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We test the hypothesis that the extent to which one obtains information on a given topic through Wikipedia depends on the language in which it is consulted. Controlling the size factor, we investigate this hypothesis for a number of 25 subject areas. Since Wikipedia is a central part of the web-based information landscape, this indicates a language-related, linguistic bias. The article therefore deals with the question of whether Wikipedia exhibits this kind of linguistic relativity or not. From the perspective of educational science, the article develops a computational model of the information landscape from which multiple texts are drawn as typical input of web-based reading. For this purpose, it develops a hybrid model of intra- and intertextual similarity of different parts of the information landscape and tests this model on the example of 35 languages and corresponding Wikipedias. In the way it measures the similarities of hypertexts, the article goes beyond existing approaches by examining their structural and semantic aspects intra- and intertextually. In this way it builds a bridge between reading research, educational science, Wikipedia research and computational linguistics.
O presente texto apresenta uma reflexão sobre a educação dos sentidos a partir do estudo das obras “A indústria cultural” de Theodor W. Adorno e “A obra de arte na era de sua reprodutibilidade técnica” de Walter Benjamin. Primeiramente apresentamos uma breve contextualização histórica sobre o período no qual se desenvolveram os referentes textos. Em seguida buscamos demonstrar através do pensamento de Walter Benjamin como a arte passou a educar os sentidos das classes trabalhadoras a partir da sua reprodutibilidade técnica. Nas considerações finais, apontamos a importância da leitura de ambas as obras para possíveis reflexões acerca da formação do discurso nas tomadas de decisão social e cultural na atualidade. Como também buscamos compreender a função política da arte na formação crítica do sujeito.
O artigo trata da “Filosofia da Nova Música” de Theodor Adorno e tem como problema de investigação saber quais são os valores estéticos apresentados pelo autor para identificar Schoenberg como o representante do progresso musical. Como objetivos específicos para esse trabalho foram definidos: a identificação das principais características estéticas nas obras musicais de Stravinsky e de Schoenberg e apontar alguns fundamentos filosóficos para diferenciar progresso e regressão na estética musical de Adorno. Ao caracterizar sua concepção estética como filosofia da arte, Adorno toma a produção e a recepção como expressões de uma relação dialética com o meio social e tece críticas especialmente a indústria cultural e a arte burguesa que tinham como propósito agradar o ouvido e permitir que os produtores e receptores estabelecessem uma relação de troca no mercado capitalista. Por isso, sua estética está assentada na crítica e na possibilidade de criação dissonante e autônoma, análises que foram realizadas no âmbito desta investigação que tem como foco a questão da música enquanto objeto estético de progresso ou regressão da audição.
It is difficult to think of another area of literary discourse in which a critic has brought such a profound influence to bear, as Theodor W. Adorno has, in the area of literature concerning the Shoah. It is also difficult to think of another area of literary discourse in which a critic’s pronouncements have been misinterpreted so often and to such a degree as have Adorno’s reflections concerning the status of art after the Shoah. Reference here is of course being made to Adorno’s (supposed) ‘dictum’ concerning the barbarity of poetry after Auschwitz. The principle aims of this paper are to restore his reflections to their argumentative context and to restore the dialectical tension conferred on them in the original text. I will examine what I have termed the “after-Auschwitz” aporia, so evident in Adorno’s reflections on post-Shoah art and yet overlooked all too frequently in the research literature. Defined as an irresolvable impasse as a result of equally plausible yet inconsistent premises the term “aporia” succinctly captures the essence of Adorno’s deliberations on post-Shoah art: the imperative to represent the egregious crimes and the impossibility of doing so. I will demonstrate that Adorno’s pronouncements were never meant as silence-inducing taboos, but rather as concrete theoretical reflections upon the moral status of art in the aftermath of the Shoah and as warnings of the moral peril involved in the artistic rendering of mass extermination.
