Simultaneous measurement of the trace elements Al, As, B, Be, Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, Li, Mn, Mo, Ni, Rb, Se, Sr, and Zn in human serum and their reference ranges by ICP-MS

The goal of this article was to establish reference ranges of the concentration of trace elements in human serum and to compare these results with those reported by other authors. We describe the sample preparation and measurement conditions that allow the rapid, precise, and accurate determination of Al, As, B, Be, Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, Li, Mn, Mo, Ni, Rb, Se, Sr, and Zn in human serum samples (n=110) by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Accuracy and precision were determined by analyzing three reconstituted reference serum samples by comparison with other methods and by the standard addition procedure. The advantages of the ICP-MS method include short time of analysis of the elements mentioned, low detection limit, high precision, and high accuracy. Disadventages include a high risk of contamination due to the presence of some of the elements of interest in the environment, the relatively delicate sample handling, and the high cost of the equipmen

Concentration of 17 trace elements in serum and whole blood of plains viscachas (Lagostomus maximus) by ICP-MS, their reference ranges, and their relation to cataract

The reference ranges of the trace elements Al, As, Be, B, Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Li, Rb, Se, Sr, and Zn were determined by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) in sera of a group of free-ranging plains viscachas of the pampa grasslands of Argentina. The values were compared with those of a small group of captive plains viscachas of the Zurich Zoo with diabetes and bilateral cataracts. In addition, a method for digestion of whole-blood samples is described for the trace element determination. Significant differences in the concentration of trace elements in the two groups of animals are discussed. No correlation was found between the levels of selenium and of other trace elements compared to the formation of cataract

François Halma en zijn boekhandel in Utrecht, Amsterdam en Leeuwarden, 1675-1722:Een bijdrage tot de geschiedenis van de Nederlandse boekhandel ten tijde van de Republiek

Dit micro-historische onderzoek naar de Officina Halmiana werpt licht op de bijzondere positie van François Halma (1653-1722) binnen de Nederlandse boekhandel ten tijde van de Republiek der Verenigde Nederlanden. Zijn onwankelbare missie om stichtelijke en educatieve werken te verspreiden ter bevordering van de christelijke moraal en de Nederlandse taal, bleef consistent ondanks veranderingen van zijn werkplaatsen en persoonlijke tegenslagen. Zijn bedrijfsvoering, vaak onbegrepen door tijdgenoten, balancerend tussen lof en spot, illustreert de complexiteit van zijn karakter en ondernemerschap. Het onderzoek benadrukt zijn vastberadenheid en de impact van zijn werk op de boekgeschiedenis en de culturele geschiedenis van Nederland, en biedt een genuanceerd beeld van de tolerantie binnen de boekhandel van de Republiek. De studie is verdeeld in vier hoofdstukken. Na een beschrijving van Halma’s leven tot 1675 wanneer hij zelfstandig boekverkoper wordt, volgt een beschrijving van zijn boekhandel per stad van zijn vestiging, namelijk in Utrecht (1675-1699), Amsterdam (1699-1710), en Leeuwarden (1709-1722). Halma’s relatie met het Utrechtse gilde, en later met de Amsterdamse burgemeester Nicolaes Witsen en de erfstadhouder van Friesland Johan Willem Friso waren bepalend voor zijn loopbaan in de respectieve steden, hetgeen uitgebreid wordt beargumenteerd. De studie is voorzien van appendices, zijnde de fondscatalogus van de Officina Halmiana (440 drukwerken), en voorts van de catalogus van drukwerken voor de academie van Utrecht (1059) en die van Franeker (321), waar Halma academiedrukker was, respectievelijk in 1684-1699 en 1701-1711

François Halma en zijn boekhandel in Utrecht, Amsterdam en Leeuwarden, 1675-1722:Een bijdrage tot de geschiedenis van de Nederlandse boekhandel ten tijde van de Republiek

Dit micro-historische onderzoek naar de Officina Halmiana werpt licht op de bijzondere positie van François Halma (1653-1722) binnen de Nederlandse boekhandel ten tijde van de Republiek der Verenigde Nederlanden. Zijn onwankelbare missie om stichtelijke en educatieve werken te verspreiden ter bevordering van de christelijke moraal en de Nederlandse taal, bleef consistent ondanks veranderingen van zijn werkplaatsen en persoonlijke tegenslagen. Zijn bedrijfsvoering, vaak onbegrepen door tijdgenoten, balancerend tussen lof en spot, illustreert de complexiteit van zijn karakter en ondernemerschap. Het onderzoek benadrukt zijn vastberadenheid en de impact van zijn werk op de boekgeschiedenis en de culturele geschiedenis van Nederland, en biedt een genuanceerd beeld van de tolerantie binnen de boekhandel van de Republiek. De studie is verdeeld in vier hoofdstukken. Na een beschrijving van Halma’s leven tot 1675 wanneer hij zelfstandig boekverkoper wordt, volgt een beschrijving van zijn boekhandel per stad van zijn vestiging, namelijk in Utrecht (1675-1699), Amsterdam (1699-1710), en Leeuwarden (1709-1722). Halma’s relatie met het Utrechtse gilde, en later met de Amsterdamse burgemeester Nicolaes Witsen en de erfstadhouder van Friesland Johan Willem Friso waren bepalend voor zijn loopbaan in de respectieve steden, hetgeen uitgebreid wordt beargumenteerd. De studie is voorzien van appendices, zijnde de fondscatalogus van de Officina Halmiana (440 drukwerken), en voorts van de catalogus van drukwerken voor de academie van Utrecht (1059) en die van Franeker (321), waar Halma academiedrukker was, respectievelijk in 1684-1699 en 1701-1711

