Untersuchung der Meiofauna unter Einfluss eines Sielabflusses im Schlickwatt

Aim of this work was to assess the composition of the meiofauna in mudflat sediments, undisturbed and near a fresh water sewer. Meiofauna was chosen as a bioindicator, because it adjusts quickly and specifically to environmental changes. A lower diversity and abundance of the seven investigated taxa near the sewer was expected. As no statistically significant differences between the two locations could be found, this hypothesis has to be rejected. However, quantitative differences between meiofauna compositions could be observed. Additionally, a high nematode to copepode ratio in the sewer sediment suggests an influence of changing salinity and water quality. Further analyses of the sewer water is crucial for certain statements.Ziel dieser Arbeit war es, die Zusammensetzung der Meiofauna in Wattsedimenten, ungestört und in der Nähe eines Süßwasserkanals, zu untersuchen. Als Bioindikator wurde Meiofauna gewählt, weil sie sich schnell und gezielt an Umweltveränderungen anpasst. Es wurde eine geringere Diversität und Abundanz der sieben untersuchten Taxa in Kanalnähe erwartet. Da keine statistisch signifikanten Unterschiede zwischen den beiden Standorten gefunden werden konnten, muss diese Hypothese verworfen werden. Es konnten jedoch quantitative Unterschiede zwischen den Zusammensetzungen der Meiofauna beobachtet werden. Darüber hinaus deutet ein hohes Verhältnis von Nematoden zu Copepoden im Abwassersediment auf einen Einfluss des sich ändernden Salzgehalts und der Wasserqualität hin. Für bestimmte Aussagen sind weitere Analysen des Abwassers entscheidend.Peer Reviewe

Proceedings in Marine Biology

Journal of the Graduate Course of the Freie Universiät Berlin (Germany) at Kristinebergs Marina Forskningsstation (Sweden)Zeitschrift zur Kursreise der Freien Universität Berlin (Deutschland) an die Kristinebergs Marina Forskningsstation (Schweden)Peer Reviewe

Trophic consequences of an invasive, small-bodied non-native fish, sunbleak Leucaspius delineatus, for native pond fishes

Assessments of the trophic consequences of invasive fishes are important for quantifying their ecological impacts on native species more generally. A small-bodied cyprinid fish native to continental Europe and introduced in the 1970s to the U.K, the sunbleak Leuciscus delineatus, has been shown previously to establish closer social associations with native species of similar size than do native species amongst themselves. To assess the potential detrimental trophic consequences of native species associations with L. delineatus, a field-based experiment was undertaken in summer 2015 in six outdoor, artificial ponds containing three native cyprinid species (rudd Scardinius erthrophthalamus, gudgeon Gobio gobio, tench Tinca tinca). Three ponds were controls (no L. delineatus) and three were treatments (L. delineatus present). The results of stable isotope analysis (SIA) of fish tissue samples provided strong evidence that the isotopic niches of both native benthic fishes were reduced in the presence of L. delineatus, although there were no significant effects on the trophic position, body size or condition of two of the three native fish species. Introduced L. delineatus maintained a core isotopic niche that was distinct from the two native benthic fishes, with no overlap detected between native and non-native fishes when including 40 % and 95% of the data. These results indicate that the response of the native fishes to the introduction of L. delineatus was niche constriction via trophic specialisation, with this response sufficient to maintain their growth rates and condition. This result is similar to studies on a range of small-bodied invasive fishes, suggesting the trophic impacts of these invaders are relatively consistent across species and systems

Home and Online Management and Evaluation of Blood Pressure (HOME BP) using a digital intervention in poorly controlled hypertension: randomised controlled trial

