Possible influence of surfactants and proteins on the efficiency of contact agar microbiological surface sampling.

Agar contact microbiological sampling techniques, based on a transfer of the microorganisms present on a surface to a culture medium, are widely used to assess and control surface cleanliness and to evaluate microbial contamination levels. The effectiveness of these techniques depends on many environmental parameters that influence the strength of attachment of the bacteria to the surface. In the present study, stainless steel and high density polyethylene surfaces were inoculated with known concentrations of Staphylococcus epidermidis.

Physico-chemical mechanisms governing the adherence of starch granules on materials with different hydrophobicities.

The factors influencing the adherence of starch were examined to improve the understanding of the mechanisms affecting soiling and cleanability. Therefore an aqueous suspension of starch granules was sprayed on four model substrates (glass, stainless steel, polystyrene and PTFE) and dried, and the substrates were cleaned using a radial-flow cell. The morphology of the soiled surfaces and the substrate chemical composition were also characterized.

Hygiene and cleanability: a focus on surfaces.

Hygiene is a permanent concern for food industries since they must commercialize high quality products in order to comply with the legislation and the expectations of the consumers. The hygienic state of a surface is thus a critical parameter with respect to the performances of the production process and to the final quality of the product. For this reason, cleaning and disinfection are essential.

Biocatalytic production of enantiopure cyclohexane-trans-1,2-diol using extracellular lipases from Bacillus subtilis.

Two extracellular lipases from Bacillus subtilis, B. subtilis lipase A and lipase B, have been expressed in the heterologous host Escherichia coli, biochemically characterized and used for the kinetic resolution of (rac)-trans-1,2-diacetoxycyclohexane. Both enzymes were selectively acting on the (R,R)-enantiomer of the racemic substrate, highly specifically hydrolyzing only one of the two ester groups present, thus allowing the preparation of enantiopure (R,R)- and (S,S)-cyclohexane-trans-1,2-diol.

Prevalence of Echinococcus multilocularis in the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) in southern Belgium.

Between June 1998 and February 2002, 709 red foxes killed in Wallonia (south of Belgium) were available for parasitological examination of the gut. The identification of Echinococcus multilocularis was based on morphological data. E.

High-resolution backscatter electron imaging of colloidal gold in LVSEM.

High-resolution backscatter electron (BSE) imaging of colloidal gold can be accomplished at low voltage using in-lens or below-the-lens FESEMs equipped with either Autrata-modified yttrium aluminium garnet (YAG) scintillators doped with cerium, or with BSE to secondary electron (SE) conversion plates. The threshold for BSE detection of colloidal gold was 1.8 keV for the YAG detector, and the BSE/SE conversion was sensitive down to 1 keV.

Medical treatment of myocardial ischemia in coronary artery disease: effect of drug regime and irregular dosing in the CAPE II trial.

Objectives: The Circadian Anti-ischemia Program in Europe (CAPE II) compared the efficacy of amlodipine and diltiazem (Adizem XL) and the combination of amlodipine/atenolol and diltiazem (Adizem XL)/isosorbide 5-mononitrate on exercise and ambulatory myocardial ischemia during regular therapy and after omission of medication.

Background: The optimal medical therapy for ischemia suppression and the impact of irregular dosing using agents with different pharmacologic properties has not been established in patients with coronary disease.

Methods: Patients with > or = 4 ischemic episodes or > or = 20 min of ST segment depression on 72-h electrocardiogram were randomized to amlodipine 10 mg once daily or diltiazem (Adizem XL) 300 mg once daily in a 14-week double-blind randomized multicountry study.

Early short-term intensive cardiac rehabilitation induces positive results as long as one year after the acute coronary event: a prospective one-year controlled study.

Aims: The one-year effects of early and short-term intensive cardiac rehabilitation programmes in patients after acute myocardial infarction or coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) are not well established.

Methods And Results: One to four weeks after hospital discharge for acute myocardial infarction (n=55) or CABG (n=54), 109 patients were included in a multidisciplinary ambulatory cardiac rehabilitation programme, lasting 2 to 3 months and including a mean of 33 daily sessions. A complete cardiological assessment of the classical coronary risk factors was performed at entry into the study and again 12 months later, that is 9 to 10 months after the end of the rehabilitation programme.

Felodipine-metoprolol combination tablet: a valuable option to initiate antihypertensive therapy?

