Resilience and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder in the Swiss Alpine Rescue Association.

Objective The present study aimed to assess the frequency of trauma exposure, the prevalence of possible post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the extent of resilience, and sense of coherence among personnel of the Swiss alpine rescue association (ARS). Methods Using a trilingual online survey approach, 465 mountain rescuers of the ARS were surveyed using the Posttraumatic Diagnostic Scale (PDS), the PTSD Checklist 5 (PCL-5), the Resilience Scale 13 and 14 (RS-13/-14), the Perceived Stress Scale 10 (PSS-10), the General Health Questionnaire 12 (GHQ-12), the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), the Sense of Coherence Scale 13 (SOC-13), and the Berlin Social Support Scales (BSSS). Results Although the rate of mountain rescuers having witnessed or experienced a traumatic event was high (71%), the prevalence of possible PTSD was low (0.9%). The sample showed high resilience and high sense of coherence. Resilience was positively correlated with work experience. Low perceived stress and high sense of coherence predicted resilience. The severity of PTSD symptoms was mainly predicted by low sense of coherence. Sense of coherence mediated the interaction between resilience and severity of PTSD symptoms. Conclusion The findings suggest that resilience and sense of coherence are indicative for the low prevalence of possible PTSD among mountain rescuers, and may therefore represent valuable screening and training parameters for mountain rescue personnel

The Relationship between Personality Organization and Psychiatric Classification in Chronic Pain Patients

The assessment of PO is a crucial issue for diagnosis and treatment planning in CPPs, since it represents a measure of structural impairment that is to a considerable extent independent of axis I and II diagnoses. Moreover, the STIPO dimensional rating focuses on the most salient dysfunctions at a given time. Copyright (C) 2010 S. Karger AG, BaselBackground: The present study investigated the relationship between psychiatric classification and personality organization (PO) in a secondary/tertiary clinical sample of chronic pain patients (CPPs). Sampling and Methods: Forty-three patients were administered the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID I+II) and the Structured Interview of Personality Organization (STIPO). The prevalence of axis I and axis II disorders was correlated with the STIPO level of PO. The STIPO dimensional ratings of patients without personality disorder (PD) were compared to those of patients diagnosed with one or more PDs. Results: Axis I comorbidity was high (93%), and 63% of the patients met the criteria for at least one axis II diagnosis. Twenty-five patients (58%) were diagnosed as borderline PO, with high-level impairments in the dimensions `coping/rigidity', `primitive defenses' and `identity'. Higher axis I and axis II comorbidity corresponded with greater severity of PO impairment. No difference was found between the dimensional ratings of patients without PD and those of patients with one or more PDs. Conclusions

Emotions, Arousal, and Frontal Alpha Rhythm Asymmetry During Beethoven's 5th Symphony

Music is capable of inducing emotional arousal. While previous studies used brief musical excerpts to induce one specific emotion, the current study aimed to identify the physiological correlates of continuous changes in subjective emotional states while listening to a complete music piece. A total of 19 participants listened to the first movement of Ludwig van Beethoven's 5th symphony (duration: ~7.4min), during which a continuous 76-channel EEG was recorded. In a second session, the subjects evaluated their emotional arousal during the listening. A fast fourier transform was performed and covariance maps of spectral power were computed in association with the subjective arousal ratings. Subjective arousal ratings had good inter-individual correlations. Covariance maps showed a right-frontal suppression of lower alpha-band activity during high arousal. The results indicate that music is a powerful arousal-modulating stimulus. The temporal dynamics of the piece are well suited for sequential analysis, and could be necessary in helping unfold the full emotional power of musi

The Impact of Foehn Wind on Mental Distress among Patients in a Swiss Psychiatric Hospital.

