Land carbon sink function variation across bedrock types in Southwest China.

Terrestrial ecosystem carbon sinks are a natural deposit that absorbs carbon from the atmosphere. A stable land carbon sink facilitates more reliable predictions of carbon sequestration under changing climate conditions. In contrast, a highly variable land carbon sink will introduce significant uncertainty into model predictions.

Seasonal variation in myasthenia gravis incidence.

Introduction: Environmental factors may contribute to myasthenia gravis (MG) development, sometimes with seasonal patterns of exposure. However, whether seasonality has an impact on MG incidence remains unclear. We aimed to investigate the association between seasonality and MG onset.

The role of artificial intelligence in gynecologic and obstetric emergencies.

Objective: To investigate the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) in emergency medicine, focusing on its utility in triaging and managing acute gynecologic and obstetric emergencies.

Methods And Materials: This feasibility study assessed Chat-GPT's performance in triaging and recommending management interventions for gynecologic and obstetric emergencies, using ten fictive cases. Five common conditions were modeled for each specialty.

Are horned cows in loose housing more stressed than hornless cows? a cross-sectional study in organic dairy farms.

In commercial dairy farming, the majority of cows are dehorned or genetically hornless. It is argued that this reduces the risk of injurious and stressful social conflicts. On the other hand, in horned herds, management and housing may be better adapted to the cows, e.

Gender Gap? A Survey among Plastic Surgeons in Germany.

Introduction: There is an ongoing increase in the percentage of females in the field of Plastic Surgery in Germany. Currently, 29,1% of fellows and 46% of residents in Germany are female. Several studies have pointed out the various obstacles that female doctors, especially female plastic surgeons, are confronted with in their professional life.

Utilizing natural language processing to identify pediatric patients experiencing status epilepticus.

Purpose: Compare the identification of patients with established status epilepticus (ESE) and refractory status epilepticus (RSE) in electronic health records (EHR) using human review versus natural language processing (NLP) assisted review.

Methods: We reviewed EHRs of patients aged 1 month to 21 years from Boston Children's Hospital (BCH). We included all patients with convulsive ESE or RSE during admission.

Effects of tire wear particles on freshwater bacterial-fungal community dynamics and subsequent elemental cycles using microcosms.

Ecological impacts of tire wear particles (TWPs) on microbial communities and biogeochemical cycles in freshwater remain largely unknown. Here, we conducted a microcosm experiment to investigate interactions between the overlying water and sediment without and with TWPs addition in a rural vs. urban lake system.

Temporal development of chlorinated hydrocarbons in the Baltic Sea sediments: Characterization of the pollution maximum.

The Baltic Sea, a semi-enclosed marginal sea with a catchment area four times its size, acts as a sink and continues to show detectable levels of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in its sediments. This is attributed to the synthesis and industrial use of commercial polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) products, as well as the widespread use and discharge of certain chlorinated pesticides into the natural environment during the last century. Our study investigates chlorinated hydrocarbon pollutants, the polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and its metabolites as well as hexachlorobenzene (HCB) in sediments based on several short sediment cores from different basins covering almost the entire Baltic Sea.

Evaluation of therapy support through a standardized nursing consultation for patients undergoing oral tumor therapy in gynecological oncology within the prospective CAMPA initiative.

Purpose: The increase of oral tumor therapies (OTT) poses new challenges in patient care. Within CAMPA (Care improvement for advanced or metastatic breast and ovarian cancer patients treated with PARP-inhibitors), additional nursing support for patients treated with PARP-inhibitors was developed.

Methods: Additional nursing support (1 year) was evaluated in breast and gynecooncological cancer patients at an academic and a non-academic outreach center.

Uncertainties around net-zero climate targets have major impact on greenhouse gas emissions projections.

Globally, more than 100 countries have adopted net-zero targets. Most studies agree on how this increases the chance of keeping end-of-century global warming below 2°C. However, they typically make assumptions about net-zero targets that do not capture uncertainties related to gas coverage, sector coverage, sinks, and removals.

Protocol for the purification of the plastid-encoded RNA polymerase from transplastomic tobacco plants.

The plastid-encoded RNA polymerase (PEP) plays an essential role in the transcription of the chloroplast genome. Here, we present a strategy to purify the transcriptionally active protein complex from transplastomic tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) lines in which one of the PEP core subunits is fused to an epitope tag. We describe experimental procedures for designing transformation constructs for PEP purification, selection, and analysis of transplastomic tobacco plants.

Technical Advances Drive the Molecular Understanding of Effectors from Wheat and Barley Powdery Mildew Fungi.

Pathogens manipulate host physiology through the secretion of virulence factors (effectors) to invade and proliferate on the host. The molecular functions of effectors inside plant hosts have been of interest in the field of molecular plant-microbe interactions. Obligate biotrophic pathogens, such as rusts and powdery mildews, cannot proliferate outside of plant hosts.

