Publications by authors named "M. Billon"

Article Synopsis
  • Hyperkalemia is a common electrolyte imbalance, impacting around 7.3% of patients with hypertension, often due to medications or chronic kidney disease.
  • A small percentage (0.04%) of these patients had familial hyperkalemic hypertension (FHH), with higher prevalence in those with unexplained hyperkalemia.
  • Hyperkalemia is linked to increased cardiovascular risks, emphasizing the need for early diagnosis and tailored treatment strategies for effective management.
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Autophagy is an essential self-degradative and recycling mechanism that maintains cellular homeostasis. Estrogen receptor-related orphan receptors (ERRs) are fundamental in regulating cardiac metabolism and function. Previously, we showed that ERR agonists improve cardiac function in models of heart failure and induce autophagy.

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Integration of molecular catalysts inside polymeric scaffolds has gained substantial attention over the past decade, as it provides a path towards generating systems with enhanced stability as well as enzyme-like morphologies and properties. In the context of solar fuels research and chemical energy conversion, this approach has been found to improve both rates and energy efficiencies of a range of catalytic reactions. However, system performance still needs to be improved to reach technologically relevant currents and stability, parameters that are heavily influenced by the nature of the incorporated molecular catalyst.

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Background: Cardiac metabolic dysfunction is a hallmark of heart failure (HF). Estrogen-related receptors ERRα and ERRγ are essential regulators of cardiac metabolism. Therefore, activation of ERR could be a potential therapeutic intervention for HF.

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Whole T cell interferon gamma release assays such as QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus (QTF-TB) are used to evaluate Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTC) exposure but fail to discriminate latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) from active disease. In this study conducted in a low-burden area, 1215 patients presenting MTC risk and tested both for QTF-TB and mycobacterial infection (microscopy, culture, and/or PCR) were selected, as well as 1298 controls screened with QTF-TB before medical recruitment. The humoral response (LIODetect®TB-ST) was further evaluated in 199 selected patients.

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The NR superfamily comprises 48 transcription factors in humans that control a plethora of gene network programs involved in a wide range of physiologic processes. This review will summarize and discuss recent progress in NR biology and drug development derived from integrating various approaches, including biophysical techniques, structural studies, and translational investigation. We also highlight how defective NR signaling results in various diseases and disorders and how NRs can be targeted for therapeutic intervention via modulation via binding to synthetic lipophilic ligands.

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Plastic waste and its fragments (microplastics; <5 mm) have been observed in almost all types of environments. However, the mechanisms underlying the flow and transport processes of plastics are unknown. This is particularly valid for river sediments, where complex interactions occur between particles and influence their vertical and horizontal distribution patterns.

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Objectives: Lumacaftor-ivacaftor is a cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) modulator known to improve clinical status in people with cystic fibrosis (CF). The aim of this study was to assess lung structural changes after 1 year of lumacaftor-ivacaftor treatment and to use unsupervised machine learning to identify morphological phenotypes of lung disease that are associated with response to lumacaftor-ivacaftor.

Methods: Adolescents and adults with CF from a French multicentre real-world prospective observational study evaluating the first year of treatment with lumacaftor-ivacaftor were included if they had pre-therapeutic and follow-up chest computed tomography (CT) scans available.

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Background: The impact of individual genetic and genomic variations on immune responses is an emerging lever investigated in vaccination strategies. In our study, we used genetic and pre-vaccination blood transcriptomic data to study vaccine effectiveness in pigs.

Results: A cohort of 182 Large White pigs was vaccinated against Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae (M.

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Background And Purpose: Vascular Ehlers-Danlos syndrome is a rare inherited connective tissue disorder because of pathogenic variants in the gene. Arterial complications can affect all anatomic areas and about 25% involve supra-aortic trunks (SATs) but no systematic assessment of cervical artery lesions has been made. The primary objective was to determine an accurate prevalence of spontaneous SAT lesions in a large series of patients with vascular Ehlers-Danlos syndrome at diagnosis and during follow-up.

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The gut microbiota comprises a large and diverse community of bacteria that play a significant role in swine health. Indeed, there is a tight association between the enteric immune system and the overall composition and richness of the microbiota, which is key in the induction, training and function of the host immunity, and may therefore, influence the immune response to vaccination. Using vaccination against () as a model, we investigated the potential of early-life gut microbiota in predicting vaccine response and explored the post-vaccination dynamics of fecal microbiota at later time points.

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Xylem hydraulic failure is a major driver of tree death during drought. However, to better understand mortality risk in trees, especially during hot-drought events, more information is required on both rates of residual water-loss from small branches (g ) after stomatal closure, as well as the phase transition temperature (T ), beyond which g significantly increases. Here, we describe and test a novel low-cost tool, the DroughtBox, for phenotyping g and T across species.

