Objective:
To evaluate the effect of course length and corridor width on 2-minute walk test results in older adults.
Design:
Cross-sectional and experimental study with different test conditions.
...Setting:
Geriatric rehabilitation clinic.
Subjects:
A total of 21 patients (median age 81 years).
Main measures:
Patients walked two minutes on a 20 m and 40 m course with a 2 m or 1 m corridor width and on a continuous course without any turning in a corridor of 2 m width, five walks in total. The distance traveled within the 2 minutes was recorded.
Results:
Compared with the 20 m course length, median walking distances measured by the 2-minute walk test in a walk way 2 m broad were better on the continuous corridor without any turn (136.9 m vs. 129.3 m, p = 0.002) and on the 40 m course (131.8 m vs. 129.3 m, p = 0.003). Walking distance on a 20 m course length was longer in a corridor of 2 m width compared with the 1 m corridor width (129.3 m vs. 119.2 m, p = 0.005). The walking distance was not affected by corridor width on the 40 m course length.
Conclusions:
Performance of elderly patients on the 2-minute walk test is influenced by the width of the corridor and the length of the course used.
We compare the single-particle plasmonic sensitivity of silver and gold nanorods with similar resonance wavelengths by monitoring the plasmon resonance shift upon changing the environment from water ...to 12.5% sucrose solution. We find that silver nanoparticles have 1.2 to 2 times higher sensitivity than gold, in good agreement with simulations based on the boundary-elements-method (BEM). To exclude the effect of particle volume on sensitivity, we test gold rods with increasing particle width at a given resonance wavelength. Using the Drude-model of optical properties of metals together with the quasi-static approximation (QSA) for localized surface plasmons, we show that the dominant contribution to higher sensitivity of silver is the lower background polarizability of the d-band electrons and provide a simple formula for the sensitivity. We improve the reversibility of the silver nanorod sensors upon repeated cycles of environmental changes by blocking the high energy parts of the illumination light.
Mechanisms of cell adhesion and extracellular matrix formation are primary processes in the interaction with the material surface of an implant which are controlled by integrin receptors. The aim of ...our study was to find out whether β1- and β3-integrins of osteoblastic cells sense the surface topography of titanium, and if structural alterations of integrin adhesions were involved in the organization of fibronectin. Pure titanium surfaces were modified by polishing (P), machining (NT), blasting with glass spheres (GB), and blasting with corundum particles (CB) resulting in increasing roughness. Confocal microscopic investigations revealed fibrillar adhesions of β1- and α5-integrins on P, NT, and GB, but on CB with its sharp edges these integrin subunits did not form fibrillar adhesions. β3 generally appeared in focal adhesions. We observed aligned fibrillar structures of fibronectin on NT not only on the basal site but interestingly, also on the apical cell surface. In contrast, on CB, fibronectin appeared apically clustered. We suggest that this alignment of fibronectin fibrils depends on the directed actin cytoskeleton and in particular, on the capability of the β1-integrins to form fibrillar adhesions, which is affected by the surface roughness of titanium.
We present a highly parallel microfluidic approach for contacting single cell pairs. The approach combines a differential fluidic resistance trapping method with a novel cellular valving principle ...for homotypic and heterotypic single cell co-culturing. Differential fluidic resistance was used for sequential single cell arraying, with the adhesion and flattening of viable cells within the microstructured environment acting to produce valves in the open state. Reversal of the flow was used for the sequential single cell arraying of the second cell type. Plasma stencilling, along the linear path of least resistance, was required to confine the cells within the trap regions. Prime flow conditions with minimal shear stress were identified for highly efficient cell arraying (∼99%) and long term cell culture. Larger trap dimensions enabled the highest levels of cell pairing (∼70%). The single cell co-cultures were in close proximity for the formation of connexon structures and the study of contact modes of communication. The research further highlights the possibility of using the natural behaviour of cells as the working principle behind responsive microfluidic elements.
MIKLIP Marotzke, Jochem; Müller, Wolfgang A.; Vamborg, Freja S. E. ...
Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society,
12/2016, Letnik:
97, Številka:
12
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Mittelfristige Klimaprognose (MiKlip), an 8-yr German national research project on decadal climate prediction, is organized around a global prediction system comprising the Max Planck Institute Earth ...System Model (MPI-ESM) together with an initialization procedure and a model evaluation system. This paper summarizes the lessons learned from MiKlip so far; some are purely scientific, others concern strategies and structures of research that target future operational use.
Three prediction system generations have been constructed, characterized by alternative initialization strategies; the later generations show a marked improvement in hindcast skill for surface temperature. Hindcast skill is also identified for multiyear-mean European summer surface temperatures, extratropical cyclone tracks, the quasi-biennial oscillation, and ocean carbon uptake, among others. Regionalization maintains or slightly enhances the skill in European surface temperature inherited from the global model and also displays hindcast skill for wind energy output. A new volcano code package permits rapid modification of the predictions in response to a future eruption.
MiKlip has demonstrated the efficacy of subjecting a single global prediction system to a major research effort. The benefits of this strategy include the rapid cycling through the prediction system generations, the development of a sophisticated evaluation package usable by all MiKlip researchers, and regional applications of the global predictions. Open research questions include the optimal balance between model resolution and ensemble size, the appropriate method for constructing a prediction ensemble, and the decision between full-field and anomaly initialization.
Operational use of the MiKlip system is targeted for the end of the current decade, with a recommended generational cycle of 2–3 years.
