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The oil-in-water (OiW) contaminants in produced water discharges arising from offshore oil and gas production systems are required by global regulatory bodies to be monitored in order to limit the environmental impacts of such releases. The level of these contaminants is commonly measured using online analyzers that utilize UV fluorescence to target the luminescent properties of OiW components. It is known that the nature and variability of the fluorophores in the OiW fractions may influence the response of these type of analyzers. In particular these readings can also be affected by chemical residuals used in oil and gas treatment, that may also be present in the produced water. This study reports on the impact of the reaction products of a monoethanolamine based hydrogen sulfide scavenger, used in gas treatment to remove hydrogen sulfide (H2S), on the fluorescence behavior of OiW discharges, and its implications on the OiW reporting levels that may be expected from deep-UV and near-UV based analyzers.

Monoethylene glycol (MEG) is often used to reduce the differential pressure across well valves so that they can be opened without damage. This MEG ultimately commingles with production fluids and if not deoxygenated contributes to the overall content of dissolved oxygen that may be seen by a receiving production facility. Normally, the dissolved oxygen levels would be removed to insignificant levels during fluid transport. Since the corrosion reactions sequester the oxygen as the fluids are exposed to less noble materials of construction, such as carbon steel. However, in facilities that utilise corrosion resistant alloys (CRA) the residual dissolved oxygen level can be so significant that it warrants reduction using oxygen scavengers. This paper reports on corrosion studies that illustrate the consequence of dissolved oxygen levels being carried through to a MEG reclamation unit constructed of CRA, and laboratory and field validation studies on the use of a bisulfite-based scavenger for removal of oxygen in 90wt% MEG used for equalising pressure of Subsurface Safety Valves.

When monoethylene glycol (MEG) is used to provide hydrate protection for gas condensate production, MEG pre-treatment, reconcentration and reclamation systems are generally employed to recover and reuse the MEG. Prior to reconcentration, low solubility salts of divalent cations such as calcium, iron, strontium and magnesium, that may be present in the Rich MEG, are removed in a MEG pre-treatment process. This process involves the addition of a base, such as NaOH or KOH, to the Rich MEG at elevated temperatures to convert dissolved carbon dioxide to carbonate ions and so precipitate the cations, as their respective insoluble carbonate or hydroxide salts. When enough residence time is available within the process these precipitated salts are removed from the Rich MEG stream through physical separation. For onshore based MEG systems, this is usually accomplished via settling tanks. However, in offshore systems the residence time for crystallization and settling becomes limited due to vessel sizes imposed by facility space limitations so precipitated salts are actively removed using mechanical equipment such as centrifuges. Centrifuges are only effective when crystals reach threshold particle sizes. Contaminants in MEG such as dissolved hydrocarbons and magnesium ions can inhibit crystal growth of calcium and iron carbonate. This study details the development of testing methodologies to screen chemistries to assist in particle agglomeration and led to the identification of a promising class of chemistries that could be applied in MEG Pre-treatment for the flocculation of cation salts.

In chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), treatment with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) is unable to eradicate leukemic stem cells (LSC). Polymethine dye-functionalized nanoparticles can be internalized by specific cell types using transmembrane carrier proteins. In this study we investigated the uptake behavior of various polymethine dyes on leukemia cell lines and searched for carrier proteins that guide dye transport using RNA interference. The results show that the uptake of DY-635 is dependent on organic anion transport protein 1B3 (OATP1B3) in CML cells and immature myeloid precursor cells of CML patients. In contrast to nonspecific poly(lactide-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticle constructs, DY-635-functionalization of nanoparticles led to an uptake in CML cells. Investigation of these nanoparticles on bone marrow of CML patients showed a preferred uptake in LSC. The transcription of OATP1B3 is known to be induced under hypoxic conditions via the hypoxia-inducing factor 1 alpha (HIF1α), thus also in the stem cells niche. Since these cells have the potential to repopulate the bone marrow after CML treatment discontinuation, eliminating them by means of drug-loaded DY-635-functionalized PLGA nanoparticles deployed as a selective delivery system to LSC is highly relevant to the ongoing search for curative treatment options for CML patients., Graphical Abstract, With the finding that DY-635-functionalized nanoparticles are taken up in vitro in an OATP1B3-dependent manner, Ernst et al. identified a possible drug delivery system for CML treatment. This would be an important advance, since TKIs are ineffective in CML stem cells, but their eradication is necessary for curative treatment.

The large volume and diversified nanomedicine market, undergoing a rapid growth, relies not only on the creation and applicative exploration of nanocarrier-based medicines showing significant potential, but in particular, demands a quantitative assessment of their physicochemical properties. In this study, we demonstrate the in situ assessment of multifunctional biodegradable nanoparticle (NP) entries as core components of nanoscale drug delivery systems (NDDSs) by making use of analytical ultracentrifugation (AUC). We determine and elucidate the following characteristics of NPs in NDDSs: NP density and size, targeting dye functionality, encapsulated and free drug, surfactant, and also NP drug release dynamics, quantitatively interconnected to NP degradation. In concept, we demonstrate this by multidetection AUC experiments at variable speed and time profiles. We could verify the quantitative and accurate nature of AUC for assessment of NDDSs, that is, also future nanomedicines. This concerns modeled and real life solution application formats such as cell culture media and human serum.

