Perspektiven der Plasmamedizin

Prospects of plasma medicine: Applications of Tissue Tolerable Plasmas (TTP) Based on the current knowledge on the physical properties and biological effects of tissue tolerable plasma (ttp) potential perspectives of plasma medicine are discussed. Currently, the foundations for the following medical applications of ttp are developed by an interdisciplinary research team: Prevention and/or treatment of diseases such as chronic wounds, skin and mucosal infectious diseases, localized tumors, promotion of angiogenesis, and tissue ablation Inhibition and/or elimination of biofilms by prevention of biofilm development due to surface treatment and/or plasma steered application of antimicrobial active layers with drug delivery function on foreign objects implanted into humans (implantable prosthesis, contact lenses, stents etc.) as well as elimination of biofilms by direct action of ttp on surfaces and tissues (chronic wounds, tooth surface, prosthesis) promotion of the incorporation of implants into viable tissue by changing the surface of materials (hydrophobicity) Promotion of penetration of topically applied drugs with therapeutic results Assessment of veterinary indications Improved cleaning performance in reprocessing of medical devices by surface modification.     

Manufacturer-independent mechatronic information model for control systems

Modular system-based engineering is the key to a quick, customized machine and plant configuration. This approach is seen as the best method to implement different functional requirements with a minimum amount of resources. The interdisciplinary configuration of control systems to automate machines has previously not been supported by engineering tools. This is partially due to the lack of standardized mechatronic information models. The machine manufacturer is required to create the necessary mechatronic information models uniquely for each control system independently. Thus, he does not comply with any modeling specifications. As a result, the mechatronic information models are not applicable for other control system architectures. The conventionally used mechatronic information models as well as the manufacturer-specific engineering tools define the control hardware components and their configurations. An abstraction of the logical and functional layers does not take place. Consequently, a mechatronic control architecture model is required. This architecture can serve as a modeling basis in modular system-based interdisciplinary engineering tools. Therefore, an approach to a manufacturer independent, mechatronic information model for control systems is the subject of this article.     

MR safety: simultaneous B 0, d��/dt, and dB/dt measurements on MR-workers up to 7 T

Object

The EU directive on safety requirements (2004/40/EC) limits the exposure to time varying magnetic fields to dB /dt = 200 mT/s. This action value is not clearly defined as it considers only the temporal change of the magnitude of ${\vec {B}}$ . Thus, only the translational motion in the magnet??s fringe field is considered and rotations are neglected.

Materials and methods

A magnetic field probe was constructed to simultaneously record the magnetic flux density ${\vec{B}}$ (x, y, z) with a 3-axis Hall sensor and the induced voltage due to movements with a set of three orthogonal coils. Voltages were converted into time-varying magnetic flux d ??(x, y, z)/dt serving as an exposition parameter for both translations and rotations. To separate the two types of motion, d B/dt was additionally calculated on the basis of the Hall sensor??s data. The calibrated probe was attached to the forehead of 8 healthcare workers and 17 MR physicists, and ${\vec {B}}$ and d??/dt were recorded during standard operating procedures at three different MR systems up to 7 T.

Results

The maximum percentage of the translational motion referring the data including both translations and rotations amounts to 32%. During volunteer measurements, maximum exposure values of d??/dt = 21 mWb/s, dB/dt = 1.40 T/s and ${\left| {\vec {B}}\right|= 2.75}$ Twere found.

Conclusion

The findings in this work indicate that both translations and rotations in the vicinity of an MR system should be taken into account, and that a single regulatory action level might not be sufficient.     

Cardiovascular phenotype characterization in mice by high resolution magnetic resonance imaging

9. Conclusion Due to its high temporal and spatial resolution, magnetic resonance imaging meets the requirements for accurate and robust in vivo visualization of the murine cardiovascular system. As an intrinsically three-dimensional imaging technique, it allows for quantification of LV volumes without relying on geometric models. Therefore, MRI is uniquely suited for the investigation of morphologic and functional changes in models of heart failure. The potential application of MRI in the mouse comprises visualization of cardiovascular anatomy and pathology in newborn and adult mice, detection of LV geometric and functional changes both acutely and chronically, visualization of cardiac microstructures such as cardiac valves and coronary arteries, and characterization and quantification of arteriosclerotic plaques in major murine arteries. Furthermore, MR spectroscopy applied to the mouse heart can give important information on in vivo myocardial metabolism. Thus, we feel confident that high resolution MRI may substantially contribute to the understanding of the basic mechanisms of a variety of cardiovascular diseases.     

