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Myeloid-specific deletion of the AMPK2 subunit alters monocyte protein expression and atherogenesis
(2019)
The AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is an energy sensing kinase that is activated by a drop in cellular ATP levels. Although several studies have addressed the role of the AMPKα1 subunit in monocytes and macrophages, little is known about the α2 subunit. The aim of this study was to assess the consequences of AMPKα2 deletion on protein expression in monocytes/macrophages, as well as on atherogenesis. A proteomics approach was applied to bone marrow derived monocytes from wild-type mice versus mice specifically lacking AMPKα2 in myeloid cells (AMPKα2∆MC mice). This revealed differentially expressed proteins, including methyltransferases. Indeed, AMPKα2 deletion in macrophages increased the ratio of S-adenosyl methionine to S-adenosyl homocysteine and increased global DNA cytosine methylation. Also, methylation of the vascular endothelial growth factor and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP9) genes was increased in macrophages from AMPKα2∆MC mice, and correlated with their decreased expression. To link these findings with an in vivo phenotype, AMPKα2∆MC mice were crossed onto the ApoE-/- background and fed a western diet. ApoExAMPKα2∆MC mice developed smaller atherosclerotic plaques than their ApoExα2fl/fl littermates, that contained fewer macrophages and less MMP9 than plaques from ApoExα2fl/fl littermates. These results indicate that the AMPKα2 subunit in myeloid cells influences DNA methylation and thus protein expression and contributes to the development of atherosclerotic plaques.
Blunt thoracic trauma (TxT) deteriorates clinical post-injury outcomes. Ongoing inflammatory changes promote the development of post-traumatic complications, frequently causing Acute Lung Injury (ALI). Club Cell Protein (CC)16, a pulmonary anti-inflammatory protein, correlates with lung damage following TxT. Whether CC16-neutralization influences the inflammatory course during ALI is elusive. Ninety-six male CL57BL/6N mice underwent a double hit model of TxT and cecal ligation puncture (CLP, 24 h post-TxT). Shams underwent surgical procedures. CC16 was neutralized by the intratracheal application of an anti-CC16-antibody, either after TxT (early) or following CLP (late). Euthanasia was performed at 6 or 24 h post-CLP. Systemic and pulmonary levels of IL-6, IL-1β, and CXCL5 were determined, the neutrophils were quantified in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, and histomorphological lung damage was assessed. ALI induced a significant systemic IL-6 increase among all groups, while the local inflammatory response was most prominent after 24 h in the double-hit groups as compared to the shams. Significantly increased neutrophilic infiltration upon double hit was paralleled with the enhanced lung damage in all groups as compared to the sham, after 6 and 24 h. Neutralization of CC16 did not change the systemic inflammation. However, early CC16-neutralization increased the neutrophilic infiltration and lung injury at 6 h post-CLP, while 24 h later, the lung injury was reduced. Late CC16-neutralization increased neutrophilic infiltration, 24 h post-CLP, and was concurrent with an enhanced lung injury. The data confirmed the anti-inflammatory potential of endogenous CC16 in the murine double-hit model of ALI.
Latitudinal and bathymetrical species richness patterns in the NW Pacific and adjacent Arctic Ocean
(2019)
Global scale analyses have recently revealed that the latitudinal gradient in marine species richness is bimodal, peaking at low-mid latitudes but with a dip at the equator; and that marine species richness decreases with depth in many taxa. However, these overall and independently studied patterns may conceal regional differences that help support or qualify the causes in these gradients. Here, we analysed both latitudinal and depth gradients of species richness in the NW Pacific and its adjacent Arctic Ocean. We analysed 324,916 distribution records of 17,414 species from 0 to 10,900 m depth, latitude 0 to 90°N, and longitude 100 to 180°N. Species richness per c. 50 000 km2 hexagonal cells was calculated as alpha (local average), gamma (regional total) and ES50 (estimated species for 50 records) per latitudinal band and depth interval. We found that average ES50 and gamma species richness decreased per 5° latitudinal bands and 100 m depth intervals. However, average ES50 per hexagon showed that the highest species richness peaked around depth 2,000 m where the highest total number of species recorded. Most (83%) species occurred in shallow depths (0 to 500 m). The area around Bohol Island in the Philippines had the highest alpha species richness (more than 8,000 species per 50,000 km2). Both alpha and gamma diversity trends increased from the equator to latitude 10°N, then further decreased, but reached another peak at higher latitudes. The latitudes 60–70°N had the lowest gamma and alpha diversity where there is almost no ocean in our study area. Model selection on Generalized Additive Models (GAMs) showed that the combined effects of all environmental predictors produced the best model driving species richness in both shallow and deep sea. The results thus support recent hypotheses that biodiversity, while highest in the tropics and coastal depths, is decreasing at the equator and decreases with depth below ~2000 m. While we do find the declines of species richness with latitude and depth that reflect temperature gradients, local scale richness proved poorly correlated with many environmental variables. This demonstrates that while regional scale patterns in species richness may be related to temperature, that local scale richness depends on a greater variety of variables.
Feministische Erinnerungskulturen : 100 Jahre Frauenstimmrecht. 50 Jahre Autonome Frauenbewegung
(2019)
Completing banking union
(2019)
To complete banking union, there should be a single European deposit insurance scheme (EDIS) alongside the single supervisor and the single resolution authority. This would ensure uniformity across the Eurozone and facilitate the removal of barriers to the mobility of liquidity and capital within the single market. That in turn would promote efficiency in the banking sector and in the economy at large — just at the time that the EU needs to boost growth in order to remain competitive with the US and China.
The EDIS promise to promptly reimburse insured deposits at a failed bank in the Eurozone should be unconditional. But who will stand behind that commitment? Who is the “E” in EDIS? Is its promise credible, even in a crisis? If a deposit guarantee scheme fails to deliver what people expect, panic would very likely erupt. Instead of strengthening financial stability, deposit insurance could destroy it.
