The Role of High-Level Isolation Units in Response to High-Consequence and Emerging Infectious Diseases: Experience of the German STAKOB Network.

This case study describes the experience of the German Permanent Working Group of Competence and Treatment Centers for High Consequence Infectious Diseases, known as STAKOB (). STAKOB brings together public health authorities (competence centers) and high-level isolation units (treatment centers) to collaborate on the clinical management of high-consequence infectious diseases (HCIDs) and emerging infectious diseases. The network is coordinated by the Robert Koch Institute, Germany's federal public health institute.

Post-COVID syndrome and work ability 9-12 months after a SARS-CoV-2 infection among over 9000 employees from the general population.

Objectives: Evidence on the work-related societal impact of long-term health-related consequences following SARS-CoV-2 is emerging. We characterize the modified work ability index (mWAI) of employees 6 to 12 months after an acute infection compared to pre-infection.

Methods: Analyses were based on a population-based, multi-center cross-sectional study including employees aged 18-65 years with positive SARS-CoV-2 polymerase chain reaction (tested between October 2020-April 2021 in defined geographic regions in Germany).

Declining Prevalence of Diagnosed by Wet Mount in a Cohort of U.S. Women With and Without HIV.

Women living with HIV (WLWH) are often coinfected with (TV), and annual screening is recommended. Our goal was to assess differences in TV prevalence at study entry and over time in enrollment cohorts of the Women's Interagency HIV Study. In a multisite study, TV was diagnosed by wet mount microscopy.

Survey on microbial contamination of opened skin care products used for tattooing.

Aims: Inadequate hygiene measures as well as the use of contaminated inks or non-sterile needles are considered as important infection sources in the process of tattooing. In tattoo parlors and at conventions, it is common practice to apply cosmetic products from bulk packs as lubricants during tattooing and as ointments for tattoo aftercare. The objective of our study was to assess the microbial load of opened skin care products used during tattooing or for tattoo aftercare.

Valuing bioeconomic impacts of regulation on nutrient loads mediated by invasive mussels in Lake Michigan.

Current calls to correct the perturbed ecosystems and nutrient imbalances of the Laurentian Great Lakes focus on setting target nutrient levels that will be met by environmental and economic regulations to reduce the flow of excess nutrients into the lakes. While these standard types of regulations have been successful in the past, it is unclear whether they will achieve similar ecological and economic successes now amid possible ecosystem regime shifts triggered by invasive mussels. We compute the bioeconomic costs and benefits of hypothetical regulations designed to target nutrient loads in present-day Lake Michigan through agricultural operations, which are known to be nonpoint source polluters of the aquatic ecosystem network.

Mitochondrial genome study in blood of maternally inherited ALS cases.

Background: ALS is a heterogeneous disease in which different factors such as mitochondrial phenotypes act in combination with a genetic predisposition. This study addresses the question of whether homoplasmic (total mitochondrial genome of a sample is affected) and/or heteroplasmic mutations (wildtype and mutant mitochondrial DNA molecules coexist) might play a role in familial ALS. Blood was drawn from familial ALS patients with a possible maternal pattern of inheritance according to their pedigrees, which was compared to blood of ALS patients without maternal association as well as age-matched controls.

Pre-existing sleep problems as a predictor of post-acute sequelae of COVID-19.

Several months after COVID-19 many individuals still report persisting symptoms, the so-called 'post-COVID-19 syndrome'. An immunological dysfunction is one of the main pathophysiological hypotheses. As sleep is central to the functioning of the immune system, we investigated whether self-reported pre-existing sleep disturbance might be an independent risk factor for the development of post-COVID-19 syndrome.

Post-acute sequelae of covid-19 six to 12 months after infection: population based study.

Objectives: To describe symptoms and symptom clusters of post-covid syndrome six to 12 months after acute infection, describe risk factors, and examine the association of symptom clusters with general health and working capacity.

Design: Population based, cross sectional study SETTING: Adults aged 18-65 years with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection between October 2020 and March 2021 notified to health authorities in four geographically defined regions in southern Germany.

Participants: 50 457 patients were invited to participate in the study, of whom 12 053 (24%) responded and 11 710 (58.

Risk factors associated with an outbreak of COVID-19 in a meat processing plant in southern Germany, April to June 2020.

Meat processing plants have been prominent hotspots for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreaks around the world. We describe infection prevention measures and risk factors for infection spread at a meat processing plant in Germany with a COVID-19 outbreak from April to June 2020. We analysed a cohort of all employees and defined cases as employees with either a PCR or ELISA positive result.

Selenium biofortification of different varieties of apples (Malus domestica) - Influence on protein content and the allergenic proteins Mal d 1 and Mal d 3.

As allergy towards apples is widespread, the evaluation of various cultivation and postharvest influences on the allergenic potential is of great importance. Therefore, the analysis of the Mal d 1 content was the focus of this study, originally dealing with investigating the influence of a selenium biofortification on apple quality. The Mal d 1 content of apples was in most cases reduced when the fruits were biofortified with selenium.

Relationship between Phenolic Compounds, Antioxidant Properties, and the Allergenic Protein Mal d 1 in Different Selenium-Biofortified Apple Cultivars ().

