The Old Saxon Leipzig "Heliand" Manuscript Fragment (MS L): New Evidence Concerning Luther, the Poet, and Ottonian Heritage

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Price, Timothy Blaine

2010-01-01

Begun as an investigation of the linguistic and paleographic evidence on the Old Saxon Leipzig "Heliand" fragment, the dissertation encompasses three analyses spanning over a millennium of that manuscript's existence. First, a direct analysis clarifies errors in the published transcription (4.2). The corrections result from digital…

Study of medicine 2.0 due to Web 2.0?! - Risks and opportunities for the curriculum in Leipzig

PubMed Central

Hempel, Gunther; Neef, Martin; Rotzoll, Daisy; Heinke, Wolfgang

2013-01-01

Web 2.0 is changing the study of medicine by opening up totally new ways of learning and teaching in an ongoing process. Global social networking services like Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, Google Drive and Xing already play an important part in communication both among students and between students and teaching staff. Moreover, local portals (such as the platform [http://www.leipzig-medizin.de] established in 2003) have also caught on and in some cases eclipsed the use of the well-known location-independent social media. The many possibilities and rapid changes brought about by social networks need to be publicized within medical faculties. Therefore, an E-learning and New Media Working Group was set up at the Faculty of Medicine of Universität Leipzig in order to harness the opportunities of Web 2.0, analyse the resulting processes of change in the study of medicine, and curb the risks of the Internet. With Web 2.0 and the social web already influencing the study of medicine, the opportunities of the Internet now need to be utilized to improve the teaching of medicine. PMID:23467440

Introducing Technical Aspects of Research Data Management in the Leipzig Health Atlas.

PubMed

Meineke, Frank A; Löbe, Matthias; Stäubert, Sebastian

2018-01-01

Medical research is an active field in which a wide range of information is collected, collated, combined and analyzed. Essential results are reported in publications, but it is often problematic to have the data (raw and processed), algorithms and tools associated with the publication available. The Leipzig Health Atlas (LHA) project has therefore set itself the goal of providing a repository for this purpose and enabling controlled access to it via a web-based portal. A data sharing concept in accordance to FAIR and OAIS is the basis for the processing and provision of data in the LHA. An IT architecture has been designed for this purpose. The paper presents essential aspects of the data sharing concept, the IT architecture and the methods used.

Systems biology and clinical cytomics: The 10th Leipziger Workshop and the 3rd International Workshop on Slide-Based Cytometry, Leipzig, Germany, April 2005.

PubMed

Tárnok, Attila; Valet, Günther K; Emmrich, Frank

2006-01-01

-infectious or anti-shock therapy as well as curative chemotherapy in combination with stem cell transplantation may provide better survival chances for patient at concomitant cost containment. Predictive medicine-guided optimization of therapy could lead to individualized medicine that gives significant therapeutic effect and may lower or abrogate potential therapeutic side effects. The 10th Leipziger Workshop combined with the 3rd International Workshop on SBC aimed to offer new methods in Image- and Slide-Based Cytometry for solutions in clinical research. It moved towards practical applications in the clinics and the clinical laboratory. This development will be continued in 2006 at the upcoming Leipziger Workshop and the International Workshop on Slide-Based Cytometry.

Science in a communist country: The case of the XXIInd International Congress of Psychology in Leipzig (1980).

PubMed

Schönpflug, Wolfgang; Lüer, Gerd

2013-05-01

The XXIInd International Congress of Psychology (ICP) in Leipzig in 1980 is a case that illustrates the mutual relationship between science and politics, specifically of the role of science in a communist state. We focus first on the situation of the discipline of psychology within the (East) German Democratic Republic (GDR). Second, we provide a detailed description of the interactions between the International Union of Psychological Science (IUPS) and the communist regime of the GDR. The Psychological Association of the GDR was commissioned by the IUPS to organize the congress. The Communist Party, being an omnipresent authority in the state, both supported and tried to manipulate the Leipzig conference for its political goals. Based on archival materials and on recent reports, we reconstruct three positions: From their ideological position, the GDR expected the conference to improve their standing in international politics and to serve as a platform for promoting communist doctrines; from a pragmatic position, the IUPS sought to guarantee free access to the conference and political neutrality of the scientific program; from a humanistic position, no support should be given to a totalitarian system accused of human rights violations. We compare the formal organization as implemented by the Communist Party for ideological purposes with the informal organizational structure, which operated toward pragmatic solutions. Finally, we discuss the compromises between the IUPS and the communist authorities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved).

Bacteriological findings in patients with bone marrow transplantation (Karl Marx University Leipzig, 1985-1987).

PubMed

Wonitzki, C; Hoffmann, F A

1989-01-01

The results of the bacteriological surveillance cultures for 26 patients with bone marrow transplantation (Karl Marx University Leipzig, G.D.R., 1985-1987) are presented. 5.9% of all surveillance cultures contained facultatively pathogenic germs (with Pseudomonas aeruginosa as the most frequent representative, which was the reason of a sepsis in two patients). Coagulasenegative Staphylococci and other germs with an obscure pathogenicity were isolated upon a large scale, especially from the mucous membrane regions. There are hints, that above all special strains of coagulasenegative Staphylococci "colonize" the patient's body (also for longer periods) and turn into the blood too. During the total decontamination intestinal anaerobic flora is absent. After closing of total decontamination Clostridium perfringens is the first detectable anaerobic species. During the selective decontamination systemic applications of antibiotics are able to obliterate anaerobic findings for certain periods. Recommendations for an effective arrangement of the surveillance cultures of bone marrow transplantation patients are given.

A zinc finger domain gene in the lizard, Calotes versicolor, shows extensive homology with the mammalian ZFX and is expressed embryonically.

PubMed

Ganesh, S; Choudhary, B; Raman, R

1998-01-01

A 590-bp long zinc finger domain DNA fragment has been isolated by polymerase chain reaction from the lizard, Calotes versicolor, employing the primers used for amplifying the zinc finger domain of the human Y-chromosomal gene, ZFY. Cloned in pUC18, the fragment, called CvZfa, was sequenced and its expression during development was studied. At the nucleotide and amino acid level CvZfa shows respectively 83% and 90% identity with the human ZFY, but its extent of homology is greater with the ZFX of human (86% at nucleotide and 92% at amino acid level) and the ZFY-like genes of turtle and chick. Similarly its homology with the mouse Zfx and Zfa is much greater than that with Zfy-1 and Zfy-2. It appears that the mammalian ZFX (Zfx) evolved from reptilian ancestors with a considerable degree of conservation, but the ZFX to ZFY divergence within the class mammalia was more rapid. The CvZfa transcripts were seen in all the embryonic stages from which RNA was analysed. The whole mount in situ hybridization with the posteriorly placed mesonephros and the gonadal primordia of 10 to 25 day old embryos showed signal selectively in mesonephros of the 20 and 25 day embryos. There was no signal in the genital ridge. Thus CvZfa may not have a direct role in gonadogenesis of C. versicolor, but the possibility of its inductive role in the formation of adreno-gonadal axis through mesonephros cannot be discounted.

Ice phase in altocumulus clouds over Leipzig: remote sensing observations and detailed modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simmel, M.; Bühl, J.; Ansmann, A.; Tegen, I.

2015-09-01

The present work combines remote sensing observations and detailed cloud modeling to investigate two altocumulus cloud cases observed over Leipzig, Germany. A suite of remote sensing instruments was able to detect primary ice at rather high temperatures of -6 °C. For comparison, a second mixed phase case at about -25 °C is introduced. To further look into the details of cloud microphysical processes, a simple dynamics model of the Asai-Kasahara (AK) type is combined with detailed spectral microphysics (SPECS) forming the model system AK-SPECS. Vertical velocities are prescribed to force the dynamics, as well as main cloud features, to be close to the observations. Subsequently, sensitivity studies with respect to ice microphysical parameters are carried out with the aim to quantify the most important sensitivities for the cases investigated. For the cases selected, the liquid phase is mainly determined by the model dynamics (location and strength of vertical velocity), whereas the ice phase is much more sensitive to the microphysical parameters (ice nucleating particle (INP) number, ice particle shape). The choice of ice particle shape may induce large uncertainties that are on the same order as those for the temperature-dependent INP number distribution.

Ice phase in altocumulus clouds over Leipzig: remote sensing observations and detailed modelling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simmel, M.; Bühl, J.; Ansmann, A.; Tegen, I.

2015-01-01

The present work combines remote sensing observations and detailed cloud modeling to investigate two altocumulus cloud cases observed over Leipzig, Germany. A suite of remote sensing instruments was able to detect primary ice at rather warm temperatures of -6 °C. For comparison, a second mixed phase case at about -25 °C is introduced. To further look into the details of cloud microphysical processes a simple dynamics model of the Asai-Kasahara type is combined with detailed spectral microphysics forming the model system AK-SPECS. Vertical velocities are prescribed to force the dynamics as well as main cloud features to be close to the observations. Subsequently, sensitivity studies with respect to ice microphysical parameters are carried out with the aim to quantify the most important sensitivities for the cases investigated. For the cases selected, the liquid phase is mainly determined by the model dynamics (location and strength of vertical velocity) whereas the ice phase is much more sensitive to the microphysical parameters (ice nuclei (IN) number, ice particle shape). The choice of ice particle shape may induce large uncertainties which are in the same order as those for the temperature-dependent IN number distribution.

Assessment of trace metal levels in size-resolved particulate matter in the area of Leipzig

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fomba, Khanneh Wadinga; van Pinxteren, Dominik; Müller, Konrad; Spindler, Gerald; Herrmann, Hartmut

2018-03-01

Size-resolved trace metal concentrations at four sites in Leipzig (Germany) and its surrounding were assessed between the winter of 2013 and the summer of 2015. The measurements were performed in parallel at; traffic dominated (Leipzig - Mitte, LMI), traffic and residential dominated (Eisenbahnstrasse, EIB), urban background (TROPOS, TRO) and regional background (Melpitz, MEL) sites. In total, 19 trace metals, i.e. K, Ca, Ti, Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Ba, V, Pb, Ni, Cr, Sr, Sn, Sb, Co and Rb were analysed using total reflection x-ray fluorescence (TXRF). The major metals were Fe, K and Ca with concentrations ranging between; 31-440 ng/m3, 42-153 ng/m3 and 24-322 ng/m3, respectively, while the trace metals with the lowest concentrations were Co, Rb and Se with concentrations of; < 0.3 ng/m3, <0.5 ng/m3 and 0.5-0.7 ng/m3, respectively. PM10 trace metal concentrations during easterly air mass inflow especially at the background sites were in average 70% higher in the winter and 30% higher in the summer in comparison to westerly air mass inflow. Traffic at LMI contributed to about 75% of Cr, Ba, Cu, Sb, Sn, Ca, Co, Mn, Fe and Ti concentrations while regional activities contributed to more than 70% of K, Rb, Pb, Se, As and V concentrations. Traffic dominated trace metals were often observed in the coarse mode while the regional background dominated trace metals were often observed in the fine mode. Trace metal sources were related to crustal matter and road dust re-suspension for metals such as Ca, Fe, Co, Sr, and Ti, brake and tire wear (Cu, Sb, Ba, Fe, Zn, Pb), biomass burning (K, Rb), oil and coal combustion (V, Zn, As, Pb). Crustal matter contributed 5-12% in winter and 8-19% in summer of the PM10 mass. Using Cu and Zn as markers for brake and tire wear, respectively, the estimated brake and tire wear contributions to the PM10 mass were 0.1-0.8% and 1.7-2.9%, respectively. The higher contributions were observed at the traffic sites while the lower contributions were

[Fresh fruit and occultism as ways to salvation: conversions in Leipzig's alternative culture at around 1900].

PubMed

Bigalke, Bernadett

2008-01-01

During the time of the Wilhelmine Empire, there were multiple interdependencies between adherents of the life reform movement (vegetarians, naturopathists, nudists, etc.) and new religious movements such as esoteric groups like the theosophists in the alternative cultural milieu around 1900. These networks became visible in the form of double memberships in associations. However, there were also ambiguous affiliations, migration between groups and syncretistic beliefs without institutional belonging. The similarity between patterns of argumentation for this specific lifestyle and the congruence of chosen goals, ways and goods of salvation become particularly clear in this context. These forms of "methodical lifestyle" may lead to the development of a specific ethos or habitus (Max Weber). To illustrate these processes, this article analyses the report of a Leipzig lady who ate raw fruits and vegetables only, and examines her broader social context. Thereby the analysis will employ sociological theories of conversion to explain the case of Hedwig Bresch.

Medical students' attitudes and wishes towards extending an educational general practice app to be suitable for practice: A cross-sectional survey from Leipzig, Germany.

PubMed

Sandholzer, Maximilian; Deutsch, Tobias; Frese, Thomas; Winter, Alfred

2016-06-01

In medical education and practice, smartphone apps are increasingly becoming popular. In general practice, apps could play an important future role in supporting medical education and practice. To explore medical students' perceptions regarding the potential of a general practice app for training and subsequent work as a physician. Cross-sectional survey among Leipzig fourth-year medical students who were provided with an app prototype for a mandatory general practice course. Response rate was 99.3% (n = 305/307); 59.0% were female and mean age was 24.5 years. Students certified that the app had a higher potential than textbooks in both education (57.4% vs. 18.0%) and practice (47.1% vs. 22.8%). Students' most desired possible app extensions when anticipating its use for subsequent work as a physician were looking up information for diagnostics, therapy and prediction (85.1%), access to electronic patient files (48.1%), communication and networking (44.3%), organization of medical training (42.9%) and online monitoring of patients (38.1%). Students experienced with medical smartphone apps were more interested in app extensions. Consideration to use the app to support the opening of their own practice was significantly associated with higher interest in accessing electronic patient files, networking with colleagues and telemedicine. Fourth year medical students from Leipzig see a high potential in smartphone apps for education and practice and are interested in further using the technology after undergraduate education.

Conceptual resistance in the disciplines of the mind: the Leipzig-Buenos Aires connection at the beginning of the 20th century.

PubMed

Taiana, Cecilia

2005-11-01

Personal correspondence written by Prof. Felix Krueger from Argentina in 1906-1907 to his teacher and mentor Wilhelm Wundt in Leipzig is situated in the historical context of the theoretical debates taking place at the University of Buenos Aires at the beginning of the 20th century. A critical survey of the transatlantic migration of psychological theories and their reception in Argentina raises the broader issues of the nature of the cultural and social roots of local interpretations induced by the circulation of theories across national fields of scientific inquiry. It is argued that national intellectual fields and the historicity of their categories of interpretation mediate in the foreign trade of theories.

Mixed-phase altocumulus clouds over Leipzig: Remote sensing measurements and spectral cloud microphysics simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simmel, Martin; Bühl, Johannes; Ansmann, Albert; Tegen, Ina

2015-04-01

The present work combines remote sensing observations and detailed microphysics cloud modeling to investigate two altocumulus cloud cases observed over Leipzig, Germany. A suite of remote sensing instruments was able to detect primary ice at rather warm temperatures of -6°C. For comparison, a second mixed phase case at about -25°C is introduced. To further look into the details of cloud microphysical processes a simple dynamics model of the Asai-Kasahara type is combined with detailed spectral microphysics forming the model system AK-SPECS. Temperature and humidity profiles are taken either from observation (radiosonde) or GDAS reanalysis. Vertical velocities are prescribed to force the dynamics as well as main cloud features to be close to the observations. Subsequently, sensitivity studies with respect to dynamical as well as ice microphysical parameters are carried out with the aim to quantify the most important sensitivities for the cases investigated. For the cases selected, the liquid phase is mainly determined by the model dynamics (location and strength of vertical velocity) whereas the ice phase is much more sensitive to the microphysical parameters (ice nuclei (IN) number, ice particle shape). The choice of ice particle shape may induce large uncertainties which are in the same order as those for the temperature-dependent IN number distribution.

Chemistry of Urban Grime: Inorganic Ion Composition of Grime vs Particles in Leipzig, Germany.

PubMed

Baergen, Alyson M; Styler, Sarah A; van Pinxteren, Dominik; Müller, Konrad; Herrmann, Hartmut; Donaldson, D James

2015-11-03

Deposition of atmospheric constituents--either gas phase or particulate--onto urban impervious surfaces gives rise to a thin "urban grime" film. The area exposed by these impervious surfaces in a typical urban environment is comparable to, or greater than, that of particles present in the urban boundary layer; however, it is largely overlooked as a site for heterogeneous reactions. Here we present the results of a field campaign to determine and compare the chemical composition of urban grime and of particles collected simultaneously during the autumn of 2014 at an urban site in central Leipzig, Germany. We see dramatically reduced ammonium and nitrate levels in the film as compared to particles, suggesting a significant loss of ammonium nitrate, thus enhancing the mobility of these species in the environment. Nitrate levels are 10% lower for films exposed to sunlight compared to those that were shielded from direct sun, indicating a possible mechanism for recycling nitrate anion to reactive nitrogen species. Finally, chloride levels in the film suggest that urban grime could represent an unrecognized source of continental chloride available for ClNO2 production even in times of low particulate chloride. Such source and recycling processes could prove to be important to local and regional air quality.

[Intermixture of politics and science in the GDR. The investigation of deaths at the Department of Neurology and Psychiatry at Leipzig University under Müller-Hegemann in 1963].

PubMed

Steinberg, H; Weber, M M

2011-10-01

This study presents archival sources that shed light on a topic still being discussed by psychiatrists in East Germany: the death of two patients at the Leipzig Department that occurred in 1960 and 1962 under the directorship of Dietfried Müller-Hegemann. These fatalities were supposed to have been induced by obsolete psychotropic drugs and were associated with Ivan Pavlov's hypnotherapy. The incidents were investigated both by highest administrative bodies and the General State Prosecutor of the former GDR. Archival sources suggest that lower party organs and the ministerial administration tried to make use of the proceedings to bring about the downfall of the head of the Leipzig Department, who had become ideologically suspicious. However, the official General State Prosecutor's investigation ascertained that both Müller-Hegemann and Christa Kohler, head of the psychotherapeutic ward, were not to be held responsible. Although the SED Central Committee at first tried to influence the outcome on the basis of ideological reservations made by the university party organisation, it finally accepted and confirmed the judgment of the General State Prosecutor. Hence, in this case, the highest party bodies followed arguments that were the result of an independent investigation and were not influenced by an individual bias or ideological motives. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

[Prevalence of Gastroschisis, Omphalocele, Spina Bifida and Orofacial Clefts of Neonates from January 2000 to December 2010 in Leipzig, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Germany].

PubMed

Bremer, S; Kiess, W; Thome, U; Knüpfer, M; Bühligen, U; Vogel, M; Friedrich, A; Janisch, U; Rißmann, A

2018-02-01

Malformations are the most common cause of death in infancy. Numerous studies indicate an increased prevalence of malformations in neonates in recent years in some countries around the world. This study analyzed local and national trends of the prevalences of gastroschisis, omphalocele, spina bifida and orofacial clefts during 2000 till 2010 in Leipzig, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Germany. The prevalence of neonatal malformations was studied retrospectively from January 2000 till December 2010 using 4 sources from Leipzig, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Germany. Between 2000 and 2010, the prevalence in Germany and in Saxony, respectively was 1.97/2.12 (gastroschisis), 1.63/1.48 (omphalocele), 5.80/8.11 (orofacial clefts) and 2.92/2.50 (spina bifida) of 10 000 live births. In Saxony, a small increase in prevalence was detected (OR/year: 1.01-1.09). In Germany, the prevalence of malformations also increased significantly (OR/year: 1.01-1.04) with the exception of the prevalence of spina bifida which seemed to decline (OR/year 0.986 (0.97-1.0), p-adjust=0.04). Whether or not there has been an actual increase in the prevalence of neonatal malformations in Germany over the years or the apparent increase is just due to bias, coding errors, multiple reporting and/or false registration and codification remains unclear. Importantly, in Germany, since prevalence of malformations is monitored prospectively only in Saxony-Anhalt and Rhineland-Palatinate, only in these states is it possible to recognize recent changes. For early identification of changes in prevalence and timely implementation of preventive measures, a nationwide register or additional regional registers are deemed necessary. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

[Development of the legal abortion situation at the gynecologic hospital of Karl-Marx-University, Leipzig from 1.1.1960 to 30.6.1972].

PubMed

Schulz, S; Henning, G

1973-07-13

Statistics on legal abortions at the Women's Clinic, Karl Marx University, Leipzig, East Germany, are reported. Between 1960-June 30, 1972, there were 3955 abortions and 53,972 births. Of these, 1368 abortions and 1831 births occurred in 1972; a similar large increase in abortions has been reported from other socialist countries. Average age of patients was 30.6 years in 1960, 27.7 years in 1972. In 1960, 83.1% of patients were married, but only 66.4% in 1972. Average hospital stay was 10.3 days in 1960, 3.7 days in 1972. Complications were seen in 32.5% of cases in 1960, and in 8.3% in 1972. Statistics for each year, 1960-1972, are given, and the implications of this information for medical practice and social policy are discussed.

[Telemedicine in otorhinolaryngology exemplified by a Tübingen-Leipzig video conference].

PubMed

Plinkert, P K; Plinkert, B; Fuchs, M; Zenner, H P

2000-10-01

"Telemedicine" is a major new development with great potential for improving health care delivery. It therefore affects each department in medicine. There is a great deal of telemedicine activity around the world. However, the term telemedicine is not clear. It describes all forms of medical information, transferred from a relevant distance by an electronic transfer media. An essential condition for communication is the intelligibility between transmitter and receiver. Because of different transmitting technologies and networks in distinct countries, towns, or even academic institutions, satisfactory contact is not possible. In the last decade, the demand for worldwide audiovisual data transmission has led to the standardization of telecommunication media. Therefore it is no longer necessary to transport medical data (or even patients) by conventional manners, e.g., post, car, or aircraft. Telemedicine for diagnosis and management can be bidirectional in real-time, long-distance videoconferencing, in which the patient consults a specialist located at the remote site, or it can be the transmission of either real-time or pre-recorded images and data to a remote expert, as in teleradiology or telepathology. Another application is the use of videoconference systems in the course of meetings. The remote specialist has the opportunity to take part in the session, e.g., with a lecture. Furthermore, the remote specialist can demonstrate special operative techniques for teleteaching purposes, some of which may be specialities of the particular medical unit, e.g., operation in open NMR, telemanipulation, or telerobotic procedures. In this paper, we describe the use and benefit of a videoconference between the departments of otolaryngology and head and neck surgery of the Universities of Tübingen and Leipzig by means of an "ISDN-based videoconference system". During the meeting, the "operating course for reconstructive surgery in the head and neck", the practicability

Evaluation of the hydrologic system in the New Leipzig coal area, Grant and Hettinger counties, North Dakota

USGS Publications Warehouse

Armstrong, C.A.

1982-01-01

Aquifers in the New Leipzig coal area consist of sandstone beds in the Fox Hills Sandstone, the Hell Creek Formation, the Cannonball and Ludlow Members of the Fort Union Formation, and the basal part of the Tongue River Member of the Fort Union Formation. Aquifers also occur in sandstone and lignite beds in the upper part of the Tongue River Member and Sentinel Butte Member of the Fort Union Formation. Potential well yields from each of the aquifers are variable, but are less than 100 gallons per minute. Water in the Fox Hills, Hell Creek, Cannonball, and Ludlow is soft and of the sodium bicarbonate type. Water in basal Tongue River aquifer is either soft or very hard and generally is of the sodium bicarbonate type. Water in the upper Tongue River and Sentinel Butte aquifer system is very hard and generally is either of the calcium bicarbonate or sodium bicarbonate type. There is little or no contribution of ground water to Thirty Mile Creek or the Cannonball River from the area of minable coal. Coal mining will expose sulfide minerals to oxidation, and result in an increase in dissolved solids and sulfate in water in the basal Tongue River aquifer. (USGS)

Validation and Adjustment of the Leipzig-Halifax Acute Aortic Dissection Type A Scorecard.

PubMed

Mejàre-Berggren, Hanna; Olsson, Christian

2017-11-01

The novel Leipzig-Halifax (LH) scorecard for acute aortic dissection type A (AADA) stratifies risk of in-hospital death based on age, malperfusion syndromes, critical preoperative state, and coronary disease. The study aim was to externally validate the LH scorecard performance and, if adequate, propose adjustments. All consecutive AADA patients operated on from 1996 to 2016 (n = 509) were included to generate an external validation cohort. Variables related to in-hospital death were analyzed using univariable and multivariable analysis. The LH scorecard was applied to the validation cohort, compared with the original study, and variable selection was adjusted using validation measures for discrimination and calibration. In-hospital mortality rate was 17.7% (LH cohort 18.7%). Critical preoperative state and Penn class non-Aa were independent predictors (odds ratio [OR] 2.42 and 2.45, respectively) of in-hospital death. The LH scorecard was adjusted to include Penn class non-Aa, critical preoperative state, and coronary disease. Assessing discrimination, area under receiver operator characteristic curve for the LH scorecard was 0.61 versus 0.66 for the new scorecard (p = 0.086). In-hospital mortality rates in low-, medium-, and high-risk groups were 14%, 15%, and 48%, respectively (LH scorecard) versus 11%, 23%, and 43%, respectively (new scorecard), and goodness-of-fit p value was 0.01 versus 0.86, indicating better calibration by the new scorecard. A lower Akaike information criterion value, 464 versus 448, favored the new scorecard. Through adjustment of the LH scorecard after external validation, prognostic performance improved. Further validated, the LH scorecard could be a valuable risk prediction tool. Copyright © 2017 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Seismicity in the block mountains between Halle and Leipzig, Central Germany: centroid moment tensors, ground motion simulation, and felt intensities of two M ≈ 3 earthquakes in 2015 and 2017

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dahm, Torsten; Heimann, Sebastian; Funke, Sigward; Wendt, Siegfried; Rappsilber, Ivo; Bindi, Dino; Plenefisch, Thomas; Cotton, Fabrice

2018-05-01

On April 29, 2017 at 0:56 UTC (2:56 local time), an M W = 2.8 earthquake struck the metropolitan area between Leipzig and Halle, Germany, near the small town of Markranstädt. The earthquake was felt within 50 km from the epicenter and reached a local intensity of I 0 = IV. Already in 2015 and only 15 km northwest of the epicenter, a M W = 3.2 earthquake struck the area with a similar large felt radius and I 0 = IV. More than 1.1 million people live in the region, and the unusual occurrence of the two earthquakes led to public attention, because the tectonic activity is unclear and induced earthquakes have occurred in neighboring regions. Historical earthquakes south of Leipzig had estimated magnitudes up to M W ≈ 5 and coincide with NW-SE striking crustal basement faults. We use different seismological methods to analyze the two recent earthquakes and discuss them in the context of the known tectonic structures and historical seismicity. Novel stochastic full waveform simulation and inversion approaches are adapted for the application to weak, local earthquakes, to analyze mechanisms and ground motions and their relation to observed intensities. We find NW-SE striking normal faulting mechanisms for both earthquakes and centroid depths of 26 and 29 km. The earthquakes are located where faults with large vertical offsets of several hundred meters and Hercynian strike have developed since the Mesozoic. We use a stochastic full waveform simulation to explain the local peak ground velocities and calibrate the method to simulate intensities. Since the area is densely populated and has sensitive infrastructure, we simulate scenarios assuming that a 12-km long fault segment between the two recent earthquakes is ruptured and study the impact of rupture parameters on ground motions and expected damage.

[Profile and tasks of a medical university polyclinic in the past and present using as example the Medical Polyclinical Institutes of the Karl Marx University of Leipzig].

PubMed

Hambsch, K; Treutler, H; Pietruschka, W D

1981-03-15

After a short survey of the historical development of the Medico-Policlinical Institute of the Karl Marx University Leipzig tasks and developmental tendencies of university medical policlinics are described, evaluating hereby the results of the Vth conference of higher education. They are understood as a university representation of ambulatorily working internists and to a large extent of the specialists for general medicine. Their main tasks consist in education and continued professional training of this group of physicians under integrative description of the whole subject internal medicine, a research oriented to practice as well as a guiding and coordination function for the ambulatory internistic care, taking into particular consideration the early recognition of a disease, in primary and secondary prevention as well as in a scientifically based ambulatory therapy of epidemiologically important diseases.

Ice formation in altocumulus clouds over Leipzig: Remote sensing measurements and detailed model simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simmel, Martin; Bühl, Johannes; Ansmann, Albert; Tegen, Ina

2014-05-01

Over Leipzig, altocumulus clouds are frequently observed using a suite of remote sensing instruments. These observations cover a wide range of heights, temperatures, and microphysical properties of the clouds ranging from purely liquid to heavily frozen. For the current study, two cases were chosen to test the sensitivity of these clouds with respect to several microphysical and dynamical parameters such as aerosol properties (CCN, IN), ice particle shape as well as turbulence. The mixed-phase spectral microphysical model SPECS was coupled to a dynamical model of the Asai-Kasahara type resulting in the model system AK-SPECS. The relatively simple dynamics allows for a fine vertical resolution needed for the rather shallow cloud layers observed. Additionally, the proper description of hydrometeor sedimentation is important especially for the fast growing ice crystals to realistically capture their interaction with the vapour and liquid phase (Bergeron-Findeisen process). Since the focus is on the cloud microphysics, the dynamics in terms of vertical velocity profile is prescribed for the model runs and the feedback of the microphysics on dynamics by release or consumption of latent heat due to phase transfer is not taken into account. The microphysics focuses on (1) ice particle shape allowing hexagonal plates and columns with size-dependant axis ratios and (2) the ice nuclei (IN) budget realized with a prognostic temperature resolved field of potential IN allowing immersion freezing only when active IN and supercooled drops above a certain size threshold are present within a grid cell. Sensitivity studies show for both cases that ice particle shape seems to have the major influence on ice mass formation under otherwise identical conditions. This is due to the effect (1) on terminal fall velocity of the individual ice particle allowing for longer presence times in conditions supersaturated with respect to ice and (2) on water vapour deposition which is enhanced due

[Peripartal mortality in an autopsy sample of the Pathologic Institute of the Department of Medicine of the Karl Marx University in Leipzig 1960-1982].

PubMed

Emmrich, P; Wötzel, E

1986-01-01

Between 1960 and 1982 we have autopsied 88 cases of peripartal mortality in the pathological institute of the department of medicine, Karl-Marx-University of Leipzig. According to the legal instruction in the GDR we have subdivided in direct and indirect peripartal death cases (direct and indirect relation between maternal mortality and pregnancy). We have compared both the groups (1960-1969, 1970-1982) and have found: The number of cases with indirect and direct relation between maternal mortality and pregnancy is decreased markedly in the second time period. The composition within the two time groups is very different in respect to the cause of the mortality: Between 1960 and 1969 amnioticfluid embolism, thromboembolism and air embolism, furthermore preeclampsia and their consequences as well as hemorrhages sub partu and postpartum could be found. In the second time group the most frequent causes of peripartal mortality are the different forms of embolism and preeclampsia, but then cases with a indirect relation between mortality and pregnancy with diseases of the cardiopulmonary system and of the kidneys.

[Gender-specific predictors of institutionalisation in the elderly--results of the Leipzig longitudinal study of the aged (LEILA 75+)].

PubMed

Luppa, Melanie; Gentzsch, Katrin; Angermeyer, Matthias C; Weyerer, Siegfried; König, Hans-Helmut; Riedel-Heller, Steffi G

2011-05-01

Especially given the different socialization and life conditions of men and women, it could not be assumed that factors leading to nursing home admission (NHA) can be equally applied to both genders. We aimed to determine gender-specific predictors of NHA. Data were derived from the Leipzig Longitudinal Study of the Aged, a population-based study of individuals aged 75 years and older. 1,058 older adults were interviewed six times on average every 1.4 years. Sociodemographic, clinical, and psychometric variables were obtained. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to determine predictors of NHA. 10.3 % of men and 19.5 % of women (p < 0.001) were admitted to nursing home during the study period. The mean time to nursing home was 7.2 years for men and 6.8 years for women. Characteristics associated with a shorter time to NHA were increased age for men and women; cognitive impairment, poor self-rated health status, and less than two specialist's visits in the preceding 12 months for women, and being unmarried, moderate educational status, and hospitalization in the preceding 12 months were predictors of NHA for men. Gender differences in prediction of NHA do actually exist. The inclusion of gender-specific factors in design and application of interventions to support individuals at home and delay or prevent NHA appears to be warranted. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Advances in sex determination in bats and its utility in wind-wildlife studies.

PubMed

Korstian, J M; Hale, A M; Bennett, V J; Williams, D A

2013-09-01

We developed a simple and reliable genetic method to determine sex in bats from the Vespertilionidae and Molossidae families. Polymerase chain reaction was used to amplify a portion of the introns within the zinc-finger-X (Zfx) and zinc-finger-Y (Zfy) genes. We designed primers to produce size variation between the Zfx and Zfy products that could be visualized using gel electrophoresis. Using an example from our wind-wildlife research, we show how sex data generated using this method are superior to sex data based on external morphology. Our method allows for the generation of sex data across a wide range of bats that can be used to address key questions in wildlife forensics, behavioural ecology, conservation and evolutionary biology. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Clinical implementation and failure mode and effects analysis of HDR skin brachytherapy using Valencia and Leipzig surface applicators.

PubMed

Sayler, Elaine; Eldredge-Hindy, Harriet; Dinome, Jessie; Lockamy, Virginia; Harrison, Amy S

2015-01-01

The planning procedure for Valencia and Leipzig surface applicators (VLSAs) (Nucletron, Veenendaal, The Netherlands) differs substantially from CT-based planning; the unfamiliarity could lead to significant errors. This study applies failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA) to high-dose-rate (HDR) skin brachytherapy using VLSAs to ensure safety and quality. A multidisciplinary team created a protocol for HDR VLSA skin treatments and applied FMEA. Failure modes were identified and scored by severity, occurrence, and detectability. The clinical procedure was then revised to address high-scoring process nodes. Several key components were added to the protocol to minimize risk probability numbers. (1) Diagnosis, prescription, applicator selection, and setup are reviewed at weekly quality assurance rounds. Peer review reduces the likelihood of an inappropriate treatment regime. (2) A template for HDR skin treatments was established in the clinic's electronic medical record system to standardize treatment instructions. This reduces the chances of miscommunication between the physician and planner as well as increases the detectability of an error. (3) A screen check was implemented during the second check to increase detectability of an error. (4) To reduce error probability, the treatment plan worksheet was designed to display plan parameters in a format visually similar to the treatment console display, facilitating data entry and verification. (5) VLSAs are color coded and labeled to match the electronic medical record prescriptions, simplifying in-room selection and verification. Multidisciplinary planning and FMEA increased detectability and reduced error probability during VLSA HDR brachytherapy. This clinical model may be useful to institutions implementing similar procedures. Copyright © 2015 American Brachytherapy Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Cardiac surgery fast-track treatment in a postanesthetic care unit: six-month results of the Leipzig fast-track concept.

PubMed

Ender, Joerg; Borger, Michael Andrew; Scholz, Markus; Funkat, Anne-Kathrin; Anwar, Nadeem; Sommer, Marcus; Mohr, Friedrich Wilhelm; Fassl, Jens

2008-07-01

The authors compared the safety and efficacy of a newly developed fast-track concept at their center, including implementation of a direct admission postanesthetic care unit, to standard perioperative management. All fast-track patients treated within the first 6 months of implementation of our direct admission postanesthetic care unit were matched via propensity scores and compared with a historical control group of patients who underwent cardiac surgery prior to fast-track implementation. A total of 421 fast-track patients were matched successfully to 421 control patients. The two groups of patients had a similar age (64 +/- 13 vs. 64 +/- 12 yr for fast-track vs. control, P = 0.45) and European System for Cardiac Operative Risk Evaluation-predicted risk of mortality (4.8 +/- 6.1% vs. 4.6 +/- 5.1%, P = 0.97). Fast-track patients had significantly shorter times to extubation (75 min [45-110] vs. 900 min [600-1140]), as well as shorter lengths of stay in the postanesthetic or intensive care unit (4 h [3.0-5] vs. 20 h [16-25]), intermediate care unit (21 h [17-39] vs. 26 h [19-49]), and hospital (10 days [8-12] vs. 11 days [9-14]) (expressed as median and interquartile range, all P < 0.01). Fast-track patients also had a lower risk of postoperative low cardiac output syndrome (0.5% vs. 2.9%, P < 0.05) and mortality (0.5% vs. 3.3%, P < 0.01). The Leipzig fast-track protocol is a safe and effective method to manage cardiac surgery patients after a variety of operations.

Leipzig Ice Nucleation chamber Comparison (LINC): intercomparison of four online ice nucleation counters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burkert-Kohn, Monika; Wex, Heike; Welti, André; Hartmann, Susan; Grawe, Sarah; Hellner, Lisa; Herenz, Paul; Atkinson, James D.; Stratmann, Frank; Kanji, Zamin A.

2017-09-01

Ice crystal formation in atmospheric clouds has a strong effect on precipitation, cloud lifetime, cloud radiative properties, and thus the global energy budget. Primary ice formation above 235 K is initiated by nucleation on seed aerosol particles called ice-nucleating particles (INPs). Instruments that measure the ice-nucleating potential of aerosol particles in the atmosphere need to be able to accurately quantify ambient INP concentrations. In the last decade several instruments have been developed to investigate the ice-nucleating properties of aerosol particles and to measure ambient INP concentrations. Therefore, there is a need for intercomparisons to ensure instrument differences are not interpreted as scientific findings.In this study, we intercompare the results from parallel measurements using four online ice nucleation chambers. Seven different aerosol types are tested including untreated and acid-treated mineral dusts (microcline, which is a K-feldspar, and kaolinite), as well as birch pollen washing waters. Experiments exploring heterogeneous ice nucleation above and below water saturation are performed to cover the whole range of atmospherically relevant thermodynamic conditions that can be investigated with the intercompared chambers. The Leipzig Aerosol Cloud Interaction Simulator (LACIS) and the Portable Immersion Mode Cooling chAmber coupled to the Portable Ice Nucleation Chamber (PIMCA-PINC) performed measurements in the immersion freezing mode. Additionally, two continuous-flow diffusion chambers (CFDCs) PINC and the Spectrometer for Ice Nuclei (SPIN) are used to perform measurements below and just above water saturation, nominally presenting deposition nucleation and condensation freezing.The results of LACIS and PIMCA-PINC agree well over the whole range of measured frozen fractions (FFs) and temperature. In general PINC and SPIN compare well and the observed differences are explained by the ice crystal growth and different residence times in

[From "physical idealist" to "freedom fighter". The change in the perception of Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker in the DDR - exemplified by honorary doctorate and the Leipzig Colloquium 1987/88].

PubMed

Ackermann, Peter

2014-01-01

This article draws a representative picture of the official public perception of Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker in the GDR. In the beginning Weizsäcker served as a classic example of a successful scientist with bourgeois philosophical ideas. So he was often a target of philosophical criticism. This changed with Weizsäcker's activities in peace studies, and the official GDR made an attempt to monopolize him. This could be seen, for example, in connection with his honorary doctorate awarded by the University of Leipzig in 1987 and with the scientific colloquium in 1988. From these examples we can also see that efforts took place to change the focus towards his physical und philosophical achievements. Weizsäcker's official recognition was also helpful for other activities in which he played a leading role. The article looks behind the scenes of a part of the academic machinery in the GDR. It shows that CFvW was an eminent stimulator also in the GDR.

Molecular method for determining sex of walruses

USGS Publications Warehouse

Fischbach, Anthony S.; Jay, C.V.; Jackson, J.V.; Andersen, L.W.; Sage, G.K.; Talbot, S.L.

2008-01-01

We evaluated the ability of a set of published trans-species molecular sexing primers and a set of walrus-specific primers, which we developed, to accurately identify sex of 235 Pacific walruses (Odobenus rosmarus divergens). The trans-species primers were developed for mammals and targeted the X- and Y-gametologs of the zinc finger protein genes (ZFX, ZFY). We extended this method by using these primers to obtain sequence from Pacific and Atlantic walrus (0. r. rosmarus) ZFX and ZFY genes to develop new walrus-specific primers, which yield polymerase chain reaction products of distinct lengths (327 and 288 base pairs from the X- and Y-chromosome, respectively), allowing them to be used for sex determination. Both methods yielded a determination of sex in all but 1-2% of samples with an accuracy of 99.6-100%. Our walrus-specific primers offer the advantage of small fragment size and facile application to automated electrophoresis and visualization.

How Much Curriculum Change Is Appropriate? Defining a Zone of Feasible Innovation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rogan, John M.

2007-01-01

The article grapples with the question of how much curriculum change is appropriate in a given context and in a given time frame. How can a balance be struck between stagnation, on the one hand, and the promotion of unrealistic innovation on the other? In answer to this dilemma, the concept of a zone of feasible innovation (ZFI) is proposed and…

Association between mental demands at work and cognitive functioning in the general population - results of the health study of the Leipzig research center for civilization diseases (LIFE).

PubMed

Then, Francisca S; Luck, Tobias; Luppa, Melanie; Arélin, Katrin; Schroeter, Matthias L; Engel, Christoph; Löffler, Markus; Thiery, Joachim; Villringer, Arno; Riedel-Heller, Steffi G

2014-01-01

The level of mental demands in the workplace is rising. The present study investigated whether and how mental demands at work are associated with cognitive functioning in the general population. The analysis is based on data of the Health Study of the Leipzig Research Centre for Civilization Disease (LIFE). 2,725 participants aged 40-80 years underwent cognitive testing (Trail-Making Test, Verbal Fluency Test) and provided information on their occupational situation. Participants over the age of 65 years additionally completed the Mini-Mental State Examination. Mental demands at work were rated by a standardized classification system (O*NET). The association between mental demands and cognitive functioning was analyzed using Generalized Linear Modeling (GENLIN) adjusted for age, gender, self-regulation, working hour status, education, and health-related factors. Univariate as well as multivariate analyses demonstrated significant and highly consistent effects of higher mental demands on better performance in cognitive testing. The results also indicated that the effects are independent of education and intelligence. Moreover, analyses of retired individuals implied a significant association between high mental demands at work of the job they once held and a better cognitive functioning in old age. In sum, our findings suggest a significant association between high mental demands at work and better cognitive functioning. In this sense, higher levels of mental demands - as brought about by technological changes in the working environment - may also have beneficial effects for the society as they could increase cognitive capacity levels and might even delay cognitive decline in old age.

SU-C-BRD-02: A Team Focused Clinical Implementation and Failure Mode and Effects Analysis of HDR Skin Brachytherapy Using Valencia and Leipzig Surface Applicators

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sayler, E; Harrison, A; Eldredge-Hindy, H

Purpose: and Leipzig applicators (VLAs) are single-channel brachytherapy surface applicators used to treat skin lesions up to 2cm diameter. Source dwell times can be calculated and entered manually after clinical set-up or ultrasound. This procedure differs dramatically from CT-based planning; the novelty and unfamiliarity could lead to severe errors. To build layers of safety and ensure quality, a multidisciplinary team created a protocol and applied Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) to the clinical procedure for HDR VLA skin treatments. Methods: team including physicists, physicians, nurses, therapists, residents, and administration developed a clinical procedure for VLA treatment. The procedure wasmore » evaluated using FMEA. Failure modes were identified and scored by severity, occurrence, and detection. The clinical procedure was revised to address high-scoring process nodes. Results: Several key components were added to the clinical procedure to minimize risk probability numbers (RPN): -Treatments are reviewed at weekly QA rounds, where physicians discuss diagnosis, prescription, applicator selection, and set-up. Peer review reduces the likelihood of an inappropriate treatment regime. -A template for HDR skin treatments was established in the clinical EMR system to standardize treatment instructions. This reduces the chances of miscommunication between the physician and planning physicist, and increases the detectability of an error during the physics second check. -A screen check was implemented during the second check to increase detectability of an error. -To reduce error probability, the treatment plan worksheet was designed to display plan parameters in a format visually similar to the treatment console display. This facilitates data entry and verification. -VLAs are color-coded and labeled to match the EMR prescriptions, which simplifies in-room selection and verification. Conclusion: Multidisciplinary planning and FMEA increased delectability

Association between mental demands at work and cognitive functioning in the general population – results of the health study of the Leipzig research center for civilization diseases (LIFE)

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background The level of mental demands in the workplace is rising. The present study investigated whether and how mental demands at work are associated with cognitive functioning in the general population. Methods The analysis is based on data of the Health Study of the Leipzig Research Centre for Civilization Disease (LIFE). 2,725 participants aged 40–80 years underwent cognitive testing (Trail-Making Test, Verbal Fluency Test) and provided information on their occupational situation. Participants over the age of 65 years additionally completed the Mini-Mental State Examination. Mental demands at work were rated by a standardized classification system (O*NET). The association between mental demands and cognitive functioning was analyzed using Generalized Linear Modeling (GENLIN) adjusted for age, gender, self-regulation, working hour status, education, and health-related factors. Results Univariate as well as multivariate analyses demonstrated significant and highly consistent effects of higher mental demands on better performance in cognitive testing. The results also indicated that the effects are independent of education and intelligence. Moreover, analyses of retired individuals implied a significant association between high mental demands at work of the job they once held and a better cognitive functioning in old age. Conclusions In sum, our findings suggest a significant association between high mental demands at work and better cognitive functioning. In this sense, higher levels of mental demands – as brought about by technological changes in the working environment – may also have beneficial effects for the society as they could increase cognitive capacity levels and might even delay cognitive decline in old age. PMID:24914403

On the Origins of the Term and Meanings of "Adult Education" in the United States.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stubblefield, Harold W.; Rachal, John R.

1992-01-01

The term "adult education" was used in the United States in the late nineteenth century. Melvil Dewey developed a typology of adult education, and Henry Leipziger promoted New York City's Free Lectures program as an institute of liberal adult education. Leipziger's advocacy was largely responsible for the diffusion of the new term in its…

The Leipzig Ice Nucleation chamber Comparison (LINC): An overview of ice nucleation measurements observed with four on-line ice nucleation devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kohn, Monika; Wex, Heike; Grawe, Sarah; Hartmann, Susan; Hellner, Lisa; Herenz, Paul; Welti, André; Stratmann, Frank; Lohmann, Ulrike; Kanji, Zamin A.

2016-04-01

Mixed-phase clouds (MPCs) are found to be the most relevant cloud type leading to precipitation in mid-latitudes. The formation of ice crystals in MPCs is not completely understood. To estimate the effect of aerosol particles on the radiative properties of clouds and to describe ice nucleation in models, the specific properties of aerosol particles acting as ice nucleating particles (INPs) still need to be identified. A number of devices are able to measure INPs in the lab and in the field. However, methods can be very different and need to be tested under controlled conditions with respect to aerosol generation and properties in order to standardize measurement and data analysis approaches for subsequent ambient measurements. Here, we present an overview of the LINC campaign hosted at TROPOS in September 2015. We compare four ice nucleation devices: PINC (Portable Ice Nucleation Chamber, Chou et al., 2011) and SPIN (SPectrometer for Ice Nuclei) are operated in deposition nucleation and condensation freezing mode. LACIS (Leipzig Aerosol Cloud Interaction Simulator, Hartmann et al., 2011) and PIMCA (Portable Immersion Mode Cooling chamber) measure in the immersion freezing mode. PIMCA is used as a vertical extension to PINC and allows activation and droplet growth prior to exposure to the investigated ice nucleation temperature. Size-resolved measurements of multiple aerosol types were performed including pure mineral dust (K-feldspar, kaolinite) and biological particles (Birch pollen washing waters) as well as some of them after treatment with sulfuric or nitric acid prior to experiments. LACIS and PIMCA-PINC operated in the immersion freezing mode showed very good agreement in the measured frozen fraction (FF). For the comparison between PINC and SPIN, which were scanning relative humidity from below to above water vapor saturation, an agreement was found for the obtained INP concentration. However, some differences were observed, which may result from ice

On the contribution of Heinrich Bruns to theoretical geometrical optics. With consideration of his correspondence with scientists of the Zeiss Company in Jena 1888-1893. (German Title: Über den Beitrag von Heinrich Bruns zur theoretischen geometrischen Optik Unter Berücksichtigung seines Briefwechsels mit Wissenschaftlern der Zeiss-Werke in Jena 1888-1893)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ilgauds, Hans-Joachim; Münzel, Gisela

This paper describes the works of Heinrich Bruns, director of the Leipzig University Observatory, on theoretical geometrical optics, which followed an outstanding tradition in Leipzig. Bruns and his pupils did not stop at theoretical considerations, but applied their findings to practical questions. Bruns' correspondence with opticians of the Zeiss Company in Jena, so far known only fragmentarily, gives impressive evidence of their friendly relationship characterized by mutual regard and stimulation.

North Korea’s Juche Ideology and the German Re-Unification Experience

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-06-01

repräsentativen Befragung in Ost- und Westdeutschland 2006,” Selbständige Abteilung für Medizimische Psychologie und Medizinische Soziologie der Universität...207 Ibid. “Auf anderen Ebenen – denen der Wirtschaft und der Psychologie – führte die rasche Übernahme des westdeutschen Systems zu Zerstörungen... Psychologie und Medizinische Soziologie der Universität Leipzig. (May/June 2006). http://medpsy.uniklinikum- leipzig.de/pdf/deutsche_befindlichkeiten_2006

A PCR assay for gender assignment in dugong (Dugong dugon) and West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus).

PubMed

McHale, M; Broderick, D; Ovenden, J R; Lanyon, J M

2008-05-01

Gender assignment for some aquatic mammals in the field is difficult. Molecular sexing from tissue biopsies is possible as males are heterogametic. Here we describe a multiplex PCR assay that amplifies the male specific SRY gene and differentiates ZFX and ZFY gametologues in two sirenian species, dugong (Dugong dugon) and West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus). The assay was validated with animals of known gender and proved accurate and robust to experimental failure. © 2007 The State of Queensland Through its Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries.

[Karl Sudhoff].

PubMed

Kästner, Ingrid

2013-01-01

In 1914, from 6th May to 18th October, the International Exposition of book Industry and Graphic Arts (BUGRA) took place in Leipzig, then the world capital of books. Karl Sudhoff, director of the Leipzig Institute of the History of Medicine, was appointed by the executive committee of the BURGA to organize the special exhibition "Three Millennia of Graphic Arts in the Service of Science". The paper shows, following Sudhoff's own descriptions and new archival sources, the conceptual design and the contents of this exposition set up by Sudhoff.

[The 100th anniversary of Gustav Wilhelm Störring's "Lectures on Psychopathology". A review of his early years].

PubMed

Steinberg, H; Künstler, U

2000-06-01

The aim of this essay is to retell the life and work of philosopher and psychiatrist Gustav Wilhelm Störring (1860-1946) during his early years in Leipzig and Erdmannshain. His "Lectures on Psychopathology and its Impact on Normal Psychology", written 100 years ago, are acknowledged as his most important work. With this book Störring stands in opposition to many of his contemporaries, which is illustrated with his concept of mania. In some aspects, however, his ideas coincide with those of other well-known psychiatrists such as Emil Kraepelin. Both were inclined to the idea that psychiatry and psychology could mutually stimulate each other. Störring's work in Wundt's laboratory of experimental psychology had a major impact on his work. Wundt's ideas gave impetus to a lot of his work and also influenced papers Störring was to write later on. Störring's biography is followed until 1902 when he was appointed professor of philosophy of Zurich University, in which his friend Ernst Meumann was substantially involved. In Leipzig Störring had started his work as Flechsig's assistant at the hospital of psychiatry and neurology of Leipzig University. In 1897 he founded his own sanitarium for mentally and neurologically ill in Erdmannshain, a village near Leipzig, which he managed together with his wife Marie, née Bonacker. With the help of Wundt Störring qualifies as a university lecturer. During the years regarded here, however, he got more and more attracted to philosophical matters, thus turning away from neurosciences. In time he started to regard his work as physician as nothing more than necessary for making his living. His relationship with Wundt, who together with his laboratory of experimental psychology had previously made him wish to come to Leipzig, cooled down, at least on the part of the first. That puts an end to Störring's early years not only from the point of view of his biography but also from his work.

Genetic methods improve accuracy of gender determination in beaver

USGS Publications Warehouse

Williams, C.L.; Breck, S.W.; Baker, B.W.

2004-01-01

Gender identification of sexually monomorphic mammals can be difficult. We used analysis of zinc-finger protein (Zfx and Zfy) DNA regions to determine gender of 96 beavers (Castor canadensis) from 3 areas and used these results to verify gender determined in the field. Gender was correctly determined for 86 (89.6%) beavers. Incorrect assignments were not attributed to errors in any one age or sex class. Although methods that can be used in the field (such as morphological methods) can provide reasonably accurate gender assignments in beavers, the genetic method might be preferred in certain situations.

Phylogenetic evidence for the ancient Himalayan wolf: towards a clarification of its taxonomic status based on genetic sampling from western Nepal

PubMed Central

Kaden, Jennifer; Joshi, Jyoti; Bhattarai, Susmita; Kusi, Naresh; Sillero-Zubiri, Claudio; Macdonald, David W.

2017-01-01

Wolves in the Himalayan region form a monophyletic lineage distinct from the present-day Holarctic grey wolf Canis lupus spp. (Linnaeus 1758) found across Eurasia and North America. Here, we analyse phylogenetic relationships and the geographic distribution of mitochondrial DNA haplotypes of the contemporary Himalayan wolf (proposed in previous studies as Canis himalayensis) found in Central Asia. We combine genetic data from a living Himalayan wolf population collected in northwestern Nepal in this study with already published genetic data, and confirm the Himalayan wolf lineage based on mitochondrial genomic data (508 bp cytochrome b and 242 bp D-loop), and X- and Y-linked zinc-finger protein gene (ZFX and ZFY) sequences. We then compare the genetic profile of the Himalayan wolf lineage found in northwestern Nepal with canid reference sequences from around the globe with maximum likelihood and Bayesian phylogeny building methods to demonstrate that the Himalayan wolf forms a distinct monophyletic clade supported by posterior probabilities/bootstrap for D-loop of greater than 0.92/85 and cytochrome b greater than 0.99/93. The Himalayan wolf shows a unique Y-chromosome (ZFY) haplotype, and shares an X-chromosome haplotype (ZFX) with the newly postulated African wolf. Our results imply that the Himalayan wolf distribution range extends from the Himalayan range north across the Tibetan Plateau up to the Qinghai Lakes region in Qinghai Province in the People's Republic of China. Based on its phylogenetic distinction and its older age of divergence relative to the Holarctic grey wolf, the Himalayan wolf merits formal classification as a distinct taxon of special conservation concern. PMID:28680672

An ARMS-based technique for sex determination of red panda (Ailurus fulgens).

PubMed

Li, Yuzhi; Xu, Xiao; Zhang, Liang; Zhang, Zhihe; Shen, Fujun; Zhang, Wenping; Yue, Bisong

2011-03-01

Molecular sexing is a key component in the investigation of wild populations. In this study, we developed a fast, accurate and reliable amplification refractory mutation system (ARMS) technique for sex determination of red panda based on the exon 4 of the ZFX/ZFY gene. The amplicons were distinguished simply by agarose gel electrophoresis, exhibiting one fragment in females (X: 300 bp) and two in males (X: 300 bp, Y: 166 bp). Robustness of this ARMS system was confirmed by testing both 43 captive red pandas using DNA samples with known-sex and 10 wild red pandas using faecal DNA samples with unknown sex. © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Airborne Pointing and Tracking Systems Open Port Design and Modification Analysis

DTIC Science & Technology

1976-04-01

into 1 gives n 2: FX = S Ujk co8 2G + k. sin2G.) + 6v(k -kJslnG. cosG. - G, kt R sinG.] i=l n ZFy = ^ [ ^^r"^) 8inei co8ei + 6y...sinei cos6. = 0 Ul i=l i^l (4) and n n 1 Sin2ei 1 2 cos e. 1=1 And Equation 3 reduces to i=l n^ 2 (5) ! £ Fx - f (kr + V...Bornhorst) AFAPL (CC/D. Cheatom, Jr.) CINCSAC (INEP) ARL (AP/Lt Col Duggins) AFFDL ( FX /Dr. VanKuren) AFFTD (PDTR/Lt Faehl) AFFTC (ETEO/R. Buxton) AF

Sequence conservation on the Y chromosome

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gibson, L.H.; Yang-Feng, L.; Lau, C.

The Y chromosome is present in all mammals and is considered to be essential to sex determination. Despite intense genomic research, only a few genes have been identified and mapped to this chromosome in humans. Several of them, such as SRY and ZFY, have been demonstrated to be conserved and Y-located in other mammals. In order to address the issue of sequence conservation on the Y chromosome, we performed fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) with DNA from a human Y cosmid library as a probe to study the Y chromosomes from other mammalian species. Total DNA from 3,000-4,500 cosmid poolsmore » were labeled with biotinylated-dUTP and hybridized to metaphase chromosomes. For human and primate preparations, human cot1 DNA was included in the hybridization mixture to suppress the hybridization from repeat sequences. FISH signals were detected on the Y chromosomes of human, gorilla, orangutan and baboon (Old World monkey) and were absent on those of squirrel monkey (New World monkey), Indian munjac, wood lemming, Chinese hamster, rat and mouse. Since sequence analysis suggested that specific genes, e.g. SRY and ZFY, are conserved between these two groups, the lack of detectable hybridization in the latter group implies either that conservation of the human Y sequences is limited to the Y chromosomes of the great apes and Old World monkeys, or that the size of the syntenic segment is too small to be detected under the resolution of FISH, or that homologeous sequences have undergone considerable divergence. Further studies with reduced hybridization stringency are currently being conducted. Our results provide some clues as to Y-sequence conservation across species and demonstrate the limitations of FISH across species with total DNA sequences from a particular chromosome.« less

The Leipzig experience with robotic valve surgery.

PubMed

Autschbach, R; Onnasch, J F; Falk, V; Walther, T; Krüger, M; Schilling, L O; Mohr, F W

2000-01-01

The study describes the single-center experience using robot-assisted videoscopic mitral valve surgery and the early results with a remote telemanipulator-assisted approach for mitral valve repair. Out of a series of 230 patients who underwent minimally invasive mitral valve surgery, in 167 patients surgery was performed with the use of robotic assistance. A voice-controlled robotic arm was used for videoscopic guidance in 152 cases. Most recently, a computer-enhanced telemanipulator was used in 15 patients to perform the operation remotely. The mitral valve was repaired in 117 and replaced in all other patients. The voice-controlled robotic arm (AESOP 3000) facilitated videoscopic-assisted mitral valve surgery. The procedure was completed without the need for an additional assistant as "solo surgery." Additional procedures like radiofrequency ablation and tricuspid valve repair were performed in 21 and 4 patients, respectively. Duration of bypass and clamp time was comparable to conventional procedures (107 A 34 and 50 A 16 min, respectively). Hospital mortality was 1.2%. Using the da Vinci telemanipulation system, remote mitral valve repair was successfully performed in 13 of 15 patients. Robotic-assisted less invasive mitral valve surgery has evolved to a reliable technique with reproducible results for primary operations and for reoperations. Robotic assistance has enabled a solo surgery approach. The combination with radiofrequency ablation (Mini Maze) in patients with chronic atrial fibrillation has proven to be beneficial. The use of telemanipulation systems for remote mitral valve surgery is promising, but a number of problems have to be solved before the introduction of a closed chest mitral valve procedure.

CONFERENCE ANNOUNCEMENT: European Conference on Complex Systems 2009 European Conference on Complex Systems 2009

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2009-05-01

The 2009 European Conference on Complex Systems will take place 21-25 September 2009 at the University of Warwick in the UK. Local Organising Committee Markus Kirkilionis (Warwick, Chair), Francois Kepes (Genopole, Programme Chair), Robert MacKay (Warwick), Robin Ball (Warwick), Jeff Johnson (Open University). International Steering Committee Markus Kirkilionis (Warwick; Chair 2008-10), Fatihcan Atay (Leipzig), Jürgen Jost (Leipzig), Scott Kirkpatrick (Jerusalem), David Lane (University of Modena and Reggio Emillia), Andreas Lorincz (Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Denise Pumain (Sorbonne), Felix Reed-Tsochas (Oxford), Eörs Szathmáry (Collegium Budapest, Hungary), Stephan Thurner (Wien), Paul Verschure (Barcelona), Alessandro Vespignani (Indiana, ISI), Riccardo Zecchina (Torino). Main tracks and Organisers Policy, Planning & Infrastructure: Jeff Johnson (Open University, Chair), Arnaud Banos (Strasbourg) Collective Human Behaviour and Society: Felix Reed-Tsochas (Oxford, Chair), Frances Griffiths (Warwick), Edmund Chattoe-Brown (Leicester) Interacting Populations and Environment: TBA Complexity and Computer Science: András Lörincz (Eötvös Loránd University), Paul Verschure (Zürich) From Molecules to Living Systems: Mark Chaplain (Dundee, Chair), Wolfgang Marwan (Magdeburg) Mathematics and Simulation: Holger Kantz (Dresden, Chair), Fatihcan Atay (Leipzig), Matteo Marsili (Trieste). Deadlines Paper submission: 31 March 2009 with decisions 15 May 2009. Paper submission deadline likely to be extended. See http://www.eccs09.info for more information. Meeting registration: early registration July 2009; last assured chance 1 Sept. Further information For contacts and the most up-to-date information visit http://www.eccs09.info.

In pursuit of precision: the calibration of minds and machines in late nineteenth-century psychology.

PubMed

Benschop, R; Draaisma, D

2000-01-01

A prominent feature of late nineteenth-century psychology was its intense preoccupation with precision. Precision was at once an ideal and an argument: the quest for precision helped psychology to establish its status as a mature science, sharing a characteristic concern with the natural sciences. We will analyse how psychologists set out to produce precision in 'mental chronometry', the measurement of the duration of psychological processes. In his Leipzig laboratory, Wundt inaugurated an elaborate research programme on mental chronometry. We will look at the problem of calibration of experimental apparatus and will describe the intricate material, literary, and social technologies involved in the manufacture of precision. First, we shall discuss some of the technical problems involved in the measurement of ever shorter time-spans. Next, the Cattell-Berger experiments will help us to argue against the received view that all the precision went into the hardware, and practically none into the social organization of experimentation. Experimenters made deliberate efforts to bring themselves and their subjects under a regime of control and calibration similar to that which reigned over the experimental machinery. In Leipzig psychology, the particular blend of material and social technology resulted in a specific object of study: the generalized mind. We will then show that the distribution of precision in experimental psychology outside Leipzig demanded a concerted effort of instruments, texts, and people. It will appear that the forceful attempts to produce precision and uniformity had some rather paradoxical consequences.

On the early history of field emission including attempts of tunneling spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kleint, C.

1993-04-01

Field emission is certainly one of the oldest surface science techniques, its roots reaching back about 250 years to the time of enlightenment. An account of very early studies and of later work is given but mostly restricted to Leipzig and to pre-Müllerian investigations. Studies of field emission from metal tips were carried out in the 18th century by Johann Heinrich Winkler who used vacuum pumps built by Jacob Leupold, a famous Leipzig mechanic. A short account of the career of Winkler will be given and his field emission experiments are illustrated. Field emission was investigated again in Leipzig much later by Julius Edgar Lilienfeld who worked on the improvement of X-ray tubes. He coined the terms ‘autoelektronische Entladung’ of ‘Äona-Effekt’ in 1922, and developed degassing procedures which are very similar to modern ultra-high vacuum processing. A pre-quantum mechanical explanation of the field emission phenomena was undertaken by Walter Schottky. Cunradi (1926) tried to measure temperature changes during field emission. Franz Rother, in a thesis (1914) suggested by Otto Wiener, dealt with the distance dependence of currents in vacuum between electrodes down to 20 nm. His habilitation in 1926 was an extension of his early work but now with field emission tips as a cathode. We might look at his measurements of the field emission characteristics in dependence on distance as a precursor to modern tunneling spectroscopy as well.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lopez, M.; Torres, L.; Cervantes, A.

Most individuals with the rare 46,XX male {open_quotes}syndrome{close_quotes} arise due to an unequal interchange between Xp and Yp termini during paternal meiosis. The pattern of Y-sequences in these patients varies considerably, but very few cases have been reported showing only SRY. The phenotype in these patients is also variable ranging from severe impairment of the external genitalia through hypospadias and/or cryptorchidism to occasional normal male phenotype. We report a Mexican 46,XX male patient without genital ambiguities in whom DNA analysis showed the presence of SRY and the absence of ZFY. We conclude that in this case SRY alone was enoughmore » for complete male sexual differentiation. 25 refs., 1 fig.« less

Y-autosome translocation interferes with meiotic sex inactivation and expression of autosomal genes: a case study in the pig.

PubMed

Barasc, H; Mary, N; Letron, R; Calgaro, A; Dudez, A M; Bonnet, N; Lahbib-Mansais, Y; Yerle, M; Ducos, A; Pinton, A

2012-01-01

Y-autosome translocations are rare in humans and pigs. In both species, these rearrangements can be responsible for meiotic arrest and subsequent infertility. Chromosome pairing abnormalities on the SSCX, SSCY and SSC1 chromatin domains were identified by analyzing pachytene spermatocytes from a boar carrying a (Y;1) translocation by immunolocalization of specific meiotic protein combined with FISH. Disturbance of the meiotic sex chromosome inactivation (MSCI) was observed by Cot-RNA-FISH and analysis of ZFY gene expression by sequential RNA- and DNA-FISH on spermatocytes. We hypothesized that the meiotic arrest observed in this boar might be due to the silencing of critical autosomal genes and/or the reactivation of some sex chromosome genes. Copyright © 2011 S. Karger AG, Basel.

[From Paul Flechsig to the Paul Flechsig Institute for Brain Research. Development of brain research at the Karl Marx University].

PubMed

Leibnitz, L; Werner, L; Schober, W; Brauer, K

1977-04-01

A review is given on the development of the brain research institute of the Karl-Marx-University of Leipzig during the directorates of Paul Flechsig (1883-1920), Richard Arwed Pfeifer (1925-1957), and Wolfgang Wünscher (1957-1971).

Über den Beitrag von Heinrich Bruns zur theoretischen geometrischen Optik - unter Berücksichtigung seines Briefwechsels mit Wissenschaftlern der Zeiss-Werke in Jena 1888 - 1893.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ilgauds, H.-J.; Münzel, G.

Heinrich Bruns, director of the Leipzig University Observatory, was working on theoretical geometrical optics, and applied this to practical questions. His correspondence with opticians of the Zeiss Company in Jena gives evidence of their mutual regard and inspiration.

Standardizing flow cytometric assays in long-term population-based studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Melzer, Susanne; Bocsi, Jozsef; Tárnok, Attila

2015-03-01

Quantification of leukocyte subpopulations and characterization of antigen-expression pattern on the cellular surface can play an important role in diagnostics. The state of cellular immunology on the single-cell level was analyzed by polychromatic flow cytometry in a recent comparative study within the average Leipzig population (LIFE - Leipzig Research Centre for Civilization Diseases). Data of 1699 subjects were recorded over a long-time period of three years (in a total of 1126 days). To ensure compatibility of such huge data sets, quality-controls on many levels (stability of instrumentation, low intra-laboratory variance and reader independent data analysis) are essential. The LIFE study aims to analyze various cytometric pattern to reveal the relationship between the life-style, the environmental effects and the individual health. We therefore present here a multi-step quality control procedure for long-term comparative studies.

SATELLITE Capabilities and Limitations for the ACPC Box Experiment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kahn, Ralph

2015-01-01

This presentation was given at the Aerosol-Clouds-Precipitation-Climate (ACPC) Workshop held at NASA GISS in April 2015. The organizers of the meeting plan to post the presentations to a public website maintained by the University of Leipzig.

DNAPL Managements Overview

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-04-01

characterizing groundwater contamination, In: Contaminated Soil (ConSoil), Thomas Telford, Leipzig, Germany , pp. 198-205. Rao, P.S.C. and J.W. Jawitz, 2003...installed to contain contamination, Keens Creek was rerouted to avoid passage through the contaminated site, new trees for phytoremediation and soil

Linguistic Attitudes on the Use of the Magdeburg Regiolect

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tabisz, Christopher

2017-01-01

This dissertation analyzes attitudes and perceptions of regiolects regarding the Magdeburg, Berlin, Leipzig and Standard German. Consultants listened to four recordings--one in each linguistic variety--and answered questions. The questions opened with the consultants' personal connection to each variety and opinions of the variety itself before…

Animal Related Activities as Determinants of Species Knowledge

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Randler, Christoph

2010-01-01

Previous work has established a relationship between knowledge and environmental concern. Different factors may contribute to this knowledge and animal-related leisure activities may also contribute to this knowledge. 390 participants in Leipzig, Germany were interviewed to assess their animal-related leisure activities, their demographic status…

Information as a Weapon. Reality Versus Promises.

DTIC Science & Technology

1999-01-01

quoting the following noted authors: W. Rustow, Feldherrnkunst des Neunzehnten Jahrhundert (Leipzig: F. Schultheiss, 1867), 100-101; C. von der Goltz ...6862 Internet address—http://www.au.af.mil/au/aupress/aupubs.html (Order by ’T number in parentheses) BARLOW, Jason B., Maj, USAF (T-15

[The Prevalence of Current Depressive Symptoms in an Urban Adult Population].

PubMed

Luck, Tobias; Then, Francisca S; Engel, Christoph; Loeffler, Markus; Thiery, Joachim; Villringer, Arno; Riedel-Heller, Steffi G

2017-04-01

Objective We sought to provide prevalence rates of depressive symptoms in the adult population of the city of Leipzig, Germany (18 - 79 years; N = 8,861). Methods Data were derived from the Leipzig population-based study of adults (LIFE-ADULT-Study). The German version of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) was used to assess depressive symptoms using a cut-off score ≥ 23 points. Results The prevalence of current depressive symptoms was 6.4 % (95 %-KI = 5.4 - 7.4). Significantly higher prevalence rates were found in females than in males, in individuals in middle age (40 - 59 years) than in younger and older adults as well as in those individuals with lower socioeconomic status (SES). Conclusion The study findings did not indicate a generally increased risk of depressive symptoms in urban-living adults. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

DIEGO: detection of differential alternative splicing using Aitchison's geometry.

PubMed

Doose, Gero; Bernhart, Stephan H; Wagener, Rabea; Hoffmann, Steve

2018-03-15

Alternative splicing is a biological process of fundamental importance in most eukaryotes. It plays a pivotal role in cell differentiation and gene regulation and has been associated with a number of different diseases. The widespread availability of RNA-Sequencing capacities allows an ever closer investigation of differentially expressed isoforms. However, most tools for differential alternative splicing (DAS) analysis do not take split reads, i.e. the most direct evidence for a splice event, into account. Here, we present DIEGO, a compositional data analysis method able to detect DAS between two sets of RNA-Seq samples based on split reads. The python tool DIEGO works without isoform annotations and is fast enough to analyze large experiments while being robust and accurate. We provide python and perl parsers for common formats. The software is available at: www.bioinf.uni-leipzig.de/Software/DIEGO. steve@bioinf.uni-leipzig.de. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

Learning, Adjustment and Stress Disorders: With Special Reference to Tsunami Affected Regions. Beitrage zur Padagogischen und Rehabilitationspsychologie. Volume 1

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Witruk, Evelin, Ed.; Riha, David, Ed.; Teichert, Alexandra, Ed.; Haase, Norman, Ed.; Stueck, Marcus, Ed.

2010-01-01

This book contains selected contributions from the international workshop Learning, "Adjustment and Stress Disorders--with special reference to Tsunami affected Regions" organised by Evelin Witruk and the team of Educational and Rehabilitative Psychology at the University of Leipzig in January 2006. The book contains new results and the…

A Teacher is Forever: The Legacy of Harry Kirke Wolfe (1858-1918).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Benjamin, Ludy T. Jr.

1987-01-01

This article traces the career of Harry Kirke Wolfe, Nebraska educator and one of the earliest U.S. psychologists to earn a doctorate in psychology from Wilhelm Wundt at Leipzig. Emphasis is placed on Wolfe's blending of psychology and pedagogy, and his qualities as a teacher. (Author/JDH)

China Report, Economic Affairs

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-01-28

markets. For example, the Tianjin winery , in a cooperative venture with Remy Martin of France, imported advanced brewing technology and equipment...well in dozens of countries in Europe and America and also in Japan. It was awarded a gold medal at the Leipzig Expo in March this year. Wineries

Taking Control of Their Lives? A Comparison of the Experiences of Unemployed Young Adults (18-25) in England and the New Germany.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Behrens, Martina; Evans, Karen

2002-01-01

A survey and group interviews with unemployed young people aged 18-25 in Derby (England), Hannover (western Germany), and Leipzig (eastern Germany) examined the relative importance to their life and work transitions of individual agency and structural factors. Two national job training "schemes" for unemployed youth are compared: the…

Intonation as an Encoder of Speaker Certainty: Information and Confirmation Yes-No Questions in Catalan

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vanrell, Maria del Mar; Mascaro, Ignasi; Torres-Tamarit, Francesc; Prieto, Pilar

2013-01-01

Recent studies in the field of intonational phonology have shown that information-seeking questions can be distinguished from confirmation-seeking questions by prosodic means in a variety of languages (Armstrong, 2010, for Puerto Rican Spanish; Grice & Savino, 1997, for Bari Italian; Kugler, 2003, for Leipzig German; Mata & Santos, 2010, for…

The Art of History and Eighteenth-Century Information Management: Christian Gottlieb Jocher and Johann Heinrich Zedler

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cole, Richard Glenn

2013-01-01

In the eighteenth century there were enough printed sources and archival materials to challenge or even overwhelm historians of that day. Two productive editors of lexicons and information management were Christian Gottlieb Jocher, who taught history at the University of Leipzig and became the chief librarian at his university, and Johann Heinrich…

Information as a Weapon: Reality Versus Promises

DTIC Science & Technology

1997-06-01

Feldherrnkunst des Neunzehnten Jahrhundert (Leipzig: F. Schultheiss, 1867), 100-1.; (2) C. von der Goltz , Das Volk in Waffen (Berlin: Decker, 1883), 1.; (3...Review 22, no. 3 (Summer 1994): 24-30. Barlow, Maj Jason B. “Strategic Paralysis: An Air Power Strategy For the Present.” Airpower Journal 7, no. 4

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons associated with particles in ambient air from urban and industrial areas.