O presente trabalho, de natureza teórica, analisa fragmentos dos escritos de Theodor W. Adorno (1903-1969) e Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980) e destaca reflexões para a pesquisa sociológica no campo da Educação, considerando a inflexão que ambos propõem em “direção ao sujeito”. De modo mais específico, realizamos uma leitura de como cada autor refletiu sobre sua própria infância e educação, buscando articular a reflexão autobiográfica que cada um realiza, de diferentes formas, ao núcleo duro de suas concepções teóricas. Ao observarmos como cada autor, na condição de adulto, rememora de forma sistematizada (na filosofia ou na literatura) sua própria infância, refletindo, entre outros aspectos, sobre a condição social de suas famílias e da classe burguesa, a relação com os adultos e com os artefatos (culturais e tecnológicos) de sua época, incluindo a escolarização, podemos também perceber elementos de suas concepções teóricas sobre a subjetividade e de suas análises sobre as vicissitudes do sujeito no contemporâneo. Enquanto que, para Sartre, a infância emerge no âmbito de uma concepção restauradora da narrativa como mediadora da experiência, em um processo, sempre ainda aberto, de transformação da existência, para Adorno, a rememoração sobre sua infância se articula às temáticas da pátria (não como território, mas como humanidade) e da utopia e se coloca como possibilidade de releitura das singularidades das experiências infantis como forma de confrontação e atualização das promessas contidas no passado.
Im Blickpunkt der Arbeit steht die Historiografie der Unternehmungen Friedrich I. Barbarossas 1154-1158 in der Lombardei. Während der hochgebildete Bischof Otto von Freising ein reges Forschungsinteresse darstellt, sind seine beiden Zeitgenossen, die eigenständige Berichte über die Ereignisse verfassten, in der Forschung weitestgehend unberücksichtigt geblieben. Durch einen Vergleich der 'Gesta' Bischofs Otto von Freising, des 'Libellus' des Lodesen Otto Morena und der 'Narratio' eines anonymen Schreibers aus Mailand zeigt diese Arbeit die Absichten der Autoren auf und fragt, inwieweit die sich widersprechenden Schilderungen als "alternativen Fakten" aufgefasst werden können.
Nach einem Abriss über den Begriff der "alternativen Fakten", dem im Zuge der Präsidentschaft von Donald Trump Aufmerksamkeit zuteilwurde und der hier als unbewusst oder bewusst erfolgte Verformung verstanden wird, der neuzeitlichen Rezeption Barbarossas sowie einer zeitlichen und räumlichen Einordnung werden die "Ausgangslagen" der Autoren betrachtet. Die Entstehung der 'Gesta' und ihr Verhältnis zu Ottos erstem Werk sind umstritten. Es zeigt sich, dass die Positionen Ottos von Freising und Otto Morenas kaiserfreundliche, diejenige des Mailänders Autors eine kaiserfeindliche Absicht erwarten lassen.
Eine kleinteilige Betrachtung der Vorworte/Prologe der Werke offenbart die selbst geäußerten Absichten. Die Anlehnung der 'Gesta' Ottos von Freising an einen durch oder im Auftrag Barbarossas verfassten Tatenbericht sowie seine Lobpreisungen des Kaisers stellen eine Färbung der Darstellung in Aussicht. Auch bei Otto Morena zeigt sich eine starke Verbundenheit zum Kaiser, die Zweifel an der Neutralität seines Werkes aufkommen lassen muss. Der anonyme Autor aus Mailand bekennt ausdrücklich, zum Nutzen der Nachwelt zu schreiben und reiht die Zerstörung Mailands 1162 als Endpunkt einer weitzurückreichenden Opfernarrative ein. Auch wenn ausdrückliche Ausfälle gegen den Kaiser unterbleiben, sind starke Zweifel an einer neutralen Darstellung angezeigt.
