Ultracold Metastable Calcium Ensembles, a Medium for Matter Wave Amplification ?

We propose an experimental implementation of matter wave amplification by optical pumping (MAO) with metastable calcium atoms. First experimental results indicate that pumping rates can be significantly higher than in previous experimental schemes and let it appear promising that the threshold condition for generation of degeneracy can be reached.Comment: 6 pages, 2 PS figure

Schlaf und Nachtfluglärm: subjektive Wirkungen der Kernruhezeit am Frankfurter Flughafen im Längsschnittvergleich

Im Rahmen des Forschungsverbundprojekts NORAH untersuchte das DLR Institut für Luft- und Raumfahrtmedizin im Modul „Auswirkungen von Fluglärm auf den nächtlichen Schlaf“ in drei Messkampagnen die subjektiven Wirkungen des Fluglärms auf den Schlaf vor und nach Eröffnung der Landebahn Nordwest am Frankfurter Flughafen im Oktober 2011 und der damit einhergehenden Kernruhezeit von 23 bis 5 Uhr. Die Studien wurden im Auftrag des Umwelt- und Nachbarschaftshauses im Forum Flughafen und Region (FFR) erstellt. Sie wurden mit insgesamt 202 Probanden zu Hause im durch Nachtfluglärm belasteten Rhein-Main Gebiet durchgeführt. Die subjektiven Wirkungen des nächtlichen Fluglärms vor und nach Einführung der Kernruhezeit wurden durch Einschätzungen der schlafbezogenen psychologischen Parameter „Schlafdauer“, „Schlaftiefe“ und „Schlaferholung“ mit visuellen Analogskalen (VAS) erfasst. Als weitere Indikatoren einer durch Fluglärm schlafgestörten Nacht dienten Müdigkeits- und Schläfrigkeitsbewertungen morgens nach dem Aufstehen mittels eines Fatigue-Fragebogens (FAT) und der Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (KSS). Für alle subjektiven Variablen wurden Expositions-Wirkungskurven in Abhängigkeit vom energieäquivalenten fluglärmbezogenen Dauerschallpegel LAeq sowie der Anzahl an nächtlichen Überfluggeräuschen mittels logistischer Regression mit Zufallseffekt berechnet. Nicht-akustische Moderatoren und das Studienjahr wurden bei der Modellbildung berücksichtigt. Im Längsschnittvergleich zeigt sich für die Schlaftiefe und Schlaferholung sowie die Müdigkeit und Schläfrigkeit eine statistisch signifikante Zunahme im dreijährigen Studienverlauf, was einer Verschlechterung des Schlaferlebens der Anwohner entspricht. Danach hat die Einführung der Kernruhezeit am Frankfurter Flughafen subjektiv zu keiner statistisch signifikanten Verbesserung des Schlafs im Vergleich zur Basiserhebung im Jahr 2011 mit durchgängigem Nachtflugbetrieb geführt. Dieses Ergebnis ist allerdings unabhängig von der Fluglärmbelastung und auf den Einfluss nicht erhobener Parameter zurückzuführen

Nocturnal air, road, and rail traffic noise and daytime cognitive performance and annoyance

Various studies indicate that at the same noise level and during the daytime, annoyance increases in the order of rail, road, and aircraft noise. The present study investigates if the same ranking can be found for annoyance to nocturnal exposure and next day cognitive performance. Annoyance ratings and performance change during combined noise exposure were also tested. In the laboratory 72 participants were exposed to air, road, or rail traffic noise and all combinations. The number of noise events and LAS,eq were kept constant. Each morning noise annoyance questionnaires and performance tasks were administered. Aircraft noise annoyance ranked first followed by railway and road noise. A possible explanation is the longer duration of aircraft noise events used in this study compared to road and railway noise events. In contrast to road and rail traffic, aircraft noise annoyance was higher after nights with combined exposure. Pooled noise exposure data showed small but significant impairments in reaction times (6 ms) compared to nights without noise. The noise sources did not have a differential impact on performance. Combined exposure to multiple traffic noise sources did not induce stronger impairments than a single noise source. This was reflected also in low workload ratings

Residents’ negative attitude towards air traffic is associated with impaired objective sleep quality

Objectives: Nocturnal aircraft noise induces sleep disturbances and is associated with impaired quality of life. The magnitude of physiological and psychological responses to noise varies among individuals. Stable individual vulnerabilities have been reported for aircraft noise induced awakenings. To date it is unknown, whether the subjective attitude towards air traffic and residents' sleep quality impact on each other. Methods: Seventy-four out of 81 investigated residents around Frankfurt Airport (Germany) rated their attitude towards air traffic (from 1 = negative to 5 = positive; negative attitude: score ≤ 2, N=28, mean age 44 ± 16 years; moderate to positive attitude: score > 3, N=46, mean age 44 ± 15 years) and evaluated its necessity (from 1 = not necessary to 5 = highly necessary; no to moderate necessity: score ≤ 3, N=22, mean age 45 ± 10 years; high necessity: score > 3, N=52, mean age 43 ± 17 years). In addition, polysomnographical recordings were obtained in residents' home environment. These investigations were part of the NORAH sleep study in 2012. Results: Significant impairments in sleep quality (prolonged sleep onset latency, increased wake after sleep onset, reduced sleep efficiency, and less deep sleep) were found for participants with a negative attitude towards air traffic. The judgement of no or moderate necessity of air traffic was associated with a significantly reduced deep sleep duration. Conclusions: Residents' subjective attitude towards air traffic and their objective sleep quality are related. Cause and effect in this relationship remain to be identified

