Vehicular Technology Conference Fall 2000. IEEE VTS Fall VTC2000. 52nd Vehicular Technology Conference (Cat. No.00CH37152)
For third generation mobile radio systems like the TD-CDMA based UTRA TDD mode the use of smart a... more For third generation mobile radio systems like the TD-CDMA based UTRA TDD mode the use of smart antenna technology promises a substantial performance improvement on the up- and the downlink. The third generation mobile radio system UTRA with the TDD mode, which utilizes a combined CDMA and TDMA multiple access scheme, has been specified in the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). The use of smart antennas at the base station reduces interference in two ways: on the uplink the intercell interference can be suppressed. The estimated spatial information about the users and interferers can then be used for beamforming on the downlink, which significantly reduces the interference also in this direction. Especially for terminals with a RAKE-receiver-structure a major performance improvement can be observed because of the intracell interference reduction. These performance improvements are expressed in concrete results derived from link-level simulations using the described technology and simulation environment.
HISTORY AND CLINICAL FINDINGS A 26-year-old man fell acutely ill with fever (39 degrees C), rigor... more HISTORY AND CLINICAL FINDINGS A 26-year-old man fell acutely ill with fever (39 degrees C), rigor, dry cough, headache and pain in the neck and limbs. Ambulant treatment with amoxycillin, later cefuroximaxetil, worsened his general condition. At admission to hospital he had, over his trunk and limbs, cocarde-like, erythematous efflorescences up to 2 cm in diameter with central elevations and blisters. Additional acute bronchitis, pharyngitis, stomatitis, tonsillitis, conjunctivitis and urethritis indicated extensive mucosal involvement. INVESTIGATIONS Significant findings were: 9900/microl WBC, ESR 57 mm at one hour, C-reactive protein 160 mg/l, capillary pO2 6.4 kPa, pCO2 4.2 kPa. Mycoplasma serology (days 1, 8, 15) took a typical course. Chest radiogram showed an interstitial infiltrate on day 5. DIAGNOSIS Respiratory Mycoplasma infection with interstitial pneumonia and exudative erythema multiforme. TREATMENT AND COURSE Because infection with an atypical pathogen was suspected, a...
Particulates refer to particles, dust, dirt, soot and aerosol mists that has suspended in the sur... more Particulates refer to particles, dust, dirt, soot and aerosol mists that has suspended in the surrounding air. They may consist of solids of various forms including fibres or liquids. Long term exposure to silicon dioxide containing dusts (crystalline silica: quartz, tridymite, cristobalite, coesite, stishovite) may cause pneumoconiosis in the form of acute or/either chronic silicosis. Asbestos refers to a divers family of crystalline hydrated fibrous siliates typically exhibiting a greater tha 3:1 length ot diameter ratio. It is subdivided into serpentine (Chrysotile) and amphibole (crocidolite, amosite, anthophyllite, tremolite, actinolite). Exposure to asbestos fibres may cause lung fibrosis and promote cancer of the lung or the pleura. Besides the induction of malignant diseases dust exposure may result in obstructive as well as restrictive lung diseases which may be compensate in case of the recognition as a occupational diseases. Other occupational exposures leading to pneumoconiosis are caused be talc, or metals including aluminium containing dusts. Also the group of man-made mineral (MMMFs) or vitreous fibres (MMVFs), including glass wool, rock wool, slag wool, glass filaments, microfibres, refractory ceramic fibres are bioactive under certain experimental conditions. Although it has been shown that MMMFs may cause malignancies when injected intraperitoneally in high quantities in rodents, inhalation trials and human studies could not reproduce these results in the same precision. Fine particles (particulate matter = PM) comprise one of the most widespread and harmful air pollutants in the industrialized world. PM may cause worsening of asthma and other respiratory diseases, reduce lung function development in children, potentially increased the risk of premature death in the elderly and enhance mortality from cardiac diseases. Because of the small size PM2.5 is seen to be even more hazardous than PM10.
Early diagnosis of lung carcinoma is greatly desired. A potential source of early information reg... more Early diagnosis of lung carcinoma is greatly desired. A potential source of early information regarding the process of cancerisation in the airways is exhaled breath condensate (EBC). The direct approach to detecting cancerisation is examining DNA from the area of chronic damage, i.e. airways and lung parenchyma. We therefore investigated DNA in EBC of patients with NSCLC and healthy volunteers. Human DNA was amplified by PCR in exhaled breath condensate and used to detect p53 mutations. A PCR of the beta-actin gene fragment was used to detect human DNA in each of the EBC samples. In 65.7% of the samples, the beta-actin gene was found. Extracted DNA as well as native EBC were equally suited as starting material for amplification. Mutations of the p53 gene were investigated in all EBC samples of NSCLC patients. p53 exons 5-8 were amplified using nested PCR and subsequently sequenced. Mutations were found in four of the patients (n=11; 36.4%) while no mutation was found in volunteers (n=10). Mutations detected in EBC were also compared with those of corresponding tumor tissue. Different point mutations in EBC and tumor tissue were revealed in all cases. Our findings demonstrate that exhaled breath condensate may be used for analysis of somatic gene mutations in an area of direct tobacco-related DNA damage.
