This report summarizes the presentations and discussions during the Rapid Reaction Task Force “Dynamics of critical fluctuations: Theory – phenomenology – heavy-ion collisions”, which was organized by the ExtreMe Matter Institute EMMI and held at GSI, Darmstadt, Germany in April 2019. We address the current understanding of the dynamics of critical fluctuations in QCD and their measurement in heav

The association in aqueous mixtures of a thermoresponsive cationic diblock copolymer composed of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) and poly(3-acrylamidopropyl)-trimethylammonium-chloride (PAMPTMA(+)) and the oppositely charged bile salt sodium deoxycholate (NaDC) is investigated at different compositions by light and X-ray scattering, calorimetry, and electrophoretic mobility measurements. Clou

This paper examines social class differences in fertility, using longitudinal micro-level data for a regionalsample in Sweden, 1922–2015. Using discrete-time event history models, we estimated the associationbetween social class and parity-specific duration to next birth, adjusting for household income in separatemodels. Social class was associated with fertility quite independently from income an

apolipoproteinM(apoM)mayserveaprotectiverole inthedevelopmentofinflammation.Nuclearfactor‑κB(nF-κB) and its downstream factors (including a number of inflammatory cytokines and adhesion molecules) are essential for the regulation of inflammatory processes. In the present study, the importance of apoM in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)‑induced acute inflammation and its potential underlying mechanisms, we

Owing to climate change, population growth and tenurial changes, the past decade has witnessed high interest among migrant and settler pastoralist groups in thevegetal-rich customary lands of the Agogo Traditional Area. This has resulted in lease grants of large land areas to pastoralists by traditional authorities and usufructfamilies, for reasons of ensuring optimum use and gaining the highest r

Human induced pluripotent stem (hiPS) cell lines CTRL-9-II and CTRL-10-I were derived from healthy monozygotic twin donors using non-integrating RNA based Sendai virus reprogramming and cultured in a xeno-free chemically defined condition. The established hiPS cell lines, CTRL-9-II and CTRL-10-I, are karyotypically normal, free from reprogramming vectors, display endogenously expression of pluripo

CTL07-II is a healthy feeder-free and characterized human induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell line. Cultured under xeno-free and defined conditions. The line is generated from healthy human fibroblasts with non-integrating Sendai virus vectors encoding the four Yamanaka factors, OCT4, SOX2, KLF4 and cMYC. The generated iPS cells are free from reprogramming vectors and their purity, karyotypic stab

Hearing impairment most often involves loss of sensory hair cells and auditory neurons. As this loss is permanent in humans, a cell therapy approach has been suggested to replace damaged cells. It is thus of interest to generate lineage restricted progenitor cells appropriate for cell based therapies. Human long-term self-renewing neuroepithelial stem (lt-NES) cell lines exhibit in vitro a develop

Prenatal exposure to excess glucocorticoid has been shown to have adverse effects on the developing nervous system that may lead to alterations of fetal and adult neurogenesis, resulting in behavioral changes. In addition, an imbalance of the redox state, with an increased susceptibility to oxidative stress, has been observed in rodent neural stem cells exposed to the synthetic glucocorticoid anal

Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) can undergo unlimited self-renewal and have the capacity to differentiate into all somatic cell types, and are therefore an ideal source for the generation of cells and tissues for research and therapy. To realize this potential, defined cell culture systems that allow expansion of hPSCs and subsequent controlled differentiation, ideally in an implantable three

Neurodevelopmental disorders affect a substantial minority of the general population. Their origins are still largely unknown, but a complex interplay of genetic and environmental factors causing disturbances of the central nervous system's maturation and a variety of higher cognitive skills is presumed. Only limited research of rather small sample size and narrow scope has been conducted in neuro

The recent progress in stem cell techniques has broadened the horizon for in vitro disease modeling. For desired in vivo like phenotypes, not only correct cell type specification will be critical, the microenvironmental context will be essential to achieve relevant responses. We demonstrate how a three dimensional (3D) culture of stem cell derived neurons can induce in vivo like responses related

Stem cell lines that faithfully maintain the regional identity and developmental potency of progenitors in the human brain would create new opportunities in developmental neurobiology and provide a resource for generating specialized human neurons. However, to date, neural progenitor cultures derived from the human brain have either been short-lived or exhibit restricted, predominantly glial, diff

The aim of this study was to demonstrate proof-of-concept feasibility for the use of human neural stem cells (NSCs) for high-throughput screening (HTS) applications. For this study, an adherent human induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell-derived long-term, self-renewing, neuroepithelial-like stem (lt-NES) cell line was selected as a representative NSC. Here, we describe the automated large-scale ser

Notch signalling occurs via direct cell-cell interactions and plays an important role in linking the fates of neighbouring cells. There are four different mammalian Notch receptors that can be activated by five cell surface ligands. The ability to inhibit specific Notch receptors would help identify the roles of individual family members and potentially provide a means to study and control cell di

Because of their ability to self-renew, to differentiate into multiple lineages, and to migrate toward a damaged site, neural stem cells (NSCs), which can be derived from various sources such as fetal tissues and embryonic stem cells, are currently considered to be promising components of cell replacement strategies aimed at treating injuries of the central nervous system, including the spinal cor

Human embryonic stem cells (hESC) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) provide new prospects for studying human neurodevelopment and modeling neurological disease. In particular, iPSC-derived neural cells permit a direct comparison of disease-relevant molecular pathways in neurons and glia derived from patients and healthy individuals. A prerequisite for such comparative studies are robust pr

The utilization of neural stem cells and their progeny in applications such as disease modelling, drug screening or safety assessment will require the development of robust methods for consistent, high quality uniform cell production. Previously, we described the generation of adherent, homogeneous, non-immortalized mouse and human neural stem cells derived from both brain tissue and pluripotent e

Dietary advice constitutes a treatment strategy for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). We aimed to examine the effect of a starch- and sucrose-reduced diet (SSRD) on gastrointestinal symptoms in IBS patients, in relation to dietary intake and systemic inflammatory parameters. IBS patients (n = 105) were randomized to a 4-week SSRD intervention (n = 80) receiving written and verbal dietary advice focu