Acute transverse myelitis and psoriasiform dermatitis associated with Sjoegren’s syndrome: a case report

BACKGROUND: Clinical complications of Sjoegren’s syndrome include myelitis and skin manifestations. There is scarce observational data and a lack of randomised controlled studies regarding the treatment of Sjoegren’s syndrome in the presence of such complications. CASE PRESENTATION: Here we report the case of a 41-year-old Caucasian female patient with biopsy-proven Sjoegren’s syndrome who initially presented with generalized exanthema and subsequently developed acute extensive transverse myelitis. In view of the rapid deterioration we opted for an intensive treatment using a combination of corticosteroid pulse therapy, plasmapheresis and cyclophosphamide, which we later changed to rituximab. Under that treatment the skin manifestations resolved entirely whereas transverse myelitis showed incomplete remission. CONCLUSION: Severe neurological and dermatological complications may occur in Sjoegren’s syndrome. This suggests a close yet currently unclear pathogenetic relationship. Intensive immunosuppressant treatment resulted in significant improvement of both symptom clusters. Skin manifestations may precede other severe complications in Sjoegren’s syndrome and therefore require particular attention

The Diversity of Aphidlion-like Larvae over the Last 130 Million Years

Aphidlions are larvae of certain lacewings (Neuroptera), and more precisely larvae of the groups Chrysopidae, green lacewings, and Hemerobiidae, brown lacewings. The name ‘aphidlion’ originates from their ecological function as specialised predators of aphids. Accordingly, they also play an economic role as biological pest control. Aphidlions have, mostly, elongated spindle-shaped bodies, and similarly to most lacewing larvae they are equipped with a pair of venom-injecting stylets. Fossils interpreted as aphidlions are known to be preserved in amber from the Cretaceous (130 and 100 million years ago), the Eocene (about 35 million years ago) and the Miocene (about 15 million years ago) ages. In this study, new aphidlion-like larvae are reported from Cretaceous amber from Myanmar (about 100 million years old) and Eocene Baltic amber. The shapes of head and stylets were compared between the different time slices. With the newly described fossils and specimens from the literature, a total of 361 specimens could be included in the analysis: 70 specimens from the Cretaceous, 5 from the Eocene, 3 from the Miocene, 188 extant larvae of Chrysopidae, and 95 extant larvae of Hemerobiidae. The results indicate that the diversity of head shapes remains largely unchanged over time, yet there is a certain increase in the diversity of head shapes in the larvae of Hemerobiidae. In certain other groups of Neuroptera, a distinct decrease in the diversity of head shapes in larval stages was observed

MAGIC and H.E.S.S. detect VHE gamma rays from the blazar OT081 for the first time: a deep multiwavelength study

https://pos.sissa.it/395/815/pdfPublished versio

Fast photodetectors and their role in measuring star diameters with the MAGIC intensity interferometer

