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Synchronized movement is a ubiquitous feature of dance and music performance. Much research into the evolutionary origins of these cultural practices has focused on why humans perform rather than watch or listen to dance and music. In this study, we show that movement synchrony among a group of performers predicts the aesthetic appreciation of live dance performances. We developed a choreography that continuously manipulated group synchronization using a defined movement vocabulary based on arm swinging, walking and running. The choreography was performed live to four audiences, as we continuously tracked the performers' movements, and the spectators' affective responses. We computed dynamic synchrony among performers using cross recurrence analysis of data from wrist accelerometers, and implicit measures of arousal from spectators' heart rates. Additionally, a subset of spectators provided continuous ratings of enjoyment and perceived synchrony using tablet computers. Granger causality analyses demonstrate predictive relationships between synchrony, enjoyment ratings and spectator arousal, if audiences form a collectively consistent positive or negative aesthetic evaluation. Controlling for the influence of overall movement acceleration and visual change, we show that dance communicates group coordination via coupled movement dynamics among a group of performers. Our findings are in line with an evolutionary function of dance-and perhaps all performing arts-in transmitting social signals between groups of people. Human movement is the common denominator of dance, music and theatre. Acknowledging the time-sensitive and immediate nature of the performer-spectator relationship, our study makes a significant step towards an aesthetics of joint actions in the performing arts.

Performing dance is an intrinsically social art form where at least one person moves while another person watches. Dancing in groups promotes social bonding, but how does group dance affect the people watching? A group of dancers and dance novices watched a 30 min dance video individually in an fMRI scanner. In a follow-up behavioural study, the same people watched the video again and provided continuous enjoyment ratings. Firstly, we computed cross-recurrence of continuous enjoyment ratings and inter-subject correlations (ISCs) in fMRI separately for both groups, and with the choreographer of the dance work. At both behavioural and neural levels, dancers responded more similarly to each other than novices. ISCs among dancers extended beyond brain areas involved in audio-visual integration and sensory areas of human movement perception into motor areas, suggesting greater sensorimotor familiarity with the observed dance movements in the expert group. Secondly, we show that dancers’ brain activations and continuous ratings are more similar to the choreographer’s ratings in keeping with sharing an aesthetic and artistic perspective when viewing the dance. Thirdly, we show that movement synchrony among performers is the best predictor of brain synchrony among both expert and novice spectators. This is consistent with the idea that changes in emergent movement synchrony are a key aesthetic feature of performing dance. Finally, ISCs across perceptual and motor brain areas were primarily driven by movement acceleration and synchrony, whereas ISCs in orbital and pre-frontal brain areas were overall weaker and better explained by the continuous enjoyment ratings of each group. Our findings provide strong evidence that the aesthetic appreciation of dance involves a common experience between dance spectators and the choreographer. Moreover, the similarity of brain activations and of enjoyment increases with shared knowledge of - and practice in - the artform that is being experienced, in this case contemporary performing dance.

This written thesis is an exegesis of developments arising within my choreographic practice and thinking through the creation and performance of the choreographic work No-How Generator, an artistic investigation of the event of choreographic performance as a site of embodied knowledge-generation. Drawing on the cognitive science perspective of Guy Claxton and others, this thesis emphasises the embodied basis of knowing and argues that this grounds an understanding of knowledge-generation as intrinsic within the embodied context of choreography. This understanding foregrounds the integral presence and contributions of ways of knowing that are felt, more-than-rational and intuitive within the generation of knowing and intelligence. Insights are articulated into how these ways of knowing unfold in my choreographic practice, supported by specific conceptual and practical tools and orientations that I have developed in a choreographic context during this research. This includes no-how (drawn from Samuel Beckett via Sarat Maharaj's writings on art-as-knowledge), which I use to name the particular kind of knowing that I consider this artistic research to be generative of, and Magic & Science (drawn from art-historian Aby Warburg) which I use to name the broader epistemological orientation that I situate choreographic no-how generation within. Drawing connections between Warburg's work and my engagement with the work of choreographer Deborah Hay, this thesis emphasises that the catalytic dynamics of paradox are a generative and inherent part of the artistic and embodied landscape of what I term choreographic no-how generation. Drawing on humanities writers including Boaventura de Sousa Santos, the thesis emphasises that a continual, underlying attention to the social and political contexts within which choreographic no-how generation unfolds is an integral dimension of a choreographic engagement with it. Through its integrated embodiment of this particular multidisciplinary constellation of knowledges, this artistic research develops novel approaches to practicing and conceptualising the generation of knowing in choreographic contexts. This research works to broaden understandings, both within and beyond the field of dance, of the forms that knowledge-generation can and does take, and of the social and political relevance that such a broadening has.

