Optimizing the sleep position of infants and embroidered "I sleep on my back" sleeping bags in maternity hospitals.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact in maternity hospitals of using an embroidered "I sleep on my back" sleeping bag on observing the sleeping recommendations at 1 month after birth. METHOD: This was a multicentere prospective study, exposed/unexposed type, in which mothers answered questionnaires (by telephone and online) 1 month after giving birth. The exposed group consisted of mothers who had given birth in a maternity hospital of the ELENA network in which the embroidered sleeping bag was used as a preventive action; the unexposed group of mothers gave birth in a maternity hospital of the RP2S network, without this specific preventive action. RESULTS: A total of 540 mothers participated in the study: 245 in the exposed group and 295 in the unexposed group. In the exposed group, 87.3% of infants slept exclusively on their back versus 75.9% in the unexposed group (P<0.001); 91% of the mothers reported having actually used the sleeping bag. Except for room-sharing, compliance with the other sleeping recommendations was higher in the exposed group. CONCLUSION: Sleeping practices when infants were 1 month old were not optimal in our study population. A simple preventive initiative in maternity hospitals, using the embroidered "I sleep on my back" sleeping bags, is relevant and effective in improving compliance with the sleeping recommendations for infants at home.

Expanded characterization of the social interaction abnormalities in mice lacking Dvl1.

Dvl1 is one of three murine Dishevelled genes widely expressed in embryonic development and in the adult central nervous system. Dishevelled proteins are a necessary component of the Wnt and planar cell polarity developmental signaling pathways. We reported previously that mice deficient in Dvl1 exhibited abnormal social interaction and sensorimotor gating. To assess the validity of our earlier findings, we replicated the previous behavioral tests and included several new assays. The behaviors assessed included: social interaction, sensorimotor reflexes, motor activity, nociception, prepulse inhibition of acoustic startle (PPI) and learning and memory. Assessments with an explicit social component included: social dominance test, whisker trimming, nest building, home-cage huddling and ultrasonic vocalization rate analysis in pups. In addition, separate cohorts of wildtype and Dvl1-null mice were assessed for social recognition of a conspecific. Replicating the original report, Dvl1-null mice were impaired in several tasks containing an explicit social component. However, no impairment was observed in the social memory task. A previously observed deficit in PPI did not replicate in two institutions. In conclusion, we provide evidence that the social interaction phenotype of Dvl1-deficient mice has a strong genetic influence, but the sensorimotor gating deficit was subject to environmental influences. The specificity of observed social interaction deficits also suggests that lack of Dvl1 is associated with deficits in the recognition of social hierarchy and dominance.

Determination of NADH in the rat brain during sleep-wake states with an optic fibre sensor and time-resolved fluorescence procedures.

The present paper reports a nanosecond time-resolved fluorescence derived from the cortex and the area of the periaqueductal gray including the nucleus raphe dorsalis (PAG-nRD) in unanaesthetized freely moving rats. The measurements were acquired through a single optic fibre transmitting a subnanosecond nitrogen laser pulse (337 nm, 15 Hz) and collecting the brain fluorescence occurring at 460 nm which might depend on mitochondrial NADH (reduced form of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide). The fluorometric method was combined with polygraphic recordings, and this procedure allowed us to define, for the first time, variations of the 460 nm signal occurring throughout the sleep-wake cycle. In the PAG-nRD, the signal exhibited moderate heterogeneous variation in amplitude during slow-wave as compared to the waking state. Constant increases were observed during paradoxical sleep as compared to the waking state. For this state of sleep the magnitude of the variations depended on the optic fibre location. In the cortex and during either slow-wave sleep or paradoxical sleep, the signal presented moderate increases which were significant during paradoxical sleep. The magnitude of the redox variations observed either in the PAG-nRD or in the cortex might be ascribed to the oxidative energy balance which is related to sleep states.

Increased effectiveness of tacrine by deprenyl co-treatment in rats: EEG and behavioral evidence.

