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Since the onset of the crisis in 2008, collective wage-setting mechanisms across the EU have faced pressure to become more ‘marketized’. Surveying developments across EU Member States, this article finds profound changes in wage-setting... more
Since the onset of the crisis in 2008, collective wage-setting mechanisms across the EU have faced pressure to become more ‘marketized’. Surveying developments across EU Member States, this article finds profound changes in wage-setting mechanisms in some countries, alongside less far-reaching ones in some others and little, if any change, in yet others. Pressure for further marketization has particularly focused on multi-employer bargaining arrangements, which constitute a fundamental feature of wage setting in western Europe. In particular, state supports underpinning such arrangements in the six countries subject to international financial assistance have been curtailed or removed. More profound changes are shown to have been driven by government imposition rather than negotiation between employers and unions. European and international institutions have exercised considerable influence, through requirements from the ‘troika’ but also through the EU’s new regime of economic gover...
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Despite differences in terms of contents and implementation procedures, it is possible to identify some common patterns in the application of IFAs. The overwhelming majority of IFAs have a global scope of application. Most agreements... more
Despite differences in terms of contents and implementation procedures, it is possible to identify some common patterns in the application of IFAs. The overwhelming majority of IFAs have a global scope of application. Most agreements adhere to fundamental social rights and contain the ILO core labour standards (freedom of association, collective bargaining, non-discrimination, abolition of forced labour, elimination of child labour); several also contain minimum terms and conditions of employment (working time, wages, health and safety). Only a few IFAs address just one specific issue, such as health and safety (ArcelorMittal)2 or trade union rights (Danone). The vast majority are signed by transnational companies based in Europe, and here, in particular in the ‘social market economies’ (Telljohann et al. 2009; Be 2010).
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faces new challenges. How the industrial relations systems of the new Member States respond to the challenges of accession, the single market and, eventually, EMU will play a crucial role in determining the ease of their assimilation... more
faces new challenges. How the industrial relations systems of the new Member States respond to the challenges of accession, the single market and, eventually, EMU will play a crucial role in determining the ease of their assimilation within the enlarged Union. This article, based on a research and development project undertaken by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, investigates and assesses a specific aspect of their industrial relations institutions, the mechanisms of extra-judicial conflict resolution. The existence of effective and efficient collective conflict resolution procedures and institutions strengthens social dialogue and the latter, again, plays an important role in the creation or reform of the existing dispute resolution procedures. Consequently, the article concludes that successful dispute resolution is directly correlated with the nature, scope and quality of collective bargaining and social dialogue in the new Member States.
... I also have to apologize to my wife, Yvonne, as well as to Felix and Moritz. Due to the preparation of the manuscript, I was not around as I should have been as a father and partner. So I do thank them for their benign patience, for... more
... I also have to apologize to my wife, Yvonne, as well as to Felix and Moritz. Due to the preparation of the manuscript, I was not around as I should have been as a father and partner. So I do thank them for their benign patience, for which I am very grateful. ...
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This database aims to provide researchers and policymakers with a set of country-level data in the area of wages, working time and collective disputes. It looks at both the systems that are currently in place (such as legislation or... more
This database aims to provide researchers and policymakers with a set of country-level data in the area of wages, working time and collective disputes. It looks at both the systems that are currently in place (such as legislation or collective bargaining agreements) and some outcomes (such as the level of collectively agreed pay or working time). Short, qualitative descriptions have been added to the data to facilitate a better understanding. The database covers all 28 EU Member States and Norway and provides time series from 2000–2015. It will be updated every second year. Process of data generation and validation For the system-related variables, Eurofound drew up a questionnaire which was discussed with some members of Eurofound's network of European correspondents in a workshop in Amsterdam in November 2015. National experts from the full network subsequently completed the questionnaire. On the basis of ICTWSS data, correspondents were asked to validate the figures provided and to give reasons in cases where they opted to use different data. An internal revision took place at Eurofound, involving further queries to correspondents, before the process for the data generation in version 1.0 was completed. The data will be reviewed and validated in future years, with updates planned for every second year
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This article updates previous research on financial participation, using employee data from the latest (fourth) edition of the European Working Conditions Survey. This is the first to provide the employee perspective on this subject and... more
This article updates previous research on financial participation, using employee data from the latest (fourth) edition of the European Working Conditions Survey. This is the first to provide the employee perspective on this subject and to cover all sizes of private company in all sectors across the whole enlarged European Union. The contrast between these new findings and those from previous (company-based) surveys is considerable.
