Zur Entstehung psychomotorischer Störungen aus der Wechselwirkung von präfrontalen Afferenzen, Dopamin und Serotonin im Caudatus-Putamen : (quantitative immunhistochemische Studien an Meriones unguiculatus)

Lehmann K. Zur Entstehung psychomotorischer Störungen aus der Wechselwirkung von präfrontalen Afferenzen, Dopamin und Serotonin im Caudatus-Putamen : (quantitative immunhistochemische Studien an Meriones unguiculatus). Bielefeld (Germany): Bielefeld University; 2001.Sowohl chronische als auch akute Schädigungen des Gehirns ziehen psychomotorische Störungen nach sich, die sich zugleich in kognitiv-emotionalen und in motorischen Defiziten äußern. Als Beispiele solcher Störungen wurden in dieser Arbeit an Mongolischen Rennmäusen die chronische Beeinträchtigung durch isolierte Aufzucht und die akute Schädigung durch eine einmalige Methamphetamingabe am Tag 14 untersucht. Im Mittelpunkt der Betrachtung stand dabei der Caudatus-Putamen (CPu) als zentrales Gehirngebiet, in dem subkortikale Einflüsse mit Verrechnungsergebnissen aus assoziativen und motorischen kortikalen Regionen zusammenkommen. Drei Afferenzen des CPu wurden untersucht: Die kortikostriatale Projektion des FR2-Kortex wurde mittels Biocytin-Tracing bei Rennmäusen aus Käfig- oder Gehegeaufzucht, jeweils unbehandelt oder mit Methamphetamin behandelt, am Tag 90 verglichen. Es stellte sich heraus, dass die striatalen Efferenzen aus äußeren Kortexlaminae bei methamphetaminbehandelten Tieren spärlicher sind als bei Kontrolltieren. Im Vergleich der behandelten Käfigtiere mit ihren Kontrolltieren konnte dieses Ergebnis statistisch bestätigt werden. Die dopaminerge Innervation des CPu wurde zwischen Gehege- und Käfigtieren mithilfe von immunhistochemischer Darstellung des Dopamintransporters (DAT) verglichen. Das Ergebnis ist, dass die Dopaminfaserdichte bei Käfigtieren um rund 9 v.H. geringer ausfällt als bei Gehegetieren. Die Serotonininnervation des CPu wurde bei Methamphetamin-geschädigten oder unbehandelten Gehege- und Käfigtieren durch Serotonin-Immunhistochemie dargestellt und quantitativ erfasst. Die chronische Deprivation durch isolierte Aufzucht bewirkte, dass die Faserdichte im dorsomedialen und tendenziell im dorsolateralen Bereich des CPu höher ist. Demgegenüber steigert die frühkindliche Methamphetamingabe, wenn sie zur isolierten Aufzucht hinzutritt, die Serotoninfaserdichte im ventromedialen und ventrolateralen Bereich. Die Ergebnisse lassen sich vergleichen mit Befunden und Hinweisen zu psychomotorischen Störungen beim Menschen. So kann die fehlerhafte kortikostriatale Verbindung, die in der Biocytinstudie aufgedeckt wurde, als Störung im postnatalen Umbau der kortikalen Efferenzen aufgefasst werden; sie ähnelt dem "Dyskonnektionssyndrom", das als Erklärung menschlicher Schizophrenie postuliert wird. Die verringerte striatale Dopamininnervation bei Käfigtieren, die mit erhöhtem Umsatz und entsprechend erhöhter Ansprechbarkeit einhergehen dürfte, und die dichtere Serotonininnervation, die einen gesenkten Umsatz bewirken dürfte, lassen sich ebenfalls mit den Symptomen psychomotorischer Störungen in Verbindung bringen. Diskutiert wird besonders, wie aus kortikostriatalen Schleifen, die auf diese Weise ins Ungleichgewicht gebracht wurden, stereotypes Verhalten entstehen kann

Towards question answering on statistical linked data

As an increasing amount of statistical data is published as linked data, intuitive ways of satisfying information needs and getting new insights out of the data become more and more important. Question answering systems provide such an intuitive interface by translating natural language queries into SPARQL, which is the native query language of RDF knowledge bases. Statistical data, however, is structurally very different from other data and cannot be queried using existing approaches. We analyze the particularities of sta-tistical data represented in the RDF Data Cube Vocabulary in relation to question answering and sketch a new question answering algorithm on statistical data. In order to esti-mate typical user questions, a statistical question corpus is compiled and its elements are categorized. 1

