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For the first time, ZnO/C composites were synthesized using zinc glycerolate as a precursor through one-step calcination under a nitrogen atmosphere. The effect of the heat treatment conditions on the structure, composition, morphology as well as on the electrochemical properties regarding application in lithium-ion batteries are investigated. The products obtained by calcination of the precursor in nitrogen at 400—800 °C consist of zinc oxide nanoparticles and amorphous carbon that is in-situ generated from organic components of the glycerolate precursor. When used as anode material for lithium-ion batteries, the as-prepared ZnO/C composite synthesized at a calcination temperature of 700 °C delivers initial discharge and charge capacities of 1061 and 671 mAh g−1 at a current rate of 100 mA g−1 and hence 1.5 times more than bare ZnO, which reaches only 749/439 mAh g−1. The native carbon improves the conductivity, allowing efficient electronic conductivity and Li-ion diffusion. By means of ex-situ XRD studies a two-step storage mechanism is proven. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Wallerian degeneration and diaschisis are considered separate remote entities following ischemic stroke. They may, however, share common neurophysiological denominators, since they are both related to disruption of fiber tracts and brain atrophy over time. Therefore, with advanced multimodal neuroimaging, we investigate Wallerian degeneration and its association with diaschisis. Methods: In order to determine different characteristics of Wallerian degeneration, we conducted examinations on seventeen patients with chronic unilateral ischemic stroke and persisting large vessel occlusion, conducting high-resolution anatomical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and blood oxygenation-level dependent cerebrovascular reactivity (BOLD-CVR) tests, as well as Diamox 15(O)–H2O–PET hemodynamic examinations. Wallerian degeneration was determined using a cerebral peduncle asymmetry index (% difference of volume of ipsilateral and contralateral cerebral peduncle) of more than two standard deviations away from the average of age-matched, healthy subjects (Here a cerebral peduncle asymmetry index > 11%). Diaschisis was derived from BOLD-CVR to assess the presence of ipsilateral thalamus diaschisis and/or crossed cerebellar diaschisis. Results: Wallerian degeneration, found in 8 (47%) subjects, had a strong association with ipsilateral thalamic volume reduction (r 2 = 0.60) and corticospinal-tract involvement of stroke (p < 0.001). It was also associated with ipsilateral thalamic diaschisis (p = 0.021), No cerebral peduncular hemodynamic differences were found in patients with Wallerian degeneration. In particular, no CBF decrease or BOLD-CVR impairment was found. Conclusion: We show a strong association between Wallerian degeneration and ipsilateral thalamic diaschisis, indicating a structural pathophysiological relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Distinct patient characteristics have been proposed for ischaemic stroke in the anterior versus posterior circulation. However, data on functional outcome according to stroke territory in patients with acute stroke treatment are conflicting and information on outcome predictors is scarce. In this retrospective study, we analysed functional outcome in 517 patients with stroke and thrombolysis and/or thrombectomy treated at the University Hospital Zurich. We compared clinical factors and performed multivariate logistic regression analyses investigating the effect of outcome predictors according to stroke territory. Of the 517 patients included, 80 (15.5%) suffered a posterior circulation stroke (PCS). PCS patients were less often female (32.5% vs. 45.5%, p = 0.031), received thrombectomy less often (28.7% vs. 48.3%, p = 0.001), and had lower median admission NIHSS scores (5 vs. 10, p < 0.001) as well as a better median three months functional outcome (mRS 1 vs. 2, p = 0.010). Predictors for functional outcome were admission NIHSS (OR 0.864, 95% CI 0.790–0.944, p = 0.001) in PCS and age (OR 0.952, 95% CI 0.935–0.970, p < 0.001), known symptom onset (OR 1.869, 95% CI 1.111–3.144, p = 0.018) and admission NIHSS (OR 0.840, 95% CI 0.806–0.876, p < 0.001) in ACS. Acutely treated PCS and ACS patients differed in their baseline and treatment characteristics. We identified specific functional outcome predictors of thrombolysis and/or thrombectomy success for each stroke territory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and purpose: Stroke is a dreaded complication in patients with cancer. Besides paraneoplastic coagulopathy, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and tumor‐directed invasive procedures, circulating cancer cells may contribute to thrombus formation and embolic stroke. However, the incidence of tumor cells within the blood clots of cancer patients with stroke is unknown and the role of circulating tumor cells in the formation of cerebrovascular thrombi remains unclear. Methods: All patients who had undergone cerebrovascular thrombectomy at the University Hospital Zurich between 2014 and 2017 were screened for history of cancer. Clinical information was retrieved from the local stroke registry and the electronic charts and thrombi underwent a thorough histopathological re‐review. Results: Thirty‐two of 182 patients (18%) with thrombectomy had a history of cancer. The majority