Objective: The HOME BP (Home and Online Management and Evaluation of Blood Pressure) trial aimed to test a digital intervention for hypertension management in primary care by combining self-monitoring of blood pressure with guided self-management. Design: Unmasked randomised controlled trial with automated ascertainment of primary endpoint. Setting: 76 general practices in the United Kingdom. Participants: 622 people with treated but poorly controlled hypertension (>140/90 mm Hg) and access to the internet. Interventions: Participants were randomised by using a minimisation algorithm to self-monitoring of blood pressure with a digital intervention (305 participants) or usual care (routine hypertension care, with appointments and drug changes made at the discretion of the general practitioner; 317 participants). The digital intervention provided feedback of blood pressure results to patients and professionals with optional lifestyle advice and motivational support. Target blood pressure for hypertension, diabetes, and people aged 80 or older followed UK national guidelines. Main outcome measures: The primary outcome was the difference in systolic blood pressure (mean of second and third readings) after one year, adjusted for baseline blood pressure, blood pressure target, age, and practice, with multiple imputation for missing values. Results: After one year, data were available from 552 participants (88.6%) with imputation for the remaining 70 participants (11.4%). Mean blood pressure dropped from 151.7/86.4 to 138.4/80.2 mm Hg in the intervention group and from 151.6/85.3 to 141.8/79.8 mm Hg in the usual care group, giving a mean difference in systolic blood pressure of −3.4 mm Hg (95% confidence interval −6.1 to −0.8 mm Hg) and a mean difference in diastolic blood pressure of −0.5 mm Hg (−1.9 to 0.9 mm Hg). Results were comparable in the complete case analysis and adverse effects were similar between groups. Within trial costs showed an incremental cost effectiveness ratio of £11 ($15, €12; 95% confidence interval £6 to £29) per mm Hg reduction. Conclusions: The HOME BP digital intervention for the management of hypertension by using self-monitored blood pressure led to better control of systolic blood pressure after one year than usual care, with low incremental costs. Implementation in primary care will require integration into clinical workflows and consideration of people who are digitally excluded. Trial registration: ISRCTN13790648

Retrospective evaluation of whole exome and genome mutation calls in 746 cancer samples

Funder: NCI U24CA211006Abstract: The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) curated consensus somatic mutation calls using whole exome sequencing (WES) and whole genome sequencing (WGS), respectively. Here, as part of the ICGC/TCGA Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes (PCAWG) Consortium, which aggregated whole genome sequencing data from 2,658 cancers across 38 tumour types, we compare WES and WGS side-by-side from 746 TCGA samples, finding that ~80% of mutations overlap in covered exonic regions. We estimate that low variant allele fraction (VAF < 15%) and clonal heterogeneity contribute up to 68% of private WGS mutations and 71% of private WES mutations. We observe that ~30% of private WGS mutations trace to mutations identified by a single variant caller in WES consensus efforts. WGS captures both ~50% more variation in exonic regions and un-observed mutations in loci with variable GC-content. Together, our analysis highlights technological divergences between two reproducible somatic variant detection efforts

Effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and angiotensin receptor blocker initiation on organ support-free days in patients hospitalized with COVID-19

IMPORTANCE Overactivation of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) may contribute to poor clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19. Objective To determine whether angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) initiation improves outcomes in patients hospitalized for COVID-19. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In an ongoing, adaptive platform randomized clinical trial, 721 critically ill and 58 non–critically ill hospitalized adults were randomized to receive an RAS inhibitor or control between March 16, 2021, and February 25, 2022, at 69 sites in 7 countries (final follow-up on June 1, 2022). INTERVENTIONS Patients were randomized to receive open-label initiation of an ACE inhibitor (n = 257), ARB (n = 248), ARB in combination with DMX-200 (a chemokine receptor-2 inhibitor; n = 10), or no RAS inhibitor (control; n = 264) for up to 10 days. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was organ support–free days, a composite of hospital survival and days alive without cardiovascular or respiratory organ support through 21 days. The primary analysis was a bayesian cumulative logistic model. Odds ratios (ORs) greater than 1 represent improved outcomes. RESULTS On February 25, 2022, enrollment was discontinued due to safety concerns. Among 679 critically ill patients with available primary outcome data, the median age was 56 years and 239 participants (35.2%) were women. Median (IQR) organ support–free days among critically ill patients was 10 (–1 to 16) in the ACE inhibitor group (n = 231), 8 (–1 to 17) in the ARB group (n = 217), and 12 (0 to 17) in the control group (n = 231) (median adjusted odds ratios of 0.77 [95% bayesian credible interval, 0.58-1.06] for improvement for ACE inhibitor and 0.76 [95% credible interval, 0.56-1.05] for ARB compared with control). The posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitors and ARBs worsened organ support–free days compared with control were 94.9% and 95.4%, respectively. Hospital survival occurred in 166 of 231 critically ill participants (71.9%) in the ACE inhibitor group, 152 of 217 (70.0%) in the ARB group, and 182 of 231 (78.8%) in the control group (posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitor and ARB worsened hospital survival compared with control were 95.3% and 98.1%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE In this trial, among critically ill adults with COVID-19, initiation of an ACE inhibitor or ARB did not improve, and likely worsened, clinical outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT0273570

