Neuropsychologische Frühzeichen der häufigsten Demenzformen

Die häufigsten Demenzformen zeichnen sich durch charakteristische neuropsychologische Störungsmuster in der präklinischen und frühen klinischen Phase aus. Eine die wichtigsten kognitiven Bereiche mit sorgfältig normierten Tests prüfende neuropsychologische Untersuchung kann zur frühen Differentialdiagnose und zur Identifikation von Vorläufersyndromen beitragen

IMMUNOLOGICAL RESPONSES OF MICE TO NATIVE PROTOPLASMIC POLYSACCHARIDE AND LIPOPOLYSACCHARIDE : Functional Separation of the Two Signals Required to Stimulate a Secondary Antibody Response

Functional separation of the two signals involved in stimulating immunological responses was achieved through the judicious use of two natural bacterial antigens. Native protoplasmic polysaccharide (NPP) extracted from Escherichia coli was immunochemically identical to the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) extracted from the same organism. However, NPP was not endotoxic, not mitogenic, did not fix complement, and was immunologically independent of T cells. The NPP, which appeared to contain only the antigenic signal, could induce a primary antibody response in mice and could sensitize mice for a secondary response. However, the antigenic signal contained in NPP was insufficient to trigger a secondary response in mice primed with either NPP or LPS. LPS, containing both the antigenic and second signals, was required to trigger a secondary response in primed mice

Entwicklung und Validierung des Bedürfnisinventars bei Gedächtnisstörungen (BIG-65): Krankheitskorrelierte Bedürfnisse bei Menschen mit Hirnleistungsstörungen und Demenz

Zusammenfassung: Hintergrund: Der Bedarf an einer systematischen Erfassung krankheitskorrelierter Patientenbedürfnisse bei Hirnleistungsstörungen und Demenz zur Auswahl optimaler Behandlungsoptionen steigt zunehmend. Es fehlt jedoch an validen Messinstrumenten, die zur Erfassung krankheitskorrelierter Bedürfnisse auch bei Menschen mit Demenz eingesetzt werden können. Methode: Die Studie umfasst die Konstruktion und Validierung des Bedürfnisinventars bei Gedächtnisstörungen (BIG-65) zur Erfassung krankheitskorrelierter Bedürfnisse. Der BIG-65 wurde theoriegeleitet entwickelt und basiert auf einer systematischen Literaturrecherche. Er wurde in einer Abklärungsstation, nach umfassender Untersuchung und Diagnosestellung, hinsichtlich seiner psychometrischen Eigenschaften an einer Gelegenheitsstichprobe (n = 83) validiert. Ergebnisse: Der BIG-65 hat 66Items und bietet neben einer breiten Auswahl an biopsychosozialen und umweltbezogenen Bedürfnissen eine geeignete Struktur zur Erfassung krankheitskorrelierter Bedürfnisse bei Menschen mit Hirnleistungsstörungen. Er verfügt über eine besonders hohe Augenscheinvalidität und eine sehr hohe Test-Retest-Reliabilität (rtt = 0,916). Im Mittel wurden 3,5 (SD = 3,7) unabgedeckte Bedürfnisse angegeben. Am häufigsten genannt wurden: "weniger vergessen" (50%), "bessere Konzentration" (23,2%), "Informationen zur Krankheit" (20,7%), "Informationen über Behandlungen" (17,1%) sowie "sich weniger Sorgen machen", "weniger gereizt sein", "Verbesserung der Stimmung", "Verbesserung der Orientierung" (alle 13,4%). Bedürfnisprofile unterscheiden sich zwischen verschiedenen Patientengruppen mit präklinischen (subjektive und milde kognitive Beeinträchtigung) und klinischen (Demenz) Hirnleistungsstörungen. Schlussfolgerungen: Krankheitskorrelierte Bedürfnisse können mit dem BIG-65 bis zu einer mittelschweren Demenz reliabel erfasst werden. Mit zunehmendem Demenzschweregrad oder einem Mini-Mental-Status <20Punkten sollte die Erfassung, z.B. mit zusätzlichen Beobachtungsmethoden des emotionalen Ausdrucks, ergänzt werden. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass Menschen mit Hirnleistungsstörungen individuelle Strategien zur Stabilisierung von Lebensqualität verfolgen. Neben einem objektiven Assessment von Krankheitssymptomen kann die Priorisierung optimaler Behandlungsmaßnahmen von der systematischen Erfassung krankheitskorrelierter Patientenbedürfnisse profitiere

Transfer after process-based object-location memory training in healthy older adults

