Vergleichende Betrachtung der hydrologischen Eigenschaften typischer Waldhumusauflagen auf Kippenböden und „gewachsenen“ Standorten des Nordostdeutschen Tieflandes

Es erfolgte eine Charakterisierung der hydrologischen Eigenschaften (pF/WG-Funktionen) von Waldhumusauflagen und Mineralböden typischer Kippenstandorte des Lausitzer Braunkohlenbergbaus und vergleichend dazu „gewachsener“ Standorte im Tagebauumfeld. Zur Bearbeitung standen flächenrepräsentative Kiefernstangen- und -Baumhölzer sowie Rot- und Traubeneichenbestände. Die Wasserspei-chereigenschaften von Of- und Oh-Lagen unterscheiden sich markant, mit sehr viel höherer nFK in den Oh-Lagen. Darüber hinaus steigt die nFK der Oh-Horizonte von Kiefernstandorten mit zunehmendem Bestandesalter von ca. 25 Vol-% auf über 30 Vol-% an. Die höchsten Werte mit bis zu 45 Vol-% weisen Oh-Horizonte unter Eiche auf. Zwar ist die nFK der Humusauflagen von Kippenstandorten geringfügig niedriger als auf „gewachsenen“ Böden, gleichwohl trägt der Auflagehumus auf Kippenstandorten wegen der dort geringeren nFK des Mineralbodens stärker zur gesamten nutzbaren Wasserspeicherkapazität (nWSK) bei

Minimally invasive reconstruction of lateral tibial plateau fractures using the jail technique: a biomechanical study

BACKGROUND: This study described a novel, minimally invasive reconstruction technique of lateral tibial plateau fractures using a three-screw jail technique and compared it to a conventional two-screw osteosynthesis technique. The benefit of an additional screw implanted in the proximal tibia from the anterior at an angle of 90° below the conventional two-screw reconstruction after lateral tibial plateau fracture was evaluated. This new method was called the jail technique. METHODS: The two reconstruction techniques were tested using a porcine model (n = 40). Fracture was simulated using a defined osteotomy of the lateral tibial plateau. Load-to-failure and multiple cyclic loading tests were conducted using a material testing machine. Twenty tibias were used for each reconstruction technique, ten of which were loaded in a load-to-failure protocol and ten cyclically loaded (5000 times) between 200 and 1000 N using a ramp protocol. Displacement, stiffness and yield load were determined from the resulting load displacement curve. Failure was macroscopically documented. RESULTS: In the load-to-failure testing, the jail technique showed a significantly higher mean maximum load (2275.9 N) in comparison to the conventional reconstruction (1796.5 N, p < 0.001). The trend for better outcomes for the novel technique in terms of stiffness and yield load did not reach statistical significance (p > 0.05). In cyclic testing, the jail technique also showed better trends in displacement that were not statistically significant. Failure modes showed a tendency of screws cutting through the bone (cut-out) in the conventional reconstruction. No cut-out but a bending of the lag screws at the site of the additional third screw was observed in the jail technique. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study indicate that the jail and the conventional technique have seemingly similar biomechanical properties. This suggests that the jail technique may be a feasible alternative to conventional screw osteosynthesis in the minimally invasive reconstruction of lateral tibial plateau fractures. A potential advantage of the jail technique is the prevention of screw cut-outs through the cancellous bone

Überprüfung von Pedotransferfunktionen (PTF) zur Ableitung der nutzbaren Feldkapazität (nFK) forstlich genutzter Kippenböden in Ostdeutschland

Bei der forstlichen Standortkartierung von Kippenböden des Braunkohlenbergbaus bleiben substratbedingte Wasserhaus-haltsgrößen bisher ausgeblendet. Diese sind jedoch für eine kleinstandörtlich differenzierte Bestandesplanung unabdingbar, gerade auch in Anbetracht der klimabedingten Standortdrift. Eine zentrale Kenngröße des ökosystemaren bzw. Bodenwasserhaushaltes bildet hierbei die pflanzenverfügbare Wasserspeicherung. Eine Gegenüberstellung der mit neun verschiedenen Pedotransferfunktionen (PTF) geschätzten und den gemessenen Wasserspeichereigenschaften von 293 typischen Kippbodenhorizonten zeigt, dass die PTF nach KA 5 Tab. 70, ROSETTA, Heinkele (2011) und eingeschränkt nach Rieck (1995) hinreichend treffsichere Schätzergebnisse liefern. Hingegen sind die Ansätze nach Forstlicher Standortaufnahme Tab. 48, KA 5 Tab. 75 sowie DIN 4220 ungeeignet

