@article{EisenhuthVellmerRauhetal.2021, author = {Eisenhuth, Nicole and Vellmer, Tim and Rauh, Elisa T. and Butter, Falk and Janzen, Christian J.}, title = {A DOT1B/Ribonuclease H2 Protein Complex Is Involved in R-Loop Processing, Genomic Integrity, and Antigenic Variation in Trypanosoma brucei}, series = {mbio}, volume = {12}, journal = {mbio}, number = {6}, doi = {10.1128/mBio.01352-21}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-260698}, pages = {e01352-21}, year = {2021}, abstract = {The parasite Trypanosoma brucei periodically changes the expression of protective variant surface glycoproteins (VSGs) to evade its host's immune sys-tem in a process known as antigenic variation. One route to change VSG expres-sion is the transcriptional activation of a previously silent VSG expression site (ES), a subtelomeric region containing the VSG genes. Homologous recombination of a different VSG from a large reservoir into the active ES represents another route. The conserved histone methyltransferase DOT1B is involved in transcriptional silencing of inactive ES and influences ES switching kinetics. The molecular machin-ery that enables DOT1B to execute these regulatory functions remains elusive, however. To better understand DOT1B-mediated regulatory processes, we purified DOT1B-associated proteins using complementary biochemical approaches. We iden-tified several novel DOT1B interactors. One of these was the RNase H2 complex, previously shown to resolve RNA-DNA hybrids, maintain genome integrity, and play a role in antigenic variation. Our study revealed that DOT1B depletion results in an increase in RNA-DNA hybrids, accumulation of DNA damage, and ES switch-ing events. Surprisingly, a similar pattern of VSG deregulation was observed in RNase H2 mutants. We propose that both proteins act together in resolving R-loops to ensure genome integrity and contribute to the tightly regulated process of anti-genic variation.}, language = {en} } @article{VoelkerVoelkerEngertetal.2021, author = {Voelker, Johannes and Voelker, Christine and Engert, Jonas and Goemann, Nikolas and Hagen, Rudolf and Rak, Kristen}, title = {Spontaneous Calcium Oscillations through Differentiation: A Calcium Imaging Analysis of Rat Cochlear Nucleus Neural Stem Cells}, series = {Cells}, volume = {10}, journal = {Cells}, number = {10}, issn = {2073-4409}, doi = {10.3390/cells10102802}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-248482}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Causal therapies for the auditory-pathway and inner-ear diseases are still not yet available for clinical application. Regenerative medicine approaches are discussed and examined as possible therapy options. Neural stem cells could play a role in the regeneration of the auditory pathway. In recent years, neural stem and progenitor cells have been identified in the cochlear nucleus, the second nucleus of the auditory pathway. The current investigation aimed to analyze cell maturation concerning cellular calcium activity. Cochlear nuclei from PND9 CD rats were microscopically dissected and propagated as neurospheres in free-floating cultures in stem-cell medium (Neurobasal, B27, GlutaMAX, EGF, bFGF). After 30 days, the dissociation and plating of these cells took place under withdrawal of the growth factors and the addition of retinoic acid, which induces neural cell differentiation. Calcium imaging analysis with BAPTA-1/Oregon Green was carried out at different times during the differentiation phase. In addition, the influence of different voltage-dependent calcium channels was analyzed through the targeted application of inhibitors of the L-, N-, R- and T-type calcium channels. For this purpose, comparative examinations were performed on CN NSCs, and primary CN neurons. As the cells differentiated, a significant increase in spontaneous neuronal calcium activity was demonstrated. In the differentiation stage, specific frequencies of the spontaneous calcium oscillations were measured in different regions of the individual cells. Initially, the highest frequency of spontaneous calcium oscillations was ascertainable in the maturing somata. Over time, these were overtaken by calcium oscillations in the axons and dendrites. Additionally, in the area of the growth cones, an increasing activity was determined. By inhibiting voltage-dependent calcium channels, their expression and function in the differentiation process were confirmed. A comparable pattern of maturation of these channels was found in CN NSCs and primary CN neurons. The present results show that neural stem cells of the rat cochlear nucleus differentiated not only morphologically but also functionally. Spontaneous calcium activities are of great relevance in terms of neurogenesis and integration into existing neuronal structures. These functional aspects of neurogenesis within the auditory pathway could serve as future targets for the exogenous control of neuronal regeneration.}, language = {en} } @article{PlassmeierHankirSeyfried2021, author = {Plassmeier, Lars and Hankir, Mohammed K. and Seyfried, Florian}, title = {Impact of Excess Body Weight on Postsurgical Complications}, series = {Visceral Medicine}, volume = {37}, journal = {Visceral Medicine}, number = {4}, issn = {2297-4725}, doi = {10.1159/000517345}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-244890}, pages = {287-97}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Background: Obesity is considered a risk factor for postoperative complications as it can limit exposure to the operation field, thereby significantly prolonging surgery time. Obesity-associated comorbidities, such as low-grade systemic inflammation, impaired functional status, and type 2 diabetes, are independent risk factors for impaired anastomotic wound healing and nonsurgical site infections. If obesity itself is an independent risk factor for surgical complications remains controversial, but the reason for this is largely unexplored. Summary: A MEDLINE literature search was performed using the terms: "obesity," "excess body weight," and "surgical complications." Out of 65,493 articles 432 meta-analyses were screened, of which 25 meta-analyses were on the subject. The vast majority of complex oncologic procedures in the field of visceral surgery have shown higher complication rates in obese patients. Meta-analyses from the last 10 to 15 years with high numbers of patients enrolled consistently have shown longer operation times, higher blood loss, longer hospital stay for colorectal procedures, oncologic upper gastrointestinal (GI) procedures, and pancreatic surgery. Interestingly, these negative effects seem not to affect the overall survival in oncologic patients, especially in esophageal resections. A selection bias in oncologic upper GI patients may have influenced the results with higher BMI in upper GI cancer to be a predictor for better nutritional and performance status. Key Messages: Contrary to bariatric surgery, only limited evidence indicated that site and type of surgery, the approach to the abdominal cavity (laparoscopic vs. open), institutional factors, and the type of perioperative care such as ERAS protocols may play a role in determining postsurgical complications in obese patients. The initial question remains therefore partially unanswered. Large nationwide register-based studies are necessary to better understand which aspects of obesity and its related comorbidities define it as a risk factor for surgical complications.}, language = {en} } @article{Ibebuchi2021, author = {Ibebuchi, Chibuike Chiedozie}, title = {Revisiting the 1992 severe drought episode in South Africa: the role of El Ni{\~n}o in the anomalies of atmospheric circulation types in Africa south of the equator}, series = {Theoretical and Applied Climatology}, volume = {146}, journal = {Theoretical and Applied Climatology}, number = {1-2}, issn = {1434-4483}, doi = {10.1007/s00704-021-03741-7}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-268569}, pages = {723-740}, year = {2021}, abstract = {During strong El Ni{\~n}o events, below-average rainfall is expected in large parts of southern Africa. The 1992 El Ni{\~n}o season was associated with one of the worst drought episodes in large parts of South Africa. Using reanalysis data set from NCEP-NCAR, this study examined circulation types (CTs) in Africa south of the equator that are statistically related to the El Ni{\~n}o signal in the southwest Indian Ocean and the implication of this relationship during the 1992 drought episode in South Africa. A statistically significant correlation was found between the above-average Nino 3.4 index and a CT that features widespread cyclonic activity in the tropical southwest Indian Ocean, coupled with a weaker state of the south Indian Ocean high-pressure. During the analysis period, it was found that the El Ni{\~n}o signal enhanced the amplitude of the aforementioned CT. The impacts of the El Ni{\~n}o signal on CTs in southern Africa, which could have contributed to the 1992 severe drought episode in South Africa, were reflected in (i) robust decrease in the frequency of occurrence of the austral summer climatology pattern of atmospheric circulation that favors southeasterly moisture fluxes, advected by the South Indian Ocean high-pressure; (ii) modulation of easterly moisture fluxes, advected by the South Atlantic Ocean high-pressure, ridging south of South Africa; (iii) and enhancement of the amplitude of CTs that both enhances subsidence over South Africa, and associated with the dominance of westerlies across the Agulhas current. Under the ssp585 scenario, the analyzed climate models suggested that the impact of radiative heating on the CT significantly related to El Ni{\~n}o might result in an anomalous increase in surface pressure at the eastern parts of South Africa.}, language = {en} } @article{CaoSteinbornHaendel2021, author = {Cao, Liyu and Steinborn, Michael B. and Haendel, Barbara F.}, title = {Delusional thinking and action binding in healthy individuals}, series = {Scientific Reports}, volume = {11}, journal = {Scientific Reports}, number = {1}, doi = {10.1038/s41598-021-97977-y}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-264707}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Action binding is the effect that the perceived time of an action is shifted towards the action related feedback. A much larger action binding effect in schizophrenia compared to normal controls has been shown, which might be due to positive symptoms like delusions. Here we investigated the relationship between delusional thinking and action binding in healthy individuals, predicting a positive correlation between them. The action binding effect was evaluated by comparing the perceived time of a keypress between an operant (keypress triggering a sound) and a baseline condition (keypress alone), with a novel testing method that massively improved the precision of the subjective timing measurement. A positive correlation was found between the tendency of delusional thinking (measured by the 21-item Peters et al. delusions inventory) and action binding across participants after controlling for the effect of testing order between operant and baseline conditions. The results indicate that delusional thinking in particular influences action time perception and support the notion of a continuous distribution of schizotypal traits with normal controls at one end and clinical patients at the other end.}, language = {en} } @article{PaudelFusiSchmidt2021, author = {Paudel, Rupesh and Fusi, Lorenza and Schmidt, Marc}, title = {The MEK5/ERK5 pathway in health and disease}, series = {International Journal of Molecular Sciences}, volume = {22}, journal = {International Journal of Molecular Sciences}, number = {14}, issn = {1422-0067}, doi = {10.3390/ijms22147594}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-261638}, year = {2021}, abstract = {The MEK5/ERK5 mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) cascade is a unique signaling module activated by both mitogens and stress stimuli, including cytokines, fluid shear stress, high osmolarity, and oxidative stress. Physiologically, it is mainly known as a mechanoreceptive pathway in the endothelium, where it transduces the various vasoprotective effects of laminar blood flow. However, it also maintains integrity in other tissues exposed to mechanical stress, including bone, cartilage, and muscle, where it exerts a key function as a survival and differentiation pathway. Beyond its diverse physiological roles, the MEK5/ERK5 pathway has also been implicated in various diseases, including cancer, where it has recently emerged as a major escape route, sustaining tumor cell survival and proliferation under drug stress. In addition, MEK5/ERK5 dysfunction may foster cardiovascular diseases such as atherosclerosis. Here, we highlight the importance of the MEK5/ERK5 pathway in health and disease, focusing on its role as a protective cascade in mechanical stress-exposed healthy tissues and its function as a therapy resistance pathway in cancers. We discuss the perspective of targeting this cascade for cancer treatment and weigh its chances and potential risks when considering its emerging role as a protective stress response pathway.}, language = {en} } @article{BielmeierRothSchmittetal.2021, author = {Bielmeier, Christina B. and Roth, Saskia and Schmitt, Sabrina I. and Boneva, Stefaniya K. and Schlecht, Anja and Vallon, Mario and Tamm, Ernst R. and Erg{\"u}n, S{\"u}leyman and Neueder, Andreas and Braunger, Barbara M.}, title = {Transcriptional profiling identifies upregulation of neuroprotective pathways in retinitis pigmentosa}, series = {International Journal of Molecular Sciences}, volume = {22}, journal = {International Journal of Molecular Sciences}, number = {12}, issn = {1422-0067}, doi = {10.3390/ijms22126307}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-260769}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Hereditary retinal degenerations like retinitis pigmentosa (RP) are among the leading causes of blindness in younger patients. To enable in vivo investigation of cellular and molecular mechanisms responsible for photoreceptor cell death and to allow testing of therapeutic strategies that could prevent retinal degeneration, animal models have been created. In this study, we deeply characterized the transcriptional profile of mice carrying the transgene rhodopsin V20G/P23H/P27L (VPP), which is a model for autosomal dominant RP. We examined the degree of photoreceptor degeneration and studied the impact of the VPP transgene-induced retinal degeneration on the transcriptome level of the retina using next generation RNA sequencing (RNASeq) analyses followed by weighted correlation network analysis (WGCNA). We furthermore identified cellular subpopulations responsible for some of the observed dysregulations using in situ hybridizations, immunofluorescence staining, and 3D reconstruction. Using RNASeq analysis, we identified 9256 dysregulated genes and six significantly associated gene modules in the subsequently performed WGCNA. Gene ontology enrichment showed, among others, dysregulation of genes involved in TGF-β regulated extracellular matrix organization, the (ocular) immune system/response, and cellular homeostasis. Moreover, heatmaps confirmed clustering of significantly dysregulated genes coding for components of the TGF-β, G-protein activated, and VEGF signaling pathway. 3D reconstructions of immunostained/in situ hybridized sections revealed retinal neurons and M{\"u}ller cells as the major cellular population expressing representative components of these signaling pathways. The predominant effect of VPP-induced photoreceptor degeneration pointed towards induction of neuroinflammation and the upregulation of neuroprotective pathways like TGF-β, G-protein activated, and VEGF signaling. Thus, modulation of these processes and signaling pathways might represent new therapeutic options to delay the degeneration of photoreceptors in diseases like RP.}, language = {en} } @article{PernitzschAlzheimerBremeretal.2021, author = {Pernitzsch, Sandy R. and Alzheimer, Mona and Bremer, Belinda U. and Robbe-Saule, Marie and De Reuse, Hilde and Sharma, Cynthia M.}, title = {Small RNA mediated gradual control of lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis affects antibiotic resistance in Helicobacter pylori}, series = {Nature Communications}, volume = {12}, journal = {Nature Communications}, number = {1}, doi = {10.1038/s41467-021-24689-2}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-261536}, year = {2021}, abstract = {The small, regulatory RNA RepG (Regulator of polymeric G-repeats) regulates the expression of the chemotaxis receptor TlpB in Helicobacter pylori by targeting a variable G-repeat in the tlpB mRNA leader. Here, we show that RepG additionally controls lipopolysaccharide (LPS) phase variation by also modulating the expression of a gene (hp0102) that is co-transcribed with tlpB. The hp0102 gene encodes a glycosyltransferase required for LPS O-chain biosynthesis and in vivo colonization of the mouse stomach. The G-repeat length defines a gradual (rather than ON/OFF) control of LPS biosynthesis by RepG, and leads to gradual resistance to a membrane-targeting antibiotic. Thus, RepG-mediated modulation of LPS structure might impact host immune recognition and antibiotic sensitivity, thereby helping H. pylori to adapt and persist in the host. The small RNA RepG modulates expression of chemotaxis receptor TlpB in Helicobacter pylori by targeting a length-variable G-repeat in the tlpB mRNA. Here, Pernitzsch et al. show that RepG also gradually controls lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis, antibiotic susceptibility, and in-vivo colonization of the stomach, by regulating a gene that is co-transcribed with tlpB.}, language = {en} } @article{FringsSchoeffskiGoebeleretal.2021, author = {Frings, Verena Gerlinde and Sch{\"o}ffski, Oliver and Goebeler, Matthias and Presser, Dagmar}, title = {Economic analysis of the costs associated with Hidradenitis suppurativa at a German University Hospital}, series = {PLoS One}, volume = {16}, journal = {PLoS One}, number = {8}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0255560}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-261668}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Background and objectives Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) significantly affects the patient`s quality of life and leads to multiple medical consultations. Aim of this study was to assess the utilization of medical care of HS patients. Patients and methods All patients presenting in 2017 for an outpatient, day patient and / or inpatient treatment with leading claim type HS at the Department of Dermatology, University Hospital W{\"u}rzburg, were included. Primary outcome was the economic burden of HS patients, measured by resource utilization in €. Results The largest share of the direct medical costs for HS were the inpatient costs with a leading surgical diagnosis-related group (DRG). Antiseptics were the predominant topical prescription. While doxycycline was the most frequently prescribed systemic therapy, adalimumab was the main cost driver. The difference between in-patient (€ 110.25) and outpatient (€ 26.34) direct non-medical costs was statistically significant (p < 0.001). With regards to indirect medical costs, a statistically significantly higher loss of gross value added (inpatient mean € 1,827.00; outpatient mean € 203.00) and loss of production (inpatient mean € 1,026.00; outpatient mean € 228.00) could be noted (p < 0.001), respectively. Conclusions The present study on disease-specific costs of HS confirms that the hospital care of patients with this disease is cost-intensive. However, the primary goal of physicians is not and should not be to save costs regarding their patients`treatment, but rather the premise to utilize the existing resources as efficient as possible. Reducing the use of costly therapeutics and inpatient stays therefore requires more effective therapy options with an improved cost-benefit profile.}, language = {en} } @article{SeefriedRakPetryketal.2021, author = {Seefried, L. and Rak, D. and Petryk, A. and Genest, F.}, title = {Bone turnover and mineral metabolism in adult patients with hypophosphatasia treated with asfotase alfa}, series = {Osteoporosis International}, volume = {32}, journal = {Osteoporosis International}, number = {12}, doi = {10.1007/s00198-021-06025-y}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-265310}, pages = {2505-2513}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Summary There is limited understanding of how asfotase alfa affects mineral metabolism and bone turnover in adults with pediatric-onset hypophosphatasia. This study showed that adults with hypophosphatasia treated with asfotase alfa experienced significant changes in biochemical markers of bone and mineral metabolism, possibly reflecting enhanced bone remodeling of previously osteomalacic bone. Introduction Hypophosphatasia (HPP), due to a tissue nonspecific alkaline phosphatase (TNSALP) deficiency, can cause impaired bone mineralization and turnover. Although HPP may be treated with asfotase alfa, an enzyme replacement therapy, limited data are available on how treatment with asfotase alfa affects mineral metabolism and bone turnover in adults with HPP. Methods ALP substrates, bone turnover and mineral metabolism markers, and bone mineral density (BMD) data from EmPATHY, a single-center, observational study of adults (≥ 18 years) with pediatric-onset HPP treated with asfotase alfa (NCT03418389), were collected during routine clinical care and analyzed from baseline through 24 months of treatment. Results Data from 21 patients showed significantly increased ALP activity and reduced urine phosphoethanolamine (PEA)/creatinine (Cr) ratios after baseline through 24 months of asfotase alfa treatment. There were significant transient increases in parathyroid hormone 1-84 (PTH), osteocalcin, and procollagen type 1 N-propeptide (P1NP) levels at 3 and 6 months and in tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase 5b (TRAP5b) levels at 3 months, with a significant decrease in N-terminal telopeptide of type 1 collagen (NTX) levels at 24 months. Lumbar spine BMD T scores continuously increased during treatment. Conclusion Significant changes in bone turnover and mineral metabolism markers after asfotase alfa treatment suggest that treatment-mediated mineralization may enable remodeling and bone turnover on previously unmineralized surfaces. Urine PEA/Cr ratios may be a useful parameter in monitoring treatment during routine care.}, language = {en} } @article{BechtSchollmayerMonakhovaetal.2021, author = {Becht, Alexander and Schollmayer, Curd and Monakhova, Yulia and Holzgrabe, Ulrike}, title = {Tracing the origin of paracetamol tablets by near-infrared, mid-infrared, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy using principal component analysis and linear discriminant analysis}, series = {Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry}, volume = {413}, journal = {Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry}, number = {11}, doi = {10.1007/s00216-021-03249-z}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-265400}, pages = {3107-3118}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Most drugs are no longer produced in their own countries by the pharmaceutical companies, but by contract manufacturers or at manufacturing sites in countries that can produce more cheaply. This not only makes it difficult to trace them back but also leaves room for criminal organizations to fake them unnoticed. For these reasons, it is becoming increasingly difficult to determine the exact origin of drugs. The goal of this work was to investigate how exactly this is possible by using different spectroscopic methods like nuclear magnetic resonance and near- and mid-infrared spectroscopy in combination with multivariate data analysis. As an example, 56 out of 64 different paracetamol preparations, collected from 19 countries around the world, were chosen to investigate whether it is possible to determine the pharmaceutical company, manufacturing site, or country of origin. By means of suitable pre-processing of the spectra and the different information contained in each method, principal component analysis was able to evaluate manufacturing relationships between individual companies and to differentiate between production sites or formulations. Linear discriminant analysis showed different results depending on the spectral method and purpose. For all spectroscopic methods, it was found that the classification of the preparations to their manufacturer achieves better results than the classification to their pharmaceutical company. The best results were obtained with nuclear magnetic resonance and near-infrared data, with 94.6\%/99.6\% and 98.7/100\% of the spectra of the preparations correctly assigned to their pharmaceutical company or manufacturer.