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It is unclear whether deviations in brain and behavioral development, which may underpin elevated substance use during adolescence, are predispositions for or consequences of substance use initiation. Here, we examine behavioral and neuroimaging indices at early and mid-adolescence in drug-naive youths to identify possible predisposing factors for substance use initiation and its possible consequences.Among 304 drug-naive adolescents at baseline (age 14 years) from the IMAGEN dataset, 83 stayed drug-naive, 133 used alcohol on 1 to 9 occasions, 42 on 10 to 19 occasions, 27 on 20 to 39 occasions, and 19 on40 occasions at follow-up (age 16 years). Baseline measures included brain activation during the Monetary Incentive Delay task. Data at both baseline and follow-up included measures of trait impulsivity and delay discounting.From baseline to follow-up, impulsivity decreased in the 0 and 1- to 9-occasions groups (p .004), did not change in the 10- to 19-occasions and 20- to 29-occasions groups (p.294), and uncharacteristically increased in the40-occasions group (p = .046). Furthermore, blunted medial orbitofrontal cortex activation during reward outcome at baseline significantly predicted higher alcohol use frequency at follow-up, above and beyond behavioral and clinical variables (p = .008).These results suggest that the transition from no use to frequent drinking in early to mid-adolescence may disrupt normative developmental changes in behavioral control. In addition, blunted activity of the medial orbitofrontal cortex during reward outcome may underscore a predisposition toward the development of more severe alcohol use in adolescents. This distinction is clinically important, as it informs early intervention efforts in preventing the onset of substance use disorder in adolescents.

Objective Irritable mood, a common and impairing symptom in psychopathology, has been proposed to underlie the developmental link between oppositional problems in youth and depression in adulthood. We examined the neural correlates of adolescent irritability in IMAGEN, a sample of 2,024 14-year-old adolescents from 5 European countries. Method The Development and Well-Being Assessment (DAWBA) was used to assess attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, major depressive disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder. Three items from the DAWBA, selected as close matches to the Affective Reactivity Index, were used to assess irritability. Structural magnetic resonance imaging was examined using whole-brain voxel-based morphometry analysis, and functional magnetic resonance imaging was examined during a stop signal task of inhibitory control. Imaging data were included in structural equation models to examine the direct and indirect associations between irritable mood and comorbid DSM diagnoses. Results Whole-brain voxelwise analysis showed that adolescent irritable mood was associated with less gray matter volume and less neural activation underlying inhibitory control in frontal and temporal cortical areas (cluster-correction at p Conclusion This study identifies adolescent irritability as an independent construct and points to a neurobiological correlate to irritability that is an important contributing feature to many psychopathological disorders.

The non-centrosymmetric scandium borate ScB6O9(OH)3 was obtained through a high-pressure/high-temperature experiment at 6 GPa and 1473 K. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction revealed that the structure is isotypic to InB6O9(OH)3 containing borate triple layers separated by scandium layers. The compound crystallizes in the space group Fdd2 with the lattice parameters a = 38.935(4), b = 4.4136(4), and c = 7.6342(6) Å. Powder X-ray diffraction and vibrational spectroscopy were used to further characterize the compound and verify the proposed structure solution.

γ-Sm(BO2)3 was obtained via a high-pressure/high-temperature approach in a multi-anvil apparatus at 10 GPa and 1673 K. It crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group Pca21 (no. 29) with the lattice parameters a = 18.3088(8), b = 4.4181(2), and c = 4.2551(2) Å. The compound was analysed by means of X-ray diffraction and vibrational spectroscopy. The structure is isotypic to that of the already known meta-oxoborates γ-RE(BO2)3 (RE = La−Nd) and built up of a highly condensed borate framework containing three-, four-, six-, and ten-membered rings. Next to neodymium, samarium represents the second rare earth element that forms the α-, β-, and γ-modification of the four known rare earth meta-oxoborate structure types.

