Role of cortisol in mood and memory in patients with intractable temporal lobe epilepsy

OBJECTIVE

This study prospectively examined the relationships among late night salivary cortisol (NSC) levels and depressive symptoms, memory performance, and hippocampal volumes in patients with medically intractable temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) and the potential mediating effects of cortisol in the relationships between these variables.

METHODS

Participants included 24 adults with well-characterized medically refractory TLE (right = 11; left = 12; bitemporal = 1). All patients provided saliva samples and completed measures of mood, anxiety, and memory (objective and subjective). MRI-based volumetric analyses of the hippocampi were also conducted.

RESULTS

As hypothesized, cortisol was found to be negatively related to several memory measures such that patients with higher cortisol levels demonstrated lower memory performance. However, unexpectedly, cortisol was not related to current symptoms of depression or anxiety, subjective memory ratings, or hippocampal volumes. Consistent with previous findings in the literature, a number of other relationships among the study variables were observed (objective memory and hippocampal volume; subjective memory and mood/anxiety). Results of mediator analyses suggested that cortisol does not mediate the relationship between depression and memory dysfunction or the relationship between depression and hippocampal atrophy.

CONCLUSIONS

While cortisol may play a role in memory performance in patients with TLE, it does not fully explain the relationship between depression and mesial temporal dysfunction, likely reflecting the complex and multifactorial relationships among these variables. Results confirm the relationship between memory performance and structural brain integrity and provide further support for a role of depression in subjective memory complaints.

Chemical and microbiological characterization of artisan inoculants used for the fermentation of traditional dairy products in Epirus area (Greece)

The artisan production of a variety of dairy products is a historical tradition since antiquity, which is still practiced nowadays, in the area of Epirus, (northwestern Greece). The common denominator of these products, regardless of the final form of the end product, is the fermentation of raw milk by the use of dried artisan inoculants made of the dehydrated rumen of small ruminants, mainly lambs. The aim of this research project is to study the microbiological parameters as well as certain technological parameters (chymosin activity and lipolytic activity) of these inoculants. The results revealed a wide biodiversity of microorganisms such as Lactobacilli, Lactococci, Leuconostoc, Pediococci, Streptococci, Bifidobacteria, Enterococci, Clostridia and coliforms. Chymosin activity and lipolytic activity were found to be higher in artisan inoculants than in the commercial ones.

Hygienic quality and antibiotic resistance profile of sliced butchery

In order to investigate the microbiological quality of different meat products on the Greek market, 200 samples were collected from the following preparations: boiled turkey (n=50), boiled pork ham (n=50), smoked turkey (n=50) and smoked pork ham (n=50). In all cold meat preparations Clostridium perfringens vegetative and spore forms, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and other Clostridium sp lec(-), as well as Lactobacillus, Bacillus sp. and Salmonella sp. were recovered. For instance Bacillus cereus was present in 6% of the samples. L. monocytogenes, Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli were rarely present (1-4%) while Yersinia enterocolitica and Campylobacter lari were absent. Differences in the occurrence of S. aureus, Salmonella sp., E. coli and spore forms of C. perfringens in boiled and smoked samples, reflects either the differences in the processing of the foods or could be associated to the extensive handling by the personnel during the purchasing (storage, slicing, wrapping). Antibiotic resistance on specific antibiotics for each pathogen was also studied. A multiresistance antibiotic profile was effective for most bacterial strains, and pronounced resistance profiles were observed for the commonly used antibiotics as ampicillin, penicillin, cephalothin, streptomycin followed by ceftriaxone and gentamycin. Albeit this high observed resistance profile, the tested strains generally conserved their susceptibility to amikacin, aztreonam, chloramphenicol and tylosin conserved an almost absent resistance. Antibiotics commonly used for therapeutic purposes, as well as antibiotics added to feed stuff of animals for increasing animal flesh production should contribute to the extensive spreading of antibiotic resistance in food and the environment. Systematically monitoring of the microbiological quality of cold butchery preparations must be done, in order to preserve food quality, optimizing the processing and elaboration methods of the product and safeguard the public health.

Microbial ecology of the watery ecosystems of Evros river in North Eastern Greece and its influence upon the cultivated soil ecosystem

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the microbial ecosystem of cultivated soils along the Evros river in NE Greece. Evros river together with its derivative rivers constitute the capital source of life and sustainable development of the area. Along this riverside watery ecosystem systematic agro-cultures were developed such as wheat, corn and vegetable cultures. The evaluation of the ecosystem microbial charge was conducted in both axes which are the watery ecosystem and the riverside cultivated soil area. Considerable discrimination of water quality was observed when considering chemical and microbiological parameters of the Evros river ecosystem. Ardas river possesses a better water quality than Evros and Erythropotamos, which is mainly due to the higher quantities that these two rivers accumulate from industrial, farming and urban residues leading to higher degree of pollution. An increased microbial pollution was recorded in two of the three rivers monitored and a direct relation in microbial and chemical charging between water and cultivated-soil ecosystems was observed. The protection of these ecosystems with appropriate cultivated practices and control of human and animal activities will define the homeostasis of the environmental area.

