'Ménage à trois': a selfish genetic element uses a virus to propagate within Thermotogales.

Prokaryotic viruses play a major role in the microbial ecology and evolution. However, the virosphere associated with deep-sea hydrothermal ecosystems remains largely unexplored. Numerous instances of lateral gene transfer have contributed to the complex and incongruent evolutionary history of Thermotogales, an order well represented in deep-sea hydrothermal vents.

Toxoplasma secretory granules: one population or more?

In Toxoplasma gondii, dense granules are known as the storage secretory organelles of the so-called GRA proteins (for dense granule proteins), which are destined to the parasitophorous vacuole (PV) and the PV-derived cyst wall. Recently, newly annotated GRA proteins targeted to the host cell nucleus have enlarged this view. Here we provide an update on the latest developments on the Toxoplasma secreted proteins, which to date have been mainly studied at both the tachyzoite and bradyzoite stages, and we point out that recent discoveries could open the issue of a possible, yet uncharacterized, distinct secretory pathway in Toxoplasma.

Real-time modulation of visual feedback on human full-body movements in a virtual mirror: development and proof-of-concept.

Background: Virtual reality (VR) provides interactive multimodal sensory stimuli and biofeedback, and can be a powerful tool for physical and cognitive rehabilitation. However, existing systems have generally not implemented realistic full-body avatars and/or a scaling of visual movement feedback. We developed a "virtual mirror" that displays a realistic full-body avatar that responds to full-body movements in all movement planes in real-time, and that allows for the scaling of visual feedback on movements in real-time.

Virtual feedback for motor and pain rehabilitation after spinal cord injury.

Study Design: Interventions using virtual feedback (VF) impact on motor functions and pain and may be relevant for neurorehabilitation after spinal cord injury (SCI) in which motor dysfunctions and (concomitant) pain are frequently observed. Potential mechanisms underlying VF include a modulation of cortical sensorimotor integration, increased therapy engagement and distraction from effort and pain. Still, the optimal parameters for VF and their technical implementation are currently unknown.

The effect of methylphenidate on neurofibromatosis type 1: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover trial.

Background: Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is an autosomal dominant disorder with an estimated prevalence of about 1/3000, independent of ethnicity, race, or gender. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity like Disorder (ADHD)-like characteristics are often reported in patients with NF1. We hypothesised that learning disabilities in NF1 children were related to ADHD symptoms.

Indicators of intellectual disabilities in young children with autism spectrum disorders.

No agreement has been reached yet on the co-occurrence of Intellectual Disability (ID) and Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) in young children. This study describes the clinical profiles of 253 children with ASD between 30 and 65 months old, on IQ and adaptive behaviors, prior to their entry in an early behavioral intervention program. Results showed that 36.

Alterations in central motor representation increase over time in individuals with rotator cuff tendinopathy.

Objective: To investigate whether rotator cuff tendinopathy leads to changes in central motor representation of a rotator cuff muscle, and to assess whether such changes are related to pain intensity, pain duration, and physical disability.

Methods: Using transcranial magnetic stimulation, motor representation of infraspinatus muscle was assessed bilaterally in patients with unilateral rotator cuff tendinopathy.

Results: Active motor threshold is significantly larger for the affected shoulder comparatively to the unaffected shoulder (n=39, p=0.

Tonic pain experienced during locomotor training impairs retention despite normal performance during acquisition.

Many patients are in pain when they receive gait training during rehabilitation. Based on animal studies, it has been proposed that central sensitization associated to nociception (maladaptive plasticity) and plasticity related to the sensorimotor learning (adaptive plasticity) share similar neural mechanisms and compete with each other. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether experimental tonic pain influences motor learning (acquisition and next-day retention) of a new locomotor task.

Effect of tonic pain on motor acquisition and retention while learning to reach in a force field.

Most patients receiving intensive rehabilitation to improve their upper limb function experience pain. Despite this, the impact of pain on the ability to learn a specific motor task is still unknown. The aim of this study was to determine whether the presence of experimental tonic pain interferes with the acquisition and retention stages of motor learning associated with training in a reaching task.

A 15-year-old adolescent with a rare pituitary lesion.

Unlabelled: Cystic sellar lesions are a rare cause of hypopituitarism and extremely rare in the pediatric age group. The differential diagnosis is large and includes both primary pituitary abscesses and cystic components on pre-existing lesions, such as adenoma, craniopharyngioma, Rathke's cleft cyst, leukemia, granulomatous disease and lymphocytic hypophysitis. In the absence of a definitive diagnosis, treatment can be challenging.

Is R-CHOP Therapy a Lymphoma Growth Factor?

This article describes the first reported case of dramatic lymphocytosis flare after initiation of R-CHOP (rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone) therapy for an indolent lymphoma. The study patient exhibited a marginal zone lymphoma with mild nodal involvement but packed infiltration of the bone marrow. After initiation of RCHOP therapy, lymphocyte count increased from 329 to 707 × 10⁹/L at day 7.

Discovery of compounds blocking the proliferation of Toxoplasma gondii and Plasmodium falciparum in a chemical space based on piperidinyl-benzimidazolone analogs.

A piperidinyl-benzimidazolone scaffold has been found in the structure of different inhibitors of membrane glycerolipid metabolism, acting on enzymes manipulating diacylglycerol and phosphatidic acid. Screening a focus library of piperidinyl-benzimidazolone analogs might therefore identify compounds acting against infectious parasites. We first evaluated the in vitro effects of (S)-2-(dibenzylamino)-3-phenylpropyl 4-(1,2-dihydro-2-oxobenzo[d]imidazol-3-yl)piperidine-1-carboxylate (compound 1) on Toxoplasma gondii and Plasmodium falciparum.

