Enhancement of Memory-Related Long-Term Facilitation by ApAF, a Novel Transcription Factor that Acts Downstream from Both CREB1 and CREB2

AbstractThe memory for sensitization of the gill withdrawal reflex in Aplysia is reflected in facilitation of the monosynaptic connection between the sensory and motor neurons of the reflex. The switch from short- to long-term facilitation requires activation of CREB1, derepression of ApCREB2, and induction of ApC/EBP. In search for genes that act downstream from CREB1, we have identified a transcription activator, ApAF, which is stimulated by protein kinase A and can dimerize with both ApC/EBP and ApCREB2. ApAF is necessary for long-term facilitation induced by five pulses of serotonin, by activation of CREB1, or by derepression of ApCREB2. Overexpression of ApAF enhances the long-term facilitation further. Thus, ApAF is a candidate memory enhancer gene downstream from both CREB1 and ApCREB2

On the Use of Airborne Imaging Spectroscopy Data for the Automatic Detection and Delineation of Surface Water Bodies

There is economical and ecological relevance for remote sensing applications of inland and coastal waters: The European Union Water Framework Directive (European Parliament and the Council of the European Union, 2000) for inland and coastal waters requires the EU member states to take actions in order to reach a good ecological status in inland and coastal waters by 2015. This involves characterization of the specific trophic state and the implementation of monitoring systems to verify the ecological status. Financial resources at the national and local level are insufficient to assess the water quality using conventional methods of regularly field and laboratory work only. While remote sensing cannot replace the assessment of all aquatic parameters in the field, it powerfully complements existing sampling programs and offers the base to extrapolate the sampled parameter information in time and in space. The delineation of surface water bodies is a prerequisite for any further remote sensing based analysis and even can by itself provide up-to-date information for water resource management, monitoring and modelling (Manavalan et al., 1993). It is further important in the monitoring of seasonally changing water reservoirs (e.g., Alesheikh et al., 2007) and of shortterm events like floods (Overton, 2005). Usually the detection and delineation of surface water bodies in optical remote sensing data is described as being an easy task. Since water absorbs most of the irradiation in the near-infrared (NIR) part of the electromagnetic spectrum water bodies appear very dark in NIR spectral bands and can be mapped by simply applying a maximum threshold on one of these bands (Swain & Davis, 1978: section 5-4). Many studies took advantage of this spectral behaviour of water and applied methods like single band density slicing (e.g., Work & Gilmer, 1976), spectral indices (McFeeters, 1996, Xu, 2006) or multispectral supervised classification (e.g., Frazier & Page, 2000, Lira, 2006). However, all of these methods have the drawback that they are not fully automated since the analyst has to select a scene-specific threshold (Ji et al., 2009) or training pixels. Moreover there are certain situations where these methods lead to misclassification. For instance, water constituents in turbid water as well as water bottom reflectance and sun glint can raise the reflectance spectrum of surface water even in the NIR spectral range up to a reflectance level which is typical for dark surfaces on land such as dark rocks (e.g., basalt, lava), bituminous roofing materials and in particular shadow regions. Consequently, Carleer & Wolff (2006) amongst others found the land cover classes water and shadow to be highly confused in image classifications. This problem especially occurs in environments where both, a high amount of shadow and water regions can exist, such as urban landscapes, mountainous landscapes or cliffy coasts as well as generally in images with water bodies and cloud shadows. In this investigation we focus on the development of a new surface water body detection algorithm that can be automatically applied without user knowledge and supplementary data on any hyperspectral image of the visible and near-infrared (VNIR) spectral range. The analysis is strictly focused on the VNIR part of the electromagnetic spectrum due to the growing number of VNIR imaging spectrometers. The developed approach consists of two main steps, the selection of potential water pixels (section 4.1) and the removal of false positives from this mask (sections 4.2 and 4.3). In this context the separation between water bodies and shadowed surfaces is the most challenging task which is implemented by consecutive spectral and spatial processing steps (sections 4.3.1 and 4.3.2) resulting in very high detection accuracies

Minimally invasive, imaging guided virtual autopsy compared to conventional autopsy in foetal, newborn and infant cases: study protocol for the paediatric virtual autopsy trial

