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The process of urbanization is one of the major causes of the global loss of biodiversity; however, cities nowadays also have the potential to serve as new habitats for wildlife. The European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus, L. 1758) is a typical example of a wildlife species that reaches stable population densities in cities. Due to intense plant and soil damages, German city authorities aim to control high rabbit densities through the application of a yearly hunting regime (e. g., in Munich, Berlin or Frankfurt am Main). In contrast, population densities of O. cuniculus are on decline in German rural areas, i. e., numbers of yearly hunting bags decreased. The aim of my doctoral thesis was to answer the following research questions: Do population densities of the European rabbit correlate with the intensity of urbanization in and around Frankfurt am Main and if so, which factors play a role in varying densities? How are burrow construction behaviors and group sizes, daytime activity patterns and anti-predator behaviors as well as communication behaviors of this mammal affected by urbanization?
In my first study, I focused on population dynamics across 17 different study sites in and around Frankfurt. As one of yet few studies, I invented an approach that quantified the intensity of urbanization (degree of urbanity) of each study site base on four variables: (1) intensity of anthropogenic disturbance per min and ha, (2) number of residents within a radius of 500 m, (3) proportion of artificial ground cover and (4) numbers of anthropogenic objects per ha. Spearman rank correlations confirmed that with increasing degree of urbanity also rabbit and burrow densities increased. The access to dense shrubs, bushes etc. as suitable sites for burrow construction is the most determining factor for rabbit abundances, and therefore I presumed different densities along the rural-to-urban gradient to be driven by shifts in the availability of thick vegetation.
In the second study, I calculated two indices that in both cases classified burrows to be either accumulated, evenly or randomly distributed within study sites. Additionally, in cooperation with local hunters the number of burrow entrances and animals that occupy the same burrow had been determined during the hunting season. With increasing degree of urbanity burrow distribution patterns shifted from accumulated in rural areas towards more evenly distributed within the city center of Frankfurt. This is a clear sign for an increasing access to sites suitable for burrow construction along the rural to-urban gradient. Additional Spearman rank correlations revealed that the external dimensions of burrows decreased (shorter distances between entrances) and that burrows became less complex (fewer entrances) along the rural-to-urban gradient. In accordance, the number of rabbits that commonly shared the same burrow system was highest within rural areas, whereas I found mainly pairs and single individuals within highly urbanized study sites.
In the last study I compared activity patterns, burrow use and percentages of anti-predator behaviors from one hour before sunrise until one hour after sunset of rural, suburban and urban rabbit groups. A linear mixed model (LMM) and Spearman rank correlations confirmed that rabbits located at urban and suburban sites spent more time outside their protective burrows compared to their rural conspecifics. At suburban sites, individuals invested the least amount of time in anti-predator behavior. Results of this third study gave evidence that suburban rabbit populations on one hand benefit from less predation pressure by natural predators in comparison to rural sites, whereas on the other hand are exposed to less intense disturbance by humans compared to urban study sites.
The last study focused on the effects that urbanization had on the latrine-based communication behavior of rabbits. As many other mammals, O. cuniculus exchange information via the deposition of excreta in latrines, and depending on the intended receiver(s), latrines are either formed in central areas for within-group communication or at territorial boundaries, e. g., for between-group communication. The relative importance of within- vs. between-group communication depends on, amongst other factors, population densities and group sizes which I proved both to shift along the considered rural-to-urban gradient. I determined latrine sizes, latrine densities and latrine utilization frequencies relative to their distance to the nearest burrow at 15 different study sites. Latrine densities and utilization frequencies increased with increasing distance from the burrow in suburban and urban populations whereas at rural sites, largest latrines and those containing the most fecal pellets were close to the burrow, suggesting that within-group communication prevailed.
To sum up, for the first time, I was able to relate shifts in the ecology and behavior of the European rabbit as adaptations to a gradual anthropogenic habitat alteration that are typical for “urban exploiters”. Especially the suburban habitat provides high landscape heterogeneity (“edge habitat“) which is essential for high and stable rabbit populations. Moreover, here, comparably low human disturbance and predation pressure are given in contrast to the agriculturally transformed, open landscapes which are nowadays typical for most rural areas in central Europe. I argue that this mainly leads to the observed behavioral changes along the rural-to-urban gradient. Future plans for rural land management actions should aim to increase refuge availability by generating networks of ecotones. This would also benefit species that depend on similar ecosystem structures as the European rabbit and are on decline in Germany.
The venture capital industry holds relevance for entrepreneurs looking for money to finance an innovative project, investors seeking to make money by investing in entrepreneurial firms and governments trying to promote innovation and entrepreneurship. Venture capital investment could facilitate innovation and thus a better economy.
Venture capital has enabled the U.S. to support its entrepreneurial talent by turning ideas into world-famous products and services, building companies from mere business plans to mature and powerful organizations. Three of the five largest U.S. public companies by market capitalization – Apple, Google and Microsoft – received most of their early external funding from venture capital. Having its ups and downs, venture capital investment in the U.S. expanded from virtually zero in the mid-1970s to $8 billion in 1995 and $49.3 billion in 2014. Venture backed companies have been a prime driver of economic growth in the U.S.Across the pacific, venture capital investment in China has grown out of the transition from a centrally planned economy to a free market economy over the past three decades, becoming an important pillar supporting China’s innovation system. In 2015, a total of 2,824 venture capital investment deals provided an aggregate investment of $36.9 billion. Venture capital has long been a hot topic in China’s capital market, particularly since the government decided to boost “mass entrepreneurship and innovation” in 2014.
In the U.S., most venture capital firms are organized as limited partnerships, with the venture capitalists being general partners and the investors limited partners. Studies have shown that investors choose to invest through venture funds as an intermediary rather than placing their investments directly with the entrepreneurs; because of the high risk nature of the entrepreneur’s business, it is hard for them to get bank loans or direct equity investments. Conflicts may also arise, however, between the venture capitalists acting as agents and the investors as principals.5 This agency problem maybe particularly severe, since venture capital provides money for businesses with high potential and high risk, although the limited partnership has certain merits and is still most commonly chosen as the business form for venture capital funds.6 At the same time, the fact that general partners have total control of the partnership business necessitates that the agency problem is addressed by legal rules, contracts and other mechanisms.
Meanwhile, despite the rapid growth of venture capital investments in China, little attention has been paid to the organizational form of venture capital funds. In contrast to the U.S., most Chinese venture funds have been structured as corporations. One may argue that it was due to legislative reasons: that the limited partnership was not recognized by Chinese law when venture capital first appeared in China. However, after adopted a chapter was adopted in the Partnership Enterprise Law (PEL) governing limited partnerships in 2007, most of the venture funds abided by their choice, while those opting for the limited partnership have encountered difficulties: the limited partners are having trouble trusting the general partners with their money and are therefore interfering with the operation of the partnership business, which may lead to dissolution of the partnership.
This thesis applies transaction cost theory to explain the benefits and costs of choosing the limited partnership as a business form in the special context of venture capital investments, showing that the potential agency conflict between the general partners and the limited partners have been mitigated by legal and other mechanismsin the United States, and that the U.S. investors could therefore exploit the merit of the limited partnership form in venture capital financing. In China, investors have different answers to the agency problem. Similarly to the situation in the U.S., Chinese partners also employ contract terms to deal with agency problems, and the legislators enact laws that aim at regulating the limited partnership form; some legislation was even transplanted from the U.S., such as that part of the PEL which governs limited partnerships. It seems, then, that similar mechanisms that deal with agency problems also exist in China. However, given the unique history of the development of China’s innovation system and venture capital market, the effectiveness of these constraints is questionable. Chinese venture capital investors have therefore characteristically behaved differently to U.S. investors. Rather than relying on these questionable mechanisms, Chinese investors as well as the Chinese government have developed different approaches to addressing these agency problems.
