Background: The chemokine CXCL13 in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is used as a diagnostic marker of Lyme neuroborreliosis (LNB). However, the elevated levels in other non-borrelial CNS infections and the lack of a clearly defined cut-off value are limitations of the test.
Methods: In our prospective study, we evaluated CSF CXCL13 levels in patients with LNB (47 patients), tick-borne encephalitis (TBE; 46 patients), enteroviral CNS infections (EV; 45 patients), herpetic CNS infections (HV; 23 patients), neurosyphilis (NS; 11 patients) and controls (46 patients).
Background: One of the critical factors in facial reanimation is selecting the donor nerve. The most favored neurotizers are the contralateral facial nerve with a cross-face nerve graft (CFNG) and motor nerve to the masseter (MNM). A relatively new dual innervation (DI) method has shown successful results.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSoil seed viability and germinability dynamics can have a major influence on the establishment and spread of plants introduced beyond their native distribution range. Yet, we lack information on how temporal variability in these traits could affect the invasion process. To address this issue, we conducted an 8-year seed burial experiment examining seed viability and germinability dynamics for 21 invasive and 38 naturalized herbs in the Czech Republic.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe study compares diagnostic parameters of different commercial serological kits based on three different antigen types and correlates test results with the status of the patient's infection. In total, 8 IgM and 8 IgG kits were tested, as follows: enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) (Euroimmun) based on whole-cell antigen, 3 species-specific enzyme immunoassays (EIAs) (TestLine), Liaison chemiluminescence (DiaSorin), ELISA-Viditest (Vidia), EIA, and Blot-Line (TestLine) using recombinant antigens. All tests were performed on a panel of 90 samples from patients with clinically characterized borreliosis (53 with neuroborreliosis, 32 with erythema migrans, and 5 with arthritis) plus 70 controls from blood donors and syphilis patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEpidemiol Mikrobiol Imunol
April 2019
There is a lack of laboratory tests in clinical practice that can detect the activity of borrelial infection. This was the reason for testing an antigen-specific T-cell detection method in patients with neuroborreliosis: the ELISPOT method, which is capable of detecting antigen-specific T lymphocytes in clinical conditions. A group of 32 patients (20 diagnosed with neuroborreliosis; NB) was examined using this commercial method (LymeSpot intrerferon-γ Assay Kit®).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe literature suggests that small genomes promote invasion in plants, but little is known about the interaction of genome size with other traits or about the role of genome size during different phases of the invasion process. By intercontinental comparison of native and invasive populations of the common reed Phragmites australis, we revealed a distinct relationship between genome size and invasiveness at the intraspecific level. Monoploid genome size was the only significant variable that clearly separated the North American native plants from those of European origin.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe majority of life on Earth depends directly or indirectly on the sun as a source of energy. The initial step of photosynthesis is facilitated by light-harvesting complexes, which capture and transfer light energy into the reaction centers (RCs). Here, we analyzed the organization of photosynthetic (PS) complexes in the bacterium G.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn oxygenic photosynthesis the initial photochemical processes are carried out by photosystem I (PSI) and II (PSII). Although subunit composition varies between cyanobacterial and plastid photosystems, the core structures of PSI and PSII are conserved throughout photosynthetic eukaryotes. So far, the photosynthetic complexes have been characterised in only a small number of organisms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEpidemiol Mikrobiol Imunol
April 2019
Aim Of The Study: The study was focused on testing the diagnostic value of detection of the chemokine CXCL13 (B lymphocyte chemoattractant) and anti-C6 peptide (synthetic peptide derived from B. burdorferi VlsE protein) antibodies in patients with neuroborreliosis (NB).
Material And Methods: One hundred and twenty-nine patients with clinical suspicion of neuroinfection were included in the study.
Background: A simple high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method was developed for the determination of albumin in patients' urine samples without coeluting proteins and was compared with the immunoturbidimetric determination of albumin. Urine albumin is important biomarker in diabetic patients, but part of it is immuno-nonreactive.
Methods: Albumin was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), UV detection at 280 nm, Zorbax 300SB-C3 column.
