TY - JOUR A1 - Scheiner, Christin A1 - Daunke, Andrea A1 - Seidel, Alexandra A1 - Mittermeier, Sabrina A1 - Romanos, Marcel A1 - Kölch, Michael A1 - Buerger, Arne T1 - LessStress - how to reduce stress in school: evaluation of a universal stress prevention in schools: study protocol of a cluster-randomised controlled trial JF - Trials N2 - Background Chronic stress is detrimental to health, and children and young people have had to cope with significantly more stress since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, stress at school and in relation to learning is a major problem in this age group. Studies in Germany have indicated that the pandemic has led to a reduced quality of life (QoL) and an increased risk for psychiatric disorders in children and adolescents. Schools are an ideal setting for interventions against stress, which is one of the strongest predictors for the development of psychosocial problems. The present study seeks to address stress by means of a short prevention training programme in schools, including emotion regulation, mindfulness, and self-compassion. In addition to information material for self-study, students should have the opportunity to actively deal with the topic of stress and develop coping strategies within a short space of time. In contrast to very long stress reduction programmes that often last several weeks, the programme is delivered in just 90 min. Methods The effectiveness of the short and economical prevention programme LessStress will be examined in a cluster-randomised controlled trial (RCT) encompassing 1894 students. At several measurement time points, students from two groups (intervention and control) will be asked about their subjectively perceived stress levels, among other aspects. Due to the clustered nature of the data, mainly multilevel analyses will be performed. Discussion In Germany, there are no nationwide universal prevention programmes for students against stress in schools, and this gap has become more evident since the outbreak of the pandemic. Universal stress prevention in schools may be a starting point to promote resilience. By dealing with stress in a healthy way, mental health can be strengthened and maintained. Moreover, to reach at-risk students at an early stage, we advocate for a stronger networking between child psychiatry and schools. KW - stress reduction KW - selfcompassion KW - mindfulness KW - emotion regulation KW - resilience KW - prevention KW - RCT KW - school KW - stress Y1 - 2023 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-300393 VL - 24 IS - 1 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Klug, Florian T1 - The Theologian’s Socratic Role in today’s Scientific World JF - Doctrine & Life N2 - In the scientific search for truth, the correspondence theory is predominant to decipher what counts as true. In this approach, scientific knowledge becomes empirically demonstrable and thus enclosed to the sphere of immanence. However, in theology’s approach to question the given status of being human and the world’s development as creation, theology does not adhere to answers that are contained within the sphere of demonstrable knowledge or mundanity, and thereby theology presents a fundamentally different conception of truth, Jesus Christ the living truth. In opposition to drawing on empirical proof, I want to reread Christian theology in a Socratic manner that employs irony to question overly simple methodologies and seek further insights what it means to be human and be engaged in the scientific search for truth if the authority of knowledge does not lie within humanity’s grasp. In doing so, theology’s role is an annoying, yet necessary irritation within the field of today’s academia. KW - catholicism KW - irony KW - theory of science KW - Socrates KW - truth Y1 - 2023 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-303554 SN - 0012-4664 VL - 73 IS - 2 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kreß, Luisa A1 - Egenolf, Nadine A1 - Sommer, Claudia A1 - Üçeyler, Nurcan T1 - Cytokine expression profiles in white blood cells of patients with small fiber neuropathy JF - BMC Neuroscience N2 - Background The role of cytokines in the pathophysiology, diagnosis, and prognosis of small fiber neuropathy (SFN) is incompletely understood. We studied expression profiles of selected pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines in RNA from white blood cells (WBC) of patients with a medical history and a clinical phenotype suggestive for SFN and compared data with healthy controls. Methods We prospectively recruited 52 patients and 21 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Study participants were characterized in detail and underwent complete neurological examination. Venous blood was drawn for routine and extended laboratory tests, and for WBC isolation. Systemic RNA expression profiles of the pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-1ß, IL-2, IL-8, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF) and the anti-inflammatory cytokines IL-4, IL-10, transforming growth factor beta-1 (TGF) were analyzed. Protein levels of IL-2, IL-8, and TNF were measured in serum of patients and controls. