Artenanreicherung im Wirtschaftsgrünland – Projekt Transfer

Grünland kann sehr artenreich sein und nimmt eine Schlüsselrolle bei der Erhaltung der Artenvielfalt in der Kulturlandschaft ein. Artenreiche Flächen sind inzwischen aber selten geworden und auch wenn eine intensive Nutzung wieder aufgegeben wird, kommen die Wiesenarten oft nicht zurück. So entsteht artenarmes, wenig intensiv genutztes Grünland mit geringem Ertrag. Ziel des Projektes „Transfer“ ist die Artenanreicherung im Wirtschaftsgrünland mittels Mahdgutübertragung bzw. Ansaat von gebietseigenem Saatgut. Besonders wichtig ist dabei die Erprobung der praktischen Durchführung durch Landwirte, für die ein Leitfaden zur Artenanreicherung entwickelt wird. Besonders im Öko-Landbau besteht ein hohes Interesse, die Biodiversität im Betrieb zu erhöhen. Die Artenzahl konnte auf allen Projektflächen erhöht werden. Im ersten Jahr nach der Mahdgutübertragung konnten zwischen 9 und 22 von der Spenderfläche übertragene Arten auf der Empfängerfläche nachgewiesen werden, die nicht im Ausgangsbestand vorhanden waren. Auf den Ansaatflächen konnten fast alle ausgebrachten Arten etabliert werden

Germline mutations in the DNA damage response genes BRCA1, BRCA2, BARD1 and TP53 in patients with therapy related myeloid neoplasms

Therapy related myeloid neoplasms (t-MNs) are complex diseases originating from an interplay between exogenous toxicities and a susceptible organism. It has been hypothesised that in a subset of cases t-MNs develop in the context of hereditary cancer predisposition syndromes

Prevalence of human herpesviruses in biliary fluid and their association with biliary complications after liver transplantation

Background: Beta-herpesviruses are common opportunistic pathogens that cause morbidity after liver transplantation (LT). Methods: Objective of the study was to evaluate the prevalence and correlation of herpesviruses in bile, blood and liver tissue and to investigate their association with biliary complications and retransplantation (re-LT) free survival after LT. The study design is a single-center case-control study. We performed quantative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) for herpesvirus 1–8 DNA in bile, blood and liver tissue of 73 patients after first LT and analyzed their clinical courses retrospectively. Results: The median follow-up was 48 months (range 2–102), during which a total of 16 patients underwent re-LT and 11 patients died. Of the patients, 46.5% received valganciclovir prophylaxis at the time of bile sample acquisition. Cytomegalovirus (CMV) (18.3%), human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) (34.2%), human herpesvirus 7 (HHV-7) (20.5%) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) (16.4%) were highly prevalent in bile after LT, while herpes simpex virus 1 and 2 (HSV-1, HSV-2), varicella-zoster virus (VZV) and human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) were not or rarely detected in bile. Valganciclovir prophylaxis did not reduce the prevalence of HHV-6 and HHV-7 in bile, but it did reduce the presence of CMV and EBV. The presence of HHV-6 in bile was associated with non-anastomotic biliary strictures (NAS) and acute cellular rejection (ACR). Conclusions: CMV, EBV, HHV-6 and HHV-7 are more prevalent in biliary fluid than in liver biopsy or blood serum after LT. HHV-6 and HHV-7 might be associated with biliary complications after LT. Biliary fluids might be an attractive target for routine herpesvirus detection

Risk factors and outcome in patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis with persistent biliary candidiasis

