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Novel observations of aerosol and clouds by means of ground-based remote sensing have been performed in Antarctica over the Ekstrom Ice Shelf on the coast of Dronning Maud Land at Neumayer Station III (70.67[degrees]S, 8.27[degrees]W) from January to December 2023. The deployment of the OCEANET-Atmosphere remote sensing observatory in the framework of the Continuous Observations of Aerosol-Cloud Interaction (COALA) campaign has brought Aerosol, Clouds and Trace Gases Research Infrastructure (ACTRIS) aerosol and cloud profiling capabilities next to meteorological and air chemistry in situ observations at the Antarctic station. We present an overview of the site, the instrumental setup, and data analysis strategy and introduce 3 scientific highlights from austral fall and winter, namely, 1) observations of a persistent mixed-phase cloud embedded in a plume of marine aerosol. Remote sensing-based retrievals of cloud-relevant aerosol properties and cloud microphysical parameters confirm that the free-tropospheric mixed-phase cloud layer formed in an aerosol-limited environment. 2) Two extraordinary warm air intrusions: one with intense snowfall produced the equivalent of 10% of the yearly snow accumulation and a second one with record-breaking maximum temperatures and heavy icing due to supercooled drizzle. 3) Omnipresent aerosol layers in the stratosphere. Our profiling capabilities could show that 50% of the 500-nm aerosol optical depth of 0.06 was caused by stratospheric aerosol, while the troposphere was usually pristine. As demonstrated by these highlights, the 1-yr COALA observations will serve as a reference dataset for the vertical structure of aerosol and clouds above the region, enabling future observational and modeling studies to advance understanding of atmospheric processes in Antarctica. KEYWORDS: Antarctica; Ice shelves; Aerosols; Clouds; Remote sensing; Aerosol-cloud interaction, 1. Introduction The Antarctic continent and its surrounding Southern Ocean are key components of the global climate system. Having been considered rather stable over the last century, the climate of [...]

Virtual environments open up far-reaching possibilities with respect to knowledge impartation. Nevertheless, they have the potential to negatively influence learning behavior. As a possible positive determinant, especially in the digital context, the moment "game" can be listed. Accordingly, previous studies prove an overall positive influence of serious games on learning success and motivation. However, the current state of research only allows for careful and few conclusions in terms of a nuanced differentiation of this influence. Thus, this study differentiates on a deeper level with regard to different parameters of learning success and motivation. The aim of the study is to quantify and evaluate a possible influence of the factor "game" with regard to these parameters. Two versions of the modular software environment Arctic Economy, a game and a nongame version, served as the basis for evaluation. Both versions were compared in a field experiment, with randomized group formation (N = 97) and repeated measures. The data analysis showed the game group having a tendency to demonstrate better learning performance. In the differentiated analysis, a significant effect can be proven: subjects in the game group were able to remember facts more easily than subjects in the nongame group (group difference retention rate [x-bar] = 17%). In addition, participants showed an average of 46% higher motivation and were significantly more capable of linking the application's content with reality. The identified "game effect" can therefore be classified as highly significant in the context of this study.

Abstract Background Liver grafts are frequently declined due to high donor age or age mismatch with the recipient. To improve the outcome of marginal grafts, we aimed to characterize the performance of elderly vs. young liver grafts in a standardized rat model of normothermic ex vivo liver machine perfusion (NMP). Methods Livers from Sprague–Dawley rats aged 3 or 12 months were procured and perfused for 6 h using a rat NMP system or collected as a reference group (n = 6/group). Tissue, bile, and perfusate samples were used for biochemical, and proteomic analyses. Results All livers cleared lactate during perfusion and continued to produce bile after 6 h of perfusion (614 mg/h). Peak urea levels in 12-month-old animals were higher than in younger animals. Arterial and portal venous pressure, bile production and pH did not differ between groups. Proteomic analysis identified a total of 1477 proteins with oxidoreductase and catalytic activity dominating the gene ontology analysis. Proteins such as aldehyde dehydrogenase 1A1 and 2-Hydroxyacid oxidase 2 were significantly more present in livers of older age. Conclusions Young and elderly liver grafts exhibited similar viability during NMP, though proteomic analyses indicated that older grafts are less resilient to oxidative stress. Our study is limited by the elderly animal age, which corresponds to mature but not elderly human age typically seen in marginal human livers. Nevertheless, reducing oxidative stress could be a promising therapeutic target in the future.

