Optical and Spin Properties of NV Center Ensembles in Diamond Nano-Pillars.

Nitrogen-vacancy (NV) color centers in diamond are excellent quantum sensors possessing high sensitivity and nano-scale spatial resolution. Their integration in photonic structures is often desired, since it leads to an increased photon emission and also allows the realization of solid-state quantum technology architectures. Here, we report the fabrication of diamond nano-pillars with diameters up to 1000 nm by electron beam lithography and inductively coupled plasma reactive ion etching in nitrogen-rich diamonds (type Ib) with [100] and [111] crystal orientations.

Fabrication and Characterization of Single-Crystal Diamond Membranes for Quantum Photonics with Tunable Microcavities.

The development of quantum technologies is one of the big challenges in modern research. A crucial component for many applications is an efficient, coherent spin-photon interface, and coupling single-color centers in thin diamond membranes to a microcavity is a promising approach. To structure such micrometer thin single-crystal diamond (SCD) membranes with a good quality, it is important to minimize defects originating from polishing or etching procedures.

Is brain arousal regulation a predictor of response to psychostimulant therapy in adult ADHD patients?

We investigated whether baseline brain arousal instability during resting state EEG, using the Vigilance Algorithm Leipzig (VIGALL 2.1), can predict response to methylphenidate therapy in adult ADHD patients. An arousal stability score of the EEGs of 28 adult ADHD patients was calculated quantifying the extent of arousal decline.

P2X7R: independent modulation of aquaporin 5 expression in CdCl-injured alveolar epithelial cells.

The expression of aquaporin 5 in alveolar epithelial type I cells under conditions of cadmium-induced injury has not yet been discovered. We investigated the effect of the P2X7R agonist BzATP under this condition, since P2X7R is involved in altered regulation of aquaporin 5 in pulmonary fibrosis. CdCl/TGF-β1 treatment of lung epithelial MLE-12 cells was leading to increasing P2X7R, and aquaporin 5 protein levels.

Increase or Decrease of fMRI Activity in Adult Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder: Does It Depend on Task Difficulty?

Background: Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder has been shown to affect working memory, and fMRI studies in children and adolescents with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder report hypoactivation in task-related attentional networks. However, studies with adult attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder patients addressing this issue as well as the effects of clinically valid methylphenidate treatment are scarce. This study contributes to closing this gap.

On the role of NOS1 ex1f-VNTR in ADHD-allelic, subgroup, and meta-analysis.

Attention deficit/ hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a heritable neurodevelopmental disorder featuring complex genetics with common and rare variants contributing to disease risk. In a high proportion of cases, ADHD does not remit during adolescence but persists into adulthood. Several studies suggest that NOS1, encoding nitric oxide synthase I, producing the gaseous neurotransmitter NO, is a candidate gene for (adult) ADHD.

A preliminary study on methylphenidate-regulated gene expression in lymphoblastoid cells of ADHD patients.

Objectives: Methylphenidate (MPH) is a commonly used stimulant medication for treating attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Besides inhibiting monoamine reuptake there is evidence that MPH also influences gene expression directly.

Methods: We investigated the impact of MPH treatment on gene expression levels of lymphoblastoid cells derived from adult ADHD patients and healthy controls by hypothesis-free, genome-wide microarray analysis.

Does adult ADHD interact with COMT val (158) met genotype to influence working memory performance?

Both attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) genotype have been linked to altered dopaminergic transmission and possible impairment in frontal lobe functioning. This study offers an investigation of a possible interaction between ADHD diagnosis and COMT genotype on measures of working memory and executive function. Thirty-five adults with ADHD, who were recruited from the ADHD outpatient clinic at the Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University of Würzburg, and thirty-five matched healthy controls completed the Digit Span test and the Stroop Color Word Test.

SPOCK3, a risk gene for adult ADHD and personality disorders.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most frequent psychiatric disorder in children, where it displays a global prevalence of 5 %. In up to 50 % of the cases, ADHD may persist into adulthood (aADHD), where it is often comorbid with personality disorders. Due to a potentially heritable nature of this comorbidity, we hypothesized that their genetic framework may contain common risk-modifying genes.

Acetylcholine-metabolizing butyrylcholinesterase (BCHE) copy number and single nucleotide polymorphisms and their role in attention-deficit/hyperactivity syndrome.

A previous genome-wide screen for copy number variations (CNVs) in attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) revealed a de novo chromosome 3q26.1 deletion in one of the patients. Candidate genes at this locus include the acetylcholine-metabolizing butyrylcholinesterase (BCHE) expressing gene (OMIM #177400), which is of particular interest.