Prävention in der Schwangerschaft: klinische Studie aus der Universitätsfrauenklinik Rostock 2017

Primär wurde der Kenntnisstand von Wöchnerinnen der UFK Südstadt Rostock zu den Themen Ernährung, Genussmittel, körperliche Aktivität, Supplementierung und Informationsquellen während der Schwangerschaft durch ein schriftliches Interview ermittelt. Sekundär wurde geprüft, ob das Informationsangebot für Schwangere ausreichend ist, und ob die Bereitschaft zur individuellen Prävention in Beziehung zum Alter, prägraviden BMI und Schulabschluss stehen. Im Gegensatz zum relativ guten Wissensstand sind Defizite bei der praktischen Umsetzung der Präventionsmöglichkeiten festzustellen

Serviços de terapia antineoplásica: segurança dos trabalhadores e risco químico

Updated study with the purpose of making a survey of the necessary actions for a safe practice in Antineoplastic Therapy Services (ATS), in the perspective of protecting worker’s health in relation to chemical occupational risk present in the work environment, while maneuvering Antineoplastic Chemotherapy (AQ). Safety practices were categorized in relative to professionals; handling of AQ; individual and collective; use of materials; transport of AQ; application of AQ; discard of toxic waste; environmental dumping and personal contamination and patient handling, based on benchmarks of National Institute of Cancer (NICA), and of BONASSA and SANTANA, and of Collegiate Directory Resolution (CDR) 220. The theoretical framework on the subject provides subsidies to safety actions and practices, pointing to ideal and legal work conditions and instrumenting the ATS workers for the conscious and risk-free labor exerciseEste trabajo propone un estudio de actualización con la finalidad de hacer una encuesta sobre acciones necesarias para una práctica segura en los Servicios de Terapia Antineoplásica (STA), ambicionando una perspectiva de protección de la salud del trabajador en relación al riesgo ocupacional químico, que se encuentra en el ambiente de trabajo, cuando este manosea Quimioterapia Antineoplásica (QA). Las prácticas de seguridad fueron distribuidas en categorías según quienes las utilizan; manipulación de QA; individual y colectiva; uso de materiales; transporte de QA; administración de QA; desechar residuos tóxicos; derramamiento ambiental, contaminación personal, manoseo de pacientes, según los referenciales del Instituto Nacional de Cáncer (INCA), BONASSA y SANTANA y de Resolución de la Directoria Colegiada (RDC) 220. La teoria sobre el tema permite obtener subsidios para acciones y prácticas seguras; apuntar condiciones ideales/legales de trabajo e instrumentalizar trabajadores de los STA para un ejercicio laboral consciente y libre de riesgos. Estudo de atualização com o propósito de fazer um levantamento das ações necessárias para uma prática segura nos Serviços de Terapia Antineoplásica (STA), na perspectiva de proteção da saúde do trabalhador em relação ao risco ocupacional químico presente no ambiente de trabalho, ao manusear Quimioterapia Antineoplásica (QA). As práticas de segurança foram categorizadas em relativa aos profissionais; manipulação da QA; individual e coletiva; uso de materiais; transporte da QA; administração de QA; descarte de resíduos tóxicos; derramamento ambiental e contaminação pessoal e manuseio de pacientes, com base nos referenciais do Instituto Nacional do Câncer (INCA), de BONASSA e SANTANA e da Resolução da Diretoria Colegiada (RDC) 220. A sustentação teórica acerca da temática fornece subsídios às ações e práticas seguras ao apontar condições ideais e legais de trabalho e instrumentalizar os trabalhadores dos STA para o exercício laboral consciente e livre de riscos

SARS-CoV-2 T Cell Response in Severe and Fatal COVID-19 in Primary Antibody Deficiency Patients Without Specific Humoral Immunity