Die Beschäftigung mit den Ereignissen des Jahres 1154 zeigt "alternative" Darstellungen: Die Darstellung Ottos von Freising hält sich an die kaiserliche Vorlage und ist im Sinne des Kaisers gehalten, was sich auch bei Otto Morena zeigt, der darüber hinaus die Rolle Lodis betont. Die Mailänder "Gegendarstellung" hingegen lastet negative Ereignisse ausschließlich Barbarossa an.
Otto von Freising betont die lange geplante Kaiserkrönung in Rom und den Feldzug gegen die Normannen als Ausgangspunkt des ersten Italienzuges. Otto Morena legt den Beginn des Disputs zwischen Barbarossa und den Mailändern auf die Versammlung des Hofes in Konstanz, wo Klagen zweier Lodesen Anlass zu Friedrichs erstem Italienzug gegeben hätten. Der Anonymus aus Mailand wirft Barbarossa vor, mit dem Ziel der militärischen Unterwerfung aufgebrochen zu sein.
Otto von Freising übernahm die Darstellung Barbarossas von einem Bestechungsversuch der Mailänder, deren Konsuln anschließend seinen Zug durch verödete Landschaften geführt hätten, was auch Otto Morena zu berichten weiß. Der Mailänder Schreiber verschweigt dies und erzählt stattdessen von Misshandlungen der Mailänder durch das königliche Gefolge. Die Erstürmung der Burg Rosate stilisiert er als unbegründeten Gewaltakt, während die Schreiber aus Lodi und Freising rechtfertigend argumentieren.
Die unabhängig überlieferte 'Conventio', die 1158 nach der Belagerung Mailands zwischen der Stadt und dem Kaiser geschlossen wurde, beinhaltete neben Strafbestimmungen die Anerkennung der Hoheit des Kaisers unter Wahrung der kommunalen Herrschaftsform. Während Otto Morena ihre Bestimmungen nur höchst unvollständig wiedergab, sodass der Schluss naheliegt, dass er sie nicht kannte, lieferte der Mailänder Anonymus durch gezielte Auslassungen und Verfälschung ihrer Bestimmungen erneut "alternative Fakten" und erweckte den Anschein einer Rückkehr zu den "kaiserfernen" Jahren vor Barbarossa.
Bei genauer Betrachtung der auf dem Hoftag von Roncaglia 1158 festgestellten 'lex omnis iurisdictio' wird deutlich, dass diese entgegen der bisherigen Forschungsmeinung keinen Bruch der 'Conventio' darstellte. Eine Konfrontation der Darstellungen der Ereignisse im Januar 1159 in Mailand mit dem Augenzeugenberichts Vinzenz' von Prag zeigt, dass Otto Morena erneut nur knapp berichtet. Der Anonymus hingegen liefert eine "alternative" Darstellung, nach der die Gesandten des Kaisers gekommen waren, um das Recht zu brechen. Diese Tendenziösität wird auch bei der Einnahme der Burg Trezzo deutlich, über die ein Bericht von Ottos einstigem Kaplan Rahewin vorliegt.
Die Darstellungen offenbaren, dass ihre Autoren ihre Texte gezielt einzusetzen gedachten und so zu Produzenten "alternativen Fakten" wurden. Für den Historiker zeigt sich einmal mehr die Wichtigkeit einer quellenkritischen Arbeitsweise, wie sie Johannes Fried in seiner "Memorik" eindrucksvoll vertrat.
Osteonecrosis (ON) is an acquired debilitating skeletal disorder, which is caused by a multitude of traumatic and non-traumatic etiological factors. Vascular damage, mechanical stress and increased intraosseous pressure have been discussed as contributors to ON. The optimal treatment of ON remains to be determined, since the current gold standard, core decompression, is insufficiently effective. Specific properties of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) provide the rationale for their assessment in advanced stages of ON: Osteoinductive potential has been demonstrated and MSC preparations of suitable quality for use as medicinal products have been developed. Here we review the scant information on the use of allogeneic or autologous MSCs in advanced ON as well as potentially supportive data from pre-clinical studies with autologous bone marrow mononuclear cells (auto BM-MNCs), which have been studied quite extensively and the presumed therapeutic effect of which was attributed to the rare MSCs contained in these cell products. Outcomes in clinical trials with MSCs and auto-BM-MNCs remain preliminary and non-definitive, at best promising, with respect to their pharmacological effect. Clearly, though, the application of any of these cell therapies was technically feasible and safe in that it was associated with low complication rates. The heterogeneity of cell type and source, study protocols, cell manufacturing, cell properties, cell doses and surgical techniques might contribute to inconsistent results.
