Systemic PaO2 oscillations cause mild brain injury in a pig model

2016

OBJECTIVE: Systemic PaO2 oscillations occur during cyclic recruitment and derecruitment of atelectasis in acute respiratory failure and might harm brain tissue integrity. DESIGN: Controlled animal study. SETTING: University research laboratory. SUBJECTS: Adult anesthetized pigs. INTERVENTIONS: Pigs were randomized to a control group (anesthesia and extracorporeal circulation for 20 hr with constant PaO2, n = 10) or an oscillation group (anesthesia and extracorporeal circulation for 20 hr with artificial PaO2 oscillations [3 cycles min⁻¹], n = 10). Five additional animals served as native group (n = 5). MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Outcome following exposure to artificial PaO2 oscillations…

External polytetrafluoroethylene reinforcement of varicose autologous vein grafts in peripheral bypass surgery produces durable bypass function

2017

Abstract Objective Use of autologous veins as peripheral bypass graft may become critical in the presence of significant varicose degeneration of the harvested vein. External support of such dilated veins with standard polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) prostheses was recommended as an option to use these veins for peripheral bypass. A single-center experience with this technique regarding long-term graft function, secondary reinterventions, and potential graft degeneration is presented. Methods Between January 1995 and January 2006, there were 54 patients with varicose veins who underwent 57 consecutive infrainguinal vein bypass operations with PTFE reinforcement in 57 limbs. Indications for s…

In vitro effect of leptin on human cardiac contractility

2019

AbstractLeptin, a hormone produced by adipose tissue, has been linked to many regulatory pathways. Its role in the complex relationship between obesity and CVD is not yet clear. The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether leptin interferes directly with cardiac function regulation, altering its contractile force character, and hence contributing to different pathological processes. Muscle samples were obtained from human atrial myocardium. Each trial included two samples from the same patient. They were simultaneously electrically stimulated under sustained perfusion to perform isometric contractions. One sample was treated with a high concentration of human recombinant leptin (1 µ…

Identification of Potential Distinguishing Markers for the Use of Cannabis-Based Medicines or Street Cannabis in Serum Samples

2021

Increasing prescription numbers of cannabis-based medicines raise the question of whether uptake of these medicines can be distinguished from recreational cannabis use. In this pilot study, serum cannabinoid profiles after use of cannabis-based medicines were investigated, in order to identify potential distinguishing markers. Serum samples after use of Sativex®, Dronabinol or medical cannabis were collected and analyzed for 18 different cannabinoids, using a validated liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method. Analytes included delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, 11-hydroxy-tetrahydrocannabinol, 11-nor-9-carboxy-tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiol, cannabinol, cannabigerol, …

Spontaneous and Radiation-Induced Chromosome Aberrations in Primary Fibroblasts of Patients With Pediatric First and Second Neoplasms

2020

Frontiers in oncology 10, 1338 (2020). doi:10.3389/fonc.2020.01338

Access to an online video enhances the consent process, increases knowledge, and decreases anxiety of caregivers with children scheduled for inguinal…

2019

Abstract Background There is limited time within the clinical workflow of most pediatric surgeons to obtain a comprehensive, well informed consent. This study evaluates whether ad-lib access to an online video on the consent dialogue enhances the consent process for inguinal hernia repair (IHR) in children. Methods The study was approved by the state ethics board. A 6-min video of a consent speech on IHR was produced and uploaded to a nonpublic online channel, explaining the condition, procedure, complications, and postoperative expectations. A total of 50 families were randomized to conventional, face-to-face consenting in clinic either with (intervention) or without (control) access to th…

Virtual reality and 3D printing improve preoperative visualization of 3D liver reconstructions-results from a preclinical comparison of presentation …

2021

BACKGROUND: Preoperative three-dimensional (3D) reconstructions for liver surgery planning have been shown to be effective in reduction of blood loss and operation time. However, the role of the ‘presentation modality’ is not well investigated. We present the first study to compare 3D PDFs, 3D printed models (PR) and virtual reality (VR) 3D models with regard to anatomical orientation and personal preferences in a high volume liver surgery center. METHODS: Thirty participants, 10 medical students, 10 residents, 5 fellows and 5 hepatopancreatobiliary (HPB) experts, assigned the tumor-bearing segments of 20 different patient’s individual liver reconstructions. Liver models were presented in a…

The timeout procedure in pediatric surgery - effective tool or lip service? A randomized prospective observational study