BACKGROUND: In light of declining autopsy rates around the world, post-mortem MR imaging is a promising alternative to conventional autopsy in the investigation of infant death. A major drawback of this non-invasive autopsy approach is the fact that histopathological and microbiological examination of the tissue is not possible. The objective of this prospective study is to compare the performance of minimally invasive, virtual autopsy, including CT-guided biopsy, with conventional autopsy procedures in a paediatric population. METHODS/DESIGN: Foetuses, newborns and infants that are referred for autopsy at three different institutions associated with the University of Zurich will be eligible for recruitment. All bodies will be examined with a commercial CT and a 3 Tesla MRI scanner, masked to the results of conventional autopsy. After cross-sectional imaging, CT-guided tissue sampling will be performed by a multifunctional robotic system (Virtobot) allowing for automated post-mortem biopsies. Virtual autopsy results will be classified with regards to the likely final diagnosis and major pathological findings and compared to the results of conventional autopsy, which remains the diagnostic gold standard. DISCUSSION: There is an urgent need for the development of alternative post-mortem examination methods, not only as a counselling tool for families and as a quality control measure for clinical diagnosis and treatment but also as an instrument to advance medical knowledge and clinical practice. This interdisciplinary study will determine whether virtual autopsy will narrow the gap in information between non-invasive and traditional autopsy procedures. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01888380

Ovidio nella riscrittura di Albrecht von Halberstadt

The reworking of Ovid's Metamorphoses by Albrecht von Halberstadt, dating back to the end of the twelfth century, survives only in few Fragments. In this essay, I will analyse Fragment B, which contains tales from Book XI of the Metamorphoses, in order to assess Albrecht's rewriting techniques, and his simplification of both matter and style. Indeed, Albrecht employs the middle style, while his Latin source was written in a rhetorical and elevated style. Albrecht's Fragments will be compared with the Ovidian source and with the Eneit of Heinrich von Veldeke, highlighting the features shared by the two rewritings of classical texts, which were both commissioned by the Landgrave Hermann of Thuringia

Development and evaluation of a cancer-related fatigue patient education program: protocol of a randomized controlled trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) and its impact on patients' quality of life has been an increasing subject of research. However, in Germany there is a lack of evidence-based interventions consistent with the multidimensional character of fatigue. The objective of this study is to develop and evaluate a self-management program for disease-free cancer patients to cope with CRF.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Based on evidence extracted from a literature review, a curriculum for the self-management program was elaborated. The curriculum was reviewed and validated by an interdisciplinary expert group and the training-modules will be pretested with a small number of participants and discussed in terms of feasibility and acceptance.</p> <p>To determine the efficacy of the program a randomised controlled trial will be carried out: 300 patients will be recruited from oncological practices in Bremen, Germany, and will be allocated to intervention or control group. The intervention group participates in the program, whereas the control group receives standard care and the opportunity to take part in the program after the end of the follow-up (waiting control group). Primary outcome measure is the level of fatigue, secondary outcome measures are quality of life, depression, anxiety, self-efficacy and physical activity. Data will be collected before randomisation, after intervention, and after a follow-up of 6 months.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>Because there are no comparable self-management programs for cancer survivors with fatigue, the development of the curriculum has been complex; therefore, the critical appraisal by the experts was an important step to validate the program and their contributions have been integrated into the curriculum. The experts appreciated the program as filling a gap in outpatient cancer care.</p> <p>If the results of the evaluation prove to be satisfactory, the outpatient care of cancer patients can be broadened and supplemented.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p>ClinicalTrials NCT00552552</p

Structure-Function Correlation of the Human Central Retina

The impact of retinal pathology detected by high-resolution imaging on vision remains largely unexplored. Therefore, the aim of the study was to achieve high-resolution structure-function correlation of the human macula in vivo.To obtain high-resolution tomographic and topographic images of the macula spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) and confocal scanning laser ophthalmoscopy (cSLO), respectively, were used. Functional mapping of the macula was obtained by using fundus-controlled microperimetry. Custom software allowed for co-registration of the fundus mapped microperimetry coordinates with both SD-OCT and cSLO datasets. The method was applied in a cross-sectional observational study of retinal diseases and in a clinical trial investigating the effectiveness of intravitreal ranibizumab in macular telangietasia type 2. There was a significant relationship between outer retinal thickness and retinal sensitivity (p<0.001) and neurodegeneration leaving less than about 50 µm of parafoveal outer retinal thickness completely abolished light sensitivity. In contrast, functional preservation was found if neurodegeneration spared the photoreceptors, but caused quite extensive disruption of the inner retina. Longitudinal data revealed that small lesions affecting the photoreceptor layer typically precede functional detection but later cause severe loss of light sensitivity. Ranibizumab was shown to be ineffective to prevent such functional loss in macular telangietasia type 2.Since there is a general need for efficient monitoring of the effectiveness of therapy in neurodegenerative diseases of the retina and since SD-OCT imaging is becoming more widely available, surrogate endpoints derived from such structure-function correlation may become highly relevant in future clinical trials