A few years ago MAGIC Stellar Intensity Interferometer (MAGIC-SII) was implemented by applying adjustments to the existing MAGIC IACT array. One of the key parts of the instrument are the photodetectors. Improved photodetector properties as a higher PDE or a better SPTR could increase the sensitivity of the interferometer. This could be achieved, for instance, if the PMTs were replaced by SiPMs thanks to their excellent SPTR. Probably the main drawback of SiPMs is their limited area. I worked on two approaches that aimed at overcoming this limitation: LASiP and Photo-Trap. The first one sums the current of several SiPMs into a single output. We built and characterized a LASiP prototype that used an ASIC called MUSIC to sum the output of 8 SiPMs of 6 mm $\times$ 6 mm. I explored the feasibility of using LASiPs in SPECT, which is an application in which one needs to cover a large area (50 $\times$ 40 cm$^2$) with a limited amount of readout channels (typically $\sim$ 100). I showed that it was possible to reconstruct simple images with an energy resolution of $\sim$ 11.6 \% and an intrinsic spatial resolution of $\sim$ 2 mm (comparable to standard SPECT cameras). Using SiPMs would allow reducing by at least 50 \% the volume of a SPECT camera which would result in a compact and lighter camera. A few LASiPs are also present in one of the MAGIC cameras. These pixels could be a good starting point for testing the feasibility of using SiPMs in intensity interferometry.\\ Photo-Trap provides a different solution to build large SiPM pixels, combining a WLS plastic and a dichroic filter with a commercial SiPM. We built four prototypes using WLS plastics of 20~$\times$~20~mm$^2$ or 40~$\times$~40~mm$^2$ and SiPMs of 3~$\times$~3 mm$^2$ or 3~$\times$~12~mm$^2$. One of those prototypes is, as far as I know, the largest existing SiPM pixel with single-phe resolution at room temperature. One of the main advantages of Photo-Trap is that it is easily scalable to larger sizes. The prototypes achieved a trapping efficiency of $\sim 10-50 \%$ (which corresponds to a peak PDE of $\sim5-25\%$) with a time resolution of $\sim 2-5$~ns (FWHM). My main contribution to the MAGIC-SII was the development of the analysis chain which was used to analyze the data of multiple calibration campaigns. The calibration results of the MAGIC-SII showed that the current MAGIC-SII is a working and reliable instrument. MAGIC-SII has so far measured the diameter of over 25 stars. The diameters of several of them were measured for the first time by MAGIC-SII, at least in its wavelength band (412-438 nm). Since some of them are variable stars, they appear as interesting targets to study their oblateness and might be candidates for asteroseismology studies. Observations of these types of targets may contribute to improving our knowledge of stellar structure and evolution

'Lake Gorgana' - A paleolake in the Lower Danube Valley revealed using multi-proxy and regionalisation approaches

Geoarchaeological research at the archaeological site of Magura Gorgana should elucidate the environmental setting Neolithic and Copper Age communities were faced with, when they settled along the Lower Danube Valley, Romania. This should enable a better understanding of human-environment interactions, the natural preconditions of a trading network, as well as the living conditions of the human population during this time. To reach this aim numerous corings were conducted in the study area and the sediments were analysed using a multitude of methods, as total element analyses, determination of carbon and nitrogen isotopes, radiocarbon and OSL-dating and microfaunistical analyses. The present study shows how the interpretation of the results applying a multi-proxy and a 'regionalisation' approach reveals the existence and the extent of 'Lake Gorgana', a vast paleolake that covered nearly the whole floodplain in the study area during a long phase of the Holocene and, in particular, during the settlement period at Magura Gorgana in the 5th millennium BC. These new findings are of great importance for archaeological concerns but the lake sediments even more represent a valuable geoarchive containing information about e.g. changing lake ecology, paleoclimate, and the human footprint with regard to different spatial and temporal scales

Antimicrobial activity of hop extracts against foodborne pathogens for meat applications

Aims The objective of this study was the fundamental investigation of the antimicrobial efficiency of various hop extracts against selected foodborne pathogens in vitro, as well as their activity against Listeria monocytogenes in a model meat marinade and on marinated pork tenderloins. Methods and Results In a first step, the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of three hop extracts containing either α- or β-acids or xanthohumol were determined against test bacteria including L. monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella enterica and Escherichia coli by a colorimetric method based on the measurement of bacterial metabolic activity. Moreover, the influence of either lactic or citric acid on the antimicrobial activity of the hop extracts was evaluated. The efficiency of hop extracts as a natural food preservative was then tested in a model meat marinade at 2 and 8°C, respectively, and finally on marinated pork. The experiments showed that Gram-positive bacteria were strongly inhibited by hop extracts containing β-acids and xanthohumol (MIC values of 6•3 and 12•5 ppm, respectively), whereas the antimicrobial activity of the investigated α-acid extract was significantly lower (MIC values of 200 ppm). Gram-negative bacteria were highly resistant against all tested hop extracts. Acidification of the test media led to a decrease of the MIC values. The inhibitory activity of the hop extracts against L. monocytogenes was strongly reduced in a fat-containing model meat marinade, but the efficiency of β-acids in this matrix could be increased by lowering pH and storage temperatures. By applying 0•5 % β-acids at pH = 5 in a model marinade, the total aerobic count of pork tenderloins was reduced up to 0•9 log10 compared with marinated pork without hop extract after 2 weeks of storage at 5°C. Conclusions β-acid containing hop extracts have proven to possess a high antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive bacteria in vitro and in a practice-related application for food preservation. Significance and Impact of the Study Antimicrobial hop extracts could be used as natural preservatives in food applications to extend the shelf life and to increase the safety of fresh products

