Impact of COVID-19 disease on clinical research in pediatric and congenital cardiology.

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 triggered an unprecedented crisis affecting society at every level. Research in pediatric and congenital cardiology is currently in full development and may have been disrupted. The aim of the study was to determine the impact of COVID-19 on pediatric and congenital cardiology clinical research and to analyze decision-making and adaptation processes, from a panel of ongoing academic and industry-sponsored research at the time of the pandemic. METHODS: This observational study was carried out in April 2020, from a CHD clinical research network involving five tertiary care pediatric and congenital cardiology centers. Investigators and clinical research assistants from each participating research center completed an online survey questionnaire, and each principal investigator underwent a 1-h web-based videoconference interview. RESULTS: A total of 34 study questionnaires were collected, reporting that 18 studies were totally suspended. Upon the investigator's decision, after discussion on ethical issues and with facilitating support from health authorities, 16 studies were resumed. The rate of study suspension in interventional research (53%) was similar to that in non-interventional research (56%). Logistical problems were predominantly reported in both continued and suspended trials. Research protocols were adapted, largely thanks to telemedicine, which in some cases even improved the course of the study. CONCLUSION: The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on clinical research in pediatric and congenital cardiology has been limited by a rapid adaptation of all research structures and an extensive use of telemedicine at all stages of the studies.

Dielectric and electrical properties of annealed ZnS thin films. The appearance of the OLPT conduction mechanism in chalcogenides.

The annealing temperature (T a) dependence of the structural, morphological, electrical and dielectric properties of ZnS thin films was investigated. In this work, we consider the as-deposited and annealed ZnS thin films at different temperatures. The as-deposited films were amorphous in nature. However, the films annealed at T a ≥ 673 K, exhibited a hexagonal structure with (002) preferential orientation. The post annealing caused an improvement in crystallinity. The best one was observed at T a = 723 K. Grain size increased from 7 nm to 25 nm as annealing temperature was increased from 673 K to 723 K. The surface of annealed samples is homogenous and uniform and the rms roughness is dependent on the annealing temperature: it increases with temperature within the range 5-50 nm. The film electrical conductance is found to be dependent on frequency measurement and annealing temperature: the dc conductance exhibits semi-conductor behavior for all ZnS films over the explored range of temperature and the conductance was found to enhance with increasing annealing temperature up to 623 K. In addition, it was observed that the highest conductance and lowest activation energy of ZnS films were obtained at an annealing temperature of 623 K. The mechanism of alternating current ac conductance can be reasonably explained in terms of the overlapping-large polaron tunnelling (OLPT) model for samples annealed at 623 K and 673 K. To our knowledge, this conduction mechanism was rarely found in chalcogenide materials. A significant change of Nyquist plot with annealing temperature was noted permitting the correlation between the microstructure and its electrical properties. The impedance analysis investigated that the relaxation process is well pronounced for the both annealed films at 623 K and 673 K. The dielectric behavior was associated to the polarization effect, an improvement on the dielectric constant ε' and dielectric loss ε'' with annealing was noticed.

Imidazolium-based titanium substrates against bacterial colonization.

Nosocomial infections are often induced by the presence of pathogenic organisms on the surface of medical devices or hospital equipment. Chemical modifications of the surface are recognized as efficient strategies to prevent bacterial adhesion but they may have a negative impact on the material's interaction with living tissues. Here we have developed a photoactivated method for the modification of titanium substrates. A photoinduced technique employing a grafting-onto process has been successfully performed to covalently anchor an imidazolium-derivative siloxane onto titanium surfaces. Imidazolium surfaces showed higher bacteria-repellency performances than native titanium substrates, achieving more than 98% anti-adhesion efficiency against Escherichia coli after 24 h of incubation. In addition, these surfaces allowed for the adhesion and viability of osteoblasts cells without evidence of cytotoxicity.

Modern management of epilepsy.

The expected quality of care for epilepsy has increased sharply in the last two decades, informed and directed by published guidance. Meeting these demands has become possible only by providing adequate numbers of consultants and nurses with the relevant expertise, alongside improvements in investigative facilities. The increasing choice of AEDs has been helpful in improving treatment options. Both primary and secondary care have an important role to play in easing diagnosis of new cases and highlighting cases where improvement in control are needed.

[Sigmoid volvulus, a rare complication of pregnancy]. / Volvulus du sigmoïde, une complication rare de la grossesse.

Sigmoid volvulus complicating pregnancy is a rare complication with less than 80 cases reported in literature. We report the case of a young pregnant woman, admitted for sigmoid volvulus. The sigmoid volvulus was resected and Bouilly-Volkmann's colostomy was performed. According to this case and depending on the literature, the authors discuss the diagnostic and therapeutic modalities proposed for this rare entity.

[Subcapsular hematoma of the liver. Six cases and review of the literature]. / Hématome sous-capsulaire du foie. A propos de 6 cas et revue de la littérature.

Defined as a blood collection under the Glisson capsule, the subcapsular haematoma of liver is a rare complication of pre-eclampsia. We observed 6 cases of subcapsular haematoma of the liver in the Gynaecology-Obstetrics ward of the Ibnou Rochd University Hospital in Casablanca, Morocco. Age range was 18 to 39 years. Five of the patients were multiparous. All except one had at least one sign of pre-eclampsia. The diagnosis was made post-partum in 5 cases and was only confirmed intra-operatively in 6 cases. The treatment was tamponing-drainage of the peritoneal cavity in 3 cases, ligature of the hepatic artery in 2, and in one case with rupture of the liver, no therapy could be performed. There were 3 maternal deaths and 2 foetal deaths. These results were compared with those in the literature to determine the epidemiologic, diagnostic, therapeutic and prognostic characteristics of the subcapsular haematoma of the liver. The prognosis is poor and requires early diagnosis and treatment. Effective prevention of this severe complication should be based on correct screening and care for pregnant patients with hypertension.