Computational opioid prescribing: a novel application of clinical pharmacokinetics.

We implemented a pharmacokinetics-based mathematical modeling technique using algebra to assist prescribers with point-of-care opioid dosing. We call this technique computational opioid prescribing (COP). Because population pharmacokinetic parameter values are needed to estimate drug dosing regimen designs for individual patients using COP, and those values are not readily available to prescribers because they exist scattered in the vast pharmacology literature, we estimated the population pharmacokinetic parameter values for 12 commonly prescribed opioids from various sources using the bootstrap resampling technique.

Short-term impact of particulate matter (PM(2.5)) on respiratory mortality in Madrid.

Objectives: This paper sought to quantify the particulate matter (PM(2.5)) pollutant's impact on short-term daily respiratory-cause mortality in the city of Madrid.

Methods: As our dependent variable, we took daily mortality registered in Madrid from 1 January 2003 to 31 December 2005, attributed to all diseases of the respiratory system as classified under heads J00-J99 of the ICD 10 and broken down as follows: J12-J18, pneumonia; J40-J44, chronic diseases of the respiratory system except asthma; J45-J46, asthma; and J96, respiratory failure.

Trends of invasive serotype 6C pneumococci in Spain: emergence of a new lineage.

Objectives: To analyse the epidemiology of isolates of serotype 6C among invasive pneumococci isolated from children and adults in Spain between 1997 and 2009, and to characterize serotype 6C clones and macrolide and quinolone resistance mechanisms.

Methods: Antimicrobial susceptibility was determined following CLSI guidelines. Phenotypic characterization of macrolide-resistant isolates was performed by the double disc diffusion method.

Dose escalation of once weekly oral vinorelbine concurrent with weekly split dose hypofractionated chest radiation for palliation of advanced non-small cell lung cancer: a phase I/II study.

Introduction: Daily chest radiation schedules can be cumbersome for some patients and could also delay the administration of higher, systemic doses of chemotherapy.

Methods: Thirty-six patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (stages IIIB and IV) were treated using a once weekly hypofractionated chest irradiation schedule (5 Gy divided in 2 fractions 6 hours apart × 12 weeks), concurrently with escalating doses of oral vinorelbine.

Results: The maximum tolerated dose of vinorelbine was 80 mg/m; 28 patients were treated at 70 mg/m(2).

Particulate air pollution and short-term mortality due to specific causes among the elderly in Madrid (Spain): seasonal differences.

A time-series study was conducted to ascertain the short-term effects of different-sized airborne particulate matter (PM) on daily respiratory and cardiovascular cause-specific mortality in winter and summer, among subjects aged over 75 years in Madrid. Poisson regression was used to analyse the time-series, in which the dependent variable was daily mortality due to different specific respiratory and circulatory causes, and the principal independent variables were daily mean PM10, PM2.5 and PM10-2.

Chemical composition and antimicrobial and spasmolytic properties of Poliomintha longiflora and Lippia graveolens essential oils.

Unlabelled: In the present study, we reported a comparative analysis of the chemical composition and pharmacological properties of the essential oils obtained from 2 Mexican oreganos, Poliomintha longiflora and Lippia graveolens. The gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) profiles of the oils showed high amounts of oxygenated monoterpenes, mainly carvacrol (%[mg/100 g dry matter]) (18.36 [459.

Hierarchical chiral expression from the nano- to mesoscale in synthetic supramolecular helical fibers of a nonamphiphilic C3-symmetrical π-functional molecule.

The controlled preparation of chiral structures is a contemporary challenge for supramolecular science because of the interesting properties that can arise from the resulting materials, and here we show that a synthetic nonamphiphilic C(3) compound containing π-functional tetrathiafulvalene units can form this kind of object. We describe the synthesis, characterization, and self-assembly properties in solution and in the solid state of the enantiopure materials. Circular dichroism (CD) measurements show optical activity resulting from the presence of twisted stacks of preferential helicity and also reveal the critical importance of fiber nucleation in their formation.

Methyl sulfinates as electrophiles in Friedel-Crafts reactions. Synthesis of aryl sulfoxides.

