TY - JOUR A1 - Walter, Steffen A1 - Gruss, Sascha A1 - Neidlinger, Jana A1 - Stross, Isabelle A1 - Hann, Alexander A1 - Wagner, Martin A1 - Seufferlein, Thomas A1 - Walter, Benjamin T1 - Evaluation of an Objective Measurement Tool for Stress Level Reduction by Individually Chosen Music During Colonoscopy—Results From the Study “ColoRelaxTone” JF - Frontiers in Medicine N2 - Background and Aims: Colonoscopy as standard procedure in endoscopy is often perceived as uncomfortable for patients. Patient's anxiety is therefore a significant issue, which often lead to avoidance of participation of relevant examinations as CRC-screening. Non-pharmacological anxiety management interventions such as music might contribute to relaxation in the phase prior and during endoscopy. Although music's anxiolytic effects have been reported previously, no objective measurement of stress level reduction has been reported yet. Focus of this study was to evaluate the objective measurement of the state of relaxation in patients undergoing colonoscopy. Methods: Prospective study (n = 196) performed at one endoscopic high-volume center. Standard colonoscopy was performed in control group. Interventional group received additionally self-chosen music over earphones. Facial Electromyography (fEMG) activity was obtained. Clinician Satisfaction with Sedation Instrument (CSSI) and Patients Satisfaction with Sedation Instrument (PSSI) was answered by colonoscopists and patients, respectively. Overall satisfaction with music accompanied colonoscopy was obtained if applicable. Results: Mean difference measured by fEMG via musculus zygomaticus major indicated a significantly lower stress level in the music group [7.700(±5.560) μV vs. 4.820(±3.330) μV; p = 0.001]. Clinician satisfaction was significantly higher with patients listening to music [82.69(±15.04) vs. 87.3(±15.02) pts.; p = 0.001]. Patient's satisfaction was higher but did not differ significantly. Conclusions: We conclude that self-chosen music contributes objectively to a reduced stress level for patients and therefore subjectively perceived satisfaction for endoscopists. Therefore, music should be considered as a non-pharmacological treatment method of distress reduction especially in the beginning of endoscopic procedures. KW - colonoscopy KW - anxiety KW - stress level KW - music KW - relaxation Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-212337 VL - 7 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bousquet, Jean A1 - Anto, Josep M. A1 - Bachert, Claus A1 - Haahtela, Tari A1 - Zuberbier, Torsten A1 - Czarlewski, Wienczyslawa A1 - Bedbrook, Anna A1 - Bosnic‐Anticevich, Sinthia A1 - Walter Canonica, G. A1 - Cardona, Victoria A1 - Costa, Elisio A1 - Cruz, Alvaro A. A1 - Erhola, Marina A1 - Fokkens, Wytske J. A1 - Fonseca, Joao A. A1 - Illario, Maddalena A1 - Ivancevich, Juan‐Carlos A1 - Jutel, Marek A1 - Klimek, Ludger A1 - Kuna, Piotr A1 - Kvedariene, Violeta A1 - Le, LTT A1 - Larenas‐Linnemann, Désirée E. A1 - Laune, Daniel A1 - Lourenço, Olga M. A1 - Melén, Erik A1 - Mullol, Joaquim A1 - Niedoszytko, Marek A1 - Odemyr, Mikaëla A1 - Okamoto, Yoshitaka A1 - Papadopoulos, Nikos G. A1 - Patella, Vincenzo A1 - Pfaar, Oliver A1 - Pham‐Thi, Nhân A1 - Rolland, Christine A1 - Samolinski, Boleslaw A1 - Sheikh, Aziz A1 - Sofiev, Mikhail A1 - Suppli Ulrik, Charlotte A1 - Todo‐Bom, Ana A1 - Tomazic, Peter‐Valentin A1 - Toppila‐Salmi, Sanna A1 - Tsiligianni, Ioanna A1 - Valiulis, Arunas A1 - Valovirta, Erkka A1 - Ventura, Maria‐Teresa A1 - Walker, Samantha A1 - Williams, Sian A1 - Yorgancioglu, Arzu A1 - Agache, Ioana A1 - Akdis, Cezmi A. A1 - Almeida, Rute A1 - Ansotegui, Ignacio J. A1 - Annesi‐Maesano, Isabella A1 - Arnavielhe, Sylvie A1 - Basagaña, Xavier A1 - D. Bateman, Eric A1 - Bédard, Annabelle A1 - Bedolla‐Barajas, Martin A1 - Becker, Sven A1 - Bennoor, Kazi S. A1 - Benveniste, Samuel A1 - Bergmann, Karl C. A1 - Bewick, Michael A1 - Bialek, Slawomir A1 - E. Billo, Nils A1 - Bindslev‐Jensen, Carsten A1 - Bjermer, Leif A1 - Blain, Hubert A1 - Bonini, Matteo A1 - Bonniaud, Philippe A1 - Bosse, Isabelle A1 - Bouchard, Jacques A1 - Boulet, Louis‐Philippe A1 - Bourret, Rodolphe A1 - Boussery, Koen A1 - Braido, Fluvio A1 - Briedis, Vitalis A1 - Briggs, Andrew A1 - Brightling, Christopher E. A1 - Brozek, Jan