A contribution towards the phenology of Larinioides sclopetarius (Clerck, 1757) (Araneae: Araneidae)

Wir untersuchten eine Kolonie der Brückenspinne Larinioides sclopetarius (Clerck, 1757) an einem Strassendamm im Innenhafen von Duisburg. Die Studie fand zwischen März und Oktober 2004 statt. Die mittlere Populationsdichte über alle Größenklassen betrug 26,2 Ind./qm, das absolute Maximum wurde im Juli festgestellt (71,3 Ind./qm). Die kleinsten Juvenilstadien fanden wir hauptsächlich von Juni bis Oktober, mit einer maximalen mittleren Dichte von 30,9 Ind./qm im Juli, so dass man auf den Sommer als Schlupftermin schließen kann. Große Männchen und Weibchen gab es bereits vereinzelt im Frühjahr, allerdings wurden die höchsten Abundanzen (mit mehr als 3 Ind./qm je Geschlecht) im Sommer und Herbst erreicht. Das durchschnittliche Geschlechtsverhältnis der adulten Spinnen lag über die gesamte Untersuchungszeit gesehen bei 1:1,2 (männl.:weibl.). Es werden einige Vergleiche mit anderen Araneiden, darunter solitäre und soziale Arten, gezogen.We investigated a colony of Larinioides sclopetarius, the bridge spider, situated at a bridge-like dam in the city of Duisburg, Germany. The study ran from March until October 2004. The mean population density (all size classes) was 26.2 ind./m². The absolute maximum was found in July (71.3 ind./m²). Most of the spiderlings were found from June to October with mean densities up to 30.9 ind./m² in July, indicating that breeding of L. sclopetarius started in summer. Adult males and females occurred in spring, although the highest abundances (up to more than 3 individuals of each sex per m²) were found in summer and autumn. The adult sex ratio averaged over the study period was 1:1.2 (male:female). Some comparisons with other araneids, both solitary and social species, are drawn and discussed

Ursachen, Behandlungsstrategien und Outcome von Genitalkarzinomrezidiven am Beispiel der Patientinnen der Klinik für Frauenheilkunde des Universitätsklinikums Saarland