Background: Candidiasis is commonly observed in patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), but the clinical risk factors associated with its presence have not been fully investigated. In this study, we aimed to analyse the incidence, risk factors, and transplantation-free survival in primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) patients with persistent biliary candidiasis. Methods: We retrospectively analysed patients diagnosed with PSC who were admitted to our department during 2002 to 2012. One-hundred fifty patients whose bile cultures were tested for fungal species were selected, and their clinical and laboratory parameters were investigated. The results of endoscopic retrograde cholangiography (ERC) and bile cultures were analysed using chart reviews. The cases of biliary candidiasis were sub-classified as transient or persistent. Results: Thirty out of 150 (20.0%) patients had biliary candidiasis. Although all patients demonstrated comparable baseline characteristics, those with biliary candidiasis showed significantly reduced transplantation-free survival (p < 0.0001) along with a markedly elevated frequency of cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) (p = 0.04). The patients were further sub-classified according to the transient (15/30) or persistent (15/30) nature of their biliary candidiasis. A subgroup analysis showed reduced survival with a greater necessity for orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) only in patients with persistence of Candida (p = 0.007). The survival in the patients with transient biliary candidiasis was comparable to that in candidiasis-free patients. In a multivariate regression analysis that included Mayo risk score (MRS), sex, age, dominant stenosis, inflammatory bowel disease, autoimmune hepatitis overlap syndrome, and number of times ERC was performed, biliary candidiasis was an independent risk factor for reduced survival (p = 0.008). Risk factors associated with acquisition of biliary candidiasis were age at PSC diagnosis and number of ERCs. Conclusions: The persistence of biliary candidiasis is associated with markedly reduced transplantation-free survival in PSC patients. By contrast, actuarial survival in patients with transient biliary candidiasis approaches that for patients without any evidence of biliary candidiasis. Further studies on the treatment of persistent biliary candidiasis in patients with PSC are warranted

Modeling neurocognitive and neurobiological recovery in addiction

This book focuses on "what to know" and "how to apply" information, prioritizing novel principles and delineating cutting-edge assessment, phenotyping and treatment tools

CD14 C-159T and Toll-Like Receptor 4 Asp299Gly Polymorphisms in Surviving Meningococcal Disease Patients

BACKGROUND: Carriage of Neisseria meningitidis occurs approximately in 10% of the population, onset of invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) cannot be predicted and differs between ages. It remains unclear, which host factors determine invasion of the bloodstream by the bacteria. Innate immunity has a very important role in the first recognition of invading pathogens. The functional single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) CD14 C-159T and toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) Asp299Gly have been associated with the risk of gram-negative infections. However, their role in development of IMD still remains unclear. Our aim was to investigate the influence of CD14 C-159T and TLR4 Asp299Gly polymorphisms on the risk of IMD. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: It was a retrospective case control study. Surviving Austrian meningococcal disease patients were enrolled by sending buccal swabs for DNA analysis. 185 cases with a proven meningococcal infection and 770 healthy controls were enrolled. In surviving meningococcal disease patients DNA analysis of CD14 C-159T and TLR 4 Asp299Gly polymorphisms was performed, as they are part of the innate immune response to bacterial determinants. CD14 C-159T and TLR4 Asp299Gly SNPs were not significantly associated with the presence of IMD when compared to healthy controls. The odds ratio for CD14 C-159T SNP was 1.14 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.91-1.43; p = 0.266). In TLR4 Asp 299 Gly SNP the odds ratio was 0.78 (CI 0.47-1.43; p = 0.359). CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: We could not observe a significant influence of CD14 C-159T and TLR4 Asp299Gly polymorphisms on the risk of developing IMD in surviving meningococcal disease patients. To our knowledge, this is the first study investigating the influence of the CD14 C-159T SNP on the susceptibility to IMD

Melting, bubble-like expansion and explosion of superheated plasmonic nanoparticles

We report on time-resolved coherent diffraction imaging of gas-phase silver nanoparticles, strongly heated via their plasmon resonance. The x-ray diffraction images reveal a broad range of phenomena for different excitation strengths, from simple melting over strong cavitation to explosive disintegration. Molecular dynamics simulations fully reproduce this behavior and show that the heating induces rather similar trajectories through the phase diagram in all cases, with the very different outcomes being due only to whether and where the stability limit of the metastable superheated liquid is crossed.Comment: 17 pages, 8 figures (including supplemental material