Online Attentional Bias-Training bei Personen mit sub-klinischer Ängstlichkeit als Wegweiser für eine moderne Behandlung

Es wird davon ausgegangen, dass bei ängstlichen Personen der Attentional Bias gegenüber negativen Reizen an der Entstehung und Aufrechterhaltung von Angststörungen maßgeblich beteiligt ist. Basierend auf dieser Annahme wurde das Attentional Bias-Training entwickelt, bei dem versucht wird, die Aufmerksamkeit weg von negativen und hin zu neutralen Stimuli zu lenken. Ziel der vorliegenden Studie war es, ein Attentional Bias-Training erstmals an einer deutschsprachigen Stichprobe sowie in komplett onlinebasierter Form durchzuführen. Zudem sollte der Einfluss einer expliziten Instruktion erhoben werden, bei der die TeilnehmerInnen vollständig über die dem Training zugrunde liegenden Mechanismen aufgeklärt werden. Zusätzlich sollte die Reliabilität des Dot Probe Tasks überprüft werden. 60 Personen mit sub-klinischer Ängstlichkeit wurden randomisiert drei Versuchsbedingungen (normale Instruktion, explizite Instruktion, Placebo-Kontrollbedingung) zugeteilt und führten ein Attentional Bias-Training mit Wörterstimuli über 6 Trainingseinheiten innerhalb von 2 Wochen durch. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass es nach dem Training bei allen TeilnehmerInnen unabhängig von der Gruppenzuteilung zu einem unerwarteten leichten Anstieg ihrer Aufmerksamkeitshinwendung gegenüber negativen Wörtern kam. Es konnten zudem starke kurzfristige Auswirkungen der expliziten Instruktion festgestellt werden, welche die Notwendigkeit standardisierter Instruktionen für das Training aufzeigen. Anhand der vorliegenden Daten muss zudem die Reliabilität des Dot Probe Tasks zumindest im Online-Setting angezweifelt werden. Einschränkungen der Studie und Schlussfolgerungen für die weitere Forschung in diesem Bereich werden diskutiert.Previous research has shown that anxious individuals show selective attentional biases towards anxiety- and threat-related information that may be associated with the development and maintenance of anxiety disorders. Based on this assumption, an Attentional Bias Modification Treatment (ABMT), using a modified dot probe task, had been developed in previous research that induces an attentional bias towards neutral information and that has shown promising results. Primary goals of the present study were to test for the first time a completely internet-delivered ABMT in a sample of sub-clinical anxious participants and to investigate whether implicit and explicit instructions (describing the mechanisms of the ABMT to participants in detail) resulted in comparable effects of the ABMT. This was also the first test of the ABMT in a German-speaking sample. Furthermore, the reliability of the dot probe task was also assessed. 60 participants with sub-clinical anxiety were randomly assigned to one of three experimental conditions (implicit instruction, explicit instruction, placebo control condition) and completed six ABMT sessions (using words as stimuli) over a period of two weeks. Results showed that at the end of the training participants’ attendance of threat-related words had slightly but unexpectedly increased, regardless of treatment condition. Additionally, the explicit instruction condition showed strong short-term effects, highlighting the necessity of using standardized instructions in the ABMT. Given our results, the reliability of the dot probe task in an online-based setting also seems questionable. Limitations and implications for further research are discussed

Communication: Saturated CO 2

International audienc

Die Differenzierung persönlicher Beziehungen: Das Verhältnis von Liebe, Freundschaft und Partnerschaft

Schmidt J. Die Differenzierung persönlicher Beziehungen: Das Verhältnis von Liebe, Freundschaft und Partnerschaft. In: Hahn K, Burkart G, eds. Grenzen und Grenzüberschreitungen der Liebe. Studien zur Soziologie intimer Beziehungen II. 1. Auflage. Opladen: Leske + Budrich; 2000: 73-100

