Being stressed and active!? An analysis of different aspects of the relationship between physical activity, individual perceived stress, and individual health

Die sportwissenschaftliche Forschung zeigt deutlich, dass Sport und körperliche Aktivität positive Effekte für die Gesundheit haben, im Gegensatz dazu aber erlebter Stress negative Folgen hat. Es stellt sich die Frage, welche Rollen und Effekte Sport im Stress-Gesundheit Kontext spielen kann. In drei Studien wurde der Moderatoreffekt von Sport auf den Zusammenhang zwischen Stress und Beschwerden sowie der Effekt von erlebtem Stress auf die Sportaktivität selbst untersucht

Seeing shapes and hearing textures: Two neural categories of touch

Touching for shape recognition has been shown to activate occipital areas in addition to somatosensory areas. In this study we asked if this combination of somatosensory and other sensory processing areas also exist in other kinds of touch recognition. In particular, does touch for texture roughness matching activate other sensory processing areas apart from somatosensory areas? We addressed this question with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) using wooden abstract stimulus objects whose shape or texture were to be identified. The participants judged if pairs of objects had the same shape or the same texture. We found that the activated brain areas for texture and shape matching have similar underlying structures, a combination of the primary motor area and somatosensory areas. Areas associated with object-shape processing were activated between stimuli during shape matching and not texture roughness matching, while auditory areas were activated during encoding of texture and not for shape stimuli. Matching of textures also involves left BA47, an area associated with retrieval of relational information. We suggest that texture roughness is recognized in a framework of ordering. Left-lateralized activations favoring texture might reflect semantic processing associated with grading roughness quantitatively, as opposed to the more qualitative distinctions between shapes.publishedVersio

Electron transfer of extremophiles in bioelectrochemical systems

The interaction of bacteria and archaea with electrodes is a relatively new research field which spans from fundamental to applied research and influences interdisciplinary research in the fields of microbiology, biochemistry, biotechnology as well as process engineering. Although a substantial understanding of electron transfer processes between microbes and anodes and between microbes and cathodes has been achieved in mesophilic organisms, the mechanisms used by microbes under extremophilic conditions are still in the early stages of discovery. Here, we review our current knowledge on the biochemical solutions that evolved for the interaction of extremophilic organisms with electrodes. To this end, the available knowledge on pure cultures of extremophilic microorganisms has been compiled and the study has been extended with the help of bioinformatic analyses on the potential distribution of different electron transfer mechanisms in extremophilic microorganisms

Catálogo sobre edad media y musicología

Sección: NoticiasEntre los catálogos informatizados de la Red de Bibliotecas del CSIC en Cataluña se puede consultar el de referencias bibliográficas sobre edad media y musicologíaN

Stress: Personal matter or family affair? Intra- and inter-individual relationships between stress, physical activity, sedentery behavior, and nutrition

Individual health behavior, which is determined by individual motives, emotions, and cognitive processes, is embedded in a social environment. One of the most important social environments is the family. According to Family Reciprocal Determinism, stress perceived by one family member becomes part of the family environment and may affect interactions within the family, as well as the health behavior of all family members. This study investigated 214 families, each represented by a mother, a father, and one of their children. The aim of the study was to examine intra- and inter-individual relationships between perceived stress and three health behaviors: physical activity, leisure-time sedentary behavior, and food consumption. The results indicate that individually perceived stress is related to individual health behavior as well as the health behavior of other family members. However, these relationships vary among family members. The inter-individual analyses revealed that this effect is strongest for the relationship of mothers’ stress to other family members’ health behavior. Investigating the link between perceived stress and health behavior from a family perspective may be useful for understanding the relationship between stress and health

Hidden genetic variation in LCA9-associated congenital blindness explained by 5′UTR mutations and copy-number variations of NMNAT1

Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA) is a severe autosomal-recessive retinal dystrophy leading to congenital blindness. A recently identified LCA gene is NMNAT1, located in the LCA9 locus. Although most mutations in blindness genes are coding variations, there is accumulating evidence for hidden noncoding defects or structural variations (SVs). The starting point of this study was an LCA9-associated consanguineous family in which no coding mutations were found in the LCA9 region. Exploring the untranslated regions of NMNAT1 revealed a novel homozygous 5'UTR variant, c.-70A>T. Moreover, an adjacent 5'UTR variant, c.-69C>T, was identified in a second consanguineous family displaying a similar phenotype. Both 5'UTR variants resulted in decreased NMNAT1 mRNA abundance in patients' lymphocytes, and caused decreased luciferase activity in human retinal pigment epithelial RPE-1 cells. Second, we unraveled pseudohomozygosity of a coding NMNAT1 mutation in two unrelated LCA patients by the identification of two distinct heterozygous partial NMNAT1 deletions. Molecular characterization of the breakpoint junctions revealed a complex Alu-rich genomic architecture. Our study uncovered hidden genetic variation in NMNAT1-associated LCA and emphasized a shift from coding to noncoding regulatory mutations and repeat-mediated SVs in the molecular pathogenesis of heterogeneous recessive disorders such as hereditary blindness

Operational Experience of a Centrifugal Particle Receiver Prototype

The centrifugal particle receiver “CentRec” is a solar tower receiver development by DLR based on a direct absorption receiver concept especially suitable for high temperature process heat and electricity generation applications. Ceramic particles are used as heat transfer and storage medium for temperatures up to 1000°C. A centrifugal particle receiver system including a CentRec receiver prototype has been tested up to 965°C average receiver outlet temperature in the research platform of DLR’s test facility Juelich Solar Tower, Germany. This paper describes the first test results with a focus on first operational experiences