Technische Universitat Berlin has been active in the field of small satellites for more than 25 years and has successfully developed, built and operated 21 satellites to date. One of the recent developments of the university is TUBiX20, a highly modular microsatellite platform that was designed to support various different mission types. At the moment, three missions of Technische Universitat Berlin are based on TUBiX20, namely TechnoSat, TUBIN, and QUEEN. Launched in July 2017, TechnoSat is the first mission to demonstrate the TUBiX20 platform in orbit. TechnoSat's mission is the demonstration of seven technology payloads that include an S-band transmitter and a reaction wheel system. This paper presents initial orbit results of the TechnoSat mission, focusing on the payloads relevant for future TUBiX20 missions. Here, the evolution of the experiments towards increasing complexity from the commissioning phase into manoeuvres that combine the use of several payloads underlines the platform's versatility. Furthermore, a quick adaptation of payloads like the S-band transmitter and the reaction wheel system into regular operations was possible by exploiting the platform's modular architecture. TechnoSat achieved all its mission objectives within the nominal mission time and is now used within its extended mission duration primarily to test and demonstrate capabilities for the upcoming missions.

The losses incurred by industrial facilities following catastrophic events can be broadly broken down into property damage and business interruption due to the ensuing downtime. This article describes a generalized probabilistic methodology for estimating facility downtime under multi-hazard scenarios. Since the vulnerability of each components of an industrial facility varies with the types of hazard, it is beneficial to adopt a system-of-systems approach for analyzing such complex facilities under multiple interdependent hazards. In this approach, the complex layout of the facility is first broken down into its constituent components. The component vulnerabilities to different hazards are combined using Boolean logic, assuming their repair time as a common basis for defining damage states of the component. This combination results in multi-hazard fragility functions for each component of the system, which give the probability of damage under combined occurrence of multiple perils. The time to repair a component is expressed probabilistically using restoration functions. Using fault tree analysis, the components’ fragility functions and restoration functions are propagated to calculate system-level downtime. We demonstrate the methodology on a case-study power plant to estimate downtime risk under combined earthquake and tsunami hazard.

The International partnership «Northern Dimension» includes states located in the northern region of the earth planet: Finland, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Russia, Denmark, Germany, Poland and the Baltic countries. The work of the partnership «Nor-thern Dimension (ND)» covers a wide range of areas: education, culture, nuclear and environmental safety, the development of gas condensate and oil fields, health, transport, energy, science, etc. In particular, joint projects relate to the cooperation between the Northern Dimension countries in the Arctic, in the Baltic and Barents Seas, in developing of Northern Sea commercial use, the Baltic oil pipeline creation and other projects. Under the umbrella of the partnership of health and social wellbeing an independent group of experts of prison health is working since 2015.The work of this EG is headed by the elected national representative of Germany and his deputy the national representative of Latvia. The main goal of the prison health expert group work is to reduce the spread of typical diseases in prison (HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, sexually transmitted infections, cardiovascular diseases, malignoma et cetera). In 2016–2018 five meetings of the group were performed (Berlin – two meetings, Riga, Moscow, Warsaw), in four of which Russian representative made reports about the Russian prison medical care status. In these reports it has been shown that the penitentiary medicine of the Russian Federation steadily and methodically demonstrates positive changes that are reflected in the dynamics of the main intensive and extensive indicators. There is notable positive outcome of the group meetings with Russian membership. Representatives of the north European countries prison systems have received firsthand reliable information about the Russian penitentiary healthcare system status. In high level expert discussions the presented data are evaluated and responced suggested. This will undoubtedly contribute to the process of further improvement of international relations with benefits for Russian system.

The efficiency of hydrogen sulfide scavengers directly injected into gas streams is often compromised by short contact times due to space limitations on offshore assets. The use of static mixers is often employed to increase the efficiency of gas-liquid mixing. The performance of two commercially available hydrogen scavenger products were assessed in the laboratory utilising a specially fabricated test chamber designed to mimic a static mixer. A continuous feed of both gas and a liquid scavenger solution were mixed through a glass bead static mixer. The liquid scavenger was atomized into the gas prior to traveling through the bed. The impact of dose rate, water content, carbon dioxide and contact time were assessed on the scavenging efficiency and kinetics of two triazine chemicals used to sequester H2S from a gas stream containing 180 ppmv H2S in nitrogen, to achieve a target H2S concentrations of

Closed loop cooling medium systems are fundamental systems offshore oil and gas production facilities. Integrity or fouling issues in cooling loops have the potential to limit or jeopardise oil and gas production. Glutaraldehyde and isothiazolone biocides are reported in current literature as being effective chemistries for use in closed cooling mediums. This study showed these biocides initially display good initial effectiveness at high pH. However, the long-term bacterial control is poor due to a lack of persistency. The longer-term biocidal control of glutaraldehyde was far worse than that of isothiazolone in part due to chemical instability at high pH but also due to glutaraldehyde decomposition products presumably providing a food source for bacteria growth. This hypothesis was confirmed by adding elevated levels of bacteria to glutaraldehyde, which had been aged in a nitrite-based corrosion inhibitor solution. Results were compared with the non-traditional biocides, biguanide and 4,4-dimethyl-oxazolidine for cooling medium treated with a nitrite based corrosion inhibitor. Both biguanide and 4,4-dimethyl-oxazolidine showed significantly greater persistency compared to traditional closed loop biocides.

