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Die unmittelbare Konfrontation mit Krankheit, Sterben und Tod gehort zum arztlichen Alltag. Sterben jenseits seiner existenziellen Bedeutung fur den Einzelnen bedeutet ebenso Schmerz und Verlust fur die Nachwelt. Die Begleitung der Hinterbliebenen in ihrer Trauer fordert uns heraus, stellt uns vor die Frage der adaquaten Form der menschlichen Anteilnahme sowie der professionellen Einschatzung, ob und welche weiterfuhrende Hilfestellungen im Einzelfall erforderlich sein mogen. Ohne Frage konfrontiert die aktuelle Corona-Pandemie zahlreiche Menschen mit Verlusten. Die Infektionsschutzmasnahmen im Rahmen der ­COVID-19-Pandemie und die mitunter unerwartet dramatischen Krankheitsverlaufe erschweren dabei haufig das Abschiednehmen. Dies beeinflusst die nachfolgende Trauerarbeit, worauf internationale Forschungsberichte aus den Bereichen Mental Health, Geriatrie, Schmerz- und Traumaforschung sowie Palliativmedizin hinweisen. Theoretische Modelle der Trauerarbeit fur die Forschung und die praktische Arbeit mit Trauernden in der Pandemiesituation sind notwendig. Aufgrund der erforderlichen Zeitraume kann eine vermutete erhohte Pravalenz anhaltender Trauerstorungen gegenwartig noch nicht validiert werden. Empfehlungen fur den klinischen Alltag mit seinen vielseitigen Belastungen fur einen sensiblen, adaquaten Umgang mit Sterbenden und deren Angehorigen sowie dem betreuenden medizinischen Personal werden dargestellt.

We present here a unifying framework for affective phenomena: the Human Affectome. By synthesizing a large body of literature, we have converged on definitions that disambiguate the commonly used terms—affect, feeling, emotion, and mood. Based on this definitional foundation, and under the premise that affective states reflect allostatic concerns, we take a goal-directed, enactive perspective. The human affectome is comprised of allostatic features (valence, motivation, and arousal) and allostatic concerns, which differ in the amount of action required to alleviate allostatic load. Allostatic concerns often fall into three ranges: physiological (the most immediate), operational (intermediate to distal), and global. Global concerns involve summations of overall trajectory, general wellbeing, and self-identity. Within this organizational scheme, the human affectome allows vastly different scientific interests to reside within the same theoretical framework and relate to each other. We hope this framework serves as a common focal point for affective research.

During the second half of the 1960s, artist-filmmaker Stan VanDerBeek collaborated with Bell Labs researcher Kenneth Knowlton in the production of ten computer-animated movies. This article describes that collaboration and discusses certain movies that resulted. In this early example of collaboration between an artist and a computer technologist, VanDerBeek built on his experience to learn computer programming, and Knowlton extended his artistic sensitivities and programming languages—each learned from the other. The article concludes with a discussion of the term “computer artist” as used during those early days of computer art and animation. In the author’s opinion, VanDerBeek, by doing his own computer programming, became a computer artist, while Knowlton’s creativity in creating computer-animated sequences made him an artist.

BackgroundSurvivors of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) captivity are at high risk of developing mental disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).AimsThis study looks at the correlation between sexual abuse, shame, somatoform or bodily distress disorders, and dissociative seizures (psychogenic non-epileptic seizures).MethodThe psychological effects of traumatic events and dissociative seizure were assessed in Yazidi women who were held captive by ISIS in Northern Iraq between 2014 and 2018. These effects were examined comparing 64 women who were held captive and sexually abused by ISIS with 60 women suffering from PTSD who were not held captive and sexually abused by ISIS. Structured clinical-psychological interviews and established psychometric questionnaires were used to assess mental disorders especially dissociative seizures and somatoform disorders, and shame related to trauma.ResultsWomen who were held captive by ISIS showed a significantly higher prevalence of dissociative seizures (43.7%; P = 0.02) and somatisation disorder (38.7%; P = 0.02), as well as depressive (75.0%; P = 0.42) and anxiety disorders (62.5%; P = 0.44), than women who were not held captive and sexually abused by ISIS. Dissociative disorders were identified in 40.6% (P = 0.36) of those female Yazidi who experienced sexual violence while being held captive.ConclusionsShame in connection with sexual violence seems to play an important role in negative self-perception after rape. Dissociation not only plays an important role in unprocessed childhood trauma with feelings of shame, but also in more recent trauma experiences with shame.

