On Kleinian mock modular forms

Alfes-Neumann C, Mertens M. On Kleinian mock modular forms. Research in the Mathematical Sciences. 2024.We give an explicit and computationally efficient construction of harmonic weak Maass forms which map to weight $2$ newforms under the $\xi$-operator. Our work uses a new non-analytic completion of the Kleinian $\zeta$-function from the theory of Abelian functions

TARGETING MITOCHONDRIAL BIOGENESIS WITH NITRO-OLEIC ACID HAS PROTECTIVE EFFECTS ON MURINE CARDIOMYOCYTES UNDER METABOLIC STRESS

Donhauser E, Müller M, Schubert T, et al. TARGETING MITOCHONDRIAL BIOGENESIS WITH NITRO-OLEIC ACID HAS PROTECTIVE EFFECTS ON MURINE CARDIOMYOCYTES UNDER METABOLIC STRESS. In: FREE RADICAL BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE. Vol 218. New york: Elsevier Science Inc.; 2024: 35

Segregated Dynamical Networks for Biological Motion Perception in the Mu and Beta Range Underlie Social Deficits in Autism

Siemann J, Kroeger A, Bender S, Muthuraman M, Siniatchkin M. Segregated Dynamical Networks for Biological Motion Perception in the Mu and Beta Range Underlie Social Deficits in Autism. Diagnostics. 2024;14(4): 408.Objective: Biological motion perception (BMP) correlating with a mirror neuron system (MNS) is attenuated in underage individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). While BMP in typically-developing controls (TDCs) encompasses interconnected MNS structures, ASD data hint at segregated form and motion processing. This coincides with less fewer long-range connections in ASD than TDC. Using BMP and electroencephalography (EEG) in ASD, we characterized directionality and coherence (mu and beta frequencies). Deficient BMP may stem from desynchronization thereof in MNS and may predict social-communicative deficits in ASD. Clinical considerations thus profit from brain–behavior associations. Methods: Point-like walkers elicited BMP using 15 white dots (walker vs. scramble in 21 ASD (mean: 11.3 ± 2.3 years) vs. 23 TDC (mean: 11.9 ± 2.5 years). Dynamic Imaging of Coherent Sources (DICS) characterized the underlying EEG time-frequency causality through time-resolved Partial Directed Coherence (tPDC). Support Vector Machine (SVM) classification validated the group effects (ASD vs. TDC). Results: TDC showed MNS sources and long-distance paths (both feedback and bidirectional); ASD demonstrated distinct from and motion sources, predominantly local feedforward connectivity, and weaker coherence. Brain–behavior correlations point towards dysfunctional networks. SVM successfully classified ASD regarding EEG and performance. Conclusion: ASD participants showed segregated local networks for BMP potentially underlying thwarted complex social interactions. Alternative explanations include selective attention and global–local processing deficits. Significance: This is the first study applying source-based connectivity to reveal segregated BMP networks in ASD regarding structure, cognition, frequencies, and temporal dynamics that may explain socio-communicative aberrancies

Practical guidance for the implantation of non-transvenous ICD systems

Duncker D, Albert K, Rillig A, et al. Praktische Anleitung zur Implantation nicht-transvenöser ICD-Systeme. Herzschrittmachertherapie & Elektrophysiologie. 2024;35(3):226–233.As an alternative to transvenous ICD systems, two non-transvenous ICD systems have been established in recent years: The subcutaneous ICD (S-ICD), which has been established for several years, has apresternal electrode that is implanted subcutaneously and offers ashock function and, to alimited extent, post-shock pacing. In addition, the extravascular ICD (EV-ICD) has been available in Europe since 2023 which does not require transvenous electrodes and offers the option of providing patients with antibradycardic and antitachycardic stimulation in combination with aconventional ICD function. The lead of this device is implanted substernally. Initial implantation results are promising in terms of safety and effectiveness. Both systems avoid possible complications of transvenous electrodes. This article provides practical guidance for the implantation technique and possible complications. © 2024. The Author(s)

Reconstitution of Myoglobin with Iron Porphycene Generates an Artificial Aldoxime Dehydratase with Expanded Catalytic Activities

