@misc{GolleMuehlbauerWicketal.2015, author = {Golle, Kathleen and M{\"u}hlbauer, Thomas and Wick, Ditmar and Granacher, Urs}, title = {Physical Fitness Percentiles of German Children Aged 9-12 Years}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-86613}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Background Generating percentile values is helpful for the identification of children with specific fitness characteristics (i.e., low or high fitness level) to set appropriate fitness goals (i.e., fitness/health promotion and/or long-term youth athlete development). Thus, the aim of this longitudinal study was to assess physical fitness development in healthy children aged 9-12 years and to compute sex- and age-specific percentile values. Methods Two-hundred and forty children (88 girls, 152 boys) participated in this study and were tested for their physical fitness. Physical fitness was assessed using the 50-m sprint test (i.e., speed), the 1-kg ball push test, the triple hop test (i.e., upper- and lower- extremity muscular power), the stand-and-reach test (i.e., flexibility), the star run test (i.e., agility), and the 9-min run test (i.e., endurance). Age- and sex-specific percentile values (i.e., P10 to P90) were generated using the Lambda, Mu, and Sigma method. Adjusted (for change in body weight, height, and baseline performance) age- and sex-differences as well as the interactions thereof were expressed by calculating effect sizes (Cohen's d). Results Significant main effects of Age were detected for all physical fitness tests (d = 0.40-1.34), whereas significant main effects of Sex were found for upper-extremity muscular power (d = 0.55), flexibility (d = 0.81), agility (d = 0.44), and endurance (d = 0.32) only. Further, significant Sex by Age interactions were observed for upper-extremity muscular power (d = 0.36), flexibility (d = 0.61), and agility (d = 0.27) in favor of girls. Both, linear and curvilinear shaped curves were found for percentile values across the fitness tests. Accelerated (curvilinear) improvements were observed for upper-extremity muscular power (boys: 10-11 yrs; girls: 9-11 yrs), agility (boys: 9-10 yrs; girls: 9-11 yrs), and endurance (boys: 9-10 yrs; girls: 9-10 yrs). Tabulated percentiles for the 9-min run test indicated that running distances between 1,407-1,507 m, 1,479-1,597 m, 1,423-1,654 m, and 1,433-1,666 m in 9- to 12-year-old boys and 1,262-1,362 m, 1,329-1,434 m, 1,392-1,501 m, and 1,415-1,526 m in 9- to 12-year-old girls correspond to a "medium" fitness level (i.e., P40 to P60) in this population. Conclusions The observed differences in physical fitness development between boys and girls illustrate that age- and sex-specific maturational processes might have an impact on the fitness status of healthy children. Our statistical analyses revealed linear (e.g., lower-extremity muscular power) and curvilinear (e.g., agility) models of fitness improvement with age which is indicative of timed and capacity-specific fitness development pattern during childhood. Lastly, the provided age- and sex-specific percentile values can be used by coaches for talent identification and by teachers for rating/grading of children's motor performance.}, language = {en} } @misc{RoderHille2015, author = {Roder, Phillip and Hille, Carsten}, title = {A Multifunctional Frontloading Approach for Repeated Recycling of a Pressure-Controlled AFM Micropipette}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-86592}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Fluid force microscopy combines the positional accuracy and force sensitivity of an atomic force microscope (AFM) with nanofluidics via a microchanneled cantilever. However, adequate loading and cleaning procedures for such AFM micropipettes are required for various application situations. Here, a new frontloading procedure is described for an AFM micropipette functioning as a force- and pressure-controlled microscale liquid dispenser. This frontloading procedure seems especially attractive when using target substances featuring high costs or low available amounts. Here, the AFM micropipette could be filled from the tip side with liquid from a previously applied droplet with a volume of only a few μL using a short low-pressure pulse. The liquid-loaded AFM micropipettes could be then applied for experiments in air or liquid environments. AFM micropipette frontloading was evaluated with the well-known organic fluorescent dye rhodamine 6G and the AlexaFluor647-labeled antibody goat anti-rat IgG as an example of a larger biological compound. After micropipette usage, specific cleaning procedures were tested. Furthermore, a storage method is described, at which the AFM micropipettes could be stored for a few hours up to several days without drying out or clogging of the microchannel. In summary, the rapid, versatile and cost-efficient frontloading and cleaning procedure for the repeated usage of a single AFM micropipette is beneficial for various application situations from specific surface modifications through to local manipulation of living cells, and provides a simplified and faster handling for already known experiments with fluid force microscopy.}, language = {en} } @misc{WarschburgerCalvanoRichteretal.2015, author = {Warschburger, Petra and Calvano, Claudia and Richter, Eike M. and Engbert, Ralf}, title = {Analysis of Attentional Bias towards Attractive and Unattractive Body Regions among Overweight Males and Females}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-86570}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Background Body image distortion is highly prevalent among overweight individuals. Whilst there is evidence that body-dissatisfied women and those suffering from disordered eating show a negative attentional bias towards their own unattractive body parts and others' attractive body parts, little is known about visual attention patterns in the area of obesity and with respect to males. Since eating disorders and obesity share common features in terms of distorted body image and body dissatisfaction, the aim of this study was to examine whether overweight men and women show a similar attentional bias. Methods/Design We analyzed eye movements in 30 overweight individuals (18 females) and 28 normalweight individuals (16 females) with respect to the participants' own pictures as well as gender- and BMI-matched control pictures (front and back view). Additionally, we assessed body image and disordered eating using validated questionnaires. Discussion The overweight sample rated their own body as less attractive and showed a more disturbed body image. Contrary to our assumptions, they focused significantly longer on attractive compared to unattractive regions of both their own and the control body. For one's own body, this was more pronounced for women. A higher weight status and more frequent body checking predicted attentional bias towards attractive body parts. We found that overweight adults exhibit an unexpected and stable pattern of selective attention, with a distinctive focus on their own attractive body regions despite higher levels of body dissatisfaction. This positive attentional bias may either be an indicator of a more pronounced pattern of attentional avoidance or a self-enhancing strategy. Further research is warranted to clarify these results.}, language = {en} } @misc{BodrovaChechkinCherstvyetal.2015, author = {Bodrova, Anna and Chechkin, Aleksei V. and Cherstvy, Andrey G. and Metzler, Ralf}, title = {Quantifying non-ergodic dynamics of force-free granular gases}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-85200}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Brownianmotion is ergodic in the Boltzmann-Khinchin sense that long time averages of physical observables such as the mean squared displacement provide the same information as the corresponding ensemble average, even at out-of-equilibrium conditions. This property is the fundamental prerequisite for single particle tracking and its analysis in simple liquids. We study analytically and by event-driven molecular dynamics simulations the dynamics of force-free cooling granular gases and reveal a violation of ergodicity in this Boltzmann-Khinchin sense as well as distinct ageing of the system. Such granular gases comprise materials such as dilute gases of stones, sand, various types of powders, or large molecules, and their mixtures are ubiquitous in Nature and technology, in particular in Space. We treat—depending on the physical-chemical properties of the inter-particle interaction upon their pair collisions—both a constant and a velocity-dependent (viscoelastic) restitution coefficient e. Moreover we compare the granular gas dynamics with an effective single particle stochastic model based on an underdamped Langevin equation with time dependent diffusivity. We find that both models share the same behaviour of the ensemble mean squared displacement (MSD) and the velocity correlations in the limit of weak dissipation. Qualitatively, the reported non-ergodic behaviour is generic for granular gases with any realistic dependence of e on the impact velocity of particles.