Junctions at the crossroads: the impact of mechanical cues on endothelial cell-cell junction conformations and vascular permeability.

Cells depend on precisely regulating barrier function within the vasculature to maintain physiological stability and facilitate essential substance transport. Endothelial cells achieve this through specialized adherens and tight junction protein complexes, which govern paracellular permeability across vascular beds. Adherens junctions, anchored by vascular endothelial (VE)-cadherin and associated catenins to the actin cytoskeleton, mediate homophilic adhesion crucial for barrier integrity.

Equivalence study of the resin-dentine interface of internal tunnel restorations when using an enamel infiltrant resin with ethanol-wet dentine bonding.

This preregistered ex vivo investigation examined the dentinal hybrid layer formation of a resinous infiltrant (Icon), with reference to both thickness (HLT) and homogeneity when combined with modified tunnel preparation (occlusal cavity only) and internal/external caries infiltration. The adhesives Syntac and Scotchbond MP were used as controls (Groups 1 and 3) or in combination with Icon (Groups 2 and 4). A split-tooth design using healthy third molars from 20 donors resulted in 20 prepared dentine cavities per experimental group.

Untangling the environmental and tectonic drivers of the Noto earthquake swarm in Japan.

The underlying mechanism of the ongoing seismic swarm in the Noto Peninsula, Japan, which generates earthquakes at 10 times the average regional rate, remains elusive. We capture the evolution of the subsurface stress state by monitoring changes in seismic wave velocities over an 11-year period. A sustained long-term increase in seismic velocity that is seasonally modulated drops before the earthquake swarm.

What makes low-frequency earthquakes low frequency.

Low-frequency earthquakes, atypical seismic events distinct from regular earthquakes, occur downdip of the seismogenic megathrust where an aseismic rheology dominates the subduction plate boundary. Well situated to provide clues on the slip regime of this unique faulting environment, their distinctive waveforms reflect either an unusual rupture process or unusually strong attenuation in their source zone. We take advantage of the unique geometry of seismicity in the Nankai Trough to isolate the spectral signature of low-frequency earthquakes after correcting for empirically derived attenuation.

Establishing normative data for the evaluation of cognitive performance in Huntington's disease considering the impact of gender, age, language, and education.

Background: A declining cognitive performance is a hallmark of Huntington's disease (HD). The neuropsychological battery of the Unified HD Rating Scale (UHDRS'99) is commonly used for assessing cognition. However, there is a need to identify and minimize the impact of confounding factors, such as language, gender, age, and education level on cognitive decline.

Speech biomarkers in Huntington's disease: A cross-sectional study in pre-symptomatic, prodromal and early manifest stages.

Background And Purpose: Motor speech alterations are a prominent feature of clinically manifest Huntington's disease (HD). Objective acoustic analysis of speech can quantify speech alterations. It is currently unknown, however, at what stage of HD speech alterations can be reliably detected.

Quality of life, health-related quality of life, and associated factors in Huntington's disease: a systematic review.

Background: Huntington's disease (HD) is a genetic, neurodegenerative disease. Due to the progressive nature of HD and the absence of a cure, (health-related) quality of life ((HR)QoL) is an important topic. Several studies have investigated (HR)QoL in HD, yet a clear synthesis of the existing literature is lacking to date.

Effects of CBCT acquisition protocol and additional superimposed computerized optical impressions on the accuracy of root canal length measurements: an ex vivo study.

Aim: The purpose of the present investigation was to evaluate the accuracy of root canal length (RCL) determination according to CBCT acquisition protocol and evaluate the influence of additional superimposed computerized optical impressions.

Materials And Methods: CBCT scans with low-dose (LD) and high-definition (HD) protocols as well as computerized optical impressions of 30 extracted human molars were acquired. Sicat Endo software (Sicat) was used for CBCT RCL measurements with (LD+, HD+) and without (LD-, HD-) a superimposed optical impression.

Mixed crystal of bis-(ammonium/oxonium) tetra-aqua-μ-fluorido-dodeca-kis-(μ-tri-fluoro-acetato)-hexa-ytterbiate(III) tetra-hydrate, [(NH) (HO) ][YbF(OCCF)(HO)]·4HO ( = 1/4), containing a hexa-nuclear ytterbium(III) carboxyl-ate complex with face-capping fluoride ligands and comprising an unusual kind of substitutional disorder.

