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Prasentation, klinischer Verlauf und Outcome von Patienten mit primar biliarer Cholangitis (PBC) sind in Mitteleuropa nicht ausreichend beschrieben. Diese Arbeit untersucht demographische und klinische Daten und charakterisiert den Krankheitsverlauf der PBC am Patientenkollektiv am Universitatsklinikum Graz. Die Krankenakten von Patienten mit der Diagnose PBC, die im Zeitraum von 2004–2015 am Universitatsklinikum Graz in Betreuung waren, wurden retrospektiv untersucht. Erhoben wurden die Daten zum Zeitpunkt der Erstdiagnose und bei der letzten Kontrolle (Follow-up). Insgesamt wurden 95 Patienten (89 Frauen, 6 Manner) identifiziert. Das mediane Alter bei Erstdiagnose betrug 53 Jahre. Die alkalische Phosphatase (AP) war bei Erstdiagnose bei 60 % der Patienten um weniger als das 2‑Fache der Norm erhoht. 39 % der Patienten wiesen bei Erstdiagnose Symptome, wie Pruritus, Mudigkeit, Oberbauchbeschwerden oder eine Sicca-Symptomatik, auf. Eine Leberhistologie bei der Erstdiagnose lag bei 35 % aller Fallen vor (histologisches Stadium I nach Ludwig, n = 28; Stadium II, n = 5; Stadium III, n = 1; Stadium IV, n = 1). Das mediane Follow-up betrug 7 (1–21) Jahre. Die Mehrzahl der Patienten (69 %) hatte in der FibroScan®-Messung im Follow-up eine F0/F1-Fibrose. Eine Leberzirrhose lag in 10 Fallen (11 %) vor. Zwei mit der PBC assoziierte Todesfalle wurden verzeichnet. Ein inadaquates Ansprechen auf die Therapie mit Ursodesoxycholsaure lag in 30 % aller Falle vor. Zusammenfassend sind in unserem Kollektiv eine deutliche Erhohung der AP (>2- bis 4‑Fache der Norm) und ein schlechtes Outcome (Entwicklung einer Zirrhose, Tod, Transplantation) seltener als in der Literatur angegeben, wahrend demographische Daten durchaus mit denen aus anderen Arbeiten vergleichbar sind.

Recent evidence has shown that exposure to airborne particulate matter (PM) is associated with cognitive delay, depression, anxiety, autism, and neurodegenerative diseases; however, the role of PM in the etiology of these outcomes is not well-understood. Therefore, there is a need for controlled animal studies to better elucidate the causes and mechanisms by which PM impacts these health outcomes. We assessed the effects of gestational and early life exposure to traffic-related PM on social- and anxiety-related behaviors, cognition, inflammatory markers, and neural integrity in male rat juveniles. Gestating and lactating rats were exposed to PM from a Boston (MA, USA) traffic tunnel for 5 hours/day, 5 days/week for 6 weeks (3 weeks gestation, 3 weeks lactation). The target exposure concentration for the fine fraction of nebulized PM, measured as PM2.5, was 200 μg/m(3). To assess anxiety and cognitive function, F1 male juveniles underwent elevated platform, cricket predation, nest building, social behavior and marble burying tests at 32–60 days of age. Upon completion of behavioral testing, multiple cytokines and growth factors were measured in these animals and their brains were analyzed with diffusion tensor MRI to assess neural integrity. PM exposure had no effect on litter size or weight, or offspring growth; however, F1 litters developmentally exposed to PM exhibited significantly increased anxiety (p =0.04), decreased cognition reflected in poorer nest-organization (p =0.04), and decreased social play and allogrooming (p= 0.003). MRI analysis of ex vivo brains revealed decreased structural integrity of neural tissues in the anterior cingulate and hippocampus in F1 juveniles exposed to PM (p

Reservoirs represent a specific environmental component in many parts of the Earth, especially where water supply is limited. As is the case of the Moldavian hilly area, due to its dryness, the inhabitants created an extensive network of reservoirs since the medieval period, in the proximity of the settlement network. Over time, many dams were abandoned, while others have been relocated with impressive dynamics at a historical scale. In this paper, by analyzing old maps, LiDAR high-res DEMs, ERT surveys, and sediments, we have reconstructed the reservoir network's expansion in the last century at a regional scale and investigated the main geomorphologic characteristics of dams and associated landforms. In Jijia catchment (3386 km2) we found a total number of 1351 dams, of which 832 abandoned. 495 reservoirs were recognized on different topo maps dating from the 20th century, while 337 have been identified on DEMs. Two reservoirs were investigated in detail by field surveys, ERT surveys, profile digging, sediment analysis, and micro-sedimentological study, confirming lacustrine deposits according to the topographic reconstructions based on high-resolution LiDAR DEMs. These sedimentary lacustrine archives can substantially contribute to detailed paleoclimatic, paleohydrologic, and paleovegetation reconstruction in the study area.