2020

ABSTRACTBackgroundFor over a decade, the preoperative timeout procedure has been implemented in most pediatric surgery units. In our hospital, a standardized team-timeout is performed before every operation. However, the impact of this intervention has not been systematically studied.PurposeThis study evaluates whether purposefully-introduced errors during the timeout routine are picked up by the operating team members.MethodsAfter ethics board approval and informed consent, deliberate errors were randomly and clandestinely introduced into the timeout routine for elective surgical procedures by a pediatric surgery attending. Errors were randomly selected among wrong name, site, side, allerg…

Comparison of time and dose dependent gene expression and affected pathways in primary human fibroblasts after exposure to ionizing radiation

2020

Abstract Background Exposure to ionizing radiation induces complex stress responses in cells, which can lead to adverse health effects such as cancer. Although a variety of studies investigated gene expression and affected pathways in human fibroblasts after exposure to ionizing radiation, the understanding of underlying mechanisms and biological effects is still incomplete due to different experimental settings and small sample sizes. Therefore, this study aims to identify the time point with the highest number of differentially expressed genes and corresponding pathways in primary human fibroblasts after irradiation at two preselected time points. Methods Fibroblasts from skin biopsies of…

3D-Druck, Virtual Reality oder regulärer Monitor? Vergleich unterschiedlicher Darstellungsmöglichkeiten dreidimensionaler Leberrekonstruktionen

2021

Timeout procedure in paediatric surgery: effective tool or lip service? A randomised prospective observational study.

2021

BackgroundFor over a decade, the preoperative timeout procedure has been implemented in most paediatric surgery units. However, the impact of this intervention has not been systematically studied. This study evaluates whether purposefully introduced errors during the timeout routine are detected and reported by the operating team members.MethodsAfter ethics board approval and informed consent, deliberate errors were randomly and clandestinely introduced into the timeout routine for elective surgical procedures by a paediatric surgery attending. Errors were randomly selected among wrong name, site, side, allergy, intervention, birthdate and gender items. The main outcome measure was how freq…

Multivariate analysis on complications of central venous access devices in children with cancer and severe disease influenced by catheter tip positio…

2019

Abstract Context Reliable long-term central venous access device (CVAD) is essential for the management of pediatric patients with cancer or chronic diseases. However, there is no general consensus for optimal catheter tip location and vessel insertion site in children. Objective This single center study analyzes the risk of complications associated with long-term upper body CVAD and evaluates them with respect to catheter tip location as well as vessel insertion site. Design Pediatric patients who received long-term upper body CVAD from January 2008 through April 2017 and underwent radiographic documentation of the tip location were retrospectively included in the study. Data on demographi…

Genome-wide association meta-analysis for early age-related macular degeneration highlights novel loci and insights for advanced disease

2020

Abstract Background Advanced age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a leading cause of blindness. While around half of the genetic contribution to advanced AMD has been uncovered, little is known about the genetic architecture of early AMD. Methods To identify genetic factors for early AMD, we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) meta-analysis (14,034 cases, 91,214 controls, 11 sources of data including the International AMD Genomics Consortium, IAMDGC, and UK Biobank, UKBB). We ascertained early AMD via color fundus photographs by manual grading for 10 sources and via an automated machine learning approach for > 170,000 photographs from UKBB. We searched for early AMD loc…

Feasibility of sample size calculation for RNA-seq studies

2017

Sample size calculation is a crucial step in study design but is not yet fully established for RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) analyses. To evaluate feasibility and provide guidance, we evaluated RNA-seq sample size tools identified from a systematic search. The focus was on whether real pilot data would be needed for reliable results and on identifying tools that would perform well in scenarios with different levels of biological heterogeneity and fold changes (FCs) between conditions. We used simulations based on real data for tool evaluation. In all settings, the six evaluated tools provided widely different answers, which were strongly affected by FC. Although all tools failed for small FCs, s…

Epigenetic modifications precede molecular alterations and drive human hepatocarcinogenesis

2021

Development of primary liver cancer is a multistage process. Detailed understanding of sequential epigenetic alterations is largely missing. Here, we performed Infinium Human Methylation 450k BeadChips and RNA-Seq analyses for genome-wide methylome and transcriptome profiling of cirrhotic liver (n = 7), low- (n = 4) and high-grade (n = 9) dysplastic lesions, and early (n = 5) and progressed (n = 3) hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC) synchronously detected in 8 patients with HCC with chronic hepatitis B infection. Integrative analyses of epigenetically driven molecular changes were identified and validated in 2 independent cohorts comprising 887 HCCs. Mitochondrial DNA sequencing was further em…

