TY - JOUR A1 - Stebani, Jannik A1 - Blaimer, Martin A1 - Zabler, Simon A1 - Neun, Tilmann A1 - Pelt, Daniël M. A1 - Rak, Kristen T1 - Towards fully automated inner ear analysis with deep-learning-based joint segmentation and landmark detection framework JF - Scientific Reports N2 - Automated analysis of the inner ear anatomy in radiological data instead of time-consuming manual assessment is a worthwhile goal that could facilitate preoperative planning and clinical research. We propose a framework encompassing joint semantic segmentation of the inner ear and anatomical landmark detection of helicotrema, oval and round window. A fully automated pipeline with a single, dual-headed volumetric 3D U-Net was implemented, trained and evaluated using manually labeled in-house datasets from cadaveric specimen (N = 43) and clinical practice (N = 9). The model robustness was further evaluated on three independent open-source datasets (N = 23 + 7 + 17 scans) consisting of cadaveric specimen scans. For the in-house datasets, Dice scores of 0.97 and 0.94, intersection-over-union scores of 0.94 and 0.89 and average Hausdorf distances of 0.065 and 0.14 voxel units were achieved. The landmark localization task was performed automatically with an average localization error of 3.3 and 5.2 voxel units. A robust, albeit reduced performance could be attained for the catalogue of three open-source datasets. Results of the ablation studies with 43 mono-parametric variations of the basal architecture and training protocol provided task-optimal parameters for both categories. Ablation studies against single-task variants of the basal architecture showed a clear performance beneft of coupling landmark localization with segmentation and a dataset-dependent performance impact on segmentation ability. KW - anatomy KW - bone imaging KW - diagnosis KW - medical imaging KW - software KW - three-dimensional imaging KW - tomography Y1 - 2023 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-357411 VL - 13 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Gründahl, Marthe A1 - Weiß, Martin A1 - Stenzel, Kilian A1 - Deckert, Jürgen A1 - Hein, Grit T1 - The effects of everyday-life social interactions on anxiety-related autonomic responses differ between men and women JF - Scientific Reports N2 - Social buffering, a phenomenon where social presence can reduce anxiety and fear-related autonomic responses, has been studied in numerous laboratory settings. The results suggest that the familiarity of the interaction partner influences social buffering while also providing some evidence for gender effects. In the laboratory, however, it is difficult to mimic the complexity of real-life social interactions. Consequently, the social modulation of anxiety and related autonomic responses in everyday life remains poorly understood. We used smartphone-based Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) combined with wearable electrocardiogram sensors to investigate how everyday-life social interactions affect state anxiety and related cardiac changes in women and men. On five consecutive days, 96 healthy young participants (53% women) answered up to six EMA surveys per day, indicating characteristics of their most recent social interaction and the respective interaction partner(s). In women, our results showed lower heart rate in the presence of a male interaction partner. Men showed the same effect with female interaction partners. Moreover, only women showed decreased heart rate and increased heart rate variability with increasing interaction partner familiarity. These findings specify the conditions under which social interactions reduce anxiety-related responses in women and men. KW - physiology KW - psychology Y1 - 2023 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-357840 VL - 13 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Weiß, Martin A1 - Gründahl, Marthe A1 - Deckert, Jürgen A1 - Eichner, Felizitas A. A1 - Kohls, Mirjam A1 - Störk, Stefan A1 - Heuschmann, Peter U. A1 - Hein, Grit T1 - Differential network interactions between psychosocial factors, mental health, and health-related quality of life in women and men JF - Scientific Reports N2 - Psychosocial factors affect mental health and health-related quality of life (HRQL) in a complex manner, yet gender differences in these interactions remain poorly understood. We investigated whether psychosocial factors such as social support and personal and work-related concerns impact mental health and HRQL differentially in women and men during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Between