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A 36-year-old male with mild Ebstein's anomaly developed severe right-sided heart failure, following a 5-year-long course of hypereosinophilic syndrome. No regular followups had been done, during the years of antineoplastic therapy. A year after being cured from the hypereosinophilic syndrome, the patient developed right-sided heart failure symptoms and was found to have excessive fibrosis of the right ventricular endocardium and free tricuspid regurgitation. The findings were compatible with substantial scarring of the endocardium caused by the hypereosinophilic syndrome. Over a few years, the patient deteriorated significantly and was finally offered a heart transplant. Examination of the explanted heart revealed severe fibrosis of the right ventricle and almost complete sparing of the left.

Background: The use of digital media (e.g., smartphones, tablets, etc.) and the Internet have become omnipresent for every age group and are part of children's and parents' everyday life. Focusing on young children, the availability of media devices, their use as well as associated problems (e.g., in social, emotional and motor development) have increased in recent years. Of particular interest for prevention of these problems in early childhood is the relationship between the familial context (parental digital media use, Problematic Internet Use, school graduation, presence of siblings) and the digital media use of infants and toddlers. The present study's goal was to describe media usage in 0-4-year-old children and to identify the potential relationship between familial context factors and child media usage., Methods: The sample included N  = 3,035 children aged 0 to 3;11 years ( M = 17.37 months, SD  = 13.68; 49.13% female). Recruitment took place within the framework of a restandardization study for a German developmental test. The parents of the participants answered a questionnaire on socio-demographics, on child media use, and on parental media use. Questions on parental media use included the full version of the Short Compulsive Internet Use Scale (S-CIUS)., Results: Significant increases in media usage times with child age were identified, but no significant gender differences. A multiple regression analysis revealed that increasing maternal total media usage time, a higher parental S-CIUS score, lower school leaving certificate of both mother and father, and increasing child's age led to higher child media usage time. Having siblings diminished young children's media usage in this study. Having more than one child and having children aged over a year was associated with a higher parental S-CIUS score., Conclusion: Family factors such as maternal media use time, Problematic Internet Use and lower school graduation are significantly associated with young children's digital media use. Parents should be aware of their personal influence on their children's media use which might be due their role in terms of model learning., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Paulus, Joas, Friedmann, Fuschlberger, Möhler and Mall.)

The impacts of water supply reduction and cold storage were investigated on the peels and pulps of cv. Cogshall mangoes, regarding their phenolic compound contents. Phenolics identification was operated using HPLC-MSn for both compartments revealing an unbalanced repartition. Peels had a richer and more complex profile, counting xanthone glycoside (mangiferin), flavonoids (quercetin, kaempferol) and majorly gallotannins. Pulps presented smaller amounts of phenolics and a simpler profile majorly represented by gallotannins and gallic acid derivatives. During fruit ripening, the phenolic contents decreased in both compartments, but faster in the pulp. This behavior can be attributed to the oxidative stress observed in mango pulp during ripening. Cutting down the water supply during the fruit growth triggered an increase in phenolic contents of both the peels and pulp of mango fruits. This increase affected all compounds. Cold storage at 12 or 7 °C led to an increase in mangiferin and flavonoids contents in the fruit peel, interpreted as a stress-response reaction.

Studies in recent years and especially since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic have shown a significant increase in the problematic use of computer games and social media. Adolescents having difficulties in regulating their unpleasant emotions are especially prone to Problematic Internet Use (PIU), which is why emotion dysregulation has been considered a risk factor for PIU. The aim of the present study was to assess problematic internet use (PIU) in adolescents after the third wave (nearly 1.5 years after the onset in Europe) of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the German region of Siegen-Wittgenstein, all students 12 years and older from secondary-level schools, vocational schools and universities were offered a prioritized vaccination in August 2021 with an approved vaccine against COVID-19. In this context, the participants filled out the Short Compulsive Internet Use Scale (SCIUS) and two additional items to capture a possible change in digital media usage time and regulation of negative affect due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A multiple regression analysis was performed to identify predictors of PIU. The original sample consisted of 1477 participants, and after excluding invalid cases the final sample size amounted to 1268 adolescents aged 12-17 (x = 14.37 years, SD = 1.64). The average prevalence of PIU was 43.69%. Gender, age, digital media usage time and the intensity of negative emotions during the COVID-19 pandemic were all found to be significant predictors of PIU: female gender, increasing age, longer digital media usage time and higher intensity of negative emotions during the COVID-19 pandemic were associated with higher SCIUS total scores. This study found a very high prevalence of PIU among 12- to 17-year-olds for the period after the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has increased significantly compared to pre-pandemic prevalence rates. PIU is emerging as a serious problem among young people in the pandemic. Besides gender and age, pandemic-associated time of digital media use and emotion regulation have an impact on PIU, which provides starting points for preventive interventions.

