805 research outputs found
MSJ838205_supplementary_figures – Supplemental material for Impairment of odor discrimination and identification is associated with disability progression and gray matter atrophy of the olfactory system in MS
No full textSupplemental material, MSJ838205_supplementary_figures for Impairment of odor discrimination and identification is associated with disability progression and gray matter atrophy of the olfactory system in MS by Gabriel Bsteh, Ruth Steiger, Noora Tuovinen, Harald Hegen, Klaus Berek, Sebastian Wurth, Michael Auer, Franziska Di Pauli, Elke R Gizewski, Florian Deisenhammer, Thomas Berger and Christoph Scherfler in Multiple Sclerosis Journal</p
MSJ838205_supplementary_table_1 – Supplemental material for Impairment of odor discrimination and identification is associated with disability progression and gray matter atrophy of the olfactory system in MS
No full textSupplemental material, MSJ838205_supplementary_table_1 for Impairment of odor discrimination and identification is associated with disability progression and gray matter atrophy of the olfactory system in MS by Gabriel Bsteh, Ruth Steiger, Noora Tuovinen, Harald Hegen, Klaus Berek, Sebastian Wurth, Michael Auer, Franziska Di Pauli, Elke R Gizewski, Florian Deisenhammer, Thomas Berger and Christoph Scherfler in Multiple Sclerosis Journal</p
Neural Mechanisms Underlying Affective Theory of Mind in Violent Antisocial Personality Disorder and/or Schizophrenia
No full textNovel decision algorithm to discriminate parkinsonism with combined blood and imaging biomarkers
No full textIntroduction: To determine an exploratory multimodal approach including serum NFL and MR planimetric measures to discriminate Parkinson's disease (PD), multiple system atrophy (MSA) and progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP). Methods: MR planimetric measurements and NFL serum levels, with a mean time interval of 60 months relative to symptom onset, were assessed in a retrospective cohort of 11 progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), 22 Parkinson's disease (PD), 16 multiple system atrophy (MSA) patients and 42 healthy controls (HC). A decision tree model to discriminate PD, PSP, and MSA was constructed using receiver operating characteristic curve analysis and Classification and Regression Trees algorithm. Results: Our multimodal decision tree provided accurate differentiation of PD versus MSA and PSP patients using a serum NFL cut-off of 14.66 ng/L. The pontine-to-midbrain-diameter-ratio (Pd/Md) discriminated MSA from PSP at a cut-off value of 2.06. The combined overall diagnostic yield was an accuracy of 83.7% (95% CI 69.8-90.8%). Conclusion: We provide a clinically feasible decision algorithm which combines serum NFL levels and a planimetric MRI marker to differentiate PD, MSA and PSP with high diagnostic accuracy. Classification of evidence: This study provides Class III evidence that the combination of serum NFL levels und MR planimetric measurements discriminates between PD, PSP and MSA
Advanced imaging in acute ischemic stroke of unknown onset
No full textStroke of unknown onset accounts for up to 20% of all acute ischemic stroke. Prior to the successful completion of the Efficacy and Safety of MRI-Based Thrombolysis in WAKE UP Stroke (WAKE UP) trial, these patients were typically excluded from treatment with IV tPA as this therapy was only approved for cases within 4.5 hours of known symptom onset. WAKE UP utilized a novel imaging biomarker of lesion age, the DWI-FLAIR mismatch (acute stroke visible on DWI but not yet visible on FLAIR), to allocate patients into the early time window for which thrombolysis has been proven safe and efficient; a concept which became known as “tissue clocking”. As a multicenter and imaging-heavy trial, WAKE UP relied upon a homogeneous understanding and interpretation of its imaging criteria by all of its many investigators, a process that was safeguarded by dedicated training developed especially for the study’s purposes. The study was successful and, upon its completion in 2017, together with two smaller and similar trials that were completed at comparable time points, WAKE UP generated enough high quality evidence to influence a change in official guidelines, now recommending thrombolysis for patients with stroke of unknown onset who satisfy WAKE UP criteria. Various sub-analyses conducted since on the WAKE UP