A microfluidic cartridge for fast and accurate diagnosis of infections on standard laboratory equipment.

We present a novel centrifugal microfluidic approach for fast and accurate tuberculosis (TB) diagnosis based on the use of standard laboratory equipment. The herein presented workflow can directly be integrated into laboratories with standard equipment and automates complex sample preparation. The system consists of a microfluidic cartridge, a laboratory centrifuge and a standard PCR cycler.

Point of Care Ultrasound in Geriatric Patients: Prospective Evaluation of a Portable Handheld Ultrasound Device.

Purpose:  The aim of the current study was to evaluate point of care ultrasound (POCUS) in geriatric patients by echoscopy using a handheld ultrasound device (HHUSD, VScan) at bedside in comparison to a high-end ultrasound system (HEUS) as the gold standard.

Materials And Methods:  Prospective observational study with a total of 112 geriatric patients. The ultrasound examinations were independently performed by two experienced blinded examiners with a portable handheld device and a high-end ultrasound device.

Purification of Circulating Cell-Free DNA from Plasma and Urine Using the Automated Large-Volume Extraction on the QIAsymphony® SP Instrument.

Increasing sample numbers for screening and diagnostics using circulating cell-free DNA (ccfDNA) as analyte demands an automated solution for ccfDNA extraction. The efficiency of a new, automated, large volume ccfDNA extraction method was evaluated against a manual reference method. The new kit for automated ccfDNA extraction on the QIAsymphony showed a comparable yield of total ccfDNA from healthy donors as well as a comparable recovery of circulating cancer and fetal DNA.

[The effect of carvedilol on contrast echocardiography in comparison to metoprolol in conscious dogs].

This animal study was to demonstrate the effect of the betablockers carvedilol (CAS 72956-09-3) and metoprolol (CAS 37350-58-6), respectively, on myocardial perfusion which was quantified by the use of contrast echocardiography. Each of four experimental schemes were applied consecutively to each of six dogs. They were pretreated with oral administration of either carvedilol (2 mg/kg b.

Persistent opacification of the left ventricle and myocardium with a new echo contrast agent.

Echo contrast agents with long survival times open up new fields of application in the investigation of tissue perfusion and cardiovascular function. The purpose of this study was to characterize the time-course of the opacification of the heart cavities and myocardium with a new long-lasting second-generation, phospholipid-based echo contrast agent containing perfluoropentane (BY963-C5F12), and to compare its contrast potency with that of air-filled phospholipid monolayer (BY963-air). Doses of 0.

Administration of modified spherosome suspension (BY963) leads to an increase of acoustic impedance in dog brain tissue.

Ultrasound contrast agents change the acoustic properties of brain tissue. This can be quantified with acoustic densitometry. In a dog model, the authors examined changes in acoustic impedance in the thalamic and parietal white-matter regions of the brain after intravenous injection of the spherosome containing an ultrasound contrast agent (BY963) filled with perfluoropentane gas.

The influence of different gases on acoustic properties of a spherosome-based ultrasound contrast agent (BY963). A transcranial Dopplersonography study.

Ultrasound contrast agents improve the signal-to-noise ratio of reflected ultrasound, enhancing the diagnostic value of transcranial Doppler (TCD). In dog studies, we investigated the time course of TCD signal amplitude after application of a phospholipid-containing ultrasound contrast agent (BY963) filled with different gases. The median time of Doppler amplitude enhancement exceeding 5 dB was determined using isoflurane-, isopentane-, trichlortrifluoroethane-, air-, argon-, and perfluoropentane-filled BY963 (69, 72, 75, 78, 88, and 245 seconds respectively).

Transcranial Doppler echo contrast studies using different colour processing modes.

Objectives: To study the effects of different colour imaging modes on the contrast-medium-enhanced image of the intracranial cerebral arteries.

Methods: Twelve healthy volunteers were studied transcranially after administration of 10 ml BY963 successively with Power Doppler (p-TCCS) and with colour Doppler frequency imaging mode (f-TCCS) in a randomized order.

Results: The latency time (mean+/-SD) from the injection until the signal enhancement in the middle cerebral artery was 17.

Characteristics of transcranial Doppler signal enhancement using a phospholipid-containing echocontrast agent.

Background And Purpose: Ultrasound attenuation caused by the skull is a major limitation of transcranial Doppler. Echocontrast agents (EAs) may solve this problem. The aim of the present study was to investigate the characteristics of a new echocontrast agent (BY963) containing air bubbles stabilized by phospholipids.

Contrast ultrasonography for 2-D opacification of heart cavities, peripheral vessels, kidney and muscle.

Contrast ultrasonography of peripheral vessels and peripheral organs has been only sparsely used to evaluate peripheral tissue blood flow. The purpose of the study was to characterize intraluminal opacification of renal and femoral arteries and veins, of skeletal muscle and renal parenchyma after intraarterial (IA) injection of BY963, a newly developed ultrasound contrast agent being evaluated in Phase II and III trials, and to compare it with opacification of heart cavities after intravenous injection (IV) in dogs. A further purpose was to quantitate possible opacification losses during the first transcapillary passage of BY963 through pulmonary and peripheral microcirculation.

