Salivary secretion and disgust: A pilot study.

Although a direct link has been established between self-experienced disgust and salivary secretion, it is unclear whether this physiological index is modulated by the social experience of disgust (i.e., exposure to the facial expression of disgust).

Mid-term results of bilateral lung transplant with postoperatively extended intraoperative extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for severe pulmonary hypertension.

Objectives: In severe pulmonary hypertension, diastolic dysfunction of the left ventricle causes significant morbidity and mortality after lung transplantation, which may be successfully reversed using a protocol based on perioperative veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) and early extubation. Here, we present echocardiographic data and mid-term outcomes.

Methods: The records of lung transplanted patients at our institution between May 2010 and January 2016 were retrospectively reviewed.

Structured reporting of MRI of the shoulder - improvement of report quality?

Objectives: To evaluate the effect of structured reports (SRs) in comparison to non-structured narrative free text (NRs) shoulder MRI reports and potential effects of both types of reporting on completeness, readability, linguistic quality and referring surgeons' satisfaction.

Methods: Thirty patients after trauma or with suspected degenerative changes of the shoulder were included in this study (2012-2015). All patients underwent shoulder MRI for further assessment and possible surgical planning.

Structured reporting of CT examinations in acute pulmonary embolism.

Objectives: To evaluate the effect of structured reporting of CT pulmonary angiography (CTPA) studies on the content, clarity and clinical usefulness of radiology reports in acute pulmonary embolism (PE).

Methods: Conventional and structured reports were generated for 41 patients with a CTPA positive for acute PE. Conventional reports were dictated in a free-text form using speech recognition; structured reports contained a consistent ordering of observations with standardized subheadings.

How microsaccades relate to lateralized ERP components of spatial attention: A co-registration study.

Covert shifts of attention that follow the presentation of a cue are associated with lateralized components in the event-related potential (ERP): the "early directing attention negativity" (EDAN) and the "anterior directing attention negativity" (ADAN). Traditionally, these shifts are thought to take place while gaze is fixated and, thus, in the absence of saccades. However, microsaccades of small amplitude (<1°) occur frequently and involuntarily also during fixation and are closely correlated with spatial attention.

Lateralization of posterior alpha EEG reflects the distribution of spatial attention during saccadic reading.

Visuospatial attention is an important mechanism in reading that governs the uptake of information from foveal and parafoveal regions of the visual field. However, the spatiotemporal dynamics of how attention is allocated during eye fixations are not completely understood. The current study explored the use of EEG alpha-band oscillations to investigate the spatial distribution of attention during reading.

Application of single- and dual-energy CT brain tissue segmentation to PET monitoring of proton therapy.

The purpose of this work was to evaluate the ability of single and dual energy computed tomography (SECT, DECT) to estimate tissue composition and density for usage in Monte Carlo (MC) simulations of irradiation induced β activity distributions. This was done to assess the impact on positron emission tomography (PET) range verification in proton therapy. A DECT-based brain tissue segmentation method was developed for white matter (WM), grey matter (GM) and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).

Revising the link between microsaccades and the spatial cueing of voluntary attention.

Microsaccades - i.e., small fixational saccades generated in the superior colliculus (SC) - have been linked to spatial attention.

Comparative analysis of morphological and molecular motifs in bronchiolitis obliterans and alveolar fibroelastosis after lung and stem cell transplantation.

Chronic lung allograft dysfunction (CLAD) remains the major obstacle to long-term survival following lung transplantation (LuTx). Morphologically CLAD is defined by obliterative remodelling of the small airways (bronchiolitis obliterans, BO) as well as a more recently described collagenous obliteration of alveoli with elastosis summarised as alveolar fibroelastosis (AFE). Both patterns are not restricted to pulmonary allografts, but have also been reported following haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) and radio chemotherapy (RC).

Exploiting the intra-subject latency variability from single-trial event-related potentials in the P3 time range: A review and comparative evaluation of methods.

The intra-subject variability (ISV) in brain responses during cognitive processing across experimental trials has been recognised as an important facet of neural functionality reflecting an intrinsic neurophysiological characteristic of the brain. In recent decades, ISV in behaviour has been found to be significantly associated with cognitive functioning varying across individuals, development, ages, and pathological conditions. Event-related potentials (ERPs) measured in single trials are important tools for characterizing ISV at the neural level.

Negative Association Between MR-Spectroscopic Glutamate Markers and Gray Matter Volume After Alcohol Withdrawal in the Hippocampus: A Translational Study in Humans and Rats.

Background: Both chronic alcohol consumption and alcohol withdrawal lead to neural tissue damage which partly recovers during abstinence. This study investigated withdrawal-associated changes in glutamatergic compounds, markers of neuronal integrity, and gray matter volumes during acute alcohol withdrawal in the hippocampus, a key region in development and maintenance of alcohol dependence in humans and rats.

Methods: Alcohol-dependent patients (N = 39) underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and MR spectroscopy (MRS) measurements within 24 hours after the last drink and after 2 weeks of abstinence.

Are event-related potentials to dynamic facial expressions of emotion related to individual differences in the accuracy of processing facial expressions and identity?

Despite a wealth of knowledge about the neural mechanisms behind emotional facial expression processing, little is known about how they relate to individual differences in social cognition abilities. We studied individual differences in the event-related potentials (ERPs) elicited by dynamic facial expressions. First, we assessed the latent structure of the ERPs, reflecting structural face processing in the N170, and the allocation of processing resources and reflexive attention to emotionally salient stimuli, in the early posterior negativity (EPN) and the late positive complex (LPC).

Irradiation before and donor splenocyte infusion immediately after transplantation induce tolerance to lung, but not heart allografts in miniature swine.

