Patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) with the compulsion to wash have fear of contamination or feel contaminated. The compulsion to wash often lasts for hours, so that massive difficulties to cope with everyday life follow. There exist only few data on the aetiology of specific OCD-subgroups as the compulsive disorder to wash. Specific neural correlates of OCD with compulsion to wash have never been analyzed before. Existing neuroimaging data on OCD generally show changes of neural activity in the striatum, orbitofrontal cortex and anterior cingulated gyrus. A dysfunction of frontostriatal loops is supposed as one cause of OCD. From a psychoanalytic point of view OCD with the specific compulsion to wash is related to a suppression of autosexual and aggressive drives.

In our neuroimaging study (fMRI) we compared the neural networks of OCD-patients with the compulsion to wash and healthy controls. We used a picture-paradigm consisting of autosexual, aggressive, disgusting, neutral and water pictures. We were interested in the neural correlates of OCD-patients with compulsion to wash regarding the different affective pictures categories and expected neural differences between patients and controls. Stimuli were taken partly from the IAPS, partly also self- constructed and validated by a control group. First results point at significant differences in neural activity between patients and healthy controls, especially in diseases-related components as autosexual, aggressive and water pictures. OCD-patients used a more extended and more emotional related network of brain structures.

Our study provides new insights into neural correlates of OCD-patients with the compulsion to wash.

Analysis of entire barley (Hordeum vulgare ‘Moravian’) seedlings exposed to triallate [S-(2,3,3-trichloroallyl)-diisopropylthiocarbamate] vapor for 5 days after a 5-day germination period resulted in a linear rate of accumulation of triallate, while wild oat (Avena fatua L.) seedlings accumulated triallate for 1/2 to 2 days after exposure with no net accumulation thereafter. Similar accumulation patterns were shown for a similar exposure period when barley and wild oat were seeded 1.3 cm below a triallate-treated soil layer in the greenhouse. More triallate accumulated in wild oat and barley when they were planted in a triallate-treated soil layer than below. Since barley accumulated greater amounts of triallate without injury than wild oat, differential uptake of triallate was not the reason for selectivity.

Several robotic exploration missions will travel to Mars during this decade to investigate habitability and the possible presence of life. Field research at Mars analogue sites such as desert environments can provide important constraints for instrument calibration, landing site strategies and expected life detection targets. We have characterized the mineralogy, organic chemistry and microbiology of ten selected sample sites from the Utah desert in close vicinity to the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) during the EuroGeoMars 2009 campaign (organized by International Lunar Exploration Working Group (ILEWG), NASA Ames and ESA ESTEC). Compared with extremely arid deserts (such as the Atacama), organic and biological materials can be identified in a larger number of samples and subsequently be used to perform correlation studies. Among the important findings of this field research campaign are the diversity in the mineralogical composition of soil samples even when collected in close proximity, the low abundances of detectable polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and amino acids and the presence of biota of all three domains of life with significant heterogeneity. An extraordinary variety of putative extremophiles, mainly Bacteria and also Archaea and Eukarya was observed. The dominant factor in measurable bacterial abundance seems to be soil porosity and lower small (clay-sized) particle content. However, correlations between many measured parameters are difficult to establish. Field research conducted during the EuroGeoMars 2009 campaign shows that the geological history and depositional environment of the region, as well as the mineralogy influence the ability to detect compounds such as amino acids and DNA. Clays are known to strongly absorb and bind organic molecules often preventing extraction by even sophisticated laboratory methods. Our results indicate the need for further development and optimization of extraction procedures that release biological compounds from host matrices to enable the effective detection of biomarkers during future sampling campaigns on Earth and Mars.

With the advent of intense, coherent light sources in the XUV and soft X-ray regime, X-ray Thomson scattering becomes a unique tool for the diagnostics of dense plasmas. The scattering spectrum gives direct access to plasma properties like density, temperature, and composition. In dense systems, collisions among constituents are of primary importance for the prediction and interpretation of the scattering signal. We present a systematic approach to the dynamical structure factor using the Born-Mermin ansatz to include collisions via the dynamical collision frequency. Calculations of the scattering spectrum are performed for X-ray scattering on solid and compressed beryllium targets as well as for XUV-photons scattering on hydrogen at near solid density.

The potential created by an infinitesimal alternating dipole in a Maxwellian magnetoplasma is computed numerically at the plasma and upper-hybrid resonance frequencies when the latter extends from one to three times the electron cyclotron frequency. A linear full kinetic theory is used for a homogeneous magnetoplasma for which the forced ion motion and the collisions are neglected. The integral which gives the potential is evaluated by using the least-damping- roots (LDR) approximation, i.e. by neglecting the higher-order roots of the dispersion equation for electrostatic waves. Some characteristic potential patterns of dipoles parallel and perpendicular to the magnetic field are computed and comparisons with analytical results previously published are made. The numerical and analytical patterns are similar only at the plasma frequency when the dipole is parallel to the magnetic field.

We present the adaptive optics assisted, near-infrared VLTI instrument GRAVITY for precision narrow-angle astrometry and interferometric phase referenced imaging of faint objects. With its two fibers per telescope beam, its internal wavefront sensors and fringe tracker, and a novel metrology concept, GRAVITY will not only push the sensitivity far beyond what is offered today, but will also advance the astrometric accuracy for UTs to 10 μas. GRAVITY is designed to work with four telescopes, thus providing phase referenced imaging and astrometry for 6 baselines simultaneously. Its unique capabilities and sensitivity will open a new window for the observation of a wide range of objects, and — amongst others — will allow the study of motion within a few times the event horizon size of the Galactic Center black hole.

Extended abstract of a paper presented at Microscopy and Microanalysis 2007 in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, USA, August 5 – August 9, 2007

We describe two patients with stapes fixation, in both of whom Rosen mobilization seemed to be the most prudent surgical choice. In both cases, a useful hearing gain was achieved initially. In the patient with otosclerosis, the conductive hearing loss recurred and a stapedectomy was subsequently carried out. In the patient with congenital stapes fixation, the hearing gain was maintained for two years eight months. We believe that this technique still has a place in stapes surgery in rare instances.

This paper reports on the status of the PHELIX petawatt laser which is built at the Gesellschaft fuer Schwerionenforschung (GSI) in close collaboration with the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), and the Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique (CEA) in France. First experiments carried out with the chirped pulse amplification (CPA) front-end will also be briefly reviewed.

Extended abstract of a paper presented at Microscopy and Microanalysis 2005 in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA, July 31--August 4, 2005

Extended abstract of a paper presented at Microscopy and Microanalysis 2005 in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA, July 31--August 4, 2005

Extended abstract of a paper presented at Microscopy and Microanalysis 2005 in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA, July 31--August 4, 2005

Extended abstract of a paper presented at Microscopy and Microanalysis 2005 in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA, July 31--August 4, 2005