Distinct microbial communities are linked to organic matter properties in millimetre-sized soil aggregates.

Soils provide essential ecosystem services and represent the most diverse habitat on Earth. It has been suggested that the presence of various physico-chemically heterogeneous microhabitats supports the enormous diversity of microbial communities in soil. However, little is known about the relationship between microbial communities and their immediate environment at the micro- to millimetre scale.

Correlation of Inflammatory Parameters with the Development of Cerebral Vasospasm, Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy, and Functional Outcome after Spontaneous Subarachnoid Hemorrhage.

The present work aimed to determine whether a relationship exists between inflammatory parameters and the development of vasospasm (VS) and Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TTC), as well as clinical outcome, in patients suffering from spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). : In this study, the authors processed the prospectively collected laboratory and clinical data of spontaneous SAH patients admitted to the neurointensive care unit between March 2015 and October 2023. The highest values of neutrophils (NEUpeak), monocytes (MONOpeak), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLRpeak), and CRP (CRPpeak) during the initial 7 days were correlated with the occurrence of VS and TTC, and with the outcome measures at day 30 after onset.

From diversity to complexity: Microbial networks in soils.

Network analysis has been used for many years in ecological research to analyze organismal associations, for example in food webs, plant-plant or plant-animal interactions. Although network analysis is widely applied in microbial ecology, only recently has it entered the realms of soil microbial ecology, shown by a rapid rise in studies applying co-occurrence analysis to soil microbial communities. While this application offers great potential for deeper insights into the ecological structure of soil microbial ecosystems, it also brings new challenges related to the specific characteristics of soil datasets and the type of ecological questions that can be addressed.

Contrasting drivers of belowground nitrogen cycling in a montane grassland exposed to a multifactorial global change experiment with elevated CO , warming, and drought.

Depolymerization of high-molecular weight organic nitrogen (N) represents the major bottleneck of soil N cycling and yet is poorly understood compared to the subsequent inorganic N processes. Given the importance of organic N cycling and the rise of global change, we investigated the responses of soil protein depolymerization and microbial amino acid consumption to increased temperature, elevated atmospheric CO , and drought. The study was conducted in a global change facility in a managed montane grassland in Austria, where elevated CO (eCO ) and elevated temperature (eT) were stimulated for 4 years, and were combined with a drought event.

Microbial growth and carbon use efficiency show seasonal responses in a multifactorial climate change experiment.

Microbial growth and carbon use efficiency (CUE) are central to the global carbon cycle, as microbial remains form soil organic matter. We investigated how future global changes may affect soil microbial growth, respiration, and CUE. We aimed to elucidate the soil microbial response to multiple climate change drivers across the growing season and whether effects of multiple global change drivers on soil microbial physiology are additive or interactive.

Composition and activity of nitrifier communities in soil are unresponsive to elevated temperature and CO, but strongly affected by drought.

Nitrification is a fundamental process in terrestrial nitrogen cycling. However, detailed information on how climate change affects the structure of nitrifier communities is lacking, specifically from experiments in which multiple climate change factors are manipulated simultaneously. Consequently, our ability to predict how soil nitrogen (N) cycling will change in a future climate is limited.

Novel Insights into Gastric Cancer: Methylation of R-spondins and Regulation of LGR5 by SP1.

Recently, it was shown that leucine-rich repeat-containing receptor 5 (LGR5)-expressing stem cells are the cellular origin of intestinal-type gastric cancer. The aim of our study was to uncover regulatory mechanisms of LGR5 expression in gastric mucosa and their implications for cancer development. Reporter assays identified an LGR5 promoter fragment, which is highly relevant for active LGR5 expression.

Does standing or sitting position of the anesthesiologist in the operating theatre influence sevoflurane exposure during craniotomies?

Background: Exposure of the OR staff to inhalational anesthetics has been proven by numerous investigators, but its potential adverse effect under the present technical circumstances is a debated issue. The aim of the present work was to test whether using a laminar flow air conditioning system exposure of the team to anesthetic gases is different if the anesthetist works in the sitting as compared to the standing position.

Methods: Sample collectors were placed at the side of the patient and were fixed at two different heights: at 100 cm (modelling sitting position) and 175 cm (modelling standing position), whereas the third collector was placed at the independent corner of the OR.

Neurofilament light chain level is a weak risk factor for the development of MS.

Objective: To determine the prognostic value of selected biomarkers in clinically isolated syndromes (CIS) for conversion to multiple sclerosis (MS) and disability accrual.

Methods: Data were acquired from 2 CIS cohorts. The screening phase evaluated patients developing clinically definite MS (CIS-CDMS) and patients who remained as CIS during a 2-year minimum follow-up (CIS-CIS).

The Histological Changes of the Great Saphenous Vein at 2 Years after Cryosclerosis.

Cryosclerosis was developed at the end of the last decade. It is the endovenous cryoablation of the great saphenous vein and has been forgotten before the era of the endovenous ablation techniques began. The caused histomorphological changes of the vein weren't described before, especially, years after the procedure.

Defining high, medium and low impact prognostic factors for developing multiple sclerosis.

Natural history studies have identified factors that predict evolution to multiple sclerosis or risk of disability accumulation over time. Although these studies are based on large multicentre cohorts with long follow-ups, they have limitations such as lack of standardized protocols, a retrospective data collection or lack of a systematic magnetic resonance imaging acquisition and analysis protocol, often resulting in failure to take magnetic resonance and oligoclonal bands into account as joint covariates in the prediction models. To overcome some of these limitations, the aim of our study was to identify and stratify baseline demographic, clinical, radiological and biological characteristics that might predict multiple sclerosis development and disability accumulation using a multivariate approach based on a large prospective cohort of patients with clinically isolated syndromes.

