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Purpose Vitamin D (VitD) is a pleiotropic hormone with effects on a multitude of systems and metabolic pathways. Consequently, the relevance of a sufficiently high VitD serum level becomes self-evident. Methods A rapid immunofluorescence assay designed for the point-of-care measurement of serum VitD3 solely was tested. Inter- and intra-assay validation, double testing and result comparison with a standardized laboratory method were performed. Results An overall linear correlation of r = 0.89 (Pearson, 95% CI 0.88–0.92, p r = 0.91, 95% CI 0.86–0.94, p r = 0.86, 0.82–0.89, p Conclusion This novel, innovative, and controlled study indicates that the evaluated rapid point of care VitD assay is reliable, accurate, and suited for clinical practice.

The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) large field of view is achieved through a three-lens camera system and a three-mirror optical system comprised of a unique 8.4-meter diameter monolithic primary/tertiary mirror (M1M3) and a 3.4-meter diameter secondary mirror (M2) 1 . The M2 is a 100mm thick meniscus convex asphere. The M2 Assembly includes a welded steel cell and a support system comprised of 72 axial and 6 tangential electromechanical actuators to control the mirror figure. The M2 Assembly (including optical polishing and integrated optical testing) is being fabricated by Harris Corporation in Rochester, NY. The summary status of this system and results are presented.

The use of long resonators (for improved thermal and electrical resistance) and advanced facet passivation (for high power) is shown to enable Joule-class pulse emission from single passively cooled 1-cm diode laser bars emitting at 940 nm. Bars on CS-mount deliver pulse energy of 1 J at 60% power conversion efficiency within a 7-nm spectral window, under quasi-continuous wave conditions (1.2 ms 10 Hz). Robustness of device performance is confirmed via burn-in and multisite testing. Joule-per-bar performance is also maintained for conduction cooled monolithic stacked arrays, adapted for bars with long resonators. Although these packages only cool the laser bar via their rear edge, peak power, lateral far field, and spectral width remain consistent with the requirements for pumping solid state lasers and scale as predicted with self-heating. An energy density > 10 J/cm $^{\mathrm { {2}}}$ is delivered from the stack surface, for brightness >3 MW/(cm $^{\mathrm { {2}}}$ -sr).

Progress in the development of highly brilliant pump modules based on novel high-energy-class diode laser bars is presented, targeting long-pulse (2 ms) application in pumping Yb:CaF2 amplifier crystals. Bars with long resonators and high fill factors are used for low resistance and efficient cooling. Advanced extreme-double asymmetric epitaxial structures are used for high efficiency at high power. Facet passivation is used for long life at high powers, enabling operation at 600 W per bar (1.2 J). Performance of bars and passively cooled stacks is summarized and prospects for further performance enhancements are reviewed.

Die Untersuchung der Herzklappen in der MRT umfasst derzeit v. a. die Aorten- und Pulmonalisklappe. Pathologien der atrioventrikularen Klappen bilden demgegenuber nur selten die zentrale Fragestellung einer kardialen MRT-Untersuchung, da diese normalerweise einer echokardiographischen Untersuchung gut zuganglich sind. Die Starke der MRT ist die hohe Zuverlassigkeit, mit der neben der Klappenmorphologie und -funktion die Funktionsparameter des jeweiligen Ventrikels und die Morphologie der nachgeschalteten Arterien bestimmt werden konnen. Dadurch kann die MRT die prinzipielle Schwache in der Orts- und Zeitauflosung gegenuber der Echokardiographie teilweise kompensieren. Bei Patienten mit kongenitalen Herzvitien ist die MRT-basierte Klappendiagnostik fester Bestandteil des klinischen Managements. Das gilt besonders fur die Evaluation der Pulmonalisklappe. Die Echokardiographie bleibt absehbar die Modalitat der ersten Wahl fur die Klappendiagnostik am Herzen.

This paper describes the status and details of the large synoptic survey telescope 1,2,3 mount assembly (TMA). On June 9 th , 2014 the contract for the design and build of the large synoptic survey telescope mount assembly (TMA) was awarded to GHESA Ingenieria y Tecnologia, S.A. and Asturfeito, S.A. The design successfully passed the preliminary design review on October 2, 2015 and the final design revi ew January 29, 2016. This paper describes the detailed design by subsystem, analytical model results, preparations being ta ken to complete the fabrication, and the transportation and installation plans to install the mount on Cerro Pachon in Chile. This large project is the culmination of work by many people and the authors would like to thank everyone that has contributed to th e success of this project. Keywords: LSST, telescope, mount, elevation, azimuth, linear drives, tape encoders, 1. INTRODUCTION The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) is an 8.4-mete r wide-field (3.5-degree) survey telescope, which will be located on the summit of Cerro Pachon in Chile. The design of the telescope mount assembly is by GHESA Ingenieria y Tecnologia, S.A. Asturfeito, S.A, is fabricating the TMA in northern Spain is shall reinstall the mount on Cerro Pachon. The design of the mount control, camera cable wrap, and mirror covers is by IK4 Tekniker. The design and fabrication of the azimuth and elevation li near drives and capacitor bank is by Phase Motion Control. This telescope mount assembly supports the optics, camera, baffles, and the integral subsystems required to operate the telescope. This report provides an overview of the final design of the mount and all supporting subsystems.

