Microfluidically supported characterization of responses of Rhodococcus erythropolis strains isolated from different soils on Cu-, Ni-, and Co-stress

We present a new methodological approach for the assessment of the susceptibility of Rhodococcus erythropolis strains from specific sampling sites in response to increasing heavy metal concentration (Cu2+, Ni2+, and Co2+) using the droplet-based microfluid technique. All isolates belong to the species R. erythropolis identified by Sanger sequencing of the 16S rRNA. The tiny step-wise variation of metal concentrations from zero to the lower mM range in 500 nL droplets not only provided accurate data for critical metal ion concentrations but also resulted in a detailed visualization of the concentration-dependent response of bacterial growth and autofluorescence activity. As a result, some of the isolates showed similar characteristics in heavy metal tolerance against Cu2+, Ni2+, and Co2+. However, significantly different heavy metal tolerances were found for other strains. Surprisingly, samples from the surface soil of ancient copper mining areas supplied mostly strains with a moderate sensitivity to Cu2+, Ni2+, and Co2+, but in contrast, a soil sample from an excavation site of a medieval city that had been covered for about eight centuries showed an extremely high tolerance against cobalt ion (up to 36 mM). The differences among the strains not only may be regarded as results of adaptation to the different environmental conditions faced by the strains in nature but also seem to be related to ancient human activities and temporal partial decoupling of soil elements from the surface. This investigation confirmed that microfluidic screening offers empirical characterization of properties from same species which has been isolated from sites known to have different human activities in the past

Comparison of the antioxidant potential in urine, saliva and skin

Aim: Free radicals, oxidative stress and their possible consequences for health are becoming increasingly important in modern medicine. Reactive species influence the organism, potentially causing oxidative cell damage. They can be produced by exogenous sources, or be a product of a variety of not only physiological metabolic processes, such as immune response, but also pathological processes. The antioxidant protection system protects the organism from oxidative damage caused by reactions producing an excess of free radicals. The analysis of antioxidant potential (AOP) is therefore becoming increasingly important for the diagnosis of individual vitality

Training researchers with the MOVING platform

The MOVING platform enables its users to improve their information literacy by training how to exploit data and text mining methods in their daily research tasks. In this paper, we show how it can support researchers in various tasks, and we introduce its main features, such as text and video retrieval and processing, advanced visualizations, and the technologies to assist the learning process

Geometry and Distortion Prediction of Multiple Layers for Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing with Artificial Neural Networks

Wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) is a direct energy deposition (DED) process with high deposition rates, but deformation and distortion can occur due to the high energy input and resulting strains. Despite great efforts, the prediction of distortion and resulting geometry in additive manufacturing processes using WAAM remains challenging. In this work, an artificial neural network (ANN) is established to predict welding distortion and geometric accuracy for multilayer WAAM structures. For demonstration purposes, the ANN creation process is presented on a smaller scale for multilayer beads on plate welds on a thin substrate sheet. Multiple concepts for the creation of ANNs and the handling of outliers are developed, implemented, and compared. Good results have been achieved by applying an enhanced ANN using deformation and geometry from the previously deposited layer. With further adaptions to this method, a prediction of additive welded structures, geometries, and shapes in defined segments is conceivable, which would enable a multitude of applications for ANNs in the WAAM-Process, especially for applications closer to industrial use cases. It would be feasible to use them as preparatory measures for multi-segmented structures as well as an application during the welding process to continuously adapt parameters for a higher resulting component quality

Die psychische Gesundheit von Kindern in frühpädagogischen Einrichtungen unterstützen. Zentrale Diskurse, empirische Erkenntnisse und Handlungskonsequenzen. Eine Expertise der Weiterbildungsinitiative Frühpädagogische Fachkräfte (WiFF)

