Risk factors for multimodal conservative approach failure before bariatric surgery.

Background: A multimodal conservative approach (MCA) is internationally recommended prior to bariatric surgery for the majority of patients. This research aimed to identify risk factors for therapy failure within the MCA.

Methods: This study was conducted in a German bariatric obesity centre.

Non-clinical evaluation of local and systemic immunity induced by different vaccination strategies of the candidate tuberculosis vaccine M72/AS01.

A new efficacious tuberculosis vaccine targeting adolescents/adults represents an urgent medical need. The M72/AS01 vaccine candidate protected half of the latently-infected adults against progression to pulmonary tuberculosis in a Phase IIb trial (NCT01755598). We report that three immunizations of mice, two weeks apart, with AS01-adjuvanted M72 induced polyfunctional, Th1-cytokine-expressing M72-specific CD4/CD8 T cells in blood and lungs, with the highest frequencies in lungs.

Luminescence enhancement effects on nanostructured perovskite thin films for Er/Yb-doped solar cells.

Recent attempts to improve solar cell performance by increasing their spectral absorption interval incorporate up-converting fluorescent nanocrystals on the structure. These nanocrystals absorb low energy light and emit higher energy photons that can then be captured by the solar cell active layer. However, this process is very inefficient and it needs to be enhanced by different strategies.

Impact of bacterial strain acquisition in the lung of patients with COPD: the AERIS study.

Background: Bacterial infections are associated with acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD), but the mechanism is incompletely understood.

Method: In a COPD observational study (NCT01360398), sputum samples were collected monthly at the stable state and exacerbation. analyses of 1307 non-typeable (NTHi) isolates from 20 patients and 756 isolates from 38 patients in one year of follow-up were conducted by multilocus sequence typing (MLST).

Spatially Resolved Temperature Distribution in a Rare-Earth-Doped Transparent Glass-Ceramic.

Knowing the temperature distribution within the conducting walls of various multilayer-type materials is crucial for a better understanding of heat-transfer processes. This applies to many engineering fields, good examples being photovoltaics and microelectronics. In this work we present a novel fluorescence technique that makes possible the non-invasive imaging of local temperature distributions within a transparent, temperature-sensitive, co-doped Er:GPF1Yb0.

UspA2 is a cross-protective Moraxella catarrhalis vaccine antigen.

Moraxella catarrhalis (Mcat) is a key pathogen associated with exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in adults and playing a significant role in otitis media in children. A vaccine would help to reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with these diseases. UspA2 is an Mcat surface antigen considered earlier as vaccine candidate before the interest in this molecule vanished due to sequence variability.

Quantitative Automated Assays in Living Cells to Screen for Inhibitors of Hemichannel Function.

In vertebrates, intercellular communication is largely mediated by connexins (Cx), a family of structurally related transmembrane proteins that assemble to form hemichannels (HCs) at the plasma membrane. HCs are upregulated in different brain disorders and represent innovative therapeutic targets. Identifying modulators of Cx-based HCs is of great interest to better understand their function and define new treatments.

STRAIN: an R package for multi-locus sequence typing from whole genome sequencing data.

Background: Multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) is a standard typing technique used to associate a sequence type (ST) to a bacterial isolate. When the output of whole genome sequencing (WGS) of a sample is available the ST can be assigned directly processing the read-set. Current approaches employ reads mapping (SRST2) against the MLST loci, k-mer distribution (stringMLST), selective assembly (GRAbB) or whole genome assembly (BIGSdb) followed by BLASTn sequence query.

Mapping plasmon-enhanced upconversion fluorescence of Er/Yb-doped nanocrystals near gold nanodisks.

Fluorescence enhancement effects have many potential applications in the domain of biochemical sensors and optoelectronic devices. Here, the emission properties of up-converting nanocrystals near nanostructures that support surface plasmon resonances have been investigated. Gold nanodisks of various diameters were illuminated in the near-infrared (λ = 975 nm) and a single fluorescent nanocrystal glued at the end of an atomic force microscope tip was scanned around them.

The Currently Available Literature on Inpatient Foodservices: Systematic Review and Critical Appraisal.

Background: An adequate hospital foodservice is important to optimize protein and energy intake and to maintain or improve a patient's nutritional status. Key elements that define an optimal foodservice have yet to be identified.

Objectives: To systematically describe the effects of published foodservice interventions on nutrition and clinical outcomes and determine which elements should be considered essential.

Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease harbour a variation of Haemophilus species.

H. haemolyticus is often misidentified as NTHi due to their close phylogenetic relationship. Differentiating between the two is important for correct identification and appropriate treatment of infective organism and to ensure any role of H.

CHMP1B is a target of USP8/UBPY regulated by ubiquitin during endocytosis.

Integration and down-regulation of cell growth and differentiation signals rely on plasma membrane receptor endocytosis and sorting towards either recycling vesicles or degradative lysosomes via multivesicular bodies (MVB). In this process, the endosomal sorting complex-III required for transport (ESCRT-III) controls membrane deformation and scission triggering intraluminal vesicle (ILV) formation at early endosomes. Here, we show that the ESCRT-III member CHMP1B can be ubiquitinated within a flexible loop known to undergo conformational changes during polymerization.

Position paper on screening for breast cancer by the European Society of Breast Imaging (EUSOBI) and 30 national breast radiology bodies from Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Israel, Lithuania, Moldova, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Turkey.

