Refine
Year of publication
- 2011 (745) (remove)
Document Type
- Doctoral Thesis (423)
- Journal article (218)
- Complete part of issue (51)
- Book article / Book chapter (13)
- Preprint (12)
- Report (8)
- Master Thesis (6)
- Book (4)
- Jahresbericht (3)
- Conference Proceeding (3)
Keywords
- Würzburg (51)
- Wuerzburg (50)
- Wurzburg (50)
- Universität (47)
- University (46)
- Medizin (15)
- NMR-Tomographie (11)
- Maus (10)
- Expression (9)
- MRI (9)
Institute
- Theodor-Boveri-Institut für Biowissenschaften (83)
- Universität Würzburg (49)
- Medizinische Klinik und Poliklinik I (40)
- Physikalisches Institut (40)
- Graduate School of Life Sciences (39)
- Klinik und Poliklinik für Psychiatrie, Psychosomatik und Psychotherapie (30)
- Institut für Pharmazie und Lebensmittelchemie (29)
- Institut für deutsche Philologie (25)
- Neurologische Klinik und Poliklinik (25)
- Medizinische Klinik und Poliklinik II (22)
- Rudolf-Virchow-Zentrum (21)
- Institut für Molekulare Infektionsbiologie (20)
- Institut für Virologie und Immunbiologie (20)
- Institut für Psychologie (17)
- Institut für Humangenetik (15)
- Klinik und Poliklinik für Allgemein-, Viszeral-, Gefäß- und Kinderchirurgie (Chirurgische Klinik I) (15)
- Pathologisches Institut (14)
- Institut für Geographie und Geologie (13)
- Institut für Organische Chemie (12)
- Institut für Theoretische Physik und Astrophysik (12)
- Institut für diagnostische und interventionelle Radiologie (Institut für Röntgendiagnostik) (12)
- Kinderklinik und Poliklinik (12)
- Julius-von-Sachs-Institut für Biowissenschaften (11)
- Physiologisches Institut (11)
- Augenklinik und Poliklinik (10)
- Institut für Anatomie und Zellbiologie (10)
- Institut für Anorganische Chemie (10)
- Lehrstuhl für Orthopädie (10)
- Institut für Hygiene und Mikrobiologie (9)
- Institut für Informatik (9)
- Institut für Klinische Biochemie und Pathobiochemie (9)
- Institut für Pädagogik (9)
- Klinik und Poliklinik für Hals-, Nasen- und Ohrenkrankheiten, plastische und ästhetische Operationen (9)
- Klinik und Poliklinik für Mund-, Kiefer- und Plastische Gesichtschirurgie (9)
- Lehrstuhl für Biochemie (9)
- Institut für Pharmakologie und Toxikologie (8)
- Klinik und Poliklinik für Dermatologie, Venerologie und Allergologie (8)
- Institut für Medizinische Strahlenkunde und Zellforschung (7)
- Universitätsbibliothek (7)
- Frauenklinik und Poliklinik (6)
- Institut für Geschichte der Medizin (6)
- Institut für Mathematik (6)
- Institut für Physikalische und Theoretische Chemie (6)
- Klinik und Poliklinik für Anästhesiologie (ab 2004) (6)
- Institut für Klinische Neurobiologie (5)
- Klinik und Poliklinik für Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie, Psychosomatik und Psychotherapie (5)
- Klinik und Poliklinik für Strahlentherapie (5)
- Klinik und Poliklinik für Unfall-, Hand-, Plastische und Wiederherstellungschirurgie (Chirurgische Klinik II) (5)
- Klinik und Polikliniken für Zahn-, Mund- und Kieferkrankheiten (5)
- Missionsärztliche Klinik (5)
- Graduate School of the Humanities (4)
- Institut für Psychotherapie und Medizinische Psychologie (4)
- Klinik und Poliklinik für Nuklearmedizin (4)
- Medizinische Fakultät (4)
- Poliklinik für Zahnerhaltung und Parodontologie (4)
- Universität - Fakultätsübergreifend (4)
- Betriebswirtschaftliches Institut (3)
- Klinik und Poliklinik für Thorax-, Herz- u. Thorakale Gefäßchirurgie (3)
- Poliklinik für Kieferorthopädie (3)
- Abteilung für Molekulare Innere Medizin (in der Medizinischen Klinik und Poliklinik II) (2)
- Institut für Altertumswissenschaften (2)
- Institut für Kulturwissenschaften Ost- und Südasiens (2)
- Institut für Kulturwissenschaften Ost- und Südasiens (bis Sept. 2007) (2)
- Institut für Strafrecht und Kriminologie (2)
- Medizinische Klinik (bis 2004) (2)
- Neurochirurgische Klinik und Poliklinik (2)
- Volkswirtschaftliches Institut (2)
- Abteilung für Funktionswerkstoffe der Medizin und der Zahnheilkunde (1)
- Fakultät für Humanwissenschaften (Philos., Psycho., Erziehungs- u. Gesell.-Wissensch.) (1)
- Institut für Biblische Theologie (1)
- Institut für Bürgerliches Recht und Zivilprozessrecht (1)
- Institut für Funktionsmaterialien und Biofabrikation (1)
- Institut für Geologie (1)
- Institut für Geschichte (1)
- Institut für Musikforschung (1)
- Institut für Politikwissenschaft und Soziologie (1)
- Institut für Sonderpädagogik (1)
- Institut für diagnostische und interventionelle Neuroradiologie (ehem. Abteilung für Neuroradiologie) (1)
- Klinik für Anaesthesiologie (bis 2003) (1)
- Lehrstuhl für Tissue Engineering und Regenerative Medizin (1)
- Neuphilologisches Institut - Moderne Fremdsprachen (bis 2007) (1)
- Philosophische Fakultät (Histor., philolog., Kultur- und geograph. Wissensch.) (1)
- Poliklinik für Zahnärztliche Prothetik (1)
- Rechenzentrum (1)
Schriftenreihe
Sonstige beteiligte Institutionen
Das Leiden Christi in Farbe: Zur Funktion der Bühnenanweisungen im ‚Donaueschinger Passionsspiel’.
(2011)
Unter den geistlichen Spielen des späten Mittelalters zeichnet sich das ‚Donaueschinger Passionsspiel’ durch den Umfang und die Detailliertheit seiner Regieanweisungen aus. Sie ergänzen den im Dialog abgefassten Haupttext um epische Partien, die bei der Lektüre das imaginäre Bühnengeschehen illustrieren und bei einer Inszenierung in Bewegung umgesetzt werden. Gebärden und Körperhaltungen der Darsteller werden ebenso beschrieben wie ihre Ausstattung, Kostüme und Requisiten, bis hin zu farblichen Einzelheiten. Anknüpfend an die neuere Forschungsdiskussion über die Medialität geistlicher Spiele fragt die Autorin nach der spezifischen Funktion farblicher Regieanweisungen. Wie die Gattung des Spiels zwischen Textualität und Performativität, Theatralität und Ritualität changiert, kommt auch der Farbe ein eigener medialer Status zu, so die These. Die farblichen Regieanweisungen sollen Leser dazu anregen, zunächst einzelne Details, dann konkrete Bilder und schließlich das gesamte Passionsspiel zu imaginieren.
Thomas Naogeorgs ‘Hamanus’ dokumentiert eindrucksvoll, dass die humanistische Antikenrezeption zur Ausbildung einer eigenen frühneuzeitlichen Poetik führt. Der ‘imitatio veterum’ erteilt Naogeorg eine bewusste Absage und entwickelt eine ‘Tragoedia nova’, indem er mit antiken Gattungskonventionen bricht und komische Elemente in eine Tyrannentragödie integriert. Naogeorg begründet seine konzeptionellen Veränderungen mit dem zeitgenössischen Kontext, in dem sein Werk rezipiert werden soll. Diese Orientierung am Zielpublikum schlägt sich ebenso in der deutschen Übertragung des Johannes Chryseus nieder, der Naogeorgs modifiziertes Tragödienkonzept adaptiert, jedoch ohne die poetischen Spezifika zu würdigen.
The majority of breast cancer patients will require radiation therapy at some time during the course of their disease. An estimated 30–50% of all radiation treatments are of palliative nature, either to alleviate symptoms or prophylactic to prevent deterioration of quality of life due to locally progressive disease. Radiotherapy is a locally effective tool, and typically causes no systemic and mostly mild acute side effects. The following article provides an overview of options and decision-making in palliative radiotherapy for symptom control.
BRCA1 is a major gatekeeper of genomic stability. Acting in multiple central processes like double-strand break repair, centrosome replication, and checkpoint control, BRCA1 participates in maintaining genomic integrity and protects the cell against genomic instability. Chromosomal instability (CIN) as part of genomic instability is an inherent characteristic of most solid tumors and is also involved in breast cancer development. In this study, we determined the extent of CIN in 32 breast cancer tumors of women with a BRCA1 germline mutation compared to 62 unselected breast cancers. We applied fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) with centromere-specific probes for the chromosomes 1, 7, 8, 10, 17, and X and locus-specific probes for 3q27 (BCL6), 5p15.2 (D5S23), 5q31 (EGR1), 10q23.3 (PTEN), and 14q32 (IGH@) on formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue microarray sections. Our hypothesis of an increased level of CIN in BRCA1-associated breast cancer could not be confirmed by this approach. Surprisingly, we detected no significant difference in the extent of CIN in BRCA1-mutated versus sporadic tumors. The only exception was the CIN value for chromosome 1. Here, the extent of CIN was slightly higher in the group of sporadic tumors.
Isolation of a Cancer-Associated Microchromosome in the Sperm-Dependent Parthenogen Poecilia formosa
(2011)
In the asexual all-female fish species Poecilia formosa, the Amazon molly, supernumerary chromosomes have frequently been found in both laboratory-reared and wild-caught individuals. While wild-caught individuals with B chromosomes are phenotypically indifferent from conspecifics, individuals carrying B chromosomes from recent introgression events in the laboratory show phenotypic changes. Former analyses showed that the expression of a pigment cell locus is associated with the presence of these B chromosomes. In addition, they contain a so far unidentified locus that confers a higher susceptibility to tumor formation in the presence of pigmentation pattern. Isolation by microdissection and hybridization to metaphase chromosomes revealed that they contain one or several sequences with similarity to a highly repetitive pericentromeric and subtelomeric sequence in A chromosomes. Isolation of one particular sequence by AFLP showed that the B chromosomes contain at least 1 copy of an A-chromosomal region which is highly conserved in the whole genus Poecilia, i.e. more than 5 million years old. We propose it to be a single copy sequence.
Supernumerary (B) chromosomes are dispensable elements found in many eukaryote genomes in addition to standard (A) chromosomes. In many respects, B chromosomes resemble sex chromosomes, so that a common ancestry for them has frequently been suggested. For instance, B chromosomes in grasshoppers, and other insects, show a pycnotic cycle of condensation-decondensation during meiosis remarkably similar to that of the X chromosome. In some cases, B chromosome size is even very similar to that of the X chromosome. These resemblances have led to suggest the X as the B ancestor in many cases. In addition, sex chromosome origin from B chromosomes has also been suggested. In this article, we review the existing evidence for both evolutionary pathways, as well as sex differences for B frequency at adult and embryo progeny levels, B chromosome effects or B chromosome transmission. In addition, we review cases found in the literature showing sex-ratio distortion associated with B chromosome presence, the most extreme case being the paternal sex ratio (PSR) chromosomes in some Hymenoptera. We finally analyse the possibility of B chromosome regularisation within the host genome and, as a consequence of it, whether B chromosomes can become regular members of the host genome.
Desert ants of the genus Cataglyphis possess remarkable visual navigation capabilities. Although Cataglyphis species lack a trail pheromone system, Cataglyphis fortis employs olfactory cues for detecting nest and food sites. To investigate potential adaptations in primary olfactory centers of the brain of C. fortis, we analyzed olfactory glomeruli (odor processing units) in their antennal lobes and compared them to glomeruli in different Cataglyphis species. Using confocal imaging and 3D reconstruction, we analyzed the number, size and spatial arrangement of olfactory glomeruli in C. fortis, C.albicans, C.bicolor, C.rubra, and C.noda. Workers of all Cataglyphis species have smaller numbers of glomeruli (198–249) compared to those previously found in olfactory-guided ants. Analyses in 2 species of Formica – a genus closely related to Cataglyphis – revealed substantially higher numbers of olfactory glomeruli (c. 370), which is likely to reflect the importance of olfaction in these wood ant species. Comparisons between Cataglyphis species revealed 2 special features in C. fortis. First, with c. 198 C. fortis has the lowest number of glomeruli compared to all other species. Second, a conspicuously enlarged glomerulus is located close to the antennal nerve entrance. Males of C. fortis possess a significantly smaller number of glomeruli (c. 150) compared to female workers and queens. A prominent male-specific macroglomerulus likely to be involved in sex pheromone communication occupies a position different from that of the enlarged glomerulus in females. The behavioral significance of the enlarged glomerulus in female workers remains elusive. The fact that C. fortis inhabits microhabitats (salt pans) that are avoided by all other Cataglyphis species suggests that extreme ecological conditions may not only have resulted in adaptations of visual capabilities, but also in specializations of the olfactory system.
Mit der vorliegenden Arbeit werden konventionelle thermische Kraftwerke an deutschen Flüssen identifiziert, bei denen aufgrund hoher Flusswassertemperaturen im Zusammenhang mit wasserrechtlichen Grenzwerten Leistungseinschränkungen auftraten. Weiterhin wird aufgezeigt, wie sich die Wassertemperaturen der Flüsse in der Vergangenheit (rezent) entwickelt haben und wie sie sich zukünftig im Kontext des Klimawandels entwickeln könnten.
Mittels Literaturrecherche, Medienanalyse und schriftlicher Befragung wurden konventionelle thermische Kraftwerke identifiziert, welche wassertemperaturbedingte Leistungseinschränkungen verzeichneten. Die meisten dieser Leistungseinschränkungen zwischen 1976 und 2007 zeigen sich bei großen Kraftwerken mit einer elektrischen Bruttoleistung über 300 Megawatt, bei Steinkohle- und Kernkraftwerken, bei Kraftwerken mit Durchlaufkühlung und bei solchen, die zwischen 1960 und 1990 in Betrieb gingen.
Trendanalysen interpolierter und homogenisierter, rezenter Wassertemperaturzeitreihen deutscher Flüsse ergeben positive Trends v. a. im Frühjahr und Sommer. Die Zählstatistik zeigt in den Jahren 1994, 2003 und 2006 die meisten Tage mit sehr hohen und extrem hohen Wassertemperaturen in den Sommermonaten. In diesen Jahren traten gleichzeitig 63 % aller identifizierter wassertemperaturbedingter Leistungseinschränkungen bei Kraftwerken, meist zwischen Juni und August, auf.
