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Background: In recent years, ultrasound (US) has become more incorporated into anesthesia and intensive care medicine. The German Anesthesia Society established a modular curriculum to teach US skills. Until now, the efficacy of this modular curriculum has not been validated., Objective: The main objective of this study was to determine whether there is an increase of knowledge and of psychomotor skills for the trainees in this curriculum., Material and Methods: After ethical committee approval, 41 anesthesia physicians were enrolled. To determine the increase of knowledge and of practical skills theoretical and practical tests performed were evaluated before and after two different US courses., Results: Comparing before and after course tests, the participants showed significant improvement in theoretical multiple choice tests (p = 0.008). Regarding psychomotor skills following course 1, the trainees improved significantly in the time needed to perform the two practical tests (p = 0.03), but not in the performance of the test. Better needle visualization during simulated US-guided vessel puncture (p = 0.52) and better identification of the anatomical structures in the axillary region (p = 0.56) could not be achieved., Conclusion: This study shows that although this US course curriculum has positively enhanced the trainees' theoretical knowledge of US practice, it does not enhance the practical application of that theoretical knowledge. To improve this curriculum, a supervised clinically practical training should follow the course.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the main cause of blindness in industrialized societies. Population-based epidemiological investigations generate important data on prevalence, incidence, risk factors, and future trends. This review summarizes the most important epidemiological studies on AMD with a focus on their transferability to Germany including existing evidence for the main risk factors for AMD development and progression. Future tasks, such as the standardization of grading systems and the use of recent retinal imaging technology in epidemiological studies are discussed. In Germany, epidemiological data on AMD are scarce. However, the need for epidemiological research in ophthalmology is currently being addressed by several recently started population-based studies.

Objectives: This study aimed to assess the impact of curing conditions-exposure time, mode, energy density and exposure distance-on the efficiency of curing flowable bulk-fill resin-based composites (RBCs) at simulated clinical relevant filling depths., Materials and Methods: Four flowable bulk-fill RBCs were investigated by assessing in 200 μm steps the variation in micro-mechanical properties (Vickers hardness (HV) and indentation modulus (E)) within simulated 6-mm-deep fillings (n = 5), considering 16 different curing modes/conditions. The exposure duration was 5, 20 and 40 s in the standard power mode; 3, 4 and 8 s in the high power mode; and 3 and 6 s in the plasma mode. Besides, the curing unit was placed at 0 and 7 mm distance away from the specimen's surface. Measurements were performed after 24 h of storage in distilled water at 37 °C. The depth of cure (DOC) was calculated as the 80 % hardness drop-off. The curing unit's irradiance at exposure distances up to 10 mm was monitored for all irradiation modes in 1 mm steps by means of a laboratory-grade spectrometer., Results: Results were compared using one- and multiple way ANOVA and Tukey's honest significant difference (HSD) post hoc test (α = 0.05). A multivariate analysis (general linear model) assessed the effect strength of the parameters material, energy density reaching the specimen's surface (2.63 to 47.03 J/cm(2)), exposure distance and curing mode on HV, E and DOC. The effect of the parameter material was significant and strong on all measured properties (p < 0.05, partial eta-squared (η P (2)) = 0.683 for E, 0.724 for HV and 0.199 for DOC). Energy density exerted in all materials the strongest influence on the measured properties, while the influence of distance was strong on DOC and low or even not significant on HV and E., Conclusions: The susceptibility to variation in irradiance under the simulated clinical conditions was material dependent, while lower and upper energy density limits for curing the materials were defined., Clinical Relevance: Materials react differently to the supplied irradiance. An exposure time of 20 s at moderate irradiance is recommended for all materials. The highest mechanical properties were reached not at the specimens' surface, but in deeper layers (0.4 to 3.1 mm).

Here we demonstrate the feasibility of a doubly regulatable transgenic mouse design that allows for gene manipulation by both Cre-recombinase and the tetracycline inducible system. Using a knock-in strategy to insert both elements of the tetracycline inducible system and a neomycin (neo) cassette flanked by loxP sequences (floxed) into the wild-type locus, we generated mice that express the 5-HT(1B) receptor in a conditional manner. In the presence of a floxed neo-cassette, receptor expression was silenced. Removal of this cassette by Cre-mediated recombination led to 5-HT(1B) receptor expression, which was highly regulatable when doxycycline, a derivative of tetracycline, was administered to the mice. This system allowed for a determination of an in vivo time course of receptor half-life and recovery. Physiological studies also demonstrated that rescued 5-HT(1B) receptors were functional, and that this functionality was reversible upon treatment with doxycycline. Crossing mice where the 5-HT(1B), or the 5-HT(1A), receptors were silenced by the neo-cassette, with mice expressing either Cre-recombinase or the tetracycline transactivator (tTA) under the control of tissue-specific promoters, led to tissue-specific re-expression of these receptors. Our studies thus demonstrate the potential of this strategy for achieving both a classic knockout, as well as subsequent tissue-specific and/or inducible knockouts.

Rationale: Preclinical findings have repeatedly shown an anxiolytic-like action of agonists at metabotropic glutamate receptors type II, such as LY354740., Objective: We aimed to investigate the effect of LY544344, the prodrug of LY354740, upon experimental panic anxiety in humans., Methods: Twelve healthy human volunteers were treated orally with 80 mg bid LY544344 for 1 week in a randomized placebo-controlled cross-over study before 50 mug cholecystokinin tetrapeptide (CCK-4) was injected intravenously. We assessed CCK-induced panic and anxiety symptoms and measured stress hormone release., Results: While no significant treatment effect emerged in the entire sample, a significant reduction of the number of CCK-4-induced panic symptoms and of CCK-4-induced subjective anxiety ratings was detected after removing two subjects who did not show decreased CCK-4-elicited adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) release after LY544344 compared to placebo treatment., Conclusions: Further studies are needed to clarify the potential of LY544344 as a new anxiolytic or antipanic drug.

To assess the sensitivity and specificity of HIV antibody detection in saliva we tested matched serum and saliva samples from HIV-infected and uninfected individuals. Saliva specimens were collected by two different devices of the Salivette system and stored at different temperatures. Samples were tested for HIV antibodies by two commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs; Wellcome, Biotest). HIV antibodies were detected in 98.5% (Wellcome) and 97.8% (Biotest) of the saliva samples (standard Salivettes) from 135 seropositive individuals. Using the Salivettes flavoured with citric acid the sensitivity was only 22.9%. No reactions in ELISA were found in saliva from HIV-seronegative individuals. Salivary HIV-specific IgA was detected in 90% of seropositive individuals. All positive saliva samples stored at room temperature were still reactive after 20 days; of those stored at 37 degrees C, 23 out of 24 were positive when retested on day 5. Sensitivity of HIV antibody detection in saliva samples dried onto filter paper was 100% when a minimum of 100 microliters of saliva was used. HIV antibody testing in saliva is an efficient tool for large scale epidemiological studies when standard Salivettes are used for sample collection. Saliva samples can be stored in Salivettes or dried onto filter paper for several days at room temperature and under tropical conditions (37 degrees C).