Energieeffizienznetzwerke - beschleunigte Emissionsminderungen in der mittelständischen Wirtschaft

Zusammenfassung: Die Verminderung der energiebedingten CO2-Emissionen in der mittelständischen Wirtschaft durch effizientere Nutzung von Energie ist eine der rentabelsten Optionen. Dennoch werden diese Chancen wegen vielfältiger Hemmnisse und Marktversagen kaum realisiert. Hierbei spielen hohe Transaktionskosten und Entscheidungsroutinen bei Investitionen und beim Einkauf der Betriebe eine erhebliche Rolle. Ein in der Schweiz entwickeltes Netzwerkkonzept mit Eingangsberatung jedes teilnehmenden Betriebes, Zielsetzungen für das gesamte Netzwerk, regelmäßigen moderierten Treffen der Energiebeauftragten zum Erfahrungsaustausch sowie einem jährlichem Monitoring überwindet viele dieser Hemmnisse und führt zu einer Verdopplung des energietechnischen Fortschrittes relativ zum Effizienzfortschritt der Industrie insgesamt. Dieses Netzwerkkonzept kann weitestgehend von der Wirtschaft selbst durchgeführt werden. Die jährliche durchschnittliche Energiekostenersparnis ist rd. 100.000€ je Betrieb und Jahr und die CO2-Emissionsminderung rd. 500 t CO2. Bei einem Gesamtpotential von rd. 700 Netzwerken wären für 2020 Emissionsminderungen bis zu 10 Mio. t CO2 möglich. Ein Netzwerk-Managementsystem erlaubt einen Mindeststandard zum Aufbau und Betrieb derartiger Netzwerke für Beratende Ingenieure und Moderatore

Bacteriophage Administration Reduces the Concentration of Listeria monocytogenes in the Gastrointestinal Tract and Its Translocation to Spleen and Liver in Experimentally Infected Mice

To investigate the efficacy of phage supplementation in reducing pathogen numbers, mice were treated via oral gavage with a Listeria monocytogenes phage preparation (designated ListShield) before being orally infected with L. monocytogenes. The concentrations of L. monocytogenes in the liver, spleen, and intestines were significantly lower (P < .05) in the phage-treated than in the control mice. Phage and antibiotic treatments were similarly effective in reducing the levels of L. monocytogenes in the internal organs of the infected mice. However, the significant weight loss detected in the control and antibiotic-treated groups was not observed in the infected, ListShield-treated mice. Long-term (90 days), biweekly treatment of uninfected mice with ListShield did not elicit detectable changes in the microbiota of their large intestines or deleterious changes in their health. Our data support the potential feasibility of using bacteriophages to control proliferation of L. monocytogenes in mice without affecting commensal microbiota composition

A fast radiotherapy paradigm for anal cancer with volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT)

Background/Purpose: Radiotherapy (RT) volumes for anal cancer are large and of moderate complexity when organs at risk ( OAR) such as testis, small bowel and bladder are at least partially to be shielded. Volumetric intensity modulated arc therapy (VMAT) might provide OAR-shielding comparable to step-and-shoot intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) for this tumor entity with better treatment efficiency. Materials and methods: Based on treatment planning CTs of 8 patients, we compared dose distributions, comformality index (CI), homogeneity index ( HI), number of monitor units (MU) and treatment time (TTT) for plans generated for VMAT, 3D-CRT and step-and-shoot-IMRT (optimized based on Pencil Beam (PB) or Monte Carlo ( MC) dose calculation) for typical anal cancer planning target volumes (PTV) including inguinal lymph nodes as usually treated during the first phase (0-36 Gy) of a shrinking field regimen. Results: With values of 1.33 +/- 0.21/1.26 +/- 0.05/1.3 +/- 0.02 and 1.39 +/- 0.09, the CI's for IMRT (PB-Corvus/PB-Hyperion/MC-Hyperion) and VMAT are better than for 3D-CRT with 2.00 +/- 0.16. The HI's for the prescribed dose (HI36) for 3D-CRT were 1.06 +/- 0.01 and 1.11 +/- 0.02 for VMAT, respectively and 1.15 +/- 0.02/1.10 +/- 0.02/1.11 +/- 0.08 for IMRT (PB-Corvus/PB-Hyperion/MCHyperion). Mean TTT and MU's for 3D-CRT is 220s/225 +/- 11MU and for IMRT (PB-Corvus/PBHyperion/MC-Hyperion) is 575s/1260 +/- 172MU, 570s/477 +/- 84MU and 610s748 +/- 193MU while TTT and MU for two-arc-VMAT is 290s/268 +/- 19MU. Conclusion: VMAT provides treatment plans with high conformity and homogeneity equivalent to step-and-shoot-IMRT for this mono-concave treatment volume. Short treatment delivery time and low primary MU are the most important advantages