A1 - Brusselle, Guy A1 - Brussino, Luisa A1 - Buhl, Roland A1 - Buonaiuto, Roland A1 - Calderon, Moises A. A1 - Camargos, Paulo A1 - Camuzat, Thierry A1 - Caraballo, Luis A1 - Carriazo, Ana‐Maria A1 - Carr, Warner A1 - Cartier, Christine A1 - Casale, Thomas A1 - Cecchi, Lorenzo A1 - Cepeda Sarabia, Alfonso M. A1 - H. Chavannes, Niels A1 - Chkhartishvili, Ekaterine A1 - Chu, Derek K. A1 - Cingi, Cemal A1 - Correia de Sousa, Jaime A1 - Costa, David J. A1 - Courbis, Anne‐Lise A1 - Custovic, Adnan A1 - Cvetkosvki, Biljana A1 - D'Amato, Gennaro A1 - da Silva, Jane A1 - Dantas, Carina A1 - Dokic, Dejan A1 - Dauvilliers, Yves A1 - De Feo, Giulia A1 - De Vries, Govert A1 - Devillier, Philippe A1 - Di Capua, Stefania A1 - Dray, Gerard A1 - Dubakiene, Ruta A1 - Durham, Stephen R. A1 - Dykewicz, Mark A1 - Ebisawa, Motohiro A1 - Gaga, Mina A1 - El‐Gamal, Yehia A1 - Heffler, Enrico A1 - Emuzyte, Regina A1 - Farrell, John A1 - Fauquert, Jean‐Luc A1 - Fiocchi, Alessandro A1 - Fink‐Wagner, Antje A1 - Fontaine, Jean‐François A1 - Fuentes Perez, José M. A1 - Gemicioğlu, Bilun A1 - Gamkrelidze, Amiran A1 - Garcia‐Aymerich, Judith A1 - Gevaert, Philippe A1 - Gomez, René Maximiliano A1 - González Diaz, Sandra A1 - Gotua, Maia A1 - Guldemond, Nick A. A1 - Guzmán, Maria‐Antonieta A1 - Hajjam, Jawad A1 - Huerta Villalobos, Yunuen R. A1 - Humbert, Marc A1 - Iaccarino, Guido A1 - Ierodiakonou, Despo A1 - Iinuma, Tomohisa A1 - Jassem, Ewa A1 - Joos, Guy A1 - Jung, Ki‐Suck A1 - Kaidashev, Igor A1 - Kalayci, Omer A1 - Kardas, Przemyslaw A1 - Keil, Thomas A1 - Khaitov, Musa A1 - Khaltaev, Nikolai A1 - Kleine‐Tebbe, Jorg A1 - Kouznetsov, Rostislav A1 - Kowalski, Marek L. A1 - Kritikos, Vicky A1 - Kull, Inger A1 - La Grutta, Stefania A1 - Leonardini, Lisa A1 - Ljungberg, Henrik A1 - Lieberman, Philip A1 - Lipworth, Brian A1 - Lodrup Carlsen, Karin C. A1 - Lopes‐Pereira, Catarina A1 - Loureiro, Claudia C. A1 - Louis, Renaud A1 - Mair, Alpana A1 - Mahboub, Bassam A1 - Makris, Michaël A1 - Malva, Joao A1 - Manning, Patrick A1 - Marshall, Gailen D. A1 - Masjedi, Mohamed R. A1 - Maspero, Jorge F. A1 - Carreiro‐Martins, Pedro A1 - Makela, Mika A1 - Mathieu‐Dupas, Eve A1 - Maurer, Marcus A1 - De Manuel Keenoy, Esteban A1 - Melo‐Gomes, Elisabete A1 - Meltzer, Eli O. A1 - Menditto, Enrica A1 - Mercier, Jacques A1 - Micheli, Yann A1 - Miculinic, Neven A1 - Mihaltan, Florin A1 - Milenkovic, Branislava A1 - Mitsias, Dimitirios I. A1 - Moda, Giuliana A1 - Mogica‐Martinez, Maria‐Dolores A1 - Mohammad, Yousser A1 - Montefort, Steve A1 - Monti, Ricardo A1 - Morais‐Almeida, Mario A1 - Mösges, Ralph A1 - Münter, Lars A1 - Muraro, Antonella A1 - Murray, Ruth A1 - Naclerio, Robert A1 - Napoli, Luigi A1 - Namazova‐Baranova, Leyla A1 - Neffen, Hugo A1 - Nekam, Kristoff A1 - Neou, Angelo A1 - Nordlund, Björn A1 - Novellino, Ettore A1 - Nyembue, Dieudonné A1 - O'Hehir, Robyn A1 - Ohta, Ken A1 - Okubo, Kimi A1 - Onorato, Gabrielle L. A1 - Orlando, Valentina A1 - Ouedraogo, Solange A1 - Palamarchuk, Julia A1 - Pali‐Schöll, Isabella A1 - Panzner, Peter A1 - Park, Hae‐Sim A1 - Passalacqua, Gianni A1 - Pépin, Jean‐Louis A1 - Paulino, Ema A1 - Pawankar, Ruby A1 - Phillips, Jim A1 - Picard, Robert A1 - Pinnock, Hilary A1 - Plavec, Davor A1 - Popov, Todor A. A1 - Portejoie, Fabienne A1 - Price, David A1 - Prokopakis, Emmanuel P. A1 - Psarros, Fotis A1 - Pugin, Benoit A1 - Puggioni, Francesca A1 - Quinones‐Delgado, Pablo A1 - Raciborski, Filip A1 - Rajabian‐Söderlund, Rojin A1 - Regateiro, Frederico S. A1 - Reitsma, Sietze A1 - Rivero‐Yeverino, Daniela A1 - Roberts, Graham A1 - Roche, Nicolas A1 - Rodriguez‐Zagal, Erendira A1 - Rolland, Christine A1 - Roller‐Wirnsberger, Regina E. A1 - Rosario, Nelson A1 - Romano, Antonino A1 - Rottem, Menachem A1 - Ryan, Dermot A1 - Salimäki, Johanna A1 - Sanchez‐Borges, Mario M. A1 - Sastre, Joaquin A1 - Scadding, Glenis K. A1 - Scheire, Sophie A1 - Schmid‐Grendelmeier, Peter A1 - Schünemann, Holger J. A1 - Sarquis Serpa, Faradiba A1 - Shamji, Mohamed A1 - Sisul, Juan‐Carlos A1 - Sofiev, Mikhail A1 - Solé, Dirceu A1 - Somekh, David A1 - Sooronbaev, Talant A1 - Sova, Milan A1 - Spertini, François A1 - Spranger, Otto A1 - Stellato, Cristiana A1 - Stelmach, Rafael A1 - Thibaudon, Michel A1 - To, Teresa A1 - Toumi, Mondher A1 - Usmani, Omar A1 - Valero, Antonio A. A1 - Valenta, Rudolph A1 - Valentin‐Rostan, Marylin A1 - Pereira, Marilyn Urrutia A1 - van der Kleij, Rianne A1 - Van Eerd, Michiel A1 - Vandenplas, Olivier A1 - Vasankari, Tuula A1 - Vaz Carneiro, Antonio A1 - Vezzani, Giorgio A1 - Viart, Frédéric A1 - Viegi, Giovanni A1 - Wallace, Dana A1 - Wagenmann, Martin A1 - Wang, De Yun A1 - Waserman, Susan A1 - Wickman, Magnus A1 - Williams, Dennis M. A1 - Wong, Gary A1 - Wroczynski, Piotr A1 - Yiallouros, Panayiotis K. A1 - Yusuf, Osman M. A1 - Zar, Heather J. A1 - Zeng, Stéphane A1 - Zernotti, Mario E. A1 - Zhang, Luo A1 - Shan Zhong, Nan A1 - Zidarn, Mihaela T1 - ARIA digital anamorphosis: Digital transformation of health and care in airway diseases from research to practice JF - Allergy N2 - Digital anamorphosis is used to define a distorted image of health and care that may be viewed correctly using digital tools and strategies. MASK digital anamorphosis represents the process used by MASK to develop the digital transformation of health and care in rhinitis. It strengthens the ARIA change management strategy in the prevention and management of airway disease. The MASK strategy is based on validated digital tools. Using the MASK digital tool and the CARAT online enhanced clinical framework, solutions for practical steps of digital enhancement of care are proposed. KW - ARIA KW - asthma KW - CARAT KW - digital transformation of health and care KW - MASK KW - rhinitis Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-228339 VL - 76 IS - 1 SP - 168 EP - 190 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schmid, Michael A1 - Steinlein, Claus A1 - Feichtinger, Wolfgang A1 - Haaf, Thomas A1 - Mijares-Urrutia, Abraham A1 - Schargel, Walter E. A1 - Hedges, S. Blair T1 - Cytogenetic Studies on Gonatodes (Reptilia, Squamata, Sphaerodactylidae) JF - Cytogenetic and Genome Research N2 - Mitotic and meiotic chromosomes of 5 species of the reptile genus Gonatodes are described by means of conventional staining, banding analyses and in situ hybridization using a synthetic telomeric DNA probe. The amount, location and fluorochrome affinities of constitutive heterochromatin, the number and positions of nucleolus organizer regions, and the patterns of telomeric DNA sequences were determined for most of the species. The karyotypes of G. falconensis and G. taniae from northern Venezuela are distinguished by their extraordinarily reduced diploid chromosome number of 2n = 16, which is the lowest value found so far in reptiles. In contrast to most other reptiles, both species have exclusively large biarmed (meta- and submetacentric) chromosomes. Comparison of the karyotypes of G. falconensis and G. taniae with those of other Gonatodes species indicates that the exceptional 2n = 16 karyotype originated by a series of 8 centric fusions. The karyotypes of G. falconensis and G. taniae are further characterized by the presence of considerable amounts of (TTAGGG)n telomeric sequences in the centromeric regions of all chromosomes. These are probably not only relics of the centric fusion events, but a component of the highly repetitive DNA in the constitutive heterochromatin of the chromosomes. The genome sizes of 4 Gonatodes species were determined using flow cytometry. For comparative purposes, all previously published cytogenetic data on Gonatodes and other sphaerodactylids are included and discussed. KW - banding analyses KW - FISH KW - geckos KW - karyotype evolution KW - meiotic chromosomes KW - mitotic chromosomes Y1 - 2014 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-196753 SN - 1424-8581 SN - 1424-859X N1 - This publication is with permission of the rights owner freely accessible due to an Alliance licence and a national licence (funded by the DFG, German Research Foundation) respectively. VL - 144 IS - 1 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - von Kries, Rüdiger A1 - Weiss, Susanne A1 - Falkenhorst, Gerhard A1 - Wirth, Stephan A1 - Kaiser, Petra A1 - Huppertz, Hans-Iko A1 - Tenenbaum, Tobias A1 - Schroten, Horst A1 - Streng, Andrea A1 - Liese, Johannes A1 - Shai, Sonu A1 - Niehues, Tim A1 - Girschick, Hermann A1 - Kuscher, Ellen A1 - Sauerbrey, Axel A1 - Peters, Jochen A1 - Wirsing von Koenig, Carl Heinz A1 - Rückinger, Simon A1 - Hampl, Walter A1 - Michel, Detlef A1 - Mertens, Thomas