Scientific publications of the Saarland University
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The Legacy of Adversity? The Impact of Caregivers’ Childhood Experiences and Children’s Mental Health on Family Dynamics and Perceived Burden During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Get PDFBackground: This cross-sectional observational study examined the relationship between
caregivers’ adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), their perceived COVID-19-related bur den, child psychopathology, and changes in family relationships during the pandemic.
Methods: The final sample included 285 children (M = 10.19, SD = 3.36) from clinical
settings and their caregivers. Caregivers reported their own ACEs and their children’s
psychopathology. Perceived caregiver COVID-19 burden and changes in family relation ships were also assessed. Correlational analyses, regressions, and mediation models were
conducted to test direct and indirect associations. Results: Caregivers reported an average
of 1.63 ACEs, with 18.4% reporting four or more. Children of caregivers who reported
four or more ACEs exhibited significantly elevated psychopathology scores. However,
caregiver ACEs did not directly predict the perceived COVID-19 burden. A mediation
analysis revealed that child psychopathology mediated the association between caregiver
ACEs and caregiver COVID-19 burden. Unexpectedly, higher caregiver ACEs were asso ciated with less negative perceived changes in family relationships, particularly in 2023,
indicating heterogeneous family adjustment trajectories. Conclusions: These findings highlight that child psychopathology is a key mechanism in the intergenerational trans mission of caregiver burden linked to childhood adversity. They also suggest that support
systems, resilience, or differing expectations among high-ACE caregivers may help buffer
changes in family relationship. Early identification and trauma-informed, family-centered
interventions beyond acute crisis are essential. However, limitations include the reliance
on caregiver self-report and cross-sectional design. Further, longitudinal, multi-informant
research is needed to clarify these dynamics and inform targeted support strategies
Real-World Visual and Refractive Results of Two Different Presbyopia Correcting Intraocular Lenses
Get PDFBackground/Objectives: To investigate visual acuity, refractive outcomes and the pre dictive accuracy of modern intraocular lens (IOL) power calculation formulas in eyes
implanted with two presbyopia-correcting IOLs: trifocal Zeiss AT LISA TRI and the non diffractive EDOF Teleon Comfort. Methods: This retrospective consecutive chart review
included 115 patients who underwent uncomplicated bilateral cataract surgery and re ceived either the LISA TRI (n = 56) or Comfort (n = 59). Biometric measurements were
obtained preoperatively, and refractive outcomes were assessed 1, 3, and 6 months postop eratively. Postoperative spherical equivalent (SEQ) was compared to predicted SEQ using
the ESCRS calculator and IOLCON platform. Outcome measures included mean prediction
error and mean absolute error (MAE). Distance-corrected visual acuity (VA), uncorrected
VA, defocus curves, preferred viewing distances, contrast sensitivity, and photopic reading
speed were also analyzed. Results: All formulas performed better in the LISA TRI group,
with significantly lower MAE and higher proportions of eyes within ±0.50 diopters (D).
Systematic prediction error offsets were observed for three formulas (K6, Castrop, Hoffer
QST) in the LISA TRI group and for all five formulas in the MF15 group. Refractive stability
was achieved by 3 months for the LISA TRI, while 20% of Comfort eyes continued to show
SEQ shifts > 0.50 D at 3 months. Defocus equivalent (DEQ) had lower proportions of eyes
within ±0.50 D than SEQ. Conclusions: The LISA TRI demonstrated superior predictive
accuracy, faster refractive stabilization, and stronger near performance than the Comfort.
