@article{KoehlerHandorfJaiseretal.2021, author = {K{\"o}hler, Raphael H. and Handorf, D{\"o}rthe and Jaiser, Ralf and Dethloff, Klaus and Z{\"a}ngl, G{\"u}nther and Majewski, Detlev and Rex, Markus}, title = {Improved circulation in the Northern hemisphere by adjusting gravity wave drag parameterizations in seasonal experiments with ICON-NWP}, series = {Earth and Space Science : ESS}, volume = {8}, journal = {Earth and Space Science : ESS}, number = {3}, publisher = {American Geophysical Union}, address = {Malden, Mass.}, issn = {2333-5084}, doi = {10.1029/2021EA001676}, pages = {15}, year = {2021}, abstract = {The stratosphere is one of the main potential sources for subseasonal to seasonal predictability in midlatitudes in winter. The ability of an atmospheric model to realistically simulate the stratospheric dynamics is essential in order to move forward in the field of seasonal predictions in midlatitudes. Earlier studies with the ICOsahedral Nonhydrostatic atmospheric model (ICON) point out that stratospheric westerlies in ICON are underestimated. This is the first extensive study on the evaluation of Northern Hemisphere stratospheric winter circulation with ICON in numerical weather prediction (NWP) mode. Seasonal experiments with the default setup are able to reproduce the basic climatology of the stratospheric polar vortex. However, westerlies are too weak and major stratospheric warmings too frequent in ICON. Both a reduction of the nonorographic, and a reduction of the orographic gravity wave and wake drag lead to a strengthening of the stratospheric vortex and a bias reduction, in particular in January. However, the effect of the nonorographic gravity wave drag scheme on the stratosphere is stronger. Stratosphere-troposphere coupling is intensified and more realistic due to a reduced gravity wave drag. Furthermore, an adjustment of the subgrid-scale orographic drag parameterization leads to a significant error reduction in the mean sea level pressure. As a result of these findings, we present our current suggested improved setup for seasonal experiments with ICON-NWP.
Plain Language Summary Although seasonal forecasts for midlatitudes have the potential to be highly beneficial to the public sector, they are still characterized by a large amount of uncertainty. Exact simulations of the circulation in the stratosphere can help to improve tropospheric predictability on seasonal time scales. For this reason, we investigate how well the new German atmospheric model is able to simulate the stratospheric circulation. The model reproduces the basic behavior of the Northern Hemisphere stratospheric polar vortex, but the westerly circulation in winter is underestimated. The stratospheric circulation is influenced by gravity waves that exert drag on the flow. These processes are only partly physically represented in the model, but are very important and are hence parameterized. By adjusting the parameterizations for the gravity wave drag, the stratospheric polar vortex is strengthened, thereby yielding a more realistic stratospheric circulation. In addition, the altered parameterizations improve the simulated surface pressure pattern. Based upon this, we present our current suggested improved model setup for seasonal experiments.}, language = {en} } @article{RomanowskyHandorfJaiseretal.2019, author = {Romanowsky, Erik and Handorf, D{\"o}rthe and Jaiser, Ralf and Wohltmann, Ingo and Dorn, Wolfgang and Ukita, Jinro and Cohen, Judah and Dethloff, Klaus and Rex, Markus}, title = {The role of stratospheric ozone for Arctic-midlatitude linkages}, series = {Scientific reports}, volume = {9}, journal = {Scientific reports}, publisher = {Nature Publ. Group}, address = {London}, issn = {2045-2322}, doi = {10.1038/s41598-019-43823-1}, pages = {7}, year = {2019}, abstract = {Arctic warming was more pronounced than warming in midlatitudes in the last decades making this region a hotspot of climate change. Associated with this, a rapid decline of sea-ice extent and a decrease of its thickness has been observed. Sea-ice retreat allows for an increased transport of heat and momentum from the ocean up to the tropo- and stratosphere by enhanced upward propagation of planetary-scale atmospheric waves. In the upper atmosphere, these waves deposit the momentum transported, disturbing the stratospheric polar vortex, which can lead to a breakdown of this circulation with the potential to also significantly impact the troposphere in mid- to late-winter and early spring. Therefore, an accurate representation of stratospheric processes in climate models is necessary to improve the understanding of the impact of retreating sea ice on the atmospheric circulation. By modeling the atmospheric response to a prescribed decline in Arctic sea ice, we show that including interactive stratospheric ozone chemistry in atmospheric model calculations leads to an improvement in tropo-stratospheric interactions compared to simulations without interactive chemistry. This suggests that stratospheric ozone chemistry is important for the understanding of sea ice related impacts on atmospheric dynamics.}, language = {en} } @article{CrawfordKaramatLehotaietal.2020, author = {Crawford, Tim and Karamat, Fazeelat and Lehotai, N{\´o}ra and Rentoft, Matilda and Blomberg, Jeanette and Strand, {\AA}sa and Bj{\"o}rklund, Stefan}, title = {Specific functions for mediator complex subunits from different modules in the transcriptional response of arabidopsis thaliana to abiotic stress}, series = {Scientific reports}, volume = {10}, journal = {Scientific reports}, number = {1}, publisher = {Macmillan Publishers Limited, part of Springer Nature}, address = {London}, issn = {2045-2322}, doi = {10.1038/s41598-020-61758-w}, pages = {1 -- 18}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Adverse environmental conditions are detrimental to plant growth and development. Acclimation to abiotic stress conditions involves activation of signaling pathways which often results in changes in gene expression via networks of transcription factors (TFs). Mediator is a highly conserved co-regulator complex and an essential component of the transcriptional machinery in eukaryotes. Some Mediator subunits have been implicated in stress-responsive signaling pathways; however, much remains unknown regarding the role of plant Mediator in abiotic stress responses. Here, we use RNA-seq to analyze the transcriptional response of Arabidopsis thaliana to heat, cold and salt stress conditions. We identify a set of common abiotic stress regulons and describe the sequential and combinatorial nature of TFs involved in their transcriptional regulation. Furthermore, we identify stress-specific roles for the Mediator subunits MED9, MED16, MED18 and CDK8, and putative TFs connecting them to different stress signaling pathways. Our data also indicate different modes of action for subunits or modules of Mediator at the same gene loci, including a co-repressor function for MED16 prior to stress. These results illuminate a poorly understood but important player in the transcriptional response of plants to abiotic stress and identify target genes and mechanisms as a prelude to further biochemical characterization.}, language = {en} } @article{PotenteLeveilleBourretYousefietal.2022, author = {Potente, Giacomo and L{\´e}veill{\´e}-Bourret, {\´E}tienne and Yousefi, Narjes and Choudhury, Rimjhim Roy and Keller, Barbara and Diop, Seydina Issa and Duijsings, Dani{\"e}l and Pirovano, Walter and Lenhard, Michael and Sz{\"o}v{\´e}nyi, P{\´e}ter and Conti, Elena}, title = {Comparative genomics elucidates the origin of a supergene controlling floral heteromorphism}, series = {Molecular biology and evolution : MBE}, volume = {39}, journal = {Molecular biology and evolution : MBE}, number = {2}, publisher = {Oxford Univ. Press}, address = {Oxford}, issn = {0737-4038}, doi = {10.1093/molbev/msac035}, pages = {16}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Supergenes are nonrecombining genomic regions ensuring the coinheritance of multiple, coadapted genes. Despite the importance of supergenes in adaptation, little is known on how they originate. A classic example of supergene is the S locus controlling heterostyly, a floral heteromorphism occurring in 28 angiosperm families. In Primula, heterostyly is characterized by the cooccurrence of two complementary, self-incompatible floral morphs and is controlled by five genes clustered in the hemizygous, ca. 300-kb S locus. Here, we present the first chromosome-scale genome assembly of any heterostylous species, that of Primula veris (cowslip). By leveraging the high contiguity of the P. veris assembly and comparative genomic analyses, we demonstrated that the S-locus evolved via multiple, asynchronous gene duplications and independent gene translocations. Furthermore, we discovered a new whole-genome duplication in Ericales that is specific to the Primula lineage. We also propose a mechanism for the origin of S-locus hemizygosity via nonhomologous recombination involving the newly discovered two pairs of CFB genes flanking the S locus. Finally, we detected only weak signatures of degeneration in the S locus, as predicted for hemizygous supergenes. The present study provides a useful resource for future research addressing key questions on the evolution of supergenes in general and the S locus in particular: How do supergenes arise? What is the role of genome architecture in the evolution of complex adaptations? Is the molecular architecture of heterostyly supergenes across angiosperms similar to that of Primula?}, language = {en} } @article{TranBuiKappeletal.2020, author = {Tran, Quan Hong and Bui, Ngoc Hong and Kappel, Christian and Dau, Nga Thi Ngoc and Nguyen, Loan Thi and Tran, Thuy Thi and Khanh, Tran Dang and Trung, Khuat Huu and Lenhard, Michael and Vi, Son Lang}, title = {Mapping-by-sequencing via MutMap identifies a mutation in ZmCLE7 underlying fasciation in a newly developed EMS mutant population in an elite tropical maize inbred}, series = {Genes}, volume = {11}, journal = {Genes}, number = {3}, publisher = {MDPI}, address = {Basel}, issn = {2073-4425}, doi = {10.3390/genes11030281}, pages = {1 -- 14}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Induced point mutations are important genetic resources for their ability to create hypo- and hypermorphic alleles that are useful for understanding gene functions and breeding. However, such mutant populations have only been developed for a few temperate maize varieties, mainly B73 and W22, yet no tropical maize inbred lines have been mutagenized and made available to the public to date. We developed a novel Ethyl Methanesulfonate (EMS) induced mutation resource in maize comprising 2050 independent M2 mutant families in the elite tropical maize inbred ML10. By phenotypic screening, we showed that this population is of comparable quality with other mutagenized populations in maize. To illustrate the usefulness of this population for gene discovery, we performed rapid mapping-by-sequencing to clone a fasciated-ear mutant and identify a causal promoter deletion in ZmCLE7 (CLE7). Our mapping procedure does not require crossing to an unrelated parent, thus is suitable for mapping subtle traits and ones affected by heterosis. This first EMS population in tropical maize is expected to be very useful for the maize research community. Also, the EMS mutagenesis and rapid mapping-by-sequencing pipeline described here illustrate the power of performing forward genetics in diverse maize germplasms of choice, which can lead to novel gene discovery due to divergent genetic backgrounds.}, language = {en} } @article{KappelIllingHuuetal.2020, author = {Kappel, Christian and Illing, Nicola and Huu, Cuong Nguyen and Barger, Nichole N. and Cramer, Michael D. and Lenhard, Michael and Midgley, Jeremy J.}, title = {Fairy circles in Namibia are assembled from genetically distinct grasses}, series = {Communications biology}, volume = {3}, journal = {Communications biology}, number = {1}, publisher = {Springer Nature}, address = {London}, issn = {2399-3642}, doi = {10.1038/s42003-020-01431-0}, pages = {8}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Fairy circles are striking regularly sized and spaced, bare circles surrounded by Stipagrostis grasses that occur over thousands of square kilometres in Namibia. The mechanisms explaining their origin, shape, persistence and regularity remain controversial. One hypothesis for the formation of vegetation rings is based on the centrifugal expansion of a single individual grass plant, via clonal growth and die-back in the centre. Clonality could explain FC origin, shape and long-term persistence as well as their regularity, if one clone competes with adjacent clones. Here, we show that for virtually all tested fairy circles the periphery is not exclusively made up of genetically identical grasses, but these peripheral grasses belong to more than one unrelated genet. These results do not support a clonal explanation for fairy circles. Lack of clonality implies that a biological reason for their origin, shape and regularity must emerge from competition between near neighbor individuals within each fairy circle. Such lack of clonality also suggests a mismatch between longevity of fairy circles versus their constituent plants. Furthermore, our findings of lack of clonality have implications for some models of spatial patterning of fairy circles that are based on self-organization. Christian Kappel et al. examine the genetic composition of fairy circles, regular circular patterns of grasses in the Namib Desert, using ddRAD-seq. They find that these grasses are made up of multiple unrelated genets rather than genetically identical grasses, suggesting non-clonality.