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Acceleration of Biomedical Image Processing and Reconstruction with FPGAs
Increasing chip sizes and better programming tools have made it possible to increase the boundaries of application acceleration with reconfigurable computer chips. In this thesis the potential of acceleration with Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) is examined for applications that perform biomedical image processing and reconstruction. The dataflow paradigm was used to port the analysis of image data for localization microscopy and for 3D electron tomography from an imperative description towards the FPGA for the first time.
After the primitives of image processing on FPGAs are presented, a general workflow is given for analyzing imperative source code and converting it to a hardware pipeline where every node processes image data in parallel. The theoretical foundation is then used to accelerate both example applications. For localization microscopy, an acceleration of 185 compared to an Intel i5 450 CPU was achieved, and electron tomography could be sped up by a factor of 5 over an Nvidia Tesla C1060 graphics card while maintaining full accuracy in both cases.
In this article, the author shows that progress of info-communications is a key factor of society changes, as it radically changes the key aspects of human life. Studying the time of progress and comparing it with the most important anthropic characteristic - length of human life, he comes to the conclusion that our generation has witnessed the tipping point in the rate of development of human civilization. This showing up in the fact that the present stage of the scientific and technological advance lead to the transformation, perhaps on the same scale, what were the appearance of written language and publishing, but these multiple fundamental changes in the life of society occur within the life of a single generation. In these circumstances, the task of forecasting, in its traditional setting, is becoming increasingly inaccurate. According to the author, the only possibility is to venture outside the framework of formal logic and technocratic approaches and try to find answers to these questions by generating new meanings of the realities surrounding us and in this context philosophy has a special role.
Acacia pendula, Weeping Myall, (family Fabaceae) is the most legislatively protected plant species in the New South Wales Hunter Valley. Under the NSW Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 it is listed as an Endangered Population (in the Hunter Valley) and as a component of two Endangered Ecological Communities (one in the Hunter, one elsewhere in NSW); it is also listed as a Critically Endangered Ecological Community (in the Hunter Valley) on the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 and listed as threatened in three other eastern Australian States.
To ascertain the likely original distribution of stands of Acacia pendula in the Hunter Valley, this paper examines the writings of early Australian explorers, herbarium and database records, and the species habitat attributes across NSW. None of the journals examined, including those of botanist/explorer Allan Cunningham (who originally collected Acacia pendula from the Lachlan River in 1817), Thomas Mitchell or Ludwig Leichhardt, make note of the species for the Hunter Valley. Several explorers do, however, record Acacia pendula regularly (>100 times) across other parts of NSW, Queensland, and South Australia.
Historical herbarium and database records show a paucity of records from the Hunter prior to the year 2000, after which a 37-fold increase in observations since 1951 is apparent. For the first 128 years of botanical exploration (1823 to 1951), there are no validated collections or records of Acacia pendula from the Hunter Valley. The single exception is a specimen collected by Cunningham from 1825 (lodged at Kew, UK), purported to be from ‘Hunters River’, but which is morphologically different to other collections of Acacia pendula from that time. There is some uncertainty over the origins of this specimen.
Analysis of habitats supporting Acacia pendula in NSW outside of the Hunter show them to differ significantly in geological age, soil type, rainfall and elevation from those in the Hunter.
Collectively, these findings provide a strong circumstantial case that Acacia pendula was absent from the Hunter at the time of European settlement; this has important implications for the conservation and management of Hunter stands. Rather than being a threatened species in the Hunter Valley, it is postulated that Acacia pendula has been intentionally and/or accidentally introduced to the region, and may now be imposing a new and emerging threat to the endangered grassy woodlands and forests there. There is now an urgent need for genetic studies to clarify the origins of the current Hunter Valley stands, and to define the taxonomic limits of Acacia pendula and its close relatives.
Acacia
(2014)
Acacia is a strong and independent woman whose heart and heritage like rooted in Africa, while her reality in contemporary America finds itself in a very different time and place. In living her life, she must breach the distance between her current space and the ties that bind her. Straddling two sometimes opposing worlds of medicine and dance, Dr Acacia Graeme must find the balance between feeding her mind through work and study, and nourishing her soul and spirit through dance. And what happened when the music stops? Because it does, often. How will she get through the silence of her every day? This is the story of a flawed heroine whose intentions are pure, her truth perhaps less so. Torn between the enduring innocence of her first love and the life-long search that is her longing for one true love, she is compelled to come to terms with her own free nature and independent spirit and, in so doing, turn tragedy to triumph.