}, language = {en} } @misc{MaiBoyeYuanetal.2015, author = {Mai, Tobias and Boye, Susanne and Yuan, Jiayin and V{\"o}lkel, Antje and Gr{\"a}wert, Marlies and G{\"u}nter, Christina and Lederer, Albena and Taubert, Andreas}, title = {Poly(ethylene oxide)-based block copolymers with very high molecular weights for biomimetic calcium phosphate mineralization}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-85299}, year = {2015}, abstract = {The present article is among the first reports on the effects of poly(ampholyte)s and poly(betaine)s on the biomimetic formation of calcium phosphate. We have synthesized a series of di- and triblock copolymers based on a non-ionic poly(ethylene oxide) block and several charged methacrylate monomers, 2-(trimethylammonium)ethyl methacrylate chloride, 2-((3-cyanopropyl)-dimethylammonium)ethyl methacrylate chloride, 3-sulfopropyl methacrylate potassium salt, and [2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl]dimethyl-(3-sulfopropyl)ammonium hydroxide. The resulting copolymers are either positively charged, ampholytic, or betaine block copolymers. All the polymers have very high molecular weights of over 106 g mol-1. All polymers are water-soluble and show a strong effect on the precipitation and dissolution of calcium phosphate. The strongest effects are observed with triblock copolymers based on a large poly(ethylene oxide) middle block (nominal Mn = 100 000 g mol-1). Surprisingly, the data show that there is a need for positive charges in the polymers to exert tight control over mineralization and dissolution, but that the exact position of the charge in the polymer is of minor importance for both calcium phosphate precipitation and dissolution.}, language = {en} } @misc{MardoukhiJeonMetzler2015, author = {Mardoukhi, Yousof and Jeon, Jae-Hyung and Metzler, Ralf}, title = {Geometry controlled anomalous diffusion in random fractal geometries}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-85247}, year = {2015}, abstract = {We investigate the ergodic properties of a random walker performing (anomalous) diffusion on a random fractal geometry. Extensive Monte Carlo simulations of the motion of tracer particles on an ensemble of realisations of percolation clusters are performed for a wide range of percolation densities. Single trajectories of the tracer motion are analysed to quantify the time averaged mean squared displacement (MSD) and to compare this with the ensemble averaged MSD of the particle motion. Other complementary physical observables associated with ergodicity are studied, as well. It turns out that the time averaged MSD of individual realisations exhibits non-vanishing fluctuations even in the limit of very long observation times as the percolation density approaches the critical value. This apparent non-ergodic behaviour concurs with the ergodic behaviour on the ensemble averaged level. We demonstrate how the non-vanishing fluctuations in single particle trajectories are analytically expressed in terms of the fractal dimension and the cluster size distribution of the random geometry, thus being of purely geometrical origin. Moreover, we reveal that the convergence scaling law to ergodicity, which is known to be inversely proportional to the observation time T for ergodic diffusion processes, follows a power-law BT� h with h o 1 due to the fractal structure of the accessible space. These results provide useful measures for differentiating the subdiffusion on random fractals from an otherwise closely related process, namely, fractional Brownian motion. Implications of our results on the analysis of single particle tracking experiments are provided.}, language = {en} } @misc{KuschpelLiuSchadetal.2015, author = {Kuschpel, Maxim S. and Liu, Shuyan and Schad, Daniel and Heinzel, Stephan and Heinz, Andreas and Rapp, Michael Armin}, title = {Differential effects of wakeful rest, music and video game playing on working memory performance in the n-back task}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-85151}, year = {2015}, abstract = {The interruption of learning processes by breaks filled with diverse activities is common in everyday life. We investigated the effects of active computer gaming and passive relaxation (rest and music) breaks on working memory performance. Young adults were exposed to breaks involving (i) eyes-open resting, (ii) listening to music and (iii) playing the video game "Angry Birds" before performing the n-back working memory task. Based on linear mixed-effects modeling, we found that playing the "Angry Birds" video game during a short learning break led to a decline in task performance over the course of the task as compared to eyes-open resting and listening to music, although overall task performance was not impaired. This effect was associated with high levels of daily mind wandering and low self-reported ability to concentrate. These findings indicate that video games can negatively affect working memory performance over time when played in between learning tasks. We suggest further investigation of these effects because of their relevance to everyday activity.}, language = {en} } @misc{SbragagliaLamannaMatetal.2015, author = {Sbragaglia, Valerio and Lamanna, Francesco and Mat, Audrey M. and Rotllant, Guiomar and Joly, Silvia and Ketmaier, Valerio and de la Iglesia, Horacio O. and Aguzzi, Jacopo}, title = {Identification, Characterization, and Diel Pattern of Expression of Canonical Clock Genes in Nephrops norvegicus (Crustacea: Decapoda) Eyestalk}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-84432}, year = {2015}, abstract = {The Norway lobster, Nephrops norvegicus, is a burrowing decapod with a rhythmic burrow emergence (24 h) governed by the circadian system. It is an important resource for European fisheries and its behavior deeply affects its availability. The current knowledge of Nephrops circadian biology is phenomenological as it is currently the case for almost all crustaceans. In attempt to elucidate the putative molecular mechanisms underlying circadian gene regulation in Nephrops, we used a transcriptomics approach on cDNA extracted from the eyestalk, a structure playing a crucial role in controlling behavior of decapods. We studied 14 male lobsters under 12-12 light-darkness blue light cycle. We used the Hiseq 2000 Illumina platform to sequence two eyestalk libraries (under light and darkness conditions) obtaining about 90 millions 100-bp paired-end reads. Trinity was used for the de novo reconstruction of transcriptomes; the size at which half of all assembled bases reside in contigs (N50) was equal to 1796 (light) and 2055 (darkness). We found a list of candidate clock genes and focused our attention on canonical ones: timeless, period, clock and bmal1. The cloning of assembled fragments validated Trinity outputs. The putative Nephrops clock genes showed high levels of identity (blastx on NCBI) with known crustacean clock gene homologs such as Eurydice pulchra (period: 47\%, timeless: 59\%, bmal1: 79\%) and Macrobrachium rosenbergii (clock: 100\%). We also found a vertebrate-like cryptochrome 2. RT-qPCR showed that only timeless had a robust diel pattern of expression. Our data are in accordance with the current knowledge of the crustacean circadian clock, reinforcing the idea that the molecular clockwork of this group shows some differences with the established model in Drosophila melanogaster.