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Abstract We analyzed the first three years of VGOS 24 h sessions, and evaluated the performance in terms of Earth orientation parameters (EOP) and station positions. We estimated radio source coordinates which might be of particular importance in VGOS due to the different observing frequencies compared to legacy S/X VLBI. We investigated the impact of this procedure in the determination of the celestial reference, and detected possible increased crosstalk between radio source positions and nutation. We, thus, created an updated source coordinate catalogue that contains information from the VGOS observations and utilized that as our a priori for further analysis. We found that this procedure significantly attenuates mean biases in the estimated EOP time series. We then utilized a kalman filter with an empirically tuned stochastic modelling for nutation and polar motion and estimated repeatabilities on the 60–80 $$\mu$$ μ as level for nutation, and 100–130 $$\mu$$ μ as level for polar motion. The station position repeatabilities were evaluated to be 1.80 and 2.12 mm for the east and north components and 3.98 mm for the vertical, while the baseline length repeatabilities were estimated to be 4.22 mm at 6000 km. These results are promising with respect to the expected future VGOS performance, while increased attention should be paid to the celestial frame determination in the VGOS observing bands. Graphical Abstract

Abstract Improving and homogenizing time and space reference systems on Earth and, more specifically, realizing the Terrestrial Reference Frame (TRF) with an accuracy of 1 mm and a long-term stability of 0.1 mm/year are relevant for many scientific and societal endeavors. The knowledge of the TRF is fundamental for Earth and navigation sciences. For instance, quantifying sea level change strongly depends on an accurate determination of the geocenter motion but also of the positions of continental and island reference stations, such as those located at tide gauges, as well as the ground stations of tracking networks. Also, numerous applications in geophysics require absolute millimeter precision from the reference frame, as for example monitoring tectonic motion or crustal deformation, contributing to a better understanding of natural hazards. The TRF accuracy to be achieved represents the consensus of various authorities, including the International Association of Geodesy (IAG), which has enunciated geodesy requirements for Earth sciences. Moreover, the United Nations Resolution 69/266 states that the full societal benefits in developing satellite missions for positioning and Remote Sensing of the Earth are realized only if they are referenced to a common global geodetic reference frame at the national, regional and global levels. Today we are still far from these ambitious accuracy and stability goals for the realization of the TRF. However, a combination and co-location of all four space geodetic techniques on one satellite platform can significantly contribute to achieving these goals. This is the purpose of the GENESIS mission, a component of the FutureNAV program of the European Space Agency. The GENESIS platform will be a dynamic space geodetic observatory carrying all the geodetic instruments referenced to one another through carefully calibrated space ties. The co-location of the techniques in space will solve the inconsistencies and biases between the different geodetic techniques in order to reach the TRF accuracy and stability goals endorsed by the various international authorities and the scientific community. The purpose of this paper is to review the state-of-the-art and explain the benefits of the GENESIS mission in Earth sciences, navigation sciences and metrology. This paper has been written and supported by a large community of scientists from many countries and working in several different fields of science, ranging from geophysics and geodesy to time and frequency metrology, navigation and positioning. As it is explained throughout this paper, there is a very high scientific consensus that the GENESIS mission would deliver exemplary science and societal benefits across a multidisciplinary range of Navigation and Earth sciences applications, constituting a global infrastructure that is internationally agreed to be strongly desirable. Graphical Abstract

ABSTRACT: Coccidiosis in chickens is caused by Eimeria spp. The infection provides a growth advantage to Clostridium perfringens (CP), frequently leading to necrotic enteritis. One approach to alleviate the negative impacts of the diseases is to improve the bacterial composition in chickens, and many experiments investigating chicken enteric health in recent years include the characterization of the bacterial microbiota. This meta-analysis synthesized the data of studies investigating the intestinal microbiota after infection with coccidia and/or CP to provide a basis for future research. Inclusion criteria were that experiments contained a group infected with one or both pathogens and an uninfected control group, the use of 16SrRNA Illumina sequencing and the availability of raw data. A total of 17 studies could be included. Meta-analyses of 3 different data sets were performed: 1 on data of 9 experiments on chickens infected with coccidia only; the second on data of 4 studies on chickens infected with CP only; the third on raw data of 8 experiments with chickens infected with coccidia and CP. The meta-analysis of relative abundance and alpha diversity of the data sets was performed in R using the SIAMCAT and metafor packages. The number of families of interest identified by the analyses of experiments with infection with coccidia only, CP only and the combined infection were 23, 2, and 29, respectively. There was an overlap of 13 families identified by analyses of experiments with infection with coccidia only and of experiments with the combined infections. Machine learning was not able to find a model to predict changes of the microbiota in either 1 of the 3 analyses. Meta-analyses of functional profiles showed a more uniform reaction to the infections with the relative abundance of many pathways significantly altered. Alpha diversity was not affected by infection with either pathogen or the combination. In conclusion, the heterogeneity of these microbiota studies makes recognizing common trends difficult, although it seems that coccidia infection affects the microbiota more than an infection with CP. Future studies should focus on the bacterial functions that are changed due to these infections using metagenome techniques.

ABSTRACT: Increased consumer concern for animal welfare has led some poultry producers to alter their stunning methods from electrical to controlled atmosphere stunning. The potential for different impacts on meat quality between commercially applied controlled atmosphere stunning (CAS) and electrical stunning (ES) using current US parameters needs further evaluation. Three trials were conducted in a commercial broiler processing facility that uses separate processing lines for ES and CAS. Blood glucose concentrations were measured from broilers stunned by either CAS or ES at: 1) lairage, 2) pre-stunning, and 3) post-stunning, using a glucose monitor. Occurrence of visible wing damage was evaluated post-defeathering and breast fillet meat quality was evaluated through measurement of pH, color, and drip loss at deboning and after 24 h. Data were analyzed using GLM or chi-square with a significance at P ≤ 0.05 and means were separated by Tukey's HSD. Blood glucose concentrations (mg/dL) from CAS and ES birds were not different at lairage (284, 272, P = 0.2646) or immediately prior to stunning (274, 283, P = 0.6425). Following stunning and neck cut, circulating blood glucose from birds stunned by CAS was higher than ES (418, 259, P < 0.0001). CAS carcasses had more visible wing damage than ES carcasses (3.6%, 2.2%, P < 0.0001). Breast fillet pH was lower, L* was higher, and a* was lower at debone for CAS fillets (5.81, 54.65, 1.96) compared to ES fillets (5.92, 53.15, 2.31, P < 0.0001, P = 0.0005, P = 0.0303). Drip loss did not differ between breast fillets from CAS or ES broilers (4.83, 4.84; P = 0.0859). The implications of increased blood glucose concentration post-CAS are unknown and require further evaluation. However, the increase in visible wing damage observed post-defeathering from CAS carcasses indicated a need for equipment parameter adjustments during the process from stunning through defeathering when using CAS for broiler stunning. Although differences were observed in breast fillet attributes at deboning, these differences would have minimal practical application and were no longer present at 24 h. Overall, use of CAS in a commercial facility resulted in differences in subsequent product quality when compared to ES.

