Auto/Paracrine C-Type Natriuretic Peptide/Cyclic GMP Signaling Prevents Endothelial Dysfunction.

Endothelial dysfunction is cause and consequence of cardiovascular diseases. The endothelial hormone C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP) regulates vascular tone and the vascular barrier. Its cGMP-synthesizing guanylyl cyclase-B (GC-B) receptor is expressed in endothelial cells themselves.

CD8 T Cells Drive Plaque Smooth Muscle Cell Dedifferentiation in Experimental Atherosclerosis.

Background: Atherosclerosis is driven by the infiltration of the arterial intima by diverse immune cells and smooth muscle cells (SMCs). CD8 T cells promote lesion growth during atherosclerotic lesion development, but their role in advanced atherosclerosis is less clear. Here, we studied the role of CD8 T cells and their effects on SMCs in established atherosclerosis.

On Tautomerism and Amphoterism: An In-Depth Structural and Physicochemical Characterization of Ammeline and Some of Its Salts.

Ammeline is a simple, readily available, molecular compound, which has been known for nearly 200 years. Despite that, no proper structural characterization of ammeline has been conducted so far. For this reason, the prevalent tautomeric form of ammeline in the solid remained unknown to this date.

Time series of chicken stool metagenomics and egg metabolomics in changing production systems: preliminary insights from a proof-of-concept.

Background: Different production systems of livestock animals influence various factors, including the gut microbiota.

Methods: We investigated whether changing the conditions from barns to free-range chicken farming impacts the microbiome over the course of three weeks. We compared the stool microbiota of chicken from industrial barns after introducing them either in community or separately to a free-range environment.

Legacy of last millennium timber use on plant cover in Central Europe: Insights from tree rings and pollen.

Throughout history, humans have relied on wood for constructions, tool production or as an energy source. How and to what extent these human activities have impacted plant abundance and composition over a long-term perspective is, however, not well known. To address this knowledge gap, we combined 44,239 precisely dated tree-ring samples from economically and ecologically important tree species (spruce, fir, pine, oak) from historical buildings, and pollen-based plant cover estimates using the REVEALS model from 169 records for a total of 34 1° × 1° grid cells for Central Europe.

A Unified Data Architecture for Assessing Motor Symptoms in Parkinson's Disease.

Introduction: The diagnosis and treatment of Parkinson's disease depend on the assessment of motor symptoms. Wearables and machine learning algorithms have emerged to collect large amounts of data and potentially support clinicians in clinical and ambulant settings.

State Of The Art: However, a systematical and reusable data architecture for storage, processing, and analysis of inertial sensor data is not available.

Development of an immediate release excipient composition for 3D printing via direct powder extrusion in a hospital.

3D printing offers the possibility to prepare personalized tablets on demand, making it an intriguing technology for hospital pharmacies. For the implementation of 3D-printed tablets into the digital Closed Loop Medication Management system, the required tablet formulation and development of the manufacturing process as well as the pharmaceutical validation were conducted. The goal of the formulation development was to enable an optimal printing process and rapid dissolution of the printed tablets for the selected model drugs Levodopa/Carbidopa.

Androgen Deprivation Therapy for Intracranial Metastasis of a Salivary Duct Carcinoma: Case Report.

Salivary duct carcinoma (SDC) is a rare subtype of salivary cancers associated with androgen receptor and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2/neu) overexpression. It shows a high propensity to give rise to distant metastases mainly to the lung, the bone, and the liver. Intracranial metastases are rare.

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Energetic coordination compounds (ECCs) show promising properties to be used as potential substitutes for highly toxic lead-containing primary explosives. The concept is to combine the three building blocks: (i) ligand, (ii) transition metal, and (iii) anion, acting as (i) fuel, (ii) matrix, and (iii) oxidizer (e.g.

Predictors of somatic symptom persistence in patients with chronic kidney disease (SOMA.CK): study protocol for a mixed-methods cohort study.

Introduction: Seven of 10 patients with non-dialysis chronic kidney disease (CKD) experience burdensome persistent somatic symptoms (PSS). Despite the high prevalence and relevance for quality of life, disease progression and mortality, the pathogenesis of PSS in CKD remains poorly understood. The SOMA.

Palaeoecological data indicates land-use changes across Europe linked to spatial heterogeneity in mortality during the Black Death pandemic.

The Black Death (1347-1352 CE) is the most renowned pandemic in human history, believed by many to have killed half of Europe's population. However, despite advances in ancient DNA research that conclusively identified the pandemic's causative agent (bacterium Yersinia pestis), our knowledge of the Black Death remains limited, based primarily on qualitative remarks in medieval written sources available for some areas of Western Europe. Here, we remedy this situation by applying a pioneering new approach, 'big data palaeoecology', which, starting from palynological data, evaluates the scale of the Black Death's mortality on a regional scale across Europe.

Formulation and Characterization of an Effervescent Hydrogen-Generating Tablet.

Hydrogen, as a medical gas, is a promising emerging treatment for many diseases related to inflammation and oxidative stress. Molecular hydrogen can be generated through hydrogen ion reduction by a metal, and magnesium-containing effervescent tablets constitute an attractive formulation strategy for oral delivery. In this regard, saccharide-based excipients represent an important class of potential fillers with high water solubility and sweet taste.

Interleukin-23 receptor expressing γδ T cells locally promote early atherosclerotic lesion formation and plaque necrosis in mice.

Aims: Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease of the vessel wall controlled by local and systemic immune responses. The role of interleukin-23 receptor (IL-23R), expressed in adaptive immune cells (mainly T-helper 17 cells) and γδ T cells, in atherosclerosis is only incompletely understood. Here, we investigated the vascular cell types expressing IL-23R and addressed the function of IL-23R and γδ T cells in atherosclerosis.