}, language = {en} } @misc{VormoorLawrenceHeistermannetal.2015, author = {Vormoor, Klaus Josef and Lawrence, D. and Heistermann, Maik and Bronstert, Axel}, title = {Climate change impacts on the seasonality and generation processes of floods}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-84366}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Climate change is likely to impact the seasonality and generation processes of floods in the Nordic countries, which has direct implications for flood risk assessment, design flood estimation, and hydropower production management. Using a multi-model/multi-parameter approach to simulate daily discharge for a reference (1961-1990) and a future (2071-2099) period, we analysed the projected changes in flood seasonality and generation processes in six catchments with mixed snowmelt/rainfall regimes under the current climate in Norway. The multi-model/multi-parameter ensemble consists of (i) eight combinations of global and regional climate models, (ii) two methods for adjusting the climate model output to the catchment scale, and (iii) one conceptual hydrological model with 25 calibrated parameter sets. Results indicate that autumn/winter events become more frequent in all catchments considered, which leads to an intensification of the current autumn/winter flood regime for the coastal catchments, a reduction of the dominance of spring/summer flood regimes in a high-mountain catchment, and a possible systematic shift in the current flood regimes from spring/summer to autumn/winter in the two catchments located in northern and south-eastern Norway. The changes in flood regimes result from increasing event magnitudes or frequencies, or a combination of both during autumn and winter. Changes towards more dominant autumn/winter events correspond to an increasing relevance of rainfall as a flood generating process (FGP) which is most pronounced in those catchments with the largest shifts in flood seasonality. Here, rainfall replaces snowmelt as the dominant FGP primarily due to increasing temperature.We further analysed the ensemble components in contributing to overall uncertainty in the projected changes and found that the climate projections and the methods for downscaling or bias correction tend to be the largest contributors. The relative role of hydrological parameter uncertainty, however, is highest for those catchments showing the largest changes in flood seasonality, which confirms the lack of robustness in hydrological model parameterization for simulations under transient hydrometeorological conditions.}, language = {en} } @misc{MoserTschakertMuelleretal.2015, author = {Moser, Othmar and Tschakert, Gerhard and M{\"u}ller, Alexander and Groeschl, Werner and Pieber, Thomas R. and Obermayer-Pietsch, Barbara and Koehler, Gerd and Hofmann, Peter}, title = {Exercise versus Moderate Continuous Exercise on Glucose Homeostasis and Hormone Response in Patients with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus Using Novel Ultra-Long-Acting Insulin}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-82479}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Introduction We investigated blood glucose (BG) and hormone response to aerobic high-intensity interval exercise (HIIE) and moderate continuous exercise (CON) matched for mean load and duration in type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). Material and Methods Seven trained male subjects with T1DM performed a maximal incremental exercise test and HIIE and CON at 3 different mean intensities below (A) and above (B) the first lactate turn point and below the second lactate turn point (C) on a cycle ergometer. Subjects were adjusted to ultra-long-acting insulin Degludec (Tresiba/ Novo Nordisk, Denmark). Before exercise, standardized meals were administered, and short-acting insulin dose was reduced by 25\% (A), 50\% (B), and 75\% (C) dependent on mean exercise intensity. During exercise, BG, adrenaline, noradrenaline, dopamine, cortisol, glucagon, and insulin-like growth factor-1, blood lactate, heart rate, and gas exchange variables were measured. For 24 h after exercise, interstitial glucose was measured by continuous glucose monitoring system. Results BG decrease during HIIE was significantly smaller for B (p = 0.024) and tended to be smaller for A and C compared to CON. No differences were found for post-exercise interstitial glucose, acute hormone response, and carbohydrate utilization between HIIE and CON for A, B, and C. In HIIE, blood lactate for A (p = 0.006) and B (p = 0.004) and respiratory exchange ratio for A (p = 0.003) and B (p = 0.003) were significantly higher compared to CON but not for C. Conclusion Hypoglycemia did not occur during or after HIIE and CON when using ultra-long-acting insulin and applying our methodological approach for exercise prescription. HIIE led to a smaller BG decrease compared to CON, although both exercises modes were matched for mean load and duration, even despite markedly higher peak workloads applied in HIIE. Therefore, HIIE and CON could be safely performed in T1DM.}, language = {en} } @misc{JahnBuschmannHille2015, author = {Jahn, Karolina and Buschmann, Volker and Hille, Carsten}, title = {Simultaneous Fluorescence and Phosphorescence Lifetime Imaging Microscopy in Living Cells}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-82156}, year = {2015}, abstract = {In living cells, there are always a plethora of processes taking place at the same time. Their precise regulation is the basis of cellular functions, since small failures can lead to severe dysfunctions. For a comprehensive understanding of intracellular homeostasis, simultaneous multiparameter detection is a versatile tool for revealing the spatial and temporal interactions of intracellular parameters. Here, a recently developed time-correlated single-photon counting (TCSPC) board was evaluated for simultaneous fluorescence and phosphorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM/PLIM). Therefore, the metabolic activity in insect salivary glands was investigated by recording ns-decaying intrinsic cellular fluorescence, mainly related to oxidized flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) and the μs-decaying phosphorescence of the oxygen-sensitive ruthenium-complex Kr341. Due to dopamine stimulation, the metabolic activity of salivary glands increased, causing a higher pericellular oxygen consumption and a resulting increase in Kr341 phosphorescence decay time. Furthermore, FAD fluorescence decay time decreased, presumably due to protein binding, thus inducing a quenching of FAD fluorescence decay time. Through application of the metabolic drugs antimycin and FCCP, the recorded signals could be assigned to a mitochondrial origin. The dopamine-induced changes could be observed in sequential FLIM and PLIM recordings, as well as in simultaneous FLIM/PLIM recordings using an intermediate TCSPC timing resolution.}, language = {en} } @misc{Kroener2015, author = {Kr{\"o}ner, Dominik}, title = {Laser-driven electron dynamics for circular dichroism in mass spectrometry}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-82109}, year = {2015}, abstract = {The distinction of enantiomers is a key aspect of chemical analysis. In mass spectrometry the distinction of enantiomers has been achieved by ionizing the sample with circularly polarized laser pulses and comparing the ion yields for light of opposite handedness. While resonant excitation conditions are expected to be most efficient, they are not required for the detection of a circular dichroism (CD) in the ion yield. However, the prediction of the size and sign of the circular dichroism becomes challenging if non-resonant multiphoton excitations are used to ionize the sample. Employing femtosecond laser pulses to drive electron wavepacket dynamics based on ab initio calculations, we attempt to reveal underlying mechanisms that determine the CD under non-resonant excitation conditions. Simulations were done for (R)-1,2-propylene oxide, using time-dependent configuration interaction singles with perturbative doubles (TD-CIS(D)) and the aug-cc-pVTZ basis set. Interactions between the electric field and the electric dipole and quadrupole as well as between the magnetic field and the magnetic dipole were explicitly accounted for. The ion yield was determined by treating states above the ionization potential as either stationary or non-stationary with energy-dependent lifetimes based on an approved heuristic approach. The observed population dynamics do not allow for a simple interpretation, because of highly non-linear interactions. Still, the various transition pathways are governed by resonant enantiospecific n-photon excitation, with preferably high transition dipole moments, which eventually dominate the CD in the ionized population.