Kidney Injury Following Cardiac Surgery: A Review of Our Current Understanding.

Around one-quarter of all patients undergoing cardiac procedures, particularly those on cardiopulmonary bypass, develop cardiac surgery-associated acute kidney injury (CSA-AKI). This complication increases the risk of several serious morbidities and of mortality, representing a significant burden for both patients and the healthcare system. Patients with diminished kidney function before surgery, such as those with chronic kidney disease, are at heightened risk of developing CSA-AKI and have poorer outcomes than patients without preexisting kidney injury who develop CSA-AKI.

CPR related injuries of the chest wall: direct and indirect fractures.

Background: Rib and sternum fractures are common injuries associated with cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). The fracture mechanism is either direct by application of force on sternum and anterior ribs or indirect by bending through compression of the thorax. The aim of this study was to determine morphologies of rib fractures after CPR and to reevaluate prior findings on fracture localisation, type and degree of dislocation.

Preliminary Evidence for Perturbation-Based tACS-EEG Biomarkers of Gamma Activity in Alzheimer's Disease.

Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by impaired inhibitory circuitry and GABAergic dysfunction, which is associated with reduced fast brain oscillations in the gamma band (γ, 30-90 Hz) in several animal models. Investigating such activity in human patients could lead to the identification of novel biomarkers of diagnostic and prognostic value. The current study aimed to test a multimodal "Perturbation-based" transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation-Electroencephalography (tACS)-EEG protocol to detect how responses to tACS in AD patients correlate with patients' clinical phenotype.

Depletion of alloreactive B cells by drug- resistant chimeric alloantigen receptor T cells to prevent transplant rejection.

Antibody-mediated rejection (AMR) remains a major complication after solid organ transplantation (SOT). Current treatment options are inefficient and result in drastic impairment of the general immunity. To selectively eliminate responsible alloreactive B cells characterized by anti-donor-HLA B-cell receptors (BCRs), we generated T cells overcoming rejection by antibodies (CORA-Ts) engineered with a novel chimeric receptor comprising a truncated donor-HLA molecule as antigen recognition domain.

Heterologous Expression and Optimization of Fermentation Conditions for Recombinant Ikarugamycin Production.

Ikarugamycin is a member of the natural product family of the polycyclic tetramate macrolactams (PoTeMs). The compound exhibits a diverse range of biological activities, including antimicrobial, antiprotozoal, anti-leukemic, and anti-inflammatory properties. In addition, it interferes with several crucial cellular functions, such as oxidized low-density lipoprotein uptake in macrophages, Nef-induced CD4 cell surface downregulation, and mechanisms of endocytosis.

Mary Main's contribution to our attachment research in Bielefeld and Regensburg: personal and professional memories.

Our memories reflect professional meetings and our private relationship with Mary Main for over more than 50 years, working, travelling jointly, and celebrating together. Klaus met Mary Main at Mary Ainsworth's lab in 1973 in Baltimore. Mary Main's and our own longitudinal studies both started at the same time in which attachment research became a focus of several research groups.

Variability of microbiomes in winter rye, wheat, and triticale affected by snow mold: predicting promising microorganisms for the disease control.

Background: Snow mold caused by different psychrophilic phytopathogenic fungi is a devastating disease of winter cereals. The variability of the snow mold pathocomplex (the quantitative composition of snow mold fungi) has not been evaluated across different crops or different agrocenoses, and no microbial taxa have been predicted at the whole-microbiome level as potential effective snow mold control agents. Our study aimed to assess the variability of the snow mold pathocomplex in different winter cereal crops (rye, wheat, and triticale) in different agrocenoses following the peak disease progression and to arrange a hierarchical list of microbial taxa predicted to be the main candidates to prevent or, conversely, stimulate the development of snow mold pathogens.

Low impact of Zostera marina meadows on sediment and water microbiota under brackish conditions.

Background: Zostera marina is an important ecosystem engineer influencing shallow water environments and possibly shaping the microbiota in surrounding sediments and water. Z. marina is typically found in marine systems, but it can also proliferate under brackish conditions.

Developing and testing the feasibility of a theory-based brief counseling intervention to promote physical activity in breast cancer survivors enrolled in the PAC-WOMAN trial.

Background: Despite the benefits of physical activity (PA), cancer survivors report engagement barriers, and existing interventions often lack comprehensive solutions. Theory-based interventions using evidence-based behavior change techniques (BCTs) have been shown to be effective in promoting PA for breast cancer survivors, although their feasibility and acceptability lack evidence. The PAC-WOMAN trial is a three-arm randomized controlled trial aimed at promoting short- and long-term PA and improving the quality of life of breast cancer survivors.