Extracellular Vesicles in Liver Diseases: Meeting Report from the International Liver Congress 2018.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are small and heterogeneous membrane-bound structures released by cells and found in all biological fluids. They are effective intercellular communicators, acting on a number of close and/or distant target cells. EV cargo may reflect the cell of origin as well as the specific stress that induces their formation and release.

Illuminating the catalytic core of ectoine synthase through structural and biochemical analysis.

Ectoine synthase (EctC) is the signature enzyme for the production of ectoine, a compatible solute and chemical chaperone widely synthesized by bacteria as a cellular defense against the detrimental effects of osmotic stress. EctC catalyzes the last step in ectoine synthesis through cyclo-condensation of the EctA-formed substrate N-gamma-acetyl-L-2,4-diaminobutyric acid via a water elimination reaction. We have biochemically and structurally characterized the EctC enzyme from the thermo-tolerant bacterium Paenibacillus lautus (Pl).

Developmental trajectories of body mass index from childhood into late adolescence and subsequent late adolescence-young adulthood cardiometabolic risk markers.

Background: Reports on body mass index (BMI) trajectories from childhood into late adolescence, their determinants, and subsequent cardiometabolic risk markers, particularly among European populations have been few. Moreover, sex-specific investigation is necessary considering the sex difference in BMI, and the sex-specific association between BMI and some cardiometabolic risk markers.

Methods: Using a sample from the DOrtmund Nutritional and Anthropometric Longitudinally Designed study, we explored sex-specific trajectories of the BMI standard deviation score (SDS) from 4 to 18 years of age in 354 males and 335 females by latent (class) growth models.

Health-related quality of life in long-term survivors of colorectal cancer and its association with all-cause mortality: a German cohort study.

Background: The group of colorectal cancer (CRC) survivors continues to grow worldwide. Understanding health-related quality of life (HRQOL) determinants and consequences of HRQOL impairments in long-term CRC survivors may help to individualize survivorship care plans. We aimed to i) examine the HRQOL status of CRC long-term survivors, ii) identify cross-sectional sociodemographic and clinical correlates of HRQOL, and iii) investigate the prospective association of HRQOL after CRC diagnosis with all-cause mortality.

Functional and immunogenic characterization of diverse HCV glycoprotein E2 variants.

Background & Aims: Induction of cross-reactive antibodies targeting conserved epitopes of the envelope proteins E1E2 is a key requirement for an hepatitis C virus vaccine. Conserved epitopes like the viral CD81-binding site are targeted by rare broadly neutralizing antibodies. However, these viral segments are occluded by variable regions and glycans.

Selective L4 Dorsal Root Ganglion Stimulation Evokes Pain Relief and Changes of Inflammatory Markers: Part I Profiling of Saliva and Serum Molecular Patterns.

Objectives: Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) and associated comorbidities have been linked to a pro-inflammatory state driven by different mediators. Targeted dorsal root ganglion stimulation (DRG ) suppressed pain levels and improved functional capacity in intractable CRPS. However, clinical trials assessing the impact of DRG stimulation on the neuroimmune axis are lacking.

The Influence of Tin(II) Incorporation on Visible Light Absorption and Photocatalytic Activity in Defect-Pyrochlores.

The defect pyrochlore KTaWO has been used to systematically investigate the effect of Sn incorporation conditions on the band structure and subsequent photocatalytic properties. Different tin precursors show varying influence on the resulting band gap. While the optimum conditions diminish the band gap by up to 1.

Elevated C-reactive protein and white blood cell count at admission predict functional outcome after non-aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage.

Introduction: Patients with non-aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) are considered to have an overall benign course of disease compared to patients suffering from aneurysmal SAH. Nevertheless, a small but significant number of such patients might only achieve unfavorable outcome. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to determine if routine laboratory markers of acute phase response are associated with unfavorable outcome in patients with non-aneurysmal SAH.

Association between the dietary inflammatory index and all-cause mortality in colorectal cancer long-term survivors.

Pro-inflammatory dietary factors have been shown to be associated with the incidence of a range of cancers. However, there are many fewer studies on the association between the inflammatory potential of diet and survival after cancer diagnosis. We examined the association between post-diagnosis dietary inflammatory index (DII®) scores and all-cause mortality in long-term survivors of colorectal cancer (CRC).

Phosphocreatine Levels in the Left Thalamus Decline during Wakefulness and Increase after a Nap.

Scientists have hypothesized that the availability of phosphocreatine (PCr) and its ratio to inorganic phosphate (Pi) in cerebral tissue form a substrate of wakefulness. It follows then, according to this hypothesis, that the exhaustion of PCr and the decline in the ratio of PCr to Pi form a substrate of fatigue. We used P-magnetic resonance spectroscopy (P-MRS) to investigate quantitative levels of PCr, the γ-signal of ATP, and Pi in 30 healthy humans (18 female) in the morning, in the afternoon, and while napping ( = 15) versus awake controls ( = 10).

Factors influencing early postoperative complications following surgery for symptomatic spinal metastasis: a single-center series and multivariate analysis.

Patients presenting with neurological deficits and/or pain due to spinal metastasis usually require immediate or subacute surgical treatment. Nevertheless, it is unclear whether or not side effects of primary cancer location might influence postoperative complication rate. We therefore analyzed our spinal database to identify factors influencing early postoperative complications after surgery for symptomatic spinal metastases.

Observing and tracking single small ribosomal subunits in vivo.

