Together throughout the year: seasonal patterns of bacterial and eukaryotic microbial communities in a macrotidal estuary.

Background: Estuaries are complex ecosystems linking river and marine environments, where microorganisms play a key role in maintaining ecosystem functions. In the present study, we investigated monthly 8 sites at two depth layers and over a one-year period the bacterial and eukaryotic community dynamics along the Seine macrotidal estuary (Normandy, France). To date, the taxonomy of the microbial diversity present in this anthropized estuary remains elusive and the drivers of the microbial community structure are still unknown.

Recent advances in the understanding of the peritoneal membrane.

Purpose Of Review: The efficiency of peritoneal dialysis (PD) as a life-sustaining replacement therapy for patients with kidney failure relies on the integrity and function of the peritoneal membrane. Here, we review the most recent advances in the understanding of the peritoneal membrane and its role in PD.

Recent Findings: A recent update of the ISPD guidelines proposed a revised definition of membrane dysfunction, emphasizing the importance of fluid balance in patients treated with PD and identified three main mechanisms leading to insufficient peritoneal ultrafiltration (UF).

Etelcalcetide use During Maintenance Hemodialysis and Incidence of Parathyroidectomy After Kidney Transplantation.

Introduction: Etelcalcetide is an i.v. calcimimetic agent, effectively reducing parathyroid hormone levels in patients on maintenance hemodialysis (HD).

Impact of water level management on organic carbon availability and nitrogen transformations in wetland sediments.

The impact of water level management via water retention on benthic carbon and nitrogen fluxes was studied in a wetland of the Seine estuary. Carbon and inorganic nitrogen fluxes at the sediment-water interface were determined during periods of intermittent and permanent immersion along a lateral gradient. In addition to fluxes, nitrate reduction rates, quantity and quality of both sedimentary and dissolved organic carbon, and organic matter lability via external enzymatic activities were analyzed.

Three-Year Outcomes With Fractional Flow Reserve-Guided or Angiography-Guided Multivessel Percutaneous Coronary Intervention for Myocardial Infarction.

Background: In patients with multivessel disease with successful primary percutaneous coronary intervention for ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction, the FLOWER-MI trial (Flow Evaluation to Guide Revascularization in Multivessel ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction) showed that a fractional flow reserve (FFR)-guided strategy was not superior to an angiography-guided strategy for treatment of noninfarct-related artery lesions regarding the 1-year risk of death from any cause, myocardial infarction, or unplanned hospitalization leading to urgent revascularization. The extension phase of the trial was planned using the same primary outcome to determine whether a difference in outcomes would be observed with a longer follow-up.

Methods: In this multicenter trial, we randomly assigned patients with ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction and multivessel disease with successful percutaneous coronary intervention of the infarct-related artery to receive complete revascularization guided by either FFR (n=586) or angiography (n=577).

Diagnosis and Management of Catastrophic Antiphospholipid Syndrome and the Potential Impact of the 2023 ACR/EULAR Antiphospholipid Syndrome Classification Criteria.

Catastrophic antiphospholipid syndrome (CAPS) is a rare and life-threatening condition characterized by the persistence of antiphospholipid antibodies and occurrence of multiple vascular occlusive events. CAPS currently remains a diagnostic challenge and requires urgent treatment. The diagnosis of CAPS is made difficult by classification criteria used as diagnostic criteria in clinical practice, knowledge derived from retrospective data and case reports, confounding clinical and biological features, and its rapid onset and mortality.

The Photoprotective Behavior of a Motile Benthic Diatom as Elucidated from the Interplay Between Cell Motility and Physiological Responses to a Light Microgradient Using a Novel Experimental Setup.