Background: Research has implicated that changes in zinc (Zn) metabolism may be associated with the biological underpinnings of eating disorders, in particular anorexia nervosa. However, to date research on the role of Zn in patients with bulimia nervosa (BN) is scarce.
Objective: We aimed to explore serum Zn concentrations in young patients with BN, with a focus on the stage of the disorder, comparing acutely ill and recovered patients with BN with healthy controls.
Methods: Serum Zn concentrations were obtained from healthy controls and from acutely ill and remitted young patients with BN. Mean duration of remission was 4.0±3.5 years.
Results: Remitted patients showed elevated serum Zn concentrations when compared to controls (Cohen’s d=2.022), but concentrations were still in the normal range. Acutely ill patients also had higher serum Zn levels when compared to controls (all values still being within the reference range, Cohen’s d=0.882). There was no difference between acutely ill and remitted patients with BN in serum Zn concentrations. Of note, remitted patients had a significantly higher body weight when compared to the other two groups. Overall, there were no significant differences in dietary preferences with regard to Zn containing foods between the groups.
Conclusion: The present study provides preliminary evidence that the underlying factors for changes in Zn serum concentrations in young patients with BN do not vary with regard to the stage of illness (acute versus remitted BN). Further prospective research is needed in order to disentangle the possible interplay between serum Zn status and bulimic eating behaviors.
Lieblingsbild
(2017)
Dieses Bild ist wichtig, weil wir daran verstanden haben, wie in der Zelle fehlerhaftes Spleißen verhindert wird. Dazu muss man wissen, dass unsere Gene sich aus Exons und dazwischenliegenden Introns zusammensetzen. Während des Spleißens werden die Introns entfernt und die Exons in ein reifes Transkript zusammengefügt, das dann für ein Protein kodiert. Allerdings gibt es innerhalb der Introns viele Bereiche, die einem Exon sehr ähnlich sehen. Werden diese sogenannten "PseudoExons" fälschlicherweise während des Spleißprozesses erkannt und in das reife Transkript eingebaut, kann das fatale Folgen für das kodierte Protein und oft die gesamte Zelle haben. ...
Fossil dental remains are an archive of unique information for paleobiological studies. Computed microtomography based on X-ray microfocus sources (X-μCT) and Synchrotron Radiation (SR-μCT) allow subtle quantification at the micron and sub-micron scale of the meso- and microstructural signature imprinted in the mineralized tissues, such as enamel and dentine, through high-resolution “virtual histology”. Nonetheless, depending on the degree of alterations undergone during fossilization, X-ray analyses of tooth tissues do not always provide distinct imaging contrasts, thus preventing the extraction of essential morphological and anatomical details. We illustrate here by three examples the successful application of neutron microtomography (n-μCT) in cases where X-rays have previously failed to deliver contrasts between dental tissues of fossilized specimen.
In dieser Arbeit wurden thermodynamische Eigenschaften eines chiralen Quark Meson Modelles untersucht. Das chirale Quark Meson Model beschreibt die starke Wechselwirkung über den Austausch von Mesonen und zudem die thermische und dichteabhängige Entwicklung der Quarkmassen im Medium über die chirale Symmetrie.Im SU(2) Model wurde zunächst in mean field approximation gearbeitet, um im Anschluss den divergenten Vakuumterm mit einzubeziehen. Nach eingehender Untersuchung der Ergebnisse, wurden dann die thermischen Mesonenfluktuationen studiert. In beiden Ansätzen verschiebt die Nullpunktsenergie den chiralen Phasenübergang zu höheren Temperaturen, wodurch die Massen bei höheren Temperaturen entarten. Beide Ansätze wurden dann zu einem gemeinsamen Modell kombiniert, um den Einfluss der Mesonenfluktuationen auf Ordnungsparameter, Massen und thermodynamische Grössen zu untersuchen. Als Fazit der Studie kann behauptet werden, dass sich der Einfluss der Mesonenfluktuationen in grösserem Maÿ auf die Thermodynamik, als auf den Ordnungsparameter und die Massen auswirkt. Im SU(3) Modell wurden ebenfalls regularisiert und zudem Vektormesonen mitberücksichtigt, welche die Repulsion zwischen den einzelnen Freiheitsgraden modelliert. Die Zustandsgleichung wird durch den Vakuum Term etwas softer und zeigt ein ähnliches Verhalten im niederen Energiebereich. Untersucht wurde neben der Temperatur T, die Elektron Baryon Rate Ye, die Sigma Meson Masse noch der Einfluss der Vektorkopplung. Aus der Zustandsgleichung konntendann Isentropen im T-mu Phasendiagramm errechnet werden, welche in naher Zukunft Aufschluss über eine dritte Familie von kompakten Sternen in Zusammenhang mit der entsprechenden Supernova Explosion geben könnte. Um die Existenz von kompakten Sternen genauer zu analysieren, wurde das chiraleSU(3) Quark Meson Modell bei T = 0 benutzt, um über die aus dem Formalismusgewonnenen Grössen Druck und Energiedichte die Tolmann-Oppenheimer-Volkoff zu lösen. Diese stellen die Masse-Radius Beziehungen kompakter Objekte dar. Auf der Suche nach Twin Stern Lösungen aus dem chiralen SU(3) Quark Meson Model wurde zunächst ein Modell für Hybridsterne entwickelt. Im untersuchten Parameterbereich fanden wir Hybrid Stern Lösungen, bei welchen der Einfluss der Quarkmaterie auf die Stabilität des Sternes untersucht wurde, denn das Einsetzen des Phasenüberganges übt einen zusätzlichen gravitativen Zug auf die hadronische Kruste aus. Der Stern ist stabil, wenn der Druck der Quarkmaterie diesem zusätzlichen Zug standzuhalten vermag. Für einen zu grossen Sprung in der Energiedichte werden die Lösungen jedoch instabil. Zwillingssterne waren nicht unter den Lösungen, da der Übergangsdruck relativklein sein muss, während der Energiedichtesprung eher gross sein sollte. Das Auftreten zweier stabiler Äste in der Masse Radius Relation kann allerdingsmit dem SU(3) Modell und entsprechendem chiralen Phasenübergang modelliert werden. Für einen gewissen Parameterbereich einhergehend mit kleinem Wert des Vakuum Druckes B konnten Nicht-Linearitäten in der Zustangsgleichungzur Lösung der TOV Gleichung beitragen. Im Weitern ist das Zusammenspiel der Vektorkopplung und der Sigma Mesonen Masse einflussreich auf die Lösungen, welche auf Kausalität, Stabilität und neben der 2 Sonnenmassen Bedingung noch auf Restriktionen vom millisecond pulsar PSR J1748-2446ad untersucht wurden.Mit Weltraummissionen wie etwa NICER (Neutron star Interior CompositionExploreR) sollte die Radiusbestimmung kompakter Objekte in Zukunft bis auf einen Kilometer genau bestimmt werden können. Die Entdeckung von zweiSternen mit der gleichen Masse und unterschiedlichen Radien wäre in der Tat ein Beweis für die Existenz von Zwillingssternen, welche dann die Theorie des Phasenüberganges in dichter Materie untermauern würde. Das Kollaps-Szenario eines Zwillingssternes würde weiteren Aufschluss über Neutrino-Emmissivität, Gamma-ray burster und Gravitationswellen Signale geben können. Dynamische Simulationen in allgemein relativistischem Kontext für compact star merger mit den hier diskutierten Zustandsgleichungen sind bereits in Planung, um Eigenschaftenwie beispielsweise das Temperatur- und Dichteprofil solcher Objekte genauer zu analysieren.
