Search

Background: Two male contraceptive methods that inhibit spermatogenesis currently exist: thermal male contraception and hormonal male contraception. Only five studies have been conducted on the acceptability of these methods among men; among women, only the hypothetical acceptability of such a male contraceptive approach as the sole contraception method used by a couple has been evaluated., Objectives: To evaluate the motivation, experience, and satisfaction of female partners in couples using hormonal male contraception or thermal male contraception as the sole contraception., Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 123 male users of hormonal male contraception or thermal male contraception as the couple's sole contraception method were asked to invite their female partner to participate in an anonymous online survey. The questionnaire included 95 questions exploring population characteristics, contraceptive and pregnancy history, motivations for choosing hormonal male contraception or thermal male contraception, the experience of the women in the successive phase of use, relationships with their partner, and satisfaction with the contraception method., Results: The response rate among participating women was 69% (59/86). The two main reasons for choosing male contraceptive were the desire to share the contraception role in the couple (65%) and the desire of the man to take charge of the contraception (61%). The sexual satisfaction score increased significantly between the contraceptive methods used before hormonal male contraception or thermal male contraception and the phase of contraceptive use (p < 0.01). The overall satisfaction level with thermal male contraception or hormonal male contraception was rated at 3.7 ± 0.6 out of 4. Women mostly recommended hormonal male contraception or thermal male contraception because of the share of contraceptive responsibility and mental load (n = 23/54, 43%)., Discussion: This population of women seemed to have struggled to find a contraceptive method that suited them, but most took advantage of thermal male contraception or hormonal male contraception and trusted their male partner to take charge of contraception use., Conclusion: The positive evaluation from women in partnerships using thermal male contraception and hormonal male contraception should encourage the development of these methods., (© 2024 The Author(s). Andrology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of American Society of Andrology and European Academy of Andrology.)

As the main protein forming the vascular extracellular matrix, collagen has a weak antigenicity, making it an attractive candidate for coatings of vascular grafts. In order to bring antithrombotic properties to collagen for obtaining suitable blood compatibility of surfaces and further bioactive molecule carrying capacity, heparinization appears as a method of choice. Thus, in this article, pH-driven self-assembly was used to form collagen-based hydrogels with physical incorporation of heparins, especially low molecular weight heparin or unfractionated heparin at 1 IU/mL and 6 IU/mL. These heparinized hydrogels were evaluated for their physicochemical properties including gelation kinetic, spreading, viscoelasticity, microstructure and heparin quantification, and their biocompatibility such as cytocompatibility and their capacity to release bioactive heparins with antithrombotic properties. The loading capacity of collagen-based hydrogels was higher for unfractionated heparin (60 to 80 %) than for low molecular weight heparin (20 %). Interestingly, the highest concentration (6 IU/mL) of heparin used to form collagen-based hydrogels resulted in the formation of a softer hydrogel owning a better spreadability compared to 1 IU/mL and non heparinized collagen-based hydrogel. The 3D structure observation showed a layered formation with visible pores or spaces between the layers in all types of collagen-based hydrogels. These layers are interconnected by fibrous structures, suggesting a networked architecture. Moreover, the amount of heparin released from collagen-based hydrogel prepared with 6 IU /mL was higher than from those heparinized with 1 IU/mL attested by a delay in blood coagulation (activated partial thromboplastin time and thrombin time) and the abolishment of thrombin generation. Those hydrogels were also biocompatible, with low albumin adsorption and no impact on cell viability. Finally, heparin is retained in these hydrogels for at least seven days after cell seeding, providing the possibility of long-term antithrombotic properties. Thus, we succeeded in develop/obtain coatings with antithrombogenic properties, biocompatible and able to retain heparins at least seven days, making them good candidates with a great potential for the development and application of efficient blood-contacting materials., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Caroline GAUCHER reports financial support was provided by French National Research Agency. Meiling WU reports financial support was provided by China Scholarship Council. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Infantile pyknocytosis (IP) is a rare, probably misestimated, cause of non-immune neonatal hemolytic anemia evolving in two phases: an initial phase with severe jaundice, followed by a second phase with hemolytic anemia, which may require neonatal intensive care. The diagnosis of IP is based on the transient presence on blood smear of hyperdense, contracted, and/or spiculated red blood cells (pyknocytes), associated with the spontaneous resolution of clinico-biological features and the exclusion of other causes. If the etiology remains undetermined, some contributing factors, such as oxidative stress, have been proposed. We report the description of 16 patients with IP aiming at clarifying the circumstances associated with the development of this acquired disorder. In the acute phase, the mean hemoglobin nadir and pyknocyte count were 7.8 g/dL and 11%, respectively, and strikingly, Heinz bodies were evident in 50% of the newborns, but in 100% after prolonged incubation (4 hours). A high proportion of Mediterranean or African ancestry was noted in newborns, as well as a significant number of peripartum events, such as respiratory distress. If the etiology of IP is certainly multifactorial, our series reinforces the role of oxidative stress, which may, at least in part, find origin in desaturation episodes in newborns., (© 2024 The Authors. Pediatric Blood & Cancer published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Exposure to non-ionizing radiation has become inevitable because people cannot escape sources of electromagnetic fields, such as Wi-Fi or cell phones. Among the mechanisms mentioned, the energy emitted by this non-ionizing radiation could cause heating which would have harmful effects on semen quality. The objective of our study was to carry out a systematic review of the literature concerning the impact of exposure to non-ionizing radiation from mobile phones (or other sources) on sperm parameters. We selected 12 studies: the majority of in vivo studies in humans and in vitro studies in animals report a significant impact on sperm count, mobility and vitality. Mobility and vitality seem to be the parameters most regularly impacted by exposure to non-ionizing radiation. Additional studies are necessary to complete this study in order to deepen knowledge with new generations of mobile phones which can raise health concerns., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