Physical demands of training and competition in collegiate netball players

We investigated the physical demands of netball match play and different training activities. Eight collegiate netball players participated in the study. Heart rate (HR), rating of perceived exertion (RPE), and accelerometer player load (PL) data were collected in 4 matches and 15 training sessions. Training sessions were classified as skills, game-based, traditional conditioning, or repeated high-intensity effort training. Accelerometer data were collected in 3 planes and were normalized to match play/training time (PL per minute, forward per minute, sideward per minute, and vertical per minute). Centers had a higher PL per minute than all other positions (effect size; ES = 0.67–0.91), including higher accelerations in the forward (ES = 0.82–0.92), sideward (ES = 0.61–0.93), and vertical (ES = 0.74–0.93) planes. No significant differences (p > 0.05) were found between positions for RPE and peak HR. Skills training had a similar PL to match play. However, the mean HR of skills training was significantly lower than match play and all other modes of training (ES = 0.77–0.88). Peak HR for skills training (186 ± 10 b·min−1) and traditional conditioning (196 ± 8 b·min−1) was similar to match play (193 ± 9 b·min−1). There were no meaningful differences in RPE between match play and all modes of training. The center position produces greater physical demands during match play. The movement demands of netball match play are best replicated by skills training, whereas traditional conditioning best replicates the HR demands of match play. Other training modes may require modification to meet the physical demands of match play

Physical Demands of Training and Competition in Collegiate Netball Players

We investigated the physical demands of netball match play and different training activities. Eight collegiate netball players participated in the study. Heart rate (HR), rating of perceived exertion (RPE), and accelerometer player load (PL) data were collected in 4 matches and 15 training sessions. Training sessions were classified as skills, game-based, traditional conditioning, or repeated high-intensity effort training. Accelerometer data were collected in 3 planes and were normalized to match play/training time (PL per minute, forward per minute, sideward per minute, and vertical per minute). Centers had a higher PL per minute than all other positions (effect size; ES = 0.67-0.91), including higher accelerations in the forward (ES = 0.82-0.92), sideward (ES = 0.61-0.93), and vertical (ES = 0.74-0.93) planes. No significant differences (p > 0.05) were found between positions for RPE and peak HR. Skills training had a similar PL to match play. However, the mean HR of skills training was significantly lower than match play and all other modes of training (ES = 0.77-0.88). Peak HR for skills training (186 ± 10 b · min) and traditional conditioning (196 ± 8 b · min) was similar to match play (193 ± 9 b · min). There were no meaningful differences in RPE between match play and all modes of training. The center position produces greater physical demands during match play. The movement demands of netball match play are best replicated by skills training, whereas traditional conditioning best replicates the HR demands of match play. Other training modes may require modification to meet the physical demands of match play

Transmissible α-synuclein seeding activity in brain and stomach of patients with Parkinson’s disease

Cerebral deposition of abnormally aggregated α-synuclein (αSyn) is a neuropathological hallmark of Parkinson's disease (PD). PD-associated αSyn (αSy