Irradiation treatment of laryngeal cancer in a patient with an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD)

Background: Due to an aging population the incidence of both cardiac and tumor-related illnesses is increasing. A problem may arise if radiotherapy is necessary in close anatomic proximity to an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD). These highly precise devices may respond to ionizing radiation with a loss of function or uncontrolled stimulation, with both effects being potentially life threatening. Available guidelines recommend the dose maximum to a pacemaker to be cumulative below 2 Gy. For most patients undergoing radiation therapy of the neck or of the chest this limit is exceeded, thus making a removal of the device and an implantation of an external ICD necessary. Case Report: A patient with severe cardiac problems underwent an implantation of an ICD. However, a recurrence of a laryngeal cancer was diagnosed. The irradiation dose after resection was 60 Gy to the tumor region and 50 Gy to the lymph nodes. Irradiation peakload to the ICD was calculated to be 2.5 Gy. This dose was verified with thermoluminescence measurements. The ICD was externally deactivated during the sessions of irradiation. Device checks demonstrated no malfunction. Conclusion: Even though the dose limits of the ICD of 2 Gy were exceeded, the device demonstrated a regular function during and after radiotherapy

Transition metal ions at the crossroads of mucosal immunity and microbial pathogenesis.

Transition metal ions are essential micronutrients for all living organisms. In mammals, these ions are often protein-bound and sequestered within cells, limiting their availability to microbes. Moreover, in response to infection, mammalian hosts further reduce the availability of metal nutrients by activating epithelial cells and recruiting neutrophils, both of which release metal-binding proteins with antimicrobial function. Microorganisms, in turn, have evolved sophisticated systems to overcome these limitations and acquire the metal ions essential for their growth. Here we review some of the mechanisms employed by the host and by pathogenic microorganisms to compete for transition metal ions, with a discussion of how evading "nutritional immunity" benefits pathogens. Furthermore, we provide new insights on the mechanisms of host-microbe competition for metal ions in the mucosa, particularly in the inflamed gut

The 7T-MPW-EDDI beamline at BESSY II

The materials science beamline EDDI is operated in the Energy Dispersive DIffraction mode and provides hard synchrotron X-rays in an energy range between about 8 … 150 keV for a multitude of experiments reaching from the in-situ study of thin film deposition over the investigation of liquid phase processes to the analysis of the residual stress distribution in complex components and technical parts. For high temperature experiments or measurements under external mechanical load various devices such as heating stations and a tensile/compression load test rig are available. Besides the sample environment for pure diffraction experiments a tomography/radiography setup is provided which allows for combined simultaneous diffraction plus imaging investigations

Duckweed (Lemnaceae): Its Molecular Taxonomy

Duckweeds include the world's smallest and fastest growing flowering plants that have the capacity to produce huge biomass with a broad range of potential applications like production of feed and food, biofuel and biogas. In order to achieve optimal and sustainable commercial system, it is necessary that suitable species and clones of duckweeds be identified and selected based on appropriate strategies. However, a high degree of reduction in their structural complexity poses serious problems in identification of closely related species of duckweeds, on a morphological basis. Use of molecular taxonomic tools is the present solution. The state of the art of molecular taxonomy of all the five genera of duckweeds (Spirodela, Landoltia, Lemna, Wolffiella, and Wolffia) is based mainly on the techniques of fingerprinting by amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) and barcoding using sequences of plastidic DNA fragments. After more than 15 years of molecular taxonomic investigations, a certain viewpoint is now available demonstrating all five genera to be monophyletic. Also, the phenetic analyses had made huge progress in delineating the currently defined 36 species of duckweeds, although, all species cannot yet be defined with confidence. Wolffiella has turned out to be the most complicated genus as only 6 to 7 species out of the 10 can be reliably delineated. Further progress in the phylogenetic and phenetic analyses requires more advanced methods like next generation and/or whole genome sequencing. First results using the method genotyping-by-sequencing in the genus Lemna (in combination with metabolomic profiling by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass-spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) as well as AFLP and barcoding by plastidic sequences) are more promising: The species Lemna valdiviana and Lemna yungensis were united to one species, Lemna valdiviana. This reduced the total number of Lemnaceae species to 36

