Isochronal superposition and density scaling of the α-relaxation from pico- to millisecond

The relaxation dynamics in two van der Waals bonded liquids and one hydrogen-bonding molecular liquid are studied as a function of pressure and temperature by incoherent neutron scattering using simultaneous dielectric spectroscopy. The dynamics are studied in a range of alpha relaxation times from pico- to milliseconds, primarily in the equilibrium liquid state. In this range, we find that isochronal superposition and density scaling work not only for the two van der Waals liquids but also for the hydrogen-bonding liquid, though the density scaling exponent is much smaller for the latter. Density scaling and isochronal superposition are seen to break down for intra-molecular dynamics when it is separated in time from the alpha relaxation, in close agreement with previous observations from molecular dynamics simulations

Flexibel in die Zukunft

Studierende sollen in ihrem Studium nicht nur Kompetenzen erwerben, die State of the Art sind, sondern auch einen Blick für die Zukunft des eigenen Fachgebiets und der künftigen Arbeitswelt entwickeln und diese angehen können. Studiengänge so zu gestalten, dass sie kontinuierlich und flexibel neue Themen und Aufgabenfelder aufgreifen können, erfordert nicht nur einen Ansatz, sondern eine Kombination aus mehreren Strategien. Anhand ausgewählter Studiengänge des Instituts für Informationswissenschaft der Technischen Hochschule Köln werden einzelne Strategien erläutert und aufgezeigt wie sich ihre Wirkung in Kombination entfaltet.Students should not only develop state-of-the-art expertise during their studies, but should also be able to anticipate and address the future of their own field and their future working environment. Designing courses of study in such a way that they can continuously and flexibly integrate new topics and areas of activity requires not just one approach, but a combination of several strategies. On the basis of selected courses of study of the Institute of Information Science of the University of Applied Sciences in Cologne, specific strategies and their combined effects will be discussed.Peer Reviewe

Cause rare de choc cardiogénique dans le cadre d’une insuffisance cardiaque à haut débit

Un patient de 79 ans jusqu’alors alerte a été adressé à un hôpital externe par le médecin de famille en raison de syncopes récidivantes sans prodrome, de valeurs de pression artérielle basses et de bradycardie. Parmi ses antécédents médicaux connus figuraient une hypertension artérielle, une fibrillation auriculaire persistante bien contrôlée par anticoagulants (nouveaux anticoagulants oraux [NACO]) et bêtabloquants, ainsi qu’une insuffisance rénale chronique de stade KDIGO G2 (débit de filtration glomérulaire [DFG] initial de 62 ml/min)

Updating Photon-Based Normal Tissue Complication Probability Models for Pneumonitis in Patients With Lung Cancer Treated With Proton Beam Therapy

Purpose: No validated models for predicting the risk of radiation pneumonitis (RP) with proton beam therapy (PBT) currently exist. Our goal was to externally validate and recalibrate multiple established photon-based normal tissue complication probability models for RP in a cohort with locally advanced nonsmall cell lung cancer treated with contemporary doses of chemoradiation using PBT. Methods and Materials: The external validation cohort consisted of 99 consecutive patients with locally advanced nonsmall cell lung cancer treated with chemoradiation using PBT. RP was retrospectively scored at 3 and 6 months posttreatment. We evaluated the performance of the photon Quantitative Analyses of Normal Tissue Effects in the Clinic (QUANTEC) pneumonitis model, the QUANTEC model adjusted for clinical risk factors, and the newer Netherlands updated QUANTEC model. A closed testing procedure was performed to test the need for model updating, either by recalibration-in-the-large (re-estimation of intercept), recalibration (re-estimation of intercept/slope), or model revision (re-estimation of all coefficients). Results: There were 21 events (21%) of ≥grade 2 RP. The closed testing procedure on the PBT data set did not detect major deviations between the models and the data and recommended adjustment of the intercept only for the photon-based Netherlands updated QUANTEC model (intercept update: –1.2). However, an update of the slope and revision of the model coefficients were not recommended by the closed testing procedure, as the deviations were not significant within the power of the data. Conclusions: The similarity between the dose-response relationship for PBT and photons for normal tissue complications has been an assumption until now. We demonstrate that the preexisting, widely used photon based models fit our PBT data well with minor modifications. These now-validated and updated normal tissue complication probability models can aid in individualizing selection of the most optimal treatment technique for a particular patient

Association of Tinnitus and Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity: Hints for a Shared Pathophysiology?

