@article{VencesKoehlerCrottinietal.2022, author = {Vences, Miguel and K{\"o}hler, J{\"o}rn and Crottini, Angelica and Hofreiter, Michael and Hutter, Carl R. and du Preez, Louis and Preick, Michaela and Rakotoarison, Andolalao and Rancilhac, Lo{\"i}s and Raselimanana, Achille P. and Rosa, Gon{\c{c}}alo M. and Scherz, Mark D. and Glaw, Frank}, title = {An integrative taxonomic revision and redefinition of Gephyromantis (Laurentomantis) malagasius based on archival DNA analysis reveals four new mantellid frog species from Madagascar}, series = {Vertebrate zoology}, volume = {72}, journal = {Vertebrate zoology}, publisher = {Senckenberg Gesellschaft f{\"u}r Naturforschung}, address = {Frankfurt am Main}, issn = {1864-5755}, doi = {10.3897/vz.72.e78830}, pages = {271 -- 309}, year = {2022}, abstract = {The subgenus Laurentomantis in the genus Gephyromantis contains some of the least known amphibian species of Madagascar. The six currently valid nominal species are rainforest frogs known from few individuals, hampering a full understanding of the species diversity of the clade. We assembled data on specimens collected during field surveys over the past 30 years and integrated analysis of mitochondrial and nuclear-encoded genes of 88 individuals, a comprehensive bioacoustic analysis, and morphological comparisons to delimit a minimum of nine species-level lineages in the subgenus. To clarify the identity of the species Gephyromantis malagasius, we applied a target-enrichment approach to a sample of the 110 year old holotype of Microphryne malagasia Methuen and Hewitt, 1913 to assign this specimen to a lineage based on a mitochondrial DNA barcode. The holotype clustered unambiguously with specimens previously named G. ventrimaculatus. Consequently we propose to consider Trachymantis malagasia ventrimaculatus Angel, 1935 as a junior synonym of Gephyromantis malagasius. Due to this redefinition of G. malagasius, no scientific name is available for any of the four deep lineages of frogs previously subsumed under this name, all characterized by red color ventrally on the hindlimbs. These are here formally named as Gephyromantis fiharimpe sp. nov., G. matsilo sp. nov., G. oelkrugi sp. nov., and G. portonae sp. nov. The new species are distinguishable from each other by genetic divergences of >4\% uncorrected pairwise distance in a fragment of the 16S rRNA marker and a combination of morphological and bioacoustic characters. Gephyromantis fiharimpe and G. matsilo occur, respectively, at mid-elevations and lower elevations along a wide stretch of Madagascar's eastern rainforest band, while G. oelkrugi and G. portonae appear to be more range-restricted in parts of Madagascar's North East and Northern Central East regions. Open taxonomic questions surround G. horridus, to which we here assign specimens from Montagne d'Ambre and the type locality Nosy Be; and G. ranjomavo, which contains genetically divergent populations from Marojejy, Tsaratanana, and Ampotsidy.}, language = {en} } @article{VogelClausAhringetal.2022, author = {Vogel, Annemarie and Claus, Inga and Ahring, Sigrid and Gruber, Doreen and Haghikia, Aiden and Frank, Ulrike and Dziewas, Rainer and Ebersbach, Georg and Gandor, Florin and Warnecke, Tobias}, title = {Endoscopic characteristics of dysphagia in multiple system atrophy}, series = {Movement disorders : official journal of the Movement Disorder Society}, volume = {37}, journal = {Movement disorders : official journal of the Movement Disorder Society}, number = {3}, publisher = {Wiley-Blackwell}, address = {Hoboken}, issn = {0885-3185}, doi = {10.1002/mds.28854}, pages = {535 -- 544}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Background Dysphagia is a major clinical concern in multiple system atrophy (MSA). A detailed evaluation of its major endoscopic features compared with Parkinson's disease (PD) is lacking. Objective This study systematically assessed dysphagia in MSA compared with PD and correlated subjective dysphagia to objective endoscopic findings. Methods Fifty-seven patients with MSA (median, 64 [interquartile range (IQR): 59-71] years; 35 women) underwent flexible endoscopic evaluation of swallowing using a specific MSA-flexible endoscopic evaluation of swallowing task protocol. Findings were compared with an age-matched cohort of 57 patients with PD (median, 67 [interquartile range: 60-73] years; 28 women). In a subcohort, subjective dysphagia was assessed using the Swallowing Disturbance Questionnaire and correlated to endoscopy findings. Results