TY - JOUR A1 - Cheetham, Marcus A1 - Wu, Lingdan A1 - Pauli, Paul A1 - Jancke, Lutz T1 - Arousal, valence, and the uncanny valley: psychophysiological and self-report findings JF - Frontiers in Psychology N2 - The main prediction of the Uncanny Valley Hypothesis (UVH) is that observation of humanlike characters that are difficult to distinguish from the human counterpart will evoke a state of negative affect. Well-established electrophysiological [late positive potential (LPP) and facial electromyography (EMG)] and self-report [Self-Assessment Manikin (SAM)] indices of valence and arousal, i.e., the primary orthogonal dimensions of affective experience, were used to test this prediction by examining affective experience in response to categorically ambiguous compared with unambiguous avatar and human faces (N = 30). LPP and EMG provided direct psychophysiological indices of affective state during passive observation and the SAM provided self-reported indices of affective state during explicit cognitive evaluation of static facial stimuli. The faces were drawn from well-controlled morph continua representing the UVH' dimension of human likeness (DHL). The results provide no support for the notion that category ambiguity along the DHL is specifically associated with enhanced experience of negative affect. On the contrary, the LPP and SAM-based measures of arousal and valence indicated a general increase in negative affective state (i.e., enhanced arousal and negative valence) with greater morph distance from the human end of the DHL. A second sample (N = 30) produced the same finding, using an ad hoc self-rating scale of feelings of familiarity, i.e., an oft-used measure of affective experience along the UVH' familiarity dimension. In conclusion, this multi-method approach using well-validated psychophysiological and self-rating indices of arousal and valence rejects for passive observation and for explicit affective evaluation of static faces the main prediction of the UVH. KW - emotional facial expressions KW - event-related potentials KW - electromyographic activity KW - startle reflex KW - arousal KW - unpleasant pictures KW - brain potentials KW - mere exposure KW - circumplex model KW - face recognition KW - neural response KW - valence KW - uncanny valley hypothesis KW - familiarity KW - EMG KW - EEG KW - LPP Y1 - 2015 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-151519 VL - 6 IS - 981 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bittner, Stefan A1 - Bobak, Nicole A1 - Hofmann, Majella-Sophie A1 - Schuhmann, Michael K. A1 - Ruck, Tobias A1 - Göbel, Kerstin A1 - Brück, Wolfgang A1 - Wiendl, Heinz A1 - Meuth, Sven G. T1 - Murine K\(_{2P}\)5.1 Deficiency Has No Impact on Autoimmune Neuroinflammation due to Compensatory K\(_{2P}\)3.1-and K\(_{V}\)1.3-Dependent Mechanisms JF - International Journal of Molecular Sciences N2 - Lymphocytes express potassium channels that regulate physiological cell functions, such as activation, proliferation and migration. Expression levels of K\(_{2P}\)5.1(TASK2; KCNK5) channels belonging to the family of two-pore domain potassium channels have previously been correlated to the activity of autoreactive T lymphocytes in patients with multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis. In humans, K\(_{2P}\)5.1 channels are upregulated upon T cell stimulation and influence T cell effector functions. However, a further clinical translation of targeting K\(_{2P}\)5.1 is currently hampered by a lack of highly selective inhibitors, making it necessary to evaluate the impact of KCNK5 in established preclinical animal disease models. We here demonstrate that K\(_{2P}\)5.1 knockout (K\(_{2P}\)5.1\(^{-/-}\) mice display no significant alterations concerning T cell cytokine production, proliferation rates, surface marker molecules or signaling pathways. In an experimental model of autoimmune neuroinflammation, K\(_{2P}\)5.1\(^{-/-}\) mice show a comparable disease course to wild-type animals and no major changes in the peripheral immune system or CNS compartment. A compensatory upregulation of the potassium channels K\(_{2P}\)3.1 and K\(_{V}\)1.3 seems to counterbalance the deletion of K\(_{2P}\)5.1. As an alternative model mimicking autoimmune neuroinflammation, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis in the common marmoset has been proposed, especially for testing the efficacy