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The limited proliferative capacity of neuroprogenitor cells (NPCs) within the periventricular germinal niches (PGNs) located caudal of the subventricular zone (SVZ) of the lateral ventricles together with their high proliferation capacity after isolation strongly implicates cell‐extrinsic humoral factors restricting NPC proliferation in the hypothalamic and midbrain PGNs. We comparatively examined the effects of norepinephrine (NE) as an endogenous candidate regulator of PGN neurogenesis in the SVZ as well as the periventricular hypothalamus and the periaqueductal midbrain. Histological and neurochemical analyses revealed that the pattern of NE innervation of the adult PGNs is inversely associated with their in vivo NPC proliferation capacity with low NE levels coupled to high NPC proliferation in the SVZ but high NE levels coupled to low NPC proliferation in hypothalamic and midbrain PGNs. Intraventricular infusion of NE decreased NPC proliferation and neurogenesis in the SVZ‐olfactory bulb system, while pharmacological NE inhibition increased NPC proliferation and early neurogenesis events in the caudal PGNs. Neurotoxic ablation of NE neurons using the Dsp4‐fluoxetine protocol confirmed its inhibitory effects on NPC proliferation. Contrarily, NE depletion largely impairs NPC proliferation within the hippocampus in the same animals. Our data indicate that norepinephrine has opposite effects on the two fundamental neurogenic niches of the adult brain with norepinephrine being a negative regulator of adult periventricular neurogenesis. This knowledge might ultimately lead to new therapeutic approaches to influence neurogenesis in hypothalamus‐related metabolic diseases or to stimulate endogenous regenerative potential in neurodegenerative processes such as Parkinson's disease.
Some members of the physiological human microbiome occasionally cause life-threatening disease even in immunocompetent individuals. A prime example of such a commensal pathogen is Neisseria meningitidis, which normally resides in the human nasopharynx but is also a leading cause of sepsis and epidemic meningitis. Using N. meningitidis as model organism, we tested the hypothesis that virulence of commensal pathogens is a consequence of within host evolution and selection of invasive variants due to mutations at contingency genes, a mechanism called phase variation. In line with the hypothesis that phase variation evolved as an adaptation to colonize diverse hosts, computational comparisons of all 27 to date completely sequenced and annotated meningococcal genomes retrieved from public databases showed that contingency genes are indeed enriched for genes involved in host interactions. To assess within-host genetic changes in meningococci, we further used ultra-deep whole-genome sequencing of throat-blood strain pairs isolated from four patients suffering from invasive meningococcal disease. We detected up to three mutations per strain pair, affecting predominantly contingency genes involved in type IV pilus biogenesis. However, there was not a single (set) of mutation(s) that could invariably be found in all four pairs of strains. Phenotypic assays further showed that these genetic changes were generally not associated with increased serum resistance, higher fitness in human blood ex vivo or differences in the interaction with human epithelial and endothelial cells in vitro. In conclusion, we hypothesize that virulence of meningococci results from accidental emergence of invasive variants during carriage and without within host evolution of invasive phenotypes during disease progression in vivo.
Land surface temperature (LST) is a fundamental parameter within the system of the Earth’s surface and atmosphere, which can be used to describe the inherent physical processes of energy and water exchange. The need for LST has been increasingly recognised in agriculture, as it affects the growth phases of crops and crop yields. However, challenges in overcoming the large discrepancies between the retrieved LST and ground truth data still exist. Precise LST measurement depends mainly on accurately deriving the surface emissivity, which is very dynamic due to changing states of land cover and plant development. In this study, we present an LST retrieval algorithm for the combined use of multispectral optical and thermal UAV images, which has been optimised for operational applications in agriculture to map the heterogeneous and diverse agricultural crop systems of a research campus in Germany (April 2018). We constrain the emissivity using certain NDVI thresholds to distinguish different land surface types. The algorithm includes atmospheric corrections and environmental thermal emissions to minimise the uncertainties. In the analysis, we emphasise that the omission of crucial meteorological parameters and inaccurately determined emissivities can lead to a considerably underestimated LST; however, if the emissivity is underestimated, the LST can be overestimated. The retrieved LST is validated by reference temperatures from nearby ponds and weather stations. The validation of the thermal measurements indicates a mean absolute error of about 0.5 K. The novelty of the dual sensor system is that it simultaneously captures highly spatially resolved optical and thermal images, in order to construct the precise LST ortho-mosaics required to monitor plant diseases and drought stress and validate airborne and satellite data.
Introduction
Surgical site infections (SSIs) are one of the most common postoperative complications after appendectomy leading to recurrent surgery, prolonged hospital stay, and the use of antibiotics. Numerous studies and meta-analyses have been published on the effect of open versus conventional laparoscopic appendectomy (CLA) reporting faster postoperative recovery and less postoperative pain for CLA. A development from CLA has been the single-port appendectomy (SPA), associated with a better cosmesis but seemingly having a higher risk of wound infections. The aim of this systematic literature review and meta-analysis is to investigate whether reduced port or SPA alters the ratio of SSIs.
