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Objective Cognitive decline is a key characteristic of Huntington's disease (HD). This study aimed to investigate the diagnostic accuracy of a cognitive battery with six tests used by most HD research centers to assess cognitive impairment in HD. Method In total, 106 HD patients in different disease stages with more (HD-CD, N  = 30) and less cognitive impairments (HD-NC, N  = 70) and 100 healthy controls (NC) were matched by age, sex, and education and were examined using a standardized protocol including cognitive, motor, and functional assessments. Results One-way between-groups analysis of variance showed that controls performed significantly better than HD patients and that HD-NC significantly outperformed HD-CD patients in all cognitive tests (NC > HD-NC > HD-CD), with all Games-Howell post-hoc tests p  < .001. Analyses using area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve (AUC) disclosed the diagnostic accuracy of all tests included in the battery to discriminate between NC and HD patients with AUC ranging from 0.809 to 0.862 (all p  < .001) and between HD-CD and HD-NC patients with AUC ranging from 0.833 to 0.899 (all p  < .001). In both analysis, Stroop Color Naming Test showed the highest discriminative potential. Additional analyses showed that cognitive deficits in all domains progressed with disease duration. Moreover, cognitive performance correlated with the severity of motor and functional impairment (all p  < .001) and with the Disease Burden Score regardless of disease duration and age. Conclusion Our results indicate that the cognitive battery is a suitable tool for assessing cognitive impairment in HD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The poem "REMOVING THE DIRT" by Lena Moses-Schmitt is presented. First Line: In the sun I'm washing; Last Line: to think them back to life.

The poem 'NOT HAPPINESS" by Lena Moses-Schmitt is presented. First Line: At the table near the window which holds in its frame like a painting; Last Line: & willing myself to land on one foot.

Aesthetical and biomechanical requirements on fiber-reinforced endodontic posts play an important role in clinical application. Leading to a long-term clinical success, post systems must ensure an adequate force transmission and optimal retention behavior into the root channel. The aim of this study was to determine the microstructure and morphology of commonly used fiber reinforced endodontic posts in vitro. Post-specific fiber diameter, fiber arrangement over the cross-sections and length, and fiber-matrix ratio could be associated with mechanical properties, such as three-point bending strength and structure modulus. Furthermore, our investigation focused on the quantification of the wettability of the post surface. By using a modified contact-angle measurement, the meniscus on the post surface was characterized. In additional investigations, posts were inserted in artificial root channels and the extraction force was measured. The results show a strong correlation between the extraction force and the wettability of the post surface.