Leveraging mobility data to analyze persistent SARS-CoV-2 mutations and inform targeted genomic surveillance.

Given the rapid cross-country spread of SARS-CoV-2 and the resulting difficulty in tracking lineage spread, we investigated the potential of combining mobile service data and fine-granular metadata (such as postal codes and genomic data) to advance integrated genomic surveillance of the pandemic in the federal state of Thuringia, Germany. We sequenced over 6500 SARS-CoV-2 Alpha genomes (B.1.

Impairment of affective and cognitive empathy in high functioning autism is mediated by alterations in emotional reactivity.

Empathy impairments are considered a key aspect of autism-spectrum disorders (ASD). Previous research consistently shows reduced cognitive empathy, but findings on affective empathy vary, possibly due to experimental design variations (e.g.

Vaccine Preventable Diseases in Pediatric Palliative Care - A Multicenter Cross-Sectional Study.

Context: Vaccine preventable diseases lead to distressful symptoms and complications among pediatric patients receiving specialized home palliative care. There was no data on the vaccination compliance.

Objectives: The objective was to determine the vaccination coverage, discuss the relevance of vaccinations and provide vaccination recommendations in pediatric palliative care.

Lower affective empathy in oral contraceptive users: a cross-sectional fMRI study.

Evidence accumulates that oral contraceptive (OC) use modulates various socio-affective behaviors, including empathic abilities. Endogenous and synthetic sex hormones, such as estrogens and progestogens, bind to receptor sites in brain regions (i.e.

Imaging the human brain on oral contraceptives: A review of structural imaging methods and implications for future research goals.

Worldwide over 150 million women use oral contraceptives (OCs), which are the most prescribed form of contraception in both the United States and in European countries. Sex hormones, such as estradiol and progesterone, are important endogenous hormones known for shaping the brain across the life span. Synthetic hormones, which are present in OCs, interfere with the natural hormonal balance by reducing the endogenous hormone levels.

No Differences in Value-Based Decision-Making Due to Use of Oral Contraceptives.

Fluctuating ovarian hormones have been shown to affect decision-making processes in women. While emerging evidence suggests effects of endogenous ovarian hormones such as estradiol and progesterone on value-based decision-making in women, the impact of exogenous synthetic hormones, as in most oral contraceptives, is not clear. In a between-subjects design, we assessed measures of value-based decision-making in three groups of women aged 18 to 29 years, during (1) active oral contraceptive intake (N = 22), (2) the early follicular phase of the natural menstrual cycle (N = 20), and (3) the periovulatory phase of the natural menstrual cycle (N = 20).

No Evidence for a Role of Oral Contraceptive-Use in Emotion Recognition But Higher Negativity Bias in Early Follicular Women.

Accuracy in facial emotion recognition has shown to vary with ovarian hormones, both in naturally cycling women, as well as in women taking oral contraceptives. It remains uncertain however, if specific - endogenous and exogenous - hormonal levels selectively impact recognition of certain basic emotions (or neutral faces) and if this relationship coincides with certain affective states. Therefore, we investigated 86 women under different hormonal conditions and compared their performance in an emotion recognition task as well as self-reported measures of affective states.

Early Treatment Outcomes for Bloodstream Infections Caused by Potential AmpC Beta-Lactamase-Producing Enterobacterales with Focus on Piperacillin/Tazobactam: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

The Gram-negative bacilli spp., spp., , complex, spp.

Friend vs. Foe: Cognitive and Affective Empathy in Women With Different Hormonal States.

Empathy is crucial for social functioning as well as social coherence. It can be influenced by modulatory factors such as familiarity and liking (i.e.

Management of Bloodstream Infections.

bloodstream infections are associated with a high morbidity and mortality. Nevertheless, significance of a positive blood culture with this pathogen is often underestimated or findings are misinterpreted as contamination, which can result in inadequate diagnostic and therapeutic consequences. We here review and discuss current diagnostic and therapeutic key elements and open questions for the management of bloodstream infections.

Prospective surveillance study in a 1,400-bed university hospital: COVID-19 exposure at home was the main risk factor for SARS-CoV-2 point seroprevalence among hospital staff.

The Co-HCW study is a prospective cohort study among hospital staff, including healthcare workers (HCWs) and administration staff, at the Jena University Hospital (JUH), Germany. The objectives of this study were to assess SARS-CoV-2 IgG seroprevalence, individual exposure risk factors and compliance of HCWs to wear personal protective equipment (PPE). After the first nosocomial COVID-19 outbreak at JUH, mandatory masking was implemented on 20th March 2020.

