Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors

The updated version of the German S3 guideline for bladder cancer introduces several changes in the areas of diagnostics, perioperative systemic therapy, and rehabilitation, as well as psycho-oncological and palliative care for bladder cancer patients. In urinary diagnostics, the Paris system, including aquality algorithm, has been introduced to improve the comparability of cytological findings. Imaging diagnostics now recommends multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with Vesical Imaging-Reporting and Data System (VI-RADS) reporting as an alternative or complement to computed tomography (CT) scans. CT urography remains the gold standard for the upper urinary tract, while intravenous pyelography (IVP) is no longer recommended. In perioperative systemic therapy, the importance of multidisciplinary case conferences for muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) is emphasized to enable as many patients as possible to receive perioperative systemic therapy. Rehabilitation now follows quality criteria (multiprofessional teams, long-term concepts) and includes an expanded assessment of physical and psychological burdens. Particularly relevant is the treatment of sexual dysfunction in women after cystectomy. In psycho-oncology and palliative medicine, early integration of the S3 guidelines is required, including advanced care planning (ACP) starting from the diagnosis of advanced tumors. These changes aim for higher diagnostic accuracy, better treatment planning, and holistic patient care.

The brain is in continuous bidirectional exchange with the heart, receiving and sending signals that not only sustain physiological regulation but also shape perceptual and higher-order cognitive processes. While attentional selection has long been conceptualized as a mechanism for guiding behavior through external sensory input, it remains unclear how afferent signals originating from the heart are integrated into this process. To investigate how such cardioafferent signals interact with attentional selection, we employed a change detection task synchronized to the cardiac cycle which induced perceptual conflicts by pairing task-relevant luminance changes with more salient orientation changes in the opposing hemifield. Seventy-six participants were pseudorandomized into two groups exposing them to either repeated cold pressor tests (CPT, N = 51) or a warm water control condition (N = 25) to probe cardiovascular drivers of cardiac cycle effects. Cardiac phase systematically modulated change detection: systolic onsets increased errors in spatial-conflict changes, biasing responses toward a salient distractor, and increased misses for isolated luminance changes. EEG lateralization in a central-posterior cluster implicated altered premotor response encoding rather than early sensory gating (change positivity, N1pc, N2pc) as the locus of these effects. Although exposure to the CPT elevated blood pressure and heart rate, we found no robust group-level modulation of the cardiac-phase effect; instead, individual differences in heart rate responses to the CPT as well as an interaction of systolic blood pressure and heart rate variability predicted the magnitude of spatial-conflict phase effects in the CPT group. Together, these results demonstrate that phasic bodily signals can bias visuomotor selection during perceptual conflicts and change detection.

Abstract Landfill sites emit hazardous contaminants that pose significant health risks to exposed populations. This study evaluated metal accumulation, organ weight indices, gastric physiopathology, and tissue alterations in Wistar rats (Rattus norvegicus) exposed in situ at Olusosun landfill, Lagos, Nigeria. Male rats (n = 30/point) were exposed at three different points to ambient air and underground water (via drinking) at the landfill for 4-, 8-, 12-, 16-, 20- and 24-week periods. Control rats were housed 17.3 km away in a residential area. Early exposure induced clinical signs of toxicity and heavy metal analysis confirmed elevated lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), and chromium (Cr) levels in blood and lungs. There was significant (p < 0.05) increases in absolute and relative liver, kidney, and lung weights, and strong positive correlations between exposure duration and absolute organ weights. Gastric indices showed increased absolute stomach weight but decreased relative weight at most exposure periods. There was significant increases in parietal cell (4, 8, and 24 weeks), gastric mucous cell (4 and 24 weeks), and mucus secretion (4 and 24 weeks). Gross and histopathological findings revealed liver cysts, tissue inflammations, cell hyperplasia, necrosis and fibrosis, and gastric mucosal lesions. The observed metal bioaccumulation in blood and lungs, organ hypertrophy and gastric toxicopathology suggest potential health risk of short- and long-term exposure to landfill-derived pollutants. These results underscore the need for stricter landfill management practices, particularly in urban centers, and support the incorporation of biological monitoring models in environmental safety assessments to inform public health interventions.

Task such as hammering or throwing darts involve intentional actions performed with the anticipation of a desired effect that requires precision to achieve success. Visual perception of the goal, defined in an external frame of reference, plays a crucial role in specifying movement parameters in a body-centered frame of reference. Physical interruption of the task decouples the internal and external frames of reference leading to rapid performance decrements. Motor calibration, as noted by the 'Calibration Effect', is the fine-tuning of motor commands following performance-related feedback in the external frame of reference. Here we test the calibration effect with non-skilled populations in both a sport specific and an everyday type of task, darts and hammering. Participants performed 20 rounds of five attempts of hitting a goal with a stable bodily position. Between rounds they moved around to perturb the fine tuning. The first repetition within a round of repeated attempts was less accurate than the subsequent attempts within that same round, even if controlling for gradual learning effects. Thus, the calibration effect, a rapid component of warm-up, is present both in professional athletes and unskilled dart players as well as in everyday activities such as hammering.