These findings support the importance of IOL-specific constant optimization and highlight
the need for incorporating DEQ into routine refractive outcome evaluation
Maternal Postnatal Psychopathology Predicts Identity Diffusion in Young Adult Offspring
Get PDFBackground/Objectives: In the new conceptualization of personality disorders
(PD) in ICD-11 and Diagnostic and Statistical Manual 5 Alternative Model of Personality
Disorders (DSM-5 AMPD), identity development in terms of impaired personality functioning plays a central role in diagnostic guidelines and determining PD severity. On the one
hand, there is a temporary identity crisis while keeping an integrated sense of identity and,
on the other hand, there is pathological identity diffusion, which is associated with a high
risk of a current or emerging PD. The latter is characteristic not only of borderline PD but
of all personality disorders and should be detected as early as possible to prevent chronic
illness and critical life courses. Maternal psychopathology is linked to several areas of child
psychopathology (e.g., eating disorders, depression). In the current study, its potential
to predict a child’s impaired identity development is investigated. Methods: A total of
101 mothers were asked about their health status 2 weeks after the birth of their child
and when their child was 6 weeks, 4 months, 14 months and 5.5 years of age. Specifically,
physical and psychological symptoms were assessed with SCL-90-R. In addition, their
children were assessed in young adulthood regarding their identity development with
the AIDA (Assessment of Identity Development in Adolescence) questionnaire. Linear
regression models were used to investigate the amount of explanation of children’s identity
diffusion by maternal symptom burden. Results: Maternal psychopathology significantly
predicted identity diffusion at all time points with small effect sizes, while after 14 months,
the explanation model showed a medium effect size. Conclusions: The present data suggest
a relevant influence of maternal psychopathological symptoms on their children’s identity
development in terms of functioning that has not yet been empirically shown in a longitudinal study. This finding highlights the importance of including further factors (particularly
on the part of the child) in longitudinal studies and of investigating this clinically highly
relevant relationship in greater depth
Electromyographic correlates of effortful listening in the vestigial auriculomotor system
Get PDFRecently, electromyographic (EMG) signals of auricular muscles have been shown to be an indicator of spatial auditory attention in humans, based on a vestigial pinna-orienting system. Because spatial auditory attention in a competing speaker task is closely related to the more generalized concept of attentional effort in listening, the current study investigated the possibility that the EMG activity of auricular muscles could also reflect correlates of effortful listening in general. Twenty participants were recruited. EMG signals from the left and right superior and posterior auricular muscles (SAM, PAM) were recorded while participants attended a target podcast in a competing speaker paradigm. Three different conditions, each more difficult and requiring a higher amount of effortful listening, were generated by varying the number and pitch of distractor streams, as well as the signal-to-noise ratio. All audio streams were either presented from a loudspeaker placed in front of the participants (0°), or in the back (180°). Overall, averaged PAM activity was not affected by different levels of effortful listening, but was significantly larger when stimuli were presented from the back, as opposed to the front. Averaged SAM activity, however, was significantly larger in the most difficult condition, which required the largest amount of effort, compared to the easier conditions, but was not affected by stimulus direction. We interpret the increased SAM activity to be the response of the vestigial pinna–orienting system to an effortful stream segregation task
The Nexus of the Rule of Law and Alternative Dispute Resolution: Who Boosts or Sets Back Whom?
Get PDFThis chapter examines the complex relationship between alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and the rule of law, and how each influences the other. Essential to democratic governance, the rule of law ensures legal certainty, judicial independence and the protection of fundamental rights, while promoting fairness and accountability. ADR has become popular, particularly in regions with underdeveloped legal systems, as a means of attracting foreign investment and resolving disputes more efficiently. This chapter highlights the work of the INVESTinADR project in North Macedonia, which has explored the impact of ADR on investment promotion. ADR offers a flexible and less adversarial alternative to traditional litigation, particularly in commercial and international disputes. However, it faces challenges such as rising costs, delays and power imbalances, which can undermine its effectiveness and alignment with the rule of law. The quality of ADR depends on the impartiality of mediators and arbitrators, and issues such as limited remedies and lack of appellate review are of concern. In addition, ADR decisions often lack precedential value, which affects continuity and legal certainty, and there are increasing calls for transparency, particularly in cases of public interest. The relationship between ADR and the rule of law is complex and varies by context, with no clear consensus on whether one strengthens or weakens the other. In developing countries, ADR can improve access to justice where formal systems are distrusted, but success depends on balancing local and external needs. Concerns about the privatisation of justice through ADR and the need for transparency are significant, although ADR could also drive improvements in traditional justice systems. Ultimately, ADR and the rule of law are interdependent and can be mutually reinforcing if effectively integrated
Understanding the low inter-rater agreement on aggressiveness on the Linux Kernel Mailing List
Get PDFCommunication among software developers plays an essential role in open-source software (OSS) projects.
