Dr. Johann Gottlieb Franz Xaver Lahm

Prof. Dr. H. Landois

Acto Solemne de Investidura como Doctor Honoris Causa del Profesor Dr. D. Enrique Alarcón Álvarez [Universidad de Sevilla]

En primer lugar se presenta una laudatio a Enrique Alarcón Álvarez, realizada por D. Javier Aracil Santonja, y posteriormente se recoge la lección magistral del Prof. Dr. D. Enrique Alarcón en la que, además de referirse a su trayectoria y vivencias en Escuela de Ingenieros Industriales de Sevilla, trata del tema de la ingeniería sísmica.

Die proto-konstitutionelle Etablierung der europäischen Innenpolitik, Rückblick und Ausblick auf Bedingungen föderaler Ordnung in Europa = The proto-constitutional establishment of European domestic policy. Review and outlook on conditions of federal order in Europe. ZEI Discussion Paper C225, 2014

ZEI Director Prof. Ludger Kühnhardt recalls the leading ideas of federalism as territorial equivalent for political pluralism. Celebrating the 80th anniversary of Bonn historian and political scientist Prof. Dr. Hans-Peter Schwarz, he reflects on the emerging EU domestic policies in ZEI Discussion Paper C 225.

Neighbors and other realities: The Atlantic civilization and its enemies. ZEI Discussion Paper C228, 2015

2014 was a watershed year for the geopolitical positioning of the European Union. For the first time since the end of the Cold War, Europe is no longer exporting stability but has begun to import instability in an unprecedented way. The neighborhood policy needs a fundamental review as non-European actors pursue policy concepts and strategies that run counter to EU norms and interests. ZEI Director Prof. Dr. Ludger Kühnhardt argues that the values of the Atlantic civilization have come under pressure in a world which tends to be influenced by new conflicts or a secular nature.

Dr. H.G. Bronn's Klassen und Ordnungen des Thier-Reichs : wissenschaftlich dargestellt in Wort und Bild.

Imprint varies: some volumes have imprint: Leipzig: Akademische Verlagsgesellschaft.

Dr. H.G. Bronn's klassen und ordnungen des tier-reichs, wissenschaftlich dargestellt in wort und bild.

Contains bibliographies.

Infecções cervicais profundas, casuística do serviço de otorrinolaringologia do Hospital Prof. Doutor Fernando Fonseca

As infecções cervicais profundas constituem um verdadeiro desafio clínico, permanecendo na actualidade um problema relevante de saúde. Objectivo: Análise estatística dos internamentos com diagnóstico de celulite/abcesso cervical no Serviço de Otorrinolaringologia do Hospital Prof. Doutor Fernando Fonseca. Material e métodos: Avaliação de processos clínicos referentes a internamentos com o diagnóstico de entrada de celulite/ abcesso cervical, entre 2001-2011. Resultados: Neste período foram internados 80 doentes com média de idade de 44 anos. As infecções odontogénicas foram responsáveis por 83,3% das etiologias detectadas. O tempo médio de internamento foi de 8,72 dias. 94% dos doentes foram medicados com antibioterapia de acção dupla e em 22,5% recorreu-se à drenagem cervical. Conclusão: Ainda hoje as infecções cervicais profundas constituem casos de gravidade acrescida, com índice de mortalidade elevado. A infecção odontogénica constitui a sua principal etiologia. A instituição de antibioterapia endovenosa precoce e eventual drenagem cirúrgica são fundamentais no tratamento desta condição.

Linear dimensional changes in plaster die models using different elastomeric materials

Dental impression is an important step in the preparation of prostheses since it provides the reproduction of anatomic and surface details of teeth and adjacent structures. The objective of this study was to evaluate the linear dimensional alterations in gypsum dies obtained with different elastomeric materials, using a resin coping impression technique with individual shells. A master cast made of stainless steel with fixed prosthesis characteristics with two prepared abutment teeth was used to obtain the impressions. References points (A, B, C, D, E and F) were recorded on the occlusal and buccal surfaces of abutments to register the distances. The impressions were obtained using the following materials: polyether, mercaptan-polysulfide, addition silicone, and condensation silicone. The transfer impressions were made with custom trays and an irreversible hydrocolloid material and were poured with type IV gypsum. The distances between identified points in gypsum dies were measured using an optical microscope and the results were statistically analyzed by ANOVA (p < 0.05) and Tukey's test. The mean of the distances were registered as follows: addition silicone (AB = 13.6 µm, CD=15.0 µm, EF = 14.6 µm, GH=15.2 µm), mercaptan-polysulfide (AB = 36.0 µm, CD = 36.0 µm, EF = 39.6 µm, GH = 40.6 µm), polyether (AB = 35.2 µm, CD = 35.6 µm, EF = 39.4 µm, GH = 41.4 µm) and condensation silicone (AB = 69.2 µm, CD = 71.0 µm, EF = 80.6 µm, GH = 81.2 µm). All of the measurements found in gypsum dies were compared to those of a master cast. The results demonstrated that the addition silicone provides the best stability of the compounds tested, followed by polyether, polysulfide and condensation silicone. No statistical differences were obtained between polyether and mercaptan-polysulfide materials.

