@article{HolzschuhDaineseGonzalezVaroetal.2016, author = {Holzschuh, Andrea and Dainese, Matteo and Gonzalez-Varo, Juan P. and Mudri-Stojnic, Sonja and Riedinger, Verena and Rundl{\"o}f, Maj and Scheper, Jeroen and Wickens, Jennifer B. and Wickens, Victoria J. and Bommarco, Riccardo and Kleijn, David and Potts, Simon G. and Roberts, Stuart P. M. and Smith, Henrik G. and Vil{\`a}, Montserrat and Vujic, Ante and Steffan-Dewenter, Ingolf}, title = {Mass-flowering crops dilute pollinator abundance in agricultural landscapes across Europe}, series = {Ecology Letters}, volume = {19}, journal = {Ecology Letters}, number = {10}, doi = {10.1111/ele.12657}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-187356}, pages = {1228-1236}, year = {2016}, abstract = {Mass-flowering crops (MFCs) are increasingly cultivated and might influence pollinator communities in MFC fields and nearby semi-natural habitats (SNHs). Across six European regions and 2 years, we assessed how landscape-scale cover of MFCs affected pollinator densities in 408 MFC fields and adjacent SNHs. In MFC fields, densities of bumblebees, solitary bees, managed honeybees and hoverflies were negatively related to the cover of MFCs in the landscape. In SNHs, densities of bumblebees declined with increasing cover of MFCs but densities of honeybees increased. The densities of all pollinators were generally unrelated to the cover of SNHs in the landscape. Although MFC fields apparently attracted pollinators from SNHs, in landscapes with large areas of MFCs they became diluted. The resulting lower densities might negatively affect yields of pollinator- dependent crops and the reproductive success of wild plants. An expansion of MFCs needs to be accompanied by pollinator-supporting practices in agricultural landscapes.}, language = {en} } @article{SegererHadamekZundleretal.2016, author = {Segerer, Gabriela and Hadamek, Kerstin and Zundler, Matthias and Fekete, Agnes and Seifried, Annegrit and Mueller, Martin J. and Koentgen, Frank and Gessler, Manfred and Jeanclos, Elisabeth and Gohla, Antje}, title = {An essential developmental function for murine phosphoglycolate phosphatase in safeguarding cell proliferation}, series = {Scientific Reports}, volume = {6}, journal = {Scientific Reports}, doi = {10.1038/srep35160}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-181094}, year = {2016}, abstract = {Mammalian phosphoglycolate phosphatase (PGP) is thought to target phosphoglycolate, a 2-deoxyribose fragment derived from the repair of oxidative DNA lesions. However, the physiological role of this activity and the biological function of the DNA damage product phosphoglycolate is unknown. We now show that knockin replacement of murine Pgp with its phosphatase-inactive Pgp\(^{D34N}\) mutant is embryonically lethal due to intrauterine growth arrest and developmental delay in midgestation. PGP inactivation attenuated triosephosphate isomerase activity, increased triglyceride levels at the expense of the cellular phosphatidylcholine content, and inhibited cell proliferation. These effects were prevented under hypoxic conditions or by blocking phosphoglycolate release from damaged DNA. Thus, PGP is essential to sustain cell proliferation in the presence of oxygen. Collectively, our findings reveal a previously unknown mechanism coupling a DNA damage repair product to the control of intermediary metabolism and cell proliferation.}, language = {en} } @article{DipaolaPavanCattaneoetal.2016, author = {Dipaola, Mariangela and Pavan, Esteban E. and Cattaneo, Andrea and Frazzitta, Giuseppe and Pezzoli, Gianni and Cavallari, Paolo and Frigo, Carlo A. and Isaias, Ioannis U.}, title = {Mechanical Energy Recovery during Walking in Patients with Parkinson Disease}, series = {PLoS ONE}, volume = {11}, journal = {PLoS ONE}, number = {6}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0156420}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-179739}, year = {2016}, abstract = {The mechanisms of mechanical energy recovery during gait have been thoroughly investigated in healthy subjects, but never described in patients with Parkinson disease (PD). The aim of this study was to investigate whether such mechanisms are preserved in PD patients despite an altered pattern of locomotion. We consecutively enrolled 23 PD patients (mean age 64±9 years) with bilateral symptoms (H\&Y ≥II) if able to walk unassisted in medication-off condition (overnight suspension of all dopaminergic drugs). Ten healthy subjects (mean age 62±3 years) walked both at their 'preferred' and 'slow' speeds, to match the whole range of PD velocities. Kinematic data were recorded by means of an optoelectronic motion analyzer. For each stride we computed spatio-temporal parameters, time-course and range of motion (ROM) of hip, knee and ankle joint angles. We also measured kinetic (Wk), potential (W\(_{p}\)), total (W\(_{totCM}\)) energy variations and the energy recovery index (ER). Along with PD progression, we found a significant correlation of W\(_{totCM}\) and W\(_{p}\) with knee ROM and in particular with knee extension in terminal stance phase. W\(_{k}\) and ER were instead mainly related to gait velocity. In PD subjects, the reduction of knee ROM significantly diminished both W\(_{p}\) and W\(_{totCM}\). Rehabilitation treatments should possibly integrate passive and active mobilization of knee to prevent a reduction of gait-related energetic components.