TY - JOUR A1 - Melfsen, Siebke A1 - Romanos, Marcel A1 - Jans, Thomas A1 - Walitza, Susanne T1 - Betrayed by the nervous system: a comparison group study to investigate the ‘unsafe world’ model of selective mutism JF - Journal of Neural Transmission N2 - The study presented in the following verifies some assumptions of the novel ‘unsafe world’ model of selective mutism (SM). According to this model, SM is a stress reaction to situations erroneously experienced via cognition without awareness as ‘unsafe’. It assumes a high sensitivity to unsafety, whereby the nervous system triggers dissociation or freeze mode at relatively low thresholds. We examine whether there is a correlation between SM, sensory-processing sensitivity and dissociation. We compared a sample of 28 children and adolescents with SM (mean age 12.66 years; 18 females) to 33 controls without SM (mean age 12.45 years; 21 females). Both groups were compared using a medical history sheet, the ‘Selective Mutism Questionnaire’ (SMQ), a ‘Checklist for Speaking Behaviour’ (CheckS), the ‘Highly Sensitive Person Scale’ (HSPS), the ‘Child Dissociative Checklist’ (CDC), the ‘Adolescent Dissociative Experience Scale’ (A-DES) and the ‘Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory for Children’ (SPAIK). Appropriate parametric and non-parametric tests were conducted to examine differences between groups. The results indicate that sensory-processing sensitivity was significantly higher in the group of children and adolescents with SM [X2(1) = 7.224, p = 0.0007; d = 1.092]. Furthermore, dissociative symptoms were more common in children and adolescents with SM than in controls [F(1, 33) = 13.004, p = 0.001; d = 0.986]. The results indicate that sensory-processing sensitivity and dissociation are important factors of SM that may hold important implications for the treatment. KW - selective mutism KW - aetiology KW - high sensory-processing sensitivity KW - dissociation KW - anxiety KW - schoolchildren Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-370681 VL - 128 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Search for heavy long-lived multicharged particles in proton-proton collisions at √\(s\)=13 TeV using the ATLAS detector JF - Physical Review D N2 - A search for heavy long-lived multicharged particles is performed using the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Data with an integrated luminosity of 36.1 fb(-1) collected in 2015 and 2016 from proton-proton collisions at root s = 13 TeV are examined. Particles producing anomalously high ionization, consistent with long-lived massive particles with electric charges from vertical bar q vertical bar = 2e to vertical bar q vertical bar = 7e, are searched for. No events are observed, and 95% confidence level cross-section upper limits are interpreted as lower mass limits for a Drell-Yan production model. Multicharged particles with masses between 50 and 980-1220 GeV (depending on their electric charge) are excluded. KW - Symmetry KW - Matter KW - Extensions of fermion sector Y1 - 2019 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-314061 VL - 99 IS - 5 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Mansour, Ahmed M. A1 - Soliman, Fatma A. A1 - Shehab, Ola R. A1 - Abdel-Ghani, Nour T. T1 - Photodegradation of sulfadiazine catalyzed by p-benzoquinones and picric acid: application to charge transfer complexes JF - RSC Advances N2 - As the treatment of effluents containing the antibiotic drug sulfadiazine (SZ) is one of the challenging problems in the field of environmental chemistry, it is essential to determine the concentration of SZ by a rapid and accurate method and then find a suitable method to degrade the assayed products into harmless chemicals. The color of the charge transfer (CT) complexes developed from the reaction of SZ with 2,3-dichloro-5,6-dicyano-1,4-benzoquinone (DDQ), chloranilic acid (CHL) and picric acid (PA) was used to determine the concentration of SZ at 528, 510 and 410 nm, respectively. The Lambert–Beer's law is obeyed in the ranges of 6.80–68.06, 13.61–136.12 and 6.80–27.22 μg mL\(^{−1}\) for DDQ, CHL and PA complexes. The photolysis of SZ → DDQ in presence of sodium nitrite at 256 nm leads to faster degradation of SZ compared with the control experiments. This was simply spectrophotometrically followed by a decrease in the intensity of the CT band. The effect of some additives such as oxalic acid, and hematite nano particles was studied. For comparison, other π-acceptor reagents such as CHL and PA were used. About 80% of SZ is degraded in 45 min upon the illumination of SZ → DDQ at 256 nm, whereas 90 min is required in the case of CHL and PA to attain the same degradation limit. KW - antibiotic drug sulfadiazine (SZ) KW - environmental chemistry KW - effluents Y1 - 2017 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-181507 VL - 