ZUSAMMENFASSUNG Von allen beim weiblichen Geschlecht vorkommenden Karzinomentitäten sind 20-25% primär im Genitalbereich lokalisiert. Das Genitalkarzinom mit der aktuell höchsten Inzidenz ist das Endometriumkarzinom, gefolgt von Ovarial-, Zervix- und Vulvakarzinom. Generell betrachtet zählen die Genitalkarzinome zu den Malignomen mit besonders hohem Rezidivrisiko. Überdimensional häufig treten bereits in den ersten 2-3 Jahren nach Erstdiagnose trotz optimaler Therapie Rezidive auf. In absoluten Zahlen gesehen hat sich die Gesamtüberlebenszeit von Patientinnen mit Genitalkarzinomrezidiven im letzten Jahrzehnt zwar gesteigert, jedoch konnte durch kein Therapieregime ein deutlicher Wandel mit Zugewinn an progressionsfreiem Tumorintervall erzielt werden. Ziel war die Zusammenstellung retrospektiver Daten aus der Klinik für Frauenheilkunde, Geburtshilfe und Reproduktionsmedizin des Universitätsklinikum des Saarlandes bei Patientinnen mit Genitalkarzinomen in Zusammenhang mit Ursachen, Therapieoptionen, progressionsfreiem Intervall (PFS) und Overall survival (OS) vom Datum der Erstdiagnose bis zum Exitus letalis. Zeitraum hierzu waren die Jahre 2006 bis 2014. Das mediane follow-up (FU) betrug 84 Monate (min. 3, max. 216 Monate). Desweiteren galt es auf dem Boden der verschiedenen Primärsituationen der Patientinnen und den durchgeführten Primärtherapien zu eruieren, ob und gegebenenfalls welche Therapieoptionen im Rezidivfall einen Einfluss auf ein erneutes rezidivfreies Intervall sowie die Gesamtüberlebenszeit erzielt hatte. Hierzu erfolgte die Analyse von N=65 weiblichen Patientinnen mit Genitalkarzinomrezidiven aus der Klinik für Frauenheilkunde, Geburtshilfe und Reproduktionsmedizin am Universitätsklinikum des Saarlandes. Jeweils 72 Variablen wurden im Einzelfall untersucht. Neben grundlegenden Daten wie Geburtsdatum, Größe und Gewicht, Datum der Erstdiagnose, initialem Tumorstadium, begleitenden Grunderkrankungen und Therapie der Primärsituation wurde vor allem Augenmerk auf die Rezidivsituation gelegt. Hierbei wurden unter anderem neben Tumorlokalisation, Form der Operation mit detaillierter Auflistung des entfernten Gewebes, Lymphknotenstatus, peritonealer Aussaat, auch anschließende adjuvante Therapieformen und die tumorfreie Überlebenszeit betrachtet. Abschließend wurde der Einfluss der genannten Variablen auf das Overall survival (OS) untersucht. Zum Endpunkt der Nachbeobachtung im Mai 2020 waren 37 der 65 Patientinnen (56%) verstorben, 24 Patientinnen (37%) lebten. In 4 Fällen konnte die Überlebenszeit der Patientinnen auch durch Abfrage im Krebsregister Saarland nicht nachvollzogen werden. Das OS des Patientenkollektivs (N= 65) ergab eine sich deutlich von den restlichen Karzinomentitäten abhebende Kurve für das Endometriumkarzinom. Dieses konnte eine mediane Gesamtüberlebenszeit von 215 Monaten aufweisen. Hingegen lag das mediane Überleben der Ovarial- und Zervixkarzinome mit jeweils 92,5 und 95 Monaten eng beieinander. Es ließ sich schlussfolgern, dass Patientinnen mit einem Endometriumkarzinom eine mindestens doppelt so lange Überlebenswahrscheinlichkeit im Vergleich zu den anderen Genitalkarzinomentitäten haben. Über alle Karzinomentitäten hinweg konnte gezeigt werden, dass Patientinnen mit einem rezidivfreien Intervall von > 60 Monaten eine deutlich höhere kumulierte Überlebenswahrscheinlichkeit gegenüber Patientinnen hatten, welche innerhalb der ersten 5 Jahre nach Erstdiagnose ein Rezidiv erlitten (p=0.08). Außerdem konnte ein reduziertes kumuliertes Überleben für Patientinnen mit mehr als einem Rezidiv gegenüber Patientinnen mit <=1 Rezidiv ausgearbeitet werden, was jedoch keine statistische Signifikanz zeigte (p=0.32). Das untersuchte Patientenkollektiv in der Sparte der Zervixkarzinome (N=17) wies einen -im Vergleich zur aktuellen Datenlage- niedrigeren Altersdurchschnitt (Median 48,5 Jahre) auf. Die Patientinnen erhielten trotz primärer operativer Versorgung in 100% (17/17) im Anschluss in 47% (8/17) eine adjuvante Radiochemotherapie und bestätigten damit die derzeit aktuellen Leitlinien. Nach median 48,7 Monaten kam es zum Eintreten eines Rezidivfalles. Die Radiochemotherapie in der Primärsituation erbrachte in den vorliegenden Fällen gegenüber den Patientinnen ohne adjuvante Therapie keine Verlängerung