of new potential drugs. Initial experiments show that K\(_{2P}\)5.1 is functionally expressed on marmoset T lymphocytes, opening up the possibility for assessing future K\(_{2P}\)5.1-targeting drugs. KW - domain potassium channels KW - volume regulation KW - multiple-sclerosis KW - potassium channels KW - multiple sclerosis KW - ion channels KW - K+ channel KW - T lymphocytes KW - up-regulation KW - TASK2 KW - K2P channels KW - B cells KW - ph KW - K\(_{2P}\)5.1 KW - KCNK5 KW - autoimmune neuroinflammation KW - EAE Y1 - 2015 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-151454 VL - 16 SP - 16880 EP - 16896 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Køllgaard, Tania A1 - Ugurel-Becker, Selma A1 - Idorn, Manja A1 - Andersen, Mads Hald A1 - Becker, Jürgen C. A1 - Straten, Per thor T1 - Pre-Vaccination Frequencies of Th17 Cells Correlate with Vaccine-Induced T-Cell Responses to Survivin-Derived Peptide Epitopes JF - PLoS One N2 - Various subsets of immune regulatory cells are suggested to influence the outcome of therapeutic antigen-specific anti-tumor vaccinations. We performed an exploratory analysis of a possible correlation of pre-vaccination Th17 cells, MDSCs, and Tregs with both vaccination-induced T-cell responses as well as clinical outcome in metastatic melanoma patients vaccinated with survivin-derived peptides. Notably, we observed dysfunctional Th1 and cytotoxic T cells, i.e. down-regulation of the CD3\(\zeta\)chain (p=0.001) and an impaired IFN\(\gamma\)-production (p=0.001) in patients compared to healthy donors, suggesting an altered activity of immune regulatory cells. Moreover, the frequencies of Th17 cells (p=0.03) and Tregs (p=0.02) were elevated as compared to healthy donors. IL-17-secreting CD4\(^{+}\) T cells displayed an impact on the immunological and clinical effects of vaccination: Patients characterized by high frequencies of Th17 cells at pre-vaccination were more likely to develop survivin-specific T-cell reactivity post-vaccination (p=0.03). Furthermore, the frequency of Th17 (p=0.09) and Th17/IFN\(\gamma\)\(^{+}\) (p=0.19) cells associated with patient survival after vaccination. In summary, our explorative, hypothesis-generating study demonstrated that immune regulatory cells, in particular Th17 cells, play a relevant role for generation of the vaccine-induced anti-tumor immunity in cancer patients, hence warranting further investigation to test for validity as predictive biomarkers. KW - suppressor cells KW - melanoma patients KW - patient survival KW - cancer patients KW - Th17 KW - tumor immunity KW - blood Y1 - 2015 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-151509 VL - 10 IS - 7 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Dühring, Sybille A1 - Germerodt, Sebastian A1 - Skerka, Christine A1 - Zipfel, Peter F. A1 - Dandekar, Thomas A1 - Schuster, Stefan T1 - Host-pathogen interactions between the human innate immune system and Candida albicans - understanding and modeling defense and evasion strategies JF - Frontiers in Microbiology N2 - The diploid, polymorphic yeast Candida albicans is one of the most important human pathogenic fungi. C. albicans can grow, proliferate and coexist as a commensal on or within the human host for a long time. However, alterations in the host environment can render C. albicans virulent. In this review, we describe the immunological cross-talk between C. albicans and the human innate immune system. We give an overview in form of pairs of human defense strategies including immunological mechanisms as well as general stressors such as nutrient limitation, pH, fever etc. and the corresponding fungal response and evasion mechanisms. Furthermore, Computational Systems Biology approaches to model and investigate these complex interactions are highlighted with a special focus on game-theoretical methods and agent-based models. An outlook on interesting questions to be tackled by Systems Biology regarding entangled defense and evasion mechanisms is given. KW - agent-based model KW - antimicrobial peptides KW - fungal pathogens KW - Candida albicans KW - immunological cross-talk KW - beta-lactamase inhibition KW - in vitro KW - biomaterial surfaces KW - biofilm formation KW - dendritic cells KW - infection KW - resistance KW - human immune system KW - host-pathogen interaction KW - computational systems biology KW - defense and evasion strategies Y1 - 2015 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-151621 VL - 6 IS - 625 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hofmann, Reiner A1 - Völler, Heinz A1 - Nagels, Klaus A1 - Bindl, Dominik A1 - Vettorazzi, Eik A1 - Dittmar, Ronny A1 - Wohlgemuth, Walter A1 - Neumann, Till A1 - Störk, Stefan A1 - Bruder, Oliver A1 - Wegscheider, Karl A1 - Nagel, Eckhard A1 - Fleck, Eckart T1 - First outline and baseline data of a randomized, controlled multicenter trial to evaluate the health economic impact of home telemonitoring in chronic heart failure - CardioBBEAT JF - Trials N2 - Background: Evidence that home telemonitoring for patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) offers clinical benefit over usual care is controversial as is evidence of a health economic advantage. Methods: Between January 2010 and June 2013, patients with a confirmed diagnosis of CHF were enrolled and randomly assigned to 2 study groups comprising usual care with and without an interactive bi-directional remote monitoring system (Motiva\(^{®}\)). The primary endpoint in CardioBBEAT is the Incremental Cost-Effectiveness Ratio (ICER) established by the groups' difference in total cost and in the combined clinical endpoint "days alive and not in hospital nor inpatient care per potential days in study" within the follow-up of 12 months. Results: A total of 621 predominantly male patients were enrolled, whereof 302 patients were assigned to the intervention group and 319 to the control group. Ischemic cardiomyopathy was the leading cause of heart failure. Despite randomization, subjects of the control group were more often in NYHA functional class III-IV, and exhibited peripheral edema and renal dysfunction more often. Additionally, the control and intervention groups differed in heart rhythm disorders. No differences existed regarding risk factor profile, comorbidities, echocardiographic parameters, especially left ventricular and diastolic diameter and ejection fraction, as well as functional test results, medication and quality of life. While the observed baseline differences may well be a play of chance, they are of clinical relevance. Therefore, the statistical analysis plan was extended to include adjusted analyses with respect to the baseline imbalances. Conclusions: CardioBBEAT provides prospective outcome data on both, clinical and health economic impact of home telemonitoring in CHF. The study differs by the use of a high evidence level randomized controlled trial (RCT) design along with actual cost data obtained from health insurance companies. Its results are conducive to informed political and economic decision-making with regard to home telemonitoring solutions as an option for health care. Overall, it contributes to developing advanced health economic evaluation instruments to be deployed within the specific context of the German Health Care System. KW - mortality KW - home telemonitoring KW - metaanalysis KW - management KW - diagnosis KW - guidelines KW - ESC KW - chronic heart failure (CHF) KW - incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) KW - telemedicine KW - health economics Y1 - 2015 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-151429 VL - 16 IS - 343 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Lang, Stefan J. A1 - Messmer, Elisabeth M. A1 - Geerling, Gerd A1 - Mackert, Marc J. A1 - Brunner, Tobias A1 - Dollak, Sylvia A1 - Kutchoukov, Borislav A1 - Böhringer, Daniel A1 - Reinhard, Thomas A1 - Maier, Philip T1 - Prospective, randomized, double-blind trial to investigate the efficacy and safety of corneal cross-linking to halt the progression of keratoconus JF - BMC Ophthalmology N2 - Background: Corneal cross-linking is widely used to treat keratoconus. However, to date, only limited data from randomized trials support its efficacy. Methods: The efficacy and safety of corneal cross-linking for halting progression of keratoconus were investigated in a prospective, randomized, blinded, placebo controlled, multicentre trial. Twenty-nine keratoconus patients were randomized in three trial centres. The mean age at inclusion was 28 years. Longitudinal changes in corneal refraction were assessed by linear regression. The best corrected visual acuity, surface defects and corneal inflammation were also assessed. These data were analysed with a multifactorial linear regression model. Results: A total of 