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Background: Actions focused on age-friendly environments contribute to promote and maintain older people’s functional ability and may enable them to contribute to their communities and enjoy life. As such, age-friendly practices require collaboration between diverse stakeholders across multiple sectors responsible for natural, built, and social environments, which can be particularly relevant during public health emergencies when socio-ecological vulnerabilities become more salient and may disproportionally affect older people. This paper presents a protocol for a scoping review aiming to investigate the breadth of evidence concerning the development, implementation, and evaluation of age-friendly practices during the COVID-19 pandemic. The protocol sets out the objectives, methods, and dissemination plans for the review. Methods: The scoping review will be conducted in line with the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) scoping review methodology. We will search databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, CINAHL, Scopus, PsychNet) and grey literature sources. Publications relating to practices across the 8 domains of the World Health Organization’s age-friendly cities and communities’ framework will be included. A tabular data extraction tool will be used to facilitate a narrative synthesis of results. Ethics and dissemination: Ethical approval is not required as the methods proposed for this scoping review consist of collecting publicly available data. Findings will be reported in line with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) and submitted to a journal for academic dissemination. Lay dissemination plans include an infographic and a blog-style article presenting our core results. Conclusion: The publication of this protocol allows for transparency in the systematic process of a scoping review focused on age-friendly practices during COVID-19. Findings emerging from the scoping review will provide insights into the evidence available regarding age-friendly activities during COVID-19 and may inform future age-friendly practices during public health emergencies and beyond.

Pollen grains transport the sperm cells through the style tissue via a fast-growing pollen tube to the ovaries where fertilization takes place. Pollen tube growth requires a precisely regulated network of cellular as well as molecular events including the activity of the plasma membrane H+ ATPase, which is known to be regulated by reversible protein phosphorylation and subsequent binding of 14-3-3 isoforms. Immunodetection of the phosphorylated penultimate threonine residue of the pollen plasma membrane H+ ATPase (LilHA1) of Lilium longiflorum pollen revealed a sudden increase in phosphorylation with the start of pollen tube growth. In addition to phosphorylation, pH modulated the binding of 14-3-3 isoforms to the regulatory domain of the H+ ATPase, whereas metabolic components had only small effects on 14-3-3 binding, as tested with in vitro assays using recombinant 14-3-3 isoforms and phosphomimicking substitutions of the threonine residue. Consequently, local H+ influxes and effluxes as well as pH gradients in the pollen tube tip are generated by localized regulation of the H+ ATPase activity rather than by heterogeneous localized distribution in the plasma membrane.

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has the potential to trigger multiple stress domains and lead to long-term repercussions in an individual’s quality of life, health, and well-being. Stressors from the pandemic are likely to be experienced in many ways by older adults with heterogeneous life experiences and supports available. In this context, it is necessary to tease out the underlying mechanisms leading to positive and negative well-being and mental health across interdependent individual, social and environmental factors. The aim of the present study is to explore community-dwelling older adults’ experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a particular focus on mental health and psychosocial well-being. Methods: An exploratory longitudinal qualitative study will be conducted with data collected through written submissions, narrative interviews and go-along interviews with older adults living in Irish community settings. To enable the exploration of participants’ responses to the evolving social, economic and environmental circumstances, data collection will take during the implementation of public health restrictions and once these are eased and the vaccination program is rolled out. Framework analysis will be carried out to identify data themes, linkages, and explanations within Bronfenbrenner’s socio-ecological model. Ethics and dissemination: Ethical approval has been granted by the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Research Ethics Committee (REC202011028). Findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed journal publications, presentations at relevant conferences, and in consultation with Public and Patient Involvement (PPI) contributors. A lay summary of findings and infographic will be distributed to multiple stakeholders including our PPI panel, older people, caregivers, community organizations, charities, and media.

