Virtual approach of the aesthetical fit between hair colours and skin tones in women of different ethnical origin backgrounds.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the aesthetical accordance between a given skin tone and the 11 possible colours of head hairs, covered by a marketed hair colouration product. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The photographs of professional top models, representing several ancestries (non-Hispanic European and Euro-American, East Asian, Hispanic Euro-American, and African-American ancestries), were used to virtually modify skin tones (from light, medium to dark) and hair colour by an artificial intelligence (AI)-based algorithm. Hence, 117 modified photographs were then assessed by five local panels of about 60 women each (one in China, one in France and three in US). The same questionnaire was given to the panels, written in their own language, asking which and how both skin tones and hair colours fit preferentially (or not appreciated), asking in addition the reasons of their choices, using fixed wordings. RESULTS: Answers from the five panels differed according to origin or cultural aspects, although some agreements were found among both non-Hispanic European and Euro-American groups. The Hispanic American panel in US globally much appreciated darker hair tones (HTs). Two panels (East Asian in China and African American in US) and part of non-Hispanic European panel in France declared appreciating all HTs, almost irrespective with the skin tone (light, medium and dark). This surprising result is very likely caused by gradings (in %) that differ by too low values, making the establishment of a decisive or significant assessment. By nature highly subjective (culturally and/or fashion driven), the assessments should be more viewed as trends, an unavoidable limit of the present virtual approach. The latter offers nevertheless a full respect of ethical rules as such objective could hardly be conducted in vivo: applying 10 or 11 hair colourations on the same individual is an unthinkable option. CONCLUSION: The virtual approach developed in the present study that mixes two major facial coloured phenotypes seems at the crossroad of both genetic backgrounds and the secular desire of a modified appearance. Nonetheless, this methodology could afford, at the individual level in total confidentiality, a great help to subjects exposed to some facial skin disorders or afflictions.

Assessment of intra-sample variability in HIV-1 DNA drug resistance genotyping.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: HIV-1 drug resistance testing can be performed in proviral DNA. The non-homogenous distribution of viral variants in cells can impact the performance of this method. We assessed the variability of HIV-1 DNA genotyping results in the same blood sample using a next-generation sequencing (NGS) method. METHODS: For each included patient, a blood sample from a single venipuncture was split into five 1 mL aliquots, which were independently tested in the same run. HIV-1 DNA was quantified in blood samples using real-time PCR, and NGS was performed with the Sentosa platform combined with the Sentosa SQ HIV genotyping Assay. RESULTS: A total of 60 aliquots from 12 samples (12 patients) were tested. The median age was 45.50 years old, and all patients were treated with antiretrovirals. A significant variability can sometimes be observed in HIV-1 DNA quantification between aliquots from the same sample, with a coefficient of variation ranging from 23% to 89%. The analysis of resistance-associated mutations (RAMs) with a 20% cut-off found some discordances in RAMs profile between aliquots from the same sample for 5, 3 and 3 patients in the reverse transcriptase, protease and integrase genes, respectively. The analysis with a lower cut-off (10%) showed additional mutations, but did not improve the intra-sample concordance. CONCLUSIONS: There is an intra-sample variability in HIV-1 DNA resistance test results, and repetition may sometimes bring additional information, but the extent of its clinical impact still requires further investigation.

Adverse drug reactions of botulinum neurotoxin type A in children with cerebral palsy: a pharmaco-epidemiological study in VigiBase.

AIM: The aim of this study was to assess the risk of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) with botulinum neurotoxin type A (BoNT-A) in children with cerebral palsy (CP) using the World Health Organization global individual case safety report (ICSR) database, VigiBase. METHOD: We extracted all children ICSRs for ADRs with BoNT-A used as anti-spastic drug in CP recorded between 1995 and 2015 in VigiBase. We also performed a case/non-case method (disproportionality analysis) to assess the link between exposure to BoNT-A and each ADR of interest in children and adults, calculating reporting odds ratios (RORs). RESULTS: In VigiBase, 162 ICSRs were registered. They involved mainly males (n=95, 59%) and mean (SD) age was 7 years 11 months (4y 4mo). The most frequent ADR was dysphagia (27 ICSRs, 17%) followed by asthenia and muscular weakness (25 ICSRs each, 16%). Nineteen ICSRs (12%) were lethal. There was a significant association between BoNT-A and death in children (ROR=11.1 95%, confidence interval [CI] 7.0-17.7) but not in adults. INTERPRETATION: In children with CP, most ADRs seem to be linked to a systemic spread of BoNT-A. Our study suggests a higher risk of ADRs with BoNT-A in children than in adults.