Methods
Pubmed, Embase, and Cochrane databases were screened for suitable articles. All articles published between January 1, 2002, and March 23, 2022, were included. Articles regarding children below the age of 18 were excluded as well as manuscripts that investigated solemnly open appendectomies. Articles were screened for inclusion criteria by two independent authors. Incidence of SSI was the primary outcome. Duration of operation and length of hospital stay were defined as secondary outcomes.
Results
A total of 25 studies were found through a database search describing 5484 patients. A total of 2749 patients received SPA and 2735 received CLA. There was no statistical difference in the rate of SSI (P = 0.98). A total of 22 studies including 4699 patients reported the duration of operation (2223 SPA and 2476 CLA). There was a significantly shorter operation time seen in CLA. The length of hospital stay was reported in 23 studies (4735 patients: 2235 SPA and 2500 CLA). A shorter hospital stay was seen in the SPA group (P < 0.00001). Separately performed analysis of randomized controlled trials could not confirm this effect (P = 0.29).
Discussion
SPA is an equally safe procedure considering SSI compared to CLA and does not lead to an increased risk of SSI. A longer operation time for SPA and a minor difference in the length of stay does lead to the use of SPA in selected patients only.
Aim: It was the aim of our study to determine the regional cerebral tissue oxygenation saturation (rcSO\(_2\)) as an additional monitoring parameter during early skin-to-skin contact (SSC) in preterm infants with a gestational age of <32 gestational weeks. Methods: We conducted two observational convenience sample studies using additional monitoring with near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) in the first 120 h of life: (a) NIRS 1 (gestational age of 26 0/7 to 31 6/7 weeks) and (b) NIRS 2 (gestational age of 24 0/7 to 28 6/7 weeks). The rcSO\(_2\) values were compared between resting time in the incubator (period I), SSC (period II) and handling nursing care (period III). For the comparison, we separated the sequential effects by including a “wash-out phase” of 1 h between each period. Results: During the first 120 h of life 38/53 infants in NIRS 1 and 15/23 infants in NIRS 2 received SSC, respectively. We found no remarkable differences for rcSO\(_2\) values of NIRS 1 patients between SSC time and period I (95% confidence interval (CI) for the difference in %: SSC vs. period I [1; 3]). In NIRS 2, rcSO\(_2\) values during SSC were only 2% lower compared with period I [median [1. quartile; 3. quartile] in %; 78 [73; 82] vs. 80 [74; 85]] but were similar to period III [78 [72; 83]]. In a combined analysis, a small difference in rcSO\(_2\) values between SSC and resting times was found using a generalized linear mixed model that included gender and gestational age (OR 95% CI; 1.178 [1.103; 1.253], p < 0.0001). Episodes below the cut-off for “hypoxia”; e.g., <55%, were comparable during SSC and periods I and III (0.3–2.1%). No FiO\(_2\) adjustment was required in the vast majority of SSC episodes. Conclusions: Our observational data indicate that rcSO\(_2\) values of infants during SSC were comparable to rcSO\(_2\) values during incubator care and resting time. This additional monitoring supports a safe implementation of early SSC in extremely preterm infants in NICUs.
Background and objectives
Preoperative anaemia is an independent risk factor for a higher morbidity and mortality, a longer hospitalization and increased perioperative transfusion rates. Managing preoperative anaemia is the first of three pillars of Patient Blood Management (PBM), a multidisciplinary concept to improve patient safety. While various studies provide medical information on (successful) anaemia treatment pathways, knowledge of organizational details of diagnosis and management of preoperative anaemia across Europe is scarce.
Materials and methods
To gain information on various aspects of preoperative anaemia management including organization, financing, diagnostics and treatment, we conducted a survey (74 questions) in ten hospitals from seven European nations within the PaBloE (Patient Blood Management in Europe) working group covering the year 2016.
Results
Organization and activity in the field of preoperative anaemia management were heterogeneous in the participating hospitals. Almost all hospitals had pathways for managing preoperative anaemia in place, however, only two nations had national guidelines. In six of the ten participating hospitals, preoperative anaemia management was organized by anaesthetists. Diagnostics and treatment focused on iron deficiency anaemia which, in most hospitals, was corrected with intravenous iron.
Conclusion
Implementation and approaches of preoperative anaemia management vary across Europe with a primary focus on treating iron deficiency anaemia. Findings of this survey motivated the hospitals involved to critically evaluate their practice and may also help other hospitals interested in PBM to develop action plans for diagnosis and management of preoperative anaemia.
Climate and land-use change are key drivers of environmental degradation in the Anthropocene, but too little is known about their interactive effects on biodiversity and ecosystem services. Long-term data on biodiversity trends are currently lacking. Furthermore, previous ecological studies have rarely considered climate and land use in a joint design, did not achieve variable independence or lost statistical power by not covering the full range of environmental gradients.
Here, we introduce a multi-scale space-for-time study design to disentangle effects of climate and land use on biodiversity and ecosystem services. The site selection approach coupled extensive GIS-based exploration (i.e. using a Geographic information system) and correlation heatmaps with a crossed and nested design covering regional, landscape and local scales. Its implementation in Bavaria (Germany) resulted in a set of study plots that maximise the potential range and independence of environmental variables at different spatial scales.
Stratifying the state of Bavaria into five climate zones (reference period 1981–2010) and three prevailing land-use types, that is, near-natural, agriculture and urban, resulted in 60 study regions (5.8 × 5.8 km quadrants) covering a mean annual temperature gradient of 5.6–9.8°C and a spatial extent of ~310 × 310 km. Within these regions, we nested 180 study plots located in contrasting local land-use types, that is, forests, grasslands, arable land or settlement (local climate gradient 4.5–10°C). This approach achieved low correlations between climate and land use (proportional cover) at the regional and landscape scale with |r ≤ 0.33| and |r ≤ 0.29| respectively. Furthermore, using correlation heatmaps for local plot selection reduced potentially confounding relationships between landscape composition and configuration for plots located in forests, arable land and settlements.
The suggested design expands upon previous research in covering a significant range of environmental gradients and including a diversity of dominant land-use types at different scales within different climatic contexts. It allows independent assessment of the relative contribution of multi-scale climate and land use on biodiversity and ecosystem services. Understanding potential interdependencies among global change drivers is essential to develop effective restoration and mitigation strategies against biodiversity decline, especially in expectation of future climatic changes. Importantly, this study also provides a baseline for long-term ecological monitoring programs.
Land‐use intensification leads to loss and degradation of habitats and is thus a major driver of biodiversity loss. Restoration strategies typically focus on promoting biodiversity but often neglect that land‐use intensification could have changed the underlying mechanisms of community assembly. Since assembly mechanisms determine the diversity and composition of communities, we propose that evaluation of restoration strategies should consider effects of restoration on biodiversity and community assembly. Using a multi‐taxon approach, we tested whether a strategy that promotes forest biodiversity by restoring deadwood habitats also affects assembly patterns.
We assessed saproxylic (i.e. deadwood‐dependent) beetles and fungi, as well as non‐saproxylic plants and birds in 68 beech forest plots in southern Germany, 8 years after the commencement of a restoration project. To assess changes in community assembly, we analysed the patterns of functional–phylogenetic diversity, community‐weighted mean (CWM) traits and their diversity. We hypothesized that restoration increases habitat amount and heterogeneity of deadwood and reduces canopy cover and thereby decreases the strength of environmental filters imposed by past silvicultural intensification, such as a low amount in deadwood.
With the restoration of deadwood habitats, saproxylic beetle communities became less functionally–phylogenetically similar, whereas the assembly patterns of saproxylic fungi and non‐saproxylic taxa remained unaffected by deadwood restoration. Among the traits analysed, deadwood diameter niche position of species was most strongly affected indicating that the enrichment of large deadwood objects led to lower functional–phylogenetical similarity of saproxylic beetles. Community assembly and traits of plants were mainly influenced by microclimate associated with changes in canopy cover.
Synthesis and applications. Our results indicate that the positive effects of deadwood restoration on saproxylic beetle richness are associated with an increase in deadwood amount. This might be linked to an increase in deadwood heterogeneity, and therefore decreasing management‐induced environmental filters. Deadwood enrichment can thus be considered an effective restoration strategy which reduces the negative effects of intense forest management on saproxylic taxa by not only promoting biodiversity but also by decreasing the environmental filters shaping saproxylic beetle communities, thus allowing the possibly for more interactions between species and a higher functional diversity.
Up to three polychlorinated pyridyldiphenylmethyl radicals bridged by a triphenylamine carrying electron withdrawing (CN), neutral (Me), or donating (OMe) groups were synthesized and analogous radicals bridged by tris(2,6‐dimethylphenyl)borane were prepared for comparison. All compounds were as stable as common closed‐shell organic compounds and showed significant fluorescence upon excitation. Electronic, magnetic, absorption, and emission properties were examined in detail, and experimental results were interpreted using DFT calculations. Oxidation potentials, absorption and emission energies could be tuned depending on the electron density of the bridges. The triphenylamine bridges mediated intramolecular weak antiferromagnetic interactions between the radical spins, and the energy difference between the high spin and low spin states was determined by temperature dependent ESR spectroscopy and DFT calculations. The fluorescent properties of all radicals were examined in detail and revealed no difference for high and low spin states which facilitates application of these dyes in two‐photon absorption spectroscopy and OLED devices.