Clostridium difficile Infection in Outpatients, Maryland and Connecticut, USA, 2002–2007

Clostridium difficile, the most commonly recognized diarrheagenic pathogen among hospitalized persons, can cause outpatient diarrhea. Of 1,091 outpatients with diarrhea, we found 43 (3.9%) who were positive for C. difficile toxin. Only 7 had no recognized risk factors, and 3 had neither risk factors nor co-infection with another enteric pathogen

The vaginal microbial communities of healthy expectant Brazilian mothers and its correlation with the newborn’s gut colonization

The female lower genital tract harbors a complex microbial community essential for homeostasis and health. During pregnancy, the female body undergoes unique hormonal changes that contribute to weight gain as well as modulations in immune function that can afect microbiota composition. Several studies have described the vaginal microbiota of pregnant women from the USA, Europe and Mexico. Here we expand our knowledge about the vaginal microbial communities during the third trimester to healthy expectant Brazilian mothers. Vaginal samples were collected from patients delivering at the Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Brazil. Microbial DNA was isolated from samples and the V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene was amplifed and sequenced using the PGM Ion Torrent. Brazilian pregnant women presented three distinct types of microbial community at the time of labor. Two microbial communities, Cluster 1 and Cluster 3, presented an overall dominance of Lactobacillus while Cluster 2 tended to present higher diversity and richness, with the presence of Pseudomonas, Prevotella and other vaginosis related bacteria. About half of the Brazilian mothers sampled here had dominance of L. iners. The proportion of mothers without dominance of any Lactobacillus was higher in Brazil (22%) compared to UK (2.4%) and USA, where this community type was not detected. The vaginal microbiota showed signifcant correlation with the composition of the babies’ gut microbiota (p-value=0.002 with a R2 of 15.8%). Mothers presenting diferent vaginal microbiota shared diferent microorganisms with their newborns, which would refect on initial colonizers of the developing newborns’ gut

Structural connectivity of the ANT region based on human ex-vivo and HCP data. : Relevance for DBS in ANT for epilepsy

Objective: Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) in the Anterior Nucleus of the Thalamus (ANT) has been shown to be a safe and efficacious treatment option for patients with Drug-Resitant focal Epilepsy (DRE). The ANT has been selected frequently in open and controlled studies for bilateral DBS. There is a substantial variability in ANT-DBS outcomes which is not fully understood. These outcomes might not be explained by the target location alone but potentially depend on the connectivity of the mere stimulation site with the epilepsy onset-associated brain regions. The likely sub-components of this anatomy are fiber pathways which penetrate or touch the ANT region and constitute a complex and dense fiber network which has not been described so far. A detailed characterization of this ANT associated fiber anatomy may therefore help to identify which areas are associated with positive or negative outcomes of ANT-DBS. Furthermore, prediction properties in individual ANT-DBS cases might be tested. In this work we aim to generate an anatomically detailed map of candidate fiber structures which might in the future lead to a holistic image of structural connectivity of the ANT region. Methods: To resolve the various components of the complex fiber network connected to the ANT we used a synthetic pathway reconstruction method that combines anatomical fiber tracking with dMRI-based tractography and iteratively created an anatomical high-resolution fiber map representing the most important bundles related to the ANT. Results: The anatomically detailed 3D representation of the fibers in the ANT region generated with the synthetic pathway reconstruction method incorporates multiple anatomically defined fiber bundles with their course, orientation, connectivity and relative strength. Distinctive positions within the ANT region have a different hierarchical profile with respect to the stimulation-activated fiber bundles. This detailed connectivity map, which is embedded into the topographic map of the MNI brain, provides novel opportunities to analyze the outcomes of the ANT-DBS studies. Conclusion: Our synthetic reconstruction method provides the first anatomically realistic fiber pathway map in the human ANT region incorporating histological and structural MRI data. We propose that this complex ANT fiber network can be used for detailed analysis of the outcomes of DBS studies and potentially for visualization during the stimulation planning procedures. The connectivity map might also facilitate surgical planning and will help to simulate the complex ANT connectivity. Possible activation patterns that may be elicited by electrodes in different positions in the ANT region will help to understand clinically diverse outcomes based on this new dense fiber network map. As a consequence this work might in the future help to improve individual outcomes in ANT-DBS.publishedVersionPeer reviewe