Cryptic female choice (CFC), a form of sexual selection during or post mating, describes processe... more Cryptic female choice (CFC), a form of sexual selection during or post mating, describes processes of differential sperm utilization by females to bias fertilization outcomes towards certain males. In Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) the ovarian fluid surrounding the ova of a given female differently enhances the sperm velocity of males. Sperm velocity is a key ejaculate trait that determines fertilization success in externally fertilizing fishes, thus the differential effect on sperm velocity might bias male fertilization outcomes and represent a mechanism of CFC. Once sperm reach the oocyte, CFC could potentially be further facilitated by sperm-egg interactions, which are well understood in externally fertilizing marine invertebrates. Here, we explored the potential genetic basis of both possible mechanisms of CFC by examining whether the genotypic combinations of mates (amino-acid divergence, number of shared alleles) at the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I and II explain the variation in sperm velocity and/or male fertilization success that is not explained by sperm velocity, which might indicate MHC-based sperm-egg interactions. We recorded sperm velocity in ovarian fluid, employed paired-male fertilization trials and evaluated the fertilization success of each male using microsatellite-based paternity assignment. We showed that relative sperm velocity was positively correlated with fertilization success, confirming that the differential effect on sperm velocity may be a mechanism of CFC in Chinook salmon. The variation in sperm velocity was independent of MHC class I and II. However, the MHC class II divergence of mates explained fertilization success, indicating that this locus might influence sperm-egg interactions.
Peptide patterns of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were assumed to reflect the complex patho... more Peptide patterns of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were assumed to reflect the complex pathology of acute lung injury (ALI)/acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) better than clinical and inflammatory parameters and may be superior for outcome prediction. A training group of patients suffering from ALI/ARDS was compiled from equal numbers of survivors and nonsurvivors. Clinical history, ventilation parameters, Murray's lung injury severity score (Murray's LISS) and interleukins in BALF were gathered. In addition, samples of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid were analyzed by means of hydrophobic chromatography and MALDI-ToF mass spectrometry (MALDI-ToF MS). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis for each clinical and cytokine parameter revealed interleukin-6>interleukin-8>diabetes mellitus>Murray's LISS as the best outcome predictors. Outcome predicted on the basis of BALF levels of interleukin-6 resulted in 79.4% accuracy, 82.7% sensitivity and 76....
Lymphomatoid granulomatosis (LYG) is a rare disease with an unknown pathogenesis. It is considere... more Lymphomatoid granulomatosis (LYG) is a rare disease with an unknown pathogenesis. It is considered as a B-cell disorder with an uncertain malignant potential. The disease is classified as an angiocentric and angiodestructive lymphoproliferative disorder. EBV-association (LMP1) and the detection of the surface antigens CD20 and CD30 are the characteristic pathological findings. The lung, the nervous system, the kidneys and the liver are affected most frequently. In the present report the case of a 79-year-old man is described, who showed a cavity in the upper right lobe which was opened out into the trachea. The initial CXR and CT scan demonstrated a large nodular air space opacity (reversed halo sign) on the upper right area and a smaller one on the left side. In addition to CT and bronchoscopy, a surgical biopsy was performed to confirm the diagnosis of lymphomatoid granulomatosis. Treatment consisted in chemotherapy with rituximab, cyclophosphamide, vincristine and prednisolone (R...
