Effects of artificial dawn on subjective ratings of sleep inertia and dim light melatonin onset.

The timing of work and social requirements has a negative impact on performance and well-being of a significant proportion of the population in our modern society due to a phenomenon known as social jetlag. During workdays, in the early morning, late chronotypes, in particular, suffer from a combination of a nonoptimal circadian phase and sleep deprivation. Sleep inertia, a transient period of lowered arousal after awakening, therefore, becomes more severe.

Sustained efficacy of continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion in type 1 diabetes subjects with recurrent non-severe and severe hypoglycemia and hypoglycemia unawareness: a pilot study.

Background: This study evaluated the effect of CSII on hypoglycemia awareness and on glucose profile in type 1 diabetes (T1D) subjects with repeated non-severe or severe hypoglycemia (NS or SH, respectively).

Methods: We included subjects (1) older than 18 years, (2) with T1D duration of >5 years, (3) on multiple doses of insulin, and (4) without micro- or macrovascular complications and more than four NS events per week (in the last 8 weeks) and more than two SH events (in the last 2 years). NS/SH episodes and hypoglycemia awareness were evaluated.

Predictive model of short-term amputation during hospitalization of patients due to acute diabetic foot infections.

Introduction: Factors predicting short-term amputation during hospital treatment of patients admitted for acute diabetic foot infections are of interest for clinicians managing the acute episode.

Methods: A retrospective clinical records analysis of 78 consecutive patients hospitalized for acute diabetic foot infections was performed to identify predictive factors for short-term amputation by comparing the data of patients who ultimately required amputation and those who did not. Clinical/epidemiological, laboratory, imaging, and treatment variables were comparatively analyzed.

Cefditoren versus ceftazidime in inducer-substrate combinations for the evaluation of AmpC production in a disc approximation test.

Objective: To evaluate cefditoren in inducer-substrate combinations to screen for AmpC induction.

Methods: 100 clinical isolates (25 P. aeruginosa, 25 E.

[Prediction of bacteremia in patients with suspicion of infection in emergency room].

Background And Objectives: To evaluate the relationship between some clinical and analytical data and the presence of bacteremia in order to establish a clinical decision rule.

Patients And Methods: All the patients with blood cultures obtained from the emergency room in a two months period were analyzed. Patients were randomly assigned to derivation or validation sets.

Proteomic analysis of low- to high-grade astrocytomas reveals an alteration of the expression level of raf kinase inhibitor protein and nucleophosmin.

Proteomic approaches have been useful for the identification of aberrantly expressed proteins in complex diseases such as cancer. These proteins are not only potential disease biomarkers, but also targets for therapy. The aim of this study was to identify differentially expressed proteins in diffuse astrocytoma grade II, anaplastic astrocytoma grade III and glioblastoma multiforme grade IV in human tumor samples and in non-neoplastic brain tissue as control using 2-DE and MS.

First wild XXY house mice.

Laboratory house mice (Mus musculus) with the XXY condition can be generated with ease and have been used as a biomedical model. However, although the XXY constitution has been described in humans and many domestic and wild mammal species, and a very large number of wild house mice have been karyotyped previously, no wild individuals of M. musculus with an XXY karyotype have ever been reported.

[Axillary recurrences after sentinel lymph node biopsy in initial breast cancer].

Objective: The aim of our study was to analyze the application of the Selective Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy (SLNB) in early Breast Cancer of our population, through the analysis of axillary recurrences in patients with false negative sentinel node procedures without complete axillary lymphadenectomy, after a subsequent clinical follow-up.

Material And Methods: A total of 218 early Breast Cancer patients who underwent SLNB after being diagnosed of early breast cancer (T1-2N0) with complete axillary dissection only when the SLNB was positive in the histopathological analysis. In every case, a 2-day protocol was used to localize the sentinel node after injection of (⁹⁹m)Tc-Nanocolloid.

Exposure-response analysis of tigecycline in pharmacodynamic simulations using different size inocula of target bacteria.