}, language = {en} } @article{ChromikKirstenHerdicketal.2022, author = {Chromik, Jonas and Kirsten, Kristina and Herdick, Arne and Kappattanavar, Arpita Mallikarjuna and Arnrich, Bert}, title = {SensorHub}, series = {Sensors}, volume = {22}, journal = {Sensors}, number = {1}, publisher = {MDPI}, address = {Basel}, issn = {1424-8220}, doi = {10.3390/s22010408}, pages = {18}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Observational studies are an important tool for determining whether the findings from controlled experiments can be transferred into scenarios that are closer to subjects' real-life circumstances. A rigorous approach to observational studies involves collecting data from different sensors to comprehensively capture the situation of the subject. However, this leads to technical difficulties especially if the sensors are from different manufacturers, as multiple data collection tools have to run simultaneously. We present SensorHub, a system that can collect data from various wearable devices from different manufacturers, such as inertial measurement units, portable electrocardiographs, portable electroencephalographs, portable photoplethysmographs, and sensors for electrodermal activity. Additionally, our tool offers the possibility to include ecological momentary assessments (EMAs) in studies. Hence, SensorHub enables multimodal sensor data collection under real-world conditions and allows direct user feedback to be collected through questionnaires, enabling studies at home. In a first study with 11 participants, we successfully used SensorHub to record multiple signals with different devices and collected additional information with the help of EMAs. In addition, we evaluated SensorHub's technical capabilities in several trials with up to 21 participants recording simultaneously using multiple sensors with sampling frequencies as high as 1000 Hz. We could show that although there is a theoretical limitation to the transmissible data rate, in practice this limitation is not an issue and data loss is rare. We conclude that with modern communication protocols and with the increasingly powerful smartphones and wearables, a system like our SensorHub establishes an interoperability framework to adequately combine consumer-grade sensing hardware which enables observational studies in real life.}, language = {en} } @article{DeFreitasJohnsonGoldenetal.2021, author = {De Freitas, Jessica K. and Johnson, Kipp W. and Golden, Eddye and Nadkarni, Girish N. and Dudley, Joel T. and B{\"o}ttinger, Erwin and Glicksberg, Benjamin S. and Miotto, Riccardo}, title = {Phe2vec}, series = {Patterns}, volume = {2}, journal = {Patterns}, number = {9}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Amsterdam}, issn = {2666-3899}, doi = {10.1016/j.patter.2021.100337}, pages = {9}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Robust phenotyping of patients from electronic health records (EHRs) at scale is a challenge in clinical informatics. Here, we introduce Phe2vec, an automated framework for disease phenotyping from EHRs based on unsupervised learning and assess its effectiveness against standard rule-based algorithms from Phenotype KnowledgeBase (PheKB). Phe2vec is based on pre-computing embeddings of medical concepts and patients' clinical history. Disease phenotypes are then derived from a seed concept and its neighbors in the embedding space. Patients are linked to a disease if their embedded representation is close to the disease phenotype. Comparing Phe2vec and PheKB cohorts head-to-head using chart review, Phe2vec performed on par or better in nine out of ten diseases. Differently from other approaches, it can scale to any condition and was validated against widely adopted expert-based standards. Phe2vec aims to optimize clinical informatics research by augmenting current frameworks to characterize patients by condition and derive reliable disease cohorts.}, language = {en} } @article{GrdseloffBouldayRoedeletal.2023, author = {Grdseloff, Nastasja and Boulday, Gwenola and Roedel, Claudia J. and Otten, Cecile and Vannier, Daphne Raphaelle and Cardoso, Cecile and Faurobert, Eva and Dogra, Deepika and Tournier-Lasserve, Elisabeth and Abdelilah-Seyfried, Salim}, title = {Impaired retinoic acid signaling in cerebral cavernous malformations}, series = {Scientific reports}, volume = {13}, journal = {Scientific reports}, number = {1}, publisher = {Nature Portfolio}, address = {Berlin}, issn = {2045-2322}, doi = {10.1038/s41598-023-31905-0}, pages = {11}, year = {2023}, abstract = {The capillary-venous pathology cerebral cavernous malformation (CCM) is caused by loss of CCM1/Krev interaction trapped protein 1 (KRIT1), CCM2/MGC4607, or CCM3/PDCD10 in some endothelial cells. Mutations of CCM genes within the brain vasculature can lead to recurrent cerebral hemorrhages. Pharmacological treatment options are urgently needed when lesions are located in deeply-seated and in-operable regions of the central nervous system. Previous pharmacological suppression screens in disease models of CCM led to the discovery that treatment with retinoic acid improved CCM phenotypes. This finding raised a need to investigate the involvement of retinoic acid in CCM and test whether it has a curative effect in preclinical mouse models. Here, we show that components of the retinoic acid synthesis and degradation pathway are transcriptionally misregulated across disease models of CCM. We complemented this analysis by pharmacologically modifying retinoic acid levels in zebrafish and human endothelial cell models of CCM, and in acute and chronic mouse models of CCM. Our pharmacological intervention studies in CCM2-depleted human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and krit1 mutant zebrafish showed positive effects when retinoic acid levels were increased. However, therapeutic approaches to prevent the development of vascular lesions in adult chronic murine models of CCM were drug regiment-sensitive, possibly due to adverse developmental effects of this hormone. A treatment with high doses of retinoic acid even worsened CCM lesions in an adult chronic murine model of CCM. This study provides evidence that retinoic acid signaling is impaired in the CCM pathophysiology and suggests that modification of retinoic acid levels can alleviate CCM phenotypes.}, language = {en} } @article{SmithBoers2023, author = {Smith, Taylor and Boers, Niklas}, title = {Global vegetation resilience linked to water availability and variability}, series = {Nature Communications}, volume = {14}, journal = {Nature Communications}, number = {1}, publisher = {Springer Nature}, address = {London}, issn = {2041-1723}, doi = {10.1038/s41467-023-36207-7}, pages = {11}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Quantifying the resilience of vegetated ecosystems is key to constraining both present-day and future global impacts of anthropogenic climate change. Here we apply both empirical and theoretical resilience metrics to remotely-sensed vegetation data in order to examine the role of water availability and variability in controlling vegetation resilience at the global scale. We find a concise global relationship where vegetation resilience is greater in regions with higher water availability. We also reveal that resilience is lower in regions with more pronounced inter-annual precipitation variability, but find less concise relationships between vegetation resilience and intra-annual precipitation variability. Our results thus imply that the resilience of vegetation responds differently to water deficits at varying time scales. In view of projected increases in precipitation variability, our findings highlight the risk of ecosystem degradation under ongoing climate change. Vegetation dynamics depend on both the amount of precipitation and its variability over time. Here, the authors show that vegetation resilience is greater where water availability is higher and where precipitation is more stable from year to year.}, language = {en} } @article{FalkenhagenKnoechelKloftetal.2023, author = {Falkenhagen, Undine and Kn{\"o}chel, Jane and Kloft, Charlotte and Huisinga, Wilhelm}, title = {Deriving mechanism-based pharmacodynamic models by reducing quantitative systems pharmacology models}, series = {CPT: Pharmacometrics \& Systems Pharmacology}, volume = {12}, journal = {CPT: Pharmacometrics \& Systems Pharmacology}, number = {4}, publisher = {Wiley}, address = {Hoboken}, issn = {2163-8306}, doi = {10.1002/psp4.12903}, pages = {432 -- 443}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Quantitative systems pharmacology (QSP) models integrate comprehensive qualitative and quantitative knowledge about pharmacologically relevant processes. We previously proposed a first approach to leverage the knowledge in QSP models to derive simpler, mechanism-based pharmacodynamic (PD) models. Their complexity, however, is typically still too large to be used in the population analysis of clinical data. Here, we extend the approach beyond state reduction to also include the simplification of reaction rates, elimination of reactions, and analytic solutions. We additionally ensure that the reduced model maintains a prespecified approximation quality not only for a reference individual but also for a diverse virtual population. We illustrate the extended approach for the warfarin effect on blood coagulation. Using the model-reduction approach, we derive a novel small-scale warfarin/international normalized ratio model and demonstrate its suitability for biomarker identification. Due to the systematic nature of the approach in comparison with empirical model building, the proposed model-reduction algorithm provides an improved rationale to build PD models also from QSP models in other applications.}, language = {en} } @article{DattaSachsFreitasdaCruzetal.2021, author = {Datta, Suparno and Sachs, Jan Philipp and Freitas da Cruz, Harry and Martensen, Tom and Bode, Philipp and Morassi Sasso, Ariane and Glicksberg, Benjamin S. and B{\"o}ttinger, Erwin}, title = {FIBER}, series = {JAMIA open}, volume = {4}, journal = {JAMIA open}, number = {3}, publisher = {Oxford Univ. Press}, address = {Oxford}, issn = {2574-2531}, doi = {10.1093/jamiaopen/ooab048}, pages = {10}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Objectives: The development of clinical predictive models hinges upon the availability of comprehensive clinical data. Tapping into such resources requires considerable effort from clinicians, data scientists, and engineers. Specifically, these efforts are focused on data extraction and preprocessing steps required prior to modeling, including complex database queries. A handful of software libraries exist that can reduce this complexity by building upon data standards. However, a gap remains concerning electronic health records (EHRs) stored in star schema clinical data warehouses, an approach often adopted in practice. In this article, we introduce the FlexIBle EHR Retrieval (FIBER) tool: a Python library built on top of a star schema (i2b2) clinical data warehouse that enables flexible generation of modeling-ready cohorts as data frames. Materials and Methods: FIBER was developed on top of a large-scale star schema EHR database which contains data from 8 million patients and over 120 million encounters. To illustrate FIBER's capabilities, we present its application by building a heart surgery patient cohort with subsequent prediction of acute kidney injury (AKI) with various machine learning models. Results: Using FIBER, we were able to build the heart surgery cohort (n = 12 061), identify the patients that developed AKI (n = 1005), and automatically extract relevant features (n = 774). Finally, we trained machine learning models that achieved area under the curve values of up to 0.77 for this exemplary use case. Conclusion: FIBER is an open-source Python library developed for extracting information from star schema clinical data warehouses and reduces time-to-modeling, helping to streamline the clinical modeling process.}, language = {en} } @article{CopeBaukmannKlingeretal.2021, author = {Cope, Justin L. and Baukmann, Hannes A. and Klinger, J{\"o}rn E. and Ravarani, Charles N. J. and B{\"o}ttinger, Erwin and Konigorski, Stefan and Schmidt, Marco F.}, title = {Interaction-based feature selection algorithm outperforms polygenic risk score in predicting Parkinson's Disease status}, series = {Frontiers in genetics}, volume = {12}, journal = {Frontiers in genetics}, publisher = {Frontiers Media}, address = {Lausanne}, issn = {1664-8021}, doi = {10.3389/fgene.2021.744557}, pages = {9}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Polygenic risk scores (PRS) aggregating results from genome-wide association studies are the state of the art in the prediction of susceptibility to complex traits or diseases, yet their predictive performance is limited for various reasons, not least of which is their failure to incorporate the effects of gene-gene interactions. Novel machine learning algorithms that use large amounts of data promise to find gene-gene interactions in order to build models with better predictive performance than PRS. Here, we present a data preprocessing step by using data-mining of contextual information to reduce the number of features, enabling machine learning algorithms to identify gene-gene interactions. We applied our approach to the Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI) dataset, an observational clinical study of 471 genotyped subjects (368 cases and 152 controls). With an AUC of 0.85 (95\% CI = [0.72; 0.96]), the interaction-based prediction model outperforms the PRS (AUC of 0.58 (95\% CI = [0.42; 0.81])). Furthermore, feature importance analysis of the model provided insights into the mechanism of Parkinson's disease. For instance, the model revealed an interaction of previously described drug target candidate genes TMEM175 and GAPDHP25. These results demonstrate that interaction-based machine learning models can improve genetic prediction models and might provide an answer to the missing heritability problem.