The aim of our work was to study the structure of a typical modern cosmetic oil-in-water emulsion (o/w-emulsion), based on the emulsifier polyglyceryl-3 dicitrate/stearate and glycerylstearate/stearyl alcohol as consistency enhancer. We have used a systematic approach building up the cosmetic emulsion step by step, characterizing all systems by using Small Angle Neutron Scattering (SANS), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), Freeze Fracture Transmission Electron Microscopy (FF-TEM), light microscopy and rheology. The starting point was the pure emulsifier in water, which was shown to form lamellar stacked bilayers with a spacing of 7 nm, coexisting with polydisperse unilamellar vesicles in the sub-µm range. Upon addition of consistency enhancer, also multilamellar vesicles could be obtained. Then, oil has been added stepwise, until finally a complete cosmetic o/w-emulsion was obtained. In the final emulsion, oil droplets with sizes in the µm range are surrounded by multiple, irregularly spaced bilayer structures and vesicles. Approximately 30% of the water present in the system shows a restricted mobility (“encapsulated water”) according to PFG-NMR. Crucial for the viscosity build-up is the presence of the oil droplets; a cream-like consistency is obtained by steric interaction of oil droplets and crystalline bilayer structures in the aqueous phase of the emulsion.

Electron beam melting additive manufacturing (AM) process has been developed for the manufacture of Ti6Al4V parts for the aerospace industry. In the AM research team from Airbus Group, this technology is being evaluated with a view to production of flight hardware. During the evaluation of the process, the microstructure variation as a function of geometry was studied. A distinctive microstructure was observed up to 0.5 mm from of part surface (the skin layer) and the thickness of the a-plate spacing varied depending on the thickness of the parts being produced. With the purpose of quantifying the influence of the grain thickness and the mechanical performance of the material, cylinders with nine different diameters (6 up to 40 mm diameter) were manufactured with 80 mm height. The microstructure characterisation showed how the a-plate spacing changed from thin to thick structures and the influence of grain size on tensile strength was quantified.

Einleitung: Sportwetten erweisen sich aufgrund ihrer Verknüpfung mit sportlichen Interessen als besonders reizvoll für Personen, die selbst Sport treiben. Veranstaltungsmerkmale wie eine hohe Ereignisfrequenz und (vermeintliche) Kompetenzeinflüsse sind allerdings mit einem erhöhten Suchtpotenzial verbunden.

Ice clouds are known to be major contributors to radiative forcing in the Earth's atmosphere, yet describing their microphysical properties in climate models remains challenging. Among these properties, the ice water content (IWC) of cirrus clouds is of particular interest both because it is measurable and because it can be directly related to a number of other radiatively important variables such as extinction and effective radius. This study expands upon the work of Schiller et al. (2008), extending a climatology of IWC by combining datasets from several European and US airborne campaigns and ground-based lidar measurements over Jülich, Germany. The relationship between IWC and temperature is further investigated using the new merged dataset and probability distribution functions (PDFs). A PDF-based formulation allows for representation of not only the mean values of IWC, but also the variability of IWC within a temperature band. The IWC-PDFs are observed to be bimodal over the whole cirrus temperature range. This bimodality is also found in ice crystal number PDFs and might be attributed to different cirrus formation mechanisms such as heterogeneous and homogeneous freezing.

While nanoemulsions (10–200 nm) are not thermodynamically stable systems they can exhibit quite long term stability. In this paper oil/surfactant mixtures, containing diethylhexyl carbonate/phenoxyethanol/parabens as oil and polyglyceryl-4 laurate/dilauryl citrate as surfactant, form nanoemulsions simply by dilution with water, i.e. by means of the phase inversion concentration (PIC) method. In order to study this highly interesting phenomenon an investigation at constant oil-to-surfactant (O/S) ratio was done by means of viscosity, conductivity, and UV/Vis-transmittance measurements. This phase study as a function of the dilution by water shows that at an intermediate water content a two-phase system of bicontinuous structure is formed, which exhibits a very pronounced viscosity and conductivity maximum shortly before the homogeneous nanoemulsion phase is reached. In the same region SANS shows a high degree of ordering of this bicontinuous structure. SANS and cryo-TEM investigations of the nanoemulsion regime show an increasing average size with dilution and, more interestingly, the presence of two populations with different average particle sizes around 10–15 nm and 25–40 nm. The relative proportion of each population depends on the amount of added water, leading to an average growth of the particle size with increasing dilution.