Background. Elliptical excision is a standard form of treatment for cutaneous neoplasms, but routine pathologic sectioning results in incomplete histologic control of surgical margins. Objective. The objective was to describe a technique of complete histologic margin control for tumors removed by excision as an ellipse. Methods. A retrospective study of 100 consecutive nonmelanoma skin cancers of the head and neck removed using elliptical excisions with complete histologic margin control was performed. The technique is described and depicted in detail. Results. Seventy-one tumors were removed in one excision, and 29 required additional excisions for complete histologic tumor clearance. Linear repairs were used for 93 tumors. Conclusion. Elliptical excision, combined with our technique of complete histologic margin control, provides a simple, efficient, and effective method for surgical removal and repair of nonmelanoma skin cancers and provides an alternative variation of performing Mohs micrographic surgery for selected tumors.

Air-dried apple rings were prepared from ‘Golden Delicious’ apples selected at harvest as less mature and more mature according to the absorption coefficient measured at 670nm by time-resolved reflectance spectroscopy (TRS), stored in air for 5months, and subjected to air-drying with (OSMO) and without (noOSMO) osmodehydration pre-treatment (60% sucrose syrup). Selected rings were submitted to microstructural analysis by X-ray computed tomography (X-CT), to subsurface structure analysis by optical coherence tomography (OCT) and to texture and sound emission analysis by bending–snapping test. Higher crispness index, higher number of sound events and higher average sound pressure level (SPL) characterized the OSMO rings. Total porosity was related to SPLav60, pore fragmentation index to fracturability and specific surface area to the work required to snap the ring. A differentiation of the drying treatments, as well as of the products according to the TRS maturity class at harvest was obtained analyzing by principal component analysis (PCA) microstructure parameters and texture and acoustic parameters. The differences in mechanical and acoustic characteristics between OSMO and noOSMO rings were due to the different subsurface structure as found with OCT analysis.There is an increasing demand of dried crispy fruit as they are considered by consumers healthy, natural and tasty foods. The textural characteristics, exerting a strong effect on crispy and crunchy sensory characteristics, have a great impact at consumption of dried crispy fruit. As their textural characteristics depend on both fruit maturity at processing and processing conditions, food industry is demanding nondestructive techniques which could be used for on-line/off-line sorting of fruit into classes each one more suited for obtaining a specific product. Furthermore, the textural properties of dried foods depend on microstructure, defined as the spatial arrangement of structural components and their interactions. Due to the microscopic complexity, unambiguous methodologies that relate quality to food microstructure do not exist today, in contrast to what already existing for several engineering materials. Hence there is the need of developing methods that measure directly the microstructural properties of dried foods. publisher: Elsevier articletitle: Characterizing the tissue of apple air-dried and osmo-air-dried rings by X-CT and OCT and relationship with ring crispness and fruit maturity at harvest measured by TRS journaltitle: Innovative Food Science & Emerging Technologies articlelink: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ifset.2013.09.001 content_type: article copyright: Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. ispartof: Innovative Food Science & Emerging Technologies vol:24 pages:121-130 status: published

This chapter presents the recent developments in advanced optical methods for exploring food microstructure. The chapter first discusses the basics of light propagation in food and the main limitations of classical approaches (e.g. continuous wave near infrared (NIR), colorimetry) for the measurement of the optical properties of food. It then describes the physical principles, the technological solutions and the advantages of optical coherence tomography, and of space- and time-resolved reflectance spectroscopy. The chapter includes examples of applications and an overview of future prospects. © 2013 Woodhead Publishing Limited All rights reserved.

background Hematoxylin and Eosin (H&E) is the most common stain used for Mohs frozen sections. Toluidine blue (T-blue) is a metachromatic stain that has been frequently utilized for this purpose. objective To compare the cytologic and stromal staining patterns of each stain for Mohs frozen sections of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC and basal cell carcinoma (BCC), and to identify the advantages and disadvantages of each technique. results T-blue revealed stromal change associated with the presence of BCC and SCC. H&E provided more prominent visibility of individual cell keratinization and necrosis, which are common features seen in SCC. conclusion We found T-blue to be fast and effective in identifying mucopolysaccharides in stroma associated with basal cell carcinoma. For this reason, T-blue is our preferred stain for BCCs, while H&E can provide greater ease of identification of histologic features of SCCs.

We report a compact, easy to align, and passively phase-stabilized setup for recording two-dimensional (2D) electronic spectra in three different phase-matching directions in the boxcar geometry. Passive phase stabilization is achieved by a diffractive optical element, the use of refractive optics for introducing pulse delays, and the use of common optics for all pulses. Representative 2D spectra correlating single- and double-quantum coherences in a molecular aggregate are presented.