We used our electronic database to search for inner ear malformat

We used our electronic database to search for inner ear malformations H 89 described between 1995 and 2009 and extracted 81 ears (of 47 patients) with hypoplastic cochleae out of 289 patients with inner ear malformations. Two neuroradiologists evaluated the available CT and MRI data. Measurements of all inner ear structures were performed. Accompanying findings were listed.

Cochlear hypoplasia (58 ears,

32 patients) often involves not only the apical turn being reduced in size but also the basal turn being smaller in length. Additionally, 11 ears (eight patients) of hypoplastic cochleae with only a basal turn and five ears (four patients) of cochleae with only a small bud were identified. Non-classifiable hypoplastic cochleae (seven ears, five patients) were those with either a rudimentary or an absent basal turn or a “”dwarf appearance”" with no further partition.

The term “”hypoplastic cochlea”" is very general; a further division into

severe and less severe forms based on the length and existence of cochlea turns is possible and can help enhance the comparison of CI outcome data. Measurements can help the less experienced radiologist to detect them more easily.”
“Aims:

Vibrio vulnificus is a major cause of seafood-related deaths in the United States. Several biomarkers, e.g. the virulence-correlated gene (vcg), 16S rRNA, and the capsular polysaccharide operon (CPS) have been used to differentiate virulent- from nonvirulent-type NSC23766 V. vulnificus Masitinib (AB1010) strains. In this study, we combined the use of these biomarkers with a species-specific V. vulnificus cytolysin/haemolysin gene (vvhA) to develop two pairs of multiplex PCR assays that simultaneously detect and characterize V. vulnificus strains.

Methods and Results:

The first multiplex PCR pair amplified four genes (vvhA, vcg, 16S rRNA,

and CPS), with one for virulent-type and the other one for nonvirulent-type V. vulnificus strains, while the second pair targeted three of those genes excluding CPS. Primer concentration and annealing temperature were optimized for the four multiplex PCR assays. When testing ten V. vulnificus reference strains and 80 field oyster isolates, results from each multiplex PCR matched 100% with known strain characteristics for these target genes.

Conclusions:

The optimized multiplex PCR assays were capable of simultaneously detecting and characterizing V. vulnificus with high specificity and speed.

Significance and Impact of the Study:

Multiplex PCR assays designed in this study are valuable tools for microbial ecology and epidemiology studies. They may facilitate better control of V. vulnificus risks in oysters, thereby reducing the number of illnesses and deaths because of V. vulnificus in the long run.”
“Diffusion weighted imaging and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) give information about the amount and directionality of water diffusion occurring in a given tissue.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>