Yet this is the risk that current proposals pose. They create the impression that there will be a single deposit guarantee scheme. There will not. Instead, there will be a complex set of liquidity and reinsurance arrangements among Member State schemes.
These defects need to be remedied. To do so, we propose creating a European Deposit Insurance Corporation (EDIC) alongside national schemes. For banks that meet EDIC’s strict entry criteria and decide to become members, EDIC will promise to reimburse promptly — in the event the member bank fails — 100 cents on the euro in euro for each euro of insured deposits, regardless of the Eurozone Member State in which the bank is headquartered.
In effect, the single deposit guarantee scheme would be created via migration to EDIC rather than mutualisation of existing schemes. This would increase the mobility of capital and liquidity and lead to a convergence of interest rates across the Eurozone. That in turn will improve the effectiveness of monetary policy, foster integration and promote growth.
This thesis investigates the acquisition of compositional and lexical semantic properties of adjectives in German-speaking children between the age of two and five years.
According to formal semantic approaches, there are intersective and non-intersective adjectives, subsective and non-subsective adjectives as well as gradable and non-gradable adjectives. These properties concern the compositional mechanisms involved in nominal modification, i.e., the combination of adjectives and nouns. In addition, adjectives differ regarding lexical semantic properties that contribute to the adjectives' meaning. Differences in the adjectives' scale structure have led to the theoretical assumption that gradable adjectives should be distinguished into relative and absolute gradable adjectives. In addition, meaning components such as multidimensionality or subjectivity have led to the distinction between dimensional and evaluative gradable adjectives. These properties have been mostly investigated independently of each other in both theory and acquisition research. I suggest a classification system for adjectives that combines different semantic properties. This system results in six adjective classes constituting a Semantic Complexity Hierarchy. Assuming that these adjective classes differ in semantic complexity, I propose an operationalization of semantic complexity that takes into account the adjectives' length of description, their type complexity, and lexical properties that contribute to the adjectives' meaning.
Regarding the question of how monolingual German-speaking children acquire the semantics of adjectives, I hypothesize that the order of acquisition of adjectives is determined by their semantic complexity. This hypothesis is tested in a spontaneous speech study and a comprehension experiment.
The spontaneous speech study is a longitudinal investigation of the production of adjectives from 2;00 to 2;11 years based on transcripts from a dense data corpus. The results provide evidence that the mean age of acquisition for the adjective classes in the Semantic Complexity Hierarchy follows the order predicted by semantic complexity. The same order was observed for the age at which the number of types for each class increased most. A preliminary analysis of the input indicates that the frequency of parental adjective use is related to the order of acquisition, but it is unlikely that frequency determines the order completely.
The comprehension experiment focuses on two specific adjective classes. I examine children's and adults' interpretation of relative (big, small) and absolute (clean, dirty) gradable dimensional adjectives with a picture-choice task. These two classes are of the same semantic complexity because they are both gradable, but they have different scale structures. As a result, they must be interpreted differently due to lexical semantic properties. I investigate whether children calculate different standards of comparison for relative and absolute gradable adjectives and whether they distinguish between relative and absolute gradable adjectives regarding the relevance of the explicit comparison class. The results indicate that as of age 3, children distinguish between relative and absolute gradable adjectives with regard to the standard of comparison. However, with respect to the relevance of the comparison class, for 3-year-old children, unlike for 4- and 5-year-olds, changes in the noun, i.e., in the explicit comparison class, led to non-adult-like responses regarding both relative and absolute gradable adjectives.
On the basis of the empirical findings, I propose an acquisition path stating that children enter the acquisition process with inherent linguistic knowledge, the Semantic Complexity Hierarchy, and cognitive abilities to categorize their environment. I suggest that initially, children apply the least complex interpretation available in the Semantic Complexity Hierarchy to all adjectives: all adjectives are interpreted as properties of individuals that are not gradable. To access other levels of the Semantic Complexity Hierarchy and to establish more complex adjective classes, positive evidence from the input and conceptual properties of adjectives, e.g., COLOR, MENTAL STATE, PHYSICAL PROPERTY etc., can operate as triggers.
This study investigates macrostructure in elicited narratives of 69 monolingual German-, Russian- and Swedish-speaking adults. Using the LITMUS-MAIN (Multilingual Assessment Instrument for Narratives), and its Baby Goats and Baby Birds stories, story structure and story complexity, concerning episodic organization, were examined across the 3 languages. As theoretical underpinnings, a multidimensional model of macrostructure was used. This model includes analyses of story structure (SS), in which a narrative merits a maximum score of 17, based on the occurrence of five types of macrostructural components (Internal states as initiating event and as reaction, Goal, Attempt and Outcome), and of story complexity (SC), which measures combinations of Goals, Attempts and Outcomes within one episode. The highest attainable complexity is the GAO-sequence, when a Goal, Attempt and Outcome are produced within the same episode. The results for SS were similar for German, Russian and Swedish, where adults included 11-12 components per story. A more detailed analysis of the individual components revealed striking similarities across the 3 languages, both for frequently used and seldom occurring components. SC did not differ significantly across languages nor across stories, whilst for SS, a slight difference between the two stories was found. We interpret this finding as story complexity (a qualitative measure of macrostructure) being of a more universal nature. Furthermore, our results indicate that caution is warranted when conclusions about children’s narrative skills are to be drawn on the basis of the MAIN Baby Goats and Baby Birds stories.
For this study one hundred sixty-seven Russian-/Turkish-German preschool children were tested with a battery of language proficiency tests in both languages. On the basis of 1.5 SD below monolingual norm for L2 German and 1.25 SD below bilingual mean for either home language, 9 children at risk of developmental language disorders (DLD) (mean age of 4 years and 5 months) were identified and 16 age-matched TD children were selected out of the cohort. All these children were tested with the LITMUS-MAIN and –SR tests in German. The results across TD and at risk of DLD group were compared. TD clearly outperformed at risk of DLD in SR. In elicited narratives, macrostructure and microstructure were scrutinized across groups. Similar to the previous findings, our results show significant differences between at risk of DLD und TD in the microstructure, e.g. total number of word tokens and verb-based communication units and SR. For the macrostructure, TD outperformed at risk children only for story complexity. The study expands our knowledge on the cut-off criteria for the identification of bilinguals at risk of DLD, scrutinized very early narratives for bilinguals at risk of DLD features and questions the similarity of cognitive skills in TD and at risk of DLD children.
