Clinical and virological characteristics of hospitalised COVID-19 patients in a German tertiary care centre during the first wave of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: a prospective observational study

Purpose: Adequate patient allocation is pivotal for optimal resource management in strained healthcare systems, and requires detailed knowledge of clinical and virological disease trajectories. The purpose of this work was to identify risk factors associated with need for invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV), to analyse viral kinetics in patients with and without IMV and to provide a comprehensive description of clinical course. Methods: A cohort of 168 hospitalised adult COVID-19 patients enrolled in a prospective observational study at a large European tertiary care centre was analysed. Results: Forty-four per cent (71/161) of patients required invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV). Shorter duration of symptoms before admission (aOR 1.22 per day less, 95% CI 1.10-1.37, p < 0.01) and history of hypertension (aOR 5.55, 95% CI 2.00-16.82, p < 0.01) were associated with need for IMV. Patients on IMV had higher maximal concentrations, slower decline rates, and longer shedding of SARS-CoV-2 than non-IMV patients (33 days, IQR 26-46.75, vs 18 days, IQR 16-46.75, respectively, p < 0.01). Median duration of hospitalisation was 9 days (IQR 6-15.5) for non-IMV and 49.5 days (IQR 36.8-82.5) for IMV patients. Conclusions: Our results indicate a short duration of symptoms before admission as a risk factor for severe disease that merits further investigation and different viral load kinetics in severely affected patients. Median duration of hospitalisation of IMV patients was longer than described for acute respiratory distress syndrome unrelated to COVID-19

Phyto- and bacterioplankton during early spring conditions in the Baltic Sea and response to short-term experimental warming

Predicted increases in sea surface temperatures are expected to shift the balance between autotrophic production and the heterotrophic degradation of organic matter toward a more heterotrophic system. For early phytoplankton spring blooms at low water temperature the impact of rising temperatures has been mainly investigated in mesocosm experiments, while field observations are scarce. During a Baltic Sea research cruise we examined early spring bloom conditions, characterized by low temperatures (0-3 degrees C), and performed on-board warming experiments to compare the responses of phyto- and bacterioplankton production to an increase in temperature. In the northern Baltic Sea, the low phytoplankton biomass indicated pre-bloom conditions. In the southern Baltic Sea, a diatom-dominated phytoplankton bloom with increased primary production (PP) occurred. Associated with this bloom were increases in bacterial production (BP) and bacterial abundance as well as shifts in bacterial community composition toward an increased proportion of Gammaproteobacteria and Bacteroidetes. However, the low BP/PP ratios (average: 1.2 +/- 0.14%) indicated weak coupling between the bacterial and phytoplankton communities. Short-term warming (6h, Delta+6 degrees C) significantly enhanced PP (mean Q(1)(0) 1.4) and especially BP (mean Q(1)(0) 2.3). Hence, the higher water temperature increased both carbon flow into the bacterial community and bacterial processing of organic matter, thereby confirming previous experimental studies. By contrast, BP/PP ratios remained relatively low after warming (average: 1.7 +/- 0.5%), unlike in previous mesocosm experiments performed at comparable temperatures and with similar plankton communities. Overall, these results imply that bacterial activities are suppressed during early phytoplankton blooms at low temperatures in the Baltic Sea and are not substantially altered by short-term warming events.Peer reviewe

Wissenstransfer – ein zentrales Thema für die Sportpädagogik? :35. Jahrestagung der dvs-Sektion Sportpädagogik vom 16.-18. Juni 2022 in Münster