Background: Temperament might be considered as a risk factor as well as a resilience factor for later externalizing and internalizing disorders. Therefore, this study examines different dimensions of temperament in preschool age with regard to their predictive value for psychopathology later in childhood., Methods: A total of 76 patients (63.2% male) were assessed in a special psychiatric consultation for preschool age at measuring point time t1 ( x = 4.2) and measuring point time t2 ( x = 9.2). At t1, the Integrative Child Temperament Inventory (ICTI) was used for assessment. At t2, parents completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire SDQ. Multiple regression analyses were used to test if the temperament factors of the ICTI predicted clinical abnormalities in the SDQ subscales or total difficulties score., Results: SDQ total difficulties score as an indicator of total psychiatric disturbance in childhood appears to be good predicted by the temperament factor frustration/anger. Sensory sensitivity in preschoolers serves as a risk factor for later emotional symptoms, whereas high activity levels appear to prevent later emotional symptoms. Behavioral inhibition appears to protect against hyperactivity/inattention., Conclusion: Our data suggests that preschool temperament contributes differently to the development of externalizing and internalizing problems in childhood. The temperament factor frustration/anger in preschool children might be a strong predictor of the general mental condition in childhood at nine years of age and can therefore be used as a target for prevention of psychopathology in children. On one hand, high sensory sensitivity can be a predictor to identify preschool children at risk for later emotional symptoms, on the other hand, activity level acts as a protective factor against later emotional symptoms. An increased level of behavioral inhibition might be protective against the development of hyperactivity/inattention symptoms. Overall, this study illustrates the complexity and ambiguity of temperament in child development., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Paulus, Möhler, Festag and Joas.)

Background: There are many studies on mother-child-bonding with little theoretical doubt that better bonding may have a positive effect on further social development. However, there is hardly any empirical evidence. In particular, there is a lack prospective longitudinal studies. Methods: As part of a longitudinal study, bonding was assessed in a community sample of 97 healthy mothers using the Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire (PBQ) 6 weeks after birth of their child. Social competencies in the offspring were assessed using the Self- and Other-oriented Social Competencies (SOCOMP) at 5.5 years of age. A potential correlation between bonding and social competencies was tested using Spearman Rank Correlation. Results: Retention rate over 5.5 years was 77.23%. Lower Maternal Bonding Impairment Scores 6 weeks postnatally were positively related to childrens' social competences at 5.5 years of age. Conclusion: The present data confirm a positive and long-term influence of bonding on social skills and provide further evidence of the importance of parent child bonding for child development in general. This result should give reason to further investigate this relationship in depth, causally and at later points in time., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Joas and Möhler.)

