Procalcitonin Exerts a Mediator Role in Septic Shock Through the Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide Receptor.

Objectives: Clinically, procalcitonin represents the most widely used biomarker of sepsis worldwide with unclear pathophysiologic significance to date. Pharmacologically, procalcitonin was shown to signal through both calcitonin receptor and calcitonin gene-related peptide receptor in vitro, yet the identity of its biologically relevant receptor remains unknown.

Design: Prospective randomized animal investigations and in vitro human blood studies.

Pathogenic microbes contaminating mobile phones in hospital environment in Northeast India: incidence and antibiotic resistance.

Background: The present study attempts to identify and determine the pattern of drug susceptibility of the microorganisms present in mobile phones of health care workers (HCWs) and non-HCWs in a hospital environment. Mobile phones of 100 participants including both genders were randomly swabbed from nine different wards/units and the bacterial cultures were characterized using VITEK 2 system.

Results: Forty-seven mobile phones were culture positive and a total of 57 isolates were obtained which consisted of 28 Gram-positive organisms and 29 Gram-negative organisms.