University of Regensburg

We propose a new approach to crystalline cohomology based on the observation that one can lift smooth algebras uniquely “up to coherent homotopy.”

Facial emotional expressions are crucial in face-to-face social interactions, and recent findings have highlighted their interactive nature. However, the underlying neural mechanisms remain unclear. This EEG study investigated whether the interactive exchange of facial expressions modulates socio-emotional processing. Participants (N = 41) displayed a facial emotional expression (angry, neutral, or happy) towards a virtual agent, and the agent then responded with a further emotional expression (angry or happy) or remained neutral (control condition). We assessed subjective experience (valence, arousal), facial EMG (Zygomaticus, Corrugator), and ERPs (EPN, LPP) elicited by the agent’s response. Replicating previous findings, we found that an agent’s happy facial expression was experienced as more pleasant and elicited increased Zygomaticus activity when participants had initiated the interaction with a happy compared to an angry expression. At the neural level, angry expressions resulted in a greater LPP than happy expressions, but only when participants directed an angry or happy, but not a neutral, expression at the agent. These findings suggest that sending an emotional expression increases salience and enhances the processing of received emotional expressions, indicating that an interactive setting alters brain responses to social stimuli.

Aims This study aimed to investigate incidence and predictors of weaning failure and in-hospital death after successful weaning from veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) in patients with cardiogenic shock (CS). Methods and results Overall, 685 patients with CS treated with VA-ECMO from 23 tertiary care centres in 7 countries were analysed (median age 57 [interquartile range 49–66] years, 542 [79.1%] male, median lactate 7.6 [interquartile range 4.1–12.7] mmol/L). The cause of CS was acute myocardial infarction in 438 (63.9%) patients, and 431 (62.9%) patients presented with cardiac arrest. A total of 410 patients (59.9%) were successfully weaned from VA-ECMO, whereas in 275 patients (40.1%) weaning failed (i.e. patients died on or within 48 h after VA-ECMO support). Of the successfully weaned patients, 150 (36.6%) died before hospital discharge. On multivariable logistic regression, predictors for both patient groups varied: age (per 10 years, odds ratio [OR] 1.49, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.25–1.76; p < 0.001) and cardiac arrest before VA-ECMO implantation (OR 1.64, 95% CI 1.01–2.64; p = 0.04) were associated with weaning failure, whereas lactate clearance within 24 h after VA-ECMO initiation was associated with successful weaning (OR 0.21, 95% CI 0.1–0.44; p < 0.001). In-hospital death after successful weaning was more likely with higher age (per 10 years, OR 1.56, 95% CI 1.24–1.97; p < 0.001), renal replacement therapy (OR 2.56, 95% CI 1.4–4.68; p = 0.002) and bleeding events (OR 2.93, 95% CI 1.4–6.14; p = 0.004). Conclusion Weaning from VA-ECMO fails in 40% of patients treated with VA-ECMO for CS. When successful, survival after VA-ECMO weaning mostly depends on age and the incidence of device- and shock-related complications.

The transcriptomic classification of primary colorectal cancer (CRC) into distinct consensus molecular subtypes (CMSs) is a well‐described strategy for patient stratification. However, the molecular nature of CRC metastases remains poorly investigated. To this end, this study aimed to identify and compare organotropic CMS frequencies in CRC liver and brain metastases. Compared to reported CMS frequencies in primary CRC, liver metastases from CRC patients were CMS4‐enriched and CMS3‐depleted, whereas brain metastases mainly clustered as CMS3 and rarely as CMS4. Regarding overall survival rates, CMS4 was the most favorable subtype for patients with hepatic lesions, followed by CMS1 and CMS2. The survival of patients with brain metastases did not correlate with CMS. However, we identified a CMS3‐related metabolic gene signature, specifically upregulated in central nervous system (CNS)‐infiltrating CRC, as a negative prognostic marker and potential tumor progressor. In summary, subtyping of CRC metastases revealed an organotropic CMS distribution in liver and brain with impact on patient survival. CNS‐infiltrating CRC samples were enriched for CMS3 and predictive metabolic biomarkers, suggesting metabolic dysregulation of CRC cells as a prerequisite for metastatic colonization of the brain.

