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Multifunctional corrosion resistant and bioactive coatings containing hydroxyapatite Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2 and magnesium oxide MgO were obtained on Mg-Mn-Ce alloy by plasma electrolytic oxidation. The phase and elemental composition, morphology and anticorrosion properties of the coatings were investigated. The PEO layers were post-treated using Forum® superdispersed polytetrafluoroethylene powder, which caused a considerable reduction of the magnesium alloy corrosion rate (>4 orders of magnitude). In particular, the polarisation resistance has increased, as a result of such duplex treatment, by five orders of magnitude. The composite coatings are considered promising to induce bioactivity and control corrosion degradation of resorbable Mg implants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background & Aims: The source(s) of the infection and the route(s) of transmission of Helicobacter pylori have not yet been clarified. This is to introduce a noninvasive protocol allowing molecular typing of H pylori using stool specimens. Methods: The genotyping method is based on 2 H pylori–specific biprobe real-time polymerase chain reaction assays using fragments of the glmM and the recA genes as target sequences. Discrimination between strains results from differences in the melting temperature during melting curve analysis. In case of identical melting temperatures in both assays, sequence analysis of the glmM amplicon was performed to confirm strain identity. The method was validated using gastric biopsy specimens and stool specimens of 97 unrelated individuals suffering from abdominal pain and stool specimens of members of 10 families in Austria (infected index child and family members) and 8 African households. Results: Of the 97 patients, 27 were infected as shown by culture, histology, and rapid urease test. The sensitivity of each of the assays was 100% in gastric biopsy specimens and 92.2% in stool specimens; the specificity was 100%. The discriminatory capacity of the method was 100%. Clonal identities were found in 9 of 10 (90%) European and 7 of 8 (87.5%) African households. In 2 African households, 2 different clonal lineages each were found. Conclusions: The genotyping protocol introduced allows for both accurate detection and discrimination of H pylori strains in stool samples. Large-scale studies using this protocol may contribute to the clarification of the transmission pathways of infection with H pylori. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Desmin contributes to structural integrity and function of the myocardium but its function seems to be redundant in early cardiomyogenesis in the desmin null mouse model. To test the hypothesis that desmin also plays a supportive role in cardiomyogenic commitment and early differentiation of cardiomyocytes we investigated cardiomyogenesis in embryoid bodies expressing different desmin alleles. Constitutive expression of desmin and increased synthesis during mesoderm formation led to the up-regulation of brachyury and nkx2.5 genes, accelerated early cardiomyogenesis and resulted in the development of large, proliferating, highly interconnected, and synchronously beating cardiomyocyte clusters, whereas desmin null cardiomyocytes featured an opposite phenotype. In contrast, constitutive expression of amino-terminally truncated desmin Δ1–48 interfered with the beginning of cardiomyogenesis, caused down-regulation of mesodermal and myocardial transcription factors, and hampered myofibrillogenesis and survival of cardiomyocytes. These results provide first evidence that a type III intermediate filament protein takes part in regulating the differentiation of mesoderm to cardiomyocytes at the very beginning of cardiomyogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]