Magnetization transfer short inversion time inversion recovery enhanced 1H MRI of the human lung

The unique characteristics of the human lung arising from low proton density and multiple air-tissue interfaces of the alveoli cause difficulty in¹H lung magnetic resonance imaging. In addition, the dominating signal from sources such as the thoracic muscle and subcutaneous fat hampers the visualization of the lung parenchyma. In this contribution, an efficient tissue suppression technique is presented which allows one to significantly enhance lung parenchyma visibility. A short inversion time inversion recovery (STIR) experiment combined with a magnetization transfer (MT) experiment was used for magnetization preparation in order to suppress the signal from muscle. A half-Fourier single-shot turbo spin-echo sequence was used as acquisition module. This approach was used to perform lung anatomical imaging in eight healthy human subjects and five patients withcystic fibrosis. The results obtained demonstrate that with MT-STIR approach high quality human lung images can be obtained and that this approach has the potential for the evaluation of lung pathologies.     

N-Heterocyclization in Gliotoxin Biosynthesis is Catalyzed by a Distinct Cytochrome P450 Monooxygenase

Gliotoxin and related epidithiodiketopiperazines (ETP) from diverse fungi feature highly functionalized hydroindole scaffolds with an array of medicinally and ecologically relevant activities. Mutation analysis, heterologous reconstitution, and biotransformation experiments revealed that a cytochrome P450 monooxygenase (GliF) from the human-pathogenic fungus Aspergillus fumigatus plays a key role in the formation of the complex heterocycle. In vitro assays using a biosynthetic precursor from a blocked mutant showed that GliF is specific to ETPs and catalyzes an unprecedented heterocyclization reaction that cannot be emulated with current synthetic methods. In silico analyses indicate that this rare biotransformation takes place in related ETP biosynthetic pathways.     

Building up PtII−Thiosemicarbazone−Lysine−sC18 Conjugates

Three chiral tridentate N^N^S coordinating pyridine-carbaldehyde (S)-N4-(α-methylbenzyl)thiosemicarbazones (HTSCmB) were synthesised along with lysine-modified derivatives. One of them was selected and covalently conjugated to the cell-penetrating peptide sC18 by solid-phase peptide synthesis. The HTSCmB model ligands, the HTSCLp derivatives and the peptide conjugate rapidly and quantitatively form very stable Pt^II chlorido complexes [Pt(TSC)Cl] when treated with K₂PtCl₄ in solution. The Pt(CN) derivatives were obtained from one TSCmB model complex and the peptide conjugate complex through Cl⁻→CN⁻ exchange. Ligands and complexes were characterised by NMR, IR spectroscopy, HR-ESI-MS and single-crystal XRD. Intriguingly, no decrease in cell viability was observed when testing the biological activity of the lysine-tagged HdpyTSCLp, its sC18 conjugate HdpyTSCL-sC18 or the PtCl and Pt(CN) conjugate complexes in three different cell lines. Thus, given the facile and effective preparation of such Pt-TSC-peptide conjugates, these systems might pave the way for future use in late-stage labelling with Pt radionuclides and application in nuclear medicine.     

Recovery of Phosphoric Acid from Spent Petrochemical Catalysts

Petrochemical catalysts are widely used in the industry. For the production of cumene, zeolite-based catalysts containing phosphoric acid are applied. Over the time, coking deactivates the surface, and the catalyst has to be exchanged and disposed of. Different process approaches for recycling the phosphoric acid-containing catalysts were investigated. Related preliminary investigations have shown that calcination of the used catalyst is necessary prior to reprocessing. By digesting the catalyst with hydrofluoric acid, ∼96 % phosphate was recovered. However, this process is very costly in terms of process technology. More promising is digestion by basic or acidic routes. Several options are possible here, and digestion with H₃PO₄ proved to be particularly suitable. Here, phosphate yields reached up to 98.8 %, with a positive balance of economic efficiency at the same time. The catalyst can be produced and recycled in the same plant with the same reagents, what constitutes a major breakthrough towards sustainability in industrial catalysis.     

High-Temperature Electrical Properties in the ThO2-Rich Region of ThO2-RE2O3 Systems

In the present study the n -type electronic conduction in terms of the parameter p e, and the phase relations in several ThO₂-RE2O₃ systems were examined. Large fluorite solid solution regions exist at elevated temperatures. It was demonstrated that RE₂O₃-doped thoria compositions feature lower parameters p e, and higher chemical stability than the conventional stabilized ZrO2 electrolytes. The results are given in terms of the characteristic parameter p e, in the temperature range from 1000° to 1600°C. The experimental investigations were made using a new thermodynamic measuring system.