Carbohydrate microarrays can be prepared by microcontact printing of carbohydrate alkyne conjugates on azide self-assembled monolayers (SAMs). The carbohydrates are immobilized by a "click" reaction in the contact area between the stamp and the substrate. The immobilized carbohydrates retain their characteristic selectivity toward lectins.

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In a prospective, randomized, controlled, double-blind trial we compared the effectiveness of endonasal irrigations with Ems salt solution to that with sodium chloride solution in the treatment of adult patients with chronic paranasal sinus disease. Subjects (n = 40) were randomly allocated to treatment either with isotonic Ems salt solution or with isotonic sodium chloride solution. The treatment consisted of endonasal irrigation twice daily and additional nasal spray as required. Nasal endoscopy, plain radiography of the paranasal sinuses, olfactometry, anterior rhinomanometry, and a saccharin-clearance test were carried out on days 1 and 7. Patients recorded rating scales of general discomfort, nasal airway obstruction, agreeableness of the irrigation, duration of improved nasal resistance after each irrigation, and the amount of additional nasal spray in a diary. Nasal air flow was not improved significantly. Subjective complaints, endonasal endoscopy, and radiography results revealed a significant improvement in both groups (P = 0.0001). In comparison, the two groups were not significantly different in outcome. Endonasal irrigations with salt solutions are effective in the treatment of chronic sinusitis, and a significant difference between Ems salt and sodium chloride was not observed.

Only a few case reports have been published about hearing impairment following lumbar puncture, and not all were thoroughly documented by audiograms. We present nine cases of hearing loss following myelography, lumbar puncture, and spinal anesthesia. We speculate that this rare complication arises only in persons with a wholly or partially patent cochlear aqueduct, and occurs via the release of perilymphatic fluid in the cerebrospinal space. Hearing loss was seen in eight of the nine patients in the lower frequencies, and in six of the nine patients on both sides. Recovery to normal hearing was noticed in six of the nine patients. Transient hearing loss may occur more often than it is generally assumed, and the symptom can remain unnoticed. Since not all of these hearing losses proved to be fully reversible, we suggest informing patients about this complication for medicolegal reasons.

Heterobimetallic peralkylated calcium complexes [Ca(AlR 4 ) 2 ] n (R=Me, Et) were obtained from {Ca[N(SiMe 3 ) 2 ] 2 } 2 and an excess AlR 3 in almost quantitative yield. A similar silylamide elimination protocol was previously applied for the synthesis of the corresponding ytterbium and samarium complexes. The solid-state structure of polymeric [Ca(AlEt 4 ) 2 ] n revealed agostically linked righthanded helices featuring a pitch of ∼14 A ˚and a repeat length of ∼27 A ˚with the latter composed of nine alkyl-bridged [Ca(AlEt 4 ) 3 ]and [Ca(AlEt 4 )] þ building units. Reaction of [Ca(AlR 4 ) 2 ] n (R = Me, Et) with equimolar amounts of donor molecules gave X-ray structurally authenticated hexacoordinate monomeric adducts Ca(AlMe 4 ) 2 Phen (Phen = 1,10-phenanthroline) and Ca-and Mg(AlMe 4 ) 2 with excess thf resulted in the formation of solvent-separated ion pairs of composition [M(II)(thf) 6 ][AlR 4 ] 2 . Heating barely soluble [Ca(AlMe 4 ) 2 ] n in a pressure tube produced vinyloxide-bridged complex [{Ca(μ-OCHdCH 2 )-(thf ) 4 } 2 ][AlMe 4 ] 2 via thf degradation. Furthermore, treatment of MgMe 2 with thf yielded quantitatively the donor adduct [Mg(Me)(μ-Me)(thf)] 2 .

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In five different statistical analysis methods used, treatment effect of medical therapy was slightly better than recovery under placebo in which spontaneous recovery could be assumed, but no significant effect was detected. Against the background of recovery under placebo of 14.3 dB vs. 15.8 dB hearing gain of active treatment as averages of all measured frequencies, recovery under placebo seems not to have worse outcome than recovery under medical therapy.