The study evaluates the clinical significance of CXCL13 (leukocyte chemoattractant synthesized in CSF ) in Lyme neuroborreliosis (LNB) and other aseptic CNS infections. 244 patients with symptoms of neuroinfection and/or LNB were divided into groups: A - patients with LNB-positive antibodies in serum and CSF (96) or CSF only (14); B - patients with aseptic non-borrelial neuroinfections (82); C - negative controls (52). Group A was divided into A1-A4 according to pleocytosis in CSF and AIIgG positivity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPremise Of The Study: Germination is critical in determining species distributions and invasion dynamics. However, is it unclear how often invasive populations evolve germination characteristics different from native populations, because few studies have isolated genetic variation by using seed from garden-grown plants. Additionally, while herbivore-induced transgenerational effects are common, it is unknown whether maternal herbivory differentially shapes germination in native and introduced offspring.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe factors that promote invasive behavior in introduced plant species occur across many scales of biological and ecological organization. Factors that act at relatively small scales, for example, the evolution of biological traits associated with invasiveness, scale up to shape species distributions among different climates and habitats, as well as other characteristics linked to invasion, such as attractiveness for cultivation (and by extension propagule pressure). To identify drivers of invasion it is therefore necessary to disentangle the contribution of multiple factors that are interdependent.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPlant species distributions are determined by the response of populations to regional climates; however, little is known about how alien plants that arrive in central Europe from climatically warmer regions cope with the temperature conditions at the early stage of population development. Ambrosia artemisiifolia (common ragweed) is an invasive annual plant causing considerable health and economic problems in Europe. Although climate-based models predict that the whole of the Czech Republic is climatically suitable for this species, it is confined to the warmest regions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTo better understand the effect of species traits on plant invasion, we collected comparative data on 20 reproductive and dispersal traits of 93 herbaceous alien species in the Czech Republic, central Europe, introduced after 1500 A. D. We explain plant invasion success, expressed by two measures: invasiveness, i.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOne hundred twenty-four patients-53 with neuroborreliosis, 48 with erythema migrans, and 23 with Lyme arthritis-were tested in a prospective study for the presence of the DNA of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in plasma, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), urine, and synovial fluid by nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Specific DNA was detected using five amplification systems simultaneously: three targeted chromosomal genes encoding 16S rDNA, flagellin, and p66; and two plasmid sequences of OspA and OspC. Patients were examined clinically and by PCR before and after treatment and again after 3 and 6 months.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The species Carpobrotus edulis, native to South Africa, is one of the major plant invaders of Mediterranean coastal ecosystems around the world. Invasion by C. edulis exerts a great impact on coastal habitats.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFKlin Mikrobiol Infekc Lek
October 2009
Aim: Assessment of PCR procedure for proving of the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato DNA in nerve and skin forms of Lyme borreliosis.
Methods: DNA from plasma, urine and CSF was isolated by QIAamp DNA mini kit. PCR was designed as two-step amplification (nested-PCR).
Background: Borrelial specific DNA was examined in a group of 62 patients with different forms of Lyme borreliosis (LB) (32 patients suffered from neuroborreliosis, 19 manifested erythema migrans, and 11 joint involvement).
Methods: Nested-PCR system with five newly derived primers was used in parallel. The study was organized prospectively, the presence of DNA was tested for plasma, CSF, joint fluid and urine before treatment, and plasma, joint fluid and urine were examined after treatment.
Objectives: To propose and verify a PCR assay for detecting Escherichia coli, Haemophilus influenzae, Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus species, Streptococcus pneumoniae and Neisseria meningitidis serogroups B and C in a single sample of the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with purulent meningitis.
Material And Methods: DNA from the cerebrospinal fluid was isolated using the QIAamp DNA Mini Kit. PCR was performed as two-step amplification (nested PCR).
Introduction: Tuberculosis is a communicable disease, in most instances with a chronic course. The aetiological agent is Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Its demonstration is based on microscopic investigations and cultures.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWest Nile virus (WNV) is a member of the Flaviviridae family, genus Flavivirus. Its reservoir hosts are wild birds. Infection is transmitted to humans by infected mosquitoes of the genus Culex.
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