Ten-year retrospective data analysis reveals frequent respiratory co-infections in hospitalized patients in Augsburg.

Clinical data on the types of respiratory pathogens which are most frequently engaged in respiratory co-infections of children and adults are lacking. We analyzed 10 years of data on a total of over 15,000 tests for 16 viral and bacterial pathogens detected in clinical samples at the University Hospital of Augsburg, Germany. Co-infection frequencies and their seasonal patterns were examined using a proportional distribution model.

Influence of Turkish origin on hematology reference intervals in the German population.

Reference intervals for laboratory test results have to be appropriate for the population in which they are used to be clinically useful. While sex and age are established partitioning criteria, patients' origin also influences laboratory test results, but is not commonly considered when creating or applying reference intervals. In the German population, stratification for ethnicity is rarely performed, and no ethnicity-specific hematology reference intervals have been reported yet.

High-resolution pediatric reference intervals for 15 biochemical analytes described using fractional polynomials.

Objectives: Assessment of children's laboratory test results requires consideration of the extensive changes that occur during physiological development and result in pronounced sex- and age-specific dynamics in many biochemical analytes. Pediatric reference intervals have to account for these dynamics, but ethical and practical challenges limit the availability of appropriate pediatric reference intervals that cover children from birth to adulthood. We have therefore initiated the multi-center data-driven project (Next-Generation Pediatric Reference Intervals) to create pediatric reference intervals using data from laboratory information systems.

Impact of acyclovir use on survival of patients with ventilator-associated pneumonia and high load herpes simplex virus replication.

Background: Herpes simplex virus (HSV) replication can be detected in the respiratory secretions of a high proportion of ventilated intensive care unit (ICU) patients. However, the clinical significance remains poorly defined. We investigated whether patients with ventilator-associated pneumonia not responding to antibiotics and in whom high levels of HSV could be detected in respiratory secretions benefit from acyclovir treatment.

Next-generation reference intervals for pediatric hematology.

Background Interpreting hematology analytes in children is challenging due to the extensive changes in hematopoiesis that accompany physiological development and lead to pronounced sex- and age-specific dynamics. Continuous percentile charts from birth to adulthood allow accurate consideration of these dynamics. However, the ethical and practical challenges unique to pediatric reference intervals have restricted the creation of such percentile charts, and limitations in current approaches to laboratory test result displays restrict their use when guiding clinical decisions.

Pediatric reference intervals for alkaline phosphatase.

Background: Interpretation of alkaline phosphatase activity in children is challenging due to extensive changes with growth and puberty leading to distinct sex- and age-specific dynamics. Continuous percentile charts from birth to adulthood allow accurate consideration of these dynamics and seem reasonable for an analyte as closely linked to growth as alkaline phosphatase. However, the ethical and practical challenges unique to pediatric reference intervals have restricted the creation of such percentile charts, resulting in limitations when clinical decisions are based on alkaline phosphatase activity.

Inhomogeneous high harmonic generation in krypton clusters.

High order harmonic generation from clusters is a controversial topic: conflicting theories exist, with different explanations for similar experimental observations. From an experimental point of view, separating the contributions from monomers and clusters is challenging. By performing a spectrally and spatially resolved study in a controlled mixture of clusters and monomers, we are able to isolate a region of the spectrum where the emission purely originates from clusters.

High-harmonic transient grating spectroscopy of NO2 electronic relaxation.

We study theoretically and experimentally the electronic relaxation of NO(2) molecules excited by absorption of one ∼400 nm pump photon. Semiclassical simulations based on trajectory surface hopping calculations are performed. They predict fast oscillations of the electronic character around the intersection of the ground and first excited diabatic states.

Conical intersection dynamics in NO2 probed by homodyne high-harmonic spectroscopy.

Conical intersections play a crucial role in the chemistry of most polyatomic molecules, ranging from the simplest bimolecular reactions to the photostability of DNA. The real-time study of the associated electronic dynamics poses a major challenge to the latest techniques of ultrafast measurement. We show that high-harmonic spectroscopy reveals oscillations in the electronic character that occur in nitrogen dioxide when a photoexcited wave packet crosses a conical intersection.

[Antoine Barthélémy Clot-Bey, a physician from Marseille founder of Western medicine in Egypt].

Born in Grenoble in 1793 Clot was first a doctor in Marseilles with great success and honour. But for unclear reasons he had to resign, and then decided to be recruited in Egypt, where he was soon called "Clot-Bey" (Bey = officer)": he contributed greatly to modernizing Egyptian medical system: he founded the School of medicine, that of pharmacy, and that of obstetrics, and promoted hygiens and variolisation. After Mehmet Ali abdicated he lost most of his influence, and left Egypt for ever in 1858.

