The in situ physiology of "Nostocoida limicola" II, a filamentous bacterial morphotype in bulking activated sludge, using fluorescence in situ hybridization and microautoradiography

The in situ physiology of the actinobacterial bulking and foaming filamentous bacterium "Nostocoida limicola" II was studied by fluorescence in situ hybridization/microautoradiography. Substrate assimilation patterns of pure cultures of this bacterium were different to those seen in activated sludge biomass samples. There was no evidence to suggest that "N. limicola" II preferred hydrophobic substrates, but evidence was produced to support the view that it is metabolically active under anaerobic conditions in activated sludge.

Gene cassette-associated sequences from phosphorus and non-phosphorus removing microbial communities in aerobic:anaerobic sequencing batch reactors

Mobile gene elements associated with integrons, including as gene cassettes, have been proposed to play an important role in bacterial evolution by providing an extensive genetic resource. This study hypothesized that critical genes for enzymes involved in EBPR systems, including those involved in polyphosphate, PHA and glycogen synthesis, may be present in mobile gene cassettes. Although no such genes were identified in any of the functional and deteriorated enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) laboratory-scale SBR systems examined here, many of the open reading frames (ORFs) remained unidentified because of the incompleteness of publicly available databases. An ORF of unknown function (SBR6-2) was encountered in deteriorated EBPR system with an unexpectedly high frequency, comprising 35% of the gene cassette-associated sequences for that system.

Caseinoglycomacropeptide Inhibits Adhesion of Pathogenic Escherichia coli Strains to Human Cells in Culture

Caseinoglycomacropeptide (CGMP) derived from kappa-casein was investigated for its ability to inhibit the adhesion of 3 strains of verotoxigenic Escherichia coli (VTEC) and 3 strains of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) to human HT29 tissue cell cultures. Effects on adhesion of Desulfovibrio desulfuricans, Lactobacillus pentosus, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus acidophilus, and Lactobacillus gasseri were also investigated. Generally, CGMP exerted effective anti-adhesive properties at a dose of 2.5 mg/mL, albeit with a high degree of strain specificity. The CGMP reduced adhesion of VTEC strains to <50% of the control and reduced adhesion of EPEC strains to between 80 and 10% of the control. The CGMP also reduced the adhesion of L. pentosus and L. casei to 44 and 42%, respectively. A slight but significant reduction of L. acidophilus, to 81%, was observed, but no significant effects were detected with either Dsv. desulfuricans or L. gasseri. Further investigation of the dose response relationships with the E. coli strains gave IC50 values ranging between 0.12 and 1.06 mg/mL.

Fish rhabdoviruses: molecular epidemiology and evolution

Rhabdoviruses may cause serious diseases in wild and farmed fish. Within the Rhabdoviridae six genera have been established: Ephemerovirus, Cytorhabdovirus, Nucleorhabdovirus, Lyssavirus, Vesiculovirus, and Novirhabdovirus. Viruses that infect fish are official or tentative members of the genera Vesiculovirus and Novirhabdovirus, or are listed as unassigned rhabdoviruses. In this report, we summarize and discuss published and our own unpublished data on the molecular epidemiology and phylogeography of fish rhabdoviruses including intrapopulational differences and subgrouping of fish rhabdoviruses, in particular the species spring viremia of carp virus (SVCV), infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV) and viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus (VHSV).

Surgical techniques for vault prolapse: a review of the literature

We searched MEDLINE for articles indexed between 1972 and 2002 and dealing on operative techniques for vault prolapse. We found 149 articles describing, variously, abdominal sacrocolpopexy with mesh (2008 patients), other transabdominal methods (387 patients), sacrospinous ligament fixation (2390 patients), other transvaginal repairs (1556 patients), laparoscopic procedures (128 patients), intravaginal sling (168 patients) and vaginal obliteration techniques (157 patients). For each of these procedures there is a short presentation of the operative technique and a summary of all published data on concomitant surgery, complications and follow-up results relating to anatomical and functional outcome. Two procedures are more frequently used than the others: abdominal sacrocolpopexy and transvaginal sacrospinous ligament fixation. We were unable to detect any differences in the complication and/or cure rates, but did find a slightly better long-term anatomical outcome after the abdominal technique. Since no standardized outcome measure is available it is difficult to compare the functional results. Only in more recent studies have subjective cure rates (patient satisfaction with the outcome) also been evaluated as well as the objective cure rates determined by the investigators, and the objective and subjective rates are not necessarily the same. The subjective cure rate is probably more strongly influenced by the functional outcome in terms of micturition, defaecation and sexual activity than by the anatomical result.

Validation of a real-time RT-PCR assay for sensitive and specific detection of classical swine fever

A fully validated, ready-to-use, real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay, multiplexed for simultaneous detection of an internal control, for the simple and rapid diagnosis of classical swine fever (CSF) was developed. Primers and FAM-labeled TaqMan-probes specific for classical swine fever virus (CSFV) were selected from the consensus sequence of the 5' non-translated region (5' NTR) of 78 different CSFV strains. For determining analytical sensitivity, an in vitro transcript (T7-PC3alf) of the 5' NTR was constructed and tested. In addition, the T7-PC3alf transcript was further used as a positive control and a standard for quantitation of CSFV genome copies. A second heterologous in vitro transcript based on a specific primer-probe HEX-system was designed as an internal positive control for the RNA isolation step and RT-PCR. By using limited primer concentrations for the internal control, no adverse effects on the sensitivity of the CSF-system could be observed, and the newly designed duplex real-time RT-PCR proved to have a sensitivity of approximately eight copies. The primer-probe combination selected was strictly CSFV-specific and no amplification was observed in all non-CSFV pestiviruses tested.

