"in dem moment wo ich es dann erkenne dann ist es auch gleich wieder weg" – Salienzeffekte in der Sprachperzeption

In context of the first study on folk linguistic concepts in the German language area carried out by the Kiel DFG research project "perceptual dialectology", this article looks at how salient features could be surveyed and categorized by a stimulus-response-test. After a definition of salience, the study design including the stimulus-response-test is presented. The test was created and modified during the project as a guessing game by the Institute for German Language (IDS Mannheim). The central question in this article is which linguistic features stimulate the informants to locate a speech sample on a map with predetermined cities and hence which salient features trigger the regional identification. In a second step, the speech samples are analyzed by the variables 'pleasantness' and 'correctness' defined by Dennis R. Preston. The central question here is: Are speech samples with a high pleasure value also automatically considered correct? Finally, an interpretation of metalinguistic comments in the speech examples will give more insight into folk linguistic concepts and the role of salient features in this regard

Suizidalität im Nationalsozialismus

Ausgehend von der erhöhten Selbstmordrate auch schon vor 1933, befaßt sich der Beitrag im folgenden mit der politischen Komponente des Suizids im Nationalsozialismus und mit der Frage, wie die nationalsozialistische Führung auf den steigenden Selbstmordtrend vor allem unter den deutschen Juden strategisch und wertend reagierte. Dabei stützen sich die Autorinnen auf die mittels des Runderlasses gewonnenen Statistik, die ab 1. April 1939 zum Zwecke der Begegnung der gegnerischen Propaganda geführt wurde. Sie gibt, wenn vom nationalsozialistischen Denkraster befreit, Aufschlüsse über Selbstmorde und Selbstmordversuche von 1939-1940, darüber hinaus über Geschlechts- und Altersunterschiede, Motivstrukturen und Einzelschicksale. Das Verhältnis Suizidalität und Nationalsozialismus muß, wenn auch der Suizid nicht planbar war, neben der Vernichtung 'lebensunwerten' Lebens und der Tötung auf Verlangen als dritte Säule des Euthanasieprogramms begriffen werden. Allerdings konnte der Widerspruch, daß zwar der Selbstmord bei 'Minderwertigen' gern gesehen wurde, andererseits die recht hohe Suizidrate offen auf menschenunwürdige Lebensbedingungen verwies, nicht angemessen verarbeitet werden. Selbst der Beginn einer wissenschaftlichen Erforschung des Phänomens ging über das Ziel einer statistischen Analyse zur Selbstberuhigung nicht hinaus. Darin zeigt sich nach Meinung der Autorinnen die Unfähigkeit der Nazi-Ideologen, mit menschlichen Dimensionen umzugehen. Zahlreiche Menschen, die von diesem System in den Tod getrieben werden sollten, entzogen sich durch ihre Selbsttötung dieser Menschenfeindlichkeit. (ICH

Discontinuation of Palliative Brain Radiotherapy in Patients with Brain Metastases: A Case-Control Study.

Background: Discontinuation of radiotherapy is rarely discussed in the scientific literature. The goal of this study was, therefore, to estimate the frequency of and reasons for treatment discontinuations in patients receiving radiotherapy for brain metastases from solid tumors and to identify factors predicting said discontinuations. Methods: All patients treated for brain metastases from solid tumors between 2010 and 2020 at our institution were retrospectively reviewed. In addition to collecting relevant patient characteristics, the Recursive Partitioning Analysis (RPA) and disease-specific Graded Prognostic Assessment (GPA) groups for each patient were calculated to assess the performance of these scores in predicting treatment discontinuations. Results: Out of 468 patients who underwent cranial radiotherapy, 35 treatments (7.5%) were discontinued. The most frequent reason was clinical deterioration, which was documented in 26 (74.3%) of discontinued treatments. Patients whose radiotherapy was discontinued had, on average, more leptomeningeal disease (20.0% vs. 12.6%), worse ECOG performance status (mean ECOG performance status 1.86 vs. 1.39), and more uncontrolled extracranial metastases (85.3% vs. 70.8%). The frequencies of treatment discontinuation increased with worse prognosis and differed significantly across RPA groups (p = 0.037) but not across GPA groups (p = 0.612). Conclusions: Treatment discontinuation occurred in 7.5% of cases, mostly due to clinical deterioration. Poor performance status, as well as more advanced disease and, in turn, poor prognosis, were associated with higher discontinuation rates

