Selective non-steroidal glucocorticoid receptor agonists attenuate inflammation but do not impair intestinal epithelial cell restitution in vitro

Introduction: Despite the excellent anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive action of glucocorticoids (GCs), their use for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) still carries significant risks in terms of frequently occurring severe side effects, such as the impairment of intestinal tissue repair. The recently-introduced selective glucocorticoid receptor (GR) agonists (SEGRAs) offer anti-inflammatory action comparable to that of common GCs, but with a reduced side effect profile. Methods: The in vitro effects of the non-steroidal SEGRAs Compound A (CpdA) and ZK216348, were investigated in intestinal epithelial cells and compared to those of Dexamethasone (Dex). GR translocation was shown by immunfluorescence and Western blot analysis. Trans-repressive effects were studied by means of NF-κB/p65 activity and IL-8 levels, trans-activation potency by reporter gene assay. Flow cytometry was used to assess apoptosis of cells exposed to SEGRAs. The effects on IEC-6 and HaCaT cell restitution were determined using an in vitro wound healing model, cell proliferation by BrdU assay. In addition, influences on the TGF-β- or EGF/ERK1/2/MAPK-pathway were evaluated by reporter gene assay, Western blot and qPCR analysis. Results: Dex, CpdA and ZK216348 were found to be functional GR agonists. In terms of trans-repression, CpdA and ZK216348 effectively inhibited NF-κB activity and IL-8 secretion, but showed less trans-activation potency. Furthermore, unlike SEGRAs, Dex caused a dose-dependent inhibition of cell restitution with no effect on cell proliferation. These differences in epithelial restitution were TGF-β-independent but Dex inhibited the EGF/ERK1/2/MAPK-pathway important for intestinal epithelial wound healing by induction of MKP-1 and Annexin-1 which was not affected by CpdA or ZK216348. Conclusion: Collectively, our results indicate that, while their anti-inflammatory activity is comparable to Dex, SEGRAs show fewer side effects with respect to wound healing. The fact that SEGRAs did not have a similar effect on cell restitution might be due to a different modulation of EGF/ERK1/2 MAPK signalling

A Mobile Accident Report System

Rarely performed documentation tasks usually require support for the user so that the data is recorded both completely and correctly. The broad market penetration with mobile devices like smart phones provides new possibilities for giving support for these kinds of tasks. This paper focuses on one particular widely-used instance of such a documentation task, namely the European Accident Report (aka Agreed Statement of Facts on Motor Vehicle Accident). Firstly we discuss the advantages of media-break-free processing of all the relevant data. Secondly we present the client part of the application, which allows on-site documentation by any of the parties involved. Both application parts can be used for processing claims in the back office. We highlight the possibilities of service-chain integration, the digital accident file generated by using this solution and the resultant advantages for media-break-free processing of claims

Tibiofemoral and patellofemoral joint 3D-kinematics in patients with posterior cruciate ligament deficiency compared to healthy volunteers

Background: The posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) plays an important role in maintaining physiological kinematics and function of the knee joint. To date mainly in-vitro models or combined magnetic resonance and fluoroscopic systems have been used for quantifying the importance of the PCL. We hypothesized, that both tibiofemoral and patellofemoral kinematic patterns are changed in PCL-deficient knees, which is increased by isometric muscle flexion. Therefore the aim of this study was to simultaneously investigate tibiofemoral and patellofemoral 3D kinematics in patients suffering from PCL deficiency during different knee flexion angles and under neuromuscular activation. Methods: We enrolled 12 patients with isolated PCL-insufficiency as well as 20 healthy volunteers. Sagittal MR-images of the knee joint were acquired in different positions of the knee joint (0[degree sign], 30[degree sign], 90[degree sign] flexion, with and without flexing isometric muscle activity) on a 0.2 Tesla open MR-scanner. After segmentation of the patella, femur and tibia local coordinate systems were established to define the spatial position of these structures in relation to each other. Results: At full extension and 30[degree sign] flexion no significant difference was observed in PCL-deficient knee joints neither for tibiofemoral nor for patellofemoral kinematics. At 90[degree sign] flexion the femur of PCL-deficient patients was positioned significantly more anteriorly in relation to the tibia and both, the patellar tilt and the patellar shift to the lateral side, significantly increased compared to healthy knee joints. While no significant effect of isometric flexing muscle activity was observed in healthy individuals, in PCL-deficient knee joints an increased paradoxical anterior translation of the femur was observed at 90[degree sign] flexion compared to the status of muscle relaxation. Conclusions: Significant changes in tibiofemoral and patellofemoral joint kinematics occur in patients with isolated PCL-insufficiency above 30 degrees of flexion compared to healthy volunteers. Since this could be one reasonable mechanism in the development of OA our results might help to understand the long-term development of tibiofemoral and/or patellofemoral osteoarthritis in PCL-insufficient knee joints

New Approaches for ab initio Calculations of Molecules with Strong Electron Correlation

Reliable quantum chemical methods for the description of molecules with dense-lying frontier orbitals are needed in the context of many chemical compounds and reactions. Here, we review developments that led to our newcomputational toolbo x which implements the quantum chemical density matrix renormalization group in a second-generation algorithm. We present an overview of the different components of this toolbox.Comment: 19 pages, 1 tabl