15 eyes were randomized to the treatment and 14 to the control group. Follow-up averaged 1098 days. Corneal refractive power decreased on average (+/-standard deviation) by 0.35 +/- 0.58 dioptres/year in the treatment group. The controls showed an increase of 0.11 +/- 0.61 dioptres/year. This difference was statistically significant (p = 0.02). Conclusions: Our data suggest that corneal cross-linking is an effective treatment for some patients to halt the progression of keratoconus. However, some of the treated patients still progressed, whereas some untreated controls improved. Therefore, further investigations are necessary to decide which patients require treatment and which do not. KW - ultraviolet-a KW - riboflavin KW - Scheimpflug KW - eyes KW - haze Y1 - 2015 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-151498 VL - 15 IS - 78 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Paholcsek, Melinda A1 - Fidler, Gabor A1 - Konya, Jozsef A1 - Rejto, Laszlo A1 - Mehes, Gabor A1 - Bukta, Evelin A1 - Loeffler, Juergen A1 - Biro, Sandor T1 - Combining standard clinical methods with PCR showed improved diagnosis of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis in patients with hematological malignancies and prolonged neutropenia JF - BMC Infectious Diseases N2 - Background: We assessed the diagnostic value of standard clinical methods and combined biomarker testing (galactomannan assay and polymerase chain reaction screening) in a prospective case-control study to detect invasive pulmonary aspergillosis in patients with hematological malignancies and prolonged neutropenia. Methods: In this observational study 162 biomarker analyses were performed on samples from 27 febrile neutropenic episodes. Sera were successively screened for galactomannan antigen and for Aspergillus fumigatus specific nucleic acid targets. Furthermore thoracic computed tomography scanning was performed along with bronchoscopy with lavage when clinically indicated. Patients were retrospectively stratified to define a case-group with "proven" or "probable" invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (25.93 %) and a control-group of patients with no evidence for of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (74.07 %). In 44.44 % of episodes fever ceased in response to antibiotic treatment (group II). Empirical antifungal therapy was administered for episodes with persistent or relapsing fever (group I). 48.15 % of patients died during the study period. Postmortem histology was pursued in 53.85 % of fatalities. Results: Concordant negative galactomannan and computed tomography supported by a polymerase chain reaction assay were shown to have the highest discriminatory power to exclude invasive pulmonary aspergillosis. Bronchoalveolar lavage was performed in 6 cases of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis and in 15 controls. Although bronchoalveolar lavage proved negative in 93 % of controls it did not detect IPA in 86 % of the cases. Remarkably post mortem histology convincingly supported the presence of Aspergillus hyphae in lung tissue from a single case which had consecutive positive polymerase chain reaction assay results but was misdiagnosed by both computed tomography and consistently negative galactomannan assay results. For the galactomannan enzyme-immunoassay the diagnostic odds ratio was 15.33 and for the polymerase chain reaction assay it was 28.67. According to Cohen's kappa our in-house polymerase chain reaction method showed a fair agreement with the galactomannan immunoassay. Combined analysis of the results from the Aspergillus galactomannan enzyme immunoassay together with those generated by our polymerase chain reaction assay led to no misdiagnoses in the control group. Conclusion: The data from this pilot-study demonstrate that the consideration of standard clinical methods combined with biomarker testing improves the capacity to make early and more accurate diagnostic decisions. KW - whole blood specimens KW - high risk KW - mold disease KW - therapy KW - combination testing KW - real time PCR KW - fungal infections KW - immunocompromised patients KW - prospective feasibility KW - galactomannan KW - epidemiology KW - invasive pulmonary aspergillosis KW - biomarkers KW - acute leukemia KW - neutropenic fever Y1 - 2015 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-151607 VL - 15 IS - 251 ER -