The 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko observation campaign in support of the Rosetta mission

We present a summary of the campaign of remote observations that supported the European Space Agency's Rosetta mission. Telescopes across the globe (and in space) followed comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko from before Rosetta's arrival until nearly the end of the mission in September 2016. These provided essential data for mission planning, large-scale context information for the coma and tails beyond the spacecraft and a way to directly compare 67P with other comets. The observations revealed 67P to be a relatively 'well-behaved' comet, typical of Jupiter family comets and with activity patterns that repeat from orbit to orbit. Comparison between this large collection of telescopic observations and the in situ results from Rosetta will allow us to better understand comet coma chemistry and structure. This work is just beginning as the mission ends-in this paper, we present a summary of the ground-based observations and early results, and point to many questions that will be addressed in future studies.This article is part of the themed issue 'Cometary science after Rosetta'.

Comparison of imaging planes during CT-based evaluation of clavicular ossification: a multi-center study

Determining the ossification stage of the medial clavicular epiphysis by computed tomography represents the currently recommended methodology for the question of whether a living individual has completed the 18th or 21st year of life. In the present study, thin-slice CT scans of 1078 sternoclavicular joints were reconstructed in axial and coronal image series and evaluated according to the two classification systems established for age diagnostics using the clavicle. Both image series (axial and coronal) were analyzed separately. When comparing the results of axial and coronal view, a different ossification stage was found in 35.6% of the clavicles. The results suggest an influence of the imaging plane on the process of stage determination. In order to further approximate the three-dimensional and asymmetrical structure of the epiphyseal ossification center, the usage of at least two different reformation types may be recommended. In practice, only those reference studies should be applied which exactly employed the same number and orientations of the reformation types that are going to be used in the respective routine case.

Thermal requirements for growth, survival and aerobic performance of weatherfish larvae Misgurnus fossilis

Thermal requirements of larval weatherfish Misgurnus fossilis were investigated in terms of growth, survival and aerobic performance. Growth and survival of M. fossilis larvae acclimated to five temperatures (11, 15, 19, 23 and 27° C) were measured over 25 days. In the upper temperature treatments (19, 23 and 27° C), survival of larvae was stable throughout the entire rearing period (>75%), whereas 11 and 15° C resulted in severe declines in survival (to <10%). Growth of larvae (expressed as dry mass and total length) was highest at 19 and 23° C, but significantly decreased at 27° C. Routine metabolic rate of 3 days post-hatch larvae was estimated as oxygen consumption rate (ṀO₂ ) during acute exposure (30 min to 1 h) to seven temperatures (11, 15, 19, 23, 27, 31 and 35° C). Larval oxygen uptake increased with each consecutive temperature step from 11 to 27° C, until a plateau was reached at temperatures >27° C. All larvae of the 35° C regime, however, died within the ṀO₂ measurement period. M. fossilis larvae show greater than expected tolerance of high temperatures. On the other hand, low temperatures that are within the range of likely habitat conditions are critical because they might lead to high mortality rates when larvae are exposed over periods >10 days. These findings help to improve rearing conditions and to identify suitable waters for stocking and thus support the management of re-introduction activities for endangered M. fossilis.

Systematic procedure for identifying the five main ossification stages of the medial clavicular epiphysis using computed tomography: a practical proposal for forensic age diagnostics

In forensic age estimations of living individuals, computed tomography of the clavicle is widely used for determining the age of majority. To this end, the degree of ossification of the medial clavicular epiphysis can be determined by means of two classification systems complementing each other: a 5-stage system and an additional 6-stage system that further sub-classifies the stages 2 and 3. In recent years, practical experience and new data revealed that difficulties and even wrong stage determinations may occur especially when following the short descriptions of the fundamental 5-stage system only. Based on current literature, this article provides a systematic procedure for identifying the five main ossification stages by listing important preconditions and presenting an algorithm that is comprised of four specific questions. Each question is accompanied by comprehensive and detailed descriptions which specify the criteria used for differentiation. The information is subdivided into "single-slice view" and "multi-slice view." In addition, illustrative case examples and schematic drawings facilitate application of the procedure in forensic practice. The pitfalls associated with the criteria of stage determination will be discussed in detail. Eventually, two general rules will be inferred to assign correct ossification stages of the medial clavicular epiphysis by means of computed tomography.

Ratenbildung bei KV-Daten mit GKV-Versicherten auf Kreisebene – ein empirisches Schätzmodell auf der Basis des Mikrozensus

Hintergrund: Daten aus der kassenärztlichen Versorgung werden u. a. in der Gesundheitsberichterstattung und der Versorgungsforschung auf Kreisebene genutzt. Für eine korrekte Ratenbildung müsste die Zahl der GKV-Versicherten im Nenner zugrunde gelegt werden, diese steht aber in einigen Bundesländern auf Kreisebene nicht zur Verfügung. Die Raten werden daher im kassenärztlichen System mit einer Surrogatgröße (definiert über die Arztkontakte) gebildet. Dies führt zu Unschärfen, sodass kleinräumige Regionalvergleiche nur bedingt möglich sind. Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit ist ein besseres Schätzmodell für die Zahl der GKV-Versicherten auf Kreisebene.

Methodik: Der Anteil der GKV-Versicherten in den bayerischen Kreisen wird durch ein multiples lineares Regressionsmodell geschätzt. Im Modell wird der Anteil der GKV-Versicherten in den Anpassungsschichten des Mikrozensus (einer Zusammenfassung von mehreren Kreisen) erklärt durch Einflussfaktoren auf den Versicherungsstatus, die auf Kreisebene vorliegen (verfügbares Einkommen, Beamten- und Selbständigenanteil). Die durch das Modell berechneten GKV-Versichertenzahlen werden mit der Surrogatgröße verglichen. Eine konkrete Anwendung erfolgt am Beispiel der regionalen Diabetesdiagnosen aus den Daten der Kassenärztlichen Vereinigung Bayerns.

