Technological development, broad availability and ubiquity of mobile phones made it possible in recent years to start a progression leading to the integration of mobile phones into biomedical analytical methods, the development of telemedicine and mobile personal health applications. This paper deals with the literature review of the mobile phone usage in biomedicine, with emphasis on the methods of optical analysis and technical solutions using 3D printing technology. It provides a draft and practical implementation of salivary cortiol level measuring system using a mobile phone, ELISA analytical methods, 3D printing technology and a set of custom Matlab functions connected with Matlab Mobile application and Mathworks Cloud. Also provides critical evaluation of results and method possibilities, and presents set of proposals and findings for quality of measurment optimization.

Technological development, broad availability and ubiquity of mobile phones made it possible in recent years to start a progression leading to the integration of mobile phones into biomedical analytical methods, the development of telemedicine and mobile personal health applications. This paper deals with the literature review of the mobile phone usage in biomedicine, with emphasis on the methods of optical analysis and technical solutions using 3D printing technology. It provides a draft and practical implementation of salivary cortiol level measuring system using a mobile phone, ELISA analytical methods, 3D printing technology and a set of custom Matlab functions connected with Matlab Mobile application and Mathworks Cloud. Also provides critical evaluation of results and method possibilities, and presents set of proposals and findings for quality of measurment optimization.

In dieser Arbeit wurde bei 137 Probanden im Alter zwischen 8 und 14 Jahren untersucht, inwiefern sich die Basalcortisolsekretion sowie die Cortisol Awakening Response bei Kindern und Jugendlichen mit internalisierenden oder externalisierenden Störungsbildern von gesunden Kindern und Jugendlichen unterscheiden. Außerdem wurde der Einfluss schlafbezogener Faktoren wie Schlafdauer, Zeitpunkt des Erwachens, Grad der Erholung und Schlafqualität auf die beiden Parameter untersucht. Diagnosegruppe, Schlafqualität und Grad der Erholung zeigten dabei keinen Einfluss auf die Cortisolparameter. Eine kurze Schlafdauer, frühes Erwachen, weibliches Geschlecht und höheres Alter der Probanden, zeigten eine signifikante Assoziation mit höheren Cortisolparametern. Die Interpretation einer HPA- Achsen- Dysregulation als diagnostischer Marker für psychiatrische Störungsbilder im Kindes- und Jugendalter sollte daher kritisch betrachtet werden. Co- Faktoren wie Geschlecht, Alter des Probanden, Schlafdauer und Zeitpunkt des Erwachens scheinen sowohl die basale Cortisolsekretion, als auch die CAR in signifikantem Maße zu beeinflussen und sollten in zukünftigen Studien zur Rolle der HPA- Achsen- Funktion im Rahmen psychiatrischer Störungsbilder sorgfältig kontrolliert werden.

Hair cortisol concentrations (HCC) have been found to be related to various common childhood diseases, like otitis media, conjunctivitis, respiratory viral infections, and moreover asthma. However, the confounding effects of age, gender, body mass index (BMI), pubertal stage (Tanner stages), socioeconomic status (SES) as well as of some hair maintenance procedures on HCC are still not well examined. A cohort of 434 children aged between 5 and 18 years was examined for HCC between January 2012 and February 2015 in the context of the Leipzig LIFE Child study. Thereby anthropometric data, gender, BMI, SES and pubertal status were assessed. HCC was measured by liquid chromatography mass spectrometry. Hair maintenance procedures were evaluated by a questionnaire. In the total cohort HCC levels ranged between 0,95 pg/mg and 29,86 pg/mg. In prepuberty, boys showed significantly higher HCC than girls (6.54 vs. 3.73pg/mg, p<0.05). During puberty HCC values in both genders converge. Higher BMI was significantly associated with higher HCC in both genders. In girls, HCC did not differ depending on Tanner stages. In boys, HCC was significantly higher in Tanner stage 1 than in stages 2-5. After adjusting for pubertal status, there was no relation between HCC and age in either boys or girls. Measuring cortisol concentration in hair gives information about long term release of cortisol. We have found, that puberty, gender and BMI had a profound effect on HCC. As a result, further research should take into account the potentially confounding role of puberty, gender and BMI and may use the results of our study as a reference at determining values of HCC in healthy children.:1 Abkürzungsverzeichnis ...................................................................................... 1 2 Einleitung ........................................................................................................... 2 2.1 Problembereich und Forschungsstand ........................................................ 2 2.2 Pubertät ....................................................................................................... 6 2.2.1 Definition und hormoneller Ablauf ......................................................... 6 2.2.2 Tannerstadien und zeitlicher Ablauf ...................................................... 8 2.3 Cortisol....................................................................................................... 10 2.3.1 Bildung und Freisetzung ...................................................................... 10 2.3.2 Physiologie der Haarcortisolwerte ....................................................... 11 2.4 Die LIFE Child Studie ................................................................................ 12 2.4.1 Studiendesign und Ziele ...................................................................... 12 2.4.2 Anthropometrische Datenbestimmung bei Kindern in der LIFE Child Studie .................................................................................................. 13 2.5 Hypothesen, Frage- und Zielstellungen ..................................................... 14 3 Originalartikel ................................................................................................... 15 4 Zusammenfassung .......................................................................................... 24 5 Literatur ........................................................................................................... 28 6 Erklärung über eigenständige Abfassung der Arbeit ........................................ 32 7 Darstellung des eigenen Beitrages .................................................................. 33 8 Lebenslauf ....................................................................................................... 35 9 Danksagung..................................................................................................... 37

