Limosilactobacillus fermentum Limits Candida glabrata Growth by Ergosterol Depletion.

Candida glabrata is a human-associated opportunistic fungal pathogen. It shares its niche with spp. in the gastrointestinal and vaginal tract.

Modification in the Motor Skills of Seniors in Care Homes Using Serious Games and the Impact of COVID-19: Field Study.

Background: The pandemic has highlighted the importance of low-threshold opportunities for exercise and physical activity. At the beginning of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic led to many restrictions, which affected seniors in care facilities in the form of severe isolation. The isolation led, among other things, to a lack of exercise, which has led to a multitude of negative effects for this target group.

The Effectiveness of a Serious Game (MemoreBox) for Cognitive Functioning Among Seniors in Care Facilities: Field Study.

Background: Serious games have been found to have enhancing and preventative effects on cognitive abilities in healthy older adults. Yet, there are few results on the effects in older seniors with age-related low cognitive impairments. Their special needs were considered when designing and using innovate technology in the area of prevention, which is especially relevant owing to the continuously aging population.

Narrow mutational signatures drive acquisition of multidrug resistance in the fungal pathogen Candida glabrata.

Fungal infections are a growing medical concern, in part due to increased resistance to one or multiple antifungal drugs. However, the evolutionary processes underpinning the acquisition of antifungal drug resistance are poorly understood. Here, we used experimental microevolution to study the adaptation of the yeast pathogen Candida glabrata to fluconazole and anidulafungin, two widely used antifungal drugs with different modes of action.

Human Pathogenic Species Respond Distinctively to Lactic Acid Stress.

Several species are opportunistic human fungal pathogens and thrive in various environmental niches in and on the human body. In this study we focus on the conditions of the vaginal tract, which is acidic, hypoxic, glucose-deprived, and contains lactic acid. We quantitatively analyze the lactic acid tolerance in glucose-rich and glucose-deprived environment of five species: and .

High Throughput Screening for New Fungal Polyester Hydrolyzing Enzymes.

There is a strong need for novel and more efficient polyester hydrolyzing enzymes in order to enable the development of more environmentally friendly plastics recycling processes allowing the closure of the carbon cycle. In this work, a high throughput system on microplate scale was used to screen a high number of fungi for their ability to produce polyester-hydrolyzing enzymes. For induction of responsible enzymes, the fungi were cultivated in presence of aliphatic and aromatic polyesters [poly(1,4-butylene adipate terephthalate) (PBAT), poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and poly(1,4-butylene succinate) (PBS)], and the esterase activity in the culture supernatants was compared to the culture supernatants of fungi grown without polymers.

Antifungal susceptibility of yeast bloodstream isolates collected during a 10-year period in Austria.

Background: Candida-associated infections put a significant burden on western healthcare systems. Development of (multi-)resistant fungi can become untreatable and threaten especially vulnerable target groups, such as the immunocompromised.

Objectives: We assessed antifungal susceptibility and explored possible influence factors of clinical Candida isolates collected from Austrian hospitals between 2007 and 2016.

Competition of Candida glabrata against Lactobacillus is Hog1 dependent.

Candida glabrata is a common human fungal commensal and opportunistic pathogen. This fungus shows remarkable resilience as it can form recalcitrant biofilms on indwelling catheters, has intrinsic resistance against azole antifungals, and is causing vulvovaginal candidiasis. As a nosocomial pathogen, it can cause life-threatening bloodstream infections in immune-compromised patients.

Characteristics of adapted hydrogenotrophic community during biomethanation.

The results presented in this study were carried out as concomitant experiments during the start-up and operation of a biomethanation unit to evaluate the effect of process parameters on carbon conversion, product formation (methane and acetate) and community composition. For that, two different samples were withdrawn from a trickle-bed reactor with immobilized enrichment culture of hydrogenotrophic methanogens adapted from sewage sludge. One sample was taken from the recirculation liquid during start-up phase while the other was withdrawn directly from the carrier material in the reactor.

