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The paper will outline a research project – its goals and methods – that focuses on what 1) makes humans flee from their home, land and country, at the risk of losing their lives, 2) seek refuge in another place, 3) what individual assessments they made before, during and after flight, and 4) how they assess the question of return to their countries/places of origin when the original causes of their flight – e.g. civil unrest, civil strife or civil war – are not any more directly present in the country or place from which they fled...
Exodus Eritrea
(2017)
The post-liberal debate on peacebuilding and reconciliation seems to have advanced. We observe efforts “bringing the local back in” (Debiel/Rink 2016) by enhancing local ownership, relational sensitivity, contextualization, culturalization, hybridity and last but not least resilience. Concepts furthermore try to integrate transnational dynamics, international power shifts and trends of regionalization. However, many questions remain: for scholars, for practitioners and last but not least for the local population...
How do coalition governments affect the risk of civil war onset in ethnically divided societies? Existing research argues that power-sharing coalitions decrease the risk of civil war because they redress grievances. Building on a formal model of coalition formation, we predict that ethnic elites are most likely to form oversized rather than minimum-winning coalitions in anticipation of future challenges to the regime. Put differently, we expect most power-sharing to occur where the risk of regime-threatening civil war is highest...
This year’s conference of the AFK (German Association for Peace and Conflict Studies) and the European Peace Research Association (EuPRA) is on "Peace and Conflict Studies from the Margins to the Centre; Rethinking Europe in an Unequal World" (16 – 18 March 2017 in Schwerte (nearby Dortmund), Germany).
The virtual realm of the internet is often seen as an egalitarian world where differences such as those between young and established researchers do not seem so significant. While we do not fully agree with this thesis, we want to use this blog to make a model attempt at providing a platform in which those participating in the conference and others can enter discussion with young students, established researchers, and peace activists.
To make this possible, we started a project in cooperation with the Bretterblog – a young team of researchers who established this blog some years ago. Here we will discuss the topics of the conference and will inform a broader audience about the newest results in peace and conflict research from different countries.
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.
Very few people doubt that it is a fundamental demand of justice that members of legal-political normative orders ought to have legal rights that define their basic standing as subjects of such an order. But when it comes to the concrete understanding of such rights, debates abound. What is the nature of these rights – are they an expression of the sovereign will of individuals, or are they based on important human interests? How should these rights be justified – do they have a particular moral ground, and if so, only one or many?
SAFE Newsletter : 2017, Q1
(2017)
Hypoxia triggers several mechanisms to adapt cells to a low oxygen environment. Mitochondria are major consumers of oxygen and a potential source of reactive oxygen species (ROS). In response to hypoxia they exchange or modify distinct subunits of the respiratory chain and adjust their metabolism, especially lowering the citric acid cycle. Intermediates of the citric acid cycle participate in regulating hypoxia inducible factors (HIF), the key mediators of adaptation to hypoxia. Here we summarize how hypoxia conditions mitochondria with consequences for ROS-production and the HIF-pathway.
Der urheberrechtlich konnotierte Begriff des Plagiats zählt zu den anerkannten Grundtatbeständen wissenschaftlichen Fehlverhaltens. Der Beitrag zeigt indes, dass das Urheberrecht und das Wissenschaftsrecht keine konzentrischen Kreise bilden, sondern unterschiedliche Zwecke mit je anderen Regelungskonzepten verfolgen. Die Übernahme urheberrechtlicher Argumentationsmuster in die Wissenschaftsethik und das Wissenschaftsrecht erschwert die Herausbildung spezifisch wissenschaftsbezogener Kriterien zur Beurteilung wissenschaftlichen Fehlverhaltens. Als Alternative entwickelt der Beitrag ein Konzept wissenschaftlicher Redlichkeit, das sich am Recht gegen unlauteren Wettbewerb orientiert. Dazu werden weitreichende teleologische und strukturelle Gemeinsamkeiten des Lauterkeitsrechts und der Regeln zu wissenschaftlichem Fehlverhalten aufgedeckt. Insbesondere verfolgen beide Materien eine funktionale Teleologie. Das Lauterkeitsrecht gewährleistet die Funktionsbedingungen des wirtschaftlichen Wettbewerbs, das Verbot wissenschaftlichen Fehlverhaltens sichert die Funktionsbedingungen und damit zugleich den Zielerreichungsgrad des offenen Wissenschaftsprozesses und des Wettbewerbs um wissenschaftliche Reputation.
This paper reexamines the current legal landscape regarding the protection of trade marks and other industrial property rights in signs on the Internet. It is based on a comparative analysis of EU and national laws, in particular, German, U.S., and U.K. law. It starts with a short restatement of the principles governing trade mark conflicts that occur within a particular jurisdiction (part 2) and proceeds to the regulation of transnational disputes (part 3). This juxtaposition yields two basic approaches. Whereas trade mark conflicts within closed legal systems are generally adjudicated according to a binary either/or logic, transnational disputes are and should indeed be solved in a way that leads to a fair coexistence of conflicting trade mark laws and rights under multiple laws. This paper explains how geolocation technologies can alleviate the implementation of the principle of fair coexistence in concrete cases.