Various culture-based methods to detect Salmonella in animal feed have been developed due to the impact of this bacterium on public and animal health. For this project, tris phosphate carbonate (TPC) and buffered peptone water (BPW) buffering capacities were compared as pre-enrichment mediums for the detection of Salmonella in feed ingredients. A total of 269 samples were collected from 6 feed mills and mixed with the pre-enrichments; pH was measured before and after a 24 h incubation. Differences were observed when comparing pH values by sample type; DDGS and poultry by-product meal presented lower initial pH values for TPC and BPW compared to the other samples. For both TPC and BPW, meat and bone meal presented higher final pH values, while soybean meal and peanut meal had lower final pH values. Furthermore, for BPW, post cooling, pellet loadout, and wheat middlings reported lower final pH values. Additionally, most feed ingredients presented significant differences in pH change after 24 h of incubation, except DDGS. From meat and bone meal samples, four Salmonella isolates were recovered and identified: three using BPW and one using TPC. TPC provided greater buffer capacity towards neutral pH compared to BPW, but BPW was more effective at recovering Salmonella.

For the quantification of insulin activity, United States Pharmacopeia (USP) general chapter continues to require the rabbit blood sugar test. For new insulin or insulin analogue compounds, those quantitative data are expected for stability or comparability studies. At Sanofi, many rabbits were used to fulfil the authority’s requirements to obtain quantitative insulin bioactivity data until the in vivo test was replaced. In order to demonstrate comparability between the in vivo and in vitro test systems, this study was designed to demonstrate equivalency. The measurement of insulin lispro and insulin glargine drug substance and drug product batches, including stress samples (diluted or after temperature stress of 30 min at 80 °C), revealed a clear correlation between the in vitro and in vivo test results. The recovery of quantitative in vitro in-cell Western (ICW) results compared to the in vivo test results was within the predefined acceptance limits of 80% to 125%. Thus, the in vitro ICW cell-based bioassay leads to results that are equivalent to the rabbit blood sugar test per USP , and it is highly suitable for insulin activity quantification. For future development compounds, the in vitro in-cell Western cell-based assay can replace the rabbit blood sugar test required by USP .

Abstract Background Since fall 2019, SARS-CoV-2 spread world-wide, causing a major pandemic with estimated ~ 220 million subjects affected as of September 2021. Severe COVID-19 is associated with multiple organ failure, particularly of lung and kidney, but also grave neuropsychiatric manifestations. Overall mortality reaches > 2%. Vaccine development has thrived in thus far unreached dimensions and will be one prerequisite to terminate the pandemic. Despite intensive research, however, few treatment options for modifying COVID-19 course/outcome have emerged since the pandemic outbreak. Additionally, the substantial threat of serious downstream sequelae, called ‘long COVID’ and ‘neuroCOVID’, becomes increasingly evident. Main body of the abstract Among candidates that were suggested but did not yet receive appropriate funding for clinical trials is recombinant human erythropoietin. Based on accumulating experimental and clinical evidence, erythropoietin is expected to (1) improve respiration/organ function, (2) counteract overshooting inflammation, (3) act sustainably neuroprotective/neuroregenerative. Recent counterintuitive findings of decreased serum erythropoietin levels in severe COVID-19 not only support a relative deficiency of erythropoietin in this condition, which can be therapeutically addressed, but also made us coin the term ‘hypoxia paradox’. As we review here, this paradox is likely due to uncoupling of physiological hypoxia signaling circuits, mediated by detrimental gene products of SARS-CoV-2 or unfavorable host responses, including microRNAs or dysfunctional mitochondria. Substitution of erythropoietin might overcome this ‘hypoxia paradox’ caused by deranged signaling and improve survival/functional status of COVID-19 patients and their long-term outcome. As supporting hints, embedded in this review, we present 4 male patients with severe COVID-19 and unfavorable prognosis, including predicted high lethality, who all profoundly improved upon treatment which included erythropoietin analogues. Short conclusion Substitution of EPO may—among other beneficial EPO effects in severe COVID-19—circumvent downstream consequences of the ‘hypoxia paradox’. A double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial for proof-of-concept is warranted.

Abstract Up to one person in a population of 10,000 is diagnosed once in lifetime with an encephalitis, in 50–70% of unknown origin. Recognized causes amount to 20–50% viral infections. Approximately one third of affected subjects develops moderate and severe subsequent damage. Several neurotropic viruses can directly infect pyramidal neurons and induce neuronal death in cortex and hippocampus. The resulting encephalitic syndromes are frequently associated with cognitive deterioration and dementia, but involve numerous parallel and downstream cellular and molecular events that make the interpretation of direct consequences of sudden pyramidal neuronal loss difficult. This, however, would be pivotal for understanding how neuroinflammatory processes initiate the development of neurodegeneration, and thus for targeted prophylactic and therapeutic interventions. Here we utilized adult male NexCreERT2xRosa26-eGFP-DTA (= ‘DTA’) mice for the induction of a sterile encephalitis by diphtheria toxin-mediated ablation of cortical and hippocampal pyramidal neurons which also recruits immune cells into gray matter. We report multifaceted aftereffects of this defined process, including the expected pathology of classical hippocampal behaviors, evaluated in Morris water maze, but also of (pre)frontal circuit function, assessed by prepulse inhibition. Importantly, we modelled in encephalitis mice novel translationally relevant sequelae, namely altered social interaction/cognition, accompanied by compromised thermoreaction to social stimuli as convenient readout of parallel autonomic nervous system (dys)function. High resolution magnetic resonance imaging disclosed distinct abnormalities in brain dimensions, including cortical and hippocampal layering, as well as of cerebral blood flow and volume. Fluorescent tracer injection, immunohistochemistry and brain flow cytometry revealed persistent blood–brain-barrier perturbance and chronic brain inflammation. Surprisingly, blood flow cytometry showed no abnormalities in circulating major immune cell subsets and plasma high-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) as proinflammatory marker remained unchanged. The present experimental work, analyzing multidimensional outcomes of direct pyramidal neuronal loss, will open new avenues for urgently needed encephalitis research.

Abstract We present first results for the determination of UT1-UTC using the VLBI Global Observing System (VGOS). During December 2019 through February 2020, a series of 1 h long observing sessions were performed using the VGOS stations at Ishioka in Japan and the Onsala twin telescopes in Sweden. These VGOS-B sessions were observed simultaneously to standard legacy S/X-band Intensive sessions. The VGOS-B data were correlated, post-correlation processed, and analysed at the Onsala Space Observatory. The derived UT1-UTC results were compared to corresponding results from standard legacy S/X-band Intensive sessions (INT1/INT2), as well as to the final values of the International Earth Rotation and Reference Frame Service (IERS), provided in IERS Bulletin B. The VGOS-B series achieves 3–4 times lower formal uncertainties for the UT1-UTC results than standard legacy S/X-band INT series. The RMS agreement w.r.t. to IERS Bulletin B is slightly better for the VGOS-B results than for the simultaneously observed legacy S/X-band INT1 results, and the VGOS-B results have a small bias only with the smallest remaining standard deviation.

