TY - JOUR A1 - Campana, Francesca Calà A1 - Ciaramella, Gabriele A1 - Borzì, Alfio T1 - Nash Equilibria and Bargaining Solutions of Differential Bilinear Games JF - Dynamic Games and Applications N2 - 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. KW - bilinear evolution model KW - Nash equilibria KW - Nash bargaining problem KW - optimal control theory KW - quantum evolution models KW - Lotka-Volterra models KW - Newton methods Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-283897 VL - 11 IS - 1 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Potreck, Arne A1 - Mutke, Matthias A. A1 - Weyland, Charlotte S. A1 - Pfaff, Johannes A. R. A1 - Ringleb, Peter A. A1 - Mundiyanapurath, Sibu A1 - Möhlenbruch, Markus A. A1 - Heiland, Sabine A1 - Pham, Mirko A1 - Bendszus, Martin A1 - Hoffmann, Angelika T1 - Combined Perfusion and Permeability Imaging Reveals Different Pathophysiologic Tissue Responses After Successful Thrombectomy JF - Translational Stroke Research N2 - 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. KW - permeability imaging KW - perfusion imaging KW - mechanical thrombectomy KW - secondary stroke injury KW - hyperperfusion Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-308946 SN - 1868-4483 SN - 1868-601X VL - 12 IS - 5 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Li, Minghao A1 - Pamporaki, Christina A1 - Fliedner, Stephanie M. J. A1 - Timmers, Henri J. L. M. A1 - Nölting, Svenja A1 - Beuschlein, Felix A1 - Prejbisz, Aleksander A1 - Remde, Hanna A1 - Robledo, Mercedes A1 - Bornstein, Stefan R. A1 - Lenders, Jacques W. M. A1 - Eisenhofer, Graeme A1 - Bechmann, Nicole T1 - Metastatic pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma: signs and symptoms related to catecholamine secretion JF - Discover Oncology N2 - 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. KW - pheochromocytoma KW - paraganglioma KW - metastatic KW - signs KW - symptoms KW - catecholamines Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-309901 SN - 2730-6011 VL - 12 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Fleuchaus, Paul A1 - Blum, Philipp A1 - Wilde, Martina A1 - Terhorst, Birgit A1 - Butscher, Christoph T1 - Retrospective evaluation of landslide susceptibility maps and review of validation practice JF - Environmental Earth Sciences N2 - 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. KW - landslides KW - hazard maps KW - predictive performance KW - review KW - Swabian Alb Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-308911 SN - 1866-6280 SN - 1866-6299 VL - 80 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Leimeister, Jan Marco A1 - Stieglitz, Stefan A1 - Matzner, Martin A1 - Kundisch, Dennis A1 - Flath, Christoph A1 - Röglinger, Maximilian T1 - Quo Vadis Conferences in the Business and Information Systems Engineering (BISE) Community After Covid BT - What Can Stay, What Should Go, What Do We Need to Change for Our Future Scientific Conferences? JF - Business & Information Systems Engineering KW - IT in Business KW - business and management Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-308902 SN - 2363-7005 SN - 1867-0202 VL - 63 IS - 6 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Minner, S. A1 - Schreiner, J. A1 - Saeger, W. T1 - Adrenal cancer: relevance of different grading systems and subtypes JF - Clinical and Translational Oncology N2 - 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. KW - adrenal KW - cancer KW - cancer types KW - classification Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-308479 SN - 1699-048X SN - 1699-3055 VL - 23 IS - 7 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Nowotny, Hanna A1 - Ahmed, S. Faisal A1 - Bensing, Sophie A1 - Beun, Johan G. A1 - Brösamle, Manuela A1 - Chifu, Irina A1 - Claahsen van der Grinten, Hedi A1 - Clemente, Maria A1 - Falhammar, Henrik A1 - Hahner, Stefanie A1 - Husebye, Eystein A1 - Kristensen, Jette A1 - Loli, Paola A1 - Lajic, Svetlana A1 - Reisch, Nicole T1 - Therapy options for adrenal insufficiency and recommendations for the management of adrenal crisis JF - Endocrine N2 - 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. KW - adrenal insufficiency KW - congenital adrenal hyperplasia KW - adrenal crisis KW - glucocorticoid replacement KW - hydrocortisone KW - stress instructions Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-308769 SN - 1355-008X SN - 1559-0100 VL - 71 IS - 3 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Adolph, Jonas E. A1 - Fleischhack, Gudrun A1 - Gaab, Christine A1 - Mikasch, Ruth A1 - Mynarek, Martin A1 - Rutkowski, Stefan A1 - Schüller, Ulrich A1 - Pfister, Stefan M. A1 - Pajtler, Kristian W. A1 - Milde, Till A1 - Witt, Olaf A1 - Bison, Brigitte A1 - Warmuth-Metz, Monika A1 - Kortmann, Rolf-Dieter A1 - Dietzsch, Stefan A1 - Pietsch, Torsten A1 - Timmermann, Beate A1 - Tippelt, Stephan T1 - Systemic chemotherapy of pediatric recurrent ependymomas: results from the German HIT-REZ studies JF - Journal of Neuro-Oncology N2 - 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. KW - ependymoma KW - chemotherapy KW - recurrence KW - children KW - sirolimus Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-308302 SN - 0167-594X SN - 1573-7373 VL - 155 IS - 2 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Lenz, Dominic A1 - Pahl, Jens A1 - Hauck, Fabian A1 - Alameer, Seham A1 - Balasubramanian, Meena A1 - Baric, Ivo A1 - Boy, Nikolas A1 - Church, Joseph A. A1 - Crushell, Ellen A1 - Dick, Anke A1 - Distelmaier, Felix A1 - Gujar, Jidnyasa A1 - Indolfi, Giuseppe A1 - Lurz, Eberhard A1 - Peters, Bianca A1 - Schwerd, Tobias A1 - Serranti, Daniele A1 - Kölker, Stefan A1 - Klein, Christoph A1 - Hoffmann, Georg F. A1 - Prokisch, Holger A1 - Greil, Johann A1 - Cerwenka, Adelheid A1 - Giese, Thomas A1 - Staufner, Christian T1 - NBAS Variants Are Associated with Quantitative and Qualitative NK and B Cell Deficiency JF - Journal of Clinical Immunology N2 - 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 naïve 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. KW - NBAS KW - inborn error of immunity KW - NK cell deficiency KW - B cell deficiency KW - vesicle trafficking KW - familial hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-308362 SN - 0271-9142 SN - 1573-2592 VL - 41 IS - 8 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Danysz, Wojciech A1 - Dekundy, Andrzej A1 - Scheschonka, Astrid A1 - Riederer, Peter T1 - Amantadine: reappraisal of the timeless diamond—target updates and novel therapeutic potentials JF - Journal of Neural Transmission N2 - 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. KW - Amantadine Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-330133 VL - 128 IS - 2 ER -