Die Geschichte des Urheberrechts ist die Geschichte seiner Expansion. In diesem Beitrag wird die Expansionsgeschichte des Urheberrechts, in der das Urheberrechtsgesetz 1965 letztlich nur eine, wenn auch wichtige Episode darstellt, in Anlehnung an Thesen des 1944 erschienenen, wirtschaftssoziologischen Klassikers „The Great Transformation. Politische und ökonomische Ursprünge von Gesellschaften und Wirtschaftssystemen“ von Karl Polanyi gedeutet. Im Zentrum steht dabei der Gedanke, dass in einer Informationsgesellschaft, deren Wirtschaft auf Märkten und Wettbewerb beruht, alle neuen Technologien und hiermit verknüpften immateriellen Leistungsergebnisse über Ausschließlichkeitsrechte zugeordnet werden müssen, damit gewährleistet ist, dass alle relevanten In- und Outputfaktoren handelbar sind, so dass ihre jeweiligen Erzeuger marktbasierte Einkünfte erzielen können. Der Aufsatz erläutert, dass sich diese Kommodifizierungslogik in der jüngeren deutschen Urheberrechtsgeschichte nachweisen lässt. Auf die soziologische und rechtliche Relevanz der entgegengesetzten Zugangsnorm wird im Schlussteil hingewiesen.
Genetic data in studies of systematics of Amazonian amphibians frequently reveal that purportedly widespread single species in reality comprise species complexes. This means that real species richness may be significantly higher than current estimates. Here we combine genetic, morphological, and bioacoustic data to assess the phylogenetic relationships and species boundaries of two Amazonian species of the Dendropsophus leucophyllatus species group: D. leucophyllatus and D. triangulum. Our results uncovered the existence of five confirmed and four unconfirmed candidate species. Among the confirmed candidate species, three have available names: Dendropsophus leucophyllatus, Dendropsophus triangulum, and Dendropsophus reticulatus, this last being removed from the synonymy of D. triangulum. A neotype of D. leucophyllatus is designated. We describe the remaining two confirmed candidate species, one from Bolivia and another from Peru. All confirmed candidate species are morphologically distinct and have much smaller geographic ranges than those previously reported for D. leucophyllatus and D. triangulum sensu lato. Dendropsophus leucophyllatus sensu stricto occurs in the Guianan region. Dendropsophus reticulatus comb. nov. corresponds to populations in the Amazon basin of Brazil, Ecuador, and Peru previously referred to as D. triangulum. Dendropsophus triangulum sensu stricto is the most widely distributed species; it occurs in Amazonian Ecuador, Peru and Brazil, reaching the state of Pará. We provide accounts for all described species including an assessment of their conservation status.
Natural killer (NK) cells play an important role following allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) exerting graft-versus-leukemia/tumor effect and mediating pathogen-specific immunity. Although NK cells are the first donor-derived lymphocytes reconstituting post-HSCT, their distribution of CD56++CD16− (CD56bright), CD56++CD16+ (CD56intermediate=int), and CD56+CD16++ (CD56dim) NK cells is explicitly divergent from healthy adults, but to some extent comparable to the NK cell development in early childhood. The proportion of CD56bright/CD56int/CD56dim changed from 15/8/78% in early childhood to 6/4/90% in adults, respectively. Within this study, we first compared the NK cell reconstitution post-HSCT to reference values of NK cell subpopulations of healthy children. Afterward, we investigated the reconstitution of NK cell subpopulations post-HSCT in correlation to acute graft versus host disease (aGvHD) and chronic graft versus host disease (cGvHD) as well as to viral infections. Interestingly, after a HSCT follow-up phase of 12 months, the distribution of NK cell subpopulations largely matched the 50th percentile of the reference range for healthy individuals. Patients suffering from aGvHD and cGvHD showed a delayed reconstitution of NK cells. Remarkably, within the first 2 months post-HSCT, patients suffering from aGvHD had significantly lower levels of CD56bright NK cells compared to patients without viral infection or without graft versus host disease (GvHD). Therefore, the amount of CD56bright NK cells might serve as an early prognostic factor for GvHD development. Furthermore, a prolonged and elevated peak in CD56int NK cells seemed to be characteristic for the chronification of GvHD. In context of viral infection, a slightly lower CD56 and CD16 receptor expression followed by a considerable reduction in the absolute CD56dim NK cell numbers combined with reoccurrence of CD56int NK cells was observed. Our results suggest that a precise analysis of the reconstitution of NK cell subpopulations post-HSCT might indicate the occurrence of undesired events post-HSCT such as severe aGvHD.values
BACKGROUND: Time-limited, early-life exposures to institutional deprivation are associated with disorders in childhood, but it is unknown whether effects persist into adulthood. We used data from the English and Romanian Adoptees study to assess whether deprivation-associated adverse neurodevelopmental and mental health outcomes persist into young adulthood.