}, language = {en} } @article{BędkowskiMajekMajeketal.2016, author = {Będkowski, Janusz and Majek, Karol and Majek, Piotr and Musialik, Paweł and Pełka, Michał and N{\"u}chter, Andreas}, title = {Intelligent mobile system for improving spatial design support and security inside buildings}, series = {Mobile Networks and Applications}, volume = {21}, journal = {Mobile Networks and Applications}, number = {2}, doi = {10.1007/s11036-015-0654-8}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-189597}, pages = {313-326}, year = {2016}, abstract = {This paper concerns the an intelligent mobile application for spatial design support and security domain. Mobility has two aspects in our research: The first one is the usage of mobile robots for 3D mapping of urban areas and for performing some specific tasks. The second mobility aspect is related with a novel Software as a Service system that allows access to robotic functionalities and data over the Ethernet, thus we demonstrate the use of the novel NVIDIA GRID technology allowing to virtualize the graphic processing unit. We introduce Complex Shape Histogram, a core component of our artificial intelligence engine, used for classifying 3D point clouds with a Support Vector Machine. We use Complex Shape Histograms also for loop closing detection in the simultaneous localization and mapping algorithm. Our intelligent mobile system is built on top of the Qualitative Spatio-Temporal Representation and Reasoning framework. This framework defines an ontology and a semantic model, which are used for building the intelligent mobile user interfaces. We show experiments demonstrating advantages of our approach. In addition, we test our prototypes in the field after the end-user case studies demonstrating a relevant contribution for future intelligent mobile systems that merge mobile robots with novel data centers.}, language = {en} } @article{RitterFanPaulsonetal.2016, author = {Ritter, Cathrin and Fan, Kaiji and Paulson, Kelly G. and Nghiem, Paul and Schrama, David and Becker, J{\"u}rgen C.}, title = {Reversal of epigenetic silencing of MHC class I chain-related protein A and B improves immune recognition of Merkel cell carcinoma}, series = {Scientific Reports}, journal = {Scientific Reports}, number = {21678}, edition = {6}, doi = {10.1038/srep21678}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-167992}, year = {2016}, abstract = {Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a virally associated cancer characterized by its aggressive behavior and strong immunogenicity. Both viral infection and malignant transformation induce expression of MHC class I chain-related protein (MIC) A and B, which signal stress to cells of the immune system via Natural Killer group 2D (NKG2D) resulting in elimination of target cells. However, despite transformation and the continued presence of virally-encoded proteins, MICs are only expressed in a minority of MCC tumors in situ and are completely absent on MCC cell lines in vitro. This lack of MIC expression was due to epigenetic silencing via MIC promoter hypo-acetylation; indeed, MIC expression was re-induced by pharmacological inhibition of histone deacetylases (HDACs) both in vitro and in vivo. This re-induction of MICs rendered MCC cells more sensitive to immune-mediated lysis. Thus, epigenetic silencing of MICs is an important immune escape mechanism of MCCs.}, language = {en} } @article{HoffmannPfeilAlfonsoetal.2016, author = {Hoffmann, Angelika and Pfeil, Johannes and Alfonso, Julieta and Kurz, Felix T. and Sahm, Felix and Heiland, Sabine and Monyer, Hannah and Bendszus, Martin and Mueller, Ann-Kristin and Helluy, Xavier and Pham, Mirko}, title = {Experimental Cerebral Malaria Spreads along the Rostral Migratory Stream}, series = {PLoS Pathogens}, volume = {12}, journal = {PLoS Pathogens}, number = {3}, doi = {10.1371/journal.ppat.1005470}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-167434}, pages = {e1005470}, year = {2016}, abstract = {It is poorly understood how progressive brain swelling in experimental cerebral malaria (ECM) evolves in space and over time, and whether mechanisms of inflammation or microvascular sequestration/obstruction dominate the underlying pathophysiology. We therefore monitored in the Plasmodium berghei ANKA-C57BL/6 murine ECM model, disease manifestation and progression clinically, assessed by the Rapid-Murine-Coma-and-Behavioral-Scale (RMCBS), and by high-resolution in vivo MRI, including sensitive assessment of early blood-brain-barrier-disruption (BBBD), brain edema and microvascular pathology. For histological correlation HE and immunohistochemical staining for microglia and neuroblasts were obtained. Our results demonstrate that BBBD and edema initiated in the olfactory bulb (OB) and spread along the rostral-migratory-stream (RMS) to the subventricular zone of the lateral ventricles, the dorsal-migratory-stream (DMS), and finally to the external capsule (EC) and brainstem (BS). Before clinical symptoms (mean RMCBS = 18.5±1) became evident, a slight, non-significant increase of quantitative T2 and ADC values was observed in OB+RMS. With clinical manifestation (mean RMCBS = 14.2±0.4), T2 and ADC values significantly increased along the OB+RMS (p = 0.049/p = 0.01). Severe ECM (mean RMCBS = 5±2.9) was defined by further spread into more posterior and deeper brain structures until reaching the BS (significant T2 elevation in DMS+EC+BS (p = 0.034)). Quantitative automated histological analyses confirmed microglial activation in areas of BBBD and edema. Activated microglia were closely associated with the RMS and neuroblasts within the RMS were severely misaligned with respect to their physiological linear migration pattern. Microvascular pathology and ischemic brain injury occurred only secondarily, after vasogenic edema formation and were both associated less with clinical severity and the temporal course of ECM. Altogether, we identified a distinct spatiotemporal pattern of microglial activation in ECM involving primarily the OB+RMS axis, a distinct pathway utilized by neuroblasts and immune cells. Our data suggest significant crosstalk between these two cell populations to be operative in deeper brain infiltration and further imply that the manifestation and progression of cerebral malaria may depend on brain areas otherwise serving neurogenesis.