Feudalism as centre of a Marxist based historiography was rather a concept of the Middle Ages in the perspective of the GDR than a historiography of the Middle Ages based on research analysis. How ...this effected the concrete historian and his work will be analysed to expand the state of research on the historiography of the GDR. The GDR attempted to obtain legitimacy and identity by creating genuine socialist traditions. Feudalism was unable to serve as a founding myth of the GDR which collapsed in 1989. New approaches reflect feudalism not only from a historiographical point of view, but as part of medieval studies which can be studied as a science about the Middle Ages.
Currently, there is no adequate technique for intraoperative monitoring of cerebral blood flow (CBF). To evaluate laser speckle imaging (LSI) for assessment of relative CBF, LSI was performed in 30 ...patients who underwent direct surgical revascularization for treatment of arteriosclerotic cerebrovascular disease (ACVD), Moyamoya disease (MMD), or giant aneurysms, and in 8 control patients who underwent intracranial surgery for reasons other than hemodynamic compromise. The applicability and sensitivity of LSI was investigated through baseline perfusion and CO2 reactivity testing. The dynamics of LSI were assessed during bypass test occlusion and flow initiation procedures. Laser speckle imaging permitted robust (pseudo-) quantitative assessment of relative microcirculatory flow and standard bypass grafting resulted in significantly higher postoperative baseline perfusion values in ACVD and MMD. The applicability and sensitivity of LSI was shown by a significantly reduced CO2 reactivity in ACVD (9.6 ± 9%) and MMD (8.5 ± 8%) compared with control (31.2 ± 5%; P < 0.0001). In high- and intermediate-flow bypass patients, LSI was characterized by a dynamic real-time response to acute perfusion changes and ultimately confirmed a sufficient flow substitution through the bypass graft. Thus, LSI can be used for sensitive and continuous, non-invasive real-time visualization and measurement of relative cortical CBF in excellent spatial-temporal resolution.
Experimentation is integral to literature and art as well as to the natural sciences. The search for new artistic means of expression, the formation of a new canon and the use of new artistic ...materials are all based on findings obtained through experimentation. Experimentation was a key category for the modernists in particular. The difference of modern art with previous periods lies especially with its having given a new programmatic significance to experimental procedures in both the natural sciences and art. Modern artists are characterised by a stylistic pluralism as an expression of a constantly changing society, accompanied by a new understanding of art. In particular, art after 1945 gave rise to a new concept of art hardly anticipated in the traditional genres of painting and sculpture, for example. Thus “experimentation” nowadays refers to controlled, purposive action aiming at some specific goal: the invention of something new or the production of new knowledge.This quest for the new characterises modern art and in particular contemporary art in a variety of ways. While controlled artistic practices may at first glance seem to conflict with the artist’s claim to freedom, artists do indeed seek new practices that are repeatable and therefore controllable. Not everything that is contemporary is experimental. “Experimental” does not just refer to something new — experimental art rather comes from certain experimental methods. In his work Musée d’Art Moderne, Département des Aigles (1968-72) the Belgian artist and poet Marcel Broodthaers investigates a particular form of experimental art. Broodthaers’ fictional museum project provides a good basis for a study of the concept, as the artist has himself repeatedly referred to the experimental quality of his art. Indeed, our starting assumption in this essay is that this work by Broodthaers illustrates in a paradigmatic way central elements of experimentation in contemporary art of the 1960s and 70s. For example, on 16 May 1972 Broodthaers opened a section of a museum entitled The Eagle from the Oligocene to the Present in the Städtischer Kunsthalle in Düsseldorf, signing it with the following words: “Marcel Broodthaers shows an experimental exhibition of his Musée d’Art Moderne, Département des Aigles, Section des Figures”. The first part of this essay examines the experiment in which a museum with altogether twelve sections is declared to be a work of art. The second part then explicates the experiment in which an exhibition is declared to be a work of art. Finally, the third part examines the role of the viewer within Broodthaers’ artistic experiment.
Reticulate Evolution of the Rye Genome Martis, Mihaela M.; Zhou, Ruonan; Haseneyer, Grit ...
