Constructed wetlands may lower inorganic nutrient inputs but enhance DOC loadings into a drinking water reservoir in North Wales.

The objective of this study was to monitor a newly constructed wetland (CW) in north Wales, UK, to assess whether it contributes to an improvement in water quality (nutrient removal) of a nearby drinking water reservoir. Inflow and outflow of the Free Water Surface (FWS) CW were monitored on a weekly basis and over a period of 6 months. Physicochemical parameters including pH, conductivity and dissolved oxygen (DO) were measured, as well as nutrients and dissolved organic and inorganic carbon (DOC, DIC) concentration.

Pretreatment quality of life, performance status and their relation to treatment discontinuation and treatment changes in high-risk breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy: results from the prospective randomized ADEBAR trial.

Background: Health-related quality of life (QoL) is a self-assessed construct indicating how people feel in regard to aspects of their health. Performance status (PS) is evaluated by the treating physician. We examined whether pretreatment QoL and PS are related to subsequent treatment discontinuation and treatment changes in high-risk breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy.

Toxicity Assessment of a Phase III Study Evaluating FEC-Doc and FEC-Doc Combined with Gemcitabine as an Adjuvant Treatment for High-Risk Early Breast Cancer: the SUCCESS-A Trial.

This paper aims to evaluate the toxicity profile of additive gemcitabine to adjuvant taxane-based chemotherapy in breast cancer patients. Patients enrolled in this open-label randomized controlled Phase III study were treated with 3 cycles of epirubicin-fluorouracil-cyclophosphamide (FEC) chemotherapy followed by 3 cycles of docetaxel with those receiving 3 cycles of FEC followed by 3 cycles of gemcitabine-docetaxel (FEC-DG). 3690 patients were evaluated according to National Cancer Institute (NCI) toxicity criteria (CTCAE).

Evaluation of miRNA-expression and clinical tumour parameters in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC).

Squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (HNSCC) is the sixth most common malignancy worldwide. The past decades have not led to substantial improvement in diagnosis and therapy. Analysis of miRNA-expression may help to determine the progression profiles and outcomes of many different diseases, including HNSCC.

RB1 is the crucial target of the Merkel cell polyomavirus Large T antigen in Merkel cell carcinoma cells.

The pocket protein (PP) family consists of the three members RB1, p107 and p130 all possessing tumor suppressive properties. Indeed, the PPs jointly control the G1/S transition mainly by inhibiting E2F transcription factors. Notably, several viral oncoproteins are capable of binding and inhibiting PPs.

Elastase-like Activity Is Dominant to Chymotrypsin-like Activity in 20S Proteasome's β5 Catalytic Subunit.

The ubiquitin/proteasome system is the major protein degradation pathway in eukaryotes with several key catalytic cores. Targeting the β5 subunit with small-molecule inhibitors is an established therapeutic strategy for hematologic cancers. Herein, we report a mouse-trap-like conformational change that influences molecular recognition depending on the substitution pattern of a bound ligand.

Septicemia with Streptococcus pseudopneumoniae: report of three cases with an apparent hepatic or bile duct association.

Streptococcus pseudopneumoniae was described in 2004 as a new human pathogen, acknowledged in a range of clinical infections typically associated to the respiratory tract. This report demonstrates that S. pseudopneumoniae has the potential to cause invasive infection.

Short term quality of life with epirubicin-fluorouracil-cyclophosphamid (FEC) and sequential epirubicin/cyclophosphamid-docetaxel (EC-DOC) chemotherapy in patients with primary breast cancer - Results from the prospective multi-center randomized ADEBAR trial.

Background: The recommendation for adjuvant dose-dense chemotherapy in high risk primary breast cancer is heterogeneous among guidelines. Understanding the impact on QoL is thereby a crucial factor, especially if the benefit is potentially low. This study aims to assess QoL as a secondary outcome in the prospective randomized multi-center ADEBAR trial.

Hypercapnia Suppresses the HIF-dependent Adaptive Response to Hypoxia.

