Interlaboratory study for the evaluation of three microtiter plate-based biofilm quantification methods

Microtiter plate methods are commonly used for biofilm assessment. However, results obtained with these methods have often been difficult to reproduce. Hence, it is important to obtain a better understanding of the repeatability and reproducibility of these methods. An interlaboratory study was performed in five different laboratories to evaluate the reproducibility and responsiveness of three methods to quantify Staphylococcus aureus biofilm formation in 96-well microtiter plates: crystal violet, resazurin, and plate counts. An inter-lab protocol was developed for the study. The protocol was separated into three steps: biofilm growth, biofilm challenge, biofilm assessment. For control experiments participants performed the growth and assessment steps only. For treatment experiments, all three steps were performed and the efficacy of sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) in killing S. aureus biofilms was evaluated. In control experiments, on the log(10)-scale, the reproducibility SD (S-R) was 0.44 for crystal violet, 0.53 for resazurin, and 0.92 for the plate counts. In the treatment experiments, plate counts had the best responsiveness to different levels of efficacy and also the best reproducibility with respect to responsiveness (Slope/S-R=1.02), making it the more reliable method to use in an antimicrobial efficacy test. This study showed that the microtiter plate is a versatile and easy-to-use biofilm reactor, which exhibits good repeatability and reproducibility for different types of assessment methods, as long as a suitable experimental design and statistical analysis is applied.Peer reviewe

Interference in interacting quantum dots with spin

We study spectral and transport properties of interacting quantum dots with spin. Two particular model systems are investigated: Lateral multilevel and two parallel quantum dots. In both cases different paths through the system can give rise to interference. We demonstrate that this strengthens the multilevel Kondo effect for which a simple two-stage mechanism is proposed. In parallel dots we show under which conditions the peak of an interference-induced orbital Kondo effect can be split.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figure

Infrared Space Observatory Spectra of R Coronae Borealis Stars. I. Emission Features in the Interval 3 - 25 microns

Infrared Space Observatory 3 - 25 $\mu$m spectra of the R Coronae Borealis stars V854 Cen, R CrB, and RY Sgr are presented and discussed. Sharp emission features coincident in wavelengths with the well known Unidentified Emission Features are present in the spectrum of V854 Cen but not of R CrB or RY Sgr. Since V854 Cen is not particularly H-poor and has a 1000 times more H than the other stars, the emission features are probably from a carrier containing hydrogen. There is a correspondence between the features and emission from laboratory samples of hydrogenated amorphous carbon. A search for C$_{60}$ in emission or absorption proved negative. Amorphous carbon particles account for the broad emission features seen between 6 - 14 $\mu$m in the spectrum of each star.Comment: 11 pages with 2 tables and 4 figures in ApJ print page form. Accepted for publication in Ap

Effect of β-Blockers on Cardiac and Pulmonary Events and Death in Older Adults With Cardiovascular Disease and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

CONTEXT: In older adults with multiple conditions, medications may not impart the same benefits seen in patients who are younger, or without multi-morbidity. Furthermore, medications given for one condition may adversely affect other outcomes. Beta-blocker (β-Blocker) use with coexisting cardiovascular disease (CVD) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is such a situation. OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of β-Blocker use on cardiac and pulmonary outcomes and mortality in older adults with coexisting COPD and CVD. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS: The 1062 participants were members of the 2004-2007 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey cohorts, a nationally representative sample of Medicare beneficiaries. Study criteria included age 65+ years plus coexisting CVD and COPD/asthma. Follow-up occurred through 2009. We determined the association between β-Blocker use and the outcomes with propensity score-adjusted and covariate-adjusted Cox proportional hazards. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The three outcomes were major cardiac and pulmonary events, and all-cause mortality. RESULTS: Half of the participants used β-Blockers. During follow-up 179 participants experienced a major cardiac event; 389 participants experienced a major pulmonary event; and 255 participants died. Each participant could have experienced any one or more of these events. The hazard ratio for β-blocker use was 1.18 (95% CI, 0.85-1.62) for cardiac events; 0.91 (95% CI, 0.73-1.12) for pulmonary events; and, 0.87 (95% CI, 0.67-1.13) for death. CONCLUSION: In this population of older adults, β-Blockers did not seem to affect occurrence of cardiac or pulmonary events or death in those with CVD and COPD.Keywords: cardiovascular disease, multiple chronic conditions, coronary artery disease, COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cardiac events, beta-blocker, pulmonary events, multimorbidity, CAD, CV