Discrete Kinetic Models from Funneled Energy Landscape Simulations

A general method for facilitating the interpretation of computer simulations of protein folding with minimally frustrated energy landscapes is detailed and applied to a designed ankyrin repeat protein (4ANK). In the method, groups of residues are assigned to foldons and these foldons are used to map the conformational space of the protein onto a set of discrete macrobasins. The free energies of the individual macrobasins are then calculated, informing practical kinetic analysis. Two simple assumptions about the universality of the rate for downhill transitions between macrobasins and the natural local connectivity between macrobasins lead to a scheme for predicting overall folding and unfolding rates, generating chevron plots under varying thermodynamic conditions, and inferring dominant kinetic folding pathways. To illustrate the approach, free energies of macrobasins were calculated from biased simulations of a non-additive structure-based model using two structurally motivated foldon definitions at the full and half ankyrin repeat resolutions. The calculated chevrons have features consistent with those measured in stopped flow chemical denaturation experiments. The dominant inferred folding pathway has an “inside-out”, nucleation-propagation like character

Last Men Standing: Chlamydatus Portraits and Public Life in Late Antique Corinth

Notable among the marble sculptures excavated at Corinth are seven portraits of men wearing the long chlamys of Late Antique imperial office. This unusual costume, contemporary portrait heads, and inscribed statue bases all help confirm that new public statuary was created and erected at Corinth during the 4th and 5th centuries. These chlamydatus portraits, published together here for the first time, are likely to represent the Governor of Achaia in his capital city, in the company of local benefactors. Among the last works of the ancient sculptural tradition, they form a valuable source of information on public life in Late Antique Corinth

Marketing as a means to transformative social conflict resolution: lessons from transitioning war economies and the Colombian coffee marketing system

Social conflicts are ubiquitous to the human condition and occur throughout markets, marketing processes, and marketing systems.When unchecked or unmitigated, social conflict can have devastating consequences for consumers, marketers, and societies, especially when conflict escalates to war. In this article, the authors offer a systemic analysis of the Colombian war economy, with its conflicted shadow and coping markets, to show how a growing network of fair-trade coffee actors has played a key role in transitioning the country’s war economy into a peace economy. They particularly draw attention to the sources of conflict in this market and highlight four transition mechanisms — i.e., empowerment, communication, community building and regulation — through which marketers can contribute to peacemaking and thus produce mutually beneficial outcomes for consumers and society. The article concludes with a discussion of implications for marketing theory, practice, and public policy

Immune Reconstitution After Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation and Association With Occurrence and Outcome of Invasive Aspergillosis

Background. Invasive aspergillosis (IA) remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in patients receiving allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). To date, no reliable immunological biomarkers for management and outcome of IA exist. Here, we investigated reconstitution of antifungal immunity in patients during the first 12 months after HSCT and correlated it with IA. Methods. Fifty-one patients were included, 9 with probable/proven IA. We determined quantitative and qualitative reconstitution of polymorphonuclear (PMN), CD4, CD8, and natural killer (NK) cells against Aspergillus fumigatus over 5 time points and compared the values to healthy donors. Results. Absolute CD4 and CD8 cell counts, antigen-specific T-cell responses, and killing capacity of PMN against A. fumigatus were significantly decreased in all patients over 12 months. In patients with probable/proven IA, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production tended to be lower compared to patients without IA, and absolute NK-cell counts remained below 200 cells/µL. Patients with well-controlled IA showed significantly higher ROS production and NK-cell counts compared to patients with poor outcome. Conclusions. This study highlights the importance of functional PMN, T-cell, and NK-cell immunity for the outcome of IA. Larger multicenter studies should address the potential use of NK-cell counts for the management of antifungal therap

Joint EANM/SNMMI procedure guideline for the use of 177Lu-labeled PSMA-targeted radioligand-therapy (177Lu-PSMA-RLT)

Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) is expressed by the majority of clinically significant prostate adenocarcinomas, and patients with target-positive disease can easily be identified by PSMA PET imaging. Promising results with PSMA-targeted radiopharmaceutical therapy have already been obtained in early-phase studies using various combinations of targeting molecules and radiolabels. Definitive evidence of the safety and efficacy of [177Lu]Lu-PSMA-617 in combination with standard-of-care has been demonstrated in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, whose disease had progressed after or during at least one taxane regimen and at least one novel androgen-axis drug. Preliminary data suggest that 177Lu-PSMA-radioligand therapy (RLT) also has high potential in additional clinical situations. Hence, the radiopharmaceuticals [177Lu]Lu-PSMA-617 and [177Lu]Lu-PSMA-I&T are currently being evaluated in ongoing phase 3 trials. The purpose of this guideline is to assist nuclear medicine personnel, to select patients with highest potential to benefit from 177Lu-PSMA-RLT, to perform the procedure in accordance with current best practice, and to prepare for possible side effects and their clinical management. We also provide expert advice, to identify those clinical situations which may justify the off-label use of [177Lu]Lu-PSMA-617 or other emerging ligands on an individual patient basis