of patients had advanced stage cancer. However, even after extensive histopathological re‐review, only one specimen revealed tumor cells in the thrombus: a 75‐year‐old patient with acute occlusion of the middle cerebral artery who had been diagnosed with non‐small‐cell lung cancer 8.1 months prior to stroke. Conclusions: The presence of cancer cells in clots from cerebrovascular thrombectomy, indicative of a direct involvement of circulating tumor cells in the causation of stroke, is rare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Li3VO4 with various morphologies has been synthesized by a microwave-assisted hydrothermal method. It is shown that the crystal size and morphology of Li3VO4 are determined by the type of solvent in the reaction solution and possible reasons of the solvent-type effect are discussed. Electrochemical studies of as-prepared Li3VO4 as anode materials for Li-ion batteries demonstrate a clear influence of the materials' morphology and surface properties on the electrochemical performance. Li3VO4 nanocrystals with a porous structure exhibit an enhanced electrochemical activity with an initial discharge capacity of 163 mAh g−1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the stroke survivor with a motor deficit strives for recovery of all aspects of daily life movements, neurorehabilitation training is often task specific and does not generalize to movements other than the ones trained. In rodent models of post-stroke recovery, this problem is poorly investigated as the training task is often the same as the one that measures motor function. The present study investigated whether motor training by pellet reaching translates into enhancement of different motor functions in rats after stroke. Adult rats were subjected to 60-min middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). Five days after stroke, animals received either training consisting of 7 days of pellet reaching with the affected forelimb ( n = 18) or no training ( n = 18). Sensorimotor deficits were assessed using the sticky tape test and a composite neuroscore. Infarct volumes were measured by T2-weighted MRI on day 28. Both groups of rats showed similar lesion volume and forelimb impairment after stroke. Trained animals improved in the sticky tape test after day 7 post-stroke reaching peak performance on day 14. More reaching attempts during rehabilitation were associated with a better performance in the sticky tape removal time. Task-oriented motor training generalizes to other motor functions after experimental stroke. Training intensity correlates with recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Between 2006 and 2010, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the US Forest Service flew 14 unmanned airborne system (UAS) sensor missions, over 57 fires in the western US. The missions demonstrated the capabilities of a UAS platform (NASA Ikhana UAS), a multispectral sensor (autonomous modular sensor (AMS)), onboard processing and data visualization (Wildfire Collaborative Decision Environment (W-CDE)), to provide fire intelligence to management teams. Autonomous, on-board processing of the AMS sensor data allowed real-time fire product delivery to incident management teams on the wildfire events. The fire products included geo-rectified, colour-composite quick-look imagery, fire detection shape files, post-fire real-time normalized burn ratio imagery and burn area emergency response (BAER) imagery. The W-CDE was developed to allow the ingestion and visualization of AMS data and other pertinent fire-related information layers. This article highlights the technologies developed and employed, the UAS wildfire imaging missions performed and the outcomes and findings of the multi-year efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Infarction typically develops within the borders of an initial hypoperfused tissue. We prospectively investigated whether in small subcortical stroke patients infarct growth can occur beyond the margins of the affected vascular territories.Methods: In 19 consecutive patients, stroke MRI was performed within 14 h after ictus, and at days 2 and 6 (± 1). Size of diffusion and perfusion disturbances were determined. Infarct volume measured on T2-weighted images on day 6 was considered as imaging endpoint.Results: At the initial examination, the mean diffusion lesion [apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) lesion size, 1.82 ± 1.2 ml] was larger (p = 0.0002) than the perfusion lesion [mean transit time (MTT) lesion size, 0.72 ± 0.69 ml]. Such an "inverse mismatch" (ADC lesion > MTT lesion) was present in 14/19 patients at baseline and in all patients on day 2. Final lesion volume at day 6 was 3.2 ± 1.6 ml which was larger than the initial perfusion deficit (p = 0.02).Conclusion: In small subcortical ischaemic stroke "inverse mismatch" is frequent and infarction develops beyond the initial perfusion disturbance. This indicates that cytotoxic processes probably triggered by the infarct core are a dominant mechanism for lesion growth. Areas with normal perfusion but which are threatened by cytotoxic damage developing over several days seem prime targets for neuroprotective therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A letter to the editor is presented which is about regulation of signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) 6 activity by suppressor of cytokine signalling (SOCS)-1 and BCL-XL expression in B-cell lymphoma.

