Ginkgo biloba extract in the treatment of tinnitus: a systematic review

Tinnitus is a symptom frequently encountered by ear, nose, and throat practitioners. A causal treatment is rarely possible, and drug and nondrug treatment options are limited. One of the frequently prescribed treatments is Ginkgo biloba extract. Therefore, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trials of Ginkgo biloba extract preparations were searched for and reviewed systematically. There is evidence of efficacy for the standardized extract, EGb 761® (Dr Willmar Schwabe GmbH & Co KG Pharmaceuticals, Karlsruhe, Germany), in the treatment of tinnitus from three trials in patients in whom tinnitus was the primary complaint. Supportive evidence comes from a further five trials in patients with age-associated cognitive impairment or dementia in whom tinnitus was present as a concomitant symptom. As yet, the efficacy of other ginkgo preparations has not been proven, which does not necessarily indicate ineffectiveness, but may be due to flawed clinical trials. In conclusion, EGb 761®, a standardized Ginkgo biloba extract, is an evidence-based treatment option in tinnitus

Archivgesetze im Vergleich : Eine Auswahl nach Fachaufgaben : Transferarbeit des 51. wissenschaftlichen Lehrgangs an der Archivschule Marburg

Der Vergleich der deutschen Archivgesetze hat einmal mehr die Vielfalt der verschiedenen rechtlichen Bestimmungen aufgezeigt. Zwar lassen sich hinsichtlich der Schutzfristen und deren Verkürzungsmöglichkeiten, beim Verständnis von personenbezogenem bzw. geheimhaltungspflichtigem Archivgut oder auch zu Anonymisierungs- und Anbietungspflichten einzelne Archivrechtsgruppen ausmachen; diese unterscheiden sich jedoch immer wieder in ihren Zusammensetzungen. Gemeinsamkeiten zeigen sich zwischen west- und ostdeutschen Partnerländern, die beim Aufbau der Landesarchivverwaltungen nach 1990 zusammengearbeitet haben. Weitere Parallelen sind zum Teil zwischen benachbarten Bundesländern auszumachen wie zwischen Berlin und Brandenburg oder Rheinland-Pfalz und dem Saarland. Die neueren Archivgesetze orientieren sich im Bereich der elektronischen Überlieferungsbildung vor allem an den Empfehlungen der ARK. Für eine insgesamt stärkere Rechtsangleichung wäre in Zukunft in ähnlicher Weise eine aktivere Rolle der Konferenz der Leiterinnen und Leiter der Archivverwaltungen (KLA) wünschenswert. Einem solchem Vorgehen wären dafür größere Chancen einzuräumen als privaten Initiativen wie dem Professorenentwurf

Measurement of the decay of laser-driven linear plasma wakefields

We present measurements of the temporal decay rate of one-dimensional (1D), linear Langmuir waves excited by an ultrashort laser pulse. Langmuir waves with relative amplitudes of approximately 6% were driven by 1.7J, 50 fs laser pulses in hydrogen and deuterium plasmas of density ne0 = 8.4 × 1017 cm−3. The wakefield lifetimes were measured to be τH2wf = (9 ± 2) ps and τ D2wf = (16 ± 8) ps, respectively, for hydrogen and deuterium. The experimental results were found to be in good agreement with 2D particle-in-cell simulations. In addition to being of fundamental interest, these results are particularly relevant to the development of laser wakefield accelerators and wakefield acceleration schemes using multiple pulses, such as multipulse laser wakefield accelerators

The EBLM project : III. A Saturn-size low-mass star at the hydrogen-burning limit

This work was partially supported by a grant from the Simons Foundation (PI Queloz, grant number 327127).We report the discovery of an eclipsing binary system with mass-ratio q ∼ 0.07. After identifying a periodic photometric signal received by WASP, we obtained CORALIE spectroscopic radial velocities and follow-up light curves with the Euler and TRAPPIST telescopes. From a joint fit of these data we determine that EBLM J0555-57 consists of a sun-like primary star that is eclipsed by a low-mass companion, on a weakly eccentric 7.8-day orbit. Using a mass estimate for the primary star derived from stellar models, we determine a companion mass of 85 ± 4 MJup (0.081 M⊙) and a radius of 0.84+ 0.14 -0.04RJup (0.084 R⊙) that is comparable to that of Saturn. EBLM J0555-57Ab has a surface gravity log g2 =5.50+ 0.03 -0.13 and is one of the densest non-stellar-remnant objects currently known. These measurements are consistent with models of low-mass stars.PostprintPeer reviewe

The EBLM Project : IV. Spectroscopic orbits of over 100 eclipsing M dwarfs masquerading as transiting hot-Jupiters