T1 - Post-Pandemic Seroprevalence of Pandemic Influenza A (H1N1) 2009 Infection (Swine Flu) among Children < 18 Years in Germany JF - PLoS ONE N2 - Background: We determined antibodies to the pandemic influenza A (H1N1) 2009 virus in children to assess: the incidence of (H1N1) 2009 infections in the 2009/2010 season in Germany, the proportion of subclinical infections and to compare titers in vaccinated and infected children. Methodology/Principal Findings: Eight pediatric hospitals distributed over Germany prospectively provided sera from in-or outpatients aged 1 to 17 years from April 1(st) to July 31(st) 2010. Vaccination history, recall of infections and sociodemographic factors were ascertained. Antibody titers were measured with a sensitive and specific in-house hemagglutination inhibition test (HIT) and compared to age-matched sera collected during 6 months before the onset of the pandemic in Germany. We analyzed 1420 post-pandemic and 300 pre-pandemic sera. Among unvaccinated children aged 1-4 and 5-17 years the prevalence of HI titers (>= 1:10) was 27.1% (95% CI: 23.5-31.3) and 53.5% (95% CI: 50.9-56.2) compared to 1.7% and 5.5%, respectively, for pre-pandemic sera, accounting for a serologically determined incidence of influenza A (H1N1) 2009 during the season 2009/2010 of 25,4% (95% CI : 19.3-30.5) in children aged 1-4 years and 48.0% (95% CI: 42.6-52.0) in 5-17 year old children. Of children with HI titers >= 1: 10, 25.5% (95% CI: 22.5-28.8) reported no history of any infectious disease since June 2009. Among vaccinated children, 92% (95%-CI: 87.0-96.6) of the 5-17 year old but only 47.8% (95%-CI: 33.5-66.5) of the 1-4 year old children exhibited HI titers against influenza A virus (H1N1) 2009. Conclusion: Serologically determined incidence of influenza A (H1N1) 2009 infections in children indicates high infection rates with older children (5-17 years) infected twice as often as younger children. In about a quarter of the children with HI titers after the season 2009/2010 subclinical infections must be assumed. Low HI titers in young children after vaccination with the AS03(B)-adjuvanted split virion vaccine need further scrutiny. KW - Hemagglutination inhibition KW - Vaccine KW - Age KW - Immunogenicity KW - Prevalence KW - Antibody KW - Viruses KW - England KW - Safety KW - Risk Y1 - 2011 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-141698 VL - 6 IS - 9 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Binder, Andreas A1 - May, Denisa A1 - Baron, Ralf A1 - Maier, Christoph A1 - Tölle, Thomas R. A1 - Treede, Rolf-Detlef A1 - Berthele, Achim A1 - Faltraco, Frank A1 - Flor, Herta A1 - Gierthmühlen, Janne A1 - Haenisch, Sierk A1 - Huge, Volker A1 - Magerl, Walter A1 - Maihöfner, Christian A1 - Richter, Helmut A1 - Rolke, Roman A1 - Scherens, Andrea A1 - Üçeyler, Nurcan A1 - Ufer, Mike A1 - Wasner, Gunnar A1 - Zhu, Jihong A1 - Cascorbi, Ingolf T1 - Transient Receptor Potential Channel Polymorphisms Are Associated with the Somatosensory Function in Neuropathic Pain Patients JF - PLoS ONE N2 - Transient receptor potential channels are important mediators of thermal and mechanical stimuli and play an important role in neuropathic pain. The contribution of hereditary variants in the genes of transient receptor potential channels to neuropathic pain is unknown. We investigated the frequency of transient receptor potential ankyrin 1, transient receptor potential melastin 8 and transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 single nucleotide polymorphisms and their impact on somatosensory abnormalities in neuropathic pain patients. Within the German Research Network on Neuropathic Pain (Deutscher Forscbungsverbund Neuropathischer Schmerz) 371 neuropathic pain patients were phenotypically characterized using standardized quantitative sensory testing. Pyrosequencing was employed to determine a total of eleven single nucleotide polymorphisms in transient receptor potential channel genes of the neuropathic pain patients and a cohort of 253 German healthy volunteers. Associations of quantitative sensory testing parameters and single nucleotide polymorphisms between and within groups and subgroups, based on sensory phenotypes, were analyzed. Single nucleotide polymorphisms frequencies did not differ between both