This study explored tigecycline exposure-bacterial responses in pharmacodynamic simulations (in vitro kinetic model) using different inocula. One meticillin-resistant vancomycin-heteroresistant Staphylococcus aureus, one Enterococcus faecium and one extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli with equal tigecycline minimum inhibitory concentrations/minimum bactericidal concentrations (MICs/MBCs) (0.12/0.

Effects of artificial dawn on sleep inertia, skin temperature, and the awakening cortisol response.

The effect of artificial dawn during the last 30 min of sleep on subsequent dissipation of sleep inertia was investigated, including possible involvement of cortisol and thermoregulatory processes. Sixteen healthy subjects who reported difficulty with waking up participated in random order in a control and an artificial dawn night. Sleep inertia severity was measured by subjective ratings of sleepiness and activation, and by performance on an addition and a reaction time task measured at 1, 15, 30, 45, 60, and 90 min after waking up at habitual wake up time at workdays.

Myeloperoxidase-induced genomic DNA-centered radicals.

Myeloperoxidase (MPO) released by activated neutrophils can initiate and promote carcinogenesis. MPO produces hypochlorous acid (HOCl) that oxidizes the genomic DNA in inflammatory cells as well as in surrounding epithelial cells. DNA-centered radicals are early intermediates formed during DNA oxidation.

Influence of media and testing methodology on susceptibility to tigecycline of Enterobacteriaceae with reported high tigecycline MIC.

The tigecycline susceptibility of six different Enterobacteriaceae strains with reported high tigecycline MICs was determined in quintuplicate by four methodologies using Mueller-Hinton agar and broth from six manufacturers. The MICs determined by Etest were a >or=1-fold dilution lower than those determined by broth microdilution and agar dilution, with the highest modal values given by agar dilution. The highest modal MICs were obtained using Oxoid medium, and the lowest inhibition zone values (disc diffusion) were obtained using Oxoid and bioMérieux media.

In vivo quantification of the retinal reflectance spectral composition in elderly subjects before and after cataract surgery: Implications for the non-visual effects of light.

Light is the signal that entrains the biological clock in humans to the 24-hour external time. Recently, it has been shown that short wavelengths play a key role in this process. In the present study, we describe a procedure to measure, objectively and in a quick way, the spectral composition of the light reaching the retina in vivo.

Susceptibility of recently collected Spanish pneumococci nonsusceptible to oral penicillin from serotypes not included in the 7-valent conjugate vaccine.

The susceptibilities of pneumococci recently collected (up to June 2009) in Spain (500 isolates nonsusceptible to oral penicillin and 150 susceptible isolates) from serotypes not included in the conjugate vaccine were determined. Most nonsusceptible isolates (53.6%) belonged to serotype 19A.

Validation of an immunoturbidimetric method for determination of porcine serum C-reactive protein.

Measurement of porcine C-reactive protein (CRP) in serum is an important tool for monitoring health and welfare in pigs. In this study, an immunoturbidimetric method from Olympus System Reagent (OSR 6147) used to measure human CRP in serum that employ a human traceable calibrator has been evaluated in porcine serum samples. Intra- and inter-assay imprecision were lower than that obtained with the porcine-specific commercially available ELISA.

Alteration in the expression of inflammatory parameters as a result of oxidative stress produced by moderate zinc deficiency in rat lung.

Suboptimal intake of dietary zinc (Zn) is one of the most common nutritional problems worldwide. Previously, the authors have shown that zinc deficiency (ZD) produces oxidative and nitrosative stress in lung of male rats. The goal of this study is to test the effect of moderate ZD on insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1, IGF-binding protein (IGFBP)-5, NADH oxidase (NOX)-2, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha), as well as the effect of restoring zinc during the refeeding period.

[Glycopeptide heteroresistance and tolerance in hospital grampositive isolates: "invisible" phenomena to the clinician with clinical implications?].