People with mental illness can internalize public prejudice and negative emotional reactions to their group, leading to self-contempt. This study examined self-contempt related to having a mental illness as predictor of suicidality among 77 people with mental illness in Southern Germany. Self-contempt, depressive symptoms, hopelessness, and suicidality were assessed at baseline; suicidality was measured again 3 months later. High self-contempt at baseline predicted increased suicidality at follow-up, adjusting for baseline suicidality, symptoms, diagnosis, age, sex, and hopelessness. These results suggest that self-contempt may be a risk factor for suicidality and call for specific interventions targeting self-stigma and its emotional consequences.

Background: Thus far, most researchers on genocide and transgenerational transmissions have focused on the National Socialist Holocaust as the most abhorrent example of this severe human rights violation. Few data have been published on other ethnic or religious groups affected by genocidal actions in this context. Methodology: Using a mixed-method approach integrating qualitative interviews with standardized instruments (SCID and PDS), this study examines how individual and collective trauma have been handed down across three generations in an Alevi Kurd community whose members (have) suffered genocidal perpetrations over a longer time period (a “genocidal environment”). Qualitative, open-ended interviews with members of three generations answering questions yielded information on (a) how their lives are shaped by the genocidal experiences from the previous generation and related victim experiences, (b) how the genocidal events were communicated in family narratives, and (c) coping strategies used. The first generation is the generation which directly suffered the genocidal actions. The second generation consists of children of those parents who survived the genocidal actions. Together with their family (children, partner, relatives), this generation suffered forced displacement. Members of the third generation were born in the diaspora where they also grew up. Results: Participants reported traumatic memories, presented in examples in this publication. The most severe traumatic memories included the Dersim massacre in 1937–1938 in Turkey, with 70,000–80,000 victims killed, and the enforced resettlement in western Turkey. A content analysis revealed that the transgenerational transmission of trauma continued across three generations. SCID and PDS data indicated high rates of distress in all generations. Conclusions: Genocidal environments such as that of the Kurdish Alevis lead to transgenerational transmission mediated by complex factors.

International audience; Experiencing pleasure and displeasure is a fundamental part of life. Hedonics guide behavior, affect decision-making, induce learning, and much more. As the positive and negative valence of feelings, hedonics are core processes that accompany emotion, motivation, and bodily states. Here, the affective neuroscience of pleasure and displeasure that has largely focused on the investigation of reward and pain processing, is reviewed. We describe the neurobiological systems of hedonics and factors that modulate hedonic experiences (e.g., cognition, learning, sensory input). Further, we review maladaptive and adaptive pleasure and displeasure functions in mental disorders and well-being, as well as the experience of aesthetics. As a centerpiece of the Human Affectome Project, language used to express pleasure and displeasure was also analyzed, and showed that most of these analyzed words overlap with expressions of emotions, actions, and bodily states. Our review shows that hedonics are typically investigated as processes that accompany other functions, but the mechanisms of hedonics (as core processes) have not been fully elucidated.

In April 1965, the Howard Wise Gallery in New York City held a show of computer-generated pictures by Bela Julesz and Michael Noll. This show was a very early public exhibit of digital art in the United States. This essay is a memoir of that show.

This article is a history of the digital computer art and animation developed and created at Bell Telephone Laboratories, Incorporated, 1962–1968. Still and animated images in two dimensions and in stereographic pairs were created and used in investigations of aesthetic preferences, in film titles, in choreography, and in experimental artistic movies. Interactive digital computer music software was extended to the visual domain, including a real-time interactive system. Some of the artworks generated were exhibited publicly in various art venues. This article emphasizes work in digital programming. This pioneering work at Bell Labs was a significant contribution to digital art.