PubMed

Rehwagen, Martina; Müller, Andrea; Massolo, Laura; Herbarth, Olf; Ronco, Alicia

2005-09-15

This study takes into consideration an analysis of the chemical polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) profile and its distribution in inhalable and respirable particulate matter in urban and industrial areas in La Plata, Argentina, and Leipzig, Germany. Representative samples from three locations in La Plata (industrial, traffic influenced and control area) and two locations in Leipzig (traffic influenced and control area) were obtained in summer and winter. The sampling of particulate matter was carried out with high volume collectors using cascade impactors to separate six size fractions. PAHs were extracted with hexane through a solid-liquid equilibrium extraction and analysed by HPLC/UV/fluorescence detection. The results showed a PAH seasonal behaviour in both regions, with lower contents in summer and higher ones in winter. Highest concentrations of total PAHs were found in the industrial area in La Plata. The size distribution of particles demonstrates the greater relevance of smaller particles. More than 50% of PAHs were associated with particles of less than 0.49 microm. Moreover, this particle size fraction was associated with traffic, whereas other sources of combustion were related also to particles between 0.49 and 0.95 microm. Considering the ratio of benzo(ghi)perylene (BgP)/benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) as an indicator for traffic influence, it was observed that La Plata City was more affected than Leipzig by the same proportion in summer and in winter. The BgP/InP (indeno(123-cd)pyrene) ratio was lower in winter than in summer in both places and indicates the presence of domestic combustion sources. It is important to point out the significance of using fingerprint compound ratios to identify possible sources of pollution with PAHs bound to particles.

Complex Langevin simulation of chiral symmetry restoration at finite baryonic density

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ilgenfritz, Ernst-Michael

1986-12-01

A recently proposed effective SU(3) spin model with chiral order parameter is studied by means of the complex Langevin equation. A first-order chiral symmetry restoring and deconfining transition is observed at sufficiently low temperature at finite baryonic density. Permanent address: Sektion Physik, Karl-Marx Universität, DDR-7010 Leipzig, German Democratic Republic.

Investigations of the Interactions of Radiation with Matter.

DTIC Science & Technology

1986-07-31

Process in Atoms, Molecules and Solids, eds. A. Mei-el and J. Finster , (Karl-Marx Universitat, Leipzig, 1984), p. 58. 10. S.T. Manson in High Enery Ion...H. Toburen, and S. T. Manson in X-Ra and Inner-Shell Process in Atoms, Molecules and Solids, eds. A. Meisel and J. Finster , (Karl-Marx- Universitat

[Georg Joachim Rhetikus, between Paracelsus and Copernicus].

PubMed

Burmeister, K H

2000-01-01

At first the author presents the familial background of Rheticus, then his education, his friendships and scientific contacts. Rheticus was professor of university in Wittenberg and Leipzig. Most interesting were his contacts with Paracelsus and Copernicus. Last two decades of life Rheticus spent in Cracow working as a physician and mathematician. He died in Kosice.

The Work by Giulio Ceradini in Explaining the Mechanism of Semilunar Cardiac Valve Function

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Troiani, Diana; Manni, Ermanno

2011-01-01

Using an excised pig heart preparation with tubes, a manometer, and a visualizing apparatus, Giulio Ceradini, an Italian physiologist working in the years of 1871-1872 in Carl Ludwig's famous laboratory in Leipzig, Germany, illustrated the mechanism of closure of the semilunar valves. He was the first to conceive that the closure of the heart…

76 FR 10226 - Airworthiness Directives; The Boeing Company Model 757 Airplanes

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-02-24

... contents of the proposed rule. Request To Revise the Compliance Time FedEx, US Airways, Delta, European Air Transport Leipzig GmbH (European Air)/DHL Air requested a change in the compliance time. FedEx, Delta, and..., dated July 16, 2007. FedEx and Delta stated that fuel tank access occurs at 72-month intervals. European...

Planet of the apes.

PubMed

Maderspacher, Florian

2005-03-08

What makes us humans so special? Our language, our genes, our culture, our cognitive skills? At the Max-Planck-Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, psychologists, linguists and biologists tackle this old question in a truly multidisciplinary way. Their results have implications not just for our understanding of human evolution--they also touch directly on many social and environmental issues. Florian Maderspacher reports.

Highlights from the Second International Symposium on HPV infection in head and neck cancer.

PubMed

Wiegand, Susanne; Wichmann, G; Golusinski, W; Leemans, C R; Klussmann, J P; Dietz, A

2018-06-01

The Second International Symposium on HPV Infection in Head and Neck Cancer was held on 3rd-4th November 2016 in Leipzig, Germany. The meeting brought together researchers and clinicians to share the latest knowledge on HPV infection in head and neck cancer and to join active and constructive scientific discussions. This report summarizes the major themes discussed during the symposium.

Distinct prophase arrest mechanisms in human male meiosis.

PubMed

Jan, Sabrina Z; Jongejan, Aldo; Korver, Cindy M; van Daalen, Saskia K M; van Pelt, Ans M M; Repping, Sjoerd; Hamer, Geert

2018-04-16

To prevent chromosomal aberrations being transmitted to the offspring, strict meiotic checkpoints are in place to remove aberrant spermatocytes. However, in about 1% of males these checkpoints cause complete meiotic arrest leading to azoospermia and subsequent infertility. Here, we unravel two clearly distinct meiotic arrest mechanisms that occur during prophase of human male meiosis. Type I arrested spermatocytes display severe asynapsis of the homologous chromosomes, disturbed XY-body formation and increased expression of the Y chromosome-encoded gene ZFY and seem to activate a DNA damage pathway leading to induction of p63, possibly causing spermatocyte apoptosis. Type II arrested spermatocytes display normal chromosome synapsis, normal XY-body morphology and meiotic crossover formation but have a lowered expression of several cell cycle regulating genes and fail to silence the X chromosome-encoded gene ZFX Discovery and understanding of these meiotic arrest mechanisms increases our knowledge of how genomic stability is guarded during human germ cell development. © 2018. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

On the Law of Inertia. Translation of: Ueber das Beharrungsgesetz

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lange, Ludwig

2014-04-01

This article is a translation of Ludwig Lange: "Ueber das Beharrungsgesetz" in: Berichte ueber Verhandlungen der Koenigl. Saechsischen Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften, math.-physik. Klasse (Leipzig, 1885), SS. 333-351. Translated by Herbert Pfister, Institut für Theoretische Physik, Universität Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 14, 72076 Tübingen, Germany; herbert.pfister@uni-tuebingen.de. Kind assistance by Julian Barbour is acknowledged.

[Comparison of four identical electronic noses and three measurement set-ups].

PubMed

Koczulla, R; Hattesohl, A; Biller, H; Hofbauer, J; Hohlfeld, J; Oeser, C; Wirtz, H; Jörres, R A

2011-08-01

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) can be used as biomarkers in exhaled air. VOC profiles can be detected by an array of nanosensors of an electronic nose. These profiles can be analysed using bioinformatics. It is, however, not known whether different devices of the same model measure identically and to which extent different set-ups and the humidity of the inhaled air influence the VOC profile. Three different measuring set-ups were designed and three healthy control subjects were measured with each of them, using four devices of the same model (Cyranose 320™, Smiths Detection). The exhaled air was collected in a plastic bag. Either ambient air was used as reference (set-up Leipzig), or the reference air was humidified (100% relative humidity) (set-up Marburg and set-up Munich). In the set-up Marburg the subjects inhaled standardised medical air (Aer medicinalis Linde, AGA AB) out of a compressed air bottle through a demand valve; this air (after humidification) was also used as reference. In the set-up Leipzig the subjects inhaled VOC-filtered ambient air, in the set-up Munich unfiltered room air. The data were evaluated using either the real-time data or the changes in resistance as calculated by the device. The results were clearly dependent on the set-up. Apparently, humidification of the reference air could reduce the variance between devices, but this result was also dependent on the evaluation method used. When comparing the three subjects, the set-ups Munich and Marburg mapped these in a similar way, whereas not only the signals but also the variance of the set-up Leipzig were larger. Measuring VOCs with an electronic nose has not yet been standardised and the set-up significantly affects the results. As other researchers use further methods, it is currently not possible to draw generally accepted conclusions. More systematic tests are required to find the most sensitive and reliable but still feasible set-up so that comparability is improved. © Georg

Effects Of Leaky Sewers On Groundwater Quality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leschik, S.; Musolff, A.; Reinstorf, F.; Strauch, G.; Oswald, S. E.; Schirmer, M.

2007-12-01

The impact of urban areas on groundwater quality has become an emerging research field in hydrogeology. Urban subsurface infrastructures like sewer networks are often leaky, so untreated wastewater may enter the urban aquifer. The transport of wastewater into the groundwater is still not well understood under field conditions. In the research platform WASSER Leipzig (Water And Sewershed Study of Environmental Risk in Leipzig- Germany) the effects of leaky sewers on the groundwater quality are investigated. The research is focused on the occurrence and transport of so-called "xenobiotics" such as pharmaceuticals and personal care product additives. Xenobiotics may pose a threat on human health, but can also be considered a marker for an urban impact on water resources. A new test site was established in Leipzig to quantify mass fluxes of xenobiotics into the groundwater from a leaky sewer. Corresponding to the leaks which were detected by closed circuit television inspections, monitoring wells were installed up- and downstream of the sewer. Concentrations of eight xenobiotics (technical-nonylphenol, bisphenol-a, caffeine, galaxolide, tonalide, carbamazepine, phenazone, ethinylestradiol) obtained from first sampling programmes were found to be highly heterogeneous, but a relation between the position of the sampling points and the sewer could not be clearly identified. However, concentrations of sodium, chloride, potassium and nitrate increased significantly downstream of the sewer which may be due to wastewater exfiltration, since no other source is known on the water flowpath from the upstream to the downstream wells. Because of the highly heterogeneous spatial distribution of xenobiotics at the test site, a monitoring concept was developed comprising both high-resolution sampling and an integral approach to obtain representative average concentrations. Direct-push techniques were used to gain insight into the fine-scale spatial distribution of the target compounds

JPRS Report, Soviet Union KOMMUNIST No 10, July 1988.

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-10-17

sciences; and Kirill Kiril - lovich Shirinya, consultant, CPSU Central Committee Institute of Marxism-Leninism, doctor of historical sci- ences] [Text...Spain and Italy), as well as from above, from the Comintern leadership, which was assumed by G. Dimitrov , the hero of the Leipzig trial. Life...demanded a new tactical and strategic orientation and changes in the methods of activity of the Comintern. In developing the new approaches, G. Dimitrov

Characterization of Homopolymer and Polymer Blend Films by Phase Sensitive Acoustic Microscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ngwa, Wilfred; Wannemacher, Reinhold; Grill, Wolfgang

2003-03-01

CHARACTERIZATION OF HOMOPOLYMER AND POLYMER BLEND FILMS BY PHASE SENSITIVE ACOUSTIC MICROSCOPY W Ngwa, R Wannemacher, W Grill Institute of Experimental Physics II, University of Leipzig, 04103 Leipzig, Germany Abstract We have used phase sensitive acoustic microscopy (PSAM) to study homopolymer thin films of polystyrene (PS) and poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), as well as PS/PMMA blend films. We show from our results that PSAM can be used as a complementary and highly valuable technique for elucidating the three-dimensional (3D) morphology and micromechanical properties of thin films. Three-dimensional image acquisition with vector contrast provides the basis for: complex V(z) analysis (per image pixel), 3D image processing, height profiling, and subsurface image analysis of the polymer films. Results show good agreement with previous studies. In addition, important new information on the three dimensional structure and properties of polymer films is obtained. Homopolymer film structure analysis reveals (pseudo-) dewetting by retraction of droplets, resulting in a morphology that can serve as a starting point for the analysis of polymer blend thin films. The outcome of confocal laser scanning microscopy studies, performed on the same samples are correlated with the obtained results. Advantages and limitations of PSAM are discussed.

The thyrotropin receptor mutation database: update 2003.

PubMed

Führer, Dagmar; Lachmund, Peter; Nebel, Istvan-Tibor; Paschke, Ralf

2003-12-01

In 1999 we have created a TSHR mutation database compiling TSHR mutations with their basic characteristics and associated clinical conditions (www.uni-leipzig.de/innere/tshr). Since then, more than 2887 users from 36 countries have logged into the TSHR mutation database and have contributed several valuable suggestions for further improvement of the database. We now present an updated and extended version of the TSHR database to which several novel features have been introduced: 1. detailed functional characteristics on all 65 mutations (43 activating and 22 inactivating mutations) reported to date, 2. 40 pedigrees with detailed information on molecular aspects, clinical courses and treatment options in patients with gain-of-function and loss-of-function germline TSHR mutations, 3. a first compilation of site-directed mutagenesis studies, 4. references with Medline links, 5. a user friendly search tool for specific database searches, user-specific database output and 6. an administrator tool for the submission of novel TSHR mutations. The TSHR mutation database is installed as one of the locus specific HUGO mutation databases. It is listed under index TSHR 603372 (http://ariel.ucs.unimelb.edu.au/~cotton/glsdbq.htm) and can be accessed via www.uni-leipzig.de/innere/tshr.

[Processes of ventricles I-III. Review of the patient population of the Neurosurgery Clinic of the Karl Marx University 1953-1983].

PubMed

Niebeling, H G; Goldhahn, W E

1985-01-01

Within three decades 254 patients with processes of the brain ventricles I-III have been treated at the Leipzig Neurosurgical Clinic. The article subdivides the patients in general and according to the histology, localisation, lateral differences, dignity, operability as well as the postoperative lethality. The evaluation gives many clues with respect to the diagnostics and therapy of these ventricular processes. Today, the improvements obtained by computer tomography and by microsurgery are well the to fore.

East Europe Report, Political, Sociological and Military Affairs.

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-12-14

Education ( J . Vorsatz; BOERSENBLATT FUER DEN DEUTSCHEN BUCHHANDEL, No 43, 23 Oct 84) 15 Cool Reception of Immigrants in FRG Noted (C.-C...HIGHER EDUCATION Leipzig BOERSENBLATT FUER DEN DEUTSCHEN BUCHHANDEL in German No 43, 23 Oct 84 pp 811-815 [Article by J . Vorsatz: "Position...Man in the World Today"] LText J T^ Hungarian Academy of Sciences arranged an academic conference in Budapest be- tween Februaiy 28 and March I

Dialectic Strategy.

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-11-29

perspective that we will apply to strategic analysis. Kant . Immanuel - Kant was born in Konigsberg, East Prussia in 1724. He entered the city’s...angles. Clearly, such methods have great utility in strategy making today. Carl von Clausewitz -had studied Kantian philosophy, 23 was probably...philosopher. He studied theology and philosophy at the universities of Jena and LEipzig and then became a private tutor. Fichte admired the works of Kant and

Johann Leonhard Rost, "novelist" and astronomer; (German Title: Johann Leonhard Rost, "Romanist" und Astronom)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gaab, Hans; Simons, Olaf

Johann Leonhard Rost (1688-1727) of Nuremberg studied at Altdorf, Leipzig and Jena. During this time, he earned his living by writing gallant novels. In 1715, he returned to Nuremberg, where he pursued his juvenile inclination towards astronomy and became a serious astronomical observer. His introductions to astronomy, written around this time, contributed a lot to popularize astronomy. This contribution attempts to do justice to both the novelist and the astronomer Rost.

Karl Julius Lohnert - an unknown astronomer, experimental psychologist and teacher (German Title: Karl Julius Lohnert - ein unbekannter Astronom, experimenteller Psychologe und Lehrer)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schmadel, Lutz D.; Guski-Leinwand, Susanne

2011-08-01

Karl Julius Lohnert (1885-1944) with his double biography as astronomer and psychologist is hardly known in both fields. As a student of astronomy in Heidelberg, Lohnert discovered a couple of minor planets and he dedicated one to his PhD supervisor, the famous Leipzig professor for philosophy, Wilhelm Wundt. This connection is discussed for the first time almost one century after the naming of (635) Vundtia. The paper elucidates some biographical stations of Lohnert.

Identification of Y-Chromosome Sequences in Turner Syndrome.

PubMed

Silva-Grecco, Roseane Lopes da; Trovó-Marqui, Alessandra Bernadete; Sousa, Tiago Alves de; Croce, Lilian Da; Balarin, Marly Aparecida Spadotto

2016-05-01

To investigate the presence of Y-chromosome sequences and determine their frequency in patients with Turner syndrome. The study included 23 patients with Turner syndrome from Brazil, who gave written informed consent for participating in the study. Cytogenetic analyses were performed in peripheral blood lymphocytes, with 100 metaphases per patient. Genomic DNA was also extracted from peripheral blood lymphocytes, and gene sequences DYZ1, DYZ3, ZFY and SRY were amplified by Polymerase Chain Reaction. The cytogenetic analysis showed a 45,X karyotype in 9 patients (39.2 %) and a mosaic pattern in 14 (60.8 %). In 8.7 % (2 out of 23) of the patients, Y-chromosome sequences were found. This prevalence is very similar to those reported previously. The initial karyotype analysis of these patients did not reveal Y-chromosome material, but they were found positive for Y-specific sequences in the lymphocyte DNA analysis. The PCR technique showed that 2 (8.7 %) of the patients with Turner syndrome had Y-chromosome sequences, both presenting marker chromosomes on cytogenetic analysis.

Female pseudohermaphroditism with multiple caudal anomalies: Absence of Y-specific DNA sequences as pathogenetic factors

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Seaver, L.H.; Grimes, J.; Erickson, R.P.

1994-05-15

46,XX female pseudohermaphrodites have been previously described with nearly complete masculinization of the external genitalia and no apparent source of testosterone. Multiple malformations of internal genital, urinary, and gastrointestinal tracts are associated. We have evaluated four such infants with female pseudohermaphroditism and multiple caudal anomalies. Three cases had apparently normal chromosome (46,XX); one had a 46,XX,del(10)(q25.3{yields}qter) chromosome constitution. The chromosome breakpoint is in the region of PAX2, a developmentally important paired box gene which is expressed in urogenital tissue. Using the polymerase chain reaction, we screened for the presence of multiple Y specific sequences, including SRY (sex determining region, Ymore » chromosome), that could explain masculinization of the external genitalia. All were negative for Y centromeric sequences, ZFY (Zinc finger Y), and SRY. Furthermore, there was no evidence for adrenal or other sources of testosterone. We suggest that the masculinization in these cases is the result of abnormal expression of genes which would normally be regulated by testosterone. 32 refs., 1 fig., 2 tabs.« less

[Recalled parental rearing and the wish to have a child - are there associations?].

PubMed

Schumacher, Jörg; Stöbel-Richter, Yve; Brähler, Elmar

2002-07-01

The present study concerns the impact of recalled parental rearing behaviour on both the intensity of the wish to have a child and on different motives to have a child. Until now there are no empirical studies as to this objective. Our study is based on a representative sample of 1509 persons aged 18 to 50 years. The statistical analyses were restricted to those subjects who lived in partnership and reported an actual wish to have a child (n = 331). The data were assessed by self-reporting scales: The Questionnaire of Recalled Parental Rearing Behaviour "Fragebogen zum erinnerten elterlichen Erziehungsverhalten, FEE", the Partnership Questionnaire "Partnerschaftsfragebogen, PFB", and the Leipzig Questionnaire of Motives to Have a Child "Leipziger Fragebogen zu Kinderwunschmotiven, LKM". A recalled parental rearing behaviour, which was characterized as having been rejective, overprotective and less emotionally warm was associated with such motives which do not promote the wish to have own children (fear of personal restrictions and a low degree of social support). Simultaneously, a negative parental rearing behaviour was correlated with a stronger desire for social recognition by an own child. The recalled maternal rearing behaviour was altogether stronger associated with motives to have a child than the paternal. On the other hand, no relevant associations could be found between the recalled parental rearing behaviour and the intensity of the wish to have a child.

Experiences with dissection courses in human anatomy: a comparison between Germany and Ethiopia.

PubMed

Bekele, Assegedech; Reissig, Dieter; Löffler, Sabine; Hinz, Andreas

2011-03-01

Dissection courses in human anatomy are laborious, and new teaching tools have become available. Therefore, some universities intend to reduce the dissection course. Furthermore, little is known about dissection courses in African universities. The aim of this study is to compare the students' experiences with and evaluations of the dissection courses in two universities: Leipzig (Germany) and Gondar (Ethiopia). Since the Gondar Medical College was founded in cooperation with the Leipzig University in 1978, the anatomy courses in both universities follow roughly the same rules. A structured questionnaire was used to assess the dissection courses from the students' point of view. The sample of students consisted of 109 German and 124 Ethiopian first year undergraduate medical students. Most students in both countries (94% in Germany and 82% in Ethiopia) judge the dissection course to be highly relevant compared to other courses. Perceived health hazards associated with dissection of the cadaver show significant differences between Germany (14%) and Ethiopia (44%). Most students had normal feelings again at the end of the dissection course. Further similarities and differences between the courses in Germany and Ethiopia are described. Dissection courses are highly appreciated also in Africa. The high degree of affirmation of the dissection courses should be taken into consideration when discussing modifications of gross anatomy curriculum or changes in the teacher to student ratio. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Local Hamiltonian Monte Carlo study of the massive schwinger model, the decoupling of heavy flavours

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ranft, J.

1983-12-01

The massive Schwinger model with two flavours is studied using the local hamiltonian lattice Monte Carlo method. Chiral symmetry breaking is studied using the fermion condensate as order parameter. For a small ratio of the two fermion masses, degeneracy of the two flavours is found. For a large ratio of the masses, the heavy flavour decouples and the light fermion behaves like in the one flavour Schwinger model. On leave from Sektion Physik, Karl-Marx-Universität, Leipzig, GDR.

Optimization of equipment for electron radiation processing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tartz, M.; Hartmann, E.; Lenk, M.; Mehnert, R.

1999-05-01

In the course of the last decade, IOM Leipzig has developed low-energy electron accelerators for electron beam curing of polymer coatings and printing inks. In order to optimize the electron irradiation field, electron optical calculations have been carried out using the commercially available EGUN code. The present study outlines the design of the diode-type low-energy electron accelerators LEA and EBOGEN, taking into account the electron optical effects of secondary components such as the retaining rods installed in the cathode assembly.

[The career of the psychiatrist Dietfried Müller-Hegemann (1910-1989) : Example of a politically motivated rise and fall in the German Democratic Republic].

PubMed

Steinberg, H

2018-01-01

Dietfried Müller-Hegemann was one of the prominent figures in East German psychiatry and psychotherapy of the 1950s and 1960s. Having been a communist prior to 1933, a resistance fighter during the National Socialist regime and having gone through political training during his exile in Soviet Russia, he proved to be a committed member of the new ruling SED socialist party in Eastern Germany. As such both governmental and party organs regarded him as a promising and reliable party member to be supported and implemented as executive staff within the new, socialist scientific system. Also, due to the fact that he supported the Pavlovian school of thought for modern psychiatry, Müller-Hegemann was installed as the new head of the Department of Neurology and Psychiatry at Leipzig University by the state secretary for higher education, notably against the clear opposition of the university medical faculty. Soon thereafter however Müller-Hegemann fell from favor due to the fact that he supported views that did not follow the strict ideological guidelines, e. g. with regard to the emergence of fascism. Moreover, he strongly opposed the separation of neurology from psychiatry as ruled by the ministry. An attempt in 1963 by junior party members and ministerial staff to remove him from office failed, but still managed to make Müller-Hegemann resign from his Leipzig post and take over that of director of the Griesinger hospital for the mentally ill in East Berlin. In May 1971, after new conflicts with party officials, he did not return from a business trip to Essen in West Germany. This study does not review the scientific and medical merits of Müller-Hegemann, but concentrates on how his career as a leading psychiatrist was manipulated, both supported and sabotaged, and ideologically controlled by the German Democratic Republic (GDR) system. His development is documented proof that party officials did not tolerate opposition, neither in ideological nor in

Rudolf Hermann, wind tunnels and aerodynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lundquist, Charles A.; Coleman, Anne M.

2008-04-01

Rudolf Hermann was born on December 15, 1904 in Leipzig, Germany. He studied at the University of Leipzig and at the Aachen Institute of Technology. His involvement with wind tunnels began in 1934 when Professor Carl Wieselsberger engaged him to work at Aachen on the development of a supersonic wind tunnel. On January 6, 1936, Dr. Wernher von Braun visited Dr. Hermann to arrange for use of the Aachen supersonic wind tunnel for Army problems. On April 1, 1937, Dr. Hermann became Director of the Supersonic Wind Tunnel at the Army installation at Peenemunde. Results from the Aachen and Peenemunde wind tunnels were crucial in achieving aerodynamic stability for the A-4 rocket, later designated as the V-2. Plans to build a Mach 10 'hypersonic' wind tunnel facility at Kochel were accelerated after the Allied air raid on Peenemunde on August 17, 1943. Dr. Hermann was director of the new facility. Ignoring destruction orders from Hitler as WWII approached an end in Europe, Dr. Hermann and his associates hid documents and preserved wind tunnel components that were acquired by the advancing American forces. Dr. Hermann became a consultant to the Air Force at its Wright Field in November 1945. In 1951, he was named professor of Aeronautical Engineering at the University of Minnesota. In 1962, Dr. Hermann became the first Director of the Research Institute at the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), a position he held until he retired in 1970.

[Johann Sebastian Bach: life, oeuvre and his significance for the cardiology].

PubMed

Trappe, H-J

2014-12-01

Johann Sebastian Bach was born on 1685 in Eisenach. By the time he turned 10, Bach found himself an orphan after the death of both of his parents. After working in Weimar, Arnstadt, Mühlhausen, and Köthen Bach signed a contract to become the new organist and teacher at St. Thomas Church Leipzig in 1723 and stayed there until his death. In 1749, Bach tried to fix his failing sight by having surgery the following year, but the operation ended up leaving him completely blind. Few months later, Bach suffered a stroke. He died in Leipzig on July 28, 1750. In recent years, there were some questions whether music of different styles can directly alter cardiovascular parameters, particularly by using Bach's music. In some studies it has been shown that cardiovascular parameters (blood pressure, heart rate) are influenced by music. Listening to classic music (Bach) leads to positive erffects, also music by Italian composters. In contrast, "modern" music, vocal music or songs had no positive effects on cardiovascular parameters. In addition, positive effects on cardiovascular parameters and behavioural patters have been shown in an animal study recently, by Bach's music. Recent studies showed clearly that music influences cardiovascular parameters. It is obvious that classical music (Bach) has benefitial effects, both in humans and in animals. Therefore, the music of the "Thomaskantor" will improve both, quality of life and cardiovascular health. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Risk assessment of environmentally influenced airway diseases based on time-series analysis.

PubMed

Herbarth, O

1995-09-01

Threshold values are of prime importance in providing a sound basis for public health decisions. A key issue is determining threshold or maximum exposure values for pollutants and assessing their potential health risks. Environmental epidemiology could be instrumental in assessing these levels, especially since the assessment of ambient exposures involves relatively low concentrations of pollutants. This paper presents a statistical method that allows the determination of threshold values as well as the assessment of the associated risk using a retrospective, longitudinal study design with a prospective follow-up. Morbidity data were analyzed using the Fourier method, a time-series analysis that is based on the assumption of a high temporal resolution of the data. This method eliminates time-dependent responses like temporal inhomogeneity and pseudocorrelation. The frequency of calls for respiratory distress conditions to the regional Mobile Medical Emergency Service (MMES) in the city of Leipzig were investigated. The entire population of Leipzig served as a pool for data collection. In addition to the collection of morbidity data, air pollution measurements were taken every 30 min for the entire study period using sulfur dioxide as the regional indicator variable. This approach allowed the calculation of a dose-response curve for respiratory diseases and air pollution indices in children and adults. Significantly higher morbidities were observed above a 24-hr mean value of 0.6 mg SO2/m3 air for children and 0.8 mg SO2/m3 for adults.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Outcome of patients after lower limb fracture with partial weight bearing postoperatively treated with or without anti-gravity treadmill (alter G®) during six weeks of rehabilitation - a protocol of a prospective randomized trial.

PubMed

Henkelmann, Ralf; Schneider, Sebastian; Müller, Daniel; Gahr, Ralf; Josten, Christoph; Böhme, Jörg

2017-03-14

Partial or complete immobilization leads to different adjustment processes like higher risk of muscle atrophy or a decrease of general performance. The present study is designed to prove efficacy of the anti-gravity treadmill (alter G®) compared to a standard rehabilitation protocol in patients with tibial plateau (group 1)or ankle fractures (group 2) with six weeks of partial weight bearing of 20 kg. This prospective randomized study will include a total of 60 patients for each group according to predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. 1:1 randomization will be performed centrally via fax supported by the Clinical Trial Centre Leipzig (ZKS Leipzig). Patients in the treatment arm will be treated with an anti-gravity treadmill (alter G®) instead of physiotherapy. The protocol is designed parallel to standard physiotherapy with a frequency of two to three times of training with the treadmill per week with duration of 20 min for six weeks. Up to date no published randomized controlled trial with an anti-gravity treadmill is available. The findings of this study can help to modify rehabilitation of patients with partial weight bearing due to their injury or postoperative protocol. It will deliver interesting results if an anti-gravity treadmill is useful in rehabilitation in those patients. Further ongoing studies will identify different indications for an anti-gravity treadmill. Thus, in connection with those studies, a more valid statement regarding safety and efficacy is possible. NCT02790229 registered on May 29, 2016.

Seasonal cycle of indoor-VOCs: comparison of apartments and cities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schlink, U.; Rehwagen, M.; Damm, M.; Richter, M.; Borte, M.; Herbarth, O.

On the basis of 2103 measurements of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in indoor air we study the intensity of a seasonal pattern. The data are representative for the German population and were gathered in different cities (Leipzig, München, Köln), in rooms of different type (children's, living, sleeping rooms, and other rooms), and in households of smokers and non-smokers. In addition to the randomly selected different apartments that were sampled each month, we repeatedly measured in a fixed set of 10 apartments. The analysis comprised concentrations of 30 VOCs belonging to the groups of alkanes, cycloalkanes, aromatics, volatile halogenated hydrocarbons, and terpenes. The annual cycle for total VOC concentrations was observed at every site. Seasonality proved to be the most dominant pattern, but it may be modified by further factors, such as the city, the considered VOC component, and the type of the considered room. Highest concentrations occurred during the winter months and amount to approximately three to four times the summer burden. As seasonality may bias the results of health effect studies we fit a seasonal model to our measurements and develop a procedure for seasonal adjustment, which enables to roughly estimate the annual peak concentration utilizing one monthly observation. The seasonal pattern proved to be a general feature of indoor VOC concentrations and, therefore, this adjustment procedure may be generally applicable. For Leipzig, München, and Köln we present site-specific adjustment factors for indoor concentrations of aromatics, terpenes, and alkanes.

A quantification method for heat-decomposable methylglyoxal oligomers and its application on 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene SOA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rodigast, Maria; Mutzel, Anke; Herrmann, Hartmut

2017-03-01

Methylglyoxal forms oligomeric compounds in the atmospheric aqueous particle phase, which could establish a significant contribution to the formation of aqueous secondary organic aerosol (aqSOA). Thus far, no suitable method for the quantification of methylglyoxal oligomers is available despite the great effort spent for structure elucidation. In the present study a simplified method was developed to quantify heat-decomposable methylglyoxal oligomers as a sum parameter. The method is based on the thermal decomposition of oligomers into methylglyoxal monomers. Formed methylglyoxal monomers were detected using PFBHA (o-(2,3,4,5,6-pentafluorobenzyl)hydroxylamine hydrochloride) derivatisation and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis. The method development was focused on the heating time (varied between 15 and 48 h), pH during the heating process (pH = 1-7), and heating temperature (50, 100 °C). The optimised values of these method parameters are presented. The developed method was applied to quantify heat-decomposable methylglyoxal oligomers formed during the OH-radical oxidation of 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene (TMB) in the Leipzig aerosol chamber (LEipziger AerosolKammer, LEAK). Oligomer formation was investigated as a function of seed particle acidity and relative humidity. A fraction of heat-decomposable methylglyoxal oligomers of up to 8 % in the produced organic particle mass was found, highlighting the importance of those oligomers formed solely by methylglyoxal for SOA formation. Overall, the present study provides a new and suitable method for quantification of heat-decomposable methylglyoxal oligomers in the aqueous particle phase.

Sex identification of polar bears from blood and tissue samples

USGS Publications Warehouse

Amstrup, Steven C.; Garner, G.W.; Cronin, M.A.; Patton, J.C.

1993-01-01

Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) can be adversely affected by hunting and other human perturbations because of low population densities and low reproduction rates. The sustainable take of adult females may be as low as 1.5% of the population. Females and accompanying young are most vulnerable to hunting, and hunters have not consistently reported the sex composition of the harvest, therefore a method to confirm the sexes of polar bears harvested in Alaska is needed. Evidence of the sex of harvested animals is often not available, but blood or other tissue samples often are. We extracted DNA from tissue and blood samples, and amplified segments of zinc finger (ZFX and ZFY) genes from both X and Y chromosomes with the polymerase chain reaction. Digestion of amplified portions of the X chromosome with the restriction enzyme HaeIII resulted in subdivision of the original amplified segment into four smaller fragments. Digestion with HaeIII did not subdivide the original segment amplified from the Y chromosome. The differing fragment sizes produced patterns in gel electrophoresis that distinguished samples from male and female bears 100% of the time. This technique is applicable to the investigation of many wildlife management and research questions.

Sexing sirenians: Validation of visual and molecular sex determination in both wild dugongs (Dugong dugon) and Florida manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lanyon, J.M.; Sneath, H.L.; Ovenden, J.R.; Broderick, D.; Bonde, R.K.

2009-01-01

Sexing wild marine mammals that show little to no sexual dimorphism is challenging. For sirenians that are difficult to catch or approach closely, molecular sexing from tissue biopsies offers an alternative method to visual discrimination. This paper reports the results of a field study to validate the use of two sexing methods: (1) visual discrimination of sex vs (2) molecular sexing based on a multiplex PCR assay which amplifies the male-specific SRY gene and differentiates ZFX and ZFY gametologues. Skin samples from 628 dugongs (Dugong dugon) and 100 Florida manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris) were analysed and assigned as male or female based on molecular sex. These individuals were also assigned a sex based on either direct observation of the genitalia and/or the association of the individual with a calf. Individuals of both species showed 93 to 96% congruence between visual and molecular sexing. For the remaining 4 to 7%, the discrepancies could be explained by human error. To mitigate this error rate, we recommend using both of these robust techniques, with routine inclusion of sex primers into microsatellite panels employed for identity, along with trained field observers and stringent sample handling.

Sexing sirenians: validation of visual and molecular sex determination in both wild dugongs (Dugong dugon) and Florida manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris). Aquatic Mammals 35(2):187-192.

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bonde, Robert K.; Lanyon, J.; Sneath, H.; Ovenden, J.; Broderick, D.

2009-01-01

Sexing wild marine mammals that show little to no sexual dimorphism is challenging. For sirenians that are difficult to catch or approach closely, molecular sexing from tissue biopsies offers an alternative method to visual discrimination. This paper reports the results of a field study to validate the use of two sexing methods: (1) visual discrimination of sex vs (2) molecular sexing based on a multiplex PCR assay which amplifies the male-specific SRY gene and differentiates ZFX and ZFY gametologues. Skin samples from 628 dugongs (Dugong dugon) and 100 Florida manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris) were analysed and assigned as male or female based on molecular sex. These individuals were also assigned a sex based on either direct observation of the genitalia and/or the association of the individual with a calf. Individuals of both species showed 93 to 96% congruence between visual and molecular sexing. For the remaining 4 to 7%, the discrepancies could be explained by human error. To mitigate this error rate, we recommend using both of these robust techniques, with routine inclusion of sex primers into microsatellite panels employed for identity, along with trained field observers and stringent sample handling.

Association between developmental steps in the organogenesis of the uterine cervix and locoregional progression of cervical cancer: a prospective clinicopathological analysis.

PubMed

Höckel, Michael; Hentschel, Bettina; Horn, Lars-Christian

2014-04-01

Our previous work provided evidence that early cervical cancer is locally confined to the Müllerian compartment that develops in women from the embryonic paramesonephric-mesonephric complex. We aimed to investigate if the concept of tumour permeation within ontogenetic domains is also valid for tumour progression and advanced disease. Starting from Carnegie stage 13, four successive steps in the organogenesis of the human uterine cervix were defined and an ontogenetic staging system for cervical cancer based on organ development was described. Histopathological and clinical data of patients with cervical cancer FIGO stages IB-IVA were raised prospectively from Oct 16, 1999, until Dec 20, 2012, and from March 8, 2000, until April 4, 2013, for two surgical trials of ontogenetic compartment resection without adjuvant radiation at the University of Leipzig (total or extended mesometrial resection [TMMR or EMMR]; and [laterally] extended endopelvic resection [LEER]). The primary endpoints of these trials were pathological resection state and locoregional tumour control. Patients who underwent TMMR and EMMR had follow-up assessment every 3-6 months for 5 years, and yearly thereafter. Patients who had (L)EER, every 3-6 months for 10 years, and yearly thereafter. By analysing the presence of disease within the classified tissues and disease outcome in these patients, and by examining relapse patterns, we were able to observe whether surgical excision within developmental compartments was sufficient for disease control. Survival curves were compared using the log-rank test. The effect of ontogenetic tumour stage and pathological tumour stage on overall survival was assessed by Cox proportional hazard models. The trials are registered as an ongoing observational monocentric study at the University of Leipzig Cancer Centre (ULCC012-13-28012013). 367 patients were included in our analysis. Staged organogenesis of the uterine cervix and progressive local growth of cervical

The LIFE-Adult-Study: objectives and design of a population-based cohort study with 10,000 deeply phenotyped adults in Germany.

PubMed

Loeffler, Markus; Engel, Christoph; Ahnert, Peter; Alfermann, Dorothee; Arelin, Katrin; Baber, Ronny; Beutner, Frank; Binder, Hans; Brähler, Elmar; Burkhardt, Ralph; Ceglarek, Uta; Enzenbach, Cornelia; Fuchs, Michael; Glaesmer, Heide; Girlich, Friederike; Hagendorff, Andreas; Häntzsch, Madlen; Hegerl, Ulrich; Henger, Sylvia; Hensch, Tilman; Hinz, Andreas; Holzendorf, Volker; Husser, Daniela; Kersting, Anette; Kiel, Alexander; Kirsten, Toralf; Kratzsch, Jürgen; Krohn, Knut; Luck, Tobias; Melzer, Susanne; Netto, Jeffrey; Nüchter, Matthias; Raschpichler, Matthias; Rauscher, Franziska G; Riedel-Heller, Steffi G; Sander, Christian; Scholz, Markus; Schönknecht, Peter; Schroeter, Matthias L; Simon, Jan-Christoph; Speer, Ronald; Stäker, Julia; Stein, Robert; Stöbel-Richter, Yve; Stumvoll, Michael; Tarnok, Attila; Teren, Andrej; Teupser, Daniel; Then, Francisca S; Tönjes, Anke; Treudler, Regina; Villringer, Arno; Weissgerber, Alexander; Wiedemann, Peter; Zachariae, Silke; Wirkner, Kerstin; Thiery, Joachim

2015-07-22

The LIFE-Adult-Study is a population-based cohort study, which has recently completed the baseline examination of 10,000 randomly selected participants from Leipzig, a major city with 550,000 inhabitants in the east of Germany. It is the first study of this kind and size in an urban population in the eastern part of Germany. The study is conducted by the Leipzig Research Centre for Civilization Diseases (LIFE). Our objective is to investigate prevalences, early onset markers, genetic predispositions, and the role of lifestyle factors of major civilization diseases, with primary focus on metabolic and vascular diseases, heart function, cognitive impairment, brain function, depression, sleep disorders and vigilance dysregulation, retinal and optic nerve degeneration, and allergies. The study covers a main age range from 40-79 years with particular deep phenotyping in elderly participants above the age of 60. The baseline examination was conducted from August 2011 to November 2014. All participants underwent an extensive core assessment programme (5-6 h) including structured interviews, questionnaires, physical examinations, and biospecimen collection. Participants over 60 underwent two additional assessment programmes (3-4 h each) on two separate visits including deeper cognitive testing, brain magnetic resonance imaging, diagnostic interviews for depression, and electroencephalography. The participation rate was 33 %. The assessment programme was accepted well and completely passed by almost all participants. Biomarker analyses have already been performed in all participants. Genotype, transcriptome and metabolome analyses have been conducted in subgroups. The first follow-up examination will commence in 2016.

Endoscopic extraperitoneal radical prostatectomy: the University of Leipzig experience of 1,300 cases.

PubMed

Stolzenburg, Jens-Uwe; Rabenalt, Robert; Do, Minh; Truss, Michael C; Burchardt, Martin; Herrmann, Thomas R; Schwalenberg, Thilo; Kallidonis, Panagiotis; Liatsikos, Evangelos N

2007-03-01

We herein review our experience with endoscopic extraperitoneal radical prostatectomy (EERPE) as a first line therapy for localized prostate cancer. A series of 1,300 patients underwent EERPE ("wide excision", standard nervesparing technique (nsEERPE), or intrafascial nsEERPE). The mean age of the patients was 63.3 years. Preoperative PSA mean value was 10.1 ng/ml. A total of 415 patients had undergone previous surgical procedure in the lower abdomen (n = 336) and prior surgery of the prostate (n = 79), respectively. The EERPE was employed in all cases without any specific selection criteria. Mean operative time was 153 (50-320) min. including lymphadenectomy with no conversion to open surgery. Seven intraoperative, 91 early and 4 late complications occurred. The transfusion rate was 0.9%. Positive surgical margins were found in 83 patients with pT2 stage (9.8%) and in 154 patients in pT3 stage (34.3%). The mean catheterization time was 6.2 days. The 12 month follow up indicated continence rate of 91.9% and potency rates of 34% in the unilateral nerve sparing group and 69.8% in the bilateral group. In the intrafascial nsEERPE group potency rates were 33.3% (unilateral) and 79.1% (bilateral) after 12 months. Postoperative positive surgical margins rate were 6.1% for pT2 and 20% for pT3 and the complications rate 4%. The results of this large series of 1,300 patients are promising. The recently introduced intrafascial nsEERPE further ameliorates the outcome of the procedure.

[Tumors of the 4th ventricle and the craniospinal transitional zone. Review of patients of the Neurosurgical Clinic of the Department of Medicine of the Karl Marx University].

PubMed

Niebeling, H G; Fried, H; Goldhahn, W E; Skrzypczak, J; Brachmann, J; Eichler, I

1983-01-01

From a total of 1,028 infratentorial tumours operated on at the Neurosurgical Hospital of the Section Medicine of the Karl-Marx University Leipzig in the last 30 years, 167 tumours in the region of the 4th ventrical have been selected. Their statistical processing was carried out with respect to specific localisation, average age, kind of tumour, sex, clinical findings, duration of case history, application of instrumental diagnostic procedures and radicality of operation, success and failure. Some fundamental conclussions are drawn. A subdivision in detail will be contained in the following articles based on this material.

Paul Ehrlich: the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine 1908.

PubMed

Piro, Anna; Tagarelli, Antonio; Tagarelli, Giuseppe; Lagonia, Paolo; Quattrone, Aldo

2008-01-01

We wish to commemorate Paul Ehrlich on the centennial of his being awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1908. His studies are now considered as milestones in immunology: the morphology of leukocytes; his side-chain theory where he defined the cellular receptor for first time; and his clarification of the difference between serum therapy and chemotherapy. Ehrlich also invented the first chemotherapeutic drug: compound 606, or Salvarsan. We have used some original documents from the Royal Society of London, where Ehrlich was a fellow, and from Leipzig University, where he took a degree in medicine.

Measurements of particle backscatter, extinction, and lidar ratio at 1064 nm with the rotational raman method in Polly-XT

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Engelmann, Ronny; Haarig, Moritz; Baars, Holger; Ansmann, Albert; Kottas, Michael; Marinou, Eleni

2018-04-01

We replaced a 1064-nm interference filter of a Polly-XT lidar system by a 1058-nm filter to observe pure rotational Raman backscattering from atmospheric Nitrogen and Oxygen. Polly-XT is compact Raman lidar with a Nd:YAG laser (20 Hz, 200 mJ at 1064 nm) and a 30-cm telescope mirror which applies photomultipliers in photoncounting mode. We present the first measured signals at 1058 nm and the derived extinction profile from measurements aboard RV Polarstern and in Leipzig. In combination with another Polly-XT system we could also derive particle backscatter and lidar ratio profiles at 1064 nm.

Genetic variation in GPR133 is associated with height: genome wide association study in the self-contained population of Sorbs.

PubMed

Tönjes, Anke; Koriath, Moritz; Schleinitz, Dorit; Dietrich, Kerstin; Böttcher, Yvonne; Rayner, Nigel W; Almgren, Peter; Enigk, Beate; Richter, Olaf; Rohm, Silvio; Fischer-Rosinsky, Antje; Pfeiffer, Andreas; Hoffmann, Katrin; Krohn, Knut; Aust, Gabriela; Spranger, Joachim; Groop, Leif; Blüher, Matthias; Kovacs, Peter; Stumvoll, Michael

2009-12-01

Recently, associations of several common genetic variants with height have been reported in different populations. We attempted to identify further variants associated with adult height in a self-contained population (the Sorbs in Eastern Germany) as discovery set. We performed a genome wide association study (GWAS) (approximately 390,000 genetic polymorphisms, Affymetrix gene arrays) on adult height in 929 Sorbian individuals. Subsequently, the best SNPs (P < 0.001) were taken forward to a meta-analysis together with two independent cohorts [Diabetes Genetics Initiative, British 1958 Birth Cohort, (58BC, publicly available)]. Furthermore, we genotyped our best signal for replication in two additional German cohorts (Leipzig, n = 1044 and Berlin, n = 1728). In the primary Sorbian GWAS, we identified 5 loci with a P-value < 10(-5) and 455 SNPs with P-value < 0.001. In the meta-analysis on those 455 SNPs, only two variants in GPR133 (rs1569019 and rs1976930; in LD with each other) retained a P-value at or below 10(-6) and were associated with height in the three cohorts individually. Upon replication, the SNP rs1569019 showed significant effects on height in the Leipzig cohort (P = 0.004, beta = 1.166) and in 577 men of the Berlin cohort (P = 0.049, beta = 1.127) though not in women. The combined analysis of all five cohorts (n = 6,687) resulted in a P-value of 4.7 x 10(-8) (beta = 0.949). In conclusion, our GWAS suggests novel loci influencing height. In view of the robust replication in five different cohorts, we propose GPR133 to be a novel gene associated with adult height.

Microphysical characterization of long-range transported biomass burning particles from North America at three EARLINET stations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ortiz-Amezcua, Pablo; Guerrero-Rascado, Juan Luis; José Granados-Muñoz, María; Benavent-Oltra, José Antonio; Böckmann, Christine; Samaras, Stefanos; Stachlewska, Iwona S.; Janicka, Łucja; Baars, Holger; Bohlmann, Stephanie; Alados-Arboledas, Lucas

2017-05-01

Strong events of long-range transported biomass burning aerosol were detected during July 2013 at three EARLINET (European Aerosol Research Lidar Network) stations, namely Granada (Spain), Leipzig (Germany) and Warsaw (Poland). Satellite observations from MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) and CALIOP (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization) instruments, as well as modeling tools such as HYSPLIT (Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory) and NAAPS (Navy Aerosol Analysis and Prediction System), have been used to estimate the sources and transport paths of those North American forest fire smoke particles. A multiwavelength Raman lidar technique was applied to obtain vertically resolved particle optical properties, and further inversion of those properties with a regularization algorithm allowed for retrieving microphysical information on the studied particles. The results highlight the presence of smoke layers of 1-2 km thickness, located at about 5 km a.s.l. altitude over Granada and Leipzig and around 2.5 km a.s.l. at Warsaw. These layers were intense, as they accounted for more than 30 % of the total AOD (aerosol optical depth) in all cases, and presented optical and microphysical features typical for different aging degrees: color ratio of lidar ratios (LR532 / LR355) around 2, α-related ångström exponents of less than 1, effective radii of 0.3 µm and large values of single scattering albedos (SSA), nearly spectrally independent. The intensive microphysical properties were compared with columnar retrievals form co-located AERONET (Aerosol Robotic Network) stations. The intensity of the layers was also characterized in terms of particle volume concentration, and then an experimental relationship between this magnitude and the particle extinction coefficient was established.

Helmholtz and Zoellner: nineteenth-century empiricism, spiritism, and the theory of space perception.

PubMed

Stromberg, W H

1989-10-01

J. K. F. Zoellner began writing on "experimental proofs" of a fourth spatial dimension, and of the existence of spirits, in 1878. His arguments caused strong controversy, with rebuttal essays by Wilhelm Wundt and others. The author argues that Zoellner's case that these matters are experimental questions rested on arguments which Hermann von Helmholtz, inveighing against rationalist views of space and space perception, had recently published. Zoellner's use of Helmholtz's arguments to advance and defend his spiritist views occasioned strong criticism of Helmholtz, affected careers and reputations of scholars in Berlin and Leipzig, and caused enduring controversy over the credibility of Helmholtz's empiricist theory of space perception.

PREFACE: Quantum Field Theory Under the Influence of External Conditions (QFEXT07)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bordag, M.; Mostepanenko, V. M.

2008-04-01

This special issue contains papers reflecting talks presented at the 8th Workshop on Quantum Field Theory Under the Influence of External Conditions (QFEXT07), held on 17 21 September 2007, at Leipzig University. This workshop gathered 108 physicists and mathematicians working on problems which are focused on the following topics: •Casimir and van der Waals forces—progress in theory and new experiments, applications at micro- and nano-scale •Casimir effect—exact results, approximate methods and mathematical problems •Vacuum quantum effects in classical background fields—renormalization issues, singular backgrounds, applications to particle and high energy physics •Vacuum energy and gravity, vacuum energy in supersymmetric and noncommutative theories. This workshop is part of a series started in 1989 and 1992 in Leipzig by Dieter Robaschik, and continued in 1995, 1998 and 2001 in Leipzig by Michael Bordag. In 2003 this Workshop was organized by Kimball A Milton in Oklahoma, in 2005 by Emilio Elizalde in Barcelona and in 2007 it returned to Leipzig. The field of physics after which this series of workshops is named is remarkably broad. It stretches from experimental work on the measurement of dispersion forces between macroscopic bodies to quantum corrections in the presence of classical background fields. The underlying physical idea is that even in its ground state (vacuum) a quantum system responds to changes in its environment. The universality of this idea makes the field of its application so very broad. The most prominent manifestation of vacuum energy is the Casimir effect. This is, in its original formulation, the attraction between conducting planes due to the vacuum fluctuations of the electromagnetic field. In a sense, this is the long-range tail of the more general dispersion forces acting between macroscopic bodies. With the progress in nanotechnology, dispersion forces become of direct practical significance. On a more theoretical side

The LIFE child study: a life course approach to disease and health

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Profound knowledge about child growth, development, health, and disease in contemporary children and adolescents is still rare. Epidemiological studies together with new powerful research technologies present exciting opportunities to the elucidation of risk factor-outcome associations with potentially major consequences for prevention, diagnosis and treatment. Aim To conduct a unique prospective longitudinal cohort study in order to assess how environmental, metabolic and genetic factors affect growth, development and health from fetal life to adulthood. Methods The ‘Leipzig Research Centre for Civilization Diseases (LIFE) Child Study’ focuses on two main research objectives: (1) monitoring of normal growth, development and health; (2) non-communicable diseases such as childhood obesity and its co-morbidities, atopy and mental health problems. Detailed assessments will be conducted alongside long-term storage of biological samples in 2,000 pregnant women and more than 10,000 children and their families. Results Close coordination and engagement of a multidisciplinary team in the LIFE Child study successfully established procedures and systems for balancing many competing study and ethical needs. Full participant recruitment and complete data collection started in July 2011. Early data indicate a high acceptance rate of the study program, successful recruitment strategies and the establishment of a representative cohort for the population of Leipzig. A series of subprojects are ongoing, and analyses and publications are on their way. Discussion This paper addresses key elements in the design and implementation of the new prospective longitudinal cohort study LIFE Child. Given the recognized need for long-term data on adverse effects on health and protective factors, our study data collection should provide magnificent opportunities to examine complex interactions that govern the emergence of non-communicable diseases. PMID:23181778

Evaluation of a real-time BeO ceramic fiber-coupled luminescence dosimetry system for dose verification of high dose rate brachytherapy.

PubMed

Santos, Alexandre M Caraça; Mohammadi, Mohammad; Afshar V, Shahraam

2015-11-01

The authors evaluate the capability of a beryllium oxide (BeO) ceramic fiber-coupled luminescence dosimeter, named radioluminescence/optically stimulated luminescence (RL/OSL) BeO FOD, for dosimetric verification of high dose rate (HDR) treatments. The RL/OSL BeO FOD is capable of RL and OSL measurements. The RL/OSL BeO FOD is able to be inserted in 6F proguide needles, used in interstitial HDR treatments. Using a custom built Perspex phantom, 6F proguide needles could be submerged in a water tank at 1 cm separations from each other. A second background fiber was required to correct for the stem effect. The stem effect, dose linearity, reproducibility, depth-dose curves, and angular and temperature dependency of the RL/OSL BeO FOD were characterised using an Ir-192 source. The RL/OSL BeO FOD was also applied to the commissioning of a 10 mm horizontal Leipzig applicator. Both the RL and OSL were found to be reproducible and their percentage depth-dose curves to be in good agreement with those predicted via TG-43. A combined uncertainty of 7.9% and 10.1% (k=1) was estimated for the RL and OSL, respectively. For the 10 mm horizontal Leipzig applicator, measured percentage depth doses were within 5% agreement of the published reference calculations. The output at the 3 mm prescription depth for a 1 Gy delivery was verified to be 0.99±0.08 Gy and 1.01±0.10 Gy by the RL and OSL, respectively. The use of the second background fiber under the current setup means that the two fibers cannot fit into a single 6F needle. Hence, use of the RL is currently not adequate for the purpose of in vivo brachytherapy dosimetry. While not real-time, the OSL is shown to be adequate for in vivo brachytherapy dosimetry.

Urban PM in Eastern Germany: Source apportionment and contributions from different spatial scales

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van Pinxteren, D.; Fomba, K. W.; Mothes, F.; Spindler, G.; Herrmann, H.

2017-12-01

Understanding the contributions of particulate matter (PM) sources and the source areas impacting total PM levels in a city are important requirements for further developing clean air policies and efficient abatement strategies. This presentation reports on two studies in Eastern Germany providing a detailed picture of present-day urban PM sources and discriminating contributions of local, regional and long-range sources. The "Leipzig Aerosol 2013-15" study yielded contributions of 12 sources to coarse, fine, and ultrafine particles, resolved by Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) from comprehensive chemical speciation of 5-stage Berner impactor samples at 4 different sites in the Leipzig area. Dominant winter-time sources were traffic exhaust and non-exhaust emissions, secondary aerosol formation, and combustion emissions from both biomass and coal burning with different relative importance in different particle size ranges. Local sources dominated PM levels in ultrafine and coarse particles (60% - 80%) while high mass concentrations in accumulation mode particles mainly resulted from regional import into the city (70%). The "PM-East" study compiled PM10 mass and constituents' concentrations at 10 urban and rural sites in Eastern Germany during winter 2016/17, which included a 3-week episode of frequent exceedances of the PM10 limit value. PMF source apportionment is performed for a subset of the sites, including the city of Berlin. Contributions from short-, mid-, and long-range sources, including trans-boundary pollution import from neighbouring countries, are quantitatively assessed by advanced back trajectory statistical methods. Data analysis in PM-East is ongoing and final results will be available by November. Funding is acknowledged from 4 federal states of Germany: Berlin Senate Department for Environment, Transport and Climate Protection; Saxon State Office for Environment, Agriculture and Geology; State Agency for Environment, Nature Conservation and

Reflections on fifty years of publications on the history of general biology and special embryology.

PubMed

Oppenheimer, J M

1975-12-01

The publications of fifty years (1925-1974) of the histroy of biology and embryology are surveyed. In America, the earliest background for work during this period was provided by the collectors, mainly physicians, of books into extensive private libraries. The collectors, for instance Osler, Cushing, and Fulton in this country and Geoffrey Keynes abroad, became expert technical bibliographers during the early part of the half-century under consideration. High standards for medical, thus biological history, insofar as these fields overlap, were also set earlier by Sudhoff's Institut für Geschichte der Medizin in Leipzig, and American historical studies benefited when Sigerist came from Leipzig to Baltimore in the early 1930's. Textbooks of medical history are omitted from discussion here, but a number of more or less general histories of biology published within the specified period are briefly evaluated. The discussion next turns to histories of embryology, general and special. Recent monographs on the classical embryologists, Wolff and von Baer, are enumerated, as are a number of biographies and autobiographies of important embryologists published here or abroad during our half-century. Then general histories of embryology are discussed, and finally some specialized ones. Needham, Roger, and Adelmann are singled out as the most important contributors to the history of embryology, in the West, during the period covered. Few of the contributors to the history of biology and medicine during the years of 1925 through 1974 were trained as historians while students. It is concluded that the History of Science Society has performed an important contribution in professionalizing the history of biology and embryology, but it is pointed out that a great new challenge faces it in the necessity to counteract anti-historical and anti-intellectual moods and movements of today.

[Burnout, work disruptions, interpersonal and psychosomatic problems--degree-specific comparison of students at a German university].

PubMed

Gumz, A; Brähler, E; Heilmann, V K; Erices, R

2014-03-01

In the context of the public debate on psychological strain among students, the prevalence of burnout, procrastination, test anxiety, other work disruptions, interpersonal problems and psychic symptoms were analyzed depending on academic degree. The data of 358 college students (of Leipzig University) were examined. The academic degree had only a marginal effect on burnout- and work disruptions-related variables. In terms of interpersonal problems and psychic symptoms, differences between students were identified, depending on the academic degree. Diploma students reported many complaints, whereas undergraduates aspiring for a State Examination, were comparatively less affected. Knowledge of the population-specific psychological load is useful in order to develop preventive and therapeutic measures. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

New insights into the biography of Gottfried Kirch. (German Title: Neue Erkenntnisse zur Biographie von Gottfried Kirch)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Herbst, Klaus-Dieter

New biographical results of Gottfried Kirch, the most outstanding astronomer around 1700 in German lands, are outlined on the basis of newly found sources and the first-time inclusion of additional letters from his correspondence, which comprises 600 letters. Special attention is drwawn to his stay in Langgrün and Lobenstein in the Vogtland, in Leipzig, Coburg, Guben and Berlin. In addition, new details about his family are revealed, especially about the older children Gottlieb, Heilmann and Theodora, the offspring from his first marriage. A third section deals with the possibilities which are to be expected from a systematic evaluation of Kirch's correspondence. Only about 100 out of 600 letters have been used for historical publications until now.

The work by Giulio Ceradini in explaining the mechanism of semilunar cardiac valve function.

PubMed

Troiani, Diana; Manni, Ermanno

2011-06-01

Using an excised pig heart preparation with tubes, a manometer, and a visualizing apparatus, Giulio Ceradini, an Italian physiologist working in the years of 1871-1872 in Carl Ludwig's famous laboratory in Leipzig, Germany, illustrated the mechanism of closure of the semilunar valves. He was the first to conceive that the closure of the heart valves depends not on a static back pressure nor upon eddies but is primarily the consequence of the decelerated systolic efflux. This pioneer research of Ceradini was first published in German in 1872 (4). The purpose of the present report is to revisit Ceradini's pioneering experiments and his interpretation of heart valve closure, which remains as true as it was in 1872.

Contributions to the History of Astronomy, Vol. 3. (German Title: Beiträge zur Astronomiegeschichte, Band 3)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dick, Wolfgang R.; Hamel, Jürgen

The main papers of this issue deal with previously unknown details of the foundation of the astronomical observatories in Gotha and in Königsberg (with numerous original documents by F.W. Bessel), with the Mecklenburg ordnance survey (1853-1873, with previously unknown letters by C.F. Gauss), with the merits of the Leipzig astronomer G.A. Jahn, with the internationality of the Astronomische Gesellschaft, and with early, previously little noted works on the expansion of the Universe. The issue contains a description of the important collection of sundials in the Kassel museum, discussions about the Medieval ``Phantom Period'', about Goethe's description of the zodiacal light, as well as obituaries and book reviews. Most papers in German, one in English.

A real-time polymerase chain reaction-based protocol for low/medium-throughput Y-chromosome microdeletions analysis.

PubMed

Segat, Ludovica; Padovan, Lara; Doc, Darja; Petix, Vincenzo; Morgutti, Marcello; Crovella, Sergio; Ricci, Giuseppe

2012-12-01

We describe a real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) protocol based on the fluorescent molecule SYBR Green chemistry, for a low- to medium-throughput analysis of Y-chromosome microdeletions, optimized according to the European guidelines and aimed at making the protocol faster, avoiding post-PCR processing, and simplifying the results interpretation. We screened 156 men from the Assisted Reproduction Unit, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Institute for Maternal and Child Health IRCCS Burlo Garofolo (Trieste, Italy), 150 not presenting Y-chromosome microdeletion, and 6 with microdeletions in different azoospermic factor (AZF) regions. For each sample, the Zinc finger Y-chromosomal protein (ZFY), sex-determining region Y (SRY), sY84, sY86, sY127, sY134, sY254, and sY255 loci were analyzed by performing one reaction for each locus. AZF microdeletions were successfully detected in six individuals, confirming the results obtained with commercial kits. Our real-time PCR protocol proved to be a rapid, safe, and relatively cheap method that was suitable for a low- to medium-throughput diagnosis of Y-chromosome microdeletion, which allows an analysis of approximately 10 samples (with the addition of positive and negative controls) in a 96-well plate format, or approximately 46 samples in a 384-well plate for all markers simultaneously, in less than 2 h without the need of post-PCR manipulation.

Differential distribution of Y-chromosome haplotypes in Swiss and Southern European goat breeds.

PubMed

Vidal, Oriol; Drögemüller, Cord; Obexer-Ruff, Gabriela; Reber, Irene; Jordana, Jordi; Martínez, Amparo; Bâlteanu, Valentin Adrian; Delgado, Juan Vicente; Eghbalsaied, Shahin; Landi, Vincenzo; Goyache, Felix; Traoré, Amadou; Pazzola, Michele; Vacca, Giuseppe Massimo; Badaoui, Bouabid; Pilla, Fabio; D'Andrea, Mariasilvia; Álvarez, Isabel; Capote, Juan; Sharaf, Abdoallah; Pons, Àgueda; Amills, Marcel

2017-11-23

The analysis of Y-chromosome variation has provided valuable clues about the paternal history of domestic animal populations. The main goal of the current work was to characterize Y-chromosome diversity in 31 goat populations from Central Eastern (Switzerland and Romania) and Southern Europe (Spain and Italy) as well as in reference populations from Africa and the Near East. Towards this end, we have genotyped seven single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), mapping to the SRY, ZFY, AMELY and DDX3Y Y-linked loci, in 275 bucks from 31 populations. We have observed a low level of variability in the goat Y-chromosome, with just five haplotypes segregating in the whole set of populations. We have also found that Swiss bucks carry exclusively Y1 haplotypes (Y1A: 24%, Y1B1: 15%, Y1B2: 43% and Y1C: 18%), while in Italian and Spanish bucks Y2A is the most abundant haplotype (77%). Interestingly, in Carpathian goats from Romania the Y2A haplotype is also frequent (42%). The high Y-chromosome differentiation between Swiss and Italian/Spanish breeds might be due to the post-domestication spread of two different Near Eastern genetic stocks through the Danubian and Mediterranean corridors. Historical gene flow between Southern European and Northern African goats might have also contributed to generate such pattern of genetic differentiation.

First evidence of hybridization between golden jackal (Canis aureus) and domestic dog (Canis familiaris) as revealed by genetic markers

PubMed Central

Fabbri, Elena; Caniglia, Romolo; Arbanasić, Haidi; Lapalombella, Silvana; Florijančić, Tihomir; Bošković, Ivica; Galaverni, Marco

2015-01-01

Interspecific hybridization is relatively frequent in nature and numerous cases of hybridization between wild canids and domestic dogs have been recorded. However, hybrids between golden jackals (Canis aureus) and other canids have not been described before. In this study, we combined the use of biparental (15 autosomal microsatellites and three major histocompatibility complex (MHC) loci) and uniparental (mtDNA control region and a Y-linked Zfy intron) genetic markers to assess the admixed origin of three wild-living canids showing anomalous phenotypic traits. Results indicated that these canids were hybrids between golden jackals and domestic dogs. One of them was a backcross to jackal and another one was a backcross to dog, confirming that golden jackal–domestic dog hybrids are fertile. The uniparental markers showed that the direction of hybridization, namely females of the wild species hybridizing with male domestic dogs, was common to most cases of canid hybridization. A melanistic 3bp-deletion at the K locus (β-defensin CDB103 gene), that was absent in reference golden jackal samples, but was found in a backcross to jackal with anomalous black coat, suggested its introgression from dogs via hybridization. Moreover, we demonstrated that MHC sequences, although rarely used as markers of hybridization, can be also suitable for the identification of hybrids, as long as haplotypes are exclusive for the parental species. PMID:27019731

International Communication and Confidence-Building in Europe. Report of the Leipzig-Tampere Seminar on Confidence-Building in the Non-Military Field (1st, Leipzig, East Germany, May 14-15, 1986). Publications Series B. 20/1986

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kleinwachter, Wolfgang, Ed.; Nordenstreng, Kaarle, Ed.

Focusing on the role of the international mass media, these essays stress the urgency of building confidence in the relations among European states and populations in order to secure peace on a world-wide scale and to stop the arms race on the earth and prevent its extension to outer space. Titles and authors are as follows: (1) "Welcoming…

Michael Gottlieb Hansch (1683-1749), Ulrich Junius (1670-1726) and the attempt to edit the works and letters of Johannes Kepler. (German Title: Michael Gottlieb Hansch (1683-1749), Ulrich Junius (1670-1726) und der Versuch einer Edition der Werke und Briefe Johannes Keplers)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Döring, Detlef

Johannes Kepler's manuscripts which remained after his death suffered a troubled fate. It was not possible to collect them in Germany and to work with them systematically, because their importance was strikingly underestimated. Only at the beginning of the 18th century U. Junius in Leipzig tried unsuccessfully to collect and to publish the most important manuscripts. Afterwards M.G. Hansch took up this plan and pursued it until the end of his life. However, the only result was one volume with unpublished letters which appeared in 1718. The hoped-for collected works could not be realized. These events are described in detail, especially the efforts of Junius and Hansch as well as the opposition which eventually lead to a failure of both attempts.

The four medical theses of Samuel Hahnemann (1755-1843).

PubMed

Lang, Christoph Jg

2016-05-01

Samuel Hahnemann, the founder of homoeopathy, over a period of 33 years wrote four medical theses at three different universities. The first, in 1779 at the University of Erlangen, Franconia, dealt with agents that allegedly induce spasms, granting him a MD degree. The second two theses in 1784 dealt with obstetrical matters and were imposed upon him by the University of Wittenberg, Saxony, for becoming a medical officer, a position he apparently aspired to mostly for financial reasons. The fourth thesis in 1812 at the University of Leipzig, Saxony, his most elaborate dissertation on a toxic plant, white hellebore, served as a habilitation, allowing him to hold university lectures in order to disseminate his new ideas. © The Author(s) 2014.

Evaluation in the 19th century - how astronomers were chosen for Gotha observatory. (German Title: Evaluation im 19. Jahrhundert - wie Astronomen für die Sternwarte Gotha ausgesucht wurden)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Strumpf, Manfred

In his testament, Duke Ernst II of Saxe Gotha and Altenburg instituted a foundation for the maintenance of an astronomical observatory. The interest from which the income of the only astronomer should be paid became insufficient in the course of time, especially after the death of Hansen. The government was not willing to increase the financial means but was nevertheless searching for the impossible, i.e. a reputable scientist who would accept a low salary. Scheibner in Leipzig was charged with the search. He missed two contrasting opportunities: on the one side a classical young astronomer in the tradition lines of Gotha (Leo de Ball) and on the other side a wealthy Hungarian amateur who would have brought the new astrophysics to Gotha (Nikolaus von Konkoly).

Preface: Proceedings of the Colloidal Dispersions in External Fields II Conference (Bonn-Bad Godesberg, 31 March 2 April 2008)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Löwen, H.

2008-10-01

(Edinburgh), D Y H Chui (Mainz), D Deb (Graz), C Dellago (Vienna), J Dhont (Jülich), P Dillmann (Konstanz), G Dominguez (Leipzig), M Duits (Enschede), B Dünweg (Mainz), F Ebert (Konstanz), S Egelhaaf (Düsseldorf), E Eggen (Utrecht), R Eichhorn (Bielefeld), E Eiser (Cambridge), H B Eral (Enschede), A Erbe (Konstanz), L Filion (Utrecht), G Foffi (Lausanne), J Fornleitner (Vienna), K Franzrahe (Konstanz), D Frenkel (Cambridge), M Fuchs (Konstanz), G Fytas (Heraklion), P Garstecki (Warsaw), I Gazuz (Konstanz), N Geerts (Amsterdam), G Gompper (Jülich), E Gonzalez-Tovar (San Luis Potosi), I Götze (Jülich), S Grandner (Berlin), L Gránásy (London), C Gutsche (Leipzig), D Hajnal (Mainz), R Hanes (Düsseldorf), A Härtel (Düsseldorf), P Henseler (Konstanz), C Hertlein (Stuttgart), C Holm (Mainz), J Hoogenboom (Barcelona), P Hopkins (Bristol), J Horbach (Cologne), C-C Huang (Jülich), K Huang (Göttingen), S Huißmann (Düsseldorf), M Humar (Ljubljana), S Iacopini (Mainz), A Imhof (Utrecht), A Ivlev (Garching), K Jacobs (Saarbrücken), J Jakobi (Hannover), O Jansen (Düsseldorf), M Jenkins (Düsseldorf), J Jordanovic (Berlin), S Jungblut (Mainz), M Kahn (Vienna), T Kalwarczyk (Warsaw), K Kegler (Leipzig), P Keim (Konstanz), Z Keqin (Singapore), U F Keyser (Leipzig), T Köller (Mainz), K Kremer (Mainz), M Krüger (Konstanz), A Kuijk (Utrecht), P Lang (Jülich), M Laurati (Düsseldorf), W Lechner (Vienna), H Lehle (Stuttgart), P Leiderer (Konstanz), H Lekkerkerker (Utrecht), P Lettinga (Jülich), A Libal (San Mart), B Lonetti (Jülich), N J Lorenz (Mainz), H Löwen (Düsseldorf), H Maleki (Mainz), J-G Malherbe (Paris), M Marechal (Utrecht), G Maret (Konstanz), C Mayer (Rome), S Mazoyer (Konstanz), M McPhie (Jülich), M Medina-Noyola (San Luis Potosi), A Melzer (Greifswald), A Menéndez-Manjón (Hannover), R Messina (Düsseldorf), H Michiel (Utrecht), P Mishra (Düsseldorf), J Mixteco (Guanajuato), B Moser (Düsseldorf), G Nägele (Jülich), R R Netz (Munich), P Nielaba (Konstanz

The first case of 38,XX (SRY-positive) disorder of sex development in a cat.