}, language = {en} } @article{KochereshkoDurnevBesombesetal.2016, author = {Kochereshko, Vladimir P. and Durnev, Mikhail V. and Besombes, Lucien and Mariette, Henri and Sapega, Victor F. and Askitopoulos, Alexis and Savenko, Ivan G. and Liew, Timothy C. H. and Shelykh, Ivan A. and Platonov, Alexey V. and Tsintzos, Simeon I. and Hatzopoulos, Z. and Savvidis, Pavlos G. and Kalevich, Vladimir K. and Afanasiev, Mikhail M. and Lukoshkin, Vladimir A. and Schneider, Christian and Amthor, Matthias and Metzger, Christian and Kamp, Martin and Hoefling, Sven and Lagoudakis, Pavlos and Kavokin, Alexey}, title = {Lasing in Bose-Fermi mixtures}, series = {Scientific Reports}, volume = {6}, journal = {Scientific Reports}, number = {20091}, doi = {10.1038/srep20091}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-168152}, year = {2016}, abstract = {Light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation, well-known for revolutionising photonic science, has been realised primarily in fermionic systems including widely applied diode lasers. The prerequisite for fermionic lasing is the inversion of electronic population, which governs the lasing threshold. More recently, bosonic lasers have also been developed based on Bose-Einstein condensates of exciton-polaritons in semiconductor microcavities. These electrically neutral bosons coexist with charged electrons and holes. In the presence of magnetic fields, the charged particles are bound to their cyclotron orbits, while the neutral exciton-polaritons move freely. We demonstrate how magnetic fields affect dramatically the phase diagram of mixed Bose-Fermi systems, switching between fermionic lasing, incoherent emission and bosonic lasing regimes in planar and pillar microcavities with optical and electrical pumping. We collected and analyzed the data taken on pillar and planar microcavity structures at continuous wave and pulsed optical excitation as well as injecting electrons and holes electronically. Our results evidence the transition from a Bose gas to a Fermi liquid mediated by magnetic fields and light-matter coupling.}, language = {en} } @article{AdrianMartinezAlbertAndreetal.2016, author = {Adri{\´a}n-Mart{\´i}nez, S. and Albert, A. and Andr{\´e}, M. and Anton, G. and Ardid, M. and Aubert, J.-J. and Avgitas, T. and Baret, B. and Barrios-Mart{\´i}, J. and Basa, S. and Bertin, V. and Biagi, S. and Bormuth, R. and Bouwhuis, M.C. and Bruijn, R. and Brunner, J. and Busto, J. and Capone, A. and Caramete, L. and Carr, J. and Celli, S. and Chiarusi, T. and Circella, M. and Coleiro, A. and Coniglione, R. and Costantini, H. and Coyle, P. and Creusot, A. and Deschamps, A. and De Bonis, G. and Distefano, C. and Donzaud, C. and Dornic, D. and Drouhin, D. and Eberl, T. and El Bojaddaini, I. and Els{\"a}sser, D. and Enzenh{\"o}fer, A. and Fehn, K. and Felis, I. and Fusco, L.A. and Galat{\`a}, S. and Gay, P. and Geißels{\"o}der, S. and Geyer, K. and Giordano, V. and Gleixner, A. and Glotin, H. and Gracia-Ruiz, R. and Graf, K. and Hallmann, S. and van Haren, H. and Heijboer, A.J. and Hello, Y. and Hern{\´a}ndez-Rey, J.J. and H{\"o}ßl, J. and Hofest{\"a}dt, J. and Hugon, C. and Illuminati, G. and James, C.W. and de Jong, M. and Jongen, M. and Kadler, M. and Kalekin, O. and Katz, U. and Kießling, D. and Kouchner, A. and Kreter, M. and Kreykenbohm, I. and Kulikovskiy, V. and Lachaud, C. and Lahmann, R. and Lef{\`e}vre, D. and Leonora, E. and Loucatos, S. and Marcelin, M. and Margiotta, A. and Marinelli, A. and Mart{\´i}nez-Mora, J.A. and Mathieu, A. and Melis, K. and Michael, T. and Migliozzi, P. and Moussa, A. and Mueller, C. and Nezri, E. and Pavalas, G.E. and Pellegrino, C. and Perrina, C. and Piattelli, P. and Popa, V. and Pradier, T. and Racca, C. and Riccobene, G. and Roensch, K. and Salda{\~n}a, M. and Samtleben, D.F.E. and S{\´a}nchez-Losa, A. and Sanguineti, M. and Sapienza, P. and Schnabel, J. and Sch{\"u}ssler, F. and Seitz, T. and Sieger, C. and Spurio, M. and Stolarczyk, Th. and Taiuti, M. and T{\"o}nnis, C. and Trovato, A. and Tselengidou, M. and Turpin, D. and Vallage, B. and Vall{\´e}e, C. and Van Elewyck, V. and Vivolo, D. and Wagner, S. and Wilms, J. and Zornoza, J.D. and Z{\´u}{\~n}iga, J.}, title = {Limits on dark matter annihilation in the sun using the ANTARES neutrino telescope}, series = {Physics Letters B}, volume = {759}, journal = {Physics Letters B}, doi = {10.1016/j.physletb.2016.05.019}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-166642}, pages = {69-74}, year = {2016}, abstract = {A search for muon neutrinos originating from dark matter annihilations in the Sun is performed using the data recorded by the ANTARES neutrino telescope from 2007 to 2012. In order to obtain the best possible sensitivities to dark matter signals, an optimisation of the event selection criteria is performed taking into account the background of atmospheric muons, atmospheric neutrinos and the energy spectra of the expected neutrino signals. No significant excess over the background is observed and 90\% C.L. upper limits on the neutrino flux, the spin-dependent and spin-independent WIMP-nucleon cross-sections are derived for WIMP masses ranging from 50 GeV to 5 TeV for the annihilation channels WIMP + WIMP→ b\(\overline{b}\), W\(^{+}\)W\(^{-}\) and τ\(^{+}\)τ\(^{-}\).