des progressionsfreien Überlebens (PFS). Belegt werden konnte die Aussage, dass Rezidive vorwiegend innerhalb der ersten 3 Jahre nach Erstdiagnose auftreten. Bei den untersuchten Patientinnen ergab sich in 65% (11/17) innerhalb von 36 Monaten sowie in 35% (6/17) erst später ein Rezidiv. Die als negativer Prädikator bekannte Histologie des Adenokarzinoms konnte in der vorliegenden Arbeit eindeutig bestätigt werden. Die Fälle mit Adenokarzinom wiesen ein deutlich reduziertes tumorfreies Intervall von median 17,3 Monaten auf. Vergleichsweise hierzu konnten die Plattenepithelkarzinome bei zusätzlich höherer Spannbreite ein medianes PFS von 53,2 Monaten erzielen. Das OS für das Kollektiv der Zervixkarzinome lag bei median 95,0 Monaten. Mit 75% nach 3 Jahren und 56% nach 5 Jahren konnten gute Überlebensraten erzielt werden. Die Gruppe der Ovarialkarzinom-Patientinnen (N = 22) wies einen Altersdurchschnitt von median 61,3 Jahren auf und fügte sich damit in den Altersgipfel von 50-70 Jahren. Die vermutlich hohe Mortalität der Karzinomentität aufgrund der zumeist erst späten Diagnosestellung konnte in den vorliegenden Fällen bestätigt werden. Nur eine Patientin wurde im FIGO Stadium Ic diagnostiziert, alle weiteren befanden sich mindestens in FIGO-Stadium III. Bei über der Hälfte der Patientinnen (59%, 13/22) wurde im Primärfall eine systemische Lymphadenektomie (LNE) mit Entfernung der pelvinen und paraaortalen Lymphknoten beidseits durchgeführt. Nur 4 Patientinnen (18%) erfuhren keine LNE, was eine deutliche Reduktion des PFS auf 10,3 Monate zur Folge hatte. Dies widerspricht der 2017 veröffentlichten LION-Studie, in welcher bei einem Kollektiv von 650 Patientinnen bahnbrechend belegt werden konnte, dass Patientinnen mit LNE keinen Vorteil hinsichtlich PFS oder OS gegenüber Patientinnen ohne LNE erlangen konnten. Somit soll die systemische LNE zukünftig vermieden werden, was die vorliegende Arbeit nicht bestätigen kann. Leitliniengerecht erfolgte in allen Fällen (100%, 22/22) eine adjuvante platinhaltige Chemotherapie. Patientinnen, die zusätzlich Gemcitabine oder Treosulfan erhalten hatten, zeigten kein verlängertes progressionsfreies Überleben. Nach median 22,5 Monaten kam es zum Eintreten eines Rezidivs. Der generelle Stellenwert der Rezidivchirurgie beim Ovarialkarzinom bleibt weiter zu erforschen. Diesbezüglich steht literaturtechnisch als harter Endpunkt auch noch das Gesamtüberleben der Patientinnen im Kollektiv der DESKTOP-III-Studie aus. Im vorliegenden Patientenkollektiv wurden bis auf zwei Patientinnen alle im Rezidivfall operativ versorgt. Das overall survival (OS) für das Kollektiv der Ovarialkarzinome lag bei median 92,5 Monaten. Die 3-Jahres-Überlebensrate von 57% sowie das 5-Jahres-Überleben von 52% hob sich vom in der Literatur beschriebenen Outcome ab. (5-J-ÜL von 40-45% in den Stadien FIGO III-IV). Das Patientenkollektiv des Endometriumkarzinoms (N=22) wies ein medianes Lebensalter bei Erstdiagnose von 67,8 Jahren auf und lag dabei etwas unterhalb des literarisch postulierten Altersdurchschnittes von 75-80 Jahren. In 86% der Fälle (19/22) hielt man sich im Primärfall an die Empfehlung der operativen Versorgung mit Hysterektomie und Adnexektomie beidseits. Bei zwei Patientinnen (9%) wurde nur eine einseitige Adnexektomie durchgeführt. Eine Patientin war ausschließlich hysterektomiert worden, was eine Reduktion des PFS auf 12 Monate (anstatt median 21,8 Monaten) zur Folge hatte. Die Empfehlung zur Durchführung einer systemischen Lymphadenektomie ab FIGO Stadium IB wurde in 55% der Fälle (12/22) befolgt, bei 3 Patientinnen (13,6%) sah man von einer LNE ab. Diese wiesen ein reduziertes PFS von 15 Monaten auf, sodass bei dieser Karzinomentität die Wichtigkeit der begleitendenden LNE aufgezeigt werden konnte. Über 86% der Patientinnen erlitten ein Rezidiv innerhalb von 36 Monaten. Dabei fielen bei 9 Patientinnen (41%) isolierte Rezidive am Scheidenstumpf auf. Fernmetastasen imponierten wenn erst im Re-Rezidivfall. Das OS lag im Median bei 215,0 Monaten. Es konnten 3-Jahres-Überlebensraten von 67% sowie 5-Jahres-Überlebensraten von 62% erzielt werden. Generell ließ sich erkennen, dass die adjuvante Therapie des Endometriumkarzinomrezidivs breit gefächert ist. Von unterschiedlichen Chemotherapiekombinationen über