Reduced recruitment and survival of primordial and growing follicles in GH receptor-deficient mice

GH influences female fertility. The goal of the present study was to obtain more insight into the effect of loss of GH signalling, as observed in humans suffering from Laron syndrome, on ovarian function. Therefore, serial paraffin sections of ovaries of untreated and IGF-I-treated female GH receptor knock-out (GHR/GHBP-KO) mice were examined to determine the follicular reserve and the percentage of follicular atresia in each ovary. Our observations demonstrate that the amount of primordial follicles was significantly elevated in GHR/GHBP-KO mice, while the numbers of primary, preantral and antral follicles were lower compared with wild-type values. The reduced number of healthy growing follicles in GHR/GHBP-KO mice was accompanied by a significant increase in the percentage of atretic follicles. IGF-I treatment of GHR/GHBP-KO mice for 14 days resulted in a reduced number of primordial follicles, an increased number of healthy antral follicles, and a decreased percentage of atretic follicles. The results of the present study suggest that GH may play a role, either directly or indirectly, via for instance IGF-I, in the recruitment of primordial follicles into the growing pool. Furthermore, GH seems to protect antral follicles, directly or indirectly from undergoing atresia.     

PCDD/F and other micropollutants in MSWI crude gas and ashes during plant start-up and shut-down processes

Nonstationary combustion conditions at municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) plants cause increased crude gas concentrations of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDD), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDF), and other products of incomplete combustion (PIC). Such transient conditions occur, e.g., during and after start-up processes in MSWI plants. The start-up and shut-down processes of a MSWI plant were investigated in detail. PCDD/F and other PIC concentrations were determined in the crude gas, in the boiler ash, and in the ash from the electrostatic precipitator (ESP ash), with the outcome that only the start-up procedure significantly affected the concentrations of the organic pollutants in the flue gas and in the ESP ash. The shut-down procedure was evaluated as less problematic for the concentration of the organic pollutants. Moreover the concentration of the PCDD/F and other PIC in the boiler ash was determined as not influenced by shut-down and start-up processes. The homologue profiles and the congener patterns as well as the PCDF/PCDD ratio in the flue gas and in the ESP ash change during MSWI start-up. The changing patterns point at a transition from dominant de novo synthesis to precursor synthesis.     

Persistence of probiotic strains in the gastrointestinal tract when administered as capsules, yoghurt, or cheese

Most clinical studies of probiotics use freeze-dried, powdered bacteria or bacteria packed in capsules. However, probiotics are commercially available in various food matrices, which may affect their persistence in the gastrointestinal tract. The objective of the study was to compare oral and faecal recovery during and after administration of a combination of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG and LC705, Propionibacterium freudenreichii subsp. shermanii JS, and Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis Bb12 as capsules, yoghurt, or cheese. This randomized, parallel-group, open-label trial (n = 36) included a 4-week run-in, 2-week intervention, and 3-week follow-up period. Participants consumed 10¹⁰ cfu/day of probiotic combination and provided saliva and faecal samples before, during, and after the intervention. Strain-specific real-time PCR was used to quantify the strains.L. rhamnosus GG was the only probiotic strain regularly recovered in saliva samples. During the intervention period it was recovered in the saliva of 88% of the volunteers at least once. No difference was found between the yoghurt and cheese groups. At the end of the intervention, L. rhamnosus GG and LC705 counts were high in faecal samples of all product groups (8.08 and 8.67 log₁₀ genome copies/g, respectively). There was no matrix effect on strain quantity in faeces or the recovery time after ceasing the intervention. For P. freudenreichii subsp. shermanii JS and B. animalis subsp. lactis Bb12, a matrix effect was found at the end of the intervention (P < 0.01 and P < 0.001, respectively) and in the recovery time during follow-up (P < 0.05 for both). Yoghurt yielded the highest faecal quantity of JS and Bb12 strains (8.01 and 9.89 log₁₀ genome copies/g, respectively). The results showed that the administration matrix did not influence the faecal quantity of lactobacilli, but affected faecal counts of propionibacteria and bifidobacteria that were lower when consumed in cheese. Thus, the consumption of probiotics in yoghurt matrix is highly suitable for studying potential health benefits and capsules provide a comparable means of administration when the viability of the strain in the capsule product is confirmed.     

Richtungsanalyse von Fasern in Betonen auf Basis der Computer‐Tomographie

Für die Festbetoneigenschaften von Faserbetonen sind die Fasermenge, Faserorientierung und Faserverteilung ausschlaggebend. Dies macht eine Überwachung dieser Parameter notwendig, sei es zur Qualitätssicherung auf der Baustelle oder im Bereich der Forschung zur Weiterentwicklung solcher Betone. Gegenüber bisher angewendeten Methoden zur Untersuchung dieser Einflussgrößen eröffnet die Computer‐Tomographie die Möglichkeit, für Betone mit Fasern und Gelegen aller Art die Faserorientierung und Faserverteilung im gesamten Volumen eines Probekörpers zu betrachten und zu analysieren. Direction Analysis of Fibres in Concrete on Basis of Computed Tomography Decisive factors for the improvement of the hardened concrete characteristics of fibre reinforced concrete are the fibre‐volumeratio, fibre‐orientation and fibre‐distribution. The application of fibre reinforced concrete mixtures requires an appropriate control of these characteristics in the context of quality control at the building site as well as in research work done to improve this kind of concretes. Compared to the methods used up to now, the computed tomography offers the possibility to examine and analyze fibre‐orientation and fibre‐distribution in the entire volume of a specimen.     

