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A recent report showed PINK1 transcript levels to be up- or down-regulated by the gain or loss of Ataxin-2 function, respectively, in human blood, in a human neural cell line and in mouse tissues. These observations may have profound implications for the regulation of cell growth and may be medically exploited for the treatment of cancer and neural atrophy...
Intense direct and indirect human pressure has been imposed on grasslands throughout their range. Mostly due to the constant need for more food production or due to changes in environmental conditions, grasslands as habitats are expected to become highly endangered. The aim of this study was to estimate the grasslands’ ecological response to future climate and environmental changes. The study took place in three ecologically different grassland communities in three protected natural areas of Serbia (Southeastern Europe), following the same methodology. The study sites were: 1) Peštersko polje Special Nature Reserve (SNR), 2) Deliblato sands SNR (its southern part: Labudovo okno) and 3) Zasavica SNR.
Climate change was simulated for mean temperatures and precipitations using the Eta Belgrade University-Princeton Ocean Model (EBU-POM) climate model, for the A1B Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) emission scenario covering the 1951–2100 period and insolation and volumetric soil moisture content for the 1979–2100 period. Grassland vegetation was analysed at all three sites. One representative plant community per site was selected for further analysis and simulation of ecological changes. One plot was positioned inside each of the above-mentioned communities, all vascular plant species inside the plot were recorded, and soil samples were taken. Ecological Optima (EO) for moisture and temperature were calculated from modified Ellenberg’s plant indicator values of recorded species. The plants’ response to climate and environmental changes was simulated using the VSD+ model for the 2010–2100 period. The data obtained from the model were further analysed with Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA).
Overall results show that the temperature rise, along with the irregular precipitation at all three sites, will lead to a drop of the relative abundance of many native species in the period between 2040 and 2060. The low obtained Habitat Suitability Index for the future means that there will be either unfavourable environmental conditions for the development of grasslands, or the species we analysed were untypical. Cosmopolitans and xerothermic species will be more accustomed to the new conditions. Grasses will be the most resilient functional group according to our study. It may be concluded that the functional group of grasses will also play the leading role in future
grasslands at the studied sites.
In April and May 2012 data on Au+Au collisions at beam energies of Ekin = 1.23A GeV were collected with the High Acceptance Di-Electron Spectrometer (HADES) at the GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung facility in Darmstadt, Germany. In this thesis, the production of deuterons in this collision system is investigated.
A total number of 2.1 × 109 Au+Au events is selected, containing the most central 0-40% of events. After particle identification, based on a mass determination via time-of-flight and momentum and on a measurement of the energy loss, the transverse mass spectra of the deuteron candidates are extracted for various rapidities and subsequently corrected for acceptance and efficiency.
The inverse slope parameter of a Boltzmann fit applied to the transverse mass spectra at midrapidity, which is referred to as the effective temperature, is extracted. For a static thermal source, this parameter corresponds to the kinetic freeze-out temperature Tkin and is therefore expected to be smaller or equal to the chemical freeze-out temperature Tchem. The extracted effective temperature of Tef f = (190 ± 10) MeV however exceeds the chemical freeze-out temperature that was obtained by a statistical model fit to different particle yields. The effective temperatures of various particle species, obtained in previous analyses, suggest a systematic rise with increasing particle mass, which is confirmed by the deuteron results.
An explanation can be the influence of a collective expansion with a radial expansion velocity βr. By fitting a Siemens-Rasmussen function to the transverse mass spectra, the global temperature of T = (100 ± 8) MeV and radial expansion velocity βr = 0.37 ± 0.01 are obtained. This temperature is still very high and only takes into account the production of deuteron nuclei.
The simultaneous fit of a blast-wave function to the transverse mass spectra of deuterons and other particles, as obtained by previous analyses, considers a velocity profile for the radial expansion velocity and takes into account the production of various particle species. The resulting global temperature Tkin = (68 ± 1) MeV and average transverse expansion velocity hβri = 0.341 ± 0.003 are within the expected range for the collision energy.
The Siemens-Rasmussen fits are also used to extrapolate the transverse mass spectra into unmeasured regions, to integrate them and obtain a rapidity-dependent count rate. This count rate exhibits a thermal shape for central events and shows increasing spectator contributions for more peripheral events.
The invariant yield spectra of the deuterons are compared to those of protons, as obtained by a previous analysis, in the context of a nucleon coalescence model. The hereby extracted nucleon coalescence factor B2 = (4.6 ± 0.1) × 10−3 agrees with the expected result for the beam energy that was studied.
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia in the elderly; important risk factors are old age and inheritance of the apolipoprotein E4 (APOE4) allele. Changes in amyloid precursor protein (APP) binding, trafficking, and sorting may be important AD causative factors. Secretase-mediated APP cleavage produces neurotoxic amyloid-beta (Aβ) peptides, which form lethal deposits in the brain. In vivo and in vitro studies have implicated sortilin-related receptor (SORL1) as an important factor in APP trafficking and processing. Recent in vitro evidence has associated the APOE4 allele and alterations in the SORL1 pathway with AD development and progression. Here, we analyzed SORL1 expression in neural stem cells (NSCs) from AD patients carrying null, one, or two copies of the APOE4 allele. We show reduced SORL1 expression only in NSCs of a patient carrying two copies of APOE4 allele with increased Aβ/SORL1 localization along the degenerated neurites. Interestingly, SORL1 binding to APP was largely compromised; this could be almost completely reversed by γ-secretase (but not β-secretase) inhibitor treatment. These findings may yield new insights into the complex interplay of SORL1 and AD pathology and point to NSCs as a valuable tool to address unsolved AD-related questions in vitro.
Allopatric alpine populations of Phtheochroa frigidana s. lat. (Lepidoptera, Tortricidae) are reviewed. In addition to traditional diagnostic characters of external morphology, the genitalia structures of everted vesicae in male genitalia and DNA barcodes are analysed. This new approach supports the existence of five rather than two species in Europe: Phtheochroa schawerdae (Rebel, 1908) comb. nov. (Dinaric Mts, Rila Mts, Pirin Mts) = P. drenowskyi (Rebel, 1916) syn. nov.; P. alpinana sp. nov. (SW Alps); P. apenninana sp. nov. (Apennines); P. frigidana (Guenée, 1845) stat. rev. (Pyrenees) = P. flavidana (Guenée, 1845) = P. sulphurana (Guenée, 1845) = P. andorrana (Millière, 1865); P. cantabriana sp. nov. (Cantabrian Mts). In order to stabilize the nomenclature, a neotype for Eupoecilia frigidana is designated.
In this paper we propose a sociological concept of innovation capable of transcending the limitations faced by the approaches of common theories of action. The concept was formulated by Ulrich Oevermann and is based upon Max Weber’s theory of charismatic authority. We apply this concept to archaeological data, using the example of Neolithic copper metallurgy in central Europe, and discuss the importance of analyzing innovations that failed to materialize even though they might have been "in the air" at the time. The concept sketched here enables the scientific study of such a phenomenon.
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.
This revision concerns a small group of Western Palaearctic Copris species (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea:
Scarabaeidae) distinguished by having three lateral teeth on the foretibae. According to the literature, this group consists of four taxa: Copris armeniacus Faldermann, 1835, C. felschei Reitter, 1892, C. pueli Mollandin de Boissy, 1905 and C. umbilicatus Abeille de Perrin, 1901. Copris armeniacus is herein deemed a species inquirenda, and C. felschei, for which a neotype is designated, is deemed valid. Copris umbilicatus is recorded for the fi rst time from Turkey. A key to all species of the genus Copris known from the Western Palaearctic is provided. Variability of the cephalic and pronotal armature, and morphology of the parameres are illustrated.
For centuries the continent of Africa has been characterised by negative images such as poverty, disease and conflicts. Today, however, the People's Republic of China's growing presence in Africa, particularly with regards to China-Africa business relations, brings new vitality to the continent. This new movement is not a windfall but rather obtained through the hard work of both African and Chinese people at various levels. Narrating on daily experiences of Chinese merchants and their vivid interactions with people in Botswana, this book decodes the frustrating while rewarding process through which China-Africa relations have been maturing on the grass-roots level. This book not only presents insights and suggestions to both Botswana and Chinese policy makers interested in understanding their constituents' everyday interactions with each other, but also offers readers interested more broadly in contemporary Chinese experiences in Africa a fascinating glimpse into these cross-cultural encounters. This book is an original and pioneering study of issues that resonate in almost every African country which has responded to a growing Chinese presence. It argues that as the process of globalisation permeates the everyday lives of people, each individual is empowered to be an 'ambassador' in shaping international relations.
A new mesoserphid wasp from the Middle Jurassic of northeastern China (Hymenoptera, Proctotrupoidea)
(2017)
A new genus and species of Mesoserphidae (Hymenoptera), Juraserphus modicus gen. et sp. nov., is described based on a well-preserved fossil specimen from the Middle Jurassic Jiulongshan Formation of northeastern China. It is characterized by the following forewing features: the forking of Rs+M located approximately one-third of the distance between 1m-cu and 2r-rs, both 1cu-a and 2cu-a antefurcal; 1-M more than twice as long as 1m-cu and hind wing with cells r and rm closed. In addition, it has a short ovipositor, only extending slightly beyond the metasomal apex. Its new morphological characters broaden the diversity of Mesoserphidae in the Mesozoic and provide new insights into the evolution and relationships of Mesoserphidae.