cohort further cemented the credibility of tissue clocking as a patient selection paradigm. But it is not the only such model. In addition to tissue clocking another concept, dubbed penumbral imaging and used as a biomarker of tissue at risk of infarction, has also been investigated in large clinical trials such as EXTEND and ECASS-4, as a way to offer treatment to patients with unknown symptom onset. Both of these methods fall under the umbrella of advanced imaging because they necessitate hardware and/or software as well as expertise in image interpretation that is not routinely available in the majority of the world’s hospitals. Tissue clocking (using magnetic resonance imaging and the DWI-FLAIR mismatch) as well as penumbral imaging (using MR or CT based perfusion imaging) offer a lot of additional information, and through it, assurance to the treating physician that potential risks have been minimized and possible benefits of therapy enhanced. In this sense, advanced brain imaging should definitely be considered as part of state of the art, evidence based stroke treatment. Especially in the unknown time window, and due to its ability to perform both tissue clocking and penumbral imaging, MRI as a modality has been proposed as the most inclusive approach to screening ischemic stroke patients in hopes of identifying those still eligible for thrombolytic treatment. However, this approach clearly suffers the drawback of limited availability in everyday clinical practice. Further, well-designed and well-conducted prospective, randomized, controlled trials should be performed to evaluate the exact scope of (advanced) imaging needed for an as-inclusive-as-possible and successful patient selection in the unknown time window
Whose story is it anyway? The ethics of narration and the narration of ethics in Summertime and Die Sneeuslaper
No full textIncludes bibliographical references.This dissertation analyses and compares the narrative strategies in J.M. Coetzee’s Summertime and Marlene van Niekerk’s Die sneeuslaper and considers the implications of these strategies for the authors’ exploration of the ethics of writing. Much has been written about the literary oeuvres of both Coetzee and Van Niekerk, including studies of the translations of Van Niekerk’s Afrikaans novels into English. There are few “interlingual” comparative studies of contemporary works in Afrikaans and English, however, and certainly none to my knowledge which compares the work of Coetzee and Van Niekerk. My contribution to the conversation about Coetzee’s and Van Niekerk’s work, but also to an increasingly multilingual and interconnected South African literary criticism, will be a comparison of one recent work by each of these two authors, written in English and Afrikaans respectively. I draw on the theories of Bakhtin, Barthes and Levinas to consider the ethical dimension of texts in which “double-voicedness”, a questioning not only of existence, but of the self is fore grounded in the content and narrative structure; where there is a shift in focus from the author to the reader (“the birth of the reader”) and “utterances” are made with the response of “the other” in mind
Gender differences in cerebral activation between males, females and transsexual volunteers: a fMRI study.
No full textMänner und Frauen unterscheiden sich in ihren Verhaltens- und Reaktionsweisen. Zahlreiche psychologische Studien bestätigen Geschlechtsunterschiede auf verschiedenen Ebenen. Neuroradiologische Untersuchungen zeigten auch in der kortikalen Aktivität Geschlechtsdifferenzen. Als geeignete Stimuli, derartige geschlechtsabhängige Aktivierungen zu reproduzieren, erwiesen sich erotische Reize und Aufgaben zum räumlichen Denken.
In der vorliegenden Studie wurden 12 Männer, 12 Frauen und 12 Mann-zu-Frau-Transsexuelle mit Funktioneller Magnetresonanztomographie (fMRT) untersucht. Den Probanden wurden als Stimuli Ausschnitte aus erotischen Filmen und ein zweidimensionaler Mental Rotation Task präsentiert. Auf einer visuellen Analogskala gaben die Probanden das Maß der sexuellen Erregung sowie der Aufmerksamkeit an. Die statistische Nachbearbeitung und Auswertung der Daten erfolgte mit SPM (Statistical Parametric Mapping) 99 Software. Für das erotische Paradigma wurde eine einfache vergleichende Statistik (two-sample-t-test) durchgeführt sowie eine Multiple-Regression mit dem Maß sexuellen Erregung als Kovariate berechnet.