}, language = {en} } @misc{LohrenBornhorstGallaetal.2015, author = {Lohren, Hanna and Bornhorst, Julia and Galla, Hans-Joachim and Schwerdtle, Tanja}, title = {The blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-82089}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Exposure to organic mercury compounds promotes primarily neurological effects. Although methylmercury is recognized as a potent neurotoxicant, its transfer into the central nervous system (CNS) is not fully evaluated. While methylmercury and thiomersal pass the blood-brain barrier, limited data are available regarding the second brain regulating interface, the blood-cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) barrier. This novel study was designed to investigate the effects of organic as well as inorganic mercury compounds on, and their transfer across, a porcine in vitro model of the blood-CSF barrier for the first time. The barrier system is significantly more sensitive towards organic Hg compounds as compared to inorganic compounds regarding the endpoints cytotoxicity and barrier integrity. Whereas there are low transfer rates from the blood side to the CSF side, our results strongly indicate an active transfer of the organic mercury compounds out of the CSF. These results are the first to demonstrate an efflux of organic mercury compounds regarding the CNS and provide a completely new approach in the understanding of mercury compounds specific transport.}, language = {en} } @misc{MeyerRaberEbertetal.2015, author = {Meyer, S. and Raber, G. and Ebert, Franziska and Leffers, L. and M{\"u}ller, Sandra Marie and Taleshi, M. S. and Francesconi, Kevin A. and Schwerdtle, Tanja}, title = {In vitro toxicological characterisation of arsenic-containing fatty acids and three of their metabolites}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-82008}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Arsenic-containing fatty acids are a group of fat-soluble arsenic species (arsenolipids) which are present in marine fish and other seafood. Recently, it has been shown that arsenic-containing hydrocarbons, another group of arsenolipids, exert toxicity in similar concentrations comparable to arsenite although the toxic modes of action differ. Hence, a risk assessment of arsenolipids is urgently needed. In this study the cellular toxicity of a saturated (AsFA 362) and an unsaturated (AsFA 388) arsenic-containing fatty acid and three of their proposed metabolites (DMAV, DMAPr and thio-DMAPr) were investigated in human liver cells (HepG2). Even though both arsenic-containing fatty acids were less toxic as compared to arsenic-containing hydrocarbons and arsenite, significant effects were observable at μM concentrations. DMAV causes effects in a similar concentration range and it could be seen that it is metabolised to its highly toxic thio analogue thio-DMAV in HepG2 cells. Nevertheless, DMAPr and thio-DMAPr did not exert any cytotoxicity. In summary, our data indicate that risks to human health related to the presence of arsenic-containing fatty acids in marine food cannot be excluded. This stresses the need for a full in vitro and in vivo toxicological characterisation of these arsenolipids.}, language = {en} } @misc{KirchheckerTroegerMuellerBakeetal.2015, author = {Kirchhecker, Sarah and Tr{\"o}ger-M{\"u}ller, Steffen and Bake, Sebastian and Antonietti, Markus and Taubert, Andreas and Esposito, Davido}, title = {Renewable pyridinium ionic liquids from the continuous hydrothermal decarboxylation of furfural-amino acid derived pyridinium zwitterions}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-81390}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Fully renewable pyridinium ionic liquids were synthesised via the hydrothermal decarboxylation of pyridinium zwitterions derived from furfural and amino acids in flow. The functionality of the resulting ionic liquid (IL) can be tuned by choice of different amino acids as well as different natural carboxylic acids as the counterions. A representative member of this new class of ionic liquids was successfully used for the synthesis of ionogels and as a solvent for the Heck coupling.}, language = {en} } @misc{BartoloniJinMarcaidaetal.2015, author = {Bartoloni, Marco and Jin, Xian and Marcaida, Maria Jos{\´e} and Banha, Joao and Dibonaventura, Ivan and Bongoni, Swathi and Bartho, Kathrin and Gr{\"a}bner, Olivia and Sefkow, Michael and Darbre, Tamis and Reymond, Jean-Louis}, title = {Bridged bicyclic peptides as potential drug scaffolds}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-81239}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Double cyclization of short linear peptides obtained by solid phase peptide synthesis was used to prepare bridged bicyclic peptides (BBPs) corresponding to the topology of bridged bicyclic alkanes such as norbornane. Diastereomeric norbornapeptides were investigated by 1H-NMR, X-ray crystallography and CD spectroscopy and found to represent rigid globular scaffolds stabilized by intramolecular backbone hydrogen bonds with scaffold geometries determined by the chirality of amino acid residues and sharing structural features of β-turns and α-helices. Proteome profiling by capture compound mass spectrometry (CCMS) led to the discovery of the norbornapeptide 27c binding selectively to calmodulin as an example of a BBP protein binder. This and other BBPs showed high stability towards proteolytic degradation in serum.}, language = {en} } @misc{SchulzeUtechtMoldtetal.2015, author = {Schulze, Michael and Utecht, Manuel Martin and Moldt, Thomas and Przyrembel, Daniel and Gahl, Cornelius and Weinelt, Martin and Saalfrank, Peter and Tegeder, Petra}, title = {Nonlinear optical response of photochromic azobenzene-functionalized self-assembled monolayers}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-81198}, year = {2015}, abstract = {The combination of photochromic and nonlinear optical (NLO) properties of azobenzene-functionalized self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) constitutes an intriguing step towards novel photonic and optoelectronic devices. By utilizing the second-order NLO process of second harmonic generation (SHG), supported by density-functional theory and correlated wave function method calculations, we demonstrate that the photochromic interface provides the necessary prerequisites en route towards possible future technical applications: we find a high NLO contrast on the order of 16\% between the switching states. These are furthermore accessible reversibly and with high efficiencies in terms of cross sections on the order of 10-18 cm2 for both photoisomerization reactions, i.e., drivable by means of low-power LED light sources. Finally, both photostationary states (PSSs) are thermally stable at ambient conditions.}, language = {en} } @misc{GuhaWarsinkeTientcheuetal.2015, author = {Guha, S. and Warsinke, A. and Tientcheu, Ch. M. and Schmalz, K. and Meliani, C. and Wenger, Ch.}, title = {Label free sensing of creatinine using a 6 GHz CMOS near-field dielectric immunosensor}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-81177}, year = {2015}, abstract = {In this work we present a CMOS high frequency direct immunosensor operating at 6 GHz (C-band) for label free determination of creatinine. The sensor is fabricated in standard 0.13 μm SiGe:C BiCMOS process. The report also demonstrates the ability to immobilize creatinine molecules on a Si3N4 passivation layer of the standard BiCMOS/CMOS process, therefore, evading any further need of cumbersome post processing of the fabricated sensor chip. The sensor is based on capacitive detection of the amount of non-creatinine bound antibodies binding to an immobilized creatinine layer on the passivated sensor. The chip bound antibody amount in turn corresponds indirectly to the creatinine concentration used in the incubation phase. The determination of creatinine in the concentration range of 0.88-880 μM is successfully demonstrated in this work. A sensitivity of 35 MHz/10 fold increase in creatinine concentration (during incubation) at the centre frequency of 6 GHz is gained by the immunosensor. The results are compared with a standard optical measurement technique and the dynamic range and sensitivity is of the order of the established optical indication technique. The C-band immunosensor chip comprising an area of 0.3 mm2 reduces the sensing area considerably, therefore, requiring a sample volume as low as 2 μl. The small analyte sample volume and label free approach also reduce the experimental costs in addition to the low fabrication costs offered by the batch fabrication technique of CMOS/BiCMOS process.