Patients with MSA predominantly showed symptoms suggestive of oral-phase disturbance (premature spillage, 75.4\%, piecemeal deglutition, 75.4\%). Pharyngeal-phase symptoms occurred less often (pharyngeal residues, 50.9\%; penetration/aspiration, 28.1\%). In contrast, pharyngeal symptoms were the most common finding in PD (pharyngeal residues, 47.4\%). Oral symptoms occurred less frequently in PD (premature spillage, 15.8\%, P < 0.001; piecemeal deglutition, 1.8\%, P < 0.01). Patients with MSA had a greater risk for oral-phase disturbances with increased disease severity (P < 0.05; odds ratio, 3.15). Patients with MSA showed a significantly higher intraindividual interswallow variability compared with PD. When correlating Swallowing Disturbance Questionnaire scores with endoscopy results, its cutoff, validated for PD, was not sensitive enough to identify patients with MSA with dysphagia. We developed a subscore for identifying dysphagia in MSA and calculated a new cutoff (sensitivity 85\%, specificity 100\%). Conclusions In contrast with patients with PD, patients with dysphagic MSA more frequently present with oral-phase symptoms and a significantly higher intraindividual interswallow variability. A novel Swallowing Disturbance Questionnaire MSA subscore may be a valuable tool to identify patients with MSA with early oropharyngeal dysphagia.}, language = {en} } @article{LupienRussellPearsonetal.2022, author = {Lupien, Rachel L. and Russell, James M. and Pearson, Emma J. and Castaneda, Isla S. and Asrat, Asfawossen and F{\"o}rster, Verena and Lamb, Henry F. and Roberts, Helen M. and Sch{\"a}bitz, Frank and Trauth, Martin H. and Beck, Catherine C. and Feibel, Craig S. and Cohen, Andrew S.}, title = {Orbital controls on eastern African hydroclimate in the Pleistocene}, series = {Scientific reports}, volume = {12}, journal = {Scientific reports}, number = {1}, publisher = {Macmillan Publishers Limited}, address = {London}, issn = {2045-2322}, doi = {10.1038/s41598-022-06826-z}, pages = {10}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Understanding eastern African paleoclimate is critical for contextualizing early human evolution, adaptation, and dispersal, yet Pleistocene climate of this region and its governing mechanisms remain poorly understood due to the lack of long, orbitally-resolved, terrestrial paleoclimate records. Here we present leaf wax hydrogen isotope records of rainfall from paleolake sediment cores from key time windows that resolve long-term trends, variations, and high-latitude effects on tropical African precipitation. Eastern African rainfall was dominantly controlled by variations in low-latitude summer insolation during most of the early and middle Pleistocene, with little evidence that glacial-interglacial cycles impacted rainfall until the late Pleistocene. We observe the influence of high-latitude-driven climate processes emerging from the last interglacial (Marine Isotope Stage 5) to the present, an interval when glacial-interglacial cycles were strong and insolation forcing was weak. Our results demonstrate a variable response of eastern African rainfall to low-latitude insolation forcing and high-latitude-driven climate change, likely related to the relative strengths of these forcings through time and a threshold in monsoon sensitivity. We observe little difference in mean rainfall between the early, middle, and late Pleistocene, which suggests that orbitally-driven climate variations likely played a more significant role than gradual change in the relationship between early humans and their environment.}, language = {en} } @article{EssenSternHaaseetal.2022, author = {Essen, Anna and Stern, Ariel Dora and Haase, Christoffer Bjerre and Car, Josip and Greaves, Felix and Paparova, Dragana and Vandeput, Steven and Wehrens, Rik and Bates, David W.}, title = {Health app policy}, series = {npj digital medicine}, volume = {5}, journal = {npj digital medicine}, number = {1}, publisher = {Macmillan Publishers Limited}, address = {Basingstoke}, issn = {2398-6352}, doi = {10.1038/s41746-022-00573-1}, pages = {10}, year = {2022}, abstract = {An abundant and growing supply of digital health applications (apps) exists in the commercial tech-sector, which can be bewildering for clinicians, patients, and payers. A growing challenge for the health care system is therefore to facilitate the identification of safe and effective apps for health care practitioners and patients to generate the most health benefit as well as guide payer coverage decisions. Nearly