94 research outputs found
Dermal substitutes for fullâthickness wounds in a oneâstage grafting model
We tested different biodegradable matrix materials as dermal substitutes in a porcine wound model. Matrixes were covered with a split-skin mesh graft and protected with a microporous, semipermeable membrane, which prevents blister formation, wound infection and provides ultimate healing conditions. Evaluation parameters were as follows: epithelization, dermal reconstitution, wound contraction, and cosmetic and functional aspect. A microfibrillar matrix of nondenatured collagen gave the best result, with immediate fibroblast ingrowth and epidermal outgrowth. Slight inflammatory reaction and minimal wound contraction were observed. Application of a split-skin mesh graft, in combination with this collagen matrix, generated a thicker dermal layer than did a split-skin mesh graft directly applied on a wound bed. However, the histologic dermal architecture was less optimal than one obtained with a full-thickness punch graft method. Other matrixes caused inflammatory reactions, interfering with epithelization and dermal reconstitution. We conclude that a nondenatured collagen matrix, in combination with a split-skin mesh graft, can provide a substitute dermis in a full-thickness wound. This combination is preferable to a split-skin mesh graft directly applied on the wound bed. With our microporous semipermeable membrane, the combined use of a dermal substitute and a split-skin mesh graft can be applied in a single-stage operatio
Slow Epidemic of Lymphogranuloma Venereum L2b Strain
We traced the Chlamydia trachomatis L2b variant in Amsterdam and San Francisco. All recent lymphogranuloma venereum cases in Amsterdam were caused by the L2b variant. This variant was also present in the 1980s in San Francisco. Thus, the current "outbreak" is most likely a slowly evolving epidemic
Typing of Lymphogranuloma Venereum Chlamydia trachomatis Strains
We analyzed by multilocus sequence typing 77 lymphogranuloma venereum Chlamydia trachomatis strains from men who have sex with men in Europe and the United States. Specimens from an outbreak in 2003 in Europe were monoclonal. In contrast, several strains were in the United States in the 1980s, including a variant from Europe
Molecular assessment of bacterial vaginosis by Lactobacillus abundance and species diversity
__Background:__ To date, women are most often diagnosed with bacterial vaginosis (BV) using microscopy based Nugent scoring or Amsel criteria. However, the accuracy is less than optimal. The aim of the present study was to confirm the identity of known BV-associated composition profiles and evaluate indicators for BV using three molecular methods.
__Methods:__ Evaluation of indicators for BV was carried out by 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing of the V5-V7 region, a tailor-made 16S rRNA oligonucleotide-based microarray, and a PCR-based profiling technique termed IS-profiling, which is based on fragment variability of the 16S-23S rRNA intergenic spacer region. An inventory of vaginal bacterial species was obtained from 40 females attending a Dutch sexually transmitted infection outpatient clinic, of which 20 diagnosed with BV (Nugent score 7-10), and 20 BV negative (Nugent score 0-3).
__Results:__ Analysis of the bacterial communities by 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing revealed two clusters in the BV negative women, dominated by either Lactobacillus iners or Lactobacillus crispatus and three distinct clusters in the BV positive women. In the former, there was a virtually complete, negative correlation between L. crispatus and L. iners. BV positive subjects showed cluster profiles that were relatively high in bacterial species diversity and dominated by anaerobic species, including Gardnerella vaginalis, an
Secondary metabolite profiling, growth profiles and other tools for species recognition and important Aspergillus mycotoxins
Species in the genus Aspergillus have been classified primarily
based on morphological features. Sequencing of house-hold genes has also been
used in Aspergillus taxonomy and phylogeny, while extrolites and
physiological features have been used less frequently. Three independent ways
of classifying and identifying aspergilli appear to be applicable: Morphology
combined with physiology and nutritional features, secondary metabolite
profiling and DNA sequencing. These three ways of identifying
Aspergillus species often point to the same species. This consensus
approach can be used initially, but if consensus is achieved it is recommended
to combine at least two of these independent ways of characterising aspergilli
in a polyphasic taxonomy. The chemical combination of secondary metabolites
and DNA sequence features has not been explored in taxonomy yet, however.
Examples of these different taxonomic approaches will be given for
Aspergillus section Nigri
Predicting Phenotype and Emerging Strains among Chlamydia trachomatis Infections
Single nucleotide polymorphisms can be used for epidemiologic and evolutionary studies worldwide
Genetic loci associated with prevalent and incident myocardial infarction and coronary heart disease in the Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology (CHARGE) Consortium
Background
Genome-wide association studies have identified multiple genomic loci associated with coronary artery disease, but most are common variants in non-coding regions that provide limited information on causal genes and etiology of the disease. To overcome the limited scope
that common variants provide, we focused our investigation on low-frequency and rare
sequence variations primarily residing in coding regions of the genome.
Methods and results
Using samples of individuals of European ancestry from ten cohorts within the Cohorts for
Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology (CHARGE) consortium, both crosssectional and prospective analyses were conducted to examine associations between
genetic variants and myocardial infarction (MI), coronary heart disease (CHD), and allcause mortality following these events. For prevalent events, a total of 27,349 participants of
European ancestry, including 1831 prevalent MI cases and 2518 prevalent CHD cases were
used. For incident cases, a total of 55,736 participants of European ancestry were included
(3,031 incident MI cases and 5,425 incident CHD cases). There were 1,860 all-cause
deaths among the 3,751 MI and CHD cases from six cohorts that contributed to the analysis
of all-cause mortality. Single variant and gene-based analyses were performed separately
in each cohort and then meta-analyzed for each outcome. A low-frequency intronic variant
(rs988583) in PLCL1 was significantly associated with prevalent MI (OR = 1.80, 95% confidence interval: 1.43, 2.27; P = 7.12
Search for the doubly heavy baryon decaying to
A first search for the
decay is performed by the LHCb experiment with a data sample of proton-proton
collisions, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of
recorded at centre-of-mass energies of 7, 8, and . Two peaking structures are seen with a local (global) significance of
and standard deviations at masses of
and , respectively. Upper limits are set on the baryon
production cross-section times the branching fraction relative to that of the
decay at centre-of-mass energies of 8 and
, in the and in the
rapidity and transverse-momentum ranges from 2.0 to 4.5 and 0 to
, respectively. Upper limits are presented
as a function of the mass and lifetime.Comment: All figures and tables, along with machine-readable versions and any
supplementary material and additional information, are available at
https://cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/p/LHCb-PAPER-2022-005.html (LHCb
public pages
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