Professionspublizistik unter den politischen Systembedingungen der DDR anhand der Zeitschrift "Die Unterstufe"

Vogt M. Professionspublizistik unter den politischen Systembedingungen der DDR anhand der Zeitschrift "Die Unterstufe". In: Grunder H-U, Hoffmann-Ocon A, Metz P, eds. Netzwerke in bildungshistorischer Perspektive. Bad Heilbrunn: Julius Klinkhardt; 2013: 154-160

Maintenance and preservation of ectomycorrhizal and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi

Short- to long-term preservation of mycorrhizal fungi is essential for their in-depth study and, in the case of culture collections, for safeguarding their biodiversity. Many different maintenance/preservation methods have been developed in the last decades, from soil- and substrate-based maintenance to preservation methods that reduce (e.g., storage under water) or arrest (e.g., cryopreservation) growth and metabolism; all have advantages and disadvantages. In this review, the principal methods developed so far for ectomycorrhizal and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi are reported and described given their distinct biology/ecology/evolutionary history. Factors that are the most important for their storage are presented and a protocol proposed which is applicable, although not generalizable, for the long-term preservation at ultra-low temperature of a large panel of these organisms. For ECM fungi, isolates should be grown on membranes or directly in cryovials until the late stationary growth phase. The recommended cryopreservation conditions are: a cryoprotectant of 10 % glycerol, applied 1-2 h prior to cryopreservation, a slow cooling rate (1 °C min-1) until storage below -130 °C, and fast thawing by direct plunging in a water bath at 35-37 °C. For AMF, propagules (i.e., spores/colonized root pieces) isolated from cultures in the late or stationary phase of growth should be used and incorporated in a carrier (i.e., soil or alginate beads), preferably dried, before cryopreservation. For in vitro-cultured isolates, 0.5 M trehalose should be used as cryoprotectant, while isolates produced in vivo can be preserved in dried soil without cryoprotectant. A fast cryopreservation cooling rate should be used (direct immersion in liquid nitrogen or freezing at temperatures below -130 °C), as well as fast thawing by direct immersion in a water bath at 35 °C. © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

Coronary-artery bypass surgery in patients with left ventricular dysfunction

<p>BACKGROUND The role of coronary-artery bypass grafting (CABG) in the treatment of patients with coronary artery disease and heart failure has not been clearly established.</p> <p>METHODS Between July 2002 and May 2007, a total of 1212 patients with an ejection fraction of 35% or less and coronary artery disease amenable to CABG were randomly assigned to medical therapy alone (602 patients) or medical therapy plus CABG (610 patients). The primary outcome was the rate of death from any cause. Major secondary outcomes included the rates of death from cardiovascular causes and of death from any cause or hospitalization for cardiovascular causes.</p> <p>RESULTS The primary outcome occurred in 244 patients (41%) in the medical-therapy group and 218 (36%) in the CABG group (hazard ratio with CABG, 0.86; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.72 to 1.04; P=0.12). A total of 201 patients (33%) in the medical-therapy group and 168 (28%) in the CABG group died from an adjudicated cardiovascular cause (hazard ratio with CABG, 0.81; 95% CI, 0.66 to 1.00; P=0.05). Death from any cause or hospitalization for cardiovascular causes occurred in 411 patients (68%) in the medical-therapy group and 351 (58%) in the CABG group (hazard ratio with CABG, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.64 to 0.85; P<0.001). By the end of the follow-up period (median, 56 months), 100 patients in the medical-therapy group (17%) underwent CABG, and 555 patients in the CABG group (91%) underwent CABG.</p> <p>CONCLUSIONS In this randomized trial, there was no significant difference between medical therapy alone and medical therapy plus CABG with respect to the primary end point of death from any cause. Patients assigned to CABG, as compared with those assigned to medical therapy alone, had lower rates of death from cardiovascular causes and of death from any cause or hospitalization for cardiovascular causes.</p&gt

Myocardial viability and survival in ischemic left ventricular dysfunction

BACKGROUND: The assessment of myocardial viability has been used to identify patients with coronary artery disease and left ventricular dysfunction in whom coronary-artery bypass grafting (CABG) will provide a survival benefit. However, the efficacy of this approach is uncertain. METHODS: In a substudy of patients with coronary artery disease and left ventricular dysfunction who were enrolled in a randomized trial of medical therapy with or without CABG, we used single-photon-emission computed tomography (SPECT), dobutamine echocardiography, or both to assess myocardial viability on the basis of prespecified thresholds. RESULTS: Among the 1212 patients enrolled in the randomized trial, 601 underwent assessment of myocardial viability. Of these patients, we randomly assigned 298 to receive medical therapy plus CABG and 303 to receive medical therapy alone. A total of 178 of 487 patients with viable myocardium (37%) and 58 of 114 patients without viable myocardium (51%) died (hazard ratio for death among patients with viable myocardium, 0.64; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.48 to 0.86; P=0.003). However, after adjustment for other baseline variables, this association with mortality was not significant (P=0.21). There was no significant interaction between viability status and treatment assignment with respect to mortality (P=0.53). CONCLUSIONS: The presence of viable myocardium was associated with a greater likelihood of survival in patients with coronary artery disease and left ventricular dysfunction, but this relationship was not significant after adjustment for other baseline variables. The assessment of myocardial viability did not identify patients with a differential survival benefit from CABG, as compared with medical therapy alone. (Funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; STICH ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00023595.)