Für die Trendanalysen und den Mittelwertvergleich simulierter zukünftiger Wassertemperaturzeitreihen wurden drei Szenarien – B1, A1B und A2 sowie drei Zukunftsperioden 2011-2040, 2011/2041-2070, 2011/2071-2100 betrachtet. Es ergeben sich für die Zukunftsperiode 2011-2040 des A1B- oder A2-Szenarios in mindestens einem der Sommermonate eine Erwärmung und für das B1-Szenario negative oder keine Trends. Die mittleren Wassertemperaturen der Zukunftsperiode 2011-2040 zeigen in allen drei Szenarien gegenüber denen der Klimanormalperiode 1961-1990 positive Unterschiede in mindestens einem der Sommermonate. Für die beiden späteren Zukunftsperioden bis 2070 bzw. bis 2100 liegen in allen Wassertemperaturzeitreihen der drei Szenarien im Sommer positive Trends bzw. Differenzen gegenüber den mittleren Wassertemperaturen der Klimanormalperiode vor.
Durch die Synthese der drei Analysen ist erkennbar, dass Isar, Rhein, Neckar, Saar, Elbe und Weser die meisten Kraftwerksstandorte mit wassertemperaturbedingten Leistungseinschränkungen verzeichnen. Es zeigen sich hier positive Trends sowohl in den rezenten als auch zukünftigen Wassertemperaturen für die Zukunftsperiode 2011-2040 des A1B- und A2-Szenarios in jeweils mindestens einem der Sommermonate. Gegenüber den mittleren Wassertemperaturen der Klimanormalperiode liegen für alle drei Szenarien positive Unterschiede der Wassertemperaturen vor.
Bei einer Kraftwerkslaufzeit von 40-50 Jahren und einem Kernenergieausstieg 2022 bzw. 2034, werden 48-64 % bzw. 67-91 % der Kraftwerke mit wassertemperaturbedingten Leistungseinschränkungen bis 2022 bzw. 2034 außer Betrieb gehen. Bei einer Laufzeitverlängerung würden nach 2022 fünf der elf betroffenen Kernkraftwerke weiter am Netz bleiben. Somit kann es wieder zu wassertemperaturbedingten Leistungseinschränkungen kommen. In Deutschland sind nach wie vor große Kraftwerke an Flüssen geplant. Deren Kühlsysteme müssen entsprechend ausgewählt und konstruiert werden, um der zu erwartenden Erhöhung der Flusstemperaturen Rechnung zu tragen.
Background:
The vital importance of imaging techniques in radiation oncology now extends beyond diagnostic evaluation and treatment planning. Recent technical advances have enabled the integration of various imaging modalities into the everyday practice of radiotherapy directly at the linear accelerator, improving the management of inter-and intrafractional variations.
Methods:
We present the topic of image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT) on the basis of a selective review of the literature.
Results:
IGRT can be performed with the aid of ultrasound, 2D X-ray devices, and computed tomography. It enables instant correction for positioning deviations and thereby improves the precision of daily radiotherapy fractions. It also enables immediate adjustment for changes in the position and filling status of the internal organs. Anatomical changes that take place over the course of radiotherapy, such as weight loss, tumor shrinkage, and the opening of atelectases, can be detected as they occur and accounted for in dosimetric calculations. There have not yet been any randomized controlled trials showing that IGRT causes fewer adverse effects or improves tumor control compared to conventional radiotherapy.
Conclusion:
IGRT is more precise and thus potentially safer than conventional radiotherapy. It also enables the application of special radiotherapeutic techniques with narrow safety margins in the vicinity of radiosensitive organs. Proper patient selection for IGRT must take account of the goals of treatment and the planning characteristics, as well as the available technical and human resources. IGRT should be used for steep dose gradients near organs at risk, for highly conformal dose distributions in the gastrointestinal tract where adjustment for filling variations is needed, for high-precision dose escalation to avoid geographic miss, and for patients who cannot lie perfectly still because of pain or claustrophobia.
Adjuvant Radiotherapy
(2011)
Bacterial distribution and antimicrobial drug resistance were monitored in patients with bacterial bloodstream infections in rural hospitals in Ghana. In 2001-2002 and in 2009, Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi was the most prevalent pathogen. Although most S. enterica serovar Typhi isolates were chloramphenicol resistant, all isolates tested were susceptible to ciprofloxacin.
Visceral pentastomiasis caused by Armillifer armillatus larvae was diagnosed in 2 dogs in The Gambia. Parasites were subjected to PCR; phylogenetic analysis confirmed relatedness with branchiurans/crustaceans. Our investigation highlights transmission of infective A. armillatus ova to dogs and, by serologic evidence, also to 1 human, demonstrating a public health concern.
Skin Tumors in Childhood
(2011)
Background:
Dermatologists, paediatricians, and general practitioners are often consulted by worried parents for the evaluation of a cutaneous tumor.
Methods:
Selective literature review.
Results:
Only 1-2% of skin tumors excised in children turn out to be malignant when examined histologically. Warning signs of malignancy include rapid growth, firm consistency, diameter exceeding 3 cm, ulceration, a non-movable mass, and presence in the neonatal period. The more common malignant skin tumors in adults-basal cell carcinoma, cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, and melanoma-are very rare in childhood. Congenital melanocytic nevi and sebaceous nevi bear a lower malignant potential than previously believed; nevertheless, their excision is often indicated. A Spitz nevus can mimic a melanoma both clinically and histologically. Some benign skin tumors of childhood tend to regress spontaneously within a few years but may cause complications at particular locations and when multiple. For infantile hemangiomas requiring systemic treatment because of imminent obstruction or ulceration, propranolol seems to have a far more favorable risk-benefit ratio than corticosteroids.
Conclusion:
Physicians need specialized knowledge in order to decide whether a skin tumor in a child should be excised, non-surgically treated, or further evaluated, or whether it can be safely left untreated because of the likelihood of spontaneous remission.
Background:
Early-onset obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is one of the more common mental illnesses of children and adolescents, with prevalence of 1% to 3%. Its manifestations often lead to severe impairment and to conflict in the family. In this review, we summarize the manifestations, comorbidity, pathophysiology, and course of this disease as well as current modes of diagnosis and treatment.
Methods:
We selectively review the relevant literature and the German-language guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of mental illnesses in children and adolescents.
Results:
Obsessive-compulsive manifestations are of many types and cause severe impairment. Comorbid mental disturbances are present in as many as 70% of patients. The disease takes a chronic course in more than 40% of patients. Cognitive behavioral therapy is the treatment of first choice, followed by combination pharmacotherapy including selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) and then by SSRI alone.
Conclusion:
OCD often begins in childhood or adolescence. There are empirically based neurobiological and cognitive-behavioral models of its pathophysiology. Multiaxial diagnostic evaluation permits early diagnosis. Behavioral therapy and medications are highly effective treatments, but the disorder nonetheless takes a chronic course in a large percentage of patients.
Little is known about the cognitive background of unconscious visuomotor control of complex sports movements. Therefore, we investigated the extent to which novices and skilled high-jump athletes are able to identify visually presented body postures of the high jump unconsciously. We also asked whether or not the manner of processing differs (qualitatively or quantitatively) between these groups as a function of their motor expertise. A priming experiment with not consciously perceivable stimuli was designed to determine whether subliminal priming of movement phases (same vs. different movement phases) or temporal order (i.e. natural vs. reversed movement order) affects target processing. Participants had to decide which phase of the high jump (approach vs. flight phase) a target photograph was taken from. We found a main effect of temporal order for skilled athletes, that is, faster reaction times for prime-target pairs that reflected the natural movement order as opposed to the reversed movement order. This result indicates that temporal-order information pertaining to the domain of expertise plays a critical role in athletes’ perceptual capacities. For novices, data analyses revealed an interaction between temporal order and movement phases. That is, only the reversed movement order of flight-approach pictures increased processing time. Taken together, the results suggest that the structure of cognitive movement representation modulates unconscious processing of movement pictures and points to a functional role of motor representations in visual perception.
Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAO-I) belong to the earliest drugs tried in Parkinson's disease (PD). They have been used with or without levodopa (L-DOPA). Non-selective MAO-I due to their side-effect/adverse reaction profile, like tranylcypromine have limited use in the treatment of depression in PD, while selective, reversible MAO-A inhibitors are recommended due to their easier clinical handling. For the treatment of akinesia and motor fluctuations selective irreversible MAO-B inhibitors selegiline and rasagiline are recommended. They are safe and well tolerated at the recommended daily doses. Their main differences are related to (1) metabolism, (2) interaction with CYP-enzymes and (3) quantitative properties at the molecular biological/genetic level. Rasagiline is more potent in clinical practise and has a hypothesis driven more favourable side effect/adverse reaction profile due to its metabolism to aminoindan. Both selegiline and rasagiline have a neuroprotective and neurorestaurative potential. A head-to head clinical trial would be of utmost interest from both the clinical outcome and a hypothesis-driven point of view. Selegiline is available as tablet and melting tablet for PD and as transdermal selegiline for depression, while rasagiline is marketed as tablet for PD. In general, the clinical use of MAO-I nowadays is underestimated. There should be more efforts to evaluate their clinical potency as antidepressants and antidementive drugs in addition to the final proof of their disease-modifying potential. In line with this are recent innovative developments of MAO-I plus inhibition of acetylcholine esterase for Alzheimer's disease as well as combined MAO-I and iron chelation for PD.
Aims
Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is a major contributor to the excess mortality of patients on maintenance dialysis. Homoarginine deficiency may lead to decreased nitric oxide availability and endothelial dysfunction. Based on this rationale we assessed whether homoarginine deficiency is a risk factor for SCD in dialysis patients.
Methods and results
This study examined the association of homoarginine with cardiovascular outcomes in 1255 diabetic haemodialysis patients from the German diabetes and dialysis study. During a median of 4 years of follow-up, hazard ratios (HR) (95% CI) for reaching the following pre-specified, adjudicated endpoints were determined: SCD, myocardial infarction, stroke, death due to heart failure, and combined cardiovascular events. There was a strong association of low homoarginine concentrations with the presence of congestive heart failure and left ventricular hypertrophy as well as increased levels of brain natriuretic peptide. Per unit decrease in homoarginine, the risk of SCD increased three-fold (HR 3.1, 95% CI 2.0–4.9), attenuating slightly in multivariate models (HR 2.4; 95% CI 1.5–3.9). Patients in the lowest homoarginine quintile experienced a more than two-fold increased risk of SCD, and more than three-fold increased risk of heart failure death than patients in the highest quintile, which accounted for the high incidence of combined cardiovascular events. Low homoarginine showed a trend towards increased risk of stroke, however, myocardial infarction was not meaningfully affected.
Conclusion
Low homoarginine is a strong risk factor for SCD and death due to heart failure in haemodialysis patients. Further studies are needed to elucidate the underlying mechanisms, offering the potential to develop new interventional strategies.
Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is an established optical neuroimaging method for measuring functional hemodynamic responses to infer neural activation. However, the impact of individual anatomy on the sensitivity of fNIRS measuring hemodynamics within cortical gray matter is still unknown. By means of Monte Carlo simulations and structural MRI of 23 healthy subjects (mean age: (25.0 +/- 2.8) years), we characterized the individual distribution of tissue-specific NIR-light absorption underneath 24 prefrontal fNIRS channels. We, thereby, investigated the impact of scalp-cortex distance (SCD), frontal sinus volume as well as sulcal morphology on gray matter volumes (V(gray)) traversed by NIR-light, i.e. anatomy-dependent fNIRS sensitivity. The NIR-light absorption between optodes was distributed describing a rotational ellipsoid with a mean penetration depth of (23.6 +/- 0.7) mm considering the deepest 5% of light. Of the detected photon packages scalp and bone absorbed (96.4 +/- 9: 7)% and V(gray) absorbed (3.1 +/- 1.8)% of the energy. The mean V(gray) volume (1.1 +/- 0.4)cm(3) was negatively correlated (r = - .76) with the SCD and frontal sinus volume (r = - .57) and was reduced by 41.5% in subjects with relatively large compared to small frontal sinus. Head circumference was significantly positively correlated with the mean SCD (r = .46) and the traversed frontal sinus volume (r = .43). Sulcal morphology had no significant impact on V(gray). Our findings suggest to consider individual SCD and frontal sinus volume as anatomical factors impacting fNIRS sensitivity. Head circumference may represent a practical measure to partly control for these sources of error variance.
Pattern recognition approaches, such as the Support Vector Machine (SVM), have been successfully used to classify groups of individuals based on their patterns of brain activity or structure. However these approaches focus on finding group differences and are not applicable to situations where one is interested in accessing deviations from a specific class or population. In the present work we propose an application of the one-class SVM (OC-SVM) to investigate if patterns of fMRI response to sad facial expressions in depressed patients would be classified as outliers in relation to patterns of healthy control subjects. We defined features based on whole brain voxels and anatomical regions. In both cases we found a significant correlation between the OC-SVM predictions and the patients' Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD), i.e. the more depressed the patients were the more of an outlier they were. In addition the OC-SVM split the patient groups into two subgroups whose membership was associated with future response to treatment. When applied to region-based features the OC-SVM classified 52% of patients as outliers. However among the patients classified as outliers 70% did not respond to treatment and among those classified as non-outliers 89% responded to treatment. In addition 89% of the healthy controls were classified as non-outliers.
No abstract available.
No abstract available.
Background:
A substantial amount of data has been accumulated supporting the important role of genomic islands (GEIs) - including pathogenicity islands (PAIs) - in bacterial genome plasticity and the evolution of bacterial pathogens. Their instability and the high level sequence similarity of different (partial) islands suggest an exchange of PAIs between strains of the same or even different bacterial species by horizontal gene transfer (HGT). Transfer events of archetypal large genomic islands of enterobacteria which often lack genes required for mobilisation or transfer have been rarely investigated so far.
Results:
To study mobilisation of such large genomic regions in prototypic uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC) strain 536, PAI II(536) was supplemented with the mob(RP4) region, an origin of replication (oriV(R6K)), an origin of transfer (oriT(RP4)) and a chloramphenicol resistance selection marker. In the presence of helper plasmid RP4, conjugative transfer of the 107-kb PAI II(536) construct occured from strain 536 into an E. coli K-12 recipient. In transconjugants, PAI II(536) existed either as a cytoplasmic circular intermediate (CI) or integrated site-specifically into the recipient's chromosome at the leuX tRNA gene. This locus is the chromosomal integration site of PAI II(536) in UPEC strain 536. From the E. coli K-12 recipient, the chromosomal PAI II(536) construct as well as the CIs could be successfully remobilised and inserted into leuX in a PAI II(536) deletion mutant of E. coli 536.