Einleitung: Ziel der QUANTIFY-Studie war der Vergleich der Fix-Dosis-Kombination QVA149 1x taglic... more Einleitung: Ziel der QUANTIFY-Studie war der Vergleich der Fix-Dosis-Kombination QVA149 1x taglich, bestehend aus dem LABA Indacaterol und dem LAMA Glycopyrronium, mit der freien Kombination von Tiotropium (TIO) 1x taglich und Formoterol (FOR) 2x taglich. Die klinische Relevanz dieser „reallife“-Studie ergibt sich aus der Tatsache, dass TIO und FOR die in Deutschland am haufigsten verschriebenen Bronchodilatatoren sind. Methode: Patienten mit moderater/schwerer COPD ≥40 Jahre wurden doppelblind, double-dummy auf QVA149 110/50 µg oder TIO 18 µg plus FOR 12 µg randomisiert (1:1). Der primare Endpunkt war Nicht-Unterlegenheit von QVA149 vs. TIO/FOR bei der Lebensqualitat (St. George's Respiratory Fragebogen, SGRQ-C) nach Woche 26. Ergebnisse: Von 934 randomisierten Patienten (Durchschnittsalter 62,9 Jahre; mittlere post-bronchodilatatorische FEV1 53,2%), beendeten 87,9% die Studie. Die Nicht-Unterlegenheit wurde erreicht und QVA149 zeigte im Vergleich zu TIO/FOR numerische Uberlegenheit bezuglich SGRQ-C (Unterschied -0,69; 95% KI: -2,31 – 0,92; p = 0,399), Atemnot (Unterschied im Transition Dyspnoe Index (TDI) 0,38; 95% KI: -0,06 – 0,82; p = 0,087) sowie der Anzahl moderater/schwerer Exazerbationen (Odds Ratio 0,83; 95% KI: 0,57 – 1,20; p = 0,323). Bedeutend ist die signifikante Uberlegenheit von QVA149 gegenuber TIO/FOR beim Anteil an Patienten mit einer Verbesserung von ≥1 Punkt im TDI: 49,6% [QVA149] gegenuber 42,4% [TIO/FOR] (p = 0,033). Die Inzidenz an UEs war zwischen beiden Behandlungsarmen vergleichbar. Schlussfolgerung: QVA149 einmal taglich erzielte gegenuber dem Therapiestandard der freien Kombination von TIO/FOR eine klinisch bedeutsame und signifikante Verbesserung der Atemnot bei TDI-Respondern, verbunden mit einer Verbesserung der Lebensqualitat und einer Reduktion der Anzahl an COPD-Exazerbationen.
Die Standardtherapie des mittelgradigen und schweren Asthma bronchiale besteht aus einer kombinie... more Die Standardtherapie des mittelgradigen und schweren Asthma bronchiale besteht aus einer kombinierten antiinflammatorischen (Glukokortikoide) und antiobstruktiven (kurz-und langwirkende â 2-Sympathomimetika) Therapie über verschiedene
Vehicular Technology Conference Fall 2000. IEEE VTS Fall VTC2000. 52nd Vehicular Technology Conference (Cat. No.00CH37152)
For third generation mobile radio systems like the TD-CDMA based UTRA TDD mode the use of smart a... more For third generation mobile radio systems like the TD-CDMA based UTRA TDD mode the use of smart antenna technology promises a substantial performance improvement on the up- and the downlink. The third generation mobile radio system UTRA with the TDD mode, which utilizes a combined CDMA and TDMA multiple access scheme, has been specified in the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). The use of smart antennas at the base station reduces interference in two ways: on the uplink the intercell interference can be suppressed. The estimated spatial information about the users and interferers can then be used for beamforming on the downlink, which significantly reduces the interference also in this direction. Especially for terminals with a RAKE-receiver-structure a major performance improvement can be observed because of the intracell interference reduction. These performance improvements are expressed in concrete results derived from link-level simulations using the described technology and simulation environment.
HISTORY AND CLINICAL FINDINGS A 26-year-old man fell acutely ill with fever (39 degrees C), rigor... more HISTORY AND CLINICAL FINDINGS A 26-year-old man fell acutely ill with fever (39 degrees C), rigor, dry cough, headache and pain in the neck and limbs. Ambulant treatment with amoxycillin, later cefuroximaxetil, worsened his general condition. At admission to hospital he had, over his trunk and limbs, cocarde-like, erythematous efflorescences up to 2 cm in diameter with central elevations and blisters. Additional acute bronchitis, pharyngitis, stomatitis, tonsillitis, conjunctivitis and urethritis indicated extensive mucosal involvement. INVESTIGATIONS Significant findings were: 9900/microl WBC, ESR 57 mm at one hour, C-reactive protein 160 mg/l, capillary pO2 6.4 kPa, pCO2 4.2 kPa. Mycoplasma serology (days 1, 8, 15) took a typical course. Chest radiogram showed an interstitial infiltrate on day 5. DIAGNOSIS Respiratory Mycoplasma infection with interstitial pneumonia and exudative erythema multiforme. TREATMENT AND COURSE Because infection with an atypical pathogen was suspected, a...
