Sympathetic Arousal during a Touch-Based Healing Ritual Predicts Increased Well-Being

Objective. There is mounting evidence that more elaborate treatment rituals trigger larger nonspecific effects. The reasons for this remain unclear. In a pilot field study, we investigated the role of psychophysiological changes during a touch-based healing ritual for improvements in subjective well-being. Methods. Heart rate, respiratory rate, and skin conductance levels (SCL) were continuously assessed in 22 subjects before, during, and after a touch-based healing ritual. Participants rated their expectations and subjective well-being was assessed before and after the ritual by the "Short Questionnaire on Current Disposition". Results. Subjective wellbeing increased significantly from before to after the ritual. The analysis of psychophysiological changes revealed a significant increase in respiratory rate from baseline to ritual, while skin conductance, heart rate, and heart rate variability did not change. Increases in SCL as well as decreases in respiratory rate from baseline to ritual were significantly associated with improvements in subjective well-being. Regression analyses showed increases in SCL to be the only significant predictor of improvements in wellbeing. conclusion. Higher sympathetic arousal during a touch-based healing ritual predicted improvements in subjective wellbeing. Results suggest the occurrence of an anticipatory stress response, that is, a state of enhanced sympathetic activity that is known to precede relaxation

Effizienzpotentiale in der Verwendung öffentlicher Mittel: Ein Überblick anhand einer Auswertung der Berichte des österreichischen Rechnungshofs

aus dem Inhaltsverzeichnis: Zusammenfassung - Executive Summary; Einleitung und theoretischer Hintergrund; Datenquellen und Methodik; Kategorisierung von Fehlentwicklungen; Auswertung (Bund); Auswertung (Länder); Schlussfolgerungen; Literatur

Population-based Survey of Invasive Bacterial Diseases, Greenland, 1995–2004

Invasive bacterial disease occurs frequently among native populations in the Arctic. Although a variety of bacteria are involved in invasive bacterial disease in Greenland, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and other staphylococci are responsible for most cases (69%); incidence varies according to region and ethnicity

Regional IFNγ expression is insufficient for efficacious control of food-borne bacterial pathogens at the gut epithelial barrier

IFNγ is critical for host defence against various food-borne pathogens including Salmonella enterica and Listeria monocytogenes, the causative agents of salmonellosis and listeriosis, respectively. We investigated the impact of regional IFNγ expression at the intestinal epithelial barrier on host invasion by salmonellae and listeriae following oral challenge. Transgenic mice (IFNγ-gut), generated on an IFNγ knock-out (KO) background, selectively expressed IFNγ in the gut driven by the modified liver fatty acid-binding protein (Fabpl4× at −132) promoter. Infections with attenuated S. enterica Typhimurium or with L. monocytogenes did not differ significantly in IFNγ-KO, IFNγ-gut and wild-type mice. Further, Listeria-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cells were not altered in IFNγ-gut mice. Thus, this model indicates that local IFNγ expression by non-immunological cells in the distal part of the small intestine, caecum and colon is insufficient for prevention of gut penetration by S. enterica Typhimurium and L. monocytogene

Adding complexity to complexity: Gene family evolution in polyploids

Comparative genomics of non-model organisms has resurrected whole genome duplication (WGD) from being viewed as a somewhat obscure process that happens in plants to a primary driver of eukaryotic diversification. The shadow of past ploidy increases has left a strong signature of duplicated genes organized into gene families, even in small genomes that have undergone effectively complete rediploidization. Nevertheless, despite continually advancing technologies and bioinformatics pipelines, resolving the fate of duplicate genes remains a substantial challenge. For example, many important recognition processes are driven not only by allelic expansion through retention of duplicates but also by diversification and copy number variation. This creates technical difficulties with assembly to reference genomes and accurate interpretation of homology. Thus, relatively little is known about the impacts of recent polyploidization and hybridization on the evolution of gene families under selective forces that maintain diversity, such as balancing selection. Here we use a complex of species and ploidy levels in the genus Arabidopsis (A. lyrata and A. arenosa) as a model to investigate the evolutionary dynamics of a large and complicated gene family known to be under strong balancing selection: the receptor-like kinases, which include the female component of genetically controlled self-incompatibility. Specifically, we question: (1) How does diversity of S-receptor kinase (SRK) alleles in tetraploids compare to that in their close diploid relatives? (2) Is there increased trans-specific polymorphism (i.e., sharing of alleles that transcend speciation, characteristic of balancing selection) in tetraploids compared to diploids due to the higher number of copies they carry? (3) Do these highly variable loci show evidence of introgression among extant species/ploidy levels within or outside known zones of hybridization? (4) Is there evidence for copy number variation among paralogs? We use this example to highlight specific issues to consider when interpreting gene family evolution, particularly in relation to polyploids but also more generally in diploids. We conclude with recommendations for strategies to address the challenges of resolving such complex loci in the future, using advances in deep sequencing approaches