Effects of Hormonal Contraceptives on Mood: A Focus on Emotion Recognition and Reactivity, Reward Processing, and Stress Response.

Purpose Of Review: We review recent research investigating the relationship of hormonal contraceptives and mood with a focus on relevant underlying mechanisms, such as emotion recognition and reactivity, reward processing, and stress response.

Recent Findings: Adverse effects of hormonal contraceptives (HCs) on mood seem most consistent in women with a history of depressive symptoms and/or previous negative experience with HC-intake. Current evidence supports a negativity bias in emotion recognition and reactivity in HC-users, although inconsistent to some extent.

Feasibility of NIRS-based neurofeedback training in social anxiety disorder: behavioral and neural correlates.

Attention biases towards threat signals have been linked to the etiology and symptomatology of social anxiety disorder (SAD). Dysfunction of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) may contribute to attention biases in anxious individuals. The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) neurofeedback (NF) training-targeting the dlPFC-and its effects on threat-related attention biases of individuals with SAD.

Potential Adverse Effects of Violent Video Gaming: Interpersonal- Affective Traits Are Rather Impaired Than Disinhibition in Young Adults.

The increasing trend of mass shootings, which were associated with excessive use of violent video games, fueled the debate of possible effects violent video games may have on adolescents and young adults. The aim of this study was to investigate the possible link between violent video gaming effects and the disposition of adverse behavior traits such as interpersonal-affective deficits and disinhibition. Data of 167 young adults, collected by an online questionnaire battery, were analyzed for lifetime video game exposure differences (i.

[Antibiotic stewardship and Staphylococcus aureus Bacteremia].

Rates of antibiotic resistance are increasing worldwide and impact on the treatment of patients with bacterial infections. A broad and uncritical application in inpatient and outpatient settings as well as in agriculture has been recognized as the main driving force. Antibiotic stewardship (ABS) programs aim at countering this worrisome development using various direct interventions such as infectious disease counseling.

Comparison of itraconazole, voriconazole, and posaconazole as oral antifungal prophylaxis in pediatric patients following allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Oral antifungal prophylaxis with extended-spectra azoles is widely used in pediatric patients after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), while controlled studies for oral antifungal prophylaxis after bone marrow transplantation in children are not available. This survey analyzed patients who had received either itraconazole, voriconazole, or posaconazole. We focused on the safety, feasibility, and initial data of efficacy in a cohort of pediatric patients and adolescents after high-dose chemotherapy and HSCT.

Analysis of posaconazole as oral antifungal prophylaxis in pediatric patients under 12 years of age following allogeneic stem cell transplantation.

Background: Pediatric patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) are at high risk of acquiring fungal infections. Antifungal prophylaxis shortly after transplantation is therefore indicated, but data for pediatric patients under 12 years of age are scarce. To address this issue, we retrospectively assessed the safety, feasibility, and initial efficacy of prophylactic posaconazole in children.

Susceptibility of multidrug-resistant human leukemia cell lines to human interleukin 2-activated killer cells.

Considering the possibility to overcome drug resistance by other treatment strategies than chemotherapy we investigated the susceptibility of three independently selected multidrug-resistant sublines of the T-lymphoblastoid leukemic cell line CCRF-CEM to lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cells. We found that two of the multidrug-resistant sublines were significantly less susceptible targets to LAK cells. A third one, however, was as susceptible as the parental CCRF-CEM cell line.

Establishment and characterization of a cell line (Wa-2) derived from an extrarenal rhabdoid tumor.

A new human cell line (Wa-2) derived from an extrarenal rhabdoid tumor has been established. The cell line grows as a monolayer consisting of round- and spindle-shaped cells. Injection of cells into nude mice results in the growth of solid tumors within 2 wk of inoculation.

In vitro and in vivo effect of interleukin-2 on the 2',5'-oligoadenylate synthetase activity of peripheral mononuclear blood cells.

The in vitro and in vivo influence of interleukin-2 (IL-2) on 2',5'-oligoadenylate (2-5A) synthetase activity and natural killer (NK) activity of peripheral mononuclear blood cells (PBMCs) was investigated. Incubation of PBMCs in vitro with IL-2 resulted in a considerable secretion of interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) and in a significant elevation of 2-5A synthetase activity, as well as NK activity. Neutralizing monoclonal anti-IFN-gamma antibodies inhibited the elevation of 2-5A synthetase activity, but not the IL-2-induced augmentation of NK activity.