Utilising accessible and reproducible neurological assessments in clinical studies: Insights from use of the Neurological Impairment Scale in the multi-centre COVID-CNS study.

Reproducible and standardised neurological assessment scales are important in quantifying research outcomes. These scales are often performed by non-neurologists and/or non-clinicians and must be robust, quantifiable, reproducible and comparable to a neurologist's assessment. COVID-CNS is a multi-centre study which utilised the Neurological Impairment Scale (NIS) as a core assessment tool in studying neurological outcomes following COVID-19 infection.

Current Concepts in Diagnosis and Treatment of Functional Neurological Disorders.

Importance: Functional neurological disorders (FND) are common sources of disability in medicine. Patients have often been misdiagnosed, correctly diagnosed after lengthy delays, and/or subjected to poorly delivered diagnoses that prevent diagnostic understanding and lead to inappropriate treatments, iatrogenic harm, unnecessary and costly evaluations, and poor outcomes.

Observations: Functional Neurological Symptom Disorder/Conversion Disorder was adopted by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, replacing the term psychogenic with functional and removing the criterion of psychological stress as a prerequisite for FND.

Brain-relevant antibodies in first-episode psychosis: a matched case-control study.

Background: There has been much recent excitement about the possibility that some cases of psychosis may be wholly due to brain-reactive antibodies, with antibodies to N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) and the voltage-gated potassium channel (VGKC)-complex reported in a few patients with first-episode psychosis (FEP).

Methods: Participants were recruited from psychiatric services in South London, UK, from 2009 to 2011 as part of the Genetics and Psychosis study. We conducted a case-control study to examine NMDAR and VGKC-complex antibody levels and rates of antibody positivity in 96 patients presenting with FEP and 98 controls matched for age and sex.

Cell Death Control by Matrix Metalloproteinases.

In contrast to mammalian matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) that play important roles in the remodeling of the extracellular matrix in animals, the proteases responsible for dynamic modifications of the plant cell wall are largely unknown. A possible involvement of MMPs was addressed by cloning and functional characterization of Sl2-MMP and Sl3-MMP from tomato (Solanum lycopersicum). The two tomato MMPs were found to resemble mammalian homologs with respect to gelatinolytic activity, substrate preference for hydrophobic amino acids on both sides of the scissile bond, and catalytic properties.

Simulation of the chromatographic separation process in HPLC employing suspended-state NMR spectroscopy - comparison of interaction behavior for monomeric and hydride-modified C18 stationary phases.

The interactions of different analytes with monomeric and hydride-modified stationary phases have been investigated employing suspended-state NMR spectroscopy. The suspended-state high-resolution/magic-angle-spinning (1)H-NMR spectrum of an analyte in the presence of C(18) SP material shows a splitting into two sets of signals for the analyte molecule. One state reflects a closer interaction between analyte and C(18) -modified surface that results in an upfield shift and broader signal half-widths.

Time-dependent column performance of cholesterol-based stationary phases for HPLC by LC characterization and solid-state NMR spectroscopy.

Three different cholesterol-based stationary phases were investigated with respect to their time-dependent separation behavior. The examined stationary phases differ in the used spacer molecule and the synthesis route and were used under routine laboratory conditions over a period of two years. The chromatographic behavior of the three phases was determined by using a standard reference material in addition to a separation of a steroid mixture.

Enlightening the past: analytical proof for the use of Pistacia exudates in ancient Egyptian embalming resins.

Mastic, the resinous exudate of the evergreen shrub Pistacia lentiscus, is frequently discussed as one of the ingredients used for embalming in ancient Egypt. We show the identification of mastic in ancient Egyptian embalming resins by an unambiguous assignment of the mastic triterpenoid fingerprint consisting of moronic acid, oleanonic acid, isomasticadienonic and masticadienonic acid through the consolidation of NMR and GC/MS analysis. Differences in the observed triterpenoid fingerprints between mummy specimens suggest that more than one plant species served as the triterpenoid resin source.

Myristate is selectively incorporated into surfactant and decreases dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine without functional impairment.

Lung surfactant mainly comprises phosphatidylcholines (PC), together with phosphatidylglycerols and surfactant proteins SP-A to SP-D. Dipalmitoyl-PC (PC16:0/16:0), palmitoylmyristoyl-PC (PC16:0/14:0), and palmitoylpalmitoleoyl-PC (PC16:0/16:1) together comprise 75-80% of surfactant PC. During alveolarization, which occurs postnatally in the rat, PC16:0/14:0 reversibly increases at the expense of PC16:0/16:0.

Spread of T lymphocyte immune responses to myelin epitopes with duration of multiple sclerosis.

Although the primary cause of multiple sclerosis (MS) is unclear, evidence supports a role for autoimmune attack of myelin by T lymphocytes. However, it has been difficult to relate patterns of autoimmunity to pathogenesis. In mouse models, the case has been made for relapsing and remitting disease driven by epitope spread: an initial lesion leads to presentation of central nervous system antigens, in turn triggering the next wave of autoimmune T cells of different specificity, the response thus broadening.