A Randomised Controlled Trial

Liver surgery is still associated with a high rate of morbidity and mortality. We aimed to compare different haemodynamic treatments in liver surgery. In a prospective, blinded, randomised, controlled pilot trial patients undergoing liver resection were randomised to receive haemodynamic management guided by conventional haemodynamic parameters or by oesophageal Doppler monitor (ODM, CardioQ-ODM) or by pulse power wave analysis (PPA, LiDCOrapid) within a goal- directed algorithm adapted for liver surgery. The primary endpoint was stroke volume index before intra-operative start of liver resection. Secondary endpoints were the haemodynamic course during surgery and postoperative pain levels. Due to an unbalance in the extension of the surgical procedures with a high rate of only minor procedures the conventional group was dropped from the analysis. Eleven patients in the ODM group and 10 patients in the PPA group were eligible for statistical analysis. Stroke volume index before start of liver resection was 49 (37; 53) ml/m2 and 48 (41; 56) ml/m2 in the ODM and PPA group, respectively (p=0.397). The ODM guided group was haemodynamically stable as shown by ODM and PPA measurements. However, the PPA guided group showed a significant increase of pulse-pressure-variability (p=0.002) that was not accompanied by a decline of stroke volume index displayed by the PPA (p=0.556) but indicated by a decline of stroke volume index by the ODM (p<0.001). The PPA group had significantly higher postoperative pain levels than the ODM group (p=0.036). In conclusion, goal-directed optimization by ODM and PPA showed differences in intraoperative cardiovascular parameters indicating that haemodynamic optimization is not consistent between the two monitors

Konzeption und Durchführung der "Allgemeinen Bevölkerungsumfrage der Sozialwissenschaften" (ALLBUS) 1998

'Das Forschungsprogramm ALLBUS (Allgemeine Bevölkerungsumfrage der Sozialwissenschaften) dient dem Ziel, Daten für die empirische Sozialforschung zu erheben und umgehend allgemein zugänglich bereitzustellen. Die Verwendung des ALLBUS in Sekundäranalysen erfordert es, jede Phase des Forschungsablaufs so transparent wie möglich zu machen. Damit die Nutzer des ALLBUS den Prozeß der Datenerhebung nachvollziehen und sich kritisch mit den gewonnenen Daten auseinandersetzen können, wird daher auch im vorliegenden Methodenbericht für den ALLBUS 1998 die Konzeption und Durchführung der Studie dokumentiert. Der ALLBUS 1998 ist die zehnte bzw. - wenn man die zusätzliche Baseline-Studie von 1991 als erste Umfrage in Gesamtdeutschland mitrechnet - die elfte Studie im Rahmen des ALLBUS-Programms. Wie jeder ALLBUS enthält auch die Umfrage 1998 Informationen zu demographischen Merkmalen sowie zu Einstellungen und Verhaltensweisen in verschiedenen Bereichen. Schwerpunkt ist diesmal das Thema 'Politische Partizipation und Einstellungen zum politischen System'. Dazu wurde das entsprechende Fragemodul aus dem ALLBUS 1988 in gekürzter Form repliziert. Zu wichtigen neuen Theorieentwicklungen wurden zusätzlich neue Fragen berücksichtigt. Neben diesem Schwerpunkt wurden im ALLBUS 1998 erstmals Informationen zur 'Mediennutzung' sowie zu ausgewählten Dimensionen von 'Lebensstilen' erfaßt.' (Textauszug