Quality of Floating Car Data

Meanwhile, Floating Car Data (FCD) is a widely available and affordable data source for traffic surveillance. The German Aerospace Center, Institute of Transportation Systems (DLR-TS) receives FCD from taxi-fleets ranging from 300 to 4000 vehicles from various German and European cities since the year 2002. To extract common traffic variables like travel times or travel speeds and generate traffic information out of it, the raw GPS data of the vehicles are matched to a digital road network. However, compared to data from inductive loops, where each vehicle passing a loop generates data and the whole traffic flow is covered, the FCD represent only singular measurements. Thus, they are very noisy (especially when passing signalized intersections) and typically need to be aggregated to yield useful information. This means, a single delivered value is not very reliable and does not necessarily represent the state of the traffic flow on the according street segment. Data from some vehicles have to be aggregated and smoothed for some time interval and/or space to obtain reliable traffic information

Wo die Revolution begann : Jana Krieg, Rolf Niederhauser und Christian Koller im Interview mit Sascha Britsko (Tages-Anzeiger)

Keine Hierarchien, gleicher Lohn: Vor 50 Jahren wagte das Kreuz in Solothurn Revolutionäres. Was von der sozialistischen Utopie geblieben ist

A New Nomogram-Based Prediction Model for Postoperative Outcome after Sigmoid Resection for Diverticular Disease

Background and Objectives: Sigmoid resection still bears a considerable risk of complications. The primary aim was to evaluate and incorporate influencing factors of adverse perioperative outcomes following sigmoid resection into a nomogram-based prediction model. Materials and Methods: Patients from a prospectively maintained database (2004–2022) who underwent either elective or emergency sigmoidectomy for diverticular disease were enrolled. A multivariate logistic regression model was constructed to identify patient-specific, disease-related, or surgical factors and preoperative laboratory results that may predict postoperative outcome. Results: Overall morbidity and mortality rates were 41.3% and 3.55%, respectively, in 282 included patients. Logistic regression analysis revealed preoperative hemoglobin levels (p = 0.042), ASA classification (p = 0.040), type of surgical access (p = 0.014), and operative time (p = 0.049) as significant predictors of an eventful postoperative course and enabled the establishment of a dynamic nomogram. Postoperative length of hospital stay was influenced by low preoperative hemoglobin (p = 0.018), ASA class 4 (p = 0.002), immunosuppression (p = 0.010), emergency intervention (p = 0.024), and operative time (p = 0.010). Conclusions: A nomogram-based scoring tool will help stratify risk and reduce preventable complications

In situ split plus portal vein ligation (ISLT) - a salvage procedure following inefficient portal vein embolization to gain adequate future liver remnant volume prior to extended liver resection.

BACKGROUND Right extended liver resection is frequently required to achieve tumor-free margins. Portal venous embolization (PVE) of the prospective resected hepatic segments for conditioning segments II/III does not always induce adequate hypertrophy in segments II and III (future liver remnant volume (FLRV)) for extended right-resection. Here, we present the technique of in situ split dissection along segments II/III plus portal disruption to segments IV-VIII (ISLT) as a salvage procedure to overcome inadequate gain of FLRV after PVE. METHODS In eight patients, FLRV was further pre-conditioned following failed PVE prior to hepatectomy (ISLT-group). We compared FLRV changes in the ISLT group with patients receiving extended right hepatectomy following sufficient PVE (PVEres-group). Survival of the ISLT-group was compared to PVEres patients and PVE patients with insufficient FLRV gain or tumor progress who did not receive further surgery (PVEnores-group). RESULTS Patient characteristics and surgical outcome were comparable in both groups. The mean FLRV-to-body-weight ratio in the ISLT group was smaller than in the PVEres-group pre- and post-PVE. One intraoperative mortality due to a coronary infarction was observed for an ISLT patient. ISLT was successfully completed in the remaining seven ISLT patients. Liver function and 2-year survival of ~ 50% was comparable to patients with extended right hepatectomy after efficient PVE. Patients who received a PVE but who were not subsequently resected (PVEnores) demonstrated no survival beyond 4 months. CONCLUSION Despite extended embolization of segments I and IV-VIII, ISLT should be considered if hypertrophy was not adequate. Liver function and overall survival after ISLT was comparable to patients with trisectionectomy after efficient PVE

Aggregation of Human Recombinant Monoclonal Antibodies Influences the Capacity of Dendritic Cells to Stimulate Adaptive T-cell Responses In Vitro