Kato S, Abe M, Gröger H, Hayashi T. Reconstitution of Myoglobin with Iron Porphycene Generates an Artificial Aldoxime Dehydratase with Expanded Catalytic Activities. ACS CATALYSIS. 2024.Biocatalytic aldoxime dehydration is one of the most efficient methods used for the synthesis of nitriles under ambient reaction conditions without the use of highly toxic cyanides. At the same time, limitations in terms of substrate scope exist. To overcome such limitations and further extend the scope of this biocatalytic reaction, we are developing an artificial metalloenzyme with enhanced aldoxime dehydration activity based on the reconstitution of a hemoprotein. An engineered myoglobin reconstituted with an iron porphycene cofactor (rMb(FePc)) has an extremely high catalytic activity for the dehydration of diverse aldoximes. The total turnover number for the dehydration reaction reached a maximum of 9300. Furthermore, rMb(FePc) was found to promote dealcoholization of less reactive O-alkyl aldoximes which are not accepted as substrates in natural enzyme-catalyzed reactions. A series of mechanistic experiments clearly reveal the importance of hydrogen bonding between the substrates and distal His/Ser residues in the active sites. These mechanistic insights further motivated us to undertake rational mechanism-based engineering of rMb(FePc), resulting in an improved rMb(FePc) variant that is 24-fold more active than the unmutated reconstituted myoglobin catalyst

Analysing the information content of the multimodal courtship display of a parasitoid wasp

Lang S, Conrad T, Steiger S, Stoekl J. Analysing the information content of the multimodal courtship display of a parasitoid wasp. BIOLOGICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY. 2024.Courtship displays are generally composed of multiple signal components that are transmitted and perceived through different sensory modalities. However, previous studies on multimodal courtship displays have focused mainly on individual signals, thus failing to provide a full explanation of why these displays evolved despite the added costs involved. Therefore, it is essential to identify the purpose of each display component and link them to prevailing hypotheses on multimodal display function. Here, we study the multimodal courtship display of males of the parasitoid wasp Leptopilina heterotoma, which consists of wing fanning and a putative antennal pheromone, by determining the information conveyed about male quality through these two modalities. We found that a high wing-fanning frequency and a large body size led to a higher mating success, whereas we found no correlation of the pheromone composition with mating success. We conclude that the wing-fanning component conveys mate-assessment information, whereas the chemical display component, found to be species specific in a previous study, functions as a species-recognition mechanism but does not reflect the quality of a male. Altogether, our study suggests that the multimodal courtship display of L. heterotoma fits the multiple message hypothesis and might thus be a useful model for further studies

On moments of multiplicative coalescents

Konarovskyi V, Limic V. On moments of multiplicative coalescents. ANNALES DE L INSTITUT HENRI POINCARE-PROBABILITES ET STATISTIQUES. 2024;60(3):2025-2045.We prove existence of all moments of the multiplicative coalescent at all times. We obtain as byproducts a number of related results which could be of general interest. In particular, we show the finiteness of the second moment of the l 2 norm for any extremal eternal version of multiplicative coalescent. Our techniques are in part inspired by percolation, and in part are based on tools from stochastic analysis, notably the semi-martingale and the excursion theory

Publisher Correction: Global threat posed by metals and metalloids in the changing environment: a One Health approach to mechanisms of toxicity

Lee W-K, Thévenod F, Prenner EJ. Publisher Correction: Global threat posed by metals and metalloids in the changing environment: a One Health approach to mechanisms of toxicity. BioMetals. 2024

Was die Perspektive verzerrt

Kühl S. Was die Perspektive verzerrt. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. 22.07.2024

Assessing and Improving Data Quality in Linked Panel Surveys: With a Focus on Panel and Linkage Consent (Bias)

