欧洲和德国的钢铁工业的环保现状和发展(一)

欧洲钢铁工业的环境保护已经达到了很高的水平.20世纪60年代初,保护环境一般认为只是局限于限制工业对人们的影响.现在,尤其是在罗马协议(Club of Rome)的努力之下,环保的范围从节约资源延伸到整个自然环境的保护,而后产生了目前应用中的工业过程和产品生产周期.整体来说,保护环境的所有途径都被视为是未来平衡发展的先决条件. 欧盟环境保护技术的情况可以德国为例,更准确地说是杜伊斯堡的蒂森克虏伯钢厂(ThyssenKrupp Stahl AG),其粗钢产量约占德国总产量的35%. 钢铁工业环境保护的重点仍然是维护空气质量,在此目的下,进行除尘处理.由烟囱处取样获得目前的除尘水平来看,今后的除尘主要是控制粉尘扩散和减少细小微粒的排放. 钢铁工业环境保护的关键策略就是循环利用,它能起到与环境协调一致的作用,能够解决相关工艺中需要的大量的原料问题.德国的蒂森克虏伯钢厂(ThyssenKrupp Stahl AG)现在炉渣的综合回收率水平已接近95%,其中冶金渣的回收利用率尤为突出.在德国,高炉渣利用率达到了100%,同时炼钢渣的利用率也超过了90%,每吨粗钢的耗水量也控制在100 m3的范围内.大量的努力不仅保证了有效的回收和再生利用工序,而且冷却水的利用也保证了新水的补充率降低到每吨粗钢15m3左右. 污染控制除与主要环境即空气、水和土壤有关外,已扩展到回收过程再利用的水平,更多地重点渐渐地放到相关产品的环境保护.产品和原料却日益受到生产商和消费者的重点检验,有点与环境协调性标准相反.组织机构的环境保护手段包括环境管理系统的认可、生态平衡、政府部门的自愿协议以及提高公众的信息、教育水平. 欧洲的钢铁工业,当然也包括德国,都已经意识到环境保护的重要性同工业研究与开发的重要性处于同等地位.一个典型的例子就是超薄板汽车用钢项目,这个与产品相关的研究引入了35家合作厂商共同研究一个比目前传统的汽车车身更结实、更轻的项目.欧洲钢铁厂家的联合合作已经成功研究出应用于烧结厂的减少二恶英(dioxin)排放物的吸收工艺.用褐煤焦尘作为吸附剂,已能够平均减少排放物大约70%.很可能2003年在杜伊斯堡的ThyssenKrupp Stahl AG将被授权建全世界最先进的焦化厂.在这个项目过程中研究出的主要部分成果,例如低尘低烟煤湿熄法和减少PAH排放物的单室压力控制系统,会恰当地应用于新的工厂.另一个主要进步是ThyssenKrupp Stahl AG研制的Hamborn OxiCup竖炉,它有湿法冶炼和排除含铁残渣的功能.此技术预计成为回收利用铁水和钢产品中产生的粉尘和泥浆这一难题的解决方案. 德国的局势尤其显示出环境法规的落实正开始对经济发展和劳动力市场起到不利影响.盛行的经济技术条件需要合法的体制治理环境保护的合理化.将来任何进一步的措施都要考虑这一事实,既要获得可持续发展,又要考虑到经济发展和社会需求.     

Partial Reduction in BRCA1 Gene Dose Modulates DNA Replication Stress Level and Thereby Contributes to Sensitivity or Resistance

BRCA1 is a well-known breast cancer risk gene, involved in DNA damage repair via homologous recombination (HR) and replication fork protection. Therapy resistance was linked to loss and amplification of the BRCA1 gene causing inferior survival of breast cancer patients. Most studies have focused on the analysis of complete loss or mutations in functional domains of BRCA1. How mutations in non-functional domains contribute to resistance mechanisms remains elusive and was the focus of this study. Therefore, clones of the breast cancer cell line MCF7 with indels in BRCA1 exon 9 and 14 were generated using CRISPR/Cas9. Clones with successful introduced BRCA1 mutations were evaluated regarding their capacity to perform HR, how they handle DNA replication stress (RS), and the consequences on the sensitivity to MMC, PARP1 inhibition, and ionizing radiation. Unexpectedly, BRCA1 mutations resulted in both increased sensitivity and resistance to exogenous DNA damage, despite a reduction of HR capacity in all clones. Resistance was associated with improved DNA double-strand break repair and reduction in replication stress (RS). Lower RS was accompanied by increased activation and interaction of proteins essential for the S phase-specific DNA damage response consisting of HR proteins, FANCD2, and CHK1.     

