MODELLING THE EXPOSURE OF RESIDENTS OF A RADIUM-CONTAMINATED LIVING PLACE.

Within the framework of the Swiss Radium Action Plan 2015-22, which aims to investigate and remediate sites contaminated by the radium used in the Swiss watch industry, a reference level of 1 mSv per y has been defined for the exposure of residents. An additional protection objective has been set for soil contamination, which should not exceed the value of 1000 Bq per kg 226Ra. Based on measurements on the study sites, the doses received by residents were calculated accordingly to the methodology, in both indoor and outdoor areas, taking into account external exposure and ingestion. The site diagnosis approach consists of a screening procedure based on a rapid measurement, followed, if necessary, by additional analysis to estimate doses. Sites where modelling indicates that the reference level or the complementary protection objective for soil contamination have been exceeded are subject to remediation. The application of the methodology based on these radiological criteria to 752 sites diagnosed until December 2020 indicates a rate of sites (buildings and outdoor areas) requiring remediation of ~16%. The annual doses to residents calculated by modelling are between 1 and 20 mSv per y for these sites.

Model of ambient dose equivalent for radium contamination: Dependence on the geometry of the source.

Industrial activities involving radium sources, such as watchmaking, were still common up until the 1960s. They produced contaminations in building materials and the soil in a large variety of geometries. The potential remediation of such places requires instruments that are properly calibrated as well as adequate procedures. We have developed a model that estimates the rate of ambient dose equivalent H˙∗(10) at 10 cm and 1 m from a source of 226Ra and its progeny in both the soil or the building materials. Our model, described here, uses Monte Carlo (GEANT4) computed yield functions of H˙∗(10) per unit activity induced by point-like sources in different contaminated materials. Fit functions of the yield curve of H˙∗(10) are provided for outdoor contamination. The model can be used for any geometrical activity distribution and we present an example showing the dependency of H˙∗(10) on the diameter and the depth profile of the sources, for both outdoor and indoor contamination.

A Registry for Evaluation of Efficiency and Safety of Surgical Treatment of Cartilage Defects: The German Cartilage Registry (KnorpelRegister DGOU).

BACKGROUND: The need for documentation in cartilage defects is as obvious as in other medical specialties. Cartilage defects can cause significant pain, and lead to reduced quality of life and loss of function of the affected joint. The risk of developing osteoarthritis is high. Therefore, the socioeconomic burden of cartilage defects should not be underestimated. OBJECTIVE: The objective of our study was to implement and maintain a registry of all patients undergoing surgical treatment of cartilage defects. METHODS: We designed this multicenter registry for adults whose cartilage defects of a knee, ankle, or hip joint are treated surgically. The registry consists of two parts: one for the physician and one for the patient. Data for both parts will be gathered at baseline and at 6-, 12-, 24-, 36-, 60-, and 120-month follow-ups. RESULTS: To date, a wide range of German, Swiss, and Austrian trial sites are taking part in the German Cartilage Registry, soon to be followed by further sites. More than 2124 (as of January 31, 2016) cases are already documented and the first publications have been released. CONCLUSIONS: The German Cartilage Registry addresses fundamental issues regarding the current medical care situation of patients with cartilage defects of knee, ankle, and hip joints. In addition, the registry will help to identify various procedure-specific complications, along with putative advantages and disadvantages of different chondrocyte products. It provides an expanding large-scale, unselected, standardized database for cost and care research for further retrospective studies. TRIAL REGISTRATION: German Clinical Trials Register: DRKS00005617; https://drks-neu.uniklinik-freiburg.de/ drks_web/navigate.do?navigationId=trial.HTML&TRIAL_ID=DRKS00005617 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6hbFqSws0).

Spiroindolines identify the vesicular acetylcholine transporter as a novel target for insecticide action.

The efficacy of all major insecticide classes continues to be eroded by the development of resistance mediated, in part, by selection of alleles encoding insecticide insensitive target proteins. The discovery of new insecticide classes acting at novel protein binding sites is therefore important for the continued protection of the food supply from insect predators, and of human and animal health from insect borne disease. Here we describe a novel class of insecticides (Spiroindolines) encompassing molecules that combine excellent activity against major agricultural pest species with low mammalian toxicity. We confidently assign the vesicular acetylcholine transporter as the molecular target of Spiroindolines through the combination of molecular genetics in model organisms with a pharmacological approach in insect tissues. The vesicular acetylcholine transporter can now be added to the list of validated insecticide targets in the acetylcholine signalling pathway and we anticipate that this will lead to the discovery of novel molecules useful in sustaining agriculture. In addition to their potential as insecticides and nematocides, Spiroindolines represent the only other class of chemical ligands for the vesicular acetylcholine transporter since those based on the discovery of vesamicol over 40 years ago, and as such, have potential to provide more selective tools for PET imaging in the diagnosis of neurodegenerative disease. They also provide novel biochemical tools for studies of the function of this protein family.

Monitoring of air radioactivity at the Jungfraujoch research station: test of a new high volume aerosol sampler.

The Swiss Federal Office of Public Health (SFOPH) is responsible for the surveillance of environmental radioactivity in Switzerland and for the protection of the public from ionizing and non-ionizing radiation. In order to improve the Swiss radioactivity monitoring network, a new high volume air sampler (DIGITEL DHA-80) was tested in Fribourg and at the Jungfraujoch High Altitude Research Station at 3454 m. The filters are analyzed in the laboratory by a high purity coaxial germanium detector. In the test period natural radio nuclides and traces of 137Cs, due to the Chernobyl accident of April 1986, were measured and are in good agreement with values from Germany and Poland. Albeit, the main purpose of this radioactivity monitoring network is to detect rapidly any input of artificial radioactivity, it is also helpful to understand transport of natural radio nuclides in the atmosphere, as for example the cosmogenic 7Be and the long-lived radon daughter 210Pb. The DIGITEL sampler proved to be sufficiently reliable for aerosol radioactivity monitoring even in extreme meteorological conditions at Jungfraujoch. A detection limit for artificial 137Cs of 2 microBq/m3 is obtained.

Substituted alpha-(phenylhydrazono)phenylacetonitrile derivatives. Part 2: Synthesis and biological activity of pro-pesticides.

Pro-pesticides of alpha-(2,6-dichloro-4-trifluoromethylphenylhydrazono)-4-nitrophenylacetonitrile have been prepared and tested against mite and insect pests. Variations in potency and spectrum were observed depending on the choice of cleavable pro-moiety. Cleavage of the pro-moiety was demonstrated in one case by measuring the rate of increase in the uncoupling activity using a mitochondrial preparation. Irradiation experiments have demonstrated a rapid isomerisation of the planar Z isomer to the E isomer, which is reversible.

Substituted alpha-(phenylhydrazono)phenylacetonitrile derivatives. Part 1: A new class of uncoupler of oxidative phosphorylation.

Substituted alpha-(phenylhydrazono)phenylacetonitrile derivatives have been discovered which constitute a series of potent uncouplers of oxidative phosphorylation. Systematic variation of substituents on both benzene rings has clearly demonstrated the importance of steric congestion around the ionisation site and delocalisation of negative charge in the anionic form. Replacement of the cyano group by other electron-withdrawing groups leads to a dramatic decrease in uncoupling activity. The sub-nanomolar levels of uncoupling activity found in certain members indicate that these compounds are the most potent uncouplers yet reported.