The aim of the present paper is to improve the physical understanding of discrete prestall flow disturbances developing in the tip area of the compressor rotor. For this purpose, a complementary instrumentation was used in a single-stage axial compressor. A set of pressure transducers evenly distributed along the circumference surface mounted in the casing near the rotor tip leading edges measures the time-resolved wall pressures simultaneously to an array of transducers recording the chordwise static pressures. The latter allows for plotting quasi-instantaneous casing pressure contours. Any occurring flow disturbances can be properly classified using validated frequency analysis methods applied to the data from the circumferential sensors. While leaving the flow coefficient constant, a continuously changing number of prestall flow disturbances appears to be causing a unique spectral signature, which is known from investigations on rotating instability. Any arising number of disturbances is matching a specific mode order found within this signature. While the flow coefficient is reduced, the propagation speed of prestall disturbances increases linearly, and meanwhile, the speed seems to be independent from the clearance size. Casing contour plots phase-locked to the rotor additionally provide a strong hint on prestall disturbances clearly not to be caused by a leading edge separation. Data taken beyond the stalling limit demonstrate a complex superposition of stall cells and flow disturbances, which the title “prestall disturbance” therefore does not fit to precisely any more. Different convection speeds allow the phenomena to be clearly distinguished from each other. Furthermore, statistical analysis of the pressure fluctuations caused by the prestall disturbances offer the potential to use them as a stall precursor or to quantify the deterioration of the clearance height between the rotor blade tips and the casing wall during the lifetime of an engine.

This paper presents an approach based on fault tree analysis and subset simulation for quantifying uncertainty in the risk assessment of complex industrial facilities. Downtime estimation o...

Polymer based nanoparticles offer great opportunities for diverse applications, i.e. their drug delivery potential is promising. However, their major drawback is identified in preparation via the nanoemulsion technique, which is needed for the encapsulation of hydrophilic drugs and whereby the utilization of surfactants, e.g. poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), is mandatory. Furthermore, the preparation of nanoparticles is critical due to the need of lyophilization for storage. For this reason it is common to use cryoprotectants, which are usually sugar based. In the current study, we present the use of non-toxic, water-soluble poly(2-oxazoline)s (P(Ox)s) in terms of polymeric nanoparticle stabilizers for preparation, purification, and lyophilization. The nanoparticles were characterized via dynamic light scattering (DLS) and cryo-transmission electron microscopy (cryoTEM). The use of hydrophilic P(Ox)s with a degree of polymerization of about 60 yielded stable nanoparticles. For the preparation via nanoemulsion a PDI below 0.2 could be obtained after adjustment of the surfactant concentration. All nanoparticles were in the size range of 100 to 200 nm according to DLS. Furthermore, the addition of P(Ox) was beneficial during particle purification via centrifugation and filtration as well as lyophilization, yielding nanoparticles with a PDI below 0.3 as determined via DLS and confirmed via cryoTEM measurements. Cytotoxicity, hemolysis and erythrocyte aggregation measurements of these P(Ox)s did not show any harmful effect on the treated cells.

The aim of the present paper is to improve the physical understanding of flow irregularities in the blade passing signal of turbomachinery rotors, since the novel stall warning method presented in part I is based upon those irregularities. For this purpose, a complementary instrumentation was used in a single stage axial compressor. A set of pressure transducers evenly distributed along the circumference surface mounted in the casing near the rotor tip leading edges is measuring the time-resolved wall pressures simultaneously to an array of transducers recording the chord-wise static pressures. The latter allows for plotting quasi-instantaneous 2D-pressure contours. Any occurring flow disturbances causing the before mentioned irregularity can later be classified using validated frequency analysis methods being applied to the data from the circumferential sensors. While leaving the flow coefficient constant, a continuously changing number of prestall flow disturbances appears to be causing the very spectral signature which is known from investigations on Rotating Instability. Any arising number of disturbances is matching a specific mode order to be found within the spectral signature. While the flow coefficient is reduced the propagation speed of prestall disturbances increases linearly as the speed seems to be independent from the clearance size. Data taken beyond the stalling limit demonstrate a complex superposition of stall cells and flow disturbances which the title “prestall disturbance” therefore doesn’t fit to precisely any more. Different convection speeds allow the phenomena to be clearly distinguished from each other.

The present work is the first of two papers investigating the operation principle of stall warning quantities. It discusses the use and implementation of novel stall warning techniques based on experimental tests. Each of the addressed techniques is based upon integral statistical analysis of time-resolved wall pressures in close proximity to the leading edge of a compressor rotor. The experiments were conducted on a low speed axial compressor test rig at the Chair of Aeroengines at the Technische Universität Berlin. The compressor suffers from a specific type of pre-stall instability. The signature within the frequency spectrum of this semi-stable operating point is in itself unique and was observed by many within the scientific community on numerous occasions and various axial compressor types, both low and high speed. Strong evidence has been elaborated which indicate that each of those so called stall warning indicator’s functionality is based upon the existence of this prestall phenomena. The first of two indicators is time-dependent as it evaluates the as-is state against surrounding operating points during transient manoeuvres. Furthermore, the impact of varying geometrical boundary conditions, which are known to regularly arise in flight operations, were taken into account. The functionality of the indicator is assured if the instrumentation is adjusted accordingly. The second indicator is mainly a location-dependent quantity as it evaluates the pressure signature along the axial direction within the rotor passage at various aerodynamic loadings. The latter also gave rise to some fundamental and preliminary understanding of the physics behind so called prestall disturbances.

