Blood levels of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb)antigen-triggered immune markers in people exposed to tuberculosis with regard to Mtb infection status and receipt of tuberculosis preventive therapy.

Background: Interferon-γ release assays (IGRAs) for tuberculosis infection (TBI) cannot distinguish different stages of the TBI spectrum (including spontaneously cleared infection). We investigated patterns of Mtb-specific blood mediators in people with and without TBI during tuberculosis preventive therapy (TPT).

Methods: Individuals with likelihood of recent Mtb exposure, aged 15-25 years, with valid IGRA results, in whom tuberculosis (TB) had been excluded, were included.

MoaB2, a newly identified transcription factor, binds to σ in .

In mycobacteria, σ is the primary sigma factor. This essential protein binds to RNA polymerase (RNAP) and mediates transcription initiation of housekeeping genes. Our knowledge about this factor in mycobacteria is limited.

Trajectories of symptoms of depression, distress, and resilience in healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic and toward its end in Czechia.

Background And Objectives: The mental health of healthcare workers (HCWs) may have improved after the COVID-19 pandemic. We aimed to model the trajectories of psychological distress, depressive symptoms, and resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic and toward its end in HCWs in Czechia and investigate, which COVID-19 work stressors were associated with these trajectories.

Methods: The study included 322 HCWs from the Czech arm of the international HEROES Study who participated in an online questionnaire in two waves during the pandemic and one wave toward its end.

Experiences of stigma, discrimination and violence and their impact on the mental health of health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Health care workers have been exposed to COVID-19 more than people in other professions, which may have led to stigmatization, discrimination, and violence toward them, possibly impacting their mental health. We investigated (1) factors associated with stigma, discrimination, and violence, (2) the association of stigma, discrimination, and violence with mental health, (3) everyday experiences of stigmatization, discrimination, and violence. We chose a combination of a quantitative approach and qualitative content analysis to analyze data collected at three time points: in 2020, 2021 and 2022.

Divergent colonization traits, convergent benefits: different species of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi alleviate Meloidogyne incognita damage in tomato.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) can increase plant tolerance and/or resistance to pests such as the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita. However, the ameliorative effects may depend on AMF species. The aim of this work was therefore to evaluate whether four AMF species differentially affect plant performance in response to M.

"I Didn't Expect to Be So Caught Up in It": a Qualitative Study of Experiences of Medical Students' Volunteering for Ukrainian Refugees.

Objective: Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 triggered a huge wave of migration, with thousands of refugees arriving at Prague's Central Station. With no medical service available, medical students started to volunteer and were running an infirmary available around the clock. The research aimed to explore medical students' professional experiences, emotionally challenging situations, and coping strategies in this demanding setting.

Depression in healthcare workers during COVID-19 pandemic: results from Czech arm of HEROES Study.

The pandemic due to COVID-19 brought new risks for depression of health care workers, which may have differently influenced men and women. We aimed to investigate (1) whether health care workers in Czechia experienced an increase in depression during the COVID-19 pandemic, (2) which factors contributed the most to this change, and (3) whether the magnitude of the associations differed by gender. We studied 2564 participants of the Czech arm of the international COVID-19 HEalth caRe wOrkErS (HEROES) Study.

Non-typeable major outer membrane protein P5 contributes to bacterial membrane stability, and affects the membrane protein composition crucial for interactions with the human host.

Non-typeable (NTHi) is a Gram-negative human pathogen that causes a wide range of airway diseases. NTHi has a plethora of mechanisms to colonize while evading the host immune system for the establishment of infection. We previously showed that the outer membrane protein P5 contributes to bacterial serum resistance by the recruitment of complement regulators.

Protein domain-dependent vesiculation of Lipoprotein A, a protein that is important in cell wall synthesis and fitness of the human respiratory pathogen .

The human pathogen causes respiratory tract infections and is commonly associated with prolonged carriage in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Production of outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) is a ubiquitous phenomenon observed in Gram-negative bacteria including . OMVs play an important role in various interactions with the human host; from neutralization of antibodies and complement activation to spread of antimicrobial resistance.

Asymmetric Interaction Between Two Mycorrhizal Fungal Guilds and Consequences for the Establishment of Their Host Plants.

Arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) and ectomycorrhiza (EcM) are the most abundant and widespread types of mycorrhizal symbiosis, but there is little and sometimes conflicting information regarding the interaction between AM fungi (AMF) and EcM fungi (EcMF) in soils. Their competition for resources can be particularly relevant in successional ecosystems, which usually present a transition from AM-forming herbaceous vegetation to EcM-forming woody species. The aims of this study were to describe the interaction between mycorrhizal fungal communities associated with AM and EcM hosts naturally coexisting during primary succession on spoil banks and to evaluate how this interaction affects growth and mycorrhizal colonization of seedlings of both species.

Ms1 RNA Interacts With the RNA Polymerase Core in and Was Identified in Majority of Using a Linguistic Gene Synteny Search.

Bacteria employ small non-coding RNAs (sRNAs) to regulate gene expression. Ms1 is an sRNA that binds to the RNA polymerase (RNAP) core and affects the intracellular level of this essential enzyme. Ms1 is structurally related to 6S RNA that binds to a different form of RNAP, the holoenzyme bearing the primary sigma factor.

The Challenges of Inter-role Conflicts for Peer Support Workers.

The definitions of the roles of peer support workers (PSWs) are unclear, creating one of the main challenges to PSWs' successful involvement in mental health care. In this empirical qualitative study conducted in the Czech Republic, four common roles of PSWs (N=15) were identified: friend, professional, staff member, and expert-by-experience. Conflicts were observed between the roles of friend and professional and between staff member and expert-by-experience.

The effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal species and taxonomic groups on stressed and unstressed plants: a global meta-analysis.

The great majority of plants gain access to soil nutrients and enhance their performance under stressful conditions through symbiosis with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). The benefits that AMF confer vary among species and taxonomic groups. However, a comparative analysis of the different benefits among AMF has not yet been performed.

Gene Expression Regulation in Airway Pathogens: Importance for Otitis Media.

Otitis media (OM) is an inflammatory disorder in the middle ear. It is mainly caused by viruses or bacteria associated with the airways. and are the three main pathogens in infection-related OM, especially in younger children.

Strigolactones: New players in the nitrogen-phosphorus signalling interplay.

Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) are among the most important macronutrients for plant growth and development, and the most widely used as fertilizers. Understanding how plants sense and respond to N and P deficiency is essential to optimize and reduce the use of chemical fertilizers. Strigolactones (SLs) are phytohormones acting as modulators and sensors of plant responses to P deficiency.

Mycobacterial HelD is a nucleic acids-clearing factor for RNA polymerase.

RNA synthesis is central to life, and RNA polymerase (RNAP) depends on accessory factors for recovery from stalled states and adaptation to environmental changes. Here, we investigated the mechanism by which a helicase-like factor HelD recycles RNAP. We report a cryo-EM structure of a complex between the Mycobacterium smegmatis RNAP and HelD.

Medical Students' Career Choice and Attitudes Toward Psychiatry: Case of the Czech Republic.

Objective: A survey among medical students of all medical schools in the Czech Republic was conducted to investigate attitudes and views of psychiatry and career choice of psychiatry.

Methods: A Czech version of the Attitudes to Psychiatry Scale (APS) and a questionnaire surveying demographic characteristics and choices of future specialty were distributed to all medical students of eight medical schools in the Czech Republic via the schools' internal communication systems in the form of an anonymous online questionnaire.

Results: Out of a total of 10,147 medical students in the Czech Republic (academic year 2019/2020), 2418 students participated in the survey (response rate 23.

Attitudes towards People with Mental Illness and Low Interest in Psychiatry among Medical Students in Central and Eastern Europe.

This study aimed to examine attitudes towards people with mental illness and psychiatry and interest in career choice in psychiatry among medical students from three medical schools in Czechia and Slovakia. A total of 495 medical students participated in a cross-sectional study. Participants completed (1) the Medical students' version of mental illness: clinicians' attitudes (MICA-2) scale, (2) the Reported and intended behaviour scale (RIBS), (3) the Attractiveness of working on a psychiatry-related position scale (P-ATTRACT), and (4) the Status of psychiatry scale (P-STATUS).

Molecular Quantification of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungal Root Colonization.

Specific quantification of root-colonizing arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) by quantitative real-time PCR is a high-throughput technique, most suitable for determining abundances of AMF species or isolates in previously characterized experimental systems. The principal steps are the choice and validation of an appropriate assay to specifically amplify a gene fragment of the target AMF, preparation of templates from root samples, and quantification of the fungal gene copy numbers in these templates. The use of a suitable assay is crucial for a correct data collection but also highly specific for each experimental system and is therefore covered by general recommendations.

How to reduce stigmatization of people with mental illness in medical education: READ intervention.

Stigmatization of people with mental illness in health care is a serious problem contributing to poor provision of health care and preventive medicine, it decreases their willingness to seek help and reduces quality of their life and life expectancy. The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of the anti-stigma training READ on medical students during their psychiatric module. The training was held by a psychiatrist and a peer lecturer.

Correlates of internalized stigma levels in people with psychosis in the Czech Republic.

Background: Internalized stigma negatively affects lives and prognosis of individuals with psychosis.

Aim: This study aimed to identify correlates of internalized stigma among individuals with psychosis in a sample of community care users in the Czech Republic.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 133 community service users with psychosis.

Switching transcription with bacterial RNA polymerase through photocaging, photorelease and phosphorylation reactions in the major groove of DNA.

We report proof of principle biomimetic switching of transcription through non-natural chemical reactions in the major groove of DNA templates. Photocaged DNA templates containing nitrobenzyl-protected 5-hydroxymethyluracil or - cytosine permitted no transcription with RNA polymerase (OFF state). Their irradiation with 400 nm light resulted in DNA templates containing hydroxymethylpyrimidines, which switched transcription ON with a higher yield (250-350%) compared to non-modified DNA.

Comparison of titer results obtained using immediate spin one-dilution techniques to a reference method.

Background: Many transfusion services determine the titer of potentially incompatible plasma-containing products by performing a one-dilution titer at their selected titer threshold. This study compared the results of immediate spin (IS) one-dilution titers determined by three methods with a reference standard method.

Methods: Plasma-containing products from group A and O donors were titered using the participant's routine IS one-dilution titer method.

Abiotic contexts consistently influence mycorrhiza functioning independently of the composition of synthetic arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities.

The relationship between mycorrhiza functioning and composition of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungal communities is an important but experimentally still rather little explored topic. The main aim of this study was thus to link magnitude of plant benefits from AM symbiosis in different abiotic contexts with quantitative changes in AM fungal community composition. A synthetic AM fungal community inoculated to the model host plant Medicago truncatula was exposed to four different abiotic contexts, namely drought, elevated phosphorus availability, and shading, as compared to standard cultivation conditions, for two cultivation cycles.