Theory of excitation transfer between two-dimensional semiconductor and molecular layers

The geometry-dependent energy transfer rate from an electrically pumped inorganic semiconductor quantum well into an organic molecular layer is studied theoretically. We focus on F\"orster-type nonradiative excitation transfer between the organic and inorganic layer and include quasi-momentum conservation and intermolecular coupling between the molecules in the organic film. (Transition) partial charges calculated from density-functional theory are used to calculate the coupling elements. The partial charges describe the spatial charge distribution and go beyond the common dipole-dipole interaction. We find that the transfer rates are highly sensitive to variations in the geometry of the hybrid inorganic/organic system. For instance, the transfer efficiency is improved by orders of magnitude by tuning the relative orientation and positioning of the molecules. Also, the operating regime is identified where in-scattering dominates over unwanted back-scattering from the molecular layer into the substrate

Metabolic changes in the brain as consequence of IL-1-induced hypoglycemia: involvement of MyD88

IL-1β induces a profound and long-lasting hypoglycemia in C57BL/6J mice (wild type, WT) and resets glucose homeostasis at central levels. Intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) injection of IL-1 at a dose that has no effect when injected intraperitoneally (i.p.), induces hypoglycemia, even after a glucose load. Interestingly, IL-1 also increases corticosterone plasma levels, although this effect is of shorter duration than hypoglycemia. Myeloid-differentiation factor 88 (MyD88) is a central adaptor molecule involved in IL-1 signalling, but MyD88-independent IL-1-signalling pathways have also been described. The first part of this work investigated if IL-1β-induced hypoglycemia and the increase in glucocorticoid levels are MyD88-dependent by using two approaches: a) administration of IL-1β into MyD88 knockout (MyD88KO) mice; and b) pharmacological inhibition of MyD88 in WT mice prior to IL-1β injection. No changes in glucose and corticosterone blood levels were detected in MyD88KO mice after IL-1β injection as compared to WT mice. Administration of the MyD88 inhibitor to WT mice did not abolish the hypoglycaemic effect of IL-1. Since the inhibitor did not affect IL-1-induced IL-6 production either, it is possible that the concentration used was insufficient. However, a short-lasting hyperglycaemia was observed when the inhibitor was injected alone to WT mice. Particularly the results obtained in MyD88KO mice show that IL-1β-induced hypoglycemia and the increase in corticosterone concentrations depend on this adaptor molecule. The second part of this thesis studied cerebral energy metabolism during IL-1β-induced hypoglycemia, and compared it to the effects of a similar hypoglycemia induced by insulin, and to euglycaemic conditions. In vivo cerebral H1-magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) was used for this purpose. It was found that, as opposite to insulin, the concentrations of lactate, creatine, and N-acetyl aspartate, in relation to those of choline, are increased during IL-1β-induced hypoglycemia. These results provide further evidence that IL-1β injected peripherally influences cerebral energy metabolism in parallel to a long-lasting and profound hypoglycemia. Besides its relevance for normal physiology, these results might beimportant during psychiatric diseases during which impairments of cerebral energymetabolism are observed, but also several immune-derived cytokines are involved

Prevalence of ADHD in accident victims: results of the PRADA study

Background: Recent research has shown an increased risk of accidents and injuries in ADHD patients, which could potentially be reduced by stimulant treatment. Therefore, the first aim of our study was to evaluate the prevalence of adult ADHD in a trauma surgery population. The second aim was to investigate accident mechanisms and circumstances which could be specific to ADHD patients, in comparison to the general population. Methods: We screened 905 accident victims for ADHD using the ASRS 18-item self-report questionnaire. The basic demographic data and circumstances of the accidents were also assessed. Results: Prevalence of adult ADHD was found to be 6.18% in our trauma surgery patient sample. ADHD accident victims reported significantly higher rates of distraction, stress and overconfidence in comparison to non-ADHD accident victims. Overconfidence and being in thoughts as causal mechanisms for the accidents remained significantly higher in ADHD patients after correction for multiple comparison. ADHD patients additionally reported a history of multiple accidents. Conclusion: The majority of ADHD patients in our sample had not previously been diagnosed and were therefore not receiving treatment. The results subsequently suggest that general ADHD screening in trauma surgery patients may be useful in preventing further accidents in ADHD patients. Furthermore, psychoeducation regarding specific causal accident mechanisms could be implemented in ADHD therapy to decrease accident incidence rat