Subvisible proteinaceous particles which are present in all therapeutic protein formulations are in the focus of intense discussions between health authorities, academics and biopharmaceutical companies in the context of concerns that such particles could promote unwanted immunogenicity via anti-drug antibody formation. In order to provide further understanding of the subject, this study closely examines the specific biological effects proteinaceous particles may exert on dendritic cells (DCs) as the most efficient antigen-presenting cell population crucial for the initiation of the adaptive immune response. Two different model IgG antibodies were subjected to three different types of exaggerated physical stress to generate subvisible particles in far greater concentrations than the ones typical for the currently marketed biotherapeutical antibodies. The aggregated samples were used in in vitro biological assays in order to interrogate the early DC-driven events that initiate CD4 T-cell dependent humoral adaptive immune responses – peptide presentation capacity and co-stimulatory activity of DCs. Most importantly, antigen presentation was addressed with a unique approach called MHC-associated peptide proteomics (MAPPs), which allows for identifying the sequences of HLA-DR associated peptides directly from human dendritic cells [1]. The experiments demonstrated that highly aggregated solutions of two model mAbs generated under controlled conditions can induce activation of human monocyte-derived DCs as indicated by upregulation of typical maturation markers including co-stimulatory molecules necessary for CD4 T-cell activation. Additional data suggest that highly aggregated proteins could induce in vitro T-cell responses. Intriguingly, strong aggregation-mediated changes in the pattern and quantity of antigen-derived HLA-DR associated peptides presented on DCs were observed, indicating a change in protein processing and presentation. Increasing the amounts of subvisible proteinaceous particles correlated very well with the pronounced increase in the peptide number and clusters presented in the context of class II HLA-DR molecules, suggesting a major involvement of a mass-action mechanism of altering the presentation

Correlation of HLA-DR associated peptides and peptide clusters measured by MAPPs to the amount of protein present in subvisible particles.

<p>Linear regression analyses of the increase of the HLA-DR associated peptides and clusters as functions of the calculated amount of protein present in the subvisible particles. Left up: HLA-DR associated peptides of mAb1 vs protein amount in subvisible particles (r² = 0.994), left down: HLA-DR associated peptide clusters of mAb1 vs protein amount in subvisible particles (r² = 0.993), right up: HLA-DR associated peptides of mAb2 vs protein amount in subvisible particles (r² = 0.86), right down: HLA-DR associated peptide clusters of mAb2 vs protein amount in subvisible particles (r² = 0.943). HS: aggregates generated by heat and shake stress; FT: aggregates generated by freeze and thaw stress, S: aggregates generated by shear stress mAb1: monoclonal antibody 1, mAb2: monoclonal antibody 2, 1: stress level 1, 2: stress level 2. For further details, please, see <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0086322#s4" target="_blank">Materials and Methods</a>.</p

MAPPs heat map of identified HLA-DR associated peptides in the HS study.

<p>Heat map visualization of mAb-derived HLA-DR associated peptides for both model antibodies in the HS study. Each sequence position is colored according to the presence and number of different mAb-derived peptides identified. In black colored sequence regions, no peptides were identified, in colored regions, peptides were identified, with the color coding for the number of different peptides identified per position. HS: aggregates generated by heat and shake stress; mAb1: monoclonal antibody 1, mAb2: monoclonal antibody 2, un: unstressed, sl1: stress level 1, sl2: stress level 2.</p

Physicochemical characterization of stressed mAb materials.

<p>Representative MFI screenshots after freeze/thaw (FT) stress of mAb1 (A) unstressed, un; (B) stress level 1, sl1; (C) stress level 2, sl2 and mAb2 un, (E) sl1 and (F) sl2. (G) Particle Size distribution obtained by MFI of mAb1 (left) and mAb2 (right). For visualization the size binning 2–2.5, 2.5–5, 5–10 10–25, 25–50 and 50–400 µm was used. Representative images of individual particles formed by (H) heat/shake, HS; (I) freeze/thaw, FT and (J) shear stress, S. Polydispersity in % (PD%) revealed by DLS for (K) mAb1 and (L) mAb2.</p

Induction of DC maturation by stressed mAb materials.

<p>(A) Percentage of responding donors determined as an at least 1.5-fold upregulation of the response index above unstressed mAb of the maturation markers CD83, CD80 and CD86. (B) Scatter plots of the response indices of individual donors for the measured maturation markers. The dotted line indicates the reference to unstressed mAb at 1.0. The horizontal line represents the average of the individual response indices. HS: aggregates generated by heat and shake stress, FT: aggregates generated by freeze and thaw stress, S: aggregates generated by shear stress, mAb1: monoclonal antibody 1, mAb2: monoclonal antibody 2, RI: Response index, sl1: stress level 1, sl2: stress level 2.</p

Results from T-cell activation assay.

<p>T-cell responses determined by IFN-γ ELISpot from donors treated with mAb1, un, sl1 and sl2 material from (A) FT condition (8 donors) and from (B) HS condition (13 donors). The respective heat maps specify to which extent each single donor responded to each treatment. The horizontal line shows the geometric mean of the populations. ***: statistically significant (p<0.001); ns: statistically not significant. HS: aggregates generated by heat and shake stress, FT: aggregates generated by freeze and thaw stress, mAb1: monoclonal antibody 1, SI: Stimulation index, un: unstressed, sl1: stress level 1, sl2: stress level 2.</p