Construction of the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope system involves several different organizations, a situation that poses many challenges at the time of the software integration of the components. To ensure commonality for the purposes of usability, maintainability, and robustness, the LSST software teams have agreed to the following for system software components: a summary state machine, a manner of managing settings, a flexible solution to specify controller/controllee relationships reliably as needed, and a paradigm for responding to and communicating alarms. This paper describes these agreed solutions and the factors that motivated these.

The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) is an 8-meter class wide-field telescope now under construction on Cerro Pachon, near La Serena, Chile. This ground-based telescope is designed to conduct a decade-long time domain survey of the optical sky. In order to achieve the LSST scientific goals, the telescope requires delivering seeing limited image quality over the 3.5 degree field-of-view. Like many telescopes, LSST will use an Active Optics System (AOS) to correct in near real-time the system aberrations primarily introduced by gravity and temperature gradients. The LSST AOS uses a combination of 4 curvature wavefront sensors (CWS) located on the outside of the LSST field-of-view. The information coming from the 4 CWS is combined to calculate the appropriate corrections to be sent to the 3 different mirrors composing LSST. The AOS software incorporates a wavefront sensor estimation pipeline (WEP) and an active optics control system (AOCS). The WEP estimates the wavefront residual error from the CWS images. The AOCS determines the correction to be sent to the different degrees of freedom every 30 seconds. In this paper, we describe the design and implementation of the AOS. More particularly, we will focus on the software architecture as well as the AOS interactions with the various subsystems within LSST.

The LSST communications middleware is based on a set of software abstractions; which provide standard interfaces for common communications services. The observatory requires communication between diverse subsystems, implemented by different contractors, and comprehensive archiving of subsystem status data. The Service Abstraction Layer (SAL) is implemented using open source packages that implement open standards of DDS (Data Distribution Service1) for data communication, and SQL (Standard Query Language) for database access. For every subsystem, abstractions for each of the Telemetry datastreams, along with Command/Response and Events, have been agreed with the appropriate component vendor (such as Dome, TMA, Hexapod), and captured in ICD's (Interface Control Documents).The OpenSplice (Prismtech) Community Edition of DDS provides an LGPL licensed distribution which may be freely redistributed. The availability of the full source code provides assurances that the project will be able to maintain it over the full 10 year survey, independent of the fortunes of the original providers.

The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) has a 10 degrees square field of view which is achieved through a 3 mirror optical system comprised of an 8.4 meter primary, 3.5 meter secondary (M2) and a 5 meter tertiary mirror. The M2 is a 100mm thick meniscus convex asphere. The mirror surface is actively controlled by 72 axial electromechanical actuators (axial actuators). Transverse support is provided by 6 active tangential electromechanical actuators (tangent links). The final design has been completed by Harris Corporation. They are also providing the fabrication, integration and testing of the mirror cell assembly, as well as the figuring of the mirror. The final optical surface will be produced by ion figuring. All the actuators will experience 1 year of simulated life testing to ensure that they can withstand the rigorous demands produced by the LSST survey mission. Harris Corporation is providing optical surface metrology to demonstrate both the quality of the optical surface and the correctablility produced by the axial actuators.

The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) primary/tertiary (M1M3) mirror cell assembly supports both on-telescope operations and off-telescope mirror coating. This assembly consists of the cast borosilicate M1M3 monolith mirror, the mirror support systems, the thermal control system, a stray light baffle ring, a laser tracker interface and the supporting steel structure. During observing the M1M3 mirror is actively supported by pneumatic figure control actuators and positioned by a hexapod. When the active system is not operating the mirror is supported by a separate passive wire rope isolator system. The center of the mirror cell supports a laser tracker which measures the relative position of the camera and secondary mirror for alignment by their hexapods. The mirror cell structure height of 2 meters provides ample internal clearance for installation and maintenance of mirror support and thermal control systems. The mirror cell also functions as the bottom of the vacuum chamber during coating. The M1M3 mirror has been completed and is in storage. The mirror cell structure is presently under construction by CAID Industries. The figure control actuators, hexapod and thermal control system are under developed and will be integrated into the mirror cell assembly by LSST personnel. The entire integrated M1M3 mirror cell assembly will the tested at the Richard F Caris Mirror Lab in Tucson, AZ (formerly Steward Observatory Mirror Lab).