Influence of methylphenidate on brain development – an update of recent animal experiments

Methylphenidate (MPH) is the most commonly used drug to treat attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children effectively and safely. In spite of its widespread application throughout one of the most plastic and sensitive phases of brain development, very little is known to date about its long-term effects on brain structure and function. Hence, this short review updates the influence of MPH on brain development, since recent human and animal studies suggest that MPH alters the dopaminergic system with long-term effects beyond the termination of treatment. Animal studies imply that the effects of MPH may depend on the neural responder system: Whereas structural and functional parameters are improved by MPH in animals with psychomotor impairments, they remain unaltered or get worse in healthy controls. While recent behavioural studies do not fully support such a differential effect of MPH in ADHD, the animal studies certainly prompt for further investigation of this issue. Furthermore, the abuse of MPH, when (rarely) intravenously applied, may even impair the maturation of dopaminergic fibres in subcortical brain areas. This argues for careful clinical assessment and diagnostics of ADHD symptomatology not only in conjunction with the prescription of MPH. Hence, one should be assured that MPH is only given to children with clear ADHD symptomatology leading to psychosocial impairment. The animal data suggest that under these conditions MPH is supportive for brain development and the related behaviour in children with ADHD

Promoting the multifunctionality of agriculture, forestry, and rural areas - design and implementation of public policies in Germany

The multiple roles and functions of agriculture and forestry beyond those of supplying food and fibre, such as the provision of environmental benefits and the contribution to the socio-economic viability of rural areas, account for a growing recognition in both scientific debates and political decision making. In order to foster further research in the field of multifunctionality of agriculture, forestry, and rural areas, this report provides an overview of the scientific work that has been done with respect to the different ways and goals of setting up and management of public policies with multifunctional purpose. It particularly focuses on policies that have been implemented in Germany since 1992. Initially, a description of traditional policies for multifunctionality that have been initiated at EU, national, Laender, regional, and local level is provided. This includes, among other things, the EU Rural Development Regulations, the LEADER initiatives, the Flora-Fauna-Habitats Directive and Federal State and Laender legislation on protected areas. For each policy presented, apart from their content, important characteristics with regard to their setting up and implementation, such as responsibilities for and processes of goal determination, policy and measure design, and administrative implementation are presented. Subsequently, policies are introduced that particularly aim at creating new markets and services. Furthermore, innovative approaches are presented which involve new institutional arrangements for the provision of goods and services. Based on this presentation, the scientific debate on the design and implementation of policies with multifunctional purpose is sketched out. Five major strands of debates dealing with issues of setting up and management of those policies are highlighted: First, scientific literature is reflected that discusses issues regarding the allocation of property rights and the related question of applying standards, such as GFP, or incentive based policies. Second, light is shed on the scientific debate on the appropriate degree of centralisation and decentralisation, respectively. Third, directions of the discussion on policy and scheme design are considered. Fourth, the closely related issues of acceptance and demand of policies are highlighted. Fifth, questions of monitoring and enforcement are addressed. Finally, the main research gaps are highlighted. Outstanding and promising issues include the research on optimal institutional arrangements of property rights and matching forms of governance as well as interdisciplinary work on policies other than agri-environmental schemes

An Active-Inference Approach to Second-Person Neuroscience

Social neuroscience has often been criticized for approaching the investigation of the neural processes that enable social interaction and cognition from a passive, detached, third-person perspective, without involving any real-time social interaction. With the emergence of second-person neuroscience, investigators have uncovered the unique complexity of neural-activation patterns in actual, real-time interaction. Social cognition that occurs during social interaction is fundamentally different from that unfolding during social observation. However, it remains unclear how the neural correlates of social interaction are to be interpreted. Here, we leverage the active-inference framework to shed light on the mechanisms at play during social interaction in second-person neuroscience studies. Specifically, we show how counterfactually rich mutual predictions, real-time bodily adaptation, and policy selection explain activation in components of the default mode, salience, and frontoparietal networks of the brain, as well as in the basal ganglia. We further argue that these processes constitute the crucial neural processes that underwrite bona fide social interaction. By placing the experimental approach of second-person neuroscience on the theoretical foundation of the active-inference framework, we inform the field of social neuroscience about the mechanisms of real-life interactions. We thereby contribute to the theoretical foundations of empirical second-person neuroscience