Hypoxia-induced miR-210 displays a pro-survival, cytoprotective and pro-angiogenic role in several in vitro systems. In vivo, we previously found that miR-210 inhibition increases ischemic damage. Here we describe the generation of a versatile transgenic mouse model allowing the evaluation of miR-210 therapeutic potential in ischemic cardiovascular diseases. We generated a Tet-On miR-210 transgenic mouse strain (TG-210) by targeted transgenesis in the ROSA26 locus. To functionally validate miR-210 transgenic mice, hindlimb ischemia was induced by femoral artery dissection. Blood perfusion was evaluated by power Doppler while tissue damage and inflammation were assessed by histological evaluation. We found that miR-210 levels were rapidly increased in TG-210 mice upon doxycycline administration. miR-210 overexpression was maintained over time and remained within physiological levels in multiple tissues. When hindlimb ischemia was induced, miR-210 overexpression protected from both muscular and vascular ischemic damage, decreased inflammatory cells density and allowed to maintain a better calf perfusion. In conclusion, we generated and functionally validated a miR-210 transgenic mouse model. Albeit validated in the context of a specific cardiovascular ischemic disease, miR-210 transgenic mice may also represent a useful model to assess the function of miR-210 in other physio-pathological conditions.
Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) such as quality of life and work productivity are important for measuring patient's experience. We assessed PROs during and after treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) patients.Data were obtained from a phase 3 open label study of sofosbuvir and ribavirin (SOF + RBV) with and without interferon (IFN). Patients completed 4 PRO assessment instruments (SF-36, Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Fatigue, Chronic Liver Disease Questionnaire- HCV, Work Productivity and Activity-Specific Health Problem) before, during, and after treatment.A total of 533 patients with chronic HCV were enrolled; 28.9% treatment-naïve, 23.1% cirrhotic, 219 received IFN + SOF + RBV and 314 received IFN-free SOF + RBV. At baseline, there were no differences in PROs between the IFN-free and IFN-containing treatment arms (all P > 0.05). During treatment, patients receiving IFN + SOF + RBV had a substantial impairment in their PROs (up to -24.4% by treatment week 12, up to -8.3% at week 4 post-treatment). The PRO decrements seen in the SOF + RBV arm were smaller in magnitude (up to -7.1% by treatment week 12), and all returned to baseline or improved by post-treatment week 4. By 12 weeks after treatment cessation, patients who achieved sustained viral response-12 showed some improvement of PRO scores regardless of the regimen (up to +7.1%, P < 0.0001) or previous treatment experience. In multivariate analysis, the use of IFN was independently associated with lower PROs.IFN-based regimens have a profoundly negative impact to PROs. By contrast, the impact of RBV on these PROs is relatively modest. Achieving HCV cure is associated with improvement of most of the PRO scores.
I propose a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model in which the leverage of borrowers as well as banks and housing finance play a crucial role in the model dynamics. The model is used to evaluate the relative effectiveness of a policy to inject capital into banks versus a policy to relieve households of mortgage debt. In normal times, when the economy is near the steady state and policy rates are set according to a Taylor-type rule, capital injections to banks are more effective in stimulating the economy in the long-run. However, in the middle of a housing debt crisis, when households are highly leveraged, the short-run output effects of the debt relief are more substantial. When the zero lower bound (ZLB) is additionally considered, the debt relief policy can be much more powerful in boosting the economy both in the short-run and in the longrun. Moreover, the output effects of the debt relief become increasingly larger, the longer the ZLB is binding.
The mfl-riboswitch is a transcriptional off-switch, which down-regulates expression of subunit ß of ribonucleotide reductase in Mesoplasma florum upon 2´-deoxyguanosine binding. We characterized binding of 2´-deoxyguanosine to the mfl-aptamer domain (WT aptamer) and a sequence-stabilized aptamer (MT aptamer) under in vitro and ‘in-cell-like’ conditions by isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. ‘In-celllike’ environment was simulated by Bacillus subtilis cell extract, in which both aptamers remained sufficiently stable to detect the resonances of structural elements and ligand binding in 2D NMR experiments. Under ‘in-cell-like’-environment, (i) the WT aptamer bound the endogenous metabolite guanosine and (ii) 2´-deoxyguanosine efficiently displaced guanosine from the WT aptamer. In contrast, MT aptamer exhibited moderate binding to 2´-deoxyguanosine and weak binding to guanosine. NMR experiments indicated that binding of guanosine was not limited to the aptamer domain of the riboswitch but also the full-length mfl-riboswitch bound guanosine, impacting on the regulation efficiency of the riboswitch and hinting that, in addition to 2´-deoxyguanosine, guanosine plays a role in riboswitch function in vivo. Reporter gene assays in B. subtilis demonstrated the regulation capacity of the WT aptamer, whereas the MT aptamer with lower affinity to 2´ -deoxyguanosine was not able to regulate gene expression.
The former and current multiple sclerosis (MS) classifications are essential for describing different phenotypes and disease dynamics. To establish personalized treatment regimes, further clinical and paraclinical parameters have to be considered such as imaging, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) findings, past disease-modifying therapies (DMTs), and disease activity under these therapies. In clinical practice, this information is often difficult to overview. Especially, patients with a long course of disease offer an extensive medical history so that comprehending all of the necessary information can be very time consuming.
The synergetic effects of combining structural biology and epr spectroscopy on membrane proteins
(2017)
Protein structures as provided by structural biology such as X-ray crystallography, cryo-electron microscopy and NMR spectroscopy are key elements to understand the function of a protein on the molecular level. Nonetheless, they might be error-prone due to crystallization artifacts or, in particular in case of membrane-imbedded proteins, a mostly artificial environment. In this review, we will introduce different EPR spectroscopy methods as powerful tools to complement and validate structural data gaining insights in the dynamics of proteins and protein complexes such that functional cycles can be derived. We will highlight the use of EPR spectroscopy on membrane-embedded proteins and protein complexes ranging from receptors to secondary active transporters as structural information is still limited in this field and the lipid environment is a particular challenge.
Introduction: The 2017 update to the Global Initiative for Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) strategy document includes recommendations for treatment intensification or step-down in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), although recognises that limited supporting information is available.
DACCORD is an ongoing observational, non-interventional study, recruiting patients following COPD maintenance treatment change or initiation, a subset of whom were receiving a long-acting β2-agonist (LABA) plus a long-acting muscarinic antagonist (LAMA) fixed-dose combination (FDC) on entry. Since there were no requirements in terms of prior medication (and no washout before commencing LABA/LAMA FDC), this provides an opportunity to generate "real world" data to test the GOLD 2017 recommendations.
Methods: To reduce heterogeneity, the current analyses include patients receiving indacaterol/glycopyrronium at baseline, and who, prior to the study, were receiving no COPD maintenance medication ("none"), LABA or LAMA monotherapy ("mono"), LABA plus inhaled corticosteroid (ICS; "LABA/ICS"), or triple therapy ("triple"). At the baseline visit, data collected included: demographic and disease characteristics; COPD Assessment Test (CAT); and exacerbations in the 6 months prior to entry. At 3, 6, 9 and 12 months data on exacerbations were collected, with CAT recorded at 3 and 12 months.