}, language = {en} } @article{vonLukowiczSchlegelHaerteletal.2021, author = {von Lukowicz, Hannah and Schlegel, Paul-Gerhardt and H{\"a}rtel, Christoph and Morbach, Henner and Haubitz, Imme and Wiegering, Verena}, title = {ESPED survey on newly diagnosed immune thrombocytopenia in childhood: how much treatment do we give?}, series = {Molecular and Cellular Pediatrics}, volume = {8}, journal = {Molecular and Cellular Pediatrics}, doi = {10.1186/s40348-021-00121-z}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-261832}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Background Immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is an autoimmune disease associated with isolated thrombocytopenia, which is caused by an imbalance between platelet production and platelet destruction. Petechial and mucous membrane hemorrhages are characteristic of ITP, but life-threatening bleeding rarely occurs. Depending on the bleeding symptoms, ITP can be treated with glucocorticoids (GC), intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIG), or in severe cases, platelet transfusions. Mild bleeding does not necessarily require therapy. Using the German Surveillance Unit for rare Pediatric Diseases (ESPED) we conducted a prospective survey on ITP patients in all German Children's Hospitals between September 2018 and August 2019. We collected data on ITP, including the clinical course, therapy implementation recommendations (according to the Association of German Scientific Medical Societies guidelines), outcome, and influence of treatment regimens depending on the treating physician´s experience with ITP patients. Results Of the 287 recorded cases of children with ITP, 268 questionnaires were sent to the authors. Two hundred seventeen of the questionnaires fulfilled the inclusion criteria. ITP affected boys and girls similarly, and the median age of manifestation was 3.5 years. The main reasons for hospitalization were thrombocytopenia, bleeding signs, hematomas, and/or petechiae. Bleeding scores were ≤ 3 in 96\% of children, which corresponded to a low-to-moderately low risk of bleeding. No life-threatening bleeding was documented. The most common therapies were IVIG (n = 59), GC (n = 33), or a combination of these (n = 17). Blood products (i.e., red blood cells, platelet concentrate, and fresh frozen plasma) were given to 13 patients. Compared to the established guidelines, 67 patients were over-treated, and 2 patients were under-treated. Conclusions Adherence to German ITP treatment guidelines is currently limited. To improve patient safety and medical care, better medical training and dissemination of the guidelines are required in line with targeted analyses of patients with serious bleeding events to identify potential risk constellations.}, language = {en} } @article{RiechelmannGamerBoeckleretal.2021, author = {Riechelmann, Eva and Gamer, Matthias and B{\"o}ckler, Anna and Huestegge, Lynn}, title = {How ubiquitous is the direct-gaze advantage? Evidence for an averted-gaze advantage in a gaze-discrimination task}, series = {Attention, Perception, \& Psychophysics}, volume = {83}, journal = {Attention, Perception, \& Psychophysics}, issn = {1943-3921}, doi = {10.3758/s13414-020-02147-3}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-235268}, pages = {215-237}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Human eye gaze conveys an enormous amount of socially relevant information, and the rapid assessment of gaze direction is of particular relevance in order to adapt behavior accordingly. Specifically, previous research demonstrated evidence for an advantage of processing direct (vs. averted) gaze. The present study examined discrimination performance for gaze direction (direct vs. averted) under controlled presentation conditions: Using a backward-masking gaze-discrimination task, photographs of faces with direct and averted gaze were briefly presented, followed by a mask stimulus. Additionally, effects of facial context on gaze discrimination were assessed by either presenting gaze direction in isolation (i.e., by only showing the eye region) or in the context of an upright or inverted face. Across three experiments, we consistently observed a facial context effect with highest discrimination performance for faces presented in upright position, lower performance for inverted faces, and lowest performance for eyes presented in isolation. Additionally, averted gaze was generally responded to faster and with higher accuracy than direct gaze, indicating an averted-gaze advantage. Overall, the results suggest that direct gaze is not generally associated with processing advantages, thereby highlighting the important role of presentation conditions and task demands in gaze perception.}, language = {en} } @article{BoecklerRennertRaettig2021, author = {B{\"o}ckler, Anne and Rennert, Annika and Raettig, Tim}, title = {Stranger, Lover, Friend?}, series = {Social Psychology}, volume = {52}, journal = {Social Psychology}, number = {3}, issn = {1864-9335}, doi = {10.1027/1864-9335/a000446}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-238721}, pages = {173-184}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Social exclusion, even from minimal game-based interactions, induces negative consequences. We investigated whether the nature of the relationship with the excluder modulates the effects of ostracism. Participants played a virtual ball-tossing game with a stranger and a friend (friend condition) or a stranger and their romantic partner (partner condition) while being fully included, fully excluded, excluded only by the stranger, or excluded only by their close other. Replicating previous findings, full exclusion impaired participants' basic-need satisfaction and relationship evaluation most severely. While the degree of exclusion mattered, the relationship to the excluder did not: Classic null hypothesis testing and Bayesian statistics showed no modulation of ostracism effects depending on whether participants were excluded by a stranger, a friend, or their partner.}, language = {en} } @article{EngertRakBieniussaetal.2021, author = {Engert, Jonas and Rak, Kristen and Bieniussa, Linsa and Scholl, Miriam and Hagen, Rudolf and V{\"o}lker, Johannes}, title = {Evaluation of the Neurogenic Potential in the Rat Inferior Colliculus from Early Postnatal Days Until Adulthood}, series = {Molecular Neurobiology}, volume = {58}, journal = {Molecular Neurobiology}, issn = {0893-7648}, doi = {10.1007/s12035-020-02151-6}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-235811}, pages = {719-734}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Neural stem cells (NSCs) have been recently identified in the inferior colliculus (IC). These cells are of particular interest, as no casual therapeutic options for impaired neural structures exist. This research project aims to evaluate the neurogenic potential in the rat IC from early postnatal days until adulthood. The IC of rats from postnatal day 6 up to 48 was examined by neurosphere assays and histological sections. In free-floating IC cell cultures, neurospheres formed from animals from early postnatal to adulthood. The amount of generated neurospheres decreased in older ages and increased with the number of cell line passages. Cells in the neurospheres and the histological sections stained positively with NSC markers (Doublecortin, Sox-2, Musashi-1, Nestin, and Atoh1). Dissociated single cells from the neurospheres differentiated and were stained positively for the neural lineage markers β-III-tubulin, glial fibrillary acidic protein, and myelin basic protein. In addition, NSC markers (Doublecortin, Sox-2, CDK5R1, and Ascl-1) were investigated by qRT-PCR. In conclusion, a neurogenic potential in the rat IC was detected and evaluated from early postnatal days until adulthood. The identification of NSCs in the rat IC and their age-specific characteristics contribute to a better understanding of the development and the plasticity of the auditory pathway and might be activated for therapeutic use.}, language = {en} } @article{PiselliBenz2021, author = {Piselli, Claudio and Benz, Roland}, title = {Fosmidomycin transport through the phosphate-specific porins OprO and OprP of Pseudomonas aeruginosa}, series = {Molecular Microbiology}, volume = {116}, journal = {Molecular Microbiology}, number = {1}, doi = {10.1111/mmi.14693}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-238905}, pages = {97 -- 108}, year = {2021}, abstract = {The Gram-negative bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen, responsible for many hospital-acquired infections. The bacterium is quite resistant toward many antibiotics, in particular because of the fine-tuned permeability of its outer membrane (OM). General diffusion outer membrane pores are quite rare in this organism. Instead, its OM contains many substrate-specific porins. Their expression is varying according to growth conditions and virulence. Phosphate limitations, as well as pathogenicity factors, result in the induction of the two mono- and polyphosphate-specific porins, OprP and OprO, respectively, together with an inner membrane uptake mechanism and a periplasmic binding protein. These outer membrane channels could serve as outer membrane pathways for the uptake of phosphonates. Among them are not only herbicides, but also potent antibiotics, such as fosfomycin and fosmidomycin. In this study, we investigated the interaction between OprP and OprO and fosmidomycin in detail. We could demonstrate that fosmidomycin is able to bind to the phosphate-specific binding site inside the two porins. The inhibition of chloride conductance of OprP and OprO by fosmidomycin is considerably less than that of phosphate or diphosphate, but it can be measured in titration experiments of chloride conductance and also in single-channel experiments. The results suggest that fosmidomycin transport across the OM of P. aeruginosa occurs through OprP and OprO. Our data with the ones already known in the literature show that phosphonic acid-containing antibiotics are in general good candidates to treat the infections of P. aeruginosa at the very beginning through a favorable OM transport system.}, language = {en} } @article{WittkowskiScheuchenpflug2021, author = {Wittkowski, Joachim and Scheuchenpflug, Rainer}, title = {Evidence on the Conceptual Distinctness of Normal Grief From Depression}, series = {European Journal of Health Psychology}, volume = {28}, journal = {European Journal of Health Psychology}, number = {3}, issn = {2512-8442}, doi = {10.1027/2512-8442/a000077}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-236531}, pages = {101-110}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Background: The distinctness of grief from depression has been the subject of a long scholarly debate, even influencing definitions of diagnostic criteria. Aims: This study aims at clarifying the issue by a multifaceted analysis of data from a large German sample. Method: A community sample of 406 bereaved persons answered the Wuerzburg Grief Inventory (WGI), a multidimensional grief questionnaire designed to measure normal grief in the German language, and the General Depression Scale - Short Version (GDS-S), a self-report depression scale. Data were analyzed by factor analysis to identify structural (dis-)similarities of the constructs, and analysis of variance (ANOVA) to identify the influence of the factors relationship to the deceased, type of death, and time since loss on grief measures and depression scores. Results: Factor analysis clustered items referring to grief-related impairments and depression into one factor, items referring to other dimensions of grief on separate factors, however. Relationship to the deceased influenced the grief measures impairments and nearness to the deceased, but not depression scores if controlled for impairments. Type of death showed specific effects on grief scores, but not on depression scores. Time since loss influenced grief scores, but not depression scores. Limitations: The analysis is based on a self-selected community sample of grieving persons, self-report measures, and in part, on cross-sectional data. Conclusion: Factor analysis and objective data show a clear distinction of dimensions of grief and depression. The human experience of grief contains a sense of nearness to the lost person, feelings of guilt, and positive aspects of the loss experience in addition to components resembling depression.}, language = {en} } @article{WannagatWaizeneggerNiedling2021, author = {Wannagat, Wienke and Waizenegger, Gesine and Niedling, Gerhild}, title = {Coherence formation during narrative text processing: a comparison between auditory and audiovisual text presentation in 9- to 12-year-old children}, series = {Cognitive Processing}, volume = {22}, journal = {Cognitive Processing}, issn = {1612-4782}, doi = {10.1007/s10339-020-01008-z}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-235744}, pages = {299-310}, year = {2021}, abstract = {In an experiment with 114 children aged 9-12 years, we compared the ability to establish local and global coherence of narrative texts between auditory and audiovisual (auditory text and pictures) presentation. The participants listened to a series of short narrative texts, in each of which a protagonist pursued a goal. Following each text, we collected the response time to a query word that was either associated with a near or a distant causal antecedent of the final sentence. Analysis of these response times indicated that audiovisual presentation has advantages over auditory presentation for accessing information relevant for establishing both local and global coherence, but there are indications that this effect may be slightly more pronounced for global coherence.}, language = {en} } @article{GenestClaussenRaketal.2021, author = {Genest, F. and Claußen, L. and Rak, D. and Seefried, L.}, title = {Bone mineral density and fracture risk in adult patients with hypophosphatasia}, series = {Osteoporosis International}, volume = {32}, journal = {Osteoporosis International}, issn = {0937-941X}, doi = {10.1007/s00198-020-05612-9}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-235793}, pages = {377-385}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Summary In adult hypophosphatasia (HPP) patients, elevated lumbar spine dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) values are associated with markers of disease severity and disease-specific fracture risk while femoral bone mineral density (BMD), being largely unaffected by the disease severity, may still be useful to monitor other causes of increased fracture risk due to low BMD. Introduction Hypophosphatasia (HPP) is a rare inherited metabolic disorder due to deficient activity of the tissue-nonspecific alkaline phosphatase (TNAP). Clinical manifestation in adult HPP patients is manifold including an increased risk for fractures, but data regarding clinical significance of DXA measurement and associations with fracture risk and disease severity is scarce. Methods Retrospective single-center analysis of DXA scans in patients with confirmed HPP (documented mutation, clinical symptoms, low alkaline phosphatase activity). Further data evaluation included disease-related fractures, laboratory results (alkaline phosphatase, pyridoxalphosphate, phosphoethanolamine), and medical history. Results Analysis included 110 patients (84 female, mean age of 46.2 years) of whom 37.3\% (n = 41) were harboring two mutations. Average T-Score level at the lumbar spine was - 0.1 (SD 1.9), and mean total hip T-Score was - 1.07 (SD 0.15). Both lower ALP activity and higher substrate levels (pyridoxalphosphate and phosphoethanolamine) were significantly correlated with increased lumbar spine T-Score levels (p < 0.001) while BMD at the hip was not affected by indicators of disease severity. Increased lumbar spine BMD was significantly associated with an increased risk for HPP-related fractures, prevalent in 22 (20\%) patients (p < 0.001) with 21 of them having biallelic mutations. Conclusion BMD in adult HPP patients is not systematically reduced. Conversely, increased lumbar spine BMD appears to be associated with severely compromised mineralization and increased risk for HPP-related fractures while BMD at the hip appears unaffected by indicators of disease severity, suggesting suitability of this anatomic location for assessing and discerning disorders with increased fracture risk owing to reduced BMD like osteoporosis. Trial registration number German register for clinical studies (DRKS00014022) Date of registration 02/10/2018 - retrospectively registered}, language = {en} } @article{CapetianRoessnerKorteetal.2021, author = {Capetian, Philipp and Roessner, Veit and Korte, Caroline and Walitza, Susanne and Riederer, Franz and Taurines, Regina and Gerlach, Manfred and Moser, Andreas}, title = {Altered urinary tetrahydroisoquinoline derivatives in patients with Tourette syndrome: reflection of dopaminergic hyperactivity?}, series = {Journal of Neural Transmission}, volume = {128}, journal = {Journal of Neural Transmission}, issn = {0300-9564}, doi = {10.1007/s00702-020-02289-6}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-235771}, pages = {115-121}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Tetrahydroisoquinolines (TIQs) such as salsolinol (SAL), norsalsolinol (NSAL) and their methylated derivatives N-methyl-norsalsolinol (NMNSAL) and N-methyl-salsolinol (NMSAL), modulate dopaminergic neurotransmission and metabolism in the central nervous system. Dopaminergic neurotransmission is thought to play an important role in the pathophysiology of chronic tic disorders, such as Tourette syndrome (TS). Therefore, the urinary concentrations of these TIQ derivatives were measured in patients with TS and patients with comorbid attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (TS + ADHD) compared with controls. Seventeen patients with TS, 12 with TS and ADHD, and 19 age-matched healthy controls with no medication took part in this study. Free levels of NSAL, NMNSAL, SAL, and NMSAL in urine were measured by a two-phase chromatographic approach. Furthermore, individual TIQ concentrations in TS patients were used in receiver-operating characteristics (ROC) curve analysis to examine the diagnostic value. NSAL concentrations were elevated significantly in TS [434.67 ± 55.4 nmol/l (standard error of mean = S.E.M.), two-way ANOVA, p < 0.0001] and TS + ADHD patients [605.18 ± 170.21 nmol/l (S.E.M.), two-way ANOVA, p < 0.0001] compared with controls [107.02 ± 33.18 nmol/l (S.E.M.), two-way ANOVA, p < 0.0001] and NSAL levels in TS + ADHD patients were elevated significantly in comparison with TS patients (two-way ANOVA, p = 0.017). NSAL demonstrated an AUC of 0.93 ± 0.046 (S.E.M) the highest diagnostic value of all metabolites for the diagnosis of TS. Our results suggest a dopaminergic hyperactivity underlying the pathophysiology of TS and ADHD. In addition, NSAL concentrations in urine may be a potential diagnostic biomarker of TS.}, language = {en} } @article{VogelChungaSunetal.2021, author = {Vogel, Cassandra and Chunga, Timothy L. and Sun, Xiaoxuan and Poveda, Katja and Steffan-Dewenter, Ingolf}, title = {Higher bee abundance, but not pest abundance, in landscapes with more agriculture on a late-flowering legume crop in tropical smallholder farms}, series = {PeerJ}, volume = {9}, journal = {PeerJ}, doi = {10.7717/peerj.10732}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-231491}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Background Landscape composition is known to affect both beneficial insect and pest communities on crop fields. Landscape composition therefore can impact ecosystem (dis)services provided by insects to crops. Though landscape effects on ecosystem service providers have been studied in large-scale agriculture in temperate regions, there is a lack of representation of tropical smallholder agriculture within this field of study, especially in sub-Sahara Africa. Legume crops can provide important food security and soil improvement benefits to vulnerable agriculturalists. However, legumes are dependent on pollinating insects, particularly bees (Hymenoptera: Apiformes) for production and are vulnerable to pests. We selected 10 pigeon pea (Fabaceae: Cajunus cajan (L.)) fields in Malawi with varying proportions of semi-natural habitat and agricultural area within a 1 km radius to study: (1) how the proportion of semi-natural habitat and agricultural area affects the abundance and richness of bees and abundance of florivorous blister beetles (Coleoptera: Melloidae), (2) if the proportion of flowers damaged and fruit set difference between open and bagged flowers are correlated with the proportion of semi-natural habitat or agricultural area and (3) if pigeon pea fruit set difference between open and bagged flowers in these landscapes was constrained by pest damage or improved by bee visitation. Methods We performed three, ten-minute, 15 m, transects per field to assess blister beetle abundance and bee abundance and richness. Bees were captured and identified to (morpho)species. We assessed the proportion of flowers damaged by beetles during the flowering period. We performed a pollinator and pest exclusion experiment on 15 plants per field to assess whether fruit set was pollinator limited or constrained by pests. Results In our study, bee abundance was higher in areas with proportionally more agricultural area surrounding the fields. This effect was mostly driven by an increase in honeybees. Bee richness and beetle abundances were not affected by landscape characteristics, nor was flower damage or fruit set difference between bagged and open flowers. We did not observe a positive effect of bee density or richness, nor a negative effect of florivory, on fruit set difference. Discussion In our study area, pigeon pea flowers relatively late—well into the dry season. This could explain why we observe higher densities of bees in areas dominated by agriculture rather than in areas with more semi-natural habitat where resources for bees during this time of the year are scarce. Therefore, late flowering legumes may be an important food resource for bees during a period of scarcity in the seasonal tropics. The differences in patterns between our study and those conducted in temperate regions highlight the need for landscape-scale studies in areas outside the temperate region.}, language = {en} } @article{BrodehlMiltingGerull2021, author = {Brodehl, Andreas and Milting, Hendrik and Gerull, Brenda}, title = {Special Issue "Cardiovascular Genetics"}, series = {Genes}, volume = {12}, journal = {Genes}, number = {4}, issn = {2073-4425}, doi = {10.3390/genes12040479}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-234229}, year = {2021}, abstract = {No abstract available}, language = {en} } @article{BrandReimerReibetanzetal.2021, author = {Brand, Markus and Reimer, Stanislaus and Reibetanz, Joachim and Flemming, Sven and Kornmann, Marko and Meining, Alexander}, title = {Endoscopic full thickness resection vs. transanal endoscopic microsurgery for local treatment of rectal neuroendocrine tumors - a retrospective analysis}, series = {International Journal of Colorectal Disease}, volume = {36}, journal = {International Journal of Colorectal Disease}, issn = {0179-1958}, doi = {10.1007/s00384-020-03800-x}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-234833}, pages = {971-976}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Purpose Local treatment of small well-differentiated rectal neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) is recommended by current guidelines. However, although several endoscopic methods have been established, the highest R0 rate is achieved by transanal endoscopic microsurgery (TEM). Since a recently published study about endoscopic full thickness resection (eFTR) showed a R0 resection rate of 100\%, the aim of this study was to evaluate both methods (eFTR vs. TEM). Methods We retrospectively analyzed all patients with rectal NET treated either by TEM (1999-2018) or eFTR (2016-2019) in two tertiary centers (University Hospital Wuerzburg and Ulm). We analyzed clinical, procedural, and histopathological outcomes in both groups. Results Twenty-eight patients with rectal NET received local treatment (TEM: 13; eFTR: 15). Most tumors were at stage T1a and grade G1 or G2 (in the TEM group two G3 NETs were staged T2 after neoadjuvant chemotherapy). In both groups, similar outcomes for en bloc resection rate, R0 resection rate, tumor size, or specimen size were found. No procedural adverse events were noted. Mean procedure time in the TEM group was 48.9 min and 19.2 min in the eFTR group. Conclusion eFTR is a convincing method for local treatment of small rectal NETs combining high safety and efficacy with short interventional time.