La3 B6 O13 (OH) was obtained by a high-pressure/high-temperature experiment at 6 GPa and 1673 K. The compound crystallizes in the space group P21 (no. 4) with the lattice parameters a=4.785(2), b=12.880(4), c=7.433(3) A, and β=90.36(10)°, and is built up of corner- as well as edge-sharing BO4 tetrahedra. It represents the first acentric high-pressure borate containing these B2 O6 entities. The compound develops borate layers of "sechser"-rings with the La3+ cations positioned between the layers. Single-crystal and powder X-ray diffraction, vibrational and MAS NMR spectroscopy, second-harmonic generation (SHG) and thermoanalytical measurements, as well as computational methods were used to affirm the proposed structure and the B2 O6 entities.

The title compound β-Eu(BO2)3 was synthesized in a high-pressure/high-temperature experiment at 4 GPa and 1473 K. The europium borate crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group Pnma (no. 62) with the lattice parameters a = 16.071(2), b = 7.440(4), and c = 12.362(5) Å. The structure is isotypic to the already known meta-borates β-RE(BO2)3 (RE = Y, Nd, Sm, Gd, Dy–Lu) and is built up of approximately triangular ribbons of BO4 tetrahedra. The compound was further characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, vibrational spectroscopy and shows a typical Eu3+ line emission upon excitation at 448 nm.

Chemistry - a European journal 27(19), 6007 - 6014 (2021). doi:10.1002/chem.202005244, Based on the results from previous high-pressure experiments on the gadolinite-type mineral datolite, CaBSiO$_4$(OH), the behavior of the isostructural borates ��-HfB$_2$O$_5$ and ��-ZrB$_2$O$_5$ have been studied by synchrotron-based in situ high-pressure single-crystal X-ray diffraction experiments. On compression to 120 GPa, both borate layer-structures are preserved. Additionally, at ���114 GPa, the formation of a second phase can be observed in both compounds. The new high-pressure modification ��-ZrB$_2$O$_5$ features a rearrangement of the corner-sharing BO$_4$ tetrahedra, while still maintaining the four- and eight-membered rings. The new phase ��-HfB$_2$O$_5$ contains ten-membered rings including the rare structural motif of edge-sharing BO$_4$ tetrahedra with exceptionally short B���O and B���������B distances. For both structures, unusually high coordination numbers are found for the transition metal cations, with ninefold coordinated Hf$^{4+}$, and tenfold coordinated Zr$^{4+}$, respectively. These findings remarkably show the potential of cold compression as a low-energy pathway to discover metastable structures that exhibit new coordinations and structural motifs., Published by Wiley-VCH, Weinheim

International audience; Objective: Cannabis consumption during adolescence has been reported as a risk factor for psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) and schizophrenia. However, brain developmental processes associated with cannabis-related PLEs are still poorly described.Method: A total of 706 adolescents from the general population who were recruited by the IMAGEN consortium had structural magnetic resonance imaging scans at both 14 and 19 years of age. We used deformation-based morphometry to map voxelwise brain changes between the two time points, using the pairwise algorithm in SPM12b. We used an a priori region-of-interest approach focusing on the hippocampus/parahippocampus to perform voxelwise linear regressions. Lifetime cannabis consumption was assessed using the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and other Drugs (ESPAD), and PLEs were assessed with the Comprehensive Assessment Psychotic-like experiences (CAPE) tool. We first tested whether hippocampus/parahippocampus development was associated with PLEs. Then we formulated and tested an a priori simple mediation model in which uncus development mediates the association between lifetime cannabis consumption and PLEs.Results: We found that PLEs were associated with reduced expansion within a specific region of the right hippocampus/parahippocampus formation, the uncus (p = .002 at the cluster level, p = .018 at the peak level). The partial simple mediation model revealed a significant total effect from lifetime cannabis consumption to PLEs (b = 0.069, 95% CI = 0.04−0.1, p =2 × 10−16), as well as a small yet significant, indirect effect of right uncus development (0.004; 95% CI = 0.0004−0.01, p = .026).Conclusion: We show here that the uncus development is involved in the cerebral basis of PLEs in a population-based sample of healthy adolescents