}, language = {en} } @article{LewkowiczBoettingerSiegel2023, author = {Lewkowicz, Daniel and B{\"o}ttinger, Erwin and Siegel, Martin}, title = {Economic evaluation of digital therapeutic care apps for unsupervised treatment of low back pain}, series = {JMIR mhealth and uhealth}, volume = {11}, journal = {JMIR mhealth and uhealth}, publisher = {JMIR Publications}, address = {Toronto}, issn = {2291-5222}, doi = {10.2196/44585}, pages = {14}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Background: Digital therapeutic care (DTC) programs are unsupervised app-based treatments that provide video exercises and educational material to patients with nonspecific low back pain during episodes of pain and functional disability. German statutory health insurance can reimburse DTC programs since 2019, but evidence on efficacy and reasonable pricing remains scarce. This paper presents a probabilistic sensitivity analysis (PSA) to evaluate the efficacy and cost-utility of a DTC app against treatment as usual (TAU) in Germany. Objective: The aim of this study was to perform a PSA in the form of a Monte Carlo simulation based on the deterministic base case analysis to account for model assumptions and parameter uncertainty. We also intend to explore to what extent the results in this probabilistic analysis differ from the results in the base case analysis and to what extent a shortage of outcome data concerning quality-of-life (QoL) metrics impacts the overall results. Methods: The PSA builds upon a state-transition Markov chain with a 4-week cycle length over a model time horizon of 3 years from a recently published deterministic cost-utility analysis. A Monte Carlo simulation with 10,000 iterations and a cohort size of 10,000 was employed to evaluate the cost-utility from a societal perspective. Quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) were derived from Veterans RAND 6-Dimension (VR-6D) and Short-Form 6-Dimension (SF-6D) single utility scores. Finally, we also simulated reducing the price for a 3-month app prescription to analyze at which price threshold DTC would result in being the dominant strategy over TAU in Germany. Results: The Monte Carlo simulation yielded on average a euro135.97 (a currency exchange rate of EUR euro1=US \$1.069 is applicable) incremental cost and 0.004 incremental QALYs per person and year for the unsupervised DTC app strategy compared to in-person physiotherapy in Germany. The corresponding incremental cost-utility ratio (ICUR) amounts to an additional euro34,315.19 per additional QALY. DTC yielded more QALYs in 54.96\% of the iterations. DTC dominates TAU in 24.04\% of the iterations for QALYs. Reducing the app price in the simulation from currently euro239.96 to euro164.61 for a 3-month prescription could yield a negative ICUR and thus make DTC the dominant strategy, even though the estimated probability of DTC being more effective than TAU is only 54.96\%. Conclusions: Decision-makers should be cautious when considering the reimbursement of DTC apps since no significant treatment effect was found, and the probability of cost-effectiveness remains below 60\% even for an infinite willingness-to-pay threshold. More app-based studies involving the utilization of QoL outcome parameters are urgently needed to account for the low and limited precision of the available QoL input parameters, which are crucial to making profound recommendations concerning the cost-utility of novel apps.}, language = {en} } @article{KonigorskiWernickeSlosareketal.2022, author = {Konigorski, Stefan and Wernicke, Sarah and Slosarek, Tamara and Zenner, Alexander M. and Strelow, Nils and Ruether, Darius F. and Henschel, Florian and Manaswini, Manisha and Pottb{\"a}cker, Fabian and Edelman, Jonathan A. and Owoyele, Babajide and Danieletto, Matteo and Golden, Eddye and Zweig, Micol and Nadkarni, Girish N. and B{\"o}ttinger, Erwin}, title = {StudyU: a platform for designing and conducting innovative digital N-of-1 trials}, series = {Journal of medical internet research}, volume = {24}, journal = {Journal of medical internet research}, number = {7}, publisher = {Healthcare World}, address = {Richmond, Va.}, issn = {1439-4456}, doi = {10.2196/35884}, pages = {12}, year = {2022}, abstract = {N-of-1 trials are the gold standard study design to evaluate individual treatment effects and derive personalized treatment strategies. Digital tools have the potential to initiate a new era of N-of-1 trials in terms of scale and scope, but fully functional platforms are not yet available. Here, we present the open source StudyU platform, which includes the StudyU Designer and StudyU app. With the StudyU Designer, scientists are given a collaborative web application to digitally specify, publish, and conduct N-of-1 trials. The StudyU app is a smartphone app with innovative user-centric elements for participants to partake in trials published through the StudyU Designer to assess the effects of different interventions on their health. Thereby, the StudyU platform allows clinicians and researchers worldwide to easily design and conduct digital N-of-1 trials in a safe manner. We envision that StudyU can change the landscape of personalized treatments both for patients and healthy individuals, democratize and personalize evidence generation for self-optimization and medicine, and can be integrated in clinical practice.}, language = {en} } @article{WoutersenJardineGiovanniBogotaAngeletal.2018, author = {Woutersen, Amber and Jardine, Phillip E. and Giovanni Bogota-Angel, Raul and Zhang, Hong-Xiang and Silvestro, Daniele and Antonelli, Alexandre and Gogna, Elena and Erkens, Roy H. J. and Gosling, William D. and Dupont-Nivet, Guillaume and Hoorn, Carina}, title = {A novel approach to study the morphology and chemistry of pollen in a phylogenetic context, applied to the halophytic taxon Nitraria L.(Nitrariaceae)}, series = {PeerJ}, volume = {6}, journal = {PeerJ}, publisher = {PeerJ Inc.}, address = {London}, issn = {2167-8359}, doi = {10.7717/peerj.5055}, pages = {31}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Nitraria is a halophytic taxon (i.e., adapted to saline environments) that belongs to the plant family Nitrariaceae and is distributed from the Mediterranean, across Asia into the south-eastern tip of Australia. This taxon is thought to have originated in Asia during the Paleogene (66-23 Ma), alongside the proto-Paratethys epicontinental sea. The evolutionary history of Nitraria might hold important clues on the links between climatic and biotic evolution but limited taxonomic documentation of this taxon has thus far hindered this line of research. Here we investigate if the pollen morphology and the chemical composition of the pollen wall are informative of the evolutionary history of Nitraria and could explain if origination along the proto-Paratethys and dispersal to the Tibetan Plateau was simultaneous or a secondary process. To answer these questions, we applied a novel approach consisting of a combination of Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), to determine the chemical composition of the pollen wall, and pollen morphological analyses using Light Microscopy (LM) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). We analysed our data using ordinations (principal components analysis and non-metric multidimensional scaling), and directly mapped it on the Nitrariaceae phylogeny to produce a phylomorphospace and a phylochemospace. Our LM, SEM and FTIR analyses show clear morphological and chemical differences between the sister groups Peganum and Nitraria. Differences in the morphological and chemical characteristics of highland species (Nitraria schoberi, N. sphaerocarpa, N. sibirica and N. tangutorum) and lowland species (Nitraria billardierei and N. retusa) are very subtle, with phylogenetic history appearing to be a more important control on Nitraria pollen than local environmental conditions. Our approach shows a compelling consistency between the chemical and morphological characteristics of the eight studied Nitrariaceae species, and these traits are in agreement with the phylogenetic tree. Taken together, this demonstrates how novel methods for studying fossil pollen can facilitate the evolutionary investigation of living and extinct taxa, and the environments they represent.}, language = {en} } @article{VaidSomaniRussaketal.2020, author = {Vaid, Akhil and Somani, Sulaiman and Russak, Adam J. and De Freitas, Jessica K. and Chaudhry, Fayzan F. and Paranjpe, Ishan and Johnson, Kipp W. and Lee, Samuel J. and Miotto, Riccardo and Richter, Felix and Zhao, Shan and Beckmann, Noam D. and Naik, Nidhi and Kia, Arash and Timsina, Prem and Lala, Anuradha and Paranjpe, Manish and Golden, Eddye and Danieletto, Matteo and Singh, Manbir and Meyer, Dara and O'Reilly, Paul F. and Huckins, Laura and Kovatch, Patricia and Finkelstein, Joseph and Freeman, Robert M. and Argulian, Edgar and Kasarskis, Andrew and Percha, Bethany and Aberg, Judith A. and Bagiella, Emilia and Horowitz, Carol R. and Murphy, Barbara and Nestler, Eric J. and Schadt, Eric E. and Cho, Judy H. and Cordon-Cardo, Carlos and Fuster, Valentin and Charney, Dennis S. and Reich, David L. and B{\"o}ttinger, Erwin and Levin, Matthew A. and Narula, Jagat and Fayad, Zahi A. and Just, Allan C. and Charney, Alexander W. and Nadkarni, Girish N. and Glicksberg, Benjamin S.}, title = {Machine learning to predict mortality and critical events in a cohort of patients with COVID-19 in New York City: model development and validation}, series = {Journal of medical internet research : international scientific journal for medical research, information and communication on the internet ; JMIR}, volume = {22}, journal = {Journal of medical internet research : international scientific journal for medical research, information and communication on the internet ; JMIR}, number = {11}, publisher = {Healthcare World}, address = {Richmond, Va.}, issn = {1439-4456}, doi = {10.2196/24018}, pages = {19}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Background: COVID-19 has infected millions of people worldwide and is responsible for several hundred thousand fatalities. The COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated thoughtful resource allocation and early identification of high-risk patients. However, effective methods to meet these needs are lacking. Objective: The aims of this study were to analyze the electronic health records (EHRs) of patients who tested positive for COVID-19 and were admitted to hospitals in the Mount Sinai Health System in New York City; to develop machine learning models for making predictions about the hospital course of the patients over clinically meaningful time horizons based on patient characteristics at admission; and to assess the performance of these models at multiple hospitals and time points. Methods: We used Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) and baseline comparator models to predict in-hospital mortality and critical events at time windows of 3, 5, 7, and 10 days from admission. Our study population included harmonized EHR data from five hospitals in New York City for 4098 COVID-19-positive patients admitted from March 15 to May 22, 2020. The models were first trained on patients from a single hospital (n=1514) before or on May 1, externally validated on patients from four other hospitals (n=2201) before or on May 1, and prospectively validated on all patients after May 1 (n=383). Finally, we established model interpretability to identify and rank variables that drive model predictions. Results: Upon cross-validation, the XGBoost classifier outperformed baseline models, with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC-ROC) for mortality of 0.89 at 3 days, 0.85 at 5 and 7 days, and 0.84 at 10 days. XGBoost also performed well for critical event prediction, with an AUC-ROC of 0.80 at 3 days, 0.79 at 5 days, 0.80 at 7 days, and 0.81 at 10 days. In external validation, XGBoost achieved an AUC-ROC of 0.88 at 3 days, 0.86 at 5 days, 0.86 at 7 days, and 0.84 at 10 days for mortality prediction. Similarly, the unimputed XGBoost model achieved an AUC-ROC of 0.78 at 3 days, 0.79 at 5 days, 0.80 at 7 days, and 0.81 at 10 days. Trends in performance on prospective validation sets were similar. At 7 days, acute kidney injury on admission, elevated LDH, tachypnea, and hyperglycemia were the strongest drivers of critical event prediction, while higher age, anion gap, and C-reactive protein were the strongest drivers of mortality prediction. Conclusions: We externally and prospectively trained and validated machine learning models for mortality and critical events for patients with COVID-19 at different time horizons. These models identified at-risk patients and uncovered underlying relationships that predicted outcomes.}, language = {en} } @article{DoellDjalaliFarahaniKofoetZrenneretal.2021, author = {D{\"o}ll, Stefanie and Djalali Farahani-Kofoet, Roxana and Zrenner, Rita and Henze, Andrea and Witzel, Katja}, title = {Tissue-specific signatures of metabolites and proteins in asparagus roots and exudates}, series = {Horticulture research}, volume = {8}, journal = {Horticulture research}, number = {1}, publisher = {Nanjing Agricultural Univ.}, address = {Nanjing}, issn = {2052-7276}, doi = {10.1038/s41438-021-00510-5}, pages = {14}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Comprehensive untargeted and targeted analysis of root exudate composition has advanced our understanding of rhizosphere processes. However, little is known about exudate spatial distribution and regulation. We studied the specific metabolite signatures of asparagus root exudates, root outer (epidermis and exodermis), and root inner tissues (cortex and vasculature). The greatest differences were found between exudates and root tissues. In total, 263 non-redundant metabolites were identified as significantly differentially abundant between the three root fractions, with the majority being enriched in the root exudate and/or outer tissue and annotated as 'lipids and lipid-like molecules' or 'phenylpropanoids and polyketides'. Spatial distribution was verified for three selected compounds using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry imaging. Tissue-specific proteome analysis related root tissue-specific metabolite distributions and rhizodeposition with underlying biosynthetic pathways and transport mechanisms. The proteomes of root outer and inner tissues were spatially very distinct, in agreement with the fundamental differences between their functions and structures. According to KEGG pathway analysis, the outer tissue proteome was characterized by a high abundance of proteins related to 'lipid metabolism', 'biosynthesis of other secondary metabolites' and 'transport and catabolism', reflecting its main functions of providing a hydrophobic barrier, secreting secondary metabolites, and mediating water and nutrient uptake. Proteins more abundant in the inner tissue related to 'transcription', 'translation' and 'folding, sorting and degradation', in accord with the high activity of cortical and vasculature cell layers in growth- and development-related processes. In summary, asparagus root fractions accumulate specific metabolites. This expands our knowledge of tissue-specific plant cell function.