The ab-initio molecular dynamics framework has been the cornerstone of computational solid state physics in the last few decades. Although it is already a mature field it is still rapidly developing to accommodate the growth in solid state research as well as to efficiently utilize the increase in computing power. Starting from the first principles, the ab-initio molecular dynamics provides essential information about structural and electronic properties of matter under various external conditions. In this thesis we use the ab-initio molecular dynamics to study the behavior of BaFe2As2 and CaFe2As2 under the application of external pressure. BaFe2As2 and CaFe2As2 belong to the family of iron based superconductors which are a novel and promising superconducting materials. The application of pressure is one of two key methods by which electronic and structural properties of iron based superconductors can be modified, the other one being doping (or chemical pressure). In particular, it has been noted that pressure conditions have an important effect, but their exact role is not fully understood. To better understand the effect of different pressure conditions we have performed a series of ab-initio simulations of pressure application. In order to apply the pressure with arbitrary stress tensor we have developed a method based on the Fast Inertial Relaxation Engine, whereby the unit cell and the atomic positions are evolved according to the metadynamical equations of motion. We have found that the application of hydrostatic and c axis uniaxial pressure induces a phase transition from the magnetically ordered orthorhombic phase to the non-magnetic collapsed tetragonal phase in both BaFe2As2 and CaFe2As2. In the case of BaFe2As2, an intermediate tetragonal non-magnetic tetragonal phase is observed in addition. Application of the uniaxial pressure parallel to the c axis reduces the critical pressure of the phase transition by an order of magnitude, in agreement with the experimental findings. The in-plane pressure application did not result in transition to the non-magnetic tetragonal phase and instead, rotation of the magnetic order direction could be observed. This is discussed in the context of Ginzburg-Landau theory. We have also found that the magnetostructural phase transition is accompanied by a change in the Fermi surface topology, whereby the hole cylinders centered around the Gamma point disappear, restricting the possible Cooper pair scattering channels in the tetragonal phase. Our calculations also permit us to estimate the bulk moduli and the orthorhombic elastic constants of BaFe2As2 and CaFe2As2.
To study the electronic structure in systems with broken translational symmetry, such as doped iron based superconductors, it is necessary to develop a method to unfold the complicated bandstructures arising from the supercell calculations. In this thesis we present the unfolding method based on group theoretical techniques. We achieve the unfolding by employing induced irreducible representations of space groups. The unique feature of our method is that it treats the point group operations on an equal footing with the translations. This permits us to unfold the bandstructures beyond the limit of translation symmetry and also formulate the tight-binding models of reduced dimensionality if certain conditions are met. Inclusion of point group operations in the unfolding formalism allows us to reach important conclusions about the two versus one iron picture in iron based superconductors.
And finally, we present the results of ab-initio structure prediction in the cases of giant volume collapse in MnS2 and alkaline doped picene. In the case of MnS2, a previously unobserved high pressure arsenopyrite structure of MnS2 is predicted and stability regions for the two competing metastable phases under pressure are determined. In the case of alkaline doped picene, crystal structures with different levels of doping were predicted and used to study the role of electronic correlations.
A Torrent of Terror
(2014)
Rome Aboh's poetry unmistakably enwraps the condition of the politically and socially cannibalised segment of his society; and the beauty of the verse radiates from his facility with language as the stylist and linguist. The section 'patriotism' with such poems as 'hour of truth' aptly brings out the socially obligatory role of the poets whose mission goes beyond versifying and sharing their personal fantasies and urges. Similarly the poem 'letter to the mp' echoes the agonies of the common masses who feel deceived by the ruling elite in their so-called democratic nations.
Characterized by small body size, apically rounded/lobed anterior gonopod telopodites, long slender posterior gonopod telopodites, and torsion in the cyphopod receptacles, Floridobolus fl oydi, n. sp., is described from the southern sector of the Brooksville Ridge in northwestern peninsular Florida. It inhabits sandy “Big Scrub” environments like F. penneri Causey, 1957, and F. orini Shelley, 2014, and is documented from the sector’s center and northern periphery, in Hernando and Citrus Counties, respectively, with a sight record from the eastern periphery. Its discovery supports the thesis that each sand ridge in peninsular Florida may harbor a unique species of this endemic genus.