Effects of Nocturnal Aircraft Noise and Non-Acoustical Factors on Short-Term Annoyance in Primary School Children

Children are considered at higher risk for harmful noise effects due to their sensitive development phase. Here, we investigated the effects of nocturnal aircraft noise exposure on short-term annoyance assessed in the morning in 51 primary school children (8–10 years) living in the surrounding community of Cologne-Bonn Airport. Child-appropriate short-term annoyance assessments and associated non-acoustical variables were surveyed. Nocturnal aircraft noise exposure was recorded inside the children’s bedrooms. Exposure–response models were calculated by using random effects logistic regression models. The present data were compared with those from a previous study near Cologne-Bonn Airport in adults using very similar methodology. Short-term annoyance reaction in children was not affected by the nocturnal aircraft noise exposure. Non-acoustical factors (e.g., the attitude that “aircraft are dangerous” or noise sensitivity), however, significantly impacted on children’s short-term annoyance. In contrast to children, the probability of moderate to high annoyance in adults increased with the number of aircraft flyovers during the time in bed. It is concluded that short-term annoyance from nocturnal aircraft noise in children is mainly determined by non-acoustical factors. Unlike in adults, acoustical factors did not play a significant role

Human in vitro reporter model of neuronal development and early differentiation processes

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>During developmental and adult neurogenesis, doublecortin is an early neuronal marker expressed when neural stem cells assume a neuronal cell fate. To understand mechanisms involved in early processes of neuronal fate decision, we investigated cell lines for their capacity to induce expression of doublecortin upon neuronal differentiation and develop <it>in vitro </it>reporter models using doublecortin promoter sequences.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Among various cell lines investigated, the human teratocarcinoma cell line NTERA-2 was found to fulfill our criteria. Following induction of differentiation using retinoic acid treatment, we observed a 16-fold increase in doublecortin mRNA expression, as well as strong induction of doublecortin polypeptide expression. The acquisition of a neuronal precursor phenotype was also substantiated by the establishment of a multipolar neuronal morphology and expression of additional neuronal markers, such as Map2, βIII-tubulin and neuron-specific enolase. Moreover, stable transfection in NTERA-2 cells of reporter constructs encoding fluorescent or luminescent genes under the control of the doublecortin promoter allowed us to directly detect induction of neuronal differentiation in cell culture, such as following retinoic acid treatment or mouse Ngn2 transient overexpression.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Induction of doublecortin expression in differentiating NTERA-2 cells suggests that these cells accurately recapitulate some of the very early events of neuronal determination. Hence, the use of reporter genes under the control of the doublecortin promoter in NTERA-2 cells will help us to investigate factors involved early in the course of neuronal differentiation processes. Moreover the ease to detect the induction of a neuronal program in this model will permit to perform high throughput screening for compounds acting on the early neuronal differentiation mechanisms.</p

Healthy dietary indices and risk of depressive outcomes : a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies

With depression being the psychiatric disorder incurring the largest societal costs in developed countries, there is a need to gather evidence on the role of nutrition in depression, to help develop recommendations and guide future psychiatric health care. The aim of this systematic review was to synthesize the link between diet quality, measured using a range of predefined indices, and depressive outcomes. Medline, Embase and PsychInfo were searched up to 31st May 2018 for studies that examined adherence to a healthy diet in relation to depressive symptoms or clinical depression. Where possible, estimates were pooled using random effect meta-analysis with stratification by observational study design and dietary score. A total of 20 longitudinal and 21 cross-sectional studies were included. These studies utilized an array of dietary measures, including: different measures of adherence to the Mediterranean diet, the Healthy Eating Index (HEI) and Alternative HEI (AHEI), the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, and the Dietary Inflammatory Index. The most compelling evidence was found for the Mediterranean diet and incident depression, with a combined relative risk estimate of highest vs. lowest adherence category from four longitudinal studies of 0.67 (95% CI 0.55-0.82). A lower Dietary Inflammatory Index was also associated with lower depression incidence in four longitudinal studies (relative risk 0.76; 95% CI: 0.63-0.92). There were fewer longitudinal studies using other indices, but they and cross-sectional evidence also suggest an inverse association between healthy diet and depression (e.g., relative risk 0.65; 95% CI 0.50-0.84 for HEI/AHEI). To conclude, adhering to a healthy diet, in particular a traditional Mediterranean diet, or avoiding a pro-inflammatory diet appears to confer some protection against depression in observational studies. This provides a reasonable evidence base to assess the role of dietary interventions to prevent depression.Peer reviewe