Inflammatory parameters and prediction of prognosis in infective endocarditis.

Background: Procalcitonin (PCT) is widely used in critically ill patients to diagnose clinically significant infection and sepsis. Aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic value of PCT in comparison to white blood cell count (WBC) and C-reactive protein (CRP) for clinical outcome and its correlation with microbiological etiology in patients with infective endocarditis (IE).

Methods: A retrospective single-center analysis was performed from 2007 till 2009.

Incorporation of carbon from decomposing litter of two pioneer plant species into microbial communities of the detritusphere.

Initial ecosystems are characterized by a low availability of nutrients and a low soil organic matter content. Interactions of plants and microorganisms in such environments, particularly in relation to litter decomposition, are very important for further ecosystem development. In a litter decomposition study using an initial substrate from a former mining area, we applied the litter of two contrasting pioneer plant species (legume vs.

Root colonization by Pseudomonas sp. DSMZ 13134 and impact on the indigenous rhizosphere bacterial community of barley.

Over the last few decades, the ability of rhizosphere bacteria to promote plant growth has been considered to be of scientific, ecological, and economic interest. The properties and mechanisms of interaction of these root-colonizing bacteria have been extensively investigated, and plant protection agents that are based on these bacterial strains have been developed for agricultural applications. In the present study, the root colonization of barley by Pseudomonas sp.

Comparison of barley succession and take-all disease as environmental factors shaping the rhizobacterial community during take-all decline.

The root disease take-all, caused by Gaeumannomyces graminis var. tritici, can be managed by monoculture-induced take-all decline (TAD). This natural biocontrol mechanism typically occurs after a take-all outbreak and is believed to arise from an enrichment of antagonistic populations in the rhizosphere.

[Uhl's disease--rare cause of chronic right heart failure].

Background: Uhl's disease is a rare disorder characterized by aplasia of the right ventricular myocardium leading to its parchment-like appearance. The loss of right ventricular function causes massive dilation of the right heart with progressive right heart failure in severe cases.

Case Report: A 70-year-old patient with progressive dyspnea and massive peripheral edema presented with an acute decompensation of chronic right heart failure.

Vessel fractions in tumor xenografts depicted by flow- or contrast-sensitive three-dimensional high-frequency Doppler ultrasound respond differently to antiangiogenic treatment.

High-frequency volumetric Power Doppler ultrasound (HF-VPDU) captures flow-dependent signals in blood vessels and can be used to assess antiangiogenic therapy effects in rodent tumors. However, the sensitivity is limited to vessels larger than capillaries. Contrast-enhanced HF-VPDU reveals all perfused vessels by assessing stimulated acoustic emissions from disintegrating microbubbles.

Fast chiral separation by ligand-exchange HPLC using a dynamically coated monolithic column.

The preparation and application of dynamically coated ligand-exchange chromatography phases for enantioseparation is described. The phases were prepared by pumping a solution of N-decyl-L-4-hydroxyproline, N-hexadecyl-L-4-hydroxyproline, or N-2-hydroxydodecyl-L-4-hydroxyproline through a commercially available monolithic RP-18 column. These coatings are stable against desorption for months at ambient temperature when aqueous mobile phases are used.

Enantioseparation of glycyl-dipeptides by CEC using particle-loaded monoliths prepared by ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP).

Novel particle-loaded monolithic capillary electrochromatography (CEC) phases for chiral separations were prepared via ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) within the confines of fused silica columns with 200 microm i.d. using norborn-2-ene (NBE), 1,4,4a,5,8,8a-hexahydro-1,4,5,8,exo,endo-dimethanonaphthalene (DMN-H6) as monomers, 2-propanol and toluene as porogens, RuCl2(PCy3)2(CHPh) as initiator and silica-based particles containing the chiral selector.

Low-density lipoproteins induce the polar secretion of PAI-1 by endothelial cells in culture.

Patients with hypercholesterolemia and with coronary atherosclerosis have increased plasma levels of plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI)-1. PAI-1 and low-density lipoproteins (LDL) are also present in the walls of atherosclerotic vessels, where they participate in the development and remodeling of the atherosclerotic plaques. We investigated the influence of LDL on the apical (luminal) and basolateral (subendothelial) secretion of PAI-1 by human umbilical vein endothelial cells in a two-compartment cell-culture model.