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Article
Open AccessDancing the Nanopore limbo – Nanopore metagenomics from small DNA quantities for bacterial genome reconstruction
While genome-resolved metagenomics has revolutionized our understanding of microbial and genetic diversity in environmental samples, assemblies of short-reads often result in incomplete and/or highly fragmente...
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Article
Open AccessOpen-label placebo treatment does not enhance cognitive abilities in healthy volunteers
The use of so-called ‘smart drugs’ such as modafinil to improve cognitive performance has recently attracted considerable attention. However, their side effects have limited user enthusiasm. Open-label placebo...
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Article
Open AccessCan positive expectations help to improve the learning of risk literacy? A cluster-randomized study in undergraduate medical students
Risk literacy, i.e., the ability to calculate and apply risk parameters, represents a key competence for risk communication and medical decision making. However, risk literacy is reportedly low in medical stud...
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Article
Open AccessAcquisition learning is stronger for aversive than appetitive events
Appetitive and aversive learning are both key building blocks of adaptive behavior, yet knowledge regarding their differences is sparse. Using a capsaicin heat pain model in 36 healthy participants, this study...
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Article
Open AccessPreferences of patients with asthma or COPD for treatments in pulmonary rehabilitation
Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) aims to improve disease control in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma. However, the success of PR-programs depends on the patients’ participatio...
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Article
Open AccessEffects of open-label placebos on test performance and psychological well-being in healthy medical students: a randomized controlled trial
Psychological distress is prevalent in students and can predispose to psychiatric disorders. Recent findings indicate that distress might be linked to impaired cognitive performance in students. Experimental f...
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Article
Open AccessA novel human pluripotent stem cell-based assay to predict developmental toxicity
There is a great need for novel in vitro methods to predict human developmental toxicity to comply with the 3R principles and to improve human safety. Human-induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC) are ideal for...
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Article
Copper and the brain noradrenergic system
Copper (Cu) plays an essential role in the development and function of the brain. In humans, genetic disorders of Cu metabolism may cause either severe Cu deficiency (Menkes disease) or excessive Cu accumulati...
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Article
Psychophysical effects of an exercise therapy during pediatric stem cell transplantation: a randomized controlled trial
This study evaluates the physical and psychosocial effects of an inpatient exercise program for children and adolescents undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Participants (n = 70) were rando...
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Article
Open AccessConditioned pain modulation in drug-naïve patients with de novo Parkinson’s disease
Pain is highly prevalent in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD), but underlying pathophysiological mechanisms are largely unclear. In many chronic pain syndromes deficits in endogenous pain inhibition have ...
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Article
Exercise improves functional capacity and lean body mass in patients with gastrointestinal cancer during chemotherapy: a single-blind RCT
Although growing evidence underlines the benefits of physical activity as supportive intervention for cancer patients, sparse data are available for exercise in patients with advanced disease stages, in partic...
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Article
Open AccessProtocol for the “Chemobrain in Motion – study” (CIM – study): a randomized placebo-controlled trial of the impact of a high-intensity interval endurance training on cancer related cognitive impairments in women with breast cancer receiving first-line chemotherapy
Up to 80% of breast cancer patients suffer from Cancer Related Cognitive Impairments (CRCI). Exercise is suggested as a potential supportive care option to reduce cognitive decline in cancer patients. This stu...
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Article
A semiquantitative MRI-Score can predict loss of lung function in patients with cystic fibrosis: Preliminary results
To evaluate the applicability of a semiquantitative MRI scoring system (MR-CF-S) as a prognostic marker for clinical course of cystic fibrosis (CF) lung disease.
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Article
Open AccessMeasuring patients’ priorities using the Analytic Hierarchy Process in comparison with Best-Worst-Scaling and rating cards: methodological aspects and ranking tasks
Identifying patient priorities and preference measurements have gained importance as patients claim a more active role in health care decision making. Due to the variety of existing methods, it is challenging ...
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Article
Open AccessComparison of different approaches applied in Analytic Hierarchy Process – an example of information needs of patients with rare diseases
The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is increasingly used to measure patient priorities. Studies have shown that there are several different approaches to data acquisition and data aggregation. The aim of this...
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Article
Open AccessShort-lived mammals (shrew, mouse) have a less robust metal-responsive transcription factor than humans and bats
Non-essential “heavy” metals such as cadmium tend to accumulate in an organism and thus are a particular threat for long-lived animals. Here we show that two unrelated, short-lived groups of mammals (rodents a...
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Article
Open AccessNeuronal differentiation is associated with a redox-regulated increase of copper flow to the secretory pathway
Brain development requires a fine-tuned copper homoeostasis. Copper deficiency or excess results in severe neuro-pathologies. We demonstrate that upon neuronal differentiation, cellular demand for copper incre...
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Article
Open AccessApplying the Analytic Hierarchy Process in healthcare research: A systematic literature review and evaluation of reporting
The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), developed by Saaty in the late 1970s, is one of the methods for multi-criteria decision making. The AHP disaggregates a complex decision problem into different hierarchica...
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Article
Heart rate recovery and aerobic endurance capacity in cancer survivors: interdependence and exercise-induced improvements
Whilst evidence supports beneficial effects of exercise on heart rate variability in cancer patients, its impact on heart rate recovery (HRR) and possible associations of exercise capacity and HRR have not yet...
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Article
Open AccessTargeting cMET with INC280 impairs tumour growth and improves efficacy of gemcitabine in a pancreatic cancer model
Expression and activation of the cMET receptor have been implicated in tumor progression and resistance to chemotherapy in human pancreatic cancer. In this regard we assessed the effects of targeting cMET in p...