Not unexpectedly, previous studies have shown that the conversational tone and, in particular, aggressiveness
influence the participation of developers in OSS projects. Therefore, we aimed at studying aggressive
communication behavior on the Linux Kernel Mailing List (LKML), which is known for aggressive e-mails
of some of its contributors. To that aim, we attempted to assess the extent of aggressiveness of 720 e-mails
from the LKML with a human annotation study, involving multiple annotators, to select a suitable sentiment
analysis tool.
The results of our annotation study revealed that there is substantial disagreement, even among humans,
which uncovers a deeper methodological challenge of studying aggressiveness in the software-engineering
domain. Adjusting our focus, we dug deeper and investigated why the agreement among humans is generally low, based on manual investigations of ambiguously rated e-mails. Our results illustrate that human
perception is individual and context dependent, especially when it comes to technical content. Thus, when
identifying aggressiveness in software-engineering texts, it is not sufficient to rely on aggregated measures
of human annotations. Hence, sentiment analysis tools specifically trained on human-annotated data do
not necessarily match human perception of aggressiveness, and corresponding results need to be taken
with a grain of salt. By reporting our results and experience, we aim at confirming and raising additional
awareness of this methodological challenge when studying aggressiveness (and sentiment, in general) in the
software-engineering domain
Lo cotidiano, lo político, lo onírico : Para Janett Reinstädler en su 60.º cumpleaños
No full textDie Sphären des Traumhaften und des Alltäglichen erscheinen als zwei Daseinsbereiche, die auf den ersten Blick eher abgewandt stehen vom Feld politischer Macht. Inwiefern diese Sphären jedoch auf komplexe Weise durchgedrungen sind vom Politischen, verstanden als einer Art, Weltverhältnisse zu setzen und erfahrbar zu machen, und inwiefern sie dabei mit diesem auf eine vielfältige, oft dissonante Weise interagieren, ist eine Grundfrage, welche die Arbeit Janett Reinstädlers zu Literatur, Theater und Film der Romania seit vielen Jahren leitet.
Die Miniaturen des vorliegenden Sammelbands, für Janett Reinstädler und im Dialog mit ihren wegweisenden Forschungen zwischen dem Ästhetischen, dem Politischen und dem Onirischen geschrieben, greifen die Frage nach der Verbindung von Heterogenem in Bezug auf die onirischen und die politischen Dimensionen von Literatur, Film und Kunst auf, verbinden aber auch das Wissenschaftliche mit dem Persönlichen, präsentieren und reflektieren die akademische Forschung nicht nur in Ergebnissen, sondern auch in den ‚Küchen‘ und ‚Bergtouren‘ ihrer Entstehung, in ihren alltäglichen Einbettungen und extra-akademischen Abzweigungen. Sie tragen Erkenntnisse, Begegnungen, Spuren, und nicht zuletzt Erinnerungen zusammen, und sie tun dies in
unterschiedlichen Formen, welche sich der jeweiligen Ökologie der Existenz Ihrer Verfasserinnen und Verfasser, zwischen akademischem Alltag, politischen Realitäten, Literatur und Imaginärem anmessen
Hereditary pseudocholinesterase deficiency in a 4-year-old girl: a case report
Get PDFBackground This report outlines a case of pseudocholinesterase defciency in a pediatric patient, whose autosomal
recessive condition is caused by two diferent pathologic variants of the butyrylcholinesterase gene, resulting in a rare
case of functional homozygosity.
Case presentation A healthy 4-year-old girl of Northern European descent underwent general anesthesia for ton‑
sillotomy, adenoidectomy, and bilateral tympanocentesis. Previously unknown pseudocholinesterase defciency
presented as delayed emergence with sustained apnea and paralysis following administration of mivacurium, neces‑
sitating transfer to the pediatric intensive care unit for prolonged post-operative ventilatory support and monitoring.
Extubation was safely performed 8 hours later. No long-term sequelae were noted.
Genetic testing identifed compound heterozygosity in the butyrylcholinesterase gene. Thus, a diagnosis of autoso‑
mal recessive hereditary pseudocholinesterase defciency was made.
Conclusion Pseudocholinesterase defciency will almost always present unexpectedly and must be included
in the diferential diagnosis of delayed emergence. Once suspected, a clinical diagnosis can be supported using
a peripheral nerve stimulator, and confrmed using laboratory tests. Genetic testing can help determine the etiology
of disease