7 IS - 63 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Sharma, Piyush A1 - Khairnar, Vishal A1 - Madunic, Ivana Vrhovac A1 - Singh, Yogesh A1 - Pandyra, Aleksandra A1 - Salker, Madhuri S. A1 - Koepsell, Hermann A1 - Sabolic, Ivan A1 - Lang, Florian A1 - Lang, Pilipp A. A1 - Lang, Karl S. T1 - SGLT1 deficiency turns listeria infection into a lethal disease in mice JF - Cellular Physiology and Biochemistry N2 - Background: Cellular glucose uptake may involve either non-concentrative glucose carriers of the GLUT family or Na\(^+\)-coupled glucose-carrier SGLT1, which accumulates glucose against glucose gradients and may thus accomplish cellular glucose uptake even at dramatically decreased extracellular glucose oncentrations. SGLT1 is not only expressed in epithelia but as well in tumour cells and immune cells. Immune cell functions strongly depend on their metabolism, therefore we hypothesized that deficiency of SGLT1 modulates the defence against bacterial infection. To test this hypothesis, we infected wild type mice and gene targeted mice lacking functional SGLT1 with Listeria monocytogenes. Methods: SGLT1 deficient mice and wild type littermates were infected with 1x10\(^4\) CFU Listeria monocytogenes intravenously. Bacterial titers were determined by colony forming assay, SGLT1, TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-12a transcript levels were determined by qRT-PCR, as well as SGLT1 protein abundance and localization by immunohistochemistry. Results: Genetic knockout of SGLT1 (Slc5a1\(^{–/–}\) mice) significantly compromised bacterial clearance following Listeria monocytogenes infection with significantly enhanced bacterial load in liver, spleen, kidney and lung, and significantly augmented hepatic expression of TNF-α and IL-12a. While all wild type mice survived, all SGLT1 deficient mice died from the infection. Conclusions: SGLT1 is required for bacterial clearance and host survival following murine Listeria infection. KW - glucose uptake KW - Na+-coupled glucose transport KW - Listeria infection KW - TNF-α and IL-12a KW - survival KW - liver KW - spleen KW - kidney KW - lung KW - bacterial clearance Y1 - 2017 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-181496 VL - 42 IS - 4 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ma, Jie A1 - Gulbins, Erich A1 - Edwards, Michael J. A1 - Caldwell, Charles C. A1 - Fraunholz, Martin A1 - Becker, Katrin Anne T1 - Staphylococcus aureus α-toxin induces inflammatory cytokines via lysosomal acid sphingomyelinase and ceramides JF - Cellular Physiology and Biochemistry N2 - Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) infections are a major clinical problem and range from mild skin and soft-tissue infections to severe and even lethal infections such as pneumonia, endocarditis, sepsis, osteomyelitis, and toxic shock syndrome. Toxins that are released from S. aureus mediate many of these effects. Here, we aimed to identify molecular mechanisms how α-toxin, a major S. aureus toxin, induces inflammation. Methods: Macrophages were isolated from the bone marrow of wildtype and acid sphingomyelinase-deficient mice, stimulated with S. aureus α-toxin and activation of the acid sphingomyelinase was quantified. The subcellular formation of ceramides was determined by confocal microscopy. Release of cathepsins from lysosomes, activation of inflammasome proteins and formation of Interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and Tumor Necrosis Factor-α (TNF-α) were analyzed by western blotting, confocal microscopy and ELISA. Results: We demonstrate that S. aureus α-toxin activates the acid sphingomyelinase in ex vivo macrophages and triggers a release of ceramides. Ceramides induced by S. aureus α-toxin localize to lysosomes and mediate a release of cathepsin B and D from lysosomes into the cytoplasm. Cytosolic cathepsin B forms a complex with Nlrc4. Treatment of macrophages with α-toxin induces the formation of IL-1β and TNF-α. These events are reduced or abrogated, respectively, in cells lacking the acid sphingomyelinase and upon treatment of macrophages with amitriptyline, a functional inhibitor of acid sphingomyelinase. Pharmacological inhibition of cathepsin B prevented activation of the inflammasome measured as release of IL-1β, while the formation of TNF-α was independent of cathepsin B. Conclusion: We demonstrate a novel mechanism how bacterial toxins activate the inflammasome and mediate the formation and release of cytokines: S. aureus α-toxin triggers an activation of the acid sphingomyelinase and a release of ceramides resulting in the release of lysosomal cathepsin B and formation of pro-inflammatory cytokines. KW - Staphylococcus aureus KW - sphingomyelinase KW - ceramide KW - toxins KW - macrophages KW - cytokines Y1 - 2017 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-181481 VL - 43 IS - 6 