The crane fly glycosylated triketide δ-lactone cornicinine elicits akinete differentiation of the cyanobiont in aquatic Azolla fern symbioses.

The restriction of plant-symbiont dinitrogen fixation by an insect semiochemical had not been previously described. Here we report on a glycosylated triketide δ-lactone from Nephrotoma cornicina crane flies, cornicinine, that causes chlorosis in the floating-fern symbioses from the genus Azolla. Only the glycosylated trans-A form of chemically synthesized cornicinine was active: 500 nM cornicinine in the growth medium turned all cyanobacterial filaments from Nostoc azollae inside the host leaf-cavities into akinetes typically secreting CTB-bacteriocins.

[What's new in addiction medicine in 2021 ?].

Addiction medicine is influenced by societal changes and the environment has an impact on addictive behaviors and how they are experienced. The COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on addictive behaviors, some of which could be favorable, and others highlight vulnerabilities to be considered by clinicians. Recent legislative changes open possibilities to limit the negative impact of electronic lotteries.

A New Swiss Federal Act on Gambling: From Missed Opportunities towards a Public Health Approach?

In January 2019, a new Swiss Federal Act on Gambling (Loi federal de jeux d'argent: LJAr) entered into force following a vote by the Swiss electorate. Intended to modernize and harmonize previous law and open the market for online casinos; the new regulations have highlighted the need for a comprehensive monitoring system. The present article outlines work undertaken by experts within the field to identify and elaborate the first steps towards developing such a monitoring system.

Unobserved altruism: How self-signaling motivations and social benefits shape willingness to donate.

Public recognition is usually thought to motivate charitable giving. However, the current research identifies an important context in which the opposite occurs. We examine commonplace donation decisions involving modest amounts of money, which either take place in private, or are observed by others.

Management and clinical practice of multiple face and scalp actinic keratosis in France.

: Actinic keratosis (AK) is characterized by the occurrence of thick and scaly skin areas caused by damage from ultraviolet radiation. The management of AK aims to reduce lesions and prevent their recurrence by regular monitoring. French guidelines, last updated in 2009, reflect European guidelines for the management of face and scalp AK.

Remote home physical training for seniors: guidelines from the AAL-supported MOTION project.

European population will face an unprecedented aging era in the next years. Albeit aging in itself is a success goal, it may bring with it a general decline and functional limitations. In order to decelerate such decline, one of the most efficient strategies is physical activity.

Gambling and problem gambling in Switzerland.

Aims: To provide an overview of gambling and problem gambling in Switzerland, including historical aspects, past and current legislation and policies, treatment options and the research base.

Methods: A literature search was conducted on two databases (PubMed and PsycINFO), and official government and statistical reports selected from the official websites of four sources (Federal Office of Justice; Federal Gambling Board; Federal Office of Statistics; Swiss Lottery and Betting Board).

Results: After a history of banning or partial banning, Swiss gambling became regulated at the beginning of the 20th century through successive laws.

Positive consequences of conflict on decision making: when a conflict mindset facilitates choice.

Much research has shown that conflict is aversive and leads to increased choice deferral. In contrast, we have proposed that conflict can be beneficial. Specifically, exposure to nonconscious goal conflict can activate a mindset (a set of cognitive procedures) that facilitates the systematic processing of information without triggering the associated costs, such as negative affect and stress.

Hepatitis E infection in patients with severe acute alcoholic hepatitis.

Background & Aims: Hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection is a known cause of acute-on-chronic liver failure in developing countries, but its implication in Western countries remains unknown. HEV burden in the setting of severe acute alcoholic hepatitis (AAH) was assessed.

Methods: Patients admitted for severe AAH from 2007 to 2013, with available sera and histologically proven AAH, were included and managed according to current European guidelines.

Prospective study of Hepatitis E Virus infection among pregnant women in France.

Background: Hepatitis E Virus (HEV) infection has a poor prognosis among pregnant women from high endemic countries. HEV-prevalence and incidence among pregnant women is unknown in high-income countries such as France. This prospective study was conducted to assess HEV infection in this setting.

Comparison of real-time RT-PCR assays for hepatitis E virus RNA detection.

Background: Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is an increasing cause of acute viral hepatitis in developed countries. Serological testing alone may fail to diagnose acute infection, especially in immunocompromised patients, which justifies the use of molecular assays for diagnosis. Few studies have compared accuracy of HEV RNA detection assays.

The Emervel French survey: a prospective real-practice descriptive study of 1,822 patients treated for facial rejuvenation with a new hyaluronic acid filler.

Background: Emervel consists of a range of 5 hyaluronic acid (HA) fillers (Touch, Classic, Lips, Deep, and Volume), with a fixed HA concentration (20 mg/mL), and various degrees of cross-linking and calibration.

Objectives: To describe the current use of Emervel fillers in France.

Methods: Prospective multicenter, cross-sectional, real-practice, descriptive survey, including 1,822 patients injected with Emervel fillers for face rejuvenation by 58 French physicians between September 2010 and July 2011.

The France-PDT study: a national prospective observational cohort survey on the use of methyl-aminolevulinate photodynamic therapy in France, with up to 6-month follow-up.

Background: The efficacy and safety of MAL-PDT have been shown in actinic keratoses (AK), basal cell carcinoma (BCC), and Bowen's disease (BD).

Objectives: To appraise the current use of MAL-PDT in France.

Methods: National prospective cohort survey, including 583 patients treated for the first time with MAL-PDT.

Phase II trial of pegylated liposomal doxorubicin in combination with gemcitabine in metastatic breast cancer patients.

Objective: To assess the efficacy and toxicity of pegylated liposomal doxorubicin combined with gemcitabine as first-line chemotherapy in metastatic breast cancer patients in a phase II trial.