the cohorts. However, in neuropathic pain patients transient receptor potential ankyrin 1 710G>A (rs920829, E179K) was associated with the presence of paradoxical heat sensation (p=0.03), and transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 1911A>G (rs8065080, I585V) with cold hypoalgesia (p=0.0035). Two main subgroups characterized by preserved (1) and impaired (2) sensory function were identified. In subgroup 1 transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 1911A>G led to significantly less heat hyperalgesia, pinprick hyperalgesia and mechanical hypaesthesia (p=0.006, p=0.005 and p<0.001) and transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 1103C>G (rs222747, M315I) to cold hypaesthesia (p=0.002), but there was absence of associations in subgroup 2. In this study we found no evidence that genetic variants of transient receptor potential channels are involved in the expression of neuropathic pain, but transient receptor potential channel polymorphisms contributed significantly to the somatosensory abnormalities of neuropathic pain patients. KW - Paradoxical heat sensation KW - Neurogenic inflammation KW - Capsaicin receptor KW - TRP Channels KW - Cold KW - Mechanisms KW - Hyperalgesia KW - Sensitivity KW - Expression KW - Stimuli Y1 - 2011 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-142782 VL - 6 IS - 3 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Seher, Axel A1 - Nickel, Joachim A1 - Mueller, Thomas D. A1 - Kneitz, Susanne A1 - Gebhardt, Susanne A1 - Meyer ter Vehn, Tobias A1 - Schlunck, Guenther A1 - Sebald, Walter T1 - Gene expression profiling of connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) stimulated primary human tenon fibroblasts reveals an inflammatory and wound healing response in vitro JF - Molecular Vision N2 - Purpose: The biologic relevance of human connective tissue growth factor (hCTGF) for primary human tenon fibroblasts (HTFs) was investigated by RNA expression profiling using affymetrix (TM) oligonucleotide array technology to identify genes that are regulated by hCTGF. Methods: Recombinant hCTGF was expressed in HEK293T cells and purified by affinity and gel chromatography. Specificity and biologic activity of hCTGF was confirmed by biosensor interaction analysis and proliferation assays. For RNA expression profiling HTFs were stimulated with hCTGF for 48h and analyzed using affymetrix (TM) oligonucleotide array technology. Results were validated by real time RT-PCR. Results: hCTGF induces various groups of genes responsible for a wound healing and inflammatory response in HTFs. A new subset of CTGF inducible inflammatory genes was discovered (e.g., chemokine [C-X-C motif] ligand 1 [CXCL1], chemokine [C-X-C motif] ligand 6 [CXCL6], interleukin 6 [IL6], and interleukin 8 [IL8]). We also identified genes that can transmit the known biologic functions initiated by CTGF such as proliferation and extracellular matrix remodelling. Of special interest is a group of genes, e.g., osteoglycin (OGN) and osteomodulin (OMD), which are known to play a key role in osteoblast biology. Conclusions: This study specifies the important role of hCTGF for primary tenon fibroblast function. The RNA expression profile yields new insights into the relevance of hCTGF in influencing biologic processes like wound healing, inflammation, proliferation, and extracellular matrix remodelling in vitro via transcriptional regulation of specific genes. The results suggest that CTGF potentially acts as a modulating factor in inflammatory and wound healing response in fibroblasts of the human eye. KW - Bone morphogenetic protein-2 KW - Smooth-muscle-cells KW - Myofibroblast differentiation KW - TGF-beta KW - CYR61 KW - Proliferation KW - Mechanisms KW - Apoptosis KW - Receptor KW - Cancer Y1 - 2011 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-140189 VL - 17 IS - 08. Okt ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Strohmeier, Michael A1 - Walter, Thomas A1 - Rothe, Julian A1 - Montenegro, Sergio T1 - Ultra-wideband based pose estimation for small unmanned aerial vehicles JF - IEEE Access N2 - This paper proposes a 3-D local pose estimation system for a small Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) with a weight limit of 200 g and a very small footprint of 10 