The increasing number of wildfires has significant impact on the Earth’s climate system. Furthermore, they cause severe economic damage in many parts of the world. While different land and airborne wildfire detection and observation systems are in use in some areas of the world already, spaceborne systems offer great potential regarding global and continuous observation. TUBIN is a proof-of-concept mission to demonstrate the capabilities of a nanosatellite carrying lightweight infrared microbolometer arrays for spaceborne detection of wildfires and other high-temperature events. To this end, TUBIN carries two infrared microbolometers complemented by a CMOS imager. The TUBIN space segment is based on the TUBiX20 nanosatellite platform of Technische Universitat Berlin and is the first mission that implements the full-scale attitude determination and control system of TUBiX20. Thereby, the TUBIN mission will demonstrate the platform’s ability to support a challenging Earth observation mission.

Aims Both anxiety and depression are common and independent outcome predictors in patients after myocardial infarction (MI). However, it is unclear whether and how anti-depressants influence remodeling after MI. Thus, we studied cardiac remodeling in mice after experimental MI under treatment with citalopram, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor widely used as antidepressant. Methods and results Treatment with citalopram versus saline was applied via osmotic pump after coronary artery ligation. Two different groups were studied: early treatment during the healing phase (starting immediately after surgery), or late treatment in the remodeling phase (starting 7 days after surgery). Late treatment did not change mortality or left ventricular remodeling after MI over the period of 6 weeks. However, in the early treatment group mortality was increased in citalopram-treated mice predominantly due to left ventricle rupture without differences in infarct size. Remodeling 4 weeks after MI was not altered by the treatment. Neither infiltration of inflammatory cells, as determined by FACS analysis of myocardial tissue, nor mRNA-expression of inflammatory cytokines changed 3 days after MI in the early treatment group. However, extracellular matrix functioning was altered: There was a significant increase of MMP13 in citalopram treated animals after MI. Pretreatment with the MMP inhibitor PD 166793 prevented left ventricular ruptures and demonstrated a tendency to improved survival after citalopram treatment. Conclusions Treatment with antidepressant citalopram in the acute but not in the late phase after MI significantly increased mortality in mice by disturbing early healing. Pharmacological MMP inhibition partially reversed the deleterious effects of citalopram.

Background In Germany, medical care of prisoners is completely separated from extramural health care. The extent and quality of medical care among prisoners in Germany are therefore largely unknown. We performed a secondary data analysis of pharmacy sales data for tuberculosis (TB), HIV, hepatitis C (HCV) and opioid substitution treatment (OST) delivered to prisons in 11 federal states (FS) in Germany between 01/2012 and 03/2013. The aims of this study were to assess (i) the treatment availability for the selected diseases and OST in German prisons, (ii) the proportion of prisoners treated per FS and overall for TB, HIV, HCV and OST during the study period. Methods Substances unique to or typically used for the treatment of each disease were defined as marker substances with defined daily doses (DDD). For each marker substance we assessed the cumulative number of DDD, the average daily number of DDD (DDDd) and average treatment prevalence per day in percent (adTP). Accordingly, the DDDd represents one person treated per day and the adTP means the proportion of prisoners treated per day. We compared the adTP of the diseases with previously measured prevalences. Results We obtained data from pharmacies supplying prisons in 11 of 16 German FS. Of the included prisons, 41% were supplied with medicines for TB, 71% for HIV and 58% for HCV and OST. Twice as many delivered marker substances for TB were indicated for the continuation phase and chemoprevention than the intensive phase. The HIV adTP ranged from 0.06% to 0.94%, HCV adTP ranged from 0.03% to 0.59% and OST adTP ranged from 0% to 7.90%. The overall adTP for the respective treatment was 0.39% for HIV, 0.12% for HCV and 2.18% for OST. Conclusions According to our findings treatment rates for TB were consistent with the expected TB prevalence, at least in Berlin. HIV treatment seems to be offered to an adequate proportion of estimated infected prisoners. In contrast, the HCV treatment prevalence was low. High variation among FS in provision of all treatments, particularly of OST, point to inconsistent treatment practices, although nationwide extramural treatment guidelines for Germany exist.

For the design of peptide-based vaccines against the hepatitis C virus it is essential to acquire more information on frequently recognized epitopes in patients with successful immune control of HCV in the context of different HLA types. A matrix approach using 393 15mer peptides from conserved HCV regions overlapping by 13 amino acids was applied in 52 HCV-recovered individuals. Candidate peptides were further tested in two independent laboratories. 38 peptides induced IFN-gamma responses in ELISPOT assays including 15 previously unknown epitopes. There was no particular immune dominance as only five peptides were recognized by more than three individuals. Seven out of 14 peptides tested in more detail could be confirmed to be immunogenic using ELISPOT and cytotoxicity assays. While only 33% of HCV-recovered individuals recognized recombinant HCV proteins, 81% of individuals tested positive in the matrix approach (p0.001). The strength, frequency and breadth of HCV-specific T cell responses were similar in spontaneously recovered patients than in interferon-recovered patients. In conclusion (i) we identified novel HCV epitopes in conserved regions, (ii) confirmed the inter-individual diversity of HCV-specific T cell responses and (iii) found no significant differences in HCV-specific T cell responses between spontaneously recovered and IFN-recovered patients.