Patients And Methods: All breast cancer patients with HER2-negative status, hormone refractory tumor, assessable targets, with preserved performance status, and who had not received chemotherapy earlier as treatment for their metastatic disease were eligible. The patients received pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (30 mg/m(2), venous injection, day 1) concurrently with gemcitabine (1000 mg/m(2), venous injection, days 1 and 8), 1 cycle every 3 weeks.

Sensitivity of a rapid immuno-chromatographic test for hepatitis C antibodies detection.

Background And Objectives: Enzyme-linked immunoassays (ELISA) are the most widely used anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) screening tests but simple, instrument and electricity-free screening tests have been developed with results available in a few minutes.

Methods: The sensitivity of a rapid immuno-chromatographic assay for the detection of anti-HCV antibodies was evaluated on 421 HCV RNA-positive samples from chronic carriers and compared with ELISA method.

Results: The sensitivity of the ELISA method was 99.

Is there an immunohistochemical technique definitively valid in epidermal growth factor receptor assessment?

Immunohistochemistry (IHC) is required for the selection of patients for a monoclonal antibody based targeted treatment with C225 (Erbitux). To validate the usefulness of IHC, the confirmation of assays and scoring systems are mandatory. In an attempt to standardize the immunohistochemical detection of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), we retrospectively evaluated three commercially available EGFR kits or antibodies and analyzed the discrepancies between the tests in terms of the percentage of positive cells, intensity, cut-off value and fixatives.

The right dose in the right place: an overview of current prescription, instruction and application modalities for topical psoriasis treatments.

Background: Compared to treatment success with oral medications, treatment success with topical treatments is currently difficult to achieve.

Aim: To assess and compare existing methods of lesion size evaluation, prescription habits, instruction and application modalities of topical medications.

Methods: Review of current and new procedures to estimate the body surface area, to calculate the most adequate quantity of medication to be prescribed, to instruct patients and to assess the individual dosing procedures of topical treatments.

[Parcours de femmes 2001, a French survey on the management and needs of women with breast and gynecological cancer: what's new after 8 years?].

The aim of the survey Parcours de Femmes 2001 was to evaluate at a national level, the overall management of patients with breast or gynecological cancers and to determine their needs. Eligible patients had either received at least 3 months of treatment or had completed treatment less than 1 year before the study. from February to November 2001, 2 839 questionnaires were distributed ; 1 870 were returned (66% response rate); 87% of patients had breast cancer and 76% de novo cancer (primary management).

Prenatal diagnosis of ring chromosome 6 in a fetus with cerebellar hypoplasia and partial agenesis of corpus callosum: case report and review of the literature.

Ring chromosome 6 (RC6) is a rare constitutional abnormality, with variable material loss, leading to a variable clinical phenotype: minimal physical anomalies and mild psychomotor retardation to severe physical and mental defects. Among the 22 published cases, only five have been prenatally detected. We describe here a RC6 prenatally diagnosed.

Vaccination with gp120-depleted HIV-1 plus immunostimulatory CpG oligodeoxynucleotides in incomplete Freund's adjuvant stimulates cellular and humoral immunity in rhesus macaques.

Whole killed human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) immunogens contain the more conserved epitopes of HIV-1 and therefore may provide some utility as potential HIV-1 vaccine candidates. Previous studies have shown that synthetic oligodeoxynucleotides (ODN) containing unmethylated cytosine-guanine (CpG) dinucleotides trigger rapid stimulation of both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. Here, we investigated whether immunization of rhesus macaques with an inactivated gp120-depleted HIV-1 immunogen, emulsified in incomplete Freund's adjuvant (IFA) together with immunostimulatory CpG-containing ODN (ODN 2006), would elicit HIV-specific cellular and humoral immune responses.

'Parcours de Femme 2001': a French opinion survey on overall disease and everyday life management in 1870 women presenting with gynecological or breast cancer and their caregivers.

Purpose: The aim of the survey 'Parcours de Femmes 2001' was to evaluate the overall management and care of women with female cancers and to determine their needs.

Methods: Women with breast or gynecological cancer who had either received at least 3 months of treatment or had completed treatment <1 year before the study were enrolled in this cross-sectional, observational study.

Results: From February to November 2001, 2839 questionnaires were distributed; 1870 were returned (66% response rate), mainly by breast cancer patients (87%).

HIV-specific immunity during structured antiviral drug treatment interruption.

The immunologic correlates associated with control of viremia in HIV disease are poorly understood. We hypothesized that structured antiviral drug treatment interruptions could be utilized to better understand the relationship between HIV-specific immunity and viral replication. We thus examined the effects of two 8 weeks antiviral structured treatment interruptions (STIs) in a cohort of HIV-1 chronically infected individuals on highly active antiretroviral treatment (HAART) with (n = 13) and without (n = 12) therapeutic HIV immunizations.

Phase II trial of paclitaxel-epirubicin in patients with recurrent soft-tissue sarcoma.

Twenty-seven patients with recurrent soft-tissue sarcoma (STS) entered a multicenter study to determine the efficacy of the combination paclitaxel 200 mg/m and epirubicin 75 mg/m administered every 21 days. Patient characteristics included the following: 14 women and 13 men, median age of 52 years, 12 patients had local recurrence and 20 had metastasis. Eighteen patients had previously received chemotherapy for recurrent disease.

Maternal and newborn immunization with a human immunodeficiency virus-1 immunogen in a rodent model.

We examined immunization with an inactivated, gp120-depleted human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) antigen in incomplete Freund's adjuvant (IFA), also containing a sequence of immunostimulatory (ISS) DNA, during the last trimester of pregnancy and neonatally in a rat model. Pregnant rats were immunized in the third trimester and their litters were immunized during the newborn period. In addition, litters of rats from non-immunized mothers were immunized during the neonatal period.