PubMed

Szczerbal, Izabela; Stachowiak, Monika; Dzimira, Stanislaw; Sliwa, Krystyna; Switonski, Marek

2015-01-01

SRY-positive XX testicular disorder of sex development (DSD) caused by X;Y translocations was not yet reported in domestic animals. In humans it is rarely diagnosed and a majority of clinical features resemble those which are typical for Klinefelter syndrome (KS). Here we describe the first case of SRY-positive XX DSD in a tortoiseshell cat with a rudimentary penis and a lack of scrotum. Molecular analysis showed the presence of two Y-linked genes (SRY and ZFY) and a normal sequence of the SRY gene. Application of classical cytogenetic techniques revealed two X chromosomes (38,XX), but further FISH studies with the use of the whole X chromosome painting probe and BAC probes specific to the Yp chromosome facilitated identification of Xp;Yp translocation. The SRY gene was localised at a distal position of Xp. The karyotype of the studied case was described as: 38,XX.ish der(X)t(X;Y)(p22;p12)(SRY+). Moreover, the X inactivation status assessed by a sequential R-banding and FISH with the SRY-specific probe showed a random inactivation of the derivative X(SRY) chromosome. Our study showed that among DSD tortoiseshell cats, apart from XXY trisomy and XX/XY chimerism, also SRY-positive XX cases may occur. It is hypothesized that the extremely rare occurrence of this abnormality in domestic animals, when compared with humans, may be associated with a different organisation of the Yp arm in these species.

Hypospadias Is Not Rare in Dogs: Five New Cases, a Retrospective Study, and a Review of the Literature.

PubMed

Switonski, Marek; Dzimira, Stanislaw; Aleksiewicz, Roman; Szczerbal, Izabela; Nowacka-Woszuk, Joanna; Krzeminska, Paulina; Deska, Tomasz; Nizanski, Wojciech

2018-06-13

Hypospadias, the abnormal position of the urethral orifice, is considered a rare congenital malformation of the reproductive organs in male dogs. We present 5 new cases of hypospadias - 2 of the penile type in German Shepherd Dogs and 3 perineal types in a Bavarian Mountain Hound, a French Bulldog, and an American Staffordshire Terrier. Other abnormalities (rudimentary or underdeveloped penis, incompletely formed preputial sheath, and bilateral cryptorchidism) were also observed. Molecular analysis of all cases revealed the presence of Y-linked genes (SRY and ZFY). Cytogenetic and histological analysis could be performed for only 2 cases: a normal male sex chromosome complement (78,XY) and spermatogenetically inactive testicles were observed. A retrospective search for hypospadias in 19,950 medical records of male dogs from a single veterinary clinic in Poland (2006-2017) was also performed. Altogether, 10 reports of penile hypospadias were found (0.05%). The majority of the reports concerned German Shepherd Dogs (8 cases among 1,511 male dogs of this breed), and thus, the estimated incidence of hypospadias in this breed was 0.5%. Moreover, we performed a review of 26 cases of canine hypospadias reported in the years 2004-2017. Our study and the review of the literature suggest that hypospadias is not rare in dogs and that some breeds (such as German Shepherd Dog and Boston Terrier) may be prone to this disorder. © 2018 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Evaluation of a real-time BeO ceramic fiber-coupled luminescence dosimetry system for dose verification of high dose rate brachytherapy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Santos, Alexandre M. Caraça, E-mail: alexandre.santos@adelaide.edu.au; Mohammadi, Mohammad; Shahraam, Afshar V.

Purpose: The authors evaluate the capability of a beryllium oxide (BeO) ceramic fiber-coupled luminescence dosimeter, named radioluminescence/optically stimulated luminescence (RL/OSL) BeO FOD, for dosimetric verification of high dose rate (HDR) treatments. The RL/OSL BeO FOD is capable of RL and OSL measurements. Methods: The RL/OSL BeO FOD is able to be inserted in 6F proguide needles, used in interstitial HDR treatments. Using a custom built Perspex phantom, 6F proguide needles could be submerged in a water tank at 1 cm separations from each other. A second background fiber was required to correct for the stem effect. The stem effect, dosemore » linearity, reproducibility, depth-dose curves, and angular and temperature dependency of the RL/OSL BeO FOD were characterised using an Ir-192 source. The RL/OSL BeO FOD was also applied to the commissioning of a 10 mm horizontal Leipzig applicator. Results: Both the RL and OSL were found to be reproducible and their percentage depth-dose curves to be in good agreement with those predicted via TG-43. A combined uncertainty of 7.9% and 10.1% (k = 1) was estimated for the RL and OSL, respectively. For the 10 mm horizontal Leipzig applicator, measured percentage depth doses were within 5% agreement of the published reference calculations. The output at the 3 mm prescription depth for a 1 Gy delivery was verified to be 0.99 ± 0.08 Gy and 1.01 ± 0.10 Gy by the RL and OSL, respectively. Conclusions: The use of the second background fiber under the current setup means that the two fibers cannot fit into a single 6F needle. Hence, use of the RL is currently not adequate for the purpose of in vivo brachytherapy dosimetry. While not real-time, the OSL is shown to be adequate for in vivo brachytherapy dosimetry.« less

An Analysis in Coalition Warfare: Napoleon’s Defeat at the Battle of Nations-Leipzig, 1813.

DTIC Science & Technology

1998-04-06

modern day Northern Poland and Eastern Germany . The Prussian monarch, Frederick William III, another unwilling ally to Napoleon’s invasion of...but in Germany , England’s stake in the battle was the financial support it provided the allies34, liaison officers, and a small number of troops...signed the Treaty of Kalisch on 27 February 1813 and joined Russian forces on the offensive, resulting in an inconclusive battle at Magdeburg . This

[50 years Rodewisch theses--for the beginnings of social-psychiatric reforms in East Germany (GDR)].

PubMed

Kumbier, Ekkehardt; Haack, Kathleen; Steinberg, Holger

2013-09-01

The so-called Rodewisch Theses of 1963 demonstrate East German psychiatry's attempts to implement social-psychiatric reforms. To mark their 50th anniversary, this article analyses their emergence, drafting and implementation. It has been known that key requirements could only be fulfilled on a regional basis, the Leipzig University Department of Psychiatry being an outstanding example, although its staff worked rather autonomously of the Rodewisch Theses. The reasons for the different degree of success of these developments in individual areas are manifold, key reasons being the lack of stark political support and of opportunity to discuss shortcomings in mental health care, as in Western Germany, due to political circumstances in particular. There was no strong social basis and support as in Western democracies. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Adiabatic invariance with first integrals of motion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adib, Artur B.

2002-10-01

The construction of a microthermodynamic formalism for isolated systems based on the concept of adiabatic invariance is an old but seldom appreciated effort in the literature, dating back at least to P. Hertz [Ann. Phys. (Leipzig) 33, 225 (1910)]. An apparently independent extension of such formalism for systems bearing additional first integrals of motion was recently proposed by Hans H. Rugh [Phys. Rev. E 64, 055101 (2001)], establishing the concept of adiabatic invariance even in such singular cases. After some remarks in connection with the formalism pioneered by Hertz, it will be suggested that such an extension can incidentally explain the success of a dynamical method for computing the entropy of classical interacting fluids, at least in some potential applications where the presence of additional first integrals cannot be ignored.

The search for new amber ingredients.

PubMed

Narula, Anubhav P S

2014-10-01

There is a constant need for developing new fragrance ingredients in the flavor and fragrance industry, as it allows perfumers to create unique and differentiating perfumes for fine as well as functional products. Among all the categories of notes used in perfume creation, amber notes are indispensible and ubiquitous in their presence in all perfumes. Not only amber notes impart high performance and substantivity to fragrances, but they are paramount in the development of classic and legendary fragrances. This article is based on the plenary lecture delivered at the flavor & fragrance 2013 conference of the German Chemical Society in Leipzig, Germany. The strategy, rationale, and the various synthetic approaches that led to the discovery of two new very powerful, woody, amber materials, Amber Xtreme(®) (1) and Trisamber(®) (2), are delineated. Copyright © 2014 Verlag Helvetica Chimica Acta AG, Zürich.

Objectifying “Pain” in the Modern Neurosciences: A Historical Account of the Visualization Technologies Used in the Development of an “Algesiogenic Pathology”, 1850 to 2000

PubMed Central

Stahnisch, Frank W.

2015-01-01

Particularly with the fundamental works of the Leipzig school of experimental psychophysiology (between the 1850s and 1880s), the modern neurosciences witnessed an increasing interest in attempts to objectify “pain” as a bodily signal and physiological value. This development has led to refined psychological test repertoires and new clinical measurement techniques, which became progressively paired with imaging approaches and sophisticated theories about neuropathological pain etiology. With the advent of electroencephalography since the middle of the 20th century, and through the use of brain stimulation technologies and modern neuroimaging, the chosen scientific route towards an ever more refined “objectification” of pain phenomena took firm root in Western medicine. This article provides a broad overview of landmark events and key imaging technologies, which represent the long developmental path of a field that could be called “algesiogenic pathology.” PMID:26593953

[The fate of the professors of the medical Faculty of Breslau after the expulsion 1945/46].

PubMed

Scholz, Albrecht; Barth, Thomas; Pappai, Anna-Sophia; Wacker, Axel

2005-01-01

The University of Breslau was one of the most important universities in Germany in the first half of the 20th century. Breslau was the capital of the state of Silesia which became Polish territory. The university was closed after World War II. There were attempts to transfer the entire Medical Faculty to an established German university in Heidelberg, Leipzig, and Mainz, but these efforts failed. All 18 full professors from Breslau tried to get a university position; 16 moved to the western zones while two were in the eastern zone of Germany. Only 11 professors were successful in obtaining a position. Factors determining who was successful were evaluated. The scientific or political background of the professors played much less of a role than informal networking. Detailed biographies of the 18 full professors complete this report.

[Development and status of intensive care medicine in internal medicine at the Karl Marx University in Leipzig].

PubMed

Engelmann, L; Schneider, D

1989-01-15

Issuing from the accomplishments of Köhler for the development of the intensive medicine in internal medicine-in 1964 he performed the first long-term respiration at the then Medical Clinic of the Karl Marx University, in 1969 he institutionalized the young subdiscipline at the clinic, in 1978 he founded the department for intensive medicine and is at work by his decisions concerning the development of young scientists, by the handbook "Intensive Medicine. Internal Medicine and Adjacent Subjects" as well as a member of the presidium of the GDR Society for Internal Medicine for the development of the internal intensive medicine-a description of the development of the department, its achievements and problems is given. The promotion of the intensive medicine by Köhler results, as we think, also from the comprehension that it has the duty to perform a function integrating the subdisciplines, which the modern internal medicine oriented to organs and systems threatens to lose, which, however, makes its self-apprehension, which the patient wishes and the teaching is demanding. From this and from the charge for a highly specialized care of patients who life-threateningly fell ill with internal diseases as well as from the duty to create a scientific forerunning results the stringent necessity of the development of the non-operative, in reality internal intensive medicine in the clinics for internal medicine of the county hospitals and university institutions as well as the greater identification of the internist with the subdiscipline in the district hospitals dealing with multidisciplinary intensive medicine.

Genome-Wide Search Identifies 1.9 Mb from the Polar Bear Y Chromosome for Evolutionary Analyses

PubMed Central

Bidon, Tobias; Schreck, Nancy; Hailer, Frank; Nilsson, Maria A.; Janke, Axel

2015-01-01

The male-inherited Y chromosome is the major haploid fraction of the mammalian genome, rendering Y-linked sequences an indispensable resource for evolutionary research. However, despite recent large-scale genome sequencing approaches, only a handful of Y chromosome sequences have been characterized to date, mainly in model organisms. Using polar bear (Ursus maritimus) genomes, we compare two different in silico approaches to identify Y-linked sequences: 1) Similarity to known Y-linked genes and 2) difference in the average read depth of autosomal versus sex chromosomal scaffolds. Specifically, we mapped available genomic sequencing short reads from a male and a female polar bear against the reference genome and identify 112 Y-chromosomal scaffolds with a combined length of 1.9 Mb. We verified the in silico findings for the longer polar bear scaffolds by male-specific in vitro amplification, demonstrating the reliability of the average read depth approach. The obtained Y chromosome sequences contain protein-coding sequences, single nucleotide polymorphisms, microsatellites, and transposable elements that are useful for evolutionary studies. A high-resolution phylogeny of the polar bear patriline shows two highly divergent Y chromosome lineages, obtained from analysis of the identified Y scaffolds in 12 previously published male polar bear genomes. Moreover, we find evidence of gene conversion among ZFX and ZFY sequences in the giant panda lineage and in the ancestor of ursine and tremarctine bears. Thus, the identification of Y-linked scaffold sequences from unordered genome sequences yields valuable data to infer phylogenomic and population-genomic patterns in bears. PMID:26019166

Sex and PRNP genotype determination in preimplantation caprine embryos.

PubMed

Guignot, F; Perreau, C; Cavarroc, C; Touzé, J-L; Pougnard, J-L; Dupont, F; Beckers, J-F; Rémy, B; Babilliot, J-M; Bed'Hom, B; Lamorinière, J M; Mermillod, P; Baril, G

2011-08-01

The objective of this study was to test the accuracy of genotype diagnosis after whole amplification of DNA extracted from biopsies obtained by trimming goat embryos and to evaluate the viability of biopsied embryos after vitrification/warming and transfer. Whole genome amplification (WGA) was performed using Multiple Displacement Amplification (MDA). Sex and prion protein (PRNP) genotypes were determined. Sex diagnosis was carried out by PCR amplification of ZFX/ZFY and Y chromosome-specific sequences. Prion protein genotype determination was performed on codons 142, 154, 211, 222 and 240. Embryos were collected at day 7 after oestrus and biopsied either immediately after collection (blastocysts and expanded blastocysts) or after 24 h of in vitro culture (compacted morulae). Biopsied embryos were frozen by vitrification. Vitrified whole embryos were kept as control. DNA of biopsies was extracted and amplified using MDA. Sex diagnosis was efficient for 97.4% of biopsies and PRNP genotyping was determined in 78.7% of biopsies. After embryo transfer, no significant difference was observed in kidding rate between biopsied and vitrified control embryos, whereas embryo survival rate was different between biopsied and whole vitrified embryos (p = 0.032). At birth, 100% of diagnosed sex and 98.2% of predetermined codons were correct. Offspring PRNP profiles were in agreement with parental genotype. Whole genome amplification with MDA kit coupled with sex diagnosis and PRNP genotype predetermination are very accurate techniques to genotype goat embryos before transfer. These novel results allow us to plan selection of scrapie-resistant genotypes and kid sex before transfer of cryopreserved embryo. © 2010 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

The cryptic Y-autosome translocation in the small Indian mongoose, Herpestes auropunctatus, revealed by molecular cytogenetic approaches.

PubMed

Murata, Chie; Sawaya, Hirohito; Nakata, Katsushi; Yamada, Fumio; Imoto, Issei; Kuroiwa, Asato

2016-09-01

In initial studies of the eutherian small Indian mongoose (Herpestes auropunctatus), the Y chromosome could not be identified in somatic cells. The male chromosome number is uniquely odd, 2n = 35, whereas that of females is 2n = 36. Previous reports indicated that this unique karyotype resulted from a translocation of the ancestral Y chromosome to an autosome. However, it has been difficult to identify the chromosomes that harbor the translocated Y chromosomal segment because it is an extremely small euchromatic region. Using a Southern blot analysis, we detected four conserved Y-linked genes, SRY, EIF2S3Y, KDM5D, and ZFY, in the male genome. We cloned homologues of these genes and determined their sequences, which showed high homology to genes in two carnivore species, cat and dog. To unambiguously identify the Y-bearing autosome, we performed immunostaining of pachytene spermatocytes using antibodies against SYCP3, γH2AX, and the centromere. We observed trivalent chromosomes, and the associations between the distal ends of the chromosomes were consistent with those of Y and X1 chromosomes. The centromere of the Y chromosome was located on the ancestral Y chromosomal segment. We mapped the complementary DNA (cDNA) clones of these genes to the male chromosomes using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), and the linear localization of all genes was confirmed by two-colored FISH. These Y-linked genes were localized to the proximal region of the long arm of a single telomeric chromosome, and we successfully identified the chromosome harboring the ancestral Y chromosomal segment.

True hermaphroditism in a 46, XY individual, caused by a postzygotic somatic point mutation in the male gonadal sex-determining locus (SRY): Molecular genetics and histological findings in a sporadic case

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Braun, A.; Kammerer, S.; Cleve, H.

1993-03-01

Recently, the gene for the determination of maleness has been identified in the sex-determining region on the short arm of the Y chromosome (SRY) between the Y-chromosomal pseudoautosomal boundary (PABY) and the ZFY gene locus. Experiments with transgenic mice confirmed that SRY is a part of the testis-determining factor (TDF). The authors describe a sporadic case of a patient with intersexual genitalia and the histological finding of ovotestes in the gonad, which resembles the mixed type of gonadal tissue without primordial follicle structures. The karyotype of the patient was 46,XY. By PCR amplification, they tested for the presence of SRYmore » by using DNA obtained from histological gonadal slices. The SRY products of both DNA preparations were further analyzed by direct sequencing. All three parts of the sex-determining region of the Y chromosome could be amplified from leukocytic DNA. The patient's and the father's SRY sequences were identical with the published sequence. In the SRY PCR product of gonadal DNA, the wild-type and two point mutations were present in the patient's sequence, simulating a heterozygous state of a Y-chromosomal gene: one of the mutations was silent, while the other encoded for a nonconservative amino acid substitution from leucine to histidine. Subcloning procedures showed that the two point mutations always occurred together. The origin of the patient's intersexuality is a postzygotic mutation of the SRY occurring in part of the gonadal tissue. This event caused the loss of the testis-determining function in affected cells. 37 refs., 6 figs.« less

Immersion freezing in concentrated solution droplets for a variety of ice nucleating particles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wex, Heike; Kohn, Monika; Grawe, Sarah; Hartmann, Susan; Hellner, Lisa; Herenz, Paul; Welti, Andre; Lohmann, Ulrike; Kanji, Zamin; Stratmann, Frank

2016-04-01

The measurement campaign LINC (Leipzig Ice Nucleation counter Comparison) was conducted in September 2015, during which ice nucleation measurements as obtained with the following instruments were compared: - LACIS (Leipzig Aerosol Cloud Interaction Simulator, see e.g. Wex et al., 2014) - PIMCA-PINC (Portable Immersion Mode Cooling Chamber together with PINC) - PINC (Portable Ice Nucleation Chamber, Chou et al., 2011) - SPIN (SPectrometer for Ice Nuclei, Droplet Measurement Technologies) While LACIS and PIMCA-PINC measured immersion freezing, PINC and SPIN varied the super-saturation during the measurements and collected data also for relative humidities below 100% RHw. A suite of different types of ice nucleating particles were examined, where particles were generated from suspensions, subsequently dried and size selected. For the following samples, data for all four instruments are available: K-feldspar, K-feldspar treated with nitric acid, Fluka-kaolinite and birch pollen. Immersion freezing measurements by LACIS and PIMCA-PINC were in excellent agreement. Respective parameterizations from these measurement were used to model the ice nucleation behavior below water vapor saturation, assuming that the process can be described as immersion freezing in concentrated solutions. This is equivalent to simply including a concentration dependent freezing point depression in the immersion freezing parameterization, as introduced for coated kaolinite particles in Wex et al. (2014). Overall, measurements performed below water vapor saturation were reproduced by the model, and it will be discussed in detail, why deviations were observed in some cases. Acknowledgement: Part of this work was funded by the DFG Research Unit FOR 1525 INUIT, grant WE 4722/1-2. Literature: Chou, C., O. Stetzer, E. Weingartner, Z. Juranyi, Z. A. Kanji, and U. Lohmann (2011), Ice nuclei properties within a Saharan dust event at the Jungfraujoch in the Swiss Alps, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 11(10), 4725

Wilhelm Winkler (1842-1910) - a Thuringian private astronomer and maecenas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weise, Wilfried; Dorschner, Johann; Schielicke, Reinhardt E.

Wilhelm Winkler was born in 1842 in Eisenberg, Thuringia, as the son of a lawyer. After attending the trading high school in Gera, Winkler worked as a merchant in Eisenberg, following in the footsteps of his grandfather. In 1875 he gave up this trade and devoted his time entirely to astronomy. Advised by Carl Bruhns, director of the Leipzig University Observatory, he established an observatory on his estate in Gohlis near Leipzig. From 1878 Winkler regularly observed sunspots; other fields of his observational interests were comets, occultations of stars by the Moon, and Jupiter's satellites. In 1887 he went to Jena, where he contacted Ernst Abbe, who was the head of the Jena observatory, too. For some years, Winkler's instruments were used in the new observatory erected by Abbe, which replaced the old Ducal Observatory of the Goethe era. Winkler donated the precision pendulum clock and some other instruments to this observatory. He also offered his observational assistance whenever it was wanted. In 1893 Winkler built up his own observatory in Jena and published annual reports on his work in the Vierteljahrsschrift of the Astronomische Gesellschaft. His observational results mainly appeared in the journal Astronomische Nachrichten. In 1902 he was awarded an honorary doctor's degree by the Philosophical Faculty of Jena University. However, at that time his physical constitution began gradually to fade. He lost his left eye due to a sarcoma, and finally he died at the age of 68. In his will, he left 100 000 Mark in form of securities to Jena University (Winkler Foundation). The University Observatory got his 4.5 m dome, the transport of which from his residence to the final site was also paid for by him, several instruments, and a lot of books. In 1936 Winkler's dome was closed by the University. The observatory was transferred from the University to the Zeiss works in exchange for the observatory in the Jena Forst. Zeiss sponsored the reconstruction of the old dome

[Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) in the course of time - an issue only for the internist?].

PubMed

Weis, S; John, E; Lippmann, N; Mössner, J; Lübbert, C

2014-08-01

Toxigenic strains of Clostridium (C.) difficile are the most prevalent pathogens of antibiotic associated intestinal disease and nosocomial diarrhoea. During the last 10 years, incidences of C. difficile infection (CDI) have increased worldwide. With clinical and microbiological original data for 2002-2012 from the University Hospitals Leipzig and Halle (Saale), Germany, the authors illustrate the current situation regarding CDI in the states of Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt and exemplify the latest developments in terms of incidence, prevalence of resistance, diagnosis and treatment strategies regarding CDI with an emphasis on surgical options. Following the general trend, at the University Hospitals of Leipzig and Halle (Saale) there was also an increase in incidence of CDI, especially of severe clinical courses. In primary and secondary care facilities, prevention of CDI is based on hygiene management and restricted usage of antibiotics, preferably as "Antibiotic Stewardship" programmes. In 2012, the new macrocyclic antibiotic Fidaxomicin was approved in the European Union for the treatment of CDI. The therapeutic armamentarium, previously based on metronidazole or vancomycin, has now been enriched by a substance that presumably will reduce the rate of recurrence of CDI. Moreover, early data from case series and controlled trials suggest that the re-establishment of eubiosis in the colon of patients with recurrent CDI by stool transplantation from healthy donors is an alternative to antibiotics. Standard surgical intervention for refractory CDI is subtotal colectomy with terminal ileostomy. In patients with adequate life expectancy and without organ dysfunction, a colon-saving surgical technique should be considered. Taking antibiotics for most remains the main risk factor for suffering from symptomatic CDI. With the introduction of Fidaxomicin there is hope for an improvement in the conservative treatment of CDI. Stool transplants from healthy donors are now

LACIS-T - A moist air wind tunnel for investigating the interactions between cloud microphysics and turbulence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Niedermeier, Dennis; Voigtländer, Jens; Siebert, Holger; Desai, Neel; Shaw, Raymond; Chang, Kelken; Krueger, Steven; Schumacher, Jörg; Stratmann, Frank

2017-11-01

Turbulence - cloud droplet interaction processes have been investigated primarily through numerical simulation and field measurements over the last ten years. However, only in the laboratory we can be confident in our knowledge of initial and boundary conditions, and are able to measure for extended times under statistically stationary and repeatable conditions. Therefore, the newly built turbulent wind tunnel LACIS-T (Turbulent Leipzig Aerosol Cloud Interaction Simulator) is an ideal facility for pursuing mechanistic understanding of these processes. Within the tunnel we are able to adjust precisely controlled turbulent temperature and humidity fields so as to achieve supersaturation levels allowing for detailed investigations of the interactions between cloud microphysical processes (e.g., cloud droplet activation) and the turbulent flow, under well-defined and reproducible laboratory conditions. We will present the fundamental operating principle, first results from ongoing characterization efforts, numerical simulations as well as first droplet activation experiments.

Optically tunable Quincke rotation of a nanometer-thin oblate spheroid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gu, Yu; Zeng, Haibo

2017-08-01

Ever since the discovery of Quincke rotation (spontaneous rotation of a particle in fluid under a dc electric field) more than 100 years ago [G. Quincke, Ann. Phys. (Leipzig) 295, 417 (1896), 10.1002/andp.18962951102], the strength of the dc field has been the only external parameter to actively tune the rotation speed. In this paper we theoretically propose an optically tunable Quincke rotor exploiting the photoconductivity of a semiconducting nanometer-thin oblate spheroid. A full analysis of the instability of the Quincke rotation reveals that, unlike a prolate spheroid, no bistability is possible in such a dynamical system. In addition, the required material property and the strength of the dc electric field needed to realize the rotation are also elucidated. It is also predicted that light can be used to tune the spinning speed or simply turn on and off the Quincke rotation very effectively.

[Neighbourhood deprivation and community nutrition environment: associations between the social and built environment and food availability].

PubMed

Latawitz, Toni; Spielau, Ulrike; Lipek, Tobias; Gausche, Ruth; Lück, Martina; Kiess, Wieland; Grande, Gesine; Igel, Ulrike

2018-05-16

Eating habits are influenced by individual socioeconomic status (SES). As the association between neighbourhood characteristics and food availability is still unclear, we investigated the community nutrition environment in different neighbourhoods. Using official data of the city of Leipzig, we selected three neighbourhoods which differed in terms of their social (2 deprived vs. 1 affluent) and built (1 large housing estates vs. 2 historic buildings) environment. Data on food outlets were assessed via direct observation (ground truthing). Social and residential environment characteristics are associated with food availability. The proportion of fast food outlets is higher in deprived neighbourhoods compared to the affluent one (25%, 30.4% vs. 13.5%). Neighbourhoods with historic buildings offer a greater variety of food outlets. The greater availability of unhealthy food may contribute to the development of obesity. Preventive measures should consider the physical and social environment. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Craniofacial morphology of orthodontically untreated patients living in Saxony, Germany.

PubMed

Reich, U; Dannhauer, K H

1996-08-01

The subject of this study is an analysis of the possible specific ethnic characteristics of the craniofacial morphology within the Saxon population. For this purpose we analyzed, in a cephalometric cross-sectional study, lateral cephalometric radiographs taken between 1992 and 1994 of 10,047 orthodontically untreated native Saxon patients. The cephalometric analysis used was a synthesis of several classic procedures as applied at Leipzig University. Among the sagittal parameters there was a relatively high prevalence of mandibular retrognathism and skeletal distal jaw relationship. The vertical parameters displayed a relatively good balance between vertical and horizontal growth patterns. With respect to sexual dimorphism, the differences in the angular parameters and in the indices of relationship were only moderate and so almost irrelevant in clinical terms. Among the age-related changes, the focus is on the increase in the degree of prognathism of both jaws and the anterior rotation of the mandible.

The history of Werner Spalteholz's Handatlas der Anatomie des Menschen.

PubMed

Williams, D J

1999-12-01

Werner Spalteholz's Handatlas der Anatomie des Menschen is one of the most elegantly illustrated anatomical atlases of all time. Originally published in Leipzig as three volumes from 1895 to 1903, the atlas is still widely used and remains highly regarded by many. The atlas was remarkably popular during the first half of the 20th century, especially the English version in North America and the UK. Unfortunately, the original illustrations and printing plates for the work disappeared following the Second World War and their fate remains a mystery. And, in spite of the atlas's popularity, little is known to the men who prepared the artwork for Spalteholz. It is commonly believed that Max Brödel contributed illustrations to the atlas, but a close examination of the work does not confirm this. A century after its inception, Spalteholz's atlas remains a classic milestone in the history of anatomical illustration.

Noninvasive molecular tracking of colonizing wolf (Canis lupus) packs in the western Italian Alps.

PubMed

Lucchini, V; Fabbri, E; Marucco, F; Ricci, S; Boitani, L; Randi, E

2002-05-01

We used noninvasive methods to obtain genetic and demographic data on the wolf packs (Canis lupus), which are now recolonizing the Alps, a century after their eradication. DNA samples, extracted from presumed wolf scats collected in the western Italian Alps (Piemonte), were genotyped to determine species and sex by sequencing parts of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control-region and ZFX/ZFY genes. Individual genotypes were identified by multilocus microsatellite analyses using a multiple tubes polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The performance of the laboratory protocols was affected by the age of samples. The quality of excremental DNA extracts was higher in samples freshly collected on snow in winter than in samples that were older or collected during summer. Preliminary mtDNA screening of all samples allowed species identification and was a good predictor of further PCR performances. Wolf, and not prey, DNA targets were preferentially amplified. Allelic dropout occurred more frequently than false alleles, but the probability of false homozygote determinations was always < 0.001. A panel of six to nine microsatellites would allow identification of individual wolf genotypes, also whether related, with a probability of identity of < 0.015. Genealogical relationships among individuals could be determined reliably if the number of candidate parents was 6-8, and most of them had been sampled and correctly genotyped. Genetic data indicate that colonizing Alpine wolves originate exclusively from the Italian source population and retain a high proportion of its genetic diversity. Spatial and temporal locations of individual genotypes, and kinship analyses, suggest that two distinct packs of closely related wolves, plus some unrelated individuals, ranged in the study areas. This is in agreement with field observations.

Genome-Wide Search Identifies 1.9 Mb from the Polar Bear Y Chromosome for Evolutionary Analyses.

PubMed

Bidon, Tobias; Schreck, Nancy; Hailer, Frank; Nilsson, Maria A; Janke, Axel

2015-05-27

The male-inherited Y chromosome is the major haploid fraction of the mammalian genome, rendering Y-linked sequences an indispensable resource for evolutionary research. However, despite recent large-scale genome sequencing approaches, only a handful of Y chromosome sequences have been characterized to date, mainly in model organisms. Using polar bear (Ursus maritimus) genomes, we compare two different in silico approaches to identify Y-linked sequences: 1) Similarity to known Y-linked genes and 2) difference in the average read depth of autosomal versus sex chromosomal scaffolds. Specifically, we mapped available genomic sequencing short reads from a male and a female polar bear against the reference genome and identify 112 Y-chromosomal scaffolds with a combined length of 1.9 Mb. We verified the in silico findings for the longer polar bear scaffolds by male-specific in vitro amplification, demonstrating the reliability of the average read depth approach. The obtained Y chromosome sequences contain protein-coding sequences, single nucleotide polymorphisms, microsatellites, and transposable elements that are useful for evolutionary studies. A high-resolution phylogeny of the polar bear patriline shows two highly divergent Y chromosome lineages, obtained from analysis of the identified Y scaffolds in 12 previously published male polar bear genomes. Moreover, we find evidence of gene conversion among ZFX and ZFY sequences in the giant panda lineage and in the ancestor of ursine and tremarctine bears. Thus, the identification of Y-linked scaffold sequences from unordered genome sequences yields valuable data to infer phylogenomic and population-genomic patterns in bears. © The Author(s) 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution.

Birth of correctly genotyped calves after multiplex marker detection from bovine embryo microblade biopsies.

PubMed

Peippo, Jaana; Viitala, Sirja; Virta, Jouni; Räty, Mervi; Tammiranta, Niina; Lamminen, Terttu; Aro, Johanna; Myllymäki, Hannu; Vilkki, Johanna

2007-11-01

We report a method for multiplex genotyping of bovine embryo microblade biopsies. We have tested the reliability of the method and the viability of the embryos in vitro and in vivo. Two polymorphic gene markers (GHR F279Y and PRLR S18N) associated with milk production traits and one marker for sex diagnosis (ZFX/ZFY) were genotyped simultaneously with a method that combines nested PCR and allelic discrimination. To test the accuracy of genotyping, in the first experiment the genotypes of 134 biopsies from in vitro produced embryos were compared to genotypes determined from the corresponding embryos after biopsy. The method proved to be highly accurate as only in three cases (two for PRLR S18N and one for GHR F279Y) out of 395 genotypes the genotype was in disagreement between the two samples. The viability of similarly biopsied embryos was tested in parallel: after 24-hr culture 94.6% of embryos recovered in vitro. In the second experiment, a total of 150 in vivo-produced embryos were biopsied on Day 7 and genotyped. After the genotyping results were obtained on Day 8, female embryos were selected for transfer. From a total of 57 selected embryos 43 were transferred individually and 14 as pairs. After single embryo transfers, 19 recipients became pregnant and after embryo transfers in pairs one became pregnant. The success of genotyping was tested with the genotypes of donors and bulls and also from the hair samples of born calves. All calves were females and of the same genotypes determined from the biopsy. (c) 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Molecular analysis in true hermaphrodites with different karyotypes and similar phenotypes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Torres, L.; Cervantes, A.; Kofman-Alfaro, S.

1996-05-17

True hermaphroditism is characterized by the development of ovarian and testicular tissue in the same individual. Muellerian and Wolffian structures are usually present, and external genitalia are often ambiguous. The most frequent karyotype in these patients is 46,XX or various forms of mosaicism, whereas 46,XY is very rarely found. The phenotype in all these subjects is similar. We studied 10 true hermaphrodites. Six of them had a 46,XX chromosomal complement: 3 had been reared as males and 3 as females. The other 4 patients were mosaics: 3 were 46,XX/46,XY and one had a 46,XX/47,XXY karyotype. One of the 46,XX/46,XY mosaicsmore » was reared as a female, whereas the other 3 mosaics were reared as males. The sex of assignment in the 10 patients depended only on labio-scrotal differentiation. Molecular studies in 46,XX subjects documented the absence of Y centromeric sequences in all cases, arguing against hidden mosaicism. One patient presented Yp sequences (ZFY+, SRY+), which contrast with South African black 46,XX true hermaphrodites in whom no Y sequences were found. Molecular analysis in the subjects with mosaicism demonstrated the presence of Y centromeric and Yp sequences confirming the presence of a Y chromosome. Gonadal development, endocrine function, and phenotype in the 10 patients did not correlate with the presence of a Y chromosome or Y-derived sequences in the genome, confirming that true hermaphroditism is a heterogeneous condition. Both Mexican and non-South African 46,XX true hermaphrodites may be SRY positive. 51 refs., 3 figs., 2 tabs.« less

[Fatal diseases and "imaginary" suffering. "Hypochondria" and "consumption" in the correspondence between Jean Paul and Johann Bernhard Hermann, with a perspective on Jean Paul's literature and aesthetics].

PubMed

Meier, Monika

2007-01-01

The German writerJean Paul (Johann Paul Friedrich Richter, 1763-1825) and his friendJohann Bernhard Hermann (1761-1790) became acquainted with the thoughts of late Enlightenment at the University of Leipzig. They particularly appreciated the anthropology of Ernst Platner, who taught philosophy and aesthetics as well as medicine. Their confidential correspondence contains reflections on their respective situation and well being. Both write about feeling ill and label their illness "hypochondria". In the course of the correspondence Jean Paul's understanding of hypochondria evolves from an illness of the entrails as he follows Hermann, who supports the modern concept of hypochondria as an illness of the nerves. Two important themes from this correspondence recur in Jean Paul's novels and tales: firstly, his way of expressing comfort is related to his aesthetics, and secondly, the satirical way of portraying at least certain aspects of illness as imaginary reappears in his first successful novel "The Invisible Lodge" (1793).

Pre-operative segmentation of neck CT datasets for the planning of neck dissections

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cordes, Jeanette; Dornheim, Jana; Preim, Bernhard; Hertel, Ilka; Strauss, Gero

2006-03-01

For the pre-operative segmentation of CT neck datasets, we developed the software assistant NeckVision. The relevant anatomical structures for neck dissection planning can be segmented and the resulting patient-specific 3D-models are visualized afterwards in another software system for intervention planning. As a first step, we examined the appropriateness of elementary segmentation techniques based on gray values and contour information to extract the structures in the neck region from CT data. Region growing, interactive watershed transformation and live-wire are employed for segmentation of different target structures. It is also examined, which of the segmentation tasks can be automated. Based on this analysis, the software assistant NeckVision was developed to optimally support the workflow of image analysis for clinicians. The usability of NeckVision was tested within a first evaluation with four otorhinolaryngologists from the university hospital of Leipzig, four computer scientists from the university of Magdeburg and two laymen in both fields.

Scanning transmission ion micro-tomography (STIM-T) of biological specimens.

PubMed

Schwertner, Micheal; Sakellariou, Arthur; Reinert, Tilo; Butz, Tilman

2006-05-01

Computed tomography (CT) was applied to sets of Scanning Transmission Ion Microscopy (STIM) projections recorded at the LIPSION ion beam laboratory (Leipzig) in order to visualize the 3D-mass distribution in several specimens. Examples for a test structure (copper grid) and for biological specimens (cartilage cells, cygospore) are shown. Scanning Transmission Micro-Tomography (STIM-T) at a resolution of 260 nm was demonstrated for the first time. Sub-micron features of the Cu-grid specimen were verified by scanning electron microscopy. The ion energy loss measured during a STIM-T experiment is related to the mass density of the specimen. Typically, biological specimens can be analysed without staining. Only shock freezing and freeze-drying is required to preserve the ultra-structure of the specimen. The radiation damage to the specimen during the experiment can be neglected. This is an advantage compared to other techniques like X-ray micro-tomography. At present, the spatial resolution is limited by beam position fluctuations and specimen vibrations.

CEM-designer: design of custom expression microarrays in the post-ENCODE Era.

PubMed

Arnold, Christian; Externbrink, Fabian; Hackermüller, Jörg; Reiche, Kristin

2014-11-10

Microarrays are widely used in gene expression studies, and custom expression microarrays are popular to monitor expression changes of a customer-defined set of genes. However, the complexity of transcriptomes uncovered recently make custom expression microarray design a non-trivial task. Pervasive transcription and alternative processing of transcripts generate a wealth of interweaved transcripts that requires well-considered probe design strategies and is largely neglected in existing approaches. We developed the web server CEM-Designer that facilitates microarray platform independent design of custom expression microarrays for complex transcriptomes. CEM-Designer covers (i) the collection and generation of a set of unique target sequences from different sources and (ii) the selection of a set of sensitive and specific probes that optimally represents the target sequences. Probe design itself is left to third party software to ensure that probes meet provider-specific constraints. CEM-Designer is available at http://designpipeline.bioinf.uni-leipzig.de. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Medical informatics education needs information system practicums in health care settings--experiences and lessons learned from 32 practicums at four universities in two countries.

PubMed

Haux, R; Ammenwerth, E; Häber, A; Hübner-Bloder, G; Knaup-Gregori, P; Lechleitner, G; Leiner, F; Weber, R; Winter, A; Wolff, A C

2006-01-01

To report about the themes and about experiences with practicums in the management of information systems in health care settings (health information management) for medical informatics students. We first summarize the topics of the health information management practicums/projects that the authors organized between 1990 and 2003 for the medical informatics programs at Heidelberg/Heilbronn, Germany, UMIT, Austria, as well as for the informatics program at the University of Leipzig, Germany. Experiences and lessons learned, obtained from the faculty that organized the practicums in the past 14 years, are reported. Thirty (of 32) health information management practicums focused on the analysis of health information systems. These took place inside university medical centers. Although the practicums were time-intensive and required intensively tutoring students with regard to health information management and project management, feedback from the students and graduates was mainly positive. It is clearly recommended that students specializing in medical informatics need to be confronted with real-world problems of health information systems during their studies.

Physics, ballistics, and psychology: a history of the chronoscope in/as context, 1845-1890.

PubMed

Schmidgen, Henning

2005-02-01

In Wilhelm Wundt's (1832-1920) Leipzig laboratory and at numerous other research sites, the chronoscope was used to conduct reaction time experiments. The author argues that the history of the chronoscope is the history not of an instrument but of an experimental setup. This setup was initially devised by the English physicist and instrument maker Charles Wheatstone (1802-1875) in the early 1840s. Shortly thereafter, it was improved by the German clockmaker and mechanic Matthäus Hipp (1813-1893). In the 1850s, the chronoscope was introduced to ballistic research. In the early 1860s, Neuchâtel astronomer Adolphe Hirsch (1830-1901) applied it to the problem of physiological time. The extensions and variations of chronoscope use within the contexts of ballistics, physiology, and psychology presented special challenges. These challenges were met with specific attempts to reduce the errors in chronoscopic experiments on shooting stands and in the psychological laboratory.

From classicism and idealism to scientific naturalism: Titchener's Oxford years and their impact upon his early intellectual development.

PubMed

Araujo, Saulo de Freitas; Marcellos, Cintia Fernandes

2017-05-01

Edward Titchener (1867-1927) is one of the most prominent figures in the history of American psychology from the early 20th century. Accordingly, his psychological system-structuralism-has received due attention in the secondary literature. However, a closer look at traditional interpretations of the development of Titchener's ideas reveals a series of missing elements, such as his early studies before going to Leipzig. The central goal of this article is to present the main elements of Titchener's intellectual education in Oxford, thereby showing the influence of the British tradition of the 19th century upon his early intellectual development. On the basis of hitherto unexplored primary sources, we discuss Titchener's relationship with British idealism and scientific naturalism, two movements that shaped a significant part of British psychological thinking in the 19th century. We conclude that Titchener's Oxford years are much more relevant to understanding his intellectual development than the literature has so far assumed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Maxillary distraction osteogenesis using Le Fort I osteotomy without intraoperative down-fracture.

PubMed

Yamauchi, K; Mitsugi, M; Takahashi, T

2006-06-01

The aim of this study is to present a technique for maxillary distraction osteogenesis using Le Fort I osteotomy without down-fracture. Six cleft-related patients suffering from severe midfacial deficiency were treated with maxillary distraction osteogenesis. The RED II system was chosen as the extraoral device and the Leipzig retention plate system to anchor the maxillary segment. Maxillary distraction osteogenesis was successful in all cases. Cephalometric and clinical evaluation after an average follow-up period of 1 year showed stable results with respect to skeletal and dental relationships. The SNA angle increased from 72.3 degrees to 81.4 degrees and the ANB angle increased by 11.0 degrees immediately after removing the distraction device. After 1 year, the sagittal bone gain remained and the SNA angle had decreased by 0.8 degrees . This technique seems to minimize the risk of the surgical procedure and shorten the operation time. It may become an alternative method for the treatment of patients with severe midfacial hypoplasia.

The emergence and development of Bekhterev's psychoreflexology in relation to Wundt's experimental psychology.

PubMed

de Freitas Araujo, Saulo

2014-01-01

After its foundation, the Laboratory for Experimental Psychology at Leipzig University became an international center for psychological research, attracting students from all over the world. The Russian physiologist and psychiatrist Vladimir Bekhterev (1857-1927) was one of Wilhelm Wundt's students in 1885, and after returning to Russia he continued enthusiastically his experimental research on mental phenomena. However, he gradually distanced himself from Wundt's psychological project and developed a new concept of psychology: the so-called Objective Psychology or Psychoreflexology. The goal of this paper is to analyze Bekhterev's position in relation to Wundt's experimental psychology, by showing how the former came to reject the latter's conception of psychology. The results indicate that Bekhterev's development of a philosophical program, including his growing interest in establishing a new Weltanschauung is the main reason behind his divergence with Wundt, which is reflected in his conception of scientific psychology. Despite this, Wundt remained alive in Bekhterev's mind as an ideal counterpoint. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

MENTAL ASSOCIATION: TESTING INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES BEFORE BINET

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

This paper challenges the historiographical discontinuity established between earlier “anthropometric testing” and the arrival of “psychological testing” with Binet and Simon's intelligence test in 1905. After some conceptual clarifications, it deals with “word association”: a kind of psychological experimentation and testing which became popular over the last two decades of the 19th century. First Galton's exploration are presented, followed by experiments performed at the Leipzig laboratory by Trautscholdt, and then Cattell and Bryant's collective testing. Additionally, I document the use of this method for the study of mental difference through the works of Münsterberg, Bourdon, Jastrow, Nevers and Calkins. The cases I present show how the method gave rise to various measurements and classifications. I conclude that the word association technique triggered reflection on mental “uniqueness”, gender traits and the influence of education, among other topics. Moreover, it prepared the terrain and anticipated some basic attractions and problems intelligence testing would later encounter. PMID:28236298

Some problems of the theory of gravitation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Verozub, Leonid

Leonid Verozub, lverozub@gmail.com Kharkov National University, Kharkov, Ukraine The contemporary observations pose serious challenges to the fundamental physics and astro-physics. We proceed from the equations of gravitation, based on an examination of foundations of the theory. (Ann. Phys. (Leipzig) 17, No. 1, 28 -51 (2008)). Namely, these equations are based on going back to Poincare's ideas about the relativity of geometry of space and time to the properties of measuring instruments, and on the consideration of the geodesic invariance as gauge invariance in the theory of gravitation. These equations do not contradict the observa-tional data, however, lead to two unexpected consequences, which allow you to test the theory: 1. They predict the existence of super-massive compact objects without event horizons, which are an alternative to black holes in the centers of galaxies. 2. They provide a simple and natural explanation for the accelerating expansion of the universe.

Workflow in interventional radiology: uterine fibroid embolization (UFE)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lindisch, David; Neumuth, Thomas; Burgert, Oliver; Spies, James; Cleary, Kevin

2008-03-01

Workflow analysis can be used to record the steps taken during clinical interventions with the goal of identifying bottlenecks and streamlining the procedure efficiency. In this study, we recorded the workflow for uterine fibroid embolization (UFE) procedures in the interventional radiology suite at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, DC, USA. We employed a custom client/server software architecture developed by the Innovation Center for Computer Assisted Surgery (ICCAS) at the University of Leipzig, Germany. This software runs in a JAVA environment and enables an observer to record the actions taken by the physician and surgical team during these interventions. The data recorded is stored as an XML document, which can then be further processed. We recorded data from 30 patients and found a mean intervention time of 01:49:46 (+/- 16:04) minutes. The critical intervention step, the embolization, had a mean time of 00:15:42 (+/- 05:49) minutes, which was only 15% of the total intervention time.

Workflow in interventional radiology: nerve blocks and facet blocks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Siddoway, Donald; Ingeholm, Mary Lou; Burgert, Oliver; Neumuth, Thomas; Watson, Vance; Cleary, Kevin

2006-03-01

Workflow analysis has the potential to dramatically improve the efficiency and clinical outcomes of medical procedures. In this study, we recorded the workflow for nerve block and facet block procedures in the interventional radiology suite at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, DC, USA. We employed a custom client/server software architecture developed by the Innovation Center for Computer Assisted Surgery (ICCAS) at the University of Leipzig, Germany. This software runs in an internet browser, and allows the user to record the actions taken by the physician during a procedure. The data recorded during the procedure is stored as an XML document, which can then be further processed. We have successfully gathered data on a number if cases using a tablet PC, and these preliminary results show the feasibility of using this software in an interventional radiology setting. We are currently accruing additional cases and when more data has been collected we will analyze the workflow of these procedures to look for inefficiencies and potential improvements.

BOOK REVIEW: Carl Christian Bruhns - Ein bedeutender Naturwissenschaftler in der zweiten Halfte des 19. Jahrhunderts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duerbeck, H. W.; Hansel, C.; Munzel, G.; Ilgauds, H.-J.; Borngen, M.

2006-12-01

The biography of the former member of the Saxonian Academy of Sciences, Carl Christian Bruhns, and appropiately published in their Transactions, originated from a series of lectures given some years ago. Gisela Munzel and Hans-Joachim Ilgauds, who have already written an authoritative history of Leipzig observatories, joined geophysicist Michael Borngen to describe various aspects of Bruhns' life and activities in different scientific fields. For the astronomical reader, Gisela Munzel's contribution is certainly the most rewarding one, and it covers almost the complete first half of the book. She not only describes Bruhns' astronomical career, but also supplies many details of his life. Having passed something equivalent to a junior high school, his father urged him to become apprentice in his own field, that of a locksmith. C.C. Bruhns became a mechanic in several companies in Berlin, and started also part-time work as a computer at Berlin Observatory in 1851. He soon was "discovered" by its director Johann Franz Encke, and became second assistant in mid-1852, first assistant in 1854 and observer in 1855. In mid-1856 he received his PhD on the topic of minor planets. A prize assignment on astronomical refraction developed into his habilitation thesis of 1859. When in 1857 the observer Heinrich d'Arrest left Leipzig Observatory, there were plans to replace him by an astronomer who would later also take over the post of the aging August Ferdinand Mobius. There were already plans to move the old Observatory on the tower of Pleissenburg castle to another location, when Bruhns was appointed observer and professor in April 1860. In Summer, construction of the new Observatory at Johannistal started, and it was inaugurated in late 1861. Munzel faithfully traces his work, his assistants and colleagues - Engelmann, Weinek, Zollner, and many more - , his activities in the founding of the Astronomische Gesellschaft, his work as a commissar of the ``Mitteleuropaische

Clinical, molecular and cytogenetic analysis of 46, XX testicular disorder of sex development with SRY-positive.

PubMed

Wu, Qiu-Yue; Li, Na; Li, Wei-Wei; Li, Tian-Fu; Zhang, Cui; Cui, Ying-Xia; Xia, Xin-Yi; Zhai, Jin-Sheng

2014-08-28

To review the possible mechanisms proposed to explain the etiology of 46, XX sex reversal by investigating the clinical characteristics and their relationships with chromosomal karyotype and the SRY(sex-determining region Y)gene. Five untreated 46, XX patients with SRY-positive were referred for infertility. Clinical data were collected, and Karyotype analysis of G-banding in lymphocytes and Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) were performed. Genomic DNA from peripheral blood of the patients using QIAamp DNA Blood Kits was extracted. The three discrete regions, AZFa, AZFb and AZFc, located on the long arm of the Y chromosome, were performed by multiplex PCRs(Polymerase Chain Reaction) amplification. The set of PCR primers for the diagnosis of microdeletion of the AZFa, AZFb and AZFc region included: sY84, sY86, sY127, sY134, sY254, sY255, SRY and ZFX/ZFY. Our five patients had a lower body height. Physical examination revealed that their testes were small in volume, soft in texture and normal penis. Semen analyses showed azoospermia. All patients had a higher follicle-stimulating hormone(FSH), Luteinizing Hormone(LH) level, lower free testosterone, testosterone level and normal Estradiol, Prolactin level. Karyotype analysis of all patients confirmed 46, XX karyotype, and FISH analysis showed that SRY gene were positive and translocated to Xp. Molecular analysis revealed that the SRY gene were present, and the AZFa, AZFb and AZFc region were absent. This study adds cases on the five new 46, XX male individuals with SRY-positive and further verifies the view that the presence of SRY gene and the absence of major regions in Y chromosome should lead to the expectance of a completely masculinised phenotype, abnormal hormone levels and infertility.

Measurement of fetal fraction in cell-free DNA from maternal plasma using a panel of insertion/deletion polymorphisms.

PubMed

Barrett, Angela N; Xiong, Li; Tan, Tuan Z; Advani, Henna V; Hua, Rui; Laureano-Asibal, Cecille; Soong, Richie; Biswas, Arijit; Nagarajan, Niranjan; Choolani, Mahesh

2017-01-01

Cell-free DNA from maternal plasma can be used for non-invasive prenatal testing for aneuploidies and single gene disorders, and also has applications as a biomarker for monitoring high-risk pregnancies, such as those at risk of pre-eclampsia. On average, the fractional cell-free fetal DNA concentration in plasma is approximately 15%, but can vary from less than 4% to greater than 30%. Although quantification of cell-free fetal DNA is straightforward in the case of a male fetus, there is no universal fetal marker; in a female fetus measurement is more challenging. We have developed a panel of multiplexed insertion/deletion polymorphisms that can measure fetal fraction in all pregnancies in a simple, targeted sequencing reaction. A multiplex panel of primers was designed for 35 indels plus a ZFX/ZFY amplicon. cfDNA was extracted from plasma from 157 pregnant women, and maternal genomic DNA was extracted for 20 of these samples for panel validation. Sixty-one samples from pregnancies with a male fetus were subjected to whole genome sequencing on the Ion Proton sequencing platform, and fetal fraction derived from Y chromosome counts was compared to fetal fraction measured using the indel panel. A total of 157 cell-free DNA samples were sequenced using the indel panel, and informativity was assessed, along with the proportion of fetal DNA. Using gDNA we optimised the indel panel, removing amplicons giving rise to PCR bias. Good correlation was found between fetal fraction using indels and using whole genome sequencing of the Y chromosome (Spearmans r = 0.69). A median of 12 indels were informative per sample. The indel panel was informative in 157/157 cases (mean fetal fraction 14.4% (±0.58%)). Using our targeted next generation sequencing panel we can readily assess the fetal DNA percentage in male and female pregnancies.

Measurement of fetal fraction in cell-free DNA from maternal plasma using a panel of insertion/deletion polymorphisms

PubMed Central

Xiong, Li; Tan, Tuan Z.; Advani, Henna V.; Hua, Rui; Laureano-Asibal, Cecille; Soong, Richie; Biswas, Arijit; Nagarajan, Niranjan; Choolani, Mahesh

2017-01-01

Objective Cell-free DNA from maternal plasma can be used for non-invasive prenatal testing for aneuploidies and single gene disorders, and also has applications as a biomarker for monitoring high-risk pregnancies, such as those at risk of pre-eclampsia. On average, the fractional cell-free fetal DNA concentration in plasma is approximately 15%, but can vary from less than 4% to greater than 30%. Although quantification of cell-free fetal DNA is straightforward in the case of a male fetus, there is no universal fetal marker; in a female fetus measurement is more challenging. We have developed a panel of multiplexed insertion/deletion polymorphisms that can measure fetal fraction in all pregnancies in a simple, targeted sequencing reaction. Methods A multiplex panel of primers was designed for 35 indels plus a ZFX/ZFY amplicon. cfDNA was extracted from plasma from 157 pregnant women, and maternal genomic DNA was extracted for 20 of these samples for panel validation. Sixty-one samples from pregnancies with a male fetus were subjected to whole genome sequencing on the Ion Proton sequencing platform, and fetal fraction derived from Y chromosome counts was compared to fetal fraction measured using the indel panel. A total of 157 cell-free DNA samples were sequenced using the indel panel, and informativity was assessed, along with the proportion of fetal DNA. Results Using gDNA we optimised the indel panel, removing amplicons giving rise to PCR bias. Good correlation was found between fetal fraction using indels and using whole genome sequencing of the Y chromosome (Spearmans r = 0.69). A median of 12 indels were informative per sample. The indel panel was informative in 157/157 cases (mean fetal fraction 14.4% (±0.58%)). Conclusions Using our targeted next generation sequencing panel we can readily assess the fetal DNA percentage in male and female pregnancies. PMID:29084245

Strong and stable geographic differentiation of swamp buffalo maternal and paternal lineages indicates domestication in the China/Indochina border region.

PubMed

Zhang, Yi; Lu, Yongfang; Yindee, Marnoch; Li, Kuan-Yi; Kuo, Hsiao-Yun; Ju, Yu-Ten; Ye, Shaohui; Faruque, Md Omar; Li, Qiang; Wang, Yachun; Cuong, Vu Chi; Pham, Lan Doan; Bouahom, Bounthong; Yang, Bingzhuang; Liang, Xianwei; Cai, Zhihua; Vankan, Dianne; Manatchaiworakul, Wallaya; Kowlim, Nonglid; Duangchantrasiri, Somphot; Wajjwalku, Worawidh; Colenbrander, Ben; Zhang, Yuan; Beerli, Peter; Lenstra, Johannes A; Barker, J Stuart F

2016-04-01

The swamp type of the Asian water buffalo is assumed to have been domesticated by about 4000 years BP, following the introduction of rice cultivation. Previous localizations of the domestication site were based on mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variation within China, accounting only for the maternal lineage. We carried out a comprehensive sampling of China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Nepal and Bangladesh and sequenced the mtDNA Cytochrome b gene and control region and the Y-chromosomal ZFY, SRY and DBY sequences. Swamp buffalo has a higher diversity of both maternal and paternal lineages than river buffalo, with also a remarkable contrast between a weak phylogeographic structure of river buffalo and a strong geographic differentiation of swamp buffalo. The highest diversity of the swamp buffalo maternal lineages was found in south China and north Indochina on both banks of the Mekong River, while the highest diversity in paternal lineages was in the China/Indochina border region. We propose that domestication in this region was later followed by introgressive capture of wild cows west of the Mekong. Migration to the north followed the Yangtze valley as well as a more eastern route, but also involved translocations of both cows and bulls over large distances with a minor influence of river buffaloes in recent decades. Bayesian analyses of various migration models also supported domestication in the China/Indochina border region. Coalescence analysis yielded consistent estimates for the expansion of the major swamp buffalo haplogroups with a credibility interval of 900 to 3900 years BP. The spatial differentiation of mtDNA and Y-chromosomal haplotype distributions indicates a lack of gene flow between established populations that is unprecedented in livestock. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Y-chromosome and mtDNA variation confirms independent domestications and directional hybridization in South American camelids.

PubMed

Marín, J C; Romero, K; Rivera, R; Johnson, W E; González, B A

2017-10-01

Investigations of genetic diversity and domestication in South American camelids (SAC) have relied on autosomal microsatellite and maternally-inherited mitochondrial data. We present the first integrated analysis of domestic and wild SAC combining male and female sex-specific markers (male specific Y-chromosome and female-specific mtDNA sequence variation) to assess: (i) hypotheses about the origin of domestic camelids, (ii) directionality of introgression among domestic and/or wild taxa as evidence of hybridization and (iii) currently recognized subspecies patterns. Three male-specific Y-chromosome markers and control region sequences of mitochondrial DNA are studied here. Although no sequence variation was found in SRY and ZFY, there were seven variable sites in DBY generating five haplotypes on the Y-chromosome. The haplotype network showed clear separation between haplogroups of guanaco-llama and vicuña-alpaca, indicating two genetically distinct patrilineages with near absence of shared haplotypes between guanacos and vicuñas. Although we document some examples of directional hybridization, the patterns strongly support the hypothesis that llama (Lama glama) is derived from guanaco (Lama guanicoe) and the alpaca (Vicugna pacos) from vicuña (Vicugna vicugna). Within male guanacos we identified a haplogroup formed by three haplotypes with different geographical distributions, the northernmost of which (Peru and northern Chile) was also observed in llamas, supporting the commonly held hypothesis that llamas were domesticated from the northernmost populations of guanacos (L. g. cacilensis). Southern guanacos shared the other two haplotypes. A second haplogroup, consisting of two haplotypes, was mostly present in vicuñas and alpacas. However, Y-chromosome variation did not distinguish the two subspecies of vicuñas. © 2017 Stichting International Foundation for Animal Genetics.

Electromagnetic and light scattering by nonspherical particles XVI

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berg, Matthew J.; Eversole, Jay D.; Kolokolova, Ludmilla; Mishchenko, Michael I.; Videen, Gorden

2017-11-01

The 16th Electromagnetic and Light Scattering Conference (ELS-XVI) was held in College Park, MD from 19-25 March 2017 (Fig. 1). This conference built on the success of the previous meetings held in Amsterdam (1995) [1], Helsinki (1997) [2], New York (1998) [3], Vigo (1999), Halifax (2000) [4], Gainesville (2002) [5], Bremen (2003) [6], Salobreña (2005) [7], St. Petersburg (2006) [8], Bodrum (2007) [9], Hatfield (2008) [10], Helsinki (2010) [11], Taormina (2011) [12], Lille (2013) [13], and Leipzig (2015) [14], as well as of three related workshops held in Bremen (1996, 1998) and Moscow (1997). As before, the main objective of this conference was to assemble scientists, engineers, and PhD students researching various aspects of electromagnetic scattering by particles and particle groups and to provide a stimulating atmosphere for in-depth discussions of theory, measurements, and applications. The conference featured 143 presentations by 132 registered participants from 18 countries. The program and the abstracts of conference presentations are available at the official conference web site https://www.giss.nasa.gov/staff/mmishchenko/ELS-XVI.

Enriched environment at work: Disassociated from stress and burnout.

PubMed

Rodriguez, Francisca S; Luck, Tobias; Riedel-Heller, Steffi G

2018-05-22

Enriched environment at work (EEW), in terms of high mental demands at work, may be of great relevance for preventative efforts against cognitive decline and dementia as previous studies have shown. Yet, there is the concern that high EEW mental demands may accelerate stress and cause burnout. The aim of our study was to investigate how EEW mental demands are related to stress and burnout. A convenience sample of employees in the city area of Leipzig, Germany, was asked to fill out the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory and indicate for each EEW mental demand the level experienced, demandingness, and stressfulness. Multivariate linear regression and structural equation modelling suggested that only some EEW mental demands were perceived as stressful when the level of the respective EEW mental demand was high. Higher stressfulness was associated with burnout symptoms - however, high levels of EEW mental demands were not significantly associated with burnout (neither directly nor indirectly). Our findings implied that subjectively perceived stressfulness seems to be a more relevant aspect than the actual level of the demand itself. However, further studies are necessary to validate our findings.

Tomographic reconstruction of atmospheric turbulence with the use of time-dependent stochastic inversion.

PubMed

Vecherin, Sergey N; Ostashev, Vladimir E; Ziemann, A; Wilson, D Keith; Arnold, K; Barth, M

2007-09-01

Acoustic travel-time tomography allows one to reconstruct temperature and wind velocity fields in the atmosphere. In a recently published paper [S. Vecherin et al., J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 119, 2579 (2006)], a time-dependent stochastic inversion (TDSI) was developed for the reconstruction of these fields from travel times of sound propagation between sources and receivers in a tomography array. TDSI accounts for the correlation of temperature and wind velocity fluctuations both in space and time and therefore yields more accurate reconstruction of these fields in comparison with algebraic techniques and regular stochastic inversion. To use TDSI, one needs to estimate spatial-temporal covariance functions of temperature and wind velocity fluctuations. In this paper, these spatial-temporal covariance functions are derived for locally frozen turbulence which is a more general concept than a widely used hypothesis of frozen turbulence. The developed theory is applied to reconstruction of temperature and wind velocity fields in the acoustic tomography experiment carried out by University of Leipzig, Germany. The reconstructed temperature and velocity fields are presented and errors in reconstruction of these fields are studied.

[Pathology of South American Camelids: a retrospective study of necropsies at the Institute of Veterinary Pathology, University of Leipzig, Germany].

PubMed

Theuß, T; Goerigk, D; Rasenberger, S; Starke, A; Schoon, H-A

2014-01-01

The number of South American Camelids (New World Camelids) housed in Germany has increased in the recent years. While these species were formerly kept solely in zoological gardens, ever more private and commercial livestock is being established. Compared to indigenous livestock animals, they bear some distinctive differences, particularly in terms of digestive tract anatomy and physiology. Therefore, it is of considerable interest for veterinarians working with South American Camelids to obtain knowledge about the distinguishing features of these animals and the typical diseases affecting them in Germany. For this purpose, the necropsy reports, including the anamnestic data, and their diagnostic usefulness, from 1995 to 2012 were studied retrospectively. Du- ring this period, a total of 233 New World Camelids were examined (195 alpacas and 38 llamas). Anamnestic data of diagnostic usefulness regarding the cause of disease were only submitted in a limited number of cases, because most of the animals died without specific symptoms. The following were the most frequent pathological findings: enteritis (n = 91), gastritis (n = 76), cachexia (n = 73), pneumonia (n = 30), stomatitis (n = 27), azotaemia (n = 22) and anaemia (n = 9). An endoparasitosis occurred in 107 cases and was considered the predominant cause of enteritis. As with indigenous ruminants, llamas and alpacas primarily suffered from diseases of the digestive and respiratory tracts. Other organ systems were affected to a lesser extent. Even in cases with severe alterations in the affected organs, South American Camelids do not show or show too late diagnostically indicative clinical symptoms. Therefore, a detailed clinical examination of these animals is important.

["Nicolaus Ficke... who practiced physiognomy, astrology, etc. was also a bad man"].

PubMed

Lenke, Nils; Roudet, Nicolas

2012-01-01

This arcticle summarizes what could be learned from newly discovered documents about the biography of Nicolas von Vicken, first known reader of Kepler's "Astronomia Nova" and Kepler's partner in an exchange of more than a dozen letters over several years. Von Vicken stems from a rich and influential family of merchants in Riga, made noble by the Polish King (who ruled Riga at the time) in 1580. His education included legal studies at the universities of Königsberg, Leipzig and Rostock, partially overlapping with a stay of ten years at the Polish court. There von Vicken pursued family business but also served in an official court role. In 1600/1 von Vicken switched sides and started to serve the Swedish ruler (and later king) Duke Carl IX, who was at war with Poland to gain control over Riga and Livonia. In 1602 a mission for Sweden to Northern Germany brought him in conflict with Francis II, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg, who accused von Vicken of withholding money from him, which was supposed to be used for hiring troops. Von Vicken, together with his brother Heinrich, was imprisoned, but could flee. During a mission to Maximilian III, Archduke of Austria, in 1599/1600 von Vicken had been initiated as an alchemist and astrologer through reading the works of Paracelsus and his future stations in life were influenced by this. These include an attempt to get employed at the Saxon court in Dresden, and stays in Wolfenbiittel and Halberstadt, both ruled by Duke Henry Julius of Brunswick-Lüneburg. Von Vicken offered various astrological and alchemical services to the Duke and private investors. With one of them he got into a serious conflict over the alleged non-fillment of a contract to produce steel in an alchemical way. During that von Vicken got imprisoned twice, in 1609 and between 1611 and 1614. A subsequent attempt to get employed by Ernst of Schaumburg left us with several letters that detail von Vicken's alchemical and astrological thinking, two of these are

Measurement of the vertical gradient of the semidiurnal tidal wind phase in winter at the 95 km level

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schminder, R.; Kurschner, D.

1984-05-01

When supplemented by absolute reflection height measurements, low frequency wind measurements in the 90-100 km height range become truly competitive in comparison with the more widely used radar meteor wind observations. For example, height profiles of the wind parameters in the so-called meteor zone can be obtained due to the considerable interdiurnal variability of the average nighttime reflection heights controlled by geomagnetic activity. The phase of the semidiurnal tidal wind is particularly height-dependent. The measured vertical gradient of 1/4 h/km in winter corresponds to a vertical wavelength of about 50 km. Wind measurements in the upper atmosphere, at heights between 90 and 100 km, were carried out at the Collm Geophysical Observatory of Karl Marx University Leipzig for a number of years. These measurements use the closely-spaced receiver method and three measuring paths, on 179, 227, and 272 kHz. They take place every day between sunset and sunrise, i.e., nightly. A night in this sense may last as long as 18 hours in winter. Both the measurements and their evaluation are completely automatic, and the prevailing winds and tides are separated.

Emil Kraepelin's habilitation and his thesis: a pioneer work for modern systematic reviews, psychoimmunological research and categories of psychiatric diseases.

PubMed

Steinberg, Holger; Himmerich, Hubertus

2013-05-01

Although Kraepelin and his oeuvre have been in scientific focus over the past decades, main aspects have still been neglected. Thus the exact circumstances under which and on what topic Kraepelin wrote his habilitation thesis and qualified as university lecturer (in Germany the prerequisite to be appointed as professor) are still widely unknown. This study reconstructs his habilitation at the Medical Faculty of Leipzig University in 1882. The study reveals the difficulties he had to habilitate on a topic from Wilhelm Wundt's experimental psychology and the opposition he faced from Paul Flechsig. Yet Kraepelin succeeded, mainly due to a positive review by neurologist Wilhelm Erb on his study "On the Influence of Acute Diseases on the Development of Mental Illnesses" (1881/82). This work must be regarded as his actual habilitation thesis. It provides an update of organic psychiatric disorders following acute inflammatory diseases and a meta-analysis on the basis of raw data. In addition it discusses possibilities to categorize and understand the pathophysiological mechanism of these disorders and to classify them into those appearing when the fever rises and those occurring when it falls, which has a high impact from a very modern psychoimmunological viewpoint.

The pleasures and perils of prophetic advocacy: Henry E. Sigerist and the politics of medical reform.

PubMed Central

Fee, E

1996-01-01

Henry E. Sigerist, an internationally renowned medical historian, played a surprisingly important and visible role in American medical politics in the 1930s and 1940s. Born in Paris of Swiss parents, he was professor in Leipzig, Germany, before coming to the United States in 1932 as professor of the history of medicine at Johns Hopkins University. Once in America. Sigerist became deeply involved in medical politics and the campaign for national health insurance. He argued that individualized medical practice was outdated and should gradually be superseded by state-run and state-financed health services. National health insurance was but one step in this historical progression. Sigerist thus lent the weight of history itself to the cause of medical care reform. The charming and erudite Sigerist was welcomed by the leaders of academic medicine in America. Soon, he emerged as a spokesman of the left wing of the medical profession, an effective and popular speaker and an impassioned advocate of socialized medicine. This paper traces Sigerist's political ideas and activities, and his contributions toward medical care reform in the United States. Images p1639-a p1642-a PMID:8916536

Measurement of the Vertical Gradient of the Semidiurnal Tidal Wind Phase in Winter at the 95 Km Level

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schminder, R.; Kurschner, D.

1984-01-01

When supplemented by absolute reflection height measurements, low frequency wind measurements in the 90-100 km height range become truly competitive in comparison with the more widely used radar meteor wind observations. For example, height profiles of the wind parameters in the so-called meteor zone can be obtained due to the considerable interdiurnal variability of the average nighttime reflection heights controlled by geomagnetic activity. The phase of the semidiurnal tidal wind is particularly height-dependent. The measured vertical gradient of 1/4 h/km in winter corresponds to a vertical wavelength of about 50 km. Wind measurements in the upper atmosphere, at heights between 90 and 100 km, were carried out at the Collm Geophysical Observatory of Karl Marx University Leipzig for a number of years. These measurements use the closely-spaced receiver method and three measuring paths, on 179, 227, and 272 kHz. They take place every day between sunset and sunrise, i.e., nightly. A night in this sense may last as long as 18 hours in winter. Both the measurements and their evaluation are completely automatic, and the prevailing winds and tides are separated.

Intracellular iron concentration of neurons with and without perineuronal nets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fiedler, Anja; Reinert, Tilo; Morawski, Markus; Brückner, Gert; Arendt, Thomas; Butz, Tilman

2007-07-01

Neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and Huntington's disease are characterized by abnormally high concentrations of iron in the affected brain areas. Iron is believed to contribute to oxidative stress by catalysing radical generation and subsequently causing neuronal death. Interestingly, subpopulations of neurons are less vulnerable against degeneration. One of these subpopulations possesses a specialized extracellular matrix arranged as a perineuronal net (PN), a structure with poorly understood functions. In order to differentiate between neurons with and without PN according to their iron concentrations we have performed a μPIXE study at the Leipzig LIPSION laboratory. PN-ensheathed neurons in selected brain areas were detected by lectin-histochemical staining with Wisteria floribunda agglutinin (WFA). The staining was intensified by DAB- nickel by an established method enabling the visualisation of the PNs by nuclear microscopy. The cellular concentration of iron in the rat brain was about 1 mmol/l (ca. 30 μg/g dw). First results of subcellular analysis showed that the intracellular iron concentration of PN-ensheathed neurons tends to be slightly increased in comparison to neurons without PNs. The difference in intracellular iron concentrations could be an effect of the PNs.

Recommendations of the Spanish brachytherapy group (GEB) of Spanish Society of Radiation Oncology (SEOR) and the Spanish Society of Medical Physics (SEFM) for high-dose rate (HDR) non melanoma skin cancer brachytherapy.

PubMed

Rodríguez, S; Arenas, M; Gutierrez, C; Richart, J; Perez-Calatayud, J; Celada, F; Santos, M; Rovirosa, A

2018-04-01

Clinical indications of brachytherapy in non-melanoma skin cancers, description of applicators and dosimetry recommendations are described based on the literature review, clinical practice and experience of Spanish Group of Brachytherapy and Spanish Society of Medical Physics reported in the XIV Annual Consensus Meeting on Non Melanoma Skin Cancer Brachytherapy held in Benidorm, Alicante (Spain) on October 21st, 2016. All the recommendations for which consensus was achieved are highlighted in blue. Regular and small surfaces may be treated with Leipzig, Valencia, flap applicators or electronic brachytherapy (EBT). For irregular surfaces, customized molds or interstitial implants should be employed. The dose is prescribed at a maximum depth of 3-4 mm of the clinical target volume/planning target volume (CTV/PTV) in all cases except in flaps or molds in which 5 mm is appropriate. Interstitial brachytherapy should be used for CTV/PTV >5 mm. Different total doses and fraction sizes are used with very similar clinical and toxicity results. Hypofractionation is very useful twice or 3 times a week, being comfortable for patients and practical for Radiotherapy Departments. In interstitial brachytherapy 2 fractions twice a day are applied.

Experimental investigation on bond of reinforcement in steel fibre-reinforced lightweight concrete

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Holschemacher, K.; Ali, A.