This paper examines the time and future orientations of adolescents who face challenging life situations due to various disabilities, including visual impairment, chronic disease, and severe learning disabilities. Participants encountered institutional barriers related to their disabilities, which they experienced as “time outs.” Through contrasting cases, we develop a longitudinal typology that connects future orientations with experiences of non-participation from a biographical perspective. Our findings offer insights into the future orientations of young people at increased risk of exclusion, a topic the literature largely overlooks. Based on interviews with young people in Germany during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, this paper explores changes in their perceptions of the future over time. The interviews were conducted and analyzed using the Documentary Method of interpretation to investigate both explicit meaning-making and implicit orientations as part of the habitus. Combined with time-oriented longitudinal research, this relational approach enables a holistic reconstruction of young people's future orientations.

The systematic nucleophilic functionalization of the cationic pentaphosphole ligand complex [Cp*Fe(η⁴‐P5Me)][OTf] (A) with group 16/17 nucleophiles is reported. This method represents a highly reliable and versatile strategy for the design of novel transition‐metal complexes featuring twofold substituted end‐deck cyclo‐P5 ligands, bearing unprecedented hetero‐element substituents. By the reaction of A with classical group 16 nucleophiles, complexes of the type [Cp*Fe(η⁴‐P5MeE)] (E=OEt (1), OtBu (2), SPh (3), SePh (4)) are obtained. By transferring this protocol to group 17 nucleophiles, the highly sensitive complexes [Cp*FeP5(η⁴‐P5MeX)] (X=F (5), Cl (6), Br (7), I (8)) could be isolated. All products show exclusively 1,1'‐substitution at the cyclo‐P5 ring. Interestingly, further studies on the reactivity of the halogenated species revealed their ability to undergo ring‐opening reactions with cyclic ethers such as THF and ethylene oxide yielding [Cp*FeP5(η⁴‐P5MeOC4H8X)] (X=Br (9), I (10)) or [Cp*FeP5(η⁴‐P5MeOC2H4X)] (X=Br (11), I (12)), respectively. Furthermore, the use of acyclic ethers such as dimethoxyethane led to the formation of [Cp*FeP5(η⁴‐P5MeOC2H4OCH3)] (13) mediated by C−O bond cleavage, followed by subsequent P−O bond formation, as further enlightened by DFT calculations.

The synthesis of the cluster complexes [(Cp’’’Co)3(μ3,η²:η²:η²‐E3)(μ3‐E)] (E=P (3), As (4)) starting from the anionic triple‐decker complexes [K(18cr6)(dme)2][(Cp’’’Co)2(μ,η⁴:η⁴‐E4)] (E=P (1), As (2)) by electrophilic quenching with the Co dimer [(Cp’’’CoCl)2] is reported. Both complexes show a distinct redox chemistry, which was first investigated by cyclic voltammetry. Subsequently, the monoanions [K(L)(sol)n][(Cp’’’Co)3(μ3,η²:η²:η²‐E3)(μ3‐E)] (E=P, L=18cr6, sol=dme, n=2 (5), E=As, L=2,2,2‐crypt, n=0 (6)), the monocations [(Cp’’’Co)3(μ3,η²:η²:η²‐E3)(μ3‐E)][FAl] (E=P (7), As (8)) and the dications [(Cp’’’Co)3(μ3,η³:η³:η³‐E4)][TEF]2 (E=P (9), As (10)) could be realized experimentally and isolated in moderate to good yields. All compounds were characterized by single crystal X‐ray structure analysis, NMR and EPR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry and elemental analysis.