Most of the protagonists in modern medical TV series are played by attractive actors or those portraying a special type of physician. Our pilot study attempted to scrutinize whether or not current German viewers are influenced by US medical series when choosing their physicians. For this, we determined four stereotypic characters exemplified in contemporary TV series, as follows: type 1, young, idealistic assistant physician (Dr. Dorian, Scrubs); type 2, experienced, cynical senior physician (Dr. Cox, Scrubs); type 3: good-looking, omniscient specialist (Dr. Shepherd, Grey’s Anatomy); and type 4, calm, authentic mentor (Dr. Greene, ER). We then assessed two groups of people. The first group consisted of young ( 40 years of age. The students received pictures of the physicians, but they were not supposed to know who they were. The test persons were asked to select the physician who they felt should treat them based on sympathy and specialist competence. Indeed, only the stereotypic images of physicians had a high level of agreement in the first group (younger adults who were familiar with the television series). The majority of the second group made their decision based on a more realistic representation of an average, more familiar appearance.

Following the severe attacks by the so-called “Islamic State of Iraq and Syria” on the Yazidi population, which started in summer 2014, the state government of Baden-Württemberg, Germany, funded a Special-Quota Project to bring 1,000 very ill or left-behind women and children who were being held hostage to 22 cities and towns in Baden-Württemberg to receive integrated care. Here, we report for the first time on the cases of four Yazidi women living in Ulm, Germany, focusing on the clinically observed and psychometrically assessed mental phenomena or disorders. Our primary aim was to explore what International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision diagnoses are present in this population. Although highly traumatized, these women were suffering primarily from adjustment disorder rather than posttraumatic stress disorder according to official classification systems. Despite their symptoms of depression and anxiety, the women’s responses to self-assessment questionnaires provided no evidence of compulsion, somatization, or eating disorders. The results suggest that further investigation of the individual-level effects of rape and torture, as well the historic, systemic, and collective effects, e.g., on families and societies, is required.

In recent years, Islamic terrorism has manifested itself with an unexpectedly destructive force. Despite the fact that Islamic terrorism commences locally in most cases, it has spread its terror worldwide. In August 2014, when troops of the self-proclaimed ‘Islamic State’ conquered areas of northern Iraq, they turned on the long-established religious minorities in the area with tremendous brutality, especially towards the Yazidis. Vast numbers of men were executed, and women and children were abducted and willfully subjected to sexual violence. With the aim of systematic destruction of the Yazidi community, the religious minority was to be eliminated and the will of the victims broken. The medical and mental health issues arising from the combination of subjective, collective, and cultural traumatization, as well as the subsequent migrant and refugee crisis, are therefore extraordinary and require novel and wise concepts of integrated medical care.

The ICD-10 offers the possibility of double coding of diagnoses in functional disorders on the one hand, somatoform disorders on the other side. The current S3 guideline for "dealing with patients with non-specific, functional and somatoform physical complaints" states that "[...] in most cases, the specialty of the (initial) examiner and not the clinical constellation seems to define how a diagnosis is made". Based on selective routine data of the Daimler BKK for the years 2008-2010 frequencies of specific functional diagnoses were compared with those of somatoform disorders, additional diagnoses analyzed and compared with epidemiological data from the Federal Health Monitoring System. The incidence found in epidemiological studies of somatoform disorders cannot be found in present routine data. Functional disorders were more frequently diagnosed than somatoform disorders. Certain additional diagnoses that may provide clues to etiological relations are rarely used. As the validity, reliability and purpose of ICD-10 invoicing diagnoses is debatable, there seems to be an imbalance relevant for the health care system. Non-adherence to the guidelines may prevent adequate quality and quantity of patient care.

Background: In many Western countries, after a motor vehicle collision, those involved seek health care for the assessment of injuries and for insurance documentation purposes. In contrast, in many less wealthy countries, there may be limited access to care and no insurance or compensation system. Objective: The purpose of this infodemiology study was to investigate the global pattern of evolving Internet usage in countries with and without insurance and the corresponding compensation systems for whiplash injury. Methods: We used the Internet search engine analytics via Google Trends to study the health information-seeking behavior concerning whiplash injury at national population levels in Europe. Results: We found that the search for “whiplash” is strikingly and consistently often associated with the search for “compensation” in countries or cultures with a tort system. Frequent or traumatic painful injuries; diseases or disorders such as arthritis, headache, radius, and hip fracture; depressive disorders; and fibromyalgia were not associated similarly with searches on “compensation.” Conclusions: In this study, we present evidence from the evolving viewpoint of naturalistic Internet search engine analytics that the expectations for receiving compensation may influence Internet search behavior in relation to whiplash injury. [JMIR Public Health Surveill 2017;3(1):e15]