}, language = {en} } @misc{NiedlBeta2015, author = {Niedl, Robert Raimund and Beta, Carsten}, title = {Hydrogel-driven paper-based microfluidics}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-81083}, pages = {2452 -- 2459}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Paper-based microfluidics provide an inexpensive, easy to use technology for point-of-care diagnostics in developing countries. Here, we combine paper-based microfluidic devices with responsive hydrogels to add an entire new class of functions to these versatile low-cost fluidic systems. The hydrogels serve as fluid reservoirs. In response to an external stimulus, e.g. an increase in temperature, the hydrogels collapse and release fluid into the structured paper substrate. In this way, chemicals that are either stored on the paper substrate or inside the hydrogel pads can be dissolved, premixed, and brought to reaction to fulfill specific analytic tasks. We demonstrate that multi-step sequences of chemical reactions can be implemented in a paper-based system and operated without the need for external precision pumps. We exemplify this technology by integrating an antibody-based E. coli test on a small and easy to use paper device.}, language = {en} } @misc{NoechelReddyWangetal.2015, author = {N{\"o}chel, Ulrich and Reddy, Chaganti Srinivasa and Wang, Ke and Cui, Jing and Zizak, Ivo and Behl, Marc and Kratz, Karl and Lendlein, Andreas}, title = {Nanostructural changes in crystallizable controlling units determine the temperature-memory of polymers}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-81124}, pages = {8284 -- 8293}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Temperature-memory polymers remember the temperature, where they were deformed recently, enabled by broad thermal transitions. In this study, we explored a series of crosslinked poly[ethylene-co-(vinyl acetate)] networks (cPEVAs) comprising crystallizable polyethylene (PE) controlling units exhibiting a pronounced temperature-memory effect (TME) between 16 and 99 °C related to a broad melting transition (∼100 °C). The nanostructural changes in such cPEVAs during programming and activation of the TME were analyzed via in situ X-ray scattering and specific annealing experiments. Different contributions to the mechanism of memorizing high or low deformation temperatures (Tdeform) were observed in cPEVA, which can be associated to the average PE crystal sizes. At high deformation temperatures (>50 °C), newly formed PE crystals, which are established during cooling when fixing the temporary shape, dominated the TME mechanism. In contrast, at low Tdeform (<50 °C), corresponding to a cold drawing scenario, the deformation led preferably to a disruption of existing large crystals into smaller ones, which then fix the temporary shape upon cooling. The observed mechanism of memorizing a deformation temperature might enable the prediction of the TME behavior and the knowledge based design of other TMPs with crystallizable controlling units.}, language = {en} } @misc{MegowRoehrSchmidtamBuschetal.2015, author = {Megow, J{\"o}rg and R{\"o}hr, Merle I. S. and Schmidt am Busch, Marcel and Renger, Thomas and Mitrić, Roland and Kirstein, Stefan and Rabe, J{\"u}rgen P. and May, Volkhard}, title = {Site-dependence of van der Waals interaction explains exciton spectra of double-walled tubular J-aggregates}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-79978}, pages = {6741 -- 6747}, year = {2015}, abstract = {The simulation of the optical properties of supramolecular aggregates requires the development of methods, which are able to treat a large number of coupled chromophores interacting with the environment. Since it is currently not possible to treat large systems by quantum chemistry, the Frenkel exciton model is a valuable alternative. In this work we show how the Frenkel exciton model can be extended in order to explain the excitonic spectra of a specific double-walled tubular dye aggregate explicitly taking into account dispersive energy shifts of ground and excited states due to van der Waals interaction with all surrounding molecules. The experimentally observed splitting is well explained by the site-dependent energy shift of molecules placed at the inner or outer side of the double-walled tube, respectively. Therefore we can conclude that inclusion of the site-dependent dispersive effect in the theoretical description of optical properties of nanoscaled dye aggregates is mandatory.}, language = {en} } @misc{CroneAschnerSchwerdtleetal.2015, author = {Crone, Barbara and Aschner, Michael A. and Schwerdtle, Tanja and Karst, Uwe and Bornhorst, Julia}, title = {Elemental bioimaging of Cisplatin in Caenorhabditis elegans by LA-ICP-MS}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-80031}, pages = {1189 -- 1195}, year = {2015}, abstract = {cis-Diamminedichloroplatinum(II) (Cisplatin) is one of the most important and frequently used cytostatic drugs for the treatment of various solid tumors. Herein, a laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) method incorporating a fast and simple sample preparation protocol was developed for the elemental mapping of Cisplatin in the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans). The method allows imaging of the spatially-resolved elemental distribution of platinum in the whole organism with respect to the anatomic structure in L4 stage worms at a lateral resolution of 5 μm. In addition, a dose- and time-dependent Cisplatin uptake was corroborated quantitatively by a total reflection X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (TXRF) method, and the elemental mapping indicated that Cisplatin is located in the intestine and in the head of the worms. Better understanding of the distribution of Cisplatin in this well-established model organism will be instrumental in deciphering Cisplatin toxicity and pharmacokinetics. Since the cytostatic effect of Cisplatin is based on binding the DNA by forming intra- and interstrand crosslinks, the response of poly(ADP-ribose)metabolism enzyme 1 (pme-1) deletion mutants to Cisplatin was also examined. Loss of pme-1, which is the C. elegans ortholog of human poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 (PARP-1) led to disturbed DNA damage response. With respect to survival and brood size, pme-1 deletion mutants were more sensitive to Cisplatin as compared to wildtype worms, while Cisplatin uptake was indistinguishable.}, language = {en} } @misc{HaendlerKlieglAdani2015, author = {Haendler, Yair and Kliegl, Reinhold and Adani, Flavia}, title = {Discourse accessibility constraints in children´s processing of object relative clauses}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-78694}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Children's poor performance on object relative clauses has been explained in terms of intervention locality. This approach predicts that object relatives with a full DP head and an embedded pronominal subject are easier than object relatives in which both the head noun and the embedded subject are full DPs. This prediction is shared by other accounts formulated to explain processing mechanisms. We conducted a visual-world study designed to test the off-line comprehension and on-line processing of object relatives in German-speaking 5-year-olds. Children were tested on three types of object relatives, all having a full DP head noun and differing with respect to the type of nominal phrase that appeared in the embedded subject position: another full DP, a 1st- or a 3rd-person pronoun. Grammatical skills and memory capacity were also assessed in order to see whether and how they affect children's performance. Most accurately processed were object relatives with 1st-person pronoun, independently of children's language and memory skills. Performance on object relatives with two full DPs was overall more accurate than on object relatives with 3rd-person pronoun. In the former condition, children with stronger grammatical skills accurately processed the structure and their memory abilities determined how fast they were; in the latter condition, children only processed accurately the structure if they were strong both in their grammatical skills and in their memory capacity. The results are discussed in the light of accounts that predict different pronoun effects like the ones we find, which depend on the referential properties of the pronouns. We then discuss which role language and memory abilities might have in processing object relatives with various embedded nominal phrases.