Influence of the C/N ratio on the performance of polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) producing sequencing batch reactors at short SRTs

Many waste streams that are suitable substrates for mixed culture bioplastic (polyhydroxyalkanoate, PHA) production are nutrient limited and may need to be supplemented to allow sufficient growth of PHA accumulating bacteria. The scope of this study was to investigate the necessity of nutrient supplementation for the enrichment of an efficient PHA producing mixed culture. We studied the influence of different degrees of carbon and nitrogen limitation on the performance of an acetate-fed feast-famine sequencing batch reactor (SBR) employed to enrich PHA storing bacteria. The microbial reaction rates in the SBR showed a shift with a change in the limiting substrate: high acetate uptake rates were found in carbon-limited SBRs (medium C/N ratios 6-13.2 Cmol/Nmol), while nitrogen-limited SBRs (medium C/N ratios 15-24 Cmol/Nmol) were characterized by high ammonia uptake rates. Biomass in strongly nitrogen-limited SBRs had higher baseline PHA contents in the SBR, but carbon-limited SBRs resulted usually in biomass with higher maximal PHA storage capacities. The PHA storage capacity in a nitrogen-limited SBR operated at 0.5 d SRT decreased significantly over less than 5 months operation. For the microbial selection and biomass production stage of a PHA production process carbon limitation seems thus favourable and nutrient deficient wastewaters may consequently require supplementation with nutrients for the selection of a stable PHA storing biomass with a high storage capacity.     

Influence of manufacturing conditions on thermo‐physical properties of ripened experimental Emmental‐type cheese and comparison with commercial Emmental cheese

Experimental Emmental cheese was produced at pilot plant scale with varied process conditions, and the ripened cheeses were analysed in terms of thermo‐physical properties. The amount of propionic acid and the temperature at tan δ_max ( loss factor) were significantly influenced by varied process parameters. Experimental cheeses were compared to commercial Emmental cheese by the application of principal component analysis. Commercial Emmental cheese was clearly discriminated from experimental Emmental cheese mainly due to the melting behaviour. The results allow the establishment of a small‐scale process for Emmental cheese production to promote product development on a time and cost‐saving level.     

Osseointegration of titanium implants functionalised with phosphoserine-tethered poly(epsilon-lysine) dendrons: a comparative study with traditional surface treatments in sheep

The aim of this study was to analyse the osseointegrative potential of phosphoserine-tethered dendrons when applied as surface functionalisation molecules on titanium implants in a sheep model after 2 and 8 weeks of implantation. Uncoated and dendron-coated implants were implanted in six sheep. Sandblasted and etched (SE) or porous additive manufactured (AM) implants with and without additional dendron functionalisation (SE-PSD; AM-PSD) were placed in the pelvic bone. Three implants per group were examined histologically and six implants were tested biomechanically. After 2 and 8 weeks the bone-to-implant contact (BIC) total values of SE implants (43.7 ± 12.2; 53.3 ± 9.0 %) and SE-PSD (46.7 ± 4.5; 61.7 ± 4.9 %) as well as AM implants (20.49 ± 5.1; 43.9 ± 9.7 %) and AM-PSD implants (19.7 ± 3.5; 48.3 ± 15.6 %) showed no statistically significant differences. For SE-PSD and AM-PSD a separate analysis of only the cancellous BIC demonstrated a statistically significant difference after 2 and 8 weeks. Biomechanical findings proved the overall increased stability of the porous implants after 8 weeks. Overall, the great effect of implant macro design on osseointegration was further supported by additional phosphoserine-tethered dendrons for SE and AM implants.     

Ella versus Simoa Serum Neurofilament Assessment to Monitor Treatment Response in Highly Active Multiple Sclerosis Patients

The measurement of serum neurofilament light chain (sNfL) is of growing importance in the field of neurology. In the management of multiple sclerosis, it can serve as a useful marker to assess disease activity and treatment response. This paper compares two available methods, namely the Single Molecule Array (Simoa) and the Ella microfluid platform, to measure longitudinal sNfL levels of 42 highly active multiple sclerosis patients treated with alemtuzumab over a period of 36 months. In order to assess the methods agreement, Bland–Altman plots and Passing–Bablok regression were analyzed. Here, we show that despite the fact that Ella measures around 24% higher values than Simoa, both are equally suitable for longitudinal sNfL monitoring.     

A Method for the Immobilization of Chitosan onto Urinary Catheters

A method for the immobilization of an antibacterial chitosan coating to polymeric urinary medical catheters is presented. The method comprises a two-step plasma-treatment procedure, followed by the deposition of chitosan from the water solution. In the first plasma step, the urinary catheter is treated with vacuum-ultraviolet radiation to break bonds in the polymer surface film and create dangling bonds, which are occupied by hydrogen atoms. In the second plasma step, polymeric catheters are treated with atomic oxygen to form oxygen-containing surface functional groups acting as binding sites for chitosan. The presence of oxygen functional groups also causes a transformation of the hydrophobic polymer surface to hydrophilic, thus enabling uniform wetting and improved adsorption of the chitosan coating. The wettability was measured by the sessile-drop method, while the surface composition and structure were measured by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. Non-treated samples did not exhibit successful chitosan immobilization. The effect of plasma treatment on immobilization was explained by noncovalent interactions such as electrostatic interactions and hydrogen bonds.