}, language = {en} } @article{ToumoulinTardifBecquetDonnadieuetal.2022, author = {Toumoulin, Agathe and Tardif-Becquet, Delphine and Donnadieu, Yannick and Licht, Alexis and Ladant, Jean-Baptiste and Kunzmann, Lutz and Dupont-Nivet, Guillaume}, title = {Evolution of continental temperature seasonality from the Eocene greenhouse to the Oligocene icehouse}, series = {Climate of the past : an interactive open access journal of the European Geosciences Union}, volume = {18}, journal = {Climate of the past : an interactive open access journal of the European Geosciences Union}, number = {2}, publisher = {Copernicus}, address = {G{\"o}ttingen}, issn = {1814-9324}, doi = {10.5194/cp-18-341-2022}, pages = {341 -- 362}, year = {2022}, abstract = {At the junction of greenhouse and icehouse climate states, the Eocene-Oligocene Transition (EOT) is a key moment in Cenozoic climate history. While it is associated with severe extinctions and biodiversity turnovers on land, the role of terrestrial climate evolution remains poorly resolved, especially the associated changes in seasonality. Some paleobotanical and geochemical continental records in parts of the Northern Hemisphere suggest the EOT is associated with a marked cooling in winter, leading to the development of more pronounced seasons (i.e., an increase in the mean annual range of temperature, MATR). However, the MATR increase has been barely studied by climate models and large uncertainties remain on its origin, geographical extent and impact. In order to better understand and describe temperature seasonality changes between the middle Eocene and the early Oligocene, we use the Earth system model IPSL-CM5A2 and a set of simulations reconstructing the EOT through three major climate forcings: pCO(2) decrease (1120, 840 and 560 ppm), the Antarctic ice-sheet (AIS) formation and the associated sea-level decrease. Our simulations suggest that pCO(2) lowering alone is not sufficient to explain the seasonality evolution described by the data through the EOT but rather that the combined effects of pCO(2) , AIS formation and increased continentality provide the best data-model agreement.pCO(2) decrease induces a zonal pattern with alternating increasing and decreasing seasonality bands particularly strong in the northern high latitudes (up to 8 degrees C MATR increase) due to sea-ice and surface albedo feedback. Conversely, the onset of the AIS is responsible for a more constant surface albedo yearly, which leads to a strong decrease in seasonality in the southern midlatitudes to high latitudes (> 40 degrees S). Finally, continental areas that emerged due to the sea-level lowering cause the largest increase in seasonality and explain most of the global heterogeneity in MATR changes (1MATR) patterns. The Delta MATR patterns we reconstruct are generally consistent with the variability of the EOT biotic crisis intensity across the Northern Hemisphere and provide insights on their underlying mechanisms.}, language = {en} } @article{KoenigBlockBeckeretal.2018, author = {K{\"o}nig, Johanna and Block, Andrea and Becker, Mathias and Fenske, Kristin and Hertel, Johannes and Van der Auwera, Sandra and Zymara, Kathleen and Voelzke, Henry and Freyberger, Harald J{\"u}rgen and Grabe, Hans Joergen}, title = {Assessment of subjective emotional valence and long-lasting impact of life events}, series = {BMC Psychiatry}, volume = {18}, journal = {BMC Psychiatry}, publisher = {BioMed Central}, address = {London}, issn = {1471-244X}, doi = {10.1186/s12888-018-1649-3}, pages = {12}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Background: Life events (LEs) are associated with future physical and mental health. They are crucial for understanding the pathways to mental disorders as well as the interactions with biological parameters. However, deeper insight is needed into the complex interplay between the type of LE, its subjective evaluation and accompanying factors such as social support. The "Stralsund Life Event List" (SEL) was developed to facilitate this research. Methods: The SEL is a standardized interview that assesses the time of occurrence and frequency of 81 LEs, their subjective emotional valence, the perceived social support during the LE experience and the impact of past LEs on present life. Data from 2265 subjects from the general population-based cohort study "Study of Health in Pomerania" (SHIP) were analysed. Based on the mean emotional valence ratings of the whole sample, LEs were categorized as "positive" or "negative". For verification, the SEL was related to lifetime major depressive disorder (MDD; Munich Composite International Diagnostic Interview), childhood trauma (Childhood Trauma Questionnaire), resilience (Resilience Scale) and subjective health (SF-12 Health Survey). Conclusions: The SEL is a valid instrument that enables the analysis of the number and frequency of LEs, their emotional valence, perceived social support and current impact on life on a global score and on an individual item level. Thus, we can recommend its use in research settings that require the assessment and analysis of the relationship between the occurrence and subjective evaluation of LEs as well as the complex balance between distressing and stabilizing life experiences.}, language = {en} } @article{HerrmannBodenMaureretal.2022, author = {Herrmann, Matthias L. and Boden, Cindy and Maurer, Christoph and Kentischer, Felix and Mennig, Eva and Wagner, S{\"o}ren and Conzelmann, Lars O. and F{\"o}rstner, Bernd R. and Rapp, Michael A. and von Arnim, Christine A. F. and Denkinger, Michael and Eschweiler, Gerhard W. and Thomas, Christine}, title = {Anticholinergic drug exposure increases the risk of delirium in older patients undergoing elective surgery}, series = {Frontiers in medicine}, volume = {9}, journal = {Frontiers in medicine}, publisher = {Frontiers Media}, address = {Lausanne}, issn = {2296-858X}, doi = {10.3389/fmed.2022.871229}, pages = {8}, year = {2022}, abstract = {IntroductionPostoperative delirium (POD) is a common and serious adverse event of surgery in older people. Because of its great impact on patients' safety and quality of life, identification of modifiable risk factors could be useful. Although preoperative medication intake is assumed to be an important modifiable risk factor, the impact of anticholinergic drugs on the occurrence of POD seems underestimated in elective surgery. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between preoperative anticholinergic burden and POD. We hypothesized that a high preoperative anticholinergic burden is an independent, potentially modifiable predisposing and precipitating factor of POD in older people. MethodsBetween November 2017 and April 2019, 1,470 patients of 70 years and older undergoing elective orthopedic, general, cardiac, or vascular surgery were recruited in the randomized, prospective, multicenter PAWEL trial. Anticholinergic burden of a sub-cohort of 899 patients, who did not receive a multimodal intervention for preventing POD, was assessed by two different tools at hospital admission: The established Anticholinergic Risk Scale (ARS) and the recently developed Anticholinergic Burden Score (ABS). POD was detected by confusion assessment method (CAM) and a validated post discharge medical record review. Logistic regression analyses were performed to evaluate the association between anticholinergic burden and POD. ResultsPOD was observed in 210 of 899 patients (23.4\%). Both ARS and ABS were independently associated with POD. The association persisted after adjustment for relevant confounding factors such as age, sex, comorbidities, preoperative cognitive and physical status, number of prescribed drugs, surgery time, type of surgery and anesthesia, usage of heart-lung-machine, and treatment in intensive care unit. If a patient was taking one of the 56 drugs listed in the ABS, risk for POD was 2.7-fold higher (OR = 2.74, 95\% CI = 1.55-4.94) and 1.5-fold higher per additional point on the ARS (OR = 1.54, 95\% CI = 1.15-2.02). ConclusionPreoperative anticholinergic drug exposure measured by ARS or ABS was independently associated with POD in older patients undergoing elective surgery. Therefore, identification, discontinuation or substitution of anticholinergic medication prior to surgery may be a promising approach to reduce the risk of POD in older patients.}, language = {en} } @article{HaugkJongejansMangelsdorfetal.2022, author = {Haugk, Charlotte and Jongejans, Loeka L. and Mangelsdorf, Kai and Fuchs, Matthias and Ogneva, Olga and Palmtag, Juri and Mollenhauer, Gesine and Mann, Paul J. and Overduin, P. Paul and Grosse, Guido and Sanders, Tina and Tuerena, Robyn E. and Schirrmeister, Lutz and Wetterich, Sebastian and Kizyakov, Alexander and Karger, Cornelia and Strauss, Jens}, title = {Organic matter characteristics of a rapidly eroding permafrost cliff in NE Siberia (Lena Delta, Laptev Sea region)}, series = {Biogeosciences}, volume = {19}, journal = {Biogeosciences}, number = {7}, publisher = {Copernicus}, address = {G{\"o}ttingen}, issn = {1726-4170}, doi = {10.5194/bg-19-2079-2022}, pages = {2079 -- 2094}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Organic carbon (OC) stored in Arctic permafrost represents one of Earth's largest and most vulnerable terrestrial carbon pools. Amplified climate warming across the Arctic results in widespread permafrost thaw. Permafrost deposits exposed at river cliffs and coasts are particularly susceptible to thawing processes. Accelerating erosion of terrestrial permafrost along shorelines leads to increased transfer of organic matter (OM) to nearshore waters. However, the amount of terrestrial permafrost carbon and nitrogen as well as the OM quality in these deposits is still poorly quantified. We define the OM quality as the intrinsic potential for further transformation, decomposition and mineralisation. Here, we characterise the sources and the quality of OM supplied to the Lena River at a rapidly eroding permafrost river shoreline cliff in the eastern part of the delta (Sobo-Sise Island). Our multi-proxy approach captures bulk elemental, molecu- lar geochemical and carbon isotopic analyses of Late Pleistocene Yedoma permafrost and Holocene cover deposits, discontinuously spanning the last similar to 52 kyr. We showed that the ancient permafrost exposed in the Sobo-Sise cliff has a high organic carbon content (mean of about 5 wt \%). The oldest sediments stem from Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3 interstadial deposits (dated to 52 to 28 cal ka BP) and are overlaid by last glacial MIS 2 (dated to 28 to 15 cal ka BP) and Holocene MIS 1 (dated to 7-0 cal ka BP) deposits. The relatively high average chain length (ACL) index of n-alkanes along the cliff profile indicates a predominant contribution of vascular plants to the OM composition. The elevated ratio of isoand anteiso-branched fatty acids (FAs) relative to mid- and long-chain (C >= 20) n-FAs in the interstadial MIS 3 and the interglacial MIS 1 deposits suggests stronger microbial activity and consequently higher input of bacterial biomass during these climatically warmer periods. The overall high carbon preference index (CPI) and higher plant fatty acid (HPFA) values as well as high C/N ratios point to a good quality of the preserved OM and thus to a high potential of the OM for decomposition upon thaw. A decrease in HPFA values downwards along the profile probably indicates stronger OM decomposition in the oldest (MIS 3) deposits of the cliff. The characterisation of OM from eroding permafrost leads to a better assessment of the greenhouse gas potential of the OC released into river and nearshore waters in the future.}, language = {en} } @article{VoglimacciStephanopoliWendlederLantuitetal.2022, author = {Voglimacci-Stephanopoli, Jo{\"e}lle and Wendleder, Anna and Lantuit, Hugues and Langlois, Alexandre and Stettner, Samuel and Schmitt, Andreas and Dedieu, Jean-Pierre and Roth, Achim and Royer, Alain}, title = {Potential of X-band polarimetric synthetic aperture radar co-polar phase difference for arctic snow depth estimation}, series = {Cryosphere}, volume = {16}, journal = {Cryosphere}, number = {6}, publisher = {Copernicus}, address = {G{\"o}ttingen}, issn = {1994-0416}, doi = {10.5194/tc-16-2163-2022}, pages = {2163 -- 2181}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Changes in snowpack associated with climatic warming has drastic impacts on surface energy balance in the cryosphere. Yet, traditional monitoring techniques, such as punctual measurements in the field, do not cover the full snowpack spatial and temporal variability, which hampers efforts to upscale measurements to the global scale. This variability is one of the primary constraints in model development. In terms of spatial resolution, active microwaves (synthetic aperture radar - SAR) can address the issue and outperform methods based on passive microwaves. Thus, high-spatial-resolution monitoring of snow depth (SD) would allow for better parameterization of local processes that drive the spatial variability of snow. The overall objective of this study is to evaluate the potential of the TerraSAR-X (TSX) SAR sensor and the wave co-polar phase difference (CPD) method for characterizing snow cover at high spatial resolution. Consequently, we first (1) investigate SD and depth hoar fraction (DHF) variability between different vegetation classes in the Ice Creek catchment (Qikiqtaruk/Herschel Island, Yukon, Canada) using in situ measurements collected over the course of a field campaign in 2019; (2) evaluate linkages between snow characteristics and CPD distribution over the 2019 dataset; and (3) determine CPD seasonality considering meteorological data over the 2015-2019 period. SD could be extracted using the CPD when certain conditions are met. A high incidence angle (>30 circle) with a high topographic wetness index (TWI) (>7.0) showed correlation between SD and CPD (R2 up to 0.72). Further, future work should address a threshold of sensitivity to TWI and incidence angle to map snow depth in such environments and assess the potential of using interpolation tools to fill in gaps in SD information on drier vegetation types.}, language = {en} } @article{AgtheKayserSchwarzetal.2023, author = {Agthe, Maria and Kayser, Daniela Niesta and Schwarz, Sascha and Maner, Jon K.}, title = {Antecedents of the red-romance effect}, series = {PLOS ONE / Public Library of Science}, volume = {18}, journal = {PLOS ONE / Public Library of Science}, number = {4}, publisher = {PLOS}, address = {San Fransisco}, issn = {1932-6203}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0284035}, pages = {19}, year = {2023}, abstract = {The color red has been implicated in a variety of social processes, including those involving mating. While previous research suggests that women sometimes wear red strategically to increase their attractiveness, the replicability of this literature has been questioned. The current research is a reasonably powered conceptual replication designed to strengthen this literature by testing whether women are more inclined to display the color red 1) during fertile (as compared with less fertile) days of the menstrual cycle, and 2) when expecting to interact with an attractive man (as compared with a less attractive man and with a control condition). Analyses controlled for a number of theoretically relevant covariates (relationship status, age, the current weather). Only the latter hypothesis received mixed support (mainly among women on hormonal birth control), whereas results concerning the former hypothesis did not reach significance. Women (N = 281) displayed more red when expecting to interact with an attractive man; findings did not support the prediction that women would increase their display of red on fertile days of the cycle. Findings thus suggested only mixed replicability for the link between the color red and psychological processes involving romantic attraction. They also illustrate the importance of further investigating the boundary conditions of color effects on everyday social processes.