Intractable conflicts over end-of-life decisions: A descriptive and ethical analysis of French case-law.

Context: In European and Anglo-Saxon countries, life-sustaining treatment (LST) limitation decisions precede more than 80% of ICU deaths. However, there is now increasing evidence of disagreement and conflict between clinical teams and family members over LST limitation decisions. In some cases, these conflicts are brought to the courts.

Intrahepatic levels of microbiome-derived hippurate associates with improved metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease.

Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is characterised by lipid accumulation in the liver and is often associated with obesity and type 2 diabetes. The gut microbiome recently emerged as a significant player of liver metabolism and health through the production of bioactive compounds that are beneficial for its host - "postbiotics". Circulating hippurate, a host-microbial co-metabolite produced by conjugating microbial benzoate with glycine in the host-liver, is associated with human gut microbial gene richness and with metabolic health.

Perivascular Chorioretinal Atrophy: an Unusual Feature in Pathologic Myopia Eyes.

Purpose: To describe a new feature in pathologic myopia: perivascular patchy chorioretinal atrophy (PVCA) DESIGN: Cross-sectional study METHODS: 604 eyes of 312 highly myopic patients followed at Strasbourg University Hospitals were reviewed for the presence of PVCA lesions. Demographic, clinical, and paraclinical data (ultra-widefield retinography, optical coherence tomography (OCT), fluorescein and indocyanine green angiography images) were analyzed. Controls were matched for age, sex, and axial length (AL).

Phylogenomics yields new systematic and taxonomical insights for Lissotriton newts, a genus with a strong legacy of introgressive hybridization.

The ease with which genome-wide data can nowadays be collected allows complicated phylogenetic questions to be re-evaluated. Phylogenetic relationships among newts have often proven difficult to resolve due to the prevalence of incomplete lineage sorting and introgressive hybridization. For the newt genus Lissotriton, phylogenetic relationships are not settled and there is controversy surrounding the species status of several taxa.

Lifetime Disability-adjusted Life Year assessment of indolent systemic mastocytosis.

Background: Indolent Systemic Mastocytosis (ISM) is a rare disease associated with numerous and diverse symptoms that significantly impact patients' overall health, psychological, emotional, and professional well-being, ultimately affecting their quality of life.

Objective: We aim to estimate the Disability-adjusted Life Year (DALY) of ISM to assess the burden for patients and society.

Methods: We used prospective and retrospective data on symptoms and quality of life from an ISM population recruited at the French expert center CEREMAST, to estimate Disability Weight allowing DALY calculation.

Evidence linking cadmium and/or lead exposure to immunomodulatory effects in mammals based upon an adverse outcome pathways approach, and research perspectives.

For decades, studies have shown how exposure to non-essential trace metals such as lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) largely impact global wildlife. Ecoimmunotoxicology has emerged in the past two decades and focuses on the effects of pollutants on the immune system of free-ranging organisms. Adverse outcome pathways (AOPs) represent a conceptual approach to explore the mechanistic linkage between a molecular initiating event and adverse outcomes, potentially at all biological levels of organisation.

Returning to Work After Childbirth and Women's Mental Health: The Place of Work-Family Conflict and of Social Supports in a Population of Working Mothers in Paris Area.

Objective: Analyzing in a cross-sectional study the factors associated with mental health in 1511 recently delivered women returning to work, the mediating role of work-family interface, and the moderating role of social supports.

Methods: Data were collected at 3 months after returning to work to assess work characteristics (Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire), work-family conflict (Survey Work-Home Interaction Nijmegen), anxiodepressive symptoms (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale), commuting, childcare, household demands, and social supports.

Results: Anxiety and, to a lesser extent, depressive symptoms were associated with work factors, the opposite for the nonwork demands.

The association between cardiovascular risk and physical performance in individuals with obesity: A cross-sectional study focusing on the 5× sit-to-stand test.

Introduction: Although it is established that individuals with obesity are at increased risk of cardiovascular events, the relationship between cardiovascular risk and physical function in this population is still a topic of discussion. The objectives of the present study were: to check the association between cardiovascular risk and physical performance through physical-functional tests and to identify cutoff points for functional tests to be used for the definition of high cardiovascular risk.

Methods: A cross-sectional study included adults, both sexes, with obesity.

AN UPDATED OVERVIEW OF ORTHOGNATHIC SURGERY PRACTICES IN FRANCE.

Introduction: Orthognathic surgery is a fundamental component of a maxillofacial surgeon's practice. In France, 510 specialists actively practice oral and maxillofacial surgery. In OMFs, despite the existence of evidence-based recommendation that address diagnosis, treatment planning, and operating methods, each surgeon/institution has developed an individual approach towards clinical management.

Foot growth disorder after surgery of lower limb malignant bone tumor in a pediatric series.

Bakground: Child malignant bone tumors often develop near growth cartilage. The gold standard surgery consists in large segmental resection. This resection often requires the sacrifice of growth cartilage, leading to inequality of limb length.

Novel antileukemic compound with sub-micromolar potency against STAT5 addicted myeloid leukemia cells.

Signal Transdcer and Activator of Transcription 5A and 5B (STAT5A/5B) are key effectors of tyrosine kinase oncogenes in myeloid leukemias. It is now clearly evidenced that inhibition of STAT5A/5B not only blocks the growth and survival of myeloid leukemia cells but also overcomes the resistance of leukemic cells to chemotherapy. Previous screening experiments allowed us to identify 17f as a lead compound with promising antileukemic activity that blocks the phosphorylation and transcriptional activity of STAT5A/5B in myeloid leukemia cells addicted to these proteins.

Selective Protein (Post-)modifications through Dynamic Covalent Chemistry: Self-activated SAr Reactions.

