Search

We developed a software tool enabling user-friendly and standardized pre- and post-processing of images of rooted soil by combining image processing techniques such as image registration, calibration, and segmentation in a graphical user interface. The added benefits of this image processing approach include an improved workflow in soil zymography. For evaluation, we conducted a rhizobox experiment with maize and determined the activity of leucine-aminopeptidase before and after glucose addition based on soil zymography. The temporal and spatial distribution of enzyme activity at the root-soil interface can be visualized by Root-o-Mat which offers 1) standardized image pre-processing, 2) calibration, 3) identification of hotspots of various intensity thresholds, 4) spatial analysis for selected roots, 5) inter-active illustration of enzyme activity profile lines, 6) image viewer, and 7) detection of temporal changes of enzyme activity. Registering images of the same rhizobox taken in successive periods allows further temporal and spatial analysis. We conclude that Root-o-Mat simplifies and firmly anchors image processing and image analyses in soil zymography. The new software can be downloaded for free ( www.root-o-mat.de ).

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is still the leading cause of death in the Western World. Adverse outcomes of CVD include stroke, myocardial infarction, and heart failure. Atherosclerosis is considered to be the major cause of CVD and is estimated to cause half of all deaths in developed countries. Atherosclerotic lesions of the vessel wall may obstruct blood flow mechanically through stenosis, but rupture of atherosclerotic plaques causing formation of occlusive thrombi is far more prevalent. Unfortunately, conventional diagnostic tools fail to assess whether a plaque is vulnerable to rupture. Research over the past decade identified the biological processes that are implicated in the course towards plaque rupture, like cell death and inflammation. Knowledge about plaque biology propelled the development of imaging techniques that target biologic processes in order to predict the vulnerable plaque. This paper discusses novel and existing molecular imaging targets and addresses advantages and disadvantages of these targets and respective imaging techniques in respect of clinical application and socio-economic impact.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is still the leading cause of death in the Western World. Adverse outcomes of CVD include stroke, myocardial infarction, and heart failure. Atherosclerosis is considered to be the major cause of CVD and is estimated to cause half of all deaths in developed countries. Atherosclerotic lesions of the vessel wall may obstruct blood flow mechanically through stenosis, but rupture of atherosclerotic plaques causing formation of occlusive thrombi is far more prevalent. Unfortunately, conventional diagnostic tools fail to assess whether a plaque is vulnerable to rupture. Research over the past decade identified the biological processes that are implicated in the course toward plaque rupture, like cell death and inflammation. Knowledge about plaque biology propelled the development of imaging techniques that target biologic processes in order to predict the vulnerable plaque. This paper discusses novel and existing molecular imaging targets and addresses advantages and disadvantages of these targets and respective imaging techniques with regard to clinical application and socioeconomic impact.

Background Sepsis leads to high mortality, therefore risk stratification is important. The abbMEDS (abbreviated Mortality Emergency Department Sepsis) score assesses sepsis severity and predicts mortality. In community-acquired pneumonia, the CURB-65 (Confusion, Urea, Respiration, Blood pressure, Age) also provides support in clinical decisions regarding antibiotic treatment and clinical disposition. We investigated the predictive value and feasibility of the abbMEDS and CURB-65 in sepsis patients at the ED and the relationship between the scores and antibiotic treatment and clinical disposition (i.e. admission and type of ward). Methods In this retrospective cohort study, we included 725 sepsis patients at the ED. We investigated the value in predicting 28-day mortality and feasibility of both scores. We calibrated the abbMEDS. We further assessed the relationship between the three risk categories per score and antibiotic treatment (i.e. oral and intravenous narrow or broad-spectrum) and clinical disposition. Results Both abbMEDS and CURB-65 were good predictors of 28-day mortality (13.0 %) (AUC 0.77 [95 % CI 0.72 – 0.83] and 0.73 [95 % CI 0.67 - 0.78], respectively) and feasible (complete score 92.7 and 93.9 %, respectively). In the high risk category of the abbMEDS, all patients were admitted and treated with intravenous broad-spectrum antibiotics. In the high risk category of the CURB-65, 2.5 % were not admitted and 4.4 % received no antibiotics. Conclusion Both abbMEDS and CURB-65 are good predictors of 28-day mortality in septic ED patients. The abbMEDS is well calibrated and matches current clinical decisions concerning antibiotic treatment and clinical disposition, while this is less so for the CURB-65. In the future, use of the abbMEDS at the ED may improve sepsis care when its value as a decision support tool can be confirmed. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12873-015-0056-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.