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Excerpt] Industrial relations systems involve a complex web of rules, with political, economic, labour and social inputs interacting with institutions and practices to generate outcomes. These outcomes can be wage-setting agreements,... more
Excerpt] Industrial relations systems involve a complex web of rules, with political, economic, labour and social inputs interacting with institutions and practices to generate outcomes. These outcomes can be wage-setting agreements, employment relationships, as well as other intangible assets, such as trust, mutual recognition, cooperation schemes, social and industrial peace. Embedded as they are in national – and, increasingly, transnational – political, economic and social environments, industrial relations systems have undergone important changes in the last decades of the past century. The aim of this research is to monitor and analyse to what extent these changes and developments have affected both the understanding and the dynamics of these systems. Based on contributions from Eurofound’s network of European correspondents in all 28 EU Member States, the report identifies and discusses key dimensions – and underlying subdimensions – relevant to industrial relations systems i...
Eurofocus: National Practices of Information and Consultation Eurofocus: National Practices of Information and Consultation No summary available.
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Industrial democracy is a dimension of industrial relations which has been largely studied. However, the international comparison of the different features and outcomes of industrial democracy has attracted much less attention. The... more
Industrial democracy is a dimension of industrial relations which has
been largely studied. However, the international comparison of the
different features and outcomes of industrial democracy has
attracted much less attention. The article addresses this gap by
developing three tools: a dashboard of indicators, a composite indicator aiming to measure performance, and a typology addressed to
better understanding varieties of national industrial relations system.
Whilst industrial democracy performance is defined in a normative
way, the typology includes also other aspects related to industrial
relations institutions, processes and actors. Both normative and nonnormative indicators are included in the dashboard. The three tools
allow for cross-time analysis and are seen as complementary for the
comparative analysis of industrial democracy in Europe
been largely studied. However, the international comparison of the
different features and outcomes of industrial democracy has
attracted much less attention. The article addresses this gap by
developing three tools: a dashboard of indicators, a composite indicator aiming to measure performance, and a typology addressed to
better understanding varieties of national industrial relations system.
Whilst industrial democracy performance is defined in a normative
way, the typology includes also other aspects related to industrial
relations institutions, processes and actors. Both normative and nonnormative indicators are included in the dashboard. The three tools
allow for cross-time analysis and are seen as complementary for the
comparative analysis of industrial democracy in Europe
Previous Eurofound research has identified four key dimensions of industrial relations: industrial democracy, industrial competitiveness, social justice, and quality of work and employment. This report seeks to build a set of indicators... more
Previous Eurofound research has identified four key dimensions of industrial relations: industrial democracy, industrial competitiveness, social justice, and quality of work and employment. This report seeks to build a set of indicators to measure country performance in industrial relations in terms of these four dimensions and to develop a typology of industrial relations systems, enabling a cross-country analysis of trends. The report focuses particularly on industrial democracy, seen in this context as the core dimension of industrial relations and the most desirable model of work and employment governance.
