[O-DEM: a new cognitive screening in patients with hearing loss]. / O-DEM: ein neues kognitives Screening bei Schwerhörigkeit.

BACKGROUND: Hearing loss is a significant risk factor for dementia. To date, cognitive impairment and dementia in patients with hearing impairment (HI) cannot be adequately diagnosed by commonly administered cognitive screening tests due to sensory impairments. Therefore, an adapted screening is needed. The aim of the present study was to develop and evaluate a cognitive screening for people with HI. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The new cognitive screening, called O­DEM, entails a word fluency test, the Trail Making Test A (TMT-A), and a subtraction task. First, the O­DEM was tested in a large clinical sample (N = 2837) of people without subjective HI. In a second step, the O­DEM was evaluated in 213 patients with objectively assessed HI and compared with the Hearing-Impaired Montreal Cognitive Assessment (HI-MoCA). RESULTS: The results indicate that the O­DEM subtests significantly discriminate between participants with no, mild, and moderate to severe cognitive impairment. Based on the mean and standard deviation of the participants without cognitive impairment, a transformation of the raw scores was performed and a total score with a maximum value of 10 was determined. In the second part of the study, the O­DEM was shown to be as sensitive as the HI-MoCA in differentiating between people with and without cognitive impairment. CONCLUSION: Compared to other screenings, the O­DEM is a quickly administrable screening for the detection of mild and moderate cognitive impairment in people with HI.

Individual differences in common factors of emotional traits and executive functions predict functional connectivity of the amygdala.

Evidence suggests that individual differences in emotion control are associated with frontoparietal-limbic networks and linked to emotional traits and executive functions. In a first attempt to directly target the link between emotional traits and executive functions using resting-state fMRI analysis, 43 healthy adults completed a test battery including executive tasks and emotional trait self-assessments that were subjected to a principal component analysis. Of the three factors detected, two explained 40.4% of the variance and were further investigated. Both factors suggest a relation between emotional traits and executive functions. Specifically, the first factor consisted of measures related to inhibitory control and negative affect, and the second factor was related to reward and positive affect. To investigate whether this interplay between emotional traits and executive functions is reflected in neural connectivity, we used resting-state fMRI to explore the functional connectivity of the amygdala as a starting point, and progressed to other seed-based analyses based on the initial findings. We found that the first factor predicted the strength of connectivity between brain regions known to be involved in the cognitive control of emotion, including the amygdala and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, whereas the second factor predicted the strength of connectivity between brain regions known to be involved in reward and attention, including the amygdala, the caudate and the thalamus. These findings suggest that individual differences in the ability to inhibit negative affect are mediated by prefrontal-limbic pathways, while the ability to be positive and use rewarding information is mediated by a network that includes the amygdala and thalamostriatal regions.

Simulating self-organized molecular patterns using interaction-site models.

Molecular building blocks interacting at the nanoscale organize spontaneously into stable monolayers that display intriguing long-range ordering motifs on the surface of atomic substrates. The patterning process, if appropriately controlled, represents a viable route to manufacture practical nanodevices. With this goal in mind, we seek to capture the salient features of the self-assembly process by means of an interaction-site model. The geometry of the building blocks, the symmetry of the underlying substrate, and the strength and range of interactions encode the self-assembly process. By means of Monte Carlo simulations, we have predicted an ample variety of ordering motifs which nicely reproduce the experimental results. Here, we explore in detail the phase behavior of the system in terms of the temperature and the lattice constant of the underlying substrate.

Molecular jigsaw: pattern diversity encoded by elementary geometrical features.

Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) images of self-organized monolayers of Frechet dendrons display a variety of two-dimensional ordering motifs, which are influenced by engineering the molecular interactions. An interaction-site model condenses the essential molecular properties determined by molecular mechanics modeling, which in a Monte Carlo approach successfully predicts the various ordering motifs. This confirms that geometry as well as a few salient weak interaction sites encode these structural motifs.

Potassium oxoantimonate(V), K(3)[SbO(4)].

The oxoantimonate K(3)[SbO(4)] crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P2/c with the Na(3)[BiO(4)] structure type. The structure contains chains of [SbO(6)] octahedra connected via common edges. All K and Sb atoms lie on twofold axes, i.e. 0,y,1/4 or 1/2,y,1/4.

Alkaline metal oxoantimonates(III), A3[SbO3] (A = K or Cs).

