@article{HalderTakanoOraetal.2016, author = {Halder, Sebastian and Takano, Kouji and Ora, Hiroki and Onishi, Akinari and Utsumi, Kota and Kansaku, Kenji}, title = {An Evaluation of Training with an Auditory P300 Brain-Computer Interface for the Japanese Hiragana Syllabary}, series = {Frontiers in Neuroscience}, volume = {10}, journal = {Frontiers in Neuroscience}, number = {446}, doi = {10.3389/fnins.2016.00446}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-165465}, year = {2016}, abstract = {Gaze-independent brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) are a possible communication channel for persons with paralysis. We investigated if it is possible to use auditory stimuli to create a BCI for the Japanese Hiragana syllabary, which has 46 Hiragana characters. Additionally, we investigated if training has an effect on accuracy despite the high amount of different stimuli involved. Able-bodied participants (N = 6) were asked to select 25 syllables (out of fifty possible choices) using a two step procedure: First the consonant (ten choices) and then the vowel (five choices). This was repeated on 3 separate days. Additionally, a person with spinal cord injury (SCI) participated in the experiment. Four out of six healthy participants reached Hiragana syllable accuracies above 70\% and the information transfer rate increased from 1.7 bits/min in the first session to 3.2 bits/min in the third session. The accuracy of the participant with SCI increased from 12\% (0.2 bits/min) to 56\% (2 bits/min) in session three. Reliable selections from a 10 × 5 matrix using auditory stimuli were possible and performance is increased by training. We were able to show that auditory P300 BCIs can be used for communication with up to fifty symbols. This enables the use of the technology of auditory P300 BCIs with a variety of applications.}, language = {en} } @article{LanglhoferVillmann2016, author = {Langlhofer, Georg and Villmann, Carmen}, title = {The Intracellular Loop of the Glycine Receptor: It's not all about the Size}, series = {Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience}, journal = {Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience}, number = {9}, doi = {10.3389/fnmol.2016.00041}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-165394}, pages = {41}, year = {2016}, abstract = {The family of Cys-loop receptors (CLRs) shares a high degree of homology and sequence identity. The overall structural elements are highly conserved with a large extracellular domain (ECD) harboring an α-helix and 10 β-sheets. Following the ECD, four transmembrane domains (TMD) are connected by intracellular and extracellular loop structures. Except the TM3-4 loop, their length comprises 7-14 residues. The TM3-4 loop forms the largest part of the intracellular domain (ICD) and exhibits the most variable region between all CLRs. The ICD is defined by the TM3-4 loop together with the TM1-2 loop preceding the ion channel pore. During the last decade, crystallization approaches were successful for some members of the CLR family. To allow crystallization, the intracellular loop was in most structures replaced by a short linker present in prokaryotic CLRs. Therefore, no structural information about the large TM3-4 loop of CLRs including the glycine receptors (GlyRs) is available except for some basic stretches close to TM3 and TM4. The intracellular loop has been intensively studied with regard to functional aspects including desensitization, modulation of channel physiology by pharmacological substances, posttranslational modifications, and motifs important for trafficking. Furthermore, the ICD interacts with scaffold proteins enabling inhibitory synapse formation. This review focuses on attempts to define structural and functional elements within the ICD of GlyRs discussed with the background of protein-protein interactions and functional channel formation in the absence of the TM3-4 loop.}, language = {en} } @article{DixCzakaiSpringeretal.2016, author = {Dix, Andreas and Czakai, Kristin and Springer, Jan and Fliesser, Mirjam and Bonin, Michael and Guthke, Reinhard and Schmitt, Anna L. and Einsele, Hermann and Linde, J{\"o}rg and L{\"o}ffler, J{\"u}rgen}, title = {Genome-Wide Expression Profiling Reveals S100B as Biomarker for Invasive Aspergillosis}, series = {Frontiers in Microbiology}, journal = {Frontiers in Microbiology}, number = {7}, doi = {10.3389/fmicb.2016.00320}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-165386}, pages = {320}, year = {2016}, abstract = {Invasive aspergillosis (IA) is a devastating opportunistic infection and its treatment constitutes a considerable burden for the health care system. Immunocompromised patients are at an increased risk for IA, which is mainly caused by the species Aspergillus fumigatus. An early and reliable diagnosis is required to initiate the appropriate antifungal therapy. However, diagnostic sensitivity and accuracy still needs to be improved, which can be achieved at least partly by the definition of new biomarkers. Besides the direct detection of the pathogen by the current diagnostic methods, the analysis