A revision of the genus Asterostegus Mortensen, 1933 (Echinodermata: Ophiuroidea: Euryalidae) is based on seven specimens, including the holotype of Asterostegus maini McKnight, 2003. A new species, Asterostegus sabineae sp. nov., is described from off Reunion Island and two other species, A. tuberculatus Mortensen, 1933 and A. maini, are redescribed. A tabular key to the three species of the genus Asterostegus is provided. Some terminology of the taxonomy of euryalid ophiuroids is revised.
Based on a meta-analysis, Redick and Lindsey (2013) found that complex span and n-back tasks show an average correlation of r = 0.20, and concluded that "complex span and n-back tasks cannot be used interchangeably as working memory measures in research applications" (p. 1102). Here, we comment on this conclusion from a psychometric perspective. In addition to construct variance, performance on a test contains measurement error, task-specific variance, and paradigm-specific variance. Hence, low correlations among dissimilar indicators do not provide strong evidence for the existence, or absence, of a construct common to both indicators. One way to arrive at such evidence is to fit hierarchical latent factors that model task-specific, paradigm-specific, and construct variance. We report analyses for 101 younger and 103 older adults who worked on nine different working memory tasks. The data are consistent with a hierarchical model of working memory, according to which both complex span and n-back tasks are valid indicators of working memory. The working memory factor predicts 71% of the variance in a factor of reasoning among younger adults (83% for among older adults). When the working memory factor was restricted to any possible triplet of working memory tasks, the correlation between working memory and reasoning was inversely related to the average magnitude of the correlations among the indicators, indicating that more highly intercorrelated indicators may provide poorer coverage of the construct space. We stress the need to go beyond specific tasks and paradigms when studying higher-order cognitive constructs, such as working memory.
A summary of the milliped faunas of Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Kashmir (Arthropoda: Diplopoda)
(2014)
Three female callipodidan samples from northern Pakistan are assigned to Bollmania kohalana (Attems, 1936) (Caspiopetalidae), the only ordinal representative documented from the country; a new record of Kaschmiriosoma loebli Jeekel, 2003 (Polydesmida: Paradoxosomatidae), is also provided. Localities are summarized for the 14 Pakistani, 6 Kashmirian, and 5 Bangladeshi diplopods. The last include one unidentifi able female of Zephronia Gray, 1832 (Sphaerotheriida: Zephroniidae), and two adventive species, Trachyjulus calvus (Pocock, 1893) (Spirostreptida: Cambalopsidae) and Asiomorpha coarctata (Saussure, 1860) (Polydesmida: Paradoxosomatidae); all constitute new country records. Two obscurely documented Bangladeshi diplopods are Gonoplectus cautus (Attems, 1936) (Spirostreptida: Harpagophoridae), and Trichopeltis watsoni Pocock, 1895 (Polydesmida: Cryptodesmidae). The Pakistani polydesmidan, Quasidesmus puschtun Golovatch, 1991, is transferred from Pyrgodesmidae to Cryptodesmidae.
CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) represent a specialized subpopulation of T cells, which are essential for maintaining peripheral tolerance and preventing autoimmunity. The immunomodulatory effects of Tregs depend on their activation status. Here we show that, in contrast to conventional anti-CD4 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), the humanized CD4-specific monoclonal antibody tregalizumab (BT-061) is able to selectively activate the suppressive properties of Tregs in vitro. BT-061 activates Tregs by binding to CD4 and activation of signaling downstream pathways. The specific functionality of BT-061 may be explained by the recognition of a unique, conformational epitope on domain 2 of the CD4 molecule that is not recognized by other anti-CD4 mAbs. We found that, due to this special epitope binding, BT-061 induces a unique phosphorylation of T-cell receptor complex-associated signaling molecules. This is sufficient to activate the function of Tregs without activating effector T cells. Furthermore, BT-061 does not induce the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines. These results demonstrate that BT-061 stimulation via the CD4 receptor is able to induce T-cell receptor-independent activation of Tregs. Selective activation of Tregs via CD4 is a promising approach for the treatment of autoimmune diseases where insufficient Treg activity has been described. Clinical investigation of this new approach is currently ongoing.