Conclusions:
Our results corroborate that mobilisation and conjugal transfer may contribute to evolution of bacterial pathogens through horizontal transfer of large chromosomal regions such as PAIs. Stabilisation of these mobile genetic elements in the bacterial chromosome result from selective loss of mobilisation and transfer functions of genomic islands.
The dependence of the rate of proton–proton interactions on the centre-of-mass collision energy, √s, is of fundamental importance for both hadron collider physics and particle astrophysics. The dependence cannot yet be calculated from first principles; therefore, experimental measurements are needed. Here we present the first measurement of the inelastic proton–proton interaction cross-section at a centre-of-mass energy, √s, of 7 TeV using the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Events are selected by requiring hits on scintillation counters mounted in the forward region of the detector. An inelastic cross-section of 60.3±2.1 mb is measured for ξ>5×10−6, where ξ is calculated from the invariant mass, MX, of hadrons selected using the largest rapidity gap in the event. For diffractive events, this corresponds to requiring at least one of the dissociation masses to be larger than 15.7 GeV.
Discounterwelten
(2011)
Die Dynamik im Einzelhandel scheint in der Literatur umfassend diskutiert. Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zu einzelnen Betriebsformen sind jedoch eher selten. Dies gilt insbesondere für Discounter, weil auch die großen Discounterketten dazu beitragen, dass der öffentliche Kenntnisstand aufgrund fehlender Statistiken oder Pressemitteilungen gering bleibt. Der vorliegende Band versucht, diese Lücke zu schließen.
Die wissenschaftliche Auseinandersetzung mit dem Einzelhandel ist gegenwärtig durch komplexe Fragestellungen und Methodensets sowie eine zunehmend interdisziplinäre Betrachtung gekennzeichnet. Sie begreift Einzelhandelsbetriebe sowohl als Orte lokalen Handelns und Einkaufens als auch als Knoten in regionalen und globalen Warenketten. Insbesondere Discounter bekommen damit eine zunehmende soziale und ökologische Verantwortung zugewiesen, die Fragen nach Ethik, Moral, und Macht von Discountern gegenüber ihren Beschäftigten, Kunden, Produkten und Mitbewerbern aufwirft.
Die Autoren des Bandes diskutieren das Phänomen der Lebensmitteldiscounter aus der Perspektive des Städtebaus, der Arbeitsorganisation, der Soziologie, des Marketing und der Standortplanung.
Sie dokumentieren damit die Dynamik dieser Betriebsform und die Konsequenzen ihrer Expansion an Fallbeispielen und erarbeiten angewandte Lösungsvorschläge.
Background:
Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is genetically characterized by the t(11; 14)(q13; q32) translocation and a high number of secondary chromosomal alterations. The contribution of DNA methylation to MCL lymphomagenesis is not well known. We sought to identify epigenetically silenced genes in these tumours that might have clinical relevance.
Methodology/Principal Findings:
To identify potential methylated genes in MCL we initially investigated seven MCL cell lines treated with epigenetic drugs and gene expression microarray profiling. The methylation status of selected candidate genes was validated by a quantitative assay and subsequently analyzed in a series of primary MCL (n = 38). After pharmacological reversion we identified 252 potentially methylated genes. The methylation analysis of a subset of these genes (n = 25) in the MCL cell lines and normal B lymphocytes confirmed that 80% of them were methylated in the cell lines but not in normal lymphocytes. The subsequent analysis in primary MCL identified five genes (SOX9, HOXA9, AHR, NR2F2, and ROBO1) frequently methylated in these tumours. The gene methylation events tended to occur in the same primary neoplasms and correlated with higher proliferation, increased number of chromosomal abnormalities, and shorter survival of the patients.
Conclusions:
We have identified a set of genes whose methylation degree and gene expression levels correlate with aggressive clinicopathological features of MCL. Our findings also suggest that a subset of MCL might show a CpG island methylator phenotype (CIMP) that may influence the behaviour of the tumours.
Purpose:
The biologic relevance of human connective tissue growth factor (hCTGF) for primary human tenon fibroblasts (HTFs) was investigated by RNA expression profiling using affymetrix (TM) oligonucleotide array technology to identify genes that are regulated by hCTGF.
Methods:
Recombinant hCTGF was expressed in HEK293T cells and purified by affinity and gel chromatography. Specificity and biologic activity of hCTGF was confirmed by biosensor interaction analysis and proliferation assays. For RNA expression profiling HTFs were stimulated with hCTGF for 48h and analyzed using affymetrix (TM) oligonucleotide array technology. Results were validated by real time RT-PCR.
Results:
hCTGF induces various groups of genes responsible for a wound healing and inflammatory response in HTFs. A new subset of CTGF inducible inflammatory genes was discovered (e.g., chemokine [C-X-C motif] ligand 1 [CXCL1], chemokine [C-X-C motif] ligand 6 [CXCL6], interleukin 6 [IL6], and interleukin 8 [IL8]). We also identified genes that can transmit the known biologic functions initiated by CTGF such as proliferation and extracellular matrix remodelling. Of special interest is a group of genes, e.g., osteoglycin (OGN) and osteomodulin (OMD), which are known to play a key role in osteoblast biology.
Conclusions:
This study specifies the important role of hCTGF for primary tenon fibroblast function. The RNA expression profile yields new insights into the relevance of hCTGF in influencing biologic processes like wound healing, inflammation, proliferation, and extracellular matrix remodelling in vitro via transcriptional regulation of specific genes. The results suggest that CTGF potentially acts as a modulating factor in inflammatory and wound healing response in fibroblasts of the human eye.
Forest fragmentation and selective logging are two main drivers of global environmental change and modify biodiversity and environmental conditions in many tropical forests. The consequences of these changes for the functioning of tropical forest ecosystems have rarely been explored in a comprehensive approach. In a Kenyan rainforest, we studied six animal-mediated ecosystem processes and recorded species richness and community composition of all animal taxa involved in these processes. We used linear models and a formal meta-analysis to test whether forest fragmentation and selective logging affected ecosystem processes and biodiversity and used structural equation models to disentangle direct from biodiversity-related indirect effects of human disturbance on multiple ecosystem processes. Fragmentation increased decomposition and reduced antbird predation, while selective logging consistently increased pollination, seed dispersal and army-ant raiding. Fragmentation modified species richness or community composition of five taxa, whereas selective logging did not affect any component of biodiversity. Changes in the abundance of functionally important species were related to lower predation by antbirds and higher decomposition rates in small forest fragments. The positive effects of selective logging on bee pollination, bird seed dispersal and army-ant raiding were direct, i.e. not related to changes in biodiversity, and were probably due to behavioural changes of these highly mobile animal taxa. We conclude that animal-mediated ecosystem processes respond in distinct ways to different types of human disturbance in Kakamega Forest. Our findings suggest that forest fragmentation affects ecosystem processes indirectly by changes in biodiversity, whereas selective logging influences processes directly by modifying local environmental conditions and resource distributions. The positive to neutral effects of selective logging on ecosystem processes show that the functionality of tropical forests can be maintained in moderately disturbed forest fragments. Conservation concepts for tropical forests should thus include not only remaining pristine forests but also functionally viable forest remnants.
Arrow cues and other overlearned spatial symbols automatically orient attention according to their spatial meaning. This renders them similar to exogenous cues that occur at stimulus location. Exogenous cues trigger shifts of attention even when they are presented subliminally. Here, we investigate to what extent the mechanisms underlying the orienting of attention by exogenous cues and by arrow cues are comparable by analyzing the effects of visible and masked arrow cues on attention. In Experiment 1, we presented arrow cues with overall 50% validity. Visible cues, but not masked cues, lead to shifts of attention. In Experiment 2, the arrow cues had an overall validity of 80%. Now both visible and masked arrows lead to shifts of attention. This is in line with findings that subliminal exogenous cues capture attention only in a top-down contingent manner, that is, when the cues fit the observer’s intentions.
Background
Streptococcus pneumoniae causes serious diseases such as pneumonia and meningitis. Its major pathogenic factor is the cholesterol-dependent cytolysin pneumolysin, which produces lytic pores at high concentrations. At low concentrations, it has other effects, including induction of apoptosis. Many cellular effects of pneumolysin appear to be calcium dependent.
Methods
Live imaging of primary mouse astroglia exposed to sublytic amounts of pneumolysin at various concentrations of extracellular calcium was used to measure changes in cellular permeability (as judged by lactate dehydrogenase release and propidium iodide chromatin staining). Individual pore properties were analyzed by conductance across artificial lipid bilayer. Tissue toxicity was studied in continuously oxygenated acute brain slices.
Results
The reduction of extracellular calcium increased the lytic capacity of the toxin due to increased membrane binding. Reduction of calcium did not influence the conductance properties of individual toxin pores. In acute cortical brain slices, the reduction of extracellular calcium from 2 to 1 mM conferred lytic activity to pathophysiologically relevant nonlytic concentrations of pneumolysin.
Conclusions
Reduction of extracellular calcium strongly enhanced the lytic capacity of pneumolysin due to increased membrane binding. Thus, extracellular calcium concentration should be considered as a factor of primary importance for the course of pneumococcal meningitis. "
Introduction
Osteotomy or fracture models can be used to evaluate mechanical properties of fixation techniques of the hand skeleton in vitro. Although many studies make use of osteotomy models, fracture models simulate the clinical situation more realistically. This study investigates monocortical and bicortical plate fixation on metacarpal bones considering both aforementioned models to decide which method is best suited to test fixation techniques.
Methods
Porcine metacarpal bones (n =40) were randomized into 4 groups. In groups I and II bones were fractured with a modified 3-point bending test. The intact bones represented a further control group to which the other groups after fixation were compared. In groups III and IV a standard osteotomy was carried out. Bones were fixated with plates monocortically (group I, III) and bicortically (group II, IV) and tested for failure.
Results
Bones fractured at a mean maximum load of 482.8N±104.8N with a relative standard deviation (RSD) of 21.7%, mean stiffness was 122.3±35 N/mm. In the fracture model, there was a significant difference (P = 0.01) for maximum load of monocortically and bicortically fixed bones in contrast to the osteotomy model (P = 0.9). Discussion. In the fracture model, because one can use the same bone for both measurements in the intact state and the bone-plate construct states, the impact of inter-individual differences is reduced. In contrast to the osteotomy model there are differences between monocortical and bicortical fixations in the fracture model. Thus simulation of the in vivo situation is better and seems to be suitable for the evaluation of mechanical properties of fixation techniques on metacarpals
Recent studies have shown aberrant expression of SOX11 in various types of aggressive B-cell neoplasms. To elucidate the molecular mechanisms leading to such deregulation, we performed a comprehensive SOX11 gene expression and epigenetic study in stem cells, normal hematopoietic cells and different lymphoid neoplasms. We observed that SOX11 expression is associated with unmethylated DNA and presence of activating histone marks (H3K9/14Ac and H3K4me3) in embryonic stem cells and some aggressive B-cell neoplasms. In contrast, adult stem cells, normal hematopoietic cells and other lymphoid neoplasms do not express SOX11. Such repression was associated with silencing histone marks H3K9me2 and H3K27me3. The SOX11 promoter of non-malignant cells was consistently unmethylated whereas lymphoid neoplasms with silenced SOX11 tended to acquire DNA hypermethylation. SOX11 silencing in cell lines was reversed by the histone deacetylase inhibitor SAHA but not by the DNA methyltransferase inhibitor AZA. These data indicate that, although DNA hypermethylation of SOX11 is frequent in lymphoid neoplasms, it seems to be functionally inert, as SOX11 is already silenced in the hematopoietic system. In contrast, the pathogenic role of SOX11 is associated with its de novo expression in some aggressive lymphoid malignancies, which is mediated by a shift from inactivating to activating histone modifications.
Virotherapy using oncolytic vaccinia virus strains is one of the most promising new strategies for cancer therapy. In this study, we analyzed for the first time the therapeutic efficacy of the oncolytic vaccinia virus GLV-1h68 in two human hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines HuH7 and PLC/PRF/5 (PLC) in cell culture and in tumor xenograft models. By viral proliferation assays and cell survival tests, we demonstrated that GLV-1h68 efficiently colonized, replicated in, and did lyse these cancer cells in culture. Experiments with HuH7 and PLC xenografts have revealed that a single intravenous injection (i.v.) of mice with GLV-1h68 resulted in a significant reduction of primary tumor sizes compared to uninjected controls. In addition, replication of GLV-1h68 in tumor cells led to strong inflammatory and oncolytic effects resulting in intense infiltration of MHC class II-positive cells like neutrophils, macrophages, B cells and dendritic cells and in up-regulation of 13 pro-inflammatory cytokines. Furthermore, GLV-1h68 infection of PLC tumors inhibited the formation of hemorrhagic structures which occur naturally in PLC tumors. Interestingly, we found a strongly reduced vascular density in infected PLC tumors only, but not in the non-hemorrhagic HuH7 tumor model. These data demonstrate that the GLV-1h68 vaccinia virus may have an enormous potential for treatment of human hepatocellular carcinoma in man.
Background:
Fabry disease is an inherited metabolic disorder characterized by progressive lysosomal accumulation of lipids in a variety of cell types, including neural cells. Small, unmyelinated nerve fibers are particularly affected and small fiber peripheral neuropathy often clinically manifests at young age. Peripheral pain can be chronic and/or occur as provoked attacks of excruciating pain. Manifestations of dysfunction of small autonomic fibers may include, among others, impaired sweating, gastrointestinal dysmotility, and abnormal pain perception. Patients with Fabry disease often remain undiagnosed until severe complications involving the kidney, heart, peripheral nerves and/or brain have arisen.
Methods:
An international expert panel convened with the goal to provide guidance to clinicians who may encounter unrecognized patients with Fabry disease on how to diagnose these patients early using simple diagnostic tests. A further aim was to offer recommendations to control neuropathic pain.
Results:
We describe the neuropathy in Fabry disease, focusing on peripheral small fiber dysfunction - the hallmark of early neurologic involvement in this disorder. The clinical course of peripheral pain is summarized, and the importance of medical history-taking, including family history, is highlighted. A thorough physical examination (e. g., angiokeratoma, corneal opacities) and simple non-invasive sensory perception tests could provide clues to the diagnosis of Fabry disease. Reported early clinical benefits of enzyme replacement therapy include reduction of neuropathic pain, and adequate management of residual pain to a tolerable and functional level can substantially improve the quality of life for patients.