In contemporary U.S. doctor's series, the characters are usually represented by good-looking or typical character actors. The aim of our pilot study was to investigate whether the long-term impact of this format on German television viewers could have an influence on the choice of doctor in Germany. Two different groups of people anticipating TV consumption patterns were questioned: a first group of younger adults who knew theTV series was asked to judge their doctor choice using a web-based survey tool with respect to three criteria (sympathy, expertise and own treatment preference). The second group of adults beyond the 40th year of life who need not know theTV series were shown photos of the serial figures. Study participants should select the "doctor" of which they would most likely want to be treated and this based on two predetermined reasons (sympathy or expertise). Our results indicate that stereotypical images of doctors found high approval only in the first group of people, while the participants in the second group decided in majorityfora more realistic representation of average appearance.

Psychosocial stressors can modulate the different stages of neoplastic events. It is established that there is activation of 2 well-known stress axes under stress, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and sympatho-adrenal-medullary axis, where especially the proliferating promoting effects on the malignant tumor events are known to depend on β-adrenergic receptors. A new model focuses on the positive activating stress, which leads through the activation of the sympathetic hypothalamic-adipocyte axis to inhibition of tumor growth and reduction of obesity. This leads in mice to increased gene expression of the neurotrophin BDNF, which activates the sympathetic fibers of the white adipose tissue. Over consecutive stimulation of the β-adrenergic receptors and thus the release of leptin, its promotional effect on the tumor growth is inhibited. In the clinical context, these results support the role of complex β-adrenergic signal transduction pathways.

OBJECTIVE Psychological and neural mechanisms of the affective dimension of pain are known to be disturbed in patients with chronic pain disorder. The aim of this functional magnetic resonance imaging study was to assess the neurofunctional and behavioral measures underlying the ability to construct pain-related affective meaning in a painful situation by comparing 21 clinically and psychometrically well-characterized patients with persistent non-nociceptive somatoform pain with 19 healthy controls. METHODS The functional magnetic resonance imaging task involved viewing pictures depicting human hands and feet in different painful and nonpainful situations. Participants were asked to estimate the perceived pain intensity. These data were correlated with behavioral measures of depression, alexithymia, and general cognitive and emotional empathy. RESULTS In a hypothesis-driven region-of-interest analysis, the healthy control group exhibited greater activation of the left perigenual anterior cingulate cortex than patients with pain (Montreal Neurological Institute coordinates (x y z)=-8 38 0; cluster extent=54 voxels; T=4.28; p=.006 corrected for multiple comparisons at cluster level). No group differences in the activation of the anterior insular cortex were found. Scores on self-assessment instruments (Beck Depression Inventory I, Interpersonal Reactivity Index, and 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale) did not influence neuroimaging results. CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest that patients with chronic medically unexplained pain have an altered neural pain perception process owing to decreased activation of empathetic-affective networks, which we interpret as a deficit in pain-related affective meaning construction. These findings may lead to a more specific and detailed neurobiological understanding of the clinical impression of disturbed affect in patients with chronic pain disorder.

Background: Without stimulation, the human brain spontaneously produces highly organized, low-frequency fluctuations of neural activity in intrinsic connectivity networks (ICNs). Furthermore, without adequate explanatory nociceptive input, patients with somatoform pain disorder experience pain symptoms, thus implicating a central dysregulation of pain homeostasis. The present study aimed to test whether interactions among pain-related ICNs, such as the default mode network (DMN), cingular‐insular network (CIN) and sensorimotor network (SMN), are altered in somatoform pain during resting conditions. Methods: Patients with somatoform pain disorder and healthy controls underwent resting functional magnetic resonance imaging that lasted 370 seconds. Using a data-driven approach, the ICNs were isolated, and the functional network connectivity (FNC) was computed. Results: Twenty-one patients and 19 controls enrolled in the study. Significant FNC (p < 0.05, corrected for false discovery rate) was detected between the CIN and SMN/anterior DMN, the anterior DMN and posterior DMN/SMN, and the posterior DMN and SMN. Interestingly, no group differences in FNC were detected. Limitations: The most important limitation of this study was the relatively short resting state paradigm. Conclusion: To our knowledge, our results demonstrated for the first time the resting FNC among pain-related ICNs. However, our results suggest that FNC signatures alone are not able to characterize the putative central dysfunction underpinning somatoform pain disorder.