of the host response is a promising strategy toward this aim. Following this approach, we sought to identify new biomarkers for IA. For this purpose, we analyzed gene expression profiles of hematological patients and compared profiles of patients suffering from IA with non-IA patients. Based on microarray data, we applied a comprehensive feature selection using a random forest classifier. We identified the transcript coding for the S100 calcium-binding protein B (S100B) as a potential new biomarker for the diagnosis of IA. Considering the expression of this gene, we were able to classify samples from patients with IA with 82.3\% sensitivity and 74.6\% specificity. Moreover, we validated the expression of S100B in a real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay and we also found a down-regulation of S100B in A. fumigatus stimulated DCs. An influence on the IL1B and CXCL1 downstream levels was demonstrated by this S100B knockdown. In conclusion, this study covers an effective feature selection revealing a key regulator of the human immune response during IA. S100B may represent an additional diagnostic marker that in combination with the established techniques may improve the accuracy of IA diagnosis.}, language = {en} } @article{KalledaAmichArslanetal.2016, author = {Kalleda, Natarajaswamy and Amich, Jorge and Arslan, Berkan and Poreddy, Spoorthi and Mattenheimer, Katharina and Mokhtari, Zeinab and Einsele, Hermann and Brock, Matthias and Heinze, Katrin Gertrud and Beilhack, Andreas}, title = {Dynamic Immune Cell Recruitment After Murine Pulmonary Aspergillus fumigatus Infection under Different Immunosuppressive Regimens}, series = {Frontiers in Microbiology}, volume = {7}, journal = {Frontiers in Microbiology}, number = {1107}, doi = {10.3389/fmicb.2016.01107}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-165368}, year = {2016}, abstract = {Humans are continuously exposed to airborne spores of the saprophytic fungus Aspergillus fumigatus. However, in healthy individuals pulmonary host defense mechanisms efficiently eliminate the fungus. In contrast, A. fumigatus causes devastating infections in immunocompromised patients. Host immune responses against A. fumigatus lung infections in immunocompromised conditions have remained largely elusive. Given the dynamic changes in immune cell subsets within tissues upon immunosuppressive therapy, we dissected the spatiotemporal pulmonary immune response after A. fumigatus infection to reveal basic immunological events that fail to effectively control invasive fungal disease. In different immunocompromised murine models, myeloid, notably neutrophils, and macrophages, but not lymphoid cells were strongly recruited to the lungs upon infection. Other myeloid cells, particularly dendritic cells and monocytes, were only recruited to lungs of corticosteroid treated mice, which developed a strong pulmonary inflammation after infection. Lymphoid cells, particularly CD4\(^+\) or CD8\(^+\) T-cells and NK cells were highly reduced upon immunosuppression and not recruited after A. fumigatus infection. Moreover, adoptive CD11b\(^+\) myeloid cell transfer rescued cyclophosphamide immunosuppressed mice from lethal A. fumigatus infection but not cortisone and cyclophosphamide immunosuppressed mice. Our findings illustrate that CD11b\(^+\) myeloid cells are critical for anti-A. fumigatus defense under cyclophosphamide immunosuppressed conditions.}, language = {en} } @article{CanessaPozziArnulfoetal.2016, author = {Canessa, Andrea and Pozzi, Nicol{\`o} G. and Arnulfo, Gabriele and Brumberg, Joachim and Reich, Martin M. and Pezzoli, Gianni and Ghilardi, Maria F. and Matthies, Cordula and Steigerwald, Frank and Volkmann, Jens and Isaias, Ioannis U.}, title = {Striatal Dopaminergic Innervation Regulates Subthalamic Beta-Oscillations and Cortical-Subcortical Coupling during Movements: Preliminary Evidence in Subjects with Parkinson's Disease}, series = {Frontiers in Human Neuroscience}, volume = {10}, journal = {Frontiers in Human Neuroscience}, number = {611}, doi = {10.3389/fnhum.2016.00611}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-164061}, year = {2016}, abstract = {Activation of the basal ganglia has been shown during the preparation and execution of movement. However, the functional interaction of cortical and subcortical brain areas during movement and the relative contribution of dopaminergic striatal innervation remains unclear. We recorded local field potential (LFP) activity from the subthalamic nucleus (STN) and high-density electroencephalography (EEG) signals in four patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) off dopaminergic medication during a multi-joint motor task performed with their dominant and non-dominant hand. Recordings were performed by means of a fully-implantable deep brain stimulation (DBS) device at 4 months after surgery. Three patients also performed a single-photon computed tomography (SPECT) with [123I]N-ω-fluoropropyl-2β-carbomethoxy-3β-(4-iodophenyl)nortropane (FP-CIT) to assess striatal dopaminergic innervation. Unilateral movement execution led to event-related