Psychiatric patients are particularly vulnerable to strong weather stimuli, such as foehn, a hot wind that occurs in the alps. However, there is a dearth of research regarding its impact on mental health. This study investigated the impact of foehn wind among patients of a psychiatric hospital located in a foehn area in the Swiss Alps. Analysis was based on anonymized datasets obtained from routine records on admission and discharge, including the Brief Symptom Checklist (BSCL) questionnaire, as well as sociodemographic parameters (age, sex, and diagnosis). Between 2013 and 2020, a total of 10,456 admission days and 10,575 discharge days were recorded. All meteorological data were extracted from the database of the Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology of Switzerland. We estimated the effect of foehn on the BSCL items using a distributed lag model. Significant differences were found between foehn and non-foehn admissions in obsession-compulsion, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxiety, phobic anxiety, paranoid ideation, and general severity index (GSI) (p < 0.05). Our findings suggest that foehn wind events may negatively affect specific mental health parameters in patients. More research is needed to fully understand the impact of foehn's events on mental health

Electrocorticographic Activation Patterns of Electroencephalographic Microstates.

Electroencephalography (EEG) microstates are short successive periods of stable scalp field potentials representing spontaneous activation of brain resting-state networks. EEG microstates are assumed to mediate local activity patterns. To test this hypothesis, we correlated momentary global EEG microstate dynamics with the local temporo-spectral evolution of electrocorticography (ECoG) and stereotactic EEG (SEEG) depth electrode recordings. We hypothesized that these correlations involve the gamma band. We also hypothesized that the anatomical locations of these correlations would converge with those of previous studies using either combined functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)-EEG or EEG source localization. We analyzed resting-state data (5 min) of simultaneous noninvasive scalp EEG and invasive ECoG and SEEG recordings of two participants. Data were recorded during the presurgical evaluation of pharmacoresistant epilepsy using subdural and intracranial electrodes. After standard preprocessing, we fitted a set of normative microstate template maps to the scalp EEG data. Using covariance mapping with EEG microstate timelines and ECoG/SEEG temporo-spectral evolutions as inputs, we identified systematic changes in the activation of ECoG/SEEG local field potentials in different frequency bands (theta, alpha, beta, and high-gamma) based on the presence of particular microstate classes. We found significant covariation of ECoG/SEEG spectral amplitudes with microstate timelines in all four frequency bands (p = 0.001, permutation test). The covariance patterns of the ECoG/SEEG electrodes during the different microstates of both participants were similar. To our knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate distinct activation/deactivation patterns of frequency-domain ECoG local field potentials associated with simultaneous EEG microstates

Soil wettability can be explained by the chemical composition of particle interfaces-An XPS study

Soil wettability (quantified in terms of contact angle, CA) is crucial for physical, chemical, and biological soil functioning. As the CA is determined by components present within the outmost nanometer of particles, this study applied X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) with a maximum analysis depth of 10 nm to test the relationship between CA and surface elemental composition, using soil samples from a chronosequence where CA increased from 0° (0 yrs) to about 98° (120 yrs). Concurrently, as seen by XPS, C and N content increased and the content of O and the mineral-derived cations (Si, Al, K, Na, Ca, Mg, Fe) decreased. The C content was positively correlated with CA and least squares fitting indicated increasing amounts of non-polar C species with soil age. The contents of O and the mineral-derived cations were negatively correlated with CA, suggesting an increasing organic coating of the minerals that progressively masked the underlying mineral phase. The atomic O/C ratio was found to show a close negative relationship with CA, which applied as well to further sample sets of different texture and origin. This suggests the surface O/C ratio to be a general parameter linking surface wettability and surface elemental composition.DFG/SPP/1315DFG/BA 1359/9DFG/FOR/180

Co-ordination of brain and heart oscillations during non-rapid eye movement sleep