A substantial part of age-related episodic memory decline has been attributed to the decreasing ability of older adults to encode and retrieve associations among simultaneously processed information units from long-term memory. In addition, this ability seems to share unique variance with reasoning. In this study, we therefore examined whether process-based training of the ability to learn and remember associations has the potential to induce transfer effects to untrained episodic memory and reasoning tasks in healthy older adults (60-75 years). For this purpose, the experimental group (n = 36) completed 30 sessions of process-based objectlocation memory training, while the active control group (n = 31) practiced visual perception on the same material. Near (spatial episodic memory), intermediate (verbal episodic memory), and far transfer effects (reasoning) were each assessed with multiple tasks at four measurements (before, midway through, immediately after, and 4 months after training). Linear mixed-effects models revealed transfer effects on spatial episodic memory and reasoning that were still observed 4 months after training. These results provide first empirical evidence that process-based training can enhance healthy older adults' associative memory performance and positively affect untrained episodic memory and reasoning abilities

Impact of invasive Lantana camara on maize and cassava growth in East Usambara, Tanzania

The impacts of invasive alien plant species on native plants are generally well documented, but little is known about the mechanisms underlying their impacts on crop growth. A better understanding of immediate as well as legacy effects and of direct and indirect impacts of invasive alien plant species is essential for an improved management of invaded cropland. We investigated how Lantana camara impacts the growth of two subsistence crops (maize and cassava) through competition for resources, allelopathy and the indirect plant–plant interactions. We carried out two pot experiments using soils from invaded abandoned, invaded cultivated and non-invaded cultivated crop fields. In the first experiment maize and cassava were grown alone or together with L. camara and half of the pots were treated with activated carbon to suppress allelochemicals. The effect of the soil microbial community on L. camara—crop interactions was assessed in a second experiment using autoclaved soil with 5% of soil from the three soil types. We found that L. camara reduced the growth of maize by 29%, but cassava was not affected. We did not find evidence of allelopathic effects of L. camara. Inoculation of autoclaved soil with microorganisms from all soil types increased biomass of cassava and reduced the growth of maize. Because L. camara only caused impacts when growing simultaneously with maize, the results suggest that removal of L. camara will immediately mitigate its negative impacts on maize

Safeguarding global plant health: the rise of sentinels

Publication history: Accepted - 28 August 2018; Published online - 04 September 2018; Published - 15 January 2019The number of alien plant pests and pathogens is rapidly increasing in many countries as a result of increasing trade, particularly the trade in living plants. Sentinel plantings in exporting countries to detect arthropod pests and agents of diseases prior to introduction provide information about the likelihood of introduction and the potential impact on plants native to the importing country. Such plantings can consist of species that are native to exporting or importing countries (“in-patria” and “ex-patria” plantings). In-patria plantings consist of young woody plants of species that are commonly exported and can be used to identify pests that may be introduced to new countries via the trade in live plants. Ex-patria plantings consist of exotic young or mature woody plants and surveys may provide information about potential impacts of pests if these were to become established in a new country. We discuss the methods and benefits of this powerful tool and list examples of studies that highlight the large number of unknown organisms and pest–host relationships that can be detected. The usefulness of sentinel plantings is illustrated using examples of arthropod pests and fungal pathogens of European and Asian tree species that were identified in sentinel studies in China and the Asian Russia

Space is the Place: European jazz festivals as cultural heritage sites

The JPI-Heritage Plus supported Cultural Heritage and Improvised Music in European Festivals (CHIME) project was established to examine the workings of jazz festivals and their relationship to cultural heritage as discursive practice. Jazz festivals occupy a significant – if undervalued – place in the ecologies of Europe’s cultural heritage, with their dynamic and synergetic relationship to spaces and cultural sites. Drawing on a number of case studies and interviews with members of the Europe Jazz Network, this article presents a typology of European jazz festivals and cultural heritage sites that can be used to inform the different ways in which jazz offers meaning to specific groups and locations. By viewing jazz festivals through the lens of cultural heritage, we can begin to challenge reified presentations of heritage that promote uncomplicated interpretations of nations, people and their associated cultural narratives. Festivals offer meaning to specific groups through acts of remembrance or commemoration, they have the potential to engage with a multitude of voices, and their locations enable people to negotiate a sense of belonging or to (re)consider their place in the world

Promising practices for dealing with complexity in research for development

The need to deal with complexity is getting increasingly attention in research for development projects implemented through transboundary research partnerships between organisations from the Global North and the Global South. However, less is known about aspects beyond the systems under study that still affect complexity in the research project. We conducted an experience capitalization of five transboundary research partnerships undertaking research in 14 countries in the Global South. We found that the combination of multiple contexts, the cultural and disciplinary diversity of the transboundary research partnerships, and the set of rules and proceedings from the funding mechanism affect the levels of complexity. We further identified that a transdisciplinary approach and several related practices, like intercultural communication or integrative partnerships, are promising ways of dealing with complexity. Current structures in research for development need to improve in order to fully use the potential of transdisciplinarity for sustainability transformatio