2017-10-01

Bond behaviour of reinforcement is crucial parameter for load bearing reinforced concrete members. Many parameters like anchorage of reinforcement, lap splices, deflection or tension stiffening are influenced by the bond properties. It is well known that the ductility of bond can be improved by steel fibres. In this context almost innumerable experiments were performed for investigation of bond in normal weight concrete. However, the bond behaviour of reinforcement in steel fibre-reinforced lightweight concrete (SFRLWC) has received much less attention. For this reason, an experimental program dealing with bond in SFRLWC has been started at HTWK Leipzig/Germany. Main parts of the investigation were pull-out tests with various bar sizes and application of different steel fibre-reinforced lightweight and normal weight concretes. The paper reports the details of experimental investigations and evaluates the test results. As one of the most important outcomes that can be noted is that there is pronounced effect of bar size and steel fibre amount on bond properties in general. But those effects are more pronounced for SFRLWC in comparison to normal weight concrete with and without steel fibres.

Chladni's clavicylinder and some imitations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heise, B.

2007-06-01

Chladni's accomplishments in the field of instrument making were until recently not nearly as well-respected as his studies on the modes of vibration of plates and rods. However, he had developed his own friction instruments based on the glass harmonica, a popular instrument of his time. The instruments, which he partially built himself, had keys, which distinguished them from the glass harmonica. Additionally, these instruments differed from traditional keyboard instruments as they enabled the crescendo and decrescendo of individual notes after the key had been struck. Although Chladni's clavicylinder fascinated audiences and prompted imitations by many instrument makers, it was largely ignored by composers and pianists and therefore never became part of standard orchestration. The Museum of Musical Instruments of the University of Leipzig features three rare examples of friction instruments which have outlasted the centuries. These instruments were built according to the Chladni principle. After a thorough analysis, including the production of individual notes, these instruments will be presented in their cultural-historical as well as their technical context, followed by a discussion of their advantages and disadvantages. These originals exhibits allow for a conclusive comprehension of Chladni's ideas and his quest for new, unusual tone colors.

Innovative test method for the estimation of the foaming tendency of substrates for biogas plants

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Moeller, Lucie, E-mail: lucie.moeller@ufz.de; Eismann, Frank, E-mail: info@antoc.de; Wißmann, Daniel, E-mail: d.s.wissmann@gmx.de

2015-07-15

Graphical abstract: Display Omitted - Highlights: • Foaming in biogas plants depends on the interactions between substrate and digestate. • Foaming tests enable the evaluation of substrate foaming tendency in biogas plants. • Leipzig foam tester enables foaming tests of substrates prior to use. - Abstract: Excessive foaming in anaerobic digestion occurs at many biogas plants and can cause problems including plugged gas pipes. Unfortunately, the majority of biogas plant operators are unable to identify the causes of foaming in their biogas reactor. The occurrence of foaming is often related to the chemical composition of substrates fed to the reactor.more » The consistency of the digestate itself is also a crucial part of the foam formation process. Thus, no specific recommendations concerning substrates can be given in order to prevent foam formation in biogas plants. The safest way to avoid foaming is to test the foaming tendency of substrates on-site. A possible solution is offered by an innovative foaming test. With the help of this tool, biogas plant operators can evaluate the foaming disposition of new substrates prior to use in order to adjust the composition of substrate mixes.« less

Remote sensing of air pollution over large European cities by lidar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koelsch, Hans J.; Kolenda, Juergen; Rairoux, Patrick; Stein, Bernhard; Weidauer, Dirk; Wolf, Jean-Pierre; Woeste, Ludger H.; Fritzsche, Klaus

1993-09-01

Progresses in remote sensing of the atmosphere using the Udar (Light detection and ranging) technique closely follows progresses in Laser technology. We developed a mobile DIAL (differential absorption Lidar) system, based on high repetition rate Excimerpumped dye lasers, for performing 2D and 3D-mappings of concentration of NO, N02, S02, and 03. The high sensitivity of the system has been used for numerous environmental studies and measurement campaigns, providing for the first time a direct correlation between emission and immission. Attractive results have been obtained under urban conditions, because of the presence of strong concentration gradients, and fast fluctuations due to traffic. A comparative study between Lyon, Stuttgart, Geneva and Berlin will be presented. In particular, the Berlin-campaign demonstrates the possibility of detecting unknown emitters and monitoring exportation-importation processes of atmospheric pollution. A new stationary DIAL system has been recently constructed and implemented on the top of a building in the center of the city Leipzig. It will routinely perform concentration mappings of nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide and ozone, giving access to long term evolution of pollution distributions.

Remote sensing of air pollution over large European cities by lidar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koelsch, Hans J.; Kolenda, Juergen; Rairoux, Patrick; Stein, Bernhard; Weidauer, Dirk; Wolf, Jean-Pierre; Woeste, Ludger H.; Fritzsche, Klaus

1992-12-01

Progresses in remote sensing of the atmosphere using the light detection and ranging (lidar) technique closely follows progresses in laser technology. We developed a mobile differential absorption lidar (DIAL) system, based on high repetition rate excimer-pumped dye lasers, for performing 2-D and 3-D mappings of concentration of NO, NO2, SO2, and O3. The high sensitivity of the system has been used for numerous environmental studies and measurement campaigns, providing for the first time a direct correlation between emission and immission. Attractive results have been obtained under urban conditions, because of the presence of strong concentration gradients, and fast fluctuations due to traffic. A comparative study between Lyon, France; Stuttgart, Germany; Geneva, Switzerland; and Berlin, Germany; is presented. In particular, the Berlin campaign demonstrates the possibility of detecting unknown emitters and monitoring exportation-importation processes of atmospheric pollution. A new stationary DIAL system has recently been constructed and implemented on the top of a building in the center of the city of Leipzig, Germany. It will routinely perform concentration mappings of nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, and ozone, giving access to long term evolution of pollution distributions.

Basin Hopping Graph: a computational framework to characterize RNA folding landscapes

PubMed Central

Kucharík, Marcel; Hofacker, Ivo L.; Stadler, Peter F.; Qin, Jing

2014-01-01

Motivation: RNA folding is a complicated kinetic process. The minimum free energy structure provides only a static view of the most stable conformational state of the system. It is insufficient to give detailed insights into the dynamic behavior of RNAs. A sufficiently sophisticated analysis of the folding free energy landscape, however, can provide the relevant information. Results: We introduce the Basin Hopping Graph (BHG) as a novel coarse-grained model of folding landscapes. Each vertex of the BHG is a local minimum, which represents the corresponding basin in the landscape. Its edges connect basins when the direct transitions between them are ‘energetically favorable’. Edge weights endcode the corresponding saddle heights and thus measure the difficulties of these favorable transitions. BHGs can be approximated accurately and efficiently for RNA molecules well beyond the length range accessible to enumerative algorithms. Availability and implementation: The algorithms described here are implemented in C++ as standalone programs. Its source code and supplemental material can be freely downloaded from http://www.tbi.univie.ac.at/bhg.html. Contact: qin@bioinf.uni-leipzig.de Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. PMID:24648041

Editorial

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rigato, Valentino; Giuntini, Lorenzo; Vittone, Ettore

2015-04-01

This special issue of Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research B is dedicated to the proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Microprobe Technology and Applications (ICNMTA2014) and of the Workshop on Proton Beam Writing. ICNMTA2014, held in Padova (Italy) from 7th to 11th July 2014, follows the conferences in Lisbon (2012, Portugal), Leipzig (Germany, 2010), Debrecen (Hungary, 2008), Singapore (2006), Cavtat-Dubrovnik (Croatia, 2004), Takasaki (Japan, 2002), Bordeaux (2000, France), Spier Estate (1998, South Africa), Santa Fe (1996, NM, USA), Shanghai (1994, PRC), Uppsala (1992, Sweden), Melbourne (1990, Australia), Oxford (1987, UK) and Namur (1981, Belgium). The conference was organized by the INFN (Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare), under the patronage of the Universities of Padova, Firenze, Torino and of the Comune di Padova, in cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). 135 delegates (∼15% women and ∼20% students) from 27 countries of the 5 continents attended ICNMTA2014: the first day of conference took place in the magnificent Aula Magna of the University of Padova, adjacent to the Galileo's desk, and proceeded in the historical building of the Centro Culturale San Gaetano in Padova.

Application fields for the new Object Management Group (OMG) Standards Case Management Model and Notation (CMMN) and Decision Management Notation (DMN) in the perioperative field.

PubMed

Wiemuth, M; Junger, D; Leitritz, M A; Neumann, J; Neumuth, T; Burgert, O

2017-08-01

Medical processes can be modeled using different methods and notations. Currently used modeling systems like Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN) are not capable of describing the highly flexible and variable medical processes in sufficient detail. We combined two modeling systems, Business Process Management (BPM) and Adaptive Case Management (ACM), to be able to model non-deterministic medical processes. We used the new Standards Case Management Model and Notation (CMMN) and Decision Management Notation (DMN). First, we explain how CMMN, DMN and BPMN could be used to model non-deterministic medical processes. We applied this methodology to model 79 cataract operations provided by University Hospital Leipzig, Germany, and four cataract operations provided by University Eye Hospital Tuebingen, Germany. Our model consists of 85 tasks and about 20 decisions in BPMN. We were able to expand the system with more complex situations that might appear during an intervention. An effective modeling of the cataract intervention is possible using the combination of BPM and ACM. The combination gives the possibility to depict complex processes with complex decisions. This combination allows a significant advantage for modeling perioperative processes.

The birth of experimental psychology in Germany between psychophysical methods and physiological theories.

PubMed

Sinatra, Maria

2006-01-01

In 1879 Wundt's laboratory of psychology was opened in Leipzig, and it has been the landmark ever since for the beginning of modern experimental psychology. Its founder, Wilhelm Maximilian Wundt, was the first to successfully demarcate the areas of scientific psychology as being distinct from either physiology or philosophy, thus guaranteeing the survival of psychology, which was regarded as an autonomous discipline set upon a secure institutional framework. This paper attempts to clarify the basic facts and concepts related to the roots of scientific psychology in Germany, i.e., the context in which the "Founding Father" worked, as well as of those predecessors who proposed the topics and apparatus of his laboratory. Attention will be paid in particular to the psychophysical methods of Weber and Fechner, especially in regard to colour perception. In this context, an outline is presented of the history of reaction time experiments in astronomy, physiology, and psychology, and of the role played by the scientific instruments. It is shown how the methodology of physics and physiology contributed to the emancipation of scientific psychology and to the formation of its orientation.

Electromagnetic and light scattering by nonspherical particles XV: Celebrating 150 years of Maxwell's electromagnetics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Macke, Andreas; Mishchenko, Michael I.

2016-07-01

The 15th Electromagnetic and Light Scattering Conference (ELS-XV) was held in Leipzig, Germany from 21 to 26 of June 2015 (Fig. 1). This conference built on the great success of the previous meetings held in Amsterdam (1995) [1], Helsinki (1997) [2], New York City (1998) [3], Vigo (1999), Halifax (2000) [4], Gainesville (2002) [5], Bremen (2003) [6], Salobreña (2005) [7], St. Petersburg (2006) [8], Bodrum (2007) [9], Hatfield (2008) [10], Helsinki (2010) [11], Taormina (2011) [12], and Lille [13] as well as the workshops held in Bremen (1996, 1998) and Moscow (1997). As usual, the main objective of this conference was to bring together scientists, engineers, and PhD students studying various aspects of electromagnetic scattering and to provide a relaxed atmosphere for in-depth discussion of theory, measurements, and applications. Furthermore, ELS-XV supported the United Nations "Year of Light" and celebrated the 150th anniversary of Maxwell's electromagnetics. Maxwell's paper on "A Dynamical Theory of the Electromagnetic Field" [14] was published in 1865 and has widely been acknowledged as one of the supreme achievements in the history of science.

Members of a new subgroup of Streptococcus anginosus harbor virulence related genes previously observed in Streptococcus pyogenes.

PubMed

Babbar, Anshu; Kumar, Venkatesan Naveen; Bergmann, René; Barrantes, Israel; Pieper, Dietmar H; Itzek, Andreas; Nitsche-Schmitz, D Patric

2017-04-01

Conventionally categorized as commensals, the Streptococci of the species S. anginosus are facultative human pathogens that are difficult to diagnose and often overlooked. Furthermore, detailed investigation and diagnosis of S. anginosus infections is hampered by unexplored taxonomy and widely elusive molecular pathogenesis. To explore their pathogenic potential, S. anginosus isolates collected from patients of two geographical locations (Vellore, India and Leipzig, Germany) were subjected to multi-locus sequence analysis (MLSA). This analysis revealed the potential presence of a new distinct clade of the species S. anginosus, tentatively termed here as genomosubspecies vellorensis. A complementary PCR-based screening for S. pyogenes virulence factor as well as antibiotic resistance genes revealed not only the presence of superantigen- and extracellular DNase coding genes identical to corresponding genes of S. pyogenes, but also of erythromycin and tetracycline resistance genes in the genomes of the analyzed S. anginosus isolates, thus posing a matter of significant health concern. Identification of new pathogenic S. anginosus strains capable of causing difficult to treat infections may pose additional challenges to the diagnosis and treatment of Streptococcus based infections. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

The history of gait analysis before the advent of modern computers.

PubMed

Baker, Richard

2007-09-01

Aristotle (384-322 BCE) can be attributed with the earliest recorded comments regarding the manner in which humans walk. It was not until the renaissance that further progress was made through the experiments and theorising of Giovanni Borelli (1608-1679). Although several scientists wrote about walking through the enlightenment period it was the brothers Willhelm (1804-1891) and Eduard (1806-1871) Weber, working in Leipzig who made the next major contribution based on very simple measurements. Both Jules Etienne Marey (1830-1904), working in France, and Eadweard Muybridge (1830-1904), working in America, made significant advances in measurement technology. These were developed further by Otto Fischer (1861-1917) in collaboration with Willhelm Braune (1831-1892). The major developments in the early twentieth century were in the development of force plates and the understanding of kinetics. The team headed by Verne Inman (1905-1980) and Howard Eberhart (1906-1993) made major advances in America shortly after the Second War. David Sutherland (1923-2006) and Jacquelin Perry pioneered clinical applications in America and Jurg Baumann (1926-2000) in Europe. It was not until the advent of modern computers that clinical gait analysis became widely available.

Akodon sex reversed females: the never ending story.

PubMed

Bianchi, N O

2002-01-01

The existence of fertile A. azarae females with a chromosome sex pair indistinguishable from that of males was reported more than 35 years ago. These heterogametic females were initially thought to occur due to an extreme process of dosage compensation in which X inactivation was restricted to Xp and complemented by a deletion of Xq (Xx females). Later on, a C-banding analysis of A. mollis variant females showed that these specimens were in fact XY* sex reversed and not Xx females. The finding of positive testing for Zfy and Sry multiple-copy genes in Akodon males and heterogametic females confirmed the XY* assumption. At the present time, XY* sex reversed females have been found to exist in nine Akodon species. Akodon heterogametic females produce X and Y* oocytes, which upon sperm fertilization give rise to viable XX (female), XY* (female), and XY (male) embryos, and to non-viable Y*Y zygotes. Heterozygous females exhibit a better reproductive performance than XX females in order to compensate the Y*Y zygote wastage. XY* sex reversed females are assumed to occur due to a deficient Sry expression resulting in the development of ovaries instead of testes. Moreover, the appearance of Y* elements is a highly recurrent event. It is proposed that homozygosity for an autosomal or pseudoautosomal recessive mutation (s-) inhibits Sry expression giving rise to XY* embryos with ovary development. Location of the Y* chromosome in the female germ cell lineage produces an ovary-specific imprinting of the Sry* gene maintaining its defective expression through generations independently from the presence or absence of s- homozygosity. By escaping the ovary-specific methylation some Y* chromosomes turn back to normal Ys producing Y oocytes capable of generating normal male embryos when fertilized by an X sperm. Fluctuations in the rate of variant females in field populations and in laboratory colonies of Akodon depend on the balance between the appearance of new variant females (s

[Development and basics of metabolic monitoring in dairy cows. Focus on research in Eastern Germany and at the University of Leipzig, Germany].

PubMed

Fürll, M

2016-01-01

Systematic metabolic monitoring began in German-speaking countries in the late 1960s, early 1970s, due to an increase in metabolic disorders as a cause of infertility and mastitis and aimed at their prevention through early diagnosis. Development of a unified monitoring standard: Initiated by Rossow, Gürtler, Ehrentraut, Seidel and Furcht a standard "metabolic monitoring in cattle production" was developed in the 1970s. It included farm analysis, clinical and biochemical controls, prophylaxis and follow-up controls. Key points were: periodic screenings of heavily loaded, healthy indicator animals 2-4 days post partum (p.  p.), 2-8 weeks p.  p. and 1-2 weeks ante partum, maximal 10 animals/group, pooled samples are useful, optimal are individual samples, use of informative sample substrate and parameters, precise handling of specimens, expert assessment and follow-up. Metabolic controls during 1982-1989 in approximately 242  000 cows revealed means of 32.9% ketoses, 20.0% metabolic acidosis, 21.9% metabolic alkalosis, 34.2% nitrogen-metabolism disorders, 17.3% sodium deficiency and 23.7% liver disorders. Development of a metabolic profile after 1989: Reference values at higher milk yield, early diagnosis of diseases of the fat mobilization syndrome and improved early diagnosis by new indicators, including creatine kinase (CK), alkaline phosphatase (AP) with isoenzymes, acute phase proteins, cytokines, antioxidants, carnitine and lipoprotein fractions, were established. Optimized blood and urine screenings have important advantages over milk analysis. They are an important method of health and performance stabilization by exact analysis of causes and derived prevention. The fertility related parameters free fatty acids, β-hydroxybutyrate, urea, inorganic phosphate, CK, AP, sodium, potassium, selenium, copper, β-carotene and net acid-base excretion proved to be a standard spectrum for screenings. These should be tested once a year/herd, if necessary as an inexpensive pool sample for approximately 50 €.

Do we need gadolinium-based contrast medium for brain magnetic resonance imaging in children?

PubMed

Dünger, Dennis; Krause, Matthias; Gräfe, Daniel; Merkenschlager, Andreas; Roth, Christian; Sorge, Ina

2018-06-01

Brain imaging is the most common examination in pediatric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), often combined with the use of a gadolinium-based contrast medium. The application of gadolinium-based contrast medium poses some risk. There is limited evidence of the benefits of contrast medium in pediatric brain imaging. To assess the diagnostic gain of contrast-enhanced sequences in brain MRI when the unenhanced sequences are normal. We retrospectively assessed 6,683 brain MR examinations using contrast medium in children younger than 16 years in the pediatric radiology department of the University Hospital Leipzig to determine whether contrast-enhanced sequences delivered additional, clinically relevant information to pre-contrast sequences. All examinations were executed using a 1.5-T or a 3-T system. In 8 of 3,003 (95% confidence interval 0.12-0.52%) unenhanced normal brain examinations, a relevant additional finding was detected when contrast medium was administered. Contrast enhancement led to a change in diagnosis in only one of these cases. Children with a normal pre-contrast brain MRI rarely benefit from contrast medium application. Comparing these results to the risks and disadvantages of a routine gadolinium application, there is substantiated numerical evidence for avoiding routine administration of gadolinium in a pre-contrast normal MRI examination.

Thinking in early modernity and the separation process between philosophy and psychology.

PubMed

Klempe, Sven Hroar

2015-03-01

One of the big questions in psychology is when and how psychology disentangled from philosophy. Usually it is referred to the laboratory Wundt established in Leipzig in 1879 as the birth for psychology as an independent science. However this separation process can also be traced in other ways, like by focusing on how the two sciences approach and understand thinking. Although thinking and language were not included in the research in this laboratory, Wundt (1897) regarded thinking as the core of psychology. As a commentary to Papanicolaou (Integr Psychol Behav Sci doi:10.1007/s12124-014-9273-3, 2014), this paper investigates the differences in how psychology and philosophy conceptualized thinking in early Western modernity. Thus one of the findings is that the separation process between the two was more or less initiated by Immanuel Kant. By defining thinking in terms of the pure reason he excluded the psychological understanding of thinking because psychology basically defined thinking in terms of ideas derived from qualia and sensation. Another finding is that psychology itself has not completely realized the differences between the philosophical and the psychological understanding of thinking by having been influenced by Kant's ideal of the pure reason. This may also explain some of the crises psychology went through during the twentieth century.

[Clinicopathologic study of 817 enucleations].

PubMed

Gassler, N; Lommatzsch, P K

1995-11-01

The clinical findings, the indications for enucleation and the histopathological diagnoses from 817 eyes from the University Eye Hospital in Leipzig, enucleated between 01/01/1980 and 31/12/1989 (433 males; 384 females), were analysed retrospectively to investigate, however, the therapeutic and diagnostic importance of enucleation to ophthalmological problems. The most frequent underlying ocular diseases were: intraocular tumour (47.7%), surgical disease [primary glaucoma, retinal detachment, cataract] (18.6%), trauma [enucleation within 4 weeks after the event] (10.3%), systemic disease (6.6%), inflammation (6.1%), other diseases (10.7%). The final causes for enucleation were: intraocular tumour (46.4%), secondary glaucoma (31.6%), atrophia and phthisis bulbi (11.9%), inflammation (6.5%), trauma (0.9%), other diseases (2.7%). An increase in the enucleation rate was noted with increasing age. The ophthalmoscopic diagnoses of 8 i.o. malignant melanomas and 7 cases of retinoblastoma were histopathologically not verified. The histopathological diagnoses included: exudative-hemorrhagic lesion (7), metastasis (1) respectively M. Coats (3), retinal detachment (2), M. Norrie (1), panophthalmitis (1). In 2 cases of i.o. malignant melanoma and 2 cases of retinoblastoma the tumours were clinically unsuspected. The incorrect clinical diagnoses included: secondary glaucoma (2) respectively M. Coats (1), secondary glaucoma (1).

FTIR and 1H MAS NMR investigations on the correlation between the frequency of stretching vibration and the chemical shift of surface OH groups of solids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brunner, Eike; Karge, H. G.; Pfeifer, H.

1992-03-01

The study of surface hydroxyl groups of solids, especially of zeolites, belongs to the 'classical' topics of IR spectroscopy since physico-chemical information may be derived from the wavenumber (nu) OH of the stretching vibration of the different hydroxyls. On the other hand, the last decade has seen the development of high resolution solid-state NMR spectroscopy and through the use of the so-called magic-angle-spinning technique (MAS) the signals of different hydroxyl species can be resolved in the 1H NMR spectra of solids. The chemical shift (delta) H describing the position of these lines may be used as well as (nu) OH to characterize quantitatively the strength of acidity of surface OH groups of solids. In a first comparison of (nu) OH with (delta) H for several types of surface OH groups, a linear correlation between them could be found. The aim of this paper was to prove the validity of this correlation for a wide variety of hydroxyls. The IR measurements were carried out on a Perkin-Elmer FTIR spectrometer 1800 at the Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society, Berlin, and the 1H MAS NMR spectra were recorded on a Bruker MSL- 300 at the University of Leipzig.

A Marble Embryo: Meanings of a Portrait from 1900

PubMed Central

Hopwood, Nick

2012-01-01

Portraits of scientists use attributes of discovery to construct identities; portraits that include esoteric accessories may fashion identities for these too. A striking example is a marble bust of the anatomist Wilhelm His by the Leipzig sculptor Carl Seffner. Made in 1900, it depicts the founder of modern human embryology looking down at a model embryo in his right hand. This essay reconstructs the design and viewing of this remarkable portrait in order to shed light on private and public relations between scientists, research objects and audiences. The bust came out of a collaboration to model the face of the composer Johann Sebastian Bach and embodies a shared commitment to anatomical exactitude in three dimensions. His’s research agendas and public character explain the contemplative pose and unprecedented embryo model, which he had laboriously constructed from material a midwife supplied. The early contexts of display in the His home and art exhibitions suggest interpretive resources for viewers and hence likely meanings. Seffner’s work remains exceptional, but has affinities to portraits of human embryologists and embryos produced since 1960. Embryo images have acquired such controversial prominence that the model may engage us more strongly now than it did exhibition visitors around 1900. PMID:22606754

[Research on Depression in the GDR - Historical Lines of Development and Therapeutic Approaches].

PubMed

Thormann, J; Himmerich, H; Steinberg, H

2014-02-01

Historical research has raised the issue of whether GDR psychiatry was isolated from Western influences to such an extent that an autonomous East German psychiatry developed. Taking a chronological approach and being based on a clearly defined range of topics, the objective of this paper is to identify specific contributions made by GDR psychiatry to academic research as well as the degree of its international orientation by focusing on the treatment and research on depression. We have performed a systematic review of the East German psychiatric journal "Psychiatrie, Neurologie und medizinische Psychologie" and a screening of all psychiatric textbooks that appeared in the GDR. Although East German psychiatry was oriented towards Soviet as well as Western developments, some internationally used therapeutic or conceptual innovations reached East German clinics only with some delay. Yet, East German psychiatrists have also contributed their own, independent nosological and therapeutic concepts to research on depression. Pivotal figures included, among others, R. Lemke (Jena), D. Müller-Hegemann (Leipzig) or K. Leonhard (Berlin). With regard to research on depression one cannot truly speak of an autonomous East German psychiatry. Developments in East and West were largely running in parallel. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Impact of parental education and income inequality on children's food intake.

PubMed

Sausenthaler, Stefanie; Kompauer, Iris; Mielck, Andreas; Borte, Michael; Herbarth, Olf; Schaaf, Beate; von Berg, Andrea; Heinrich, Joachim

2007-01-01

To analyse the association between socio-economic indicators and diet among 2-year-old children, by assessing the independent contribution of parental education and equivalent income to food intake. The analysis was based on data from a prospective birth cohort study. Information on diet was obtained using a semi-quantitative food-frequency questionnaire. Low and high intake of food was defined according to the lowest and the highest quintile of food consumption frequency, respectively. Four German cities (Munich, Leipzig, Wesel, Bad Honnef), 1999-2001. Subjects Subjects were 2637 children at the age of 2 years, whose parents completed questionnaires gathering information on lifestyle factors, including parental socio-economic status, household consumption frequencies and children's diet. Both low parental education and low equivalent income were associated with a low intake of fresh fruit, cooked vegetables and olive oil, and a high intake of canned vegetables or fruit, margarine, mayonnaise and processed salad dressing in children. Children with a low intake of milk and cream, and a high intake of hardened vegetable fat, more likely had parents with lower education. Low butter intake was associated with low equivalent income only. These findings may be helpful for future intervention programmes with more targeted policies aiming at an improvement of children's diets.

[Communication with Migrant Patients and their Parents in Inpatient General Pediatric Care].

PubMed

Ullrich, S; Briel, D; Nesterko, Y; Hiemisch, A; Brähler, E; Glaesmer, H

2016-04-01

Depending on the ethnic background of patients, the quality of communication between the parents of pediatric patients and clinicians, as well as the type and frequency of interpreter services was studied in an inpatient setting. As part of a questionnaire-based survey, data from parents, doctors and nurses with reference to 220 pediatric patients treated in the Department of Pediatrics at the University Hospital Leipzig from February to May 2013 were analyzed; 18,2% of patients were migrants. No differences were found in the assessment of the quality of communication with clinic staff by migrant and non-migrant parents. Physicians as well as nurses rated the communication with migrant parents compared to non-migrant parents significantly lower. In up to 19,2% (data provided by nursing staff) and 15,3% (data provided by doctors) of the cases characterized by insufficient language skills on the part of migrant parents, interpreter services had to be procured. No professional interpreters were used. The results highlight once more the difficulties in communication between clinicians and migrant patients with insufficient language skills. More attention should be paid to the impact of the use of professional interpreters in the health care services. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Lidar-Radiometer Inversion Code (LIRIC) for the Retrieval of Vertical Aerosol Properties from Combined Lidar Radiometer Data: Development and Distribution in EARLINET

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chaikovsky, A.; Dubovik, O.; Holben, Brent N.; Bril, A.; Goloub, P.; Tanre, D.; Pappalardo, G.; Wandinger, U.; Chaikovskaya, L.; Denisov, S.;

From the exposome to mechanistic understanding of chemical ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

BACKGROUND: Current definitions of the exposome expand beyond the initial idea to consider the totality of exposure and aim to relate to biological effects. While the exposome has been established for human health, its principles can be extended to include broader ecological issues. The assessment of exposure is tightly interlinked with hazard assessment. OBJECTIVES: We explore if mechanistic understanding of the causal links between exposure and adverse effects on human health and the environment can be improved by integrating the exposome approach with the adverse outcome pathway (AOP) concept - a framework to structure and organize the sequence of toxicological events from an initial molecular interaction of a chemical to an adverse outcome.METHODS: This review was informed by a Workshop organized by the Integrated Project EXPOSOME at the UFZ Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research in Leipzig, Germany. DISCUSSION: The exposome encompasses all chemicals, including exogenous chemicals and endogenous compounds that are produced in response to external factors. By complementing the exposome research with the AOP concept, we can achieve a better mechanistic understanding, weigh the importance of various components of the exposome, and determine primary risk drivers. The ability to interpret multiple exposures and mixture effects at the mechanistic level requires a more holistic approach facilitated by the exposome concept.CONCLUSION: Incorporating the AOP conc

Hunting remnants of maar-diatreme-volcanoes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kroner, Corinna; Kämpf, Horst; Matthes, Heidrun; Jahr, Thomas; Markwart, David; Hermann, Tobias; Mrlina, Jan

2010-05-01

In the area of the Rostock-Leipzig-Regensburg fault zone (Germany) several centres of seismic activity are found with seismicity manifesting itself in swarm earthquakes. The occurrence of these earthquakes is globally linked to ascending magma and magmatic fluids. Information is scarce regarding the depth and geometry of the magmatic source, dynamics in the sub-Moho/lower crust region and fluid-tectonic processes in the upper crust in this area. From studies of maar structures located in the seismic active section of the fault zone magma-tectonic phenomena can be reconstructed. For this purpose two relicts of maar volcanoes of different age within a distance of 60 km are investigated by geophysical surveys. Both structures are located in a distance of a few 10 km from recent swarm earthquake centres. The diatreme structure near Ebersbrunn/W-Saxony which is probably of tertiary age is known for several years, the late Quaternary, volcanic palaeo-lake near Mýtina close to the Czech-German border was only recently discovered. Both structures are characterized by distinct gravimetric and magnetic anomalies of about -2 mGal and several 100 nT resp. indicating steeply dipping structures as well as electrical conductivity anomalies. The magnetic total field anomaly of the Ebersbrunn structure has an uncommon rugged appearance. The hypothesis of an origin related to a redistribution of material with high magnetic susceptibility values and saponification of magnetic minerals due to melt water run-off after the last glacial period could not be confirmed. Thus the heterogeneous anomaly character appears to be mainly associated with the degree of weathering of the volcanic material within the diatreme with depth. From 3D gravimetric and magnetic modelling information is gained on geometry and structural composition. Drilling results were used as additional boundary conditions. In both cases modelling reveals an inner zone of significantly reduced density and increased

Immersion freezing induced by different kinds of coal fly ash: Comparing particle generation methods and measurement techniques

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grawe, Sarah; Augustin-Bauditz, Stefanie; Clemen, Hans-Christian; Eriksen-Hammer, Stine; Lubitz, Jasmin; Schneider, Johannes; Stratmann, Frank; Wex, Heike

2017-04-01

To date, a lot of effort has been put into the identification and characterization of atmospheric ice nucleating particles (INPs), which may influence both weather and climate. The majority of studies focuses on INPs from natural origin such as biological particles or mineral dust particles (Hoose and Möhler 2012, Murray et al. 2012). Combustion ashes, being possible sources of anthropogenic INPs, have rarely been investigated in the past. Ash particles may be emitted into the atmosphere either by the action of wind from ash deposits on the ground (bottom ash), or during the combustion process (fly ash). Two recent studies (Umo et al., 2015; Grawe et al., 2016) identified fly ash from coal combustion as the most efficient of the investigated samples (including also bottom ashes from wood and coal combustion). These results motivate the here presented study in which we investigated the immersion freezing behavior of four coal fly ash samples taken from the filters of different coal-fired power plants in Germany. A combination of two instruments was used to capture the temperature range from 0 °C to the homogeneous freezing limit at around -38 °C. Firstly, the new Leipzig Ice Nucleation Array (LINA) was used, where droplets from an ash-water suspension are pipetted onto a cooled plate. Secondly, we used the Leipzig Aerosol Cloud Interaction Simulator (LACIS; Hartmann et al., 2011), a laminar flow tube in which every droplet contains a single size-segregated ash particle. Here, it was possible to study the effect of different kinds of particle generation, i.e., atomization of an ash-water suspension, and aerosolization of dry ash material. The composition of the ash particles was investigated by means of single particle aerosol mass spectrometry and particles were sampled on filters for environmental scanning electron microscope analysis. Our measurements show that all four fly ash samples feature a similar immersion freezing behavior (ice fractions vary by a

[Emil Kraepelin: a pioneer of modern psychiatry. On the occasion of the hundred and fiftieth anniversary of his birth].

PubMed

Géraud, M

2007-09-01

Emil Kraepelin (1856-1926) whose hundred and fiftieth birth anniversary we are celebrating this year, is one of the most renowned figures of psychiatry. His Memoirs published in 1983 provide insight on the individual. In his early career he lived in Würzburg, Munich, Leipzig, Leubus, Dresden, and then in Dorpat in 1886 (as visiting professor) where he stayed for five years, in Heidelberg (as regular professor) from 1891 to 1904, and lastly in Munich. Kraepelin ranks among the great clinical medicine forerunners who followed in Kahlbaum's footsteps. For him, the foremost task of scientific psychiatry was to circumscribe pathological entities. At the foundation of Kraepelin-inspired scientific psychiatry lies the notion of the of disease, as opposed to the approach (5th edition of the Treatise), whereby it is no longer concerned with the study of mental disorder in terms of symptoms but rather in terms of conditions of occurrence, evolution and outcome thereof. This method produced two well-known results: the unification and recognition of , and the definition of (dementia praecox). These results are described in the Treatise of Psychiatry which has had eight editions during the author's lifetime (from 1883 to 1915), and which presents Kraepelin's systematic nosography covering the entire field of mental illness. Such an innovative method required special tools capable of exploring not only the symptoms, as had been done previously, but the pathological process per se: therefore, Kreapelin created a systematic method to conduct psychiatric research and founded a Research Establishment divided into different sections (histopathology, topographic histology, serology, genealogy). Alois Alzheimer and Franz Nissl, among others, were closely associated with his work. Kreapelin's thought was not set, however, and by the end of his career it took a turn toward a more comprehensive type of

International Federation of Library Associations Annual Conference Papers. Bibliographic Control Division: Bibliography and Cataloguing Sections (47th, Leipzig, East Germany, August 17-22, 1981).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vita, Susan H.; And Others

This set of papers delivered to the Bibliographic Control Division of the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) during its 47th annual conference (1981) includes: "Cataloging in Publication in the United States--Problems and Prospects," by Susan H. Vita; "Development and Coordination of Bibliographic Activities:…

Antibiotic resistance: the challenge from an industry perspective.

PubMed

Tillotson, Glenn S

2009-03-01

Trained in medical microbiology and infectious diseases in the UK, Glenn Tillotson has over 20 years pharmaceutical experience in various areas, including clinical research, marketing, scientific communications, strategic development and global launch programs. Mainly in the field of anti-infectives, Tillotson has been instrumental in the development of ciprofloxacin and moxifloxacin, as well as other drugs in the Bayer portfolio. After leaving Bayer, he worked as a consultant microbiologist and, in 2003, consulted with Genesoft to help with the commercialization and launch of gemifloxacin, leading to the development of Oscient following the merger of Genesoft and Genome Therapeutics. From late 2003 to early 2006, he focused his efforts on the launch of gemifloxacin into US clinical practice, as well as comarketing and business development deals globally. In April 2006, Tillotson joined Replidyne Inc. as Executive Director of Scientific Affairs working on faropenem, REP 8839 and REP 3123. Presently, Tillotson is Head of Medical Affairs at ViroPharma Inc., where he oversees educational, publication and other related activities for Vancocin(®), maribavir and Cinryze™. Most recently, Tillotson was a member of the Scientific Steering Committee for the International Society of Chemotherapy's Symposium on Clostridium difficile in Leipzig, Germany. Here, he talks with Expert Review of Clinical Pharmacology about the challenge of antibiotic resistance from an industry perspective.

Nonequilibrium transitions driven by external dichotomous noise

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Behn, U.; Schiele, K.; Teubel, A.; Kühnel, A.

1987-06-01

The stationary probability density P s for a class of nonlinear one-dimensional models driven by a dichotomous Markovian process (DMP) I t , can be calculated explicitly. For the specific case of the Stratonovich model, x=ax - -x 3 +I t x, the qualitative shape of P s and its support is discussed in the whole parameter region. The location of the maxima of P s shows a behavior similar to order parameters in continuous phase transitions. The possibility of a noiseinduced change from continuous to a discontinuous transition in an extended model, in which the DMP couples also to the cubic term, is discussed. The time-dependent moments can be represented as an infinite series of terms, which are determined by a recursion formula. For negative even moments the series terminates and the long-time behavior can be obtained analytically. As a function of the physical parameters, qualitative changes of this behavior may occur which can be partially related to the behavior of P s . All results reproduce those for Gaussian white noise in the corresponding limit. The influence of the finite correlation time and the discreteness of the space of states of the DMP are discussed. An extensive list of references is contained in U. Behn, K. Schiele, and A. Teubel, Wiss. Z. Karl-Marx-Univ. Leipzig, Mathem.-Naturwiss. R. 34:602 (1985).

The origins of scientific psychology in Spain: the process of institutionalization.

PubMed

Lafuente, Enrique

2006-01-01

The development of psychological science in Spain, as in other countries, was closely associated with the creation of institutions that sheltered and promoted its activities. Contrary to the case of German psychology, however, whose origins have been usefully epitomized by the foundation of Wundt's laboratory in Leipzig, no single institutional event can similarly be properly said to mark the beginning of Spanish scientific psychology. The institutionalization of modern psychology in Spain was instead a long, eventful process, often hindered by political uneasiness, difficult social conditions, and ideological confrontation. In this paper, the institutionalizing process of Spanish scientific psychology will be dealt with, from the beginning of the Restoration period in the last quarter of the nineteenth century, to the early decades of the twentieth century. Three crucial stages will be distinguished. Firstly, the reception of psychological ideas through "protopsychological"--or, at least, not specifically psychological--institutions. Secondly, the attempt at institutionalizing psychological training at the university through the creation of a Chair of Experimental Psychology at the University of Madrid in 1900. Thirdly, the expansion of psychology as an applied science through numerous institutions specifically devised to deal with practical problems of a basically educational and industrial nature. The Civil War prevented the final consolidation of this process, which only years later, in the second half of the twentieth century, could be reinitiated and completed.

[Systems, boundaries and resources: the lexicographer Gerhard Wahrig (1923-1978) and the genesis of his project "dictionary as database"].

PubMed

Wahrig-Burfeind, Renate; Wahrig, Bettina

2014-09-01

Gerhard Wahrig's private archive has recently been retrieved by the authors and their siblings. We undertake a first survey of the unpublished material and concentrate on those aspects of Wahrig's bio-ergography which stand in relation to his life project "dictionary as database", realised shortly before his death. We argue that this project was conceived in the 1950s, while Wahrig was writing and editing dictionaries and encyclopedias for the Bibliographisches Institut in Leipzig. Wahrig, who had been a wireless operator in WWII, was well informed about the development of computers in West Germany. He was influenced both by Ferdinand de Saussure and by the discussion on language and structure in the Soviet Union. When he crossed the German/German border in 1959, he experienced mechanisms of exclusion before he could establish himself in the West as a lexicographer. We argue that the transfer of symbolic and human capital was problematic due to the cultural differences between the two Germanies. In the 1970s, he became a professor of General and Applied Linguistics. The project of a "dictionary as database" was intended both as a basis for extensive empirical research on the semantic structure of natural languages and as a working tool for the average user of the German language. Due to his untimely death, he could not pursue his idea of exploring semantic networks.

["I am rather satisfied with this interpretation of my dreams." -- real-life and work-related encounters between psychiatrist Johann Christian August Heinroth and poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe].

PubMed

Schmideler, S; Steinberg, H

2004-09-01

Apart from being a major pioneer of modern psychiatry, Johann Christian August Heinroth (1773 - 1843) is foremost famous as the first academic teacher, professor of this subject at Leipzig University. Despite his theoretical concepts being thoroughly investigated by medical historians, the fact that his scientific work also brought him in contact with Weimar poet and scientist Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832) has up to now not been acknowledged. This paper analyses for the first time the manifold points of contact between the two geniuses. Starting off with a retrospective on Goethe's relationship towards psychiatry in his day, this paper investigates the mutual interconnections and influences between the two. This is achieved by an analysis of yet unknown primary sources as well as Goethe's literary and scientific works. A main emphasis is also placed on Heinroth's Textbook of Anthropology of 1822 in which the psychiatrist laid out his understanding of 'relational thinking' (gegenständliches Denken), a key concept for both. This theory developed from Heinroth's dealing with Goethe's concept of "anschauung" and was to gain major importance not only for his way of gaining knowledge in general but also for his psychiatric concept. Goethe's influence on Heinroth is particularly revealed in the latter's holistic views on mental illnesses. Heinroth's visit to Goethe on 15 September 1827 can be earmarked as a sign of their mutual esteem.

Clinical and laboratory applications of slide-based cytometry with the LSC, SFM, and the iCYTE imaging cytometer instruments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bocsi, Jozsef; Luther, Ed; Mittag, Anja; Jensen, Ingo; Sack, Ulrich; Lenz, Dominik; Trezl, Lajos; Varga, Viktor S.; Molnar, Beea; Tarnok, Attila

2004-06-01

Background: Slide based cytometry (SBC) is a technology for the rapid stoichiometric analysis of cells fixed to surfaces. Its applications are highly versatile and ranges from the clinics to high throughput drug discovery. SBC is realized in different instruments such as the Laser Scanning Cytometer (LSC) and Scanning Fluorescent Microscope (SFM) and the novel inverted microscope based iCyte image cytometer (Compucyte Corp.). Methods: Fluorochrome labeled specimens were immobilized on microscopic slides. They were placed on a conventional fluorescence microscope and analyzed by photomultiplayers or digital camera. Data comparable to flow cytometry were generated. In addition, each individual event could be visualized. Applications: The major advantage of instruments is the combination of two features: a) the minimal sample volume needed, and b) the connection of fluorescence data and morphological information. Rare cells were detected, frequency of apoptosis by myricetin formaldehyde and H2O2 mixtures was determined;. Conclusion: LSC, SFM and the novel iCyte have a wide spectrum of applicability in SBC and can be introduced as a standard technology for multiple settings. In addition, the iCyte and SFM instrument is suited for high throughput screening by automation and may be in future adapted to telepathology due to their high quality images. (This study was supported by the IZKF-Leipzig, Germany and T 034245 OTKA, Hungary)

The global distribution of gravity wave energy in the lower stratosphere derived from GPS data and gravity wave modelling: Attempt and challenges

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fröhlich, K.; Schmidt, T.; Ern, M.; Preusse, P.; de La Torre, A.; Wickert, J.; Jacobi, Ch.

2007-12-01

Five years of global temperatures retrieved from radio occultations measured by Champ (Challenging Minisatellite Payload) and SAC-C (Satelite de Aplicaciones Cientificas-C) are analyzed for gravity waves (GWs). In order to separate GWs from other atmospheric variations, a high-pass filter was applied on the vertical profile. Resulting temperature fluctuations correspond to vertical wavelengths between 400 m (instrumental resolution) and 10 km (limit of the high-pass filter). The temperature fluctuations can be converted into GW potential energy, but for comparison with parameterization schemes GW momentum flux is required. We therefore used representative values for the vertical and horizontal wavelength to infer GW momentum flux from the GPS measurements. The vertical wavelength value is determined by high-pass filtering, the horizontal wavelength is adopted from a latitude-dependent climatology. The obtained momentum flux distributions agree well, both in global distribution and in absolute values, with simulations using the Warner and McIntyre parameterization (WM) scheme. However, discrepancies are found in the annual cycle. Online simulations, implementing the WM scheme in the mechanistic COMMA-LIM (Cologne Model of the Middle Atmosphere—Leipzig Institute for Meteorology) general circulation model (GCM), do not converge, demonstrating that a good representation of GWs in a GCM requires both a realistic launch distribution and an adequate representation of GW breaking and momentum transfer.

Depression and incident dementia. An 8-year population-based prospective study.

PubMed

Luppa, Melanie; Luck, Tobias; Ritschel, Franziska; Angermeyer, Matthias C; Villringer, Arno; Riedel-Heller, Steffi G

2013-01-01

The aim of the study was to investigate the impact of depression (categorical diagnosis; major depression, MD) and depressive symptoms (dimensional diagnosis and symptom patterns) on incident dementia in the German general population. Within the Leipzig Longitudinal Study of the Aged (LEILA 75+), a representative sample of 1,265 individuals aged 75 years and older were interviewed every 1.5 years over 8 years (mean observation time 4.3 years; mean number of visits 4.2). Cox proportional hazards and binary logistic regressions were used to estimate the effect of baseline depression and depressive symptoms on incident dementia. The incidence of dementia was 48 per 1,000 person-years (95% confidence interval (CI) 45-51). Depressive symptoms (Hazard ratio HR 1.03, 95% CI 1.01-1.05), and in particular mood-related symptoms (HR 1.08, 95% CI 1.03-1.14), showed a significant impact on the incidence of dementia only in univariate analysis, but not after adjustment for cognitive and functional impairment. MD showed only a significant impact on incidence of dementia in Cox proportional hazards regression, but not in binary logistic regression models. The present study using different diagnostic measures of depression on future dementia found no clear significant associations of depression and incident dementia. Further in-depth investigation would help to understand the nature of depression in the context of incident dementia.

Providing teachers with education on epilepsy increased their willingness to handle acute seizures in children from one to 10 years of age.

PubMed

Dumeier, Henriette Karoline; Neininger, Martina Patrizia; Bernhard, Matthias Karl; Merkenschlager, Andreas; Kiess, Wieland; Bertsche, Thilo; Bertsche, Astrid

2017-11-01

In Germany, preschool teachers supervise children up to six years of age and are also responsible for supervising older pupils after school. This study explored the impact of a teaching session on epilepsy for teachers in charge of children from 1 to 10 years of age. We evaluated the benefit of a teaching session offered to all preschool teachers in Leipzig, Germany, in 2014-2015, by asking them to complete the same questionnaire 12-24 months pre-intervention, and 12 months postintervention. Both questionnaires were completed by 123 teachers. The number of teachers who felt they were prepared to handle an acute seizure rose from 36 (29%) pre-intervention to 65 (53%) post-intervention (p < 0.001) and their willingness to administer a prescribed rescue medication rose from 66 (54%) to 93 (76%, p < 0.001). The session also increased the number of teachers who were prepared to take children with epilepsy on excursions under any circumstance from 38 (31%) to 52 (42%, p < 0.05). In addition, the number of teachers who would place a solid object in the child's mouth during an attack fell from 16 (13%) to seven (6%) (p < 0.05). Providing a teaching session on epilepsy increased the teachers' knowledge and willingness to act and reduced obsolete, counterproductive measures. ©2017 Foundation Acta Paediatrica. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

[The professional and private situation of male and female physicians entering postgraduate medical education in Germany].

PubMed

van den Bussche, H; Wonneberger, C; Birck, S; Schultz, J-H; Robra, B-P; Schmidt, A; Stosch, C; Wagner, R; Scherer, M; Pöge, K; Rothe, K; Gedrose, B

2014-02-01

This study investigated the professional and the private situation of medical interns at the onset of their postgraduate training in Germany. We analysed the contractual situation and the working hours in the hospital, the professional situation of the partner and the number of hours invested in private life with special reference to gender and children. A standardised postal survey was conducted among all last year medical students in the medical faculties of Erlangen, Giessen, Hamburg, Heidelberg, Cologne, Leipzig and Magdeburg after entering postgraduate training. 1 009 were contacted for a first follow-up one year later and 87% responded. Descriptive statistics and regression analysis were performed. The analysis shows that female physicians are disadvantaged compared to males with regard to various professional and private conditions relevant for career development, especially when children are present. We found a large number of hints pointing towards a persistence of traditional role patterns within the couple relationship. These conditions differed substantially between the regions of former German Federal and former German Democratic Republic. A growing number of children in the study population in the course of the longitudinal analysis will show if these gender-related differences persist in the course of the training period and which influences on career development can be observed. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Haase, Dagmar, E-mail: dagmar.haase@ufz.d

The amount of land consumption required for housing and transport severely conflicts with both the necessity and the legal obligation to maintain the ecological potential afforded by open spaces to meet the needs of current and future generations with regards to the protection of resources and climate change. Owing to an increasing intensity of soil use, soil conditions appear to have deteriorated in most city regions around the world, namely their filter and runoff regulating functions are impaired by land surfacing. As such soil functions depend on the soil's biophysical properties and the degree of imperviousness, the impact on themore » water balance caused by urban growth varies considerably. In response to the demand for sustainably secure urban water resources, it needs to be assessed exactly how land surfacing affects the functions concerned. Analysing and evaluating urban land use change on the long-term water balance should improve our understanding of the impact of urbanisation on the water household. Therefore, this paper analyses the impact of urban land use change and land surfacing on the long-term urban water balance over a 130-year trajectory by using simple model approaches that are based on data available to the public. The test site is the city of Leipzig. In particular, attention is to be paid to estimating changes of evapotranspiration, direct runoff and groundwater recharge.« less

GOMMA: a component-based infrastructure for managing and analyzing life science ontologies and their evolution

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Ontologies are increasingly used to structure and semantically describe entities of domains, such as genes and proteins in life sciences. Their increasing size and the high frequency of updates resulting in a large set of ontology versions necessitates efficient management and analysis of this data. Results We present GOMMA, a generic infrastructure for managing and analyzing life science ontologies and their evolution. GOMMA utilizes a generic repository to uniformly and efficiently manage ontology versions and different kinds of mappings. Furthermore, it provides components for ontology matching, and determining evolutionary ontology changes. These components are used by analysis tools, such as the Ontology Evolution Explorer (OnEX) and the detection of unstable ontology regions. We introduce the component-based infrastructure and show analysis results for selected components and life science applications. GOMMA is available at http://dbs.uni-leipzig.de/GOMMA. Conclusions GOMMA provides a comprehensive and scalable infrastructure to manage large life science ontologies and analyze their evolution. Key functions include a generic storage of ontology versions and mappings, support for ontology matching and determining ontology changes. The supported features for analyzing ontology changes are helpful to assess their impact on ontology-dependent applications such as for term enrichment. GOMMA complements OnEX by providing functionalities to manage various versions of mappings between two ontologies and allows combining different match approaches. PMID:21914205

Serum lipid levels were related to socio-demographic characteristics in a German population-based child cohort.

PubMed

Dathan-Stumpf, Anne; Vogel, Mandy; Rieger, Kristin; Thiery, Joachim; Hiemisch, Andreas; Kiess, Wieland

2016-08-01

Socio-demographic factors affect the development and lives of children and adolescents. We examined links between serum lipids and apolipoproteins and socio-demographic factors in the Leipzig Research Centre for Civilization Diseases Child (LIFE Child) study. The Winkler index and the Family Affluence Scale were used to define characteristics of the social status of 938 boys and 860 girls aged from birth to 19 years. We then used univariate and multivariate regression analyses to examine the socio-demographic impact on total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), cholesterol triglycerides and apolipoproteins A1 (ApoA1) and B (ApoB). No significant influences on the Winkler index or the Family Affluence Scale were observed regarding the concentrations of serum lipids for total cholesterol or LDL cholesterol. However, and most importantly, children and adolescents with high social status and high family affluence showed significantly higher HDL cholesterol and ApoA1 levels than those with lower individual totals. A higher Winkler index was associated with significantly lower values for triglycerides and ApoB. Adolescents with higher family wealth and social status showed a lower cardiovascular risk profile, as measured by the concentrations of HDL cholesterol and triglycerides as well as ApoA1 and B. ©2016 Foundation Acta Paediatrica. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

International Federation of Library Associations Annual Conference. Papers of the Management and Technology Division: Conservation Section (47th, Leipzig, East Germany, August 17-22, 1981).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sylvestre, J. G.; And Others

Five papers in this collection are concerned with the preservation of library materials; the remaining paper addresses library building standards, emphasizing their value and identifying other reports on library standards. The conservation papers cover: (1) training for conservation in Canada, identifying institutions and associations offering…

A new optical ice particle counter at LACIS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bieligk, Henner; Voelker, Georg Sebastian; Clauss, Tina; Grundmann, Marius; Stratmann, Frank

2014-05-01

Clouds play an important role within the climate system, especially for the radiative energy budget of the earth. The radiative properties of a cloud depend strongly on the fractions of ice crystals and water droplets, their size distributions, and the ice crystal shapes within the particular cloud. One option to gain this kind of information is using optical particle counters. A new optical particle counter is developed for laboratory work and is based on the concept of the Thermostabilized Optical Particle Spectrometer for the Detection of Ice Particles (TOPS-Ice, Clauss et al., 2013). TOPS-Ice uses linearly polarized green laser light and the depolarization of the scattered light at a scattering angle of 42.5° to discriminate between liquid water droplets and ice crystals in the lower μm range. However, the measurements are usually limited to ice fractions in the order of 1%. To improve the determination of the ice fraction, several modifications of the original setup are implemented including an additional detection system at another scattering angle. The new scattering angle is optimized for least interference between the droplet and ice signals. This is achieved by finding the angle with the maximum difference in scattered intensity of water droplets compared to ice crystals with the same volume equivalent diameter. The suitable scattering angle of 100° for linearly polarized light was chosen based on calculations using T-Matrix method, Lorenz-Mie theory, Müller matrices and distribution theory. The new optical setup is designed to run in combination with a laminar flow tube, the so-called Leipzig Aerosol Cloud Interaction Simulator (LACIS, Stratmann et al., 2004; Hartmann et al., 2011). Using LACIS and its precisely controlled thermodynamic conditions, we are able to form small water droplets and ice crystals which will then be detected, classified and sized by our new optical device. This setup is planned to be tested in ice measurements including

Optical detection and characterization of ice crystals in LACIS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kiselev, Alexei; Clauß, Tina; Niedermeier, Dennis; Hartmann, Susan; Wex, Heike; Stratmann, Frank

2010-05-01

Tropospheric ice and mixed phase clouds are an integral part of the earth system and their microphysical and radiative properties are strongly coupled e.g. through the complexities of the ice nucleation process. Therefore the investigation of influences of different aerosol particles which act as ice nuclei (IN) on the freezing behaviour of cloud droplets is important and still poses unresolved questions. The Leipzig Aerosol and Cloud Interaction Simulator (LACIS) is used to investigate the IN activity of different natural and artificial aerosol particles (mineral dust, soot etc.) in heterogeneous freezing processes (immersion or deposition freezing). A critical part of LACIS is the particle detection system allowing for size-resolved counting of activated seed particles and discrimination between ice crystals and water droplets. Recently, two instruments have been developed to provide these measurements at the LACIS facility. The Thermally-stabilized Optical Particle Spectrometer (TOPS) is measuring the particle size based on the intensity of light scattered by individual particles into a near-forward (15° to 45°) direction. Two symmetrical forward scattering channels allow for optical determination of the sensing volume, thus reducing the coincidence counting error and the edge zone effect. The backscatter channel (162° to 176°) equipped with a rotatable cross polarizer allows for establishing the change in linear polarization state of the scattered light. The backscatter elevation angle is limited so that the linear depolarization of light scattered by spherical particles of arbitrary size is zero. Any detectable signal in the depolarization channel can be therefore attributed to non-spherical particles (ice crystals). With consideration of the signal in the backscatter channel the separate counting of water drops and ice particle is possible. The Leipzig Ice Scattering Apparatus (LISA) is a modified version of the Small Ice Detector (SID3), developed at the

Open Source Based Sensor Platform for Mobile Environmental Monitoring and Data Acquisition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schima, Robert; Goblirsch, Tobias; Misterek, René; Salbach, Christoph; Schlink, Uwe; Francyk, Bogdan; Dietrich, Peter; Bumberger, Jan

2016-04-01

data processing, data provision and data visualization. The smart phone app allows the configuration of the mobile sensor devices and provides some built-in functions such as simple data visualization or data transmission via e-mail whereas the web service provides the visualization of the data and tools for data processing. In an initial field experiment, a methane monitoring based on our sensor integration platform was performed in the city area of Leipzig (Germany) in late June 2015. The study has shown that an urban monitoring can be conducted based on open source components. Moreover, the system enabled the detection of hot spots and methane emission sources. In September 2015, a larger scaled city monitoring based on the mobile monitoring platform was performed by five independently driving cyclists through the city center of Leipzig (Germany). As a result we were able to instantly show a heat and humidity map of the inner city center as well as an exposure map for each cyclist. This emphasizes the feasibility and high potential of open source based monitoring approaches for future research in the field of urban area monitoring in general, citizen science or the validation of remote sensing data.

International Federation of Library Associations Annual Conference. Papers of the Management and Technology Division: Information Technology Section (47th, Leipzig, East Germany, August 17-22, 1981).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bradler, Reinhard; And Others

These seven papers on library management and networks focus on: (1) computerized access to archival and library materials, describing the methodological problems associated with a pilot project in the German Democratic Republic, as well as the efficiency of data bank systems; (2) present and future development of libraries and information centers…

International Federation of Library Associations Annual Conference Papers. Education and Research Division: Library Theory and Research Section (47th, Leipzig, East Germany, August 17-22, 1981).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kolodziejska, Jadwiga; And Others

Seven of these ten papers are concerned with library research in specific countries; the remaining three deal with library planning and ethics in research. Titles are "The Library as a Cultural Institution," by Jadwiga Kolodziejska, Poland; "The International Seminar 'Book and Library in Society' of the Polish Book and Readers…

EqualTDRL: illustrating equivalent tandem duplication random loss rearrangements.

PubMed

Hartmann, Tom; Bernt, Matthias; Middendorf, Martin

2018-05-30

To study the differences between two unichromosomal circular genomes, e.g., mitochondrial genomes, under the tandem duplication random loss (TDRL) rearrangement it is important to consider the whole set of potential TDRL rearrangement events that could have taken place. The reason is that for two given circular gene orders there can exist different TDRL rearrangements that transform one of the gene orders into the other. Hence, a TDRL event cannot always be reconstructed only from the knowledge of the circular gene order before a TDRL event and the circular gene order after it. We present the program EqualTDRL that computes and illustrates the complete set of TDRLs for pairs of circular gene orders that differ by only one TDRL. EqualTDRL considers the circularity of the given genomes and certain restrictions on the TDRL rearrangements. Examples for the latter are sequences of genes that have to be conserved during a TDRL or pairs of genes that frame intergenic regions which might represent remnants of duplicated genes. Additionally, EqualTDRL allows to determine the set of TDRLs that are minimum with respect to the number of duplicated genes. EqualTDRL supports scientists to study the complete set of TDRLs that possibly could have taken place in the evolution of mitochondrial genomes. EqualTDRL is implemented in C++ using the ggplot2 package of the open source programming language R and is freely available from http://pacosy.informatik.uni-leipzig.de/equaltdrl .

Psychosocial acceptance of cleft patients: has something changed?

PubMed

Pausch, Niels Christian; Winter, Karsten; Halama, Dirk; Wirtz, Christian; Yildirim, Vedat; Sirintawat, Nattapong; Nattapong, Sirintawat

2016-03-01

The main purpose of this study was to analyse the reactions of a panel (non-cleft adults) when observing cleft lip morphology. Although rehabilitation of cleft lip and palate is improving, there are still indications of social rejection of cleft patients by the people around them. Polarity profiles have been used since 1973 to measure social distance with regard to cleft patients. Because rehabilitation results and education of the society have improved in recent decades, we investigated whether social distance has been affected. The setting of this study is the Department of Oral, Craniomaxillofacial, and Facial Plastic Surgery, University Hospital of Leipzig, Germany Using a cross-sectional study design, we enrolled a sample of adult laypersons (n = 273). For the survey, we followed the concept of photograph presentation and questionnaire investigation reported by Sergl and Schmid (1973). We presented anonymised frontal and profile pictures of the faces of 50 cleft patients and asked the laypersons to specify social distance. Three predictor variables (layperson gender, profession and year of evaluation) were grouped. Although social distance has reduced during the last 40 years, life situations which require emotional proximity still cause some concern. Professional background and gender affect laypersons' attitudes. Although rehabilitation of cleft lip and palate is much better than 40 years ago, social distance remains a problem in society. It is necessary to improve both results of rehabilitation of cleft patients and social acceptance by the people around them.

Multi-criteria assessment of socio-environmental aspects in shrinking cities. Experiences from eastern Germany

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Schetke, Sophie; Haase, Dagmar

Demographic change and economic decline produce modified urban land use pattern and densities. Compared to the beginning of the 90s after the German reunification, nowadays massive housing and commercial vacancies followed by demolition and perforation come to pass in many cities of the former GDR. In consequence, a considerable surplus of urban brownfields has been created. Furthermore, the decline in the urban fabric affects social infrastructure and urban greenery of local neighbourhoods. Here, urban planning enters into 'uncharted territory' since it needs to assess the socio-environmental impact of shrinkage. In order to carry out such an evaluation quantitatively, a multi-criteriamore » assessment scheme (MCA) was developed and applied. Firstly, we identified infrastructure and land use changes related to vacancy and demolition. Secondly, demolition scenarios for the coming 20 years were applied in order to give an idea for a long-term monitoring approach at the local district level. A multi-criteria indicator matrix quantifies the socio-environmental impact on both urban greenery and residents. Using it, we set demolition scenarios against urban 'quality of life' targets. Empirical evidence comes from Leipzig, in eastern Germany, a representative case study for urban shrinkage processes. The results show that shrinkage implies socio-environmental changes of residential livelihoods, however, does not simply increase or decrease the overall urban quality of life. The integrated assessment of all indicators identifies environmental and social opportunities, as well as the challenges a shrinking city is faced with.« less

The lasting effect of limonene-induced particle formation on air quality in a genuine indoor environment.

PubMed

Rösch, Carolin; Wissenbach, Dirk K; von Bergen, Martin; Franck, Ulrich; Wendisch, Manfred; Schlink, Uwe

2015-09-01

Atmospheric ozone-terpene reactions, which form secondary organic aerosol (SOA) particles, can affect indoor air quality when outdoor air mixes with indoor air during ventilation. This study, conducted in Leipzig, Germany, focused on limonene-induced particle formation in a genuine indoor environment (24 m(3)). Particle number, limonene and ozone concentrations were monitored during the whole experimental period. After manual ventilation for 30 min, during which indoor ozone levels reached up to 22.7 ppb, limonene was introduced into the room at concentrations of approximately 180 to 250 μg m(-3). We observed strong particle formation and growth within a diameter range of 9 to 50 nm under real-room conditions. Larger particles with diameters above 100 nm were less affected by limonene introduction. The total particle number concentrations (TPNCs) after limonene introduction clearly exceed outdoor values by a factor of 4.5 to 41 reaching maximum concentrations of up to 267,000 particles cm(-3). The formation strength was influenced by background particles, which attenuated the formation of new SOA with increasing concentration, and by ozone levels, an increase of which by 10 ppb will result in a six times higher TPNC. This study emphasizes indoor environments to be preferred locations for particle formation and growth after ventilation events. As a consequence, SOA formation can produce significantly higher amounts of particles than transported by ventilation into the indoor air.

The film festival “AUSNAHME|ZUSTAND” (State of Emergency)--do feature films and documentaries on mental health reduce stigma and influence help-seeking attitudes?

PubMed

Conrad, Ines; Schulze, Beate; Corrieri, Sandro; Heider, Dirk; Schomerus, Georg; Riedel-Heller, Steffi G

2014-12-30

The study aims at evaluating the impact of the Germany-wide film festival “AUSNAHME|ZUSTAND” on social distance and help-seeking attitudes of the adolescent audience. The festival, on the subject of mental health, was staged for the second time, aiming to give a podium to the topic mental health and to inform and entertain an adolescent audience that has not been in close contact with the subject before. A pre-post test was carried out to look for the effect of feature films and documentaries on social distance of the audience towards people with mental illness and on the change in help-seeking attitudes. A total of 532 young people with a mean age of 15.6 were questioned during the film festival in Leipzig. As the results show, the effect on the viewers׳ social distance and their help-seeking attitudes strongly depend on the content of the feature films and documentaries. Two films improved attitudes – one both social distance and help-seeking, one only help-seeking. One film increased social distance, and two films did not affect either outcome. Age, gender, and knowing someone with mental health problems also turned out to be decisive factors influencing the development of social distance and help-seeking attitudes. Feature films or documentaries about mental illness can reduce social distance or influence help-seeking attitudes, but effects strongly depend on the particular film.

LACIS-T - A humid wind tunnel for investigating the Interactions between Cloud Microphysics and Turbulence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Voigtländer, Jens; Niedermeier, Dennis; Siebert, Holger; Shaw, Raymond; Schumacher, Jörg; Stratmann, Frank

2017-04-01

To improve the fundamental and quantitative understanding of the interactions between cloud microphysical and turbulent processes, the Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS) has built up a new humid wind tunnel (LACIS-T). LACIS-T allows for the investigation of cloud microphysical processes, such as cloud droplet activation and freezing, under-well defined thermodynamic and turbulent flow conditions. It therewith allows for the straight forward continuation, extension, and completion of the cloud microphysics related investigations carried out at the Leipzig Aerosol Cloud Interaction Simulator (LACIS) under laminar flow conditions. Characterization of the wind tunnel with respect to flow, thermodynamics, and droplet microphysics is carried out with probes mounted inside (pitot tube and hot-wire anemometer for mean velocity and fluctuations, Pt100 sensor for mean temperature, cold-wire sensor for temperature fluctuations is in progress, as well as a dew-point mirror for mean water vapor concentration, a Lyman-alpha sensor for water vapor fluctuations is in progress) the measurement section, and from outside with optical detection methods (a laser light sheet is available for cloud droplet visualization, a digital holography system for detection of cloud droplet size distributions will be installed for tests in February 2017), respectively. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations have been carried out for defining suitable experimental conditions and assisting the interpretation of the experimental data. In this work, LACIS-T, its fundamental operating principle, and first preliminary results from ongoing characterization efforts will be presented.

[Mental job strain in a university children's hospital--a study on stress experience and the resulting employee health].

PubMed

Hiemisch, A; Kiess, W; Brähler, E

2011-07-01

The aim of the following survey was to evaluate the mental job strain at an university hospital and its effect on the health of the employees. Furthermore the trigger factors should have been identified and optimized after the survey. The data were collected by an employee survey during November/December of 2006. All employees of the Hospital for Children and Adolescents of the University Leipzig were included. Overall 174 questionnaires were evaluated (response rate 51.5%). As standardized methods the Irritations-Scale of Mohr et al. and the shortform of the Gießener Beschwerdebogen GBB-24 of Brähler et al. were used. In addition a self designed scale for the measurement of strain-experience was applied. More than half of the physicians/psychologists, a quarter of the nursing staff and every tenth of the remaining employees suffered from work related mental stress disorder. Especially physicians and psychologists were additionally affected by psychosomatic symptoms. The main strain was caused by an excessive amount of documentation, the manpower shortage and the lack of appreciation. The occupational groups differ as well in their ways of coping with the daily job strain as in its effects on the mental health. The health effect of the daily strain on physicians and psychologists seems to be age dependent. An urge for intervention can be derived from our results. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

[The epidemic typhus of 1813/14 in the area of lower Franconia].

PubMed

Vasold, Manfred

2004-01-01

When Napoleon left for Moscow, in June 1812, he marched at the head of a huge army, perhaps more than half a million men strong. Roughly one fifth of them survived and came back to Germany at the turn of 1812/13. The "Grande Armée" had been subject to open battles and guerilla warfare, but even more to the ravages of hunger and infectious disease - it was epidemic typhus that killed off the soldiers. On their way back to France, the soldiers carried that disease to some areas of Germany, esp. those along the Main river. In late winter of 1813 some parts of Franconia suffered terribly. The epidemic subsided in summer 1813 when the lice - typhus is a louse-born disease - were less and better under control. But again in the winter of 1813/14, after the battle of Leipzig (Oct. 1813), a murderous epidemic of typhus broke out and killed very many people in cities like Wurzburg, Aschaffenburg, and Mainz. Mortality rose to a high percentage. Some contemporary German doctors had a rough idea that the carrier of the disease must be in the clothes. According to very conservative estimates one out of ten Germans fell sick, and ten percent of the sick died of typhus, a quarter of a million out of 23 million people. German historiography normally does not mention this epidemic in history text-books, so this epidemic is rather unknown.

[The Development of First Operating Microscopes from Zeiss Jena and Oberkochen to Series Production].

PubMed

Gudziol, H; Gottschall, R; Luther, E

2017-01-01

Introduction: The history of the first operating microscopes from Zeiss is often confusing, not painstaking and partly contradictory because of the parallel development of Zeiss Jena (East Germany) and Zeiss Oberkochen (West Germany). Methods: To investigate the early beginnings of the construction of the operating microscopes documents of the Carl Zeiss Archive and the Optical Museum in Jena, the memoirs of Prof. Dr. Rosemarie Albrecht and some relevant publications were used. Results: The development of the first Jena operating microscope was initiated in 1949 by the ENT-physician Prof. Dr. Rosemarie Albrecht in the Soviet occupation zone. The first prototype was tested in the University ENT Clinic, Jena since summer of 1950. On the Leipzig Trade Fair in autumn 1952 the VEB Optik Carl Zeiss Jena presented the first operating microscope nationally and internationally. Series production began in 1953. The first operating microscope of Zeiss Oberkochen was primarily developed by technical designers (H. Littmann) as a colposcope. But in the Carl Zeiss Archive no documents could be found related to the cooperation with gynecologists. 1953 the operating microscope (OPMI 1) came into public and its series production started. From this date on, it was adopted by the otologist Prof. Dr. Horst Ludwig Wullstein to the needs of Otorhinolaryngology. Conclusion: The first Zeiss operating microscope came from Jena. The operating microscope from Zeiss Oberkochen had some advantages for the surgeons and won the competition in the future. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

[From the glorious time of homeopathy medicine chests in Nord-Schleswing (South Justland) about 1900].

PubMed

Marckmann, Anton

2003-01-01

The article deals with the origin, background and development of homoeopathy over a hundred years span, beginning with its "invention" in the early 19th century (Hahnemann). Leipzig became a center for a huge production of homoeopathic remedies through Dr. W. Schwabe's "Central-Apoteke", founded in 1878, with customers all over the world. The preparation of around one thousand products were described in 1880 in Schwabes "Pharmacopoea homoeopatica polyglotta", in five languages, and this article gives a survey of the principles in the production of the final remedies which were distributed as Schwabes homoeopatic house-chests of many varieties, containing from a few up to more than hundred bottles. Detailed instructions and guidance in the applications of the content of these popular and wide-spread chests were available for laymen from hand-books. However their use vanished gradually in the third decade of the 20th century and later, and the chests were either destroyed or put away. This was also true for the situation in South Jutland (before 1920 a german province called Nord Schleswig), nevertheless the author's research succeeded in detecting thirteen homoeopathic house-chests from the region, purchased about year 1900. An attempt is made to throw light on their origin, their use and their users at a time, when homoeopathy played a role for layman in the treatment of diseases, outside the authorized health service - or as a supplement to this.

Cost-effectiveness of adherence therapy versus health education for people with schizophrenia: randomised controlled trial in four European countries

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Non-adherence to anti-psychotics is common, expensive and affects recovery. We therefore examine the cost-effectiveness of adherence therapy for people with schizophrenia by multi-centre randomised trial in Amsterdam, London, Leipzig and Verona. Methods Participants received 8 sessions of adherence therapy or health education. We measured lost productivity and use of health/social care, criminal justice system and informal care at baseline and one year to estimate and compare mean total costs from health/social care and societal perspectives. Outcomes were the Short Form 36 (SF-36) mental component score (MCS) and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) gained (SF-36 and EuroQoL 5 dimension (EQ5D)). Cost-effectiveness was examined for all cost and outcome combinations using cost-effectiveness acceptability curves (CEACs). Results 409 participants were recruited. There were no cost or outcome differences between adherence therapy and health education. The probability of adherence therapy being cost-effective compared to health education was between 0.3 and 0.6 for the six cost-outcome combinations at the willingness to pay thresholds we examined. Conclusions Adherence therapy appears equivalent to health education. It is unclear whether it would have performed differently against a treatment as usual control, whether such an intervention can impact on quality of life in the short-term, or whether it is likely to be cost-effective in some sites but not others. Trial registration Trial registration: Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN01816159 PMID:23705862

Renal autotransplantation--a possibility in the treatment of complex renal vascular diseases and ureteric injuries.

