“
“Polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN) are the most abundant circulating leukocytes. They represent a first line of innate immunity against a large panel of microbial pathogens, pending development of specific immune responses. The role of PMN in human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) disease has mainly been investigated from the point of view of the increased susceptibility of HIV-1-infected patients to bacterial and fungal infections. However, it is now clear that the relationship

between PMN and HIV-1 is far more complex. This review examines both the beneficial and the detrimental effects of PMN during HIV infection. (C) 2013 S. Karger AG, Basel”
“Objective: To describe the CA3 investigation and learn more management

of patients admitted to hospitals in China with suspected acute coronary syndromes (ACS) and to identify potential areas for improvement in practice.\n\nDesign: A multicentre prospective survey of socio-demographic characteristics, medical history, clinical features, in-hospital investigations, treatment practices and major events among patients with suspected ACS.\n\nSetting: Large urban public hospitals.\n\nPatients: Consecutive patients admitted to in-patient facilities with a diagnosis of suspected acute myocardial infarction (MI) or unstable angina pectoris.\n\nMain outcome measures: Myocardial infarction/reinfarction, heart failure, death.\n\nResults: Between September 2004 and May 2005, data were collected prospectively from 2973 patients admitted to 51 hospitals in 18 provinces of China. selleck chemical An initial diagnosis of ST elevation MI, non-ST elevation MI and unstable angina was made in 43%, 11% and 46% of patients, respectively. Diagnosis was inconsistent with objective measures in up to 20% of cases. At both tertiary and non-tertiary centres, there was little evidence that clinical risk stratification was used to determine the intensity of investigation and management. The mortality rate during hospitalisation was 5% overall and similar in tertiary and non-tertiary centres, but reported in-hospital

re-infarction rates (8%) and heart failure rates (16%) were substantially higher at non-tertiary centres.\n\nConclusion: This study has identified a number of areas in the management of ACS patients, including diagnosis and risk stratification, which deviate from current guidelines. These findings will help inform the introduction of widely used quality improvement initiatives such as clinical pathways.”
“Driving is a complex task and is susceptible to inattention and distraction. Moreover, alcohol has a detrimental effect on driving performance, possibly due to alcohol-induced attention deficits. The aim of the present study was to assess the effects of alcohol on simulated driving performance and attention orienting and allocation, as assessed by event-related potentials (ERPs).