Detection of pre-existing neutralizing antibodies against Ad26 in HIV-1-infected individuals not responding to the Ad26.COV2.S vaccine.

Purpose: The Ad26.COV2.S vaccine is a replication-incompetent human adenovirus type 26 vector encoding the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein.

Short-Term and Long-Term Morbidity after Radical Cystectomy in Patients with NMIBC and Comparison with MIBC: Identifying Risk Factors for Severe Short-Term Complications.

Introduction: RC represents a viable treatment option for certain NMIBC patients. However, studies investigating morbidity in the context of RC for NMIBC are scarce. The goal of the current study was to assess and compare morbidity after RC performed in patients with NMIBC and patients with MIBC and to identify risk factors for severe short-term complications.

Experimental helium-beam radiography with a high-energy beam: Water-equivalent thickness calibration and first image-quality results.

Purpose: A clinical implementation of ion-beam radiography (iRad) is envisaged to provide a method for on-couch verification of ion-beam treatment plans. The aim of this work is to introduce and evaluate a method for quantitative water-equivalent thickness (WET) measurements for a specific helium-ion imaging system for WETs that are relevant for imaging thicker body parts in the future.

Methods: Helium-beam radiographs (αRads) are measured at the Heidelberg Ion-beam Therapy Center with an initial beam energy of 239.

Homologous COVID-19 BNT162b2 mRNA Vaccination at a German Tertiary Care University Hospital: A Survey-Based Analysis of Reactogenicity, Safety, and Inability to Work among Healthcare Workers.

At the start of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, healthcare workers had an increased risk of acquiring coronavirus disease (COVID)-19. As tertiary care hospitals are critical for the treatment of severely ill patients, the University Hospital Erlangen offered BNT162b2 mRNA vaccination against COVID-19 to all employees when the vaccine became available in Germany. Here, we performed a survey to assess the age- and sex-dependent reactogenicity and safety of BNT162b2 in a real-life setting with a special emphasis on the rate of vaccine-related incapacity to work amongst the employees.

Combined Model of Quantitative Evaluation of Chest Computed Tomography and Laboratory Values for Assessing the Prognosis of Coronavirus Disease 2019.

Purpose: To assess the prognostic power of quantitative analysis of chest CT, laboratory values, and their combination in COVID-19 pneumonia.

Materials And Methods: Retrospective analysis of patients with PCR-confirmed COVID-19 pneumonia and chest CT performed between March 07 and November 13, 2020. Volume and percentage (PO) of lung opacifications and mean HU of the whole lung were quantified using prototype software.

A new method to compute mechanical properties of a standing skyline for cable yarding.

Cable-based technologies are the backbone for logistics of timber or construction material on impassable terrain. In Central Europe, the use of standing skylines with pre-stressed, both-sided fixed-anchor cables and multi-span configurations with internal intermediate supports is common. To ensure a safe and cost-effective set-up for cable road operations, it is essential to identify and compute the properties of the skyline (e.

Adaptation of the Australian Palliative Care Phase concept to the German palliative care context: a mixed-methods approach using cognitive interviews and cross-sectional data.

Background: Palliative care phases (stable, unstable, deteriorating, terminal and bereavement) are routinely used in Australia and the UK to describe the clinical situation of patients and their families and to evaluate the associated care plan. In addition, it serves as a benchmark developed by the Australian Palliative Care Outcome Collaboration (PCOC) and is used nationwide for comparisons between services. In Germany, the concept is not used consistently due to various translations.

CT Features of COVID-19 Pneumonia Differ Depending on the Severity and Duration of Disease.

Background: CT is important in the care of patients with COVID-19 pneumonia. However, CT morphology can change significantly over the course of the disease. To evaluate the CT morphology of RT-PCR-proven COVID-19 pneumonia in a German cohort with special emphasis on identification of potential differences of CT features depending on duration and severity of disease.

Sharp margin and geographic shape: systematic evaluation of two novel CT features in COVID-19 pneumonia.

Objective: CT is important in the care of patients with COVID-19 pneumonia. However, specificity might be poor in the absence of a clinical and epidemiological context. The goal of this work was to systematically evaluate two novel CT features (sharp margin and geographic shape) of COVID-19 pneumonia.

Bragg Diffraction of Large Organic Molecules.

We demonstrate Bragg diffraction of the antibiotic ciprofloxacin and the dye molecule phthalocyanine at a thick optical grating. The observed patterns show a single dominant diffraction order with the expected dependence on the incidence angle as well as oscillating population transfer between the undiffracted and diffracted beams. We achieve an equal-amplitude splitting of 14ℏk (photon momenta) and maximum momentum transfer of 18ℏk.

Conformer Selection by Matter-Wave Interference.

We establish that matter-wave diffraction at near-resonant ultraviolet optical gratings can be used to spatially separate individual conformers of complex molecules. Our calculations show that the conformational purity of the prepared beam can be close to 100% and that all molecules remain in their electronic ground state. The proposed technique is independent of the dipole moment and the spin of the molecule and thus paves the way for structure-sensitive experiments with hydrocarbons and biomolecules, such as neurotransmitters and hormones, which have evaded conformer-pure isolation so far.

OptoBase: A Web Platform for Molecular Optogenetics.

OptoBase is an online platform for molecular optogenetics. At its core is a hand-annotated and ontology-supported database that aims to cover all existing optogenetic switches and publications, which is further complemented with a collection of convenient optogenetics-related web tools. OptoBase is meant both for expert optogeneticists to easily keep track of the field, as well as for all researchers who find optogenetics inviting as a powerful tool to address their biological questions of interest.

