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Background: The "Cannabis as Medicine" Act (Gesetz "Cannabis als Medizin") has permitted the medical use of cannabis preparations under certain conditions since March 2017. It does not specify certain restrictive indications. Since its inception, the volume of prescriptions for cannabinoid-containing drugs skyrocketed. Whether this reflects an actual improvement in health care is controversial. Search method: This text is based on the clinical article "Cannabinoid-containing medicines" in Deximed (www.deximed.de), an online handbook for family physicians (FPs). For this article, sources, identified by selective literature research, were taken into account, including publications of the German Drug Commission, the comprehensive narrative review "Cannabis-Report" and available guidelines. Main Messages: Only in a few indications medical effectiveness of cannabis preparations has been proven, and only few finished medical products are available. In most cases, the prescription is a nolabel use. The most common prescription indication is chronic pain. The volume of prescriptions and associated costs are high despite poor evidence base. The highest costs are caused by the prescription of cannabis flowers and preparations thereof. About half of the costs arise from prescriptions by general practitioners. Conclusions: The prescription rates show that cannabinoid treatment is seen as a GP task. In order to proceed in an evidence-based and well-informed manner, sufficiently large randomized controlled trials, comprehensive early assessments by the Federal Joint Committee (Gemeinsamer Bundesausschuss), and more precise legal requirements and restrictions on use are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We studied the electrical conductivity of DNA molecules with conducting–atomic force microscopy as a function of the chemical nature of the substrate surfaces, the nature of the electrical contact, and the number of DNA molecules (from a few molecules to ropes and large fibers containing up to ∼106 molecules). Independent of the chemical nature of the surface (hydrophobic or hydrophilic, electrically neutral or charged), we find that DNA is highly resistive. From a large number of current-voltage curves measured at several distances along the DNA, we estimate a conductivity of about 10-6–10-5 S cm-1 per DNA molecule. For single DNA molecules, this highly resistive behavior is correlated with its flattened conformation on the surface (reduced thickness, ∼0.5–1.5 nm, compared to its nominal value, ∼2.4 nm). We find that intercalating an organic semiconductor buffer film between the DNA and the metal electrode improves the reliability of the contact, while direct metal evaporation usually destroys the DNA and prevents any current measurements. After long exposure under vacuum or dry nitrogen, the conductivity strongly decreases, leading to the conclusion that water molecules and ions in the hydration shell of the DNA play a major role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We analyze a series of publicly available controlled experiments (Latin square) on Affymetrix high-density oligonucleotide microarrays using a simple physical model of the hybridization process. We plot for each gene the signal intensity vs. the hybridization free energy of RNA/DNA duplexes in solution, for perfect matching and mismatching probes. Both values tend to align on a single master curve in good agreement with Langmuir adsorption theory, provided one takes into account the decrease of the effective target concentration due to target–target hybridization in solution. We give an example of a deviation from the expected thermodynamical behavior for the probe set 1091_at due to annotation problems, i.e., the surface-bound probe is not the exact complement of the target RNA sequence, because of errors present in public databases at the time when the array was designed. We show that the parametrization of the experimental data with RNA/DNA free energy improves the quality of the fits and enhances the stability of the fitting parameters compared to previous studies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Develops the systematics under rotations in higher-dimensional space for a novel set of hyperspherical harmonics. Extension of the concept of Eugler-angle rotations to more than three dimensions; Determination of all pair-wise Coulomb interactions in a few-body system without recourse to multipole expansions.

The main aim of this research was the preparation of a polymer–ceramic composite with PA-12 as the polymer matrix and modified aluminosilicate cenospheres (CSs) as the ceramic filler. The CSs were subjected to an early purification and cleaning process, which was also taken as a second objective. The CSs were surface modified by a two-step process: (1) etching in Piranha solution and (2) silanization in 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane. The composite was made for 3D printing by FDM. Raw and modified CSs and a composite with PA-12 were subjected to the following tests: surface development including pores (BET), real density (HP), chemical composition and morphology (SEM/EDS, FTIR), grain analysis (PSD), phase composition (XRD), hardness (HV), and static tensile tests. The composites were subjected to soaking under simulated body fluid (SBF) conditions in artificial saliva for 14, 21, and 29 days. Compared to pure PA-12, PA-12_CS had generally better mechanical properties and was more resistant to SBF at elevated temperatures and soaking times. These results showed this material has potential for use in biomedical applications. These results also showed the necessity of developing a kinetic aging model for aging in different liquids to verify the true value of this material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents an introduction to articles featured in the Spring 2006 issue of the European Neuroendocrine Tumor Society (ENETS), including an essay about the 3rd Annual ENETS Conference in Prague: A Huge Variety of Encouraging Approaches.

Organoboron compounds have a wide range of applications in numerous research fields, and methods to incorporate them in biomolecules are much sought after. Here, on‐resin chemical syntheses of aliphatic and vinylogous peptide boronic acids are presented by transition metal‐catalyzed late‐stage hydroboration of alkene and alkyne groups in peptides and peptoids, for example on allyl‐ and propargylglycine residues, using readily available chemicals. These methods yield peptide boronic acids with much shorter linkers than previously reported on‐resin methods. Furthermore, the methods are regio‐ and stereoselective, compatible with all canonical amino acid residues and can be applied to short, long, and in part even "difficult" peptide sequences. In a feasibility study, the protected peptide vinylboronic acids are further derivatized by the Petasis reaction using salicylaldehyde derivatives. The ability of the obtained peptide boronic acids to reversibly bind to carbohydrates is demonstrated in a catch‐release model experiment using a fluorescently labeled peptide boronic acid on cross‐linked dextran beads. In summary, this highlights the potential of the target compounds for drug discovery, glycan‐specific target recognition, controlled release, and diagnostics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]