Results: A total of 2724 patients were included in the baseline analyses: 795, 954, 598 and 377 in the "none", "mono", "LABA/ICS" and "triple" subgroups, respectively. There were no clinically relevant differences in baseline demographics between the four groups. In terms of disease characteristics, the "triple" group had the highest proportion of patients with a disease duration of more than 1 year since diagnosis and with severe/very severe airflow limitation, but a similar percentage of non-exacerbators compared to the "none" group.
Over the 1-year follow-up, the majority of patients in all four subgroups did not exacerbate (exacerbation rates 0.16, 0.19, 0.21, and 0.26 in the "none", "mono", "LABA/ICS" and "triple" groups, respectively). At 12 months, 61.4%, 65.0%, 71.0% and 52.4% of patients had a clinically relevant improvement in CAT score.
Conclusions: Overall, the results support the GOLD recommendations in suggesting that a switch from a mono-bronchodilator or LABA plus ICS to LABA/LAMA FDC is a valid treatment option for patients with COPD. The results also validate the use of a LABA/LAMA FDC as initial maintenance treatment for COPD, and provide first "real world" evidence to support the newly added "step down" recommendation (from triple to LABA/LAMA FDC).
The disruption of coupling between brain areas has been suggested as the mechanism underlying loss of consciousness in anesthesia. This hypothesis has been tested previously by measuring the information transfer between brain areas, and by taking reduced information transfer as a proxy for decoupling. Yet, information transfer is a function of the amount of information available in the information source—such that transfer decreases even for unchanged coupling when less source information is available. Therefore, we reconsidered past interpretations of reduced information transfer as a sign of decoupling, and asked whether impaired local information processing leads to a loss of information transfer. An important prediction of this alternative hypothesis is that changes in locally available information (signal entropy) should be at least as pronounced as changes in information transfer. We tested this prediction by recording local field potentials in two ferrets after administration of isoflurane in concentrations of 0.0%, 0.5%, and 1.0%. We found strong decreases in the source entropy under isoflurane in area V1 and the prefrontal cortex (PFC)—as predicted by our alternative hypothesis. The decrease in source entropy was stronger in PFC compared to V1. Information transfer between V1 and PFC was reduced bidirectionally, but with a stronger decrease from PFC to V1. This links the stronger decrease in information transfer to the stronger decrease in source entropy—suggesting reduced source entropy reduces information transfer. This conclusion fits the observation that the synaptic targets of isoflurane are located in local cortical circuits rather than on the synapses formed by interareal axonal projections. Thus, changes in information transfer under isoflurane seem to be a consequence of changes in local processing more than of decoupling between brain areas. We suggest that source entropy changes must be considered whenever interpreting changes in information transfer as decoupling.
Measuring information processing in neural data: The application of transfer entropy in neuroscience
(2017)
It is a common notion in neuroscience research that the brain and neural systems in general "perform computations" to generate their complex, everyday behavior (Schnitzer, 2002). Understanding these computations is thus an important step in understanding neural systems as a whole (Carandini, 2012;Clark, 2013; Schnitzer, 2002; de-Wit, 2016). It has been proposed that one way to analyze these computations is by quantifying basic information processing operations necessary for computation, namely the transfer, storage, and modification of information (Langton, 1990; Mitchell, 2011; Mitchell, 1993;Wibral, 2015). A framework for the analysis of these operations has been emerging (Lizier2010thesis), using measures from information theory (Shannon, 1948) to analyze computation in arbitrary information processing systems (e.g., Lizier, 2012b). Of these measures transfer entropy (TE) (Schreiber2000), a measure of information transfer, is the most widely used in neuroscience today (e.g., Vicente, 2011; Wibral, 2011; Gourevitch, 2007; Vakorin, 2010; Besserve, 2010; Lizier, 2011; Richter, 2016; Huang, 2015; Rivolta, 2015; Roux, 2013). Yet, despite this popularity, open theoretical and practical problems in the application of TE remain (e.g., Vicente, 2011; Wibral, 2014a). The present work addresses some of the most prominent of these methodological problems in three studies.
The first study presents an efficient implementation for the estimation of TE from non-stationary data. The statistical properties of non-stationary data are not invariant over time such that TE can not be easily estimated from these observations. Instead, necessary observations can be collected over an ensemble of data, i.e., observations of physical or temporal replications of the same process (Gomez-Herrero, 2010). The latter approach is computationally more demanding than the estimation from observations over time. The present study demonstrates how to handles this increased computational demand by presenting a highly-parallel implementation of the estimator using graphics processing units.
The second study addresses the problem of estimating bivariate TE from multivariate data. Neuroscience research often investigates interactions between more than two (sub-)systems. It is common to analyze these interactions by iteratively estimating TE between pairs of variables, because a fully multivariate approach to TE-estimation is computationally intractable (Lizier, 2012a; Das, 2008; Welch, 1982). Yet, the estimation of bivariate TE from multivariate data may yield spurious, false-positive results (Lizier, 2012a;Kaminski, 2001; Blinowska, 2004). The present study proposes that such spurious links can be identified by characteristic coupling-motifs and the timings of their information transfer delays in networks of bivariate TE-estimates. The study presents a graph-algorithm that detects these coupling motifs and marks potentially spurious links. The algorithm thus partially corrects for spurious results due to multivariate effects and yields a more conservative approximation of the true network of multivariate information transfer.
The third study investigates the TE between pre-frontal and primary visual cortical areas of two ferrets under different levels of anesthesia. Additionally, the study investigates local information processing in source and target of the TE by estimating information storage (Lizier, 2012) and signal entropy. Results of this study indicate an alternative explanation for the commonly observed reduction in TE under anesthesia (Imas, 2005; Ku, 2011; Lee, 2013; Jordan, 2013; Untergehrer, 2014), which is often explained by changes in the underlying coupling between areas. Instead, the present study proposes that reduced TE may be due to a reduction in information generation measured by signal entropy in the source of TE. The study thus demonstrates how interpreting changes in TE as evidence for changes in causal coupling may lead to erroneous conclusions. The study further discusses current bast-practice in the estimation of TE, namely the use of state-of-the-art estimators over approximative methods and the use of optimization procedures for estimation parameters over the use of ad-hoc choices. It is demonstrated how not following this best-practice may lead to over- or under-estimation of TE or failure to detect TE altogether.
In summary, the present work proposes an implementation for the efficient estimation of TE from non-stationary data, it presents a correction for spurious effects in bivariate TE-estimation from multivariate data, and it presents current best-practice in the estimation and interpretation of TE. Taken together, the work presents solutions to some of the most pressing problems of the estimation of TE in neuroscience, improving the robust estimation of TE as a measure of information transfer in neural systems.
