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Background: Across the world, a growing number of couples are directly or indirectly affected by infertility. Advances in assisted reproductive technologies are now enabling many of them to plan to have a child. As pregnancies resulting from assisted reproductive technologies are being experienced by a growing number of couples, it is important to better understand their experiences and the difficulties they encounter during the prenatal period. Objective: This literature review aims to synthesize the qualitative results of primary studies in order to better understand couples’ experiences of pregnancy resulting from assisted reproductive technologies, after having experienced infertility. Design: A meta-synthesis was conducted in accordance with the guidelines put forth by Sandelowski and Barroso in order to carry out an integrative analysis of the knowledge resulting from qualitative studies on this phenomenon. Data sources: The literature search was carried out between October and November 2020. Seven electronic databases were searched (CINAHL, Medline, PsycNet, SCOPUS, ScienceDirect, CAIRN, ERUDIT) and 14 eligible articles were selected. Review methods: The data from the “results” and “findings” sections of each of the articles were synthesized through thematic analysis to examine and summarize the topics found in the articles selected and develop the main themes. Results: The thematic analysis is structured around four themes to describe and interpret different aspects of the experience of pregnancy resulting from ART, namely: 1) travelling a long and complex journey; 2) moving on with paradoxical emotions; 3) struggling with an emerging identity; and 4) reorganizing relationships. These results shed light on the complex issues faced by couples previously affected by infertility during a pregnancy resulting from assisted reproductive technologies. Conclusion: The journey of a pregnancy resulting from assisted reproductive technologies must be recognized in order to offer support in line with the challenges faced by couples. This research will allow for a deeper understanding of women's experience, as well as that of their partner's, in a more specific way, and to better understand the impact on family and loved ones.

Background: Although prior studies have demonstrated racial disparities regarding acute coronary syndrome (ACS) care within private or mixed healthcare systems, few researchers have explored such disparities within universal healthcare systems. We aimed to evaluate the quality and outcomes of in-hospital ACS management for White patients vs patients of colour, within a universal healthcare context. Methods: We performed a post hoc analysis of the Acute Myocardial Infarction - Knowledge Translation to Optimize Adherence to Evidence-Based Therapy study, a cluster-randomized trial evaluating a knowledge-translation intervention at 24 hospitals in Quebec, Canada (years: 2009 and 2012). The primary endpoint was coronary catheterization. The secondary endpoints included in-hospital mortality, percutaneous and surgical coronary revascularization, major bleeding, total stroke, and discharge prescription of evidence-based medical therapy. Results: Of 3444 included patients, 2738 were White, and 706 were people of colour. The mean age was 68.2 years (33.3% women) among White patients and 69.5 years (36.0% women) among patients of colour. Patients of colour were less likely to undergo in-hospital coronary catheterization than were White patients (74.5% vs 80.3%, P = 0.001). This difference was attenuated after adjusting for patient-level characteristics (odds ratio 0.89; 95% confidence interval 0.73-1.09), and it was eliminated after adjusting for hospital-level characteristics (odds ratio 1.04; 95% confidence interval 0.73-1.49). Conclusions: Racial disparity in coronary catheterization for ACS persists within a universal healthcare context. Patients’ comorbidities and hospital-level factors may be partially responsible for this inequality. Future research on cardiovascular healthcare in patients with diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds in universal healthcare systems is needed to remediate racial inequality in ACS management. RÉsumÉ: Contexte: Bien que des études antérieures aient démontré l’existence de disparités raciales dans la prise en charge du syndrome coronarien aigu (SCA) au sein de systèmes de santé privés ou mixtes, peu de chercheurs ont étudié ces disparités au sein de systèmes universels de soins de santé. Nous avons cherché à évaluer la qualité et les résultats de la prise en charge du SCA à l’hôpital pour les patients blancs par rapport aux patients de couleur, dans un contexte de soins de santé universels. Méthodologie: Nous avons effectué une analyse a posteriori de l’étude AMI-OPTIMA, un essai sur échantillon en grappes aléatoire évaluant une intervention d’application des connaissances dans 24 hôpitaux du Québec, au Canada (années : 2009 et 2012). Le paramètre d’évaluation principal était le cathétérisme coronaire. Les paramètres d’évaluation secondaires comprenaient la mortalité à l’hôpital, la revascularisation coronaire percutanée et chirurgicale, l’hémorragie majeure, l’accident vasculaire cérébral et la prescription au congé d’un traitement médical fondé sur des données probantes. Résultats: Sur les 3444 patients étudiés, 2738 étaient blancs et 706 étaient des personnes de couleur. L’âge moyen était de 68,2 ans (33,3 % de femmes) chez les patients blancs, et de 69,5 ans (36,0 % de femmes) chez les patients de couleur. Les patients de couleur étaient moins susceptibles de subir un cathétérisme coronaire à l’hôpital que les patients blancs (74,5 % contre 80,3 %, p = 0,001). Cette différence a été atténuée après ajustement pour tenir compte des caractéristiques des patients (rapport de cotes : 0,89; intervalle de confiance [IC] à 95 % : 0,73-1,09), et éliminée après ajustement pour tenir compte des caractéristiques des hôpitaux (rapport de cotes : 1,04; IC à 95 % : 0,73-1,49). Conclusions: La disparité raciale en ce qui a trait au cathétérisme coronaire pour un SCA persiste dans un contexte de soins de santé universels. Les comorbidités des patients et des facteurs liés à l’hôpital peuvent être partiellement responsables de cette inégalité. De plus amples recherches sur les soins cardiovasculaires chez les patients de diverses origines raciales ou ethniques dans les systèmes universels de soins de santé sont nécessaires pour remédier aux inégalités raciales dans la prise en charge du SCA.

