@article{SchmidtFranckeRottleretal.2022, author = {Schmidt, Lena Katharina and Francke, Till and Rottler, Erwin and Blume, Theresa and Sch{\"o}ber, Johannes and Bronstert, Axel}, title = {Suspended sediment and discharge dynamics in a glaciated alpine environment}, series = {Earth surface dynamics}, volume = {10}, journal = {Earth surface dynamics}, number = {3}, publisher = {Copernicus Publications}, address = {G{\"o}ttingen}, issn = {2196-632X}, doi = {10.5194/esurf-10-653-2022}, pages = {653 -- 669}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Glaciated high-alpine areas are fundamentally altered by climate change, with well-known implications for hydrology, e.g., due to glacier retreat, longer snow-free periods, and more frequent and intense summer rainstorms. While knowledge on how these hydrological changes will propagate to suspended sediment dynamics is still scarce, it is needed to inform mitigation and adaptation strategies. To understand the processes and source areas most relevant to sediment dynamics, we analyzed discharge and sediment dynamics in high temporal resolution as well as their patterns on several spatial scales, which to date few studies have done. We used a nested catchment setup in the Upper {\"O}tztal in Tyrol, Austria, where high-resolution (15 min) time series of discharge and suspended sediment concentrations are available for up to 15 years (2006-2020). The catchments of the gauges in Vent, S{\"o}lden and Tumpen range from 100 to almost 800 km2 with 10 \% to 30 \% glacier cover and span an elevation range of 930 to 3772 m a.s.l. We analyzed discharge and suspended sediment yields (SSY), their distribution in space, their seasonality and spatial differences therein, and the relative importance of short-term events. We complemented our analysis by linking the observations to satellite-based snow cover maps, glacier inventories, mass balances and precipitation data. Our results indicate that the areas above 2500 m a.s.l., characterized by glacier tongues and the most recently deglaciated areas, are crucial for sediment generation in all sub-catchments. This notion is supported by the synchronous spring onset of sediment export at the three gauges, which coincides with snowmelt above 2500 m but lags behind spring discharge onsets. This points at a limitation of suspended sediment supply as long as the areas above 2500 m are snow-covered. The positive correlation of annual SSY with glacier cover (among catchments) and glacier mass balances (within a catchment) further supports the importance of the glacier-dominated areas. The analysis of short-term events showed that summer precipitation events were associated with peak sediment concentrations and yields but on average accounted for only 21 \% of the annual SSY in the headwaters. These results indicate that under current conditions, thermally induced sediment export (through snow and glacier melt) is dominant in the study area. Our results extend the scientific knowledge on current hydro-sedimentological conditions in glaciated high-alpine areas and provide a baseline for studies on projected future changes in hydro-sedimentological system dynamics.}, language = {en} } @techreport{KalkuhlFranksGruneretal.2023, type = {Working Paper}, author = {Kalkuhl, Matthias and Franks, Max and Gruner, Friedemann and Lessmann, Kai and Edenhofer, Ottmar}, title = {Pigou's Advice and Sisyphus' Warning}, series = {CEPA Discussion Papers}, journal = {CEPA Discussion Papers}, number = {62}, issn = {2628-653X}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-57588}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-575882}, pages = {66}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Carbon dioxide removal from the atmosphere is becoming an important option to achieve net zero climate targets. This paper develops a welfare and public economics perspective on optimal policies for carbon removal and storage in non-permanent sinks like forests, soil, oceans, wood products or chemical products. We derive a new metric for the valuation of non-permanent carbon storage, the social cost of carbon removal (SCC-R), which embeds also the conventional social cost of carbon emissions. We show that the contribution of CDR is to create new carbon sinks that should be used to reduce transition costs, even if the stored carbon is released to the atmosphere eventually. Importantly, CDR does not raise the ambition of optimal temperature levels unless initial atmospheric carbon stocks are excessively high. For high initial atmospheric carbon stocks, CDR allows to reduce the optimal temperature below initial levels. Finally, we characterize three different policy regimes that ensure an optimal deployment of carbon removal: downstream carbon pricing, upstream carbon pricing, and carbon storage pricing. The policy regimes differ in their informational and institutional requirements regarding monitoring, liability and financing.}, language = {en} } @article{SchaeferKakularamReischetal.2022, author = {Sch{\"a}fer, Marj{\"a}nn Helena and Kakularam, Kumar Reddy and Reisch, Florian and Rothe, Michael and Stehling, Sabine and Heydeck, Dagmar and P{\"u}schel, Gerhard Paul and Kuhn, Hartmut}, title = {Male Knock-in Mice Expressing an Arachidonic Acid Lipoxygenase 15B (Alox15B) with Humanized Reaction Specificity Are Prematurely Growth Arrested When Aging}, series = {Biomedicines}, volume = {10}, journal = {Biomedicines}, edition = {6}, publisher = {MDPI}, address = {Basel, Schweiz}, issn = {2227-9059}, doi = {10.3390/biomedicines10061379}, pages = {1 -- 22}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Mammalian arachidonic acid lipoxygenases (ALOXs) have been implicated in cell differentiation and in the pathogenesis of inflammation. The mouse genome involves seven functional Alox genes and the encoded enzymes share a high degree of amino acid conservation with their human orthologs. There are, however, functional differences between mouse and human ALOX orthologs. Human ALOX15B oxygenates arachidonic acid exclusively to its 15-hydroperoxy derivative (15S-HpETE), whereas 8S-HpETE is dominantly formed by mouse Alox15b. The structural basis for this functional difference has been explored and in vitro mutagenesis humanized the reaction specificity of the mouse enzyme. To explore whether this mutagenesis strategy may also humanize the reaction specificity of mouse Alox15b in vivo, we created Alox15b knock-in mice expressing the arachidonic acid 15-lipoxygenating Tyr603Asp+His604Val double mutant instead of the 8-lipoxygenating wildtype enzyme. These mice are fertile, display slightly modified plasma oxylipidomes and develop normally up to an age of 24 weeks. At later developmental stages, male Alox15b-KI mice gain significantly less body weight than outbred wildtype controls, but this effect was not observed for female individuals. To explore the possible reasons for the observed gender-specific growth arrest, we determined the basic hematological parameters and found that aged male Alox15b-KI mice exhibited significantly attenuated red blood cell parameters (erythrocyte counts, hematocrit, hemoglobin). Here again, these differences were not observed in female individuals. These data suggest that humanization of the reaction specificity of mouse Alox15b impairs the functionality of the hematopoietic system in males, which is paralleled by a premature growth arrest.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Giuri2023, author = {Giuri, Chiara}, title = {VERITAS Dark Matter search in dwarf spheroidal galaxies: an extended analysis}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-57586}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-575869}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, pages = {xxiv, 227}, year = {2023}, abstract = {In the last century, several astronomical measurements have supported that a significant percentage (about 22\%) of the total mass of the Universe, on galactic and extragalactic scales, is composed of a mysterious "dark" matter (DM). DM does not interact with the electromagnetic force; in other words it does not reflect, absorb or emit light. It is possible that DM particles are weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) that can annihilate (or decay) into Standard Model (SM) particles, and modern very- high-energy (VHE; > 100 GeV) instruments such as imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes (IACTs) can play an important role in constraining the main properties of such DM particles, by detecting these products. One of the most privileged targets where to look for DM signal are dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSphs), as they are expected to be high DM-dominated objects with a clean, gas-free environment. Some dSphs could be considered as extended sources, considering the angular resolution of IACTs; their angu- lar resolution is adequate to detect extended emission from dSphs. For this reason, we performed an extended-source analysis, by taking into account in the unbinned maximum likelihood estimation both the energy and the angular extension dependency of observed events. The goal was to set more constrained upper limits on the velocity-averaged cross-section annihilation of WIMPs with VERITAS data. VERITAS is an array of four IACTs, able to detect γ-ray photons ranging between 100 GeV and 30 TeV. The results of this extended analysis were compared against the traditional spectral analysis. We found that a 2D analysis may lead to more constrained results, depending on the DM mass, channel, and source. Moreover, in this thesis, the results of a multi-instrument project are presented too. Its goal was to combine already published 20 dSphs data from five different experiments, such as Fermi-LAT, MAGIC, H.E.S.S., VERITAS and HAWC, in order to set upper limits on the WIMP annihilation cross-section in the widest mass range ever reported.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Djalali2023, author = {Djalali, Saveh Arman}, title = {Multiresponsive complex emulsions: Concepts for the design of active and adaptive liquid colloidal systems}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-57520}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-575203}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, pages = {151}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Complex emulsions are dispersions of kinetically stabilized multiphasic emulsion droplets comprised of two or more immiscible liquids that provide a novel material platform for the generation of active and dynamic soft materials. In recent years, the intrinsic reconfigurable morphological behavior of complex emulsions, which can be attributed to the unique force equilibrium between the interfacial tensions acting at the various interfaces, has become of fundamental and applied interest. As such, particularly biphasic Janus droplets have been investigated as structural templates for the generation of anisotropic precision objects, dynamic optical elements or as transducers and signal amplifiers in chemo- and bio-sensing applications. In the present thesis, switchable internal morphological responses of complex droplets triggered by stimuli-induced alterations of the balance of interfacial tensions have been explored as a universal building block for the design of multiresponsive, active, and adaptive liquid colloidal systems. A series of underlying principles and mechanisms that influence the equilibrium of interfacial tensions have been uncovered, which allowed the targeted design of emulsion bodies that can alter their shape, bind and roll on surfaces, or change their geometrical shape in response to chemical stimuli. Consequently, combinations of the unique triggerable behavior of Janus droplets with designer surfactants, such as a stimuli-responsive photosurfactant (AzoTAB) resulted for instance in shape-changing soft colloids that exhibited a jellyfish inspired buoyant motion behavior, holding great promise for the design of biological inspired active material architectures and transformable soft robotics. In situ observations of spherical Janus emulsion droplets using a customized side-view microscopic imaging setup with accompanying pendant dropt measurements disclosed the sensitivity regime of the unique chemical-morphological coupling inside complex emulsions and enabled the recording of calibration curves for the extraction of critical parameters of surfactant effectiveness. The deduced new "responsive drop" method permitted a convenient and cost-efficient quantification and comparison of the critical micelle concentrations (CMCs) and effectiveness of various cationic, anionic, and nonionic surfactants. Moreover, the method allowed insightful characterization of stimuli-responsive surfactants and monitoring of the impact of inorganic salts on the CMC and surfactant effectiveness of ionic and nonionic surfactants. Droplet functionalization with synthetic crown ether surfactants yielded a synthetically minimal material platform capable of autonomous and reversible adaptation to its chemical environment through different supramolecular host-guest recognition events. Addition of metal or ammonium salts resulted in the uptake of the resulting hydrophobic complexes to the hydrocarbon hemisphere, whereas addition of hydrophilic ammonium compounds such as amino acids or polypeptides resulted in supramolecular assemblies at the hydrocarbon-water interface of the droplets. The multiresponsive material platform enabled interfacial complexation and thus triggered responses of the droplets to a variety of chemical triggers including metal ions, ammonium compounds, amino acids, antibodies, carbohydrates as well as amino-functionalized solid surfaces. In the final chapter, the first documented optical logic gates and combinatorial logic circuits based on complex emulsions are presented. More specifically, the unique reconfigurable and multiresponsive properties of complex emulsions were exploited to realize droplet-based logic gates of varying complexity using different stimuli-responsive surfactants in combination with diverse readout methods. In summary, different designs for multiresponsive, active, and adaptive liquid colloidal systems were presented and investigated, enabling the design of novel transformative chemo-intelligent soft material platforms.}, language = {en} } @article{JaraMunozMelnickLietal.2022, author = {Jara Mu{\~n}oz, Julius and Melnick, Daniel and Li, Shaoyang and Socquet, Anne and Cort{\´e}s-Aranda, Joaqu{\´i}n and Brill, Dominik and Strecker, Manfred}, title = {The cryptic seismic potential of the Pichilemu blind fault in Chile revealed by off-fault geomorphology}, series = {Nature Communications}, volume = {13}, journal = {Nature Communications}, publisher = {Springer Nature}, address = {London}, issn = {2041-1723}, doi = {10.1038/s41467-022-30754-1}, pages = {13}, year = {2022}, abstract = {The first step towards assessing hazards in seismically active regions involves mapping capable faults and estimating their recurrence times. While the mapping of active faults is commonly based on distinct geologic and geomorphic features evident at the surface, mapping blind seismogenic faults is complicated by the absence of on-fault diagnostic features. Here we investigated the Pichilemu Fault in coastal Chile, unknown until it generated a Mw 7.0 earthquake in 2010. The lack of evident surface faulting suggests activity along a partly-hidden blind fault. We used off-fault deformed marine terraces to estimate a fault-slip rate of 0.52 ± 0.04 m/ka, which, when integrated with satellite geodesy suggests a 2.12 ± 0.2 ka recurrence time for Mw~7.0 normal-faulting earthquakes. We propose that extension in the Pichilemu region is associated with stress changes during megathrust earthquakes and accommodated by sporadic slip during upper-plate earthquakes, which has implications for assessing the seismic potential of cryptic faults along convergent margins and elsewhere.}, language = {en} } @article{AgnePreickStraubeetal.2022, author = {Agne, Stefanie and Preick, Michaela and Straube, Nicolas and Hofreiter, Michael}, title = {Simultaneous Barcode Sequencing of Diverse Museum Collection Specimens Using a Mixed RNA Bait Set}, series = {Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution}, volume = {10}, journal = {Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution}, publisher = {Frontiers Media S.A.