The authors studied eight cases of Behcet's disease, all of which were characterized by different degrees of phlebitis disorders. They also reviewed the anatomical and clinical features of a similar type, reported in the published literature. They stress the frequency and severity of changes in the veins in the localization of the various symptomatic lesions of the affection. From these results, they conclude that the primary lesion in this disease could be a phenomenon of vascularity of mainly venous-"tropism" which would explain the proteiform clinical features of Behcet's aphthosis.
The identification of the most competent embryos for transfer to the uterus constitutes the main challenge of in vitro fertilization (IVF). We established a metabolomic-based approach by applying Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy on 130 samples of 3-day embryo culture supernatants from 26 embryos that implanted and 104 embryos that failed. On examining the internal structure of the data by unsupervised multivariate analysis, we found that the supernatant spectra of nonimplanted embryos constituted a highly heterogeneous group. Whereas ∼40% of these supernatants were spectroscopically indistinguishable from those of successfully implanted embryos, ∼60% exhibited diverse, heterogeneous metabolic fingerprints. This observation proved to be the direct result of pregnancy's multifactorial nature, involving both intrinsic embryonic traits and external characteristics. Our data analysis strategy thus involved one-class modelling techniques employing soft independent modelling of class analogy that identified deviant fingerprints as unsuitable for implantation. From these findings, we could develop a noninvasive Fourier-transform-infrared-spectroscopy-based approach that represents a shift in the fundamental paradigm for data modelling applied in assisted-fertilization technologies.
Abstract In der Praxis tätige geotechnisch Planende kommen in zunehmendem Maße mit dynamischen Fragestellungen in Berührung. Hersteller von geotechnischer Berechnungssoftware haben entsprechend ihre ursprünglich für statische Aufgabenstellungen konzipierten Produkte um die Möglichkeit zur Lösung von Wellenausbreitungsproblemen im Baugrund erweitert. Den Anwendern fehlt aber häufig die notwendige Erfahrung zur Durchführung dieser Art von numerischen Berechnungen. Die Arbeitskreise 1.4 „Baugrunddynamik“ und 1.6 „Numerik in der Geotechnik“ der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Geotechnik (DGGT) haben diese Entwicklung aufgegriffen und einen gemeinsamen Unterarbeitskreis „Numerik in der Baugrunddynamik“ gegründet. Der vorliegende Beitrag stellt die aktuellen Ergebnisse der Arbeit des Unterarbeitskreises vor und fasst die gewonnenen Erkenntnisse in Form von Empfehlungen zusammen.
ABSTRACT Several actinomycetes isolated from nature were able to use both natural rubber (NR) and synthetic cis -1,4-polyisoprene rubber (IR) as a sole source of carbon. According to their degradation behavior, they were divided into two groups. Representatives of the first group grew only in direct contact to the rubber substrate and led to considerable disintegration of the material during cultivation. The second group consisted of weaker rubber decomposers that did not grow adhesively, as indicated by the formation of clear zones (translucent halos) around bacterial colonies after cultivation on NR dispersed in mineral agar. Taxonomic analysis of four selected strains based on 16S rRNA similarity examinations revealed two Gordonia sp. strains, VH2 and Kb2, and one Mycobacterium fortuitum strain, NF4, belonging to the first group as well as one Micromonospora aurantiaca strain, W2b, belonging to the second group. Schiff's reagent staining tests performed for each of the strains indicated colonization of the rubber surface, formation of a bacterial biofilm, and occurrence of compounds containing aldehyde groups during cultivation with NR latex gloves. Detailed analysis by means of scanning electron microscopy yielded further evidence for the two different microbial strategies and clarified the colonization efficiency. Thereby, strains VH2, Kb2, and NF4 directly adhered to and merged into the rubber material, while strain W2b produced mycelial corridors, especially on the surface of IR. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy comprising the attenuated total reflectance technique was applied on NR latex gloves overgrown by cells of the Gordonia strains, which were the strongest rubber decomposers. Spectra demonstrated the decrease in number of cis -1,4 double bonds, the formation of carbonyl groups, and the change of the overall chemical environment, indicating that an oxidative attack at the double bond is the first metabolic step of the biodegradation process.