The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) is a large (8.4 meter) wide-field (3.5 degree) survey telescope, which will be located on the Cerro Pachon summit in Chile. Both the Secondary Mirror (M2) Cell Assembly and Camera utilize hexapods to facilitate optical positioning relative to the Primary/Tertiary (M1M3) Mirror. A rotator resides between the Camera and its hexapod to facilitate tracking. The final design of the hexapods and rotator has been completed by Moog CSA, who are also providing the fabrication and integration and testing. Geometric considerations preclude the use of a conventional hexapod arrangement for the M2 Hexapod. To produce a more structurally efficient configuration the camera hexapod and camera rotator will be produced as a single unit. The requirements of the M2 Hexapod and Camera Hexapod are very similar; consequently to facilitate maintainability both hexapods will utilize identical actuators. The open loop operation of the optical system imposes strict requirements on allowable hysteresis. This requires that the hexapod actuators use flexures rather than more traditional end joints. Operation of the LSST requires high natural frequencies, consequently, to reduce the mass relative to the stiffness, a unique THK rail and carriage system is utilized rather than the more traditional slew bearing. This system utilizes two concentric tracks and 18 carriages.

Diode laser bars with optimized epitaxial designs, long resonators and passivated facets deliver joule-class millisecond pulses (kilowatts of peak power) with the properties needed by advanced high-energy-class solid-state laser systems, at brightness over 3 MW/(cm2sr).

As lipofilling of the female breast is becoming more popular in plastic surgery, the use of MRI to assess breast volume has been employed to control postoperative results. Therefore, we sought to evaluate the accuracy of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based breast volumetry software tools by comparing the measurements of silicone implant augmented breasts with the actual implant volume specified by the manufacturer. MRI-based volume analysis was performed in eight bilaterally augmented patients (46 ± 9 years) with three different software programs (Brainlab© I plan 2.6 neuronavigation software; mass analysis, version 5.3, Medis©; and OsiriX© v.3.0.2. 32-bit). The implant volumes analysed by the BrainLab© software had a mean deviation of 2.2 ± 1.7% (r?=?0.99) relative to the implanted prosthesis. OsiriX© software analysis resulted in a mean deviation of 2.8 ± 3.0% (r?=?0.99) and the Medis© software had a mean deviation of 3.1 ± 3.0% (r?=?0.99). Overall, the volumes of all analysed breast implants correlated very well with the real implant volumes. Processing time was 10 min per breast with each system and 30 s (OsiriX©) to 5 min (BrainLab© and Medis©) per silicone implant. MRI-based volumetry is a powerful tool to calculate both native breast and silicone implant volume in situ. All software solutions performed well and the measurements were close to the actual implant sizes. The use of MRI breast volumetry may be helpful in: (1) planning reconstructive and aesthetic surgery of asymmetric breasts, (2) calculating implant size in patients with missing documentation of a previously implanted device and (3) assessing post-operative results objectively.

Growth hormone stimulates collagen type I synthesis. Collagen type I is a common matrix compound in a large number of connective tissues. The aim of our study was to prove whether a stimulation of collagen type I synthesis might be accompanied by a deposition of collagen type I in the skin (cutis). Twenty growth hormone-deficient hypopituitary patients were included in a randomised, double-blind, placebo controlled, prospective, twelve-month study (eighteen patients assessable at the end of the study). The patients were treated with recombinant human growth hormone 0.25 U/kg/week subdivided in daily subcutaneous injections beginning with half the dosage during the first four weeks. During the first six months half of the patients were treated with placebo. PICP, the indicator of collagen type I synthesis, was increased after six months of therapy when compared to placebo. Skin thickness measured by ultrasound at the forearm and mechanically at the dorsum of the hand with strong compression of the skin both increased significantly following growth hormone substitution. Our data indicate that the stimulation of collagen type I synthesis by growth hormone substitution is followed by a deposition of collagen type I in the skin.

Recently, major advances have been accomplished in the diagnosis of active tuberculosis. A comprehensive diagnostic approach for a patient with possible tuberculosis includes a detailed medical history and clinical examination as well as the results of radiological, microbiological, immunological, molecular-biological and histological methods. In concert, these results enable the clinician to rapidly develop a decision with a high probability for the diagnosis or exclusion of active tuberculosis. Therapeutic intervention can thus be made early, even though corrections in these decisions need to be considered depending on the results of Mycobacterium tuberculosis culture and sensitivity testing.