Introduction and aim: Data on the efficacy and tolerance of interferon-free treatment in chronic hepatitis C (CHC) in elderly patients are limited in phase II-III trials. Material and methods: A prospective cohort of adult patients with CHC treated in French general hospitals. Results: Data from 1,123 patients, distributed into four age groups, were analyzed. Of these, 278 were > 64 years old (fourth quartile) and 133 were > 73 years old (tenth decile). Elderly patients weighed less, were more frequently treatment-experienced women infected with genotype 1b or 2, while they less frequently had genotype 3 or HIV coinfection, but had more frequent comorbidities and drug consumption. Half of the patients had cirrhosis, whatever their ages. The main treatment regimens were sofosbuvir/ledipasvir (37.8%), sofosbuvir/daclatasvir (31.8%), sofosbuvir/simeprevir (16.9%), sofosbuvir/ribavirin (7.8%); ribavirin was given to 24% of patients. The overall sustained virological response (SVR) rate was 91.0 % (95% CI: 89.292.5%) with no difference according to age. Logistic regression of the independent predictors of SVR were albumin, hepatocellular carcinoma and treatment regimen, but not age. The rate of severe adverse events (66 in 59/1062 [5.6%] patients) tended to be greater in patients older than 64 years of age (21/261,8.1%), but the only independent predictors of SAE by logistic regression were cirrhosis and baseline hemoglobin. Patient-reported overall tolerance was excellent in all age groups, and patient-reported fatigue decreased during and after treatment, independent of age. Conclusions: The high efficacy and tolerance of interferon-free regimens is confirmed in elderly patients in real-life conditions.

Optimal management of gilt reproduction requires oestrus synchronization. Hormonal treatments are used for this purpose, but there is a growing demand for non-hormonal alternatives, especially in organic farms. The boar effect is an important alternative opportunity to induce and synchronize oestrus without hormones. Before puberty, gilts exhibit a ‘waiting period’ during which boar exposure could induce and synchronize the first ovulation. We searched for salivary biomarkers of this period of boar effect receptivity to improve detection of the gilts to stimulate with the perspective of enhancing the efficacy of the boar effect. Saliva samples were collected from 30 Large-White×Landrace crossbred gilts between 140 and 175 days of age. Gilts were exposed twice a day to a boar and subjected to oestrus detection from 150 to 175 days of age. Among the 30 gilts, 10 were detected in oestrus 4 to 7 days after the first introduction of the boar and were considered receptive to the boar effect, 14 were detected in oestrus more than 8 days after first boar contact, and six did not show oestrus and were considered non-receptive. Saliva samples from six receptive and six non-receptive gilts were analyzed for steroidome and for metabolome using gas chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry and 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, respectively. Four saliva samples per gilt were analyzed: 25 days and 11 days before boar introduction, the day of boar introduction, 3 days later for receptive gilts or 7 days later for non-receptive gilts. Twenty-nine steroids and 31 metabolites were detected in gilt saliva. Salivary concentrations of six steroids and three metabolites were significantly different between receptive and non-receptive gilts: progesterone and glycolate 25 days before boar introduction, 3α5β20α- and 3β5α20β-hexahydroprogesterone, dehydroepiandrosterone, androstenediol, succinate, and butyrate 11 days before boar introduction, and 3β5α-tetrahydroprogesterone on the day of boar introduction. Thus, nine potential salivary biomarkers of boar effect receptivity were identified in our experimental conditions. Further studies with higher numbers of gilts and salivary sampling points are necessary to ascertain their reliability.

We present a strategy for searching for heavy neutrinos at the Large Hadron Collider using the MoEDAL Experiment's MAPP detector. We hypothesize the heavy neutrino to be a member of a fourth generation lepton doublet, with the electric dipole moment (EDM) introduced within a dimension-five operator. In this model the heavy neutrino is produced in association with a heavy lepton. According to our current experimental and theoretical understanding, the electric dipole moment of this heavy neutrino may be as high as 10−15 e cm. Taking advantage of the sensitivity of MoEDAL detector, we examine the possibility of detecting such a heavy neutrino in the MAPP as an apparently fractionally charged particle, via ionization due to the neutrino's EDM. Keywords: Heavy neutrino, Electric dipole moment, Heavy lepton, LHC, MilliQan, MoEDAL

We update our previous search for trapped magnetic monopoles in LHC Run 2 using nearly six times more integrated luminosity and including additional models for the interpretation of the data. The MoEDAL forward trapping detector, comprising 222 kg of aluminium samples, was exposed to 2.11 fb−1 of 13 TeV proton–proton collisions near the LHCb interaction point and analysed by searching for induced persistent currents after passage through a superconducting magnetometer. Magnetic charges equal to the Dirac charge or above are excluded in all samples. The results are interpreted in Drell–Yan production models for monopoles with spins 0, 1/2 and 1: in addition to standard point-like couplings, we also consider couplings with momentum-dependent form factors. The search provides the best current laboratory constraints for monopoles with magnetic charges ranging from two to five times the Dirac charge.

Mendelian traits are considered to be at the lower end of the complexity spectrum of heritable phenotypes. However, more than a century after the rediscovery of Mendel’s law, the global landscape of monogenic variants, as well as their effects and inheritance patterns within natural populations, is still not well understood. Using the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, we performed a species-wide survey of Mendelian traits across a large population of isolates. We generated offspring from 41 unique parental pairs and analyzed 1,105 cross/trait combinations. We found that 8.9% of the cases were Mendelian. Further tracing of causal variants revealed background-specific expressivity and modified inheritances, gradually transitioning from Mendelian to complex traits in 30% of the cases. In fact, when taking into account the natural population diversity, the hidden complexity of traits could be substantial, confounding phenotypic predictability even for simple Mendelian traits.