Interactions of hydrophilic quantum dots with defect-free and defect containing supported lipid membranes.

Quantum dots (QDs) are semiconductor nanoparticles with unique optical and electronic properties, whose interest as potential nano-theranostic platforms for imaging and sensing is increasing. The design and use of QDs requires the understanding of cell-nanoparticle interactions at a microscopic and nanoscale level. Model systems such as supported lipid bilayers (SLBs) are useful, less complex platforms mimicking physico-chemical properties of cell membranes.

Levers and Barriers to Vaccinate against COVID-19 in the Multicultural Context of French Guiana: A Qualitative Cross-Sectional Survey among Health Care Workers.

In French Guiana, a French overseas territory in South America facing a fourth wave of COVID-19, vaccination coverage is very low, both in the population and among health care workers (HCWs). Vaccine hesitancy concerned 35.7% of the latter in early 2021.

On the need for integrating cancer into the One Health perspective.

Recent pandemics have highlighted the urgency to connect disciplines studying animal, human, and environment health, that is, the "One Health" concept. The One Health approach takes a holistic view of health, but it has largely focused on zoonotic diseases while not addressing oncogenic processes. We argue that cancers should be an additional key focus in the One Health approach based on three factors that add to the well-documented impact of humans on the natural environment and its implications on cancer emergence.

Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation for COVID 2019-Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome: Comparison between First and Second Waves (Stage 2).

We aimed to compare the outcomes of patients under veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (V-V ECMO) for COVID-19-Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (CARDS) between the first and the second wave. From 1 March 2020 to 30 November 2020, fifty patients requiring a V-V ECMO support for CARDS were included. Patient demographics, pre-ECMO, and day one, three, and seven on-ECMO data and outcomes were collected.

Blood eosinophil cationic protein and eosinophil-derived neurotoxin are associated with different asthma expression and evolution in adults.

Background: Eosinophil-derived neurotoxin (EDN) and eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) are proteins released by activated eosinophils whose role in adult asthma remains unclear.

Objective: To study associations between ECP, EDN and various asthma characteristics in adults from the Epidemiological Study on the Genetics and Environment of Asthma (EGEA).

Methods: Plasma ECP and EDN levels were measured by ELISA.

Spatial variations in Leishmaniasis: A biogeographic approach to mapping the distribution of species.

Cutaneous Leishmaniasis (CL) is the most prevalent form of Leishmaniasis and is widely endemic in the Americas. Several species of are responsible for CL, a severely neglected tropical disease and the treatment of CL vary according to the different species of . We proposed to map the distribution of the species reported in French Guiana (FG) using a biogeographic approach based on environmental predictors.

Investigation of Capitella spp. symbionts in the context of varying anthropic pressures: First occurrence of a transient advantageous epibiosis with the giant bacteria Thiomargarita sp. to survive seasonal increases of sulfides in sediments.

Capitella spp. is considered as an important ecological indicator of eutrophication due to its high densities in organic-rich, reduced, and sometimes polluted coastal ecosystems. We investigated whether such ability to cope with adverse ecological contexts might be a response to the microorganisms these worms are associated with.

When local phytotherapies meet biomedicine. Cross-sectional study of knowledge and intercultural practices against malaria in Eastern French Guiana.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: In French Guiana, traditional phytotherapies are an important part of self-healthcare, however, a precise understanding of the interactions between local phytotherapies and biomedicine is lacking. Malaria is still endemic in the transition area between French Guiana and Brazil, and practices of self-treatment, although difficult to detect, have possible consequences on the outcome of public health policies.

Aim Of The Study: The objectives of this research were 1) to document occurences of co-medication (interactions between biomedicine and local phytotherapies) against malaria around Saint-Georges de l'Oyapock (SGO), 2) to quantify and to qualify plant uses against malaria, 3) and to discuss potential effects of such co-medications, in order to improve synergy between community efforts and public health programs in SGO particularly, and in Amazonia more broadly.

Usefulness of Sepsis-3 in diagnosing and predicting mortality of ventilator-associated lower respiratory tract infections.