Nowadays, contrast enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) is an imaging technique equivalent to multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for the detection and characterization of focal liver lesions. These methods have comparable sensitivity and specificity in differentiating a liver lesion as "benign" or "malignant". For benign lesions, CEUS is the recommended method of the choice. In unclear cases, or if CEUS is not available, MRI or CT are the methods of the second choice. If a benign tumor remains unclear, then a needle biopsy is recommended. In the case of a malignant tumor, it is necessary to use a second imaging technique besides CEUS. In addition to the detection and characterization of a liver tumor, CT and MRI provide information on the extrahepatic spread of a tumor, particularly into the lung or retroperitoneum. The rapid development of surgical and interventional approaches requires accurate information on the character and number of malignant liver lesions. Therefore, the combined use of CEUS and MDCT or MRI currently represents the most modern and optimal standard of imaging. The standardization of CT and MRI protocols has increased the general diagnostic level of these images. Adequate training and a certificate for the use of CEUS is recommended in order to maintain the high diagnostic level of this method (EFSUMB guide lines). An optimal interdisciplinary imaging strategy for focal liver lesions minimises unnecessary invasive or potentially harmful imaging and reduces health costs.

A new generation of diode-pumped high-energy-class solid-state laser facilities is in development that generate multijoule pulse energies at around 10 Hz. Currently deployed quasi-continuous-wave (QCW) diode lasers deliver average inpulse pump powers of around 300 W per bar. Increased power-per-bar helps to reduce the system size, complexity and cost per Joule and the increased pump brilliance also enables more efficient operation of the solid state laser itself. It has been shown in recent studies, that optimized QCW diode laser bars centered at 940…980 nm can operate with an average in-pulse power of > 1000 W per bar, triple that of commercial sources. When operated at pulsed condition of 1 ms, 10 Hz, this corresponds to > 1 J/bar. We review here the status of these high-energy-class pump sources, showing how the highest powers are enabled by using long resonators (4…6 mm) for improved cooling and robustly passivated output facets for high reliability. Results are presented for prototype passively-cooled single bar assemblies and monolithic stacked QCW arrays. We confirm that 1 J/bar is sustained for fast-axis collimated stacks with a bar pitch of 1.7 mm, with narrow lateral far field angle (< 12° with 95% power) and spectral width (< 12 nm with 95% power). Such stacks are anticipated to enable Joule/bar pump densities to be used near-term in commercial high power diode laser systems. Finally, we briefly summarize the latest status of research into bars with higher efficiencies, including studies into operation at sub-zero temperatures (-70°C), which also enables higher powers and narrower far field and spectra.

Background Intra-myocardial transplantation of bone marrow derived cells is currently under clinical evaluation as a therapy for heart failure. A major limitation of all clinical studies for myocardial restoration through cell transfer is the inability to track the fate of the transplanted cells. We present a clinically applicable technique using advanced ultra high-field 7-Tesla (7T) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of nanoparticle-labeled transplanted human EPCs in porcine ischemic hearts. Methods CD133 positive cells were isolated from bone marrow by magnetic bead selection. Positive cells (5 - 8 x 10 (6) cells) were transplanted into porcine ischemic myocardium (n = 8). Control animals (n = 3) received a medium injection. MRI on a 7T scanner was performed to demonstrate the distribution of the EPCs. Results CD133+ cells were identified on gradient echo images (T(1)-weighted) within the myocardium 4 weeks after transplantation. Conclusions Magnetically labeled EPCs transplanted for therapeutic neovascularization or reduction of infarct size in myocardial ischemia can be visualized by MRI at high-field strengths.

Acute renal failure is a known complication during hemolytic crisis in paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH). However, chronic renal failure is rare despite the well-known spectacular hemosiderosis of the kidneys due to chronic hemolysis. Here, we report about a 74-year-old man with PNH who developed acute on chronic renal failure after an episode of intercurrent urinary tract infection and subsequent hemolytic crisis. Mild chronic hemolysis, well-documented over the past decade, had long been considered the cause of a constantly declining glomerular filtration rate. Accordingly, magnetic resonance imaging during admission demonstrated marked siderosis of both kidneys, supporting the hypothesis that chronic renal failure (CRF) was likewise related to PNH. However, a renal biopsy revealed acute tubular necrosis and distinct renal siderosis, as expected. Additionally, tubulointerstitial injury and global glomerular sclerosis, best classified as arterionephrosclerosis, were present. In retrospect, these findings were explained by a 15-year history of hypertension and a 4-year medication with cyclosporine. Careful diagnostic workup including a renal biopsy is mandatory, given a misleadingly suggestive correlation between chronic hemolysis and CRF. Chronic renal failure in PNH is a diagnosis of exclusion, even if radiologic evidence of heavy siderosis draws off the physician's attention.