Oscillatory activities of the brain and heart show a strong variation across wakefulness and sleep. Separate lines of research indicate that non‐rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep is characterised by electroencephalographic slow oscillations (SO), sleep spindles, and phase–amplitude coupling of these oscillations (SO–spindle coupling), as well as an increase in high‐frequency heart rate variability (HF‐HRV), reflecting enhanced parasympathetic activity. The present study aimed to investigate further the potential coordination between brain and heart oscillations during NREM sleep. Data were derived from one sleep laboratory night with polysomnographic monitoring in 45 healthy participants (22 male, 23 female; mean age 37 years). The associations between the strength (modulation index [MI]) and phase direction of SO–spindle coupling (circular measure) and HF‐HRV during NREM sleep were investigated using linear modelling. First, a significant SO–spindle coupling (MI) was observed for all participants during NREM sleep, with spindle peaks preferentially occurring during the SO upstate (phase direction). Second, linear model analyses of NREM sleep showed a significant relationship between the MI and HF‐HRV (F = 20.1, r (2) = 0.30, p < 0.001) and a tentative circular‐linear correlation between phase direction and HF‐HRV (F = 3.07, r (2) = 0.12, p = 0.056). We demonstrated a co‐ordination between SO–spindle phase–amplitude coupling and HF‐HRV during NREM sleep, presumably related to parallel central nervous and peripheral vegetative arousal systems regulation. Further investigating the fine‐graded co‐ordination of brain and heart oscillations might improve our understanding of the links between sleep and cardiovascular health

Restless Legs Syndrome Prevalence and Clinical Correlates Among Psychiatric Inpatients: A Multicenter Study.

Background There are only limited reports on the prevalence of restless legs syndrome (RLS) in patients with psychiatric disorders. The present study aimed to evaluate the prevalence and clinical correlates in psychiatric inpatients in Germany and Switzerland. Methods This is a multicenter cross-sectional study of psychiatric inpatients with an age above 18 years that were diagnosed and evaluated face-to-face using the International RLS Study Group criteria (IRLSSG) and the International RLS severity scale (IRLS). In addition to sociodemographic and biometric data, sleep quality and mood were assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). In addition to univariate statistics used to describe and statistically analyze differences in variables of interest between patients with and without RLS, a logistic model was employed to identify predictors for the occurrence of RLS. Results The prevalence of RLS in a sample of 317 psychiatric inpatients was 16.4%, and 76.9% of these were diagnosed with RLS for the first time. RLS severity was moderate to severe (IRLS ± SD: 20.3 ± 8.4). The prevalences in women (p = 0.0036) and in first-degree relatives with RLS (p = 0.0108) as well as the body mass index (BMI, p = 0.0161) were significantly higher among patients with RLS, while alcohol consumption was significantly lower in the RLS group. With the exception of atypical antipsychotics, treatment with psychotropic drugs was not associated with RLS symptoms. Regarding subjective sleep quality and mood, scores of the PSQI (p = 0.0007), ISI (p = 0.0003), and ESS (p = 0.0005) were higher in patients with RLS, while PHQ-9 scores were not different. A logistic regression analysis identified gender (OR 2.67; 95% CI [1.25; 5.72]), first-degree relatives with RLS (OR 3.29; 95% CI [1.11; 9.73], ESS score (OR 1.09; 95% CI [1.01; 1.17]), and rare alcohol consumption (OR 0.45; 95% CI [0.22; 0.94] as predictors for RLS. Conclusions Clinically significant RLS had a high prevalence in psychiatric patients. RLS was associated with higher BMI, impaired sleep quality, and lower alcohol consumption. A systematic assessment of restless legs symptoms might contribute to improve the treatment of psychiatric patients

The hierarchy of coupled sleep oscillations reverses with aging in humans.

