Consensus recommendations of the german consortium for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer

BACKGROUND: The German Consortium for Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer (GC-HBOC) has established a multigene panel (TruRisk®) for the analysis of risk genes for familial breast and ovarian cancer. SUMMARY: An interdisciplinary team of experts from the GC-HBOC has evaluated the available data on risk modification in the presence of pathogenic mutations in these genes based on a structured literature search and through a formal consensus process. KEY MESSAGES: The goal of this work is to better assess individual disease risk and, on this basis, to derive clinical recommendations for patient counseling and care at the centers of the GC-HBOC from the initial consultation prior to genetic testing to the use of individual risk-adapted preventive/therapeutic measures

Architecture of soil microaggregates: Advanced methodologies to explore properties and functions

The functions of soils are intimately linked to their three-dimensional pore space and the associated biogeochemical interfaces, mirrored in the complex structure that developed during pedogenesis. Under stress overload, soil disintegrates into smaller compound structures, conventionally named aggregates. Microaggregates (<250 µm) are recognized as the most stable soil structural units. They are built of mineral, organic, and biotic materials, provide habitats for a vast diversity of microorganisms, and are closely involved in the cycling of matter and energy. However, exploring the architecture of soil microaggregates and their linkage to soil functions remains a challenging but demanding scientific endeavor. With the advent of complementary spectromicroscopic and tomographic techniques, we can now assess and visualize the size, composition, and porosity of microaggregates and the spatial arrangement of their interior building units. Their combinations with advanced experimental pedology, multi-isotope labeling experiments, and computational approaches pave the way to investigate microaggregate turnover and stability, explore their role in element cycling, and unravel the intricate linkage between structure and function. However, spectromicroscopic techniques operate at different scales and resolutions, and have specific requirements for sample preparation and microaggregate isolation; hence, special attention must be paid to both the separation of microaggregates in a reproducible manner and the synopsis of the geography of information that originates from the diverse complementary instrumental techniques. The latter calls for further development of strategies for synlocation and synscaling beyond the present state of correlative analysis. Here, we present examples of recent scientific progress and review both options and challenges of the joint application of cutting-edge techniques to achieve a sophisticated picture of the properties and functions of soil microaggregates

Short-term impacts of forest clear-cut on soil structure and consequences for organic matter composition and nutrient speciation: a case study.

Clear-cuts of forests severely affect soil structure and thus soil organic matter (SOM) and nutrient cycling dynamics therein, though with yet unknown consequences for SOM composition as well as phosphorus (P) and sulfur (S) chemical form within the soil microaggregate size fraction. To determine the effects of conventional clear-cutting on soil chemistry in a Cambisol of the Wüstebach Forest (northwestern Germany), we sampled the mineral A- and B-horizons prior to clear-cut as well as 10 and 24 month thereafter. We measured the SOM composition of soil microaggregates using pyrolysis field ionization mass spectrometry (Py-FIMS), as well as P and S chemical form and speciation using wet-chemical extractions and X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy. We found that clear-cut led to an increase of the microaggregate size fraction up to 6% due to break-down of macroaggregates and initially significantly increased total elemental concentrations (C, N, P, S) due to the introduction of slash-residues. The SOM of slash-residues consisted to a substantial amount of sterols and was generally found to be of low thermal stability and probably did not contribute to aggregate stability. Deterioration of the aggregate structure probably led to an exposure of originally inaccessible sites within aggregates to the attack by soil microorganisms and thus to an increased P and S turnover as reflected in a significantly reduction of available P proportions (4 to 7%) and a reduction of the most reduced S forms (5%). A probable increased microbial activity and contribution to SOM after clear-cut is also reflected in the significantly increasing hexose:pentose ratio by 0.25 between 10 and 24 month after clear-cut, significantly increasing the general thermal stability of SOM in the microaggregate size fraction and believed to contribute to aggregate stability. This indicated that a first deterioration of the aggregate structure after clear-cut might in the long-term be remediated with time

Short-term impacts of forest clear-cut on soil structure and consequences for organic matter composition and nutrient speciation: A case study

Clear-cuts of forests severely affect soil structure and thus soil organic matter (SOM) and nutrient cycling dynamics therein, though with yet unknown consequences for SOM composition as well as phosphorus (P) and sulfur (S) chemical form within the soil microaggregate size fraction. To determine the effects of conventional clear-cutting on soil chemistry in a Cambisol of the Wüstebach Forest (northwestern Germany), we sampled the mineral A- and B-horizons prior to clear-cut as well as 10 and 24 month thereafter. We measured the SOM composition of soil microaggregates using pyrolysis field ionization mass spectrometry (Py-FIMS), as well as P and S chemical form and speciation using wet-chemical extractions and X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy. We found that clear-cut led to an increase of the microaggregate size fraction up to 6% due to break-down of macroaggregates and initially significantly increased total elemental concentrations (C, N, P, S) due to the introduction of slash-residues. The SOM of slash-residues consisted to a substantial amount of sterols and was generally found to be of low thermal stability and probably did not contribute to aggregate stability. Deterioration of the aggregate structure probably led to an exposure of originally inaccessible sites within aggregates to the attack by soil microorganisms and thus to an increased P and S turnover as reflected in a significantly reduction of available P proportions (4 to 7%) and a reduction of the most reduced S forms (5%). A probable increased microbial activity and contribution to SOM after clear-cut is also reflected in the significantly increasing hexose:pentose ratio by 0.25 between 10 and 24 month after clear-cut, significantly increasing the general thermal stability of SOM in the microaggregate size fraction and believed to contribute to aggregate stability. This indicated that a first deterioration of the aggregate structure after clear-cut might in the long-term be remediated with time

Characterization of small soil microaggregates and nanocolloids using two flow field fractionation methods

Soil microaggregates (SMA, d <250 µm) play a key role for the structure and ecological functions of soils. Small SMA (<20 µm) are considered as the building units of these aggregates. The knowledge about their distribution and chemical composition helps to understand their role in SMA formation and architecture. Our work focused on the characterization of potential functional building units of small SMA and their nucleus. We investigated the size distribution and chemical composition of small SMA using field flow fractionation methods. With centrifugal field flow fractionation (CF3), we established a new method allowing the fractionation of small SMA between 0.02-20 µm which were further characterized by light scattering, UV and ICP-MS. Furthermore, the nanocolloids (d<220 nm) were analyzed with asymetric flow field flow fractionation (AF4) coupled to a UV-detector and ICP-MS. The results showed that the chemical composition as well as the size distribution of small SMA including nanocolloids changed with the soil clay content. The elements Al, Si, Fe and organic carbon in the SMA size fractions revealed different mass ratios providing a deeper insight into the composition of SMA building units

Bioaccessibility of phosphorus sorbed to amorphous oxides: Evaluation of plant supply potential

In sparsely rooted subsoils secondary minerals, such as iron and aluminum oxides are predominant sorption sites for phosphorus (P) and thus important sinks for P fertilizers. P supply from these oxides can contribute to effective strategies for a sustainable future use of P fertilizers. Here we are going to combine (1) P radio-isotope tracing and imaging techniques, (2) diffuse gradient in thin films technology (DGT), and (3) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with the objective to assess the P accessibility and use efficiency from stable P reservoirs