}, address = {Lausanne, Schweiz}, issn = {2296-701X}, doi = {10.3389/fevo.2022.909846}, pages = {5}, year = {2022}, abstract = {A growing number of publications presenting results from sequencing natural history collection specimens reflect the importance of DNA sequence information from such samples. Ancient DNA extraction and library preparation methods in combination with target gene capture are a way of unlocking archival DNA, including from formalin-fixed wet-collection material. Here we report on an experiment, in which we used an RNA bait set containing baits from a wide taxonomic range of species for DNA hybridisation capture of nuclear and mitochondrial targets for analysing natural history collection specimens. The bait set used consists of 2,492 mitochondrial and 530 nuclear RNA baits and comprises specific barcode loci of diverse animal groups including both invertebrates and vertebrates. The baits allowed to capture DNA sequence information of target barcode loci from 84\% of the 37 samples tested, with nuclear markers being captured more frequently and consensus sequences of these being more complete compared to mitochondrial markers. Samples from dry material had a higher rate of success than wet-collection specimens, although target sequence information could be captured from 50\% of formalin-fixed samples. Our study illustrates how efforts to obtain barcode sequence information from natural history collection specimens may be combined and are a way of implementing barcoding inventories of scientific collection material.}, language = {en} } @article{SarabadaniMetzlerAlaNissila2022, author = {Sarabadani, Jalal and Metzler, Ralf and Ala-Nissila, Tapio}, title = {Driven polymer translocation into a channel: Isoflux tension propagation theory and Langevin dynamics simulations}, series = {Physical Review Research}, volume = {4}, journal = {Physical Review Research}, edition = {3}, publisher = {American Physical Society}, address = {College Park, Maryland, USA}, issn = {2643-1564}, doi = {10.1103/PhysRevResearch.4.033003}, pages = {033003-1 -- 033003-14}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Isoflux tension propagation (IFTP) theory and Langevin dynamics (LD) simulations are employed to study the dynamics of channel-driven polymer translocation in which a polymer translocates into a narrow channel and the monomers in the channel experience a driving force fc. In the high driving force limit, regardless of the channel width, IFTP theory predicts τ ∝ f βc for the translocation time, where β = -1 is the force scaling exponent. Moreover, LD data show that for a very narrow channel fitting only a single file of monomers, the entropic force due to the subchain inside the channel does not play a significant role in the translocation dynamics and the force exponent β = -1 regardless of the force magnitude. As the channel width increases the number of possible spatial configurations of the subchain inside the channel becomes significant and the resulting entropic force causes the force exponent to drop below unity.}, language = {en} } @article{SmirnovBolotovBolotovetal.2022, author = {Smirnov, Lev A. and Bolotov, Maxim and Bolotov, Dmitri and Osipov, Grigory V. and Pikovsky, Arkady}, title = {Finite-density-induced motility and turbulence of chimera solitons}, series = {New Journal of Physics}, volume = {24}, journal = {New Journal of Physics}, publisher = {IOP}, address = {London}, issn = {1367-2630}, doi = {10.1088/1367-2630/ac63d9}, pages = {15}, year = {2022}, abstract = {We consider a one-dimensional oscillatory medium with a coupling through a diffusive linear field. In the limit of fast diffusion this setup reduces to the classical Kuramoto-Battogtokh model. We demonstrate that for a finite diffusion stable chimera solitons, namely localized synchronous domain in an infinite asynchronous environment, are possible. The solitons are stable also for finite density of oscillators, but in this case they sway with a nearly constant speed. This finite-density-induced motility disappears in the continuum limit, as the velocity of the solitons is inverse proportional to the density. A long-wave instability of the homogeneous asynchronous state causes soliton turbulence, which appears as a sequence of soliton mergings and creations. As the instability of the asynchronous state becomes stronger, this turbulence develops into a spatio-temporal intermittency.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Werhahn2023, author = {Werhahn, Maria}, title = {Simulating galaxy evolution with cosmic rays: the multi-frequency view}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-57285}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-572851}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, pages = {5, 220}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Cosmic rays (CRs) constitute an important component of the interstellar medium (ISM) of galaxies and are thought to play an essential role in governing their evolution. In particular, they are able to impact the dynamics of a galaxy by driving galactic outflows or heating the ISM and thereby affecting the efficiency of star-formation. Hence, in order to understand galaxy formation and evolution, we need to accurately model this non-thermal constituent of the ISM. But except in our local environment within the Milky Way, we do not have the ability to measure CRs directly in other galaxies. However, there are many ways to indirectly observe CRs via the radiation they emit due to their interaction with magnetic and interstellar radiation fields as well as with the ISM. In this work, I develop a numerical framework to calculate the spectral distribution of CRs in simulations of isolated galaxies where a steady-state between injection and cooling is assumed. Furthermore, I calculate the non-thermal emission processes arising from the modelled CR proton and electron spectra ranging from radio wavelengths up to the very high-energy gamma-ray regime. I apply this code to a number of high-resolution magneto-hydrodynamical (MHD) simulations of isolated galaxies, where CRs are included. This allows me to study their CR spectra and compare them to observations of the CR proton and electron spectra by the Voyager-1 satellite and the AMS-02 instrument in order to reveal the origin of the measured spectral features. Furthermore, I provide detailed emission maps, luminosities and spectra of the non-thermal emission from our simulated galaxies that range from dwarfs to Milk-Way analogues to starburst galaxies at different evolutionary stages. I successfully reproduce the observed relations between the radio and gamma-ray luminosities with the far-infrared (FIR) emission of star-forming (SF) galaxies, respectively, where the latter is a good tracer of the star-formation rate. I find that highly SF galaxies are close to the limit where their CR population would lose all of their energy due to the emission of radiation, whereas CRs tend to escape low SF galaxies more quickly. On top of that, I investigate the properties of CR transport that are needed in order to match the observed gamma-ray spectra. Furthermore, I uncover the underlying processes that enable the FIR-radio correlation (FRC) to be maintained even in starburst galaxies and find that thermal free-free-emission naturally explains the observed radio spectra in SF galaxies like M82 and NGC 253 thus solving the riddle of flat radio spectra that have been proposed to contradict the observed tight FRC. Lastly, I scrutinise the steady-state modelling of the CR proton component by investigating for the first time the influence of spectrally resolved CR transport in MHD simulations on the hadronic gamma-ray emission of SF galaxies revealing new insights into the observational signatures of CR transport both spectrally and spatially.}, language = {en} } @article{TofeldeBufeTurowski2022, author = {Tofelde, Stefanie and Bufe, Aaron and Turowski, Jens M.}, title = {Hillslope Sediment Supply Limits Alluvial Valley Width}, series = {AGU Advances}, journal = {AGU Advances}, publisher = {American Geophysical Union (AGU); Wiley}, address = {Hoboken, New Jersey, USA}, issn = {2576-604X}, doi = {10.1029/2021AV000641}, pages = {20}, year = {2022}, abstract = {River-valley morphology preserves information on tectonic and climatic conditions that shape landscapes. Observations suggest that river discharge and valley-wall lithology are the main controls on valley width. Yet, current models based on these observations fail to explain the full range of cross-sectional valley shapes in nature, suggesting hitherto unquantified controls on valley width. In particular, current models cannot explain the existence of paired terrace sequences that form under cyclic climate forcing. Paired river terraces are staircases of abandoned floodplains on both valley sides, and hence preserve past valley widths. Their formation requires alternating phases of predominantly river incision and predominantly lateral planation, plus progressive valley narrowing. While cyclic Quaternary climate changes can explain shifts between incision and lateral erosion, the driving mechanism of valley narrowing is unknown. Here, we extract valley geometries from climatically formed, alluvial river-terrace sequences and show that across our dataset, the total cumulative terrace height (here: total valley height) explains 90\%-99\% of the variance in valley width at the terrace sites. This finding suggests that valley height, or a parameter that scales linearly with valley height, controls valley width in addition to river discharge and lithology. To explain this valley-width-height relationship, we reformulate existing valley-width models and suggest that, when adjusting to new boundary conditions, alluvial valleys evolve to a width at which sediment removal from valley walls matches lateral sediment supply from hillslope erosion. Such a hillslope-channel coupling is not captured in current valley-evolution models. Our model can explain the existence of paired terrace sequences under cyclic climate forcing and relates valley width to measurable field parameters. Therefore, it facilitates the reconstruction of past climatic and tectonic conditions from valley topography.}, language = {en} } @article{NovineMattssonGroth2022, author = {Novine, Masiar and Mattsson, Cecilie Cordua and Groth, Detlef}, title = {Network reconstruction based on synthetic data generated by a Monte Carlo approach}, series = {Human biology and public health}, volume = {2021}, journal = {Human biology and public health}, number = {3, Summer School Supplement}, publisher = {Universit{\"a}tsverlag Potsdam}, address = {Potsdam}, issn = {2748-9957}, doi = {10.52905/hbph2021.3.26}, pages = {23}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Background: Network models are useful tools for researchers to simplify and understand investigated systems. Yet, the assessment of methods for network construction is often uncertain. Random resampling simulations can aid to assess methods, provided synthetic data exists for reliable network construction. Objectives: We implemented a new Monte Carlo algorithm to create simulated data for network reconstruction, tested the influence of adjusted parameters and used simulations to select a method for network model estimation based on real-world data. We hypothesized, that reconstructs based on Monte Carlo data are scored at least as good compared to a benchmark. Methods: Simulated data was generated in R using the Monte Carlo algorithm of the mcgraph package. Benchmark data was created by the huge package. Networks were reconstructed using six estimator functions and scored by four classification metrics. For compatibility tests of mean score differences, Welch's t-test was used. Network model estimation based on real-world data was done by stepwise selection. Samples: Simulated data was generated based on 640 input graphs of various types and sizes. The real-world dataset consisted of 67 medieval skeletons of females and males from the region of Refshale (Lolland) and Nordby (Jutland) in Denmark. Results: Results after t-tests and determining confidence intervals (CI95\%) show, that evaluation scores for network reconstructs based on the mcgraph package were at least as good compared to the benchmark huge. The results even indicate slightly better scores on average for the mcgraph package. Conclusion: The results confirmed our objective and suggested that Monte Carlo data can keep up with the benchmark in the applied test framework. The algorithm offers the feature to use (weighted) un- and directed graphs and might be useful for assessing methods for network construction.}, language = {en} } @article{MummHermanussen2022, author = {Mumm, Rebekka and Hermanussen, Michael}, title = {The dilemma of misclassifying weight in short and in historic population}, series = {Human biology and public health}, volume = {2021}, journal = {Human biology and public health}, number = {3, Summer School Supplement}, publisher = {Universit{\"a}tsverlag Potsdam}, address = {Potsdam}, issn = {2748-9957}, doi = {10.52905/hbph2021.3.28}, pages = {7}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Background: Clinicians often refer anthropometric measures of a child to so-called "growth standards" and "growth references. Over 140 countries have meanwhile adopted WHO growth standards. Objectives: The present study was conducted to thoroughly examine the idea of growth standards as a common yardstick for all populations. Weight depends on height. We became interested in whether also weight-for-height depends on height. First, we studied the age-group effect on weight-for-height. Thereafter, we tested the applicability of weight-for-height references in short and in historic populations. Sample and Methods: We analyzed body height and body weight and weight-for-height of 3795 healthy boys and 3726 healthy girls aged 2 to 5 years measured in East-Germany between 1986 and 1990. We chose contemporary height and weight charts from Germany, the UK, and the WHO growth chart and compared these with three geographically commensurable growth charts from the end of the 19th century. Results: We analyzed body height and body weight and weight-for-height of 3795 healthy boys and 3726 healthy girls aged 2 to 5 years measured in East-Germany between 1986 and 1990. We chose contemporary height and weight charts from Germany, the UK, and the WHO growth chart and compared these with three geographically commensurable growth charts of the end of the 19th century. Conclusion: Weight-for-height depends on age and sex and apart from the nutritional state, reflects body proportion and body built particularly during infancy and early childhood. Populations with a relatively short average height are prone to high values of weight-for-height for arithmetic reasons independent of the nutritional state.}, language = {en} } @article{BoekerHermanussenScheffler2022, author = {Boeker, Sonja and Hermanussen, Michael and Scheffler, Christiane}, title = {Dental age is an independent marker of biological age}, series = {Human biology and public health}, volume = {2021}, journal = {Human biology and public health}, number = {3, Summer School Supplement}, publisher = {Universit{\"a}tsverlag Potsdam}, address = {Potsdam}, issn = {2748-9957}, doi = {10.52905/hbph2021.3.24}, pages = {9}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Background: Biological age markers are a crucial indicator whether children are decelerated in growth tempo. Skeletal maturation is the standard measure. Yet, it relies on exposing children to x-radiation. Dental eruption is a potential, but highly debated, radiation free alternative.  Objectives: We assess the interrelationship between dental eruption and other maturational markers. We hypothesize that dental age correlates with body height and skeletal age. We further evaluate how the three different variables behave in cohorts from differing social backgrounds. Sample and Method: Dental, skeletal and height data from the 1970s to 1990s from Guatemalan boys were converted into standard deviation scores, using external references for each measurement. The boys, aged between 7 and 12, derived from different social backgrounds (middle SES (N = 6529), low-middle SES (N = 736), low SES Ladino (N = 3653) and low SES Maya (N = 4587). Results: Dental age shows only a weak correlation with skeletal age (0.18) and height (0.2). The distinction between cohorts differs according to each of the three measurements. All cohorts differ significantly in height. In skeletal maturation, the middle SES cohort is significantly advanced compared to all other cohorts. The periodically malnourished cohorts of low SES Mayas and Ladinos are significantly delayed in dental maturation compared to the well-nourished low-middle and middle class Ladino children. Conclusion: Dental development is an independent system, that is regulated by different mechanisms than skeletal development and growth. Tooth eruption is sensitive to nutritional status, whereas skeletal age is more sensitive to socioeconomic background.