Aus meinem Roman "Die Bauchtänzerin" - Kapitel IV: Die Universität

Mummendey HD. Aus meinem Roman "Die Bauchtänzerin" - Kapitel IV: Die Universität. In: Kämmerer A, ed. Seelenlandschaften. Streifzüge durch die Psychologie. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht; 2004: 84-85

Frauen in der psychosozialen Versorgung

Sickendiek U, Nestmann F. Frauen in der psychosozialen Versorgung. In: Franke A, Kämmerer A, eds. Klinische Psychologie der Frau. Göttingen: Hogrefe; 2001: 661-688

Starvation and emotion regulation in anorexia nervosa

Self-starvation, with concomitant weight loss, may serve as a dysfunctional behavior to attenuate negative affective states in anorexia nervosa (AN). A total of 91 participants composed of patients with acute AN, women recovered from AN, clinical controls with either depression or anxiety disorder, and healthy controls were tested on a measure of emotion regulation. Patients with acute AN as well as recovered patients with AN and clinical controls showed increased emotion regulation difficulties as compared with healthy controls. In patients with acute AN, a specific association between body weight and emotion regulation was found: the lower the body mass index in patients with acute AN, the lesser were their difficulties in emotion regulation. This association could only be found in the subsample of patients with acute AN but not in the control groups. Moreover, there were no confounding effects of depression or duration of illness. The findings are consistent with the hypothesis that self-starvation with accompanying low body weight serves as a dysfunctional behavior to regulate aversive emotions in AN

Lipooligosaccharide and Polysaccharide Capsule: Virulence Factors of Neisseria meningitidis That Determine Meningococcal Interaction with Human Dendritic Cells

In this work we analyzed the roles of meningococcal lipooligosaccharide (LOS) and capsule expression in the interaction of Neisseria meningitidis with human dendritic cells (DC). Infection of DC with serogroup B wild-type meningococci induced a strong burst of the proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines tumor necrosis factor alpha, interleukin-6 (IL-6), and IL-8. In contrast, a serogroup B mutant strain lacking LOS expression barely led to cytokine induction, demonstrating that meningococcal LOS is the main mediator of the proinflammatory response in human DC. Sialylation of meningococcal LOS did not influence cytokine secretion by DC. However, we found the phagocytosis of N. meningitidis by human DC to be inhibited by LOS sialylation. In addition, the expression of the meningococcal serogroup A, B, and C capsules dramatically reduced DC adherence of N. meningitidis and phagocytosis to some extent. Hence, LOS sialylation and capsule expression are independent mechanisms protecting N. meningitidis from the phagocytic activity of human DC

Expression of p-AKT characterizes adenoid cystic carcinomas of head and neck with a higher risk for tumor relapses

Abstract Background Adenoid cystic carcinomas are rare tumors with an indolent clinical course, but frequent local relapses. The identification of tumors with a higher relapse risk seems to be interesting. Hence we investigated parameters of glucose metabolism, which were found associated with poor prognosis in other malignancies. Methods Specimen of 29 patients were investigated immunohistochemically with antibodies against p-AKT, TKTL-1 (transketolase-like 1), M2PK (M2 pyruvate kinase), and GLUT-1. Proliferation was investigated by staining with Ki67. The tumors were located at the major or minor salivary glands. Only the typical cribriform subtype was investigated. The initial tumor stage was pT1 or pT2. Results Expression of p-AKT was significantly (P = 0.036) associated with a higher relapse risk in multivariate analysis. Low expression of M2PK was non-significantly (P = 0.065) predictive for a higher risk. TKTL-1 and GLUT-1 were expressed in the majority of cases, albeit not associated with relapse risk. Conclusion Adenoid cystic carcinomas positive for p-AKT show a higher relapse risk. However, other parameters of glucose metabolism investigated here or proliferation (Ki67) were not predictive in this entity. Our findings demonstrate a possible background for therapeutic approaches targeting the inhibition of PI3K/AKT pathway.</p

Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy Improves In Vitro Formation of Multilayered Epithelium of Oral Mucosa Equivalents

Oral mucosa is used in various surgical fields as a graft for the reconstruction of tissue defects. Tissue engineering of oral mucosa equivalents using autologous cells represents a suitable less burdensome alternative. The survival of the multilayered epithelium is essential for the functionality of the tissues in vivo. To ensure its functionality after transplantation, mucosa equivalents in vitro were subjected to extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) to determine whether this treatment stimulated the formation and differentiation of the epithelium. Mucosa equivalents treated with ESWT were examined for cellular metabolic activity using AlamarBlueTM assay. The formation of vascular structures, basement membrane, and multilayered epithelium were examined using confocal fluorescence microscopy and immunohistochemistry. The potential ingrowth in vivo was simulated using the chorioallantoic membrane model (CAM assay) in ovo. ESWT on culture day 19 of oral mucosa equivalents resulted in slightly increased cellular metabolic activity. The in vitro development of basement membrane and multilayer epithelium was stimulated by ESWT. Additionally, in the CAM assay, ESWT led to a more pronounced multilayered epithelium. Thus, ESWT stimulated the formation of a more distinct and differentiated multilayered epithelium of oral mucosa equivalents in vitro and might increase the chance of efficient ingrowth, survival, and functionality of tissue equivalents in vivo

Mood Regulation and Cognitive Reactivity in Depression Vulnerability

There is substantial evidence supporting the hypothesis that cognitive reactivity is an important variable in the etiology of depression. However, there is a lack of studies examining possible mechanisms that underlie cognitive reactivity. The present study tested whether two specific mood regulation processes differentially appear in vulnerable and non-vulnerable individuals, and whether they can account for differences in cognitive reactivity. In a cross-sectional experimental design, 20 formerly-depressed individuals (FD) were compared with 20 never-depressed individuals (ND). In an autobiographical memory task both groups differed concerning the use of positively and negatively toned emotion words: FD retrieved fewer positive emotion words than ND in the second phase of this task. Furthermore, FD with a high cognitive reactivity retrieved more negatively toned emotion words. In the ND group there was a different pattern: Subjects with a high cognitive reactivity retrieved less positively toned emotion words. Two different cognitive processes seem to account for cognitive reactivity in individuals who are at high versus low risk for depression