In 2015, more than 890,000 asylum seekers were registered in Germany. The provision of medical and psychosocial care for asylum seekers is facing numerous obstacles. Access to health care is mostly insufficient, particularly in initial reception centres. The present article describes the development and implementation of an interdisciplinary outpatient clinic for asylum seekers at the main registration authority in the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg operated by physicians of the University Hospital of Heidelberg and the local Medical Association in Heidelberg. A steering committee was appointed to plan and implement the interdisciplinary outpatient clinic. Semi-structured interviews with nine steering committee members were conducted to elucidate perceived barriers during the planning and implementation phase. The steering committee's strong personal commitment and the health authorities' impartial management were cited as the main contributing factors to the success of the implementation process. Significant barriers were seen in the funding of personnel, equipment, and language mediation as well as in legal liability and billing-related aspects. Results are discussed with a focus on financing, administrative and legal framework as well as language mediation, documentation and further matters that are essential to ensure high-quality care.

La3B6O13(OH) was obtained by a high‐pressure/high‐temperature experiment at 6 GPa and 1673 K. The compound crystallizes in the space group P21 (no. 4) with the lattice parameters a=4.785(2), b=12.880(4), c=7.433(3) Å, and β=90.36(10)°, and is built up of corner‐ as well as edge‐sharing BO4 tetrahedra. It represents the first acentric high‐pressure borate containing these B2O6 entities. The compound develops borate layers of „sechser“‐rings with the La3+ cations positioned between the layers. Single‐crystal and powder X‐ray diffraction, vibrational and MAS NMR spectroscopy, second‐harmonic generation (SHG) and thermoanalytical measurements, as well as computational methods were used to affirm the proposed structure and the B2O6 entities., Sharing is caring: La3B6O13(OH) was obtained via a high‐pressure/high‐temperature route at 6 GPa and 1673 K. The compound represents the first acentric borate displaying the rare feature of edge‐sharing BO4 tetrahedra. SHG measurements reveals a significant signal; further characterizations were carried out by NMR and vibrational spectroscopy, thermoanalytical analysis, and computational methods.

A high-pressure/high-temperature experiment at 7.5 GPa and 1673 K led to the formation of the new compound &beta, Y2B4O9. In contrast to the already known polymorph &alpha, Y2B4O9, which crystallizes in the space group C2/c, the reported structure could be solved via single-crystal Xray diffraction in the triclinic space group P1 (no. 2) and is isotypic to the already known lanthanide borates &beta, Dy2B4O9 and &beta, Gd2B4O9. Furthermore, the photoluminescence of an europium doped sample of &beta, Y2B4O9:Eu3+ (8%) was investigated.

The future office furnishings will reflect the future work and organizational structures. Prof. Wilhelm Bauer, head of the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering (IAO), assumes that routine tasks will be performed by intelligent systems in a few years’ time (Bauer 2017). The human being is then mainly needed for work that requires creativity or intuition. This work requires a high level of communication and collaboration and is often organized project-oriented in changing teams with the involvement of external experts. The architectural implementation creates a kind of campus that provides employees with all the resources they need and at the same time gives them a home. When such modern office landscapes are furnished, the individual pieces of furniture are increasingly pushed into the background. The decisive factor is the conception of an individual furnishing solution for each company that corresponds to the tasks, processes and communication flows. The so-called activity-based working, different workplaces inside and outside the company, which optimally support the respective activity, is becoming more and more common in different characters. The development of these furnishing solutions requires a high degree of interdisciplinary competence, which networks topics such as interior design, psychology, organizational and process structure as well as health management. (Deutsches Netzwerk Buro e. V./Initiative Neue Qualitat der Arbeit 2017). Activity-based working, an open office landscape, is state of the art concerning office environments according to today’s knowledge. However, the overwhelming majority of employees prefer to work in a cellular structure. This contradiction and the resulting change process for both employees and managers must be carefully designed and sensitively accompanied. Although the so-called multi spaces—if they have been implemented accordingly—demonstrably promote the motivation and identification of employees and can exert a positive influence on their well-being, many employees have to be snatched from their familiar surroundings and accompanied into a new environment that is initially likely to be prejudiced. Adequate office furnishings therefore form the basis for organizational development. The process of change is based on the individual needs of the company and its employees and takes into account important psychological parameters during the transition phase. Due to the increasing pressure to change, it is advisable to start the associated strategic preparations in good time. If the structural factors such as lighting and acoustic planning as well as a work-promoting room climate have been taken into account, the use of functional furniture and sensible furniture planning can create zones for different work situations. In addition to ergonomically verifiable parameters, the room is always about the individual experience of the person and his situation at the workplace.

