Tuning the network charge of biohybrid hydrogel matrices to modulate the release of SDF-1.

The delivery of chemotactic signaling molecules via customized biomaterials can effectively guide the migration of cells to improve the regeneration of damaged or diseased tissues. Here, we present a novel biohybrid hydrogel system containing two different sulfated glycosaminoglycans (sGAG)/sGAG derivatives, namely either a mixture of short heparin polymers (Hep-Mal) or structurally defined nona-sulfated tetrahyaluronans (9s-HA4-SH), to precisely control the release of charged signaling molecules. The polymer networks are described in terms of their negative charge, i.

Transradial access for anterior circulation deployment of pipeline embolization device: A case report, literature review, and technical note.

Common femoral artery (CFA) transfemoral access (TFA) has been the traditional route for neuroendovascular intervention with flow diversion including the pipeline embolization device (PED) for the treatment of wide-necked aneurysms. Successful deployment requires significant catheter support, thus making alternative access challenging. A 56-year-old-female presented with subarachnoid hemorrhage secondary to a large ruptured posterior communicating artery (PCOM) aneurysm as well as found to have an unruptured left superior cerebellar artery (SCA) aneurysm.

Crops for Carbon Farming.

Agricultural cropping systems and pasture comprise one third of the world's arable land and have the potential to draw down a considerable amount of atmospheric CO for storage as soil organic carbon (SOC) and improving the soil carbon budget. An improved soil carbon budget serves the dual purpose of promoting soil health, which supports crop productivity, and constituting a pool from which carbon can be converted to recalcitrant forms for long-term storage as a mitigation measure for global warming. In this perspective, we propose the design of crop ideotypes with the dual functionality of being highly productive for the purposes of food, feed, and fuel, while at the same time being able to facilitate higher contribution to soil carbon and improve the below ground ecology.

Neuroadaptations and TGF-β signaling: emerging role in models of neuropsychiatric disorders.

Neuropsychiatric diseases are manifested by maladaptive behavioral plasticity. Despite the greater understanding of the neuroplasticity underlying behavioral adaptations, pinpointing precise cellular mediators has remained elusive. This has stymied the development of pharmacological interventions to combat these disorders both at the level of progression and relapse.

Frailty is an outcome predictor in patients with acute ischemic stroke receiving endovascular treatment.

Introduction: Frailty is a disorder of multiple physiological systems impairing the capacity of the organism to cope with insult or stress. It is associated with poor outcomes after acute illness. Our aim was to study the impact of frailty on the functional outcome of patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) submitted to endovascular stroke treatment (EST).

Conformational changes of GDNF-derived peptide induced by heparin, heparan sulfate, and sulfated hyaluronic acid - Analysis by circular dichroism spectroscopy and molecular dynamics simulation.

Glial-cell-line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) is a protein that has therapeutic potential in the treatment of Parkinson's disease and other neurodegenerative diseases. The activity of GDNF is highly dependent on the interaction with sulfated glycans which bind at the N-terminus consisting of 19 residues. Herein, we studied the influence of different glycosaminoglycan (i.

Potential Role of Hsp70 and Activated NK Cells for Prediction of Prognosis in Glioblastoma Patients.

Despite rapid progress in the treatment of many cancers, glioblastoma remains a devastating disease with dismal prognosis. The aim of this study was to identify chaperone- and immune-related biomarkers to improve prediction of outcome in glioblastoma. Depending on its intra- or extracellular localization the major stress-inducible heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) fulfills different tasks.

Clinical predictors and neural correlates for compromised swallowing safety in Huntington disease.

Background And Purpose: Dysphagia is one of the most common and important complications in Huntington disease (HD), frequently leading to aspiration pneumonia and mortality. Objective estimates of prevalence using instrumental diagnostics and data on neural correlates of dysphagia in HD are scarce or lacking entirely. Similarly, its correlation with other clinical markers is still not fully known.

Nonlinear plant-plant interactions modulate impact of extreme drought and recovery on a Mediterranean ecosystem.

