Acquired decrease of the C3b/C4b receptor (CR1, CD35) and increased C4d deposits on erythrocytes from ICU COVID-19 patients.

In order to study the mechanisms of COVID-19 damage following the complement activation phase occurring during the innate immune response to SARS-CoV-2, CR1 (the regulating complement activation factor, CD35, the C3b/C4b receptor), C4d deposits on Erythrocytes (E), and the products of complement activation C3b/C3bi, were assessed in 52 COVID-19 patients undergoing O therapy or assisted ventilation in ICU units in Rheims France. An acquired decrease of CR1 density on E from COVID-19 patients was observed (Mean = 418, SD = 162, N = 52) versus healthy individuals (Mean = 592, SD = 287, N = 400), Student's t-test p < 10, particularly among fatal cases, and in parallel with several parameters of clinical severity. Large deposits of C4d on E in patients were well above values observed in normal individuals, mostly without concomitant C3 deposits, in more than 80% of the patients.

Are competition and extrinsic motivation reliable predictors of academic cheating?

Previous studies suggest that extrinsic motivation and competition are reliable predictors of academic cheating. The aim of the present questionnaire study was to separate the effects of motivation- and competition-related variables on academic cheating by Hungarian high school students (N = 620, M = 264, F = 356). Structural equation modeling showed that intrinsic motivation has a negative effect, and amotivation has a positive indirect effect on self-reported academic cheating.

Physiopathology hypotheses and treatment of pulmonary sequestration.

Illustrated by this case report, partial obstruction of the venous collector of extrapulmonary sequestration explains pleural effusion and fetal hydrops. Therapy requires fetal thoracentesis and neonatal arterial occlusion of the pedicle artery allowing uneventful follow-up.

The influence of tissue pretreatment on the immunohistochemical demonstration of type I and III collagens and tenascin in fetal human tooth germs.

The influence of tissue pretreatment on the PAP immunostaining for type I and III collagens and tenascin was studied in formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded human tooth germs at the 24th and 25th weeks of fetal life. Three variables were considered: the type of buffer used (PBS or Tris), pepsin digestion and the use of normal serum as a blocking agent prior to immunostaining. All three proteins needed an enzymatic digestion to be intensely revealed.