Morbidity and mortality of COVID-19 is increased in patients with inborn errors of immunity (IEI). Age and comorbidities and also impaired type I interferon immunity were identified as relevant risk factors. In patients with primary antibody deficiency (PAD) and lack of specific humoral immune response to SARS-CoV-2, clinical disease outcome is very heterogeneous. Despite extensive clinical reports, underlying immunological mechanisms are poorly characterized and levels of T cellular and innate immunity in severe cases remain to be determined. In the present study, we report clinical and immunological findings of 5 PAD patients with severe and fatal COVID-19 and undetectable specific humoral immune response to SARS-CoV-2. Reactive T cells to SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) and nucleocapsid (NCAP) peptide pools were analyzed comparatively by flow cytometry in PAD patients, convalescents and naive healthy individuals. All examined PAD patients developed a robust T cell response. The presence of polyfunctional cytokine producing activated CD4(+) T cells indicates a memory-like phenotype. An analysis of innate immune response revealed elevated CD169 (SIGLEC1) expression on monocytes, a surrogate marker for type I interferon response, and presence of type I interferon autoantibodies was excluded. SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detectable in peripheral blood in three severe COVID-19 patients with PAD. Viral clearance in blood was observed after treatment with COVID-19 convalescent plasma/monoclonal antibody administration. However, prolonged mucosal viral shedding was observed in all patients (median 67 days) with maximum duration of 127 days. PAD patients without specific humoral SARS-CoV-2 immunity may suffer from severe or fatal COVID-19 despite robust T cell and normal innate immune response. Intensified monitoring for long persistence of SARS-CoV-2 viral shedding and (prophylactic) convalescent plasma/specific IgG as beneficial treatment option in severe cases with RNAemia should be considered in seronegative PAD patients

The Economic Effects of Large Wildfires

Large wildfires disrupt the lives of workers, families, and employers. However, fire suppression and recovery efforts may provide economic opportunities. Unlike with other natural hazards, there has been little research about how wildfires affect local economies. The purpose of this project was to analyze the effects of large wildfires on labor markets and examine how fire suppression spending may mediate these effects. Main findings from this research suggest that (1) in the short term, labor market impacts from large wildfires are positive during the course of a fire, (2) in the long-­‐term, large wildfires lead to greater economic instability by amplifying seasonal variation in employment, (3) local capture of suppression spending helps mediate negative labor market impacts, and (4) local business capacity to capture suppression contracts varies and can be measured by the number of suppression-­‐related vendors active in the county

A microbial clock provides an accurate estimate of the postmortem interval in a mouse model system.

Establishing the time since death is critical in every death investigation, yet existing techniques are susceptible to a range of errors and biases. For example, forensic entomology is widely used to assess the postmortem interval (PMI), but errors can range from days to months. Microbes may provide a novel method for estimating PMI that avoids many of these limitations. Here we show that postmortem microbial community changes are dramatic, measurable, and repeatable in a mouse model system, allowing PMI to be estimated within approximately 3 days over 48 days. Our results provide a detailed understanding of bacterial and microbial eukaryotic ecology within a decomposing corpse system and suggest that microbial community data can be developed into a forensic tool for estimating PMI. DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.01104.001

A microbial clock provides an accurate estimate of the postmortem interval in a mouse model system.

Establishing the time since death is critical in every death investigation, yet existing techniques are susceptible to a range of errors and biases. For example, forensic entomology is widely used to assess the postmortem interval (PMI), but errors can range from days to months. Microbes may provide a novel method for estimating PMI that avoids many of these limitations. Here we show that postmortem microbial community changes are dramatic, measurable, and repeatable in a mouse model system, allowing PMI to be estimated within approximately 3 days over 48 days. Our results provide a detailed understanding of bacterial and microbial eukaryotic ecology within a decomposing corpse system and suggest that microbial community data can be developed into a forensic tool for estimating PMI. DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.01104.001

Highly parallel genome variant engineering with CRISPR–Cas9

Understanding the functional effects of DNA sequence variants is of critical importance for studies of basic biology, evolution, and medical genetics; however, measuring these effects in a high-throughput manner is a major challenge. One promising avenue is precise editing with the CRISPR-Cas9 system, which allows for generation of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) at genomic sites matching the targeting sequence of a guide RNA (gRNA). Recent studies have used CRISPR libraries to generate many frameshift mutations genome wide through faulty repair of CRISPR-directed breaks by nonhomologous end joining (NHEJ) 1 . Here, we developed a CRISPR-library-based approach for highly efficient and precise genome-wide variant engineering. We used our method to examine the functional consequences of premature-termination codons (PTCs) at different locations within all annotated essential genes in yeast. We found that most PTCs were highly deleterious unless they occurred close to the 3' end of the gene and did not affect an annotated protein domain. Unexpectedly, we discovered that some putatively essential genes are dispensable, whereas others have large dispensable regions. This approach can be used to profile the effects of large classes of variants in a high-throughput manner