Functional disorders in urology are troubling for both patients and physicians. Moreover, advances in recent research promise to provide biological insights into psycho-neuro-endocrino-immunological pathways that are one important facet of chronic urogenital inflammations. We present a case of a middle-aged woman with long-lasting recurrent cystitis for which especially a psychosomatic approach helped to understand and cure the disorder. Altogether, as practitioners treat subjects, not illnesses, a biopsychosocial understanding of human disease should be taken into account in cases of chronic recurrent cystitis.

Background Decrease of chest pain perception under placebo conditions has been frequently observed. The aim of this study was to examine whether placebo-induced chest pain improvement could be the result of changes in coronary blood flow. We, therefore, performed an experiment to investigate whether a verbal suggestion (VS) integrated in a cardiologic procedure has an impact on diameters of coronary arteries. Methods A total of 30 chest pain patients with normal diagnostic angiograms were assigned to a VS or a control group (CG). Saline solution was administered intracoronarily to both groups. The VS group received a standardized VS, implying coronary vasodilation. The CG remained without VS. Coronary end points were the changes in percentage diameter stenosis, Minimal lumen diameter and reference diameter of the index coronary segment before and 60 seconds after the administration of saline. Furthermore, changes in hemodynamics, psychological distress, and chest pain perception were recorded. Results The VS led to coronary vasoconstriction in comparison with CG (change in mean percentage diameter stenosis ± SD 3.2% ± 6.3% vs −1.7% ± 6.8%, P = .062; change in mean minimal lumen diameter ± SD −0.18 ± 0.32 mm vs 0.06 ± 0.23 mm, P = .029, no relevant change in the reference diameter). At the same time, the degree of chest pain perception was significantly reduced in the VS group (−0.7 ± 1.3) compared with the CG (0.3 ± 1.3), P = .024. Conclusion The findings of this study suggest that a VS results in a biological alteration within coronary arteries. Contrary to expectation, the VS led to vasoconstriction, whereas chest pain perception decreased.

Klinisches Risikomanagement ist eine etablierte Methode der qualitatsgesicherten somatischen Medizin. Demgegenuber ist eine konsequente und systematisierte Fehlerdebatte in der psychotherapeutischen Medizin kaum zu finden. Aktuelle Entwicklungen legen es nahe, Prozeduren der Fehlerminimierung und Patientensicherheit aus der Mitte des Faches heraus und vor dem Hintergrund eines klinischen Risikomanagements zu entwickeln.

INTRODUCTION: In spite of intensive research, chronic recurrent cystitis is etiologically a still insufficiently understood clinical picture. CASE REPORT: A 52-year-old patient presented with recurrent cystitis that had been treated exclusively somatically for years for which at least a psychosomatic co-pathogenesis of magnitude of the discomfort was diagnostically representable as well as being of therapeutic utility. CONCLUSION: In recollection of a bio-psychosocial understanding of human diseases, psychosomatic considerations should be undertaken at last but not least in patients with persistent cystitis.

Introspective and self-referential in nature, the human brain's default mode network (DMN) is presumed to influence our behavior in response to the environment in predictive manner [Raichle ME, Gusnard DA (2005) J Comp Neurol 493:167-176; Bar M (2009) Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 364:1235-1243]. In the current study, we hypothesize that the strength of DMN-connectivity contributes to distinct introspective psychological processes in every-day social life such as the intuitive understanding of other people through inner representation of their affective states -e. g. his or her pain. 19 healthy individuals underwent functional MRI scanning, which consisted of a resting-state-scan followed by the presentation of visual stimuli depicting human limbs in painful and non-painful situations. After scanning, participants were asked to evaluate the stimuli in terms of pain intensity perceived from the first person perspective. Independent component analysis (ICA) demonstrated that higher integration of the left medial orbitofrontal cortex (BA 32) into the anterior default mode network (aDMN) was associated with higher post-scan pain ratings. Furthermore, the exposition to the "Pain"-pictures led to relative increases of aDMN-activity compared to "No Pain"-stimuli which were also correlated with the subjective pain intensity. The behaviorally predictive functional architecture during a task-free period supports the notion that the DMN serves as a "memory of the future" [Ingvar DH (1985) Hum Neurobiol 4:127-136] in terms of a neuronal cache, storing "a priori scripts," which are recalled to deal efficiently with upcoming environmental events. In addition, our results suggest that an individual predisposition to identify oneself with another's pain influences the automatic response of the DMN during the observation of painful situations.

