Ensuring health and food safety from rapidly expanding wastewater irrigation in South Asia: BMZ final report 2005-2008

Wastewater irrigation / Institutions / Public health / Health hazards / Diseases / Cropping systems / Vegetables / Fodder / Livestock / Risk assessment / Economic evaluation / Surveys / GIS / Research priorities / South Asia / India / Pakistan / Hyderabad / Faisalabad / Musi River

Zerebrale Protektionssysteme bei der Stentimplantation der Arteria carotis

Das Ziel der Studie war die Evaluation der Ergebnisse der Stentimplantation in die Arteria carotis interna (ACI) unter zerebraler Protektion. In die Studie konnten 110 Patienten eingeschlossen werden. Der durchschnittliche Stenosegrad betrug 79,1% (65-97%). Die Erfolgsrate der Stentimplantation betrug 98,2%. Bei 66 Patienten konnte die Stenose vollständig beseitigt werden. In 76 Fällen wurde das Okklusionssystem, in 32 Fällen das Filtrationssystem verwendet. Es ereigneten sich 12 transitorische ischämische Attacken (TIA)(11,1%), 3 minor Strokes (2,8%) und 1 major Stroke (0,9%). Todesfälle ereigneten sich nicht. Die kombinierte Morbiditäts- und Mortalitätsrate nach 30 Tagen betrug 4,6%. Im DW-MRT waren bei 23 Patienten (24,5%) nach der Behandlung ipsilaterale Läsionen nachweisbar. Die durchschnittliche Läsionsrate pro Patient betrug 4,3 (1-14). Durch zerebrale Protektion bei der endovaskulären Behandlung von Karotisstenosen könnte eine Verringerung der Komplikationsrate erreicht werden

PSMA-PET/CT in Patients with Recurrent Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma: Histopathological Correlations of Imaging Findings

PET/CT with prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-targeted tracers has been used in the diagnosis and staging of patients with clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). For ccRCC primary tumors, PET parameters were shown to predict histologic grade and features. The aim of this study was to correlate PSMA PET/CT with histopathological findings in patients with metastatic recurrence of ccRCC. Patients with ccRCC who underwent PSMA-targeted PET/CT and subsequent histopathological evaluation of suspicious lesions were included. Specimens underwent immunohistochemical marking. Lesion diameter, volume and tracer uptake were correlated with the extent and intensity of molecular PSMA expression and with clinical findings. Twelve PET-positive lesions of nine patients were evaluated. Eleven ccRCC metastases and one prostate carcinoma were detected histopathologically. Molecular PSMA expression was detected in all lesions, which intensity and distribution did not correlate with PET parameters. PSMA-targeted PET/CT is a feasible tool for the evaluation of patients with ccRCC but cannot reliably predict histologic features of metastases. PSMA may also be expressed in malignant lesions other than ccRCC, leading to incidental detection of these tumors

PET/CT of the Spleen with Gallium-Oxine-Labeled, Heat-Damaged Red Blood Cells: Clinical Experience and Technical Aspects

Several scintigraphic techniques have been supplemented or replaced by PET/CT methods because of their superior sensitivity, high resolution, and absolute activity quantification capability. The purpose of this project was the development of a PET tracer for splenic imaging, its radiopharmaceutical validation, and its application in selected patients in whom unclear constellations of findings could not be resolved with established imaging methods. Heat-damaged red blood cells (RBCs) were labeled with [ 68 Ga]gallium-oxine, which was produced from [ 68 Ga]gallium and 8-Hydroxyquinoline (oxine) on an automated synthesizer. Ten patients underwent [ 68 Ga]gallium-oxine-RBC-PET/CT for the classification of eleven unclear lesions (3 intra-, 8 extrapancreatic). [ 68 Ga]gallium-oxine and [68Ga]gallium-oxine-labeled RBCs could be synthesized reproducibly and reliably. The products met GMP quality standards. The tracer showed high accumulation in splenic tissue. Of the 11 lesions evaluated by PET/CT, 3 were correctly classified as non-splenic, 6 as splenic, 1 as equivocal, and 1 lesion as a splenic hypoplasia. All lesions classified as non-splenic were malignant, and all lesions classified as splenic did not show malignant features during follow-up. PET/CT imaging of the spleen with [ 68 Ga]gallium-oxine-labeled, heat-damaged RBCs is feasible and allowed differentiation of splenic from non-splenic tissues, and the diagnosis of splenic anomalies

Synthesis of Artificial Coating Images and Parameter Data Sets in Electrode Manufacturing

Driven by continuous cost pressure and increasing market requirements, the optimisation of the lithium-ion battery production is focus of attention. In order to save time and costs, machine learning (ML) represent a promising tool. ML methods are able to analyse highly complex correlations and abstract data sets. But a considerable amount of training data is needed. Since data is not always available to the required extent, approaches for synthesising artificial data were investigated. In this study, the quality and corresponding measurement parameters in electrode production were assessed and selected. Based on this selection, coating trials have been conducted and the corresponding data set collected. The data set forms the basis for synthesis of artificial coating images and parameters. The selection and design of the synthesis models was divided into two sub-steps. First, the synthesis of artificial coating images was investigated. This was followed by the consideration of a procedure for the synthesis of structured data sets. A promising method for data synthesis of (coating) images are Generative Adversarial Networks (GAN). The basic idea of GANs is to oppose two models: a discriminator and a generator. The generator generates artificial data samples that match the input of the training dataset. Afterwards those data samples (both input and artificial data) are introduced to the discriminator. The discriminator's function is to identify whether the data presented originates from the training dataset or whether it is a counterfeit (artificial data) of the generator. The requirements for the synthesis of tabular data sets correspond in principle to those for a multivariate regression analysis. The combination of the models resulted in a method that allows the prediction of the corresponding measured quality values for arbitrarily selected process parameters, as well as the visualisation of the associated coating result in the form of an artificial image

