Greener households? The effectiveness of smart meters in reducing energy consumption levels in the DACH region

With public opinion shifting to a believe in climate change in the early 2000s the interest in energy efficiency has been increasing. EU Directives set the goal of deploying smart meters if cost efficient for providing more detailed energy consumption. The main goal is to better inform consumers and to give individual households the power to change possibly energy wasting behaviours. This paper evaluates through a literature review the effectiveness of intelligent electricity metering systems with a focus on the DACH region, the provision of different types of feedback and its persistence. It can be concluded that energy feedback enabled by smart meters can lead to savings in the range of 0% to 4.5% in this region. If feedback is provided continuously savings persist. However, several aspects have to be considered to ensure effectiveness of smart meter deployment

The Microvasculature of the Guinea Pig Ureter. A Scanning Electron Microscopic Investigation

In 24 albinotic guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus) the gross vasculature and the microvascular architecture of the ureter were studied by light microscopy of tissue blocks and by scanning electron microscopy of vascular casts. The guinea pig ureter is supplied by the renal artery proximally, by the aorta and the internal iliac artery in its mid-segment, and by the uterine and prostatic as well as by the vesical arteries distally. The main arterial trunks run alongside the ureter before they branch to send perforating arterioles to the muscular coat and the mucosal lining. The draining venules are found on both sides of the ureter and form transverse anastomoses. Communications between the arterioles are also located on both sides, but longitudinally arranged. The capillary network of the mucosal lining shows an undulating pattern with tortuous vessels and lies just below the epithelium. The muscular coat and the adventitia have no prominent capillaries of their own. Large arteries are embedded in the adventitia, large veins in the lamina propria. In analogy to human anatomy the vascular arrangement found suggests that, if the ureters are excised in transplant surgery, a lateral incision should be used for the abdominal portion, while the pelvic portion is best approached by a medial incision

Funktioniert Homeoffice für alle? Das Projekt „New ways of working“ der Erste Bank

Wie soll die Arbeitswelt nach der Krise aussehen? Ausgehend von den überraschenden Erkenntnissen der Befragung von 18.000 Mitarbeitenden soll die Zukunft von Homeoffice & Co. im öffentlichen Dienst diskutiert werden

Chemokine-mediated distribution of dendritic cell subsets in renal cell carcinoma

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) represents one of the most immunoresponsive cancers. Antigen-specific vaccination with dendritic cells (DCs) in patients with metastatic RCC has been shown to induce cytotoxic T-cell responses associated with objective clinical responses. Thus, clinical trials utilizing DCs for immunotherapy of advanced RCCs appear to be promising; however, detailed analyses concerning the distribution and function of DC subsets in RCCs are lacking.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We characterized the distribution of the different immature and mature myeloid DC subsets in RCC tumour tissue and the corresponding normal kidney tissues. In further analyses, the expression of various chemokines and chemokine receptors controlling the migration of DC subsets was investigated.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The highest numbers of immature CD1a+ DCs were found within RCC tumour tissue. In contrast, the accumulation of mature CD83+/DC-LAMP+ DCs were restricted to the invasive margin of the RCCs. The mature DCs formed clusters with proliferating T-cells. Furthermore, a close association was observed between MIP-3α-producing tumour cells and immature CCR6+ DC recruitment to the tumour bed. Conversely, MIP-3β and SLC expression was only detected at the tumour border, where CCR7-expressing T-cells and mature DCs formed clusters.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Increased numbers of immature DCs were observed within the tumour tissue of RCCs, whereas mature DCs were found in increased numbers at the tumour margin. Our results strongly implicate that the distribution of DC subsets is controlled by local lymphoid chemokine expression. Thus, increased expression of MIP-3α favours recruitment of immature DCs to the tumour bed, whereas <it>de novo </it>local expression of SLC and MIP-3β induces accumulation of mature DCs at the tumour margin forming clusters with proliferating T-cells reflecting a local anti-tumour immune response.</p