Real-world EUROCRINE® registry data challenge the reliability of Bethesda cytopathology for thyroid surgery indication

2021

Abstract Objectives Fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is recommended by international guidelines for the preoperative evaluation of suspicious thyroid nodules >1 cm. Despite robust evidence from endocrine centers demonstrating the key role of FNAC results for the indication of surgery, the method is not routinely used in European clinics. The database EUROCRINE®, which was introduced in 2015 with the scope of registering operations of the endocrine system, allows for a large-scale analysis of the current service reality in Europe concerning FNAC use and associated accuracy. Methods Operations performed to “exclude malignancy”, registered from January 2015 to December 2018 in EUROCRI…

Contemporary results with the biosynthetic glutaraldehyde denatured ovine collagen graft (Omniflow II) in femoropopliteal position

2020

Abstract Objective The objective of this study was to analyze the outcome of a contemporary series of femoropopliteal bypass operations with the glutaraldehyde denatured polyester mesh-reinforced ovine collagen prosthesis (OCP; Omniflow II [LeMaitre Vascular, Inc, Burlington, Mass]). The experience of two tertiary centers regarding long-term graft function, secondary reinterventions, and biodegeneration of the OCP prosthesis is presented. Methods Between January 2006 and January 2014, a series of 205 consecutive operations with the OCP in the femoropopliteal position (54 above knee and 151 below knee) were performed in 194 patients in 202 limbs for disabling claudication (72), chronic criti…

How to Predict the Suitability for Corneal Donorship?

2021

Background: In Germany, more than one-third of donor corneas harvested are not suitable for transplantation. We evaluated the factors associated with the usability of donor corneas. Method: Data from 2032 consecutive donor corneas harvested at the Rhineland-Palatinate Eye Bank in Mainz, Germany, were retrospectively analyzed. Factors of interest were age, sex, lens status, cause of death, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), death-to-explantation-interval (DEI), and the influence of these factors on the proportion of discarded donor corneas. Factors associated with endothelial cell density (ECD) were analyzed in a linear regression mixed model. Results: Higher donor age, male gender, pseudo…

Intrathecal B-cell accumulation and axonal damage distinguish MRI-based benign from aggressive onset in MS.

2019

ObjectiveWe explored the incremental value of adding multiple disease activity biomarkers in CSF and serum for distinguishing MRI-based benign from aggressive MS in early disease course.MethodsNinety-three patients diagnosed with clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) or early MS were divided into 3 nonoverlapping severity groups defined by objective MRI criteria. Ninety-seven patients with noninflammatory neurologic disorders and 48 patients with other inflammatory neurologic diseases served as controls. Leukocyte subsets in the CSF were analyzed by flow cytometry. CSF neurofilament light chain (NfL) and chitinase-3-like protein 1 (CHI3L1) levels were measured by ELISA. Serum NfL levels were e…

A large cross-ancestry meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies identifies 69 novel risk loci for primary open-angle glaucoma and includes a …

2020

AbstractWe conducted a large multi-ethnic meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies for primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) on a total of 34,179 cases vs 349,321 controls, and identified 127 independent risk loci, almost doubling the number of known loci for POAG. The majority of loci have broadly consistent effect across European, Asian and African ancestries. We identify a link, both genome-wide and at specific loci, between POAG and Alzheimer’s disease. Gene expression data and bioinformatic functional analyses provide further support for the functional relevance of the POAG risk genes. Several drug compounds target these risk genes and may be potential candidates for developing no…

Führt ein potentiell überbewertetes Malignitätsrisiko bei Schilddrüsenerkrankungen von Kindern und jungen Erwachsenen zu einer erhöhten postoperative…

2019

Additional file 9 of Comparison of time and dose dependent gene expression and affected pathways in primary human fibroblasts after exposure to ioniz…

2020

Additional file 9: Web Table 1B. Differentially expressed genes 4 h after exposure to low dose ionizing radiation (0.05 Gray).

Additional file 10 of Comparison of time and dose dependent gene expression and affected pathways in primary human fibroblasts after exposure to ioni…

2020

Additional file 10: Web Table 1C. Differentially expressed genes 2 h after exposure to high dose ionizing radiation (2 Gray).

Additional file 8 of Comparison of time and dose dependent gene expression and affected pathways in primary human fibroblasts after exposure to ioniz…

2020

Additional file 8: Web Table 1A. Differentially expressed genes 2 h after exposure to low dose ionizing radiation (0.05 Gray).