Ribosome quality control is a central protection mechanism for yeast exposed to deoxynivalenol and trichothecin.

Background: The trichothecene mycotoxins deoxynivalenol (DON) and trichothecin (TTC) are inhibitors of eukaryotic protein synthesis. Their effect on cellular homeostasis is poorly understood. We report a systematic functional investigation of the effect of DON and TTC on the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae using genetic array, network and microarray analysis.

Affective set-shifting deficits in patients with major depression in remission.

While numerous studies have focused on neuropsychological deficits during acute depressive episodes, results have been inconsistent for patients in remission. This case-control study aimed to explore whether remitted patients show deficits in an affective shifting task that has proven sensitive to assess emotional-cognitive deficits in acute depression. 69 fully remitted depressed patients were compared with 76 matched healthy subjects in their performance of a picture-based affective shifting task.

Impact of phonological processing skills on written language acquisition in illiterate adults.

Illiteracy remains a world-wide problem not only for children but also for adults. Phonological processing has been defined as a crucial factor for the acquisition of written language, which usually occurs in childhood. However, it is unclear to what extent phonological processing is necessary in order for adults to acquire written language skills.

Resource allocation and fluid intelligence: insights from pupillometry.

Thinking is biological work and involves the allocation of cognitive resources. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of fluid intelligence on the allocation of cognitive resources while one is processing low-level and high-level cognitive tasks. Individuals with high versus average fluid intelligence performed low-level choice reaction time tasks and high-level geometric analogy tasks.

[Women with a history of pregnancy loss or abortion in a behavioural medicine hospital--an exploratory field study].

Objective: Gaining insights into the frequencies of negative obstetric histories in inpatients of a behavioural medicine hospital and the extent of their current psychological burdens.

Method: We acquired sociodemographic, obstetric and psychological (psychopathology, coping patterns, and attribution styles) data of 117 inpatients by means of standardized questionnaires and interviews.

Results: Eighteen percent of the women exhibited a negative obstetric history (spontaneous, medically indicated or voluntary abortion) that dated back an average of 16 years.

Levels and effects of different forms of anxiety during pregnancy after a prior miscarriage.

Objectives: The aim of the study was to assess the current level of pregnancy-related fear and state anxiety in pregnant women who experienced prior miscarriages and to explore the impact of higher levels of anxiety during the first trimester on the following course and outcome of the pregnancy.

Study Design: One hundred forty-three pregnant women who had experienced prior miscarriage (sporadic or recurrent) were measured during each trimester and postpartum. Three independent control groups consisting of pregnant women without a history of miscarriage were recruited.

[Mourning, coping and subjective attribution after early miscarriage].

A few weeks after miscarriage 232 women were questioned with standardized questionnaires and symptom scales about the way in which they coped with an early miscarriage (up to the 16th week of gestation) about mourning processes and subjective attribution as well as anamnestic and psychosocial characteristics. Seven and fourteen months after pregnancy loss and if necessary in the first trimester of a following pregnancy the psychological symptoms of the women (fear and depressive symptoms) were evaluated. A few weeks after miscarriage we found with main component analysis three patterns of coping.

Pregnancy after early pregnancy loss: a prospective study of anxiety, depressive symptomatology and coping.

Miscarriages can have lasting psychological effects on those concerned. In a prospective longitudinal study, 342 women were questioned about the way in which they coped after an early miscarriage (up to the 16th week of gestation), a few weeks after the pregnancy loss. There are data available from the first trimester of a subsequent pregnancy for 108 of these women.

Temporal order relations in language comprehension.

The role of temporal orientation (chronological or reverse) and chronological distance (close, intermediate, or distant) in general event knowledge on language comprehension was examined. Experiment 1 used a relation-recognition paradigm in which the comprehension of a target event could be facilitated or disrupted by the temporal orientation implied by the prior information. Experiments 2 and 3 used a sentence-probe-recognition paradigm in which the temporal orientation, the stimulus onset asynchrony, and the chronological distance between the sentence event and the probe event were manipulated.