9 ± 2.3; 3; 3.5) and low in nfvPPA (1.6 ± 2.1; 1; 2). Similar differences of caregiver burden were found using the ZBI. During follow-up, CSI and ZBI sum scores deteriorated in svPPA, not in bvFTD and nfvPPA, and correlated significantly with personality and behaviour, neuropsychiatric symptoms, caregiver age, and instrumental, but not basic activities of daily living, Mini-Mental State Examination scores or frontal lobe functions. This study reveals differences in caregiver burden in variants of frontotemporal lobar degeneration. Caregivers should be systematically asked for caregiver burden from the time of the diagnosis to provide comprehensive support in time.Empathy is the ability to generate emotional responses (i.e., cognitive empathy) and to make cognitive inferences (i.e., affective empathy) to other people's emotions. Empirical evidence suggests that patients with bipolar disorder (BD) exhibit impairment in cognitive empathy, but findings on affective empathy are inconsistent. Few studies have examined the neural mechanisms of cognitive and affective empathy in patients with BD. In this study, we examined the empathy-related resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) in BD patients. Thirty-seven patients with BD and 42 healthy controls completed the self-report Questionnaires of Cognitive and Affective Empathy (QCAE), the Yoni behavioural task, and resting-sate fMRI brain scans. Group comparison of empathic ability was conducted. The interactions between group and empathic ability on seed-based whole brain rsFC were examined. BD patients scored lower on the Online Simulation subscale of the QCAE and showed positive correlations between cognitive empathy and the rsFC of the dorsal Medial Prefrontal Cortex (dmPFC) with the lingual gyrus. The correlations between cognitive empathy and the rsFC of the temporal-parietal junction (TPJ) with the fusiform gyrus, the cerebellum and the parahippocampus were weaker in BD patients than that in healthy controls. These findings highlight the underlying neural mechanisms of empathy impairments in BD patients.Physical inactivity is discussed as one of the most detrimental influences for lifestyle-related medical complications such as obesity, heart disease, hypertension, diabetes and premature mortality in in- and outpatients with major depressive disorder (MDD). In contrast, intervention studies indicate that moderate-to-vigorous-intensity physical activity (MVPA) might reduce complications and depression symptoms itself. Self-reported data on depression [Beck-Depression-Inventory-II (BDI-II)], general habitual well-being (FAHW), self-esteem and physical self-perception (FAHW, MSWS) were administrated in a cross-sectional study with 76 in- and outpatients with MDD. MVPA was documented using ActiGraph wGT3X + ® accelerometers and fitness was measured using cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET). Subgroups were built according to activity level (low PA defined as MVPA  45 min/day). Statistical analysis was performed using a Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis test, Spearman correlation and mediation analysis. BDI-II scores and MVPA values of in- and outpatients were comparable, but fitness differed between the two groups. Analysis of the outpatient group showed a negative correlation between BDI-II and MVPA. No association of inpatient MVPA and psychopathology was found. General habitual well-being and self-esteem mediated the relationship between outpatient MVPA and BDI-II. MK571 LTR antagonist The level of depression determined by the BDI-II score was significantly higher in the outpatient low- and moderate PA subgroups compared to outpatients with high PA. Fitness showed no association to depression symptoms or well-being. To ameliorate depressive symptoms of MDD outpatients, intervention strategies should promote habitual MVPA and exercise exceeding the duration recommended for general health (≥ 30 min/day). Further studies need to investigate sufficient MVPA strategies to impact MDD symptoms in inpatient settings. Exercise effects seem to be driven by changes of well-being rather than increased physical fitness.Kidney stones composed of oxalate are a significant health problem. It has been suggested that modification of the intestinal microbiota to reduce the amount of oxalate in the digestive system could be an effective treatment. There have been several studies into the use of lactic acid bacteria for the degradation of intestinal oxalates. We isolated 88 lactic acid bacteria strains from a range of dairy products, and screened for their ability to degrade oxalate. Using the oxalate-degrading Enzymatic Activity Index and the viable cell counts, five strains of Lactobacillus fermentum and two strains of Lactobacillus gastricus were identified as having strong oxalate degradation abilities, and were further investigated. All seven strains were able to tolerate acid (pH 4 and 3), bile salts (0.3%), phenol (0.3%), and to produce exopolysaccharides. They were resistant to a wide range of antibiotics. Among these strains, Lactobacillus fermentum NRAMJ5 and Lactobacillus gastricus NRAMJ2 were, therefore, good candidates as probiotics for managing hyperoxaluria.A Gram-stain-negative, rod-shaped, and orange-pigmented bacterium, designated XAAS-A1T, was isolated from the soil of a Populus euphratica forest. The main respiratory quinone of XAAS-A1T is MK-7, and the principal cellular fatty acids are iso-C150, C171 ω6c, Iso-C170 3OH, and summed feature 3 (C161ω6c and/or C161ω7c). The major polar lipids are phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylcholine, and two unidentified lipids. The 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis indicated that XAAS-A1T belongs to the genus Litoribacter within the family Cyclobacteriaceae, having the highest sequence similarities to Litoribacter ruber KCTC 22899T (97.1%) and L. alkaliphilus KCTC 32217T (96.9%). XAAS-A1T has a DNA G + C content of 42.1 mol%. The orthoANI and the digital DNA-DNA hybridization values were markedly lower than the recommended threshold values of 96% and 70%. Phenotypic and genotypic data suggest that XAAS-A1T represents a novel species of the genus Litoribacter, for which we propose the name Litoribacter populi sp. nov. and XAAS-A1T (= CCTCC AB 2017159T = KCTC 62045T) as the type strain.