}, language = {en} } @article{SchmickerFruehlingMenzeetal.2023, author = {Schmicker, Marlen and Fr{\"u}hling, Insa and Menze, Inga and Glanz, Wenzel and M{\"u}ller, Patrick and Noesselt, Toemme and M{\"u}ller, Notger Germar}, title = {The potential role of gustatory function as an early diagnostic marker for the risk of alzheimer's disease in subjective cognitive decline}, series = {Journal of Alzheimer's disease reports : JADR}, volume = {7}, journal = {Journal of Alzheimer's disease reports : JADR}, number = {1}, publisher = {IOS Press}, address = {Clifton, VA}, issn = {2542-4823}, doi = {10.3233/ADR220092}, pages = {249 -- 262}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Background: Patients with subjective cognitive decline (SCD) report memory deterioration and are at an increased risk of converting to Alzheimer's disease (AD) although psychophysical testing does not reveal any cognitive deficit. Objective: Here, gustatory function is investigated as a potential predictor for an increased risk of progressive cognitive decline indicating higher AD risk in SCD. Methods: Measures of smell and taste perception as well as neuropsychological data were assessed in patients with subjective cognitive decline (SCD): Subgroups with an increased likelihood of the progression to preclinical AD (SCD+) and those with a lower likelihood (SCD-) were compared to healthy controls (HC), patients with mild cognitive impairment and AD patients. The Sniffin' Sticks test contained 12 items with different qualities and taste was measured with 32 taste stripes (sweet, salty, bitter, sour) of different concentration. Results: Only taste was able to distinguish between HC/SCD- and SCD+ patients. Conclusion: This study provides a first hint of taste as a more sensitive marker than smell for detecting preclinical AD in SCD. Longitudinal observation of cognition and pathology are necessary to further evaluate taste perception as a predictor of pathological objective decline in cognition.}, language = {en} } @article{XiongDelicZengetal.2022, author = {Xiong, Yingquan and Delic, Denis and Zeng, Shufei and Chen, Xin and Chu, Chang and Hasan, Ahmed A. and Kr{\"a}mer, Bernhard K. and Klein, Thomas and Yin, Lianghong and Hocher, Berthold}, title = {Regulation of SARS CoV-2 host factors in the kidney and heart in rats with 5/6 nephrectomy-effects of salt, ARB, DPP4 inhibitor and SGLT2 blocker}, series = {BMC nephrology}, volume = {23}, journal = {BMC nephrology}, number = {1}, publisher = {Springer Nature}, address = {London}, issn = {1471-2369}, doi = {10.1186/s12882-022-02747-1}, pages = {10}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Background Host factors such as angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and the transmembrane protease, serine-subtype-2 (TMPRSS2) are important factors for SARS-CoV-2 infection. Clinical and pre-clinical studies demonstrated that RAAS-blocking agents can be safely used during a SARS-CoV-2 infection but it is unknown if DPP-4 inhibitors or SGLT2-blockers may promote COVID-19 by increasing the host viral entry enzymes ACE2 and TMPRSS2. Methods We investigated telmisartan, linagliptin and empagliflozin induced effects on renal and cardiac expression of ACE2, TMPRSS2 and key enzymes involved in RAAS (REN, AGTR2, AGT) under high-salt conditions in a non-diabetic experimental 5/6 nephrectomy (5/6 Nx) model. In the present study, the gene expression of Ace2, Tmprss2, Ren, Agtr2 and Agt was assessed with qRT-PCR and the protein expression of ACE2 and TMPRSS2 with immunohistochemistry in the following experimental groups: Sham + normal diet (ND) + placebo (PBO); 5/6Nx + ND + PBO; 5/6Nx + high salt-diet (HSD) + PBO; 5/6Nx + HSD + telmisartan; 5/6Nx + HSD + linagliptin; 5/6Nx + HSD + empagliflozin. Results In the kidney, the expression of Ace2 was not altered on mRNA level under disease and treatment conditions. The renal TMPRSS2 levels (mRNA and protein) were not affected, whereas the cardiac level was significantly increased in 5/6Nx rats. Intriguingly, the elevated TMPRSS2 protein expression in the heart was significantly normalized after treatment with telmisartan, linagliptin and empagliflozin. Conclusions Our study indicated that there is no upregulation regarding host factors potentially promoting SARS-CoV-2 virus entry into host cells when the SGLT2-blocker empagliflozin, telmisartan and the DPP4-inhibitor blocker linagliptin are used. The results obtained in a preclinical, experimental non-diabetic kidney failure model need confirmation in ongoing interventional clinical trials.}, language = {en} } @article{ShamsWangRoineetal.2022, author = {Shams, Boshra and Wang, Ziqian and Roine, Timo and Aydogan, Dogu Baran and Vajkoczy, Peter and Lippert, Christoph and Picht, Thomas and Fekonja, Lucius Samo}, title = {Machine learning-based prediction of motor status in glioma patients using diffusion MRI metrics along the corticospinal tract}, series = {Brain communications}, volume = {4}, journal = {Brain communications}, number = {3}, publisher = {Oxford University Press}, address = {Oxford}, issn = {2632-1297}, doi = {10.1093/braincomms/fcac141}, pages = {17}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Shams et al. report that glioma patients' motor status is predicted accurately by diffusion MRI metrics along the corticospinal tract based on support vector machine method, reaching an overall accuracy of 77\%. They show that these metrics are more effective than demographic and clinical variables. Along tract statistics enables white matter characterization using various diffusion MRI metrics. These diffusion models reveal detailed insights into white matter microstructural changes with development, pathology and function. Here, we aim at assessing the clinical utility of diffusion MRI metrics along the corticospinal tract, investigating whether motor glioma patients can be classified with respect to their motor status. We retrospectively included 116 brain tumour patients suffering from either left or right supratentorial, unilateral World Health Organization Grades II, III and IV gliomas with a mean age of 53.51 +/- 16.32 years. Around 37\% of patients presented with preoperative motor function deficits according to the Medical Research Council scale. At group level comparison, the highest non-overlapping diffusion MRI differences were detected in the superior portion of the tracts' profiles. Fractional anisotropy and fibre density decrease, apparent diffusion coefficient axial diffusivity and radial diffusivity increase. To predict motor deficits, we developed a method based on a support vector machine using histogram-based features of diffusion MRI tract profiles (e.g. mean, standard deviation, kurtosis and skewness), following a recursive feature elimination method. Our model achieved high performance (74\% sensitivity, 75\% specificity, 74\% overall accuracy and 77\% area under the curve). We found that apparent diffusion coefficient, fractional anisotropy and radial diffusivity contributed more than other features to the model. Incorporating the patient demographics and clinical features such as age, tumour World Health Organization grade, tumour location, gender and resting motor threshold did not affect the model's performance, revealing that these features were not as effective as microstructural measures. These results shed light on the potential patterns of tumour-related microstructural white matter changes in the prediction of functional deficits.}, language = {en} } @article{deCarvalhoSouzaBarrocasFischeretal.2023, author = {de Carvalho Souza, Alyson Matheus and Barrocas, Roberta and Fischer, Martin H. and Arnaud, Emanuel and Moeller, Korbinian and Renn{\´o}-Costa, C{\´e}sar}, title = {Combining virtual reality and tactile stimulation to investigate embodied finger-based numerical representations}, series = {Frontiers in psychology / Frontiers Research Foundation}, volume = {14}, journal = {Frontiers in psychology / Frontiers Research Foundation}, publisher = {Frontiers Research Foundation}, address = {Lausanne}, issn = {1664-1078}, doi = {10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1119561}, pages = {13}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Finger-based representation of numbers is a high-level cognitive strategy to assist numerical and arithmetic processing in children and adults. It is unclear whether this paradigm builds on simple perceptual features or comprises several attributes through embodiment. Here we describe the development and initial testing of an experimental setup to study embodiment during a finger-based numerical task using Virtual Reality (VR) and a low-cost tactile stimulator that is easy to build. Using VR allows us to create new ways to study finger-based numerical representation using a virtual hand that can be manipulated in ways our hand cannot, such as decoupling tactile and visual stimuli. The goal is to present a new methodology that can allow researchers to study embodiment through this new approach, maybe shedding new light on the cognitive strategy behind the finger-based representation of numbers. In this case, a critical methodological requirement is delivering precisely targeted sensory stimuli to specific effectors while simultaneously recording their behavior and engaging the participant in a simulated experience. We tested the device's capability by stimulating users in different experimental configurations. Results indicate that our device delivers reliable tactile stimulation to all fingers of a participant's hand without losing motion tracking quality during an ongoing task. This is reflected by an accuracy of over 95\% in participants detecting stimulation of a single finger or multiple fingers in sequential stimulation as indicated by experiments with sixteen participants. We discuss possible application scenarios, explain how to apply our methodology to study the embodiment of finger-based numerical representations and other high-level cognitive functions, and discuss potential further developments of the device based on the data obtained in our testing.}, language = {en} } @article{StueblerKloftHuisinga2023, author = {St{\"u}bler, Sabine and Kloft, Charlotte and Huisinga, Wilhelm}, title = {Cell-level systems biology model to study inflammatory bowel diseases and their treatment options}, series = {CPT: pharmacometrics \& systems pharmacology}, volume = {12}, journal = {CPT: pharmacometrics \& systems pharmacology}, number = {5}, publisher = {Nature Publ. Group}, address = {London}, issn = {2163-8306}, doi = {10.1002/psp4.12932}, pages = {690 -- 705}, year = {2023}, abstract = {To help understand the complex and therapeutically challenging inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs), we developed a systems biology model of the intestinal immune system that is able to describe main aspects of IBD and different treatment modalities thereof. The model, including key cell types and processes of the mucosal immune response, compiles a large amount of isolated experimental findings from literature into a larger context and allows for simulations of different inflammation scenarios based on the underlying data and assumptions. In the context of a large and diverse virtual IBD population, we characterized the patients based on their phenotype (in contrast to healthy individuals, they developed persistent inflammation after a trigger event) rather than on a priori assumptions on parameter differences to a healthy individual. This allowed to reproduce the enormous diversity of predispositions known to lead to IBD. Analyzing different treatment effects, the model provides insight into characteristics of individual drug therapy. We illustrate for anti-TNF-alpha therapy, how the model can be used (i) to decide for alternative treatments with best prospects in the case of nonresponse, and (ii) to identify promising combination therapies with other available treatment options.}, language = {en} } @article{KayaDupontNivetFrielingetal.2022, author = {Kaya, Mustafa Y{\"u}cel and Dupont-Nivet, Guillaume and Frieling, Joost and Fioroni, Chiara and Rohrmann, Alexander and Alt{\i}ner, Sevin{\c{c}} {\"O}zkan and Vardar, Ezgi and Tanyas, Hakan and Mamtimin, Mehmut and Zhaojie, Guo}, title = {The Eurasian epicontinental sea was an important carbon sink during the Palaeocene-Eocene thermal maximum}, series = {Communications earth and environment}, volume = {3}, journal = {Communications earth and environment}, number = {1}, publisher = {Springer Nature}, address = {London}, issn = {2662-4435}, doi = {10.1038/s43247-022-00451-4}, pages = {10}, year = {2022}, abstract = {The Palaeocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (ca. 56 million years ago) offers a primary analogue for future global warming and carbon cycle recovery. Yet, where and how massive carbon emissions were mitigated during this climate warming event remains largely unknown. Here we show that organic carbon burial in the vast epicontinental seaways that extended over Eurasia provided a major carbon sink during the Palaeocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum. We coupled new and existing stratigraphic analyses to a detailed paleogeographic framework and using spatiotemporal interpolation calculated ca. 720-1300 Gt organic carbon excess burial, focused in the eastern parts of the Eurasian epicontinental seaways. A much larger amount (2160-3900 Gt C, and when accounting for the increase in inundated shelf area 7400-10300 Gt C) could have been sequestered in similar environments globally. With the disappearance of most epicontinental seas since the Oligocene-Miocene, an effective negative carbon cycle feedback also disappeared making the modern carbon cycle critically dependent on the slower silicate weathering feedback.}, language = {en} } @article{vanSoestAleluiaReisBaptistaetal.2021, author = {van Soest, Heleen L. and Aleluia Reis, Lara and Baptista, Luiz Bernardo and Bertram, Christoph and Despr{\´e}s, Jacques and Drouet, Laurent and den Elzen, Michel and Fragkos, Panagiotis and Fricko, Oliver and Fujimori, Shinichiro and Grant, Neil and Harmsen, Mathijs and Iyer, Gokul and Keramidas, Kimon and K{\"o}berle, Alexandre C. and Kriegler, Elmar and Malik, Aman and Mittal, Shivika and Oshiro, Ken and Riahi, Keywan and Roelfsema, Mark and van Ruijven, Bas and Schaeffer, Roberto and Silva Herran, Diego and Tavoni, Massimo and {\"U}nl{\"u}, Gamze and Vandyck, Toon and van Vuuren, Detlef P.