Th. W. Adorno’s aesthetics represents a comprehensive reflection on a number of important topics in aesthetic research. Among them is the issue of the aesthetic experience generated by the beauty of nature. In the perspective of Adorno’s theory, the experience of natural beauty is described as a quality that forms in an immanent relation to the historical and social reality of humans. In the first place, one can observe the fundamental dependence of natural beauty on the degree of social domination of nature. By failing to reflect on this social mediation, the experience of natural beauty appears to be immediate and creates the deceptive fantasy of the primordial form of nature. At the same time, however, Adorno uncovers a positive potential in the experience of natural beauty – it lies in the ability to transcend a power-based subjectivity that reduces reality to the substrate of the domination. By means of the transcendence of subjectivity, the experience of natural beauty opens up the possibility to perceive and approach reality in the unreduced fullness of its qualities while also anticipating a reconciliation of man with nature in an allegorical way. The aim of my study is to describe the sketched aspects of the experience of natural beauty.
In Eurotransplant kidney allocation system (ETKAS), candidates can be considered unlimitedly for repeated re‐transplantation. Data on outcome and benefit are indeterminate. We performed a retrospective 15‐year patient and graft outcome data analysis from 1464 recipients of a third or fourth or higher sequential deceased donor renal transplantation (DDRT) from 42 transplant centers. Repeated re‐DDRT recipients were younger (mean 43.0 vs. 50.2 years) compared to first DDRT recipients. They received grafts with more favorable HLA matches (89.0% vs. 84.5%) but thereby no statistically significant improvement of patient and graft outcome was found as comparatively demonstrated in 1st DDRT. In the multivariate modeling accounting for confounding factors, mortality and graft loss after 3rd and ≥4th DDRT (P < 0.001 each) and death with functioning graft (DwFG) after 3rd DDRT (P = 0.001) were higher as compared to 1st DDRT. The incidence of primary nonfunction (PNF) was also significantly higher in re‐DDRT (12.7%) than in 1st DDRT (7.1%; P < 0.001). Facing organ shortage, increasing waiting time, and considerable mortality on dialysis, we question the current policy of repeated re‐DDRT. The data from this survey propose better HLA matching in first DDRT and second DDRT and careful selection of candidates, especially for ≥4th DDRT.
Over the last decade, cryo-EM has developed exponentially due to improvements in both hardware (“machine”-based) and software (“algorithm”-based). These improvements have pushed the best achievable resolutions closer to atomic level, bridging “gaps” not covered by other biophysical techniques, and allowing more difficult biological questions to be addressed. Thus, this PhD project was designed and constructed to apply cryo-EM to answer biological questions, while allowing simultaneous cryo-EM method development.
The biological focus of this research is pentameric ligand-gated ion channels (pLGICs), specifically the serotonin receptor type-3 receptor (5HT3R), which also belongs to the Cys-loop receptor family. 5HT3R plays an important role in fast synaptic signal transduction in response to agonist and antagonist binding. Binding to its native ligand results in opening of the channel at the transmembrane domain, allowing cations to pass through, resulting in membrane depolarization and conversion of the chemical signal into an electrical one.
This work consisted mainly of two specific aims. One was focused on conformational investigation of 5HT3R in its ligand-bound open conformation, using cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-SPA), in order to understand the gating mechanism upon ligand activation. The other one was to combine SPA with cryo-ET and STA to push the resolution limitation of conventional cryo-ET and STA workflows.