Chlamydia pneumoniae infection may play a role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. In this study, an oligonucleotide microarray was utilized to examine the transcriptional response of human aortic smooth muscle cells (AoSMC) to C. pneumoniae infection. Alteration of mRNA expression in 71 out of 780 genes was detected at 24 h after infection. Among the down-regulated genes, platelet-derived growth factor receptor-beta (PDGFR-beta) was identified as a target for further analysis because the PDGF system is involved in the fibroproliferative response of SMC in atherogenesis. Reverse transcriptase PCR analysis demonstrated that C. pneumoniae inhibits the up-regulation of PDGFR-beta mRNA occurring in AoSMC after mock infection. PDGFR-beta protein synthesis was examined by immunoblotting and fluorescence-activated cell sorting. Compared with mock-infected cells, the amount of receptor protein was reduced at 24, 48, and 72 h after infection. Diminished PDGFR-beta synthesis in infected cultures was accompanied by the suppression of AoSMC growth following PDGF-BB stimulation. The interference of C. pneumoniae with PDGFR-beta expression may result in decreased SMC proliferation in atherosclerotic plaques, thereby affecting the development and stability of advanced lesions.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to describe the nature of medical care within the German penal system. German prison services provide health care for all inmates, including psychiatric care. The reached level of equivalence of care and ethical problems and resource limitations are discussed and the way of legislation in this field since 2006 reform on federal law is described.Design/methodology/approachThe article summarizes basic data on German prison health care for mentally ill inmates. The legislation process and factors of influence are pointed out. A description of how psychiatric care is organized in German prisons follows. It focuses on the actual legal situation including European standards of prison health care and prevention of torture, psychiatric care in German prisons themselves, self harm and addiction. Associated problems such as blood born diseases and tuberculosis are included. The interactions between prison staff and health care personal and ethic aspects are discussed.FindingsThe legislation process is still going on and there is still a chance to improve psychiatric care. Mental health problems are the major challenge for prison health care. Factors such as special problems of migrants, shortage of professionals and pure statistic data are considered.Originality/valueThe paper provides a general overview on psychiatric services in prison and names weak points and strengths of the system.

Background: Depression and anxiety are common and independent outcome predictors in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). However, it is unclear whether CHF causes depression. Thus, we investigated whether mice develop anxiety- and depression-like behavior after induction of ischemic CHF by myocardial infarction (MI). Methods and Results: In order to assess depression-like behavior, anhedonia was investigated by repeatedly testing sucrose preference for 8 weeks after coronary artery ligation or sham operation. Mice with large MI and increased left ventricular dimensions on echocardiography (termed CHF mice) showed reduced preference for sucrose, indicating depression-like behavior. 6 weeks after MI, mice were tested for exploratory activity, anxiety-like behavior and cognitive function using the elevated plus maze (EPM), light-dark box (LDB), open field (OF), and object recognition (OR) tests. In the EPM and OF, CHF mice exhibited diminished exploratory behavior and motivation despite similar movement capability. In the OR, CHF mice had reduced preference for novelty and impaired short-term memory. On histology, CHF mice had unaltered overall cerebral morphology. However, analysis of gene expression by RNA-sequencing in prefrontal cortical, hippocampal, and left ventricular tissue revealed changes in genes related to inflammation and cofactors of neuronal signal transduction in CHF mice, with Nr4a1 being dysregulated both in prefrontal cortex and myocardium after MI. Conclusions: After induction of ischemic CHF, mice exhibited anhedonic behavior, decreased exploratory activity and interest in novelty, and cognitive impairment. Thus, ischemic CHF leads to distinct behavioral changes in mice analogous to symptoms observed in humans with CHF and comorbid depression.

The transportation of wet gas fluid in carbon steel pipelines for onshore processing offers an economically attractive strategy. Although a substantial saving in capital cost can be realised, the risks of hydrate formation and corrosion damage are two of the main issues with such an approach. The standard industrial practice is to apply chemical solutions to reduce the risks. A thermodynamic hydrate inhibitor, such as monoethylene glycol (MEG) and corrosion inhibitors are commonly utilized to provide hydrate and corrosion control, respectively. Other production chemicals, such as an oxygen scavenger, may also be deployed as part of the risk management process. Consequently, the main challenge to the corrosion inhibitor is to provide corrosion protection throughout the production and processing facility while subjected to high temperatures in the MEG regeneration process and exposure to other production chemicals. Thermal stability and performance assessments should be an important aspect of the qualification process in the selection of corrosion inhibitors. This paper presents data from laboratory corrosion inhibitor evaluation programs, using thermally stressed MEG/chemicals under simulated wet gas pipeline operating conditions, which resulted in the successful qualification of a corrosion inhibitor for the production facility. In addition, the performance of oxygen scavengers for use in MEG systems is reviewed, including details of an oxygen scavenger that performs in lean MEG.