Introduction: Mycobacterium abscessus is an emerging pulmonary pathogen with limited treatment options. Nitric oxide (NO) demonstrates antibacterial activity against various bacterial species, including mycobacteria. In this study, we evaluated the effect of adjunctive inhaled NO therapy, using a novel NO generator, in a CF patient with pulmonary M. abscessus disease, and examined heterogeneity of response to NO in vitro ., Methods: In the compassionate-use treatment, a 24-year-old CF patient with pulmonary M. abscessus was treated with two courses of adjunctive intermittent NO, first at 160 p.p.m. for 21 days and subsequently by escalating the dose up to 240 p.p.m. for 8 days. Methemoglobin, pulmonary function, 6 min walk distance (6MWD), qualify of life and sputum microbiology were assessed. In vitro susceptibility tests were performed against patient's isolate and comparison clinical isolates and quantified by Hill's slopes calculated from time-kill curves., Results: M. abscessus lung infection eradication was not achieved, but improvements in selected qualify of life domains, lung function and 6MWD were observed during the study. Inhaled NO was well tolerated at 160 p.p.m. Dosing at 240 p.p.m. was stopped due to adverse symptoms, although methemoglobin levels remained within safety thresholds. In vitro susceptibility tests showed a dose-dependent NO effect on M. abscessus susceptibility and significant heterogeneity in response between M. abscessus clinical isolates. The patient's isolate was found to be the least susceptible strain in vitro ., Conclusion: These results demonstrate heterogeneity in M. abscessus susceptibility to NO and suggest that longer treatment regimens could be required to see the reduction or eradication of more resistant pulmonary strains., Competing Interests: K.B., T.C., C.R., S.M., A.P., C.M., W.W., J.L.d.S., S.G. and A.M.Z. declare that there are no competing interests. K.N.O. declares that he is a Principal Investigator (NHLBI) along with A.G. (Beyond Air) on a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement between NHLBI and Beyond Air, Inc. (HL-CR-18–003). F.M. is an an employee of Beyond Air, Inc. M.R. and A.G. are consultants for Beyond Air, Inc., (© 2020 The Authors.)

Subcluster F1 bacteriophage KingMidas was isolated from soil collected in Providence, Rhode Island, using Mycobacterium smegmatis mc 2 155 as the host. The genome is 57,386 bp and contains 105 predicted protein-coding genes but no transfer-messenger RNAs or tRNAs. This siphovirus has an icosahedral head, with a genome 99.1% identical to that of F1 mycobacteriophage Scottish., (Copyright © 2020 Byrum et al.)

Fruit physiology is strongly affected by both fruit temperature and water losses through transpiration. Fruit temperature and its transpiration vary with environmental factors and fruit characteristics. In line with previous studies, measurements of physical and thermal fruit properties were found to significantly vary between fruit tissues and maturity stages. To study the impact of these variations on fruit temperature and transpiration, a modelling approach was used. A physical model was developed to predict the spatial and temporal variations of fruit temperature and transpiration according to the spatial and temporal variations of environmental factors and thermal and physical fruit properties. Model predictions compared well to temperature measurements on mango fruits, making it possible to accurately simulate the daily temperature variations of the sunny and shaded sides of fruits. Model simulations indicated that fruit development induced an increase in both the temperature gradient within the fruit and fruit water losses, mainly due to fruit expansion. However, the evolution of fruit characteristics has only a very slight impact on the average temperature and the transpiration per surface unit. The importance of temperature and transpiration gradients highlighted in this study made it necessary to take spatial and temporal variations of environmental factors and fruit characteristics into account to model fruit physiology.

The human respiratory tract is constantly exposed to a wide variety of viruses, microbes and inorganic particulates from environmental air, water and food. Physical characteristics of inhaled particles and airway mucosal immunity determine which viruses and microbes will persist in the airways. Here we present the first metagenomic study of DNA viral communities in the airways of diseased and non-diseased individuals. We obtained sequences from sputum DNA viral communities in 5 individuals with cystic fibrosis (CF) and 5 individuals without the disease. Overall, diversity of viruses in the airways was low, with an average richness of 175 distinct viral genotypes. The majority of viral diversity was uncharacterized. CF phage communities were highly similar to each other, whereas Non-CF individuals had more distinct phage communities, which may reflect organisms in inhaled air. CF eukaryotic viral communities were dominated by a few viruses, including human herpesviruses and retroviruses. Functional metagenomics showed that all Non-CF viromes were similar, and that CF viromes were enriched in aromatic amino acid metabolism. The CF metagenomes occupied two different metabolic states, probably reflecting different disease states. There was one outlying CF virome which was characterized by an over-representation of Guanosine-5'-triphosphate,3'-diphosphate pyrophosphatase, an enzyme involved in the bacterial stringent response. Unique environments like the CF airway can drive functional adaptations, leading to shifts in metabolic profiles. These results have important clinical implications for CF, indicating that therapeutic measures may be more effective if used to change the respiratory environment, as opposed to shifting the taxonomic composition of resident microbiota.