Glioblastoma multiforme accounts for more than 80% of all malignant gliomas in adults and a minor fraction of new annual cases occurs in children. In the last decades, research shed light onto the molecular patterns underlying human malignancies which resulted in a better understanding of the disease and finally an improved long term survival for cancer patients. However, malignancies of the central nervous system and especially glioblastomas are still related to poor outcomes with median survivals of less than 6 months despite extensive surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. Hence, a better understanding of the molecular mechanism driving and sustaining cancerous mutations in glioblastomas is crucial for the development of targeted therapies. Apoptosis, a form of programmed cell death, is an important feature of eukaryotic cells and crucial for the maintenance of multicellular homeostasis. Because apoptosis is a highly complex and tightly regulated signaling pathway, resisting apoptotic stimuli and avoiding cell death is a hallmark of the cancerous transformation of cells. Hence, targeting molecular structures to reestablish apoptotic signaling in tumor cells is a promising approach for the treatment of malignancies. Smac mimetics are a group of small molecular protein inhibitors that structurally derive from an intracellular protein termed Smac and selectively block Inhibitor of apoptosis (IAP) proteins, which are often aberrantly expressed in cancer. Several studies confirmed the antitumoral effects of Smac mimetics in different human malignancies, including glioblastoma, and give rationales for the development of potent Smac mimetics and Smac mimetic-based combination protocols. This study investigates the antitumoral activity of the bivalent Smac mimetic BV6 in combination with Interferon α. Latter is a well characterized cytokine with an essential role in immunity, cell differentiation and apoptosis. This study further aims to address the molecular mechanisms underlying the antitumoral activity of the combination treatment by using well established molecular cell death assays, flow cytometry, western blot analysis, genetic approaches and selective pharmacological inhibition. Since different Smac mimetics and Smac mimetic-based combination therapies are currently under clinical evaluations, findings of this study may have broad implications for the application of Smac mimetics as clinical cancer therapeutics.
This article addresses concerns that the growth in global governance may be bringing with it a decline in the significance of democratic sources of political legitimacy. One approach in evaluating such concerns is to ask whether the respective patterns of legitimation for private and public authority differ or whether they refer to a similar set of normative standards. Private transnational governance regimes provide useful contexts in which to assess the presumed democratic erosion. They seem, almost of themselves, to make the case for such a decline: in them regulatory authority is exercised by non-state actors who, by their very nature, lack the kind of authorization afforded by the democratic procedures that legitimize state-based regulation; in addition, they are intrinsically linked to the notion of politics as a form of problem-solving rather than as the exercise of power. Given these characteristics, when governance arrangements of this kind are subjected to criticism, one would expect justificatory responses to relate primarily to performance, with normative criteria such as fundamental individual rights and the imperative for democratic procedure playing only a minor role. On the basis of a qualitative content analysis, the study tests three ideal-type patterns of legitimation for plausibility. The case selected for examination is the recent controversy surrounding the hybrid governance regime that operates to prevent the use of performance-enhancing drugs in sport. The debate offers the possibility of a ‘nutshell’ comparison of the respective patterns of legitimation used in criticizing and justifying state and non-state regulatory authority. This comparison yields two findings. The first is that the values used to appraise the state-based components of the sporting world’s hybrid regulatory regime do not differ systematically from those used to appraise the private elements: contestation and justification in both cases are founded on normative criteria relating to fundamental individual rights and democratic procedure and not just on performance-related considerations. The second finding is that justificatory grounds of the first type do not appear to be diminishing in importance vis-à-vis those of the second.
The 23Al(p, γ)24Si stellar reaction rate has a significant impact on the light-curve emitted in X-ray bursts. Theoretical calculations show that the reaction rate is mainly determined by the properties of direct capture as well as low-lying 2+ states and a possible 4+ state in 24Si. Currently, there is little experimental information on the properties of these states.
In this proceeding we will present a new experimental study to investigate this reaction, using the surrogate reaction 23Al(d,n) at 47 AMeV at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL). We will discuss our new experimental setup which allows us to use full kinematics employing the Gamma-Ray Energy Tracking In-beam Nuclear Array (GRETINA) to detect the γ-rays following the de-excitation of excited states of the reaction products and the Low Energy Neutron Detector Array (LENDA) to detect the recoiling neutrons. The S800 was used for identification of the 24Si recoils. As a proof of principle to show the feasibility of this concept the Q-value spectrum of 22Mg(d,n)23Al is reconstructed.
Im Weltall existieren hunderte sehr helle Objekte, die eine hohe konstante Leuchtkraft im Wellenlängenbereich von Gammastrahlung besitzen. Die konstante Leuchtkraft mancher dieser Objekte wird in regelmäßigen Abständen von starken Ausbrüchen, den sogenannten X-Ray-Bursts, unterbrochen. Hauptenergiequelle dieser X-RayBursts ist der „rapid-proton-capture“-Prozess (rp-Prozess). Dieser zeichnet sich durch eine Abfolge von (p,γ)-Reaktionen und β+-Zerfällen aus, die die charakteristischen Lichtkurven produzieren. Für viele am Prozess beteiligte Reaktionen ist der Q-Wert sehr klein, wodurch die Rate der einzelnen Reaktionen von den resonanten Einfängen in die ungebundenen Zustände dominiert wird. Die Unsicherheiten in der Beschreibung der Lichtkurve sind derzeit aufgrund fehlender kernphysikalischer Informationen von vielen am Prozess beteiligten Isotopen sehr groß. Sensitivitätsstudien zeigen, dass dabei die Unsicherheiten der 23Al(p,γ)24Si-Reaktion eine der größten Auswirkungen auf die Lichtkurve hat. Diese werden durch ungenaue und widersprüchliche Informationen zu den ungebundenen Zuständen im kurzlebigen 24Si hervorgerufen.
Um Informationen über die Kernstruktur von 24Si zu erhalten, wurde am National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL), Michigan, USA, die 23Al(d,n)24Si Transferreaktion untersucht. Der in dieser Form erstmals umgesetzte Versuchsaufbau bestand aus einem Gammadetektor zur Messung der Übergangsenergien des produzierten 24Si, einem Neutronendetektor zur Messung der Winkelverteilung der emittierten Neutronen und einem Massensprektrometer zur Identifikation des produzierten Isotops. Mit diesem Aufbau, der eine Detektion der kompletten Kinematik der (d,nγ)-Reaktion ermöglichte, konnten folgende Erkentnisse gewonnen werden:
Aus der Energie der nachgewiesenen Gammas konnten die Übergänge zwischen den Kernniveaus von 24Si bestimmt und daraus die Energien der einzelnen Zustände ermittelt werden. Dabei konnte neben dem bereits bekannten gebundenen 2+-Zustand (in dieser Arbeit gemessen bei 1874 ± 2,9keV) und dem ungebundenen 2+-Zustand (3448,8 ± 4,6keV), erstmals ein weiterer ungebundener (4+,0+)-Zustand bei 3470,6 ± 6,2 keV beobachtet werden. Zusätzlich konnte die Diskrepanz, die bezüglich der Energie des ungebundenen 2+-Zustands aufgrund früherer Messungen bestand, beseitigt und die Energieunsicherheit reduziert werden.
Aus der Anzahl der nachgewiesenen Gammas konnten ebenfalls die (d,n)-Wirkungsquerschnitte in die einzelnen Zustände von 24Si bestimmt werden. Unter Verwendung der Ergebnisse von DWBA-Rechnungen konnte mithilfe dieser die spektroskopischen Faktoren berechnet werden. Für die angeregten Zustände musste dabei zwischen verschiedenen Drehimpulsüberträgen unterschieden werden. Mittels der Winkelverteilung der nachgewiesenen Neutronen konnte gezeigt werden, dass die Gewichtung anhand der theoretischen spektroskopischen Faktoren zur Berechnung der Anteile des jeweiligen Drehimpulsübertrags am gesamten Wirkungsquerschnitt für den entsprechenden Zustand gute Ergebnisse liefert. Für eine quantitative Bestimmung der spektroskopischen Faktoren der Zustände anhand der Neutronenwinkelverteilungen in 24Si war allerdings die Statistik zu gering. Für den Fall der deutlich häufiger beobachteten 22Mg(d,n)23Al-Reaktion konnte hingegen ein spektroskopischer Faktor für den 23Al-Grundzustand von 0,29 ± 0,04 bestimmt werden. Abschließend wurden die Auswirkungen der gewonnenen Erkenntnisse zur Kernstruktur von 24Si auf die Rate der 23Al(p,γ)-Reaktion untersucht. Dabei konnte aufgrund der besseren Energiebestimmung zum einen die Diskrepanz zwischen den Raten die auf Grundlage der beiden früheren Untersuchungen berechnet wurden und bis zu einem Faktor von 20 voneinander abweichen, beseitigt werden. Zum anderen konnte aufgrund der kleineren Unsicherheit in der Energiebestimmung der Fehlerbereich der Rate verkleinert werden. Die Untersuchungen zeigen, dass die Unsicherheit in der neuen Rate von der Ungenauigkeit der Massenbestimmung der beiden beteiligten Isotope und damit dem Q-Wert der Reaktion dominiert wird. Durch eine bessere Bestimmung des Q-Werts könnte die Unsicherheit in der Rate aufgrund der neuen experimentellen Ergebnisse auf ein Zehntel gesenkt werden.