}, language = {en} } @article{KurzKampfBuschleetal.2016, author = {Kurz, Felix T. and Kampf, Thomas and Buschle, Lukas R. and Schlemmer, Heinz-Peter and Bendszus, Martin and Heiland, Sabine and Ziener, Christian H.}, title = {Generalized moment analysis of magnetic field correlations for accumulations of spherical and cylindrical magnetic perturbers}, series = {Frontiers in Physics}, volume = {4}, journal = {Frontiers in Physics}, issn = {2296-424X}, doi = {10.3389/fphy.2016.00046}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-190604}, year = {2016}, abstract = {In biological tissue, an accumulation of similarly shaped objects with a susceptibility difference to the surrounding tissue generates a local distortion of the external magnetic field in magnetic resonance imaging. It induces stochastic field fluctuations that characteristically influence proton spin dephasing in the vicinity of these magnetic perturbers. The magnetic field correlation that is associated with such local magnetic field inhomogeneities can be expressed in the form of a dynamic frequency autocorrelation function that is related to the time evolution of the measured magnetization. Here, an eigenfunction expansion for two simple magnetic perturber shapes, that of spheres and cylinders, is considered for restricted spin diffusion in a simple model geometry. Then, the concept of generalized moment analysis, an approximation technique that is applied in the study of (non-)reactive processes that involve Brownian motion, allows deriving analytical expressions of the correlation function for different exponential decay forms. Results for the biexponential decay for both spherical and cylindrical magnetized objects are derived and compared with the frequently used (less accurate) monoexponential decay forms. They are in asymptotic agreement with the numerically exact value of the correlation function for long and short times.}, language = {en} } @article{AdrianMartinezAlbertAndreetal.2016, author = {Adri{\´a}n-Mart{\´i}nez, S. and Albert, A. and Andr{\´e}, M. and Anghinolfi, M. and Anton, G. and Ardid, M. and Aubert, J.-J. and Avgitas, T. and Baret, B. and Barrios-Mart{\´i}, J. and Basa, S. and Bertin, V. and Biagi, S. and Bormuth, R. and Bouwhuis, M.C. and Bruijn, R. and Brunner, J. and Busto, J. and Capone, A. and Caramete, L. and Carr, J. and Celli, S. and Chiarusi, T. and Circella, M. and Coleiro, A. and Coniglione, R. and Constantini, H. and Coyle, P. and Creusot, A. and Deschamps, A. and De Bonis, G. and Distefano, C. and Donzaud, C. and Dornic, D. and Drouhin, D. and Eberl, T. and El Bojaddaini, I. and Els{\"a}sser, D. and Enzenh{\"o}fer, A. and Fehn, K. and Felis, I. and Fusco, L.A. and Galat{\`a}, S. and Gay, P. and Geißels{\"o}der, S. and Geyer, K. and Giordano, V. and Gleixner, A. and Glotin, H. and Gracia-Ruiz, R. and Graf, K. and Hallmann, S. and van Haren, H. and Heijboer, A.J. and Hello, Y. and Hern{\´a}ndez-Rey, J.J. and H{\"o}ßl, J. and Hofest{\"a}dt, J. and Hugon, C. and Illuminati, G. and James, C.W. and de Jong, M. and Kadler, M. and Kalekin, O. and Katz, U. and Kießling, D. and Kouchner, A. and Kreter, M. and Kreykenbohm, I. and Kulikovskiy, V. and Lachaud, C. and Lahmann, R. and Lef{\`e}vre, D. and Leonora, E. and Loucatos, S. and Marcelin, M. and Margiotta, A. and Marinelli, A. and Mart{\´i}nez-Mora, J.A. and Mathieu, A. and Michael, T. and Migliozzi, P. and Moussa, A. and Mueller, C. and Nezri, E. and Pavalas, G.E. and Pellegrino, C. and Perrina, C. and Piattelli, P. and Popa, V. and Pradier, T. and Racca, C. and Riccobene, G. and Roensch, K. and Salda{\~n}a, M. and Samtleben, D.F.E. and S{\´a}nchez-Losa, A. and Sanguineti, M. and Sapienza, P. and Schnabel, J. and Sch{\"u}ssler, F. and Seitz, T. and Sieger, C. and Spurio, M. and Stolarczyk, Th. and Taiuti, M. and Trovato, A. and Tselengidou, M. and Turpin, D. and T{\"o}nnis, C. and Vallage, B. and Vall{\´e}e, C. and Van Elewyck, V. and Visser, E. and Vivolo, D. and Wagner, S. and Wilms, J. and Zornoza, J.D. and Z{\´u}{\~n}iga, J.}, title = {Constraints on the neutrino emission from the Galactic Ridge with the ANTARES telescope}, series = {Physics Letters B}, volume = {760}, journal = {Physics Letters B}, doi = {10.1016/j.physletb.2016.06.051}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-166608}, pages = {143-148}, year = {2016}, abstract = {A highly significant excess of high-energy astrophysical neutrinos has been reported by the IceCube Collaboration. Some features of the energy and declination distributions of IceCube events hint at a North/South asymmetry of the neutrino flux. This could be due to the presence of the bulk of our Galaxy in the Southern hemisphere. The ANTARES neutrino telescope, located in the Mediterranean Sea, has been taking data since 2007. It offers the best sensitivity to muon neutrinos produced by galactic cosmic ray interactions in this region of the sky. In this letter a search for an extended neutrino flux from the Galactic Ridge region is presented. Different models of neutrino production by cosmic ray propagation are tested. No excess of events is observed and upper limits for different neutrino flux spectral indices Γ are set. For Γ=2.4 the 90\% confidence level flux upper limit at 100 TeV for one neutrino flavour corresponds to Φ\(^{1f}_{0}\) (100 TeV) = 2.0 · 10\(^{-17}\) GeV\(^{-1}\) cm\(^{-2}\)s\(^{-1}\)sr\(^{-1}\). Under this assumption, at most two events of the IceCube cosmic candidates can originate from the Galactic Ridge. A simple power-law extrapolation of the Fermi-LAT flux to account for IceCube High Energy Starting Events is excluded at 90\% confidence level.