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Dengue is a mosquitoborne viral disease common in regions with tropical climates. Worldwide annual dengue incidence is estimated at [approximately equal to]100 million diagnosed and [approximately equal to]300 million asymptomatic [...]

Background: Congenital unilateral absence of vas deferens has been diagnosed in fertile and normozoospermic males and is associated with the risk of unilateral renal absence or cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator mutations; but no prediction model currently exists to diagnose this condition. Objectives: The study aims to identify clinical and biological variables that may have a predictive value for the diagnosis of congenital unilateral absence of vas deferens in male partners of infertile couples Materials and methods: We designed a retrospective, cross‐sectional, case‐control study on electronic health records of a single tertiary‐care andrological centre collected between 1998 and 2018. We included all subjects diagnosed with congenital unilateral absence of vas deferens using combined scrotal and transrectal ultrasounds. Controls were confirmed free of congenital unilateral absence of vas deferens by the same way. Both groups received standardised exploration procedures. Multivariable logistic regression model was built in a backward stepwise manner. Model performance and calibration were assessed. The study is reported according to TRIPOD statement. Results: We included 69 congenital unilateral absence of vas deferens cases and 78 controls. Cases had a lower semen volume than controls. The congenital unilateral absence of vas deferens risk was associated with history of cryptorchidism and both levels of semen fructose and α‐glucosidase. These predictors were confirmed by a random forest algorithm. The area under the curve was 0.886 (95% interval: 0.81–0.92). Calibration was performed with the Hosmer‐Lemeshow test (p = 0.88). Discussion and conclusion: History of cryptorchidism, semen fructose and α‐glucosidase were identified as relevant and independent predictors for the diagnosis of congenital unilateral absence of vas deferens. The model enables to identify male patients with a high risk of congenital unilateral absence of vas deferens to whom a transrectal ultrasounds would be proposed to confirm the diagnosis, whatever their semen parameters. It will also help to address the risks of unilateral renal absence and of cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator mutations carrying during the management of infertile couples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective  Increased expression of soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 (sFlt-1), associated with a decrease in placental growth factor (PlGF), plays a key role in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia (PE). We evaluated the prognostic value of the sFlt-1/PlGF ratio for the onset of adverse maternofetal outcomes (AMFO) in case of early-onset PE with attempted expectant management. Study Design  From October 2016 through November 2018, all singleton pregnancies complicated by early-onset PE (before 34 weeks of gestation) were included in a cohort study. The plasma levels of sFlt-1 and PlGF were blindly measured on admission. For the statistical analysis, we performed a bivariate analysis, a comparison of the receiving operating characteristic curves and a survival analysis estimated by the Kaplan–Meier method. Results  Among 109 early PE, AMFO occurred in 87 pregnancies (79.8%), mainly hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, and low platelet count syndrome and severe fetal heart rate abnormalities requiring urgent delivery. The area under the curve (AUC) of sFlt-1/PlGF ratio was 0.82 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.73–0.88) for the risk of AMFO and the difference between the AUCs was significant for each separate standard parameter (p  = 0.018 for initial diastolic blood pressure, p  = 0.013 for alanine aminotransferase, p  < 0.001 for uric acid). Pregnancies were best classified by a cutoff ratio of 293, with a sensitivity of 95% and a specificity of 50%. With a ratio value less than 293, no pregnancy was complicated or had been stopped during the first 5 days. A ratio more than 293 was associated with an increased risk of AMFO onset (hazard ratio [HR]: 3.61; 95% CI: 2.13–6.10; p  < 0.001) and had a significant association with the length of time between the diagnosis of PE and delivery (HR: 2.49; 95% CI: 1.56–3.96; p  < 0.001). Conclusion  The sFlt-1/PlGF ratio is an additional tool in the prediction of AMFO in proven early-onset PE, which is likely to improve care by anticipating severe complications. Key Points The sFlt-1/PlGF ratio is associated with AMFO. It is an additional tool for physician. We proposed a 293 cutoff value for the ratio. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pregnant women with Graves' disease (GD) are at risk of maternal and foetal hyperthyroidism caused by stimulating anti-thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) receptor antibodies with pregnancy loss, preterm birth, low birth weight of the child, pre-eclampsia and maternal heart failure.1 Central hypothyroidism (CH) is rare in pregnant women and, whatever the mechanism of thyroid-stimulating hormone deficiency, early levothyroxine substitutive therapy is essential for preventing the neurodevelopment consequences of low thyroxine concentrations.2 In this letter to the editor, we report the unusual case of a woman with recurrent episodes of Graves' hyperthyroidism who developed transient CH during pregnancy. As a result of molecular similarities with the TSH molecule, hCG binds to the TSH-receptor and is responsible for a TSH-like effect inducing thyroid hormone secretion in normal pregnancy. On the other hand, Prummel et al.9 demonstrated that the TSH receptor was also expressed in folliculo-stellate cells of the human anterior pituitary.10 Indeed, these cells secrete proinflammatory interleukins (ILs), such as IL-6, which can inhibit TSH secretion by a paracrine effect on the TSH-secreting cells. Moreover, the hCG variant secreted by the woman could also bind to the TSH receptor present in folliculo-stellate cells, hence leading to their activation and inhibition of TSH secretion, thereby participating to the CH present only during the pregnancy (Figure 1). [Extracted from the article]

