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Serum antibodies to the stratum corneum of rat oesophagus epithelium, so-called 'antikeratin antibodies', have been largely demonstrated in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). IgM and IgG antibodies to this epithelium were studied by semiquantitative immunofluorescence in 528 patients with perfectly characterised rheumatic diseases, including 178 with classical or definite RA. Histological analysis of IgG antibodies showed that only antibodies which produce a linear laminated pattern restricted to the stratum corneum (IgG antikeratin antibodies) are highly specific for RA; all the other labelling patterns are not disease specific. By a semiquantitative evaluation of the stratum corneum fluorescence intensity it was shown that the diagnostic value of IgG antikeratin antibodies closely depends on their titre and it was established in objective conditions that the sensitivity is 43.26% when the specificity reaches 99.14%. A high titre of IgG antikeratin antibodies was actually pathognomonic for RA. Both the histological and semi-quantitative analyses showed that IgM antibodies to rat oesophagus epithelium, though frequently detected, are of no diagnostic value, either for RA or for any other rheumatic disease that was studied. From a review of all the international reports on IgG antikeratin antibodies it was found that, to date, 4080 patients, including 1694 with RA, have been assayed for antikeratin antibodies by 11 different research groups. Analysis of all the results obtained under comparable technical conditions showed that IgG antikeratin antibodies constitute the most specific serological criterion for the diagnosis of RA. Furthermore, it was found that their incidence does not depend on disease duration: they are present in one third of rheumatoid factor negative patients with RA, and they seem to be related to disease severity or activity, or both. Their detection in the diagnosis of rheumatic diseases should become systematic. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Described here is the current status of the upgraded in situ size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) system implemented with the D22 small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) instrument at the Institut Laue-Langevin. Since its initial proof of principle in 2016, this SEC-SANS arrangement has been continuously requested by the user community, leading to the design of an upgraded version. A detailed description of the setup and its control is provided, and a few examples of protein structural investigations are presented, which will highlight the various possibilities and limitations of the setup to optimize experimental success., (© Anne Martel et al. 2023.)

To increase the knowledge about S. capitis in the neonatal setting, we conducted a nationwide 3-month survey in 38 neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) covering 56.6% of French NICU beds. We demonstrated 14.2% of S. capitis BSI (S.capBSI) among nosocomial BSIs. S.capBSI incidence rate was 0.59 per 1000 patient-days. A total of 55.0% of the S.capBSIs were late onset catheter-related BSIs. The S. capitis strains infected preterm babies (median gestational age 26 weeks, median birth weight 855 g). They were resistant to methicillin and aminoglycosides and belonged to the NRCS-A clone. Evolution was favorable in all but one case, following vancomycin treatment.

Infectious agents including viruses are thought to play a role in the pathogenesis of necrotizing enterocolitis, a well-known gastrointestinal emergency in newborns. Enteroviruses are common pathogens in neonates and have been associated with outbreaks in neonatal units. Enterovirus-associated necrotizing enterocolitis has been described in 3 preterms. Spatiotemporal and molecular analyses have provided evidence of nosocomial transmission.

Background: Following genome sequencing of crop plants, one of the main challenges today is determining the function of all the predicted genes. When gene validation approaches are used for woody species, the main obstacle is the low recovery rate of transgenic plants from elite or commercial cultivars. Embryogenic calli have frequently been the target tissue for transformation, but the difficulty in producing or maintaining embryogenic tissues is one of the main problems encountered in genetic transformation of many woody plants, including Coffea arabica., Results: We identified the conditions required for successful long-term proliferation of embryogenic cultures in C. arabica and designed a highly efficient and reliable Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation method based on these conditions. The transformation protocol with LBA1119 harboring pBin 35S GFP was established by evaluating the effect of different parameters on transformation efficiency by GFP detection. Using embryogenic callus cultures, co-cultivation with LBA1119 OD600 = 0.6 for five days at 20 °C enabled reproducible transformation. The maintenance conditions for the embryogenic callus cultures, particularly a high auxin to cytokinin ratio, the age of the culture (optimum for 7-10 months of proliferation) and the use of a yellow callus phenotype, were the most important factors for achieving highly efficient transformation (> 90%). At the histological level, successful transformation was related to the number of proembryogenic masses present. All the selected plants were proved to be transformed by PCR and Southern blot hybridization., Conclusion: Most progress in increasing transformation efficiency in coffee has been achieved by optimizing the production conditions of embryogenic cultures used as target tissues for transformation. This is the first time that a strong positive effect of the age of the culture on transformation efficiency was demonstrated. Our results make Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of embryogenic cultures a viable and useful tool both for coffee breeding and for the functional analysis of agronomically important genes.

