Background: Informed consent is a prerequisite for patients included in clinical trials. Trial design, inclusion criteria and legal requirements are increasingly complex. This complexity challenges design and delivery of written and oral trial information to ensure understandable information. To evaluate the level of concordance between patients' and informing physicians' assessments regarding pat

Aerococcus urinae is an emerging pathogen that causes urinary tract infections, bacteremia and infective endocarditis. The mechanisms through which A. urinae cause infection are largely unknown. The aims of this study were to describe the surface proteome of A. urinae and to analyse A. urinae genomes in search for genes encoding surface proteins. Two proteins, denoted Aerococcal surface protein (A

Terrestrial net primary productivity (NPP) is an important metric of ecosystem functioning; however, there are little empirical data on the NPP of human-modified ecosystems, particularly smallholder, perennial crops like cocoa (Theobroma cacao), which are extensive across the tropics. Human-appropriated NPP (HANPP) is a measure of the proportion of a natural system's NPP that has either been reduc

Observations of increasing water color and organic carbon concentrations in lakes are widespread across the Northern Hemisphere. The drivers of these trends are debated. Declining atmospheric sulfur deposition has been put forward as an important underlying factor, since recovery from acidification enhances mobility of organic matter from surrounding soils. This would suggest that the current brow

Understanding what controls the lateral flux of organic and inorganic carbon from landscapes to surfacewaters is key to fully understanding terrestrial ecosystem carbon balances, the biogeochemistry of fresh-waters, and how the hydrologically-mediated movement of carbon between these ecosystems may be alteredby global change. In this paper, we synthesize current knowledge and identify major knowled

Background: There have been many successful strategies to implement xylose metabolism in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, but no effort has so far enabled xylose utilization at rates comparable to that of glucose (the preferred sugar of this yeast). Many studies have pointed towards the engineered yeast not sensing that xylose is a fermentable carbon source despite growing and fermenting on it, which is

Background: Neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) are very common in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) dementia and are associated with various disadvantageous clinical outcomes including a negative impact on quality of life, caregiver burden, and accelerated disease progression. Despite growing evidence of the efficacy of (non)pharmacological interventions to re

Enzymes with a protein kinase fold transfer phosphate from adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) to substrates in a process known as phosphorylation. Here, we show that the Legionella meta-effector SidJ adopts a protein kinase fold, yet unexpectedly catalyzes protein polyglutamylation. SidJ is activated by host-cell calmodulin to polyglutamylate the SidE family of ubiquitin (Ub) ligases. Crystal structu

Objective: The aim of this paper is to provide arguments for a phenomenologically informed clinical approach to autism spectrum disorder (ASD), including a plea for clinical attention to the self in ASD. Methods: Central concepts of continental phenomenology, phenomenological psychopathology, and the phenomenological interview are presented, with an emphasis on the potential unifying qualities of

Coaxial quantum wells (QWs) are ideal candidates for nanowire (NW) lasers, providing strong carrier confinement and allowing close matching of the cavity mode and gain medium. We report a detailed structural and optical study and the observation of lasing for a mixed group-V GaAsP NW with GaAs QWs. This system offers a number of potential advantages in comparison to previously studied common group

Background: There is substantial evidence that patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) have high response rates to tumour necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi), a low likelihood of successful treatment termination, but yet a limited drug retention. Whereas several reports have assessed drug retention rates for TNFi in AS, there are few, if any, studies investigating the actual treatment trajectories

Background: Optimal infusion rate of colloids in patients with suspected hypovolemia is unknown, and the primary objective of the present study was to test if plasma volume expansion by 5% albumin is greater if fluid is administered slowly rather than rapidly. Methods: Patients with signs of hypoperfusion after major abdominal surgery were randomized to intravenous infusion of 5% albumin at a dose

This theoretical paper introduces a new way to view and characterize learning astronomy. It describes a framework, based on results from empirical data, analyzed through standard qualitative research methodology, in which a theoretical model for a vital competency of learning astronomy is proposed: reading the sky, a broad description under with various skills and competencies are included. This m

Although literature concerning chronic pain patients indicates that cognitive behavioural variables, specifically acceptance and fear of movement/(re)injury, are related to life impact, the relative roles of these factors in relation to pain characteristics (e.g. intensity and spreading) and emotional distress are unclear. Moreover, how these variables affect rehabilitation outcomes in different s

Background: The transition towards a more sustainable energy system is urgent for addressing global environmental and social challenges, and will require transformative changes including improved energy efficiency in the built environment. To reach identified efficiency potentials, various policy instruments have been introduced but their effects are often unclear. In this paper, we argue that the

2H-Chromene is an important structural motif present in many biologically active compounds, natural products and showed many other properties. Deep Eutectic Solvent (DES) an environmentally benign and alternative to the conventional organic volatile solvents has been utilized first time for the synthesis of the 2H-chromene derivatives in moderated to excellent yields. The DES is recycled for 5 tim

Background: Positive psychology indicators like well-being and life satisfaction may play a pivotal role in pain-related outcomes. In this study, we aimed to examine the prospective associations of positive well-being and life satisfaction with pain severity. Methods and Subjects: This longitudinal study, with a follow-up of 2 years, included 9361 participants (4266 males, 5095 females; mean age:

□ Total hip arthroplasty (THA) registers are established in several countries to collect data aiming to improve the results after THA. Monitoring of adverse outcomes after THA has focused mainly on revision surgery, but patientreported outcomes have also been investigated. □ Several surgery-related factors influencing the survival of the THA have been thoroughly investigated and have changed clini

OBJECTIVE Gastrointestinal adverse effects occur in 20–30% of patients with metformin-treated type 2 diabetes, leading to premature discontinuation in 5–10% of the cases. Gastrointestinal intolerance may reflect localized high concentrations of metformin in the gut. We hypothesized that reduced transport of metformin via the plasma membrane monoamine transporter (PMAT) and organic cation transport