BackgroundDisrupted bile secretion leads to liver damage characterized by inflammation, fibrosis, eventually cirrhosis, and hepatocellular cancer. As obstructive cholestasis often progresses insidiously, markers for the diagnosis and staging of the disease are urgently needed. To this end, we compiled a comprehensive data set of serum markers, histological parameters and transcript profiles at 8 time points of disease progression after bile duct ligation (BDL) in mice, aiming at identifying a set of parameters that could be used as robust biomarkers for transition of different disease progression phases.ResultsStatistical analysis of the more than 6,000 data points revealed distinct temporal phases of disease. Time course correlation analysis of biochemical, histochemical and mRNA transcript parameters (=factors) defined 6 clusters for different phases of disease progression. The number of CTGF-positive cells provided the most reliable overall measure for disease progression at histological level, bilirubin at biochemical level, and metalloproteinase inhibitor 1 (Timp1) at transcript level. Prominent molecular events exhibited by strong transcript peaks are found for the transcriptional regulator Nr0b2 (Shp) and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D(3) 24-hydroxylase (Cyp24a1) at 6 h. Based on these clusters, we constructed a decision tree of factor combinations potentially useful as markers for different time intervals of disease progression. Best prediction for onset of disease is achieved by fibronectin (Fn1), for early disease phase by Cytochrome P450 1A2 (Cyp1a2), passage to perpetuation phase by collagen1α-1 (Col1a1), and transition to the progression phase by interleukin 17-a (Il17a), with early and late progression separated by Col1a1. Notably, these predictions remained stable even for randomly chosen small sub-sets of factors selected from the clusters.ConclusionOur detailed time-resolved explorative study of liver homogenates following BDL revealed a well-coordinated response, resulting in disease phase dependent parameter modulations at morphological, biochemical, metabolic and gene expression levels. Interestingly, a small set of selected parameters can be used as diagnostic markers to predict disease stages in mice with cholestatic liver disease.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12918-015-0229-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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A bacterial strain named IGB-41T was isolated from a soil sample from an ant hill near Stuttgart, Germany. The strain was Gram-negative, rod-shaped, motile and facultatively anaerobic. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA grouped the strain IGB-41T within the class Betaproteobacteria into the family Neisseriaceae together with Silvimonas amylolytica NBRC 103189T, Silvimonas iriomotensis NBRC 103188T and Silvimonas terrae KM-45T as the closest relatives with sequence similarities of 96.7, 96.6 and 96.1 %, respectively. The G+C content of the genomic DNA was determined to be 61.5 mol% and quinone analysis revealed Q-8 as the only detectable quinone. Major cellular fatty acids were identified as C16 : 0, summed feature 3 (iso-C15 : 0 2-OH and/or C16 : 1ω7c) and C18 : 1ω7c . Strain IGB-41T was unique in harbouring phosphoaminolipids, aminolipids and glycoaminolipids when compared with Silvimonas amylolytica NBRC 103189T in polar lipid analysis. On the basis of the physiological, phenotypic and genotypic characteristics of strain IGB-41T, we suggest that the novel strain should be assigned to a new genus Amantichitinum and novel species Amantichitinum ursilacus. The type species of the genus Amantichitinum is Amantichitinum ursilacus and the type strain is IGB-41T ( = DSM 23761T = CIP 110167T).

Abbreviations s = sexual reproduction; v = vegetative reproduction; CAN = fertilizer containing calcium ammonium nitrate; NPK = three component fertilizer containing nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium Nomenclature Abstract Aims: Lowland meadow irrigation used to be a widespread management practice to improve hay yield in Central European grasslands. Recently, traditional meadow irrigation is being re-established in some parts of Europe. Nevertheless, the consequences of the regular artificial flooding on vegetation of these water meadows remain poorly understood. We studied the impact of flood irrigation on the plant functional and species composition of extensively managed hay meadows.Location: Lowland of River Queich, between Landau and Lustadt, Germany.Methods: We sampled vegetation in 34 meadows that differed in irrigation status (irrigated/non-irrigated) and fertilization (unfertilized/fertilized). Plants were classified into functional groups according to growth forms, N-fixing ability and reproductive strategy. Effects of meadow irrigation on the plant functional composition were analysed using two complementary approaches. In the 'community approach', we analysed total cover of each functional group per meadow with respect to irrigation and fertilization. In the 'species approach', we analysed the mean response to irrigation among the species within the defined functional groups.Results: Total cover of rosettes and semi-rosettes increased relative to graminoids in irrigated meadows. Cover of legumes was three times higher in irrigated compared to non-irrigated meadows. Irrigation enhanced preferences for seed and vegetative reproduction. However, the response of individual species within the functional groups was inconsistent. Fertilization had an overall minor influence on functional composition of the meadows. Conclusions:The higher proportion of plants with basal growth organs in irrigated meadows suggests that irrigation may enhance a more complex vertical structure of the vegetation. Enhancement of rosettes, semi-rosettes and legumes at the cost of graminoids through irrigation was more significant in the community than in the species approach, indicating that the functional group response was amplified by the respective dominant species. This highlights the importance of considering species-level interactions in functional vegetation analysis.

Background Patients with cancer and their relatives often suffer from psychosocial burdens following a cancer diagnosis. Psychosocial cancer support services offer support for cancer patients and their relatives. Only a few studies have focused on associations of psychological factors within patient-relative dyads. This study aims to assess associations between the patients’ or relatives’ self-efficacy and their levels of distress and anxiety who seek help together at psychosocial cancer support centres. Methods Participants were recruited at two psychosocial cancer support centres in a major city in Germany. Patients with cancer and their relatives seeking support together received the questionnaire before their first support session. Self-efficacy was assessed with the Pearlin sense of mastery scale, distress with the distress thermometer and anxiety with the General Anxiety Disorder questionnaire (GAD-7). For the analysis, the actor-partner interdependence model was applied. Results The data analysis was based on 41 patient-relative dyads (patients: 39% women, mean age 53.5; relatives: 66% women, mean age 52.16). A significant actor effect from self-efficacy to distress was found for patients (r = -0.47) but not for relatives (r = -0.15). Partner effects from self-efficacy to distress were not significant (r = -0.03, r = -0.001). The actor effect from self-efficacy to anxiety for patients (r = -0.61) as well as relatives was significant (r = -0.62), whereas the partner effect was significant for patients (r = 0.16) but not for relatives (r = -0.46). Conclusion The results suggest that patients’ and relatives’ self-efficacy is associated with their distress and anxiety. Partner effects were visible for patients’ self-efficacy and relatives’ anxiety. These findings suggest that self-efficacy is an important factor for the psychological well-being of patients and relatives and that it may additionally be associated with the partners’ well-being. Longitudinal research with larger samples is needed to support the findings.