Conclusions:
Our recommendations can assist in diagnosing Fabry small fiber neuropathy early, and offer clinicians guidance in controlling peripheral pain. This is particularly important since management of pain in young patients with Fabry disease appears to be inadequate.
Background:
The probiotic Escherichia coli strain Nissle 1917 (EcN) has been shown to interfere in a human in vitro model with the invasion of several bacterial pathogens into epithelial cells, but the underlying molecular mechanisms are not known.
Methodology/Principal Findings:
In this study, we investigated the inhibitory effects of EcN on Salmonella Typhimurium invasion of porcine intestinal epithelial cells, focusing on EcN effects on the various stages of Salmonella infection including intracellular and extracellular Salmonella growth rates, virulence gene regulation, and adhesion. We show that EcN affects the initial Salmonella invasion steps by modulating Salmonella virulence gene regulation and Salmonella SiiE-mediated adhesion, but not extra-and intracellular Salmonella growth. However, the inhibitory activity of EcN against Salmonella invasion always correlated with EcN adhesion capacities. EcN mutants defective in the expression of F1C fimbriae and flagellae were less adherent and less inhibitory toward Salmonella invasion. Another E. coli strain expressing F1C fimbriae was also adherent to IPEC-J2 cells, and was similarly inhibitory against Salmonella invasion like EcN.
Conclusions:
We propose that EcN affects Salmonella adhesion through secretory components. This mechanism appears to be common to many E. coli strains, with strong adherence being a prerequisite for an effective reduction of SiiE-mediated Salmonella adhesion.
Multiple fluorescence in situ hybridization is the method of choice for studies aimed at determining simultaneous production of signal transduction molecules and neuromodulators in neurons. In our analyses of the monoamine receptor mRNA expression of peptidergic neurons in the rat telencephalon, double tyramide-signal-amplified fluorescence in situ hybridization delivered satisfactory results for coexpression analysis of neuropeptide Y (NPY) and serotonin receptor 2C (5-HT2C) mRNA, a receptor subtype expressed at high-to-moderate abundance in the regions analyzed. However, expression of 5-HT1A mRNA, which is expressed at comparatively low abundance in many telencephalic areas, could not be unequivocally identified in NPY mRNA-reactive neurons due to high background and poor signal-to-noise ratio in fluorescent receptor mRNA detections. Parallel chromogenic in situ hybridization provided clear labeling for 5-HT1A mRNA and additionally offered the possibility to monitor the chromogen deposition at regular time intervals to determine the optimal signal-to-noise ratio. We first developed a double labeling protocol combining fluorescence and chromogenic in situ hybridization and subsequently expanded this variation to combine double fluorescence and chromogenic in situ hybridization for triple labelings. With this method, we documented expression of 5-HT2C and/or 5-HT1A in subpopulations of telencephalic NPY-producing neurons. The method developed in the present study appears suitable for conventional light and fluorescence microscopy, combines advantages of fluorescence and chromogenic in situ hybridization protocols and thus provides a reliable non-radioactive alternative to previously published multiple labeling methods for coexpression analyses in which one mRNA species requires highly sensitive detection.
The present study investigated event-related brain potentials elicited by true and false negated statements to evaluate if discrimination of the truth value of negated information relies on conscious processing and requires higher-order cognitive processing in healthy subjects across different levels of stimulus complexity. The stimulus material consisted of true and false negated sentences (sentence level) and prime-target expressions (word level). Stimuli were presented acoustically and no overt behavioral response of the participants was required. Event-related brain potentials to target words preceded by true and false negated expressions were analyzed both within group and at the single subject level. Across the different processing conditions (word pairs and sentences), target words elicited a frontal negativity and a late positivity in the time window from 600-1000 msec post target word onset. Amplitudes of both brain potentials varied as a function of the truth value of the negated expressions. Results were confirmed at the single-subject level. In sum, our results support recent suggestions according to which evaluation of the truth value of a negated expression is a time-and cognitively demanding process that cannot be solved automatically, and thus requires conscious processing. Our paradigm provides insight into higher-order processing related to language comprehension and reasoning in healthy subjects. Future studies are needed to evaluate if our paradigm also proves sensitive for the detection of consciousness in non-responsive patients.
Background:
This study investigated the relation between social desirability and self-reported physical activity in web-based research.
Findings:
A longitudinal study (N = 5,495, 54% women) was conducted on a representative sample of the Dutch population using the Marlowe-Crowne Scale as social desirability measure and the short form of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Social desirability was not associated with self-reported physical activity (in MET-minutes/week), nor with its sub-behaviors (i.e., walking, moderate-intensity activity, vigorous-intensity activity, and sedentary behavior). Socio-demographics (i.e., age, sex, income, and education) did not moderate the effect of social desirability on self-reported physical activity and its sub-behaviors.
Conclusions:
This study does not throw doubt on the usefulness of the Internet as a medium to collect self-reports on physical activity.
Background:
Over 90% of low risk (LR) neuroblastoma patients survive whereas less than 30% of high risk (HR) patients are long term survivors. Age (children younger than 18 months old) is associated with LR disease. Considering that adaptive immune system is well developed in older children, and that T cells were shown to be involved in tumor escape and progression of cancers, we sought to determine whether HR patients may tend to show a signature of adaptive immune responses compared to LR patients who tend to have diminished T-cell responses but an intact innate immune response.
Methods:
We performed microarray analysis of RNA extracted from the tumor specimens of HR and LR patients. Flow cytometry was performed to determine the cellular constituents in the blood while multiplex cytokine array was used to detect the cytokine profile in patients' sera. A HR tumor cell line, SK-N-SH, was also used for detecting the response to IL-1 beta, a cytokines which is involved in the innate immune responses.
Results:
Distinct patterns of gene expression were detected in HR and LR patients indicating an active T-cell response and a diminished adaptive immune response, respectively. A diminished adaptive immune response in LR patients was evident by higher levels of IL-10 in the sera. In addition, HR patients had lower levels of circulating myeloid derived suppressor cells (MDSC) compared with a control LR patient. LR patients showed slightly higher levels of cytokines of the innate immune responses. Treatment of the HR tumor line with IL-1b induced expression of cytokines of the innate immune responses.
Conclusions:
This data suggests that adaptive immune responses may play an important role in the progression of HR disease whereas innate immune responses may be active in LR patients.
Prenatal stress (PS) has been shown to influence the development of the fetal brain and to increase the risk for the development of psychiatric disorders in later life. Furthermore, the variation of human serotonin transporter (5-HTT, SLC6A4) gene was suggested to exert a modulating effect on the association between early life stress and the risk for depression. In the present study, we used a 5-HttxPS paradigm to investigate whether the effects of PS are dependent on the 5-Htt genotype. For this purpose, the effects of PS on cognition, anxiety-and depression-related behavior were examined using a maternal restraint stress paradigm of PS in C57BL6 wild-type (WT) and heterozygous 5-Htt deficient (5-Htt +/-) mice. Additionally, in female offspring, a genome-wide hippocampal gene expression profiling was performed using the Affymetrix GeneChip (R) Mouse Genome 430 2.0 Array. 5-Htt +/- offspring showed enhanced memory performance and signs of reduced anxiety as compared to WT offspring. In contrast, exposure of 5-Htt +/- mice to PS was associated with increased depressive-like behavior, an effect that tended to be more pronounced in female offspring. Further, 5-Htt genotype, PS and their interaction differentially affected the expression of numerous genes and related pathways within the female hippocampus. Specifically, MAPK and neurotrophin signaling were regulated by both the 5-Htt +/- genotype and PS exposure, whereas cytokine and Wnt signaling were affected in a 5-Htt genotypexPS manner, indicating a genexenvironment interaction at the molecular level. In conclusion, our data suggest that although the 5-Htt +/- genotype shows clear adaptive capacity, 5-Htt +/- mice -particularly females-at the same time appear to be more vulnerable to developmental stress exposure when compared to WT offspring. Moreover, hippocampal gene expression profiles suggest that distinct molecular mechanisms mediate the behavioral effects of the 5-Htt genotype, PS exposure, and their interaction.
Aims
Chondroid lipoma (CL) is a benign tumor that mimics a variety of soft tissue tumors and is characterized by translocation (11;16). Here, we analyze CL and its histological mimics.
Methods
CL ( ) was compared to a variety of histological mimics ( ) for morphological aspects and immunohistochemical features including cyclinD1(CCND1). Using FISH analysis, CCND1 and FUS were investigated as potential translocation partners.
Results
All CLs were strongly positive for CCND1. One of 4 myoepitheliomas, CCND1, was positive. In well-differentiated lipomatous tumors and in chondrosarcomas, CCND1 was frequently expressed, but all myxoid liposarcomas were negative. FISH analysis did not give support for direct involvement of CCND1 and FUS as translocation partners.
Conclusions
Chondroid lipoma is extremely rare and has several and more prevalent histological mimics. The differential diagnosis of chondroid lipomas can be unraveled using immunohistochemical and molecular support.
The title compound, [Zr(3)(C(14)H(20)Si(2))(3)O(3)], consists of three disila-bridged zirconocene units, which are connected via an oxide ligand, forming a nearly planar six-membered ring with a maximum displacement of 0.0191 (8) A. The compound was isolated as a by-product from a mixture of [(C(5)H(4)SiMe(2))(2)ZrCl(2)] and Li[AlH(4)] in Et(2)O.
Binary toxins are among the most potent bacterial protein toxins performing a cooperative mode of translocation and exhibit fatal enzymatic activities in eukaryotic cells. Anthrax and C2 toxin are the most prominent examples for the AB(7/8) type of toxins. The B subunits bind both host cell receptors and the enzymatic A polypeptides to trigger their internalization and translocation into the host cell cytosol. C2 toxin is composed of an actin ADP-ribosyltransferase (C2I) and C2II binding subunits. Anthrax toxin is composed of adenylate cyclase (EF) and MAPKK protease (LF) enzymatic components associated to protective antigen (PA) binding subunit. The binding and translocation components anthrax protective antigen (PA(63)) and C2II of C2 toxin share a sequence homology of about 35%, suggesting that they might substitute for each other. Here we show by conducting in vitro measurements that PA(63) binds C2I and that C2II can bind both EF and LF. Anthrax edema factor (EF) and lethal factor (LF) have higher affinities to bind to channels formed by C2II than C2 toxin's C2I binds to anthrax protective antigen (PA(63)). Furthermore, we could demonstrate that PA in high concentration has the ability to transport the enzymatic moiety C2I into target cells, causing actin modification and cell rounding. In contrast, C2II does not show significant capacity to promote cell intoxication by EF and LF. Together, our data unveiled the remarkable flexibility of PA in promoting C2I heterologous polypeptide translocation into cells.
Enormous amounts of data are being generated by modern methods such as transcriptome or exome sequencing and microarray profiling. Primary analyses such as quality control, normalization, statistics and mapping are highly complex and need to be performed by specialists. Thereafter, results are handed back to biomedical researchers, who are then confronted with complicated data lists. For rather simple tasks like data filtering, sorting and cross-association there is a need for new tools which can be used by non-specialists. Here, we describe CrossQuery, a web tool that enables straight forward, simple syntax queries to be executed on transcriptome sequencing and microarray datasets. We provide deep-sequencing data sets of stem cell lines derived from the model fish Medaka and microarray data of human endothelial cells. In the example datasets provided, mRNA expression levels, gene, transcript and sample identification numbers, GO-terms and gene descriptions can be freely correlated, filtered and sorted. Queries can be saved for later reuse and results can be exported to standard formats that allow copy-and-paste to all widespread data visualization tools such as Microsoft Excel. CrossQuery enables researchers to quickly and freely work with transcriptome and microarray data sets requiring only minimal computer skills. Furthermore, CrossQuery allows growing association of multiple datasets as long as at least one common point of correlated information, such as transcript identification numbers or GO-terms, is shared between samples. For advanced users, the object-oriented plug-in and event-driven code design of both server-side and client-side scripts allow easy addition of new features, data sources and data types.
Einleitung:
Multiple-Choice-Klausuren spielen immer noch eine herausragende Rolle für fakultätsinterne medizinische Prüfungen. Neben inhaltlichen Arbeiten stellt sich die Frage, wie die technische Abwicklung optimiert werden kann. Für Dozenten in der Medizin gibt es zunehmend drei Optionen zur Durchführung von MC-Klausuren: Papierklausuren mit oder ohne Computerunterstützung oder vollständig elektronische Klausuren. Kritische Faktoren sind der Aufwand für die Formatierung der Klausur, der logistische Aufwand bei der Klausurdurchführung, die Qualität, Schnelligkeit und der Aufwand der Klausurkorrektur, die Bereitstellung der Dokumente für die Einsichtnahme, und die statistische Analyse der Klausurergebnisse.
Methoden:
An der Universität Würzburg wird seit drei Semestern ein Computerprogramm zur Eingabe und Formatierung der MC-Fragen in medizinischen und anderen Papierklausuren verwendet und optimiert, mit dem im Wintersemester (WS) 2009/2010 elf, im Sommersemester (SS) 2010 zwölf und im WS 2010/11 dreizehn medizinische Klausuren erstellt und anschließend die eingescannten Antwortblätter automatisch ausgewertet wurden. In den letzten beiden Semestern wurden die Aufwände protokolliert.
Ergebnisse:
Der Aufwand der Formatierung und der Auswertung einschl. nachträglicher Anpassung der Auswertung einer Durchschnittsklausur mit ca. 140 Teilnehmern und ca. 35 Fragen ist von 5-7 Stunden für Klausuren ohne Komplikation im WS 2009/2010 über ca. 2 Stunden im SS 2010 auf ca. 1,5 Stunden im WS 2010/11 gefallen. Einschließlich der Klausuren mit Komplikationen bei der Auswertung betrug die durchschnittliche Zeit im SS 2010 ca. 3 Stunden und im WS 10/11 ca. 2,67 Stunden pro Klausur.
Diskussion:
Für konventionelle Multiple-Choice-Klausuren bietet die computergestützte Formatierung und Auswertung von Papierklausuren einen beträchtlichen Zeitvorteil für die Dozenten im Vergleich zur manuellen Korrektur von Papierklausuren und benötigt im Vergleich zu rein elektronischen Klausuren eine deutlich einfachere technische Infrastruktur und weniger Personal bei der Klausurdurchführung.
