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Zusammenfassung Hintergrund Die Gewichtszunahme im Rahmen der stationären Behandlung von Anorexia nervosa führt typischerweise zu einer Aktualisierung von zwei Kernsymptomen: Angst vor Gewichtszunahme und hohem Stellenwert eines niedrig gewichtigen Körpers für den Selbstwert. Ziel der Arbeit Um den Nutzen einer biometrischen Figure-rating-Skala (FRS) für das Monitoring der Angst vor einer Gewichtszunahme und dem Körperbild während einer stationären Behandlung von Anorexia nervosa abschätzen zu können, wurden in einer Fallserie explorativ dynamische Entwicklungen in aktuell empfundenem und idealem Körpergewicht untersucht. Material und Methoden Es wird eine auf Unter- bis Normalgewicht optimierte biometrische FRS eingesetzt. Auf dieser Skala markierten 13 stationär behandelte Patientinnen mit der Diagnose einer typischen Anorexia nervosa wöchentlich nach dem Wiegetermin die beiden Körper, die dem aktuellen und dem idealen Körper der Patientinnen am ehesten entsprechen. Die Angaben wurden mit dem Gewichtsverlauf verglichen. Ergebnisse Insgesamt wurden 128 Wiegetermine ausgewertet. Es zeigten sich differenzierte, im Verlauf variierende Antworten, die drei typische Muster aufwiesen: (1) konstante Unzufriedenheit mit dem Körpergewicht und akkurate Einschätzung bei wenig Gewichtsveränderung, (2) konstante Unzufriedenheit mit dem Körpergewicht und akkurate Einschätzung bei konstanter Zunahme, (3) wechselnde Unzufriedenheit mit dem Körpergewicht und Genauigkeit, die abhängig vom Gewichtsverlauf springen. Diskussion Die Beobachtungen stützen die Sinnhaftigkeit von FRS für das Monitoring von Kognitionen und Affekten im Hinblick auf das eigene Körpergewicht in der stationären Behandlung von Anorexia nervosa. Die Interpretation der Skalen sollte im Einzelfall nur unter Hinzunahme weiterer Informationen erfolgen.

The use of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies is constrained because single antigen targets often do not provide sufficient selectivity to distinguish diseased from healthy tissues. We present HexElect®, an approach to enhance the functional selectivity of therapeutic antibodies by making their activity dependent on clustering after binding to two different antigens expressed on the same target cell. lmmunoglobulin G (lgG)-mediated clustering of membrane receptors naturally occurs on cell surfaces to trigger complement- or cell-mediated effector functions or to initiate intracellular signaling. We engineer the Fc domains of two different lgG antibodies to suppress their individual homo-oligomerization while promoting their pairwise hetero-oligomerization after binding co-expressed antigens. We show that recruitment of complement component C1q to these hetero-oligomers leads to clustering-dependent activation of effector functions such as complement mediated killing of target cells or activation of cell surface receptors. HexElect allows selective antibody activity on target cells expressing unique, potentially unexplored combinations of surface antigens.

Background Essential elements have functions in tumor progression by promoting protumoral cellular processes, such as proliferation, and migration, among others. Obtaining an understanding of how these elements relate to tumor progression processes is of great importance for research. Elemental profile studies in distant tissues, which can be modulated by tumor cells to promote metastasis, have not been sufficiently investigated. The main goal of this study is to evaluate multielemental distribution during tumor progression, focusing on tumor tissue and distant tissues that may be affected. Methods Tumor progression in vivo was simulated by inoculating C57BL/6 mice with Lewis Lung Carcinoma (LLC) cells. Samples of the primary tumor and distant tissues were collected during 5 weeks of tumor progression for the control and experimental (tumor-bearing) groups. The biological samples were analyzed using the synchrotron radiation X-Ray fluorescence technique. Data on the concentration of P, S, K, Ca, Mn, Fe, Cu, and Zn in the samples were obtained and statistically analyzed to evaluate the distribution of the elements during tumor progression in the primary tumor as well as distant tissues. Results It was possible to observe significant changes in the concentrations’ distribution of P, S, K, Ca, Mn, Fe, and Cu in distant tissues caused by the presence of tumor cells. It was also possible to detect a greater similarity between tumor tissue (which has the lung as tissue of origin) and a tissue of non-origin, such as the liver, which is an unprecedented result. Moreover, changes in the distributions of concentrations were detected and studied over time for the different tissues analyzed, such as primary tumor, liver and lung, in Control and Tumor groups. Conclusions Among other results, this paper could explore the modulation of distant tissues caused by the presence of a primary tumor. This could be achieved by the evaluation of several elements of known biological importance allowing the study of different biological processes involved in cancer. The role of essential elements as modulators of the tumor microenvironment is a relevant aspect of tumor progression and this work is a contribution to the field of tumoral metallomics.