METHODS: The English and Romanian Adoptees study is a longitudinal, natural experiment investigation into the long-term outcomes of individuals who spent from soon after birth to up to 43 months in severe deprivation in Romanian institutions before being adopted into the UK. We used developmentally appropriate standard questionnaires, interviews completed by parents and adoptees, and direct measures of IQ to measure symptoms of autism spectrum disorder, inattention and overactivity, disinhibited social engagement, conduct or emotional problems, and cognitive impairment (IQ score <80) during childhood (ages 6, 11, and 15 years) and in young adulthood (22-25 years). For analysis, Romanian adoptees were split into those who spent less than 6 months in an institution and those who spent more than 6 months in an institution. We used a comparison group of UK adoptees who did not experience deprivation. We used mixed-effects regression models for ordered-categorical outcome variables to compare symptom levels and trends between groups.
FINDINGS: Romanian adoptees who experienced less than 6 months in an institution (n=67 at ages 6 years; n=50 at young adulthood) and UK controls (n=52 at age 6 years; n=39 at young adulthood) had similarly low levels of symptoms across most ages and outcomes. By contrast, Romanian adoptees exposed to more than 6 months in an institution (n=98 at ages 6 years; n=72 at young adulthood) had persistently higher rates than UK controls of symptoms of autism spectrum disorder, disinhibited social engagement, and inattention and overactivity through to young adulthood (pooled p<0·0001 for all). Cognitive impairment in the group who spent more than 6 months in an institution remitted from markedly higher rates at ages 6 years (p=0·0001) and 11 years (p=0·0016) compared with UK controls, to normal rates at young adulthood (p=0·76). By contrast, self-rated emotional symptoms showed a late-onset pattern with minimal differences versus UK controls at ages 11 years (p=0·0449) and 15 years (p=0·17), and then marked increases by young adulthood (p=0·0005), with similar effects seen for parent ratings. The high deprivation group also had a higher proportion of people with low educational achievement (p=0·0195), unemployment (p=0·0124), and mental health service use (p=0·0120, p=0·0032, and p=0·0003 for use when aged <11 years, 11-14 years, and 15-23 years, respectively) than the UK control group. A fifth (n=15) of individuals who spent more than 6 months in an institution were problem-free at all assessments.
INTERPRETATION: Notwithstanding the resilience shown by some adoptees and the adult remission of cognitive impairment, extended early deprivation was associated with long-term deleterious effects on wellbeing that seem insusceptible to years of nurturance and support in adoptive families.
FUNDING: Economic and Social Research Council, Medical Research Council, Department of Health, Jacobs Foundation, Nuffield Foundation.
Peripheral tolerance is an important mechanism by which the immune system can guarantee a second line of defense against autoreactive T and B cells. One autoimmune disease that is related to a break of peripheral tolerance is diabetes mellitus type 1. Using the RIP-GP mouse model, we analyzed the role of the spleen and lymph nodes (LNs) in priming CD8+ T cells and breaking peripheral tolerance. We found that diabetes developed in splenectomized mice infected with the lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV), a finding showing that the spleen was not necessary in generating autoimmunity. By contrast, the absence of LNs prevented the priming of LCMV-specific CD8+ T cells, and diabetes did not develop in these mice. Additionally, we found that dendritic cells are responsible for the distribution of virus in secondary lymphoid organs, when LCMV was administered intravenously. Preventing this distribution with the sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor antagonist FTY720 inhibits the transport of antigen to peripheral LNs and consequently prevented the onset of diabetes. However, in case of subcutaneous infection, administration of FTY720 could not inhibit the onset of diabetes because the viral antigen is already presented in the peripheral LNs. These findings demonstrate the importance of preventing the presence of antigen in LNs for maintaining tolerance.
Background. Colorectal cancers (CRC) shed DNA into blood circulation. There is growing evidence that the analysis of circulating tumor DNA can be effectively used for monitoring of disease, to track tumor heterogeneity and to evaluate response to treatment. Case Presentation. Here, we describe two cases of patients with advanced CRC. The first case is about a patient with no available tissue for analysis of RAS mutation status. Liquid biopsy revealed RAS-wild-type and the therapy with anti-EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor) monoclonal antibody cetuximab could be initiated. In the second case, the mutational profile of a patient with initial wild-type RAS-status was continually tracked during the course of treatment. An acquired KRAS exon 3 mutation was detected. The number of KRAS mutated fragments decreased continuously after the discontinuation of the therapy with EGFR-specific antibodies. Conclusion. Liquid biopsy provides a rapid genotype result, which accurately reproduces the current mutation status of tumor tissue. Furthermore, liquid biopsy enables close monitoring of the onset of secondary resistance to anti-EGFR therapy.
Die vorliegende Ergänzung baut auf der 'Johannes-Bobrowski-Bibliographie von 2002' auf. Sie folgt dieser in Herangehensweise und Gliederung. Neben einigen dort nicht aufgeführten älteren Titeln enthält sie vor allem solche wissenschaftlichen Arbeiten zu und über Johannes Bobrowski, die zwischen 2002 und 2016 publiziert worden sind. Nicht systematisch erfasst wurden Neuausgaben und Übersetzungen seines Werkes sowie Miszellen, Zeitungsartikel und künstlerische Resonanzen.