The establishment of physiological norms for psychologically hardy vs. non-hardy individuals was attempted by examination of levels of salivary cortisol and urinary norepinephrine before and after a mid-term examination stressor. Normative data was collected on the reported frequency of stressors and their severity one week prior to the examination, and self-reported ratings of stress immediately prior to the examination. Performance on the examination as a function of hardiness was explored. Associations between demographic variables and psychological hardiness were also studied. Results from this study were inconclusive in establishing physiological norms for psychologically hardy individuals. Associations were found between: 1) hardiness and frequency of stressors; 2) hardiness and age; and 3) self-reported ratings of stress and anxiety as measured by the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI).

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<div> <div> <div> <p>Major depressive disorder (MDD) and risk for its development are characterized by reduced reactivity and flexibility to environmental demands. Frontal alpha asymmetry (FAA), heart rate variability (HRV), and salivary cortisol reactivity are each well-established indicators of regulation across neural, autonomic, and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) physiological systems, respectively. Growing literature suggests that each of these processes is dysregulated in individuals with a history of MDD. However, patterns of dysregulation across these physiological systems and relative MDD risk are unknown. Moreover, these physiological regulatory patterns may extent beyond markers of MDD risk in adulthood to also capture the transmission of risk for MDD from parent to offspring. The following series of five studies investigated the pathophysiology of MDD and the permeability of risk across the lifespan. First, the pattern of dysregulation across physiological indices—representing neural, autonomic, and HPA functioning—in adults was examined with regard to depressive symptoms. Second, the associations amongst infant FAA, HRV, and cortisol reactivity and maternal depressive symptoms were assessed as potential early markers of depression risk. Third, mother-infant associations across physiological indices were investigated to assess direct intergenerational transmission of depression risk. Studies 4 and 5 further investigated pathophysiological functioning in mothers and infants within the context of comorbid anxiety and current depressive symptomatology versus lifetime MDD illness. Mothers and their 12-month-old infants (n = 35 dyads) completed resting- state and stressor tasks to assess regulatory patterns across neural, autonomic, and HPA systems, associations with MDD, and intergenerational transmission. In adults, results suggest that lifetime history of MDD is significantly associated with blunted cortisol reactivity; FAA and high- frequency HRV also demonstrated the same direction of associations. In infants, results demonstrated that maternal depressive symptoms, particularly current symptoms, relate to blunted physiological regulation in infants specifically for FAA and HRV indices. For mothers and infants, there was support for the direct intergenerational transmission of FAA and HRV indices. These intergenerational associations did not fully account for intergenerational risk of depression, as maternal physiological regulation and maternal depression were found to each significantly predict infant regulation as simultaneous predictors. Accounting for comorbid anxiety and examining current symptoms versus lifetime illness were essential to investigating associations amongst physiological functioning and depression. These patterns in conjunction with the literature suggest a developmental model to MDD pathophysiology that encompasses multiple theoretical frameworks. Future research is necessary to clarify regulatory patterns across physiological systems within individuals and across time with regard to MDD risk, onset, and course.</p></div></div></div>

In our study, we analyzed four stress markers (cortisol, cortisone, DHEA and DHEAS) in blood serum in young sows using minimally invasive heart catheterisation as the stress factor. The marker levels were assessed in four defined periods of the experiment, beginning with the baseline level on the day before intervention (1), the second period was after the introduction of anaesthesia (2), the third was after conducting tissue stimulation or ablation (3), and the final period was after the end of the catheterisation (4). Cortisol and cortisone were detected using HPLC method, DHEA(S) by commercial kits. For statistical analyses non-parametric tests were used (due to non standard Gaussian data distribution). In our study we arranged these experiments: 1. Diurnal variability in these markers concentration during heart catheterisation was tested. 2. Are there differences between stress markers concentration the day before experiment (sampling 1) and in the day of the catheterisation (samplings 2, 3, 4)? 3. Are there differences between these markers concentration during operation (the first sampling was excluded)? 4. The cortisol/cortisone ratio was calculated. We found only minimal statistical differences in studied markers between the morning and afternoon group (p > 0.05) in experiment 1. For tested...

This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Cytokine and hormone concentrations can be linked to the manipulation of training variables and to subsequent alterations in performance. Subjects: Nine D-1 collegiate throwers and 4 control subjects participated in this preliminary and exploratory report. Methods: Hormone (testosterone (T) and cortisol (C)) and adipokine (adiponectin, leptin, and resistin) measurements were taken at weeks 1, 7, and 11 for the throwers and weeks 1 and 11 for the control group. The throwers participated in an 11-week periodized resistance training and throws program during the fall preparatory period. Volume load was recorded throughout the study. Results: Hormone values did not exhibit statistically significant changes across time; however, there were notable changes for C, the testosterone to cortisol ratio (T:C), and adiponectin. Conclusions: T:C was increased as volume load decreased, and adiponectin increased in concert with decreases in C and increases in the T:C, possibly suggesting a lesser degree of obesity-related inflammation and a higher degree of “fitness” and preparedness.