Validation of the Microlife BP3T01-1B blood pressure monitoring device in adults and adolescents according to the ISO 81060-2:2018 protocol.

Background: Accurate measurement of blood pressure (BP) is crucial for the diagnosis and ongoing management of hypertension. Only devices that have been validated using an established protocol should be used to measure BP. The aim of this study was to validate the Microlife BP3T01-1B, an automated upper-arm BP measuring device, according to the DIN EN ISO 81060-2:2018-11 (ANSI/AAMI/ISO 81060-2:2018) standard protocol.

Safety and efficacy of the ROCK-2-inhibitor Belumosudil in cGvHD treatment - a retrospective, German-Swiss multicenter real-world data analysis.

Belumosudil is a first in class ROCK2-inhibitor approved by the FDA for the 3rd line treatment of chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGvHD). In this retrospective real-world analysis, we report safety and efficacy data of belumosudil treatment from 5 German/Swiss transplant centers. A total of 33 adult patients (median age 59 years) with moderate (n = 2) or severe (n = 31) cGvHD were treated on individual request due to lack of EMA approval.

Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies at the University hospital Heidelberg and correlation with SARS-CoV-2 incidence.

Background: Since the onset of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in late 2019, many studies suggest that actual infection rates may far exceed reported cases. Therefore, this study provides a comprehensive overview of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody measurements and their significance in epidemiological surveillance, especially regarding the true extent of SARS-CoV-2 infections, allowing more detailed insights into the dynamics of the pandemic.

Methods: Antibodies were measured using the Elecsys® Anti-SARS-CoV-2 assay for the nucleocapsid (N) protein and the SARS-CoV-2 IgG (sCOVG) assay for the spike (S) protein.

Visual working memory as the substrate for mental rotation: A replication.

An experimental study by Hyun and Luck suggests that object working memory, but not spatial working memory, is employed during mental rotation. In contrast, correlational research points to the relevance of spatial working memory in mental rotation. Considering these somewhat conflicting results and the fact that a small sample was acquired in the study of Hyun and Luck, a replication of their study was conducted.

Embodied Semantics: Early Simultaneous Motor Grounding in First and Second Languages.

Background/objectives: Although the embodiment of action-related language is well-established in the mother tongue (L1), less is known about the embodiment of a second language (L2) acquired later in life through formal instruction. We used the high temporal resolution of ERPs and topographic ERP analyses to compare embodiment in L1 and L2 and to investigate whether L1 and L2 are embodied with different strengths at different stages of linguistic processing.

Methods: Subjects were presented with action-related and non-action-related verbs in a silent reading task.

A Case of Hypocomplementemic Urticarial Vasculitis Syndrome With Severe Renal and Gastrointestinal Involvement.

We present a severe case of hypocomplementemic urticarial vasculitis syndrome (HUVS) and its diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. A 56-year-old male presenting with fever and impaired kidney function was diagnosed with HUVS. Before the initiated treatment was effective, he developed severe colon ischemia, and a subtotal colectomy was required.

Alkaloid Profiling and Anti-Cholinesterase Potential of Three Different Genera of Amaryllidaceae Collected in Ecuador: Rchb., Herb. and Herb.

Ecuador is an important center of biodiversity for the plant subfamily Amaryllidoideae, known for its important bioactive molecules. This study aimed to assess the chemical and biological potential of four different Amaryllidoideae species collected in Ecuador: , , , and . Twenty-six alkaloids were identified in the bulb extracts of these species using GC-MS.

Does Diglossia Impact Brain Structure? Data from Swiss German Early Diglossic Speakers.

(1) Background: Bilingualism has been reported to shape the brain by inducing cortical changes in cortical and subcortical language and executive networks. Similar yet different to bilingualism, diglossia is common in Switzerland, where the German-speaking population switches between an everyday spoken Swiss German (CH-GER) dialect and the standard German (stGER) used for reading and writing. However, no data are available for diglossia, defined as the use of different varieties or dialects of the same language, regarding brain structure.

 (Alstroemeriaceae), an exceptionally small new species from the eastern Andean slopes of Ecuador.

Recent field research on the eastern slopes of the Andes resulted in the discovery of a new species of from the Cerro Candelaria Reserve in the Tungurahua province of Ecuador. is the second smallest species in the genus and differs from the smallest by the presence of glutinous trichomes on the ovary, glabrous sepals, and greenish-yellow petals with purple spots. Based on IUCN guidelines, a preliminary conservation status is assigned as Vulnerable (VU).

The influence of the design of mental rotation trials on performance and possible differences between sexes: A theoretical review and experimental investigation.

Sex differences in mental rotation performance are one of the largest in cognitive psychology. Men outperform women by up to 1 in psychometric mental rotation tests, but it is often neglected that there are no or only small sex differences for chronometric tests. As both tests are supposed to measure the same ability, we suspect some features of the tests themselves to affect sex differences in performance.

