Uncovering Hemispheric Asymmetry and Directed Oscillatory Brain-Heart Interplay in Anxiety Processing: An fMRI Study.

Brain-heart interactions (BHI) are critical for generating and processing emotions, including anxiety. Understanding specific neural correlates would be instrumental for greater comprehension and potential therapeutic interventions of anxiety disorders. While prior work has implicated the pontine structure as a central processor in cardiac regulation in anxiety, the distributed nature of anxiety processing across the cortex remains elusive.

Scan-associated anxiety (scanxiety): the enigma of emotional breathing oscillations at 0.32 Hz (19 bpm).

MRI-related anxiety in healthy participants is often characterized by a dominant breathing frequency at around 0.32 Hz (19 breaths per minute, bpm) at the beginning but in a few cases also at the end of scanning. Breathing waves at 19 bpm are also observed in patients with anxiety independently of the scanned body part.

Respiration-entrained brain oscillations in healthy fMRI participants with high anxiety.

Brain-body interactions can be studied by using directed coupling measurements of fMRI oscillations in the low (0.1-0.2 Hz) and high frequency bands (HF; 0.

Computed Tomography Angiography (CTA) in Selected Scenarios with Risk of Possible False-Positive or False-Negative Conclusions in Diagnosing Brain Death.

It is widely accepted that brain death (BD) is a diagnosis based on clinical examination. However, false-positive and false-negative evaluation results may be serious limitations. Ancillary tests are used when there is uncertainty about the reliability of the neurologic examination.

Negative respiratory sinus arrhythmia (nRSA) in the MRI-scanner - a physiologic phenomenon observed during elevated anxiety in healthy persons.

Recently, we reported on a rare manifestation of respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), namely the "switched-off" RSA (Rassler et al., 2018), also called negative RSA (nRSA). It was found in a minority of healthy persons during elevated fMRI-related anxiety characterized by slow spontaneous breathing and synchronous slow beat-to-beat interval (RRI) oscillations.

Processing of fMRI-related anxiety and bi-directional information flow between prefrontal cortex and brain stem.

Brain-heart synchronization is fundamental for emotional-well-being and brain-heart desynchronization is characteristic for anxiety disorders including specific phobias. Recording BOLD signals with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is an important noninvasive diagnostic tool; however, 1-2% of fMRI examinations have to be aborted due to claustrophobia. In the present study, we investigated the information flow between regions of interest (ROI's) in the cortex and brain stem by using a frequency band close to 0.

Verification of a Central Pacemaker in Brain Stem by Phase-Coupling Analysis Between HR Interval- and BOLD-Oscillations in the 0.10-0.15 Hz Frequency Band.

The origin of slow intrinsic oscillations in resting states of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) signals is still a matter of debate. The present study aims to test the hypothesis that slow blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) oscillations with frequency components greater than 0.10 Hz result from a central neural pacemaker located in the brain stem.

Heart rate variability (HRV): From brain death to resonance breathing at 6 breaths per minute.

Heart rate variability (HRV) has been associated with various diseases and reflects autonomic cardiac control sensitive to central nervous system function. Examples of the heart-brain interaction are illustrated by extreme clinical conditions such as brain death, orthotopic heart transplantation, weaning from respirator support, and brain maturation in preterm infants. Interactions with the immune system document the importance of HRV for tumor growth and prognosis.

"Switch-Off" of Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia May Be Associated With the Activation of an Oscillatory Source (Pacemaker) in the Brain Stem.

Recently, we reported on the unusual "switch-off" of respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) by analyzing heart rate (HR) beat-to-beat interval (RRI) signals and respiration in five subjects during a potentially anxiety-provoking first-time functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanning with slow spontaneous breathing waves (Rassler et al., 2018). This deviation from a fundamental physiological phenomenon is of interest and merits further research.

Monitoring depth of anesthesia utilizing a combination of electroencephalographic and standard measures.

Background: For decades, monitoring depth of anesthesia was mainly based on unspecific effects of anesthetics, for example, blood pressure, heart rate, or drug concentrations. Today, electroencephalogram-based monitors promise a more specific assessment of the brain function. To date, most approaches were focused on a "head-to-head" comparison of either electroencephalogram- or standard parameter-based monitoring.

Airway management and anesthesia in neonates, infants and children during endolaryngotracheal surgery.

Background: Endolaryngotracheal surgery in neonates, infants and children poses a big challenge for both anesthesiologist and surgeon. The narrowness of the airways and the great variability of the pathological lesions necessitate close collaboration between the surgical and the anesthesia team to provide optimal operating conditions and ensure adequate ventilation and oxygenation.

Methods: Sixty-two anesthetic records of endolaryngotracheal surgical procedures in neonates, infants and children with ASA physical status 1-3 were analyzed retrospectively.

Validation of a real-time PCR for the quantitative estimation of a G143A mutation in the cytochrome bc1 gene of Pyrenophora teres.