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic was a devastating public health event that spurred an influx of misinformation. The increase in questionable health content was aided by the speed and scale of digital and social media and certain news agencies’ and politicians’ active dissemination of misinformation about the virus. The popularity of certain COVID-19 myths created confusion about effective health protocols and impacted trust in the health care and government sectors deployed to manage the pandemic. ObjectiveThis study explored how people’s information habits, their level of institutional trust, the news media outlets they consume and the technologies in which they access it, and their media literacy skills influenced their COVID-19 knowledge. MethodsWe administered a web-based survey using Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) to assess US adults’ (n=1498) COVID-19 knowledge, media and news habits, media literacy skills, and trust in government and health-related institutions. The data were analyzed using a hierarchical linear regression to examine the association between trust, media literacy, news use, and COVID-19 knowledge. ResultsThe regression model of demographic variables, political affiliation, trust in institutions, media literacy, and the preference for watching Fox or CNN was statistically significant (R2=0.464; F24,1434=51.653; P

Public trust in journalism has fallen disconcertingly low. This study sets out to understand the news industry’s credibility crisis by comparing public perceptions of journalism with public perceptions of another institution facing similar trust challenges: healthcare. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 31 US adults, we find that although both healthcare and journalism face public distrust, members of the public generally tend to feel more trusting of individual doctors than they do of individual journalists. This is because people (a) perceive doctors to be experts in their field and (b) engage more frequently with doctors than they do with journalists. Consequently, our interviewees described treating their doctors as “fact-checkers” when it comes to health information they find online, demonstrating trust in their physicians despite their lack of trust in healthcare more broadly. Meanwhile, the opposite unfolds in journalism: Instead of using legitimate news sources to fact-check potential misinformation, people feel compelled to “fact-check” legitimate news by seeking alternative sources of corroboration. We conclude that, to improve their credibility among the public, journalists must strike the right balance between persuading the public to perceive them as experts while also pursuing opportunities to engage with the public as peers.

Background: Visits to an outpatient cancer clinic represent a challenging situation for patients, which can trigger anxiety and helplessness in those affected. It is important to identify patients with high psychological distress as early as possible in order to provide them with supportive psychological interventions. The aim of this study was to validate the Distress Thermometer (DT), a widely used screening for distress, in a cohort of patients with musculoskeletal tumors and to explore associations between distress, treatment satisfaction and health literacy. Methods: All patients presenting to a University outpatient clinic for musculoskeletal cancers were asked to complete a set of questionnaires including the DT), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) as a comparison scale, the Patient Satisfaction with Comprehensive Cancer Care (SCCC) and European Health Literacy Survey Questionnaire (HLS-EU-Q16).To assess the sensitivity and specificity of the DT in a cohort of patients with musculoskeletal tumors, we compare the performance of the DT in relation to an established screener for anxiety and depression using receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analyses. Results: A total of 120 patients (age 58 ± 18, 51% female) were analyzed. Patients reported a mean DT of 5.0 (SD 2.3, range, 0 to 10). Eighty-six patients (71.7 %) had a DT score ≥ 5 indicating moderate or severe psychological distress.The mean total HADS score (scale 0 to42 points) was 11.7 (SD 7.6, range, 0 to 32) with a HADS score of ≥ 15 in 29.2% of patients. The DT correlated moderately with anxiety and depression (HADS total r = 0.48, p