The Hodgkin cell line U-HO1 was established from a malignant pleural effusion of a 23-year-old male patient during the end stage of refractory nodular sclerosing classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL). Since its establishment in 2005, U-HO1 has maintained stable characteristics in vitro and has a doubling time of about 4 days under standard culture conditions. U-HO1 forms typical Reed-Sternberg cells in suspension, is EBV negative, lacks HLA-A, -B, -C but expresses HLA-D proteins/CD74 and exposes CD15 together with CD30 in the absence of CD19 and CD20 on the cell surface. Karyotype analysis of U-HO1 revealed a hyperdiploid karyotype with multiple clonal aberrations. Most significant is an elongated chromosome 2, der(2)t(2;10)(q35; q16.1)add(2)(p13). CGH analysis revealed the following imbalances: ish cgh dim(1)(p13p31)(p12q21), enh(2)(p13p23), dim(4)(q31.3qter), enh(6)(q22q27), enh(12), enh(18), enh(20) (q13.1pter). FISH analysis showed about six-fold amplification of REL and BCL11A, thus, U-HO1 is prototypical for cHL in every aspect tested so far. As an outstanding feature compared to the existing HL cell lines, U-HO1 has high levels of microRNA transcripts of MIRN216 and MIRN217 located in the amplicon 2p16. Compared to other HL cell lines, U-HO1 proved far less genetically aberrant suggesting that U-HO1’s imbalances suffice to cause the full-blown phenotype of primary refractory cHL. Copyright © 2008 S. Karger AG, Basel [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Der Hautarzt is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The suppressors of cytokine signaling (SOCS) are critically involved in the regulation of cellular proliferation, survival, and apoptosis via cytokine-induced JAK/STAT signaling. SOCS-1 silencing by aberrant DNA methylation contributes to oncogenesis in various B-cell neoplasias and carcinomas. Recently, we showed an alternative loss of SOCS-1 function due to deleterious SOCS-1 mutations in a major subset of primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma (PMBL) and in the PMBL line MedB-1, and a biallelic SOCS-1 deletion in PMBL line Karpas1106P. For both cell lines our previous data demonstrated retarded JAK2 degradation and sustained phospho-JAK2 action leading to enhanced DNA binding of phospho-STAT5. Here, we analysed SOCS-1 in laser-microdissected Hodgkin and Reed-Sternberg (HRS) cells of classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL). We detected SOCS-1 mutations in HRS cells of eight of 19 cHL samples and in three of five Hodgkin lymphoma (HL)-derived cell lines by sequencing analysis. Moreover, we found a significant association between mutated SOCS-1 of isolated HRS cells and nuclear phospho-STAT5 accumulation in HRS cells of cHL tumor tissue (P<0.01). Collectively, these findings support the concept that PMBL and cHL share many overlapping features, and that defective tumor suppressor gene SOCS-1 triggers an oncogenic pathway operative in both lymphomas.Oncogene (2006) 25, 2679–2684. doi:10.1038/sj.onc.1209151; published online 13 March 2006 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: As a result of the relatively high frequency of high-speed accidents, diaphragmatic rupture is a diagnosis that is increasingly being established. Not all of these, usually multi-traumatized, patients are diagnosed as having diaphragmatic rupture immediately following the traumatic event – rather, an appreciable number of these injuries are not detected until some time later – often after a considerable delay. Most of the cases involve rupture of the left diaphragm, with most defects occurring in the region of the central tendon. Methods: During the course of the second half of the year 1998, we operated on three patients with left diaphragmatic rupture. Two of these patients were treated immediately following traumatization, while the third case was a 10-year-old rupture originally misdiagnosed as a para-esophageal hernia. In all three cases, we were able to reduce the hernia and close the diaphragmatic defect laparoscopically. In the case of the two patients with a fresh rupture, the post-operative course was unremarkable, while in the patient with the missed rupture, a serous pleural effusion requiring drainage occurred on the left side. Conclusion: Overall, it would appear that in the case of an acute traumatic diaphragmatic rupture in particular, laparoscopic management, with its low level of traumatization and excellent access, offers a favorable alternative to conventional surgery. A point to be considered, however, is the fact that probably not every hospital will have the facilities for laparoscopic management available on a 24-h basis. In the case of long-standing ruptures, reduction of herniated bowel and treatment of the rupture will make considerable demands on the surgeon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maternal pup searching behaviour of lactating house mice treated with apomorphine, haloperidol or saline was examined on a running board with a central depression as