[Post-acute management of fractures of the proximal interphalangeal joint with metal prosthesis: first experience]. / Postakute Versorgung von Frakturen des Fingermittelgelenks mittels metallischer Prothese: erste Erfahrungen.

AIM: The purpose of this report is to present our management strategy for fractures of the proximal interphalangeal joint by means of a metal prosthesis via a dorsomedial approach and to discuss our clinical and radiological results. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Two patients with complex crush injuries and fractures of the proximal interphalangeal joints who were treated surgically in the years 2004 and 2005 were examined again at an average of 13 months postoperatively. Management was standardised, first in the emergency room with wound cleaning and temporary osteosynthesis. About 3-4 weeks later a secondary procedure with implantation of a metallic prosthesis was carried out. Clinical and radiological follow-ups were performed. The final result was evaluated by means of the modified Mayo wrist score. In addition, the patients' functional limitations were assessed quantitatively with the DASH evaluation scheme. RESULTS: In one of the two patients, revision surgery in the form of a definitive arthrodesis was necessary. Grip strength on the injured side was weakened by 10 %. One patient achieved a very good and the other a good result upon evaluation with the modified Mayo wrist score. The DASH evaluation gave on average a functional limitation of 30 points.

Sleep habits and diabetes.

Sleep duration has been constantly decreasing over the past 50 years. Short sleep duration, sleep quality and, recently, long sleep duration have all been linked to poor health outcomes, increasing the risk of developing metabolic diseases and cardiovascular events. Beyond the duration of sleep, the timing of sleep may also have consequences. Having a tendency to go early to bed (early chronotype) compared with the habit of going to bed later (late chronotype) can interfere considerably with social schedules (school, work). Eventually, a misalignment arises in sleep timing between work days and free days that has been described as 'social jet lag'. The present review looks at how different sleep habits can interfere with diabetes, excluding sleep breathing disorders, and successively looks at the effects of sleep duration, chronotype and social jet lag on the risk of developing diabetes as well as on the metabolic control of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Finally, this review addresses the current state of knowledge of physiological mechanisms that could be linking sleep habits and metabolic health.

Evolution of a degradative bacterial consortium during the enrichment of naphtha solvent.

A microbial mixed culture able to degrade naphtha solvent, a model of hydrocarbon aromatic mixture, was isolated from a hydrocarbon-polluted soil. Composition of the population was monitored by phenotypic and molecular methods applied on soil DNA, on whole enrichment culture DNA, and on 85 isolated strains. Strains were characterized for their 16S rDNA restriction profiles and for their random amplified polymorphic DNA profiles. Catabolic capabilities were monitored by phenotypic traits and by PCR assays for the presence of the catabolic genes methyl mono-oxygenase ( xylA, M), catechol 2,3 dioxygenase (xylE) and toluene dioxygenase (todC1) of TOL and TOD pathways. Different haplotypes belonging to Pseudomonas putida, Ps. aureofaciens and Ps. aeruginosa were found to degrade aromatic compounds and naphtha solvent. The intrinsic catabolic activity of the microbial population of the polluted site was detected by PCR amplification of the xylE gene directly from soil DNA.

Survival and naphthalene-degrading activity of Rhodococcus sp. strain 1BN in soil microcosms.

AIMS: The survival and activity of Rhodococcus sp. strain 1BN, inoculated into naphthalene-contaminated sandy-loam soil microcosms, were studied using classical and molecular methods. METHODS AND RESULTS: The naphthalene-degrading activity of 1BN in microcosms was examined through viable counts, CO2 production and naphthalene consumption, while its survival after inoculation was monitored by detecting the contemporary presence of alkane and naphthalene degradative genes and by analysing the 16S rDNA specific restriction profile. The inoculation of 1BN did not significantly enhance naphthalene degradation in the naphthalene-contaminated native soil, where 1BN maintained its catabolic activity also when in the presence of indigenous microflora. Instead the rate of naphthalene degradation by the inoculated 1BN was greater in sterile naphthalene-contaminated soil. The level of 1BN was only slightly higher after inoculation regardless of whether indigenous naphthalene-degrading bacteria were present or not and 1BN remained viable even when the substrate was depleted. CONCLUSIONS: This study documents the colonization and growth of 1BN in a non-sterile, naphthalene-added, sandy-loam soil having an active indigenous naphthalene-degrading population. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: An active and well-established naphthalene-degrading bacterial population in the native soil did not hamper the survival of the introduced 1BN that, through its activity, enhanced the mineralization rate of naphthalene.