Research Interests: Adolescent, Humans, Smoking, Female, Male, and 5 moreP-glycoprotein, Anticancer, Aged, Middle Aged, and Adult
Research Interests: Dentistry, Cancer, Immunohistochemistry, DNA damage, DNA repair, and 19 moreDNA, Humans, Female, Cell, Male, Oral Oncology, ENT, Fragmentation, Gene, Comet Assay, Aged, Middle Aged, Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OSCC), Gen, Adult, Sensitivity, Public health systems and services research, Mutagens, and DNA fragmentation
Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) signalling is particularly important in the biology of the vast majority of solid human malignancies. EGFR is over-expressed in up to 90-100% of head-and-neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC), and... more
Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) signalling is particularly important in the biology of the vast majority of solid human malignancies. EGFR is over-expressed in up to 90-100% of head-and-neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC), and increased expression of EGFR and its ligand Transforming Growth Factor-alpha (TGF-alpha) is not limited to malignant cells, but also detected in histologically normal mucosa of HNSCC patients, supporting the hypothesis of field carcinogenesis. Permanent EGFR activation via an autocrine stimulatory pathway is thought to be a major factor forcing pre-neoplastic tissue towards malignancy. Our study evaluates the impact of stimulation by TGF-alpha on carcinogen-induced and oxidative DNA damage in mucosa tissue cultures of macroscopically normal biopsies from tumour patients and controls. Effects of TGF-alpha on DNA-repair capacity were investigated. To assess DNA fragmentation, alkaline single-cell gel electrophoresis (comet assay) was used. Stimulation of cultures during 24 h with TGF-alpha decreased benzo(a)pyrene diolepoxide (BPDE)-induced DNA damage by 36% in the tumour group (p < 0.001) and by 7% in controls (n = 30). No statistically significant impact on oxidatively induced DNA fragmentation in both groups (n = 15 and 20, respectively), or DNA repair could be shown n (n = 6). The exact mechanism by which TGF-alpha stimulation reduces BPDE-induced DNA fragmentation remains unclear. It was shown in clinical studies, that EGFR targeting has synergistic effects with chemotherapy in HNSCC and reverses chemo-resistance of epithelial tumours, which was shown to be the consequence of altered expression of multidrug resistance (mdr) efflux pumps. EGFR downstream signalling regulates the transcription of MDR1 (p-glycoproteine) and glutathione homeostasis. BPDE is a substrate of mdr1 and is detoxified by glutathione conjugation. However, our results show a strong DNA-stabilizing effect of stimulation by TGF-alpha in mucosa tissue cultures of tumour patients and may therefore be seen as a physiological response to continued carcinogenic impact on the epithelium of the upper aerodigestive tract.
Research Interests: Genetics, Toxicology, Genetic Toxicology, Cancer, DNA damage, and 27 moreDNA repair, Environmental Biotechnology, DNA, Humans, Tissue culture, Mutation, Multidrug Resistance, Head and Neck Cancer, Glutathione, Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, Statistical Significance, P-glycoprotein, Carcinogens, Physiological Response, Hydrogen Peroxide, Comet Assay, Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OSCC), Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor, Mouth mucosa, Organ Culture, Clinical Study, Efflux Pumps, Oxidative Dna Damage, Carcinogen, Synergistic effect, DNA fragmentation, and Transforming Growth Factor
Head and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC) is the 7th most common cancer worldwide. Despite the development of new therapeutic agents such as monoclonal antibodies, prognosis did not change for the last decades. Cold atmospheric plasma... more
Head and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC) is the 7th most common cancer worldwide. Despite the development of new therapeutic agents such as monoclonal antibodies, prognosis did not change for the last decades. Cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) presents the most promising new technology in cancer treatment. In this study the efficacy of a surface micro discharging (SMD) plasma device against two head and neck cancer cell lines was proved. Effects on the cell viability, DNA fragmentation and apoptosis induction were evaluated with the MTT assay, alkaline microgel electrophoresis (comet assay) and Annexin-V/PI staining. MTT assay revealed that the CAP treatment markedly decreases the cell viability for all tested treatment times (30, 60, 90, 120 and 180 s). IC 50 was reached within maximal 120 seconds of CAP treatment. Comet assay analysis showed a dose dependent high DNA fragmentation being one of the key players in anti-cancer activity of CAP. Annexin-V/PI staining revealed induction o...