Optimized Sound Field Generation in the Time Domain – Validation for Source Arrays in 2D

DFG, 393106680, Optimale Schallfelderzeugung für Beschallungsaufgaben im Zeit- und Frequenzbereic

Quantifizierung der dreidimensionalen Mikroarchitektur von Genomelementen nach spezifischer Fluoreszenzmarkierung in fixierten und vitalen Zellen

Die Erforschung der Chromatinstruktur in Interphasezellkernen basiert im Wesentlichen auf der in situ Hybridisierung von fluoreszenzmarkierten Sonden (=FISH), lichtoptischen Mikroskopieverfahren und digitaler Bildanalyse. Für die Quantifizierung der Bildinformation wurden neue effiziente Algorithmen entwickelt und anschließend auf verschiedene biologische Systeme angewendet. Zur quantitativen Analyse der Topologie und Morphologie von spezifisch fluoreszenzmarkierten Chromatinregionen wurde ein Softwarepaket entwickelt, welches folgende Parameter mißt: absolute und relative Positionen, normierte und absolute Distanzen, Schwerpunktswinkel von Chromatinregionen und die Minkowskifunktionale von Chromosomenterritorien. Die Anpassung eines Ellipsoidmodells an Zellkerne wurde mittels Lagranger Optimierung realisiert. Zusätzlich wurde ein Algorithmus entwickelt, welcher das Kugel-, Ellipsoidvolumen und die Kompaktierung von markierten Genen anhand der Halbwertsbreiten einer an die Intensitätsverteilung angepaßten zweidimensionalen Gaußverteilung bestimmt. Das Softwarepaket wurde an den Chromosomenterritorien 18 und 19 in Fibroblastenzellkernen getestet. Die Anwendung auf Zellkerne des Cervix-Gewebes erlaubte es erstmals ein vollständiges topologisches Modell des Chromosomenterritoriums 18 und des BCL2 Gens mit der Differenzierung und Expression zu verknüpfen. Das Kugel-, Ellipsoidvolumen und die Kompaktierung des SNRPN Gens wurden abgeschätzt. Es konnte aufgezeigt werden, dass herkömmliche Meßmethoden unzureichend sind, daß aber auch FISH-Artefakte das Ergebnis beeinussen können. Daher wurde eine neue Methode zur vitalen kombinatorischen Oligonukleotid-FISH (=vCF) eingeführt. Während bei allen Standard-FISH Methoden destruktive Veränderungen der Chromatinstruktur auftreten können, ermöglicht die vCF eine schonende in situ Hybridisierung in lebenden T-Lymphozyten

A meta-analysis of pharmacotherapy for social anxiety disorder: an examination of efficacy, moderators, and mediators

INTRODUCTION: Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is among the most prevalent mental disorders, associated with impaired functioning and poor quality of life. Pharmacotherapy is the most widely utilized treatment option. The current study provides an updated meta-analytic review of the efficacy of pharmacotherapy and examines moderators and mediators of treatment efficacy. Areas Covered: A comprehensive search of the current literature yielded 52 randomized, pill placebo-controlled trials of pharmacotherapy for adults diagnosed with SAD. Data on potential mediators of treatment outcome were collected, as well as data necessary to calculate pooled correlation matrices to compute indirect effects. Expert Opinion: The overall effect size of pharmacotherapy for SAD is small to medium (Hedges' g = 0.41). Effect sizes were not moderated by age, sex, length of treatment, initial severity, risk of study bias, or publication year. Furthermore, reductions in symptoms mediated pharmacotherapy's effect on quality of life. Support was found for reverse mediation. Future directions may include sustained efforts to examine treatment mechanisms of pharmacotherapy using rigorous longitudinal methodology to better establish temporal precedence

Effects of hip osteoarthritis on lower body joint kinematics during locomotion tasks: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Introduction: Motion analysis can be used to gain information needed for disease diagnosis as well as for the design and evaluation of intervention strategies in patients with hip osteoarthritis (HOA). Thereby, joint kinematics might be of great interest due to their discriminative capacity and accessibility, especially with regard to the growing usage of wearable sensors for motion analysis. So far, no comprehensive literature review on lower limb joint kinematics of patients with HOA exists. Thus, the aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to synthesise existing literature on lower body joint kinematics of persons with HOA compared to those of healthy controls during locomotion tasks. Methods: Three databases were searched for studies on pelvis, hip, knee and ankle kinematics in subjects with HOA compared to healthy controls during locomotion tasks. Standardised mean differences were calculated and pooled using a random-effects model. Where possible, subgroup analyses were conducted. Risk of bias was assessed with the Downs and Black checklist. Results and Discussion: A total of 47 reports from 35 individual studies were included in this review. Most studies analysed walking and only a few studies analysed stair walking or turning while walking. Most group differences were found in ipsi- and contralateral three-dimensional hip and sagittal knee angles with reduced ranges of motion in HOA subjects. Differences between subjects with mild to moderate and severe HOA were found, with larger effects in severe HOA subjects. Additionally, stair walking and turning while walking might be promising extensions in clinical gait analysis due to their elevated requirements for joint mobility. Large between-study heterogeneity was observed, and future studies have to clarify the effects of OA severity, laterality, age, gender, study design and movement execution on lower limb joint kinematics