Psicofísica clínica: aplicação de metodologia psicofísica no auxílio de diagnósticos. Descrição de método

A Psicofísica aplicada à Clínica com seres humanos pode prover ferramentas alternativas que auxiliem o acesso objetivo e quantificável a condições internas do paciente, que só poderiam ser obtidas, de outra forma, através de seus relatos e descrições. Um exemplo dessa parceria e aplicação da Psicofísica é o aparelho comercial C-Quant (Oculus Optikgeräte, Alemanha), cujo método psicofísico de acesso ao valor de dispersão de luz na retina foi desenvolvido pelo grupo de pesquisadores holandeses liderados pelo Prof. Dr. Thomas van den Berg, do Netherland Institute of Neuroscience (NIN). O acesso ao valor de dispersão de luz na retina é útil para auxiliar no diagnóstico de várias doenças oculares, como catarata. Neste artigo o método psicofísico presente no aparelho (Comparação da Compensação) é descrito.

Proteomic analysis of total cellular proteins of human neutrophils

Background: Neutrophils are the most abundant leukocytes in peripheral blood and represent one of the most important elements of innate immunity. Recent subcellular proteomic studies have focused on the identification of human neutrophil proteins in various subcellular membrane and granular fractions. Although there are relatively few studies dealing with the analysis of the total extract of human neutrophils, many biological problems such as the role of chemokines, adhesion molecules, and other activating inputs involved in neutrophil responses and signaling can be approached on the basis of the identification of the total cellular proteins. Results: Using gel-LC-MS/MS, 251 total cellular proteins were identified from resting human neutrophils. This is more than ten times the number of proteins identified by an initial proteome analysis of human neutrophils and almost five times the number of proteins identified by the first 2-DE map of extracts of rat polymorphonuclear leukocytes. Most of the proteins identified in the present study are well-known, but some of them, such as neutrophil-secreted proteins and centaurin beta-1, a cytoplasmic protein involved in the regulation of NF-kappa B activity, are described here for the first-time. Conclusion: The present report provides new information about the protein content of human neutrophils. Importantly, our study resulted in the discovery of a series of proteins not previously reported to be associated with human neutrophils. These data are relevant to the investigation of comparative pathological states and models for novel classes of pharmaceutical drugs that could be useful in the treatment of inflammatory disorders in which neutrophils participate.

Thermodynamic self-consistency issues related to the Cluster Variation Method: The case of the BCC Cr-Fe (Chromium-Iron) system

The Cluster Variation Method (CVM), introduced over 50 years ago by Prof. Dr. Ryoichi Kikuchi, is applied to the thermodynamic modeling of the BCC Cr-Fe system in the irregular tetrahedron approximation, using experimental thermochemical data as initial input for accessing the model parameters. The results are checked against independent data on the low-temperature miscibility gap, using increasingly accurate thermodynamic models, first by the inclusion of the magnetic degrees of freedom of iron and then also by the inclusion of the magnetic degrees of freedom of chromium. It is shown that a reasonably accurate description of the phase diagram at the iron-rich side (i.e. the miscibility gap borders and the Curie line) is obtained, but only at expense of the agreement with the above mentioned thermochemical data. Reasons for these inconsistencies are discussed, especially with regard to the need of introducing vibrational degrees of freedom in the CVM model. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

WHO comparative evaluation of serologic assays for Chagas disease

Evaluation of commercially available test kits for Chagas disease for use in blood bank screening is difficult due to a lack of large and well-characterized specimen panels. This study presents a collaborative effort of Latin American blood centers and the World Health Organization (WHO) to establish such a panel. A total of 437 specimens, from 10 countries were collected and sent to the WHO Collaborating Center in Sao Paulo and used to evaluate 19 screening assays during 2001 through 2005. Specimens were assigned a positive or negative status based on concordant results in at least three of the four confirmatory assays (indirect immunofluorescence, Western blot, radioimmunoprecipitation assay, and recombinant immunoblot). Of the 437 specimens, 168 (39%) were characterized as positive, 262 (61%) were characterized as negative, and 7 (2%) were judged inconclusive and excluded from the analysis. Sensitivity and specificity varied considerably: 88 to 100 and 60 to 100 percent, respectively. Overall, enzyme immunoassays (EIAs) performed better than the other screening assays. Four EIAs had both parameters higher than 99 percent. Of the four confirmatory assays, only the RIPA gave a 100 percent agreement with the final serologic status of the specimens. The sensitivities and specificities of at least four of the commercially available EIAs for Chagas disease are probably high enough to justify their use for single-assay screening of blood donations. Our data suggest that the majority of commercially available indirect hemagglutination assays should not be used for blood donor screening and that the RIPA could be considered a gold standard for evaluating the performance of other assays.

Thesis summary: Standardized dried extracts of Brazilian medicinal plants: Assessment of technical and economic feasibility of spouted bed drying

This study is an integral part of a research project which seeks the establishment of protocols for the production of standardized herbal dried extracts emphasizing the spouted bed drying. This thesis was conducted at faculty of Pharmaceutical Science of Ribeiro Preto/University of So Paulo, Brazil, under supervision of Prof. Dr. Wanderley Pereira Oliveira*, defended on September 28, 2007.