Automated cell counters are widely used in modern clinical laboratories to provide reliable, fast, and cost-effective complete blood counts (CBCs), white blood cell differentials, and reticulocyte measurements. In addition, some advanced instruments provide novel parameters, such as the hemoglobin content of reticulocytes or the percentage of hypochromic cells, and are capable of analysis of a variety of body fluids. Bayer recently introduced the ADVIA 2120 system as an automation-ready cell counter for mid- to high-volume testing in the clinical laboratory. This instrument, which builds on the established technology of the ADVIA 120 system, operates with a cyanide-free method for hemoglobin measurement, has a new user interface, and can routinely analyze biological fluid samples in addition to blood. We used 749 samples from 6 worldwide trial sites to evaluate the clinical performance of this new device. Accuracy of the ADVIA 2120 system versus its predecessor model, the ADVIA 120 system, was excellent for all CBC and white cell differential parameters and reticulocyte counts (all correlation coefficients except for basophils >0.9). Correlation of the white cell differential with the standard manual method and within-run precision of the ADVIA 2120 system also was very good. Use of the novel cyanide-free method for hemoglobin measurement had no clinically significant impact on hemoglobin results, even in patients with hemoglobinopathies. We concluded that the ADVIA 2120 system has clinically equivalent performance to the ADVIA 120 system.

Background: Fever of unknown origin (FUO) is a diagnostic challenge. Rheumatologists are often in charge of patients with FUO because the vasculitides, especially, are potential and common causes of FUO. Objective: To evaluate the value of a standardised investigation to identify the cause of FUO. Methods: A standardised work-up programme for patients with FUO was started at the beginning of September 1999. The rate of identified causes of FUO was compared between all patients with FUO admitted to a tertiary care centre of rheumatology between January 1996 and August 1999 (control group) and September 1999 and January 2003 (work-up group). In January 2002 magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was added to the investigation. Results: 67 patients with FUO were identified—32 before and 35 after institution of the work-up programme. Before implementation 25% of all patients with FUO remained undiagnosed, after implementation 37%. After institution of the investigation the percentage of patients with vasculitides increased significantly from 6% (n = 2) to 26% (n = 9, p = 0.047, Fisher's exact test). This increase could be attributed to the addition of MRI in 2002. When all patients with FUO before 2002 (n = 55) and thereafter (n = 12) were compared the prevalence of systemic vasculitis increased from 11% (n = 6) to 42% (n = 5, p = 0.021). Conclusion: Implementation of a standardised work-up programme for FUO did not improve the overall rate of diagnosis. Addition of MRI significantly increased the diagnosis of systemic vasculitis as the underlying cause of FUO. MRI should be included in the investigation of patients with FUO when vasculitis is suspected.

Background The antipsoriatic drugs cyclosporin A (CyA) and etretinate have been found to influence proinflammatory eosinophilic leukocytes and pruritus. Aim We compared the number of blood eosinophils, concentration of serum eosinophil cationic protein (ECP), and pruritus in patients with psoriasis treated with either CyA or etretinate. Study design Patients with psoriasis vulgaris were randomly assigned to treatment for 10 weeks with either CyA ( n =21) or etretinate ( n =10). The psoriasis area-and-severity index (PASI-score) and pruritus (according to a 0–3 scale) served as clinical parameters, the blood esosinophil counts (Coulter Counter) and the serum ECP (RIA, Pharmacia) as laboratory parameters. Results After CyA treatment the PASI-score amounted to 24±4%, after etretinate to 56±6% of the initial values (mean±SEM). One week after CyA treatment, esosinophils dropped from 190±21 to 137±16/ μ l ( P =0.038, Wilcoxon test), after 10 weeks to 127±18/ μ l ( P =0.006). By contrast, under etretinate blood eosinophil counts only changed marginally. Before treatment, ECP concentrations of 15.71±1.30 (CyA) and 15.3±5.53 μ g/l (etretinate) were measured (normal range 3–16 μ g/l), ECP remained constant under both CyA and etretinate or tended to increase after 10 weeks; about 50% of the patients exhibited elevated ECP concentrations. Pruritus diminished more with CyA than etretinate therapy. PASI-scores and pruritus were directly proportional. Outcome We conclude that treatment of psoriasis with CyA leads to a rapid drop of blood eosinophils and that the activation state of eosinophils does not decrease after antipsoriatic treatment. Pruritus in psoriasis is coupled to disease severity. The underlying antipsoriatic mechanisms of CyA may be linked to lowering the number of blood eosinophils.

This paper focuses on conceptual aspects of the access to multi-mission remote sensing data by online catalogue and information systems. The system ISIS of the German Remote Sensing Data Centre is described as an example of a user interface to earth observation data. ISIS has been designed to support international scientific research as well as operational applications by offering online access to the database via public networks. It provides catalogue retrieval, visualisation and transfer of image data, and is integrated in international activities dedicated to catalogue and archive interoperability. Finally, an outlook is given on international projects dealing with access to remote sensing data in distributed archives.