cm×10cm. The system is realized by fusing 3-D position estimations from an Ultra-Wide Band (UWB) transceiver network with Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) sensor data and data from a barometric pressure sensor. The 3-D position from the UWB network is estimated using Multi-Dimensional Scaling (MDS) and range measurements between the transceivers. The range measurements are obtained using Double-Sided Two-Way Ranging (DS-TWR), thus eliminating the need for an additional clock synchronization mechanism. The sensor fusion is accomplished using a loosely coupled Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) architecture. Extensive evaluation of the proposed system shows that a position accuracy with a Root-Mean-Square Error (RMSE) of 0.20cm can be obtained. The orientation angle can be estimated with an RMSE of 1.93°. KW - UAV KW - navigation KW - pose estimation KW - distance measurement KW - DecaWave KW - extended Kalman filter KW - UWB Y1 - 2018 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-177503 VL - 6 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Harth, Stefan A1 - Kotzsch, Alexander A1 - Hu, Junli A1 - Sebald, Walter A1 - Mueller, Thomas D. T1 - A Selection Fit Mechanism in BMP Receptor IA as a Possible Source for BMP Ligand-Receptor Promiscuity N2 - Background: Members of the TGF-b superfamily are characterized by a highly promiscuous ligand-receptor interaction as is readily apparent from the numeral discrepancy of only seven type I and five type II receptors available for more than 40 ligands. Structural and functional studies have been used to address the question of how specific signals can be deduced from a limited number of receptor combinations and to unravel the molecular mechanisms underlying the protein-protein recognition that allow such limited specificity. Principal Findings: In this study we have investigated how an antigen binding antibody fragment (Fab) raised against the extracellular domain of the BMP receptor type IA (BMPR-IA) recognizes the receptor’s BMP-2 binding epitope and thereby neutralizes BMP-2 receptor activation. The crystal structure of the complex of the BMPR-IA ectodomain bound to the Fab AbD1556 revealed that the contact surface of BMPR-IA overlaps extensively with the contact surface for BMP-2 interaction. Although the structural epitopes of BMPR-IA to both binding partners coincides, the structures of BMPR-IA in the two complexes differ significantly. In contrast to the structural differences, alanine-scanning mutagenesis of BMPR-IA showed that the functional determinants for binding to the antibody and BMP-2 are almost identical. Conclusions: Comparing the structures of BMPR-IA bound to BMP-2 or bound to the Fab AbD1556 with the structure of unbound BMPR-IA shows that binding of BMPR-IA to its interaction partners follows a selection fit mechanism, possibly indicating that the ligand promiscuity of BMPR-IA is inherently encoded by structural adaptability. The functional and structural analysis of the BMPR-IA binding antibody AbD1556 mimicking the BMP-2 binding epitope may thus pave the way for the design of low-molecular weight synthetic receptor binders/inhibitors. KW - Physiologische Chemie KW - antigen binding antibody fragment (Fab) Y1 - 2010 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-68497 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Klammert, Uwe A1 - Müller, Thomas D. A1 - Hellmann, Tina V. A1 - Wuerzler, Kristian K. A1 - Kotzsch, Alexander A1 - Schliermann, Anna A1 - Schmitz, Werner A1 - Kuebler, Alexander C. A1 - Sebald, Walter A1 - Nickel, Joachim T1 - GDF-5 can act as a context-dependent BMP-2 antagonist JF - BMC Biology N2 - Background Bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)-2 and growth and differentiation factor (GDF)-5 are two related transforming growth factor (TGF)-β family members with important functions in embryonic development and tissue homeostasis. BMP-2 is best known for its osteoinductive properties whereas GDF-5—as evident from its alternative name, cartilage derived morphogenetic protein 1—plays an important role in the formation of cartilage. In spite of these differences both factors signal by binding to the same subset of BMP receptors, raising the question how these different functionalities