eine Radiatio bis hin zur Option der Aromataseinhibitoren wie Letrozol ergaben sich die unterschiedlichsten Therapiekonzepte. Zusammenfassend konnte kein klarer Überlebensvorteil für eine der Therapieoptionen ausgearbeitet werden. Dies spricht für die Wichtigkeit dieses weiter zu optimierenden Bereiches, um unter konkret definierten Therapiekonzepten für die Zukunft wegweisende Behandlungsstandards ausarbeiten zu können.SUMMARY Of all carcinomas occurring in the female gender, 20-25% are primarily located in the genital area. The genital carcinoma with the currently highest incidence is the endometrial carcinoma, followed by ovarian, cervical and vulvar carcinoma. Generally speaking, genital carcinomas are malignancies with a particularly high risk of recurrence. Inordinately often, relapses occur in the first 2-3 years after initial diagnosis despite optimal therapy utilization. Seen in absolute numbers, the overall survival of patients with genital carcinoma recurrences has in fact increased over the past decade, but no therapy regime has brought about a significant change with an increase in the progression-free tumor interval. The aim of this work was the composition of retrospective data from the Clinic for Gynecology, Obstetrics and Reproductive Medicine at the University Hospital of Saarland (Homburg) of patients with genital carcinoma cohesive causes, treatment strategies, progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). The considered period therefore has been from 2006 until 2014. The maximum follow-up-time was 216 months (18 years). Furthermore, based on the different primary situations of the patients and the primary therapies carried out, it was necessary to determine whether, and if so, which treatment options could not only prolong the progression-free interval but also increase the overall survival time. For this purpose, N=65 female patients with genital carcinoma relapses from the Clinic for Gynecology, Obstetrics and Reproductive Medicine at the Saarland University Hospital were recorded. 72 variables were examined in each individual case. In addition to basic data such as date of birth, height and weight, date of initial diagnosis, initial tumor stage, accompanying underlying diseases and therapy of the primary situation, particular attention was paid to the relapse situation. In addition to tumor localization, form of the operation with a detailed listing of the removed tissue, lymph node status, peritoneal seeding, subsequent adjuvant forms of therapy and tumor-free survival were also considered. Finally, the influence of these variables on overall survival (OS) was investigated. At the end point of the follow-up in May 2020, 37 of the 65 patients (56%) had died and 24 patients (37%) were alive. In 4 cases, the survival time of the patients could not be verified even by querying the Saarland Cancer Registry. The OS of the patient population (N= 65) showed a curve for endometrial carcinoma that clearly stood out from the other carcinomata. This group showed a median overall survival of 215 months. In contrast, the median survival of ovarian and cervical carcinomas was close together at 92.5 and 95 months respectively. It could be concluded that patients with endometrial carcinoma had at least twice as long a chance of survival compared to the other genital carcinoma entities. Across all carcinoma entities it was shown that patients with a recurrence-free interval of > 60 months had a statistically significantly higher cumulative survival probability compared to patients who relapsed within the first 5 years after initial diagnosis (p=0.08). In addition, a reduced cumulative survival for patients with more than one relapse compared to patients with <=1 relapse could be elaborated, but this did not show statistical significance (p=0.32). The patient population examined in the cervical carcinoma division (N = 17) had a - compared to the current literature - lower average age (median 48.5 years). Despite primary surgical care, in 100% (17/17), the patients received adjuvant chemoradiation therapy and in 47% (8/17), thereby confirming the current guidelines. A relapse occurred after a median of 48.7 months. In the present cases, radio chemotherapy in the primary situation did not extend the