Autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia share a substantial number of etiologic and phenotypic characteristics. Still, no direct comparison of both disorders has been performed to identify differences and commonalities in brain structure. In this voxel based morphometry study, 34 patients with autism spectrum disorder, 21 patients with schizophrenia and 26 typically developed control subjects were included to identify global and regional brain volume alterations. No global gray matter or white matter differences were found between...

The ‘good genes’ hypothesis of sexual selection predicts that male ornaments are favoured by female mate choice because male ornament reveals genetic quality. In species with different male reproductive tactics, variation in genetic quality among ‘sneaking’ males has rarely been investigated, as usually ‘sneakers’ are thought not to be chosen by females. Here we focused on the alternative reproductive tactic in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar Linnaeus, 1758) to test whether the skin colour of sneakers...

Ecological selection against hybrids between populations occupying different habitats might be an important component of reproductive isolation during the initial stages of speciation. The strength and directionality of this barrier to gene flow depends on the genetic architecture underlying divergence in ecologically relevant phenotypes. We here present line cross analyses of inheritance for two key foraging-related morphological traits involved in adaptive divergence between stickleback ecotypes residing parapatrically in lake and stream habitats within the Misty...

Previous studies have given substantial attention to external factors that affect the distribution and diversification of freshwater fish in Europe and North America, in particular Pleistocene and Holocene glacial cycles. In the present paper we examine sequence variation at one mitochondrial and four nuclear loci (over 3 kbp) from populations sampled across several drainages of all species of Barbus known to inhabit Italian freshwaters (introduced B. barbus and native B. balcanicus, B. caninus, B. plebejus...

Closely related species with divergent life-history traits are excellent models to infer the role of such traits in genetic diversity and connectivity. Ophioderma longicauda is a brittle star species complex composed of different genetic clusters, including brooders and broadcasters. These species diverged very recently and some of them are sympatric and ecologically syntopic, making them particularly suitable to study the consequences of their trait differences. At the scale of the geographic distribution of the broadcasters...

Aggressive mimicry is an adaptive tactic of parasitic or predatory species that closely resemble inoffensive models in order to increase fitness via predatory gains. Although similarity of distantly related species is often intuitively implicated with mimicry, the exact mechanisms and evolutionary causes remain elusive in many cases. Here, we report a complex aggressive mimicry strategy in Plecodus straeleni, a scale-eating cichlid fish from Lake Tanganyika, which imitates two other cichlid species. Employing targeted sequencing on...

Maternal effects can induce adjustments in offspring phenotype to the environment experienced by the mother. Of particular interest is if mothers can program their offspring to cope best under matching environmental conditions, but the evidence for such anticipatory maternal effects (AME) is limited. In this study, we manipulated experimentally the food availability experienced by mothers and their offspring in the European earwig (Forficula auricularia). Offspring produced by females that had access to high- or low-food...

Divergence-time estimation based on molecular phylogenies and the fossil record has provided insights into fundamental questions of evolutionary biology. In Bayesian node dating, phylogenies are commonly time calibrated through the specification of calibration densities on nodes representing clades with known fossil occurrences. Unfortunately, the optimal shape of these calibration densities is usually unknown and they are therefore often chosen arbitrarily, which directly impacts the reliability of the resulting age estimates. As possible solutions to this...

Cold-adapted taxa are experiencing severe range shifts due to climate change and are expected to suffer a significant reduction of their climatically suitable habitats in the next few decades. However, it has been proposed that taxa with sufficient standing genetic and ecologic diversity will better withstand climate change. These taxa are typically more broadly distributed in geographic and ecological niche space, therefore they are likely to endure higher levels of populations loss than more restricted,...

Additional file 4: Fig. S4 Comparison of clean vs. blood-contaminated CSF NMR spectra. (A) 1D-NOESY-presat spectra (chemical shift shown: 0.60 ppm – 4.20 ppm) demonstrating clean CSF (in blue) and blood-contaminated CSF (in red). This revealed aberrant NMR resonances contributed by lipoproteins and macromolecules (e.g. albumin) in blood, resulting in a broad signal with an elevated baseline (boxed region, chemical shift shown: 0.70 ppm – 1.40 ppm). (B) Zoom-in view of this boxed region showed...

