A multi-method assessment of attentional processes in chronic, treatment-resistant depression

Contains fulltext : 233751.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access)Attentional deficits as well as attentional biases towards negative material are related to major depression and might maintain chronicity. However, studies investigating attentional deficits and attentional biases in chronic, treatment-resistant depressed are lacking. The aim of the current study was to compare measures of attentional deficits and attentional bias between chronic, treatment-resistant depressed outpatients and never-depressed control participants. Attentional deficits were assessed with the attentional control scale (ACS) and the Stroop Color naming task. Attentional bias was measured with the exogenous cueing task (ECT) and an emotional Stroop task. Chronic, treatment-resistant depressed patients (n=80) showed significantly more attentional deficits than never-depressed controls (n=113) on the ACS and Stroop color-naming task. However, in contrast with hypotheses, no differences were found between chronic, treatment-resistant depressed patients and never-depressed individuals on the ECT or emotional Stroop task. The current findings indicate that chronic, treatment-resistant depressed patients present attentional deficits. The results however question whether this patient group shows attentional biases for negative material. Future research should include comparisons of chronic, treatment-resistant and non-chronically depressed patients. If replicated, these current results might indicate that focusing on improving attentional deficits could be a more promising target for treatment than addressing attentional biases.9 p

Immunoscreening of the extracellular proteome of colorectal cancer cells

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The release of proteins from tumors can trigger an immune response in cancer patients involving T lymphocytes and B lymphocytes, which results in the generation of antibodies to tumor-derived proteins. Many studies aim to use humoral immune responses, namely autoantibody profiles, directly, as clinical biomarkers. Alternatively, the antibody immune response as an amplification system for tumor associated alterations may be used to indicate putative protein biomarkers with high sensitivity. Aiming at the latter approach we here have implemented an autoantibody profiling strategy which particularly focuses on proteins released by tumor cells in vitro: the so-called secretome.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>For immunoscreening, the extracellular proteome of five colorectal cancer cell lines was resolved on 2D gels, immobilized on PVDF membranes and used for serological screening with individual sera from 21 colorectal cancer patients and 24 healthy controls. All of the signals from each blot were assigned to a master map, and autoantigen candidates were defined based of the pattern of immunoreactivities. The corresponding proteins were isolated from preparative gels, identified by MALDI-MS and/or by nano-HPLC/ESI-MS/MS and exemplarily confirmed by duplex Western blotting combining the human serum samples with antibodies directed against the protein(s) of interest.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>From 281 secretome proteins stained with autoantibodies in total we first defined the "background patterns" of frequently immunoreactive extracellular proteins in healthy and diseased people. An assignment of these proteins, among them many nominally intracellular proteins, to the subset of exosomal proteins within the secretomes revealed a large overlap. On this basis we defined and consequently confirmed novel biomarker candidates such as the extreme C-terminus of the extracellular matrix protein agrin within the set of cancer-enriched immunorectivities.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our findings suggest, first, that autoantibody responses may be due, in large part, to cross-presentation of antigens to the immune system via exosomes, membrane vesicles released by tumor cells and constituting a significant fraction of the secretome. In addition, this immunosecretomics approach has revealed novel biomarker candidates, some of them secretome-specific, and thus serves as a promising complementary tool to the frequently reported immunoproteomic studies for biomarker discovery.</p

Sömlös integration eller SÖMNLÖS?

”Inget PLM-system är en ö, enbart för sig själv” för att travestera John Donnes (1572-1631) text “No man is an island, entire of itself”. Ett PLM-system måste integreras med andra system inom och mellan organisationer. En integration kan ses ur olika perspektiv. Ett är historiskt, där det nya PLM-systemet ska samverka med existerande s.k. legacy system. Legacy-system med produkthanterande funktioner har ofta använts under lång tid i en organisation och har så att säga blivit en ”fluga på väggen”; en del av det vardagliga arbetet som man inte tänker på utan bara använder när så behövs. En anledning till att införa ett PLM-system är ofta att legacy-systemet har blivit omodernt på något sätt. Det kan vara skrivet i ett gammalt programspråk som är svårt att underhålla, det kan sakna viktiga funktioner som säker revisionshantering, eller det kan helt enkelt köras på datorer som har sett sin bästa tid och är dyra i drift. Problemet man ställs inför här är att bestämma om man ska köra legacy-systemet och PLM systemet tillsammans under en viss tid. Att bara klippa tråden till legacy-systemet vid ett och samma tillfälle kan anses för riskabelt, och då måste man hålla en integration igång åtminstone en viss tid

Facing temptation in the bar: Counteracting the effects of self-control failure on young adults' ad libitum alcohol intake