BACKGROUND: Tinnitus is a frequent condition with high morbidity and impairment in quality of life. The pathophysiology is still incompletely understood. Electromagnetic fields are discussed to be involved in the multi-factorial pathogenesis of tinnitus, but data proofing this relationship are very limited. Potential health hazards of electromagnetic fields (EMF) have been under discussion for long. Especially, individuals claiming themselves to be electromagnetic hypersensitive suffer from a variety of unspecific symptoms, which they attribute to EMF-exposure. The aim of the study was to elucidate the relationship between EMF-exposure, electromagnetic hypersensitivity and tinnitus using a case-control design. METHODOLOGY: Tinnitus occurrence and tinnitus severity were assessed by questionnaires in 89 electromagnetic hypersensitive patients and 107 controls matched for age-, gender, living surroundings and workplace. Using a logistic regression approach, potential risk factors for the development of tinnitus were evaluated. FINDINGS: Tinnitus was significantly more frequent in the electromagnetic hypersensitive group (50.72% vs. 17.5%) whereas tinnitus duration and severity did not differ between groups. Electromagnetic hypersensitivity and tinnitus were independent risk factors for sleep disturbances. However, measures of individual EMF-exposure like e.g. cell phone use did not show any association with tinnitus. CONCLUSIONS: Our data indicate that tinnitus is associated with subjective electromagnetic hypersensitivity. An individual vulnerability probably due to an over activated cortical distress network seems to be responsible for, both, electromagnetic hypersensitivity and tinnitus. Hence, therapeutic efforts should focus on treatment strategies (e.g. cognitive behavioral therapy) aiming at normalizing this dysfunctional distress network

Socioeconomic status and antisocial behaviour among children and adolescents: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Previous research on the association between socioeconomic status (SES) and child and adolescent antisocial behaviour has produced mixed findings showing variation in the strength of association. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to summarise evidence on the relationship between socioeconomic status and broadly conceptualised antisocial behaviour, investigating variation across a range of antisocial subtypes and other potential moderators, including age, sex and informant. We identified 133 studies containing data suitable for effect size calculation, and 139 independent effect sizes were analysed (total N = 339868). The global meta-analysis showed that lower family socioeconomic status was associated with higher levels of antisocial behaviour. Moderation analyses revealed this relationship was stronger where callous–unemotional traits were the outcome, and where antisocial behaviour was reported by parents or teachers rather than self-reported. The relationship between family SES and antisocial behaviour, however, was independent of higher-level constructs such as national income inequality. These results indicate that SES can be considered a robust correlate of broadly conceptualised antisocial behaviour but the strength of this relationship may depend on the antisocial subtype under investigation and the design of the stud

A many-analysts approach to the relation between religiosity and well-being

The relation between religiosity and well-being is one of the most researched topics in the psychology of religion, yet the directionality and robustness of the effect remains debated. Here, we adopted a many-analysts approach to assess the robustness of this relation based on a new cross-cultural dataset (N=10,535 participants from 24 countries). We recruited 120 analysis teams to investigate (1) whether religious people self-report higher well-being, and (2) whether the relation between religiosity and self-reported well-being depends on perceived cultural norms of religion (i.e., whether it is considered normal and desirable to be religious in a given country). In a two-stage procedure, the teams first created an analysis plan and then executed their planned analysis on the data. For the first research question, all but 3 teams reported positive effect sizes with credible/confidence intervals excluding zero (median reported β=0.120). For the second research question, this was the case for 65% of the teams (median reported β=0.039). While most teams applied (multilevel) linear regression models, there was considerable variability in the choice of items used to construct the independent variables, the dependent variable, and the included covariates