The aim of the present study was to assess the efficacy and tolerability of a calcium antagonist/beta-blocker fixed combination tablet used as first-line antihypertesnive therapy in comparison with an angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor and placebo. Patients with uncomplicated essential hypertension (diastolic blood pressure between 95 and 110 mm Hg at the end of a 4-week run-in period) were randomly allocated to a double-blind, 12-week treatment with either a combination tablet of felodipine and metoprolol (Logimax), 5/50 mg daily (n = 321), enalapril, 10 mg daily (n = 321), or placebo (n = 304), with the possibility of doubling the dose after 4 or 8 weeks of treatment if needed (diastolic blood pressure remaining >90 mm Hg). The combined felodipine-metoprolol treatment controlled blood pressure (diastolic < or =90 mm Hg 24 h after dose) in 72% of patients after 12 weeks, as compared with 49% for enalapril and 30% for placebo.

Relation of exercise capacity to left ventricular systolic function and diastolic filling in idiopathic or ischemic dilated cardiomyopathy.

Although exercise intolerance is a cardinal symptom of patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DC) and heart failure, the factors that limit exercise capacity in these patients remain a matter of debate. To assess the contribution of left ventricular (LV) diastolic filling to the variable exercise capacity of patients with DC, we studied 47 patients (60 +/- 12 years) with DC in stable mild-to-moderate heart failure with a mean LV ejection fraction of 28%. Exercise capacity was measured as total body peak oxygen consumption (VO2) during symptom-limited bicycle (10 W/min) and treadmill (modified Bruce protocol) exercise.

Effects of spironolactone-altizide on left ventricular hypertrophy.

Objective: To investigate the effects of the association spironolactone (25 mg)/altizide (15 mg) as monotherapy on left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) in patients with mild to moderate hypertension. Additionally, to study the correlation between left ventricular mass (LVM) index and electrocardiographic (ECG) criteria for LVH.

Methods And Results: This was an open, prospective study of 6 months.

Risk stratification in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy: contribution of Doppler-derived left ventricular filling.

Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a major cause of mortality among patients with heart failure. The aim of the present study was to investigate the independent contribution of Doppler-derived left ventricular (LV) filling to the prediction of survival in patients with DCM, of either ischemic or nonischemic origin, and to derive a simple risk stratification score based on easily available clinical and echocardiographic parameters. We followed 197 consecutive patients (159 men, mean age 60+/-13 years) with an echocardiographic diagnosis of DCM (LV end-diastolic dimension >60 mm, fractional shortening <25%) over an average period of 62+/-13 months.

Pathophysiologic mechanisms underlying dobutamine- and exercise-induced wall motion abnormalities.

Background: Dobutamine and exercise echocardiography are accepted as tests of comparable efficacy for the diagnosis of coronary artery disease. Although dobutamine has been classified as "exercise simulating," the mechanisms of ischemia with dobutamine and exercise have not been well studied. This study sought to compare the determinants of myocardial oxygen consumption.

The relationship between parasite counts, lesions, antibody titres and daily weight gains in Psoroptes ovis infested cattle.

Psoroptes ovis counts, extent of lesions (clinical index: ClinI), daily weight gains (DWGs) and anti-P. cuniculi antibody titres in ELISA were recorded during seven therapeutic field trials. Relationship between these different data were studied.

The pathophysiology of myocardial ischaemia.

In this review paper on the pathophysiology of myocardial ischaemia, the recent concepts of the ischaemic cascade, as well as the concepts of stunning and hibernating myocardium, are discussed. It is clear that painful ischaemia is the final phenomenon in the ischaemic cascade and that it is preceded by biochemical disturbances, diastolic and systolic dysfunction and electrocardiographic abnormalities. Silent ischaemia remains a difficult research field.

Permutation distribution estimation applied to the comparison of the profile of the activity of two antianginal drugs.

The comparison of the anti-ischemic activity of trimetazidine and propranolol was evaluated by multiple end points (clinical, exercise test, and ambulatory electrocardiogram [ECG] monitoring criteria) in 149 male patients with effort angina who received either trimetazidine 20 mg tid or propranolol 40 mg tid during a period of 3 months. The distribution of the standardized differences between the two treatments for each variable was obtained by a permutation method. The medians (estimation of the actual difference between the two treatments) and the 5, 25, 75 and 95% quantiles were represented on the same diagram for all end points.

Trimetazidine European Multicenter Study versus propranolol in stable angina pectoris: contribution of Holter electrocardiographic ambulatory monitoring.