Abstract We study the effects of combination on the observation level (COL) of different space-geodetic techniques and of networks of the same technique and present the corresponding improvement for the determination of station positions and earth orientation parameters. Data from the continuous geodetic very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) campaign CONT17 are used in a batch least-squares (LSQ) estimator. This campaign includes 15 days of observations with two legacy S/X networks, namely Legacy-1 (L1) and Legacy-2 (L2). For this study the VLBI L1 network is used as the base and reference solution. Data from the L1 network are combined first with data from co-located Global Positioning System (GPS) stations by estimating common tropospheric parameters. The derived station positions repeatabilities of the VLBI and GPS networks are evaluated with respect to single-technique solutions. In terms of precision, we find a 25% improvement for the vertical repeatability of the L1 network, and a 10% improvement for the horizontal one. The GPS network also benefits by 20% and 10% in the horizontal and vertical components, respectively. Furthermore, a combined solution using data of the L1 and L2 network is performed by estimating common earth orientation parameters. The combined L1&GPS and L1&L2 solutions are compared to the reference solution by investigating UT1 and polar motion estimates. UT1 is evaluated in terms of mean bias and formal errors with respect to the International Earth Rotation Service (IERS) C04 products which were used as a priori values. The L1&GPS solution has the lowest formal error and mean bias for UT1 with a 30% improvement. The weighted root mean square (WRMS) and weighted mean offset (WMO) differences between the obtained polar motion estimates and the ones derived by the International GNSS Service (IGS) are also compared. We find that the L1&GPS solution gives the lowest WRMS and WMO, exhibiting an average 40% improvement with respect to the reference solution. The presented results highlight the potential of COL for ongoing transition to multi-space geodetic analysis, e.g., Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) with the next-generation VLBI system. Graphic Abstract

The global navigation satellite system-reflections (GNSS-R) signal has been confirmed to be useful for retrieving sea level height. At present, the GNSS-interferometric reflectometry (GNSS-IR) technology based on the least square method to process signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) data is restricted by the satellite elevation angle in terms of accuracy and stability. This article proposes a new GNSS-IR model combining variational mode decomposition (VMD) for sea level height estimation. VMD is used to decompose the SNR data into intrinsic mode functions (IMF) of layers with different frequencies, remove the IMF representing the trend item of the SNR data, and reconstruct the remaining IMF components to obtain the SNR oscillation item. In order to verify the validity of the new GNSS-IR model, the measurement data provided by the Onsala Space Observatory in Sweden is used to evaluate the performance of the algorithm and its stability in high-elevation range. The experimental results show that the VMD method has good results in terms of accuracy and stability, and has advantages compared to other methods. For the half-year GNSS SNR data, the root mean square error and correlation coefficient of the new model based on the VMD method are 4.86 cm and 0.97, respectively.

Abstract We present results from the analysis of observations of the Chang’e 3 lander using geodetic Very Long Baseline Interferometry. The applied processing strategy as well as the limiting factors to our approach is discussed. We highlight the current precision of such observations and the accuracy of the estimated lunar-based parameters, i.e., the lunar lander’s Moon-fixed coordinates. Our result for the position of the lander is $$44.1219{3}^\circ \hbox {N}$$ 44.12193∘N , $$-\,19.511{59}^\circ \hbox {E}$$ -19.51159∘E and $$-\,263{7.3}$$ -2637.3 m, with horizontal position uncertainties on the lunar surface of 8.9 m and 4.5 m in latitude and longitude, respectively. This result is in good agreement with the position derived from images taken by the Narrow Angle Camera of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. Finally, we discuss potential improvements to our approach, which could be used to apply the presented concept to high-precision lunar positioning and studies of the Moon.

Diseases caused by pathogenic bacteria in animals (e.g., bacterial pneumonia, meningitis and sepsis) and plants (e.g., bacterial wilt, angular spot and canker) lead to high prevalence and mortality, and decomposition of plant leaves, respectively. Melatonin, an endogenous molecule, is highly pleiotropic, and accumulating evidence supports the notion that melatonin’s actions in bacterial infection deserve particular attention. Here, we summarize the antibacterial effects of melatonin in vitro, in animals as well as plants, and discuss the potential mechanisms. Melatonin exerts antibacterial activities not only on classic gram-negative and -positive bacteria, but also on members of other bacterial groups, such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Protective actions against bacterial infections can occur at different levels. Direct actions of melatonin may occur only at very high concentrations, which is at the borderline of practical applicability. However, various indirect functions comprise activation of hosts’ defense mechanisms or, in sepsis, attenuation of bacterially induced inflammation. In plants, its antibacterial functions involve the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway; in animals, protection by melatonin against bacterially induced damage is associated with inhibition or activation of various signaling pathways, including key regulators such as NF-κB, STAT-1, Nrf2, NLRP3 inflammasome, MAPK and TLR-2/4. Moreover, melatonin can reduce formation of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS, RNS), promote detoxification and protect mitochondrial damage. Altogether, we propose that melatonin could be an effective approach against various pathogenic bacterial infections.

Major societal challenges like energy efficiency, climate change and resource scarcity trigger and influence continuous change processes worldwide, nationwide, but also on all regional levels. They force regions to think about (a more) sustainable development. As the transformation processes necessary for sustainable development are complex there is a need for actors willing to engage and support sustainability transitions. Higher education institutions (HEIs) are often expected to be one of these supporters on the regional level. The central aim of this paper is to show by the use of an example, that HEIs are able to provide impulses for sustainable transformation. Following Pflitsch and Radinger-Peer (2018:918) HEIs can play different roles in regional sustainable transition; the authors use two dimensions to distinguish these roles – depth and autonomy: - As to depth HEIs' roles can be "comprehensive, involving diverse actors and approaching sustainability with a holistic perspective" or "more fragmented and passive, but also more focused on specific topics". - As to autonomy the roles can be "autonomous, the university defining its own focus and priorities through interacting with a broad range of regional actors" or "more directed, the university working on topics that are relevant from the perspective of the regional or federal-state government". Using this rough classification the HEI in our example focuses on a "specific topic" and it is interacting with other regional respectively local actors on a topic that is not only relevant from the perspective of most German cities and their citizens but also from the national and federal government’s perspective. The paper starts with a short systemisation of transfer channels and missions of HEIs. It starts with a description of transfer channels used by the two traditional missions of HEIs – education and research. Afterwards the concept of "third mission" is introduced and distinguished from a possible fourth mission of HEIs – the concept of "co-creation for sustainability". Afterwards it deals with important concepts and approaches which are characteristic elements of "co-creation for sustainability" – transformative research, participatory action research (PAR), urban living labs and student service learning. The "specific topic" that serves as an example is introduced after that: it is about the problem of local economy in urban neighbourhoods. Local economy will be defined, its problems resulting from the functional change of urban neighbourhoods are sketched and the arising necessity of strengthening local economies will be discussed. We show the methodological concept that is used to develop strategies and specific measures for strengthening local economy. The paper shows that the elements of this concept are typical approaches of transformative sciences. Afterwards concrete examples stemming from an urban neighbourhood which is part of the city of Viersen (Northrhine-Westphalia, Germany) is used to show, how the approach works in practise. The paper ends trying to explain, why projects like this give an example of HEIs' impulses for sustainable development in their regional surrounding. Furthermore, the usefulness, but also the shortcomings and further research necessities of the approach will be discussed.

The subjects of this paper are place names as immaterial sites of commemoration. In a linguistic perspective, the paper analyses how exonyms and endonyms are semantically up-loaded respectively re-loaded in use. Proceeding on the assumption that proper names have no “meaning” in the traditional sense, it is argued that, beyond their denotative semantics (pure reference to the place), they may be enriched with connotative semantics (encyclopedic knowledge, first; ideological belief, second) and with illocutional semantics (what is intended, or not, by using them). Historically burdened place-names turn out to be extremely susceptible to semantic re-motivation and pragmatic re-contextualization.

