Chromosome analysis in polyploid human embryos

Cytogenetic investigations have been performed on 436 unfertilized or polyploid human oocytes after in-vitro fertilization at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Kiel. Thirty-two oocytes had more than two pronuclei 16-20 h after fertilization and were therefore potentially the precursors of polyploid embryos. The total number of fertilized oocytes was 667, and the frequency of tripronucleate ova was 4.8%. These tripronucleate eggs may develop normally up to birth but never lead to viable newborn children. Some of the resulting embryos displayed chromosomal mosaicism, where polyploid karyotypes and normal diploid cells occurred together. It is assumed that the survival rate of polyploid embryos depends upon the percentage of normal diploid cell

Effects of halothane and isoflurane anaesthesia on microcirculatory blood flow in musculocutaneous flaps

Hypoperfusion and necrosis in musculocutaneous flaps used for reconstruction of tissue defects is still a significant clinical problem. Although the causes of hypoperfusion are frequently surgical in nature, little is known about the effects of anaesthetic management on blood flow in flaps or the outcome of flap surgery. We compared in minipigs the effects of halothane and isoflurane anaesthesia in equipotent doses on microcirculatory blood flow (MBF) in the skin and muscle part of musculocutaneous flaps and also in intact (control) skin and muscle. Measurements were made during stable normovolaemic conditions and during mild to moderate hypovolaemia (withdrawal of 5%, 10% and 15% of total blood volume). Multi-channel laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF) was used to measure MBF and electromagnetic flowmetry (EMF) for total flap blood flow. During normovolaemic conditions there was no significant difference between the two groups in central haemodynamic or respiratory data. After 15% blood loss, however, there was a significant decrease in mean arterial pressure and cardiac output in the halothane group while there was no significant change in the isoflurane group (P < 0.05). MBF in control skin, control muscle and flap muscle remained approximately 10−15% higher in the isoflurane than in the halothane group throughout the study. In the isoflurane group, MBF in flap skin was unchanged during normovolaemia and there was less than 10% decrease during hypovolaemia. In the halothane group hypovolaemia caused a significant decrease in MBF in flap skin: 27% decrease after 5% blood loss, 45% decrease after 10% blood loss and 49% decrease after 15% blood loss compared with 5%, 20% and 21%, respectively, in intact skin. We conclude that during normovolaemic conditions MBF was well maintained in musculocutaneous flaps in minipigs both with halothane and isoflurane anaesthesia; however, during mild to moderate hypovolemia MBF decreased markedly in flap skin with halothane anaesthesia while it remained unchanged with isofluran

Charges of twisted branes: the exceptional cases

The charges of the twisted D-branes for the two exceptional cases (SO(8) with the triality automorphism and E_6 with charge conjugation) are determined. To this end the corresponding NIM-reps are expressed in terms of the fusion rules of the invariant subalgebras. As expected the charge groups are found to agree with those characterising the untwisted branes.Comment: 15 page

ArCLight - a Compact Dielectric Large-Area Photon Detector

ArCLight is a novel device for detecting scintillation light over large areas with Photon Detection Efficiency (PDE) of the order of a few percent. Its robust technological design allows for efficient use in large-volume particle detectors, such as Liquid Argon Time Projection Chambers (LArTPCs) or liquid scintillator detectors. Due to its dielectric structure it can be placed inside volumes with high electric field. It could potentially replace vacuum PhotoMultiplier Tubes (PMTs) in applications where high PDE is not required. The photon detection efficiency for a 10x10cm2 detector prototype was measured to be in the range of 0.8% to 2.2% across the active area

Orale Mukositis bei Patienten unter Tumortherapie

Zusammenfassung: Zu den unerwünschten Nebenwirkungen bestimmter Chemo- und Radiotherapien gehört die orale Mukositis, eine Entzündung der Mundschleimhaut. Da sie die Lebensqualität der Patienten in hohem Maße beeinträchtigen kann, sollten Pflegende der Mundhygiene einen besonders hohen Stellenwert beimessen. In der täglichen Praxis wird die orale Mukositis oft kontrovers diskutiert. In diesem Artikel werden aktuelle theoriebasierte und erfahrungsbasierte Grundlagen und Anleitungen für die Pflege und Behandlung vorgestell

Muscular Torque Output During Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation Following a 4-week Training Intervention in Older Adults

Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) can be used to induce muscle torque by generating involuntary muscle contractions. If a greater muscular torque and torque maintenance could be induced by NMES training bouts, it may lead to improvements in electrically induced muscular endurance. However, little is known regarding torque output during NMES pre-post training. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine if a 4-week NMES training intervention would alter involuntary muscular torque output during the NMES protocol in older, healthy adults. METHODS: Eleven older adults (68.7 ± 2.1 years) completed 12 (Day 1 – Day 12), 40-min NMES training sessions of the quadriceps muscles three times a week, over 4-weeks, with the stimulation frequency set at 60 Hz. Maximal voluntary contractions (MVC) were measured pre-training and mid-training. NMES was delivered through stimulation electrodes placed on the quadriceps muscles and torque output was recorded during the training sessions. Stimulation intensity was set to generate muscular torque output to meet a target representing 15% MVC and was adjusted every 5 minutes to achieve target torque. During each training session, 96 total contractions were generated during the NMES protocol. For Day 1 and Day 12, mean torque, peak torque, and torque time integral (TTI) were measured for each contraction and were then normalized to the pre-training MVC for Day 1 and mid-training MVC for Day 12. The overall mean of the 96 contractions was then calculated for each torque parameter. Sum of TTI (STTI) was calculated by summing the normalized TTI for all contractions. The average stimulation intensity was recorded, and the mean was calculated for each day. Paired sample t-tests were used to test for differences between Days (Day 1 and Day 12) for torque parameters and stimulation intensity. Statistical significance was set at p ≤ 0.05. RESULTS: TTI (Day 1: 90.5 ± 6.1% MVC vs Day 12: 75.9 ± 9.4% MVC; p = 0.036) and STTI (Day 1: 8,686.4 ± 582.0% MVC vs Day 12: 7,2801.0 ± 903.8% MVC; p = 0.036) were lower on Day 12 compared to Day 1. Additionally, there was a trend toward lower mean torque after training (Day 1: 8.7 ± 0.5% MVC vs Day 12: 7.3 ± 0.9% MVC; p = 0.055). Peak torque was not different between days (Day 1: 12.9 ± 0.6% MVC vs Day 12: 13.0 ± 0.7% MVC; p = 0.859). Stimulation intensity showed a trend toward higher stimulation intensity on Day 12 compared to Day 1 (Day 1: 13.3 ± 0.7 mA vs Day 12: 14.6 ± 1.0 mA, p = 0.10). CONCLUSION: Torque output during the NMES protocol was not improved with NMES training and demonstrated a decrease in some torque parameters. The inability of the muscle to produce similar torque output after training may be due to muscle accommodation to the NMES stimulation with repeated bouts. If the goal is to improve involuntary muscular endurance, allowing for more recovery between NMES sessions and use of a lower stimulation frequency may facilitate greater overall muscular torque output following NMES training

Adoption Process for the Model Aquatic Health Code: An Example

In 2014 the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published the first edition of the Model Aquatic Health Code (MAHC). This document represented the inaugural introduction of a federal policy guideline with a direct focus in the area of aquatic venue operation and maintenance with the sole purpose of improving the nature of public health in the field. The Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) began the review and adoption process soon after the policy’s release. The ISDH process is proposed as one method for others to consider. The background and history of the MAHC are presented in this manuscript along with an overview of the adoption process to date that has been employed by the State of Indiana. In addition, information is provided on the Diffusion of Innovations Theory (DIT) as a possible method for assessing the long-term adoption of the MAHC on a national level

Search for an anomalous excess of charged-current quasielastic νe interactions with the MicroBooNE experiment using Deep-Learning-based reconstruction

We present a measurement of the νe-interaction rate in the MicroBooNE detector that addresses the observed MiniBooNE anomalous low-energy excess (LEE). The approach taken isolates neutrino interactions consistent with the kinematics of charged-current quasielastic (CCQE) events. The topology of such signal events has a final state with one electron, one proton, and zero mesons (1e1p). Multiple novel techniques are employed to identify a 1e1p final state, including particle identification that use two methods of Deep-Learning-based image identification and event isolation using a boosted decision-tree ensemble trained to recognize two-body scattering kinematics. This analysis selects 25 νe-candidate events in the reconstructed neutrino energy range of 200–1200 MeV, while 29.0±1.9(sys)±5.4(stat) are predicted when using νμ CCQE interactions as a constraint. We use a simplified model to translate the MiniBooNE LEE observation into a prediction for a νe signal in MicroBooNE. A Δχ2 test statistic, based on the combined Neyman–Pearson χ2 formalism, is used to define frequentist confidence intervals for the LEE signal strength. Using this technique, in the case of no LEE signal, we expect this analysis to exclude a normalization factor of 0.75 (0.98) times the median MiniBooNE LEE signal strength at 90% (2σ) confidence level, while the MicroBooNE data yield an exclusion of 0.25 (0.38) times the median MiniBooNE LEE signal strength at 90% (2σ) confidence level