Additional file 4: Fig. S4 Comparison of clean vs. blood-contaminated CSF NMR spectra. (A) 1D-NOESY-presat spectra (chemical shift shown: 0.60 ppm – 4.20 ppm) demonstrating clean CSF (in blue) and blood-contaminated CSF (in red). This revealed aberrant NMR resonances contributed by lipoproteins and macromolecules (e.g. albumin) in blood, resulting in a broad signal with an elevated baseline (boxed region, chemical shift shown: 0.70 ppm – 1.40 ppm). (B) Zoom-in view of this boxed region showed...

Additional file 6: Table S2 The top 2 CSF metabolites differentiating DTH and control animals at day 12. *As multiple ‘bins’ are attributable to glucose, only those with a VIP rank of < 10 are shown.

In recent years, smartphones and software have developed to help to automate imaging processes and thereby support digitalization in clinical microbiology laboratories. Due to the time-consuming nature of manual bacterial colony counting, diverse apps for smartphones have been developed to quantify the number of colony-forming units (CFUs) on agar plate images. Currently, at least four different apps with a colony counter function exist. Our study aimed to compare the accuracy of the apps compared to...

Additional file 2. Key resources for each component of the Basel Approach for coNtextual ANAlysis (BANANA).

Additional file 2: Figure S2. Evaluation of spontaneous and PMA induced ROS production in AQP4 + NMOSD, MOGAD patients and HC granulocytes. Granulocytes from patients and matched HC were isolated and analyzed simultaneously and cultured without (black dots, none) and with PMA (red dots). Intracellular ROS were indirectly assessed by flow cytometry analysis of DHR 123. Depicted is the mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) of oxidized-DHR123. A) Data are represented with lines connecting the unstimulated and...

Additional file 2: Figure S2. Evaluation of spontaneous and PMA induced ROS production in AQP4 + NMOSD, MOGAD patients and HC granulocytes. Granulocytes from patients and matched HC were isolated and analyzed simultaneously and cultured without (black dots, none) and with PMA (red dots). Intracellular ROS were indirectly assessed by flow cytometry analysis of DHR 123. Depicted is the mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) of oxidized-DHR123. A) Data are represented with lines connecting the unstimulated and...

Abstract Background Breast cancer screening is essential in detecting breast tumors, however, the examination is stressful. In this study we analyzed whether humor enhances patient satisfaction. Methods In this prospective randomized study 226 patients undergoing routine breast cancer screening at a single center during October 2020 to July 2021 were included. One hundred thirty-two were eligible for the study. Group 1 (66 patients) received an examination with humorous intervention, group 2 (66 patients) had a...

Additional file 1: Table S1. Study settings. Table S2. Adjusted regression estimates, overall and restricted to pre-COVID-19 period (before April 2020).

Additional file 2: Figure S1. Inclusion flow-charts. Figure S2. Complementary day 28 health outcome indicators, by country. Figure S3. Results of HRP2/pLDH Combo tests at day 28 follow-up, by detected antigen (HRP2 and/or pLDH), in a sub-sample of study patients. Figure S4. Mean haemoglobin (Hb) concentration and percent of children with anaemia (Hb <11 g/dL) among children sick or healthy at follow-up. Figure S5. (A) Time trend in monthly inclusions and case fatality ratio (CFR)...

Additional file 1. Technical drawings.

Additional file 1. Survey questions extracted from the original INSPIRE Population Survey (translated from German) (Siqeca et al., 2021).

Additional file 2. INSPIRE population survey respondents and dichotomized responses by content domain.

Additional file 3. Example Questions from the Interview Guide used in the INSPIRE parent study (translated from German) (Esser et al., 2022).

Additional file 5. Concepts related to care and support of frail older adults in 2018 and preferences for future, mapped to adapted domains of the SELFIE framework, including only respondents who indicated no current use for each question respectively, but responded for future preferences.

Additional file 5. Concepts related to care and support of frail older adults in 2018 and preferences for future, mapped to adapted domains of the SELFIE framework, including only respondents who indicated no current use for each question respectively, but responded for future preferences.