Forearm elevation impairs local static handgrip endurance likely through reduction in vascular conductance and perfusion pressure: revisiting Rohmert's curve.

Maximal isometric contraction time (MICT) is critical for most motor tasks and depends on skeletal muscle blood flow at < 40% of maximal voluntary strength (MVC). Whether limb work positions associated with reduced perfusion pressure and facilitated vessel compression affect MICT is largely unknown. In 14 healthy young men we therefore assessed bilateral handgrip MICT at 15, 20, 30, 40, and 70% of MVC in horizontal forearm positions of 0.

The angiotensin II receptors type 1 and 2 modulate astrocytes and their crosstalk with microglia and neurons in an in vitro model of ischemic stroke.

Background: Astrocytes are the most abundant cell type of the central nervous system and are fundamentally involved in homeostasis, neuroprotection, and synaptic plasticity. This regulatory function of astrocytes on their neighboring cells in the healthy brain is subject of current research. In the ischemic brain we assume disease specific differences in astrocytic acting.

Occupational orthopedic problems and its relation to personal radiation protection in interventional radiology.

Purpose: Several studies report occupational orthopedic problems among interventional cardiologists. These health problems are usually multifactorial. However, the personal protective equipment used should play a major role.

Visualizing the dynamics of plant energy organelles.

Plant organelles predominantly rely on the actin cytoskeleton and the myosin motors for long-distance trafficking, while using microtubules and the kinesin motors mostly for short-range movement. The distribution and motility of organelles in the plant cell are fundamentally important to robust plant growth and defense. Chloroplasts, mitochondria, and peroxisomes are essential organelles in plants that function independently and coordinately during energy metabolism and other key metabolic processes.

PLAT domain protein 1 (PLAT1/PLAFP) binds to the Arabidopsis thaliana plasma membrane and inserts a lipid.

Robust agricultural yields depend on the plant's ability to fix carbon amid variable environmental conditions. Over seasonal and diurnal cycles, the plant must constantly adjust its metabolism according to available resources or external stressors. The metabolic changes that a plant undergoes in response to stress are well understood, but the long-distance signaling mechanisms that facilitate communication throughout the plant are less studied.

Economic Evaluation of Ultrasound-guided Central Venous Catheter Confirmation vs Chest Radiography in Critically Ill Patients: A Labor Cost Model.

Introduction: Despite evidence suggesting that point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is faster and non-inferior for confirming position and excluding pneumothorax after central venous catheter (CVC) placement compared to traditional radiography, millions of chest radiographs (CXR) are performed annually for this purpose. Whether the use of POCUS results in cost savings compared to CXR is less clear but could represent a relative advantage in implementation efforts. Our objective in this study was to evaluate the labor cost difference for POCUS-guided vs CXR-guided CVC position confirmation practices.

Dispersion of airborne mercury species emitted from the cement plant.

The cement industry is the second largest source of anthropogenic mercury (Hg) emissions in Europe, accounting for 11% of global anthropogenic Hg emissions. The main objective of this study was to examine the influence of Hg emissions from the Salonit Anhovo cement plant on Hg levels measured in the ambient air at Vodarna, 1 km downwind from the flue gas chimney. The findings reveal that the plant raw mill operational status plays an important role in Hg concentrations in the flue gas emitted from the plant.

Physical strain while wearing personal radiation protection systems in interventional radiology.

Objectives: Multiple studies show orthopedic health problems for medical staff due to wearing radiation protection aprons. The aim of this study was to evaluate the weight pressure on the shoulder as a marker of physical strain caused by different radiation-protection devices.

Methods: For the weight pressure measurement, a pressure sensor (OMD-30-SE-100N, OptoForce, Budapest, Hungary) placed on the left and right shoulder was used.

Joint replacement increases radiation exposure to the staff in angiography: A phantom study.

Introduction: The present study investigates the influence of joint prostheses on the amount of scattered radiation in a simulated angiography set-up.

Materials And Methods: A clinical angiography system (Artis Zee, Siemens Healthineers, Germany) with a water phantom as a scattering object was used. The scattered radiation of the water phantom was repeatedly measured without prosthesis, with a knee prosthesis and a hip prosthesis made from titanium, aluminum, vanadium, ceramics and polyethylene.

Scatter radiation reduction with a radiation-absorbing pad in interventional radiology examinations.

Purpose: Radiation-absorbing pads are an additional possibility to reduce scattered radiation at its source. The goal of this study is to investigate the efficacy of a new reusable radiation-absorbing pad at its origin in an experimental setup.

Material And Methods: All measurements were carried out using a clinical angiography system with a standardized fluoroscopy protocol, different C-arm angulations and an anthropomorphic torso phantom as a scattering body.

The interplay of phloem-mobile signals in plant development and stress response.

Plants integrate a variety of biotic and abiotic factors for optimal growth in their given environment. While some of these responses are local, others occur distally. Hence, communication of signals perceived in one organ to a second, distal part of the plant and the coordinated developmental response require an intricate signaling system.

Protective Efficacy of Different Ocular Radiation Protection Devices: A Phantom Study.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of different designs and types of ocular radiation protection devices depending on simulated varied body heights in a phantom-simulated thoracic intervention.

