Examining age-related shared variance between face cognition, vision, and self-reported physical health: a test of the common cause hypothesis for social cognition.

The shared decline in cognitive abilities, sensory functions (e.g., vision and hearing), and physical health with increasing age is well documented with some research attributing this shared age-related decline to a single common cause (e.

Clonal in vitro propagation of peat mosses ( L.) as novel green resources for basic and applied research.

As builders and major components of peatlands, (peat mosses) are very important organisms for ecosystems and world's climate. Nowadays many species as well as their habitats are largely protected, while their scientific and economic relevance remains considerable. Advanced methods of in vitro cultivation provide the potential to work in a sustainable way with peat mosses and address aspects of basic research as well as biotechnological and economical topics like biomonitoring or the production of renewable substrates for horticulture ( farming).

Increasing DNA reactivity and in vitro antitumor activity of trans diiodido Pt(II) complexes with UVA light.

Trans diiodido platinum(II) complexes bearing the same as well as different aliphatic amines (mixed-amines) have interesting biological activity; cytotoxicity and interactions with some important biological models have already been demonstrated. Herein we described the interaction of such compounds with ct-DNA, supercoiled and linearized plasmid DNA and 5-GMP. Interestingly, UV irradiation of these compounds results in an increase in reactivity towards DNA and 5-GMP in such model systems.

Occupational exposure to asbestos is associated with increased mortality in men recruited for a population-based study in Germany.

Objectives: Occupational exposure to asbestos is associated with increased mortality which, however, has not been thoroughly validated in a general population. We have aimed at exploring whether this association may be confirmed within a population-based setting after adjustment for confounders. Furthermore, the impact of tobacco consumption on the association between occupational exposure to asbestos and mortality is assessed.

Milk-deteriorating exoenzymes from Pseudomonas fluorescens 041 isolated from refrigerated raw milk.

The practice of refrigerating raw milk at the farm has provided a selective advantage for psychrotrophic bacteria that produce heat-stable proteases and lipases causing severe quality problems to the dairy industry. In this work, a protease (AprX) and a lipase (LipM) produced by Pseudomonas fluorescens 041, a highly proteolytic and lipolytic strain isolated from raw milk obtained from a Brazilian farm, have been purified and characterized. Both enzymes were purified as recombinant proteins from Escherichia coli .

Renaissance of criticism on the concept of brain death--the role of legal medicine in the context of the interdisciplinary discussion.

Background: In the practice of legal medicine in Germany, the assessment of brain death is of minor importance and attracts little attention. However, since several years, international criticism on the concept of brain death has culminated. By reviewing literature and the results of a questionnaire distributed among the participants of the 93rd Annual Congress of the Germany Society of Legal Medicine, the state of knowledge and the current views on brain death were evaluated.

Whole-Body MR Imaging in the German National Cohort: Rationale, Design, and Technical Background.

Purpose: To detail the rationale, design, and future perspective of implementing whole-body magnetic resonance (MR) imaging in the German National Cohort, a large multicentric population-based study.

Materials And Methods: All institutional review boards approved the study, and informed consent is obtained before study enrollment. Participants are enrolled from a random sample of the general population at five dedicated imaging sites among 18 recruitment centers.

Ten years of subproteome investigations in lactic acid bacteria: A key for food starter and probiotic typing.

The definition of safety and efficacy of food-employed bacteria as well as probiotic strains is a continuous, often unattended, challenge. Proteomic techniques such as 2DE, DIGE and LC/LC-MS/MS are suitable and powerful tools to reveal new aspects (positive and negative) of "known" and "unknown" strains that can be employed in food making and as nutraceutical supplements for human health. Unfortunately, these techniques are not used as extensively as it should be wise.

Comprehensive proteome analysis of Actinoplanes sp. SE50/110 highlighting the location of proteins encoded by the acarbose and the pyochelin biosynthesis gene cluster.

Unlabelled: Acarbose is an α-glucosidase inhibitor produced by Actinoplanes sp. SE50/110 that is medically important due to its application in the treatment of type2 diabetes. In this work, a comprehensive proteome analysis of Actinoplanes sp.

Female control of mate plugging in a female-cannibalistic spider (Micaria sociabilis).

Background: Sperm competition imposes a strong selective pressure on males, leading to the evolution of various physiological, morphological and behavioral traits. Sperm competition can be prevented by blocking or impeding the access to female genitalia by means of a mating plug. We investigated the factors responsible for plug production and function in the promiscuous female-cannibalistic spider Micaria sociabilis (Gnaphosidae).

Redox regulation by reversible protein S-thiolation in bacteria.

Low molecular weight (LMW) thiols function as thiol-redox buffers to maintain the reduced state of the cytoplasm. The best studied LMW thiol is the tripeptide glutathione (GSH) present in all eukaryotes and Gram-negative bacteria. Firmicutes bacteria, including Bacillus and Staphylococcus species utilize the redox buffer bacillithiol (BSH) while Actinomycetes produce the related redox buffer mycothiol (MSH).

Immunolocalization of histamine in the optic neuropils of Scutigera coleoptrata (Myriapoda: Chilopoda) reveals the basal organization of visual systems in Mandibulata.

Myriapods play a crucial role in considerations of evolutionary transformations of arthropod nervous systems. The existing descriptions of the identity and connectivity of myriapod optic neuropils are contradictory. This study asks if the first and second optic neuropil of the scutigeromorph centipede Scutigera coleoptrata correspond to the optic neuropils of Hexapoda and malacostracan Crustacea, the lamina and medulla which are linked by neurites that are arranged in a characteristic optic chiasm.

Supraciliary Micro-stent Implantation for Open-Angle Glaucoma Failing Topical Therapy: 1-Year Results of a Multicenter Study.