The two title trialkaline trioxoantimonates(III), tripotassium trioxoantimonate(III), K(3)[SbO(3)], (I), and tricaesium trioxoantimonate(III), Cs(3)[SbO(3)], (II), crystallize in the cubic Na(3)[AsS(3)] structure type in space group P2(1)3. The structures show discrete Psi-tetrahedral [SbO(3)](3-) anions with C(3v) point-group symmetry. The Sb-O distances are 1.923 (4) A in (I) and 1.928 (2) A in (II), and the O-Sb-O bond angles are 99.5 (2) degrees in (I) and 100.4 (1) degrees in (II).

Inflammatory bowel disease is associated with changes of enterocytic junctions.

Changes of the intestinal mucosal barrier are considered to play a role in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Our experiments were designed to identify dysregulation of epithelial junctional molecules in the IBD intestinum and to address whether altered expression of these molecules is a primary event in IBD or a phenomenon secondary to the inflammatory process. Noninflamed and inactively and actively inflamed mucosal tissues from patients with ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease as well as tissues from control subjects were analyzed for the expression of junctional molecules by different methods. Marked downregulation of junctional proteins and their respective mRNAs was observed in actively inflamed IBD tissues. In IBD tissues with inactive inflammation, only a few junctional molecules such as E-cadherin and alpha-catenin were affected, whereas expression of desmosomal or tight junction-associated proteins appeared almost unchanged. In noninflamed IBD tissues, junctional protein expression was not different from that seen in normal control subjects. In IBD, downregulation of junctional molecule expression is apparently associated with the inflammatory process and does not likely represent a primary phenomenon.

beta-Rubidium antimonide, Rb4Sb4.

beta-RbSb crystallizes with the LiAs structure type. As in the alpha phase (NaP type), Sb(-) forms approximate 4(1) helical chains (2(1) crystallographic symmetry), with Sb-Sb distances of 2.838 (1) and 2.862 (1) A. In contrast to the alpha phase, the helices have different chirality.

Barium antimonide oxide, Ba3Sb2O.

The antimonide oxide Ba(3)Sb(2)O consists of discrete [Sb(2)](4-) and O(2-) anions, and crystallizes with a new structure type. The Sb-Sb distances are comparable to those known from electron-precise zintl phases and the tetrahedral coordination of the O(2-) anion is also observed in some other Ba-rich metallide oxides.

Synthesis and stereoselective kappa-receptor binding of methylated analogues of GR-89.696.

Stereoselective synthesis of all four stereoisomers of methylated analogues 8 of the kappa-receptor agonist GR-89.696 is presented. Starting with orthogonally protected piperazine derivatives (R,R)-4 and (S,S)-4, the reaction sequence involves oxidation, reductive amination and modification of the piperazine nitrogen protective groups. The configuration of the stereocentre in alpha-position to the pyrrolidine moiety is determined by X-ray structure analysis of (R,S)-8. In receptor-binding studies with the radioligand U-69.593, the stereoisomer with (S)-configuration at both stereogenic centres (S,S)-8 displayed the highest kappa-receptor affinity with a K(i)-value of 0.67 nM.

Barium oxoaluminate hydride.

The crystal structure of Ba(3)(AlO(4))H is isotypic with Ba(3)SiS(5) and contains AlO(4)(5-) and H(-) anions. The hydride and oxide anions are coordinated by six Ba and five Ba/one Al atoms in an octahedral geometry. The hydrogen content was examined by MAS-NMR experiments of the deuterated compound.

What safety measures need to be taken in oral food challenges in children?

BACKGROUND: Food allergens are often accused of causing numerous ailments. This is particularly true for the pediatric population, where the incidence of food allergy is four times as high as in adults. As food challenges may provoke life-threatening reactions, intensive safety measures need to be taken during provocation, and prompt medical intervention may become necessary. METHODS: We retrospectively evaluated 349 oral challenges in 204 children with atopic dermatitis, looking for criteria to help the physician decide which patients need medical intervention. RESULTS: A total of 178 (51%) oral food challenges with the four allergens (cow's milk [CM], hen's egg [HE], wheat, and soy) showed a positive clinical reaction. Of these, 120 (67%) needed medical intervention. In 42 (35%) cases, intervention was parenteral, and oral medication was given in 78 (65%) cases. There was a strong positive correlation (90%) between the level of specific IgE and the need for medical intervention (> or = 17.50 kU/l for CM, wheat, and soy; > or = 3.50 kU/l for HE). Patient history of food allergy was an indicator of the need for medical intervention (P = 0.01). A positive patient history and a high level of specific IgE were significantly (P=0.003) associated with parenteral medication in HE. CONCLUSIONS: Patient history of food allergy is a reliable indicator of the need for medical intervention in the cases of CM, wheat, and soy regardless of the level of specific IgE. With HE, a positive patient history plus a high level of specific IgE significantly indicates the need for parenteral medication. On the basis of our results, we recommend establishing intravenous access in children with a level of specific IgE of > or = 17.50 kU/l (CAP class 4) to CM and wheat, or with specific IgE of > or =3.50 kU/l (CAP class 3) to HE.