}, language = {en} } @article{RiemerKrankeHelfetal.2021, author = {Riemer, Manuel and Kranke, Peter and Helf, Antonia and Mayer, Debora and Popp, Maria and Schlesinger, Tobias and Meybohm, Patrick and Weibel, Stephanie}, title = {Trial registration and selective outcome reporting in 585 clinical trials investigating drugs for prevention of postoperative nausea and vomiting}, series = {BMC Anesthesiology}, volume = {21}, journal = {BMC Anesthesiology}, doi = {10.1186/s12871-021-01464-w}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-265518}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Background: Selective outcome reporting in clinical trials introduces bias in the body of evidence distorting clinical decision making. Trial registration aims to prevent this bias and is suggested by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) since 2004. Methods: The 585 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published between 1965 and 2017 that were included in a recently published Cochrane review on antiemetic drugs for prevention of postoperative nausea and vomiting were selected. In a retrospective study, we assessed trial registration and selective outcome reporting by comparing study publications with their registered protocols according to the 'Cochrane Risk of bias' assessment tool 1.0. Results: In the Cochrane review, the first study which referred to a registered trial protocol was published in 2004. Of all 585 trials included in the Cochrane review, 334 RCTs were published in 2004 or later, of which only 22\% (75/334) were registered. Among the registered trials, 36\% (27/75) were pro- and 64\% (48/75) were retrospectively registered. 41\% (11/27) of the prospectively registered trials were free of selective outcome reporting bias, 22\% (6/27) were incompletely registered and assessed as unclear risk, and 37\% (10/27) were assessed as high risk. Major outcome discrepancies between registered and published high risk trials were a change from the registered primary to a published secondary outcome (32\%), a new primary outcome (26\%), and different outcome assessment times (26\%). Among trials with high risk of selective outcome reporting 80\% favoured at least one statistically significant result. Registered trials were assessed more often as 'overall low risk of bias' compared to non-registered trials (64\% vs 28\%). Conclusions: In 2017, 13 years after the ICMJE declared prospective protocol registration a necessity for reliable clinical studies, the frequency and quality of trial registration in the field of PONV is very poor. Selective outcome reporting reduces trustworthiness in findings of clinical trials. Investigators and clinicians should be aware that only following a properly registered protocol and transparently reporting of predefined outcomes, regardless of the direction and significance of the result, will ultimately strengthen the body of evidence in the field of PONV research in the future.}, language = {en} } @article{HerrmannNotzSchlesingeretal.2021, author = {Herrmann, Johannes and Notz, Quirin and Schlesinger, Tobias and Stumpner, Jan and Kredel, Markus and Sitter, Magdalena and Schmid, Benedikt and Kranke, Peter and Schulze, Harald and Meybohm, Patrick and Lotz, Christopher}, title = {Point of care diagnostic of hypercoagulability and platelet function in COVID-19 induced acute respiratory distress syndrome: a retrospective observational study}, series = {Thrombosis Journal}, volume = {19}, journal = {Thrombosis Journal}, number = {1}, doi = {10.1186/s12959-021-00293-8}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-260739}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Background Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) associated coagulopathy (CAC) leads to thromboembolic events in a high number of critically ill COVID-19 patients. However, specific diagnostic or therapeutic algorithms for CAC have not been established. In the current study, we analyzed coagulation abnormalities with point-of-care testing (POCT) and their relation to hemostatic complications in patients suffering from COVID-19 induced Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS). Our hypothesis was that specific diagnostic patterns can be identified in patients with COVID-19 induced ARDS at risk of thromboembolic complications utilizing POCT. Methods This is a single-center, retrospective observational study. Longitudinal data from 247 rotational thromboelastometries (Rotem®) and 165 impedance aggregometries (Multiplate®) were analysed in 18 patients consecutively admitted to the ICU with a COVID-19 induced ARDS between March 12th to June 30th, 2020. Results Median age was 61 years (IQR: 51-69). Median PaO2/FiO2 on admission was 122 mmHg (IQR: 87-189), indicating moderate to severe ARDS. Any form of hemostatic complication occurred in 78 \% of the patients with deep vein/arm thrombosis in 39 \%, pulmonary embolism in 22 \%, and major bleeding in 17 \%. In Rotem® elevated A10 and maximum clot firmness (MCF) indicated higher clot strength. The delta between EXTEM A10 minus FIBTEM A10 (ΔA10) > 30 mm, depicting the sole platelet-part of clot firmness, was associated with a higher risk of thromboembolic events (OD: 3.7; 95 \%CI 1.3-10.3; p = 0.02). Multiplate® aggregometry showed hypoactive platelet function. There was no correlation between single Rotem® and Multiplate® parameters at intensive care unit (ICU) admission and thromboembolic or bleeding complications. Conclusions Rotem® and Multiplate® results indicate hypercoagulability and hypoactive platelet dysfunction in COVID-19 induced ARDS but were all in all poorly related to hemostatic complications..}, language = {en} } @article{NotzLotzHerrmannetal.2021, author = {Notz, Quirin and Lotz, Christopher and Herrmann, Johannes and Vogt, Marius and Schlesinger, Tobias and Kredel, Markus and Muellges, Wolfgang and Weismann, Dirk and Westermaier, Thomas and Meybohm, Patrick and Kranke, Peter}, title = {Severe neurological complications in critically ill COVID‑19 patients}, series = {Journal of Neurology}, journal = {Journal of Neurology}, issn = {0340-5354}, doi = {10.1007/s00415-020-10152-7}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-232429}, pages = {1576-1579}, year = {2021}, abstract = {No abstract available.}, language = {en} } @article{SchmidKredelUllrichetal.2021, author = {Schmid, Benedikt and Kredel, Markus and Ullrich, Roman and Krenn, Katharina and Lucas, Rudolf and Markstaller, Klaus and Fischer, Bernhard and Kranke, Peter and Meybohm, Patrick and Zwißler, Bernhard and Frank, Sandra}, title = {Safety and preliminary efficacy of sequential multiple ascending doses of solnatide to treat pulmonary permeability edema in patients with moderate-to-severe ARDS - a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial}, series = {Trials}, volume = {22}, journal = {Trials}, number = {1}, doi = {10.1186/s13063-021-05588-9}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-258783}, pages = {643}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Background Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a complex clinical diagnosis with various possible etiologies. One common feature, however, is pulmonary permeability edema, which leads to an increased alveolar diffusion pathway and, subsequently, impaired oxygenation and decarboxylation. A novel inhaled peptide agent (AP301, solnatide) was shown to markedly reduce pulmonary edema in animal models of ARDS and to be safe to administer to healthy humans in a Phase I clinical trial. Here, we present the protocol for a Phase IIB clinical trial investigating the safety and possible future efficacy endpoints in ARDS patients. Methods This is a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind intervention study. Patients with moderate to severe ARDS in need of mechanical ventilation will be randomized to parallel groups receiving escalating doses of solnatide or placebo, respectively. Before advancing to a higher dose, a data safety monitoring board will investigate the data from previous patients for any indication of patient safety violations. The intervention (application of the investigational drug) takes places twice daily over the course of 7 days, ensued by a follow-up period of another 21 days. Discussion The patients to be included in this trial will be severely sick and in need of mechanical ventilation. The amount of data to be collected upon screening and during the course of the intervention phase is substantial and the potential timeframe for inclusion of any given patient is short. However, when prepared properly, adherence to this protocol will make for the acquisition of reliable data. Particular diligence needs to be exercised with respect to informed consent, because eligible patients will most likely be comatose and/or deeply sedated at the time of inclusion. Trial registration This trial was prospectively registered with the EU Clinical trials register (clinicaltrialsregister.eu). EudraCT Number: 2017-003855-47.}, language = {en} } @article{SchraderRieseKurlbaumetal.2021, author = {Schrader, Nikolas and Riese, Thorsten and Kurlbaum, Max and Meybohm, Patrick and Kredel, Markus and Surat, G{\"u}zin and Scherf-Clavel, Oliver and Strate, Alexander and Pospiech, Andreas and Hoppe, Kerstin}, title = {Personalized antibiotic therapy for the critically ill: Implementation strategies and effects on clinical outcome of piperacillin therapeutic drug monitoring — a descriptive retrospective analysis}, series = {Antibiotics}, volume = {10}, journal = {Antibiotics}, number = {12}, issn = {2079-6382}, doi = {10.3390/antibiotics10121452}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-250052}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) is increasingly relevant for an individualized antibiotic therapy and subsequently a necessary tool to reduce multidrug-resistant pathogens, especially in light of diminishing antimicrobial capabilities. Critical illness is associated with profound pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic alterations, which challenge dose finding and the application of particularly hydrophilic drugs such as β-lactam antibiotics. Methods: Implementation strategy, potential benefit, and practicability of the developed standard operating procedures were retrospectively analyzed from January to December 2020. Furthermore, the efficacy of the proposed dosing target of piperacillin in critically ill patients was evaluated. Results: In total, 160 patients received piperacillin/tazobactam therapy and were subsequently included in the study. Of them, 114 patients received piperacillin/tazobactam by continuous infusion and had at least one measurement of piperacillin serum level according to the standard operating procedure. In total, 271 measurements were performed with an average level of 79.0 ± 46.0 mg/L. Seventy-one piperacillin levels exceeded 100 mg/L and six levels were lower than 22.5 mg/L. The high-level and the low-level group differed significantly in infection laboratory parameters (CRP (mg/dL) 20.18 ± 11.71 vs. 5.75 ± 5.33) and renal function [glomerular filtration rate (mL/min/1.75 m2) 40.85 ± 26.74 vs. 120.50 ± 70.48]. Conclusions: Piperacillin levels are unpredictable in critically ill patients. TDM during piperacillin/tazobactam therapy is highly recommended for all patients. Although our implementation strategy was effective, further strategies implemented into the daily clinical workflow might support the health care staff and increase the clinicians' alertness.}, language = {en} } @article{WeibelPaceSchaeferetal.2021, author = {Weibel, Stephanie and Pace, Nathan L. and Schaefer, Maximilian S. and Raj, Diana and Schlesinger, Tobias and Meybohm, Patrick and Kienbaum, Peter and Eberhart, Leopold H. J. and Kranke, Peter}, title = {Drugs for preventing postoperative nausea and vomiting in adults after general anesthesia: An abridged Cochrane network meta-analysis}, series = {Journal of Evidence-Based Medicine}, volume = {14}, journal = {Journal of Evidence-Based Medicine}, number = {3}, doi = {10.1111/jebm.12429}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-259470}, pages = {188-197}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Objective In this abridged version of the recently published Cochrane review on antiemetic drugs, we summarize its most important findings and discuss the challenges and the time needed to prepare what is now the largest Cochrane review with network meta-analysis in terms of the number of included studies and pages in its full printed form. Methods We conducted a systematic review with network meta-analyses to compare and rank single antiemetic drugs and their combinations belonging to 5HT₃-, D₂-, NK₁-receptor antagonists, corticosteroids, antihistamines, and anticholinergics used to prevent postoperative nausea and vomiting in adults after general anesthesia. Results 585 studies (97 516 participants) testing 44 single drugs and 51 drug combinations were included. The studies' overall risk of bias was assessed as low in only 27\% of the studies. In 282 studies, 29 out of 36 drug combinations and 10 out of 28 single drugs lowered the risk of vomiting at least 20\% compared to placebo. In the ranking of treatments, combinations of drugs were generally more effective than single drugs. Single NK1 receptor antagonists were as effective as other drug combinations. Of the 10 effective single drugs, certainty of evidence was high for aprepitant, ramosetron, granisetron, dexamethasone, and ondansetron, while moderate for fosaprepitant and droperidol. For serious adverse events (SAEs), any adverse event (AE), and drug-class specific side effects evidence for intervention effects was mostly not convincing. Conclusions There is high or moderate evidence for at least seven single drugs preventing postoperative vomiting. However, there is still considerable lack of evidence regarding safety aspects that does warrant investigation.}, language = {en} } @article{SchlesingerWeibelSteinfeldtetal.2021, author = {Schlesinger, Tobias and Weibel, Stephanie and Steinfeldt, Thorsten and Sitter, Magdalena and Meybohm, Patrick and Kranke, Peter}, title = {Intraoperative management of combined general anesthesia and thoracic epidural analgesia: A survey among German anesthetists}, series = {Acta Anaesthesiologica Scandinavica}, volume = {65}, journal = {Acta Anaesthesiologica Scandinavica}, number = {10}, doi = {10.1111/aas.13971}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-258286}, pages = {1490-1496}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Background Evidence concerning combined general anesthesia (GA) and thoracic epidural analgesia (EA) is controversial and the procedure appears heterogeneous in clinical implementation. We aimed to gain an overview of different approaches and to unveil a suspected heterogeneity concerning the intraoperative management of combined GA and EA. Methods This was an anonymous survey among Members of the Scientific working group for regional anesthesia within the German Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine (DGAI) conducted from February 2020 to August 2020. Results The response rate was 38\%. The majority of participants were experienced anesthetists with high expertise for the specific regimen of combined GA and EA. Most participants establish EA in the sitting position (94\%), prefer early epidural initiation (prior to skin incision: 80\%; intraoperative: 14\%) and administer ropivacaine (89\%) in rather low concentrations (0.2\%: 45\%; 0.375\%: 30\%; 0.75\%: 15\%) mostly with an opioid (84\%) in a bolus-based mode (95\%). The majority reduce systemic opioid doses intraoperatively if EA works sufficiently (minimal systemic opioids: 58\%; analgesia exclusively via EA: 34\%). About 85\% manage intraoperative EA insufficiency with systemic opioids, 52\% try to escalate EA, and only 25\% use non-opioids, e.g. intravenous ketamine or lidocaine. Conclusions Although, consensus seems to be present for several aspects (patient's position during epidural puncture, main epidural substance, application mode), there is considerable heterogeneity regarding systemic opioids, rescue strategies for insufficient EA, and hemodynamic management, which might explain inconsistent results of previous trials and meta-analyses.}, language = {en} } @article{ReisPoppSchmidetal.2021, author = {Reis, Stefanie and Popp, Maria and Schmid, Benedikt and Stegemann, Miriam and Metzendorf, Maria-Inti and Kranke, Peter and Meybohm, Patrick and Weibel, Stephanie}, title = {Safety and efficacy of intermediate- and therapeutic-dose anticoagulation for hospitalised patients with COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis}, series = {Journal of Clinical Medicine}, volume = {11}, journal = {Journal of Clinical Medicine}, number = {1}, issn = {2077-0383}, doi = {10.3390/jcm11010057}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-252285}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Background: COVID-19 patients are at high thrombotic risk. The safety and efficacy of different anticoagulation regimens in COVID-19 patients remain unclear. Methods: We searched for randomised controlled trials (RCTs) comparing intermediate- or therapeutic-dose anticoagulation to standard thromboprophylaxis in hospitalised patients with COVID-19 irrespective of disease severity. To assess efficacy and safety, we meta-analysed data for all-cause mortality, clinical status, thrombotic event or death, and major bleedings. Results: Eight RCTs, including 5580 patients, were identified, with two comparing intermediate- and six therapeutic-dose anticoagulation to standard thromboprophylaxis. Intermediate-dose anticoagulation may have little or no effect on any thrombotic event or death (RR 1.03, 95\% CI 0.86-1.24), but may increase major bleedings (RR 1.48, 95\% CI 0.53-4.15) in moderate to severe COVID-19 patients. Therapeutic-dose anticoagulation may decrease any thrombotic event or death in patients with moderate COVID-19 (RR 0.64, 95\% CI 0.38-1.07), but may have little or no effect in patients with severe disease (RR 0.98, 95\% CI 0.86-1.12). The risk of major bleedings may increase independent of disease severity (RR 1.78, 95\% CI 1.15-2.74). Conclusions: Certainty of evidence is still low. Moderately affected COVID-19 patients may benefit from therapeutic-dose anticoagulation, but the risk for bleeding is increased.}, language = {en} } @article{NotzHerrmannSchlesingeretal.2021, author = {Notz, Quirin and Herrmann, Johannes and Schlesinger, Tobias and Helmer, Philipp and Sudowe, Stephan and Sun, Qian and Hackler, Julian and Roeder, Daniel and Lotz, Christopher and Meybohm, Patrick and Kranke, Peter and Schomburg, Lutz and Stoppe, Christian}, title = {Clinical Significance of Micronutrient Supplementation in Critically Ill COVID-19 Patients with Severe ARDS}, series = {Nutrients}, volume = {13}, journal = {Nutrients}, number = {6}, issn = {2072-6643}, doi = {10.3390/nu13062113}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-241112}, year = {2021}, abstract = {The interplay between inflammation and oxidative stress is a vicious circle, potentially resulting in organ damage. Essential micronutrients such as selenium (Se) and zinc (Zn) support anti-oxidative defense systems and are commonly depleted in severe disease. This single-center retrospective study investigated micronutrient levels under Se and Zn supplementation in critically ill patients with COVID-19 induced acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and explored potential relationships with immunological and clinical parameters. According to intensive care unit (ICU) standard operating procedures, patients received 1.0 mg of intravenous Se daily on top of artificial nutrition, which contained various amounts of Se and Zn. Micronutrients, inflammatory cytokines, lymphocyte subsets and clinical data were extracted from the patient data management system on admission and after 10 to 14 days of treatment. Forty-six patients were screened for eligibility and 22 patients were included in the study. Twenty-one patients (95\%) suffered from severe ARDS and 14 patients (64\%) survived to ICU discharge. On admission, the majority of patients had low Se status biomarkers and Zn levels, along with elevated inflammatory parameters. Se supplementation significantly elevated Se (p = 0.027) and selenoprotein P levels (SELENOP; p = 0.016) to normal range. Accordingly, glutathione peroxidase 3 (GPx3) activity increased over time (p = 0.021). Se biomarkers, most notably SELENOP, were inversely correlated with CRP (r\(_s\) = -0.495), PCT (r\(_s\) = -0.413), IL-6 (r\(_s\) = -0.429), IL-1β (r\(_s\) = -0.440) and IL-10 (r\(_s\) = -0.461). Positive associations were found for CD8\(^+\) T cells (r(_s\) = 0.636), NK cells (r\(_s\) = 0.772), total IgG (r\(_s\) = 0.493) and PaO\(_2\)/FiO\(_2\) ratios (r\(_s\) = 0.504). In addition, survivors tended to have higher Se levels after 10 to 14 days compared to non-survivors (p = 0.075). Sufficient Se and Zn levels may potentially be of clinical significance for an adequate immune response in critically ill patients with severe COVID-19 ARDS.}, language = {en} } @article{BeierleSchobelVogeletal.2021, author = {Beierle, Felix and Schobel, Johannes and Vogel, Carsten and Allgaier, Johannes and Mulansky, Lena and Haug, Fabian and Haug, Julian and Schlee, Winfried and Holfelder, Marc and Stach, Michael and Schickler, Marc and Baumeister, Harald and Cohrdes, Caroline and Deckert, J{\"u}rgen and Deserno, Lorenz and Edler, Johanna-Sophie and Eichner, Felizitas A. and Greger, Helmut and Hein, Grit and Heuschmann, Peter and John, Dennis and Kestler, Hans A. and Krefting, Dagmar and Langguth, Berthold and Meybohm, Patrick and Probst, Thomas and Reichert, Manfred and Romanos, Marcel and St{\"o}rk, Stefan and Terhorst, Yannik and Weiß, Martin and Pryss, R{\"u}diger}, title = {Corona Health — A Study- and Sensor-Based Mobile App Platform Exploring Aspects of the COVID-19 Pandemic}, series = {International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health}, volume = {18}, journal = {International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health}, number = {14}, issn = {1660-4601}, doi = {10.3390/ijerph18147395}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-242658}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Physical and mental well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic is typically assessed via surveys, which might make it difficult to conduct longitudinal studies and might lead to data suffering from recall bias. Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) driven smartphone apps can help alleviate such issues, allowing for in situ recordings. Implementing such an app is not trivial, necessitates strict regulatory and legal requirements, and requires short development cycles to appropriately react to abrupt changes in the pandemic. Based on an existing app framework, we developed Corona Health, an app that serves as a platform for deploying questionnaire-based studies in combination with recordings of mobile sensors. In this paper, we present the technical details of Corona Health and provide first insights into the collected data. Through collaborative efforts from experts from public health, medicine, psychology, and computer science, we released Corona Health publicly on Google Play and the Apple App Store (in July 2020) in eight languages and attracted 7290 installations so far. Currently, five studies related to physical and mental well-being are deployed and 17,241 questionnaires have been filled out. Corona Health proves to be a viable tool for conducting research related to the COVID-19 pandemic and can serve as a blueprint for future EMA-based studies. The data we collected will substantially improve our knowledge on mental and physical health states, traits and trajectories as well as its risk and protective factors over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic and its diverse prevention measures.