Avidity of influenza-specific memory CD8+ T-cell populations decays over time compromising antiviral immunity

Decline of cell-mediated immunity is often attributed to decaying T-cell numbers and their distribution in peripheral organs. This study examined the hypothesis that qualitative as well as quantitative changes contribute to the declining efficacy of CD8+ T-cell memory. Using a model of influenza virus infection, where loss of protective CD8+ T-cell immunity was observed 6 months postinfection, we found no decline in antigen-specific T-cell numbers or migration to the site of secondary infection. There was, however, a large reduction in antigen-specific CD8+ T-cell degranulation, cytokine secretion, and polyfunctionality. A profound loss of high-avidity T cells over time indicated that failure to confer protective immunity resulted from the inferior functional capacity of remaining low avidity cells. These data imply that high-avidity central memory T cells wane with declining antigen levels, leaving lower avidity T cells with reduced functional capabilities

Repeated observations of cetaceans and carcharhiniformes associations in the Red Sea

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Accommodating heterogeneous missing data patterns for prostate cancer risk prediction

Objective: We compared six commonly used logistic regression methods for accommodating missing risk factor data from multiple heterogeneous cohorts, in which some cohorts do not collect some risk factors at all, and developed an online risk prediction tool that accommodates missing risk factors from the end-user. Study Design and Setting: Ten North American and European cohorts from the Prostate Biopsy Collaborative Group (PBCG) were used for fitting a risk prediction tool for clinically significant prostate cancer, defined as Gleason grade group greater or equal 2 on standard TRUS prostate biopsy. One large European PBCG cohort was withheld for external validation, where calibration-in-the-large (CIL), calibration curves, and area-underneath-the-receiver-operating characteristic curve (AUC) were evaluated. Ten-fold leave-one-cohort-internal validation further validated the optimal missing data approach. Results: Among 12,703 biopsies from 10 training cohorts, 3,597 (28%) had clinically significant prostate cancer, compared to 1,757 of 5,540 (32%) in the external validation cohort. In external validation, the available cases method that pooled individual patient data containing all risk factors input by an end-user had best CIL, under-predicting risks as percentages by 2.9% on average, and obtained an AUC of 75.7%. Imputation had the worst CIL (-13.3%). The available cases method was further validated as optimal in internal cross-validation and thus used for development of an online risk tool. For end-users of the risk tool, two risk factors were mandatory: serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and age, and ten were optional: digital rectal exam, prostate volume, prior negative biopsy, 5-alpha-reductase-inhibitor use, prior PSA screen, African ancestry, Hispanic ethnicity, first-degree prostate-, breast-, and second-degree prostate-cancer family history

Entstehung unerwünschter Röntgenstrahlung bei der Ultrakurzpuls-Laserbearbeitung

Die unerwünschte Emission von Röntgenstrahlung zählt nach Technischer Regel Optischer Strahlung zu den Gefährdungen durch indirekte Auswirkungen von Laserstrahlung und führt bei bestimmten Bestrahlungsbedingungen dazu, dass UKP-Laseranlagen als Anlage zur Erzeugung ionisierender Strahlung unter das Strahlenschutzgesetz (StrlSchG) fallen. Aus Grundlagenuntersuchungen ist bekannt, dass in Laserprozessen mit hochintensiven Laserpulsen gefährliche Röntgenstrahlung mit Photonenenergien > 5 keV freigesetzt werden kann. In dieser Arbeit wird gezeigt, dass eine Vielzahl von Bestrahlungskenngrößen sowie die Prozessführung sowohl die spektrale Verteilung als auch die Höhe der Röntgenemissionen beeinflussen. So entstehen bei hochrepetierenden Laserprozessen durch die Wechselwirkung zwischen einfallendem Laserstrahl und Laserplasma so hohe Dosisleistungen, die eine gesundheitliche Gefahr darstellen. Damit ist insbesondere beim Einsatz leistungsstarker Laserstrahlquellen in der industriellen Produktion oder im offenen Anlagenbetrieb zu Forschungszwecken der Schutz vor ungesunden Röntgenstrahlen von hoher Bedeutung

Carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations and air-sea fluxes in a Red Sea seagrass meadow, coastal lagoon mudflat and reef lagoon

The data are the carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations and partial pressures measured in a Red Sea coastal lagoon seagrass bed and adjacent mudflat, and in a coral reef lagoon. Gases were measured with underwater and autonomous sensors with a frequency of 1 measurement per minute for durations of 8 to 20 days between December 2021 and December 2022. The associated data on salinity, temperature, pressure and O2 concentration interpolated to 1 min interval can be found in doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.948547. The air-sea fluxes of CO2 (FCO2) are given in mmol m-2 min-1, and calculated using the equation k600(CO2)= -0.08+ 0.26v + 0.83u 0.59h from Rosentreter et al., 2017

Methane (CH4) concentrations and air-sea fluxes in a Red Sea seagrass meadow, coastal lagoon mudflat and reef lagoon

The data are the methane (CH4) concentrations and partial pressures measured in a Red Sea coastal lagoon seagrass bed and adjacent mudflat, and in a coral reef lagoon. Gases were measured with underwater and autonomous sensors with a frequency of 1 measurement per minute for durations of 8 to 20 days between December 2021 and December 2022. The data also show the salinity, temperature, pressure and O2 concentration interpolated to 1 min interval. The air-sea fluxes of CH4 (FCH4) are given in nmol m-2 min-1, and calculated using the equation k600(CH4 )= -1.07 0.36v + 0.99u +0.87h from Rosentreter et al., 2017