Сomparison of Exams in Terms of Benefits for the Future Engineer

This article describes advantages and disadventages of international exams for students. to motivate students to pass the English exam as soon as possible. Based on our survey, many students have never even heard about language exams and benefits it gives

P50 Sensory Gating and Smoking in the General Population

P50 gating is a major functional biomarker in research on schizophrenia and other psychiatric conditions with high smoking prevalence. It is used as endophenotype for studying nicotinic systems genetics and as surrogate endpoint measure for drug development of nicotinic agonists. Surprisingly, little is known about P50 gating in the general population and the relationship to smoking-related characteristics. In this multicenter study at six academic institutions throughout Germany, n=907 never-smokers (NS/=4 and n=353 heavy smokers (HS, FTND<4) were randomly selected from the general population. As part of a standardized protocol for investigating the genetics of nicotine dependence (ND), an auditory P50 paradigm was applied. The main outcome measure was P50-amplitude difference followed by time-frequency analyses and functional imaging (sLORETA). Reduced P50 gating was found in HS compared to NS with LS taking an intermediate position-correlating with the degree of ND. sLORETA and time-frequency analyses indicate that high-frequency oscillations in frontal brain regions are particularly affected. With growing age, P50 gating increased in (heavy) smokers. This is the first large-scale study (normative sample data) on P50 sensory gating and smoking in the general population. Diminished gating of P50 and associated high-frequency oscillations in the frontal brain region are indications of a deficient inhibitory cortical function in nicotine-dependent smokers. The suitability and application of sensory P50 gating as functional biomarker with regard to genetic and pharmacological studies is discussed

Psychological and hormonal features of smokers at risk to gain weight after smoking cessation--results of a multicenter study

Preclinical and clinical data suggest modulating effects of appetite-regulating hormones and stress perception on food intake. Nicotine intake also interferes with regulation of body weight. Especially following smoking cessation gaining weight is a common but only partially understood consequence. The aim of this study was to examine the interaction between smoking habits, the appetite regulating hormone leptin, negative affectivity, and stress vulnerability on eating behavior in a clinical case-control study under standardized conditions. In a large population-based study sample, we compared leptin and cortisol plasma concentrations (radioimmunoassay) between current tobacco smokers with high cognitive restraint and disinhibition in eating behavior and smokers scoring low in both categories as assessed with the Three Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ; Stunkard & Messick, 1985). As a measure for smoking effects on the stress axis, the saliva cortisol concentrations were compared before and after nicotine smoking. Additionally, stress perception was assessed with the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), symptoms of depression and anxiety with the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). In smokers showing high cognitive restraint and disinhibition we found significantly higher leptin concentrations than in the group of smokers scoring low in both categories. Furthermore there was a significant group difference in saliva cortisol concentrations after nicotine intake. Smokers showing high cognitive restraint and disinhibition were also characterized by significantly higher scores in the STAI, the PSS and the BDI. Our results suggest that smokers with a pathological eating behavior show an impaired neuroendocrine regulation of appetite and are prone to experience higher levels of stress and negative affectivity. This interaction of behavioral and neuroendocrinological factors may constitute a high risk condition for gaining weight following smoking cessation

The German multi-centre study on smoking-related behavior-description of a population-based case-control study

Tobacco smoking is a major risk factor for most of the diseases leading in mortality. Nicotine dependence (ND), which sustains regular smoking, is now acknowledged to be under substantial genetic control with some environmental contribution. At present, however, genetic studies on ND are mostly conducted in populations that have been poorly characterized with regard to ND-related phenotypes for the simple reason that the respective populations were not primarily collected to study ND. The German multi-centre study 'Genetics of Nicotine Dependence and Neurobiological Phenotypes', which is funded by the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG) as part of the Priority Program (Schwerpunktprogramm) SPP1226: 'Nicotine-Molecular and Physiological Effects in CNS', was intended to overcome some of these inherent problems of current genetic studies of ND. The multi-centre study is a population-based case-control study of smokers and never-smokers (n = 2396). The study was unique worldwide because it was the first large-scale genetic study specifically addressing ND with the collection of a wide range of environmental, psychosocial and neurobiological phenotypes. Study design and major population characteristics with emphasis on risk prediction of smoking status were presented in this paper

Therapie der pharmakoresistenten mesialen Temporallappenepilepsie mittels transsylvischen selektiven Amygdalohippocampektomie - Erfahrungen eines Zentrums und multivariate Analyse

The aim of the present study was to examine neurocognitive function associated with chronic nicotine use. A total of 2163 healthy participants (1002 smokers, 1161 never-smoking controls) participated in a population-based case-control design. The main outcome measures were six cognitive domain factors derived from a neuropsychological test battery. In smokers, the battery was administered after controlled smoking of one cigarette. Analyses included age, sex and education as covariates. Results demonstrated small, but significant deficits in smokers for visual attention (P < 0.001) and cognitive impulsivity (P < 0.006), while verbal episodic memory, verbal fluency, verbal working memory, and Stroop-interference did not differ between groups. These attention/impulsivity deficits were also present in smokers with only a low amount of cigarette consumption. Lifetime nicotine use (pack-years) was not correlated with cognition in smokers. In conclusion, this study confirmed subtle and specific cognitive deficits in non-deprived smokers. The independence of these deficits from consumption intensity may argue for an a priori deficit of some cognitive abilities in smokers. These specific deficits may constitute intermediate phenotypes for genetic research on nicotine use