Hülle S. Assessing and Improving Data Quality in Linked Panel Surveys: With a Focus on Panel and Linkage Consent (Bias). Bielefeld: Universität Bielefeld; 2024.The analytical potential of linked panel surveys is great. Nevertheless, rising costs, declining response and linkage consent rates threaten their data quality. They frequently rely on respondent´s informed consent for further panel participation and linkage which is only provided by a (selective) subgroup. Failure to obtain panel and linkage consent decreases their analytical potential and affects their data quality. This dissertation examines the data quality of linked panel surveys, focusing on panel consent (bias) and linkage consent (bias) (RQ1) and strategies for improvement (RQ2). It introduces a new conceptual framework for assessing and improving the data quality of linked panel surveys, focusing on panel and linkage consent, compatible with the Total Survey Error paradigm. The framework models crucial data-generating processes that affect data quality in the first panel wave, namely nonresponse bias, panel consent bias, linkage consent bias, and validity. The framework is flexible as it covers the option of improving data quality through repeated requests for panel and linkage consent, and can therefore be applied to unlinked panels or linked cross-sectional surveys. This cumulative dissertation consists of four research articles and is located within survey methodology. The first article examines mode effects on linkage consent rates and linkage consent bias. The analyses are based on the „Legitimation of Inequality over the Life-Span“ (LINOS) panel that has an experimental design that randomly allocated respondents to a face-to-face sample or a web/mail sample. The self-administered modes yielded a much lower linkage consent rate, as the mode effect of 40 percentage points indicates. To assess linkage consent bias, the consent indicator was linked to an administrative database. Reassuringly, the results showed that, on average, linkage consent biases were relatively small for several administrative variables, regardless of mode. This supports the growing practice of replacing expensive interviewer-administered modes with less expensive self-administered modes. The second article consequently continues the investigation of mode effects, but with respect to panel consent rates and bias, and examines how repeated panel consent requests can improve these outcomes. The analyses are also based on the LINOS panel. The findings revealed that repeated consent requests in the form of follow-up phone calls and postcards can significantly improve panel consent rates (by around 26 percentage points) in the self-administered modes, thus reducing the gap in panel consent rates compared to the interviewer-administered mode by almost half. The panel consent bias analysis showed that, although the biases in the self-administered sample (compared to the face-to-face sample) still tended to be larger, the repeated panel consent requests helped to reduce these biases to a more tolerable level. A contribution to the TSE literature is the finding that panel consent bias was a smaller source of bias than nonresponse bias, and that sometimes these biases offset each other. The third article reviews literature on linkage and panel consent, differentiating between the survey design aspects of requests´ wording (arguments and framings) and placement (within and between waves) as well as repeated requests (within and between waves). It introduces Goal-Framing Theory (GFT) as theoretical framework for deriving hypotheses about the effectiveness of linkage arguments to survey methodology. Analyses are based on the recruitment wave of the panel survey „Quality of Life and Social Participation“ that has an innovative survey design optimized to maximize panel and linkage consent. It is the first panel covering repeated requests for both consents. Repeated requests reduced the number of non-consenters by 57 % for panel consent and by 54 % for linkage consent. The linkage wording is randomly varied in an experiment to test hypotheses from GFT that are largely supported. E.g. linkage consent rates are higher at the first request when applying the argument of time savings (hedonic goal frame) rather than referring to an improved meaningfulness of study results (normative goal frame). Linkage consent rates were (29 percentage points) higher when using different arguments between repeated requests during the interview, as opposed to repeating the same argument as before. The results on the determinants of (changing) linkage and panel consent due to repeated requests show a negative effect of privacy concerns and a positive effect of intrinsic motivation for both types of consent and a positive effect of extrinsic motivation for linkage consent. The article closes with recommendations of how to improve linkage and panel consent rates. The fourth article shifts the focus to assessing and improving the validity of linked panel surveys, particularly the data quality for substantive constructs. Using order-related justice attitudes (ORJA) as an example, it addresses the shortcomings of previous measures. Using three different datasets, the article introduces and validates the Basic Social Justice Orientations (BSJO) scale, which provides a more comprehensive measurement instrument of ORJA. This scale is compatible with psychological, sociological justice, and welfare state research and captures individual preferences for the four basic justice principles: equality, need, equity, and entitlement. In conclusion, this dissertation has developed a conceptual framework for maximizing panel and linkage consent rates, focusing on the effectiveness of repeated consent requests within a panel's recruitment wave. The results show that these repeated requests can reduce the number of non-consenters by half, making them a valuable survey design feature, particularly to counteract the consequences of both decreasing response and linkage consent rates, and in the context of spreading web surveys. Repeated requests therefore represent a notable advance in the survey methodology toolkit in terms of improving linkage and panel consent rates, potentially minimizing respective biases, improving data quality and enhancing the research potential of a linked panels