Longitudinal volumetric analysis of compartments in chicken eggs using ultra-high-field magnetic resonance imaging.

Introduction: The chicken egg, with its compartments, is a widely used and popular animal model in experimental studies. This study aimed to quantify the volumes of the yolk/yolk sac, amniotic fluid, and chicken embryo using non-invasive ultra-high-field magnetic resonance imaging (UHF-MRI).

Materials And Methods: In total, 64 chicken eggs were examined using a 7 T UHF-MRI scanner, acquiring T2-weighted anatomical images of the entire egg from developmental day 1 to 16 (D1-D16).

CT-Defined Pectoralis Muscle Density Predicts 30-Day Mortality in Hospitalized Patients with COVID-19: A Nationwide Multicenter Study.

Rationale And Objectives: The prognostic role of computed tomography (CT)-defined skeletal muscle features in COVID-19 is still under investigation. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the prognostic role of CT-defined skeletal muscle area and density in patients with COVID-19 in a multicenter setting.

Materials And Methods: This retrospective study is a part of the German multicenter project RACOON (Radiological Cooperative Network of the COVID-19 pandemic).

The prognostic relevance of pleural effusion in patients with COVID-19 - A German multicenter study.

Purpose: This study evaluates the prognostic significance of pleural effusion (PE) in COVID-19 patients across thirteen centers in Germany, aiming to clarify its role in predicting clinical outcomes.

Methods: In this retrospective analysis within the RACOON project (Radiological Cooperative Network of the COVID-19 pandemic), 1183 patients (29.3 % women, 70.

SPINEPS-automatic whole spine segmentation of T2-weighted MR images using a two-phase approach to multi-class semantic and instance segmentation.

Objectives: Introducing SPINEPS, a deep learning method for semantic and instance segmentation of 14 spinal structures (ten vertebra substructures, intervertebral discs, spinal cord, spinal canal, and sacrum) in whole-body sagittal T2-weighted turbo spin echo images.

Material And Methods: This local ethics committee-approved study utilized a public dataset (train/test 179/39 subjects, 137 female), a German National Cohort (NAKO) subset (train/test 1412/65 subjects, mean age 53, 694 female), and an in-house dataset (test 10 subjects, mean age 70, 5 female). SPINEPS is a semantic segmentation model, followed by a sliding window approach utilizing a second model to create instance masks from the semantic ones.

Optimized biogenic sulfuric acid production and application in the treatment of waste incineration residues.

The biological leaching of metals from different waste streams by bacteria is intensively investigated to address metal recycling and circular economy goals. However, usually external addition of sulfuric acid is required to maintain the low pH optimum of the bacteria to ensure efficient leaching. Extremely acidophilic Acidithiobacillus spp.

Iodine Biofortification of Apples and Pears in an Orchard Using Foliar Sprays of Different Composition.

Many people across the world suffer from iodine (I) deficiency and related diseases. The I content in plant-based foods is particularly low, but can be enhanced by agronomic biofortification. Therefore, in this study two field experiments were conducted under orchard conditions to assess the potential of I biofortification of apples and pears by foliar fertilization.

Improved Upper Limit on the Neutrino Mass from a Direct Kinematic Method by KATRIN.

We report on the neutrino mass measurement result from the first four-week science run of the Karlsruhe Tritium Neutrino experiment KATRIN in spring 2019. Beta-decay electrons from a high-purity gaseous molecular tritium source are energy analyzed by a high-resolution MAC-E filter. A fit of the integrated electron spectrum over a narrow interval around the kinematic end point at 18.

Smart textiles in wound care: functionalization of cotton/PET blends with antimicrobial nanocapsules.

Management of infected wounds is one of the most costly procedures in the health care sector. Burn wounds are of significant importance due to the high infection risk that can possibly lead to severe consequences such as sepsis. Because antibiotic wound treatments have caused increasing antibiotic resistance in bacteria, there is currently a strong need for alternative strategies.

Genetic diversity for nitrogen use efficiency in Arabidopsis thaliana.

The plasticity of plant growth response to differing nitrate availability renders the identification of biomarkers difficult, but allows access to genetic factors as tools to modulate root systems to a wide range of soil conditions. Nitrogen availability is a major determinant of crop yield. While the application of fertiliser substantially increases the yield on poor soils, it also causes nitrate pollution of water resources and high costs for farmers.

Effect of pH-lowering litter amendment on animal-based welfare indicators and litter quality in a European commercial broiler husbandry.

Several studies have shown that litter moisture is a major reason for foot pad lesions (FPD) and promotes microbial growth of nitrifying bacteria. The aim of the current study was to determine the possible effects of a sodium bisulfate complex (SBS) as a litter additive on FPD, hock burn (HB), and litter parameters. Two application rates of SBS were examined in 2 experiments on a commercial farm.

Hemoglobin, C-reactive protein and ferritin in patients with oral carcinoma and their clinical significance - A prospective clinical study.

Aim: For oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), biomarkers are much in need to predict prognosis and to overcome possible resistance mechanisms to adjuvant therapies. The aim of this study was to evaluate serum level of hemoglobin, C-reactive protein (CRP) and ferritin as possible liquid biopsy to predict survival, metastasis and tumor relapse of OSCC.

Material And Methods: A prospective clinical study was conducted.

Proinflammatory cytokines as serum biomarker in oral carcinoma-A prospective multi-biomarker approach.

Background: Inflammation and cell-mediated immunity have a key role in different stages of carcinogenesis. The aim of this prospective study was to assess serum levels of proinflammatory cytokines interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-8 (IL-8), soluble interleukin-2 receptor (sIL-2R), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), and MHC class I polypeptide-related sequence B (MICB) in patients with oral premalignant lesion (OPL), oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), and healthy controls in a multi-biomarker approach as a potential diagnostic and prognostic tool for OSCC.