In this article, we attempt to classify a potential dimorphism of melatonin production. Thus, a new concept of “reserve or maximum capacity of melatonin synthetic function” is introduced to explain the subtle dimorphism of melatonin production in mammals. Considering ASMT/ASMTL genes in the pseudoautosomal region of sex chromosomes with high prevalence of mutation in males, as well as the sex bias of the mitochondria in which melatonin is synthesized, we hypothesize the existence of a dimorphism in melatonin production to favor females, which are assumed to possess a higher reserve capacity for melatonin synthesis than males. Under physiological conditions, this subtle dimorphism is masked by the fact that cells or tissues only need baseline melatonin production, which can be accomplished without exploiting the full potential of melatonin’s synthetic capacity. This capacity is believed to exceed the already remarkable nocturnal increase as observed within the circadian cycle. However, during aging or under stressful conditions, the reserve capacity of melatonin’s synthetic function is required to be activated to produce sufficiently high levels of melatonin for protective purposes. Females seem to possess a higher reserve/maximum capacity for producing more melatonin than males. Thus, this dimorphism of melatonin production becomes manifest and detectable under these conditions. The biological significance of the reserve/maximum capacity of melatonin’s synthetic function is to improve the recovery rate of organisms from injury, to increase resistance to pathogen infection, and even to enhance their chances of survival by maximizing melatonin production under stressful conditions. The higher reserve/maximum capacity of melatonin synthesis in females may also contribute to the dimorphism in longevity, favoring females in mammals.

Melatonin and several of its metabolites are interfering with reactive nitrogen. With the notion of prevailing melatonin formation in tissues that exceeds by far the quantities in blood, metabolites come into focus that are poorly found in the circulation. Apart from their antioxidant actions, both melatonin and N1-acetyl-5-methoxykynuramine (AMK) downregulate inducible and inhibit neuronal NO synthases, and additionally scavenge NO. However, the NO adduct of melatonin redonates NO, whereas AMK forms with NO a stable product. Many other melatonin metabolites formed in oxidative processes also contain nitrosylatable sites. Moreover, AMK readily scavenges products of the CO2-adduct of peroxynitrite such as carbonate radicals and NO2. Protein AMKylation seems to be involved in protective actions.

Melatonin has been used preclinically and clinically for different purposes. Some applications are related to readjustment of circadian oscillators, others use doses that exceed the saturation of melatonin receptors MT1 and MT2 and are unsuitable for chronobiological purposes. Conditions are outlined for appropriately applying melatonin as a chronobiotic or for protective actions at elevated levels. Circadian readjustments require doses in the lower mg range, according to receptor affinities. However, this needs consideration of the phase response curve, which contains a silent zone, a delay part, a transition point and an advance part. Notably, the dim light melatonin onset (DLMO) is found in the silent zone. In this specific phase, melatonin can induce sleep onset, but does not shift the circadian master clock. Although sleep onset is also under circadian control, sleep and circadian susceptibility are dissociated at this point. Other limits of soporific effects concern dose, duration of action and poor individual responses. The use of high melatonin doses, up to several hundred mg, for purposes of antioxidative and anti-inflammatory protection, especially in sepsis and viral diseases, have to be seen in the context of melatonin’s tissue levels, its formation in mitochondria, and detoxification of free radicals.

Keeping chickens as backyard pets has become increasingly popular in the United States in recent years. However, biosecurity is generally low in backyard flocks. As a consequence, they can serve as reservoirs for various pathogens that pose a risk for commercial poultry or human health. Eighty-four fecal samples, 82 from chickens and two from turkeys, from 64 backyard flocks throughout the state of Alabama were collected in the summers of 2017 and 2018. Coccidia oocysts were seen in 64.1% of flocks with oocyst counts in most samples below 10,000 oocysts per gram. Eggs of Ascaridia spp. or Heterakis gallinarum were observed in 20.3% of the flocks, and eggs of Capillaria spp. in 26.6% of the flocks. Egg counts were low, rarely exceeding 1000 eggs per gram. DNA extracted directly from fecal samples was investigated by PCR for other relevant parasites. The results showed that 4.7% of flocks were positive for Histomonas meleagridis, 18.8% of flocks for Tetratrichomonas gallinarum, 18.8% of flocks for Cryptosporidium spp. and 87.5% of flocks for Blastocystis spp. The results will help to provide information that can be used to design outreach programs to improve health and wellbeing of birds in backyard flocks.

ABSTRACT The vitality of 64 lichen species (107 individual lichen thalli) growing under different light climates in an Araucaria forest in South Brazil was analyzed by chlorophyll fluorescence. Study sites were grouped according to their local light availability under full sunlight (about 2200 µmol m-2 s-1): 1 = low light, up to 20 µmol m-2 s-1; 2 = medium light, 20 to 100 µmol m-2 s-1; and 3 = high light, more than 100 µmol m-2 s-1. Maximum quantum yield of photosystem II, as shown by Fv/Fm of dark-adapted samples, was mainly between 0.3 and 0.7, with extremes of below 0.1 and up to 0.85. On average, yields were highest with low light availability (0.66). Groups 1 and 2 were not significantly different from each other, but groups 1 and 3, as well as groups 2 and 3 were. After dark adaptation, lichens were exposed to different light intensities by means of a chlorophyll fluorometer. The results show that low light-adapted lichens exhibit the highest sensitivity to excess light, as was also indicated by the data for non-photochemical quenching. Thus, shade-adapted lichens are obviously well protected from possible damage caused by excess light, which is important when exposed to sun flecks.

Exploration of the effect of soil bacteria on growth and metabolism of beneficial root endophytic fungi is relevant to promote favorable associations between microorganisms of the plant rhizosphere. Hence, the interaction between the plant-growth-promoting fungus Piriformospora indica and different soil bacteria was investigated. The parameters studied were fungal growth and its amino acid composition during the interaction. Fungus and bacteria were confronted in dual cultures in Petri dishes, either through agar or separated by a Perspex wall that only allowed the bacterial volatiles to be effective. Fungal growth was stimulated by Azotobacter chroococcum, whereas Streptomyces anulatus AcH 1003 inhibited it and Streptomyces sp. Nov AcH 505 had no effect. To analyze amino acid concentration data, targeted metabolomics was implemented under supervised analysis according to fungal-bacteria interaction and time. Orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) model clearly discriminated P. indica−A. chroococcum and P. indica−S. anulatus interactions, according to the respective score plot in comparison to the control. The most observable responses were in the glutamine and alanine size groups: While Streptomyces AcH 1003 increased the amount of glutamine, A. chroococcum decreased it. The fungal growth and the increase of alanine content might be associated with the assimilation of nitrogen in the presence of glucose as a carbon source. The N-fixing bacterium A. chroococcum should stimulate fungal amino acid metabolism via glutamine synthetase-glutamate synthase (GS-GOGAT). The data pointed to a stimulated glycolytic activity in the fungus observed by the accumulation of alanine, possibly via alanine aminotransferase. The responses toward the growth-inhibiting Streptomyces AcH 1003 suggest an (oxidative) stress response of the fungus.

