Type II Fatty Acid Synthesis Pathway and Cyclopropane Ring Formation Are Dispensable during Enterococcus faecalis Systemic Infection.

Enterococcus faecalis, a multiple antibiotic-resistant Gram-positive bacterium, has emerged as a serious nosocomial pathogen. Here, we used a genetic approach to characterize the strategies used by E. faecalis to fulfill its requirements for endogenous fatty acid (FA) synthesis and .

Mechanical and Thermodynamic Properties of Non-Muscle Contractile Tissues: The Myofibroblast and the Molecular Motor Non-Muscle Myosin Type IIA.

Myofibroblasts are contractile cells found in multiple tissues. They are physiological cells as in the human placenta and can be obtained from bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells after differentiation by transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β). They are also found in the stroma of cancerous tissues and can be located in non-muscle contractile tissues.

Uncoupling of IL-6 signaling and LC3-associated phagocytosis drives immunoparalysis during sepsis.

Immune deactivation of phagocytes is a central event in the pathogenesis of sepsis. Herein, we identify a master regulatory role of IL-6 signaling on LC3-associated phagocytosis (LAP) and reveal that uncoupling of these two processes during sepsis induces immunoparalysis in monocytes/macrophages. In particular, we demonstrate that activation of LAP by the human fungal pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus depends on ERK1/2-mediated phosphorylation of p47phox subunit of NADPH oxidase.

Understanding the Central Role of Citrate in the Metabolism of Cancer Cells and Tumors: An Update.

Citrate plays a central role in cancer cells' metabolism and regulation. Derived from mitochondrial synthesis and/or carboxylation of α-ketoglutarate, it is cleaved by ATP-citrate lyase into acetyl-CoA and oxaloacetate. The rapid turnover of these molecules in proliferative cancer cells maintains a low-level of citrate, precluding its retro-inhibition on glycolytic enzymes.

Rehabilitation and lumbar surgery: the French recommendations for clinical practice.

Background: Indications and techniques of rehabilitation differ widely across types of lumbar surgery, including timing (before or after surgery) and prescriptions (surgeons but also medical or paramedical professionals).

Objectives: This project aimed to build consensual recommendations for practice in this context.

Methods: The SOFMER methodology was used to establish recommendations for physical medicine and rehabilitation: a steering committee defined the types of lumbar surgery involved and developed the main questions to be addressed; a scientific committee performed a literature review for grading evidence and proposed the first version of recommendations, which were discussed during a dedicated session at the national Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine congress; then an e-Delphi method with cross-professional experts was used to finalise recommendations and reach a multidisciplinary consensus.

[Empagliflozin in the elderly].

Glucose and sodium tubular reabsorption inhibitors, or gliflozins, are a new therapeutic class. Their novel mechanism of action involves inhibition of a glucose and Na+ reabsorption co-transporter in the renal proximal tubule. They reduce blood glucose levels by reducing renal glucose reabsorption.

An Interprofessional Process for the Limitation of Life-Sustaining Treatments at the End of Life in France.

Context: The provision of potentially non-beneficial life-sustaining treatments (LSTs) remains a challenging problem. In 2005, legislation in France established an interprofessional process by which non-beneficial LSTs could be withheld or withdrawn, permitting exploration of the effects of such a legally-protected process and its implementation.

Objectives: To characterize intensive care unit (ICU) interprofessional team decision-making and consensus-building practices regarding withholding and withdrawing of LSTs in two Parisian hospitals and to explore physician and nurse perceptions of and experiences with these practices.

MSI-High RAS-BRAF wild-type colorectal adenocarcinomas with MLH1 loss have a high frequency of targetable oncogenic gene fusions whose diagnoses are feasible using methods easy-to-implement in pathology laboratories.

Targetable kinase fusions are extremely rare (<1%) in colorectal cancers (CRCs), making their diagnosis challenging and often underinvestigated. They have been shown particularly frequently among MSI-High, BRAF/KRAS/NRAS wild-type CRCs with MLH1 loss (MLH1 MSI-High wild-type). We searched for NTRK1, NTRK2, NTRK3, ALK, ROS1, BRAF, RET, and NRG1 kinase fusions in CRCs using methods easy-to-implement in pathology laboratories: immunohistochemistry (IHC), fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH), and fully automated real-time PCR targeted analyses.

Predictive Performance of Population Pharmacokinetic Models of Levetiracetam in Children and Evaluation of Dosing Regimen.

Levetiracetam is a broad-spectrum antiepileptic drug that exhibits high interindividual variability in serum concentrations in children. A population pharmacokinetic approach can be used to explain this variability and optimize dosing schemes. The objectives are to identify the best predictive population pharmacokinetic model for children and to evaluate recommended doses using simulations and Bayesian forecasting.

Visit-to-Visit Blood Pressure Variability and Incident Frailty in Older Adults.