Forschung und Lehre gelten gemeinhin als die zentralen Aufgaben von Universitäten. In den letzten Jahren kommt als "dritte Säule" zunehmend der Transfer akademischen Wissens in die Praxis hinzu. Während für die ersten beiden Aufgaben weitgehend etablierte Strategien und Formate vorliegen, tun sich die Universitäten mit dem Wissenstransfer allerdings oft noch schwer. Das gilt auch für die Sportwissenschaft im Allgemeinen und die Sportpädagogik im Besonderen. Die 35. Jahrestagung der dvs-Sektion Sportpädagogik vom 16.-18. Juni am SportCampus in Münster stand deshalb unter der Fragestellung "Wissenstransfer - ein zentrales Thema für die Sportpädagogik?". Zu dem wissenschaftlichen Programm gehörten drei Hauptvorträge, vier Dialogforen, ein Bildungspolitischer Abend, ein Sportwissenschaftliches Forum gemeinsam mit der asp-Tagung sowie insgesamt 76 Vorträge und 29 Poster.Research and teaching are generally regarded as the central tasks of universities. In recent years, the transfer of academic knowledge into practice has increasingly been added as a "third column" While there are largely established strategies and formats for the first two tasks, universities often still struggle with the transfer of knowledge. This applies for sports science in general and sports pedagogy in particular. The 35th annual conference of the dvs-section "Sportpädagogik" from June 16-18 at the SportCampus in Münster therefore focused on the question "Knowledge Transfer - a Key Topic for Sports Pedagogy?". The scientific program included three keynote lectures, four dialogue forums, an educational policy evening, a sports science forum together with the asp conference, and a total of 76 presentations and 29 posters

Presentation_1_Phyto- and Bacterioplankton During Early Spring Conditions in the Baltic Sea and Response to Short-Term Experimental Warming.PDF

<p>Predicted increases in sea surface temperatures are expected to shift the balance between autotrophic production and the heterotrophic degradation of organic matter toward a more heterotrophic system. For early phytoplankton spring blooms at low water temperature the impact of rising temperatures has been mainly investigated in mesocosm experiments, while field observations are scarce. During a Baltic Sea research cruise we examined early spring bloom conditions, characterized by low temperatures (0–3°C), and performed on-board warming experiments to compare the responses of phyto- and bacterioplankton production to an increase in temperature. In the northern Baltic Sea, the low phytoplankton biomass indicated pre-bloom conditions. In the southern Baltic Sea, a diatom-dominated phytoplankton bloom with increased primary production (PP) occurred. Associated with this bloom were increases in bacterial production (BP) and bacterial abundance as well as shifts in bacterial community composition toward an increased proportion of Gammaproteobacteria and Bacteroidetes. However, the low BP/PP ratios (average: 1.2 ± 0.14%) indicated weak coupling between the bacterial and phytoplankton communities. Short-term warming (6 h, Δ+6°C) significantly enhanced PP (mean Q₁₀ 1.4) and especially BP (mean Q₁₀ 2.3). Hence, the higher water temperature increased both carbon flow into the bacterial community and bacterial processing of organic matter, thereby confirming previous experimental studies. By contrast, BP/PP ratios remained relatively low after warming (average: 1.7 ± 0.5%), unlike in previous mesocosm experiments performed at comparable temperatures and with similar plankton communities. Overall, these results imply that bacterial activities are suppressed during early phytoplankton blooms at low temperatures in the Baltic Sea and are not substantially altered by short-term warming events.</p

Oral treatment with the all-d-peptide RD2 enhances cognition in aged beagle dogs – A model of sporadic Alzheimer’s disease

Disease-modifying therapies to treat Alzheimer's disease (AD) are of fundamental interest for aging humans, societies, and health care systems. Predictable disease progression in transgenic AD models favors preclinical studies employing a preventive study design with an early pre-symptomatic treatment start, instead of assessing a truly curative approach with treatment starting after diagnosed disease onset. The aim of this study was to investigate the pharmacokinetic profile and efficacy of RD2 to enhance short-term memory and cognition in cognitively impaired aged Beagle dogs - a non-transgenic model of truly sporadic AD. RD2 has previously demonstrated pharmacodynamic efficacy in three different transgenic AD mouse models in three different laboratories. Here, we demonstrate that oral treatment with RD2 significantly reduced cognitive deficits in cognitively impaired aged Beagle dogs even beyond the treatment end, which suggests in combination with the treatment dependent CSF tau oligomer decrease a disease-modifying effect of RD2 treatment

Self-assembly of melem on Ag(111)—emergence of porous structures based on amino-heptazine hydrogen bonds

Self-assembly of melem on Ag(111) as studied by Scanning-Tunneling-Microscopy (STM) in ultra-high vacuum revealed a great structural variety. In total, five porous and two densely packed monolayer polymorphs were observed. All structures are stabilized by intermolecular hydrogen bonds, where melem–melem arrangements are based on very few basic motifs. Six out of seven polymorphs can be described by a unified concept