Adult-onset ornithine transcarbamylase (OTC) deficiency unmasked by the Atkins' diet

Late-onset symptoms of urea-cycle disorder may lead to a life-threatening disease which is often undetected. We report the clinical and metabolic manifestations of acute hyperammonemic encephalopathy in a 47-year-old asymptomatic man with ornithine transcarbamylase (OTC) deficiency. The hyperammonemic encephalopathy was unmasked by a high-protein Atkins diet.

Virtobot--a multi-functional robotic system for 3D surface scanning and automatic post mortem biopsy

The Virtopsy project, a multi-disciplinary project that involves forensic science, diagnostic imaging, computer science, automation technology, telematics and biomechanics, aims to develop new techniques to improve the outcome of forensic investigations. This paper presents a new approach in the field of minimally invasive virtual autopsy for a versatile robotic system that is able to perform three-dimensional (3D) surface scans as well as post mortem image-guided soft tissue biopsies.

3D bloodstain pattern analysis: ballistic reconstruction of the trajectories of blood drops and determination of the centres of origin of the bloodstains

For crime scene investigation in cases of homicide, the pattern of bloodstains at the incident site is of critical importance. The morphology of the bloodstain pattern serves to determine the approximate blood source locations, the minimum number of blows and the positioning of the victim. In the present work, the benefits of the three-dimensional bloodstain pattern analysis, including the ballistic approximation of the trajectories of the blood drops, will be demonstrated using two illustrative cases. The crime scenes were documented in 3D, using the non-contact methods digital photogrammetry, tachymetry and laser scanning. Accurate, true-to-scale 3D models of the crime scenes, including the bloodstain pattern and the traces, were created. For the determination of the areas of origin of the bloodstain pattern, the trajectories of up to 200 well-defined bloodstains were analysed in CAD and photogrammetry software. The ballistic determination of the trajectories was performed using ballistics software. The advantages of this method are the short preparation time on site, the non-contact measurement of the bloodstains and the high accuracy of the bloodstain analysis. It should be expected that this method delivers accurate results regarding the number and position of the areas of origin of bloodstains, in particular the vertical component is determined more precisely than using conventional methods. In both cases relevant forensic conclusions regarding the course of events were enabled by the ballistic bloodstain pattern analysis.

Geometric facial comparisons in speed-check photographs

In many cases, it is not possible to call the motorists to account for their considerable excess in speeding, because they deny being the driver on the speed-check photograph. An anthropological comparison of facial features using a photo-to-photo comparison can be very difficult depending on the quality of the photographs. One difficulty of that analysis method is that the comparison photographs of the presumed driver are taken with a different camera or camera lens and from a different angle than for the speed-check photo. To take a comparison photograph with exactly the same camera setup is almost impossible. Therefore, only an imprecise comparison of the individual facial features is possible. The geometry and position of each facial feature, for example the distances between the eyes or the positions of the ears, etc., cannot be taken into consideration. We applied a new method using 3D laser scanning, optical surface digitalization, and photogrammetric calculation of the speed-check photo, which enables a geometric comparison. Thus, the influence of the focal length and the distortion of the objective lens are eliminated and the precise position and the viewing direction of the speed-check camera are calculated. Even in cases of low-quality images or when the face of the driver is partly hidden, good results are delivered using this method. This new method, Geometric Comparison, is evaluated and validated in a prepared study which is described in this article.

Regulation of leukocyte recruitment by the long pentraxin PTX3

Pentraxins are a superfamily of conserved proteins involved in the acute-phase response and innate immunity. Pentraxin 3 (PTX3), a prototypical member of the long pentraxin subfamily, is a key component of the humoral arm of innate immunity that is essential for resistance to certain pathogens. A regulatory role for pentraxins in inflammation has long been recognized, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Here we report that PTX3 bound P-selectin and attenuated neutrophil recruitment at sites of inflammation. PTX3 released from activated leukocytes functioned locally to dampen neutrophil recruitment and regulate inflammation. Antibodies have glycosylation-dependent regulatory effect on inflammation. Therefore, PTX3, which is an essential component of humoral innate immunity, and immunoglobulins share functional outputs, including complement activation, opsonization and, as shown here, glycosylation-dependent regulation of inflammation.

Multiple colonization with S. pneumoniae before and after introduction of the seven-valent conjugated pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine

Simultaneous carriage of more than one strain of Streptococcus pneumoniae promotes horizontal gene transfer events and may lead to capsule switch and acquisition of antibiotic resistance. We studied the epidemiology of cocolonization with S. pneumoniae before and after introduction of the seven-valent conjugated pneumococcal vaccine (PCV7).