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.
Between 2009 and 2016, a total of 174 Odonata species (Tab. 1) have been recorded in the Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture, China. 21 of these species are new records for China, and additional 26 taxa have to be described as new to science. Brief comments on selected species refer to morphological characters, distribution and seasonality.
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.
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.
Nine individuals of Apatidelia from Zhejiang Province, China were examined and their barcode sequences were generated and analyzed. A new species, A. morsei Xu & Sun sp. nov., is described and illustrated. The larva, male and female of A. acuminata Leng & Yang, 1998 and the male and female of A. morsei Xu & Sun sp. nov. are associated by mtCOI gene sequences. The male of A. acuminata Leng & Yang, 1998 is re-described and re-illustrated, and the female and the larva of the same species are also described and illustrated. Females and larvae of the genus are here reported for the first time.
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.
Last week’s printed edition of Focus had a piece about how Germany’s politicians are using social media. It made the dubious claim that 61% of Green top candidate Katrin Göring-Eckardt’s Twitter followers could have been bought.
Let’s actually instead try to get to grips with what is going on here, and try to draw some conclusions. ...
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).
Volker Woltersdorff's essay 'Sexual Ghosts and the Whole of History: Queer Historiography, Post-Slavery Subjectivities, and Sadomasochism in Isaac Julien's "The Attendant"' discusses the controversial concept of wholeness in historiography with regard to the fascination with past horrors and the desire to do justice to their victims who retain a ghostly presence. The essay retraces how this commitment produces a dilemma, as it can result either in the aspiration to historical wholeness as full memoralization or alternatively in the radical rejection of wholeness as an impossible healing. Employing Elizabeth Freeman's notion of 'erotohistoriography', Woltersdorff introduces affect into the work of historiography in order to find an escape from the dilemmatic impasse between history's wholeness as pacified reconciliation and as ongoing catastrophe along the lines of Walter Benjamin. Sadomasochism is presented as a practice that may correspond most adequately to the paradoxical affect caused by traumatic history that continues to haunt the present. Indeed, re-enactments of historical oppression and violence occur frequently within the BDSM community. However, what distinguishes them from 'living history' re-enactments is their potential to modify affective attachments to history by altering the historical script. The essay elaborates this potential through Isaac Julien's 1993 short film "The Attendant", which, in a kind of queer re-enactment, overwrites the memory of colonial chattel slavery by a sadomasochistic encounter of a black guardian and a white visitor in a museum dedicated to the history of slavery. The film raises the ethical and political question of how to relate affectively to the legacy and ongoing presence of racism. Against this backdrop, the author argues that, through the BDSM scenario and its changes to the historical script, Julien's film represents and promotes a paradoxical way to perform both the memorialization and the forgetting of past horrors and pleasures. Here, historical wholeness acquires a conflicting double meaning of both achieving completeness and restoring integrity. Woltersdorff concludes by interpreting "The Attendant" as urging a utopian perspective, produced by the tension between the impossibility of history's wholeness and the necessary, reparative desire for it. The article concludes by highlighting the paradox that Julien's film shows wholeness 'to be impossible and yet necessary' and 'expresses a necessary desire made impossible'. While the essay explicitly engages with the figure of haunting, one could perhaps speak here also of plasticity insofar as the contradictory conjunction of remembering and forgetting seems to rely on a malleability of affects and on producing an affective economy that sustains the fantasmatic remembrance of a painful past through paradoxical pleasure but breaks with any pleasure derived from real inequality, injustice, or suffering imparted non-consensually.
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.
Status and restoration potential of heathlands and sand grasslands in the southwest of Luxembourg
(2017)
In Europe, semi-natural nutrient-poor ecosystems such as sand grasslands and heathlands have shown extreme declines in surface area and species richness within the last century. The remaining sites are hence of high conservation value. This study analysed the vascular plant species inventory of established and recently restored heathlands and sand grasslands in the southwest of Luxembourg. Analyses to explain differences in vegetation composition between “old” (remnant sites or sites restored a long time ago) and “new” (recently restored) sites in relation to environmental variables were carried out with DCAs and ANOVA/Mann-Whitney-U tests, respectively. The vegetation of old heathlands had few character species of typical heathland communities (Calluno-Ulicetea, Nardetalia), whereas new heathland sites were preponderantly marked by taxa of meso- or eutrophic grasslands and ruderal communities. New heathland sites mainly differed from old sites by higher soil phosphorus contents. Sand grassland vegetation was species-rich and composed by species of the Sedo-Scleranthetea and Festuco-Brometea. With increasing age of the sites, vegetation composition shifted to grass dominance with species of the Molinio-Arrhenateretea. New sand grasslands differed from old sand grasslands by higher soil pH, higher soil potassium content and lower graminoid cover. The differences between new and old sites of both habitat types could mainly be explained by successional processes or were a result of topsoil removal. In some cases, former anthropogenic impact at or in close proximity of restored sites resulted in unsuitable conditions, such as alkaline soil on former landfill sites or highly eutrophic soil due to intensive agriculture. Future management options for the study sites are discussed.
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.
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 study describes the vascular flora and community structure of grasslands occurring on heaps of waste rock left by former Zn-Pb mining in relation to the metal content in the soil and other environmental factors. The study was performed on 65 heaps scattered in agricultural land in southern Poland. The sites were described in terms of plant community characteristics, soil physicochemical properties, distance from woodland, altitude and local climate. The number of plant species and proportion of species of the Festuco-Brometea class decreased with increasing heavy metal (Cd, Pb, Zn) content in the soil, and increased with Ca content and pH of the soil. There was a negative relationship between the proportion of the later successional species and heavy metal content in the soil and a positive relationship between plants connected with the earlier stages of succession and metals. Floristic composition was also affected by distance from woodland and height above sea level. The investigated heaps were primarily colonised by native species dispersed by wind, characterised as competitive stresstolerant, ruderal and competitive strategy species. Three types of Carlino acaulis-Brometum erecti (CB) communities were distinguished: CB typicum – dominated by Brachypodium pinnatum, with the highest proportion of calcareous grassland species, CB festucetosum ovinae subass. nova – loose grassland with abundant facultative metallophytes, and the CB rubietosum caesi subass. nova with nutrientdemanding ruderal and woody plants invading from the nearby forest communities. The three subassociations represent different successional stages of Carlino acaulis-Brometum erecti, strongly dependent on both the substrate and spatial relations. The proportions of species traits, especially a high occurrence of endangered species and a very low proportion of alien species show that the post-mining habitats studied have a similar degree of ‘naturalness’ as valuable xerothermic grasslands on nonmetalliferous habitats. They thus may be considered as valuable objects for the protection of plant diversity.
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.
Dendritic and/or rosetted microborings in calcareous and osteic skeletal substrates have a diverse trace fossil record, spanning most of the Phanerozoic, whereas the ichnodiversity of comparable bioerosion traces produced in modern seas is rather limited. The most prominent occurrences are known from Devonian brachiopods and from Upper Cretaceous belemnite rostra. Ichnotaxonomically, they are comprised within one of the few ichnofamilies established to date, the Dendrinidae Bromley et al., 2007. As an outcome of the present revision of this ichnofamily, the plethora of 84 ichnospecies established within 25 ichnogenera since the erection of the type ichnogenus Dendrina Quenstedt, 1849 was considerably condensed to 22 ichnospecies included in 7 ichnogenera, based on a coherent morphological categorisation and ichnotaxobasis assessment. The suite of ichnogenera now subsumed within the Dendrinidae includes Dendrina Quenstedt, 1849; Clionolithes Clarke, 1908; Calcideletrix Mägdefrau, 1937; Dictyoporus Mägdefrau, 1937; Abeliella Mägdefrau, 1937; Nododendrina Vogel et al., 1987; and Pyrodendrina Tapanila, 2008. New combinations thereby concern Dendrina dendrina (Morris, 1851) comb. nov., Clionolithes pannosus (Solle, 1938) comb. nov., C. alcicornis (Vogel et al., 1987) comb. nov., C. convexus (Hofmann, 1996) comb. nov., Calcideletrix anomala (Mägdefrau, 1937) comb. nov., C. fastigata (Radtke, 1991) comb. nov., Dictyoporus balani (Tavernier et al., 1992) comb. nov., Nododendrina europaea (Fischer, 1875) comb. nov., N. incomposita (Mägdefrau, 1937) comb. nov. and N. paleodendrica (Elias, 1957) comb. nov. Investigation of new material and a reassessment of 63 dendrinid microborings previously addressed in informal nomenclature allowed the establishment of two complementing ichnogenera, Rhopalondendrina igen. nov. and Antodendrina igen. nov., and eight new ichnospecies, comprising Pyrodendrina arctica isp. nov., P. belua isp. nov., P. villosa isp. nov., Rhopalondendrina avis igen. et isp. nov., R. acanthina igen. et isp. nov., R. contra igen. et isp. nov., R. tigris igen. et isp. nov. and Antodendrina ligula igen. et isp. nov. In densely bioeroded calcareous substrates, different dendrinids and other bioerosion traces may be found in direct contact with each other, forming composite trace fossils, but some of these associations appear rather systematic in nature and could be the work of the same tracemaker under different behavioural modes, thus forming compound trace fossils. In these cases, however, the distinction between the two concepts remains largely equivocal. Dendrinid microborings are primarily found in living and dead calcareous skeletal substrates of bivalves, brachiopods, belemnites and corals, with complementing records from six other substrate types. Facing considerable sampling artefacts, evidence for true substrate specificity or symbiotic relationships is inconclusive as yet, whereas there is direct evidence for post-mortem infestation in several cases, such as the diverse dendrinid associations in Upper Cretaceous belemnite guards. Despite a wealth of available interpretations, the actual biological identity of the dendrinids’ tracemakers remains largely speculative. The most convincing evidence has been put forward in support of foraminiferans as the producers of Nododendrina, and excavating micro-sponges producing Clionolithes and some Calcideletrix. Since most of the dendrinids are found in aphotic (palaeo-)environments, these two principal types of organotrophic tracemakers are also potential candidates for the other ichnogenera. With regards to evolutionary patterns through geologic time, strong adaptive radiations are evident from the ichnodiversity of dendrinid ichnospecies in the Early to Mid-Palaeozoic, reflecting the “Ordovician Bioerosion Revolution” (sensu Wilson & Palmer 2006) and the “Mid-Palaeozoic Precursor of the Mesozoic Marine Revolution” (sensu Signor & Brett 1984), respectively, and in the Mesozoic, coinciding with the prominent “Marine Mesozoic Revolution” (sensu Vermeij 1977). This pattern mimics that of
other micro- and macro-bioerosion trace fossils and is interpreted as a reflection of increased predation pressure and consequent infaunalisation. For extinction events, in turn, a differential effect is recorded in that the first four of the “Big Five” mass extinctions appear not to have had any noticeable effect on dendrinid ichnodiversity, whereas the end-Cretaceous mass-extinction resulted in a 77% drop following the Cretaceous peak ichnodiversity of 13 dendrinid ichnospecies.
