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The new uORFdb: integrating literature, sequence, and variation data in a central hub for uORF research
No full textUpstream open reading frames (uORFs) are initiated by AUG or near-cognate start codons and have been identified in the transcript leader sequences of the majority of eukaryotic transcripts. Functionally, uORFs are implicated in downstream translational regulation of the main protein coding sequence and may serve as a source of non-canonical peptides. Genetic defects in uORF sequences have been linked to the development of various diseases, including cancer. To simplify uORF-related research, the initial release of uORFdb in 2014 provided a comprehensive and manually curated collection of uORF-related literature. Here, we present an updated sequence-based version of uORFdb, accessible at https://www.bioinformatics.uni-muenster.de/tools/uorfdb. The new uORFdb enables users to directly access sequence information, graphical displays, and genetic variation data for over 2.4 million human uORFs. It also includes sequence data of >4.2 million uORFs in 12 additional species. Multiple uORFs can be displayed in transcript- and reading-frame-specific models to visualize the translational context. A variety of filters, sequence-related information, and links to external resources (UCSC Genome Browser, dbSNP, ClinVar) facilitate immediate in-depth analysis of individual uORFs. The database also contains uORF-related somatic variation data obtained from whole-genome sequencing (WGS) analyses of 677 cancer samples collected by the TCGA consortium
Trait anxiety predicts amygdalar responses during direct processing of threat-related pictures
No full textPrevious studies on the associations between trait anxiety and amygdalar responses to threat stimuli have resulted in mixed findings, possibly due to sample characteristics, specific tasks, and analytical methods. The present functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study aimed to investigate linear or non-linear associations between trait anxiety and amygdalar responses in a sample of participants with low, medium, and high trait anxiety scores. During scanning, participants were presented with threat-related or neutral pictures and had either to solve an emotional task or an emotional-unrelated distraction task. Results showed that only during the explicit task trait anxiety was associated with right amygdalar responses to threat-related pictures as compared to neutral pictures. The best model was a cubic model with increased amygdala responses for very low and medium trait anxiety values but decreased amygdala activation for very high trait anxiety values. The findings imply a non-linear relation between trait anxiety and amygdala activation depending on task conditions
Scalable robust graph and feature extraction for arbitrary vessel networks in large volumetric datasets
No full textBackground: Recent advances in 3D imaging technologies provide novel insights to researchers and reveal finer and more detail of examined specimen, especially in the biomedical domain, but also impose huge challenges regarding scalability for automated analysis algorithms due to rapidly increasing dataset sizes. In particular, existing research towards automated vessel network analysis does not always consider memory requirements of proposed algorithms and often generates a large number of spurious
branches for structures consisting of many voxels. Additionally, very often these algorithms have further restrictions such as the limitation to tree topologies or relying on the properties of specific image modalities. Results: We propose a scalable iterative pipeline (in terms of computational cost, required main memory and robustness) that extracts an annotated abstract graph representation from the foreground segmentation of vessel networks of arbitrary topology and vessel shape. The novel iterative refinement process is controlled by a single, dimensionless, a-priori determinable parameter. Conclusions: We are able to, for the first time, analyze the topology of volumes of roughly 1 TB on commodity hardware, using the proposed pipeline. We demonstrate improved robustness in terms of surface noise, vessel shape deviation and anisotropic resolution compared to the state of the art. An implementation of the presented pipeline is publicly available in version 5.1 of the volume rendering and processing engine Voreen
Spotlight on the 2022 ESC guideline management of ventricular arrhythmias and prevention of sudden cardiac death: 10 novel key aspects
No full textSudden cardiac death and ventricular arrhythmias are a global health issue. Recently, a new guideline for the management of ventricular arrhythmias and prevention of sudden cardiac death has been published by the European Society of Cardiology that serves as an update to the 2015 guideline on this topic. This review focuses on 10 novel key aspects of the current guideline: As new aspects, public basic life support and access to defibrillators are guideline topics. Recommendations for the diagnostic evaluation of patients with ventricular arrhythmias are structured according to frequently encountered clinical scenarios. Management of electrical storm has become a new focus. In addition, genetic testing and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging significantly gained relevance for both diagnostic evaluation and risk stratification. New algorithms for antiarrhythmic drug therapy aim at improving safe drug use. The new recommendations reflect increasing relevance