Extremophiles in a changing world.

Extremophiles and their products have been a major focus of research interest for over 40 years. Through this period, studies of these organisms have contributed hugely to many aspects of the fundamental and applied sciences, and to wider and more philosophical issues such as the origins of life and astrobiology. Our understanding of the cellular adaptations to extreme conditions (such as acid, temperature, pressure and more), of the mechanisms underpinning the stability of macromolecules, and of the subtleties, complexities and limits of fundamental biochemical processes has been informed by research on extremophiles. Extremophiles have also contributed numerous products and processes to the many fields of biotechnology, from diagnostics to bioremediation. Yet, after 40 years of dedicated research, there remains much to be discovered in this field. Fortunately, extremophiles remain an active and vibrant area of research. In the third decade of the twenty-first century, with decreasing global resources and a steadily increasing human population, the world's attention has turned with increasing urgency to issues of sustainability. These global concerns were encapsulated and formalized by the United Nations with the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the presentation of the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015. In the run-up to 2030, we consider the contributions that extremophiles have made, and will in the future make, to the SDGs.

[Pain assessment of severely injured patients 2 years after trauma]. / Bestandsaufnahme der Schmerzsituation von Schwerstverletzten zwei Jahre nach Trauma.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Trauma patients often suffer from persisting pain even years after injury, and data on long-term pain management is lacking. The aim of this study was to evaluate the frequency of persisting pain and health-related quality of life (HrQoL) among trauma victims 2 years after injury. Furthermore, the frequency of pain specialist consultation and the quality of outpatient pain management, including phamacological management, was assessed. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We analyzed prospectively collected data on severely injured adult patients treated between 2008-2011 at the Cologne Merheim Medical Center (CMMC)/Germany.  Data included the 'Polytrauma Outcome Profile' and a standardized questionnaire on outpatient pain management. Exclusion criteria were death, inability to answer the questionnaire due to cognitive disabilities and lack of language knowledge. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: 207/391 (53 %) data sets were available for analysis, presenting a typical trauma collective with injury severity of ISS 19, predominantly male and a mean age of 44 years. 2 years after trauma 59 % still reported that they suffered from severe persisting pain; 53 % of these patients were under pharmacological pain medication. Only 1/5 of the patients with severe persisting pain was treated by a pain specialist. Successful treatment options do exist; improvement of treatment is required.

Evaluation of the Sysmex R-1000. An automated reticulocyte analyzer.

The new fully automated reticulocyte analyzer, Sysmex R-1000 (TOA Medical Electronics, Kobe, Japan), was evaluated for its routine use in the Hematological Laboratory at the University Hospital Basel, Switzerland. The operating characteristics, such as within-run precision, linearity, and carryover, fulfilled the manufacturer's specifications and are excellent. Correlation with the standard method, manual reticulocyte counting, is linear for normal and high values. For low reticulocyte counts the regression points show a deviation from their linearity. An absolute zero value is not obtained by the R-1000. The R-1000 measures total RNA content of each cell and expresses the value as low fluorescence ratio (LFR), medium fluorescence ratio (MFR), and high fluorescence ratio (HFR). The analysis of this ratio resolves the problem of zero reticulocytes: A fraction of less than 0.002 (0.2%) with an LFR of 100% represents aplasia; a shift of the intensity of fluorescence to HFR heralds regeneration. Results of samples stored at room temperature remain stable and within the range of the within-run precision for up to 12 hours, when stored at 5 degrees C for more than 48 hours. The authors conclude that the R-1000 is easy to operate, fulfills the criteria for accuracy and precision, and is highly suitable for daily routine use in a large central hematologic laboratory.