Previous studies have indicated that glabellar botulinum toxin (BTX) injections may lead to a sustained alleviation of depression. This may be accomplished by the disruption of a facial feedback loop, which potentially mitigates the experience of negative emotions. Accordingly, glabellar BTX injection can attenuate amygdala activity in response to emotional stimuli. A prototypic condition with an excess of negative emotionality and impulsivity accompanied by elevated amygdala reactivity to emotional stimuli is borderline personality disorder (BPD). In order to improve the understanding of how glabellar BTX may affect the processing of emotional stimuli and impulsivity, we conducted a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study. Our hypotheses were (1) glabellar BTX leads to increased activation in prefrontal areas during inhibition performance and (2) BTX decreases amygdala activity during the processing of emotional stimuli in general. Using an emotional go-/no-go paradigm during fMRI, the interference of emotion processing and impulsivity in a sample of n = 45 women with BPD was assessed. Subjects were randomly assigned to BTX treatment or serial acupuncture (ACU) of the head. After 4 weeks, both treatments led to a reduction in the symptoms of BPD. However, BTX treatment was specifically associated with improved inhibition performance and increased activity in the motor cortex. In addition, the processing of negative emotional faces was accompanied by a reduction in right amygdala activity. This study provides the first evidence that glabellar BTX injections may modify central neurobiological and behavioural aspects of BPD. Since the control treatment produced similar clinical effects, these neurobiological findings may be specific to BTX and not a general correlate of symptomatic improvement.

Automation of frequently used words is a key component in the development of reading fluency. However, acquiring fast word recognition skills is a serious challenge for many children in their early years of formal education. Lagging word recognition leads to general reading problems, as fluency is a vital prerequisite for text comprehension. Recent research shows that the percentage of struggling elementary school readers in Germany is increasing, speaking to the need for widespread implementation of effective word recognition interventions. This pilot study aims to provide preliminary evidence of the effectiveness of peer-tutorial reading racetrack training with an integrated motivational system for the sight word fluency of German struggling elementary school students. The intervention comprised twelve 15-min teaching units over a period of three weeks. To encourage reading motivation, the intervention included graphing of performance scores and a group contingency procedure. A control-experimental group design (N = 44) with pre-, post-, and two follow-up measurements (each after five weeks) was employed to investigate the impact of the treatment on decoding sight words at an appropriate speed. Results demonstrated a significant performance increase in the treatment group, relative to the control group. The effect size can be considered very high (partial η2 = .76), indicating that this brief training has the potential to enhance the word recognition of struggling elementary students.

The existence of transgenerational effects of radiation exposure on the human germline remains controversial. Evidence for transgenerational biomarkers are of particular interest for populations, who have been exposed to higher than average levels of ionizing radiation (IR). This study investigated signatures of parental exposure to IR in offspring of former German radar operators and Chernobyl cleanup workers, focusing on clustered de novo mutations (cDNMs), defined as multiple de novo mutations (DNMs) within 20 bp. We recruited 110 offspring of former German radar operators, who were likely to have been exposed to IR (Radar cohort, exposure = 0–353 mGy), and reanalyzed sequencing data of 130 offspring of Chernobyl cleanup workers (CRU, exposure = 0–4080 mGy) from Yeager, et al. In addition, we analyzed whole genome trio data of 1275 offspring from unexposed families (Inova cohort). We observed on average 2.65 cDNMs (0.61 adjusted for the positive predictive value (PPV)) per offspring in the CRU cohort, 1.48 (0.34 PPV) in the Radar cohort and 0.88 (0.20 PPV) in the Inova cohort. Although under the condition that the proportion of true mutations is low in this analysis, this represented a significant increase ( ) of cDNMs counts, that scaled with paternal exposure to IR ( ). Our findings corroborate that cDNMs are a potential transgenerational biomarker of paternal IR exposure.