Prevalence of Opioid Dependence and Opioid Agonist Treatment in the Berlin Custodial Setting: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Among people living in detention, substance use is highly prevalent, including opioid dependence. Opioid agonist treatment (OAT) has been established as an evidence-based, first-line treatment for opioid dependence. Despite high prevalence of opioid dependence, conclusive data regarding its prevalence and the OAT practice in German prisons is scarce; rather, the existing data widely diverges concerning the rates of people in detention receiving OAT. Materials and Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey of all detention facilities in Berlin. On the date of data collection, a full census of the routine records was completed based on the medical documentation system. For each opioid dependent individual, we extracted sociodemographic data (i.e., age, sex, and non-/German nationality, whether people experienced language-related communication barriers), information about OAT, comorbidities (HIV, hepatitis C, schizophrenia), and the detention center, as well as the anticipated imprisonment duration and sentence type. The data was first analyzed descriptively and secondly in an evaluative-analytical manner by analyzing factors that influence the access to OAT of people living in detention. Results: Among the 4,038 people in detention in the Berlin custodial setting under investigation, we identified a 16% prevalence of opioid dependence. Of the opioid-dependent individuals, 42% received OAT; 31% were treated with methadone, 55% were treated with levomethadone, and 14% were treated with buprenorphine. Access to OAT seemed mainly dependent upon initial receipt of OAT at the time of imprisonment, detention duration, the prisons in which individuals were detained, German nationality, and sex. The overall prevalence of HIV was 4-8%, hepatitis C was 31-42%, and schizophrenia was 5%. Conclusions: The prevalence of opioid dependence and access to OAT remains a major health issue in the custodial setting. OAT implementation must be especially intensified among male, non-German, opioid-dependent individuals with a short detention period. Treatment itself must be diversified regarding the substances used for OAT, and institutional treatment differences suggest the need for a consistent treatment approach and the standardized implementation of treatment guidelines within local prison's standard operating procedures. Testing for infectious diseases should be intensified among opioid-dependent people living in detention to address scarcely known infection statuses and high infection rates

kOre: Using Linked Data for OpenScience Information Integration

ABSTRACT While the amount of data on the Web grows at 57 % per year, the Web of Science maintains a considerable amount of inertia, as yearly growth varies between 1.6 % and 14 %. On the other hand, the Web of Science consists of high quality information created and reviewed by the international community of researchers. While it is a complicated process to switch from traditional publishing methods to methods, which enable data publishing in machine-readable formats, the situation can be improved by at least exposing metadata about the scientific publications in machine-readable format. In this paper we aim at metadata, hidden inside universities' internal databases, reports and other hard to discover sources. We extend the VIVO ontology and create the VIVO+ ontology. We define and describe a framework for automatic conversion of university data to RDF. We showcase the VIVO+ ontology and the framework using the example of the ITMO university

Activated protein C improves intestinal microcirculation in experimental endotoxaemia in the rat

INTRODUCTION: Successful treatment of severe sepsis and septic shock remains a major challenge in critical care medicine. The recently introduced recombinant human activated protein C (APC) remarkably improved the outcome of septic patients. The influence of APC on intestinal circulation is still poorly understood. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the effects of APC on intestinal microcirculation during experimental endotoxaemia in rats by using intravital microscopy. METHODS: A total of 44 male Lewis rats were randomly assigned to receive intravenous injections of 15 mg/kg lipopolysaccharide alone (LPS) (n = 11) or LPS followed by subsequent injection of 2 mg/kg recombinant human APC (LPS + APC) (n = 11), whereas control animals received either APC (n = 11) or saline (n = 11). Animals underwent observations of functional capillary density and leucocyte adherence on venular endothelium in the microcirculation of the intestinal wall by means of intravital fluorescence microscopy. Indicators of macrocirculation as well as plasma levels of tumour necrosis factor-α, interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, and IL-10 were measured. RESULTS: Although APC administration of both LPS-treated and control rats did not change macrocirculation or release of inflammatory cytokines, it increased mucosal and muscular functional capillary density (p < 0.001 and p < 0.05, respectively) and reduced the number of firmly adhering leucocytes in intestinal submucosal V1 and V3 venules (p < 0.01) in LPS + APC-treated compared with LPS-treated animals, which did not receive APC. No remarkable differences that could be attributed to APC treatment were observed between the two control groups. CONCLUSION: APC administration during experimental endotoxaemia improved intestinal microcirculation by protecting functional capillary density as a measure of microvascular perfusion and exerted anti-inflammatory effects by reducing leucocyte adherence to the endothelium in submucosal venules. Therefore, beneficial effects of APC in septic patients might be due, in part, to improved intestinal microcirculation