[Physical and psychological status of 60-70-year-old citizens of Bern with neurotic symptoms in childhood--a study over more than 50 years (Emmental cohort)]

The present study was undertaken to assess the influence of childhood variables (physical and emotional) to later well-being in a group of rural Swiss (Emmental Cohort). Our study is the first prospective cohort over a time period of more than 50 years. It includes 1537 children who were listed and assessed in 1942 (T1) because they had difficulties in school or were otherwise behaviorally disturbed. In 1995 (T2) more than 60% of the initial population could be reassessed by our study group. We found more subjects at T2 who had been rated as intelligent at T1. More subjects responding to T2 belonged to a higher social class, were more anxious, and had more psychosocial problems at T1. Social income at T2 is correlated to the social class at T1. More subjects have died since who were rated at T1 as being less intelligent, less neurotical, and having higher psychosocial problems. Twice as many men died than women. The emotional situation at T2 is significantly correlated to psychological well-being at T1. The somatic complaints at T2 correlate significantly to neurotic symptoms in childhood (T1). The more intelligent the children were rated at T1, the less emotional and somatic complaints were voiced at T2 and the better the psychic well-being was rated (T2). In addition, the former social milieu (T1) significantly determined somatic and psychological complaints at T2. Our data discern a significant correlation between actual status and former childhood variables more than 50 years later in a rural Swiss cohort (Emmental Cohort).

Current status of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor therapy in Europe

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is an important modulator of angiogenesis, and has been implicated in the pathology of a number of conditions, including age-related macular degeneration (AMD), diabetic retinopathy, and cancer. AMD is a progressive disease of the macula and the third major cause of blindness worldwide. If not treated appropriately, AMD can progress rapidly, causing legal blindness within months of the second eye becoming affected. Until recently, the treatment options for AMD have been limited, with photodynamic therapy (PDT) the mainstay treatment. Although PDT is effective at slowing disease progression, it rarely results in improved vision. Pegaptanib and ranibizumab are both anti-VEGF therapies licensed for the treatment of neovascular AMD in Europe; however, these drugs are not yet available in Japan. This article reviews the available clinical data on anti-VEGF therapies for the treatment of neovascular AMD in Europe, and considers the future of this exciting therapy.

Genotypic status of the TbAT1/P2 adenosine transporter of Trypanosoma brucei gambiense isolates from Northwestern Uganda following melarsoprol withdrawal

BACKGROUND: The development of arsenical and diamidine resistance in Trypanosoma brucei is associated with loss of drug uptake by the P2 purine transporter as a result of alterations in the corresponding T. brucei adenosine transporter 1 gene (TbAT1). Previously, specific TbAT1 mutant type alleles linked to melarsoprol treatment failure were significantly more prevalent in T. b. gambiense from relapse patients at Omugo health centre in Arua district. Relapse rates of up to 30% prompted a shift from melarsoprol to eflornithine (alpha-difluoromethylornithine, DFMO) as first-line treatment at this centre. The aim of this study was to determine the status of TbAT1 in recent isolates collected from T. b. gambiense sleeping sickness patients from Arua and Moyo districts in Northwestern Uganda after this shift in first-line drug choice. METHODOLOGY AND RESULTS: Blood and cerebrospinal fluids of consenting patients were collected for DNA preparation and subsequent amplification. All of the 105 isolates from Omugo that we successfully analysed by PCR-RFLP possessed the TbAT1 wild type allele. In addition, PCR/RFLP analysis was performed for 74 samples from Moyo, where melarsoprol is still the first line drug; 61 samples displayed the wild genotype while six were mutant and seven had a mixed pattern of both mutant and wild-type TbAT1. The melarsoprol treatment failure rate at Moyo over the same period was nine out of 101 stage II cases that were followed up at least once. Five of the relapse cases harboured mutant TbAT1, one had the wild type, while no amplification was achieved from the remaining three samples. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The apparent disappearance of mutant alleles at Omugo may correlate with melarsoprol withdrawal as first-line treatment. Our results suggest that melarsoprol could successfully be reintroduced following a time lag subsequent to its replacement. A field-applicable test to predict melarsoprol treatment outcome and identify patients for whom the drug can still be beneficial is clearly required. This will facilitate cost-effective management of HAT in rural resource-poor settings, given that eflornithine has a much higher logistical requirement for its application.

What is the Relation between Human Practical Action and an Accompanying Discourse? Discussing the Status of Practical Theory

The article discusses the function of an accompanying discourse in relation to the genesis of human practical action. On the one side, theory cannot be taken as the ground for practical action; practical action is not a realisation of intentions. On the other hand, human practical action is accompanied by series of explanations, justifications, declarations of intent, pre‑ and post-rationalisations, motivations etc. These accompanying discourses seem in one way or the other to be necessary for the actual realisation of human practical action. Following Pierre Bourdieu, it is suggested that an accompanying discourse cannot in a meaningful manner be separated from the human practical action, that practical theory should be regarded not as theory but as part of practice, and that practical theory first of all provides a common language for talking about practice and hence for reproducing a fundamentally arbitrary idea of the genesis of human practical action. Parallels are drawn to the education/formal training of semi-professionals.

High plant species richness indicates management-related disturbances rather than the conservation status of forests

There is a wealth of smaller-scale studies on the effects of forest management on plant diversity. However, studies comparing plant species diversity in forests with different management types and intensity, extending over different regions and forest stages, and including detailed information on site conditions are missing. We studied vascular plants on 1500 20 m × 20 m forest plots in three regions of Germany (Schwäbische Alb, Hainich-Dün, Schorfheide-Chorin). In all regions, our study plots comprised different management types (unmanaged, selection cutting, deciduous and coniferous age-class forests, which resulted from clear cutting or shelterwood logging), various stand ages, site conditions, and levels of management-related disturbances. We analyzed how overall richness and richness of different plant functional groups (trees, shrubs, herbs, herbaceous species typically growing in forests and herbaceous light-demanding species) responded to the different management types. On average, plant species richness was 13% higher in age-class than in unmanaged forests, and did not differ between deciduous age-class and selection forests. In age-class forests of the Schwäbische Alb and Hainich-Dün, coniferous stands had higher species richness than deciduous stands. Among age-class forests, older stands with large quantities of standing biomass were slightly poorer in shrub and light-demanding herb species than younger stands. Among deciduous forests, the richness of herbaceous forest species was generally lower in unmanaged than in managed forests, and it was even 20% lower in unmanaged than in selection forests in Hainich-Dün. Overall, these findings show that disturbances by management generally increase plant species richness. This suggests that total plant species richness is not suited as an indicator for the conservation status of forests, but rather indicates disturbances.