}, language = {en} } @article{HermanussenGrothScheffler2022, author = {Hermanussen, Michael and Groth, Detlef and Scheffler, Christiane}, title = {Human growth data analyses and statistics}, series = {Human biology and public health}, volume = {2021}, journal = {Human biology and public health}, number = {3, Summer School Supplement}, publisher = {Universit{\"a}tsverlag Potsdam}, address = {Potsdam}, issn = {2748-9957}, doi = {10.52905/hbph2021.3.29}, pages = {4}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Students learn by repetition. Repetition is essential, but repetition needs questioning, and questioning the repertoire belongs to the essential tasks of student education. Guiding students to questioning was and is our prime motive to offer our International Student Summer Schools. The data were critically discussed among the students, in the twilight of Just So Stories, common knowledge, and prompted questioning of contemporary solutions. For these schools, the students bring their own data, carry their preliminary concepts, and in group discussions, they may have to challenge these concepts. Catch-up growth is known to affect long bone growth, but different opinions exist to what extent it also affects body proportions. Skeletal age and dental development are considered appropriate measures of maturation, but it appears that both system develop independently and are regulated by different mechanisms. Body weight distributions are assumed to be skewed, yet, historic data disproved this assumption. Many discussions focused on current ideas of global growth standards as a common yardstick for all populations world-wide, with new statistical tools being developed including network reconstruction and evaluation of the reconstructs to determine the confidence of graph prediction methods.}, language = {en} } @article{HermanussenScheffler2022, author = {Hermanussen, Michael and Scheffler, Christiane}, title = {Evidence of chronic undernutrition in late 19th century German infants of all social classes}, series = {Human biology and public health}, volume = {2022}, journal = {Human biology and public health}, number = {2}, publisher = {Universit{\"a}tsverlag Potsdam}, address = {Potsdam}, issn = {2748-9957}, doi = {10.52905/hbph2022.2.42}, pages = {9}, year = {2022}, abstract = {125 years ago, European infants grew differently from modern infants. We show weight gains of 20 healthy children weighed longitudinally from birth to age 1 year, published by Camerer in 1882. The data illustrate the historically prevalent concepts of infant nutrition practiced by German civil servants, lawyers, merchants, university professors, physicians, foresters and farmers. Breastfeeding by the mother was not truly appreciated in those days; children were often breastfed by wet nurses or received bottled milk. Bottle feeding mainly used diluted cow's milk with some added carbohydrates, without evidence that appropriate amounts of oil, butter or other fatty components were added. French children from 1914 showed similar weight gain patterns suggesting similar feeding practices. The historical data suggest that energy deficient infant formula was fed regularly in the late 19th and early 20th century Europe, regardless of wealth and social class. The data question current concerns that temporarily feeding energy deficient infant formula may warrant serious anxieties regarding long-term cognitive, social and emotional behavioral development.}, language = {en} } @article{RoeslerGasparatosHermanussenetal.2022, author = {R{\"o}sler, Antonia and Gasparatos, Nikolaos and Hermanussen, Michael and Scheffler, Christiane}, title = {Practicability and user-friendliness of height measurements by proof of concept APP using Augmented Reality, in 22 healthy children}, series = {Human biology and public health}, volume = {2022}, journal = {Human biology and public health}, number = {2}, publisher = {Universit{\"a}tsverlag Potsdam}, address = {Potsdam}, issn = {2748-9957}, doi = {10.52905/hbph2022.2.48}, pages = {9}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Background: Child growth is a dynamic process. When measured at short intervals, children's growth shows characteristic patterns that can be of great importance for clinical purposes. Objective: To study whether measuring height on a daily basis using an APP is practicable and user-friendly. Methods: Recruitment took place via Snowball Sampling. Thirteen out of 14 contacted families signed up for a study period of 12 weeks with altogether 22 healthy children aged 3 to 13 years (response rate 93\%). The study started with a visit to the family home for the setup of the measurement site, conventional height measuring and initial training of the new measurement process. Follow-up appointments were made at four, eight and 12 weeks. The children's height was measured at daily intervals at their family homes over a period of three months. Results: The parents altogether recorded 1704 height measurements and meticulously documented practicability and problems when using the device. A 93\% response rate in recruitment was achieved by maintaining a high motivation within the families. Contact with the principal investigator was permanently available, including open communication, personal training and attendance during the appointments at the family homes. Conclusion: Measuring height by photographic display is interesting for children and parents and can be used for height measurements at home. A positive response rate of 13 out of 14 families with altogether 22 children highlights feasible recruitment and the high convenience and user-friendliness of daily APP-supported height measurements. Daily APP measurements appear to be a promising new tool for longitudinal growth studies.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Folikumah2022, author = {Folikumah, Makafui Yao}, title = {Stimuli-promoted in situ formation of hydrogels with thiol/thioester containing peptide precursors}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-56971}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-569713}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, pages = {159}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Hydrogels are potential synthetic ECM-like substitutes since they provide functional and structural similarities compared to soft tissues. They can be prepared by crosslinking of macromolecules or by polymerizing suitable precursors. The crosslinks are not necessarily covalent bonds, but could also be formed by physical interactions such as π-π interactions, hydrophobic interactions, or H-bonding. On demand in situ forming hydrogels have garnered increased interest especially for biomedical applications over preformed gels due to the relative ease of in vivo delivery and filling of cavities. The thiol-Michael addition reaction provides a straightforward and robust strategy for in situ gel formation with its fast reaction kinetics and ability to proceed under physiological conditions. The incorporation of a trigger function into a crosslinking system becomes even more interesting since gelling can be controlled with stimulus of choice. The use of small molar mass crosslinker precursors with active groups orthogonal to thiol-Michael reaction type electrophile provides the opportunity to implement an on-demand in situ crosslinking without compromising the fast reaction kinetics. It was postulated that short peptide sequences due to the broad range structural-function relations available with the different constituent amino acids, can be exploited for the realisation of stimuli-promoted in situ covalent crosslinking and gelation applications. The advantages of this system over conventional polymer-polymer hydrogel systems are the ability tune and predict material property at the molecular level. The main aim of this work was to develop a simplified and biologically-friendly stimuli-promoted in situ crosslinking and hydrogelation system using peptide mimetics as latent crosslinkers. The approach aims at using a single thiodepsipeptide sequence to achieve separate pH- and enzyme-promoted gelation systems with little modification to the thiodepsipeptide sequence. The realization of this aim required the completion of three milestones. In the first place, after deciding on the thiol-Michael reaction as an effective in situ crosslinking strategy, a thiodepsipeptide, Ac-Pro-Leu-Gly-SLeu-Leu-Gly-NEtSH (TDP) with expected propensity towards pH-dependent thiol-thioester exchange (TTE) activation, was proposed as a suitable crosslinker precursor for pH-promoted gelation system. Prior to the synthesis of the proposed peptide-mimetic, knowledge of the thiol-Michael reactivity of the would-be activated thiol moiety SH-Leu, which is internally embedded in the thiodepsipeptide was required. In line with pKa requirements for a successful TTE, the reactivity of a more acidic thiol, SH-Phe was also investigated to aid the selection of the best thiol to be incorporated in the thioester bearing peptide based crosslinker precursor. Using 'pseudo' 2D-NMR investigations, it was found that only reactions involving SH-Leu yielded the expected thiol-Michael product, an observation that was attributed to the steric hindrance of the bulkier nature of SH-Phe. The fast reaction rates and complete acrylate/maleimide conversion obtained with SH-Leu at pH 7.2 and higher aided the direct elimination of SH-Phe as a potential thiol for the synthesis of the peptide mimetic. Based on the initial studies, for the pH-promoted gelation system, the proposed Ac-Pro-Leu-Gly-SLeu-Leu-Gly-NEtSH was kept unmodified. The subtle difference in pKa values between SH-Leu (thioester thiol) and the terminal cysteamine thiol from theoretical conditions should be enough to effect a 'pseudo' intramolecular TTE. In polar protic solvents and under basic aqueous conditions, TDP successfully undergoes a 'pseudo' intramolecular TTE reaction to yield an α,ω-dithiol tripeptide, HSLeu-Leu-Gly-NEtSH. The pH dependence of thiolate ion generation by the cysteamine thiol aided the incorporation of the needed stimulus (pH) for the overall success of TTE (activation step) - thiol-Michael addition (crosslinking) strategy. Secondly, with potential biomedical applications in focus, the susceptibility of TDP, like other thioesters, to intermolecular TTE reaction was probed with a group of thiols of varying thiol pKa values, since biological milieu characteristically contain peptide/protein thiols. L-cysteine, which is a biologically relevant thiol, and a small molecular weight thiol, methylthioglycolate both with relatively similar thiol pKa, values, led to an increase concentration of the dithiol crosslinker when reacted with TDP. In the presence of acidic thiols (p-NTP and 4MBA), a decrease in the dithiol concentration was observed, an observation that can be attributed to the inability of the TTE tetrahedral intermediate to dissociate into exchange products and is in line with pKa requirements for successful TTE reaction. These results additionally makes TDP more attractive and the potentially the first crosslinker precursor for applications in biologically relevant media. Finally, the ability of TDP to promote pH-sensitive in situ gel formation was probed with maleimide functionalized 4-arm polyethylene glycol polymers in tris-buffered media of varying pHs. When a 1:1 thiol: maleimide molar ratio was used, TDP-PEG4MAL hydrogels formed within 3, 12 and 24 hours at pH values of 8.5, 8.0 and 7.5 respectively. However, gelation times of 3, 5 and 30 mins were observed for the same pH trend when the thiol: maleimide molar was increased to 2:1. A direct correlation of thiol content with G' of the gels at each pH could also be drawn by comparing gels with thiol: maleimide ratios of 1:1 to those with 2:1 thiol: maleimide mole ratios. This is supported by the fact that the storage modulus (G') is linearly dependent on the crosslinking density of the polymer. The values of initial G′ for all gels ranged between (200 - 5000 Pa), which falls in the range of elasticities of certain tissue microenvironments for example brain tissue 200 - 1000 Pa and adipose tissue (2500 - 3500 Pa). Knowledge so far gained from the study on the ability to design and tune the exchange reaction of thioester containing peptide mimetic will give those working in the field further insight into the development of new sequences tailored towards specific applications. TTE substrate design using peptide mimetic as presented in this work has revealed interesting new insights considering the state-of-the-art. Using the results obtained as reference, the strategy provides a possibility to extend the concept to the controlled delivery of active molecules needed for other robust and high yielding crosslinking reactions for biomedical applications. Application for this sequentially coupled functional system could be seen e.g. in the treatment of inflamed tissues associated with urinary tract like bladder infections for which pH levels above 7 were reported. By the inclusion of cell adhesion peptide motifs, the hydrogel network formed at this pH could act as a new support layer for the healing of damage epithelium as shown in interfacial gel formation experiments using TDP and PEG4MAL droplets. The versatility of the thiodepsipeptide sequence, Ac-Pro-Leu-Gly-SLeu-Leu-Gly-(TDPo) was extended for the design and synthesis of a MMP-sensitive 4-arm PEG-TDPo conjugate. The purported cleavage of TDPo at the Gly-SLeu bond yields active thiol units for subsequent reaction of orthogonal Michael acceptor moieties. One of the advantages of stimuli-promoted in situ crosslinking systems using short peptides should be the ease of design of required peptide molecules due to the predictability of peptide functions their sequence structure. Consequently the functionalisation of a 4-arm PEG core with the collagenase active TDPo sequence yielded an MMP-sensitive 4-arm thiodepsipeptide-PEG conjugate (PEG4TDPo) substrate. Cleavage studies using thiol flourometric assay in the presence of MMPs -2 and -9 confirmed the susceptibility of PEG4TDPo towards these enzymes. The resulting time-dependent increase in fluorescence intensity in the presence of thiol assay signifies the successful cleavage of TDPo at the Gly-SLeu bond as expected. It was observed that the cleavage studies with thiol flourometric assay introduces a sigmoid non-Michaelis-Menten type kinetic profile, hence making it difficult to accurately determine the enzyme cycling parameters, kcat and KM . Gelation studies with PEG4MAL at 10 \% wt. concentrations revealed faster gelation with MMP-2 than MMP-9 with 28 and 40 min gelation times respectively. Possible contributions by hydrolytic cleavage of PEG4TDPo has resulted in the gelation of PEG4MAL blank samples but only after 60 minutes of reaction. From theoretical considerations, the simultaneous gelation reaction would be expected to more negatively impact the enzymatic than hydrolytic cleavage. The exact contributions from hydrolytic cleavage of PEG4TDPo would however require additional studies. In summary this new and simplified in situ crosslinking system using peptide-based crosslinker precursors with tuneable properties exhibited in situ crosslinking gelation kinetics on similar levels with already active dithiols reported. The advantageous on-demand functionality associated with its pH-sensitivity and physiological compatibility makes it a strong candidate worth further research as biomedical applications in general and on-demand material synthesis is concerned. Results from MMP-promoted gelation system unveils a simple but unexplored approach for in situ synthesis of covalently crosslinked soft materials, that could lead to the development of an alternative pathway in addressing cancer metastasis by making use of MMP overexpression as a trigger. This goal has so far not being reach with MMP inhibitors despite the extensive work this regard.