Für beide Paradigmen bestätigten sich die aus vorherigen Studien bekannten, zu den jeweiligen Stimuli gehörenden Areale. In den a priori definierten ROI (Regions of Interest) zeigten sich deutliche Geschlechtsunterschiede. Die Gruppe der männlichen Probanden wies in dem erotischen Paradigma signifikant höhere Aktivierungen auf im linken Thalamus, der Amygdala beidseits, dem orbitofrontalen Kortex beidseits, dem anterioren Cingulum, der Insula beidseits und parahippocampal. Frauen, die in der Mitte ihres Menstruationszyklus die Untersuchung durchliefen, zeigten auf gleichem Signifikanzniveau keine stärkeren Aktivierungen im Vergleich zu den Männern. Im Vergleich zu den Transsexuellen wiesen die männlichen Probanden im erotischen Paradigma ein ähnliches Aktivierungsmuster auf wie im Vergleich zu den Frauen. Zwischen Transsexuellen und weiblichen Probanden zeigten sich bei erotischem Stimulus keine signifikanten Unterschiede. Auch die vergleichende Statistik der Ergebnisse des Mental Rotation Task enthüllte deutliche Geschlechtsdifferenzen. Männer zeigten signifikant stärkere Aktivierungen im medialen temporalen, mittleren frontalen, linken inferioren parietalen sowie präzentralen Kortex. Frauen wiesen in diesem Paradigma stärkere Aktivierungen bilateral im superioren frontalen Kortex, im rechten inferioren Parietallappen sowie links im postzentralen Kortex auf.
Die fMRT mit den benutzten Paradigmen erwies sich als geeignetes Instrument zur Erfassung von Geschlechtsdifferenzen. Zum ersten Mal konnte in dieser Studie gezeigt werden, dass Mann-zu-Frau-Transsexuelle bereits vor Behandlung ein weibliches kortikales Aktivierungsmuster beim Betrachten erotischer Filme aufweisen. Dies bestätigt die Hypothese einer biologischen Verankerung der Transsexualität
Exploring the potential of using bio briquette ash in building materials
No full textAs the population and urbanization increase, the demand for affordable housing and the environmental
impact of conventional materials have become more pronounced. This study seeks sustainable solutions
through the repurposing of waste products. This study examined the potential application of bio-briquette
ash derived from sanitary sludge in building-material production. Bio-briquette ashes were produced by
incinerating bio-briquette char in an open kitchen at temperatures ranging from 300°C to 450°C.The
chemical composition of bio-briquette ashes produced with different binders (cassava peels, wastepaper,
and no binder) was analyzed using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results
showed that the ashes contain substantial amounts of oxides, including SiO2, Fe2O3, Al2O3, and CaO,
which are comparable to other supplementary cementitious materials like rice husk ash, sugarcane
bagasse ash, and fly ash. The findings indicate that these bio-briquette ashes have low pozzolanic
properties, however, they have the potential to produce cement-based products after activating their
reactivity either by optimization of burning temperature, mechanical grinding or chemical activation to
improve strength, durability, and workability. Future studies will focus on optimizing the burning
temperature, mechanical grinding, or chemical activation of the bio-briquette ashes to enhance their
reactivity as well as utilizing bio-briquette ash in building materials production and evaluating their
performance in practical applications.The author would like to express gratitude to
the funder of this research project, the Vrilous
Project of Belgium, as well as Ardhi University for
sponsoring this study. Special thanks are
extended to Prof. Elke Knapen from Hasselt
University and Prof. Shadrack M. Sabai from
Ardhi University for their valuable support
throughout the research. Additional appreciation
goes to the project team members of the
Decent Housing Project, as well as the
management of Hasselt University in Belgium
and Ardhi University in Tanzania, for their
administrative assistance
Sensory disinhibition on passive movement in cervical dystonia
No full textDie Bedeutung des sensorischen Systems in der Pathophysiologie der zervikalen Dystonie wurde bereits seit Beschreibung der „sensory tricks“ (‚geste antagonistique’) mit dieser Erkrankung in Verbindung gebracht. In der letzten Zeit wurde das Ausmaß des Einflusses des sensorischen Systems für die Entwicklung und Ausprägung der dystonen Symptome zunehmend diskutiert.