The aim of the present study was to test the influence of picture composition on the narrative complexity of preschool children, and to compare the different procedures of the Cat Story of Hickmann (2002) and the Fox Story of Gülzow & Gagarina (2007) with the Baby Birds and Baby Goats Story of MAIN, by Gagarina et al. (2012). For this purpose, 27 children between the ages of 5;01 and 6;09 were tested with both variants to check whether a macro-structurally controlled picture structure would lead to more complex stories. The results show that narratives with a Goal-Attempt-Outcome structure, i.e. the Baby Birds and Baby Goats Stories, make children with increasing age tell more complex stories by means of a rise in story complexity than the narratives of Hickmann and Gülzow & Gagarina without that structure.
This paper focuses on morphological verb errors in elicited narratives of Russian-German primary school bilinguals. The data was collected from 37 children who were separated into four groups according to the age and language acquisition type (simultaneous and successive). The Multilingual Assessment Instrument for Narratives (MAIN) (Gagarina et al. 2012) was used for data collection. The narratives produced in mode telling after listening to a model story were analysed and morphological verb errors in Russian and German were classified. Therefore, the error classification of Gagarina (2008) for Russian monolingual children was expanded and for the classification of German errors an own classification was suggested. Errors in Russian typically produced by monolinguals and unique bilingual errors as well were documented. The results show that the language of the environment (German) increases with age. Older children make fewer errors than younger ones. Nevertheless, a strong heterogeneity between children within each group can be observed.
This study explores the relation between the development of narrative skills at the macrostructural level and the productive lexical abilities (verbs) of German-Russian children. The narratives are elicited using the Multilingual Assessment Instrument for Narratives (MAIN) and the lexical abilities are assessed using different tests. Twenty-one preschoolers (mean age: 3;9), forty-four 1st graders (mean age: 6;11) and twenty-two 3rd graders (mean age: 9;3) were included in the study. Correlation analyses were performed between verb lexicon and the following macrostructural components: Story Structure, Structural Complexity and Internal State Terms. The analysis also targets cross-language effects. In addition, the production of verbs within the elicited narratives was taken into account. Some positive correlations were found; however, no clear pattern across age groups and languages was observed. It is suggested that cognitive abilities might be a more decisive factor than lexical abilities and/or that the verbs assessed via the vocabulary tests are more specific than the ones required to achieve high scores for macrostructure.
A growing body of evidence shows a positive relation between the language skills of a child and the socio-economic status (SES) of his/her parents. These studies have mainly been conducted in an American English monolingual context. The current paper addresses the question of whether SES has a comparable impact on the simultaneous bilingual language acquisition. In this study, noun and verb test scores of German simultaneous bilingual children with Turkish and Russian as heritage languages are related to the SES of their parents – to verify the existence and the nature of a common pattern. The results do not show common patterns across the two heritage language groups, suggesting the existence of other confounding factors.
The aim of this paper is to analyse the development of narrative macrostructure and the impact of socio-economic status (SES) and home literacy environment (HLE) on the narrative macrostructure of monolingual preschoolers in Germany when retelling and telling a story. The analysis of narrative macrostructure includes three components: story structure, story complexity, and story comprehension. Oral narratives were elicited via Multilingual Assessment Instrument for Narratives (LITMUS-MAIN). 198 monolingual children between age 4;6 and 5;11 participated (M=63 months, SD=5 months). The comparison of narrative macrostructure in three age groups (4;6 to 4;11 years, 5;0 to 5;5 years, 5;6 to 5;11 years) illustrate significant age effects in story structure, story complexity and story comprehension skills. There were weak significant positive correlations of some of these skills with aspects of socio-economic status and home literacy environment, for example between story comprehension skills and the educational background, the frequency and duration of the child’s exposure to books and the number of books in the household.
This article investigates the influence of tense and aspect on the choice of verb forms in texts written by Russian-speaking learners of German. Through eight written narrations, each produced by advanced learners of German with L1-Russian and German native speakers, the use of verb forms and relevant linguistic means (perfect markers, temporal adverbs and temporal clauses) was compared and analysed.
The study shows that even very advanced Russian-speaking learners of German could not meet target language preferences in German. They tended to deploy a different temporal perspective than German native speakers (simple past instead of present tense) and they also showed an overuse of the perfect tense, especially when describing completed actions. These differences compared to the preferences of German native speakers can be explained as transfer effects from the L1 of Russian-speaking learners since – unlike in German – the grammatical aspect in Russian is obligatory and its perfective form offers an effective tool to express completeness.
In this paper, data from a current study on bilingual language acquisition and language promotion of children is presented. 96 narratives from 32 Turkish-German and Russian-German bilingual children were examined with regard to the acquisition of narrative ability in three rounds of tests. The macrostructure of each narrative was evaluated based on the theories of Westby (2005), Stein and Glenn (1977) and Gagarina et al. (2012). In the quantitative analysis, the factor age of onset (AoO) was considered and therefore, two hypotheses were introduced: 1) There is an influence of AoO on the narrative ability of L2 German bilingual children. And 2) The narrative ability will converge over time and after three years there will be no difference between the groups. Neither of those hypotheses could be confirmed by the examined narrative data. Hence, other influences on narrative ability were discussed in the last chapter and prospects for further research were given. In sum, the article shows that more narrative data of these children should be collected to make a comprehensive conclusion about the influence of AoO on narrative ability.