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.
Messages from the Bees
(2017)
In this second collection Messages from the Bees Robin Winckel-Mellish shows the same qualities as A Lioness at my Heels, but this time runs deeper, darker and stronger. She delves not only into the riotous colours of southern Africa: birds, bees and caracals, but also climate change, while different kinds of love are pinpointed. Her poems of loss and grief are candid and even sensuous, showing the beauty of simplicity in bleakness. Both delicate and reflective these poems honour the wild while retaining a deeply-felt sense of connection with all that is relevant to our lives.
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.
We describe a new butterfl y species, Anaeomorpha mirifi ca Simon and Willmott, n. sp. (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae, Charaxinae), from premontane rain forest of the Chocó region of northwestern Ecuador. This represents the second known species and the fi rst record outside of the Amazon basin for this taxonomically and biologically enigmatic genus. Although the two species are not known to be sympatric, we identifi ed 21 characters in the external color pattern, wing shape and male genitalia that together support distinct species status. Most notably, the new species possesses an ocellus in the ventral hind wing tornus, a character which occurs in the Neotropical Charaxinae only in the genus Prepona Boisduval, 1836. A mean divergence of 6.8% in the COI ‘barcodes’ between the two species underlines their taxonomic distinctness.
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...
Females of Traumatomutilla André (Hymenoptera: Mutillidae) are organized into 14 species groups; 136 of the 138 Traumatomutilla taxa known from females were studied. Of these species groups, only the inermis species group was adequately established and diagnosed in the literature (Casal 1969). The remaining newly established species groups are as follows: americana, auriculata, bellica, bifurca, diabolica, gemella, indica, integella, juvenilis, quadrinotata, tabapua, trochanterata, and vitelligera. Diagnoses and lists of included species are provided for each species group. Eighty-three new country records are provided for 49 species.
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.
Alien plants were first recorded in 1937 in the 2 million ha Kruger National Park (KNP, a savanna protected area in South Africa), and attempts to control them began in the mid-1950s. The invasive alien plant control program expanded substantially in the late 1990s, but its overall efficacy has not been determined. We present an assessment of invasive alien plant control operations over several decades in KNP. We based our assessment on available information from a range of control programs funded from various sources, including national public works programs, KNP operational funds, and foreign donor funds. Over ZAR 350 million (~ US$ 27 million) has been spent on control interventions between 1997 and 2016. We found evidence of good progress with the control of several species, notably Opuntia stricta, Sesbania punicea, Lantana camara and several aquatic weeds, often because of effective biological control. On the other hand, we found that over one third (40%) of the funding was spent on species that have subsequently been recognised as being of lower priority, most of which were alien annual weeds. The allocation of funds to non-priority species was sometimes driven by the need to meet additional objectives (such as employment creation), or by perceptions about relative impact in the absence of documented evidence. We also found that management goals were limited to inputs (funds disbursed, employment created, and area treated) rather than to ecological outcomes, and progress was consequently not adequately monitored. At a species level, four out of 36 species were considered to be under complete control, and a further five were under substantial control. Attempts to control five annual species were all considered to be ineffective. On the basis of our findings, we recommend that more studies be done to determine impacts associated with individual invasive alien species; that the criteria used to prioritise invasive alien species be documented based on such assessments, so that management can justify a focus on priority species; and that funding be re-directed to those species that clearly pose greater threats, and for which other solutions (such as biological control) are not an option.
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. ...
Two new genera and species of tiger beetles from Baltic amber (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Cicindelinae)
(2017)
Two fossil tiger beetle species (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Cicindelinae) are described from Eocene Baltic amber using light microscopic and X-ray microscopic techniques. Both species are considered representatives of the subtribe Iresina Rivalier, 1971 due to the shared combination of character states: glabrous head, six labral and four suborbital setae, and glabrous pronotum. Palaeopronyssiformia groehni Wiesner, Will, and Schmidt, new genus, new species, is characterized by a glabrous and furrowed head with six labral setae, large eyes, presence of two supraorbital setae on each side, mandibles with two teeth of the incisor region, and a glabrous and furrowed pronotum. Palaeoiresina cassolai Wiesner, Will, and Schmidt, new genus, new species, is characterized by a unicolored, undentated labrum, mandibles with two teeth of the incisor region, glabrous head with six labral setae, two clypeal setae, two supraorbital setae on each side, and a glabrous pronotum, mesepisternum, mesepimeron, and metepisternum. The species described here represent the only known tiger beetle fossils preserved in Baltic amber.
Distributional records of the 177 tiger beetle species and subspecies known for Vietnam are given together with a key and habitus photos (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Cicindelinae). Tricondyla (Tricondyla) macrodera abruptesculpta Horn, 1925, Protocollyris festiva Naviaux, 2008, Neocollyris (Brachycollyris) purpureomaculata borea Naviaux, 1994, Neocollyris (Brachycollyris) torosa Naviaux, 2010, Neocollyris (Leptocollyris) rogeri Shook and Wu, 2006, Neocollyris (Leptocollyris) laosensis Naviaux, 1999, Neocollyris (Stenocollyris) rubens (Bates, 1878), Neocollyris (Pachycollyris) tricolor Naviaux, 1991, Neocollyris (Pachycollyris) panfi lovi Naviaux and Matalin, 2002, Therates rugulosus Horn, 1900, Therates bannapecolus Sawada and Wiesner, 1999, Calochroa interruptofasciata fl avolineata (Chaudoir, 1865), Cylindera (Ifasina) cyclobregma Acciavatti and Pearson, 1989, Cylindera (Ifasina) decolorata (Horn, 1907), Cylindera (Ifasina) humillima (Gestro, 1893) and Cylindera (Eugrapha) elisae elisae (Motschulsky, 1859) are reported for the fi rst time in the fauna of Vietnam. Neocollyris (Isocollyris) septentrionalis Naviaux, 1999, Neocollyris (Leptocollyris) linearis tenuicornis (Chaudoir, 1864), Neocollyris (Pachycollyris) aptera apicalis (Chaudoir, 1864), Neocollyris (Pachycollyris) contracta (Horn, 1905), Therates dimidiatus wallacei Thomson, 1857, Cylindera (Cylindera) pseudocylindriformis Horn, 1913, Cylindera (Ifasina) viridilabris (Chaudoir, 1852), Cylindera (Ifasina) psilica psilica (Bates, 1866), Cylindera (Eugrapha) venosa (Kollar, 1836) and Myriochila (Myriochila) undulata (Dejean, 1825) are excluded from the fauna of Vietnam
Information processing performed by any system can be conceptually decomposed into the transfer, storage and modification of information—an idea dating all the way back to the work of Alan Turing. However, formal information theoretic definitions until very recently were only available for information transfer and storage, not for modification. This has changed with the extension of Shannon information theory via the decomposition of the mutual information between inputs to and the output of a process into unique, shared and synergistic contributions from the inputs, called a partial information decomposition (PID). The synergistic contribution in particular has been identified as the basis for a definition of information modification. We here review the requirements for a functional definition of information modification in neuroscience, and apply a recently proposed measure of information modification to investigate the developmental trajectory of information modification in a culture of neurons vitro, using partial information decomposition. We found that modification rose with maturation, but ultimately collapsed when redundant information among neurons took over. This indicates that this particular developing neural system initially developed intricate processing capabilities, but ultimately displayed information processing that was highly similar across neurons, possibly due to a lack of external inputs. We close by pointing out the enormous promise PID and the analysis of information modification hold for the understanding of neural systems
Examination of leucothoid amphipods of the Red Sea has revealed seven species not previously reported from this location. Leucothoe minoculis sp. nov., Leucothoe pansa sp. nov., Leucothoe reimeri sp. nov., and Paranamixis sommelieri sp. nov. are described and the range of Leucothoe predenticulata Ledoyer, 1978, L. acutilobata Ledoyer, 1978 and L. squalidens Ledoyer, 1978 is expanded to include the Red Sea. Clarification of reports of L. acanthopus Schellenberg, 1928 and L. bannwarthi (Schellenberg, 1928) is provided and Leucothoe alani sp. nov. is described from outside the Red Sea.