desynchronization (ERD) followed by a rebound after movement termination event-related synchronization (ERS) of oscillatory beta activity in the STN and primary sensorimotor cortex of both hemispheres. Dopamine deficiency directly influenced movement-related beta-modulation, with greater beta-suppression in the most dopamine-depleted hemisphere for both ipsi- and contralateral hand movements. Cortical-subcortical, but not interhemispheric subcortical coherencies were modulated by movement and influenced by striatal dopaminergic innervation, being stronger in the most dopamine-depleted hemisphere. The data are consistent with a role of dopamine in shielding subcortical structures from an excessive cortical entrapment and cross-hemispheric coupling, thus allowing fine-tuning of movement.}, language = {en} } @article{IsaiasTrujilloSummersetal.2016, author = {Isaias, Ioannis U. and Trujillo, Paula and Summers, Paul and Marotta, Giorgio and Mainardi, Luca and Pezzoli, Gianni and Zecca, Luigi and Costa, Antonella}, title = {Neuromelanin Imaging and Dopaminergic Loss in Parkinson's Disease}, series = {Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience}, volume = {8}, journal = {Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience}, number = {196}, doi = {10.3389/fnagi.2016.00196}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-164046}, year = {2016}, abstract = {Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder in which the major pathologic substrate is a loss of dopaminergic neurons from the substantia nigra. Our main objective was to determine the correspondence between changes in the substantia nigra, evident in neuromelanin and iron sensitive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and dopaminergic striatal innervation loss in patients with PD. Eighteen patients and 18 healthy control subjects were included in the study. Using neuromelanin-MRI, we measured the volume of the substantia nigra and the contrast-to-noise-ratio between substantia nigra and a background region. The apparent transverse relaxation rate and magnetic susceptibility of the substantia nigra were calculated from dual-echo MRI. Striatal dopaminergic innervation was measured as density of dopamine transporter (DAT) by means of single-photon emission computed tomography and [123I] N-ω-fluoropropyl-2b-carbomethoxy-3b-(4-iodophenyl) tropane. Patients showed a reduced volume of the substantia nigra and contrast-to-noise-ratio and both positively correlated with the corresponding striatal DAT density. The apparent transverse relaxation rate and magnetic susceptibility values of the substantia nigra did not differ between patients and healthy controls. The best predictor of DAT reduction was the volume of the substantia nigra. Clinical and imaging correlations were also investigated for the locus coeruleus. Our results suggest that neuromelanin-MRI can be used for quantifying substantia nigra pathology in PD where it closely correlates with dopaminergic striatal innervation loss. Longitudinal studies should further explore the role of Neuromelanin-MRI as an imaging biomarker of PD, especially for subjects at risk of developing the disease.}, language = {en} } @article{HennighausenHuddersLangeetal.2016, author = {Hennighausen, Christine and Hudders, Liselot and Lange, Benjamin P. and Fink, Hanna}, title = {What If the Rival Drives a Porsche? Luxury Car Spending as a Costly Signal in Male Intrasexual Competition}, series = {Evolutionary Psychology}, volume = {14}, journal = {Evolutionary Psychology}, number = {4}, doi = {10.1177/1474704916678217}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-163481}, year = {2016}, abstract = {Previous research found that men conspicuously consume luxury products to attract a mate and to signal their mate value. However, these studies have yet neglected to investigate the function of male conspicuous consumption in same-sex competition. Given that intersexual selection and intrasexual selection are closely related processes, it stands to reason that a further function of male conspicuous consumption could be to impress and deter same-sex rivals. An 2 (intrasexual competition context vs. control) × 2 (conspicuous luxury vs. inconspicuous nonluxury) between-subjects experimental study conducted with an Amazon Mechanical Turk sample (N = 160) revealed that men reported both higher liking of and an intent to purchase a conspicuous luxury car compared to an inconspicuous nonluxury car due to increased feelings of social status. This effect was stronger in the intrasexual competition than in the control context. An additional perception study using a single-factor between-subjects design (conspicuous luxury vs. inconspicuous nonluxury car) among German men (N = 405) indicated that male participants rated a man who displayed a conspicuous luxury car more as a rival and mate poacher and less as a friend. They further perceived him to be superior on various mate value characteristics (i.e., attractiveness, intelligence, ambition, and status) and rated him as more oriented toward short-term mating. In sum, our findings add to previous research in the field of evolutionary consumer psychology by suggesting that male conspicuous consumption of luxuries may also serve a function in male-male competition.