A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the cytochrome b gene confers resistance to strobilurin fungicides for several fungal pathogens. Therefore, on the basis of a change at amino acid position 143 from glycine to alanine, a real-time PCR assay was established for the quantitative detection of the analogous SNP in the cytochrome b sequence of Pyrenophora teres Drechsler, which causes barley net blotch. Allelic discrimination was achieved by using allele specific primers with artificially mismatched nucleic acid bases and minor groove binding probes.

Comparative expression profiling in meristems of inbred-hybrid triplets of maize based on morphological investigations of heterosis for plant height.

Heterosis, the superior performance of hybrids as compared to their parental mean is an agronomically important phenomenon well-described morphologically. However, little is known about its molecular basis. We investigated four genetically unrelated maize (Zea mays L.

[Increases of intracranial pressure and changes of blood flow velocity due to acupressure, needle and laser needle acupuncture?].

Background: Pressure on the acupoints St.7 and SJ.22 can lead to significant, reversible increases in intracranial pressure (ICP) in patients with elevated ICP.

An NIRS matrix for detecting and correcting cerebral oxygen desaturation events during surgery and neuroendovascular procedures.

Background: Transcranial cerebral oximetry was developed for early detection of cerebral hypoxia and to avoid cerebral dysfunctions. However, near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) data obtained during surgery are subject to intrinsic and extrinsic influences that have to be accounted for when interpreting the recordings.

Methods: We developed an NIRS matrix to provide brief information for specific intervention to correct changes of cerebral oxygen saturation (COS).

Pseudoparadoxical dissociation of cerebral oxygen saturation and cerebral blood flow velocity after acupuncture in a woman with cerebrovascular dementia: a case report.

Acupuncture can increase both cerebral oxygen saturation and cerebral blood flow velocity. We describe a 77-year-old woman with cerebrovascular dementia in whom acupuncture reproducibly induced an increase of blood flow velocity but a decrease of regional oxygen saturation. At four of 11 acupuncture sessions, blood flow velocity was measured in the middle cerebral artery with transcranial Doppler sonography and cerebral regional oxygen saturation (rSO(2)) with transcranial near infrared spectroscopy.

Determination of detection and quantification limits for SNP allele frequency estimation in DNA pools using real time PCR.

The quantification of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) allele frequencies in pooled DNA samples using real time PCR is a promising approach for large-scale diagnostics and genotyping. The limits of detection (LOD) and limits of quantification (LOQ) for mutant SNP alleles are of particular importance for determination of the working range, which, in the case of allele-specific real time PCR, can be limited by the variance of calibration data from serially diluted mutant allele samples as well as by the variance of the 100% wild-type allele samples (blank values). In this study, 3sigma and 10sigma criteria were applied for the calculation of LOD and LOQ values.

Standardized determination of real-time PCR efficiency from a single reaction set-up.

We propose a computing method for the estimation of real-time PCR amplification efficiency. It is based on a statistic delimitation of the beginning of exponentially behaving observations in real-time PCR kinetics. PCR ground fluorescence phase, non-exponential and plateau phase were excluded from the calculation process by separate mathematical algorithms.

Proinflammatory role of fractalkine (CX3CL1) in rheumatoid arthritis.

Objective: Fractalkine (CX3CL1) represents the sole member of the so-called CX3C chemokines. In rheumatoid arthritis (RA), functional studies suggest a role for this chemokine in monocyte chemotaxis and angiogenesis in the rheumatoid synovium. We analyzed the expression of fractalkine within different T cell subsets of the peripheral blood and expression of its receptor CX3CR1 within the rheumatoid synovium to further characterize its pathogenic role in RA.

DHPLC scoring of a SNP between promoter sequences of HMW glutenin x-type alleles at the Glu-D1 locus in wheat.

The promoter regions of HMW glutenin x-type genes at the Glu-D1 locus were surveyed for SNPs within a subpopulation of German bread wheat cultivars. On the basis of the promoter sequences of HMW glutenin subunit genes Glu-A1-x1, Glu-A1-x2, Glu-B1-x1, Glu-B1-x7, Glu-D1-x2, and Glu-D1-x5, an amplification refractory mutation system assay was designed to selectively amplify Dx-specific PCR fragments. Comparative sequence analysis among seven Glu-D1-x2 and seven Glu-D1-x5 wheat cultivars only confirmed a G-A transition in the promoter sequence to be a true polymorphism.

On translocation through a membrane channel via an internal binding site: kinetics and voltage dependence.

Here we present a model for maltodextrin translocation through maltoporin channels. In a first step, our theoretical analysis does consider the case of a single binding site for a given substrate in a structurally unaffected channel with a possibly different entrance barrier on either side. It is shown how by means of conventional electrical conductance measurements (including current noise analysis) the basic equilibrium and rate constants can be determined as functions of the applied voltage.

Evaluation of Erysiphe graminis f sp tritici field isolates for resistance to strobilurin fungicides with different SNP detection systems.

A single nucleotide polymorphism (snp) in the cytochrome b gene confers resistance to strobilurin fungicides in Erysiphe graminis DC fsp tritici Marchal. On the basis of this point mutation three different types of molecular markers have been developed. Cleaved amplified polymorphic sequences and allele-specific PCR were used to score resistant and sensitive isolates from specifically selected regional populations across Europe.