Das T-lymphoblastische Lymphom (T-LBL) ist eine seltene Form des Non-Hodgkin-Lymphoms (NHL). Als wirksamste Behandlung haben sich intensive Therapien analog zu Protokollen für die akute lymphoblastische Leukämien (ALL) etabliert. Auch bei Erwachsenen werden inzwischen hohe CR-Raten erreicht. Aufgrund einer Rezidivrate von 20–35 % und einem Überleben von 45–75% besteht jedoch der Bedarf einer weiteren Therapieoptimierung. Dieses Ziel wird von der multizentrischen deutschen Studiengruppe für die ALL des Erwachsenen (GMALL) verfolgt, die prospektive Studien durchgeführt und eigene Therapieempfehlungen evaluiert hat.
In der vorliegenden Arbeit wurde die Effektivität der GMALL-Studientherapie T-LBL 1/2004 und der GMALL-Konsensus-Empfehlung für die Therapie neu diagnostizierter T-LBL bei Erwachsenen untersucht. Hauptaugenmerk lag auf der Auswertung der Gesamtergebnisse und der Evaluierung potentiell prognostischer Faktoren. Eine weitere wesentliche Fragestellung war es, die Bedeutung der Mediastinalbestrahlung in der Erstlinientherapie für das Therapieergebnis zu evaluieren. Ein weiterer Schwerpunkt war die Evaluation der Bedeutung eines Interimstagings mittels PET. Zusätzlich wurde die Wirksamkeit verschiedener Salvageansätze bei primärem Therapieversagen und Rezidiv evaluiert.
Ausgewertet wurden Daten von 149 Patienten, die zwischen 2004 und 2013 in zwei konsekutiven Kohorten gemäß der Studie GMALL T-LBL 01/2004 (Kohorte I; n = 101) oder der GMALL-Therapieempfehlung (Kohorte II; n = 48) behandelt wurden. Die empfohlene Therapie beinhaltete zwei Induktionsblöcke, die Reinduktion sowie sechs Konsolidationsblöcke. Die ZNS-Prophylaxe bestand aus intrathekalen Chemotherapiegaben und eine Schädelbestrahlung mit 24 Gy. Patienten, die gemäß der Studie 01/2004 behandelt wurden, sollten nach der Induktion außerdem eine Mediastinalbestrahlung mit 36 Gy erhalten. Patienten ohne CR/CRu nach dem ersten Konsolidationsblock sollten einer Salvagetherapie außerhalb des Studienprotokolls oder der Therapieempfehlung zugeführt werden. Bei mittels CT bestimmter CRu oder PR zu diesem Zeitpunkt wurde zur Sicherung des Remissionsstatus eine PET empfohlen.
Die CR-Rate der Gesamtpopulation lag bei 76 %. Das Gesamtüberleben und das erkrankungsfreie Überleben nach zwei Jahren lagen bei 72 bzw. 70 %. Die Rezidivrate betrug 28 %, die Überlebenswahrscheinlichkeit ein Jahr nach Rezidivdiagnose lag bei 35 %. Es bestand kein statistisch signifikanter Unterschied zwischen den Überlebensraten von Patienten mit und ohne Mediastinalbestrahlung (bestrahlte Patienten der Kohorte vs. Patienten der Kohorte II). Alle Patienten mit computertomographisch ermittelter CRu nach Konsolidation I, bei denen eine konfirmatorische PET durchgeführt wurde (n=21), waren PET-negativ, d. h. in metabolischer CR. Von den PET-evaluierten Patienten mit computertomographisch ermittelter PR (n = 22) waren 55 % PET-negativ. In der Gesamtpopulation wurden zahlreiche potentielle Prognosefaktoren analysiert. Statistische Signifikanz erreichte dabei nur der Allgemeinzustand. Ein ECOG-Score von 0–1 war mit einem günstigeren erkrankungsfreien Überleben assoziiert.
Die Ergebnisse zeigen eine gute Effektivität der GMALL-Therapie. Der Verzicht auf die Mediastinalbestrahlung in der Therapieempfehlung war nicht mit einer Verschlechterung des Therapieergebnisses verbunden. Die Arbeit verdeutlicht die Komplexität der frühen Remissionsbeurteilung mit verschiedenen Verfahren im Versorgungsstandard und unterstreicht den dringenden Bedarf einer standardisierten Remissionsbeurteilung und Referenzbefundung. Die PET erwies sich als wichtiges Instrument des Interimstagings, um eine remissionsabhängige Therapiestratifikation sinnvoll durchführen zu können. Sie zeigte sich zudem als unerlässlich für die korrekte Bewertung der Effektivität von Salvagestrategien und damit für die Therapieoptimierung bei primärer Refraktärität.
Die in dieser Arbeit ausgewerteten Daten bilden die bisher größte berichtete Population einheitlich behandelter erwachsener T-LBL Patienten ab. Die Ergebnisse stellen eine wichtige Grundlage für die weitere Therapieoptimierung im Rahmen der aktuell laufenden GMALL-Studie 08/2013 dar.
The view that tumors consist of a homogenous mass of clonal derived cells has dramatically changed in recent years. Tumors harbor an enormous heterogeneity of cells with distinct capabilities and functions. The heterogeneity originates from a differentiation hierarchy of tumor cells, similar to normal tissue organization of stem-cell driven organs, but also from clonal succession of subpopulations by randomly acquired genetic mutations and epigenetic changes. Both scenarios are certainly not mutually exclusive, and also stem and progenitor cells underlie mutational selection. Intratumoral heterogeneity is a major challenge for cancer treatment and disease monitoring. Functional studies revealed that not all tumor cells have the same ability to initiate tumor growth upon transplantation in receptive animal models. The tumorinitiating cells (TICs) were called cancer stem cells due to their similarities to normal tissue stem cells in their molecular and functional properties. They can renew themselves long-term and give rise to tumor cells lacking cancer stem cell properties. However, it is worth stressing here that TICs do not necessarily originate from stem cells, but may have regained stem cell properties. TICs caught major attention since they may provide important steps in the progression of malignant diseases, such as epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, dissemination, long-term persistence, therapy resistance, and relapse of the disease. The prospective identification of TICs using distinct surface markers would allow their molecular and functional characterization, the design of detection methods for diagnosis and prognosis, and the development of targeted therapies against these detrimental cells. While functional evidence for the existence of TICs were provided for many tumor entities, their marker profile still remains largely undefined and controversial. ...