BackgroundConsidering the expected increase in the elderly population and the growing emphasis on aging-related biomedical research, the demand for aged laboratory animals has surged, challenging established husbandry practices. Our objective was to establish a cost-effective method for environmental enrichment, utilizing the liver as a representative organ to assess potential metabolic changes in response to differing enrichment levels.MethodsWe conducted a six-month study involving 24 male Sprague Dawley rats, randomly assigned to four environmental enrichment groups. Two groups were housed in standard cages, while the others were placed in modified rabbit cages. Half of the groups received weekly playtime in an activity focused rat housing unit. We evaluated hormone levels, playtime behavior, and subjective handling experience. Additionally, liver tissue proteomic analysis was performed.ResultsInitial corticosterone levels and those after 3 and 6 months showed no significant differences. Yet, testosterone levels were lower in the control group by the end of the study (p = 0.007). We observed 1871 distinct proteins in liver tissue, with 77% being common across groups. In gene ontology analysis, no specific pathways were overexpressed. In semiquantitative analysis, we observed differences in proteins associated in lipid metabolism such as Apolipoprotein A-I and Acyl-CoA 6-desaturase, which were lower in the control group (p = 0.024 and p = 0.009). Rats in the intervention groups with weekly playtime displayed the least amount of reported distress during inspection or upon room entry and were less prone to accepting treats. Removing animals from their enclosure was most effortless for those in the large cage group. Over time, there was a decrease in conflicts among rats that interacted only twice weekly during playpen time.DiscussionIn summary, refining husbandry practices for aging rats is both simple and budget-friendly, with no apparent adverse effects on stress levels, animal development, or relevant metabolic changes in the liver.

Introduction Multidisciplinary tumor conferences are a fundamental component in the treatment of oncological patients. The COVID-19 pandemic and its resulting social distancing restrictions offered the opportunity to compare in-person to virtual multidisciplinary tumor conferences. Methods Retrospective analysis of first-time presentations in tumor conferences at a university musculoskeletal tumor center in the time periods from September 2019 to February 2020 (in-person) and May 2020 to October 2020 (virtual). Results A total of 209 patients were first-time discussed in one of 52 analyzed musculoskeletal multidisciplinary tumor conferences (105 patients in 25 in-person, and 104 patients 27 virtual meetings). The total number of participants was slightly lower with virtual meetings ( p

Periprosthetic joint infections (PJI) are serious complications after arthroplasty, associated with high morbidity, mortality, and complex treatment processes. The outcomes of different PJI entities are largely unknown. The aim of this study was to access the early outcomes of different PJI entities. A retrospective, single-center study was conducted. The characteristics and outcomes of patients with PJI treated between 2018 and 2019 were evaluated 12 months after the completion of treatment. Primary endpoints were mortality, relapse free survival (RFS) and postoperative complications (kidney failure, sepsis, admission to ICU). A total of 115 cases were included [19.1% early (EI), 33.0% acute late (ALI), and 47.8% chronic infections (CI)]. Patients with ALI were older (p = 0.023), had higher ASA scores (p = 0.031), preoperative CRP concentrations (p = 0.011), incidence of kidney failure (p = 0.002) and sepsis (p = 0.026). They also tended towards higher in-house mortality (ALI 21.1%, 13.6% EI, 5.5% CI) and admission to ICU (ALI 50.0%, 22.7% EI, 30.9% CI). At 12 months, 15.4% of patients with EI had a relapse, compared to 38.1% in ALI and 36.4% in CI. There are differences in patient characteristics and early outcomes between PJI entities. Patients with EI have better early clinical outcomes. Patients with ALI require special attention during follow-up because they have higher occurrences of relapses and postoperative complications than patients with EI and CI.

A growing number of clinical risk scores have been proposed to predict allograft failure after liver transplantation. However, validation of currently available scores in the Eurotransplant region is still lacking. We aimed to analyze all clinically relevant donor and recipient risk scores on a large German liver transplantation data set and performed a retrospective cohort analysis of liver transplantations performed at the Charité—Universitätsmedizin Berlin from January 2007 until December 2021 with organs from donation after brain death. We analyzed 9 previously published scores in 906 liver transplantations [Eurotransplant donor risk index (ET-DRI/DRI), donor age and model for end-stage liver disease (D-MELD), balance of risk (BAR), early allograft dysfunction (EAD), model for early allograft function (MEAF), liver graft assessment following transplantation (L-GrAFT7), early allograft failure simplified estimation (EASE), and a score by Rhu and colleagues). The EASE score had the best predictive value for 3-month, 6-month, and 12-month graft survival with a c-statistic of 0.8, 0.77, and 0.78, respectively. In subgroup analyses, the EASE score was suited best for male recipients with a high-MELD (>25) and an EAD organ. Scores only based on pretransplant data performed worse compared to scores including postoperative data (eg, ET-DRI vs. EAD, p