Ann Phys Rehabil Med

Joint contractures and acquired deforming hypertonia are frequent in dependent older people. The consequences of these conditions can be significant for activities of daily living as well as comfort and quality of life. They can also negatively affect the burden of care and care costs. However, etiological factors and pathophysiologic mechanisms remain only partly understood. As a result, preventive interventions and treatments focus entirely on controlling symptoms rather than the causes. Moreover, the effectiveness of these interventions remains to be validated. The purpose of this position paper is to present current data on etiological factors contributing to the development of joint contractures and acquired deforming hypertonia in older people. The pathophysiologic mechanisms of joint contractures in animal models are also presented

J Antimicrob Chemother

BACKGROUND: Antibiotic administration by subcutaneous (SC) injection is common practice in French geriatric wards as an alternative to the intravenous (IV) route, but few pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic data are available. Ertapenem is useful for the treatment of infections with ESBL-producing enterobacteria. OBJECTIVES: To report and compare ertapenem pharmacokinetic data between IV and SC routes in older persons. METHODS: Patients >65 years of age receiving ertapenem (1 g once daily) for at least 48 h (IV or SC, steady-state) were prospectively enrolled. Total ertapenem concentrations [residual (C0), IV peak (C0.5) and SC peak (C2.5)] were determined by UV HPLC. Individual-predicted AUC0-24 values were calculated and population pharmacokinetic analyses were performed. Using the final model, a Monte Carlo simulation involving 10 000 patients evaluated the influence of SC or IV administration on the PTA. Tolerance to ertapenem and recovery were also monitored. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02505386. RESULTS: Ten (mean +/- SD age=87+/-7 years) and 16 (age=88+/-5 years) patients were included in the IV and SC groups, respectively. The mean C0 and C2.5 values were not significantly different between the IV and SC groups (C0=12+/-5.9 versus 12+/-7.4 mg/L, P=0.97; C2.5=97+/-42 versus 67+/-41 mg/L, P=0.99). The mean C0.5 was higher in the IV group compared with the SC group (C0.5=184+/-90 versus 51+/-66 mg/L, P=0.001). The mean individual AUCs (1126.92+/-334.99 mg.h/L for IV versus 1005.3+/-266.0 mg.h/L for SC, P=0.38) and PTAs were not significantly different between groups. No severe antibiotic-related adverse effects were noted. CONCLUSIONS: SC administration of ertapenem is an alternative to IV administration in older patients

Spatiotemporal variability of methane over the Amazon from satellite observations

The spatiotemporal variability of the greenhouse gas methane (CH4) in the atmosphere over the Amazon is studied using data from the space-borne measurements of the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder on board NASA’s AQUA satellite for the period 2003–12. The results show a pronounced variability of this gas over the Amazon Basin lowlands region, where wetland areas occur. CH4 has a well-defined seasonal behavior, with a progressive increase of its concentration during the dry season, followed by a decrease during the wet season. Concerning this variability, the present study indicates the important role of ENSO in modulating the variability of CH4 emissions over the northern Amazon, where this association seems to be mostly linked to changes in flooded areas in response to ENSO-related precipitation changes. In this region, a CH4 decrease (increase) is due to the El Niño-related (La Niña-related) dryness (wetness). On the other hand, an increase (decrease) in the biomass burning over the southeastern Amazon during very dry (wet) years explains the increase (decrease) in CH4 emissions in this region. The present analysis identifies the two main areas of the Amazon, its northern and southeastern sectors, with remarkable interannual variations of CH4. This result might be useful for future monitoring of the variations in the concentration of CH4, the second-most important greenhouse gas, in this area. © 2016, Chinese National Committee for International Association of Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Science Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg