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Serine deficiency disorders are a new group of neurometabolic diseases resulting from a deficiency in one of the three enzymes in the biosynthetic pathway of L-serine. Deficiency of the enzyme 3-phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase (3-PGDH), which catalyzes the first step in the biosynthetic pathway, leads to congenital microcephaly, severe psychomotor retardation, and intractable seizures. We report a
Grouping is a widespread form of predator defence, with individuals in groups often performing evasive collective movements in response to attack by predators. Individuals in these groups use behavioural rules to coordinate their movements, with visual cues about neighbours' positions and orientations often informing movement decisions. Although the exact visual cues individuals use to coordinate
Land use is affecting 70% of global ecosystems and their functioning. Forest management is a regionally dominant land use and affects forest ecosystems by changing both structure and functioning, but its impact on primary productivity is not well known. Here we investigated the effect of forest management on primary productivity by comparing managed secondary forests with relatively pristine unman
Microorganisms play a crucial role in various physiological processes, including metabolism, immune defense, nutrition absorption, defense against cancer, and protection against pathogen colonization. Changes in microbial communities serve as potential biomarkers for diseases, offering significant insights into disease treatment and diagnosis. However, the association between microorganisms and di
This study investigated the presence of MPs in three species of bivalves cultivated in Brazil: Crassostrea gigas, Perna perna, and Nodipecten nodosus. Our hypothesis was that the different structures and plastic materials used in the cultivation of these bivalves could serve as a contributing source of MPs. Our results showed the presence of MPs in all species, with C. gigas showing the highest le
BACKGROUND: Recent advancements in Alzheimer's disease (AD) biomarker research and clinical trials prompt reflection on the value and consequently appropriate use of tau positron emission tomography (tau-PET) in the future. METHODS: We conducted an online survey among dementia and PET experts worldwide to investigate the anticipated future role of tau-PET in clinical practice and trials. RESULTS:
Peritoneal dialysis (PD) is a kidney replacement therapy for patients with end-stage renal disease. It is becoming more popular as a result of a rising interest in home dialysis. Its effectiveness depends on several physiological and technical factors, which have led to the development of various computational models to better understand and predict PD outcomes. In this review, we traced the evolu
Plesiosaurs are an iconic group of Mesozoic marine reptiles with an evolutionary history spanning over 140 million years (Ma).1 Their skeletal remains have been discovered worldwide; however, accompanying fossilized soft tissues are exceptionally rare.2 Here, we report a virtually complete plesiosaur from the Lower Jurassic (∼183 Ma)3 Posidonia Shale of Germany that preserves skin traces from arou
INTRODUCTION: Hospital-acquired bloodstream infections (HA-BSIs) are severe and require antibiotic therapy. In non-complicated BSIs, shortened therapy reduces side effects without compromising efficacy. The impact of shortened antibiotic therapy in HA-BSI critically ill patients without indication of prolonged therapy requires further evaluation. METHODS: Using the international prospective EUROBA
Global climate change is characterized by increasing and differentiated exposure to climate-related hazards such as floods, landslides, avalanches, storms, and wildfires (IPCC 2018, 2022). There is a significant volume of research on the effects of such events, and over the last decade, much of this research has been directed at where most lives and values can be saved by protective measures (e.g.
Phagocytosis is relevant for many research fields and is often measured as a functional outcome. However, accurate quantification can be challenging, and many researchers find it difficult to study in a robust manner. There are many ways to measure phagocytosis, but what is often overlooked is the importance of experimental design and how the analysis is planned and performed. Experimental factors
Segmentation of grey matter in magnetic resonance images of the spinal cord is an important step in assessing disease state in neurological disorders such as multiple sclerosis. However, manual delineation of spinal cord tissue is time-consuming and susceptible to variability introduced by the rater. We present a novel segmentation method for spinal cord tissue that uses fully convolutional encode
Renal cell carcinomas (RCCs) are a group of tumours that arise from the nephron within the kidney. They are characterised by an indolent growth pattern and do not display overt clinical symptoms in patients with early to locally advanced tumours. Furthermore, the global average age of a RCC patient at diagnosis is 75 and they usually present with co-morbidities that may render invasive surgical/bi
Purpose – This study aims to enable robotic friction stir welding (FSW) in practice. The use of robots has hitherto been limited, because of the large contact forces necessary for FSW. These forces are detrimental for the position accuracy of the robot. In this context, it is not sufficient to rely on the robot’s internal sensors for positioning. This paper describes and evaluates a new method for
Individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) more often think about, attempt, and die by suicide than individuals from the general population. Sexual and religious obsessions (i.e., taboo obsessions) have been linked to increased risk of suicidality, but it is unclear if they explain additional risk over and above other risk factors. We refined the recently proposed multidimensional hierar
Co-infections with bacterial or fungal pathogens could be associated with severity and outcome of disease in COVID-19 patients. We, therefore, used a 16S and ITS-based sequencing approach to assess the biomass and composition of the bacterial and fungal communities in endotracheal aspirates of intubated COVID-19 patients. Our method combines information on bacterial and fungal biomass with communi
Malaria is considered to be one of the most catastrophic health issues in the whole world. Vibrational spectroscopy is a rapid, robust, label-free, inexpensive, highly sensitive, nonperturbative, and nondestructive technique with high diagnostic potential for the early detection of disease agents. In particular, the fingerprinting capability of attenuated total reflection spectroscopy is promising