Soccer—the world’s most important triviality—is not only the most popular sport in Europe, but has furthermore become an increasingly important research subject for various scientific disciplines. For regional economists and policy advisers, especially the estimation of regional economic impacts of soccer clubs and their regular major sport events are of high importance and interest. Whereas athletic success and challenges are achieved within the stadium, along with the popularity of the soccer club and its athletes, significant economic benefits can arise for the cities and regions hosting a soccer club. The purpose of this article is to analyze and estimate the impact, the German national league soccer club Borussia VfL 1900 Mönchengladbach exerts on its surrounding region, the Middle Lower Rhine Region in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The analysis differentiates expenditure-based and supply side effects. On one hand, the value added effect for the hosting region is estimated at nearly 100 mio. € annually. In addition, employment effects arise from the 1.075 employees working for the club. On the other hand, the results indicate that the club’s effects on the region’s perception, awareness and public image—which are mostly not included in comparable scientific studies, as it is difficult to quantify and measure these effects—are significant and should no longer be neglected in cost-benefit analysis of large sporting events. The results also suggest the existence of a positive influence on the local identity and sense of belonging of the population that is characterized in this study as “psychological income”. Summarized, a soccer club is identified as a significant and valuable location factor.

Histomonas meleagridis is a trichomonad parasite, which is capable to cause severe inflammations of ceca and livers in gallinaceous birds. It rarely can be satisfactorily explained, how the parasite was introduced into the flock. The role of wild birds as possible reservoir or as vectors has not been explored sufficiently. In the present study two experiments were done to determine if pigeons are susceptible to intracloacal infections with H. meleagridis and have the potential to act as vectors. In a first experiment nine racing pigeons (Columba livia forma domestica) were infected intracloacally with 400,000 living histomonads. Three further pigeons were kept as contact birds. Histomonal DNA was detected in cloacal swabs until one week after infection, but reisolation was not possible. In a second experiment 24 racing pigeons were either infected intracloacally with 250,000 viable histomonads or with the same culture, which had been inactivated. Histomonal DNA was detected in cloacal swabs of both groups until five days after infection, but reisolation was not possible. In both experiments neither clinical signs nor gross lesions were observed in any bird and in the ceca no histomonal DNA was detected. It was concluded that pigeons do not act as vectors for H. meleagridis after intracloacal infection.

Numerous lncRNAs exhibit circadian rhythms, sometimes with high amplitudes. Therefore, they are controlled by cellular circadian oscillators. However, they also seem to influence circadian clocks, as shown by the important core oscillator gene Per2, at which antiphasic rhythms of Per2 mRNA and its antisense lncRNA are generated. Circadian cycles have also been described for enhancer and super-enhancer lncRNAs. Various lncRNAs are involved in the generation of the rhythm in the pineal gland, which secretes the circadian regulator molecule, melatonin. This compound acts pleiotropically in presumably all tissues and nucleate cells. At least, some of its effects are mediated by sirtuin 1 (SIRT1). SIRT1 enhances circadian amplitudes as an accessory oscillator component and participates in numerous regulation mechanisms. The interrelated actions of circadian oscillators, melatonin and SIRT1 apparently control at least 30% of all coding genes, processes that involve numerous lncRNAs.

Neurodegeneration is frequently associated with damage by free radicals. However, increases in reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, which may ultimately lead to neuronal cell death, do not necessarily reflect its primary cause, but can be a consequence of otherwise induced cellular dysfunction. Detrimental processes which promote free radical formation are initiated, e.g., by disturbances in calcium homeostasis, mitochondrial malfunction, and an age-related decline in the circadian oscillator system. Free radicals generated at high rates under pathophysiological conditions are insufficiently detoxified by scavengers. Interventions at the primary causes of dysfunction, which avoid secondary rises in radical formation, may be more efficient. The aim of such approaches should be to prevent calcium overload, to reduce mitochondrial electron dissipation, to support electron transport capacity, and to avoid circadian perturbations. l-Theanine and several amphiphilic nitrones are capable of counteracting excitotoxicity and/or mitochondrial radical formation. Resveratrol seems to promote mitochondrial biogenesis. Mitochondrial effects of leptin include attenuation of electron leakage. Melatonin combines all the requirements mentioned, additionally regulates anti- and pro-oxidant enzymes and is, with few exceptions, very well tolerated. In this review, the perspectives, problems and limits of drugs are compared which may be suitable for reducing the formation of free radicals.

Rüdiger HardelandJohann Friedrich Blumenbach Institute of Zoology and Anthropology, University of Göttingen, GermanyAbstract: Hypnotic effects of melatonin and melatoninergic drugs are mediated via MT1 and MT2 receptors, especially those in the circadian pacemaker, the suprachiasmatic nucleus, which acts on the hypothalamic sleep switch. Therefore, they differ fundamentally from GABAergic hypnotics. Melatoninergic agonists primarily favor sleep initiation and reset the circadian clock to phases allowing persistent sleep, as required in circadian rhythm sleep disorders. A major obstacle for the use of melatonin to support sleep maintenance in primary insomnia results from its short half-life in the circulation. Solutions to this problem have been sought by developing prolonged-release formulations of the natural hormone, or melatoninergic drugs of longer half-life, such as ramelteon, tasimelteon and agomelatine. With all these drugs, improvements of sleep are statistically demonstrable, but remain limited, especially in primary chronic insomnia, so that GABAergic drugs may be indicated. Melatoninergic agonists do not cause next-day hangover and withdrawal effects, or dependence. They do not induce behavioral changes, as sometimes observed with z-drugs. Despite otherwise good tolerability, the use of melatoninergic drugs in children, adolescents, and during pregnancy has been a matter of concern, and should be avoided in autoimmune diseases and Parkinsonism. Problems and limits of melatoninergic hypnotics are compared.Keywords: agomelatine, hypnotics, melatonin, prolonged-release, ramelteon, tasimelteon

Melatonin is catabolized both enzymatically and nonenzymatically. Nonenzymatic processes mediated by free radicals, singlet oxygen, other reactive intermediates such as HOCl and peroxynitrite, or pseudoenzymatic mechanisms are not species- or tissue-specific, but vary considerably in their extent. Higher rates of nonenzymatic melatonin metabolism can be expected upon UV exposure, e.g., in plants and in the human skin. Additionally, melatonin is more strongly nonenzymatically degraded at sites of inflammation. Typical products are several hydroxylated derivatives of melatonin and N1-acetyl-N2-formyl-5-methoxykynuramine (AFMK). Most of these products are also formed by enzymatic catalysis. Considerable taxon- and site-specific differences are observed in the main enzymatic routes of catabolism. Formation of 6-hydroxymelatonin by cytochrome P450 subforms are prevailing in vertebrates, predominantly in the liver, but also in the brain. In pineal gland and non-mammalian retina, deacetylation to 5-methoxytryptamine (5-MT) plays a certain role. This pathway is quantitatively prevalent in dinoflagellates, in which 5-MT induces cyst formation and is further converted to 5-methoxyindole-3-acetic acid, an end product released to the water. In plants, the major route is catalyzed by melatonin 2-hydroxylase, whose product is tautomerized to 3-acetamidoethyl-3-hydroxy-5-methoxyindolin-2-one (AMIO), which exceeds the levels of melatonin. Formation and properties of various secondary products are discussed.

For accurate astronomic and geodetic observations based on radio telescopes, the elevation-dependent deformation of the radio telescopes’ main reflectors should be known. Terrestrial laser scanning has been used for determining the corresponding changes of focal lengths and areal reflector deformations at several occasions before. New in this publication is the situation in which we minimize systematic measurement errors by an improved measurement and data-processing concept: Sampling the main reflector in both faces of the laser scanner and calibrating the laser scanner in situ in a bundle adjustment. This concept is applied to the Onsala Space Observatory 20-m radio telescope: The focal length of the main reflector decreases by 9.6 mm from 85 ∘ to 5 ∘ elevation angle. Further local deformations of the main reflector are not detected.