Wir konnten eine ungenügende Hemmung des sensorischen Systems bei zervikaler Dystonie mittels fMRT demonstrieren. Dies entspricht früheren elektrophysiologischen Ergebnissen. Die Beobachtung der sensorischen Dysinhibition spiegelt sehr wahrscheinlich eine generelle Dysinhibition des somatosensorischen Systems bei zervikaler Dystonie wieder und zeigt, dass diese weder auf das motorische System noch auf die direkten neuronalen Repräsentation der von der Dystonie betroffenen Muskeln beschränkt ist. Der SMA unterstützt die neuronale Überaktivität bei fehlender oder unzureichender Rückmeldung der durch BoTN-A gelähmten Muskeln, während er eine verminderte Aktivität bei besonders schwer betroffenen Patienten (z.B. bei hohem TWSTRS-Wert) zeigt, bei welchen ein besonders hoher Muskeltonus anzunehmen ist.The relevance of the sensory system in the pathophysiology
of cervical dystonia (CD) has been discussed since
the description of sensory tricks associated with this disorder.
Our objective was to locate changes in somatosensory processing of patients with CD responding in a passive sensory task of body regions that are not affected by dystonic symptoms. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in 17 patients with CD and 17 healthy controls performing a strictly passive 30-degree forearm movement task with the left arm.
TSUI and TWSTRS rating scales were used for clinical assessment.
All patients were treated with botulinum neurotoxin type
A (BoNT-A; Dysport1). Patients with CD showed BOLD-signal
increase in the contralateral primary and secondary sensory
cortex, the cingulate cortex and cerebellum bilaterally compared to healthy controls. We found a strong positive correlation of this activation with BoNT-A dosage in the supplementary motor area (SMA) and a negative correlation with the TWSTRS in that same region. The observed sensory overactivation suggests a general disinhibition of the somatosensory system in CD as it was not limited to the motor-system or the direct neuronal representation of the affected dystonic musculature alone
Exploring the potential of using bio briquette ash in building materials
No full textAs the population and urbanization increase, the demand for affordable housing and the environmental
impact of conventional materials have become more pronounced. This study seeks sustainable solutions
through the repurposing of waste products. This study examined the potential application of bio-briquette
ash derived from sanitary sludge in building-material production. Bio-briquette ashes were produced by
incinerating bio-briquette char in an open kitchen at temperatures ranging from 300°C to 450°C.The
chemical composition of bio-briquette ashes produced with different binders (cassava peels, wastepaper,
and no binder) was analyzed using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results
showed that the ashes contain substantial amounts of oxides, including SiO2, Fe2O3, Al2O3, and CaO,
which are comparable to other supplementary cementitious materials like rice husk ash, sugarcane
bagasse ash, and fly ash. The findings indicate that these bio-briquette ashes have low pozzolanic
properties, however, they have the potential to produce cement-based products after activating their
reactivity either by optimization of burning temperature, mechanical grinding or chemical activation to
improve strength, durability, and workability. Future studies will focus on optimizing the burning
temperature, mechanical grinding, or chemical activation of the bio-briquette ashes to enhance their
reactivity as well as utilizing bio-briquette ash in building materials production and evaluating their
performance in practical applications.The author would like to express gratitude to
the funder of this research project, the Vrilous
Project of Belgium, as well as Ardhi University for
sponsoring this study. Special thanks are
extended to Prof. Elke Knapen from Hasselt
University and Prof. Shadrack M. Sabai from
Ardhi University for their valuable support
throughout the research. Additional appreciation
goes to the project team members of the
Decent Housing Project, as well as the
management of Hasselt University in Belgium
and Ardhi University in Tanzania, for their
administrative assistance
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