An exploratory study of microbial diversity in sinus infections of cystic fibrosis patients by molecular methods.

Background: For the first time microorganisms in CF sinuses are investigated by molecular methods in response to an absence of anaerobes in CF sinus samples during a two-year period at the Copenhagen CF center.

Methods: Endoscopic sinus surgery was performed in 19 CF patients. DNA from intact bacterial cells was investigated by 16S rRNA gene analysis and quantitative PCR.

Direct sequencing and RipSeq interpretation as a tool for identification of polymicrobial infections.

In this study, RipSeq Mixed, a software resolving uninterpretable mixed DNA sequencing chromatograms, revealed the bacterial content of 15 polymicrobial samples. Direct sequencing combined with RipSeq Mixed constitutes a valuable supplement to cultivation, particularly when cultivation is negative and direct sequencing is inconclusive despite continued clinical indications of infection.

Detection of microbial diversity in endocarditis using cultivation-independent molecular techniques.

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate whether the diagnosis of infective endocarditis (IE) could be improved using molecular tools in addition to standard microscopy and cultivation methods.

Methods: Cultivation was performed on blood or tissue samples as recommended in the modified Duke criteria. The molecular tools included a broad-range polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based denaturant gradient gel electrophoresis and a more detailed identification by constructing clone libraries followed by sequencing.

Aggregation and fibrillation of bovine serum albumin.

The all-alpha helix multi-domain protein bovine serum albumin (BSA) aggregates at elevated temperatures. Here we show that these thermal aggregates have amyloid properties. They bind the fibril-specific dyes Thioflavin T and Congo Red, show elongated although somewhat worm-like morphology and characteristic amyloid X-ray fiber diffraction peaks.