Ectomycorrhizas are formed between certain soil fungi and fine roots of predominantly woody plants. An important feature of this symbiosis is the supply of plant-derived carbohydrates to the fungus. As a first step toward a better understanding of the molecular basis of this process, we cloned a monosaccharide transporter from the ectomycorrhizal fungus Amanita muscaria. Degenerate oligonucleotide primers were designed to match conserved regions from known fungal sugar transporters. A cDNA fragment of the transporter was obtained from mycorrhizal mRNA by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. This fragment was used to identify a clone (AmMst1) encoding the entire monosaccharide transporter in a Picea abies/A. muscaria mycorrhizal cDNA library. The cDNA codes for an open reading frame of 520 amino acids, showing best homology to a Neurospora crassa monosaccharide transporter. The function of AmMST1 as monosaccharide transporter was confirmed by heterologous expression of the cDNA in a Schizosaccharomyces pombe mutant lacking a monosaccharide uptake system. AmMst1 was constitutively expressed in fungal hyphae under all growth conditions. Nevertheless, in mycorrhizas as well as in hyphae grown at monosaccharide concentrations above 5 mM, the amount of AmMst1 transcript increased fourfold. We therefore suggest that AmMst1 is upregulated in ectomycorrhizas by a monosaccharide-controlled mechanism.

As projected by the “Three-Sector Hypothesis” structural change in highly developed countries is characterized by an increasing importance of the tertiary sector at the expense of the secondary sector. This change can be explained by the structural expansion of production oriented services. The paper analyzes the kind of cooperation and the linkages of service industries and manufacturing branches using the results of a firm survey carried out in parts of the German Rhineland. One result is that especially knowledge intensive services help to broaden the regions’ export-base and thus foster regional economic development. Furthermore the results of the survey show that service industries and manufacturing industries are highly and mutually linked to each other. In doing so the manufacturing industries demand highly specialized services; vice versa the service industries give innovative impulses helping to increase the competitive capability of industrial firms. There are clear hints that the meaning of manufacturing industry in this network is higher than some empirical analyses can show. Regions might be well advised, therefore, not to neglect the locational requirements of manufacturing industries.

The interaction and networking among private firms and public research entities determine the innovative potential and performance of a region essentially. Cooperatively, these important members of regional innovation systems develop innovations and enhance knowledge diffusion. The impact of a higher education institution on a regional innovation system depends not only on the success of the research and development activities, but also on its network integration and interaction with other members in the regional innovation system. Based on these considerations, knowledge and technology transfer has become one of the strategic and operative core functions of higher education institutions, whereas mainly transfer forms with a high degree of university-industry cooperation shape the role of higher education institutions in the regional innovation system. Especially the application-oriented universities of applied sciences are required to disseminate and implement the gathered knowledge in their regional environment. The article examines the special role of universities of applied sciences in the regional innovation system and analyses university-side success factors of knowledge transfer on the basis of a best practice analysis. The research identifies strategic concepts relevant for successful transfer, furthermore operative policy recommendations were deducted that encourage cooperation between university and regional economy and knowledge transfer.

Infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) causes economically important immunosuppressive disease in young chickens. The self-assembling capsid protein (VP2) from IBDV strain IR01 was expressed in Pichia pastoris resulting in the formation of homomeric, 23-nm infectious bursal disease subviral particles (IBD-SVPs) with a yield of 76 mg/l before and 38 mg/l after purification. Anti-IBDV antibodies were detected in chickens injected with purified IBD-SVPs or fed with either purified IBD-SVPs or inactivated P. pastoris cells containing IBD-VP2 (cell-encapsulated). Challenge studies using the heterologous classical IBDV strain (MB3) showed that intramuscular vaccination with 20 µg purified IBD-SVPs conferred full protection, achieved complete virus clearance and prevented bursal damage and atrophy, compared with only 40% protection, 0-10% virus clearance accompanied by severe atrophy and substantial bursal damage in mock-vaccinated and challenge controls. The commercial IBDV vaccine also conferred full protection and achieved complete virus clearance, albeit with partial bursal atrophy. Oral administration of 500 µg purified IBD-SVPs with and without adjuvant conferred 100% protection but achieved only 60% virus clearance with adjuvant and none without it. Moderate bursal damage was observed in both cases but the inclusion of adjuvant resulted in bursal atrophy similar to that observed with live-attenuated vaccine and parenteral administration of 20 µg purified IBD-SVPs. The oral administration of 250 mg P. pastoris cells containing IBD-VP2 resulted in 100% protection with adjuvant and 60% without, accompanied by moderate bursal damage and atrophy in both groups, whereas 25 mg P. pastoris cells containing IBD-VP2 resulted in 90-100% protection with moderate bursal lesions and severe atrophy. Finally, the oral delivery of 50 µg purified IBD-SVPs achieved 40-60% protection with severe bursal lesions and atrophy. Both oral and parenteral administration of yeast-derived IBD-VP2 can therefore induce a specific and protective immune response against IBDV without affecting the growth rate of chickens.

Melatonin is a highly pleiotropic signaling molecule, which is released as a hormone of the pineal gland predominantly during night. Melatonin secretion decreases during aging. Reduced melatonin levels are also observed in various diseases, such as types of dementia, some mood disorders, severe pain, cancer, and diabetes type 2. Melatonin dysfunction is frequently related to deviations in amplitudes, phasing, and coupling of circadian rhythms. Gene polymorphisms of melatonin receptors and circadian oscillator proteins bear risks for several of the diseases mentioned. A common symptom of insufficient melatonin signaling is sleep disturbances. It is necessary to distinguish between symptoms that are curable by short melatonergic actions and others that require extended actions during night. Melatonin immediate release is already effective, at moderate doses, for reducing difficulties of falling asleep or improving symptoms associated with poorly coupled circadian rhythms, including seasonal affective and bipolar disorders. For purposes of a replacement therapy based on longer-lasting melatonergic actions, melatonin prolonged release and synthetic agonists have been developed. Therapies with melatonin or synthetic melatonergic drugs have to consider that these agents do not only act on the SCN, but also on numerous organs and cells in which melatonin receptors are also expressed.

Sleep disorders constitute major nonmotor features of Parkinson’s disease (PD) that have a substantial effect on patients’ quality of life and can be related to the progression of the neurodegenerative disease. They can also serve as preclinical markers for PD, as it is the case for rapid eye movement (REM)-associated sleep behavior disorder (RBD). Although the etiology of sleep disorders in PD remains undefined, the assessment of the components of the circadian system, including melatonin secretion, could give therapeutically valuable insight on their pathophysiopathology. Melatonin is a regulator of the sleep/wake cycle and also acts as an effective antioxidant and mitochondrial function protector. A reduction in the expression of melatonin MT 1 and MT 2 receptors has been documented in the substantia nigra of PD patients. The efficacy of melatonin for preventing neuronal cell death and for ameliorating PD symptoms has been demonstrated in animal models of PD employing neurotoxins. A small number of controlled trials indicate that melatonin is useful in treating disturbed sleep in PD, in particular RBD. Whether melatonin and the recently developed melatonergic agents (ramelteon, tasimelteon, agomelatine) have therapeutic potential in PD is also discussed.

Die wichtigsten rechtlichen Rahmenbedingungen und Datenanforderungen für die Zulassung biologischer Pflanzenschutzmittel werden erläutert. Die Erfahrungen aus Zulassungsverfahren für unterschiedliche Mikro­organismen und Produkte werden zusammengefasst dargestellt.