Background: Early distinguishing ventilator-associated tracheobronchitis (VAT) and ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) remains difficult in the daily practice. However, this question appears clinically relevant, as treatments of VAT and VAP currently differ. In this study, we assessed the accuracy of sepsis criteria according to the Sepsis-3 definition in the early distinction between VAT and VAP.

Is CCL18 a potential biomarker of type-2 asthma endotypes?

This exploratory cross-sectional study aimed to evaluate the associations between the chemokine ligand 18 (CCL18) blood level and phenotypic characteristics of asthma. We evaluated in a sample of 173 asthmatic adult patients from the Cohort of Bronchial obstruction and Asthma (63.4% women; median age 50 ± interquartile range 27.

The Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor in Asthma: Friend or Foe?

The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) is a ligand-activated transcription factor that has emerged as an important player in asthma control. AhR is responsive to environmental molecules and endogenous or dietary metabolites and regulates innate and adaptive immune responses. Binding of this receptor by different ligands has led to seemingly opposite responses in different asthma models.

Validation of Swab Sampling and SYBR Green-Based Real-Time PCR for the Diagnosis of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in French Guiana.

Recent studies have highlighted the interest in noninvasive sampling procedures coupled with real-time PCR methods for the detection of species in South America. In French Guiana, the sampling method still relied on skin biopsies. Noninvasive protocols should be tested on a large annual cohort to improve routine laboratory diagnosis of cutaneous leishmaniasis.

Antibiotic-related gut dysbiosis induces lung immunodepression and worsens lung infection in mice.

Background: Gut dysbiosis due to the adverse effects of antibiotics affects outcomes of lung infection. Previous murine models relied on significant depletion of both gut and lung microbiota, rendering the analysis of immune gut-lung cross-talk difficult. Here, we study the effects of antibiotic-induced gut dysbiosis without lung dysbiosis on lung immunity and the consequences on acute P.

Manufacture of a Stable Lyophilized Formulation of the Live Attenuated Pertussis Vaccine BPZE1.

Current pertussis vaccines protect against disease, but not against colonization by and transmission of , whereas natural infection protects against both. The live attenuated vaccine BPZE1 was developed to mimic immunogenicity of natural infection without causing disease, and in preclinical models protected against pertussis disease and colonization after a single nasal administration. Phase 1 clinical studies showed that BPZE1 is safe and immunogenic in humans when administered as a liquid formulation, stored at ≤-70 °C.

Association between schizophrenia and Toxoplasma gondii infection in Algeria.

Toxoplasmosis has been previously associated with an increased risk of having schizophrenia in several epidemiological studies. The aim of this prospective study was to examine for the first time a possible association between positive serology to Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) and schizophrenia in the Algerian population.

Accuracy of the clinical pulmonary infection score to differentiate ventilator-associated tracheobronchitis from ventilator-associated pneumonia.

Background: Differentiating Ventilator-Associated Tracheobronchitis (VAT) from Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia (VAP) may be challenging for clinicians, yet their management currently differs. In this study, we evaluated the accuracy of the Clinical Pulmonary Infection Score (CPIS) to differentiate VAT and VAP.

Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis based on the data from 2 independent prospective cohorts.

Case Report: Dynamics of Acquired Fluoroquinolone Resistance under Standardized Short-Course Treatment of Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis.

We report a case of acquired fluoroquinolone (FQ) resistance under short-course multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) treatment. The patient was managed at Kabutare hospital, one of the two specialized MDR-TB clinics in Rwanda. A low dose of moxifloxacin was used in the first three critical months.

Donor-to-recipient transmission and reactivation in a kidney transplant recipient of an inherited chromosomally integrated HHV-6A: Evidence and outcomes.

Human herpesvirus (HHV)-6A can be inherited and chromosomally integrated (iciHHV-6A), and donor-to-recipient transmission has been reported in solid organ transplant. However, when HHV-6A reactivation happens after transplant, the source of HHV-6A is often not evident and its pathogenicity remains unclear. Here, we present an exhaustive case of donor-to-recipient transmission and reactivation of iciHHV-6A through kidney transplant.