White matter is fundamental for efficient information transfer and thus crucial for intelligence. Previous studies demonstrated associations between fractional anisotropy and intelligence, but it remains unclear whether this relation is due to greater axon density, parallel, homogenous fiber orientation distributions, or greater myelination, as all influence fractional anisotropy. Using neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging and myelin water fraction imaging, we analyzed the microstructural architecture of intelligence in 500 healthy young adults. We were also interested whether specific white matter indices mediate the pathway linking genetic disposition for intelligence to phenotype. For the first time, we conducted mediation analyses investigating whether neurite density index, orientation dispersion index, and myelin water fraction of 64 white matter tracts mediate the effects of polygenic scores for intelligence on general intelligence (g). Our results showed that neurite density index, but not orientation dispersion index or myelin water fraction of white matter tracts, was significantly associated with g and that neurite density index of six fiber tracts mediated the relation between genetic variability and g. These findings are a crucial step toward decoding the neurogenetic underpinnings of general intelligence, as they identify that neurite density of specific fiber tracts relates polygenic variation to g, whereas orientation dispersion and myelination did not.

A total of 147 patients, genotyped for glutathione S-transferases M1 (GSTM1) and T1 (GSTT1) and for N-acetyltransferase 2 (NAT2), who had undergone total joint replacement of the knee or hip joint between August 2004 and June 2007, showed with 45% a remarkably lower portion of the GSTM1-negative genotype compared to both a local control (51%), an external control (52%) and the portion reported in the literature for the European population (50%). In contrast, the portions of GSTT1-positive (84%) and slow NAT2 (55.1%) patients of the initial collective were unremarkable, compared to both controls. To elucidate a possible impact of this interesting finding on the long-term outcome, the patients were contacted in December 2015. Afterwards, they were interviewed using a self-prepared questionnaire. The average follow-up time was 9 years. At the time of follow-up, 57 patients were deceased, 46 patients did not respond and 12 patients declined the interview. A total of 32 patients participated in the follow-up. The mean age of the followed-up patients was 75.9±8.3 years, whereas the mean age of all patients at the time of surgery was 70.9±9 years. The portions of the GSTM1-negative genotype (15 out of 32; 47%), the GSTT1-positive genotype (24 out of 32; 75%) and the slow NAT2 status (17 out of 32; 53%) in the followed-up patients were comparable to those of the initial collective. The follow-up results of the patients after 9 years were unable to clarify the significance of the observed lower portion of GSTM1-negative patients. In view of a recently published omics study reporting a reduced GSTM1 activity in tissue attached on hip implants explanted due to aseptic loosening, the striking portion of the GSTM1-negative genotype in this present study may encourage further investigation into the impact of this gene in patients with hip or knee replacement.

Routine serum biomarkers do not always accurately reflect impaired liver function. To overcome this limitation, we synthesized novel bile acid (BA) derivatives (NIRBADs) with near-infrared (NIR) fluorescence that can penetrate the abdominal wall and be detected extracorporeally. NIRBAD dynamics in the liver parenchyma were recorded through intravital imaging in mice and extracorporeally in both rats and mice. NIRBAD metabolism was analyzed using HPLC-MS/MS and fluorimetry. Transport was investigated in cells expressing BA transporters, whose interactions with NIRBADs were assessed through molecular docking and dynamics simulations. The hepatic NIRBAD clearance time (NCT) was evaluated in animal models with impaired secretory function: rats with hepatocellular cholestatic damage induced by phalloidin and mice with obstructive cholestasis caused by bile duct ligation (BDL), as well as with spontaneous development of sclerosing cholangitis (Mdr2-/-). NIRBADs were taken up by cells expressing NTCP or OATP1B3, but minimally by OATP1B1. These findings were consistent with the NIRBAD dynamics in the liver parenchyma and in silico studies. Following intravenous administration of a non-toxic dose, the time course of NIR fluorescence in the rat liver aligned with biliary output. In mice with BDL, hepatic NIR fluorescence remained stable throughout the experimental period. Phalloidin administration impaired rat bile flow, induced a decrease in biliary NIRBAD-1 output, and caused an increase in NCT. Furthermore, the NCT was significantly longer in Mdr2-/- than in wild-type mice. In conclusion, a novel, noninvasive, real-time test based on cholephilic probes with NIR fluorescence detectable extracorporeally serves as a valuable tool for assessing hepatobiliary secretory function.