}, language = {en} } @techreport{BorckSchrauth2022, type = {Working Paper}, author = {Borck, Rainald and Schrauth, Philipp}, title = {Urban pollution}, series = {CEPA Discussion Papers}, journal = {CEPA Discussion Papers}, number = {60}, issn = {2628-653X}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-57204}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-572049}, pages = {48}, year = {2022}, abstract = {We use worldwide satellite data to analyse how population size and density affect urban pollution. We find that density significantly increases pollution exposure. Looking only at urban areas, we find that population size affects exposure more than density. Moreover, the effect is driven mostly by population commuting to core cities rather than the core city population itself. We analyse heterogeneity by geography and income levels. By and large, the influence of population on pollution is greatest in Asia and middle-income countries. A counterfactual simulation shows that PM2.5 exposure would fall by up to 36\% and NO2 exposure up to 53\% if within countries population size were equalized across all cities.}, language = {en} } @article{JafarnezhadgeroNorooziFakhriMirzanagetal.2022, author = {Jafarnezhadgero, Amir Ali and Noroozi, Raha and Fakhri Mirzanag, Ehsan and Granacher, Urs and de Souza Castelo Oliveira, Anderson}, title = {The Impact of COVID-19 and Muscle Fatigue on Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Running Kinetics in Female Recreational Runners}, series = {Frontiers in Physiology}, volume = {13}, journal = {Frontiers in Physiology}, publisher = {Frontiers}, address = {Lausanne, Schweiz}, issn = {1664-042X}, doi = {10.3389/fphys.2022.942589}, pages = {1 -- 10}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Background: There is evidence that fully recovered COVID-19 patients usually resume physical exercise, but do not perform at the same intensity level performed prior to infection. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 infection and recovery as well as muscle fatigue on cardiorespiratory fitness and running biomechanics in female recreational runners. Methods: Twenty-eight females were divided into a group of hospitalized and recovered COVID-19 patients (COV, n = 14, at least 14 days following recovery) and a group of healthy age-matched controls (CTR, n = 14). Ground reaction forces from stepping on a force plate while barefoot overground running at 3.3 m/s was measured before and after a fatiguing protocol. The fatigue protocol consisted of incrementally increasing running speed until reaching a score of 13 on the 6-20 Borg scale, followed by steady-state running until exhaustion. The effects of group and fatigue were assessed for steady-state running duration, steady-state running speed, ground contact time, vertical instantaneous loading rate and peak propulsion force. Results: COV runners completed only 56\% of the running time achieved by the CTR (p < 0.0001), and at a 26\% slower steady-state running speed (p < 0.0001). There were fatigue-related reductions in loading rate (p = 0.004) without group differences. Increased ground contact time (p = 0.002) and reduced peak propulsion force (p = 0.005) were found for COV when compared to CTR. Conclusion: Our results suggest that female runners who recovered from COVID-19 showed compromised running endurance and altered running kinetics in the form of longer stance periods and weaker propulsion forces. More research is needed in this area using larger sample sizes to confirm our study findings.}, language = {en} } @article{DeekenReichertZechetal.2022, author = {Deeken, Friederike and Reichert, Markus and Zech, Hilmar and Wenzel, Julia and Wedemeyer, Friederike and Aguilera, Alvaro and Aslan, Acelya and Bach, Patrick and Bahr, Nadja Samia and Ebrahimi, Claudia and Fischbach, Pascale Christine and Ganz, Marvin and Garbusow, Maria and Großkopf, Charlotte M. and Heigert, Marie and Hentschel, Angela and Karl, Damian and Pelz, Patricia and Pinger, Mathieu and Riemerschmid, Carlotta and Rosenthal, Annika and Steffen, Johannes and Strehle, Jens and Weiss,, Franziska and Wieder, Gesine and Wieland, Alfred and Zaiser, Judith and Zimmermann, Sina and Walter, Henrik and Lenz, Bernd and Deserno, Lorenz and Smolka, Michael N. and Liu, Shuyan and Ebner-Priemer, Ulrich Walter and Heinz, Andreas and Rapp, Michael A.}, title = {Patterns of Alcohol Consumption Among Individuals With Alcohol Use Disorder During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Lockdowns in Germany}, series = {JAMA Network Open}, volume = {5}, journal = {JAMA Network Open}, edition = {8}, publisher = {JAMA Network / American Medical Association}, address = {Chicago, Illinois, USA}, issn = {2574-3805}, doi = {10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.24641}, pages = {1 -- 11}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Importance Alcohol consumption (AC) leads to death and disability worldwide. Ongoing discussions on potential negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on AC need to be informed by real-world evidence. Objective To examine whether lockdown measures are associated with AC and consumption-related temporal and psychological within-person mechanisms. Design, Setting, and Participants This quantitative, intensive, longitudinal cohort study recruited 1743 participants from 3 sites from February 20, 2020, to February 28, 2021. Data were provided before and within the second lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany: before lockdown (October 2 to November 1, 2020); light lockdown (November 2 to December 15, 2020); and hard lockdown (December 16, 2020, to February 28, 2021). Main Outcomes and Measures Daily ratings of AC (main outcome) captured during 3 lockdown phases (main variable) and temporal (weekends and holidays) and psychological (social isolation and drinking intention) correlates. Results Of the 1743 screened participants, 189 (119 [63.0\%] male; median [IQR] age, 37 [27.5-52.0] years) with at least 2 alcohol use disorder (AUD) criteria according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fifth Edition) yet without the need for medically supervised alcohol withdrawal were included. These individuals provided 14 694 smartphone ratings from October 2020 through February 2021. Multilevel modeling revealed significantly higher AC (grams of alcohol per day) on weekend days vs weekdays (β = 11.39; 95\% CI, 10.00-12.77; P < .001). Alcohol consumption was above the overall average on Christmas (β = 26.82; 95\% CI, 21.87-31.77; P < .001) and New Year's Eve (β = 66.88; 95\% CI, 59.22-74.54; P < .001). During the hard lockdown, perceived social isolation was significantly higher (β = 0.12; 95\% CI, 0.06-0.15; P < .001), but AC was significantly lower (β = -5.45; 95\% CI, -8.00 to -2.90; P = .001). Independent of lockdown, intention to drink less alcohol was associated with lower AC (β = -11.10; 95\% CI, -13.63 to -8.58; P < .001). Notably, differences in AC between weekend and weekdays decreased both during the hard lockdown (β = -6.14; 95\% CI, -9.96 to -2.31; P = .002) and in participants with severe AUD (β = -6.26; 95\% CI, -10.18 to -2.34; P = .002). Conclusions and Relevance This 5-month cohort study found no immediate negative associations of lockdown measures with overall AC. Rather, weekend-weekday and holiday AC patterns exceeded lockdown effects. Differences in AC between weekend days and weekdays evinced that weekend drinking cycles decreased as a function of AUD severity and lockdown measures, indicating a potential mechanism of losing and regaining control. This finding suggests that temporal patterns and drinking intention constitute promising targets for prevention and intervention, even in high-risk individuals.}, language = {en} } @article{RamirezCampilloPerezCastillaThapaetal.2022, author = {Ramirez-Campillo, Rodrigo and P{\´e}rez-Castilla, Alejandro and Thapa, Rohit Kumar and Afonso, Jos{\´e} and Clemente, Filipe Manuel Batista and Colado, Juan C. and Eduardo, Sa{\´e}z de Villarreal and Chaabene, Helmi}, title = {Effects of Plyometric Jump Training on Measures of Physical Fitness and Sport-Specific Performance of Water Sports Athletes}, series = {Sports Medicine - Open}, volume = {8}, journal = {Sports Medicine - Open}, publisher = {Springer}, address = {Berlin}, issn = {2198-9761}, doi = {10.1186/s40798-022-00502-2}, pages = {1 -- 27}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Background A growing body of literature is available regarding the effects of plyometric jump training (PJT) on measures of physical fitness (PF) and sport-specific performance (SSP) in-water sports athletes (WSA, i.e. those competing in sports that are practiced on [e.g. rowing] or in [e.g. swimming; water polo] water). Indeed, incoherent findings have been observed across individual studies making it difficult to provide the scientific community and coaches with consistent evidence. As such, a comprehensive systematic literature search should be conducted to clarify the existent evidence, identify the major gaps in the literature, and offer recommendations for future studies. Aim To examine the effects of PJT compared with active/specific-active controls on the PF (one-repetition maximum back squat strength, squat jump height, countermovement jump height, horizontal jump distance, body mass, fat mass, thigh girth) and SSP (in-water vertical jump, in-water agility, time trial) outcomes in WSA, through a systematic review with meta-analysis of randomized and non-randomized controlled studies. Methods The electronic databases PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science were searched up to January 2022. According to the PICOS approach, the eligibility criteria were: (population) healthy WSA; (intervention) PJT interventions involving unilateral and/or bilateral jumps, and a minimal duration of ≥ 3 weeks; (comparator) active (i.e. standard sports training) or specific-active (i.e. alternative training intervention) control group(s); (outcome) at least one measure of PF (e.g. jump height) and/or SSP (e.g. time trial) before and after training; and (study design) multi-groups randomized and non-randomized controlled trials. The Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) scale was used to assess the methodological quality of the included studies. The DerSimonian and Laird random-effects model was used to compute the meta-analyses, reporting effect sizes (ES, i.e. Hedges' g) with 95\% confidence intervals (95\% CIs). Statistical significance was set at p ≤ 0.05. Certainty or confidence in the body of evidence for each outcome was assessed using Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE), considering its five dimensions: risk of bias in studies, indirectness, inconsistency, imprecision, and risk of publication bias. Results A total of 11,028 studies were identified with 26 considered eligible for inclusion. The median PEDro score across the included studies was 5.5 (moderate-to-high methodological quality). The included studies involved a total of 618 WSA of both sexes (330 participants in the intervention groups [31 groups] and 288 participants in the control groups [26 groups]), aged between 10 and 26 years, and from different sports disciplines such as swimming, triathlon, rowing, artistic swimming, and water polo. The duration of the training programmes in the intervention and control groups ranged from 4 to 36 weeks. The results of the meta-analysis indicated no effects of PJT compared to control conditions (including specific-active controls) for in-water vertical jump or agility (ES =  - 0.15 to 0.03; p = 0.477 to 0.899), or for body mass, fat mass, and thigh girth (ES = 0.06 to 0.15; p = 0.452 to 0.841). In terms of measures of PF, moderate-to-large effects were noted in favour of the PJT groups compared to the control groups (including specific-active control groups) for one-repetition maximum back squat strength, horizontal jump distance, squat jump height, and countermovement jump height (ES = 0.67 to 1.47; p = 0.041 to < 0.001), in addition to a small effect noted in favour of the PJT for SSP time-trial speed (ES = 0.42; p = 0.005). Certainty of evidence across the included studies varied from very low-to-moderate. Conclusions PJT is more effective to improve measures of PF and SSP in WSA compared to control conditions involving traditional sport-specific training as well as alternative training interventions (e.g. resistance training). It is worth noting that the present findings are derived from 26 studies of moderate-to-high methodological quality, low-to-moderate impact of heterogeneity, and very low-to-moderate certainty of evidence based on GRADE. Trial registration The protocol for this systematic review with meta-analysis was published in the Open Science platform (OSF) on January 23, 2022, under the registration doi https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/NWHS3 (internet archive link: https://archive.org/details/osf-registrations-nwhs3-v1).}, language = {en} } @article{MtilatilaBronstertVormoor2022, author = {Mtilatila, Lucy Mphatso Ng'ombe and Bronstert, Axel and Vormoor, Klaus Josef}, title = {Temporal evaluation and projections of meteorological droughts in the Greater Lake Malawi Basin, Southeast Africa}, series = {Frontiers in Water}, journal = {Frontiers in Water}, publisher = {Frontiers Media S.A.}, address = {Lausanne, Schweiz}, issn = {2624-9375}, doi = {10.3389/frwa.2022.1041452}, pages = {1 -- 16}, year = {2022}, abstract = {The study examined the potential future changes of drought characteristics in the Greater Lake Malawi Basin in Southeast Africa. This region strongly depends on water resources to generate electricity and food. Future projections (considering both moderate and high emission scenarios) of temperature and precipitation from an ensemble of 16 bias-corrected climate model combinations were blended with a scenario-neutral response surface approach to analyses changes in: (i) the meteorological conditions, (ii) the meteorological water balance, and (iii) selected drought characteristics such as drought intensity, drought months, and drought events, which were derived from the Standardized Precipitation and Evapotranspiration Index. Changes were analyzed for a near-term (2021-2050) and far-term period (2071-2100) with reference to 1976-2005. The effect of bias-correction (i.e., empirical quantile mapping) on the ability of the climate model ensemble to reproduce observed drought characteristics as compared to raw climate projections was also investigated. Results suggest that the bias-correction improves the climate models in terms of reproducing temperature and precipitation statistics but not drought characteristics. Still, despite the differences in the internal structures and uncertainties that exist among the climate models, they all agree on an increase of meteorological droughts in the future in terms of higher drought intensity and longer events. Drought intensity is projected to increase between +25 and +50\% during 2021-2050 and between +131 and +388\% during 2071-2100. This translates into +3 to +5, and +7 to +8 more drought months per year during both periods, respectively. With longer lasting drought events, the number of drought events decreases. Projected droughts based on the high emission scenario are 1.7 times more severe than droughts based on the moderate scenario. That means that droughts in this region will likely become more severe in the coming decades. Despite the inherent high uncertainties of climate projections, the results provide a basis in planning and (water-)managing activities for climate change adaptation measures in Malawi. This is of particular relevance for water management issues referring hydro power generation and food production, both for rain-fed and irrigated agriculture.