Venous drainage patterns in a case of pseudotumor cerebri following unilateral radical neck dissection

We report the extracranial venous ultrasound findings in a case of pseudotumor cerebri (PTC) following unilateral radical neck dissection (rND). PTC is known to be a rare complication following bilateral rND, and is caused by venous outflow obstruction. Single cases of PTC have been reported after unilateral rND, and are thought to be due to resection of the dominant internal jugular vein (IJV) in the presence of a hypoplastic or aplastic contralateral transverse sinus. Our patient developed PTC despite prominent flow in the contralateral IJV as shown by venous ultrasound. No compensatory increase in flow in the vertebral veins was observed, as confirmed by digital subtraction angiography. We conclude that the physiological collateral function of the vertebral venous system and deep neck veins was insufficient and contributed to global venous outflow obstruction in our case of unilateral rND.     

Vaccine prevention in perinatal health care: parents, children and professionals

Recent legislative texts have changed vaccinal policy and reinforced the role of midwives in vaccine prevention in perinatal healthcare. Quite as paediatricians and obstetricians-gynecologists, midwives can now prescribe and carry out, for the mothers, vaccines against rubella, tetanus, poliomyelitis, diphtheria, hepatitis B, influenza and whooping-cough and for the newborns vaccines against hepatitis B and tuberculosis. Concerning vaccinations, practitioners have to respect the vaccination calendar and a collaborative action is useful and necessary. These national guidelines are regularly updated when new vaccines and new recommendations come to light, for example for children (papillomavirus, tuberculosis, pneumococcus...), young adults (varicella, whooping-cough) and health professions in contact with very young children (varicella, measles, influenza and whooping-cough). The recent changes in tuberculosis prevention from routine vaccination of all newborn infants to selective vaccination lead to reinforce measures to detect the infants at higher risk, for them to be vaccinated before discharge at home. Midwives and nurses occupy a central place in family policy and become, with obstetricians-gynecologists and pediatricians, key actors for the effectiveness and the success of vaccine strategies in perinatal health.     

Über den Einfluß von Extrakten aus dem endokrinen Drüsensystem auf die Entwicklung des Mäusecarcinoms

Zusammenfassung Die Untersuchungen am transplantablen Mäusekrebs ergaben, daß die Extrakte der Leber, der Milz, des Pankreas, des zentralen Nervensystems und das Insulin in systematischen Gaben das Angehen des Krebses, das Tempo seines Wachstums und schließlich die Bildung von Metastasen hemmend zu beeinflussen vermochten.In einem geringerem Maße wird das Carcinomwachstum auch durch die Extrakte des Knochenmarkes, der Nebenschilddrüse, des Eierstockes und des Corpus luteum gehemmt.Nebenniere, Hypophysenhinterlappen, Glandula pinealis und Thymus vermögen das Carcinomwachstum nicht zu beeinflussen, hingengen üben die Extrakte der Nebennierenrinde, der Schilddrüse und des Hypophysenvorderlappens eine fördernde Wirkung aus.Die verschiedene Kombination der hemmenden Substanzen ergab, daß die Hemmung dann am allerstärksten war, wenn die Extrakte des Knochenmarkes, der Milz, der Leber, des Pankreas und der Parathyreoidea gleichzeitig gegeben wurden.Jene Organe, deren Extrakte auf Grund unserer Untersuchungen das Carcinomwachstum hemmend beeinflussen, vermögen gleichzeitig die Zuckerassimilationsfähigkeit des Organismus zu erhöhen, die glykolysierende Tätigkeit der Zellen zu dämpfen und den Cholesteringehalt des Blutserums zu senken. Hingegen erhöhen sie den Lipoidgehalt des Blutes, sie arbeiten der Senkung, der Oberflächenspannung entgegen, sie erleichtern die Sauerstoffversorgung der Zellen, der Wassergehalt der Zellen wird durch sie beeinflußt, sie verschieben das Säurebasengleichgewicht in die Säurerichtung, der Kaliumgehalt des Blutes wird durch sie herabgesetzt, sie erhöhen den Calciumgehalt im Blute, der Schwefelhaushalt wird durch sie beeinflußt, und schließlich bedingen sie eine vagotonische Einstellung des vegetativen Nervensystems. Mit einem Worte vermögen sie die Vorbedingungen des Krebses, alle Faktoren des carcinomatösen Milieus in einer ungünstigen Richtung zu beeinflussen.Die Wirkungen der fördernden endokrinen Organe sind den erwähnten gerade entgegengesetzt, also sie wirken auf jene Eigenschaften des Organismus, die in ihrer Gemeinschaft das carcinomatöse Milieu bilden, fördernd ein.Eine derartige experimentelle Beeinflussung des Organismus durch das endokrine System und die Wirkung desselben auf die Entwicklung des carcinomatösen Gewebes macht es wahrscheinlich, daß unter den ätiologischen Faktoren der Krebsbildung die Zustandsänderung dieses Systems eine wichtige Rolle spielt.     