all developed countries are attempting to define policy frameworks to improve decision-making, patient care, and health outcomes in this context. This study compares the national policy approaches currently in development/use for health apps in nine countries. We used secondary data, combined with a detailed review of policy and regulatory documents, and interviews with key individuals and experts in the field of digital health policy to collect data about implemented and planned policies and initiatives. We found that most approaches aim for centralized pipelines for health app approvals, although some countries are adding decentralized elements. While the countries studied are taking diverse paths, there is nevertheless broad, international convergence in terms of requirements in the areas of transparency, health content, interoperability, and privacy and security. The sheer number of apps on the market in most countries represents a challenge for clinicians and patients. Our analyses of the relevant policies identified challenges in areas such as reimbursement, safety, and privacy and suggest that more regulatory work is needed in the areas of operationalization, implementation and international transferability of approvals. Cross-national efforts are needed around regulation and for countries to realize the benefits of these technologies.}, language = {en} } @article{KelleyHippProtsch2024, author = {Kelley, Kristin and Hipp, Lena and Protsch, Paula}, title = {Organizational commitments to equality change how people view women's and men's professional success}, series = {Scientific reports}, volume = {14}, journal = {Scientific reports}, number = {1}, publisher = {Macmillan Publishers Limited, part of Springer Nature}, address = {London}, issn = {2045-2322}, doi = {10.1038/s41598-024-56829-1}, pages = {10}, year = {2024}, abstract = {To address women's underrepresentation in high-status positions, many organizations have committed to gender equality. But is women's professional success viewed less positively when organizations commit to women's advancement? Do equality commitments have positive effects on evaluations of successful men? We fielded a survey experiment with a national probability sample in Germany (N = 3229) that varied employees' gender and their organization's commitment to equality. Respondents read about a recently promoted employee and rated how decisive of a role they thought intelligence and effort played in getting the employee promoted from 1 "Not at all decisive" to 7 "Very decisive" and the fairness of the promotion from 1 "Very unfair" to 7 "Very fair." When organizations committed to women's advancement rather than uniform performance standards, people believed intelligence and effort were less decisive in women's promotions, but that intelligence was more decisive in men's promotions. People viewed women's promotions as least fair and men's as most fair in organizations committed to women's advancement. However, women's promotions were still viewed more positively than men's in all conditions and on all outcomes, suggesting people believed that organizations had double standards for success that required women to be smarter and work harder to be promoted, especially in organizations that did not make equality commitments.}, language = {en} } @article{KlugeSocolarSchoell2021, author = {Kluge, Lucas and Socolar, Joshua E. S. and Sch{\"o}ll, Eckehard}, title = {Random logic networks}, series = {Physical review : E, Statistical, nonlinear and soft matter physics}, volume = {104}, journal = {Physical review : E, Statistical, nonlinear and soft matter physics}, number = {6}, publisher = {American Physical Society}, address = {Woodbury, NY}, issn = {2470-0045}, doi = {10.1103/PhysRevE.104.064308}, pages = {10}, year = {2021}, abstract = {We investigate dynamical properties of a quantum generalization of classical reversible Boolean networks. The state of each node is encoded as a single qubit, and classical Boolean logic operations are supplemented by controlled bit-flip and Hadamard operations. We consider synchronous updating schemes in which each qubit is updated at each step based on stored values of the qubits from the previous step. We investigate the periodic or quasiperiodic behavior of quantum networks, and we analyze the propagation of single site perturbations through the quantum networks with input degree one. A nonclassical mechanism for perturbation propagation leads to substantially different evolution of the Hamming distance between the original and perturbed states.