are generated. The largest difference in receptor binding is observed in the interaction with the type I receptor BMPR-IA. GDF-5, in contrast to BMP-2, shows preferential binding to the isoform BMPR-IB, which is abrogated by a single amino acid (A57R) substitution. The resulting variant, GDF-5 R57A, represents a “BMP-2 mimic” with respect to BMP receptor binding. In this study we thus wanted to analyze whether the two growth factors can induce distinct signals via an identically composed receptor. Results Unexpectedly and dependent on the cellular context, GDF-5 R57A showed clear differences in its activity compared to BMP-2. In ATDC-5 cells, both ligands induced alkaline phosphatase (ALP) expression with similar potency. But in C2C12 cells, the BMP-2 mimic GDF-5 R57A (and also wild-type GDF-5) clearly antagonized BMP-2-mediated ALP expression, despite signaling in both cell lines occurring solely via BMPR-IA. The BMP-2- antagonizing properties of GDF-5 and GDF-5 R57A could also be observed in vivo when implanting BMP-2 and either one of the two GDF-5 ligands simultaneously at heterotopic sites. Conclusions Although comparison of the crystal structures of the GDF-5 R57A:BMPR-IAEC- and BMP-2:BMPR-IAEC complex revealed small ligand-specific differences, these cannot account for the different signaling characteristics because the complexes seem identical in both differently reacting cell lines. We thus predict an additional component, most likely a not yet identified GDF-5-specific co-receptor, which alters the output of the signaling complexes. Hence the presence or absence of this component then switches GDF-5′s signaling capabilities to act either similar to BMP-2 or as a BMP-2 antagonist. These findings might shed new light on the role of GDF-5, e.g., in cartilage maintenance and/or limb development in that it might act as an inhibitor of signaling events initiated by other BMPs. KW - growth and differentiation factor 5 KW - ligand-receptor complex KW - crystal structure KW - antagonist Y1 - 2015 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-125550 VL - 13 IS - 77 ER - TY - THES A1 - Walter, Thomas T1 - Politische Determinanten von Auslandsinvestitionen und Länderrisiken. Eine empirische Untersuchung mit Fallstudien zu Argentinien und Venezuela T1 - Political determinants of foreign investments and country risks. An empirical investigation with case studies on Argentina and Venezuela N2 - In den vergangenen Jahren traten auf den internationalen Kapitalmärkten starke Veränderungen ein. Die Öffnung vieler Länder für den internationalen Kapitalmarkt seit den 1980er Jahren führte allgemein zu einem hohen Anstieg grenzüberschreitender Investitionen. Folgt man der wirtschaftswissenschaftlichen Theorie, sollte aber wesentlich mehr Kapital von Industriestaaten in arme Länder fließen als es tatsächlich der Fall ist. Politische Faktoren bzw. politische Länderrisiken sind entscheidende Faktoren zur Erklärung dieses Phänomens. Hauptgegenstand dieser Arbeit ist die Klärung der Wirkungszusammenhänge zwischen Politik, Kapitalflüssen und Länderrisiken. In der Arbeit werden verschiedene Formen internationalen Kapitals unterschieden. Es ist von entscheidender Bedeutung, wie sich politisches Risiko auf unterschiedliche Kapitalflüsse wie Direktinvestitionen und Schuldenflüsse auswirkt. Dem Kreditmarkt und dem Phänomen des Staatsbankrotts kommt hierbei eine Schlüsselrolle zu. Die Frage, unter welchen politischen Voraussetzungen sich Staaten am internationalen Kapitalmarkt verschulden, ist in der Literatur bislang vernachlässigt worden. Dieser Zusammenhang bestimmt jedoch zu einem hohen Grad die Auslandsschulden eines Landes bei gegebener Kreditwürdigkeit. Die Arbeit konzentriert sich nicht nur auf den Faktor politisches Risiko, sondern beleuchtet die Rolle der „Politik“ als Ganzes. Im ersten Teil der Arbeit Schritt wird der theoretische Zusammenhang zwischen politischen Variablen, Wirtschaftswachstum und verschiedenen Kapitalflüssen untersucht und darauf aufbauend Hypothesen gebildet. Im zweiten Schritt wird gezeigt, wie Investoren Politik bzw. politische Risiken hinsichtlich ihrer Investitionsmöglichkeiten wahrnehmen. Dies geschieht anhand der Länderratings, die von Ratingagenturen veröffentlicht werden, um deren Einschätzung der Kreditwürdigkeit