Several effective SARS-CoV-2 vaccines are currently in use, but effective boosters are needed to maintain or increase immunity due to waning responses and the emergence of novel variants. Here we report that intranasal vaccinations with adenovirus 5 and 19a vectored vaccines following a systemic plasmid DNA or mRNA priming result in systemic and mucosal immunity in mice. In contrast to two intramuscular applications of an mRNA vaccine, intranasal boosts with adenoviral vectors induce high levels of mucosal IgA and lung-resident memory T cells (TRM); mucosal neutralization of virus variants of concern is also enhanced. The mRNA prime provokes a comprehensive T cell response consisting of circulating and lung TRM after the boost, while the plasmid DNA prime induces mostly mucosal T cells. Concomitantly, the intranasal boost strategies lead to complete protection against a SARS-CoV-2 infection in mice. Our data thus suggest that mucosal booster immunizations after mRNA priming is a promising approach to establish mucosal immunity in addition to systemic responses., While current COVID-19 vaccines provide certain protection, more effective vaccination strategies are still desirable. Here the authors show, using mouse vaccination models, that priming with a systemic mRNA and boosting with an intranasal adenoviral vector vaccine induces comprehensive T cell and mucosal immunity.

Der Gebäude- und Bausektor ist für etwa 40 % der energie- und prozessbedingten Emissionen verantwortlich. Da die Europäische Union bis 2050 der erste klimaneutrale Kontinent der Welt werden will, müssen ehrgeizige Maßnahmen ergriffen werden. Ein Konzept, das zu einer nachhaltigeren Zukunft mit dem Ziel der Reduktion von Treibhausgasemissionen beiträgt, ist eine Kreislaufwirtschaft (CE). CE zielt auf verschiedene Maßnahmen wie Verringerung, Wiederverwendung und Wiederverwertung ab. Wiederverwendungspraktiken sind in der Bauindustrie nicht sehr verbreitet, würden aber große Mengen an Material und Energie einsparen und zu einer nachhaltigen Entwicklung beitragen. Daher wurde eine Lebenszykluskostenrechnung (LCC) durchgeführt, um die Kosten aufzuzeigen, die einem Nutzer über den Lebenszyklus entstehen, wenn die Wiederverwendung eines Hauselements ermöglicht wird. Eine häufig verwendete Bauweise, die Holztafelbauweise, wurde ausgewählt und die Kosten wurden anhand einer Fallstudie ausgewertet. Als funktionelle Einheit für die Analyse wurde 1 m2 einer vorgefertigten, hölzernen Außenwand gewählt. Die Systemgrenzen wurden so festgelegt, dass die Anschaffungskosten, die Transportkosten und die Montagekosten für die erste Nutzungsdauer berücksichtigt wurden. Für das Wiederverwendungsszenario (zweites Leben) wurden Demontage- und Wiederherstellungskosten sowie Transport- und Montagekosten einbezogen. Die Datenerhebung basierte auf gemessenen Zeiten, die für die Prozesse benötigt wurden, sowie auf Berechnungen, die auf den Erfahrungen des Unternehmenspartners beruhten. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass eine Wiederverwendung des Wandelements wirtschaftlich vorteilhaft ist, da die Kosten im zweiten Leben niedriger sind als im ersten Leben. In einer Sensitivitätsanalyse wurden die Kostenänderungen für Material, Arbeit, Transport, Montage sowie Demontage und Restaurierung untersucht. Die Ergebnisse sollen Entscheidungsprozesse in Richtung CE-Prinzipien im Bausektor unterstützen. The building and construction sector is responsible for about 40% of energy- and process-related emissions. Since the European Union wants to become the world’s first climate-neutral continent by 2050 ambitious actions have to start towards a more sustainable development. One concept that contributes to a more sustainable future with the aim of reducing greenhouse gas emissions is the concept of a Circular Economy (CE). This concept aims at different actions such as reduce, reuse and recycle with descending preference. Reuse practices are still not very common in the construction industry, but it would save massive amounts of material and energy and therefore contribute to a sustainable development. Decisions are still predominantly based on costs, therefore a Life Cycle Costing (LCC) was conducted to show and contrast the costs a user faces over the life cycle when a reuse of a house element is made possible. A commonly used construction method, the timber panel construction, was selected and through a case study analysis costs were aggregated. The functional unit for the analysis was chosen to be 1 m2 of a prefabricated, wooden, external house wall. The system boundaries were set to include acquisition costs, transport costs and assembly costs for the first life. For the reuse scenario (second life) disassembly and restauration costs as well as transport and assembly costs were included. The data collection was based on measured times needed for the processes as well as calculations based on the company partner’s experience. The results show that a reuse of the wall element is economically beneficial with lower costs in the second life than in the first life. Cost changes of materials, labour, transport, assembly and disassembly & restauration were tested in a sensitivity analysis. The results support decision-making processes towards CE principles in the construction sector. Arbeit an der Bibliothek noch nicht eingelangt - Daten nicht geprüft Abweichender Titel laut Übersetzung des Verfassers/der Verfasserin Masterarbeit Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz 2021