Material And Methods: A total of 205 patients (81 with OSCC, 75 with OPL, and 49 healthy controls) were included in this prospective study.

The matrix metalloproteinase and insulin-like growth factor system in oral cancer - a prospective clinical study.

Aim: The absence of reliable single serum biomarkers for oral premalignant lesion (OPL) and oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) limits early diagnosis, monitoring of advanced disease, and prediction of prognosis.

Methods: In this prospective study, serum levels of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2, MMP-3, MMP-13, insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1, and IGF-binding protein (IGFBP)-3 were measured in 81 untreated OSCC patients, 49 healthy subjects, and 75 individuals with OPLs, and correlated with clinicopathological parameters.

Results: Serum levels of MMP-3 were significantly higher in OSCC patients compared to healthy subjects (=0.

Exercise-Induced Release of Pharmacologically Active Substances and Their Relevance for Therapy of Hepatic Injury.

Chronic liver disease (CLD) features constant parenchymal injury and repair together with an increasing hepatic impairment, finally leading to fibrosis and cirrhosis and a heightened risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Closely related to the rise in obesity, the worldwide prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, the most common form of CLD, has reached an epidemic dimension and is estimated to afflict up to 46% of the general population, including more than one out of three U.S.

Pharmacological Intervention in Hepatic Stellate Cell Activation and Hepatic Fibrosis.

The activation and transdifferentiation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) into contractile, matrix-producing myofibroblasts (MFBs) are central events in hepatic fibrogenesis. These processes are driven by autocrine- and paracrine-acting soluble factors (i.e.

Immunomodulatory effects of transforming growth factor-β in the liver.

Members of the transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) family are potent regulatory cytokines that affect multiple cell types of the immune system mediating pro-inflammatory or anti-inflammatory responses. In the liver, TGF-β is produced by a multitude of non-parenchymal liver cells including hepatic stellate cells (HSCs), liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSECs), Kupffer cells (KCs), and dendritic cells (DCs) as well as natural killer (NK) T cells among other hepatic lymphocytes. The effect of TGF-β on other cells is highly versatile.

[Home monitoring of an incessant VT in an ICD patient].

Due to the increasing number of patients and complexity of modern tachycardia devices, efficient therapy monitoring as offered by telemedicine monitoring is of increasing importance. The potential advantages of remote control for patient management include early detection of device-related technical problems and arrhythmias. We report the case of an ICD patient with incessant ventricular tachycardia in whom immediate arrhythmia transmission was monitored by remote control.

[Therapy of local prostate carcinoma. Questions answered by outcome research].

More and more localized prostate cancers with only a low risk for progression are diagnosed. In most cases the treatment consists of invasive procedures which may be accompanied by certain side effects. Ongoing randomized studies which are comparing irradiation and surgery with defensive strategies like Active Surveillance will not give results in the foreseeable future.

Isoenzyme replacement of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase in the cytosol improves stress tolerance in plants.

In source leaves of resistant tobacco, oxidative burst and subsequent formation of hypersensitive lesions after infection with Phytophthora nicotianae was prevented by inhibition of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH) or NADPH oxidases. This observation indicated that plant defense could benefit from improved NADPH availability due to increased G6PDH activity in the cytosol. A plastidic isoform of the G6PDH-encoding gene, G6PD, displaying high NADPH tolerance was engineered for cytosolic expression (cP2), and introduced into a susceptible cultivar.

RNA interference-mediated repression of cell wall invertase impairs defense in source leaves of tobacco.

The significance of cell wall invertase (cwINV) for plant defense was investigated by comparing wild-type tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) Samsun NN (SNN) with plants with RNA interference (RNAi)-mediated repression of cwINV (SNNcwINV). In source leaves of SNNcwINV, the activity of cwINV was repressed by about 90%. Sucrose export and apoplastic carbohydrate levels were significantly reduced, while photosynthesis and dark respiration exhibited little or no change.

Dielectron production in 12C+12C collisions at 2A GeV with the HADES spectrometer.

The invariant-mass spectrum of e+e- pairs produced in 12C+12C collisions at an incident energy of 2 GeV per nucleon has been measured for the first time. The measured pair production probabilities span over 5 orders of magnitude from the pi(0)-Dalitz to the rho/omega invariant-mass region. Dalitz decays of pi(0) and eta account for all the yield up to 0.

Brain tissue oxygenation monitoring supplementary to somatosensory evoked potential monitoring for aneurysm surgery. Initial clinical experience.

The object of the study was to evaluate brain tissue oxygenation (p(ti)O2) for intra-operative monitoring of critical ischemic events during early cerebral aneurysm surgery of the anterior circulation supplementary to somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs). P(ti)O2 was continuously evaluated during surgery for an intracranial aneurysm in 28 patients. Standard cortical SEP monitoring was simultaneously performed.

Recurrent infectious mononucleosis caused by Epstein-Barr virus with persistent splenomegaly.

We present the clinical case of a 20-year-old male soldier who appeared in general good physical condition. He suffered from infectious mononucleosis caused by Epstein-Barr virus that had recurred 2 years after the first serologically documented episode. The detected splenomegaly persisted in the healthy young man, who otherwise showed no apparent immune deficiency.

Induction of complete wound healing in recalcitrant ulcers by low-intensity laser irradiation depends on ulcer cause and size.

Chronic skin ulcers still represent a therapeutic challenge in dermatology. Among the various non-invasive treatment modalities used for the improvement of impaired wound healing, low-intensity laser irradiations are gaining an increasing body of interest. We used low-intensity laser irradiations delivered by a 30 mW helium-neon laser at an energy density of 30 J/cm2 three times weekly for the induction of wound healing in ulcers of diverse causes.