Notable parts of the population in Europe suffer from allergies towards apples. To address this health problem, the analysis of the interactions of relevant allergens with other substances such as phenolic compounds is of particular importance. The aim of this study was to evaluate the correlations between the total phenolic content (TPC), polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activity, antioxidant activity (AOA), and the phenolic compound profile and the content of the allergenic protein Mal d 1 in six apple cultivars.

Protein Binding Partners of Dysregulated miRNAs in Parkinson's Disease Serum.

Accumulating evidence suggests that microRNAs (miRNAs) are a contributing factor to neurodegenerative diseases. Although altered miRNA profiles in serum or plasma have been reported for several neurodegenerative diseases, little is known about the interaction between dysregulated miRNAs and their protein binding partners. We found significant alterations of the miRNA abundance pattern in serum and in isolated serum-derived extracellular vesicles of Parkinson's disease (PD) patients.

Epidemiological analysis of 3,219 COVID-19 outbreaks in the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany.

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has emerged as an unprecedented global crisis challenging health systems. This paper aims to assess and characterise SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks in the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg to identify groups at greatest risk, to establish early measures to curb transmission. We analysed all mandatory notified (i.

A serum microRNA sequence reveals fragile X protein pathology in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Knowledge about converging disease mechanisms in the heterogeneous syndrome amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is rare, but may lead to therapies effective in most ALS cases. Previously, we identified serum microRNAs downregulated in familial ALS, the majority of sporadic ALS patients, but also in presymptomatic mutation carriers. A 5-nucleotide sequence motif (GDCGG; D = G, A or U) was strongly enriched in these ALS-related microRNAs.

[Aerosols and SARS-CoV-2: Statement of the "Expert Group Aerosols" on the development, infectivity, spread and reduction of airborne, virus-containing particles in the air].

Aerosols are currently seen as one of the main transmission routes for SARS-CoV-2, but a comprehensive understanding of the processes and appropriate action/adaptation of protection concepts requires the exchange of information across interdisciplinary boundaries. Against this background, the Baden-Württemberg state government launched in October 2020 a multidisciplinary "Expert Group Aerosols" comprising engineers, natural scientists and medical professionals. In its statement, the group has compiled the current state of knowledge in all relevant disciplines in the context of airborne SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Serology- and PCR-based cumulative incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in adults in a successfully contained early hotspot (CoMoLo study), Germany, May to June 2020.

Three months after a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Kupferzell, Germany, a population-based study (n = 2,203) found no RT-PCR-positives. IgG-ELISA seropositivity with positive virus neutralisation tests was 7.7% (95% confidence interval (CI): 6.

Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in children aged 0 to 19 years in childcare facilities and schools after their reopening in May 2020, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.

We investigated data from severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infected 0-19 year olds, who attended schools/childcare facilities, to assess their role in SARS-CoV-2 transmission after these establishments' reopening in May 2020 in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Child-to-child transmission in schools/childcare facilities appeared very uncommon. We anticipate that, with face mask use and frequent ventilation of rooms, transmission rates in schools/childcare facilities would remain low in the next term, even if classes' group sizes were increased.

Radiotherapy for osteoarthritis of the ankle and tarsal joints-analysis of 66 joints.

Purpose: Osteoarthritis of the ankle and tarsal joints is less common than osteoarthritis of the knee or hip, but the associated disability is at least as severe as that of the other major joints of the lower limb. The results for total arthroplasty are still not satisfactory. For this reason, arthrodesis is still the gold standard of non-joint-conserving surgery.

Heterogeneous Puumala orthohantavirus situation in endemic regions in Germany in summer 2019.

Puumala orthohantavirus (PUUV) causes most human hantavirus disease cases in Europe. PUUV disease outbreaks are usually synchronized Germany-wide driven by beech mast-induced irruptions of its host (bank vole, Myodes glareolus). Recent data indicate high vole abundance, high PUUV prevalence and high human incidence in summer 2019 for some regions, but elsewhere values were low to moderate.

Differences in the fast muscle methylome provide insight into sex-specific epigenetic regulation of growth in Nile tilapia during early stages of domestication.

Growth is a complex trait whose variability within a population cannot be explained solely by genetic variation. Epigenetic regulation is often suggested as an important factor shaping the phenotype, but its association with growth can be highly context- and species-dependent. Nevertheless, the mechanisms involved in epigenetic regulation of growth in fish are poorly understood.

Heterozygous loss has opposing effects in early and late stages of ALS in mice.

Heterozygous loss-of-function mutations of ( cause familial ALS, yet downstream mechanisms of mutations remained elusive. TBK1 is a pleiotropic kinase involved in the regulation of selective autophagy and inflammation. We show that heterozygous deletion alone does not lead to signs of motoneuron degeneration or disturbed autophagy in mice during a 200-d observation period.

Dysregulation of a novel miR-1825/TBCB/TUBA4A pathway in sporadic and familial ALS.

Genetic and functional studies suggest diverse pathways being affected in the neurodegenerative disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), while knowledge about converging disease mechanisms is rare. We detected a downregulation of microRNA-1825 in CNS and extra-CNS system organs of both sporadic (sALS) and familial ALS (fALS) patients. Combined transcriptomic and proteomic analysis revealed that reduced levels of microRNA-1825 caused a translational upregulation of tubulin-folding cofactor b (TBCB).