This paper studies the long-run effects of credit market disruptions on real firm outcomes and how these effects depend on nominal wage rigidities at the firm level. I trace out the long-run investment and growth trajectories of firms which are more adversely affected by a transitory shock to aggregate credit supply. Affected firms exhibit a temporary investment gap for two years following the shock, resulting in a persistent accumulated growth gap. I show that affected firms with a higher degree of wage rigidity exhibit a steeper drop in investment and grow more slowly than affected firms with more flexible wages.
After initial formation, the heart tube grows by addition of second heart field progenitor cells to its poles. The transcription factor Isl1 is expressed in the entire second heart field in mouse, and Isl1-deficient mouse embryos show defects in arterial and venous pole development. The expression of Isl1 is conserved in zebrafish cardiac progenitors; however, Isl1 is required for cardiomyocyte differentiation only at the venous pole. Here we show that Isl1 homologues are expressed in specific patterns in the developing zebrafish heart and play distinct roles during cardiac morphogenesis. In zebrafish, isl2a mutants show defects in cardiac looping, whereas isl2b is required for arterial pole development. Moreover, Isl2b controls the expression of key cardiac transcription factors including mef2ca, mef2cb, hand2 and tbx20. The specific roles of individual Islet family members in the development of distinct regions of the zebrafish heart renders this system particularly well-suited for dissecting Islet-dependent gene regulatory networks controlling the behavior and function of second heart field progenitors in distinct steps of cardiac development.
The paper assesses current rising reparations claims for the Maafa/ Maangamizi (‘African holocaust,’ comprising transatlantic slavery, colonialism and neo-colonialism) from two angles. First, it explores the connectivity of reparations and global justice, peace and security. Second, it discusses how the claim is justified in international law. The concept of reparations in international law is also explored, revealing that reparations cannot be limited to financial compensation due to the nature of the damage and international law prescriptions. Comprehensive reparations based in international law require the removal of structures built on centuries of illegal acts and aggression, in the forms of transatlantic slavery, colonialism and neo-colonialism. Reparations must also lead to the restitution of sovereignty to African and indigenous peoples globally. They are indispensable to halt the destruction of the earth as human habitat, caused by the violent European cultural, political, socio-economic system known as apitalism that is rooted in transatlantic slavery.
»Die Welt im Blick«
(2017)
Michel Houellebecq oder Toni Morrison, Nadine Gordimer oder Jorge Semprún? Studierende an der Goethe-Uni müssen sich nicht mehr entscheiden, ob sie sich mit spanischsprachiger, französischer, italienischer oder englischsprachiger Literatur und Kultur beschäftigen möchten. Der junge Masterstudiengang Moving Cultures schlägt die Brücke zwischen den Sprachwelten und legt den Schwerpunkt gerade auf die wechselseitigen Einflüsse. Das lockt auch viele Externe nach Frankfurt.
Der Studiengang Geographie passt gut nach Frankfurt. Metropolisierung und Globalisierung, Prozesse der Landschaftsentwicklung und Mensch-Umwelt-Beziehungen lassen sich im Rhein-Main-Gebiet sehr gut veranschaulichen. Besonderheit des Bachelorstudiengangs ist die frühzeitige Aufspaltung in Humangeographie und Physische Geographie mit unterschiedlichen Abschlüssen.
In dieser wirtschaftsphilosophischen Arbeit wird die fundamentale Bedeutung einer realistischen Gründe-Perspektive für die Erklärung und Beurteilung ökonomischer Praxis herausgestellt. Die Gründe-Perspektive bezieht sich in systematisierender Form auf alltägliche Interpretations- und Verstehensleistungen und greift zur Erklärung ökonomischer Sachverhalte auf Zuschreibungen mentaler Zustände zurück.
In Abgrenzung von einer Nicht-Gründe-Perspektive, die einer Vielzahl ökonomischer Erklärungsansätze, z.B. experimentell verhaltensökonomischer, behavioristisch orientierter neoklassischer oder evolutionärer Art, zugrunde liegt, wird betont, dass das Geben und Einfordern von Gründen in der ökonomische Sphäre in explanativer, prognostischer und normativer Hinsicht von großer Relevanz ist.
Ökonomische Grundbegriffe wie Präferenz, Axiom oder Nutzen werden thematisiert und deren Stellenwert innerhalb ökonomischer Theorien wird herausgestellt. Die behavioristische Fokussierung auf beobachtbare Wahlhandlungen wird in den Kontext naturalistischer Tendenzen in der Ökonomik gestellt. Dabei werden insbesondere wissenschafts- und erkenntnistheoretische Aspekte unter Bezugnahme auf die Philosophie des Geistes angeführt. Es zeigt sich, dass der Ökonom und Philosoph Don Ross einen in Abgrenzung zu Psychologie und experimenteller Verhaltensökonomik bestimmten Wahlbegriff auf aggregierter Ebene vertritt, unter anderem durch Bezug auf Dennetts Theorie intentionaler Einstellung und Möglichkeiten der Mustererkennung. Im Gegensatz dazu stehen Positionen, die mentale Zustände durch Bezug auf die Kognitionsforschung, stellenweise auch die Neuroökonomik, als real ansehen und für eine Erklärung von Präferenzen heranziehen wollen.
Unter Bezug auf die Position Nida-Rümelins wird die wirtschaftsphilosophische Relevanz von Kohärenz, struktureller Rationalität und einem Gründe-Realismus herausgestellt. Der Bezug auf lebensweltliche Gewissheit und formale Eigenschaften „alltagspsychologischer“ Zugänge soll eine bestimmte Gründe-Perspektive stützen. In welcher Hinsicht eine solche Stützung gerechtfertigt werden kann, wird unter anderem durch Bezug auf wissenschaftliche Theorien zur Alltagspsychologie (folk psychology) dargestellt. Die Vielfalt von Gründen, aus denen ökonomische Akteure handeln und die Personen auch in ökonomischen Kontexten prinzipiell verfügbar sind, wird unter Berücksichtigung spezifischer ökonomischer Rollen betont. Abschließend wird die soziale Bedingtheit von Gründen und die immanente Normativität der ökonomischen Praxis thematisiert. Die Möglichkeit einer normativen Rekonstruktion der Wirtschaftssphäre wird anhand der Theorie sozialer Freiheit von Axel Honneth diskutiert.
Objective: This study examines the interrelations of parenting practices, emotional climate, and household chaos in families with children with and without ADHD. In particular, indirect pathways from children’s ADHD symptomatology to inadequate parenting and negative emotional climate via household chaos were investigated. Method: Parenting, emotional climate, and household chaos were assessed using questionnaires and a speech sample of parents of 31 children with and 53 without ADHD, aged 7 to 13 years. Results: Group differences were found for certain parenting dimensions, the parent–child relationship, critical comments, and household chaos. While we found significant indirect effects between children’s ADHD and certain parenting dimensions through household chaos, no effects were found for any aspect of emotional climate. Conclusion: Children’s ADHD symptoms translate into inadequate parenting through household chaos, which underlines the need for interventions to improve household organization skills in parents of children with ADHD.