Experimentelle Erzeugung einer Disposition zum Teerkrebs an Tieren

Ohne ZusammenfassungVortrag, gehalten auf der Konferenz des Deutschen Zentralkomitees zur Erforschung und Bekämpfung der Krebskrankheit am 24. und 25. September 1926 in Düsseldorf.     

The Microalgae Phaeodactylum tricornutum Is Well Suited as a Food with Positive Effects on the Intestinal Microbiota and the Generation of SCFA: Results from a Pre-Clinical Study

Microalgae such as Phaeodactylum tricornutum (PT) are a sustainable source of nutrients, especially eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), fucoxanthin (Fx), and chrysolaminarin (Chrl), the concentrations of which can vary depending on the culture conditions. We generated three types of diets containing either an EPA- and Fx-rich (EPA/Fx) or Chrl-rich microalgae (with 5, 15, or 25% added to the diet) or an isocaloric control diet (CD). These diets were evaluated over 14 days in young C57BL/6J mice for safety and bioavailability, short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) production, and microbiome analysis. Both microalgae diets increased body weight gain dose-dependently compared to the CD. Microalgae-derived EPA was well absorbed, resulting in increased liver and fat tissue levels and a decrease in the n-6:n-3 ratio in liver tissue. Both microalgae diets increased the production of selected SCFA and decreased the Firmicutes/Bacteriodota ratio, whereas the Chrl-rich diet led to an increase in Akkermansia. Doses of up to 4621 mg Chrl, 920 mg EPA, and 231 mg Fx per kg body weight daily were tolerated without adverse effects. This pre-clinical study shows that PT is suitable for mouse feed, with positive effects on microbiota composition and SCFA production, suggesting beneficial effects on gut health.     

Material Extrusion of Structural Polymer–Aluminum Joints—Examining Shear Strength,Wetting, Polymer Melt Rheology and Aging

Generating polymer–metal structures by means of additive manufacturing offers huge potential for customized, sustainable and lightweight solutions. However, challenges exist, primarily with regard to reliability and reproducibility of the additively generated joints. In this study, the polymers ABS, PETG and PLA, which are common in material extrusion, were joined to grit-blasted aluminum substrates. Temperature dependence of polymer melt rheology, wetting and tensile single-lap-shear strength were examined in order to obtain appropriate thermal processing conditions. Joints with high adhesive strength in the fresh state were aged for up to 100 days in two different moderate environments. For the given conditions, PETG was most suitable for generating structural joints. Contrary to PETG, ABS–aluminum joints in the fresh state as well as PLA–aluminum joints in the aged state did not meet the demands of a structural joint. For the considered polymers and processing conditions, this study implies that the suitability of a polymer and a thermal processing condition to form a polymer–aluminum joint by material extrusion can be evaluated based on the polymer’s rheological properties. Moreover, wetting experiments improved estimation of the resulting tensile single-lap-shear strength.     

A Positron Emission Tomograph based on LSO-APD modules with a sampling ADC read-out system for a students’ advanced laboratory course

A one-day laboratory course on positron emission tomography (PET) for the education of physics students and PhD students in medical physics has been set up. In the course, the physical background and the principles of a PET scanner are introduced. Course attendees set the system in operation, calibrate it using a ²²Na point source and reconstruct different source geometries filled with ¹⁸F. The PET scanner features an individual channel read-out of 96 lutetium oxyorthosilicate (LSO) scintillator crystals coupled to avalanche photodiodes (APD). The analog data of each APD are digitized by fast sampling analog to digital converters (SADC) and processed within field programmable gate arrays (FPGA) to extract amplitudes and time stamps. All SADCs are continuously sampling with a precise rate of 80 MHz, which is synchronous for the whole system. The data is transmitted via USB to a Linux PC, where further processing and the image reconstruction are performed. The course attendees get an insight into detector techniques, modern read-out electronics, data acquisition and PET image reconstruction. In addition, a short introduction to some common software applications used in particle and high energy physics is part of the course.