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC)-curve analysis was used to determine the accuracy of IL-2, IL-8, and TNF in differentiating patients and controls. To compare the potential discriminatory efficacy of single versus combined cytokines, equality of different AUCs was tested. Results WBC gene expression of IL-2, IL-8, and TNF was higher in patients compared to healthy controls (IL-2: p = 0.02; IL-8: p = 0.009; TNF: p = 0.03) and discriminated between the groups (area under the curve (AUC) ≥ 0.68 for each cytokine) with highest diagnostic accuracy reached by combining the three cytokines (AUC = 0.81, sensitivity = 70%, specificity = 86%). Subgroup analysis revealed the following differences: IL-8 and TNF gene expression levels were higher in female patients compared to female controls (IL-8: p = 0.01; TNF: p = 0.03). The combination of TNF with IL-2 and TNF with IL-2 and IL-8 discriminated best between the study groups. IL-2 was higher expressed in patients with moderate pain compared to those with severe pain (p = 0.02). Patients with acral pain showed higher IL-10 gene expression compared to patients with generalized pain (p = 0.004). We further found a negative correlation between the relative gene expression of IL-2 and current pain intensity (p = 0.02). Serum protein levels of IL-2, IL-8, and TNF did not differ between patients and controls. Conclusions We identified higher systemic gene expression of IL-2, IL-8, and TNF in SFN patients than in controls, which may be of potential relevance for diagnostics and patient stratification. KW - gene expression KW - small fiber neuropathy KW - cytokines KW - white blood cells Y1 - 2023 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-300619 VL - 24 IS - 1 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Dresen, Ellen A1 - Lee, Zheng-Yii A1 - Hill, Aileen A1 - Notz, Quirin A1 - Patel, Jayshil J. A1 - Stoppe, Christian T1 - History of scurvy and use of vitamin C in critical illness: A narrative review JF - Nutrition in Clinical Practice N2 - In 1747, an important milestone in the history of clinical research was set, as the Scottish surgeon James Lind conducted the first randomized controlled trial. Lind was interested in scurvy, a severe vitamin C deficiency which caused the death of thousands of British seamen. He found that a dietary intervention with oranges and lemons, which are rich in vitamin C by nature, was effective to recover from scurvy. Because of its antioxidative properties and involvement in many biochemical processes, the essential micronutrient vitamin C plays a key role in the human biology. Moreover, the use of vitamin C in critical illness—a condition also resulting in death of thousands in the 21st century—has gained increasing interest, as it may restore vascular responsiveness to vasoactive agents, ameliorate microcirculatory blood flow, preserve endothelial barriers, augment bacterial defense, and prevent apoptosis. Because of its redox potential and powerful antioxidant capacity, vitamin C represents an inexpensive and safe antioxidant, with the potential to modify the inflammatory cascade and improve clinical outcomes of critically ill patients. This narrative review aims to update and provide an overview on the role of vitamin C in the human biology and in critically ill patients, and to summarize current evidence on the use of vitamin C in diverse populations of critically ill patients, in specific focusing on patients with sepsis and coronavirus disease 2019. KW - antioxidant KW - scurvy KW - sepsis KW - vitamin C KW - critical illness KW - COVID‐19 Y1 - 2023 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-318176 VL - 38 IS - 1 SP - 46 EP - 54 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Rackevei, Antonia S. A1 - Karnkowska, Anna A1 - Wolf, Matthias T1 - 18S rDNA sequence–structure phylogeny of the Euglenophyceae (Euglenozoa, Euglenida) JF - Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology N2 - The phylogeny of Euglenophyceae (Euglenozoa, Euglenida) has been discussed for decades with new genera being described in the last few years. In this study, we reconstruct a phylogeny using 18S rDNA sequence and structural data simultaneously. Using homology modeling, individual secondary structures were predicted. Sequence–structure data are encoded and automatically aligned. Here, we present a sequence–structure neighbor‐joining tree of more than 300 taxa classified as Euglenophyceae. Profile neighbor‐joining was used to resolve the basal branching pattern. Neighbor‐joining, maximum parsimony, and maximum likelihood analyses were performed using sequence–structure information for manually chosen subsets. All analyses supported the monophyly of Eutreptiella, Discoplastis, Lepocinclis, Strombomonas, Cryptoglena, Monomorphina, Euglenaria, and Colacium. Well‐supported topologies were generally consistent with previous studies using a combined dataset of genetic markers. Our study supports the simultaneous use of sequence and structural data to reconstruct more accurate and robust trees. The average bootstrap value is significantly higher than the average bootstrap value obtained from sequence‐only analyses, which is promising for resolving relationships between more closely related taxa. KW - euglena KW - euglenids KW - phylogenetics KW - secondary structure Y1 - 2023 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-311896 VL - 70 IS - 2 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kerner, Janika M. A1 - Krauss, Jochen A1 - Maihoff, Fabienne A1 - Bofinger, Lukas A1 - Classen, Alice T1 - Alpine butterflies want to fly high: Species and communities