Aortic plaque defined by contrast transthoracic echocardiography.

The authors explore the use of third generation echo contrast to define plaque in the ascending aorta and exclude more invasive procedures.

An examination of the antibiotic effects of cylindrospermopsin on common gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria and the protozoan Naegleria lovaniensis.

The importance of the toxin cylindrospermopsin to the function and fitness of the cyanobacteria that produce it remains a matter of conjecture. Given that the structure of cylindrospermopsin has commonalities with other antibacterial protein synthesis inhibitors, such as streptomycin, authors tested the possibility that the toxin might act as an antibacterial compound that can kill competing microbes. Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were tested by the minimal inhibitory concentration method and significant antibacterial activity was only observed at a cylindrospermopsin concentration of 300 microg mL(-1) after exposure for 5 days.