TY - JOUR A1 - Emser, Theresa S. A1 - Johnston, Blair A. A1 - Steele, J. Douglas A1 - Kooij, Sandra A1 - Thorell, Lisa A1 - Christiansen, Hanna T1 - Assessing ADHD symptoms in children and adults: evaluating the role of objective measures JF - Behavioral and Brain Functions N2 - Background: Diagnostic guidelines recommend using a variety of methods to assess and diagnose ADHD. Applying subjective measures always incorporates risks such as informant biases or large differences between ratings obtained from diverse sources. Furthermore, it has been demonstrated that ratings and tests seem to assess somewhat different constructs. The use of objective measures might thus yield valuable information for diagnosing ADHD. This study aims at evaluating the role of objective measures when trying to distinguish between individuals with ADHD and controls. Our sample consisted of children (n = 60) and adults (n = 76) diagnosed with ADHD and matched controls who completed self- and observer ratings as well as objective tasks. Diagnosis was primarily based on clinical interviews. A popular pattern recognition approach, support vector machines, was used to predict the diagnosis. Results: We observed relatively high accuracy of 79% (adults) and 78% (children) applying solely objective measures. Predicting an ADHD diagnosis using both subjective and objective measures exceeded the accuracy of objective measures for both adults (89.5%) and children (86.7%), with the subjective variables proving to be the most relevant. Conclusions: We argue that objective measures are more robust against rater bias and errors inherent in subjective measures and may be more replicable. Considering the high accuracy of objective measures only, we found in our study, we think that they should be incorporated in diagnostic procedures for assessing ADHD. KW - ADHD KW - support vector machines KW - classification KW - objective assessment KW - children/adults Y1 - 2018 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-175717 VL - 14 IS - 11 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Lichtenstein, Leonie A1 - Grübel, Kornelia A1 - Spaethe, Johannes T1 - Opsin expression patterns coincide with photoreceptor development during pupal development in the honey bee, Apis mellifera JF - BMC Developmental Biology N2 - Background: The compound eyes of insects allow them to catch photons and convert the energy into electric signals. All compound eyes consist of numerous ommatidia, each comprising a fixed number of photoreceptors. Different ommatidial types are characterized by a specific set of photoreceptors differing in spectral sensitivity. In honey bees, males and females possess different ommatidial types forming distinct retinal mosaics. However, data are lacking on retinal ontogeny and the mechanisms by which the eyes are patterned. In this study, we investigated the intrinsic temporal and circadian expression patterns of the opsins that give rise to the ultraviolet, blue and green sensitive photoreceptors, as well as the morphological maturation of the retina during pupal development of honey bees. Results: qPCR and histological labeling revealed that temporal opsin mRNA expression differs between sexes and correlates with rhabdom elongation during photoreceptor development. In the first half of the pupal stage, when the rhabdoms of the photoreceptors are still short, worker and (dorsal) drone retinae exhibit similar expression patterns with relatively high levels of UV (UVop) and only marginal levels of blue (BLop) and green (Lop1) opsin mRNA. In the second half of pupation, when photoreceptors and rhabdoms elongate, opsin expression in workers becomes dominated by Lop1 mRNA. In contrast, the dorsal drone eye shows high expression levels of UVop and BLop mRNA, whereas Lop1 mRNA level decreases. Interestingly, opsin expression levels increase up to 22-fold during early adult life. We also found evidence that opsin expression in adult bees is under the control of the endogenous clock. Conclusions: Our data indicate that the formation of the sex-specific retinal composition of photoreceptors takes place during the second half of the pupal development, and that opsin mRNA expression levels continue to increase in young bees, which stands in contrast to Drosophila, where the highest expression levels are found during the late pupal stage and remain constant in adults. From an evolutionary perspective, we hypothesize that the delayed retinal maturation during the early adult phase is linked to the delayed transition from indoor to outdoor activities in bees, when vision becomes important. KW - insect vision KW - photoreceptor KW - spectral sensitivity KW - visual pigments KW - behavioral transition Y1 - 2018 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-175665 VL - 18 IS - 1 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Morbach, Caroline A1 - Bellavia, Diego A1 - Störk, Stefan A1 - Sugeng, Lissa T1 - Systolic characteristics and dynamic changes of the mitral valve in different grades of ischemic mitral regurgitation - insights from 3D transesophageal echocardiography JF - BMC Cardiovascular Disorders N2 - Background: Mitral regurgitation in ischemic heart disease (IMR) is a strong predictor of outcome but until now, pathophysiology is not sufficiently understood and treatment is not satisfying. We aimed to systematically evaluate structural and functional mitral valve leaflet and annular characteristics in patients with IMR to determine the differences in geometric and dynamic changes of the MV between significant and mild IMR. Methods: Thirty-seven patients with IMR (18 mild (m)MR, 19 significant (moderate+severe) (s)MR) and 33 controls underwent TEE. 3D volumes were analyzed using 3D feature-tracking software. Results: All IMR patients showed a loss of mitral annular motility and non-planarity, whereas mitral annulus dilation and leaflet enlargement occurred in sMR only. Active-posterior-leaflet-area decreased in early systole in all three groups accompanied by an increase in active-anterior-leaflet-area in early systole in controls and mMR but only in late systole in sMR. Conclusions: In addition to a significant enlargement and loss in motility of the MV annulus, patients with significant IMR showed a spatio-temporal alteration of the mitral valve coaptation line due to a delayed increase in active-anterior-leaflet-area. This abnormality is likely to contribute to IMR severity and is worth the evaluation of becoming a parameter for clinical decision-making. Further, addressing the leaflets aiming to increase the active leaflet-area is a promising therapeutic approach for significant IMR. Additional studies with a larger sample size and post-operative assessment are warranted to further validate our findings and help understand the dynamics of the mitral valve. KW - coaptation line KW - dynamic KW - functional regurgitation KW - ischemic KW - leaflet KW - mitral valve KW - tenting KW - therapeutic approach KW - three-dimensional echocardiography Y1 - 2018 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-175642 VL - 18 IS - 93 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Vendelova, Emilia A1 - Ashour, Diyaaeldin A1 - Blank, Patrick A1 - Erhard, Florian A1 - Saliba, Antoine-Emmanuel A1 - Kalinke, Ulrich A1 - Lutz, Manfred B. T1 - Tolerogenic transcriptional signatures of steady-state and pathogen-induced dendritic cells JF - Frontiers in Immunology N2 - Dendritic cells (DCs) are key directors of tolerogenic and immunogenic immune responses. During the steady state, DCs maintain T cell tolerance to self-antigens by multiple mechanisms including inducing anergy, deletion, and Treg activity. All of these mechanisms help to prevent autoimmune diseases or other hyperreactivities. Different DC subsets contribute to pathogen recognition by expression of different subsets of pattern recognition receptors, including Toll-like receptors or C-type lectins. In addition to the triggering of immune responses in infected hosts, most pathogens have evolved mechanisms for evasion of targeted responses. One such strategy is