Telomeric G-quadruplexes have recently emerged as drug targets in cancer research. Herein, we present the first NMR structure of a telomeric DNA G-quadruplex that adopts the biologically relevant hybrid-2 conformation in a ligand-bound state. We solved the complex with a metalorganic gold(III) ligand that stabilizes G-quadruplexes. Analysis of the free and bound structures reveals structural changes in the capping region of the G-quadruplex. The ligand is sandwiched between one terminal G-tetrad and a flanking nucleotide. This complex structure involves a major structural rearrangement compared to the free G-quadruplex structure as observed for other G-quadruplexes in different conformations, invalidating simple docking approaches to ligand-G-quadruplex structure determination
The description of quantized collective excitations stands as a landmark in the quantum theory of condensed matter. A prominent example occurs in conventional magnets, which support bosonic magnons—quantized harmonic fluctuations of the ordered spins. In striking contrast is the recent discovery that strongly spin-orbital-coupled magnets, such as α-RuCl3, may display a broad excitation continuum inconsistent with conventional magnons. Due to incomplete knowledge of the underlying interactions unraveling the nature of this continuum remains challenging. The most discussed explanation refers to a coherent continuum of fractional excitations analogous to the celebrated Kitaev spin liquid. Here, we present a more general scenario. We propose that the observed continuum represents incoherent excitations originating from strong magnetic anharmonicity that naturally occurs in such materials. This scenario fully explains the observed inelastic magnetic response of α-RuCl3 and reveals the presence of nontrivial excitations in such materials extending well beyond the Kitaev state.
We present a dataset of free-viewing eye-movement recordings that contains more than 2.7 million fixation locations from 949 observers on more than 1000 images from different categories. This dataset aggregates and harmonizes data from 23 different studies conducted at the Institute of Cognitive Science at Osnabrück University and the University Medical Center in Hamburg-Eppendorf. Trained personnel recorded all studies under standard conditions with homogeneous equipment and parameter settings. All studies allowed for free eye-movements, and differed in the age range of participants (~7–80 years), stimulus sizes, stimulus modifications (phase scrambled, spatial filtering, mirrored), and stimuli categories (natural and urban scenes, web sites, fractal, pink-noise, and ambiguous artistic figures). The size and variability of viewing behavior within this dataset presents a strong opportunity for evaluating and comparing computational models of overt attention, and furthermore, for thoroughly quantifying strategies of viewing behavior. This also makes the dataset a good starting point for investigating whether viewing strategies change in patient groups.
Who is Ângkar? The nature of authority and responsibility under the Khmer Rouge Forme cadres of the Khmer Rouge today still speak of Ângkar, the organisation of the Khmer Rouge, with the utmost respect and subservience. Unlike in other genocidal regimes in which state actors played an important role, such as the NSDAP and SS in the Holocaust or Ittihad in the Ottoman genocide of the Armenians, Ângkar cannot be reduced merely to the name of the party organisation of the Khmer Rouge. Although Ângkar is a concept known to all in Cambodia and remains synonymous with absolute authority and the necessity for unwavering obedience, there is a broad variety of perspectives when trying to state who or what Ângkar actually is...
We developed a coupled regional climate system model based on the CCLM regional climate model. Within this model system, using OASIS3-MCT as a coupler, CCLM can be coupled to two land surface models (the Community Land Model (CLM) and VEG3D), the NEMO-MED12 regional ocean model for the Mediterranean Sea, two ocean models for the North and Baltic seas (NEMO-NORDIC and TRIMNP+CICE) and the MPI-ESM Earth system model.
We first present the different model components and the unified OASIS3-MCT interface which handles all couplings in a consistent way, minimising the model source code modifications and defining the physical and numerical aspects of the couplings. We also address specific coupling issues like the handling of different domains, multiple usage of the MCT library and exchange of 3-D fields.
We analyse and compare the computational performance of the different couplings based on real-case simulations over Europe. The usage of the LUCIA tool implemented in OASIS3-MCT enables the quantification of the contributions of the coupled components to the overall coupling cost. These individual contributions are (1) cost of the model(s) coupled, (2) direct cost of coupling including horizontal interpolation and communication between the components, (3) load imbalance, (4) cost of different usage of processors by CCLM in coupled and stand-alone mode and (5) residual cost including i.a. CCLM additional computations.
Finally a procedure for finding an optimum processor configuration for each of the couplings was developed considering the time to solution, computing cost and parallel efficiency of the simulation. The optimum configurations are presented for sequential, concurrent and mixed (sequential+concurrent) coupling layouts. The procedure applied can be regarded as independent of the specific coupling layout and coupling details.
We found that the direct cost of coupling, i.e. communications and horizontal interpolation, in OASIS3-MCT remains below 7 % of the CCLM stand-alone cost for all couplings investigated. This is in particular true for the exchange of 450 2-D fields between CCLM and MPI-ESM. We identified remaining limitations in the coupling strategies and discuss possible future improvements of the computational efficiency.
The lumbodorsal fascia (LF) has been proposed to represent a possible source of idiopathic low back pain. In fact, histological studies have demonstrated the presence of nociceptive free nerve endings within the LF, which, furthermore, appear to exhibit morphological changes in patients with chronic low back pain. However, it is unclear how these characteristics relate to the aetiology of the pain. In vivo elicitation of back pain via experimental stimulation of the LF suggests that dorsal horn neurons react by increasing their excitability. Such sensitization of fascia-related dorsal horn neurons, in turn, could be related to microinjuries and/or inflammation in the LF. Despite available data point towards a significant role of the LF in low back pain, further studies are needed to better understand the involved neurophysiological dynamics.
Für Spezialisten historischer Epochen, aus denen kaum schriftliche Zeugnisse vorliegen, spielten Bilder schon immer eine zentrale Rolle. Doch wie steht es um ihre Bedeutung in der Geschichtswissenschaft allgemein? Welche Relevanz hatte bzw. hat für sie der "iconic turn"? Darüber sprach der Philosoph und Publizist Rolf Wiggershaus mit Historikern der Goethe-Universität.
Lässt sich eine dominierende Zeitvorstellung für unsere Epoche ausmachen? Ist die moderne Unruhe eine neue Unruhe? Solche Fragen gehören zu den zentralen Themen von Christoph Cornelißen, Professor für Neueste Geschichte an der Goethe-Universität, dessen Forschungsschwerpunkte Historiografie-Geschichte und die Geschichte der Erinnerungskulturen einschließen.
Im Forschungsvorhaben MGA werden anhand der numismatischen Zeugnisse, vor allem der Fundmünzen, die gesellschaftlichen, wirtschaftlichen, politischen und kulturellen Entwicklungen sowie die interregionalen Beziehungen eines vielgestaltigen natur- wie auch kulturgeographischen Raums, der sich von Britannien im Nordwesten Europas bis an die untere Donau in Südosteuropa erstreckt, von der späten Eisenzeit bis in das Frühmittelalter untersucht. ...
Algae as primary producers are highly important in aquatic ecosystems and provide a variety of environmental and anthropogenic services. In small lotic ecosystems in agriculturally influenced landscapes, algae are often the main constituent of the base of the food web and they contribute considerably to biodiversity. Within these small lotic ecosystems, algae are influenced by both natural stressors, such as flow regime and dry-out events, and anthropogenic factors. Agricultural practices especially influence algal communities by introducing plant protection products (PPP) and fertilizers into the water. The impacts of these exposures and how they affect planktonic algae in particular are not yet well studied in small lotic ecosystems. However, the protection of algae as primary producers is of high relevance and was thus included in official biomonitoring programs such as the European Water Framework Directive (WFD) or in risk assessment of e.g. PPPs. Hence, this thesis addresses this knowledge gap and links new information on algal communities in small lotic ecosystems with biomonitoring and risk assessment.
Data was gathered from small ditches and streams in central Germany as well as from laboratory algal assays. A technique to rapidly classify and quantify planktonic and benthic algae based on their photopigment concentration (measured via delayed fluorescence - DF) in ecological and ecotoxicological studies was assessed, both in the laboratory and in the field. This research provides insight into planktonic and benthic algal communities in small streams and ditches in order to improve management and protection strategies in the face of increased agricultural chemical input. ...