This study aimed to determine whether visit-to-visit blood pressure (BP) variability (BPV) is associated with incident frailty. We included 1 394 nonfrail community-dwelling participants aged ≥70 years from the Multidomain Alzheimer Preventive Trial (MAPT) who underwent repeated clinical examinations, including BP and frailty, over a 5-year follow-up period. Systolic BPV (SBPV), diastolic BPV (DBPV), mean arterial pressure variability (MAPV), and pulse pressure variability (PPV) were evaluated using standard deviation (SD), coefficient of variation (CV), average real variability, successive variation, variation independent of mean, and residual SD.

Epidemiology and prognostic factors of pleural empyema.

Background: Infection of the pleural cavity invariably leads to hospitalisation, and a fatal outcome is not uncommon. Our aim was to study the epidemiology of pleural empyema on a nationwide basis in the whole population and in three subgroups of patients, namely post-lung resection, associated cancer and those with no surgery and no cancer.

Methods: Data from patients aged ≥18 years hospitalised with a diagnosis of pleural infection in France between January 2013 and December 2017 were retrieved from the medical-administrative national hospitalisation database and retrospectively analysed.

Anaesthesia management during paediatric robotic surgery: preliminary results from a single centre multidisciplinary experience.

Introduction: Paediatric robotic surgery is gaining popularity across multiple disciplines and offers technical advantages in complex procedures requiring delicate dissection. To date, limited publications describe its perioperative management in children.

Material & Methods: We retrospectively analysed the prospectively collected anaesthetic data of the first 200 robotic-assisted surgery procedures in our paediatric university hospital as part of a multidisciplinary program from October of 2016 to February of 2019.

Isokinetic knee strength deficit in patients with moderate haemophilia.

Introduction: Knee joint bleedings are responsible for quadriceps atrophy and strength deficit in patients with severe haemophilia. Little is known about patients with moderate haemophilia (PWMH).

Aim: To evaluate isokinetic quadriceps and hamstrings strength in PWMH and to assess correlation with radiological and clinical parameter.

Robotic chemotherapy compounding: A multicenter productivity approach.

Introduction: The aim of this study is to compare productivity of the KIRO Oncology compounding robot in three hospital pharmacy departments and identify the key factors to predict and optimize automatic compounding time.

Methods: The study was conducted in three hospitals. Each hospital compounding workload and workflow were analyzed.

Metabolic Strategies for Inhibiting Cancer Development.

The tumor microenvironment is a complex mix of cancerous and noncancerous cells (especially immune cells and fibroblasts) with distinct metabolisms. These cells interact with each other and are influenced by the metabolic disorders of the host. In this review, we discuss how metabolic pathways that sustain biosynthesis in cancer cells could be targeted to increase the effectiveness of cancer therapies by limiting the nutrient uptake of the cell, inactivating metabolic enzymes (key regulatory ones or those linked to cell cycle progression), and inhibiting ATP production to induce cell death.

Asymptomatic SARS COV-2 carriers among nursing home staff: A source of contamination for residents?

Objectives: To show that circulation of SARS-COV-2 in nursing homes in France can come from staff as well as residents' families, whether they are known or not to have had COVID-19.

Methods: This study reports a screening campaign of asymptomatic staff working in elderly nursing homes in Paris where the virus had been circulating actively in March and April 2020.

Results: Before the screening campaign, the rate of symptomatic COVID-19 was 23.

CC17 group B Streptococcus exploits integrins for neonatal meningitis development.

Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is the major cause of human neonatal infections. A single clone, designated CC17-GBS, accounts for more than 80% of meningitis cases, the most severe form of the infection. However, the events allowing blood-borne GBS to penetrate the brain remain largely elusive.

Clinical and molecular practice of European thoracic pathology laboratories during the COVID-19 pandemic. The past and the near future.

Background: This study evaluated the consequences in Europe of the COVID-19 outbreak on pathology laboratories orientated toward the diagnosis of thoracic diseases.

Materials And Methods: A survey was sent to 71 pathology laboratories from 21 European countries. The questionnaire requested information concerning the organization of biosafety, the clinical and molecular pathology, the biobanking, the workload, the associated research into COVID-19, and the organization of education and training during the COVID-19 crisis, from 15 March to 31 May 2020, compared with the same period in 2019.

Use of Venovenous Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation in Critically-Ill Patients With COVID-19.

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) related to Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is associated with high mortality. It has been suggested that venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) was suitable in this indication, albeit the effects of ECMO on the mechanical respiratory parameters have been scarcely described. In this case-series, we prospectively described the use of venovenous ECMO and its effects on mechanical respiratory parameters in eleven COVID-19 patients with severe ARDS.

Streptococcus pyogenes infects human endometrium by limiting the innate immune response.

Group A Streptococcus (GAS), a Gram-positive human-specific pathogen, yields 517,000 deaths annually worldwide, including 163,000 due to invasive infections and among them puerperal fever. Before efficient prophylactic measures were introduced, the mortality rate for mothers during childbirth was approximately 10%; puerperal fever still accounts for over 75,000 maternal deaths annually. Yet, little is known regarding the factors and mechanisms of GAS invasion and establishment in postpartum infection.