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Luftkollektoren weisen gegenüber flüssigkeitsdurchströmten Kollektoren mehrere signifikante Vorteile auf, und es laufen Aktivitäten zur Verbesserung der Rahmenbedingungen. Daher wurde am Fraunhofer ISE das EU-geförderte Projekt... more
Luftkollektoren weisen gegenüber flüssigkeitsdurchströmten Kollektoren mehrere signifikante Vorteile auf, und es laufen Aktivitäten zur Verbesserung der Rahmenbedingungen. Daher wurde am Fraunhofer ISE das EU-geförderte Projekt Cost-Effective (Förderkennzeichen: NMP2-LA-2008-212206) bearbeitet, und derzeit werden das BMU-geförderte Projekt Luko-E (Förderkennzeichen: 0325959A) sowie darüber hinausgehende Untersuchungen durchgeführt. Bisher wurden die stark massenstromabhängigen Mess- oder Simulationsergebnisse von Luftkollektoren für einzelne Massenströme dargestellt, womit sie schwer vergleichbar waren. In dieser Arbeit werden Methoden beschrieben, den Systembezug unter Berücksichtigung des Druckverlusts herzustellen, um die Vergleichbarkeit zu verbessern. Zunächst werden Systeme und Luftkollektoren über ihren nicht massenstromabhängigen Strömungswiderstand als hydraulischen Kennwert definiert bzw. charakterisiert. Abbildung 1: Differenz aus thermischer Leistung des Luftkollektors u...
Infections with Eimeria parasites can lead to severe diarrhoea with considerable clinical and economic consequences in first-year grazing stock. To identify and characterise the cause of diarrhoea observed during previous years, 164... more
Infections with Eimeria parasites can lead to severe diarrhoea with considerable clinical and economic consequences in first-year grazing stock. To identify and characterise the cause of diarrhoea observed during previous years, 164 animals on 14 dairy farms in northwestern Germany were included in this study. The calves were physically and parasitologically examined prior to turnout and until 21 days post
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This study analyzed the efficacy of transoral laser microsurgery and postoperative (chemo) radiotherapy (CRT) for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Between 1987 and 2007, 318 patients with pN2 neck disease were included.... more
This study analyzed the efficacy of transoral laser microsurgery and postoperative (chemo) radiotherapy (CRT) for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Between 1987 and 2007, 318 patients with pN2 neck disease were included. Seventy-three patients received laser resection and neck dissection alone, 154 postoperative radiotherapy, and 91 postoperative (C)RT. Mean follow-up was 58.2 ± 51.2 months, and locoregional control was significantly better after postoperative (C)RT (surgery alone: 42 %, radiotherapy: 57 %, CRT: 59 %; p < 0.01). Postoperative (C)RT did not have a significant impact on disease-specific survival (DSS) (surgery alone: 55 %, radiotherapy alone: 60 %, CRT: 64 %; p = 0.36). Fifty-seven patients (17.92 %) developed distant metastases, and 39 patients (12.26 %) presented with secondary malignancies, with no significant differences found between the treatment groups. Postoperative (C)RT significantly improved locoregional control, but had no significant effect on DSS because of high rates of secondary malignancies and distant metastases. Reduced radicality in combination with an effective screening might improve prognosis and quality of life of these patients.
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The aim of this study was to characterize the intracellular fate and nuclear uptake kinetics of oligonucleotides (ON) that were complexed with protamine sulfate (PS) and negatively charged liposomes at different ratios of ON to PS.... more
The aim of this study was to characterize the intracellular fate and nuclear uptake kinetics of oligonucleotides (ON) that were complexed with protamine sulfate (PS) and negatively charged liposomes at different ratios of ON to PS. Double-fluorescence labelling of ON and liposomal lipid was applied to simultaneously monitor the interaction as well as the individual fate of active agent and carrier upon intracellular delivery using confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). A DNA-analogue of a 68-mer intramolecular double-stranded RNA:DNA-hybridoligonucleotide (chimeraplasts) with unmodified phosphate backbone was employed. This construct was condensed with PS and coated with a liposomal formulation (AVE-3 = artificial viral envelope). PS-ON complexes and AVE -3-coated complexes with a defined composition were very effective in nuclear transport of ON for a ON:PS charge ratio of 1:3. Nucleus:cytosol fluorescence ratios peaked at about 10 hrs and started to decrease again at 21 hrs. A...