June and October 2020, the first part of a COVID-19-specific program was conducted within the “Characteristics and Course of Heart Failure Stages A-B and Determinants of Progression (STAAB)” cohort study, a representative age- and gender-stratified sample of the general population of Würzburg, Germany. Using psychometric networks, we first established the complex relations between personal social support, personal and work-related concerns, and their interactions with anxiety, depression, and HRQL. Second, we tested for gender differences by comparing expected influence, edge weight differences, and stability of the networks. The network comparison revealed a significant difference in the overall network structure. The male (N = 1370) but not the female network (N = 1520) showed a positive link between work-related concern and anxiety. In both networks, anxiety was the most central variable. These findings provide further evidence that the complex interplay of psychosocial factors with mental health and HRQL decisively depends on gender. Our results are relevant for the development of gender-specific interventions to increase resilience in times of pandemic crisis. KW - anxiety KW - depression KW - human behaviour KW - quality of life Y1 - 2023 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-357858 VL - 13 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Huestegge, Lynn A1 - Pieczykolan, Aleks A1 - Koch, Iring T1 - A Gestalt account of human behavior is supported by evidence from switching between single and dual actions JF - Scientific Reports N2 - The question of how behavior is represented in the mind lies at the core of psychology as the science of mind and behavior. While a long-standing research tradition has established two opposing fundamental views of perceptual representation, Structuralism and Gestalt psychology, we test both accounts with respect to action representation: Are multiple actions (characterizing human behavior in general) represented as the sum of their component actions (Structuralist view) or holistically (Gestalt view)? Using a single-/dual-response switch paradigm, we analyzed switches between dual ([A + B]) and single ([A], [B]) responses across different effector systems and revealed comparable performance in partial repetitions and full switches of behavioral requirements (e.g., in [A + B] → [A] vs. [B] → [A], or [A] → [A + B] vs. [B] → [A + B]), but only when the presence of dimensional overlap between responses allows for Gestalt formation. This evidence for a Gestalt view of behavior in our paradigm challenges some fundamental assumptions in current (tacitly Structuralist) action control theories (in particular the idea that all actions are represented compositionally with reference to their components), provides a novel explanatory angle for understanding complex, highly synchronized human behavior (e.g., dance), and delimitates the degree to which complex behavior can be analyzed in terms of its basic components. KW - cognitive neuroscience KW - human behaviour KW - learning and memory Y1 - 2023 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-357862 VL - 13 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Vogel, P. A1 - Rückert, M. A. A1 - Greiner, C. A1 - Günther, J. A1 - Reichl, T. A1 - Kampf, T. A1 - Bley, T. A. A1 - Behr, V. C. A1 - Herz, S. T1 - iMPI: portable human-sized magnetic particle imaging scanner for real-time endovascular interventions JF - Scientific Reports N2 - Minimally invasive endovascular interventions have become an important tool for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases such as ischemic heart disease, peripheral artery disease, and stroke. X-ray fluoroscopy and digital subtraction angiography are used to precisely guide these procedures, but they are associated with radiation exposure for patients and clinical staff. Magnetic Particle Imaging (MPI) is an emerging imaging technology using time-varying magnetic fields combined with magnetic nanoparticle tracers for fast and highly sensitive imaging. In recent years, basic experiments have shown that MPI has great potential for cardiovascular applications. However, commercially available MPI scanners were too large and expensive and had a small field of view (FOV) designed for rodents, which limited further translational research. The first human-sized MPI scanner designed specifically for brain imaging showed promising results but had limitations in gradient strength, acquisition time and portability. Here, we present a portable interventional MPI (iMPI) system dedicated for real-time