The Adsorption of Atomic Nitrogen on Ru(0001): Geometry and Energetics

The local adsorption geometries of the (2x2)-N and the (sqrt(3)x sqrt(3))R30^o -N phases on the Ru(0001) surface are determined by analyzing low-energy electron diffraction (LEED) intensity data. For both phases, nitrogen occupies the threefold hcp site. The nitrogen sinks deeply into the top Ru layer resulting in a N-Ru interlayer distance of 1.05 AA and 1.10 AA in the (2x2) and the (sqrt(3)x sqrt(3))R30^o unit cell, respectively. This result is attributed to a strong N binding to the Ru surface (Ru--N bond length = 1.93 AA) in both phases as also evidenced by ab-initio calculations which revealed binding energies of 5.82 eV and 5.59 eV, respectively.Comment: 17 pages, 5 figures. Submitted to Chem. Phys. Lett. (October 10, 1996

Emission of exoelectrons during oxidation of Cs via thermal activation of a metastable O^-₂ surface species

Exposure of Cs surfaces to O2 causes the emission of exoelectrons. With a Cs monolayer on Ru(0001) the maximum yield is observed with an already partly oxidized surface on which a metastable O-2 species could be identified. Thermally activated transformation (with an activation energy of 0.8 eV) of this phase leads to dissociation accompanied by exoelectron emission via Auger deexcitation

Effect of aging on esophageal motility in patients with and without GERD

Background/Aims: The impact of aging on esophageal motility is not completely understood. This study aims at assessing 1) whether degeneration of esophageal body motility occurs with age and 2) whether this development is influenced by gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)

Effect of aging on esophageal motility in patients with and without GERD

Background/Aims: The impact of aging on esophageal motility is not completely understood. This study aims at assessing 1) whether degeneration of esophageal body motility occurs with age and 2) whether this development is influenced by gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)

The influence of the rearing period on intramammary infections in Swiss dairy heifers: A cross-sectional study

Healthy replacement heifers are one of the foundations of a healthy dairy herd. Farm management andrearing systems in Switzerland provide a wide variety of factors that could potentially be associated withintramammary infections (IMI) in early lactating dairy heifers. In this study, IMI with minor mastitispathogens such as coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS), contagious pathogens, and environmentalmajor pathogens were identified. Fifty-four dairy farms were enrolled in the study. A questionnaire wasused to collect herd level data on housing, management and welfare of young stock during farm isitsand interviews with the farmers. Cow-level data such as breed, age at first calving, udder condition andswelling, and calving ease were also recorded. Data was also collected about young stock that spent aperiod of at least 3 months on an external rearing farm or on a seasonal alpine farm. At the quarterlevel, teat conditions such as teat lesions, teat dysfunction, presence of a papilloma and teat lengthwere recorded. Within 24 h after parturition, samples of colostral milk from 1564 quarters (391 heifers)were collected aseptically for bacterial culture. Positive bacteriological culture results were found in 49%of quarter samples. Potential risk factors for IMI were identified at the quarter, animal and herd levelusing multivariable and multilevel logistic regression analysis. At the herd level tie-stalls, and at cow-level the breed category “Brown cattle” were risk factors for IMI caused by contagious major pathogenssuch as Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). At the quarter-level, teat swelling and teat lesions were highlyassociated with IMI caused by environmental major pathogens. At the herd level heifer rearing at externalfarms was associated with less IMI caused by major environmental pathogens. Keeping pregnant heifersin a separate group was negatively associated with IMI caused by CNS. The odds of IMI with coagulase-negative staphylococci increased if weaning age was less than 4 months and if concentrates were fed tocalves younger than 2 weeks. This study identified herd, cow- and quarter-level risk factors that may beimportant for IMI prevention in the future

A high capacity polymeric micelle of paclitaxel: Implication of high dose drug therapy to safety and in vivo anti-cancer activity

The poor solubility of paclitaxel (PTX), the commercially most successful anticancer drug, has long been hampering the development of suitable formulations. Here, we present translational evaluation of a nanoformulation of PTX, which is characterized by a facile preparation, extraordinary high drug loading of 50 % wt. and PTX solubility of up to 45 g/L, excellent shelf stability and controllable, sub-100 nm size. We observe favorable in vitro and in vivo safety profiles and a higher maximum tolerated dose compared to clinically approved formulations. Pharmacokinetic analysis reveals that the higher dose administered leads to a higher exposure of the tumor to PTX. As a result, we observed improved therapeutic outcome in orthotopic tumor models including particularly faithful and aggressive “T11” mouse claudin-low breast cancer orthotopic, syngeneic transplants. The promising preclinical data on the presented PTX nanoformulation showcase the need to investigate new excipients and is a robust basis to translate into clinical trials