As the numbers of people moving internationally increased in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, states tried more rigorously to regulate borders and counteract the problem of fugitives crossing international borders to evade arrest. This presented a legal challenge to domestic state power that increasingly defined its sovereignty on jurisdiction within borders. It is this issue and within this important era of globalization and law formation that Bradley Miller’s book examines how British North American colonies and post-Confederation Canada reacted to the problems posed by international fugitives through ideas and practices of extradition. His work goes beyond the traditional perspective of examining extradition treaties to view the practices of extradition in action, the everyday challenges states faced, and how the key concepts of sovereignty and international law were understood in relation to extradition. ...
Body image dissatisfaction is a serious, global problem that negatively affects life satisfaction. Several claims have been made about the possible psychological benefits of naturist activities, but very little empirical research has investigated these benefits or any plausible explanations for them. In three studies—one large-scale, cross-sectional study (n = 849), and 2 prospective studies (n = 24, n = 100) this research developed and applied knowledge about the possible benefits of naturist activities. It was found that more participation in naturist activities predicted greater life satisfaction—a relationship that was mediated by more positive body image, and higher self-esteem (Study 1). Applying these findings, it was found that participation in actual naturist activities led to an increase in life satisfaction, an effect that was also mediated by improvements in body image and self-esteem (Studies 2 and 3). The potential benefits of naturism are discussed, as well as possible future research, and implications for the use of naturist activities.
The transcriptional regulator far upstream binding protein 1 (FUBP1) is essential for fetal and adult hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) self-renewal, and the constitutive absence of FUBP1 activity during early development leads to embryonic lethality in homozygous mutant mice. To investigate the role of FUBP1 in murine embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and in particular during differentiation into hematopoietic lineages, we generated Fubp1 knockout (KO) ESC clones using CRISPR/Cas9 technology. Although FUBP1 is expressed in undifferentiated ESCs and during spontaneous differentiation following aggregation into embryoid bodies (EBs), absence of FUBP1 did not affect ESC maintenance. Interestingly, we observed a delayed differentiation of FUBP1-deficient ESCs into the mesoderm germ layer, as indicated by impaired expression of several mesoderm markers including Brachyury at an early time point of ESC differentiation upon aggregation to EBs. Coculture experiments with OP9 cells in the presence of erythropoietin revealed a diminished differentiation capacity of Fubp1 KO ESCs into the erythroid lineage. Our data showed that FUBP1 is important for the onset of mesoderm differentiation and maturation of hematopoietic progenitor cells into the erythroid lineage, a finding that is supported by the phenotype of FUBP1-deficient mice.
In search for new natural products, which may lead to the development of new drugs for all kind of applications, novel methods are needed. Here we describe the identification of electrophilic natural products in crude extracts via their reactivity against azide as a nucleophile followed by their subsequent enrichment using a cleavable azide-reactive resin (CARR). Using this approach, natural products carrying epoxides and α,β-unsaturated enones as well as several unknown compounds were identified in crude extracts from entomopathogenic Photorhabdus bacteria.
Objective: to systematize the strengths and challenges of Axel Honneth’s Theory of Recognition, and to reflect on these as support for research in health care. Method: this is a reflection article which considers the potential of incorporating the category of recognition in the Honnethian proposition for research, understanding, exercising of practice and management of health care. Results: the process of recognition promotes the exploration and understanding of relations of power and respect, above all in terms of conflict which are ascribed to these. As a result, it indicates support for diagnoses and structuring nuclei for overcoming oppressive and unequal practices, with consequences for dealing with situations of insecurity, weaknesses in self-esteem and vulnerabilities in the interactions between the subjects, which are configured as contemporary challenges. Conclusion: in the scientific exploration of care, management and public policies in health, this theoretical framework can assist in the visibility of the context and in its critical knots, in order to promote autonomy and human dignity, which are relevant for the interpersonal relations in the processes of care, with fruitful contributions to the qualification of the health care.
For a chaotic system pairs of initially close-by trajectories become eventually fully uncorrelated on the attracting set. This process of decorrelation can split into an initial exponential decrease and a subsequent diffusive process on the chaotic attractor causing the final loss of predictability. Both processes can be either of the same or of very different time scales. In the latter case the two trajectories linger within a finite but small distance (with respect to the overall extent of the attractor) for exceedingly long times and remain partially predictable. Standard tests for chaos widely use inter-orbital correlations as an indicator. However, testing partially predictable chaos yields mostly ambiguous results, as this type of chaos is characterized by attractors of fractally broadened braids. For a resolution we introduce a novel 0-1 indicator for chaos based on the cross-distance scaling of pairs of initially close trajectories. This test robustly discriminates chaos, including partially predictable chaos, from laminar flow. Additionally using the finite time cross-correlation of pairs of initially close trajectories, we are able to identify laminar flow as well as strong and partially predictable chaos in a 0-1 manner solely from the properties of pairs of trajectories.
Expression, perception and recognition of intense emotions in healthy and depressed individuals
(2017)
Die Fähigkeit die Gefühle anderer zu erkennen und einzuordnen ermöglicht es soziale Situationen richtig einzuschätzen und soziale Beziehungen aufzubauen. Da Emotionen also in unserem Leben eine wichtige Rolle spielen, kann eine Dysregulation der Emotionsverarbeitung auch zu elementaren Einschränkungen führen. Menschen, die unter depressiven Episoden leiden, durchleben beispielsweise regelmäßig Phasen intensiver und anhaltender Traurigkeit. Jedoch ist noch nicht vollständig erklärt, wie es zu dieser verzerrten Emotionswahrnehmung kommt. Diese Dissertation hatte deshalb das Ziel, den Ausdruck, die Wahrnehmung und das Erkennen extremer Emotionen genauer zu beleuchten.
In Studie 1 wurden der Ausdruck und das Erkennen extremer Emotionen untersucht.
Hierbei dienten aus dem Internet bezogene Videosequenzen von Kindern und Erwachsenen als Basis, in denen diese sich in Situationen befanden, die sie extrem negative oder extrem positive Emotionen durchleben ließen. Die Gesichtsausdrücke der Kinder und Erwachsenen wurden dann zum Zeitpunkt der stärksten emotionalen Erregung in ein Bild umgewandelt und von unabhängigen Ratern auf ihre Valenz und ihr Arousal eingeschätzt. Es wurde beobachtet, dass - entgegen der Vorhersage etablierter Emotionstheorien (z.B. Ekman, 1993) – Emotionen hoher positiver und negativer Intensität schwer auseinander zu halten sind. Tatsächlich wurden positive Emotionsausdrücke häufig als negativ eingeschätzt. Eine mögliche Erklärung dafür liefern Aragón und Kollegen (2015). Sie schätzen den Ausdruck negativer Emotionen in positiven Situationen als Emotionsregulationsstrategie ein, die dazu dient ein emotionales Equilibrium wieder herzustellen, das durch die überwältigenden positiven Emotionen aus dem Gleichgewicht gebracht wurde.
In Studie 2 und 3 wurde die Wahrnehmung negativer Emotionen bei depressiven Menschen im Vergleich zu gesunden Kontrollprobanden auf subjektiver und physiologischer Ebene untersucht. Hierbei wurde zunächst im Rahmen von Studie 2 untersucht, ob Parameter des autonomen Nervensystems (ANS) sich zwischen depressiven und gesunden Probanden unterscheiden. ANS-Parameter umfassten Hormone (Cortisol und DHEA), Herzratenvariabilität (HRV), Hautleitfähigkeit (GSR), Hauttemperatur (TEMP) und Atemfrequenz (RSP). Es konnten erhöhte DHEA-Werte, eine erhöhte Hauttemperatur und eine reduzierte Atemfrequenz in der Patientengruppe gefunden werden. Eine erhöhte Hauttemperatur korrelierte zudem mit der Ausprägung depressiver Symptome und der aktuellen Stimmung. Reduzierte HRV-Werte wurden hauptsächlich auf antidepressive Medikation zurückgeführt.
In Studie 3 wurde dann die Reaktion der Probanden auf emotionsevozierende Stimuli verschiedener Valenzkategorien (neutral, leicht negative, hoch negative) untersucht. Hierbei wurden sowohl physiologische Parameter (TEMP, HRV, GSR, RSP) als auch die subjektive Einschätzung der Stimuli bezüglich ihrer Valenz und ihres Arousal erhoben. Die Befunde bezüglich Hauttemperatur und HRV-Werte aus Studie 2 konnten in Studie 3 repliziert
werden. Zudem zeigte sich eine akzentuierte Reaktion der RSP sowie höhere Valenz- und Arousalratings in der Patientengruppe. Das subjektiv intensivere Empfinden der Stimuli bei den Patienten hing zusätzlich mit emotionaler und sozialer Kompetenz zusammen.