Ribosomes are formed of a small and a large subunit (SSU/LSU), both consisting of rRNA and a plethora of accessory proteins. While biochemical and genetic studies identified most of the involved proteins and deciphered the ribosomal synthesis steps, our knowledge of the molecular dynamics of the different ribosomal subunits and also of the kinetics of their intracellular trafficking is still limited. Adopting a labelling strategy initially used to study mRNA export we were able to fluorescently stain the SSU in vivo.

Effects of isoflavones on breast tissue and the thyroid hormone system in humans: a comprehensive safety evaluation.

Isoflavones are secondary plant constituents of certain foods and feeds such as soy, linseeds, and red clover. Furthermore, isoflavone-containing preparations are marketed as food supplements and so-called dietary food for special medical purposes to alleviate health complaints of peri- and postmenopausal women. Based on the bioactivity of isoflavones, especially their hormonal properties, there is an ongoing discussion regarding their potential adverse effects on human health.

Immediate early gene expression related to learning and retention of a visual discrimination task in bamboo sharks (Chiloscyllium griseum).

Using the expression of the immediate early gene (IEG) egr-1 as a neuronal activity marker, brain regions potentially involved in learning and long-term memory functions in the grey bamboo shark were assessed with respect to selected visual discrimination abilities. Immunocytochemistry revealed a significant up-regulation of egr-1 expression levels in a small region of the telencephalon of all trained sharks (i.e.

Urodynamics Useless in Female Stress Urinary Incontinence? Time for Some Sense-A European Expert Consensus.

Background: Routine use of urodynamics (UDS) for the assessment of female stress urinary incontinence (SUI) appears to be in decline across Europe. The reasons for this trend appear multifactorial, but the implications are of significant concern.

Objectives: To achieve an expert consensus viewpoint on the value of UDS in female SUI and current barriers to its use.

Lignin-Derived Biomaterials for Drug Release and Tissue Engineering.

Renewable resources are gaining increasing interest as a source for environmentally benign biomaterials, such as drug encapsulation/release compounds, and scaffolds for tissue engineering in regenerative medicine. Being the second largest naturally abundant polymer, the interest in lignin valorization for biomedical utilization is rapidly growing. Depending on its resource and isolation procedure, lignin shows specific antioxidant and antimicrobial activity.

Cognitive impairments by alcohol and sleep deprivation indicate trait characteristics and a potential role for adenosine A receptors.

Trait-like differences in cognitive performance after sleep loss put some individuals more at risk than others, the basis of such disparities remaining largely unknown. Similarly, interindividual differences in impairment in response to alcohol intake have been observed. We tested whether performance impairments due to either acute or chronic sleep loss can be predicted by an individual's vulnerability to acute alcohol intake.

Same or different? Abstract relational concept use in juvenile bamboo sharks and Malawi cichlids.

Sorting objects and events into categories and concepts is an important cognitive prerequisite that spares an individual the learning of every object or situation encountered in its daily life. Accordingly, specific items are classified in general groups that allow fast responses to novel situations. The present study assessed whether bamboo sharks and Malawi cichlids can distinguish sets of stimuli (each stimulus consisting of two abstract, geometric objects) that meet two conceptual preconditions, i.

The peregrine falcon's rapid dive: on the adaptedness of the arm skeleton and shoulder girdle.

During a dive, peregrine falcons (Falco peregrinus) can reach a velocity of up to 320 km h. Our computational fluid dynamics simulations show that the forces that pull on the wings of a diving peregrine can reach up to three times the falcon's body mass at a stoop velocity of 80 m s (288 km h). Since the bones of the wings and the shoulder girdle of a diving peregrine falcon experience large mechanical forces, we investigated these bones.

Clinical and radiographical ten years long-term outcome of microfracture vs. autologous chondrocyte implantation: a matched-pair analysis.

Purpose: To compare the clinical and radiographical long-term outcome of microfracture (MFX) and first-generation periosteum-covered autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI-P).

Methods: All subjects (n = 86) who had been treated with knee joint ACI-P or microfracture (n = 76) with a post-operative follow-up of at least ten years were selected. Clinical pre- and post-operative outcomes were analyzed by numeric analog scale (NAS) for pain, Lysholm, Tegner, IKDC, and KOOS score.

Performance of PELDOR, RIDME, SIFTER, and DQC in measuring distances in trityl based bi- and triradicals: exchange coupling, pseudosecular coupling and multi-spin effects.

Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) based distance measurements in combination with site directed spin labeling is an important method for determining biomolecular structures and their conformational changes. Commonly used spin labels are nitroxides but trityl radicals are emerging as a new type of spin labels specifically for distance measurements. Here, a systematic evaluation is presented for the performance of different EPR pulse sequences for measuring inter-spin distances using trityl labels.

Vancomycin resistance in Enterococcus faecium isolated from Danish chicken meat is located on a pVEF4-like plasmid persisting in poultry for 18 years.

The occurrence of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VREfm) in food is relevant to public health as foodborne VREfm may colonize the gut of consumers and transfer vancomycin resistance genes to the indigenous gut microbiota. Therefore, we determined occurrence and elucidated genetic traits of VREfm in Danish retail chicken meat. Three out of 40 samples (7.

Isolation and characterization of Corynebacterium spp. from bulk tank raw cow's milk of different dairy farms in Germany.

We detected Corynebacterium spp. in raw milk samples of three farms by means of a selective, tellurite-containing medium. The isolated strains were identified based on full 16S rRNA gene sequences and partial rpoB gene sequences as C.