Die Bibliographie ist in vier Abteilungen untergliedert:
A Das Werk Johannes Bobrowskis
B Literatur zu Leben und Werk Johannes Bobrowskis
C Resonanzen auf Johannes Bobrowski in Musik, bildender Kunst, Film, Literatur und Hörfunk
D Bobrowski-Medaille, Johannes-Bobrowski-Gesellschaft
We study platform design in online markets in which buying involves a (nonmonetary) cost for consumers caused by privacy and security concerns. Firms decide whether to require registration at their website before consumers learn relevant product information. We derive conditions under which a monopoly seller benefits from ex ante registration requirements and demonstrate that the profitability of registration requirements is increased when taking into account the prospect of future purchases or an informational value of consumer registration to the firm. Moreover, we consider the effectiveness of discounts (store credit) as a means to influence the consumers’ registration decision. Finally, we confirm the profitability of ex ante registration requirements in the presence of price competition.
Mean age of stratospheric air can be derived from observations of sufficiently long lived trace gases with approximately linear trends in the troposphere. Mean age can serve as a tracer to investigate stratospheric transport and long term changes in the strength of the overturning Brewer-Dobson circulation of the stratosphere. For this purpose, a low-cost method is required in order to allow for regular observations up to altitudes of about 30 km. Despite the desired low costs, high precision and accuracy are required in order to allow determination of mean age. We present balloon borne AirCore observations from two mid latitude sites: Timmins in Ontario/Canada and Lindenberg in Germany. During the Timmins campaign five AirCores sampled air in parallel from a large stratospheric balloon and were analysed for CO2, CH4 and partly CO. We show that there is good agreement between the different AirCores (better than 0.1 %) especially when vertical gradients are small. The measurements from Lindenberg were performed using small low-cost balloons and yielded very comparable results. We have used the observations to extend our long term data set of mean age observations at Northern Hemi-sphere mid latitudes. The time series now covers more than 40 years and shows a small, statis-tically not significant positive trend of 0.15 ± 0.18 years/decade. This trend is slightly smaller than the previous estimate of 0.24 ± 0.22 years/decade which was based on observations up to the year 2006. These observations are still in contrast to strong negative trends of mean age as derived from some model calculations.
We study exchangeable coalescent trees and the evolving genealogical trees in models for neutral haploid populations.
We show that every exchangeable infinite coalescent tree can be obtained as the genealogical tree of iid samples from a random marked metric measure space when the marks are added to the metric distances. We apply this representation to generalize the tree-valued Fleming-Viot process to include the case with dust in which the genealogical trees have isolated leaves.
Using the Donnelly-Kurtz lookdown approach, we describe all individuals ever alive in the population model by a random complete and separable metric space, the lookdown space, which we endow with a family of sampling measures. This yields a pathwise construction of tree-valued Fleming-Viot processes. In the case of coming down from infinity, we also read off a process whose state space is endowed with the Gromov-Hausdorff-Prohorov topology. This process has additional jumps at the extinction times of parts of the population.
In the case with only binary reproduction events, we construct the lookdown space also from the Aldous continuum random tree by removing the root and the highest leaf, and by deforming the metric in a way that corresponds to the time change that relates the Fleming-Viot process with a Dawson-Watanabe process. The sampling measures on the lookdown space are then image measures of the normalized local time measures.
We also show invariance principles for Markov chains that describe the evolving genealogy in Cannings models. For such Markov chains with values in the space of distance matrix distributions, we show convergence to tree-valued Fleming-Viot processes under the conditions of Möhle and Sagitov for the convergence of the genealogy at a fixed time to a coalescent with simultaneous multiple mergers. For the convergence of Markov chains with values in the space of marked metric measure spaces, an additional assumption is needed in the case with dust.
We document that natural disasters significantly weaken the stability of banks with business activities in affected regions, as reflected in lower z-scores, higher probabilities of default, higher non-performing assets ratios, higher foreclosure ratios, lower returns on assets and lower bank equity ratios. The effects are economically relevant and suggest that insurance payments and public aid programs do not sufficiently protect bank borrowers against financial difficulties. We also find that the adverse effects on bank stability dissolve after some years if no further disasters occur in the meantime.
This paper applies the theory of structured finance to the regulation of asset backed securities. We find the current regulation in Europe (Article 405 of the CRR) and the US (Section D of Dodd-Frank Act) to be severely flawed with respect to its key intention: the imposition of a strict loss retention requirement. While nominal retention is always 5%, the true level of loss retention varies across available retention options between zero loss retention and full loss retention at the extreme ends. Based on a standard model of structured finance transactions, we propose a new risk retention metric RM measuring the level of an issuer’s skin-in-the-game. The new metric could help to achieve a better implementation of CRR/CRD-IV and DFA, by making disclosure of the RM-number compulsory for all ABS transactions. There are also implications for the operation of rating agencies. On a general level, the RM metric will be instrumental in achieving simplicity and transparency in securitizations (STS).