Malignant placental site trophoblastic tumor associated with placental abruption, fetal distress, and elevated CA-125

The second pregnancy of 27-year-old woman, gravida 2, para 2 was complicated by a low [alpha]-fetoprotein and symptoms of chronic placental abruption. She delivered by cesarean section at 35 weeks for fetal distress at which time a biopsy of the uterus revealed a placental site trophoblastic tumor (PSTT). She rapidly developed intraabdominal spread of the neoplasm which did not respond to chemotherapy and she died 10 weeks later. Her CA-125 was elevated to 5360 u/ml and this decreased after hysterectomy. This patient is reported to highlight a very malignant course of PSTT that was associated with a live-born male infant.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/29752/1/0000090.pd

Allochthonous resources are less important for faunal communities on highly productive, small tropical islands

Abstract Ecosystems are interconnected by energy fluxes that provide resources for the inhabiting organisms along the transition zone. Especially where in situ resources are scarce, ecosystems can become highly dependent on external resources. The dependency on external input becomes less pronounced in systems with elevated in situ production, where only consumer species close to the site of external input remain subsidized, whereas species distant to the input site rely on the in situ production of the ecosystem. It is largely unclear though if this pattern is consistent over different consumer species and trophic levels in one ecosystem, and whether consumer species that occur both proximate to and at a distance from the input site differ in their dependency on external resource inputs between sites. Using stable isotope analysis, we investigated the dependency on external marine input for common ground‐associated consumer taxa on small tropical islands with high in situ production. We show that marine input is only relevant for strict beach‐dwelling taxa, while the terrestrial vegetation is the main carbon source for inland‐dwelling taxa. Consumer species that occurred both close (beach) and distant (inland) to the site of marine input showed similar proportions of marine input in their diets. This supports earlier findings that the relevance of external resources becomes limited to species close to the input site in systems with sufficient in situ production. However, it also indicates that the relevance of external input is also species‐dependent, as consumers occurring close and distant to the input site depended equally strong or weak on marine input

Early Detection of Ovarian Cancer using the Risk of Ovarian Cancer Algorithm with Frequent CA125 Testing in Women at Increased Familial Risk – Combined Results from Two Screening Trials

Purpose: Women at familial/genetic ovarian cancer risk often undergo screening despite unproven efficacy. Research suggests each woman has her own CA125 baseline; significant increases above this level may identify cancers earlier than standard 6- to 12-monthly CA125 > 35 U/mL. Experimental Design: Data from prospective Cancer Genetics Network and Gynecologic Oncology Group trials, which screened 3,692 women (13,080 woman-screening years) with a strong breast/ovarian cancer family history or BRCA1/2 mutations, were combined to assess a novel screening strategy. Specifically, serum CA125 q3 months, evaluated using a risk of ovarian cancer algorithm (ROCA), detected significant increases above each subject's baseline, which triggered transvaginal ultrasound. Specificity and positive predictive value (PPV) were compared with levels derived from general population screening (specificity 90%, PPV 10%), and stage-at-detection was compared with historical high-risk controls. Results: Specificity for ultrasound referral was 92% versus 90% ( P = 0.0001), and PPV was 4.6% versus 10% ( P > 0.10). Eighteen of 19 malignant ovarian neoplasms [prevalent = 4, incident = 6, risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy (RRSO) = 9] were detected via screening or RRSO. Among incident cases (which best reflect long-term screening performance), three of six invasive cancers were early-stage (I/II; 50% vs. 10% historical BRCA1 controls; P = 0.016). Six of nine RRSO-related cases were stage I. ROCA flagged three of six (50%) incident cases before CA125 exceeded 35 U/mL. Eight of nine patients with stages 0/I/II ovarian cancer were alive at last follow-up (median 6 years). Conclusions: For screened women at familial/genetic ovarian cancer risk, ROCA q3 months had better early-stage sensitivity at high specificity, and low yet possibly acceptable PPV compared with CA125 > 35 U/mL q6/q12 months, warranting further larger cohort evaluation. Clin Cancer Res; 23(14); 3628-37. ©2017 AACR

Mapping Cumulative Environmental Risks: Examples from The EU NoMiracle Project

We present examples of cumulative chemical risk mapping methods developed within the NoMiracle project. The different examples illustrate the application of the concentration addition (CA) approach to pesticides at different scale, the integration in space of cumulative risks to individual organisms under the CA assumption, and two techniques to (1) integrate risks using data-driven, parametric statistical methods, and (2) cluster together areas with similar occurrence of different risk factors, respectively. The examples are used to discuss some general issues, particularly on the conventional nature of cumulative risk maps, and may provide some suggestions for the practice of cumulative risk mapping