The Influence of Alloy Composition and Liquid Phase on Foaming of Al−Si−Mg Alloys

The foaming behaviour of aluminium alloys processed by the powder compaction technique depends crucially on the exact alloy composition. The AlSi8Mg4 alloy has been in use for a decade now, and it has been claimed that this composition lies in an “island of good foaming”. We investigated the reasons for this by systematically studying alloys around this composition by varying the Mg and Si content by a few percent. We applied in situ X-ray 2D and 3D imaging experiments combined with a quantitative nucleation number and expansion analysis, X-ray tomography of solid foams to assess the pore structure and pore size distribution, and in situ diffraction experiments to quantify the melt fraction at any moment. We found a correlation between melt fraction and expansion height and verified that the “island of good foaming” actually exists, and foams outside a preferred range for the liquid fraction—just above TS and between 40–60%—show a poorer expansion performance than the reference alloy AlSi8Mg4. A very slight increase of Si and decrease of Mg content might further improve this foam

Unterstützungsressourcen älterer Menschen in der Nordwestschweiz

In dem hier angebotenen Beitrag sollen die sozialen Kontakte und Unterstützungsressourcen älter werdender Menschen beleuchtet und aufgezeigt werden, in welchem Masse sie im Bedarfsfall auf Hilfe und Unterstützung auf ihre sozialen Netzwerke zurückgreifen können. Dabei gilt es zu zeigen, welche Arten von Unterstützung aus dem sozialem Umfeld überhaupt zur Verfügung stehen (instrumentelle, finanzielle, emotionale, aber auch körperliche Pflege) und von wem diese bezogen werden. Ferner soll dargestellt werden, ob und inwieweit sich Art und Anzahl der erhaltenen Unterstützungsleistungen mit steigendem Alter verändern. Für die Personen, die keine Unterstützung erhalten haben, soll gezeigt werden, ob sie sich hinsichtlich ihres Alters, Geschlecht, ihren Einsamkeitsgefühlen und ihres Gesundheitszustandes hinsichtlich derjenigen unterscheiden, die eine Unterstützung erfahren haben. Die Daten für diesen Beitrag stammen aus einer Befragung, die in vier Kantonen der Nordwestschweiz (Aargau, Basel-Land; Basel-Stadt, Solothurn) zu den „Sozialen Beziehungen im Alter“ durchgeführt wurde (https://www.fhnw.ch/de/die-fhnw/strategische-initiativen/alternde-gesellschaft). Dazu wurden 5.000 Personen (im Alter von 50+) zu den Themenbereichen Wahrnehmung des Alter(n)s, Lebensqualität und Gesundheitszustand sowie zu den sozialen Beziehungen und Unterstützungen älterer Menschen und ihrer Angehörigen schriftlich befragt. Die Rücklaufquote lag bei 24% (Nettostichprobe: n=1.198). Erste Ergebnisse deuten u.a. darauf hin, dass ·       die in einer Partnerschaft lebenden Befragten insgesamt eine tendenziell höhere Lebenszufriedenheit zeigen als die Personen ohne Partner bzw. Partnerin, ·       Frauen im Alter auf ein grösseres soziales Netzwerk zurückgreifen können als Männer, ·       die häufigsten Formen erhaltener Unterstützung in den Bereich der emotionalen Unterstützung und der instrumentellen Hilfen fallen, ·       bei den selbst geleisteten Hilfen und Unterstützungen ebenfalls die emotionalen und instrumentellen Unterstützungen im Vordergrund stehen, ·       sowohl bei den Adressatinnen und Adressaten als auch bei den Empfängerinnen und Empfängern von Hilfe- und Unterstützungsleistungen jeweils der Partner bzw. die Partnerin an erster Stelle rangiert, gefolgt von Freundinnen und den eigenen Kindern