Die erste Phase des im Dezember 2016 in Kraft getretenen Friedensabkommens zwischen der kolumbianischen Regierung und den FARC-Rebellen ist mit der Ankunft von ca. 6300 Kämpfern in den vereinbarten 26 Konzentrationszonen abgeschlossen. Dort wird nun der Prozess der Entwaffnung beginnen und die Vorbereitung auf die Eingliederung in das zivile Leben, ein Schritt, der der kolumbianischen Gesellschaft noch große Opfer abverlangen wird – sei es bezogen auf die Prozesse der justiziellen Aufarbeitung der Vergangenheit, sei es hinsichtlich der notwendigen Versöhnungsprozesse oder sei es bei der Suche nach neuen Formen des friedlichen Zusammenlebens. Sich in das zivile Leben einzufinden, dürfte insbesondere den ca. 7000 geschätzten Kindersoldaten Kolumbiens schwer fallen, die teilweise bereits im Alter von 12 Jahren von den illegalen bewaffneten Akteuren des Landes an Waffen ausgebildet wurden und ihre Kindheit bzw. Jugend in Guerilla-Verbänden verbracht haben. Die umfassende Betreuung der Kindersoldaten ist einer der zentralen Indikatoren für einen erfolgreichen Verlauf des Friedensprozesses in Kolumbien, wenn der Teufelskreis aus Gewalt, Vertreibung und Rekrutierung Minderjähriger durchbrochen werden soll. Sonst droht eine Verlängerung von Gewaltbiographien, die die Geschichte des Landes bereits in der Vergangenheit maßgeblich geprägt haben.
Am Donnerstag, dem 26.01.17, beschloss der Deutsche Bundestag, wie schon im letzten Jahr, eine Ausweitung des Bundeswehreinsatzes im Rahmen der UN-Mission MINUSMA in Mali. Die maximale Anzahl der in und um Gao im Norden Malis eingesetzten Soldatinnen und Soldaten wird von bisher 650 auf 1000 erhöht, da Deutschland zukünftig auch die Bereitstellung von Kampf- und Rettungshubschraubern für MINUSMA übernimmt. Damit wird der Einsatz in Mali zum Größten der Bundeswehr. Der Befehlshaber des Einsatzführungskommandos hat das Gefährdungspotenzial schon im vergangenen Jahr mit der ISAF-Mission in Afghanistan verglichen und in keinem anderen UN-Einsatz sind im letzten Jahr mehr Soldaten getötet worden.
Die Entsendung weiterer Soldatinnen und Soldaten vom Deutschen Bundestag in einen Einsatz, in dem sie erheblichen Gefahren für Leib und Leben ausgesetzt sind, erfordert eine umfangreiche Begründung durch die politisch Verantwortlichen und eine kritische Würdigung durch die Zivilgesellschaft.
Ist es zum Lachen oder zum Weinen? Diese Frage stellt sich immer wieder bei der Beobachtung der Worte und Taten des neuen US-Präsidenten – zum Beispiel anläßlich seines ersten Fernsehinterviews mit dem Journalisten David Muir (ABC America, 27.1.2017). Trump benahm sich wie ein rechthaberisches, selbstbezogenes, liebesbedürftiges Kind. Er beharrte auf seiner Version der Amtseinführung, nach der noch nie so viele Menschen wie diesmal an der Zeremonie teilgenommen hätten. Er sprach nicht nur davon, er verwies auch auf Fotos, die er an Wänden im Weißen Haus hat aufhängen lassen. Trump wiederholte außerdem seine Behauptung, dass es viele illegale Stimmen gegeben hätte, und alle für Hillary Clinton. Natürlich würde man auch den einen oder anderen finden, der illegal für ihn abgestimmt habe. Diese Person würde man dann, sagte Trump, als Gegenbeweis vor die Kameras zerren. Aber die Wahrheit sei, dass Millionen von illegalen Stimmen fast ausnahmslos für Clinton abgegeben worden seien...
Despite an increasing demand for Burgundy truffles (Tuber aestivum), gaps remain in our understanding of the fungus’ overall lifecycle and ecology. Here, we compile evidence from three independent surveys in Hungary and Switzerland. First, we measured the weight and maturity of 2,656 T. aestivum fruit bodies from a three-day harvest in August 2014 in a highly productive orchard in Hungary. All specimens ranging between 2 and 755 g were almost evenly distributed through five maturation classes. Then, we measured the weight and maturity of another 4,795 T. aestivum fruit bodies harvested on four occasions between June and October 2015 in the same truffière. Again, different maturation stages occurred at varying fruit body size and during the entire fruiting season. Finally, the predominantly unrelated weight and maturity of 81 T. aestivum fruit bodies from four fruiting seasons between 2010 and 2013 in Switzerland confirmed the Hungarian results. The spatiotemporal coexistence of 7,532 small-ripe and large-unripe T. aestivum, which accumulate to ~182 kg, differs from species-specific associations between the size and ripeness that have been reported for other mushrooms. Although size-independent truffle maturation stages may possibly relate to the perpetual belowground environment, the role of mycelial connectivity, soil property, microclimatology, as well as other abiotic factors and a combination thereof, is still unclear. Despite its massive sample size and proof of concept, this study, together with existing literature, suggests consideration of a wider ecological and biogeographical range, as well as the complex symbiotic fungus-host interaction, to further illuminate the hidden development of belowground truffle fruit bodies.