}, language = {en} } @article{Kuemmel2016, author = {K{\"u}mmel, Reiner}, title = {The Impact of Entropy Production and Emission Mitigation on Economic Growth}, series = {Entropy}, volume = {18}, journal = {Entropy}, number = {3}, doi = {10.3390/e18030075}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-163185}, pages = {75}, year = {2016}, abstract = {Entropy production in industrial economies involves heat currents, driven by gradients of temperature, and particle currents, driven by specific external forces and gradients of temperature and chemical potentials. Pollution functions are constructed for the associated emissions. They reduce the output elasticities of the production factors capital, labor, and energy in the growth equation of the capital-labor-energy-creativity model, when the emissions approach their critical limits. These are drawn by, e.g., health hazards or threats to ecological and climate stability. By definition, the limits oblige the economic actors to dedicate shares of the available production factors to emission mitigation, or to adjustments to the emission-induced changes in the biosphere. Since these shares are missing for the production of the quantity of goods and services that would be available to consumers and investors without emission mitigation, the "conventional" output of the economy shrinks. The resulting losses of conventional output are estimated for two classes of scenarios: (1) energy conservation; and (2) nuclear exit and subsidies to photovoltaics. The data of the scenarios refer to Germany in the 1980s and after 11 March 2011. For the energy-conservation scenarios, a method of computing the reduction of output elasticities by emission abatement is proposed.}, language = {en} } @article{WeismannSchneiderHoeybye2016, author = {Weismann, Dirk and Schneider, Andreas and H{\"o}ybye, Charlotte}, title = {Clinical aspects of symptomatic hyponatremia}, series = {Endocrine Connections}, volume = {5}, journal = {Endocrine Connections}, number = {5}, doi = {10.1530/EC-16-0046}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-162936}, pages = {R35-R43}, year = {2016}, abstract = {Hyponatremia (HN) is a common condition, with a large number of etiologies and a complicated treatment. Although chronic HN has been shown to be a predictor of poor outcome, sodium-increasing treatments in chronic stable and asymptomatic HN have not proven to increase life expectancy. For symptomatic HN, in contrast, the necessity for urgent treatment has broadly been accepted to avoid the development of fatal cerebral edema. On the other hand, a too rapid increase of serum sodium in chronic HN may result in cerebral damage due to osmotic demyelinisation. Recently, administration of hypertonic saline bolus has been recommended as first-line treatment in patients with moderate-to-severe symptomatic HN. This approach is easy to memorize and holds the potential to greatly facilitate the initial treatment of symptomatic HN. First-line treatment of chronic HN is fluid restriction and if ineffective treatment with tolvaptan or in some patients other agents should be considered. A number of recommendations and guidelines have been published on HN. In the present review, the management of patients with HN in relation to everyday clinical practice is summarized with focus on the acute management.}, language = {en} } @article{LorenzinBenaryBaluapurietal.2016, author = {Lorenzin, Francesca and Benary, Uwe and Baluapuri, Apoorva and Walz, Susanne and Jung, Lisa Anna and von Eyss, Bj{\"o}rn and Kisker, Caroline and Wolf, Jana and Eilers, Martin and Wolf, Elmar}, title = {Different promoter affinities account for specificity in MYC-dependent gene regulation}, series = {eLife}, volume = {5}, journal = {eLife}, doi = {10.7554/eLife.15161}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-162913}, pages = {e15161}, year = {2016}, abstract = {Enhanced expression of the MYC transcription factor is observed in the majority of tumors. Two seemingly conflicting models have been proposed for its function: one proposes that MYC enhances expression of all genes, while the other model suggests gene-specific regulation. Here, we have explored the hypothesis that specific gene expression profiles arise since promoters differ in affinity for MYC and high-affinity promoters are fully occupied by physiological levels of MYC. We determined cellular MYC levels and used RNA- and ChIP-sequencing to correlate promoter occupancy with gene expression at different concentrations of MYC. Mathematical modeling showed that binding affinities for interactions of MYC with DNA and with core promoter-bound factors, such as WDR5, are sufficient to explain promoter occupancies observed in vivo. Importantly, promoter affinity stratifies different biological processes that are regulated by MYC, explaining why tumor-specific MYC levels induce specific gene expression programs and alter defined biological properties of cells.}, language = {en} }