Association Between a Prognostic Gene Signature and Functional Gene Sets

Background: The development of expression-based gene signatures for predicting prognosis or class membership is a popular and challenging task. Besides their stringent validation, signatures need a functional interpretation and must be placed in a biological context. Popular tools such as Gene Set Enrichment have drawbacks because they are restricted to annotated genes and are unable to capture the information hidden in the signature’s non-annotated genes. Methodology: We propose concepts to relate a signature with functional gene sets like pathways or Gene Ontology categories. The connection between single signature genes and a specific pathway is explored by hierarchical variable selection and gene association networks. The risk score derived from an individual patient’s signature is related to expression patterns of pathways and Gene Ontology categories. Global tests are useful for these tasks, and they adjust for other factors. GlobalAncova is used to explore the effect on gene expression in specific functional groups from the interaction of the score and selected mutations in the patient’s genome. Results: We apply the proposed methods to an expression data set and a corresponding gene signature for predicting survival in Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). The example demonstrates strong relations between the signature and cancer-related pathways. The signature-based risk score was found to be associated with development-related biological processes. Conclusions: Many authors interpret the functional aspects of a gene signature by linking signature genes to pathways o

Preventive Methods to reduce the deterioration of monuments and outdoor art by microbe burden of the solid-micro-dust-fraction

To compare the various restorative measurements under competitive environment simulation, may become a major challenge to the concepts to preserve the pieces of the world heritage. Test the ability of the protective measurement before putting it into practice. The primary effects as e. g. a cover, a refreshing of the colour, or an improved light reflection can lead to a disaster if the active acting world of microbes gets support by that action. The way out is to implement test-systems in advance, able to judge the protective measurement under different defined conditions simultaneously

The genetic overlap between mood disorders and cardiometabolic diseases: a systematic review of genome wide and candidate gene studies

© The Author(s) 2017 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material.Meta-analyses of genome-wide association studies (meta-GWASs) and candidate gene studies have identified genetic variants associated with cardiovascular diseases, metabolic diseases and mood disorders. Although previous efforts were successful for individual disease conditions (single disease), limited information exists on shared genetic risk between these disorders. This article presents a detailed review and analysis of cardiometabolic diseases risk (CMD-R) genes that are also associated with mood disorders. First, we reviewed meta-GWASs published until January 2016, for the diseases ‘type 2 diabetes, coronary artery disease, hypertension’ and/or for the risk factors ‘blood pressure, obesity, plasma lipid levels, insulin and glucose related traits’. We then searched the literature for published associations of these CMD-R genes with mood disorders. We considered studies that reported a significant association of at least one of the CMD-R genes and ‘depression’ or ‘depressive disorder’ or ‘depressive symptoms’ or ‘bipolar disorder’ or ‘lithium treatment response in bipolar disorder’, or ‘serotonin reuptake inhibitors treatment response in major depression’. Our review revealed 24 potential pleiotropic genes that are likely to be shared between mood disorders and CMD-Rs. These genes include MTHFR, CACNA1D, CACNB2, GNAS, ADRB1, NCAN, REST, FTO, POMC, BDNF, CREB, ITIH4, LEP, GSK3B, SLC18A1, TLR4, PPP1R1B, APOE, CRY2, HTR1A, ADRA2A, TCF7L2, MTNR1B and IGF1. A pathway analysis of these genes revealed significant pathways: corticotrophin-releasing hormone signaling, AMPK signaling, cAMP-mediated or G-protein coupled receptor signaling, axonal guidance signaling, serotonin or dopamine receptors signaling, dopamine-DARPP32 feedback in cAMP signaling, circadian rhythm signaling and leptin signaling. Our review provides insights into the shared biological mechanisms of mood disorders and cardiometabolic diseases