Trends and climatic shifts in mesosphere / lower thermosphere planetary waves Collm (52°N, 15°E)

Long-period oscillations in the period range between 2-30 days, interpreted as planetary wave (PW) signatures, have been analysed using daily upper mesosphere/lower thermosphere wind measurements near 90 km over Collm (52°N, 15°E) in the time interval 1980-2005. Strong interannual and interdecadal variability of PW are found. Since the 1990s, a tendency for larger zonal amplitudes compared to meridional ones, has been observed, thus long-term trends are visible, which are positive in the zonal component, but negative in the meridional component. The change appears in a stepwise manner, so that a sudden change of the mean is visible rather than a linear trend. The behaviour of the upper middle atmosphere winds is similar to analysed wave changes in the stratosphere, indicating a coupling of the atmospheric layers through planetary waves.Mit Hilfe von täglichen Windmessungen im Mesopausenbereich bei 90 km werden langperiodische Schwankungen im Zeitbereich von 2-30 Tagen untersucht, die als das Signal planetarer Wellen gelten. Im Zeitraum 1980-2005 werden deutliche Schwankungen von Jahr zu Jahr als auch langfristige Trends gefunden. Einer Zunahme der zonalen Komponente der Schwankungen seit 1990 steht eine Abnahme der meridionalen Komponente gegenüber. Diese Änderung erfolgt in rascher Form, so dass sich die Änderung der Zirkulation im Mesopausenbereich als klimatische Verschiebung, und weniger als Trend darstellt. Das Verhalten der Dynamik im Mesopausenbereich korrespondiert mit möglichen Änderungen klimatischer Parameter in anderen Schichten der Atmosphäre und weist auf eine Kopplung atmosphärischer Schichten untereinander hin

High-Performance Thin-Layer Chromatography-Immunostaining as a Technique for the Characterization of Whey Protein Enrichment in Edam Cheese

Whey protein-enriched cheese can be produced by means of a high-temperature treatment of a part of the cheese milk. In this way, the nutritional quality of the resulting cheeses can be increased while resources are conserved. High-performance thin-layer chromatography-immunostaining (HPTLC-IS) using specific β-lactoglobulin (β-LG) antibodies was applied to study the implementation and stability of β-LG in two different sample sets of whey protein-enriched Edam model cheeses, including industrial-scale ones. Two methods were compared for the extraction of the proteins/peptides from the cheese samples. By applying tryptic hydrolysis directly from a suspended cheese sample instead of a supernatant of a centrifuged suspension, a better yield was obtained for the extraction of β-LG. When applying this method, it was found that selected epitopes in the tryptic β-LG peptides remain stable over the ripening period of the cheese. For four of the tryptic β-LG peptides detected by immunostaining, the amino acid sequence was identified using MALDI-TOF-MS/MS. One of the peptides identified was the semi-tryptic peptide VYVEELKPTP. A linear relationship was found between the content of this peptide in cheese and the proportion of high-heated milk in the cheese milk. β-LG enrichment factors of 1.72 (n = 3, sample set I) and 1.33 ± 0.19 (n = 1, sample set II) were determined for the cheese samples containing 30% high-heated milk compared to the non-enriched samples. The relative β-LG contents in the cheese samples with 30% high-heated milk were calculated to be 4.35% ± 0.39% (sample set I) and 9.11% ± 0.29% (sample set II) using a one-point calibration. It can be concluded that the HPTLC-IS method used is a suitable tool for the analysis of whey protein accumulation in cheese, being therefore potentially directly applicable on an industrial scale. For more accurate quantification of the whey protein content in cheese, an enhanced calibration curve needs to be applied.BMEL, 281A107916, Verbundprojekt: Entwicklung innovativer Analysenverfahren zum Nachweis von Molkenproteinen und Etablierung von Biomarkern als Qualitätsparameter bei Molkenprotein-angereichertem Schnittkäse (Molkkaese) - Teilprojekt

Effect of aliskiren on post-discharge outcomes among diabetic and non-diabetic patients hospitalized for heart failure: insights from the ASTRONAUT trial

Aims The objective of the Aliskiren Trial on Acute Heart Failure Outcomes (ASTRONAUT) was to determine whether aliskiren, a direct renin inhibitor, would improve post-discharge outcomes in patients with hospitalization for heart failure (HHF) with reduced ejection fraction. Pre-specified subgroup analyses suggested potential heterogeneity in post-discharge outcomes with aliskiren in patients with and without baseline diabetes mellitus (DM). Methods and results ASTRONAUT included 953 patients without DM (aliskiren 489; placebo 464) and 662 patients with DM (aliskiren 319; placebo 343) (as reported by study investigators). Study endpoints included the first occurrence of cardiovascular death or HHF within 6 and 12 months, all-cause death within 6 and 12 months, and change from baseline in N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) at 1, 6, and 12 months. Data regarding risk of hyperkalaemia, renal impairment, and hypotension, and changes in additional serum biomarkers were collected. The effect of aliskiren on cardiovascular death or HHF within 6 months (primary endpoint) did not significantly differ by baseline DM status (P = 0.08 for interaction), but reached statistical significance at 12 months (non-DM: HR: 0.80, 95% CI: 0.64-0.99; DM: HR: 1.16, 95% CI: 0.91-1.47; P = 0.03 for interaction). Risk of 12-month all-cause death with aliskiren significantly differed by the presence of baseline DM (non-DM: HR: 0.69, 95% CI: 0.50-0.94; DM: HR: 1.64, 95% CI: 1.15-2.33; P < 0.01 for interaction). Among non-diabetics, aliskiren significantly reduced NT-proBNP through 6 months and plasma troponin I and aldosterone through 12 months, as compared to placebo. Among diabetic patients, aliskiren reduced plasma troponin I and aldosterone relative to placebo through 1 month only. There was a trend towards differing risk of post-baseline potassium ≥6 mmol/L with aliskiren by underlying DM status (non-DM: HR: 1.17, 95% CI: 0.71-1.93; DM: HR: 2.39, 95% CI: 1.30-4.42; P = 0.07 for interaction). Conclusion This pre-specified subgroup analysis from the ASTRONAUT trial generates the hypothesis that the addition of aliskiren to standard HHF therapy in non-diabetic patients is generally well-tolerated and improves post-discharge outcomes and biomarker profiles. In contrast, diabetic patients receiving aliskiren appear to have worse post-discharge outcomes. Future prospective investigations are needed to confirm potential benefits of renin inhibition in a large cohort of HHF patients without D

La politique économique et sociale sous le signe du choc pétrolier

Le 28 octobre 1973, « Neues Deutschland », l’organe officiel du Comité central du parti socialiste unifié de RDA, le SED, fit paraître sur l’avant-dernière page une dépêche apparemment tout à fait insignifiante, mais pourtant capitale : « En signe de protestation contre la guerre d’agression israélienne et le soutien de celle-ci par les États-Unis et d’autres États capitalistes, les pays pétroliers arabes ont réduit leur production de brut de 20 % ». Quelques semaines auparavant, l’organe de ..