Protecting honey bees: identification of a new varroacide by in silico, in vitro, and in vivo studies.

Varroa destructor is the main concern related to the gradual decline of honeybees. Nowadays, among the various acaricides used in the control of V. destructor, most presents increasing resistance.

Predictors of adherence to repeat fecal occult blood test in a population-based colorectal cancer screening program.

Background: Socio-economic, environmental factors and general practitioner (GP) involvement may influence adherence to repeat faecal occult blood testing (FOBT) of organised colorectal cancer (CRC) screening. The aim of the study was to identify predictors of adherence to repeat testing.

Methods: The populationcomprised people eligible for the third round of a CRC screening programme in a French district (n=118,905).

Prognostic value of microscopic lymph node involvement in patients with papillary thyroid cancer.

Context: The impact of microscopic nodal involvement on the risk of persistent/recurrent disease (PRD) remains controversial in patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC).

Objective: The goal of the study was to assess the risk of PRD and the 4-year outcome in PTC patients according to their initial nodal status [pNx, pN0, pN1 microscopic (cN0/pN1) or pN1 macroscopic (cN1/pN1)].

Design: We conducted a retrospective cohort study.

Influence of microglial activation on neuronal function in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease dementia.

Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD) are the two common neurodegenerative diseases characterized by progressive neuronal dysfunction in the presence of pathological microglial activation.

Methods: 10 AD, 10 mild cognitive impairment (MCI), 11 PD dementia (PDD), and 16 controls underwent magnetic resonance imaging, [11C](R)PK11195 (1-[2-chlorophenyl]-N-methyl-N-[1-methyl-propyl]-3-isoquinoline carboxamide), [11C]PIB (11C-Pittsburgh compound B), [18F]FDG-PET (18F-2-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose positron emission tomography) scans. Parametric images were interrogated using region of interest (ROI), biological parametric mapping (BPM) and statistical parametric mapping analysis, and neuropsychometric tests.

Maintenance of potential spermatogonial stem cells in vitro by GDNF treatment in a chondrichthyan model (Scyliorhinus canicula L.).

Previous work in dogfish, Scyliorhinus canicula, has identified the testicular germinative area as the spermatogonial stem cell niche. In the present study, an in vitro co-culture system of spermatogonia and somatic cells from the germinative area was developed. Long-term maintenance of spermatogonia has been successful, and addition of GDNF has promoted the development of clones of spermatogonia expressing stem cell characteristics such as alkaline phosphatase activity and has allowed maintenance of self-renewal in spermatogonia for at least 5 mo under culture conditions, notably by decreasing cell apoptosis.

Multimodal brain imaging in autism spectrum disorder and the promise of twin research.

Current evidence suggests the phenotype of autism spectrum disorder to be driven by a complex interaction of genetic and environmental factors impacting onto brain maturation, synaptic function, and cortical networks. However, findings are heterogeneous, and the exact neurobiological pathways of autism spectrum disorder still remain poorly understood. The co-twin control or twin-difference design is a potentially powerful tool to disentangle causal genetic and environmental contributions on neurodevelopment in autism spectrum disorder.

Nonlinear Cascade Strategy for Longitudinal Control of Electric Vehicle.

The problem of controlling the longitudinal motion of front-wheels electric vehicle (EV) is considered making the focus on the case where a single dc motor is used for both front wheels. Chassis dynamics are modelled applying relevant fundamental laws taking into account the aerodynamic effects and the road slope variation. The longitudinal slip, resulting from tire deformation, is captured through Kiencke's model.

Multiple Object Tracking While Walking: Similarities and Differences Between Young, Young-Old, and Old-Old Adults.

Objective: Walking while simultaneously engaged in another activity becomes more difficult as one grows older. Here, we address the issue of changes in dual-task behavior at different stages of life, particularly in the latter stages.

Methods: We developed a dual task that combined walking along an 8-m walkway with a multiple object tracking (MOT) task of increasing difficulty.

Clinical import of Horner syndrome in internal carotid and vertebral artery dissection.

Objective: To study the prognostic importance of Horner syndrome (HS) in patients with internal carotid artery dissection (ICAD) or vertebral artery dissection (VAD).

Methods: In this observational study, characteristics and outcome of patients with ICAD or VAD from the CADISP (Cervical Artery Dissection and Ischemic Stroke Patients) database were analyzed. The presence of HS was systematically assessed using a standardized questionnaire.

Stroke in first-degree relatives of patients with cervical artery dissection.

Background And Purpose: Patients with ischaemic stroke (IS) caused by a spontaneous cervical artery dissection (CeAD) worry about an increased risk for stroke in their families. The occurrence of stroke in relatives of patients with CeAD and in those with ischaemic stroke attributable to other (non-CeAD) causes were compared.

Methods: The frequency of stroke in first-degree relatives (family history of stroke, FHS) was studied in IS patients (CeAD patients and age- and sex-matched non-CeAD patients) from the Cervical Artery Dissection and Ischemic Stroke Patients (CADISP) database.

Giant-cell aortitis: an unusual case of Bentall operation.

Noninfectious ascending aortitis is a very rare cause of ascending aortic aneurysm. We report a case of the truly fortuitous finding of this rare condition in a 67-year-old man operated on for an ascending aortic aneurysm associated with dystrophic aortic valve regurgitation. Intraoperative inspection revealed dissection of the aorta just above the left main coronary artery.

tPA promotes ADAMTS-4-induced CSPG degradation, thereby enhancing neuroplasticity following spinal cord injury.

