The DZHK research platform: maximisation of scientific value by enabling access to health data and biological samples collected in cardiovascular clinical studies.

The German Centre for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK) is one of the German Centres for Health Research and aims to conduct early and guideline-relevant studies to develop new therapies and diagnostics that impact the lives of people with cardiovascular disease. Therefore, DZHK members designed a collaboratively organised and integrated research platform connecting all sites and partners. The overarching objectives of the research platform are the standardisation of prospective data and biological sample collections among all studies and the development of a sustainable centrally standardised storage in compliance with general legal regulations and the FAIR principles.

Pertussis and influenza immunization: perceived attitude and decision of postpartum patients.

Background: Vaccination of pregnant patients with tetanus toxoid, reduced diphtheria toxoid, and acellular pertussis (Tdap) and influenza vaccine during influenza season can reduce maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality; nevertheless, vaccination rates remain suboptimal in this patient population. To investigate the effect of a brief educational counseling session on maternal Tdap and influenza vaccination and determine factors influencing women's decision in regards to receiving Tdap and or influenza vaccine during their pregnancy.

Methods: A face-to-face semi-structured cross-sectional survey was administered to postpartum patients on their anticipated day of discharge (June 11-August 21, 2018).

Clinician knowledge and behaviors related to the 4Ms framework of Age-Friendly Health Systems.

Background: The Age-Friendly Health Systems (AFHS) aims to improve the experience of care for adults aged 65 years and older through the 4Ms framework, an evidence-based approach to care planning that emphasizes what matters most to the older person, mentation, mobility, and medication. The aim of this study was to examine clinicians' attitudes, knowledge, and practices concerning AFHS and the 4Ms.

Methods: We surveyed U.

Energy and Protein Intake, Anthropometrics, and Disease Burden in Elderly Home-care Receivers--A Cross-sectional Study in Germany (ErnSIPP Study).

Objective: To date, no study has examined the nutritional status and disease burden of elderly home-care receivers living in Germany. Aim of this cross-sectional study was, first, to assess disease burden and nutritional status, denoted in anthropometrics, and, second, to investigate associations between anthropometrics and disease burden.

Design: Cross-sectional multi-centre study.

Prognostic differences of the Mini Nutritional Assessment short form and long form in relation to 1-year functional decline and mortality in community-dwelling older adults receiving home care.

Objectives: To compare the prognostic value of the revised Mini Nutritional Assessment short form (MNA-SF) classification with that of the long form (MNA-LF) in relation to mortality and functional change in community-dwelling older adults receiving home care in Germany.

Design: Multicenter, 1-year prospective observational study.

Setting: Community.

Nutritional status and related factors in elderly nursing home residents: comparative cross-sectional study in migrants and native Germans.

Former guest workers in Germany who stayed on after retirement are now older than 70 years. Nursing homes (NH) are broadening their offer to meet specific requirements of this population. The nutritional status and related problems of the older ethnic minority group living in German NH has so far not been investigated.

Vitamin D status and physical function in nursing home residents: a 1-year observational study.

Objective: Low vitamin D blood levels are highly prevalent in elderly people, particularly in nursing home residents (NHR). A relation between vitamin D levels and physical function (PF) is described in several studies in older adults; however, data on NHR are scarce and there is presently no information on the time course of vitamin D levels and PF in this population. The aim of the present study was to describe the 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] status of NHR at baseline (t1) and after 1 year (t2) to examine whether 25(OH)D blood levels are related to PF at t1 and at t2, and whether changes in 25(OH)D levels over 1 year are related to changes in PF.

Malnutrition is related to functional impairment in older adults receiving home care.

Objectives: The aims of this work were (a) to provide a detailed description of the association between nutritional (Mini Nutritional Assessment; MNA®) and functional status in a sample of older adults receiving home care, using both questionnaire- and performance-based functional methods, and (b) to investigate the impact of different MNA subscales on this association.

Design: Multi-centre, cross-sectional.

Setting: Home care.

Institutional factors associated with the nutritional status of residents from 10 German nursing homes (ErnSTES study).

Objectives: In nursing homes malnutrition among residents is widespread. Because residents place part of their personal freedom of choice into institutional hands, institution-specific factors may influence nutritional status of residents.

Design: Multi-centre cross-sectional study.

Functionality and mortality in obese nursing home residents: an example of 'risk factor paradox'?

Background: Although the percentage of obese nursing home residents is increasing, few longitudinal studies have reported on functionality and mortality in this subpopulation. The aim of the present study was to explore functionality and mortality in obese nursing home residents during a 1-year follow-up and to compare these results with those of residents within the normal and low BMI range.

Methods: Two hundred residents (147 female, 53 male, mean age 85.

Comparison of two different approaches for the application of the mini nutritional assessment in nursing homes: resident interviews versus assessment by nursing staff.

Background: When the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) was developed, the authors did not specifically focus on the nursing home setting. Due to a number of particularities of nursing home residents, such as cognitive and linguistic disabilities, a number of uncertainties with regard to its application await clarification.

Aims And Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare the results of two different modes of MNA application in nursing homes: resident interviews versus assessment by nursing staff.

Nutritional situation of the elderly in Eastern/Baltic and Central/Western Europe - the AgeingNutrition project.

Background/aims: In the AgeingNutrition project, funded by the European Commission, partners from 10 'Eastern/Baltic' (new) European (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, and Turkey) and 5 'Central/Western' (old) European countries (Austria, Belgium, Germany, Greece, and Spain) performed a comparative analysis of existing data on nutritional status, food intake, nutrient intake, dietary habits and lifestyle of the aging population in Europe.