Studying the radiative impact of cirrus clouds requires knowledge of the relationship between their microphysics and the single scattering properties of cloud particles. Usually, this relationship is obtained by modeling the optical scattering properties from in situ measurements of ice crystal size distributions. The measured size distribution and the assumed particle shape might be erroneous in case of non-spherical ice particles. We present here a novel optical sensor (the Particle Habit Imaging and Polar Scattering probe, PHIPS) designed to measure simultaneously the 3-D morphology and the corresponding optical and microphysical parameters of individual cloud particles. Clouds containing particles ranging from a few micrometers to about 800 μm diameter in size can be characterized systematically with an optical resolution power of 2 μm and polar scattering resolution of 1° for forward scattering directions (from 1° to 10°) and 8° for side and backscattering directions (from 18° to 170°). The maximum acquisition rates for scattering phase functions and images are 262 KHz and 10 Hz, respectively. Some preliminary results collected in two ice cloud campaigns conducted in the AIDA cloud simulation chamber are presented. PHIPS showed reliability in operation and produced size distributions and images comparable to those given by other certified cloud particles instruments. A 3-D model of a hexagonal ice plate is constructed and the corresponding scattering phase function is compared to that modeled using the Ray Tracing with Diffraction on Facets (RTDF) program. PHIPS is a highly promising novel airborne optical sensor for studying the radiative impact of cirrus clouds and correlating the particle habit-scattering properties which will serve as a reference for other single, or multi-independent, measurement instruments.

Drug Prescribing for Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease in General Practice: a Cross-Sectional Study

We evaluated the requirements on spatial resolution of digital imaging equipment in the cardiac catheterization laboratory. Fifty cinefilms of the heart as the biological object and one film of a lead — ladder — pattern as an objective test were used. The patient films were examined for the visibility of the left ventricular angiogram, coronary arterial tree, coronary artery lesions, branching of septal arteries and the number of septal arteries. All films were viewed three times: with a 625 line TV-system, with a 1249 line TV-system and with a cineprojector. It was found that two application areas with different demands on the spatial and temporal resolution can be distinguished:

Aims N-terminal-pro-brain natriuretic peptide (Nt-proBNP) is a reliable risk predictor in acute coronary artery disease (CAD). Little is known about patients with stable angina pectoris (SAP). We aimed to investigate the prognostic impact of Nt-proBNP in a population with CAD especially focussing on patients with SAPMethods and results We obtained baseline samples from a prospective cohort of 904 consecutive patients with CAD. Cardiovascular events were registered during followup.(median 2 years; maximum 3.7 years). Baseline Nt-proBNP was significantly higher among individuals with cardiovascular events compared with those without (711.5 vs. 238.8 pg/mL; P < 0.0001). A similar association was found if the analysis was performed in patients who presented with stable angina (330 vs. 166.5 pg/mL; P= 0.006) or acute coronary syndrome (990.9 vs. 527.7 pg/mL; P= 0.03). In the SAP group, patients within the top quartile (> 487.9 pg/mL) had a 3.7-fold (95% Cl 1.2-9.1; P= 0.01) increase in cardiovascular risk. After adjustment for most potential confounders including left ventricular ejection fraction, Nt-proBNP remained predictive for patients with serum concentrations in the upper quartile in comparison with patients in the lowest quartile (hazard ratio highest vs. lowest quartile: 4.0; P= 0.03) (n = 417).Conclusion Baseline concentration of Nt-proBNP is independently related to future cardiovascular events in patients with stable angina.

Background: T cells from CLL subjects can be activated and expanded ex vivo using the XcellerateTM Process, in which peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) are incubated with anti-CD3 and anti-CD28 antibody-coated magnetic beads (XcyteTM-Dynabeads®). With this process, anergic T cells from CLL subjects can be activated, leading to upregulation of important immune molecules on leukemic B cells and leukemic cell apoptosis (Bonyhadi et al., ASH 2002). This trial was initiated to evaluate the safety and efficacy of autologous Xcellerated T Cells in CLL subjects.