The acetylcholinesterase inhibitor tacrine and the monoamine oxidase inhibitor deprenyl are considered useful pharmacotherapies for Alzheimer's disease (AD). We assessed whether co-administration of these two compounds increases their effectiveness against two measures of cholinergic-monoaminergic hypofunction in rats, cortical EEG slowing and impaired spatial performance. EEG slowing induced by cholinergic-monoaminergic blockade was reversed by both deprenyl (10 - 50 mg/kg) and tacrine (1 - 20 mg/kg), but co-treatment with a subthreshold dose of deprenyl plus tacrine was markedly more effective. Neither tacrine (5 mg/kg) nor deprenyl (10 mg/kg) alone reduced water maze deficits due to cholinergic-monoaminergic hypofunction, but co-treatment (using these doses) improved performance. Cholinergic-monoaminergic co-treatment may constitute a useful pharmacotherapy to correct physiological and behavioral dysfunction due to neurotransmitter deficiencies in AD.

Monocytic origin of fibroblasts: spontaneous transformation of blood monocytes into neo-fibroblastic structures in osteomyelosclerosis and Engelmann's disease.

We describe here two pathological situations, osteomyelosclerosis and Engelmann's disease, in which HLA-DR blood monocytes modulate to the fibroblastic class, in long-term culture. Monocytes/macrophages were identified by immunofluorescence, using monoclonal antibodies against surface markers (Leu M3, CD 68, and HLA-DR) and the neo-fibroblasts by electron microscopy and immunofluorescence using monoclonal antibodies against a cytoplasmic enzyme specifically involved in the synthesis of collagen (5B5). Macrophages makers were found on the neo-fibroblasts, whereas HLA-DR macrophages expressed the cytoplasmic marker 5B5. Since osteoblasts are classically derived from fibroblasts, the significance of the in vitro differentiation of monocytes/macrophages into fibroblasts to the in vivo mechanism leading to excessive osteoblastic proliferation in both osteomyelosclerosis and Engelmann's disease, is discussed. The possible involvement of this pathway leading from monocytes to fibroblasts and osteoblasts in the normal process of bone modeling and remodeling in questioned.

[Leptospirosis in Mayotte]. / La leptospirose à Mayotte.

We have got 42 leptospirosis cases from 1984 to 1989, in a retrospective study. The annual incidence is now, in a very high level (3.8/10,000 pers.). This rapid increasing is function of new diagnostics facilities. The leptospirosis epidemiology is not different from anywhere else in tropical countries, but the complicated cases are an important problem in public health in the island. The actual development of collective hygienic equipment is indispensable for any progress.

[Cerebral cysticercosis. Diagnostic value of x-ray computed tomography. Apropos of 117 cases]. / Cysticercose cérébrale. Intérêt diagnostique de la scanographie. A propos de 117 observations.

117 cases of cerebral cysticercosis in La Réunion are reported. Different CT features are related and situated with the evolutive state of the parasite. CT scan provided accurate diagnostic information except in some intraventricular or subarachnoid location where NMR study seems already to be superior.

[Prevalence of toxoplasmosis in a Sahelian zone]. / Approche de la prévalence toxoplasmique dans une zone sahélienne.

Screening for anti-toxoplasma antibodies by a hemagglutination test associated with direct agglutination tests, IF and ELISA, was carried out on 229 women (pregnant or not) attending the outpatient maternity clinic at Akokan (Niger). The global percent of premunition is 3.9 p.c. No evolutive toxoplasmosis was detected.

[A focus of kala-azar in Aïr (Niger): first confirmed autochthonous Nigerian case]. / Un foyer de kala-azar dans l'Aïr (Niger): premier cas nigerien autochtone confirmé.

From 9 cases personally observed by the authors, of which the first Nigerian case confirmed by the presence of Leishmaniae on a smear of medulla, a focus of Kala-Azar has been revealed.

