Biological carbon dioxide utilisation in food waste anaerobic digesters.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) enrichment of anaerobic digesters (AD) was previously identified as a potential on-site carbon revalorisation strategy. This study addresses the lack of studies investigating this concept in up-scaled units and the need to understand the mechanisms of exogenous CO2 utilisation. Two pilot-scale ADs treating food waste were monitored for 225 days, with the test unit being periodically injected with CO2 using a bubble column. The test AD maintained a CH4 production rate of 0.56 ± 0.13 m(3) CH4·(kg VS(fed) d)(-1) and a CH4 concentration in biogas of 68% even when dissolved CO2 levels were increased by a 3 fold over the control unit. An additional uptake of 0.55 kg of exogenous CO2 was achieved in the test AD during the trial period. A 2.5 fold increase in hydrogen (H2) concentration was observed and attributed to CO2 dissolution and to an alteration of the acidogenesis and acetogenesis pathways. A hypothesis for conversion of exogenous CO2 has been proposed, which requires validation by microbial community analysis.

Extracting information from textual documents in the electronic health record: a review of recent research.

OBJECTIVES: We examine recent published research on the extraction of information from textual documents in the Electronic Health Record (EHR). METHODS: Literature review of the research published after 1995, based on PubMed, conference proceedings, and the ACM Digital Library, as well as on relevant publications referenced in papers already included. RESULTS: 174 publications were selected and are discussed in this review in terms of methods used, pre-processing of textual documents, contextual features detection and analysis, extraction of information in general, extraction of codes and of information for decision-support and enrichment of the EHR, information extraction for surveillance, research, automated terminology management, and data mining, and de-identification of clinical text. CONCLUSIONS: Performance of information extraction systems with clinical text has improved since the last systematic review in 1995, but they are still rarely applied outside of the laboratory they have been developed in. Competitive challenges for information extraction from clinical text, along with the availability of annotated clinical text corpora, and further improvements in system performance are important factors to stimulate advances in this field and to increase the acceptance and usage of these systems in concrete clinical and biomedical research contexts.

Observation of polarized positrons from an undulator-based source.

An experiment (E166) at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center has demonstrated a scheme in which a multi-GeV electron beam passed through a helical undulator to generate multi-MeV, circularly polarized photons which were then converted in a thin target to produce positrons (and electrons) with longitudinal polarization above 80% at 6 MeV. The results are in agreement with GEANT4 simulations that include the dominant polarization-dependent interactions of electrons, positrons, and photons in matter.

Circumvention of MHC class II restriction by genetic immunization.

The fate of T cell responses to peptide-based vaccination is subject to constraints by the major histocompatibility complex (MHC), MHC restriction. Using as a model system of T and B cell epitopes from the circumsporozoite protein of Plasmodium falciparum malaria parasite, we show that vaccination by somatic transgene immunization readily primes Balb/c mice (H-2(d)) a strain previously reported to be non-responder to immunization with a synthetic peptide vaccine encompassing these epitopes. Following genetic vaccination Balb/c mice developed a primary T cell response comparable to that of the responder strain C57Bl/6 (H-2(b)). Following booster immunization on day 45 Balb/c mice responded with a typical T cell memory response. Priming induced the formation of specific antibodies, which rose sharply after booster immunization. These findings suggests that genetic immunization can circumvent MHC class II restriction.

Differential inhibitory effects of intravenous immunoglobulin preparations on HLA-alloantibodies in vitro.