In the end, three different cryo-EM conformations of membrane-embedded 5HT3R were resolved using cryo-SPA, two structures in resting closed forms, one C5-symmetric and one C1-asymmetric, and one serotonin-bound open form. These three structures presented a number of novel features related to the transition of the receptor to its ion-conductive state. Specifically, the serotonin-bound receptor shows asymmetric opening, which was speculated to occur via an intermediate asymmetric Apo state. In addition to the cryo-SPA work, application of cryo-ET and STA to the study of 5HT3R in native vesicles is described in this thesis. Additional work on methods development, focused on combining SPA and STA techniques, along with preliminary results on tobacco mosaic virus are also detailed and discussed.
Moreover, previously unreported asymmetric arrangements of the subunits of the homopentameric 5HT3R around the pore axis were revealed. The asymmetric open state is stabilized by phospholipids inserted at the interface between subunits, at a site well-documented for the binding of allosteric pLGIC modulators. These results not only give structural support to a large body of functional data on the effects of lipids on the function of this receptor family, but also provide structural guidance for future studies in this field. Meanwhile, the SPA-STA combined methods developed during the course of this work have the potential to help resolve higher resolution tomography-based structures, which would benefit researchers seeking to do in-situ-based structural studies.
The main goal of this work was to create a network environment for the Unity Engine project StolperwegeVR, developed by the Text Technology Lab of Goethe University, in which you will be able to annotate one to several documents in a group. For this, basic network utils like seeing other users or moving objects had to be implemented which had to be easy to use and work with in the future.
This Dissertation deals with the development of FAIR-relevant X-ray diagnostics based on the interaction of lasers and particle beams with matter. The associated experimental methods are supposed to be employed in the HIHEX-experiments in the HHT-cave of the GSI Helmholtz Center for Heavy-Ion Research GmbH (GSI) in Phase-0 and in the APPA-cave at the Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research in Darmstadt, Germany.
Diagnostic of high aerial density targets that will be used in FAIR experiments demands intense and highly penetrating X-ray sources. Laser generated well-directe relativistic electron beams that interact with high Z materials is an excellent tool for generation of short-pulse high luminous sources of MeV-gammas.
In pilot experiments carried out at the PHELIX laser system, GSI Darmstadt, relativistic electrons were produced in a long scale plasma of near critical electron density (NCD) by the mechanism of the direct laser acceleration (DLA). Low density polymer foam layers preionised by a well-defined nanosecond laser pulse were used as NCD targets. The analysis of the measured electron spectra showed up to 10- fold increase of the electron "temperature" from T_Hot = 1–2 MeV, measured for the case of the interaction of 1–2 ×10^19 Wcm^(−2) ps-laser pulse with a planar foil, up to 14 MeV for the case when the relativistic laser pulse propagates through the by a ns-pulse preionised foam layer. In this case, up to 80–90 MeV electron energy was registered. An increase of the electron energy was accompanied by a strong increase of the number of relativistic electrons and well-defined directionality of the relativistic electron beam measured to be (12 ±1)° (FWHM). This directionality increases the gamma flux on target by far compared to the soft X-ray sources.
Additionally to laser based active diagnostics, passive techniques involving inherent X-ray fluorescence radiation of projectile and target emitted during heavy-ion target interaction can be used to measure the ion beam distribution on shot. This information is of great importance, since the target size is chosen to be smaller than the beam focus in order to ensure homogeneous heating of the HIHEX-target by the ion beam. High amounts of parasitic radiation and activation of experimental equipment is expected for experiments at the APPA-cave. For this reason, all electronic devices must be placed at a safe distance to the target chamber. In order to transport the signal over a large distance, the X-ray image of the target irradiated by heavy-ions has to be converted into an optical one.
For these purposes, the X-ray Conversion to Optical radiation and Transport (XCOT)-system was developed in the frame of a BMBF-project and commissioned in two beamtimes at the UNILAC, GSI during this work.