An accurate blood‐based RAS mutation assay to determine eligibility of metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients for anti‐EGFR therapy would benefit clinical practice by better informing decisions ...to administer treatment independent of tissue availability. The objective of this study was to determine the level of concordance between plasma and tissue RAS mutation status in patients with mCRC to gauge whether blood‐based RAS mutation testing is a viable alternative to standard‐of‐care RAS tumor testing. RAS testing was performed on plasma samples from newly diagnosed metastatic patients, or from recurrent mCRC patients using the highly sensitive digital PCR technology, BEAMing (beads, emulsions, amplification, and magnetics), and compared with DNA sequencing data of respective FFPE (formalin‐fixed paraffin‐embedded) tumor samples. Discordant tissue RAS results were re‐examined by BEAMing, if possible. The prevalence of RAS mutations detected in plasma (51%) vs. tumor (53%) was similar, in accord with the known prevalence of RAS mutations observed in mCRC patient populations. The positive agreement between plasma and tumor RAS results was 90.4% (47/52), the negative agreement was 93.5% (43/46), and the overall agreement (concordance) was 91.8% (90/98). The high concordance of plasma and tissue results demonstrates that blood‐based RAS mutation testing is a viable alternative to tissue‐based RAS testing.
Implementation of circulating tumor DNA testing in clinical practice has been hindered by the variable performance of available methods. Here, we demonstrate that plasma mutation testing using BEAMing as a standardized platform is comparable to tumor tissue testing and can be useful in the clinic to select patients with metastatic colorectal cancer for targeted therapy.
Background
Percutaneous edge‐to‐edge mitral valve repair (PMVR) has become an established treatment option for mitral regurgitation in patients not eligible for surgical repair. Currently, most ...procedures are performed under general anesthesia (GA). An increasing number of centers, however, are performing the procedure under deep sedation (DS). Here, we compared patients undergoing PMVR with GA or DS.
Methods and Results
A total of 271 consecutive patients underwent PMVR at our institution between May 2014 and December 2016. Seventy‐two procedures were performed under GA and 199 procedures under DS. We observed that in the DS group, doses of propofol (743±228 mg for GA versus 369±230 mg for DS, P<0.001) and norepinephrine (1.1±1.6 mg for GA versus 0.2±0.3 mg for DS, P<0.001) were significantly lower. Procedure time, fluoroscopy time, and dose area product were significantly higher in the GA group. There was no significant difference between GA and DS with respect to overall bleeding complications, postinterventional pneumonia (4% for GA versus 5% for DS), or C‐reactive protein levels (361±351 nmol/L for GA versus 278±239 nmol/L for DS). Significantly fewer patients with DS needed a postinterventional stay in the intensive care unit (96% for GA versus 19% for DS, P<0.001). Importantly, there was no significant difference between DS and GA regarding intrahospital or 6‐month mortality.
Conclusions
DS for PMVR is safe and feasible. No disadvantages with respect to procedural outcome or complications in comparison to GA were observed. Applying DS may simplify the PMVR procedure.
Metformin is a commonly used oral antidiabetic agent that has been associated with decreased cancer risk. However, data regarding the association between metformin use and the risk of meningioma are ...unavailable.
We conducted a matched case-control analysis using data from the U.K.-based Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) to analyse diabetes status, duration of diabetes, glycemic control, and use of metformin, sulfonylureas, and insulin in relation to the risk of meningioma. We conducted conditional logistic regression analyses to determine relative risks, estimated as odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) and adjusted for body mass index, smoking, history of arterial hypertension, myocardial infarction, and use of estrogens (among women).
We identified 2,027 meningioma cases and 20,269 controls. For diabetes there was the suggestion of an inverse association with meningioma (OR = 0.89; 95%CI = 0.74-1.07), which was driven by an inverse relation among women (OR = 0.78; 95%CI = 0.62-0.98), in whom we also noted a suggestive inverse association with duration of diabetes (p-value for trend = 0.071). For metformin there was a suggestive positive relation, particularly after matching on duration of diabetes and HbA1c level (OR = 1.64; 95%CI = 0.89-3.04). Sulfonylureas showed no clear association (OR = 0.91; 95%CI = 0.46-1.80). For insulin there was the suggestion of an inverse relation, in particular when comparing a high vs. low number of prescriptions (OR = 0.58; 95%CI = 0.18-1.83).
Further studies are needed to solidify a possible inverse association between diabetes and meningioma risk and to clarify the role of antidiabetics in this context.
The concrete industry is facing the major challenge of drastically reducing CO₂ emissions and thus contributing to sustainability and climate protection. In these conference proceedings, we would ...like to focus on how we can make the concrete industry not only more sustainable but also more cost-efficient by adopting the circular economy in the building sector. In particular, we focus on the recycling of concrete and the reuse of entire concrete components.
Bacterial communities of four arable soils – pelosol, gley, para brown soil, and podsol brown soil – were analysed by fingerprinting of 16S rRNA gene fragments amplified from total DNA of four ...replicate samples for each soil type. Fingerprints were generated in parallel by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE), terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP), and single strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) to test whether these commonly applied techniques are interchangeable. PCR amplicons could be separated with all three methods resulting in complex ribotype patterns. Although the fragments amplified comprised different variable regions and lengths, DGGE, T-RFLP and SSCP analyses led to similar findings: (a) a clustering of fingerprints which correlated with soil physico-chemical properties, (b) little variability between the four replicates of the same soil, (c) the patterns of the two brown soils were more similar to each other than to those of the other two soils, and (d) the fingerprints of the different soil types revealed significant differences in a permutation test, which was recently developed for this purpose.
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