}, language = {en} } @misc{HaeusslerBader2015, author = {H{\"a}ussler, Jana and Bader, Markus}, title = {An interference account of the missing-VP effect}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-78673}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Sentences with doubly center-embedded relative clauses in which a verb phrase (VP) is missing are sometimes perceived as grammatical, thus giving rise to an illusion of grammaticality. In this paper, we provide a new account of why missing-VP sentences, which are both complex and ungrammatical, lead to an illusion of grammaticality, the so-called missing-VP effect. We propose that the missing-VP effect in particular, and processing difficulties with multiply center-embedded clauses more generally, are best understood as resulting from interference during cue-based retrieval. When processing a sentence with double center-embedding, a retrieval error due to interference can cause the verb of an embedded clause to be erroneously attached into a higher clause. This can lead to an illusion of grammaticality in the case of missing-VP sentences and to processing complexity in the case of complete sentences with double center-embedding. Evidence for an interference account of the missing-VP effect comes from experiments that have investigated the missing-VP effect in German using a speeded grammaticality judgments procedure. We review this evidence and then present two new experiments that show that the missing-VP effect can be found in German also with less restricting procedures. One experiment was a questionnaire study which required grammaticality judgments from participants without imposing any time constraints. The second experiment used a self-paced reading procedure and did not require any judgments. Both experiments confirm the prior findings of missing-VP effects in German and also show that the missing-VP effect is subject to a primacy effect as known from the memory literature. Based on this evidence, we argue that an account of missing-VP effects in terms of interference during cue-based retrieval is superior to accounts in terms of limited memory resources or in terms of experience with embedded structures.}, language = {en} } @misc{FelserPattersonCunnings2015, author = {Felser, Claudia and Patterson, Clare and Cunnings, Ian}, title = {Structural constraints on pronoun binding and coreference: Evidence from eye movements during reading}, series = {Frontiers in psychology}, journal = {Frontiers in psychology}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-78650}, year = {2015}, abstract = {A number of recent studies have investigated how syntactic and non-syntactic constraints combine to cue memory retrieval during anaphora resolution. In this paper we investigate how syntactic constraints and gender congruence interact to guide memory retrieval during the resolution of subject pronouns. Subject pronouns are always technically ambiguous, and the application of syntactic constraints on their interpretation depends on properties of the antecedent that is to be retrieved. While pronouns can freely corefer with non-quantified referential antecedents, linking a pronoun to a quantified antecedent is only possible in certain syntactic configurations via variable binding. We report the results from a judgment task and three online reading comprehension experiments investigating pronoun resolution with quantified and non-quantified antecedents. Results from both the judgment task and participants' eye movements during reading indicate that comprehenders freely allow pronouns to corefer with non-quantified antecedents, but that retrieval of quantified antecedents is restricted to specific syntactic environments. We interpret our findings as indicating that syntactic constraints constitute highly weighted cues to memory retrieval during anaphora resolution.}, language = {en} } @misc{JaegerEngelmannVasishth2015, author = {J{\"a}ger, Lena Ann and Engelmann, Felix and Vasishth, Shravan}, title = {Retrieval interference in reflexive processing}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-78738}, year = {2015}, abstract = {We conducted two eye-tracking experiments investigating the processing of the Mandarin reflexive ziji in order to tease apart structurally constrained accounts from standard cue-based accounts of memory retrieval. In both experiments, we tested whether structurally inaccessible distractors that fulfill the animacy requirement of ziji influence processing times at the reflexive. In Experiment 1, we manipulated animacy of the antecedent and a structurally inaccessible distractor intervening between the antecedent and the reflexive. In conditions where the accessible antecedent mismatched the animacy cue, we found inhibitory interference whereas in antecedent-match conditions, no effect of the distractor was observed. In Experiment 2, we tested only antecedent-match configurations and manipulated locality of the reflexive-antecedent binding (Mandarin allows non-local binding). Participants were asked to hold three distractors (animate vs. inanimate nouns) in memory while reading the target sentence. We found slower reading times when animate distractors were held in memory (inhibitory interference). Moreover, we replicated the locality effect reported in previous studies. These results are incompatible with structure-based accounts. However, the cue-based ACT-R model of Lewis and Vasishth (2005) cannot explain the observed pattern either. We therefore extend the original ACT-R model and show how this model not only explains the data presented in this article, but is also able to account for previously unexplained patterns in the literature on reflexive processing.}, language = {en} } @misc{JaegerBenzRoeseretal.2015, author = {J{\"a}ger, Lena Ann and Benz, Lena and Roeser, Jens and Dillon, Brian W. and Vasishth, Shravan}, title = {Teasing apart Retrieval and Encoding Interference in the Processing of Anaphors}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-78714}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Two classes of account have been proposed to explain the memory processes subserving the processing of reflexive-antecedent dependencies. Structure-based accounts assume that the retrieval of the antecedent is guided by syntactic tree-configurational information without considering other kinds of information such as gender marking in the case of English reflexives. By contrast, unconstrained cue-based retrieval assumes that all available information is used for retrieving the antecedent. Similarity-based interference effects from structurally illicit distractors which match a non-structural retrieval cue have been interpreted as evidence favoring the unconstrained cue-based retrieval account since cue-based retrieval interference from structurally illicit distractors is incompatible with the structure-based account. However, it has been argued that the observed effects do not necessarily reflect interference occurring at the moment of retrieval but might equally well be accounted for by interference occurring already at the stage of encoding or maintaining the antecedent in memory, in which case they cannot be taken as evidence against the structure-based account. We present three experiments (self-paced reading and eye-tracking) on German reflexives and Swedish reflexive and pronominal possessives in which we pit the predictions of encoding interference and cue-based retrieval interference against each other. We could not find any indication that encoding interference affects the processing ease of the reflexive-antecedent dependency formation. Thus, there is no evidence that encoding interference might be the explanation for the interference effects observed in previous work. We therefore conclude that invoking encoding interference may not be a plausible way to reconcile interference effects with a structure-based account of reflexive processing.