The effects of daytime melatonin ingestion on arousal and vigilance vanish after sub-maximal exercise: a pilot study.

OBJECTIVE: Daytime melatonin ingestion is known to induce sleep at rest, which may affect arousal and vigilance. Physical exercise is known to produce an increase in core temperature and circulating cortisol which can enhance arousal and vigilance. The effect of submaximal exercise on vigilance and arousal following acute melatonin ingestion has not yet been studied. The present study aimed at investigating the effect of submaximal exercise on vigilance and arousal following daytime melatonin ingestion. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Eight physical education students undertook 45 min of submaximal exercise (at 60% of maximal aerobic speed) on a treadmill after melatonin-(6 mg) or placebo ingestion, in a randomized and counterbalanced order. RESULTS: Heart rate (HR), rectal temperature (Tre), felt arousal scale (FAS), and thermal sensations (TS) were recorded at baseline (pre-exercise), immediately after exercise (post-exercise), and after 30 min of recovery (30 min post-exercise). Blood was sampled for lactate and cortisol. At 30 min post-exercise, the Tre, HR, blood pressure, lactate, FAS, and TS were measured. The participants performed vigilance tests pre-exercise, post-exercise and 30 min post-exercise. Daytime melatonin ingestion affected arousal and vigilance in the pre-exercise period (p < 0.05) but had no effect on Tre, HR, blood pressure, lactate, TS, arousal, and vigilance measured 30 min post-exercise (p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The negative effects of melatonin ingestion on vigilance and arousal vanished after a 45 min of submaximal exercise. The hypnotic effect of melatonin observed in the pre-exercise dissipated in the post-exercise period, possibly due to the significant elevation of Tre, HR, and cortisol at the end of submaximal exercise.

A Simple Questionnaire as a First-Step Tool to Detect Specific Frailty Profiles: The Lorraine Frailty-Profiling Screening Scale.

OBJECTIVES: To propose a simple frailty screening tool able to identify frailty profiles. DESIGN: Cross-sectional observational study. SETTING: Participants were recruited in 3 different clinical settings: a primary care outpatient clinic (RURAL population, N=591), a geriatric day clinic (DAY-CLINIC population, N=76) and healthy volunteers (URBAN population, N=147). PARTICIPANTS: A total of 817 older adults (>70 years old) living at home were included. INTERVENTION: A 9-item questionnaire (Lorraine Frailty Profiling Screening Scale, LoFProSS), constructed by an experts' working group, was administered to participants by health professionals. MEASUREMENTS: A Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA) followed by a hierarchical clustering of the results of the MCA performed in each population was conducted to identify participant profiles based on their answers to LoFProSS. A response pattern algorithm was resultantly identified in the RURAL (main) population and subsequently applied to the URBAN and DAY-CLINIC populations and, in these populations, the two classification methods were compared. Finally, clinically-relevant profiles were generated and compared for their ability to similarly classify subjects. RESULTS: The response pattern differed between the 3 sub-populations for all 9 items, revealing significant intergroup differences (1.2±1.4 positive responses for URBAN vs. 2.1±1.3 for RURAL vs. 3.1±2.1 for DAY-CLINIC, all p<0.05). Five clusters were highlighted in the main RURAL population: "non-frail", "hospitalizations", "physical problems", "social isolation" and "behavioral", with similar clusters highlighted in the remaining two populations. Identification of the response pattern algorithm in the RURAL population yielded a second classification approach, with 83% of tested participants classified in the same cluster using the 2 different approaches. Three clinically-relevant profiles ("non-frail" profile, "physical frailty and diseases" profile and "cognitive-psychological frailty" profile) were subsequently generated from the 5 clusters. A similar double classification approach as above was applied to these 3 profiles revealing a very high percentage (95.6%) of similar profile classifications using both methods. CONCLUSION: The present results demonstrate the ability of LoFProSS to highlight 3 frailty-related profiles, in a consistent manner, among different older populations living at home. Such scale could represent an added value as a simple frailty screening tool for accelerated and better-targeted investigations and interventions.

[Ulcerations of the extremities: An unusual manifestation of Behçet's disease]. / Ulcérations des extrémités : une manifestation inhabituelle de la maladie de Behçet.

