Accuracy of multidetector row computed tomography for the diagnosis of acute bowel ischemia in a non-selected study population

The diagnostic accuracy of multidetector row computed tomography for the prospective diagnosis of acute bowel ischemia in the daily clinical routine was analyzed. Two hundred ninety-one consecutive patients with an acute or subacute abdomen, examined by MDCT over a time period of 5 months, were included in the study. All original CT diagnoses made during the daily routine by radiological generalists were compared to the final diagnoses made by using all available medical information from endoscopies, surgical interventions, autopsies and follow-up. Finally, all CT examinations of patients with an initial CT diagnosis or a final diagnosis of bowel ischemia were reread by a radiologist specialized in abdominal imaging in order to analyze the CT findings and the reasons for initially false negative or false positive CT readings. Twenty-four patients out of 291 (8.2%) had acute bowel ischemia. The age of affected patients ranged from 50 to 94 years (mean age: 75.7 years). Eleven patients were male, and 13 female. Reasons for acute bowel ischemia were: arterio-occlusive (n=11), non-occlusive (n=5), strangulation (n=2), over-distension (n=3) and radiation (n=3). The prospective sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPV of MDCT for the diagnosis of acute bowel ischemia in the daily routine were 79.17, 98.51, 90.48 and 98.15%. MDCT reaches a similarly high sensitivity in diagnosing acute bowel as angiography. Furthermore, it has the advantage of being helpful in most of its clinical differential diagnoses and of being less invasive with the consecutive possibility of being used earlier in the diagnostic process with all the resulting positive effects on the patients prognosis. Therefore, nowadays MDCT should probably be used as the first step imaging modality of choice in patients with suspected acute bowel ischemi

Harmonine, a defence compound from the harlequin ladybird, inhibits mycobacterial growth and demonstrates multi-stage antimalarial activity

The harlequin ladybird beetle Harmonia axyridis has been introduced in many countries as a biological control agent, but has become an invasive species threatening the biodiversity of native ladybirds. Its invasive success has been attributed to its vigorous resistance against diverse pathogens. This study demonstrates that harmonine ((17R,9Z)-1,17-diaminooctadec-9-ene), which is present in H. axyridis haemolymph, displays broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity that includes human pathogens. Antibacterial activity is most pronounced against fast-growing mycobacteria and Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and the growth of both chloroquine-sensitive and -resistant Plasmodium falciparum strains is inhibited. Harmonine displays gametocytocidal activity, and inhibits the exflagellation of microgametocytes and zygote formation. In an Anopheles stephensi mosquito feeding model, harmonine displays transmission-blocking activity

Klimawandel und Risikomanagement im norddeutschen Küstenschutz: eine Diskursanalyse

'Im Umgang mit den lokalen Konsequenzen des Klimawandels durch einen erhöhten Meeresspiegel spielt das politisch-administrative System eine zentrale Rolle. Der folgende Beitrag basiert auf Ergebnissen einer Diskursanalyse des politisch-administrativen Küstenschutzsystems an der deutschen Nordseeküste und untersucht den Bedarf langfristiger Vorsorgemaßnahmen. Als Teil des interdisziplinären Forschungsverbundes KRIM analysieren die Forscher sowohl natürliche wie soziale Adaptionsmöglichkeiten auf Extremereignisse (formuliert als lokale Klimaszenarien für das Jahr 2050). Besonderes Augenmerk gilt dabei dem methodischen Zugang. So werden unterschiedliche Aspekte der politisch-administrativen Risikobewertung (die Möglichkeit des Deichversagens, die Rolle der Klimaforschung für den Küstenschutz sowie die Bedeutung diskursiver und institutioneller Grenzziehungen) mit Blick auf die methodische Ausrichtung der Diskursanalyse untersucht. Ein zentrales Ergebnis dabei ist, dass die gegenwärtigen Unsicherheiten der Klima(wirkungs)forschung im Rahmen von Sicherheitsdiskursen interpretiert und absorbiert werden, welche sowohl auf lokalem Erfahrungswissen wie auf historisch gewachsenen administrativen Küstenschutzkompetenzen gründen.' (Autorenreferat)'Dealing with the local consequences of climate change and an accelerated sea-level rise, the political-administrative system plays a central role. The following article focuses on results of a discourse analysis of the political-administrative coastal protection system at the German North Sea coast and assesses the demands for long-term precautionary action. As part of the interdisciplinary research project KRIM we analyse both natural and social adaption options to extreme incidents (formulated as climate scenarios for the year 2050). Along with a summary of the discourse analysis, special attention is given to our methodological approach. Different aspects of the political-administrative risk assessment (the possibility of dike failure, the role of climate change research for coastal protection, the importance of discursive and institutional boundary work) are brought up and wrapped to the methodological issues of our discourse analysis. The core thesis here is that the uncertainties of climate impact research get interpreted and absorbed within safety-discourses that draw on local know-how as well as on historical growing competences in coastal protection.' (author's abstract

The Effects of Embedded Dipoles in Aromatic Self-Assembled Monolayers

Using a representative model system, here electronic and structural properties of aromatic self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) are described that contain an embedded, dipolar group. As polar unit, pyrimidine is used, with its orientation in the molecular backbone and, consequently, the direction of the embedded dipole moment being varied. The electronic and structural properties of these embedded-dipole SAMs are thoroughly analyzed using a number of complementary characterization techniques combined with quantum-mechanical modeling. It is shown that such mid-chain-substituted monolayers are highly interesting from both fundamental and application viewpoints, as the dipolar groups are found to induce a potential discontinuity inside the monolayer, electrostatically shifting the core-level energies in the regions above and below the dipoles relative to one another. These SAMs also allow for tuning the substrate work function in a controlled manner independent of the docking chemistry and, most importantly, without modifying the SAM-ambient interface

Energy deposition simulations for a damage experiment with superconducting sample coils

An experiment to study damage caused by the impact of 440 GeV/c protons on sample superconducting racetrack coils made from NbTi and Nb3Sn strands was recently carried out at CERN\u27s HiRadMat facility. This paper reports on the detailed Monte Carlo simulations performed with FLUKA and Geant4 to evaluate the energy deposition of the 440 GeV/c proton beam on the sample coils positioned in the experimental setup. using the measured beam parameters during the experiment. The measured hotspot temperatures and temperature gradients reached in the sample coils are presented and compared with the simulations. In addition, comparisons between the simulation results from FLUKA and Geant4 are discussed in detail