Utilisation de la photogrammétrie pour l’étude de la végétation riveraine

International audienceThis study presents the results of methodological tests in aerial photogrammetry with the objective of a diachronic survey of riparian vegetation in three dimensions, i.e. its spatial distribution and height. The study is undertaken at two complementary scales. The first one corresponds to a 10 km reach of the Allier river floodplain. At this scale, aerial photographs were taken from a small airplane. The second level of analysis corresponds to a wooded point bar located within the 10 km reach. At this scale, the photographs were taken from an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). Canopy height models (CHM) are produced at two scales of analysis. The accuracy of the CHMs is then analysed by comparison with vegetation height measurements collected during a filed campaign. The results show significant agreement for the models derived from two approaches, with an error of one meter at the floodplain scale and few centimetres at the bar scale. This variation in error is mainly due to different photographic resolutions. The two approaches appeared to be complementary. The first one is adequate for mapping vegetation structure at the floodplain scale, the second for mapping vegetation in smaller areas but at a higher resolution.Cette étude présente les résultats de tests méthodologiques réalisés en photogrammétrie aérienne avec pour objectif le suivi diachronique de la végétation riveraine dans ses trois dimensions, c’est-à-dire sa distribution spatiale et sa hauteur. L’étude est menée à deux échelles d’analyse. La première échelle est celle d’un tronçon longitudinal de 10 km de la plaine alluviale de la rivière Allier. À cette échelle de travail, un avion a été utilisé pour les prises de vue aérienne. La deuxième échelle d’analyse est celle d’un banc boisé, localisé dans la zone de 10 km. À cette échelle, la couverture photographique a été faite à l’aide d’un drone. Pour les deux objets d’étude des modèles de hauteur du couvert végétal (MHC) sont produits. La précision des MHC est ensuite vérifiée à partir de la mesure de la hauteur d’arbres sur le terrain. Les résultats révèlent une très bonne précision des modèles pour les deux approches, de l’ordre du mètre à l’échelle du tronçon de 10 km et de quelques centimètres à l’échelle du banc. Cette inégalité s’explique surtout par des résolutions photographiques différentes pour les deux missions. Il ressort de ce travail que les deux approches sont complémentaires. La première permet de cartographier la structure de la végétation à l’échelle de la plaine alluviale, la deuxième permet une cartographie de la végétation à plus haute résolution mais seulement à une échelle plus réduite

Tailoring the FeO/SiO2 ratio in electric arc furnace slags to minimize the leaching of vanadium and chromium

Based on recently published research on leaching control mechanisms in electric arc furnace (EAF) slags, it is assumed that a FeO/SiO2 ratio of around one leads to low leached V and Cr concentrations. This ratio influences the mineral phase composition of the slag toward higher amounts of spinel and a lower solubility of calcium silicate phases by suppressing the formation of magnesiowuestite and highly soluble calcium silicate phases. To evaluate this hypothesis, laboratory and scaled up tests in an EAF pilot plant were performed on slag samples characterized by elevated V and Cr leaching and a high FeO/SiO2 ratio. Prior to the melting experiments, the optimum FeO/SiO2 ratio was calculated via FactSageTM. In the melting experiments, the ratio was adjusted by adding quartz sand, which also decreased the basicity (CaO/SiO2) of the slag. As a reference, remelting experiments without quartz sand addition were conducted and additionally, the influence of the cooling rate of the slag was examined. The remelted (without quartz sand) and the remelted modified slags (with quartz sand) were analyzed chemically and mineralogically and the leaching behavior was investigated. The modification of the slags yielded a minimized release of V and Cr, supporting the hypothesis that the FeO/SiO2 ratio influences the mineralogy and the leaching behavior

Characterization of transport regimes and the polar dome during Arctic spring and summer using in situ aircraft measurements

