Direct and indirect reference intervals of 25-hydroxyvitamin D: it is not a real vitamin D deficiency pandemic.

Introduction: Many studies report vitamin D (25-OH-D) deficiency, although there is no consensus among scientific societies on cut-offs and reference intervals (RI). The aim of this study is to establish and compare RI for serum 25-OH-D by direct and indirect methods.

Materials And Methods: Two studies were performed in Zaragoza (Spain).

The balance between fitness advantages and costs drives adaptation of bacteriophage Qβ to changes in host density at different temperatures.

Introduction: Host density is one of the main factors affecting the infective capacity of viruses. When host density is low, it is more difficult for the virus to find a susceptible cell, which increases its probability of being damaged by the physicochemical agents of the environment. Nevertheless, viruses can adapt to variations in host density through different strategies that depend on the particular characteristics of the life cycle of each virus.

Endocrine Evaluation and Homeostatic Model Assessment in Patients with Cornelia de Lange Syndrome.

The aim of this study was to expand knowledge about endocrine disorders in individuals with Cornelia de Lange syndrome (CdLS), a rare developmental genetic disorder with anomalies in multiple organs and systems. Hormone levels, clinical scores, anthropometric measurements, and molecular analysis were assessed in 24 individuals with CdLS. Hyperprolactinemia was the most common endocrine disorder.

Plasma procalcitonin measured by time-resolved amplified cryptate emission (TRACE) in liver transplant patients. A prognosis marker of early infectious and non-infectious postoperative complications.

Background: Elevated procalcitonin (PCT) levels are observed after major surgery, such as orthotopic liver transplantation (OLTx). The aim of this observational study was to evaluate PCT kinetics during the first 5 following days after surgery to establish the prognostic value of PCT changes in the outcome of OLTx, and to predict medical, technical and infectious complications. PCT was also evaluated in the differential diagnosis of infection vs.

Umbilical cord blood serum procalcitonin by Time-Resolved Amplified Cryptate Emission (TRACE) technology: reference values of a potential marker of vertically transmitted neonatal sepsis.

Background: Neonatal infection remains a major diagnostic problem because of non-specific clinical signs and symptoms, as well as low sensitivity and specificity of routine laboratory tests. C-reactive protein (CRP), white blood cell count, absolute neutrophil count and immature/total neutrophil ratio are the most widely used tests in the diagnosis of sepsis and provide useful information, but none of these has demonstrated to be reliable in detecting all septic infants. Procalcitonin (PCT) has been suggested as a potentially useful laboratory test performed in umbilical cord blood when perinatal bacterial sepsis is under investigation.