Failure of recombinant human growth hormone treatment to improve congestive heart failure in hypopituitarism

Growth hormone (GH) deficiency decreases left ventricular (LV) contractility, induces LV chamber dilatation and promotes progression to congestive heart failure. It is, however, controversial, whether GH replacement therapy in addition to standard medical heart failure therapy should be considered as routine treatment in GH deficient patients with heart failure. In the present report of a 64-year-old GH deficient patient with heart failure, we demonstrate by using Doppler echocardiography, magnetic resonance imaging and 31P NMR spectroscopy that even a 12 month period of GH replacement therapy had no sustained effect on morphometric or functional parameters of LV performance nor on clinical signs or symptoms of heart failure. It is concluded that GH replacement therapy should currently not be regarded as standard heart failure therapy in patients with GH deficiency and should only be employed under careful monitoring including close follow-up in a standardized way.

Auto-SENSE view-sharing cine cardiac imaging

Cardiac MR cine imaging during breath hold is a compromise between spatial and temporal resolution and duration of breath hold. Especially for sick patients who have problems holding their breath, a short acquisition time is mandatory for all sequences. A combination of Auto-SENSE parallel imaging and view-sharing was implemented for fast cine imaging of the human heart and applied to healthy volunteers. Compared to conventional Fourier imaging, data acquisition could be accelerated by a factor of 3.6. Neither a pre-scan nor additional lines in k-space are required to generate the sensitivity maps in Auto-SENSE.

[Advances in pediatric sonography]

Advances in the field of ultrasound technology and ultrasound contrast media over the past few years have also brought major improvements to pediatric sonography. Accordingly, contrast-enhanced voiding urosonography has become a valuable alternative in the diagnosis of vesicoureteral reflux. It is possible to achieve significant reduction in radiation exposure replacing the conventional radiologic methods used for reflux diagnosis with contrast-enhanced ultrasound. Through the introduction of harmonic imaging, an ultrasound scanning modality with high spatial and contrast resolution has become available. The modality was initially propagated as one to be applied in difficult-to-scan adults. However, initial experiences in pediatric applications are demonstrating the significant improvement it can bring in the ultrasound image quality, for example, in intestinal ultrasound. A further development is three-dimensional [3D] imaging using ultrasound. 3D-ultrasound not only offers an improvement in diagnosis but also in the acceptance of ultrasound in interdisciplinary work and teaching. The first applications of 3D-ultrasound in pediatrics are focusing on brain ultrasound and volume measurement of the kidneys.

[Primary diagnosis of coronary artery disease by MRI and CT]

Invasive coronary angiography is the gold standard for the primary diagnosis of coronary artery disease (CAD). At most, only every other examination leads to revascularization therapy. The other coronary angiographies could be replaced by non-invasive examinations. Diagnosing CAD by cardiac MRI and CT can utilize three different strategies: detection of coronary calcifications; imaging of coronary artery stenoses; and detection of restricted myocardial perfusion reserve. Applications are coronary calcification scoring by CT, coronary angiography by MRI or CT, stress cine MRI, and stress perfusion MRI. All these methods are currently used clinically because of their high negative predictive value, i.e., a normal result mostly rules out a hemodynamically significant CAD. For a reasonable implication in clinical practice, however, the pre-test probability must be considered to avoid needless examinations. High pre-test probability invariably demands invasive coronary angiography for planning or performing revascularization therapy. Intermediate pre-test probability, on the contrary, justifies to defer further imaging studies if MRI or CT is normal. Thus, adequate selection of patients for cardiac MRI and CT may reduce the number of invasive coronary angiographies in the future.

Aseptic necrosis of both femoral heads as first symptom of chronic myelogenous leukemia

Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) is a disease of the elderly; in rare cases it occurs in childhood or adolescence. One complication at primary diagnosis is leukostasis, which usually causes respiratory, retinal, or central nervous symptoms. In this report we describe the case of a 24-year-old woman who developed aseptic necrosis of both femoral heads, which was successfully treated by bore holes in the femoral heads. This is a very rare complication of severe leukostasis, leading to the diagnosis of CML in this case. To our knowledge, this is the first case of an adult patient showing aseptic necrosis of femoral heads caused by leukostasis.

[Interindividual-variability of the analysis of regional myocardial wall function after myocardial infarction and revascularization]

PURPOSE

The gold standard for diagnosis myocardial viability is the functional recovery after revascularization. Aim of the study was to compare (1) qualitative analysis and (2) quantitative wall thickening by cine MRI and (3) circumferential shortening by tagged MRI the analysis of regional wall function of an infarcted area before and after revascularization.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Ten patients (age 60 +/- 11 years) with infarct-associated regional left ventricular wall motion abnormalities were examined by cine and tagged MRI on average two weeks after the myocardial infarction and re-examined three months after revascularization. Eight healthy volunteers served as a control for tagged MRI. Interobserver-variabilities of two observers were calculated using the kappa-statistics for grading of wall motion abnormalities as well as for detection of functional recovery by qualitative analysis, measurement of wall thickening of cine MRI, and measurement of circumferential shortening by tagged MRI, respectively.

RESULTS

Grading of wall motion abnormalities revealed interobserver-variabilities of the study and control group of kappa = 0.8 and kappa = 0.84, kappa = 0.02 and kappa = 0.5, and kappa = 0.1 and kappa = 0.17 for qualitative analysis, wall thickening analysis and measurement of circumferential shortening, respectively. The interobserver-variability for the definition of wall motion recovery was kappa = 0.8 for all three methods.

CONCLUSION

Qualitative analysis of wall motion abnormalities has the lowest interobserver-variability for the grading of wall motion abnormalities. The interobserver-variabilities of qualitative and quantitative analysis are comparable for the diagnosis of regional wall motion recovery. Thus, qualitative analysis of cine MRI can be used for grading regional wall motion in clinical studies.