}, language = {en} } @article{VolckmarHanPuetteretal.2016, author = {Volckmar, Anna-Lena and Han, Chung Ting and P{\"u}tter, Carolin and Haas, Stefan and Vogel, Carla I. G. and Knoll, Nadja and Struve, Christoph and G{\"o}bel, Maria and Haas, Katharina and Herrfurth, Nikolas and Jarick, Ivonne and Grallert, Harald and Sch{\"u}rmann, Annette and Al-Hasani, Hadi and Hebebrand, Johannes and Sauer, Sascha and Hinney, Anke}, title = {Analysis of Genes Involved in Body Weight Regulation by Targeted Re-Sequencing}, series = {PLoS ONE}, volume = {11}, journal = {PLoS ONE}, number = {2}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0147904}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-167274}, pages = {e0147904}, year = {2016}, abstract = {Introduction Genes involved in body weight regulation that were previously investigated in genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and in animal models were target-enriched followed by massive parallel next generation sequencing. Methods We enriched and re-sequenced continuous genomic regions comprising FTO, MC4R, TMEM18, SDCCAG8, TKNS, MSRA and TBC1D1 in a screening sample of 196 extremely obese children and adolescents with age and sex specific body mass index (BMI) ≥ 99th percentile and 176 lean adults (BMI ≤ 15th percentile). 22 variants were confirmed by Sanger sequencing. Genotyping was performed in up to 705 independent obesity trios (extremely obese child and both parents), 243 extremely obese cases and 261 lean adults. Results and Conclusion We detected 20 different non-synonymous variants, one frame shift and one nonsense mutation in the 7 continuous genomic regions in study groups of different weight extremes. For SNP Arg695Cys (rs58983546) in TBC1D1 we detected nominal association with obesity (pTDT = 0.03 in 705 trios). Eleven of the variants were rare, thus were only detected heterozygously in up to ten individual(s) of the complete screening sample of 372 individuals. Two of them (in FTO and MSRA) were found in lean individuals, nine in extremely obese. In silico analyses of the 11 variants did not reveal functional implications for the mutations. Concordant with our hypothesis we detected a rare variant that potentially leads to loss of FTO function in a lean individual. For TBC1D1, in contrary to our hypothesis, the loss of function variant (Arg443Stop) was found in an obese individual. Functional in vitro studies are warranted.}, language = {en} } @article{ZieglerRichterMahretal.2016, author = {Ziegler, C. and Richter, J. and Mahr, M. and Gajewska, A. and Schiele, M.A. and Gehrmann, A. and Schmidt, B. and Lesch, K.-P. and Lang, T. and Helbig-Lang, S. and Pauli, P. and Kircher, T. and Reif, A. and Rief, W. and Vossbeck-Elsebusch, A.N. and Arolt, V. and Wittchen, H.-U. and Hamm, A.O. and Deckert, J. and Domschke, K.}, title = {MAOA gene hypomethylation in panic disorder-reversibility of an epigenetic risk pattern by psychotherapy}, series = {Translational Psychiatry}, journal = {Translational Psychiatry}, number = {6}, doi = {10.1038/tp.2016.41}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-164422}, pages = {e773}, year = {2016}, abstract = {Epigenetic signatures such as methylation of the monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) gene have been found to be altered in panic disorder (PD). Hypothesizing temporal plasticity of epigenetic processes as a mechanism of successful fear extinction, the present psychotherapy-epigenetic study for we believe the first time investigated MAOA methylation changes during the course of exposure-based cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in PD. MAOA methylation was compared between N=28 female Caucasian PD patients (discovery sample) and N=28 age- and sex-matched healthy controls via direct sequencing of sodium bisulfite-treated DNA extracted from blood cells. MAOA methylation was furthermore analyzed at baseline (T0) and after a 6-week CBT (T1) in the discovery sample parallelized by a waiting time in healthy controls, as well as in an independent sample of female PD patients (N=20). Patients exhibited lower MAOA methylation than healthy controls (P<0.001), and baseline PD severity correlated negatively with MAOA methylation (P=0.01). In the discovery sample, MAOA methylation increased up to the level of healthy controls along with CBT response (number of panic attacks; T0-T1: +3.37±2.17\%), while non-responders further decreased in methylation (-2.00±1.28\%; P=0.001). In the replication sample, increases in MAOA methylation correlated with agoraphobic symptom reduction after CBT (P=0.02-0.03). The present results support previous evidence for MAOA hypomethylation as a PD risk marker and suggest reversibility of MAOA hypomethylation as a potential epigenetic correlate of response to CBT. The emerging notion of epigenetic signatures as a mechanism of action of psychotherapeutic interventions may promote epigenetic patterns as biomarkers of lasting extinction effects.