Internetbasierte psychologische Behandlungen bei Depressionen und Angststörungen

Internetbasierte psychologische Behandlung gewinnt zunehmend an Bedeutung und wird intensiv beforscht. Vorteile dieser Form der Behandlung sind die leichte Verfüg- und Vervielfältigbarkeit. Grenzen werden beispielsweise in Krisensituationen der Patienten erreicht. Internetbasierte psychologische Interventionen werden eingeteilt nach der Intensität des therapeutischen Kontaktes, dem zugrunde liegenden Therapieansatz und der medialen Gestaltung der Intervention. Es liegen zahlreiche Studien und Metaanalysen zur Wirksamkeit internetbasierter psychologischer Behandlungen bei Angststörungen und Depression vor. Allerdings wurden die meisten Studien bei selbstselegierten Patientenstichproben außerhalb der Routineversorgung durchgeführt. Bei diesen Patienten haben sich insbesondere internetbasierte Interventionen, die einen therapeutischen Kontakt beinhalten (z. B. therapeutengeleitete Selbsthilfeprogramme), in vielen Studien als wirksam erwiesen. In Zukunft sollte vermehrt der Einsatz internetbasierter Interventionen in der Routineversorgung erforscht werden.

The New Concept of Universal Service in a Digital Networked Communications Environment

Digitization, sophisticated fiber-optic networks and the resultant convergence of the media, communications and information technology industries have completely transformed the communications ecosystem in the last couple of decades. New contingent business and social models were created that have been mirrored in the amended communications regimes. Yet, despite an overhaul of the communications regulation paradigm, the status of and the rules on universal service have remained surprisingly intact, both during and after the liberalization exercise. The present paper looks into this paradox and examines the sustainability of the existing concept of universal service. It suggests that there is a need for a novel concept of universal service in the digital networked communications environment, whose objectives go beyond the conventional internalizing and redistributional rationales and concentrate on communication and information networks as a public good, where not only access to infrastructure but also access to content may be essential.

Polycyclic aromatic compounds (PAHs and oxygenated PAHs) and trace metals in fish species from Ghana (West Africa): Bioaccumulation and health risk assessment

We report the concentrations of 28 PAHs, 15 oxygenated PAHs (OPAHs) and 11 trace metals/metalloids (As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, Se, and Zn) in muscle and gut + gill tissues of demersal fishes (Drapane africana, Cynoglossus senegalensis and Pomadasys peroteti) from three locations along the coast of the Gulf of Guinea (Ghana). The concentrations of ∑ 28PAHs in muscle tissues averaged 192 ng g− 1 dw (range: 71–481 ng g− 1 dw) and were not statistically different between locations. The concentrations of ∑ 28 PAHs were higher in guts + gills than in muscles. The PAH composition pattern was dominated by low molecular weight compounds (naphthalene, alkyl-naphthalenes and phenanthrene). All fish tissues had benzo[a]pyrene concentrations lower than the EU limit for food safety. Excess cancer risk from consumption of some fish was higher than the guideline value of 1 × 10− 6. The concentrations of ∑ 15 OPAHs in fish muscles averaged 422 ng g− 1 dw (range: 28–1715 ng g− 1dw). The ∑ 15 OPAHs/∑ 16 US-EPA PAHs concentration ratio was > 1 in 68% of the fish muscles and 100% of guts + gills. The log-transformed concentrations of PAHs and OPAHs in muscles, guts + gills were significantly (p < 0.05) correlated with their octanol–water partitioning coefficients, strongly suggesting that equilibrium partitioning from water/sediment into fish tissue was the main mechanism of bioaccumulation. The trace metal concentrations in the fish tissues were in the medium range when compared to fish from other parts of the world. The concentrations of some trace metals (Cd, Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn) were higher in guts + gills than in muscle tissues. The target hazard quotients for metals were < 1 and did not indicate a danger to the local population. We conclude that the health risk arising from the consumption of the studied fish (due to their PAHs and trace metals content) is minimal.