of catheter ablation of ventricular arrhythmias, especially in patients without structural heart disease or stable coronary artery disease with only mildly impaired ejection fraction and haemodynamically tolerated ventricular tachycardias. Regarding sudden cardiac death risk stratification, risk calculators for laminopathies, and long QT syndrome are now considered besides the already established risk calculator for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Generally, "new" risk markers beyond left ventricular ejection fraction are increasingly considered for recommendations on primary preventive implantable cardioverter defibrillator therapy. Furthermore, new recommendations for diagnosis of Brugada syndrome and management of primary electrical disease have been included. With many comprehensive flowcharts and practical algorithms, the new guideline takes a step towards a user-oriented reference book
System Design Choice in the Sharing Economy: How Different Institutional Logics Drive Consumer Perception and Consumers’ Intention to Use Sharing Systems
No full textThe sharing economy provides consumers with temporary access to various products. As a growing business trend that continuously attracts new consumers, it motivates businesses to rapidly develop new system designs. In this study, we investigate how the system design choices of sharing systems for products affect consumers’ perceptions of the system and consequently their intention to use a system. Building on institutional logics, we examine how the logics inherent in two system designs—the community logic in peer-to-peer (P2P) systems and the corporate logic in business-to-consumer (B2C) systems—affect consumer perceptions. We argue that consumers perceive P2P and B2C logics differently regarding logics’ economic benefits, product scarcity, sustainability benefits, and social benefits. To test our theory, we conducted a scenario experiment with 1259 participants from the UK. Our findings suggest that consumers perceive P2P systems as yielding higher economic, sustainability, and social benefits than B2C systems, and that these benefits increase consumers’ intention to use the system. However, we also find that P2P systems suffer from the risk of product scarcity, reducing consumers’ intention to use such systems. In summary, our findings show that system design affects consumers’ perceptions and that different designs attract consumer groups with different preferences
穿越时空: 厌恶记忆的再体验可能与时空距离有关
No full textBackground: Individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) often report intrusive memories that appear to lack the appropriate spatio-temporal context. Objective: We examined whether focusing on the spatio-temporal context of aversive auto-biographical memories reduces negative emotions, appraisals, and re-experiencing symptoms. Methods: We recruited 109 healthy adults and had them rate emotionality, vividness, and re- experiencing of an aversive autobiographical memory. Furthermore, we assessed automatic associations of idiosyncratic memory triggers with the concepts ‘past’ vs. ‘now’, and self- reported sense of memory closure and distancing. To manipulate spatio-temporal memory (re-)organization, the experimental group (n = 53) performed a lifeline exercise in virtual reality (VR), where participants symbolically placed memory triggers along a path representing their own personal life story. The control group (n = 56) completed a non-personalized VR task. Results: We found a marked decrease in negative emotions, negative appraisals, and re- experiencing in the following week, but on average, the lifeline exercise was not superior to the control condition. However, those in the lifeline group with stronger trigger-past associa-tions subsequently exhibited a more pronounced reduction in re-experiencing. Also, partici-pants with a higher subjective sense of memory distancing reported less re-experiencing. Conclusions: The findings lend tentative support for theoretical assumptions about PTSD, but the potential causal role of automatic associations with spatio-temporal information remains to be clarified.Antecedentes: Las personas con trastorno de estrés postraumático (TEPT) con frecuencia informan recuerdos intrusivos que parecen carecer del contexto espacio-temporal adecuado. Objetivo: Examinamos si centrarse en el contexto espacio-temporal de los recuerdos autobiográficos aversivos reduce las emociones negativas, las valoraciones, y los síntomas de re-experimentación.Métodos: Reclutamos 109 adultos sanos y les pedimos que calificaran la emocionalidad, vivacidad y re-experimentación de un recuerdo autobiográfico aversivo. Además, evaluamos las asociaciones automáticas de los desencadenantes de la memoria idiosincrática con los conceptos de ‘pasado’ vs ‘ahora’ y la sensación auto-reportada de la cercanía o lejanía del recuerdo. Para manipular la (re-)organización de la memoria espacio-temporal, el grupo experimental (n = 53) realizo un ejercicio de Línea de Vida en realidad virtual (RV), donde los participantes simbólicamente pusieron los gatilladores del recuerdo a lo largo de un sendero que representaba sus propias historias de vida personales. El grupo control (n = 56) completo una tarea de RV no personalizada. Resultados: Encontramos una disminución marcada de las emociones negativas, valoraciones negativas y re-experimentación en la semana siguiente, pero en promedio, el ejercicio de la Línea de Vida no fue superior a la condición de control. Sin embargo, aquellos del grupo de la Línea de Vida con asociaciones más fuertes de los gatilladores del pasado exhibieron subse-cuentemente una disminución más pronunciada en la re-experimentación. Tambien, los parti-cipantes con un sentido de la memoria de distanciamiento subjetivamente más alta informaron menor re-experimentación. Conclusiones: Los hallazgos brindan un apoyo tentativo a las suposiciones teóricas acerca del TEPT, pero el posible papel causal de las asociaciones automáticas con la información espacio- temporal aún no se ha aclarado.