Background
Comorbidities negatively affect prognosis more strongly in heart failure with preserved (HFpEF) than with reduced (HFrEF) ejection fraction. Their comparative impact on physical impairment in HFpEF and HFrEF has not been evaluated so far.
Methods and results
The frequency of 12 comorbidities and their impact on NYHA class and SF-36 physical functioning score (SF-36 PF) were evaluated in 1,294 patients with HFpEF and 2,785 with HFrEF. HFpEF patients had lower NYHA class (2.0 ± 0.6 vs. 2.4 ± 0.6, p < 0.001) and higher SF-36 PF score (54.4 ± 28.3 vs. 54.4 ± 27.7, p < 0.001). All comorbidities were significantly (p < 0.05) more frequent in HFrEF, except hypertension and obesity, which were more frequent in HFpEF (p < 0.001). Adjusting for age and gender, COPD, anemia, hyperuricemia, atrial fibrillation, renal dysfunction, cerebrovascular disease and diabetes had a similar (p for interaction > 0.05) negative effect in both groups. Obesity, coronary artery disease and peripheral arterial occlusive disease exerted a significantly (p < 0.05) more adverse effect in HFpEF, while hypertension and hyperlipidemia were associated with fewer (p < 0.05) symptoms in HFrEF only. The total impact of comorbidities on NYHA (AUC for prediction of NYHA III/IV vs. I/II) and SF-36 PF (r 2) in multivariate analyses was approximately 1.5-fold higher in HFpEF, and also much stronger than the impact of a 10% decrease in ejection fraction in HFrEF or a 5 mm decrease in left ventricular end-diastolic diameter in HFpEF.
Conclusion
The impact of comorbidities on physical impairment is higher in HFpEF than in HFrEF. This should be considered in the differential diagnosis and in the treatment of patients with HFpEF.
Here we describe a novel conditional mouse lung tumor model for investigation of the pathogenesis of human lung cancer. On the basis of the frequent involvement of the Ras-RAF-MEK-ERK signaling pathway in human non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC), we have explored the target cell availability, reversibility, and cell type specificity of transformation by oncogenic C-RAF. Targeting expression to alveolar type II cells or to Clara cells, the two likely precursors of human NSCLC, revealed differential tumorigenicity between these cells. Whereas expression of oncogenic C-RAF in alveolar type II cells readily induced multifocal macroscopic lung tumors independent of the developmental state, few tumors with type II pneumocytes features and incomplete penetrance were found when targeted to Clara cells. Induced tumors did not progress and were strictly dependent on the initiating oncogene. Deinduction of mice resulted in tumor regression due to autophagy rather than apoptosis. Induction of autophagic cell death in regressing lung tumors suggests the use of autophagy enhancers as a treatment choice for patients with NSCLC.
Background:
Small animal models of human diseases are an indispensable aspect of pre-clinical research. Being dynamic, most pathologies demand extensive longitudinal monitoring to understand disease mechanisms, drug efficacy and side effects. These considerations often demand the concomitant development of monitoring systems with sufficient temporal and spatial resolution.
Methodology and Results:
This study attempts to configure and optimize a clinical 3 Tesla magnetic resonance scanner to facilitate imaging of small animal central nervous system pathologies. The hardware of the scanner was complemented by a custom-built, 4-channel phased array coil system. Extensive modification of standard sequence protocols was carried out based on tissue relaxometric calculations. Proton density differences between the gray and white matter of the rodent spinal cord along with transverse relaxation due to magnetic susceptibility differences at the cortex and striatum of both rats and mice demonstrated statistically significant differences. The employed parallel imaging reconstruction algorithms had distinct properties dependent on the sequence type and in the presence of the contrast agent. The attempt to morphologically phenotype a normal healthy rat brain in multiple planes delineated a number of anatomical regions, and all the clinically relevant sequels following acute cerebral ischemia could be adequately characterized. Changes in blood-brain-barrier permeability following ischemia-reperfusion were also apparent at a later time. Typical characteristics of intracerebral haemorrhage at acute and chronic stages were also visualized up to one month. Two models of rodent spinal cord injury were adequately characterized and closely mimicked the results of histological studies. In the employed rodent animal handling system a mouse model of glioblastoma was also studied with unequivocal results.
Conclusions:
The implemented customizations including extensive sequence protocol modifications resulted in images of high diagnostic quality. These results prove that lack of dedicated animal scanners shouldn't discourage conventional small animal imaging studies.
Background:
To study whether and how c-MYC expression determines response to radio-and chemotherapy in childhood medulloblastoma (MB).
Methods:
We used DAOY and UW228 human MB cells engineered to stably express different levels of c-MYC, and tested whether c-MYC expression has an effect on radio-and chemosensitivity using the colorimetric 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol- 2-yl)-5-(3-carboxymethoxyphenyl)-2-(4-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium inner salt (MTS) assay, clonogenic survival, apoptosis assays, cell cycle analysis, and western blot assessment. In an effort to validate our results, we analyzed c-MYC mRNA expression in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tumor samples from well-documented patients with postoperative residual tumor and compared c-MYC mRNA expression with response to radio-and chemotherapy as examined by neuroradiological imaging.
Results:
In DAOY -and to a lesser extent in UW228 -cells expressing high levels of c-MYC, the cytotoxicity of cisplatin, and etoposide was significantly higher when compared with DAOY/UW228 cells expressing low levels of c-MYC. Irradiation-and chemotherapy-induced apoptotic cell death was enhanced in DAOY cells expressing high levels of c-MYC. The response of 62 of 66 residual tumors was evaluable and response to postoperative radio-(14 responders (CR, PR) vs. 5 non-responders (SD, PD)) or chemotherapy (23 CR/PR vs. 20 SD/PD) was assessed. c-MYC mRNA expression was similar in primary MB samples of responders and non-responders (Mann-Whitney U test, p = 0.50, ratio 0.49, 95% CI 0.008-30.0 and p = 0.67, ratio 1.8, 95% CI 0.14-23.5, respectively).
Conclusions:
c-MYC sensitizes MB cells to some anti-cancer treatments in vitro. As we failed to show evidence for such an effect on postoperative residual tumors when analyzed by imaging, additional investigations in xenografts and larger MB cohorts may help to define the exact function of c-MYC in modulating response to treatment.
We review fluorescent probes that can be photoswitched or photoactivated and are suited for single-molecule localization based super-resolution microscopy. We exploit the underlying photochemical mechanisms that allow photoswitching of many synthetic organic fluorophores in the presence of reducing agents, and study the impact of these on the photoswitching properties of various photoactivatable or photoconvertible fluorescent proteins. We have identified mEos2 as a fluorescent protein that exhibits reversible photoswitching under various imaging buffer conditions and present strategies to characterize reversible photoswitching. Finally, we discuss opportunities to combine fluorescent proteins with organic fluorophores for dual-color photoswitching microscopy.
Background:
In a number of gram-positive bacteria, including Listeria, the general stress response is regulated by the alternative sigma factor B (SigB). Common stressors which lead to the activation of SigB and the SigB-dependent regulon are high osmolarity, acid and several more. Recently is has been shown that also blue and red light activates SigB in Bacillus subtilis.
Methodology/Principal Findings:
By qRT-PCR we analyzed the transcriptional response of the pathogen L. monocytogenes to blue and red light in wild type bacteria and in isogenic deletion mutants for the putative blue-light receptor Lmo0799 and the stress sigma factor SigB. It was found that both blue (455 nm) and red (625 nm) light induced the transcription of sigB and SigB-dependent genes, this induction was completely abolished in the SigB mutant. The blue-light effect was largely dependent on Lmo0799, proving that this protein is a genuine blue-light receptor. The deletion of lmo0799 enhanced the red-light effect, the underlying mechanism as well as that of SigB activation by red light remains unknown. Blue light led to an increased transcription of the internalin A/B genes and of bacterial invasiveness for Caco-2 enterocytes. Exposure to blue light also strongly inhibited swimming motility of the bacteria in a Lmo0799- and SigB-dependent manner, red light had no effect there.
Conclusions/Significance:
Our data established that visible, in particular blue light is an important environmental signal with an impact on gene expression and physiology of the non-phototrophic bacterium L. monocytogenes. In natural environments these effects will result in sometimes random but potentially also cyclic fluctuations of gene activity, depending on the light conditions prevailing in the respective habitat.
Reliable biomarkers that can be used for early diagnosis and tracking disease progression are the cornerstone of the development of disease-modifying treatments for Parkinson’s disease (PD). The German Society of Experimental and Clinical Neurotherapeutics (GESENT) has convened a Working Group to review the current status of proposed biomarkers of neurodegeneration according to the following criteria and to develop a consensus statement on biomarker candidates for evaluation of disease-modifying therapeutics in PD. The criteria proposed are that the biomarker should be linked to fundamental features of PD neuropathology and mechanisms underlying neurodegeneration in PD, should be correlated to disease progression assessed by clinical rating scales, should monitor the actual disease status, should be pre-clinically validated, and confirmed by at least two independent studies conducted by qualified investigators with the results published in peer-reviewed journals. To date, available data have not yet revealed one reliable biomarker to detect early neurodegeneration in PD and to detect and monitor effects of drug candidates on the disease process, but some promising biomarker candidates, such as antibodies against neuromelanin, pathological forms of α-synuclein, DJ-1, and patterns of gene expression, metabolomic and protein profiling exist. Almost all of the biomarker candidates were not investigated in relation to effects of treatment, validated in experimental models of PD and confirmed in independent studies.
Purpose
The impact on patients’ health of radiopharmaceuticals in nuclear medicine diagnostics has not until now been evaluated systematically in a European context. Therefore, as part of the EU-funded Project PEDDOSE.NET (www.peddose.net), we review and summarize the current knowledge on biokinetics and dosimetry of commonly used diagnostic radiopharmaceuticals.
Methods
A detailed literature search on published biokinetic and dosimetric data was performed mostly via PubMed (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed). In principle the criteria for inclusion of data followed the EANM Dosimetry Committee guidance document on good clinical reporting.
Results
Data on dosimetry and biokinetics can be difficult to find, are scattered in various journals and, especially in paediatric nuclear medicine, are very scarce. The data collection and calculation methods vary with respect to the time-points, bladder voiding, dose assessment after the last data point and the way the effective dose was calculated. In many studies the number of subjects included for obtaining biokinetic and dosimetry data was fewer than ten, and some of the biokinetic data were acquired more than 20 years ago.
Conclusion
It would be of interest to generate new data on biokinetics and dosimetry in diagnostic nuclear medicine using state-of-the-art equipment and more uniform dosimetry protocols. For easier public access to dosimetry data for diagnostic radiopharmaceuticals, a database containing these data should be created and maintained.
Several studies report autoantibody signatures in cancer. The majority of these studies analyzed adult tumors and compared the seroreactivity pattern of tumor patients with the pattern in healthy controls. Here, we compared the autoimmune response in patients with neuroblastoma and patients with Wilms tumor representing two different childhood tumors. We were able to differentiate untreated neuroblastoma patients from untreated Wilms tumor patients with an accuracy of 86.8%, a sensitivity of 87.0% and a specificity of 86.7%. The separation of treated neuroblastoma patients from treated Wilms tumor patients' yielded comparable results with an accuracy of 83.8%. We furthermore identified the antigens that contribute most to the differentiation between both tumor types. The analysis of these antigens revealed that neuroblastoma was considerably more immunogenic than Wilms tumor. The reported antigens have not been found to be relevant for comparative analyses between other tumors and controls. In summary, neuroblastoma appears as a highly immunogenic tumor as demonstrated by the extended number of antigens that separate this tumor from Wilms tumor.
Family studies suggest a genetic component to the etiology of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and end stage renal disease (ESRD). Previously, we identified 16 loci for eGFR in genome-wide association studies, but the associations of these single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for incident CKD or ESRD are unknown. We thus investigated the association of these loci with incident CKD in 26,308 individuals of European ancestry free of CKD at baseline drawn from eight population-based cohorts followed for a median of 7.2 years (including 2,122 incident CKD cases defined as eGFR < 60ml/min/1.73m(2) at follow-up) and with ESRD in four case-control studies in subjects of European ancestry (3,775 cases, 4,577 controls). SNPs at 11 of the 16 loci (UMOD, PRKAG2, ANXA9, DAB2, SHROOM3, DACH1, STC1, SLC34A1, ALMS1/NAT8, UBE2Q2, and GCKR) were associated with incident CKD; p-values ranged from p = 4.1e-9 in UMOD to p = 0.03 in GCKR. After adjusting for baseline eGFR, six of these loci remained significantly associated with incident CKD (UMOD, PRKAG2, ANXA9, DAB2, DACH1, and STC1). SNPs in UMOD (OR = 0.92, p = 0.04) and GCKR (OR = 0.93, p = 0.03) were nominally associated with ESRD. In summary, the majority of eGFR-related loci are either associated or show a strong trend towards association with incident CKD, but have modest associations with ESRD in individuals of European descent. Additional work is required to characterize the association of genetic determinants of CKD and ESRD at different stages of disease progression.
Background:
Antidepressant drugs (ADs) have been shown to activate BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor) receptor TrkB in the rodent brain but the mechanism underlying this phenomenon remains unclear. ADs act as monoamine reuptake inhibitors and after prolonged treatments regulate brain bdnf mRNA levels indicating that monoamine-BDNF signaling regulate AD-induced TrkB activation in vivo. However, recent findings demonstrate that Trk receptors can be transactivated independently of their neurotrophin ligands.
Methodology:
In this study we examined the role of BDNF, TrkB kinase activity and monoamine reuptake in the AD-induced TrkB activation in vivo and in vitro by employing several transgenic mouse models, cultured neurons and TrkB-expressing cell lines.
Principal Findings:
Using a chemical-genetic TrkB(F616A) mutant and TrkB overexpressing mice, we demonstrate that ADs specifically activate both the maturely and immaturely glycosylated forms of TrkB receptors in the brain in a TrkB kinase dependent manner. However, the tricyclic AD imipramine readily induced the phosphorylation of TrkB receptors in conditional bdnf(-/-) knock-out mice (132.4+/-8.5% of control; P = 0.01), indicating that BDNF is not required for the TrkB activation. Moreover, using serotonin transporter (SERT) deficient mice and chemical lesions of monoaminergic neurons we show that neither a functional SERT nor monoamines are required for the TrkB phosphorylation response induced by the serotonin selective reuptake inhibitors fluoxetine or citalopram, or norepinephrine selective reuptake inhibitor reboxetine. However, neither ADs nor monoamine transmitters activated TrkB in cultured neurons or cell lines expressing TrkB receptors, arguing that ADs do not directly bind to TrkB.