The Plant cell,
10/2013, Letnik:
25, Številka:
10
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Rye (Secale cereale) is closely related to wheat (Triticum aestivum) and barley (Hordeum vulgare). Due to its large genome (∼8 Gb) and its regional importance, genome analysis of rye has lagged ...behind other cereals. Here, we established a virtual linear gene order model (genome zipper) comprising 22,426 or 72% of the detected set of 31,008 rye genes. This was achieved by high-throughput transcript mapping, chromosome survey sequencing, and integration of conserved synteny information of three sequenced model grass genomes (Brachypodium distachyon, rice Oryza sativa, and sorghum Sorghum bicolor). This enabled a genome-wide high-density comparative analysis of rye/barley/model grass genome synteny. Seventeen conserved syntenic linkage blocks making up the rye and barley genomes were defined in comparison to model grass genomes. Six major translocations shaped the modern rye genome in comparison to a putative Triticeae ancestral genome. Strikingly dissimilar conserved syntenic gene content, gene sequence diversity signatures, and phylogenetic networks were found for individual rye syntenic blocks. This indicates that introgressive hybridizations (diploid or polyploidy hybrid speciation) and/or a series of whole-genome or chromosome duplications played a role in rye speciation and genome evolution.
Wisdom is a field of growing interest both inside and outside academic psychology, and researchers are increasingly interested in using measures of wisdom in their work. However, wisdom is a highly ...complex construct, and its various operationalizations are based on quite different definitions. Which measure a researcher chooses for a particular research project may have a strong influence on the results. This study compares four well-established measures of wisdom-the Self-Assessed Wisdom Scale (Webster, 2003, 2007), the Three-Dimensional Wisdom Scale (Ardelt, 2003), the Adult Self-Transcendence Inventory (Levenson et al., 2005), and the Berlin Wisdom Paradigm (Baltes and Smith, 1990; Baltes and Staudinger, 2000)-with respect to content, reliability, factorial structure, and construct validity (relationships to wisdom nomination, interview-based wisdom ratings, and correlates of wisdom). The sample consisted of 47 wisdom nominees and 123 control participants. While none of the measures performed "better" than the others by absolute standards, recommendations are given for researchers to select the most suitable measure for their substantive interests. In addition, a "Brief Wisdom Screening Scale" is introduced that contains those 20 items from the three self-report scales that were most highly correlated with the common factor across the scales.
Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) is a debilitating chronic disease of significant public health and clinical importance. It affects multiple systems in the body and has ...neuro-immunological characteristics. The disease is characterized by a prominent symptom called post-exertional malaise (PEM), as well as abnormalities in the immune-inflammatory pathways, mitochondrial dysfunctions and disturbances in neuroendocrine pathways. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of ME/CFS on the mental health and secondary psychosocial manifestations of patients, as well as their coping mechanisms.
In 2021, a descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in Switzerland. A self-administered paper questionnaire survey was used to gather data from 169 individuals diagnosed with ME/CFS.
The majority of the patients (90.5%) reported a lack of understanding of their disease, resulting in patients avoiding talking about the disease due to disbelief, trivialization and avoidance of negative reactions. They felt most supported by close family members (67.1%). Two thirds of the patients (68.5%) experienced stigmatization. ME/CFS had a negative impact on mental health in most patients (88.2%), leading to sadness (71%), hopelessness for relief (66.9%), suicidal thoughts (39.3%) and secondary depression (14.8%). Half of the male patients experienced at least one suicidal thought since clinical onset. Factors significantly associated with depression were the lack of cure, disabilities associated with ME/CFS, social isolation and the fact that life was not worth anymore with ME/CFS. The three main factors contributing to suicidal thoughts were (i) being told the disease was only psychosomatic (89.5%), (ii) being at the end of one's strength (80.7%) and (iii) not feeling being understood by others (80.7%).
This study provided first time significant insights into the mental and psychological well-being of ME/CFS patients in Switzerland. The findings highlight the substantial experiences of stigmatization, secondary depression and suicidal thoughts compared to other chronic diseases, calling for an urgent need in Switzerland to improve ME/CFS patient's medical, psychological and social support, in order to alleviate the severe mental health burden associated with this overlooked somatic disease.
•First time study on mental health and well-being among M/CFS patients in Switzerland.•High level (68.5%) of stigmatization reported due to ME/CFS.•Overall, ME/CFS led to a third of the patients and to half of the male patients to have suicidal thoughts.•ME/CFS led to secondary depression in 14.8% of the patients.•Lack of disease recognition and adequate patient support.