shift upwards faster than their host plants JF - Ecology N2 - Despite sometimes strong codependencies of insect herbivores and plants, the responses of individual taxa to accelerating climate change are typically studied in isolation. For this reason, biotic interactions that potentially limit species in tracking their preferred climatic niches are ignored. Here, we chose butterflies as a prominent representative of herbivorous insects to investigate the impacts of temperature changes and their larval host plant distributions along a 1.4‐km elevational gradient in the German Alps. Following a sampling protocol of 2009, we revisited 33 grassland plots in 2019 over an entire growing season. We quantified changes in butterfly abundance and richness by repeated transect walks on each plot and disentangled the direct and indirect effects of locally assessed temperature, site management, and larval and adult food resource availability on these patterns. Additionally, we determined elevational range shifts of butterflies and host plants at both the community and species level. Comparing the two sampled years (2009 and 2019), we found a severe decline in butterfly abundance and a clear upward shift of butterflies along the elevational gradient. We detected shifts in the peak of species richness, community composition, and at the species level, whereby mountainous species shifted particularly strongly. In contrast, host plants showed barely any change, neither in connection with species richness nor individual species shifts. Further, temperature and host plant richness were the main drivers of butterfly richness, with change in temperature best explaining the change in richness over time. We concluded that host plants were not yet hindering butterfly species and communities from shifting upwards. However, the mismatch between butterfly and host plant shifts might become a problem for this very close plant–herbivore relationship, especially toward higher elevations, if butterflies fail to adapt to new host plants. Further, our results support the value of conserving traditional extensive pasture use as a promoter of host plant and, hence, butterfly richness. KW - Alps KW - altitudinal gradient KW - global warming KW - grazing KW - Lepidoptera KW - mountain biodiversity KW - plant–herbivore interactions KW - species range shifts KW - upslope shift Y1 - 2023 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-312015 VL - 104 IS - 1 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Fricke, Ute A1 - Redlich, Sarah A1 - Zhang, Jie A1 - Benjamin, Caryl S. A1 - Englmeier, Jana A1 - Ganuza, Cristina A1 - Haensel, Maria A1 - Riebl, Rebekka A1 - Rojas‐Botero, Sandra A1 - Tobisch, Cynthia A1 - Uhler, Johannes A1 - Uphus, Lars A1 - Steffan‐Dewenter, Ingolf T1 - Earlier flowering of winter oilseed rape compensates for higher pest pressure in warmer climates JF - Journal of Applied Ecology N2 - Global warming can increase insect pest pressure by enhancing reproductive rates. Whether this translates into yield losses depends on phenological synchronisation of pests with their host plants and natural enemies. Simultaneously, landscape composition may mitigate climate effects by shaping the resource availability for pests and their antagonists. Here, we study the combined effects of temperature and landscape composition on pest abundances, larval parasitism, crop damage and yield, while also considering crop phenology, to identify strategies for sustainable management of oilseed rape (OSR) pests under warming climates. In all, 29 winter OSR crop fields were investigated in different climates (defined by multi‐annual mean temperature, MAT) and landscape contexts in Bavaria, Germany. We measured abundances of adult pollen beetles and stem weevil larvae, pollen beetle larval parasitism, bud loss, stem damage and seed yield, and calculated the flowering date from growth stage observations. Landscape parameters (proportion of non‐crop and OSR area, change in OSR area relative to the previous year) were calculated at six spatial scales (0.6–5 km). Pollen beetle abundance increased with MAT but to different degrees depending on the landscape context, that is, increased less strongly when OSR proportions were high (1‐km scale), interannually constant (5‐km scale) or both. In contrast, stem weevil abundance and stem damage did not respond to landscape composition nor MAT. Pollen beetle larval parasitism was overall low, but occasionally exceeded 30% under both low and high MAT and with reduced OSR area (0.6‐km scale). Despite high pollen beetle abundance in warm climates, yields were high when OSR flowered early. Thereby, higher temperatures favoured early flowering. Only among late‐flowering OSR crop fields yield was higher in cooler than warmer climates. Bud loss responded analogously. Landscape composition did not substantially affect bud loss and yield. Synthesis and applications: Earlier flowering of winter OSR compensates for higher pollen beetle abundance in warmer climates, while interannual continuity of OSR area prevents high pollen beetle abundance in the first place. Thus, regional coordination of crop rotation and crop management promoting early flowering may contribute to sustainable pest management in OSR under current and future climatic conditions. KW - canola KW - climate‐smart pest management KW - crop rotation KW - global warming KW - oilseed rape KW - pollen