Stretchis: Fabricating Highly Stretchable User Interfaces

International audienceRecent advances in materials science research have enabled the production of highly stretchable sensors and displays. However, such technologies are not yet accessible to non-expert makers. We present a novel and inexpensive fabrication method for creating Stretchis, highly stretchable user interfaces that combine sensing capabilities and visual output. We use Polydimethylsiloxan (PDMS) as the base material for a Stretchi and show how to embed stretchable touch and proximity sensors and stretchable electroluminescent displays. Stretchis can be ultra-thin, flexible, and fully customizable, enabling non-expert makers to add interaction to elastic physical objects, shape-changing surfaces, fabrics, and the human body. We demonstrate the usefulness of our approach with three application examples that include ubiquitous computing, wearables and on-skin interaction

The Role of Immune Checkpoint Blockade in Uveal Melanoma

Uveal melanoma (UM) represents the most common intraocular malignancy in adults and accounts for about 5% of all melanomas. Primary disease can be effectively controlled by several local therapy options, but UM has a high potential for metastatic spread, especially to the liver. Despite its clinical and genetic heterogeneity, therapy of metastatic UM has largely been adopted from cutaneous melanoma (CM) with discouraging results until now. The introduction of antibodies targeting CTLA-4 and PD-1 for immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) has revolutionized the field of cancer therapy and has achieved pioneering results in metastatic CM. Thus, expectations were high that patients with metastatic UM would also benefit from these new therapy options. This review provides a comprehensive and up-to-date overview on the role of ICB in UM. We give a summary of UM biology, its clinical features, and how it differs from CM. The results of several studies that have been investigating ICB in metastatic UM are presented. We discuss possible reasons for the lack of efficacy of ICB in UM compared to CM, highlight the pitfalls of ICB in this cancer entity, and explain why other immune-modulating therapies could still be an option for future UM therapies

A comparative approach to understanding tissue-specific expression of uncoupling protein 1 expression in adipose tissue

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

The impact of the Bohemian Spur on the cooling and exhumation pattern of the Eastern Alpine wedge

Fold and thrust belt dynamics and architecture may largely be impacted by the geometry of the overridden basement. The Bohemian Spur, the subcrop extension of the Bohemian massif, guided thrust propagation leading to the arcuate shape of the orogen and a narrowing of the Molasse Basin at the transition to the between the W-E trending Eastern Alps and the SW-NE trending Western Carpathians. Thermochronological studies in the Eastern Alps were mainly focused on the core of the collisional orogen, where deformation has been most prominent. Further to the east, some FT work is concentrated along fault zones but thermochronometers with lower closure temperatures have hardly been applied to higher elements of the nappe pile. Due to the scarcity of the dataset and preferential application of fission track dating uppermost crustal cooling below ca. 80 °C remains undetected. In this study we present new apatite (U-Th)/He and apatite fission track data from clastic units of the Rhenodanubian Flysch zone and the Northern Calcareous Alps. We find reset ages, that monitor a so far un(der)appreciated phase of prominent Late Oligocene to Miocene cooling. Thermal modeling of age data from the flysch samples reveals rapid Early Miocene cooling at rates of up to 40 °C/Ma between ca. 20 and 15 Ma. We propose a buttressing effect of the underlying tectonically structured eastern rim of the Bohemian Spur to be the driving mechanism for this phase of intensified exhumation. Our tectonic model (Fig. 1a) invokes contractional reactivation of pre-existing normal faults inherited from Penninic continental rifting. This positive inversion led to the shortening of the Jurassic half-graben infill and its extrusion as a major fold. Thermochronological data and thermal modeling of data from samples in the Lunz nappe of the Northern Calcareous Alps nappe pile indicate less punctuated cooling and exhumation. Modeling defines an increase of cooling rates at the latest at ca. 27 to 25 Ma, i.e., earlier than in the Flysch samples. Cooling occurred at a much lower rate of 3 to 6 °C/Ma and was synchronous with northward movement of the deformation front. In our tectonic model (Fig. 1b), we propose a staircase pattern that influences wedge dynamics: The topographically segmented downgoing plate leads to less localized and more distributed deformation invoking a broader area of uplift than the spatially focused uplift of the Flysch samples. Wedge propagation is initially inhibited or retarded by the relief of the basement. The ongoing northward movement of the propagating wedge is compensated through deep duplexing of the autochthonous foreland sequence. When calling upon deep-seated processes to explain the exhumation pattern the buttressing effect needs to be taken into account. Early Miocene drainage pattern reorganization in the Molasse Basin is proposed to be a consequence of uplift induced by the subcrop promontory

Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation in Dialysis Patients

Background/Aims: Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) has emerged as a new therapeutic option for high-risk patients. However, dialysis patients were excluded from all previous studies. The aim of this study is to compare the outcomes of TAVI for dialysis patients with those for patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) stages 3 and 4 and to compare TAVI with open surgery in dialysis patients. Methods: Part I: comparison of 10 patients on chronic hemodialysis with 116 patients with non-dialysis-dependent CKD undergoing TAVI. Part II: comparison of transcatheter (n = 15) with open surgical (n = 24) aortic valve replacement in dialysis patients. Results: Part I: dialysis patients were significantly younger (72.3 vs. 82.0 years; p < 0.01). Hospital stay was significantly longer in dialysis patients (21.8 vs. 12.1 days; p = 0.01). Overall 30-day mortality was 3.17%, with no deaths among dialysis patients. Six-month survival rates were similar (log-rank p = 0.935). Part II: patient age was comparable (66.5 vs. 69.5 years; p = 0.42). Patients in the surgical group tended to stay longer in hospital than TAVI patients (29.5 vs. 22.5 days; p = 0.35). Conclusion: TAVI is a safe procedure in patients on chronic hemodialysis. Until new data become available, we find no compelling reason to refuse these patients TAVI. Copyright (C) 2012 S. Karger AG, Base

