Microbial biofilms - part I: Ecological and genetical aspects

Theoretical aspects of antibiotic diffusion into microbial biofilms.

Antibiotic penetration into microbial biofilm was investigated theoretically by the solution of mathematical equations describing various combinations of the processes of diffusion, sorption, and reaction. Unsteady material balances on the antibiotic and on a reactive or sorptive biomass constituent, along with associated boundary and initial conditions, constitute the mathematical formulations...

Clinical and genetical aspects of celiac disease

Celiac disease (CD), or gluten-sensitive enteropathy, is one of the most common chronic diseases in childhood but is diagnosed in all ages. CD is a genetically driven immunological intolerance to dietary gluten. Th e treatment is a gluten-free diet. Th e diagnostic criteria are the ESPGHAN criteria, which include the histological characteristics of villous atrophy, crypt hyperplasia and increas...

Microbial Biofilms

Diagnostic and genetical aspects of tuberous sclerosis.

There have been many reviews of tuberous sclerosis (Critchley and Earl, 1932; Ross and Dickerson, 1943; Dawson, 1954; Reed, Nickel, and Campion, 1963; Paulson and Lyle, 1966; Lagos and Gomez, 1967). The classical features, epilepsy, mental retardation, and adenoma sebaceum, are found in most patients with tuberous sclerosis, while retinal tumours (phakomas), visceral tumours, skeletal lesions, ...

Microbial Biofilms and Chronic Wounds

Background is provided on biofilms, including their formation, tolerance mechanisms, structure, and morphology within the context of chronic wounds. The features of biofilms in chronic wounds are discussed in detail, as is the impact of biofilm on wound chronicity. Difficulties associated with the use of standard susceptibility tests (minimum inhibitory concentrations or MICs) to determine appr...