Introduction
(2019)
Browsing the web for school: social inequality in adolescents’ school-related use of the internet
(2019)
This article examines whether social inequality exists in European adolescents’ school-related Internet use regarding consuming (browsing) and productive (uploading/sharing) activities. These school-related activities are contrasted with adolescents’ Internet activities for entertainment purposes. Data from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2012 is used for the empirical analyses. Results of partial proportional odds models show that students with higher educated parents and more books at home tend to use the Internet more often for school-related tasks than their less privileged counterparts. This pattern is similar for school-related browsing and sharing Internet activities. In contrast to these findings on school-related Internet activities, a negative association between parental education and books at home is found with adolescents’ frequency of using the Internet for entertainment purposes. The implications of digital inequalities for educational inequalities are discussed.
As a flavor and platform chemical, m-cresol (3-methylphenol) is a valuable industrial compound that currently is mainly synthesized by chemical methods from fossil resources. In this study, we present the first biotechnological de novo production of m-cresol from sugar in complex yeast extract-peptone medium with the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. A heterologous pathway based on the decarboxylation of the polyketide 6-methylsalicylic acid (6-MSA) was introduced into a CEN.PK yeast strain. For synthesis of 6-MSA, expression of different variants of 6-MSA synthases (MSASs) were compared. Overexpression of codon-optimized MSAS from Penicillium patulum together with activating phosphopantetheinyl transferase npgA from Aspergillus nidulans resulted in up to 367 mg/L 6-MSA production. Additional genomic integration of the genes had a strongly promoting effect and 6-MSA titers reached more than 2 g/L. Simultaneous expression of 6-MSA decarboxylase patG from A. clavatus led to the complete conversion of 6-MSA and production of up to 589 mg/L m-cresol. As addition of 450–750 mg/L m-cresol to yeast cultures nearly completely inhibited growth our data suggest that the toxicity of m-cresol might be the limiting factor for higher production titers.
Der Fokus unserer Forschung zum Populismus sollte nicht auf dem harten Kern rechter Parteien liegen, sondern auf jenen, die diese Parteien nur aus Protest wählen oder gar nicht mehr wählen. Wir sollten auch nicht den Fehler machen, die Unterstützung rechter Parteien als irrational und postfaktisch darzustellen. Kern unserer Forschung sollten jene ungleichen wirtschaftlichen und sozialen Strukturen sein, die zum Aufstieg rechter Parteien führen.
Deriving stratospheric age of air spectra using an idealized set of chemically active trace gases
(2019)
Analysis of stratospheric transport from an observational point of view is frequently realized by evaluation of the mean age of air values from long-lived trace gases. However, this provides more insight into general transport strength and less into its mechanism. Deriving complete transit time distributions (age spectra) is desirable, but their deduction from direct measurements is difficult. It is so far primarily based on model work. This paper introduces a modified version of an inverse method to infer age spectra from mixing ratios of short-lived trace gases and investigates its basic principle in an idealized model simulation. For a full description of transport seasonality the method includes an imposed seasonal cycle to gain multimodal spectra. An ECHAM/MESSy Atmospheric Chemistry (EMAC) model simulation is utilized for a general proof of concept of the method and features an idealized dataset of 40 radioactive trace gases with different chemical lifetimes as well as 40 chemically inert pulsed trace gases to calculate pulse age spectra. It is assessed whether the modified inverse method in combination with the seasonal cycle can provide matching age spectra when chemistry is well-known. Annual and seasonal mean inverse spectra are compared to pulse spectra including first and second moments as well as the ratio between them to assess the performance on these timescales. Results indicate that the modified inverse age spectra match the annual and seasonal pulse age spectra well on global scale beyond 1.5 years of mean age of air. The imposed seasonal cycle emerges as a reliable tool to include transport seasonality in the age spectra. Below 1.5 years of mean age of air, tropospheric influence intensifies and breaks the assumption of single entry through the tropical tropopause, leading to inaccurate spectra, in particular in the Northern Hemisphere. The imposed seasonal cycle wrongly prescribes seasonal entry in this lower region and does not lead to a better agreement between inverse and pulse age spectra without further improvement. Tests with a focus on future application to observational data imply that subsets of trace gases with 5 to 10 species are sufficient for deriving well-matching age spectra. These subsets can also compensate for an average uncertainty of up to ±20 % in the knowledge of chemical lifetime if a deviation of circa ±10 % in modal age and amplitude of the resulting spectra is tolerated.
Im Beitrag entwickeln wir einen kritischen Blick auf die Geographie der Wahlergebnisse der Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) bei den Bundestagswahlen 2017. Wir hinterfragen Erklärungsmuster, die in einem starren Stadt-Land-Gegensatz verhaftet bleiben und die komplexe Prozesshaftigkeit der Urbanisierung ignorieren. Dagegen gehen wir mit Henri Lefebvre und Theodor W. Adorno vom Urbanen und Ruralen als sozialen Verhältnissen aus, die sich im übergeordneten Prozess der Urbanisierung in dialektischer Weise scheiden sowie räumlich im Spannungsverhältnis von Zentrum und Peripherie materialisieren. Beispielhaft illustrieren wir diesen Prozess in der Diskussion von drei unterschiedlichen Orten, an denen die AfD bei den Bundestagswahlen besonders erfolgreich war: dem Landkreis Vorpommern-Greifswald als Fall einer umfassenden Peripherisierung, dem Quartier Pforzheim-Haidach als peripheres Zentrum und dem Stadtteil Mannheim-Schönau als zentrale Peripherie. Der Beitrag versucht damit eine räumliche Perspektive auf aktuelle Erfolge des Rechtspopulismus zu entwickeln wie auch Stadt-Land-Verhältnisse konzeptionell neu zu erfassen.