characterized by adopting the host's T cell tolerance mechanisms. Understanding these tolerogenic mechanisms is of utmost importance for therapeutic approaches to treat immune pathologies, tumors and infections. Transcriptional profiling has developed into a potent tool for DC subset identification. Here, we review and compile pathogen-induced tolerogenic transcriptional signatures from mRNA profiling data of currently available bacterial- or helminth-induced transcriptional signatures. We compare them with signatures of tolerogenic steady-state DC subtypes to identify common and divergent strategies of pathogen induced immune evasion. Candidate molecules are discussed in detail. Our analysis provides further insights into tolerogenic DC signatures and their exploitation by different pathogens. KW - bacteria KW - helminths KW - immune evasion KW - mycobacteria KW - transcriptional profiling KW - tolerogenic dendritic cells KW - steady-state dendritic cells Y1 - 2018 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-175636 VL - 9 IS - 333 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bartmann, Catharina A1 - Janaki Raman, Sudha R. A1 - Flöter, Jessica A1 - Schulze, Almut A1 - Bahlke, Katrin A1 - Willingstorfer, Jana A1 - Strunz, Maria A1 - Wöckel, Achim A1 - Klement, Rainer J. A1 - Kapp, Michaela A1 - Djuzenova, Cholpon S. A1 - Otto, Christoph A1 - Kämmerer, Ulrike T1 - Beta-hydroxybutyrate (3-OHB) can influence the energetic phenotype of breast cancer cells, but does not impact their proliferation and the response to chemotherapy or radiation JF - Cancer & Metabolism N2 - Background: Ketogenic diets (KDs) or short-term fasting are popular trends amongst supportive approaches for cancer patients. Beta-hydroxybutyrate (3-OHB) is the main physiological ketone body, whose concentration can reach plasma levels of 2–6 mM during KDs or fasting. The impact of 3-OHB on the biology of tumor cells described so far is contradictory. Therefore, we investigated the effect of a physiological concentration of 3 mM 3-OHB on metabolism, proliferation, and viability of breast cancer (BC) cells in vitro. Methods: Seven different human BC cell lines (BT20, BT474, HBL100, MCF-7, MDA-MB 231, MDA-MB 468, and T47D) were cultured in medium with 5 mM glucose in the presence of 3 mM 3-OHB at mild hypoxia (5% oxygen) or normoxia (21% oxygen). Metabolic profiling was performed by quantification of the turnover of glucose, lactate, and 3-OHB and by Seahorse metabolic flux analysis. Expression of key enzymes of ketolysis as well as the main monocarboxylic acid transporter MCT2 and the glucose-transporter GLUT1 was analyzed by RT-qPCR and Western blotting. The effect of 3-OHB on short- and long-term cell proliferation as well as chemo- and radiosensitivity were also analyzed. Results: 3-OHB significantly changed the oxygen consumption rate (OCR) and extracellular acidification rate (ECAR) in BT20 cells resulting in a more oxidative energetic phenotype. MCF-7 and MDA-MB 468 cells had increased ECAR only in response to 3-OHB, while the other three cell types remained uninfluenced. All cells expressed MCT2 and GLUT1, thus being able to uptake the metabolites. The consumption of 3-OHB was not strongly linked to mRNA overexpression of key enzymes of ketolysis and did not correlate with lactate production and glucose consumption. Neither 3-OHB nor acetoacetate did interfere with proliferation. Further, 3-OHB incubation did not modify the response of the tested BC cell lines to chemotherapy or radiation. Conclusions: We found that a physiological level of 3-OHB can change the energetic profile of some BC cell lines. However, 3-OHB failed to influence different biologic processes in these cells, e.g., cell proliferation and the response to common breast cancer chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Thus, we have no evidence that 3-OHB generally influences the biology of breast cancer cells in vitro. KW - ketogenic diet KW - β-Hydroxybutyrate KW - ketone bodies KW - breast cancer KW - seahorse KW - metabolic profile KW - chemotherapy KW - ionizing radiation Y1 - 2018 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-175607 VL - 6 IS - 8 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schumann, Sarah A1 - Eberlein, Uta A1 - Muhtadi, Razan A1 - Lassmann, Michael A1 - Scherthan, Harry T1 - DNA damage in leukocytes after internal ex-vivo irradiation of blood with the α-emitter Ra-223 JF - Scientific Reports N2 - Irradiation with high linear energy transfer α-emitters, like the clinically used Ra-223 dichloride, severely damages cells and induces complex DNA damage including closely spaced double-strand breaks (DSBs). As the hematopoietic system is an organ-at-risk for the treatment, knowledge about Ra-223-induced DNA damage in blood leukocytes is highly desirable. Therefore, 36 blood samples from six healthy volunteers were exposed ex-vivo (in solution) to different concentrations of Ra-223. Absorbed doses to the blood were calculated assuming local energy deposition of all α- and β-particles of the decay, ranging from 0 to 142 mGy. γ-H2AX + 53BP1 co-staining and analysis was performed in leukocytes isolated from the irradiated blood samples. For DNA damage quantification, leukocyte samples were screened for occurrence of α-induced DNA damage tracks and small γ-H2AX + 53BP1 DSB foci. This revealed a linear relationship between the frequency of α-induced γ-H2AX damage tracks and the absorbed dose to the blood, while the frequency of small γ-H2AX + 53BP1 DSB foci indicative of β-irradiation was similar to baseline values, being in agreement with a negligible β-contribution (3.7%) to the total absorbed dose to the blood. Our calibration curve will contribute to the biodosimetry of Ra-223-treated patients and early after incorporation of α-emitters. KW - alpha particles KW - blood KW - DNA Breaks KW - double-stranded KW - gamma rays KW - healthy volunteers KW - humans KW - leukocytes KW - radiation effects KW - radium Y1 - 2018 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-175596 VL - 8 IS - 2286 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Soares Machado, J. A1 - Tran-Gia, J. A1 - Schlögl, S. A1 - Buck, A. K. A1 - Lassmann, M. T1 - Biokinetics, dosimetry, and radiation risk in infants after \(^{99m}\)Tc-MAG3 scans JF - EJNMMI Research N2 - Background: Renal scans are among the most frequent exams performed on infants and toddlers. Due to the young age, this patient group can be classified as a high-risk group with a higher probability for developing stochastic radiation effects compared to adults. As there are only limited data on biokinetics and dosimetry in this patient group, the aim of this study was to reassess the dosimetry and the associated radiation risk for infants undergoing \(^{99m}\)Tc-MAG3 renal scans based on a retrospective analysis of existing patient data. Consecutive data were collected from 20 patients younger than 20 months (14 males; 6 females) with normal renal function undergoing \(^{99m}\)Tc-MAG3 scans. To estimate the patient-specific organ activity, a retrospective calibration was performed based on a set of two 3D-printed infant kidneys filled with known activities. Both phantoms were scanned at different positions along the anteroposterior axis inside a water phantom, providing depth- and size-dependent attenuation correction factors for planar imaging. Time-activity curves were determined by drawing kidney, bladder, and whole-body regions-of-interest for each patient, and subsequently applying the calibration factor for conversion of counts to activity. Patient-specific time-integrated activity coefficients were obtained by integrating the organ-specific time-activity curves. Absorbed and effective dose coefficients for each patient were assessed with OLINDA/EXM for the provided newborn and 1-year-old model. The risk estimation was performed individually for each of the 20 patients with the NCI Radiation Risk Assessment Tool. Results: The mean age of the patients was 7.0 ± 4.5 months, with a weight between 5 and 12 kg and a body size between 60 and 89 cm. The injected activities