Summary
Objective: Differences in circulating bubble production have been described after exposures in altitude chambers between men and women. The present study was designed to examine gender ...differences in circulating bubble production after a dive.
Methods: Fifty‐two men and 52 women performed the same dive profile (25 min to 35 m). Circulating bubbles were detected by continuous wave Doppler. Tests were conducted at sea in a boat, at 10‐min intervals for 1 h after surfacing. Signals were graded according to the Spencer scale. The categorical data were then converted to a single number reflecting total bubble activity using the KISS index.
Results: Considering each measurement period, bubble grade was higher in men than women 30, 40 and 50 min postdive. On the contrary, bubble grade was comparable between men and women 10, 20 and 60 min after the dive. KISS index was significantly higher in men than women (6·77 0·65–32·3 versus 0·91 0–22·9, P<0·02). KISS index was significantly correlated with age, weight and body fat mass in the whole population and in the men and women separately. Postmenopausal women had a higher KISS index (42 15–47) when compared with premenopausal women and men older than 50 years. No difference in bubble production was found according to the use of oral contraceptive pills or the phase of the menstrual cycle.
Conclusion: Overall, we observed fewer circulating bubbles in women than in men after an open sea SCUBA dive. This difference disappeared in the postmenopausal women.
Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) emerged in the Caribbean island of Saint-Martin in December 2013. We implemented a hospital-based surveillance system to detect and describe CHIKV cases including severe ...forms of the infection and deaths in the islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe. A case was defined as a patient with a CHIKV laboratory confirmation cared for in a public hospital for chikungunya for at least 24 hours, and a severe CHIKV case was defined as a CHIKV case presenting one or more organ failures. Sociodemographic, clinical, and laboratory data were collected and cases classified into severe or nonsevere based on medical records. From December 2013 to January 2015, a total of 1,836 hospitalized cases were identified. Rate of hospital admissions for CHIKV infection was 60 per 10,000 suspected clinical CHIKV cases and severity accounted for 12 per 10,000. A total of 74 deaths related to CHIKV infection occurred. Infants and elderly people were more frequently hospitalized compared with others and severity was more frequently reported in elderly subjects and subjects with underlying health condition. Fifteen neonatal infections consecutive to mother-to-child transmission were diagnosed, seven of which were severe. The most vulnerable groups of the population, such as the elderly, infants, individuals with comorbidities, and pregnant women, should remain the main targets of public health priorities.
Diagnoses of bacterial sexually transmitted infections (STI) have been increasing in France since their resurgence in the late 1990s. This article presents recent epidemiological trends until 2016 ...and the patients' characteristics. STI surveillance relies on sentinel networks: a clinician-based network RésIST (clinical, biological and behavioural data for early syphilis and gonorrhoea), the lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV) network (clinical, biological and behavioural data for rectal LGV, and the laboratory networks Rénachla and Rénago (demographic and biological data for chlamydial infections and gonorrhoea, respectively). Here we describe trends between 2014 and 2016, using data from diagnostic centres which participated regularly during the study period. The number of early syphilis, gonorrhoea and LGV diagnoses increased between 2014 and 2016, particularly in men who have sex with men. An increase in syphilis and gonorrhoea cases was also observed in heterosexuals. Nevertheless, we observed a drop in 2016 for syphilis and chlamydial infections after two decades of increases. Under-reporting and shortage of benzathine penicillin in 2016 may explain this latest evolution. Regular screening of patients and partners, followed by prompt treatment, remains essential to interrupt STI transmission in a context where human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention has expanded towards biomedical prophylaxis.
Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) emerged in the Caribbean island of Saint-Martin in December 2013. Weimplemented a hospital-based surveillance system to detect and describe CHIKV cases including severe ...forms of theinfection and deaths in the islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe. A case was defined as a patient with a CHIKV laboratoryconfirmation cared for in a public hospital for chikungunya for at least 24 hours, and a severe CHIKV case was defined as aCHIKV case presenting one or more organ failures. Sociodemographic, clinical, and laboratory data were collected andcases classified into severe or nonsevere based on medical records. From December 2013 to January 2015, a total of1,836 hospitalized cases were identified. Rate of hospital admissions for CHIKV infection was 60 per 10,000 suspectedclinical CHIKV cases and severity accounted for 12 per 10,000. A total of 74 deaths related to CHIKV infection occurred.Infants and elderly people were more frequently hospitalized compared with others and severity was more frequentlyreported in elderly subjects and subjects with underlying health condition. Fifteen neonatal infections consecutive tomother-to-child transmission were diagnosed, seven of which were severe. The most vulnerable groups of the population,such as the elderly, infants, individuals with comorbidities, and pregnant women, should remain the main targets of publichealth priorities.