This article deals with the importance of the “Niederrhein University of Applied Sciences” (NUAS) for regional development in the Middle Lower Rhine Area. After some general theoretical considerations, the demand-side effects of the university are estimated by means of a regional multiplier analysis. The most important supply-side effects are analysed through a survey of firms. This shows that the university is noticed by only two thirds of regional enterprises, and that courses of study, activities in research and development and in further education, and also other potentials for co-operation, are scarcely recognised by the firms. The NUAS thus has a serious image problem.

Nach einem systematischen Überblick über die realwirtschaftlichen Konsequenzen der Europäischen Währungsunion wird im vorliegenden Beitrag der Versuch unternommen, die Relevanz dieser Wirkungen für eine ausgewählte Region — den „Mittleren Niederrhein” — zu prüfen. Dabei wird insbesondere auf die Auslandsabhängigkeit und die Wettbewerbsfähigkeit der regionalen Wirtschaft eingegangen. Im Ergebnis kann festgehalten werden, daß die Wirtschaft am Mittleren Niederrhein aufgrund ihrer intensiven außenwirtschaftlichen Verflechtungen von den durch die Währungsunion eintretenden Transaktionskostenersparnissen profitieren wird. Die Startbedingungen der Region und ihrer Unternehmen in einen intensivierten Wettbewerbsprozeß müssen jedoch kritisch gesehen werden: Die Entwicklung der Industrieumsätze deutet auf Marktanteilsverluste der regionalen Unternehmen hin, das regionale Innovationspotential weist Schwächen auf und die Standortbedingungen lassen neben Stärken auch Defizite erkennen.

Der Beitrag versucht die möglichen regionalwirtschaftlichen Effekte eines Fußballbundesligavereins zu beschreiben und zu klassifizieren: Zunächst sind die nachfrageseitigen Effekte zu nennen, die von den Einkommenszahlungen, den Vorleistungskäufen und möglichen investiven Ausgaben des Vereins, insbesondere aber von den Fanausgaben angestoßen werden und die weitere Kreislaufeffekte induzieren. Es kommen angebotsseitige Effekte hinzu. Dies können direkte Sogeffekte sein, weil andere wirtschaftliche Aktivitäten die räumliche Nähe zu einem Fußballbundesligaverein suchen. Es können indirekte Sogeffekte sein, weil die Qualität oder das Image eines Standorts durch die Existenz eines Fußballbundesligisten steigt und der Standort somit für andere Unternehmen an Attraktivität gewinnt. Schließlich sind Effekte zu erwähnen, die in das Klassifikationsschema nach Angebot und Nachfrage kaum einzuordnen sind—die Wirkungen auf den kommunalen Haushalt und Aspekte, die zu gesellschaftlichen, aber nicht zu privatwirtschaftlichen Kosten und Erträgen führen, sind Beispiele hierfür.

Bei völlig unterschiedlichen Ursachen bestehen zwischen den Umstrukturierungsproblemen der neuen Bundesländer und denen der altindustriellen Regionen eine ganze Reihe von Parallelen. Dies betrifft insbesondere die Hemmnisse im Anpassungsprozeß. Die Parallelen werden im vorliegenden Beitrag beschrieben und sie werden genutzt, um aus dem Erfahrungsschatz der altindustriellen Regionen bezüglich Ausmaß und zeitlichem Verlauf der Anpassungsprobleme in den neuen Bundesländern ungefähre Vorstellungen zu entwickeln. Dabei zeigt sich auch, daß die Erfahrungen altindustrieller Regionen sowohl hinsichtlich erfolg- als auch hinsichtlich mißerfolgversprechender Politikansätze nützliche Hinweise für das Bemühen um eine Vitalisierung der Wirtschaft in den neuen Bundesländern liefern können.

The pineal hormone Melatonin plays an important role in the regulation of the circadian sleep/wake cycle, mood, and perhaps immune functions, carcinogensis and reproduction. The human circadian rhythm of melatonin release from the pineal gland is tightly synchronized with the habitual hours of sleep. Peri- and postmenopausal women often complain of difficulties initiating and/or maintaining sleep, with frequent nocturnal and early morning awakenings. In this review we discuss the pathophysiology of melatonin function as it relates to sleep disorders in menopausal women, highlighting the potential use of exogenous melatonin during the menopausal transition and beyond.

Background: Although the direct anterior approach (DAA) represents an intermuscular and internervous approach to total hip arthroplasty (THA), it did not reach global acceptance until its adoption by large teaching centers. Today, >50% of primary THA procedures in Switzerland are performed via the DAA. Besides being truly minimally invasive, a key advantage of the DAA is the inherent stability that it provides. A shortcoming has been that the traditional longitudinal skin incision does not follow the skin tension lines 1 and therefore can result in wound-healing problems, poor scar cosmesis, and damage to the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve (LFCN). In 2011, we introduced the bikini-type skin-crease incision, and we have utilized it in most of our patients since, with excellent outcomes that are equivalent to those of the traditional incision and superior scar cosmesis 2 . The bikini incision pertains only to the incisions made at the skin and subcutaneous tissues, which are oblique, whereas the deeper dissection beginning with the fascial sheath of the tensor fasciae latae (TFL) is still performed in the longitudinal direction. In most patients, the incision falls into the flexion crease or slightly distal to it, and today, in order to minimize direct damage to the LFCN 3 , the incision we perform is always lateral to the anterior superior iliac spine (ASIS) 4 . From January 2014 until August 2023, a total of 10,009 THA procedures were performed in our unit, with 8,769 being performed via the DAA and 4,969 of those being performed with use of the bikini incision type. The incision type was generally selected according to the experience of the surgeon, with the less-experienced surgeons utilizing classic incision techniques and the high-volume surgeons (i.e., >200 THAs per year) utilizing the bikini incision technique. The bikini incision was utilized in most straightforward cases, but it was not performed if a longitudinal incision had been utilized on the contralateral side or in technically challenging cases. The use of this incision has been adopted by others, with similarly excellent outcomes; however, there is potential for damage to the LFCN 5 . Several studies utilizing a bikini incision have described the incision as being made quite medial to the ASIS, potentially even crossing the medial branches of the LFCN. In contrast, over years of utilizing the bikini incision technique, our approach has evolved such that the incision is not made medial to the ASIS., Description: The bikini-type (skin-crease) incision only differs from the classic longitudinal approach used for DAA THA with respect to the skin and subcutaneous tissue. To avoid damage to the LFCN, our bikini-type incision has evolved over the last decade to being located entirely lateral to the ASIS (Video 1) 3 ., Alternatives: The main alternative is the classic longitudinal incision used for DAA THA., Rationale: The bikini incision is a valuable alternative that improves wound healing and scar cosmesis in DAA THA in technically straightforward hips, which account for >90% of our cases. The procedure can be divided into 10 steps, as described in the videos. Today, indications include primary or secondary osteoarthritis, femoral neck fracture, and revision THA involving head and/or liner exchange, and simple socket loosening without the need for proximal extension of the approach. Particularly in patients prone to hypertrophic scar formation (i.e., patients who are younger, have a darker skin type, are obese, etc.), this incision is a helpful alternative to the classic longitudinal incision. The classic longitudinal incision is still preferred for complex primary or revision THA cases in which extensile distal and/or acetabular exposure might be required, revision cases with a preexisting longitudinal DAA incision, cases of inguinal skin infection, or cases in which the contralateral side has been treated utilizing a longitudinal incision., Expected Outcomes: A recent review assessed 8 double-armed studies that included a total of 952 bikini incision procedures and 1,361 longitudinal incision procedures. In 3 of the 4 studies reporting postoperative scar appearance and patient satisfaction, those outcomes were more favorable following the bikini incision compared with the longitudinal incision, with the fourth study showing comparable results. Postoperative hip function was similar between the incision types in 3 of 4 studies assessing that outcome 5 . LFCN injury was the most frequently reported complication, but rates were low overall, and most injuries resolved. Only 2 of the included studies reported slightly higher risks of LFCN injury following use of the bikini incision technique, but their procedures involved large incisions made medial to the ASIS. On the basis of our own prior study as well as other recently reported data 2,4 , we advocate that the incision be made lateral to the ASIS., Important Tips: Begin with the bikini incision in technically easier hips.Adjust the bikini incision according to radiographic hip morphology.Do not perform the skin incision too small, too distal, too proximal, or most importantly too medial.Secure the medial edge from tearing.Limit subcutaneous dissection.Change the dissection deep to the fascial sheath of the tensor from the oblique to the longitudinal direction.Appreciate that a bikini incision is less extensile., Acronyms and Abbreviations: ASIS = anterior superior iliac spineBMI = body mass indexCCD = caput column diaphysisDAA = direct anterior approachGT = greater trochanterLFCA = lateral femoral circumflex arteryLFCN = lateral femoral cutaneous nerveTFL = tensor fasciae lataeTHA = total hip arthroplastyOA = osteoarthritisROM = range of motion., Competing Interests: Disclosure: The Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest forms are provided with the online version of the article (http://links.lww.com/JBJSEST/A472)., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, Incorporated.)

