Case Report: Human Subcutaneous Sparganosis in a Thai Migrant

Human sparganosis is a cestode infection which is neglected as a differential diagnosis outside endemic countries. Diagnosis and therapy may be challenging depending on the clinical presentation and anatomic localization. The disease manifests predominantly as subcutaneous nodule(s) or intracranial mass lesion(s). Infection is primarily acquired by ingesting raw or undercooked amphibian or reptile flesh or by drinking water containing copepods. We report an unusual case of subcutaneous; Spirometra erinaceieuropaei; sparganosis presenting with two nonmigratory nodules in close proximity to each other on the right thigh of a Thai woman living in Switzerland

Parent-of-origin-specific allelic associations among 106 genomic loci for age at menarche.

Age at menarche is a marker of timing of puberty in females. It varies widely between individuals, is a heritable trait and is associated with risks for obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, breast cancer and all-cause mortality. Studies of rare human disorders of puberty and animal models point to a complex hypothalamic-pituitary-hormonal regulation, but the mechanisms that determine pubertal timing and underlie its links to disease risk remain unclear. Here, using genome-wide and custom-genotyping arrays in up to 182,416 women of European descent from 57 studies, we found robust evidence (P < 5 × 10(-8)) for 123 signals at 106 genomic loci associated with age at menarche. Many loci were associated with other pubertal traits in both sexes, and there was substantial overlap with genes implicated in body mass index and various diseases, including rare disorders of puberty. Menarche signals were enriched in imprinted regions, with three loci (DLK1-WDR25, MKRN3-MAGEL2 and KCNK9) demonstrating parent-of-origin-specific associations concordant with known parental expression patterns. Pathway analyses implicated nuclear hormone receptors, particularly retinoic acid and γ-aminobutyric acid-B2 receptor signalling, among novel mechanisms that regulate pubertal timing in humans. Our findings suggest a genetic architecture involving at least hundreds of common variants in the coordinated timing of the pubertal transition

Pitfalls and complications in the treatment of cervical spine fractures in patients with ankylosing spondylitis

Patients with ankylosing spondylitis are at significant risk for sustaining cervical spine injuries following trauma predisposed by kyphosis, stiffness and osteoporotic bone quality of the spine. The risk of sustaining neurological deficits in this patient population is higher than average. The present review article provides an outline on the specific injury patterns in the cervical spine, diagnostic algorithms and specific treatment modalities dictated by the underlying disease in patients with ankylosing spondylitis. An emphasis is placed on the risks and complication patterns in the treatment of these rare, but challenging injuries

Back to the new normal : perceptions and requirements of the impact by the COVID-19 pandemic from and to companies by younger and older employees

In der vorliegenden Studie sind fünf zentrale Punkte herausgearbeitet, die Unternehmen aus der aktuellen Situation in Bezug auf zukünftige Mitarbeitendenführung oder deren Gewinnung aus den Erkenntnissen der derzeitigen Pandemiesituation mitnehmen können. So zeigen sich wesentliche Unterschiede in den Erwartungshaltungen zwischen jüngeren und älteren Beschäftigten an Unternehmen. Deutlich ist die klare Aussage, über alle Altersgruppen hinweg, nachhaltiges und ökologisches Handeln von Unternehmen auch unter Pandemiebedingungen als zentralen und wichtigen Zukunftsanker für Unternehmen beizubehalten. Die Studienergebnisse basieren auf einer empirischen Befragung von 610 Personen in Deutschland. Hierbei wurden Erwartungen von Arbeitnehmenden an Unternehmen in der Pandemiesituation abgefragt. Für die Analyse unterteilen wir die Beschäftigten in zwei Alterskohorten, die wir anhand deskriptiver Statistik miteinander vergleichen und gegenüberstellen.This study presents five key facts which could be identified throughout the pandemic as major take away for a company’s human resource management. Several differences between younger and older employees’ expectations of their employer could be identified. At the same time, a clear statement across all age groups is the necessity to maintain sustainable and ecological actions by companies, as a central and important anchor, even under pandemic conditions. The results of this study are based on an empirical survey of 610 people in Germany. Participants were asked about their perceptions and expectations towards companies throughout the pandemic situation. The final sample was divided into two age groups, which were descriptively analyzed and compared