Solid organs may differ in their potential to induce and maintain a state of donor-specific tolerance. Previously, we induced stable immunological tolerance in a lung transplantation model in miniature swine. Here, we wished to transfer this established protocol into a heart transplantation model in miniature swine.

Crossed cerebellar diaschisis in acute ischemic stroke: Impact on morphologic and functional outcome.

Crossed cerebellar diaschisis (CCD) is the phenomenon of hypoperfusion and hypometabolism of the contralateral cerebellar hemisphere caused by dysfunction of the related supratentorial region. Our aim was to analyze its influence on morphologic and functional outcome in acute ischemic stroke. Subjects with stroke caused by a large vessel occlusion of the anterior circulation were selected from an initial cohort of 1644 consecutive patients who underwent multiparametric CT including whole-brain CT perfusion.

Eliminating stroop effects with post-hypnotic instructions: Brain mechanisms inferred from EEG.

The classic Stroop task demonstrates the persistent and automatic effects of the meaning of color words that are very hard to inhibit when the task is to name the word color. Post-hypnotic instructions may enable highly-hypnotizable participants to inhibit the automatic access to word meaning. Here we compared the consequences of hypnosis alone and hypnosis with post-hypnotic instructions on the Stroop effect and its facilitation and inhibition components.

Deep grey matter iron accumulation in alcohol use disorder.

Purpose: Evaluate brain iron accumulation in alcohol use disorder (AUD) patients compared to controls using quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM).

Methods: QSM was performed retrospectively by using phase images from resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). 20 male AUD patients and 15 matched healthy controls were examined.

Association of Higher CD4 CD25 CD127 , FoxP3 , and IL-2 T Cell Frequencies Early After Lung Transplantation With Less Chronic Lung Allograft Dysfunction at Two Years.

Regulatory T cells (Treg) can regulate alloantigens and may counteract chronic lung allograft dysfunction (CLAD) in lung transplantation. We analyzed Treg in peripheral blood prospectively and correlated percentages of subpopulations with the incidence of CLAD at 2 years. Among lung-transplanted patients between January 2009 and July 2011, only patients with sufficient Treg measurements were included into the study.

Repeated human leukocyte antigen mismatches in lung re-transplantation.

Background: The role of HLA-sensitization in the absence of detectable DSA in lung re-transplantation is unclear. Antigens of the second donor matching the HLA typing of the first donor are considered 'unacceptable', by some tissue typing laboratories, especially in kidney re-transplantation.

Methods: Thus, we performed a retrospective analysis of all lung re-transplantations focussing on the impact of HLA-homologies between the first and the second donor ('unacceptable' antigens; repeated HLA mismatch) on patient and graft survival.

Differential Roles for L-Type Calcium Channel Subtypes in Alcohol Dependence.

It has previously been shown that the inhibition of L-type calcium channels (LTCCs) decreases alcohol consumption, although the contribution of the central LTCC subtypes Cav1.2 and Cav1.3 remains unknown.

Wavelet-Based Angiographic Reconstruction of Computed Tomography Perfusion Data: Diagnostic Value in Cerebral Venous Sinus Thrombosis.

Objective: The aim of this study was to test the diagnostic value of wavelet-based angiographic reconstruction of CT perfusion data (waveletCTA) to detect cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) in patients who underwent whole-brain CT perfusion imaging (WB-CTP).

Materials And Methods: Datasets were retrospectively selected from an initial cohort of 2863 consecutive patients who had undergone multiparametric CT including WB-CTP. WaveletCTA was reconstructed from WB-CTP: the angiographic signal was generated by voxel-based wavelet transform of time attenuation curves (TACs) from WB-CTP raw data.

Structured Reporting of Rectal Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Suspected Primary Rectal Cancer: Potential Benefits for Surgical Planning and Interdisciplinary Communication.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of structured reports (SRs) in comparison to nonstructured, free-text (FT) rectal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) reports in patients with histologically proven rectal cancer and potential effects of both types of reporting on referring surgeons' satisfaction, interdisciplinary communication, and further clinical decision making.

Materials And Methods: The institutional review board approved this retrospective study with waiver of informed consent. Forty-nine patients with histologically proven rectal cancer were included in this study.

Reduced Periprocedural Analgesia After Replacement of Water for Injection with Glucose 5% Solution as the Infusion Medium for 90Y-Resin Microspheres.

Unlabelled: The primary aim of our study was to compare the need for periinterventional on-demand analgesia when water for injection (WFI) was replaced with glucose 5% (G5) for Y-resin microsphere administration.

Methods: Forty-one patients who received 77 radioembolization procedures with G5 (2014-2015) were retrospectively matched with 41 patients (77 radioembolization procedures) who received radioembolization with WFI (2011-2014) at our center. The need for on-demand pain medication was chosen as an objective and accessible measure of periprocedural pain experienced by patients.

In Vivo Development of Transplant Arteriosclerosis in Humanized Mice Reflects Alloantigen Recognition and Peripheral Treg Phenotype of Lung Transplant Recipients.

Experimentally, regulatory T cells inhibit rejection. In clinical transplantations, however, it is not known whether T cell regulation is the cause for, or an epiphenomenon of, long-term allograft survival. Here, we study naïve and alloantigen-primed T cell responses of clinical lung transplant recipients in humanized mice.

Mortality Due to Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus in Immunocompromised Göttingen Minipigs (Sus scrofa domestica).

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) infection was diagnosed in 6 Göttingen minipigs (Sus scrofa domestica) with severe interstitial pneumonia. The virus was defined as a North American (NA) subtype virus, which is common in the commercial pig population and might be derived from a widely used attenuated live-virus vaccine in Europe. The ORF5 sequence of the isolated PRRSV was 98% identical to the vaccine virus.