Autonomic Regulation during Quiet and Active Sleep States in Very Preterm Neonates

The immature autonomic nervous system (ANS) in premature infants regulates heart rate (HR) and respiration different during quiet sleep (QS) and active sleep (AS). Little information is available about ANS regulation in these subjects. The aim of this study was to investigate changes in autonomic regulation and cardiorespiratory coupling during AS and QS in five very preterm neonates with gestational age (GA) 26–31 weeks, applying univariate and bivariate linear and non-linear dynamics methods to the recorded cardiorespiratory signals. During QS univariate linear indices revealed lower standard deviations and entropies, indicating decreased heart rate (HR) variability. More balanced sympatho-vagal behavior of the ANS was revealed by decreased low frequency (LF), increased high frequency (HF), and a trend toward lower ratio LF/HF in QS. Applied non-linear indices (probabilities, entropies, and fractal measures) quantifying the complexity and scaling behavior of HR regulation processes were significantly altered in QS in comparison to AS. This reflects a lower short-term variability, less complexity, and a loss of fractal-like correlation properties of HR dynamics in QS. One major finding is that cardiorespiratory coupling is not yet completely developed in very preterm neonates with 26–31 weeks GA. Significantly different regulation patterns in bivariate oscillations of HR and respiration during AS and QS could be recognized. These patterns were characterized on the one hand by predominant monotonous regulating sequences originating from respiration independently from HR time series in AS, and to a minor degree in QS, and on the other hand by some prominent HR regulation sequences in QS independent of respiratory regulation. We speculate that these findings might be suitable for monitoring preterm neonates and for detecting disorders in the developing cardiorespiratory system

Aviation fuel production pathways from lignocellulosic biomass via alcohol intermediates – A technical analysis

In order to achieve the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 ◦C, also the growing aviation industry needs to take measures to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. Various renewably sourced aviation fuels can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and most of them, except for example liquid hydrogen or LNG, can be used in the existing infrastructure without airport or aircraft modifications. As most of these renewably sourced fuel types are not (yet) produced at commercial scale, many technological assessment parameter (e.g. carbon or energy efficiency) are uncertain. Thus, the goal of this study is to compare two different process routes, both being based on biochemical and thermochemical conversion steps. The processes evaluated against conversion efficiency of the available raw feedstock and process energy requirements. The evaluation uses theoretical and biochemical carbon efficiency as well as energy efficiency as indicators. A steady-state flowsheet simulation for two biogenic process paths via biogas and bioethanol as intermediate products is carried out on the basis of literature data. In addition, the optional use of solid residue from the biotechnological process step by combustion for direct heat supply cases are studied. In the ethanol-based route, about 23% of the carbon in the feed can be recovered as kerosene, whereas this is only about 19% in the biogas route. Simultaneously, the ethanolbased route without the combustion of the residue has an energy efficiency of 28%, while the biogas route has an efficiency of 24%.Funded by the European Union, th BIOCTANE project received EU funding from the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (under the Grant No 101084336)

Das Johann Adolf Hasse zugeschriebene Passions-Oratorium La morte di Cristo und seine musikhistorische Einordnung

The passion oratorio La morte di Cristo, attributed in two German sources from the late 18th or early 19th century to Johann Adolf Hasse, was identified in 1976 by Reinhard Strohm as a sacred pasticcio, based on opera arias by Hasse and other composers of the Neapolitan school like Francesco Feo and Leonardo Leo. A comparison with surviving libretti shows that this pasticcio score is identical with the oratorio La vittima d'amore o sia la morte di Giesù Christo salvatore nostro, attributed to Josef Umstatt and performed 1741 in Brno and 1744 in Prague. Czech musicologists found out that one aria which hadn't been identified by Strohm, is a borrowing from Antonio Caldaras Viennese oratorio Morte e sepoltura di Cristo. A Berlin score of this work, which can be linked to a performance in Brno, has the words of the aria from La vittima d'amore written under the orginal text. Umstatt, who worked in Brno at the time when these performances took place, might have been the arranger of the pasticcio and composer of the sinfonia, the recitatives and the final chorus

Katalog der Musikhandschriften der Bibliothek des Franziskanerklosters Neukirchen beim Heiligen Blut (D-NKf): Thematischer Katalog

Katalog der Musikhandschriften der Bibliothek des Franziskanerklosters Neukirchen am Heiligen Blut (Landkreis Cham, Oberpfalz), eine inhaltliche Beschreibung des Inhaltes der 17 in dieser Bibliothek enthaltenen Sammelbände aus dem späten 18. Jahrhunderts. Es handelt sich um eine Teilveröffentlichung aus dem internationalen RISM-Gesamtkatalog mit Registern und Erläuterungen (Serie A/II Musikhandschriften nach 1600).:Zur Benutzung III Einführung IV Abkürzungen und Bezeichnungen V Katalog der Musikquellen 5 Werke von anonymen Komponisten 5-288 Komponisten (alphabetisch) 288-296 Sammelhandschriften (Collections) 296-303 Register der Personennamen 305 Register der Textincipits 307 Signaturenregister 321 Register der Wasserzeichen 323 Literaturverzeichnis 32