We have encountered two polymorphs of the title compound, C24H16B2OS2, both of which display almost the same unit-cell parameters. Compound (I) crystallizes in the non-centrosymmetric space group P21 with four molecules in the asymmetric unit. These molecules are related by pseudosymmetry. As a result, the space group looks like P21/c, but the structure cannot be refined successfully in that space group. Compound (II) on the other hand crystallizes in the centrosymmetric space group P21/c with only two molecules in the asymmetric unit. The crystals studied for (I) and (II) were both non-merohedral twins.
Understanding new particle formation and growth is important because of the strong impact of these processes on climate and air quality. Measurements to elucidate the main new particle formation mechanisms are essential; however, these mechanisms have to be implemented in models to estimate their impact on the regional and global scale. Parameterizations are computationally cheap ways of implementing nucleation schemes in models but they have their limitations, as they do not necessarily include all relevant parameters. Process models using sophisticated nucleation schemes can be useful for the generation of look-up tables in large scale models or for the analysis of individual new particle formation events. In addition, some other important properties can be derived from a process model that implicitly calculates the evolution of the full aerosol size distribution, e.g., the particle growth rates. Within this study, a model (SANTIAGO, Sulfuric acid Ammonia NucleaTIon And GrOwth model) is constructed that simulates new particle formation starting from the monomer of sulfuric acid up to a particle size of several hundred nanometers. The smallest sulfuric acid clusters containing one to four acid molecules and varying amount of base (ammonia) are allowed to evaporate in the model, whereas growth beyond the pentamer (5 sulfuric acid molecules) is assumed to be entirely collision-controlled. The main goal of the present study is to derive appropriate thermodynamic data needed to calculate the cluster evaporation rates as a function of temperature. These data are derived numerically from CLOUD (Cosmics Leaving OUtdoor Droplets) chamber new particle formation rates for neutral sulfuric acid-water-ammonia nucleation at temperatures between 208 K and 292 K. The numeric methods include an optimization scheme to derive the best estimates for the thermodynamic data (dH and dS) and a Monte Carlo method to derive their probability density functions. The derived data are compared to literature values. Using different data sets for dH and dS in SANTIAGO detailed comparison between model results and measured CLOUD new particle formation rates is discussed.
Understanding new particle formation and growth is important because of the strong impact of these processes on climate and air quality. Measurements to elucidate the main new particle formation mechanisms are essential; however, these mechanisms have to be implemented in models to estimate their impact on the regional and global scale. Parameterizations are computationally cheap ways of implementing nucleation schemes in models, but they have their limitations, as they do not necessarily include all relevant parameters. Process models using sophisticated nucleation schemes can be useful for the generation of look-up tables in large-scale models or for the analysis of individual new particle formation events. In addition, some other important properties can be derived from a process model that implicitly calculates the evolution of the full aerosol size distribution, e.g., the particle growth rates. Within this study, a model (SANTIAGO – Sulfuric acid Ammonia NucleaTIon And GrOwth model) is constructed that simulates new particle formation starting from the monomer of sulfuric acid up to a particle size of several hundred nanometers. The smallest sulfuric acid clusters containing one to four acid molecules and a varying amount of base (ammonia) are allowed to evaporate in the model, whereas growth beyond the pentamer (five sulfuric acid molecules) is assumed to be entirely collision-controlled. The main goal of the present study is to derive appropriate thermodynamic data needed to calculate the cluster evaporation rates as a function of temperature. These data are derived numerically from CLOUD (Cosmics Leaving OUtdoor Droplets) chamber new particle formation rates for neutral sulfuric acid–water–ammonia nucleation at temperatures between 208 and 292 K. The numeric methods include an optimization scheme to derive the best estimates for the thermodynamic data (dH and dS) and a Monte Carlo method to derive their probability density functions. The derived data are compared to literature values. Using different data sets for dH and dS in SANTIAGO detailed comparison between model results and measured CLOUD new particle formation rates is discussed.
Within the world’s oceans, regionally distinct ecological niches develop due to differences in water temperature, nutrients, food availability, predation and light intensity. This results in differences in the vertical dispersion of planktonic foraminifera on the global scale. Understanding the controls on these modern-day distributions is important when using these organisms for paleoceanographic reconstructions. As such, this study constrains modern depth habitats for the northern equatorial Indian Ocean, for 14 planktonic foraminiferal species (G. ruber, G. elongatus, G. pyramidalis, G. rubescens, T. sacculifer, G. siphonifera, G. glutinata, N. dutertrei, G. bulloides, G. ungulata, P. obliquiloculata, G. menardii, G. hexagonus, G. scitula) using stable isotopic signatures (δ18O and δ13C) and Mg/Ca ratios. We evaluate two aspects of inferred depth habitats: (1) the significance of the apparent calcification depth (ACD) calculation method/equations and (2) regional species-specific ACD controls. Through a comparison with five global, (sub)tropical studies we found the choice of applied equation and δ18Osw significant and an important consideration when comparing with the published literature. The ACDs of the surface mixed layer and thermocline species show a tight clustering between 73–109 m water depth coinciding with the deep chlorophyll maximum (DCM). Furthermore, the ACDs for the sub-thermocline species are positioned relative to secondary peaks in the local primary production. We surmise that food source plays a key role in the relative living depths for the majority of the investigated planktonic foraminifera within this oligotrophic environment of the Maldives and elsewhere in the tropical oceans.