Positron emission tomography with 68 Gallium ( 68 Ga) labeled inhibitors of fibroblast activation protein ( 68 Ga-FAPI-PET) is a promising imaging technique for patients with recurrent pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas (PDAC). To date, it is not clear if different acquisition timepoints for 68 Ga-FAPI-PET may result in comparable imaging information and if repetitive 68 Ga-FAPI-PET imaging may add diagnostic value to single timepoint acquisition for recurrent PDAC. Here we analyzed retrospectively early (20 min p.i.) and late (60 min p.i.) 68 Ga-FAPI-PET imaging using FAPI-46 of 33 patients with possible recurrence of PDAC concerning detection rates and uptake over time of local recurrences, metastases, inflammatory lesions of the pancreas, cholestatic lesions of the liver and reactive tissue. 33 patients with histologically confirmed PDAC after complete or partial resection of the pancreas and possible recurrence were examined by 68 Ga-FAPI-46-PET acquired 20- and 60-min post injection (p.i.) of the radiotracer. FAPI-positive lesions were classified as local recurrences, metastases, inflammatory lesions of the pancreas (ILP), cholestatic lesions of the liver and reactive tissue based on histology, PET- and CT-morphology and clinical information. Lesions were contoured, and standardized uptake values (SUVmax and SUVmean) and target-to-background ratios (TBR) were analyzed for both acquisition timepoints. In total, 152 FAPI-positive lesions (22 local relapses, 47 metastases, 26 inflammatory lesions of the pancreas, 28 reactive tissues, and 29 cholestatic lesions) were detected. Detection rates for the early and late acquisition of 68 Ga-FAPI-46-PET were almost identical except cholestatic lesions, which showed a higher detection rate at early imaging. SUV parameters and TBRs of ILP significantly decreased over time. Cholestatic lesions showed a tendency towards decreasing uptake. All other types of lesions showed relatively stable uptake over time. Early and late acquisition of 68 Ga-FAPI-PET results in comparable imaging information in patients with possible recurrence of PDAC. Two timepoint imaging offers additional diagnostic potential concerning differential diagnoses.

Persistent Genital Arousal Disorder (PGAD) is a rare condition—mostly in women—where patients perceive prolonged genital arousal without any sexual desire or stimulation. Etiopathological considerations reach from peripheral to central issues over local disturbance of the pudendal nerve to neuropathy, psychosocial, and pharmacological theories. Since well controlled clinical studies about PGAD in conjunction with a mental and somatic health status are missing, this study is a detailed clinical investigation of PGAD patients compared to healthy controls. 26 women who fulfilled diagnostic criteria for PGAD were compared to 26 age matched healthy controls. Investigations included comparison of vegetative, gynaecological and sexual history, psychiatric features as well as a (neuro-)radiological, neurophysiological and gynaecological examination. Moreover, a detailed clinical characterisation of PGAD symptoms was performed. PGAD symptoms were mostly characterised as tingling or prickling and were permanently present. In over 80%, PGAD symptoms were located in the clitoris. Almost 70% reported radiations to other regions of the body. Most frequent trigger factors were tight clothes, mental stress, driving a car/bus/bicycle and sexual intercourse. Relieving factors were mainly distraction, relaxation, physical exercise, masturbation and swimming. In group comparisons, PGAD presented with significant higher rates of sexual dysfunctions, spontaneous orgasms, swelling of the genitals, extraordinary lubrication as well as higher rates in depression, agoraphobia, generalized anxiety disorder and lifetime panic disorder. Significantly more PGAD patients were diagnosed with restless legs symptoms. In contrast childhood traumatization, somatization disorder, suicidality, gynaecological as well as neurophysiological examination of the pudendal nerve were not different between the groups. MRI of the brain, pelvis and spinal cord was unsuspicious and incidental findings - including Tarlov cysts or pelvic venous congestion - were equally distributed among the groups. In summary, our study provides a careful characterization of women with PGAD highlighting a serious mental burden, most probably as a consequence of PGAD. With the current set of clinical investigations there was no evidence of a clear causal relationship to a specific clinical finding as it has been previously discussed. Future studies and additional techniques will have to further explore where and how in the peripheral or central nervous systems PGAD develops.