Schlussbericht

Im Rahmen des SPEAKER Projekts bestand die Aufgabenstellung im Aufbau einer Sprachassistenzplattform ”Made in Germany“. Hierbei wurde eine Plattform entwickelt, welche insbesondere im professionellen Umfeld Anwendung findet. Daher wurde die Plattform zielgerichtet den Anforderungen der Industrie und Business-to-Business (B2B) Anwendungen zugeschnitten und deren speziellen Bedürfnisse berücksichtigt. Hierzu zählen Datensouveränität, ein transparenter und sicherer Umgang mit Nutzerdaten, domänenspezifische Anpassbarkeit, Flexibilität beim Produktivbetrieb, einheitliche Schnittstellen, sowie attraktive Lizenzmodelle. Schon während der Projektlaufzeit wurde die Plattform und die Technologiemodule in verschiedenen Anwendungsfällen der Projektpartner erprobt. Datei-Upload durch TIBAs part of the SPEAKER project, the task was to create a voice assistant platform "Made in Germany". A platform was developed specifically for professional use, tailored to the requirements of the industry and business-to-business (B2B) applications, taking into account their specific needs. This includes data sovereignty, transparent and secure handling of user data, domain-specific adaptability, flexibility in productive operation, standardized interfaces, and attractive licensing models. During the project duration, the platform and technology modules were tested in various application cases with project partners

Silence in the Psychoanalytic Work with Adolescents: An Exploration of Therapy Process

This thesis explores the occurrence of silence in the psychoanalytic work with adolescents. LITERATURE REVIEW: The literature review outlines psychoanalytic approaches to in-session silences in the psychanalytic work with adolescents. Particular attention is paid to the psychoanalytic understanding of silence from a developmental perspective, and a conceptualisation of silence in adolescent psychoanalytic literature is provided. Therapists’ responses to silence and therapeutic technique are also considered. EMPIRICAL PAPER: The empirical part examines the occurrence of pauses and therapists’ responses to particularly long silences in three pragmatically sampled dyads of Short-Term Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy (STPP) with adolescents sourced from the Improving Mood with Psychoanalytic and Cognitive Therapies (IMPACT) study (Goodyear et al., 2017). Pauses were coded across eighteen therapy sessions from beginning, middle and end of treatment. Data included frequency, duration, and percentage of session time taken up by silence. Pause quality was coded with the Pausing Inventory Categorization System 2nd Revision (PICS; Levitt & Frankel, 2004). Therapists’ responses to long pauses (>1min) were coded with the Helping Skills System (HSS; Hill, 2009). A particular focus is given to the occurrence of long pauses (>1min), and therapists’ responses to these are considered from a psychoanalytic angle. Implications for clinical practice and further research are offered. REFLECTIVE COMMENTARY: The final part of the thesis, the reflective commentary, offers a reflection on the author’s journey through conducting this research, including its peaks and troughs and discusses the author’s own interest in silence and the implications of the research on the author’s clinical practice

Postoperativer Blutdruckverlauf nach Carotisrekonstruktion: Vergleich von Eversionsendarteriektomie und Thrombendarteriektomie