Nitratoethyl-5H-tetrazoles: improving the oxygen balance through application of organic nitrates in energetic coordination compounds.

1- and 2-Nitratoethyl-5H-tetrazole (1-NET and 2-NET) were prepared through nitration of the respective alkyl alcohol using 100% nitric acid. A mixture of 1- and 2-hydroxyethyl-5H-tetrazole was obtained after alkylation of 1,5H-tetrazole. Also, a one-pot synthesis of 1-hydroxyethyl-5H-tetrazole was developed enabling the selective preparation of 1-NET.

Molecular hydrogen (H ) as a potential treatment for acute and chronic fatigue.

Many diseases as well as acute conditions can lead to fatigue, which can be either temporary or chronic in nature. Acute fatigue develops frequently after physical exercise or after alcohol hangover, whereas microbial infections such as influenza or COVID-19 and chronic diseases like Parkinson's disease or multiple sclerosis are often associated with chronic fatigue. Oxidative stress and a resulting disturbance of mitochondrial function are likely to be common denominators for many forms of fatigue, and antioxidant treatments have been shown to be effective in alleviating the symptoms of fatigue.

A biogenic secondary organic aerosol source of cirrus ice nucleating particles.

Atmospheric ice nucleating particles (INPs) influence global climate by altering cloud formation, lifetime, and precipitation efficiency. The role of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) material as a source of INPs in the ambient atmosphere has not been well defined. Here, we demonstrate the potential for biogenic SOA to activate as depositional INPs in the upper troposphere by combining field measurements with laboratory experiments.

Stabilization of Perivascular Mast Cells by Endothelial CNP (C-Type Natriuretic Peptide).

Objective: Activated perivascular mast cells (MCs) participate in different cardiovascular diseases. Many factors provoking MC degranulation have been described, while physiological counterregulators are barely known. Endothelial CNP (C-type natriuretic peptide) participates in the maintenance of vascular barrier integrity, but the target cells and mechanisms are unclear.

Coexisting frequency combs spaced by an octave in a monolithic quantum cascade laser.

Quantum cascade lasers are proving to be instrumental in the development of compact frequency comb sources at mid-infrared and terahertz frequencies. Here we demonstrate a heterogeneous terahertz quantum cascade laser with two active regions spaced exactly by one octave. Both active regions are based on a four-quantum well laser design and they emit a combined 3 mW peak power at 15 K in pulsed mode.

Looking back - Looking forward: A novel multi-time slice weight-of-evidence approach for defining reference conditions to assess the impact of human activities on lake systems.

Lake ecosystems are sensitive recorders of environmental changes that provide continuous archives at annual to decadal resolution over thousands of years. The systematic investigation of land use changes and emission of pollutants archived in Holocene lake sediments as well as the reconstruction of contamination, background conditions, and sensitivity of lake systems offer an ideal opportunity to study environmental dynamics and consequences of anthropogenic impact that increasingly pose risks to human well-being. This paper discusses the use of sediment and other lines of evidence in providing a record of historical and current contamination in lake ecosystems.

BIK is involved in BRAF/MEK inhibitor induced apoptosis in melanoma cell lines.

In patients with BRAF-mutated melanoma specific inhibitors of BRAF and MEK1/2 frequently induce initial tumor reduction, frequently followed by relapse. As demonstrated previously, BRAF-inhibition induces apoptosis only in a fraction of treated cells, while the remaining arrest and survive providing a source or a niche for relapse. To identify factors contributing to the differential initial response towards BRAF/MEK inhibition, we established M14 melanoma cell line-derived single cell clones responding to treatment with BRAF inhibitor vemurafenib and MEK inhibitor trametinib predominantly with either cell cycle arrest (CCA-cells) or apoptosis (A-cells).

Temperature measurements in a capacitive system of deep loco-regional hyperthermia.

Hyperthermia has been shown to be a medically useful procedure applicable for different indications. For the connection between clinical effects and heat, it is important to understand the actual temperatures achieved in the tissue. There are limited temperature data available when using capacitive hyperthermia devices even though this is worldwide the most widespread method for loco-regional heating.

AGOS: A Plug-and-Play Method for the Assembly of Artificial Gene Operons into Functional Biosynthetic Gene Clusters.

The generation of novel secondary metabolites by reengineering or refactoring biochemical pathways is a rewarding but also challenging goal of synthetic biology. For this, the development of tools for the reconstruction of secondary metabolite gene clusters as well as the challenge of understanding the obstacles in this process is of great interest. The artificial gene operon assembly system (AGOS) is a plug-and-play method developed as a tool to consecutively assemble artificial gene operons into a destination vector and subsequently express them under the control of a de-repressed promoter in a Streptomyces host strain.

[Prevention must become more efficient].

The term "prevention" is used with several different meanings. Mistakes can be avoided by using different word for different contents. In addition to clear definitions the most frequent forms of bias have to be avoided.

Dynamics of ultra-broadband terahertz quantum cascade lasers for comb operation.

We present an experimental investigation of the multimode dynamics and the coherence of terahertz quantum cascade lasers emitting over a spectral bandwidth of ~1THz. The devices are studied in free-running and under direct RF modulation. Depending on the pump current we observe different regimes of operation, where RF spectra displaying single and multiple narrow beat-note signals alternate with spectra showing a single beat-note characterized by an intense phase-noise, extending over a bandwidth up to a few GHz.

Gastric emptying and disease activity in inflammatory bowel disease.

Background: Gastric emptying (GE) is delayed in a subset of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). We have shown before that altered release of gastrointestinal hormones may contribute to GE disturbances, but overall effects of disease activity remain unclear. Thus, we aimed to evaluate GE in patients with IBD during active disease and following therapy.