endovascular interventions free of ionizing radiation. It uses a novel field generator approach with a very large FOV and an application-oriented open design enabling hybrid approaches with conventional X-ray-based angiography. The feasibility of a real-time iMPI-guided percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) is shown in a realistic dynamic human-sized leg model. KW - biomedical engineering KW - electrical and electronic engineering KW - imaging KW - three-dimensional imaging Y1 - 2023 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-357794 VL - 13 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bachert, Antonia A1 - Scheiner, Ricarda T1 - The ant’s weapon improves honey bee learning performance JF - Scientific Reports N2 - Formic acid is the main component of the ant’s major weapon against enemies. Being mainly used as a chemical defense, the acid is also exploited for recruitment and trail marking. The repelling effect of the organic acid is used by some mammals and birds which rub themselves in the acid to eliminate ectoparasites. Beekeepers across the world rely on this effect to control the parasitic mite Varroa destructor. Varroa mites are considered the most destructive pest of honey bees worldwide and can lead to the loss of entire colonies. Formic acid is highly effective against Varroa mites but can also kill the honeybee queen and worker brood. Whether formic acid can also affect the behavior of honey bees is unknown. We here study the effect of formic acid on sucrose responsiveness and cognition of honey bees treated at different live stages in field-relevant doses. Both behaviors are essential for survival of the honey bee colony. Rather unexpectedly, formic acid clearly improved the learning performance of the bees in appetitive olfactory conditioning, while not affecting sucrose responsiveness. This exciting side effect of formic acid certainly deserves further detailed investigations. KW - animal behaviour KW - animal physiology Y1 - 2023 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-358064 VL - 13 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Gruschwitz, Philipp A1 - Hartung, Viktor A1 - Kleefeldt, Florian A1 - Ergün, Süleyman A1 - Lichthardt, Sven A1 - Huflage, Henner A1 - Hendel, Robin A1 - Kunz, Andreas Steven A1 - Pannenbecker, Pauline A1 - Kuhl, Philipp Josef A1 - Augustin, Anne Marie A1 - Bley, Thorsten Alexander A1 - Petritsch, Bernhard A1 - Grunz, Jan-Peter T1 - Standardized assessment of vascular reconstruction kernels in photon-counting CT angiographies of the leg using a continuous extracorporeal perfusion model JF - Scientific Reports N2 - This study evaluated the influence of different vascular reconstruction kernels on the image quality of CT angiographies of the lower extremity runoff using a 1st-generation photon-counting-detector CT (PCD-CT) compared with dose-matched examinations on a 3rd-generation energy-integrating-detector CT (EID-CT). Inducing continuous extracorporeal perfusion in a human cadaveric model, we performed CT angiographies of eight upper leg arterial runoffs with radiation dose-equivalent 120 kVp acquisition protocols (CTDIvol 5 mGy). Reconstructions were executed with different vascular kernels, matching the individual modulation transfer functions between scanners. Signal-to-noise-ratios (SNR) and contrast-to-noise-ratios (CNR) were computed to assess objective image quality. Six radiologists evaluated image quality subjectively using a forced-choice pairwise comparison tool. Interrater agreement was determined by calculating Kendall’s concordance coefficient (W). The intraluminal attenuation of PCD-CT images was significantly higher than of EID-CT (414.7 ± 27.3 HU vs. 329.3 ± 24.5 HU; p < 0.001). Using comparable kernels, image noise with PCD-CT was significantly lower than with EID-CT (p ≤ 0.044). Correspondingly, SNR and CNR were approximately twofold higher for PCD-CT (p < 0.001). Increasing the spatial frequency for PCD-CT reconstructions by one level resulted in similar metrics compared to EID-CT (CNRfat; EID-CT Bv49: 21.7 ± 3.7 versus PCD-CT Bv60: 21.4 ± 3.5). Overall image quality of PCD-CTA achieved ratings superior to EID-CTA irrespective of the used reconstruction kernels (best: PCD-CT Bv60; worst: EID-CT Bv40; p < 0.001). Interrater agreement was good (W = 0.78). Concluding, PCD-CT offers superior intraluminal attenuation, SNR, and CNR compared to EID-CT in angiographies of the upper leg arterial runoff. Combined with improved subjective image quality, PCD-CT facilitates the use of sharper convolution kernels and ultimately bears