Background and Aims The self-control strength model suggests that exertion of self-control leads to poorer subsequent self-control performance. Failure of self-control has been suggested as an important underlying mechanism of excessive drinking. This study tested the effects of self-control failure on ad libitum drinking, and the potential moderating role of glucose and self-awareness on this relationship. Design The current research examined in two experiments whether the effects of self-control failure were different for males and females, and whether glucose (experiment 1) and self-awareness (experiment 2) would counteract the effects of self-control failure. A between-participants design with four conditions was employed in each experiment. Setting A semi-naturalistic drinking setting in the form of a laboratory bar. Participants Undergraduate students recruited at Radboud University Nijmegen, the Netherlands (experiment 1: n = 106; experiment 2: n = 108). Measurements The total amount of alcohol consumed during an experimental break (observational data) and questionnaire data on drinking patterns. Findings Self-control failure led to increased levels of drinking in males (P < 0.05), whereas females drank less after being depleted (P < 0.01). Self-awareness, but not glucose, was found to counteract the effects of self-control failure among males (P < 0.05). Conclusions Self-control failure leads to increased drinking of alcohol in males and decreased levels of drinking alcohol in females. However, increasing self-awareness appears to be a promising strategy in facing the temptation to drink when cognitive resources to inhibit intake are low

Bessere Ausnutzung von Fernwaermeanlagen. Teilprojekt Hannover-Hamburg: 'Analyse des Regelverhaltens von Fernwaermenetzen'. T. 1: Optimieren einer automatischen Pumpensteuerung auf schnelle Lastwechsel. T. 2: Darstellen der Automatisierungseinrichtungen von Fernwaermepumpen an der Mensch-Maschine-Kommunikationsschnittstelle (MMK). T. 3: Installation und Anpassung des Programmsystems BoFiT (nur Hannover) Abschlussbericht

The general target of the interconnection research intention is discovering margins for optimizing the heat consumption by fast and ensured variation between producers with CHP generation plants and plants for primary heat and reverse. The project is subdivided in three parts: In part 1 the usefulness of automated operation of the communal distributed heating net-work was determined by: Comparison of real measurements with simulated processes calculations of the differential control processes, development and analysis of a control process concept and improvement of the existing controler action in the Hamburg and the Hannover model, investigations of the effects of closed loop control on safety and portrayal of the processes during optimised and automated operation. The advantage of this system can be demonstrated to be both economical and ecological. Safety analysis showed that a higher degree of automation does not compromise safe operation. In Hamburg these findings led to the development of a training simulator for the operating personnel. The optimisation techniques presented in part 1 can therefore be implemented in a model, which provides a very good analogy to the real network. In part 2 innovative forms of presentation of hydraulic relations of the controled District Heating network where developed. They where realised in a computer program. This program was installed in the District Heating control room. The target of part 3 is the practical application of BoFit for the generation of optimized propositions for operation mode of the District Heating net-work. The consideration of the actual condition of the District Heating network was realized by online-connection to the process data processing. The situation of costs of heat supply is found out by simulations for the present moment and for a prognosted period. (orig.)Published in two separate volumesSIGLEAvailable from TIB Hannover: F01B306+a: F01B307+a / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekBundesministerium fuer Bildung, Wissenschaft, Forschung und Technologie, Bonn (Germany)DEGerman

New insights in the composition of extracellular vesicles from pancreatic cancer cells

$\textbf{Background:}$ Pancreatic cancer development is associated with characteristic alterations like desmoplastic reaction and immune escape which are mediated by the cell-cell communication mechanism and by the microenvironment of the cells. The whole of released components are important determinants in these processes. Especially the extracellular vesicles released by pancreatic cancer cells play a role in cell communication and modulate cell growth and immune responses. $\textbf{Results:}$ Here, we present the proteomic description of affinity purified extracellular vesicles from pancreatic tumour cells, compared to the secretome, defined as the whole of the proteins released by pancreatic cancer cells. The proteomic data provide comprehensive catalogues of hundreds of proteins, and the comparison reveals a special proteomic composition of pancreatic cancer cell derived extracellular vesicles. The functional analysis of the protein composition displayed that membrane proteins, glycoproteins, small GTP binding proteins and a further, heterogeneous group of proteins are enriched in vesicles, whereas proteins derived from proteasomes and ribosomes, as well as metabolic enzymes, are not components of the vesicles. Furthermore proteins playing a role in carcinogenesis and modulators of the extracellular matrix (ECM) or cell-cell interactions are components of affinity purified extracellular vesicles. $\textbf{Conclusion:}$ The data deepen the knowledge of extracellular vesicle composition by hundreds of proteins that have not been previously described as vesicle components released by pancreatic cancer cells. Extracellular vesicles derived from pancreatic cancer cells show common proteins shared with other vesicles as well as cell type specific proteins indicating biomarker candidates and suggesting functional roles in cancer cell stroma interactions