On the one hand, political polarization is necessary for a plural democracy, which must never be satisfied with a permanent lack of alternatives regarding its central principles and values. On the other hand, polarization can become dysfunctional for democracy when the absoluteness of the rejection of political opponents leads to the endorsement of anti-democratic attitudes and measures, when politics is seen as a zero-sum game and the diversity of legitimate opinions, attitudes, and identities is neglected. The identity of democracy is to prevent this in the long run and to balance competing elements instead. Based on this premise, the article aims to explain why the extent of affective polarization in established democracies varies greatly, using Norway and Italy as two case studies according to the most similar case design. Accordingly, it argues for a holistic view of a country’s political culture that takes into account historical path dependencies and upheavals and thereby reveals whether a democratic society is more or less willing to accept and balance competing conceptions of democracy.

Nonabelian gauge theories are chaotic in the classical limit. We discuss new evidence from SU(2) lattice gauge theory that they are also chaotic at the quantum level. We also describe possible future studies aimed at discovering the consequences of this insight. Based on a lecture presented by the first author at the Particles and Plasmas Symposium 2024.

Anxiety and depression disorders show high prevalence rates, and stress is a significant risk factor for both. However, studies investigating the interplay between anxiety, depression, and stress regulation in the brain are scarce. The present manuscript included 124 law students from the LawSTRESS project. Anxiety and depression symptoms were assessed using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and psychosocial stress was induced with the imaging stress paradigm Scan STRESS . Anxiety, but not depression scores, were significantly related to neural stress responses in a striato‐limbic cluster. Moreover, relative to women, men showed stronger associations between anxiety scores and activation in striatal and temporal clusters. A bifactor model of the HADS suggested a general factor characterized by tension, nervousness, and cheerlessness, which was associated with activation changes in a similar but more circumscribed cluster than anxiety. In the LawSTRESS project, the HADS was assessed at five sampling points (1 year, 3 months, 1 week prior exam, 1 week, and 1 month thereafter), and thus an exploratory trajectory analysis could be performed. It confirmed the relationship between anxiety scores and striatal stress responses at baseline but revealed no predictive value of the neural measure across the sampling points. Our results suggest that—in healthy young participants—neural acute psychosocial stress responses in striato‐limbic structures are associated with anxiety, supporting the assumption that these regions are related to individual differences in vulnerability to stress‐related disorders. A correlation with depression scores could not be found, and possible explanations are discussed.

Background Molecular tumor boards (MTBs) play a pivotal role in personalized oncology, leveraging complex data sets to tailor therapy for cancer patients. The integration of digital support and visualization tools is essential in this rapidly evolving field facing fast-growing data and changing clinical processes. This study addresses the gap in understanding the evolution of software and visualization needs within MTBs and evaluates the current state of digital support. Alignment between user requirements and software development is crucial to avoid waste of resources and maintain trust. Methods In two consecutive nationwide medical informatics projects in Germany, surveys and expert interviews were conducted as stage 1 (n = 14), stage 2 (n = 30), and stage 3 (n = 9). Surveys, via the SoSci Survey tool, covered participants' roles, working methods, and support needs. The second survey additionally addressed requirements for visualization solutions in molecular tumor boards. These aimed to understand diverse requirements for preparation, implementation, and documentation. Nine semi-structured expert interviews complemented quantitative findings through open discussion. Results Using quantitative and qualitative analyses, we show that existing digital tools may improve therapy recommendations and streamline MTB case preparation, while continuous training and system improvements are needed. Conclusions Our study contributes to the field by highlighting the importance of developing user-centric, customizable software solutions that can adapt to the fast-paced environment of MTBs to advance personalized oncology. In doing so, it lays the foundation for further advances in personalized medicine in oncology and points to a shift towards more efficient, technology-driven clinical decision-making processes. This research not only enriches our understanding of the integration of digital tools into MTBs, but also signals a broader shift towards technological innovation in healthcare.