Development of a Molecular Aptamer Beacon Applied to Magnetic-Assisted RNA Extraction for Detection of Dengue and Zika Viruses Using Clinical Samples

Limitations in the detection of cocirculating flaviviruses such as Dengue and Zika lead us to propose the use of aptameric capture of the viral RNA in combination with RT-PCR (APTA-RT-PCR). Aptamers were obtained via SELEX and next-generation sequencing, followed by colorimetric and fluorescent characterizations. An APTA-RT-PCR assay was developed, optimized, and tested against the viral RNAs in 108 serum samples. After selection, sequence APTAZC10 was designed as a bifunctional molecular beacon (APTAZC10-MB), exhibiting affinity for the viral targets. APTA-RT-PCR was able to detect Dengue and Zika RNA in 43% and 8% of samples, respectively. Our results indicate that APTAZC10-MB and APTA-RT-PCR will be useful to improve the detection of Dengue and Zika viruses in a fast molecular assay for the improvement of infectious disease surveillance.     

Circulating miR-200 Family and CTCs in Metastatic Breast Cancer before,during, and after a New Line of Systemic Treatment

The extracellular circulating microRNA (miR)-200 regulates epithelial-mesenchymal transition and, thus, plays an essential role in the metastatic cascade and has shown itself to be a promising prognostic and predictive biomarker in metastatic breast cancer (MBC). Expression levels of the plasma miR-200 family were analyzed in relationship to systemic treatment, circulating tumor cells (CTC) count, progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS). Expression of miR-200a, miR-200b, miR-200c, miR-141, and miR-429, and CTC status (CTC-positive ≥ 5 CTC/7.5 mL) was assessed in 47 patients at baseline (BL), after the first completed cycle of a new line of systemic therapy (1C), and upon the progression of disease (PD). MiR-200a, miR-200b, and miR-141 expression was reduced at 1C compared to BL. Upon PD, all miR-200s were upregulated compared to 1C. At all timepoints, the levels of miR-200s were elevated in CTC-positive versus CTC-negative patients. Further, heightened miR-200s expression and positive CTC status were associated with poorer OS at BL and 1C. In MBC patients, circulating miR-200 family members decreased after one cycle of a new line of systemic therapy, were elevated during PD, and were indicative of CTC status. Notably, increased levels of miR-200s and elevated CTC count correlated with poorer OS and PFS. As such, both are promising biomarkers for optimizing the clinical management of MBC.     

Design für Kostentransparenz in Anlageberatungsgespr?chen

Investment advisory services of financial service providers (FSPs) exhibit several characteristics that are detrimental to advisory quality. The interaction of advisor and client is strained by a lack of transparency regarding the advisory process (what activities are performed and why) and the information used therein (what information is used for what purpose and with what effect), as well as regarding the precise costs of the service and the recommended products. In prior research, we suggested that process and information transparency issues may be appropriately addressed with collaborative information technology (IT) artifacts. In this paper, we argue that collaborative, transparent artifacts may also be a premise of enabling cost transparency. To this end, we describe a complete research cycle of designing, implementing, and evaluating a shared cost-transparent IT artifact to support client-advisor interaction in investment advisory encounters. Evaluation results suggest the efficacy of our design in improving the clients?? perceived cost transparency as well as increase their satisfaction and their willingness to pay for the received investment advice. These findings may also challenge the common belief of FSPs that transparent, fee-based advisory services would neither be accepted by clients nor be economically viable. Practical implications of these findings for designing advisory encounters with supportive IT are discussed.     

DMT1 Protects Macrophages from Salmonella Infection by Controlling Cellular Iron Turnover and Lipocalin 2 Expression

Macrophages are at the center of innate pathogen control and iron recycling. Divalent metal transporter 1 (DMT1) is essential for the uptake of non-transferrin-bound iron (NTBI) into macrophages and for the transfer of transferrin-bound iron from the endosome to the cytoplasm. As the control of cellular iron trafficking is central for the control of infection with siderophilic pathogens such as Salmonella Typhimurium, a Gram-negative bacterium residing within the phagosome of macrophages, we examined the potential role of DMT1 for infection control. Bone marrow derived macrophages lacking DMT1 (DMT1fl/fl^LysMCre(+)) present with reduced NTBI uptake and reduced levels of the iron storage protein ferritin, the iron exporter ferroportin and, surprisingly, of the iron uptake protein transferrin receptor. Further, DMT1-deficient macrophages have an impaired control of Salmonella Typhimurium infection, paralleled by reduced levels of the peptide lipocalin-2 (LCN2). LCN2 exerts anti-bacterial activity upon binding of microbial siderophores but also facilitates systemic and cellular hypoferremia. Remarkably, nifedipine, a pharmacological DMT1 activator, stimulates LCN2 expression in RAW264.7 macrophages, confirming its DMT1-dependent regulation. In addition, the absence of DMT1 increases the availability of iron for Salmonella upon infection and leads to increased bacterial proliferation and persistence within macrophages. Accordingly, mice harboring a macrophage-selective DMT1 disruption demonstrate reduced survival following Salmonella infection. This study highlights the importance of DMT1 in nutritional immunity and the significance of iron delivery for the control of infection with siderophilic bacteria.