Embodiment of action-related language in the native and a late foreign language - An fMRI-study.

Theories of embodied cognition postulate that language processing activates similar sensory-motor structures as when interacting with the environment. Only little is known about the neural substrate of embodiment in a foreign language (L2) as compared to the mother tongue (L1). In this fMRI study, we investigated embodiment of motor and non-motor action verbs in L1 and L2 including 31 late bilinguals.

Heartfulness in Vegans, Vegetarians, and Omnivores.

Background: The primary goal of this study was to investigate the relation between the choice of a vegan or vegetarian diet as a criterion of sustainability and the aspect of heartfulness. We also analyzed which demographic, diet-related, and mindfulness practice-related variables could predict the different facets of heartfulness.

Methods: In total, 419 persons participated.

Neural correlates of lexical stress processing in a foreign free-stress language.

Introduction: The paper examines the discrimination of lexical stress contrasts in a foreign language from a neural perspective. The aim of the study was to identify the areas associated with word stress processing (in comparison with vowel processing), when listeners of a fixed-stress language have to process stress in a foreign free-stress language.

Methods: We asked French-speaking participants to process stress and vowel contrasts in Spanish, a foreign language that the participants did not know.

Embodied Mental Rotation - Does It Affect Postural Stability?

The effect of different human body part stimuli in mental rotation tasks (MRTs) on postural stability was investigated in two dual-task experiments. There were significant differences within egocentric MRTs (Experiment 1, N = 46): Hand and foot stimuli tended to cause more body sway than whole-body figures and showed increased body sway for higher rotation angles in the MRTs. In object-based MRTs (Experiment 2, N = 109) different stimuli did not evoke different levels of body sway, but higher rotation angles led to higher body sway.

Learning curve and functional outcomes after laser enucleation of the prostate for benign prostate hyperplasia according to surgeon's caseload.

Purpose: To evaluate the impact of surgical caseload on safety, efficacy, and functional outcomes of laser enucleation of the prostate (LEP) applying a structured mentoring program.

Methods: Patient characteristics, perioperative data, and functional outcomes were analyzed descriptively. Linear and logistic regression models analyzed the effect of caseload on complications, functional outcomes and operative speed.

A spectacular new species of (Anura: Hylidae) from the Cordillera de Los Llanganates in the eastern Andes of Ecuador.

We have discovered a spectacular new species of frog in the genus , belonging to the species group. The adult female is characterized by a mostly black body with large bright red spots on the dorsal and ventral surface, extremities, and toe pads. The adult male is unknown.

The Nuclear Proteins TP73 and CUL4A Confer Resistance to Cytarabine by Induction of Translesion DNA Synthesis via Mono-ubiquitination of PCNA.

Resistance to cytarabine is a key problem in the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). To understand the molecular biology of resistance to cytarabine, a viability-based chemosensitizer screen was utilized. We screened synthetic lethal targets using 437 different small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) directed against factors involved in DNA repair mechanisms and cytarabine as the chemical compound.

Strong differentiation between amphibian communities on two adjacent mountains in the Upper Rio Pastaza watershed of Ecuador, with descriptions of two new species of terrestrial frogs.

We present the results of herpetological surveys in two adjacent mountains where the EcoMinga Foundation protects the cloud forest in the Upper Rio Pastaza watershed, in the Llanganates Sangay Ecological Corridor in Ecuador. A rapid assessment of the amphibian communities of the study sites reveals a diverse and heterogeneous composition, dominated by terrestrial frogs from the genus . We also identify a cryptic diversity with a significant number of candidate new species.

Predicting Reading From Behavioral and Neural Measures - A Longitudinal Event-Related Potential Study.

Fluent reading is characterized by fast and effortless decoding of visual and phonological information. Here we used event-related potentials (ERPs) and neuropsychological testing to probe the neurocognitive basis of reading in a sample of children with a wide range of reading skills. We report data of 51 children who were measured at two time points, i.

Language distance modulates cognitive control in bilinguals.

Linguistic processes in the bilingual brain are partially shared across languages, and the degree of neural overlap between the languages is influenced by several factors, including the age of acquisition, relative language proficiency, and immersion. There is limited evidence on the role of linguistic distance on the performance of the language control as well as domain-general cognitive control systems. The present study aims at exploring whether being bilingual in close and distant language pairs (CLP and DLP) influences language control and domain-general cognitive processes.

Pupillometry as a measure of cognitive load in mental rotation tasks with abstract and embodied figures.

We investigated sex differences in behavioral performance and cognitive load in chronometric mental rotation tasks with abstract and embodied figures. Eighty participants (44 females and 36 males) completed 126 items, which included cube figures, body postures, and human figures, which were all comparable in shape and color. Reaction time, accuracy, and cognitive load, measured by changes in pupil dilation, were analyzed.