Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on fertility preservation activities in France: A survey by the Groupe de Recherche et d'Etude sur la Conservation Ovarienne et Testiculaire (GRECOT; group for research and studies on ovarian and testicular preservation).

Background: To study the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic for fertility preservation activities in France.

Basic Procedures: A questionnaire was sent to all the fertility preservation centres, requesting, for fertility preservation techniques (gamete and gonadal tissue preservation), the number of patients managed before, during and after the lockdown, and the number of patients who were not able to have access to these techniques and thus suffered definitive losses of fertility, during the lockdown period in spring 2020.

Main Findings: Fertility preservation activities in France did not cease entirely during the lockdown, but a 42.

Frequency Fitting Optimization Using Evolutionary Algorithm in Cochlear Implant Users with Bimodal Binaural Hearing.

Unlabelled: Optimizing hearing in patients with a unilateral cochlear implant (CI) and contralateral acoustic hearing is a challenge. Evolutionary algorithms (EA) can explore a large set of potential solutions in a stochastic manner to approach the optimum of a minimization problem. The objective of this study was to develop and evaluate an EA-based protocol to modify the default frequency settings of a MAP (fMAP) of the CI in patients with bimodal hearing.

CounterAKTing HIV: Toward a "Block and Clear" Strategy?

The protein kinase B or Akt is a central regulator of survival, metabolism, growth and proliferation of the cells and is known to be targeted by various viral pathogens, including HIV-1. The central role of Akt makes it a critical player in HIV-1 pathogenesis, notably by affecting viral entry, latency and reactivation, cell survival, viral spread and immune response to the infection. Several HIV proteins activate the PI3K/Akt pathway, to fuel the progression of the infection.

From mothership to drip-and-ship: Effects of staff shortages at a comprehensive stroke center.

Background: Mechanical thrombectomy (MT) has been shown to be effective in the acute phase of ischemic stroke. Current data suggests that the drip-and-ship and mothership telestroke models are equally effective for its administration. We describe the consequences of changing the telestroke model due to staff shortages in a comprehensive stroke center (Besançon), which was replaced by a more distant one (Dijon).

Mimickers of Large Vessel Giant Cell Arteritis.

Giant cell arteritis (GCA) is a large-vessel granulomatous vasculitis occurring in patients over 50-year-old. Diagnosis can be challenging because there is no specific biological test or other diagnoses to consider. Two main phenotypes of GCA are distinguished and can be associated.

Potential of flavonoids as anti-Alzheimer's agents: bench to bedside.

Developing therapies for neurodegenerative diseases are challenging because of the presence of blood-brain barrier and Alzheimer being one of the commonest and uprising neurodegenerative disorders possess the need for developing novel therapies. Alzheimer's is attributed to be the sixth leading cause of death in the USA and the number of cases is estimated to be increased from 58 million in 2021 to 88 million by 2050. Natural drugs have benefits of being cost-effective, widely available, fewer side effects, and immuno-booster can be useful in managing Alzheimer.

Refining the clinical phenotype associated with missense variants in exons 38 and 39 of KMT2D.

Loss-of-function variants in KMT2D are responsible for Kabuki syndrome type 1 (KS1). In the last 5 years, missense variants in exon 38 or 39 in KMT2D have been found in patients exhibiting a new phenotype with multiple malformations and absence of intellectual disability, distinct from KS1. To date, only 16 cases have been reported with classic features of hearing loss, abnormality of the ear, lacrimal duct defects, branchial sinus/neck pits, choanal atresia (CA), athelia, hypo(para)thyroidism, growth delay, and dental anomalies.

The use of black pepper (Piper guineense) as an ecofriendly antimicrobial agent to fight foodborne microorganisms.

Consumers demand clean-label food products, necessitating the search for new, natural antimicrobials to meet this demand while ensuring food safety. This review aimed at investigating the antimicrobial properties of black pepper (Piper guineense) against foodborne microorganisms. The existence of foodborne illness, food spoilage, food waste, the resulting negative economic impact of these issues, and consumer interests have all pushed the food industry to find alternative, safe, and natural antimicrobials to be used in foods and beverages.

An update on pathophysiology and treatment of sports-mediated brain injury.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a neurological disorder which represents a major health issue worldwide. It causes mortality and disability among all group ages, caused by external force, sports-related events or violence and road traffic accidents. In the USA, approximately one-third people die annually due to injury and 1.

CD147-spike protein interaction in COVID-19: Get the ball rolling with a novel receptor and therapeutic target.

The combat against the Corona virus disease of 2019 (COVID-19), has created a chaos among the healthcare institutions and researchers, in turn accelerating the dire need to curtail the infection spread. The already established entry mechanism, via ACE2 has not yet successfully aided in the development of a suitable and reliable therapy. Taking in account the constant progression and deterioration of the cases worldwide, a different perspective and mechanistic approach is required, which has thrown light onto the cluster of differentiation 147 (CD147) transmembrane protein, as a novel route for SARS-CoV-2 entry.

Anticipated pharmacological role of Aviptadil on COVID-19.

Vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) is a neuropeptide that is produced by the lymphoid cells and plays a major role in immunological functions for controlling the homeostasis of the immune system. VIP has been identified as a potent anti-inflammatory factor, in boosting both innate and adaptive immunity. Since December 2019, SARS-Cov-2 was found responsible for the disease COVID-19 which has spread worldwide.

Antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of phytonutrients as antibiotic substitutes in poultry feed.

Globally, there is increasing demand for safe poultry food products free from antibiotic residues. There is thus a need to develop alternatives to antibiotics with safe nutritional feed derivatives that maximize performance, promote the intestinal immune status, enrich beneficial microbiota, promote health, and reduce the adverse effects of pathogenic infectious microorganisms. With the move away from including antibiotics in poultry diets, botanicals are among the most important alternatives to antibiotics.

Microbial bioremediation strategies with wastewater treatment potentialities - A review.

The demand for innovative waste treatment techniques has arisen because of the establishment and operation of rigorous waste discharge guidelines into the environment. Due to the rapid increase in the human population, wastewater treatment is a procedure of increasing significance. As a result, wastewater treatment systems are intended to sustain high activities and densities of such microorganisms which meet the different purification requirements.

Effect of acute dietary- versus combined dietary and exercise-induced energy deficits on subsequent energy intake, appetite and food reward in adolescents with obesity.

Background: Acute dietary-induced energy deficits have been shown to favor compensatory appetitive responses. The aim of this study was to compare energy intake (EI), appetite sensations and the hedonic responses to equivalent energy deficits induced by dietary restriction alone and combined with exercise in adolescents with obesity.

Methods: In a within-subjects design, seventeen adolescents with obesity (12-16 years, Tanner stage 3-5, 6 males) randomly completed three 14 h conditions: (i) control (CON); (ii) deficit induced by diet only (Def-EI) and; (iii) deficit induced by combined diet and physical exercise (Def-mixed).

Separation and remediation of environmental pollutants using metal-organic framework-based tailored materials.

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are a polymer hybrid family of compounds comprising metal ions that have been deliberately incorporated in organic ligands to form several multi-dimensional structures with unique structural and functional attributes. They have the typical properties of brittleness, major porosity, and randomly crystalline. These three factors hampered their potential incorporation into modern technologies.

Emergence of microneedles as a potential therapeutics in diabetes mellitus.

Diabetes mellitus is a severe condition in which the pancreas produces inadequate insulin or the insulin generated is ineffective for utilisation by the body; as a result, insulin therapy is required for control blood sugar levels in patients having type 1 diabetes and is widely recommended in advanced type 2 diabetes patients with uncontrolled diabetes despite dual oral therapy, while subcutaneous insulin administration using hypodermic injection or pump-mediated infusion is the traditional route of insulin delivery and causes discomfort, needle phobia, reduced adherence, and risk of infection. Therefore, transdermal insulin delivery has been extensively explored as an appealing alternative to subcutaneous approaches for diabetes management which not only is non-invasive and easy, but also avoids first-pass metabolism and prevents gastrointestinal degradation. Microneedles have been commonly investigated in human subjects for transdermal insulin administration because they are minimally invasive and painless.

Epidemiokinetic Tools to Monitor Lockdown Efficacy and Estimate the Duration Adequate to Control SARS-CoV-2 Spread.

Various key performance indicators (KPIs) are communicated daily to the public by health authorities since the COVID-19 pandemic has started. "Upstream" KPIs mainly include the incidence of detected Sars-CoV-2-positive cases in the population, and "downstream" KPIs include daily hospitalizations, intensive care unit admissions and fatalities. Whereas "downstream" KPIs are essential to evaluate and adapt hospital organization, "upstream" KPIs are the most appropriate to decide on the strength of restrictions such as lockdown set up and evaluate their effectiveness.

Association of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Alzheimer's Disease: New Entity or Coincidence? A Case Series.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia have a strong clinical, genetic, and pathological connection but association of ALS with Alzheimer's disease (AD) is seldom reported. We report a series of 5 cases of AD associated with ALS. Our patients presented with cognitive deterioration with episodic memory impairment meeting criteria for AD.

Molecular Epidemiology of Azole-Resistant in France Shows Patient and Healthcare Links to Environmentally Occurring Genotypes.

Resistance of the human pathogenic fungus to antifungal agents is on the rise. However, links between patient infections, their potential acquisition from local environmental sources, and links to global diversity remain cryptic. Here, we used genotyping analyses using nine microsatellites in , in order to study patterns of diversity in France.

Deciphering the focal role of endostatin in Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a paramount chronic neurodegenerative condition that has been affecting elderly people since the 1900s. It causes memory loss, disorientation, and poor mental function. AD is considered to be one of the most serious problems that dementia sufferers face.

Hospitalization for self-harm during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic in France: A nationwide retrospective observational cohort study.

Background: Little is known to date about the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on self-harm.

Methods: The number of hospitalizations for self-harm (ICD-10 codes X60-X84) in France from 1st January to 31st August 2020 (including a two-month confinement) was compared to the same periods in 2017-2019. Statistical methods comprised Poisson regression, Cox regression and Student's -test, plus Spearman's correlation test relating to spatial analysis of hospitalizations.

Deciphering the role of nanoparticles for management of bacterial meningitis: an update on recent studies.

Meningitis is an inflammation of the protective membranes called meninges and fluid adjacent the brain and spinal cord. The inflammatory progression expands all through subarachnoid space of the brain and spinal cord and occupies the ventricles. The pathogens like bacteria, fungi, viruses, or parasites are main sources of infection causing meningitis.