progression-free interval (median 34.6 months) compared to patients without adjuvant therapy. It was possible to substantiate the statement that relapses predominantly occur within the first 3 years after the first diagnosis. In the patients examined, 65% (11/17) experienced a relapse within 36 months and 35% (6/17) even later. The histology of adenocarcinoma, known as a negative predictor, could clearly be confirmed in the present work. The cases with adenocarcinoma had a significantly reduced PFS of an average of 17.3 months. In comparison, squamous cell carcinomas achieved a median progression-free survival (PFS) of 53.2 months with an additionally wider range. The overall survival (OS) for the collective of cervical cancers was median 95.0 months. With 75% after 3 years and 56% after 5 years good survival rates were achieved. The group of ovarian cancer patients (N=22) had an average age of 61.3 years and thus complied with the age peak of 50-70 years. The presumably high mortality rate of the carcinoma due to the mostly late diagnosis was confirmed in the present cases. Only one patient was diagnosed in FIGO stage Ic, all others were at least in FIGO stage III. In more than half of the patients (59%, 13/22) a systemic lymphadenectomy (LNE) with removal of the pelvic and para-aortic lymph nodes on both sides was performed in the primary case. Only 4 patients (18%) did not undergo LNE, which resulted in a significant reduction in PFS to 10.3 months. This contradicts the LION study published in 2017, in which a collective of 650 patients was able to prove that patients with LNE had no advantage in terms of PFS or OS compared to patients without LNE. Systemic LNE should thus be avoided in the future, which the present work cannot confirm. In all cases (100%, 22/22) adjuvant platinum-containing chemotherapy was performed in accordance with the guidelines. Patients who had also received gemcitabine or treosulfan were unable to show a prolonged progression-free interval. After an average of 22.5 months, there was a relapse. The general importance of relapse surgery in ovarian cancer remains to be explored. In this regard, the overall survival of the patients in the collective of the DESKTOP III study is still lacking as a hard endpoint. In the patient population at hand, all but two patients were treated surgically. The overall survival after this was 92.5 months. The 3-year survival rate of 57% and the 5-year survival rate of 52% stood out slightly from the outcome described in the literature. (5-year survival rate of 40-45% in the FIGO III-IV stadiums). The endometrial cancer patient population (N=22) had a median age at first diagnosis of 67.8 years and was slightly below the average age of 75-80 years described in the literature. In 86% of the cases (19/22) in the primary case, the recommendation for surgical treatment with hysterectomy and adnexectomy was followed on both sides. Only in two patients (9%), one unilateral adnexectomy was performed. One patient had only been hysterectomized, which resulted in a reduction in PFS to 12 months (instead of median 21.8 months). The recommendation to perform a systemic lymphadenectomy from FIGO stage IB was followed in 55% of the cases (12/22), in 3 patients (13.6%) no LNE was performed. These had a reduced PFS of 15 months, so that the importance of the accompanying LNE could be shown with this carcinoma. Over 86% of the patients relapsed within 36 months. In 9 patients (41%) isolated relapses on the vaginal stump were noticed. Distant metastases only occured when there was a re-relapse. The overall survival (OS) for the collective of endometrial cancers was median 215.0 months. 3-year survival rates of 67% and 5-year survival rates of 62% were achieved. In general, it could be seen that adjuvant therapy for endometrial cancer recurrence is broad. From different chemotherapy combinations to radiation to the option of aromatase inhibitors such as letrozole, the most varied of therapy concepts emerged. A clear survival advantage could not be worked out for any therapy option. This speaks for the importance of this area, which needs to be further optimized, in order to be able to develop pioneering treatment standards for the future under specifically defined therapy concepts