Effects of a lifestyle program on vascular reactivity in macro- and microcirculation in severely obese adolescents.

Context And Objective: This study aimed to comprehensively assess the macro- and microcirculation of severely obese adolescents (SOA) and normal-weight counterparts and to determine the longitudinal effects of weight loss on vascular function in SOA. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, AND OUTCOME MEASURES: Seventeen SOA (body mass index z-score = 4.22 ± 0.

Determinants of stress in parents of children with autism spectrum disorders.

Parents of children with autism spectrum disorder are known to experience more stress than parents of children with any other conditions. The current study describes the parental stress of 118 fathers and 118 mothers at the onset of their children's Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention program. The objectives of the study were to compare and analyze each parent's stress and to identify factors that might predict their stress.

[F0 characteristics in Parkinsonian speech: Contrast between the effect of hypodopaminergy due to Parkinson's disease and that of the therapeutic delivery of L-Dopa].

Voice and speech impairments are frequent in Parkinson's disease, particularly when the disease is at an advanced stage. These impairments affect spoken communication and may become a serious disability for someone with Parkinson's disease. Many studies based on auditory-perceptual or acoustic methods have been carried out to characterize dysarthria.

The sequestration of trace elements by willow (Salix purpurea)--which soil properties favor uptake and accumulation?

The effect of soil properties on trace element (TE) extraction by the Fish Creek willow cultivar was assessed in a 4-month greenhouse experiment with two contrasted soils and two mycorrhizal treatments (Rhizophagus irregularis and natives). Aboveground tissues represented more than 82 % of the willow biomass and were the major sink for TE. Cadmium and Zn were concentrated in leaves, while As, Cu, Ni, and Pb were mostly found in roots.

DNA metabarcoding multiplexing and validation of data accuracy for diet assessment: application to omnivorous diet.

Ecological understanding of the role of consumer-resource interactions in natural food webs is limited by the difficulty of accurately and efficiently determining the complex variety of food types animals have eaten in the field. We developed a method based on DNA metabarcoding multiplexing and next-generation sequencing to uncover different taxonomic groups of organisms from complex diet samples. We validated this approach on 91 faeces of a large omnivorous mammal, the brown bear, using DNA metabarcoding markers targeting the plant, vertebrate and invertebrate components of the diet.

Decreased microvascular myogenic response to insulin in severely obese adolescents.

By means of flowmotion analysis, it is mainly accepted that, in normal conditions, insulin specifically increases the activity of microvascular smooth muscle. The objective of this study was to compare this effect in severely obese and normal-weight adolescents. Laser Doppler measurements were used to assess cutaneous blood flux (CBF) and flowmotion in response to transdermal iontophoresis of insulin in 20 severely obese adolescents (SOA) aged 12-17 years (BMI = 33.

The first latent green fluorophores for the detection of azoreductase activity in bacterial cultures.

An efficient synthesis of original bio-reductive probes suitable for the detection of azoreductases from the fluorescent rhodamine 110 dye is presented. A "turn-on" green fluorescence response upon reduction of the two diazo bonds of these latent fluorophores was observed both in vitro and in the context of bacterial cultures.

Characteristics of major Escherichia coli reductases involved in aerobic nitro and azo reduction.

Aims: Escherichia coli is able to reduce azo compounds such as methyl red (MR) and nitro compounds such as 7-nitrocoumarin-3-carboxylic acid (7NCCA). The aim of this study was to clarify the specificity of the major E. coli reductases.

The effect of a supersaturated calcium phosphate mouth rinse on the development of oral mucositis in head and neck cancer patients treated with (chemo)radiation: a single-center, randomized, prospective study of a calcium phosphate mouth rinse + standard of care versus standard of care.

Objectives: Mucosal damage is an important and debilitating side effect when treating head and neck cancer patients with (chemo-)radiation. The aim of this randomized clinical trial was to investigate whether the addition of a neutral, supersaturated, calcium phosphate (CP) mouth rinse benefits the severity and duration of acute mucositis in head and neck cancer patients treated with (chemo)radiation.

Materials And Methods: A total of 60 patients with malignant neoplasms of the head and neck receiving (chemo)radiation were included in this study.

Effect of nitrogen and fluorine on mechanical properties and bioactivity in two series of bioactive glasses.

Bioactive glasses are able to bond to bone through formation of carbonated hydroxyapatite in body fluids, and fluoride-releasing bioactive glasses are of interest for both orthopaedic and, in particular, dental applications for caries inhibition. However, because of their poor strength their use is restricted to non-load-bearing applications. In order to increase their mechanical properties, doping with nitrogen has been performed on two series of bioactive glasses: series (I) was a "bioglass" composition (without P2O5) within the quaternary system SiO2-Na2O-CaO-Si3N4 and series (II) was a simple substitution of CaF2 for CaO in series (I) glasses keeping the Na:Ca ratio constant.

Cortical mapping of the infraspinatus muscle in healthy individuals.

Background: While cortical representations of intrinsic hand muscles have been extensively studied in healthy individuals, little is known about the representation of proximal upper limb muscles. Improving our understanding of normal shoulder function is important, given that shoulder musculoskeletal disorders affect approximately 20% of the population and are suspected to involve changes in central motor representations. The purpose of the study is to describe the motor representation (motor evoked potentials (MEP) amplitude at the hotspot, map area, normalized map volume and center of gravity) of the infraspinatus muscle in healthy individuals, and to explore the potential influence of hand dominance on this representation (i.