BACKGROUND: Although cutaneous and mucosal involvement is a major manifestation in Behçet's disease, ulcerated lesions of the extremities are exceptional and poorly known. CASE REPORT: A 57-year-old male patient was diagnosed 7 years ago with Behçet's disease. This diagnosis was made in the presence of recurrent bipolar aphtous ulcers, pseudofolliculitis lesions and retinal vasculitis. After having been lost to follow up for two years, during which his treatment was discontinued, he presented centimetric necrotic ulcerations of the fingers of the hand and of the right big toe. The biopsy revealed leucocytoclastic and necrotizing vasculitis. The patient improved with antibiotic, oral corticosteroids, colchicine and local care. CONCLUSION: Linking extremity ulcers with Behçet's disease, though sometimes difficult, is essential for proper management.

Biochemical status, oxidative and antioxidant responses after 3-month specific training in elite karate athletes.

Aim To investigate the effects of 3-month-long specific training program on biochemical status, oxidative and antioxidant responses in elite karatekas. Methods Twenty male karatekas [BMI: 21.9 ± 2.4 (kg/m2)] participated in this study. They performed a 3-month specific training to prepare for an international competition. We measured selected biochemical parameters, the oxidative and antioxidant responses before (T0) and after 3 months of intense karate training (T1). Results We found significant increases in catalase activity (26.3% ± 21.3%, p < 0.0005), superoxide dismutase activity (15.9% ± 28.8%, p < 0.05), and a significant decrease in malondialdehyde levels (17.2% ± 13.7%, p < 0.0005) after 3 months of karate training. Moreover, the athletes' biochemical status was significantly improved at T1 compared with T0 (for the majority of parameters, p < 0.0005). Conclusions The specific training program improves the prooxidant-antioxidant balance of elite karate athletes. It could be recommended for athletes having similar physical fitness level.

Salt tolerance of Beta macrocarpa is associated with efficient osmotic adjustment and increased apoplastic water content.

The chenopod Beta macrocarpa Guss (wild Swiss chard) is known for its salt tolerance, but the mechanisms involved are still debated. In order to elucidate the processes involved, we grew wild Swiss chard exposed to three salinity levels (0, 100 and 200 mm NaCl) for 45 days, and determined several physiological parameters at the end of this time. All plants survived despite reductions in growth, photosynthesis and stomatal conductance in plants exposed to salinity (100 and 200 mm NaCl). As expected, the negative effects of salinity were more pronounced at 200 mm than at 100 mm NaCl: (i) leaf apoplastic water content was maintained or increased despite a significant reduction in leaf water potential, revealing the halophytic character of B. macrocarpa; (ii) osmotic adjustment occurred, which presumably enhanced the driving force for water extraction from soil, and avoided toxic build up of Na(+) and Cl(-) in the mesophyll apoplast of leaves. Osmotic adjustment mainly occurred through accumulation of inorganic ions and to a lesser extent soluble sugars; proline was not implicated in osmotic adjustment. Overall, two important mechanisms of salt tolerance in B. macrocarpa were identified: osmotic and apoplastic water adjustment.

Evaluation of antileishmanial, cytotoxic and antioxidant activities of essential oils extracted from plants issued from the leishmaniasis-endemic region of Sned (Tunisia).

In this study, we tested 10 essential oils (EOs) extracted from 10 plants issued from Sned region (Tunisia) to evaluate both their leishmanicidal effects against Leishmania major and L. infantum, and their cytotoxicity against murine macrophage cell line RAW 264.7 (ATCC, TIB-71). The antioxidant activity was also monitored by the DDPH method, while the chemical composition of active EO was assessed by GC-MS analysis. The results showed that the EOs obtained from Thymus hirtus sp. algeriensis (rich on monoterpenoids, especially linalool at 17.62% and camphor at 13.82%) is significantly active against both L. major and L. infantum, whereas Ruta chalepensis EO (rich on 2-undecanone at 84.28%) is only active against L. infantum. Both oil extracts showed low cytotoxicity towards murine macrophages. The characteristic ratios (IC80 Raw264.7 cells/IC50 L. infantum and IC80 Raw264.7 cells/IC50 L. major) were, respectively, 2.7 and 1.57 for T. hirtus sp. algeriensis, and 1.34 and 0.19 for R. chalepensis. However, when measuring the antioxidant effects (DDPH method), the two latter EOs presented a moderate 2,2-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl hydrate scavenging effects compared to EOs from Eucaliptus globulus, Pinus halepensis, Pituranthos tortuosus, Rosmarinus officinalis, Tetraclinis articulata or to BHT.