BACKGROUND: Treatment of allosensitized patients with intravenously administered pooled immunoglobulin preparations (IVIG) may lead to a long-lasting reduction of anti-HLA alloantibody titers. An inhibitory response of IVIG preparations on lymphocytotoxicity is suggested to depend on IgG and to predict a successful reduction of anti-HLA alloantibodies upon the administration of high-dose IVIG in vivo. METHODS: In this study, we evaluated different IVIG preparations for their in vitro inhibitory capacity on lymphocytotoxicity and binding of anti-HLA alloantibodies to purified HLA antigens. For that purpose sera from 24 highly sensitized patients awaiting kidney transplantation and serological HLA testing reagents were used. Panel-reactive antibody (PRA) determinations using standard complement-dependent cytotoxicity testing and anti-HLA alloantibody determination by ELISA were carried out in the presence and absence of 50% (v/v) IVIG. RESULTS: The addition of IgG-containing IVIG preparations gave only a moderate inhibitory response judging from the average decrease of PRA levels (absolute DeltaPRA range: -2% to 16%), whereas the largest inhibition of lymphocytotoxicity was seen after the addition of IgM/IgA-containing IVIG preparations (absolute DeltaPRA range: 19% to 44%). For both IgG and IgM/IgA-containing IVIG preparations, the reduction of lymphocytotoxicity occurred in a dose-dependent fashion without a preference for particular anti-HLA class I antibody specificities. Significantly lower inhibitory effects on anti-HLA antibody reactivity were observed when the effects of IVIG preparations were monitored by ELISA (absolute DeltaPRA range: 7% to 22%). CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that the immunomodulatory capacity is largely caused by the IgM/IgA fraction of IVIG when analyzed by lymphocytotoxicity. The different effect on ELISA versus complement-dependent cytotoxicity testing suggests that interactions of IVIG with complement rather than anti-idiotypic antibodies may contribute to the inhibitory effects of IVIG in vitro.

[Intima media thickness in patients with vertebrobasilar and carotid stenosis/occlusions]. / Intima-Media-Thickness (IMT) bei Patienten mit vertebrobasilären und karotidalen Stenosen/Verschlüssen.

AIM: The purpose of this study was to investigate the degree of atherosclerosis in patients with stenoses or occlusions in the vertebrobasilar system (VBS) and the carotid system (CS). METHOD: The Intima-Media-Thickness (IMT) and the diameter of the common carotid artery (CCA) (as parameters of the proliferative and dilatative form of atherosclerosis) were measured on both sides on areas of vessel wall without stenoses and plaques. We examined of the neck 134 people, including 32 normal healthy counds, 57 patients with stenoses or occlusions in the CS and 16 patients with macroangiopathy exclusively in the VBS (following doppler- and duplex sonographical criteria). RESULTS: In control persons, a IMT of 0.67 +/- 0.2 mm and a CCA-diameter of 5.8 +/- 1.2 mm was found. Patients with CS-macroangiopathy exhibited a statistically significant increase in IMT with 0.97 +/- 0.2 mm (p < 0.001) and dilatation of the CCA (6.6 +/- 1.2 mm, p < 0.01). In comparison to the controls we also found a significant increase in IMT (0.86 +/- 0.2 mm, p < 0.001) and in diameter (6.8 +/- 0.9 mm, p < 0.01) in patients with VBS-macroangiopathy. There was no significant difference between both groups, despite a tendency of less severe changes in patients suffering from VBS-macroangiopathy. Patients with diabetes (1.1 +/- 0.2 mm, p < 0.001), with hypertension (0.99 +/- 0.2 mm, p < 0.05) and with coronary heart disease (0.96 +/- 0.2 mm, p < 0.05) showed a significant increase in IMT. CONCLUSION: Parameters of generalized atherosclerosis do not significantly differ between patients with stenoses or occlusions in the VBS and patients with changes in the CS and are correlated to the classical risk factors.

Soluble acid invertase determines the hexose-to-sucrose ratio in cold-stored potato tubers.