COVID-19 in men: With or without virus in semen, spermatogenesis may be impaired Keywords: Covid-19; fever; SARS-CoV-2; semen; spermatogenesis EN Covid-19 fever SARS-CoV-2 semen spermatogenesis 1 3 3 01/28/21 20210201 NES 210201 Sir, We would like to congratulate you for the review recently published in Andrologia entitled "Could SARS-CoV-2 affect male fertility?" Even in cure patients, the presence of the virus in semen is not impossible, and apart from the presence of virus in semen, spermatogenesis can be impaired by COVID-19-related fever. [Extracted from the article]

This research work focuses on the transport of citric acid from aqueous solutions using a polymer inclusion membrane (PIM). The PIM contains calix[4]resorcinarene as the carrier, mixture of cellulose triacetate and cellulose acetate (CA) as the base polymers, and 2-nitrophenyl octyl ether as a plasticizer. The transport percentage of citric acid was found to be dependent on various factors such as the concentration of the carrier and the plasticizer in the membrane phase, pH of the aqueous feed phase, and stirring speed. The corresponding stirring speed, pH of feed phase, the initial concentration of citric acid in feed phase, carrier content, and plasticizer were: 600 rpm, 2, 10–2 M, 0.15 g/g of support, and 0.03 mL, respectively. The 86% of citric acid was transported from feed phase to stripping phase in 5 d. This study shows that PIM composition has a great influence on citric acid recovery. It may be concluded that PIM with calix[4]resorcinarene (RC8) as the carrier can be successfully used for the extraction of citric acid from aqueous solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, the removal of phenol from synthetic wastewater across polymer inclusion membrane (PIM) containing calix[4]resorcinarene derivative used as a carrier were investigated. Phenol removal showing high efficiency when transported through PIMs prepared from cellulose triacetate (CTA) as a polymeric support material and 2-NPOE as a plasticizer. The effects of membrane composition, type of plasticizer, carrier content, pH phase's solution, and membrane stability, were examined in the facilitated transport experiments of phenol across PIM. A PIM containing 0.1 g CTA, 0.15g/g CTA of carrier and 1.5 g/g CTA of NPOE, provided the highest percentage of phenol over 5 days of transport, the feed solution in these transport experiments was at pH 2, while the stripping solution contained 0.25M NaOH. The prepared PIM were characterized by using Fourier transform Infra Red (FTIR), XRD and Thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA) techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]