Interaction effects of different stressors, such as extreme drought and plant invasion, can have detrimental effects on ecosystem functioning and recovery after drought. With ongoing climate change and increasing plant invasion, there is an urgent need to predict the short- and long-term interaction impacts of these stressors on ecosystems. We established a combined precipitation exclusion and shrub invasion (Cistus ladanifer) experiment in a Mediterranean cork oak (Quercus suber) ecosystem with four treatments: (1) Q.

Techniques for RNA extraction from cells cultured in starPEG-heparin hydrogels.

Three-dimensional (3D) cell culture models that provide a biologically relevant microenvironment are imperative to investigate cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions . Semi-synthetic star-shaped poly(ethylene glycol) (starPEG)-heparin hydrogels are widely used for 3D cell culture due to their highly tuneable biochemical and biomechanical properties. Changes in gene expression levels are commonly used as a measure of cellular responses.

Symptoms and impact of aromatic l-amino acid decarboxylase (AADC) deficiency: a qualitative study and the development of a patient-centred conceptual model.

Background: Aromatic l-amino acid decarboxylase (AADC) deficiency is a rare neurological condition, with an estimated global prevalence of 1:32,000 to 1:90,000 live births. AADC deficiency is associated with a range of symptoms and functional impairments, but these have not previously been explored qualitatively. This study aimed to understand the symptoms of AADC deficiency and its impact on individuals' health-related quality of life.

Metabolic exchange between pathways for isoprenoid synthesis and implications for biosynthetic hydrogen isotope fractionation.

Hydrogen isotope ratios of plant lipids are used for paleoclimate reconstruction, but are influenced by both source water and biosynthetic processes. Measuring H :  H ratios of multiple compounds produced by different pathways could allow these effects to be separated, but hydrogen isotope fractionations during isoprenoid biosynthesis remain poorly constrained. To investigate how hydrogen isotope fractionation during isoprenoid biosynthesis is influenced by molecular exchange between the cytosolic and plastidial production pathways, we paired position-specific C-pyruvate labeling with hydrogen isotope measurements of lipids in Pachira aquatica saplings.

Timely and individualized heart failure management: need for implementation into the new guidelines.

Due to remarkable improvements in heart failure (HF) management over the last 30 years, a significant reduction in mortality and hospitalization rates in HF patients with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) has been observed. Currently, the optimization of guideline-directed chronic HF therapy remains the mainstay to further improve outcomes for patients with HFrEF to reduce mortality and HF hospitalization. This includes established device therapies, such as implantable defibrillators and cardiac resynchronization therapies, which improved patients' symptoms and prognosis.

Diagnosis and treatment of neurogenic dysphagia - S1 guideline of the German Society of Neurology.

Introduction: Neurogenic dysphagia defines swallowing disorders caused by diseases of the central and peripheral nervous system, neuromuscular transmission, or muscles. Neurogenic dysphagia is one of the most common and at the same time most dangerous symptoms of many neurological diseases. Its most important sequelae include aspiration pneumonia, malnutrition and dehydration, and affected patients more often require long-term care and are exposed to an increased mortality.

[Standards in the use of fiberoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing in Germany : A questionnaire survey].

Background: The fiberoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing (FEES) is considered to be an indispensable instrumental procedure in the management of patients with dysphagia. The aim of the implemented training curriculum is to raise the quality standards and to contribute to an upgrading of the procedure.

Objective: The study evaluated to what extent a standardized implementation, evaluation and documentation of FEES takes place in Germany after the introduction of the curriculum.

Psychometric Properties of the Proxy-Reported Life-Space Assessment in Institutionalized Settings (LSA-IS-Proxy) for Older Persons with and without Cognitive Impairment.