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About two thirds of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) cases are attributable to heavy tobacco and alcohol consumption. Tobacco carcinogens cause cellular damage in large areas of the upper aerodigestive tract mucosa and... more
About two thirds of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) cases are attributable to heavy tobacco and alcohol consumption. Tobacco carcinogens cause cellular damage in large areas of the upper aerodigestive tract mucosa and contribute to distinct molecular changes, such as increasing levels of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), during carcinogenesis. P-Glycoprotein (P-GP) is a multidrug-resistance transporter protein capable of extruding not only cytotoxic drugs, but also certain tobacco-related carcinogens. EGFR plays a major role in the transcriptional and functional regulation of P-GP and previous studies in our laboratory showed that stimulation of EGFR protection protected oropharyngeal cells from a carcinogen that is substrate of P-GP. Therefore, we evaluated expression levels of EGFR and P-GP and looked for a possible association with the smoking status of patients. Tissue cultures of healthy oropharyngeal mucosa were produced from 30 patients undergoing surgery...
Research Interests: Adolescent, Humans, Smoking, Female, Male, and 5 moreP-glycoprotein, Anticancer, Aged, Middle Aged, and Adult
Oxidative stress is a known exogenous risk factor for carcinogenesis in the head and neck. In addition to exogenous risk factors, the development of head and neck cancer is based on genetic alterations and individual mutagen sensitivity.... more
Oxidative stress is a known exogenous risk factor for carcinogenesis in the head and neck. In addition to exogenous risk factors, the development of head and neck cancer is based on genetic alterations and individual mutagen sensitivity. DNA damage caused by reactive oxygen species (ROS) is not uniformly distributed over the DNA, as certain chromosomes and genes are more likely to be damaged than others. The ability to repair damaged DNA sufficiently is a necessity in order to prevent carcinogenesis. The DNA-damaging effect of ROS, the specific sites of chromosomal changes and DNA repair in those regions require further investigation. In order to evaluate DNA damage in macroscopically healthy mucosal tissue of 37 patients with (15) and without cancer (22) of the oropharynx, four different chromosomes (chromosomes 3, 5, 8 and 11) involved in carcinogenesis of the oropharynx were examined. After incubation with H(2)O(2), comet FISH was applied to assess DNA damage of these chromosomes...
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Research Interests: Dentistry, Cancer, Immunohistochemistry, DNA damage, DNA repair, and 19 moreDNA, Humans, Female, Cell, Male, Oral Oncology, ENT, Fragmentation, Gene, Comet Assay, Aged, Middle Aged, Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OSCC), Gen, Adult, Sensitivity, Public health systems and services research, Mutagens, and DNA fragmentation
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A multicentric, placebo-controlled, randomised, blinded and blocked field study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy and safety of toltrazuril (Baycox, Bayer AG, Leverkusen, Germany) in the treatment of coccidiosis in first-year grazing... more
A multicentric, placebo-controlled, randomised, blinded and blocked field study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy and safety of toltrazuril (Baycox, Bayer AG, Leverkusen, Germany) in the treatment of coccidiosis in first-year grazing calves naturally infected with Eimeria spp. Three-hundred and thirty-one calves were enrolled in the study and allocated to one of two treatments at a ratio of 1:1. One hundred and sixty-seven animals were treated once orally with 15 mg/kg toltrazuril, and 164 animals served as placebo-treated controls. Two treatment regimes were compared, a metaphylactic (treatment on the day, or 1 day after, turn out) and a therapeutic treatment (4 or 7 days after turn out). During an observation period of 14 days after treatment the animals were clinically examined for diarrhoea and faecal samples were regularly assessed for Eimeria oocysts. Other possible causes of diarrhoea were excluded on the basis of microbiological and virological examination. Animals were predominantly infected with Eimeria alabamensis. Number of days with diarrhoea in animals treated with toltrazuril was significantly lower compared to the placebo-treated group (therapeutic treatment: P=0.0024; metaphylactic treatment: P<0.0001). Furthermore, the number of animals with diarrhoea during the observation period for a minimum of at least 3 days, the number of animals positive for Eimeria oocysts, and the number of animals with both diarrhoea for a period of at least 3 days and positive for Eimeria oocysts, were significantly lower (P<0.01), in the toltrazuril- compared to the placebo-treated animals. Body weight in the toltrazuril-treated animals significantly exceeded that of the placebo-treated animals at the end of the observation period. Mean difference in body weight was higher in the metaphylactic (+7.3 kg) compared to the therapeutic treatment group (+3.4 kg). No adverse reactions were observed. The results indicate that toltrazuril is highly efficacious and safe in the metaphylactic and therapeutic treatment of coccidiosis caused by E. alabamensis in first-year grazing calves.
