Detection of volatile organic compounds as potential novel biomarkers for chorioamnionitis - proof of experimental models

Background: Histologic chorioamnionitis is only diagnosed postnatally which prevents interventions. We hypothesized that volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the amniotic fluid might be useful biomarkers for chorioamnionitis and that VOC profiles differ between amnionitis of different origins. Methods: Time-mated ewes received intra-amniotic injections of media or saline (controls), or live Ureaplasma parvum serovar 3 (Up) 14, 7 or 3d prior to c-section at day 124 gestational age (GA). 100 μg recombinant ovine IL-1α was instilled at 7, 3 or 1d prior to delivery. Headspace VOC profiles were measured from amniotic fluids at birth using ion mobility spectrometer coupled with multi-capillary columns. Results: 127 VOC peaks were identified. 27 VOCs differed between samples from controls and Up- or IL-1α induced amnionitis. The best discrimination between amnionitis by Up vs. IL-1α was reached by 2-methylpentane, with a sensitivity/specificity of 96/95% and a positive predictive value/negative predictive values of 96 and 95%. The concentration of 2-methylpentane in VOCs peaked 7d after intra-amniotic instillation of Up. Discussion: We established a novel method to study headspace VOC profiles of amniotic fluids. VOC profiles may be a useful tool to detect and to assess the duration of amnionitis induced by Up. 2-methylpentane was previously described in the exhalate of women with pre-eclampsia and might be a volatile biomarker for amnionitis. Amniotic fluids analyzed by ion mobility spectrometry coupled with multi-capillary columns may provide bedside diagnosis of amnionitis and understanding inflammatory mechanisms during pregnancy

Scaling the state: Egypt in the third millennium BC

Discussions of the early Egyptian state suffer from a weak consideration of scale. Egyptian archaeologists derive their arguments primarily from evidence of court cemeteries, elite tombs, and monuments of royal display. The material informs the analysis of kingship, early writing, and administration but it remains obscure how the core of the early Pharaonic state was embedded in the territory it claimed to administer. This paper suggests that the relationship between centre and hinterland is key for scaling the Egyptian state of the Old Kingdom (ca. 2,700-2,200 BC). Initially, central administration imagines Egypt using models at variance with provincial practice. The end of the Old Kingdom demarcates not the collapse, but the beginning of a large-scale state characterized by the coalescence of central and local models

Verfahren und Vorrichtung zum Erzeugen eines Plasmas sowie Verwendung derselben

DE 102006027853 A1 UPAB: 20080226 NOVELTY - Production of a plasma (9) in a vacuum chamber comprises using an anode (4) which encloses a hollow cathode (1) on the electron outlet side. The strength of the magnetic field is adjusted so that the plasma density is increased in the vacuum chamber by reducing the flow (7) of a gas passing through the cathode. DETAILED DESCRIPTION - An INDEPENDENT CLAIM is also included for a device for producing a plasma in a vacuum chamber. USE - For producing layers in a physical vapor deposition method. ADVANTAGE - Higher plasma densities are produced

Mortality in primary angioplasty patients starting antiplatelet therapy with prehospital prasugrel or clopidogrel: a 1-year follow-up from the European MULTIPRAC Registry