Additional file 2 of Comparison of time and dose dependent gene expression and affected pathways in primary human fibroblasts after exposure to ioniz…

2020

Additional file 2: Web Figure 7. Shared pathways from low and high dose ionizing radiation experiments. Gy = Gray. Web Figure 8. Pathways only affected in high dose ionizing radiation experiments. Gy = Gray.

Additional file 3 of Comparison of time and dose dependent gene expression and affected pathways in primary human fibroblasts after exposure to ioniz…

2020

Additional file 3: Web Figure 9. Predicted downsteam diseases and functions. Web Figure 10. Predicted upstream regulators. LDIR = Low dose of ionizing radiation (0.05 Gray), HDIR = High dose of ionizing radiation (2 Gray).

Additional file 1 of Comparison of time and dose dependent gene expression and affected pathways in primary human fibroblasts after exposure to ioniz…

2020

Additional file 1: Web Figure 1. Representative measurements of the cell cycle distribution of HOECHST33258-stained fibroblasts by flow cytometry during (A) log-phase growth or (B) after G0/1 synchronization over 14 days for radiation experiments. Web Figure 2. Total number of differentially expressed genes in human fibroblasts from cancer free-controls at 0.25 h, 2 h and 24 h after exposure to low (0.05 Gray (Gy)) or high dose (2Gy) of X-rays compared to unirradiated fibroblasts (N = 3). Web Figure 3. Correlation of RNA quality metrics (RIN, Qbit RNA-concentration), expression variation (PC1–3) and number of aligned reads (aligned reads, aligned reads normalized) for all experiments. The c…

Additional file 3 of Genome-wide association meta-analysis for early age-related macular degeneration highlights novel loci and insights for advanced…

2020

Additional file 3: Supplementary Figures.

Additional file 5 of Comparison of time and dose dependent gene expression and affected pathways in primary human fibroblasts after exposure to ioniz…

2020

Additional file 5: Web Figure 12. Comparison of predicted downstream diseases and functions in different data sets.

Additional file 6 of Comparison of time and dose dependent gene expression and affected pathways in primary human fibroblasts after exposure to ioniz…

2020

Additional file 6: Web Figure 13. Comparison of predicted upstream regulators in different data sets.

Additional file 2 of Genome-wide association meta-analysis for early age-related macular degeneration highlights novel loci and insights for advanced…

2020

Additional file 2: Supplementary Note.

Additional file 7 of Comparison of time and dose dependent gene expression and affected pathways in primary human fibroblasts after exposure to ioniz…

2020

Additional file 7: Gene expression in the "Not a Number" pathways (blue = downregulation, red = upregulation). Web Figure 14. Base excision repair (BER) system. Web Fig. 15. Molecular mechanisms of cancer. Web Fig. 16. Assembly of RNA polymerase III complex. Web Fig. 17. DNA double-strand break repair by homologous recombination. Web Fig. 18. Interleukin 4 (IL-4) signaling. Web Fig. 19. Interleukin 17 (IL-17) signaling. Web Fig. 20. Interleukin 17A (IL-17A) signaling in fibroblasts. Web Fig. 21. Mitochondrial dysfunction. Web Fig. 22. Myc mediated apoptosis signaling. Web Fig. 23.Nucleotide excision repair. Web Fig. 24. Protein ubiquitination. Web Fig. 25. Retinoic acid receptor (RAR) activ…

Additional file 4 of Comparison of time and dose dependent gene expression and affected pathways in primary human fibroblasts after exposure to ioniz…

2020

Additional file 4: Web Figure 11. Comparison of affected pathways in different data sets.

Additional file 11 of Comparison of time and dose dependent gene expression and affected pathways in primary human fibroblasts after exposure to ioni…

2020

Additional file 11: Web Table 1D. Differentially expressed genes 4 h after exposure to high dose ionizing radiation (2 Gray).

Additional file 12 of Comparison of time and dose dependent gene expression and affected pathways in primary human fibroblasts after exposure to ioni…

2020

Additional file 12: Web Table 2. Differential expression activity in cellular pathways and involved molecules

Additional file 13 of Comparison of time and dose dependent gene expression and affected pathways in primary human fibroblasts after exposure to ioni…

2020

Additional file 13: Supplement file 1. Settings for comparison analyses in IPA.

Additional file 1 of Genome-wide association meta-analysis for early age-related macular degeneration highlights novel loci and insights for advanced…

2020

Additional file 1: Supplementary Tables.