Chlamydia pneumoniae infection has been associated with asthma and atherosclerosis. Smooth muscle cells represent host cells for chlamydiae during chronic infection. In this study we demonstrated that C. pneumoniae infection of human smooth muscle cells in vitro increased production of interleukin 6 (IL-6) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) as shown by reverse transcription-PCR, immunoblotting, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. In contrast, levels of platelet-derived growth factor A-chain mRNA were not affected after infection. The stimulation of bFGF and IL-6 production was most effective when viable chlamydiae were used as inoculum. Furthermore, inhibition of bacterial protein synthesis with chloramphenicol prevented up-regulation of IL-6 and bFGF in infected cells. Addition of IL-6 antibody to infected cultures diminished bFGF expression, indicating involvement of produced IL-6. These findings suggest that chlamydial infection of smooth muscle cells elicits a cytokine response that may contribute to structural remodeling of the airway wall in chronic asthma and to fibrous plaque formation in atherosclerosis.

Synovial fibroblasts probably represent host cells for Chlamydia trachomatis during initial intra-articular infection in reactive arthritis. In vitro synovial cells produce interferon-beta (IFN-beta) in response to chlamydial infection. IFN-beta expression can be activated by interferon regulatory factor-1 (IRF-1) and interferon-stimulated gene factor 3gamma (ISGF3gamma). In this study, we demonstrate that infection of synovial fibroblasts with C. trachomatis serotype D induced the expression of IRF-1 mRNA as shown by reverse transcription-PCR. Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) stimulation enhanced IRF-1 mRNA levels in infected cells and was required to detect IRF-1 protein by immunoblotting. The level of constitutively expressed IRF-2 was not significantly affected after infection. C. trachomatis was found to cause an up-regulation of ISGF3gamma protein in synovial cells. Induction of the tryptophan-catabolizing enzyme indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) is an important mechanism of the host cell response to control intracellular infection by chlamydiae. It has been described that IRF-1 can induce IDO gene expression. Infection of synovial fibroblasts alone in the absence of exogenous cytokine induced the expression of IDO mRNA which was enhanced by TNF-alpha treatment. The stimulation of IRF-1, ISGF3gamma, and IDO expression was most effective when viable chlamydiae were used as inoculum. Neutralization of IFN-beta in the culture medium of infected cells diminished but did not abrogate expression of IRF-1, ISGF3gamma, and IDO. The increased production of IRF-1 and ISGF3gamma in C. trachomatis-infected synovial fibroblasts may contribute to induction of IFN-beta and IDO.

Objective : the correlation between human papillomavirus (HPV) and Chlamydia trachomatis infections was evaluated in 144 patients with normal cytology or with atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASCUS). Methods : cervical samples were analysed using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and non-radioactive Southern blot analysis. Specificity and sensitivity of two C. trachomatis PCR systems: major outer membrane protein (MOMP)-PCR and plasmid-PCR were determined. Southern blot hybridization of the PCR amplicons was done using 5′ and 3′ biotinylated oligonucleotide probes. Results : all cervical samples were tested by the plasmid-PCR due to a 10 times higher sensitivity compared to the MOMP-PCR. To determine the specificity of our C. trachomatis primer sets different bacteria and viruses which can cause urogenital infections were analysed. Comparison of the probes revealed an increased sensitivity of the 5′ and 3′ double-biotinylated probe vs. the 5′ biotinylated probe. The infection rate of C. trachomatis in cervical samples of HPV-positive patients was 10.3% (three out of 29) vs. 1.7% (two out of 115; P ⩽ 0.05) in HPV-negative patients. In patients HPV-X (unsequenced HPV-types) positive the rate was 14.3% (one out of seven) vs. 2.9% (four out of 137; P = 0.2) in HPV-X negative patients. In high risk (HR) HPV-positive cervical samples the infection rate was 9.1% (two out of 22) vs. 2.5% (three out of 122; P = 0.14) in HR HPV-negative samples. Chlamydia trachomatis frequency of patients with cytological changes (ASCUS) was 27.3% (three out of 11) vs. 1.5% (two out of 133) in patients with normal cytology ( P = 0.003). The highest prevalence rate of C. trachomatis -positive cervical samples (50%; one out of two) was found in HR HPV-positive patients with cytological changes (ASCUS) vs. 5% (one out of 20) in HR HPV-positive patients with normal cytology ( P = 0.17). Patients negative for HPV and positive for ASCUS have a C. trachomatis rate of 22.2% (two out of nine) vs. HPV-negative patients with normal cytology (none out of 106; P = 0.006) and vs. HR HPV-negative patients with normal cytology (0.9%; one out of 113; P = 0.014). Conclusions : there appears to be a correlation between cervical HPV and cervical C. trachomatis infections. The prevalence rate of C. trachomatis was significantly higher in patients with abnormal cytology (ASCUS) vs. normal cytology.

Infection of fibroblast-like synovial cells with Chlamydia trachomatis (serotype D strain IC Cal 8) in culture induced the secretion of beta interferon (IFN-β). Chlamydial infection inhibited IFN-γ-induced expression of HLA-DR antigen in the cells. Addition of IFN-β antibody directly to infected cultures mitigated HLA-DR inhibition, suggesting involvement of produced IFN-β.

