Manufacturing methods, properties, and potential applications in bone tissue regeneration of hydroxyapatite-chitosan biocomposites: A review.

Hydroxyapatite (HA) and chitosan (CS) biopolymer are the major materials investigated for biomedical purposes. Both of these components play an important role in the orthopedic field as bone substitutes or drug release systems. Used separately, the hydroxyapatite is quite fragile, while CS mechanical strength is very weak.

Haemochromatosis revisited.

Haemochromatosis is a genetic disease caused by hepcidin deficiency, responsible for an increase in intestinal iron absorption. Haemochromatosis is associated with homozygosity for the p.Cys282Tyr mutation.

Reduced-toxicity myeloablative conditioning regimen using fludarabine and full doses of intravenous busulfan in pediatric patients not eligible for standard myeloablative conditioning regimens: Results of a multicenter prospective phase 2 trial.

Data regarding the safety and efficacy of reduced-toxicity conditioning regimen (RTC) prior to allogeneic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT) to treat hematological malignancies in pediatric patients are limited. This prospective multicenter, phase 2 trial investigated a RTC regimen based on the combination of intravenous busulfan (3.2 mg/kg/d x 4 days), fludarabine (30 mg/m/d x 5 days) and antithymocyte globulin (Thymoglobulin®, Genzyme; 5 mg/kg total dose) with the aim of delivering high dose myeloablation that would allow optimal disease control while minimizing toxicity, in a subgroup of children at very high risk of non-relapse mortality (NRM).

Predictors of Short-Term Alcohol Drinking in Patients with Alcohol Use Disorders during the Third Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Prospective Study in Three Addiction Outpatient Centers in France.

The present study investigates the extent to which the COVID-19 crisis disturbed different life domains of patients with alcohol use disorder (AUD) and assessed the associations between these disturbances and the risk of short-term alcohol drinking. All patients aged >18 years receiving outpatient care at three addiction treatment facilities from 15 April to 30 May 2021 were eligible for inclusion in the study. A trained resident assessed the extent to which the COVID-19 crisis affected their professional activity, social life, access to healthcare, and drinking problems, together with craving, drinking behavior, psychological distress, physical/mental health, and sociodemographic and clinical data.

HFE-Related Hemochromatosis in a Chinese Patient: The First Reported Case.

-related Hemochromatosis is the most common genetic iron overload disease in European populations, particularly of Nordic or Celtic ancestry. It is reported that the p.C282Y mutation is present in 1/10 people of northern European descent, resulting in one in two hundred people will be homozygous.

Mid-infrared spectroscopy of serum, a promising non-invasive method to assess prognosis in patients with ascites and cirrhosis.

Background & Aims: Prognostic tests are critical in the management of patients with cirrhosis and ascites. Biological tests or scores perform poorly in that situation. Mid-infrared fibre evanescent wave spectroscopy (MIR-FEWS) which allows for global serum metabolic profiling may provide more relevant information by measuring a wider range of metabolic parameters in serum.

An experimental study of the Online Information Paradox: Does en-route information improve road network performance?

This study investigates the empirical presence of a theoretical transportation paradox, defined as the "Online Information Paradox" (OIP). The paradox suggests that, for certain road networks, the provision of online information deteriorate travel conditions for all users of that network relative to the situation where no online information is provided to users. The analytical presence of the paradox was derived for a specific network structure by using two equilibrium models, the first being the Expected User Equilibrium (EUE) solution (no information scenario) and the other being the User Equilibrium with Recourse (UER) solution (with information scenario).

Pesticide stress on plants negatively affects parasitoid fitness through a bypass of their phytophage hosts.

Pesticides taken up by plants from the soil or interstitial (pore) water can cascade to higher trophic levels, which are expected to be more affected due to cumulative bottom-up effects. Knowledge about the impact of indirect exposure to pesticides on non-target terrestrial trophic chains, however, is still lacking. Therefore, we examined the direct and indirect effects of three concentrations of the herbicide 2,6-dichlorobenzonitrile (DCBN) and an insecticide with a similar molecular structure (1,4-dichlorobenzene, DCB) on the fitness traits of a tritrophic system: the wheat plant Triticum aestivum, the aphid Sitobion avenae and its specialist parasitoid Aphidius rhopalosiphi.

Integrating targeted gene expression and a skin model system to identify functional inhibitors of the UV activated p38 MAP kinase.

The stress-activated p38α MAP Kinase is an integral and critical component of the UV-induced inflammatory response. Despite the advances in recent years in the development of p38 kinase inhibitors, validation of these compounds in the diseased models remains limited. Based on the pharmacological profile of p38α inhibitor lead compound, SB203580, we synthesized a series of pyrrole-derivatives.

Hemochromatosis: a model of metal-related human toxicosis.

Many environmental agents, such as excessive alcohol intake, xenobiotics, and virus, are able to damage the human body, targeting especially the liver. Metal excess may also assault the liver. Thus, chronic iron overload may cause, especially when associated with cofactors, diffuse organ damage that is a source of significant morbidity and mortality.