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Zeitz2022, author = {Zeitz, Maria}, title = {Modeling the future resilience of the Greenland Ice Sheet}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-56883}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-568839}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, pages = {x, 189}, year = {2022}, abstract = {The Greenland Ice Sheet is the second-largest mass of ice on Earth. Being almost 2000 km long, more than 700 km wide, and more than 3 km thick at the summit, it holds enough ice to raise global sea levels by 7m if melted completely. Despite its massive size, it is particularly vulnerable to anthropogenic climate change: temperatures over the Greenland Ice Sheet have increased by more than 2.7◦C in the past 30 years, twice as much as the global mean temperature. Consequently, the ice sheet has been significantly losing mass since the 1980s and the rate of loss has increased sixfold since then. Moreover, it is one of the potential tipping elements of the Earth System, which might undergo irreversible change once a warming threshold is exceeded. This thesis aims at extending the understanding of the resilience of the Greenland Ice Sheet against global warming by analyzing processes and feedbacks relevant to its centennial to multi-millennial stability using ice sheet modeling. One of these feedbacks, the melt-elevation-feedback is driven by the temperature rise with decreasing altitudes: As the ice sheet melts, its thickness and surface elevation decrease, exposing the ice surface to warmer air and thus increasing the melt rates even further. The glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) can partly mitigate this melt-elevation feedback as the bedrock lifts in response to an ice load decrease, forming the negative GIA feedback. In my thesis, I show that the interaction between these two competing feedbacks can lead to qualitatively different dynamical responses of the Greenland Ice Sheet to warming - from permanent loss to incomplete recovery, depending on the feedback parameters. My research shows that the interaction of those feedbacks can initiate self-sustained oscillations of the ice volume while the climate forcing remains constant. Furthermore, the increased surface melt changes the optical properties of the snow or ice surface, e.g. by lowering their albedo, which in turn enhances melt rates - a process known as the melt-albedo feedback. Process-based ice sheet models often neglect this melt-albedo feedback. To close this gap, I implemented a simplified version of the diurnal Energy Balance Model, a computationally efficient approach that can capture the first-order effects of the melt-albedo feedback, into the Parallel Ice Sheet Model (PISM). Using the coupled model, I show in warming experiments that the melt-albedo feedback almost doubles the ice loss until the year 2300 under the low greenhouse gas emission scenario RCP2.6, compared to simulations where the melt-albedo feedback is neglected, and adds up to 58\% additional ice loss under the high emission scenario RCP8.5. Moreover, I find that the melt-albedo feedback dominates the ice loss until 2300, compared to the melt-elevation feedback. Another process that could influence the resilience of the Greenland Ice Sheet is the warming induced softening of the ice and the resulting increase in flow. In my thesis, I show with PISM how the uncertainty in Glen's flow law impacts the simulated response to warming. In a flow line setup at fixed climatic mass balance, the uncertainty in flow parameters leads to a range of ice loss comparable to the range caused by different warming levels. While I focus on fundamental processes, feedbacks, and their interactions in the first three projects of my thesis, I also explore the impact of specific climate scenarios on the sea level rise contribution of the Greenland Ice Sheet. To increase the carbon budget flexibility, some warming scenarios - while still staying within the limits of the Paris Agreement - include a temporal overshoot of global warming. I show that an overshoot by 0.4◦C increases the short-term and long-term ice loss from Greenland by several centimeters. The long-term increase is driven by the warming at high latitudes, which persists even when global warming is reversed. This leads to a substantial long-term commitment of the sea level rise contribution from the Greenland Ice Sheet. Overall, in my thesis I show that the melt-albedo feedback is most relevant for the ice loss of the Greenland Ice Sheet on centennial timescales. In contrast, the melt-elevation feedback and its interplay with the GIA feedback become increasingly relevant on millennial timescales. All of these influence the resilience of the Greenland Ice Sheet against global warming, in the near future and on the long term.}, language = {en} } @article{FischerBrettinRoessneretal.2022, author = {Fischer, Melanie and Brettin, Jana and Roessner, Sigrid and Walz, Ariane and Fort, Monique and Korup, Oliver}, title = {Rare flood scenarios for a rapidly growing high-mountain city: Pokhara, Nepal}, series = {Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences}, volume = {22}, journal = {Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences}, edition = {9}, publisher = {Copernicus Publications}, address = {Katlenburg-Lindau}, issn = {1684-9981}, doi = {10.5194/nhess-22-3105-2022}, pages = {3105 -- 3123}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Pokhara (ca. 850 m a.s.l.), Nepal's second-largest city, lies at the foot of the Higher Himalayas and has more than tripled its population in the past 3 decades. Construction materials are in high demand in rapidly expanding built-up areas, and several informal settlements cater to unregulated sand and gravel mining in the Pokhara Valley's main river, the Seti Khola. This river is fed by the Sabche glacier below Annapurna III (7555 m a.s.l.), some 35 km upstream of the city, and traverses one of the steepest topographic gradients in the Himalayas. In May 2012 a sudden flood caused >70 fatalities and intense damage along this river and rekindled concerns about flood risk management. We estimate the flow dynamics and inundation depths of flood scenarios using the hydrodynamic model HEC-RAS (Hydrologic Engineering Center's River Analysis System). We simulate the potential impacts of peak discharges from 1000 to 10 000 m3 s-1 on land cover based on high-resolution Maxar satellite imagery and OpenStreetMap data (buildings and road network). We also trace the dynamics of two informal settlements near Kaseri and Yamdi with high potential flood impact from RapidEye, PlanetScope, and Google Earth imagery of the past 2 decades. Our hydrodynamic simulations highlight several sites of potential hydraulic ponding that would largely affect these informal settlements and sites of sand and gravel mining. These built-up areas grew between 3- and 20-fold, thus likely raising local flood exposure well beyond changes in flood hazard. Besides these drastic local changes, about 1 \% of Pokhara's built-up urban area and essential rural road network is in the highest-hazard zones highlighted by our flood simulations. Our results stress the need to adapt early-warning strategies for locally differing hydrological and geomorphic conditions in this rapidly growing urban watershed.}, language = {en} } @techreport{CaliendoKritikosStier2022, type = {Working Paper}, author = {Caliendo, Marco and Kritikos, Alexander and Stier, Claudia}, title = {The Influence of Start-up Motivation on Entrepreneurial Performance}, series = {CEPA Discussion Papers}, journal = {CEPA Discussion Papers}, number = {59}, issn = {2628-653X}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-57115}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-571152}, pages = {43}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Predicting entrepreneurial development based on individual and business-related characteristics is a key objective of entrepreneurship research. In this context, we investigate whether the motives of becoming an entrepreneur influence the subsequent entrepreneurial development. In our analysis, we examine a broad range of business outcomes including survival and income, as well as job creation, expansion and innovation activities for up to 40 months after business formation. Using self-determination theory as conceptual background, we aggregate the start-up motives into a continuous motivational index. We show - based on a unique dataset of German start-ups from unemployment and non-unemployment - that the later business performance is better, the higher they score on this index. Effects are particularly strong for growth oriented outcomes like innovation and expansion activities. In a next step, we examine three underlying motivational categories that we term opportunity, career ambition, and necessity. We show that individuals driven by opportunity motives perform better in terms of innovation and business expansion activities, while career ambition is positively associated with survival, income, and the probability of hiring employees. All effects are robust to the inclusion of a large battery of covariates that are proven to be important determinants of entrepreneurial performance.}, language = {en} } @article{EvansHyde2022, author = {Evans, Myfanwy E. and Hyde, Stephen T.}, title = {Symmetric Tangling of Honeycomb Networks}, series = {Symmetry}, volume = {14}, journal = {Symmetry}, edition = {9}, publisher = {MDPI}, address = {Basel, Schweiz}, issn = {2073-8994}, doi = {10.3390/sym14091805}, pages = {1 -- 13}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Symmetric, elegantly entangled structures are a curious mathematical construction that has found their way into the heart of the chemistry lab and the toolbox of constructive geometry. Of particular interest are those structures—knots, links and weavings—which are composed locally of simple twisted strands and are globally symmetric. This paper considers the symmetric tangling of multiple 2-periodic honeycomb networks. We do this using a constructive methodology borrowing elements of graph theory, low-dimensional topology and geometry. The result is a wide-ranging enumeration of symmetric tangled honeycomb networks, providing a foundation for their exploration in both the chemistry lab and the geometers toolbox.}, language = {en} } @article{ReegStriglJeltsch2022, author = {Reeg, Jette and Strigl, Lea and Jeltsch, Florian}, title = {Agricultural buffer zone thresholds to safeguard functional bee diversity}, series = {Ecology and Evolution}, volume = {12}, journal = {Ecology and Evolution}, edition = {3}, publisher = {Wiley Online Library}, address = {Hoboken, New Jersey, USA}, issn = {2045-7758}, doi = {10.1002/ece3.8748}, pages = {1 -- 17}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Wild bee species are important pollinators in agricultural landscapes. However, population decline was reported over the last decades and is still ongoing. While agricultural intensification is a major driver of the rapid loss of pollinating species, transition zones between arable fields and forest or grassland patches, i.e., agricultural buffer zones, are frequently mentioned as suitable mitigation measures to support wild bee populations and other pollinator species. Despite the reported general positive effect, it remains unclear which amount of buffer zones is needed to ensure a sustainable and permanent impact for enhancing bee diversity and abundance. To address this question at a pollinator community level, we implemented a process-based, spatially explicit simulation model of functional bee diversity dynamics in an agricultural landscape. More specifically, we introduced a variable amount of agricultural buffer zones (ABZs) at the transition of arable to grassland, or arable to forest patches to analyze the impact on bee functional diversity and functional richness. We focused our study on solitary bees in a typical agricultural area in the Northeast of Germany. Our results showed positive effects with at least 25\% of virtually implemented agricultural buffer zones. However, higher amounts of ABZs of at least 75\% should be considered to ensure a sufficient increase in Shannon diversity and decrease in quasi-extinction risks. These high amounts of ABZs represent effective conservation measures to safeguard the stability of pollination services provided by solitary bee species. As the model structure can be easily adapted to other mobile species in agricultural landscapes, our community approach offers the chance to compare the effectiveness of conservation measures also for other pollinator communities in future.}, language = {en} } @article{Roethlisberger2022, author = {R{\"o}thlisberger, Livia}, title = {Transformative Justice in South Sudan}, series = {Transitional Justice : Theoretical and Practical Approaches (Potsdamer Studien zu Staat, Recht und Politik ; 7)}, journal = {Transitional Justice : Theoretical and Practical Approaches (Potsdamer Studien zu Staat, Recht und Politik ; 7)}, number = {7}, publisher = {Universit{\"a}tsverlag Potsdam}, address = {Potsdam}, isbn = {978-3-86956-473-9}, issn = {1869-2443}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-57048}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-570480}, pages = {167 -- 191}, year = {2022}, abstract = {This chapter takes the ongoing conflict in South Sudan as a starting point for assessing the concept of transitional justice as such and its implementation in the country in particular. Following a brief description of the conflict and the peace processes, the author sheds light on the shortcomings of the established concept of transitional justice in the situation at hand. Then, the author outlines the alternate concept of transformational justice und takes a closer look at its implications on the situation in South Sudan. The author highlights existing initiatives of transformative justice and is very much in favour of their victim-centered approach.}, language = {en} } @article{Maaser2022, author = {Maaser, Lucas}, title = {Transitional Justice and Nonviolent Resistance}, series = {Transitional Justice : Theoretical and Practical Approaches (Potsdamer Studien zu Staat, Recht und Politik ; 7)}, journal = {Transitional Justice : Theoretical and Practical Approaches (Potsdamer Studien zu Staat, Recht und Politik ; 7)}, number = {7}, publisher = {Universit{\"a}tsverlag Potsdam}, address = {Potsdam}, isbn = {978-3-86956-473-9}, issn = {1869-2443}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-57047}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-570470}, pages = {139 -- 165}, year = {2022}, abstract = {At different times and places, civic engagement in nonviolent resistance (NVR) has repeatedly shown to be an effective tool in times of conflict to initiate societal change from below. History teaches us that there have been successes (Mahatma Gandhi in India) and failures (the Tiananmen Square protests in China). Along with the recognition of the duality between transformative potential and stark consequences, the historical development of NVR was accompanied by the emergence of scholarly debate, fractured along disputes around purpose, character and effectivity of nonviolent actions taken by civil society stakeholders engaged in making their voices heard. One of the field's current points of interest is the examination of the long-term effects of NVR movements resulting in societal transformation on the stability and adequacy of a subsequently altered or emerging democracy, suggesting that NVR contributes positively to the sustainable and representative design of an egalitarian governing system. The conclusion of the Nepalese civil war in 2006 should pose as an unambiguous example for the illustration of this phenomenon, but simultaneously raises the question why there was no successful implementation of a transitional process focusing on the needs of the victims.}, language = {en} } @article{Conner2022, author = {Conner, Sean}, title = {Structural and Socioeconomic Approaches to Justice}, series = {Transitional Justice : Theoretical and Practical Approaches (Potsdamer Studien zu Staat, Recht und Politik ; 7)}, journal = {Transitional Justice : Theoretical and Practical Approaches (Potsdamer Studien zu Staat, Recht und Politik ; 7)}, number = {7}, publisher = {Universit{\"a}tsverlag Potsdam}, address = {Potsdam}, isbn = {978-3-86956-473-9}, issn = {1869-2443}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-57017}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-570170}, pages = {111 -- 138}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Transitional justice is conventionally theorized as how a society deals with past injustices after regime change and alongside democratization. Nonetheless, scholars have not reached a consensus on what is to be included or excluded. Recent ideas of transformative justice seek to expand the understanding of transitional justice to include systemic restructuring and socioeconomic considerations. In the context of Nicaragua — where two transitions occurred within an 11-year span — very little transitional justice took place, in terms of the conventional concept of top-down legalistic mechanisms; however, distinct structural changes and socioeconomic policies can be found with each regime change. By analyzing the transformative justice elements of Nicaragua's dual transition, this chapter seeks to expand the understanding of transitional justice to include how these factors influence goals of transitions such as sustainable peace and reconciliation for past injustices. The results argue for increased attention to transformative justice theories and a more nuanced conception of justice.