The Friedel-Crafts reaction of methyl alkyl- and arylsulfinates with aromatic systems, activated by one or more electron-donating substituents (OH, OMe, NHR, NR(2)), provides alkyl aryl and diaryl sulfoxides under mild conditions and in moderate to good yields. The very high regioselectivity usually observed in these sulfinylation reactions is rationalized on the basis of a Wheland intermediate having a trigonal bypyramidal structure in which steric and electronic interactions are significant factors strongly destabilizing the attack to the ortho positions.

Epidemiological and molecular analysis of Streptococcus pyogenes isolates causing invasive disease in Spain (1998-2009): comparison with non-invasive isolates.

The incidence, clinical manifestations, and circulating clones involved in Streptococcus pyogenes invasive disease was analyzed in two regions of Spain between 1998 and 2009. The annual average incidence of invasive disease was 2 episodes per 100,000 inhabitants (3.1 for children and 1.

Enantioselective complexation of chiral propylene oxide by an enantiopure water-soluble cryptophane.

ECD and NMR experiments show that the complexation of propylene oxide (PrO) within the cavity of an enantiopure water-soluble cryptophane 1 in NaOH solution is enantioselective and that the (R)-PrO@PP-1 diastereomer is more stable than the (S)-PrO@PP-1 diastereomer with a free energy difference of 1.7 kJ/mol. This result has been confirmed by molecular dynamics (MD) and ab initio calculations.

Role of diabetes- and obesity-related protein in the regulation of osteoblast differentiation.

Although thyroid hormone (TH) is known to exert important effects on the skeleton, the nuclear factors constituting the TH receptor coactivator complex and the molecular pathways by which TH mediates its effects on target gene expression in osteoblasts remain poorly understood. A recent study demonstrated that the actions of TH on myoblast differentiation are dependent on diabetes- and obesity-related protein (DOR). However, the role of DOR in osteoblast differentiation is unknown.

Characterization of invasive Pneumococci of serogroup 6 from adults in Barcelona, Spain, in 1994 to 2008.

A total of 91 of 1,480 invasive isolates (6.1%) collected from adults in Barcelona, Spain, in the period of 1994 to 2008 were of serogroup 6 (6B, 47 isolates; 6A, 28; and 6C, 16). Throughout this period, serotype 6B (Spain(6B)-ST90) decreased, and serotype 6A remained stable.

Antimicrobial activity and chemical composition of the essential oil of Hofmeisteria schaffneri.

Objectives: The aims of this study were to establish the antimicrobial potential of Hofmeisteria schaffneri essential oil and its chemical composition.

Methods: The essential oils of Hofmeisteria schaffneri harvested at flowering (batches I and IV) and non-flowering (batches II and III) seasons were prepared by hydrodistillation and analysed by GC and GC-MS. The aqueous and organic (CH(2) Cl(2) -MeOH 1 : 1) extracts were prepared by using infusion and maceration techniques, respectively.

Catabolism of L-ascorbate by Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG.

Catabolism of L-ascorbate by enteric bacteria is well documented, but no study has formally proved that bacteria of the Lactobacillus genus ferment this compound. However, some genes analogous to those of yiaK-S operon and ula regulon, which encoded proteins leading to L-ascorbate degradation by Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae , have been identified in the recently sequenced Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG genome. Investigations by HPLC and in vivo (13)C NMR using L-[1,6-(13)C]-ascorbate showed that L.

Study of DQE dependence with beam quality on GE essential mammography flat panel.

This paper deals with the analysis of the behavior of objective image quality parameters for the new GE Senographe Essential FFDM system, in particular its dependence with beam quality. The detector consists of an indirect conversion a-Si flat panel coupled to a CsI:Tl scintillator. The system under study has gone through a series of relevant modifications in flat panel with respect to the previous model (GE Senographe DS 2000).

Intense cold and mortality in Castile-La Mancha (Spain): study of mortality trigger thresholds from 1975 to 2003.

Studies on temperature-mortality time trends especially address heat, so that any contribution on the subject of cold is necessarily of interest. This study describes the modification of the lagged effects of cold on mortality in Castile-La Mancha from 1975 to 2003, with the novelty of also approaching this aspect in terms of mortality trigger thresholds. Cross-correlation functions (CCFs) were thus established with 15 lags, after application of ARIMA models to the mortality data and minimum daily temperatures (from November to March), and the results for the periods 1975-1984, 1985-1994 and 1995-2003 were then compared.