Methods: Using predefined inclusion criteria, 36 studies (22 from Eastern/Baltic, 14 from Central/Western countries) were chosen for evaluation. The studies varied in general design, data assessment and parameters and methods applied (especially regarding assessment of nutritional situation, comprising anthropometry, blood lipid profile, dietary nutrient and food intake).

The fatty acid pattern of dietary fat influences the oral bioavailability of the flavonol quercetin in pigs.

We have shown recently that dietary fat content influences the bioavailability of the flavonol quercetin. In the present study, the influence of the fatty acid pattern of dietary fats on the oral bioavailability of quercetin was investigated. Quercetin (30 micromol/kg body weight) was administered to growing pigs (n 6) in test meals consisting either of 200 g of a standard pig diet (2% crude fat) or of the same diet supplemented with 15 g fat/100 g diet using either medium-chain (MCT) or long-chain fatty acid triacylglycerols (LCT).

Bioavailability of quercetin in pigs is influenced by the dietary fat content.

The flavonol quercetin is one of the most prevalent flavonoids found in edible plants. In this study, the influence of dietary fat on oral bioavailability of quercetin was investigated. Quercetin (30 micromol/kg body weight) was administered either as the lipophilic aglycone or as the more hydrophilic quercetin-3-O-glucoside in test meals differing in fat content (3, 17, or 32 g fat/100 g diet) to growing pigs.

The prevalence of Helicobacter pylori: are emergency medicine residents at risk?

Helicobacter pylori is strongly associated with peptic ulcer disease and gastric cancer. It is a cause of chronic active gastritis. Our hypothesis was that Emergency Physicians might be at increased risk for infection due to their exposure to gastric contents from procedures performed in the Emergency Department.

Activation of signal transducer and activator of transcription-3 during proliferative phases of 3T3-L1 adipogenesis.

Signal transducer and activator of transcription-3 (STAT3) is abundantly expressed in preadipocytes and adipocytes, but little is known about its activation status or functional role during adipogenesis. In this report we investigate STAT3 activation in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes before and after differentiation into adipocytes. STAT3 was highly tyrosine phosphorylated and bound to DNA in proliferating preadipocytes, but not in growth-arrested preadipocytes or adipocytes.

Interleukin-4 mediates STAT6 activation in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes but not adipocytes.

STAT6 is abundantly expressed in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes and adipocytes but activating ligands are not well defined. In this report, we provide evidence that interleukin 4 (IL-4) induced JAK2-mediated STAT6 tyrosine phosphorylation and DNA binding in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes but not in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Loss of IL-4-mediated STAT6 tyrosine phosphorylation occurred 2 days after preadipocytes were induced to differentiate into adipocytes but when cells remained phenotypically preadipocytes.

Induction of electrical excitability by NGF requires autocrine action of a CNTF-like factor.

The overlapping expression of neurotrophin and neural cytokine receptors indicates that most neuronal populations are responsive to both classes of factors, yet relatively little is known about how these two trophic signaling systems interact to regulate neuronal phenotype. We report here that one hallmark of NGF's effects on target cells, the induction of membrane electrical excitability, requires the intermediary action of a CNTF-like factor. We found that NGF's regulation of voltage-gated potassium channels, unlike its regulation of voltage-gated sodium and calcium channels, involves a CNTF-like autocrine/paracrine loop.

Acute idiopathic thrombocytopaenic purpura in childhood: report of a case presenting in general dental practice.

Acute idiopathic thrombocytopaenic purpura is the most common of the thrombocytopaenias of childhood. Clinically it is associated with petechiae, mucocutaneous bleeding and occasionally haemorrhage into tissues. The oral mucosa is frequently involved.

Hazards associated with metalworking by artists.

Metalworking is the constructive sculptural application of various technologic processes for producing art from ferrous and nonferrous metals. Self-employed artists and their workplaces are not protected by governmental agencies. We describe the techniques involved in metalworking processes and discuss the physical trauma and medical syndromes associated with each process, as well as safety, prevention, and treatment aspects of the basic syndromes.

Neurotrophin regulation of ionic currents and cell size depends on cell context.

Trk receptor activation by neurotrophins is often considered to have a defined set of actions on target neurons, including supporting neuronal survival, inducing morphological differentiation, and regulating a host of target genes that specify neuronal phenotype. It is not known if all such regulatory effects are obligatory, or if some may vary depending on the cell context in which the receptors are expressed. We have examined this issue by comparing neurotrophin effects on the regulation of electrical excitability and morphological differentiation in two strains of PC12 cells.

Neurotrophins differentially regulate voltage-gated ion channels.

Neurotrophic factors profoundly affect neuronal differentiation, but whether they influence neuronal phenotype in instructive ways remains unclear: do different neurotrophic factors always trigger identical programs of differentiation or can each impose distinct functional properties even when acting upon the same population of target neurons? We addressed this issue by examining the regulatory effects of the four neurotrophins on the molecular components of electrical excitability, voltage-gated ion channels, within a single cellular context. Using patch clamp methods, we studied neurotrophin regulation of voltage-gated sodium, calcium, and potassium currents in SK-N-SH neuroblastoma cells. We found that each neurotrophin induced a unique pattern of expression of ionic currents despite similar activation of initial signal transduction events.