Trypanosomal TAC40 constitutes a novel subclass of mitochondrial -barrel proteins specialized in mitochondrial genome inheritance

Mitochondria cannot form de novo but require mechanisms allowing their inheritance to daughter cells. In contrast to most other eukaryotes Trypanosoma brucei has a single mitochondrion whose single-unit genome is physically connected to the flagellum. Here we identify a β-barrel mitochondrial outer membrane protein, termed tripartite attachment complex 40 (TAC40), that localizes to this connection. TAC40 is essential for mitochondrial DNA inheritance and belongs to the mitochondrial porin protein family. However, it is not specifically related to any of the three subclasses of mitochondrial porins represented by the metabolite transporter voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC), the protein translocator of the outer membrane 40 (TOM40), or the fungi-specific MDM10, a component of the endoplasmic reticulum–mitochondria encounter structure (ERMES). MDM10 and TAC40 mediate cellular architecture and participate in transmembrane complexes that are essential for mitochondrial DNA inheritance. In yeast MDM10, in the context of the ERMES, is postulated to connect the mitochondrial genomes to actin filaments, whereas in trypanosomes TAC40 mediates the linkage of the mitochondrial DNA to the basal body of the flagellum. However, TAC40 does not colocalize with trypanosomal orthologs of ERMES components and, unlike MDM10, it regulates neither mitochondrial morphology nor the assembly of the protein translocase. TAC40 therefore defines a novel subclass of mitochondrial porins that is distinct from VDAC, TOM40, and MDM10. However, whereas the architecture of the TAC40-containing complex in trypanosomes and the MDM10-containing ERMES in yeast is very different, both are organized around a β-barrel protein of the mitochondrial porin family that mediates a DNA–cytoskeleton linkage that is essential for mitochondrial DNA inheritance.

Multiple inert gas elimination technique by micropore membrane inlet mass spectrometry--a comparison with reference gas chromatography.

The mismatching of alveolar ventilation and perfusion (VA/Q) is the major determinant of impaired gas exchange. The gold standard for measuring VA/Q distributions is based on measurements of the elimination and retention of infused inert gases. Conventional multiple inert gas elimination technique (MIGET) uses gas chromatography (GC) to measure the inert gas partial pressures, which requires tonometry of blood samples with a gas that can then be injected into the chromatograph. The method is laborious and requires meticulous care. A new technique based on micropore membrane inlet mass spectrometry (MMIMS) facilitates the handling of blood and gas samples and provides nearly real-time analysis. In this study we compared MIGET by GC and MMIMS in 10 piglets: 1) 3 with healthy lungs; 2) 4 with oleic acid injury; and 3) 3 with isolated left lower lobe ventilation. The different protocols ensured a large range of normal and abnormal VA/Q distributions. Eight inert gases (SF6, krypton, ethane, cyclopropane, desflurane, enflurane, diethyl ether, and acetone) were infused; six of these gases were measured with MMIMS, and six were measured with GC. We found close agreement of retention and excretion of the gases and the constructed VA/Q distributions between GC and MMIMS, and predicted PaO2 from both methods compared well with measured PaO2. VA/Q by GC produced more widely dispersed modes than MMIMS, explained in part by differences in the algorithms used to calculate VA/Q distributions. In conclusion, MMIMS enables faster measurement of VA/Q, is less demanding than GC, and produces comparable results.

Novel genetic markers associate with atrial fibrillation risk in Europeans and Japanese

OBJECTIVES This study sought to identify nonredundant atrial fibrillation (AF) genetic susceptibility signals and examine their cumulative relations with AF risk. BACKGROUND AF-associated loci span broad genomic regions that may contain multiple susceptibility signals. Whether multiple signals exist at AF loci has not been systematically explored. METHODS We performed association testing conditioned on the most significant, independently associated genetic markers at 9 established AF loci using 2 complementary techniques in 64,683 individuals of European ancestry (3,869 incident and 3,302 prevalent AF cases). Genetic risk scores were created and tested for association with AF in Europeans and an independent sample of 11,309 individuals of Japanese ancestry (7,916 prevalent AF cases). RESULTS We observed at least 4 distinct AF susceptibility signals on chromosome 4q25 upstream of PITX2, but not at the remaining 8 AF loci. A multilocus score comprised 12 genetic markers demonstrated an estimated 5-fold gradient in AF risk. We observed a similar spectrum of risk associated with these markers in Japanese. Regions containing AF signals on chromosome 4q25 displayed a greater degree of evolutionary conservation than the remainder of the locus, suggesting that they may tag regulatory elements. CONCLUSIONS The chromosome 4q25 AF locus is architecturally complex and harbors at least 4 AF susceptibility signals in individuals of European ancestry. Similar polygenic AF susceptibility exists between Europeans and Japanese. Future work is necessary to identify causal variants, determine mechanisms by which associated loci predispose to AF, and explore whether AF susceptibility signals classify individuals at risk for AF and related morbidity.

Die Völkerwanderung und ihre Folgen für die Juden Europas, insbesondere Deutschlands

Moritz Rosenstock

Das mosaisch-talmudische Eherecht : mit bes. Rücks. auf d. bürgerlichen Gesetze

von M. Duschak