A well-orchestrated coupling hierarchy of slow waves and spindles during slow wave sleep supports memory consolidation. In old age, duration of slow wave sleep and number of coupling events decreases. The coupling hierarchy deteriorates, predicting memory loss and brain atrophy. Here, we investigate the dynamics of this physiological change in slow wave-spindle coupling in a frontocentral electroencephalography position in a large sample (N=340, 237 female, 103 male) spanning most of the human lifespan (ages 15-83). We find that, instead of changing abruptly, spindles gradually shift from being driven by-, to driving slow waves with age, reversing the coupling hierarchy typically seen in younger brains. Reversal was stronger the lower the slow wave frequency, and starts around midlife (∼age 40-48), with an established reversed hierarchy at age 56-83. Notably, coupling strength remains unaffected by age. In older adults, deteriorating slow wave-spindle coupling, measured using phase slope index (PSI) and number of coupling events, is associated with blood plasma glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) levels, a marker for astrocyte activation. Data-driven models suggest decreased sleep time and higher age lead to fewer coupling events, paralleled by increased astrocyte activation. Counterintuitively, astrocyte activation is associated with a back-shift of the coupling hierarchy (PSI) towards a "younger" status along with increased coupling occurrence and strength, potentially suggesting compensatory processes. As the changes in coupling hierarchy occur gradually starting at midlife, we suggest there exists a sizable window of opportunity for early interventions to counteract undesirable trajectories associated with neurodegeneration.Significance StatementEvidence accumulates that sleep disturbances and cognitive decline are bi-directionally and causally linked forming a vicious cycle. Improving sleep quality could break this cycle. One marker for sleep quality is a clear hierarchical structure of sleep oscillations. Previous studies showed that sleep oscillations decouple in old age. Here, we show that, rather, the hierarchical structure gradually shifts across the human lifespan and reverses in old age, while coupling strength remains unchanged. This shift is associated with markers for astrocyte activation in old age. The shifting hierarchy resembles brain maturation, plateau, and wear processes. This study furthers our comprehension of this important neurophysiological process and its dynamic evolution across the human lifespan

Phosphatsorptions- und -desorptionskinetik von Assoziationen zwischen organischer Substanz und Goethit

