Focused ion beam-scanning electron microscopy links pathological myelin outfoldings to axonal changes in mice lacking Plp1 or Mag

Healthy myelin sheaths consist of multiple compacted membrane layers closely encasing the underlying axon. The ultrastructure of CNS myelin requires specialized structural myelin proteins, including the transmembrane-tetraspan proteolipid protein (PLP) and the Ig-CAM myelin-associated glycoprotein (MAG). To better understand their functional relevance, we asked to what extent the axon/myelin-units display similar morphological changes if PLP or MAG are lacking. We thus used focused ion beam-scanning electron microscopy (FIB-SEM) to re-investigate axon/myelin-units side-by-side in Plp- and Mag-null mutant mice. By three-dimensional reconstruction and morphometric analyses, pathological myelin outfoldings extend up to 10 μm longitudinally along myelinated axons in both models. More than half of all assessed outfoldings emerge from internodal myelin. Unexpectedly, three-dimensional reconstructions demonstrated that both models displayed complex axonal pathology underneath the myelin outfoldings, including axonal sprouting. Axonal anastomosing was additionally observed in Plp-null mutant mice. Importantly, normal-appearing axon/myelin-units displayed significantly increased axonal diameters in both models according to quantitative assessment of electron micrographs. These results imply that healthy CNS myelin sheaths facilitate normal axonal diameters and shape, a function that is impaired when structural myelin proteins PLP or MAG are lacking

Stress and worry in the 2020 coronavirus pandemic: Relationships to trust and compliance with preventive measures across 48 countries in the COVIDiSTRESS global survey

The COVIDiSTRESS global survey collects data on early human responses to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic from 173 429 respondents in 48 countries. The open science study was co-designed by an international consortium of researchers to investigate how psychological responses differ across countries and cultures, and how this has impacted behaviour, coping and trust in government efforts to slow the spread of the virus. Starting in March 2020, COVIDiSTRESS leveraged the convenience of unpaid online recruitment to generate public data. The objective of the present analysis is to understand relationships between psychological responses in the early months of global coronavirus restrictions and help understand how different government measures succeed or fail in changing public behaviour. There were variations between and within countries. Although Western Europeans registered as more concerned over COVID-19, more stressed, and having slightly more trust in the governments' efforts, there was no clear geographical pattern in compliance with behavioural measures. Detailed plots illustrating between-countries differences are provided. Using both traditional and Bayesian analyses, we found that individuals who worried about getting sick worked harder to protect themselves and others. However, concern about the coronavirus itself did not account for all of the variances in experienced stress during the early months of COVID-19 restrictions. More alarmingly, such stress was associated with less compliance. Further, those most concerned over the coronavirus trusted in government measures primarily where policies were strict. While concern over a disease is a source of mental distress, other factors including strictness of protective measures, social support and personal lockdown conditions must also be taken into consideration to fully appreciate the psychological impact of COVID-19 and to understand why some people fail to follow behavioural guidelines intended to protect themselves and others from infection. The Stage 1 manuscript associated with this submission received in-principle acceptance (IPA) on 18 May 2020. Following IPA, the accepted Stage 1 version of the manuscript was preregistered on the Open Science Framework at https://osf.io/g2t3b. This preregistration was performed prior to data analysis

Directive 1999/34/CE du parlement européen et du conseil du 10 mai 1999 modifiant la directive 85/374/CEE du Conseil relative au rapprochement des dispositions législatives, réglementaires et administratives des Etats membres en matière de responsabilité du fait des produits défectueux. (JOCE n° L 141 du 4 juin 1999, p. 20)

Gil-Robles J.M., Eichel H. Directive 1999/34/CE du parlement européen et du conseil du 10 mai 1999 modifiant la directive 85/374/CEE du Conseil relative au rapprochement des dispositions législatives, réglementaires et administratives des Etats membres en matière de responsabilité du fait des produits défectueux. (JOCE n° L 141 du 4 juin 1999, p. 20). In: Revue Européenne de Droit de l'Environnement, n°4, 1999. pp. 483-485

Directive 1999/34/CE du parlement européen et du conseil du 10 mai 1999 modifiant la directive 85/374/CEE du Conseil relative au rapprochement des dispositions législatives, réglementaires et administratives des Etats membres en matière de responsabilité du fait des produits défectueux. (JOCE n° L 141 du 4 juin 1999, p. 20)

Gil-Robles J.M., Eichel H. Directive 1999/34/CE du parlement européen et du conseil du 10 mai 1999 modifiant la directive 85/374/CEE du Conseil relative au rapprochement des dispositions législatives, réglementaires et administratives des Etats membres en matière de responsabilité du fait des produits défectueux. (JOCE n° L 141 du 4 juin 1999, p. 20). In: Revue Européenne de Droit de l'Environnement, n°4, 1999. pp. 483-485

Abschlussberichte Q-Tutorien HU Berlin, Sommersemester 2017

Das bologna.lab der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin fördert im Rahmen des Qualitätspakts Lehre (BMBF, 2012-2020) eine Reihe von Projekten mit dem Ziel, bereits ab dem Bachelorstudium Freiräume für forschendes Lernen zu schaffen und diese mit forschungsnahen Lehrangeboten zu füllen. Eines dieser Projekte sind die Q-Tutorien, deren Abschlussberichte in diesem Band versammelt sind. In diesen studentischen Veranstaltungen bearbeitet eine Gruppe Studierender ein selbst gewähltes Forschungsthema in eigenständiger, interdisziplinärer und möglichst innovativer Projektarbeit

Morphology-controllable synthesis of LiCoPO4 and its influence on electrochemical performance for high-voltage lithium ion batteries

LiCoPO4 is a cathode material for 5V lithium ion batteries, but in practice it often suffers from the poor electrochemical performance due to its intrinsically slow ionic diffusion. Herein, various LiCoPO4 materials with different morphology, including unstructured nanoparticle, nanorod and microrod shape, have been synthesized by solvothermal methods and a subsequent annealing process in air. Electrochemical analysis shows that the controllable morphology has an influence in electronic and ionic pathways, thus affects the electrochemical performance. The nanorod shape LiCoPO4 shows the largest discharge capacity, the best rate capability and best cycling stability. Furthermore, the apparent Li+ ion diffusion coefficients of LiCoPO4 samples were determined to investigate the influence of particle shape and the orientation on the Li+ ions migration

Transient morphology of lithium anodes in batteries monitored by in operando pulse electron paramagnetic resonance

Enhancing lithium-ion battery technology in terms of specific capacity and charging time is key for the advancement of the electrification of transportation. Particularly for fast charging, inhomogeneous deposition of metallic lithium, for example on commercial graphite or metallic lithium anodes, leads to cell degradation and safety issues. To understand the underlying mechanisms and develop counter-measures, non-invasive online detection techniques providing satisfactory time resolution are crucial. Here, we demonstrate in operando pulse electron paramagnetic resonance to observe transient processes during pulsed fast charging in cells with metallic lithium anodes. Sampling timescales of 100 ms enable real-time monitoring of the formation and evolution of porous lithium during and after charging pulses. It was observed that the generated morphology continued to evolve after the end of a charging pulse, whereby surface features were fusing with a time constant that was slower than their formation