This article reviews the concepts of heteroresistance and tolerance to glycopeptides in gram-positive bacteria isolated from hospitalised patients. Heteroresistance (resistant subpopulations among the total bacterial population of the strain, that can be selected by the treatment) and tolerance (capability of survival, but not growth, in the presence of usually lethal antibiotic concentrations) have in common several characteristics: 1) the absence of its determination in laboratory daily practice, 2) they implied a decrease in antimicrobial activity not reflected in MIC values (thus being "invisible" to clinicians in daily routine laboratory reports), 3) the decrease in antimicrobial activity may have clinical implications and 4) they affect a wide spectrum of gram positive bacteria in the hospital (Staphylococcus aureus, coagulase-negative staphylococci, enterococci and different estreptococcal species). The decrease produced in the bactericidal activity (that is critical for the treatment of bacteremias, endocarditis, meningitis and infections in immunocompromised patients) has clinical implications such aspersistance of bacteremia, refractory bacteremia, relapse of infections and increased length of stay.

Plasma protein electrophoresis of Trachemys scripta and Iguana iguana.

Background: Protein electrophoresis is widely applied in veterinary medicine, but is not used often in reptiles, in part because of lack of reference values.

Objective: The goals of this study were to compare plasma protein profiles obtained by cellulose acetate electrophoresis (CAE) and agarose gel electrophoresis (AGE), measure precision and examine interference by sample hemolysis, and establish preliminary reference intervals for 2 reptile species.

Methods: Heparinized plasma samples from healthy and diseased adult female Iguana iguana (n=40) and Trachemys scripta (n=60) were analyzed by CAE and AGE.

In vitro killing activity of crevicular concentrations of tinidazole plus common oral antibiotics against high-density mixed inocula of periodontal pathogens in strict anaerobic conditions.

Background: Odontogenic infections are polymicrobial. This study explores the in vitro killing activity by concentrations similar to those found in crevicular fluid of tinidazole in combination with amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, clindamycin and levofloxacin against four groups of high-density mixed inocula of anaerobes (Prevotella buccae, Fusobacterium nucleatum, and Veillonella spp.) and facultative (Capnocytophaga spp.

Staggered chromosomal hybrid zones in the house mouse: relevance to reticulate evolution and speciation.

In the house mouse there are numerous chromosomal races distinguished by different combinations of metacentric chromosomes. These may come into contact with each other and with the ancestral all-acrocentric race, and form hybrid zones. The chromosomal clines that make up these hybrid zones may be coincident or separated from each other (staggered).

Drug resistance in community-acquired respiratory tract infections: role for an emerging antibacterial.

The nasopharynx is the ecological niche where evolution towards resistance occurs in respiratory tract isolates. Dynamics of different bacterial populations in antibiotic-free multibacterial niches are the baseline that antibiotic treatments can alter by shifting the competitive balance in favor of resistant populations. For this reason, antibiotic resistance is increasingly being considered to be an ecological problem.

In vitro interference of beta-lactams with biofilm development by prevalent community respiratory tract isolates.

Interference of cefditoren (CDN) and amoxicillin/clavulanic acid (AMC) with biofilm production was studied using 11 Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) ranging from 0.015microg/mL to 0.5microg/mL for CDN and from 0.

Bactericidal activity of daptomycin versus vancomycin in the presence of human albumin against vancomycin-susceptible but tolerant methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) with daptomycin minimum inhibitory concentrations of 1-2microg/mL.

This study explored the influence of vancomycin tolerance and protein binding on the bactericidal activity of vancomycin versus daptomycin (protein binding 36.9% vs. 91.

Community-onset bacteremia due to extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli: risk factors and prognosis.

Background: There is little clinical information about community-onset bloodstream infections (COBSIs) caused by extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Escherichia coli (ESBLEC). We investigated the prevalence and risk factors for COBSI due to ESBLEC, and described their clinical features and the impact of COBSI caused by ESBLEC on 14-day mortality.

Methods: Risk factors were assessed using a multicenter case-control-control study.