Despite advances in chemotherapy, the drugs used in cancer treatment remain rather harmful to the cardiovascular system, causing structural and functional cardiotoxic changes. Positron-emission tomography associated with computed tomography (PET/CT) has emerged like a promising technique in the early diagnosis of these adverse drug effects as the myocardial tissue uptake of fluorodeoxyglucose labeled with fluorine-18 (18F-FDG), a glucose analog, is increased after their use. Among these drugs, anthracyclines are the most frequently associated with cardiotoxicity because they promote heart damage through DNA breaks, and induction of an oxidative, proinflammatory, and toxic environment. This review aimed to present the scientific evidence available so far regarding the use of 18F-FDG PET/CT as an early biomarker of anthracycline-related cardiotoxicity. Thus, it discusses the physiological basis for its uptake, hypotheses to justify its increase in the myocardium affected by anthracyclines, importance of 18F-FDG PET/CT findings for cardio-oncology, and primary challenges of incorporating this technique in standard clinical oncology practice.

To reduce the number of sedentary people, an improved understanding of effects of exercise in this specific group is needed. The present project investigates the impact of regular aerobic exercise uptake on body image, and how this effect is associated with differences in interoceptive abilities and affective response to exercise. Participants were 29 sedentary adults who underwent a 12-week aerobic physical activity intervention comprised of 30–36 sessions. Body image was improved with large effect sizes. Correlations were observed between affective response to physical activity and body image improvement, but not with interoceptive abilities. Explorative mediation models suggest a neglectable role of a priori interoceptive abilities. Instead, body image improvement was achieved when positive valence was assigned to interoceptive cues experienced during exercise.

This work proposes an optical fiber sensor capable of simultaneously determining the variation in the level and temperature of the waters of rivers in the Amazon using two in Fibers Bragg Grating (FBG) coupled to a metallic bellows structure, which was experimentally demonstrated in terms of the characterization of FBGs, where one of them is a temperature compensator. The system was simulated according to the Coupled Modes Theory (CMT) and the Transfer Matrix Method (TMM) and experimentally the sensitivity of the sensors was analyzed from the wavelength displacement measurements, simultaneously varying the deformation and temperature. The experimental results show a sensitivity of 9.2 pm/cm and water level measurements up to the limit of 3.95 m with a wavelength variation of 3.69 nm for the strain sensor. The proposed sensor is simple and has enormous potential to be used to monitor the level of rivers in the Amazon in areas at risk of flooding.

This study using contralateral teeth from human cadavers assessed the amount of unprepared wall surface areas (USA), accumulated hard tissue debris (AHTD), and dentinal crack formation after root canal preparation using either reciprocating or rotary instruments. Incisors with a single root canal from 11 human mandibles had their root canals prepared with Reciproc or Mtwo. Each contralateral tooth was treated with one of the test instruments in order to create matched pairs. Micro-CT scans were taken before and after preparation to instrument sizes 40 and 50 in both groups. USA and AHTD were evaluated in the full canal length or the apical portion only. Crack formation was also evaluated in the full root length. After size 40, no significant differences in USA and AHTD were observed in the full canal length (P > .05). Separate analysis of the apical 4-mm canal revealed no difference in AHTD, but significantly more USA with Mtwo than Reciproc (P .05). More AHTD were observed in the full canal after using Mtwo size 50 (P .05). Intragroup analyses showed a significant decrease of USA and a significant increase of AHTD when preparation size increased from 40 to 50 (P < .05). In teeth without any pre-existing detectable dentinal defect (n = 38), crack formation occurred in 4 teeth, 2 from each preparation system. Reciproc instrument size 40 resulted in more prepared areas in the apical canal than Mtwo instrument of the same size. However, the amount of AHTD did not differ between them at this file size. Canal enlargement to size 50 prepared more walls but created more debris. Dentinal defects were produced after preparation with both systems.

In Computing Higher Education (CHE), the desired transformation of traditional teaching and learning methods, almost always based on the transmission of information and content-based curricula, has been the objective of several educational institutions that wish to combat students' demotivation and dropout. Among successful approaches, Problem-Based Learning (PBL) stands out as one of the most effective and radical methods regarding pedagogical innovations. While the PBL implementation means a great opportunity to achieve better educational performance, it also represents many challenges that can only be managed if they are first known and understood. In this context, the motivation for this study comes from the following research question: "How to know if an institution at CHE is ready to implement the PBL?". As a response, an institutional diagnostic model regarding the adoption of PBL is proposed. It conducted an opinion survey in two kinds of educational institutions: technical and academic ones. Thirty-eight technical educational institutions in computing answered this survey, involving 302 participants, and fifteen academic institutions, involving 20 participants. The results showed that the model reached its objective, allowing the identification of favorable, warning, and critical points regarding the adoption of PBL in these institutions. This study is an evolution of the results focusing only on technical institutions published at the CSEDU 2021 conference and conducted by the NEXT Research Group.

