PHiD-CV induces ELISA and functional OPA antibodies for all vaccine serotypes after primary vaccination and is noninferior to 7vCRM in terms of ELISA and/or OPA threshold responses. Effective priming is further indicated by robust booster responses.

Spring-mass model properties of eight non-specialized male runners were measured during four straight 100-m sprints on an athletics track. A recently developed simple measurement method allowed to calculate leg and vertical stiffness, vertical displacement of the center of mass, and stride temporal characteristics. Changes in these mechanical parameters were studied and correlated with those of sprint performance. During the first 100 m, forward velocity showed significant variations (mean value of 8.10 +/- 0.31 m x s(-1) over the entire 100-m), while leg and vertical stiffnesses (19.5 +/- 4.3 kN x m(-1) and 93.9 +/- 12.4 kN x m(-1), respectively) remained constant. No significant link was found between mechanical and performance parameters over this first sprint. During the following three sprints, vertical stiffness, step frequency, and contact time significantly decreased (20.6 +/- 7.9%, 8.03 +/- 3.34%, and 14.7 +/- 7.2% of the first 100-m value, respectively) with decreasing maximal and mean velocities (10.9 +/- 2.0% and 7.30 +/- 5.23%, respectively), whereas leg stiffness and maximal force remained constant. Furthermore, changes between these mechanical and performance parameters were significantly related, showing the clear relationship between impairment in spring-mass model properties of the runners' lower limbs and the decrease in performance in fatigue conditions induced by the repetition of these all-out efforts.

From a large series of 1009 probands with pathogenic FBN1 mutations, data for 320 patients <18 years of age at the last follow-up evaluation were analyzed (32%). At the time of diagnosis, the median age was 6.5 years. At the last examination, the population was classified as follows: neonatal Marfan syndrome, 14%; severe Marfan syndrome, 19%; classic Marfan syndrome, 32%; probable Marfan syndrome, 35%. Seventy-one percent had ascending aortic dilation, 55% ectopia lentis, and 28% major skeletal system involvement. Even when aortic complications existed in childhood, the rates of aortic surgery and aortic dissection remained low (5% and 1%, respectively). Some diagnostic features (major skeletal system involvement, striae, dural ectasia, and family history) were more frequent in the 10- to <18-year age group, whereas others (ascending aortic dilation and mitral abnormalities) were more frequent in the population with neonatal Marfan syndrome. Only 56% of children could be classified as having Marfan syndrome, according to international criteria, at their last follow-up evaluation when the presence of a FBN1 mutation was not considered as a major feature, with increasing frequency in the older age groups. Eighty-five percent of child probands fulfilled international criteria after molecular studies, which indicates that the discovery of a FBN1 mutation can be a valuable diagnostic aid in uncertain cases. The distributions of mutation types and locations in this pediatric series revealed large proportions of probands carrying mutations located in exons 24 to 32 (33%) and in-frame mutations (75%). Apart from lethal neonatal Marfan syndrome, we confirm that the majority of clinical manifestations of Marfan syndrome increase with age, which emphasizes the poor applicability of the international criteria to this diagnosis in childhood and the need for follow-up monitoring in cases of clinical suspicion of Marfan syndrome.

Vincent Gajdos and colleagues report results of a randomized trial conducted among hospitalized infants with bronchiolitis. They show that a physiotherapy technique (increased exhalation and assisted cough) commonly used in France does not reduce time to recovery in this population.