Influence of own mother's milk and different proportions of formula on intestinal microbiota of very preterm newborns

Objective: To determine the differences in preterm infants’ stool microbiota considering the use of exclusive own mother’s milk and formula in different proportions in the first 28 days of life. Methods: The study included newborns with GA � 32 weeks divided in 5 group according the feeding regimen: 7 exclusive own mother’s milk, 8 exclusive preterm formula, 16 mixed feeding with >70% own mother’s milk, 16 mixed feeding with >70% preterm formula, and 15 mixed 50% own mother’s milk and preterm formula. Exclusion criteria: congenital infections, congenital malformations and newborns of drug addicted mothers. Stools were collected weekly during the first 28 days. Microbial DNA extraction, 16S rRNA amplification and sequencing were performed. Results: All groups were similar in perinatal and neonatal data. There were significant differences in microbial community among treatments. Approximately 37% of the variation in distance between microbial communities was explained by use of exclusive own mother´s milk only compared to other diets. The diet composed by exclusive own mother´s milk allowed for greater microbial richness (average of 85 OTUs) while diets based on preferably formula, exclusive formula, preferably maternal milk, and mixed of formula and maternal milk presented an average of 9, 29, 23, and 25 OTUs respectively. The mean proportion of the genus Escherichia and Clostridium was always greater in those containing formula than in the those with maternal milk only. Conclusions: Fecal microbiota in the neonatal period of preterm infants fed with exclusive own mother’s milk presented increased richness and differences in microbial composition from those fed with different proportions of formula

Defining microbial biomarkers for risk of preterm labor

Preterm birth remains the main contributor to early childhood mortality. The vaginal environment, including microbiota com-position, might contribute to the risk of preterm delivery. Alterations in the vaginal microbial community structure mightrepresent a risk factor for preterm birth. Here, we aimed to (a) investigate the association between preterm birth and the vaginalmicrobial community and (b) identify microbial biomarkers for risk of preterm birth. Microbial DNA was isolated from vaginalswabs in a cohort of 69 women enrolled at hospital admission for their delivery. Microbiota was analyzed by high-throughput 16SrRNA sequencing. While no differences in microbial diversity measures appeared associated with the spontaneous preterm andfull-term outcomes, the microbial composition was distinct for these groups. Differential abundance analysis showedLactobacillusspecies to be associated with full-term birth whereas an unknownPrevotellaspecies was more abundant in thespontaneous preterm group. Although we studied a very miscegenated population from Brazil, our findings were similar toevidence pointed by other studies in different countries. The role ofLactobacillusspecies as a protector in the vaginalmicrobiome is demonstrated to be also a protector of spontaneous preterm outcome whereas the presence of pathogenic species,such as Prevotellaspp., is endorsed as a factor of risk for spontaneous preterm delivery

Diarrhea in young children from low-income countries leads to large-scale alterations in intestinal microbiota composition

Acknowledgments This work was funded in part by the William and Melinda Gates Foundation, award 42917 to JPN and OCS; US National Institutes of Health grants 5R01HG005220 to HCB, 5R01HG004885 to MP; US National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship award DGE0750616 to JNP; AWW and JP are funded by The Wellcome Trust (Grant No. WT098051).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Fecal Microbiota in Premature Infants Prior to Necrotizing Enterocolitis

Intestinal luminal microbiota likely contribute to the etiology of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), a common disease in preterm infants. Microbiota development, a cascade of initial colonization events leading to the establishment of a diverse commensal microbiota, can now be studied in preterm infants using powerful molecular tools. Starting with the first stool and continuing until discharge, weekly stool specimens were collected prospectively from infants with gestational ages ≤32 completed weeks or birth weights≤1250 g. High throughput 16S rRNA sequencing was used to compare the diversity of microbiota and the prevalence of specific bacterial signatures in nine NEC infants and in nine matched controls. After removal of short and low quality reads we retained a total of 110,021 sequences. Microbiota composition differed in the matched samples collected 1 week but not <72 hours prior to NEC diagnosis. We detected a bloom (34% increase) of Proteobacteria and a decrease (32%) in Firmicutes in NEC cases between the 1 week and <72 hour samples. No significant change was identified in the controls. At both time points, molecular signatures were identified that were increased in NEC cases. One of the bacterial signatures detected more frequently in NEC cases (p<0.01) matched closest to γ-Proteobacteria. Although this sequence grouped to the well-studied Enterobacteriaceae family, it did not match any sequence in Genbank by more than 97%. Our observations suggest that abnormal patterns of microbiota and potentially a novel pathogen contribute to the etiology of NEC