A second Yalta
(2014)
We explore the parameter space of the two-flavor thermal quark–meson model and its Polyakov loop-extended version under the influence of a constant external magnetic field B. We investigate the behavior of the pseudo critical temperature for chiral symmetry breaking taking into account the likely dependence of two parameters on the magnetic field: the Yukawa quark–meson coupling and the parameter T0 of the Polyakov loop potential. Under the constraints that magnetic catalysis is realized at zero temperature and the chiral transition at B=0 is a crossover, we find that the quark–meson model leads to thermal magnetic catalysis for the whole allowed parameter space, in contrast to the present picture stemming from lattice QCD.
Twenty six species of the genus Purenleon Stange (Neuroptera: Myrmeleontidae: Nemoleontini) are recognized from the New World, of which ten are described as new species: P. oaxacae, P. fernandezi, P. tibialis, P. adamsi, P. andinus, P. apache, P. aztecus, P. cavei, P. farri and P. toltecus. Neotypes are designated for Psammoleon banksi Esben-Petersen 1933 and for Formicaleo inaequalis Navás 1913. The larvae of sixteen species have been reared and are described with data on their biologies. The genus is subdivided into three species groups based mostly on leg structure. The inscriptus group consists of fi ve species, the tibialis group consists of two species and the rest of the species are in the bistictus group. Keys to the species based both on adults and larvae are provided and descriptions given.
A revision of the genus Acentroptera Guérin-Méneville, 1844 (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Cassidinae)
(2014)
The species of the genus Acentroptera Guérin-Méneville, 1844 are revised. Thirteen species are treated as valid and are illustrated. A neotype is designated for A. tessellata Baly. Acentroptera maculata Pic from Brazil and A. rubronotata Pic from Brazil are treated as incertae sedis. Acentroptera bita n. sp. and A. lineata n. sp. both from Panama are described as new. A key to the 13 treated species is presented. Five species appear to be associated with bromeliads (Bromeliaceae).
The fauna of the small carrion beetles and round fungus beetles (Leiodidae) of the oceanic islands of the West Indies is reviewed with 11 genera and 81 species recorded. Keys to adults of all genera and species, descriptions, and figures are provided to aid in identification. All species are endemic to the islands of the West Indies. Most species are endemic to a single island, but some species in the Lesser Antilles occur on more than one island. It is certain that more species remain to be discovered, especially on larger and less explored islands. Two new genera are described: Parvocyrtusa (type species Parvocyrtusa hispaniolensis), and Pseudolionothus (type species Pseudolionothus insularis). The genus Pseudoagathidium Angelini is reported from the New World for the first time with one species. The higher taxa and 61 new species and their island distributions are as follows: Cholevinae, Eucatopini, Eucatops Portevin (first West Indian record): E. annulus, Hispaniola. Ptomaphagini, Proptomaphaginus Szymczakowski (four species, no new taxa), Greater Antilles and Bahamas (new genus record). Anemadini, Dissochaetus Reitter (five species, one new species): D. santalucia, St. Lucia. Leiodinae, Agathidiini, Agathidium Panzer (first West Indian record): A. minutum, Hispaniola. Pseudoagathidium Angelini (first New World record): P. ignotum, St. Vincent. Leiodini, Isoplastus Horn (first West Indian record): I. hispaniolensis, Hispaniola. Zeadolopus Broun (five known species, 28 new species): Z. acinaces, Hispaniola; Z. angulatus, St. Vincent; Z. antiguensis, Antigua, Saba, Montserrat; Z. atratus, Cuba; Z. bahamensis, Bahamas Islands (Andros Island); Z. caborojo, Hispaniola; Z. carinatus, Jamaica; Z caymanensis, Cayman Islands (Grand Cayman); Z. cubensis, Cuba; Z. dominica, Dominica; Z. exiguus, Hispaniola; Z. flavidus, Cuba; Z. hatomayor, Hispaniola; Z. hispaniolensis, Hispaniola; Z. iviei, Hispaniola; Z. jarabacoa, Hispaniola; Z. lavega, Hispaniola; Z. longipes, Hispaniola; Z. lucidus, Cuba; Z. miniusculus, Hispaniola; Z. nanus, Hispaniola; Z. nesiotes, St. Lucia and Martinique; Z. oviedoensis, Hispaniola; Z. parvantilliensis, Montserrat, Guadeloupe, Dominica, Martinique, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Grenada; Z. paulus, Hispaniola; Z. pedernales, Hispaniola; Z. pusillus, Cuba. Parvocyrtusa (new genus, one new species): P. hispaniolensis, Hispaniola. Pseudolionothus (new genus, two new species): P. andersoni, Cuba; P. insularis, Hispaniola. Scotocryptini, Aglyptinus Cockerell (five known species, 19 new species): A. angulatus, Hispaniola; A. bahamensis, Bahamas Islands (Andros Island); A. biserriatus, Cuba; A. capitaneus, Cuba; A. dominica, Dominica; A. fortipunctatus, Cuba; A. grandis, Hispaniola; A. grenadensis, Grenada; A. hemipterus, Jamaica; A. hispaniolensis, Hispaniola; A. longipalpus, Hispaniola; A. luciae, St. Lucia; A. maculatus, Jamaica; A. martiniquensis, Martinique; A. minutus, Cuba; A. parvoculus, Jamaica; A. parvus, St. Lucia; A. sinuatus, Cuba; A. vincentii, St. Vincent. Creagrophorus Matthews (one known species, seven new species): C. bicolor, Martinique; C. cubensis, Cuba; C. dominica, Dominica; C. hispaniolensis, Hispaniola; C. microdentatus, Hispaniola; C. santalucia, St. Lucia; C. unidentatus, St. Vincent and Grenada.