the potential of improved vascular structure assessability. KW - experimental models of disease KW - preclinical research KW - translational research Y1 - 2023 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-357912 VL - 13 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kirsch, Wladimir A1 - Kunde, Wilfried T1 - Human perception of spatial frequency varies with stimulus orientation and location in the visual field JF - Scientific Reports N2 - Neuroanatomical variations across the visual field of human observers go along with corresponding variations of the perceived coarseness of visual stimuli. Here we show that horizontal gratings are perceived as having lower spatial frequency than vertical gratings when occurring along the horizontal meridian of the visual field, whereas gratings occurring along the vertical meridian show the exact opposite effect. This finding indicates a new peculiarity of processes operating along the cardinal axes of the visual field. KW - neuroscience KW - psychology Y1 - 2023 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-357888 VL - 13 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kroner-Weigl, Niklas A1 - Chu, Jin A1 - Rudert, Maximilian A1 - Alt, Volker A1 - Shukunami, Chisa A1 - Docheva, Denitsa T1 - Dexamethasone is not sufficient to facilitate tenogenic differentiation of dermal fibroblasts in a 3D organoid model JF - Biomedicines N2 - Self-assembling three-dimensional organoids that do not rely on an exogenous scaffold but maintain their native cell-to-cell and cell-to-matrix interactions represent a promising model in the field of tendon tissue engineering. We have identified dermal fibroblasts (DFs) as a potential cell type for generating functional tendon-like tissue. The glucocorticoid dexamethasone (DEX) has been shown to regulate cell proliferation and facilitate differentiation towards other mesenchymal lineages. Therefore, we hypothesized that the administration of DEX could reduce excessive DF proliferation and thus, facilitate the tenogenic differentiation of DFs using a previously established 3D organoid model combined with dose-dependent application of DEX. Interestingly, the results demonstrated that DEX, in all tested concentrations, was not sufficient to notably induce the tenogenic differentiation of human DFs and DEX-treated organoids did not have clear advantages over untreated control organoids. Moreover, high concentrations of DEX exerted a negative impact on the organoid phenotype. Nevertheless, the expression profile of tendon-related genes of untreated and 10 nM DEX-treated DF organoids was largely comparable to organoids formed by tendon-derived cells, which is encouraging for further investigations on utilizing DFs for tendon tissue engineering. KW - 3D organoids KW - dermal fibroblasts KW - dexamethasone KW - scaffold-free KW - tenogenic differentiation KW - tendon tissue engineering Y1 - 2023 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-311234 SN - 2227-9059 VL - 11 IS - 3 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Griebel, Matthias A1 - Segebarth, Dennis A1 - Stein, Nikolai A1 - Schukraft, Nina A1 - Tovote, Philip A1 - Blum, Robert A1 - Flath, Christoph M. T1 - Deep learning-enabled segmentation of ambiguous bioimages with deepflash2 JF - Nature Communications N2 - Bioimages frequently exhibit low signal-to-noise ratios due to experimental conditions, specimen characteristics, and imaging trade-offs. Reliable segmentation of such ambiguous images is difficult and laborious. Here we introduce deepflash2, a deep learning-enabled segmentation tool for bioimage analysis. The tool addresses typical challenges that may arise during the training, evaluation, and application of deep learning models on ambiguous data. The tool’s training and evaluation pipeline uses multiple expert annotations and deep model ensembles to achieve accurate results. The application pipeline supports various use-cases for expert annotations and includes a quality assurance mechanism in the form of uncertainty measures. Benchmarked against other tools, deepflash2 offers both high predictive accuracy and efficient computational resource usage. The tool is built upon established deep learning libraries and enables sharing of trained model ensembles with the research community. deepflash2 aims to simplify the integration of deep learning into bioimage analysis projects while improving accuracy and reliability. KW - machine learning KW - microscopy KW - quality control KW - software Y1 - 2023 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-357286 VL - 14 ER -