Questions involving thin films, multilayered samples, surfaces and interfaces are generally not accessible by the conventional sources delivering muons with kinetic energy ∼4
MeV. The muon as a ...sensitive local magnetic and spin probe with complementary observational time window to other probes and techniques is able to offer unique new insights into these objects of investigations. Low energy muons (LE-μ
+) with tunable energy between ∼0.5 and 30
keV penetrate only to a depth between a few and few hundreds of nm depending on their energy. Hence they provide the desired non-destructive, non-invasive and microscopic probe for local investigations of properties near surfaces and in thin samples. The intensity of the LE-μ
+ source at PSI and the capability of the sample environment have been steadily evolving over the past years and the flux at the sample has now reached intensities of more than 700
μ
+/s. After a summary of the most recent developments we give a brief overview of the experimental program together with some anticipated applications. The measurement of the value of local magnetic fields as a function of position below a surface on a scale of a few nm, which has provided the first direct confirmation of the London formula and has the potential to yield information crucial to understanding the details of the superconducting state, has been used to map films of non-conventional and conventional superconductors. Investigations of magnetic systems range from the first studies of magnetic properties of buried thin films to investigations of dimensional effects in a single spin glass layer and interlayer coupling in magnetic-nonmagnetic systems. The future prospects of this technique are outlined. To optimize the flux of LE-μ
+ at PSI a new, dedicated surface muon beam line has been designed. It is presently under construction and will be installed in 2003/2004. The predicted intensity increase by a factor of about ten will contribute to the realization of the full potential of polarized muons used as nanoprobes.
Electronic technologies, in general, and computer-oriented technologies specifically have had a tremendous impact on all aspects of business. One area of increased concern is the protection of ...intellectual properties - notably copyrights - within the boundaries of the broadly defined technology industry. While the ability to share copyrighted information has always existed at the most basic levels, the advent of the information age has allowed the sharing of this information to take place in potentially greater quantities and without a loss of quality. As such, copying creates a major threat to industries dealing in the production and distribution of copyrightable creations. The focus of this paper is to better understand how the ethical judgments of employees regarding the opportunities to recreate copyrighted works via traditional and newer technologies impact assessments of copying behavior in the workplace.
1 Institute of Anesthesiology and 2 Institute of Physiology, University of Zurich Medical School, Zurich, Switzerland; 3 Department of Pathology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, ...Michigan; 4 Department of Surgery and 5 Cardiovascular Research, Institute of Physiology, University of Zurich Medical School, Zurich, Switzerland
Submitted 21 October 2004
; accepted in final form 8 August 2005
Respiratory epithelial cells play a crucial role in the inflammatory response in endotoxin-induced lung injury, an experimental model for acute lung injury. To determine the role of epithelial cells in the upper respiratory compartment in the inflammatory response to endotoxin, we exposed tracheobronchial epithelial cells (TBEC) to lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Expression of inflammatory mediators was analyzed, and the biological implications were assessed using chemotaxis and adherence assays. Epithelial cell necrosis and apoptosis were determined to identify LPS-induced cell damage. Treatment of TBEC with LPS induced enhanced protein expression of cytokines and chemokines (increases of 235654%, P < 0.05), with increased chemotactic activity regarding neutrophil recruitment. Expression of the intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) was enhanced by 52101% ( P < 0.0001). This upregulation led to increased adhesion of neutrophils, with >95% adherence to TBEC after LPS stimulation, which could be blocked by either ICAM-1 (69%) or VCAM-1 antibodies (55%) ( P < 0.05). Enhanced neutrophil-induced necrosis of TBEC was observed when TBEC were exposed to LPS. Reduced neutrophil adherence by ICAM-1 or VCAM-1 antibodies resulted in significantly lower TBEC death (52 and 34%, respectively, P < 0.05). Therefore, tight adherence of neutrophils to TBEC appears to promote epithelial cell killing. In addition to indirect effector cell-induced TBEC death, direct LPS-induced cell damage was seen with increased apoptosis rate in LPS-stimulated TBEC (36% increase of caspase-3, P < 0.01). These data provide evidence that LPS induces TBEC killing in a necrosis- and apoptosis-dependent manner.
lipopolysaccharide; inflammatory mediators; leukocytes
Address for reprint requests and other correspondence: B. Beck-Schimmer, Institutes of Anesthesiology and Physiology, Univ. of Zurich Medical School, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland (e-mail: Beatrice_Beck.Schimmer{at}access.unizh.ch )
Total ankle replacement is an increasingly recommended treatment for patients with end-stage ankle osteoarthritis. The increasing experience with this procedure explains its acceptance as a ...therapeutic option in complex cases as part of reconstruction surgery. However, the complication rate including failure of the prosthesis should not be underestimated. Previous studies have shown that most patients developed ankle osteoarthritis secondary to previous trauma. Patients with posttraumatic osteoarthritis often have varus or valgus misalignment of the hindfoot. In cases with incorrectly addressed hindfoot misalignment and/or incorrectly positioned prosthesis components, pain may remain postoperatively because of biomechanical dysbalance and asymmetrical load. The pain is mostly localized on the medial side the so-called medial pain syndrome.The following classification of the medial pain syndrome has been established in our practice: type I medial impingement/contracture of medial ligaments, type II valgus deformity, type III varus deformity, type IV combined varus-valgus deformity.