}, title = {Global roll-out of comprehensive policy measures may aid in bridging emissions gap}, series = {Nature communications}, volume = {12}, journal = {Nature communications}, number = {1}, publisher = {Nature Publishing Group UK}, address = {London}, doi = {10.1038/s41467-021-26595-z}, pages = {10}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Closing the emissions gap between Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and the global emissions levels needed to achieve the Paris Agreement's climate goals will require a comprehensive package of policy measures. National and sectoral policies can help fill the gap, but success stories in one country cannot be automatically replicated in other countries. They need to be adapted to the local context. Here, we develop a new Bridge scenario based on nationally relevant, short-term measures informed by interactions with country experts. These good practice policies are rolled out globally between now and 2030 and combined with carbon pricing thereafter. We implement this scenario with an ensemble of global integrated assessment models. We show that the Bridge scenario closes two-thirds of the emissions gap between NDC and 2 °C scenarios by 2030 and enables a pathway in line with the 2 °C goal when combined with the necessary long-term changes, i.e. more comprehensive pricing measures after 2030. The Bridge scenario leads to a scale-up of renewable energy (reaching 52\%-88\% of global electricity supply by 2050), electrification of end-uses, efficiency improvements in energy demand sectors, and enhanced afforestation and reforestation. Our analysis suggests that early action via good-practice policies is less costly than a delay in global climate cooperation.}, language = {en} } @article{EhrigWagnerWolteretal.2023, author = {Ehrig, Lukas and Wagner, Ann-Christin and Wolter, Heike and Correll, Christoph U. and Geisel, Olga and Konigorski, Stefan}, title = {FASDetect as a machine learning-based screening app for FASD in youth with ADHD}, series = {npj Digital Medicine}, volume = {6}, journal = {npj Digital Medicine}, number = {1}, publisher = {Macmillan Publishers Limited}, address = {Basingstoke}, issn = {2398-6352}, doi = {10.1038/s41746-023-00864-1}, pages = {9}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Fetal alcohol-spectrum disorder (FASD) is underdiagnosed and often misdiagnosed as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Here, we develop a screening tool for FASD in youth with ADHD symptoms. To develop the prediction model, medical record data from a German University outpatient unit are assessed including 275 patients aged 0-19 years old with FASD with or without ADHD and 170 patients with ADHD without FASD aged 0-19 years old. We train 6 machine learning models based on 13 selected variables and evaluate their performance. Random forest models yield the best prediction models with a cross-validated AUC of 0.92 (95\% confidence interval [0.84, 0.99]). Follow-up analyses indicate that a random forest model with 6 variables - body length and head circumference at birth, IQ, socially intrusive behaviour, poor memory and sleep disturbance - yields equivalent predictive accuracy. We implement the prediction model in a web-based app called FASDetect - a user-friendly, clinically scalable FASD risk calculator that is freely available at https://fasdetect.dhc-lab.hpi.de.}, language = {en} } @article{SlosarekIbingSchormairetal.2023, author = {Slosarek, Tamara and Ibing, Susanne and Schormair, Barbara and Heyne, Henrike and B{\"o}ttinger, Erwin and Andlauer, Till and Schurmann, Claudia}, title = {Implementation and evaluation of personal genetic testing as part of genomics analysis courses in German universities}, series = {BMC Medical Genomics}, volume = {16}, journal = {BMC Medical Genomics}, number = {1}, publisher = {BMC}, address = {London}, issn = {1755-8794}, doi = {10.1186/s12920-023-01503-0}, pages = {13}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Purpose Due to the increasing application of genome analysis and interpretation in medical disciplines, professionals require adequate education. Here, we present the implementation of personal genotyping as an educational tool in two genomics courses targeting Digital Health students at the Hasso Plattner Institute (HPI) and medical students at the Technical University of Munich (TUM). Methods We compared and evaluated the courses and the students ' perceptions on the course setup using questionnaires. Results During the course, students changed their attitudes towards genotyping (HPI: 79\% [15 of 19], TUM: 47\% [25 of 53]). Predominantly, students became more critical of personal genotyping (HPI: 73\% [11 of 15], TUM: 72\% [18 of 25]) and most students stated that genetic analyses should not be allowed without genetic counseling (HPI: 79\% [15 of 19], TUM: 70\% [37 of 53]). Students found the personal genotyping component useful (HPI: 89\% [17 of 19], TUM: 92\% [49 of 53]) and recommended its inclusion in future courses (HPI: 95\% [18 of 19], TUM: 98\% [52 of 53]). Conclusion Students perceived the personal genotyping component as valuable in the described genomics courses. The implementation described here can serve as an example for future courses in Europe.}, language = {en} } @article{SeroussiNowickiSimonetal.2019, author = {Seroussi, Helene and Nowicki, Sophie and Simon, Erika and Abe-Ouchi, Ayako and Albrecht, Torsten and Brondex, Julien and Cornford, Stephen and Dumas, Christophe and Gillet-Chaulet, Fabien and Goelzer, Heiko and Golledge, Nicholas R. and Gregory, Jonathan M. and Greve, Ralf and Hoffman, Matthew J. and Humbert, Angelika and Huybrechts, Philippe and Kleiner, Thomas and Larourl, Eric and Leguy, Gunter and Lipscomb, William H. and Lowry, Daniel and Mengel, Matthias and Morlighem, Mathieu and Pattyn, Frank and Payne, Anthony J. and Pollard, David and Price, Stephen F. and Quiquet, Aurelien and Reerink, Thomas J. and Reese, Ronja and Rodehacke, Christian B. and Schlegel, Nicole-Jeanne and Shepherd, Andrew and Sun, Sainan and Sutter, Johannes and Van Breedam, Jonas and van de Wal, Roderik S. W. and Winkelmann, Ricarda and Zhang, Tong}, title = {initMIP-Antarctica}, series = {The Cryosphere : TC ; an interactive open access journal of the European Geosciences Union}, volume = {13}, journal = {The Cryosphere : TC ; an interactive open access journal of the European Geosciences Union}, number = {5}, publisher = {Copernicus}, address = {G{\"o}ttingen}, issn = {1994-0416}, doi = {10.5194/tc-13-1441-2019}, pages = {1441 -- 1471}, year = {2019}, abstract = {Ice sheet numerical modeling is an important tool to estimate the dynamic contribution of the Antarctic ice sheet to sea level rise over the coming centuries. The influence of initial conditions on ice sheet model simulations, however, is still unclear. To better understand this influence, an initial state intercomparison exercise (initMIP) has been developed to compare, evaluate, and improve initialization procedures and estimate their impact on century-scale simulations. initMlP is the first set of experiments of the Ice Sheet Model Intercomparison Project for CMIP6 (ISMIP6), which is the primary Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) activity focusing on the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets. Following initMlP-Greenland, initMlP-Antarctica has been designed to explore uncertainties associated with model initialization and spin-up and to evaluate the impact of changes in external forcings. Starting from the state of the Antarctic ice sheet at the end of the initialization procedure, three forward experiments are each run for 100 years: a control run, a run with a surface mass balance anomaly, and a run with a basal melting anomaly beneath floating ice. This study presents the results of initMlP-Antarctica from 25 simulations performed by 16 international modeling groups. The submitted results use different initial conditions and initialization methods, as well as ice flow model parameters and reference external forcings. We find a good agreement among model responses to the surface mass balance anomaly but large variations in responses to the basal melting anomaly. These variations can be attributed to differences in the extent of ice shelves and their upstream tributaries, the numerical treatment of grounding line, and the initial ocean conditions applied, suggesting that ongoing efforts to better represent ice shelves in continental-scale models should continue.}, language = {en} } @article{ReeseAlbrechtMengeletal.2018, author = {Reese, Ronja and Albrecht, Torsten and Mengel, Matthias and Asay-Davis, Xylar and Winkelmann, Ricarda}, title = {Antarctic sub-shelf melt rates via PICO}, series = {The Cryosphere : TC ; an interactive open access journal of the European Geosciences Union}, volume = {12}, journal = {The Cryosphere : TC ; an interactive open access journal of the European Geosciences Union}, number = {6}, publisher = {Copernicus}, address = {G{\"o}ttingen}, issn = {1994-0416}, doi = {10.5194/tc-12-1969-2018}, pages = {1969 -- 1985}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Ocean-induced melting below ice shelves is one of the dominant drivers for mass loss from the Antarctic Ice Sheet at present. An appropriate representation of sub-shelf melt rates is therefore essential for model simulations of marine-based ice sheet evolution. Continental-scale ice sheet models often rely on simple melt-parameterizations, in particular for long-term simulations, when fully coupled ice-ocean interaction becomes computationally too expensive. Such parameterizations can account for the influence of the local depth of the ice-shelf draft or its slope on melting. However, they do not capture the effect of ocean circulation underneath the ice shelf. Here we present the Potsdam Ice-shelf Cavity mOdel (PICO), which simulates the vertical overturning circulation in ice-shelf cavities and thus enables the computation of sub-shelf melt rates consistent with this circulation. PICO is based on an ocean box model that coarsely resolves ice shelf cavities and uses a boundary layer melt formulation. We implement it as a module of the Parallel Ice Sheet Model (PISM) and evaluate its performance under present-day conditions of the Southern Ocean. We identify a set of parameters that yield two-dimensional melt rate fields that qualitatively reproduce the typical pattern of comparably high melting near the grounding line and lower melting or refreezing towards the calving front. PICO captures the wide range of melt rates observed for Antarctic ice shelves, with an average of about 0.1 ma(-1) for cold sub-shelf cavities, for example, underneath Ross or Ronne ice shelves, to 16 ma(-1) for warm cavities such as in the Amundsen Sea region. This makes PICO a computationally feasible and more physical alternative to melt parameterizations purely based on ice draft geometry.}, language = {en} } @article{ReeseWinkelmannGudmundsson2018, author = {Reese, Ronja and Winkelmann, Ricarda and Gudmundsson, Gudmundur Hilmar}, title = {Grounding-line flux formula applied as a flux condition in numerical simulations fails for buttressed Antarctic ice streams}, series = {The Cryosphere : TC ; an interactive open access journal of the European Geosciences Union}, volume = {12}, journal = {The Cryosphere : TC ; an interactive open access journal of the European Geosciences Union}, number = {10}, publisher = {Copernicus}, address = {G{\"o}ttingen}, issn = {1994-0416}, doi = {10.5194/tc-12-3229-2018}, pages = {3229 -- 3242}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Currently, several large-scale ice-flow models impose a condition on ice flux across grounding lines using an analytically motivated parameterisation of grounding-line flux. It has been suggested that employing this analytical expression alleviates the need for highly resolved computational domains around grounding lines of marine ice sheets. While the analytical flux formula is expected to be accurate in an unbuttressed flow-line setting, its validity has hitherto not been assessed for complex and realistic geometries such as those of the Antarctic Ice Sheet. Here the accuracy of this analytical flux formula is tested against an optimised ice flow model that uses a highly resolved computational mesh around the Antarctic grounding lines. We find that when applied to the Antarctic Ice Sheet the analytical expression provides inaccurate estimates of ice fluxes for almost all grounding lines. Furthermore, in many instances direct application of the analytical formula gives rise to unphysical complex-valued ice fluxes. We conclude that grounding lines of the Antarctic Ice Sheet are, in general, too highly buttressed for the analytical parameterisation to be of practical value for the calculation of grounding-line fluxes.}, language = {en} } @article{AlbrechtWinkelmannLevermann2020, author = {Albrecht, Torsten and Winkelmann, Ricarda and Levermann, Anders}, title = {Glacial-cycle simulations of the Antarctic Ice Sheet with the Parallel Ice Sheet Model (PISM)}, series = {The Cryosphere : TC ; an interactive open access journal of the European Geosciences Union}, volume = {14}, journal = {The Cryosphere : TC ; an interactive open access journal of the European Geosciences Union}, number = {2}, publisher = {Copernicus}, address = {G{\"o}ttingen}, issn = {1994-0416}, doi = {10.5194/tc-14-599-2020}, pages = {599 -- 632}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Simulations of the glacial-interglacial history of the Antarctic Ice Sheet provide insights into dynamic threshold behavior and estimates of the ice sheet's contributions to global sea-level changes for the past, present and future. However, boundary conditions are weakly constrained, in particular at the interface of the ice sheet and the bedrock. Also climatic forcing covering the last glacial cycles is uncertain, as it is based on sparse proxy data.
We use the Parallel Ice Sheet Model (PISM) to investigate the dynamic effects of different choices of input data, e.g., for modern basal heat flux or reconstructions of past changes of sea level and surface temperature. As computational resources are limited, glacial-cycle simulations are performed using a comparably coarse model grid of 16 km and various parameterizations, e.g., for basal sliding, iceberg calving, or for past variations in precipitation and ocean temperatures. In this study we evaluate the model's transient sensitivity to corresponding parameter choices and to different boundary conditions over the last two glacial cycles and provide estimates of involved uncertainties. We also discuss isolated and combined effects of climate and sea-level forcing. Hence, this study serves as a "cookbook" for the growing community of PISM users and paleo-ice sheet modelers in general.