The surgical treatment of posthemorrhagic hydrocephalus (PHH) in low-birth-weight infants (LBWI) is debated. In a few cases, hydrocephalus progresses rapidly and requires early drainage, but valves and ventriculostomy have a high rate of complications in the early phase. Temporary valveless shunt (VLS) is proposed as an alternative treatment of acute PHH in LBWI. Thirteen infants with PHH, weighing less than 2,000 g at birth, were treated with VLS, which was systematically converted into a valve-regulated shunt (VRS) after a few weeks; during the same period, 27 others were treated with VRS initially. The use of VLS presented significantly more shunt obstructions, but not more shunt infections, than VRS. Although placement of VLS was performed earlier, and in smaller babies than VRS, the outcome after a mean 9.1-year follow-up period was comparable in both groups, and only shunt infection was correlated with a poor outcome. We conclude that VLS is a valuable treatment of rapidly evolving PHH in LBWI., (Copyright 2001 S. Karger AG, Basel)

ABSTRACT A previously undescribed leaf spot disease of banana has been discovered in southern and Southeast Asia. The fungus identified as the causal agent of this leaf spot has a Mycosphaerella teleomorph stage and a Septoria anamorph stage. Isolation and reinoculation of the fungus to banana reproduced symptoms and confirmed its pathogenicity. Phylogenic analysis based on sequences of the internal transcribed spacer and 5.8S ribosomal DNA regions from the different leaf spot pathogens of bananas was consistent with the definition of a new species. M. eumusae (anamorph S. eumusae) is the name proposed for the causal agent and Septoria leaf spot as the name for the disease. The presence of the pathogen has been confirmed in leaf specimens from southern India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Mauritius, and Nigeria.

The usefulness and accuracy rate of endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) in the diagnosis of chronic pancreatitis (CP) were prospectively evaluated in 81 patients with suspected pancreatic disease. All underwent EUS, abdominal ultrasonography (AUS), and computed tomography (CT), and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) was performed in 55 of the cases. The diagnosis of CP was established in 44 patients (CP group) including 24 with a calcified form. No pancreatic disease was observed in 18 patients (control group), and 19 patients had a pancreatic tumor. In the CP group AUS was less accurate than EUS in visualizing the pancreas, performances of CT scan being identical to EUS in this respect. A good correlation was observed between EUS and ERCP for visualization and measurement of the Wirsung duct. The most significant changes observed by EUS in the CP group were dilatation of the main pancreatic duct, heterogeneous echogenicity of the pancreatic parenchyma, and cysts < 20 mm in size even in noncalcified CP or with normal pancreatograms. Sensitivity of EUS for diagnosis of CP was 88% (AUS, 58%; ERCP, 74%; CT scan, 75%), the specificity being 100% for ERCP and EUS, 95% for CT scan, and 75% for AUS. The good performances of EUS allow early diagnosis of CP in symptomatic patients since heterogeneous echogenicity of the pancreatic parenchyma seems to be almost specifically associated with the disease.