In experiments, we observed intense radiation of target atoms (K-shell transitions in Cu at 8–8.3 keV and L-shell transition in Ta) ionised in collisions with heavy ions as well as Doppler-shifted L-shell transitions of Au-projectiles passing through targets. This radiation can be used for monochromatic (dispersive elements like bent crystals) or polychromatic (pinhole) 2D X-ray mapping of the ion beam intensity distribution in the interaction region during the beam-target interaction. We measured the efficiency of the X-ray photon production depending on the target thickness and the number of ions passing through the target. The spatial resolution of the XCOT-system based on the multi-pinhole camera was measured to be (91±17) μm for the image magnification factor M = 2. It was considerably improved by application of a toroidally bent quartz crystal and reached 30 μm at M = 6. This resolution is optimal to image the distribution of a 1mm in diameter ion beam. As next step, the XCOT-system will be tested during the SIS18 beam-time at the HHT-experimental area.
Confinement measures during the COVID-19 pandemic have caused substantial reductions in global physical activity (PA) levels. In view of the manifold health benefits of PA, the development of interventions counteracting this trend is paramount. Our survey with 15,261 participants (38 ± 15 years, 58.5% females) examined preferences towards digital home exercise programs in 14 countries affected by COVID-19. More than two-thirds of the sample (68.4%, n = 10,433) indicated being interested in home exercise, and most participants were willing to work out at least three times per week (89.3%, n = 9328). Binary logistic regression revealed that female sex, working part-time, younger age, and being registered in a gym were associated with willingness to exercise. Flexibility (71.1%, n = 7377), resistance (68.6%, n = 7116), and endurance training (62.4%, n = 6478) were the most preferred types of exercise. Our results may guide health providers in developing individually tailored PA interventions during the current and future pandemics.
DnaK3, a highly conserved cyanobacterial chaperone of the Hsp70 family, binds to cyanobacterial thylakoid membranes, and an involvement of DnaK3 in the biogenesis of thylakoid membranes has been suggested. As shown here, light triggers synthesis of DnaK3 in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803, which links DnaK3 to the biogenesis of thylakoid membranes and to photosynthetic processes. In a DnaK3 depleted strain, the photosystem content is reduced and the photosystem II activity is impaired, whereas photosystem I is regular active. An impact of DnaK3 on the activity of other thylakoid membrane complexes involved in electron transfer is indicated. In conclusion, DnaK3 is a versatile chaperone required for biogenesis and/or maintenance of thylakoid membrane-localized protein complexes involved in electron transfer reactions. As mentioned above, Hsp70 proteins are involved in photoprotection and repair of PS II in chloroplasts.
Prior studies indicate the protective role of Ultraviolet-B (UVB) radiation in human health, mediated by vitamin D synthesis. In this observational study, we empirically outline a negative association of UVB radiation as measured by ultraviolet index (UVI) with the number of COVID-19 deaths. We apply a fixed-effect log-linear regression model to a panel dataset of 152 countries over 108 days (n = 6524). We use the cumulative number of COVID-19 deaths and case-fatality rate (CFR) as the main dependent variables and isolate the UVI effect from potential confounding factors. After controlling for time-constant and time-varying factors, we find that a permanent unit increase in UVI is associated with a 1.2 percentage points decline in daily growth rates of cumulative COVID-19 deaths [p < 0.01] and a 1.0 percentage points decline in the CFR daily growth rate [p < 0.05]. These results represent a significant percentage reduction in terms of daily growth rates of cumulative COVID-19 deaths (− 12%) and CFR (− 38%). We find a significant negative association between UVI and COVID-19 deaths, indicating evidence of the protective role of UVB in mitigating COVID-19 deaths. If confirmed via clinical studies, then the possibility of mitigating COVID-19 deaths via sensible sunlight exposure or vitamin D intervention would be very attractive.