Triggering receptors expressed on myeloid cells (TREM) form a multigene family of immunoregulatory Ig-like receptors and play important roles in the regulation of innate and adaptive immunity. In chickens, three members of the TREM family have been identified on chromosome 26. One of them is TREM-B1 which possesses two V-set Ig-domains, an uncharged transmembrane region and a long cytoplasmic tail with one ITSM and two ITIMs indicating an inhibitory function. We generated specific monoclonal antibodies by immunizing a Balb/c mouse with a TREM-B1-FLAG transfected BWZ.36 cell line and tested the hybridoma supernatants on TREM-B1-FLAG transfected 2D8 cells. We obtained two different antibodies specific for TREM-B1, mab 7E8 (mouse IgG1) and mab 1E9 (mouse IgG2a) which were used for cell surface staining. Single and double staining of different tissues, including whole blood preparations, revealed expression on thrombocytes. Next we investigated the biochemical properties of TREM-B1 by using the specific mab 1E9 for immunoprecipitation of either lysates of surface biotinylated peripheral blood cells or stably transfected 2D8 cells. Staining with streptavidin coupled horse radish peroxidase revealed a glycosylated monomeric protein of about 50 kDa. Furthermore we used the stably transfected 2D8 cell line for analyzing the cytoplasmic tyrosine based signaling motifs. After pervanadate treatment, we detected phosphorylation of the tyrosine residues and subsequent recruitment of the tyrosine specific protein phosphatase SHP-2, indicating an inhibitory potential for TREM-B1. We also showed the inhibitory effect of TREM-B1 in chicken thrombocytes using a CD107 degranulation assay. Crosslinking of TREM-B1 on activated primary thrombocytes resulted in decreased CD107 surface expression of about 50-70%.

Background: Folate receptor alpha (FRα) is a glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored membrane protein encoded by the FOLR1 gene. Its overexpression in various cancers, including ovarian carcinoma, makes it a promising target for antibody-drug conjugates (ADC). Mirvetuximab soravtansine-gynx, an FRα-targeting ADC, has been approved by the FDA and EMA for the treatment of FRα-positive, platinum-resistant ovarian cancer. In the United States, patient selection is tied to the VENTANA FOLR1 (FOLR1-2.1) RxDx Assay, an immunohistochemical (IHC) test that identifies tumors with ≥75% moderate-to-strong membrane staining. However, in the European Union, no specific IHC test is mandated, and alternative antibodies are frequently used in routine pathology, necessitating validation of their diagnostic performance. Methods and Results: We report the results of the first interlaboratory proficiency trial on FRα testing conducted by the German Quality Assurance Initiative in Pathology (QuIP®). Sixty-eight pathology institutes participated across internal and open trials using a variety of antibodies and staining platforms. The VENTANA FOLR1 RxDx Assay demonstrated the highest reliability, with 83% of participating laboratories achieving a successful result. In contrast, alternative clones such as BN3.2 (Leica/Novocastra) and EPR20277 (Abcam) showed substantially weaker staining intensity, lower concordance with reference values, and success rates of only 22–25%, while other antibodies failed entirely. Problem analysis revealed that failures with the VENTANA FOLR1 (FOLR1-2.1) RxDx Assay were mainly due to interpretative challenges, whereas weak staining was the predominant issue with alternative clones. Participation in a preparatory online seminar improved pass rates, underscoring the importance of training. Conclusions: These findings highlight the critical importance of standardized, validated assays for FRα detection to ensure accurate patient selection for targeted therapies. The study emphasizes the need for further optimization of alternative antibodies before clinical implementation.