Bereits im Erdgeschoss der Sophie-Gips-Höfe, einer ehemaligen Fabrikanlage für Nähmaschinen und Fahrradketten, die heute die Sammlung Hoffmann beherbergt, begegnet einem eine große, rostige, konvexe Stahlplatte von Richard Serra. Wie so oft bei Serra beeindrucken die Materialeigenschaften: die Oberfläche, das Gewicht und die Stabilität dieser Metallscheibe. Mit zwei weiteren Skulpturen zusammen begrüßen die Werke als Ensemble die Kunstinteressierten. Im 3. Stock angekommen, ist der Eintretende bei schlechtem Wetter zum Schutze des Parketts aufgefordert, Filzpantoffeln anzuziehen und darf erst dann durch die repräsentativen Räume schlurfen. Bis die Besuchergruppe vollständig ist, wartet man in dem ersten Raum der bereits bis zur Decke voll mit Kunst von Joëlle Tuerlinckx ist. ...
uORF-tools—workflow for the determination of translation-regulatory upstream open reading frames
(2019)
Ribosome profiling (ribo-seq) provides a means to analyze active translation by determining ribosome occupancy in a transcriptome-wide manner. The vast majority of ribosome protected fragments (RPFs) resides within the protein-coding sequence of mRNAs. However, commonly reads are also found within the transcript leader sequence (TLS) (aka 5’ untranslated region) preceding the main open reading frame (ORF), indicating the translation of regulatory upstream ORFs (uORFs). Here, we present a workflow for the identification of translation-regulatory uORFs. Specifically, uORF-Tools uses Ribo-TISH to identify uORFs within a given dataset and generates a uORF annotation file. In addition, a comprehensive human uORF annotation file, based on 35 ribo-seq files, is provided, which can serve as an alternative input file for the workflow. To assess the translation-regulatory activity of the uORFs, stimulus-induced changes in the ratio of the RPFs residing in the main ORFs relative to those found in the associated uORFs are determined. The resulting output file allows for the easy identification of candidate uORFs, which have translation-inhibitory effects on their associated main ORFs. uORF-Tools is available as a free and open Snakemake workflow at https://github.com/Biochemistry1-FFM/uORF-Tools. It is easily installed and all necessary tools are provided in a version-controlled manner, which also ensures lasting usability. uORF-Tools is designed for intuitive use and requires only limited computing times and resources.
GLC Newsletter 01/2019
(2019)
This publication aims to provide an overview on how digitalisation of communication results in societal trends such as an “always-on” culture, “shitstorms”, “fake news” and their effects on schools, media, non-governmental organisations, work and sports.
Table of Contents
Christian Reuter, Tanjev Schultz, Christian Stegbauer: Digitalisation and Communication: Societal Trends and the Change in Organisations — Preface
Daniel Lambach: Digital World and Real World – Opposites no more
Leonard Reinecke: Brave New Smartphone World? Psychological Wellbeing between Digital Autonomy and Constant Connectedness
Christian Reuter: Fake News and the Manipulation of Public Opinion
Christian Stegbauer: Tantrums on a Massive Scale, or: Could Anybody be a Victim of Social Media Outrage?
Volker Schaeffer: “We Have Always Been Living in Bubbles” The Opportunities and Risks in the Digitalisation of Media
Angela Menig, Verena Zimmermann, Joachim Vogt: Digital Transformation of the Workplace – Risk or Opportunity?
Stefan Aufenanger, Jasmin Bastian: Digital Technology in Schools
Angelika Böhling: Development Assistance Goes Digital - The Opportunities and Challenges Non-Governmental Organisations Face in Digital Communication
Josef Wiemeyer: Digital Interaction and Communication in Sports
Nonerythroid spectrin αII (SPTAN1) is an important cytoskeletal protein that ensures vital cellular properties including polarity and cell stabilization. In addition, it is involved in cell adhesion, cell-cell contact, and apoptosis. The detection of altered expression of SPTAN1 in tumors indicates that SPTAN1 might be involved in the development and progression of cancer. SPTAN1 has been described in cancer and therapy response and proposed as a potential marker protein for neoplasia, tumor aggressiveness, and therapeutic efficiency. On one hand, the existing data suggest that overexpression of SPTAN1 in tumor cells reflects neoplastic and tumor promoting activity. On the other hand, nuclear SPTAN1 can have tumor suppressing effects by enabling DNA repair through interaction with DNA repair proteins. Moreover, SPTAN1 cleavage products occur during apoptosis and could serve as markers for the efficacy of cancer therapy. Due to SPTAN1’s multifaceted functions and its role in adhesion and migration, SPTAN1 can influence tumor growth and progression in both positive and negative directions depending on its specific regulation. This review summarizes the current knowledge on SPTAN1 in cancer and depicts several mechanisms by which SPTAN1 could impact tumor development and aggressiveness.
hallmark of ageing is the redistribution of body fat. Particularly, subcutaneous fat decreases paralleled by a decrease of skin collagen I are typical for age-related skin atrophy. In this paper, we hypothesize that collagen I may be a relevant molecule stimulating the differentiation of adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) into adipocytes augmenting subcutaneous fat. In this context lipogenesis, adiponectin, and collagen I receptor expression were determined. Freshly isolated ASCs were characterized by stemness-associated surface markers by FACS analysis and then transdifferentiated into adipocytes by specific medium supplements. Lipogenesis was evaluated using Nile Red staining and documented by fluorescence microscopy or quantitatively measured by using a multiwell spectrofluorometer. Expression of adiponectin was measured by real-time RT-PCR and in cell-free supernatants by ELISA, and expression of collagen I receptors was observed by western blot analysis. It was found that supports coated with collagen I promote cell adhesion and lipogenesis of ASCs. Interestingly, a reverse correlation to adiponectin expression was observed. Moreover, we found upregulation of the collagen receptor, discoidin domain-containing receptor 2; receptors of the integrin family were absent or downregulated. These findings indicate that collagen I is able to modulate lipogenesis and adiponectin expression and therefore may contribute to metabolic dysfunctions associated with ageing.
Background: GLUT1-deficiency-syndrome (G1DS) is an autosomal dominant genetic disorder based on a mutation of the SLC2A1 gene. This mutation can lead to an encephalopathy due to abnormal glucose transport in the brain. G1DS is a rare disease, with an estimated incidence of 1: 90 000.
Case report: We report a case of a 10-year-old female who presented with recurrent fever, headaches, and vertigo for more than 3 days within 2 weeks following pneumonia. A bilateral mastoiditis was proven by a cerebral magnetic resonance imaging and a cranial computed tomography scan. The patient had to undergo mastoidectomy and thus, her first general anesthesia. Half a year previously she was diagnosed with G1DS. According to the standard of care, a ketogenic diet had been administered since the patient’s diagnosis 6 months earlier. Our patient received a total intravenous anesthesia (TIVA) using propofol, fentanyl, and rocuronium administered without any incidents.