eines Landes dem Markt mitzuteilen. Diese Länderratings sind zu einem wichtigen Element im Wettbewerb staatlicher Akteure um die Gunst von Investoren geworden. Neben ökonomischen Determinanten wird das Länderrisiko auch von sozialen und politischen Faktoren beeinflusst. Es zeigt sich, dass gerade politische Risiken nur schwer voraussehbar und kaum operationalisierbar sind. Außerdem wird deutlich, dass es den Trägern der Analyse an Kompetenz gerade bei der Einschätzung politischer Risiken mangelt. Die Regressionsanalysen bilden den dritten Teil der Arbeit und werden mit einem globalen Datenpanel durchgeführt. Ein zweites Sample wird für Lateinamerika, den regionalen Schwerpunkt der Arbeit, erstellt. Es wird unterschieden nach den politischen Determinanten von Direktinvestitionen, Aktieninvestitionen und Schuldenflüssen. Die politischen Determinanten von Länderratings werden separat untersucht. Fallstudien zu Argentinien und Venezuela vervollständigen die Erkenntnisse der Untersuchung. In einem ersten Schritt wird dabei die jeweilige historische Entwicklung der Kapitalflüsse der Länder im Rahmen ihrer ökonomischen und politischen Geschichte analysiert. Daran schließt sich eine Analyse der Perzeption politischer Risiken während der Schuldenkrise der 1980er Jahre an, die beide Länder betraf. Es wird außerdem gezeigt, welche politischen Institutionen Einfluss auf die wirtschaftliche Leistungsfähigkeit beider Länder haben. Hier wird für Venezuela vor allem die auf Öl basierende Rentenökonomie behandelt und im Falle Argentiniens der Fiskalföderalismus. Am Beispiel der liberalen Reformen Anfang der 1990er Jahre wird gezeigt, warum die Länder mit ihrer Politik trotz ähnlicher Bedingungen unterschiedliche Ergebnisse erzielten. Die Fallstudien schließen mit der Analyse jüngerer Krisen und deren Folgen für die Investoren ab. N2 - In recent years there have been strong changes in international capital markets. The access of many countries to international capital markets since the 1980s led to a high increase in cross-border investment. Following economic theory there should be much more capital flowing from developed countries to poor countries than there is actually. Political factors and political risks are key factors to explain this phenomenon. The main goal of this thesis is to clarify the interdependencies between political factors, capital flows and country risks. The first chapter contains an analysis of the political determinants of economic growth and capital flows. The second chapter shows how investors perceive political risks while analyzing their investment opportunities. Therefore sovereign ratings published by credit rating agencies are examined. The analysis of rating agencies shows that they lack the skills to assess political risks adequately. The third chapter contains panel data regressions with a global data panel and second sample for Latin America. Political determinants of FDI, portfolio equity investment and debt flows are analyzed. The political determinants of sovereign ratings are examined separately. The fourth chapter contains case studies on Argentina and Venezuela. The historical development of financial flows is linked to the countries’ political history. Subsequently the perception of political risks during the debt crisis of the 1980s is demonstrated on the basis of newspapers and rating publications. It is also shown how political institutions influence the economic performance of both countries. For Venezuela this is in particular the oil-based rentier economy and for Argentina the fiscal federalism. The liberal reforms in the early 1990s and their different outcomes are compared in the next step. The case studies conclude with the analysis of recent crises in these countries and their consequences for direct and debt investors. KW - Länderrisiko KW - Länderrating KW - Venezuela KW - Argentinien KW - Auslandsinvestition KW - Internationale Kapitalbewegung KW - Vergleichende politische Wissenschaft KW - Ratingagentur KW - Direktinvestition KW - Portfolio-Investition KW - Internationale Verschuldung KW - Lucas-Paradox KW - Staatsbankrott KW - Political risk KW - international capital movements KW - country risk KW - Argentina KW - Venezuela Y1 - 2008 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-48110 ER -