Estimation of PHA concentrations from cell density data in Cupriavidus necator.

The production of biodegradable and biobased polymers is one way to overcome the present plastic pollution while using cheap and abundant feedstocks. Polyhydroxyalkanoates are a promising class of biopolymers that can be produced by various microorganisms. Within the production process, batch-to-batch variation occurs due to changing feedstock composition when using waste streams, slightly different starting conditions, or biological variance of the microorganisms.

An immunohistochemical and molecular genetic study of 60 colorectal carcinoma brain metastases in pursuit of predictive biomarkers for cancer therapy.

Colorectal carcinoma brain metastases (n = 60) were studied using next-generation sequencing and immunohistochemistry. RAS and BRAF mutations were detected in 58.2% and 7.

[The 6th Year of the Study of Human Medicine is Mainly Orientated to Practice: a Pilot Study with a Digital Logbook].

Digital learning resources are in increasing demand, especially in the light of the planned reform of the medical licensing regulations for 2028. In a pilot project, we digitised and evaluated a logbook for students in their practical year (PJ).The aim of this study is to evaluate the digital and non-digital PJ logbooks.

Species coexistence as an emergent effect of interacting mechanisms.

Although extensively studied, the maintenance of biodiversity remains a highly debated and investigated topic of contemporary research in ecology. Several studies have quantified the contributions of various coexistence mechanisms to biodiversity. However, often stochastic individual-level interactions are abstracted away, or mechanisms are studied in isolation.

Stimulate to Remember? The Effects of Short Burst of Transcutaneous Vagus Nerve Stimulation (taVNS) on Memory Performance and Pupil Dilation.

The decline in noradrenergic (NE) locus coeruleus (LC) function in aging is thought to be implicated in episodic memory decline. Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS), which supports LC function, might serve to preserve or improve memory function in aging. However, taVNS effects are generally very heterogeneous, and it is currently unclear whether taVNS has an effect on memory.

Prior knowledge changes initial sensory processing in the human spinal cord.

Prior knowledge changes how the brain processes sensory input. Whether knowledge influences initial sensory processing upstream of the brain, in the spinal cord, is unknown. Studying electric potentials recorded invasively and noninvasively from the human spinal cord at millisecond resolution, we find that the cord generates electric potentials at 600 hertz that are modulated by prior knowledge about the time of sensory input, as early as 13 to 16 milliseconds after stimulation.

Patient-reported outcome measures for post-COVID-19 condition: a systematic review of instruments and measurement properties.

Objectives: Post-COVID-19 condition (PCC), also referred to as Long COVID, has become an emerging public health issue requiring adequate prevention, treatment and management strategies. Evaluating these strategies from the patients' perspective using patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) is critical. In this systematic review, we aimed to critically appraise and summarise the quality of existing PROMs for PCC, and to identify PROMs that can be recommended for use in future research.

Locus coeruleus signal intensity and emotion regulation in agitation in Alzheimer's disease.

Hyperphosphorylated tau accumulation is seen in the noradrenergic locus coeruleus from the earliest stages of Alzheimer's disease onwards and has been associated with symptoms of agitation. It is hypothesized that compensatory locus coeruleus-noradrenaline system overactivity and impaired emotion regulation could underlie agitation propensity, but to our knowledge this has not previously been investigated. A better understanding of the neurobiological underpinnings of agitation would help the development of targeted prevention and treatment strategies.

Record-setting cyanobacterial bloom in the largest freshwater lake in northern China caused by joint effects of hydrological variations and nutrient enrichment.

Cyanobacterial blooms represent a significant environmental issue posing widespread threats to global aquatic ecological health. Climate and nutrient enrichment were the most studied factors modulating cyanobacterial blooms in eutrophic lakes. However, in many floodplain lakes, the importance of hydrological variation in driving and predicting cyanobacterial blooms is often overlooked and largely underestimated, which has hampered the effectiveness of lake management.

Prevalence of Chronic Hand Eczema in adults: A cross-sectional survey of over 60,000 respondents in the general population in Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom.

Background: The lack of attention to Chronic Hand Eczema (CHE) and the lack of a specific International Classification of Diseases code for CHE may have limited the assessment of CHE prevalence. To date, prevalence estimates have primarily been derived from (partly small) single-country studies.

Objectives: To estimate the annual prevalence of self-reported physician-diagnosed CHE across socio-demographic characteristics among adults in Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom (UK).

Lobectomy vs. MRgLITT in Temporal Lobe Epilepsy (TLE): A Pilot Study Investigating Vestibulo-Spatial Functions.

: About 65 million people worldwide are affected by epilepsy, with temporal lobe epilepsy being the most common type resistant to drugs and often requiring surgical treatment. Although open surgical approaches, such as temporal lobectomy, have been the method of choice for decades, minimally invasive MRgLITT has demonstrated promising results. However, it remains unknown whether patients who underwent one of these two approaches would show better performance on vestibulo-spatial tasks.

Do PROMs or Sensor-Based Monitoring Detect Improvements in Patients' Knee Function After Total-Knee Arthroplasty?-A Study Protocol for a Prospective Controlled Study.

