Procalcitonin-Guided Antibiotics after Surgery for Peritonitis: A Randomized Controlled Study.

Serum procalcitonin (PCT) is a useful biomarker to tailor the duration of antibiotics in respiratory infections. The objective of this study was to determine whether PCT levels could tailor postoperative antibiotic therapy in patients operated for peritonitis. Patients with peritonitis were randomized postoperatively. The control group received antibiotics for a defined duration according to institutional guidelines. In the study group, antibiotics were stopped based on serum PCT levels. Patients were stratified into three categories: (1) gastrointestinal perforation, (2) perforated appendicitis, and (3) postoperative complication. Primary outcome was duration of antibiotics. We included 162 patients; 83 and 79 patients in the control group and study group, respectively. In the subgroup of patients with peritonitis due to gastrointestinal perforation, we found 7 days of antibiotics in the PCT group versus 10 days in the control group (p value 0.065). There was no difference in infectious complications, mortality, median length of hospital stay, and necessity to restart antibiotics. No significant differences were found in duration of antibiotics when applying PCT guidance. However, in the subgroup of primary perforation of the gastrointestinal tract, there was a difference in duration of antibiotics in favor of the PCT group without obtaining significance, as the study was not powered for subgroup analysis. Further studies including only this subgroup should be performed

Myiases d’ici et d’ailleurs : pseudo-furonculose et bactériémie à Ignatzschineria larvae [Myases from here and elsewhere : pseudo-furonculosis and Ignatzschineria larvae bacteremia]

Myiasis is an infestation by maggots. In humans, it predominates in regions with low socio-economic development. We report on two cases of myiasis acquired during a tropical travel and in Switzerland, respectively. The first one presented as a furunculous-like disease due to the invasion of subcutaneous tissues by Cordylobia sp. larvae. The second corresponded to a chronic wound infestation that resulted in a rarely reported bacteremia due to Ignatzschineria larvae, a commensal bacteria of maggots' digestive tract. Surgery was necessary in both cases, mainly for psychological reasons in the first case. Both the entomologist and molecular biology were instrumental for treatment decisions

Transcriptome Analysis of the Desert Locust Central Nervous System: Production and Annotation of a Schistocerca gregaria EST Database

) displays a fascinating type of phenotypic plasticity, designated as ‘phase polyphenism’. Depending on environmental conditions, one genome can be translated into two highly divergent phenotypes, termed the solitarious and gregarious (swarming) phase. Although many of the underlying molecular events remain elusive, the central nervous system (CNS) is expected to play a crucial role in the phase transition process. Locusts have also proven to be interesting model organisms in a physiological and neurobiological research context. However, molecular studies in locusts are hampered by the fact that genome/transcriptome sequence information available for this branch of insects is still limited. EST information is highly complementary to the existing orthopteran transcriptomic data. Since many novel transcripts encode neuronal signaling and signal transduction components, this paper includes an overview of these sequences. Furthermore, several transcripts being differentially represented in solitarious and gregarious locusts were retrieved from this EST database. The findings highlight the involvement of the CNS in the phase transition process and indicate that this novel annotated database may also add to the emerging knowledge of concomitant neuronal signaling and neuroplasticity events. EST data constitute an important new source of information that will be instrumental in further unraveling the molecular principles of phase polyphenism, in further establishing locusts as valuable research model organisms and in molecular evolutionary and comparative entomology

Les Chiropt\ue8res africains du Mus\ue9e zoologique de Strasbourg

Volume: 64Start Page: 189End Page: 21

Notes sur Tadarida teniotis (Raf.) (Mammalia, Chiroptera) - I. Syst\ue9matique, pal\ue9ontologie et peuplement, r\ue9paration g\ue9ographique

Volume: 73Start Page: 119End Page: 16

Contribution \ue0 l\u27\ue9tude de la faune d\u27Afghanistan 9. Chiropt\ue8res

Volume: 66Start Page: 353End Page: 38

Les Rongeurs de basse C\uf4te d\u27Ivoire (Hystricomorpha et Gliridae)

Volume: 72Start Page: 755End Page: 76

Catalogue raisonn\ue9 des chiropt\ue8res de la Colombie

Volume: 77Start Page: 1End Page: 3

Le baculum de Tadarida teniotis

Depuis quelques décennies, les mammalogistes en général et les chiroptérologues en particulier ont découvert que l’étude du baculum (= os pénien) pouvait constituer un caractère systématique, au niveau de la famille, du genre et de l’espèce, et apporter une contribution non négligeable à la connaissance des relations intergénériques et interspécifiques. Il suffira de citer, pour la faune paléarctique, les deux espèces de Plecotus qui, par l’étude de leur os pénien, peuvent être identifiés presque à coup sûr, alors que la morphologie générale est très semblable et qu’il était très difficile de les distinguer par les caractères classiques habituels: mensuration (et indices), morphologie générale, du crâne, de la dentition, coloration, etc. Il en va de même pour les Myotis myotis et Myotis blythi (oxygnathus). En ce qui concerne les Molossidés, la seule espèce europeenne, Tadarida teniotis, n’avait pas fait l’objet de recherches très poussées. Il faut dire que Kuzjakin (1950: 418) avait découragé les curieux en affirmant “os penien non présent”. Plus récemment, Lanza (1959: 11-12) écrit qu’il n’a pas encore de données suffisantes pour cette espèce, mais que le molosse de Cestoni “est pourvu d’un miniscule os pénien, de moins de 1 mm, situé à la pointe du pénis et, semble-t-il, de forme assez variable”