2566 Background: T cells from CLL patients can be activated & expanded ex vivo using the Xcellerate™ Process (XP), in which peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) are incubated with anti-CD3 & anti-CD28 antibody coated magnetic beads. With this process, anergic T cells from CLL patients can be activated, leading to upregulation of important immune molecules on leukemic B cells & promotion of leukemic cell apoptosis (Bonyhadi et al., ASH 2002). This trial was initiated to evaluate the safety & efficacy of autologous Xcellerated T Cells (XCT) in CLL patients. Methods: Patients must have high risk or symptomatic/progressive intermediate risk disease & ECOG PS 0–2. PBMC are collected by leukapheresis for the XP, and patients subsequently receive a single infusion of XCT. Cohorts of 3 patients each are treated with increasing cell doses: 10 x 109, 30 x 109, and 60–100 x 109. Results: 11 of 18 patients have been treated to date, with a median f/u of 98 days (range 14–182). Baseline characteristics [median (range)] were: age 58 (39–68), years from diagnosis 3.0 (0.5–8.7), & WBC/mm3 54 (11–222). Prior treatments included fludarabine (3), non-fludarabine chemotherapy (3), experimental therapy (2) and no prior therapy (3). After the first cohort, a new bioreactor process was instituted in which T cells expanded 98 ± 31 fold, were 98.2 ± 1.3% T cells, with a CD4:CD8 ratio of 15.0 ± 28.4 (n = 9; mean ± SD). There have been no serious adverse events related to treatment to date. Following treatment, T cell counts increased. A 50% or greater reduction in lymph node area was observed in 10 patients. Median (range) spleen measurement in cm below left costal margin decreased from 4 (0–10) prior to treatment to 0 (0–4) at the time of last follow-up. Substantial decreases in peripheral leukemic cell counts have not been observed to date. Conclusions: XCT can be manufactured reproducibly in doses of up to 100 x 109 cells. Treatment leads to significant increases in T cell counts, and decreases in lymphadenopathy & splenomegaly. Repeat treatment and combination treatment with cytoreductive therapies are planned. Author Disclosure Employment or Leadership Consultant or Advisory Stock Ownership Honoraria Research Funding Expert Testimony Other Remuneration Xcyte Therapies, Inc. Xcyte Therapies, Inc. Xcyte Therapies, Inc. Xcyte Therapies, Inc.

Carotid stenosis is frequent in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). In the literature, 9-28% of patients with CAD have additional carotid artery stenosis, predictors of which are advanced age, smoking, diabetes mellitus, arterial hypertension, coronary multivessel disease, and peripheral arterial disease. Moreover, patients with unstable coronary syndromes and those with elevated inflammatory markers such as C-reactive protein or fibrinogen more often have concomitant CAD and carotid artery stenosis. The long-term prognosis of these patients is worse than with CAD only. Therefore, patients with CAD should be screened for additional carotid artery stenosis, especially if coronary artery bypass grafting is planned. Continuous wave Doppler sonography and color-coded duplex sonography are suitable methods to screen for carotid artery stenosis.

Inflammation underlies both onset and perpetuation of atherosclerosis. Plasma lipoproteins transport the platelet-activating factor-acetylhydrolase (PAF-AH) with potentially anti-inflammatory activities. Our aim was to determine whether PAF-AH activity was associated with inflammatory markers and with coronary artery disease (CAD). PAF-AH activity and a panel of inflammatory mediators were measured in plasma of 496 patients with CAD and in 477 controls; 276 patients presented with stable angina pectoris and 220 with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Individuals within the highest quartile of PAF-AH activity had an 1.8-fold increase in CAD risk [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.01 to 3.2; P = 0.048] compared with those in the first quartile (adjusted for clinical and metabolic factors). When excluding individuals receiving statin and angiotensin-converting enzyme-inhibitor medication, individuals within the highest quartile of PAF-AH activity revealed a 3.9-fold increase in CAD risk (95% CI, 2.0 to 7.7; P < 0.0001). In these subjects, the plasma PAF-AH activity increased gradually in stable angina and in ACS both in men (P < 0.0001) and in women (P < 0.001), as compared with controls. No correlation was found between PAF-AH levels and those of common markers of inflammation. This study and the previous ones raise the important issue of whether PAF-AH is simply a marker of risk or directly promotes atherosclerosis.