The purpose of this research is to study the intraocular occurrence of SARS-CoV-2. In postmortem examinations, aqueous humor and the vitreous samples were collected. All individuals were previously positive in nasopharyngeal swabbing and cause of death was respiratory failure due to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Testing was done using quantitative RT-PCR. We included 16 aqueous humor and 16 vitreous samples for PCR testing. None of the results was positive for SARS-CoV-2. Human GAPDH genes to verify the presence of RNA was present in all aqueous humor samples (16/16, 100%) and 15/16 (93.8%) vitreous samples. In conclusion, this case series found no evidence of SARS-CoV-2 in the intraocular milieu., Highlights • Manifestation of SARS-CoV-2 in the intraocular milieu. • Manifestation of SARS-CoV-2 in the vitreous. • Manifestation of SARS-CoV-2 in the aqueous humor.

Purpose Oxidative stress and inflammation have been implicated in the development of retinal vein occlusion (RVO). Oxidation-specific epitopes (OSEs) represent products of oxidative stress that can trigger vascular inflammation and thrombosis. Natural occurring antibodies have been shown to bind oxidation-specific epitopes thereby inhibiting their inflammatory potential and promoting their removal. Methods This prospective cross-sectional study included 270 patients with RVO and 81 in-hospital control patients. We measured three types of serum levels of oxidation-specific epitope-specific immunoglobulin M and immunoglobulin G antibodies (anti-copper-oxidized LDL [CuOx-LDL], antiphosphocholine [PC], anti-malondialdehyde-modified LDL [MDA-LDL]). History of arterial hypertension, hyperlipidemia, myocardial infarction, diabetes mellitus, stroke, smoking status, and several laboratory parameters were determined to control for potential confounders. Results Compared with controls, patients with RVO had significantly lower levels of immunoglobulin M and immunoglobulin G antibodies against CuOx-LDL and PC, and significantly lower levels of immunoglobulin G but not immunoglobulin M antibodies against MDA-LDL. The association between RVO patients and lower levels of these antibodies prevailed upon multivariable adjustment. Conclusion These prospective data show that antibodies against oxidation-specific epitope are lower in patients with RVO compared with control patients and support the concept that oxidative stress and inflammation play key roles in the development and subsequent complications in RVO.

Tannins are eco-friendly, bio-sourced, natural, and highly reactive polyphenols. In the past decades, the understanding of their versatile properties has grown substantially alongside a continuously broadening of the tannins’ application scope. In particular, recently, tannins have been increasingly investigated for their interaction with other species in order to obtain tannin-based hybrid systems that feature advanced and/or novel properties. Furthermore, in virtue of the tannins’ chemistry and their high reactivity, they either physicochemically or physically interact with a wide variety of different compounds, including metals and ceramics, as well as a number of organic species. Such hybrid or hybrid-like systems allow the preparation of various advanced nanomaterials, featuring improved performances compared to the current ones. Consequently, these diverse-shaped materials have potential use in wastewater treatment or catalysis, as well as in some novel fields such as UV-shielding, functional food packaging, and biomedicine. Since these kinds of tannin-based hybrids represent an emerging field, thus far no comprehensive overview concerning their potential as functional chemical building blocks is available. Hence, this review aims to provide a structured summary of the current state of research regarding tannin-based hybrids, detailed findings on the chemical mechanisms as well as their fields of application.