Effects of Anacetrapib in Patients with Atherosclerotic Vascular Disease

BACKGROUND: Patients with atherosclerotic vascular disease remain at high risk for cardiovascular events despite effective statin-based treatment of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels. The inhibition of cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) by anacetrapib reduces LDL cholesterol levels and increases high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels. However, trials of other CETP inhibitors have shown neutral or adverse effects on cardiovascular outcomes. METHODS: We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial involving 30,449 adults with atherosclerotic vascular disease who were receiving intensive atorvastatin therapy and who had a mean LDL cholesterol level of 61 mg per deciliter (1.58 mmol per liter), a mean non-HDL cholesterol level of 92 mg per deciliter (2.38 mmol per liter), and a mean HDL cholesterol level of 40 mg per deciliter (1.03 mmol per liter). The patients were assigned to receive either 100 mg of anacetrapib once daily (15,225 patients) or matching placebo (15,224 patients). The primary outcome was the first major coronary event, a composite of coronary death, myocardial infarction, or coronary revascularization. RESULTS: During the median follow-up period of 4.1 years, the primary outcome occurred in significantly fewer patients in the anacetrapib group than in the placebo group (1640 of 15,225 patients [10.8%] vs. 1803 of 15,224 patients [11.8%]; rate ratio, 0.91; 95% confidence interval, 0.85 to 0.97; P=0.004). The relative difference in risk was similar across multiple prespecified subgroups. At the trial midpoint, the mean level of HDL cholesterol was higher by 43 mg per deciliter (1.12 mmol per liter) in the anacetrapib group than in the placebo group (a relative difference of 104%), and the mean level of non-HDL cholesterol was lower by 17 mg per deciliter (0.44 mmol per liter), a relative difference of -18%. There were no significant between-group differences in the risk of death, cancer, or other serious adverse events. CONCLUSIONS: Among patients with atherosclerotic vascular disease who were receiving intensive statin therapy, the use of anacetrapib resulted in a lower incidence of major coronary events than the use of placebo. (Funded by Merck and others; Current Controlled Trials number, ISRCTN48678192 ; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01252953 ; and EudraCT number, 2010-023467-18 .)

On the gas temperature in the shocked circumstellar envelopes of pulsating stars. II. Shock induced condensation around R Coronae Borealis stars.

A physical mechanism is presented, which may be essential for the occasional onset of dust formation in the circumstellar envelopes of pulsating RCrB stars. We study the thermal energy balance, the chemistry and the nucleation in fixed fluid elements of the circumstellar envelopes around RCrB stars, which are periodically hit by strong shock waves caused by the stellar pulsation. Non-LTE radiative heating and cooling via free-free, bound-free and atomic line transitions and via rotational and ro-vibrational transitions of polar molecules is taken into account. After the heating and compression due to an outrunning shock, the considered fluid element first radiates away its excess of internal energy, and then re-expands according to the periodicity, which is a typical feature in such pulsating envelopes. This reexpansion causes adiabatic cooling. Within a particular range of the gas particle densities n__= 10^7...10^cm^-3^, this finally causes substantial lower gas temperatures than in radiative equilibrium. Thus, the preconditions for effective carbon nucleation (high densities and low gas temperatures for a sufficiently long time) may be temporarily present quite near to the photosphere of a pulsating RCrB star. The presented mechanism leads to gas temperatures as low as 1500K already outside of a radial distance of only 1.5-3R_*_, despite of the high effective temperatures of RCrB stars

Shock-induced condensation in R CrB stars

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