Chronic arterial occlusion of the iliac and femoro-popliteal vessels has been considered, until recently, to be a contraindication to percutaneous transluminal angioplasty. However, recent advances in radiological and catheterisation equipment and the introduction of new methods of recanalisation (laser, mechanical devices) have increased the therapeutic possibilities. The immediate and long-term results of iliac recanalisation are usually excellent with conventional angioplasty methods. The success rate of recanalisation of the femoro-popliteal segments is about 80% irrespective of the method used, the failure rate increasing with the length of the occlusion. However, the long-term patency rate is poor, about 50%. These methods of percutaneous recanalisation are technically difficult and require special training and sophisticated equipment. The indications should be carefully evaluated in a pluridisciplinary manner taking into account the potential clinical benefits, the technical difficulties, the risks and other therapeutic possibilities.

Four patients with unresectable hepatic adenoma underwent selective hepatic artery embolization. Non-operability was related to the size and the situation of the tumor, and the clinical background. The only subsequent postembolization syndrome was one case of acute renal failure, reversible after diuretic treatment. In 3 cases the decrease in tumoral size was delayed and appeared six months after the first embolization, allowing surgical resection in 2 cases. Because of lack of tumoral devascularization and presence of residual nodules on the resected specimen, this technique is not a satisfactory alternative to surgery, at least with the employed technique. However, preoperative selective hepatic artery embolization can play an important role in the management of hepatic adenomas as it may permit safer surgical resection.

A retrospective study of 20,591 live born babies and still birth was made in order to estimate the incidence of congenital malformations total and by type diagnosed at birth. The total incidence is 1,74 p. 100. The sex ratio, the mean birth rank and parental ages were computed for the different types of malformation and in the control group. The birth weight was low in case of severe malformation. It was found that malformations were associated with significantly raised abortions and still birth rates among previous pregnancies.

Families of 241 patients among 913 cases of idiopathic scoliosis were surveyed. The data suggest two possible modes of inheritance: either an autosomal dominant inheritance with incomplete penetrance and more frequent manifestation in girls than boys, or a genetic heterogeneity with a mixture of dominant and multifactorial modes of inheritance.

Iodized oil (lipiodol) injected into the hepatic artery is selectively retained by hepatocarcinomas, as demonstrated by computerized tomography (CT) performed one week after the injection. The value of this technique for the diagnosis of hepatocarcinoma was assessed in a retrospective study of 45 patients. In 39 per cent of the cases intrahepatic tumoral extension was determined by the iodized oil which showed tumoral nodules that had not been detected by conventional methods, such as ultrasonography and CT alone. The lesions revealed by the iodized oil were small nodules around the main tumour. The combined iodized oil-CT technique plays an important role in the choice of treatment, especially when surgical excision is contemplated. It might also contribute to an early diagnosis of hepatocarcinoma in patients at risk, as illustrated by four of our cases where conventional morphological examinations had been negative.

Eight immunological parameters were explored in 257 patients with various rheumatic diseases including 107 rheumatoid arthritis (RA). IgG and IgM antibodies (AB) reactive with the Stratum Corneum (SC) of rat oesophagus or with the SC of human skin were assayed by 1/2 quantitative indirect immunofluorescence, IgG and IgM auto AB to epidermal keratins by a specific ELISA, and total serum G and M immunoglobulins by radial immunodiffusion. At the threshold we chose (99 p. cent specificity), IgG anti SC of rat oesophagus, were found in 50 of 107 (46.7 p. cent) RA patients: 52.5 p. cent in sero + and 39.6 p. cent in sero - ones. The other parameters, separately considered, had no diagnosis value. In Paget disease serum IgM and IgG and all the AB of M isotype were found to be broken down. In all the groups, the isotype AB were found strongly correlated to each other and to serum IgM. The RA sera with specific AB to the rat oesophagus SC, also labeled human skin SC but these labeling were unrelated to the anti-keratins auto AB level. On the contrary, the anti SC AB of G isotype, detectable on human skin in psoriatic rheumatism did not label rat oesophagus. These results confirm the diagnosis value of IgG AB to SC of rat oesophagus, usually called anti-keratins, who appear as a marker for RA. This work shows the relevance of associating specific immunochemical techniques to immunofluorescence, in order to unravel the antigenic complexity of tissular substrata.