Rare HFE variants are the most frequent cause of hemochromatosis in non-c282y homozygous patients with hemochromatosis.

p.Cys282Tyr (C282Y) homozygosity explains most cases of HFE-related hemochromatosis, but a significant number of patients presenting with typical type I hemochromatosis phenotype remain unexplained. We sought to describe the clinical relevance of rare HFE variants in non-C282Y homozygotes.

The Cytochrome bd Oxidase of Porphyromonas gingivalis Contributes to Oxidative Stress Resistance and Dioxygen Tolerance.

Porphyromonas gingivalis is an etiologic agent of periodontal disease in humans. The disease is associated with the formation of a mixed oral biofilm which is exposed to oxygen and environmental stress, such as oxidative stress. To investigate possible roles for cytochrome bd oxidase in the growth and persistence of this anaerobic bacterium inside the oral biofilm, mutant strains deficient in cytochrome bd oxidase activity were characterized.

Quality-of-Life assessment after medial thighplasty in patients following massive weight loss.

Background: The improvement of medial thighplasty techniques has greatly reduced the morbidity of these interventions and participated in their democratization among surgeons and patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the beneficial effect of medial thighplasty on quality of life in patients following massive weight loss.

Methods: The quality of life following massive weight loss after diet or bariatric surgery of 21 patients was measured using the Moorehead-Ardelt Quality of Life Questionnaire.

Iron, hepcidin, and the metal connection.

Identification of new players in iron metabolism, such as hepcidin, which regulates ferroportin and divalent metal transporter 1 expression, has improved our knowledge of iron metabolism and iron-related diseases. However, from both experimental data and clinical findings, "iron-related proteins" appear to also be involved in the metabolism of other metals, especially divalent cations. Reports have demonstrated that some metals may affect, directly or indirectly, the expression of proteins involved in iron metabolism.

Impact of isomalathion on malathion cytotoxicity and genotoxicity in human HepaRG cells.

Isomalathion is a major impurity of technical grade malathion, one of the most abundantly applied insecticides; however little is known about its hepatotoxicity. In the present study, cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of malathion and isomalathion either individually or in combination, were assessed using the metabolically competent human liver HepaRG cell line. Isomalathion reduced cell viability starting at a 100 μM concentration after a 24h exposure.

Non-HFE hemochromatosis: pathophysiological and diagnostic aspects.

Rare genetic iron overload diseases are an evolving field due to major advances in genetics and molecular biology. Genetic iron overload has long been confined to the classical type 1 hemochromatosis related to the HFE C282Y mutation. Breakthroughs in the understanding of iron metabolism biology and molecular mechanisms led to the discovery of new genes and subsequently, new types of hemochromatosis.

Kinetic transcriptomic approach revealed metabolic pathways and genotoxic-related changes implied in the Arabidopsis response to ionising radiations.

Plants exposed to ionising radiation (IR) have to face direct and indirect (oxidative stress) deleterious effects whose intensity depends on the dose applied and led to differential genome regulation. Transcriptomic analyses were conducted with CATMA microarray technology on Arabidopsis thaliana plantlets, 2 and 26h after exposure to the IR doses 10Gy and 40Gy. 10Gy treatment seemed to enhance antioxidative compound biosynthetic pathways whereas the 40Gy dose up-regulated ROS-scavenging enzyme genes.

Unprecedented incorporation of α-emitter radioisotope 213Bi into porphyrin chelates with reference to a daughter isotope mediated assistance mechanism.

For the first time, α-emitter radioisotope (213)Bi has been incorporated into porphyrin chelates, with rates matching with the short period of the radionuclide. An in situ transmetalation mechanism involving the daughter isotope (209)Pb is expected to boost the (213)Bi radiolabeling process.

Application of proteomics to the assessment of the response to ionising radiation in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Ionising radiation (IR) affects cellular and tissue function. However, the biological effects and interactions induced by IR are unclear. The aim of this study was to decipher the proteomic patterns that influence these pathways.

Hepcidin induction limits mobilisation of splenic iron in a mouse model of secondary iron overload.

Venesection has been proposed as a treatment for hepatic iron overload in a number of chronic liver disorders that are not primarily linked to mutations in iron metabolism genes. Our aim was to analyse the impact of venesection on iron mobilisation in a mouse model of secondary iron overload. C57Bl/6 mice were given oral iron supplementation with or without phlebotomy between day 0 (D0) and D22, and the results were compared to controls without iron overload.

The enigmatic invasive Spartina densiflora: a history of hybridizations in a polyploidy context.

The aim of this study was to explore the origin of the invasive Spartina densiflora by analysing samples from the native region (South America) and from a recently colonized area (California). A combination of various molecular data (chloroplast and nuclear sequences, molecular fingerprint) and ploidy level estimations was used to answer the question whether the reticulate phylogenetic pattern previously detected in S. densiflora was restricted to California, or alternatively, whether a more ancient hybrid origin preceded formation of this species in its native area.

Genetic and molecular approaches to improve nutritional value of Brassica napus L. seed.

Oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) is a major oil crop that also supplies proteins for the feed industry. In order to reduce total cost production, the objective is to increase oil yield while reducing crop inputs (especially nitrogen and pesticides).