The Global Compact for Migration and public health in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic: untapped potential for strengthening health systems

The Covid-19 pandemic has made policy-makers aware of the challenges of maintaining quality health care in times of crisis. Strengthening health systems is the key to meeting these challenges. The implementation of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM), agreed in December 2018, can make an important con­tribution in this respect. A comparison of the GCM objectives with the basic pillars of health systems defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) shows what this con­tribution could look like. There are many synergies and opportunities for action. The health policy potential of the GCM lies specifically in improving access to health services and meeting the demand for health professionals. (author's abstract

Modeling age-specific incidence of colon cancer via niche competition

Cancer development is a multistep process often starting with a single cell in which a number of epigenetic and genetic alterations have accumulated thus transforming it into a tumor cell. The progeny of such a single benign tumor cell expands in the tissue and can at some point progress to malignant tumor cells until a detectable tumor is formed. The dynamics from the early phase of a single cell to a detectable tumor with billions of tumor cells are complex and still not fully resolved, not even for the well-known prototype of multistage carcinogenesis, the adenoma-adenocarcinoma sequence of colorectal cancer. Mathematical models of such carcinogenesis are frequently tested and calibrated based on reported age-specific incidence rates of cancer, but they usually require calibration of four or more parameters due to the wide range of processes these models aim to reflect. We present a cell-based model, which focuses on the competition between wild-type and tumor cells in colonic crypts, with which we are able reproduce epidemiological incidence rates of colon cancer. Additionally, the fraction of cancerous tumors with precancerous lesions predicted by the model agree with clinical estimates. The correspondence between model and reported data suggests that the fate of tumor development is majorly determined by the early phase of tumor growth and progression long before a tumor becomes detectable. Due to the focus on the early phase of tumor development, the model has only a single fit parameter, the time scale set by an effective replacement rate of stem cells in the crypt. We find this effective rate to be considerable smaller than the actual replacement rate, which implies that the time scale is limited by the processes succeeding clonal conversion of crypts.Comment: 28 pages, 13 figure

The cardiorespiratory network in healthy first-degree relatives of schizophrenic patients

Impaired heart rate- and respiratory regulatory processes as a sign of an autonomic dysfunction seems to be obviously present in patients suffering from schizophrenia. Since the linear and non-linear couplings within the cardiorespiratory system with respiration as an important homeostatic control mechanism are only partially investigated so far for those subjects, we aimed to characterize instantaneous cardiorespiratory couplings by quantifying the casual interaction between heart rate (HR) and respiration (RESP). Therefore, we investigated causal linear and non-linear cardiorespiratory couplings of 23 patients suffering from schizophrenia (SZO), 20 healthy first-degree relatives (REL) and 23 healthy subjects, who were age-gender matched (CON). From all participants’ heart rate (HR) and respirations (respiratory frequency, RESP) were investigated for 30 min under resting conditions. The results revealed highly significant increased HR, reduced HR variability, increased respiration rates and impaired cardiorespiratory couplings in SZO in comparison to CON. SZO were revealed bidirectional couplings, with respiration as the driver (RESP → HR), and with weaker linear and non-linear coupling strengths when RESP influencing HR (RESP → HR) and with stronger linear and non-linear coupling strengths when HR influencing RESP (HR → RESP). For REL we found only significant increased HR and only slightly reduced cardiorespiratory couplings compared to CON. These findings clearly pointing to an underlying disease-inherent genetic component of the cardiac system for SZO and REL, and those respiratory alterations are only clearly present in SZO seem to be connected to their mental emotional states

Ein Notenschrank wandert ins Internet: DFG-Projekt zur Instrumentalmusik der Dresdner Hofkapelle an der Sächsischen Landesbibliothek – Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Dresden (SLUB)

Das Notenmaterial der Dresdner Hofkapelle aus dem 18. Jahrhundert zählt zu den musikhistorischen Kostbarkeiten im Besitz der SLUB Dresden. Die 1896 an die damalige Königliche öffentliche Bibliothek gelangten 1 750 Manuskripte werden in einem DFG-geförderten Projekt „Die Instrumentalmusik der Dresdner Hofkapelle zur Zeit der sächsisch-polnischen Union“ seit 2008 wissenschaftlich erfasst und digitalisiert. Bisher stehen 895 Digitalisate frei zur Verfügung