Detection of clonal Hodgkin and Reed-Sternberg cells with identical somatically mutated and rearranged VH genes in different biopsies in relapsed Hodgkin's disease

Hodgkin's disease (HD) represents a malignant lymphoma in which the putative malignant Hodgkin and Reed-Sternberg (H-RS) cells are rare and surrounded by abundant reactive cells. Single-cell analyses showed that H-RS cells regularly bear clonal Ig gene rearrangements. However, there is little information on the clinical evolution of HD in a given patient. In this study, we used the single-cell polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to identify H-RS cells with clonal Ig gene rearrangements in biopsy specimens of patients with relapsed HD. The obtained clonal variable region heavy-chain (VH) gene rearrangements were used to construct tumor-clone-specific oligonucleotides spanning the complementarity determining region (CDR) III and somatically mutated areas in the rearranged VH gene. A number of biopsies were obtained during a period of 3 years from two HD patients. H-RS cells with identical VH rearrangements were detected in two separate infiltrated lymph nodes from one patient with nodular sclerosis HD. In a second patient with mixed cellularity HD subtype, clonal VH rearrangements with identical sequences were detected in infiltrated spleen and two lymph node biopsies. Despite the high sensitivity of the PCR method used (one clonal cell in 10(5) mononuclear cells), residual H-RS cells were not found in peripheral blood, leukapheresis material, purified CD34(+) stem cells or bone marrow. The results show that different specimens from relapsed patients suffering from classical HD carry the same clonotypic IgH rearrangements with identical somatic mutations, demonstrating the persistence and the dissemination of a clonal tumor cell population. Thus, PCR assays with CDRIII-specific probes derived from clonal H-RS cells are of clinical importance in monitoring the dissemination of HD and tumor progression and could be useful for analysis of minimal residual disease after autologous stem cell transplantation.     

High-Frequency Energy–Assisted Vacuum Drying of Fresh Eucalyptus globulus

Worldwide, eucalyptus tree plantations have been established in appropriate climates because of fast growth and wood qualities suitable mainly for pulp. A potential exists of converting eucalyptus trees into lumber that may be of higher value than pulp. Conventional drying of lumber of Eucalyptus globulus is often difficult because of the occurrence of drying stresses, leading to collapse and checking. The special method of vacuum drying while heating the wood with high-frequency energy (75–77 mbar, 46–51°C) was used to obtain short drying times (5–13 days from green state to 10% final moisture content) and low crack amount.     

Mechanical Characterization of Lumber of Small-Diameter Hardwood Species after Different Drying Schedules

The influence on the drying behavior as well as the mechanical properties of lumber of small-diameter hardwoods at different low-temperature convection kiln dryings was investigated. Standard test methods in three-point-bending and the modulus of elasticity in three-point-bending, compression tests parallel and perpendicular to the grain, as well as Brinell hardness tests were performed in order to assess the drying quality. Furthermore, non-standard tensile tests perpendicular to the grain and fracture energy tests in radial/longitudinal and also in tangential/longitudinal crack propagation systems were carried out as a most sensitive test method. The results showed significant changes of the specific fracture energy, bending strength, compression strength parallel and perpendicular to the grain, and the Brinell hardness with good drying performance at the same time.     

Effects of UV-irradiation on tricine impregnated wood

In this work, a method of stabilizing the color of wood by amino acid tricine was studied. Therefore, an aqueous tricine solution was impregnated in oak, maple and walnut and subsequently dried. After the wood samples had been irradiated under artificial light, the color changes as well as the chemical changes were measured using FTIR. The results showed a significantly increased UV resistance due to the treatment with tricine. Spectroscopic studies supported this observation and showed a reduced degradation of lignin after the treatment with tricine. The reason for this increased UV stability can be explained on the one hand by a change in the reflective properties of the treated wood and on the other hand by the radical scavenger properties of Maillard reaction products.     