Zur Konstruktion des Mainz-Pouch-I werden zwischen 24 und 36 cm des terminalen Ileums sowie ca. 12 cm Colon ascendens inkl. der Ileozökalklappe verwendet. Hierdurch entfällt ein Teil der Resorptionsfläche für Vitamine, Gallensäuren und Spurenlemente. Bei 137 Patienten mit einem Mainz-Pouch-I erfolgte die Bestimmung der Gallensäuren, der fett- und wasserlöslichen Vitamine (A, D, E, K, B1, B2, B6, B12), der Folsäure, des Ammoniaks und des Base excess, der Spurenelemente (Zink, Kupfer, Eisen), des Ferritins sowie eines Differentialblutbildes. Das Vitamin B12 und die Folsäure wurde zusätzlich intrakorpuskulär bestimmt. Kinder und Erwachsene wurden unterschieden und die Patienten in 3 Gruppen eingeteilt (0

Sowohl die abdominal-als auch die transplantationschirurgisch relevanten Aspekte des Suizidversuchs werden anhand der eigenen Patienten retrospektiv uber einen Zeitraum von 22 Jahren analysiert und dargestellt. Die Untersuchung der Methoden der Suizidversuche von 24 Patienten zeigte ein deutliches Uberwiegen der sog. harten (70%) gegenuber den weichen (30%) Methoden. Bei abdominalen Verletzungen aufgrund eines Suizidversuchs ist die Indikation zur Laparotomie in der Regel bei Stich- und Schusverletzungen mit meist guter Prognose nach der chirurgischen Behandlung gegeben. Bei Intoxikationen, insbesondere Laugenveratzungen, wird die Operationsindikation abhangig vom endoskopischen Befund und der Klinik des Patienten gestellt. Die deutlich erhohte Suizidgefahrdung bei Patienten mit terminaler Niereninsuffizienz kann durch eine Nierentransplantation signifikant gesenkt werden. Aufgrund verbesserter Immunsuppression und damit verbesserter Transplantatfunktion nimmt die Suizidgefahrdung nach Transplantation ab. In der Folge einer Paracetamolingestion in suizidaler Absicht ist nur in seltenen Fallen bei akutem Leberversagen eine Lebertransplantation indiziert, wobei in diesem Fall die auxiliare Lebertransplantation als Differentialeingriff zu erwagen ist.

Lowell Observatory's Discovery Channel Telescope is a 4.3m telescope designed for optical and near infrared astronomical observation. At first light, the telescope will have a cube capable of carrying five instruments and the wave front sensing and guider system at the f/6.1 RC focus. The corrected RC focus field of view is 30’ in diameter. Nasmyth and prime focus can be instrumented subsequently. Early commissioning work with the installed primary mirror and its support system started out using one of the wave front sensing probes mounted at prime focus, and has continued at RC with the recent installation of the secondary mirror. We will report on the on-sky pointing and tracking performance of the telescope, initial assessment of the functionality of the active optics support system, and tests of the early image quality of the telescope and optics. We will also describe the suite of first light instruments, and early science operations.

The Discovery Channel Telescope (DCT) is a 4.3-meter astronomical research telescope being built in northern Arizona as a partnership between Discovery Communications and Lowell Observatory. We present an overview of the current status of the project software effort, including the iterative development process (including planning, requirements management and traceability, design, code, test, issue tracking, and version control), our experience with management and design techniques and tools the team uses that support the effort, key features of the component-based architectural design, and implementation examples that leverage new LabVIEW-based technologies.

The Discovery Channel Telescope (DCT) is a 4.3-meter telescope designed for dual optical configurations, featuring an f/6.1 Ritchey-Chretien prescription with a 0.5° field-of-view, and a corrected f/2.3 prime focus with a 2° field-of-view. The DCT Active Optics System (AOS) maintains collimation and mirror figure to provide seeing limited images across the focal planes and rapid settling times to minimize observing overhead, using a combination of feed-forward and lowbandwidth feedback control via wavefront sensing. Collimation is maintained by tip-tilt-piston control of the M2 assembly and articulating M1 within its cell, taking advantage of the 120 degree-of-freedom support used for figure control. We present an overview of the AOS design and principles of operation, and a summary of progress and results to date.

The Discovery Channel Telescope (DCT) is a 4.3-meter astronomical research telescope being built in northern Arizona as a partnership between Discovery Communications and Lowell Observatory. The project software team has designed and partially implemented a component-based system. We describe here the key features of that design (state-based components that respond to signals) and detail specific implementation technologies we expect to be of most interest: examples of the Command Pattern, State Pattern, and XML-based configuration file handling using LabVIEW classes and shared variables with logging and alarming features.