The Afrotropical Rhyssinae are reviewed. A total of 12 species are reported from the region, including five new species: Epirhyssa brianfisheri sp. nov., E. gavinbroadi sp. nov., E. shaka sp. nov., E. villemantae sp. nov. and E. tombeaodiba sp. nov. The generic status of E. brianfisheri sp. nov. is discussed since this species could also be considered to be an extra-limital Triancyra species, emphasizing the putative paraphyletic status of Epirhyssa. Epirhyssa ghesquierei Seyrig, 1937, E. overlaeti Seyrig, 1937 and E. uelensis Benoit, 1951 are newly reported from Cameroon. We provide illustrated diagnoses and identification notes. Finally, we discuss the apparent scarcity of African rhyssines compared to other regions.
Eleven Neotropical species of Laemophloeus Dejean with antennal clubs composed of three antennomeres are reviewed, diagnosed, and illustrated. Six of the species are described as new: L. capitesculptus Thomas, n. sp., L. corporeflavus Thomas, n. sp., L. dozieri Thomas, n. sp., L. insulatestudinorum Thomas, n. sp., L. planaclavatus Thomas, n. sp., and L. taurus Thomas, n. sp. Four new synonymies are proposed: L. catharinensis Kessel (=L. incisus Sharp), new synonym; L. similans Kessel (=L. incisus Sharp), new synonym; L. distinguendus Sharp (=L. megacephalus Grouvelle), new synonym, and L. chevrolati Grouvelle (=L. lecontei Grouvelle), new synonym. A key to the species is provided.
Orientation: Publishing methodologically sound, empirically based studies in reputable accredited scientific journals are essential in order to advance knowledge and evidence-based practice in the field of industrial and organisational psychology.
Research purpose: The purpose of the research was to conduct a broad content analysis of the articles published in the South African Journal of Industrial Psychology (SAJIP) between 2004 and 2013. The study aimed to provide a descriptive overview of the most frequent content themes,published authors and institutions, research approaches, strategies, designs and analysis techniques, software packages and sample sizes in industrial and organisational (I-O) psychology utilised in the publications.
Motivation for study: The periodic analyses of published content in scholarly journals provide an index of the extent to which the publications reflect the scope of practice in a given discipline and broaden insight into the direction and relevance of research published in a journal.
Research design, approach and method: A broad systematic content analysis was conducted of 342 documented articles published in the SAJIP between 2004 and 2013. Descriptive data(frequencies and percentages) were used to report the findings.
Main findings: The publishing pattern of the SAJIP appeared to correspond with its focus and scope. Manuscripts utilising mostly cross-sectional quantitative correlational research designs with large samples (n > 201) were published in the SAJIP. The University of Johannesburg and Professor Sebastiaan (Ian) Rothmann were the largest contributors to publications between 2004 and 2013. Organisational psychology and psychometrics were the most prominent domains in I-O psychology research. Data were predominantly processed utilising SPSS.
Practical implications: The insights derived from the findings can be employed to plan future research initiatives in the field of I-O psychology.