Cross-linking converts noncovalent interactions between proteins into covalent bonds. The now artificially fused molecules are stable during purification steps (e.g., immunoprecipitation). In combination with a variety of techniques, including Western blotting, mass spectrometry (MS), and bioinformatics, this technology provides improved opportunities for modelling structural details of functional complexes in living cells and protein-protein interaction networks. The presented strategy of immunoaffinity purification and mass spectrometry (AP-MS) coupled with in vivo cross-linking can easily be adapted as a robust workflow in interactome analyses of various species, also nonmodel organisms.

Background Previous studies reported reduced decision‐making abilities for patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) relative to healthy controls (HC). This study aimed to evaluate whether these problems arise when sampling information or when pondering about the evidence collected. Methods In a cross‐sectional, controlled study, 43 relapsing‐remitting MS patients (RRMS; Expanded Disability Status Scale 1.5, range 0–4) and 53 HC performed an information sampling task (‘beads task’), a health‐related framing task, and neuropsychological background tests. Results In the beads task, patients collected as much information as HC prior to a decision. However, there were twice as many patients as HC making irrational decisions, that is, decisions against the evidence collected (RRMS: 26/43, 60%; HC: 16/53, 30%; p = 0.003). Compared to HC, patients also showed a stronger framing effect, that is, they were more strongly biased by the way health‐related information was presented (p, This study shows that patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) collect as much information as healthy controls (HC) do prior to making a decision. However, twice as many patients as HC make irrational decisions, that is, decisions against the evidence collected. Compared to HC, patients also show stronger framing effects, that is, they are more strongly biased by the way health‐related information is presented. These results warrant caution in communication, especially in the medical context, with patients.

Purpose Intraocular pressure is the main risk factor for glaucoma; however, additional risk factors may also matter. This systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted to summarize the evidence regarding the association of cholesterol parameters (total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels) and glaucoma. Methods Four electronic databases were searched for all publications containing 'glaucoma' and one of various forms of 'cholesterol' or 'lipoprotein'. Two independent reviewers screened abstracts and potentially full texts of identified articles for eligibility. Risk of bias was assessed with the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. A random-effects meta-analysis was used to investigate the differences in total cholesterol, LDL and HDL levels between patients with and without glaucoma. Results Overall, 29 observational studies were included in the systematic review and 26 reported quantitative information to investigate differences in cholesterol parameters between patients with glaucoma (N = 7196) and patients without glaucoma (N = 350 441). Patients with glaucoma had significantly higher total cholesterol levels than patients without glaucoma (Mean Difference (MD) 7.9 mg/dl, 95% CI 3.3 to 12.5, p = 0.001) and lower mean HDL levels (MD -2.0 mg/dl, 95% CI: -3.1 to -0.9, p = 0.001). Patients with glaucoma had higher mean LDL levels than patients without glaucoma, albeit not statistically significant (MD 6.1 mg/dl, 95% CI: -4.3 to 16.4, p = 0.251). Conclusion This systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies found an association of glaucoma and high total cholesterol and low HDL levels, respectively. Although this supports the hypothesis that lipid levels pose an additional risk for glaucoma development, heterogeneity was substantial and causality cannot be presumed from identified observational studies.

Cross-linking converts noncovalent interactions between proteins into covalent bonds. The now artificially fused molecules are stable during purification steps (e.g., immunoprecipitation). In combination with a variety of techniques, including Western blotting, mass spectrometry (MS), and bioinformatics, this technology provides improved opportunities for modelling structural details of functional complexes in living cells and protein-protein interaction networks. The presented strategy of immunoaffinity purification and mass spectrometry (AP-MS) coupled with in vivo cross-linking can easily be adapted as a robust workflow in interactome analyses of various species, also nonmodel organisms.