}, language = {en} } @article{LotzHerrmannNotzetal.2021, author = {Lotz, Christopher and Herrmann, Johannes and Notz, Quirin and Meybohm, Patrick and Kehl, Franz}, title = {Mitochondria and pharmacologic cardiac conditioning — At the heart of ischemic injury}, series = {International Journal of Molecular Sciences}, volume = {22}, journal = {International Journal of Molecular Sciences}, number = {6}, issn = {1422-0067}, doi = {10.3390/ijms22063224}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-285368}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Pharmacologic cardiac conditioning increases the intrinsic resistance against ischemia and reperfusion (I/R) injury. The cardiac conditioning response is mediated via complex signaling networks. These networks have been an intriguing research field for decades, largely advancing our knowledge on cardiac signaling beyond the conditioning response. The centerpieces of this system are the mitochondria, a dynamic organelle, almost acting as a cell within the cell. Mitochondria comprise a plethora of functions at the crossroads of cell death or survival. These include the maintenance of aerobic ATP production and redox signaling, closely entwined with mitochondrial calcium handling and mitochondrial permeability transition. Moreover, mitochondria host pathways of programmed cell death impact the inflammatory response and contain their own mechanisms of fusion and fission (division). These act as quality control mechanisms in cellular ageing, release of pro-apoptotic factors and mitophagy. Furthermore, recently identified mechanisms of mitochondrial regeneration can increase the capacity for oxidative phosphorylation, decrease oxidative stress and might help to beneficially impact myocardial remodeling, as well as invigorate the heart against subsequent ischemic insults. The current review highlights different pathways and unresolved questions surrounding mitochondria in myocardial I/R injury and pharmacological cardiac conditioning.}, language = {en} } @article{TelesYanoVillarinhoetal.2021, author = {Teles, Ramon Handerson Gomes and Yano, Rafael Sussumu and Villarinho, Nicolas Jones and Yamagata, Ana Sayuri and Jaeger, Ruy Gastaldoni and Meybohm, Patrick and Burek, Malgorzata and Freitas, Vanessa Morais}, title = {Advances in breast cancer management and extracellular vesicle research, a bibliometric analysis}, series = {Current Oncology}, volume = {28}, journal = {Current Oncology}, number = {6}, issn = {1718-7729}, doi = {10.3390/curroncol28060382}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-284321}, pages = {4504 -- 4520}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Extracellular vesicles transport variable content and have crucial functions in cell-cell communication. The role of extracellular vesicles in cancer is a current hot topic, and no bibliometric study has ever analyzed research production regarding their role in breast cancer and indicated the trends in the field. In this way, we aimed to investigate the trends in breast cancer management involved with extracellular vesicle research. Articles were retrieved from Scopus, including all the documents published concerning breast cancer and extracellular vesicles. We analyzed authors, journals, citations, affiliations, and keywords, besides other bibliometric analyses, using R Studio version 3.6.2. and VOSviewer version 1.6.0. A total of 1151 articles were retrieved, and as the main result, our analysis revealed trending topics on biomarkers of liquid biopsy, drug delivery, chemotherapy, autophagy, and microRNA. Additionally, research related to extracellular vesicles in breast cancer has been focused on diagnosis, treatment, and mechanisms of action of breast tumor-derived vesicles. Future studies are expected to explore the role of extracellular vesicles on autophagy and microRNA, besides investigating the application of extracellular vesicles from liquid biopsies for biomarkers and drug delivery, enabling the development and validation of therapeutic strategies for specific cancers.}, language = {en} } @article{BianchiSivarajanWallesetal.2021, author = {Bianchi, Maria and Sivarajan, Rinu and Walles, Thorsten and Hackenberg, Stephan and Steinke, Maria}, title = {Susceptibility of primary human airway epithelial cells to Bordetella pertussis adenylate cyclase toxin in two- and three-dimensional culture conditions}, series = {Innate Immunity}, volume = {27}, journal = {Innate Immunity}, number = {1}, issn = {1753-4259}, doi = {10.1177/1753425920979354}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-219849}, pages = {89-98}, year = {2021}, abstract = {The human pathogen Bordetella pertussis targets the respiratory epithelium and causes whooping cough. Its virulence factor adenylate cyclase toxin (CyaA) plays an important role in the course of infection. Previous studies on the impact of CyaA on human epithelial cells have been carried out using cell lines derived from the airways or the intestinal tract. Here, we investigated the interaction of CyaA and its enzymatically inactive but fully pore-forming toxoid CyaA-AC- with primary human airway epithelial cells (hAEC) derived from different anatomical sites (nose and tracheo-bronchial region) in two-dimensional culture conditions. To assess possible differences between the response of primary hAEC and respiratory cell lines directly, we included HBEC3-KT in our studies. In comparative analyses, we studied the impact of both the toxin and the toxoid on cell viability, intracellular cAMP concentration and IL-6 secretion. We found that the selected hAEC, which lack CD11b, were differentially susceptible to both CyaA and CyaA-AC-. HBEC3-KT appeared not to be suitable for subsequent analyses. Since the nasal epithelium first gets in contact with airborne pathogens, we further studied the effect of CyaA and its toxoid on the innate immunity of three-dimensional tissue models of the human nasal mucosa. The present study reveals first insights in toxin-cell interaction using primary hAEC.}, language = {en} } @article{RuboGamer2021, author = {Rubo, Marius and Gamer, Matthias}, title = {Stronger reactivity to social gaze in virtual reality compared to a classical laboratory environment}, series = {British Journal of Psychology}, volume = {112}, journal = {British Journal of Psychology}, number = {1}, doi = {10.1111/bjop.12453}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-215972}, pages = {301 -- 314}, year = {2021}, abstract = {People show a robust tendency to gaze at other human beings when viewing images or videos, but were also found to relatively avoid gaze at others in several real-world situations. This discrepancy, along with theoretical considerations, spawned doubts about the appropriateness of classical laboratory-based experimental paradigms in social attention research. Several researchers instead suggested the use of immersive virtual scenarios in eliciting and measuring naturalistic attentional patterns, but the field, struggling with methodological challenges, still needs to establish the advantages of this approach. Here, we show using eye-tracking in a complex social scenario displayed in virtual reality that participants show enhanced attention towards the face of an avatar at near distance and demonstrate an increased reactivity towards her social gaze as compared to participants who viewed the same scene on a computer monitor. The present study suggests that reactive virtual agents observed in immersive virtual reality can elicit natural modes of information processing and can help to conduct ecologically more valid experiments while maintaining high experimental control.}, language = {en} } @article{RotherKraftSmithetal.2021, author = {Rother, Lisa and Kraft, Nadine and Smith, Dylan B. and El Jundi, Basil and Gill, Richard J. and Pfeiffer, Keram}, title = {A micro-CT-based standard brain atlas of the bumblebee}, series = {Cell and Tissue Research}, volume = {386}, journal = {Cell and Tissue Research}, number = {1}, issn = {1432-0878}, doi = {10.1007/s00441-021-03482-z}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-267783}, pages = {29-45}, year = {2021}, abstract = {In recent years, bumblebees have become a prominent insect model organism for a variety of biological disciplines, particularly to investigate learning behaviors as well as visual performance. Understanding these behaviors and their underlying neurobiological principles requires a clear understanding of brain anatomy. Furthermore, to be able to compare neuronal branching patterns across individuals, a common framework is required, which has led to the development of 3D standard brain atlases in most of the neurobiological insect model species. Yet, no bumblebee 3D standard brain atlas has been generated. Here we present a brain atlas for the buff-tailed bumblebee Bombus terrestris using micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) scans as a source for the raw data sets, rather than traditional confocal microscopy, to produce the first ever micro-CT-based insect brain atlas. We illustrate the advantages of the micro-CT technique, namely, identical native resolution in the three cardinal planes and 3D structure being better preserved. Our Bombus terrestris brain atlas consists of 30 neuropils reconstructed from ten individual worker bees, with micro-CT allowing us to segment neuropils completely intact, including the lamina, which is a tissue structure often damaged when dissecting for immunolabeling. Our brain atlas can serve as a platform to facilitate future neuroscience studies in bumblebees and illustrates the advantages of micro-CT for specific applications in insect neuroanatomy.}, language = {en} } @article{SegerWannagatNieding2021, author = {Seger, Benedikt T. and Wannagat, Wienke and Nieding, Gerhild}, title = {Children's surface, textbase, and situation model representations of written and illustrated written narrative text}, series = {Reading and Writing}, volume = {34}, journal = {Reading and Writing}, number = {6}, issn = {1573-0905}, doi = {10.1007/s11145-020-10118-1}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-269813}, pages = {1415-1440}, year = {2021}, abstract = {According to the tripartite model of text representation (van Dijk \& Kintsch, 1983), readers form representations of the text surface and textbase, and construct a situation model. In this study, an experiment was conducted to investigate whether these levels of representation would be affected by adding illustrations to narrative text and whether the order of text and illustrations would make a difference. Students aged between 7 and 13 years (N = 146) read 12 narrative texts, 4 of them with illustrations presented before their corresponding sentences, 4 with illustrations presented after, and 4 without any illustration. A sentence recognition task was used to assess the accuracy for text surface, textbase, and situation model. For the text surface and situation model, neither the presence of illustrations nor the order of text and illustrations influenced accuracy. However, the textbase was negatively affected by illustrations when they followed their corresponding sentences. We suggest that illustrations can initiate model inspection after situation model construction (Schnotz, 2014), a process that can make substantial changes to the textbase representation.}, language = {en} } @article{HoehnFrimmelPrince2021, author = {H{\"o}hn, Stefan and Frimmel, Hartwig E. and Prince, Westley}, title = {Syn-metamorphic sulfidation of the Gamsberg zinc deposit, South Africa}, series = {Mineralogy and Petrology}, volume = {115}, journal = {Mineralogy and Petrology}, number = {6}, issn = {1438-1168}, doi = {10.1007/s00710-021-00764-w}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-268574}, pages = {709-728}, year = {2021}, abstract = {The Mesoproterozoic Aggeneys-Gamsberg ore district, South Africa, is one of the world´s largest sulfidic base metal concentrations and well-known as a prime example of Broken Hill-type base metal deposits, traditionally interpreted as metamorphosed SEDEX deposits. Within this district, the Gamsberg deposit stands out for its huge size and strongly Zn-dominated ore ( >14 Mt contained Zn). New electron microprobe analyses and element abundance maps of sulfides and silicates point to fluid-driven sulfidation during retrograde metamorphism. Differences in the chemistry of sulfide inclusions within zoned garnet grains reflect different degrees of interaction of sulfides with high metal/sulfur-ratio with a sulfur-rich metamorphic fluid. Independent evidence of sulfidation during retrograde metamorphism comes from graphic-textured sulfide aggregates that previously have been interpreted as quenched sulfidic melts, replacement of pyrrhotite by pyrite along micro-fractures, and sulfides in phyllic alteration zones. Limited availability of fluid under retrograde conditions caused locally different degrees of segregation of Fe-rich sphalerite into Zn-rich sphalerite and pyrite, and thus considerable heterogeneity in sphalerite chemistry. The invoked sulfur-rich metamorphic fluids would have been able to sulfidize base metal-rich zones in the whole deposit and thus camouflage a potential pre-metamorphic oxidation. These findings support the recently established hypothesis of a pre-Klondikean weathering-induced oxidation event and challenge the traditional explanation of Broken Hill-type deposits as merely metamorphosed SEDEX deposits. Instead, we suggest that the massive sulfide deposits experienced a complex history, starting with initial SEDEX-type mineralization, followed by near-surface oxidation with spatial metal separation, and then sulfidation of this oxidized ore during medium- to high-grade metamorphism.}, language = {en} } @article{KoopmannStubbemannKapaetal.2021, author = {Koopmann, Tobias and Stubbemann, Maximilian and Kapa, Matthias and Paris, Michael and Buenstorf, Guido and Hanika, Tom and Hotho, Andreas and J{\"a}schke, Robert and Stumme, Gerd}, title = {Proximity dimensions and the emergence of collaboration: a HypTrails study on German AI research}, series = {Scientometrics}, volume = {126}, journal = {Scientometrics}, number = {12}, issn = {1588-2861}, doi = {10.1007/s11192-021-03922-1}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-269831}, pages = {9847-9868}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Creation and exchange of knowledge depends on collaboration. Recent work has suggested that the emergence of collaboration frequently relies on geographic proximity. However, being co-located tends to be associated with other dimensions of proximity, such as social ties or a shared organizational environment. To account for such factors, multiple dimensions of proximity have been proposed, including cognitive, institutional, organizational, social and geographical proximity. Since they strongly interrelate, disentangling these dimensions and their respective impact on collaboration is challenging. To address this issue, we propose various methods for measuring different dimensions of proximity. We then present an approach to compare and rank them with respect to the extent to which they indicate co-publications and co-inventions. We adapt the HypTrails approach, which was originally developed to explain human navigation, to co-author and co-inventor graphs. We evaluate this approach on a subset of the German research community, specifically academic authors and inventors active in research on artificial intelligence (AI). We find that social proximity and cognitive proximity are more important for the emergence of collaboration than geographic proximity.}, language = {en} } @article{Ibebuchi2021, author = {Ibebuchi, Chibuike Chiedozie}, title = {Circulation pattern controls of wet days and dry days in Free State, South Africa}, series = {Meteorology and Atmospheric Physics}, volume = {133}, journal = {Meteorology and Atmospheric Physics}, number = {5}, issn = {1436-5065}, doi = {10.1007/s00703-021-00822-0}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-268552}, pages = {1469-1480}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Atmospheric circulation is a vital process in the transport of heat, moisture, and pollutants around the globe. The variability of rainfall depends to some extent on the atmospheric circulation. This paper investigates synoptic situations in southern Africa that can be associated with wet days and dry days in Free State, South Africa, in addition to the underlying dynamics. Principal component analysis was applied to the T-mode matrix (variable is time series and observation is grid points at which the field was observed) of daily mean sea level pressure field from 1979 to 2018 in classifying the circulation patterns in southern Africa. 18 circulation types (CTs) were classified in the study region. From the linkage of the CTs to the observed rainfall data, from 11 stations in Free State, it was found that dominant austral winter and late austral autumn CTs have a higher probability of being associated with dry days in Free State. Dominant austral summer and late austral spring CTs were found to have a higher probability of being associated with wet days in Free State. Cyclonic/anti-cyclonic activity over the southwest Indian Ocean, explained to a good extent, the inter-seasonal variability of rainfall in Free State. The synoptic state associated with a stronger anti-cyclonic circulation at the western branch of the South Indian Ocean high-pressure, during austral summer, leading to enhanced low-level moisture transport by southeast winds was found to have the highest probability of being associated with above-average rainfall in most regions in Free State. On the other hand, the synoptic state associated with enhanced transport of cold dry air, by the extratropical westerlies, was found to have the highest probability of being associated with (winter) dryness in Free State.}, language = {en} } @article{BergerFergerMarder2021, author = {Berger, Sarina M. and Ferger, Matthias and Marder, Todd B.}, title = {Synthetic Approaches to Triarylboranes from 1885 to 2020}, series = {Chemistry - A European Journal}, volume = {27}, journal = {Chemistry - A European Journal}, number = {24}, doi = {10.1002/chem.202005302}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-238952}, pages = {7043 -- 7058}, year = {2021}, abstract = {In recent years, research in the fields of optoelectronics, anion sensors and bioimaging agents have been greatly influenced by novel compounds containing triarylborane motifs. Such compounds possess an empty p-orbital at boron which results in useful optical and electronic properties. Such a diversity of applications was not expected when the first triarylborane was reported in 1885. Synthetic approaches to triarylboranes underwent various changes over the following century, some of which are still used in the present day, such as the generally applicable routes developed by Krause et al. in 1922, or by Grisdale et al. in 1972 at Eastman Kodak. Some other developments were not pursued further after their initial reports, such as the synthesis of two triarylboranes bearing three different aromatic groups by Mikhailov et al. in 1958. This review summarizes the development of synthetic approaches to triarylboranes from their first report nearly 135 years ago to the present.}, language = {en} } @article{LeidingerVedderCabral2021, author = {Leidinger, Ludwig and Vedder, Daniel and Cabral, Juliano Sarmento}, title = {Temporal environmental variation may impose differential selection on both genomic and ecological traits}, series = {Oikos}, volume = {130}, journal = {Oikos}, number = {7}, doi = {10.1111/oik.08172}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-238945}, pages = {1100 -- 1115}, year = {2021}, abstract = {The response of populations and species to changing conditions determines how community composition will change functionally, including via trait shifts. Selection from standing variation has been suggested to be more efficient than acquiring new mutations. Yet, studies on community trait composition and trait selection largely focus on phenotypic variation in ecological traits, whereas the underlying genomic traits remain understudied. Using a genome-explicit, niche- and individual-based model, we address the potential interactions between genomic and ecological traits shaping communities under an environmental selective forcing, namely temporal positively autocorrelated environmental fluctuation. In this model, all ecological traits are explicitly coded by the genome. For our experiments, we initialized 90 replicate communities, each with ca 350 initial species, characterized by random genomic and ecological trait combinations, on a 2D spatially explicit landscape with two orthogonal gradients (temperature and resource use). We exposed each community to two contrasting scenarios: without (i.e. static environments) and with temporal variation. We then analyzed emerging compositions of both genomic and ecological traits at the community, population and genomic levels. Communities in variable environments were species poorer than in static environments, and populations more abundant, whereas genomes had lower genetic linkage, mean genetic variation and a non-significant tendency towards higher numbers of genes. The surviving genomes (i.e. those selected by variable environments) coded for enhanced environmental tolerance and smaller biomass, which resulted in faster life cycles and thus also in increased potential for evolutionary rescue. Under temporal environmental variation, larger, less linked genomes retained more variation in mean dispersal ability at the population level than at genomic level, whereas the opposite trend emerged for biomass. Our results provide clues to how sexually-reproducing diploid plant communities might react to variable environments and highlights the importance of genomic traits and their interaction with ecological traits for eco-evolutionary responses to changing climates.}, language = {en} } @article{SponslerBratman2021, author = {Sponsler, Douglas B. and Bratman, Eve Z.}, title = {Beekeeping in, of or for the city? A socioecological perspective on urban apiculture}, series = {People and Nature}, volume = {3}, journal = {People and Nature}, number = {3}, doi = {10.1002/pan3.10206}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-239949}, pages = {550 -- 559}, year = {2021}, abstract = {The term 'urban beekeeping' connotes a host of meanings—sociopolitical, commercial, ecological and personal—beyond the mere description of where bees and beekeepers happen to coincide. Yet, these meanings are seldom articulated explicitly or brought into critical engagement with the relevant fields of urban ecology and political ecology. Beginning with a brief account of the history of urban beekeeping in the United States, we draw upon urban ecological theory to construct a conceptual model of urban beekeeping that distinguishes beekeeping in, of and for the city. In our model, beekeeping in the city describes the mere importation of the traditionally rural practice of beekeeping into urban spaces for the private reasons of the individual beekeeper, whereas beekeeping of the city describes beekeeping that is consciously tailored to the urban context, often accompanied by (semi)professionalization of beekeepers and the formation of local expert communities (i.e. beekeeping associations). Beekeeping for the city describes a shift in mindset in which beekeeping is directed to civic ends beyond the boundaries of the beekeeping community per se. Using this framework, we identify and discuss specific socioecological assets and liabilities of urban beekeeping, and how these relate to beekeeping in, of and for the city. We then formulate actionable guidelines for maturing the practice of urban beekeeping into a beneficent and self-critical form of urban ecological citizenship; these include fostering self-regulation within the beekeeping community, harnessing beekeeping as a 'gateway' experience for a broader rapprochement between urban residents and nature, and recognizing the political-ecological context of beekeeping with respect to matters of socioecological justice.