Ergebnisse: Durch das Regressionsmodell werden für die bayerischen Kreise GKV-Versichertenanteile zwischen 74,7 und 91,6% geschätzt. Der Unterschied zu der bisher genutzten Ersatzgröße beträgt bis zu 18,6 Prozentpunkte. Dies spiegelt sich dementsprechend in den Behandlungsprävalenzen wider, hier am Beispiel des Diabetes mellitus veranschaulicht.

Schlussfolgerung: Die vorliegende Analyse zeigt, mit welchen Unsicherheiten die Ratenbildung bei Daten aus der kassenärztlichen Versorgung derzeit behaftet ist und was daraus für kleinräumige Vergleiche, etwa in der Gesundheitsberichterstattung, folgt. Die Aufbereitung valider Nennerdaten im Rahmen der Datentransparenzregelung nach SGB V ist anzustreben.

[Forensic age estimation in juveniles and young adults: Reducing the range of scatter in age diagnosis by combining different methods]

The dramatic rise in the number of refugees entering Germany means that age estimation for juveniles and young adults whose age is unclear but relevant to legal and official procedures has become more important than ever. Until now, whether and to what extent the combination of methods recommended by the Study Group on Forensic Age Diagnostics has resulted in a reduction of the range of scatter of the summarized age diagnosis has been unclear. Hand skeletal age, third molar mineralization stage and ossification stage of the medial clavicular epiphyses were determined for 307 individuals aged between 10 and 29 at time of death on whom autopsies were performed at the Institutes of Legal Medicine in Berlin, Frankfurt am Main and Hamburg between 2001 and 2011. To measure the range of scatter, linear regression analysis was used to calculate the standard error of estimate for each of the above methods individually and in combination. It was found that combining the above methods led to a reduction in the range of scatter. Due to various limitations of the study, the statistical parameters determined cannot, however, be used for age estimation practice.

Waterborne toxicity and diet-related effects of fungicides in the key leaf shredder Gammarus fossarum (Crustacea: Amphipoda)

Animals involved in leaf litter breakdown (i.e., shredders) play a central role in detritus-based stream food webs, while their fitness and functioning can be impaired by anthropogenic stressors. Particularly fungicides can affect shredders via both waterborne exposure and their diet, namely due to co-ingestion of adsorbed fungicides and shifts in the leaf-associated fungal community, on which shredders' nutrition heavily relies. To understand the relevance of these effect pathways, we used a full 2×2-factorial test design: the leaf material serving as food was microbially colonized for 12 days either in a fungicide-free control or exposed to a mixture of five current-use fungicides (sum concentration of 62.5μg/L). Similarly, the amphipod shredder Gammarus fossarum was subjected to the same treatments but for 24 days. Waterborne exposure reduced leaf consumption by ∼20%, which did not fully explain the reduction in feces production (∼30%), indicating an enhanced utilization of food to compensate for detoxification mechanisms. This may also explain the reduced feces production (∼10%) of gammarids feeding on fungicide-exposed leaves. The reduction may, however, also be caused by a decreased nutritious quality of the leaves indicated by a reduced species richness (∼40%) of leaf-associated fungi. However, compensation for these effects by Gammarus was seemingly incomplete, since both waterborne exposure and the consumption of the fungicide-affected diet drastically reduced gammarid growth (∼110% and ∼40%, respectively). Our results thus indicate that fungicide mixtures have the potential for detrimental implications in aquatic ecosystem functioning by affecting shredders via both effect pathways.

Molecular switches under TGFβ signalling during progression from cardiac hypertrophy to heart failure

Cardiac hypertrophy is a mechanism to compensate for increased cardiac work load, that is, after myocardial infarction or upon pressure overload. However, in the long run cardiac hypertrophy is a prevailing risk factor for the development of heart failure. During pathological remodelling processes leading to heart failure, decompensated hypertrophy, death of cardiomyocytes by apoptosis or necroptosis and fibrosis as well as a progressive dysfunction of cardiomyocytes are apparent. Interestingly, the induction of hypertrophy, cell death or fibrosis is mediated by similar signalling pathways. Therefore, tiny changes in the signalling cascade are able to switch physiological cardiac remodelling to the development of heart failure. In the present review, we will describe examples of these molecular switches that change compensated hypertrophy to the development of heart failure and will focus on the importance of the signalling cascades of the TGFβ superfamily in this process. In this context, potential therapeutic targets for pharmacological interventions that could attenuate the progression of heart failure will be discussed.

The relative importance of diet-related and waterborne effects of copper for a leaf-shredding invertebrate

Copper (Cu) exposure can increase leaf-associated fungal biomass, an important food component for leaf-shredding macroinvertebrates. To test if this positive nutritional effect supports the physiological fitness of these animals and to assess its importance compared to waterborne toxicity, we performed a 24-day-bioassay in combination with a 2×2 factorial design using the amphipod shredder Gammarus fossarum and a field-relevant Cu concentration of 25 μg/L (n = 65). Waterborne toxicity was negligible, while gammarids fed leaves exposed to Cu during microbial colonization exhibited a near-significant impairment in growth (∼30%) and a significantly reduced lipid content (∼20%). These effects appear to be governed by dietary uptake of Cu, which accumulated in leaves as well as gammarids and likely overrode the positive nutritional effect of the increased fungal biomass. Our results suggest that for adsorptive freshwater contaminants dietary uptake should be evaluated already during the registration process to safeguard the integrity of detritus-based ecosystems.