The reaction of ytterbium metal with ammonium tri-fluoro-acetate in liquid ammonia resulted in a green substance comprising a substantial amount of ytterbium(II) tri-fluoro-acetate that is a useful precursor for the oxidative synthesis of the new ytterbium(III) compound, [(NH) (HO) ][YbF(OCCF)(HO)]·4HO ( = 1/4), in aqueous tri-fluoro-acetic acid. This mixed ammonium/oxonium crystalline solid is the first example of a substance containing an -hexa-nuclear ytterbium(III) complex with μ-face-capping fluorido ligands. The main structural features of its [YbF] core are non-bonding Yb⋯Yb distances and Yb-F bond lengths of 3.

Oxidation of europium with ammonium perfluorocarboxylates in liquid ammonia: pathways to europium(II) carboxylates and hexanuclear europium(III) fluoridocarboxylate complexes.

The novel coordination polymer [Eu(OCCF)(dmf)] (1) (dmf = ,-dimethylformamide) containing europium(II) and the two new compounds (NH)[EuF(OCCF)(CFCOOH)] (2) and (NH)[EuF(OCCF)(CFCOOH)]·8CFCOOH (3), both based on hexanuclear europiate(III) complexes, were synthesized from precursors with a Eu : Eu ratio >1, obtained by reaction of europium metal with ammonium perfluorocarboxylates in liquid ammonia. In the crystal structure of 1 the europium(II) ions are bridged by carboxylate groups and ,-dimethylformamide to form polymeric chains with Eu⋯Eu distances of 408.39(13)-410.

Advancing Knowledge on Situation Comprehension in Dynamic Traffic Situations by Studying Eye Movements to Empty Spatial Locations.

Objective: This study used the looking-at-nothing phenomenon to explore situation awareness (SA) and the effects of working memory (WM) load in driving situations.

Background: While driving, people develop a mental representation of the environment. Since errors in retrieving information from this representation can have fatal consequences, it is essential for road safety to investigate this process.

The RNA-binding protein RBP45D of Arabidopsis promotes transgene silencing and flowering time.

RNA-directed DNA methylation (RdDM) helps to defend plants against invasive nucleic acids. In the canonical form of RdDM, 24-nt small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) are produced by DICER-LIKE 3 (DCL3). The siRNAs are loaded onto ARGONAUTE (AGO) proteins leading ultimately to de novo DNA methylation.

[Disease-modifying treatment approaches in Huntington disease : Past and future].

Huntington disease (HD) is the most frequent monogenetic neurodegenerative disease and can be unequivocally diagnosed even in the preclinical stage, at least in all individuals in whom the CAG expansion mutation in the huntingtin gene (HTT) is in the range of full penetrance. Therefore, important preconditions for an intervention early in the disease process are met, rendering modification of the course of the disease in a clinically meaningful way possible. In this respect, HD can be viewed as a model disorder for exploring neuroprotective treatment approaches.

DICER-LIKE1a autoregulation based on intronic microRNA processing is required for stress adaptation in Physcomitrium patens.

The Physcomitrium patens DICER-LIKE1a (PpDCL1a) mRNA encoding the essential Dicer protein for microRNA (miRNA) biogenesis harbors an intronic miRNA (miR1047). An autoregulatory mechanism to control PpDCL1a abundance that is based on competitive processing of the intronic miRNA and proper PpDCL1a mRNA splicing has previously been proposed. If intron splicing occurs first the mRNA can be translated into the functional PpDCL1a protein, whereas the processing of the intronic miRNA catalyzed by PpDCL1a itself, prior to pre-mRNA splicing, generates a truncated transcript unable to produce a functional protein.

Study Protocol for the Development of a European eHealth Platform to Improve Quality of Life in Individuals With Huntington's Disease and Their Partners (HD-eHelp Study): A User-Centered Design Approach.

Huntington's disease (HD) is an autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disease that affects the quality of life (QoL) of HD gene expansion carriers (HDGECs) and their partners. Although HD expertise centers have been emerging across Europe, there are still some important barriers to care provision for those affected by this rare disease, including transportation costs, geographic distance of centers, and availability/accessibility of these services in general. eHealth seems promising in overcoming these barriers, yet research on eHealth in HD is limited and fails to use telehealth services specifically designed to fit the perspectives and expectations of HDGECs and their families.

