Modulation der vagalen Aktivität durch Elektrokrampftherapie

Die Elektrokrampftherapie (EKT) ist eine etablierte und gut wirksame Therapieoption bei depressiven Episoden. Ihr Wirkungsmechanismus konnte bis heute nicht aufgeklärt werden. Unmittelbar nach Auslösen des Krampfanfalls im Rahmen der EKT folgt eine vagale Reaktion mit Abfall von Blutdruck und Herzfrequenz, dann nach wenigen Sekunden eine sympathische Reaktion mit einem ausgeprägten Anstieg dieser Parameter. In früheren Arbeiten wurde ein Zusammenhang zwischen dem sympathisch vermittelten Anstieg von Blutdruck und Herzfrequenz und dem Therapieerfolg beschrieben. Ziel dieser Arbeit war es, erstmals den Zusammenhang zwischen der vagale Reaktion in Folge der EKT und dem klinischen Ansprechen auf die Therapie zu untersuchen. Wir gingen dabei von der Hypothese aus, dass eine ausgeprägte vagale Stimulation positiv mit dem Erfolg der Therapie korreliert. Als Marker für die vagale Stimulation wählten wir den Anstieg des pankreatischen Polypeptids (PP) im Serum, da es auf vagale Reize hin freigesetzt und nicht durch die sympathische Reaktion überlagert wird. Ausgewertet wurden die durch EKT ausgelösten vegetativen Reaktionen bei 20 depressiven Patienten. Dabei zeigte sich eine statistisch signifikante Korrelation zwischen dem Anstieg des PP unmittelbar nach EKT und der Reduktion des Wertes auf der Hamliton-Depression-Skala im Therapieverlauf. In unserer Arbeit konnten wir somit erstmals Hinweise auf einen möglichen Zusammenhang zwischen der vagalen Reaktion nach EKT und dem Erfolg der Therapie beschreiben. Die Diencephalon-Hypothese zur Wirkungungsweise der EKT besagt, dass eine Stimulation diencephaler Strukturen von wesentlicher Bedeutung ist. Auch der vagale Tonus unterliegt einer Steuerung durch diencephale Strukturen, so dass sich unsere Ergebnisse sehr gut in die Diencephalon-Hypothese integrieren ließen. Bei der derzeitigen Datenlage ist eine endgültige Aussage zum Wirkungsmechanismus der EKT jedoch nicht möglich und weitere Forschung auf dem Gebiet bleibt notwendig

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors with pseudocystic change mimicking a pancreatic tumor: two case reports

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Cystic lesions of the upper abdomen normally develop from pancreatic tissue. The differential diagnoses include neoplastic and non-neoplastic lesions. Pseudocystic tumors that secondarily involve the pancreas are very rare and may lead to diagnostic pitfalls.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>A 51-year-old woman and a 65-year-old man, both German, presented with abdominal cystic lesions suspected to be pancreatic pseudocysts. Both tumors were classified as gastrointestinal stromal tumors, epithelioid subtype. In one case, tumor origin in the gastric wall was confirmed by relaparotomy. In the other case, a point mutation in <it>PDGFRalpha</it> gene, exon 18 proved the diagnosis of gastrointestinal stromal tumor. The tumors were resected and both patients are still alive and disease-free.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The differential diagnosis of cystic lesions in the upper abdomen must include gastrointestinal stromal tumors with pseudocystic change. The origin of a large cystic gastrointestinal stromal tumor may be difficult to determine. Epithelioid tumor pattern, weak or absent KIT expression and detection of <it>PDGFRalpha</it> mutation are typical diagnostic parameters of gastric gastrointestinal stromal tumors.</p

Krieg der Welten: Interview mit Hans J. Gießmann und Susanne Buckley-Zistel

Die gute Wissenschaft trägt gewonnene Erkenntnisse immer auch zu ihren Gegenständen zurück. Auch in der Friedens- und Konfliktforschung sind das die unmittelbar Betroffenen: Kriegsversehrte, Kriegsbedrohte, Kriegsberührte, Politiker, Militärs, Zivil-Gesellschaften. In einer Disziplin, deren Praxisbezug sie normativ mitbegründet, gilt es deshalb umso mehr, Lobbyist des Wissens, also relevant zu sein. Sich um die Vermittlung von Erkenntnissen zu mühen ist wissenschaftliche Bürgerpflicht. Wie die aussehen muss, darüber ist zu streiten, noch mehr, wenn man verschiedenen Forschergenerationen angehört und unterschiedlichen Forschungskulturen zugerechnet wird

Primary NK/T cell lymphoma nasal type of the stomach with skin involvement: a case report

Since nasal NK/T cell lymphoma and NK/T cell lymphoma nasal type are rare diseases, gastric involvement has seldom been seen. We report a unique case of a patient with a primary NK/T cell lymphoma nasal type of the stomach with skin involvement. The patient had no history of malignant diseases and was diagnosed with hematemesis and intense bleeding from his gastric primary site. Shortly after this event, exanthemic skin lesions appeared with concordant histology to the primary site. Despite chemotherapy, the patient died one month after the first symptomatic appearance of disease

Glyphosate and AMPA levels in human urine samples and their correlation with food consumption: results of the cross-sectional KarMeN study in Germany

