DNA damage and repair in peripheral blood mononuclear cells after internal ex vivo irradiation of patient blood with 131I.

AIM: The aim of this study was to provide a systematic approach to characterize DNA damage induction and repair in isolated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) after internal ex vivo irradiation with [131I]NaI. In this approach, we tried to mimic ex vivo the irradiation of patient blood in the first hours after radioiodine therapy. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Blood of 33 patients of two centres was collected immediately before radioiodine therapy of differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) and split into two samples. One sample served as non-irradiated control. The second sample was exposed to ionizing radiation by adding 1 ml of [131I]NaI solution to 7 ml of blood, followed by incubation at 37 °C for 1 h. PBMCs of both samples were isolated, split in three parts each and (i) fixed in 70% ethanol and stored at - 20 °C directly (0 h) after irradiation, (ii) after 4 h and (iii) 24 h after irradiation and culture in RPMI medium. After immunofluorescence staining microscopically visible co-localizing γ-H2AX + 53BP1 foci were scored in 100 cells per sample as biomarkers for radiation-induced double-strand breaks (DSBs). RESULTS: Thirty-two of 33 blood samples could be analysed. The mean absorbed dose to the blood in all irradiated samples was 50.1 ± 2.3 mGy. For all time points (0 h, 4 h, 24 h), the average number of γ-H2AX + 53BP1 foci per cell was significantly different when compared to baseline and the other time points. The average number of radiation-induced foci (RIF) per cell after irradiation was 0.72 ± 0.16 at t = 0 h, 0.26 ± 0.09 at t = 4 h and 0.04 ± 0.09 at t = 24 h. A monoexponential fit of the mean values of the three time points provided a decay rate of 0.25 ± 0.05 h-1, which is in good agreement with data obtained from external irradiation with γ- or X-rays. CONCLUSION: This study provides novel data about the ex vivo DSB repair in internally irradiated PBMCs of patients before radionuclide therapy. Our findings show, in a large patient sample, that efficient repair occurs after internal irradiation with 50 mGy absorbed dose, and that the induction and repair rate after 131I exposure is comparable to that of external irradiation with γ- or X-rays.

Occurrence of Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) on Wild Hosts in Nonmanaged Woodlands and Soybean Fields in North Carolina and Virginia.

Nonmanaged plants occurring along forest edges and in suburban settings were sampled for brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys (Stål), in North Carolina (NC) and Virginia (VA) over the course of three growing seasons. Commercial soybeans (Glycine max), an attractive cultivated host, were also sampled in 2014 in NC and in VA from 2010-2014. Very few H. halys were found on nonmanaged plants or soybean fields in the coastal plain region of either state, but substantial populations were recorded in the piedmont and mountain regions. From 2011 to 2013, H. halys comprised from 51 to 97% of all stink bug species observed on nonmanaged plants in the piedmont and mountain regions. In VA, the distribution expanded from detection in 12 counties in 2010 to 53 counties in 2014, with economically damaging levels occurring in the piedmont region. During these studies, H. halys were observed to complete one and a partial second generation per year in western NC and southwestern VA, similar to that previously observed in regions farther north. Several plants were identified as preferred hosts, with tree of heaven, catalpa, yellowwood, paulownia, cherry, walnut, redbud, and grape having consistently high numbers of H. halys. Knowing that these plants are preferred by H. halys during certain stages of the insects' development will aid in the search for H. halys in new areas, as well as serve as one predictor of the likelihood of a certain area to attract and sustain large H. halys populations.

[Inducible laryngeal obstruction vs. bronchial asthma]. / Belastungsinduzierte laryngeale Obstruktion in Abgrenzung zum Asthma bronchiale.