Background Binge eating and other forms of disordered eating behavior (DEB) are associated with failed inhibitory control. This study investigated the neural correlates of failed inhibitory control as a potential biomarker for DEB. Methods The study used prospective longitudinal data from the European IMAGEN study adolescent cohort. Participants completed baseline assessments (questionnaires and a brain scan [functional magnetic resonance imaging]) at 14 years of age and a follow-up assessment (questionnaires) at 16 years of age. Self-reported binge eating and/or purging were used to indicate presence of DEB. Neural correlates of failed inhibition were assessed using the stop signal task. Participants were categorized as healthy control subjects (reported no DEB at both time points), maintainers (reported DEB at both time points), recoverers (reported DEB at baseline only), and developers (reported DEB at follow-up only). Forty-three individuals per group with complete scanning data were matched on gender, age, puberty, and intelligence (N = 172). Results At baseline, despite similar task performance, incorrectly responding to stop signals (failed inhibitory control) was associated with greater recruitment of the medial prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex in the developers compared with healthy control subjects and recoverers. Conclusions Greater recruitment of the medial prefrontal and anterior cingulate regions during failed inhibition accords with abnormal evaluation of errors contributing to DEB development. As this precedes symptom onset and is evident despite normal task performance, neural responses during failed inhibition may be a useful biomarker of vulnerability for DEB. This study highlights the potential value of prospective neuroimaging studies for identifying markers of illness before the emergence of behavior changes.

In 2015, more than 890,000 asylum seekers were registered in Germany. The provision of medical and psychosocial care for asylum seekers is facing numerous obstacles. Access to health care is mostly insufficient, particularly in initial reception centres. The present article describes the development and implementation of an interdisciplinary outpatient clinic for asylum seekers at the main registration authority in the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg operated by physicians of the University Hospital of Heidelberg and the local Medical Association in Heidelberg. A steering committee was appointed to plan and implement the interdisciplinary outpatient clinic. Semi-structured interviews with nine steering committee members were conducted to elucidate perceived barriers during the planning and implementation phase. The steering committee's strong personal commitment and the health authorities' impartial management were cited as the main contributing factors to the success of the implementation process. Significant barriers were seen in the funding of personnel, equipment, and language mediation as well as in legal liability and billing-related aspects. Results are discussed with a focus on financing, administrative and legal framework as well as language mediation, documentation and further matters that are essential to ensure high-quality care.