Herstellung und Verwendung von Hohlkörpern aus Kunststoff I

Manufacture and Use of Hollow Elements Made of Plastics I Packaging belongs to the basic requirements of human beings today. With regard to its function, manufacture, and material, packaging has so far developed to such an extent that it can be considered as an index for the standard of living. Currently, plastic constitute 20% of all packaging material. Approximately one-fifth of this are blown hollow elements including fasteners. Blowing processes permit manufacture of mini-packages up to large storage tanks, which are all made from the same material, polyethylene. Extrusion blowing is the process most commonly used, and 80% of all blown hollow elements are made out of polyethylene. Polyethylene as packaging material is used in all those cases where the degree of transparency, rigidity, and water vapour impermeability must be high, and the costs must be limited. Currently, blown hollow elements made of polyethylene are widely used in following fields both for mass packaging as well as special packaging: foods including edible oils and fat products, cleansing agents, cosmetics, adhesives, mineral oils, pharmaceutica etc.     

The Role of Spatial Development Frameworks in Transformation of the eThekwini Municipality,KwaZulu-Natal,South Africa: Reflecting on 20 Years of Planning

In the 20 years since the advent of a democratic government in South Africa, planned expenditure on infrastructure projects by municipalities has been used in part to redress inequalities and socioeconomic distortions created by apartheid. Our purpose in this article is to assess the effectiveness of planning instruments to achieve desired transformation in the case of the eThekwini Municipality. We evaluated demographic, spatial regional economic, settlement hierarchy, accessibility and functional analysis indicators to assess the eThekwini Spatial Development Framework (SDF) as it applies to the city of Durban, making particular use of the National Population Census results for 2001 and 2011, municipal data on housing and settlement distribution, the municipal evaluation roll, the Industrial Land Study of 2014 and the Eskom household survey of 2009. These data sets were mapped using Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) GIS to analyse spatial changes over the decade from 2001 to 2011 to establish the ways and extent public investment guided by SDFs is responsive to spatial transformation imperatives. We found that, although there has been some economic and population growth, in-migration and densification of the inner city, there has been limited spatial transformation of the urban population, many communities still live in poverty, the traditional inequalities prevail and the benefits of democratic dispensation are elusive to many, despite substantial investment in infrastructure. Our analysis points to inadequacies of the planning tools and their application to spending public funds. Moreover, SDFs appear to be process and compliance-driven rather than inclusive of stakeholder concerns. We argue that they require substantial refinement to achieve the desired results.     

The potential of color measurements with the CIEDE2000 equation in wood science

This study seeks to assess the potential use of the CIEDE2000 color difference equation in wood science. Therefore, a set of oak wood samples were prepared and assessed by experts. The visual perception of the observers was correlated with the two different color difference equations CIELAB from DIN 6174 and the CIEDE2000 equation. For a practical example two different types of wood were bleached and exposed to UV-light. The results showed that the CIEDE2000 equation outperformed the CIELAB equation. The CIELAB equation showed generally an overestimation of the color change (ΔE) for wood applications, compared to the nontrivial CIEDE2000 equation from 2001.     

Gold‐Catalyzed Highly Diastereoselective Synthesis of Functionalized 3,4‐Disubstituted Butyrolactams via Phosphatyloxy or Carbonate Double Migrations

A gold‐catalyzed highly diastereoselective synthesis of functionalised 3,4‐disubstituted butyrolactams via phosphatyloxy or carbonate double migrations is reported, which is proposed to proceed by a tandem 1,3‐phosphatyloxy or carbonate migration and a “long‐range” 1,5‐phosphatyloxy or carbonate migration, which overall corresponds to a formal 1,6‐migration.     

Properties of loss-coupled distributed feedback laser arrays forwavelength division multiplexing systems

The characteristics of loss-coupled distributed feedback (DFB) semiconductor laser arrays are investigated both theoretically and experimentally. Using simulations based on a transfer matrix method, the strong influence of the residual facet reflectivity on the singlemode yield and the statistical fluctuation of the emission wavelength for as-cleaved and AR/HR coated loss-coupled DFB lasers is pointed out and compared to purely index-coupled λ/4 phase-shifted devices. Experimental results and the fabrication techniques are given for loss-coupled 1.55 μm InGaAs/InGaAlAs/InP DFB laser arrays with four channels and integrated striped thin-film heaters, which were successfully used for fine tuning the channel spacings