Occurrence of Clostridium perfringens from different cultivated soils

The occurrence of Clostridium perfringens was estimated in 750 samples originated from a variety of soils bearing various bulb crops: Brawnica oderacea (vegetable), Olea europaea, Daucus carota (carote), Solanum tuberosum (potato), Phaseolus vulgaris (green haricot), Beta vulgaris var. rapaceum (beetroot), Cucurbita pepo (squash), Allium cepa (onion), Cucumis sativus (cucumber) and Capsicum annum (pepper). All isolated strains were tested for their antimicrobial activities to amoxicillin, penicillin G, kanamycin, tetracycline, streptomycin, erythromycin, chloramphenicol and metronidazole. When considering the type of the bulb production, it was observed increased number of C. perfringens spore densities in the most undersurface bulb soils. Moreover, C. perfringens spore are likely to occur in particularly large numbers in soil contaminated by fecal matter. Additionally, there is a close relationship between the spore amount and nature of organic content. Presence of C. perfringens was associated with acidic soil. Most of our strains showed resistance to the studied antibiotics applied usually for human and veterinary care. A systematic monitoring of the cultivated soil ecosystems must include bacteriological parameters together with chemical indices of organic pollution in order to obtain information adequate for assessing their overall quality.

Scattering and cloaking of binary hyper-particles in metamaterials

We derive the d-dimensional scattering cross section for homogeneous and composite hyper-particles inside a metamaterial. The polarizability of the hyper-particles is expressed in multi-dimensional form and is used in order to examine various scattering characteristics. We introduce scattering bounds that display interesting results when d --> ∞ and in particular consider the special limit of hyper-particle cloaking in some detail. We demonstrate cloaking via resonance for homogeneous particles and show that composite hyper-particles can be used in order to obtain electromagnetic cloaking with either negative or all positive constitutive parameters respectively. Our approach not only considers cloaking of particles of integer dimension but also particles with non-integer dimension such as fractals. Theoretical results are compared to full-wave numerical simulations for two interacting hyper-particles in a medium.

Effective-medium theory of surfaces and metasurfaces containing two-dimensional binary inclusions

The paper extends one-body effective-medium theory to incorporate the correct second-order interactions in a two-dimensional Maxwell-Garnett theory. The two-body inclusion problem is solved using the averaged dipole moments that are induced by the scattering electromagnetic field on the medium/inclusion system. By incorporating the appropriate polarizability factor in the solutions, conventional right-handed media with binary embeddings are analyzed while a different form for the polarizability term allows the study of the effective properties of a metasurface. In both cases, it is shown that the two-body coefficient to second order in the low area fraction of inclusions is exact, while the corresponding results of the Maxwell-Garnett and Bruggeman theories are incorrect. This is especially true in the superconducting and holes limits, respectively. In the study of metasurfaces, the requirement for electromagnetic screening of the inclusions as well as the requirement needed to achieve the Fröhlich condition are stated. Negative permittivity and permeability are presented for strong-scattering showing negative resonances for a given frequency spectrum. It is shown that these resonances disappear when we derive the weak-scattering limit. The possibility of obtaining doubly negative effective permittivity and permeability is discussed by using an appropriate polarization for the applied electromagnetic field propagating in the metasurface. Finally, the potential difference and hence voltage and capacitance between binary inclusions is determined for surfaces/metasurfaces which allows, in the case of metasurfaces, the behavior of split-ring-type resonators to be investigated.

Aerobic and Anaerobic Microbiology of the Immersion Chilling Procedure During Poultry Processing

The development of treatments to reduce bacterial numbers on poultry carcasses is important for the overall hygienic quality of birds. The important washing effect of the immersion chilling procedure is discussed. Systematic monitoring of fecal bacterial indicators as well as some classic pathogens was performed at selected critical points in a water chiller ecosystem. Clostridium perfringens, fecal coliforms, Enterococcus sp., and Streptococcus sp. were found in all water chiller samples. The temperature of the chiller ecosystem varied according to location: Escherichia coli and Salmonella sp. were found at 16 degrees C, compared with the 4 degrees C location, where these species were found in lower numbers. Moreover, the psychrotrophic bacterium Pseudomonas was found only at this last location. The temperature of the water during the immersion chilling procedure was unfavorable for the growth of Campylobacter sp., whose presence was always strictly associated with a pH close to 6. Spore forms of C. perfringens were persistent in all locations and seemed to be a reliable indicator of contamination of the water chiller ecosystem.

Rainwater harvesting, quality assessment and utilization in Kefalonia Island, Greece

The quality of harvested rainwater which is used for domestic and drinking purposes in the northern area of Kefalonia Island in SW Greece and the factors affecting it were assessed through 3-year surveillance. In 12 seasonal samplings, 156 rainwater and 144 ground- or mixed water samples were collected from ferroconcrete storage tanks (300-1000 m3 capacity), which are adjacent to cement-paved catchment areas (600-3000 m2). Common anions and major cations as well as the metals Fe, Mn, Cd, Pb, Cu, Cr, Ni and Zn were tested. The presence of three major groups of organic compounds, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), organochloride pesticides (OCPs) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), was screened by common analytical techniques. All of the rainwater samples were within the guidelines for chemical parameters established by the 98/93/EU directive. As far as microbiological quality is concerned, total coliforms, Escherichia coli and enterococci were detected in 80.3%, 40.9% and 28.8% of the rainwater samples, respectively, although they were found in low concentrations. Chemical and microbiological parameters showed seasonal fluctuations. Principal component analysis revealed that microbiological parameters were affected mainly by the cleanness level of catchment areas, while chemical parameters were influenced by the sea proximity and human activities. Disinfection should be applied into the tanker trucks which distribute the water to the consumers and not into the big storage tanks in order to avoid by-products formation. Due to the lack of fluoride in rainwater samples, the consumers must become aware of the fact that the supplementation of this element is needed.