In dieser Dissertation konnte gezeigt werden, dass Ausdrücke intensiver Emotionen im Gesicht oft als zweideutig wahrgenommen werden. Um ein genaueres Verständnis der Emotionswahrnehmung bei depressiven Menschen zu erlangen, konnten zudem mehrere Parameter des ANS identifiziert werden, die teils noch nicht untersucht wurden und einer intensiveren Emotionswahrnehmung bei depressiven Patienten zugrunde liegen könnten.
Hierbei wurden zusätzlich Zusammenhänge zu weiteren Aspekten der Depression, wie Defiziten in sozialen Kompetenzen, aufgezeigt. Damit gibt diese Dissertation umfassende Aufschlüsse über Emotionsverarbeitungsprozesse bei gesunden und depressiven Menschen.
Ongoing liver inflammation in patients with chronic hepatitis C and sustained virological response
(2017)
Background: Novel direct-acting antiviral DAA combination therapies tremendously improved sustained virologic response (SVR) rates in patients with chronic HCV infection. SVR is typically accompanied by normalization of liver enzymes, however, hepatic inflammation, i.e. persistently elevated aminotransferase levels may persist despite HCV eradication. Aim: To investigate prevalence and risk factors for ongoing hepatic inflammation after SVR in two large patient cohorts.
Methods: This post-hoc analysis was based on prospectively collected demographic and clinical data from 834 patients with SVR after HCV treatment with either PegIFN- or DAA-based treatment regimens from the PRAMA trial (n = 341) or patients treated at our outpatient clinic (n = 493).
Results: We observed an unexpected high prevalence of post-SVR inflammation, including patients who received novel IFN-free DAA-based therapies. Up to 10% of patients had ongoing elevation of aminotransferase levels and another 25% showed aminotransferase activity above the so-called healthy range. Several baseline factors were independently associated with post-SVR aminotransferase elevation. Among those, particularly male gender, advanced liver disease and markers for liver steatosis were strongly predictive for persistent ALT elevation. The use of IFN-based antiviral treatment was independently correlated with post-SVR inflammation, further supporting the overall benefit of IFN-free combination regimens.
Conclusion: This is the first comprehensive study on a large patient cohort investigating the prevalence and risk factors for ongoing liver inflammation after eradication of HCV. Our data show a high proportion of patients with ongoing hepatic inflammation despite HCV eradication with potential implications for the management of approximately one third of all patients upon SVR.
The paper present the results of a new field collection of myxomycetes (plasmodial slime moulds) on dead wood, dead bark and litter substrate in southeast New South Wales centred on Canberra (lat. 35° S, long. 149° E). The sample consists of 96 species from 493 collections. This survey is compared with four other surveys for similar substrates and similar temperate climate: southwest Western Australia, southeast Australia, New Zealand and Patagonia. The assemblages are similar in species composition and abundance, when allowance is made for the large random effect in the sampling. These five southern hemisphere assemblages have been combined into a composite assemblage. This composite assemblage is similar to those of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and Britain, when allowance is made for the varying sampling of litter. This similarity may represent a single species assemblage occurring in both the Southern and Northern Hemispheres in areas of similar temperate climate.
Purpose: To evaluate the effect of reduced z-axis scan coverage on diagnostic performance and radiation dose of neck CT in patients with suspected cervical abscess.
Methods: Fifty-one patients with suspected cervical abscess were included and underwent contrast-enhanced neck CT on a 2nd or 3rd generation dual-source CT system. Image acquisition ranged from the aortic arch to the upper roof of the frontal sinuses (CTstd). Subsequently, series with reduced z-axis coverage (CTred) were reconstructed starting at the aortic arch up to the orbital floor. CTstd and CTred were independently assessed by two radiologists for the presence/absence of cervical abscesses and for incidental and alternative findings. In addition, diagnostic accuracy for the depiction of the cervical abscesses was calculated for both readers. Furthermore, DLP (dose-length-product), effective dose (ED) and organ doses were calculated and compared for CTred and CTstd, using a commercially available dose management platform.
Results: A total of 41 abscesses and 3 incidental/alternative findings were identified in CTstd. All abscesses and incidental/alternative findings could also be detected on CTred resulting in a sensitivity and specificity of 1.0 for both readers. DLP, ED and organ doses of the brain, the eye lenses, the red bone marrow and the salivary glands of CTred were significantly lower than for CTstd (p<0.001).
Conclusions: Reducing z-axis coverage of neck CT allows for a significant reduction of effective dose and organ doses at similar diagnostic performance as compared to CTstd.
The amyloid precursor protein (APP) was discovered in the 1980s as the precursor protein of the amyloid A4 peptide. The amyloid A4 peptide, also known as A-beta (Aβ), is the main constituent of senile plaques implicated in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In association with the amyloid deposits, increasing impairments in learning and memory as well as the degeneration of neurons especially in the hippocampus formation are hallmarks of the pathogenesis of AD. Within the last decades much effort has been expended into understanding the pathogenesis of AD. However, little is known about the physiological role of APP within the central nervous system (CNS). Allocating APP to the proteome of the highly dynamic presynaptic active zone (PAZ) identified APP as a novel player within this neuronal communication and signaling network. The analysis of the hippocampal PAZ proteome derived from APP-mutant mice demonstrates that APP is tightly embedded in the underlying protein network. Strikingly, APP deletion accounts for major dysregulation within the PAZ proteome network. Ca2+-homeostasis, neurotransmitter release and mitochondrial function are affected and resemble the outcome during the pathogenesis of AD. The observed changes in protein abundance that occur in the absence of APP as well as in AD suggest that APP is a structural and functional regulator within the hippocampal PAZ proteome. Within this review article, we intend to introduce APP as an important player within the hippocampal PAZ proteome and to outline the impact of APP deletion on individual PAZ proteome subcommunities.
A tontine provides a mortality driven, age-increasing payout structure through the pooling of mortality. Because a tontine does not entail any guarantees, the payout structure of a tontine is determined by the pooling of individual characteristics of tontinists. Therefore, the surrender decision of single tontinists directly affects the remaining members' payouts. Nevertheless, the opportunity to surrender is crucial to the success of a tontine from a regulatory as well as a policyholder perspective. Therefore, this paper derives the fair surrender value of a tontine, first on the basis of expected values, and then incorporates the increasing payout volatility to determine an equitable surrender value. Results show that the surrender decision requires a discount on the fair surrender value as security for the remaining members. The discount intensifies in decreasing tontine size and increasing risk aversion. However, tontinists are less willing to surrender for decreasing tontine size and increasing risk aversion, creating a natural protection against tontine runs stemming from short-term liquidity shocks. Furthermore we argue that a surrender decision based on private information requires a discount on the fair surrender value as well.
Expectations on others
(2017)
Pertusarialean lichens include more than 300 species belonging to several independent phylogenetic lineages. Only some of these phylogenetic clades have been comprehensively sampled for molecular data, and formally described as genera. Here we present a taxonomic treatment of a group of pertusarialean lichens formerly known as "Pertusaria amara-group", "Monomurata-group", or "Variolaria-group", which includes widespread and well-known taxa such as P. amara, P. albescens, or P. ophthalmiza. We generated a 6-locus data set with 79 OTUs representing 75 species. The distinction of the Variolaria clade is supported and consequently, the resurrection of the genus Lepra is followed. Thirty-five new combinations into Lepra are proposed and the new species Lepra austropacifica is described from mangroves in the South Pacific. Lepra is circumscribed to include species with disciform ascomata, a weakly to non-amyloid hymenial gel, strongly amyloid asci without clear apical amyloid structures, containing 1 or 2, single-layered, thin-walled ascospores. Chlorinated xanthones are not present, but thamnolic and picrolichenic acids occur frequently, as well as orcinol depsides. Seventy-one species are accepted in the genus. Although the distinction of the genus from Pertusaria is strongly supported, the relationships of Lepra remain unresolved and the genus is tentatively placed in Pertusariales incertae sedis.
Arnd Wedemeyer's article focuses on the German artist Joseph Beuys (1921–86), who did not shy away from describing the social order with traditional organic metaphors, such as the notion of a 'central organ'. However, it is above all the - plastic - relationship between society and art that is at issue in Wedemeyer's article, entitled 'Pumping Honey: Joseph Beuys at the documenta 6'. Using the term 'Soziale Plastik', Beuys not only classified his own artistic practice as essentially sculptural but, more importantly, thematized its heterogeneous yet anything but passive relationship to art market, exhibition, museum, and various modes of reception, as well as staked its political claim. Wedemeyer looks at Beuys's contribution to the 1977 documenta, 'Honey Pump at the Workplace', in order to argue that the layered invocation of plasticity characteristic of Beuys's practice and theorizing ought not be historicized, as is commonly done, as an instantiation of the excessive, transgressive - and quite possibly disingenuous - zeal of the neo-avant-garde. Beuys's 'Plastik' should not be confused with anti-aesthetic formlessness, base materialism, a post-Duchampian ruination of the 'objet trouvé', and least of all a Neoromantic or Wagnerian projection or hypostatization of the autonomous work of art. The avant-gardes of the twentieth century have rendered the relationship of art and aesthetics tenuous at best, their artistic 'innovations' straining against the supratemporally or anthropologically defined characteristics of aesthetic valuation, play, or force. While many have sought to address this problem by tethering art to society in a shared 'contemporaneity', the article explores the implications of recasting this relation as one of plasticity, using the conceptual richness harvested by Catherine Malabou.