beetle KW - seed yield KW - stem weevil Y1 - 2023 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-312562 VL - 60 IS - 2 SP - 365 EP - 375 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hutmacher, Fabian A1 - Schläger, Linus A1 - Meerson, Rinat T1 - Autobiographical memory in the digital age: Insights based on the subjective reports of users of smart journaling apps JF - Applied Cognitive Psychology N2 - Humans have long used external memory aids to support remembering. However, modern digital technologies could facilitate recording and remembering personal information in an unprecedented manner. The present research sought to understand the potential impact of these technologies on autobiographical memory based on interviews with users of smart journaling apps. In Study 1 (N = 12), participants who had no prior experience with smart journaling apps tested the app Day One for 2 weeks and were interviewed about their subjective perceptions afterwards. In order to cross-validate the obtained findings, Study 2 (N = 4) was based on in-depth interviews with long-time users of different smart journaling apps. Taken together, the two studies provide insights into the way autobiographical remembering may change in the digital age – but also into the opportunities and risks potentially associated with the use of technologies that allow creating a detailed and multimedia-based record of one's life. KW - autobiographical memory KW - total recall KW - smart journaling KW - digital age KW - new media Y1 - 2023 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-318620 SN - 0888-4080 VL - 37 IS - 4 SP - 686 EP - 698 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Krieter, Detlef H. A1 - Rüth, Marieke A1 - Lemke, Horst-Dieter A1 - Wanner, Christoph T1 - Clinical performance comparison of two medium cut-off dialyzers JF - Therapeutic Apheresis and Dialysis N2 - Introduction Medium-cut-off (MCO) dialyzers may beneficially impact outcomes in patients on hemodialysis. Methods In a randomized, controlled trial in maintenance hemodialysis patients, the new Nipro ELISIO-17HX MCO dialyzer was compared to the Baxter Theranova 400 filter regarding middle molecule removal. Furthermore, the suitability of two assays for free lambda-light chain (λFLC) detection (Freelite vs. N-Latex) was verified. Results ELISIO-HX achieved slightly lower reduction ratios for β2-microglobulin (71.8 ± 6.0 vs. 75.3 ± 5.8%; p = 0.001), myoglobin (54.7 ± 8.6 vs. 64.9 ± 8.7%; p < 0.001), and kappa-FLC (62.1 ± 8.8 vs. 56.3 ± 7.7%; p = 0.021). λFLC reduction ratios were more conclusive with the Freelite assay and not different between ELISIO-HX and Theranova (28.4 ± 3.9 vs. 38.7 ± 13.4%; p = 0.069). The albumin loss of Theranova was considerably higher (2.14 ± 0.45 vs. 0.77 ± 0.25 g; p = 0.001) and the Global Removal ScoreLoss alb largely inferior (30.6 ± 7.4 vs. 82.4 ± 29.2%/g; p = 0.006) to ELISIO-HX. Conclusions The new ELISIO-HX expands the choice of dialyzers for MCO hemodialysis. KW - dialysis adequacy KW - medium cut-off dialyzer KW - hemodialysis KW - free light chains KW - end-stage kidney disease Y1 - 2023 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-318643 VL - 27 IS - 2 SP - 284 EP - 292 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Graus, Dorothea A1 - Li, Kunkun A1 - Rathje, Jan M. A1 - Ding, Meiqi A1 - Krischke, Markus A1 - Müller, Martin J. A1 - Cuin, Tracey Ann A1 - Al‐Rasheid, Khaled A. S. A1 - Scherzer, Sönke A1 - Marten, Irene A1 - Konrad, Kai R. A1 - Hedrich, Rainer T1 - Tobacco leaf tissue rapidly detoxifies direct salt loads without activation of calcium and SOS signaling JF - New Phytologist N2 - Salt stress is a major abiotic stress, responsible for declining agricultural productivity. Roots are regarded as hubs for salt detoxification, however, leaf salt concentrations may exceed those of roots. How mature leaves manage acute sodium chloride (NaCl) stress is mostly unknown. To analyze the mechanisms for NaCl redistribution in leaves, salt was infiltrated into intact tobacco leaves. It initiated pronounced osmotically‐driven leaf movements. Leaf downward movement caused by hydro‐passive turgor loss reached a maximum within 2 h. Salt‐driven cellular water release was accompanied by a transient change in membrane depolarization but not an increase in cytosolic calcium ion (Ca\(^{2+}\)) level. Nonetheless, only half an hour later, the leaves had completely regained turgor. This recovery phase was characterized by an increase in mesophyll cell plasma membrane hydrogen ion (H\(^{+}\)) pumping, a salt uptake‐dependent cytosolic alkalization, and a return of the apoplast osmolality to pre‐stress levels. Although, transcript numbers of abscisic acid‐ and Salt Overly Sensitive pathway elements remained unchanged, salt adaptation depended on the vacuolar H\(^{+}\)/Na\(^{+}\)‐exchanger NHX1. Altogether, tobacco leaves can detoxify sodium ions (Na\(^{+}\)) rapidly even under massive salt loads, based on pre‐established posttranslational settings and NHX1 cation/H+ antiport activity. Unlike roots, signaling and processing of salt stress in tobacco leaves does not depend on Ca\(^{2+}\) signaling. KW - calcium signaling KW - cytosolic pH KW - leaf response KW - NaCl transport KW - NHX1 KW - osmotic effects KW - Salt Overly Sensitive pathway KW - salt stress Y1 - 2023 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-312152 VL - 237 IS - 1 SP - 217 EP - 231 ER -