}, language = {en} } @article{HoeslFroehlichPoschetal.2021, author = {Hoesl, Christine and Fr{\"o}hlich, Thomas and Posch, Christian and Kneitz, Hermann and Goebeler, Matthias and Schneider, Marlon R. and Dahlhoff, Maik}, title = {The transmembrane protein LRIG1 triggers melanocytic tumor development following chemically induced skin carcinogenesis}, series = {Molecular Oncology}, volume = {15}, journal = {Molecular Oncology}, number = {8}, doi = {10.1002/1878-0261.12945}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-238925}, pages = {2140 -- 2155}, year = {2021}, abstract = {The incidence of melanoma and nonmelanoma skin cancer has increased tremendously in recent years. Although novel treatment options have significantly improved patient outcomes, the prognosis for most patients with an advanced disease remains dismal. It is, thus, imperative to understand the molecular mechanisms involved in skin carcinogenesis in order to develop new targeted treatment strategies. Receptor tyrosine kinases (RTK) like the ERBB receptor family, including EGFR/ERBB1, ERBB2/NEU, ERBB3, and ERBB4, are important regulators of skin homeostasis and their dysregulation often results in cancer, which makes them attractive therapeutic targets. Members of the leucine-rich repeats and immunoglobulin-like domains protein family (LRIG1-3) are ERBB regulators and thus potential therapeutic targets to manipulate ERBB receptors. Here, we analyzed the function of LRIG1 during chemically induced skin carcinogenesis in transgenic mice expressing LRIG1 in the skin under the control of the keratin 5 promoter (LRIG1-TG mice). We observed a significant induction of melanocytic tumor formation in LRIG1-TG mice and no difference in papilloma incidence between LRIG1-TG and control mice. Our findings also revealed that LRIG1 affects ERBB signaling via decreased phosphorylation of EGFR and increased activation of the oncoprotein ERBB2 during skin carcinogenesis. The epidermal proliferation rate was significantly decreased during epidermal tumorigenesis under LRIG1 overexpression, and the apoptosis marker cleaved caspase 3 was significantly activated in the epidermis of transgenic LRIG1 mice. Additionally, we detected LRIG1 expression in human cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma samples. Therefore, we depleted LRIG1 in human melanoma cells (A375) by CRISPR/Cas9 technology and found that this caused EGFR and ERBB3 downregulation in A375 LRIG1 knockout cells 6 h following stimulation with EGF. In conclusion, our study demonstrated that LRIG1-TG mice develop melanocytic skin tumors during chemical skin carcinogenesis and a deletion of LRIG1 in human melanoma cells reduces EGFR and ERBB3 expression after EGF stimulation.}, language = {en} } @article{KriegelFritzeThorn2021, author = {Kriegel, Peter and Fritze, Michael-Andreas and Thorn, Simon}, title = {Surface temperature and shrub cover drive ground beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) assemblages in short-rotation coppices}, series = {Agricultural and Forest Entomology}, volume = {23}, journal = {Agricultural and Forest Entomology}, number = {4}, doi = {10.1111/afe.12441}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-239873}, pages = {400 -- 410}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Increasing demand for biomass has led to an on-going intensification of fuel wood plantations with possible negative effects on open land biodiversity. Hence, ecologists increasingly call for measures that reduce those negative effects on associated biodiversity. However, our knowledge about the efficiency of such measures remains scarce. We investigated the effects of gap implementation in short rotation coppices (SRCs) on carabid diversity and assemblage composition over 3 years, with pitfall traps in gaps, edges and interiors. In parallel, we quantified soil surface temperature, shrub- and herb cover. Edges had the highest number of species and abundances per trap, whereas rarefied species richness was significantly lower in short rotation coppice interiors than in other habitat types. Carabid community composition differed significantly between habitat types. The main environmental drivers were temperature for number of species and abundance and shrub cover for rarefied species richness. We found significantly higher rarefied species richness in gaps compared with interiors. Hence, we argue that gap implementation benefits overall diversity in short rotation coppices. Furthermore, the differences in species community composition between habitat types through increased species turnover support carabid diversity in short rotation coppices. These positive effects were largely attributed to microclimate conditions. However, to maintain positive effects, continuous management of herb layer might be necessary.}, language = {en} } @article{MaierMarder2021, author = {Maier, Jan and Marder, Todd B.}, title = {Mechanistic and Kinetic Factors of ortho-Benzyne Formation in Hexadehydro-Diels-Alder (HDDA) Reactions}, series = {Chemistry - A European Journal}, volume = {27}, journal = {Chemistry - A European Journal}, number = {30}, doi = {10.1002/chem.202100608}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-239006}, pages = {7978 -- 7991}, year = {2021}, abstract = {With the rapid development of the hexadehydro-Diels-Alder reaction (HDDA) from its first discovery in 1997, the question of whether a concerted or stepwise mechanism better describes the thermally activated formation of ortho-benzyne from a diyne and a diynophile has been debated. Mechanistic and kinetic investigations were able to show that this is not a black or white situation, as minor changes can tip the balance. For that reason, especially, linked yne-diynes were studied to examine steric, electronic, and radical-stabilizing effects of their terminal substituents on the reaction mechanism and kinetics. Furthermore, the influence of the nature of the linker on the HDDA reaction was explored. The more recently discovered photochemical HDDA reaction also gives ortho-arynes, which display the same reactivity as the thermally generated ones, but their formation might not proceed by the same mechanism. This minireview summarizes the current state of mechanistic understanding of the HDDA reaction.}, language = {en} } @article{Wolf2021, author = {Wolf, Matthias}, title = {How to teach about what is a species}, series = {Biology}, volume = {10}, journal = {Biology}, number = {6}, issn = {2079-7737}, doi = {10.3390/biology10060523}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-241052}, year = {2021}, abstract = {To ask students what a species is always has something rhetorical about it. Too quickly comes the rote answer, often learned by heart without ever thinking about it: "A species is a reproductive community of populations (reproductively isolated from others), which occupies a specific niche in nature" (Mayr 1982). However, do two people look alike because they are twins or are they twins because they look alike? "Two organisms do not belong to the same species because they mate and reproduce, but they only are able to do so because they belong to the same species" (Mahner and Bunge 1997). Unfortunately, most biology (pre-university) teachers have no opinion on whether species are real or conceptual, simply because they have never been taught the question themselves, but rather one answer they still pass on to their students today, learned by heart without ever thinking about it. Species are either real or conceptual and, in my opinion, it is this "or" that we should teach about. Only then can we discuss those fundamental questions such as who or what is selected, who or what evolves and, finally, what is biodiversity and phylogenetics all about? Individuals related to each other by the tree of life.}, language = {en} } @article{KouhestaniGeisAlsourietal.2021, author = {Kouhestani, Dina and Geis, Maria and Alsouri, Saed and Bumm, Thomas G. P. and Einsele, Hermann and Sauer, Markus and Stuhler, Gernot}, title = {Variant signaling topology at the cancer cell-T-cell interface induced by a two-component T-cell engager}, series = {Cellular \& Molecular Immunology}, volume = {18}, journal = {Cellular \& Molecular Immunology}, doi = {10.1038/s41423-020-0507-7}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-241189}, pages = {1568-1570}, year = {2021}, abstract = {No abstract available.}, language = {en} } @article{DelgoboHeinrichsHapkeetal.2021, author = {Delgobo, Murilo and Heinrichs, Margarete and Hapke, Nils and Ashour, DiyaaElDin and Appel, Marc and Srivastava, Mugdha and Heckel, Tobias and Spyridopoulos, Ioakim and Hofmann, Ulrich and Frantz, Stefan and Ramos, Gustavo Campos}, title = {Terminally Differentiated CD4\(^+\) T Cells Promote Myocardial Inflammaging}, series = {Frontiers in Immunology}, volume = {12}, journal = {Frontiers in Immunology}, issn = {1664-3224}, doi = {10.3389/fimmu.2021.584538}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-229612}, year = {2021}, abstract = {The cardiovascular and immune systems undergo profound and intertwined alterations with aging. Recent studies have reported that an accumulation of memory and terminally differentiated T cells in elderly subjects can fuel myocardial aging and boost the progression of heart diseases. Nevertheless, it remains unclear whether the immunological senescence profile is sufficient to cause age-related cardiac deterioration or merely acts as an amplifier of previous tissue-intrinsic damage. Herein, we sought to decompose the causality in this cardio-immune crosstalk by studying young mice harboring a senescent-like expanded CD4\(^+\) T cell compartment. Thus, immunodeficient NSG-DR1 mice expressing HLA-DRB1*01:01 were transplanted with human CD4\(^+\) T cells purified from matching donors that rapidly engrafted and expanded in the recipients without causing xenograft reactions. In the donor subjects, the CD4\(^+\) T cell compartment was primarily composed of na{\"i}ve cells defined as CCR7\(^+\)CD45RO\(^-\). However, when transplanted into young lymphocyte-deficient mice, CD4\(^+\) T cells underwent homeostatic expansion, upregulated expression of PD-1 receptor and strongly shifted towards effector/memory (CCR7\(^-\) CD45RO\(^+\)) and terminally-differentiated phenotypes (CCR7\(^-\)CD45RO\(^-\)), as typically seen in elderly. Differentiated CD4\(^+\) T cells also infiltrated the myocardium of recipient mice at comparable levels to what is observed during physiological aging. In addition, young mice harboring an expanded CD4\(^+\) T cell compartment showed increased numbers of infiltrating monocytes, macrophages and dendritic cells in the heart. Bulk mRNA sequencing analyses further confirmed that expanding T-cells promote myocardial inflammaging, marked by a distinct age-related transcriptomic signature. Altogether, these data indicate that exaggerated CD4\(^+\) T-cell expansion and differentiation, a hallmark of the aging immune system, is sufficient to promote myocardial alterations compatible with inflammaging in juvenile healthy mice.}, language = {en} } @article{ZetzlRennerPittigetal.2021, author = {Zetzl, Teresa and Renner, Agnes and Pittig, Andre and Jentschke, Elisabeth and Roch, Carmen and van Oorschot, Birgitt}, title = {Yoga effectively reduces fatigue and symptoms of depression in patients with different types of cancer}, series = {Supportive Care in Cancer}, volume = {29}, journal = {Supportive Care in Cancer}, issn = {0941-4355}, doi = {10.1007/s00520-020-05794-2}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-235415}, pages = {2973-2982}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Purpose Examine the effects of an 8-week yoga therapy on fatigue in patients with different types of cancer. Methods A total of 173 cancer patients suffering from mild to severe fatigue were randomly allocated to yoga intervention (n = 84) (IG) versus waitlist control group (CG) (n = 88). Yoga therapy consisted of eight weekly sessions with 60 min each. The primary outcome was self-reported fatigue symptoms. Secondary outcomes were symptoms of depression and quality of life (QoL). Data were assessed using questionnaires before (T0) and after yoga therapy for IG versus waiting period for CG (T1). Results A stronger reduction of general fatigue (P = .033), physical fatigue (P = .048), and depression (P < .001) as well as a stronger increase in QoL (P = .002) was found for patients who attended 7 or 8 sessions compared with controls. Within the yoga group, both higher attendance rate and lower T0-fatigue were significant predictors of lower T1-fatigue (P ≤ .001). Exploratory results revealed that women with breast cancer report a higher reduction of fatigue than women with other types of cancer (P = .016) after yoga therapy. Conclusion The findings support the assumption that yoga therapy is useful to reduce cancer-related fatigue, especially for the physical aspects of fatigue. Women with breast cancer seem to benefit most, and higher attendance rate results in greater reduction of fatigue. Trial registration German Clinical Trials Register DRKS00016034}, language = {en} } @article{HerbortKrauseKunde2021, author = {Herbort, Oliver and Krause, Lisa-Marie and Kunde, Wilfried}, title = {Perspective determines the production and interpretation of pointing gestures}, series = {Psychonomic Bulletin \& Review}, volume = {28}, journal = {Psychonomic Bulletin \& Review}, issn = {1069-9384}, doi = {10.3758/s13423-020-01823-7}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-235293}, pages = {641-648}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Pointing is a ubiquitous means of communication. Nevertheless, observers systematically misinterpret the location indicated by pointers. We examined whether these misunderstandings result from the typically different viewpoints of pointers and observers. Participants either pointed themselves or interpreted points while assuming the pointer's or a typical observer perspective in a virtual reality environment. The perspective had a strong effect on the relationship between pointing gestures and referents, whereas the task had only a minor influence. This suggests that misunderstandings between pointers and observers primarily result from their typically different viewpoints.}, language = {en} } @article{BaurRamserKelleretal.2021, author = {Baur, Johannes and Ramser, Michaela and Keller, Nicola and Muysoms, Filip and D{\"o}rfer, J{\"o}rg and Wiegering, Armin and Eisner, Lukas and Dietz, Ulrich A.}, title = {Robotic hernia repair II. English version}, series = {Der Chirurg}, volume = {92}, journal = {Der Chirurg}, number = {Suppl 1}, doi = {10.1007/s00104-021-01479-6}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-323866}, pages = {S15-S26}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Endoscopic management of umbilical and incisional hernias has adapted to the limitations of conventional laparoscopic instruments over the past 30 years. This includes the development of meshes for intraperitoneal placement (intraperitoneal onlay mesh, IPOM), with antiadhesive coatings; however, adhesions do occur in a significant proportion of these patients. Minimally invasive procedures result in fewer perioperative complications, but with a slightly higher recurrence rate. With the ergonomic resources of robotics, which offers angled instruments, it is now possible to implant meshes in a minimally invasively manner in different abdominal wall layers while achieving morphologic and functional reconstruction of the abdominal wall. This video article presents the treatment of ventral and incisional hernias with mesh implantation into the preperitoneal space (robot-assisted transabdominal preperitoneal ventral hernia repair, r‑ventral TAPP) as well as into the retrorectus space (r-Rives and robotic transabdominal retromuscular umbilical prosthetic repair, r‑TARUP, respectively). The results of a cohort study of 118 consecutive patients are presented and discussed with regard to the added value of the robotic technique in extraperitoneal mesh implantation and in the training of residents.}, language = {en} } @article{RamserBaurKelleretal.2021, author = {Ramser, Michaela and Baur, Johannes and Keller, Nicola and Kukleta, Jan F. and D{\"o}rfer, J{\"o}rg and Wiegering, Armin and Eisner, Lukas and Dietz, Ulrich A.}, title = {Robotic hernia surgery I. English version}, series = {Der Chirurg}, volume = {92}, journal = {Der Chirurg}, number = {Suppl 1}, doi = {10.1007/s00104-021-01446-1}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-323934}, pages = {S1-S13}, year = {2021}, abstract = {The treatment of inguinal hernias with open and minimally invasive procedures has reached a high standard in terms of outcome over the past 30 years. However, there is still need for further improvement, mainly in terms of reduction of postoperative seroma, chronic pain, and recurrence. This video article presents the endoscopic anatomy of the groin with regard to robotic transabdominal preperitoneal patch plasty (r‑TAPP) and illustrates the surgical steps of r‑TAPP with respective video sequences. The results of a cohort study of 302 consecutive hernias operated by r‑TAPP are presented and discussed in light of the added value of the robotic technique, including advantages for surgical training. r‑TAPP is the natural evolution of conventional TAPP and has the potential to become a new standard as equipment availability increases and material costs decrease. Future studies will also have to refine the multifaceted added value of r‑TAPP with new parameters.}, language = {en} } @article{DietzKudsiGarciaUrenaetal.2021, author = {Dietz, Ulrich A. and Kudsi, O. Yusef and Garcia-Ure{\~n}a, Miguel and Baur, Johannes and Ramser, Michaela and Maksimovic, Sladjana and Keller, Nicola and D{\"o}rfer, J{\"o}rg and Eisner, Lukas and Wiegering, Armin}, title = {Robotic hernia repair III. English version}, series = {Der Chirurg}, volume = {92}, journal = {Der Chirurg}, number = {Suppl 1}, doi = {10.1007/s00104-021-01500-y}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-323896}, pages = {S28-S39}, year = {2021}, abstract = {The principle of targeted separation or weakening of individual components of the abdominal wall to relieve tension in the median line during major abdominal reconstruction has been known for over 30 years as anterior component separation (aCS) and is an established procedure. In search of alternatives with lower complication rates, posterior component separation (pCS) was developed; transversus abdominis release (TAR) is a nerve-sparing modification of pCS. With the ergonomic resources of robotics (e.g., angled instruments), TAR can be performed in a minimally invasive manner (r-TAR): hernia gaps of up to 14 cm can be closed and a large extraperitoneal mesh implanted. In this video article, the treatment of large incisional hernias using the r‑TAR technique is presented. Exemplary results of a cohort study in 13 consecutive patients are presented. The procedure is challenging, but our own results—as well as reports from the literature—are encouraging. The r‑TAR is becoming the pinnacle procedure for abdominal wall reconstruction.}, language = {en} } @article{ChumduriTurco2021, author = {Chumduri, Cindrilla and Turco, Margherita Y.}, title = {Organoids of the female reproductive tract}, series = {Journal of Molecular Medicine}, volume = {99}, journal = {Journal of Molecular Medicine}, number = {4}, doi = {10.1007/s00109-020-02028-0}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-328374}, pages = {531-553}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Healthy functioning of the female reproductive tract (FRT) depends on balanced and dynamic regulation by hormones during the menstrual cycle, pregnancy and childbirth. The mucosal epithelial lining of different regions of the FRT—ovaries, fallopian tubes, uterus, cervix and vagina—facilitates the selective transport of gametes and successful transfer of the zygote to the uterus where it implants and pregnancy takes place. It also prevents pathogen entry. Recent developments in three-dimensional (3D) organoid systems from the FRT now provide crucial experimental models that recapitulate the cellular heterogeneity and physiological, anatomical and functional properties of the organ in vitro. In this review, we summarise the state of the art on organoids generated from different regions of the FRT. We discuss the potential applications of these powerful in vitro models to study normal physiology, fertility, infections, diseases, drug discovery and personalised medicine.}, language = {en} } @article{GhirardoNosenkoKreuzwieseretal.2021, author = {Ghirardo, Andrea and Nosenko, Tetyana and Kreuzwieser, J{\"u}rgen and Winkler, J. Barbro and Kruse, J{\"o}rg and Albert, Andreas and Merl-Pham, Juliane and Lux, Thomas and Ache, Peter and Zimmer, Ina and Alfarraj, Saleh and Mayer, Klaus F. X. and Hedrich, Rainer and Rennenberg, Heinz and Schnitzler, J{\"o}rg-Peter}, title = {Protein expression plasticity contributes to heat and drought tolerance of date palm}, series = {Oecologia}, volume = {197}, journal = {Oecologia}, number = {4}, issn = {0029-8549}, doi = {10.1007/s00442-021-04907-w}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-308075}, pages = {903-919}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of warming and drought periods around the globe, currently representing a threat to many plant species. Understanding the resistance and resilience of plants to climate change is, therefore, urgently needed. As date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) evolved adaptation mechanisms to a xeric environment and can tolerate large diurnal and seasonal temperature fluctuations, we studied the protein expression changes in leaves, volatile organic compound emissions, and photosynthesis in response to variable growth temperatures and soil water deprivation. Plants were grown under controlled environmental conditions of simulated Saudi Arabian summer and winter climates challenged with drought stress. We show that date palm is able to counteract the harsh conditions of the Arabian Peninsula by adjusting the abundances of proteins related to the photosynthetic machinery, abiotic stress and secondary metabolism. Under summer climate and water deprivation, these adjustments included efficient protein expression response mediated by heat shock proteins and the antioxidant system to counteract reactive oxygen species formation. Proteins related to secondary metabolism were downregulated, except for the P. dactylifera isoprene synthase (PdIspS), which was strongly upregulated in response to summer climate and drought. This study reports, for the first time, the identification and functional characterization of the gene encoding for PdIspS, allowing future analysis of isoprene functions in date palm under extreme environments. Overall, the current study shows that reprogramming of the leaf protein profiles confers the date palm heat- and drought tolerance. We conclude that the protein plasticity of date palm is an important mechanism of molecular adaptation to environmental fluctuations.}, language = {en} } @article{BrenzingerCostaHoetal.2021, author = {Brenzinger, Kristof and Costa, Ohana Y. A. and Ho, Adrian and Koorneef, Guusje and Robroek, Bjorn and Molenaar, Douwe and Korthals, Gerard and Bodelier, Paul L. E.}, title = {Steering microbiomes by organic amendments towards climate-smart agricultural soils}, series = {Biology and Fertility of Soils}, volume = {57}, journal = {Biology and Fertility of Soils}, number = {8}, doi = {10.1007/s00374-021-01599-5}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-326930}, pages = {1053-1074}, year = {2021}, abstract = {We steered the soil microbiome via applications of organic residues (mix of cover crop residues, sewage sludge + compost, and digestate + compost) to enhance multiple ecosystem services in line with climate-smart agriculture. Our result highlights the potential to reduce greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions from agricultural soils by the application of specific organic amendments (especially digestate + compost). Unexpectedly, also the addition of mineral fertilizer in our mesocosms led to similar combined GHG emissions than one of the specific organic amendments. However, the application of organic amendments has the potential to increase soil C, which is not the case when using mineral fertilizer. While GHG emissions from cover crop residues were significantly higher compared to mineral fertilizer and the other organic amendments, crop growth was promoted. Furthermore, all organic amendments induced a shift in the diversity and abundances of key microbial groups. We show that organic amendments have the potential to not only lower GHG emissions by modifying the microbial community abundance and composition, but also favour crop growth-promoting microorganisms. This modulation of the microbial community by organic amendments bears the potential to turn soils into more climate-smart soils in comparison to the more conventional use of mineral fertilizers.