Entwicklung und Integration einer Benutzeroberfläche zur Darstellung von Flugzustandsdaten im Flugversuch

Zur Erhöhung der Effizienz und Sicherheit im Flugversuch soll in dieser Arbeit ein OnboardMessdatenvisualisierungswerkzeug entwickelt werden. Diese Arbeit setzt bei den Messanlagen der Dornier 228-101 D-CODE und dem Helikopter Bo105 D-HDDP des Deutschen Zentrums für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR) an mit dem Ziel, die im Flugversuch ermittelten Messdaten zu entschlüsseln und in Echtzeit darzustellen, um Flugversuchsingenieure in ihrer Arbeit zu unterstützen und eventuelle Sensorfehler durch fehlerhafte Messanlageneingänge rechtzeitig zu erkennen. Diese Arbeit beginnt bei den Grundlagen der Netzwerktechnik und stellt die proprietären binären Formate vor, in denen die Daten verschlüsselt sind, um den Datentransfer nachvollziehen zu können. Darauf aufbauend werden die Grundlagen der Mensch-Maschine Schnittstelle benutzt, um, basierend auf Anforderungen der Flugversuchsingenieure, einen Entwurf für die letztliche Nutzeroberfläche zu entwerfen. Zuletzt werden der Entwicklungsprozess und die entstandenen Funktionen um dieses Ziel zu erreichen dargestellt. Auf Basis der in dieser Arbeit entwickelten Schnittstellen und Benutzeroberflächen werden zukünftig die Messdaten aus den Messdatenerfassungssystemen der D-CODE und der D-HDDP sowohl offline dekodiert als auch im Flug dem Flugversuchsingenieur dargestellt

The COMT p.Val158Met Polymorphism and Cognitive Performance in Adult Development, Healthy Aging and Mild Cognitive Impairment

Background: The impact of genetic polymorphisms on cognition is assumed to increase with age as losses of brain resources have to be compensated for. We investigate the relation of catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) p.Val158Met polymorphism and cognitive capacity in the course of adult development, healthy aging and the development of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in two birth cohorts of subjects born between 1930 and 1932 or between 1950 and 1952. Methods: Thorough neuropsychological assessment was conducted in a total of 587 participants across three examination waves between 1993 and 2008. The COMT genotype was determined as a restriction fragment length polymorphism after PCR amplification and digestion with Nla III. Results: Significant effects of the COMT p.Val158Met polymorphism were identified for attention and cognitive flexibility in the younger but not the older cohort. Conclusion: These results confirm the importance of the COMT p.Val158Met genotype on tasks assessing attention and cognitive flexibility in midlife but not in healthy aging and the development of MCI. Our findings suggest that the influence of COMT changes as a function of age, decreasing from midlife to aging

Re-irradiation to the prostate using stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) after initial definitive radiotherapy - A systematic review and meta-analysis of recent trials.

BACKGROUND There is increasing data on re-irradiation to the prostate using stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) after definitive radiotherapy for prostate cancer, with increasing evidence on prostate re-irradiation using a C-arm LINAC or an MR LINAC in recent years. We therefore conducted this systematic review and meta-analysis on prostate re-irradiation including studies published from 2020 to 2023, to serve as an update on existing meta-analysis. METHODS We searched the PubMed and Embase databases in October 2023 with queries including combinations of "repeat", "radiotherapy", "prostate", "re-irradiation", "reirradiation", "re treatment", "SBRT", "retreatment". Publication date was set to be from 2020 to 2023. There was no limitation regarding language. We adhered to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) recommendations. After data extraction, heterogeneity testing was done by calculating the I2. A random effects model with a restricted maximum likelihood estimator was used to estimate the combined effect. Funnel plot asymmetry was assessed visually and using Egger's test to estimate the presence of publication and/or small study bias. RESULTS 14 publications were included in the systematic review. The rates of acute ≥ grade 2 (G2) genitourinary (GU) and gastrointestinal (GI) toxicities reported in the included studies ranged from 0.0-30.0 % and 0.0-25.0 % respectively. For late ≥ G2 GU and GI toxicity, the ranges are 4.0-51.8 % and 0.0-25.0 %. The pooled rate of acute GU and GI toxicity ≥ G2 were 13 % (95 % CI: 7-18 %) and 2 % (95 % CI: 0-4 %). For late GU and GI toxicity ≥ G2 the pooled rates were 25 % (95 % CI: 14-35 %) and 5 % (95 % CI: 1-9 %). The pooled 2-year biochemical recurrence-free survival was 72 % (95 % CI: 64-92 %). CONCLUSIONS SBRT in the re-irradiation of radiorecurrent prostate cancer is safe and effective. Further prospective data are warranted

Five Fractions versus Seven Fractions SBRT for Intermediate- and High-Risk Prostate Cancer: A Propensity Score Matched Pair Analysis.