Materials And Methods: A clinical angiography system with a standardized fluoroscopy protocol with an anthropomorphic chest phantom as a scattering object and optically stimulated luminescence dosimeters for measuring radiation dose were used. The dosimeters were placed at the position of eyes of an anthropomorphic head phantom simulating the examiner.

Task-related fMRI BOLD response to hyperinsulinemia in healthy older adults.

Background: There is growing evidence to suggest that the brain is an important target for insulin action, and that states of insulin resistance may extend to the CNS with detrimental effects on cognitive functioning. Although the effect of systemic insulin resistance on peripheral organs is well-studied, the degree to which insulin impacts brain function in vivo remains unclear.

Methods: This randomized, single-blinded, 2-way-crossover, sham-controlled, pilot study determined the effects of hyperinsulinemia on fMRI brain activation during a 2-back working memory task in 9 healthy older adults (aged 57-79 years).

The effects of childhood maltreatment on epigenetic regulation of stress-response associated genes: an intergenerational approach.

While biological alterations associated with childhood maltreatment (CM) have been found in affected individuals, it remains unknown to what degree these alterations are biologically transmitted to the next generation. We investigated intergenerational effects of maternal CM on DNA methylation and gene expression in N = 113 mother-infant dyads shortly after parturition, additionally accounting for the role of the FKBP5 rs1360780 genotype. Using mass array spectrometry, we assessed the DNA methylation of selected stress-response-associated genes (FK506 binding protein 51 [FKBP5], glucocorticoid receptor [NR3C1], corticotropin-releasing hormone receptor 1 [CRHR1]) in isolated immune cells from maternal blood and neonatal umbilical cord blood.

The Association of Childhood Maltreatment With Lipid Peroxidation and DNA Damage in Postpartum Women.

Childhood maltreatment (CM) is associated with an increased risk for the development of psychiatric and somatic disorders in later life. A potential link could be oxidative stress, which is defined as the imbalance between the amount of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the neutralizing capacity of anti-oxidative defense systems. However, the findings linking CM with oxidative stress have been inconsistent so far.

Comparing Prescriptive and Descriptive Gender Stereotypes About Children, Adults, and the Elderly.

Gender stereotypes have descriptive components, or beliefs about how males and females typically act, as well as prescriptive components, or beliefs about how males and females should act. For example, women are supposed to be nurturing and avoid dominance, and men are supposed to be agentic and avoid weakness. However, it is not clear whether people hold prescriptive gender stereotypes about children of different age groups.

Intergenerational gene × environment interaction of FKBP5 and childhood maltreatment on hair steroids.

Background: The inconsistency in results of cortisol alterations after childhood maltreatment (CM) might arise due to the fact that no study so far considered the effects of environmental factors such as maltreatment load and genetic factors such as the influence of FKBP5 genotype on stress hormone regulation. This study analyzed the interaction between the single nucleotide polymorphism rs1360780 within the FKBP5 gene and the severity of maternal CM experiences (maltreatment load) on hair steroid levels of mother-infant-dyads.

Methods: Hair samples of N = 474 mothers and N = 331 newborns were collected < 1 week after parturition enabling a retrospective assessment of cortisol, cortisone, and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) using mass spectrometry.

Biomarkers in Alzheimer's, Frontotemporal, Lewy Body, and Vascular Dementias.

This article reviews the current evidence base for biomarkers of the most common causes of dementia in later life: Alzheimer's disease (AD), frontotemporal lobar degenerations, Lewy body dementias, and vascular cognitive impairment and dementia. Biomarkers are objectively measurable indicators of normal physiology, pathological processes, or response to an intervention. Ideally, they are sensitive, specific, easy to obtain, and closely reflect the underlying biological processes of interest.

Altered hair endocannabinoid levels in mothers with childhood maltreatment and their newborns.

The endocannabinoid (EC) system possesses anti-inflammatory properties and seems to be altered in trauma-exposed individuals. In an intergenerational approach, this study investigated the link between childhood maltreatment (CM) experiences and alterations in the EC system. Hair samples of N = 142 mothers and N = 91 newborns were analyzed, retrospectively assessing EC regulation during the last trimester of pregnancy with four ECs: 1-arachidonoylglycerol (1-AG), N-oleoylethanolamide (OEA), N-stearoylethanolamide (SEA), and N-palmitoylethanolamide (PEA).

The technical reliability and biotemporal stability of cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers for profiling multiple pathophysiologies in Alzheimer's disease.

Objective: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a complex neurodegenerative disease driven by multiple interacting pathophysiological processes that ultimately results in synaptic loss, neuronal death, and dementia. We implemented a fit-for-purpose modeled approach to qualify a broad selection of commercially available immunoassays and evaluate the biotemporal stability of analytes across five pathophysiological domains of interest in AD, including core amyloid-β (Aβ) and tau AD biomarkers, neurodegeneration, inflammation/immune modulation, neurovascular injury, and metabolism/oxidative stress.

Methods: Paired baseline and eight-week CSFs from twenty participants in a clinical drug trial for mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or mild dementia due to AD were used to evaluate sensitivity, intra-assay precision, inter-assay replicability, and eight-week biotemporal stability for sixty unique analytes measured with commercially available single- and multi-plex ELISA assays.