}, language = {en} } @article{LinzBrandsKertelsetal.2021, author = {Linz, Christian and Brands, Roman C. and Kertels, Olivia and Dierks, Alexander and Brumberg, Joachim and Gerhard-Hartmann, Elena and Hartmann, Stefan and Schirbel, Andreas and Serfling, Sebastian and Zhi, Yingjun and Buck, Andreas K. and K{\"u}bler, Alexander and Hohm, Julian and Lapa, Constantin and Kircher, Malte}, title = {Targeting fibroblast activation protein in newly diagnosed squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity - initial experience and comparison to [\(^{18}\)F]FDG PET/CT and MRI}, series = {European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging}, volume = {48}, journal = {European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging}, number = {12}, issn = {1619-7070}, doi = {10.1007/s00259-021-05422-z}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-307246}, pages = {3951-3960}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Purpose While [\(^{18}\)F]-fluorodeoxyglucose ([\(^{18}\)F]FDG) is the standard for positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) imaging of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), diagnostic specificity is hampered by uptake in inflammatory cells such as neutrophils or macrophages. Recently, molecular imaging probes targeting fibroblast activation protein α (FAP), which is overexpressed in a variety of cancer-associated fibroblasts, have become available and might constitute a feasible alternative to FDG PET/CT. Methods Ten consecutive, treatment-na{\"i}ve patients (8 males, 2 females; mean age, 62 ± 9 years) with biopsy-proven OSCC underwent both whole-body [\(^{18}\)F]FDG and [\(^{68}\)Ga]FAPI-04 (FAP-directed) PET/CT for primary staging prior to tumor resection and cervical lymph node dissection. Detection of the primary tumor, as well as the presence and number of lymph node and distant metastases was analysed. Intensity of tracer accumulation was assessed by means of maximum (SUV\(_{max}\)) and peak (SUV\(_{peak}\) standardized uptake values. Histological work-up including immunohistochemical staining for FAP served as standard of reference. Results [\(^{18}\)F]FDG and FAP-directed PET/CT detected all primary tumors with a SUVmax of 25.5 ± 13.2 (FDG) and 20.5 ± 6.4 (FAP-directed) and a SUVpeak of 16.1 ± 10.3 ([\(^{18}\)F]FDG) and 13.8 ± 3.9 (FAP-directed), respectively. Regarding cervical lymph node metastases, FAP-directed PET/CT demonstrated comparable sensitivity (81.3\% vs. 87.5\%; P = 0.32) and specificity (93.3\% vs. 81.3\%; P = 0.16) to [\(^{18}\)F]FDG PET/CT. FAP expression on the cell surface of cancer-associated fibroblasts in both primary lesions as well as lymph nodes metastases was confirmed in all samples. Conclusion FAP-directed PET/CT in OSCC seems feasible. Future research to investigate its potential to improve patient staging is highly warranted.}, language = {en} } @article{GrosseRueckriegelThomaleetal.2021, author = {Grosse, Frederik and Rueckriegel, Stefan Mark and Thomale, Ulrich-Wilhelm and Hern{\´a}iz Driever, Pablo}, title = {Mapping of long-term cognitive and motor deficits in pediatric cerebellar brain tumor survivors into a cerebellar white matter atlas}, series = {Child's Nervous System}, volume = {37}, journal = {Child's Nervous System}, number = {9}, issn = {0256-7040}, doi = {10.1007/s00381-021-05244-2}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-307416}, pages = {2787-2797}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Purpose Diaschisis of cerebrocerebellar loops contributes to cognitive and motor deficits in pediatric cerebellar brain tumor survivors. We used a cerebellar white matter atlas and hypothesized that lesion symptom mapping may reveal the critical lesions of cerebellar tracts. Methods We examined 31 long-term survivors of pediatric posterior fossa tumors (13 pilocytic astrocytoma, 18 medulloblastoma). Patients underwent neuronal imaging, examination for ataxia, fine motor and cognitive function, planning abilities, and executive function. Individual consolidated cerebellar lesions were drawn manually onto patients' individual MRI and normalized into Montreal Neurologic Institute (MNI) space for further analysis with voxel-based lesion symptom mapping. Results Lesion symptom mapping linked deficits of motor function to the superior cerebellar peduncle (SCP), deep cerebellar nuclei (interposed nucleus (IN), fastigial nucleus (FN), ventromedial dentate nucleus (DN)), and inferior vermis (VIIIa, VIIIb, IX, X). Statistical maps of deficits of intelligence and executive function mapped with minor variations to the same cerebellar structures. Conclusion We identified lesions to the SCP next to deep cerebellar nuclei as critical for limiting both motor and cognitive function in pediatric cerebellar tumor survivors. Future strategies safeguarding motor and cognitive function will have to identify patients preoperatively at risk for damage to these critical structures and adapt multimodal therapeutic options accordingly.}, language = {en} } @article{D'AndreaSoriaGrotenhuisetal.2021, author = {D'Andrea, David and Soria, Francesco and Grotenhuis, Anne J. and Cha, Eugene K. and Malats, Nuria and Di Stasi, Savino and Joniau, Steven and Cai, Tommaso and Rhijn, Bas W. G. van and Irani, Jaques and Karnes, Jeffrey and Varkarakis, John and Baniel, Jack and Palou, Joan and Babjuk, Marek and Spahn, Martin and Ardelt, Peter and Colombo, Renzo and Serretta, Vincenzo and Dalbagni, Guido and Gontero, Paolo and Bartoletti, Riccardo and Larr{\´e}, Stephane and Malmstrom, Per-Uno and Sylvester, Richard and Shariat, Shahrokh F.}, title = {Association of patients' sex with treatment outcomes after intravesical bacillus Calmette-Gu{\´e}rin immunotherapy for T1G3/HG bladder cancer}, series = {World Journal of Urology}, volume = {39}, journal = {World Journal of Urology}, number = {9}, doi = {10.1007/s00345-021-03653-1}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-344486}, pages = {3337-3344}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Purpose To investigate the association of patients' sex with recurrence and disease progression in patients treated with intravesical bacillus Calmette-Gu{\´e}rin (BCG) for T1G3/HG urinary bladder cancer (UBC). Materials and methods We analyzed the data of 2635 patients treated with adjuvant intravesical BCG for T1 UBC between 1984 and 2019. We accounted for missing data using multiple imputations and adjusted for covariate imbalance between males and females using inverse probability weighting (IPW). Crude and IPW-adjusted Cox regression analyses were used to estimate the hazard ratios (HR) with their 95\% confidence intervals (CI) for the association of patients' sex with HG-recurrence and disease progression. Results A total of 2170 (82\%) males and 465 (18\%) females were available for analysis. Overall, 1090 (50\%) males and 244 (52\%) females experienced recurrence, and 391 (18\%) males and 104 (22\%) females experienced disease progression. On IPW-adjusted Cox regression analyses, female sex was associated with disease progression (HR 1.25, 95\%CI 1.01-1.56, p = 0.04) but not with recurrence (HR 1.06, 95\%CI 0.92-1.22, p = 0.41). A total of 1056 patients were treated with adequate BCG. In these patients, on IPW-adjusted Cox regression analyses, patients' sex was not associated with recurrence (HR 0.99, 95\%CI 0.80-1.24, p = 0.96), HG-recurrence (HR 1.00, 95\%CI 0.78-1.29, p = 0.99) or disease progression (HR 1.12, 95\%CI 0.78-1.60, p = 0.55). Conclusion Our analysis generates the hypothesis of a differential response to BCG between males and females if not adequately treated. Further studies should focus on sex-based differences in innate and adaptive immune system and their association with BCG response.}, language = {en} } @article{DorjiSchuldtNeudametal.2021, author = {Dorji, Yonten and Schuldt, Bernhard and Neudam, Liane and Dorji, Rinzin and Middleby, Kali and Isasa, Emilie and K{\"o}rber, Klaus and Ammer, Christian and Annigh{\"o}fer, Peter and Seidel, Dominik}, title = {Three-dimensional quantification of tree architecture from mobile laser scanning and geometry analysis}, series = {Trees}, volume = {35}, journal = {Trees}, number = {4}, issn = {0931-1890}, doi = {10.1007/s00468-021-02124-9}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-307501}, pages = {1385-1398}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Key message Mobile laser scanning and geometrical analysis revealed relationships between tree geometry and seed dispersal mechanism, latitude of origin, as well as growth. Abstract The structure and dynamics of a forest are defined by the architecture and growth patterns of its individual trees. In turn, tree architecture and growth result from the interplay between the genetic building plans and environmental factors. We set out to investigate whether (1) latitudinal adaptations of the crown shape occur due to characteristic solar elevation angles at a species' origin, (2) architectural differences in trees are related to seed dispersal strategies, and (3) tree architecture relates to tree growth performance. We used mobile laser scanning (MLS) to scan 473 trees and generated three-dimensional data of each tree. Tree architectural complexity was then characterized by fractal analysis using the box-dimension approach along with a topological measure of the top heaviness of a tree. The tree species studied originated from various latitudinal ranges, but were grown in the same environmental settings in the arboretum. We found that trees originating from higher latitudes had significantly less top-heavy geometries than those from lower latitudes. Therefore, to a certain degree, the crown shape of tree species seems to be determined by their original habitat. We also found that tree species with wind-dispersed seeds had a higher structural complexity than those with animal-dispersed seeds (p < 0.001). Furthermore, tree architectural complexity was positively related to the growth performance of the trees (p < 0.001). We conclude that the use of 3D data from MLS in combination with geometrical analysis, including fractal analysis, is a promising tool to investigate tree architecture.}, language = {en} } @article{LawitschkaBrunmairBaueretal.2021, author = {Lawitschka, Anita and Brunmair, Matthias and Bauer, Dorothea and Zubarovskaya, Natalia and Felder-Puig, Rosemarie and Strahm, Brigitte and Bader, Peter and Strauss, Gabriele and Albert, Michael and Luettichau, Irene von and Greinix, Hildegard and Wolff, Daniel and Peters, Christina}, title = {Psychometric properties of the Activities Scale for Kids-performance after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in adolescents and children}, series = {Wiener klinische Wochenschrift}, volume = {133}, journal = {Wiener klinische Wochenschrift}, number = {1-2}, doi = {10.1007/s00508-020-01641-w}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-281100}, pages = {41-51}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Background The psychometric properties of an instrument, the Activity Scale for Kids-performance (ASKp), were assessed which was proposed to capture physical functioning after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Additionally, this multicenter observational prospective study investigated the influence of clinical correlates focusing on chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD). Methods Patient-reported ASKp, clinician-reported Karnofsky/Lansky status (KPS/PSS), patient characteristics and cGVHD details were assessed of 55 patients with a median age of 12 years at baseline after day +100 post-HSCT and every 3 months during the next 18 months. The psychometric properties were evaluated and ASKp and KPS/PSS status was compared using ANOVAS and multiple regression models. Results The German version of the ASKp showed good psychometric properties except for ceiling effects. Discrimination ability of the ASKp was good regarding the need for devices but failed to predict cGVHD patients. Both the ASKp and the KPS/PSS were associated with patients after adoptive cell therapy being in need for devices, suffering from overlap cGVHD and from steroid side effects but not with patients' age and gender. In contrast to the KPS/PSS the ASKp only showed significant differences after merging moderate and severe cGHVD patients when comparing them to No-cGVHD (F = 4.050; p = 0.049), being outperformed by the KPS/PSS (F = 20.082; p < 0.001). Conclusion The ASKp showed no clear advantages compared to KPS/PSS even though economical and patients' effort was higher. Further application range may be limited through ceiling effects. Both should be taken into consideration. Therefore, the results may not support the usage of ASKp after HSCT and rather suggest KPS/PSS, both patient and clinician reported.}, language = {en} } @article{GieselKratochwilSchlittenhardtetal.2021, author = {Giesel, Frederik L. and Kratochwil, Clemens and Schlittenhardt, Joel and Dendl, Katharina and Eiber, Matthias and Staudinger, Fabian and Kessler, Lukas and Fendler, Wolfgang P. and Lindner, Thomas and Koerber, Stefan A. and Cardinale, Jens and Sennung, David and Roehrich, Manuel and Debus, Juergen and Sathekge, Mike and Haberkorn, Uwe and Calais, Jeremie and Serfling, Sebastian and Buck, Andreas L.}, title = {Head-to-head intra-individual comparison of biodistribution and tumor uptake of \(^{68}\)Ga-FAPI and \(^{18}\)F-FDG PET/CT in cancer patients}, series = {European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging}, volume = {48}, journal = {European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging}, number = {13}, issn = {1619-7070}, doi = {10.1007/s00259-021-05307-1}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-307252}, pages = {4377-4385}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Purpose FAPI ligands (fibroblast activation protein inhibitor), a novel class of radiotracers for PET/CT imaging, demonstrated in previous studies rapid and high tumor uptake. The purpose of this study is the head-to-head intra-individual comparison of \(^{68}\)Ga-FAPI versus standard-of-care \(^{18}\)F-FDG in PET/CT in organ biodistribution and tumor uptake in patients with various cancers. Material and Methods This international retrospective multicenter analysis included PET/CT data from 71 patients from 6 centers who underwent both \(^{68}\)Ga-FAPI and \(^{18}\)F-FDG PET/CT within a median time interval of 10 days (range 1-89 days). Volumes of interest (VOIs) were manually drawn in normal organs and tumor lesions to quantify tracer uptake by SUVmax and SUVmean. Furthermore, tumor-to-background ratios (TBR) were generated (SUVmax tumor/ SUVmax organ). Results A total of 71 patients were studied of, which 28 were female and 43 male (median age 60). In 41 of 71 patients, the primary tumor was present. Forty-three of 71 patients exhibited 162 metastatic lesions. \(^{68}\)Ga-FAPI uptake in primary tumors and metastases was comparable to 18F-FDG in most cases. The SUVmax was significantly lower for \(^{68}\)Ga-FAPI than \(^{18}\)F-FDG in background tissues such as the brain, oral mucosa, myocardium, blood pool, liver, pancreas, and colon. Thus, \(^{68}\)Ga-FAPI TBRs were significantly higher than 18F-FDG TBRs in some sites, including liver and bone metastases. Conclusion Quantitative tumor uptake is comparable between \(^{68}\)Ga-FAPI and \(^{18}\)F-FDG, but lower background uptake in most normal organs results in equal or higher TBRs for \(^{68}\)Ga-FAPI. Thus, \(^{68}\)Ga-FAPI PET/CT may yield improved diagnostic information in various cancers and especially in tumor locations with high physiological \(^{18}\)F-FDG uptake.}, language = {en} } @article{FeketeEgbertsPreissleretal.2021, author = {Fekete, Stefanie and Egberts, K. and Preissler, T. and Wewetzer, C. and Mehler-Wex, C. and Romanos, M. and Gerlach, M.}, title = {Estimation of a preliminary therapeutic reference range for children and adolescents with tic disorders treated with tiapride}, series = {European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology}, volume = {77}, journal = {European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology}, number = {2}, doi = {10.1007/s00228-020-03000-0}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-279893}, pages = {163-170}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Purpose Tiapride is commonly used in Europe for the treatment of tics. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between dose and serum concentrations of tiapride and potential influential pharmacokinetic factors in children and adolescents. In addition, a preliminary therapeutic reference range for children and adolescents with tics treated with tiapride was calculated. Methods Children and adolescents treated with tiapride at three university hospitals and two departments of child and adolescents psychiatry in Germany and Austria were included in the study. Patient characteristics, doses, serum concentrations, and therapeutic outcome were assessed during clinical routine care using standardised measures. Results In the 49 paediatric patients (83.7\% male, mean age = 12.5 years), a positive correlation was found between tiapride dose (median 6.9 mg/kg, range 0.97-19.35) and serum concentration with marked inter-individual variability. The variation in dose explained 57\% of the inter-patient variability in tiapride serum concentrations; age, gender, and concomitant medication did not contribute to the variability. The symptoms improved in 83.3\% of the patients. 27.1\% of the patients had mild or moderate ADRs. No patient suffered from severe ADRs. Conclusions This study shows that tiapride treatment was effective and safe in most patients with tics. Compared with the therapeutic concentration range established for adults with Chorea Huntington, our data hinted at a lower lower limit (560 ng/ml) and similar upper limit (2000 ng/ml).}, language = {en} } @article{GuthHueserRothetal.2021, author = {Guth, Sabine and H{\"u}ser, Stephanie and Roth, Angelika and Degen, Gisela and Diel, Patrick and Edlund, Karolina and Eisenbrand, Gerhard and Engel, Karl-Heinz and Epe, Bernd and Grune, Tilman and Heinz, Volker and Henle, Thomas and Humpf, Hans-Ulrich and J{\"a}ger, Henry and Joost, Hans-Georg and Kulling, Sabine E. and Lampen, Alfonso and Mally, Angela and Marchan, Rosemarie and Marko, Doris and M{\"u}hle, Eva and Nitsche, Michael A. and R{\"o}hrdanz, Elke and Stadler, Richard and van Thriel, Christoph and Vieths, Stefan and Vogel, Rudi F. and Wascher, Edmund and Watzl, Carsten and N{\"o}thlings, Ute and Hengstler, Jan G.}, title = {Contribution to the ongoing discussion on fluoride toxicity}, series = {Archives of Toxicology}, volume = {95}, journal = {Archives of Toxicology}, number = {7}, issn = {0340-5761}, doi = {10.1007/s00204-021-03072-6}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-307161}, pages = {2571-2587}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Since the addition of fluoride to drinking water in the 1940s, there have been frequent and sometimes heated discussions regarding its benefits and risks. In a recently published review, we addressed the question if current exposure levels in Europe represent a risk to human health. This review was discussed in an editorial asking why we did not calculate benchmark doses (BMD) of fluoride neurotoxicity for humans. Here, we address the question, why it is problematic to calculate BMDs based on the currently available data. Briefly, the conclusions of the available studies are not homogeneous, reporting negative as well as positive results; moreover, the positive studies lack control of confounding factors such as the influence of well-known neurotoxicants. We also discuss the limitations of several further epidemiological studies that did not meet the inclusion criteria of our review. Finally, it is important to not only focus on epidemiological studies. Rather, risk analysis should consider all available data, including epidemiological, animal, as well as in vitro studies. Despite remaining uncertainties, the totality of evidence does not support the notion that fluoride should be considered a human developmental neurotoxicant at current exposure levels in European countries.}, language = {en} } @article{MorisChristmannWirtgenetal.2021, author = {Moris, Victoria C. and Christmann, Katharina and Wirtgen, Aline and Belokobylskij, Sergey A. and Berg, Alexander and Liebig, Wolf-Harald and Soon, Villu and Baur, Hannes and Schmitt, Thomas and Niehuis, Oliver}, title = {Cuticular hydrocarbons on old museum specimens of the spiny mason wasp, Odynerus spinipes (Hymenoptera: Vespidae: Eumeninae), shed light on the distribution and on regional frequencies of distinct chemotypes}, series = {Chemoecology}, volume = {31}, journal = {Chemoecology}, number = {5}, issn = {0937-7409}, doi = {10.1007/s00049-021-00350-8}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-306999}, pages = {311-322}, year = {2021}, abstract = {The mason wasp Odynerus spinipes shows an exceptional case of intrasexual cuticular hydrocarbon (CHC) profile dimorphism. Females of this species display one of two CHC profiles (chemotypes) that differ qualitatively and quantitatively from each other. The ratio of the two chemotypes was previously shown to be close to 1:1 at three sites in Southern Germany, which might not be representative given the Palearctic distribution of the species. To infer the frequency of the two chemotypes across the entire distributional range of the species, we analyzed with GC-MS the CHC profile of 1042 dry-mounted specimens stored in private and museum collections. We complemented our sampling by including 324 samples collected and preserved specifically for studying their CHCs. We were capable of reliably identifying the chemotypes in 91\% of dry-mounted samples, some of which collected almost 200 years ago. We found both chemotypes to occur in the Far East, the presumed glacial refuge of the species, and their frequency to differ considerably between sites and geographic regions. The geographic structure in the chemotype frequencies could be the result of differential selection regimes and/or different dispersal routes during the colonization of the Western Palearctic. The presented data pave the route for disentangling these factors by providing information where to geographically sample O. spinipes for population genetic analyses. They also form the much-needed basis for future studies aiming to understand the evolutionary and geographic origin as well as the genetics of the astounding CHC profile dimorphism that O. spinipes females exhibit.}, language = {en} } @article{PinkawaAebersoldBoehmeretal.2021, author = {Pinkawa, Michael and Aebersold, Daniel M. and B{\"o}hmer, Dirk and Flentje, Michael and Ghadjar, Pirus and Schmidt-Hegemann, Nina-Sophie and H{\"o}cht, Stefan and H{\"o}lscher, Tobias and M{\"u}ller, Arndt-Christian and Niehoff, Peter and Sedlmayer, Felix and Wolf, Frank and Zamboglou, Constantinos and Zips, Daniel and Wiegel, Thomas}, title = {Radiotherapy in nodal oligorecurrent prostate cancer}, series = {Strahlentherapie und Onkologie}, volume = {197}, journal = {Strahlentherapie und Onkologie}, number = {7}, issn = {0179-7158}, doi = {10.1007/s00066-021-01778-1}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-307763}, pages = {575-580}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Objective The current article encompasses a literature review and recommendations for radiotherapy in nodal oligorecurrent prostate cancer. Materials and methods A literature review focused on studies comparing metastasis-directed stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR) vs. external elective nodal radiotherapy (ENRT) and studies analyzing recurrence patterns after local nodal treatment was performed. The DEGRO Prostate Cancer Expert Panel discussed the results and developed treatment recommendations. Results Metastasis-directed radiotherapy results in high local control (often > 90\% within a follow-up of 1-2 years) and can be used to improve progression-free survival or defer androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) according to prospective randomized phase II data. Distant progression after involved-node SABR only occurs within a few months in the majority of patients. ENRT improves metastases-free survival rates with increased toxicity in comparison to SABR according to retrospective comparative studies. The majority of nodal recurrences after initial local treatment of pelvic nodal metastasis are detected within the true pelvis and common iliac vessels. Conclusion ENRT with or without a boost should be preferred to SABR in pelvic nodal recurrences. In oligometastatic prostate cancer with distant (extrapelvic) nodal recurrences, SABR alone can be performed in selected cases. Application of additional systemic treatments should be based on current guidelines, with ADT as first-line treatment for hormone-sensitive prostate cancer. Only in carefully selected patients can radiotherapy be initially used without additional ADT outside of the current standard recommendations. Results of (randomized) prospective studies are needed for definitive recommendations.