Morphine Metabolism in Human Skin Microsomes

For patients with severe skin wounds, topically applied morphine is an option to induce efficient analgesia due to the presence of opioid receptors in the skin. However, for topical administration it is important to know whether the substance is biotransformed in the skin as this can eventually reduce the concentration of the active agent considerably. We use skin microsomes to elucidate the impact of skin metabolism on the activity of topically applied morphine. We are able to demonstrate that morphine is only glucuronidated in traces, indicating that the biotransformation in the skin can be neglected when morphine is applied topically. Hence, there is no need to take biotransformation into account when setting up the treatment regimen. Copyright (C) 2012 S. Karger AG, Base

Painful Pleasure. Saintly Torture on the Verge of Pornography

Within female hagiographical narratives, stimulating, pornographic, and often sadistic endeavours can be detected; gendering the tortured body parts such as the tongue, teeth or the breast and thus supporting the development of (negative) erotic fantasies. This paper will explore the connection between pornography, torture, and hagiography and investigate the ambiguity of this 'painful pleasure', which, despite any assumptions, is not only enjoyed by the male torturer when cutting off these symbolically significant body parts, but recurrently so it seems also by the saint herself, who more than once cheerfully exclaims that 'the pains are my delight' (St Agatha).Nas narrativas hagiográficas femininas, insinuações provocantes, pornográficas e sádicas podem ser detectadas, dando conotação sexual às partes do corpo torturadas, como a língua, dentes e mamas e assim contribuindo para o desenvolvimento (negativo) de fantasias eróticas. O documento irá explorar a conexão entre a pornografia, a tortura e a hagiografia e investigar a ambiguidade deste 'prazer doloroso', que apesar de todas as suposições, o ato de ferir essas partes simbólicas do corpo não é apenas apreciado pelo torturador masculino, como demonstram as citações recorrentes da própria santa: 'as dores são meus deleites' (St Agatha)

Morphine Stimulates Cell Migration of Oral Epithelial Cells by Delta-Opioid Receptor Activation

Oral mucositis is one of the most common side effects of chemoradiation regimens and manifestation can be dose-limiting for the therapy, can impair the patient's nutritional condition and quality of life due to severe pain. The therapeutic options are limited; often only an alleviation of the symptoms such as pain reduction by using systemic opioids is possible. Stimulating opioid receptors on peripheral neurons and dermal tissue, potent analgesic effects are induced e.g. in skin grafted patients. Advantageous effects on the cell migration and, thus, on the wound healing process are described, too. In this study, we investigated whether opioid receptors are also expressed on oral epithelial cells and if morphine can modulate their cell migration behavior. The expression of the opioid receptors MOR, DOR and KOR on primary human oral epithelial cells was verified. Furthermore, a significantly accelerated cell migration was observed following incubation with morphine. The effect even slightly exceeded the cell migration stimulating effect of TGF-ß: After 14 h of morphine treatment about 86% of the wound area was closed, whereas TGF-ß application resulted in a closed wound area of 80%. With respect to morphine stimulated cell migration we demonstrate that DOR plays a key role and we show the involvement of the MAPK members Erk 1/2 and p38 using Western blot analysis

Chancen der tiergestützten sozialen Arbeit mit Pferden am Beispiel von Kindern und Jugendlichen

Die Bachelorarbeit beschäftigt sich mit den Perspektiven tiergestützter Interventionen in der Sozialen Arbeit mit dem Pferd am Beispiel von Kindern und Jugendlichen. Es soll ermittelt werden, inwiefern der Einsatz von Pferden die Arbeit mit Kindern und Jugendlichen bereichern kann. Der Fokus der Arbeit liegt dabei auf einer intensiven Literaturrecherche. Durch die Darstellung der biopsychosozialen Wirkungen von Tieren auf den Menschen, von wesentlichen Theorien zur Mensch-Tier-Beziehung, der Kommunikation zwischen Mensch und Tier bzw. Pferd und der Bedeutung von Tieren für Kinder und Jugendliche wird der Fragestellung nachgegangen

The Functional Self : The Minimal Self-Concept Is Protected Against Negative Content

