Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of quercetin 7-O-β-D-glucopyranoside from the leaves of Brasenia schreberi.

Brasenia schreberi Gmel. (Cabombaceae) is an aquatic plant that grows in eastern Asia, Australia, Africa, and North and Central America. B.

Association of common polymorphisms in the fractalkine receptor (CX3CR1) with obesity.

The inflammatory component in obesity is now well established. The CX3CR1 gene encodes the fractalkine (CX3CL1) receptor and has two coding single-nucleotide polymorphisms, V249I and T280M, linked to a lower risk of other inflammatory diseases such as coronary artery disease (CAD) and asthma. To determine whether CX3CR1 is associated with obesity, we genotyped the V249I and T280M polymorphisms of the CX3CR1 gene in subjects with a BMI ≥30 kg/m² and nonobese controls with a BMI <30 kg/m².

Alveolar macrophages in allergic asthma: an expression signature characterized by heat shock protein pathways.

The implication of alveolar macrophages (AM) in asthma, a T(h)2 disease, has not been well characterized. Thus, the goal of this study is to better characterize AM phenotype of allergic asthmatic compared with normal subjects using genomic expression analyses. Microarray analyses were performed with AM isolated from bronchoalveolar lavage.

Surgical-site infection after cardiac surgery: incidence, microbiology, and risk factors.

Objective: To identify risk factors associated with surgical-site infection according to the depth of infection, the cardiac procedure, and the National Nosocomial Infections Surveillance System risk index.

Design: Prospective survey conducted during a 12-month period.

Setting: A 48-bed cardiac surgical department in a teaching hospital.

Which strategies follow from the surveillance of multidrug-resistant bacteria to strengthen the control of their spread? A French experience.

Efforts to enhance standard precautions and to isolate patients with positive routine clinical cultures during 3 years were insufficient to decrease multidrug-resistant bacteria infection rates. Routine screening for carriage in high-risk patients may be necessary to halt transmission and control the hospital reservoir.