Glioblastoma is the most lethal brain tumour with a poor prognosis. Cancer stem cells (CSC) were proposed to be the most aggressive cells allowing brain tumour recurrence and aggressiveness. Current ...challenge is to determine CSC signature to characterize these cells and to develop new therapeutics. In a previous work, we achieved a screening of glycosylation‐related genes to characterize specific genes involved in CSC maintenance. Three genes named CHI3L1, KLRC3 and PRUNE2 were found overexpressed in glioblastoma undifferentiated cells (related to CSC) compared to the differentiated ones. The comparison of their roles suggest that KLRC3 gene coding for NKG2E, a protein initially identified in NK cells, is more important than both two other genes in glioblastomas aggressiveness. Indeed, KLRC3 silencing decreased self‐renewal capacity, invasion, proliferation, radioresistance and tumourigenicity of U87‐MG glioblastoma cell line. For the first time we report that KLRC3 gene expression is linked to glioblastoma aggressiveness and could be a new potential therapeutic target to attenuate glioblastoma.
The Slc26 gene family encodes several conserved anion transporters implicated in human genetic disorders, including Pendred syndrome, diastrophic dysplasia and congenital chloride diarrhea. We ...previously characterized the TAT1 (testis anion transporter 1; SLC26A8) protein specifically expressed in male germ cells and mature sperm and showed that in the mouse, deletion of Tat1 caused male sterility due to a lack of sperm motility, impaired sperm capacitation and structural defects of the flagella. Ca(2+), Cl(-) and HCO(3)(-) influxes trigger sperm capacitation events required for oocyte fertilization; these events include the intracellular rise of cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) and protein kinase A (PKA)-dependent protein phosphorylation. The cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) is expressed in mature sperm and has been shown to contribute to Cl(-) and HCO(3)(-) movements during capacitation. Furthermore, several members of the SLC26 family have been described to form complexes with CFTR, resulting in the reciprocal regulation of their activities. We show here that TAT1 and CFTR physically interact and that in Xenopus laevis oocytes and in CHO-K1 cells, TAT1 expression strongly stimulates CFTR activity. Consistent with this, we show that Tat1 inactivation in mouse sperm results in deregulation of the intracellular cAMP content, preventing the activation of PKA-dependent downstream phosphorylation cascades essential for sperm activation. These various results suggest that TAT1 and CFTR may form a molecular complex involved in the regulation of Cl(-) and HCO(3)(-) fluxes during sperm capacitation. In humans, mutations in CFTR and/or TAT1 may therefore be causes of asthenozoospermia and low fertilizing capacity of sperm.
To validate a Danish version of the observational Abbey Pain Scale (APS) in a geriatric ward.
The study population consisted of 50 old patients (70+ years), consecutively admitted to the geriatric ...wards of Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark, and fulfilling one of the following inclusion criteria: Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) < 5, delirium, non-communicative aphasia, or unconsciousness. APS has six subscales and ranges from 0 (no pain) to 18 (worst pain). Criterion validity was assessed by using Verbal Rating Scale (VRS) as the gold standard. Cohen's kappa (k) was the measure of agreement. Inter-rater reliability was measured by two independent ratings of the same patient at the same time and assessed by Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC). Internal consistency between the subscales was analysed by Cronbach's Alpha. Responsiveness was tested if the first APS score was positive for pain. 'Before' and 'after' sum scores were compared by paired t-test.
We found poor agreement between APS and VRS (k=0.42). The inter-rater reliability was good (ICC=0.84). Cronbach's Alpha was 0.52 (fair agreement). In 66% of the patients, pain was observed and re-tested when an expected effect of analgesics had occurred. Of these, 88% reached a reduction on the APS sum-score (p<0.001).
Our assessment of the Danish version of APS shows that this pain assessment scale should be considered as qualified and usable in severely demented and non-communicative older patients admitted to a geriatric ward.
The cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) is a Cl− channel physiologically important in fluid-transporting epithelia and pathologically relevant in several human diseases. Here, ...we show that mutations in the C terminus of the first nucleotide binding domain comprising the latest β strands (βc5 and βc6) influence the trafficking, channel activity, and pharmacology of CFTR. We mutated CFTR amino acids located in the βc5-βc6 hairpin, within the βc5 strand (H620Q), within the β-turn linking the two β strands (E621G, G622D), as well as within (S623A, S624A) and at the extremity (G628R) of the βc6 strand. Functional analysis reveals that the current density was largely reduced for G622D and G628R channels compared with wt CFTR, similar for E621G and S624A, but increased for H620Q and S623A. For G622D and G628R, the abnormal activity is likely due to a defective maturation process, as assessed by the augmented activity and mature C-band observed in the presence of the trafficking corrector miglustat. In addition, in presence of the CFTR activator benzocquinolizinium, the CFTR current density compared with that of wt CFTR was abolished for G622D and G628R channels, but similar for H620Q, S623A, and S624A or slightly increased for E621G. Finally, G622D and G628R were activated by the CFTR agonists genistein, RP-107, and isobutylmethylxanthine. Our results identify the C terminus of the CFTR first nucleotide binding domain as an important molecular site for the trafficking of CFTR protein, for the control of CFTR channel gating, and for the pharmacological effect of a dual activity agent.
PDF