}, language = {en} } @misc{WiebkingNorthoff2015, author = {Wiebking, Christine and Northoff, Georg}, title = {Neural activity during interoceptive awareness and its associations with alexithymia}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-78726}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Objective: Alexithymia relates to difficulties recognizing and describing emotions. It has been linked to subjectively increased interoceptive awareness (IA) and to psychiatric illnesses such as major depressive disorder (MDD) and somatization. MDD in turn is characterized by aberrant emotion processing and IA on the subjective as well as on the neural level. However, a link between neural activity in response to IA and alexithymic traits in health and depression remains unclear. Methods: A well-established fMRI task was used to investigate neural activity during IA (heartbeat counting) and exteroceptive awareness (tone counting) in non-psychiatric controls (NC) and MDD. Firstly, comparing MDD and NC, a linear relationship between IA-related activity and scores of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS) was investigated through whole-brain regression. Secondly, NC were divided by median-split of TAS scores into groups showing low (NC-low) or high (NC-high) alexithymia. MDD and NC-high showed equally high TAS scores. Subsequently, IA-related neural activity was compared on a whole-brain level between the three independent samples (MDD, NC-low, NC-high). Results: Whole-brain regressions between MDD and NC revealed neural differences during IA as a function of TAS-DD (subscale difficulty describing feelings) in the supragenual anterior cingulate cortex (sACC; BA 24/32), which were due to negative associations between TAS-DD and IA-related activity in NC. Contrasting NC subgroups after median-split on a whole-brain level, high TAS scores were associated with decreased neural activity during IA in the sACC and increased insula activity. Though having equally high alexithymia scores, NC-high showed increased insula activity during IA compared to MDD, whilst both groups showed decreased activity in the sACC. Conclusions: Within the context of decreased sACC activity during IA in alexithymia (NC-high and MDD), increased insula activity might mirror a compensatory mechanism in NC-high, which is disrupted in MDD.}, language = {en} } @misc{MetzlerBauerRasmussenetal.2015, author = {Metzler, Ralf and Bauer, Maximilian and Rasmussen, Emil S. and Lomholt, Michael A.}, title = {Real sequence effects on the search dynamics of transcription factors on DNA}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-79411}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Recent experiments show that transcription factors (TFs) indeed use the facilitated diffusion mechanism to locate their target sequences on DNA in living bacteria cells: TFs alternate between sliding motion along DNA and relocation events through the cytoplasm. From simulations and theoretical analysis we study the TF-sliding motion for a large section of the DNA-sequence of a common E. coli strain, based on the two-state TF-model with a fast-sliding search state and a recognition state enabling target detection. For the probability to detect the target before dissociating from DNA the TF-search times self-consistently depend heavily on whether or not an auxiliary operator (an accessible sequence similar to the main operator) is present in the genome section. Importantly, within our model the extent to which the interconversion rates between search and recognition states depend on the underlying nucleotide sequence is varied. A moderate dependence maximises the capability to distinguish between the main operator and similar sequences. Moreover, these auxiliary operators serve as starting points for DNA looping with the main operator, yielding a spectrum of target detection times spanning several orders of magnitude. Auxiliary operators are shown to act as funnels facilitating target detection by TFs.}, language = {en} } @misc{GoychukGoychuk2015, author = {Goychuk, Igor and Goychuk, Andriy}, title = {Stochastic Wilson}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-77814}, year = {2015}, abstract = {We consider a simple Markovian class of the stochastic Wilson-Cowan type models of neuronal network dynamics, which incorporates stochastic delay caused by the existence of a refractory period of neurons. From the point of view of the dynamics of the individual elements, we are dealing with a network of non-Markovian stochastic two-state oscillators with memory, which are coupled globally in a mean-field fashion. This interrelation of a higher-dimensional Markovian and lower-dimensional non-Markovian dynamics is discussed in its relevance to the general problem of the network dynamics of complex elements possessing memory. The simplest model of this class is provided by a three-state Markovian neuron with one refractory state, which causes firing delay with an exponentially decaying memory within the two-state reduced model. This basic model is used to study critical avalanche dynamics (the noise sustained criticality) in a balanced feedforward network consisting of the excitatory and inhibitory neurons. Such avalanches emerge due to the network size dependent noise (mesoscopic noise). Numerical simulations reveal an intermediate power law in the distribution of avalanche sizes with the critical exponent around -1.16. We show that this power law is robust upon a variation of the refractory time over several orders of magnitude. However, the avalanche time distribution is biexponential. It does not reflect any genuine power law dependence.}, language = {en} } @misc{MetzlerCherstvyChechkinetal.2015, author = {Metzler, Ralf and Cherstvy, Andrey G. and Chechkin, Aleksei V. and Bodrova, Anna S.}, title = {Ultraslow scaled Brownian motion}, series = {New journal of physics : the open-access journal for physics}, journal = {New journal of physics : the open-access journal for physics}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-78618}, year = {2015}, abstract = {We define and study in detail utraslow scaled Brownian motion (USBM) characterized by a time dependent diffusion coefficient of the form . For unconfined motion the mean squared displacement (MSD) of USBM exhibits an ultraslow, logarithmic growth as function of time, in contrast to the conventional scaled Brownian motion. In a harmonic potential the MSD of USBM does not saturate but asymptotically decays inverse-proportionally to time, reflecting the highly non-stationary character of the process. We show that the process is weakly non-ergodic in the sense that the time averaged MSD does not converge to the regular MSD even at long times, and for unconfined motion combines a linear lag time dependence with a logarithmic term. The weakly non-ergodic behaviour is quantified in terms of the ergodicity breaking parameter. The USBM process is also shown to be ageing: observables of the system depend on the time gap between initiation of the test particle and start of the measurement of its motion. Our analytical results are shown to agree excellently with extensive computer simulations.}, language = {en} } @misc{NicenboimVasishthGatteietal.2015, author = {Nicenboim, Bruno and Vasishth, Shravan and Gattei, Carolina and Sigman, Mariano and Kliegl, Reinhold}, title = {Working memory differences in long-distance dependency resolution}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-75694}, pages = {16}, year = {2015}, abstract = {There is a wealth of evidence showing that increasing the distance between an argument and its head leads to more processing effort, namely, locality effects; these are usually associated with constraints in working memory (DLT: Gibson, 2000; activation-based model: Lewis and Vasishth, 2005). In SOV languages, however, the opposite effect has been found: antilocality (see discussion in Levy et al., 2013). Antilocality effects can be explained by the expectation-based approach as proposed by Levy (2008) or by the activation-based model of sentence processing as proposed by Lewis and Vasishth (2005). We report an eye-tracking and a self-paced reading study with sentences in Spanish together with measures of individual differences to examine the distinction between expectation- and memory-based accounts, and within memory-based accounts the further distinction between DLT and the activation-based model. The experiments show that (i) antilocality effects as predicted by the expectation account appear only for high-capacity readers; (ii) increasing dependency length by interposing material that modifies the head of the dependency (the verb) produces stronger facilitation than increasing dependency length with material that does not modify the head; this is in agreement with the activation-based model but not with the expectation account; and (iii) a possible outcome of memory load on low-capacity readers is the increase in regressive saccades (locality effects as predicted by memory-based accounts) or, surprisingly, a speedup in the self-paced reading task; the latter consistent with good-enough parsing (Ferreira et al., 2002). In sum, the study suggests that individual differences in working memory capacity play a role in dependency resolution, and that some of the aspects of dependency resolution can be best explained with the activation-based model together with a prediction component.