PubMed

Hau, Hans Michael; Bartels, Michael; Tautenhahn, Hans-Michael; Morgul, Mehmet Haluk; Fellmer, Peter; Ho-Thi, Phuc; Benckert, Christoph; Uhlmann, Dirk; Moche, Michael; Thelen, Armin; Schmelzle, Moritz; Jonas, Sven

2012-12-31

We report our contemporary experiences with renal autotransplantation in patients with complicated renal vascular diseases and/or complex ureteral injuries. Since its first performance, renal autotransplantation has been steadily improved and become a safe and effective procedure. Between 1998 and 2006, 6 renal autotransplantations in 6 patients were performed at the University Medical Center of Leipzig. After nephrectomy and renal perfusion ex vivo, the kidney was implanted standardized in the fossa iliaca. The vessels were anastomized to the iliac vessels, the ureter was reimplanted in an extravesical tunneled ureteroneocystostomy technique according to Lich-Gregoir. Demographic, clinical, and laboratory data of the patients were collected and analyzed for pre-, intra-, and postoperative period. Indications for renal autotransplantation were complex renovascular diseases in 2 patients (1 with fibromuscular dysplasia and 1 with Takayasu's arteritis) and in 4 patients with complex ureteral injuries. The median duration of follow-up was 9.7 years (range: 5.6-13.3). The laboratory values of our 6 patients showed improvements of creatinine, urea and blood pressure levels in comparison to the preoperative status at the end of follow-up period. The present study reports excellent results of renal autotransplantation in patients with renovascular disease or complex ureteric injuries. After a median follow-up of 9.7 years all 6 patients present with stable renal function as well as normal blood pressure values. Postoperative complications were observed with a rate comparable to other studies.

Practical way to develop 10-color flow cytometry protocols for the clinical laboratory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tárnok, Attila; Bocsi, Jozsef

2010-02-01

The latest development of commercial routine flow cytometers (FCM) is that they are equipped with three (blue, red, violet) or more lasers and many PMT detectors. Nowadays routine clinical instruments are capable of detecting 10 or more fluorescence colors simultaneously. Thereby, presenting opportunities for getting detailed information on the single cell level for cytomics and systems biology for improve diagnostics and monitoring of patients. The University Leipzig, Germany) recently started a cluster of excellence to study the molecular background of life style and environment associated diseases, enrolling 25000 individuals (LIFE). To this end the most comprehensive FCM protocol has to be developed for this study. We aimed to optimize fluorochrome and antibody combinations to the characteristics of the instrument for successful 10-color FCM. Systematic review of issues related to sampling, preparation, instrument settings, spillover and compensation matrix, reagent performance, and general principles of panel construction was performed. 10-color FCM enables for increased accuracy in cell subpopulation identification, the ability to obtain detailed information from blood specimens, improved laboratory efficiency, and the means to consistently detect major and rare cell populations. Careful attention to details of instrument and reagent performance allows for the development of panels suitable for screening of samples from healthy and diseased donors. The characteristics of this technique are particularly well suited for the analysis of broad human population cohorts and have the potential to reach the everyday practice in a standardized way for the clinical laboratory.

Comparing a Japanese and a German hospital information system.

PubMed

Jahn, F; Issler, L; Winter, A; Takabayashi, K

2009-01-01

To examine the architectural differences and similarities of a Japanese and German hospital information system (HIS) in a case study. This cross-cultural comparison, which focuses on structural quality characteristics, offers the chance to get new insights into different HIS architectures, which possibly cannot be obtained by inner-country comparisons. A reference model for the domain layer of hospital information systems containing the typical enterprise functions of a hospital provides the basis of comparison for the two different hospital information systems. 3LGM(2) models, which describe the two HISs and which are based on that reference model, are used to assess several structural quality criteria. Four of these criteria are introduced in detail. The two examined HISs are different in terms of the four structural quality criteria examined. Whereas the centralized architecture of the hospital information system at Chiba University Hospital causes only few functional redundancies and leads to a low implementation of communication standards, the hospital information system at the University Hospital of Leipzig, having a decentralized architecture, exhibits more functional redundancies and a higher use of communication standards. Using a model-based comparison, it was possible to detect remarkable differences between the observed hospital information systems of completely different cultural areas. However, the usability of 3LGM(2) models for comparisons has to be improved in order to apply key figures and to assess or benchmark the structural quality of health information systems architectures more thoroughly.

Stranded in Vienna: Wilhelm Ebert (1871-1916) (German Title: Gestrandet in Wien: Wilhelm Ebert (1871-1916))

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schnell, Anneliese

2011-08-01

Wilhelm Ebert, born 1871 in Leipzig, did study astronomy for a short time in Geneva and afterwards in Munich where he finished his PhD. He spent most of his scientific life in France, working on problems of latitude determination and celestial mechanics, mostly at the Bureau des Longitudes in Paris. He was member of the Astronomische Gesellschaft. Probably he used some of the regular meetings of the AG to introduce his work to German astronomers - for a rather short time he worked at the observatories of Kiel, Straßburg and Greifswald. In Greifswald he qualified for giving university lectures and he started to collect astronomical instruments to establish an observatory. M. Loewy, at that time director of Paris observatory, asked him to come back to France, first he had a position at Nice Observatory and shortly afterwards in Paris again. In 1909 he decided to live in Vienna, once more he applied for the qualification of giving university lectures; this time the procedure was easy going. He announced quite a lot of courses but nobody knows if they really took place. From February 1915 until his death in November 1916 he stayed in a psychiatric hospital in Vienna suffering from a disease which was uncurable at that time. His wife tried to get some information about his death in 1937. Already at that time he was unknown to the members of Vienna Observatory.

Physical activity in normal-weight and overweight youth: associations with weight teasing and self-efficacy.

PubMed

Losekam, Stefanie; Goetzky, Benjamin; Kraeling, Svenja; Rief, Winfried; Hilbert, Anja

2010-08-01

To examine self-reported physical activity with regard to weight teasing and self-efficacy. Within a cross-sectional study, 321 overweight and normal-weight students, consisting of 51% girls (n = 161) and 49% boys (n = 160) at a mean age of 12.22 years (SD = 1.07), were sampled from German secondary schools. The Perception of Teasing Scale, the Physical Self-Efficacy Scale, and the Leipzig Lifestyle Questionnaire for Adolescents were used to assess experiences with weight-related teasing, self-efficacy, physical activity and social context variables. Self-efficacy, weight teasing and social context variables were related to physical activity within the full sample (R(2) = 0.433). More frequent weight teasing was associated with decreased physical activity in boys, but not in girls. Overweight participants reported more frequent weight teasing experiences and less self-efficacy than participants of normal weight (all p < 0.001), but there was no difference in physical activity (p > 0.05).There were large correlations between self-efficacy and physical activity (r = 0.614, p < 0.01), and medium correlations for male sex and physical activity (r = 0.298, p < 0.01). Weight teasing and self-efficacy were negatively correlated (r = -0.190, p < 0.05). These results suggest that self-efficacy and an encouraging social context are beneficial to physical activity while weight teasing experiences are detrimental. Interventions against weight teasing in youth are needed. Copyright © 2010 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Help-seeking Following Termination of Pregnancy after Diagnosis of Fetal Anomaly: Women's Intentions and Experiences 1 to 7 Years after the Event.

PubMed

Hanschmidt, Franz; Hoffmann, Rahel; Klingner, Johanna; Kersting, Anette; Stepan, Holger

2018-02-01

Diagnosis of fetal anomaly and the difficult circumstances involved in the decision to terminate an affected pregnancy can go along with severe psychological distress. However, little is known about women's help-seeking for emotional problems following an abortion after diagnosis of fetal anomaly. 148 women who had been treated for abortion after diagnosis of fetal anomaly at the University Hospital Leipzig responded to self-report questionnaires 1 to 7 years after the event. Main outcomes were help-seeking intentions and actual help-seeking behavior. Logistic regression was used to explore the associations between participants' sociodemographic characteristics and help-seeking intentions. Most women reported that they would seek help from their partner (91.7%), friends/family (82.8%) or the internet (62.2%). With regard to health services, 50.0% of women would seek help from gynecologists and between 43.8 and 47.9% from counseling services and mental health professionals. Intentions to seek help from support groups were lowest (21.7%). Age, income, region, and religion were associated with help-seeking intentions. Among participants with elevated levels of current psychological distress, 23.8% indicated that they had not discussed their emotional problems with a health service ever. Gynecologists are among the most preferred health professionals for women to discuss psychological problems in the aftermath of an abortion after diagnosis of fetal anomaly. They should be actively involved in screening, diagnostic assessment, and referral of affected women.

Two-Dimensional Offline Chromatographic Fractionation for the Characterization of Humic-Like Substances in Atmospheric Aerosol Particles.

PubMed

Spranger, Tobias; van Pinxteren, Dominik; Herrmann, Hartmut

2017-05-02

Organic carbon in atmospheric particles comprises a large fraction of chromatographically unresolved compounds, often referred to as humic-like substances (HULIS), which influence particle properties and impact climate, human health, and ecosystems. To better understand its composition, a two-dimensional (2D) offline method combining size-exclusion (SEC) and reversed-phase liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) using a new spiked gradient profile is presented. It separates HULIS into 55 fractions of different size and polarity, with estimated ranges of molecular weight and octanol/water partitioning coefficient (log P) from 160-900 g/mol and 0.2-3.3, respectively. The distribution of HULIS within the 2D size versus polarity space is illustrated with heat maps of ultraviolet absorption at 254 nm. It is found to strongly differ in a small example set of samples from a background site near Leipzig, Germany. In winter, the most intense signals were obtained for the largest molecules (>520 g/mol) with low polarity (log P ∼ 1.9), whereas in summer, smaller (225-330 g/mol) and more polar (log P ∼ 0.55) molecules dominate. The method reveals such differences in HULIS composition in a more detailed manner than previously possible and can therefore help to better elucidate the sources of HULIS in different seasons or at different sites. Analyzing Suwannee river fulvic acid as a common HULIS surrogate shows a similar polarity range, but the sizes are clearly larger than those of atmospheric HULIS.

The observation of negative permittivity in stripe and bubble phases

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smet, Jurgen

The physics of itinerant two-dimensional electrons is by and large governed by repulsive Coulomb forces. However, cases exist where the interplay of attractive and repulsive interaction components may instigate spontaneous symmetry lowering and clustering of charges in geometric patterns such as bubbles and stripes, provided these interactions act on different length scales. The existence of these phases in higher Landau levels has so far been concluded from transport behavior. Here, we report surface acoustic wave experiments. They probe the permittivity at small wave vector. This technique offers true directionality, whereas in transport the current distribution is complex and strongly affected by the inhomogeneous density pattern. Outside the charge density wave regime, the measured permittivity is always positive. However, negative permittivity is observed in the bubble phase irrespective of the propagation direction. For the stripe phase the permittivity takes on both positive as well as negative values depending on the propagation direction. This confirms the stripe phase to be a strongly anisotropic medium. The observation of negative permittivity is considered an immediate consequence of the exchange related attractive interaction. It makes charge clustering favorable in higher Landau levels where the repulsive direct Coulomb interaction acts on a longer length scale and is responsible for a negative compressibility of the electronic system. This work has been carried out with B. Friess, K. von Klitzing (MPI-FKF), Y. Peng, F. von Oppen (FU Berlin), B. Rosenow (Uni Leipzig) and V. Umansky (Weizmann Institute of Science).

Energy balance and non-turbulent fluxes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moderow, Uta; Feigenwinter, Christian; Bernhofer, Christian

2010-05-01

) Flussbestimmung an komplexen Standorten, Tharandter Klimaprotokolle Band 8. Eigenverlag der Technischen Universität Dresden, 113 pp Feigenwinter C, Bernhofer C, Eichelmann U, Heinesch B, Hertel M, Janous D, Kolle O, Lagergren F, Lindroth A, Minerbi S, Moderow U, Mölder M, Montagnani L, Queck R, Rebmann C, Vestin P, Yernaux M, Zeri M, Ziegler W, Aubinet M (2008) Comparison of horizontal and vertical advective CO2 fluxes at three forest sites. Agric Forest Meteorol 148: 12-24 Foken T, Wimmer F, Mauder M, Thomas C, Liebethal C (2006) Some aspects of the energy balance closure problem. Atmos Chem Phys Discuss 6: 3381-3402 Laubach J (1996) Charakterisierung des turbulenten Austausches von Wärme, Wasserdampf und Kohlendioxid über niedriger Vegetation anhand von Eddy-Korrelations-Messungen. Band 3. Wissenschaftliche Mitteilungen aus dem Institut für Meteorologie der Universität Leipzig und dem Institut für Troposphärenforschung e.V, Leipzig, p 139 Moderow U, Aubinet M, Feigenwinter C, Kolle O, Lindroth A, Mölder M, Montagnani L, Rebmann C, Bernhofer C (2009) Available energy and energy balance closure at four coniferous sites across Europe. Theor Appl Meteorol 98: 397-412 Vogt R, Bernhofer C, Gay LW, Jaeger L, Parlow E (1996) The available energy over a Scots pine plantation: what's up for partitioning? Theor Appl Climatol 53:23-31

International Federation of Library Associations Annual Conference Papers. General Research Libraries Division: Parliamentary Libraries and National Libraries Sections (47th, Leipzig, East Germany, August 17-22, 1981).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gude, Gilbert; And Others

This set of papers presented to the General Research Libraries Division of the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) during its 47th annual conference (1981) includes: "The Effect of the Introduction of Computers on Library and Research Staff," by Gilbert Gude; "Libraries as Information Service Agencies…

The immersion freezing behavior of mineral dust particles mixed with biological substances

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Augustin-Bauditz, S.; Wex, H.; Denjean, C.; Hartmann, S.; Schneider, J.; Schmidt, S.; Ebert, M.; Stratmann, F.

2015-10-01

Biological particles such as bacteria, fungal spores or pollen are known to be efficient ice nucleating particles. Their ability to nucleate ice is due to ice nucleation active macromolecules (INM). It has been suggested that these INM maintain their nucleating ability even when they are separated from their original carriers. This opens the possibility of an accumulation of such INM in e.g., soils, resulting in an internal mixture of mineral dust and INM. If particles from such soils which contain biological INM are then dispersed into the atmosphere due to wind erosion or agricultural processes, they could induce ice nucleation at temperatures typical for biological substances, i.e., above -20 up to almost 0 °C. To explore this hypothesis, we performed a measurement campaign within the research unit INUIT, where we investigated the ice nucleation behavior of mineral dust particles internally mixed with INM. Specifically, we mixed a pure mineral dust sample (illite-NX) with ice active biological material (birch pollen washing water) and quantified the immersion freezing behavior of the resulting particles utilizing the Leipzig Aerosol Cloud Interaction Simulator (LACIS). To characterize the mixing state of the generated aerosol we used different methods which will also be discussed. We found that internally mixed particles, containing ice active biological material, follow the ice nucleation behavior observed for the purely biological particles, i.e. freezing occurs at temperatures at which mineral dusts themselves are not yet ice active. It can be concluded that INM located on a mineral dust particle determine the freezing behavior of that particle.

Evaluation of the diffusion coefficient for controlled release of oxytetracycline from alginate/chitosan/poly(ethylene glycol) microbeads in simulated gastrointestinal environments.

PubMed

Cruz, Maria C Pinto; Ravagnani, Sergio P; Brogna, Fabio M S; Campana, Sérgio P; Triviño, Galo Cardenas; Lisboa, Antonio C Luz; Mei, Lucia H Innocentini

2004-12-01

Diffusion studies of OTC (oxytetracycline) entrapped in microbeads of calcium alginate, calcium alginate coacervated with chitosan (of high, medium and low viscosity) and calcium alginate coacervated with chitosan of low viscosity, covered with PEG [poly(ethylene glycol) of molecular mass 2, 4.6 and 10 kDa, were carried out at 37+/-0.5 degrees C, in pH 7.4 and pH 1.2 buffer solutions - conditions similar to those found in the gastrointestinal system. The diffusion coefficient, or diffusivity (D), of OTC was calculated by equations provided by Crank [(1975) Mathematics in Diffusion, p. 85, Clarendon Press, Oxford] for diffusion, which follows Fick's [(1855) Ann. Physik (Leipzig) 170, 59] second law, considering the diffusion from the inner parts to the surface of the microbeads. The least-squares and the Newton-Raphson [Carnahan, Luther and Wilkes (1969) Applied Numerical Methods, p. 319, John Wiley & Sons, New York] methods were used to obtain the diffusion coefficients. The microbead swelling at pH 7.4 and OTC diffusion is classically Fickian, suggesting that the OTC transport, in this case, is controlled by the exchange rates of free water and relaxation of calcium alginate chains. In case of acid media, it was observed that the phenomenon did not follow Fick's law, owing, probably, to the high solubility of the OTC in this environment. It was possible to modulate the release rate of OTC in several types of microbeads. The presence of cracks formed during the process of drying the microbeads was observed by scanning electron microscopy.

Education as protector against dementia, but what exactly do we mean by education?

PubMed

Then, Francisca S; Luck, Tobias; Angermeyer, Matthias C; Riedel-Heller, Steffi G

2016-07-01

even though a great number of research studies have shown that high education has protective effects against dementia, some studies did not observe such a significant effect. In that respect, the aim of our study was to investigate and compare various operationalisation approaches of education and how they impact dementia risk within one sample. data were derived from the Leipzig longitudinal study of the aged (LEILA75+). Individuals aged 75 and older underwent six cognitive assessments at an interval of 1.5 years and a final follow-up 15 years after the baseline assessment. We operationalised education according to different approaches used in previous studies and analysed the impact on dementia incidence via multivariate cox regression modelling. the results showed that whether education is identified as significant protector against dementia strongly depends on the operationalisation of education. Whereas the pure number of years of education showed statistically significant protective effects on dementia risk, other more complex categorical classification approaches did not. Moreover, completing >10 years of education or a tertiary level seems to be an important threshold to significantly reduce dementia risk. findings suggest a protective effect of more years of education on a lower dementia risk with a particular critical threshold of completing >10 years of education. Further, the findings highlight that, when examining risks and protective factors of dementia, a careful consideration of the underlying definitions and operationalisation approaches is required. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Geriatrics Society. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Intonation as an encoder of speaker certainty: information and confirmation yes-no questions in Catalan.

PubMed

Vanrell, Maria del Mar; Mascaró, Ignasi; Torres-Tamarit, Francesc; Prieto, Pilar

2013-06-01

Recent studies in the field of intonational phonology have shown that information-seeking questions can be distinguished from confirmation-seeking questions by prosodic means in a variety of languages (Armstrong, 2010, for Puerto Rican Spanish; Grice & Savino, 1997, for Bari Italian; Kügler, 2003, for Leipzig German; Mata & Santos, 2010, for European Portuguese; Vanrell, Mascaró, Prieto, & Torres-Tamarit, 2010, for Catalan). However, all these studies have relied on production experiments and little is known about the perceptual relevance of these intonational cues. This paper explores whether Majorcan Catalan listeners distinguish information- and confirmation-seeking questions by means of two distinct nuclear falling pitch accents. Three behavioral tasks were conducted with 20 Majorcan Catalan subjects, namely a semantic congruity test, a rating test, and a classical categorical perception identification/discrimination test. The results show that a difference in pitch scaling on the leading H tone of the H+L* nuclear pitch accent is the main cue used by Majorcan Catalan listeners to distinguish confirmation questions from information-seeking questions. Thus, while a iH+L* pitch accent signals an information-seeking question (i.e., the speaker has no expectation about the nature of the answer), the H+L* pitch accent indicates that the speaker is asking about mutually shared information. We argue that these results have implications in representing the distinctions of tonal height in Catalan. The results also support the claim that phonological contrasts in intonation, together with other linguistic strategies, can signal the speakers' beliefs about the certainty of the proposition expressed.

Biomedical and health informatics education and research at the Information Technology Institute in Egypt.

PubMed

Hussein, R; Khalifa, A

2011-01-01

During the last decade, Egypt has experienced a revolution in the field of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) that has had a corresponding impact on the field of healthcare. Since 1993, the Information Technology Institute (ITI) has been leading the development of the Information Technology (IT) professional training and education in Egypt to produce top quality IT professionals who are considered now the backbone of the IT revolution in Egypt. For the past five years, ITI has been adopting the objective of building high caliber health professionals who can effectively serve the ever-growing information society. Academic links have been established with internationally renowned universities, e.g., Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) in US, University of Leipzig in Germany, in addition those with the Egyptian Fellowship Board in order to enrich ITI Medical Informatics Education and Research. The ITI Biomedical and Health Informatics (BMHI) education and training programs target fresh graduates as well as life-long learners. Therefore, the program's learning objectives are framed within the context of the four specialization tracks: Healthcare Management (HCM), Biomedical Informatics Research (BMIR), Bioinformatics Professional (BIP), and Healthcare Professional (HCP). The ITI BMHI research projects tackle a wide-range of current challenges in this field, such as knowledge management in healthcare, providing tele-consultation services for diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases for underserved regions in Egypt, and exploring the cultural and educational aspects of Nanoinformatics. Since 2006, ITI has been positively contributing to develop the discipline of BMHI in Egypt in order to support improved healthcare services.

Polynomial algorithms for the Maximal Pairing Problem: efficient phylogenetic targeting on arbitrary trees

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background The Maximal Pairing Problem (MPP) is the prototype of a class of combinatorial optimization problems that are of considerable interest in bioinformatics: Given an arbitrary phylogenetic tree T and weights ωxy for the paths between any two pairs of leaves (x, y), what is the collection of edge-disjoint paths between pairs of leaves that maximizes the total weight? Special cases of the MPP for binary trees and equal weights have been described previously; algorithms to solve the general MPP are still missing, however. Results We describe a relatively simple dynamic programming algorithm for the special case of binary trees. We then show that the general case of multifurcating trees can be treated by interleaving solutions to certain auxiliary Maximum Weighted Matching problems with an extension of this dynamic programming approach, resulting in an overall polynomial-time solution of complexity (n4 log n) w.r.t. the number n of leaves. The source code of a C implementation can be obtained under the GNU Public License from http://www.bioinf.uni-leipzig.de/Software/Targeting. For binary trees, we furthermore discuss several constrained variants of the MPP as well as a partition function approach to the probabilistic version of the MPP. Conclusions The algorithms introduced here make it possible to solve the MPP also for large trees with high-degree vertices. This has practical relevance in the field of comparative phylogenetics and, for example, in the context of phylogenetic targeting, i.e., data collection with resource limitations. PMID:20525185

[The Great European Georg Friedrich Nicolai: physician and pacifist. Berlin, Germany, 1874 - Santiago, Chile, 1964].

PubMed

Cabello C, Felipe

2013-04-01

Georg Friedrich Nicolai (1874-1964) was a German physician and physiologist whose pacifism during the First World War led him in 1914 to cosign with W. J. Foerster, A. Einstein and O. Bueck a "Manifesto to the Europeans" against the entry of Germany into the war and the invasion of Belgium. As a result of this appeal and his strong pacifism, Nicolai lost his positions as cardiologist to the German royal family, professor at the University of Berlin and chief of laboratory at the Charite hospital also in Berlin, and was sent as a garrison physician in Graundenz, in today's Poland. There he began to write his book, The Biology of War. It managed to avoid censorship and was published in Leipzig in 1916. He was court-martialed in Danzig in 1916 but escaped to Denmark. Nicolai was reinstated to his faculty positions by the Weimar Republic after the war but was subsequently forced to emigrate from Germany to South America by the pressure of right wing student groups who accused him of being a deserter and a traitor. From 1922 to 1932 Nicolai lived in Argentina, and from 1932 until his death in 1964, in Chile. In this later country Nicolai was professor in the University of Chile and interacted with members of the Chilean intelligentsia, including the poets Vicente Huidobro, Gonzalo Rojas and Pablo Neruda. Through his friendship with Chilean psychiatrist Agustin Tellez, Nicolai influenced the development of phenomenological psychiatric school in Chile. The Chilean novelist Fernando Alegria compared him favorably with Robert J. Oppenheimer and Linus Pauling.

Differential effects of enriched environment at work on cognitive decline in old age.

PubMed

Then, Francisca S; Luck, Tobias; Luppa, Melanie; König, Hans-Helmut; Angermeyer, Matthias C; Riedel-Heller, Steffi G

2015-05-26

The aim of the present study was to investigate how different mentally demanding work conditions during the professional life-i.e., enriched environments at work-might influence the rate of cognitive decline in old age. Individuals (n = 1,054) of the Leipzig Longitudinal Study of the Aged, a representative population-based cohort study of individuals aged 75 years and older, underwent cognitive testing via the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) in up to 6 measurement waves. Type and level of mentally demanding work conditions in the participants' former professional life were classified based on the O*NET job descriptor database. In multivariate mixed-model analyses (controlling for sociodemographic and health-related factors), a high level of mentally demanding work tasks stimulating verbal intelligence was significantly associated with a better cognitive functioning at baseline (on average 5 MMSE points higher) as well as a lower rate of cognitive decline (on average 2 MMSE points less) over the 8-year follow-up period compared with a low level. The rate of cognitive decline in old age was also significantly lower (on average 3 MMSE points less) in individuals who had a high level of mentally demanding work tasks stimulating executive functions than those who had a low level. The results suggest that a professional life enriched with work tasks stimulating verbal intelligence and executive functions may help to sustain a good cognitive functioning in old age (75+ years). The findings thus emphasize that today's challenging work conditions may also promote positive health effects. © 2015 American Academy of Neurology.

Higher body mass index is associated with reduced posterior default mode connectivity in older adults.

PubMed

Beyer, Frauke; Kharabian Masouleh, Sharzhad; Huntenburg, Julia M; Lampe, Leonie; Luck, Tobias; Riedel-Heller, Steffi G; Loeffler, Markus; Schroeter, Matthias L; Stumvoll, Michael; Villringer, Arno; Witte, A Veronica

2017-04-11

Obesity is a complex neurobehavioral disorder that has been linked to changes in brain structure and function. However, the impact of obesity on functional connectivity and cognition in aging humans is largely unknown. Therefore, the association of body mass index (BMI), resting-state network connectivity, and cognitive performance in 712 healthy, well-characterized older adults of the Leipzig Research Center for Civilization Diseases (LIFE) cohort (60-80 years old, mean BMI 27.6 kg/m 2  ± 4.2 SD, main sample: n = 521, replication sample: n = 191) was determined. Statistical analyses included a multivariate model selection approach followed by univariate analyses to adjust for possible confounders. Results showed that a higher BMI was significantly associated with lower default mode functional connectivity in the posterior cingulate cortex and precuneus. The effect remained stable after controlling for age, sex, head motion, registration quality, cardiovascular, and genetic factors as well as in replication analyses. Lower functional connectivity in BMI-associated areas correlated with worse executive function. In addition, higher BMI correlated with stronger head motion. Using 3T neuroimaging in a large cohort of healthy older adults, independent negative associations of obesity and functional connectivity in the posterior default mode network were observed. In addition, a subtle link between lower resting-state connectivity in BMI-associated regions and cognitive function was found. The findings might indicate that obesity is associated with patterns of decreased default mode connectivity similar to those seen in populations at risk for Alzheimer's disease. Hum Brain Mapp, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Comparison of endothelial changes and power settings between torsional and longitudinal phacoemulsification.

PubMed

Reuschel, Anna; Bogatsch, Holger; Barth, Thomas; Wiedemann, Renate

2010-11-01

To compare the intraoperative and postoperative outcomes of conventional longitudinal phacoemulsification and torsional phacoemulsification. Department of Ophthalmology, University of Leipzig, Germany. Randomized single-center clinical trial. Eyes with senile cataract were randomized to have phacoemulsification using the Infiniti Vision System and the torsional mode (OZil) or conventional longitudinal mode. Primary outcomes were corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA) and central endothelial cell density (ECD), calculated according to the Conference on Harmonisation-E9 Guidelines in which missing values were substituted by the median in each group (primary analysis) and the loss was then calculated using actual data (secondary analysis). Secondary outcomes were ultrasound (US) time, cumulative dissipated energy (CDE), and percentage total equivalent power in position 3. Postoperative follow-up was at 3 months. The mean preoperative CDVA was 0.41 logMAR in the torsional group and 0.38 logMAR in the longitudinal group, improving to 0.07 logMAR postoperatively in both groups. The mean ECD loss was 7.2% ± 4.6% in the torsional group (72 patients) and 7.1% ± 4.4% in the longitudinal group (76 patients), with no statistically significant differences in the primary analysis (P = .342) or secondary analysis (P = .906). The mean US time, CDE, and percentage total equivalent power in position 3 were statistically significantly lower in the torsional group (98 patients) than in the longitudinal group (94 patients) (P<.001). The torsional mode was as safe as the longitudinal mode in phacoemulsification for age-related cataract. Copyright © 2010 ASCRS and ESCRS. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The application of surgical procedure manager (SPM): first experience with FESS.

PubMed

Feige, Katharina; Gollnick, Iris; Schmitz, Pia; Strauss, Gero

2017-09-01

In our hypothesis, the newly developed program SPM (surgical procedure manager) will ensure successful standardization and efficiency of the FESS (functional endoscopic sinus surgery) and therefore make a decisive contribution in terms of economization and improvement of intraoperative quality. Between 27th March 2015 and 8th October 2015, data from 259 FESS procedures were collected using the SPM. The study took place at the surgical desk, an operating room in the ACQUA clinic in Leipzig, Germany. 233 FESS (90%) of the total FESS (n = 259, 100%) were conducted entirely with SPM. 26 SPM terminations (10%) of 259 FESS remain, which are classified as actual SPM terminations-when the surgeon intentionally stops the SPM. The maximum time slot decreased clearly from 1 h 39 min (period A) to 1 h 10 min (period B). A time reduction can also be seen with the minimum duration of 13.5 min compared to 11 min. The variability of the time slot also decreases since the standard deviation is reduced by 4.5 min. On the basis of available recordings it can be postulated that the application of SPM is suitable for standardization for FESS. Standardization by means of SPM and minimal development can be recognized over a period of time. The SPM makes it possible to transfer the general advantages of mechanization on a concrete FESS and do not influence the medical processes nor even restrict the medical freedom. The users are still entirely free in the implementation of the respective procedure.

Nocturnal levels of chemerin and progranulin in adolescents: influence of sex, body mass index, glucose metabolism and sleep.

PubMed

Daxer, Johann; Herttrich, Theresa; Zhao, Ying Y; Vogel, Mandy; Hiemisch, Andreas; Scheuermann, Kathrin; Körner, Antje; Kratzsch, Jürgen; Kiess, Wieland; Quante, Mirja

2017-01-01

Adipokines have been implicated in obesity, insulin resistance and sleep regulation. However, the role of chemerin and progranulin, two recently described adipokines, in the context of sleep remains unclear. The aim of this study was to compare nocturnal serum chemerin and progranulin levels between overweight/obese and normal-weight adolescents and to assess variations by sex, across different sleep stages and in relation to glucose metabolism. The study sample included 34 overweight/obese and 32 normal-weight adolescents from secondary schools and the Leipzig Research Center for Civilization Diseases (LIFE) Child study cohort. We obtained longitudinal serum adipokine levels during in-laboratory polysomnography followed by an oral glucose tolerance test. Overweight/obese adolescents had significantly higher mean nocturnal serum chemerin area under the curve (AUC) levels (348.2±133.3 vs. 241.7±67.7 vs. ng/mL×h, p<0.001) compared to normal-weight controls. In detail, higher chemerin AUC levels in obese/overweight subjects were exclusively due to increased levels in females. No overall difference for serum progranulin AUC was found between the groups. However, when assessing sex-specific levels, serum progranulin AUC levels were ~30% higher in overweight/obese males compared to overweight/obese females. Of note, nocturnal serum chemerin and progranulin AUC did not exhibit a correlation with markers of glucose metabolism or sleep stages. Collectively, we report a sexual dimorphism in nocturnal progranulin and chemerin levels, which may help explain underlying differences in energy balance and body composition between males and females in the context of obesity.

[Knowledge of German neurologists on migraine around 1890. Paul Julius Möbius and his 1894 monograph Die Migräne].

PubMed

Schobeß, C; Steinberg, H

2013-08-01

Paul Julius Möbius (1853-1907), a Leipzig-based author and editor on a vast majority of subjects, has often been acknowledged as a leading 19th-century German neurologist. His impact on the development of knowledge on migraine has likewise been pointed to. This study compares the monograph published by Möbius on the illness in 1894 with contemporary publications and with present day best practice to establish if the author really made an essential contribution to the problem of migraine. As a representative of the central theory Möbius assumed that migraine was caused by aberrations in the brain. At the same time he made it clear that due to very limited diagnostic options this was only a hypothesis. Apart from a genetic factor and these cerebral changes, for Möbius the general state of health was a decisive factor and prevention and change in lifestyle therefore played a crucial role in his therapeutic recommendations. Basically there were only few differences between the views of Möbius and his colleagues, the major dissimilarity being that Möbius postulated a merely suggestive impact but no physical effect of electrotherapy. Although Möbius's monograph on migraine lacks originality, it provides a concise, easy to understand and stylistically impressive overview on the state of knowledge at that time. Therefore, the book can be considered as a benchmark publication of German speaking neurology around 1890 on migraine and it is highly recommended to present day headache and migraine researchers as well as historians of psychiatry and neurology.

Infant eczema, infant sleeping problems, and mental health at 10 years of age: the prospective birth cohort study LISAplus.

PubMed

Schmitt, J; Chen, C-M; Apfelbacher, C; Romanos, M; Lehmann, I; Herbarth, O; Schaaf, B; Kraemer, U; von Berg, A; Wichmann, H-E; Heinrich, J

2011-03-01

Cross-sectional studies suggest an association between eczema and mental health problems, possibly modified by sleeping problems, but prospective evidence is missing. We aimed to prospectively investigate the relationship between infant eczema (within first 2 years of age), infant sleeping problems (within first 2 years of age), and the risk of mental health problems at 10 years of age. Between 1997 and 1999, a population-based birth cohort was recruited in Munich, Leipzig, Wesel, and Bad Honnef, Germany, and followed until 10 years of age. Physician-diagnosed eczema, parent-reported sleeping problems, and known environmental risk factors for atopy were regularly assessed until 10 years of age. Mental health was measured using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (parent version) at 10 years of age. We applied logistic regression modeling adjusting for environmental and lifestyle factors, allergic comorbidity, and family history of eczema. From the original cohort of 3097 neonates, 1658 (54%) were followed until age 10, while 1578 (51%) were eligible for analysis. In the fully adjusted model, children with infant eczema were at increased risk of hyperactivity/inattention at 10 years of age [odds ratio (OR) 1.78; 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.02-3.09]. Infant eczema with concurrent sleeping problems predicted emotional problems [OR 2.63; 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.20-5.76] and conduct problems (OR 3.03; 95% CI 1.01-9.12) at 10 years of age. Infant eczema with concurrent sleeping problems appears to be a risk factor for the development of mental health problems. © 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

QRS Width as a Predictor of Right Ventricular Remodeling After Percutaneous Pulmonary Valve Implantation.

PubMed

Paech, C; Dähnert, I; Riede, F T; Wagner, R; Kister, T; Nieschke, K; Wagner, F; Gebauer, R A

2017-08-01

Recent data showed a right ventricular dyssynchrony in patients with tetralogy of Fallot (TOF). Percutaneous pulmonary valve implantation (PPVI) has become an important procedure to treat a pulmonary stenosis and/or regurgitation of the right ventricular outflow tract in these patients. Despite providing good results, there is still a considerable number of nonresponders to PPVI. The authors speculated that electrical dysfunction of the right ventricle plays an underestimated role in the outcome of patients after PPVI. This study aimed to investigate the influence of right ventricular electrical dysfunction, i.e., right bundle branch block (RBBB) on the RV remodeling after PPVI. The study included consecutive patients after correction of TOF with or without RBBB, who had received a PPVI previously at the Heart Center of the University of Leipzig, Germany during the period from 2012 to 2015. 24 patients were included. Patients without RBBB, i.e., with narrow QRS complexes pre-intervention, had significantly better RV function and had smaller right ventricular volumes. Patients with pre-interventionally QRS width below 150 ms showed a post-interventional remodeling of the right ventricle with the decreasing RV volumes (p = 0.001). The parameters of LV function and volume as well as RV ejection fraction remained unaffected by RBBB. The presented data indicate that the QRS width seems to be a valuable parameter in the prediction of right ventricular remodeling after PPVI, as it represents both electrical and mechanical functions of the right ventricle and may serve as an additional parameter for optimal timing of a PPVI.

[Methamphetamine Consumption During Pregnancy and its Effects on Neonates].

PubMed

Pflügner, Alina; Thome, Ulrich; Bernhard, Matthias K; Vogel, Mandy; Bläser, Annett; Nickel, Petra; Kiess, Wieland

2018-01-01

 Methamphetamine (MA) has become one of the most commonly used illegal drugs during pregnancy. We sought to determine how MA abuse modifies pregnancy outcomes and the health of the newborn infants. Patients 102 newborns from mothers with antenatal MA consumption were admitted to the University Hospital Leipzig from 2004-2015.  The effects of MA abuse on pregnancy outcomes and neonates were researched in a retrospective controlled study. We analysed the date of pregnancy detection, number of antenatal preventive examinations, body measurements of the neonates, duration of hospitalization, rate of preterm infants, congenital malformations and symptoms of neonatal abstinence syndrome.  The majority of pregnancies of MA abusing women were diagnosed during the 2. trimester and they had a median of 4 prenatal care visits. The group of MA exposed neonates includes twice as many preterm neonates as the control group (MA:20,6%; CG:10,7%). The consumption was associated with intrauterine growth restriction, an increased incidence of poor cardio respiratory adaptation, cardiac defects and a floppy muscle tone. The median time of hospitalization was 10d as compared to a control group (CG:5d). Special care was needed in 44% of the neonates (CG:0,98%). The median age of primiparous women was 22.5 yr (CG:30 yr), 4.9% were married (CG:38%). 57 of 102 women were unemployed.  Because of the adverse effects of perinatal MA abuse a multidisciplinary team is necessary to detect the consumption, to alleviate side effects and to provide efficient medical care for the newborns. Psychological and social support for the families are also important. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

[Teleteaching in otorhinolaryngology. Part 2: the European database "medicstream"].

PubMed

Fuchs, M; Strauß, G; Werner, T; Bootz, F

2003-02-01

Searching the medical literature is mainly characterized by the use of databases.The time for reviewing and printing a paper causes a delay between the first presentation of scientific results in a lecture and the appearance of the appropriate journal publication. Moreover, the possibilities for the integration of multimedia data are limited.Because of the development of new compression algorithms for audiovisual digitization software, the near simultaneous transmission of scientific presentations, both visually and aurally, has been possible since 1999.The section telemedicine of the interdisciplinary study group on image guided surgical navigation from the University of Leipzig has developed "medicstream" as a unique, audiovisual, scientific internetdatabase. It allows the documentation of presentations at congresses and courses, including the discussion,over a freely accessible, widely available homepage, using a home developed streaming technology.All presentations are examined by an authorized editorial committee consisting of representatives with different medical specializations for content before the admission to the data base.A total of 392 presentations from seven scientific meetings can be selected by an integrated search machine and viewed with Windows Media Player or Real Player using a conventional or faster internet connection to the homepage www.medicstream.de.The quality of the audiovisual transmission depends on the receiver-lateral data transmission rate,whereby the minimum variant of 56 kB/s is characterized by good detectability of the contents. In an analysis period of 242 days,we registered 44,199 accesses and 4,488 attendances.The telemedicine data base "medicstream" can optimize quality and extend medical education by live-streaming as well as by archiving scientific presentations as audiovisual data.

Risk of dementia in older adults with low versus high occupation-based motivational processes: differential impact of frequency and proximity of social network.

PubMed

Fankhauser, Sonja; Forstmeier, Simon; Maercker, Andreas; Luppa, Melanie; Luck, Tobias; Riedel-Heller, Steffi G

2015-06-01

This study investigates the impact of occupation-based motivational processes and social network variables on the incidence of dementia over 8 years. Data were derived from the Leipzig Longitudinal Study of the Aged (LEILA75+), a population-based longitudinal study of individuals aged 75 years and older (n=1692 at baseline). Motivational processes were estimated based on the main occupation using the Occupational Information Network database. In a Cox proportional hazard model, motivational processes were not associated with the risk of dementia (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.93, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.74-1.16). Individuals with a higher frequency of social contact at baseline had a significantly lower risk of dementia (HR: 0.96, 95% CI: 0.91-0.99), while proximity of social contacts was not linked to the risk of dementia (HR: 1.03, 95% CI: 0.98-1.08). In individuals with low indices of motivational processes, the frequency of social contacts was associated with a lower risk of dementia (HR: 0.94, 95% CI: 0.88-1.00). On the other hand, proximity of social contacts was linked to a higher risk of dementia in individuals with high indices of motivational processes (HR: 1.09, 95% CI: 1.01-1.19). Results indicate that the frequency and proximity of social contacts have a differential impact on the risk of dementia according to lower or higher indices of motivational processes, while the impact of motivational processes on risk of dementia could not be confirmed. Future studies should carefully disentangle different aspects of social interactions and their association with motivational processes. © The Author(s) 2014.

Initial apixaban dosing in patients with atrial fibrillation.

PubMed

Buchholz, Alexander; Ueberham, Laura; Gorczynska, Kaja; Dinov, Borislav; Hilbert, Sebastian; Dagres, Nikolaos; Husser, Daniela; Hindricks, Gerhard; Bollmann, Andreas

2018-05-01

Apixaban is a non-vitamin K oral anticoagulant approved for prevention of stroke and systemic embolism in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (AF). Current labeling recommends dose reduction based on patient age, weight, and renal function. The aim of this study was to analyze adherence to current labeling instructions concerning initial apixaban dosing in clinical practice and identify factors associated with inappropriate dose reduction. Patients with AF initiated on apixaban in 2016 were identified in the Heart Center Leipzig database. Records were screened to identify patient characteristics, prescribed apixaban dose, renal function, and further dosing-relevant secondary diagnoses and co-medication. We identified 569 consecutive patients with AF initiated on apixaban. In 301 (52.9%) patients, apixaban was prescribed in standard dose (5 mg b.i.d.) and in 268 (47.1%) in a reduced dose (2.5 mg b.i.d.). Of 268 patients receiving a reduced dose, 163 (60.8%) did not meet labeling criteria for dose reduction. In univariate and multivariate regression analysis, age (OR: 0.736, 95% CI: 0.664-0.816, P < 0.0001), patient weight (OR: 1.120, 95% CI: 1.076-1.166, P < 0.0001), and serum creatinine level (OR: 0.910, 95% CI: 0.881-0.940, P < 0.0001) were independent predictors for apixaban underdosage. In clinical practice, apixaban dosing is frequently inconsistent with labeling. Factors associated with inappropriate dose reduction are age, patient weight, and serum creatinine level, the same factors used as criteria for dose adjustment. However, in underdosed patients, the 3 factors did not meet the criteria for dose reduction. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Phase-partitioning in mixed-phase clouds - An approach to characterize the entire vertical column

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kalesse, H.; Luke, E. P.; Seifert, P.

2017-12-01

The characterization of the entire vertical profile of phase-partitioning in mixed-phase clouds is a challenge which can be addressed by synergistic profiling measurements with ground-based polarization lidars and cloud radars. While lidars are sensitive to small particles and can thus detect supercooled liquid (SCL) layers, cloud radar returns are dominated by larger particles (like ice crystals). The maximum lidar observation height is determined by complete signal attenuation at a penetrated optical depth of about three. In contrast, cloud radars are able to penetrate multiple liquid layers and can thus be used to expand the identification of cloud phase to the entire vertical column beyond the lidar extinction height, if morphological features in the radar Doppler spectrum can be related to the existence of SCL. Relevant spectral signatures such as bimodalities and spectral skewness can be related to cloud phase by training a neural network appropriately in a supervised learning scheme, with lidar measurements functioning as supervisor. The neural network output (prediction of SCL location) derived using cloud radar Doppler spectra can be evaluated with several parameters such as liquid water path (LWP) detected by microwave radiometer (MWR) and (liquid) cloud base detected by ceilometer or Raman lidar. The technique has been previously tested on data from Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) instruments in Barrow, Alaska and is in this study utilized for observations from the Leipzig Aerosol and Cloud Remote Observations System (LACROS) during the Analysis of the Composition of Clouds with Extended Polarization Techniques (ACCEPT) field experiment in Cabauw, Netherlands in Fall 2014. Comparisons to supercooled-liquid layers as classified by CLOUDNET are provided.

Max Brödel: his art, legacy, and contributions to neurosurgery through medical illustration.

PubMed

Patel, Smruti K; Couldwell, William T; Liu, James K

2011-07-01

Max Brödel is considered the father of modern medical illustration. This report reviews his contributions to neurosurgery as a medical illustrator. Max Brödel, a young artist from Leipzig, Germany, was hired at Johns Hopkins Hospital in 1894, where he illustrated an operative textbook of gynecology for Howard A. Kelly. Although Brödel did not have any formal medical training, he quickly acquired knowledge of anatomy, pathology, physiology, and surgery. Brödel's extraordinary illustrations were characterized by an aerial perspective that conveyed the surgeon's operative viewpoint and precise surgical anatomy. He masterfully incorporated tissue realism with cross-sectional anatomy to accentuate concepts while maintaining topographical accuracy. Brödel's reputation spread quickly and resulted in collaborations with prominent surgeons, such as Cushing, Halsted, and Dandy. Cushing, who also possessed artistic talent, became a pupil of Brödel and remained a very close friend. In 1911, Brödel was appointed the director of the Department of Art as Applied to Medicine at Johns Hopkins, the first academic department of its kind in the world. For the next several decades, he trained generations of renowned medical illustrators. Just as Osler, Halsted, and Cushing passed their skills and knowledge to future leaders of medicine and surgery, Brödel did the same for the field of medical illustration. The advancement of neurosurgical education has been greatly facilitated by Max Brödel's artistic contributions. His unique ability to synthesize art and medicine resulted in timeless illustrations that remain indispensable to surgeons. The art produced by his legacy of illustrators continues to flourish in neurosurgical literature today.

Measuring Transcription Factor–Binding Site Turnover: A Maximum Likelihood Approach Using Phylogenies

PubMed Central

Otto, Wolfgang; Stadler, Peter F.; López-Giraldéz, Francesc; Townsend, Jeffrey P.; Lynch, Vincent J.

2009-01-01

A major mode of gene expression evolution is based on changes in cis-regulatory elements (CREs) whose function critically depends on the presence of transcription factor–binding sites (TFBS). Because CREs experience extensive TFBS turnover even with conserved function, alignment-based studies of CRE sequence evolution are limited to very closely related species. Here, we propose an alternative approach based on a stochastic model of TFBS turnover. We implemented a maximum likelihood model that permits variable turnover rates in different parts of the species tree. This model can be used to detect changes in turnover rate as a proxy for differences in the selective pressures acting on TFBS in different clades. We applied this method to five TFBS in the fungi methionine biosynthesis pathway and three TFBS in the HoxA clusters of vertebrates. We find that the estimated turnover rate is generally high, with half-life ranging between ∼5 and 150 My and a mode around tens of millions of years. This rate is consistent with the finding that even functionally conserved enhancers can show very low sequence similarity. We also detect statistically significant differences in the equilibrium densities of estrogen- and progesterone-response elements in the HoxA clusters between mammal and nonmammal vertebrates. Even more extreme clade-specific differences were found in the fungal data. We conclude that stochastic models of TFBS turnover enable the detection of shifts in the selective pressures acting on CREs in different organisms. The analysis tool, called CRETO (Cis-Regulatory Element Turn-Over) can be downloaded from http://www.bioinf.uni-leipzig.de/Software/creto/. PMID:20333180

Investigations of percutaneous uptake of ultrafine TiO 2 particles at the high energy ion nanoprobe LIPSION

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Menzel, F.; Reinert, T.; Vogt, J.; Butz, T.

2004-06-01

Micronised TiO 2 particles with a diameter of about 15 nm are used in sunscreens as physical UV filter. Due to the small particle size it may be supposed that TiO 2 particles can pass through the uppermost horny skin layer ( stratum corneum) via intercellular channels and penetrate into deeper vital skin layers. Accumulations of TiO 2 particles in the skin can decrease the threshold for allergies of the immune system or cause allergic reactions directly. Spatially resolved ion beam analysis (PIXE, RBS, STIM and secondary electron imaging) was carried out on freeze-dried cross-sections of biopsies of pig skin, on which four different formulations containing TiO 2 particles were applied. The investigations were carried out at the high energy ion nanoprobe LIPSION in Leipzig with a 2.25 MeV proton beam, which was focused to a diameter of 1 μm. The analysis concentrated on the penetration depth and on pathways of the TiO 2 particles into the skin. In these measurements a penetration of TiO 2 particles through the s. corneum into the underlying stratum granulosum via intercellular space was found. Hair follicles do not seem to be important penetration pathways because no TiO 2 was detected inside. The TiO 2 particle concentration in the stratum spinosum was below the minimum detection limit of about 1 particle/μm 2. These findings show the importance of coating the TiO 2 particles in order to prevent damage of RNA and DNA of skin cells by photocatalytic reactions of the penetrated particles caused by absorption of UV light.

Characteristic length of glass transition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Donth, E.

1996-03-01

The characteristic length of the glass transition (ξ _α ) is based on the concept of cooperatively rearranging regions (CRR's) by Adam & Gibbs (1965): ξ _α is the diameter of one CRR. In the theoretical part of the talk a formula is derived how this length can be calculated from calorimetric data of the transformation interval. The approach is based on fluctuations in natural functional subsystems. The corresponding thermodynamics is represented e.g. in a book of the author (E. Donth, Relaxation and Thermodynamics in Polymers. Glass Transition, Akademie-Verlag, Berlin 1992). A typical value for this length is 3 nanometers. In the experimental part several examples are reported to enlarge the experimental evidence for such a length: Squeezing the glass transition in the amorphous layers of partially crystallized PET (C. Schick, Rostock), glass transition of small-molecule glass formers in a series of nanoscaled pores of porous glasses (F. Kremer, Leipzig), comparison with a concentration fluctuation model in homogeneous polymer mixtures (E.W. Fischer, Mainz), and, from our laboratory, backscaling to ξ _α across the main transition from the entanglement spacing in several amorphous polymers such as PVAC, PS, NR, and some polymer networks. Rouse backscaling was possible in the α β splitting region of several poly(n alkyl methacrylates) resulting in small characteristic lengths of order 1 nanometer near the onset of α cooperativity. In a speculative outlook a dynamic density pattern is presented, having a cellular structure with higher density and lower mobility of the cell walls. It will be explained, with the aid of different thermal expansion of wall and clusters, how the clusters within the cells maintain a certain mobility far below the glass temperature.

[The Contributions of the East-German Sports Medicine Specialist and Neurologist Bernhard Schwarz (1918-1991) in the Field of Boxing].

PubMed

Bart, Katrin; Steinberg, Holger

2018-03-01

This study is the first to provide research on the East-German (GDR) sports physician and neurologist Bernhard Schwarz. It summarises Schwarz's publications from 1953 to 1966 regarding the impact of boxing on health, particularly craniocerebral injury. Also, the study analyses his work in the context of current discussions. It shows that Schwarz, who was a tenured professor and director of the Department of Psychiatry at the University Hospital of Leipzig and the physician of the GDR national boxing team, conducted systematic clinical surveys and pointed to the health impacts of boxing at an early point in time. He believed that risk exposure for athletes could be minimised through intensive and trained supervision by the coach and the physician as well as through changes to the conditions of boxing matches. Schwarz opposed a ban on boxing. Instead, he picked up suggestions concerning the prevention of adverse health impacts and added his own recommendations, which are remarkably similar to current practices aimed at minimising risk. For instance, he advised that ring-side physicians be trained to recognise dangerous conditions. Today, physicians must obtain a license to be allowed to care for a boxer. In addition, Schwarz pursued the concept of integral medicine. He called for a diversified training of boxers and argued that injured athletes should be treated holistically. Being a neurologist, he emphasised the important role of psychotherapy in this context. He identified the key role of rehabilitation, and suggested that rehabilitation is complete only with the patient's successful social and professional reintegration. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Novel Anthropometry Based on 3D-Bodyscans Applied to a Large Population Based Cohort

PubMed Central

Löffler-Wirth, Henry; Willscher, Edith; Ahnert, Peter; Wirkner, Kerstin; Engel, Christoph; Loeffler, Markus; Binder, Hans

2016-01-01

Three-dimensional (3D) whole body scanners are increasingly used as precise measuring tools for the rapid quantification of anthropometric measures in epidemiological studies. We analyzed 3D whole body scanning data of nearly 10,000 participants of a cohort collected from the adult population of Leipzig, one of the largest cities in Eastern Germany. We present a novel approach for the systematic analysis of this data which aims at identifying distinguishable clusters of body shapes called body types. In the first step, our method aggregates body measures provided by the scanner into meta-measures, each representing one relevant dimension of the body shape. In a next step, we stratified the cohort into body types and assessed their stability and dependence on the size of the underlying cohort. Using self-organizing maps (SOM) we identified thirteen robust meta-measures and fifteen body types comprising between 1 and 18 percent of the total cohort size. Thirteen of them are virtually gender specific (six for women and seven for men) and thus reflect most abundant body shapes of women and men. Two body types include both women and men, and describe androgynous body shapes that lack typical gender specific features. The body types disentangle a large variability of body shapes enabling distinctions which go beyond the traditional indices such as body mass index, the waist-to-height ratio, the waist-to-hip ratio and the mortality-hazard ABSI-index. In a next step, we will link the identified body types with disease predispositions to study how size and shape of the human body impact health and disease. PMID:27467550

Novel Anthropometry Based on 3D-Bodyscans Applied to a Large Population Based Cohort.

PubMed

Löffler-Wirth, Henry; Willscher, Edith; Ahnert, Peter; Wirkner, Kerstin; Engel, Christoph; Loeffler, Markus; Binder, Hans

2016-01-01

Three-dimensional (3D) whole body scanners are increasingly used as precise measuring tools for the rapid quantification of anthropometric measures in epidemiological studies. We analyzed 3D whole body scanning data of nearly 10,000 participants of a cohort collected from the adult population of Leipzig, one of the largest cities in Eastern Germany. We present a novel approach for the systematic analysis of this data which aims at identifying distinguishable clusters of body shapes called body types. In the first step, our method aggregates body measures provided by the scanner into meta-measures, each representing one relevant dimension of the body shape. In a next step, we stratified the cohort into body types and assessed their stability and dependence on the size of the underlying cohort. Using self-organizing maps (SOM) we identified thirteen robust meta-measures and fifteen body types comprising between 1 and 18 percent of the total cohort size. Thirteen of them are virtually gender specific (six for women and seven for men) and thus reflect most abundant body shapes of women and men. Two body types include both women and men, and describe androgynous body shapes that lack typical gender specific features. The body types disentangle a large variability of body shapes enabling distinctions which go beyond the traditional indices such as body mass index, the waist-to-height ratio, the waist-to-hip ratio and the mortality-hazard ABSI-index. In a next step, we will link the identified body types with disease predispositions to study how size and shape of the human body impact health and disease.

[Advertising and Zeitgeist. The advertising of Schwabe Pharmaceuticals].

PubMed

Hofmann, Cornelia; Riha, Ortrun

2015-01-01

This contribution explores the advertisements for homeopathic products in magazines in the first half of the twentieth century, focusing on the period between 1933 and 1945 and based on the example of the pharmaceutical company Dr Willmar Schwabe. In the first half of the twentieth century, Schwabe Pharmaceuticals was market leader for homeopathic and other complementary medical products (phytotherapy, biochemicals). The example chosen as well as the time frame complement the existing research. We searched three German publications (the homeopathy journal Leipziger Populäre Zeitschrift für Homöopathie, the medical weekly Münchner Medizinische Wochenschrift and the pharma magazine Pharmazeutische Zeitung) and collected target-group-specific results for laypersons, physicians and pharmacists. Analysis of the images and texts in the selected advertisements often reflected the historical background and the respective health policies (wartime requirements, times of need, "Neue Deutsche Heilkunde"). The history of this traditional company was seen as an important point in advertising, as were the recognisability of the brand through the company logo, the emphasis on the high quality of their products and the reference to the company's own research activities. We furthermore found the kind of argumentation that is typical of natural medicine (naturalness, the power of the sun, prominent representatives). Schwabe met the expectations of its clients, who were interested in complementary medicine, whilst pursuing an approach to homeopathy that was compatible with natural science, and it presented itself as a modern, scientifically oriented enterprise. The company did not lose credibility as a result, but increased its clientele by expanding to include the whole naturopathic market.

Attitudes of German undergraduate dental students towards the aged.

PubMed

Nitschke, Ina; Clarenbach-Tran, Thanh-Ha; Schlegel, Daphne; Reiber, Thomas; Sobotta, Bernhard A J

2015-03-01

To describe attitudes towards the aged and changes in attitudes of dental students during their participation in an undergraduate gerodontology programme. Attitudes of dentists have been shown to influence their willingness to provide dental services to the aged. A questionnaire was administered to 160 (50 men) dental students at Leipzig University aged 19.2-30.5 (mean, 21.7; SD, 2.3) years before entering (T1) and when completing (T2) a gerodontology course. A definition of being young and old and of hopes and fears associated with age was requested. The semantic ageing differential (SAD) was used to measure the students' attitudes towards the aged in three categories. Statistical analysis comprised mean age definitions by gender and mean scores of the SAD at T1 and T2. Old age was defined as beginning between 56 and 64 years. Female students at T1 regarded a woman as young up to 35.8 years, for male students a woman was young only up to 33.5 years. Male students consider men as old from 60.1 years and women 4.4 years earlier from 55.7 years. Old age fears related mainly to impairment of health and loss of relatives. Hopes for relaxation, rest and serenity were paramount. The SAD results were near neutral in all three dimensions. Minor changes between T1 and T2 occurred. Students' attitudes were well balanced. Specific barriers to the provision of dental care to the aged emanating from dental students' negative attitudes or fears were not identified. Changes in attitudes occurring during the course appeared small. © 2013 The Gerodontology Society and John Wiley & Sons A/S.

Structured recording of intraoperative surgical workflows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Neumuth, T.; Durstewitz, N.; Fischer, M.; Strauss, G.; Dietz, A.; Meixensberger, J.; Jannin, P.; Cleary, K.; Lemke, H. U.; Burgert, O.

2006-03-01

Surgical Workflows are used for the methodical and scientific analysis of surgical interventions. The approach described here is a step towards developing surgical assist systems based on Surgical Workflows and integrated control systems for the operating room of the future. This paper describes concepts and technologies for the acquisition of Surgical Workflows by monitoring surgical interventions and their presentation. Establishing systems which support the Surgical Workflow in operating rooms requires a multi-staged development process beginning with the description of these workflows. A formalized description of surgical interventions is needed to create a Surgical Workflow. This description can be used to analyze and evaluate surgical interventions in detail. We discuss the subdivision of surgical interventions into work steps regarding different levels of granularity and propose a recording scheme for the acquisition of manual surgical work steps from running interventions. To support the recording process during the intervention, we introduce a new software architecture. Core of the architecture is our Surgical Workflow editor that is intended to deal with the manifold, complex and concurrent relations during an intervention. Furthermore, a method for an automatic generation of graphs is shown which is able to display the recorded surgical work steps of the interventions. Finally we conclude with considerations about extensions of our recording scheme to close the gap to S-PACS systems. The approach was used to record 83 surgical interventions from 6 intervention types from 3 different surgical disciplines: ENT surgery, neurosurgery and interventional radiology. The interventions were recorded at the University Hospital Leipzig, Germany and at the Georgetown University Hospital, Washington, D.C., USA.

[The company Willmar Schwabe in the Nazi era].

PubMed

Friedrich, Christoph; Meyer, Ulrich; Seyfang, Caroline

2016-01-01

This essay follows the history of the Schwabe Company between 1933 and 1945 when it, like all other companies at the time, had to subject to the state-enforced conformity ('Gleichschaltung'). While Willmar Schwabe II (1878-1935), the company's second director, kept clear of Nazi politics, both of his sons, who succeeded him at an early age, became members of the Nazi party: Willmar III (1907-1983) probably from initial conviction and Wolfgang (1912-2000), who joined in 1937, more likely for opportunistic reasons. The two lay journals published by Schwabe--the Leipziger Populäre Zeitschrift für Homöopathie and the Biochemische Monatsblätter--embraced the Nazi ideology more thoroughly than the general homeopathic journal Allgemeine Homöopathische Zeitung, including above all contributions on racial hygiene. Our research has revealed that Schwabe only employed foreign workers from 1942 on, that their number was much lower, at 0.9 per cent in 1942 and 3.6 per cent in 1944, than that of other pharmaceutical companies and that their pay hardly differed from that of German workers. The sales and profit figures investigated have shown that the company did not profit exceptionally from the new Nazi health policies ('Neue Deutsche Heilkunde'): while its sales and profits rose in the Nazi era due to the increased use of medication among the civil population during wartime, the drugs produced by Schwabe remained marginal also during the war, as is apparent also from its modest deliveries to the army. All in all one can conclude that the company offered neither resistance nor particular support to the Nazi ideology.

Quality testing of an innovative cascade separation system for multiple cell separation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pierzchalski, Arkadiusz; Moszczynska, Aleksandra; Albrecht, Bernd; Heinrich, Jan-Michael; Tarnok, Attila

2012-03-01

Isolation of different cell types from mixed samples in one separation step by FACS is feasible but expensive and slow. It is cheaper and faster but still challenging by magnetic separation. An innovative bead-based cascade-system (pluriSelect GmbH, Leipzig, Germany) relies on simultaneous physical separation of different cell types. It is based on antibody-mediated binding of cells to beads of different size and isolation with sieves of different mesh-size. We validated pluriSelect system for single parameter (CD3) and simultaneous separation of CD3 and CD15 cells from EDTA blood-samples. Results were compared with those obtained by MACS (Miltenyi-Biotech) magnetic separation (CD3 separation). pluriSelect separation was done in whole blood, MACS on Ficoll gradient isolated leukocytes, according to the manufacturer's protocols. Isolated and residual cells were immunophenotyped (7-color 8-antibody panel (CD3; CD16/56; CD4; CD8; CD14; CD19; CD45; HLADR) on a CyFlowML flow cytometer (Partec GmbH). Cell count (Coulter), purity, yield and viability (7-AAD exclusion) were determined. There were no significant differences between both systems regarding purity (92-98%), yield (50-60%) and viability (92-98%) of isolated cells. PluriSelect separation was slightly faster than MACS (1.15 h versus 1.5h). Moreover, no preenrichment steps were necessary. In conclusion, pluriSelect is a fast, simple and gentle system for efficient simultaneous separation of two cell subpopulation directly from whole blood and can provide a simple alternative to FACS. The isolated cells can be used for further research applications.

The history of the homology concept and the "Phylogenetisches Symposium".

PubMed

Hossfeld, Uwe; Olsson, Lennart

2005-11-01

The homology concept has had a long and varied history, starting out as a geometrical term in ancient Greece. Here we describe briefly how a typological use of homology to designate organs and body parts in the same position anatomically in different organisms was changed by Darwin's theory of evolution into a phylogenetic concept. We try to indicate the diversity of opinions on how to define and test for homology that has prevailed historically, before the important books by Hennig (1950. Grundzüge einer Theorie der Phylogenetischen Systematik. Deutscher Zentralverlag, Berlin) and Remane (1952. Die Grundlagen des Natürlichen Systems, der Vergleichenden Anatomie und der Phylogenetik. Geest & Portig, Leipzig) brought more rigor into both the debate on homology and into the usage of the term homology among systematists. Homology as a theme has recurred repeatedly throughout the history of the "Phylogenetisches Symposium" and we give a very brief overview of the different aspects of homology that have been discussed at specific symposia over the last 48 years. We also honour the fact that the 2004 symposium was held in Jena by pointing to the roles played by biologists active in Jena, such as Ernst Haeckel and Carl Gegenbaur, in starting the development towards a homology concept concordant with an evolutionary world view. As historians of biology, we emphasize the importance of major treatises on homology and its history that may be little read by systematists active today, and have sometimes also received less attention by historians of biology than they deserve. Prominent among these are the works of Dietrich Starck, who also happened to be both a student, and later a benefactor, of systematics at Jena University.

Sparse RNA folding revisited: space-efficient minimum free energy structure prediction.

PubMed

Will, Sebastian; Jabbari, Hosna

2016-01-01

software, available at http://www.bioinf.uni-leipzig.de/~will/Software/SparseMFEFold.

μPIXE for a μBrain: The vinegar fly's brain, antenna, sensilla hairs and eye ion concentrations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reinert, Anja; Barapatre, Nirav; Sachse, Silke; Reinert, Tilo

2011-10-01

The vinegar fly Drosophila melanogaster is used as model organism to study a variety of different scientific purposes. Thus, our laboratory studies the olfactory system by neurobiological experiments. These techniques are often disruptive and need to compensate or exchange the body fluid, the lymph, with an artificial Ringer's solution in defined compartments of the fly. The solution mainly contains Na, Cl, K and Ca and is to keep physiological conditions. Therefore, the knowledge about the ion concentrations in the respective Drosophila lymph is required for a correct mixture of the ions. This paper presents the spatially resolved concentrations of P, S, Cl, K, Ca, Fe, Cu and Zn in lyophilised head cryosections of Drosophila by using quantitative μPIXE at the ion beam facility LIPSION in Leipzig. The PIXE maps enable a detailed analysis of particular regions of interest down to a spatial resolution of 0.5 μm. We quantified the ion concentrations especially in the brain, the antenna and its sensilla hairs acting as the olfactory organ of the fly, in the compound eye and in the mouthparts. The averaged element concentrations of these main compartments are (in descending order): P: 90 mM, K: 81 mM, S: 38 mM, Cl: 18 mM, Ca: 4.9 mM, Fe: 1.4 mM, Zn: 1.2 mM, Cu: 0.06 mM. Certain structures or cavities possess a remarkably high concentration of particular elements and might reflect the different functions of the compartments. An example presented in more detail is the composition of the compound eye. Conclusively, our findings on the ion concentrations might be useful for the mixture of the Drosophila Ringer's solution to ensure physiological conditions in experiments.

Special online consulting for patients with eating disorders and their relatives: analysis of user characteristics and E-mail content.

PubMed

Grunwald, Martin; Wesemann, Dorette

2007-02-01

In the treatment of chronic diseases, programs that use the internet as a medium are becoming more and more important as a complement to classical intervention techniques. Since 1998, a non-profit information and online consulting service for patients with eating disorders and their friends and relatives (www.ab-server.de) has existed. This was established by members of the Deutsche Forschungsinitiative Essstörungen e.V. (DFE) [German Research Initiative for Eating Disorders] and members of the Clinic of Psychiatry, University of Leipzig, Germany. For the present study, 2,176 e-mail requests from users of the online consultation service were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively in order to better understand the differences between different types and groups of users. The analysis was related to the social field of the person requesting the consultation, the type of disorder reported, and the content of the e-mail request. Three main user groups could be identified: people who described themselves as having an eating disorder (57.2%), people who were related socially to the affected person (32.4%), and interested persons (9.8%). The consulting service was predominantly used by persons suffering from bulimia nervosa or their families and friends (63.1%). One third (33.3%) of the posted e-mails were related to behavioral patterns in dealing with the illness and the affected person. They were followed by inquiries for information about the disease (18.7%) and by those seeking help in finding specialized clinics/therapists and places in therapies. The increasing use of the online consulting service indicates that there is a substantial need for information and help in persons with eating disorders and in their relatives, who are able to easily contact professionals using this online service. Online consulting has a high potential for complementary care of affected people.

Balanced management of hepatic trauma is associated with low liver-related mortality.

PubMed

Benckert, Christoph; Thelen, Armin; Gaebelein, Gereon; Hepp, Pierre; Josten, Christoph; Bartels, Michael; Jonas, Sven

2010-04-01

Hepatic trauma is a rare surgical emergency with significant morbidity and mortality. Therapeutic strategies have been controversially discussed during the last decades. The medical records of 47 consecutive patients with hepatic trauma treated at the University Hospital of Leipzig between 2004 and 2008 were retrospectively reviewed for the severity of liver injury, management, morbidity, and mortality and compared to a preceding cohort. Logistic regression analysis was performed to identify risk factors influencing mortality. Compared to 63 patients treated between 1993 and 2003, moderate liver injuries (grades I-III) occurred more frequently (p = 0.0006), and the proportion of patients that were managed operatively decreased from 68.9% to 37.5%. Twenty patients (42.6%) were treated conservatively (all grades I to III) and 27 surgically (47.4%). In detail, five patients were treated by hepatic packing alone, 13 by suture or coagulation, five by atypical resection, and four by hemihepatectomy. The overall mortality was 8.5% with a liver-related mortality rate of 2.1%. According to severity grades I-III, IV, and V, mortality rates were 0%, 18.2%, and 50.0%, respectively. Univariate analysis identified Injury Severity Score (ISS) >30, Moore grades IV and V, hemoglobin at admission <6.0 mmol/L, and need for transfusion of >12 erythrocyte concentrates to be significant risk factors for early posttraumatic death, while multivariate analysis only ISS >30 revealed to be of prognostic significance for early postoperative survival. Compared to a previous cohort in the same hospital, more patients were treated conservatively. Management of liver injuries presented with a low liver-related mortality rate. Grades I-III injuries can safely be treated by conservative means with excellent results. However, complex hepatic injuries may often require surgical treatment ranging from packing to complex hemihepatectomy. Hence, for selection of appropriate therapeutic options, patients

A patient cohort on long-term sequelae of sepsis survivors: study protocol of the Mid-German Sepsis Cohort.

PubMed

Scherag, André; Hartog, Christiane S; Fleischmann, Carolin; Ouart, Dominique; Hoffmann, Franziska; König, Christian; Kesselmeier, Miriam; Fiedler, Sandra; Philipp, Monique; Braune, Anke; Eichhorn, Cornelia; Gampe, Christin; Romeike, Heike; Reinhart, Konrad

2017-08-23

An increasing number of patients survive sepsis; however, we lack valid data on the long-term impact on morbidity from prospective observational studies. Therefore, we designed an observational cohort to quantify mid-term and long-term functional disabilities after intensive care unit (ICU)-treated sepsis. Ultimately, findings for the Mid-German Sepsis Cohort (MSC) will serve as basis for the implementation of follow-up structures for patients with sepsis and help to increase quality of care for sepsis survivors. All patients surviving ICU-treated sepsis are eligible and are recruited from five study centres in Germany (acute care hospital setting in Jena, Halle/Saale, Leipzig, Bad Berka, Erfurt; large long-term acute care hospital and rehabilitation setting in Klinik Bavaria Kreischa). Screening is performed by trained study nurses. Data are collected on ICU management of sepsis. On written informed consent provided by patients or proxies, follow-up is carried out by trained research staff at 3, 6 and 12 months and yearly thereafter. The primary outcome is functional disability as assessed by (instrumental) activities of daily living. Other outcomes cover domains like mortality, cognitive, emotional and physical impairment, and resource use. The estimated sample size of 3000 ICU survivors is calculated to allow detection of relevant changes in the primary outcome in sepsis survivors longitudinally. The study is conducted according to the current version of the Declaration of Helsinki and has been approved by four local/federal responsible institutional ethics committees and by the respective federal data protection commissioners. Results of MSC will be fed back to the patients and published in peer-reviewed journals. German Clinical Trials Registry DRKS00010050. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

High risk of false positive results in a widely used diagnostic test for detection of the porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV).

PubMed

Fetzer, C; Pesch, S; Ohlinger, V F

2006-06-15

During 2003 and 2004, increasing numbers of positive PRRSV RT-PCR results were reported from herds negative for PRRSV infection. Interestingly, three herds represent nucleus herds with no animal contacts from outside and without clinical symptoms of PRRS until now. Since these positive results that were obtained using a PCR protocol adapted to routine laboratory conditions could not be reproduced with other PRRSV specific RT-PCRs, controlled negative and positive samples were used to examine this phenomenon. A RT-PCR assay for detection and differential diagnosis of the European and North American genotypes of the porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) according to the method previously published by Oleksiewicz et al. [Oleksiewicz, M.B., Botner, A., Madsen, K.G., Storgaard, T., 1998. Sensitive detection and typing of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus by RT-PCR amplification of whole viral genes. Vet. Microbiol. 64, 7-22] was investigated in parallel to another recently published method [Pesch, S., 2003. Etablierung einer Nachweismethode für die zwei Genotypen von dem porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) und ein Beitrag zu seiner molekularen Epidemiologie. Thesis, Institute of Virology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Leipzig]. A panel of 228 clinical samples sent in for PRRSV routine diagnostics served as test panel. It was found that both methods have similar analytical sensitivity. However, the primers published by Oleksiewicz were shown to yield a very high proportion of false positive results under routine diagnostic laboratory conditions, i.e. they resulted in RT-PCR products with non-PRRSV sequences, that were indistinguishable from truly positive reagents in standard gel electrophoresis settings. The reason for and possible implications of this finding as well as the risk of modifying published methods without control are discussed.

