Age-related changes in T lymphocytes of patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

Introduction The number of aging cancer patients has increased continuously and will do so further in the future. The immune system of elderly people experiences critical changes over the time. Therefore, tumor-induced changes in the immune system are believed to differ in young and elderly cancer patients as well. Methods The effect of aging on the immune system was measured in peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) of healthy volunteers (n = 48, 21–84 yrs.) divided into three different age groups. Seventy years was set as a cut-off for defining subjects as elderly. Results were compared to two groups of adult cancer patients, which donated PBL and tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL): young cancer patients (40–69 yrs.; blood: n = 13; TIL: n = 17) and elderly cancer patients (70–90 yrs.; blood: n = 20; TIL: n = 15) with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Frequencies and phenotypes of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells as well as regulatory T cells (Treg) were assessed by flow cytometry. Results We observed lower frequencies of CD8+ cytotoxic T cells during aging in both groups. Frequencies of tumor infiltrating regulatory T cells were significantly higher than in the peripheral blood but showed a significant decline in older tumor patients. With increasing age, expression of immunosuppressive CD73 and CCR7 was lower and expression of PD1 elevated on peripheral T cells in healthy volunteers and tumor patients. Conclusion Immunosenescence takes place in healthy donors and cancer patients. Our results suggest that in elderly tumor patients, the immune system is impaired and the tumor-induced immune escape is less pronounced. The increased expression of PD1 implies the potential for effective immunotherapies in elderly, as treatment with checkpoint inhibitors could be more beneficial for elderly HNSCC patients

The Dark Side of Information and Communication Technologies: The View from the Industry-Level of Analysis

The Year 2000 problem spurred companies to rethink investments in information and communication technologies (ICT). Many used the Y2K problem as an opportunity to renew ICT infrastructures, to install integrated enterprise packages, and to pursue new opportunities for ICT-enabled value such as e-commerce, supply chain management, and customer relationship management. Some evidence suggests that these efforts have had substantial payoffs in terms of shareholder value. But can such firm-level benefits persist when competitors catch up or when the success of leaders drives inefficient producers out of business? This panel features NSF-funded researchers whose studies have examined the impacts of ICT at the industry-level of analysis. They show significant industry-level ICT-enabled impacts with potentially negative implications for the firms competing within industries. In the Information Systems field, the ability to gain competitive advantage with ICT has long been an important theme. Although some researchers warned that ICT might contribute to the destruction of competitive advantage, by far the majority of the discourse has centered on how individual firms should invest in ICT. When taking an industry-level view of ICT-enabled competitive advantage, however, we can see its potential dark side. Among the risks ICT poses to the firms in an industry are these: • Fundamentally reducing the cost structure of an industry such that some firms can no longer compete and that others experience squeezed margins • Destruction of in-house competencies (e.g., through radical process change or business process outsourcing) • Investments in ICT are required as a condition of doing business without providing any bottom-line benefits • Increased dependency on external ICT providers leading to business inflexibility and lack of ICT knowledg

Increasing mean age of head and neck cancer patients at a German tertiary referral center

Background: The impact of demographic change on the age at diagnosis in German head and neck cancer (HNC) patients is unclear. Here we present an evaluation of aging trends in HNC at a tertiary referral center. Methods: Retrospective cohort study on aging trends at the initial diagnosis of newly diagnosed patients with HNC between 2004 and 2018 at the head and neck cancer center Ulm in relation to demographic data of the catchment area. Results: The study population consisted of 2450 individuals diagnosed with HNC with a mean age of 62.84 (±11.67) years. We observed a significant increase in annual incidence rates and mean age over time. Mean age among HNC patients increased significantly more than among the population in the catchment area. Whereas the incidence rate of patients <50 years did not change, the incidence of HNC patients aged ≥70 years increased the most. The mean patient age in the main tumor sites increased significantly. Surprisingly, HPV-positive patients were not younger than HPV-negative patients, but showed a non-significant trend towards a higher mean age (63.0 vs. 60.7 years). Conclusions: Increasing incidence rates in older patients pose a challenge for health care systems. A nationwide study is needed to assess the dynamics and impact of aging on the incidence of HNC

Computational and Serologic Analysis of Novel and Known Viruses in Species Human Adenovirus D in Which Serology and Genomics Do Not Correlate

In November of 2007 a human adenovirus (HAdV) was isolated from a bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) sample recovered from a biopsy of an AIDS patient who presented with fever, cough, tachycardia, and expiratory wheezes. To better understand the isolated virus, the genome was sequenced and analyzed using bioinformatic and phylogenomic analysis. The results suggest that this novel virus, which is provisionally named HAdV-D59, may have been created from multiple recombination events. Specifically, the penton, hexon, and fiber genes have high nucleotide identity to HAdV-D19C, HAdV-D25, and HAdV-D56, respectively. Serological results demonstrated that HAdV-D59 has a neutralization profile that is similar yet not identical to that of HAdV-D25. Furthermore, we observed a two-fold difference between the ability of HAdV-D15 and HAdV-D25 to be neutralized by reciprocal antiserum indicating that the two hexon proteins may be more similar in epitopic conformation than previously assumed. In contrast, hexon loops 1 and 2 of HAdV-D15 and HAdV-D25 share 79.13 and 92.56 percent nucleotide identity, respectively. These data suggest that serology and genomics do not always correlate

Auctions for Renewable Energy Support II - First insights and results of the Horizon2020 project AURES II

This is the final version. Available from Funcas via the link in this recordThe Horizon2020 project AURES II aims at ensuring the effective implementation of auctions for renewable energies in the EU Member States (MS). In recent years, auction schemes for the allocation of support for renewable electricity sources (RES) have been advancing rapidly across Europe. Auctions are considered to have brought down support levels and increased planning capability for RES deployment and state budgets. In some unfortunate cases, they have, however, also resulted in delayed or unrealised projects and increased uncertainty for project developers. A variety of auction designs are still being tested and introduced in EU MS, as well as foreseen by European legislation. Therefore, there is still a need for further assessment and improvement of national auction design and implementation to ensure the future success of RES auctions in Europe. Applying different qualitative and quantitative methods in the various work packages (WPs), the AURES II project partners have already drafted and published a large number of reports and studies. This article aims at comprehensively presenting these results and provide a first overview.European Union Horizon 202

The global atmospheric electrical circuit and climate

Evidence is emerging for physical links among clouds, global temperatures, the global atmospheric electrical circuit and cosmic ray ionisation. The global circuit extends throughout the atmosphere from the planetary surface to the lower layers of the ionosphere. Cosmic rays are the principal source of atmospheric ions away from the continental boundary layer: the ions formed permit a vertical conduction current to flow in the fair weather part of the global circuit. Through the (inverse) solar modulation of cosmic rays, the resulting columnar ionisation changes may allow the global circuit to convey a solar influence to meteorological phenomena of the lower atmosphere. Electrical effects on non-thunderstorm clouds have been proposed to occur via the ion-assisted formation of ultra-fine aerosol, which can grow to sizes able to act as cloud condensation nuclei, or through the increased ice nucleation capability of charged aerosols. Even small atmospheric electrical modulations on the aerosol size distribution can affect cloud properties and modify the radiative balance of the atmosphere, through changes communicated globally by the atmospheric electrical circuit. Despite a long history of work in related areas of geophysics, the direct and inverse relationships between the global circuit and global climate remain largely quantitatively unexplored. From reviewing atmospheric electrical measurements made over two centuries and possible paleoclimate proxies, global atmospheric electrical circuit variability should be expected on many timescale

ICAR: endoscopic skull‐base surgery

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