In mammalian cell culture technology glutamine is required for biomass synthesis and as a major energy source together with glucose. Different pathways for glutamine metabolism are possible, ...resulting in different energy output and ammonia release. The accumulation of ammonia in the medium can limit cell growth and product formation. Therefore, numerous ideas to reduce ammonia concentration in cultivation broths have been developed. Here we present new aspects on the energy metabolism of mammalian cells. The replacement of glutamine (2 mM) by pyruvate (10 mM) supported cell growth without adaptation for at least 19 passages without reduction in growth rate of different adherent commercial cell lines (MDCK, BHK21, CHO‐K1) in serum‐containing and serum‐free media. The changes in metabolism of MDCK cells due to pyruvate uptake instead of glutamine were investigated in detail (on the amino acid level) for an influenza vaccine production process in large‐scale microcarrier culture. In addition, metabolite profiles from variations of this new medium formulation (1–10 mM pyruvate) were compared for MDCK cell growth in roller bottles. Even at very low levels of pyruvate (1 mM) MDCK cells grew to confluency without glutamine and accumulation of ammonia. Also glucose uptake was reduced, which resulted in lower lactate production. However, pyruvate and glutamine were both metabolized when present together. Amino acid profiles from the cell growth phase for pyruvate medium showed a reduced uptake of serine, cysteine, and methionine, an increased uptake of leucine and isoleucine and a higher release of glycine compared to glutamine medium. After virus infection completely different profiles were found for essential and nonessential amino acids.
Patients with chronic atherosclerotic vessel occlusion and cerebrovascular hemodynamic insufficiency may benefit from extra-intracranial (EC-IC) bypass surgery. Due to demographic changes, an ...increasing number of elderly patients presents with cerebrovascular hemodynamic insufficiency. So far, little data for EC-IC bypass surgery in elderly patients suffering occlusive cerebrovascular disease are available. We therefore designed a retrospective study to address the question whether EC-IC bypass is a safe and efficient treatment in a patient cohort ≥70 years.
50 patients underwent EC-IC standard bypass surgery with translocation of the superficial temporal artery to an M2 segment of the medial cerebral artery. Criteria for bypass surgery were presence of symptomatic occlusive cerebrovascular disease of the anterior circulation and proof of a severely restricted or abrogated reserve capacity (detected by H2O-photon emission tomography or single photon emission computer tomography - before and after forced vessel dilatation by diamox). The incidence of perioperative neurological and surgical complications, bypass patency, bypass function and short-term outcome were retrospectively analyzed.
The study cohort consisted of 16 patients ≥70 years (mean = 74.3 years, SE 1.3). It was compared to a cohort of 34 patients <70 years (mean = 61.2 years, SE 1.0). Both groups underwent EC-IC bypass surgery after careful preoperative work-up. Both patient groups did not differ significantly in gender, vascular pathology, previous history of diseases/comorbidity or clinical symptoms. The number of patients which underwent stenting or other endovascular treatments of the internal or common carotid artery prior to EC-IC bypass surgery was significantly higher in the group of patients ≥70 years (37.5 vs. 0%, p < 0.001). Perioperative stroke rate was 0% in both groups and mild morbidity occurred in 18.8 and 14.7%, respectively (p = 0.699). One 84-year-old female patient died due to perioperative endocarditis. Initial bypass patency was 93.8% in patients above the age of 70 years and 97.1% in the younger group (p = 0.542). Secondary occlusion rate was low in both groups (≥70 years: 0% vs. <70 years 3.7%). No new neurologic deficit occurred in patients with a patent bypass during the follow-up period (median 18 ± 13.1 months). Two patients with an initially occluded bypass and one with a secondary bypass occlusion suffered from new neurological symptoms.
Our data show comparable safety and efficiency of EC-IC bypass surgery in patients under and above the age of 70 years due to a careful preoperative work-up and a strict indication for bypass surgery.
Purpose
Current solutions for navigated spine surgery remain hampered by restrictions in surgical workflow as well as a limited versatility and applicability. Against this background, we report the ...first experience of navigated spinal instrumentation with the mobile AIRO
®
intraoperative computed tomography (iCT) scanner.
Methods
AIRO
®
iCT was used for navigated posterior spinal instrumentation of 170 screws in 23 consecutive patients operated on in our Department between the first use of the system in May 2014 and August 2014. The indications for AIRO
®
were based on the surgical region, anatomical complexity and the need for >3 segment instrumentation. Following navigated screw insertion, screw positions were confirmed intraoperatively by a second iCT scan. CT data on screw placement accuracy were retrospectively reviewed and analyzed by an independent observer.
Results
AIRO
®
-based spinal navigation was easy to implement and successfully accomplished in all patients, adding around 18–34 min to the net surgery time. A systematic description of the authors’ approach, setup in the OR and workflow integration of the AIRO
®
is presented. Analysis of screw placement accuracy revealed 9 (5.3 %) screws with minor pedicle breaches (<2 mm). A total of 7 screws (4.1 %) were misplaced >2 mm, resulting in an accuracy rate of 95.9 %.
Conclusions
The AIRO
®
system is an easy-to-use and versatile iCT for navigated spinal instrumentation and provides high pedicle screw accuracy rates. Although the authors’ experience suggests that the learning curve associated with AIRO
®
-based spinal navigation is steep, a systematic user-based approach to the technology is required.
PDF