Mit dem Ausbau der Frühen Bildung geriet auch die psychische Gesundheit der betreuten Kinder in den Blick und das Thema fand Eingang in die Bildungspläne der Länder. In der Expertise arbeiten die Autorinnen und Autoren anhand etablierter Qualitätskonzepte für die Kindertagesbetreuung heraus, wie in der Praxis die psychische Gesundheit systematisch und umfassend gefördert werden kann. Zudem benennen sie strategische Ansatzpunkte, die eine Veränderung im Umgang mit den Kindern bewirken oder strukturelle Rahmenbedingungen positiv beeinflussen können. Unterfüttert mit konkreten Beispielen und Praxisempfehlungen, leistet die Expertise einen Beitrag zur Qualitätsentwicklung von Kindertageseinrichtungen. (Verlag

SARS-CoV-2 pandemic as a catalyst? Development of emotional problems of preschool children of mothers with childhood maltreatment experiences in the course of the pandemic–a longitudinal analysis

BackgroundSARS-CoV-2 pandemic have posed great challenges for all families and children. Health risks and fears associated with SARS-CoV-2 negatively affect the parental mental health and perceived stress, which in turn influence parental coping and thereby impairs the mental health and well-being of their children. Additional risk factors within the parents, such as maternal childhood maltreatment (CM) experiences, may increase the risk of children to develop emotional problems during the pandemic.ObjectiveThe purpose of this longitudinal study is to determine whether preschool children of mothers with CM are at higher risk of developing emotional problems during the pandemic than preschool children of mothers without CM.Method74 mothers from a birth cohort examining pathways to resilience or vulnerability in the transgenerational transmission of CM, provided information on emotional problems of their children (aged 3–7 years) at two measurement time points (t1: May 2020, t2: March 2021) as part of an online “SARS-CoV-2 pandemic” survey. In addition, parents were asked for a retrospective assessment of their children's emotional problems before the pandemic at time t1. Children's emotional problems were assessed using the “emotional problems” scale of the German version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and linked to previously collected data on mothers' childhood maltreatment experiences, which were collected using the German short version of the Trauma in Childhood Questionnaire (CTQ).ResultsOur analyses showed that children's emotional problems increased significantly over the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic [F(1.86, 116.88) = 3.72, p = 0.030 η2 = 0.06] and were rated significantly higher in the group of children of mothers with CM, than in the group of mothers without CM [F(1, 63) = 126.06, p < 0.001 η2 = 0.67]. Furthermore children's emotional problems of mothers with CM increased significantly more and reached a clinically significant value during the pandemic than for children of mothers without CM [F(1.86, 116.88) = 8.89, p < 0.001, η2 = 0.12].ConclusionsChildren of mothers with CM appear to be at increased risk of developing emotional problems during the pandemic. CM therefore needs to be considered as an additional risk factor in the impact of the pandemic on children

The atypical kinase RIOK1 promotes tumor growth and invasive behavior

Despite being overexpressed in different tumor entities, RIO kinases are hardly characterized in mammalian cells. We investigated the role of these atypical kinases in different cancer cells. Using isogenic colon-, breast- and lung cancer cell lines, we demonstrate that knockdown of RIOK1, but not of RIOK2 or RIOK3, strongly impairs proliferation and invasiveness in conventional and 3D culture systems. Interestingly, these effects were mainly observed in RAS mutant cancer cells. In contrast, growth of RAS wildtype Caco-2 and Bcr-Abl-driven K562 cells is not affected by RIOK1 knockdown, suggesting a specific requirement for RIOK1 in the context of oncogenic RAS signaling. Furthermore, we show that RIOK1 activates NF-κB signaling and promotes cell cycle progression. Using proteomics, we identified the pro-invasive proteins Metadherin and Stathmin1 to be regulated by RIOK1. Additionally, we demonstrate that RIOK1 promotes lung colonization in vivo and that RIOK1 is overexpressed in different subtypes of human lung- and breast cancer. Altogether, our data suggest RIOK1 as a potential therapeutic target, especially in RAS-driven cancers