The Exercising Brain: Changes in Functional Connectivity Induced by an Integrated Multimodal Cognitive and Whole-Body Coordination Training

This study investigated the impact of “life kinetik” training on brain plasticity in terms of an increased functional connectivity during resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI). The training is an integrated multimodal training that combines motor and cognitive aspects and challenges the brain by introducing new and unfamiliar coordinative tasks. Twenty-one subjects completed at least 11 one-hour-per-week “life kinetik” training sessions in 13 weeks as well as before and after rs-fMRI scans. Additionally, 11 control subjects with 2 rs-fMRI scans were included. The CONN toolbox was used to conduct several seed-to-voxel analyses. We searched for functional connectivity increases between brain regions expected to be involved in the exercises. Connections to brain regions representing parts of the default mode network, such as medial frontal cortex and posterior cingulate cortex, did not change. Significant connectivity alterations occurred between the visual cortex and parts of the superior parietal area (BA7). Premotor area and cingulate gyrus were also affected. We can conclude that the constant challenge of unfamiliar combinations of coordination tasks, combined with visual perception and working memory demands, seems to induce brain plasticity expressed in enhanced connectivity strength of brain regions due to coactivation

Solute and particle retention in a small grazing antelope, the blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra)

Digesta retention patterns have been suggested to play a major role in ruminant diversification. Two major digestion types have been proposed, termed 'cattle-type' and 'moose-type', that broadly correspond to the feeding categories of grazers and intermediate feeders on the one, and browsers on the other hand. We measured and calculated the mean retention time (MRT) of a solute and a particle (>2mm) marker in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) and the reticulorumen (RR) of a small grazer, the Indian blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra, n=5, body mass of 26±4kg) and an intermediate feeder, the nilgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus, n=5, body mass of 168±21kg). MRTsolute and MRTparticle were 29±4.1h and 60±6.6h in blackbuck and 28±2.5h and 54±8.9h in the nilgai for the GIT, and 14±1.7h, 45±5.0h, 19±2.0h and 45±8.4h for the RR, respectively. With a selectivity factor (SF, the ratio of MRTparticle to MRTsolute) in the RR of 3.2±0.28 for blackbuck and 2.3±0.36 for nilgai, both species are clearly in the category of 'cattle-type' ruminants. In particular, the high SFRR of blackbuck, in spite of its small body size, is remarkable, and leads to specific predictions on the RR anatomy of this species (such as a particularly large omasum), which can be tested in further studies. The adaptive value of a high SFRR is mainly considered as an increase in microbial productivity in the RR; exemplary estimations based on the measured passage rates of solutes indicate an 8% higher production of microbial mass in blackbuck compared to nilgai

Germ-free housing conditions do not affect aortic root and aortic arch lesion size of late atherosclerotic low-density lipoprotein receptor-deficient mice.

The microbiota has been linked to the development of atherosclerosis, but the functional impact of these resident bacteria on the lesion size and cellular composition of atherosclerotic plaques in the aorta has never been experimentally addressed with the germ-free low-density lipoprotein receptor-deficient (Ldlr-/- ) mouse atherosclerosis model. Here, we report that 16 weeks of high-fat diet (HFD) feeding of hypercholesterolemic Ldlr-/- mice at germ-free (GF) housing conditions did not impact relative aortic root plaque size, macrophage content, and necrotic core area. Likewise, we did not find changes in the relative aortic arch lesion size. However, late atherosclerotic GF Ldlr-/- mice had altered inflammatory plasma protein markers and reduced smooth muscle cell content in their atherosclerotic root plaques relative to CONV-R Ldlr-/- mice. Neither absolute nor relative aortic root or aortic arch plaque size correlated with age. Our analyses on GF Ldlr-/- mice did not reveal a significant contribution of the microbiota in late aortic atherosclerosis