Outcomes of cerebral venous thrombosis due to vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia after the acute phase

© 2022 American Heart Association, Inc.Background: Cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) due to vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT) is a severe condition, with high in-hospital mortality rates. Here, we report clinical outcomes of patients with CVT-VITT after SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) vaccination who survived initial hospitalization. Methods: We used data from an international registry of patients who developed CVT within 28 days of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination, collected until February 10, 2022. VITT diagnosis was classified based on the Pavord criteria. Outcomes were mortality, functional independence (modified Rankin Scale score 0–2), VITT relapse, new thrombosis, and bleeding events (all after discharge from initial hospitalization). Results: Of 107 CVT-VITT cases, 43 (40%) died during initial hospitalization. Of the remaining 64 patients, follow-up data were available for 60 (94%) patients (37 definite VITT, 9 probable VITT, and 14 possible VITT). Median age was 40 years and 45/60 (75%) patients were women. Median follow-up time was 150 days (interquartile range, 94–194). Two patients died during follow-up (3% [95% CI, 1%–11%). Functional independence was achieved by 53/60 (88% [95% CI, 78%–94%]) patients. No new venous or arterial thrombotic events were reported. One patient developed a major bleeding during follow-up (fatal intracerebral bleed). Conclusions: In contrast to the high mortality of CVT-VITT in the acute phase, mortality among patients who survived the initial hospitalization was low, new thrombotic events did not occur, and bleeding events were rare. Approximately 9 out of 10 CVT-VITT patients who survived the acute phase were functionally independent at follow-up.This study was funded by the Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development (ZonMw, grant number 10430072110005), the Dr. C.J. Vaillant Foundation, and Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa (grant TYH2022223).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The Photosynthetic Apparatus and Its Regulation in the Aerobic Gammaproteobacterium Congregibacter litoralis gen. nov., sp. nov

BACKGROUND: There is accumulating evidence that in some marine environments aerobic bacteriochlorophyll a-producing bacteria represent a significant part of the microbial population. The interaction of photosynthesis and carbon metabolism in these interesting bacteria is still largely unknown and requires further investigation in order to estimate their contribution to the marine carbon cycle. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Here, we analyzed the structure, composition and regulation of the photosynthetic apparatus in the obligately aerobic marine gammaproteobacterium KT71(T). Photoheterotrophically grown cells were characterized by a poorly developed lamellar intracytoplasmic membrane system, a type 1 light-harvesting antenna complex and a photosynthetic reaction center associated with a tetraheme cytochrome c. The only photosynthetic pigments produced were bacteriochlorophyll a and spirilloxanthin. Under semiaerobic conditions KT71(T) cells expressing a photosynthetic apparatus showed a light-dependent increase of growth yield in the range of 1.3-2.5 fold. The expression level of the photosynthetic apparatus depended largely on the utilized substrate, the intermediary carbon metabolism and oxygen tension. In addition, pigment synthesis was strongly influenced by light, with blue light exerting the most significant effect, implicating that proteins containing a BLUF domain may be involved in regulation of the photosynthetic apparatus. Several phenotypic traits in KT71(T) could be identified that correlated with the assumed redox state of growing cells and thus could be used to monitor the cellular redox state under various incubation conditions. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: In a hypothetical model that explains the regulation of the photosynthetic apparatus in strain KT71(T) we propose that the expression of photosynthesis genes depends on the cellular redox state and is maximal under conditions that allow a balanced membrane redox state. So far, bacteria capable of an obligately aerobic, photosynthetic metabolism constitute a unique phenotype within the class Gammaproteobacteria, so that it is justified to propose a new genus and species, Congregibacter litoralis gen. nov, sp. nov., represented by the type strain KT71(T) ( = DSM 17192(T) = NBRC 104960(T))