Background To effectively prevent injury in recreational alpine skiing, it is important to identify modifiable risk factors that can be targeted through exercise and training. Fatigue is a potential risk factor in recreational skiing, but no investigations have evaluated concentric/eccentric quadriceps and hamstring fatigue in recreational skiers. We tested the hypothesis that recreational skiing is associated with more pronounced eccentric as compared with concentric muscle fatigue. Methods Twenty-four healthy and fit recreational skiers (14 male and 10 female) performed an isokinetic muscle test 1 day before, 1 h after, and 24 h after a 4 h skiing session. The testing protocol consisted of concentric and eccentric quadriceps and hamstring contractions for both legs. Results Eccentric peak hamstring torque (both thighs) and eccentric peak quadriceps torque (left thigh) were reduced in male and female participants (p

BackgroundResilience is the capacity of individuals to resist mental disorders despite exposure to stress. Little is known about its neural underpinnings. The putative variation of white-matter microstructure with resilience in adolescence, a critical period for brain maturation and onset of high-prevalence mental disorders, has not been assessed by diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Lower fractional anisotropy (FA) though, has been reported in the corpus callosum (CC), the brain's largest white-matter structure, in psychiatric and stress-related conditions. We hypothesized that higher FA in the CC would characterize stress-resilient adolescents.MethodThree groups of adolescents recruited from the community were compared: resilient with low risk of mental disorder despite high exposure to lifetime stress (n = 55), at-risk of mental disorder exposed to the same level of stress (n = 68), and controls (n = 123). Personality was assessed by the NEO-Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI). Voxelwise statistics of DTI values in CC were obtained using tract-based spatial statistics. Regional projections were identified by probabilistic tractography.ResultsHigher FA values were detected in the anterior CC of resilient compared to both non-resilient and control adolescents. FA values varied according to resilience capacity. Seed regional changes in anterior CC projected onto anterior cingulate and frontal cortex. Neuroticism and three other NEO-FFI factor scores differentiated non-resilient participants from the other two groups.ConclusionHigh FA was detected in resilient adolescents in an anterior CC region projecting to frontal areas subserving cognitive resources. Psychiatric risk was associated with personality characteristics. Resilience in adolescence may be related to white-matter microstructure.

D-Enzyme (4-a-glucanotransferase, EC 2.4.1.25) from cultured symbiotic Nostoc and Chlorella has been partially purified and characterized. The enzyme catalyzes the disproportionation of maltooligosaccharides and is able to form maltooligosaccharides from soluble starch and D-glucose. The properties of D-enzyme from Nostoc and Chlorella are similar with respect to substrate specificity, KM values and pH dependence, but differ with respect to temperature optimum and molecular weight (40 °C/50 kDa and 50 °C/230 kDa for the enzyme from Nostoc and Chlorella, respectively). D-enzyme activity has been demonstrated also in freeliving Anabaena, Chlorella and Chlamydomonas. Its physiological role in symbiotic Nostoc is briefly discussed

A site-specific flora and fauna characterize natural habitats. However, the plant diversity in ecosystems rapidly decreases more than often due to anthropogenic activities. The destruction of habitats leads to a decrease in ecosystem diversity, plant diversity and, in worst cases, to the extinction of plant species (Tilman et al. 1994). About 3% of the described plant species of the world are considered to be threatened, although according to some estimation this value may reach a maximum of 70%. In any case, over the years the number of plant species belonging to different categories of threat (critical, endangered, and vulnerable) is rising continually (IUCN 2006). In nature symbiotic associations between plant roots and mycorrhizal fungi appear to be the norm (Smith and Read 2008). Numerous experiments have shown the positive influence of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) on plant fitness by enhancing the uptake of essential nutrients, the resistance against root pathogens, and the tolerance of environmental stress like drought and heavy metals. The stability and diversity of plant communities have been shown to be influenced by the microbial community in soil including mycorrhizal fungi, and vice versa plant communities affect arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. These interactions underline the importance of a functioning soil micro-flora including mycorrhizal fungi for a well functioning ecosystem and therefore indicate the potential significance of fungal symbionts of plants for restoration practices (Haselwandter 1997), especially as there seems to be a defined relationship between single types of AMF and their plant hosts (van der Heijden 1998a).