The ICD-10 offers the possibility of double coding of diagnoses in functional disorders on the one hand, somatoform disorders on the other side. The current S3 guideline for "dealing with patients with non-specific, functional and somatoform physical complaints" states that "[...] in most cases, the specialty of the (initial) examiner and not the clinical constellation seems to define how a diagnosis is made". Based on selective routine data of the Daimler BKK for the years 2008-2010 frequencies of specific functional diagnoses were compared with those of somatoform disorders, additional diagnoses analyzed and compared with epidemiological data from the Federal Health Monitoring System. The incidence found in epidemiological studies of somatoform disorders cannot be found in present routine data. Functional disorders were more frequently diagnosed than somatoform disorders. Certain additional diagnoses that may provide clues to etiological relations are rarely used. As the validity, reliability and purpose of ICD-10 invoicing diagnoses is debatable, there seems to be an imbalance relevant for the health care system. Non-adherence to the guidelines may prevent adequate quality and quantity of patient care.

Bell Telephone Laboratories, Incorporated (BTL), the Research and Development arm of ATT describe some the significant innovations and discoveries that came from Bell Labs; and discuss the factors that made Bell Labs so innovative.

The receptor tyrosine kinase TrkB and its ligands, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and neurotrophin-4/5 (NT-4/5), are critically important for growth, survival and activity-dependent synaptic strengthening in the central nervous system. These TrkB-mediated actions occur in a highly cell-type specific manner. Here we report that cerebellar Purkinje cells, which are richly endowed with TrkB receptors, develop a normal morphology in trkB-deficient mice. Thus, in contrast to other types of neurons, Purkinje cells do not need TrkB for dendritic growth and spine formation. Instead, we find a moderate delay in the maturation of GABAergic synapses and, more importantly, an abnormal multiple climbing fiber innervation in Purkinje cells in trkB-deficient mice. Thus, our results demonstrate an involvement of TrkB receptors in synapse elimination and reveal a new role for receptor tyrosine kinases in the brain.

In order to slow down the evolution and to minimise the extent of syneresis in dairy products the effect of new process steps and recipes on the structure of the final products were studied. The objective of this paper was to detect structural changes with regard to the water-immobilisation of differently treated whey protein concentrates (WPC) by means of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). The first measurements with pure WPC show obvious variations for the differently treated samples and the original native sample (a). (b) Denatured and (c) denatured and additionally sheared WPCs show not only an observably higher viscosity, but also shorter relaxation times. The fraction of the immobilised phase is about twice as high as in native WPC samples. These data reveal an improved water-holding capacity. (d) WPC samples mixed with cream and afterwards emulsified show a different behaviour with regard to their water-holding capacity during the evolution of the shearing process. The results suggest that for each treatment and/or change of the recipe the optimal shearing time has to be determined in order to achieve minimal relaxation times. These are obviously correlated with the highest water-holding capacity. The presented data indicate that NMR measurements are a useful technique to detect and analyse changes of the mobility of water and to identify fractions of differently bound/immobilised water phases of WPCs in dependence on the corresponding pre-treatment and recipe, respectively.