Purpose In heart failure (HF) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) populations, sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) is associated with impaired health outcomes. We evaluated whether in patients with HF, concomitant HF and COPD or COPD, the number of hospitalizations would be reduced in the year after testing for SDB with and without treatment initiation compared to the year before. Methods We performed a multicentre retrospective study of 390 consecutive sleep-clinic patients who had a primary diagnosis of chronic HF, HF and COPD or COPD and a secondary diagnosis of SDB. The date of SDB-testing was defined as the index date. Data on healthcare utilization was extracted for the 12-month period prior to and after this date. Results The initiation of adaptive servoventilation (ASV) and non-invasive ventilation (NIV) treatment resulted in a statistically significant reduction in the number of hospitalisations. While continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment also demonstrated a reduction in hospitalisations, the observed effect did not reach the level of statistical significance. After accounting for demographics and comorbidities in multivariable regression analyses, only NIV was significantly associated with a reduction in hospitalizations, while CPAP or ASV were not. NIV appears to be underutilized in COPD. Conclusions Our data indicate, that patients with HF or COPD and concomitant SDB may benefit from the initiation of appropriate PAP-therapy. Whether treating SDB in HF- and COPD-patients influences healthcare utilization merits further investigation.

Human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) uses a number of strategies to modulate viral and host gene expression during its life cycle. To characterize the transcriptional and translational landscape of HIV-1 infected cells, we used a combination of ribosome profiling, disome sequencing and RNA sequencing. We show that HIV-1 messenger RNAs are efficiently translated at all stages of infection, despite evidence for a substantial decrease in the translational efficiency of host genes that are implicated in host cell translation. Our data identify upstream open reading frames in the HIV-1 5′-untranslated region as well as internal open reading frames in the Vif and Pol coding domains. We also observed ribosomal collisions in Gag-Pol upstream of the ribosome frameshift site that we attributed to an RNA structural fold using RNA structural probing and functional analysis. Antisense oligonucleotides designed to alter the base of this structure decreased frameshift efficiency. Overall, our data highlight the complexity of HIV-1 gene regulation and provide a key resource for decoding of host–pathogen interactions upon HIV-1 infection. Furthermore, we provide evidence for a RNA structural fold including the frameshift site that could serve as a target for antiviral therapy.

The continuous technological development of electronic devices and the introduction of new materials lead to ever greater demands on the fabrication of semiconductor heterostructures and their characterization. This work focuses on optimizing Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) depth profiles of semiconductor heterostructures aiming at a minimization of measurement-induced profile broadening. As a model system, a state-of-the-art Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE) grown multilayer homostructure consisting of n a tSi/ 28Si bilayers with only 2 nm in thickness is investigated while varying the most relevant sputter parameters. Atomic concentration-depth profiles are determined and an error function based description model is used to quantify layer thicknesses as well as profile broadening. The optimization process leads to an excellent resolution of the multilayer homostructure. The results of this optimization guide to a ToF-SIMS analysis of another MBE grown heterostructure consisting of a strained and highly purified 28Si layer sandwiched between two Si 0.7Ge 0.3 layers. The sandwiched 28Si layer represents a quantum well that has proven to be an excellent host for the implementation of electron-spin qubits.

Objectives Sedentary behaviour (SB) is associated with increased risks of breast, colorectal, endometrial, ovarian and rectal cancers. However, the number of cancer cases attributable to SB in Germany and the associated costs are unknown. Setting Numbers and proportions (population-attributable fractions, PAF) of new cancer cases attributable to SB with published risk estimates for Germany for the years 2024, 2030 and 2040. Participants Sex-specific and age-specific population projections, national cancer incidence and exposure data. Primary and secondary outcome measures: new cancer cases attributable to SB and healthcare costs associated with cancer cases attributable to SB in Germany for the year 2024. Results Estimated numbers of cancers attributable to SB are projected to be up to 7612 cases (6% of total cancer cases) in 2024, up to 7899 cases (6%) in 2030 and up to 8245 cases (6%) in 2040. The PAF attributable to SB in women is 3% for breast cancer, 8% for colon cancer, 9% for both endometrial and ovarian cancers and 2% for rectal cancer. In men, the PAF is 9% for colon cancer and 3% for rectal cancer. In 2024, the estimated costs of SB-attributable cancers are €270 million for colon cancer, €51 million for rectal cancer, €234 million for breast cancer and €242 million for female genital cancers. Conclusions A considerable number of cancer cases can be attributed to SB, which also imposes a large health economic burden. Implementing effective prevention measures, such as workplace, school or commuting interventions, is needed to reduce the incidence of cancer attributable to this modifiable risk factor.