a nest. Pup searching was elicited by artificial ultrasonic stimuli: a female moved out from the nest either towards a 50 kHz tone (key stimulus) which is adequate to activate species specific pup searching behaviour or towards a 20 kHz tone (neutral stimulus), thus showing her preference for one of these stimuli. Under apomorphine (0.00625; 0.0125; 0.025 mg/kg) the females preferred the key stimulus. Nevertheless apomorphine (0.00625-0.025 mg/kg) prolonged response latencies and shortened the duration of pup searching. At the highest dose (0.05 mg/kg), apomorphine induced stereotyped sniffing. Haloperidol (0.025; 0.05; 0.1 mg/kg) had opposite effects to apomorphine: it lowered the threshold for elicitation, shortened response latencies and prolonged the duration of pup searching. Females treated with haloperidol (0.025-0.1 mg/kg) did not prefer the key stimulus. Changes in response elicitation and in the performance of pup searching induced by apomorphine and haloperidol, respectively, were assumed to be due to i) a reduced and an increased responsiveness to external stimuli respectively, ii) an enhanced and a reduced tendency for response switching respectively, and iii) a preference for spontaneous behaviour in apomorphine-treated females, with an increased dependence on exteroceptive stimuli following haloperidol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reports on the development of a 64-channel spectrometer to separate the return signals by both position and wavelength. Apparatus; Calibration; Application in fiber optic interferometric pressure sensing array system for hypersonic wind tunnel studies.

Copyright of European Archives of Psychiatry & Neurological Sciences is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

PURPOSE: With the order of universal leucodepletion (LD) in Germany, October 2001, questions arise for blood banks to the optimal technical and logistical concept of LD. We report our experience with five years filtration of Red Cell Concentrates (RCC) and our first results of Whole Blood filtration (WBF). STUDY: From 1996 to 2001 we prepared about 100 000 LD RCCs (Maco Pharma Leucoflex LCR4/LCR5, T/B system) and supplied the University Hospital Rostock with 100% LD RCCs. In February 2001 we started with WBF (Maco Pharma LST1, T/T system). LD results, problems at preparation, pros and cons of different LD methods and first clinical results are discussed. RESULTS: During the five years, RCC inline filtration resulted in LD RCCs of good quality (White Blood Cells/WBC 0.25 10[sup 6]/U) with reduction of HLA immunization rate from 16% to 2% after transfusion. We had few problems at preparation: defects/leakages 0.12%, filter blockade by clots 0.36%. The only disadvantage was Red Cell loss of about 20-30% at preparation (Hemoglobin/Hb 49.1g/U). Our first results of WBF shows Red Cells loss of only 10-15% (Hb 62.2g/U) (Table). But LD after WBF (WBC 0.44 10[sup 6]/U) was not as effective as after RCC filtration, and may be affected by WB storage and preparation conditions. We noticed no influence of WBF on coagulation (FI, FV, FVIII, FXI, ATIII, TAT, Prothrombin fragment 1+2, Ddimer, vWF, PF4). CONCLUSION: We recommend RCC filtration as an excellent LD method especially for platelet production procedures at the same time. For all other cases, WBF with easy handling and minimal Red Cell ices would be preferred despite lower LD effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study is the first to report on the relationship between quality of life, psychiatric symptoms and neuropsychological functioning in a sample of young people who have experienced a first-episode of psychosis. Fifty two participants aged 15 to 27 years completed the Australian WHOQOL-BREF, a self-report instrument assessing physical, psychological, social and environmental aspects of quality of life (QOL). A comprehensive neuropsychological battery was administered. Measures of psychiatric symptoms including depression (as assessed by the Calgary Depression Scale), general psychopathology, psychomotor poverty, disorganisation and reality distortion (as assessed by the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale) were obtained. Multiple regression analyses were used to evaluate the ability of neuropsychological measures and psychiatric symptoms to predict QOL. When neuropsychological variables were considered on their own, the domains of cognitive flexibility, verbal fluency, verbal ability and sustained attention explained up to 25% of the variance in the environmental, physical and social domains of QOL. However, in the presence of psychiatric symptoms, neuropsychological variables were no longer significant predictors; depression and general psychopathology together explained up to 42% of the variance in QOL. These results lend support to studies of individuals with chronic schizophrenia that have suggested QOL is more strongly related to levels of psychiatric distress than the presence of neuropsychological deficits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]