Pro-resolving lipid mediator Resolvin D1 serves as a marker of lung disease in cystic fibrosis
(2017)
Background: Cystic fibrosis (CF) is an autosomal recessive genetic disorder that affects multiple organs, including the lungs, pancreas, liver and intestine. Mutations in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) locus lead to defective proteins and reduced Cl- secretion and Na+ hyperabsorption in the affected organs. In addition, patients suffering from CF display chronic inflammation that contributes to the pathogenesis of CF. Recent work suggests that CF patients have a reduced capacity to biosynthesize specialized pro-resolving lipid mediators (SPMs), which contributes to the development and duration of the unwanted inflammation. Alterations in the metabolism of arachidonic acid (AA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) to specialized pro-resolving mediators (SPMs), like lipoxins (LXs), maresins (MaRs), protectins (PDs) and resolvins (Rvs), may play a major role on clinical impact of airway inflammation in CF.
Methods: In this study, our aims were to detect and quantitate Resolvin D1 (RvD1) in sputum and plasma from patients with CF and compare levels of RvD1 with biomarkers of inflammation and lung function. We studied 27 CF patients aged 6 to 55 years (median 16 years) in a prospective approach.
Results: DHA can be found in the plasma of our CF patients in the milligram range and is decreased in comparison to a healthy control group. The DHA-derived pro-resolving mediator Resolvin D1 (RvD1) was also present in the plasma (286.4 ± 50 pg/ mL, mean ± SEM) and sputum (30.0 ± 2.6 pg/ mL, mean ± SEM) samples from our patients with CF and showed a positive correlation with sputum inflammatory markers. The plasma concentrations of RvD1 were ten times higher than sputum concentrations. Interestingly, sputum RvD1/ IL-8 levels showed a positive correlation with FEV1 (rs = 0.3962, p< 0.05).
Conclusions: SPMs, like RvD1, are well known to down-regulate inflammatory pathways. Our study shows that the bioactive lipid mediator RvD1, derived from DHA, was present in sputum and plasma of CF patients and may serve as a representative peripheral biomarker of the lung resolution program for CF patients.
Objective: To investigate if plasma HIV-1 tropism testing could identify subjects at higher risk for clinical progression and death in routine clinical management.
Design: Nested case-control study within the EuroSIDA cohort.
Methods: Cases were subjects with AIDS or who died from any cause, with a plasma sample with HIV-1 RNA >1000 copies/mL available for tropism testing 3 to 12 months prior to the event. At least 1 control matched for age, HIV-1 RNA and HCV status at the time of sampling were selected per each case. Conditional logistic regression was used to investigate exposures associated with clinical progression to AIDS or death. A linear mixed model with random intercept was used to compare CD4+T-cell slopes by HIV tropism over the 12 months following the date of sampling.
Results: The study included 266 subjects, 100 cases and 166 controls; one quarter had X4 HIV; 26% were ART-naïve. Baseline factors independently associated with clinical progression or death were female gender (OR = 2.13 vs. male, 95CI = 1.04, 4.36), p = 0.038), CD4+T-cell count (OR = 0.90 (95CI = 0.80, 1.00) per 100 cells/mm3 higher, p = 0.058), being on ART (OR = 2.72 vs. being off-ART (95CI = 1.15, 6.41), p = 0.022) and calendar year of sample [OR = 0.84 (95CI = 0.77, 0.91) per more recent year, p<0.001). Baseline tropism was not associated with the risk of clinical progression or death. CD4+T-cell slopes did not differ within or between tropism groups.
Conclusions: The predictive role of plasma tropism determined using 454 sequencing in the context of people receiving cART with detectable VL is not helpful to identify subjects at higher risk for clinical progression to AIDS or death.
Cannabinoid antagonist SLV326 induces convulsive seizures and changes in the interictal EEG in rats
(2017)
Cannabinoid CB1 antagonists have been investigated for possible treatment of e.g. obesity-related disorders. However, clinical application was halted due to their symptoms of anxiety and depression. In addition to these adverse effects, we have shown earlier that chronic treatment with the CB1 antagonist rimonabant may induce EEG-confirmed convulsive seizures. In a regulatory repeat-dose toxicity study violent episodes of “muscle spasms” were observed in Wistar rats, daily dosed with the CB1 receptor antagonist SLV326 during 5 months. The aim of the present follow-up study was to investigate whether these violent movements were of an epileptic origin. In selected SLV326-treated and control animals, EEG and behavior were monitored for 24 hours. 25% of SLV326 treated animals showed 1 to 21 EEG-confirmed generalized convulsive seizures, whereas controls were seizure-free. The behavioral seizures were typical for a limbic origin. Moreover, interictal spikes were found in 38% of treated animals. The frequency spectrum of the interictal EEG of the treated rats showed a lower theta peak frequency, as well as lower gamma power compared to the controls. These frequency changes were state-dependent: they were only found during high locomotor activity. It is concluded that long term blockade of the endogenous cannabinoid system can provoke limbic seizures in otherwise healthy rats. Additionally, SLV326 alters the frequency spectrum of the EEG when rats are highly active, suggesting effects on complex behavior and cognition.