Contribution/value-add: The findings provide valuable insight into the current status of the foci of I-O psychology research as published in the SAJIP between 2004 and 2013 and the contribution made by the SAJIP to advancing knowledge and evidence-based practice in I-O psychology.
This paper analyzes how on-the-job search (OJS) by an agent impacts the moral hazard problem in a repeated principal-agent relationship. OJS is found to constitute a source of agency costs because efficient search incentives require that the agent receives all gains from trade. Further, the optimal incentive contract with OJS matches the design of empirically observed compensation contracts more accurately than models that ignore OJS. In particular, the optimal contract entails excessive performance pay plus efficiency wages. Efficiency wages reduce the opportunity costs of work effort and hence serve as a complement to bonuses. Thus, the model offers a novel explanation for the use of efficiency wages. When allowing for renegotiation, the model generates wage and turnover dynamics that are consistent with empirical evidence. I argue that the model contributes to explaining the concomitant rise in the use of performance pay and in competition for high-skill workers during the last three decades.
The ground beetle genus Cymindis is the most species rich amongst genera in the carabid subtribe Cymindidina (tribe Lebiini). Four subgenera are often recognized, i.e. Cymindis (sensu stricto) Latreille, Afrotarus Jeannel, Taridius Chaudoir and Pinacodera Schaum. Cymindis (sensu stricto) has a predominately Holarctic distribution (Hunting 2013) and includes Cymindis alutacea Wollaston, C. dohrnii Wollaston and C. anchomenoides Wollaston (the last one sometimes placed in Tarulus Bedel, either ranked as a genus or a subgenus), all three endemic to the Cape Verde Islands (Geisthardt 1988, 1996).
A checklist and classification of the species of Elateridae reported from mainland Ecuador are given. Anchastus boulardi Chassain, Cardiorhinus apicalis Golbach, Physorhinus marginatus Candèze, and P. sexnotatus Steinheil are reported from Ecuador for the first time. The recorded elaterid fauna of Ecuador is now represented by 140 species, 38 genera, and 9 subfamilies, which are low taxon richness numbers when compared to those of neighboring countries.
Ribosome biogenesis in yeast requires 75 small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) and a myriad of cofactors for processing, modification, and folding of the ribosomal RNAs (rRNAs). For the 19 RNA helicases implicated in ribosome synthesis, their sites of action and molecular functions have largely remained unknown. Here, we have used UV cross-linking and analysis of cDNA (CRAC) to reveal the pre-rRNA binding sites of the RNA helicase Rok1, which is involved in early small subunit biogenesis. Several contact sites were identified in the 18S rRNA sequence, which interestingly all cluster in the “foot” region of the small ribosomal subunit. These include a major binding site in the eukaryotic expansion segment ES6, where Rok1 is required for release of the snR30 snoRNA. Rok1 directly contacts snR30 and other snoRNAs required for pre-rRNA processing. Using cross-linking, ligation and sequencing of hybrids (CLASH) we identified several novel pre-rRNA base-pairing sites for the snoRNAs snR30, snR10, U3, and U14, which cluster in the expansion segments of the 18S rRNA. Our data suggest that these snoRNAs bridge interactions between the expansion segments, thereby forming an extensive interaction network that likely promotes pre-rRNA maturation and folding in early pre-ribosomal complexes and establishes long-range rRNA interactions during ribosome synthesis.
Background: According to current taxonomy only three out of 27 Sinohimalayan leaf warbler species (Phylloscopidae) are considered genetically uniform across their entire breeding range along the Southeastern margin of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, the Buff-barred Warbler (Phylloscopus pulcher) being one of them. Because marked differentiation among Himalayan and Chinese populations has been recently demonstrated for a number of Phylloscopus species (or sister species) we investigated the intraspecific variation of a mitochondrial gene, songs and morphology of P. pulcher in a phylogeographic approach.
Methods: We sequenced a fragment of the mitochondrial cytochrome b, reconstructed haplotype networks and analyzed DNA polymorphism among Himalayan and Chinese populations. We measured time and frequency parameters of two distinct song types and analyzed among population-differentiation in a principal component analysis and a discriminant analysis. We also compared measurements of body size dimensions taken from museum specimens.