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Parasitic nematodes cause major problems in livestock animals. Resistances to the most commonly used drugs are arising. The cyclooctadepsipeptide emodepside belongs to a new class of anthelmintics. A receptor for emodepside, Hc110-R, was... more
Parasitic nematodes cause major problems in livestock animals. Resistances to the most commonly used drugs are arising. The cyclooctadepsipeptide emodepside belongs to a new class of anthelmintics. A receptor for emodepside, Hc110-R, was previously identified in Haemonchus contortus. We have identified the complete coding sequences of putative orthologues in Cooperia oncophora and Ostertagia ostertagi, tri-chostrongyles in cattle. The putative receptors were named depsiphilins. The deduced amino acid sequence of C. oncophora depsiphilin has a similarity of 91% to the O. ostertagi sequence. The similarity of both the C. oncophora and O. ostertagi depsiphilin to Hc110-R is 89%, based on the amino acid sequence. The depsiphilins share 46% identity with the latrophilin-like protein 1 in Caenorhabditis elegans and 47% identity with a hypothetical protein in Caenorhabditis briggsae. Hc110-R and the latrophilin-like proteins of C. elegans were previously reported to be putative G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) and to be related to mammalian latrophilins. A seven transmembrane domain, a GPCR proteolytic site, and other conserved domains characteristic of receptors of the latrophilin group were identified within the depsiphilins. Therefore it seems reasonable to allocate the depsiphilins to the previously described latrophilins and latrophilin-like proteins.
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Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) signalling is particularly important in the biology of the vast majority of solid human malignancies. EGFR is over-expressed in up to 90-100% of head-and-neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC), and... more
Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) signalling is particularly important in the biology of the vast majority of solid human malignancies. EGFR is over-expressed in up to 90-100% of head-and-neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC), and increased expression of EGFR and its ligand Transforming Growth Factor-alpha (TGF-alpha) is not limited to malignant cells, but also detected in histologically normal mucosa of HNSCC patients, supporting the hypothesis of field carcinogenesis. Permanent EGFR activation via an autocrine stimulatory pathway is thought to be a major factor forcing pre-neoplastic tissue towards malignancy. Our study evaluates the impact of stimulation by TGF-alpha on carcinogen-induced and oxidative DNA damage in mucosa tissue cultures of macroscopically normal biopsies from tumour patients and controls. Effects of TGF-alpha on DNA-repair capacity were investigated. To assess DNA fragmentation, alkaline single-cell gel electrophoresis (comet assay) was used. Stimulation of cultures during 24 h with TGF-alpha decreased benzo(a)pyrene diolepoxide (BPDE)-induced DNA damage by 36% in the tumour group (p < 0.001) and by 7% in controls (n = 30). No statistically significant impact on oxidatively induced DNA fragmentation in both groups (n = 15 and 20, respectively), or DNA repair could be shown n (n = 6). The exact mechanism by which TGF-alpha stimulation reduces BPDE-induced DNA fragmentation remains unclear. It was shown in clinical studies, that EGFR targeting has synergistic effects with chemotherapy in HNSCC and reverses chemo-resistance of epithelial tumours, which was shown to be the consequence of altered expression of multidrug resistance (mdr) efflux pumps. EGFR downstream signalling regulates the transcription of MDR1 (p-glycoproteine) and glutathione homeostasis. BPDE is a substrate of mdr1 and is detoxified by glutathione conjugation. However, our results show a strong DNA-stabilizing effect of stimulation by TGF-alpha in mucosa tissue cultures of tumour patients and may therefore be seen as a physiological response to continued carcinogenic impact on the epithelium of the upper aerodigestive tract.