SAr reactions were remarkably accelerated using a pretargeting and activating unit based on dynamic covalent chemistry (DCvC). A Cys attack at the C-F bond on the aromatic ring of salicylaldehyde derivatives was only observed upon iminium formation with a neighboring Lys residue of model small peptides. Such self-activation was ascribed to the stronger electron-withdrawing capability of the iminium bond with respect to that of the parent aldehyde that stabilized the transition state of the reaction, together with the higher preorganization of the reactive groups in the cationic aldiminium species.

Cytotoxic Ruthenium(II)-diphosphine Complexes affect the Mitochondrial Respiration of Lung Cancer Cells.

In this work, we studied six Ruthenium(II)-diphosphine compounds containing different mercapto ligands (N-S), with general formula [Ru(N-S)(dppm)2]Cl (dppm = 1,1-bis(diphenylphosphino)methane). These compounds were characterized by several techniques (NMR [1H, 31P(1H), and 13C], HRMS, IR, UV-Vis and XRD) and their purity confirmed by elemental analysis. DLS experiments revealed low diameters and polydispersity indexes, and positive log P values in n-octanol/PBS indicated their preference for the organic phase.

Sparse high-dimensional decomposition of non-primary auditory cortical receptive fields.

Characterizing neuronal responses to natural stimuli remains a central goal in sensory neuroscience. In auditory cortical neurons, the stimulus selectivity of elicited spiking activity is summarized by a spectrotemporal receptive field (STRF) that relates neuronal responses to the stimulus spectrogram. Though effective in characterizing primary auditory cortical responses, STRFs of non-primary auditory neurons can be quite intricate, reflecting their mixed selectivity.

Techno-structural and 3-D geometric morphometric analysis applied for investigating the variability of Holocene unifacial tools in tropical Central Brazil.

During the transition from the Pleistocene to the Holocene and in the early Holocene period, hunter-gatherer communities across tropical South America deployed a range of technological strategies to adapt to diverse environmental conditions. This period witnessed a rich tapestry of technological practices, from enduring, widely disseminated tools to local and sporadically utilized technologies, shaping a multifaceted landscape of technological traditions. Lithic technology during this period was mainly marked by localized sourcing of raw materials, the use of multifunctional tools, a variety of projectile point designs, and the frequently utilization of unifacial shaping technology.

Self /other recognition and distinction in adolescents with anorexia nervosa: A pilot study using a double mirror paradigm.

Background: Abnormalities in body perception in patients affected by anorexia nervosa have been widely studied, but without explicit reference to their relationship to others and the social processes involved. Yet, there are a several arguments supporting impairments in interpersonal relationships in these patients. Notably, some evidence suggests that self/other distinction (SOD), the ability to distinguish one's own body, actions and mental representations from those of others could be impaired.

Contribution of paranasal sinus, chest, and abdomen/pelvis computed tomography in patients with febrile neutropenia.

Objective: Febrile neutropenia (FN) is a serious clinical event, associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Imaging has a central role in the identification of the fever cause. The study objectives were to assess abnormalities of potential infectious origin on paranasal sinus, chest and abdomen/pelvis CT scans performed during an episode of FN, in patients with or without specific clinical signs, and to evaluate their impact on the frequency of changes in treatment.

Effects of the non-native Arapaima gigas on native fish species in Amazonian oxbow lakes (Bolivia).

The introduction of non-native fish species into new environments has raised global concerns due to potential ecological impacts on recipient ecosystems. A previous study focusing on the introduced fish species Arapaima gigas in Bolivian Amazon waters showed that its isotopic niche significantly overlapped with most co-occurring native fish species, suggesting potential competition. To evaluate this hypothesis, we extended here the investigation by comparing the trophic position and isotopic niche width of eleven abundant native fish species inhabiting both colonized and non-colonized floodplain lakes.

MYO7A is required for the functional integrity of the mechanoelectrical transduction complex in hair cells of the adult cochlea.

Myosin-VIIA (MYO7A) is an unconventional myosin responsible for syndromic (Usher 1B) or nonsyndromic forms of deafness in humans when mutated. In the cochlea, MYO7A is expressed in hair cells, where it is believed to act as the motor protein tensioning the mechanoelectrical transducer (MET) channels, thus setting their resting open probability (). However, direct evidence for this unique role for an unconventional myosin in mature hair cells is lacking.

Metal Ion Signaling in Biomedicine.

Complex multicellular organisms are composed of distinct tissues involving specialized cells that can perform specific functions, making such life forms possible. Species are defined by their genomes, and differences between individuals within a given species directly result from variations in their genetic codes. While genetic alterations can give rise to disease-causing acquisitions of distinct cell identities, it is now well-established that biochemical imbalances within a cell can also lead to cellular dysfunction and diseases.

Probing the Electric Double-Layer Capacitance to Understand the Reaction Environment in Conditions of Electrochemical Amination of Acetone.

To elucidate interfacial dynamics during electrocatalytic reactions, it is crucial to understand the adsorption behavior of organic molecules on catalytic electrodes within the electric double layer (EDL). However, the EDL structure in aqueous environments remains intricate when it comes to the electrochemical amination of acetone, using methylamine as a nitrogen source. Specifically, the interactions of acetone and methylamine with the copper electrode in water remain unclear, posing challenges in the prediction and optimization of reaction outcomes.

Day-to-day dynamics of fetal heart rate variability to detect chorioamnionitis in preterm premature rupture of membranes.

Background: Chorioamnionitis is recognized as a major consequence of preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM), and a frequent cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality. The association between fetal heart rate (FHR) and chorioamnionitis remains unclear.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the dynamics of FHR in a PPROM population at the approach of delivery according to the presence or absence of chorioamnionitis.