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PEDOT nanowires (NWs) directly grown on the conducting electrode of quartz resonators enable an advanced electrogravimetric analysis of their charge storage behavior. Electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance (EQCM) and its coupling with electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (-electrogravimetry or AC-EG) were used complementarily and reveal that TBA, BF and ACN participate in the charge compensation process with different kinetics and quantity. BF anions were dominant in terms of concentration over TBA cations and the anion transfer results in the exclusion of the solvent molecules.

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In order to move away from traditional petrochemical-based polymer materials, it is imperative that new monomer systems be sought out based on renewable resources. In this work, the synthesis of a functional terpene-containing acrylate monomer (tetrahydrogeraniol acrylate, THGA) is reported. This monomer was polymerized in toluene and bulk via free-radical polymerizations, achieving high conversion and molecular weights up to 278 kg·mol.

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A new method based on passive samplers has been developed to assess the diffusive flux of fluorene, fluoranthene and pyrene in the sediment bed and across the sediment-water interface. The dissolved compound concentration gradient in the sediment in the vertical direction was measured at the outlet of a storm water pond by using polyethylene strips as passive samplers. Simultaneously, the dissipation of a set of tracer compounds preloaded in the passive samplers was measured to estimate the effective diffusion coefficients of the pollutants in the sediment.

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Background: A public-private (51/49 %) partnership was initiated in 2007 in France to improve the attractiveness of French sites in industry-sponsored international clinical trials. This initiative developed and implemented a combination of structuring actions and support actions. Here we report the assessment of the impact after 6 years on participation of French study sites in industry-sponsored clinical trials.

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Pseudomonas bacteria are ubiquitous Gram-negative and aerobic microorganisms that are known to harbor metal resistance mechanisms such as efflux pumps and intracellular redox enzymes. Specific Pseudomonas bacteria have been quantified in some metal-contaminated environments, but the entire Pseudomonas population has been poorly investigated under these conditions, and the link with metal bioavailability was not previously examined. In the present study, quantitative PCR and cell cultivation were used to monitor and characterize the Pseudomonas population at 4 different sediment sites contaminated with various levels of metals.

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For the first time in the domestic pig, meiotic recombination along the 18 porcine autosomes was directly studied by immunolocalization of MLH1 protein. In total, 7,848 synaptonemal complexes from 436 spermatocytes were analyzed, and 13,969 recombination sites were mapped. Individual chromosomes for 113 of the 436 cells (representing 2,034 synaptonemal complexes) were identified by immunostaining and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH).

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Hypothyroidism is associated with an increased occurrence of atherosclerosis, suggesting some protective role for thyroid hormones (THs). Hypercholesterolemia is one of the major risk factor to develop this disease. Here, we show that the well-known TH cholesterol lowering effect was dependent on TH nuclear receptor (TR)β liver activity.

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Muddy sediments of the Belgian Continental Zone (BCZ) are contaminated by metals such as Co, As, Cd, Pb, and Ni. Previous studies have suggested that mineralization of phytodetritus accumulating each year on sediments might cause secondary contaminations of the overlying seawater (metal effluxes). The aim of the present research was to investigate these effluxes using a microcosm approach.

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A procedure to determine lead and zinc by anodic stripping voltammetry and copper by cathodic stripping voltammetry in natural river samples was developed and validated. Cu determination involves the adsorption of Cu complexes with 8-hydroxyquinoline (oxine) onto a hanging mercury drop electrode. All samples were studied at natural pH and following optimal conditions were found: an accumulation step at -1.

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Motivationally unconscious (M-unconscious) states are unconscious states that can directly motivate a subject's behavior and whose unconscious character typically results from a form of repression. The basic argument for M-unconscious states claims that they provide the best explanation for some seemingly non-rational behaviors, like akrasia, impulsivity, or apparent self-deception. This basic argument has been challenged on theoretical, empirical, and conceptual grounds.

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Background: Two minor apolipoprotein A5 (APOA5) gene haplotypes, represented by -1131T>C and S19W polymorphisms, are strong determinants of plasma triglyceride (TG) concentration variability across human populations. Hypertriglyceridemia is frequent in type 2 diabetes (T2D) and hyperchylomicronemia is not uncommon.

Methods: We investigated the association of -1131T>C and S19W polymorphisms with diabetic dyslipidemia in 400 Caucasian T2D patients divided in 2 groups: group N with 130 normotriglyceridemics (TG<90th percentile) and group M with 270 moderately hypertriglyceridemics.

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