Mangelnde P-Versorgung limitiert das Pflanzenwachstum auf sauren Standorten auf Grund der starken Bindung von Phosphat an Sesquioxide. Viele Untersuchungen dokumentieren eine P-Mobilisierung durch wurzel-exsudierte Anionen niedermolekularer Polycarbonsäuren (LMWOA). Daneben exsudieren Pflanzen Polysacharide als einen Hauptbestandteil der Mucilage. Deren Einfluss auf die Bioverfügbarkeit von Phosphat ist jedoch weitestgehend unverstanden. Die Sorption von Phosphat an Fe-Oxide teilt sich gewöhnlich in eine schnelle und eine langsame Reaktion. Für Goethit (a-FeOOH) besteht die schnelle Reaktion in der Adsorption des Phosphats an äußere Oberflächen, wohingegen die langsame Reaktion durch die Diffusion von Phosphat in Mikro- (Ø <2 nm) und Mesoporen (Ø 2-50 nm) des Adsorbenten hervorgerufen wird. Bislang ist unbekannt, ob mineral-assoziierte Wurzelexsudate die Zugänglichkeit von Mineralporen für Phosphat einschränken. Das Hauptziel dieser Arbeit war es daher zu untersuchen, ob organische Wurzelexsudate die Poren von Fe-Oxiden verschließen und damit die Porendiffusion von Phosphat unterbinden. Die Verwendung von Polygalakturonat (PGA) als Modellsubstanz für pflanzenbürtige Mucilage ist nicht gerechtfertigt, wenn sich die Eigenschaften in situ gewonnener makromolekularer Wurzelesxudate von denen der PGA unterscheiden. Daher sollte die Porosität sowie die Kinetik der Phosphatdesorption von Fe-Oxiden verglichen werden, welche mit PGA und hochmolekularen Wurzelexsudaten von Maispflanzen equilibriert wurden. Weil die Quellung organischer Beläge die Zugänglichkeit von Mineraloberflächen für Phosphat verändern könnte, sollte ferner der Einfluss der Befeuchtung von PGA-Belägen auf die Phosphatsorptionskinetik von Sesquioxiden ermittelt werden. Zur Bearbeitung genannter Fragestellungen wurden Goethite (a-FeOOH) mit hoch- und niedermolekularer organischer Substanz equilibriert. Anschließend wurden ihre Porositäten mittels Gasadsorption bestimmt (N2 und CO2). Polygalakturonat, bodenbürtige gelöste organische Substanz (DOM) und Mucigel (MU) von Maispflanzen (Zea mays L.) wurden als hochmolekulare, Citrat und Galakturonat (GA) als niedermolekulare Sorbate verwendet. Phosphatsorptions- und desorptionsexperimente wurden im Batchversuch bei pH 5 über einen Zeitraum von bis zu drei Wochen durchgeführt. Der Einfuß der Befeuchtung von PGA-Belägen auf die Sorptionskinetik von Phosphat wurde mit Batchexperimenten untersucht, nachdem PGA-belegtes Al-Oxid (Al2O3) für zwei bzw. 170 Stunden in Wasser bei pH 5 equilibriert wurde. Zusätzlich wurden die Proben mittels 1H-NMR Relaxometrie und Differentieller Scanning Kalorimetrie (DSC) charakterisiert. Alle organischen Substanzen reduzierten das <5-nm Porenvolumen von Goethit. Trotz verringerter Porosität wies die langsame Sorption von Phosphat an PGA-belegte Goethite keine Beziehung zu deren Mikro- und Mesoporenvolumen auf. Die Phosphatsorption war mit der PGA-Desorption korreliert, was zeigt, dass die schrittweise Desorption von PGA und/oder die Diffusion von Phosphat durch die organische Beläge die Rate der langsamen Phosphatsorption kinetisch kontrollieren. Citrat verhinderte die langsame Phosphatsorption an reinem Goethit und Goethit, welcher mit DOM equilibriert wurde. Diese Beobachtung wurde auf einen Mikroporenver-schluss durch Citrat sowie die citrat-induzierte Auflösung der Adsorbenten zurückgeführt. Desorptionsexperimente mit GA-, PGA- und MU-behandeltem Goethit zeigten, dass nur nach PGA-Sorption Goethitporen für Phosphat weniger zugänglich waren. Ergebnisse aus Versuchen mit GA und PGA deuten darauf hin, dass organische Sorbate die Festlegung von Phosphat in <5-nm Goethitporen verstärken. Polygalakturonat und MU beeinflussten die Kinetik der Phosphatdesorption gegensätzlich, vermutlich auf Grund des im MU enthaltenen Phosphats und mineralischer Substanz sowie seines geringen Gehaltes an Uronsäuren. Die Befeuchtung von PGA-belegtem Al-Oxid in Wasser für 170 Stunden erhöhte die Menge des schnell sorbierten Phosphats gegenüber einer Befeuchtungszeit von nur zwei Stunden. Dieses Ergebnis wurde auf die Umstrukturierung der PGA-Moleküle auf der Al-Oxidoberfläche infolge Befeuchtung zurückgeführt. Aus den Ergebnissen lässt sich schlussfolgern, dass der Verschluss von Goethitporen durch PGA nicht relevant ist für die Phosphatsorptionskinetik von PGA-belegtem Goethit. Im Gegensatz dazu verschließen Anionen der LMWOAs Mikroporen von Goethit und unterbinden damit die Mikroporendiffusion von Phosphat. Da PGA in ihrer Zusammensetzung stark von in situ gesammelten makromolekularen Wurzelexudaten (Mucigel) abweichen kann, sind Aussagen über die Phosphatdynamik in der Rhizosphäre über Batchxperimente mit PGA erschwert. Die Permeabilität anionischer Polyelektrolytbeläge wurde als weitere Steuergröße für die Zugänglichkeit von Mineraloberflächen für Nähr- oder