(1) Background: Life-space mobility assessments for institutionalized settings are scarce and there is a lack of comprehensive validation and focus on persons with cognitive impairment (CI). This study aims to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Life-Space Assessment for Institutionalized Settings by proxy informants (LSA-IS-proxy) for institutionalized, older persons, with and without CI. (2) Methods: Concurrent validity against the self-reported version of the LSA-IS, construct validity with established construct variables, test-retest reliability, sensitivity to change during early multidisciplinary geriatric rehabilitation treatment, and feasibility (completion rate, floor/ceiling effects) of the LSA-IS-proxy, were assessed in 94 hospitalized geriatric patients (83.

Injectable Glycosaminoglycan-Based Cryogels from Well-Defined Microscale Templates for Local Growth Factor Delivery.

Glycosaminoglycan-based hydrogels hold great potential for applications in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. By mimicking the natural extracellular matrix processes of growth factor binding and release, such hydrogels can be used as a sustained delivery device for growth factors. Since neural networks commonly follow well-defined, high-aspect-ratio paths through the central and peripheral nervous system, we sought to create a fiber-like, elongated growth factor delivery system.

Super-resolving Microscopy in Neuroscience.

Fluorescence imaging techniques play a pivotal role in our understanding of the nervous system. The emergence of various super-resolution microscopy methods and specialized fluorescent probes enables direct insight into neuronal structure and protein arrangements in cellular subcompartments with so far unmatched resolution. Super-resolving visualization techniques in neurons unveil a novel understanding of cytoskeletal composition, distribution, motility, and signaling of membrane proteins, subsynaptic structure and function, and neuron-glia interaction.

Potential benefits of liming to acid soils on climate change mitigation and food security.

Globally, about 50% of all arable soils are classified as acidic. As crop and plant growth are significantly hampered under acidic soil conditions, many farmers, but increasingly as well forest managers, apply lime to raise the soil pH. Besides its direct effect on soil pH, liming also affects soil C and nutrient cycles and associated greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes.

Construct Validity, Test-Retest Reliability, Sensitivity to Change, and Feasibility of the Patient-Specific Functional Scale in Acutely Hospitalized Older Patients With and Without Cognitive Impairment.

Background And Purpose: The Patient-Specific Functional Scale (PSFS) is an individualized patient-reported outcome measure designed to assess the limitations and changes in self-determined functional activities most important to an older patient in the acute care setting. However, its clinimetric properties have not yet been evaluated in these patients. The study aimed to investigate the construct validity, test-retest reliability, sensitivity to change, and feasibility of the PSFS in acutely hospitalized older patients with and without cognitive impairment (CI).

Cryogel biomaterials for neuroscience applications.

Biomaterials in the form of 3D polymeric scaffolds have been used to create structurally and functionally biomimetic constructs of nervous system tissue. Such constructs can be used to model defects and disease or can be used to supplement neuronal tissue regeneration and repair. One such group of biomaterial scaffolds are hydrogels, which have been widely investigated for cell/tissue culture and as cell or molecule delivery systems in the field of neurosciences.

Time on previous renal replacement therapy is associated with worse outcomes of COVID-19 in a regional cohort of kidney transplant and dialysis patients.

Chronic renal replacement therapy by either a kidney transplant (KTX) or hemodialysis (HD) predisposes patients to an increased risk for adverse outcomes of COVID-19. However, details on this interaction remain incomplete. To provide further characterization, we undertook a retrospective observational cohort analysis of the majority of the hemodialysis and renal transplant population affected by the first regional outbreak of severe acute respiratory distress syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in Germany.

Regional association analysis coupled with transcriptome analyses reveal candidate genes affecting seed oil accumulation in Brassica napus.

Regional association analysis of 50 re-sequenced Chinese semi-winter rapeseed accessions in combination with co-expression analysis reveal candidate genes affecting oil accumulation in Brassica napus. One of the breeding goals in rapeseed production is to enhance the seed oil content to cater to the increased demand for vegetable oils due to a growing global population. To investigate the genetic basis of variation in seed oil content, we used 60 K Brassica Infinium SNP array along with phenotype data of 203 Chinese semi-winter rapeseed accessions to perform a genome-wide analysis of haplotype blocks associated with the oil content.