背景: 患有创伤后应激障碍 (PTSD) 的个体经常报告似乎缺乏适当时空背景的闯入性记忆。目的: 我们考查了关注厌恶自传记忆的时空背景是否会减少负性情绪, 评价和再体验症状。方法: 我们招募了 109 名健康成年人, 让他们对厌恶自传记忆的情绪性, 生动性和再体验进行 评分。此外, 我们评估了特殊记忆触发与‘过去’与‘现在’概念的自动关联, 以及自我报告的记 忆闭合和疏离。为了操纵时空记忆 (再) 组织, 实验组 (n = 53) 在虚拟现实 (VR) 中进行了生 命线练习, 参与者象征性地将记忆触发器放置在代表他们自己个人生活故事的路径上。对照 组 (n = 56) 完成了非个性化的 VR 任务。结果: 我们发现在接下来的一周内, 负性情绪, 负性评价和再体验明显减少, 但平均而言, 生命 线练习并不优于对照条件。然而, 生命线组中具有更强触发-过去关联的人随后表现出更明 显的再体验减少。此外, 具有更高主观记忆距离疏离感的参与者报告的再体验更少。结论:研究结果为关于 PTSD 的理论假设提供了初步支持, 但与时空信息自动关联的潜在因果 作用仍有待澄清
Wie kann die Transformation zur Nachhaltigkeit gelingen?:Interview mit Prof. Dr. Doris Fuchs
No full textNachhaltigkeit ist ein häufig verwendeter Begriff, der in vielen Kontexten verwendet wird. Was bedeutet er eigentlich konkret? Prof. Dr. Doris Fuchs ist Inhaberin des Lehrstuhls für Internationale Beziehungen und Nachhaltige Entwicklung und Sprecherin des Zentrums für Interdisziplinäre Nachhaltigkeitsforschung (ZIN) der WWU. Im Podcast spricht sie darüber, wie sich Nachhaltigkeit definieren lässt, wie Nachhaltigkeit gelingen kann und was nachhaltigen Konsum auszeichnet
Resolution of left atrial appendage thrombi: No difference between phenprocoumon and non-vitamin K-dependent oral antagonists
No full textBackground: Atrial fibrillation is the most important risk factor for left atrial appendage (LAA) thrombi, a potentially life-threatening condition. Thrombus resolution may prevent embolic events and allow rhythm-control strategies, which have been shown to reduce cardiovascular complications. Hypothesis:
There is no significant difference between phenprocoumon and non-Vitamin K-dependent oral anticoagulants (NOACs) in the resolution of LAA-thrombi in a real-world setting. Methods: Consecutive patients with LAA-thrombi from June 2013 to June 2017 were included in an observational single-center analysis. The primary endpoint was defined as the resolution of the thrombus. The observational period was 1 year. Resolutions rates in patients on phenprocoumon or NOACs were compared and the time to resolution was analyzed. Results: We identified 114 patients with LAA-thrombi. There was no significant difference in the efficacy of resolution between phenprocoumon and NOACs (p = .499) at the time of first control which took place after a mean of 58 ± 42.2 (median 48) days. At first control most thrombi were dissolved (74.6%). The analysis after set-time intervals revealed a resolution rate of 2/3 of LAA-thrombi after 8–10 weeks in the phenprocoumon and NOAC groups. After 12 weeks a higher number of thrombi had resolved in the presence of NOAC (89.3%) whereas in the presence of phenprocoumon 68.3% had resolved (p = .046). Conclusion: In this large observational study NOACs were found to be potent drugs for the resolution of LAA-thrombi. In addition, the resolution of LAA-thrombi was found to be faster in the presence of NOAC as compared to phenprocoumon
Sleep Quality and Physical Activity as Predictors of Mental Wellbeing Variance in Older Adults during COVID-19 Lockdown: ECLB COVID-19 International Online Survey
No full textBackground. The COVID-19 lockdown could engender disruption to lifestyle behaviors, thus impairing mental wellbeing in the general population. This study investigated whether sociodemographic variables, changes in physical activity, and sleep quality from pre- to during lockdown were predictors of change in mental wellbeing in quarantined older adults. Methods. A 12-week international online survey was launched in 14 languages on 6 April 2020. Forty-one research institutions from Europe, Western-Asia, North-Africa, and the Americas, promoted the survey. The survey was presented in a differential format with questions related to responses "pre" and "during" the lockdown period. Participants responded to the Short Warwick–Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) questionnaire, and the short form of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Results. Replies from older adults (aged >55 years, n = 517), mainly from Europe (50.1%), Western-Asia (6.8%), America (30%), and North-Africa (9.3%) were analyzed. The COVID-19 lockdown led to significantly decreased mental wellbeing, sleep quality, and total physical activity energy expenditure levels (all p < 0.001). Regression analysis showed that the change in total PSQI score and total physical activity energy expenditure (F(2, 514) = 66.41 p < 0.001) were significant predictors of the decrease in mental wellbeing from pre- to during lockdown (p < 0.001, R2: 0.20). Conclusion. COVID-19 lockdown deleteriously affected physical activity and sleep patterns. Furthermore, change in the total PSQI score and total physical activity energy expenditure were significant predictors for the decrease in mental wellbeing
Beiträge zum Mathematikunterricht 2022:56. Jahrestagung der Gesellschaft für Didaktik der Mathematik
No full textDer Band enthält die Beiträge 56. Jahrestagung der Gesellschaft für Didaktik der Mathematik vom 29.08.2022 bis 02.09.2022 in Frankfurt am Main. Dabei handelt es sich um die Fokus- und Hauptvorträge, die Beiträge aus den Minisymposien, die Einzelvorträge, die Kurzvorträge und die Berichte der Arbeitskreise