Expression of the membrane protein tyrosine phosphatase CD148 in human tissues.

CD148, a receptor-like protein tyrosine phosphatase also known as HPTP-eta/DEP-1, is involved in signal transduction in leucocytes and is thought to contribute to mechanisms of cellular differentiation. We have investigated the in situ expression of CD148 in various fresh-frozen tissues by immunohistology and analyzed its expression on subpopulations of activated peripheral blood leucocytes by flow cytometry. In lymphoid organs, CD148 was found to be widely expressed on B and T cells, granulocytes, macrophages, certain dendritic cells as well as mature thymocytes. The cellular level of CD148 was increased after in vitro activation of peripheral blood leucocytes. Comparative analysis of tissue samples from normal gut and from patients with active Crohn's disease showed that leucocytes expressing CD148 are significantly upregulated in inflamed tissues and that a subset of these cells co-express the activation marker CD25. In non-lymphoid tissues, CD148 was found to be present on many epithelial cell types with glandular and/or endocrine differentiation as well as on fibrocytes, melanocytes and Schwann cells. CD148 expression was maintained also in malignant counterparts of such tissues. However, a marked loss of CD148 immunoreactivity was apparent in some of the investigated high-grade carcinomas. In summary, our results confirm a role of CD148 as a leucocyte activation marker. Among non-hematopoietic cells, CD148 is expressed by characteristic types of epithelial and non-epithelial cells. Downregulation of CD148 might promote dedifferentiation and autonomous growth of such cells in malignant tumors.

Tri-Nasal triamcinolone acetonide nasal spray 200 and 400 micrograms qd versus placebo and Nasacort triamcinolone acetonide nasal aerosol 440 micrograms qd in patients suffering from seasonal allergic rhinitis during the grass season.

Tri-Nasal Nasal Spray is an investigational solution of triamcinolone acetonide (TAA) currently being evaluated as a treatment for allergic rhinitis. The safety and efficacy of 200 and 400 micrograms once daily doses of Tri-Nasal Nasal Spray, an active control (440 micrograms once daily of Nasacort Nasal aerosol), and Tri-Nasal Nasal Spray placebo were compared over a 2-week treatment period in a double-blind (the Nasacort treatment was not blinded), parallel design trial. A total of 377 adult patients in 13 centers were enrolled during the grass pollen season. The primary efficacy variable was the weekly average of the SSI (Symptom Severity Index), the sum of daily nasal congestion, rhinorrhea, and sneezing severity scores from the patient diary. A total of 355 patients completed the study. All active treatments were significantly more effective than placebo in relieving nasal symptoms at each treatment week. The 400 micrograms Tri-Nasal Nasal Spray and Nasacort treatments had a rapid onset of action, demonstrating significant improvement in the SSI versus placebo by the second day of treatment. Results for the individual nasal symptoms and other secondary efficacy measures paralleled those of the primary efficacy variables. Tri-Nasal Nasal Spray and Nasacort were comparable in safety, and in treating the nonocular symptoms of seasonal allergic rhinitis.

Corticosteroids in the treatment of acute exacerbations of asthma.

In a 72-hour double-blind study 16 moderately to severely asthmatic subjects received either oral prednisone 2 mg/kg/day or placebo in addition to their regular medication as treatment for an acute exacerbation of asthma. The group receiving prednisone demonstrated significant increases in the PEFR and decreased need for beta-2 agonist nebulization or injections the first 12 hours of the study period and these improvements were maintained over the 72 hours. The placebo-treated group showed minimal reduction in nebulization and injection requirements and minimal increase in PEFR. Oral prednisone was found to be effective in controlling acute exacerbations of asthmatic symptoms.