Images obtained by the Optical, Spectroscopic, and Infrared Remote Imaging System (OSIRIS) cameras onboard the Rosetta spacecraft reveal that asteroid 21 Lutetia has a complex geology and one of the highest asteroid densities measured so far, 3.4 ± 0.3 grams per cubic centimeter. The north pole region is covered by a thick layer of regolith, which is seen to flow in major landslides associated with albedo variation. Its geologically complex surface, ancient surface age, and high density suggest that Lutetia is most likely a primordial planetesimal. This contrasts with smaller asteroids visited by previous spacecraft, which are probably shattered bodies, fragments of larger parents, or reaccumulated rubble piles.

The European Space Agency's Rosetta mission encountered the main-belt asteroid (2867) Steins while on its way to rendezvous with comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Images taken with the OSIRIS (optical, spectroscopic, and infrared remote()imaging system) cameras on board Rosetta show that Steins is an oblate body with an effective spherical diameter of 5.3 kilometers. Its surface does not show color variations. The morphology of Steins is dominated by linear faults and a large 2.1-kilometer-diameter crater near its south pole. Crater counts reveal a distinct lack of small craters. Steins is not solid rock but a rubble pile and has a conical appearance that is probably the result of reshaping due to Yarkovsky-O'Keefe-Radzievskii-Paddack (YORP) spin-up. The OSIRIS images constitute direct evidence for the YORP effect on a main-belt asteroid.

Pre-cometary ice located around star-forming regions contains molecules that are pre-biotic compounds or pre-biotic precursors. Molecular line surveys of hot cores provide information on the composition of the ice since it sublimates near these sites. We have combined a hydrostatic hot core model with a complex network of chemical reactions to calculate the time-dependent abundances of molecules, ions, and radicals. The model considers the interaction between the ice and gas phase. It is applied to the Orion hot core where high-mass star formation occurs, and to the solar-mass binary protostar system IRAS 16293-2422. Our calculations show that at the end of the hot core phase both star-forming sites produce the same prebiotic CN-bearing molecules. However, in the Orion hot core these molecules are formed in larger abundances. A comparison of the calculated values with the abundances derived from the observed line data requires a chemically unprocessed molecular cloud as the initial state of hot core evolution. Thus, it appears that these objects are formed at a much younger cloud stage than previously thought. This implies that the ice phase of the young clouds does not contain CN-bearing molecules in large abundances before the hot core has been formed. The pre-biotic molecules synthesized in hot cores cause a chemical enrichment in the gas phase and in the pre-cometary ice. This enrichment is thought to be an important extraterrestrial aspect of the formation of life on Earth and elsewhere.

The progressive evolution of cardiac marker testing in patients with acute coronary syndromes has extended their role into risk stratification and guidance of therapeutic regimen. To provide utilization of cardiac markers around the clock and facilitate the diagnostic work-up of patients with acute chest pain in the emergency room, a point-of-care system for quantitative troponin T and myoglobin testing in whole blood samples was developed. Aim of this multicenter study was to evaluate bedside quantitative determination of myoglobin and troponin T in chest pain patients in a clinical routine setting. Five hospitals in Germany were contributing to blood sampling and 741 patients were included four hours (median) after onset of cardiac pain. Comparison between the rapid test and the established laboratory-based method showed a sufficient agreement of results with a correlation of r = 0.89 (Y = 0.856x + 0.029) for troponin T and r = 0.912 (Y=+1.145x + 3.457) for myoglobin. Diagnostic sensitivity and prognostic power of the troponin T results obtained in the emergency unit were thoroughly equivalent to the laboratory-based method. The results show that the cardiac reader system represents a promising alternative to central laboratory testing with an accuracy sufficiently for rapid decision making in the emergency room. Myoglobin results in this study did not add supplementary information to the cardiac reader troponin result. However, point-of-care testing of troponin T is advantageous whenever marker results could positively effect initial triage decisions and interventional management choices.

We evaluated the chemiluminescence immunoassays for the detection of the cardiac markers troponin I, myoglobin and CK-MB on the IMMULITE System (Diagnostic Products Corporation) in comparison to the same analytes of other companies. The IMMULITE assays are two-site solid phase immunometric assays using a murine monoclonal capture antibody on the solid phase and a polyclonal antibody conjugated with alkaline phosphatase (except CK-MB monoclonal, murine) for detection. Precision was investigated using serum pools with a low, a cutoff and a high concentration of the respective analyte. The results were satisfactory with an intra-assay precision coefficient of variation, CV of 1.7%- 3.2% for troponin I, 2.6%- 5.1% for myoglobin, 2.7%- 5.3% for CK-MB and an interassay precision of 5.1%- 6.9% for troponin I, 5.7%- 7.3% for myoglobin and 3.8%- 8.4% for CK-MB. In linearity studies with various dilution steps, a mean value of 105% was found for troponin I, 103% for myoglobin and 117% for CK-MB. The average recovery was 85% for troponin I, 100% for myoglobin and 95% for CK-MB. The clinical validity of the assays in the diagnosis and therapy of myocardial infarction was investigated in 120 patients who were sent to the hospital with suspected myocardial infarction. Four hours after admission all patients with clinically verified myocardial infarction showed troponin I and troponin T values above the cutoff value. A maximum rate of 32% of the patients (IMMULITE Troponin I) with an instable angina pectoris showed troponin values above the cutoff for myocardial infarction (1.0 microg/L), 4 hours after admission. A cutoff-reduction to 0.2 pg/L for troponin I increased the number of patients to 45%. The negative predictive value was constantly 67%. The results obtained by IMMULITE assays were compared to the Elecsys cardiac assays (Roche Diagnostics) and the AxSYM-cardiac assays (Abbott Diagnostics). The highest correlation (r = 0.99) was found for IMMULITE Troponin I (DPC) and Troponin I (Abbott). The Abbott-Troponin I showed the highest diagnostic sensitivity within 4 hours after admission. All compared methods showed a similar diagnostic sensitivity (close to 100%)> 4 hours after admission. For all investigated methods the percentage of discrepant results decreased to a minimum 4 hours after admission.

A group of 71 patients with bronchial carcinomas are submitted to nutritional assessment in this trial. A 6-point valuation scan from Schmoz et al. for the nutritional assessment is used. Especially the results of protein assessment and the skin tests with 4 recall antigens are worked out. These results are compared with reference ranges. In the pathological values, both the protein assessment and the skin tests are classified in 3 interference degrees. In the following interpretation, the group of patients are subdivided in one group, which undergoes conservative therapy (26 patients) and a second one, which is treated operationally (45 patients). The results showed that more than half of the patients had disturbed nutrition indices, more than 2/3 showed disturbed protein status and more than 90% of the patients showed pathological results in the skin tests.