Molecular oxygen and carbon dioxide are the primary gaseous substrate and product of oxidative metabolism, respectively. Hypoxia (low oxygen) and hypercapnia (high carbon dioxide) are co-incidental features of the tissue microenvironment in a range of pathophysiologic states, including acute and chronic respiratory diseases. The hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) is the master regulator of the transcriptional response to hypoxia; however, little is known about the impact of hypercapnia on gene transcription.

Randomised phase III trial of FEC120 vs EC-docetaxel in patients with high-risk node-positive primary breast cancer: final survival analysis of the ADEBAR study.

Background: Taxane-containing adjuvant chemotherapy has been established as standard treatment in node-positive breast cancer. This study compared efficacy and tolerability of epirubicin (E)/cyclophosphamide (C) followed by docetaxel (Doc) with a dose-dense 5-fluorouracil (F)+E+ C regimen.

Methods: The ADEBAR study was a randomised phase III trial for women with primary invasive breast cancer and ⩾4 metastatic axillary lymph nodes (n=1364).

Activation of Myenteric Glia during Acute Inflammation In Vitro and In Vivo.

Background: Enteric glial cells (EGCs) are the main constituent of the enteric nervous system and share similarities with astrocytes from the central nervous system including their reactivity to an inflammatory microenvironment. Previous studies on EGC pathophysiology have specifically focused on mucosal glia activation and its contribution to mucosal inflammatory processes observed in the gut of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients. In contrast knowledge is scarce on intestinal inflammation not locally restricted to the mucosa but systemically affecting the intestine and its effect on the overall EGC network.

The Learning Objective Catalogue for Patient Safety in Undergraduate Medical Education--A Position Statement of the Committee for Patient Safety and Error Management of the German Association for Medical Education.

Background: Since the report "To err is human" was published by the Institute of Medicine in the year 2000, topics regarding patient safety and error management are in the focal point of interest of science and politics. Despite international attention, a structured and comprehensive medical education regarding these topics remains to be missing.

Goals: The Learning Objective Catalogue for Patient Safety described below the Committee for Patient Safety and Error Management of the German Association for Medical Education (GMA) has aimed to establish a common foundation for the structured implementation of patient safety curricula at the medical faculties in German-speaking countries.

Prevalence of BRCA1/2 germline mutations in 21 401 families with breast and ovarian cancer.

Purpose: To characterise the prevalence of pathogenic germline mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 in families with breast cancer (BC) and ovarian cancer (OC) history.

Patients And Methods: Data from 21 401 families were gathered between 1996 and 2014 in a clinical setting in the German Consortium for Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer, comprising full pedigrees with cancer status of all individual members at the time of first counselling, and BRCA1/2 mutation status of the index patient.

Results: The overall BRCA1/2 mutation prevalence was 24.

Antagonism between Staphylococcus epidermidis and Propionibacterium acnes and its genomic basis.

Background: Propionibacterium acnes and Staphylococcus epidermidis live in close proximity on human skin, and both bacterial species can be isolated from normal and acne vulgaris-affected skin sites. The antagonistic interactions between the two species are poorly understood, as well as the potential significance of bacterial interferences for the skin microbiota. Here, we performed simultaneous antagonism assays to detect inhibitory activities between multiple isolates of the two species.

Genome stability of Propionibacterium acnes: a comprehensive study of indels and homopolymeric tracts.

We present a species-wide comparative analysis of 90 genomes of Propionibacterium acnes that represent the known diversity of the species. Our results are augmented by six high-quality genomes and a manual investigation of all gene-sized indels found in the strains. Overall, the order of genes is conserved throughout the species.

Giant central thoracic disc herniations: surgical outcome in 17 consecutive patients treated by mini-thoracotomy.

Purpose: Safe treatment of giant central thoracic disc herniations (cTDHs) remains a surgical challenge due to frequent calcifications, intradural extension and, importantly, the rare exposure of spine surgeons to these lesions. We report our 10-year experience in the management of giant cTDH by mini-thoracotomy and offer a detailed description of the technique.