For each of the different model uncertainties with regard to climatic forcing, ice and Earth dynamics, and basal processes, we select one representative model parameter that captures relevant uncertainties and motivates corresponding parameter ranges that bound the observed ice volume at present. The four selected parameters are systematically varied in a parameter ensemble analysis, which is described in a companion paper.}, language = {en} } @article{KreuzerReeseHuiskampetal.2021, author = {Kreuzer, Moritz and Reese, Ronja and Huiskamp, Willem Nicholas and Petri, Stefan and Albrecht, Torsten and Feulner, Georg and Winkelmann, Ricarda}, title = {Coupling framework (1.0) for the PISM (1.1.4) ice sheet model and the MOMS (5.1.0) ocean model via the PICO ice shelf cavity model in an Antarctic domain}, series = {Geoscientific model development : an interactive open access journal of the European Geosciences Union}, volume = {14}, journal = {Geoscientific model development : an interactive open access journal of the European Geosciences Union}, number = {6}, publisher = {Copernicus}, address = {G{\"o}ttingen}, issn = {1991-959X}, doi = {10.5194/gmd-14-3697-2021}, pages = {3697 -- 3714}, year = {2021}, abstract = {The past and future evolution of the Antarctic Ice Sheet is largely controlled by interactions between the ocean and floating ice shelves. To investigate these interactions, coupled ocean and ice sheet model configurations are required. Previous modelling studies have mostly relied on high-resolution configurations, limiting these studies to individual glaciers or regions over short timescales of decades to a few centuries. We present a framework to couple the dynamic ice sheet model PISM (Parallel Ice Sheet Model) with the global ocean general circulation model MOM5 (Modular Ocean Model) via the ice shelf cavity model PICO (Pots-dam Ice-shelf Cavity mOdel). As ice shelf cavities are not resolved by MOM5 but are parameterized with the PICO box model, the framework allows the ice sheet and ocean components to be run at resolutions of 16 km and 3 degrees respectively. This approach makes the coupled configuration a useful tool for the analysis of interactions between the Antarctic Ice Sheet and the global ocean over time spans of the order of centuries to millennia. In this study, we describe the technical implementation of this coupling framework: sub-shelf melting in the ice sheet component is calculated by PICO from modelled ocean temperatures and salinities at the depth of the continental shelf, and, vice versa, the resulting mass and energy fluxes from melting at the ice-ocean interface are transferred to the ocean component. Mass and energy fluxes are shown to be conserved to machine precision across the considered component domains. The implementation is computationally efficient as it introduces only minimal overhead. Furthermore, the coupled model is evaluated in a 4000 year simulation under constant present-day climate forcing and is found to be stable with respect to the ocean and ice sheet spin-up states. The framework deals with heterogeneous spatial grid geometries, varying grid resolutions, and timescales between the ice and ocean component in a generic way; thus, it can be adopted to a wide range of model set-ups.}, language = {en} } @article{ZeitzHaackerDongesetal.2022, author = {Zeitz, Maria and Haacker, Jan M. and Donges, Jonathan and Albrecht, Torsten and Winkelmann, Ricarda}, title = {Dynamic regimes of the Greenland Ice Sheet emerging from interacting melt-elevation and glacial isostatic adjustment feedbacks}, series = {Earth system dynamics}, volume = {13}, journal = {Earth system dynamics}, number = {3}, publisher = {Copernicus Publ.}, address = {G{\"o}ttingen}, issn = {2190-4979}, doi = {10.5194/esd-13-1077-2022}, pages = {1077 -- 1096}, year = {2022}, abstract = {The stability of the Greenland Ice Sheet under global warming is governed by a number of dynamic processes and interacting feedback mechanisms in the ice sheet, atmosphere and solid Earth. Here we study the long-term effects due to the interplay of the competing melt-elevation and glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) feedbacks for different temperature step forcing experiments with a coupled ice-sheet and solid-Earth model. Our model results show that for warming levels above 2 degrees C, Greenland could become essentially ice-free within several millennia, mainly as a result of surface melting and acceleration of ice flow. These ice losses are mitigated, however, in some cases with strong GIA feedback even promoting an incomplete recovery of the Greenland ice volume. We further explore the full-factorial parameter space determining the relative strengths of the two feedbacks: our findings suggest distinct dynamic regimes of the Greenland Ice Sheets on the route to destabilization under global warming - from incomplete recovery, via quasi-periodic oscillations in ice volume to ice-sheet collapse. In the incomplete recovery regime, the initial ice loss due to warming is essentially reversed within 50 000 years, and the ice volume stabilizes at 61 \%-93 \% of the present-day volume. For certain combinations of temperature increase, atmospheric lapse rate and mantle viscosity, the interaction of the GIA feedback and the melt-elevation feedback leads to self-sustained, long-term oscillations in ice-sheet volume with oscillation periods between 74 000 and over 300 000 years and oscillation amplitudes between 15 \%-70 \% of present-day ice volume. This oscillatory regime reveals a possible mode of internal climatic variability in the Earth system on timescales on the order of 100 000 years that may be excited by or synchronized with orbital forcing or interact with glacial cycles and other slow modes of variability. Our findings are not meant as scenario-based near-term projections of ice losses but rather providing insight into of the feedback loops governing the "deep future" and, thus, long-term resilience of the Greenland Ice Sheet.}, language = {en} } @article{AlbrechtWinkelmannLevermann2020, author = {Albrecht, Torsten and Winkelmann, Ricarda and Levermann, Anders}, title = {Glacial-cycle simulations of the Antarctic Ice Sheet with the Parallel Ice Sheet Model (PISM)}, series = {The Cryosphere : TC ; an interactive open access journal of the European Geosciences Union}, volume = {14}, journal = {The Cryosphere : TC ; an interactive open access journal of the European Geosciences Union}, number = {2}, publisher = {Copernicus Publ.}, address = {G{\"o}ttingen}, issn = {1994-0416}, doi = {10.5194/tc-14-633-2020}, pages = {633 -- 656}, year = {2020}, abstract = {The Parallel Ice Sheet Model (PISM) is applied to the Antarctic Ice Sheet over the last two glacial cycles (approximate to 210 000 years) with a resolution of 16 km. An ensemble of 256 model runs is analyzed in which four relevant model parameters have been systematically varied using full-factorial parameter sampling. Parameters and plausible parameter ranges have been identified in a companion paper (Albrecht et al., 2020) and are associated with ice dynamics, climatic forcing, basal sliding and bed deformation and represent distinct classes of model uncertainties. The model is scored against both modern and geologic data, including reconstructed grounding-line locations, elevation-age data, ice thickness, surface velocities and uplift rates. An aggregated score is computed for each ensemble member that measures the overall model-data misfit, including measurement uncertainty in terms of a Gaussian error model (Briggs and Tarasov, 2013). The statistical method used to analyze the ensemble simulation results follows closely the simple averaging method described in Pollard et al. (2016). This analysis reveals clusters of best-fit parameter combinations, and hence a likely range of relevant model and boundary parameters, rather than individual best-fit parameters. The ensemble of reconstructed histories of Antarctic Ice Sheet volumes provides a score-weighted likely range of sea-level contributions since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) of 9.4 +/- 4.1m (or 6.5 +/- 2.0 x 10(6) km(3)), which is at the upper range of most previous studies. The last deglaciation occurs in all ensemble simulations after around 12 000 years before present and hence after the meltwater pulse 1A (MWP1a). Our ensemble analysis also provides an estimate of parametric uncertainty bounds for the present-day state that can be used for PISM projections of future sea-level contributions from the Antarctic Ice Sheet.}, language = {en} } @article{SchlemmFeldmannWinkelmannetal.2022, author = {Schlemm, Tanja and Feldmann, Johannes and Winkelmann, Ricarda and Levermann, Anders}, title = {Stabilizing effect of melange buttressing on the marine ice-cliff instability of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet}, series = {The Cryosphere : TC ; an interactive open access journal of the European Geosciences Union}, volume = {16}, journal = {The Cryosphere : TC ; an interactive open access journal of the European Geosciences Union}, number = {5}, publisher = {Copernicus}, address = {G{\"o}ttingen}, issn = {1994-0416}, doi = {10.5194/tc-16-1979-2022}, pages = {1979 -- 1996}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Owing to global warming and particularly high regional ocean warming, both Thwaites and Pine Island Glaciers in the Amundsen region of the Antarctic Ice Sheet could lose their buttressing ice shelves over time. We analyse the possible consequences using the parallel ice sheet model (PISM), applying a simple cliff-calving parameterization and an ice melange-buttressing model. We find that the instantaneous loss of ice-shelf buttressing, due to enforced ice-shelf melting, initiates grounding-line retreat and triggers marine ice sheet instability (MISI). As a consequence, the grounding line progresses into the interior of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet and leads to a sea level contribution of 0.6 m within 100 a. By subjecting the exposed ice cliffs to cliff calving using our simplified parameterization, we also analyse marine ice cliff instability (MICI). In our simulations it can double or even triple the sea level contribution depending on the only loosely constrained parameter that determines the maximum cliff-calving rate. The speed of MICI depends on this upper bound of the calving rate, which is given by the ice melange buttressing the glacier. However, stabilization of MICI may occur for geometric reasons. Because the embayment geometry changes as MICI advances into the interior of the ice sheet, the upper bound on calving rates is reduced and the progress of MICI is slowed down. Although we cannot claim that our simulations bear relevant quantitative estimates of the effect of ice-melange buttressing on MICI, the mechanism has the potential to stop the instability. Further research is needed to evaluate its role for the past and future evolution of the Antarctic Ice Sheet.}, language = {en} } @article{FeldmannReeseWinkelmannetal.2022, author = {Feldmann, Johannes and Reese, Ronja and Winkelmann, Ricarda and Levermann, Anders}, title = {Shear-margin melting causes stronger transient ice discharge than ice-stream melting in idealized simulations}, series = {The Cryosphere : TC ; an interactive open access journal of the European Geosciences Union}, volume = {16}, journal = {The Cryosphere : TC ; an interactive open access journal of the European Geosciences Union}, number = {5}, publisher = {Copernicus}, address = {G{\"o}ttingen}, issn = {1994-0416}, doi = {10.5194/tc-16-1927-2022}, pages = {1927 -- 1940}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Basal ice-shelf melting is the key driver of Antarctica's increasing sea-level contribution. In diminishing the buttressing force of the ice shelves that fringe the ice sheet, the melting increases the ice discharge into the ocean. Here we contrast the influence of basal melting in two different ice-shelf regions on the time-dependent response of an isothermal, inherently buttressed ice-sheet-shelf system. In the idealized numerical simulations, the basal-melt perturbations are applied close to the grounding line in the ice-shelf's (1) ice-stream region, where the ice shelf is fed by the fastest ice masses that stream through the upstream bed trough and (2) shear margins, where the ice flow is slower. The results show that melting below one or both of the shear margins can cause a decadal to centennial increase in ice discharge that is more than twice as large compared to a similar perturbation in the ice-stream region. We attribute this to the fact that melt-induced ice-shelf thinning in the central grounding-line region is attenuated very effectively by the fast flow of the central ice stream. In contrast, the much slower ice dynamics in the lateral shear margins of the ice shelf facilitate sustained ice-shelf thinning and thereby foster buttressing reduction. Regardless of the melt location, a higher melt concentration toward the grounding line generally goes along with a stronger response. Our results highlight the vulnerability of outlet glaciers to basal melting in stagnant, buttressing-relevant ice-shelf regions, a mechanism that may gain importance under future global warming.}, language = {en} } @article{WunderlingWilleitDongesetal.2020, author = {Wunderling, Nico and Willeit, Matteo and Donges, Jonathan and Winkelmann, Ricarda}, title = {Global warming due to loss of large ice masses and Arctic summer sea ice}, series = {Nature Communications}, volume = {11}, journal = {Nature Communications}, number = {1}, publisher = {Nature Publishing Group}, address = {Berlin}, issn = {2041-1723}, doi = {10.1038/s41467-020-18934-3}, pages = {14}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Several large-scale cryosphere elements such as the Arctic summer sea ice, the mountain glaciers, the Greenland and West Antarctic Ice Sheet have changed substantially during the last century due to anthropogenic global warming. However, the impacts of their possible future disintegration on global mean temperature (GMT) and climate feedbacks have not yet been comprehensively evaluated. Here, we quantify this response using an Earth system model of intermediate complexity. Overall, we find a median additional global warming of 0.43 degrees C (interquartile range: 0.39-0.46 degrees C) at a CO2 concentration of 400 ppm. Most of this response (55\%) is caused by albedo changes, but lapse rate together with water vapour (30\%) and cloud feedbacks (15\%) also contribute significantly. While a decay of the ice sheets would occur on centennial to millennial time scales, the Arctic might become ice-free during summer within the 21st century. Our findings imply an additional increase of the GMT on intermediate to long time scales. The disintegration of cryosphere elements such as the Arctic summer sea ice, mountain glaciers, Greenland and West Antarctica is associated with temperature and radiative feedbacks. In this work, the authors quantify these feedbacks and find an additional global warming of 0.43 degrees C.