The formation of acquired drug resistance is a major reason for the failure of anti-cancer therapies after initial response. Here, we introduce a novel model of acquired oxaliplatin resistance, a sub-line of the non-MYCN-amplified neuroblastoma cell line SK-N-AS that was adapted to growth in the presence of 4000 ng/mL oxaliplatin (SK-N-ASrOXALI4000). SK-N-ASrOXALI4000 cells displayed enhanced chromosomal aberrations compared to SK-N-AS, as indicated by 24-chromosome fluorescence in situ hybridisation. Moreover, SK-N-ASrOXALI4000 cells were resistant not only to oxaliplatin but also to the two other commonly used anti-cancer platinum agents cisplatin and carboplatin. SK-N-ASrOXALI4000 cells exhibited a stable resistance phenotype that was not affected by culturing the cells for 10 weeks in the absence of oxaliplatin. Interestingly, SK-N-ASrOXALI4000 cells showed no cross resistance to gemcitabine and increased sensitivity to doxorubicin and UVC radiation, alternative treatments that like platinum drugs target DNA integrity. Notably, UVC-induced DNA damage is thought to be predominantly repaired by nucleotide excision repair and nucleotide excision repair has been described as the main oxaliplatin-induced DNA damage repair system. SK-N-ASrOXALI4000 cells were also more sensitive to lysis by influenza A virus, a candidate for oncolytic therapy, than SK-N-AS cells. In conclusion, we introduce a novel oxaliplatin resistance model. The oxaliplatin resistance mechanisms in SK-N-ASrOXALI4000 cells appear to be complex and not to directly depend on enhanced DNA repair capacity. Models of oxaliplatin resistance are of particular relevance since research on platinum drugs has so far predominantly focused on cisplatin and carboplatin.
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 objective of this study was to characterize blaOXA-23 harbouring Acinetobacter indicus-like strains from cattle including genomic and phylogenetic analyses, antimicrobial susceptibility testing and evaluation of pathogenicity in vitro and in vivo. Nasal and rectal swabs (n = 45) from cattle in Germany were screened for carbapenem-non-susceptible Acinetobacter spp. Thereby, two carbapenem resistant Acinetobacter spp. from the nasal cavities of two calves could be isolated. MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry and 16S rDNA sequencing identified these isolates as A. indicus-like. A phylogenetic tree based on partial rpoB sequences indicated closest relation of the two bovine isolates to the A. indicus type strain A648T and human clinical A. indicus isolates, while whole genome comparison revealed considerable intraspecies diversity. High mimimum inhibitory concentrations were observed for carbapenems and other antibiotics including fluoroquinolones and gentamicin. Whole genome sequencing and PCR mapping revealed that both isolates harboured blaOXA-23 localized on the chromosome and surrounded by interrupted Tn2008 transposon structures. Since the pathogenic potential of A. indicus is unknown, pathogenicity was assessed employing the Galleria (G.) mellonella infection model and an in vitro cytotoxicity assay using A549 human lung epithelial cells. Pathogenicity in vivo (G. mellonella killing assay) and in vitro (cytotoxicity assay) of the two A. indicus-like isolates was lower compared to A. baumannii ATCC 17978 and similar to A. lwoffii ATCC 15309. The reduced pathogenicity of A. indicus compared to A. baumannii correlated with the absence of important virulence genes encoding like phospholipase C1+C2, acinetobactin outer membrane protein BauA, RND-type efflux system proteins AdeRS and AdeAB or the trimeric autotransporter adhesin Ata. The emergence of carbapenem-resistant A. indicus-like strains from cattle carrying blaOXA-23 on transposable elements and revealing genetic relatedness to isolates from human clinical sources requires further investigations regarding the pathogenic potential, genomic characteristics, zoonotic risk and putative additional sources of this new Acinetobacter species.
Bipolar disorder (BD) is a highly heritable neuropsychiatric disease characterized by recurrent episodes of mania and depression. BD shows substantial clinical and genetic overlap with other psychiatric disorders, in particular schizophrenia (SCZ). The genes underlying this etiological overlap remain largely unknown. A recent SCZ genome wide association study (GWAS) by the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium identified 128 independent genome-wide significant single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). The present study investigated whether these SCZ-associated SNPs also contribute to BD development through the performance of association testing in a large BD GWAS dataset (9747 patients, 14278 controls). After re-imputation and correction for sample overlap, 22 of 107 investigated SCZ SNPs showed nominal association with BD. The number of shared SCZ-BD SNPs was significantly higher than expected (p = 1.46x10-8). This provides further evidence that SCZ-associated loci contribute to the development of BD. Two SNPs remained significant after Bonferroni correction. The most strongly associated SNP was located near TRANK1, which is a reported genome-wide significant risk gene for BD. Pathway analyses for all shared SCZ-BD SNPs revealed 25 nominally enriched gene-sets, which showed partial overlap in terms of the underlying genes. The enriched gene-sets included calcium- and glutamate signaling, neuropathic pain signaling in dorsal horn neurons, and calmodulin binding. The present data provide further insights into shared risk loci and disease-associated pathways for BD and SCZ. This may suggest new research directions for the treatment and prevention of these two major psychiatric disorders.