Conclusions: We recommend normoglycemia during the perioperative phase and avoidance of glucose-based medication to keep a patient’s ketotic state. Our case highlights that TIVA, with the outlined medication used in this case, was safe when the patient’s ketotic state and periprocedural blood glucose was monitored continuously. Nevertheless, we would suggest using remifentanil instead of fentanyl for future TIVAs due to a reduced increase in blood glucose level in our patient.
A machine-learned analysis suggests non-redundant diagnostic information in olfactory subtests
(2019)
Background: The functional performance of the human sense of smell can be approached via assessment of the olfactory threshold, the ability to discriminate odors or the ability to identify odors. Contemporary clinical test batteries include all or a selection of these components, with some dissent about the required number and choice.
Methods: Olfactory thresholds, odor discrimination and odor identification scores were available from 10,714 subjects (3662 with anomia, 4299 with hyposmia, and 2752 with normal olfactory function). To assess, whether the olfactory subtests confer the same information or each subtest confers at least partly non-redundant information relevant to the olfactory diagnosis, we compared the diagnostic accuracy of supervised machine learning algorithms trained with the complete information from all three subtests with that obtained when performing the training with the information of only two or one subtests.
Results: The training of machine-learned algorithms with the full information about olfactory thresholds, odor discrimination and odor identification from 2/3 of the cases, resulted in a balanced olfactory diagnostic accuracy of 98% or better in the 1/3 remaining cases. The most pronounced decrease in the balanced accuracy, to approximately 85%, was observed when omitting olfactory thresholds from the training, whereas omitting odor discrimination or identification was associated with smaller decreases (balanced accuracies approximately 90%).
Conclusions: Results support partly non-redundant contributions of each olfactory subtest to the clinical olfactory diagnosis. Olfactory thresholds provided the largest amount of non-redundant information to the olfactory diagnosis.
Individual adult ventricular cardiomyocytes are either mono- or multi-nucleated and undergo morphological changes during cardiac hypertrophy. However, corresponding transcriptional signatures, reflecting potentially different functions or the ability for cell-cycle entry, are not known. The aim of this study was to determine the transcriptional profile of mono- and multi-nucleated adult cardiomyocytes by single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) and to investigate heterogeneity among cardiomyocytes under baseline conditions and in pressure-induced cardiac hypertrophy. We developed an array-based approach for scRNA-seq of rod-shaped multi-nucleated cardiomyocytes from both healthy and hypertrophic hearts. Single-cell transcriptomes of mono- or multi-nucleated cardiomyocytes were highly similar, although a certain degree of variation was noted across both populations. Non-image-based quality control allowing inclusion of damaged cardiomyocytes generated artificial cell clusters demonstrating the need for strict exclusion criteria. In contrast, cardiomyocytes isolated from hypertrophic heart after transverse aortic constriction showed heterogeneous transcriptional signatures, characteristic for hypoxia-induced responses. Immunofluorescence analysis revealed an inverse correlation between HIF1α+ cells and CD31-stained vessels, suggesting that imbalanced vascular growth in the hypertrophied heart induces cellular heterogeneity. Our study demonstrates that individual mono- and multi-nucleated cardiomyocytes express nearly identical sets of genes. Homogeneity among cardiomyocytes was lost after induction of hypertrophy due to differential HIF1α-dependent responses most likely caused by none-homogenous vessel growth.
Mapping biodiversity is the marathon of the 21st Century as an answer to the present extinction crisis. A century in which science is also characterised by large scientific datasets collected through new technologies aiming to fill gaps in our knowledge of species distributions. However, most species records rely on observations that are not linked to specimens, which does not allow verification of species hypotheses by other scientists. Natural history museums form a verifiable source of biodiversity records which were made by taxonomists. Nonetheless, these museums seem to be forgotten by biologists in scientific fields other than taxonomy or systematics. Naturalis Biodiversity Center (NBC) in Leiden is care keeper of large collections of marine organisms, which were sampled in the Northeast Atlantic during the CANCAP and Tyro Mauritania II expeditions (1976–1988). Many octocorals were sampled and deposited in the NBC collection, where they became available for study and were partially identified by the senior author (M.G.) in the 1980s. Nonetheless, no checklist or taxonomic revision was published so far with the complete results. In 2016 the first author visited NBC to examine NE Atlantic Plexauridae octocorals. Plexauridae octocoral-vouchered records were listed and mapped to reveal high standard primary biodiversity records unreported so far for the NE Atlantic Ocean. Twenty-four Plexauridae species with ~ six putative new species to science were discovered and eleven new biogeographical records were made from distinct Macaronesian archipelagos. Finally, new depth range records were found for three species at sea basin level and for eight species at a regional scale.
The plasma membrane (PM) is composed of a complex lipid mixture that forms heterogeneous membrane environments. Yet, how small-scale lipid organization controls physiological events at the PM remains largely unknown. Here, we show that ORP-related Osh lipid exchange proteins are critical for the synthesis of phosphatidylinositol (4,5)-bisphosphate [PI(4,5)P2], a key regulator of dynamic events at the PM. In real-time assays, we find that unsaturated phosphatidylserine (PS) and sterols, both Osh protein ligands, synergistically stimulate phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate 5-kinase (PIP5K) activity. Biophysical FRET analyses suggest an unconventional co-distribution of unsaturated PS and phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate (PI4P) species in sterol-containing membrane bilayers. Moreover, using in vivo imaging approaches and molecular dynamics simulations, we show that Osh protein-mediated unsaturated PI4P and PS membrane lipid organization is sensed by the PIP5K specificity loop. Thus, ORP family members create a nanoscale membrane lipid environment that drives PIP5K activity and PI(4,5)P2 synthesis that ultimately controls global PM organization and dynamics.