Cold storage of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) tubers is known to cause accumulation of reducing sugars. Hexose accumulation has been shown to be cultivar-dependent and proposed to be the result of sucrose hydrolysis via invertase. To study whether hexose accumulation is indeed related to the amount of invertase activities, two different approaches were used: (i) neutral and acidic invertase activities as well as soluble sugars were measured in cold-stored tubers of 24 potato cultivars differing in the cold-induced accumulation of reducing sugars and (ii) antisense potato plants with reduced soluble acid invertase activities were created and the soluble sugar accumulation in cold-stored tubers was studied. The cold-induced hexose accumulation in tubers from the different potato cultivars varied strongly (up to eightfold). Large differences were also detected with respect to soluble acid (50-fold) and neutral (5-fold) invertase activities among the different cultivars. Although there was almost no correlation between the total amount of invertase activity and the accumulation of reducing sugars there was a striking correlation between the hexose/sucrose ratio and the extractable soluble invertase activity. To exclude the possibility that other cultivar-specific features could account for the obtained results, the antisense approach was used to decrease the amount of soluble acid invertase activity in a uniform genetic background. To this end the cDNA of a cold-inducible soluble acid invertase (EMBL nucleic-acid database accession no. X70368) was cloned from the cultivar Desirée, and transgenic potato plants were created expressing this cDNA in the antisense orientation under control of the constitutive 35S cauliflower mosaic virus promotor. Analysis of the harvested and cold-stored tubers showed that inhibition of the soluble acid invertase activity leads to a decreased hexose and an increased sucrose content compared with controls. As was already found for the different potato cultivars the hexose/sucrose ratio decreased with decreasing invertase activities but the total amount of soluble sugars did not significantly change. From these data we conclude that invertases do not control the total amount of soluble sugars in cold-stored potato tubers but are involved in the regulation of the ratio of hexose to sucrose.

[Tibial shaft fracture. Forms of therapy and their complications]. / Die Unterschenkelschaftfraktur. Therapieformen und deren Komplikationen.

The rate of complications in treatment of lower leg fractures has continued to be high, which calls for critical appraisal of possible therapeutic approaches. The effectiveness of both conservative and surgical treatment has been shown by a prospective study which covers a period from 1984 to 1988. An analysis of 166 cases proved helpful in providing guidelines for therapy of closed and open lower leg fractures. Conditions and prerequisites are expounded for the use of various surgical techniques, and hints are given on how to reduce complications.

[Private households according to socioeconomic classification in national accounting: the model of the Federal Statistical Office]. / Private Haushalte nach soziookonomischen Merkmalen in den volkswirtschaftlichen Gesamtrechnungen: die Modellrechnung des Statistischen Bundesamtes

The author notes that "for calculating income distribution and expenditure by groups of households, annual averages are required concerning the number of private households by household groups and...the structure of the household members in a socio-economic classification." Problems of adjusting such household data so that they are compatible with data from other sources such as employment statistics are discussed, and a procedure for adjusting annual micro-census data on households in the Federal Republic of Germany is described. "Results for the year 1982 are presented, showing the main development trends as compared with the year 1972. Finally, the quality of forecasting with the adjustment procedure is studied." (summary in ENG)

Direct determination of luminal diameter changes in intrapulmonary airways.

A method is described for the direct measurement of changes in luminal diameter at all levels of the airway. Using this method it was found that (i) abrupt bronchiolar collapse occurred in the preterminal and terminal bronchioles once the luminal diameter was reduced to a critical level: (ii) decreased temperatures resulted in airway narrowing which was reversed by increasing the temperature to above 25 degrees C; as a rule, airway narrowing followed a cranial to caudal direction, and higher concentration of a drug being required to close the peripheral airways; (iii) bronchodilators except Carbuterol had no effect on resting bronchial tone or on acetylcholine-induced constriction in the absence of alpha-adrenoceptor blockade; (iv) at 35 degrees C rhythmic waves (frequency 6--20/min) were observed; these waves travelled from the periphery in a cranial direction.

Direct determination of luminal diameter changes in intrapulmonary airways

A method is decribed for the direct measurement of changes in luminal diameter at all levels of the airway. Using this method it was found that (i) abrupt bronchiolar collapse occurred in the preterminal and terminal bronchioles once the luminal diameter was reduced to a critical level: (ii) decreased temperatures resulted in airway narrowing which was reversed by increasing the temperature to above 25 degrees C; as a rule, airway narrowing followed a cranial to caudal direction, and higher concentration of a drug being required to close the peripheral airways; (iii) bronchodilators except Carbuterol had no effect on resting bronchial tone or on acetylcholine-induced constriction in the absence of O-adrenoreceptor blockade; (iv) at 35 degrees C rhythmic waves (frequency 6--20/min) were observed; these waves travelled from the periphery in a cranial direction. (AU)