Synthesis and biological evaluation of a novel MUC1 glycopeptide conjugate vaccine candidate comprising a 4'-deoxy-4'-fluoro-Thomsen-Friedenreich epitope

The development of selective anticancer vaccines that provide enhanced protection against tumor recurrence and metastasis has been the subject of intense research in the scientific community. The tumor-associated glycoprotein MUC1 represents a well-established target for cancer immunotherapy and has been used for the construction of various synthetic vaccine candidates. However, many of these vaccine prototypes suffer from an inherent low immunogenicity and are susceptible to rapid in vivo degradation. To overcome these drawbacks, novel fluorinated MUC1 glycopeptide-BSA/TTox conjugate vaccines have been prepared. Immunization of mice with the 4' F-TF-MUC1-TTox conjugate resulted in strong immune responses overriding the natural tolerance against MUC1 and producing selective IgG antibodies that are cross-reactive with native MUC1 epitopes on MCF-7 human cancer cells

iPatrimônio: Georeferencing the Brazilian Cultural Heritage

According to Federal Constitution, Public Power must join forces with community for the promotion and protection of the national cultural heritage. Therefore, channels of information and communication between these agents should be constructed. This paper aims to discuss about the importance of centralizing information on the assets listed by the various preservation bodies and about the role of georeferencing in this context. Through an extensive collection of lists and information on official websites, an online platform called iPatrimônio was organized to assist in the dissemination of Brazilian cultural heritage. During the collection of information, it was verified that, when it comes to the dissemination of information by the various preservation bodies: 1. several sectors do not have their own sites; 2. Sectors that own websites do not always provide the list of assets or information about listed assets; and 3. the communication channels of these sectors do not work. Furthermore, iPatrimônio platform is compared to INDE and SICG.De acordo com a Constituição Federal, cabe unir esforços entre Poder Público e comunidade para a promoção e a proteção do patrimônio cultural nacional. Para tanto, é necessário que existam canais de informação e comunicação entre os agentes mencionados. O presente artigo busca mostrar a importância da centralização da informação sobre os bens tombados e registrados pelos vários órgãos de preservação e o papel do georreferenciamento nesse contexto. Por meio de ampla coleta de listas e informações em websites oficiais, foi organizada uma plataforma online chamada iPatrimônio para auxiliar na divulgação do patrimônio cultural brasileiro. Durante a coleta de informações, constatou-se que, quando se trata da divulgação de informação pelos diversos órgãos de preservação: 1. vários órgãos não possuem sites próprios; 2. órgãos que possuem sites próprios nem sempre disponibilizam a lista de bens tombados ou informação sobre eles; e 3. os canais de comunicação com os órgãos não funcionam. Além disso, a plataforma iPatrimônio será analisada em comparação com o INDE e o SICG

Diffuse swelling of the buccal mucosa and palate as first and only manifestation of an extranodal non-Hodgkin ‘double-hit' lymphoma: report of a case

Background: Most of the lymphomas arising in the oral cavity are of B-cell origin. Among these, diffuse large B-cell lymphomas are the most common. Diffuse large B-cell lymphomas may exhibit more than one chromosomal rearrangement and are then referred to as ‘double-hit' or ‘triple-hit' lymphomas. Case report: We present a case of an intraoral ‘double-hit' lymphoma in a 76-year-old male who had been referred by an oral surgeon in private practice. Intraoral examination exhibited a firm, exophytic lesion in the region of the right hard palate and buccal mucosa with extension to the soft palate. Radiographic examination exhibited a massive thickening of the right sinus membrane, and arrosion of the lateral and basal cortical sinus walls in the right maxilla. After diagnosis of the lesion, the patient was treated with six cycles of chemotherapy. Discussion: Lymphomas arising within the oral cavity account for less than 5% of all oral malignancies and typically affect the palatine tonsils and the palate. ‘Double-hit' lymphomas are associated with older age, usually present with an advanced stage of disease, and show an aggressive clinical behaviour. They normally have a poor prognosis, even when treated with intensive chemotherapy regimens. Nevertheless, in the case presented, the patient was free of symptoms 1year after initial diagnosi

The bactericidal effect of two photoactivated chromophore for keratitis-corneal crosslinking protocols (standard vs. accelerated) on bacterial isolates associated with infectious keratitis in companion animals

Background: Bacterial corneal infections are common and potentially blinding diseases in all species. As antibiotic resistance is a growing concern, alternative treatment methods are an important focus of research. Photoactivated chromophore for keratitis-corneal crosslinking (PACK-CXL) is a promising oxygen radical-mediated alternative to antibiotic treatment. The main goal of this study was to assess the anti-bactericidal efficacy on clinical bacterial isolates of the current standard and an accelerated PACK-CXL treatment protocol delivering the same energy dose (5.4 J/cm$^{2}$). Methods: Clinical bacterial isolates from 11 dogs, five horses, one cat and one guinea pig were cultured, brought into suspension with 0.1% riboflavin and subsequently irradiated. Irradiation was performed with a 365 nm UVA light source for 30 min at 3mW/cm$^{2}$ (standard protocol) or for 5 min at 18mW/cm$^{2}$ (accelerated protocol), respectively. After treatment, the samples were cultured and colony forming units (CFU’s) were counted and the weighted average mean of CFU’s per μl was calculated. Results were statistically compared between treated and control samples using a linear mixed effects model. Results: Both PACK-CXL protocols demonstrated a significant bactericidal effect on all tested isolates when compared to untreated controls. No efficacy difference between the two PACK-CXL protocols was observed. Conclusion: The accelerated PACK-CXL protocol can be recommended for empirical use in the treatment of bacterial corneal infections in veterinary patients while awaiting culture results. This will facilitate immediate treatment, the delivery of higher fluence PACK-CXL treatment within a reasonable time, and minimize the required anesthetic time or even obviate the need for general anesthesia