Passively mode-locked Tm,Ho:YAG laser at 2 microm based on saturable absorption of intersubband transitions in quantum wells.

We report the first demonstration of a solid state laser passively mode-locked through the saturable absorption of short-wavelength intersubband transitions in doped quantum wells: a continuous wave Ti:sapphire laser end-pumped Tm,Ho:YAG laser at the center wavelength of 2.091 mum utilizing intersubband transitions in narrow In(0.53)Ga(0.

Efficient generation of near infra-red single photons from the zero-phonon line of a single molecule.

Using the zero-phonon line (ZPL) emission of a single molecule, we realized a triggered source of near-infra-red (lambda = 785 nm) single photons at a high repetition rate. A Weierstrass solid immersion lens is used to image single molecules with an optical resolution of 300 nm (approximately 0.4lambda) and a high collection efficiency.

Purity assessment of single-wall carbon nanotubes, using optical absorption spectroscopy.

A demand currently exists for a method of assessing the purity of single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs), which will allow for meaningful material comparisons. An established metric and protocol will enable accurate and reproducible purity claims to be substantiated. In the present work, the ability to accurately quantify the mass fraction of SWNTs in the carbonaceous portion of a given sample is demonstrated, using optical absorption spectroscopy on both laser and arc discharge-generated SWNT-N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMA) dispersions.

[Chromobacteriosis in Ilhéus, Bahia: epidemiologic, clinical and laboratorial investigation].

In April/2004, a group of people traveled to a farm in a town in the south of Bahia and afterwards, three teenagers from the same family developed symptoms of severe septicemia and two died. The Health Department carried out an epidemiologic, clinical, laboratory and environmental investigation that resulted in the identification of Chromobacterium violaceum, in biological material from one of them, water and soil. This is the first report of the disease in Bahia State.

Community-based monitoring of diarrhea in urban Brazilian children: incidence and associated pathogens.

Community-based monitoring was conducted in order to investigate the occurrence of diarrhea in 'sentinel areas' of Salvador, Brazil, and to establish a preliminary profile of the most common pathogens present in children's diarrhea by screening stool samples. This report describes the results obtained from twice weekly home visits to identify and follow diarrhea episodes and testing of carer-requested stool sample collection over a 6-month period. Participants were selected from a large longitudinal study in 21 areas representing the city's poorer socioeconomic and sanitary conditions.

Chromobacterium violaceum in siblings, Brazil.

Chromobacterium violaceum, a saprophyte bacterium found commonly in soil and water in tropical and subtropical climates, is a rare cause of severe, often fatal, human disease. We report 1 confirmed and 2 suspected cases of C. violaceum septicemia, with 2 fatalities, in siblings after recreational exposure in northeastern Brazil.

[The reliability of the german version of the barthel-index and the development of a postal and telephone version for the application on stroke patients].

Background And Purposes: Aim of the study was to translate the original version of the Barthel-Index (BI) into German and to investigate the reliability of the German version. In addition, a German version of the BI for postal and telephone use was developed.

Methods: Data were collected in four neurological hospitals in Germany.

A monolithic silicon optoelectronic transducer as a real-time affinity biosensor.

An optical real-time affinity biosensor, which is based on a monolithic silicon optoelectronic transducer and a microfluidic module, is described. The transducer monolithically integrates silicon avalanche diodes as light sources, silicon nitride optical fibers, and p/n junction detectors and efficiently intercouples these elements through a self-alignment technique. The transducer surface is hydrophilized by oxygen plasma treatment, silanized with (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane and bioactivated through adsorption of the biomolecular probes.

A biohybrid system to interface peripheral nerves after traumatic lesions: design of a high channel sieve electrode.

Peripheral nerve lesions lead to nerve degeneration and flaccid paralysis. The first objective in functional rehabilitation of these diseases should be the preservation of the neuro-muscular junction by biological means and following functional electrical stimulation (FES) may restore some function of the paralyzed limb. The combination of biological cells and technical microdevices to biohybrid systems might become a new approach in neural prosthetics research to preserve skeletal muscle function.

Fast and precise positioning of single cells on planar electrode substrates.

For cell biosensors and for studying neural networks using planar electrode substrates, a suitable technique for positioning single cells on electrodes was needed. We reported a new method for fast and efficient positioning of single cells on ring electrodes by controlled suction through holes. We described the microfabrication of electrode substrates with microholes and the cell positioning procedure.

Size distributions of chylomicrons from human lymph from dynamic light scattering measurements.

Chylomicrons, the vehicles for the transport of exogeneous triglycerides and cholesterol in the lymph and the blood, were characterized by their size from dynamic light scattering measurements. To achieve an appropriate resolution, correlation data were collected over several hours. Analysis was performed with an extended version of the regularization method CONTIN, and special attention was given to errors in the experimental baseline and to randomness of the residuals.