Determining whether preoperative performance-based knee function predicts postoperative performance-based knee function and whether patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) completed by participants can detect these changes could significantly enhance the planning of postoperative rehabilitation for patients following total knee arthroplasty (TKA). This study aims to collect data on performance-based knee function using inertial measurement units (IMUs) worn by participants both preoperatively and postoperatively. PROMs will be completed by the patients before and after surgery to assess their ability to detect the same changes in performance-based knee function measured by the sensors.

Treatment Quality of Rectal Cancer Patients in Certified Colorectal Cancer Centers Versus Non-Certified Hospitals: A Comparative Analysis.

: The certification of hospitals as colorectal cancer centers aims to improve treatment quality, but evidence supporting its effectiveness remains limited. This study evaluated the impact of certification on treatment outcomes for rectal cancer patients in Germany. : We conducted a retrospective analysis of 14,905 patients with primary rectal cancer (UICC Stages I-III) treated at 271 hospitals.

Precuneus activity during retrieval is positively associated with amyloid burden in cognitively normal older carriers.

The precuneus is a site of early amyloid-beta (Aβ) accumulation. Previous cross-sectional studies reported increased precuneus fMRI activity in older adults with mild cognitive deficits or elevated Aβ. However, longitudinal studies in early Alzheimer's disease (AD) are lacking and the relationship to the Apolipoprotein-E () genotype is unclear.

Neurocan regulates axon initial segment organization and neuronal activity.

The neural extracellular matrix (ECM) accumulates in the form of perineuronal nets (PNNs), particularly around fast-spiking GABAergic interneurons in the cortex and hippocampus, but also around synapses and in association with the axon initial segments (AIS) and nodes of Ranvier. Increasing evidence highlights the role of Neurocan (Ncan), a brain-specific component of ECM, in the pathophysiology of neuropsychiatric disorders like bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. Ncan localizes at PNNs, perisynaptically, and at the nodes of Ranvier and the AIS, highlighting its potential role in regulating axonal excitability.

Cross-sectional study on the impact of adverse childhood experiences on psychological distress in patients with an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator.

Objective: Previous studies implied detrimental effects of adverse childhood experiences (ACE) on cardiovascular disease and mental health. Still, data on the influence of ACE on psychological distress in patients with an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) are lacking.

Methods: We prospectively recruited 423 patients with an ICD.

LFA-1: A potential key player in microglia-mediated neuroprotection against oxygen-glucose deprivation in vitro.

For the last 38 years, all neuroprotective agents for patients with ischemic stroke have failed in clinical trials. The innate immune system, particularly microglia, is a much-discussed target for neuroprotective agents. Promising results for neuroprotection by inhibition of integrins with drugs such as natalizumab in animal stroke models have not been translated into clinical practice.

Activation and Reactivity of the Deubiquitinylase OTU Cezanne-2 from MD Simulations and QM/MM Calculations.

Cezanne-2 (Cez2) is a deubiquitinylating (DUB) enzyme involved in the regulation of ubiquitin-driven cellular signaling and selectively targets Lys11-linked polyubiquitin chains. As a representative member of the ovarian tumor (OTU) subfamily DUBs, it performs cysteine proteolytic isopeptide bond cleavage; however, its exact catalytic mechanism is not yet resolved. In this work, we used different computational approaches to get molecular insights into the Cezanne-2 catalytic mechanism.

Training and validating a treatment recommender with partial verification evidence.

Background: Current clinical decision support systems (DSS) are trained and validated on observational data from the clinic in which the DSS is going to be applied. This is problematic for treatments that have already been validated in a randomized clinical trial (RCT), but have not yet been introduced in any clinic. In this work, we report on a method for training and validating the DSS core before introduction to a clinic, using the RCT data themselves.

Multilabel segmentation and analysis of skeletal muscle and adipose tissue in routine abdominal CT scans.

Purpose: This paper presents a deep learning-based multi-label segmentation network that extracts a total of three separate adipose tissues and five different muscle tissues in CT slices of the third lumbar vertebra and additionally improves the segmentation of the intermuscular fat.

Method: Based on a self-created data set of 130 patients, an extended Unet structure was trained and evaluated with the help of Dice score, IoU and Pixel Accuracy. In addition, the interobserver variability for the decision between ground truth and post-processed segmentation was calculated to illustrate the relevance in everyday clinical practice.

Environmental enrichment is associated with favorable memory-related functional brain activity patterns in older adults.

Background: In humans, environmental enrichment (EE), as measured by the engagement in a variety of leisure activities, has been associated with larger hippocampal structure and better memory function. The present cross-sectional study assessed whether EE during early life (13-30 years) and midlife (30-65 years) is associated with better preserved memory-related brain activity patterns in older age.

Methods: In total, 372 cognitively unimpaired older adults (aged ≥60 years old) of the DZNE-Longitudinal Study on Cognitive Impairment and Dementia (DELCODE; DRKS00007966) were investigated.

Applying Multi-Purpose Commercial Inertial Sensors for Monitoring Equine Locomotion in Equestrian Training.

Inappropriate, excessive, or overly strenuous training of sport horses can result in long-term injury, including the premature cessation of a horse's sporting career. As a countermeasure, this study demonstrates the easy implementation of a biomechanical load monitoring system consisting of five commercial, multi-purpose inertial sensor units non-invasively attached to the horse's distal limbs and trunk. From the data obtained, specific parameters for evaluating gait and limb loads are derived, providing the basis for objective exercise load management and successful injury prevention.