In Germany, orthopedic workforce planning relies on population-to-provider-ratios represented by the "official degree of care provision". However, with geographic information systems (GIS), more sophisticated measurements are available. By utilizing GIS-based technologies we analyzed the current state of demand and supply of the orthopedic workforce in Germany (orthopedic accessibility) with the integrated Floating Catchment Area method. The analysis of n = 153,352,220 distances revealed significant geographical variations on national scale: 5,617,595 people (6.9% of total population) lived in an area with significant low orthopedic accessibility (average z-score = -4.0), whereas 31,748,161 people (39.0% of total population) lived in an area with significant high orthopedic accessibility (average z-score = 8.0). Accessibility was positively correlated with the degree of urbanization (r = 0.49; p<0.001) and the official degree of care provision (r = 0.33; p<0.001) and negatively correlated with regional social deprivation (r = -0.47; p<0.001). Despite advantages of simpler measures regarding implementation and acceptance in health policy, more sophisticated measures of accessibility have the potential to reduce costs as well as improve health care. With this study, significant geographical variations were revealed that show the need to reduce oversupply in less deprived urban areas in order to enable adequate care in more deprived rural areas.
Background: Previous magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) research suggests that, prior to the onset of psychosis, high risk youths already exhibit brain abnormalities similar to those present in patients with schizophrenia.
Objectives: The goal of the present study was to describe the functional organization of endogenous activation in young adolescents who report auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH) in view of the “distributed network” hypothesis of psychosis. We recruited 20 young people aged 13–16 years who reported AVHs and 20 healthy controls matched for age, gender and handedness from local schools.
Methods: Each participant underwent a semi-structured clinical interview and a resting state (RS) neuroimaging protocol. We explored functional connectivity (FC) involving three different networks: 1) default mode network (DMN) 2) salience network (SN) and 3) central executive network (CEN). In line with previous findings on the role of the auditory cortex in AVHs as reported by young adolescents, we also investigated FC anomalies involving both the primary and secondary auditory cortices (A1 and A2, respectively).
Further, we explored between-group inter-hemispheric FC differences (laterality) for both A1 and A2. Compared to the healthy control group, the AVH group exhibited FC differences in all three networks investigated. Moreover, FC anomalies were found in a neural network including both A1 and A2. The laterality analysis revealed no between-group, inter-hemispheric differences.
Conclusions: The present study suggests that young adolescents with subclinical psychotic symptoms exhibit functional connectivity anomalies directly and indirectly involving the DMN, SN, CEN and also a neural network including both primary and secondary auditory cortical regions.
Biogenesis of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase (COX) is a complex process involving the coordinate expression and assembly of numerous subunits (SU) of dual genetic origin. Moreover, several auxiliary factors are required to recruit and insert the redox-active metal compounds, which in most cases are buried in their protein scaffold deep inside the membrane. Here we used a combination of gel electrophoresis and pull-down assay techniques in conjunction with immunostaining as well as complexome profiling to identify and analyze the composition of assembly intermediates in solubilized membranes of the bacterium Paracoccus denitrificans. Our results show that the central SUI passes through at least three intermediate complexes with distinct subunit and cofactor composition before formation of the holoenzyme and its subsequent integration into supercomplexes. We propose a model for COX biogenesis in which maturation of newly translated COX SUI is initially assisted by CtaG, a chaperone implicated in CuB site metallation, followed by the interaction with the heme chaperone Surf1c to populate the redox-active metal-heme centers in SUI. Only then the remaining smaller subunits are recruited to form the mature enzyme which ultimately associates with respiratory complexes I and III into supercomplexes.
According to the Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive (BRRD), introduced as a lesson from the recent financial crisis, the losses a failing bank incurred should generally be borne by its investors. Before a minimum bail-in has occurred, government money can only be injected in emergency cas-es to remedy a serious disturbance in the economy and to preserve financial stability. This policy letter argues that in case of the Italian Bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS), which the Italian gov-ernment currently plans to bail out, a resolution would most likely not cause such a systemic event. A bailout contrary to the existing rules will lead to a mispricing of bank capital and retard the re-structuring of the European banking sector, the authors write. They appeal to the European Central Bank, the Systemic Risk Board and the EU Commission to follow the rules as the test-case MPS will have a direct impact on the credibility of the new BRRD regime and the responsible institutions.
The Capital Markets Union-project of the European Commission aims for an increase of marketbased debt financing of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), complementing bank lending. In this essay we argue that rather than focussing on pure non-bank lending, a reasonable mix of bankand market-based financing should be considered. Banks are said to have a comparative advantage in critical lending functions such as credit screening, debtor monitoring and debt renegotiation. All forms of lending require a persistent skin-in-the-game of critical players in order to be effective. The regulator should insist on full disclosure of skin-in-the-game, thereby improving capital allocation and reducing systemic risks.
The impact of network connectivity on factor exposures, asset pricing and portfolio diversification
(2017)
This paper extends the classic factor-based asset pricing model by including network linkages in linear factor models. We assume that the network linkages are exogenously provided. This extension of the model allows a better understanding of the causes of systematic risk and shows that (i) network exposures act as an inflating factor for systematic exposure to common factors and (ii) the power of diversification is reduced by the presence of network connections. Moreover, we show that in the presence of network links a misspecified traditional linear factor model presents residuals that are correlated and heteroskedastic. We support our claims with an extensive simulation experiment.