}, language = {en} } @article{GroeberEngelhardtLangeetal.2016, author = {Groeber, Florian and Engelhardt, Lisa and Lange, Julia and Kurdyn, Szymon and Schmid, Freia F. and R{\"u}cker, Christoph and Mielke, Stephan and Walles, Heike and Hansmann, Jan}, title = {A First Vascularized Skin Equivalent as an Alternative to Animal Experimentation}, series = {ALTEX - Alternatives to Animal Experimentation}, volume = {33}, journal = {ALTEX - Alternatives to Animal Experimentation}, number = {4}, doi = {10.14573/altex.1604041}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-164438}, pages = {415-422}, year = {2016}, abstract = {Tissue-engineered skin equivalents mimic key aspects of the human skin, and can thus be employed as wound coverage for large skin defects or as in vitro test systems as an alternative to animal models. However, current skin equivalents lack a functional vasculature limiting clinical and research applications. This study demonstrates the generation of a vascularized skin equivalent with a perfused vascular network by combining a biological vascularized scaffold (BioVaSc) based on a decellularized segment of a porcine jejunum and a tailored bioreactor system. Briefly, the BioVaSc was seeded with human fibroblasts, keratinocytes, and human microvascular endothelial cells. After 14 days at the air-liquid interface, hematoxylin \& eosin and immunohistological staining revealed a specific histological architecture representative of the human dermis and epidermis including a papillary-like architecture at the dermal-epidermal-junction. The formation of the skin barrier was measured non-destructively using impedance spectroscopy. Additionally, endothelial cells lined the walls of the formed vessels that could be perfused with a physiological volume flow. Due to the presence of a complex in-vivo-like vasculature, the here shown skin equivalent has the potential for skin grafting and represents a sophisticated in vitro model for dermatological research.}, language = {en} } @article{SteinWollschlaegerKreienbergetal.2016, author = {Stein, Roland Gregor and Wollschl{\"a}ger, Daniel and Kreienberg, Rolf and Janni, Wolfgang and Wischnewsky, Manfred and Diessner, Joachim and St{\"u}ber, Tanja and Bartmann, Catharina and Krockenberger, Mathias and Wischhusen, J{\"o}rg and W{\"o}ckel, Achim and Blettner, Maria and Schwentner, Lukas}, title = {The impact of breast cancer biological subtyping on tumor size assessment by ultrasound and mammography - a retrospective multicenter cohort study of 6543 primary breast cancer patients}, series = {BMC Cancer}, volume = {16}, journal = {BMC Cancer}, number = {549}, doi = {10.1186/s12885-016-2426-7}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-161050}, year = {2016}, abstract = {Background Mammography and ultrasound are the gold standard imaging techniques for preoperative assessment and for monitoring the efficacy of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer. Maximum accuracy in predicting pathological tumor size non-invasively is critical for individualized therapy and surgical planning. We therefore aimed to assess the accuracy of tumor size measurement by ultrasound and mammography in a multicentered health services research study. Methods We retrospectively analyzed data from 6543 patients with unifocal, unilateral primary breast cancer. The maximum tumor diameter was measured by ultrasound and/or mammographic imaging. All measurements were compared to final tumor diameter determined by postoperative histopathological examination. We compared the precision of each imaging method across different patient subgroups as well as the method-specific accuracy in each patient subgroup. Results Overall, the correlation with histology was 0.61 for mammography and 0.60 for ultrasound. Both correlations were higher in pT2 cancers than in pT1 and pT3. Ultrasound as well as mammography revealed a significantly higher correlation with histology in invasive ductal compared to lobular cancers (p < 0.01). For invasive lobular cancers, the mammography showed better correlation with histology than ultrasound (p = 0.01), whereas there was no such advantage for invasive ductal cancers. Ultrasound was significantly superior for HR negative cancers (p < 0.001). HER2/neu positive cancers were also more precisely assessed by ultrasound (p < 0.001). The size of HER2/neu negative cancers could be more accurately predicted by mammography (p < 0.001). Conclusion This multicentered health services research approach demonstrates that predicting tumor size by mammography and ultrasound provides accurate results. Biological tumor features do, however, affect the diagnostic precision.}, language = {en} } @article{LoCascioGoetzeLatshangetal.2016, author = {Lo Cascio, Christian M. and Goetze, Oliver and Latshang, Tsogyal D. and Bluemel, Sena and Frauenfelder, Thomas and Bloch, Konrad E.