The aim of this study was to find out whether cardiac responses to the beta-adrenoceptor antagonists with intrinsic sympathomimetic activity (ISA) xamoterol and celiprolol are mediated by cardiac beta1- or beta2-adrenoceptors or both. For this purpose we assessed, in six healthy male volunteers, the effects of xamoterol (100 and 200 mg, p.o.) and celiprolol (200, 600, and 1,200 mg, p.o.) on blood pressure, heart rate, and heart rate-corrected duration of the electromechanical systole (QS2c, as a measure of inotropism). Xamoterol, in both doses, increased systolic blood pressure and heart rate, transiently decreased diastolic blood pressure, and shortened QS2c; all these effects were attenuated after pretreatment of the volunteers with the beta1-adrenoceptor antagonist bisoprolol. Celiprolol, in all three doses, increased heart rate, decreased diastolic blood pressure, and shortened QS2c but only marginally increased systolic blood pressure. Bisoprolol did not attenuate these celiprolol effects but rather enhanced celiprolol effects on systolic blood pressure and heart rate. In a further set of experiments, we studied cardiovascular effects of celiprolol in six healthy volunteers whose beta2-adrenoceptors had been desensitized by a 2-week treatment with 3x5 mg/day terbutaline. Under these conditions, celiprolol failed to increase heart rate or to shorten QS2c. We conclude that, under resting conditions, in healthy volunteers, beta-adrenoceptor antagonists with ISA can exert increases in heart rate and contractility that are mediated by either cardiac beta1-adrenoceptor (xamoterol) or cardiac beta2-adrenoceptor (celiprolol) stimulation. Thus in the human heart, the ISA of beta-adrenoceptor antagonists can be a beta1- or beta2-adrenoceptor agonistic component.

Background: In patients with chronic heart failure cardiac β1-adrenoceptors are desensitized whereas β2-adrenoceptors are only marginally affected. The mechanism underlying this differential regulation is not known. Objectives: To find out whether or not human cardiac β2-adrenoceptors might be ‘resistant’ to agonist-induced desensitization and whether or not the antiallergic drug ketotifen might attenuate possible desensitization. Methods: We investigated, in a single blinded, randomised, placebo-controlled, cross-over study of ten healthy male volunteers (mean age, 25.3±0.7 years), the effects of two weeks treatment with the β2-adrenoceptor agonist terbutaline (3×5 mg/day p.o.) with and without simultaneous treatment with ketotifen (2×1 mg/day p.o. for three weeks) or placebo on β-adrenoceptor-mediated cardiovascular effects. Cardiovascular effects were assessed as isoprenaline (3.5–35 ng/kg/min)- and terbutaline (25–150 ng/kg/min)-infusion-induced increases in heart rate and systolic blood pressure, decreases in diastolic blood pressure and shortening of the systolic time intervals (STIs), heart rate corrected duration of electromechanical systole (QS2c) and pre-ejection period (PEP; as a measure of inotropism). Results: Ketotifen did not significantly affect basal haemodynamics in the volunteers. Isoprenaline- and terbutaline-infusion caused dose-dependent increases in systolic blood pressure and heart rate, decreases in diastolic blood pressure and shortening of QS2c and PEP, whereby isoprenaline effects were more pronounced. After two weeks of treatment with terbutaline p.o., isoprenaline- and terbutaline-infusion-induced increases in heart rate, shortening of QS2c and PEP were significantly reduced whereby terbutaline-infusion effects were markedly more attenuated than isoprenaline-infusion effects. Ketotifen significantly reduced terbutaline p.o. treatment-induced attenuation of all terbutaline-infusion effects (largely β2-adrenoceptor-mediated) and the isoprenaline-infusion-induced increase in heart rate (β1- and β2-adrenoceptor-mediated), but did not (or only marginally) affect reduction in isoprenaline-induced shortening of QS2c and PEP (largely β1-adrenoceptor-mediated). Conclusion: Human cardiac β2-adrenoceptors are not ‘resistant’ to agonist-induced desensitization: Ketotifen might prevent such β2-adrenoceptor-agonist-evoked desensitization.