ANLN and TLE2 in Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer: A Functional and Clinical Evaluation Based on In Silico and In Vitro Data

Anilin actin binding protein (ANLN) and transducing-like enhancer protein 2 (TLE2) are associated with cancer patient survival and progression. The impact of their gene expression on progression-free survival (PFS) of patients with muscle invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) treated with radical cystectomy (RC) and subtype association has not yet been investigated. qRT-PCR was used to measure the transcript levels of ANLN and TLE2 in the Mannheim cohort, and validated in silico by The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) cohort. Uni- and multivariate Cox regression analyses identified predictors for disease-specific survival (DSS) and overall survival (OS). In the Mannheim cohort, tumors with high ANLN expression were associated with lower OS and DSS, while high TLE2 expression was associated with a favorable OS. The TCGA cohort confirmed that high ANLN and low TLE2 expression was associated with shorter OS and disease-free survival (DFS). In both cohorts, multivariate analyses showed ANLN and TLE2 expression as independent outcome predictors. Furthermore, ANLN was more highly expressed in cell lines and patients with the basal subtype, while TLE2 expression was higher in cell lines and patients with the luminal subtype. ANLN and TLE2 are promising biomarkers for individualized bladder cancer therapy including cancer subclassification and informed MIBC prognosis

Characterization of groundwater vulnerability to fulfill requirements of the water framework directive of the European Union

La valoración de la vulnerabilidad acuífera es una base importante para satisfacer las demandas de la directiva marco agua de la Unión Europea. Para la determinación de la vulnerabilidad acuífera diferentes métodos han sido usados. En este trabajo la vulnerabilidad intrínseca de los recursos acuíferos es definida como el peor caso de contaminación en la zona no saturada sin interacción o decaimiento de la sustancia contaminante en su camino hacia el agua subterránea. Puede ser evaluada por el tiempo de transito del agua infiltrante desde la superficie hasta el nivel de saturación. Para evaluar la vulnerabilidad de acuerdo con esta definición, se presenta un método basado en un modelo analítico simple, el cual determina el tiempo de retención del agua infiltrante en la zona vadosa. El cálculo del tiempo de retención está basado en características litológicas de la zona vadosa y la recarga. El método tiene la ventaja que la cantidad de datos de entrada pueden ser derivados de mapas disponibles y puede ser manejado por un SIG

Predictive value of lymphangiogenesis and proliferation markers on mRNA level in urothelial carcinoma of the bladder after radical cystectomy

Objective: To evaluate the mRNA expression of lymphangiogenesis and proliferation markers and to examine its association with histopathological characteristics and clinical outcome in patients with urothelial carcinoma of the bladder (UCB) after radical cystectomy (RC). Patients and methods: Gene expression analysis of the vascular endothelial growth-C and-D (VEGF-C/-D), its receptor VEGF receptor-3 (VEGFR-3), MKI67, and RACGAP1 was performed in 108 patients after radical cystectomy and their correlation with clinical-pathological parameters was investigated. Uni- and multivariate regression analyses were used to identify predictors for cancer -specific survival (CSS), recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) after RC. Results: The expression of RACGAP1 and VEGFR-3 showed an association with a higher pT stage (P = 0.049; P = 0.009). MKI67 showed an association with a high-grade urothelial carcinoma of the bladder (P = 0.021). VEGFR-3 expression was significantly associated with the presence of lymphovascular invasion (LVI) (P = 0.016) and lymph node metastases (pN+) (P = 0.028). With the univariate analysis, overexpression of VEGFR-3 (P = 0.029) and the clinical-pathological parameters pT stage (P < 0.0001), pN+ (P = 0.0004), LVI (P < 0.0001) and female gender (P = 0.021) were significantly associated with a reduced CSS. Multivariate analysis identified a higher pT stage (P = 0.017) and LVI (P = 0.008) as independent predictors for reduced CSS. Independent predictors for reduced OS were a higher pT stage (P = 0.0007) and LVI (P = 0.0021), while overexpression of VEGF-D was associated with better OS (P < 0.0001). Conclusions: The mRNA expression of the investigated markers showed associations with common histopathological parameters. Increased expression of VEGF-D is independently associated with better overall survival. (C) 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved