Saharan Dust from a Marine Perspective:Transport and Deposition along a Transect in the Atlantic Ocean

Saharan dust is transported in great quantities across the Atlantic Ocean, and a large part is deposited before it reaches the Caribbean. However, little is known about this dust deposition across the entire Atlantic, and the physical characteristics of the particles involved. Therefore, a transect of subsurface sediment traps and dust-collecting buoys was deployed, which provides a unique opportunity to study dust deposition in a spatial and temporal high resolution over multiple years. In this thesis dust deposition fluxes and atmospheric dust concentrations along the transect, particle size of the dust and their downwind trends are described. In addition, evidence that giant mineral dust particles (>75 μm) are blown all the way across the ocean is given, transported over thousands of kilometres, which is explained with a range of possible mechanisms. Also, a possible influence of Amazon River sediments to the western sediment traps by means of geochemical analysis is investigated

Iron(III)-chelating resins X. Iron detoxification of human plasma with iron(III)-chelating resins

Iron detoxification of human blood plasma was studied with resins containing desferrioxamine B (DFO) or 3-hydroxy-2-methyl-4(1H)-pyridinone (HMP) as iron(III)-chelating groups. The behaviour of four resins was investigated: DFO-Sepharose, HMP-Sepharose and crosslinked copolymers of 1-(ß-acrylamidoethyl)-3-hydroxy-2-methyl-4(1H)-pyridinone (AHMP) with 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) and of AHMP with N,N-dimethylacrylamide (DMAA). The efficiency of iron detoxification of plasma of the resins was mainly dependent on the affinity of the ligands and the hydrophilicity of the resins. The results of a stability study in phosphate-buffered saline at a physiological pH indicated that AHMP-DMAA was the most stable resin, whereas the Sepharose gels had a relatively lower stability. Experiments with the AHMP-DMAA resin showed that the resin was able to remove iron from plasma with different iron contents, and from plasma poisoned with FeCl3, iron(III) citrate or transferrin. A rapid removal from free serum iron was observed, whereas iron from transferrin was removed slowly afterwards. Only the overload iron was removed since in all cases the normal serum iron level of ca. 1 ppm was obtained

A scanning force microscopy study on the morphology of elastomer-coagent blends

Atomic force scanning microscopy (AFM) was used to investigate the dispersion of low molecular weight compounds in ethylene-propylene copolymers (EPM). Where other microscopical techniques failed to provide morphological details of this type of blend, as a result of the restricted resolution (light microscopy) or the volatility of the low molecular weight component (SEM), the AFM technique provided surface images, which show inclusions in the matrix of the uncrosslinked polymers

Carbonic anhydrases CA1 and CA4 function in atmospheric CO2-modulated disease resistance

Main conclusion Carbonic anhydrases CA1 and CA4 attenuate plant immunity and can contribute to altered disease resistance levels in response to changing atmospheric CO2 conditions. Abstract β-Carbonic anhydrases (CAs) play an important role in CO2 metabolism and plant development, but have also been implicated in plant immunity. Here we show that the bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae and application of the microbe-associated molecular pattern (MAMP) flg22 repress CA1 and CA4 gene expression in Arabidopsis thaliana. Using the CA double-mutant ca1ca4, we provide evidence that CA1 and CA4 play an attenuating role in pathogen- and flg22-triggered immune responses. In line with this, ca1ca4 plants exhibited enhanced resistance against P. syringae, which was accompanied by an increased expression of the defense-related genes FRK1 and ICS1. Under low atmospheric CO2 conditions (150 ppm), when CA activity is typically low, the levels of CA1 transcription and resistance to P. syringae in wild-type Col-0 were similar to those observed in ca1ca4. However, under ambient (400 ppm) and elevated (800 ppm) atmospheric CO2 conditions, CA1 transcription was enhanced and resistance to P. syringae reduced. Together, these results suggest that CA1 and CA4 attenuate plant immunity and that differential CA gene expression in response to changing atmospheric CO2 conditions contribute to altered disease resistance levels

Process improvement in healthcare: Overall resource efficiency

This paper aims to develop a unifying and quantitative conceptual framework for healthcare processes from the viewpoint of process improvement. The work adapts standard models from operation management to the specifics of healthcare processes. We propose concepts for organizational modeling of healthcare processes, breaking down work into micro processes, tasks, and resources. In addition, we propose an axiological model which breaks down general performance goals into process metrics. The connexion between both types of models is made explicit as a system of metrics for process flow and resource efficiency. The conceptual models offer exemplars for practical support in process improvement efforts, suggesting to project leaders how to make a diagrammatic representation of a process, which data to gather, and how to analyze and diagnose a process's flow and resource utilization. The proposed methodology links on to process improvement methodologies such as business process reengineering, six sigma, lean thinking, theory of constraints, and total quality management. In these approaches, opportunities for process improvement are identified from a diagnosis of the process under study. By providing conceptual models and practical templates for process diagnosis, the framework relates many disconnected strands of research and application in process improvement in healthcare to the unifying pursuit of process improvement

Parent to offspring fear transmission via modeling in early life: a systematic review and meta analysis

Stress and Psychopatholog

Hormonal status effects on the electrophysiological correlates of performance monitoring in women

Stress and Psychopatholog

Does complex PTSD predict or moderate treatment outcomes of three variants of exposure therapy?

Background: One reason for the inclusion of Complex Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD) in the 11th revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) was its suspected relevance for treatment indications. We investigated whether CPTSD predicted and moderated treatment outcomes of Prolonged Exposure (PE), intensified PE (iPE) and Skills Training in Affective and Interpersonal Regulation followed by PE (STAIR + PE). We expected that CPTSD would predict worse treatment outcomes across treatments. Secondly, we expected that CPTSD would lead to better treatment effect in STAIR + PE compared to PE and iPE.Methods: We analyzed 149 patients with childhood-abuse related PTSD from a randomized clinical trial. CPTSD diagnosis and symptom severity were measured with the International Trauma Questionnaire. The main outcome was change in clinician-assessed PTSD symptoms. Assessments took place at baseline, week 4, week 8, week 16 (post-treatment) and at a 6-and 12-month follow-up. Analyses were based on an intention-to-treat sample using mixed effect models.Results: More than half (54 %) of the patients met criteria for CPTSD at baseline. CPTSD was related to more severe PTSD symptoms and higher comorbidity at baseline. CPTSD neither predicted nor moderated treatment outcome. Limitations: Inclusion was limited to patients with PTSD related to childhood abuse. Replication is needed in different samples.Conclusions: CPTSD is associated with more severe PTSD and with higher comorbidity. CPTSD did not predict treatment outcome and did not indicate differential treatment outcome of STAIR + PE compared to PE and iPE.Stress-related psychiatric disorders across the life spa