Patrick Goldstein,1 Niccolò Grieco,2 Hüseyin Ince,3,4 Nicolas Danchin,5 Yvonne Ramos,6 Jochen Goedicke,7 Peter Clemmensen8,9 On behalf of the MULTIPRAC study investigators 1Emergency Department, Lille Regional University Hospital, Lille, France; 2Department of Cardiology, Hospital Niguarda Cà Granda Milano, Milan, Italy; 3Internal Medicine Centre, Cardiology Department, Rostock University Clinic, Rostock, Germany; 4Department of Cardiology, Vivantes Klinikum im Friedrichshain and Am Urban, Berlin, Germany; 5Department of Cardiology, European Hospital Georges-Pompidou, Paris, France; 6Medical Department, Daiichi Sankyo Europe, Munich, 7Medical Department, Lilly Deutschland GmbH, Bad Homburg, Germany; 8Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Rigshospitalet Copenhagen University Hospital, 9Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Nykoebing F Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark Aim: MULTIPRAC was designed to provide insights into the use and outcomes associated with prehospital initiation of antiplatelet therapy with either prasugrel or clopidogrel in the context of primary percutaneous coronary intervention. After a previous report on efficacy and safety outcomes during hospitalization, we report here the 1-year follow-up data, including cardiovascular (CV) mortality. Methods and results: MULTIPRAC is a multinational, prospective registry of patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) from 25 hospitals in nine countries, all of which had an established practice of prehospital start of dual antiplatelet therapy in place. The key outcome was CV death at 1 year. Among 2,036 patients followed-up through 1 year, 49 died (2.4%), 10 during the initial hospitalization and 39 within 1 year after hospital discharge. The primary analysis was based on the P2Y12-inhibitor, used from prehospital loading dose through hospital discharge. Prasugrel (n=824) was more commonly used than clopidogrel (n=425). The observed 1-year rates for CV death were 0.5% with prasugrel and 2.6% with clopidogrel. After adjustment for differences in baseline characteristics, treatment with prasugrel was associated with a significantly lower risk of CV death than treatment with clopidogrel (odds ratio 0.248; 95% confidence interval 0.06–0.89). Conclusion: In STEMI patients from routine practice undergoing primary angioplasty, who were able to start oral antiplatelet therapy prehospital, treatment with prasugrel as compared to clopidogrel was associated with a lower risk of CV death at 1-year follow-up. Keywords: upstream treatment, P2Y12-inhibitor, dual antiplatelet therapy, primary percutaneous coronary intervention, observationa

Korrosionsgeschuetztes Metall

Metals in the form of sheets, strips, films and metallic surfaces are provided with an inorganic layer system, said metals having better corrosion protection properties than known protection layers and being more economic to manufacture. An environmentally friendly process will be used. According to the invention, a sublayer composed of metal or metal alloys or a chemical compound is sputtered onto the metal or metal layer under plasma support. On said sublayer, the corrosion protection layer composed of the same or a different material type than the sublayer is deposited under plasma support. A cover layer again made of the same or a different material type is sputtered onto the corrosion protection layer under plasma support. The main application of the corrosion-protected metal is in the metal-processing industry. The corrosion protection of metal surfaces on the other hand is preferably used to protect the surfaces of mirrors and solar collectors

Verfahren und Einrichtung fuer die ionengestuetzte Vakuumbeschichtung

The process and the associated device permits the high-rate coating of large-surface electrically conductive and also electrically isolating substrates with electrically isolating layers and electrically conductive layers with relatively low effort. The substrates are mainly strip-shaped, in particular plastic films with widths over one meter. According to the invention, negative and positive voltage pulses are applied alternately to the electrically conducting substrate or, on an electrically insulating substrate, to a series connected electrode, e.g. the cooling roller, relative to the plasma or to an electrode at approximately plasma potential in a known device for vacuum coating. The shape, voltage and period of the pulses are adapted to the coating task and material. The process is used in particular to apply wear-protective, corrosion, protective and barrier layers. Applications include the packing industry

Domain-Specific Languages for Service-Oriented Architectures: An Explorative Study

Domain-specific languages (DSLs) are an important software development approach for many service-oriented architectures (SOAs). They promise to model the various SOA concerns in a suitable way for the various technical and non-technical stakeholders of a SOA. However, so far the research on SOA DSLs concentrates on novel technical contributions, and not much evidence or counter-evidence for the claims associated to SOA DSLs has been provided. In this paper, we present a qualitative, explorative study that provides an initial analysis of a number of such claims through a series of three prototyping experiments in which each experiment has developed, analyzed, and compared a set of DSLs for process-driven SOAs. Our result is to provide initial evidence for a number of popular claims about SOA DSLs which follow the model-driven software development (MDSD) approach, as well as a list of design trade-offs to be considered in the design decisions that must be made when developing a SOA DSL