The Diversity of Aphidlion-like Larvae over the Last 130 Million Years

Aphidlions are larvae of certain lacewings (Neuroptera), and more precisely larvae of the groups Chrysopidae, green lacewings, and Hemerobiidae, brown lacewings. The name ‘aphidlion’ originates from their ecological function as specialised predators of aphids. Accordingly, they also play an economic role as biological pest control. Aphidlions have, mostly, elongated spindle-shaped bodies, and similarly to most lacewing larvae they are equipped with a pair of venom-injecting stylets. Fossils interpreted as aphidlions are known to be preserved in amber from the Cretaceous (130 and 100 million years ago), the Eocene (about 35 million years ago) and the Miocene (about 15 million years ago) ages. In this study, new aphidlion-like larvae are reported from Cretaceous amber from Myanmar (about 100 million years old) and Eocene Baltic amber. The shapes of head and stylets were compared between the different time slices. With the newly described fossils and specimens from the literature, a total of 361 specimens could be included in the analysis: 70 specimens from the Cretaceous, 5 from the Eocene, 3 from the Miocene, 188 extant larvae of Chrysopidae, and 95 extant larvae of Hemerobiidae. The results indicate that the diversity of head shapes remains largely unchanged over time, yet there is a certain increase in the diversity of head shapes in the larvae of Hemerobiidae. In certain other groups of Neuroptera, a distinct decrease in the diversity of head shapes in larval stages was observed

Changes in the Morphological Diversity of Larvae of Lance Lacewings, Mantis Lacewings and Their Closer Relatives over 100 Million Years

Neuroptera, the group of lacewings, comprises only about 6000 species in the modern fauna, but is generally assumed to have been more diverse and important in the past. A major factor of the modern-day ecological diversity of the group, and supposedly in the past as well, is represented by the highly specialised larval forms of lacewings. Quantitative analyses of the morphology of larvae revealed a loss of morphological diversity in several lineages. Here we explored the diversity of the larvae of mantis lacewings (Mantispidae), lance lacewings (Osmylidae), beaded lacewings (Berothidae and Rhachiberothidae, the latter potentially an ingroup of Berothidae), and pleasing lacewings (Dilaridae), as well as fossil larvae, preserved in amber, resembling these. We used shape analysis of the head capsule and stylets (pair of conjoined jaws) as a basis due to the high availability of this body region in extant and fossil specimens and the ecological importance of this region. The analysis revealed a rather constant morphological diversity in Berothidae. Mantispidae appears to have lost certain forms of larvae, but has seen a drastic increase of larval diversity after the Cretaceous; this is in contrast to a significant decrease in diversity in adult forms

Self-assembly of block copolymers via micellar intermediate states into vesicles on time scales from milliseconds to days

Block copolymer micelles and vesicles are mostly prepared by the solvent mixing method, where the block copolymer is first dissolved in a common solvent for both blocks, which is then mixed with a selective solvent, mostly water, to induce self-assembly into the desired structure. Using a combination of microfluidic flow-focusing and capillary interdiffusion experiments combined with in-situ small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and cryo-transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM) we investigated the structural evolution during solvent mixing from single block copolymers into spherical and cylindrical micellar intermediate structures into vesicles. We find that micelle formation is very fast and diffusion-limited, occurring on time scales of a few milliseconds. The development of an ordered lyotropic micellar phase is completed within 1 s. The structural transformation into cylindrical micelles occurs over several hours, which subsequently evolve into vesicles over time scales of days. Whereas the first two steps are transport-limited, the two latter processes involve large activation energies related to micellar fusion against the sterically stabilizing micellar coronas, which corresponds to much longer time scales of self-assembly