromuscular fatigue during long-duration real driving with different car seats.

Introduction: Identification of the seat features that could improve driving experience is a main issue for automotive companies.

Objective: Long duration real driving sessions were performed to assess the effect of three seats (soft-S1, firm-S2 and suspended-S3) on perceived discomfort and neuromuscular fatigue (NMF).

Materials & Methods: For each seat, the muscular activity of bilateral Trapezius Descendens (TD), Erector Spinae (ES) and Multifidus (MF) muscles of twenty-one participants was recorded during real driving sessions of 3-hours each lasting approximately 3 hours and following the same itinerary.

Learning processes in relapse to alcohol use: lessons from animal models.

Rationale: Alcohol use is reliably preceded by discrete and contextual stimuli which, through diverse learning processes, acquire the capacity to promote alcohol use and relapse to alcohol use.

Objective: We review contemporary extinction, renewal, reinstatement, occasion setting, and sex differences research within a conditioning framework of relapse to alcohol use to inform the development of behavioural and pharmacological therapies.

Key Findings: Diverse learning processes and corresponding neurobiological substrates contribute to relapse to alcohol use.

Cell-Free Protein Synthesis by Diversifying Bacterial Transcription Machinery.

We have evaluated several approaches to increase protein synthesis in a cell-free coupled bacterial transcription and translation system. A strong p promoter, originally isolated from a moderate thermophilic bacterium , was used to improve the performance of a cell-free system in extracts of BL21 (DE3). A stimulating effect on protein synthesis was detected with extracts prepared from recombinant cells, in which the RNA polymerase subunits α, β, β' and ω are simultaneously coexpressed.

Bunge as a Potential Natural Compound against COVID-19.

Bunge, commonly called danshen, is widely used in traditional Chinese medicine for its cardiovascular and neuroprotective effects, which include antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, and antifibrotic properties. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the preclinical potential of extracts for the treatment of COVID-19. First, the impact of the extract on the binding between SARS-CoV-2 and the cellular ACE2 receptors was assessed using atomic force microscopy (AFM), showing a significant reduction in binding by the extract at concentrations in the µg/mL range.

Influence of car seat firmness on seat pressure profiles and perceived discomfort during prolonged simulated driving.

During a driving task, the seat-driver interface is particularly influenced by the external environment and seat features. This study compares the effect of two different seats (S - soft & S - firm) and the effect of visual simulation of different road types (city, highway, mountain, country), on pressure distribution and perceived discomfort during prolonged driving. Twenty participants drove two 3-h sessions (one per seat) on a static simulator.

The role of context conditioning in the reinstatement of responding to an alcohol-predictive conditioned stimulus.

Re-exposure to an unconditioned stimulus (US) can reinstate extinguished conditioned responding elicited by a conditioned stimulus (CS). We tested the hypothesis that the reinstatement of responding to an appetitive CS is driven by an excitatory association formed between the US and the context that the US was ingested in during US re-exposure. Male, Long-Evans rats were acclimated to drinking alcohol (15%, v/v) in the home-cage, then trained to associate an auditory CS with an alcohol-US that was delivered into a fluid port for oral intake.

Car seat impact on driver's sitting behavior and perceived discomfort during prolonged real driving on varied road types.

Prolonged driving under real conditions can entail discomfort linked to driving posture, seat design features, and road properties like whole-body vibrations (WBV). This study evaluated the effect of three different seats (S1 = soft; S2 = firm; S3 = soft with suspension system) on driver's sitting behavior and perceived discomfort on different road types in real driving conditions. Twenty-one participants drove the same 195 km itinerary alternating highway, city, country, and mountain segments.

Loss of ciliated cells and altered airway epithelial integrity in cystic fibrosis.

Background: In cystic fibrosis, the respiratory epithelium is the target tissue of both the genetic abnormality of the disease and of external aggressions, notably by pathogens (Pseudomonas aeruginosa). A detailed characterisation of the cystic fibrosis bronchial epithelium is however lacking, as most previous studies focused on the nasal epithelium or on cell lines. This study aimed to characterise the abnormal phenotype and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in cystic fibrosis bronchial epithelium and to evaluate in cell cultures whether abnormalities persist ex vivo.

Oncological patients' reactions to COVID-19 pandemic: A single institution prospective study.

Background: The spread of the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a rapid reorganization in all human and hospital activities, with impact on cancer patients.

Aim: An analysis of cancer patients fears, and awareness of COVID-19 has been done in this study.

Methods And Results: We analyzed cancer patients' reactions to the pandemic and their perception of oncological care reorganization, through a 12-item survey, proposed at the peak of pandemic and 3 months later.

Increased Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 and Loss of Alveolar Type II Cells in COVID-19-related Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome.

ACE2 (angiotensin-converting enzyme 2), the entry receptor for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is expressed in type 2 alveolar epithelial cells (AT2) that may play key roles in postinjury repair. An imbalance between ACE2 and ACE has also been hypothesized to contribute to lung injury. To characterize the expression and distribution of ACE2 and ACE and to compare AT2 with endothelial cell expression in coronavirus disease (COVID-19)-related or -unrelated acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and controls.

Intraoperative disc level marking with needle: a technical note and prospective study on 30 patients.

Background: Wrong-level surgery is a rare but unresolved issue in spine surgery. Some proposed protocols with high success rates, but it remains a risk with potential complications for the patient. Surgical navigation offers more accurate surgery, without additional irradiation related to the imaging device, in order to optimize the surgical guidance.

[Immune-related adverse events].

Immunotherapy has revolutionized cancer management in recent years and is affecting more and more patients. Immunotherapy side effects are specific, immune-related, and their early recognition and management are essential. Here we describe the main adverse effects of immunotherapy and their general principles of management.

[Immunotherapy for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma].

Current recommendations for systemic treatments of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma have been significantly modified with the advent of immunotherapy for a majority of these cancers. Indeed, immune checkpoint inhibitors are now recommended in metastatic disease and in locoregional recurrence not amenable to a local treatment. PD-L1 positive tumours are eligible for immunotherapy in first line and immunotherapy is also available in second line, after failure of platinum based chemotherapy, regardless of PD-L1 expression.

Skin autofluorescence predicts cancer in subjects with type 2 diabetes.

Introduction: Subjects with type 2 diabetes have an excess risk of cancer. The potential role of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) accumulated during long-term hyperglycemia in cancer development has been suggested by biological studies but clinical data are missing. AGEs can be estimated by measuring the skin autofluorescence.