Objective: To design clear guidelines for the staging and follow-up of patients with uterine cervical cancer, and to provide the radiologist with a framework for use in multidisciplinary conferences. Methods: Guidelines for uterine cervical cancer staging and follow-up were defined by the female imaging subcommittee of the ESUR (European Society of Urogenital Radiology) based on the expert consensus of imaging protocols of 11 leading institutions and a critical review of the literature. Results: The results indicated that high field Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) should include at least two T2-weighted sequences in sagittal, axial oblique or coronal oblique

The general stress response in Alphaproteobacteria was recently described to depend on the alternative sigma factor EcfG , whose activity is regulated by its anti-sigma factor NepR. The response regulator PhyR, in turn, regulates NepR activity in a partner-switching mechanism according to which phosphorylation of PhyR triggers sequestration of NepR by the sigma factor-like effector domain of PhyR. Although genes encoding predicted histidine kinases can often be found associated with phyR, little is known about their role in modulation of PhyR phosphorylation status. We demonstrate here that the PhyR-NepREcfG cascade is important for multiple stress resistance and competitiveness in the phyllosphere in a naturally abundant plant epiphyte, Sphingomonas sp. strain Fr1, and provide evidence that the partner switching mechanism is conserved. We furthermore identify a gene, designated phyP, encoding a predicted histidine kinase at the phyR locus as essential. Genetic epistasis experiments suggest that PhyP acts upstream of PhyR, keeping PhyR in an unphosphorylated, inactive state in nonstress conditions, strictly depending on the predicted phosphorylatable site of PhyP, His-341. In vitro experiments show that Escherichia coli inner membrane fractions containing PhyP disrupt the PhyR-P/NepR complex. Together with the fact that PhyP lacks an obvious ATPase domain, these results are in agreement with PhyP functioning as a phosphatase of PhyR, rather than a kinase.

The purpose of this study was to define guidelines for endometrial cancer staging with MRI. The technique included critical review and expert consensus of MRI protocols by the female imaging subcommittee of the European Society of Urogenital Radiology, from ten European institutions, and published literature between 1999 and 2008. The results indicated that high field MRI should include at least two T2-weighted sequences in sagittal, axial oblique or coronal oblique orientation (short and long axis of the uterine body) of the pelvic content. High-resolution postcontrast images acquired at 2 min ± 30 s after intravenous contrast injection are suggested to be optimal for the diagnosis of myometrial invasion. If cervical invasion is suspected, additional slice orientation perpendicular to the axis of the endocervical channel is recommended. Due to the limited sensitivity of MRI to detect lymph node metastasis without lymph nodespecific contrast agents, retroperitoneal lymph node screening with pre-contrast sequences up to the level of the kidneys is optional. The likelihood of lymph node invasion and the need for staging lymphadenectomy are also indicated by high-grade histology at endometrial tissue sampling and by deep myometrial or cervical invasion detected by MRI. In conclusion, expert consensus and literature review lead to an optimized MRI protocol to stage endometrial cancer.

No abstract

Swimming organisms can enhance mixing in their natural environments by creating eddies in their wake and by dragging water along. However, these mixing mechanisms are inefficient for microorganisms, because swimming‐induced variations in velocity, temperature, and dissolved substances are evened out before they can be advected. In bioconvection, however, microorganisms induce water movement not by propulsion directly but by locally changing the fluid density, which drives convection. Observations of bioconvection have so far mainly been limited to laboratory settings. We report the first observation and quantification of bioconvection within a stratified natural water body. Using in situ measurements, laboratory experiments, and numerical simulations, we demonstrate that the bacterium Chromatium okenii is capable of mixing 0.3 to 1.2 m thick water layers at around 12 m water depth in the Alpine Lake Cadagno (Switzerland). As many species are capable of driving bioconvection, this phenomenon potentially plays a role in species distributions and influences large‐scale phenomena like algal blooms.

Background: A progressive lung disease and a worse survival have been observed in patients with systemic sclerosis and alveolitis. The objective of this study was to define the functional, radiological and biological markers of alveolitis in SSc patients.

Anoxygenic phototrophic bacteria utilize ancient metabolic pathways to link sulfur and iron metabolism to the reduction of CO . In meromictic Lake Cadagno, Switzerland, both purple sulfur (PSB) and green sulfur anoxygenic phototrophic bacteria (GSB) dominate the chemocline community and drive the sulfur cycle. PSB and GSB fix carbon utilizing different enzymatic pathways and these fractionate C-isotopes to different extents. Here, these differences in C-isotope fractionation are used to constrain the relative input of various anoxygenic phototrophs to the bulk community C-isotope signal in the chemocline. We sought to determine whether a distinct isotopic signature of GSB and PSB in the chemocline persists in the settling fraction and in the sediment. To answer these questions, we also sought investigated C-isotope fractionation in the water column, settling material, and sediment of Lake Cadagno, compared these values to C-isotope fractionation of isolated anoxygenic phototroph cultures, and took a mass balance approach to investigate relative contributions to the bulk fractionation signature. We found a large C-isotope fractionation between dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and particulate organic carbon (POC) in the Lake Cadagno chemocline. This large fractionation between the DIC and POC was also found in culture experiments carried out with anoxygenic phototrophic bacteria isolated from the lake. In the Lake Cadagno chemocline, anoxygenic phototrophic bacteria controlled the bulk C-isotope fractionation, but the influence of GSB and PSB differed with season. Furthermore, the contribution of PSB and GSB to bulk C-isotope fractionation in the chemocline could be traced in the settling fraction and in the sediment. Taken together with other studies, such as lipid biomarker analyzes and investigations of other stratified lakes, these results offer a firmer understanding of diagenetic influences on bacterial biomass.

Contrast-enhanced US of the ileal wall is a promising method for objective, reproducible assessment of disease activity in patients with ileal CD.