Particulates refer to particles, dust, dirt, soot and aerosol mists that has suspended in the sur... more Particulates refer to particles, dust, dirt, soot and aerosol mists that has suspended in the surrounding air. They may consist of solids of various forms including fibres or liquids. Long term exposure to silicon dioxide containing dusts (crystalline silica: quartz, tridymite, cristobalite, coesite, stishovite) may cause pneumoconiosis in the form of acute or/either chronic silicosis. Asbestos refers to a divers family of crystalline hydrated fibrous siliates typically exhibiting a greater tha 3:1 length ot diameter ratio. It is subdivided into serpentine (Chrysotile) and amphibole (crocidolite, amosite, anthophyllite, tremolite, actinolite). Exposure to asbestos fibres may cause lung fibrosis and promote cancer of the lung or the pleura. Besides the induction of malignant diseases dust exposure may result in obstructive as well as restrictive lung diseases which may be compensate in case of the recognition as a occupational diseases. Other occupational exposures leading to pneumoconiosis are caused be talc, or metals including aluminium containing dusts. Also the group of man-made mineral (MMMFs) or vitreous fibres (MMVFs), including glass wool, rock wool, slag wool, glass filaments, microfibres, refractory ceramic fibres are bioactive under certain experimental conditions. Although it has been shown that MMMFs may cause malignancies when injected intraperitoneally in high quantities in rodents, inhalation trials and human studies could not reproduce these results in the same precision. Fine particles (particulate matter = PM) comprise one of the most widespread and harmful air pollutants in the industrialized world. PM may cause worsening of asthma and other respiratory diseases, reduce lung function development in children, potentially increased the risk of premature death in the elderly and enhance mortality from cardiac diseases. Because of the small size PM2.5 is seen to be even more hazardous than PM10.
Early diagnosis of lung carcinoma is greatly desired. A potential source of early information reg... more Early diagnosis of lung carcinoma is greatly desired. A potential source of early information regarding the process of cancerisation in the airways is exhaled breath condensate (EBC). The direct approach to detecting cancerisation is examining DNA from the area of chronic damage, i.e. airways and lung parenchyma. We therefore investigated DNA in EBC of patients with NSCLC and healthy volunteers. Human DNA was amplified by PCR in exhaled breath condensate and used to detect p53 mutations. A PCR of the beta-actin gene fragment was used to detect human DNA in each of the EBC samples. In 65.7% of the samples, the beta-actin gene was found. Extracted DNA as well as native EBC were equally suited as starting material for amplification. Mutations of the p53 gene were investigated in all EBC samples of NSCLC patients. p53 exons 5-8 were amplified using nested PCR and subsequently sequenced. Mutations were found in four of the patients (n=11; 36.4%) while no mutation was found in volunteers (n=10). Mutations detected in EBC were also compared with those of corresponding tumor tissue. Different point mutations in EBC and tumor tissue were revealed in all cases. Our findings demonstrate that exhaled breath condensate may be used for analysis of somatic gene mutations in an area of direct tobacco-related DNA damage.
Cryptic female choice (CFC), a form of sexual selection during or post mating, describes processe... more Cryptic female choice (CFC), a form of sexual selection during or post mating, describes processes of differential sperm utilization by females to bias fertilization outcomes towards certain males. In Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) the ovarian fluid surrounding the ova of a given female differently enhances the sperm velocity of males. Sperm velocity is a key ejaculate trait that determines fertilization success in externally fertilizing fishes, thus the differential effect on sperm velocity might bias male fertilization outcomes and represent a mechanism of CFC. Once sperm reach the oocyte, CFC could potentially be further facilitated by sperm-egg interactions, which are well understood in externally fertilizing marine invertebrates. Here, we explored the potential genetic basis of both possible mechanisms of CFC by examining whether the genotypic combinations of mates (amino-acid divergence, number of shared alleles) at the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I and II explain the variation in sperm velocity and/or male fertilization success that is not explained by sperm velocity, which might indicate MHC-based sperm-egg interactions. We recorded sperm velocity in ovarian fluid, employed paired-male fertilization trials and evaluated the fertilization success of each male using microsatellite-based paternity assignment. We showed that relative sperm velocity was positively correlated with fertilization success, confirming that the differential effect on sperm velocity may be a mechanism of CFC in Chinook salmon. The variation in sperm velocity was independent of MHC class I and II. However, the MHC class II divergence of mates explained fertilization success, indicating that this locus might influence sperm-egg interactions.
