Long-Lived Plasma Cells and Memory B Cells Produce Pathogenic Anti-GAD65 Autoantibodies in Stiff Person Syndrome

Stiff person syndrome (SPS) is a rare, neurological disorder characterized by sudden cramps and spasms. High titers of enzyme-inhibiting IgG autoantibodies against the 65 kD isoform of glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD65) are a hallmark of SPS, implicating an autoimmune component in the pathology of the syndrome. Studying the B cell compartment and the anti-GAD65 B cell response in two monozygotic twins suffering from SPS, who were treated with the B cell-depleting monoclonal anti-CD20 antibody rituximab, we found that the humoral autoimmune response in SPS is composed of a rituximab-sensitive part that is rapidly cleared after treatment, and a rituximab-resistant component, which persists and acts as a reservoir for autoantibodies inhibiting GAD65 enzyme activity. Our data show that these potentially pathogenic anti-GAD65 autoantibodies are secreted by long-lived plasma cells, which may either be persistent or develop from rituximab-resistant memory B lymphocytes. Both subsets represent only a fraction of anti-GAD65 autoantibody secreting cells. Therefore, the identification and targeting of this compartment is a key factor for successful treatment planning of SPS and of similar autoimmune diseases

Zur Verantwortung der jungen technischen Intelligenz im sozialistischen Grossbetrieb beim Aufbau der entwickelten sozialistischen Gesellschaft

HUB(11) - 79 HB 136 / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekSIGLEDEGerman

Die Bedeutung des Prinzips der Einheit von marxistisch-leninistischer Theorie und sozialistischer Praxis fuer die Arbeit im marxistisch-leninistischen Grundlagenstudium und die Rolle von Exkursionen zur Verwirklichung dieses Prinzips

HUB(11) - 75 HB 2150 / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekSIGLEDEGerman

Zur politisch-ideologischen Vorbereitung von DDR-Studenten waehrend ihres Auslandsstudiums auf die Praxis in der DDR

HUB(11) - 74 HB 0005 / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekSIGLEDEGerman

Fragen des Klassenkampfes in der DDR

SIGLEInstitut fuer Geschichte der Arbeiterbewegung, Berlin, B 479- 61/4052/4052 / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekDEGerman

Entwicklung und Rolle des Komitees zur Verteidigung der Revolution in der politischen Organisation der sozialistischen Gesellschaft der Republik Kuba (1960 bis 1977)

HUB(11) - 81 HB 6027, T. 1, 2 / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekSIGLEDEGerman

Association profiles.

<p><a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0072500#pone-0072500-g001" target="_blank">Figure 1A</a> shows the mean association profiles of German and Mafa listeners for the Western musical pieces presented. The middle row indicates what the musical pieces were intended to express, the bars in each line correspond to the three words in each trial that the participants could choose (black – intended descriptor, light and dark grey – unrelated words). <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0072500#pone-0072500-g001" target="_blank">Figures 1B and 1C</a> show the absolute number of words (out of a total of 33) classified in accordance with the intended descriptor (in black), as indicated by a binomial test. It furthermore shows the number of words that were chosen in accordance with the most frequently chosen category(as indicated by a binomial test) and thus the extent to which there was agreement within the group in the choice of words. <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0072500#pone-0072500-g001" target="_blank">Figure 1B</a> shows these data for all Germans and Mafa, <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0072500#pone-0072500-g001" target="_blank">Figure 1C</a> for the more Western type listeners and the less Western type listeners that performed both experiments (N = 12). <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0072500#pone-0072500-g001" target="_blank">Figure 1D</a> shows the interaction effect observed in the ANOVA, depicting the mean valence ratings for forward and backward music excerpts, error bars showing standard errors.</p

How music alters a kiss:superior temporal gyrus controls fusiform-amygdalar effective connectivity

While watching movies, the brain integrates the visual information and the musical soundtrack into a coherent percept. Multisensory integration can lead to emotion elicitation on which soundtrack valences may have a modulatory impact. Here, dynamic kissing scenes from romantic comedies were presented to 22 participants (13 females) during functional magnetic resonance imaging scanning. The kissing scenes were either accompanied by happy music, sad music or no music. Evidence from cross-modal studies motivated a predefined three-region network for multisensory integration of emotion, consisting of fusiform gyrus (FG), amygdala (AMY) and anterior superior temporal gyrus (aSTG). The interactions in this network were investigated using dynamic causal models of effective connectivity. This revealed bilinear modulations by happy and sad music with suppression effects on the connectivity from FG and AMY to aSTG. Non-linear dynamic causal modeling showed a suppressive gating effect of aSTG on fusiform-amygdalar connectivity. In conclusion, fusiform to amygdala coupling strength is modulated via feedback through aSTG as region for multisensory integration of emotional material. This mechanism was emotion-specific and more pronounced for sad music. Therefore, soundtrack valences may modulate emotion elicitation in movies by differentially changing preprocessed visual information to the amygdala

Introducing Simple Detection of Bioavailable Arsenic at Rafaela (Santa Fe Province, Argentina) Using the ARSOlux Biosensor

Numerous articles have reported the occurrence of arsenic in drinking water in Argentina, and the resulting health effects in severely affected regions of the country. Arsenic in drinking water in Argentina is largely naturally occurring due to elevated background content of the metalloid in volcanic sediments, although, in some regions, mining can contribute. While the origin of arsenic release has been discussed extensively, the problem of drinking water contamination has not yet been solved. One key step in progress towards mitigation of problems related with the consumption of As-containing water is the availability of simple detection tools. A chemical test kit and the ARSOlux biosensor were evaluated as simple analytical tools for field measurements of arsenic in the groundwater of Rafaela (Santa Fe, Argentina), and the results were compared with ICP-MS and HPLC-ICP-MS measurements. A survey of the groundwater chemistry was performed to evaluate possible interferences with the field tests. The results showed that the ARSOlux biosensor performed better than the chemical field test, that the predominant species of arsenic in the study area was arsenate and that arsenic concentration in the studied samples had a positive correlation with fluoride and vanadium, and a negative one with calcium and iron