Schadstoffe in der Rhizosphäre identifiziert.Phosphorus deficiency is a limiting factor for the growth of plants in acidic soils due to the strong sorption of phosphate to sesquioxides. For this reason, plants exude an array of organic compounds into the rhizosphere. Many studies document an increase in bioavail-ability of phosphate because of exudation of anions of polycarboxylic low-molecular-weight organic acids (LMWOA). In addition, plants exude macromolecular organic matter such as polysaccharides of mucilage. However, the effect of mucilage on the bioavailability of phosphate is poorly understood. The sorption of phosphate to Fe oxides usually comprises a fast and a slow reaction. For goethite (a-FeOOH) the fast reaction is due to the adsorption of phosphate to external goethite surfaces, while the slow reaction is caused by the diffusion of phosphate into micro- (Ø <2 nm) and mesopores (Ø 2-50 nm) of the adsorbent. The main objective of this thesis was to test, whether organic root exudates clog pores of Fe oxides and thus inhibit the pore diffusion of phosphate. Polygalacturonate (PGA) is commonly used as a model substance for plant-derived mucilage. This approach is questionable in case properties of macromolecular root exudates collected in situ differ from those of PGA. Therefore, another objective was to com-pare porosities and phosphate desorption kinetics of Fe oxides that were equilibrated with PGA and non-axenically collected macromolecular root exudates of maize plants. Swelling of organic coatings may change their surface coverage, and hence the accessibility of mineral surfaces to phosphate. Therefore, another objective of this thesis was to investigate the influence of hydration of PGA coatings on the phosphate sorption kinetics of sesquioxides. To address these objectives, goethites (a-FeOOH) were equilibrated with high- and low-molecular-weight organic matter and subsequently analyzed for their porosity by gas adsorption (N2 and CO2). Polygalacturonate, soil-derived dissolved organic matter (DOM) and mucigel (MU) of maize plants (Zea mays L.) were used as high-molecular-weight or-ganic sorbates, while citrate and galacturonate (GA) were used as low-molecular-weight sorbates. Phosphate sorption and desorption experiments were conducted in batch at pH 5 for up to three weeks. The influence of hydration of PGA coatings on the phosphate sorp-tion kinetics was investigated by batch experiments after PGA-coated alumina (Al2O3) had been equilibrated in water for two and 170 hours, respectively. Additionally, samples were examined by 1H-NMR relaxometry and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). All organic substances decreased the volume of goethite pores <5 nm. Despite a reduced porosity, the slow phosphate sorption to PGA-coated goethites was not related to their micro- and mesopore volumes. Instead, the phosphate sorption was related to the PGA desorption, indicating that the gradual desorption of PGA by phosphate and/or the diffusion of phosphate through PGA coatings kinetically control the rate of the slow phosphate sorption. Citrate inhibited the slow phosphate sorption to pure goethite and goethite that had been equilibrated with DOM. This observation was ascribed to both the clogging of micro-pores by citrate and the citrate-induced dissolution of the adsorbents. Desorption experiments with goethite treated with GA, PGA and MU revealed that goethite pores became less accessible to phosphate after PGA addition only. Results of desorption experiments with GA and PGA suggest that organic sorbates enforce the fixation of phosphate in <5-nm pores of goethite. Polygalacturonate and MU affected contrarily the phosphate desorption kinetics of goethite, presumably because the MU contained significant amounts of phosphate and mineral matter and a low amount of uronic acids. The hydration of PGA-coated alumina for 170 hours increased the amount of phosphate that was rapidly sorbed to external mineral surfaces compared with a hydration time of only two hours. This result was ascribed to a restructuring of PGA upon hydration, which enhanced the accessibility of external mineral surfaces to phosphate. In conclusion, the clogging of goethite pores by PGA is not relevant for the phosphate sorption kinetics of PGA-coated goethites. Contrary, anions of LMWOAs clog micropores of goethite and thus inhibit the micropore diffusion of phosphate. Because PGA may differ in its composition from high-molecular-weight root exudates collected in situ (mucigel), predictions on the phosphate dynamics in the rhizosphere based on batch experiments with PGA are rendered more difficult. The permeability of anionic polyelectrolyte coatings has been identified as a further control of the accessibility of mineral surfaces to nutrients or contaminants in the rhizosphere