Current research describes a particular component of the self-concept that influences a wide variety of cognitive processes while it depicts a rather basic component of the self-concept. However, this minimal self seems to be anything but simple; in fact, it seems to be highly functional. Based on previous findings on newly formed self-associations, we put the postulated functionality of this minimal self to another test by retesting its protection mechanisms against negative content. In a pilot experiment, we did not find an overall reduction of negative selfassignments against neutral self-assignments. However, the results indicated an initial difference (as hypothesized) between negative and neutral self-assignments, which decreases over the course of the experiment. We put this interactive effect of valence and block to test in our main experiment, which replicated the data pattern of the pilot experiment. In sum, the results indicate a mandatory integration of stimuli into the self-concept and also a reduction of the integration due to negative valence, thereby supporting a robust protection mechanism

An Empirical Evaluation of Using Large Language Models for Automated Unit Test Generation

Unit tests play a key role in ensuring the correctness of software. However, manually creating unit tests is a laborious task, motivating the need for automation. Large Language Models (LLMs) have recently been applied to this problem, utilizing additional training or few-shot learning on examples of existing tests. This paper presents a large-scale empirical evaluation on the effectiveness of LLMs for automated unit test generation without additional training or manual effort, providing the LLM with the signature and implementation of the function under test, along with usage examples extracted from documentation. We also attempt to repair failed generated tests by re-prompting the model with the failing test and error message. We implement our approach in TestPilot, a test generation tool for JavaScript that automatically generates unit tests for all API functions in an npm package. We evaluate TestPilot using OpenAI's gpt3.5-turbo LLM on 25 npm packages with a total of 1,684 API functions. The generated tests achieve a median statement coverage of 70.2% and branch coverage of 52.8%, significantly improving on Nessie, a recent feedback-directed JavaScript test generation technique, which achieves only 51.3% statement coverage and 25.6% branch coverage. We also find that 92.8% of TestPilot's generated tests have no more than 50% similarity with existing tests (as measured by normalized edit distance), with none of them being exact copies. Finally, we run TestPilot with two additional LLMs, OpenAI's older code-cushman-002 LLM and the open LLM StarCoder. Overall, we observed similar results with the former (68.2% median statement coverage), and somewhat worse results with the latter (54.0% median statement coverage), suggesting that the effectiveness of the approach is influenced by the size and training set of the LLM, but does not fundamentally depend on the specific model

Multilayer etching for kerf-free solar cells from macroporous silicon

Kerf-free techniques for subdividing a single thick crystalline Si wafer into a multitude of thin Si layers have a large potential for cost reductions. In this paper, we explore pore formation in Si for separating many 18 μm-thick surface-textured layers from a thick wafer with a single etching process. We demonstrate the fabrication and separation of four macroporous Si layers in a single etching step. Generating many instead of single macroporous layers per etching step improves the economics of the macroporous Si process. We present our etching process that maintains the pore pattern defined by photolithography even after etching many absorber and separation layers.Federal Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation, and Nuclear Safety/FKZ 032514

Perspectives on Self-Reported Resilience - Cross-Sectional, Longitudinal and Meta-Analytical Considerations

