Month: August 2021

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CreaThesis Andrea Schittenhelm

Sensory-processing sensitivity – a possible predictor for shooting performance and state orientation? An investigation of the influence of sensitivity on shooting performance and personality variables

The picture shows an open photography aperture. It was chosen as a metaphor for the differences amongst humans regarding their sensitivity to environmental cues. Some humans do have a wide open “aperture” (are very sensitive to environmental cues), other human apertures are rather closed. This CreaThesis aims to illustrate the theory behind the thesis..

Simplified Abstract

Aim of the bachelor thesis was to investigate if sensory-processing sensitivity could have a disadvantage or an advantage in sport shooting performance. Additionally, the study did also investigate if sensory-processing sensitivity may have a correlation with the personality variable state orientation. To evaluate these questions, an online survey with the German version of the Highly Sensitive Person Scale (HSPS-GS), as well as the German version of the Action Control Scale (HOSP) was conducted. Results revealed differences in sensitivity between high-performer and low-performer in shooting sports for men (p = .019, d = .26) but not for women (p = .864, d = -.02). Striking was that in the study sample included distinctly less persons that reached the high scorers on the HSPS-GS, than described in the literature. This means, that there were almost no highly sensitive persons in the shooting sample. A moderate correlation between sensitivity and state orientation was found. These results, especially the absence of high scorers, is perhaps an indicator for high sensitivity as a possible disadvantage in competitive shooting sports. 

Name:                        Andrea Schittenhelm

Field of study:          Sport Science

Supervisor:                Prof. Dr. Jürgen Beckmann

Chair:                          Chair of Sport Psychology

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CreaThesis Philipp Strobl

The role of Stearoyl-CoA desaturase-1 (SCD1) and Glutathione Peroxidase 8 (GPX8) in Lipotoxicity

The picture displays how an unsaturated fatty acid (blue) protectively throws itself in front of a cell to save it from a saturated fatty acid (red). This scenery was chosen because it was shown in part of my bachelor thesis that high amounts of saturated fatty acids trigger cell death in murine cells, but this effect can be prevented by the simultaneous addition of unsaturated fatty acids.

Simplified Abstract

The aim of my thesis was to investigate the role of two enzymes in a process called lipotoxicity. Lipotoxicity is a metabolic syndrome in which high concentrations of free fatty acids lead to cell dysfunction and subsequent cell death. However, how these free fatty acids trigger this cytotoxicity is not yet fully understood

One of the enzymes studied in this thesis (SCD1) is necessary for the conversion of saturated to unsaturated fatty acids, the other (GPX8) is thought to play a role in maintaining a healthy environment in the cell. To understand the role of these enzymes in lipotoxicity in more detail, they were made non-functional in cultured mouse cells by a so-called “knockout”. The subsequent treatment of these cells with fatty acids and the analysis of the following cell reactions should provide information about their role in lipotoxicity.

This work demonstrated that both GPX8 and SCD1 play a major role in protection against lipotoxicity. It could be shown that cell death in mouse cells could be induced by the addition of elevated concentrations of saturated fatty acids but could be prevented by the simultaneous addition of unsaturated fatty acids. The “knockout” of the two enzymes led to cell death at significantly lower concentrations of saturated fatty acids. By analyzing different cellular pathways, answers could be found how this lipotoxicity protection is ensured by the enzymes.

Name:                        Philipp Strobl

Field of study:          Biology

Supervisor:                Dr. Marcus Conrad

Chair:                          Helmholtz-Zentrum München

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