Oxygen adsorption on the Ru (10 bar 1 0) surface: Anomalous coverage dependence

Oxygen adsorption onto Ru (10 bar 1 0) results in the formation of two ordered overlayers, i.e. a c(2 times 4)-2O and a (2 times 1)pg-2O phase, which were analyzed by low-energy electron diffraction (LEED) and density functional theory (DFT) calculation. In addition, the vibrational properties of these overlayers were studied by high-resolution electron loss spectroscopy. In both phases, oxygen occupies the threefold coordinated hcp site along the densely packed rows on an otherwise unreconstructed surface, i.e. the O atoms are attached to two atoms in the first Ru layer Ru(1) and to one Ru atom in the second layer Ru(2), forming zigzag chains along the troughs. While in the low-coverage c(2 times 4)-O phase, the bond lengths of O to Ru(1) and Ru(2) are 2.08 A and 2.03 A, respectively, corresponding bond lengths in the high-coverage (2 times 1)-2O phase are 2.01 A and 2.04 A (LEED). Although the adsorption energy decreases by 220 meV with O coverage (DFT calculations), we observe experimentally a shortening of the Ru(1)-O bond length with O coverage. This effect could not be reconciled with the present DFT-GGA calculations. The nu(Ru-O) stretch mode is found at 67 meV [c(2 times 4)-2O] and 64 meV [(2 times 1)pg-2O].Comment: 10 pages, figures are available as hardcopies on request by mailing [email protected], submitted to Phys. Rev. B (8. Aug. 97), other related publications can be found at http://www.rz-berlin.mpg.de/th/paper.htm

Detection of a novel human coronavirus by real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction

We present two real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction assays for a novel human coronavirus (CoV), targeting regions upstream of the E gene (upE) or within open reading frame (ORF)1b, respectively. Sensitivity for upE is 3.4 copies per reaction (95% confidence interval (CI): 2.5-6.9 copies) or 291 copies/mL of sample. No cross-reactivity was observed with coronaviruses OC43, NL63, 229E, SARS-CoV, nor with 92 clinical specimens containing common human respiratory viruses. We recommend using upE for screening and ORF1b for confirmation

Combined kyphoplasty and intraoperative radiotherapy (Kypho-IORT) versus external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) for painful vertebral metastases - a randomized phase III study

Background: The spine is the most frequent location of bone metastases. Local treatment aims at palliation of pain and, given the increased likelihood of long-term cancer survival, at local control. Kyphoplasty and intraoperative radiotherapy (Kypho-IORT) provided instantaneous pain relief in 70% of patients at the first day after the intervention and resulted in local control rates of > 93% at 1 year in a recently conducted phase I/II trial. To assess its clinical value, we designed a phase III trial which tests Kypho-IORT against the most widespread standard-of-care, external beam radiotherapy (EBRT), in patients with painful vertebral metastases. Methods: This phase III study includes patients ≥50 years of age with up to 4 vertebral metastases and a pain score of at least 3/10 points on the visual/numeric analogy scale (VAS). Patients randomized into the experimental arm (A) will undergo Kypho-IORT (Kyphoplasty plus IORT with 8 Gy prescribed to 13 mm depth). Patients randomized into the control arm (B) will receive EBRT with either 30 Gy in 10 fractions or 8 Gy as a single dose. The primary end point is pain reduction defined as at least − 3 points on the VAS compared to baseline at day 1. Assuming that 40% of patients in the Kypho-IORT arm and 5% of patients in the control arm will achieve this reduction and 20% will drop out, a total of 54 patients will have to be included to reach a power of 0.817 with a two-sided alpha of 0.05. Secondary endpoints are evaluation of the percentage of patients with a pain reduction of at least 3 points at 2 and 6 weeks, local tumor control, frequency of re-intervention, secondary fractures/sintering, complication rates, skin toxicity/wound healing, progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS) and quality of life. Discussion: This trial will generate level 1 evidence on the clinical value of a one-stop procedure which may provide instantaneous pain relief, long-term control and shortened intervals to further adjuvant (systemic) therapies in patients with spinal metastases. Trial registration Registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number: NCT02773966. Registration date: 05/16/2016

Cytoarchitectonic mapping of the human frontal operculum—New correlates for a variety of brain functions

The human frontal operculum (FOp) is a brain region that covers parts of the ventral frontal cortex next to the insula. Functional imaging studies showed activations in this region in tasks related to language, somatosensory, and cognitive functions. While the precise cytoarchitectonic areas that correlate to these processes have not yet been revealed, earlier receptorarchitectonic analysis resulted in a detailed parcellation of the FOp. We complemented this analysis by a cytoarchitectonic study of a sample of ten postmortem brains and mapped the posterior FOp in serial, cell-body stained histological sections using image analysis and multivariate statistics. Three new areas were identified: Op5 represents the most posterior area, followed by Op6 and the most anterior region Op7. Areas Op5-Op7 approach the insula, up to the circular sulcus. Area 44 of Broca’s region, the most ventral part of premotor area 6, and parts of the parietal operculum are dorso-laterally adjacent to Op5-Op7. The areas did not show any interhemispheric or sex differences. Three-dimensional probability maps and a maximum probability map were generated in stereotaxic space, and then used, in a first proof-of-concept-study, for functional decoding and analysis of structural and functional connectivity. Functional decoding revealed different profiles of cytoarchitectonically identified Op5-Op7. While left Op6 was active in music cognition, right Op5 was involved in chewing/swallowing and sexual processing. Both areas showed activation during the exercise of isometric force in muscles. An involvement in the coordination of flexion/extension could be shown for the right Op6. Meta-analytic connectivity modeling revealed various functional connections of the FOp areas within motor and somatosensory networks, with the most evident connection with the music/language network for Op6 left. The new cytoarchitectonic maps are part of Julich-Brain, and publicly available to serve as a basis for future analyses of structural-functional relationships in this region