Purpose: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of a supraciliary micro-stent (CyPass Micro-Stent; Transcend Medical, Menlo Park, California, USA) for surgical treatment of glaucoma in patients refractory to topical medications.

Design: Multicenter, single-arm interventional study.

Methods: Patients with open-angle glaucoma (Shaffer Grade 3 and 4) and uncontrolled medicated intraocular pressure (IOP) >21 mm Hg at baseline and candidates for conventional glaucoma surgery were enrolled.

Potential and limitations of X-Ray micro-computed tomography in arthropod neuroanatomy: a methodological and comparative survey.

Classical histology or immunohistochemistry combined with fluorescence or confocal laser scanning microscopy are common techniques in arthropod neuroanatomy, and these methods often require time-consuming and difficult dissections and sample preparations. Moreover, these methods are prone to artifacts due to compression and distortion of tissues, which often result in information loss and especially affect the spatial relationships of the examined parts of the nervous system in their natural anatomical context. Noninvasive approaches such as X-ray micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) can overcome such limitations and have been shown to be a valuable tool for understanding and visualizing internal anatomy and structural complexity.

Antibacterial metabolites and bacteriolytic enzymes produced by Bacillus pumilus during bacteriolysis of Arthrobacter citreus.

The marine isolate Bacillus pumilus SBUG 1800 is able to lyse living cells of Arthrobacter citreus on solid media as well as pasteurized A. citreus cells in liquid mineral salt medium. The cultivation of B.

A Rasch Analysis of the QOLIBRI Six-Item Overall Scale.

Objective: The Quality Of Life after BRain Injury (QOLIBRI) consortium has developed a short six-item scale (QOLIBRI-OS) to screen health-related quality of life after traumatic brain injury. The goal of the current study is to examine further psychometric qualities of the Quality Of Life after BRain Injury-Overall Scale (QOLIBRI-OS) at the item level using Rasch analysis with particular emphasis on the operating characteristics of the items.

Method: A total of 921 participants with traumatic brain injury were recruited.

Genome-wide analysis of phosphorylated PhoP binding to chromosomal DNA reveals several novel features of the PhoPR-mediated phosphate limitation response in Bacillus subtilis.

Unlabelled: The PhoPR two-component signal transduction system controls one of three responses activated by Bacillus subtilis to adapt to phosphate-limiting conditions (PHO response). The response involves the production of enzymes and transporters that scavenge for phosphate in the environment and assimilate it into the cell. However, in B.

Selective or stepwise removal of deep caries in deciduous molars: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Background: For treating deep caries lesions, selective or stepwise (one- and two-step) incomplete excavation seems advantageous compared with complete caries removal. However, current evidence regarding the success, as defined by not requiring any retreatments, or survival of teeth after different excavations is insufficient for definitive recommendation, especially when treating deciduous teeth. Moreover, restoration integrity has not been comparatively analyzed longitudinally, and neither patients', dentists' or parents' preferences nor the clinical long-term costs emanating from both initial and retreatments have been reported yet.

Platelet transfusion in hematology, oncology and surgery.

Background: The standard recommendation to date has been that acute hypoproliferative thrombocytopenia should be treated with a prophylactic platelet transfusion if the morning platelet count is less than 10 000/μL, or less than 20 000/μL if there are additional risk factors. For chronic thrombocytopenia, transfusion has been recommended if the platelet count is less than 5000/μL. In Germany, half a million platelet transfusions are now being given every year, and the number is rising.

Non-thermal atmospheric-pressure plasma possible application in wound healing.

Non-thermal atmospheric-pressure plasma, also named cold plasma, is defined as a partly ionized gas. Therefore, it cannot be equated with plasma from blood; it is not biological in nature. Non-thermal atmospheric-pressure plasma is a new innovative approach in medicine not only for the treatment of wounds, but with a wide-range of other applications, as e.

Lack of AHL-based quorum sensing in Pseudomonas fluorescens isolated from milk.

Numerous bacteria coordinate gene expression in response to small signalling molecules in many cases known as acylhomoserine lactones (AHLs), which accumulate as a function of cell density in a process known as quorum sensing. This work aimed to determine if phenotypes that are important to define microbial activity in foods such as biofilm formation, swarming motility and proteolytic activity of two Pseudomonas fluorescens strains, isolated from refrigerated raw milk, are influenced by AHL molecules. The tested P.

The antileukoprotease secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor (SLPI) and its role in the prevention of HPV-infections in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Recently, we demonstrated a significant inverse correlation between HPV-infection and SLPI-expression suggesting that SLPI protects against HPV-infection of HNSCC. Here we analyzed in a single lab setting 307 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded HNSCC cases (tonsillar n = 135; non-tonsillar: n = 172) from eight health care centers. Samples were analyzed for SLPI gene- and protein-expression.

The role of safety behaviors in exposure-based treatment for panic disorder and agoraphobia: associations to symptom severity, treatment course, and outcome.

The potentially detrimental effects of safety behaviors during exposure therapy are still subject to debate. Empirical findings are inconsistent, and few studies have investigated effects of idiosyncratic safety behavior manifestations during exposure or in everyday life. These limitations might be due to a lack of appropriate measures that address individual safety behaviors.

Investigation of pH and Temperature Profiles in the GI Tract of Fasted Human Subjects Using the Intellicap(®) System.

Gastrointestinal (GI) pH and temperature profiles under fasted-state conditions were investigated in two studies with each 10 healthy human subjects using the IntelliCap(®) system. This telemetric drug delivery device enabled the determination of gastric emptying time, small bowel transit time, and colon arrival time by significant pH and temperature changes. The study results revealed high variability of GI pH and transit times.