Zusammenfassung Einleitung: Carotisstenosen stellen einen wesentlichen Risikofaktor für Schlaganfälle dar. Dabei dient die operative Versorgung als eine etablierte Therapie zur Senkung des Apoplexrisikos bei hochgradigen Stenosen. Hierfür stehen verschiedene Operationstechniken zur Verfügung. Zwei häufige Operationsverfahren sind die konventionelle Carotisthrombendarteriektomie (C-CEA) sowie die Eversions-Thrombendarteriektomie (E-CEA). Die Beeinflussung von Barorezeptoren nach Carotisrekonstruktion spielt eine Rolle im Auftreten von Blutdruckschwankungen. Umstritten ist, welches der beiden Standardoperationsverfahren mit einem höherem postoperativen Hypertonus vergesellschaftet ist. Zudem ist unklar, ob ein postoperativer Hypertonus häufiger mit Komplikationen einhergeht. Ziel der Arbeit: In der vorliegenden Arbeit wurden Unterschiede der postoperativen Blutdruckwertverläufe sowie der postoperativen Komplikationen bei Patienten mit Carotisstenose, die mittels genannter Operationstechniken behandelt wurden, untersucht. Patienten und Methoden: In dieser retrospektiven Studie wurden die postoperativen Blutdruckwertverläufe, Häufigkeit der Komplikationen sowie die Häufigkeit der Notwendigkeit einer antihypertensiven Therapie bei 859 Patienten untersucht. Es handelt sich um 556 männliche und 303 weibliche Patienten aller Altersklassen mit symptomatischen und asymptomatischen Carotisstenosen, die im Zeitraum zwischen 2004 und 2014 in der Gefäßchirurgischen Abteilung der Chirurgischen Klinik des Universitätsklinikums Erlangen einer Carotisrekonstruktion mittels C-CEA und E CEA unterzogen wurden. Aus der Untersuchung ausgeschlossen wurden Patienten mit Carotisinterponaten, Rezidiveingriffen, Schlaganfällen mit Rankin > 3, Tod infolge der Operation und Patienten ohne postoperative Blutdruckdokumentation. Die statistische Auswertung erfolgte unter Verwendung eines linearen und logistischen Regressionsmodells.   Ergebnisse: Es konnte gezeigt werden, dass nach einer E-CEA in den ersten postoperativen Tagen signifikant höhere Blutdruckwerte gemessen wurden (ÜWP: C-CEA: 129,2 mm Hg vs. E-CEA: 136,5 mm Hg; p < 0,0001; Tag 1: C-CEA: 132,4 mm Hg vs. E-CEA: 139,3 mm Hg; p = 0,0002; Tag 2: C-CEA: 138,6 mm Hg vs. E-CEA: 143,1 mm Hg; p = 0,0233). Erhöhte Blutdruckwerte gingen nicht mit einer erhöhten Anzahl von Komplikationen einher. Nach einer E-CEA waren häufiger antihypertensive Therapien notwendig. Frauen zeigten postoperativ höhere Blutdruckwerte. Schlussfolgerung: Im Vergleich der beiden Operationstechniken zeigen sich postoperativ zwar höhere Blutdruckwerte nach einer OP in E-CEA-Technik, jedoch keine signifikant höhere Rate an postoperativen Komplikationen. Ob der Einsatz einer C-CEA Vorteile bei Patienten mit bereits präoperativ erhöhten Blutdruckwerten bedeuten könnte, muss in Folgestudien untersucht werden.Abstract Background and aims: It is commonly known that stenosis of the carotid artery represents a main risk factor for cerebral ischemia. To reduce the risk of stroke, surgical treatment is used as an established therapy for high-grade carotid stenosis. Besides other various surgical techniques there are two common, mainly used surgical procedures: the conventional carotid endarterectomy (C-CEA) and the eversion carotid endarterectomy (E-CEA). Baroreceptors are supposed to play an eminent role in the pathophysiology of blood pressure profile following carotid reconstruction. Whether one of the two mentioned techniques is more commonly associated with occurrence of postoperative high blood pressure is subject to discussion. In addition, it remains unclear whether postoperative hypertension is more often associated with postoperative complications. The aim of this study was to highlight differences between the two surgical techniques C-CEA and E-CEA with regard to postoperative blood pressure and the occurrence of complications.   Methods: In this retrospective study, 859 patients who underwent surgery by the two different techniques were evaluated regarding their postoperative blood pressure, frequency of complications, and frequency of necessary antihypertensive drug therapy. 556 male and 303 female patients with symptomatic and asymptomatic carotid stenosis were included in this study and underwent surgery between 2004 and 2014 in the Vascular Surgery Department of the Department of Surgery of the University Hospital in Erlangen. Patients with interposition grafts, recurrent stenoses, strokes with Rankin Scale > 3, death due to surgery and patients without postoperative blood pressure documentation were excluded from this study. The statistical analysis was performed using a linear and logistic regression model. Results: It was shown that after E-CEA significantly elevated blood pressure values could be measured in the first postoperative days. Elevated blood pressure values were not associated with prevalence of postoperative complications. However, after E-CEA antihypertensive treatment was more often necessary. In addition, postoperative elevated blood pressure values were more often observed among women. Conclusion: Comparing the two surgical techniques, elevated postoperative blood pressure occurred significantly more often after E-CEA. Nevertheless, elevated postoperative blood pressure was not accompanied by significantly higher rates of postoperative complications. Whether the preferential use of C-CEA is beneficial within the subgroup of patients with presurgical observed elevated blood pressure should be investigated in future studies