Differential expression of exosomal microRNAs in prefrontal cortices of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder patients

Exosomes are cellular secretory vesicles containing microRNAs (miRNAs). Once secreted, exosomes are able to attach to recipient cells and release miRNAs potentially modulating the function of the recipient cell. We hypothesized that exosomal miRNA expression in brains of patients diagnosed with schizophrenia (SZ) and bipolar disorder (BD) might differ from controls, reflecting either disease-specific or common aberrations in SZ and BD patients. The sources of the analyzed samples included McLean 66 Cohort Collection (Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Center), BrainNet Europe II (BNE, a consortium of 18 brain banks across Europe) and Boston Medical Center (BMC). Exosomal miRNAs from frozen postmortem prefrontal cortices with well-preserved RNA were isolated and submitted to profiling by Luminex FLEXMAP 3D microfluidic device. Multiple statistical analyses of microarray data suggested that certain exosomal miRNAs were differentially expressed in SZ and BD subjects in comparison to controls. RT-PCR validation confirmed that two miRNAs, miR-497 in SZ samples and miR-29c in BD samples, have significantly increased expression when compared to control samples. These results warrant future studies to evaluate the potential of exosome-derived miRNAs to serve as biomarkers of SZ and BD

Behind the fog : Forest degradation despite logging bans in an East African cloud forest

Habitat destruction and deterioration are amongst the main drivers of biodiversity loss. Increasing demand for agricultural products, timber and charcoal has caused the rapid destruction of natural forests, especially in the tropics. The Taita Hills in southern Kenya are part of the Eastern Afromontane Biodiversity Hotspot and represent a highly diverse cloud forest ecosystem. However, the cloud forest suffers extremely from wood and timber exploitation and transformation into exotic tree plantations and agricultural fields. Existing conservation regulations and moratoriums aim to prevent further forest destruction. In this study, we analyzed land cover change and shifts in landscape configuration for a fraction of the Taita Hills, based on satellite imageries for the years 2003, 2011 and 2018. We found that the coverage of natural cloud forest further decreased between 2003 and 2018, despite the effort to conserve the remaining cloud forest patches and to reforest degraded areas by various conservation and management initiatives. In parallel, the proportion of exotic tree plantations and bushland strongly increased. Moreover, mean natural forest patch size decreased and the degree of interspersion with other land cover types increased notably. Logging bans for indigenous trees seem to have resulted in local opposition to the planting of indigenous trees and thereby hindered the recovering of the cloud forest. We suggest to enhance local awareness on the ecological value of the natural forest by community-based Conservation Forest Associations and to encourage the planting of indigenous tree species in farmer-owned woodlots. Besides, bottom-up management systems that allow for local participation in decision-making and benefit-sharing related to forest resources would be a way forward to achieve the sustainable use and conservation of the last remaining natural forest patches in the Taita Hills. (C) 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.Peer reviewe

FLIM data analysis based on Laguerre polynomial decomposition and machine-learning

Significance: The potential of fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) is recently being recognized, especially in biological studies. However, FLIM does not directly measure the lifetimes, rather it records the fluorescence decay traces. The lifetimes and/or abundances have to be estimated from these traces during the phase of data processing. To precisely estimate these parameters is challenging and requires a well-designed computer program. Conventionally employed methods, which are based on curve fitting, are computationally expensive and limited in performance especially for highly noisy FLIM data. The graphical analysis, while free of fit, requires calibration samples for a quantitative analysis. Aim: We propose to extract the lifetimes and abundances directly from the decay traces through machine learning (ML). Approach: The ML-based approach was verified with simulated testing data in which the lifetimes and abundances were known exactly. Thereafter, we compared its performance with the commercial software SPCImage based on datasets measured from biological samples on a time-correlated single photon counting system. We reconstructed the decay traces using the lifetime and abundance values estimated by ML and SPCImage methods and utilized the root-mean-squared-error (RMSE) as marker. Results: The RMSE, which represents the difference between the reconstructed and measured decay traces, was observed to be lower for ML than for SPCImage. In addition, we could demonstrate with a three-component analysis the high potential and flexibility of the ML method to deal with more than two lifetime components