Unlabelled: EUSOBI and 30 national breast radiology bodies support mammography for population-based screening, demonstrated to reduce breast cancer (BC) mortality and treatment impact. According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer, the reduction in mortality is 40 % for women aged 50-69 years taking up the invitation while the probability of false-positive needle biopsy is <1 % per round and overdiagnosis is only 1-10 % for a 20-year screening. Mortality reduction was also observed for the age groups 40-49 years and 70-74 years, although with "limited evidence".

Time-gated luminescence bioimaging with new luminescent nanocolloids based on [MoI(CFCOO)] metal atom clusters.

Bioimaging and cell labeling using red or near infrared phosphors emitting in the "therapeutic window" of biological tissues have recently become some of the most active research fields in modern medical diagnostics. However, because organic and inorganic autofluorophores are omnipresent in nature, very often the background signal from fluorochromes other than targeted probes has to be eliminated. This discrimination could be available using a time-gated luminescence microscopy (TGLM) technique associated with long lifetime phosphorescent nanocomposites.

The incorporation site of Er in nanosized CaF.

The incorporation site of Er dopants inserted at high and low concentration (respectively 5 and 0.5 mol%) in nanoparticles of CaF is studied by x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) at the Er L edge. The experimental data are compared with the results of structural modeling based on density functional theory (DFT).

Millisecond Photon Lifetime in a Slow-Light Microcavity.

Optical microcavities with ultralong photon storage times are of central importance for integrated nanophotonics. To date, record quality (Q) factors up to 10^{11} have been measured in millimetric-size single-crystal whispering-gallery-mode (WGM) resonators, and 10^{10} in silica or glass microresonators. We show that, by introducing slow-light effects in an active WGM microresonator, it is possible to enhance the photon lifetime by several orders of magnitude, thus circumventing both fabrication imperfections and residual absorption.

Near-field observation of surface plasmon polaritons launched by V-shaped nanorods on a gold surface.

By scanning near-field optical microscopy, we study the propagation of surface waves created by V-shaped nanorods deposited on a gold thin film. The nanorods launch surface plasmon polaritons that interfere with the incident light, producing interference patterns. The angle of the V-shaped rods varies from 110° to 180° (straight rod).

Combined theoretical and time-resolved photoluminescence investigations of [Mo₆Brⁱ₈Br(a)₆]²⁻ metal cluster units: evidence of dual emission.

The combined time-resolved photoluminescence (PL) and theoretical study performed on luminescent [Mo6Br(i)8Br(a)6](2-)-based systems unambiguously shows that their NIR-luminescence is due to at least two emissive states. By quantum chemical studies, we show for the first time that important geometrical relaxations occur at the triplet states either by the outstretching of an apex away from the square plane of the Mo6 octahedron or by the elongation of one Mo-Mo bond. Experimental PL measurements demonstrate that the external environment (counter-ions, crystal packing) of the cluster has a noticeable impact on its relaxation processes.

Mapping and quantifying electric and magnetic dipole luminescence at the nanoscale.

We report on an experimental technique to quantify the relative importance of electric and magnetic dipole luminescence from a single nanosource in structured environments. By attaching a Eu^{3+}-doped nanocrystal to a near-field scanning optical microscope tip, we map the branching ratios associated with two electric dipole and one magnetic dipole transitions in three dimensions on a gold stripe. The relative weights of the electric and magnetic radiative local density of states can be recovered quantitatively, based on a multilevel model.

The nonaspanins TM9SF2 and TM9SF4 regulate the plasma membrane localization and signalling activity of the peptidoglycan recognition protein PGRP-LC in Drosophila.

Transmembrane 9 (TM9) proteins, or nonaspanins, are a family of proteins conserved throughout evolution and characterized by 9 transmembrane domains. In Drosophila, TM9 superfamily protein member 4 (TM9SF4) and its closest paralogue, TM9SF2, contribute to phagocytosis of various types of particles, while TM9SF4 displays non-redundant requirement in Gram-negative bacteria engulfment. In addition, the two TM9 proteins control the actin cytoskeleton in larval haemocytes and in Drosophila S2 cells.

Identifying USPs regulating immune signals in Drosophila: USP2 deubiquitinates Imd and promotes its degradation by interacting with the proteasome.

Background: Rapid activation of innate immune defences upon microbial infection depends on the evolutionary conserved NF-κB dependent signals which deregulation is frequently associated with chronic inflammation and oncogenesis. These signals are tightly regulated by the linkage of different kinds of ubiquitin moieties on proteins that modify either their activity or their stability. To investigate how ubiquitin specific proteases (USPs) orchestrate immune signal regulation, we created and screened a focused RNA interference library on Drosophila NF-κB-like pathways Toll and Imd in cultured S2 cells, and further analysed the function of selected genes in vivo.

Multifunctional hybrid silica nanoparticles based on [Mo₆Br₁₄]²⁻ phosphorescent nanosized clusters, magnetic γ-Fe₂O₃ and plasmonic gold nanoparticles.

We report on the synthesis, characterization and photophysical study of new luminescent and magnetic hybrid silica nanoparticles. Our method is based on the co-encapsulation of single maghemite γ-Fe2O3 nanoparticles and luminescent molybdenum cluster units [Mo6Br(i)8Br(a)6](2-) through a water-in-oil (W/O) microemulsion technique. The as-prepared core-shell [Cs2Mo6Br14-γFe2O3]@SiO2 nanoparticles (45-53 nm) possess a single magnetic core (6, 10.