Gallbladder cancer (GBC) is a lethal cancer with poor prognosis associated with high invasiveness and poor response to chemotherapy and radiotherapy. New therapeutic approaches are urgently needed in order to improve survival and response rates of GBC patients. We screened 130 small molecule inhibitors on a panel of seven GBC cell lines and identified the HSP90 inhibitor 17-AAG as one of the most potent inhibitory drugs across the different lines. We tested the antitumor efficacy of 17-AAG and geldanamycin (GA) in vitro and in a subcutaneous preclinical tumor model NOD-SCID mice. We also evaluated the expression of HSP90 by immunohistochemistry in human GBC tumors.
In vitro assays showed that 17-AAG and GA significantly reduced the expression of HSP90 target proteins, including EGFR, AKT, phospho-AKT, Cyclin B1, phospho-ERK and Cyclin D1. These molecular changes were consistent with reduced cell viability and cell migration and promotion of G2/M cell cycle arrest and apoptosis observed in our in vitro studies.
In vivo, 17-AAG showed efficacy in reducing subcutaneous tumors size, exhibiting a 69.6% reduction in tumor size in the treatment group compared to control mice (p < 0.05).
The HSP90 immunohistochemical staining was seen in 182/209 cases of GBC (87%) and it was strongly expressed in 70 cases (33%), moderately in 58 cases (28%), and weakly in 54 cases (26%).
Our pre-clinical observations strongly suggest that the inhibition of HSP90 function by HSP90 inhibitors is a promising therapeutic strategy for gallbladder cancer that may benefit from new HSP90 inhibitors currently in development.
Formation of Hubbard-like bands as a fingerprint of strong electron-electron interactions in FeSe
(2017)
We use angle-resolved photo-emission spectroscopy (ARPES) to explore the electronic structure of single crystals of FeSe over a wide range of binding energies and study the effects of strong electron-electron correlations. We provide evidence for the existence of "Hubbard-like bands" at high binding energies consisting of incoherent many-body excitations originating from Fe 3d states in addition to the renormalized quasiparticle bands near the Fermi level. Many high energy features of the observed ARPES data can be accounted for when incorporating effects of strong local Coulomb interactions in calculations of the spectral function via dynamical mean-field theory, including the formation of a Hubbard-like band. This shows that over the energy scale of several eV, local correlations arising from the on-site Coulomb repulsion and Hund's coupling are essential for a proper understanding of the electronic structure of FeSe and other related iron based superconductors.
The emotional power of poetry: neural circuitry, psychophysiology and compositional principles
(2017)
It is a common experience—and well established experimentally—that music can engage us emotionally in a compelling manner. The mechanisms underlying these experiences are receiving increasing scrutiny. However, the extent to which other domains of aesthetic experience can similarly elicit strong emotions is unknown. Using psychophysiology, neuroimaging and behavioral responses, we show that recited poetry can act as a powerful stimulus for eliciting peak emotional responses, including chills and objectively measurable goosebumps that engage the primary reward circuitry. Importantly, while these responses to poetry are largely analogous to those found for music, their neural underpinnings show important differences, specifically with regard to the crucial role of the nucleus accumbens. We also go beyond replicating previous music-related studies by showing that peak aesthetic pleasure can co-occur with physiological markers of negative affect. Finally, the distribution of chills across the trajectory of poems provides insight into compositional principles of poetry.
This psychophysiological study is the first to examine the relationship between emotional tears and emotional piloerection (i.e., goosebumps). Although both phenomena have been related to peak states of being moved, details about their temporal occurrence and the associated levels of physiological arousal have remained unknown. In our study, we used emotionally powerful film scenes that were self-selected by participants. Our findings show that even within peak moments of emotional arousal, a gradation of intensity is possible. The overlap of tears and goosebumps signifies a maximal climax within peak moments. On the side of the stimulus, we found that displays of prosocial behavior play a crucial role in the elicitation of tears and goosebumps. Finally, based on the results of a formal film analysis of the tears-eliciting clips provided by our participants, as compared to randomly extracted, equally long control clips from the same films, we show how the technical and artistic making of the clips was optimized for the display of social interaction and emotional expressions.
The full-length translation-regulating add adenine riboswitch (Asw) from Vibrio vulnificus has a more complex conformational space than its isolated aptamer domain. In addition to the predicted apo (apoA) and holo conformation that feature the conserved three-way junctional purine riboswitch aptamer, it adopts a second apo (apoB) conformation with a fundamentally different secondary structure. Here, we characterized the ligand-dependent conformational dynamics of the full-length add Asw by NMR and by single-molecule FRET (smFRET) spectroscopy. Both methods revealed an adenine-induced secondary structure switch from the apoB-form to the apoA-form that involves no tertiary structural interactions between aptamer and expression platform. This strongly suggests that the add Asw triggers translation by capturing the apoA-form secondary structure in the holo state. Intriguingly, NMR indicated a homogenous, docked aptamer kissing loop fold for apoA and holo, while smFRET showed persistent aptamer kissing loop docking dynamics between comparably stable, undocked and docked substates of the apoA and the holo conformation. Unraveling the folding of large junctional riboswitches thus requires the integration of complementary solution structural techniques such as NMR and smFRET.
Biophysical studies of the translation-regulating add adenine riboswitch from Vibrio vulnificus
(2017)
Bacterial gene expression can be regulated at mRNA level by cis-acting mRNA elements termed riboswitches. Riboswitches operate by conformational switching between a ligand-free and a ligand-bound state with different structures that either activate or inhibit gene expression. This PhD thesis contributes to the molecular level understanding of full-length purine riboswitches. It presents biophysical investigations on the ligand-dependent folding of the full-length translation-regulating add adenine riboswitch from the gram-negative human pathogenic marine bacterium Vibrio vulnificus (Asw). Asw has the typical bipartite riboswitch architecture with a 5’ ligand-sensing aptamer domain and a 3’ regulatory domain termed expression platform. According to the working hypothesis, Asw employs a unique thermodynamically-controlled 3-state conformational switching mechanism between an apoB, an apoA and a holo conformation to regulate translation initiation in a temperature-compensated manner. The two apo conformations are the putative translation-OFF states and the holo conformation is the putative translation-ON state of Asw. In the main project of this PhD thesis, an integrated nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and smFRET spectroscopic study of the full-length 112-nucleotide Asw (112Asw) was performed. The adenine-dependent folding of 112Asw was monitored at the level of base pairing interactions by NMR of the RNA imino protons, and at the level of three long-range intramolecular distances by smFRET of immobilized molecules. The integrated NMR and smFRET spectroscopic study of 112Asw yielded two major findings. First, NMR and smFRET both revealed that adenine binding to 112Asw impedes apoB formation by stabilizing the apoA secondary structure in the holo conformation without modulating tertiary structural interactions between the two riboswitch domains. This highlights the central role of competitive P1 and P4 helix formation at the interface of the aptamer and the expression platform for switching the accessibility of the ribosome binding site of 112Asw. Moreover, it strongly corroborates the hypothesis that purine riboswitches in general operate according to the key principle of a spatially decoupled secondary structural allosteric switch that proceeds without ligand-induced tertiary structural interactions between the aptamer domain and the expression platform. Second, it was uncovered by smFRET that the apoA and the holo conformation of 112Asw do not adopt a single folding state at near-physiological Mg2+ concentration. Instead, apoA and holo exhibit a persistent dynamic equilibrium between substates with an undocked (U), a short-lived docked (D1; ~s) and a Mg2+-bound long-lived docked (D2; ~10 s) aptamer kissing loop motif. In the holo conformation, the fractional population of the long-lived docked substate is ~2-fold increased compared to the apoA conformation, but undocked and docked substates are still comparably stable. The here described multiple folding states of the apoA and the holo conformation might have regulatory properties that are in between the apoB translation-OFF state and the holo-D2 translation-ON state. Additonally, an integrated NMR and smFRET analysis of 127-nucleotide Asw (127Asw) is presented. Compared to 112Asw, 127Asw is 3’-elongated by 15 nucleotides of the adenosine deaminase encoding sequence of the add gene from Vibrio vulnificus. 127Asw was chosen as mRNA template for future investigations of the interaction between Asw and the 30S ribosomal subunit. The NMR spectra of 127Asw demonstrated that 127Asw has the same overall secondary structure as 112Asw. Like for 112Asw, the combined NMR and smFRET analysis of 127Asw showed that adenine binding impedes apoB formation and stabilizes a long-lived docked aptamer kissing loop fold. However, compared to 112Asw, 127Asw has a destabilized aptamer kissing loop motif and a stabilized P4 helix in the expression platform. Finally, ligand-observed studies of the transient encounter complex between Asw and the near-cognate ligand hypoxanthine are described. By competition binding WaterLOGSY NMR experiments with hypoxanthine and the adenine analogue 2,6-diaminopurine, it could be shown that hypoxanthine binds to the same binding site of 112Asw as the cognate ligand adenine. The hypoxanthine binding constant measured with the WaterLOGSY method is in the low mM range (1.8 mM) and substantially exceeds the physiological hypoxanthine concentration in E. coli (~0.3 mM), thus ruling out that hypoxanthine binding can significantly impact the translational regulation of Asw in vivo. Also, preliminary FTIR difference spectra of 13C,15N-labelled and unlabelled hypoxanthine in complex with the pbuE adenine riboswitch aptamer and the xpt guanine riboswitch aptamer are discussed. These spectra showed a pattern of multiple IR bands that appeared to be characteristic for the respective complex.