It has long been hypothesized that benthic motile pennate diatoms use phototaxis to optimize photosynthesis and minimize photoinhibitory damage by adjusting their position within vertical light gradients in coastal benthic sediments. However, experimental evidence to test this hypothesis remains inconclusive, mainly due to methodological difficulties in studying cell behavior and photosynthesis over realistic spatial microscale gradients of irradiance and cell position. In this study, a novel experimental approach was developed and used to test the hypothesis of photosynthesis optimization through motility, based on the combination of single-cell in vivo chlorophyll fluorometry and microfluidic chips.

Quantifying Ultrafiltration in Peritoneal Dialysis Using the Sodium Dip.

Key Points: Ultrafiltration (UF) is a key component of clinical peritoneal dialysis prescription, but the traditional method to assess UF is hampered by large inaccuracies. Here we propose a novel method, based on a computational model and on a single dialysate sodium measurement, to accurately estimate UF and osmotic conductance to glucose in patients on peritoneal dialysis.

Background: Volume overload is highly prevalent among patients treated with peritoneal dialysis (PD), contributes to hypertension, and is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular events and death in this population.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on temporal trends of biological indicators of autoimmunity.

Background And Objective: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been associated with the onset of autoimmune conditions, but whether this relationship is causal remains unknown, partly because robust evidence based on the detection of autoantibodies is lacking. This study explored the potential impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the temporal trends of autoimmunity.

Methods: Retrospective analysis of all consecutive autoimmune tests performed at one central laboratory at a University hospital, operating services for 18 other hospitals and clinical laboratories in Belgium, from January 01, 2015 to May 31, 2022.

The Peritoneal Membrane and Its Role in Peritoneal Dialysis.

A healthy and functional peritoneal membrane is key to achieving sufficient ultrafiltration and restoring fluid balance, a major component of high-quality prescription in patients treated with peritoneal dialysis (PD). Variability in membrane function at the start of PD or changes over time on treatment influence dialysis prescription and outcomes, and dysfunction of the peritoneal membrane contributes to fluid overload and associated complications. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge about the structure, function, and pathophysiology of the peritoneal membrane with a focus on clinical implications for patient-centered care.

ISPD Catheter-related Infection Recommendations: 2023 Update.

Peritoneal dialysis (PD) catheter-related infections are important risk factors for catheter loss and peritonitis. The 2023 updated recommendations have revised and clarified definitions and classifications of exit site infection and tunnel infection. A new target for the overall exit site infection rate should be no more than 0.

Epidemiology, Outcomes, and Complement Gene Variants in Secondary Thrombotic Microangiopathies.

Background: The identification of complement defects as major drivers of primary atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) has transformed the landscape of thrombotic microangiopathies (TMAs), leading to the development of targeted therapies and better patient outcomes. By contrast, little is known about the presentation, genetics, and outcomes of TMA associated with specific diseases or conditions, also referred to as secondary TMA.

Methods: In this study, we assessed the relative incidence, clinical and genetic spectra, and long-term outcomes of secondary TMA versus other TMAs in consecutive patients hospitalized with a first episode of TMA from 2009 to 2019 at two European reference centers.

Severe parental phenotype associates with hypertension in children with ADPKD.

Background: Early detection of hypertension in children with autosomal polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) may be beneficial, but screening children at risk of ADPKD remains controversial. We investigated determinants of hypertension in children with ADPKD to help identify a subgroup of children at risk of ADPKD for whom screening for the disease and/or its complications would be more relevant.

Methods: In a retrospective study including consecutive children with ADPKD aged 5-18 years and followed at Saint-Luc Hospital Brussels between 2006 and 2020, we investigated the potential association between genotype, clinical characteristics and parental phenotype, and presence of hypertension.

The Polyol Process and the Synthesis of ζ Intermetallic Compound AgSn.

The present work concerns the intermetallic compound (IMC) existing in the Ag-Sn system and its potential use in electronics as attachment materials allowing the adhesion of the chip to the substrate forming the power module. First, we present the synthesis protocol in polyol medium of a compound with the chemical formula AgSn belonging to the solid solution of composition located between 9 and 16 at.% Sn, known as solid solution ζ (or ζ-AgSn).

