The microbial contribution to litter decomposition and plant growth.

Soil and plant roots are colonized by highly complex and diverse communities of microbes. It has been proposed that bacteria and fungi have synergistic effects on litter decomposition, but experimental evidence supporting this claim is weak. In this study, we manipulated the composition of two microbial kingdoms (Bacteria and Fungi) in experimental microcosms.

Surface protein components from entomopathogenic nematodes and their symbiotic bacteria: effects on immune responses of the greater wax moth, Galleria mellonella (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae).

Background: Steinernema carpocapsae is a nematocomplex widely used as an alternative to chemicals for the biological control of insect pests; this nematode is symbiotically associated with the bacterium Xenorhabdus nematophila and both contribute to host death. The architecture and functions of structures and molecular components of the surface of nematodes and their symbiont bacteria are integral to early interactions with their hosts; thus, we assessed the role of protein pools isolated from the surface of S. carpocapsae and from phase I X.

Clinical and brain magnetic resonance imaging follow-up after percutaneous closure of patent foramen ovale in patients with cryptogenic stroke.

Patent foramen ovale (PFO) closure is reported to result in fewer episodes of clinically manifest recurrent cerebral ischemia than medical treatment. We evaluated by means of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) whether silent cerebral ischemic episodes are also decreased by PFO closure. Seventy-one patients with PFO were selected for percutaneous closure of PFO at our center.