Nine new species of Rhinotragini (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae: Cerambycinae) are described from the Neotropical region: Odontocera galileoae (Mexico); Odontocera mthomasi (Guatemala); Ecliptoides vandenberghei (Nicaragua); Eclipta ricei and Odontocera skelleyi (Costa Rica); Eclipta nearnsi (Panama); Odontocera stangei (Venezuela); Chariergodes lingafelteri and Ischasia martinsi (Costa Rica and Panama). Ischasia rufi na Thomson, 1864 is formally excluded from the fauna of Costa Rica and Panama, and Nicaragua is added as a new country record for Eclipta fi cta Bezark, Martins and Santos-Silva, 2013. Notes on Ecliptoides monostigma (Bates, 1869)
are provided in the “Diagnosis” of E. vandenberghei.
A new genus and two new species of Argentine Rhinotragini
(Coleoptera, Cerambycidae, Cerambycinae)
(2017)
Rhopalessa irwini sp.nov. and Rhinion parkeri gen. nov., sp. nov. (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae, Cerambycinae, Rhinotragini) are described from Argentina. A key to species of Rhopalessa is provided.
Adesmus martinsi (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae, Lamiinae, Hemilophini), a new species from Bolivia, is described, illustrated, and included in a previous key. The new species displays gender dimorphism in the pubescent pattern and in anatomical structure. Thus, Adesmus becomes the second genus recorded in the Hemilophini to have visual chromatic dimorphism.
Various strategies have been employed to speed tissue regeneration using bioactive molecules. Interestingly, platelet concentrates derived from a patient’s own blood have been utilized as a regenerative strategy in recent years. In the present study, a novel liquid platelet formulation prepared without the use of anti-coagulants (injectable-platelet-rich fibrin, i-PRF) was compared to standard platelet-rich plasma (PRP) with gingival fibroblasts cultured on smooth and roughened titanium implant surfaces. Standard PRP and i-PRF (centrifuged at 700 rpm (60× g) for 3 min) were compared by assays for fibroblast biocompatibility, migration, adhesion, proliferation, as well as expression of platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), collagen1 (COL1) and fibronectin (FN). The results demonstrate that i-PRF induced significantly higher cell migration, as well as higher messenger RNA (mRNA) levels of PDGF, TGF-β, collagen1 and fibronectin when compared to PRP. Furthermore, collagen1 synthesis was highest in the i-PRF group. These findings demonstrate that liquid platelet concentrates can be formulated without the use of anticoagulants and present much translational potential for future research. Future animal and clinical trials are now necessary to further investigate the potential of utilizing i-PRF for soft tissue regenerative protocols in combination with various biomaterials.
The genus Paharia Distant, 1905 is reviewed based on the description of a new species, Paharia oorschoti sp. nov., and redescription of the allied Paharia putoni (Distant, 1892), both from Turkey. The relationships among Paharia, Subpsaltria Chen, 1943 and Tibicina Kolenati, 1857 of the tribe Tibicinini Distant, 1905 are discussed. The morphology of the exuviae of Pa. oorschoti sp. nov. and S. yangi Chen 1943 is described and compared. Tibicina insidiosa Boulard, 1977 is transferred to Paharia to become Paharia insidiosa comb. nov. A key to all species of Paharia is provided.
Clustering of cardiovascular risk factors and carotid intima-media thickness : the USE-IMT study
(2017)
Background: The relation of a single risk factor with atherosclerosis is established. Clinically we know of risk factor clustering within individuals. Yet, studies into the magnitude of the relation of risk factor clusters with atherosclerosis are limited. Here, we assessed that relation.
Methods: Individual participant data from 14 cohorts, involving 59,025 individuals were used in this cross-sectional analysis. We made 15 clusters of four risk factors (current smoking, overweight, elevated blood pressure, elevated total cholesterol). Multilevel age and sex adjusted linear regression models were applied to estimate mean differences in common carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) between clusters using those without any of the four risk factors as reference group.
Results: Compared to the reference, those with 1, 2, 3 or 4 risk factors had a significantly higher common CIMT: mean difference of 0.026 mm, 0.052 mm, 0.074 mm and 0.114 mm, respectively. These findings were the same in men and in women, and across ethnic groups. Within each risk factor cluster (1, 2, 3 risk factors), groups with elevated blood pressure had the largest CIMT and those with elevated cholesterol the lowest CIMT, a pattern similar for men and women.
Conclusion: Clusters of risk factors relate to increased common CIMT in a graded manner, similar in men, women and across race-ethnic groups. Some clusters seemed more atherogenic than others. Our findings support the notion that cardiovascular prevention should focus on sets of risk factors rather than individual levels alone, but may prioritize within clusters.
N-Allyltetramethylpiperidine is readily isomerized to the corresponding enamine by treatment with catalytic amounts of B(C6F5)3. It adds HB(C6F5)2 at the nucleophilic enamine carbon atom to form a C/B Lewis adduct. This reacts with two molar equivalents of carbon monoxide by selective head to tail coupling to give a five-membered C2O2B heterocycle. In contrast the enamine/HB(C6F5)2 Lewis pair reacts with two molar equiv. of nitric oxide by head to head coupling. This reaction probably proceeds via equilibrium with the corresponding vicinal N/B Lewis pair. Most products were characterized by X-ray diffraction.
The ability to learn sequential behaviors is a fundamental property of our brains. Yet a long stream of studies including recent experiments investigating motor sequence learning in adult human subjects have produced a number of puzzling and seemingly contradictory results. In particular, when subjects have to learn multiple action sequences, learning is sometimes impaired by proactive and retroactive interference effects. In other situations, however, learning is accelerated as reflected in facilitation and transfer effects. At present it is unclear what the underlying neural mechanism are that give rise to these diverse findings. Here we show that a recently developed recurrent neural network model readily reproduces this diverse set of findings. The self-organizing recurrent neural network (SORN) model is a network of recurrently connected threshold units that combines a simplified form of spike-timing dependent plasticity (STDP) with homeostatic plasticity mechanisms ensuring network stability, namely intrinsic plasticity (IP) and synaptic normalization (SN). When trained on sequence learning tasks modeled after recent experiments we find that it reproduces the full range of interference, facilitation, and transfer effects. We show how these effects are rooted in the network’s changing internal representation of the different sequences across learning and how they depend on an interaction of training schedule and task similarity. Furthermore, since learning in the model is based on fundamental neuronal plasticity mechanisms, the model reveals how these plasticity mechanisms are ultimately responsible for the network’s sequence learning abilities. In particular, we find that all three plasticity mechanisms are essential for the network to learn effective internal models of the different training sequences. This ability to form effective internal models is also the basis for the observed interference and facilitation effects. This suggests that STDP, IP, and SN may be the driving forces behind our ability to learn complex action sequences.
Sepsis is generally considered as a severe condition of inflammation that leads to lymphocyte apoptosis and multiple organ dysfunction. Hydroxysafflor yellow A (HSYA) exerts anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic effects in infectious diseases. However, the therapeutic effect of HSYA on polymicrobial sepsis remains unknown. This study was undertaken to investigate the therapeutic effects and the mechanisms of action of HSYA on immunosuppression in a murine model of sepsis induced by cecal ligation and puncture (CLP). NIH mice were randomly divided into four groups: control group, sham group, CLP group, and CLP+HSYA group. HSYA (120 mg/kg) was intravenously injected into experimental mice at 12 h before CLP, concurrent with CLP and 12 h after CLP. The levels of circulating inflammatory cytokines, the apoptosis of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes, and protein expression of cytochrome C (Cytc), Bax, Bcl-2, cleaved caspase-9, and cleaved caspase-3 were examined. Plasma levels of IL-6, IL-10 and TNF-alpha as well as the apoptosis of CD4+ T lymphocytes were increased compared with sham group. These changes were accompanied by increases of pro-apoptotic proteins including Cytc, Bax, cleaved caspase-9, and cleaved caspase-3 and decreases of anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 in CD4+ T lymphocytes from mice undergoing CLP. In contrast, we fail to observe significant effect of HSYA on the apoptosis of CD8+ T lymphocytes in CLP-treated group. Of note, HSYA treatment reversed all above changes observed in CD4+ T lymphocytes, and significantly increased the ratio of CD4+:CD8+ T lymphocytes in CLP-treated mice. In conclusion, HSYA was an effective therapeutic agent in ameliorating sepsis-induced apoptosis of CD4+ T lymphocytes probably through its anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic effects.
Eosinophilic cholangitis is a potentially underdiagnosed etiology in indeterminate biliary stricture
(2017)
AIM: To investigate presence and extent of eosinophilic cholangitis (EC) as well as IgG4-related disease in patients with indeterminate biliary stricture (IBS).
METHODS: All patients with diagnosis of sclerosing cholangitis (SC) and histopathological samples such as biopsies or surgical specimens at University Hospital Frankfurt from 2005-2015 were included. Histopathological diagnoses as well as further clinical course were reviewed. Tissue samples of patients without definite diagnosis after complete diagnostic work-up were reviewed regarding presence of eosinophilic infiltration and IgG4 positive plasma cells. Eosinophilic infiltration was as well assessed in a control group of liver transplant donors and patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis.