Results of ozone measurements in Northern Germany: A case study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schmidt, Manfred

1994-01-01

At most of the German ozone recording stations which have records over a sufficiently long period, the results of the summer months of 1989 showed the highest values since the beginning of the measurements. One of the reasons for this phenomenon was the high duration of sunshine in that summer; for example, in Potsdam near Berlin in May 1989 the sunshine duration was the highest in May since the beginning of the records in 1893. For that reason we selected this summer for a case study. The basis for the study was mainly the ozone measuring stations of the network of Lower Saxony and the Federal Office of Environment (Umweltbundesamt). The results of these summer measurements point to intense sources of ozone, probably in form of gaseous precursors, in the Middle German industrial areas near Leipzig and Halle and in Northwestern Czechoslovakia, with coal-mining, chemical and petrochemical industries, coking plants and others. The maps of average ozone concentrations, number or days with high ozone maxima, ozone-windroses of the stations, etc., suggest that these areas could be a main source of precursors and of photochemical ozone production in summer smog episodes in Central Europe. Stations on the North Sea coast, at which early ozone measurements were made by our institute in 1973/74 are compared with similarly located stations of the Lower Saxon network in 1989 and the results show a reversal of the ozone-windroses. In 1973/74, the highest ozone concentrations were correlated with wind directions from the sea while in 1989 these concentrations were correlated with directions from the continent. In the recent years, photochemical ozone production on the continent is probably predominant, while in former years the higher ozone content of the maritime subpolar air masses has been explained by stratospheric-tropospheric exchange.

Urban gray vs. urban green vs. soil protection — Development of a systemic solution to soil sealing management on the example of Germany

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Artmann, Martina, E-mail: m.artmann@ioer.de

Managing urban soil sealing is a difficult venture due to its spatial heterogeneity and embedding in a socio-ecological system. A systemic solution is needed to tackle its spatial, ecological and social sub-systems. This study develops a guideline for urban actors to find a systemic solution to soil sealing management based on two case studies in Germany: Munich and Leipzig. Legal-planning, informal-planning, economic-fiscal, co-operative and informational responses were evaluated by indicators to proof which strategy considers the spatial complexity of urban soil sealing (systemic spatial efficiency) and, while considering spatial complexity, to assess what the key management areas for action aremore » to reduce the ecological impacts by urban soil sealing (ecological impact efficiency) and to support an efficient implementation by urban actors (social implementation efficiency). Results suggest framing the systemic solution to soil sealing management through a cross-scale, legal-planning development strategy embedded in higher European policies. Within the socio-ecological system, the key management area for action should focus on the protection of green infrastructure being of high value for actors from the European to local scales. Further efforts are necessary to establish a systemic monitoring concept to optimize socio-ecological benefits and avoid trade-offs such as between urban infill development and urban green protection. This place-based study can be regarded as a stepping stone on how to develop systemic strategies by considering different spatial sub-targets and socio-ecological systems. - Highlights: • Urban soil sealing management is spatially complex. • The legal-planning strategy supports a systemic sealing management. • Urban green infrastructure protection should be in the management focus. • Soil protection requires policies from higher levels of government. • A systemic urban soil sealing monitoring concept is needed.« less

EFFECT of daily antiseptic body wash with octenidine on nosocomial primary bacteraemia and nosocomial multidrug-resistant organisms in intensive care units: design of a multicentre, cluster-randomised, double-blind, cross-over study

PubMed Central

Meißner, Anne; Hasenclever, Dirk; Brosteanu, Oana; Chaberny, Iris Freya

2017-01-01

Introduction Nosocomial infections are serious complications that increase morbidity, mortality and costs and could potentially be avoidable. Antiseptic body wash is an approach to reduce dermal micro-organisms as potential pathogens on the skin. Large-scale trials with chlorhexidine as the antiseptic agent suggest a reduction of nosocomial infection rates. Octenidine is a promising alternative agent which could be more effective against Gram-negative organisms. We hypothesise that daily antiseptic body wash with octenidine reduces the risk of intensive care unit (ICU)-acquired primary bacteraemia and ICU-acquired multidrug-resistant organisms (MDRO) in a standard care setting. Methods and analysis EFFECT is a controlled, cluster-randomised, double-blind study. The experimental intervention consists in using octenidine-impregnated wash mitts for the daily routine washing procedure of the patients. This will be compared with using placebo wash mitts. Replacing existing washing methods is the only interference into clinical routine. Participating ICUs are randomised in an AB/BA cross-over design. There are two 15-month periods, each consisting of a 3-month wash-out period followed by a 12-month intervention and observation period. Randomisation determines only the sequence in which octenidine-impregnated or placebo wash mitts are used. ICUs are left unaware of what mitts packages they are using. The two coprimary endpoints are ICU-acquired primary bacteraemia and ICU-acquired MDRO. Endpoints are defined based on individual ward-movement history and microbiological test results taken from the hospital information systems without need for extra documentation. Data on clinical symptoms of infection are not collected. EFFECT aims at recruiting about 45 ICUs with about 225 000 patient-days per year. Ethics and dissemination The study was approved by the ethics committee of the University of Leipzig (number 340/16-ek) in November 2016. Findings will be published in peer

Enhanced in vivo IgE production and T cell polarization toward the type 2 phenotype in association with indoor exposure to VOC: results of the LARS study.

PubMed

Lehmann, I; Rehwagen, M; Diez, U; Seiffart, A; Rolle-Kampczyk, U; Richter, M; Wetzig, H; Borte, M; Herbarth, O

2001-12-01

The association between indoor exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOC), prevalence of allergic sensitization and cytokine secretion profile of peripheral T cells was studied in 3 year old children of the LARS study (Leipzig Allergy Risk Children Study) to investigate the role of VOC exposure as a risk factor for the development of atopic disease. Indoor VOC exposure was measured over a period of 4 weeks in infants' bedrooms using a passive sampling system. Specific IgE antibodies to food, indoor and outdoor allergens were measured by the Pharmacia CAP system and correlated to VOC exposure (n = 120). In addition, cytokine producing peripheral T cells (interleukin(IL)-4, interferon(IFN)-gamma) were measured in a subgroup of 28 children by means of intracellular cytokine staining. For the first time we were able to show that exposure to alkanes (C6, C9, C10) and aromatic compounds (toluene, o-xylene, m + p-xylene, 2-, 3- and 4-ethyl-toluene, chlorobenzene) may contribute to the risk of allergic sensitization to the food allergens milk and egg white (Odds ratios between 5.7 and 11.2). Moreover, significantly reduced numbers of CD3+/CD8+ peripheral T cells were found in children exposed to alkanes (C9-C13), naphthalene and chlorobenzene. Exposure to benzene, ethylbenzene and chlorobenzene was associated with higher percentages of IL-4 producing CD3+ T cells. Both an increase in IL-4 producing type 2 T cells and a reduction of IFN-gamma producing type 1 T cells may contribute to a type 2 skewed memory in response to allergens. Therefore, we suggest exposure to VOCs in association with allergic sensitization to be mediated by a T cell polarization toward the type 2 phenotype.

Sleepless in Town – Drivers of the Temporal Shift in Dawn Song in Urban European Blackbirds

PubMed Central

Nordt, Anja; Klenke, Reinhard

2013-01-01

Organisms living in urban environments are exposed to different environmental conditions compared to their rural conspecifics. Especially anthropogenic noise and artificial night light are closely linked to urbanization and pose new challenges to urban species. Songbirds are particularly affected by these factors, because they rely on the spread of acoustic information and adjust their behaviour to the rhythm of night and day, e.g. time their dawn song according to changing light intensities. Our aim was to clarify the specific contributions of artificial night light and traffic noise on the timing of dawn song of urban European Blackbirds (Turdus merula). We investigated the onset of blackbird dawn song along a steep urban gradient ranging from an urban forest to the city centre of Leipzig, Germany. This gradient of anthropogenic noise and artificial night light was reflected in the timing of dawn song. In the city centre, blackbirds started their dawn song up to 5 hours earlier compared to those in semi-natural habitats. We found traffic noise to be the driving factor of the shift of dawn song into true night, although it was not completely separable from the effects of ambient night light. We additionally included meteorological conditions into the analysis and found an effect on the song onset. Cloudy and cold weather delayed the onset, but cloud cover was assumed to reflect night light emissions, thus, amplified sky luminance and increased the effect of artificial night light. Beside these temporal effects, we also found differences in the spatial autocorrelation of dawn song onset showing a much higher variability in noisy city areas than in rural parks and forests. These findings indicate that urban hazards such as ambient noise and light pollution show a manifold interference with naturally evolved cycles and have significant effects on the activity patterns of urban blackbirds. PMID:23940759

Relevance of multiple spatial scales in habitat models: A case study with amphibians and grasshoppers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Altmoos, Michael; Henle, Klaus

2010-11-01

Habitat models for animal species are important tools in conservation planning. We assessed the need to consider several scales in a case study for three amphibian and two grasshopper species in the post-mining landscapes near Leipzig (Germany). The two species groups were selected because habitat analyses for grasshoppers are usually conducted on one scale only whereas amphibians are thought to depend on more than one spatial scale. First, we analysed how the preference to single habitat variables changed across nested scales. Most environmental variables were only significant for a habitat model on one or two scales, with the smallest scale being particularly important. On larger scales, other variables became significant, which cannot be recognized on lower scales. Similar preferences across scales occurred in only 13 out of 79 cases and in 3 out of 79 cases the preference and avoidance for the same variable were even reversed among scales. Second, we developed habitat models by using a logistic regression on every scale and for all combinations of scales and analysed how the quality of habitat models changed with the scales considered. To achieve a sufficient accuracy of the habitat models with a minimum number of variables, at least two scales were required for all species except for Bufo viridis, for which a single scale, the microscale, was sufficient. Only for the European tree frog ( Hyla arborea), at least three scales were required. The results indicate that the quality of habitat models increases with the number of surveyed variables and with the number of scales, but costs increase too. Searching for simplifications in multi-scaled habitat models, we suggest that 2 or 3 scales should be a suitable trade-off, when attempting to define a suitable microscale.

Eating Behaviour in the General Population: An Analysis of the Factor Structure of the German Version of the Three-Factor-Eating-Questionnaire (TFEQ) and Its Association with the Body Mass Index

PubMed Central

Löffler, Antje; Luck, Tobias; Then, Francisca S.; Sikorski, Claudia; Kovacs, Peter; Böttcher, Yvonne; Breitfeld, Jana; Tönjes, Anke; Horstmann, Annette; Löffler, Markus; Engel, Christoph; Thiery, Joachim; Villringer, Arno; Stumvoll, Michael; Riedel-Heller, Steffi G.

2015-01-01

The Three-Factor-Eating-Questionnaire (TFEQ) is an established instrument to assess eating behaviour. Analysis of the TFEQ-factor structure was based on selected, convenient and clinical samples so far. Aims of this study were (I) to analyse the factor structure of the German version of the TFEQ and (II)—based on the refined factor structure—to examine the association between eating behaviour and the body mass index (BMI) in a general population sample of 3,144 middle-aged and older participants (40–79 years) of the ongoing population based cohort study of the Leipzig Research Center for Civilization Diseases (LIFE Health Study). The factor structure was examined in a split-half analysis with both explorative and confirmatory factor analysis. Associations between TFEQ-scores and BMI values were tested with multiple regression analyses controlled for age, gender, and education. We found a three factor solution for the TFEQ with an ‘uncontrolled eating’, a ‘cognitive restraint’ and an ‘emotional eating’ domain including 29 of the original 51 TFEQ-items. Scores of the ‘uncontrolled eating domain’ showed the strongest correlation with BMI values (partial r = 0.26). Subjects with scores above the median in both ‘uncontrolled eating’ and ‘emotional eating’ showed the highest BMI values (mean = 29.41 kg/m²), subjects with scores below the median in all three domains showed the lowest BMI values (mean = 25.68 kg/m²; F = 72.074, p<0.001). Our findings suggest that the TFEQ is suitable to identify subjects with specific patterns of eating behaviour that are associated with higher BMI values. Such information may help health care professionals to develop and implement more tailored interventions for overweight and obese individuals. PMID:26230264

Bartonella, Rodents, Fleas and Ticks: a Molecular Field Study on Host-Vector-Pathogen Associations in Saxony, Eastern Germany.

PubMed

Silaghi, Cornelia; Pfeffer, Martin; Kiefer, Daniel; Kiefer, Matthias; Obiegala, Anna

2016-11-01

Bartonellae cause zoonotic diseases and are transmitted by arthropods. Rodents are reservoirs for most Bartonella spp. As the knowledge about Bartonella in rodents and their parasitizing ectoparasites is scarce in Germany, this study's objectives were to investigate Bartonella spp. in small mammals and in their ectoparasites. A total of 79 small mammals (seven species) were captured and their ectoparasites collected at seven sites around Leipzig, Saxony, Germany, in 2010 and 2011. Altogether, 79 spleen samples, 135 fleas (five species) and 365 ticks (three species) were investigated for Bartonella spp. by PCR targeting the ITS 16S-23S rRNA region. In total, 52 (65.8 %) small mammals, 73 (54.1 %) fleas and 51 (16.3 %) ticks were positive for Bartonella spp. Most small mammals were positive for uncultured Bartonella sp. (n = 29) followed by Bartonella grahamii (n = 12), Bartonella taylorii (n = 8) and Bartonella sp. N40 (n = 3). Likewise, most fleas were positive for uncultured Bartonella sp. (n = 45) followed by B. grahamii (n = 14), B. taylorii (n = 8), B. sp. N40 (n = 5) and Bartonella elizabethae (n = 2). Most ticks were positive for B. sp. (n = 19) followed by B. grahamii (n = 10), Bartonella chomelii (n = 3), B. taylorii (n = 2) and B. sp. N40 (n = 1). This study's results suggest that rodents and fleas may be reservoirs and vectors, respectively. Zoonotic B. grahamii and B. elizabethae were found in rodents and their fleas. Therefore, humans may contract Bartonella infection by contact to wild rodents. Ticks seem of minor importance in transmitting Bartonella spp. found in fleas and rodents. However, ticks might be vectors of B. chomelii.

Social facilitation maintenance treatment for adults with obesity: study protocol for a randomised-controlled feasibility study (SFM study).

PubMed

Hilbert, Anja

2016-08-31

The long-term success of non-surgical weight loss treatment in adults with obesity is limited by substantial relapse, and only a few evidence-based weight loss maintenance treatments exist. This clinical trial investigates the feasibility and efficacy of a social facilitation maintenance programme for weight loss maintenance, tailored to meet the needs of obese adults who have undergone a lifestyle weight loss intervention. In a single-centre, open feasibility trial, 72 adults currently or previously obese or overweight who have undergone a lifestyle weight loss intervention are centrally randomised to 4 months of social facilitation maintenance treatment or treatment as a usual control condition. In 16 outpatient group sessions, the social facilitation maintenance treatment, based on a socioecological model and on evidence supporting social facilitation as a key process in maintaining weight loss, focuses on promoting interpersonal relationships to build up a healthy lifestyle for long-term weight loss maintenance. Primary outcome is the amount of weight regain at 6-month follow-up, compared with pre-treatment weight, derived from measured body weight. Secondary outcomes address feasibility, including recruitment, attrition, assessment non-completion, compliance and patients' programme evaluation; and in comparison with pre-weight loss maintenance, social and interpersonal functioning, eating behaviour and physical activity, psychological and physical symptoms, body composition and risk of comorbidity, and quality of life at post-treatment and follow-up assessments. The study was approved by the Ethical Committee at the University of Leipzig (165-13-15072013). The study results will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications. DRKS00005182. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

[Stability of long-term professional objectives of young physicians during postgraduate training. Results of a multicenter cohort study].

PubMed

Birck, S; Gedrose, B; Robra, B-P; Schmidt, A; Schultz, J-H; Stosch, C; Wagner, R; Janßen, N; Scherer, M; van den Bussche, H

2014-10-01

We investigated persistences and changes of career preferences of medical residents in Germany after two years of postgraduate training with regard to future working place and position. The results are compared with those forwarded at graduation from medical school in a gender comparative perspective. The study is based on a standardized postal survey among the participants in the "KarMed" study, originally based on 1012 graduates of the medical faculties of Erlangen, Giessen, Hamburg, Heidelberg, Cologne, Leipzig and Magdeburg in 2009. 2107 persons were contacted. The return rate at baseline was 48 %, and the two surveys after the baseline reached return rates of 87 % and 89 % respectively. In all samples 2/3 were women as in actual medical undergraduate education. Descriptive statistics and regression analysis were performed. After 2 years of residency, residents after 2 years of postgraduate training still preferred the hospital over private practice as their final workplace after postgraduate training. The attractiveness of leading positions in the hospital declined among men, whereas it was already low for women at graduation. A large proportion of those physicians preferring the ambulatory sector, especially women, wishes to work as employee instead of private practice. At the personal level, almost 60 % forwarded the same preferences as those at graduation. Gender, parenthood and region of study (East vs. West Germany) did not influence stability or change of preferences. The results demonstrate the persistence of professional preferences regarding future sector and position of medical work during postgraduate training. These preferences do neither match with principles of gender equality nor with future workforce needs (e. g. in primary care). © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Anatomy during the Third Reich--the Institute of Anatomy at the University of Marburg, as an example.

PubMed

Aumüller, G; Grundmann, K

2002-05-01

A complete documentation of German anatomical science and its representatives during the period of national socialism has not been published as yet--contrary to the situation in other medical disciplines. Instead of German anatomists, American anatomists have occasionally addressed this issue during their meetings and have reported on special aspects, such as the use of Nazi symbols in anatomical textbooks and atlases (Pernkopf 1952) and the use of corpses of justice victims for anatomical research and student education. Also, the genesis of the atrocious collection of "racial" skulls, initiated along with the SS-institution of the "Ahnenerbe" by the anatomist August Hirt of Strasbourg (who ordered more than 90 inmates from concentration camps to be murdered in the gas chamber built in the concentration camp of Natzweiler-Struthof close to Strasbourg, Alsace) has been described by Frederic Kasten and others. A broader view of the patterns of behaviour and political actions and fates of contemporary scientists, ranging from dismissal to clandestine opportunism, affirmative cooperation and fanatic activism can be obtained by the analysis of the activities in research, medical education and academic positions of the following members of the Institute of Anatomy at the Philipp-University in Marburg: Ernst Göppert, Eduard Jacobshagen, Ernst-Theodor Nauck, Adolf Dabelow, Helmut Becher and Alfred Benninghoff, whose activities and fates differ in several respects and allow more general deductions. Also, the individual fates of a number of prosecuted Jewish anatomists (Wassermann, München; Poll, Hamburg), of devoted and active members of the Nazi party (Clara, Leipzig; Blotevogel, Breslau) and of criminal fanatics (Hirt, Strasbourg; Kremer, Münster) are briefly discussed. The present contribution is an attempt to initiate a more detailed study of all German departments of anatomy during the Hitler regime and to generate a public discussion among the younger generation of

On Teaching International Courses on Health Information Systems

PubMed Central

Bauer, Axel W.; Bott, Oliver J.; Gietzelt, Matthias; Haarbrandt, Birger; Hackl, Werner O.; Hellrung, Nils; Hübner-Bloder, Gudrun; Jahn, Franziska; Jaspers, Monique W.; Kutscha, Ulrike; Machan, Christoph; Oppermann, Bianca; Pilz, Jochen; Schwartze, Jonas; Seidel, Christoph; Slot, Jan-Eric; Smers, Stefan; Spitalewsky, Katharina; Steckel, Nathalie; Strübing, Alexander; van der Haak, Minne

2017-01-01

Summary Background Health information systems (HIS) are one of the most important areas for biomedical and health informatics. In order to professionally deal with HIS well-educated informaticians are needed. Because of these reasons, in 2001 an international course has been established: The Frank – van Swieten Lectures on Strategic Information Management of Health Information Systems. Objectives Reporting about the Frank – van Swieten Lectures and about our students‘ feedback on this course during the last 16 years. Summarizing our lessons learned and making recommendations for such international courses on HIS. Methods The basic concept of the Frank – van Swieten lectures is to teach the theoretical background in local lectures, to organize practical exercises on modelling sub-information systems of the respective local HIS and finally to conduct Joint Three Days as an international meeting were the resulting models are introduced and compared. Results During the last 16 years, the Universities of Amsterdam, Braunschweig, Heidelberg/Heilbronn, Leipzig as well as UMIT were involved in running this course. Overall, 517 students from these universities participated. Our students‘ feedback was clearly positive. The Joint Three Days of the Frank – van Swieten Lectures, where at the end of the course all students can meet, turned out to be an important component of this course. Based on the last 16 years, we recommend common teaching materials, agreement on equivalent clinical areas for the exercises, support of group building of international student groups, motivation of using a collaboration platform, ensuring quality management of the course, addressing different levels of knowledge of the students, and ensuring sufficient funding for joint activities. Conclusions Although associated with considerable additional efforts, we can clearly recommend establishing such international courses on HIS, such as the Frank – van Swieten Lectures. PMID:28272648

Electromagnetic and Light Scattering by Nonspherical Particles XV: Celebrating 150 Years of Maxwell's Electromagnetics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Macke, Andreas; Mishchenko, Michael I.

2015-01-01

The 15th Electromagnetic and Light Scattering Conference (ELS-XV) was held in Leipzig, Germany from 21 to 26 of June 2015. This conference built on the great success of the previous meetings held in Amsterdam (1995), Helsinki(1997) [2], New York City(1998) [3], Vigo (1999),Halifax (2000), Gainesville (2002), Bremen (2003), Salobreña (2005), St. Petersburg (2006), Bodrum (2007), Hatfield (2008), Helsinki (2010), Taormina (2011), and Lille as well as the workshops held in Bremen (1996,1998) and Moscow (1997). As usual, the main objective of this conference was to bring together scientists, engineers, and PhD students studying various aspects of electromagnetic scattering and to provide a relaxed atmosphere for in-depth discussion of theory, measurements, and applications. Furthermore, ELS-XV supported the United Nations "Year of Light" and celebrated the150th anniversary of Maxwell's electromagnetics. Maxwell's paper on "A Dynamical Theory of the Electromagnetic Field" was published in1865 and has widely been acknowledged as one of the supreme achievements in the history of science. The conference was attended by136 scientists from 22 countries. The scientific program included two plenary lectures, 16 invited reviews, 88 contributed oral talks, and 70 poster presentations. The program and the abstracts of conference presentations are available at the conference website http://www.els-xv-2015.net/home.html. Following the well-established ELS practice and with Elsevier's encouragement, we solicited full-size papers for a topical issue of the Journal of Quantitative Spectroscopy and Radiative Transfer (JQSRT). The result of this collective effort is now in the reader's hands. As always, every invited review and regular paper included in this topical issue has undergone the same rigorous peer review process as any other manuscript published in the JQSRT.

The saliva microbiome of Pan and Homo

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background It is increasingly recognized that the bacteria that live in and on the human body (the microbiome) can play an important role in health and disease. The composition of the microbiome is potentially influenced by both internal factors (such as phylogeny and host physiology) and external factors (such as diet and local environment), and interspecific comparisons can aid in understanding the importance of these factors. Results To gain insights into the relative importance of these factors on saliva microbiome diversity, we here analyze the saliva microbiomes of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and bonobos (Pan paniscus) from two sanctuaries in Africa, and from human workers at each sanctuary. The saliva microbiomes of the two Pan species are more similar to one another, and the saliva microbiomes of the two human groups are more similar to one another, than are the saliva microbiomes of human workers and apes from the same sanctuary. We also looked for the existence of a core microbiome and find no evidence for a taxon-based core saliva microbiome for Homo or Pan. In addition, we studied the saliva microbiome from apes from the Leipzig Zoo, and found an extraordinary diversity in the zoo ape saliva microbiomes that is not found in the saliva microbiomes of the sanctuary animals. Conclusions The greater similarity of the saliva microbiomes of the two Pan species to one another, and of the two human groups to one another, are in accordance with both the phylogenetic relationships of the hosts as well as with host physiology. Moreover, the results from the zoo animals suggest that novel environments can have a large impact on the microbiome, and that microbiome analyses based on captive animals should be viewed with caution as they may not reflect the microbiome of animals in the wild. PMID:24025115

Comparison of Approaches for Measuring the Mass Accommodation Coefficient for the Condensation of Water and Sensitivities to Uncertainties in Thermophysical Properties

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

We compare and contrast measurements of the mass accommodation coefficient of water on a water surface made using ensemble and single particle techniques under conditions of supersaturation and subsaturation, respectively. In particular, we consider measurements made using an expansion chamber, a continuous flow streamwise thermal gradient cloud condensation nuclei chamber, the Leipzig Aerosol Cloud Interaction Simulator, aerosol optical tweezers, and electrodynamic balances. Although this assessment is not intended to be comprehensive, these five techniques are complementary in their approach and give values that span the range from near 0.1 to 1.0 for the mass accommodation coefficient. We use the same semianalytical treatment to assess the sensitivities of the measurements made by the various techniques to thermophysical quantities (diffusion constants, thermal conductivities, saturation pressure of water, latent heat, and solution density) and experimental parameters (saturation value and temperature). This represents the first effort to assess and compare measurements made by different techniques to attempt to reduce the uncertainty in the value of the mass accommodation coefficient. Broadly, we show that the measurements are consistent within the uncertainties inherent to the thermophysical and experimental parameters and that the value of the mass accommodation coefficient should be considered to be larger than 0.5. Accurate control and measurement of the saturation ratio is shown to be critical for a successful investigation of the surface transport kinetics during condensation/evaporation. This invariably requires accurate knowledge of the partial pressure of water, the system temperature, the droplet curvature and the saturation pressure of water. Further, the importance of including and quantifying the transport of heat in interpreting droplet measurements is highlighted; the particular issues associated with interpreting measurements of condensation

[Are We Really as Happy as We Think We are? A Critical Examination of Work Satisfaction in a University Pediatric Hospital].

PubMed

Hiemisch, Andreas; Stöbel-Richter, Yve; Grande, Gesine; Brähler, Elmar; Kiess, Wieland

2017-12-15

Goals Despite numerous reported deficits and an increasingly tense working environment in German hospitals, employees themselves often assess their job satisfaction as being high to very high. Hence, the board of directors does not have important arguments for sustainable improvement of working conditions. This discrepancy between working conditions and subjective satisfaction was the motivation for this work. Methods Data were acquired via an attitude survey at the University Hospital for Children and Adolescents Leipzig, with employees sub-divided into medical, nursing and administrative/technical staff. The subjective satisfaction was examined by means of classical global ratings almost exclusively used by companies vs. the much more modern cognitive-emotional concept of the 'Schweizer Modell' describing qualitative job satisfaction. In addition, working hours, work-related effects on mental health, willingness to quit the job and actual dropout rate were compared. Results A rather high level of job satisfaction was revealed while interpreting the classical global ratings. In contrast, the qualitative analysis showed that only 1 in 4 employees was really satisfied with his or her job, amongst doctors even only 1 in 10. Altogether there are four categories of satisfaction. Significant differences between occupational categories were seen when stratifying the data according to age profiles and the evaluation of the consequences of psychological job strain. These differences were not seen in willingness to quit the job. Discussion Reports of high job satisfaction in hospitals in numerous publications can be mostly explained by employees who are resignedly satisfied. This is the psychodynamic outcome of strain compensating. This is not measurable with the concept of classical global ratings. Furthermore, the constructively dissatisfied employees, who are an often-underestimated resource for companies, are neglected. The reduction of strain in these people then

Immersion freezing of birch pollen washing water

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Augustin, S.; Wex, H.; Niedermeier, D.; Pummer, B.; Grothe, H.; Hartmann, S.; Tomsche, L.; Clauss, T.; Voigtländer, J.; Ignatius, K.; Stratmann, F.

2013-11-01

Birch pollen grains are known to be ice nucleating active biological particles. The ice nucleating activity has previously been tracked down to biological macromolecules that can be easily extracted from the pollen grains in water. In the present study, we investigated the immersion freezing behavior of these ice nucleating active (INA) macromolecules. Therefore we measured the frozen fractions of particles generated from birch pollen washing water as a function of temperature at the Leipzig Aerosol Cloud Interaction Simulator (LACIS). Two different birch pollen samples were considered, with one originating from Sweden and one from the Czech Republic. For the Czech and Swedish birch pollen samples, freezing was observed to start at -19 and -17 °C, respectively. The fraction of frozen droplets increased for both samples down to -24 °C. Further cooling did not increase the frozen fractions any more. Instead, a plateau formed at frozen fractions below 1. This fact could be used to determine the amount of INA macromolecules in the droplets examined here, which in turn allowed for the determination of nucleation rates for single INA macromolecules. The main differences between the Swedish birch pollen and the Czech birch pollen were obvious in the temperature range between -17 and -24 °C. In this range, a second plateau region could be seen for Swedish birch pollen. As we assume INA macromolecules to be the reason for the ice nucleation, we concluded that birch pollen is able to produce at least two different types of INA macromolecules. We were able to derive parameterizations for the heterogeneous nucleation rates for both INA macromolecule types, using two different methods: a simple exponential fit and the Soccer ball model. With these parameterization methods we were able to describe the ice nucleation behavior of single INA macromolecules from both the Czech and the Swedish birch pollen.

On Teaching International Courses on Health Information Systems. Lessons Learned during 16 Years of Frank - van Swieten Lectures on Strategic Information Management in Health Information Systems.

PubMed

Ammenwerth, Elske; Knaup, Petra; Winter, Alfred; Bauer, Axel W; Bott, Oliver J; Gietzelt, Matthias; Haarbrandt, Birger; Hackl, Werner O; Hellrung, Nils; Hübner-Bloder, Gudrun; Jahn, Franziska; Jaspers, Monique W; Kutscha, Ulrike; Machan, Christoph; Oppermann, Bianca; Pilz, Jochen; Schwartze, Jonas; Seidel, Christoph; Slot, Jan-Eric; Smers, Stefan; Spitalewsky, Katharina; Steckel, Nathalie; Strübing, Alexander; van der Haak, Minne; Haux, Reinhold; Ter Burg, Willem J

2017-03-08

Health information systems (HIS) are one of the most important areas for biomedical and health informatics. In order to professionally deal with HIS well-educated informaticians are needed. Because of these reasons, in 2001 an international course has been established: The Frank - van Swieten Lectures on Strategic Information Management of Health Information Systems. Reporting about the Frank - van Swieten Lectures and about our students' feedback on this course during the last 16 years. Summarizing our lessons learned and making recommendations for such international courses on HIS. The basic concept of the Frank - van Swieten lectures is to teach the theoretical background in local lectures, to organize practical exercises on modelling sub-information systems of the respective local HIS and finally to conduct Joint Three Days as an international meeting were the resulting models are introduced and compared. During the last 16 years, the Universities of Amsterdam, Braunschweig, Heidelberg/Heilbronn, Leipzig as well as UMIT were involved in running this course. Overall, 517 students from these universities participated. Our students' feedback was clearly positive. The Joint Three Days of the Frank - van Swieten Lectures, where at the end of the course all students can meet, turned out to be an important component of this course. Based on the last 16 years, we recommend common teaching materials, agreement on equivalent clinical areas for the exercises, support of group building of international student groups, motivation of using a collaboration platform, ensuring quality management of the course, addressing different levels of knowledge of the students, and ensuring sufficient funding for joint activities. Although associated with considerable additional efforts, we can clearly recommend establishing such international courses on HIS, such as the Frank - van Swieten Lectures.

[Acute ethanol intoxication among children and adolescents. A retrospective analysis of 173 patients admitted to a university children hospital].

PubMed

Schöberl, S; Nickel, P; Schmutzer, G; Siekmeyer, W; Kiess, W

2008-01-01

In the last time the alcohol consumption among children and adolescents is a big theme in all kind of media. The ethanol consumption among children and adolescents has risen during the last years, but also new hazardous drinking patterns like "binge-drinking" are increasing. These drinking episodes are responsible for many hospital presentations of children and adolescents with acute ethanol intoxication. This study is a retrospective analysis of 173 patients admitted to the university children hospital of Leipzig due to acute ethanol intoxication during the period 1998-2004. Investigated parameters were: socio-demographic factors, clinical presentation and management as well as quantity and type of alcohol. During the years 1998-2004 the rate of alcohol intoxicated patients in this study increased, from 1998-2003 at about 171.4%. Totally 173 patients with an average age of 14.5 years were admitted to the university children hospital. There were significantly more boys than girls. The mean blood alcohol concentration of these patients was 1.77%. Some of the patients had severe symptoms. 62 were unconscious, 2 were in coma and at least 3 patients had to be ventilated. A difference between socioeconomic groups could be observed by comparing the different school types. 44.8% of the patients went to the middle school. Furthermore 17 patients of this study had mental disorders or psychosocial problems and were therefore in psychological or psychiatric treatment. In this study a significant influence of social classes or psychosocial problems on alcohol consumption such as binge-drinking leading to acute ethanol intoxication could not be found. Alarming is the increasing number of ethanol intoxicated patients, the young age, the high measured blood ethanol concentrations and the severe symptoms of these patients. This is the reason why early and intensive prevention strategies are required.

Potential of polarization lidar to provide profiles of CCN- and INP-relevant aerosol parameters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mamouri, R. E.; Ansmann, A.

2015-12-01

We investigate the potential of polarization lidar to provide vertical profiles of aerosol parameters from which cloud condensation nucleus (CCN) and ice nucleating particle (INP) number concentrations can be estimated. We show that height profiles of number concentrations of aerosol particles with radius > 50 nm (APC50, reservoir of favorable CCN) and with radius > 250 nm (APC250, reservoir of favorable INP), as well as profiles of the aerosol particle surface area concentration (ASC, used in INP parameterization) can be retrieved from lidar-derived aerosol extinction coefficients (AEC) with relative uncertainties of a factor of around 2 (APC50), and of about 25-50 % (APC250, ASC). Of key importance is the potential of polarization lidar to identify mineral dust particles and to distinguish and separate the aerosol properties of basic aerosol types such as mineral dust and continental pollution (haze, smoke). We investigate the relationship between AEC and APC50, APC250, and ASC for the main lidar wavelengths of 355, 532 and 1064 nm and main aerosol types (dust, pollution, marine). Our study is based on multiyear Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) photometer observations of aerosol optical thickness and column-integrated particle size distribution at Leipzig, Germany, and Limassol, Cyprus, which cover all realistic aerosol mixtures of continental pollution, mineral dust, and marine aerosol. We further include AERONET data from field campaigns in Morocco, Cabo Verde, and Barbados, which provide pure dust and pure marine aerosol scenarios. By means of a simple relationship between APC50 and the CCN-reservoir particles (APCCCN) and published INP parameterization schemes (with APC250 and ASC as input) we finally compute APCCCN and INP concentration profiles. We apply the full methodology to a lidar observation of a heavy dust outbreak crossing Cyprus with dust up to 8 km height and to a case during which anthropogenic pollution dominated.

Regional citrate anticoagulation for continuous renal replacement therapy in severe burns-a retrospective analysis of a protocol-guided approach.

PubMed

Gille, Jochen; Sablotzki, Armin; Malcharek, Michael; Raff, Thomas; Mogk, Martin; Parentin, Torsten

2014-12-01

For critically ill patients, the use of regional citrate anticoagulation as part of continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) has become increasingly common in recent years. However, there are scarce data on the use of this technique in patients with burns. The aim of this study was to examine the effectiveness, feasibility and complications of regional citrate anticoagulation for CRRT in burn patients, as well as the effects on coagulation and the electrolyte and acid-base balance. This retrospective study included all patients who received renal replacement therapy with citrate anticoagulation to treat acute kidney injury (AKI) between January 1, 2004 and December 31, 2009 at the burn unit of St. Georg Hospital GmbH in Leipzig. During the examination period, 18 patients were treated using CRRT with regional citrate anticoagulation (CVVHDF in the pre-dilution mode). The median patient age was 64 years (49.5; 71), with a median TBSA of 42.5% (33.25; 52.5) and a median ABSI score of 10 (9; 10). The CRRT was initiated on a median of 6 days (4; 8.75) after admission to the hospital and continued for a median duration of 7 days (5; 8). The median dialysis dose was 38.2mlkgBW(-1)h(-1) (31.8; 42.1). The median effective filter operation time was 67h (46; 72). No relevant disorders associated with acid-base balance, electrolytes or coagulation occurred, and there were no bleeding complications. In terms of bleeding risk and electrolyte and acid-base balance, regional citrate anticoagulation may be considered to be an effective, safe and user-friendly procedure for patients with severe burns and AKI. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

Neocortical neuronal morphology in the Siberian Tiger (Panthera tigris altaica) and the clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa).

PubMed

Johnson, Cameron B; Schall, Matthew; Tennison, Mackenzie E; Garcia, Madeleine E; Shea-Shumsky, Noah B; Raghanti, Mary Ann; Lewandowski, Albert H; Bertelsen, Mads F; Waller, Leona C; Walsh, Timothy; Roberts, John F; Hof, Patrick R; Sherwood, Chet C; Manger, Paul R; Jacobs, Bob

2016-12-01

Despite extensive investigations of the neocortex in the domestic cat, little is known about neuronal morphology in larger felids. To this end, the present study characterized and quantified the somatodendritic morphology of neocortical neurons in prefrontal, motor, and visual cortices of the Siberian tiger (Panthera tigris altaica) and clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa). After neurons were stained with a modified Golgi technique (N = 194), dendritic branching and spine distributions were analyzed using computer-assisted morphometry. Qualitatively, aspiny and spiny neurons in both species appeared morphologically similar to those observed in the domestic cat. Although the morphology of spiny neurons was diverse, with the presence of extraverted, inverted, horizontal, and multiapical pyramidal neurons, the most common variant was the typical pyramidal neuron. Gigantopyramidal neurons in the motor cortex were extremely large, confirming the observation of Brodmann ([1909] Vergleichende Lokalisationlehre der Grosshirnrinde in ihren Prinzipien dargestellt auf Grund des Zellenbaues. Leipzig, Germany: J.A. Barth), who found large somata for these neurons in carnivores in general, and felids in particular. Quantitatively, a MARSplines analysis of dendritic measures differentiated typical pyramidal neurons between the Siberian tiger and the clouded leopard with 93% accuracy. In general, the dendrites of typical pyramidal neurons were more complex in the tiger than in the leopards. Moreover, dendritic measures in tiger pyramidal neurons were disproportionally large relative to body/brain size insofar as they were nearly as extensive as those observed in much larger mammals (e.g., African elephant). Comparison of neuronal morphology in a more diverse collection of larger felids may elucidate the comparative context for the relatively large size of the pyramidal neurons observed in the present study. J. Comp. Neurol. 524:3641-3665, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. �

Spatio-temporal aerosol particle distributions in the UT/LMS measured by the IAGOS-CARIBIC Observatory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Assmann, Denise; Hermann, Markus; Weigelt, Andreas; Martinsson, Bengt; Brenninkmeijer, Carl; Rauthe-Schöch, Armin; van Velthoven, Peter; Bönisch, Harald; Zahn, Andreas

2017-04-01

Submicrometer aerosol particles in the upper troposphere and lowermost stratosphere (UT/LMS) influence the Earth`s radiation budget directly and, more important, indirectly, by acting as cloud condensation nuclei and by changing trace gas concentrations through heterogeneous chemical processes. Since 1997, regular in situ UT/LMS aerosol particle measurements have been conducted by the Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research, Leipzig, Germany and the University of Lund, Sweden, using the the CARIBIC (now IAGOS-CARIBIC) observatory (www.caribic-atmospheric.com) onboard a passenger aircraft. Submicrometer aerosol particle number concentrations and the aerosol particle size distribution are measured using three condensation particle counters and one optical particle size spectrometer. Moreover, particle elemental composition is determined using an aerosol impactor sampler and post-flight ion beam analysis (PIXE, PESA) of the samples in the laboratory. Based on this unique data set, including meteorological analysis, we present representative spatio-temporal distributions of particle number, surface, volume and elemental concentrations in an altitude of 8-12 km covering a large fraction of the northern hemisphere. We discuss the measured values in the different size regimes with respect to sources and sinks in different regions. Additionally, we calculated highly resolved latitudinal and longitudinal cross sections of the particle number size distribution, probability density functions and trends in particle number concentrations, but also in elemental composition, determined from our regular measurements over more than a decade. Moreover, we generated seasonal contour plots for particle number concentrations, the potential temperature, and the equivalent latitude. The results are interpreted with respect to aerosol microphysics and transport using CARIBIC trace gas data like ozone and water vapour. The influence of clouds in the troposphere and the different

The immersion freezing behavior of ash particles from wood and brown coal burning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grawe, Sarah; Augustin-Bauditz, Stefanie; Hartmann, Susan; Hellner, Lisa; Pettersson, Jan B. C.; Prager, Andrea; Stratmann, Frank; Wex, Heike

2016-11-01

It is generally known that ash particles from coal combustion can trigger ice nucleation when they interact with water vapor and/or supercooled droplets. However, data on the ice nucleation of ash particles from different sources, including both anthropogenic and natural combustion processes, are still scarce. As fossil energy sources still fuel the largest proportion of electric power production worldwide, and biomass burning contributes significantly to the global aerosol loading, further data are needed to better assess the ice nucleating efficiency of ash particles. In the framework of this study, we found that ash particles from brown coal (i.e., lignite) burning are up to 2 orders of magnitude more ice active in the immersion mode below -32 °C than those from wood burning. Fly ash from a coal-fired power plant was shown to be the most efficient at nucleating ice. Furthermore, the influence of various particle generation methods on the freezing behavior was studied. For instance, particles were generated either by dispersion of dry sample material, or by atomization of ash-water suspensions, and then led into the Leipzig Aerosol Cloud Interaction Simulator (LACIS) where the immersion freezing behavior was examined. Whereas the immersion freezing behavior of ashes from wood burning was not affected by the particle generation method, it depended on the type of particle generation for ash from brown coal. It was also found that the common practice of treating prepared suspensions in an ultrasonic bath to avoid aggregation of particles led to an enhanced ice nucleation activity. The findings of this study suggest (a) that ash from brown coal burning may influence immersion freezing in clouds close to the source and (b) that the freezing behavior of ash particles may be altered by a change in sample preparation and/or particle generation.

International Federation of Library Associations Annual Conference Papers. Collections and Services Division: Interlending, Rare and Precious Books, and Exchange and Acquisition Sections (47th, Leipzig, East Germany, August 17-22, 1981).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Line, Maurice B.; And Others

This set of papers presented to the Collections and Services Division of the International Federation of Library Associations at its 47th annual conference (1981) includes: "Planning Interlending Systems in Developing Countries," by Maurice B. Line; "Problems of Centralisation of Inter-Library Lending in a De-Centralized Library…

Chronic heart failure and aging - effects of exercise training on endothelial function and mechanisms of endothelial regeneration: Results from the Leipzig Exercise Intervention in Chronic heart failure and Aging (LEICA) study.

PubMed

Sandri, Marcus; Viehmann, Manuel; Adams, Volker; Rabald, Kristin; Mangner, Norman; Höllriegel, Robert; Lurz, Philipp; Erbs, Sandra; Linke, Axel; Kirsch, Katharina; Möbius-Winkler, Sven; Thiery, Joachim; Teupser, Daniel; Hambrecht, Rainer; Schuler, Gerhard; Gielen, Stephan

2016-03-01

A reduction in number and function of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) occurs in both physiologic aging and chronic heart failure (CHF). We assessed whether disease and aging have additive effects on EPCs or whether beneficial effects of exercise training are diminished in old age. We randomized 60 patients with stable CHF and 60 referent controls to a training or a control group. To detect possible aging effects we included subjects below 55 (young) and above 65 years (older). Subjects in the training group exercised four times daily at 60% to 70% of VO2max for four weeks under supervision. At baseline and after the intervention the number and function of EPCs were assessed. As compared with young referent controls, older referent controls showed at baseline a reduced EPC number (young: 190 ± 37 CD34/KDR positive cells/ml blood; older: 131 ± 26 CD34/KDR positive cells/ml blood; p < 0.05) and function (young: 230 ± 41 migrated cells/1000 plated cells; older: 185 ± 28 cells/1000 plated cells; p < 0.05). In young and older CHF patients EPC-number (young: 85 ± 21 CD34/KDR positive cells/ml blood; older: 78 ± 20 CD34/KDR positive cells/ml blood) and EPC-function (young: 113 ± 26 cells/1000 plated cells; older: 120 ± 27 cells/1000 plated cells) were impaired. As a result of exercise training, EPC function improved by 24% in older referent controls (p < 0.05), while it remained unchanged in young training referent controls and controls respectively. In young and older patients with CHF four weeks of exercise training resulted in a significant improvement in EPC numbers and EPC function (young: number +66% function +43%; p < 0.05; older: number +69% function +36%; p < 0.05). These results were accompanied by a significant increase in flow mediated dilatation in the training groups of young/older CHF patients and in older referent controls. Four weeks of exercise training are effective in improving EPC number and EPC function in CHF patients. These training effects were not impaired among older patients, emphasizing the potentials of rehabilitation interventions in a patient group where CHF has a high prevalence. © The European Society of Cardiology 2015.

Volcanic Ash Cloud Observations with the DLR-Falcon over Europe during Airspace Closure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schumann, Ulrich; Weinzierl, Bernadett; Reitebuch, Oliver; Minikin, Andreas; Schlager, Hans; Rahm, Stephan; Scheibe, Monika; Lichtenstern, Michael; Forster, Caroline

2010-05-01

At the time of the EGU conference, the volcano ash plume originating from the Eyjafjallajökull volcano eruption in Iceland was probed during 9 flights with the DLR Falcon research aircraft in the region between Germany and Iceland at 1-11 km altitudes between April 19 and May 3, 2010. The Falcon was instrumented with a downward looking, scanning 2-µm-Wind-Lidar (aerosol backscattering and horizontal wind, 100 m vertical resolution), and several in-situ instruments. The particle instrumentation, including wing station probes (PCASP, FSSP-300) cover particle number and size from 5 nm to some tens of µm. Further in-situ instruments measured O3, CO, SO2, H2O, and standard meteorological parameters. Flight planning was based on numerical weather forecasts, trajectory-based particle-dispersion models, satellite observations and ground based Lidar observations, from many sources. During the flight on April 19, 2010, layers of volcanic ash were detected first by Lidar and then probed in-situ. The horizontal and vertical distribution of the volcanic ash layers over Eastern Germany was highly variable at that time. Calculations with the particle dispersion model FLEXPART indicate that the volcanic ash plumes measured by the Falcon had an age of 4-5 days. The concentrations of large particles measured in the volcanic aerosol layers are comparable to concentrations measured typically in fresh (age < 2 days) Saharan dust plumes. An estimation of the particle mass concentration in the elevated volcanic ash plume probed as part of a vertical profile over Leipzig at about 4 km altitude yields 60 µg/m3 (possibly 100 µg/m3), with an uncertainty of factor two. Of the total mass only less than 10 percent was residing in the particle size range below 2.5 µm. This emphasizes the need for adequate instrumentation to fully capture the size distribution of volcanic ash. During April 29-May 3, a sequence of flights has been performed between Germany, Scotland, and Iceland. Lidar

[Problems in the admission to in-hospital oral surgical care from the patient's viewpoint--results of patient interviews in the hospital for dental and maxillo-facial surgery of the Karl Marx University, Leipzig].

PubMed

Erpenbeck, F; Birnbaum, K; Langanke, B; Niemand, B; Thomzyk, I

1979-06-01

The author deals with the results from the interviewing of oral surgery patients on their problems concerning the sending and the admission to the hospital, with special attention to the problems of waiting for admission, the familiarization with the clinical environment and the improvement suggestions of the patients. The conclusions concern tasks arising from the medical and dental care for inpatients as well as for outpatients.

International Federation of Library Associations Annual Conference. Papers of the Special Libraries Division: Geographical and Map, Science and Technology and Social Science Libraries Sections (47th, Leipzig, East Germany, August 17-22, 1981).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sprudzs, Adolf; And Others

This set of eight papers includes papers presented by participants from the United States, France, East Germany, the United Kingdom, West Germany, and the USSR: "Problems with Sources of Information in International Law and Relations: The Case of the World-Wide Treaty Jungle," by Adolf Sprudzs; "French Map Libraries and National and…

The Scientific Legacy of Ugo Fano

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Inokuti, Mitio

2001-04-01

In 1934 Fano received a Sc. D. degree in mathematics at University of Turin, Italy (the city of his birth in 1912). He was then led to physics by his cousin Guilio Racah, and received postdoctoral training from Fermi at Rome and from Heisenberg at Leipzig. He worked at institutions near Washington, D. C. during the war, and joined the staff of the National Bureau of Standards in 1946. He became a professor of physics at The University of Chicago in 1966. His contributions to radiation physics, atomic and molecular physics, and statistical physics are extensive and outstanding. Recognition includes many honors such as the Fermi Award by the DOE, and terms such as the Beutler-Fano profile of certain spectral lines, the Fano factor characterizing the fluctuations of the radiation-induced ionization, the Fano-Lichten mechanism for inelastic atomic collisions, and the Fano effect leading to spin-polarized photoelectrons. His work follows a style inherited from Fermi and is characterized by incisive insight into the physics behind experimental data, penetrating mathematical analysis, and close communications with many colleagues. Because he took a leading role in developing new areas of research and in nurturing young scientists, his influence now permeates many topics of physics. They include far uv and soft x-ray spectroscopy with synchrotron radiation and fundamental radiological physics, both stemming from his time at NBS, as well as multi-channel quantum-defect theory and hyperspherical-coordinate approach, both pioneered at Chicago. Fuller accounts of his life and science are seen in Inokuti [1], in Rau [2], and in a forthcoming special issue of Physics Essays in his honor. The present work is supported by U. S. DOE, Office of Science, Nuclear Physics Division, under Contract No. W-31-109-Eng-38. References 1. M. Inokuti, in Fundamental Processes of Atomic Dynamics, J. S. Briggs et al. (eds.), (Plenum, New York, 1988), p. 1. 2. A. R. P. Rau, Comments At. Mol. Phys

Diagnosis of myocardial infarction based on lectin-induced erythrocyte agglutination: a feasibility study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bocsi, József; Nieschke, Kathleen; Mittag, Anja; Reichert, Thomas; Laffers, Wiebke; Marecka, Monika; Pierzchalski, Arkadiusz; Piltz, Joachim; Esche, Hans-Jürgen; Wolf, Günther; Dähnert, Ingo; Baumgartner, Adolf; Tarnok, Attila

2014-03-01

Myocardial infarction (MI) is an acute life-threatening disease with a high incidence worldwide. Aim of this study was to test lectin-carbohydrate binding-induced red blood cell (RBC) agglutination as an innovative tool for fast, precise and cost effective diagnosis of MI. Five lectins (Ricinus communis agglutinin (RCA), Phaseolus vulgaris erythroagglutinin (PHA), Datura stramonium agglutinin (DSA), Artocarpus agglutinin (ArA), Triticum agglutinin (TA)) were tested for ability to differentiate between agglutination characteristics in patients with MI (n = 101) or angina pectoris without MI (AP) (n = 34) and healthy volunteers (HV) as control (n =68) . RBC agglutination was analyzed by light absorbance of a stirred RBC suspension in the green to red light spectrum in an agglutimeter (amtec, Leipzig, Germany) for 15 min after lectin addition. Mean cell count in aggregates was estimated from light absorbance by a mathematical model. Each lectin induced RBC agglutination. RCA led to the strongest RBC agglutination (~500 RBCs/aggregate), while the others induced substantially slower agglutination and lead to smaller aggregate sizes (5-150 RBCs/aggregate). For all analyzed lectins the lectin-induced RBC agglutination of MI or AP patients was generally higher than for HV. However, only PHA induced agglutination that clearly distinguished MI from HV. Variance analysis showed that aggregate size after 15 min. agglutination induced by PHA was significantly higher in the MI group (143 RBCs/ aggregate) than in the HV (29 RBC-s/aggregate, p = 0.000). We hypothesize that pathological changes during MI induce modification of the carbohydrate composition on the RBC membrane and thus modify RBC agglutination. Occurrence of carbohydrate-lectin binding sites on RBC membranes provides evidence about MI. Due to significant difference in the rate of agglutination between MI > HV the differentiation between these groups is possible based on PHA-induced RBC-agglutination. This novel assay

The immersion freezing behavior of size-segregated soot and kaolinite particles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hartmann, S.; Augustin, S.; Clauss, T.; Niedermeier, D.; Raddatz, M.; Wex, H.; Shaw, R. A.; Stratmann, F.

2011-12-01

Heterogeneous ice nucleation plays a crucial role for ice formation in mixed-phase and cirrus clouds and has an important impact on precipitation formation, global radiation balances, and therefore Earth's climate (Cantrell and Heymsfield, 2005). Mineral dust and soot particles are found to be a major component of ice crystal residues (e.g., Pratt et al., 2009) so these substances are potential sources of atmospheric ice nuclei (IN). Experimental studies investigating the immersion freezing behavior of size-segregated soot and kaolinite particles conducted at the Leipzig Aerosol Cloud Interaction Simulator (LACIS) are presented. In our measurements only one aerosol particle is immersed in an air suspended water droplet which can trigger ice nucleation. The method facilitates very precise examinations with respect to temperature, ice nucleation time and ice nucleus size. Considering laboratory studies, the picture of the IN ability of soot particles is quite heterogeneous. Our studies show that submicron flame, spark soot particles and optionally coated with sulfuric acid to simulate chemically aging do not act as IN at temperatures higher than homogeneous freezing taking place. Therefore soot particles might not be an important source of IN for immersion freezing in the atmosphere. In contrast, kaolinite being representative for natural mineral dust with a well known composition and structure is found to be very active in forming ice for all freezing modes (e.g., Mason and Maybank, 1958). Analyzing the immersion freezing behavior of different sized kaolinite particles (300, 500 and 700 nm in diameter) the size effect was clearly observed, i.e. the ice fraction (number of frozen droplets per total number) scales with particle surface, i.e. the larger the ice nucleus surface the higher the ice fraction. The slope of the logarithm of the ice fraction as function of temperature is similar for all particle sizes investigated and fits very well with the results of L�

EFFECT of daily antiseptic body wash with octenidine on nosocomial primary bacteraemia and nosocomial multidrug-resistant organisms in intensive care units: design of a multicentre, cluster-randomised, double-blind, cross-over study.

PubMed

Meißner, Anne; Hasenclever, Dirk; Brosteanu, Oana; Chaberny, Iris Freya

2017-11-08

Nosocomial infections are serious complications that increase morbidity, mortality and costs and could potentially be avoidable. Antiseptic body wash is an approach to reduce dermal micro-organisms as potential pathogens on the skin. Large-scale trials with chlorhexidine as the antiseptic agent suggest a reduction of nosocomial infection rates. Octenidine is a promising alternative agent which could be more effective against Gram-negative organisms. We hypothesise that daily antiseptic body wash with octenidine reduces the risk of intensive care unit (ICU)-acquired primary bacteraemia and ICU-acquired multidrug-resistant organisms (MDRO) in a standard care setting. EFFECT is a controlled, cluster-randomised, double-blind study. The experimental intervention consists in using octenidine-impregnated wash mitts for the daily routine washing procedure of the patients. This will be compared with using placebo wash mitts. Replacing existing washing methods is the only interference into clinical routine.Participating ICUs are randomised in an AB/BA cross-over design. There are two 15-month periods, each consisting of a 3-month wash-out period followed by a 12-month intervention and observation period. Randomisation determines only the sequence in which octenidine-impregnated or placebo wash mitts are used. ICUs are left unaware of what mitts packages they are using.The two coprimary endpoints are ICU-acquired primary bacteraemia and ICU-acquired MDRO. Endpoints are defined based on individual ward-movement history and microbiological test results taken from the hospital information systems without need for extra documentation. Data on clinical symptoms of infection are not collected. EFFECT aims at recruiting about 45 ICUs with about 225 000 patient-days per year. The study was approved by the ethics committee of the University of Leipzig (number 340/16-ek) in November 2016. Findings will be published in peer-reviewed journals. DRKS-ID: DRKS00011282. © Article author

Association of left ventricular late gadolinium enhancement with left atrial low voltage areas in patients with atrial fibrillation.

PubMed

Stegmann, Clara; Jahnke, Cosima; Paetsch, Ingo; Hilbert, Sebastian; Arya, Arash; Bollmann, Andreas; Hindricks, Gerhard; Sommer, Philipp

2018-02-06

Presence of late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) is related to adverse cardiovascular outcome. Many patients suffering from atrial fibrillation (AF) undergo cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging prior to ablation. Since quantification of atrial fibrosis still lacks reproducibility, we sought to investigate risk factors for the presence of left ventricular (LV)-LGE and a possible correlation between ventricular fibrosis as defined by positive LGE and pathological atrial voltage maps evaluated by 3D mapping systems. Between May 2015 and January 2017, 241 patients with AF (73% persistent AF, 71% male, mean age 62.8 ± 10.1 years, Redo procedure in 24%, AF history 4.5 ± 5.2 years) underwent CMR including LV LGE prior to pulmonary vein (PV) isolation at Heart Center Leipzig. Depending on CMR results, two groups were separated: 'LV-LGE negative' (Group A, n = 197, 82%) and 'LV-LGE positive' (Group B, n = 44, 18%). To identify low voltage areas (LVA), a 3D electro-anatomic map was created during PV isolation. Multivariate analysis revealed male gender [odds ratio (OR) 7.6, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 2.4-23.9, P = 0.001] and an increased CHA2DS2VASc Score (OR 1.6, 95% CI 1.2-2.2, P = 0.004) as significantly associated with LV-LGE. Impaired left ventricular ejection fraction, LV dilatation, larger LA size and, enlarged septum diameter occurred significantly more often in the 'LGE positive' group. Low voltage areas were detected in 83 patients overall (34%): Group A: n = 64/197 (33%), Group B: n = 19/44 (43%) (P = 0.177). Male gender and high CHA2DS2VASc Score are significantly associated with presence of LV-LGE, but LV-LGE is not associated with left atrial LVA. Published on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. All rights reserved. © The Author(s) 2018. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Role of tricuspid valve repair for moderate tricuspid regurgitation during minimally invasive mitral valve surgery.

PubMed

Pfannmueller, Bettina; Verevkin, Alexander; Borger, Michael Andrew; Mende, Meinhard; Davierwala, Piroze; Garbade, Jens; Mohr, Friedrich Wilhelm; Misfeld, Martin

2013-08-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of short- and mid-term survival of tricuspid valve (TV) repair versus conservative therapy in patients with preoperative moderate functional tricuspid regurgitation (TR) undergoing minimally invasive mitral valve (MV) surgery. Between January 2002 and December 2009, a total of 430 patients with pure mitral regurgitation and concomitant moderate TR underwent minimally invasive MV surgery for mitral regurgitation at the Leipzig Heart Center without (n = 336; group A) and with (n = 94; group B) TV surgery. Mean age was 66.7 ± 10.3 years, mean LVEF was 58.0 ± 13.8%, and 206 patients (47.9%) were male. Average logEuroSCORE was 12.4 ± 11.4%. Follow-up was on average 4.6 ± 2.4 years and 97% completed. Predischarge echocardiography showed no or mild TR in 51.1% of patients in group A versus 84.2% of patients in group B (p < 0.01). Overall 30-day mortality was 2.8% with no differences between both groups. Five-year survival was 82.9 ± 4.1% for patients with TV repair versus 85.0 ± 2.2% for patients without TV repair (p = 0.1) and it was 85.7 ± 3.3% in patients with moderate and more postoperative TR versus 90.1 ± 2.5% in patients with less than moderate postoperative TR (p = 0.08). Five-year freedom from TV-related reoperation was 98.8 ± 0.7% for patients in group A versus 98.9 ± 0.1% for patients in group B (p = 0.8). Patients undergoing MV surgery with moderate functional TR do not experience increased perioperative complication rates when a concomitant TV repair is performed. Our observations, combined with those of other groups, support current recommendations to perform concomitant TV repair in such patients, particularly if tricuspid annular dilation is present. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Dosimetric characteristics of a new unit for electronic skin brachytherapy

PubMed Central

Garcia-Martinez, Teresa; Chan, Jan-Pieter; Perez-Calatayud, Jose

2014-01-01

Purpose Brachytherapy with radioactive high dose rate (HDR) 192Ir source is applied to small skin cancer lesions, using surface applicators, i.e. Leipzig or Valencia type. New developments in the field of radiotherapy for skin cancer include electronic brachytherapy. This technique involves the placement of an HDR X-ray source close to the skin, therefore combining the benefits of brachytherapy with the reduced shielding requirements and targeted energy of low energy X-rays. Recently, the Esteya® Electronic Brachytherapy System (Esteya EBS, Elekta AB-Nucletron, Stockholm, Sweden) has been developed specifically for HDR brachytherapy treatment of surface lesions. The system provides radionuclide free HDR brachytherapy by means of a small 69.5 kV X-ray source. The purpose of this study is to obtain the dosimetric characterization required for clinical implementation, providing the detailed methodology to perform the commissioning. Material and methods Flatness, symmetry and penumbra, percentage of depth dose (PDD), kV stability, HVL, output, spectrum, linearity, and leakage have been evaluated for a set of applicators (from 10 mm to 30 mm in diameter). Results Flatness and symmetry resulted better than 5% with around 1 mm of penumbra. The depth dose gradient is about 7%/mm. A kV value of 68.4 ± 1.0 kV (k = 1) was obtained, in good agreement with manufacturer data (69.5 kV). HVL was 1.85 mm Al. Dose rate for a typical 6 Gy to 7 Gy prescription resulted about 3.3 Gy/min and the leakage value was < 100 µGy/min. Conclusions The new Esteya® Electronic Brachytherapy System presents excellent flatness and penumbra as with the Valencia applicator case, combined with an improved PDD, allowing treatment of lesions of up to a depth of 5 mm in combination with reduced treatment duration. The Esteya unit allows HDR brachytherapy superficial treatment within a minimally shielded environment due its low energy. PMID:24790622

Spatio Temporal Variability of the Global Transmittance During the Arctic POLARSTERN Expedition 106/1 Ice Floe Station

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barrientos Velasco, C.; Macke, A.; Griesche, H.; Engelmann, R.; Deneke, H.; Seifert, P.

2017-12-01

Institut für Troposphärenforschung (TROPOS), Universität Leipzig Institut für Meteorologie (LIM), Universitäat Bremen, Universität zu Köln and Alfred-Wegener-Institut, Helmholtz Zentrum für Polar - und Meeresforschung (AWI).

[Early career of Michael Sendivogius].

PubMed

Prinke, Rafał T

2012-01-01

One of the most influential alchemical authors of the early modern period was Michael Sendivogius whose early life is shrouded in mystery. He may be labelled the most famous Polish scientific writer between Copernicus and Marie Skłodowska-Curie, but because of the difficulties involved in researching the biography of any alchemist, there has been relatively little interest in him among Polish historians. The early work of Roman Bugaj (author of the still fundamental monograph) and Włodzimierz Hubicki (who made his research available to the international community) has been continued only by the English-born Zbigniew Szydło and the author of this article. The roots of many legends about Sendivogius were three mid-17th century short biographies, none of which is trustworthy, so it is crucial to verify the received myth and the version constructed in the 1960's and 1970's with primary sources and evidence from the recent "new historiography of alchemy". The present article examines them in the light of newly discovered sources and reinterpretation of the old ones. The genealogy of the Sedzimir family is discussed at length to show that Sendivogius most probably was not its member but only a pretender in order to assume (or prove) the status of a nobleman. Several possible hypotheses about his origins are presented. He is known to have studied at three universities (Leipzig, Vienna and Altdorf) but authors of early panegyrics dedicated to Sendivogius list more universities which he may have attended. The most interesting is that of Cambridge, listed as the first one, because practically no Poles or Czechs went there at the time. Finally, his marriage to Veronica Stiebar, a wealthy widow of a Franconian knightly family, and her interesting family relationships (links to Erasmus, Camerarius, Paracelsus and the original Doctor Faustus) are discussed. The period covered is that before Sendivogius moved to Prague in about 1597, having already been a courtier of Rudolf II

Human brain arousal in the resting state: a genome-wide association study.

PubMed

Jawinski, Philippe; Kirsten, Holger; Sander, Christian; Spada, Janek; Ulke, Christine; Huang, Jue; Burkhardt, Ralph; Scholz, Markus; Hensch, Tilman; Hegerl, Ulrich

2018-04-27

Arousal affects cognition, emotion, and behavior and has been implicated in the etiology of psychiatric disorders. Although environmental conditions substantially contribute to the level of arousal, stable interindividual characteristics are well-established and a genetic basis has been suggested. Here we investigated the molecular genetics of brain arousal in the resting state by conducting a genome-wide association study (GWAS). We selected N = 1877 participants from the population-based LIFE-Adult cohort. Participants underwent a 20-min eyes-closed resting state EEG, which was analyzed using the computerized VIGALL 2.1 (Vigilance Algorithm Leipzig). At the SNP-level, GWAS analyses revealed no genome-wide significant locus (p < 5E-8), although seven loci were suggestive (p < 1E-6). The strongest hit was an expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) of TMEM159 (lead-SNP: rs79472635, p = 5.49E-8). Importantly, at the gene-level, GWAS analyses revealed significant evidence for TMEM159 (p = 0.013, Bonferroni-corrected). By mapping our SNPs to the GWAS results from the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium, we found that all corresponding markers of TMEM159 showed nominally significant associations with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD; 0.006 ≤ p ≤ 0.011). More specifically, variants associated with high arousal levels have previously been linked to an increased risk for MDD. In line with this, the MetaXcan database suggests increased expression levels of TMEM159 in MDD, as well as Autism Spectrum Disorder, and Alzheimer's Disease. Furthermore, our pathway analyses provided evidence for a role of sodium/calcium exchangers in resting state arousal. In conclusion, the present GWAS identifies TMEM159 as a novel candidate gene which may modulate the risk for psychiatric disorders through arousal mechanisms. Our results also encourage the elaboration of the previously reported interrelations between ion-channel modulators, sleep-wake behavior, and

Activity of different proteinaceous ice nucleating particles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hartmann, Susann; Augustin-Bauditz, Stefanie; Grawe, Sarah; Ling, Meilee; Hellner, Lisa; Zapf, Jean-Michel; Šantl-Temkiv, Tina; Pummer, Bernhard; Boesen, Thomas; Wex, Heike; Finster, Kai; Stratmann, Frank

2017-04-01

A variety of microorganisms (bacteria, fungi, lichen) from land produce protein structures, which act as a template for ice nucleation [1]. Also marine sources of ice nucleating particles (INPs) came in focus in the recent years. The atmospheric spatio-temporal distribution of INPs from microorganisms is still not well known. However, it is often assumed that the observed onset of atmospheric ice nucleation (T>-20°C) is due to the existence of ice-nucleation active biological particles. In this study we compare the ice nucleation activity of different proteinaceous particles produced by bacteria and fungi. For bacteria we investigate (i) cells and fragments of Pseudomonas syringae from commercially available SnomaxTM and (ii) the Pseudomonas syringae INA protein expressed in living Escherichia coli bacteria. We also analyzed freeze-dried leaves [2] where we assume that proteinaceous particles are responsible for the ice nucleation activity. For fungi the widespread soil fungus Mortierella alpina was investigated which had been extracted from natural soil [3]. Immersion freezing experiments are performed at the cold stage LINA (Leipzig Ice Nucleation Array). We attempt to describe the activity of a single proteinaceous ice nucleating particle [4] in order to achieve direct comparability. Further, the results are compared with complex natural systems e.g. soil dust. The objectives of this study are to clarify potential differences in the ice nucleation potential of proteinaceous particles and to draw conclusions concerning the need to differentiate them for modelling purposes. 1. Szyrmer, W. and I. Zawadzki, Biogenic and anthropogenic sources of ice-forming nuclei: A review, Bull. Amer. Meteorol. Soc., 1997. 2. Schnell, R.C. and G. Vali, Biogenic ice nucleai .1: Terrestrial and marine sources, doi: 10.1175/1520-0469(1976)033<1554:binpit>2.0.co;2, 1976. 3. Froehlich-Nowoisky, J. et al., Ice nucleation activity in the widespread soil fungus Mortierella alpina, doi: 10

Slaughter of pregnant cattle in German abattoirs--current situation and prevalence: a cross-sectional study.

PubMed

Maurer, Patric; Lücker, Ernst; Riehn, Katharina

2016-06-07

The slaughter of pregnant cattle and the fate of the foetuses are relatively new subjects in the field of animal welfare. The Scientific Committee on Veterinary Measures relating to Public Health (SCVPH), however, does not believe this topic to be a critical issue because of the hitherto supposed rare occurrence of this practice. Some previous studies though, contradict this assessment, emphasising its relevance to animal welfare. With regard to the heterogeneous study design of previous investigations, the objective of this study is to evaluate the current situation concerning the slaughter of pregnant cattle in different German abattoirs. Additionally, the prevalence was assessed semi-quantitatively on the basis of a cross-sectional, voluntary and anonymous survey that was conducted amongst senior veterinary students of the University of Leipzig from 2010 until 2013. Of 255 evaluable questionnaires, 157 (63.6%) mention the slaughter of pregnant cattle, corresponding to 76.9% of all visited abattoirs. Slaughter of pregnant cattle is reported often (>10% of females) in 6 (3.8%), frequently (1-10% of females) in 56 (35.7%), and rarely (<1% of females) in 95 (60.5%) of all cases (n = 157) respectively. About 50% of these animals were reported to be in the second or third stage of gestation. 15 (10.6%) of 142 questionnaires providing information about the foetus, state that the foetus showed visible vital signs after the death of the mother, but in one case the foetus was euthanized subsequently. The results show that the slaughter of pregnant cattle is a common and widespread practice in German abattoirs. The SCVPH's assumption that pregnant cattle are only slaughtered in rare exceptional cases can no longer be maintained. The high proportion of foetuses in the second and third gestational stage must also be considered. In this context the implementation of suitable studies and detailed analysis of the current situation is indispensable to ensure the high standards

Impact of Different Creatinine Measurement Methods on Liver Transplant Allocation

PubMed Central

Kaiser, Thorsten; Kinny-Köster, Benedict; Bartels, Michael; Parthaune, Tanja; Schmidt, Michael; Thiery, Joachim

2014-01-01

Introduction The model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) score is used in many countries to prioritize organ allocation for the majority of patients who require orthotopic liver transplantation. This score is calculated based on the following laboratory parameters: creatinine, bilirubin and the international normalized ratio (INR). Consequently, high measurement accuracy is essential for equitable and fair organ allocation. For serum creatinine measurements, the Jaffé method and enzymatic detection are well-established routine diagnostic tests. Methods A total of 1,013 samples from 445 patients on the waiting list or in evaluation for liver transplantation were measured using both creatinine methods from November 2012 to September 2013 at the university hospital Leipzig, Germany. The measurements were performed in parallel according to the manufacturer’s instructions after the samples arrived at the institute of laboratory medicine. Patients who had required renal replacement therapy twice in the previous week were excluded from analyses. Results Despite the good correlation between the results of both creatinine quantification methods, relevant differences were observed, which led to different MELD scores. The Jaffé measurement led to greater MELD score in 163/1,013 (16.1%) samples with differences of up to 4 points in one patient, whereas differences of up to 2 points were identified in 15/1,013 (1.5%) samples using the enzymatic assay. Overall, 50/152 (32.9%) patients with MELD scores >20 had higher scores when the Jaffé method was used. Discussion Using the Jaffé method to measure creatinine levels in samples from patients who require liver transplantation may lead to a systematic preference in organ allocation. In this study, the differences were particularly pronounced in samples with MELD scores >20, which has clinical relevance in the context of urgency of transplantation. These data suggest that official recommendations are needed to determine which

Exploiting Cloud Radar Doppler Spectra of Mixed-Phase Clouds during ACCEPT Field Experiment to Identify Microphysical Processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kalesse, H.; Myagkov, A.; Seifert, P.; Buehl, J.

2015-12-01

Cloud radar Doppler spectra offer much information about cloud processes. By analyzing millimeter radar Doppler spectra from cloud-top to -base in mixed-phase clouds in which super-cooled liquid-layers are present we try to tell the microphysical evolution story of particles that are present by disentangling the contributions of the solid and liquid particles to the total radar returns. Instead of considering vertical profiles, dynamical effects are taken into account by following the particle population evolution along slanted paths which are caused by horizontal advection of the cloud. The goal is to identify regions in which different microphysical processes such as new particle formation (nucleation), water vapor deposition, aggregation, riming, or sublimation occurr. Cloud radar measurements are supplemented by Doppler lidar and Raman lidar observations as well as observations with MWR, wind profiler, and radio sondes. The presence of super-cooled liquid layers is identified by positive liquid water paths in MWR measurements, the vertical location of liquid layers (in non-raining systems and below lidar extinction) is derived from regions of high-backscatter and low depolarization in Raman lidar observations. In collocated cloud radar measurements, we try to identify cloud phase in the cloud radar Doppler spectrum via location of the Doppler peak(s), the existence of multi-modalities or the spectral skewness. Additionally, within the super-cooled liquid layers, the radar-identified liquid droplets are used as air motion tracer to correct the radar Doppler spectrum for vertical air motion w. These radar-derived estimates of w are validated by independent estimates of w from collocated Doppler lidar measurements. A 35 GHz vertically pointing cloud Doppler radar (METEK MIRA-35) in linear depolarization (LDR) mode is used. Data is from the deployment of the Leipzig Aerosol and Cloud Remote Observations System (LACROS) during the Analysis of the Composition of

Genome-wide meta-analysis identifies novel determinants of circulating serum progranulin.