}, language = {en} } @article{SchloerHirschbergBenAmoretal.2022, author = {Schl{\"o}r, Anja and Hirschberg, Stefan and Ben Amor, Ghada and Meister, Toni Luise and Arora, Prerna and P{\"o}hlmann, Stefan and Hoffmann, Markus and Pf{\"a}nder, Stephanie and Eddin, Omar Kamal and Kamhieh-Milz, Julian and Hanack, Katja}, title = {SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing camelid heavy-chain-only antibodies as powerful tools for diagnostic and therapeutic applications}, series = {Frontiers in Immunology}, journal = {Frontiers in Immunology}, publisher = {Frontiers Media SA}, address = {Lausanne, Schweiz}, issn = {1664-3224}, doi = {10.3389/fimmu.2022.930975}, pages = {1 -- 14}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Introduction: The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic situation caused by SARS-CoV-2 and variants of concern such as B.1.617.2 (Delta) and recently, B.1.1.529 (Omicron) is posing multiple challenges to humanity. The rapid evolution of the virus requires adaptation of diagnostic and therapeutic applications. Objectives: In this study, we describe camelid heavy-chain-only antibodies (hcAb) as useful tools for novel in vitro diagnostic assays and for therapeutic applications due to their neutralizing capacity. Methods: Five antibody candidates were selected out of a na{\"i}ve camelid library by phage display and expressed as full length IgG2 antibodies. The antibodies were characterized by Western blot, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, surface plasmon resonance with regard to their specificity to the recombinant SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein and to SARS-CoV-2 virus-like particles. Neutralization assays were performed with authentic SARS-CoV-2 and pseudotyped viruses (wildtype and Omicron). Results: All antibodies efficiently detect recombinant SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein and SARS-CoV-2 virus-like particles in different ELISA setups. The best combination was shown with hcAb B10 as catcher antibody and HRP-conjugated hcAb A7.2 as the detection antibody. Further, four out of five antibodies potently neutralized authentic wildtype SARS-CoV-2 and particles pseudotyped with the SARS-CoV-2 Spike proteins of the wildtype and Omicron variant, sublineage BA.1 at concentrations between 0.1 and 0.35 ng/mL (ND50). Conclusion: Collectively, we report novel camelid hcAbs suitable for diagnostics and potential therapy.}, language = {en} } @article{Mair2022, author = {Mair, Theresa}, title = {Transforming Transitional Justice to Address Colonial Crime}, series = {Transitional Justice : Theoretical and Practical Approaches (Potsdamer Studien zu Staat, Recht und Politik ; 7)}, journal = {Transitional Justice : Theoretical and Practical Approaches (Potsdamer Studien zu Staat, Recht und Politik ; 7)}, number = {7}, publisher = {Universit{\"a}tsverlag Potsdam}, address = {Potsdam}, isbn = {978-3-86956-473-9}, issn = {1869-2443}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-57016}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-570160}, pages = {73 -- 109}, year = {2022}, abstract = {While the concept of transitional justice and its range of measures have gained importance on an international level to come to terms with major crimes of the past, colonial crimes and mass violence committed by Western actors have not been addressed by transitional justice so far. In this chapter, the Herero's and Nama's struggle for justice for the genocide on their ancestors by Germany from 1904 - 1908 and the arising challenges are set in relation to conceptual debates in the field of transitional justice. Building on current debates in the field, suggesting more structural and transformative conceptualizations of transitional justice and an approach 'from below', it is argued that decolonial activism of formerly colonized communities and transitional justice debates can inform each other in a dialogic and fruitful form to formulate suggestions for a process towards post-colonial justice.}, language = {en} } @article{FranciscoVasquezCarruthers2022, author = {Francisco V{\´a}squez Carruthers, Juan}, title = {Transitional Justice and Political Opportunism}, series = {Transitional Justice : Theoretical and Practical Approaches (Potsdamer Studien zu Staat, Recht und Politik ; 7)}, journal = {Transitional Justice : Theoretical and Practical Approaches (Potsdamer Studien zu Staat, Recht und Politik ; 7)}, number = {7}, publisher = {Universit{\"a}tsverlag Potsdam}, address = {Potsdam}, isbn = {978-3-86956-473-9}, issn = {1869-2443}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-57015}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-570153}, pages = {39 -- 71}, year = {2022}, abstract = {This paper aims to contribute a different approach to transitional justice, one in which political decisions are rocketed to the forefront of the research. Theory asserts that, after a transition to democracy, it is the constituency who defines the direction a country will take. Therefore, pleasing them should be at the fore of the responses taken by those in power. However, reality distances itself from theory. History provides us with many examples of the contrary, which indicates that the politicization of transitional justice is an ever-present event. The first section will outline current definitions and obstacles faced by transitional justice, focusing on the implicit ties between them and the aforementioned politicization. An original categorization of Transitional Justice as a method of analysis will also be introduced, which I denominate Political Opportunism. The case of Argentina, a country that is usually described as a model to export but that after 35 years is still dealing with the consequences brought by the contradictions of using several methods of justice, will then be reinterpreted through this perspective. At the end of the paper, the inevitable question will be posed: can this new angle be exported and implemented in every transition?}, language = {en} } @article{Verlaan2022, author = {Verlaan, Stephanie}, title = {The Misapplication of Western Conflict and Reconciliation Theories on New World Wars}, series = {Transitional Justice : Theoretical and Practical Approaches (Potsdamer Studien zu Staat, Recht und Politik ; 7)}, journal = {Transitional Justice : Theoretical and Practical Approaches (Potsdamer Studien zu Staat, Recht und Politik ; 7)}, number = {7}, publisher = {Universit{\"a}tsverlag Potsdam}, address = {Potsdam}, isbn = {978-3-86956-473-9}, issn = {1869-2443}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-57014}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-570149}, pages = {11 -- 38}, year = {2022}, abstract = {This chapter deals with the problem that theories of peace building, conflict resolution and reconciliation were predominately created in the West and, therefore, do not necessarily fit the understanding of peace, conflict, and resolution in non-Western societies and cultures. Within these societies, the acceptance of suffering may also be higher, which leads to different priorities of conflict resolution approaches. Furthermore, this chapter deals with the question of whether the current understanding of wars and the nature of conflict change the basis of established conflict theories. These theoretical approaches are then applied in Sierra Leone as a non-Western negotiation scenario.}, language = {en} } @article{PueschelKlauderHenkelOberlaender2022, author = {P{\"u}schel, Gerhard and Klauder, Julia and Henkel-Oberl{\"a}nder, Janin}, title = {Macrophages, low-grade inflammation, insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia}, series = {Journal of Clinical Medicine : open access journal}, volume = {11}, journal = {Journal of Clinical Medicine : open access journal}, number = {15}, publisher = {MDPI}, address = {Basel, Schweiz}, issn = {2077-0383}, doi = {10.3390/jcm11154358}, pages = {1 -- 30}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Metabolic derangement with poor glycemic control accompanying overweight and obesity is associated with chronic low-grade inflammation and hyperinsulinemia. Macrophages, which present a very heterogeneous population of cells, play a key role in the maintenance of normal tissue homeostasis, but functional alterations in the resident macrophage pool as well as newly recruited monocyte-derived macrophages are important drivers in the development of low-grade inflammation. While metabolic dysfunction, insulin resistance and tissue damage may trigger or advance pro-inflammatory responses in macrophages, the inflammation itself contributes to the development of insulin resistance and the resulting hyperinsulinemia. Macrophages express insulin receptors whose downstream signaling networks share a number of knots with the signaling pathways of pattern recognition and cytokine receptors, which shape macrophage polarity. The shared knots allow insulin to enhance or attenuate both pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory macrophage responses. This supposedly physiological function may be impaired by hyperinsulinemia or insulin resistance in macrophages. This review discusses the mutual ambiguous relationship of low-grade inflammation, insulin resistance, hyperinsulinemia and the insulin-dependent modulation of macrophage activity with a focus on adipose tissue and liver.}, language = {en} } @article{HeringHauptfleischJagoetal.2022, author = {Hering, Robert and Hauptfleisch, Morgan and Jago, Mark and Smith, Taylor and Kramer-Schadt, Stephanie and Stiegler, Jonas and Blaum, Niels}, title = {Don't stop me now: Managed fence gaps could allow migratory ungulates to track dynamic resources and reduce fence related energy loss}, series = {Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution}, journal = {Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution}, publisher = {Frontiers}, address = {Lausanne, Schweiz}, issn = {2296-701X}, doi = {10.3389/fevo.2022.907079}, pages = {1 -- 18}, year = {2022}, abstract = {In semi-arid environments characterized by erratic rainfall and scattered primary production, migratory movements are a key survival strategy of large herbivores to track resources over vast areas. Veterinary Cordon Fences (VCFs), intended to reduce wildlife-livestock disease transmission, fragment large parts of southern Africa and have limited the movements of large wild mammals for over 60 years. Consequently, wildlife-fence interactions are frequent and often result in perforations of the fence, mainly caused by elephants. Yet, we lack knowledge about at which times fences act as barriers, how fences directly alter the energy expenditure of native herbivores, and what the consequences of impermeability are. We studied 2-year ungulate movements in three common antelopes (springbok, kudu, eland) across a perforated part of Namibia's VCF separating a wildlife reserve and Etosha National Park using GPS telemetry, accelerometer measurements, and satellite imagery. We identified 2905 fence interaction events which we used to evaluate critical times of encounters and direct fence effects on energy expenditure. Using vegetation type-specific greenness dynamics, we quantified what animals gained in terms of high quality food resources from crossing the VCF. Our results show that the perforation of the VCF sustains herbivore-vegetation interactions in the savanna with its scattered resources. Fence permeability led to peaks in crossing numbers during the first flush of woody plants before the rain started. Kudu and eland often showed increased energy expenditure when crossing the fence. Energy expenditure was lowered during the frequent interactions of ungulates standing at the fence. We found no alteration of energy expenditure when springbok immediately found and crossed fence breaches. Our results indicate that constantly open gaps did not affect energy expenditure, while gaps with obstacles increased motion. Closing gaps may have confused ungulates and modified their intended movements. While browsing, sedentary kudu's use of space was less affected by the VCF; migratory, mixed-feeding springbok, and eland benefited from gaps by gaining forage quality and quantity after crossing. This highlights the importance of access to vast areas to allow ungulates to track vital vegetation patches.}, language = {en} } @article{PawlakNoetzelDragoetal.2022, author = {Pawlak, Julia and Noetzel, Dominique Christian and Drago, Claudia and Weithoff, Guntram}, title = {Assessing the toxicity of polystyrene beads and silica particles on the microconsumer Brachionus calyciflorus at different timescales}, series = {Frontiers in Environmental Science}, journal = {Frontiers in Environmental Science}, publisher = {Frontiers}, address = {Lausanne, Schweiz}, issn = {2296-665X}, doi = {10.3389/fenvs.2022.955425}, pages = {1 -- 11}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Environmental pollution by microplastics has become a severe problem in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and, according to actual prognoses, problems will further increase in the future. Therefore, assessing and quantifying the risk for the biota is crucial. Standardized short-term toxicological procedures as well as methods quantifying potential toxic effects over the whole life span of an animal are required. We studied the effect of the microplastic polystyrene on the survival and reproduction of a common freshwater invertebrate, the rotifer Brachionus calyciflorus, at different timescales. We used pristine polystyrene spheres of 1, 3, and 6 µm diameter and fed them to the animals together with food algae in different ratios ranging from 0 to 50\% nonfood particles. As a particle control, we used silica to distinguish between a pure particle effect and a plastic effect. After 24 h, no toxic effect was found, neither with polystyrene nor with silica. After 96 h, a toxic effect was detectable for both particle types. The size of the particles played a negligible role. Studying the long-term effect by using life table experiments, we found a reduced reproduction when the animals were fed with 3 µm spheres together with similar-sized food algae. We conclude that the fitness reduction is mainly driven by the dilution of food by the nonfood particles rather than by a direct toxic effect.}, language = {en} } @article{WeithoffBell2022, author = {Weithoff, Guntram and Bell, Elanor Margaret}, title = {Complex Trophic Interactions in an Acidophilic Microbial Community}, series = {Microorganisms}, volume = {10}, journal = {Microorganisms}, edition = {7}, publisher = {MDPI}, address = {Basel, Schweiz}, issn = {2076-2607}, doi = {10.3390/microorganisms10071340}, pages = {1 -- 10}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Extreme habitats often harbor specific communities that differ substantially from non-extreme habitats. In many cases, these communities are characterized by archaea, bacteria and protists, whereas the number of species of metazoa and higher plants is relatively low. In extremely acidic habitats, mostly prokaryotes and protists thrive, and only very few metazoa thrive, for example, rotifers. Since many studies have investigated the physiology and ecology of individual species, there is still a gap in research on direct, trophic interactions among extremophiles. To fill this gap, we experimentally studied the trophic interactions between a predatory protist (Actinophrys sol, Heliozoa) and its prey, the rotifers Elosa woralli and Cephalodella sp., the ciliate Urosomoida sp. and the mixotrophic protist Chlamydomonas acidophila (a green phytoflagellate, Chlorophyta). We found substantial predation pressure on all animal prey. High densities of Chlamydomonas acidophila reduced the predation impact on the rotifers by interfering with the feeding behaviour of A. sol. These trophic relations represent a natural case of intraguild predation, with Chlamydomonas acidophila being the common prey and the rotifers/ciliate and A. sol being the intraguild prey and predator, respectively. We further studied this intraguild predation along a resource gradient using Cephalodella sp. as the intraguild prey. The interactions among the three species led to an increase in relative rotifer abundance with increasing resource (Chlamydomonas) densities. By applying a series of laboratory experiments, we revealed the complexity of trophic interactions within a natural extremophilic community.