BACKGROUND: Treatment of septic shock relies on appropriate antimicrobial therapy. Current culture based methods deliver final results after days, which may delay potentially lifesaving adjustments in antimicrobial therapy. This study was undertaken to compare PCR with blood culture results under routine conditions regarding 1. impact on antimicrobial therapy, and 2. time to result, in patients with presumed sepsis. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: This was an observational study in a 50 beds ICU of a university hospital. In 245 patients with suspected sepsis, 311 concomitant blood cultures and blood for multiplex PCR (VYOO(®)) were obtained. 45 of 311 blood cultures (14.5%) and 94 of 311 PCRs (30.1%) were positive. However, blood culture or microbiological sampling from the presumed site of infection rarely confirmed PCR results and vice versa. Median time to positivity and interquartile range were 24.2 (18.0, 27.5) hours for the PCR and 68 (52.2, 88.5) hours for BC (p

Objective: Anxiety and depression are common and independently predict mortality in patients with heart failure. The mechanisms of these interrelations are still unclear. Consequently, we developed a model in C57BL/6 mice with experimental myocardial infarction (MI) and heart failure to study anxiety- or depression-like behavior. Methods: Heart failure was achieved after coronary artery ligation in 13 mice; 16 sham operated mice acted as controls. Left ventricular (LV) remodeling was assessed by echocardiography, infarct size by histology. Sucrose preference test was performed over a period of 8 weeks to assess depression-like behavior. The elevated plus maze (EPM), the light-dark box (LDB) and the open field (OF) tests were subsequently applied to determine general disinterest and anxiety-like behavior. Finally, the histological and immunohistochemical evaluation of the brain was performed. Results: Mice with MI size of at least 30% of LV (averaged 50±3%; increase in diastolic LV diameter from 0.40±0.02 cm to 0.62±0.03 cm) showed diminished intake (p=0.029) and preference (p=0.029) for sucrose solution. Besides, MI mice exhibited reduced exploratory behavior and markedly lower interest in unfamiliar environments, indicated by an increase in center time (p=0.016) and a reduced number of vertical rears (p=0.037) in the EPM. An increased latency to the first rear (p=0.018), covered shorter distances (p=0.048) and spent less time moving (p=0.028) in the OF were found in MI mice. MI did not affect anxiety-related measures in all three tests (all p>0.05). MI mice showed normal brain morphology with normal neuronal morphology and neuropil structure, also confirmed by normal expression of selected neuronal markers. Markers for neurodegeneration, apoptosis or inflammation showed no abnormalities in MI mice. Conclusions: Mice with MI exhibited anhedonia-like behavior, which was accompanied by other characteristics of depression-like behavior, such as decreased exploratory activity and interest in novelty. Hence, MI caused distinct behavioral changes in mice comparable to symptoms observed in humans with heart failure and comorbid depression, but did not affect anxiety-like behavior. The model is suitable for further mechanistic studies.

Since 1992, the City of Columbus Division of Sewerage and Drainage (DOSD) has conducted detailed investigations of its infrastructure to identify, mitigate and…

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection may be involved in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis by modulating functions of smooth muscle cells (SMC). In this study, we performed an oligonucleotide microarray screening of 780 inflammation-associated genes in HCMV-infected aortic SMC (AoSMC). The expression of 31 genes was stimulated and 24 genes were down-regulated following infection with HCMV strain DC-134. Following infection with HCMV strain AD-169 infection, we found 24 genes to be stimulated and 32 genes to be down-regulated. Among these were primarily genes encoding for CC and CXC chemokines, adhesion molecules, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptor superfamily members, apoptosis-related factors, signal transduction molecules and transcription regulators. The up-regulated genes included matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-1 and MMP-3 in HCMV infected cells. Using RT-PCR and enzyme immunoassay we found stimulated expression of MMP-1 (3.2-fold expression) and MMP-3 (334-fold expression) in HCMV strain DC-134-infected AoSMC at 72 h following infection.The findings of our study suggest that HCMV infection of AoSMC cause an activation of atherosclerosis-relevant factors in SMC. The increased expression of MMPs which have been shown to be involved in atherosclerotic plaque rupture and myocardial infarction is in agreement with the hypothesis that this pathogen might contribute to plaque inflammation in atherosclerotic disease.

PCR assays designed for the diagnosis of invasive aspergillosis (IA) in high-risk patients have to detect minute amounts of target DNA to reach sufficient analytical sensitivity to be of clinical use. This prospective study assessed the use of a novel strategy for selective pathogen DNA enrichment for enhancing the performance of diagnostic PCR in a direct comparison with a highly sensitive in-house quantitative PCR (qPCR) assay and the galactomannan enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Surprisingly, and in contrast to experience with other patient groups, the novel protocol for selective pathogen DNA enrichment did not enhance but instead significantly impaired sensitivity. This could be explained by the small amounts of host DNA in the specimens, which were derived mostly from severely neutropenic patients. In the qPCR assay, positive samples required an average of 43.5 amplification cycles (range, 39.2 to 50) for detection in the in-house PCR. Repetitive testing of selected samples showed test positivity to be variable, most likely due to the small amounts of target DNA. Despite this, the in-house protocol proved helpful in the diagnosis of IA, detecting 2 out of 3 patients with probable IA and 10 out of 19 patients with possible IA. Our results underline the necessity for diagnostic PCR protocols that help diagnose IA to be highly sensitive and show that selective pathogen DNA enrichment using affinity purification may not be useful in severely neutropenic patients.

Sepsis is a life-threatening disease that results from excessive host responses to microbial infections. Fungal pathogens mainly contribute to lethal outcomes and high treatment budgets. Numerous trials revealed that the mortality rates of septic patients could be reduced if appropriate anti-infective approaches are promptly initiated. This demands a forthwith identification of the causative pathogen(s) and antibiotic resistances. However, standard procedures (e.g., blood cultures) deliver first results after 2–3 days. Facing the time-to-result for cultural pathogen detection, culture independent nucleic acid amplification techniques (NAT) are increasingly desirable to deliver a reliable basis for a targeted antibiotic regimen within the first decisive hours of the disease.