Five-year clinical outcomes using the bioresorbable vascular scaffold: Insights from the FRANCE ABSORB registry.

Background: Randomized trials comparing the first-generation absorb bioresorbable vascular scaffold (BVS) (Abbott Vascular, Santa Clara, CA, USA) with a drug-eluting stent showed a moderate but significant increase in the rate of 3-year major adverse cardiac events and scaffold thrombosis, followed by a decrease in adverse events after 3 years.

Aim: The objective of this study was to assess the 5-year outcomes of patients treated with at least one absorb BVS and included in the FRANCE ABSORB registry.

Methods: All patients treated in France with an absorb BVS were prospectively included in a large nationwide multicentre registry.

Immediate versus staged complete myocardial revascularization in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction and multivessel disease: A post hoc analysis of the randomized FLOWER-MI trial.

Background: In patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction and multivessel disease, percutaneous coronary intervention for non-culprit lesions is superior to treatment of the culprit lesion alone. The optimal timing for non-infarct-related artery revascularization - immediate versus staged - has not been investigated adequately.

Aim: We aimed to assess clinical outcomes at 1 year in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction with multivessel disease using immediate versus staged non-infarct-related artery revascularization.

Idiopathic nephrotic syndrome relapse following COVID-19 vaccination: a series of 25 cases.

Background: Several cases of idiopathic nephrotic syndrome (INS) relapse following the administration of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines have recently been reported, raising questions about the potential relationship between the immune response to COVID-19 vaccination and INS pathogenesis.

Methods: We performed a retrospective multicentre survey describing the clinical and biological characteristics of patients presenting a relapse of INS after COVID-19 vaccination, with an assessment of outcome under treatment.

Results: We identified 25 patients (16 men and 9 women) presenting a relapse within 1 month of a COVID-19 vaccine injection.

Urine metabolomics links dysregulation of the tryptophan-kynurenine pathway to inflammation and severity of COVID-19.

SARS-CoV-2 causes major disturbances in serum metabolite levels, associated with severity of the immune response. Despite the numerous advantages of urine for biomarker discovery, the potential association between urine metabolites and disease severity has not been investigated in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). In a proof-of-concept study, we performed quantitative urine metabolomics in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 and controls using LC-MS/MS.

Clinical impact of FFR-guided PCI compared to angio-guided PCI from the France PCI registry.

Objectives: We sought to compare, in a national French registry (FrancePCI), the clinical impact of fractional flow reserve (FFR)-guided percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) compared with angio-guided PCI at 1 year.

Background: FFR has become the invasive gold standard to quantify myocardial ischemia generated by a coronary stenosis in patients with chronic coronary syndrome, but in clinical practice it is still underutilised to guide PCI compared to angiography (angio).

Methods: We extracted from the FrancePCI database all chronic coronary syndrome patients treated with PCI for coronary stenosis <90% between 2014 and 2019.

Crystalglobulin-Associated Kidney Disease: A Case Report and Literature Review.

The kidney is commonly involved in multiple myeloma and other disorders producing monoclonal immunoglobulins. Crystalglobulinemia is a rare condition characterized by spontaneous crystallization and deposition of monoclonal immunoglobulins within the microvasculature of the kidney and other organs, leading to inflammation, ischemia, and end-organ damage. The present case and literature review highlight the clinical spectrum, diagnostic challenges, management, and outcomes of this underrecognized complication of monoclonal gammopathy.

Characteristics, practices, and outcomes in a Belgian cohort of incident home hemodialysis patients: A 6-year experience.

Background: Home hemodialysis (HHD) remains underused in patients with kidney failure. Current literature on HHD mostly originates from non-European countries, making generalization difficult. The present study describes patients' profile and practice patterns from a Belgian HHD center, and assesses patient and technique survival and complications associated with HHD.