Injectable autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI) in acetabular cartilage defects—three-year results

To evaluate the clinical outcome after arthroscopic matrix-associated injectable autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI) in patients with large full-thickness acetabular cartilage defects. ACI was performed in young patients with full-thickness acetabular cartilage defects >= 2 cm(2) in a two-step arthroscopic procedure. The patients were followed closely with clinical examinations and pre- and postoperative scores. The modified Harris Hip Score (mHHS), iHOT33 questionnaire (iHOT33) and the Subjective Hip Value (SHV) were surveyed. Demographic patient data was evaluated for influencing factors for the pre- and postoperative results. Thirty-two consecutive cases (4 female, 28 male, mean age 33 years) were included. The average defect size was 4.9 (range: 2-6) cm(2). They were followed at 6, 12, 24 and 36 months postoperatively. Patients had improved significantly from 64 to 91 points (P < 0.001) in the mHHS, from 44% to 86% (P < 0.001) in the iHOT33 and from 54% to 87% (P < 0.001) in the SHV. No surgery related complications were noted. Cell cultivation failed in two cases (7%) and the patients decided for a repeated harvesting of cartilage cylinders followed by a successful ACI. Patients age and size of the cartilage defect showed no significant correlation with the pre- or postoperative results. Injectable ACI is a reliable procedure treating full-thickness acetabular cartilage defects leading to promising results 3 years postoperatively with a significant increase in all scores despite large acetabular cartilage defects in the weight-bearing zone

Graphene Grown on Ge(001) from Atomic Source

Among the many anticipated applications of graphene, some - such as transistors for Si microelectronics - would greatly benefit from the possibility to deposit graphene directly on a semiconductor grown on a Si wafer. We report that Ge(001) layers on Si(001) wafers can be uniformly covered with graphene at temperatures between 800{\deg}C and the melting temperature of Ge. The graphene is closed, with sheet resistivity strongly decreasing with growth temperature, weakly decreasing with the amount of deposited C, and reaching down to 2 kOhm/sq. Activation energy of surface roughness is low (about 0.66 eV) and constant throughout the range of temperatures in which graphene is formed. Density functional theory calculations indicate that the major physical processes affecting the growth are: (1) substitution of Ge in surface dimers by C, (2) interaction between C clusters and Ge monomers, and (3) formation of chemical bonds between graphene edge and Ge(001), and that the processes 1 and 2 are surpassed by CH$_{2}$ surface diffusion when the C atoms are delivered from CH$_{4}$. The results of this study indicate that graphene can be produced directly at the active region of the transistor in a process compatible with the Si technology

Specific targeting of human caspases using designed ankyrin repeat proteins

Caspases play important roles in cell death, differentiation, and proliferation. Due to their high homology, especially of the active site, specific targeting of a particular caspase using substrate analogues is very difficult. Although commercially available small molecules based on peptides are lacking high specificity due to overlapping cleavage motives between different caspases, they are often used as specific tools. We have selected designed ankyrin repeat proteins (DARPins) against human caspases 1-9 and identified high-affinity binders for the targeted caspases, except for caspase 4. Besides previously reported caspase-specific DARPins, we generated novel DARPins (D1.73, D5.15, D6.11, D8.1, D8.4, and D9.2) and confirmed specificity for caspases 1, 5, 6, and 8 using a subset of caspase family members. In addition, we solved the crystal structure of caspase 8 in complex with DARPin D8.4. This binder interacts with non-conserved residues on the large subunit, thereby explaining its specificity. Structural analysis of this and other previously published crystal structures of caspase/DARPin complexes depicts two general binding areas either involving active site forming loops or a surface area laterally at the large subunit of the enzyme. Both surface areas involve non-conserved surface residues of caspase

Evaluation of strategic building maintenance and refurbishment budgeting method Schroeder

The method Schroeder is accepted amongst real estate professionals in Switzerland as a near standard for condition monitoring, budgeting of maintenance and refurbishment, and strategic decision support in point of building portfolios. It is based on the devaluation curves of 12 or more building elements. Main results are the actual and the prognosticated future building condition in percentage of its reinstatement value, the residual useful service life of building elements, and the calculation of future maintenance and refurbishment costs. 25 years after its first publication, this paper analyses the assumptions made, compares the method to other methods in this field, and validates the method in several steps, based on scientific or empirical evidence. Furthermore, a desktop simulation of a well-documented portfolio was performed and compared, the answers from a questionnaire amongst users are provided, and the partially controversial conclusions are discussed

First in-situ detection of the CN radical in comets and evidence for a distributed source

Although the debate regarding the origin of the cyano (CN) radical in comets has been ongoing for many decades, it has yielded no definitive answer to date. CN could previously only be studied remotely, strongly hampering efforts to constrain its origin because of very limited spatial information. Thanks to the European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft, which orbited comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko for two years, we can investigate, for the first time, CN around a comet at high spatial and temporal resolution. On board Rosetta's orbiter module, the high-resolution double-focusing mass spectrometer DFMS, part of the ROSINA instrument suite, analyzed the neutral volatiles (including HCN and the CN radical) in the inner coma of the comet throughout that whole two-year phase and at variable cometocentric distances. From a thorough analysis of the full-mission data, the abundance of CN radicals in the cometary coma has been derived. Data from a close flyby event in February 2015 indicate a distributed origin for the CN radical in comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRA

Detection of volatiles undergoing sublimation from 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko coma particles using ROSINA/COPS. II. The nude gauge

In an earlier study, we reported that the ram gauge of the COmet Pressure Sensor (COPS), one of the three instruments of the Rosetta Orbiter Spectrometer for Ion and Neutral Analysis (ROSINA), could be used to obtain information about the sublimating content of icy particles, made up of volatiles and conceivably refractories coming from comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. In this work, we extend the investigation to the second COPS gauge, the nude gauge. In particular, we analyse the volume of the volatile content of coma particles, along with a search for possible dependencies between the nude gauge detection rate (i.e. the rate at which icy particles are detected by the nude gauge) and the position of the Rosetta spacecraft. We also investigate the correlations of the nude gauge detection rate with the quantities associated with cometary activity. Although it was not originally designed for such a purpose, the COPS nude gauge has been able to detect $\sim$67000 features generated by the sublimation of the volatile content of icy particles. The nude gauge detection rate follows a trend that is inversely proportional to the heliocentric distance. This result is interpreted as a confirmation of a possible relation between the nude gauge detection rate and cometary activity. Thus, we compared the former with parameters related to cometary activity and obtained significant correlations, indicating that the frequency of icy particle detection is driven by cometary activity. Furthermore, by representing the volatile part of the icy particles as equivalent spheres with a density of 1 g cm$^{-3}$, we obtained a range of diameters between 60 and 793 nanometres, with the smaller ones ($<390\,\mathrm{nm}$ in diameter) having a size distribution power index of $-4.79\pm 0.26$.Comment: 12 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in A&

Detection of volatiles undergoing sublimation from 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko coma particles using ROSINA/COPS. I. The ram gauge

The ESA Rosetta mission has allowed an extensive in-situ study of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. In measurements performed by the ram gauge of the on-board COmet Pressure Sensor (COPS), features have been observed that deviate from the nominal ram gauge signal. These are attributable to the sublimation of the volatile fraction of cometary icy particles containing volatiles and refractories. The objective of this work is the investigation of the volatile content of icy particles that entered the COPS ram gauge. The ram gauge measurements are inspected for features that we associate to the sublimation of the volatile component of cometary particles impacting the instrument. All sublimation features with high enough signal to noise ratio are modelled by fitting one or more exponential decay functions. The parameters of these fits are used to categorise different compositions of the sublimating component. From features attributable to ice sublimation, we infer the detection of 73 icy particles containing volatiles. 25 detections have enough volatile content for an in-depth study. From the values of the exponential decay constants, we classified the 25 inferred icy particles into three types, interpreted as different volatile compositions, possibly further complicated by different morphologies. Available data do not give indication as to which molecules compose the different types. Nevertheless, we can estimate the total volume of volatiles, expressed as the diameter of an equivalent sphere of water (density of 1 g cm$^{-3}$). This was found to be on the order of hundreds of nanometres.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures, 2 tables, published in A&A, figures with better resolutio

Early and Differential Diagnosis of Dementia and Mild Cognitive Impairment Design and Cohort Baseline Characteristics of the German Dementia Competence Network

Background: The German Dementia Competence Network (DCN) has established procedures for standardized multicenter acquisition of clinical, biological and imaging data, for centralized data management, and for the evaluation of new treatments. Methods: A longitudinal cohort study was set up for patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), patients with mild dementia and control subjects. The aims were to establish the diagnostic, differential diagnostic and prognostic power of a range of clinical, laboratory and imaging methods. Furthermore, 2 clinical trials were conducted with patients suffering from MCI and mild to moderate Alzheimer's Disease (AD). These trials aimed at evaluating the efficacy and safety of the combination of galantamine and memantine versus galantamine alone. Results: Here, we report on the scope and projects of the DCN, the methods that were employed, the composition and flow within the diverse groups of patients and control persons and on the clinical and neuropsychological baseline characteristics of the group of 2,113 subjects who participated in the observational and clinical trials. Conclusion: These data have an impact on the procedures for the early and differential clinical diagnosis of dementias, the current standard treatment of AD as well as on future clinical trials in AD. Copyright (C) 2009 S. Karger AG, Base

Investigation of laser-induced ablation of ceramic materials for spaceborne applications

In this work tests for determination of ablation thresholds of various ceramic materials for pulsed laser irradiations at wavelengths of 355 nm and 1064 nm in vacuum are presented. For comparison tests with copper and aluminium are also reported. The ablation process was monitored insitu by long-distance microscopy. The morphology of ablation spots was exsitu inspected by scanning electron microscopy. Furthermore, the redeposition of potentially released particles on optics in the vicinity to the target was examined