The use of compound stimuli in match-to-sample training arrangements can potentially increase the efficiency of target acquisition in some circumstances as a result of the development of emergent relations. However, utilizing compound stimuli in training arrangements comes with the risk that responding could come under the restrictive control of one of the individual components of the compound stimulus. The purpose of this case study was to demonstrate an evaluation process for determining the impact of compound stimuli on stimulus control within a match-to-sample arrangement., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest/Competing InterestsNot applicable., (© Association for Behavior Analysis International 2024. Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.)

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a rapidly developing field with the potential to transform various aspects of health care and public health, including medical training. The use of AI is still being studied to understand better how to integrate its innumerable applications into modern medicine and how it is taught. Medical school dermatology education in particular stands to benefit from AI, especially when considering medical schools that lack dermatology curricula. In this review, we evaluate the integration of AI technology in the field of dermatology and how it can inform how dermatology is taught in medical schools across the United States., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), including Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), are associated to poor maternal and foetal outcomes during pregnancy, requiring a strict monitoring of the disease activity, preferably with non-invasive modalities. There are numerous data confirming intestinal ultrasonography (IUS) accuracy and efficacy for the detection of IBD disease activity and complications, but data in pregnant IBD patients are scarce. We aimed to evaluate the diagnostic performance and feasibility of IUS to monitor IBD activity throughout pregnancy., Methods: A systematic literature review was performed to identify studies on the use of ultrasound modality in pregnant inflammatory bowel disease women from the date of inception until April 2024 using MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, and ISI Web of Science databases, with keywords including (1) ultrasound/ultrasonography, (2) pregnancy, and (3) IBD (CD and UC). Additional relevant studies were identified from cross-referencing and hand-searches of references of the retrieved articles. We included fully published observational studies and abstracts., Results: Overall, five studies have been selected from 264 citations. All studies were highly heterogeneous in the definition of disease activity as reference standard, IUS protocols, and outcomes. Two of them used a cut-off value of faecal calprotectin (FCP) >100 μg/g. In one of them, clinical scores were used when the FCP value was ≥100-249 μg/g and FCP ≥250 μg/g was considered as an active disease independently of clinical scores. Only one study used a single reference standard with a Harvey-Bradshaw Index (HBI) >4. Across these 3 studies, results suggest a relatively good specificity (range 83-98%) but low sensitivity (range 33-84%) to detect disease's activity. Only 1 study analysed IUS performance in detecting remission with a sensitivity of 80% and a specificity of 92% compared to the reference standard. The size of the uterus limits the visualization of the terminal ileum and the sigmoid from the second trimester and the third trimester, respectively. The evaluation of the rectum remains limited., Conclusion: IUS appears to offer a practical, readily available and non-invasive means of monitoring disease activity in IBD pregnant women. However, existing literature on IUS accuracy is limited and further studies with standardized reference comparator are needed., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest for this article., (© 2024 The Author(s). Published by S. Karger AG, Basel.)

Transmembrane domains (TMDs) contain information targeting membrane proteins to various compartments of the secretory pathway. In previous studies, short or hydrophilic TMDs have been shown to target membrane proteins either to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) or to the Golgi apparatus. However, the basis for differential sorting to the ER and to the Golgi apparatus remained unclear. To clarify this point, we quantitatively analyzed the intracellular targeting of a collection of proteins exhibiting a single TMD. Our results reveal that membrane topology is a major targeting element in the early secretory pathway: type I proteins with a short TMD are targeted to the ER, and type II proteins to the Golgi apparatus. A combination of three features accounts for the sorting of simple membrane proteins in the secretory pathway: membrane topology, length and hydrophilicity of the TMD, and size of the cytosolic domain. By clarifying the rules governing sorting to the ER and to the Golgi apparatus, our study could revive the search for sorting mechanisms in the early secretory pathway., Competing Interests: Competing interests The authors declare no competing or financial interests., (© 2024. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.)