Zusammenfassung
Die Endoprothetik des oberen Sprunggelenks (OSG) findet eine zunehmende Anwendung zur Behandlung der fortgeschrittenen Arthrose. Die erweiterte Erfahrung und Indikationsstellung ...führen dazu, dass der prothetische Ersatz des OSG auch in komplexeren Fällen und vermehrt als Teil einer anspruchsvollen Rekonstruktion des Rückfußes zur Anwendung gelangt. Im Kontext dieser Entwicklung steigt auch ein potenzielles Fehlerrisiko. Die behandlungsbedürftige Sprunggelenkarthrose ist typischerweise posttraumatischer Genese und häufig mit einer Varus- oder Valgusfehlstellung des Rückfußes kombiniert. Werden diese nicht adäquat korrigiert oder die Prothesenkomponenten nicht anatomiegerecht implantiert, bleibt das Sprunggelenk nicht balanciert und es kann zu einer asymmetrischen Belastung kommen. Dies ist häufig die Ursache persistierender Schmerzen, die in der Regel medial auftreten – man spricht vom so genannten medialen Schmerzsyndrom.
In unserer Praxis hat sich folgende Klassifikation des medialen Schmerzsyndroms nach Sprunggelenkprothesenimplantation bewährt: Typ I: Kontraktur des medialen Bandapparats, Typ II: Valgusdeformität, Typ III: Varusdeformität, Typ IV: Varus-Valgus-Deformität.
Trastuzumab can induce cardiotoxicity, particularly when combined with anthracyclines. Myocardial human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) expression may be transiently upregulated by a ...compensatory mechanism following cardiac stress.
111In-DTPA-trastuzumab, scintigraphy can detect HER2 positive tumour lesions, however previously, we found myocardial uptake in only 1 of the 15 anthracycline-pre-treated patients with a median of 11 months after the last anthracycline administration. To evaluate whether myocardial HER2 expression is upregulated by anthracycline-induced cardiac stress or in case of heart failure by chronic pressure or volume overload, we performed
111In-DTPA-trastuzumab scans in patients shortly after anthracyclines and with non-anthracycline-related heart failure.
Patients within 3 weeks after undergoing 4–6 cycles first-line anthracycline-based chemotherapy and patients with heart failure due to cardiac disease underwent gammacamera imaging 48 and 96
h after
111In-DTPA-trastuzumab intravenously.
Myocardial
111In-DTPA-trastuzumab uptake was observed in 5 out of 10 anthracycline-treated patients, who all were without symptomatic cardiac dysfunction. None of the 10 heart failure patients showed myocardial uptake.
Shortly after completion of anthracycline treatment, myocardial HER2 over-expression was detectable in 50% of the patients.
111In-DTPA-trastuzumab scintigraphy after anthracyclines prior to adjuvant trastuzumab potentially identifies patients susceptible for trastuzumab-related cardiotoxicity and thus may facilitate the optimal timing of trastuzumab therapy.
We have used a murine MSCV-based bicistronic retroviral vector, containing the common gamma chain (gammac) and enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) cDNAs, to optimize retroviral transduction of ...canine cells, including an adherent canine thymus fibroblast cell line, Cf2Th, as well as normal canine CD34(+) bone marrow (BM) cells. Both canine cell types were shown to express Ram-1 (the amphotropic retroviral receptor) mRNA. Supernatants containing infectious viruses were produced using both stable (PA317) and transient (Phoenix cells) amphotropic virus producer cell lines. Centrifugation (spinfection) combined with the addition of polybrene produced the highest transduction efficiencies, infecting approximately 75% of Cf2Th cells. An average of 11% of highly enriched canine CD34(+) cells could be transduced in a protocol that utilized spinfection and plates coated with the fibronectin fragment CH-296 (Retronectin). Indirect assays showed the vector-encoded canine gammac cDNA produced a gammac protein that was expressed on the cell surface of transduced cells. This strategy may result in the transduction of sufficient numbers of CD34(+) BM cells to make the treatment of canine X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency and other canine genetic diseases feasible.
The growth and increasingly mainstream appeal of various aspects of the Internet could have a lasting effect on a firm's marketing mix. The authors address one of the external environmental factors ...that marketing and brand managers, as well as public policymakers, should continually monitor as the online community further develops: trademark law. As managers attempt to leverage the value of the trademarked brand, the authors examine the impact of the current state of technology and the law to understand the reach of current legal interpretations and the implications for present and future trademark strategy online.