}, title = {Gastrointestinal Dysfunction in Patients with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy}, series = {PLoS ONE}, volume = {11}, journal = {PLoS ONE}, number = {10}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0163779}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-166793}, pages = {e0163779}, year = {2016}, abstract = {Background In adult patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) life-threatening constipation has been reported. Since gastrointestinal function in DMD has not been rigorously studied we investigated objective and subjective manifestations of gastrointestinal disturbances in DMD patients. Methods In 33 patients with DMD, age 12-41 years, eating behavior and gastrointestinal symptoms were evaluated by questionnaires. Gastric emptying half time (T\(_{1/2}\)) and oro-cecal transit time (OCTT) were evaluated by analyzing \(^{13}\)CO\(_{2}\) exhalation curves after ingestion of \(^{13}\)C labeled test meals. Colonic transit time (CTT) was measured by abdominal radiography following ingestion of radiopaque markers. Results The median (quartiles) T\(_{1/2}\) was 187 (168, 220) minutes, the OCTT was 6.3 (5.0, 7.9) hours, both substantially longer than normal data (Goetze 2005, T\(_{1/2}\): 107±10; Geypens 1999, OCTT 4.3±0.1 hours). The median CTT was 60 (48, 82) hours despite extensive use of laxative measures (Meier 1995, upper limit of normal: 60 hours). T\(_{1/2}\) and OCTT did not correlate with symptoms evaluated by the Gastroparesis Cardinal Symptom Index (GCSI) (Spearman r = -0.3, p = 0.1; and r = -0.15, p = 0.4, respectively). CTT was not correlated with symptoms of constipation assessed by ROME III criteria (r = 0.12, p = 0.5). Conclusions DMD patients have a markedly disturbed gastrointestinal motor function. Since objective measures of impaired gastrointestinal transport are not correlated with symptoms of gastroparesis or constipation our findings suggest that measures assuring adequate intestinal transport should be taken independent of the patient's perception in order to prevent potentially life threatening constipation, particularly in older DMD patients.}, language = {en} } @article{SongJiaZhangetal.2016, author = {Song, Ning-Ning and Jia, Yun-Fang and Zhang, Lei and Zhang, Qiong and Huang, Ying and Liu, Xiao-Zhen and Hu, Ling and Lan, Wei and Chen, Ling and Lesch, Klaus-Peter and Chen, Xiaoyan and Xu, Lin and Ding, Yu-Qiang}, title = {Reducing central serotonin in adulthood promotes hippocampal neurogenesis}, series = {Scientific Reports}, volume = {6}, journal = {Scientific Reports}, number = {20338}, doi = {10.1038/srep20338}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-168004}, year = {2016}, abstract = {Chronic administration of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), which up-regulates central serotonin (5-HT) system function, enhances adult hippocampal neurogenesis. However, the relationship between central 5-HT system and adult neurogenesis has not fully been understood. Here, we report that lowering 5-HT level in adulthood is also able to enhance adult hippocampal neurogenesis. We used tamoxifen (TM)-induced Cre in Pet1-CreER\(^{T2}\) mice to either deplete central serotonergic (5-HTergic) neurons or inactivate 5-HT synthesis in adulthood and explore the role of central 5-HT in adult hippocampal neurogenesis. A dramatic increase in hippocampal neurogenesis is present in these two central 5-HT-deficient mice and it is largely prevented by administration of agonist for 5-HTR2c receptor. In addition, the survival of new-born neurons in the hippocampus is enhanced. Furthermore, the adult 5-HT-deficient mice showed reduced depression-like behaviors but enhanced contextual fear memory. These findings demonstrate that lowering central 5-HT function in adulthood can also enhance adult hippocampal neurogenesis, thus revealing a new aspect of central 5-HT in regulating adult neurogenesis.}, language = {en} } @article{DoranFuldeGratzetal.2016, author = {Doran, Kelly S. and Fulde, Marcus and Gratz, Nina and Kim, Brandon J. and Nau, Roland and Prasadarao, Nemani and Schubert-Unkmeir, Alexandra and Tuomanen, Elaine I. and Valentin-Weigand, Peter}, title = {Host-pathogen interactions in bacterial meningitis}, series = {Acta Neuropathologica}, volume = {131}, journal = {Acta Neuropathologica}, number = {2}, doi = {10.1007/s00401-015-1531-z}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-191034}, pages = {185-209}, year = {2016}, abstract = {Bacterial meningitis is a devastating disease occurring worldwide with up to half of the survivors left with permanent neurological sequelae. Due to intrinsic properties of the meningeal pathogens and the host responses they induce, infection can cause relatively specific lesions and clinical syndromes that result from interference with the function of the affected nervous system tissue. Pathogenesis is based on complex host-pathogen interactions, some of which are specific for certain bacteria, whereas others are shared among different pathogens. In this review, we summarize the recent progress made in understanding the molecular and cellular events involved in these interactions. We focus on selected major pathogens, Streptococcus pneumonia, S. agalactiae (Group B Streptococcus), Neisseria meningitidis, and Escherichia coli K1, and also include a neglected zoonotic pathogen, Streptococcus suis. These neuroinvasive pathogens represent common themes of host-pathogen interactions, such as colonization and invasion of mucosal barriers, survival in the blood stream, entry into the central nervous system by translocation of the blood-brain and blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier, and induction of meningeal inflammation, affecting pia mater, the arachnoid and subarachnoid spaces.