Tannins are eco-friendly, bio-sourced, natural, and highly reactive polyphenols. In the past decades, the understanding of their versatile properties has grown substantially alongside a continuously broadening of the tannins application scope. In particular, recently, tannins have been increasingly investigated for their interaction with other species in order to obtain tannin-based hybrid systems that feature advanced and/or novel properties. Furthermore, in virtue of the tannins chemistry and their high reactivity, they either physicochemically or physically interact with a wide variety of different compounds, including metals and ceramics, as well as a number of organic species. Such hybrid or hybrid-like systems allow the preparation of various advanced nanomaterials, featuring improved performances compared to the current ones. Consequently, these diverse-shaped materials have potential use in wastewater treatment or catalysis, as well as in some novel fields such as UV-shielding, functional food packaging, and biomedicine. Since these kinds of tannin-based hybrids represent an emerging field, thus far no comprehensive overview concerning their potential as functional chemical building blocks is available. Hence, this review aims to provide a structured summary of the current state of research regarding tannin-based hybrids, detailed findings on the chemical mechanisms as well as their fields of application (VLID)5542075

Background and purpose People with multiple sclerosis (MS) have to face important decisions with regard to their medical treatment. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether a targeted cognitive training reduces framing effects and thus improves medical judgments. Methods This was a randomized, double‐blind, cross‐over study enrolling patients with relapsing‐remitting MS and healthy controls (HCs). Participants were randomly assigned to training order A (first week, numerical training; second week, control training) or B (reverse order). The primary endpoint was changed in a framing task score (framing effect). In the framing task, participants evaluated the success of fictive medications on a 7‐point scale. Medications were described in either positive or negative terms. Results A total of 37 patients and 73 HCs performed either training order A (n = 56) or B (n = 54). The framing effect decreased after the numerical training regardless of training order. No such decrease was found after the control training. Mean change in framing effect was −0.3 ± 0.8 after the numerical training and 0.03 ± 0.6 after the control training. This specific effect of training type was comparable between groups. Conclusion Judgments of medical information improve in both patients with relapsing‐remitting MS and HCs after a targeted numerical training. Thus, a specific cognitive intervention may help patients making informed decisions.

The displacement of conventional generation by converter connected resources reduces the available rotational inertia in the power system, which leads to faster frequency dynamics and consequently a less stable frequency behaviour. This study aims at presenting the current requirements and challenges that transmissionsystem operators are facing due to the high integration of inertia-less resources. The manuscript presents a review of the various solutions and technologies that could potentially compensate for reduction in system inertia. The solutions are categorized into two groups, namely synchronous inertia and emulated inertia employing fast acting reserves (FARs). Meanwhile, FAR are divided into three groups based on the applied control approach, namely virtual synchronous machines, synthetic inertia control and fast frequency control. The analytical interdependency between the applied control approaches and the frequency gradient is also presented. It highlights the key parameters that can influence the units’ response and limit their ability in participating in such services. The manuscript presents also a trade-off analysis among the most prominent control approaches and technologies guiding the reader through benefits and drawbacks of each solution.

Background Patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) show lower decision making and ratio processing abilities as compared to healthy peers. Objective To evaluate whether cognitive training on number processing and/or executive functions improves performance on ratio processing and decision making under risk. Methods In a controlled cross-over study, patients with MCI (n = 23; mean MMSE 26.48, SD 2.43) underwent a week of numerical training followed by a week of executive-functions training (subgroup A), or vice versa (subgroup B). Before training (T1), patients performed experimental tasks of decision making (Game of Dice Task, GDT; Probability-Associated Gambling task, PAG-60 task) and of ratio processing as well as a neuropsychological background assessment. Experimental tasks were also administered after the first (T2) and the second (T3) training week. Results The numerical training and the training of executive functions had a differential effect on experimental tasks of ratio processing. Only the numerical training proved to be effective. The effects of the two training types on decision making under risk were less clear-cut. While no changes over time were observed in the GDT, performance on the PAG-60 task improved in both training subgroups. These improvements were apparent in one subgroup after a period of executive-functions training, in the other subgroup after both training weeks. That means, improvements are not attributable to one specific training type. Conclusion Patients with MCI can profit from a cognitive training on number processing and executive functions. Improvements are reflected in higher ratio processing abilities and more advantageous decisions after training. These results are consistent with assumptions of current cognitive models.