Prospective head-to-head comparison of non-invasive scores for diagnosis of fibrotic MASH in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Background & Aims: Non-invasive scores have been proposed to identify patients with fibrotic, metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), who are at the highest risk of progression to complications of cirrhosis and may benefit from pharmacologic treatments. However, data in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) are lacking. The aim of this multicenter prospective study was to perform a head-to-head comparison of FAST (FibroScan-aspartate aminotransferase [AST]), MAST (MRI-AST), MEFIB (magnetic resonance elastography [MRE] plus FIB-4), and FNI (fibrotic NASH index) for detecting fibrotic MASH in patients with T2DM.

Transplacental transfer of anti-SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies in comparison to other pathogens total antibodies.

Backgrounds: Due to immaturity of their immune system, passive maternal immunization is essential for newborns during their first months of life. Therefore, in the current context of intense circulation of SARS-CoV-2, identifying factors influencing the transfer ratio (TR) of neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 (NAb) appears important.

Methods: Our study nested in the COVIPREG cohort (NCT04355234), included mothers who had a SARS-CoV-2 PCR positive during their pregnancy and their newborns.

One-Year Sequelae and Quality of Life in Adults with Meningococcal Meningitis: Lessons from the COMBAT Multicentre Prospective Study.

Introduction: COMBAT is a prospective, multicentre cohort study that enrolled consecutive adults with community-acquired bacterial meningitis (CABM) in 69 participating centres in France between February 2013 and July 2015 and followed them for 1 year.

Methods: Patients aged at least 18 years old, hospitalised with CABM were followed during their hospitalisation and then contacted by phone 12 months after enrolment. Here we present the prevalence of sequelae at 12 months in a subgroup of patients with meningococcal meningitis.

Evaluation by simulation of clinical trial designs for evaluation of treatment during a viral haemorrhagic fever outbreak.

Background: Viral haemorrhagic fevers are characterized by irregular outbreaks with high mortality rate. Difficulties arise when implementing therapeutic trials in this context. The outbreak duration is hard to predict and can be short compared to delays of trial launch and number of subject needed (NSN) recruitment.

CD62L on blood basophils: a first pre-treatment predictor of remission in severe lupus nephritis.

Background: Basophils were recently shown to contribute to lupus nephritis (LN). This study assessed blood basophil activation markers (BAMs) for the diagnosis of LN severity and as pre-treatment prognostic markers of the response to treatment in patients with severe LN.

Method: The diagnostic study included all the patients of a monocentric prospective observational cohort built with consecutive patients diagnosed with LN on the basis of a renal biopsy.

Effects of Low-Level Laser Therapy and Chiropractic Care on Back Pain in Quarter Horses.

Low-level laser therapy has been used clinically to treat musculoskeletal pain; however, there is limited evidence available to support its use in treating back pain in horses. The objective of this study was to evaluate the clinical effectiveness of low-level laser therapy and chiropractic care in treating thoracolumbar pain in competitive western performance horses. The subjects included 61 Quarter Horses actively involved in national western performance competitions judged to have back pain.

Impact of cardiac function, refractory ascites and beta blockers on the outcome of patients with cirrhosis listed for liver transplantation.

Background & Aims: Whether non-selective beta blockers (NSBBs) are deleterious in patients with end-stage cirrhosis and refractory ascites has been widely debated. We hypothesized that only the subset of patients on the liver transplant waiting list who had impaired cardiac performance would be at increased risk of mortality if receiving NSBBs.

Methods: This study included 584 consecutive patients with cirrhosis evaluated for transplantation between 1999 and 2014.

Magnetic resonance imaging findings of the proximal metacarpus in Quarter Horses used for cutting: Retrospective analysis of 32 horses 2009-2012.

Background: Injury to the proximal suspensory ligament is a common cause of lameness in cutting horses. Radiographic and ultrasonographic imaging of lesions responsible for lameness can provide ambiguous results. MRI provides the most comprehensive diagnostic imaging evaluation of lesions specifically affecting cutting horses.

Effects of thyrotrophin-releasing hormone on plasma catecholamine levels in acromegalics.

Plasma catecholamines assayed by a double isotope radio enzymatic method were studied in the basal state and during a thyrotrophin-releasing hormone (TRH)-test in 7 acromegalics, divided into 2 groups: active and non-active acromegalics, according to clinical and biological criteria. Basal plasma norepinephrine levels were significantly increased in the active group 648 +/- 22 pg/ml (P less than 0.001) and were in the normal range in the non-active group 439 +/- 26 pg/ml.

Determination of a virtually non-carcinogenic dose.

The various mathematical models of the dose-response relationship are briefly reviewed and it is concluded that the Weibull and gamma-multihit models are at present the best ones. They permit the computation of a 'virtually safe dose', for which the carcinogenic risk to man is reasonably negligible, but because of the unknown mechanism of the background response, the models should be used in a mixed form. A modified Crouch and Wilson approach is proposed to evaluate the risk from an actual environmental dose.

Dietary no-effect level of a dithiocarbamate fungicide, thiram, evaluated from measurement data on rats. I. Choice of the model of the dose-response relationship.

Rats were fed diets containing various amounts of added thiram, a dithiocarbamate fungicide. As thiram feeding resulted in decreased appetite, control rats not receiving thiram were pair-fed to the experimental ones. On d 30 of the experiment the animals were weighed and sacrificed, and the following organs were weighed: liver, kidneys, heart, epididymal and perirenal fat pads, testes, seminal vesicles, tibia, adrenals, and thyroid.

[Preservation of bread and pastry products in a controlled atmosphere].

Industrial soft pastries and the various breads are cereals products containing a humidity which is favorable to the development of mouldiness. Different or various methods of conservation has been attempted. One interesting approach to the problem is packaging in controlled atmosphere.