The major objective of the Trimetazidine European Multicenter Study (TEMS) was to compare in a double-blind trial the anti-ischemic effects of trimetazidine (20 mg 3 times daily) with those of propranolol (40 mg 3 times daily). The inclusion criteria were based on an abnormal response to a multistage exercise test. After 3 months of treatment the improvements noted in all exercise testing data were similar in the trimetazidine and propranolol groups; similar data were obtained for the grades and severity of anginal attacks during daily life (from patient diaries).

Improved identification of coronary artery disease in patients with left bundle branch block by use of dobutamine stress echocardiography and comparison with myocardial perfusion tomography.

This study compared the efficacy of dobutamine stress testing using 2-dimensional echocardiography and perfusion tomography for the noninvasive identification of coronary artery disease (CAD) in patients with left bundle branch block (LBBB). Twenty-four patients with permanent, complete LBBB (11 with previous myocardial infarction) were studied prospectively with dobutamine echocardiography and perfusion tomography. The presence of > 50% luminal diameter coronary stenosis was compared with the presence of dobutamine-induced fixed or reversible perfusion defects, and with resting or dobutamine-induced abnormalities of wall thickening.

Effect of a fermented infant formula containing viable bifidobacteria on the fecal flora composition and pH of healthy full-term infants.

We assessed the growth, tolerance, and acceptability as well as fecal flora composition and stool pH of 20 healthy full-term infants fed with a fermented whey-adapted infant formula containing viable bifidobacteria (10(6)/g of powder) during the first 2 months of life. This fermented infant formula, first biologically acidified by Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus helveticus, was compared to a whey-adapted, nonacidified, low-phosphate infant formula in a double-blind, randomized controlled study. The results were compared to a control group (n = 14) of fully breast-fed infants.

Patient compliance and therapeutic coverage: comparison of amlodipine and slow release nifedipine in the treatment of hypertension. The Belgian Collaborative Study Group.

To study patient compliance in hypertensive outpatients amlodipine (5 mg once daily) and slow release nifedipine (20 mg twice daily) were compared in an open, crossover study in general practices. Four methods of assessment for patient compliance (pill count, taking compliance, days with correct dosing, timing compliance) were used in both study arms. For the latter three assessment a special device, the medication event monitoring system, was used to record the time and date of each opening and closure of the container.

Amlodipine reduces transient myocardial ischemia in patients with coronary artery disease: double-blind Circadian Anti-Ischemia Program in Europe (CAPE Trial).

Objectives: This study was carried out to determine the effect of the once-daily calcium channel blocking agent amlodipine (half-life 35 to 50 h) on the circadian pattern of myocardial ischemia in patients with chronic stable angina.

Background: Myocardial ischemia during normal daily life, both symptomatic and asymptomatic, has been associated with increased risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, and the circadian pattern parallels that for myocardial infarction and sudden death.

Methods: The Circadian Anti-Ischemia Program in Europe (CAPE) was a large, 10-week international (63 sites), double-blind, parallel study.

How accurate is dobutamine stress electrocardiography for detection of coronary artery disease? Comparison with two-dimensional echocardiography and technetium-99m methoxyl isobutyl isonitrile (mibi) perfusion scintigraphy.

Objectives: This study was designed to establish the appropriate diagnostic criteria for positive dobutamine electrocardiographic (ECG) stress test results and to compare their accuracy with those of dobutamine two-dimensional echocardiography and perfusion scintigraphy.

Background: Conventional criteria for positive findings on ECG exercise testing may not be appropriate for use with dobutamine ECG stress testing.

Methods: One hundred twenty-nine consecutive patients with an interpretable ECG and without previous myocardial infarction were prospectively studied at the time of coronary arteriography.

Patient compliance and therapeutic coverage: amlodipine versus nifedipine SR in the treatment of hypertension and angina: interim results. Steering Committee and Cardiologists and General Practitioners involved in the Belgium Multicentre Study on Patient Compliance.

An interim analysis of patient compliance is reported in 234 hypertension outpatients who were entered into a large-scale, open, crossover, comparative study between a new-generation calcium antagonist, amlodipine (5 mg, once daily), and nifedipine SR (20 mg, twice daily). An analysis was also performed on 84 outpatients with stable angina pectoris, who were included in an open, parallel study and received the same dosing regimen of either amlodipine or nifedipine SR as the patients in the hypertension arm of the study. In the hypertensive patients, there were significant differences in favor of amlodipine, using all four methods to assess patient compliance.