The purpose of this study was to develop new composites of glass-ceramics from hazardous Cr-Zn galvanic sludge (up to 30%), spent foundry sand (25%), glass rejects from metal surface cleaning (20%), and natural red clay (25%) to produce environmentally clean ceramics. All the raw materials and the developed ceramics were analyzed by XRF, XRD, DTA and TGA, SEM, AAS, and LAMMA. The ceramics showed very high flexural resistance (up to 22.84 MPa) and low values of linear shrinkage (5.02%), water absorption (3.20%), and bulk density (2.00 g/cm3) after sintering at temperatures of 950–1200 °C for 1 h. The solubility and leaching of heavy metals from the developed composites with 75% of industrial wastes were far below Brazilian standards, which makes them eco-friendly materials. Such properties allow the use of the ceramics for the production of facing tiles, roof tiles, blocks, and bricks with high economic efficiency.

Women experience challenges engaging with the healthcare system, but frequently utilize hair salons; these are promising venues for family planning and HIV prevention services. Our objective was to assess the acceptability of nurse-offered contraceptive and PrEP services at hair salons in Durban, South Africa. We interviewed salon owners (N = 10) and clients (N = 42) and conducted focus groups with hair stylists (N = 43 stylists; 6 focus groups across five hair salons) to explore barriers and facilitators to providing contraception and PrEP in salons. After developing a codebook, we performed content analysis to identify themes within each conceptual area; 10% of transcripts were coded by two coders to ensure reliability. Content was analyzed according to the following categories: (1) facilitators of and (2) barriers to utilizing these services, and (3) factors to consider for program implementation. Participants identified convenience and female-oriented, supportive atmosphere as facilitators to offering HIV and contraceptive services in salons. Owners and stylists noted that establishing legitimacy was important for program success, including providing promotional pamphlets and employing nurses. Clients cited privacy concerns surrounding HIV testing in a public space as a significant barrier to using these services. Overall, participants were enthusiastic about the program. Convenience and a conducive environment were noted as facilitators to receiving health services in the hair salon; attention will have to be directed to establishing privacy and program legitimacy. Hair salons represent an innovative venue for reaching young women at high-risk for unintended pregnancy and HIV infection.

The majority of patients undergoing endovascular stroke treatment (EST) in randomized controlled trials received additional systemic thrombolysis ("combination or bridging therapy (C/BT)"). Nevertheless, its usefulness in this subtype of acute ischemic stroke (AIS) is discussed controversially. Of all consecutive AIS patients, who received any kind of reperfusion therapy in a tertiary university stroke center between January 2015 and March 2016, those with large vessel occlusions (LVO) and EST with or without additional C/BT, were compared primarily regarding procedural aspects. Data were extracted from an investigator-initiated, single-center, prospective and blinded end-point study. 70 AIS patients with EST alone and 118 with C/BT were identified. Significant baseline differences existed in pre-existing cardiovascular disease (52.9% (EST alone) vs. 35.6% (C/BT), p = 0.023), use of anticoagulation (30.6% vs. 5.9%, p

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic degenerative disease of the central nervous system that is characterized by myelin abnormalities, oligodendrocyte pathology, and concomitant glia activation. The factors triggering gliosis and demyelination are currently not well characterized. New findings suggest an important role of the innate immune response in the initiation and progression of active demyelinating lesions. Especially during progressive disease, aberrant glia activation rather than the invasion of peripheral immune cells is accountable for progressive neuronal injury. The innate immune response can be induced by pathogen-associated or danger-associated molecular patterns, which are identified by pattern recognition receptors (PRRs), including the Toll-like receptors (TLRs). In this study, we used the cuprizone model in mice to investigate the expression of TLR2 during the course of cuprizone-induced demyelination. In addition, we used TLR2-deficient mice to analyze the functional role of TLR2 activation during cuprizone-induced demyelination and reactive gliosis. We show a significantly increased expression of TLR2 in the corpus callosum and hippocampus of cuprizone-intoxicated mice. The absence of receptor signaling in TLR2-deficient mice resulted in less severe reactive astrogliosis in the corpus callosum and cortex. In addition, microglia activation was ameliorated in the corpus callosum of TLR2-deficient mice, but augmented in the cortex compared to wild-type littermates. Extent of demyelination and loss of mature oligodendrocytes was comparable in both genotypes. These results suggest that the TLR2 orchestrates glia activation during gray and white matter demyelination in the presence of an intact blood-brain barrier. Future studies now have to address the underlying mechanisms of the region-specific TLR2-mediated glia activation.