}, language = {en} } @article{CzarneckaWeicheltRoedigeretal.2022, author = {Czarnecka, Malgorzata and Weichelt, Ulrike and R{\"o}diger, Stefan and Hanack, Katja}, title = {Novel Anti Double-Stranded Nucleic Acids Full-Length Recombinant Camelid Heavy-Chain Antibody for the Detection of miRNA}, series = {International Journal of Molecular Sciences}, volume = {23}, journal = {International Journal of Molecular Sciences}, edition = {11}, publisher = {MDPI}, address = {Basel, Schweiz}, issn = {1422-0067}, doi = {10.3390/ijms23116275}, pages = {1 -- 18}, year = {2022}, abstract = {The discovery that certain diseases have specific miRNA signatures which correspond to disease progression opens a new biomarker category. The detection of these small non-coding RNAs is performed routinely using body fluids or tissues with real-time PCR, next-generation sequencing, or amplification-based miRNA assays. Antibody-based detection systems allow an easy onset handling compared to PCR or sequencing and can be considered as alternative methods to support miRNA diagnostic in the future. In this study, we describe the generation of a camelid heavy-chain-only antibody specifically recognizing miRNAs to establish an antibody-based detection method. The generation of nucleic acid-specific binders is a challenge. We selected camelid binders via phage display, expressed them as VHH as well as full-length antibodies, and characterized the binding to several miRNAs from a signature specific for dilated cardiomyopathy. The described workflow can be used to create miRNA-specific binders and establish antibody-based detection methods to provide an additional way to analyze disease-specific miRNA signatures.}, language = {en} } @article{MientusHumeWulffetal.2022, author = {Mientus, Lukas and Hume, Anne and Wulff, Peter and Meiners, Antoinette and Borowski, Andreas}, title = {Modelling STEM teachers' pedagogical content knowledge in the framework of the refined consensus model}, series = {Education Sciences : open access journal}, volume = {12}, journal = {Education Sciences : open access journal}, edition = {6}, publisher = {MDPI}, address = {Basel, Schweiz}, issn = {2227-7102}, doi = {10.3390/educsci12060385}, pages = {1 -- 25}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Science education researchers have developed a refined understanding of the structure of science teachers' pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), but how to develop applicable and situation-adequate PCK remains largely unclear. A potential problem lies in the diverse conceptualisations of the PCK used in PCK research. This study sought to systematize existing science education research on PCK through the lens of the recently proposed refined consensus model (RCM) of PCK. In this review, the studies' approaches to investigating PCK and selected findings were characterised and synthesised as an overview comparing research before and after the publication of the RCM. We found that the studies largely employed a qualitative case-study methodology that included specific PCK models and tools. However, in recent years, the studies focused increasingly on quantitative aspects. Furthermore, results of the reviewed studies can mostly be integrated into the RCM. We argue that the RCM can function as a meaningful theoretical lens for conceptualizing links between teaching practice and PCK development by proposing pedagogical reasoning as a mechanism and/or explanation for PCK development in the context of teaching practice.}, language = {en} } @techreport{MatthewesVentura2022, type = {Working Paper}, author = {Matthewes, S{\"o}nke Hendrik and Ventura, Guglielmo}, title = {On Track to Success?}, series = {CEPA Discussion Papers}, journal = {CEPA Discussion Papers}, number = {58}, issn = {2628-653X}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-56725}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-567253}, pages = {70}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Many countries consider expanding vocational curricula in secondary education to boost skills and labour market outcomes among non-university-bound students. However, critics fear this could divert other students from more profitable academic education. We study labour market returns to vocational education in England, where until recently students chose between a vocational track, an academic track and quitting education at age 16. Identification is challenging because self-selection is strong and because students' next-best alternatives are unknown. Against this back- drop, we leverage multiple instrumental variables to estimate margin-specific treatment effects, i.e., causal returns to vocational education for students at the margin with academic education and, separately, for students at the margin with quitting education. Identification comes from variation in distance to the nearest vocational provider conditional on distance to the nearest academic provider (and vice-versa), while controlling for granular student, school and neighbourhood characteristics. The analysis is based on population-wide administrative education data linked to tax records. We find that the vast majority of marginal vocational students are indifferent be- tween vocational and academic education. For them, vocational enrolment substantially decreases earnings at age 30. This earnings penalty grows with age and is due to wages, not employment. However, consistent with comparative advantage, the penalty is smaller for students with higher revealed preferences for the vocational track. For the few students at the margin with no further education, we find merely tentative evidence of increased employment and earnings from vocational enrolment.}, language = {en} } @article{EllermannMcDowellSchirrenetal.2022, author = {Ellermann, Christin and McDowell, Michelle and Schirren, Clara O. and Lindemann, Ann-Kathrin and Koch, Severine and Lohmann, Mark and Jenny, Mirjam Annina}, title = {Identifying content to improve risk assessment communications within the Risk Profile: Literature reviews and focus groups with expert and non-expert stakeholders}, series = {PLoS ONE}, volume = {17}, journal = {PLoS ONE}, edition = {4}, publisher = {Public Library of Science (PLOS)}, address = {San Francisco, California, USA}, issn = {1553-7358}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0266800}, pages = {23}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Objective To improve consumer decision making, the results of risk assessments on food, feed, consumer products or chemicals need to be communicated not only to experts but also to non-expert audiences. The present study draws on evidence from literature reviews and focus groups with diverse stakeholders to identify content to integrate into an existing risk assessment communication (Risk Profile). Methods A combination of rapid literature reviews and focus groups with experts (risk assessors (n = 15), risk managers (n = 8)), and non-experts (general public (n = 18)) were used to identify content and strategies for including information about risk assessment results in the "Risk Profile" from the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment. Feedback from initial focus groups was used to develop communication prototypes that informed subsequent feedback rounds in an iterative process. A final prototype was validated in usability tests with experts. Results Focus group feedback and suggestions from risk assessors were largely in line with findings from the literature. Risk managers and lay persons offered similar suggestions on how to improve the existing communication of risk assessment results (e.g., including more explanatory detail, reporting probabilities for individual health impairments, and specifying risks for subgroups in additional sections). Risk managers found information about quality of evidence important to communicate, whereas people from the general public found this information less relevant. Participants from lower educational backgrounds had difficulties understanding the purpose of risk assessments. User tests found that the final prototype was appropriate and feasible to implement by risk assessors. Conclusion An iterative and evidence-based process was used to develop content to improve the communication of risk assessments to the general public while being feasible to use by risk assessors. Remaining challenges include how to communicate dose-response relationships and standardise quality of evidence ratings across disciplines.}, language = {en} } @article{FernandezFernandezGranacherMartinezMartinetal.2022, author = {Fernandez-Fernandez, Jaime and Granacher, Urs and Martinez-Martin, Isidoro and Garcia-Tormo, Jos{\´e} Vicente and Herrero-Molleda, Alba and Barbado, David and Garc{\´i}a L{\´o}pez, Juan}, title = {Physical fitness and throwing speed in U13 versus U15 male handball players}, series = {BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation}, volume = {14}, journal = {BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation}, publisher = {Springer}, address = {London}, issn = {1758-2555}, doi = {10.1186/s13102-022-00507-0}, pages = {13}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Background The aim of this study was to analyze the shoulder functional profile (rotation range of motion [ROM] and strength), upper and lower body performance, and throwing speed of U13 versus U15 male handball players, and to establish the relationship between these measures of physical fitness and throwing speed. Methods One-hundred and nineteen young male handball players (under (U)-13 (U13) [n = 85]) and U15 [n = 34]) volunteered to participate in this study. The participating athletes had a mean background of sytematic handball training of 5.5 ± 2.8 years and they exercised on average 540 ± 10.1 min per week including sport-specific team handball training and strength and conditioning programs. Players were tested for passive shoulder range-of-motion (ROM) for both internal (IR) and external rotation (ER) and isometric strength (i.e., IR and ER) of the dominant/non-dominant shoulders, overhead medicine ball throw (OMB), hip isometric abductor (ABD) and adductor (ADD) strength, hip ROM, jumps (countermovement jump [CMJ] and triple leg-hop [3H] for distance), linear sprint test, modified 505 change-of-direction (COD) test and handball throwing speed (7 m [HT7] and 9 m [HT9]). Results U15 players outperformed U13 in upper (i.e., HT7 and HT9 speed, OMB, absolute IR and ER strength of the dominant and non-dominant sides; Cohen's d: 0.76-2.13) and lower body (i.e., CMJ, 3H, 20-m sprint and COD, hip ABD and ADD; d: 0.70-2.33) performance measures. Regarding shoulder ROM outcomes, a lower IR ROM was found of the dominant side in the U15 group compared to the U13 and a higher ER ROM on both sides in U15 (d: 0.76-1.04). It seems that primarily anthropometric characteristics (i.e., body height, body mass) and upper body strength/power (OMB distance) are the most important factors that explain the throw speed variance in male handball players, particularly in U13. Conclusions Findings from this study imply that regular performance monitoring is important for performance development and for minimizing injury risk of the shoulder in both age categories of young male handball players. Besides measures of physical fitness, anthropometric data should be recorded because handball throwing performance is related to these measures.}, language = {en} } @article{DelfanJuybariGorganiFiruzjaeeetal.2022, author = {Delfan, Maryam and Juybari, Raheleh Amadeh and Gorgani-Firuzjaee, Sattar and Nielsen, Jens H{\o}iriis and Delfan, Neda and Laher, Ismail and Saeidi, Ayoub and Granacher, Urs and Zouhal, Hassane}, title = {High-Intensity Interval Training Improves Cardiac Function by miR-206 Dependent HSP60 Induction in Diabetic Rats}, series = {Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine}, volume = {9}, journal = {Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine}, publisher = {Frontiers}, address = {Lausanne, Schweiz}, issn = {2297-055X}, doi = {10.3389/fcvm.2022.927956}, pages = {1 -- 11}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Objective: A role for microRNAs is implicated in several biological and pathological processes. We investigated the effects of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT) on molecular markers of diabetic cardiomyopathy in rats. Methods: Eighteen male Wistar rats (260 ± 10 g; aged 8 weeks) with streptozotocin (STZ)-induced type 1 diabetes mellitus (55 mg/kg, IP) were randomly allocated to three groups: control, MICT, and HIIT. The two different training protocols were performed 5 days each week for 5 weeks. Cardiac performance (end-systolic and end-diastolic dimensions, ejection fraction), the expression of miR-206, HSP60, and markers of apoptosis (cleaved PARP and cytochrome C) were determined at the end of the exercise interventions. Results: Both exercise interventions (HIIT and MICT) decreased blood glucose levels and improved cardiac performance, with greater changes in the HIIT group (p < 0.001, η2: 0.909). While the expressions of miR-206 and apoptotic markers decreased in both training protocols (p < 0.001, η2: 0.967), HIIT caused greater reductions in apoptotic markers and produced a 20\% greater reduction in miR-206 compared with the MICT protocol (p < 0.001). Furthermore, both training protocols enhanced the expression of HSP60 (p < 0.001, η2: 0.976), with a nearly 50\% greater increase in the HIIT group compared with MICT. Conclusions: Our results indicate that both exercise protocols, HIIT and MICT, have the potential to reduce diabetic cardiomyopathy by modifying the expression of miR-206 and its downstream targets of apoptosis. It seems however that HIIT is even more effective than MICT to modulate these molecular markers.