Identification of Small RNAs During High Light Acclimation in .

The biological significance of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) has been firmly established to be important for the regulation of genes involved in stress acclimation. Light plays an important role for the growth of plants providing the energy for photosynthesis; however, excessive light conditions can also cause substantial defects. Small RNAs (sRNAs) are a class of non-coding RNAs that regulate transcript levels of protein-coding genes and mediate epigenetic silencing.

Transition-metal-free oxidative cyclization reaction of enynals to access pyrane-2-one derivatives.

A novel and efficient metal-free C-H functionalization of enynals is developed to synthesize α-pyrone derivatives via the formation of two C-O bonds. In this project, KSO has been introduced as an efficient oxygen source and C-H functionalization agent in regioselective oxidative cyclization reaction with a relatively broad substrate scope.

Olfactory dysfunction in SARS-CoV-2 infection: Focus on odorant specificity and chronic persistence.

Background: Smell dysfunction has been recognized as an early symptom of SARS-CoV-2 infection, often occurring before the onset of core symptoms of the respiratory tract, fever or muscle pain. In most cases, olfactory dysfunction is accompanied by reduced sense of taste, is partial (microsmia) and seems to normalize after several weeks, however, especially in cases of virus-induced complete smell loss (anosmia), there are indications of persisting deficits even 2 months after recovery from the acute disease, pointing towards the possibility of chronic or even permanent smell reduction for a significant part of the patient population. To date, we have no knowledge on the specificity of anosmia towards specific odorants or chemicals and about the longer-term timeline of its persistence or reversal.

PpGRAS12 acts as a positive regulator of meristem formation in Physcomitrium patens.

This study focused on the key regulatory function of Physcomitrium patens GRAS12 gene underlying an increasing plant complexity, an important step in plant terrestrialization and the evolutionary history of life. The miR171-GRAS module has been identified as a key player in meristem maintenance in angiosperms. PpGRAS12 is a member of the GRAS family and a validated target for miR171 in Physcomitrium (Physcomitrella) patens.

Identification of small non-coding RNAs responsive to GUN1 and GUN5 related retrograde signals in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Chloroplast perturbations activate retrograde signalling pathways, causing dynamic changes of gene expression. Besides transcriptional control of gene expression, different classes of small non-coding RNAs (sRNAs) act in gene expression control, but comprehensive analyses regarding their role in retrograde signalling are lacking. We performed sRNA profiling in response to norflurazon (NF), which provokes retrograde signals, in Arabidopsis thaliana wild type (WT) and the two retrograde signalling mutants gun1 and gun5.

Validation Study of a German Cognitive Battery for Huntington's Disease: Relationship Between Cognitive Performance, Functional Decline, and Disease Burden.

Objective: Cognitive decline is a key characteristic of Huntington's disease (HD). This study aimed to investigate the diagnostic accuracy of a cognitive battery with six tests used by most HD research centers to assess cognitive impairment in HD.

Method: In total, 106 HD patients in different disease stages with more (HD-CD, N = 30) and less cognitive impairments (HD-NC, N = 70) and 100 healthy controls (NC) were matched by age, sex, and education and were examined using a standardized protocol including cognitive, motor, and functional assessments.

Identification of small RNAs during cold acclimation in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Background: Cold stress causes dynamic changes in gene expression that are partially caused by small non-coding RNAs since they regulate protein coding transcripts and act in epigenetic gene silencing pathways. Thus, a detailed analysis of transcriptional changes of small RNAs (sRNAs) belonging to all known sRNA classes such as microRNAs (miRNA) and small interfering RNA (siRNAs) in response to cold contributes to an understanding of cold-related transcriptome changes.

Result: We subjected A.

[COVID-19 Concerns and Worries in Patients with Mental Illness].

Objective:  This study examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the lock-down on patients with mental illness.

Methods:  Patients in inpatient or outpatient psychiatric treatment received a questionnaire, examining psychological distress and psychiatric care during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Results:  More than half of the patients indicated that the state of emergency had a negative impact on their mental illness.