The changing epidemiology of human leishmaniasis in the non-endemic country of Austria between 2000 to 2021, including a congenital case.

Background: Leishmaniasis is caused by infection with intracellular protozoans of the genus Leishmania. Transmission occurs predominantly by the bite of phlebotomine sandflies, other routes, including congenital transmission, are rare. The disease manifests as either cutaneous, visceral or mucosal/mucocutaneous leishmaniasis.

Diagnostic difficulties in pediatric annular dermatoses.

The polymorphic presentation of annular dermatoses in the pediatric population renders them a diagnostic challenge to the clinician. They include various distinct disease entities that can be vaguely categorized according to the age of onset. Herein, we report on a young girl with clinical characteristics of Wells' syndrome, while histological findings favored the diagnosis of annular erythema of infancy (AEI).

Dielectric Environment Sensitivity of Carbon Centers in Hexagonal Boron Nitride.

A key advantage of utilizing van-der-Waals (vdW) materials as defect-hosting platforms for quantum applications is the controllable proximity of the defect to the surface or the substrate allowing for improved light extraction, enhanced coupling with photonic elements, or more sensitive metrology. However, this aspect results in a significant challenge for defect identification and characterization, as the defect's properties depend on the the atomic environment. This study explores how the environment can influence the properties of carbon impurity centers in hexagonal boron nitride (hBN).

Charge self-consistent electronic structure calculations with dynamical mean-field theory usingQuantum ESPRESSO, Wannier 90andTRIQS.

We present a fully charge self-consistent implementation of dynamical mean field theory (DMFT) combined with density functional theory (DFT) for electronic structure calculations of materials with strong electronic correlations. The implementation uses theQuantum ESPRESSOpackage for the DFT calculations, theWannier90code for the up-/down-folding and theTRIQSsoftware package for setting up and solving the DMFT equations. All components are available under open source licenses, are MPI-parallelized, fully integrated in the respective packages, and use an hdf5 archive interface to eliminate file parsing.

Estimation of Recombination Rate and Maternal Linkage Disequilibrium in Half-Sibs.

A livestock population can be characterized by different population genetic parameters, such as linkage disequilibrium and recombination rate between pairs of genetic markers. The population structure, which may be caused by family stratification, has an influence on the estimates of these parameters. An expectation maximization algorithm has been proposed for estimating these parameters in half-sibs without phasing the progeny.

Differences in serum oxidative status between glaucomatous and nonglaucomatous cataract patients.

Background: Oxidative stress contributes to both intraocular pressure regulation and glaucomatous neuropathy. The systemic redox status (solitary determination) was examined in primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) patients with cataract and nonglaucomatous cataract patients. Cataract-matched group comparisons appear more precise in the context of oxidative stress evaluation.

[Hepatitis A immunity in refugees in Germany during the current exodus].

Background: Germany is facing a huge humanitarian challenge with rapidly rising numbers of refugees entering the country. Data on hepatitis A seroprevalence and infection in refugees and asylum seekers in Europe during the current refugee exodus is scarce.

Objectives: To assess hepatitis A (HAV) seroprevalence and immunity in refugees arriving in northern Germany in 2015.

[Low seroprevalence of syphilis and HIV in refugees and asylum seekers in Germany in 2015].

Background | Currently only estimates exist of seroprevalence of syphilis and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in refugees arriving in Germany during the current refugee crisis. Objectives | To assess the prevalence of syphilis and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in refugees arriving in northern Germany in 2015. Materials and methods | In a cross-sectional study in 790 patients from all age groups tests for serological markers of treponema pallidum and in 789 patients for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) were performed in August 2015 in reception centers in northern Germany.

[Current seroprevalence, vaccination and predictive value of liver enzymes for hepatitis B among refugees in Germany].

Background: Currently only vague estimates exist for the seroprevalence and vaccination status for viral hepatitis B (HBV) in refugees arriving in Germany during the current refugee crisis.

Objectives: To assess the prevalence of hepatitis B in refugees arriving in northern Germany in 2015.

Methods: In a cross-sectional study in 793 patients from all age groups tests for serological markers of hepatitis B virus infection (HBsAg, anti-HBc) and liver enzymes (ALT, AST, bilirubin, γGT, alkaline phosphatase) were performed in August 2015 at six reception centers in northern Germany.

Principal component analysis of MALDI TOF MS mass spectra separates M. abscessus (sensu stricto) from M. massiliense isolates.

Background: The discrimination of the members of the Mycobacterium abscessus complex is of clinical interest because one of the subspecies, M. massiliense, exhibits higher rates of response to antibiotic treatment for lung infection than do the other members of that complex. M.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis Is a Natural Ornithine Aminotransferase (rocD) Mutant and Depends on Rv2323c for Growth on Arginine.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) possesses a genetic repertoire for metabolic pathways, which are specific and fit to its intracellular life style. Under in vitro conditions, Mtb is known to use arginine as a nitrogen source, but the metabolic pathways for arginine utilization have not been identified. Here we show that, in the presence of arginine, Mtb upregulates a gene cluster which includes an ornithine aminotransferase (rocD) and Rv2323c, a gene of unknown function.

Characterization of rough and smooth morphotypes of Mycobacterium abscessus isolates from clinical specimens.