Introduction: Aseptic femoral stem loosening is among the most common causes for revision in total hip arthroplasty (THA). We describe a simple clinical test that triggers pain in the proximal femur in patients with a loose stem. A previously described passive rotation test was associated with a poor sensitivity. The resisted torsional stress test (RTST) was used for several years in our hospital, and this is the first description of its reliability., Methods: We retrospectively reviewed our database of uncemented stem revisions. Preoperative clinical reports were searched for data on the RTST. A positive RTST was defined as sharp pain felt at the stem level with active internal rotation against a passive external rotation impulse in 90° hip flexion. The definition of stem fixation (fixed vs. loose) was made by readout of the surgery reports., Results: The RTST was reported in 83 cases and was positive in 32 of the 43 stems, which were found loose intraoperatively and in 9 of the 40 stems, which were well integrated. This leads to an accuracy of classification of 79.5%. The sensitivity was 80% and the specificity was 79.1%. PPV and NPV were 78% and 81%, respectively., Conclusion: The RTST provides a helpful tool in the clinical assessment of femoral stem fixation in THA with good accuracy and should be included in standard follow-up examinations and in the assessment of painful THAs., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Rifampicin is a key antibiotic in the treatment of staphylococcal biofilm infections. In this pilot study, we found that patients who received rifampicin for treatment of an orthopaedic-device-related infection (ODRI) were colonized with rifampicin-resistant staphylococci during treatment and this persisted for up to 2 months after cessation of treatment., Competing Interests: At least one of the (co-)authors is a member of the editorial board of Journal of Bone and Joint Infection. The peer-review process was guided by an independent editor, and the authors also have no other competing interests to declare., (Copyright: © 2024 Alexandra Wallimann et al.)

Aims: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the mid-term outcomes of autologous matrix-induced chondrogenesis (AMIC) for the treatment of larger cartilage lesions and deformity correction in hips suffering from symptomatic femoroacetabular impingement (FAI)., Methods: This single-centre study focused on a cohort of 24 patients with cam- or pincer-type FAI, full-thickness femoral or acetabular chondral lesions, or osteochondral lesions ≥ 2 cm 2 , who underwent surgical hip dislocation for FAI correction in combination with AMIC between March 2009 and February 2016. Baseline data were retrospectively obtained from patient files. Mid-term outcomes were prospectively collected at a follow-up in 2020: cartilage repair tissue quality was evaluated by MRI using the Magnetic Resonance Observation of Cartilage Repair Tissue (MOCART) score. Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) included the Oxford Hip Score (OHS) and Core Outcome Measure Index (COMI). Clinical examination included range of motion, impingement tests, and pain., Results: A total of 12 hips from 11 patients were included (ten males, one female, mean age 26.8 years (SD 5.0), mean follow-up 6.2 years (SD 5.2 months)). The mean postoperative MOCART score was 66.3 (SD 16.3). None of the patients required conversion to total hip arthroplasty. Two patients had anterior impingement. External hip rotation was moderately limited in four patients. There was a correlation between MOCART and follow-up time (r s = -0.61; p = 0.035), but not with initial cartilage damage, age, BMI, or imaging time delay before surgery. PROMs improved significantly: OHS from 37.4 to 42.7 (p = 0.014) and COMI from 4.1 to 1.6 (p = 0.025). There was no correlation between MOCART and PROMs., Conclusion: Based on the reported mid-term results, we consider AMIC as an encouraging treatment option for large cartilage lesions of the hip. Nonetheless, the clinical evidence of AMIC in FAI patients remains to be determined, ideally in the context of randomized controlled trials., Competing Interests: V. A. Stadelmann reports research funding from Swiss Innovation Agency, Zimmer GmbH, and Smith & Nephew Orthopaedics AG, and consulting fees from Flowbone AG, unrelated to this study. V. A. Stadelmann is also President (unpaid) of the Swiss Bone and Mineral Society., (© 2024 The British Editorial Society of Bone & Joint Surgery.)

Purpose: The conditions leading to growth rebound after hemiepiphysiodesis are still poorly understood. This article analyzes the radiographical outcomes after guided growth with tension band plating, using plates in idiopathic genu valgum patients and attempts to generate a predictive model of growth rebound., Methods: Patients with idiopathic genu valgum deformity who received tension band plating were selected for evaluation. We only analyzed coronal plane deformities. Only patients with a long-standing X-ray before tension band plating surgery, a long-standing X-ray at tension band plating removal, and a long-standing X-ray at the latest follow-up after tension band plating removal were considered for this study. The change of mechanical axis deviation between the tension band plating removal and the last follow-up was evaluated for rebound, and ordinal logistic regression was performed to determine the relevant variables for predictive modeling rebound growth., Results: Overall, 100 patients (189 legs) were analyzed. The mean mechanical axis deviation at tension band plating removal was 8.4 mm in varus direction, and the mean mechanical axis deviation at the last follow-up was -3.4 mm (p ≤ 0.001). However, 111 legs (59%) showed rebound growth, 57 (30%) stayed stable, and 21 (11%) showed a continuous correction. Six significant factors significantly influencing rebound were isolated which are clinically relevant: sex, age, baseline mechanical axis deviation, mechanical lateral distal femoral angle, and mechanical medial proximal tibial angle, and mechanical axis deviation correction rate. Mechanical axis deviation correction rate had the highest odds ratios. The machine learning classification model for predicting rebound growth built from the study data showed a misclassification rate of 39%., Conclusion: There was a high rate of rebound growth in this cohort, especially for patients at a young age at implantation. The highest risk factors for rebound growth were male sex, and high correction rates, such as found during peak growth spurt. The proposed classification model needs more data to improve its predictive power before it can be used in clinics., Level of Evidence: Level III., Competing Interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article., (© The Author(s) 2023.)