Background: Even though bacterial cultures of ascitic fluid are negative in up to 65% of the cases of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP); bacterial DNA (bactDNA) has been frequently detected in episodes of SBP as well as in culture-negative non-neutrocytic ascites. Aims: To evaluate multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for pathogen identification in SBP and to determine the prevalence of ascitic bactDNA and its prognostic relevance in hospitalized patients with liver cirrhosis. Methods: Ascitic fluid from 68 consecutive patients who underwent diagnostic paracentesis was analysed for polymorphonuclear leucocyte (PMN) count, bacterial culture and bactDNA. BactDNA was identified by gel analysis after multiplex PCR of selectively enriched prokaryotic nucleic acids. Correlations of bactDNA status with PMN count, bacterial culture result and 3-month mortality were determined for neutrocytic and for non-neutrocytic ascites. Results: 11/68 patients presented with an elevated ascitic PMN count. BactDNA was detected in 5/5 culture-positive neutrocytic samples, in 1/6 culture-negative neutrocytic samples and in 8/56 culture-negative non-neutrocytic samples. Three-month mortality did not differ with respect to ascitic bactDNA status (7/14 vs. 14/47, P=0.162). 3-month mortality was increased in the presence of ascitic bactDNA for patients older than 65 years (4/5 vs. 4/14, P=0.046) and for patients with a model for end-stage liver disease score >15 (7/10 vs. 9/30, P=0.025). Conclusions: Identification of ascitic bactDNA is an appropriate alternative to bacterial ascite culture for pathogen identification in patients at risk for SBP. Its prognostic relevance as a proposed marker of bacterial translocation for certain risk groups has to be further evaluated.

A trunk of human cytidylate-phosphate-deoxyguanylate-binding protein/CXXC finger protein 1 (CFP1), immobilized onto an aminohexyl-Sepharose column, can be used as a preanalytical tool for the selective enrichment of bacterial DNA from mixed solutions with high amounts of human background DNA for nucleic acid amplification technique-based detection of pathogens. The transcriptional activator protein exhibits a high affinity for nonmethylated CpG dinucleotide motifs, which are differentially distributed in prokaryotic and higher eukaryotic genomes. The feasibility of the affinity chromatography (AC) step was tested with DNA from severely septic patients. AC using 16S rRNA gene primers substantially increased PCR sensitivity. Approximately 90% of eukaryotic DNA was removed, which significantly increased the signal-to-noise ratio. Threshold cycle values revealed that sensitivity was elevated at least 10-fold. The change in the ratio of bacterial DNA to human DNA increased from 26% to 74% the likelihood of culture-independent PCR-based identification of bacterial presence. Compared to the results seen with blood culture (which is the clinical gold standard for systemic infections, exhibiting 28% positives), the combination of AC and PCR achieves a significant increase in sensitivity and contributes to shortening the time to results for the initiation of guided antibiotic therapy.

The last few decades have seen a major increase in the prevalence of juvenile obesity. Inpatient treatment programs are used mainly in children with severe obesity and related comorbidities. The aim of this study was to evaluate the gender differences of an 8-week multidisciplinary inpatient program on body weight, body composition, aerobic fitness, and quality of life of severely obese children and adolescents.Body weight was measured daily, and body composition, aerobic fitness, and quality of life were measured at the beginning and the end of an 8-week multidisciplinary inpatient program in 130 severely obese patients (52 girls, 78 boys), median (25th, 75th percentile) age of 13.8 (12.1, 15.0) years, median body weight of 89.4 kg (77.1, 100.1), and a body mass index of 33.4 (30.1, 36.6) kg/m(2), which is well above the 98th percentile. The inpatient program was based on a multidisciplinary treatment and education program that focused on daily physical activity, a 1200-1600 kcal/day balanced nutrition regimen, and a behavior modification therapy.All results are expressed as medians (25th, 75th percentiles). At the end of the program all patients had lost a significant amount of body weight: 12.7 kg (10.8, 16.6), p.001, girls 11.6 kg (9.7, 13.2), boys 13.7 kg (11.7, 17.3), p.001, absolute body fat 8.0 kg (6.8, 10.0) p001, girls 7.0 kg (5.7, 8.1), boys 9.4 kg (7.6, 11.0) p.001, % body fat per kg body weight: 4.9% (3.2, 6.6) p.001, girls 3.7% (2.7, 4.9), boys 5.7% (4.0, 7.5) p.001, and absolute fat free (or lean body) mass: 1.8 kg (0.64, 3.0) p.001, girls 1.8 kg (0.87, 3.2), boys 1.7 kg (0.50, 2.9) p = .43. In addition, all measurements of aerobic fitness: VO(2)peak (mL/min.kg) and peak mechanical power (watts and watt/kg) and of quality of life increased significantly (p.001, p.001, p.004 to p.001).A multidisciplinary inpatient treatment program including moderate calorie restriction, daily physical activity, and behavior modification induced a major weight loss, a decrease in body fat, and an increse in aerobic fitness as well as the quality fo life of severely obese children and adolescents. Weight loss and the decrease in body fat (absolute and percent) were significantly more pronounced in boys than girls.