We uncover a new channel for spillovers of funding dry-ups. The 2016 US money market fund (MMF) reform exogenously reduced unsecured MMF funding for some banks. We use novel data to trace those banks to a platform for corporate deposit funding. We show that intensified competition for corporate deposits spilled the funding squeeze over to other banks with no MMF exposure. These banks paid more for deposits, and their pool of funding providers deteriorated. Moreover, their lending volumes and margins declined, and their stocks underperformed. Our results suggest that banks' competitiveness in funding markets affect their competitiveness in lending markets.
The nuclear exosome and its essential co-factor, the RNA helicase MTR4, play crucial roles in several RNA degradation pathways. Besides unwinding RNA substrates for exosome-mediated degradation, MTR4 associates with RNA-binding proteins that function as adaptors in different RNA processing and decay pathways. Here, we identify and characterize the interactions of human MTR4 with a ribosome processing adaptor, NVL, and with ZCCHC8, an adaptor involved in the decay of small nuclear RNAs. We show that the unstructured regions of NVL and ZCCHC8 contain short linear motifs that bind the MTR4 arch domain in a mutually exclusive manner. These short sequences diverged from the arch-interacting motif (AIM) of yeast rRNA processing factors. Our results suggest that nuclear exosome adaptors have evolved canonical and non-canonical AIM sequences to target human MTR4 and demonstrate the versatility and specificity with which the MTR4 arch domain can recruit a repertoire of different RNA-binding proteins.
We study nominal wage rigidity in the Netherlands using administrative data, which has three key features: (1) high-frequency (monthly), (2) high-quality (administrative records), and (3) high coverage (the universe of workers and the universe of firms). We find wage rigidity patterns in the data that are similar to wage behavior documented for other European countries. In particular we find that the hazard function has two spikes, one at 12 months and another one at 24 months and wage changes have time and state dependency components. As a novel and important piece of evidence we also uncover substantial heterogeneity in the frequency of wage changes due to explicit terms of the labor contract. In particular, contracts featuring flexible hours, such as on-call contracts, exhibit a higher probability of a change in the contract wage compared to fixed hour contracts. Once we split the sample based on contract characteristics, we also find that the response of wage changes to the time and state component is heterogeneous across different type of contracts - with relatively more downward adjustments in flexible-hour contract wages in response to aggregate unemployment.
Josef Wiemeyer ist Professor für Sportwissenschaft mit den Schwerpunkten Bewegungs- und Trainingswissenschaft und Sportinformatik an der Technischen Universität Darmstadt. Aktuell forscht er zu ausgewählten Themen des technologiegestützten Lernens und Trainings. Er hat unter anderem zu den Themen Serious Games für Gesundheit, individualisiertes Training mit Exergames, mobile Trainingsapplikationen und Lernen in Mensch- Roboter-Dyaden publiziert.
Angelika Böhling leitet die Presse- und Öffentlichkeitsarbeit der Kindernothilfe, einer der größten christlichen Kinderrechtsorganisationen Europas. Sie vertritt die Kindernothilfe als Pressesprecherin nach außen und ist zudem Vorstandsmitglied im Bündnis Entwicklung hilft, einem Zusammenschluss von neun großen Spendenorganisationen.
Stefan Aufenanger war Professor für Erziehungswissenschaft und Medienpädagogik an der Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, derzeit im Ruhestand. Er forscht momentan an fünf Schulen zum Zusammenhang von Digitalisierung, Persönlichkeitsentwicklung und Spiritualität. Seine letzten Publikationen befassten sich mit dem Einfluss digitaler Medien auf Kleinstkinder.
Jasmin Bastian ist Juniorprofessorin für Erziehungswissenschaft mit dem Schwerpunkt Medienpädagogik an der Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz. Aktuell forscht sie zu digitalen Medien in der Schule, in der Hochschule und im Kindesalter. Sie arbeitet derzeit an Publikationen zum händischen vs. digitalen Mitschreiben in der Vorlesung, Tablets in der Schule und Anforderungen an die Lehrerbildung sowie dem Umgang mit digitalen Medien im Kindesalter.
Angela Menig ist Mitarbeiterin der Forschungsgruppe Arbeits- und Ingenieurpsychologie (FAI) am Institut für Psychologie der Technischen Universität Darmstadt. In Ihrer Forschung befasst sie sich mit den Themen Belastung und Beanspruchung von Beschäftigten, angewandte Gesundheitspsychologie sowie Human Factors in der Automobilforschung.
Verena Zimmermann ist ebenfalls Mitarbeiterin der Forschungsgruppe Arbeits- und Ingenieurpsychologie. Sie forscht an der Schnittstelle zwischen Psychologie und Cybersecurity zu den Themen "Human Factors in Safety and Security" und "Usable IT Security".
Prof. Dr. Joachim Vogt leitet seit 2009 die Forschungsgruppe Arbeits- und Ingenieurpsychologie der Technischen Universität Darmstadt. Er forscht und lehrt zur Gestaltung komplexer sozio-technischer Systeme in interdisziplinärer Zusammenarbeit mit den technischen Fachbereichen. Gestaltungsziele sind z.B. verbesserte Sicherheit und optimierte Mensch-Maschine-Schnittstellen.
Christian Stegbauer ist außerplanmäßiger Professor für Soziologie mit dem Schwerpunkt Netzwerksoziologie an der Goethe-Universität Frankfurt. Er forscht zurzeit zur Herausbildung von Mikrokulturen innerhalb von Beziehungsstrukturen. Wie dies geschieht, wird an alltäglichem Verhalten im Buch "Grundlagen der Netzwerkforschung: Situationen, Mikronetzwerke und Kultur" dargelegt. Seine aktuelle Publikation "Shitstorms: Der Zusammenprall digitaler Kulturen" wendet die Erkenntnisse an und zeigt, welches die Bedingungen der Entstehung von Shitstorms sind.