ranged from 12 to 24 MBq of \(^{99m}\)Tc-MAG3. The patients' organ-specific mean absorbed dose coefficients were 0.04 ± 0.03 mGy/MBq for the kidneys and 0.27 ± 0.24 mGy/MBq for the bladder. The mean effective dose coefficient was 0.02 ± 0.02 mSv/MBq. Based on the dosimetry results, an evaluation of the excess lifetime risk for the development of radiation-induced cancer showed that the group of newborns has a risk of 16.8 per 100,000 persons, which is about 12% higher in comparison with the 1-year-old group with 14.7 per 100,000 persons (all values are given as mean plus/minus one standard deviation except otherwise specified). Conclusion: In this study, we retrospectively derived new data on biokinetics and dosimetry for infants with normal kidney function after undergoing renal scans with \(^{99m}\)Tc-MAG3. In addition, we analyzed the associated age- and gender-specific excess lifetime risk due to ionizing radiation. The radiation-associated stochastic risk increases with the organ doses, taking age- and gender-specific influences into account. Overall, the lifetime radiation risk associated with the \(^{99m}\)Tc-MAG3 scans is very low in comparison to the general population risk for developing cancer. KW - \(^{99m}\)Tc-MAG3 KW - absorbed dose KW - biokinetics KW - dosimetry KW - pediatric patients KW - risk assessment Y1 - 2018 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-175582 VL - 8 IS - 10 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Boelch, Sebastian Philipp A1 - Weissenberger, Manuel A1 - Spohn, Frederik A1 - Rudert, Maximilian A1 - Luedemann, Martin T1 - Insufficient sensitivity of joint aspiration during the two-stage exchange of the hip with spacers JF - Journal of Orthopedic Surgery and Research N2 - Background: Evaluation of infection persistence during the two-stage exchange of the hip is challenging. Joint aspiration before reconstruction is supposed to rule out infection persistence. Sensitivity and specificity of synovial fluid culture and synovial leucocyte count for detecting infection persistence during the two-stage exchange of the hip were evaluated. Methods: Ninety-two aspirations before planned joint reconstruction during the two-stage exchange with spacers of the hip were retrospectively analyzed. Results: The sensitivity and specificity of synovial fluid culture was 4.6 and 94.3%. The sensitivity and specificity of synovial leucocyte count at a cut-off value of 2000 cells/μl was 25.0 and 96.9%. C-reactive protein (CRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) values were significantly higher before prosthesis removal and reconstruction or spacer exchange (p = 0.00; p = 0.013 and p = 0.039; p = 0.002) in the infection persistence group. Receiver operating characteristic area under the curve values before prosthesis removal and reconstruction or spacer exchange for ESR were lower (0.516 and 0.635) than for CRP (0.720 and 0.671). Conclusions: Synovial fluid culture and leucocyte count cannot rule out infection persistence during the two-stage exchange of the hip. KW - two-stage exchange KW - hip KW - periprosthetic infection KW - joint aspiration KW - spacer Y1 - 2018 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-175576 VL - 13 IS - 7 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Roth, Jenny A1 - Steffens, Melanie C. A1 - Vignoles, Vivian L. T1 - Group membership, group change, and intergroup attitudes: a recategorization model based on cognitive consistency principles JF - Frontiers in Psychology N2 - The present article introduces a model based on cognitive consistency principles to predict how new identities become integrated into the self-concept, with consequences for intergroup attitudes. The model specifies four concepts (self-concept, stereotypes, identification, and group compatibility) as associative connections. The model builds on two cognitive principles, balance-congruity and imbalance-dissonance, to predict identification with social groups that people currently belong to, belonged to in the past, or newly belong to. More precisely, the model suggests that the relative strength of self-group associations (i.e., identification) depends in part on the (in)compatibility of the different social groups. Combining insights into cognitive representation of knowledge, intergroup bias, and explicit/implicit attitude change, we further derive predictions for intergroup attitudes. We suggest that intergroup attitudes alter depending on the relative associative strength between the social groups and the self, which in turn is determined by the (in)compatibility between social groups. This model unifies existing models on the integration of social identities into the self-concept by suggesting that basic cognitive mechanisms play an important role in facilitating or hindering identity integration and thus contribute to reducing or increasing intergroup bias. KW - cognitive balance KW - cognitive dissonance KW - group change KW - identity integration KW - intergroup bias KW - social identification KW - recategorization KW - prejudice Y1 - 2018 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-175569 VL - 9 IS - 479 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Rosentreter, André A1 - Lappas, Alexandra A1 - Widder, Randolf Alexander A1 - Alnawaiseh, Maged A1 - Dietlein, Thomas Stefan T1 - Conjunctival repair after glaucoma drainage device exposure using collagen-glycosaminoglycane matrices JF - BMC Ophthalmology N2 - Background: To report the results of the repair of conjunctival erosions resulting from glaucoma drainage device surgery using collagen-glycosaminoglycane matrices (CGM). Methods: Case series of 8 patients who underwent revision surgery due to conjunctival defects with exposed tubes through necrosis of the overlying scleral flap and conjunctiva after Baerveldt drainage device surgery. The defects were repaired by lateral displacement of the tube towards the sclera, with a slice of a CGM as a patch, covered by adjacent conjunctiva. Result: Successful, lasting closure (follow-up of 12 to 42 months) of the conjunctival defects was achieved without any side-effects or complications in all eight cases. Conclusions: Erosion of the drainage tube, creating buttonholes in the conjunctiva after implantation of glaucoma drainage devices, is a potentially serious problem. It can be managed successfully using a biodegradable CGM as a patch. KW - Ahmed KW - Baerveldt KW - biodegradable implant KW - collagen-glycosaminoglycane matrix (CGM) KW - conjunctival defect KW - episcleral drainage device KW - drainage tube KW - conjunctival repair KW - conjunctival hole KW - glaucoma drainage device KW - ologen implant Y1 - 2018 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-175534 VL - 18 IS - 60 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Oezkur, Mehmet A1 - Magyar, Atilla A1 - Thomas, Phillip A1 - Reif, Andreas A1 - Störk, Stefan A1 - Heuschmann, Peter U. A1 - Leyh, Rainer G. A1 - Wagner, Martin T1 - The COMT-polymorphism is not associated with the incidence of acute kidney injury after cardiac surgery - a prospective cohort study JF - BMC Nephrology N2 - Background: The Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) represents the key enzyme in catecholamine degradation. Recent studies suggest that the COMT rs4680 polymorphism is associated with the response to endogenous and exogenous catecholamines. There are, however, conflicting data regarding the COMT Met/Met phenotype being associated with an increased risk of acute kidney injury (AKI) after cardiac surgery. The aim of the current study is to prospectively investigate the impact of the COMT rs4680 polymorphism on the incidence of AKI in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Methods: In this prospective single center cohort study consecutive patients hospitalized for elective cardiac surgery including cardiopulmonary-bypass (CPB) were screened for participation. Demographic clinical data, blood, urine and tissue samples were collected at predefined time points throughout the clinical stay. AKI was defined according to recent recommendations