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wang, Yiwen A1 - Zhang, Zhen A1 - Bai, Liying A1 - Lin, Chongde A1 - Osinsky, Roman A1 - Hewig, Johannes T1 - Ingroup/outgroup membership modulates fairness consideration: neural signatures from ERPs and EEG oscillations JF - Scientific Reports N2 - Previous studies have shown that ingroup/outgroup membership influences individual’s fairness considerations. However, it is not clear yet how group membership influences brain activity when a recipient evaluates the fairness of asset distribution. In this study, subjects participated as recipients in an Ultimatum Game with alleged members of both an experimentally induced ingroup and outgroup. They either received extremely unequal, moderately unequal, or equal offers from proposers while electroencephalogram was recorded. Behavioral results showed that the acceptance rates for unequal offers were higher when interacting with ingroup partners than with outgroup partners. Analyses of event related potentials revealed that proposers’ group membership modulated offer evaluation at earlier processing stages. Feedback-related negativity was more negative for extremely and moderately unequal offers compared to equal offers in the ingroup interaction whereas it did not show differential responses to different offers in the outgroup interaction. Analyses of event related oscillations revealed that the theta power (4–6 Hz) was larger for moderately unequal offers than equal offers in the ingroup interaction whereas it did not show differential responses to different offers in the outgroup interaction. Thus, early mechanisms of fairness evaluation are strongly modulated by the ingroup/outgroup membership of the interaction partner. KW - psychology KW - group membership KW - brain activity KW - asset distribution Y1 - 2017 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-181461 VL - 7 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Scheunert, Gunther A1 - Cohen, Sidney R. A1 - Kullock, René A1 - McCarron, Ryan A1 - Rechev, Katya A1 - Kaplan-Ashiri, Ifat A1 - Bitton, Ora A1 - Dawson, Paul A1 - Hecht, Bert A1 - Oron, Dan T1 - Grazing-incidence optical magnetic recording with super-resolution JF - Beilstein Journal of Nanotechnology N2 - Heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) is often considered the next major step in the storage industry: it is predicted to increase the storage capacity, the read/write speed and the data lifetime of future hard disk drives. However, despite more than a decade of development work, the reliability is still a prime concern. Featuring an inherently fragile surface-plasmon resonator as a highly localized heat source, as part of a near-field transducer (NFT), the current industry concepts still fail to deliver drives with sufficient lifetime. This study presents a method to aid conventional NFT-designs by additional grazing-incidence laser illumination, which may open an alternative route to high-durability HAMR. Magnetic switching is demonstrated on consumer-grade CoCrPt perpendicular magnetic recording media using a green and a near-infrared diode laser. Sub-500 nm magnetic features are written in the absence of a NFT in a moderate bias field of only μ0H = 0.3 T with individual laser pulses of 40 mW power and 50 ns duration with a laser spot size of 3 μm (short axis) at the sample surface – six times larger than the magnetic features. Herein, the presence of a nanoscopic object, i.e., the tip of an atomic force microscope in the focus of the laser at the sample surface, has no impact on the recorded magnetic features – thus suggesting full compatibility with NFT-HAMR. KW - laser absorption KW - laser heating KW - thermally assisted magnetic recording Y1 - 2017 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-181457 VL - 8 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Szklarczyk, Damian A1 - Morris, John H. A1 - Cook, Helen A1 - Kuhn, Michael A1 - Wyder, Stefan A1 - Simonovic, Milan A1 - Santos, Aalberto A1 - Doncheva, Nadezhda T. A1 - Roth, Alexander A1 - Bork, Peer A1 - Jensen, Lars J. A1 - von Mering, Christian T1 - The STRING database in 2017: quality-controlled protein-protein association networks, made broadly accessible JF - Nucleic Acids Research N2 - A system-wide understanding of cellular function requires knowledge of all functional interactions between the expressed proteins. The STRING database aims to collect and integrate this information, by consolidating known and predicted protein–protein association data for a large number of organisms. The associations in STRING include direct (physical) interactions, as well as indirect (functional) interactions, as long as both are specific and biologically meaningful. Apart from collecting and reassessing available experimental data on protein–protein interactions, and importing known pathways and protein