Resilience may describe a personality trait, an outcome - meaning the absence of psychopathological symptoms - or an active process of adaption. The current thesis comprises five studies concerning trait-resilience and other resilience-related, health-benefitting factors including sense of coherence (SOC), the key component of the salutogenesis framework. Study 1 investigated the relationship between SOC and posttraumatic stress symptoms using meta-analytical methods. Findings based on predominantly cross-sectional studies demonstrated a robust relationship between SOC and psychopathological symptoms, M(r) = -.41, indicating that a stronger SOC is related to less severe symptoms. Two field studies (Studies 2 and 3) assessed this relationship in occupations at risk for trauma and investigated the potential overlap between different health-benefitting concepts. Both studies identified SOC as the most important correlate of psychopathological symptoms, whereas other concepts (i.e., trait-resilience and locus of control) were less important. Study 4 used a longitudinal design and found that higher pre-treatment SOC levels were predictive of better treatment outcomes. A comprehensive meta-analytical project (Study 5) investigated the bivariate relationships between different health-benefitting factors and posttraumatic stress symptoms. SOC was identified as the most important correlate, while other health-benefitting factors (i.e., trait-resilience/hardiness, locus of control/sense of mastery, self-efficacy, dispositional optimism, and openness to experience) did not show incremental validity beyond SOC using meta-analytical regression models. Thus, the results of the current thesis underline the importance of SOC as a correlate of psychopathological symptoms as well as the strong need for longitudinal research allowing for an empirical test of the salutogenesis model.Resilienz kann sowohl als Persönlichkeitsmerkmal, als Ergebnis – im Sinne der Abwesenheit von Symptomen – als auch als aktiver Prozess verstanden werden. Die vorliegende Dissertation umfasst fünf Studien, die sich mit Resilienz als Persönlichkeitsmerkmal und konkurrierenden Konstrukten befassen, wie etwa Kohärenzerleben (sense of coherence, SOC) als Kernelement des Salutogenese-Ansatzes. Studie 1 untersuchte den Zusammenhang zwischen SOC und Symptomen posttraumatischer Belastung metaanalytisch. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass SOC in den überwiegend querschnittlichen Studien ein robustes Korrelat der Symptombelastung darstellt, M(r) = -.41. Ein höheres SOC ist mit einer geringeren Symptombelastung verbunden. Zwei Feldstudien (Studien 2 und 3) untersuchten diesen Zusammenhang in Risiko-Berufsgruppen sowie Schnittmengen mit konkurrierenden Konstrukten. Beide Studien identifizierten SOC als zentrales Korrelat psychopathologischer Belastung, konkurrierende Konstrukte haben nur eine untergeordnete Bedeutung. Studie 4 nutzte einen längsschnittlichen Ansatz und konnte zeigen, dass Patienten mit höherem SOC zu Beginn der Behandlung stärker von einer fünf- bis sechswöchigen stationären Rehabilitationsmaßnahme profitieren. Eine umfassende Metaanalyse (Studie 5) untersuchte schließlich den Zusammenhang verschiedener Resilienz-assoziierter Konstrukte mit posttraumatischer Belastung. Erneut erwies sich SOC als zentrales Belastungskorrelat. Alle übrigen Resilienz-assoziierten Konstrukte (Resilienz als Persönlichkeitsmerkmal/Hardiness, Kontroll-überzeugungen/Sense of Mastery, Selbstwirksamkeit, dispositionaler Optimismus und Offenheit für Erfahrungen) wiesen signifikant geringere Zusammenhänge auf und hatten in einem metaanalytischen Regressionsmodell keine inkrementelle Validität gegenüber SOC. Diese Ergebnisse unterstreichen die Bedeutung von SOC, jedoch auch die Relevanz von Längsschnittstudien, die das Salutogenese-Modell als solches einer empirischen Prüfung zugänglich machen

The oscillatory fingerprints of self-prioritization : Novel markers in spectral EEG for self-relevant processing

Funding Information: The research reported in this article was supported by a Grant from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (SCHA 2253/1–1). Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

The Relationship between Dog Ownership, Psychopathological Symptoms and Health-Benefitting Factors in Occupations at Risk for Traumatization

Individuals working in high-risk occupations (e.g., emergency staff) are exposed to high levels of occupational stress including traumatic events. Correspondingly, several studies report high rates of mental health problems among these occupations. Pet ownership has been associated with better mental health. However, to date a study on the association between pet ownership and indicators of mental health in these occupations is missing. The present cross-sectional survey (N = 580) investigated pet ownership, attachment to pets, health-benefitting factors (i.e., sense of coherence, trait-resilience, locus of control) and psychopathological symptoms (i.e., general mental health problems, posttraumatic stress, burnout) in medical staff, police officers, and firefighters. Dog owners and non-dog owners showed comparable levels of psychopathological distress and health-benefitting factors. Compared to cat owners, dog owners demonstrated stronger emotional attachment to their pet. Moreover, a stronger attachment was also linked to higher levels of psychopathological symptoms and lower levels of health-benefitting factors. However, the relationship between attachment to pets and health-benefitting factors could be explained by their overlap with psychopathological symptom levels. Overall, our findings are not in line with the notion that pet ownership generally has a health-benefitting effect. Future studies need to investigate circumstances that modulate positive effects of pet ownership