Emissionsbericht Abwasser - Sechste Bestandsaufnahme der Abwasseremissionen im Freistaat Sachsen 2013/2014

Der Bericht bewertet mit Datenstand 2013/2014 die Belastungen der oberirdischen Gewässer durch kommunale und industrielle Abwassereinleitungen. Pflanzenschutzmittel-Wirkstoffe ohne Biozidanwendung sind in Kläranlagenabläufen messbar. Mit Ausnahme von Azoxystrobin und Glyphosat liegen in der Regel aber keine relevanten Konzentrationen vor. In Mischwasserentlastungen kommen Mikroschadstoffe in ähnlichen Konzentrationen wie in Kläranlagenabläufen vor. Nur in Einzelproben werden deutlich höhere Konzentrationen gefunden. Der Bericht richtet sich an Wasserbehörden, Aufgabenträger der kommunalen Abwasserbeseitigung und Forschungspartner, die sich mit Mikroschadstoffen im Abwasser beschäftigen

Animated documentation of the filaria dance sign (FDS) in bancroftian filariasis

BACKGROUND: Ultrasonography is able to detect adult Wuchereria bancrofti worms in scrotal lymphatic vessels of infected men on account of the characteristic pattern of adult worm movements, known as the filarial dance sign. Furthermore, the technique is able to delineate associated pathology, such as hydrocoele and lymphoedema, which can be diagnosed in early stages. Ultrasonography is also useful in the assessment of macrofilaricidal effects of antifilarial medication. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of scrotal ultrasonography, in combination with a new method of digital documentation, in men infected with Wuchereria bancrofti. METHODS: Ultrasonography of the scrotal areas was carried out in 33 male patients from an endemic area in Ghana using a hand-carried ultrasound system and a linear array transducer at 7.5 MHz. Wuchereria bancrofti infection was also assessed by quantification of night blood microfilaraemia and semi-quantitative detection of circulating filarial antigen. Ultrasound findings were documented by print outs and by Digital Video sequences directly exported from the ultrasound machine which were edited in Final Cut Pro 3(® )and exported, using QuickTime(® )Pro, as MPEG-1 video. RESULTS: Worm nests, i.e. dilated lymphatic vessels with the characteristic movement patterns of worms, were found in all patients, and typical examples of larger as well as smaller nests are presented through MPEG-1 video in b- and m-modes as well as Colour Doppler and Pulse Wave Doppler images. CONCLUSION: In this study, the filarial dance sign is being made available on the Internet to readers through MPEG-1 video. This method allows for demonstration of movement patterns rather than static images. In addition, the pathologic ultrasonographic signs of filariasis can be rapidly relayed over great distances and may be helpful to other investigators or clinicians in the diagnosis of patients infected with Wuchereria bancrofti

Simultaneous Mass Spectrometry-Based Apolipoprotein Profiling and Apolipoprotein E Phenotyping in Patients with ASCVD and Mild Cognitive Impairment

Apolipoprotein E (apoE) occurs on the majority of plasma lipoproteins and plays a major role in the lipid metabolism in the periphery and in the central nervous system. ApoE is a polymorphic protein with three common isoforms, apoE2, apoE3 and apoE4, derived from respective alleles '2, '3 and '4. The aim of this study was to develop a sample pretreatment protocol combined with rapid mass spectrometry (MS)-based assay for simultaneous apolipoprotein profiling and apoE phenotype identification. This assay was validated in 481 samples from patients with stable atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) and applied to study association with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in the LIFE Adult study, including overall 690 study subjects. Simultaneous quantification of 8–12 major apolipoproteins including apoA-I, apoB-100 and apoE could be performed within 6.5 min. Phenotyping determined with the developed MS assay had good agreement with the genotyping by real-time fluorescence PCR (97.5%). ApoE2 isoform was associated with the highest total apoE concentration compared to apoE3 and apoE4 (p < 0.001). In the subgroup of diabetic atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) patients, apoE2 isoform was related to higher apoC-I levels (apoE2 vs. apoE3, p < 0.05), while in the subgroup of ASCVD patients under statin therapy apoE2 was related to lower apoB-100 levels (apoE2 vs. apoE3/apoE4, p < 0.05). A significant difference in apoE concentration observed between mild cognitive impairment (MCI) subjects and controls was confirmed for each apoE phenotype. In conclusion, this study provides evidence for the successful implementation of an MS-based apoE phenotyping assay, which can be used to assess phenotype effects on plasma lipid and apolipoprotein levels

THz streak camera performance for single-shot characterization of XUV pulses with complex temporal structures

The THz-field-driven streak camera has proven to be a powerful diagnostic-technique that enables the shot-to-shot characterization of the duration and the arrival time jitter of free electron laser (FEL) pulses. Here we investigate the performance of three computational approaches capable to determine the duration of FEL pulses with complex temporal structures from single-shot measurements of up to three simultaneously recorded spectra. We use numerically simulated FEL pulses in order to validate the accuracy of the pulse length retrieval in average as well as in a single-shot mode. We discuss requirements for the THz field strength in order to achieve reliable results and compare our numerical study with the analysis of experimental data that were obtained at the FEL in Hamburg - FLASH. © 2020 Optical Society of America under the terms of the OSA Open Access Publishing Agreemen

Two distinct patterns of interference in between-attribute Stroop matching tasks

In between-attribute Stroop matching tasks, participants compare the meaning (or the color) of a Stroop stimulus with a probe color (or meaning) while attempting to ignore the Stroop stimulus's task-irrelevant attribute. Interference in this task has been explained by two competing theories: A semantic competition account and a response competition account. Recent results favor the response competition account, which assumes that interference is caused by a task-irrelevant comparison. However, the comparison of studies is complicated by the lack of a consensus on how trial types should be classified and analyzed. In this work, we review existing findings and theories and provide a new classification of trial types. We report two experiments that demonstrate the superiority of the response competition account in explaining the basic pattern of performance while also revealing its limitations. Two qualitatively distinct interference patterns are identified, resulting from different types of task-irrelevant comparisons. By finding the same interference pattern across task versions, we were additionally able to demonstrate the comparability of processes across two task versions frequently used in neurophysiological and cognitive studies. An integrated account of both types of interference is presented and discussed

Changing Food Purchasing and Consumption Habits among Urban Middle-Classes in Hyderabad

This preparatory case study provides an overview on the issue of changing food purchasing and food consumption habits among urban middle-classes in the South Indian emerging mega-city of Hyderabad. It analyses how food purchasing and dietary habits in this specific urban stratum are subject to profound changes due to increasing spending capacity and changing lifestyles in the context of economic liberalisation and globalisation processes. Another objective of the study examines health aspects of the changing food consumption habits. While nutrition research previously focused on the serious problem of undernutrition- related nutrient deficits, recent data shows that overweight and nutrition-related chronic diseases are more and more becoming serious problems particularly among India`s emerging urban middle-classes. Questionnaires and several interviews were carried out to collect empirical data on these issues. Embedded in a broad literature review, results, consequences, and challenges of changing food purchasing and consumption habits are discussed. The findings point to the necessity for further action-research