Conclusions:
The present findings suggest that ADs transactivate brain TrkB receptors independently of BDNF and monoamine reuptake blockade and emphasize the need of an intact tissue context for the ability of ADs to induce TrkB activity in brain.
The transcription factor Lmx1b is essential for the differentiation and survival of central serotonergic (5-HTergic) neurons during embryonic development. However, the role of Lmx1b in adult 5-HTergic neurons is unknown. We used an inducible Cre-LoxP system to selectively inactivate Lmx1b expression in the raphe nuclei of adult mice. Pet1-CreER(T2) mice were generated and crossed with Lmx1b(flox/flox) mice to obtain Pet1-CreER(T2); Lmx1b(flox/flox) mice (which termed as Lmx1b iCKO). After administration of tamoxifen, the level of 5-HT in the brain of Lmx1b iCKO mice was reduced to 60% of that in control mice, and the expression of tryptophan hydroxylase 2 (Tph2), serotonin transporter (Sert) and vesicular monoamine transporter 2 (Vmat2) was greatly down-regulated. On the other hand, the expression of dopamine and norepinephrine as well as aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase (Aadc) and Pet1 was unchanged. Our results reveal that Lmx1b is required for the biosynthesis of 5-HT in adult mouse brain, and it may be involved in maintaining normal functions of central 5-HTergic neurons by regulating the expression of Tph2, Sert and Vmat2.
Einleitung: Medizinische Trainingsfälle sind in der studentischen Ausbildung inzwischen weit verbreitet. In den meisten Publikationen wird über die Entwicklung und die Erfahrungen in einem Kurs mit Trainingsfällen berichtet. In diesem Beitrag vergleichen wir die Akzeptanz von verschiedenen Trainingsfallkursen, die als Ergänzung zu zahlreichen Vorlesungen der Medizinischen Fakultät der Universität Würzburg mit sehr unterschiedlichen Nutzungsraten eingesetzt wurden, über einen Zeitraum von drei Semestern.
Methoden: Die Trainingsfälle wurden mit dem Autoren- und Ablaufsystem CaseTrain erstellt und über die Moodle-basierte Würzburger Lernplattform WueCampus den Studierenden verfügbar gemacht. Dabei wurden umfangreiche Daten über die Nutzung und Akzeptanz erhoben.
Ergebnisse: Im Zeitraum vom WS 08/09 bis zum WS 09/10 waren 19 Kurse mit insgesamt ca. 200 Fällen für die Studierenden verfügbar, die pro Semester von ca. 550 verschiedenen Medizinstudenten der Universität Würzburg und weiteren 50 Studierenden anderer bayerischer Universitäten genutzt wurden. Insgesamt wurden pro Semester ca. 12000 Mal Trainingsfälle vollständig durchgespielt zu denen ca. 2000 Evaluationen von den Studierenden ausgefüllt wurden. In den verschiedenen Kursen variiert die Nutzung zwischen unter 50 Bearbeitungen in wenig frequentierten Fallsammlungen und über 5000 Bearbeitungen in stark frequentierten Fallsammlungen.
Diskussion: Auch wenn Studierende wünschen, dass zu allen Vorlesungen Trainingsfälle angeboten werden, zeigen die Daten, dass der Umfang der Nutzung nicht primär von der Qualität der verfügbaren Trainingsfälle abhängt. Dagegen werden die Trainingsfälle in fast allen Fallsammlungen kurz vor den Klausuren extrem häufig bearbeitet. Dies zeigt, dass die Nutzung von Trainingsfällen im Wesentlichen von der wahrgenommenen Klausurrelevanz der Fälle abhängt.
A TNF Receptor 2 Selective Agonist Rescues Human Neurons from Oxidative Stress-Induced Cell Death
(2011)
Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) plays a dual role in neurodegenerative diseases. Whereas TNF receptor (TNFR) 1 is predominantly associated with neurodegeneration, TNFR2 is involved in tissue regeneration and neuroprotection. Accordingly, the availability of TNFR2-selective agonists could allow the development of new therapeutic treatments of neurodegenerative diseases. We constructed a soluble, human TNFR2 agonist (TNC-scTNF(R2)) by genetic fusion of the trimerization domain of tenascin C to a TNFR2-selective single-chain TNF molecule, which is comprised of three TNF domains connected by short peptide linkers. TNC-scTNFR2 specifically activated TNFR2 and possessed membrane-TNF mimetic activity, resulting in TNFR2 signaling complex formation and activation of downstream signaling pathways. Protection from neurodegeneration was assessed using the human dopaminergic neuronal cell line LUHMES. First we show that TNC-scTNF(R2) interfered with cell death pathways subsequent to H(2)O(2) exposure. Protection from cell death was dependent on TNFR2 activation of the PI3K-PKB/Akt pathway, evident from restoration of H(2)O(2) sensitivity in the presence of PI3K inhibitor LY294002. Second, in an in vitro model of Parkinson disease, TNC-scTNFR(2) rescues neurons after induction of cell death by 6-OHDA. Since TNFR2 is not only promoting anti-apoptotic responses but also plays an important role in tissue regeneration, activation of TNFR2 signaling by TNC-scTNF(R2) appears a promising strategy to ameliorate neurodegenerative processes.
Fluorescently labeled human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) derivatives, combined with the use of advanced fluorescence microscopy techniques, allow the direct visualization of dynamic events and individual steps in the viral life cycle. HIV proteins tagged with fluorescent proteins (FPs) have been successfully used for live-cell imaging analyses of HIV-cell interactions. However, FPs display limitations with respect to their physicochemical properties, and their maturation kinetics. Furthermore, several independent FP-tagged constructs have to be cloned and characterized in order to obtain spectral variations suitable for multi-color imaging setups. In contrast, the so-called SNAP-tag represents a genetically encoded non-fluorescent tag which mediates specific covalent coupling to fluorescent substrate molecules in a self-labeling reaction. Fusion of the SNAP-tag to the protein of interest allows specific labeling of the fusion protein with a variety of synthetic dyes, thereby offering enhanced flexibility for fluorescence imaging approaches. Here we describe the construction and characterization of the HIV derivative HIV(SNAP), which carries the SNAP-tag as an additional domain within the viral structural polyprotein Gag. Introduction of the tag close to the C-terminus of the matrix domain of Gag did not interfere with particle assembly, release or proteolytic virus maturation. The modified virions were infectious and could be propagated in tissue culture, albeit with reduced replication capacity. Insertion of the SNAP domain within Gag allowed specific staining of the viral polyprotein in the context of virus producing cells using a SNAP reactive dye as well as the visualization of individual virions and viral budding sites by stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy. Thus, HIV(SNAP) represents a versatile tool which expands the possibilities for the analysis of HIV-cell interactions using live cell imaging and sub-diffraction fluorescence microscopy.
Female patients affected by Fabry disease, an X-linked lysosomal storage disorder, exhibit a wide spectrum of symptoms, which renders diagnosis, and treatment decisions challenging. No diagnostic test, other than sequencing of the alpha-galactosidase A gene, is available and no biomarker has been proven useful to screen for the disease, predict disease course and monitor response to enzyme replacement therapy. Here, we used urine proteomic analysis based on capillary electrophoresis coupled to mass spectrometry and identified a biomarker profile in adult female Fabry patients. Urine samples were taken from 35 treatment-naive female Fabry patients and were compared to 89 age-matched healthy controls. We found a diagnostic biomarker pattern that exhibited 88.2% sensitivity and 97.8% specificity when tested in an independent validation cohort consisting of 17 treatment-naive Fabry patients and 45 controls. The model remained highly specific when applied to additional control patients with a variety of other renal, metabolic and cardiovascular diseases. Several of the 64 identified diagnostic biomarkers showed correlations with measures of disease severity. Notably, most biomarkers responded to enzyme replacement therapy, and 8 of 11 treated patients scored negative for Fabry disease in the diagnostic model. In conclusion, we defined a urinary biomarker model that seems to be of diagnostic use for Fabry disease in female patients and may be used to monitor response to enzyme replacement therapy.
Our object recognition abilities, a direct product of our experience with objects, are fine-tuned to perfection. Left temporal and lateral areas along the dorsal, action related stream, as well as left infero-temporal areas along the ventral, object related stream are engaged in object recognition. Here we show that expertise modulates the activity of dorsal areas in the recognition of man-made objects with clearly specified functions. Expert chess players were faster than chess novices in identifying chess objects and their functional relations. Experts’ advantage was domain-specific as there were no differences between groups in a control task featuring geometrical shapes. The pattern of eye movements supported the notion that experts’ extensive knowledge about domain objects and their functions enabled superior recognition even when experts were not directly fixating the objects of interest. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) related exclusively the areas along the dorsal stream to chess specific object recognition. Besides the commonly involved left temporal and parietal lateral brain areas, we found that only in experts homologous areas on the right hemisphere were also engaged in chess specific object recognition. Based on these results, we discuss whether skilled object recognition does not only involve a more efficient version of the processes found in non-skilled recognition, but also qualitatively different cognitive processes which engage additional brain areas
Background
Squalius alburnoides is an Iberian cyprinid fish resulting from an interspecific hybridisation between Squalius pyrenaicus females (P genome) and males of an unknown Anaecypris hispanica- like species (A genome). S. alburnoides is an allopolyploid hybridogenetic complex, which makes it a likely candidate for ploidy mosaicism occurrence, and is also an interesting model to address questions about gene expression regulation and genomic interactions. Indeed, it was previously suggested that in S. alburnoides triploids (PAA composition) silencing of one of the three alleles (mainly of the P allele) occurs. However, not a whole haplome is inactivated but a more or less random inactivation of alleles varying between individuals and even between organs of the same fish was seen.
In this work we intended to correlate expression differences between individuals and/or between organs to the occurrence of mosaicism, evaluating if mosaics could explain previous observations and its impact on the assessment of gene expression patterns.
Results
To achieve our goal, we developed flow cytometry and cell sorting protocols for this system generating more homogenous cellular and transcriptional samples. With this set-up we detected 10% ploidy mosaicism within the S. alburnoides complex, and determined the allelic expression profiles of ubiquitously expressed genes (rpl8; gapdh and β-actin) in cells from liver and kidney of mosaic and non-mosaic individuals coming from different rivers over a wide geographic range.
Conclusions
Ploidy mosaicism occurs sporadically within the S. alburnoides complex, but in a frequency significantly higher than reported for other organisms. Moreover, we could exclude the influence of this phenomenon on the detection of variable allelic expression profiles of ubiquitously expressed genes (rpl8; gapdh and β-actin) in cells from liver and kidney of triploid individuals. Finally, we determined that the expression patterns previously detected only in a narrow geographic range is not a local restricted phenomenon but is pervasive in rivers where S. pyrenaicus is sympatric with S. alburnoides.
We discuss mechanisms that could lead to the formation of mosaic S. alburnoides and hypothesise about a relaxation of the mechanisms that impose a tight control over mitosis and ploidy control in mixoploids."
The thermally activated formation of nanoscale CoPt alloys was investigated, after deposition of self-assembled Co nanoparticles on textured Pt(111) and epitaxial Pt(100) films on MgO(100) and SrTiO3(100) substrates, respectively. For this purpose, metallic Co nanoparticles (diameter 7 nm) were prepared with a spacing of 100 nm by deposition of precursor-loaded reverse micelles, subsequent plasma etching and reduction on flat Pt surfaces. The samples were then annealed at successively higher temperatures under a H2 atmosphere, and the resulting variations of their structure, morphology and magnetic properties were characterized. We observed pronounced differences in the diffusion and alloying of Co nanoparticles on Pt films with different orientations and microstructures. On textured Pt(111) films exhibiting grain sizes (20–30 nm) smaller than the particle spacing (100 nm), the formation of local nanoalloys at the surface is strongly suppressed and Co incorporation into the film via grain boundaries is favoured. In contrast, due to the absence of grain boundaries on high quality epitaxial Pt(100) films with micron-sized grains, local alloying at the film surface was established. Signatures of alloy formation were evident from magnetic investigations. Upon annealing to temperatures up to 380 °C, we found an increase both of the coercive field and of the Co orbital magnetic moment, indicating the formation of a CoPt phase with strongly increased magnetic anisotropy compared to pure Co. At higher temperatures, however, the Co atoms diffuse into a nearby surface region where Pt-rich compounds are formed, as shown by element-specific microscopy.
Introduction:
Evidence from a number of open-label, uncontrolled studies has suggested that rituximab may benefit patients with autoimmune diseases who are refractory to standard-of-care. The objective of this study was to evaluate the safety and clinical outcomes of rituximab in several standard-of-care-refractory autoimmune diseases (within rheumatology, nephrology, dermatology and neurology) other than rheumatoid arthritis or non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in a real-life clinical setting.
Methods:
Patients who received rituximab having shown an inadequate response to standard-of-care had their safety and clinical outcomes data retrospectively analysed as part of the German Registry of Autoimmune Diseases. The main outcome measures were safety and clinical response, as judged at the discretion of the investigators.
Results:
A total of 370 patients (299 patient-years) with various autoimmune diseases (23.0% with systemic lupus erythematosus, 15.7% antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated granulomatous vasculitides, 15.1% multiple sclerosis and 10.0% pemphigus) from 42 centres received a mean dose of 2,440 mg of rituximab over a median (range) of 194 (180 to 1,407) days. The overall rate of serious infections was 5.3 per 100 patient-years during rituximab therapy. Opportunistic infections were infrequent across the whole study population, and mostly occurred in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. There were 11 deaths (3.0% of patients) after rituximab treatment (mean 11.6 months after first infusion, range 0.8 to 31.3 months), with most of the deaths caused by infections. Overall (n = 293), 13.3% of patients showed no response, 45.1% showed a partial response and 41.6% showed a complete response. Responses were also reflected by reduced use of glucocorticoids and various immunosuppressives during rituximab therapy and follow-up compared with before rituximab. Rituximab generally had a positive effect on patient well-being (physician’s visual analogue scale; mean improvement from baseline of 12.1 mm)
Background:
During the last years, (19)F-MRI and perfluorocarbon nanoemulsion (PFC) emerged as a powerful contrast agent methodology to track cells and to visualize inflammation. We applied this new modality to visualize deep tissue abscesses during acute and chronic phase of inflammation caused by Staphylococcus aureus infection.
Methodology and Principal Findings:
In this study, a murine thigh infection model was used to induce abscess formation and PFC or CLIO (cross linked ironoxides) was administered during acute or chronic phase of inflammation. 24 h after inoculation, the contrast agent accumulation was imaged at the site of infection by MRI. Measurements revealed a strong accumulation of PFC at the abscess rim at acute and chronic phase of infection. The pattern was similar to CLIO accumulation at chronic phase and formed a hollow sphere around the edema area. Histology revealed strong influx of neutrophils at the site of infection and to a smaller extend macrophages during acute phase and strong influx of macrophages at chronic phase of inflammation.