A single preoperative dose of diclofenac reduces the intensity of acute postcraniotomy headache and decreases analgesic requirements over five postoperative days in adults: A single center, randomized, blinded trial.

Objective: Postcraniotomy headache causes considerable pain and can be difficult to treat. We therefore tested the hypothesis that a single 100-mg preoperative dose of diclofenac reduces the intensity of postcraniotomy headache, and reduces analgesic requirements.

Methods: 200 patients having elective craniotomies were randomly assigned to diclofenac (n = 100) or control (n = 100).

Should we systematically test patients with clinically isolated syndrome for auto-antibodies?

Background: Several autoimmune diseases (ADs) can mimic multiple sclerosis (MS). For this reason, testing for auto-antibodies (auto-Abs) is often included in the diagnostic work-up of patients with a clinically isolated syndrome (CIS).

Objective: The purpose was to study how useful it was to systematically determine antinuclear-antibodies, anti-SSA and anti-SSB in a non-selected cohort of CIS patients, regarding the identification of other ADs that could represent an alternative diagnosis.

Early predictors of multiple sclerosis after a typical clinically isolated syndrome.

Background: The 2010 McDonald criteria allow diagnosing multiple sclerosis (MS) with one magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan. Nevertheless, not all patients at risk fulfil criteria at baseline. Other predictive factors (PFs) are: age ≤40 years, positive oligoclonal bands (OBs), and ≥3 periventricular lesions.

Postcraniotomy headache.

Although pain after craniotomy is a clinically significant problem that has a continuously expanding literature, it is still a source of concern and controversy. Postcraniotomy headache (PCH) has been neglected for years. It is assessed regularly by only a few neurosurgical centers, and its frequency and severity tend to be underestimated by medical staff; hence, PCH is often undertreated and poorly managed.

[Pneumoperitoneum after jacuzzi bathing -- an unusual cause for the development of intraperitoneal free air].

Free air within the intraperitoneal cavity most frequently occurs in conjunction with perforation of a hollow viscus and requires urgent surgical intervention. However, approximately 10% of all cases of pneumoperitoneum may not be correlated with disruption of the gastroinestinal tract. In the literature this condition is termed "nonsurgical" (NS) pneumoperitoneum and usually requires conservative management.

LGR4 and LGR6 are differentially expressed and of putative tumor biological significance in gastric carcinoma.

Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most common causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide. We investigated the differential expression and putative tumor biological significance of five G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) in GC, i.e.

The spatial distribution of LGR5+ cells correlates with gastric cancer progression.

In this study we tested the prevalence, histoanatomical distribution and tumour biological significance of the Wnt target protein and cancer stem cell marker LGR5 in tumours of the human gastrointestinal tract. Differential expression of LGR5 was studied on transcriptional (real-time polymerase chain reaction) and translational level (immunohistochemistry) in malignant and corresponding non-malignant tissues of 127 patients comprising six different primary tumour sites, i.e.

[Occult inguinal-hernia in athletes].

Introduction: The occult inguinal hernia in athletes represents a distinct entity as well as a part of a syndrome known as PIPS (public inguinal pain syndrome). It may be relatively difficult to identify the possible source of inguinal pain, since the spectrum is so wide that it can overlap various medical subspecialties.

Patients And Methods: This study includes 14 cases of athletes (11 football players) with suspicion of occult inguinal hernia.

Genotypic and phenotypic characterization of side population of gastric cancer cell lines.

The side population (SP) of tumor cell lines shares characteristics with tumor stem cells. The objective of this study was to phenotypically and genotypically characterize the SP of gastric cancer cell lines. SP cells were obtained from AGS and MKN45 gastric cancer cells using Hoechst 33342 staining and fluorescence-activated cell sorting.

[Late gastrointestinal metastases of invasive lobular breast carcinoma mimicking Crohn's disease].

Invasive lobular carcinoma--comprising approximately 10 percent of breast cancers--is considered to be a histologically, molecular genetically, clinically distinct entity metastasizing mainly the gastrointestinal tract. Gastrointestinal system is much more likely involved in advanced invasive lobular carcinoma, than it is in invasive ductal carcinoma. They manifest after 3-20 years from the recognition of the primary tumor and they appear to be inflammatory disease or a secondary tumor.

Systematic evaluation of the miRNA-ome and its downstream effects on mRNA expression identifies gastric cancer progression.

We investigated the differential expression of Dicer and Drosha, as well as that of microRNA (miRNA), in adjacent normal and tumour samples of patients with gastric cancer. The expression of Dicer and Drosha was studied by immunohistochemistry in 332 gastric cancers and correlated with clinico-pathological patient characteristics. Differential expression of miRNAs was studied using the Invitrogen NCode(™) Multi-Species miRNA Microarray Probe Set containing 857 mammalian probes in a test set of six primary gastric cancers (three with and three without lymph node metastases).

Vascular CXCR4 expression - a novel antiangiogenic target in gastric cancer?

Background: G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are prime candidates for novel cancer prevention and treatment strategies. We searched for differentially expressed GPCRs in node positive gastric carcinomas.

Methodology/principal Findings: Differential expression of GPCRs in three node positive vs.