Impedance biosensing using phages for bacteria detection: generation of dual signals as the clue for in-chip assay confirmation.

In the present work, we compare the use of antibodies (Ab) and phages as bioreceptors for bacteria biosensing by Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS). With this aim, both biocomponents have been immobilised in parallel onto interdigitated gold microelectrodes. The produced surfaces have been characterised by EIS and Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FTIR) Spectroscopy and have been applied to bacteria detection. Compared to immunocapture, detection using phages generates successive dual signals of opposite trend over time, which consist of an initial increase in impedance caused by bacteria capture followed by impedance decrease attributed to phage-induced lysis. Such dual signals can be easily distinguished from those caused by non-specific adsorption and/or crossbinding, which helps to circumvent one of the main drawbacks of reagentless biosensors based in a single target-binding event. The described strategy has generated specific detection of Escherichia coli in the range of 10(4)-10(7) CFU mL(-1) and minimal interference by non-target Lactobacillus. We propose that the utilisation of phages as capture biocomponent for bacteria capture and EIS detection allows in-chip signal confirmation.

Surface plasmon resonance immunosensor for bacteria detection.

This work describes an approach for the development of two bacteria biosensors based on surface plasmon resonance (SPR) technique. The first biosensor was based on functionalized gold substrate and the second one on immobilized gold nanoparticles. For the first biosensor, the gold substrate was functionalized with acid-thiol using the self-assembled monolayer technique, while the second one was functionalized with gold nanoparticles immobilized on modified gold substrate. A polyclonal anti-Escherichia coli antibody was immobilized for specific (E. coli) and non-specific (Lactobacillus) bacteria detection. Detection limit with a good reproducibility of 10(4) and 10(3) cfu mL(-1) of E. coli bacteria has been obtained for the first biosensor and for the second one respectively. A refractive index variation below 5x10(-3) due to bacteria adsorption is able to be detected. The refractive index of the multilayer structure and of the E. coli bacteria layer was estimated with a modeling software.

[Pulmonary arterial hypertension in the elderly subject]. / Hypertension artérielle pulmonaire du sujet âgé. La cohorte d'un centre régional.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the features of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in elderly patients. METHODS: A single centre, descriptive study of PAH patients consecutively referred to a regional centre, from September 2002 to February, 1st, 2009. The group of patients aged 65 and above at the time of the diagnosis was compared to the younger patients. RESULTS: Sixty-six patients suffering from PAH (group 1) have been investigated by means of right heart catheterisation. There were 24 patients aged 65 and above. Mean pulmonary arterial pressure was lower in the patients aged over 65. The older patient group had more respiratory and/or cardiac co-morbidities, a lower median distance in the 6minute walk test and a higher median Pro-BNP level. Specific PAH treatments were prescribed in both groups. Fifteen patients aged 65 and above were on long-term oxygen therapy (vs four younger patients, p<0.0001). The elderly patients had a median survival of 32 months. CONCLUSION: The diagnosis of PAH in elderly patients is associated with a poor prognosis. The management of these patients needs further studies.

Combined effect of alkali pretreatment and sodium chloride addition on the olive fermentation process.

Green olives of the Tunisian variety "Meski" were treated according to a Spanish-style green olive preservation process by using an alkaline treatment (1.5, 2 and 2.5% (w/v) NaOH) to eliminate bitterness, combined with different brine concentrations (6, 9 and 12% (w/v) NaCl). A spontaneous fermentation by the environmental microflora took place. Results showed that 2% NaOH solution and 9% sodium chloride brine was an optimal combination inducing the best growth of Lactobacillus species (10(8) CFU/ml) and acidity of 0.726 g lactic acid/100 ml brine. In all trials and independently of the treatment, Lb. plantarum was the most dominant strain of Lactobacillus. Moreover, pretreatment with lye and lactic fermentation of olives contributed to coliform elimination.

[Epizootic equine influenza in Tunisia]. / A propos d'une épizootie de grippe équine survenue en Tunisie.

The authors describe an equine influenza epizootic that occurred in Tunisia during February and March 1998 in the regions of Tozeur, Sousse and Tunis. They relate the symptoms, the different stages of diagnosis and the serological results.