}, language = {en} } @article{LiSchlaichZhangetal.2021, author = {Li, Mingjun and Schlaich, Christoph and Zhang, Jianguang and Donskyi, Ievgen and Schwibbert, Karin and Schreiber, Frank and Xia, Yi and Radnik, J{\"o}rg and Schwerdtle, Tanja and Haag, Rainer}, title = {Mussel-inspired multifunctional coating for bacterial infection prevention and osteogenic induction}, series = {Journal of materials science \& technology : JMST ; an international journal / spons. by the Chinese Society for Metals (CSM), the Chinese Materials Research Society (CMRS), Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences}, volume = {68}, journal = {Journal of materials science \& technology : JMST ; an international journal / spons. by the Chinese Society for Metals (CSM), the Chinese Materials Research Society (CMRS), Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Amsterdam [u.a.]}, issn = {1005-0302}, doi = {10.1016/j.jmst.2020.08.011}, pages = {160 -- 171}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Bacterial infection and osteogenic integration are the two main problems that cause severe complications after surgeries. In this study, the antibacterial and osteogenic properties were simultaneously introduced in biomaterials, where copper nanoparticles (CuNPs) were generated by in situ reductions of Cu ions into a mussel-inspired hyperbranched polyglycerol (MI-hPG) coating via a simple dip-coating method. This hyperbranched polyglycerol with 10 \% catechol groups' modification presents excellent antifouling property, which could effectively reduce bacteria adhesion on the surface. In this work, polycaprolactone (PCL) electrospun fiber membrane was selected as the substrate, which is commonly used in biomedical implants in bone regeneration and cardiovascular stents because of its good biocompatibility and easy post-modification. The as-fabricated CuNPs-incorporated PCL membrane [PCL-(MI-hPG)-CuNPs] was confirmed with effective antibacterial performance via in vitro antibacterial tests against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), Escherichia coli (E. coli), and multi-resistant E. coli. In addition, the in vitro results demonstrated that osteogenic property of PCL-(MI-hPG)-CuNPs was realized by upregulating the osteoblast-related gene expressions and protein activity. This study shows that antibacterial and osteogenic properties can be balanced in a surface coating by introducing CuNPs.}, language = {en} } @article{EsmaeilishirazifardUsherTrimetal.2022, author = {Esmaeilishirazifard, Elham and Usher, Louise and Trim, Carol and Denise, Hubert and Sangal, Vartul and Tyson, Gregory H. and Barlow, Axel and Redway, Keith F. and Taylor, John D. and Kremyda-Vlachou, Myrto and Davies, Sam and Loftus, Teresa D. and Lock, Mikaella M. G. and Wright, Kstir and Dalby, Andrew and Snyder, Lori A. S. and Wuster, Wolfgang and Trim, Steve and Moschos, Sterghios A.}, title = {Bacterial adaptation to venom in snakes and arachnida}, series = {Microbiology spectrum}, volume = {10}, journal = {Microbiology spectrum}, number = {3}, publisher = {American Society for Microbiology}, address = {Birmingham, Ala.}, issn = {2165-0497}, doi = {10.1128/spectrum.02408-21}, pages = {16}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Notwithstanding their 3 to 5\% mortality, the 2.7 million envenomation-related injuries occurring annually-predominantly across Africa, Asia, and Latin America-are also major causes of morbidity. Venom toxin-damaged tissue will develop infections in some 75\% of envenomation victims, with E. faecalis being a common culprit of disease; however, such infections are generally considered to be independent of envenomation. Animal venoms are considered sterile sources of antimicrobial compounds with strong membrane-disrupting activity against multidrug-resistant bacteria. However, venomous bite wound infections are common in developing nations. Investigating the envenomation organ and venom microbiota of five snake and two spider species, we observed venom community structures that depend on the host venomous animal species and evidenced recovery of viable microorganisms from black-necked spitting cobra (Naja nigricollis) and Indian ornamental tarantula (Poecilotheria regalis) venoms. Among the bacterial isolates recovered from N. nigricollis, we identified two venom-resistant, novel sequence types of Enterococcus faecalis whose genomes feature 16 virulence genes, indicating infectious potential, and 45 additional genes, nearly half