nucMACC: An MNase-seq pipeline to identify structurally altered nucleosomes in the genome.

Micrococcal nuclease sequencing is the state-of-the-art method for determining chromatin structure and nucleosome positioning. Data analysis is complex due to the AT-dependent sequence bias of the endonuclease and the requirement for high sequencing depth. Here, we present the nucleosome-based MNase accessibility (nucMACC) pipeline unveiling the regulatory chromatin landscape by measuring nucleosome accessibility and stability.

Angiopoietin-2 is associated with capillary leak and predicts complications after cardiac surgery.

Background: Patients undergoing cardiac surgery are prone to numerous complications. Increased vascular permeability may be associated with morbidity and mortality due to hemodynamic instability, fluid overload, and edema formation. We hypothesized that markers of endothelial injury and inflammation are associated with capillary leak, ultimately increasing the risk of postoperative complications.

Native T1 is predictive of cardiovascular death/heart failure events and all-cause mortality irrespective of the patient's volume status.

Background: Native T1 has become a pivotal parameter of tissue composition that is assessed by cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR). It characterizes diseased myocardium and can be used for prognosis estimation. Recent publications have shown that native T1 is influenced by short-term fluctuations of volume status due to hydration or hemodialysis.

Neonatal admission rate after vaginal breech delivery.

Objectives: The safest mode of delivery for fetuses in breech presentations is still an ongoing debate. The aim of this study was to analyze neonatal admission rates after vaginal breech delivery and compare it to other modes of delivery in order to counsel pregnant women with breech presentation adequately.

Methods: We performed a retrospective monocentric analysis of all deliveries with singleton pregnancies in breech presentation > 36.

Optimizing skin pharmacotherapy for older patients: the future is at hand but are we ready for it?

Age-related changes affect both the local pharmacotherapy of skin diseases and the transdermal administration of drugs. The development of aged skin models disregards the highly individual process of aging, facilitating general conclusions for older patients. Nevertheless, 'omics technology, high-content screening, and non-invasive imaging, as well as bioprinting, CRISPR-Cas, and, patients-on-a-chip, can retrieve personalized information for the generation of in vitro models.

Fibroblast origin shapes tissue homeostasis, epidermal differentiation, and drug uptake.

Preclinical studies frequently lack predictive value for human conditions. Human cell-based disease models that reflect patient heterogeneity may reduce the high failure rates of preclinical research. Herein, we investigated the impact of primary cell age and body region on skin homeostasis, epidermal differentiation, and drug uptake.

Reconstructed Human Epidermis Predicts Barrier-Improving Effects of Lactococcus lactis Emulsion in Humans.

Background/aims: The skin provides protection against chemical, physical, and biological stressors, yet the skin morphology changes over the course of life. These changes might affect the skin barrier function and facilitate the onset of age-related diseases. Since orally applied lactic acid bacteria ameliorate signs of aged and atopic skin, we investigated the effects of a topically applied Lactococcus lactis emulsion.

Ultrastructural and Molecular Analysis of Ribose-Induced Glycated Reconstructed Human Skin.

Aging depicts one of the major challenges in pharmacology owing to its complexity and heterogeneity. Thereby, advanced glycated end-products modify extracellular matrix proteins, but the consequences on the skin barrier function remain heavily understudied. Herein, we utilized transmission electron microscopy for the ultrastructural analysis of ribose-induced glycated reconstructed human skin (RHS).

Safety and Side Effects of Using Placenta-Derived Decidual Stromal Cells for Graft-versus-Host Disease and Hemorrhagic Cystitis.

Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) are increasingly used in regenerate medicine. Placenta-derived decidual stromal cells (DSCs) are a novel therapy for acute graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD) and hemorrhagic cystitis (HC) after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). DSCs are more immunosuppressive than MSCs.

Increased permeability of reconstructed human epidermis from UVB-irradiated keratinocytes.

Extrinsic (photo) aging accelerates chronologically aging in the skin due to cumulative UV irradiation. Despite recent insights into the molecular mechanisms of fibroblast aging, age-related changes of the skin barrier function have been understudied. In contrast, the constantly increasing subpopulation of aged patients causes a clinical need for effective and safe (dermatological) treatment.

[Experimental models of human skin aging].

The skin is a representative model for the study of human aging. Despite the high regenerative capacity of the skin, skin physiology changes over the course of life. Medical and cosmetic research is trying to prevent aging, to slow, to stop, or to reverse it.

ILKAP, ILK and PINCH1 control cell survival of p53-wildtype glioblastoma cells after irradiation.

The prognosis is generally poor for patients suffering from glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) due to radiation and drug resistance. Prosurvival signaling originating from focal adhesion hubs essentially contributes to therapy resistance and tumor aggressiveness. As the underlying molecular mechanisms remain largely elusive, we addressed whether targeting of the focal adhesion proteins particularly interesting new cysteine-histidine-rich 1 (PINCH1), integrin-linked kinase (ILK) and ILK associated phosphatase (ILKAP) modulates GBM cell radioresistance.

An archaeal tRNA-synthetase complex that enhances aminoacylation under extreme conditions.

Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (aaRSs) play an integral role in protein synthesis, functioning to attach the correct amino acid with its cognate tRNA molecule. AaRSs are known to associate into higher-order multi-aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase complexes (MSC) involved in archaeal and eukaryotic translation, although the precise biological role remains largely unknown. To gain further insights into archaeal MSCs, possible protein-protein interactions with the atypical Methanothermobacter thermautotrophicus seryl-tRNA synthetase (MtSerRS) were investigated.

Extracellular aldonolactonase from Myceliophthora thermophila.

Fungi secrete many different enzymes to deconstruct lignocellulosic biomass, including several families of hydrolases, oxidative enzymes, and many uncharacterized proteins. Here we describe the isolation, characterization, and primary sequence analysis of an extracellular aldonolactonase from the thermophilic fungus Myceliophthora thermophila (synonym Sporotrichum thermophile). The lactonase is a 48-kDa glycoprotein with a broad pH optimum.

[Burnout symptoms in Austrian student nurses in their third year of training].

Burnout is considered a major negative outcome of work related distress in social and health care services, especially in nursing. In the present study 179 student nurses in their third year of training and 47 registered nurses, all working in the Austrian province of Salzburg, were examined with the Maslach Burnout Inventory and the Satisfaction With Life Scale. Compared on a regional and national level, burnout scores of student nurses were equal to those of registered nurses and workers in social and nursing professions.

Structural and functional mapping of the archaeal multi-aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase complex.

Methanothermobacter thermautotrophicus contains a multi-aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase complex (MSC) of LysRS, LeuRS and ProRS. Elongation factor (EF) 1A also associates to the MSC, with LeuRS possibly acting as a core protein. Analysis of the MSC revealed that LysRS and ProRS specifically interact with the idiosyncratic N- and C- termini of LeuRS, respectively.

Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase complexes: molecular multitasking revealed.

The accurate synthesis of proteins, dictated by the corresponding nucleotide sequence encoded in mRNA, is essential for cell growth and survival. Central to this process are the aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (aaRSs), which provide amino acid substrates for the growing polypeptide chain in the form of aminoacyl-tRNAs. The aaRSs are essential for coupling the correct amino acid and tRNA molecules, but are also known to associate in higher order complexes with proteins involved in processes beyond translation.

An aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase:elongation factor complex for substrate channeling in archaeal translation.

Translation requires the specific attachment of amino acids to tRNAs by aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (aaRSs) and the subsequent delivery of aminoacyl-tRNAs to the ribosome by elongation factor 1 alpha (EF-1alpha). Interactions between EF-1alpha and various aaRSs have been described in eukaryotes, but the role of these complexes remains unclear. To investigate possible interactions between EF-1alpha and other cellular components, a yeast two-hybrid screen was performed for the archaeon Methanothermobacter thermautotrophicus.

Functional association between three archaeal aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases.

Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (aaRSs) are responsible for attaching amino acids to their cognate tRNAs during protein synthesis. In eukaryotes aaRSs are commonly found in multi-enzyme complexes, although the role of these complexes is still not completely clear. Associations between aaRSs have also been reported in archaea, including a complex between prolyl-(ProRS) and leucyl-tRNA synthetases (LeuRS) in Methanothermobacter thermautotrophicus that enhances tRNA(Pro) aminoacylation.

Sugar convertibility in the parasitoid Cotesia glomerata (Hymenoptera: Braconidae).

Lack of suitable sugar sources for adult parasitic wasps is an important cause of failure in biological control programs, but the metabolic constraints of sugar feeding are poorly understood. Here we investigated the suitability of 11 naturally occurring sugars as energy sources for the parasitoid Cotesia glomerata (L.) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae).

Role of host feeding niches and host refuges in habitat-related behaviour of Hyssopus pallidus (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae), a larval parasitoid of the codling moth.

Parasitoid fitness depends largely on the capability to locate a host in an ecosystem. A parasitoid of a polyphagous host might not be able to find or to access the host in all its feeding niches. This study evaluated the niche selection of Hyssopus pallidus (Askew), a larval parasitoid of Cydia pomonella (Linnaeus), at the plant level with the goal of assessing its potential for biological control on different fruit crops throughout the plant cycle.

[The patient and his family].

Unlabelled: Medical decision-making models focus on doctor-patient relationship. The impact of the family, specifically the involvement of the relatives in the information- and decision-making process have rarely been evaluated yet. Within the project "Patient as partners - cancer patients and their involvement in medical decision making" progressive disease cancer patients, their relatives and doctors as well as Thuringian general practitioners have been interviewed with regard to their attitudes (among others) towards the medical system and information and decision making processes.

[Between self-determination and role abdication: opinions about euthanasia -- results of a study of Thuringians palliative tumour patients].

This study reports the degree to which terminally ill tumour patients wish to be involved in medical decisions about their care and death. In addition, the study aimed to examine euthanasia from the patient's perspective. 272 tumour patients with a life expectancy of less that 1 year took part in a face to face survey.

[Death, euthanasia and end-of-life decisions according to the relatives' perspective -- a survey after the death of a close relative].

Unlabelled: Empirical research on euthanasia and medical decisions at the end of life usually focus on the doctors' perspective. The perspectives of patients, relatives respectively the bereaved families have been neglected so far. The project "Patients as partners.