of the Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcome (KDIGO) group. Genetic analysis was performed after patient enrolment was completed. Results: Between April and December 2014, 150 patients were recruited. The COMT genotypes were distributed as follows: Val/Met 48.7%, Met/Met 29.3%, Val/Val 21.3%. No significant differences were found for demography, comorbidities, or operative strategy according to the underlying COMT genotype. AKI occurred in 35 patients (23.5%) of the total cohort, and no differences were evident between the COMT genotypes (20.5% Met/Met, 24.7% Val/Met, 25.0% Val/Val, p = 0.66). There were also no differences in the post-operative period, including ICU or in-hospital stay. Conclusions: We did not find statistically significant variations in the risk for postoperative AKI, length of ICU or in-hospital stay according to the underlying COMT genotype. KW - AKI KW - COMT KW - cardiac surgery KW - KDIGO Y1 - 2018 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-175529 VL - 19 IS - 34 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ruf, Katharina A1 - Demerath, Antonia A1 - Hebestreit, Helge A1 - Kunzmann, Steffen T1 - Is sweat testing for cystic fibrosis feasible in patients with down syndrome? JF - BMC Pulmonary Medicine N2 - Background: Recurrent airway infections are common in patients with Down's syndrome (DS). Hence, ruling out Cystic Fibrosis (CF) in these patients is often required. In the past, the value of sweat testing the gold standard to diagnose CF -has been questioned in DS as false positive results have been reported. However, these reports are based on measurements of sweat osmolality or sodium concentrations, not chloride concentrations. This study analyses sweat secretion rate and chloride concentration in sweat samples of patients with DS in comparison to healthy controls. Methods: We assessed sweat samples in 16 patients with DS and 16 healthy controls regarding sweat secretion rate (SSR) and sweat chloride concentration. Results: All measured chloride concentrations were within the normal range. The chloride concentrations were slightly, but not significantly lower in patients with DS (15,54 mmol/l (±4,47)) compared to healthy controls (18,31 mmol/l (±10,12)). While no gender gap in chloride concentration could be found, chloride concentration increased with age in both groups. Insufficient sweat was collected in 2 females with DS (12.5% of the study group) but not in an individual of the control group. A significant lower sweat secretion rate was found in the DS group (27,6 μl/30 min (± 12,18)) compared to the control group (42,7 μl/30 min (± 21,22)). In a sub-analysis, female patients produced significantly less sweat (20,8 ± 10,6 μl/30 min) than male patients with DS (36,4 ± 7,8 μl/30 min), which accounts for the difference between patients and controls. Furthermore, while the sweating secretion rate increased with age in the control group, it did not do so in the DS group. Once again this was due to female patients with DS, who did not show a significant increase of sweat secretion rate with age. Conclusions: Sweat chloride concentrations were within the normal range in patients with DS and therefore seem to be a reliable tool for testing for CF in these patients. Interestingly, we found a reduced sweat secretion rate in the DS group. Whether the last one has a functional and clinical counterpart, possibly due to a disturbed thermoregulation in DS patients, requires further investigation. KW - sweat secretion rate KW - sweat osmolality KW - gender gap KW - non-responder KW - thermoregulation Y1 - 2018 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-175519 VL - 18 IS - 8 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Chen, Shasha A1 - Lotz, Christopher A1 - Roewer, Norbert A1 - Broscheit, Jens-Albert T1 - Comparison of volatile anesthetic-induced preconditioning in cardiac and cerebral system: molecular mechanisms and clinical aspects JF - European Journal of Medical Research N2 - Volatile anesthetic-induced preconditioning ( APC) has shown to have cardiac and cerebral protective properties in both pre-clinical models and clinical trials. Interestingly, accumulating evidences demonstrate that, except from some specific characters, the underlying molecular mechanisms of APC-induced protective effects in myocytes and neurons are very similar; they share several major intracellular signaling pathways, including mediating mitochondrial function, release of inflammatory cytokines and cell apoptosis. Among all the experimental results, cortical spreading depolarization is a relative newly discovered cellular mechanism of APC, which, however, just exists in central nervous system. Applying volatile anesthetic preconditioning to clinical practice seems to be a promising cardio- and neuroprotective strategy. In this review, we also summarized and discussed the results of recent clinical research of APC. Despite all the positive experimental evidences, large-scale, long-term, more precisely controlled clinical trials focusing on the perioperative use of volatile anesthetics for organ protection are still needed. KW - APC KW - ischemia-reperfusion injury KW - mitochondria KW - apoptosis Y1 - 2018 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-175509 VL - 23 IS - 10 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kazuhino, Koshino A1 - Werner, Rudolf A. A1 - Toriumi, Fuijo A1 - Javadi, Mehrbod S. A1 - Pomper, Martin G. A1 - Solnes, Lilja B. A1 - Verde, Franco A1 - Higuchi, Takahiro A1 - Rowe, Steven P. T1 - Generative Adversarial Networks for the Creation of Realistic Artificial Brain Magnetic Resonance Images JF - Tomography N2 - Even as medical data sets become more publicly accessible, most are restricted to specific medical conditions. Thus, data collection for machine learning approaches remains challenging, and synthetic data augmentation, such as generative adversarial networks (GAN), may overcome this hurdle. In the present quality control study, deep convolutional GAN (DCGAN)-based human brain magnetic resonance (MR) images were validated by blinded radiologists. In total, 96 T1-weighted brain images from 30 healthy individuals and 33 patients with cerebrovascular accident were included. A training data set was generated from the T1-weighted images and DCGAN was applied to generate additional artificial brain images. The likelihood that images were DCGAN-created versus acquired was evaluated by 5 radiologists (2 neuroradiologists [NRs], vs 3 non-neuroradiologists [NNRs]) in a binary fashion to identify real vs created images. Images were selected randomly from the data set (variation of created images, 40%-60%). None of the investigated images was rated as unknown. Of the created images, the NRs rated 45% and 71% as real magnetic resonance imaging images (NNRs, 24%, 40%, and 44%). In contradistinction, 44% and 70% of the real images were rated as generated images by NRs (NNRs, 10%, 17%, and 27%). The accuracy for the NRs was 0.55 and 0.30 (NNRs, 0.83, 0.72, and 0.64). DCGAN-created brain MR images are similar enough to acquired MR images so as to be indistinguishable in some cases. Such an artificial intelligence algorithm may contribute to synthetic data augmentation for "data-hungry" technologies, such as supervised machine learning approaches, in various clinical applications. KW - AI KW - Magnetresonanztomografie KW - artificial intelligence KW - magnetic resonance imaging KW - MRI KW - DCGAN KW - GAN KW - stroke KW - machine learning Y1 - 2018 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-172185 VL - 4 IS - 4 ER - TY - THES A1 - Steck, Daniel T1 - Lagrange Multiplier Methods for Constrained Optimization and Variational Problems in Banach Spaces T1 - Lagrange-Multiplier-Verfahren für Restringierte Optimierung und Variationsprobleme in Banach-Räumen N2 - This thesis is concerned with a class of general-purpose algorithms for constrained minimization problems, variational inequalities, and quasi-variational inequalities in Banach spaces. A substantial amount of background material from Banach space theory, convex