[Duplex ultrasound with echo contrast media].

Intravenous echo contrast agents transversing the lungs lead to improved detection of blood flow in arteries and veins due to enhancement of the Doppler signal by 20-25 dB. This echo enhancement improves the visualisation of vessel sections that are otherwise difficult to examine due to obesity, to deep vessel location, scarring or low flow state. The available contrast agents that pass through the lungs and are used in controlled studies, possess similar physico-chemical properties: mean bubble diameter 2-4 microns, viscosity and pH value close to that of the blood.

Pharmacokinetic studies of different echo-contrast agents in the cerebral circulation of dogs.

Ultrasound contrast agents (UCAs) are improving the signal-to-noise ratio of the reflected ultrasound so that Doppler frequency spectra can be recorded even under poor sonographic conditions. This is of particular diagnostic value in transcranial Doppler sonography. Depending on specific pharmacologic properties, echo-contrast agents may cause different increase and duration in Doppler signal amplitude.

Comparison of a new intravenous echo contrast agent (BY 963) with Albunex for opacification of left ventricular cavity.

Transpulmonary echo contrast agents improve the evaluation of left ventricular function by two-dimensional echocardiography due to a better endocardial border delineation. To compare the contrast effect in the right and left ventricular cavities, a new transpulmonary echocontrast agent, BY 963 and Albunex were intravenously administered to five non-anaesthetized dogs. The right and left ventricular echocardiographic image intensities were quantitatively measured at 60 cardiac cycles using a commercially available ultrasound system.

Phase I: transcranial echo contrast studies in healthy volunteers.

Background And Purpose: Transcranial ultrasound diagnostics are particularly hindered by insufficient ultrasound penetration through the temporal bone. The use of ultrasonic contrast media to enhance the Doppler signal is an important step toward the solution of this problem. In the present study we investigated the tolerability and the diagnostic value of a new intravenous transpulmonary ultrasonic contrast medium, BY963.

Influence of sonographic contrast media on microcirculation in rats.

In an open placebo-controlled study the influence of the injection of different sonographic contrast media on the microcirculation was proved. The study was performed in 7 Sprague-Dawley rats. In order to examine this query two different sonographic contrast media in comparison to agitated electrolyte solution (as the placebo) were injected into the abdominal aorta of 7 anaesthetized rats as a 2 ml/kg bolus at 10-min intervals.

Involvement of 5-HT1A receptors in blood pressure reduction by 8-OH-DPAT and urapidil in cats.

This study investigated the effects of (-)-pindolol, a putative 5-HT1A receptor antagonist, upon the central hypotensive action of the antihypertensive drug urapidil and of the purported 5-HT1A receptor agonist 8-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)tetralin (8-OH-DPAT) in cats. Chloralose/urethane-anesthetized cats were thoracotomized and artificially ventilated. Blood pressure was monitored in the iliac artery, and the drugs were injected into the vertebral artery.

Involvement of brain 5-HT1A receptors in the hypotensive response to urapidil.

Stimulation of serotonin-1A (5-hydroxytryptamine) (5-HT1A) receptors in the brain stem has been suggested to contribute to the antihypertensive action of the alpha 1-adrenoceptor antagonist urapidil. This hypothesis was tested by analyzing the influence of the 5-HT1A receptor antagonist spiroxatrine on the hypotensive responses to urapidil and the 5-HT1A receptor agonist 8-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino) tetralin (8-OH-DPAT). Chloralose/urethane-anesthetized cats underwent thoracotomy and were artificially ventilated.

Evidence for the interaction of urapidil with 5-HT1A receptors in the brain leading to a decrease in blood pressure.

Current knowledge about the role of serotonin (5-HT) in central cardiovascular regulation is reviewed. Results from experiments with the 5-HT1A receptor agonist 8-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino) tetralin (8-OH-DPAT) suggest that activation of somatodendritic 5-HT1A receptors in the medulla oblongata decreases the firing of serotoninergic neurons and thus reduces their excitatory input to the sympathetic neurons in the intermediolateral cell column. As a consequence, blood pressure is reduced by 5-HT1A receptor agonists.

Interaction of urapidil with brain serotonin-1A receptors increases the blood pressure reduction due to peripheral alpha-adrenoceptor inhibition.

The alpha-adrenoceptor antagonist urapidil influences central cardiovascular regulation, and this effect is unrelated to alpha-adrenoceptors. Since urapidil has appreciable affinity and selectivity for serotonin-1A (5HT1A) receptors, the activity of urapidil at these sites may be relevant for the centrally mediated component of its antihypertensive action. The latter hypothesis was tested by analysing the influence of the 5HT1A receptor antagonist spiroxatrine on the hypotensive response to urapidil, in comparison with the influence on the hypotensive response to the 5HT1A receptor agonist 8-OH-DPAT (8-hydroxy-2-[di-n-propylamino]tetralin).