}, language = {en} } @article{BlockBonaventuraGrahnetal.2022, author = {Block, Andrea and Bonaventura, Klaus and Grahn, Patricia and Bestgen, Felix and Wippert, Pia-Maria}, title = {Stress management in pre-and postoperative care amongst practitioners and patients in cardiac catheterization laboratory: a study protocol}, series = {Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine}, volume = {9}, journal = {Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine}, publisher = {Frontiers}, address = {Lausanne, Schweiz}, issn = {2297-055X}, doi = {10.3389/fcvm.2022.830256}, pages = {1 -- 10}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Background: As the number of cardiac diseases continuously increases within the last years in modern society, so does cardiac treatment, especially cardiac catheterization. The procedure of a cardiac catheterization is challenging for both patients and practitioners. Several potential stressors of psychological or physical nature can occur during the procedure. The objective of the study is to develop and implement a stress management intervention for both practitioners and patients that aims to reduce the psychological and physical strain of a cardiac catheterization. Methods: The clinical study (DRKS00026624) includes two randomized controlled intervention trials with parallel groups, for patients with elective cardiac catheterization and practitioners at the catheterization lab, in two clinic sites of the Ernst-von-Bergmann clinic network in Brandenburg, Germany. Both groups received different interventions for stress management. The intervention for patients comprises a psychoeducational video with different stress management technics and additional a standardized medical information about the cardiac catheterization examination. The control condition includes the in hospitals practiced medical patient education before the examination (usual care). Primary and secondary outcomes are measured by physiological parameters and validated questionnaires, the day before (M1) and after (M2) the cardiac catheterization and at a postal follow-up 6 months later (M3). It is expected that people with standardized information and psychoeducation show reduced complications during cardiac catheterization procedures, better pre- and post-operative wellbeing, regeneration, mood and lower stress levels over time. The intervention for practitioners includes a Mindfulness-based stress reduction program (MBSR) over 8 weeks supervised by an experienced MBSR practitioner directly at the clinic site and an operative guideline. It is expected that practitioners with intervention show improved perceived and chronic stress, occupational health, physical and mental function, higher effort-reward balance, regeneration and quality of life. Primary and secondary outcomes are measured by physiological parameters (heart rate variability, saliva cortisol) and validated questionnaires and will be assessed before (M1) and after (M2) the MBSR intervention and at a postal follow-up 6 months later (M3). Physiological biomarkers in practitioners will be assessed before (M1) and after intervention (M2) on two work days and a two days off. Intervention effects in both groups (practitioners and patients) will be evaluated separately using multivariate variance analysis. Discussion: This study evaluates the effectiveness of two stress management intervention programs for patients and practitioners within cardiac catheter laboratory. Study will disclose strains during a cardiac catheterization affecting both patients and practitioners. For practitioners it may contribute to improved working conditions and occupational safety, preservation of earning capacity, avoidance of participation restrictions and loss of performance. In both groups less anxiety, stress and complications before and during the procedures can be expected. The study may add knowledge how to eliminate stressful exposures and to contribute to more (psychological) security, less output losses and exhaustion during work. The evolved stress management guidelines, training manuals and the standardized patient education should be transferred into clinical routines}, language = {en} } @article{KayhanMatthesMarriottHaresignetal.2022, author = {Kayhan, Ezgi and Matthes, Daniel and Marriott Haresign, Ira and B{\´a}nki, Anna and Michel, Christine and Langeloh, Miriam and Wass, Sam and Hoehl, Stefanie}, title = {DEEP: A dual EEG pipeline for developmental hyperscanning studies}, series = {Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience}, volume = {54}, journal = {Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Amsterdam, Niederlande}, issn = {1878-9307}, doi = {10.1016/j.dcn.2022.101104}, pages = {1 -- 11}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Cutting-edge hyperscanning methods led to a paradigm shift in social neuroscience. It allowed researchers to measure dynamic mutual alignment of neural processes between two or more individuals in naturalistic contexts. The ever-growing interest in hyperscanning research calls for the development of transparent and validated data analysis methods to further advance the field. We have developed and tested a dual electroencephalography (EEG) analysis pipeline, namely DEEP. Following the preprocessing of the data, DEEP allows users to calculate Phase Locking Values (PLVs) and cross-frequency PLVs as indices of inter-brain phase alignment of dyads as well as time-frequency responses and EEG power for each participant. The pipeline also includes scripts to control for spurious correlations. Our goal is to contribute to open and reproducible science practices by making DEEP publicly available together with an example mother-infant EEG hyperscanning dataset.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Zhou2022, author = {Zhou, Shuo}, title = {Biological evaluation and sulfation of polymer networks from glycerol glycidyl ether}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, pages = {96}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Cardiovascular diseases are the main cause of death worldwide, and their prevalence is expected to rise in the coming years. Polymer-based artificial replacements have been widely used for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Coagulation and thrombus formation on the interfaces between the materials and the human physiological environment are key issues leading to the failure of the medical device in clinical implantation. The surface properties of the materials have a strong influence on the protein adsorption and can direct the blood cell adhesion behavior on the interfaces. Furthermore, implant-associated infections will be induced by bacterial adhesion and subsequent biofilm formation at the implantation site. Thus, it is important to improve the hemocompatibility of an implant by altering the surface properties. One of the effective strategies is surface passivation to achieve protein/cell repelling ability to reduce the risk of thrombosis. This thesis consists of synthesis, functionalization, sterilization, and biological evaluation of bulk poly(glycerol glycidyl ether) (polyGGE), which is a highly crosslinked polyether-based polymer synthesized by cationic ring-opening polymerization. PolyGGE is hypothesized to be able to resist plasma protein adsorption and bacterial adhesion due to analogous chemical structure as polyethylene glycol and hyperbranched polyglycerol. Hydroxyl end groups of polyGGE provide possibilities to be functionalized with sulfates to mimic the anti-thrombogenic function of the endothelial glycocalyx. PolyGGE was synthesized by polymerization of the commercially available monomer glycerol glycidyl ether, which was characterized as a mixture of mono-, di- and tri-glycidyl ether. Cationic ring opening-polymerization of this monomer was carried out by ultraviolet (UV) initiation of the photo-initiator diphenyliodonium hexafluorophosphate. With the increased UV curing time, more epoxides in the side chains of the monomers participated in chemical crosslinking, resulting in an increase of Young's modulus, while the value of elongation at break of polyGGE first increased due to the propagation of the polymer chains then decreased with the increase of crosslinking density. Eventually, the chain propagation can be effectively terminated by potassium hydroxide aqueous solution. PolyGGE exhibited different tensile properties in hydrated conditions at body temperature compared to the values in the dry state at room temperature. Both Young's modulus and values of elongation at break were remarkably reduced when tested in water at 37 °C, which was above the glass transition temperature of polyGGE. At physiological conditions, entanglements of the ployGGE networks unfolded and the free volume of networks were replaced by water molecules as softener, which increased the mobility of the polymer chains, resulting in a lower Young's modulus. Protein adsorption analysis was performed on polyGGE films with 30 min UV curing using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. PolyGGE could effectively prevent the adsorption of human plasma fibrinogen, albumin, and fibronectin at the interface of human plasma and polyGGE films. The protein resistance of polyGGE was comparable to the negative controls: the hemocompatible polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), showing its potential as a coating material for cardiovascular implants. Moreover, antimicrobial tests of bacterial activity using isothermal microcalorimetry and the microscopic image of direct bacteria culturing demonstrated that polyGGE could directly interfere biofilm formation and growth of both Gram-negative and antibiotic-resistant Gram-positive bacteria, indicating the potential application of polyGGE for combating the risk of hospital-acquired infections and preventing drug-resistant superbug spreading. To investigate its cell compatibility, polyGGE films were extracted by different solvents (ethanol, chloroform, acetone) and cell culture medium. Indirect cytotoxicity tests showed extracted polyGGE films still had toxic effects on L929 fibroblast cells. High-performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization mass spectrometry revealed the occurrence of organochlorine-containing compounds released during the polymer-cell culture medium interaction. A constant level of those organochlorine-containing compounds was confirmed from GGE monomer by a specific peak of C-Cl stretching in infrared spectra of GGE. This is assumed to be the main reason causing the increased cell membrane permeability and decreased metabolic activity, leading to cell death. Attempts as changing solvents were made to remove toxic substances, however, the release of these small molecules seems to be sluggish. The densely crosslinked polyGGE networks can possibly contribute to the trapping of organochlorine-containing compounds. These results provide valuable information for exploring the potentially toxic substances, leaching from polyGGE networks, and propose a feasible strategy for minimizing the cytotoxicity via reducing their crosslinking density. Sulfamic acid/ N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) were selected as the reagents for the sulfation of polyGGE surfaces. Fourier transform attenuated total reflection infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FT-IR) was used to monitor the functionalization kinetics and the results confirmed the successful sulfate grafting on the surface of polyGGE with the covalent bond -C-O-S-. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was used to determine the element composition on the surface and the cross-section of the functionalized polyGGE and sulfation within 15 min guarantees the sulfation only takes place on the surface while not occurring in the bulk of the polymer. The concentration of grafted sulfates increased with the increasing reaction time. The hydrophilicity of the surface of polyGGE was highly increased due to the increase of negatively charged end groups. Three sterilization techniques including autoclaving, gamma irradiation, and ethylene oxide (EtO) sterilization were used for polyGGE sulfates. Results from ATR-FT-IR and Toluidine Blue O quantitative assay demonstrated the total loss of the sulfates after autoclave sterilization, which was also confirmed by the increased water contact angle. Little influence on the concentration of sulfates was found for gamma-irradiated and autoclaving sterilized polyGGE sulfates. To investigate the thermal influence on polyGGE sulfates, one strategy was to use poly(hydroxyethyl acrylate) sulfates (PHEAS) for modeling. The thermogravimetric analysis profile of PHEAS demonstrated that sulfates are not thermally stable independent of the substrate materials and decomposition of sulfates occurs at around 100 °C. Although gamma irradiation also showed little negative effect on the sulfate content, the color change in the polyGGE sulfates indicates chemical or physical change might occur in the polymer. EtO sterilization was validated as the most suitable sterilization technique to maintain the chemical structure of polyGGE sulfates. In conclusion, the conducted work proved that bulk polyGGE can be used as an antifouling coating material and shows its antimicrobial potential. Sulfates functionalization can be effectively realized using sulfamic acid/NMP. EtO sterilization is the most suitable sterilization technique for grafted sulfates. Besides, this thesis also offers a good strategy for the analysis of toxic leachable substances using suitable physicochemical characterization techniques. Future work will focus on minimizing/eliminating the release of toxic substances via reducing the crosslinking density. Another interesting aspect is to study whether grafted sulfates can meet the need for anti-thrombogenicity.}, language = {en} } @article{NeumannTiberiusBiendarra2022, author = {Neumann, Daniel and Tiberius, Victor and Biendarra, Florin}, title = {Adopting wearables to customize health insurance contributions}, series = {BMC medical informatics and decision making}, volume = {22}, journal = {BMC medical informatics and decision making}, publisher = {Springer Nature}, address = {London}, issn = {1472-6947}, doi = {10.1186/s12911-022-01851-4}, pages = {1 -- 7}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Background Wearables, as small portable computer systems worn on the body, can track user fitness and health data, which can be used to customize health insurance contributions individually. In particular, insured individuals with a healthy lifestyle can receive a reduction of their contributions to be paid. However, this potential is hardly used in practice. Objective This study aims to identify which barrier factors impede the usage of wearables for assessing individual risk scores for health insurances, despite its technological feasibility, and to rank these barriers according to their relevance. Methods To reach these goals, we conduct a ranking-type Delphi study with the following three stages. First, we collected possible barrier factors from a panel of 16 experts and consolidated them to a list of 11 barrier categories. Second, the panel was asked to rank them regarding their relevance. Third, to enhance the panel consensus, the ranking was revealed to the experts, who were then asked to re-rank the barriers. Results The results suggest that regulation is the most important barrier. Other relevant barriers are false or inaccurate measurements and application errors caused by the users. Additionally, insurers could lack the required technological competence to use the wearable data appropriately. Conclusion A wider use of wearables and health apps could be achieved through regulatory modifications, especially regarding privacy issues. Even after assuring stricter regulations, users' privacy concerns could partly remain, if the data exchange between wearables manufacturers, health app providers, and health insurers does not become more transparent.}, language = {en} } @article{EckertHerdenStiftetal.2022, author = {Eckert, Silvia and Herden, Jasmin and Stift, Marc and Durka, Walter and Kleunen, Mark van and Joshi, Jasmin}, title = {Traces of genetic but not epigenetic adaptation in the invasive goldenrod Solidago canadensis despite the absence of population structure}, series = {Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution}, volume = {10}, journal = {Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution}, publisher = {Frontiers}, address = {Lausanne, Schweiz}, issn = {2296-701X}, doi = {10.3389/fevo.2022.856453}, pages = {1 -- 17}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Biological invasions may result from multiple introductions, which might compensate for reduced gene pools caused by bottleneck events, but could also dilute adaptive processes. A previous common-garden experiment showed heritable latitudinal clines in fitness-related traits in the invasive goldenrod Solidago canadensis in Central Europe. These latitudinal clines remained stable even in plants chemically treated with zebularine to reduce epigenetic variation. However, despite the heritability of traits investigated, genetic isolation-by-distance was non-significant. Utilizing the same specimens, we applied a molecular analysis of (epi)genetic differentiation with standard and methylation-sensitive (MSAP) AFLPs. We tested whether this variation was spatially structured among populations and whether zebularine had altered epigenetic variation. Additionally, we used genome scans to mine for putative outlier loci susceptible to selection processes in the invaded range. Despite the absence of isolation-by-distance, we found spatial genetic neighborhoods among populations and two AFLP clusters differentiating northern and southern Solidago populations. Genetic and epigenetic diversity were significantly correlated, but not linked to phenotypic variation. Hence, no spatial epigenetic patterns were detected along the latitudinal gradient sampled. Applying genome-scan approaches (BAYESCAN, BAYESCENV, RDA, and LFMM), we found 51 genetic and epigenetic loci putatively responding to selection. One of these genetic loci was significantly more frequent in populations at the northern range. Also, one epigenetic locus was more frequent in populations in the southern range, but this pattern was lost under zebularine treatment. Our results point to some genetic, but not epigenetic adaptation processes along a large-scale latitudinal gradient of S. canadensis in its invasive range.}, language = {en} }