analysis, variational analysis, and optimization theory is presented, including some results which are refinements of those existing in the literature. This basis is used to formulate an augmented Lagrangian algorithm with multiplier safeguarding for the solution of constrained optimization problems in Banach spaces. The method is analyzed in terms of local and global convergence, and many popular problem classes such as nonlinear programming, semidefinite programming, and function space optimization are shown to be included as special cases of the general setting. The algorithmic framework is then extended to variational and quasi-variational inequalities, which include, by extension, Nash and generalized Nash equilibrium problems. For these problem classes, the convergence is analyzed in detail. The thesis then presents a rich collection of application examples for all problem classes, including implementation details and numerical results. N2 - Die vorliegende Arbeit handelt von einer Klasse allgemein anwendbarer Verfahren zur Lösung restringierter Optimierungsprobleme, Variations- und Quasi-Variationsungleichungen in Banach-Räumen. Zur Vorbereitung wird eine erhebliche Menge an Grundmaterial präsentiert. Dies beinhaltet die Theorie von Banach-Räumen, konvexe und variationelle Analysis sowie Optimierungstheorie. Manche der angegebenen Resultate sind hierbei Verfeinerungen der entsprechenden Ergebnisse aus der Literatur. Im Anschluss wird ein Augmented-Lagrange-Verfahren für restingierte Optimierungsprobleme in Banach-Räumen präsentiert. Der Algorithmus wird hinsichtlich lokaler und globaler Konvergenz untersucht, und viele typische Problemklassen wie nichtlineare Programme, semidefinite Programme oder Optimierungsprobleme in Funktionenräumen werden als Spezialfälle aufgezeigt. Der Algorithmus wird dann auf Variations- und Quasi-Variationsungleichungen verallgemeinert, wodurch implizit auch (verallgemeinerte) Nash-Gleichgewichtsprobleme abgehandelt werden. Für diese Problemklassen werden eigene Konvergenzanalysen betrieben. Die Dissertation beinhaltet zudem eine umfangreiche Sammlung von Anwendungsbeispielen und zugehörigen numerischen Ergebnissen. KW - Optimierung KW - Nash-Gleichgewicht KW - Variationsungleichung KW - Banach-Raum KW - Quasi-Variational Inequality KW - Generalized Nash Equilibrium Problem KW - Quasi-Variationsungleichung KW - Verallgemeinertes Nash-Gleichgewichtsproblem Y1 - 2018 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-174444 ER - TY - THES A1 - Ziegenhals, Thomas T1 - The role of the miR-26 family in neurogenesis T1 - Die Rolle der miR-26 Familie in der Neurogenese N2 - For the differentiation of a embryonic stem cells (ESCs) to neuronal cells (NCs) a complex and coordinated gene regulation program is needed. One important control element for neuronal differentiation is the repressor element 1 silencing transcription factor (REST) complex, which represses neuronal gene expression in non-neuronal cells. Crucial effector proteins of the REST complex are small phosphatases such as the CTDSPs (C-terminal domain small phosphatases) that regulate polymerase II activity by dephosphorylating the C-terminal domain of the polymerase, thereby repressing target genes. The stepwise inactivation of REST, including the CTDSPs, leads to the induction of a neuron-specific gene program, which ultimately induces the formation of neurons. The spatio-temporal control of REST and its effector components is therefore a crucial step for neurogenesis. In zebrafish it was shown that the REST-associated CTDSP2 is negatively regulated by the micro RNA (miR) -26b. Interestingly, the miR-26b is encoded in an intron of the primary transcript of CTDSP2. This gives the fundament of an intrinsic regulatory negative feedback loop, which is essential for the proceeding of neurogenesis. This feedback loop is active during neurogenesis, but inactive in non-neuronal cells. The reason for this is that the maturation of the precursor miR (pre-miR) to the mature miR-26 is arrested in non neuronal cells, but not in neurons. As only mature miRs are actively repressing genes, the regulation of miR-26 processing is an essential step in neurogenesis. In this study, the molecular basis of miR-26 processing regulation in the context of neurogenesis was addressed. The mature miR is processed from two larger precursors: First the primary transcript is cleaved by the enzyme DROSHA in the nucleus to form the pre-miR. The pre-miR is exported from the nucleus and processed further through the enzyme DICER to yield the mature miR. The mature miR can regulate gene expression in association with the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC). Multiple different scenarios in which miR processing was regulated were proposed and experimentally tested. Microinjection studies using Xenopus leavis oocytes showed that slowdown or blockage of the nucleo-cytoplasmic transport are not the reason for delayed pre-miR-26 processing. Moreover, in vitro and in vivo miR-processing assays showed that maturation is most likely regulated through a in trans acting factor, which blocks processing in non neuronal cells. Through RNA affinity chromatographic assays using zebrafish and murine lysates I was able to isolate and identify proteins that interact specifically with pre-miR-26 and could by this influence its biogenesis. Potential candidates are FMRP/FXR1/2, ZNF346 and Eral1, whose functional characterisation in the context of miR-biogenesis could now be addressed. The second part of my thesis was executed in close colaboration with the laboratory of Prof. Albrecht Müller. The principal question was addressed how miR-26 influences neuronal gene expression and which genes are primarily affected. This research question could be addressed by using a cell culture model system, which mimics ex vivo the differentiation of ESCs to NCs via neuronal progenitor. For the functional analysis of miR-26 knock out cell lines were generated by the CRISPR/Cas9 technology. miR-26 deficient ESC keep their pluripotent state and are able to develop NPC, but show major impairment in differentiating to NCs. Through RNA deep sequencing the miR-26 induced transcriptome differences could be analysed. On the level of mRNAs it could be shown, that the expression of neuronal gene is downregulated in miR-26 deficient NCs. Interestingly, the deletion of miR-26 leads to selectively decreased levels of miRs, which on one hand regulate the REST complex and on the other hand are under transcriptional control by REST themself. This data and the discovery that induction of miR-26 leads to enrichment of other REST regulating miRs indicates that miR-26 initiates neurogenesis through stepwise inactivation of the REST complex. N2 - Für die Differenzierung von embryonalen Stammzellen (ESCs) zu Neuronen (NCs) bedarf es eines komplexen Genregulationsprogramms, welches sowohl zeitlich als auch räumlich reguliert werden muss. Ein wichtiger Faktor während der neuronalen Differenzierung ist der sogenannte „repressor element 1 silencing transcription factor“ (REST)-Komplex, welcher die Expression neuronaler Gene in nicht neuralen Zellen unterdrückt. Wichtige Effektorproteine im REST-Komplex sind kleine Phosphatasen (sog. CTDSPs), welche durch die Dephosphorylierung der C-terminalen Domäne der RNA-Polymerase II deren Aktivität an Zielgenen reprimiert. Die schrittweise Inaktivierung von REST, einschließlich der CTDSPs, führt hingegen zur Einleitung des neuronalen Genprogramms und damit zur Entwicklung von neuronalen Zellen. Die zeitliche Regulierung des REST-Komplexes und seiner assoziierten Effektor-Komponenten ist daher auf molekularer Ebene das entscheidende Ereignis in der Neurogenese. Studien in Zebrafisch haben gezeigt, dass die REST-assoziierte Phosphatase CTDSP2 von der micro-RNA (miR) -26b negativ reguliert wird, was zu einer reduzierten REST Aktivität führt. Interessanterweise liegt diese miR in einem Intron von CTDSP2, also dem Gen, welches sie selbst repremiert. Diese Konstellation stellt die Basis für eine intrinsische negative Rückkopplungsschleife dar und ist