Description of immature stages and life cycle of the treehopper, Guayaquila projecta.

Immature stages of the membracid Guayaquila projecta (Funkhouser) (Hemiptera: Cicadomorpha: Membracidae), collected in San Salvador de Jujuy, Argentina on Bougainvillea glabra Choisy (Caryophyllales: Nyctaginaceae), are described in detail based on specimens reared in the laboratory. Like other membracids, this species has five nymphal instars, not seven as previously reported. Morphological characters for identifying the different instars of G.

Conformational effects induced by guest encapsulation in an enantiopure water-soluble cryptophane.

A new water-soluble cryptophane 1 derivative (penta-hydroxyl cryptophane-A) has been synthesized from cryptophanol-A and the chiroptical properties of its two enantiomers MM-1 and PP-1 have been studied by polarimetry, electronic circular dichroism (ECD), and vibrational circular dichroism (VCD). Cryptophane 1 shows specific circular dichroism responses upon complexation that depend on the size of the guest and on the nature of the counterion (Li(+), Na(+), K(+), Cs(+)) present in the solution. In LiOH and NaOH solutions, chiroptical changes induced by the encapsulation of guests and by the presence of cations in the vicinity of hosts can be interpreted from molecular dynamics (MD) and ab initio calculations by subtle conformational changes of the bridges.

Iodine intakes of 100-300 μg/d do not modify thyroid function and have modest anti-inflammatory effects.

Little information is available as to whether doses of iodide similar to those recommended in clinical practice for the prevention of iodine deficiency in pregnant women affect thyroid function. The aim of the present study was to analyse whether doses of iodide can affect thyroid function in adults, and evaluate its effect on plasma markers of oxidative stress, inflammation and acute-phase proteins. A total of thirty healthy volunteers (ten men and twenty women) with normal thyroid function were randomly assigned to three groups (n 10).

Proteomic approaches to identifying carbonylated proteins in brain tissue.

Oxidative stress plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of a number of diseases. The carbonyl end products of protein oxidation are among the most commonly measured markers of oxidation in biological samples. Protein carbonyl functional groups may be derivatized with 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine (DNPH) to render a stable 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazone-protein (DNP-protein) and the carbonyl contents of individual proteins then determined by two-dimensional electrophoresis followed by immunoblotting using specific anti-DNP antibodies.

Serotypes and genotypes of Streptococcus pneumoniae causing pneumonia and acute exacerbations in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Objectives: This study aimed to compare the antibiotic susceptibilities, serotypes and genotypes of pneumococci causing pneumonia or acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) in patients with COPD.

Methods: A total of 611 pneumococci collected from 487 COPD patients with pneumonia (n = 255, 94 bacteraemic pneumonia) or AECOPD episodes (n = 356), from 2001 to 2008, were analysed. Antibiotic susceptibility was studied by microdilution.

Manipulating protein acetylation in breast cancer: a promising approach in combination with hormonal therapies?

Estrogens play an essential role in the normal physiology of the breast as well as in mammary tumorigenesis. Their effects are mediated by two nuclear estrogen receptors, ERα and β, which regulate transcription of specific genes by interacting with multiprotein complexes, including histone deacetylases (HDACs). During the past few years, HDACs have raised great interest as therapeutic targets in the field of cancer therapy.

Auditory steady state response in pediatric audiology.

Unlabelled: The main issue regarding pediatric audiology diagnosis is determining procedures to configure reliable results which can be used to predict frequency-specific hearing thresholds.

Aim: To investigate the correlation between auditory steady-state response (ASSR) with other tests in children with sensorineural hearing loss.

Methods: Prospective cross-sectional contemporary cohort study.

Health impact assessment of a reduction in ambient PM(2.5) levels in Spain.

Background: Health effects linked to exposure to high air pollutant levels have been described in depth, and many recent epidemiologic studies have also consistently reported positive associations between exposure to air pollutants at low concentrations (particularly PM(2.5)) and adverse health outcomes.

Objective: To estimate the number of avoidable deaths associated with reducing PM(2.