PubMed

Tönjes, Anke; Scholz, Markus; Krüger, Jacqueline; Krause, Kerstin; Schleinitz, Dorit; Kirsten, Holger; Gebhardt, Claudia; Marzi, Carola; Grallert, Harald; Ladenvall, Claes; Heyne, Henrike; Laurila, Esa; Kriebel, Jennifer; Meisinger, Christa; Rathmann, Wolfgang; Gieger, Christian; Groop, Leif; Prokopenko, Inga; Isomaa, Bo; Beutner, Frank; Kratzsch, Jürgen; Fischer-Rosinsky, Antje; Pfeiffer, Andreas; Krohn, Knut; Spranger, Joachim; Thiery, Joachim; Blüher, Matthias; Stumvoll, Michael; Kovacs, Peter

2018-02-01

Progranulin is a secreted protein with important functions in processes including immune and inflammatory response, metabolism and embryonic development. The present study aimed at identification of genetic factors determining progranulin concentrations. We conducted a genome-wide association meta-analysis for serum progranulin in three independent cohorts from Europe: Sorbs (N = 848) and KORA (N = 1628) from Germany and PPP-Botnia (N = 335) from Finland (total N = 2811). Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with progranulin levels were replicated in two additional German cohorts: LIFE-Heart Study (Leipzig; N = 967) and Metabolic Syndrome Berlin Potsdam (Berlin cohort; N = 833). We measured mRNA expression of genes in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) by micro-arrays and performed mRNA expression quantitative trait and expression-progranulin association studies to functionally substantiate identified loci. Finally, we conducted siRNA silencing experiments in vitro to validate potential candidate genes within the associated loci. Heritability of circulating progranulin levels was estimated at 31.8% and 26.1% in the Sorbs and LIFE-Heart cohort, respectively. SNPs at three loci reached study-wide significance (rs660240 in CELSR2-PSRC1-MYBPHL-SORT1, rs4747197 in CDH23-PSAP and rs5848 in GRN) explaining 19.4%/15.0% of the variance and 61%/57% of total heritability in the Sorbs/LIFE-Heart Study. The strongest evidence for association was at rs660240 (P = 5.75 × 10-50), which was also associated with mRNA expression of PSRC1 in PBMC (P = 1.51 × 10-21). Psrc1 knockdown in murine preadipocytes led to a consecutive 30% reduction in progranulin secretion. In conclusion, the present meta-GWAS combined with mRNA expression identified three loci associated with progranulin and supports the role of PSRC1 in the regulation of progranulin secretion. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights

Attachment Insecurity in Advanced Cancer Patients: Psychometric Properties of the German Version of the Brief Experiences in Close Relationships Scale (ECR-M16-G).

PubMed

Philipp, Rebecca; Vehling, Sigrun; Scheffold, Katharina; Grünke, Britta; Härter, Martin; Mehnert, Anja; Oechsle, Karin; Schulz-Kindermann, Frank; Lo, Christopher

2017-10-01

Attachment insecurity refers to difficulty in trusting and relying on others in times of need. Its underlying factors attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance have been empirically associated with impaired coping in advanced cancer and, therefore, should be considered in individually tailored medical and psychosocial treatment. The objective of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the German translation of the Brief Experiences in Close Relationships Scale (ECR-M16-G). We recruited 182 advanced cancer patients from outpatient psycho-oncology clinics of the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf and the University Medical Center Leipzig, local and external cancer care facilities. We performed confirmatory factor analysis to replicate the higher order factor structure reported in previous research. We conducted item and reliability analysis, also correlation analysis, to examine concurrent validity. One hundred fifty-eight patients completed the ECR-M16-G (women 61%, mean age 57.9, SD = 11.1). We replicated the factor structure with the subscales Attachment Anxiety and Attachment Avoidance as second-order factors and Worrying about relationships, Frustration about unavailability, Discomfort with close others, and Turning away from others as first-order factors. An adjusted model that interchanged factor loadings of items 4 and 10 showed good fit (Comparative Fit Index = 0.94, Non-Normed Fit Index = 0.93, root mean square error of approximation = 0.05). Subscales showed acceptable to good internal consistency (anxiety α = .81 and avoidance α = .78). Attachment insecurity (mean = 3.1, SD = 1.0) was positively associated with depression, anxiety, demoralization (P < 0.001), and symptom burden (P = 0.02) and negatively associated with spiritual well-being (P < 0.001). The ECR-M16-G is a valid and reliable measure of attachment insecurity in patients with advanced cancer and can be recommended as a tool for clinical

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Xu, Z; Baker, J; Hsia, A

Purpose: The commercially available Leipzig-style Cone for High Dose Rate (HDR) Brachytherapy has a steep depth dose curve and a non-uniform dose distribution. This work shows the performance of a Ring Surface Applicator created using a 3D printer that can generate a better dose distribution. Calculated doses were verified with film measurement. Methods: The water equivalent red-ABS plastic was used to print the Ring Surface Applicator which hosts three catheters: a center piece with a straight catheter and two concentric rings with diameters of 3.5 and 5.5 cm. Gafchromic EBT2 film, Epson Expression 10000 flatbed scanner, and the online softwaremore » at radiochromic.com were used to analyze the measured data. 10cm×10cm piece of film was sandwiched between two 15×10×5cm3 polystyrene phantoms. The applicator was positioned directly on top of the phantom. Measurement was done using dwell time and positions calculated by Eclipse BrachyVision treatment planning system (RTP). Results: Depth dose curve was generated from the plan and measurement. The results show that the measured and calculated depth dose were in agreement (<3%) from surface to 4mm depth. A discrepancy of 6% was observed at 5 mm depth, where the dose is typically prescribed to. For depths deeper than 5 mm, the measured doses were lower than those calculated by Eclipse BrachyVision. This can be attributed to a combination of simple calculation algorithm using TG-43 and the lack of inhomogeneity correction. Dose profiles at 5 mm depth were also generated from TPS calculation and measured with film. The measured and calculated profiles are similar. Consistent with the depth dose curve, the measured dose is lower than the calculated. Conclusion: Our results showed that the Ring Surface Applicator, printed using 3D printer, can generate more uniform dose distribution within the target volume and can be safely used in the clinic.« less

SU-E-T-459: Impact of Source Position and Traveling Time On HDR Skin Surface Applicator Dosimetry

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jeong, J; Barker, C; Zaider, M

Purpose: Observed dosimetric discrepancy between measured and treatment planning system (TPS) predicted values, during applicator commissioning, were traced to source position uncertainty in the applicator. We quantify the dosimetric impact of this geometric uncertainty, and of the source traveling time inside the applicator, and propose corrections for clinical use. Methods: We measured the dose profiles from the Varian Leipzig-style (horizontal) HDR skin applicator, using EBT3 film, photon diode, and optically stimulated luminescence dosimeter (OSLD) and three different GammaMed HDR afterloders. The dose profiles and depth dose of each aperture were measured at several depths (up to about 10 mm, dependingmore » on the dosimeter). The measured dose profiles were compared with Acuros calculated profiles in BrachyVision TPS. For the impact of the source position, EBT3 film measurements were performed with applicator, facing-down and facing-up orientations. The dose with and without source traveling was measured with diode detector using HDR timer and electrometer timer, respectively. Results: Depth doses measured using the three dosimeters were in good agreement, but were consistently higher than the Acuros dose calculations. Measurements with the applicator facing-up were significantly lower than those in the facing-down position with maximum difference of about 18% at the surface, due to source sag inside the applicator. Based on the inverse-square law, the effective source sag was evaluated to be about 0.5 mm from the planned position. The additional dose from the source traveling was about 2.8% for 30 seconds with 10 Ci source, decreasing with increased dwelling time and decreased source activity. Conclusion: Due to the short source-to-surface distance of the applicator, the small source sag inside the applicator has significant dosimetric impact, which should be considered before the clinical use of the applicator. Investigation of the effect for other

[The Rosenthal experiment or: about the site of productive research - on move of the physiological experimental laboratory of Isidor Rosenthal (1836-1915) from the city to the country].

PubMed

Stahnisch, Frank W

2010-01-01

The disciplinary development of the new science of experimental physiology is often associated with the conditions of cultural development and increasingly technical working contexts of the Industrial Age. Following this perspective, the germ cells of 19th century institutes of experimental physiology were particularly found in the metropolises of Paris, Leipzig or Berlin. Only the major cities sat the revolutionary trends and within this general process, the scientific trends were no exceptions - the provincial research universities simply followed the central ones in their normal science endeavours. Due to this interpretation, the development of the scientific community was pre-formatted as the interplay of innovation (the city) and reception (the periphery). Isidor Rosenthal (1836-1915) was born in Labischin (District of Bromberg/Posen) in 1836 and got his medical training in Berlin. Like not many other experimental physiologists, he can be used as a historiographical testing probe, to follow the conditions of knowledge transfer from center to periphery: After his studies at the Friedrich Wilhelms University and the completion of his dissertation in 1859, Rosenthal entered the newly founded Physiological Institute in Berlin as the first Research Associate of Emil DuBois-Reymond (1818-1896). Rosenthal worked here particularly on the problem of "direct and indirect muscle irritation" in frogs. These neurophysiological investigations led to his growing scientific renown. In 1872, Rosenthal became offered a first professorship in physiology at the Friedrich Alexander University in Bavaria, as one of only few Jewish scientists (and even before Wilhelm Wundt, 1832-1920). But his life and work proved not only exceptional because of his scientific achievements, but also due to his deep rootedness in cultural life--both during his time in Berlin and in Erlangen. By applying a comparative and microhistorical approach in this article, the working conditions of this

Spatio-temporal aerosol particle distributions in the UT/LMS measured by the IAGOS-CARIBIC Observatory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Assmann, D. N.; Hermann, M.; Weigelt, A.; Martinsson, B. G.; Brenninkmeijer, C. A. M.; Rauthe-Schoech, A.; van Velthoven, P. J. F.; Boenisch, H.; Zahn, A.

2016-12-01

Submicrometer aerosol particles in the upper troposphere and lowermost stratosphere (UT/LMS) influence the Earth`s radiation budget directly and, more important, indirectly, by acting as cloud condensation nuclei and by changing trace gas concentrations through heterogeneous chemical processes. Since 1997, regular in situ UT/LMS aerosol particle measurements have been conducted by the Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research, Leipzig, Germany and the University of Lund, Sweden, using the the CARIBIC (now IAGOS-CARIBIC) observatory (www.caribic-atmospheric.com) onboard a passenger aircraft. Submicrometer aerosol particle number concentrations and the aerosol particle size distribution are measured using three condensation particle counters and one optical particle size spectrometer. Moreover, particle elemental composition is determined using an aerosol impactor sampler and post-flight ion beam analysis (PIXE, PESA) of the samples in the laboratory. Based on this unique data set, including meteorological analysis, we present representative spatio-temporal distributions of particle number, surface, volume, and elemental concentrations in an altitude of 8-12 km covering a large fraction of the northern hemisphere. We discuss the measured values in the different size regimes with respect to sources and sinks in different regions. Additionally, we calculated highly resolved latitudinal and longitudinal cross sections of the particle number size distribution, probability density functions and trends in particle number concentrations, but also in elemental composition, determined from our regular measurements over more than a decade. Moreover, we present the seasonality of particle number concentration in an equivelent latitude - potential temperature coordinate framework (see figure). The results are interpreted with respect to aerosol microphysics and transport using CARIBIC trace gas data like ozone and water vapour. The influence of clouds in the troposphere and

[Quality of and Attendance at Healthy Child Clinics in Germany].

PubMed

Weithase, Alexandra; Vogel, Mandy; Kiep, Henriette; Schwarz, Sarah; Meißner, Laura; Herrmann, Janine; Rieger, Kristin; Koch, Christiane; Schuster, Volker; Kiess, Wieland

2017-04-01

Background  For several years the German healthy child clinics program has been a highly appreciated preventive measure and is subject to constant development. However, attendance depends on the families' sociodemographic situation. Findings are documented in a medical checkup booklet (the so-called Gelbes Heft). Currently, there is no procedure to use the data collected for epidemiological purposes nor to evaluate the pediatric prevention measures in Germany. Methods  Between 2011 and 2016, we recruited 3480 study participants for our population-based cohort study LIFE Child in Leipzig. 90.6 % submitted their check-up booklets which were subsequently scanned, the data was digitalized and transmitted to a computerized form. Furthermore, data on social status (so-called Winkler-Index) were collected for each family using a structured questionnaire. The study population consisted of the families' oldest child for whom both data sets were available. Results  The transmission of data from the check-up booklets was time-consuming and cost-intensive due to large datasets, uncoded diagnoses as well as the necessity of trained employees for transferring often illegible handwriting. Early diagnostic tests for children enjoy a high level of acceptance among all social classes. With increasing age, attendance rate decreases gradually. Only 83 % of the population with a lower social status attend the U9 test. The documentation of diagnoses in the check-up booklets was implausible because the frequency fluctuated heavily between the different check-up time points. With only less than 2 %, the documentation of psychosocial difficulties in a child was particularly surprising Conclusion  It is not possible to draw conclusions regarding the prevalence of target diseases from the frequency of documented findings in the check-up booklets. In order to make the data both comparable and evaluable, documentation must be digitalized in the future. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG

Influence of nanomechanical crystal properties on the comminution process of particulate solids in spiral jet mills.

PubMed

Zügner, Sascha; Marquardt, Karin; Zimmermann, Ingfried

2006-02-01

Elastic-plastic properties of single crystals are supposed to influence the size reduction process of bulk materials during jet milling. According to Pahl [M.H. Pahl, Zerkleinerungstechnik 2. Auflage. Fachbuchverlag, Leipzig (1993)] and H. Rumpf: [Prinzipien der Prallzerkleinerung und ihre Anwendung bei der Strahlmahlung. Chem. Ing. Tech., 3(1960) 129-135.] fracture toughness, maximum strain or work of fracture for example are strongly dependent on mechanical parameters like hardness (H) and young's modulus of elasticity (E). In addition the dwell time of particles in a spiral jet mill proved to correlate with the hardness of the feed material [F. Rief: Ph. D. Thesis, University of Würzburg (2001)]. Therefore 'near-surface' properties have a direct influence on the effectiveness of the comminution process. The mean particle diameter as well as the size distribution of the ground product may vary significantly with the nanomechanical response of the material. Thus accurate measurement of crystals' hardness and modulus is essential to determine the ideal operational micronisation conditions of the spiral jet mill. The recently developed nanoindentation technique is applied to examine subsurface properties of pharmaceutical bulk materials, namely calcite, sodium ascorbate, lactose and sodium chloride. Pressing a small sized tip into the material while continuously recording load and displacement, characteristic diagrams are derived. The mathematical evaluation of the force-displacement-data allows for calculation of the hardness and the elastic modulus of the investigated material at penetration depths between 50-300 nm. Grinding experiments performed with a modified spiral jet mill (Type Fryma JMRS 80) indicate the strong impact of the elastic-plastic properties of a given substance on its breaking behaviour. The fineness of milled products produced at constant grinding conditions but with different crystalline powders varies significantly as it is dependent on the

History of blood gas analysis. II. pH and acid-base balance measurements.

PubMed

Severinghaus, J W; Astrup, P B

1985-10-01

Electrometric measurement of the hydrogen ion concentration was discovered by Wilhelm Ostwald in Leipzig about 1890 and described thermodynamically by his student Walther Nernst, using the van't Hoff concept of osmotic pressure as a kind of gas pressure, and the Arrhenius concept of ionization of acids, both of which had been formalized in 1887. Hasselbalch, after adapting the pH nomenclature of Sørensen to the carbonic-acid mass equation of Henderson, made the first actual blood pH measurements (with a hydrogen electrode) and proposed that metabolic acid-base imbalance be quantified as the "reduced" pH of blood after equilibration to a carbon dioxide tension (PCO2) of 40 mm Hg. This good idea, coming 40 years before simple blood pH measurements at 37 degrees C became widely available, was never adopted. Instead, Van Slyke developed a concept of acid-base chemistry that depended on measuring plasma CO2 content with his manometric apparatus, a standard method until the 1960s, when it was displaced by the three-electrode method of blood gas analysis. The 1952 polio epidemic in Copenhagen stimulated Astrup to develop a glass electrode in which pH could be measured in blood at 37 degrees C before and after equilibration with known PCO2. He introduced the interpolative measurement of PCO2 and bicarbonate level (later base excess) using only pH measurements and, with Siggaard-Andersen, developed clinical acid-base chemistry. Controversy arose when blood base excess was noted to be altered by acute changes in PCO2 and when abnormalities of base excess were called metabolic acidosis or alkalosis, even when they represented compensation for respiratory abnormalities in PCO2. In the 1970s it became clear that "in-vivo" or "extracellular fluid" base excess (measured at an average extracellular fluid hemoglobin concentration of 5 g) eliminated the error caused by acute changes in PCO2. Base excess is now almost universally used as the index of nonrespiratory acid

[Romanticism in German medicine in the light of home historiography of 1802-1945].

PubMed

Plonka-Syroka, B

1998-01-01

The German non-materialist medicine of the first half of the 19th century is presently a subject of advanced historical studies, carried out in Europe and USA. Until the mid-20th century, however, it was only the German authors who produced literature dedicated to the above-mentioned medicine. The purpose of this study is to present to the Polish reader the main trends in the German medical historiography that have been taking up the subject for 150 years. The historians of German medicine distinguished trends in the post-war period as the studies of the history of their native medical historiography developed. A Polish historian taking up the task of characterizing of the main methodological trends in German medical historiography is faced with the necessity to take position on the findings of German authors who took up the above-mentioned subject earlier. In my studies I worked mainly on the findings of the following authors: Nelly Tsouyopoulos, Urban Wiesing and Hans-Uwe Lammel. They served me as a guide to the old historical-medical literature that I managed to reach in the libraries of Dresden and Leipzig. Some of the German studies (H. Haeser, J. Petersen) were translated to Polish language and in those cases I leaned on the Polish translators. In this study I discuss the following methodological trends in historiography of German medicine of the 1st half of the 19th century: eclectic trends, philosophical trends, positivistic trends, neo-romantic trends, and social-cultural trends. I also present the analysis of theories of the most important representatives of the trends. Thanks to this I could reconstruct the process of shaping of the discussed epoch image in the light of various concepts of its description. As a result different characteristics of the epoch were grasped although the factography level they referred to was common. This study outlines also further developoment of the historiography of the discussed subject in the second half of the 20th

International Federation of Library Associations Annual Conference Papers. Education and Research Division: Library Schools and Other Training Aspects, and Round Table on Library History Sections (47th, Leipzig, East Germany, August 17-22, 1981).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wagenbreth, Hildegard; And Others

This group of six papers centers on the development of library schools and the training of library personnel. "The Status of Professional Groups in Libraries and Library Education in the GDR," by Hildegard Wagenbreth and Helmut Kubitschek, East Germany, describes the training programs, apprenticeships, courses, and admission criteria of…

Fractal analysis of earthquake swarms of Vogtland/NW-Bohemia intraplate seismicity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mittag, Reinhard J.

2003-03-01

The special type of intraplate microseismicity with swarm-like occurrence of earthquakes within the Vogtland/NW-Bohemian Region is analysed to reveal the nature and the origin of the seismogenic regime. The long-term data set of continuous seismic monitoring since 1962, including more than 26000 events within a range of about 5 units of local magnitude, provides an unique database for statistical investigations. Most earthquakes occur in narrow hypocentral volumes (clusters) within the lower part of the upper crust, but also single event occurrence outside of spatial clusters is observed. Temporal distribution of events is concentrated in clusters (swarms), which last some days until few month in dependence of intensity. Since 1962 three strong swarms occurred (1962, 1985/86, 2000), including two seismic cycles. Spatial clusters are distributed along a fault system of regional extension (Leipzig-Regensburger Störung), which is supposed to act as the joint tectonic fracture zone for the whole seismogenic region. Seismicity is analysed by fractal analysis, suggesting a unifractal behaviour of seismicity and uniform character of seismotectonic regime for the whole region. A tendency of decreasing fractal dimension values is observed for temporal distribution of earthquakes, indicating an increasing degree of temporal clustering from swarm to swarm. Following the idea of earthquake triggering by magma intrusions and related fluid and gas release into the tectonically pre-stressed parts of the crust, a steady increased intensity of intrusion and/or fluid and gas release might account for that observation. Additionally, seismic parameters for Vogtland/NW-Bohemia intraplate seismicity are compared with an adequate data set of mining-induced seismicity in a nearby mine of Lubin/Poland and with synthetic data sets to evaluate parameter estimation. Due to different seismogenic regime of tectonic and induced seismicity, significant differences between b-values and temporal

Thyroid volumes and urinary iodine in German school children.

PubMed

Rendl, J; Juhran, N; Reiners, C

2001-01-01

Several recently published investigations showed a significant improvement in the iodine supply of the German population, but so far Germany is still considered an iodine deficient country. However most of the studies presented do not meet the epidemiological criteria established by WHO, UNICEF and ICCIDD and may therefore suffer from a selection bias with respect to goiter prevalence estimates. School children, owing to their easy recruitment, representativeness of different socio-economic classes and high vulnerability of Iodine deficiency disorders (IDD), are one of the best target groups for surveillance of IDD. In this field study a total of 591 children were investigated. The total sample included 268 females and 323 males aged 7-17 years. The following data were collected: thyroid size by ultrasound, urinary iodine concentration in a first-morning spot urine, weight, height, sex and age. The median urinary iodine concentration of the children was 183 microg/L. The proportion of samples with concentrations below 100 microg/L or below 50 microg/L was 15.4% and 4.3% respectively. Urine samples with high iodine concentrations were also found amounting to 17.3%. Almost all families (97%) declared to use iodized kitchen salt and 19.6% of all children are taking regularly iodine tablets. Application of the WHO/ICCIDD thyroid volume references to the German children resulted in a goiter prevalence of 0.2%, using either age/sex-specific or body surface area (BSA)/sex-specific cut-off values. Comparison with the P97 values of the original normative data of Gutekunst and Martin-Teichert however gives a goiter prevalence of 3% as expected. The thyroid volumes of the children in our study appear comparable with those reported recently for iodine sufficient children from Switzerland and for iodine replete Berlin children and for children with sufficient iodine supply in the region of Leipzig, so that Germany probably has no longer to be considered an iodine deficient

Predictors of students' self-reported adoption of a smartphone application for medical education in general practice.

PubMed

Sandholzer, Maximilian; Deutsch, Tobias; Frese, Thomas; Winter, Alfred

2015-05-21

Smartphones and related applications are increasingly gaining relevance in the healthcare domain. We previously assessed the demands and preferences of medical students towards an application accompanying them during a course on general practice. The current study aims to elucidate the factors associated with adoption of such a technology. Therefore we provided students with a prototype of an application specifically related to their studies in general practice. A total estimation among students participating in a general practice examination at the Leipzig Medical School was conducted in May 2014. Students were asked to answer a structured self-designed questionnaire. Univariable comparisons were made to identify significant differences between those students who reported to have used the application frequently and those who did not. Multivariable binary logistic regression was used to reveal independent predictors of frequent application usage. The response rate was 99.3 % (n = 305/307). The majority (59 %, n = 180/305) were female students. The mean age was 24.5 years and 79.9 % (n = 243/304) owned a smartphone or tablet computer. Regarding the usage of the provided application, 2.3 % (n = 7/303) did not use the app while 68.0 % (n = 206/303) replied to have used it more than five times. Frequent users significantly differed from non-frequent users with regard to being female rather than male, higher mobile device ownership, more frequent exchange about obtaining the course certificate, higher personal interest in new technologies, larger enjoyment of the technology, lower intention to not use smartphone applications in the future, better opinion towards smartphone applications for the profession of a doctor, higher perceived importance of medical applications on the job, higher compatibility of smartphone applications with personal work style, higher perceived relevance of university support and personal benefit of use. Multivariable

Fungal alteration of organic coatings on sand grains

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rothhardt, S.; Gleixner, G.; Benzerara, K.; Fischer, C.; Gaupp, R.

2012-04-01

We studied the fungal alteration of organically coated sand particles, sampled in Eocene sediments in the open cast mining Profen, near Leipzig (Germany). These organic coatings were formed on sand grains after their sedimentation owing to mobilization of organic matter from younger coal layers. The organic coatings formed non-continuous layers on quartz grains, measuring few micrometers up to 30 µm in thickness. It has been shown that organic coatings on sand grains retain efficiently dissolved metals by adsorption from groundwaters. They consequently might be used as adsorbent to purify low heavy metal contaminated water. However, their stability has not been assessed yet especially in the oxic environment and, more specifically, in the presence of microorganisms. This is important in order to evaluate whether coated sands could act as a reliable tool in remediation. In order to address this question we characterized the fungal alteration of organic coatings on sand grains using several techniques, including scanning electron microscopy (SEM), scanning transmission X-ray microscopy (STXM) and vertical scanning interferometry (VSI). Sand grains coated with organics were incubated on complex yeast medium with and without Schizophyllum commune to estimate changes in heavy metal retention. Formation of biominerals and etch pits is induced by fungal colonization as shown by SEM. Surface topography analysis was performed using VSI technique. Etch pit depth ranges from 0.5 to 1 µm. Pit formation is limited to the organic coating; dissolution of quartz grains was not detected. Using STXM we measured near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectra at the C K-edge, N-edge, and O K-edge to characterize the different organic compartments (fungi, genuine organic coatings, altered organic coatings) down to the 25-nm scale. We observed in the spectra measured at the C K-edge on the altered organic coatings a decrease in aromatic and phenolic groups as well as an

An episode of extremely high PM concentrations over Central Europe caused by dust emitted over the southern Ukraine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Birmili, W.; Schepanski, K.; Ansmann, A.; Spindler, G.; Tegen, I.; Wehner, B.; Nowak, A.; Reimer, E.; Mattis, I.; Müller, K.; Brüggemann, E.; Gnauk, T.; Herrmann, H.; Wiedensohler, A.; Althausen, D.; Schladitz, A.; Tuch, T.; Löschau, G.

2007-08-01

On 24 March 2007, the atmosphere over Central Europe was affected by an episode of exceptionally high mass concentrations of aerosol particles, most likely caused by a dust storm in the Southern Ukraine on the preceding day. At ground-based measurement stations in Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Poland and Germany PM10 mass concentrations rose to values between 200 and 1400 μg m-3. An evaluation of PM10 measurements from 360 monitoring stations showed that the dust cloud advanced along a narrow corridor at speeds of up to 70 km h-1. According to lidar observations over Leipzig, Germany, the high aerosol concentrations were confined to a homogeneous boundary layer of 1800 m height. The wavelength dependence of light extinction using both lidar and sun photometer measurements suggested the dominance of coarse particles during the main event. At a wavelength of 532 nm, relatively high volume extinction coefficients (300-400 Mm-1) and a particle optical depth of 0.65 was observed. In-situ measurements with an aerodynamic particle sizer at Melpitz, Germany, confirmed the presence of a coarse particle mode with a mode diameter >2 μm, whose maximum concentration coincided with that of PM10. A chemical particle analysis confirmed the dominance of non-volatile and insoluble matter in the coarse mode as well as high enrichments of Ti and Fe, which are characteristic of soil dust. A combination of back trajectory calculations and satellite images allowed to identify the dust source with confidence: On 23 March 2007, large amounts of dust were emitted from dried-out farmlands in the southern Ukraine, facilitated by wind gusts up to 100 km h-1. The unusual vertical stability and confined height of this dust layer as well as the rapid transport under dry conditions led to the conservation of high aerosol mass concentrations along the transect and thus to the extraordinary high aerosol concentrations over Central Europe. Our observations demonstrate the capacity of a combined

Helicobacter pylori determination in non-municipal drinking water and epidemiological findings.

PubMed

Krumbiegel, Peter; Lehmann, Irina; Alfreider, Albin; Fritz, Gisela J; Boeckler, David; Rolle-Kampczyk, Ulrike; Richter, Matthias; Jorks, Siegfried; Müller, Lutz; Richter, Mattias W; Herbarth, Olf

2004-03-01

Studies conducted in Europe as well as in North and South America have tried to link Helicobacter pylori colonization with the drinking water supply, especially since H. pylori is known to survive quite well in water. In 2000, a cohort of 1884 grade-two children from two rural counties surrounding the city of Leipzig, Germany (77.4% of the 1991/1992 birth cohort) were tested for H. pylori colonization using the [13C]urea breath test. A parent-completed questionnaire elicited details on living conditions and lifestyle habits including questions on the children's drinking water from sources other than public water supplies, swimming in natural waters, etc. In a second independent study, samples of well water, taken from 157 private wells still used in the two counties, were being tested for the presence of H. pylori, using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method to determine relevant target DNA fragments of H. pylori. In county I, 5.7% of the children and in county II 6.6% tested H. pylori-positive. Cluster analyses of the questionnaire data in both counties pointed to 'drinking water from other than municipal sources', as the closest H. pylori-associated cluster variable. The cluster estimations were supported by odds ratio (OR) calculations with an OR=16.4 (95% confidence interval (CI) 3.1,...,88.5) for county I and OR=4.0 (95% CI 1.3,...,12.4) for county II. The PCR analyses showed H. pylori DNA fragments in 10.8% of the wells in county I and 9.2% in county II. The detection limit was set at 10 DNA copies corresponding to 125 bacteria/L, the average infestation of these wells was 931 bacteria/L. Despite the fact that the microbiological and epidemiological data do not correspond except that both studies were conducted in the same geographical areas, the independent findings of H. pylori in well water in the same general areas where children do seem to drink water other than from the public water supply suggests that water may be an important source of H. pylori

Ice nucleation rates of single protein complexes and single macromolecules

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stratmann, F.; Wex, H.; Niedermeier, D.; Hartmann, S.; Augustin, S.; Clauss, T.; Voigtlaender, J.; Pummer, B.; Grothe, H.

2012-12-01

With our flow-tube LACIS (Leipzig Aerosol cloud Interaction Simulator), we measured immersion freezing of droplets containing biological ice nucleating (IN) agents. From our measurements, we were able to deduce ice nucleation rates for single IN protein complexes (for Snomax) and for IN macromolecules (in the case of Birch pollen). For the measurements, aerosol particles were produced from solutions/suspensions of either Snomax (deadened and partly fractionalized pseudomonas syringae bacteria) or of Birch pollen washing water (BW in the following). All particles were dried and size selected before entering LACIS. In LACIS, particles were activated to droplets, and we measured the fraction of all droplets that froze (F(ice)) as function of temperature. For Snomax, a strong increase in F(ice) was observed around -7 to -10°C, for BW around -19 to -25°C, respectively. After this initial steep increase, F(ice) stayed constant for both examined substances down to -35°C. We found that the values of F(ice) in the plateau region depended on the dry particle size. The initial solution used to generate the particles contained parts of bacteria with ice active protein complexes on them in the case of Snomax, or IN macromolecules in the case of BW (Pummer et al., 2011). We show that the distribution of the IN proteins or IN molecules in the aerosol particles follows the Poisson distribution. With this knowledge, derivation of the ice nucleation rates for single IN protein complexes or for single IN macromolecules is possible. Combining the Poisson distribution with a stochastic model and using the derived nucleation rates, we can reproduce not only our measurements for both examined substances, but also past measurements done for Snomax and even pseudomonas syringae bacteria. As an additional peculiarity, we seem to observe two different macromolecules being ice active for Birch trees growing in Central Europe or Northern Europe, with the latter initiating freezing at

Samuel Alexander Kinnier Wilson. Wilson's disease, Queen Square and neurology.

PubMed

Broussolle, E; Trocello, J-M; Woimant, F; Lachaux, A; Quinn, N

2013-12-01

This historical article describes the life and work of the British physician Samuel Alexander Kinnier Wilson (1878-1937), who was one of the world's greatest neurologists of the first half of the 20th century. Early in his career, Wilson spent one year in Paris in 1903 where he learned from Pierre-Marie at Bicêtre Hospital. He subsequently retained uninterrupted links with French neurology. He also visited in Leipzig the German anatomist Paul Flechsig. In 1904, Wilson returned to London, where he worked for the rest of his life at the National Hospital for the Paralysed and Epileptic (later the National Hospital for Nervous Diseases, and today the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery) in Queen Square, and also at Kings' College Hospital. He wrote on 'the old motor system and the new', on disorders of motility and muscle tone, on the epilepsies, on aphasia, apraxia, tics, and pathologic laughing and crying, and most importantly on Wilson's disease. The other objective of our paper is to commemorate the centenary of Wilson's most important work published in 1912 in Brain, and also in Revue Neurologique, on an illness newly recognized and characterized by him entitled "Progressive lenticular degeneration, a familial nervous disease associated with liver cirrhosis". He analyzed 12 clinical cases, four of whom he followed himself, but also four cases previously published by others and a further two that he considered in retrospect had the same disease as he was describing. The pathological profile combined necrotic damage in the lenticular nuclei of the brain and hepatic cirrhosis. This major original work is summarized and discussed in the present paper. Wilson not only delineated what was later called hepato-lenticular degeneration and Wilson's disease, but also introduced for the first time the terms extrapyramidal syndrome and extrapyramidal system, stressing the role of the basal ganglia in motility. The present historical work emphasizes the special

[Preoperative fasting period of fluids in bariatric surgery].

PubMed

Simon, P; Pietsch, U-C; Oesemann, R; Dietrich, A; Wrigge, H

2017-07-01

Aspiration of stomach content is a severe complication during general anaesthesia. The DGAI (German Society for Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine) guidelines recommend a fasting period for liquids of 2 h, with a maximum of 400 ml. Preoperative fasting can affect the patients' recovery after surgery due to insulin resistance and higher protein catabolism as a response to surgical stress. The aim of the study was to compare a liberal fasting regimen consisting of up to 1000 ml of liquids until 2 h before surgery with the DGAI recommendation. The prospective observational clinical study was approved by the ethics committee of the University of Leipzig. In the liberal fasting group (G lib ) patients undergoing bariatric surgery were asked to drink 1000 ml of tea up to 2 h before surgery. Patients assigned to the restrictive fasting group (G res ) who were undergoing nonbariatric abdominal surgery were asked to drink no more than 400 ml of water up to 2 h preoperatively. Right after anaesthesia induction and intubation a gastric tube was placed, gastric residual volume was measured and the pH level of gastric fluid was determined. Moreover, the occurrence of aspiration was monitored. In all, 98 patients with a body mass index (BMI) of G lib 51.1 kg/m 2 and G res 26.5 kg/m 2 were identified. The preoperative fasting period of liquids was significantly different (G lib 170 min vs. G res 700 min, p < 0.001). There was no difference regarding the residual gastric volume (G lib 11 ml, G res 5 ml, p = 0.355). The pH of gastric fluid was nearly similar (G lib  4.0; G res  3.0; p = 0.864). Aspiration did not occur in any patient. There is evidence suggesting that a liberal fluid fasting regimen (1000 ml of fluid) in the preoperative period is safe in patients undergoing bariatric surgery.

Online measurements of ambient fluorescent aerosol particles by WIBS at a polluted regional site in the North China Plain: potential impact of burning activities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Su, H.; Wang, Z.; Cheng, Y.; Xie, Z.; Kecorius, S.; McMeeking, G. R.; Yu, X.; Pöhlker, C.; Zhang, M.; Wiedensohler, A.; Kuhn, U.; Poeschl, U.; Huffman, J. A.

2015-12-01

Online measurements of ambient fluorescent aerosol particles by WIBS at a polluted regional site in the North China Plain: potential impact of burning activities Zhibin Wang1, Xiawei Yu1,3, Simonas Kecorius2, Zhouqing Xie3, Gavin McMeeking4, Christopher Pöhlker1, Minghui, Zhang1, Alfred Wiedensohler2, Uwe Kuhn1, Yafang Cheng1, Ulrich Pöschl1, Hang Su1,*1Multiphase Chemistry and Biogeochemistry Departments, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Mainz 55128, Germany2Leibniz-Institute for Tropospheric Research, Leipzig 04318, Germany3School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China4Droplet Measurement Technologies, Boulder 80301, USA ABSTRACTBioaerosols are the main subset of super-micron particles, and significantly influence the evolution of cloud and precipitation, as well as the public health. Currently, the detection of ambient biological materials in real-time is mainly based on the presence of fluorophores in the particles. In this study, we present the wideband integrated bioaerosol spectrometer (WIBS) measurement results to characterize the fluorescent aerosol particles (FAP) at a polluted regional site (Xianghe, 39.80 °N, 116.96 °E) in the North China Plain. We observed substantially much higher number concentration of FAP as compared with those of previous studies in clean environments. We found the good agreement between the FAP number fraction in coarse mode particles (> 1 mm) and BC mass fraction in fine particles (< 1 mm), possibly indicating a majority of the observed FAP is to a certain extent related to the anthropogenic burning activities nearby. This interference and uncertainty should be especially noticed when performing fluorescence measurements in the polluted area, where the certain non-biological compounds (such as SOA, PAH and soot) may significantly lead to a positive fluorescence measurement artifacts and an overestimation of actual fluorescent biological aerosol particles. We also

Revisiting an era in Germany from the perspective of adolescents in mother-headed single-parent families.

PubMed

Sharma, Deepali; Silbereisen, Rainer K

2007-02-01

Much of the documented work on families headed by single mothers is based on empirical evidence from North America and a few Anglo-Saxon countries. Many researchers consider single-mother families to be at a disadvantage because of nonsupportive family policies. This paper uses data from a social context that differed hugely in this respect-the German Democratic Republic (GDR). The GDR provided extensive state support to single-mother families and, thus, was vastly different from other countries. Based on a literature review and using Hill's family stress theory, this paper is based on the hypothesis that adolescents living in mother-headed single-parent families and those living with their biological parents would have near-similar social outcomes (display of psychosomatic symptoms, perception of stress, display of delinquent behaviour, life satisfaction, academic self-efficacy, and academic grades) and family-related outcomes (relationship with parents and perception of family environment). Further, it was hypothesized that adolescents from stepfather families would display more negative social and family-related outcomes when compared with respondents from the other two family types. The sample comprised 1302 adolescents (M  =  13.82 years, SD  =  1.88) who were recruited from the city of Leipzig in the year immediately following German unification, 1991. Respondents reported on measures of psychosomatic symptoms, stress, delinquency, life satisfaction, academic achievement, and family-related variables. ANCOVAs, with a control for income adjusted for household size, indicated adolescents from single-mother families to have very similar experiences to respondents living with their biological parents on all measures except for their assessment of family environment. Adolescents living in stepfather families reported the least favourable experiences. Results are indicative of a social context in Germany that, despite unification and the early hardships for

WE-H-204-00: History Committee Symposium

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

“William D. Coolidge, Inventor of the Modern X-ray Tube” David J. Allard, M.S., CHP - Director, PA DEP Bureau of Radiation Protection William David Coolidge 1873–1975 was a research scientist and inventor of the modern X-ray tube. Besides Roentgen, with his 1895 discovery and subsequent studies of X-rays, perhaps no other individual contributed more to the advancement of X-ray technology than did Coolidge. He was born in Hudson, MA and received his Bachelor of Science degree from MIT in 1896. That same year he went to Europe to study under renowned physicists of the time. Coolidge received his Ph.D. summamore » cum laude from the University of Leipzig in 1899 and soon after joined the staff of MIT. While studying at Leipzig, he met Roentgen. In 1905 he was asked to join the newly established General Electric Research Laboratory in Schenectady, NY. He promptly began fundamental work on the production of ductile tungsten filaments as a replacement for fragile carbon filaments used in incandescent light bulbs. This improved light bulb was brought to market by GE in 1911. It was subsequent application of his tungsten work that led Coolidge to his studies in X ray production. Circa 1910, the state-of-the-art X-ray tube was a “gas tube” or “cold cathode” type tube. These crude X-ray tubes relied on residual gas molecules as a source of electrons for bombardment of low to medium atomic number metal targets. In 1912 Coolidge described the use of tungsten as an improved anode target material for X-ray tubes. Shortly after in 1913 he published a paper in Physical Review describing “A Powerful Roentgen Ray Tube With a Pure Electron Discharge.” This tube used a tungsten filament as a thermionic source of electrons under high vacuum to bombard a tungsten anode target. Great improvements in X-ray tube stability, output and performance were obtained with the “hot cathode” or “Coolidge tube.” With some variation in filament and target geometry, this 100

WE-H-204-02: Part 1: History and Archives Resources at AIP for AAPM and Its Members

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Good, G.

“William D. Coolidge, Inventor of the Modern X-ray Tube” David J. Allard, M.S., CHP - Director, PA DEP Bureau of Radiation Protection William David Coolidge 1873–1975 was a research scientist and inventor of the modern X-ray tube. Besides Roentgen, with his 1895 discovery and subsequent studies of X-rays, perhaps no other individual contributed more to the advancement of X-ray technology than did Coolidge. He was born in Hudson, MA and received his Bachelor of Science degree from MIT in 1896. That same year he went to Europe to study under renowned physicists of the time. Coolidge received his Ph.D. summamore » cum laude from the University of Leipzig in 1899 and soon after joined the staff of MIT. While studying at Leipzig, he met Roentgen. In 1905 he was asked to join the newly established General Electric Research Laboratory in Schenectady, NY. He promptly began fundamental work on the production of ductile tungsten filaments as a replacement for fragile carbon filaments used in incandescent light bulbs. This improved light bulb was brought to market by GE in 1911. It was subsequent application of his tungsten work that led Coolidge to his studies in X ray production. Circa 1910, the state-of-the-art X-ray tube was a “gas tube” or “cold cathode” type tube. These crude X-ray tubes relied on residual gas molecules as a source of electrons for bombardment of low to medium atomic number metal targets. In 1912 Coolidge described the use of tungsten as an improved anode target material for X-ray tubes. Shortly after in 1913 he published a paper in Physical Review describing “A Powerful Roentgen Ray Tube With a Pure Electron Discharge.” This tube used a tungsten filament as a thermionic source of electrons under high vacuum to bombard a tungsten anode target. Great improvements in X-ray tube stability, output and performance were obtained with the “hot cathode” or “Coolidge tube.” With some variation in filament and target geometry, this 100

WE-H-204-01: William D. Coolidge, Inventor of the Modern X-Ray Tube

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Allard, D.

“William D. Coolidge, Inventor of the Modern X-ray Tube” David J. Allard, M.S., CHP - Director, PA DEP Bureau of Radiation Protection William David Coolidge 1873–1975 was a research scientist and inventor of the modern X-ray tube. Besides Roentgen, with his 1895 discovery and subsequent studies of X-rays, perhaps no other individual contributed more to the advancement of X-ray technology than did Coolidge. He was born in Hudson, MA and received his Bachelor of Science degree from MIT in 1896. That same year he went to Europe to study under renowned physicists of the time. Coolidge received his Ph.D. summamore » cum laude from the University of Leipzig in 1899 and soon after joined the staff of MIT. While studying at Leipzig, he met Roentgen. In 1905 he was asked to join the newly established General Electric Research Laboratory in Schenectady, NY. He promptly began fundamental work on the production of ductile tungsten filaments as a replacement for fragile carbon filaments used in incandescent light bulbs. This improved light bulb was brought to market by GE in 1911. It was subsequent application of his tungsten work that led Coolidge to his studies in X ray production. Circa 1910, the state-of-the-art X-ray tube was a “gas tube” or “cold cathode” type tube. These crude X-ray tubes relied on residual gas molecules as a source of electrons for bombardment of low to medium atomic number metal targets. In 1912 Coolidge described the use of tungsten as an improved anode target material for X-ray tubes. Shortly after in 1913 he published a paper in Physical Review describing “A Powerful Roentgen Ray Tube With a Pure Electron Discharge.” This tube used a tungsten filament as a thermionic source of electrons under high vacuum to bombard a tungsten anode target. Great improvements in X-ray tube stability, output and performance were obtained with the “hot cathode” or “Coolidge tube.” With some variation in filament and target geometry, this 100

WE-H-204-03: Part 2: History and Archives Resources at AIP for AAPM and Its Members

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mueller, M.

“William D. Coolidge, Inventor of the Modern X-ray Tube” David J. Allard, M.S., CHP - Director, PA DEP Bureau of Radiation Protection William David Coolidge 1873–1975 was a research scientist and inventor of the modern X-ray tube. Besides Roentgen, with his 1895 discovery and subsequent studies of X-rays, perhaps no other individual contributed more to the advancement of X-ray technology than did Coolidge. He was born in Hudson, MA and received his Bachelor of Science degree from MIT in 1896. That same year he went to Europe to study under renowned physicists of the time. Coolidge received his Ph.D. summamore » cum laude from the University of Leipzig in 1899 and soon after joined the staff of MIT. While studying at Leipzig, he met Roentgen. In 1905 he was asked to join the newly established General Electric Research Laboratory in Schenectady, NY. He promptly began fundamental work on the production of ductile tungsten filaments as a replacement for fragile carbon filaments used in incandescent light bulbs. This improved light bulb was brought to market by GE in 1911. It was subsequent application of his tungsten work that led Coolidge to his studies in X ray production. Circa 1910, the state-of-the-art X-ray tube was a “gas tube” or “cold cathode” type tube. These crude X-ray tubes relied on residual gas molecules as a source of electrons for bombardment of low to medium atomic number metal targets. In 1912 Coolidge described the use of tungsten as an improved anode target material for X-ray tubes. Shortly after in 1913 he published a paper in Physical Review describing “A Powerful Roentgen Ray Tube With a Pure Electron Discharge.” This tube used a tungsten filament as a thermionic source of electrons under high vacuum to bombard a tungsten anode target. Great improvements in X-ray tube stability, output and performance were obtained with the “hot cathode” or “Coolidge tube.” With some variation in filament and target geometry, this 100

Groundwater Modeling in Coastal Arid Regions Under the Influence of Marine Saltwater Intrusion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Walther, Marc; Kolditz, Olaf; Grundmann, Jens; Liedl, Rudolf

2010-05-01

The optimization of an aquifer's "safe yield", especially within agriculturally used regions, is one of the fundamental tasks for nowaday's groundwater management. Due to the limited water ressources in arid regions, conflict of interests arise that need to be evaluated using scenario analysis and multicriterial optimization approaches. In the context of the government-financed research project "International Water Research Alliance Saxony" (IWAS), the groundwater quality for near-coastal, agriculturally used areas is investigated under the influence of marine saltwater intrusion. Within the near-coastal areas of the study region, i.e. the Batinah plains of Northern Oman, an increasing agricultural development could be observed during the recent decades. Simultaneously, a constant lowering of the groundwater table was registered, which is primarily due to the uncontrolled and unsupervised mining of the aquifers for the local agricultural irrigation. Intensively decreased groundwater levels, however, cause an inversion of the hydraulic gradient which is naturally aligned towards the coast. This, in turn,leads to an intrusion of marine saltwater flowing inland, endangering the productivity of farms near the coast. Utilizing the modeling software package OpenGeoSys, which has been developed and constantly enhanced by the Department of Environmental Informatics at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research Leipzig (UFZ; Kolditz et al., 2008), a three-dimensional, density-dependent model including groundwater flow and mass transport is currently being built up. The model, comprehending three selected coastal wadis of interest, shall be used to investigate different management scenarios. The main focus of the groundwater modelling are the optimization of well positions and pumping schemes as well as the coupling with a surface runoff model, which is also used for the determination of the groundwater recharge due to wadi runoff downstream of retention dams. Based on

Analysis of isothermal and cooling rate dependent immersion freezing by a unifying stochastic ice nucleation model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alpert, P. A.; Knopf, D. A.

2015-05-01

Immersion freezing is an important ice nucleation pathway involved in the formation of cirrus and mixed-phase clouds. Laboratory immersion freezing experiments are necessary to determine the range in temperature (T) and relative humidity (RH) at which ice nucleation occurs and to quantify the associated nucleation kinetics. Typically, isothermal (applying a constant temperature) and cooling rate dependent immersion freezing experiments are conducted. In these experiments it is usually assumed that the droplets containing ice nuclei (IN) all have the same IN surface area (ISA), however the validity of this assumption or the impact it may have on analysis and interpretation of the experimental data is rarely questioned. A stochastic immersion freezing model based on first principles of statistics is presented, which accounts for variable ISA per droplet and uses physically observable parameters including the total number of droplets (Ntot) and the heterogeneous ice nucleation rate coefficient, Jhet(T). This model is applied to address if (i) a time and ISA dependent stochastic immersion freezing process can explain laboratory immersion freezing data for different experimental methods and (ii) the assumption that all droplets contain identical ISA is a valid conjecture with subsequent consequences for analysis and interpretation of immersion freezing. The simple stochastic model can reproduce the observed time and surface area dependence in immersion freezing experiments for a variety of methods such as: droplets on a cold-stage exposed to air or surrounded by an oil matrix, wind and acoustically levitated droplets, droplets in a continuous flow diffusion chamber (CFDC), the Leipzig aerosol cloud interaction simulator (LACIS), and the aerosol interaction and dynamics in the atmosphere (AIDA) cloud chamber. Observed time dependent isothermal frozen fractions exhibiting non-exponential behavior with time can be readily explained by this model considering varying ISA. An

PREFACE: International & Interdisciplinary Workshop on Novel Phenomena in Integrated Complex Sciences: from Non-living to Living Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoshimura, Kazuyoshi; Ohta, Hiroto; Murase, Masatoshi; Nishimura, Kazuo

2012-03-01

In this workshop recent advancements in experiments and theories were discussed on magnetism and superconductivity, emergent phenomena in biological material, chemical properties and economic problems of non-living and living systems. The aim of the workshop was to discuss old, but also new problems from a multidisciplinary perspective, and to understand the general features behind diversity in condensed matter physics, experimental chemistry and physics in biology and economic science. The workshop was broadly based, and was titled 'International & Interdisciplinary Workshop on Novel Phenomena in Integrated Complex Sciences from Non-living to Living Systems'. However, the primary focus was on magnetism and superconductivity, and NMR research into strongly correlated electrons. The meeting was held as an ICAM workshop, upon official approval in January 2010. Both young scientists and graduate students were invited. We hope that these young scientists had the chance to talk with invited speakers and organizers on their own interests. We thank the participants who contributed through their presentations, discussions and these papers to the advancement of the subject and our understanding. The proceedings are published here in the Journal of Physics: Conference Series (UK). We thank the International Advisory Committee for their advice and guidance: Evgeny Antipov Moscow State University, Russia Nicholas Curro University of California, Davis, USA Minghu Fang Zhejiang University, China Jurgen Haase University of Leipzig, Germany Takashi Imai McMaster University, Canada Peter Lemmens TU Braunschweig, Germany Herwig Michor Vienna TU, Austria Takamasa Momose University of British Columbia, Canada Raivo Stern NICPB, Estonia Louis Taillefer University of Sherbrooke, Canada Masashi Takigawa University of Tokyo, Japan This workshop was mainly organized by the International Research Unit of Integrated Complex System Science, Kyoto University, and was supported by ICAM

Phase III: Implementation and Operation of the Repository

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

None, None

1998-07-01

The metadata catalog was brought online for public access May 14, 1998. Since then dozens of users have registered and began to access the system. The system was demonstrated at the AAPG annual meeting in Salt Lake City and the EAGE (European Association of Geoscientists and Engineers) annual meeting in Leipzig, Germany. Hart Publications and PTTC "NetworkNews" have published articles about the metadata catalog, and articles for the AAPG Explorer and GSA Today are being developed. A back-up system at AGI headquarters was established. In support of the metadata catalog system, a leased-line Internet connection and two servers were installed.more » Porting of the GeoTrek server software to the new systems has begun. The back-up system will be operational during the 3 rd quarter of 1998 and will serve the NGDRS needs during periods when access to the site in Houston is down. Additionally, experimentation with new data types and deployment schemes will be tested on the system at AGI. The NGDRS has picked-up additional endorsements from the American Association of State Geologists, the MMS Outer Continental Shelf Policy Committee, and a new endorsement is being formulated by the AAPG Core Preservation Committee for consideration by the AAPG Executive Committee. The Texas Bureau of Economic Geology (BEG) is currently geocoding the well locations for the metadata catalog. Also, they have solicited proposals for the development of a core inventory control system that will work hand-in-hand with GeoTrek. A contract for that system will probably be given during the 3 rd quarter of 1998. The Texas Railroad Commission proposes to test the application of GeoTrek for accessing data in a joint project with the BEG. Several data transfer projects are underway. Vastar has committed to the transfer of 2D Appalachian seismic lines to the NDGRS clearinghouse. Receiving repositories have been identified and the final preparations are being made for transfer to these public

An innovative cascade system for simultaneous separation of multiple cell types.

PubMed

Pierzchalski, Arkadiusz; Mittag, Anja; Bocsi, Jozsef; Tarnok, Attila

2013-01-01

Isolation of different cell types from one sample by fluorescence activated cell sorting is standard but expensive and time consuming. Magnetic separation is more cost effective and faster by but requires substantial effort. An innovative pluriBead-cascade cell isolation system (pluriSelect GmbH, Leipzig, Germany) simultaneously separates two or more different cell types. It is based on antibody-mediated binding of cells to beads of different size and their isolation with sieves of different mesh-size. For the first time, we validated the pluriSelect system for simultaneous separation of CD4+- and CD8+-cells from human EDTA-blood samples. Results were compared with those obtained by magnetic activated cell sorting (MACS; two steps -first isolation of CD4+, then restaining of the residual cell suspension with anti-human CD8+ MACS antibody followed by the second isolation). pluriSelect separation was done in whole blood, MACS separation on density gradient isolated mononuclear cells. Isolated and residual cells were immunophenotyped by 7-color 9-marker panel (CD3; CD16/56; CD4; CD8; CD14; CD19; CD45; HLA-DR) using flow cytometry. Cell count, purity, yield and viability (7-AAD exclusion) were determined. There were no significant differences between both systems regarding purity (MACS (median[range]: 92.4% [91.5-94.9] vs. pluriSelect 95% [94.9-96.8])) of CD4+ cells, however CD8+ isolation showed lower purity by MACS (74.8% [67.6-77.9], pluriSelect 89.9% [89.0-95.7]). Yield was not significantly different for CD4 (MACS 58.5% [54.1-67.5], pluriSelect 67.9% [56.8-69.8]) and for CD8 (MACS 57.2% [41.3-72.0], pluriSelect 67.2% [60.0-78.5]). Viability was slightly higher with MACS for CD4+ (98.4% [97.8-99.0], pluriSelect 94.1% [92.1-95.2]) and for CD8+-cells (98.8% [98.3-99.1], pluriSelect 86.7% [84.2-89.9]). pluriSelect separation was substantially faster than MACS (1h vs. 2.5h) and no pre-enrichment steps were necessary. In conclusion, pluriSelect is a fast, simple and

Historical perspective on developmental concepts and terminology.

PubMed

Opitz, John M; Neri, Giovanni

2013-11-01

In their ontogeny and phylogeny all living beings are historical entities. The revolution in biology of the 18th and 19th centuries that did away with the scala naturae according to which we humans, the acme of creation, "made a little lower than the angels," also led to the gradual realization that a humble one-celled protist ("protoctist"), such as Entamoeba histolytica of ill repute [Margulis and Chapman, ] has the same 4-billion-year phylogeny as that of Homo sapiens, vivid testimony to common ancestry and the relatedness of all living beings on earth. The group of medical geneticists who assembled at the NIH, Bethesda, MD this January to address terms pertaining to human ontogeny, did so in the long tradition of Sydenham, Linnaeus, Meckel, Geoffroy St-Hilaire père et fils, Wilhelm His and so many others before who had over the previous two centuries wrestled as earnestly as they could with concepts of "classification" and nomenclature of developmental anomalies. The prior massive need for classification per se in medical morphology has diminished over the years in favor of ever more sophisticated understanding of pathogenesis and cause through experimental biology and genetics; however, in the winter of 2013 it was still found prudent to respect terminological precedent on general terms while recognizing recent advances in developmental pathology requiring clarification and definition of special terms. Efforts along similar lines instigated by the German Society of Anatomists at their first meeting in Leipzig in 1887 culminated, after intense years of work by hundreds of experts and consultants under the goad of Wilhelm His, in the Basel Nomina Anatomica [BNA, His (1895)]. His, himself, stated prefatorily that the BNA had no legislative weight, only an evanescent consensus of many to be amended in the future as needed and indicated. Without hubris, no one before or after will do the same. The more substantial the consensus the more permanent the structure

Urban air pollution in Beijing, China, had no effect on ice nucleating particle concentrations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wex, H.; Chen, J.; Augustin-Bauditz, S.; Grawe, S.; Pei, X.; Wu, Z.

2017-12-01

In China, and particularly the North China Plain, anthropogenic emissions from coal burning and traffic contribute largely to the atmospheric aerosol loading. In this study, we set out to examine if these particles act as ice nucleating particles (INP). Filter samples were taken in Beijing in Nov. and Dec. of 2016. Chemical particle analysis and determination of the sampled particle mass concentrations were done in Beijing. Parts of the filters were transported to Leipzig (keeping them below -18°C at all times), where cumulative INP concentrations (K(T)) were determined. Measurements of K(T) were done using two freezing-array set-ups similar to the ones introduced in Conen et al. (2012) and in Budke & Koop (2015). Values for K(T) were obtained in a temperature range from roughly -6°C to -25°C. During the sampling periods, phases with both low and high loadings of atmospheric particulate matter occurred, i.e., we were able to sample during clean and polluted conditions. Lowest and highest values for PM2.5 and black carbon mass concentrations varied by more than a factor of 30. However, K(T) at any one temperature did neither correlate with PM2.5 nor with black carbon mass concentrations. But K(T) fell well within the range of atmospheric INP concentrations published in Petters & Wright (2015), derived from precipitation samples originating from a number of different locations in North America and Europe. Also, K(T) published in literature for different locations in China were comparable to the ones we derived in this study, both at urban and rural sites, unless measurements were made during phases of dust events, during which concentrations were more than an order of magnitude higher. Summarizing, in the temperature range down to roughly -25°C, anthropogenically produced aerosol particles in winter time in Beijing did not contribute to atmospheric INP concentrations. It is also worth noting that no deactivation of INP was observed during pollution events, as

[Results of an individualized surgical therapy of vulvar carcinoma from 1973-1993].

PubMed

Köhler, U; Schöne, M; Pawlowitsch, T

1997-01-01

From 1973 through 1993, the University of Leipzig Women's Hospital treated 285 patients with primary vulvar malignancies. Of these, 269 cases (94.3%) were squamous cell carcinomas. The patients age averaged 69 years (25-95 years). 232 women (81.4%) were older than 60 years. Only 20 women (7%) were younger than 50 years. During the given time period, 266 patients (93.3%) underwent primary surgery. Standard operative treatment, performed in 105 cases (39.5%), was radical vulvectomy and bilateral superficial inguinal lymph node dissection. Rather than en bloc resection (Butterfly method), separate incisions were used during node dissection. Only 3 patients (2.9%) experienced a relapse within the remaining skin bridge. Irradiation with a focal doses of ca. 50 Gy followed postoperative-adjuvant in those cases involving the inguinal lymph nodes. In contrast, 161 patients received largely individualized surgical treatment. Local tumor extension and patient age-dependent operability influenced the choice of treatment. Partial vulvectomy was performed in 37 cases (13.9%). Simple vulvectomy without inguinal node dissection was performed in 115 cases (43.2%) and 9 patients underwent vulvectomy with vaginal-, urethral- and partial sphincter resection, accompanied by myocutaneous flap transposition (M. gluteus maximus lobe). The cumulative (corrected) 5-year survival rate for all patients with squamous cell carcinoma was 68.6%. No significant relationship between patient age (> 60 years vs. < or = 60 years) and prognosis could be seen. Factors of importance to the prognosis, however, were primary tumor size (FIGO stage I vs. II vs. III/IV), principal tumor site (significantly poorer survival rates characterize both clitoral and multifocal carcinomas), histological staging (G1 vs. G2/G3), inguinal lymph node involvement (pN+ vs. pN-) and degree of tumor resection in "healthy" (> or = 2 cm vs. < 2 cm). 5-year survival rates among those patients receiving individualized operative

Laboratory-generated mixtures of mineral dust particles with biological substances: characterization of the particle mixing state and immersion freezing behavior

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Augustin-Bauditz, Stefanie; Wex, Heike; Denjean, Cyrielle; Hartmann, Susan; Schneider, Johannes; Schmidt, Susann; Ebert, Martin; Stratmann, Frank

2016-05-01

Biological particles such as bacteria, fungal spores or pollen are known to be efficient ice nucleating particles. Their ability to nucleate ice is due to ice nucleation active macromolecules (INMs). It has been suggested that these INMs maintain their nucleating ability even when they are separated from their original carriers. This opens the possibility of an accumulation of such INMs in soils, resulting in an internal mixture of mineral dust and INMs. If particles from such soils which contain biological INMs are then dispersed into the atmosphere due to wind erosion or agricultural processes, they could induce ice nucleation at temperatures typical for biological substances, i.e., above -20 up to almost 0 °C, while they might be characterized as mineral dust particles due to a possibly low content of biological material. We conducted a study within the research unit INUIT (Ice Nucleation research UnIT), where we investigated the ice nucleation behavior of mineral dust particles internally mixed with INM. Specifically, we mixed a pure mineral dust sample (illite-NX) with ice active biological material (birch pollen washing water) and quantified the immersion freezing behavior of the resulting particles utilizing the Leipzig Aerosol Cloud Interaction Simulator (LACIS). A very important topic concerning the investigations presented here as well as for atmospheric application is the characterization of the mixing state of aerosol particles. In the present study we used different methods like single-particle aerosol mass spectrometry, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), and a Volatility-Hygroscopicity Tandem Differential Mobility Analyser (VH-TDMA) to investigate the mixing state of our generated aerosol. Not all applied methods performed similarly well in detecting small amounts of biological material on the mineral dust particles. Measuring the hygroscopicity/volatility of the mixed particles with the VH-TDMA was the most

The 2005 October 5 outburst of October Camelopardalids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jenniskens, Peter; Moilanen, Jarmo; Lyytinen, Esko; Yrjölä, Ilkka; Brower, Jeff

2005-10-01

Jarmo Moilanen (Finland) detected twelve meteors from a compact geocentric radiant at RA = 164.1 deg +- 2.0 deg, Dec. = +78.9 deg +-0.5 deg$, on the border of Draco and Camelopardalis, in the evening of 2005 October 5. The differential mass distribution index was a low s = 1.4+-0.2 (+0 to -6 magnitude). The new shower was confirmed by Esko Lyytinen (2 meteors, early period only, located at 25.00 deg E, +60.25 deg N) and Ilkka Yrjoelae (4 meteors: 26.4 deg E, +60.9 deg N) at nearby locations, and by Sirko Molau in Germany (7 meteors). Esko Lyytinen calculated an apparent speed of V_{g} = 47.3+-0.5 km/s from one two-station meteor, close to the parabolic limit. We conclude that the event was caused by the 1-revolution dust trail of a yet unidentified potentially Earth-threatening (Halley-type or) Intermediate Long-Period comet with orbital elements similar to those of the meteoroids: Epoch = 2005 October 5, a = infty (range 15 - infty) AU, q = 0.993+-0.001 AU, omega = 170.5+-1 deg, Omega = 192.59+-0.04 deg, and i = 78.53+-0.55 deg (J2000.0). % Z Anonymous, 1947, " Tähtitieteen Harrastajan Kirja", Rsan Julkaisuja III (URSA Publications III), Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura Kirjapaino Oy (Association of Finnish literature printing house), A book for amateur astronomers, 163-164 Bailey, G. P., 1902, "A possible meteor shower on October 4", Nature, 66, 577 Henseling, R., 1941, "Kleine Sternkunde", P. Reclam, Leipzig Jenniskens, P., 1998, "First results of Global-MS-Net: Annual report for 1997", WGN, 26, 79-85 Jenniskens, P., Betlem, H., de Lignie, M. & Langbroek, M., 1997, "The detection of a dust trail in the orbit of an Earth-threatening long-period comet", Astrophys. J., 479, 441-447 Lyytinen, E. & Jenniskens, P., 2003, "Meteor outbursts from long-period comet dust trails", Icarus, 162, 443-452 MacKenzie, R. A., 1980, "Solar System Debris", British Meteor Society, Dover, pages 42 Molau, S., 2001, "The {AKM} Video Meteor Network", editor B. Warmbein, Proc. Meteoroids

Medical students' expectations towards an implementation of a family medicine textbook as a comprehensive app in Germany.

PubMed

Sandholzer, Maximilian; Rurik, Imre; Deutsch, Tobias; Frese, Thomas

2014-10-01

Undergraduate and postgraduate medical education in general practice is complex as a wide medical spectrum needs to be covered. Modern guidelines demand students to be able to recall immense amounts of information relating to the diagnosis and management of clinical problems. With the intent of making a medical textbook digitally available on student mobile devices, preferences of students and potential of the idea was aimed to be researched. A total estimation among fourth year medical students at the Leipzig Medical School was conducted in June 2013. Students were asked to answer a semi-structured self-designed questionnaire regarding their detailed smartphone and app usage as well as their attitude and expectations towards education and practice supporting apps. The response rate was 93.2% (n = 290/311). The majority (69.3%) were female students. The mean age was 24.5 years. Of the respondents, 64.2% owned a smartphone and 22.5% a tablet computer. A total of 32.4% were already using medical apps for the smartphone--mostly drug reference or disease diagnosis and management apps. Regarding their wishes, 68.7% would like or very like to see an app on general practice. The respective means of the most important desired features on a Likert scale reaching from 1 (not important) to 5 (very important) were 4.3 for drug reference information, 4.2 for guidelines for differential diagnosis, 3.9. for medical pictures libraries and 3.9 for physical examination videos. The willingness to pay for a profound app averages at 14.35 Euros (SD = 16.21). Concluding, students clearly demand for an app on general practice. Such an app should ideally be smartphone optimized. Aside of what is usually available in traditional textbooks, multimedia features such as videos on examining methods or a medical picture library are very important to students and may help to bridge the gap between text-based knowledge and practical application. Therefore, authors of medical textbooks

[In process.

PubMed

Kaasch, Michael; Kaasch, Joachim

Two of the most important life scientists in the GDR were the botanist, plant biochemist and pharmacist Kurt MOTHES (1900-1983) and the geneticist and plant breeder Hans STUBBE (1902-1989). Both started their successful careers during the period of NS dictatorship. MOTHES was a full professor of botany at the University of K6nigsberg from 1935 to 1945. After working at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Plant Breeding Research in Mincheberg and at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Biology in Berlin-Dahlem, STUBBE oversaw the establishment of a Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Crop Plant Research near Vienna in 1943, which was moved to Stecklenberg in the Harz Mountains in 1945 and later to Gatersleben. While MOTHEs was being held as a Soviet prisoner of war from 1945 to 1949, STUBBE was able to set up his institute in Gatersleben in the eastern part of Germany and held influential positions at Martin Luther University in Halle (Saale) as a professor for genetics and as the founding dean of the Faculty of Agriculture. After his release from war captivity, MOTHES, with STUBBE'S support, was able to continue his research at STUBBE'S institute in Gatersleben as the head of the Department for Chemical Physiology. There MOTHES was offered espe- cially favourable conditions by East German standards which led him to turn down other job offers, like the position of professor of botany at the University of Leipzig which was vacant at the time. In addition, MOTHES was also of- fered teaching opportunities in the Faculty of Natural Sciences at the University of Halle, again thanks to STUBBE'S support. In 1951 STUBBE became a founding member and president of the German Academy of Agricultural Sciences at Berlin, and in 1954 MOTHEs became president of the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina. Both were also influential members of the German Academy of Sciences at Berlin (later the GDR's Academy of Sciences). This article investigates how their collaboration developed into an ever

Electrotherapeutic disputes: the 'Frankfurt Council' of 1891.

PubMed

Steinberg, Holger

2011-04-01

Since the 1980s and 1990s, vagus nerve and deep brain stimulation, transcranial magnetic stimulation and cranial electrotherapy stimulation have found their way into neurology as therapeutic approaches to epilepsy, Morbus Parkinson and other central nervous symptoms. Moreover, these methods have proven useful and provided hope in the therapy of other diseases, most of all in psychiatry. From a historic perspective, this new emphasis on somatic therapies in the case of transcranial magnetic stimulation and cranial electrotherapy stimulation represents the return of therapeutic methods widely used in the 19th century and based on very similar techniques. Against the background of a general rise in the importance of neurobiological concepts in the neurosciences, we are now in a new situation of change. Yet, as in the 1880s and 1990s, many epistemic questions remain unresolved, the methods not yet having been standardized. In particular, the inability to explain which way and precisely how electricity induces healing processes in the body continues to put the neurosciences, which have always regarded themselves as exact and scientific in nature, in a rather uncomfortable position. There was a similar situation in the 1880s and 1990s, when positivist scientific dogmas prevailed. For ideological and professional reasons, neurologists strongly rejected the notion pioneered by Leipzig neuropsychiatrist Paul Julius Möbius that curative effects of electrotherapy were based on suggestion. One should see, however, that Möbius's actual concern was not to raise opposition towards or question electrotherapy as such, but rather to sensitize his colleagues in view of the prevailing solely materialistic-somatic approach in order that they should not neglect the psychological component of all illness, both in clinical practice and in research. A singular and very special event illustrates the heated debate among German-speaking neurologists on the psychological/suggestive effects

Towards closing the gap between hygroscopic growth and activation for secondary organic aerosol: Part 1 - Evidence from measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wex, H.; Petters, M. D.; Carrico, C. M.; Hallbauer, E.; Massling, A.; McMeeking, G. R.; Poulain, L.; Wu, Z.; Kreidenweis, S. M.; Stratmann, F.

2009-01-01

Secondary Organic Aerosols (SOA) studied in laboratory experiments generally was found to show only slight hygroscopic growth, but a much better activity as a CCN (Cloud Condensation Nucleus) than indicated by the hygroscopic growth. This discrepancy was examined at LACIS (Leipzig Aerosol Cloud Interaction Simulator), using a portable generator that produced SOA particles from the ozonolysis of α-pinene, and adding butanol or butanol and water vapor during some of the experiments. The light scattering signal of dry SOA-particles was measured by the LACIS optical particle spectrometer and was used to derive a refractive index for SOA of 1.45. LACIS also measured the hygroscopic growth of SOA particles up to 99.6% relative humidity (RH), and a CCN counter was used to measure the particle activation. SOA-particles were CCN active with critical diameters of e.g. 100 and 55 nm at supersaturations of 0.4 and 1.1%, respectively. But only slight hygroscopic growth with hygroscopic growth factors ≤1.05 was observed at RH<98% RH. The hygroscopic growth increased slightly with the OH concentration present during the SOA-generation. At RH>98%, the hygroscopic growth increased stronger than would be expected if a constant hygroscopicity parameter for the particle/droplet solution was assumed. An increase of the hygroscopicity parameter by a factor of 4-6 was observed in the RH-range from below 90 to 99.6%, and this increase continued for increasingly diluted particle solutions for activating particles. This explains an observation already made in the past: that the relation between critical supersaturation and dry diameter for activation is steeper than what would be expected for a constant value of the hygroscopicity. The increase in the hygroscopicity parameter could be explained by either an increase in the number of ions/molecules in solution (e.g. due to the presence of slightly soluble particles with deliquescence RHs above 98%), or a change in the non-ideal behaviour

On Darboux's approach to R-separability of variables. Classification of conformally flat 4-dimensional binary metrics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Szereszewski, A.; Sym, A.

2015-09-01

The standard method of separation of variables in PDEs called the Stäckel-Robertson-Eisenhart (SRE) approach originated in the papers by Robertson (1928 Math. Ann. 98 749-52) and Eisenhart (1934 Ann. Math. 35 284-305) on separability of variables in the Schrödinger equation defined on a pseudo-Riemannian space equipped with orthogonal coordinates, which in turn were based on the purely classical mechanics results by Paul Stäckel (1891, Habilitation Thesis, Halle). These still fundamental results have been further extended in diverse directions by e.g. Havas (1975 J. Math. Phys. 16 1461-8 J. Math. Phys. 16 2476-89) or Koornwinder (1980 Lecture Notes in Mathematics 810 (Berlin: Springer) pp 240-63). The involved separability is always ordinary (factor R = 1) and regular (maximum number of independent parameters in separation equations). A different approach to separation of variables was initiated by Gaston Darboux (1878 Ann. Sci. E.N.S. 7 275-348) which has been almost completely forgotten in today’s research on the subject. Darboux’s paper was devoted to the so-called R-separability of variables in the standard Laplace equation. At the outset he did not make any specific assumption about the separation equations (this is in sharp contrast to the SRE approach). After impressive calculations Darboux obtained a complete solution of the problem. He found not only eleven cases of ordinary separability Eisenhart (1934 Ann. Math. 35 284-305) but also Darboux-Moutard-cyclidic metrics (Bôcher 1894 Ueber die Reihenentwickelungen der Potentialtheorie (Leipzig: Teubner)) and non-regularly separable Dupin-cyclidic metrics as well. In our previous paper Darboux’s approach was extended to the case of the stationary Schrödinger equation on Riemannian spaces admitting orthogonal coordinates. In particular the class of isothermic metrics was defined (isothermicity of the metric is a necessary condition for its R-separability). An important sub-class of isothermic metrics

Landscape and vegetation change on the Iberian Peninsula during the Roman Epoch - A reconstruction based on Geo-Bioarchives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schneider, Heike

2010-05-01

Archaeological investigations expect that first strong landscape changes on the Iberian Peninsula based on Roman Occupation (Schattner 1998, Teichner 2007). Actual sedimentological investigations in flood plains, lagoons and estuaries do not reflect this development. They often show a decrease in sedimentation during this period (Thorndycraft & Benito 2006 a/b). In contrast analyses on sediments from roman dams (Hinderer et al. 2004, Solanas 2005) document massive erosion processes. The aim of this presented project is to reconstruct the effects of the roman land use system on vegetation and landscape development. Therefore different Geo-Bioarchives on several sites of Portugal and Spain - estuaries, palaeoriver channels and roman dams - are actually investigated with a high temporal resolution using palynological and sedimentological methods. First results show, that the anthropogenic impact starts clearly before roman time with an peak in human activity during Iron Age (Schneider et al. 2008). During the roman occupation phase different effects are visible. The inland areas document a massive increase in vegetation change, while the coastal areas were stronger developed before and show only slightly and very local changes in land use and vegetation. References Hinderer, M., Silva C. & J. Ries (2004). Erosion in zentralen Ebrobecken und Sedimentakkumulation in Talsperren. GeoLeipzig 2004, Geowissenschaften sichern Zukunft. - Schriftenreihe der Dt. Geol. Gesell. 34. Schattner, T.G. (1998): Archäologischer Wegweiser durch Portugal.- Kulturgeschichte der antiken Welt 74. Mainz. Schneider, H., Höfer, D., Trog, C., Daut, G., Hilbich C. & R. Mäusbacher (2008): Geoarcheological reconstruction of lagoon development in the Algarve Region (South Portugal). Terra Nostra 2008/2, Abstract Volume 12th IPC: 248. Solanas, O.L.-P. (2005): El Aterramiento del embalse romano de Muel: Implicaciones para la evolución de la erosióy el uso de los recursos hidricos en el valle del

Assesment of CALIPSO's level 3 climatological product

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Papagiannopoulos, Nikolaos; Mona, Lucia; Pappalardo, Gelsomina

2015-04-01

Since December 2011 has been released the latest CALIPSO Level 3 (CL3) monthly product and is subject to calibration/validation studies. EARLINET as the unique European lidar network on a continental scale is the key candidate for these kind of studies. CALIPSO Level 3 data were compared against EARLINET monthly averages obtained by profiles during satellite overpasses. Data from stations of Potenza, Naples, Granada, Évora and Leipzig equipped with advanced multi-wavelength Raman lidars were used for this study. EARLINET monthly profiles yielded higher extinction values comparing to CALIPSO ones. In order to mitigate uncertainties due to spatial and temporal differences, we reproduced the CL3 filtering rubric onto the CALIPSO Level 2 data. Only grid CALIPSO overflights during EARLINET correlative measurements were used. From these data, monthly averages on 2x5 grid are reconstructed. The CALIPSO monthly mean profiles following the new approach are called CALIPSOLevel 3*,CL3*. This offers the possibility to achieve direct comparable datasets, even if greatly reduces the number of satellite grid overflights. Moreover, the comparison of matched observations reduces uncertainties from spatial variability that affects the sampled volumes. The agreement typically improved, in particular above the areas directly affected by the anthropogenic activities within the planetary boundary layer. In contrast to CL3 product, CL3* data offers the possibility to assess also the CALIPSO performance in terms of the backscatter coefficient keeping the same quality assurance criteria applied to extinction coefficient. Lastly, the typing capabilities of CALIPSO were assessed outlining the importance of the correct aerosol type assessment to the CALIPSO aerosol properties retrieval. This work is the first in-depth assessment to evaluate the aerosol optical properties reported in the CL 3 data product. The outcome will assist the establishment of independently derived uncertainty

Analysis of isothermal and cooling-rate-dependent immersion freezing by a unifying stochastic ice nucleation model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alpert, Peter A.; Knopf, Daniel A.

2016-02-01

, droplets in a continuous-flow diffusion chamber (CFDC), the Leipzig aerosol cloud interaction simulator (LACIS), and the aerosol interaction and dynamics in the atmosphere (AIDA) cloud chamber. Observed time-dependent isothermal frozen fractions exhibiting non-exponential behavior can be readily explained by this model considering varying ISA. An apparent cooling-rate dependence of Jhet is explained by assuming identical ISA in each droplet. When accounting for ISA variability, the cooling-rate dependence of ice nucleation kinetics vanishes as expected from classical nucleation theory. The model simulations allow for a quantitative experimental uncertainty analysis for parameters Ntot, T, RH, and the ISA variability. The implications of our results for experimental analysis and interpretation of the immersion freezing process are discussed.

From the Hensen net toward four-dimensional biological oceanography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wiebe, Peter H.; Benfield, Mark C.

2003-01-01

The development of quantitative zooplankton collecting systems began with Hensen (1887 Berichte der Kommssion wissenschaftlichen Untersuchung der deutschen Meere in Kiel5, 1-107; 1895 Ergebnisse der Plankton-Expedition der Humbolt-Stiftung. Kiel and Leipzig: Lipsius and Tischer ). Non-opening closing nets, opening closing nets (mostly messenger based), high-speed samplers, and planktobenthos net systems all had their start in his era - the late 1800s and early 1900s. This was also an era in which many of the fundamental questions about the structure and dynamics of the plankton in the worlds oceans were first posed. Fewer new systems were introduced between 1912 and 1950 apparently due in part to the two World Wars. The continuous plankton recorder stands out as a truly innovative device developed during this period ( Hardy 1926b Nature, London118, 630 ). Resurgence in development of mechanically-based instruments occurred during the 1950s and 1960s. A new lineage of high-speed samplers, the Gulf series, began in the 1950s and a number of variants were developed in the 1960s and 1970s. Net systems specifically designed to collect neuston first appeared in the late 1950s. During the 1960s, many focused field and experimental tank experiments were carried out to investigate the hydrodynamics of nets, and much of our knowledge concerning net design and construction criteria was developed. The advent of reliable electrical conducting cables and electrically-based control systems during this same period gave rise first to a variety of cod-end samplers and then to the precursors of the acoustically and electronically-controlled multi-net systems and environmental sensors, which appeared in the 1970s. The decade of the 1970s saw a succession of multi-net systems based both on the Bé multiple plankton sampler and on the Tucker trawl. The advent of the micro-computer stimulated and enabled the development of sophisticated control and data logging electronics for these

Cultural Heritage of Observatories and Instruments - From Classical Astronomy to Modern Astrophysics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wolfschmidt, Gudrun

Until the middle of the 19th century positioal astronomy with meridian circles played the dominant role. Pulkovo Observatory, St. Petersburg, was the leading institution for this kind of research. The design of this observatory was a model for the construction of observatories in the 19th century. In addition, in Hamburg Observatory and in some other observatories near the coast, time keeping and teaching of navigation were important tasks for astronomers. Around 1860 astronomy underwent a revolution. Astronomers began to investigate the properties of celestial bodies with physical and chemical methods. In the context of “classical astronomy”, only the direction of star light was studied. In the 1860s quantity and quality of radiation were studied for the first time. This was the beginning of modern “astrophysics”, a notion coined in 1865 by the Leipzig astronomer Karl Friedrich Zöllner (1834-1882). It is remarkable that many amateurs started this new astrophysics in private observatories but not in the established observatories like Greenwich, Paris or Pulkovo. In Germany this development started in Bothkamp Observatory near Kiel, with Hermann Carl Vogel (1841-1907), strongly influenced by Zöllner. An important enterprise was the foundation of the Astrophysical Observatory in Potsdam, near Berlin, in 1874 as the first observatory in the world dedicated to astrophysics - a foundation that inspired others. Important innovations and discoveries were made in Potsdam. The new field of astrophysics caused, and was caused by, new instrumentation: spectrographs, instruments for astrophotography, photometers and solar physics instruments. In particular, the glass mirror reflecting telescope was recognised as a more important instrument than a large refractor; for the new observatory in Hamburg-Bergedorf a 1-m reflector, the fourth largest in the world, made by Zeiss of Jena, was acquired in 1911. Another change was made in the architecture, the idea of a park

The Global Atmosphere Watch Aerosol Programme

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baltensperger, U.

2003-04-01

://ies.jrc.cec.eu.int/wdca/) using the NARSTO data exchange standard. The Institute for Tropospheric Research in Leipzig hosts a GAW World Calibration Centre (WCC) for physical aerosol parameters. A host for the chemical parameters still must be located. None of the Global sites perform a full set of measurements, and many Regional sites have not yet started with aerosol ac- tivities at all. Capacity building and fund raising are therefore important priorities in order to achieve the goals of the GAW global aerosol programme. It should be em- phasized that GAW works with many partners in the World Meteorological Organi- zation as well as other agencies in an attempt to develop an integrated system of satellite and non-satellite observations of the global aerosol.

Description and Verification of a Novel Flow and Transport Model for Silicate-Gel Emplacement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Walther, M.; Solpuker, U.; Böttcher, N.; Kolditz, O.; Liedl, R.; Schwartz, F. W.

2013-12-01

reproduced correctly, including e.g. persistence of solute in regions of gelation due to high viscosity, or concentration-dependent gelation. Further research is needed to relate the empirical parameters describing the viscosity-change function to measurable laboratory data, or to study field-scale implementations. Literature SOLPUKER, U., HAWKINS, J., SCHINCARIOL, R., IBARAKI, M., & SCHWARTZ, F. W. (2012). HARNESSING THE COMPLEX BEHAVIOR OF ULTRA-DENSE AND VISCOUS TREATMENT FLUIDS AS A STRATEGY FOR AQUIFER REMEDIATION. MODELS - REPOSITORIES OF KNOWLEDGE. MODELCARE2011, LEIPZIG, GERMANY. KOLDITZ, O., BAUER, S., BILKE, L., BÖTTCHER, N., DELFS, J. O., FISCHER, T., GÖRKE, U. J., ET AL. (2012). OPENGEOSYS: AN OPEN-SOURCE INITIATIVE FOR NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF THERMO-HYDRO-MECHANICAL/CHEMICAL (THM/C) PROCESSES IN POROUS MEDIA. ENVIRONMENTAL EARTH SCIENCES, 67(2), 589-599. DOI:10.1007/S12665-012-1546-X

Analysis of isothermal and cooling-rate-dependent immersion freezing by a unifying stochastic ice nucleation model

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Alpert, Peter A.; Knopf, Daniel A.

levitated droplets, droplets in a continuous-flow diffusion chamber (CFDC), the Leipzig aerosol cloud interaction simulator (LACIS), and the aerosol interaction and dynamics in the atmosphere (AIDA) cloud chamber. Observed time-dependent isothermal frozen fractions exhibiting non-exponential behavior can be readily explained by this model considering varying ISA. An apparent cooling-rate dependence of J het is explained by assuming identical ISA in each droplet. When accounting for ISA variability, the cooling-rate dependence of ice nucleation kinetics vanishes as expected from classical nucleation theory. Finally, the model simulations allow for a quantitative experimental uncertainty analysis for parameters N tot, T, RH, and the ISA variability. We discuss the implications of our results for experimental analysis and interpretation of the immersion freezing process.« less

Application of Integral Pumping Tests to estimate the influence of losing streams on groundwater quality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leschik, S.; Musolff, A.; Reinstorf, F.; Strauch, G.; Schirmer, M.

2009-05-01

Urban streams receive effluents of wastewater treatment plants and untreated wastewater during combined sewer overflow events. In the case of losing streams substances, which originate from wastewater, can reach the groundwater and deteriorate its quality. The estimation of mass flow rates Mex from losing streams to the groundwater is important to support groundwater management strategies, but is a challenging task. Variable inflow of wastewater with time-dependent concentrations of wastewater constituents causes a variable water composition in urban streams. Heterogeneities in the structure of the streambed and the connected aquifer lead, in combination with this variable water composition, to heterogeneous concentration patterns of wastewater constituents in the vicinity of urban streams. Groundwater investigation methods based on conventional point sampling may yield unreliable results under these conditions. Integral Pumping Tests (IPT) can overcome the problem of heterogeneous concentrations in an aquifer by increasing the sampled volume. Long-time pumping (several days) and simultaneous sampling yields reliable average concentrations Cav and mass flow rates Mcp for virtual control planes perpendicular to the natural flow direction. We applied the IPT method in order to estimate Mex of a stream section in Leipzig (Germany). The investigated stream is strongly influenced by combined sewer overflow events. Four pumping wells were installed up- and downstream of the stream section and operated for a period of five days. The study was focused on four inorganic (potassium, chloride, nitrate and sulfate) and two organic (caffeine and technical-nonylphenol) wastewater constituents with different transport properties. The obtained concentration-time series were used in combination with a numerical flow model to estimate Mcp of the respective wells. The difference of the Mcp's between up- and downstream wells yields Mex of wastewater constituents that increase

Analysis of isothermal and cooling-rate-dependent immersion freezing by a unifying stochastic ice nucleation model

DOE PAGES

Alpert, Peter A.; Knopf, Daniel A.

2016-02-24

levitated droplets, droplets in a continuous-flow diffusion chamber (CFDC), the Leipzig aerosol cloud interaction simulator (LACIS), and the aerosol interaction and dynamics in the atmosphere (AIDA) cloud chamber. Observed time-dependent isothermal frozen fractions exhibiting non-exponential behavior can be readily explained by this model considering varying ISA. An apparent cooling-rate dependence of J het is explained by assuming identical ISA in each droplet. When accounting for ISA variability, the cooling-rate dependence of ice nucleation kinetics vanishes as expected from classical nucleation theory. Finally, the model simulations allow for a quantitative experimental uncertainty analysis for parameters N tot, T, RH, and the ISA variability. We discuss the implications of our results for experimental analysis and interpretation of the immersion freezing process.« less

Impact of Natural and Man-Made Factors on Mineral Composition of the Ardon River Water and Hydrophytes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vadim, Ermakov; Elena, Korobova; Alexander, Degtyarev; Nina, Petrunina; Sergey, Tyutikov

2013-04-01

anomalies in the Ardon river basin (the Northern Ossetia). Problems of biogeochemistry and geochemical ecology, 2006, 1, 1, 90-97. 4. Ermakov V.V., Degtyarev A., Karpova E. et al. Polymetallic biogeochemical anomalies in the Ardon river basin. In: Mengen und Spurenelemente. 16. Arbeitstagung. 6.und 7. Dezember 1996 in der Aula der Friedrich-Schiller-Universitat Jena. - Leipzig: Schubert, 1996, 415-425. 5. Karpova E., Ermakov V., Degtyarev A., Krechetova E. Transformation of Trace Elements Forms in Soddy Alluvial Soils of Polymetal Mining Area of the North Ossetia// Proceedings of 7th Eco-Conference 2007. Novi Sad, 2007. Vol. 1, 129-135.

Immersion freezing of ice nucleation active protein complexes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hartmann, S.; Augustin, S.; Clauss, T.; Wex, H.; Šantl-Temkiv, T.; Voigtländer, J.; Niedermeier, D.; Stratmann, F.

2013-06-01

Utilising the Leipzig Aerosol Cloud Interaction Simulator (LACIS), the immersion freezing behaviour of droplet ensembles containing monodisperse particles, generated from a Snomax™ solution/suspension, was investigated. Thereto ice fractions were measured in the temperature range between -5 °C to -38 °C. Snomax™ is an industrial product applied for artificial snow production and contains Pseudomonas syringae} bacteria which have long been used as model organism for atmospheric relevant ice nucleation active (INA) bacteria. The ice nucleation activity of such bacteria is controlled by INA protein complexes in their outer membrane. In our experiments, ice fractions increased steeply in the temperature range from about -6 °C to about -10 °C and then levelled off at ice fractions smaller than one. The plateau implies that not all examined droplets contained an INA protein complex. Assuming the INA protein complexes to be Poisson distributed over the investigated droplet populations, we developed the CHESS model (stoCHastic modEl of similar and poiSSon distributed ice nuclei) which allows for the calculation of ice fractions as function of temperature and time for a given nucleation rate. Matching calculated and measured ice fractions, we determined and parameterised the nucleation rate of INA protein complexes exhibiting class III ice nucleation behaviour. Utilising the CHESS model, together with the determined nucleation rate, we compared predictions from the model to experimental data from the literature and found good agreement. We found that (a) the heterogeneous ice nucleation rate expression quantifying the ice nucleation behaviour of the INA protein complex is capable of describing the ice nucleation behaviour observed in various experiments for both, Snomax™ and P. syringae bacteria, (b) the ice nucleation rate, and its temperature dependence, seem to be very similar regardless of whether the INA protein complexes inducing ice nucleation are attached

Geoelectric Monitoring of geological CO2 storage at Ketzin, Germany (CO2SINK project): Downhole and Surface-Downhole measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kiessling, D.; Schuett, H.; Schoebel, B.; Krueger, K.; Schmidt-Hattenberger, C.; Schilling, F.

2009-04-01

images of the true resistivity distribution in the reservoir, which reflects the extent of the CO2 plume. The resistivity data provide information about the saturation state of the reservoir independently of seismic methods. Base data sets have been measured prior to the CO2 injection; monitoring data sets are registered while CO2 is being injected. Using combined 3D surface-downhole measurements (realized in cooperation with University of Leipzig) we got in addition an indication for effects of anisotropy in CO2 migration. We present an overview of the electrode installation, first examples for baseline and monitoring datasets and the corresponding tomograms that show indications of the CO2 migration.

Multiphase studies in continental and marine atmospheres

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Acker, K.; Wieprecht, W.; Möller, D.

2010-07-01

The largest uncertainty in future climate predictions is caused by aerosols and clouds and their interaction with radiation (IPCC, 2007). Aerosol particles have multiple impacts on atmospheric properties: response to climate by optical properties, providing cloud condensation nuclei, being a heterogeneous surface for multiphase chemical reactions e.g. as a source for reactive chlorine. Therefore the chlorine partitioning in marine and continental atmospheres was studied during intensive field campaigns at two European Supersites for Atmospheric Aerosol Research: Melpitz (51°32N, 12°54 E; 87 m a.s.l., near Leipzig (D), Spindler et al., 2004) and Mace Head (53°19 N, 9°54 W; ~10 m a.s.l., near Galway (IR); O`Connor et al., 2008). Hydrochloric acid (HCl), nitric acid (HNO3) and other gaseous species as well after diffusion based separation particulate matter components (e.g., Na, Cl, nitrate, sulphate and others) were determined simultaneously by a denuder-steam chamber-IC-system with a time resolution of 30 min; limit of quantification: 10 ng m-3 (air flow 10 l min-1; Acker et al., 2005). Numerous other atmospheric components (in gas and particulate phase) as well meteorological parameters were determined. Assuming Na to be only of sea-salt origin, the (mass) Na/Cl ratio found in sea water (Rsea = 0.56) is used for calculation of the degree in chlorine loss in particulate matter: Clloss=1-Rsea/Rsample. In Mace Head to a significant extent (~ 20%), sea salt already is depleted in Cl in air masses originate exclusive from the clean marine sector, mainly caused by HCl formation during heterogeneous sulphate formation. In continental influenced air masses a higher degree in Clloss (~ 46%) was found due to additional acid replacement by nitric acid. In air masses arriving Melpitz a very high loss in chlorine has been observed in the aerosol (~ 83%), not showing a significant dependency from the air mass sector and transport percentage above continent. The high

The immersion freezing behavior of mixtures of mineral dust and biological substances

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Augustin, Stefanie; Schneider, Johannes; Schmidt, Susan; Niedermeier, Dennis; Ebert, Martin; Voigtländer, Jens; Rösch, Michael; Stratmann, Frank; Wex, Heike

2014-05-01

Biological particles such as bacteria or pollen are known to be efficient ice nuclei. It is also known that ice nucleating active (INA) macromolecules, i.e. protein complexes in the case of bacteria (e.g. Wolber et al., 1986), and most likely polysaccharides in the case of pollen (Pummer et al., 2012) are responsible for the freezing. Very recently it was suggested that these INA macromolecules maintain their nucleating ability even when they are separated from their original carriers (Hartmann et al., 2013; Augustin et al., 2013). This opens the possibility of accumulation of such INA macromolecules in e.g. soils and the resulting particles could be an internal mixture of mineral dust and INA macromolecules. If such biological IN containing soil particles are then dispersed into the atmosphere due to e.g. wind erosion or agricultural processes they could induce ice nucleation at temperatures higher than -20°C. To explore this hypothesis, we performed a measurement campaign within the research unit INUIT, where we investigated the ice nucleation behavior of mineral dust particles internally mixed with INA macromolecules. Specifically, we mixed pure mineral dust (illite) with INA biological material (SNOMAX and birch pollen washing water) and quantified the immersion freezing behavior of the resulting particles utilizing the Leipzig Aerosol Cloud Interaction Simulator (LACIS). To characterize the mixing state of the produced aerosol we used single mass spectrometry as well as electron microscopy. We found that internally mixed particles which containing ice active biological material show the same ice nucleation behavior as the purely biological particles. That shows that INA macromolecules which are located on a mineral dust particle dominate the freezing process. Acknowledgement: Part of this work was done within the framework of the DFG funded Ice Nucleation research UnIT (INUIT, FOR 1525) under WE 4722/1-1. Augustin, S., Hartmann, S., Pummer, B., Grothe, H

Integrating local urban climate modelling and mobile sensor data for personal exposure assessments in the context of urban heat island effect

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ueberham, Maximilian; Hertel, Daniel; Schlink, Uwe

2017-04-01

Deeper knowledge about urban climate conditions is getting more important in the context of climate change, urban population growth, urban compaction and continued surface sealing. Especially the urban heat island effect (UHI) is one of the most significant human induced alterations of Earth's surface climate. According to this the appearance frequency of heat waves in cities will increase with deep impacts on personal thermal comfort, human health and local residential quality of citizens. UHI can be very heterogenic within a city and research needs to focus more on the neighborhood scale perspective to get further insights about the heat burden of individuals. However, up to now, few is known about local thermal environmental variances and personal exposure loads. To monitor these processes and the impact on individuals, improved monitoring approaches are crucial, complementing data recorded at conventional fixed stations. Therefore we emphasize the importance of micro-meteorological modelling and mobile measurements to shed new light on the nexus of urban human-climate interactions. Contributing to this research we jointly present the approaches of our two PhD-projects. Firstly we illustrate on the basis of an example site, how local thermal conditions in an urban district can be simulated and predicted by a micro-meteorological model. Secondly we highlight the potentials of personal exposure measurements based on an evaluation of mobile micro-sensing devices (MSDs) and analyze and explain differences between model predictions and mobile records. For the examination of local thermal conditions we calculated ENVI-met simulations within the "Bayerischer Bahnhof" quarter in Leipzig (Saxony, Germany; 51°20', 12°22'). To accomplish the maximum temperature contrasts within the diverse built-up structures we chose a hot summer day (25 Aug 2016) under autochthonous weather conditions. From these simulations we analyzed a UHI effect between the model core (urban area

ALADINA - an unmanned research aircraft for observing vertical and horizontal distributions of ultrafine particles within the atmospheric boundary layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Altstädter, B.; Platis, A.; Wehner, B.; Scholtz, A.; Lampert, A.; Wildmann, N.; Hermann, M.; Käthner, R.; Bange, J.; Baars, H.

2014-12-01

This paper presents the unmanned research aircraft Carolo P360 "ALADINA" (Application of Light-weight Aircraft for Detecting IN-situ Aerosol) for investigating the horizontal and vertical distribution of ultrafine particles in the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL). It has a wingspan of 3.6 m, a maximum take-off weight of 25 kg and is equipped with aerosol instrumentation and meteorological sensors. A first application of the system, together with the unmanned research aircraft MASC (Multi-Purpose Airborne Carrier) of the Eberhard-Karls University of Tübingen (EKUT), is described. As small payload for ALADINA, two condensation particle counters (CPC) and one optical particle counter (OPC) were miniaturized by re-arranging the vital parts and composing them in a space saving way in the front compartment of the airframe. The CPCs are improved concerning the lower detection threshold and the response time. Each system was characterized in the laboratory and calibrated with test aerosols. The CPCs are operated with two different lower detection threshold diameters of 6 and 18 nm. The amount of ultrafine particles, which is an indicator for new particle formation, is derived from the difference in number concentrations of the two CPCs. Turbulence and thermodynamic structure of the boundary layer are described by measurements of fast meteorological sensors that are mounted at the aircraft nose. A first demonstration of ALADINA and a feasibility study were conducted in Melpitz near Leipzig, Germany, at the Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) station of the Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS) on two days in October 2013. There, various ground-based instruments are installed for long-term atmospheric monitoring. The ground-based infrastructure provides valuable additional background information to embed the flights in the continuous atmospheric context and is used for validation of the airborne results. The development of the boundary layer, derived from

New particle formation in rural areas - what is behind the story?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boy, M.; Sihto, S. L.-; Lauros, J.; Bonn, B.; Guenther, A.

2009-04-01

mechanism predict nucleation rates that are strongly correlated with observed nucleation rates at background areas like boreal forest in Finland or somewhat more polluted areas east of Leipzig, Germany. In addition, many chamber experiments raise the possibility that organic vapours may form new particles by organic nucleation. Regarding the possibility that organic vapours can nucleate, as apparently observed in several chamber experiments, we estimated with MALTE that even with low SO2 concentrations, sufficient sulphuric acid is generated to explain observed particle number concentrations via the activation or kinetic nucleation mechanism alone. To investigate the possibility for nucleation of organic vapours we included in MALTE a parameterization developed by Bonn et al. (2008). Calculated nucleation rates with the organic nucleation code for data achieved during a field campaign in USA and the chamber experiments at NCAR showed high agreement with the measurements. It is currently not possible to draw a final conclusion if nucleation of organic vapours in the real atmosphere is present and if yes how important it is compared to other nucleation mechanisms.

Investigating the heterogeneous freezing behavior of supercooled droplets containing different amounts of SNOMAX

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Niedermeier, D.; Budke, C.; Koop, T.; Hartmann, S.; Augustin, S.; Stratmann, F.; Wex, H.

2013-12-01

Heterogeneous ice nucleation, a fundamental process for ice formation in the atmosphere, has been observed to occur in clouds at temperatures higher than -20 °C (Kanitz et al., 2011). However, laboratory studies showed that mineral dust particles, which are the most abundant atmospheric ice nuclei (IN), are ice active at lower temperature (Murray et al., 2012). Biological particles such as bacteria nucleate ice at higher temperatures similar to those observed in the atmosphere. But their atmospheric relevance is controversially discussed (Hartmann et al., 2013; Hoose et al., 2010). In order to achieve a better understanding, fundamental processes underlying ice nucleation on bacteria should be investigated. Within the Ice Nuclei research UnIT (INUIT), the ice nucleating ability of SNOMAX, which contains non-viable Pseudomonas syringae bacteria as well as their fragments, was quantified using different measurement devices featuring different measurement techniques. Here, results determined with the Bielefeld Ice Nucleation ARraY (BINARY, Budke et al., 2013) and the Leipzig Aerosol Cloud Interaction Simulator (LACIS, Hartmann et al., 2011) are presented exemplarily. Within these devices, droplets with different amounts of SNOMAX were exposed to supercooling temperatures until they froze (BINARY: cooling rate: 1K/min; LACIS: residence time of supercooled droplets at a certain temperature: ~0.2s). Frozen fractions were determined in a temperature range of ca. -4 to -20 °C. These fractions increase steeply and, in part, level off at values lower than 100% (i.e., they reach a plateau value indicating the number of SNOMAX IN per droplet) depending on the SNOMAX concentration. With increasing amount of SNOMAX per droplet, the frozen fraction curve is shifted to higher temperature and the plateau value increases, reaching 100% for the highest SNOMAX concentrations. It has been suggested that ice nucleation active (INA) macromolecules, i.e. protein complexes in the case of

Structural characteristics of epicentral areas in Central Europe: study case Cheb Basin (Czech Republic)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bankwitz, P.; Schneider, G.; Kämpf, H.; Bankwitz, E.

2003-03-01

The earthquake distribution pattern of Central Europe differs systematically from the neighbouring areas of NW and southern Europe regarding the fault plane kinematics. Within a belt between the French Massif Central and the northern part of the Bohemian Massif (1000 km) sinistral faulting along N-S zones dominates on the contrary to the Alps and their foreland with common bookshelf shears. One of the prominent N-S structures is the Regensburg-Leipzig-Rostock Zone (A) with several epicentral areas, where the main seismic center occurs in the northern Cheb Basin (NW Bohemia). The study demonstrates new structural results for the swarm-quake region in NW-Bohemia, especially for the Nový Kostel area in the Cheb Basin. There the N-S-trending newly found Počatky-Plesná zone (PPZ) is identical with the main earthquake line. The PPZ is connected with a mofette line between Hartušov and Bublák with evidence for CO 2 degassing from the subcrustal mantle. The morphologically more prominent Mariánské Lázně fault (MLF) intersects the PPZ obliquely under an acuate angle. In the past the MLF was supposed to be the tectonic structure connected with the epicentral area of Nový Kostel. But evidence from the relocated hypocentres along the PPZ (at 7-12 kms depth) indicate that the MLF is seismically non-active. Asymmetric drainage patterns of the Cheb Basin are caused by fault related movement along Palaeozoic basement faults which initiate a deformation of the cover (Upper Pliocene to Holocene basin filling). The PPZ forms an escarpment in Pliocene and Pleistocene soft rock and is supposingly acting as an earthquake zone since late Pleistocene time. The uppermost Pleistocene of 0.12-0.01 Ma deposited only in front of the fault scarp dates the fault activity. The crossing faults envelope crustal wedges under different local stress conditions. Their intersection line forms a zone beginning at the surface near Nový Kostel, dipping south with increasing depth, probably down

Contributions to urban heat island on the local neighborhood scale

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hertel, Daniel; Schlink, Uwe

2017-04-01

presents first results from my PhD project where I take micrometeorological simulations for a case study site ("Bayerischer Bahnhof" in Leipzig; Saxony, Germany; 51°20', 12°22') from the ENVI-met model and calculate the UHI as well as the contributing bio geophysical processes. The results are maps of the processes that directly quantify their contribution to the total UHI at each point in the area. The benefits of this approach can be seen in the small resolution (3x3 m) of the simulation area which gives further insights into local UHI variances. Also, the effects of restructuring within quarters and methods to avoid adverse health impacts on the residents can be developed in a more precisely and sophisticated way. Zhao, L., Lee, X., Smith, R.B., Oleson, K., (2014): Strong contributions of local background climate to urban heat islands. Nature 511: 216-219, doi: 10.1038/nature13462

Can we define an asymptotic value for the ice active surface site density for heterogeneous ice nucleation?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Niedermeier, Dennis; Augustin-Bauditz, Stefanie; Hartmann, Susan; Wex, Heike; Ignatius, Karoliina; Stratmann, Frank

2015-04-01

The formation of ice in atmospheric clouds has a substantial influence on the radiative properties of clouds as well as on the formation of precipitation. Therefore much effort has been made to understand and quantify the major ice formation processes in clouds. Immersion freezing has been suggested to be a dominant primary ice formation process in low and mid-level clouds (mixed-phase cloud conditions). It also has been shown that mineral dust particles are the most abundant ice nucleating particles in the atmosphere and thus may play an important role for atmospheric ice nucleation (Murray et al., 2012). Additionally, biological particles like bacteria and pollen are suggested to be potentially involved in atmospheric ice formation, at least on a regional scale (Murray et al., 2012). In recent studies for biological particles (SNOMAX and birch pollen), it has been demonstrated that freezing is induced by ice nucleating macromolecules and that an asymptotic value for the mass density of these ice nucleating macromolecules can be determined (Hartmann et al., 2013; Augustin et al., 2013, Wex et al., 2014). The question arises whether such an asymptotic value can also be determined for the ice active surface site density ns, a parameter which is commonly used to describe the ice nucleation activity of e.g., mineral dust. Such an asymptotic value for ns could be an important input parameter for atmospheric modeling applications. In the presented study, we therefore investigated the immersion freezing behavior of droplets containing size-segregated, monodisperse feldspar particles utilizing the Leipzig Aerosol Cloud Interaction Simulator (LACIS). For all particle sizes considered in the experiments, we observed a leveling off of the frozen droplet fraction reaching a plateau within the heterogeneous freezing temperature regime (T > -38°C) which was proportional to the particle surface area. Based on these findings, we could determine an asymptotic value for the ice

[History of the tuning fork. II: Evolution of the classical experiments by Weber, Rinne and Schwabach].

PubMed

Feldmann, H

1997-05-01

Since the 17th centrury it was known that sounds could be perceived via air conduction and bone conduction and that this provided a means of differentiating between hearing disorders located in the middle ear and those located in the acoustic nerve. For a long time to come, however, there was no need for such a differential diagnosis. After the invention of the tuning fork in 1711 this instrument had soon become widely used in music, but it took well over 100 years until it was introduced into physiology and otology. FROM DIRECTIONAL HEARING TO WEBER'S TEST: J. B. Venturi, a physicist in Modena, Italy, in 1802 had shown that the perception of the direction from which a sound is coming is governed by the fact that one ear is hit by the sound more intensely than the other ear. C. T. Tourtual, a physician in Münster, Germany, demonstrated in 1827 that this also holds true for sound conducted via the skull bones. He used a watch as sound source. He found that occlusion of both ear canals would increase the sensation in both ears equally, but that occlusion of only one ear would increase the sensation only in the occluded ear, thus giving the impression that the sound were coming from that side. He was interested in a comparison between vision and audition, and he concluded that with regard to recognizing the direction of a sensory signal vision was superior to audition. In the same year 1827 C. Wheatstone, a physicist in London, investigating the mode of vibration of the tympanic membrane and using a tuning fork found the same phenomena as Tourtual and some more effects. E. H. Weber, an anatomist and physiologist in Leipzig, Germany, described the very same phenomena as Tourtual and Wheatstone once more in 1834. He wanted to prove that airborne sound is perceived by the vestibulum and the semicircular canals, bone conducted sound by the cochlea. None of these investigators was thinking of a clinical use of their findings and made no such suggestion. E. Schmalz, an

[A paradigm change in German academic medicine. Merger and privatization as exemplified with the university hospitals in Marburg and Giessen].

PubMed

Maisch, Bernhard

2005-03-01

government, may be unrealistic, when the 4th biggest university hospital in Germany will be created by the merger. University hospitals recrute the patients for high end medicine beyond their region because of the specialized academic competence and advanced technical possibilities. Additional recruitment of patients for routine hospital can hardly be expected.d) A private management will have to consider primarily the "shareholder value", even when investing in infrastructure and buildings, as it can be expected for one partner. On the longterm this will not be possible without a substantial reduction of employees in both institutions. There are, however, also substantial efforts of some private hospital chains in clinical research, e. g. by Helios in Berlin and Rhön Gmbh at the Leipzig Heart Center.e) There is a yet underestimated but very substantial risk because of the taxation for the private owner when academic staff is transferred from the university to hospital care in their dual function as academic teachers and doctors. This risk also applies for the university if the transfer should come from hospital to the university. These costs would add to the financial burden, which has to be carried in addition to the DRGs.

Large Early Permian eruptive complexes in northern Saxony, Germany: Volcanic facies analysis and geochemical characterization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hübner, Marcel; Breitkreuz, Christoph; Repstock, Alexander; Heuer, Franziska

2017-04-01

In the course of formation of extensional basins during the Early Permian a widespread volcanic activity led to the deposition of volcanic and volcanosedimentary units in Saxony (Walter 2006, Hoffmann et al. 2013). Situated east of Leipzig, the North Saxonian Volcanic Complex (NSVC) hosts two large caldera complexes, the Rochlitz and Wurzen Volcanic Systems, with diameters of 90 and 52 km, respectively. Volume estimates (> 1000 km3) qualify these as supereruptions according to Mason et al. (2004). In addition to the large caldera systems, the NSVC hosts several small pyroclastic flow deposits ranging from crystal-poor (e.g. Cannewitz and vitrophyric Ebersbach ignimbrites) to crystal-rich units (Wermsdorf and Dornreichenbach ignimbrites). Additionally rhyolitic lava and subvolcanic units are present. The Chemnitz basin (Schneider et al. 2012), located to the south of the NSVC, harbours caldera-outflow facies deposits of the Rochlitz eruption (Fischer 1991), i.e. the partially vitrophyric Planitz ignimbrite. The Rochlitz and Wurzen caldera-fill ignimbrites exhibit relatively high crystal contents with maxima up to 52 and 58 vol.-%, for corresponding 66 and 68 wt.-% SiO2. This is comparable with the 'monotonous intermediates' (Hildreth 1981) in the Cenozoic western USA investigated by Huber et al. (2012). In contrast, the Planitz ignimbrite in the Chemnitz basin reveals predominantly crystal-poor pyroclastics (<10 vol.-%) with higher SiO2-contents (from 67 to 79 wt.-%). For the comparative study of the NSVC and the Planitz ignimbrite, we use detailed investigation of the volcanosedimentary facies, whole rock geochemical data (> 70 analyses), and mineral geochemistry to reconstruct the eruption history and magma genesis of this large Late Paleozoic magmatic complex in Central Europe. Volcanic textures and geochemical trends indicate magma mingling and mixing to have been important during the formation of the Wurzen caldera system. Geothermometric and -barometric

Modelling droplet collision outcomes for different substances and viscosities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sommerfeld, Martin; Kuschel, Matthias

2016-12-01

displacement could be described on a physical basis using the similarity number and structure parameter K which was obtained through flow process evaluation and optimal proportioning of momentum and energy by Naue and Bärwolff (Transportprozesse in Fluiden. Deutscher Verlag für Grundstoffindustrie GmbH, Leipzig 1992). Two correlations including the structure parameter K could be derived which describe the location of the triple point and the critical We number. All fluids considered, pure liquids and solutions, are very well fitted by these physically based correlations. The boundary model of Jiang et al. (J Fluid Mech 234:171-190, 1992) for distinguishing between coalescence and stretching separation could be adapted to go through the triple point by the two involved model parameters C a and C b, which were correlated with the relaxation velocity u_{{relax}} = {σ/μ}. Based on the predicted critical Weber number, denoting the onset of reflexive separation, the model of Ashgriz and Poo (J Fluid Mech 221:183-204, 1990) was adapted accordingly. The proper performance of the new generalised models was validated based on the present and previous measurements for a wide range of dynamic viscosities (i.e. 1-60 mPa s) and liquid properties. Although the model for the lower boundary of bouncing (Estrade et al. in J Heat Fluid Flow 20:486-491, 1999) could be adapted through the shape factor, it was found not suitable for the entire range of Weber numbers and viscosities.

Source Identification of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons by Diagnostic Ratios and Positive Matrix Factorization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dvorska, A.; Jarkovsky, J.; Lammel, G.; Klanova, J.

2009-04-01

Although polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are also of natural origin, in many regions their environmental concentrations have strongly increased due to human activities. These semivolatile organic compounds are generally formed during incomplete combustion. Other sources include volatilization from unburned petroleum or tire abrasion in road traffic. Among all pollutants PAHs pose the highest human health hazard in Europe (WHO, 2003). A multivariate statistical method, positive matrix factorization (PMF; Paatero, 1997), and diagnostic ratios of individual PAHs (e.g. Yunker et al., 2002) are used for PAH source identification in central Europe. To minimise confounding factors such as differences in volatility, water solubility, adsorption etc., diagnostic ratios should be restricted to PAHs of similar molecular mass (Readman et al., 1987). Furthermore, different reactivities are limiting. Nevertheless, the application of PAH diagnostic ratios is often inconclusive, because substance patterns (profiles) have not been reported for all sources and ranges for various sources overlap. The complete profiles are made use of by statistical methods such as factor analysis, UNMIX and PMF (Tauler et al., 2006). However, these methods can be unreliable, because of incomplete knowledge of source profiles and the analysis' sensitivity to the data distribution. A unique 12-year data set of concentrations of PAHs (16 individual substances, 2 phases, weekly) in air, measured at the regional observatory Košetice, Czech Republic, is examined, together with shorter time series from Leipzig (urban background) and Schwartenberg (subalpine mountain background), Germany. Also, retene and coronene as specific source markers measured in Košetice from 2006 on are included into the analysis. An extensive literature search on PAH emission profiles was conducted. This data set was accomplished by measurements at sites in the Zlínsko region, Czech Republic, which are strongly dominated

Book Review: Beitraege zur Astronomiegeschichte, Band 5 (Acta Historica Astronomiae Vol. 15)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duerbeck, H. W.; Dick, W. R.; Hamel, J.

2002-12-01

Bohemian (Jesuit) provinces, mainly in Vienna and Neisse (the present Nysa in Silesia, Poland), but no traces of further astronomical activity have survived, if they ever existed. The fourth article, by Hans Gaab, is a very thoroughly researched biography of Johann Philipp von Wurzelbau (1651-1725), an merchant turned astronomer from Nuremberg. Wurzelbau started his activities at Christoph Eimmart's (the director of the painters' academy in Nuremberg) private observatory, and his first published work deals with observations of the great comet of 1680. Furthermore, he observed solar eclipses, Mercury transits, and determined the geographical latitude of Nuremberg. The article also contains a detailed description of Wurzelbau's observatory and its instruments. The fifth paper, by Klaus-Dieter Herbst, deals with Gottfried Kirch's idea of founding an astronomical society - being a vehicle to publishing astronomical observations. Kirch (1639-1710) was a well-known astronomer and calendar manufacturer. Around 1700, Kirch was appointed first astronomer at the Brandenburg society of sciences, and director of the observatory that was to be established with the new Berlin Academy. Herbst shows that Kirch's religious attitude that converged on pietism was a driving force to establish a scientific society. However, the final failure of such a project is due to the emergence of the scientific journal Acta Eruditorum, issued since 1682 in Leipzig, which could serve as an outlet for the publication of astronomical data by Kirch and others, thus fulfilling an essential task of the projected academy. Kirch's occupation with the composition of calendars, which took most of his time, was another reason. The following three shorter articles deal with 19th century astronomy. Peter Brosche describes an early visual photometer employed by Johann Gottfried Koehler (1745-1801) in Dresden, Alberto Meschiari edits and comments letters by Franz Xaver von Zach (1754-1832) to the physicist Gerbi in

Siena, 1794: History's Most Consequential Meteorite Fall

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marvin, U. B.

1995-09-01

In the mythos of meteoritics, the fall of stones at L'Aigle in Normandy at 1 p. m. on April 26, 1803, is commonly regarded as the event that turned skeptics into believers and opened the way for the new science. A strong case can be made, however, that the fall of stones at Siena at 7:00 p.m. on June 16, 1794, established the authenticity of meteorite falls and set in motion the reexaminations of entrenched beliefs that led to the founding of the new science. The Siena fall was heralded by the appearance of an extraordinarily high, dark cloud emitting smoke, sparks like rockets, and bolts of unusually slow-moving red lightning. With a tremendous explosion a shower of stones, ranging in weight from a few milligrams to 3 kg, fell southeast of Siena. This was the first meteorite fall to occur in the vicinity of a sizeable European city and the first to be witnessed by so many people, including English visitors, that the fall of the stones from the sky could not be denied. It also was the first fall to be seriously investigated by scholars, at several universities in Italy, who collected eye-witness reports and specimens and formulated hypotheses of origin. Their task was greatly complicated by the timing of the fall which occurred 18 hours after Mt. Vesuvius sprang into full eruption. Some believed that the two events were entirely coincidental; others thought that the stones either were ejecta from the volcano (which lay about 320 km to the southeast of Siena) or had consolidated in the fiery masses of dust and ash expelled by the mountain. No explanations seemed entirely satisfactory, but, in an age when the very possibility of falling stones had been decisively ruled out by savants of the Enlightenment, the well-observed fall at Siena opened a new dialog on this subject. The Siena fall occurred only two months after the publication in Riga and Leipzig of Ernst F. F. Chladni's book On the Origin of Ironmasses in which he concluded from historical records that

Heterogeneous freezing of droplets with immersed surface modified mineral dust particles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hartmann, Susan

2010-05-01

In the framework of the international measurement campaign FROST II (FReezing Of duST), the heterogeneous freezing of droplets with an immersed surface modified size-segregated mineral dust particles was investigated at LACIS (Leipzig Aerosol Cloud Interaction Simulator, Stratmann et al. 2004). The following measurements were done: LACIS, CFDC (Continuous Flow thermal gradient Diffusion Chamber, Rogers (1988)) and FINCH (Fast Ice Nucleus Chamber Counter, Bundke et al (2008)) were used to analyze the immersion freezing behavior of the treated Arizona Test Dust (ATD) particles at different temperature regimes. The ability to act as IN (Ice Nucleus) in the deposition nucleation mode was quantified by the PINC (Portable Ice Nucleation Chamber) and the CFDC instrument. AMS (Aerosol Mass Spectrometers, e.g. Schneider et al. (2005)) and ATOFMS (Aerosol Time-Of-Flight Mass Spectrometer) measurements were applied to determine particle composition. The hygroscopic growth and the critical super-saturations needed for droplet activation were determined by means of an H-TDMA (Humidity-Tandem Differential Mobility Analyzer) and CCN counter (Cloud Condensation Nucleus counter, Droplet Measurement Technologies, Roberts and Nenes (2005)). The 300 nm ATD particles were chemically and physically treated by coating with sulphuric acid (H2SO4, three different coating thicknesses) and ammonium sulphate ((NH4)2SO4) or by thermal treatment with a thermodenuder operating at 250°C. The H2SO4 coating modified the particles by reacting with particle material, forming soluble sulfates and therefore changing surface properties. AMS showed free H2SO4 only for thick H2SO4 coatings. In the heated section of the thermodenuder coating materials were evaporated partly and the surface properties of the particles were additionally altered. Uncoated particles and those coated with thin coatings of H2SO4, showed almost no hygroscopic growth. Particles coated with thicker coatings of H2SO4 and of (NH4

Hygroscopic Growth and Activation of Particles containing Algea-Exudate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wex, Heike; Fuentes, Elena; Tsagkogeorgas, Georgios; Voigtländer, Jens; Clauss, Tina; Kiselev, Alexei; Green, David; Coe, Hugh; McFiggans, Gordon; Stratmann, Frank

2010-05-01

A large amount of the Earth is covered by oceans, which provide a constant source of marine aerosol particles, produced due to bubble bursting processes that depend on wind speed (O'Dowd and de Leeuw, 2007). In general, marine particles can be assumed to play an important role for the Earth atmosphere on a global scale, due to their abundance and due to their effect on clouds. E.g. marine stratus and stratocumulus clouds contribute about 30% to 40% to the Earth's albedo (Randall et al., 1984). The activation of aerosol particles to cloud droplets depends on the hygroscopic properties of the particles, which, in turn, depend on their chemical composition. For marine particles, is has been and still is discussed what the effects of organic substances being present in the particles might be. These substances originate from marine biota where they enrich at the ocean surface. To mimic marine aerosol particles, algae-exudates of different algae species were mixed with artificial sea-water. These samples were used in the laboratory to produce particles via a bubble bursting process (Fuentes et al., 2009). The hygroscopic growth and activation of the (size selected) particles was measured, using LACIS (Leipzig Aerosol Cloud Interaction Simulator, Stratmann et al., 2004) and the DMT-CCNc (Cloud Condensation Nucleus counter from Droplet Measurement Technologies, Roberts and Nenes, 2005). The hygroscopic growth was measured twice, 3 and 10 seconds after humidification, and no difference in the grown size was detected, i.e. no kinetic effect was observed for the examined time range. From LACIS and CCNc measurements, the hygroscopicity was deduced through determination of the amount of ions being effective in the particle / droplet solution (Rho(ion), Wex et al., 2007). A concentration dependent non-ideal behaviour was found for particles produced from an artificial sea-water sample that contained only inorganic salts, as can be expected (see e.g. Niedermeier et al., 2008

The End Of The Beginning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seitz, Russell

1989-01-01

When, in the course of advancing the state of the art, one slams into a material barrier to the construction of one's appointed gadget, it is customary, and at times mandatory, to drop to one's knees and pray to DARPA for deliverance. Deliverance in the form of the right stuff. Something superbly strong, something utterly transparent, something remarkably light, and with dielectric properties rivaling a perfect vacuum. Ideally, this something should also be bulletproof, better at conducting heat than a silver spoon, insoluble in boiling acid, radiation hard, non-toxic, and cheap. Well, historically, nine out of ten isn't bad for a start. Indeed, it's better than nothing. So let me begin with some history. What we today call solid state physics began not as science but as technology. Victorian low technology to be exact. The first practical solid state electronic devices, demonstrated by Ferdinand Braun* at Leipzig on November 14, 1876, were based neither on theory nor on synthesis, nor on crystal growth. For in those days these things existed not. They were instead dug up, mined as lead ore. The performance of the galena (PbS) cat's whisker diode was marginal; it was rapidly superseded by the first, worse vacuum tube . So also, early infrared optics of rock salt gave way to synthetic crystals. But those early artifacts' performance demanded a physical explanation, and after a brief hiatus, in order for Willard Gibbs to break ground by inventing thermodynamics, the modern theory of solids arose to provide it. It all stemmed from the enterprise of explaining first the optical properties and then the electronic bebavior of crystals found in rocks. Today diamond, along perhaps with Iceland spar, remains the last optical material to be technically exploited as it is found in nature. It is a barbarous relic, a throwback to high technology's dim Neolithic past. For nowadays we are used to thinking about synthetic optical materials, like zinc sulfide or selenide, as being

ALADINA - an unmanned research aircraft for observing vertical and horizontal distributions of ultrafine particles within the atmospheric boundary layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Altstädter, B.; Platis, A.; Wehner, B.; Scholtz, A.; Wildmann, N.; Hermann, M.; Käthner, R.; Baars, H.; Bange, J.; Lampert, A.

2015-04-01

This paper presents the unmanned research aircraft Carolo P360 "ALADINA" (Application of Light-weight Aircraft for Detecting IN situ Aerosol) for investigating the horizontal and vertical distribution of ultrafine particles in the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL). It has a wingspan of 3.6 m, a maximum take-off weight of 25 kg and is equipped with aerosol instrumentation and meteorological sensors. A first application of the system, together with the unmanned research aircraft MASC (Multi-Purpose Airborne Carrier) of the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen (EKUT), is described. As small payload for ALADINA, two condensation particle counters (CPC) and one optical particle counter (OPC) were miniaturised by re-arranging the vital parts and composing them in a space-saving way in the front compartment of the airframe. The CPCs are improved concerning the lower detection threshold and the response time to less than 1.3 s. Each system was characterised in the laboratory and calibrated with test aerosols. The CPCs are operated in this study with two different lower detection threshold diameters of 11 and 18 nm. The amount of ultrafine particles, which is an indicator for new particle formation, is derived from the difference in number concentrations of the two CPCs (ΔN). Turbulence and thermodynamic structure of the boundary layer are described by measurements of fast meteorological sensors that are mounted at the aircraft nose. A first demonstration of ALADINA and a feasibility study were conducted in Melpitz near Leipzig, Germany, at the Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) station of the Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS) on 2 days in October 2013. There, various ground-based instruments are installed for long-term atmospheric monitoring. The ground-based infrastructure provides valuable additional background information to embed the flights in the continuous atmospheric context and is used for validation of the airborne results. The development of the

PREFACE: XV International Conference on Electrical Bio-Impedance (ICEBI) & XIV Conference on Electrical Impedance Tomography (EIT)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pliquett, Uwe

2013-04-01

. Structures down to sub-micrometer range and complex impedance measurements tools integrated at single chips are now affordable. Moreover, the introduction of alternative signals and data processing algorithms focuses on very fast and parallel electrical characterization which in turn pushes this technique to new applications and markets. Electrical impedance tomography today yields pictures in real time with a resolution that was impossible 10 years ago. The XVth International Conference on Electrical Bio-Impedance in conjunction with the XIVth Electrical Impedance Tomography ICEBI/EIT 2013 organized by the Institute for Bioprocessing and Analytical Measurement Techniques, Heilbad Heiligenstadt, Germany, together with the EIT-group at the University of Göttingen, Germany, brings world leading scientists in these fields together. It is a platform to present the latest developments in instrumentation and signal processing but also points to new applications, especially in the field of biosensors and non-linear phenomena. Two Keynote lectures will extend the view of the participants above the mainstream of bio-impedance measurement. Friederich Kremer (University of Leipzig) delivers the plenary lecture on broad bandwidth dielectric spectroscopy. New achievements in the research of ligand gated ionic channels will be presented by Klaus Benndorf (University of Jena). Leading scientists in the field of bio-impedance measurement, such as, Sverre Grimnes, Orjan Martinsen, Andrea Robitzki, Richard Bayford, Jan Gimsa and Mart Min will give lectures for students but also more experienced scientists in a pre-conference tutorial which is a good opportunity to learn or refresh the basics. List of committees Conference Chair Dr Uwe Pliquett Professor Dieter Beckmann Institut für Bioprozess- und Analysenmesstechnik eV, Rosenhof, Heilbad Heiligenstadt, Germany Technical Program Chair Maik Hiller Conventus Congressmanagement & Marketing GmbH, Carl-Pulfrich-Str. 1 - 07745 Jena Pre

PREFACE: International Workshop '60 Years of the Casimir Effect'

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barton, Gabriel; Carugno, Giovanni; Dodonov, Victor; Man'ko, Margarita

2009-07-01

Organizers Gabriel Barton and Victor Dodonov International Advisory Committee of the Workshop Michael Bordag (Leipzig, Germany) Giovanni Carugno (Padova, Italy) Emilio Elizalde (Barcelona, Spain) Francisco Mazzitelli (Buenos Aires, Argentina) Kimball Milton (Norman, USA) Vladimir Mostepanenko (St Petersburg, Russia) Serge Reynaud (Paris, France) Conference photograph

EDITORIAL: Announcing the 2011 Measurement Science and Technology Outstanding Paper Awards Announcing the 2011 Measurement Science and Technology Outstanding Paper Awards

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Foss, John; Dewhurst, Richard; Fujii, Kenichi; Regtien, Paul; Tatam, Ralph

2012-06-01

flow. 2011 Award Winners—Fluid Mechanics Acoustic tomographic imaging of temperature and flow fields in air Manuela Barth and Armin Raabe University of Leipzig, Institute for Meteorology, Stephanstraße 3, 04103 Leipzig, Germany This paper [4] provides a valuable measurement strategy for volumetric measurements of the velocity and temperature fields in an airflow over large fields. Given that the speed of sound in the medium is influenced by humidity, the recovered temperature is termed 'acoustic virtual temperature' (Tav). The method is demonstrated for a volume of order 1 m3. It can, in principle, be scaled to a much larger domain. The inferred quantities, T(x, y, z, t) and bar v(x, y, z, t), are not intended to replace discrete point measurements (which can be obtained with substantially greater accuracy albeit with intrusive probes or added scattering particles). Rather, the time-resolved measurements will likely be very valuable for HVAC or micro-meteorological, etc measurements. The supporting theory and the respective literature base are succinctly presented. The experimental strategy, in which pairs of counter-propagating acoustic emitters/receivers criss-cross the measurement domain, is supported by the authors' form of an algebraic tomographic reconstruction technique. The demonstration experiment and representative results are clearly presented. The selection committee anticipates a positive response by those investigators whose application problem is compatible with the capabilities offered by this paper. 2011 Award Winner—Precision Measurement Diameter measurements of polystyrene particles with atomic force microscopy J Garnaes Danish Fundamental Metrology, Matematiktorvet 307, DK-2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark This paper [5] describes a geometric diameter measurement of polystyrene spheres with nominal diameters of about 100 nm using atomic force microscopy (AFM). Although electron microscopy has conventionally been used for small diameter measurements

A comparison of methods to handle skew distributed cost variables in the analysis of the resource consumption in schizophrenia treatment.

PubMed

Kilian, Reinhold; Matschinger, Herbert; Löeffler, Walter; Roick, Christiane; Angermeyer, Matthias C

2002-03-01

Transformation of the dependent cost variable is often used to solve the problems of heteroscedasticity and skewness in linear ordinary least square regression of health service cost data. However, transformation may cause difficulties in the interpretation of regression coefficients and the retransformation of predicted values. The study compares the advantages and disadvantages of different methods to estimate regression based cost functions using data on the annual costs of schizophrenia treatment. Annual costs of psychiatric service use and clinical and socio-demographic characteristics of the patients were assessed for a sample of 254 patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia (ICD-10 F 20.0) living in Leipzig. The clinical characteristics of the participants were assessed by means of the BPRS 4.0, the GAF, and the CAN for service needs. Quality of life was measured by WHOQOL-BREF. A linear OLS regression model with non-parametric standard errors, a log-transformed OLS model and a generalized linear model with a log-link and a gamma distribution were used to estimate service costs. For the estimation of robust non-parametric standard errors, the variance estimator by White and a bootstrap estimator based on 2000 replications were employed. Models were evaluated by the comparison of the R2 and the root mean squared error (RMSE). RMSE of the log-transformed OLS model was computed with three different methods of bias-correction. The 95% confidence intervals for the differences between the RMSE were computed by means of bootstrapping. A split-sample-cross-validation procedure was used to forecast the costs for the one half of the sample on the basis of a regression equation computed for the other half of the sample. All three methods showed significant positive influences of psychiatric symptoms and met psychiatric service needs on service costs. Only the log- transformed OLS model showed a significant negative impact of age, and only the GLM shows a significant

Preface: phys. stat. sol. (a) 202/12

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Neumann, Wolfgang; Stutzmann, Martin; Hildebrandt, Stefan

2005-09-01

as a Professor at the Universities of Halle and Leipzig. Generations of students have admired his excellent lectures with clear repre-sentation and rigorous scholarship.The scientific work of Johannes Heydenreich was honoured by his election to the Academy of Natural Scientists Leopoldina where he worked as a Secretary of Natural Science for many years. The Technical University of Chemnitz conferred an honory doctors degree on Prof. Heydenreich in recognition of his scientific work. The German Society for Electron Microscopy awarded him Honorary Membership.Wolfgang Neumann especially acknowledges with gratitude the time of inspiring collaboration in Halle.All his friends, colleagues, and students wish him many further years of good health. The Editors of physica status solidi join these wishes and add their gratefulness for his long-standing and continuous engagement as a member of the Advisory and Editorial Board of physica status solidi (a).

A Biography of Distinguished Scientist Gilbert Newton Lewis (by Edward S. Lewis)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harris, Reviewed By Harold H.

1999-11-01

The Edward Mellen Press: Lewiston, NY, 1998. 114 pp + index. ISBN 0-7734-8284-9. $69.95. There may not be a surname better known to students of chemistry than Lewis, from the Lewis electron-dot diagrams and the Lewis theory of acids and bases. More advanced students may know of the groundbreaking textbook Thermodynamics, by Lewis and Randall. Yet few Americans know much about this remarkable U.S.-born scholar, whose contributions equal those of the greatest scientists. He is a chemist-educator of whom we should be as proud and as well informed as we are of Linus Pauling, who was part of the westward movement of science in this country that G. N. Lewis began, or of the recently deceased Glenn Seaborg, who was one of the many students of Lewis who achieved renown. Gilbert N. Lewis was born in Weymouth, Massachusetts, in 1875, but his family moved to near Lincoln, Nebraska, in 1884. He spent two years at the University of Nebraska, but then moved to Harvard when his father became an executive at Merchants Trust Company in Boston. Young Lewis (then only 17) was also said to have been disappointed with the quality of education in Nebraska, and this may have been part of the impetus for the family's move east. After earning his baccalaureate at Harvard, he taught for a year at Phillips Andover Academy before returning to Harvard to study for his doctorate, which he completed 100 years ago, in 1899, under T. W. Richards. Lewis's doctoral work was on the thermodynamics of zinc and cadmium amalgams. At that time, physical chemistry was only beginning to achieve recognition as a branch of science, and its boundaries were ill defined. Edward Lewis quotes his father as often saying, "Physical chemistry is anything interesting." Like many chemists of his time, Lewis went to Europe to complete his preparation for a career; he was in the laboratories of Ostwald in Leipzig and Nernst in Göttingen in 1900-1901. On his return to the United States, he was an instructor at Harvard

EDITORIAL: Nanopores—the 'Holey Grail' in nanotechnology research Nanopores—the 'Holey Grail' in nanotechnology research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Demming, Anna

2012-06-01

] Chung S H, Son S J and Min J 2010 The nanostructure effect on the adhesion and growth rates of epithelial cells with well-defined nanoporous alumina s substrates Nanotechnology 21 125104 [8] Kasianowicz J J, Brandin E, Branton D and Deamer D W 1996 Characterization of individual polynucleotide molecules using a membrane channel Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. 93 13770-3 [9] Gracheva M E, Xiong A, Aksimentiev A, Schulten K, Timp G and Leburton J-P 2006 Simulation of the electric response of DNA translocation through a semiconductor nanopore-capacitor Nanotechnology 17 622-33 [10] Van Den Hout M, Hall A R, Wu M Y, Zandbergen H W, Dekker C and Dekker N H 2010 Controlling nanopore size, shape and stability Nanotechnology 21 115304 [11] Mirsaidov U, Comer J, Dimitrov V, Aksimentiev A and Timp G 2010 Slowing the translocation of double-stranded DNA using a nanopore smaller than the double helix Nanotechnology 21 395501 [12] Baron E and Bulwer L L 1864 Caxtoniana vol 2 (Leipzig: Bernard Tauchnits) p 122

Regional coupling of unsaturated and saturated flow and transport modeling - implementation at an alpine foothill aquifer in Austria

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klammler, G.; Rock, G.; Kupfersberger, H.; Fank, J.

2012-04-01

ättigten Zone eines Ackerstandortes. Schriftenreihe des Bundesamtes für Wasserwirtschaft, Bd. 7, 14-41. Klammler, G., Rock, G., Fank, J. & H. Kupfersberger, H. (2011): Generating land use information to derive diffuse water and nitrate transfer as input for groundwater modelling at the aquifer scale, Proc of MODELCARE 2011 Models - Repository of Knowledge, Leipzig. Stenitzer, E. (1988). SIMWASER - Ein numerisches Modell zur Simulation des Bodenwasserhaushaltes und des Pflanzenertrages eines Standortes. Mitteilung Nr. 31, Bundesanstalt für Kulturtechnik und Bodenwasserhaushalt, A-3252 Petzenkirchen. Van Walsum, P.E.V. and P. Groedendilk (2008). Quasi steady-state simulation of the unsaturated zone in groundwater modeling of lowland regions. Vadose Zone J. 7:769-781 doi:10.2136/vzj2007.0146.

WE-G-213-01: Roentgen and the Birth of Modern Medical Physics

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sprawls, P.

Roentgen and the Birth of Modern Medical Physics – Perry Sprawls Wilhelm Roentgen is well known for his discovery of x-radiation. What is less known and appreciated is his intensive research following the discovery to determine the characteristics of the “new kind of radiation” and demonstrate its great value for medical purposes. In this presentation we will imagine ourselves in Roentgen’s mind and follow his thinking, including questions and doubts, as he designs and conducts a series of innovative experiments that provided the foundation for the rapid growth of medical physics. Learning Objectives: Become familiar with the personal characteristics andmore » work of Prof. Roentgen that establishes him as an inspiring model for the medical physics profession. Observe the thought process and experiments that determined and demonstrated the comprehensive characteristics of x-radiation. The AAPM Award Eponyms: William D. Coolidge, Edith H. Quimby, and Marvin M.D. Williams - Who were they and what did they do? – Lawrence N. Rothenberg William David Coolidge (1873–1975) William Coolidge was born in Hudson, NY in 1873. He obtained his BS at the Massacusetts Institute of Technology in 1896. Coolidge then went to the University of Leipzig, Germany for graduate study with physicists Paul Drude and Gustave Wiedemann and received a Ph.D. in 1899. While in Germany he met Wilhelm Roentgen. Coolidge returned to the US to teach at MIT where he was associated with Arthur A. Noyes of the Chemistry Department, working on the electrical conductivity of aqueous solutions. Willis R. Whitney, under whom Coolidge had worked before going to Germany, became head of the newly formed General Electric Research Laboratory and he invited Coolidge to work with him. In 1905, Coolidge joined the staff of the GE laboratory and was associated with it for the remainder of his life. He developed ductile tungsten filaments to replace fragile carbon filaments as the material for electric

WE-G-213-02: The AAPM Award Eponyms: William D. Coolidge, Edith H. Quimby, and Marvin M.D. Williams - Who Were They and What Did They Do?

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rothenberg, L.

Roentgen and the Birth of Modern Medical Physics – Perry Sprawls Wilhelm Roentgen is well known for his discovery of x-radiation. What is less known and appreciated is his intensive research following the discovery to determine the characteristics of the “new kind of radiation” and demonstrate its great value for medical purposes. In this presentation we will imagine ourselves in Roentgen’s mind and follow his thinking, including questions and doubts, as he designs and conducts a series of innovative experiments that provided the foundation for the rapid growth of medical physics. Learning Objectives: Become familiar with the personal characteristics andmore » work of Prof. Roentgen that establishes him as an inspiring model for the medical physics profession. Observe the thought process and experiments that determined and demonstrated the comprehensive characteristics of x-radiation. The AAPM Award Eponyms: William D. Coolidge, Edith H. Quimby, and Marvin M.D. Williams - Who were they and what did they do? – Lawrence N. Rothenberg William David Coolidge (1873–1975) William Coolidge was born in Hudson, NY in 1873. He obtained his BS at the Massacusetts Institute of Technology in 1896. Coolidge then went to the University of Leipzig, Germany for graduate study with physicists Paul Drude and Gustave Wiedemann and received a Ph.D. in 1899. While in Germany he met Wilhelm Roentgen. Coolidge returned to the US to teach at MIT where he was associated with Arthur A. Noyes of the Chemistry Department, working on the electrical conductivity of aqueous solutions. Willis R. Whitney, under whom Coolidge had worked before going to Germany, became head of the newly formed General Electric Research Laboratory and he invited Coolidge to work with him. In 1905, Coolidge joined the staff of the GE laboratory and was associated with it for the remainder of his life. He developed ductile tungsten filaments to replace fragile carbon filaments as the material for electric

WE-G-213-00: History Symposium: Radiological Physics Pioneers: Roentgen and the AAPM Award Eponyms - William Coolidge, Edith Quimby, and Marvin Williams - Who Were They and What Did They Do?

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

Roentgen and the Birth of Modern Medical Physics – Perry Sprawls Wilhelm Roentgen is well known for his discovery of x-radiation. What is less known and appreciated is his intensive research following the discovery to determine the characteristics of the “new kind of radiation” and demonstrate its great value for medical purposes. In this presentation we will imagine ourselves in Roentgen’s mind and follow his thinking, including questions and doubts, as he designs and conducts a series of innovative experiments that provided the foundation for the rapid growth of medical physics. Learning Objectives: Become familiar with the personal characteristics andmore » work of Prof. Roentgen that establishes him as an inspiring model for the medical physics profession. Observe the thought process and experiments that determined and demonstrated the comprehensive characteristics of x-radiation. The AAPM Award Eponyms: William D. Coolidge, Edith H. Quimby, and Marvin M.D. Williams - Who were they and what did they do? – Lawrence N. Rothenberg William David Coolidge (1873–1975) William Coolidge was born in Hudson, NY in 1873. He obtained his BS at the Massacusetts Institute of Technology in 1896. Coolidge then went to the University of Leipzig, Germany for graduate study with physicists Paul Drude and Gustave Wiedemann and received a Ph.D. in 1899. While in Germany he met Wilhelm Roentgen. Coolidge returned to the US to teach at MIT where he was associated with Arthur A. Noyes of the Chemistry Department, working on the electrical conductivity of aqueous solutions. Willis R. Whitney, under whom Coolidge had worked before going to Germany, became head of the newly formed General Electric Research Laboratory and he invited Coolidge to work with him. In 1905, Coolidge joined the staff of the GE laboratory and was associated with it for the remainder of his life. He developed ductile tungsten filaments to replace fragile carbon filaments as the material for electric

PREFACE: Fourth Meeting on Constrained Dynamics and Quantum Gravity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cadoni, Mariano; Cavaglia, Marco; Nelson, Jeanette E.

2006-04-01

Cagliari, Italy) Roberto De Pietri (Università di Parma, Italy) Giuseppe De Risi (Università di Bari, Italy) Hans-Thomas Elze (Univ. Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil) Alessandro Fabbri (Università di Bologna, Italy) Sergey Fadeev (VNIIMS, Moscow, Russia) Serena Fagnocchi (Università di Bologna, Italy) Sara Farese (Universidad de Valencia, Spain) Alessandra Feo (Università di Parma, Italy) Dario Francia (Università di Roma Tor Vergata, Italy) Francesco Fucito (Università di Roma Tor Vergata, Italy) Dmitri Fursaev (JINR, Dubna, Russia) Daniel Galehouse (University of Akron, Ohio, USA) Remo Garattini (Università di Bergamo, Italy) Florian Girelli (Perimeter Institute, Waterloo, Canada) Luca Griguolo (Università di Parma, Italy) Daniel Grumiller (Universität Leipzig, Germany) Shinichi Horata (Hayama Center of Advanced Research, Japan) Giorgio Immirzi (Università di Perugia, Italy) Roman Jackiw (MIT, Cambridge, USA) Matyas Karadi (DAMTP, University of Cambridge, UK) Mikhail Katanaev (Steklov Mathematical Institute, Moscow, Russia) Claus Kiefer (Universität Koln, Germany) John Klauder (University of Florida, Gainesville, USA) Pavel Klepac (Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic) Jen-Chi Lee (National Chiao-Tung University, Taiwan) Carlos Leiva (Universidad de Tarapacá, Arica, Chile) Stefano Liberati (SISSA/ISAS, Trieste, Italy) Jorma Louko (University of Nottingham, UK) Luca Lusanna (INFN, Sezione di Firenze, Italy) Roy Maartens (University of Portsmouth, UK) Fotini Markopoulou (Perimeter Institute, Waterloo, Canada) Annalisa Marzuoli (Università di Pavia, Italy) Evangelos Melas (QMW, University of London, UK) Maurizio Melis (Università di Cagliary, Italy) Vitaly Melnikov (VNIIMS, Moscow, Russia) Guillermo A. Mena Marugan (CSIC, Madrid, Spain) Pietro Menotti (Università di Pisa, Italy) Salvatore Mignemi (Università di Cagliari, Italy) Aleksandar Mikovic (Universidade Lusófona, Lisboa, Portugal) Leonardo Modesto (Université de la Mediterranée, Marseille

Fractional and fractal dynamics approach to anomalous diffusion in porous media: application to landslide behavior

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martelloni, Gianluca; Bagnoli, Franco

2016-04-01

, Processus stochastiques et mouvement Brownien, Gauthier-Villars, Paris, 1965. [6] R. Becker, Theorie der Warme, Heidelberger Taschenbucher, Vol. 10, Springer, Berlin, 1966; Theory of Heat, Springer, Berlin, 1967. [7] S.R. de Groot, P. Mazur, Non-equilibrium Thermodynamics, North-Holland, Amsterdam, 1969. [8] J.L. Doob, Stochastic Processes, Wiley, New York, 1953. [9] J. Crank, The Mathematics of Diffusion, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1970. [10] D.R. Cox, H.D. Miller, The Theory of Stochastic Processes, Methuen, London, 1965. [11] R. Aris, The Mathematical Theory of Diffusion and Reaction in Permeable Catalysis, Vols. I and II, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1975. [12] L.D. Landau, E.M. Lifschitz, Statistische Physik, Akademie, Leipzig, 1989; Statistical Physics, Pergamon, Oxford, 1980. [13] N.G. van Kampen, Stochastic Processes in Physics and Chemistry, North-Holland, Amsterdam, 1981. [14] H. Risken, The Fokker-Planck Equation, Springer, Berlin, 1989. [15] W.T. Coffey, Yu.P. Kalmykov, J.T. Waldron, The Langevin Equation, World Scientific, Singapore, 1996. [16] B.D. Hughes, Random Walks and Random Environments, Vol. 1: Random Walks, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1995. [17] G.H. Weiss, R.J. Rubin, Adv. Chem. Phys. 52 (1983) 363. [18] A. Blumen, J. Klafter, G. Zumofen, in: I. Zschokke (Ed.), Optical Spectroscopy of Glasses, Reidel, Dordrecht, 1986. [19] G.M. Zaslavsky, S. Benkadda, Chaos, Kinetics and Nonlinear Dynamics in Fluids and Plasmas, Springer, Berlin, 1998. [20] R. Metzler, J. Klafter, The random walk's guide to anomalous diffusion: a fractional dynamics approach, Physics Reports 339 (2000) 1-77. [21] P. Levy, Calcul des Probabilites, Gauthier-Villars, Paris, 1925. [22] P. Levy, Theorie de l'addition des variables Aleatoires, Gauthier-Villars, Paris, 1954. [23] B.V. Gnedenko, A.N. Kolmogorov, Limit Distributions for Sums of Random Variables, Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA, 1954. [24] L.F. Richardson, Atmospheric diffusion shown on a distance-neighbour graph, Proc. R. Soc