New process steps in the production of fresh cheese were introduced and varied in order to reduce the undesirable phenomenon of syneresis without adding milk-foreign additives. Native and modified whey protein concentrates (WPC) with approx. 12% protein were used as ingredients in the production of fresh cheese spreads. During production the fresh cheese samples were submitted to an extra flow-induced mechanical stress. The aim of the present study is to detect changes of the water-holding capacity of different treated fresh cheese by means of the non-destructive low resolution nuclear magnetic resonance (LR NMR). Furthermore, a newly developed measuring method based on NMR, the so-called wash-out-test, was implemented in order to simulate syneresis of fresh cheese. The obtained data were correlated with the results of the viscosity and the firmness of the samples. Syneresis data were determined by decanting experiments as a function of the storage duration. The present study shows that the shearing procedure during processing has an influence on the viscosity of the final product, its firmness and the syneresis behaviour of the fresh cheese samples. The main result is that good syneresis properties seem to be correlated with a softer mechanical consistency of the products. The presented data indicate that NMR measurements and, especially, wash-out-tests are useful techniques to characterise the water-holding capacity (WHC) and the structure of differently treated fresh cheese samples. Based on this knowledge concerning the microscopic and macroscopic material behaviour, it is possible to improve the production processing and the final, consumer-relevant properties of fresh cheese products.

The Bell Labs of decades ago was well recognized as a national treasure for its pioneering innovations and its creation of new knowledge. However, the breakup of the Bell System that occurred in 1984 resulted in considerable change for research and development in telecommunication. This paper reviews that history and, in anticipation of continuing uncertainty and a possible impending crisis, examines possible options for the future to assure leadership by the United States in basic research in telecommunication.

The growths in capacity of various generations of transmission technology were studied. The results show that the growth rates for different transmission technologies are themselves increasing, which means that the pace of transmission technology is accelerating. What is somewhat surprising is that long-distance rates are not decreasing more steeply. What is not surprising is the bandwidth glut in backbone networks. However, the increasing availability of transmission capacity in the bandwidth-rich world of the future could herald a return to circuit switching for data telecommunication.

Background: Successful social interaction relies on the ability to attribute mental states to other people. Previous functional neuroimaging studies have shown that this process, described as Theory of Mind (ToM) or mentalization, is reliably associated with activation of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). However, this study presents a novel and surprising finding that provides new insight into the role of the mPFC in mentalization tasks. Methodology/Principal Findings: Twenty healthy individuals were recruited from a wide range of ages and social backgrounds. Participants underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while viewing a well-established ToM visual paradigm involving moving triangles. Functional MRI data were analyzed using a classical general linear model. No activation was detected in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) during movement patterns that typically elicit ToM. However, increased activity was observed in the right middle occipital gyrus, right temporoparietal junction (TPJ), left middle occipital gyrus and right inferior frontal gyrus. No correlation was found between participants’ age and BOLD response. Conclusions/Significance: In contrast with previous neuroimaging research, our findings support the notion that mPFC function is not critical for reasoning about the mental states of others; furthermore, our data indicate that the right TPJ and right inferior frontal gyrus are able to perform mentalization without any contributions from the mPFC.

In contemporary U.S. doctor's series, the characters are usually represented by good-looking or typical character actors. The aim of our pilot study was to investigate whether the long-term impact of this format on German television viewers could have an influence on the choice of doctor in Germany. Two different groups of people anticipating TV consumption patterns were questioned: a first group of younger adults who knew theTV series was asked to judge their doctor choice using a web-based survey tool with respect to three criteria (sympathy, expertise and own treatment preference). The second group of adults beyond the 40th year of life who need not know theTV series were shown photos of the serial figures. Study participants should select the "doctor" of which they would most likely want to be treated and this based on two predetermined reasons (sympathy or expertise). Our results indicate that stereotypical images of doctors found high approval only in the first group of people, while the participants in the second group decided in majorityfora more realistic representation of average appearance.

Conversion disorder is a medical condition in which a person has paralysis, blindness, or other neurological symptoms that cannot be clearly explained physiologically. To date, there is neither specific nor conclusive treatment. In this paper, we draw together a number of disparate pieces of knowledge to propose a novel intervention to provide transient alleviation for this condition. As caloric vestibular stimulation (CVS) has been demonstrated to modulate transiently a variety of cognitive functions associated with brain activations, especially in the temporal-parietal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, and insular cortex, there is evidence to assume an effect in specific mental disorders. Therefore, we go on to hypothesize that lateralized cold vestibular caloric stimulation will be effective in treating conversion disorder and we present provisional evidence from one patient that supports this conclusion. If our hypothesis is correct, this will be the first time in psychiatry and neurology that a clinically well-known mental disorder, long considered difficult to understand and to treat, is relieved by a simple or common, non-invasive medical procedure.