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The COVID-19 pandemic and associated countermeasures had an immensely disruptive impact on people’s lives. Due to the lack of systematic pre-pandemic data, however, it is still unclear how individuals’ psychological health has been affected across this incisive event. In this study, we analyze longitudinal data from two healthy samples ( N  = 307) to provide quasi-longitudinal insight into the full trajectory of psychological burden before (baseline), during the first peak, and at a relative downturn of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our data indicated a medium rise in psychological strain from baseline to the first peak of the pandemic ( d  = 0.40). Surprisingly, this was overcompensated by a large decrease of perceived burden until downturn ( d  =  − 0.93), resulting in a positive overall effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health ( d  = 0.44). Accounting for this paradoxical positive effect, our results reveal that the post-pandemic increase in mental health is driven by individuals that were already facing psychological challenges before the pandemic. These findings suggest that coping with acute challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic can stabilize previously impaired mental health through reframing processes.

Human neuroscience has always been pushing the boundary of what is measurable. During the last decade, concerns about statistical power and replicability – in science in general, but also specifically in human neuroscience – have fueled an extensive debate. One important insight from this discourse is the need for larger samples, which naturally increases statistical power. An alternative is to increase the precision of measurements, which is the focus of this review. This option is often overlooked, even though statistical power benefits from increasing precision as much as from increasing sample size. Nonetheless, precision has always been at the heart of good scientific practice in human neuroscience, with researchers relying on lab traditions or rules of thumb to ensure sufficient precision for their studies. In this review, we encourage a more systematic approach to precision. We start by introducing measurement precision and its importance for well-powered studies in human neuroscience. Then, determinants for precision in a range of neuroscientific methods (MRI, M/EEG, EDA, Eye-Tracking, and Endocrinology) are elaborated. We end by discussing how a more systematic evaluation of precision and the application of respective insights can lead to an increase in reproducibility in human neuroscience.

Extracellular Vesicles (EVs) play a crucial role in cell differentiation. Despite its role as a well-established vertebrate model, little is known about EVs during zebrafish embryogenesis. This study investigates EVs during zebrafish embryogenesis, analysing size- and concentration-changes over time. Wild-type AB strain zebrafish larvae (zfl) were collected at 24, 48, 72, and 96 h post fertilization (hpf) and homogenized. EVs were isolated and characterized using flow cytometry, negative staining transmission electron microscopy (TEM), nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA), and Western Blot. Flow cytometry and TEM showed a high purity of the samples. Small EVs (sEVs) and large EVs (lEVs) were differentiated using NTA, showing that zfl use different types of EVs during embryogenesis. It was observed that the total EV number increased significantly over the first 72 hpf, but not proportionally to zfl growth in length. Additionally, sEV size also increased significantly, with a maximum diameter at 72 hpf. Since most organs are formed during the first 72 hpf and from then on mainly maturation and growth occur, the elevated number and larger size before 72 hpf suggests an important role of EVs during zebrafish organogenesis. Since EVs serve as cargo delivery platforms, the increase in size of sEVs may reflect the need for a higher transport capacity.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) have gained increasing attention in recent years due to their pivotal role in both health and disease. Emerging from both eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells, EVs serve as essential mediators of intercellular communication, exceeding the simplistic interactions observed with individual molecules. In this comprehensive review, we will focus on both Bacterial Extracellular Vesicles (BEV) and on Host derived Extracellular Vesicles (HEV) and highlight mechanistic principles, as well as their transformation into diagnostic and therapeutic tools. We will start with a short introduction into the biogenesis and principal properties of BEV and HEV. We will then focus on the composition of BEV and introduce OMICs‐based studies that helped to unravel their complex constitution. As both BEV and HEV interact with different epithelial and endothelial barriers and shape their properties, we will highlight mechanistic principles for both EV types. Starting from the intestinal system, where we will look at BEV and how these BEV overcome the intestinal barrier to change distant organs and the patient's immune system. We will then visit other endothelial and epithelial sites of the human body and summarize how HEV shapes these barriers and how HEV can overcome these barriers. We will then turn towards diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. As both BEV and HEV are currently suggested as diagnostic markers and are being investigated as potential therapeutic agents. Lastly, we will discuss current challenges and provide an outlook on the future in the field. This review seeks to raise awareness for both bacterial and host‐derived EVs, highlighting that they present two sides of the same coin.

Photon-number resolving (PNR) single-photon detectors are of interest for a wide range of applications in the emerging field of photon based quantum technologies. Especially photonic integrated circuits will pave the way for a high complexity and ease of use of quantum photonics. Superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) are of special interest since they combine a high detection efficiency and a high timing accuracy with a high count rate and they can be configured as PNR-SNSPDs. Here, we present a PNR-SNSPD with a four photon resolution suitable for waveguide integration operating at a temperature of 4 K. A high statistical accuracy for the photon number is achieved for a Poissonian light source at a photon flux below 5 photons/pulse with a detection efficiency of 22.7 +- 3.0% at 900 nm and a pulse rate frequency of 76 MHz. We demonstrate the ability of such a detector to discriminate a sub-Poissonian from a Poissonian light source.