Abstract. The springtime composition of the Arctic lower troposphere is to a large extent controlled by the transport of midlatitude air masses into the Arctic. In contrast, pre- cipitation and natural sources play the most important role during summer. Within the Arctic region sloping isentropes create a barrier to horizontal transport, known as the polar dome. The polar dome varies in space and time and exhibits a strong influence on the transport of air masses from mid- latitudes, enhancing transport during winter and inhibiting transport during summer. We analyzed aircraft-based trace gas measurements in the Arctic from two NETCARE airborne field campaigns (July 2014 and April 2015) with the Alfred Wegener Insti- tute Polar 6 aircraft, covering an area from Spitsbergen to Alaska (134 to 17◦ W and 68 to 83◦ N). Using these data we characterized the transport regimes of midlatitude air masses traveling to the high Arctic based on CO and CO2 mea- surements as well as kinematic 10 d back trajectories. We found that dynamical isolation of the high Arctic lower tro- posphere leads to gradients of chemical tracers reflecting dif- ferent local chemical lifetimes, sources, and sinks. In par- ticular, gradients of CO and CO2 allowed for a trace-gas- based definition of the polar dome boundary for the two mea- surement periods, which showed pronounced seasonal differences. Rather than a sharp boundary, we derived a transi- tion zone from both campaigns. In July 2014 the polar dome boundary was at 73.5◦ N latitude and 299–303.5 K potential temperature. During April 2015 the polar dome boundary was on average located at 66–68.5◦ N and 283.5–287.5 K. Tracer–tracer scatter plots confirm different air mass prop- erties inside and outside the polar dome in both spring and summer. Further, we explored the processes controlling the recent transport history of air masses within and outside the polar dome. Air masses within the springtime polar dome mainly experienced diabatic cooling while traveling over cold sur- faces. In contrast, air masses in the summertime polar dome were diabatically heated due to insolation. During both sea- sons air masses outside the polar dome slowly descended into the Arctic lower troposphere from above through ra- diative cooling. Ascent to the middle and upper troposphere mainly took place outside the Arctic, followed by a north- ward motion. Air masses inside and outside the polar dome were also distinguished by different chemical compositions of both trace gases and aerosol particles. We found that the fraction of amine-containing particles, originating from Arc- tic marine biogenic sources, is enhanced inside the polar dome. In contrast, concentrations of refractory black carbon are highest outside the polar dome, indicating remote pollu- tion sources. Synoptic-scale weather systems frequently disturb the transport barrier formed by the polar dome and foster ex- change between air masses from midlatitudes and polar re- gions. During the second phase of the NETCARE 2014 measurements a pronounced low-pressure system south of Resolute Bay brought inflow from southern latitudes, which pushed the polar dome northward and significantly affected trace gas mixing ratios in the measurement region. Mean CO mixing ratios increased from 77.9 ± 2.5 to 84.9 ± 4.7 ppbv between these two regimes. At the same time CO2 mix- ing ratios significantly decreased from 398.16 ± 1.01 to 393.81 ± 2.25 ppmv. Our results demonstrate the utility of applying a tracer-based diagnostic to determine the polar dome boundary for interpreting observations of atmospheric composition in the context of transport history

Global, regional, and national burden of disorders affecting the nervous system, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

BackgroundDisorders affecting the nervous system are diverse and include neurodevelopmental disorders, late-life neurodegeneration, and newly emergent conditions, such as cognitive impairment following COVID-19. Previous publications from the Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factor Study estimated the burden of 15 neurological conditions in 2015 and 2016, but these analyses did not include neurodevelopmental disorders, as defined by the International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-11, or a subset of cases of congenital, neonatal, and infectious conditions that cause neurological damage. Here, we estimate nervous system health loss caused by 37 unique conditions and their associated risk factors globally, regionally, and nationally from 1990 to 2021.MethodsWe estimated mortality, prevalence, years lived with disability (YLDs), years of life lost (YLLs), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), with corresponding 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs), by age and sex in 204 countries and territories, from 1990 to 2021. We included morbidity and deaths due to neurological conditions, for which health loss is directly due to damage to the CNS or peripheral nervous system. We also isolated neurological health loss from conditions for which nervous system morbidity is a consequence, but not the primary feature, including a subset of congenital conditions (ie, chromosomal anomalies and congenital birth defects), neonatal conditions (ie, jaundice, preterm birth, and sepsis), infectious diseases (ie, COVID-19, cystic echinococcosis, malaria, syphilis, and Zika virus disease), and diabetic neuropathy. By conducting a sequela-level analysis of the health outcomes for these conditions, only cases where nervous system damage occurred were included, and YLDs were recalculated to isolate the non-fatal burden directly attributable to nervous system health loss. A comorbidity correction was used to calculate total prevalence of all conditions that affect the nervous system combined.FindingsGlobally, the 37 conditions affecting the nervous system were collectively ranked as the leading group cause of DALYs in 2021 (443 million, 95% UI 378–521), affecting 3·40 billion (3·20–3·62) individuals (43·1%, 40·5–45·9 of the global population); global DALY counts attributed to these conditions increased by 18·2% (8·7–26·7) between 1990 and 2021. Age-standardised rates of deaths per 100 000 people attributed to these conditions decreased from 1990 to 2021 by 33·6% (27·6–38·8), and age-standardised rates of DALYs attributed to these conditions decreased by 27·0% (21·5–32·4). Age-standardised prevalence was almost stable, with a change of 1·5% (0·7–2·4). The ten conditions with the highest age-standardised DALYs in 2021 were stroke, neonatal encephalopathy, migraine, Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, diabetic neuropathy, meningitis, epilepsy, neurological complications due to preterm birth, autism spectrum disorder, and nervous system cancer.InterpretationAs the leading cause of overall disease burden in the world, with increasing global DALY counts, effective prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation strategies for disorders affecting the nervous system are needed