Objectives To assess the impact of a positive history of venous thromboembolism (VTE) on perioperative outcomes, including length of in‐hospital stay, readmission rates, 90‐day postoperative complications, and healthcare costs in bladder cancer (BCa) patients undergoing transurethral resection of bladder tumour (TURBT) in the United States. Patients and Methods Patients aged ≥18 years with a BCa diagnosis undergoing TURBT were identified in the Merative® Marketscan® Research de‐identified databases between 2007 and 2021. Multivariable logistic regression adjusted by relevant perioperative confounders was used to investigate the association between diagnosis of VTE before TURBT and 90‐day complication rates, new postoperative VTE events, re‐hospitalization, and total hospital expenditures (2021 US dollars). Sensitivity analyses on VTE severity (pulmonary embolism [PE], deep venous thrombosis [DVT] or superficial thrombophlebitis/phlebitis [SVT]), as well as TURBT extent (minor vs. major) were additionally examined. Results In total, 139 800 patients were identified, with 5.3% having preoperative VTE, including DVT (n = 3112, 42.20%), PE (n = 2046, 27.74%) and SVT (n = 2217, 30.06%). A history of preoperative VTE predicted higher rates of any complication (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.28, 95% CI 1.14–1.43) and also higher rates of infectious and haemorrhagic complications. Additionally, preoperative VTE increased the risk of novel VTE events following TURBT (aOR 17.30, 95% CI 16.05–18.65), hospital length of stay (aOR 2.23, 95% CI 1.90–2.62), readmissions (aOR 1.47, 95% CI 1.39–1.56), and hospital associated costs (aOR 1.17, 95% CI 1.12–1.23). DVT and non‐minor TURBT procedures did not increase the risk of any, infectious, or haemorrhagic complications, but other associations were maintained regardless of the severity of VTE (PE, DVT, SVT) or TURBT extent (minor/major). Conclusions A history of VTE before undergoing transurethral procedures for BCa is associated with significantly worse perioperative outcomes and higher healthcare costs. These findings may help us to counsel on the risks of the intervention and hopefully improve our ability to mitigate such risks.

A bstract Making use of conformal symmetry of large- n f QCD in d = 4 – 2 ϵ dimensions at the Wilson-Fischer fixed point, we calculate the two-loop coefficient functions in the operator product expansion of two electromagnetic currents in general kinematics with two different photon virtualities. This result is necessary for the description of the double deeply virtual Compton scattering to the next-to-next-to-leading order accuracy, but is also interesting for a range of other two-photon processes. We present analytic expression for the coefficient function in momentum fraction space in the $\overline{\textrm{MS}}$ MS ¯ scheme and study its numerical impact on the Compton form factors for a simple model of the generalized parton distributions. The calculated corrections turn out to be large and are significant for the kinematics of proposed experiments.

Intensive longitudinal sampling enhances subjective data collection by capturing real-time, dynamic inputs in natural settings, complementing traditional methods. This study evaluates the feasibility of using daily self-reported app data to assess clinical improvement among tinnitus patients undergoing treatment. App data from a multi-center randomized clinical trial were analysed using time-series feature extraction and nested cross-validated ordinal regression with elastic net regulation to predict clinical improvement based on the Clinical Global Impression-Improvement scale (CGI-I). With 50% app compliance (N = 129, 8480 entries), the model demonstrated good fit to the test data (McFadden R2 = 0.82) suggesting its generalizability. Clinical improvement was associated with linear declines in tinnitus-related thoughts, jaw tension, tinnitus loudness, increases in happiness, and variability changes in tinnitus loudness and distress. These findings suggest that daily self-reported data on tinnitus symptoms is sensitive to treatment response and provides insights into specific symptom changes that occur during treatment.