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Biomedical subjects

N Schulz

Publications and source records attributed to N Schulz.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

Integrated modelling for the evaluation of infiltration effects.

The objective of the present study is the estimation of the potential benefits of sewer pipe rehabilitation for the performance of the drainage system and the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) as well as for the receiving water quality. The relation of sewer system status and the infiltration rate is assessed based on statistical analysis of 470 km of CCTV (Closed Circuit Television) inspected sewers of the city of Dresden. The potential reduction of infiltration rates and the consequent performance improvements of the urban wastewater system are simulated as a function of rehabilitation activities in the network. The integrated model is applied to an artificial system with input from a real sewer network. In this paper, the general design of the integrated model and its data requirements are presented. For an exemplary study, the consequences of the simulations are discussed with respect to the prioritisation of rehabilitation activities in the network.

Cities↗
PubMed2000

[Food-dependent Cushing syndrome of long standing with mild clinical features].

HISTORY AND CLINICAL FINDINGS: A 40-year-old woman complained of weight gain for 10 years. Because of this, she yearly went on a excessive weight reduction diet with weight loss of up to 12 kg. Nevertheless, a total weight gain of 15 kg as well as changing degrees of hypertension, muscular weakness and severe depression were registered during this long period. For 5 years ecchymosis and for 2 years oligomenorrhoea as well as oedema had become evident. Recently large macronodular adrenal glands were found on routine abdominal ultrasound. At the time of clinical investigation early this year she presented with relatively mild Cushing features, such as moon face, central obesity, hirsutism, ecchymosis and hypertension. INVESTIGATIONS: Endocrine testing demonstrated suppressed plasma ACTH, low to normal plasma cortisol after overnight fasting and an inverse diurnal rhythm. During 24 hours of fasting plasma cortisol levels and free urinary cortisol excretion were within normal range, but highly elevated under normal food intake. Plasma cortisol levels increased dramatically in response to a lipid-rich meal (5.6-fold), to a protein-rich meal (6.6-fold) and to oral glucose (3.7-fold). Increases in plasma cortisol were closely correlated to increases of gastric inhibitory polypeptide (GIP) concentrations. Subcutaneous injection of octreotide completely inhibited the plasma cortisol and GIP response to oral glucose. Plasma ACTH and cortisol levels did not increase after CRH administration, but fasting plasma cortisol promptly increased after ACTH stimulation. Non-fasting plasma cortisol levels and free urinary cortisol excretion were not suppressed by high doses of dexamethasone. Abdominal computed tomography showed macronodular enlargement of both adrenal glands. TREATMENT AND COURSE: The patient underwent bilateral adrenalectomy. Postoperatively, she was treated with replacement doses of hydrocortisone and fludrocortisone. All Cushing features have regressed, a normal menstrual cycle and normal plasma ACTH concentrations have become evident. CONCLUSION: This case report not only presents a very rare cause of Cushing's syndrome--food-dependent or gastric inhibitory peptide (GIP)-dependent hypercortisolism--but it also demonstrates a special course of this disease of relatively long duration. Severe adrenal hyperplasia contrasted with mild clinical symptoms obviously caused by frequent periods of weight reduction diet. Considering this moderate clinical course it might well be that food-dependent hypercortisolism is more frequent than supposed, but not diagnosed owing to relatively mild clinical symptoms.

Adrenalectomy↗
PubMed1997

[Category distribution and prognostic significance of operationalized psychodynamic diagnosis. Initial experiences with "OPD-1" in inpatient psychotherapy].

The paper describes the application of the system of "operationalized psychodynamic diagnosis" (OPD) which was developed in a multicentric effort during the recent years. The system is used for the classification of videotape-recorded interviews with 30 patients prior to inpatient psychotherapy. The classification system allows the diagnostic assessment of the patients' illness behaviour, their interpersonal relationships, their conflicts, psychic structure and their symptoms. The aim of the study was a description of the patient group as well as a test of the relationship between diagnostic features and treatment outcome following several months of inpatient group psychotherapy. The study confirms the practicability of the OPD-system and shows that the description of the patient group seems to be plausible and valid. Single diagnostic categories seem to be useful for the prognosis of treatment outcome, especially structural features, but also characteristics of the patients' illness behaviour and their sensitivity for conflicts.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Pheochromocytomas and C-cell thyroid neoplasms in transgenic c-mos mice: a model for the human multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 syndrome.

Transgenic mice carrying and expressing a mos protooncogene, linked to the Moloney murine sarcoma virus long terminal repeat, develop severe neurological defects and lens abnormalities. Here we report that after long latent periods, mice in three of four of these mos transgenic lines develop a high frequency of multicentric pheochromocytomas and/or medullary thyroid neoplasms. The pattern of tumor formation is remarkably similar to the human autosomal dominantly inherited neoplastic syndrome, multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 (MEN 2), and tumors from these transgenic animals display the same neuroendocrine marker staining pattern as seen in MEN 2. The similarity between the tumor pathologies and presentation patterns of MEN 2 patients and mos transgenic mice suggests that they may arise through related pathways. The type of tumor presentation varies in a line-dependent manner indicating that there is interaction between the transgene and the genetic background. Moreover, when the non-tumor-bearing mos transgenic line is crossed to a different mouse background, the F1 offspring display the MEN 2 phenotype. These studies indicate that penetrance of the autosomal dominant mos transgenic phenotype is dependent on both integration site and background.

Adrenal Gland Neoplasms↗
PubMed1992

Patterns of neoplasia in c-mos transgenic mice and their relevance to multiple endocrine neoplasia.

We have previously described a neurological phenotype for transgenic mice carrying the c-Mos proto-oncogene. Pheochromocytomas and C-cell thyroid neoplasms occur in these transgenic lines in patterns that are similar to those seen in multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 (MEN 2). Characterization of the pathological lesions via immunohistochemistry underscores similarities between MEN 2 and these transgenic mice. When transgenic mice that do not display the MEN 2 phenotype are crossed to a different background, the progeny display the MEN 2 phenotype. Thus the interaction of the background with the transgene is such that it can suppress tumor information. This observation bears special relevance to the human syndrome in that this model system may be used to study the question of penetrance of phenotype.

Adrenal Gland Neoplasms↗
PubMed1991

Ability of the c-mos product to associate with and phosphorylate tubulin.

The mos proto-oncogene product, pp39mos, is a protein kinase and has been equated with cytostatic factor (CSF), an activity in unfertilized eggs that is thought to be responsible for the arrest of meiosis at metaphase II. The biochemical properties and potential substrates of pp39mos were examined in unfertilized eggs and in transformed cells in order to study how the protein functions both as CSF and in transformation. The pp39mos protein associated with polymers under conditions that favor tubulin oligomerization and was present in an approximately 500-kilodalton "core" complex under conditions that favor depolymerization. beta-Tubulin was preferentially coprecipitated in pp39mos immunoprecipitates and was the major phosphorylated product in a pp39mos-dependent immune complex kinase assay. Immunofluorescence analysis of NIH 3T3 cells transformed with Xenopus c-mos showed that pp39mos colocalizes with tubulin in the spindle during metaphase and in the midbody and asters during telophase. Disruption of microtubules with nocodazole affected tubulin and pp39mos organization in the same way. It therefore appears that pp39mos is a tubulin-associated protein kinase and may thus participate in the modification of microtubules and contribute to the formation of the spindle. This activity expressed during interphase in somatic cells may be responsible for the transforming activity of pp39mos.

Amino Acid Sequence↗