Floral monosymmetry appears to be a derived condition, arising independently many times, with a multiplicity of forms, and related to both, pollinator and plant diversification. It reduces interference between sexual functions in flowers and increases cross-pollination and allogamy. But since the description and assessment of the functioning of those floral features depend on fresh material and field observations, the number of groups thoroughly observed is limited. In the mostly Neotropical and actinomorphic Melastomataceae, monosymmetric flowers seem to be derived and the resulting herkogamy may constitute a mechanism to avoid anther–stigma interference and self-pollination. Here we studied Tococa guianensis, a Neotropical widespread shrub or treelet well known for its leaf–domatia ant interaction, but still lacking details on its breeding biology. We studied a population in Uberlândia, Central Brazil, observing floral biology features, diversity of visitors and breeding system. Flowers showed diurnal anthesis and a single-day life span. Pollen was the only floral resource offered, and poricidal anthers were clustered in the centre of the flower, while style was bent away from flower axis creating a transient herkogamy and flower monosymmetry. Style moves towards the floral axis during the day facilitating pollination. To date we do not know other Tococa species displaying such stylar features, which may be an intermediate form between the actinomorphic Miconieae and specialized zygomorphic Tococa. Contrasting with previous studies, the self-incompatibility found in T. guianensis indicates that transient herkogamy may function to avoid stigma clogging with self-pollen and allow flexible use of specialized buzz-pollinating bees.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic degenerative disease of the central nervous system that is characterized by myelin abnormalities, oligodendrocyte pathology, and concomitant glia activation. Unclear are the factors triggering gliosis and demyelination. New findings suggest an important role of the innate immune response in the initiation and progression of active demyelinating lesions. The innate immune response is induced by pathogen-associated or danger-associated molecular patterns, which are identified by pattern recognition receptors (PRRs), including the G-protein coupled with formyl peptide receptors (FPRs). Glial cells, the immune cells of the central nervous system, also express the PRRs. In this study, we used the cuprizone mice model to investigate the expression of the FPR1 in the course of cuprizone-induced demyelination In addition, we used FPR1-deficient mice to analyze glial cell activation through immunohistochemistry and real-time RT-PCR in cuprizone model. Our results revealed a significantly increased expression of FPR1 in the cortex of cuprizone-treated mice. FPR1-deficient mice showed a slight but significant decrease of demyelination in the corpus callosum compared to the wild-type mice. Furthermore, FPR1 deficiency resulted in reduced glial cell activation and mRNA expression of microglia/macrophages markers, as well as pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines in the cortex, compared to wild-type mice after cuprizone-induced demyelination. Combined together, these results suggest that the FPR1 is an important part of the innate immune response in the course of cuprizone-induced demyelination.

Despite the potential immediate access to diagnosis and care, in-hospital stroke (IHS) is associated with delay in diagnosis, lower rates of reperfusion treatment, and unfavorable outcome. Endovascular reperfusion therapy has shown promising results in recent trials for community-onset strokes (COS) and is limited by less contraindications than systemic thrombolysis. Thus, endovascular approaches may offer additional acute treatment options for IHS. We performed a retrospective, observational monocentric analysis of patients with acute ischemic stroke between January 2010 and December 2014. Out of 3506 acute ischemic strokes, 331 (9.4%) were IHS. In-hospital mortality (31.4 vs. 8.0%) and duration of stay after stroke (19.5 vs. 12.1 days) were higher in IHS than in COS. Most IHS occurred in cardiologic and cardiosurgical patients after catheterization or surgery. In 111 cases (33.5%) the time of onset could not be established as a result of sedation or delayed referral resulting in delayed symptom recognition. 52 IHS (15.7%) and 828 COS (26.0%, p < 0.001) patients received any kind of reperfusion therapy, of which 59.6% (IHS) and 12.1% (COS) comprised isolated endovascular interventions (p < 0.001). Intra-hospital delays (time to brain imaging, systemic thrombolysis, and angiography) were longer and outcome parameters (mRS d90, in-hospital mortality, length of stay) were worse in IHS, whereas rates of procedural complications and intracranial hemorrhages were similar in both groups. The overall rate of reperfusion treatment is lower in IHS compared to COS, as IHS patients are less likely to be eligible for systemic thrombolysis. Interventional stroke treatment is a safe and feasible therapeutic option for patients who are not eligible for systemic thrombolysis and should be anticipated whenever IHS is diagnosed.

The aim of this study was to investigate the distribution pattern of mirtazapine and its metabolite normirtazapine (N-desmethylmirtazapine) in blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Concentrations of mirtazapine were measured in blood serum and CSF of 16 patients treated with daily doses of 7.5–60 mg. Daily doses were correlated with serum and CSF concentrations as well as serum levels with those in CSF. Serum levels of mirtazapine and normirtazapine showed a strong relation to the daily dose of mirtazapine of r = +0.631 and r = +0.732, respectively (p