We present 2271 radial velocity measurements taken on 118 single-line binary stars, taken over eight years with the CORALIE spectrograph. The binaries consist of F/G/K primaries and M dwarf secondaries. They were initially discovered photometricallyby the WASP planet survey, as their shallow eclipses mimic a hot Jupiter transit. The observations we present permit a precise characterisation of the binary orbital elements and mass function. With modelling of the primary star, this mass function is converted to a mass of the secondary star. In the future, this spectroscopic work will be combined with precise photometric eclipses to draw anempirical mass/radius relation for the bottom of the mass sequence. This has applications in both stellar astrophysics and the growing number of exoplanet surveys around M dwarfs. In particular, we have discovered 34 systems with a secondary mass below 0.2M⊙ and so we will ultimately double the number of known very low-mass stars with well-characterised masses and radii.The quality of our data combined with the amplitude of the Doppler variations mean that we are able to detect eccentricities as small as 0.001 and orbital periods to sub-second precision. Our sample can revisit some earlier work on the tidal evolution of close binaries, extending it to low mass ratios. We find some exceptional binary systems that are eccentric at orbital periods below three days, while our longest circular orbit has a period of 10.4 days. Amongst our systems, we note one remarkable architecture in J1146-42 that boasts three stars within one astronomical unit. By collating the EBLM binaries with published WASP planets and brown dwarfs, we derive a mass spectrum with twice the resolutionof previous work. We compare the WASP/EBLM sample of tightly bound orbits with work in the literature on more distant companionsup to 10 AU. We note that the brown dwarf desert appears wider, as it carves into the planetary domain for our short-period orbits.This would mean that a significantly reduced abundance of planets begins at ∼3MJup, well before the deuterium-burning limit. This may shed light on the formation and migration history of massive gas giants.PostprintPeer reviewe

The multicenter effectiveness study of inpatient and day hospital treatment in departments of psychosomatic medicine and psychotherapy in Germany

Background: Reliable outcome data of psychosomatic inpatient and day hospital treatment with a focus on psychotherapy are important to strengthen ecological validity by assessing the reality of mental health care in the field. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of inpatient and day hospital treatment in German university departments of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy in a prospective, naturalistic, multicenter design including structured assessments. Methods: Structured interviews were used to diagnose mental disorders according to ICD-10 and DSM-IV at baseline. Depression, anxiety, somatization, eating disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, as well as personality functioning were assessed by means of questionnaires on admission and at discharge. Results: 2,094 patients recruited by 19 participating university hospitals consented to participation in the study. Effect sizes for each of the outcome criteria were calculated for 4–5 sub-groups per outcome domain with differing severity at baseline. Pre-post effect sizes for patients with moderate and high symptom severity at baseline ranged from d = 0.78 to d = 3.61 with symptoms of PTSD, depression, and anxiety showing the largest and somatization as well as personality functioning showing somewhat smaller effects. Conclusions: Inpatient and day hospital treatment in German university departments of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy is effective under field conditions. Clinical trial registration: https://drks.de/search/de/trial/DRKS00016412, identifier: DRKS00016412

EBLM J0555-57 photometry and RV

The data is composed of one TRAPPIST photometric timeseries, two EULER photometric timeseries (one large-aperture observation of A and B components combined, one small-aperture observation of A component) and one set of CORALIE radial velocities. They provide evidence of a low mass star eclipsing EBLM J0555-57A

EBLM J0555-57 photometry and RV

The data is composed of one TRAPPIST photometric timeseries, two EULER photometric timeseries (one large-aperture observation of A and B components combined, one small-aperture observation of A component) and one set of CORALIE radial velocities. They provide evidence of a low mass star eclipsing EBLM J0555-57A

What Kind of Patients Receive Inpatient and Day-Hospital Treatment in Departments of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy in Germany?

Introduction: Germany is one of the few countries with a medical specialty of psychosomatic medicine and psychotherapy and many treatment resources of this kind. Objective: This observational study describes the psychosomatic treatment programs as well as a large sample of day-hospital and inpatients in great detail using structured diagnostic interviews. Methods: Mental disorders were diagnosed according to ICD-10 and DSM-IV by means of Mini-DIPS and SCID-II. In addition to the case records, a modified version of the CSSRI was employed to collect demographic data and service use. The PHQ-D was used to assess depression, anxiety, and somatization. Results: 2,094 patients from 19 departments participated in the study after giving informed consent. The sample consisted of a high proportion of complex patients with high comorbidity of mental and somatic diseases, severe psychopathology, and considerable social and occupational dysfunction including more than 50 days of sick leave per year in half of the sample. The most frequent diagnoses were depression, somatoform and anxiety disorders, eating disorders, personality disorders, and somato-psychic conditions. Conclusions: Inpatient and day-hospital treatment in German university departments of psychosomatic medicine and psychotherapy is an intensive multimodal treatment for complex patients with high comorbidity and social as well as occupational dysfunction