In search of multipath interference using large molecules.

The superposition principle is fundamental to the quantum description of both light and matter. Recently, a number of experiments have sought to directly test this principle using coherent light, single photons, and nuclear spin states. We extend these experiments to massive particles for the first time.

An atomically thin matter-wave beamsplitter.

Matter-wave interferometry has become an essential tool in studies on the foundations of quantum physics and for precision measurements. Mechanical gratings have played an important role as coherent beamsplitters for atoms, molecules and clusters, because the basic diffraction mechanism is the same for all particles. However, polarizable objects may experience van der Waals shifts when they pass the grating walls, and the undesired dephasing may prevent interferometry with massive objects.

[Treatment of chronic knee dislocation with an external fixator].

Chronic knee dislocations are rare but represent a therapeutic challenge. A staged concept is necessary to correctly address the pathological components. This article uses a case study to provide an algorithm for the successful treatment of chronic knee dislocations.

Autologous heterotopic transplantation of ovarian tissue in sheep.

The aims of this study were [1] to test the feasibility of autologous heterotopic transplantation of large ovarian tissue samples (approximately 2 cm in diameter and 2 or 3 mm thick) without vascular anastomosis and [2] to compare follicle count and microvessel density in fresh and grafted 2-mm vs. 3-mm tissue samples in an animal model. After transplantation, we observed regular menstrual cycles and ovulation proved by high E(2) levels and intermittent P peaks in all Suffolk sheep, and histologic examination revealed no statistically significant differences in the number of primordial follicles and microvessel density between samples 2 mm and 3 mm in diameter.

Paraneoplastic neurological syndrome: patient with anti-Yo antibody and breast cancer: a case report.

Presented here is the case of a paraneoplastic cerebral degeneration (PCD) in a female patient with breast cancer and the indication of anti-Yo antibodies in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and serum. The patient's primary indications were dizziness and a severe gait ataxia. The indication of anti-Yo antibodies led to the conclusion of the existence of a paraneoplastic cerebral degeneration.

The intramedullary skeletal kinetic distractor (ISKD): first clinical results of a new intramedullary nail for lengthening of the femur and tibia.

In 1986, a programme was initiated by the senior author to develop a reliable, mechanically activated, intramedullary lengthening device with a non-invasive means of measuring the progress of lengthening without X-ray. We report results of design, biomechanical testing, in vivo animal testing and clinical implantation of the first 20 intramedullary skeletal kinetic distractors (ISKDs) in adult patients with limb-length discrepancies. Twenty ISKD devices were implanted in 18 patients (14 males and four females).

The role of ovarian volume in an in vitro fertilization programme as assessed by 3D ultrasound.

The study was designed to investigate the role of ovarian volume, as assessed by three-dimensional (3D) sonography, in predicting conception in an in-vitro fertilization-embryo transfer (IVF-ET) programme. Transvaginal 3D sonography was performed in 152 cycles before initiation of ovarian stimulation (day 1) and on the day of oocyte retrieval. Ovarian volume showed no significant correlation with IVF outcome.

Endometrial receptivity in an in vitro fertilization program as assessed by spiral artery blood flow, endometrial thickness, endometrial volume, and uterine artery blood flow.

Objective: To investigate the role of sonographic parameters in assessing endometrial receptivity in an in vitro fertilization (IVF) program.

Design: Prospective clinical study.

Setting: University setting.

Expression of CD44(v5-10) splicing variants in primary ovarian cancer and lymph node metastases.

Background: This study was designed to detect the expression of CD44v splicing variants in primary ovarian carcinomas and their lymph node metastases, in order to evaluate the possible role in intraperitoneal and lymphogenic metastasization.

Material And Methods: Paraffin-embedded tissue of 50 patients with ovarian cancer was available from both the primary tumors and from the lymph node metastases. The expression of the CD44 standard from (CD44s) and of the variant isoforms CD44v5, CD44v6, CD44v7 and 8, and CD44v10 was investigated in the tumor cell regions by immunohistochemistry.

Allorecognition and T cell repertoire selection in severe combined immunodeficiency lacking HLA class II antigens.

In order to elucidate the role of HLA class II molecules in generation of self-nonself discrimination of human T cells, we have analyzed T cell functions in an HLA class II-negative severe combined immunodeficiency patient. Patient PBL expressed no HLA-DR, -DQ, and -DP antigens as judged by immunofluorescence using mAb, and failed to elicit MLR responses from unrelated controls. Patient PBL contained mature T cells (CD3+ TCR alpha beta+) of the CD4 and CD8 subset, showing an apparently normal TCR diversity, as judged by use of anti-V beta 5, -V beta 6, -V beta 8, -V beta 12, and -V alpha 2 mAb.

Silent period measurement revives as a valuable diagnostic tool with transcranial magnetic stimulation.

Following magnetic transcranial stimulation (TCS) a post-excitatory pause can be observed in surface electromyographic (EMG) recordings from pre-innervated muscles. We studied the duration of this silent period (SP) in the abductor pollicis brevis muscle while varying the stimulus intensity (SI) and the amount of the voluntary tonic contraction in 23 normal adults aged 20-78 years. A multivariate linear regression analysis revealed a positive correlation of SP with SI and a slight negative correlation with age.