RESULTS: one hundred and thirty-five patients with SC were included. In 10/135 (13.5%) patients, no potential cause of IBS could be identified after complete diagnostic work-up and further clinical course. After histopathological review, a post-hoc diagnosis of EC was established in three patients resulting in a prevalence of 2.2% (3/135) of all patients with SC as well as 30% (3/10) of patients, where no cause of IBS was identified. 2/3 patients with post-hoc diagnosis of EC underwent surgical resection with suspicion for malignancy. Diagnosis of IgG4-related cholangitis was observed in 7/135 patients (5.1%), whereas 3 cases were discovered in post-hoc analysis. 6/7 cases with IgG4-related cholangitis (85.7%) presented with eosinophilic infiltration in addition to IgG4 positive plasma cells. There was no patient with eosinophilic infiltration in the control group of liver transplant donors (n = 27) and patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis (n = 14).
CONCLUSION: EC is an underdiagnosed benign etiology of SC and IBS, which has to be considered in differential diagnosis of IBS.
We investigated the excitation of surface plasmon polaritons on gold films with the metallized probe tip of a scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscope (s-SNOM). The emission of the polaritons from the tip, illuminated by near-infrared laser radiation, was found to be anisotropic and not circularly symmetric as expected on the basis of literature data. We furthermore identified an additional excitation channel via light that was reflected off the tip and excited the plasmon polaritons at the edge of the metal film. Our results, while obtained for a non-rotationally-symmetric type of probe tip and thus specific for this situation, indicate that when an s-SNOM is employed for the investigation of plasmonic structures, the unintentional excitation of surface waves and anisotropic surface wave propagation must be considered in order to correctly interpret the signatures of plasmon polariton generation and propagation.
This dissertation provides a comprehensive account of the grammar of relative clause extraposition in English. Based on a systematic review and evaluation of the empirical generalizations and theoretical approaches provided in the literature on generative grammar, it is shown that none of the previous theories is able to account for all the relevant facts. Among the most problematic data are the Principle C and scope effects of relative clause extraposition, cases with obligatory relative clauses, and relative clauses with elliptical NPs as antecedents.
I propose a new analysis of relative clause extraposition within the constraint-based, monostratal grammatical framework of Head-driven Phrase Structure Grammar (HPSG), enhanced with the semantic theory of Lexical Resource Semantics (LRS). Crucially, it is a general analysis of relative clause attachment, since both canonical and extraposed relative clauses are licensed by the same syntactic and semantic constraints. The basic assumption is that a relative clause can be adjoined to any phrase that contains a suitable antecedent of the relative pronoun. The semantic information that licenses the relative clause is introduced by the determiner of the antecedent NP. The techniques of underspecified semantics and the standard semantic representation language used by LRS make it possible to formulate constraints which yield the correct intersective interpretation of the relative clause (arbitrarily distant from its antecedent NP) and at the same time link the scope of the antecedent NP to the adjunction site of the relative clause.
In combination with the revised HPSG binding theory developed in this dissertation, the proposed analysis is able to capture the major properties of relative clause attachment within a unified and internally consistent monostratal constraint-based grammatical framework.
The toolbox for imaging molecules is well-equipped today. Some techniques visualize the geometrical structure, others the electron density or electron orbitals. Molecules are many-body systems for which the correlation between the constituents is decisive and the spatial and the momentum distribution of one electron depends on those of the other electrons and the nuclei. Such correlations have escaped direct observation by imaging techniques so far. Here, we implement an imaging scheme which visualizes correlations between electrons by coincident detection of the reaction fragments after high energy photofragmentation. With this technique, we examine the H2 two-electron wave function in which electron–electron correlation beyond the mean-field level is prominent. We visualize the dependence of the wave function on the internuclear distance. High energy photoelectrons are shown to be a powerful tool for molecular imaging. Our study paves the way for future time resolved correlation imaging at FELs and laser based X-ray sources.
New provisioning rules introduced by IFRS 9 are expected to reduce the procyclicality of provisioning. Heterogeneity among banks in the procyclicality of provisioning may not only reflect the formal accounting rules, but also variation in discretionary provisioning policies. This paper presents empirical evidence on the heterogeneity of provisioning procyclicality among significant banks that are directly supervised by the ECB. In particular, this paper finds that provisioning is relatively procyclical at banks that have i) high loans-to-assets ratios, ii) high shares of non-interest income in total operating income, iii) low capitalization rates, and iv) low total assets. Supervisory guidance provided to banks on how to implement IFRS 9 has mostly been of a qualitative nature, and may prove inadequate to prevent an undesirably wide future variation in provisioning among EU banks.
This paper was provided at the request of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs of the European Parliament and commissioned and drafted under the responsibility of the Economic Governance Support Unit (EGOV) of the European Parliament. It was originally published on the European Parliament’s webpage.
The formation of secondary particles in the atmosphere accounts for more than half of global cloud condensation nuclei. Experiments at the CERN CLOUD (Cosmics Leaving OUtdoor Droplets) chamber have underlined the importance of ions for new particle formation, but quantifying their effect in the atmosphere remains challenging. By using a novel instrument setup consisting of two nano-particle counters, one of them equipped with an ion filter, we were able to further investigate the ion-related mechanisms of new particle formation. In autumn 2015, we carried out experiments at CLOUD on four systems of different chemical compositions involving monoterpenes, sulfuric acid, nitrogen oxides, and ammonia. We measured the influence of ions on the nucleation rates under precisely controlled and atmospherically relevant conditions. Our results indicate that ions enhance the nucleation process when the charge is necessary to stabilize newly formed clusters, i.e. in conditions where neutral clusters are unstable. For charged clusters that were formed by ion-induced nucleation, we were able to measure, for the first time, their progressive neutralization due to recombination with oppositely charged ions. A large fraction of the clusters carried a charge at 1.2 nm diameter. However, depending on particle growth rates and ion concentrations, charged clusters were largely neutralized by ion–ion recombination before they grew to 2.2 nm. At this size, more than 90 % of particles were neutral. In other words, particles may originate from ion-induced nucleation, although they are neutral upon detection at diameters larger than 2.2 nm. Observations at Hyytiälä, Finland, showed lower ion concentrations and a lower contribution of ion-induced nucleation than measured at CLOUD under similar conditions. Although this can be partly explained by the observation that ion-induced fractions decrease towards lower ion concentrations, further investigations are needed to resolve the origin of the discrepancy.
We present a study characterizing aerosol particles resulting from a skyscraper blasting. High mass concentrations with a maximum of 844.9 μg m-3 were present for a short time period of approximately 15 minutes. They result in a day mean of 32.6 μg m-3 compared to a 27.6 μg m-3 background not exceeding the 50 μg m-3 EU maximum permissive value. The increase in particle number concentration was less pronounced with a maximum concentration of 6.9 ⋅ 104 cm-3 compared to the local background value of 1.8 ⋅ 104 cm-3. The size-resolved number concentration shows a single mode of ultrafine particles at approximately 93 nm. The spatial distribution of deposited dust was investigated with Bergerhoff glass collection vessels, showing a decrease with distance. In the deposited dust samples the concentrations of twelve metals was determined, non of them exceeded the regional background concentrations significantly. The chemical composition of individual particles emitted by the demolition was studied by Scanning Electron Microscopy. They were mainly concrete and steel particles, with 60% calcium carbonates, 19% calcium sulfates, 19% silicates and 2% steel. In energy-dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy, no fibers like asbestos were observed. Using a broad spectrum of instruments and methods, we obtain comprehensive characterization of the particles emitted by the demolition.
Over recent decades, the global population has been rapidly increasing and human activities have altered terrestrial water fluxes to an unprecedented extent. The phenomenal growth of the human footprint has significantly modified hydrological processes in various ways (e.g. irrigation, artificial dams, and water diversion) and at various scales (from a watershed to the globe). During the early 1990s, awareness of the potential for increased water scarcity led to the first detailed global water resource assessments. Shortly thereafter, in order to analyse the human perturbation on terrestrial water resources, the first generation of large-scale hydrological models (LHMs) was produced. However, at this early stage few models considered the interaction between terrestrial water fluxes and human activities, including water use and reservoir regulation, and even fewer models distinguished water use from surface water and groundwater resources. Since the early 2000s, a growing number of LHMs have incorporated human impacts on the hydrological cycle, yet the representation of human activities in hydrological models remains challenging. In this paper we provide a synthesis of progress in the development and application of human impact modelling in LHMs. We highlight a number of key challenges and discuss possible improvements in order to better represent the human–water interface in hydrological models.
Despite all advances in drug delivery, the limitations of the analytical technologies involved in the characterization of next-generation nanomedicines are still impeding further progress of an emerging market. Discriminating between different formulations and batches, drug release is one of the most important quality criteria in development and quality control of pharmaceutics. Unfortunately, there are only few methods available to sensitively measure this important parameter for nanosized carriers. With the development of the dispersion releaser (DR) technology our group has set up a dialysis-based technique that was tested with a number of nanocarrier and nanocrystal formulations such as liposomes and polymeric nanoparticles. By supporting formulation development with a more reliable methodology to assess the drug release from nanosized carriers, a first step has been made to improve future products.