Cefditoren: Comparative efficacy with other antimicrobials and risk factors for resistance in clinical isolates causing UTIs in outpatients

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>To investigate a possible role of Cefditoren, a recently marketed in Greece third-generation oral cephalosporin in urinary infections of outpatients.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>During a multicenter survey of Enterobacteriaceae causing UTIs in outpatients during 2005–2007, Cefditoren MICs were determined by agar dilution method in a randomly selected sample of uropathogens. Susceptibility against 18 other oral/parenteral antimicrobials was determined according to Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute methodology.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total of 563 isolates (330 <it>Escherichia coli</it>, 142 <it>Proteus mirabilis</it> and 91 <it>Klebsiella</it> spp) was studied; MIC50/MIC90 of Cefditoren was 0.25/0.5 mg/L respectively, with 97.1% of the isolates being inhibited at 1 mg/L. All 12 strains producing ESBLs or AmpC enzymes were resistant to cefditoren. Susceptibility rates (%) for amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, cefuroxime axetil, cefotaxime, ciprofloxacin, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole and fosfomycin were 93.1- 94.1- 96.8-93.1-71.9 and 92.8% respectively. Cefditoren MIC was significantly higher in nalidixic/ciprofloxacin non-susceptible strains; resistance to cefditoren was not associated with resistance to mecillinam, fosfomycin nitrofurantoin and aminoglycosides. Multivariate analysis demonstrated history of urinary infection in the last two weeks or three months as risk factors for cefditoren resistance.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Cefditoren exhibited enhanced in vitro activity against the most common uropathogens in the outpatient setting, representing an alternative oral treatment option in patients with risk factors for resistance to first-line antibiotics.</p

IGF-IR: a new prognostic biomarker for human glioblastoma.

Glioblastomas (GBMs) are the most common malignant primary brain tumours in adults and are refractory to conventional therapy, including surgical resection, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. The insulin-like growth factor (IGF) system is a complex network that includes ligands (IGFI and IGFII), receptors (IGF-IR and IGF-IIR) and high-affinity binding proteins (IGFBP-1 to IGFBP-6). Many studies have reported a role for the IGF system in the regulation of tumour cell biology. However, the role of this system remains unclear in GBMs.SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

A Preliminary Application of Social Cognitive Theory to Nonsuicidal Self-Injury

Researchers have established a relationship between exposure to nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI), and increased probability of engaging in the behavior, but few have endeavored to explain the mechanisms underlying the relationship. We drew on Social Cognitive Theory to argue that core cognitions, including NSSI outcome expectancies and self-efficacy expectancies, moderate this relationship. We also explored whether knowledge about NSSI and attitudes toward the behavior played a role in this relationship. A sample of 389 university students (73.1 % female, M age = 20.90, SD = 2.36), completed online questionnaires assessing the constructs of interest. Our findings support the application of Social Cognitive Theory to better understanding NSSI, with clear links between expectancies, self-efficacy and NSSI. Further, these cognitions moderated a number of exposure-NSSI relationships. Implications of these findings for theory, research and intervention are discussed