An Intelligent Satellite Image Information System (ISIS) will be established at the German Remote Sensing Data Center of DLR. ISIS will help to support ecological and global investigations using spaceborne techniques by establishing a data and information capability. Through communication networks ISIS offers services to Earth sciences such as geodynamics, land processes, oceanic processes, and atmospheric dynamics and chemistry.

GMOSS (Global Monitoring for security and stability) is a Network of Excellence (NoE) in the Aeronautics and Space priority of the 6th Framework Program of the European Union lasting from 2004 to 2008. Being part of the "Global Monitoring of Environment and Security" (GMES) program, GMOSS aimed to integrate the European civil security research while assembling a critical mass of resources, activities, and expertise needed to ensure a durable integration of the participants' capacities for global monitoring using satellite earth observation. The activities carried out during these fours years were threefold: integrating activities, implementing a joint research program, and spreading of excellence. This paper summarizes these activities. The security issues considered by GMOSS are first presented. The GMOSS consortium is then described. In the next sections, the focus is successively put on GMOSS Test Cases, real-time exercises, training activities and Gender Action Program.

Fibrous dysplasia is a common benign skeletal disorder that is assumed to result from a development failure during the bone maturization process. It can be either mono- or polyostotic. Most patients present before the age of 30 years [1]. To date, only a few descriptions of the appearance of fibrous dysplasia on [ 18 F]-fluorodeoxyglucose–positron emission tomography (FDG PET) images have been reported in the literature [2, 3]. We present here the case of monostotic fibrous dysplasia which was detected through the avid uptake of [ 18 F]-FDG. A 12-year-old boy was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease. The initial [ 18 F]-FDG PET images showed cervical lymphadenopathy and an avid tracer uptake in the right proximal femur. This finding was interpreted as skeletal involvement of lymphoma, thus defining clinical stage IV disease. After four courses of chemotherapy, a second [ 18 F]-FDG PET (a) was performed for response evaluation. At this time, pathologic tracer uptake was only seen in the right proximal femur (a, arrow), and we therefore considered residual lymphoma in the differential diagnosis. The corresponding radiograph (b) revealed an ill-defined area of ground-glass opacity and a cortical thickening (b, arrowhead). Magnetic resonance imaging showed the lesion to be hypointense in T1weighted sequences and hyperintense in T2-weighted sequences, and demonstrated a strong uptake of contrast medium (c). Due to the significant implications of possible residual lymphoma, open biopsy was performed. The hematoxylin and eosin-stained section (d) showed typical features of fibrous dysplasia with randomly organized trabeculae of woven bone surrounded by immature fibrous tissue.

Preparing for the International Space Year in 1992 (ISY) an international working group on Global Change Outreach has been established within the Space Agency Forum SAFISY, headed by the European Space Agency (ESA). The object in view is to compile digital and photographic data sets in order to pinpoint global and regional changes in the ecosphere with the aid of remote sensing techniques. Together with other candidate data, the compiled information will be made available for a wide public audience. The envisaged contribution of DLR to this data collection is presented in this short notice, composed mainly of regional data sets (area of Federal Republic of Germany). Samples of this data comprise Landsat TM with emphasis on Forest Mapping, supported by SPOT-HRV. NOAA- AVHRR for Europe and Antarctic Peninsula are candidates as well as future ERS-1 C-Band SAR data. The latter will be geocoded and mosaicked for the territory of F.R.G. and the area covered by the German Antarctic Receiving Station. Some projects within DLR

AIM The aim of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of different imaging techniques with respect to diagnosis and differential diagnosis between Erdheim-Chester disease (ECD) and multifocal fibrosis (MF)/Ormond's disease (OD). METHOD Three cases of ECD were included, two of which were misdiagnosed as MF/OD. Findings in different imaging techniques [plain radiography, skeletal scintigraphy, computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)] of the lower extremities, chest MRI, craniofacial MRI, abdominal CT and MRI) were compared and ranked with regard to diagnostic efficacy. RESULTS Differentiation between ECD and MF/OD is only possible by imaging the long bones. Bone roentgenograms and skeletal scintigraphy, followed by MRI and CT of the lower extremities are the most effective imaging techniques. CONCLUSION A low threshold for carrying out plain radiography of the lower limbs in case of RF/MF will increase the number of ECD-cases.