}, language = {en} } @article{ZeitzReeseBeckmannetal.2021, author = {Zeitz, Maria and Reese, Ronja and Beckmann, Johanna and Krebs-Kanzow, Uta and Winkelmann, Ricarda}, title = {Impact of the melt-albedo feedback on the future evolution of the Greenland Ice Sheet with PISM-dEBM-simple}, series = {The Cryosphere : TC ; an interactive open access journal of the European Geosciences Union}, volume = {15}, journal = {The Cryosphere : TC ; an interactive open access journal of the European Geosciences Union}, number = {12}, publisher = {Copernicus}, address = {Katlenburg-Lindau}, issn = {1994-0416}, doi = {10.5194/tc-15-5739-2021}, pages = {5739 -- 5764}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Surface melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet contributes a large amount to current and future sea level rise. Increased surface melt may lower the reflectivity of the ice sheet surface and thereby increase melt rates: the so-called melt-albedo feedback describes this self-sustaining increase in surface melting. In order to test the effect of the melt-albedo feedback in a prognostic ice sheet model, we implement dEBM-simple, a simplified version of the diurnal Energy Balance Model dEBM, in the Parallel Ice Sheet Model (PISM). The implementation includes a simple representation of the melt-albedo feedback and can thereby replace the positive-degree-day melt scheme. Using PISM-dEBM-simple, we find that this feedback increases ice loss through surface warming by 60 \% until 2300 for the high-emission scenario RCP8.5 when compared to a scenario in which the albedo remains constant at its present-day values. With an increase of 90 \% compared to a fixed-albedo scenario, the effect is more pronounced for lower surface warming under RCP2.6. Furthermore, assuming an immediate darkening of the ice surface over all summer months, we estimate an upper bound for this effect to be 70 \% in the RCP8.5 scenario and a more than 4-fold increase under RCP2.6. With dEBM-simple implemented in PISM, we find that the melt-albedo feedback is an essential contributor to mass loss in dynamic simulations of the Greenland Ice Sheet under future warming.}, language = {en} } @article{KloseWunderlingWinkelmannetal.2021, author = {Klose, Ann Kristin and Wunderling, Nico and Winkelmann, Ricarda and Donges, Jonathan}, title = {What do we mean, 'tipping cascade'?}, series = {Environmental research letters : ERL}, volume = {16}, journal = {Environmental research letters : ERL}, number = {12}, publisher = {IOP Publ. Ltd.}, address = {Bristol}, issn = {1748-9326}, doi = {10.1088/1748-9326/ac3955}, pages = {11}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Based on suggested interactions of potential tipping elements in the Earth's climate and in ecological systems, tipping cascades as possible dynamics are increasingly discussed and studied. The activation of such tipping cascades would impose a considerable risk for human societies and biosphere integrity. However, there are ambiguities in the description of tipping cascades within the literature so far. Here we illustrate how different patterns of multiple tipping dynamics emerge from a very simple coupling of two previously studied idealized tipping elements. In particular, we distinguish between a two phase cascade, a domino cascade and a joint cascade. A mitigation of an unfolding two phase cascade may be possible and common early warning indicators are sensitive to upcoming critical transitions to a certain degree. In contrast, a domino cascade may hardly be stopped once initiated and critical slowing down-based indicators fail to indicate tipping of the following element. These different potentials for intervention and anticipation across the distinct patterns of multiple tipping dynamics should be seen as a call to be more precise in future analyses of cascading dynamics arising from tipping element interactions in the Earth system.}, language = {en} } @article{TiberiusWeyland2023, author = {Tiberius, Victor and Weyland, Michael}, title = {Identifying constituent elements of entrepreneurship curricula}, series = {Administrative sciences}, volume = {14}, journal = {Administrative sciences}, number = {1}, publisher = {MDPI}, address = {Basel}, issn = {2076-3387}, doi = {10.3390/admsci14010001}, pages = {18}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Entrepreneurship education research has a strong "output" focus on impact studies but pays much less attention to the "inside" or process perspective of the way entrepreneurship education occurs. In particular, the scattered previous entrepreneurship curriculum research has not managed to provide a current and comprehensive overview of the curricular elements that constitute entrepreneurship education. To overcome this shortcoming, we aim to identify the teaching objectives, teaching contents, teaching methods, and assessment methods discussed in entrepreneurship curriculum research. To this end, we conducted a systematic literature review on the four entrepreneurship curriculum dimensions and collected all mentioned curriculum items. We used a two-stage coding procedure to find the genuinely entrepreneurship-specific items. Among numerous items (also from business management and other subjects), we found 26 objectives, 34 contents, 11 teaching methods, and 7 assessment methods that were entrepreneurship-specific. Most of these items were addressed by only a few scholarly papers.}, language = {en} } @article{RomeroBarbosaCoelhoScheiffeleetal.2021, author = {Romero Barbosa, Lu{\´i}s and Coelho, Victor Hugo R. and Scheiffele, Lena and Baroni, Gabriele and Ramos Filho, Geraldo M. and Montenegro, Suzana M. G. L. and Das Neves Almeida, Cristiano and Oswald, Sascha}, title = {Dynamic groundwater recharge simulations based on cosmic-ray neutron sensing in a tropical wet experimental basin}, series = {Vadose zone journal : VZJ : advancing critical zone science}, volume = {20}, journal = {Vadose zone journal : VZJ : advancing critical zone science}, number = {4}, publisher = {Wiley}, address = {Hoboken}, issn = {1539-1663}, doi = {10.1002/vzj2.20145}, pages = {22}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Although cosmic-ray neutron sensing (CRNS) is probably the most promising noninvasive proximal soil moisture measurement technique at the field scale, its application for hydrological simulations remains underexplored in the literature so far. This study assessed the use of CRNS to inversely calibrate soil hydraulic parameters at the intermediate field scale to simulate the groundwater recharge rates at a daily timescale. The study was conducted for two contrasting hydrological years at the Guaraira experimental basin, Brazil, a 5.84-km(2), a tropical wet and rather flat landscape covered by secondary Atlantic forest. As a consequence of the low altitude and proximity to the equator low neutron count rates could be expected, reducing the precision of CRNS while constituting unexplored and challenging conditions for CRNS applications. Inverse calibration for groundwater recharge rates was used based on CRNS or point-scale soil moisture data. The CRNS-derived retention curve and saturated hydraulic conductivity were consistent with the literature and locally performed slug tests. Simulated groundwater recharge rates ranged from 60 to 470 mm yr(-1), corresponding to 5 and 29\% of rainfall, and correlated well with estimates based on water table fluctuations. In contrast, the estimated results based on inversive point-scale datasets were not in alignment with measured water table fluctuations. The better performance of CRNS-based estimations of field-scale hydrological variables, especially groundwater recharge, demonstrated its clear advantages over traditional invasive point-scale techniques. Finally, the study proved the ability of CRNS as practicable in low altitude, tropical wet areas, thus encouraging its adoption for water resources monitoring and management.}, language = {en} } @article{DurandvandenBroekeLeCozannetetal.2022, author = {Durand, Gael and van den Broeke, Michiel R. and Le Cozannet, Goneri and Edwards, Tamsin L. and Holland, Paul R. and Jourdain, Nicolas C. and Marzeion, Ben and Mottram, Ruth and Nicholls, Robert J. and Pattyn, Frank and Paul, Frank and Slangen, Aimee B. A. and Winkelmann, Ricarda and Burgard, Clara and van Calcar, Caroline J. and Barre, Jean-Baptiste and Bataille, Amelie and Chapuis, Anne}, title = {Sea-Level rise: from global perspectives to local services}, series = {Frontiers in Marine Science}, volume = {8}, journal = {Frontiers in Marine Science}, publisher = {Frontiers Media}, address = {Lausanne}, issn = {2296-7745}, doi = {10.3389/fmars.2021.709595}, pages = {8}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Coastal areas are highly diverse, ecologically rich, regions of key socio-economic activity, and are particularly sensitive to sea-level change. Over most of the 20th century, global mean sea level has risen mainly due to warming and subsequent expansion of the upper ocean layers as well as the melting of glaciers and ice caps. Over the last three decades, increased mass loss of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets has also started to contribute significantly to contemporary sea-level rise. The future mass loss of the two ice sheets, which combined represent a sea-level rise potential of similar to 65 m, constitutes the main source of uncertainty in long-term (centennial to millennial) sea-level rise projections. Improved knowledge of the magnitude and rate of future sea-level change is therefore of utmost importance. Moreover, sea level does not change uniformly across the globe and can differ greatly at both regional and local scales. The most appropriate and feasible sea level mitigation and adaptation measures in coastal regions strongly depend on local land use and associated risk aversion. Here, we advocate that addressing the problem of future sea-level rise and its impacts requires (i) bringing together a transdisciplinary scientific community, from climate and cryospheric scientists to coastal impact specialists, and (ii) interacting closely and iteratively with users and local stakeholders to co-design and co-build coastal climate services, including addressing the high-end risks.}, language = {en} } @misc{MorenoRomeroProbstTrindadeetal.2020, author = {Moreno-Romero, Jordi and Probst, Aline V. and Trindade, In{\^e}s and Kalyanikrishna, and Engelhorn, Julia and Farrona, Sara}, title = {Looking At the Past and Heading to the Future}, series = {Frontiers in Plant Science}, volume = {10}, journal = {Frontiers in Plant Science}, number = {1795}, publisher = {Frontiers Media}, address = {Lausanne}, issn = {1664-462X}, doi = {10.3389/fpls.2019.01795}, pages = {1 -- 12}, year = {2020}, abstract = {In June 2019, more than a hundred plant researchers met in Cologne, Germany, for the 6th European Workshop on Plant Chromatin (EWPC). This conference brought together a highly dynamic community of researchers with the common aim to understand how chromatin organization controls gene expression, development, and plant responses to the environment. New evidence showing how epigenetic states are set, perpetuated, and inherited were presented, and novel data related to the three-dimensional organization of chromatin within the nucleus were discussed. At the level of the nucleosome, its composition by different histone variants and their specialized histone deposition complexes were addressed as well as the mechanisms involved in histone post-translational modifications and their role in gene expression. The keynote lecture on plant DNA methylation by Julie Law (SALK Institute) and the tribute session to Lars Hennig, honoring the memory of one of the founders of the EWPC who contributed to promote the plant chromatin and epigenetic field in Europe, added a very special note to this gathering. In this perspective article we summarize some of the most outstanding data and advances on plant chromatin research presented at this workshop.}, language = {en} } @article{PangDietrichTewsetal.2020, author = {Pang, Peter Tsun Ho and Dietrich, Tim and Tews, Ingo and Van Den Broeck, Chris}, title = {Parameter estimation for strong phase transitions in supranuclear matter using gravitational-wave astronomy}, series = {Physical review research}, volume = {2}, journal = {Physical review research}, number = {3}, publisher = {American Physical Society}, address = {College Park}, issn = {2643-1564}, doi = {10.1103/PhysRevResearch.2.033514}, pages = {17}, year = {2020}, abstract = {At supranuclear densities, explored in the core of neutron stars, a strong phase transition from hadronic matter to more exotic forms of matter might be present. To test this hypothesis, binary neutron-star mergers offer a unique possibility to probe matter at densities that we cannot create in any existing terrestrial experiment. In this work, we show that, if present, strong phase transitions can have a measurable imprint on the binary neutron-star coalescence and the emitted gravitational-wave signal. We construct a new parametrization of the supranuclear equation of state that allows us to test for the existence of a strong phase transition and extract its characteristic properties purely from the gravitational-wave signal of the inspiraling neutron stars. We test our approach using a Bayesian inference study simulating 600 signals with three different equations of state and find that for current gravitational-wave detector networks already 12 events might be sufficient to verify the presence of a strong phase transition. Finally, we use our methodology to analyze GW170817 and GW190425 but do not find any indication that a strong phase transition is present at densities probed during the inspiral.}, language = {en} }