Methods: 17 patients harboring 17 giant cTDH operated on via a mini-thoracotomy at the authors' institution between 2004 and 2014 were reviewed.

Spheroid-based 3-dimensional culture models: Gene expression and functionality in head and neck cancer.

In the present study a panel of 12 head and neck cancer (HNSCC) cell lines were tested for spheroid formation. Since the size and morphology of spheroids is dependent on both cell adhesion and proliferation in the 3-dimensional (3D) context, morphology of HNSCC spheroids was related to expression of E-cadherin and the proliferation marker Ki67. In HNSCC cell lines the formation of tight regular spheroids was dependent on distinct E-cadherin expression levels in monolayer cultures, usually resulting in upregulation following aggregation into 3D structures.

Aneurysm miRNA Signature Differs, Depending on Disease Localization and Morphology.

Limited comprehension of aneurysm pathology has led to inconclusive results from clinical trials. miRNAs are key regulators of post-translational gene modification and are useful tools in elucidating key features of aneurysm pathogenesis in distinct entities of abdominal and popliteal aneurysms. Here, surgically harvested specimens from 19 abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) and 8 popliteal artery aneurysm (PAA) patients were analyzed for miRNA expression and histologically classified regarding extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling and inflammation.

FIH Regulates Cellular Metabolism through Hydroxylation of the Deubiquitinase OTUB1.

The asparagine hydroxylase, factor inhibiting HIF (FIH), confers oxygen-dependence upon the hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF), a master regulator of the cellular adaptive response to hypoxia. Studies investigating whether asparagine hydroxylation is a general regulatory oxygen-dependent modification have identified multiple non-HIF targets for FIH. However, the functional consequences of this outside of the HIF pathway remain unclear.

Cooperative effects of fatty acids and n-butanol on lipid membrane phase behavior.

Biodiesel-derived crude glycerol can be fermented to produce n-butanol, which is a platform chemical for biorefining and a biofuel. One limitation to crude glycerol fermentation is the presence of long-chain fatty acids (FAs) that can partition into cellular membranes, leading to membrane fluidization and interdigitation, which can inhibit cellular function. In this work, we have examined the phase behavior of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC, C16:0) membranes and the membrane partitioning of n-butanol as a function of FA degree of unsaturation (steric, oleic, and linoleic acids) using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and monolayer surface pressure studies.

REST mediates resolution of HIF-dependent gene expression in prolonged hypoxia.

The hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) is a key regulator of the cellular response to hypoxia which promotes oxygen delivery and metabolic adaptation to oxygen deprivation. However, the degree and duration of HIF-1α expression in hypoxia must be carefully balanced within cells in order to avoid unwanted side effects associated with excessive activity. The expression of HIF-1α mRNA is suppressed in prolonged hypoxia, suggesting that the control of HIF1A gene transcription is tightly regulated by negative feedback mechanisms.

Continuous 1.3-million-year record of East African hydroclimate, and implications for patterns of evolution and biodiversity.

The transport of moisture in the tropics is a critical process for the global energy budget and on geologic timescales, has markedly influenced continental landscapes, migratory pathways, and biological evolution. Here we present a continuous, first-of-its-kind 1.3-My record of continental hydroclimate and lake-level variability derived from drill core data from Lake Malawi, East Africa (9-15° S).

Direct relations between morphology and transport in Boolean models.

We study the relation of permeability and morphology for porous structures composed of randomly placed overlapping circular or elliptical grains, so-called Boolean models. Microfluidic experiments and lattice Boltzmann simulations allow us to evaluate a power-law relation between the Euler characteristic of the conducting phase and its permeability. Moreover, this relation is so far only directly applicable to structures composed of overlapping grains where the grain density is known a priori.

Draft Genome Sequences of Two Propionibacterium acnes Strains Isolated from Progressive Macular Hypomelanosis Lesions of Human Skin.

Propionibacterium acnes is a Gram-positive bacterium that is prevalent on human skin. It has been associated with skin disorders such as acne vulgaris and progressive macular hypomelanosis (PMH). Here, we report draft genome sequences of two type III P.