Riboregulators in plant development.

npcRNA (non-protein-coding RNAs) are an emerging class of regulators, so-called riboregulators, and include a large diversity of small RNAs [miRNAs (microRNAs)/siRNAs (small interfering RNAs)] that are involved in various developmental processes in plants and animals. In addition, several other npcRNAs encompassing various transcript sizes (up to several kilobases) have been identified using different genomic approaches. Much less is known about the mechanism of action of these other classes of riboregulators also present in the cell. The organogenesis of nitrogen-fixing nodules in legume plants is initiated in specific root cortical cells that express the npcRNA MtENOD40 (Medicago truncatula early nodulin 40). We have identified a novel RBP (RNA-binding protein), MtRBP1 (M. truncatula RBP 1), which interacts with the MtENOD40 RNA, and is exported into the cytoplasm during legume nodule development in the region expressing MtENOD40. A direct involvement of the MtENOD40 RNA in the relocalization of this RBP into cytoplasmic granules could be demonstrated, revealing a new RNA function in the cell. To extend these results, we searched for npcRNAs in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana whose genome is completely known. We have identified 86 novel npcRNAs from which 27 corresponded to antisense RNAs of known coding regions. Using a dedicated 'macroarray' containing these npcRNAs and a collection of RBPs, we characterized their regulation in different tissues and plants subjected to environmental stresses. Most of the npcRNAs showed high variations in gene expression in contrast with the RBP genes. Recent large-scale analysis of the sRNA component of the transcriptome revealed an enormous diversity of siRNAs/miRNAs in the Arabidopsis genome. Bioinformatic analysis revealed that 34 large npcRNAs are precursors of siRNAs/miRNAs. npcRNAs, which are a sensitive component of the transcriptome, may reveal novel riboregulatory mechanisms involved in post-transcriptional control of differentiation or environmental responses.

[Influence of spermatogenesis on testicular fluid secretion in adult rats]. / Influence de la spermatogenèse sur la sécrétion du fluide testiculaire chez le rat adulte

Unilateral efferent duct ligature mainatined for 24 h in adult Wistar rats, shows that the secretion of testicular fluid elevates progressively with the age of animals (from 10 mg/g/h at a 100 days to 13 mg/g/h at a 150 days). This technique when applied to rats in which spermatogenesis is temporarily inhibited by busulphan shows, by contrast with control animals, a change in the secretion of testicular fluid which is the converse of the variation of spermatogenesis.

Pumping dye lasers by optical fibers: a simple and efficient device.

The performance of a pulsed dye laser pumped through optical fibers by the second harmonic of a Nd:YAG laser is systematically studied by using a simple design. A single fiber (1-mm core) readily gives dye pulse energies in the millijoule per pulse range, with an efficiency of as much as 50% using improvable optics. Pulse time lengthening and delayed two-pulse operation are studied by using a dual-fiber device.

Pulsed-laser-generated rare-gas plasma as a light source in the vacuum ultraviolet.

The plasma generated by focusing a 20-Hz, 330-mJ, Nd:YAG laser pulse in a rare gas at pressures from 1 to 6 bars is proposed as a source of a VUV continuum giving as many as 10(9) photons nm(-1) sec(-1) near 170 nm. Its stability makes it suited to VUV spectrophotometry. The pulse duration, ranging from 20 nsec for Ne to 40 nsec for Kr, should also permit its use in time-resolved spectroscopy.

[Management of drug withdrawal. Apropos of the treatment of 150 chronic alcoholics]. / Conduite du sevrage. A propos du traitement de 150 alcooliques chroniques.

The authors research work brings out the privileged place occupied by tiapride in the course of weaning 150 chronic alcoholics. This product enabled them, whatever the initial symptoms presented by the patient might be (DT, pre-DT or chronic alcoholism), to carry out a quick weaning while preserving the patient's lucidity, his freedom to move about and his ability to satisfy his physiological needs. A number of drawbacks are avoised thanks to the procedure the authors have developed, such as: the prescription of the usual psychotropic medicines and, consequently, the side effects associated with them; the complications caused by a prolonged confinement to bed; the over-demanding involvement of the nursing staff; finally, the atmosphere of struggle which accompanies the admission of a delirium tremens. Therefore the use of tiapride seems to be a turning point in the treatment of the chronic alcoholic.