Drawn Stories, Moving Images. Comic Books and their Screen Adaptations

The comic transcends the merely entertaining, and fans of comics become engaged and invested in the field through a range of activities. Major cities host regular comic conventions, attracting hundreds of thousands of attendees each year, who search for special issues of their favourite comic-book series, meet artists, attend workshops and buy merchandise. Many fans do not stop at just attending conventions; they do so dressed as their favourite comic characters or wearing badges, buttons, T-shirts or sweaters with images of those characters on them. In other words: many fans do ot merely consume comic books; rather, they arrange a considerable part of their lives around them and in some cases even embody their heroes, that is, they copy their behaviour and their language. The comic universe, the comic books and the range of activities emerging out of them and around them become a meaningful universe for fans

Retrospective Long-Term Comparison of Naturopathic Fasting Therapy and Weight Reduction Diet in Overweight Patients

In a follow-up study overweight and obese patients fasting according to Buchinger (modified) and a control group treated by a weight reduction diet in the context of an inpatient naturopathic complex treatment were compared using a questionnaire developed for a standardized phone interview 6.8±1.1 years after inpatient treatment. During the inpatient treatment the fasting patients significantly more body weight, but at the time of the interview significantly more weight was gained again. 10.7% of the fasting patients and 31.9% of the control group lowered their weight at least 5% of their initial weight up to the interview. 42% of the fasting and 74% of the control group persistently changed their diet. The control group followed a significantly higher number of trained nutritional aspects. 21% of the fasting and 40% of the control group increased their leisure activity permanently. Continued improvement in quality of life was achieved by 16% of the fasting patients and 28% of the control group. The fasting therapy, carried out as part of the inpatient naturopathic complex treatment, turned out to be less suitable for the treatment of overweight and obesity compared to standard therapy. One likely determinant is the minor poststationary lifestyle modification

Transcriptomic analysis identifies lactoferrin-induced quiescent circuits in neonatal macrophages

IntroductionUpon birth, a hitherto naïve immune system is confronted with a plethora of microbial antigens due to intestinal bacterial colonization. To prevent excessive inflammation and disruption of the epithelial barrier, physiological mechanisms must promote immune-anergy within the neonatal gut. As high concentrations of human lactoferrin (hLF), a transferrin glycoprotein shown to modulate macrophage function, are frequently encountered in colostrum, its direct interaction with intestinal macrophages may satisfy this physiological need. Thus, the primary objective of this study was to investigate transcriptional changes induced by human lactoferrin in neonatal monocyte-derived macrophages.MethodsCord blood-derived monocytes were differentiated with M-CSF in presence or absence of 500 µg/mL hLF for 7 days and afterwards stimulated with 1 ng/mL LPS or left untreated. RNA was then isolated and subjected to microarray analysis.ResultsDifferentiation of cord blood-derived monocytes in presence of hLF induced a distinct transcriptional program defined by cell cycle arrest in the G2/M phase, induction of IL-4/IL-13-like signaling, altered extracellular matrix interaction, and enhanced propensity for cell-cell interaction. Moreover, near-complete abrogation of transcriptional changes induced by TLR4 engagement with LPS was observed in hLF-treated samples.DiscussionThe global transition towards an M2-like homeostatic phenotype and the acquisition of quiescence elegantly demonstrate the ontogenetical relevance of hLF in attenuating pro-inflammatory signaling within the developing neonatal intestine. The marked anergy towards proinflammatory stimuli such as LPS further underlines the glycoprotein’s potential therapeutic relevance

Immune Checkpoint Blockade for Metastatic Uveal Melanoma: Re-Induction following Resistance or Toxicity

Re-induction with immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) needs to be considered in many patients with uveal melanoma (UM) due to limited systemic treatment options. Here, we provide hitherto the first analysis of ICB re-induction in UM. A total of 177 patients with metastatic UM treated with ICB were included from German skin cancer centers and the German national skin cancer registry (ADOReg). To investigate the impact of ICB re-induction, two cohorts were compared: patients who received at least one ICB re-induction (cohort A, n = 52) versus those who received only one treatment line of ICB (cohort B, n = 125). In cohort A, a transient benefit of overall survival (OS) was observed at 6 and 12 months after the treatment start of ICB. There was no significant difference in OS between both groups (p = 0.1) with a median OS of 16.2 months (cohort A, 95% CI: 11.1–23.8) versus 9.4 months (cohort B, 95% CI: 6.1–14.9). Patients receiving re-induction of ICB (cohort A) had similar response rates compared to those receiving ICB once. Re-induction of ICB may yield a clinical benefit for a small subgroup of patients even after resistance or development of toxicities