}, language = {en} } @misc{GianelliDallaVolta2015, author = {Gianelli, Claudia and Dalla Volta, Riccardo}, title = {Does listening to action-related sentences modulate the activity of the motor system?}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-75173}, year = {2015}, abstract = {The neurophysiological and behavioral correlates of action-related language processing have been debated for long time. A precursor in this field was the study by Buccino et al. (2005) combining transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and behavioral measures (reaction times, RTs) to study the effect of listening to hand- and foot-related sentences. In the TMS experiment, the authors showed a decrease of motor evoked potentials (MEPs) recorded from hand muscles when processing hand-related verbs as compared to foot-related verbs. Similarly, MEPs recorded from leg muscles decreased when participants processed foot-related as compared to hand-related verbs. In the behavioral experiment, using the same stimuli and a semantic decision task the authors found slower RTs when the participants used the body effector (hand or foot) involved in the actual execution of the action expressed by the presented verb to give their motor responses. These findings were interpreted as an interference effect due to a simultaneous involvement of the motor system in both a language and a motor task. Our replication aimed to enlarge the sample size and replicate the findings with higher statistical power. The TMS experiment showed a significant modulation of hand MEPs, but in the sense of a motor facilitation when processing hand-related verbs. On the contrary, the behavioral experiment did not show significant results. The results are discussed within the general debate on the time-course of the modulation of motor cortex during implicit and explicit language processing and in relation to the studies on action observation/understanding.}, language = {en} } @misc{WiebkingdeGreckDuncanetal.2015, author = {Wiebking, Christine and de Greck, Moritz and Duncan, Niall W. and Tempelmann, Claus and Bajbouj, Malek and Northoff, Georg}, title = {Interoception in insula subregions as a possible state marker for depression}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-75161}, pages = {14}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Background: Interoceptive awareness (iA), the awareness of stimuli originating inside the body, plays an important role in human emotions and psychopathology. The insula is particularly involved in neural processes underlying iA. However, iA-related neural activity in the insula during the acute state of major depressive disorder (MDD) and in remission from depression has not been explored. Methods: A well-established fMRI paradigm for studying (iA; heartbeat counting) and exteroceptive awareness (eA; tone counting) was used. Study participants formed three independent groups: patients suffering from MDD, patients in remission from MDD or healthy controls. Task-induced neural activity in three functional subdivisions of the insula was compared between these groups. Results: Depressed participants showed neural hypo-responses during iA in anterior insula regions, as compared to both healthy and remitted participants. The right dorsal anterior insula showed the strongest response to iA across all participant groups. In depressed participants there was no differentiation between different stimuli types in this region (i.e., between iA, eA and noTask). Healthy and remitted participants in contrast showed clear activity differences. Conclusions: This is the first study comparing iA and eA-related activity in the insula in depressed participants to that in healthy and remitted individuals. The preliminary results suggest that these groups differ in there being hypo-responses across insula regions in the depressed participants, whilst non-psychiatric participants and patients in remission from MDD show the same neural activity during iA in insula subregions implying a possible state marker for MDD. The lack of activity differences between different stimulus types in the depressed group may account for their symptoms of altered external and internal focus.}, language = {en} } @misc{BeurskensMuehlbauerGranacher2015, author = {Beurskens, Rainer and M{\"u}hlbauer, Thomas and Granacher, Urs}, title = {Association of dual-task walking performance and leg muscle quality in healthy children}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-75100}, pages = {7}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Background Previous literature mainly introduced cognitive functions to explain performance decrements in dual-task walking, i.e., changes in dual-task locomotion are attributed to limited cognitive information processing capacities. In this study, we enlarge existing literature and investigate whether leg muscular capacity plays an additional role in children's dual-task walking performance. Methods To this end, we had prepubescent children (mean age: 8.7 ± 0.5 years, age range: 7-9 years) walk in single task (ST) and while concurrently conducting an arithmetic subtraction task (DT). Additionally, leg lean tissue mass was assessed. Results Findings show that both, boys and girls, significantly decrease their gait velocity (f = 0.73), stride length (f = 0.62) and cadence (f = 0.68) and increase the variability thereof (f = 0.20-0.63) during DT compared to ST. Furthermore, stepwise regressions indicate that leg lean tissue mass is closely associated with step time and the variability thereof during DT (R2 = 0.44, p = 0.009). These associations between gait measures and leg lean tissue mass could not be observed for ST (R2 = 0.17, p = 0.19). Conclusion We were able to show a potential link between leg muscular capacities and DT walking performance in children. We interpret these findings as evidence that higher leg muscle mass in children may mitigate the impact of a cognitive interference task on DT walking performance by inducing enhanced gait stability.}, language = {en} } @misc{BeurskensMuehlbauerGranacheretal.2015, author = {Beurskens, Rainer and M{\"u}hlbauer, Thomas and Granacher, Urs and Gollhofer, Albert and Cardinale, Marco}, title = {Effects of heavy-resistance strength and balance training on unilateral and bilateral leg strength performance in old adults}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-73448}, pages = {13}, year = {2015}, abstract = {The term "bilateral deficit" (BLD) has been used to describe a reduction in performance during bilateral contractions when compared to the sum of identical unilateral contractions. In old age, maximal isometric force production (MIF) decreases and BLD increases indicating the need for training interventions to mitigate this impact in seniors. In a cross-sectional approach, we examined age-related differences in MIF and BLD in young (age: 20-30 years) and old adults (age: >65 years). In addition, a randomized-controlled trial was conducted to investigate training-specific effects of resistance vs. balance training on MIF and BLD of the leg extensors in old adults. Subjects were randomly assigned to resistance training (n = 19), balance training (n = 14), or a control group (n = 20). Bilateral heavy-resistance training for the lower extremities was performed for 13 weeks (3 × / week) at 80\% of the one repetition maximum. Balance training was conducted using predominately unilateral exercises on wobble boards, soft mats, and uneven surfaces for the same duration. Pre- and post-tests included uni- and bilateral measurements of maximal isometric leg extension force. At baseline, young subjects outperformed older adults in uni- and bilateral MIF (all p < .001; d = 2.61-3.37) and in measures of BLD (p < .001; d = 2.04). We also found significant increases in uni- and bilateral MIF after resistance training (all p < .001, d = 1.8-5.7) and balance training (all p < .05, d = 1.3-3.2). In addition, BLD decreased following resistance (p < .001, d = 3.4) and balance training (p < .001, d = 2.6). It can be concluded that both training regimens resulted in increased MIF and decreased BLD of the leg extensors (HRT-group more than BAL-group), almost reaching the levels of young adults.}, language = {en} }