essentiell für das Voranschreiten der Neurogenese. Diese Schleife ist aktiv während der Neurogenese, jedoch inaktiv in neuronalen Stammzellen. Der Grund hierfür ist, dass die Reifung der miR-26b auf der Stufe der Prozessierung des miR-Vorläufers (pre-miR) zur reifen miR in Stammzellen, nicht aber in Neuronen, angehalten ist. Da nur reife miR funktionell aktiv sein können, ist die Regulation der miR-26 Reifung ein essentieller Schritt im Rahmen der Neurogenese. In dieser Dissertation sollte der Frage nach der molekularen Basis der regulierten Prozessierung der miR-26 im Rahmen der Neurogenese nachgegangen werden. Die Prozessierung von miR erfolgt über zwei Intermediate: Zunächst wird aus dem primären Transkript im Zellkern die pre-miR durch das Enzym DROSHA gebildet. Diese wird dann aus dem Kern exportiert und durch das Enzym DICER zur reifen miR weiterverarbeitet, die im Kontext des „RNA-Induced Silencing Complex“ (RISC) die post-transkriptionale Genexpression reguliert. Mirkoinjektionsstudien an Xenopus leavis Oocyten zeigten, dass eine Verlangsamung bzw. Blockade des nukleo-zytoplasmatischen Transports nicht Ursache für die verzögerte Prozessierung der pre-miR-26 sein kann. Stattdessen haben in vitro und in vivo Prozessierungsexperimente gezeigt, dass die Reifung der miR-26 sehr wahrscheinlich durch einen in trans agierenden Faktor gesteuert wird, der die Prozessierung in nicht-neuronalen Zellen blockiert. Durch RNA affinitätschromatographische Versuche gelang es, Proteine aus Maus- und Zebrafischlysaten zu isolieren und diese zu identifizieren, die spezifisch mit der pre-miR-26b interagieren und deren Biogenese beeinflussen könnten. Vielversprechende Kandidaten sind die Proteine FMRP/FXR1/2, ZNF346 und Eral1, deren funktionelle Charakterisierung im Kontext der miR-Biogenese nun möglich ist. In einer Kooperation mit der Arbeitsgruppe von Prof. Albrecht Müller wurde im zweiten Teil der Arbeit der prinzipiellen Frage nachgegangen, wie die miR-26 die neuronale Genexpression steuert und welche Gene hiervon primär betroffen sind. Diese Untersuchungen wurden durch die Etablierung eines Zellkultur-Protokolls ermöglicht, welches ex vivo die Differenzierung von ESC über neuronal Vorläufer Zellen (NPC) zu NCs erlaubte und so eine systematische Analyse dieses Prozess erlaubte. Für die Funktionsanalyse von miR-26 wurden über die CRISPR/Cas9 Technologie Zelllinien hergestellt, welche keine miR-26 mehr im Genom haben. miR-26 defiziente ESCs behalten ihren pluripotenten Status und ließen sich zu NPCs entwickeln. Die Weiterentwicklung von NPCs zu NCs war hingegen massiv eingeschränkt. Durch RNA Hochdurchsatzsequenzierung gelang es die miR-26 induzierten Genexpressionsunterschiede geanu zu identifizieren. Auf der Ebene der mRNA konnte gezeigt werden, dass die Expression von neuronalen Genen in miR-26 defizienten NCs herunterreguliert ist und dass unter diesen Bedingungen offensichtlich kein anderer Differenzierungsweg eingeschlagen werden konnte. Interessanterweise führte die Deletion von miR-26 zu einer selektiven Verminderung von miRs, die einerseits den REST Komplex regulieren, andererseits aber auch unter dessen transkriptionaler Kontrolle stehen. Diese Daten und die Entdeckung, dass die Induktion von miR-26 zur Anreicherung anderer REST regulierender miRs führt, lässt vermuten, dass miR-26 die Neurogenese durch die schrittweise Inaktivierung des REST Komplexe initiiert. KW - miRNS KW - Neurogenese KW - miR-26 KW - REST-Complex KW - miRNA Biogenesis KW - microrna KW - neurogenesis Y1 - 2018 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-156395 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Werner, Rudolf A. A1 - Weich, Alexander A1 - Kircher, Malte A1 - Solnes, Lilja B. A1 - Javadi, Mehrbod S. A1 - Higuchi, Takahiro A1 - Buck, Andreas K. A1 - Pomper, Martin G. A1 - Rowe, Steven A1 - Lapa, Constantin T1 - The theranostic promise for neuroendocrine tumors in the late 2010s – Where do we stand, where do we go? JF - Theranostics N2 - More than 25 years after the first peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT), the concept of somatostatin receptor (SSTR)-directed imaging and therapy for neuroendocrine tumors (NET) is seeing rapidly increasing use. To maximize the full potential of its theranostic promise, efforts in recent years have expanded recommendations in current guidelines and included the evaluation of novel theranostic radiotracers for imaging and treatment of NET. Moreover, the introduction of standardized reporting framework systems may harmonize PET reading, address pitfalls in interpreting SSTR-PET/CT scans and guide the treating physician in selecting PRRT candidates. Notably, the concept of PRRT has also been applied beyond oncology, e.g. for treatment of inflammatory conditions like sarcoidosis. Future perspectives may include the efficacy evaluation of PRRT compared to other common treatment options for NET, novel strategies for closer monitoring of potential side effects, the introduction of novel radiotracers with beneficial pharmacodynamic and kinetic properties or the use of supervised machine learning approaches for outcome prediction. This article reviews how the SSTR-directed theranostic concept is currently applied and also reflects on recent developments that hold promise for the future of theranostics in this context. KW - theranostics KW - Positronen-Emissions-Tomografie KW - PRRT KW - somatostatin receptor KW - peptide receptor radionuclide therapy KW - neuroendocrine tumor Y1 - 2018 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-170264 VL - 8 IS - 22 ER - TY - THES A1 - Schötz, Matthias T1 - Convergent Star Products and Abstract O*-Algebras T1 - Konvergente Sternprodukte und Abstrakte O*-Algebren N2 - Diese Dissertation behandelt ein Problem aus der Deformationsquantisierung: Nachdem man die Quantisierung eines klassischen Systems konstruiert hat, würde man gerne ihre mathematischen Eigenschaften verstehen (sowohl die des klassischen Systems als auch die des Quantensystems). Falls beide Systeme durch *-Algebren über dem Körper der komplexen Zahlen beschrieben werden, bedeutet dies dass man die Eigenschaften bestimmter *-Algebren verstehen muss: Welche Darstellungen gibt es? Was sind deren Eigenschaften? Wie können die Zustände in diesen Darstellungen beschrieben werden? Wie kann das Spektrum der Observablen beschrieben werden? Um eine hinreichend allgemeine Behandlung dieser Fragen zu ermöglichen, wird das Konzept von abstrakten O*-Algebren entwickelt. Dies sind im Wesentlichen *-Algebren zusammen mit einem Kegel positiver linearer Funktionale darauf (z.B. die stetigen positiven linearen Funktionale wenn man mit einer *-Algebra startet, die mit einer gutartigen Topologie versehen ist). Im Anschluss daran wird dieser Ansatz dann auf zwei Beispiele aus der Deformationsquantisierung angewandt, die im Detail untersucht werden. N2 - This thesis discusses and proposes a solution for one problem arising from deformation quantization: Having constructed the quantization of a classical system, one would like to understand its mathematical properties (of both the classical and quantum system). Especially if both systems are described by ∗-algebras over the field of complex numbers, this means to understand the properties of certain ∗-algebras: What are their representations? What are the properties of these representations? How can the states be described in these representations? How can the spectrum of the observables be described? In order to allow for a sufficiently general treatment of these questions, the concept of abstract O ∗-algebras is introduced. Roughly speaking, these are ∗ -algebras together with a cone of positive linear functionals on them (e.g. the continuous ones if one starts with a ∗-algebra that is endowed with a well-behaved topology). This language is then applied to two examples from deformation quantization, which will be studied in great detail. KW - deformation quantization KW - convergent star product KW - *-algebra KW - Deformationsquantisierung Y1 - 2018 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-174355 ER - TY - INPR A1 - Höbartner, Claudia A1 - Steinmetzger, Christian A1 - Palanisamy, Navaneethan A1 - Gore, Kiran R. T1 - A multicolor large Stokes shift fluorogen-activating RNA aptamer with cationic chromophores T2 - Chemistry - A European Journal N2 - Large Stokes shift (LSS) fluorescent proteins (FPs) exploit excited state proton transfer pathways to enable fluorescence emission from the phenolate intermediate of their internal 4 hydroxybenzylidene imidazolone (HBI) chromophore. An RNA aptamer named Chili mimics LSS FPs by inducing highly Stokes-shifted emission from several new green and red HBI analogs that are non-fluorescent when free in solution. The ligands are bound by the RNA in their protonated phenol form and feature a cationic aromatic side chain for increased RNA affinity and reduced magnesium dependence. In combination with oxidative functional-ization at the C2 position of the imidazolone, this strategy yielded DMHBO\(^+\), which binds to the Chili aptamer with a low-nanomolar K\(_D\). Because of its highly red-shifted fluorescence emission at 592 nm, the Chili–DMHBO\(^+\) complex is an ideal fluorescence donor for Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) to the rhodamine dye Atto 590 and will therefore find applications in FRET-based analytical RNA systems. KW - RNA Aptamer KW - fluorescence KW - large Stokes shift KW - fluorescent protein KW - fluorescent resonance energy transfer Y1 - 2018 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-174197 N1 - This is the pre-peer reviewed version of the following article: Steinmetzger, C. , Palanisamy, N. , Gore, K. . and Höbartner, C. (2018), A multicolor large Stokes shift fluorogen‐activating RNA aptamer with cationic chromophores. Chem. Eur. J. doi:10.1002/chem.201805882, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1002/chem.201805882. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions. ER - TY - THES A1 - Schreck, Maximilian T1 - Synthesis and Photophysics of Linear and Star-Shaped Oligomers of Squaraine Dyes T1 - Synthese und Photophysik von Linearen und Sternförmigen Squarain-Oligomeren N2 - In this thesis, the synthesis and photophysics of a great variety of squaraine dyes are presented. This variety is based on four parent squaraines containing either indolenine or quinoline heterocycles. By a suitable choice of the donor and acceptor unit, the optical properties can already be adapted to the properties desired on the stage of the monomer. To promote a further derivatisation of these dyes, diverse functional groups are attached to the monomers using transition metal-catalysed C-C coupling reactions. However, this has to be preceded by the synthesis of bromine-functionalised derivatives as a direct halogenation of squaraine dyes is not feasible. Therefore, the halogen function is already introduced in precursor molecules giving rise to a molecular building block system containing bromine-, boronic ester-, and alkyne-functionalised monomer units, which pave the way to a plethora of squaraine oligomers and polymers. The indolenine homopolymer pSQB-1 as well as the corresponding small molecular weight oligomers dSQB-1 and tSQB were synthesized applying Ni-mediated Yamamoto and Pd-catalysed Suzuki coupling methodologies, respectively. The motivation for this project relied on the fundamental investigations by Völker et al. on pSQB-V. A progressive red-shift of the lowest energy absorption maximum from the dimer to the polymer was observed in CHCl3 compared to the monomer. With increasing number of monomer units, the exciton coupling decreases from the dimer to the polymer. In addition, the shape of the absorption band manifold shows a strong dependence on the solvent, which was also observed by Völker et al. J-type aggregate behavior is found in chlorinated solvents such as CHCl3 and DCM, whereas H-type aggregates are formed in acetone. Temperature-dependent absorption studies in PhCN reveals a reversible equilibrium of diverse polymer conformers, which manifests itself in a gradual change from H-aggregate behavior to a mixture with a more pronounced J-aggregate behavior upon raising the temperature. It isassumed that both characteristic aggregate bands correlate in borderline cases with two polymer structures which can be assigned to a zig-zag and a helical structure. As no experimental evidence for these structures could hitherto be provided by NMR, TD-DFT computations on oligomers (22-mers) can reproduce very closely the characteristic features of the spectra for the two conformational isomers. The subsequent chapters are motivated by the goal to influence the optical properties through a control of the superstructure and thus of the intramolecular aggregate formation. On the one hand, bulky groups are implemented in the 3-position of the indolenine scaffold to provoke steric repulsion and thus favoring J-aggregate behavior at the expense of helical arrangements. The resulting homopolymer pDiPhSQB bearing two phenyl groups per indolenine exhibits J-type aggregate behavior with red-shifted absorption maxima in all considered solvents which is explained to be caused by the formation of elongated zig-zag structures. Furthermore, single-crystal X-ray analysis of monomer DiPhSQB-2-Br2 reveals a torsion of the indolenine moieties as a consequence of steric congestion. The twist of the molecular geometry and the resulting loss of planarity leads to a serious deterioration of the fluorescence properties, however a significant bathochromic shift of ca. 1 200 cm-1 of the lowest absorption band was observed compared to parent SQB, which is even larger than the shift for dSQB-1 (ca. 1 000 cm-1). On the other hand, a partial stiffening of the polymer backbone is attempted to create a bias for elongated polymer chains. In this respect, the synthetic approach is to replace every second biarylaxis with the rigid transoid benzodipyrrolenine unit. Despite a rather low average degree of polymerization < 10, exclusively red-shifted absorption maxima are observed in all solvents used. In order to complete the picture of intramolecular aggregates through the selective design of H-aggregates, a squaraine-squaraine copolymer was synthesised containing the classic cisoid indolenine as well as the cisoid quinoline building block. Taking advantage of the highly structure directing self-assembly character of the quinoline moiety, the copolymer pSQBC indeed showes a broad, blue-shifted main absorption band in comparison with the monomer unit dSQBC. The shape of the absorption band manifold solely exhibited a minor solvent and temperature dependence indicating a persistent H-aggregate behaviour. Hence, as a proof of concept, it is shown that the optical properties of the polymers (H- and J-aggregate) and the corresponding superstructure can be inherently controlled by an adequate design of monomer precursors. The last chapter of this work deals, in contrast to all other chapters, with intermolecular aggregates. It is shown that the two star-shaped hexasquarainyl benzenes hSQA-1 and hSQA-2 exhibit a strong propensity for self-organisation. Concentration- and temperature-dependent studies reveal a great driving force for self-assembly in acetone. While the larger hSQA-2 instantaneously forms stable aggregates, the aggregates of hSQA-1 shows a pronounced kinetic stability. Taking advantage of the kinetic persistency of these aggregates, the corresponding kinetic activation parameters for aggregation and deaggregation can be assessed. The absorption spectra of both hexasquarainyl benzenes in the aggregated state reveal some striking differences. While hSQA-1 features an intensive, very narrow and blue-shifted absorption band, two red-shifted bands are observed for hSQA-2, which are closely located at the monomer absorption. The very small bandwidth of hSQA-1 are interpreted to be caused by exchange narrowing and pointed towards highly ordered supramolecular aggregates. The concentration-dependent data of the two hexasquarainyl benzenes can be fitted to the dimer-model with excellent correlation coefficients, yielding binding constants in excess of 10^6 