Research Interests: Genetics, Toxicology, Genetic Toxicology, Cancer, DNA damage, and 27 moreDNA repair, Environmental Biotechnology, DNA, Humans, Tissue culture, Mutation, Multidrug Resistance, Head and Neck Cancer, Glutathione, Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, Statistical Significance, P-glycoprotein, Carcinogens, Physiological Response, Hydrogen Peroxide, Comet Assay, Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OSCC), Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor, Mouth mucosa, Organ Culture, Clinical Study, Efflux Pumps, Oxidative Dna Damage, Carcinogen, Synergistic effect, DNA fragmentation, and Transforming Growth Factor
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To assess risk factors of patients with oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma in the Munich area of Southern Germany in relation to human papillomavirus (HPV) association of the tumors. To demonstrate differences in tumor characteristics... more
To assess risk factors of patients with oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma in the Munich area of Southern Germany in relation to human papillomavirus (HPV) association of the tumors. To demonstrate differences in tumor characteristics and their impact on adjuvant treatment. Between November 2010 and July 2013, patients were prospectively interviewed for risk factors before they underwent surgical resection of their tumors. HPV association was evaluated by p16 immunohistochemistry; tumor characteristics and type of adjuvant treatment were recorded. Follow-up data were collected after a median follow-up of 12.1 month. In contrast to many recent studies, we could not detect any difference in overall age and age at sexual debut between p16-positive and p16-negative patients. P16-negative patients are characterized by a more intensive tobacco and alcohol use, a more abusive way of consumption, less nonoral and less oral sex partners. P16-positive patients had a significantly higher risk of lymph node metastases, but nevertheless a significant lower risk to recur or to die. No difference in the incidence of synchronous second primary tumors was seen. P16-positive patients generally received a more aggressive adjuvant treatment because of more frequently involved lymph nodes. Lifestyle risk factors such as smoking, drinking, and sexual habits were independent from age, but showed marked differences between the p16-positive and p16-negative group. Since p16-positive patients were treated more aggressively, it is not possible to distinguish whether the better outcome of HPV-positive patients is a result of less aggressive cancers or more aggressive treatment. With regard to the ongoing debate about treatment deintensification, we should keep in mind that the survival of HPV-positive cancer patients is not 100 %.
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With the historic enlargement of May 2004, the European Union faces new challenges. How the industrial relations systems of the new Member States respond to the challenges of accession, the single market and, eventually, EMU will play a... more
With the historic enlargement of May 2004, the European Union faces new challenges. How the industrial relations systems of the new Member States respond to the challenges of accession, the single market and, eventually, EMU will play a crucial role in determining the ease of their assimilation within the enlarged Union. This article, based on a research and development project
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Recombinant allergen diagnostics have become increasingly important in daily allergological routine, made possible by inroads into the understanding of major and minor allergens accomplished within the last decade. Recombinant allergen... more
Recombinant allergen diagnostics have become increasingly important in daily allergological routine, made possible by inroads into the understanding of major and minor allergens accomplished within the last decade. Recombinant allergen diagnostics will, however, only provide correct diagnoses when sufficient knowledge of the regional IgE reactivity profile to a specific allergen source is available. A variety of studies in different European countries revealed reactivity profiles, where a sensitization to house dust mite could be recognized in more than 97 % of cases in which Der p1 and Der p2 were measured. The aim of this study was to investigate the IgE reactivity profiles of house dust mite allergic patients in southern Germany. Sera of house dust mite allergic patients (positive intranasal provocation) were screened for IgE antibodies against commercially available D pter., nDer p1, rDer p2 and rDer p10. IgE antibodies against D pter. could be found in 98 out of 98 sera (100 %). Seventy-five patients (76.5 %) reacted to nDer p1. In 72 patients (73.4 %), IgE antibodies against rDer p2 could be found, while IgE antibodies against rDer p10 were present in only 4 patients (4.1 %). Seventeen patients (17.3 %) had no IgE antibodies against nDer p1, rDer p2 and nDer p10, but displayed reactions to D pter. Knowledge of IgE regional reactivity profiles is necessary when using recombinant allergen diagnostics. In the case of our house dust mite allergic patients 17 would have remained undiagnosed based on a diagnostic method utilizing only the two major allergens nDerp1 and rDerp2.