complexes from curated databases, interaction predictions are derived from the following sources: (i) systematic co-expression analysis, (ii) detection of shared selective signals across genomes, (iii) automated text-mining of the scientific literature and (iv) computational transfer of interaction knowledge between organisms based on gene orthology. In the latest version 10.5 of STRING, the biggest changes are concerned with data dissemination: the web frontend has been completely redesigned to reduce dependency on outdated browser technologies, and the database can now also be queried from inside the popular Cytoscape software framework. Further improvements include automated background analysis of user inputs for functional enrichments, and streamlined download options. The STRING resource is available online, at http://string-db.org/. KW - string database KW - quality control KW - proteins KW - cellular function Y1 - 2017 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-181445 VL - 45 IS - D1 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Rhee, Jae-Sung A1 - Choi, Beom-Soon A1 - Kim, Jaebum A1 - Kim, Bo-Mi A1 - Lee, Young-Mi A1 - Kim, Il-Chan A1 - Kanamori, Akira A1 - Choi, Ik-Young A1 - Schartl, Manfred A1 - Lee, Jae-Seong T1 - Diversity, distribution, and significance of transposable elements in the genome of the only selfing hermaphroditic vertebrate Kryptolebias marmoratus JF - Scientific Reports N2 - The Kryptolebias marmoratus is unique because it is the only selffertilizing hermaphroditic vertebrate, known to date. It primarily reproduces by internal self-fertilization in a mixed ovary/testis gonad. Here, we report on a high-quality genome assembly for the K. marmoratus South Korea (SK) strain highlighting the diversity and distribution of transposable elements (TEs). We find that K. marmoratus genome maintains number and composition of TEs. This can be an important genomic attribute promoting genome recombination in this selfing fish, while, in addition to a mixed mating strategy, it may also represent a mechanism contributing to the evolutionary adaptation to ecological pressure of the species. Future work should help clarify this point further once genomic information is gathered for other taxa of the family Rivulidae that do not self-fertilize. We provide a valuable genome resource that highlights the potential impact of TEs on the genome evolution of a fish species with an uncommon life cycle. KW - ecological genetics KW - evolutionary genetics KW - ichthyology KW - Kryptolebias marmoratus Y1 - 2017 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-181329 VL - 7 ER - TY - THES A1 - Reichelt, Niklas T1 - Exploring the natural variation of heat-dependent metabolic rearrangements in \(Arabidopsis\) \(thaliana\) to identify genes involved in thermotolerance T1 - Untersuchung der natürlichen Variation des hitzeregulierten Metaboloms in \(Arabidopsis\) \(thaliana\), um Gene der pflanzlichen Thermotoleranz zu identifizieren N2 - Climate change and associated extreme weather events are a threat not only for agricultural yields but the plant kingdom in general. Therefore, there is a great necessity to better understand the plants' intrinsic mechanisms to combat heat stress. The plant heat stress response already has been investigated in many studies, including the role of HSFA1 transcription factors as the central regulators. Other aspects such as the initial perception of heat and the role of heat-induced changes in plant metabolism are rather unknown. In this thesis, the natural variation of 250 different accessions of Arabidopsis thaliana was investigated regarding the temperature-dependent accumulation of raffinose and triacylglycerols. A connection between these phenotypes and respective genotypes was established using genome-wide association studies. As a result, the candidate gene TREHALOSE-6-PHOSPHATE SYNTHASE 1 (TPS1), was identified. Enzymatic TPS1 is responsible for the synthesis of trehalose 6-phosphate (T6P), which serves as an indicator and regulator of sucrose homeostasis. Subsequent analyses using tps1 tilling mutants demonstrated a link between T6P metabolism and an increased accumulation of various soluble carbohydrates and starch, including raffinose both under control conditions and during heat exposure. Furthermore, the mutant lines displayed enhanced thermotolerance and survival rates following long-term heat stress. Transcriptome analyses, however, did not show any difference in the regulation of canonical heat stress-associated genes. Instead, genes related to photosynthesis were overrepresented among the differentially upregulated genes in tps1 tilling lines during heat exposure. In this work, a direct connection of T6P signaling, sucrose homeostasis, and thermotolerance is shown for the first time. In a second project, two Arabidopsis thaliana accessions (Oberursel-0, accession ID: 7276; Nieps-0, accession ID: 7268) showing distinct capacities to acquire short-term thermotolerance were compared to identify the putative causative regulators or mechanisms that lead to the different levels of thermotolerance. An examination of the transcriptomes of 7268 and 7276 showed that several hundreds of genes were already differentially regulated within 10 minutes of exposure to 32 °C or 34 °C. Among these, several genes associated with sulfur metabolism were more highly induced in the more thermotolerant accession 7268. However, experimental as well as genetic manipulation of sulfur availability and metabolism did not result in altered thermotolerance. In addition to sulfur-related genes, most of the canonical heat stress-associated genes were more highly expressed in 7268 than in 7276. While we could not identify a causative regulator or mechanism of differential thermotolerances, the data strongly suggests that 7268 either has a higher overall sensitivity, i.e., the heat stress response is initiated at lower temperatures, or stronger overall heat stress response when exposed to a certain elevated temperature. N2 - Der Klimawandel und die damit einhergehenden extremen Wetterereignisse stellen eine große Bedrohung für den Ertrag der Landwirtschaft aber auch das Reich der Pflanzen im Allgemeinen dar. Es ist daher von großer Notwendigkeit, die der Pflanzen intrinsischen Mechanismen zur Bekämpfung von Hitzestress besser zu verstehen. Die hierbei zugrundeliegende Hitzestressantwort der Pflanzen ist bereits durch viele Studien untersucht worden, unter anderem die Rolle von HSFA1 Transkriptionsfaktoren als zentrale Regulatoren. Andere Aspekte wie die initiale Wahrnehmung von Hitze sowie die Rolle von hitzeinduzierten Veränderungen des Pflanzenmetabolismus sind eher unbekannt. In dieser Thesis wurde die natürliche Variation von 250 Populationen von Arabidopsis thaliana hinsichtlich der temperatur-abhängigen Akkumulation von Raffinose und Triacylglycerolen untersucht. Ein statistischer Zusammenhang dieser Phänotypen sowie zugrundeliegender Genotypen wurde mittels Genomweiter Assoziationsstudien erstellt. Als Ergebnis konnte das Kandidatengen Trehalose-6-Phosphate Synthase 1 (TPS1) identifiziert werden. Das Enzym TPS1 ist verantwortlich für die Synthese von T6P, welches als Indikator sowie Regulator der Homöostase von Saccharose fungiert. Folgestudien an tps1 tilling lines konnten sowohl unter Kontrollbedingungen als auch bei Hitzestress einen Zusammenhang zwischen dem T6P Metabolismus und einer erhöhten Akkumulation von Raffinose, weiterer löslicher Zucker, sowie Stärke nachweisen. Des Weiteren zeigten die tps1 tilling lines eine erhöhte Thermotoleranz und Überlebensrate gegenüber Langzeit-Hitzestress. Eine Analyse der Transkriptome zeigte keinen Unterschied in der Regulation klassischer Hitzestress-assoziierter Gene. In beiden tps1 tilling lines war in Folge von Hitzestress eine Überrepräsentation von signifikant hochregulierten Genen vorzufinden, welche mit der Photosynthese der Pflanze assoziiert sind. In dieser Arbeit konnte erstmalig ein direkter Zusammenhang von T6P Signaling, Zucker-Homöostase und Thermotoleranz gezeigt werden. In einem zweiten Projekt wurden zwei Arabidopsis thaliana Populationen (Oberursel-0, Populations-ID: 7276; Nieps-0, Populations-ID: 7268) verglichen, welche deutliche Unterschiede in ihrer Fähigkeit der kurzzeitig akquirierten Thermotoleranz aufweisen. Ziel war hierbei die Identifikation etwaiger kausaler Regulatoren oder Mechanismen, welche zu den unterschiedlich ausgeprägten Thermotoleranzen führen. Eine Untersuchung der Transkriptome von 7268 und 7276 konnte zeigen, dass bereits nach 10 Minuten einer 32 °C oder auch 37 °C Hitzebehandlung hunderte von Genen differentiell reguliert sind. Hierbei waren in der hitzetoleranteren Population 7268 mehrere Gene, welche mit dem Schwefel-Metabolismus assoziiert sind, im Vergleich zu 7276 höher exprimiert. Jedoch hatten sowohl die experimentelle Schwefelverfügbarkeit als auch die genetische Manipulation des Schwefelmetabolismus keinen Effekt auf die Thermotoleranz. Neben den Schwefel-assoziierten Genen waren auch die meisten der klassischen Hitzestress-assoziierten Gene in 7268 höher exprimiert als in 7276. Zwar konnte kein kausaler Regulator oder Mechanismus für die unterschiedlichen Thermotoleranzen identifiziert werden, jedoch weisen die generierten Daten auf eine allgemein stärkere Hitzestressantwort oder aber eine höhere Hitzesensitivität von 7268 gegenüber 7276 hin. KW - Schmalwand KW - Hitzestress KW - Stärke KW - Raffinose KW - Genomweite-Assoziationsstudien KW - Genome-wide association studies KW - RNA-Seq KW - Natürliche Variation KW - Natural Variation KW - Trehalose-6-Phosphate Synthase 1 (TPS1) KW - Triacylglycerole Y1 - 2024 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-371324 ER -