Inguinal lymph node metastases from a testicular seminoma: a case report and a review of the literature

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>We report the case of a true hermaphrodite with testicular seminoma with resulting metastases to the inguinal lymph nodes eight months after radical orchidectomy. This is an unusual presentation of testicular cancer and, to the best of our knowledge, the first report of this kind in the literature.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>A 45-year-old Caucasian true hermaphrodite, raised as a male, developed a testicular seminoma. He had undergone a left orchidopexy at the age of 10 for undescended testes. Metastases from testicular tumors to inguinal lymph nodes are a rare occurrence. It has been suggested that previous inguinal or scrotal surgery may alter the pattern of nodal metastasis of testicular cancer. We review the literature to evaluate the incidence of inguinal lymph node involvement in early stage testicular cancer and discuss possible routes of metastases to this unusual site. We also discuss the management of the inguinal lymph nodes in patients with testicular tumors and a previous history of inguinal or scrotal surgery, as this remains controversial.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Inguinal lymph node metastases from testicular cancer are rare. A history of inguinal or scrotal surgery may predispose involvement of the inguinal nodes. During radical inguinal orchidectomy, the surgeon should be careful to minimize the handling of the testis and ensure high ligation of the spermatic cord up to the internal inguinal ring to reduce the risk of inguinal lymph node metastasis.</p

Different Neutralization Profiles After Primary SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.1 and BA.2 Infections

Background and MethodsThe SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) Omicron (B.1.1.529) variant is the antigenically most distinct variant to date. As the heavily mutated spike protein enables neutralization escape, we studied serum-neutralizing activities of naïve and vaccinated individuals after Omicron BA.1 or BA.2 sub-lineage infections in live virus neutralization tests with Omicron BA.1, Omicron BA.2, wildtype (WT, B1.1), and Delta (B.1.617.2) strains. Serum samples obtained after WT infections and three-dose mRNA vaccinations with and without prior infection were included as controls.ResultsPrimary BA.1 infections yielded reduced neutralizing antibody levels against WT, Delta, and Omicron BA.2, while samples from BA.2-infected individuals showed almost no cross-neutralization against the other variants. Serum neutralization of Omicron BA.1 and BA.2 variants was detectable after three-dose mRNA vaccinations, but with reduced titers. Vaccination-breakthrough infections with either Omicron BA.1 or BA.2, however, generated equal cross-neutralizing antibody levels against all SARS-CoV-2 variants tested.ConclusionsOur study demonstrates that although Omicron variants are able to enhance cross-neutralizing antibody levels in pre-immune individuals, primary infections with BA.1 or BA.2 induced mostly variant-specific neutralizing antibodies, emphasizing the differently shaped humoral immunity induced by the two Omicron variants. These data thus contribute substantially to the understanding of antibody responses induced by primary Omicron infections or multiple exposures to different SARS-CoV-2 variants and are of particular importance for developing vaccination strategies in the light of future emerging variants

Cellular immunotherapy using dendritic cells against multiple myeloma

Cellular therapy with dendritic cells (DCs) is emerging as a useful immunotherapeutic tool to treat multiple myeloma (MM). DC-based idiotype vaccination was recently suggested to induce idiotype-specific immune responses in MM patients. However, the clinical results so far have been largely disappointing, and the clinical effectiveness of such vaccinations in MM still needs to be demonstrated. DC-based therapies against MM may need to be boosted with other sources of tumor-associated antigens, and potent DCs should be recruited to increase the effectiveness of treatment. DCs with both high migratory capacity and high cytokine production are very important for effective DC-based cancer vaccination in order to induce high numbers of Th1-type CD4+ T cells and CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes. The tumor microenvironment is also important in the regulation of tumor cell growth, proliferation, and the development of therapeutic resistance after treatment. In this review, we discuss how the efficacy of DC vaccination in MM can be improved. In addition, novel treatment strategies that target not only myeloma cells but also the tumor microenvironment are urgently needed to improve treatment outcomes