M-1, respectively. Such high binding constants are very surprising, considering the unfavourable bulky 3,3-dimethyl groups of the indolenine units which should rather prevent aggregation. Joint theoretical and NMR spectroscopic methods were applied to unravel the supramolecular aggregate structure of hSQA-1, which is shown to consist of two stacked hexasquarainyl benzenes resembling the picture of two stacked bowls. N2 - Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit wird die Synthese sowie photophysikalischen Untersuchungen einer Vielzahl von Squarainfarbstoffen präsentiert. Diese Vielfalt erwuchs aus vier monomeren Stammverbindungen, die auf Indolenin- bzw. Chinolin-Heterozyklen gründeten. Um die Derivatisierung der Monomere weiter voranzutreiben, werden diese durch geeignete funktionelle Gruppen unter der Verwendung von übergangsmetallkatalysierten C-C Kupplungsreaktionen chemisch modifiziert. Dieser geht jedoch die Synthese Brom-funktionalisierter Vorstufen voraus. So muss die Halogenfunktion bereits in den Vorläufermolekülen eingeführt werden, da eine selektive, direkte Halogenierung auf der Stufe des Squarains nicht möglich ist. Schlussendlich kann somit ein molekularer Baukasten entwickelt werden, der, bestückt mit Monomerbausteinen mit Brom-, Borester-, und Alkinfunktionen, den Weg zu diversen oligomeren und polymeren Squarainfarbstoffen ebnete. Das Indolenin Squarain Homopolymer pSQB-1, als auch die entsprechenden niedermolekularen Oligomerverbindungen dSQB-1 und tSQB wurden mittels der Ni-unterstützten Yamamoto bzw. Pd-katalysierte Suzuki Kupplung dargestellt. Die bereits durch Völker et al. erfolgten spektroskopischen Untersuchungen an pSQB-V werden im Rahmen dieser Arbeit fortgesetzt. Im Vergleich zum Monomer, zeigen das Dimer, Trimer und das Polymer in CHCl3 eine progressive Rotverschiebung der niedrigsten, intensivsten Absorptionsbande. Mit steigender Anzahl der SQB-Monomereinheiten nimmt die Exzitonenkopplung im Dimer bis hin zum Polymer ab. Wie auch bereits Völker et al. zeigen konnten, ist die Form der Absorption des Exzitonenbandes von pSQB-1 stark lösemittelabhängig. Während J-Aggregat ähnliches Verhalten in CHCl3 und DCM beobachtet wird, zeigt das Polymer in Aceton H-Aggregat ähnliches Verhalten. Temperaturabhängige Absorptionsmessungen in PhCN zeigen ein reversibles thermodynamisches Gleichgewicht von verschiedenen Polymerstrukturen, welches sich mit steigender Temperatur durch einen sukzessiven Übergang von H-Aggregat zu einer Mischung mit mehr J-Aggregat Charakter manifestiert. Es wird angenommen, dass das Auftreten der charakteristischen Aggregatsbanden im Grenzfall mit zwei Polymerkonformeren korreliert, die einer Zick-Zack- und einer Helix-Struktur entsprechen. Da hierfür keine experimentellen Beweise durch NMR bis dato vorliegen, wurden TD-DFT Kalkulationen an Oligomereinheiten (22-er) durchgeführt, die die wesentlichen Merkmale der Absorptionsspektren der zwei Konformere reproduzieren konnten. Die anschließenden Kapitel erwuchsen aus der Motivation heraus, die optischen Eigenschaften der Polymere über die Kontrolle der Strukturbildung und somit der intramolekularen Aggregatsbildung zu beeinflussen. Um einerseits J-Aggregat Verhalten zu provozieren wird zunächst der Ansatz verfolgt, durch sterisch anspruchsvolle Gruppen in der 3-Position des Indolenin Gerüsts, den Kollaps zu helikalen Stukturen zu vermeiden. Das resultierende Homopolymer pDiPhSQB mit zwei Phenylgruppen pro Indolenin Einheit zeigt in allen untersuchten Lösemitteln bathochrom verschobene Absorptionsmaxima, was mit der Ausbildung von ausschließlich ausgedehnten Zick-Zack-Ketten begründet werden. Darüber hinaus zeigte die Einkristall-Röntgenstrukturanalyse des Monomers DiPhSQB-2-Br2 als Konsequenz der sterischen Überfrachtung eine Torsion des Indolenin Gerüsts. Die Verdrillung der Molekülgeometrie und der daraus resultierende Verlust an Planarität, führt zu einer erheblichen Verschlechterung der Fluoreszenzeigenschaften, jedoch wird eine signifikante Rotverschiebung der Monomerbande von ca. 1 200 cm-1 im Vergleich zu SQB beobachtet, welche sogar größer als die für dSQB-1 ist. Zum anderen ergibt der Ansatz der partiellen Versteifung des Polymerrückgrades ebenfalls die Ausbildung von ausgedehnten Polymerketten begünstigen. Dieser Ansatz wird insofern verfolgt, als dass jede zweite Biarylachse zwischen zwei Monomereinheiten in pSQB-1 durch eine rigide transoide Benzodipyrrolenin Brücke ersetzt wird. Trotz eines eher geringen durchschnittlichen Polymerisationsgrades von < 10 kann dennoch eine Rotverschiebung der niederenergetischsten Absorptionsbande in allen Lösemitteln beobachtet werden. Um das Bild der intramolekularen Aggregate zu vervollständigen, wird das gezielte Design von H-Aggregaten verfolgt. Hierfür wurde ein Squarain-Squarain Copolymer synthetisiert, das zum einen aus dem klassischen cisoiden Indolenin und zum anderen aus dem cisoiden Chinolin Squarain aufgebaut ist. Diesbezüglich will man sich die Triebkraft des Chinolin Bausteins für Aggregation als strukturdirigierende Komponente zu Nutze machen, um helikale Konformationen der Polymerstränge zu erzeugen. Das Copolymer pSQBC zeigt in der Tat eine verbreiterte, hypsochrom verschobene Hauptabsorptionsbande im Vergleich zur Monomereinheit dSQBC. Die Form der Absorption des Exzitonenbandes zeigt eine geringe Lösemittelabhängigkeit, die ebenfalls nur marginal durch die Temperatur beeinflusst werden kann. Schlussendlich deuten diese Befunde auf ein stark-ausgeprägtes H-Aggregat ähnliches Verhalten hin, was die zu anfangs formulierte These belegt, dass sich die optischen Eigenschaften der Polymere (H- und J-Aggregate) und deren Strukturbildung durch ein adäquates Moleküldesign der Monomerbausteine kontrollieren lassen. Das letzte Kapitel dieser Arbeit stand im Gegensatz zu den vorherigen Kapiteln ausschließlich im Fokus von intermolekularen Aggregaten. Die Squaraine hSQA-1 und hSQA-2 neigen, in ein sternförmiges Hexaarylbenzol-Gerüst gebettet, zur Selbstorganisation. Konzentration- und temperaturabhängige Studien der beiden synthetisierten Hexasquarainyl-Benzole zeigen eine starke Triebkraft zur Aggregation in Aceton. Während hSQA-2 instantan thermodynamisch stabile Aggregate bildet, offenbart hSQA-1 Aggregate eine ausgeprägte kinetische Stabilität. Dies kann man sich zu Nutze machen und die kinetischen Aktivierungsparameter der Aggregation und Deaggregation zu bestimmen. Die Absorptionsspektren der beiden Hexasquarainyl-Benzole im aggregierten Zustand zeigen extreme Unterschiede auf. Während hSQA-1 eine intensive, sehr schmale und stark hypsochrom verschobene Bande zeigt, beobachtet man für das größere Hexasquarainyl-Benzol zwei bathochrom verschobene Banden, die allerdings energetisch sehr nahe der Monomerbande lokalisiert sind. Die sehr geringe Halbwertsbreite der Aggregatsbande in hSQA-1 wird durch die sog. Austauschverschmälerung erklärt und deutet auf hochgeordnete supramolekulare Aggregate hin. Die konzentrationsabhängigen Messdaten der beiden Chromophore konnten sehr gut mit Hilfe des Dimer-Modells angepasst werden, welches für beide Systeme eine hohe Bindungskonstante von über 10^6 M-1 ergab. In Anbetracht der Tatsache, dass die raumgreifenden 3,3-Dimethylgruppen im Indoleningerüst extrem hinderlich für den Aggregationsprozess sind, ist die starke Triebkraft zur Selbstorganisation, welche sich in den hohen Bindungskonstanten niederschlägt, äußerst bemerkenswert. Theoretische Modellierungen und Rechnungen in Kombination mit NMR-spektroskopischen Untersuchungen von hSQA-1 ergeben eine Aggregatsstruktur aus zwei sich stapelten Hexasquarainylbenzolmonomeren, die dem Bild zweier gestapelter Schüsseln entspricht. KW - Squaraine KW - Oligomere KW - Supramolekulare Chemie KW - Squaraine Dyes KW - Oligomers and Polymers KW - J- and H-Aggregates KW - Helix- and Zig-Zag-Conformers KW - Supramolecular Chemistry KW - Squarain Farbstoffe KW - J- and H-Aggregate KW - Helix- and Zick-Zack-Konformere KW - Supramolekulare Chemie KW - Helicität KW - Chemische Synthese KW - Chemische Reaktion Y1 - 2018 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-174272 ER -