UNLABELLED: Inducible Laryngeal Obstruction vs. Bronchial -Asthma Background: Inducible laryngeal obstructions (ILO) represent paroxysmal and sometimes severe dyspnea caused by different factors. Symptomatically ILO resembles bronchial asthma and is therefore often misdiagnosed. In the following 3 cases regarding a special type of ILO, the exercise induced laryngeal obstruction (EILO) will be presented. It will also be demonstrated, how EILO can be diagnosed and differentiated from bronchial asthma. METHOD: Laryngeal symptoms were provoked by spiroergometry (treadmill or bicycle) and inspected by laryngoscopy. RESULTS: Symptoms could be provoked in all of the 3 patients by either treadmill or bicycle spiroergometry. When a stridor occurred, usually 1.5-2 min after the anaerobe threshold had been exceeded, spiroergometry showed a decline or plateau of carbon dioxide emission and oxygen intake. Laryngoscopy revealed adduction of the vocal cords during inspiration occa-sionally with a collapse of supraglottic structures towards the endolarynx. DISCUSSION: This article is the first to report that EILO can be distinctly depicted by spiroergometry. The decline or plateau in oxygen and carbon dioxide curves in coordination with the onset of stridor, approximately 1.5-2 min after the anaerobe threshold had been exceeded, was found to be reproducible in all cases. Furthermore, endoscopy immediately following peak exhaustion represents a practical tool for the identification of EILO.·

Determination of cardiac output by ultrasound dilution technique in infants and children: a validation study against direct Fick principle.

BACKGROUND: In critically ill children, monitoring of cardiac output (CO) is essential to guide haemodynamic management and facilitate cardiovascular therapy. The ultrasound dilution technique (UDT), a novel minimally invasive indicator method, was recently introduced to determine CO. We validated UDT against the 'gold standard' reference technique, the direct Fick principle, in infants and children. METHODS: Twenty-six children (median age: 6 yr 2 months; median weight: 19.2 kg) underwent diagnostic heart catheterization. In each child, CO was determined by the Fick principle using direct measurement of oxygen consumption and invasive oximetry. Consecutively, haemodynamically stable conditions provided; three independent measurements of CO were conducted with UDT. CO values were compared using bias and limits of agreement calculated using the Bland-Altman approach and linear regression analysis for the complete study group and for a subgroup with body weight <20 kg (n=14). RESULTS: The mean (standard deviation) CO values were 3.76 (1.73) litre min(-1) (range 1.38-6.97) for the direct Fick principle and 3.49 (1.72) litre min(-1) (range 1.31-7.00) for UDT. An excellent correlation (r=0.96) was found between both methods (P<0.0001). The Bland-Altman analysis demonstrated good clinical agreement with a mean bias of 0.26 litre min(-1), limits of agreement of -0.66 and 1.19 litre min(-1), and percentage error of 25.9%. Comparable results were obtained for patients <20 kg (mean bias=0.19 litre min(-1), percentage error=25.5%). CONCLUSIONS: CO measurements by UDT agree favourably with Fick-derived CO data and both techniques were found to be equivalent and interchangeable. UDT represents a valid and applicable method for repetitive CO determinations in infants and children.

[Skull deformities as sequela of unilateral mandibular dysbalance. 4. Secondary changes in the mandible]. / Schädeldeformitäten als Folge unilateraler mandibulärer Dysbalance. 4. Sekundärveränderungen an Unterkiefern.

Distinct morphological changes were found one year after partial unilateral mandibular resection. The stump left after resection was smaller in all dimensions than the corresponding part of the intact half of the mandible, and the coronoid process inclined further posteriorwards as age increased. The temporomandibular joints were atrophized in all and arthrotically deformed in some cases. The intact halves of the mandibles presented a more or less S-shaped curvature in all cases. No dependence could be found between these changes and post-surgical age.

[Skull deformities following unilateral mandibular dysfunction. 1. General review of secondary changes]. / Schädeldeformitäten als Folge unilateraler mandibulärer Dysbalance. 1. Allgemeine Ubersicht über die Sekundärveränderungen.