Peptide patterns of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were assumed to reflect the complex patho... more Peptide patterns of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were assumed to reflect the complex pathology of acute lung injury (ALI)/acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) better than clinical and inflammatory parameters and may be superior for outcome prediction. A training group of patients suffering from ALI/ARDS was compiled from equal numbers of survivors and nonsurvivors. Clinical history, ventilation parameters, Murray's lung injury severity score (Murray's LISS) and interleukins in BALF were gathered. In addition, samples of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid were analyzed by means of hydrophobic chromatography and MALDI-ToF mass spectrometry (MALDI-ToF MS). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis for each clinical and cytokine parameter revealed interleukin-6>interleukin-8>diabetes mellitus>Murray's LISS as the best outcome predictors. Outcome predicted on the basis of BALF levels of interleukin-6 resulted in 79.4% accuracy, 82.7% sensitivity and 76....
Lymphomatoid granulomatosis (LYG) is a rare disease with an unknown pathogenesis. It is considere... more Lymphomatoid granulomatosis (LYG) is a rare disease with an unknown pathogenesis. It is considered as a B-cell disorder with an uncertain malignant potential. The disease is classified as an angiocentric and angiodestructive lymphoproliferative disorder. EBV-association (LMP1) and the detection of the surface antigens CD20 and CD30 are the characteristic pathological findings. The lung, the nervous system, the kidneys and the liver are affected most frequently. In the present report the case of a 79-year-old man is described, who showed a cavity in the upper right lobe which was opened out into the trachea. The initial CXR and CT scan demonstrated a large nodular air space opacity (reversed halo sign) on the upper right area and a smaller one on the left side. In addition to CT and bronchoscopy, a surgical biopsy was performed to confirm the diagnosis of lymphomatoid granulomatosis. Treatment consisted in chemotherapy with rituximab, cyclophosphamide, vincristine and prednisolone (R...
Einleitung: Ziel der QUANTIFY-Studie war der Vergleich der Fix-Dosis-Kombination QVA149 1x taglic... more Einleitung: Ziel der QUANTIFY-Studie war der Vergleich der Fix-Dosis-Kombination QVA149 1x taglich, bestehend aus dem LABA Indacaterol und dem LAMA Glycopyrronium, mit der freien Kombination von Tiotropium (TIO) 1x taglich und Formoterol (FOR) 2x taglich. Die klinische Relevanz dieser „reallife“-Studie ergibt sich aus der Tatsache, dass TIO und FOR die in Deutschland am haufigsten verschriebenen Bronchodilatatoren sind. Methode: Patienten mit moderater/schwerer COPD ≥40 Jahre wurden doppelblind, double-dummy auf QVA149 110/50 µg oder TIO 18 µg plus FOR 12 µg randomisiert (1:1). Der primare Endpunkt war Nicht-Unterlegenheit von QVA149 vs. TIO/FOR bei der Lebensqualitat (St. George's Respiratory Fragebogen, SGRQ-C) nach Woche 26. Ergebnisse: Von 934 randomisierten Patienten (Durchschnittsalter 62,9 Jahre; mittlere post-bronchodilatatorische FEV1 53,2%), beendeten 87,9% die Studie. Die Nicht-Unterlegenheit wurde erreicht und QVA149 zeigte im Vergleich zu TIO/FOR numerische Uberlegenheit bezuglich SGRQ-C (Unterschied -0,69; 95% KI: -2,31 – 0,92; p = 0,399), Atemnot (Unterschied im Transition Dyspnoe Index (TDI) 0,38; 95% KI: -0,06 – 0,82; p = 0,087) sowie der Anzahl moderater/schwerer Exazerbationen (Odds Ratio 0,83; 95% KI: 0,57 – 1,20; p = 0,323). Bedeutend ist die signifikante Uberlegenheit von QVA149 gegenuber TIO/FOR beim Anteil an Patienten mit einer Verbesserung von ≥1 Punkt im TDI: 49,6% [QVA149] gegenuber 42,4% [TIO/FOR] (p = 0,033). Die Inzidenz an UEs war zwischen beiden Behandlungsarmen vergleichbar. Schlussfolgerung: QVA149 einmal taglich erzielte gegenuber dem Therapiestandard der freien Kombination von TIO/FOR eine klinisch bedeutsame und signifikante Verbesserung der Atemnot bei TDI-Respondern, verbunden mit einer Verbesserung der Lebensqualitat und einer Reduktion der Anzahl an COPD-Exazerbationen.
Die Standardtherapie des mittelgradigen und schweren Asthma bronchiale besteht aus einer kombinie... more Die Standardtherapie des mittelgradigen und schweren Asthma bronchiale besteht aus einer kombinierten antiinflammatorischen (Glukokortikoide) und antiobstruktiven (kurz-und langwirkende â 2-Sympathomimetika) Therapie über verschiedene
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