Introduction Fibrin gels are considered to be a promising biomaterial for tissue engineering because of its role as a “physiological scaffold” in tissue regeneration. It has been reported that fibrin gels could lead to cell migration into a wound/tissue-engineered construct and induce cell proliferation/growth.1-5 Due to the limited self-repair capability of degenerated intervertebral disc, cell-based therapy such as mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) application is becoming an attractive strategy in disc regeneration.6 However, interactions between fibrin and MSCs during disc regeneration are unknown. The objective of this study is to explore the potential value of fibrin gel as a delivery system for MSC and nucleus pulposus cell (NPC) co-culture therapy. We tested different fibrin formulations (fibrinogen and thrombin concentrations) and characterized fibrin gel structure and extracellular matrix production under hypoxic conditions in vitro. The findings will help to find an effective delivery system for cell-based therapy in disc regeneration. Materials and Methods Cell Isolation Commercially available HMSCs (Lonza, MD) were expanded to the fifth passage, and NPCs were isolated from bovine tail discs using a collagenase/protease cocktail digestion. Fibrin Gel Preparation Fibrin scaffolds were prepared by combining fibrinogen with thrombin as described previously.7 Briefly, bovine fibrinogen was dissolved in buffer A (sodium chloride 29 mM, sodium citrate 25 mM, and bovine serum albumin [BSA] 15 mg/mL, 3,000 KIU/mL aprotinin), and then load MSC/NPC (1:1) into fibrinogen solution followed by mixing with bovine thrombin in buffer B (sodium chloride 149 mM, BSA 50 mg/mL, and calcium chloride 80 mM). Various concentrations of fibrinogen and thrombin (9:50, 9:100, 18:50, and 18:100) were used to prepared fibrin scaffold (60 μL/fibrin gel), and then allowed to crosslink without touch for 1 hour at 37°C. Finally, fibrin gels were transferred into incubator with 5% CO2 (normoxia) or 2% O2 (hypoxia) at 37°C. Histology and RT-PCR After 7 day's culture, fibrin gels were collected for H&E, Safranin-O staining. In addition, matrix genes, collagen II, aggrecan, and MMP13 expression of cells within gel were detected with qRT-PCR and normalized to universal GAPDH. Post hoc multiple pair-wise comparison tests (Dunn) were performed to determine differences between treatment groups with significance of p < 0.05 Results After 7 days, fibrin gels demonstrated much more compact and condense network structure where cells entrapped and spread as compared with day 1 (Figs. A and B). Safranin O staining showed enriched proteoglycan around cells (Fig. C). Under hypoxia condition, 9 mg/mL fibrin gel increased type II collagen expression at day 7 by 2.9-fold as compared with day 1 ( p < 0.05, Fig. D), whereas no significant difference between normoxia and hypoxia was observed. Similar expression differences were observed for aggrecan. Interestingly, MMP13 expression increased significantly at day 7 in normoxia group, while it decreased dramatically in hypoxia group ( p < 0.01, Fig. D). Overall, the 9 mg/mL (9:50 and 9:100) fibrin gel displayed more desirable effects on matrix gene (collagen II, aggrecan) expression than on 18 mg/mL (18:50 and 18:100) fibrin gel (Fig. E). [Figure: see text] Conclusion Fibrin gel promoted collagen II and aggrecan gene expression as well as proteoglycan production under both normoxia and hypoxia conditions. Among the formulation studies, 9 mg/mL fibrin exerted more desirable effects on cell spreading and matrix production. The findings suggesting fibrin gel may be a good delivery system for cell-based therapy in disc regeneration by promoting matrix production. Acknowledgments Supported by NIH R21 AR063357-02. Disclosure of Interest None declared References Ikari Y, Yee KO, Schwartz SM. Role of alpha5beta1 and alphavbeta3 integrins on smooth muscle cell spreading and migration in fibrin gels. Thromb Haemost 2PO.072;84(4):701–705 Nomura H, Naito M, Iguchi A, Thompson WD, Smith EB. Fibrin gel induces the migration of smooth muscle cells from rabbit aortic explants. Thromb Haemost 1999;82(4):1347–1352 Liu J, Tan Y, Zhang H, et al. Soft fibrin gels promote selection and growth of tumorigenic cells. Nat Mater 2012;11(8):734–741 Eyrich D, Brandl F, Appel B, et al. Long-term stable fibrin gels for cartilage engineering. Biomaterials 2007;28(1):55–65 Man AJ, Davis HE, Itoh A, Leach JK, Bannerman P. Neurite outgrowth in fibrin gels is regulated by substrate stiffness. Tissue Eng Part A 2011;17(23-24):2931–2942 Sakai D, Mochida J, Yamamoto Y, et al. Transplantation of mesenchymal stem cells embedded in Atelocollagen gel to the intervertebral disc: a potential therapeutic model for disc degeneration. Biomaterials 2003;24(20):3531–3541 Bensaïd W, Triffitt JT, Blanchat C, Oudina K, Sedel L, Petite H. A biodegradable fibrin scaffold for mesenchymal stem cell transplantation. Biomaterials 2003;24(14):2497–2502