Conclusion and Significance:
We introduce (19)F-MRI in combination with PFC nanoemulsions as a new platform to visualize abscess formation in a murine thigh infection model of S. aureus. The possibility to track immune cells in vivo by this modality offers new opportunities to investigate host immune response, the efficacy of antibacterial therapies and the influence of virulence factors for pathogenesis.
Background:
Competing risks methodology allows for an event-specific analysis of the single components of composite time-to-event endpoints. A key feature of competing risks is that there are as many hazards as there are competing risks. This is not always well accounted for in the applied literature.
Methods:
We advocate a simulation point of view for understanding competing risks. The hazards are envisaged as momentary event forces. They jointly determine the event time. Their relative magnitude determines the event type. 'Empirical simulations' using data from a recent study on cardiovascular events in diabetes patients illustrate subsequent interpretation. The method avoids concerns on identifiability and plausibility known from the latent failure time approach.
Results:
The 'empirical simulations' served as a proof of concept. Additionally manipulating baseline hazards and treatment effects illustrated both scenarios that require greater care for interpretation and how the simulation point of view aids the interpretation. The simulation algorithm applied to real data also provides for a general tool for study planning.
Conclusions:
There are as many hazards as there are competing risks. All of them should be analysed. This includes estimation of baseline hazards. Study planning must equally account for these aspects.
Transient receptor potential channels are important mediators of thermal and mechanical stimuli and play an important role in neuropathic pain. The contribution of hereditary variants in the genes of transient receptor potential channels to neuropathic pain is unknown. We investigated the frequency of transient receptor potential ankyrin 1, transient receptor potential melastin 8 and transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 single nucleotide polymorphisms and their impact on somatosensory abnormalities in neuropathic pain patients. Within the German Research Network on Neuropathic Pain (Deutscher Forscbungsverbund Neuropathischer Schmerz) 371 neuropathic pain patients were phenotypically characterized using standardized quantitative sensory testing. Pyrosequencing was employed to determine a total of eleven single nucleotide polymorphisms in transient receptor potential channel genes of the neuropathic pain patients and a cohort of 253 German healthy volunteers. Associations of quantitative sensory testing parameters and single nucleotide polymorphisms between and within groups and subgroups, based on sensory phenotypes, were analyzed. Single nucleotide polymorphisms frequencies did not differ between both the cohorts. However, in neuropathic pain patients transient receptor potential ankyrin 1 710G>A (rs920829, E179K) was associated with the presence of paradoxical heat sensation (p=0.03), and transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 1911A>G (rs8065080, I585V) with cold hypoalgesia (p=0.0035). Two main subgroups characterized by preserved (1) and impaired (2) sensory function were identified. In subgroup 1 transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 1911A>G led to significantly less heat hyperalgesia, pinprick hyperalgesia and mechanical hypaesthesia (p=0.006, p=0.005 and p<0.001) and transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 1103C>G (rs222747, M315I) to cold hypaesthesia (p=0.002), but there was absence of associations in subgroup 2. In this study we found no evidence that genetic variants of transient receptor potential channels are involved in the expression of neuropathic pain, but transient receptor potential channel polymorphisms contributed significantly to the somatosensory abnormalities of neuropathic pain patients.
Background:
The availability of fully sequenced genomes and the implementation of transcriptome technologies have increased the studies investigating the expression profiles for a variety of tissues, conditions, and species. In this study, using RNA-seq data for three distinct tissues (brain, liver, and muscle), we investigate how base composition affects mammalian gene expression, an issue of prime practical and evolutionary interest.
Results:
We present the transcriptome map of the mouse isochores (DNA segments with a fairly homogeneous base composition) for the three different tissues and the effects of isochores' base composition on their expression activity. Our analyses also cover the relations between the genes' expression activity and their localization in the isochore families.
Conclusions:
This study is the first where next-generation sequencing data are used to associate the effects of both genomic and genic compositional properties to their corresponding expression activity. Our findings confirm previous results, and further support the existence of a relationship between isochores and gene expression. This relationship corroborates that isochores are primarily a product of evolutionary adaptation rather than a simple by-product of neutral evolutionary processes.
TNFR1 and TNFR2 regulate the extrinsic apoptotic pathway in myeloma cells by multiple mechanisms
(2011)
The huge majority of myeloma cell lines express TNFR2 while a substantial subset of them failed to show TNFR1 expression. Stimulation of TNFR1 in the TNFR1-expressing subset of MM cell lines had no or only a very mild effect on cellular viability. Surprisingly, however, TNF stimulation enhanced cell death induction by CD95L and attenuated the apoptotic effect of TRAIL. The contrasting regulation of TRAIL- and CD95L-induced cell death by TNF could be traced back to the concomitant NFjBmediated upregulation of CD95 and the antiapoptotic FLIP protein. It appeared that CD95 induction, due to its strength, overcompensated a rather moderate upregulation of FLIP so that the net effect of TNF-induced NFjB activation in the context of CD95 signaling is pro-apoptotic. TRAIL-induced cell death, however, was antagonized in response to TNF because in this context only the induction of FLIP is relevant. Stimulation of TNFR2 in myeloma cells leads to TRAF2 depletion. In line with this, we observed cell death induction in TNFR1-TNFR2-costimulated JJN3 cells. Our studies revealed that the TNF-TNF receptor system adjusts the responsiveness of the extrinsic apoptotic pathway in myeloma cells by multiple mechanisms that generate a highly context-dependent net effect on myeloma cell survival
In the mammalian host, the Trypanosoma brucei cell surface is covered with a densely packed protein coat of a single protein, the variant surface glycoprotein (VSG). The VSG is believed to shield invariant surface proteins from host antibodies but there is limited information on how far antibodies can penetrate into the VSG monolayer. Here, the VSG surface coat was probed to determine whether it acts as a barrier to binding of antibodies to the membrane proximal VSG C-terminal domain. The binding of C-terminal domain antibodies to VSG221 or VSG118 was compared with antibodies recognising the cognate whole VSGs. The C-terminal VSG domain was inaccessible to antibodies on live cells but not on fixed cells. This provides further evidence that the VSG coat acts as a barrier and protects the cell from antibodies that would otherwise bind to some of the other externally disposed proteins.
Background:
The use of DNA based methods for assessing biodiversity has become increasingly common during the last years. Especially in speciose biomes as tropical rain forests and/or in hyperdiverse or understudied taxa they may efficiently complement morphological approaches. The most successful molecular approach in this field is DNA barcoding based on cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) marker, but other markers are used as well. Whereas most studies aim at identifying or describing species, there are only few attempts to use DNA markers for inventorying all animal species found in environmental samples to describe variations of biodiversity patterns.
Methodology/Principal Findings:
In this study, an analysis of the nuclear D3 region of the 28S rRNA gene to delimit species-like units is compared to results based on distinction of morphospecies. Data derived from both approaches are used to assess diversity and composition of staphylinid beetle communities of a Guineo-Congolian rain forest in Kenya. Beetles were collected with a standardized sampling design across six transects in primary and secondary forests using pitfall traps. Sequences could be obtained of 99% of all individuals. In total, 76 molecular operational taxonomic units (MOTUs) were found in contrast to 70 discernible morphospecies. Despite this difference both approaches revealed highly similar biodiversity patterns, with species richness being equal in primary and secondary forests, but with divergent species communities in different habitats. The D3-MOTU approach proved to be an efficient tool for biodiversity analyses.
Conclusions/Significance:
Our data illustrate that the use of MOTUs as a proxy for species can provide an alternative to morphospecies identification for the analysis of changes in community structure of hyperdiverse insect taxa. The efficient amplification of the D3-marker and the ability of the D3-MOTUs to reveal similar biodiversity patterns as analyses of morphospecies recommend its use in future molecular studies on biodiversity.
Background:
The SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling factors have the ability to remodel nucleosomes and play essential roles in key developmental processes. SWI/SNF complexes contain one subunit with ATPase activity, which in Drosophila melanogaster is called Brahma (Brm). The regulatory activities of SWI/SNF have been attributed to its influence on chromatin structure and transcription regulation, but recent observations have revealed that the levels of Brm affect the relative abundances of transcripts that are formed by alternative splicing and/or polyadenylation of the same pre-mRNA.
Results:
We have investigated whether the function of Brm in pre-mRNA processing in Drosophila melanogaster is mediated by Brm alone or by the SWI/SNF complex. We have analyzed the effects of depleting individual SWI/SNF subunits on pre-mRNA processing throughout the genome, and we have identified a subset of transcripts that are affected by depletion of the SWI/SNF core subunits Brm, Snr1 or Mor. The fact that depletion of different subunits targets a subset of common transcripts suggests that the SWI/SNF complex is responsible for the effects observed on pre-mRNA processing when knocking down Brm. We have also depleted Brm in larvae and we have shown that the levels of SWI/SNF affect the pre-mRNA processing outcome in vivo.
Conclusions:
We have shown that SWI/SNF can modulate alternative pre-mRNA processing, not only in cultured cells but also in vivo. The effect is restricted to and specific for a subset of transcripts. Our results provide novel insights into the mechanisms by which SWI/SNF regulates transcript diversity and proteomic diversity in higher eukaryotes.
Background:
Inhibition of early platelet adhesion by blockade of glycoprotein-IB (GPIb) protects mice from ischemic stroke. To elucidate underlying mechanisms in-vivo, infarct development was followed by ultra-high field MRI at 17.6 Tesla.
Methods:
Cerebral infarction was induced by transient-middle-cerebral-artery-occlusion (tMCAO) for 1 hour in C57/BL6 control mice (N = 10) and mice treated with 100 mg Fab-fragments of the GPIb blocking antibody p0p/B 1 h after tMCAO (N = 10). To control for the effect of reperfusion, additional mice underwent permanent occlusion and received anti-GPIb treatment (N = 6; pMCAO) or remained without treatment (N = 3; pMCAO). MRI 2 h and 24 h after MCAO measured cerebral-blood-flow (CBF) by continuous arterial-spin labelling, the apparent-diffusion-coefficient (ADC), quantitative-T2 and T2-weighted imaging. All images were registered to a standard mouse brain MRI atlas and statistically analysed voxel-wise, and by cortico-subcortical ROI analysis.
Results:
Anti-GPIb treatment led to a relative increase of postischemic CBF vs. controls in the cortical territory of the MCA (2 h: 44.2 +/- 6.9 ml/100g/min versus 24 h: 60.5 +/- 8.4; p = 0.0012, F((1,18)) = 14.63) after tMCAO. Subcortical CBF 2 h after tMCAO was higher in anti-GPIb treated animals (45.3 +/- 5.9 vs. controls: 33.6 +/- 4.3; p = 0.04). In both regions, CBF findings were clearly related to a lower probability of infarction (Cortex/Subcortex of treated group: 35%/65% vs. controls: 95%/100%) and improved quantitative-T2 and ADC. After pMCAO, anti-GPIb treated mice developed similar infarcts preceded by severe irreversible hypoperfusion as controls after tMCAO indicating dependency of stroke protection on reperfusion.
Conclusion:
Blockade of platelet adhesion by anti-GPIb-Fab-fragments results in substantially improved CBF early during reperfusion. This finding was in exact spatial correspondence with the prevention of cerebral infarction and indicates in-vivo an increased patency of the microcirculation. Thus, progression of infarction during early ischemia and reperfusion can be mitigated by anti-platelet treatment.
SMAC Mimetic BV6 Induces Cell Death in Monocytes and Maturation of Monocyte-Derived Dendritic Cells
(2011)
Background:
Compounds mimicking the inhibitory effect of SMAC / DIABLO on X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis (XIAP) have been developed with the aim to achieve sensitization for apoptosis of tumor cells resistant due to deregulated XIAP expression. It turned out that SMAC mimetics also have complex effects on the NF kappa B system and TNF signaling. In view of the overwhelming importance of the NF kappa B transcription factors in the immune system, we analyzed here the effects of the SMAC mimetic BV6 on immune cells.
Principal Findings:
BV6 induced apoptotic and necrotic cell death in monocytes while T-cells, dendritic cells and macrophages were largely protected against BV6-induced cell death. In immature dendritic cells BV6 treatment resulted in moderate activation of the classical NF kappa B pathway, but it also diminished the stronger NF kappa B-inducing effect of TNF and CD40L. Despite its inhibitory effect on TNF- and CD40L signaling, BV6 was able to trigger maturation of immature DCs as indicated by upregulation of CD83, CD86 and IL12.
Significance:
The demonstrated effects of SMAC mimetics on immune cells may complicate the development of tumor therapeutic concepts based on these compounds but also arise the possibility to exploit them for the development of immune stimulatory therapies.
Single-cell time-lapse analysis of depletion of the universally conserved essential protein YgjD
(2011)
Background:
The essential Escherichia coli gene ygjD belongs to a universally conserved group of genes whose function has been the focus of a number of recent studies. Here, we put ygjD under control of an inducible promoter, and used time-lapse microscopy and single cell analysis to investigate the phenotypic consequences of the depletion of YgjD protein from growing cells.
Results:
We show that loss of YgjD leads to a marked decrease in cell size and termination of cell division. The transition towards smaller size occurs in a controlled manner: cell elongation and cell division remain coupled, but cell size at division decreases. We also find evidence that depletion of YgjD leads to the synthesis of the intracellular signaling molecule (p) ppGpp, inducing a cellular reaction resembling the stringent response. Concomitant deletion of the relA and spoT genes - leading to a strain that is uncapable of synthesizing (p) ppGpp abrogates the decrease in cell size, but does not prevent termination of cell division upon YgjD depletion.
Conclusions:
Depletion of YgjD protein from growing cells leads to a decrease in cell size that is contingent on (p) ppGpp, and to a termination of cell division. The combination of single-cell time-lapse microscopy and statistical analysis can give detailed insights into the phenotypic consequences of the loss of essential genes, and can thus serve as a new tool to study the function of essential genes.
Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is an established optical neuroimaging method for measuring functional hemodynamic responses to infer neural activation. However, the impact of individual anatomy on the sensitivity of fNIRS measuring hemodynamics within cortical gray matter is still unknown. By means of Monte Carlo simulations and structural MRI of 23 healthy subjects (mean age: (25.0 +/- 2.8) years), we characterized the individual distribution of tissue-specific NIR-light absorption underneath 24 prefrontal fNIRS channels. We, thereby, investigated the impact of scalp-cortex distance (SCD), frontal sinus volume as well as sulcal morphology on gray matter volumes (V(gray)) traversed by NIR-light, i.e. anatomy-dependent fNIRS sensitivity. The NIR-light absorption between optodes was distributed describing a rotational ellipsoid with a mean penetration depth of (23.6 +/- 0.7) mm considering the deepest 5% of light. Of the detected photon packages scalp and bone absorbed (96.4 +/- 9: 7)% and V(gray) absorbed (3.1 +/- 1.8)% of the energy. The mean V(gray) volume (1.1 +/- 0.4)cm(3) was negatively correlated (r = - .76) with the SCD and frontal sinus volume (r = - .57) and was reduced by 41.5% in subjects with relatively large compared to small frontal sinus. Head circumference was significantly positively correlated with the mean SCD (r = .46) and the traversed frontal sinus volume (r = .43). Sulcal morphology had no significant impact on V(gray). Our findings suggest to consider individual SCD and frontal sinus volume as anatomical factors impacting fNIRS sensitivity. Head circumference may represent a practical measure to partly control for these sources of error variance.
Background:
We have shown that insertion of the three vaccinia virus (VACV) promoter-driven foreign gene expression cassettes encoding Renilla luciferase-Aequorea GFP fusion protein, beta-galactosidase, and beta-glucuronidase into the F14.5L, J2R, and A56R loci of the VACV LIVP genome, respectively, results in a highly attenuated mutant strain GLV 1h68. This strain shows tumor specific replication and is capable of eradicating tumors with little or no virulence in mice. This study aimed to distinguish the contribution of added VACV promoter-driven transcriptional units as inserts from the effects of insertional inactivation of three viral genes, and to determine the correlation between replication efficiency of oncolytic vaccinia virus in cell cultures and the virulence and antitumor efficacy in mice
Methods:
A series of recombinant VACV strains was generated by replacing one, two, or all three of the expression cassettes in GLV 1h68 with short non coding DNA sequences. The replication efficiency and tumor cell killing capacity of these newly generated VACV strains were compared with those of the parent virus GLV-1h68 in cell cultures. The virus replication efficiency in tumors and antitumor efficacy as well as the virulence were evaluated in nu/nu (nude) mice bearing human breast tumor xenografts.
Results:
we found that virus replication efficiency increased with removal of each of the expression cassettes. The increase in virus replication efficiency was proportionate to the strength of removed VACV promoters linked to foreign genes. The replication efficiency of the new VACV strains paralleled their cytotoxicity in cell cultures. The increased replication efficiency in tumor xenografts resulted in enhanced antitumor efficacy in nude mice. Similarly, the enhanced virus replication efficiency was indicative of increased virulence in nude mice.
Conclusions:
These data demonstrated that insertion of VACV promoter-driven transcriptional units into the viral genome for the purpose of insertional mutagenesis did modulate the efficiency of virus replication together with antitumor efficacy as well as virulence. Replication efficiency of oncolytic VACV in cell cultures can predict the virulence and therapeutic efficacy in nude mice. These findings may be essential for rational design of safe and potent VACV strains for vaccination and virotherapy of cancer in humans and animals.
Background:
The etiology of secondary cancer in childhood cancer survivors is largely unclear. Exposure of normal somatic cells to radiation and/or chemotherapy can damage DNA and if not all DNA lesions are properly fixed, the mis-repair may lead to pathological consequences. It is plausible to assume that genetic differences, i.e. in the pathways responsible for cell cycle control and DNA repair, play a critical role in the development of secondary cancer.
Methodology/Findings:
To identify factors that may influence the susceptibility for second cancer formation, we recruited 20 individuals who survived a childhood malignancy and then developed a second cancer as well as 20 carefully matched control individuals with childhood malignancy but without a second cancer. By antibody microarrays, we screened primary fibroblasts of matched patients for differences in the amount of representative DNA repair-associated proteins. We found constitutively decreased levels of RAD9A and several other DNA repair proteins in two-cancer patients, compared to one-cancer patients. The RAD9A protein level increased in response to DNA damage, however to a lesser extent in the two-cancer patients. Quantification of mRNA expression by real-time RT PCR revealed lower RAD9A mRNA levels in both untreated and 1 Gy gamma-irradiated cells of two-cancer patients.
Conclusions/Significance:
Collectively, our results support the idea that modulation of RAD9A and other cell cycle arrest and DNA repair proteins contribute to the risk of developing a second malignancy in childhood cancer patients.
Immunoassays are routinely used as research tools to measure intracellular cAMP and cGMP concentrations. Ideally, this application requires antibodies with high sensitivity and specificity. The present work evaluates the cross-reactivity of commercially available cyclic nucleotide analogs with two non-radioactive and one radioactive cAMP and cGMP immunoassay. Most of the tested cyclic nucleotide analogs showed low degree competition with the antibodies; however, with Rp-cAMPS, 8-Br-cGMP and 8-pCPT-cGMP, a strong cross-reactivity with the corresponding cAMP and cGMP, respectively, immunoassays was observed. The determined EIA-binding constants enabled the measurement of the intracellular cyclic nucleotide concentrations and revealed a time- and lipophilicity-dependent cell membrane permeability of the compounds in the range of 10–30% of the extracellular applied concentration, thus allowing a more accurate prediction of the intracellular analog levels in a given experiment.
Immunotherapeutic strategies may be a treatment option in patients with refractory acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) or, in cases of complete remission after conventional therapy regimens, may help to reduce disease recurrence or delay time to progression. Evidence suggests a key role of dendritic cells (DCs) in cancer immunotherapy due to their capacity to present tumour antigens to effector cells. We generated cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cells from healthy donors and examined their responses in vitro in an LDH release assay against three cell lines and allogeneic HLA non-matched blasts from three patients with de novo AML after coincubation with autologous peripheral blood monocyte-derived DCs. Although DCs were unable to enhance CIK cell effects against all three cell lines tested, the cytotoxic activity against the patients’ AML cells increased after coculture with mature DCs, which was significant in two of three patients. However, neither prior pulsing of the DCs with blast cell lysates nor with leukemic cell-derived total RNA further enhanced the lytic capacity of the CIK cells. On the contrary, pulsing reduced or even reversed the cytotoxic activity of the effector cells. This decrease of allogeneic cytotoxicity led us to conclude that monocyte-derived DCs may be useful in autologous or allogeneic vaccine strategies for the treatment of AML or in priming donor lymphocytes in vitro, but unfractionated antigens as pulsing agents may have inhibitory effects on T cell efficiency and their employment in immunotherapeutic strategies for AML seems questionable.
Pro- and antisaccades in children elicited by visual and acoustic targets - does modality matter?
(2011)
Background:
Children are able to inhibit a prepotent reaction to suddenly arising visual stimuli, although this skill is not yet as pronounced as it is in adulthood. However, up to now the inhibition mechanism to acoustic stimuli has been scarcely investigated
Methods:
Reflexive (prosaccade) and inhibitory (antisaccade) responses to visual and acoustic targets were examined with an eye tracker system in 31 children between seven and twelve years of age using a gap-overlap task and two target eccentricities.
Results:
Acoustically cued saccades had longer reaction times than visually cued saccades. A gap effect (i.e., shorter reaction time in the gap than the overlap condition) was only found for visually elicited saccades, whereas an eccentricity effect (i.e., faster saccades to more laterally presented targets - 12 degrees vs. 6 degrees or rather 90 degrees vs. 45 degrees) was only present in the acoustic condition. Longer reaction times of antisaccades compared to prosaccades were found only in the visual task. Across both tasks the typical pattern of elevated error rates in the antisaccade condition was found. Antisaccade errors declined with age, indicating an ongoing development of inhibitory functions.
Conclusions:
The present results lay the ground for further studies of acoustically triggered saccades in typically as well as atypically developing children and it might thus be possible to upgrade physiological diagnostic tools.
Alveolar echinococcosis (AE) of human being caused by Echinococcus multilocularis is a rare but important zoonosis especially in tempered zones of middle Europe and Northern America with endemic character in many countries. Due to the long incubation period, various clinical manifestations, critical prognosis, and outcome AE presents a serious and severe disease. The primary focus of infection is usually the liver. Although secondary affection of visceral organs is possible extrahepatic AE is highly uncommon. Moreover, the involvement of bone and muscle presents with an even lower incidence. In the literature numerous cases on hepatic AE have been reported. However, extrahepatic AE involving bones and/or muscles was described very rarely. We report a case of an 80-year-old man with primary extrahepatic alveolar Echinococcosis of the lumbar spine and the psoas muscle. The etiology, diagnosis, differential diagnoses, treatment options and outcome of this rare disease are discussed in context with the current literature.
Introduction
Cochlear implants known to provide support in individuals with bilateral hearing loss may also be of great benefit for individuals with unilateral hearing loss. This case report demonstrates the positive effects of cochlear implantation on speech understanding in noise conditions in patients with unilateral hearing loss and normal hearing on the contralateral side. To the best of our knowledge, the data presented here are from the first few cases to receive a cochlear implant for unilateral hearing loss.
Case presentation
Four Caucasian German men, two aged 48 and the others aged 51 and 57 years old, with post-lingual unilateral hearing loss and normal hearing on the contralateral side were implanted with a cochlear implant. All our patients were members of the German army. Before and after implantation, they were given a battery of speech tests in different hearing conditions to assess the effect of unilateral cochlear implantation on speech understanding in noise conditions. Test results showed that all patients benefited from unilateral cochlear implantation, particularly in terms of speech understanding in noise conditions.
Conclusions
Unilateral cochlear implantation might be a successful treatment method for patients with unilateral hearing loss not benefiting from alternative treatment options. The results of this case report open up the field of cochlear implantation for expanded criteria and new areas of research.
The limbic system and especially the amygdala have been identified as key structures in emotion induction and regulation. Recently research has additionally focused on the influence of prefrontal areas on emotion processing in the limbic system and the amygdala. Results from fMRI studies indicate that the prefrontal cortex (PFC) is involved not only in emotion induction but also in emotion regulation. However, studies using fNIRS only report prefrontal brain activation during emotion induction. So far it lacks the attempt to compare emotion induction and emotion regulation with regard to prefrontal activation measured with fNIRS, to exclude the possibility that the reported prefrontal brain activation in fNIRS studies are mainly caused by automatic emotion regulation processes. Therefore this work tried to distinguish emotion induction from regulation via fNIRS of the prefrontal cortex. 20 healthy women viewed neutral pictures as a baseline condition, fearful pictures as induction condition and reappraised fearful pictures as regulation condition in randomized order. As predicted, the view-fearful condition led to higher arousal ratings than the view-neutral condition with the reappraise-fearful condition in between. For the fNIRS results the induction condition showed an activation of the bilateral PFC compared to the baseline condition (viewing neutral). The regulation condition showed an activation only of the left PFC compared to the baseline condition, although the direct comparison between induction and regulation condition revealed no significant difference in brain activation. Therefore our study underscores the results of previous fNIRS studies showing prefrontal brain activation during emotion induction and rejects the hypothesis that this prefrontal brain activation might only be a result of automatic emotion regulation processes.
Aim
To investigate whether diagnostic data from implanted cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators (CRT-Ds) retrieved automatically at 24 h intervals via a Home Monitoring function can enable dynamic prediction of cardiovascular hospitalization and death.
Methods and results
Three hundred and seventy-seven heart failure patients received CRT-Ds with Home Monitoring option. Data on all deaths and hospitalizations due to cardiovascular reasons and Home Monitoring data were collected prospectively during 1-year follow-up to develop a predictive algorithm with a predefined specificity of 99.5%. Seven parameters were included in the algorithm: mean heart rate over 24 h, heart rate at rest, patient activity, frequency of ventricular extrasystoles, atrial–atrial intervals (heart rate variability), right ventricular pacing impedance, and painless shock impedance. The algorithm was developed using a 25-day monitoring window ending 3 days before hospitalization or death. While the retrospective sensitivities of the individual parameters ranged from 23.6 to 50.0%, the combination of all parameters was 65.4% sensitive in detecting cardiovascular hospitalizations and deaths with 99.5% specificity (corresponding to 1.83 false-positive detections per patient-year of follow-up). The estimated relative risk of an event was 7.15-fold higher after a positive predictor finding than after a negative predictor finding.
Conclusion
We developed an automated algorithm for dynamic prediction of cardiovascular events in patients treated with CRT-D devices capable of daily transmission of their diagnostic data via Home Monitoring. This tool may increase patients’ quality of life and reduce morbidity, mortality, and health economic burden, it now warrants prospective studies.
Background:
We determined antibodies to the pandemic influenza A (H1N1) 2009 virus in children to assess: the incidence of (H1N1) 2009 infections in the 2009/2010 season in Germany, the proportion of subclinical infections and to compare titers in vaccinated and infected children.
Methodology/Principal Findings:
Eight pediatric hospitals distributed over Germany prospectively provided sera from in-or outpatients aged 1 to 17 years from April 1(st) to July 31(st) 2010. Vaccination history, recall of infections and sociodemographic factors were ascertained. Antibody titers were measured with a sensitive and specific in-house hemagglutination inhibition test (HIT) and compared to age-matched sera collected during 6 months before the onset of the pandemic in Germany. We analyzed 1420 post-pandemic and 300 pre-pandemic sera. Among unvaccinated children aged 1-4 and 5-17 years the prevalence of HI titers (>= 1:10) was 27.1% (95% CI: 23.5-31.3) and 53.5% (95% CI: 50.9-56.2) compared to 1.7% and 5.5%, respectively, for pre-pandemic sera, accounting for a serologically determined incidence of influenza A (H1N1) 2009 during the season 2009/2010 of 25,4% (95% CI : 19.3-30.5) in children aged 1-4 years and 48.0% (95% CI: 42.6-52.0) in 5-17 year old children. Of children with HI titers >= 1: 10, 25.5% (95% CI: 22.5-28.8) reported no history of any infectious disease since June 2009. Among vaccinated children, 92% (95%-CI: 87.0-96.6) of the 5-17 year old but only 47.8% (95%-CI: 33.5-66.5) of the 1-4 year old children exhibited HI titers against influenza A virus (H1N1) 2009.
Conclusion:
Serologically determined incidence of influenza A (H1N1) 2009 infections in children indicates high infection rates with older children (5-17 years) infected twice as often as younger children. In about a quarter of the children with HI titers after the season 2009/2010 subclinical infections must be assumed. Low HI titers in young children after vaccination with the AS03(B)-adjuvanted split virion vaccine need further scrutiny.