PURPOSE To compare two stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) regimens in patients with intermediate- or high-risk prostate cancer with regards toxicity and efficacy. METHODS/MATERIAL We retrospectively collected data from 198 patients treated with SBRT for prostate cancer at two different institutions. Patients received either 35-36.25 Gy in five fractions (group A) using Cyberknife robotic platform or 42.7 Gy in seven fractions (group B) using a C-arm LINAC (image-guided). Propensity score matching was done (2:1 nearest neighbor matching without replacement), resulting in 120 patients (80 patients for group A, 40 patients for group B). Toxicity, PSA nadir, biochemical failure and disease-free survival (DFS) were analyzed. RESULTS Median follow up of all patients was 13 months (range 1-91 months). Overall, 23.3% of patients had ≥G2 acute GU toxicity (21.1% group A versus 30% group B (p = 0.222)) and 6.6% of patients ≥G2 GI toxicity (2.5% versus 15% (p = 0.010)). There was one acute G3 GU toxicity in arm A and one acute G4 rectal bleeding in group B (anticoagulated patient). Regarding late toxicity, 14.1% of patients had ≥G2 late GU toxicity (17.4% versus 6.6% (p = 0.159)) and 5.0% of patients had ≥G2 late GI toxicity (1.4% versus 13.3% (p = 0.013)). There was one G3 late GU toxicity in arm B and two G3 late GI toxicities, one in each arm. Relative median PSA reduction was 92.4% (-53.9-99.9%) from baseline PSA (93.7% (-53.9-99.9%) in group A versus 87.7% (39.8-99.9%) in group B (p = 0.043). In total, 4.2% of patients had biochemical relapse, 5.0% in group A and 2.5% in group B (p = 0.518). One-year DFS in the overall cohort was 97.3%, 98.8% in group A and 94.3% in group B (p = 0.318). CONCLUSION Both SBRT regimens have acceptable acute and late toxicity and good efficacy. There are significantly more GI toxicities in the seven-fraction regimen. Longer follow-up is warranted for better comparison of long-term efficacy

Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT) as Salvage Therapy for Oligorecurrent Pleural Mesothelioma After Multi-Modality Therapy

Introduction: Therapy options for patients with oligoprogressive malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) are limited. Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy (SBRT) may be a promising therapeutic option, as it delivers a localized ablative dose of radiation and therefore balances efficacy and treatment related toxicities. The intent of this retrospective analysis was to evaluate the feasibility of SBRT for limited pleural recurrences. Methods and Materials: This retrospective single-institution study is based on the 21 consecutive patients treated with hypofractionated radiotherapy for oligoprogressive MPM. Clinical and radiological data was collected at regular follow-up visits including toxicity, local control and survival. Results: At primary diagnosis, 57% of the patients presented with stage III disease. Initial treatment of MPM consisted of induction chemotherapy (n = 12) prior to a macroscopic complete resection (n = 18). Three patients received additional intracavitary chemotherapy and another three patients were treated with chemotherapy alone without another treatment at the time of first diagnosis. A total of 50 lesions in recurrent MPM were treated with SBRT. The median number of radiotherapy fractions was 5 (range 3-20) with a median dose per fraction of 5 Gy (range 2.5-12.5 Gy). The median total treatment dose was 30 Gy (20-50 Gy) with a median prescription isodose line (IDL) of 65% (65-100%). Median follow-up of all patients from diagnosis was 28 months (range 7-152 months). Analyzing all lesions separately, the 12-months-local control from SBRT was 73.5%. The median progression free survival (PFS) after SBRT was 6 months (range 0-21 months) and the median OS from first first SBRT was 29 months (range 0-61 months). Only one patients experienced above Grade 3 toxicities. Conclusion: This analysis demonstrates the feasibility of a SBRT approach for oligorecurrent MPM. SBRT was well-tolerated even after multiple repetitions and local control was high with a promising median OS