[Newborn screening: a prime example for effective secondary prevention]. / Neugeborenenscreening: ein Paradebeispiel für effektive Sekundärprävention.

Newborn screening is a medical population-based preventive measure for the early detection and initiation of therapy for all newborns with treatable endocrine and metabolic diseases. Left untreated, these diseases may lead to severe disabilities or even death. Target diseases have to meet the Wilson and Junger criteria on screening. A high sensitivity and specificity is ensured by an excellent analytic process. High process quality is achieved by offering newborn screening to all newborns and by clarifying pathologic findings very quickly. Therefore, in some federal states tracking centers have been established. Nationwide evaluation of process quality is annually performed and published online. The long-term outcome of diseased children has been investigated on a population-based level in Bavaria and at the University of Heidelberg in other studies. Between 2004 and 2012, 6.1 million children were screened (this is equivalent to 99 % of all newborns). The percentage of pathologic findings was 0.6 %. One out of 1300 children was affected by a target disease. For 90 % of these children, therapy started within the first 2 weeks of life. Studies on the long-term outcome show a positive effect on the course of disease, development of children, and the quality of life. In these studies, further challenges in care such as the first information given to parents regarding a pathologic finding or the care of adolescents with less compliance could also be identified. Newborn screening is an established preventive measure. With regard to ethical criteria and effectiveness, continuous evaluation of the process quality and the long-term outcome assure a high quality of the screening process.

Tomato bushy stunt viruses (TBSV) in nanotechnology investigated by scanning force and scanning electron microscopy.

Spherical plant viruses like the tomato bushy stunt virus (TBSV) allow for multiple applications in nanotechnology due to their shape. In this article, different types of the virus were created by extending coat protein (CP) at carboxylic termini with 2 different charged amino acids by point mutation. The obtained CPs carried 6 aspartic acid (negative charge) and 4 histamine (positive charge) residues. The ability of TBSV to form self assembled monolayers with large ordered areas on native and chemically modified mica will be presented. The structural differences between layers formed by the wild type and by the genetically modified types will be discussed in detail.

[Health risks in connection with fungi: a contribution to the assessment of fungi in the risk potential of safety provisions]. / Gesundheitsrisiken beim Umgang mit Pilzen: Ein Beitrag zur Eingruppierung von Pilzen in Risikogruppen der Sicher-heitsvorschriften.

Fungi have been used for a long time in industrial production. Recent developments in biotechnology have lead to an increased awareness of possible health hazards connected with the use of microorganisms in industries. In order to avoid potential risks by appropriate protective measures it is necessary to assess the microorganisms, including fungi, with respect to their species-related risk potential. For this purpose, fungi were classified into three risk groups of which group I contains non-hazardous fungi and group III fungi with high risk. Most difficulties arise when it is to be decided if a fungus belongs to group I or group II which includes most pathogenic fungi. The present study was designed to provide data which facilitate the assessment of potentially hazardous fungi. It is based on the evaluation of the pertinent mycological literature as represented in the Review of Medical and Veterinary Mycology in the years from 1980 till 1989.

Influence of Tris (hydroxymethyl) aminomethane on plasma insulin and glucose concentration of normal and streptozotocin-diabetic rats.

The influence of Tris buffer on plasma glucose and insulin concentrations was investigated in pentobarbital-anesthetized (60 mg/kg i.p.) Wistar rats. A bolus injection of neutralized Tris (5 mmol/kg; pH 7.4) caused a transient increase of plasma insulin concentration (+ 130 +/- 20 microU/ml; means +/- S means, n = 6) but did not change the glucose concentration. A continuous infusion of Tris (0.5 mmol/kg X min for 90 min) reduced the plasma glucose concentration from 8.7 +/- 0.42 to 5.1 +/- 0.33 mmol/l after 30 min. The plasma insulin concentration was elevated during the first 20 min (maximum +122 +/- 21 microU/ml after 10 min). In streptozotocin-diabetic rats (75 mg/kg i.v., 48 h prior to the experiments) an infusion of Tris changed neither glucose nor insulin concentration in plasma. The results indicate that in the rat Tris-induced hypoglycemia is always associated with a transient stimulation of insulin secretion.