A new method of event characterization based on Deep Learning is presented. The PointNet models can be used for fast, online event-by-event impact parameter determination at the CBM experiment. For this study, UrQMD and the CBM detector simulation are used to generate Au+Au collision events at 10 AGeV which are then used to train and evaluate PointNet based architectures. The models can be trained on features like the hit position of particles in the CBM detector planes, tracks reconstructed from the hits or combinations thereof. The Deep Learning models reconstruct impact parameters from 2-14 fm with a mean error varying from -0.33 to 0.22 fm. For impact parameters in the range of 5-14 fm, a model which uses the combination of hit and track information of particles has a relative precision of 4-9% and a mean error of -0.33 to 0.13 fm. In the same range of impact parameters, a model with only track information has a relative precision of 4-10% and a mean error of -0.18 to 0.22 fm. This new method of event-classification is shown to be more accurate and less model dependent than conventional methods and can utilize the performance boost of modern GPU processor units.
Risk stratification for bipolar disorder using polygenic risk scores among young high-risk adults
(2020)
Objective: Identifying high-risk groups with an increased genetic liability for bipolar disorder (BD) will provide insights into the etiology of BD and contribute to early detection of BD. We used the BD polygenic risk score (PRS) derived from BD genome-wide association studies (GWAS) to explore how such genetic risk manifests in young, high-risk adults. We postulated that BD-PRS would be associated with risk factors for BD.
Methods: A final sample of 185 young, high-risk German adults (aged 18–35 years) were grouped into three risk groups and compared to a healthy control group (n = 1,100). The risk groups comprised 117 cases with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), 45 with major depressive disorder (MDD), and 23 help-seeking adults with early recognition symptoms [ER: positive family history for BD, (sub)threshold affective symptomatology and/or mood swings, sleeping disorder]. BD-PRS was computed for each participant. Logistic regression models (controlling for sex, age, and the first five ancestry principal components) were used to assess associations of BD-PRS and the high-risk phenotypes.
Results: We observed an association between BD-PRS and combined risk group status (OR = 1.48, p < 0.001), ADHD diagnosis (OR = 1.32, p = 0.009), MDD diagnosis (OR = 1.96, p < 0.001), and ER group status (OR = 1.7, p = 0.025; not significant after correction for multiple testing) compared to healthy controls.
Conclusions: In the present study, increased genetic risk for BD was a significant predictor for MDD and ADHD status, but not for ER. These findings support an underlying shared risk for both MDD and BD as well as ADHD and BD. Improving our understanding of the underlying genetic architecture of these phenotypes may aid in early identification and risk stratification.
Background & Aims: Acute‐on‐chronic liver failure (ACLF) is characterized by high short‐term mortality and systemic inflammation (SI). Recently, different cardiodynamic states were shown to independently predict outcomes in cirrhosis. The relationship between cardiodynamic states, SI, and portal hypertension and their impact on ACLF development remains unclear. The aim of this study was therefore to evaluate the interplay of cardiodynamic state and SI on fatal ACLF development in cirrhosis.
Results: At inclusion, hemodynamic measures including cardiac index (CI) and hepatic venous pressure gradient of 208 patients were measured. Patients were followed prospectively for fatal ACLF development (primary endpoint). SI was assessed by proinflammatory markers such as interleukins (ILs) 6 and 8 and soluble IL‐33 receptor (sIL‐33R). Patients were divided according to CI (<3.2; 3.2‐4.2; >4.2 L/min/m2) in hypo‐ (n = 84), normo‐ (n = 69) and hyperdynamic group (n = 55). After a median follow‐up of 3 years, the highest risk of fatal ACLF was seen in hyperdynamic (35%) and hypodynamic patients (25%) compared with normodynamic (14%) (P = .011). Hyperdynamic patients showed the highest rate of SI. The detectable level of IL‐6 was an independent predictor of fatal ACLF development.
Conclusions: Cirrhotic patients with hyperdynamic and hypodynamic circulation have a higher risk of fatal ACLF. Therefore, the cardiodynamic state is strongly associated with SI, which is an independent predictor of development of fatal ACLF.