Glyphosate (N-[phosphonomethyl]-glycine) is the most widely used herbicide worldwide. Due to health concerns about glyphosate exposure, its continued use is controversially discussed. Biomonitoring is an important tool in safety evaluation and this study aimed to determine exposure to glyphosate and its metabolite AMPA, in association with food consumption data, in participants of the cross-sectional KarMeN study (Germany). Glyphosate and AMPA levels were measured in 24-h urine samples from study participants (n = 301). For safety evaluation, the intake of glyphosate and AMPA was calculated based on urinary concentrations and checked against the EU acceptable daily intake (ADI) value for glyphosate. Urinary excretion of glyphosate and/or AMPA was correlated with food consumption data. 8.3% of the participants (n = 25) exhibited quantifiable concentrations (> 0.2 μg/L) of glyphosate and/or AMPA in their urine. In 66.5% of the samples, neither glyphosate (< 0.05 μg/L) nor AMPA (< 0.09 μg/L) was detected. The remaining subjects (n = 76) showed traces of glyphosate and/or AMPA. The calculated glyphosate and/or AMPA intake was far below the ADI of glyphosate. Significant, positive associations between urinary glyphosate excretion and consumption of pulses, or urinary AMPA excretion and mushroom intake were observed. Despite the widespread use of glyphosate, the exposure of the KarMeN population to glyphosate and AMPA was found to be very low. Based on the current risk assessment of glyphosate by EFSA, such exposure levels are not expected to pose any risk to human health. The detected associations with consuming certain foods are in line with reports on glyphosate and AMPA residues in food

Influence of Surface Design on the Solid Lubricity of Carbon Nanotubes-Coated Steel Surfaces

Topographically designed surfaces are able to store solid lubricants, preventing their removal out of the tribological contact and thus significantly prolonging the lubrication lifetime of a surface. The present study provides a systematic evaluation of the influence of surface structure design on the solid lubrication effect of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) coated steel surfaces. For this purpose, direct laser writing using a femtosecond pulsed laser system is deployed to create surface structures, which are subsequently coated with MWCNT by electrophoretic deposition. The structural depth or aspect ratio of the structures and thus the lubricant storage volume of the solid lubricant is varied. The frictional behavior of the surfaces is recorded using a ball-on-disk tribometer and the surfaces are thoroughly characterized by complementary characterization techniques. Efficient lubrication is achieved for all MWCNT-coated surfaces. However, and in contrast to what would be expected, it is shown that deeper structures with larger lubricant storage volume do not lead to an extended lubrication lifetime and behave almost equally to the coated unstructured surfaces. This can be attributed, among other things, to differences in the final surface roughness of the structures and the slope steepness of the structures, which prevent efficient lubricant supply into the contact

Enhancing precision in human neuroscience

Human neuroscience has always been pushing the boundary of what is measurable. During the last decade, concerns about statistical power and replicability – in science in general, but also specifically in human neuroscience – have fueled an extensive debate. One important insight from this discourse is the need for larger samples, which naturally increases statistical power. An alternative is to increase the precision of measurements, which is the focus of this review. This option is often overlooked, even though statistical power benefits from increasing precision as much as from increasing sample size. Nonetheless, precision has always been at the heart of good scientific practice in human neuroscience, with researchers relying on lab traditions or rules of thumb to ensure sufficient precision for their studies. In this review, we encourage a more systematic approach to precision. We start by introducing measurement precision and its importance for well-powered studies in human neuroscience. Then, determinants for precision in a range of neuroscientific methods (MRI, M/EEG, EDA, Eye-Tracking, and Endocrinology) are elaborated. We end by discussing how a more systematic evaluation of precision and the application of respective insights can lead to an increase in reproducibility in human neuroscience

Mitochondrial physiology

As the knowledge base and importance of mitochondrial physiology to evolution, health and disease expands, the necessity for harmonizing the terminology concerning mitochondrial respiratory states and rates has become increasingly apparent. The chemiosmotic theory establishes the mechanism of energy transformation and coupling in oxidative phosphorylation. The unifying concept of the protonmotive force provides the framework for developing a consistent theoretical foundation of mitochondrial physiology and bioenergetics. We follow the latest SI guidelines and those of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) on terminology in physical chemistry, extended by considerations of open systems and thermodynamics of irreversible processes. The concept-driven constructive terminology incorporates the meaning of each quantity and aligns concepts and symbols with the nomenclature of classical bioenergetics. We endeavour to provide a balanced view of mitochondrial respiratory control and a critical discussion on reporting data of mitochondrial respiration in terms of metabolic flows and fluxes. Uniform standards for evaluation of respiratory states and rates will ultimately contribute to reproducibility between laboratories and thus support the development of data repositories of mitochondrial respiratory function in species, tissues, and cells. Clarity of concept and consistency of nomenclature facilitate effective transdisciplinary communication, education, and ultimately further discovery

Mitochondrial physiology

As the knowledge base and importance of mitochondrial physiology to evolution, health and disease expands, the necessity for harmonizing the terminology concerning mitochondrial respiratory states and rates has become increasingly apparent. The chemiosmotic theory establishes the mechanism of energy transformation and coupling in oxidative phosphorylation. The unifying concept of the protonmotive force provides the framework for developing a consistent theoretical foundation of mitochondrial physiology and bioenergetics. We follow the latest SI guidelines and those of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) on terminology in physical chemistry, extended by considerations of open systems and thermodynamics of irreversible processes. The concept-driven constructive terminology incorporates the meaning of each quantity and aligns concepts and symbols with the nomenclature of classical bioenergetics. We endeavour to provide a balanced view of mitochondrial respiratory control and a critical discussion on reporting data of mitochondrial respiration in terms of metabolic flows and fluxes. Uniform standards for evaluation of respiratory states and rates will ultimately contribute to reproducibility between laboratories and thus support the development of data repositories of mitochondrial respiratory function in species, tissues, and cells. Clarity of concept and consistency of nomenclature facilitate effective transdisciplinary communication, education, and ultimately further discovery