}, language = {en} } @article{BarileBerryBlaauboeretal.2021, author = {Barile, Frank A. and Berry, Colin and Blaauboer, Bas and Boobis, Alan and Bolt, Herrmann M. and Borgert, Christopher and Dekant, Wolfgang and Dietrich, Daniel and Domingo, Jose L. and Galli, Corrado L. and Gori, Gio Batta and Greim, Helmut and Hengstler, Jan G. and Heslop-Harrison, Pat and Kacew, Sam and Marquardt, Hans and Mally, Angela and Pelkonen, Olavi and Savolainen, Kai and Testai, Emanuela and Tsatsakis, Aristides and Vermeulen, Nico P.}, title = {The EU chemicals strategy for sustainability: in support of the BfR position}, series = {Archives of Toxicology}, volume = {95}, journal = {Archives of Toxicology}, number = {9}, issn = {0340-5761}, doi = {10.1007/s00204-021-03125-w}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-307154}, pages = {3133-3136}, year = {2021}, abstract = {The EU chemicals strategy for sustainability (CSS) asserts that both human health and the environment are presently threatened and that further regulation is necessary. In a recent Guest Editorial, members of the German competent authority for risk assessment, the BfR, raised concerns about the scientific justification for this strategy. The complexity and interdependence of the networks of regulation of chemical substances have ensured that public health and wellbeing in the EU have continuously improved. A continuous process of improvement in consumer protection is clearly desirable but any initiative directed towards this objective must be based on scientific knowledge. It must not confound risk with other factors in determining policy. This conclusion is fully supported in the present Commentary including the request to improve both, data collection and the time-consuming and bureaucratic procedures that delay the publication of regulations.}, language = {en} } @article{DornHerzberg2021, author = {Dorn, Franziska and Herzberg, Moriz}, title = {Response to Letter to the Editor "Keeping Late Thrombectomy Imaging Protocols Simple to Avoid Analysis Paralysis"}, series = {Clinical Neuroradiology}, volume = {31}, journal = {Clinical Neuroradiology}, number = {3}, issn = {1869-1439}, doi = {10.1007/s00062-021-01091-5}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-307023}, pages = {813-814}, year = {2021}, language = {en} } @article{PennigHoyerKrauskopfetal.2021, author = {Pennig, Lenhard and Hoyer, Ulrike Cornelia Isabel and Krauskopf, Alexandra and Shahzad, Rahil and J{\"u}nger, Stephanie T. and Thiele, Frank and Laukamp, Kai Roman and Grunz, Jan-Peter and Perkuhn, Michael and Schlamann, Marc and Kabbasch, Christoph and Borggrefe, Jan and Goertz, Lukas}, title = {Deep learning assistance increases the detection sensitivity of radiologists for secondary intracranial aneurysms in subarachnoid hemorrhage}, series = {Neuroradiology}, volume = {63}, journal = {Neuroradiology}, number = {12}, issn = {0028-3940}, doi = {10.1007/s00234-021-02697-9}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-308117}, pages = {1985-1994}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Purpose To evaluate whether a deep learning model (DLM) could increase the detection sensitivity of radiologists for intracranial aneurysms on CT angiography (CTA) in aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH). Methods Three different DLMs were trained on CTA datasets of 68 aSAH patients with 79 aneurysms with their outputs being combined applying ensemble learning (DLM-Ens). The DLM-Ens was evaluated on an independent test set of 104 aSAH patients with 126 aneuryms (mean volume 129.2 ± 185.4 mm3, 13.0\% at the posterior circulation), which were determined by two radiologists and one neurosurgeon in consensus using CTA and digital subtraction angiography scans. CTA scans of the test set were then presented to three blinded radiologists (reader 1: 13, reader 2: 4, and reader 3: 3 years of experience in diagnostic neuroradiology), who assessed them individually for aneurysms. Detection sensitivities for aneurysms of the readers with and without the assistance of the DLM were compared. Results In the test set, the detection sensitivity of the DLM-Ens (85.7\%) was comparable to the radiologists (reader 1: 91.2\%, reader 2: 86.5\%, and reader 3: 86.5\%; Fleiss κ of 0.502). DLM-assistance significantly increased the detection sensitivity (reader 1: 97.6\%, reader 2: 97.6\%,and reader 3: 96.0\%; overall P=.024; Fleiss κ of 0.878), especially for secondary aneurysms (88.2\% of the additional aneurysms provided by the DLM). Conclusion Deep learning significantly improved the detection sensitivity of radiologists for aneurysms in aSAH, especially for secondary aneurysms. It therefore represents a valuable adjunct for physicians to establish an accurate diagnosis in order to optimize patient treatment.}, language = {en} } @article{PilgramEberweinWilleetal.2021, author = {Pilgram, Lisa and Eberwein, Lukas and Wille, Kai and Koehler, Felix C. and Stecher, Melanie and Rieg, Siegbert and Kielstein, Jan T. and Jakob, Carolin E. M. and R{\"u}thrich, Maria and Burst, Volker and Prasser, Fabian and Borgmann, Stefan and M{\"u}ller, Roman-Ulrich and Lanznaster, Julia and Isberner, Nora and Tometten, Lukas and Dolff, Sebastian}, title = {Clinical course and predictive risk factors for fatal outcome of SARS-CoV-2 infection in patients with chronic kidney disease}, series = {Infection}, volume = {49}, journal = {Infection}, number = {4}, organization = {LEOSS Study group}, issn = {0300-8126}, doi = {10.1007/s15010-021-01597-7}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-308957}, pages = {725-737}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Purpose The ongoing pandemic caused by the novel severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has stressed health systems worldwide. Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) seem to be more prone to a severe course of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) due to comorbidities and an altered immune system. The study's aim was to identify factors predicting mortality among SARS-CoV-2-infected patients with CKD. Methods We analyzed 2817 SARS-CoV-2-infected patients enrolled in the Lean European Open Survey on SARS-CoV-2-infected patients and identified 426 patients with pre-existing CKD. Group comparisons were performed via Chi-squared test. Using univariate and multivariable logistic regression, predictive factors for mortality were identified. Results Comparative analyses to patients without CKD revealed a higher mortality (140/426, 32.9\% versus 354/2391, 14.8\%). Higher age could be confirmed as a demographic predictor for mortality in CKD patients (> 85 years compared to 15-65 years, adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 6.49, 95\% CI 1.27-33.20, p = 0.025). We further identified markedly elevated lactate dehydrogenase (> 2 × upper limit of normal, aOR 23.21, 95\% CI 3.66-147.11, p < 0.001), thrombocytopenia (< 120,000/µl, aOR 11.66, 95\% CI 2.49-54.70, p = 0.002), anemia (Hb < 10 g/dl, aOR 3.21, 95\% CI 1.17-8.82, p = 0.024), and C-reactive protein (≥ 30 mg/l, aOR 3.44, 95\% CI 1.13-10.45, p = 0.029) as predictors, while renal replacement therapy was not related to mortality (aOR 1.15, 95\% CI 0.68-1.93, p = 0.611). Conclusion The identified predictors include routinely measured and universally available parameters. Their assessment might facilitate risk stratification in this highly vulnerable cohort as early as at initial medical evaluation for SARS-CoV-2.}, language = {en} } @article{HornKristLiebetal.2021, author = {Horn, A. and Krist, L. and Lieb, W. and Montellano, F. A. and Kohls, M. and Haas, K. and Gelbrich, G. and Bolay-Gehrig, S. J. and Morbach, C. and Reese, J. P. and St{\"o}rk, S. and Fricke, J. and Zoller, T. and Schmidt, S. and Triller, P. and Kretzler, L. and R{\"o}nnefarth, M. and Von Kalle, C. and Willich, S. N. and Kurth, F. and Steinbeis, F. and Witzenrath, M. and Bahmer, T. and Hermes, A. and Krawczak, M. and Reinke, L. and Maetzler, C. and Franzenburg, J. and Enderle, J. and Flinspach, A. and Vehreschild, J. and Schons, M. and Illig, T. and Anton, G. and Ungeth{\"u}m, K. and Finkenberg, B. C. and Gehrig, M. T. and Savaskan, N. and Heuschmann, P. U. and Keil, T. and Schreiber, S.}, title = {Long-term health sequelae and quality of life at least 6 months after infection with SARS-CoV-2: design and rationale of the COVIDOM-study as part of the NAPKON population-based cohort platform (POP)}, series = {Infection}, volume = {49}, journal = {Infection}, number = {6}, issn = {0300-8126}, doi = {10.1007/s15010-021-01707-5}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-308960}, pages = {1277-1287}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Purpose Over the course of COVID-19 pandemic, evidence has accumulated that SARS-CoV-2 infections may affect multiple organs and have serious clinical sequelae, but on-site clinical examinations with non-hospitalized samples are rare. We, therefore, aimed to systematically assess the long-term health status of samples of hospitalized and non-hospitalized SARS-CoV-2 infected individuals from three regions in Germany. Methods The present paper describes the COVIDOM-study within the population-based cohort platform (POP) which has been established under the auspices of the NAPKON infrastructure (German National Pandemic Cohort Network) of the national Network University Medicine (NUM). Comprehensive health assessments among SARS-CoV-2 infected individuals are conducted at least 6 months after the acute infection at the study sites Kiel, W{\"u}rzburg and Berlin. Potential participants were identified and contacted via the local public health authorities, irrespective of the severity of the initial infection. A harmonized examination protocol has been implemented, consisting of detailed assessments of medical history, physical examinations, and the collection of multiple biosamples (e.g., serum, plasma, saliva, urine) for future analyses. In addition, patient-reported perception of the impact of local pandemic-related measures and infection on quality-of-life are obtained. Results As of July 2021, in total 6813 individuals infected in 2020 have been invited into the COVIDOM-study. Of these, about 36\% wished to participate and 1295 have already been examined at least once. Conclusion NAPKON-POP COVIDOM-study complements other Long COVID studies assessing the long-term consequences of an infection with SARS-CoV-2 by providing detailed health data of population-based samples, including individuals with various degrees of disease severity. Trial registration Registered at the German registry for clinical studies (DRKS00023742).}, language = {en} } @article{DichtlKocForsteretal.2021, author = {Dichtl, Karl and Koc, {\"O}zlem and Forster, Johannes and Scharf, Christina and Suerbaum, Sebastian and Andrassy, Joachim and Wagener, Johannes and Schroeder, Ines}, title = {An invasive infection caused by the thermophilic mold Talaromyces thermophilus}, series = {Infection}, volume = {49}, journal = {Infection}, number = {6}, issn = {0300-8126}, doi = {10.1007/s15010-021-01648-z}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-308970}, pages = {1347-1353}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Background Increasing incidence of invasive infections caused by rare fungi was observed over the recent years. Case Here, we describe the first reported case of an infection caused by the thermophilic mold Talaromyces thermophilus. Cultivation and, hence, identification of this fastidious organism is challenging since standard incubation conditions are not sufficient. Retrospective analysis of patient samples and in vitro experiments demonstrated that testing for fungal antigens, i.e., the cell wall components galactomannan and β-1,3-D-glucan, is a promising tool.}, language = {en} } @article{JockelSchneiderSchlagenhaufPetsosetal.2021, author = {Jockel-Schneider, Yvonne and Schlagenhauf, Ulrich and Petsos, Hari and R{\"u}ttermann, Stefan and Schmidt, Jana and Ziebolz, Dirk and Wehner, Christian and Laky, Markus and Rott, Thea and Noack, Michael and Noack, Barbara and Lorenz, Katrin}, title = {Impact of 0.1\% octenidine mouthwash on plaque re-growth in healthy adults: a multi-center phase 3 randomized clinical trial}, series = {Clinical Oral Investigations}, volume = {25}, journal = {Clinical Oral Investigations}, number = {7}, issn = {1432-6981}, doi = {10.1007/s00784-021-03781-3}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-307629}, pages = {4681-4689}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Objectives To investigate plaque inhibition of 0.1\% octenidine mouthwash (OCT) vs. placebo over 5 days in the absence of mechanical plaque control. Materials and methods For this randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, parallel group, multi-center phase 3 study, 201 healthy adults were recruited. After baseline recording of plaque index (PI) and gingival index (GI), collection of salivary samples, and dental prophylaxis, subjects were randomly assigned to OCT or placebo mouthwash in a 3:1 ratio. Rinsing was performed twice daily for 30 s. Colony forming units in saliva were determined before and after the first rinse. At day 5, PI, GI, and tooth discoloration index (DI) were assessed. Non-parametric van Elteren tests were applied with a significance level of p < 0.05. Results Treatment with OCT inhibited plaque formation more than treatment with placebo (PI: 0.36 vs. 1.29; p < 0.0001). OCT reduced GI (0.04 vs. placebo 0.00; p = 0.003) and salivary bacterial counts (2.73 vs. placebo 0.24 lgCFU/ml; p < 0.0001). Tooth discoloration was slightly higher under OCT (DI: 0.25 vs. placebo 0.00; p = 0.0011). Mild tongue staining and dysgeusia occurred. Conclusions OCT 0.1\% mouthwash inhibits plaque formation over 5 days. It therefore can be recommended when regular oral hygiene is temporarily compromised. Clinical relevance When individual plaque control is compromised, rinsing with octenidine mouthwash is recommended to maintain healthy oral conditions while side effects are limited.}, language = {en} } @article{RighessoTerekhovGoetzetal.2021, author = {Righesso, L. A. R. and Terekhov, M. and G{\"o}tz, H. and Ackermann, M. and Emrich, T. and Schreiber, L. M. and M{\"u}ller, W. E. G. and Jung, J. and Rojas, J. P. and Al-Nawas, B.}, title = {Dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging for monitoring neovascularization during bone regeneration — a randomized in vivo study in rabbits}, series = {Clinical Oral Investigations}, volume = {25}, journal = {Clinical Oral Investigations}, number = {10}, issn = {1432-6981}, doi = {10.1007/s00784-021-03889-6}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-307614}, pages = {5843-5854}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Objectives Micro-computed tomography (μ-CT) and histology, the current gold standard methods for assessing the formation of new bone and blood vessels, are invasive and/or destructive. With that in mind, a more conservative tool, dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI), was tested for its accuracy and reproducibility in monitoring neovascularization during bone regeneration. Additionally, the suitability of blood perfusion as a surrogate of the efficacy of osteoplastic materials was evaluated. Materials and methods Sixteen rabbits were used and equally divided into four groups, according to the time of euthanasia (2, 3, 4, and 6 weeks after surgery). The animals were submitted to two 8-mm craniotomies that were filled with blood or autogenous bone. Neovascularization was assessed in vivo through DCE-MRI, and bone regeneration, ex vivo, through μ-CT and histology. Results The defects could be consistently identified, and their blood perfusion measured through DCE-MRI, there being statistically significant differences within the blood clot group between 3 and 6 weeks (p = 0.029), and between the former and autogenous bone at six weeks (p = 0.017). Nonetheless, no significant correlations between DCE-MRI findings on neovascularization and μ-CT (r =-0.101, 95\% CI [-0.445; 0.268]) or histology (r = 0.305, 95\% CI [-0.133; 0.644]) findings on bone regeneration were observed. Conclusions These results support the hypothesis that DCE-MRI can be used to monitor neovascularization but contradict the premise that it could predict bone regeneration as well.}, language = {en} } @article{LenzPahlHaucketal.2021, author = {Lenz, Dominic and Pahl, Jens and Hauck, Fabian and Alameer, Seham and Balasubramanian, Meena and Baric, Ivo and Boy, Nikolas and Church, Joseph A. and Crushell, Ellen and Dick, Anke and Distelmaier, Felix and Gujar, Jidnyasa and Indolfi, Giuseppe and Lurz, Eberhard and Peters, Bianca and Schwerd, Tobias and Serranti, Daniele and K{\"o}lker, Stefan and Klein, Christoph and Hoffmann, Georg F. and Prokisch, Holger and Greil, Johann and Cerwenka, Adelheid and Giese, Thomas and Staufner, Christian}, title = {NBAS Variants Are Associated with Quantitative and Qualitative NK and B Cell Deficiency}, series = {Journal of Clinical Immunology}, volume = {41}, journal = {Journal of Clinical Immunology}, number = {8}, issn = {0271-9142}, doi = {10.1007/s10875-021-01110-7}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-308362}, pages = {1781-1793}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Purpose Biallelic pathogenic NBAS variants manifest as a multisystem disorder with heterogeneous clinical phenotypes such as recurrent acute liver failure, growth retardation, and susceptibility to infections. This study explores how NBAS-associated disease affects cells of the innate and adaptive immune system. Methods Clinical and laboratory parameters were combined with functional multi-parametric immunophenotyping methods in fifteen NBAS-deficient patients to discover possible alterations in their immune system. Results Our study revealed reduced absolute numbers of mature CD56dim natural killer (NK) cells. Notably, the residual NK cell population in NBAS-deficient patients exerted a lower potential for activation and degranulation in response to K562 target cells, suggesting an NK cell-intrinsic role for NBAS in the release of cytotoxic granules. NBAS-deficient NK cell activation and degranulation was normalized upon pre-activation by IL-2 in vitro, suggesting that functional impairment was reversible. In addition, we observed a reduced number of na{\"i}ve B cells in the peripheral blood associated with hypogammaglobulinemia. Conclusion In summary, we demonstrate that pathogenic biallelic variants in NBAS are associated with dysfunctional NK cells as well as impaired adaptive humoral immunity.}, language = {en} } @article{AdolphFleischhackGaabetal.2021, author = {Adolph, Jonas E. and Fleischhack, Gudrun and Gaab, Christine and Mikasch, Ruth and Mynarek, Martin and Rutkowski, Stefan and Sch{\"u}ller, Ulrich and Pfister, Stefan M. and Pajtler, Kristian W. and Milde, Till and Witt, Olaf and Bison, Brigitte and Warmuth-Metz, Monika and Kortmann, Rolf-Dieter and Dietzsch, Stefan and Pietsch, Torsten and Timmermann, Beate and Tippelt, Stephan}, title = {Systemic chemotherapy of pediatric recurrent ependymomas: results from the German HIT-REZ studies}, series = {Journal of Neuro-Oncology}, volume = {155}, journal = {Journal of Neuro-Oncology}, number = {2}, organization = {German GPOH HIT-Network}, issn = {0167-594X}, doi = {10.1007/s11060-021-03867-8}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-308302}, pages = {193-202}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Purpose Survival in recurrent ependymoma (EPN) depends mainly on the extent of resection achieved. When complete resection is not feasible, chemotherapy is often used to extend progression-free and overall survival. However, no consistent effect of chemotherapy on survival has been found in patients with recurrent EPN. Methods Systemic chemotherapeutic treatment of 138 patients enrolled in the German HIT-REZ-studies was analyzed. Survival depending on the use of chemotherapy, disease-stabilization rates (RR), duration of response (DOR) and time to progression (TTP) were estimated. Results Median age at first recurrence was 7.6 years (IQR: 4.0-13.6). At first recurrence, median PFS and OS were 15.3 (CI 13.3-20.0) and 36.9 months (CI 29.7-53.4), respectively. The Hazard Ratio for the use of chemotherapy in local recurrences in a time-dependent Cox-regression analysis was 0.99 (CI 0.74-1.33). Evaluable responses for 140 applied chemotherapies were analyzed, of which sirolimus showed the best RR (50\%) and longest median TTP [11.51 (CI 3.98; 14.0) months] in nine patients, with the strongest impact found when sirolimus was used as a monotherapy. Seven patients with progression-free survival > 12 months after subtotal/no-resection facilitated by chemotherapy were found. No definitive survival advantage for any drug in a specific molecularly defined EPN type was found. Conclusion No survival advantage for the general use of chemotherapy in recurrent EPN was found. In cases with incomplete resection, chemotherapy was able to extend survival in individual cases. Sirolimus showed the best RR, DOR and TTP out of all drugs analyzed and may warrant further investigation.}, language = {en} } @article{LoosKraussLyonsetal.2021, author = {Loos, Jacqueline and Krauss, Jochen and Lyons, Ashley and F{\"o}st, Stephanie and Ohlendorf, Constanze and Racky, Severin and R{\"o}der, Marina and Hudel, Lennart and Herfert, Volker and Tscharntke, Teja}, title = {Local and landscape responses of biodiversity in calcareous grasslands}, series = {Biodiversity and Conservation}, volume = {30}, journal = {Biodiversity and Conservation}, number = {8-9}, issn = {0960-3115}, doi = {10.1007/s10531-021-02201-y}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-308595}, pages = {2415-2432}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Across Europe, calcareous grasslands become increasingly fragmented and their quality deteriorates through abandonment and land use intensification, both affecting biodiversity. Here, we investigated local and landscape effects on diversity patterns of several taxonomic groups in a landscape of highly fragmented calcareous grassland remnants. We surveyed 31 grassland fragments near G{\"o}ttingen, Germany, in spring and summer 2017 for vascular plants, butterflies and birds, with sampling effort adapted to fragment area. Through regression modelling, we tested relationships between species richness and fragment size (from 314 to 51,395 m\(^2\)), successional stage, habitat connectivity and the per cent cover of arable land in the landscape at several radii. We detected 283 plant species, 53 butterfly species and 70 bird species. Of these, 59 plant species, 19 butterfly species and 9 bird species were grassland specialists. Larger fragments supported twice the species richness of plants than small ones, and hosted more species of butterflies, but not of birds. Larger grassland fragments contained more grassland specialist plants, but not butterfly or bird specialists. Increasing amounts of arable land in the landscape from 20 to 90\% was related to the loss of a third of species of plants, and less so, of butterflies, but not of birds. Per cent cover of arable land negatively correlated to richness of grassland specialist plants and butterflies, but positively to grassland specialist birds. We found no effect by successional stages and habitat connectivity. Our multi-taxa approach highlights the need for conservation management at the local scale, complemented by measures at the landscape scale.