Object localization, discrimination, and grasping with the optic nerve visual prosthesis.

PURPOSE: This study involved a volunteer completely blind from retinis pigmentosa who had previously been implanted with an optic nerve visual prosthesis. The aim of this two-year study was to train the volunteer to localize a given object in nine different positions, to discriminate the object within a choice of six, and then to grasp it. METHODS: In a closed-loop protocol including a head worn video camera, the nerve was stimulated whenever a part of the processed image of the object being scrutinized matched the center of an elicitable phosphene. The accessible visual field included 109 phosphenes in a 14 degrees x 41 degrees area. RESULTS: Results showed that training was required to succeed in the localization and discrimination tasks, but practically no training was required for grasping the object. The volunteer was able to successfully complete all tasks after training. The volunteer systematically performed several left-right and bottom-up scanning movements during the discrimination task. Discrimination strategies included stimulation phases and no-stimulation phases of roughly similar duration. CONCLUSION: This study provides a step towards the practical use of the optic nerve visual prosthesis in current daily life.

Virus and cystic fibrosis: rhinoviruses are associated with exacerbations in adult patients.

BACKGROUND: Few studies have suggested the potential role of respiratory viruses in cystic fibrosis (CF) exacerbation, but their real impact is probably underestimated. METHOD: Sixty-four sputum samples collected from 46 adult patients were included in the study: 33 samples were collected during exacerbation of CF, and 31 during the stable phase. After extraction, nucleic acids were tested for the presence of respiratory viruses. When rhinovirus (HRV) was detected, the 5'UTR and VP4/2 regions were sequenced, and phylogenetically analyzed. The characteristics of patients in exacerbation and stable phase were compared. RESULTS: Viruses were found in 25% of samples. The HRV viruses were the most frequently detected followed by coronaviruses. Only the HRV detection was significantly associated with the occurrence of CF pulmonary exacerbation (p<0.027). Characterization of 5'UTR and VP4/2 regions of the HRV genome specified that HRV-A, -B, -C were detected. All HRV-C were recombinant HRV-Ca. CONCLUSIONS: HRV were the most frequently detected viruses; their detection was significantly associated with the occurrence of an exacerbation. The reality of viral recombination between HRV was demonstrated in CF patients for the first time, raising the role of viruses in lung microbiota. Further studies are now warranted to decipher virus impact in CF.

Semiquantitative detection of JCV-DNA in peripheral blood leukocytes from HIV-1-infected patients with or without progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy.

Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy (PML) is a severe and fatal demyelinating disease that occurs especially in HIV-infected patients. It has been suggested that JC virus (JCV) migrates in peripheral blood leukocytes from the kidney to the central nervous system where it initiates demyelination. To investigate the physiopathological role of the peripheral blood virus in the development of PML, the prevalence of JCV infection and the levels of JCV DNA load were evaluated in peripheral blood leukocytes or mononuclear cells of 10 AIDS patients at the time of onset of PML symptoms, and in 150 non-PML HIV-1-infected patients using a semiquantitative PCR and ELISA-hybridization assay. In PML-AIDS patients, 60% (6/10) were positive for JCV-DNA detection in peripheral blood cells compared with 26% (13/50) and 18% (18/100) positive for non-PML HIV-infected control patients with CD4+ T lymphocyte counts below and above 200.10(6) /l, respectively (60 vs. 26%, P = 0.06; 60 vs. 18%; P = 0.007). The prevalence of JCV infection in the peripheral blood cells taken from controls appeared to be independent of the CDC stage of infection and CD4+ T lymphocyte counts. The predictive positive value of a positive JCV DNA PCR in peripheral blood cells for the diagnosis of PML in an HIV-infected patient was 16% whereas the predictive negative value was 96%. The levels of circulating JCV DNA load, ranging from 1.69 to 2.53 log of copies per 10(6) cells, did not differ between patients at time of PML symptoms onset and controls, and appeared to be independent of the clinical and the biological status in control patients. The findings do not indicate any significant JCV genomic replication activity in peripheral blood cells at the onset of PML disease, and suggest that JCV replication markers in the systemic compartment would not be valuable for predicting the development of PML in AIDS patients.