Evolution of nucleic acids biosensors detection limit III.

This review is an update of two previous ones focusing on the limit of detection of electrochemical nucleic acid biosensors allowing direct detection of nucleic acid target (miRNA, mRNA, DNA) after hybridization event. A classification founded on the nature of the electrochemical transduction pathway is established. It provides an overall picture of the detection limit evolution of the various sensor architectures developed during the last three decades and a critical report of recent strategies.

Analysis of the evolution of the detection limits of electrochemical nucleic acid biosensors II.

This critical review of electrochemical biosensors allowing direct detection of nucleic acid targets reports on different transduction pathways and their latest breakthroughs. A classification of the various strategies based on the nature of the electrochemical transduction is established to emphasize the efficiency of each of them. It provides an overall picture of the detection limit of the various approaches developed during the last two decades. Graphical Abstract Detection limits evolutions of electrochemical DNA biosensors.

Epidemiological and Bacteriological Investigations Using Whole-Genome Sequencing in a Recurrent Outbreak of Pullorum Disease on a Quail Farm in France.

An outbreak of pullorum disease causing septicemia and high mortality was diagnosed in 2019 on a quail farm in western France. An initial episode had been detected in another building at the same site eight months earlier. Given the exceptional nature and the extent of the potential economic consequences of pullorum disease, epidemiological and bacteriological investigations using molecular sequencing tools were carried out. Salmonella Gallinarum and Salmonella Infantis were isolated (using the NF U 47-101 reference method) from samples taken from birds at the infected site. A resurgence of the initial episode by horizontal transmission of S. Gallinarum is the most likely hypothesis, supported by whole-genome sequencing (WGS) of the strains isolated during the two episodes. Risk health practices have been identified, including the rearing of animals of different ages and species on the same site. Recurrence is explained by the probable persistence of reservoirs of the pathogen on the site (manure, lesser mealworm beetles). The article also highlights the importance of decontamination measures, including pest control, as a key element in the success of the disease control protocol.

Family history of alcohol use disorder is associated with brain structural and functional changes in healthy first-degree relatives.

BACKGROUND: Neuroimaging studies of vulnerability to Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) have identified structural and functional variations which might reflect inheritable features in alcohol-naïve relatives of AUD individuals (FH+) compared to controls having no such family history (FH-). However, prior research did not simultaneously account for childhood maltreatment, any clinically significant disorder and maternal AUD. Therefore, we mainly aimed to investigate the brain structure and reward-related neural activations (fMRI), using whole-brain analysis in FH+ young adults with no prevalent confounders. METHODS: 46 FH+ and 45 FH- male and female participants had no severe childhood maltreatment exposure, neither any psychiatric disorder or AUD, nor a prenatal exposure to maternal AUD. We used a 3 T MRI coupled with a whole brain voxel-based method to compare between groups the grey matter volumes and activations in response to big versus small wins during a Monetary Incentive Delay task. The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire score was used as confounding variable in the analyses to account for the remaining variance between groups. RESULTS: Compared to FH- controls, FH+ participants had smaller grey matter volumes in the frontal and cingulate regions as well as in the bilateral nucleus accumbens and right insula. The FH+ participants' fMRI datasets denoted a blunted activation in the middle cingulum with respect to FH- controls' during the processing of reward magnitude, and a greater activation in the anterior cingulum in response to anticipation of a small win. CONCLUSIONS: Family history of alcohol use disorder is linked to structural and functional variations including brain regions involved in reward processes.

[How to deal with request of work-related acknowledgement of mental illness?]. / Que faire face à une demande de reconnaissance de l'origine professionnelle d'une affection psychique ?

How to deal with request of work-related acknowledgement of mental illness? The physician, face to face with patients attributing their mental illness to work, wonders about the etiology in order to propose appropriate care. It may concern a preexistent psychiatric disease, revealed, unbalanced or worsened by work, criminal working conditions (mobbing, discrimination, violence…) that may lead to a major depressive episode (MDE) or a posttraumatic stress disorder. Besides, some working circumstances and their evolution may constitute the pathogenic sequences or facts, source of MDE. Acknowledgement of occupational origin may contribute to therapeutic decision. The criteria are not clearly established. When reporting, the physician should not refer to work, but should remain descriptive, referring to international classification.

Que faire face à une demande de reconnaissance de l'origine professionnelle d'une affection psychique ? Le médecin confronté aux affections psychiques que les malades rapportent à leur travail s'interroge sur l'étiologie des troubles pour pouvoir proposer une prise en charge adaptée. Il peut s'agir d'une maladie psychique préexistante révélée, déstabilisée ou aggravée par le travail, de conditions de travail délictuelles (harcèlements, discrimination, violence…) qui peuvent conduire à un épisode dépressif majeur ou un état de stress post-traumatique. Par ailleurs, certaines situations professionnelles et leurs évolutions peuvent constituer des faits ou séquences pathogènes à l'origine d'un épisode dépressif majeur. La reconnaissance de cette origine professionnelle contribue à la prise en charge thérapeutique. Les critères d'imputabilité ne sont pas clairement établis. Dans ses certificats comme dans ses écrits, le médecin ne doit pas faire le lien avec le travail mais rester descriptif, en référence aux classifications internationales.

Successful extraction of human genomic DNA from serum and its application to forensic identification.

We report here on the successful extraction of human genomic DNA from a serum sample in a forensic case. The extracted DNA was successfully used for the identification of remains presumably immersed for more than three weeks for which the only comparison sample was a 250-microL serum aliquot kept frozen in a laboratory. The analysis made it possible to identify a second victim as the daughter of the first.

Ground-glass computed tomography pattern in chronic beryllium disease: pathologic substratum and evolution.

Five cases of chronic beryllium disease with predominant or isolated diffuse ground-glass lung opacities on computed tomography are reported with correlation to lung pathology. The ground-glass attenuation was either homogeneous and isolated (n = 1) or patchy and clearly predominant (n = 4) over linear and nodular opacities. In 4 cases, histologic samples showed a prominent diffuse involvement of the alveolar-capillary walls by florid granulomas. Evolution under corticosteroid was remarkable by the appearance of small-sized cysts in 3 cases.