}, language = {en} } @article{KanzowLechner2021, author = {Kanzow, Christian and Lechner, Theresa}, title = {Globalized inexact proximal Newton-type methods for nonconvex composite functions}, series = {Computational Optimization and Applications}, volume = {78}, journal = {Computational Optimization and Applications}, number = {2}, doi = {10.1007/s10589-020-00243-6}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-283715}, pages = {377-410}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Optimization problems with composite functions consist of an objective function which is the sum of a smooth and a (convex) nonsmooth term. This particular structure is exploited by the class of proximal gradient methods and some of their generalizations like proximal Newton and quasi-Newton methods. The current literature on these classes of methods almost exclusively considers the case where also the smooth term is convex. Here we present a globalized proximal Newton-type method which allows the smooth term to be nonconvex. The method is shown to have nice global and local convergence properties, and some numerical results indicate that this method is very promising also from a practical point of view.}, language = {en} } @article{GlinzŠleichrtKytyřetal.2021, author = {Glinz, Jonathan and Šleichrt, Jan and Kyt{\´y}ř, Daniel and Ayalur-Karunakaran, Santhosh and Zabler, Simon and Kastner, Johann and Senck, Sascha}, title = {Phase-contrast and dark-field imaging for the inspection of resin-rich areas and fiber orientation in non-crimp vacuum infusion carbon-fiber-reinforced polymers}, series = {Journal of Materials Science}, volume = {56}, journal = {Journal of Materials Science}, number = {16}, doi = {10.1007/s10853-021-05907-0}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-351581}, pages = {9712-9727}, year = {2021}, abstract = {In this work, we present a multimodal approach to three-dimensionally quantify and visualize fiber orientation and resin-rich areas in carbon-fiber-reinforced polymers manufactured by vacuum infusion. Three complementary image modalities were acquired by Talbot-Lau grating interferometer (TLGI) X-ray microcomputed tomography (XCT). Compared to absorption contrast (AC), TLGI-XCT provides enhanced contrast between polymer matrix and carbon fibers at lower spatial resolutions in the form of differential phase contrast (DPC) and dark-field contrast (DFC). Consequently, relatively thin layers of resin, effectively indiscernible from image noise in AC data, are distinguishable. In addition to the assessment of fiber orientation, the combination of DPC and DFC facilitates the quantification of resin-rich areas, e.g., in gaps between fiber layers or at binder yarn collimation sites. We found that resin-rich areas between fiber layers are predominantly developed in regions characterized by a pronounced curvature. In contrast, in-layer resin-rich areas are mainly caused by the collimation of fibers by binder yarn. Furthermore, void volume around two adjacent 90°-oriented fiber layers is increased by roughly 20\% compared to a random distribution over the whole specimen.}, language = {en} } @article{DenkSchmidtSchurretal.2021, author = {Denk, S. and Schmidt, S. and Schurr, Y. and Schwarz, G. and Schote, F. and Diefenbacher, M. and Armendariz, C. and Dejure, F. and Eilers, M. and Wiegering, Armin}, title = {CIP2A regulates MYC translation (via its 5′UTR) in colorectal cancer}, series = {International Journal of Colorectal Disease}, volume = {36}, journal = {International Journal of Colorectal Disease}, number = {5}, doi = {10.1007/s00384-020-03772-y}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-280092}, pages = {911-918}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Background Deregulated expression of MYC is a driver of colorectal carcinogenesis, suggesting that decreasing MYC expression may have significant therapeutic value. CIP2A is an oncogenic factor that regulates MYC expression. CIP2A is overexpressed in colorectal cancer (CRC), and its expression levels are an independent marker for long-term outcome of CRC. Previous studies suggested that CIP2A controls MYC protein expression on a post-transcriptional level. Methods To determine the mechanism by which CIP2A regulates MYC in CRC, we dissected MYC translation and stability dependent on CIP2A in CRC cell lines. Results Knockdown of CIP2A reduced MYC protein levels without influencing MYC stability in CRC cell lines. Interfering with proteasomal degradation of MYC by usage of FBXW7-deficient cells or treatment with the proteasome inhibitor MG132 did not rescue the effect of CIP2A depletion on MYC protein levels. Whereas CIP2A knockdown had marginal influence on global protein synthesis, we could demonstrate that, by using different reporter constructs and cells expressing MYC mRNA with or without flanking UTR, CIP2A regulates MYC translation. This interaction is mainly conducted by the MYC 5′UTR. Conclusions Thus, instead of targeting MYC protein stability as reported for other tissue types before, CIP2A specifically regulates MYC mRNA translation in CRC but has only slight effects on global mRNA translation. In conclusion, we propose as novel mechanism that CIP2A regulates MYC on a translational level rather than affecting MYC protein stability in CRC.}, language = {en} } @article{ReddersenGuellmarTonndorfMartinietal.2021, author = {Reddersen, Kirsten and G{\"u}llmar, Andr{\´e} and Tonndorf-Martini, Silke and Sigusch, Bernd W. and Ewald, Andrea and Dauben, Thomas J. and Martin, Karin and Wiegand, Cornelia}, title = {Critical parameters in cultivation of experimental biofilms using the example of Pseudomonas fluorescens}, series = {Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Medicine}, volume = {32}, journal = {Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Medicine}, number = {9}, issn = {0957-4530}, doi = {10.1007/s10856-021-06568-w}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-309911}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Formation and treatment of biofilms present a great challenge for health care and industry. About 80\% of human infections are associated with biofilms including biomaterial centered infections, like infections of prosthetic heart valves, central venous catheters, or urinary catheters. Additionally, biofilms can cause food and drinking water contamination. Biofilm research focusses on application of experimental biofilm models to study initial adherence processes, to optimize physico-chemical properties of medical materials for reducing interactions between materials and bacteria, and to investigate biofilm treatment under controlled conditions. Exploring new antimicrobial strategies plays a key role in a variety of scientific disciplines, like medical material research, anti-infectious research, plant engineering, or wastewater treatment. Although a variety of biofilm models exist, there is a lack of standardization for experimental protocols, and designing experimental setups remains a challenge. In this study, a number of experimental parameters critical for material research have been tested that influence formation and stability of an experimental biofilm using the non-pathogenic model strain of Pseudomonas fluorescens. These parameters include experimental time frame, nutrient supply, inoculum concentration, static and dynamic cultivation conditions, material properties, and sample treatment during staining for visualization of the biofilm. It was shown, that all tested parameters critically influence the experimental biofilm formation process. The results obtained in this study shall support material researchers in designing experimental biofilm setups.}, language = {en} } @article{NowotnyAhmedBensingetal.2021, author = {Nowotny, Hanna and Ahmed, S. Faisal and Bensing, Sophie and Beun, Johan G. and Br{\"o}samle, Manuela and Chifu, Irina and Claahsen van der Grinten, Hedi and Clemente, Maria and Falhammar, Henrik and Hahner, Stefanie and Husebye, Eystein and Kristensen, Jette and Loli, Paola and Lajic, Svetlana and Reisch, Nicole}, title = {Therapy options for adrenal insufficiency and recommendations for the management of adrenal crisis}, series = {Endocrine}, volume = {71}, journal = {Endocrine}, number = {3}, organization = {Endo ERN (MTG1)}, issn = {1355-008X}, doi = {10.1007/s12020-021-02649-6}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-308769}, pages = {586-594}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Adrenal insufficiency (AI) is a life-threatening condition requiring life-long glucocorticoid (GC) substitution therapy, as well as stress adaptation to prevent adrenal crises. The number of individuals with primary and secondary adrenal insufficiency in Europe is estimated to be 20-50/100.000. A growing number of AI cases are due to side effects of GC treatment used in different treatment strategies for cancer and to immunotherapy in cancer treatment. The benefit of hormone replacement therapy is evident but long-term adverse effects may arise due to the non-physiological GC doses and treatment regimens used. Given multiple GC replacement formulations available comprising short-acting, intermediate, long-acting and novel modified-release hydrocortisone as well as subcutaneous formulations, this review offers a concise summary on the latest therapeutic improvements for treatment of AI and prevention of adrenal crises. As availability of various glucocorticoid formulations and access to expert centers across Europe varies widely, European Reference Networks on rare endocrine conditions aim at harmonizing treatment and ensure access to specialized patient care for individual case-by-case treatment decisions. To improve the availability across Europe to cost effective oral and parenteral formulations of hydrocortisone will save lives.}, language = {en} } @article{FleuchausBlumWildeetal.2021, author = {Fleuchaus, Paul and Blum, Philipp and Wilde, Martina and Terhorst, Birgit and Butscher, Christoph}, title = {Retrospective evaluation of landslide susceptibility maps and review of validation practice}, series = {Environmental Earth Sciences}, volume = {80}, journal = {Environmental Earth Sciences}, issn = {1866-6280}, doi = {10.1007/s12665-021-09770-9}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-308911}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Despite the widespread application of landslide susceptibility analyses, there is hardly any information about whether or not the occurrence of recent landslide events was correctly predicted by the relevant susceptibility maps. Hence, the objective of this study is to evaluate four landslide susceptibility maps retrospectively in a landslide-prone area of the Swabian Alb (Germany). The predictive performance of each susceptibility map is evaluated based on a landslide event triggered by heavy rainfalls in the year 2013. The retrospective evaluation revealed significant variations in the predictive accuracy of the analyzed studies. Both completely erroneous as well as very precise predictions were observed. These differences are less attributed to the applied statistical method and more to the quality and comprehensiveness of the used input data. Furthermore, a literature review of 50 peer-reviewed articles showed that most landslide susceptibility analyses achieve very high validation scores. 73\% of the analyzed studies achieved an area under curve (AUC) value of at least 80\%. These high validation scores, however, do not reflect the high uncertainty in statistical susceptibility analysis. Thus, the quality assessment of landslide susceptibility maps should not only comprise an index-based, quantitative validation, but also an additional qualitative plausibility check considering local geomorphological characteristics and local landslide mechanisms. Finally, the proposed retrospective evaluation approach cannot only help to assess the quality of susceptibility maps and demonstrate the reliability of such statistical methods, but also identify issues that will enable the susceptibility maps to be improved in the future.}, language = {en} } @article{LiPamporakiFliedneretal.2021, author = {Li, Minghao and Pamporaki, Christina and Fliedner, Stephanie M. J. and Timmers, Henri J. L. M. and N{\"o}lting, Svenja and Beuschlein, Felix and Prejbisz, Aleksander and Remde, Hanna and Robledo, Mercedes and Bornstein, Stefan R. and Lenders, Jacques W. M. and Eisenhofer, Graeme and Bechmann, Nicole}, title = {Metastatic pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma: signs and symptoms related to catecholamine secretion}, series = {Discover Oncology}, volume = {12}, journal = {Discover Oncology}, issn = {2730-6011}, doi = {10.1007/s12672-021-00404-x}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-309901}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Background The presence or future development of metastatic pheochromocytomas or paragangliomas (mPPGLs) can be difficult to diagnose or predict at initial presentation. Since production of catecholamines from mPPGLs is different from non-metastatic tumors (non-mPPGLs), this study aimed to clarify whether presenting catecholamine-related signs and symptoms (cSS) might also differ. Methods The study included 249 patients, 43 with mPPGL and 206 with non-mPPGL. Clinical data at the time of biochemical diagnosis (i.e. at entry into the study) were used to generate a cumulative score of cSS for each patient. Results Patients with mPPGL were significantly younger (43.3 ± 14 vs. 48.9 ± 16.1 years) and included a lower proportion of females (39.5\% vs. 60.7\%) than patients with non-mPPGLs. Frequencies of signs and symptoms did not differ between the two groups. Patients with mPPGLs had lower (P < 0.001) urinary excretion of epinephrine (3.5 (IQR, 1.9—6.5) µg/day) than those with non-mPPGLs (19.1 (IQR, 4.3—70.2) µg/day). There was no difference in urinary excretion of norepinephrine. In patients with mPPGLs a high cSS score was associated with high urinary excretion of norepinephrine and normetanephrine. In contrast, in patients with non-mPPGLs, a high cSS was associated with high urinary excretion of epinephrine and metanephrine. Conclusion Although presenting signs and symptoms were associated with production of norepinephrine in patients with mPPGLs and of epinephrine in patients with non-mPPGLs, there were no differences in signs and symptoms between the two groups. Therefore, consideration of signs and symptoms does not appear helpful for distinguishing patients with and without mPPGLs.}, language = {en} } @article{LeimeisterStieglitzMatzneretal.2021, author = {Leimeister, Jan Marco and Stieglitz, Stefan and Matzner, Martin and Kundisch, Dennis and Flath, Christoph and R{\"o}glinger, Maximilian}, title = {Quo Vadis Conferences in the Business and Information Systems Engineering (BISE) Community After Covid}, series = {Business \& Information Systems Engineering}, volume = {63}, journal = {Business \& Information Systems Engineering}, number = {6}, issn = {2363-7005}, doi = {10.1007/s12599-021-00707-x}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-308902}, pages = {741-749}, year = {2021}, language = {en} } @article{MinnerSchreinerSaeger2021, author = {Minner, S. and Schreiner, J. and Saeger, W.}, title = {Adrenal cancer: relevance of different grading systems and subtypes}, series = {Clinical and Translational Oncology}, volume = {23}, journal = {Clinical and Translational Oncology}, number = {7}, issn = {1699-048X}, doi = {10.1007/s12094-020-02524-2}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-308479}, pages = {1350-1357}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Purpose The subclassification of adrenal cancers according to the WHO classification in ordinary, myxoid, oncocytic, and sarcomatoid as well as pediatric types is well established, but the criteria for each subtype are not sufficiently determined and the relative frequency of the different types of adrenal cancers has not been studied in large cohorts. Therefore, our large collection of surgically removed adrenal cancers should be reviewed o establish the criteria for the subtypes and to find out the frequency of the various types. Methods In our series of 521 adrenal cancers the scoring systems of Weiss et al., Hough et al., van Slooten et al. and the new Helsinki score system were used for the ordinary type of cancer (97\% of our series) and the myxoid type (0.8\%). For oncocytic carcinomas (2\%), the scoring system of Bisceglia et al. was applied. Results Discrepancies between benign and malignant diagnoses from the first thee classical scoring systems are not rare (22\% in our series) and could be resolved by the Helsinki score especially by Ki-67 index (more than 8\% unequivocally malignant). Since all our cancer cases are positive in the Helsinki score, this system can replace the three elder systems. For identification of sarcomatoid cancer as rarest type in our series (0.2\%), the scoring systems are not practical but additional immunostainings used for soft tissue tumors and in special cases molecular pathology are necessary to differentiate these cancers from adrenal sarcomas. According to the relative frequencies of the different subtypes of adrenal cancers the main type is the far most frequent (97\%) followed by the oncocytic type (2\%), the myxoid type (0.8\%) and the very rare sarcomatoid type (0.2\%). Conclusions The Helsinki score is the best for differentiating adrenal carcinomas of the main, the oncocytic, and the myxoid type in routine work. Additional scoring systems for these carcinomas are generally not any longer necessary. Signs of proliferation (mitoses and Ki-67 index) and necroses are the most important criteria for diagnosis of malignancy.}, language = {en} } @article{DanyszDekundyScheschonkaetal.2021, author = {Danysz, Wojciech and Dekundy, Andrzej and Scheschonka, Astrid and Riederer, Peter}, title = {Amantadine: reappraisal of the timeless diamond—target updates and novel therapeutic potentials}, series = {Journal of Neural Transmission}, volume = {128}, journal = {Journal of Neural Transmission}, number = {2}, doi = {10.1007/s00702-021-02306-2}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-330133}, pages = {127-169}, year = {2021}, abstract = {The aim of the current review was to provide a new, in-depth insight into possible pharmacological targets of amantadine to pave the way to extending its therapeutic use to further indications beyond Parkinson's disease symptoms and viral infections. Considering amantadine's affinities in vitro and the expected concentration at targets at therapeutic doses in humans, the following primary targets seem to be most plausible: aromatic amino acids decarboxylase, glial-cell derived neurotrophic factor, sigma-1 receptors, phosphodiesterases, and nicotinic receptors. Further three targets could play a role to a lesser extent: NMDA receptors, 5-HT3 receptors, and potassium channels. Based on published clinical studies, traumatic brain injury, fatigue [e.g., in multiple sclerosis (MS)], and chorea in Huntington's disease should be regarded potential, encouraging indications. Preclinical investigations suggest amantadine's therapeutic potential in several further indications such as: depression, recovery after spinal cord injury, neuroprotection in MS, and cutaneous pain. Query in the database http://www.clinicaltrials.gov reveals research interest in several further indications: cancer, autism, cocaine abuse, MS, diabetes, attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder, obesity, and schizophrenia.}, language = {en} } @article{CampanaCiaramellaBorzi2021, author = {Campana, Francesca Cal{\`a} and Ciaramella, Gabriele and Borz{\`i}, Alfio}, title = {Nash Equilibria and Bargaining Solutions of Differential Bilinear Games}, series = {Dynamic Games and Applications}, volume = {11}, journal = {Dynamic Games and Applications}, number = {1}, doi = {10.1007/s13235-020-00351-2}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-283897}, pages = {1-28}, year = {2021}, abstract = {This paper is devoted to a theoretical and numerical investigation of Nash equilibria and Nash bargaining problems governed by bilinear (input-affine) differential models. These systems with a bilinear state-control structure arise in many applications in, e.g., biology, economics, physics, where competition between different species, agents, and forces needs to be modelled. For this purpose, the concept of Nash equilibria (NE) appears appropriate, and the building blocks of the resulting differential Nash games are different control functions associated with different players that pursue different non-cooperative objectives. In this framework, existence of Nash equilibria is proved and computed with a semi-smooth Newton scheme combined with a relaxation method. Further, a related Nash bargaining (NB) problem is discussed. This aims at determining an improvement of all players' objectives with respect to the Nash equilibria. Results of numerical experiments successfully demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed NE and NB computational framework.}, language = {en} } @article{PotreckMutkeWeylandetal.2021, author = {Potreck, Arne and Mutke, Matthias A. and Weyland, Charlotte S. and Pfaff, Johannes A. R. and Ringleb, Peter A. and Mundiyanapurath, Sibu and M{\"o}hlenbruch, Markus A. and Heiland, Sabine and Pham, Mirko and Bendszus, Martin and Hoffmann, Angelika}, title = {Combined Perfusion and Permeability Imaging Reveals Different Pathophysiologic Tissue Responses After Successful Thrombectomy}, series = {Translational Stroke Research}, volume = {12}, journal = {Translational Stroke Research}, number = {5}, issn = {1868-4483}, doi = {10.1007/s12975-020-00885-y}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-308946}, pages = {799-807}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Despite successful recanalization of large-vessel occlusions in acute ischemic stroke, individual patients profit to a varying degree. Dynamic susceptibility-weighted perfusion and dynamic T1-weighted contrast-enhanced blood-brain barrier permeability imaging may help to determine secondary stroke injury and predict clinical outcome. We prospectively performed perfusion and permeability imaging in 38 patients within 24 h after successful mechanical thrombectomy of an occlusion of the middle cerebral artery M1 segment. Perfusion alterations were evaluated on cerebral blood flow maps, blood-brain barrier disruption (BBBD) visually and quantitatively on ktrans maps and hemorrhagic transformation on susceptibility-weighted images. Visual BBBD within the DWI lesion corresponded to a median ktrans elevation (IQR) of 0.77 (0.41-1.4) min-1 and was found in all 7 cases of hypoperfusion (100\%), in 10 of 16 cases of hyperperfusion (63\%), and in only three of 13 cases with unaffected perfusion (23\%). BBBD was significantly associated with hemorrhagic transformation (p < 0.001). While BBBD alone was not a predictor of clinical outcome at 3 months (positive predictive value (PPV) = 0.8 [0.56-0.94]), hypoperfusion occurred more often in patients with unfavorable clinical outcome (PPV = 0.43 [0.10-0.82]) compared to hyperperfusion (PPV = 0.93 [0.68-1.0]) or unaffected perfusion (PPV = 1.0 [0.75-1.0]). We show that combined perfusion and permeability imaging reveals distinct infarct signatures after recanalization, indicating the severity of prior ischemic damage. It assists in predicting clinical outcome and may identify patients at risk of stroke progression.}, language = {en} } @article{LetunicKhedkarBork2021, author = {Letunic, Ivica and Khedkar, Supriya and Bork, Peer}, title = {SMART: recent updates, new developments and status in 2020}, series = {Nucleic Acids Research}, volume = {49}, journal = {Nucleic Acids Research}, number = {D1}, doi = {10.1093/nar/gkaa937}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-363816}, pages = {D458-D460}, year = {2021}, abstract = {SMART (Simple Modular Architecture Research Tool) is a web resource (https://smart.embl.de) for the identification and annotation of protein domains and the analysis of protein domain architectures. SMART version 9 contains manually curatedmodels formore than 1300 protein domains, with a topical set of 68 new models added since our last update article (1). All the new models are for diverse recombinase families and subfamilies and as a set they provide a comprehensive overview of mobile element recombinases namely transposase, integrase, relaxase, resolvase, cas1 casposase and Xer like cellular recombinase. Further updates include the synchronization of the underlying protein databases with UniProt (2), Ensembl (3) and STRING (4), greatly increasing the total number of annotated domains and other protein features available in architecture analysis mode. Furthermore, SMART's vector-based protein display engine has been extended and updated to use the latest web technologies and the domain architecture analysis components have been optimized to handle the increased number of protein features available.}, language = {en} }