Mycobacterium abscessus, which consists of the two subspecies M. abscessus subspecies abscessus and M. abscessus subspecies bolletii, can produce rough or smooth colony morphologies.

Response of faults to climate-driven changes in ice and water volumes on Earth's surface.

Numerical models including one or more faults in a rheologically stratified lithosphere show that climate-induced variations in ice and water volumes on Earth's surface considerably affect the slip evolution of both thrust and normal faults. In general, the slip rate and hence the seismicity of a fault decreases during loading and increases during unloading. Here, we present several case studies to show that a postglacial slip rate increase occurred on faults worldwide in regions where ice caps and lakes decayed at the end of the last glaciation.

Slip rate variations on normal faults during glacial-interglacial changes in surface loads.

Geologic and palaeoseismological data document a marked increase in the slip rates of the Wasatch fault and three adjacent normal faults in the Basin and Range Province during the Late Pleistocene/Early Holocene epochs. The cause of this synchronous acceleration of fault slip and the subsequent clustering of earthquakes during the Holocene has remained enigmatic, although it has been suggested that the coincidence between the acceleration of slip and the shrinkage of Lake Bonneville after the Last Glacial Maximum may indicate a causal relationship. Here we use finite-element models of a discrete normal fault within a rheologically layered lithosphere to evaluate the relative importance of two competing processes that affect fault slip: postglacial unloading (the removal of mass), which decreases the slip rate, and lithospheric rebound, which promotes faster slip.

Design, targeting, and initial screening of sTRSV-derived hairpin ribozymes for optimum helix 1 length and catalytic efficiency in vitro.

Hairpin ribozymes derived from the negative strand of satellite RNAs from the tobacco ringspot virus (sTRSV) can be engineered to target and cleave a variety of heterologous RNAs from both cellular and viral transcripts. Attention to design and targeting rules and optimization of helix 1 length and catalytic efficiency in vitro may increase the efficacy of hairpin ribozymes in reducing the expression of targeted transcripts. Here, principles for the design and targeting of sTRSV-derived hairpin ribozymes are described, as well as methods and materials for optimizing helix 1 length, and for conducting an initial screen of catalytic efficiency to identify promising candidates for further evaluation.

In situ optical microscopic recording of slip line development during plastic deformation of Cu-15at%Al single crystals with high resolution--estimation of dislocation velocities.

Observations and measurements of slip line evolution during plastic deformation are performed by optical microscopic video recording. In addition, high resolution in time is achieved by means of photodiodes positioned in the intermediate image plane of the microscope. Examples of measurements at room temperature on short-range ordered Cu-15at%Al single crystals are given and evaluated to estimate the velocities of edge and screw dislocation groups from the observed rates of growth of slip steps in height and in length, respectively, on one side of the specimen.

The hairpin ribozyme. Discovery, mechanism, and development for gene therapy.

The hairpin ribozyme is a member of a family of small RNA endonucleases, which includes hammer-head, human hepatitis delta virus, Neurospora VS, and the lead-dependent catalytic RNAs. All these catalytic RNAs reversibly cleave the phosphodiester bond of substrate RNA to generate 5'-hydroxyl and 2',3'-cyclic phosphate termini. Whereas the reaction products from family members are similar, large structural and mechanistic differences exist.

The sCYMV1 hairpin ribozyme: targeting rules and cleavage of heterologous RNA.

The catalytic center of the RNA from the negative strand of the satellite RNA of chicory yellow mottle virus type 1 (sCYMV1) is in the hairpin ribozyme family, has catalytic activity, and cleaves substrates before a preferred GUA sequence. This is different from that of the satellite RNA from the negative strand of tobacco ringspot virus (sTRSV) which prefers a GUC sequence at the site of cleavage. The sCYMV1 hairpin ribozyme has now been developed for cleaving heterologous RNA substrates.

Inhibition of HPV-16 E6/E7 immortalization of normal keratinocytes by hairpin ribozymes.

HPV-16 E6 and E7 genes are required to efficiently immortalize a broad spectrum of cell types including cervical keratinocytes. Therefore, the E6/E7 genes can be considered relevant targets for anti-cancer therapy. We produced several engineered hairpin (HP) ribozymes to specifically disrupt HPV-16 E6/E7 mRNA.

Screening for important base identities in the hairpin ribozyme by in vitro selection for cleavage.

Random mutagenesis followed by an in vitro selection procedure was shown to be capable of identifying important bases of the hairpin ribozyme for cleavage of an RNA target sequence. The selection scheme enriched the RNA population for those molecules capable of efficient site-specific self-cleavage in the absence of ligation. Cleavable mutants were selected for all positions in loop 4 except for position A38, supporting the notion that A38 is an important base in the hairpin ribozyme.

Mutational analysis of loops 1 and 5 of the hairpin ribozyme.

A comprehensive analysis of base preferences for all positions in loops 1 and 5 of the hairpin ribozyme-substrate complex was carried out using a cis-ribozyme tethered to substrate by a pentapyrimidine loop. Ribozyme-substrate molecules were mutated to contain each of the three non-native base variations at each of the eight positions within these loops. Catalytic activity was measured for each mutant and compared to the activity of the original native sequence.