Communications 1 to 5 will deal with the significance of the masticatory muscles as a local factor affecting the shaping of the skull. The reports are based on experiments with dogs (Beagles) on which unilateral partial resection of the mandible was performed at different ages. The animals were slaughtered one year after the operation. 1st Bulletin: More or less severe scoliosis was observed in all skulls and proved to be the principal secondary change. The deviation was found to be particularly great in the region of the viscerocranium in all cases. Other findings include a flattening of the zygomatic arch and the linea temporalis on the operated side, close spacing of the front teeth, and deformation and reduction in size of the temporomandibular joint socket.

[Skull deformities as a consequence of unilateral mandibular imbalance. 2. Quantitative determination of secondary changes]. / Schädeldeformitäten als Folge unilateraler mandibulärer Dysbalance. 2. Quantitative Erfassung der Sekundärveränderungen.

The measurement of the 2 halves of the skull were compared to permit quantification of the skull scoliosis and its dependency on age at the operation. It was found that the differences between the left and right sides at palate level decrease as the age at operation increases. There are no significant differences between the sides at palate level if the operation is performed at an age of 38 weeks. No distinct differences were observed between the sides in the zygomatic arch region at any age. No significant differences could be observed between the left and right sides of the neurocranium.

[Skull deformities as sequelae of unilateral mandibular dysbalance. 3. Studies of asymmetry based on frontal sections]. / Schädeldeformitäten als Folge unilateraler mandibulärer Dysbalance. 3. Asymmetrieuntersuchungen auf der Grundlage von Parafrontalschnitten.

The areas obtained by planimetry of parafrontal sections showed distinct asymmetry in the region of the cavitas nasi in the Beagles that had been operated. Although differences between the sides were also observed in the skulls of the control Beagles, they were very slight. There were no differences between the left and right sides in regard of the areas of the cavitas cerebri in either the operated or the control Beagles. In the operated skulls they are slightly larger than normal, but in the control animals they are within the physiological range of variation.

[Skull deformities following unilateral mandibular imbalance. V. Discussion of results]. / Schädeldeformitäten als Folge unilateraler mandibulärer Dysbalance. V. Besprechung der Ergebnisse.

The unilateral dysbalance induced artificially in the mandibles of Beagles yields information regarding the action of the masticatory musculature as a local factor affecting craniofacial growth. Time is an important factor, particularly the age and maturity of the animals at the time of the operation and the length of the post-surgical interval prior to the measurements being taken. The time factor and differences between chewing types provide some explanation for the lack of uniformity and, sometimes, the contradictory nature of the available information regarding the secondary changes to the skull following the elimination of masticatory muscles in experimental animals. The cranial scoliosis observed as a result of mandibular dysbalance suggests strongly that the viscerocranium responds plastically to functional influences. The neurocranium, in contrast, whose shape is governed largely by the brain, is to great extent immune to such postnatal manipulations. The fact that growth of the residual mandibular stump is retarded shows that the condylar cartilage is not a primary growth centre. Postnatal mandibular growth is mainly periosteal and governed by functional stimuli. Any attempt to apply these results obtained with animal models to man must naturally take the differences between the structures of the maxillo-mandibular apparatuses into account.

[Vascularization of plexus myentericus (Auerbach) in the large intestine of the cat]. / Zur Gefässversorgung des Plexus myentericus (Auerbach) im Dickdarm der Katze.

1. Coincidental preparation of the intramuscular vascular bed and the plexus myentericus (Auerbach) of the cat's large intestine by India-ink method and silverimpregnation allowed to demonstrate independent vascularisation of ganglia and nerve-branches of the plexus Auerbach. 2. Each ganglion is surrounded by a capillary network widely independently existing of the intramuscular capillary bed. The preferred innervated terminal arterioles and especially the sphincteric capillaries opening into the periganglionic capillary network and the numerous arterio-venous short-circuits in its marginal area suggest to conclude a differentiated regulation of blood supply.