of which improve bacterial membrane integrity. Our findings challenge the dogma of venom sterility and indicate an increased primary infection risk in the clinical management of venomous animal bite wounds. IMPORTANCE Notwithstanding their 3 to 5\% mortality, the 2.7 million envenomation-related injuries occurring annually-predominantly across Africa, Asia, and Latin America-are also major causes of morbidity. Venom toxin-damaged tissue will develop infections in some 75\% of envenomation victims, with E. faecalis being a common culprit of disease; however, such infections are generally considered to be independent of envenomation. Here, we provide evidence on venom microbiota across snakes and arachnida and report on the convergent evolution mechanisms that can facilitate adaptation to black-necked cobra venom in two independent E. faecalis strains, easily misidentified by biochemical diagnostics. Therefore, since inoculation with viable and virulence gene-harboring bacteria can occur during envenomation, acute infection risk management following envenomation is warranted, particularly for immunocompromised and malnourished victims in resource-limited settings. These results shed light on how bacteria evolve for survival in one of the most extreme environments on Earth and how venomous bites must be also treated for infections.}, language = {en} } @article{RiemannRahavPassowetal.2022, author = {Riemann, Lasse and Rahav, Eyal and Passow, Uta and Grossart, Hans-Peter and de Beer, Dirk and Klawonn, Isabell and Eichner, Meri and Benavides, Mar and Bar-Zeev, Edo}, title = {Planktonic aggregates as hotspots for heterotrophic diazotrophy: the plot thickens}, series = {Frontiers in microbiology}, volume = {13}, journal = {Frontiers in microbiology}, publisher = {Frontiers Media}, address = {Lausanne}, issn = {1664-302X}, doi = {10.3389/fmicb.2022.875050}, pages = {9}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Biological dinitrogen (N-2) fixation is performed solely by specialized bacteria and archaea termed diazotrophs, introducing new reactive nitrogen into aquatic environments. Conventionally, phototrophic cyanobacteria are considered the major diazotrophs in aquatic environments. However, accumulating evidence indicates that diverse non-cyanobacterial diazotrophs (NCDs) inhabit a wide range of aquatic ecosystems, including temperate and polar latitudes, coastal environments and the deep ocean. NCDs are thus suspected to impact global nitrogen cycling decisively, yet their ecological and quantitative importance remain unknown. Here we review recent molecular and biogeochemical evidence demonstrating that pelagic NCDs inhabit and thrive especially on aggregates in diverse aquatic ecosystems. Aggregates are characterized by reduced-oxygen microzones, high C:N ratio (above Redfield) and high availability of labile carbon as compared to the ambient water. We argue that planktonic aggregates are important loci for energetically-expensive N-2 fixation by NCDs and propose a conceptual framework for aggregate-associated N-2 fixation. Future studies on aggregate-associated diazotrophy, using novel methodological approaches, are encouraged to address the ecological relevance of NCDs for nitrogen cycling in aquatic environments.}, language = {en} } @article{ChigarevKazakovPikovskij2021, author = {Chigarev, Vladimir and Kazakov, Alexey and Pikovskij, Arkadij}, title = {Mutual singularities of overlapping attractor and repeller}, series = {Chaos : an interdisciplinary journal of nonlinear science}, volume = {31}, journal = {Chaos : an interdisciplinary journal of nonlinear science}, number = {8}, publisher = {American Institute of Physics}, address = {Melville}, issn = {1054-1500}, doi = {10.1063/5.0056891}, pages = {10}, year = {2021}, abstract = {We apply the concepts of relative dimensions and mutual singularities to characterize the fractal properties of overlapping attractor and repeller in chaotic dynamical systems. We consider one analytically solvable example (a generalized baker's map); two other examples, the Anosov-Mobius and the Chirikov-Mobius maps, which possess fractal attractor and repeller on a two-dimensional torus, are explored numerically. We demonstrate that although for these maps the stable and unstable directions are not orthogonal to each other, the relative Renyi and Kullback-Leibler dimensions as well as the mutual singularity spectra for the attractor and repeller can be well approximated under orthogonality assumption of two fractals.}, language = {en} }