}, language = {en} } @article{TegtmeyerMoodleyYamaokaetal.2016, author = {Tegtmeyer, Nicole and Moodley, Yoshan and Yamaoka, Yoshio and Pernitzsch, Sandy Ramona and Schmidt, Vanessa and Traverso, Francisco Rivas and Schmidt, Thomas P. and Rad, Roland and Yeoh, Khay Guan and Bow, Ho and Torres, Javier and Gerhard, Markus and Schneider, Gisbert and Wessler, Silja and Backert, Steffen}, title = {Characterisation of worldwide Helicobacter pylori strains reveals genetic conservation and essentiality of serine protease HtrA}, series = {Molecular Microbiology}, volume = {99}, journal = {Molecular Microbiology}, number = {5}, doi = {10.1111/mmi.13276}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-190774}, pages = {925-944}, year = {2016}, abstract = {HtrA proteases and chaperones exhibit important roles in periplasmic protein quality control and stress responses. The genetic inactivation of htrA has been described for many bacterial pathogens. However, in some cases such as the gastric pathogen Helicobacter pylori, HtrA is secreted where it cleaves the tumour-suppressor E-cadherin interfering with gastric disease development, but the generation of htrA mutants is still lacking. Here, we show that the htrA gene locus is highly conserved in worldwide strains. HtrA presence was confirmed in 992 H.pylori isolates in gastric biopsy material from infected patients. Differential RNA-sequencing (dRNA-seq) indicated that htrA is encoded in an operon with two subsequent genes, HP1020 and HP1021. Genetic mutagenesis and complementation studies revealed that HP1020 and HP1021, but not htrA, can be mutated. In addition, we demonstrate that suppression of HtrA proteolytic activity with a newly developed inhibitor is sufficient to effectively kill H.pylori, but not other bacteria. We show that Helicobacter htrA is an essential bifunctional gene with crucial intracellular and extracellular functions. Thus, we describe here the first microbe in which htrA is an indispensable gene, a situation unique in the bacterial kingdom. HtrA can therefore be considered a promising new target for anti-bacterial therapy.}, language = {en} } @article{ReichertsGerdesPaulietal.2016, author = {Reicherts, Philipp and Gerdes, Antje B. M. and Pauli, Paul and Wieser, Matthias J.}, title = {Psychological placebo and nocebo effects on pain rely on expectation and previous experience}, series = {Journal of Pain}, volume = {17}, journal = {Journal of Pain}, number = {2}, doi = {10.1016/j.jpain.2015.10.010}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-190962}, pages = {203-214}, year = {2016}, abstract = {Expectation and previous experience are both well established key mediators of placebo and nocebo effects. However, the investigation of their respective contribution to placebo and nocebo responses is rather difficult because most placebo and nocebo manipulations are contaminated by pre-existing treatment expectancies resulting from a learning history of previous medical interventions. To circumvent any resemblance to classical treatments, a purely psychological placebonocebo manipulation was established, namely, the "visual stripe pattern induced modulation of pain." To this end, experience and expectation regarding the effects of different visual cues (stripe patterns) on pain were varied across 3 different groups, with either only placebo instruction (expectation), placebo conditioning (experience), or both (expectation + experience) applied. Only the combined manipulation (expectation + experience) revealed significant behavioral and physiological placebo nocebo effects on pain. Two subsequent experiments, which, in addition to placebo and nocebo cues, included a neutral control condition further showed that especially nocebo responses were more easily induced by this psychological placebo and nocebo manipulation. The results emphasize the great effect of psychological processes on placebo and nocebo effects. Particularly, nocebo effects should be addressed more thoroughly and carefully considered in clinical practice to prevent the accidental induction of side effects.}, language = {en} } @article{MaassBentmannSeibeletal.2016, author = {Maaß, Henriette and Bentmann, Hendrik and Seibel, Christoph and Tusche, Christian and Eremeev, Sergey V. and Peixoto, Thiago R.F. and Tereshchenko, Oleg E. and Kokh, Konstantin A. and Chulkov, Evgueni V. and Kirschner, J{\"u}rgen and Reinert, Friedrich}, title = {Spin-texture inversion in the giant Rashba semiconductor BiTeI}, series = {Nature Communications}, volume = {7}, journal = {Nature Communications}, doi = {10.1038/ncomms11621}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-173769}, year = {2016}, abstract = {Semiconductors with strong spin-orbit interaction as the underlying mechanism for the generation of spin-polarized electrons are showing potential for applications in spintronic devices. Unveiling the full spin texture in momentum space for such materials and its relation to the microscopic structure of the electronic wave functions is experimentally challenging and yet essential for exploiting spin-orbit effects for spin manipulation. Here we employ a state-of-the-art photoelectron momentum microscope with a multichannel spin filter to directly image the spin texture of the layered polar semiconductor BiTeI within the full two-dimensional momentum plane. Our experimental results, supported by relativistic ab initio calculations, demonstrate that the valence and conduction band electrons in BiTeI have spin textures of opposite chirality and of pronounced orbital dependence beyond the standard Rashba model, the latter giving rise to strong optical selection-rule effects on the photoelectron spin polarization. These observations open avenues for spin-texture manipulation by atomic-layer and charge carrier control in polar semiconductors.}, language = {en} }