Although tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) is known to promote neuronal remodeling in the CNS, no mechanism of how this plastic function takes place has been reported so far. We provide here in vitro and in vivo demonstrations that this serine protease neutralizes inhibitory chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans (CSPGs) by promoting their degradation via the direct activation of endogenous type 4 disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin motifs (ADAMTS-4). Accordingly, in a model of compression-induced spinal cord injury (SCI) in rats, we found that administration of either tPA or its downstream effector ADAMTS-4 restores the tPA-dependent activity lost after the SCI and thereby, reduces content of CSPGs in the spinal cord, a cascade of events leading to an improved axonal regeneration/sprouting and eventually long term functional recovery.

Corpus callosum hemorrhage during left ventricular-assist device support.

Patients supported by left ventricular-assist devices are at high risk of bleeding, but among the numerous hemorrhagic complications, those involving the corpus callosum are very uncommon. We report the case of a 35-year-old woman who suddenly experienced neurological symptoms 4 months after HeartMate II implantation. Cranial computed tomography showed a voluminous hematoma involving the corpus callosum.

Connecting thermal physiology and latitudinal niche partitioning in marine Synechococcus.

Marine Synechococcus cyanobacteria constitute a monophyletic group that displays a wide latitudinal distribution, ranging from the equator to the polar fronts. Whether these organisms are all physiologically adapted to stand a large temperature gradient or stenotherms with narrow growth temperature ranges has so far remained unexplored. We submitted a panel of six strains, isolated along a gradient of latitude in the North Atlantic Ocean, to long- and short-term variations of temperature.

Mechanisms underlying the neuroprotective effect of brain reserve against late life depression.

Depression is common and medically relevant illness that has been associated to a state of "accelerated aging" and can significantly compromise successful aging. In recent years, the concept of "brain reserve" has emerged to describe some individuals having an increased "baseline adaptive neuroplasticity", providing greater dynamic capacity for adjusting and remodeling cortical circuits to various stressors. We hypothesize that brain reserve may have neuroprotective effects against late life depression.

Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid in Standardbred racehorses: influence of unilateral/bilateral profiles and cut-off values on lower airway disease diagnosis.

The aim of this study was to determine whether the lung side being sampled would significantly influence bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) cytological profiles and subsequent diagnosis in Standardbred racehorses. One hundred and thirty-eight French Trotters in active training and racing were included in a prospective observational study. BAL was performed using videoendoscopy in both right and left lungs during summer meetings in 2011 (64 horses) and 2012 (74 horses).

Agricultural exposures and chronic bronchitis: findings from the AGRICAN (AGRIculture and CANcer) cohort.

Purpose: Livestock farming has been recognized as a risk factor for chronic bronchitis (CB). The role of crop farming, however, has been less studied. We sought to assess the role of a large range of farming activities on the risk of CB in the French agricultural cohort AGRICAN (AGRIculture and CANcer).

Long-lasting airway inflammation associated with equid herpesvirus-2 in experimentally challenged horses.

The aim of this trial was to investigate the putative involvement of equid herpesvirus 2 (EHV-2) in airway inflammation of adult horses. Six horses received corticosteroid treatment, before either mock infection (n=2) or EHV-2 strain LK4 inoculation (n=4). These four horses were also submitted to immunosuppression 84 days post inoculation.

Molecular requirements for safer generation of thrombolytics by bioengineering the tissue-type plasminogen activator A chain.

Background: Thrombolysis with tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) is the only treatment approved for acute ischemic stroke. Although t-PA is an efficient clot lysis enzyme, it also causes damage to the neurovascular unit, including hemorrhagic transformations and neurotoxicity.

Objectives: On the basis of the mechanism of action of t-PA on neurotoxicity, we aimed at studying the molecular requirements to generate safer thrombolytics.

Effects of glyphosate-based herbicides on embryo-larval development and metamorphosis in the Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas.

Pesticides may be involved in oyster summer mortality events, not necessarily as a single causative agent but as an additional stressor. In this context, the present study aimed to assess the toxicity of glyphosate, its by-product, aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA) and two commercial formulations, Roundup Express(®) (R(EX)) and Roundup Allées et Terrasses(®) (R(AT)), containing glyphosate as the active ingredient, on the early life stages of the Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas. The embryotoxicity of these chemicals were quantified by considering both the rates of abnormalities and the arrested development or types of abnormalities in D-shaped larvae after 48 h exposure.

siPGK1 sensitizes chemoresistant human ovarian cancer cell lines to cisplatin.

Enhanced glycolysis provides essential intermediates for cancer cell proliferation. Its inhibition could be a promising approach for destroying tumors, especially those developing in hypoxic conditions, which are presumably the most chemoresistant. In hypoxic cells, glycolysis provides the main part of ATP.

AsrR is an oxidative stress sensing regulator modulating Enterococcus faecium opportunistic traits, antimicrobial resistance, and pathogenicity.

Oxidative stress serves as an important host/environmental signal that triggers a wide range of responses in microorganisms. Here, we identified an oxidative stress sensor and response regulator in the important multidrug-resistant nosocomial pathogen Enterococcus faecium belonging to the MarR family and called AsrR (antibiotic and stress response regulator). The AsrR regulator used cysteine oxidation to sense the hydrogen peroxide which results in its dissociation to promoter DNA.

How do the different components of episodic memory develop? Role of executive functions and short-term feature-binding abilities.

This study investigated the development of all 3 components of episodic memory (EM), as defined by Tulving, namely, core factual content, spatial context, and temporal context. To this end, a novel, ecologically valid test was administered to 109 participants aged 4-16 years. Results showed that each EM component develops at a different rate.