Results: The mitochondrial haplotype network (cytb) was divided into two distinct clusters corresponding to geographic origin of samples. Pairwise genetic distances among Himalayan and Chinese mtDNA lineages account for 1.3% which coincides with Pleistocene lineage separation at roughly 650,000 years ago. Genetic diversity is slightly higher in the Chinese part of the species’ range with respect to haplotype and nucleotide diversity while the less diversified Himalayan population lineage shows signs of recent range expansion. The vocal repertoire of P. pulcher comprises two distinct verse types that are combined with short interspersed click notes to long continuous song displays. Trill verse types showed significant differences among regions in almost all measured frequency and time parameters: Chinese males displayed more rapid and more broad-banded trills at a lower pitch. In contrast, warbling verse types showed a distinctively different structure among regions: Himalayan songs consisted of repeated syllables while Chinese songs comprised repetitions of single, long and strongly modulated elements. Subtle morphological differences among specimens from the two study regions could only be confirmed for plumage coloration but not for metric characters.
Conclusions: Based on the genetic and bioacoustic distinctiveness of Chinese Buff-barred Warbler populations, we recommend that the name Phylloscopus pulcher vegetus Bangs, 1913 should be re-validated for this taxon.
A child of a Jewish family fleeing Nazi-Germany and settling in apartheid South Africa in the 1930s, Ruth Weiss? journalistic career starts in Johannesburg of the 1950s. In 1968 banned from her home country, and then also from Rhodesia for her critical investigative journalism, she starts reporting from Lusaka, London and Cologne on virtually all issues which affect the newly independent African countries. Peasants and national leaders in southern Africa ? Ruth Weiss met them all, travelling through Africa at a time when it was neither usual for a woman to do so, nor to report for economic media as she did. Her writing gained her the friendship of diverse and interesting people. In this book she offers us glimpses into some of her many long-nurtured friendships, with Kenneth Kaunda or Nadine Gordimer and many others. Her life-long quest for tolerance and understanding of different cultures shines through the many personalized stories which her astute eye and pen reveals in this book. As she put it, one never sheds the cultural vest donned at birth, but this should never stop one learning about and accepting other cultures.
A versatile synthetic procedure is described to prepare the benzimidazole-fused 1,2,4-thiadiazoles 2a–c via a methanesulfonyl chloride initiated multistep cyclization involving the intramolecular reaction of an in-situ generated carbodiimide with a thiourea unit. The structure of the intricate heterocycle 2a was confirmed by single-crystal X-ray analysis and its mechanism of formation supported by DFT computations.
Riley (1979)'s reactive equilibrium concept addresses problems of equilibrium existence in competitive markets with adverse selection. The game-theoretic interpretation of the reactive equilibrium concept in Engers and Fernandez (1987) yields the Rothschild-Stiglitz (1976)/Riley (1979) allocation as an equilibrium allocation, however multiplicity of equilibrium emerges. In this note we imbed the reactive equilibrium's logic in a dynamic market context with active consumers. We show that the Riley/Rothschild-Stiglitz contracts constitute the unique equilibrium allocation in any pure strategy subgame perfect Nash equilibrium.
In spring and summer 2008, the Odonata fauna of the Khabr National Park (Iran) was studied for the first time. Here, we present records of the representatives of family Libellulidae only. A total of twelve libellulid Odonata were found. Most of them are common species in Iran and other parts of Kerman province. Scarce Iranian species are Trithemis arteriosa and Zygonyx torridus.
In the present paper, we concentrate on (selected) Bantu and Nilotic bare-passive strategies and lay out the basis for a typology of transitive passive constructions in these languages. We argue that bare-passives constitute an optimal strategy to change prominence relations between arguments, in languages that strongly hold to the default mapping between the highest thematic role available and the grammatical subject (i.e. Spec,TP). The Nilotic and Bantu languages discussed here differ in their way of satisfying this default mapping. In particular, impersonal bare-passives satisfy it by resorting to an agentive place-holder (an indefinite subject marker) and realizing the logical agent as a lower thematic/semantic role (e.g. instrument or locative). Left-dislocation and so called 'subjectobject' reversal bare-passives realize the default matching between agent and subject in a more straightforward way, but locate the patient in a higher argument position within the inflectional domain (Spec,TopP). As argued in Hamlaoui and Makasso (2013) and Hamlaoui (2013), and in line with Noonan (1977), the present languages display a clauseinternal split between subjecthood (being the grammatical subject in Spec,TP) and topicality (being the subject of the predication, in an inflectional-domain internal Spec,TopP).
Background: A discontinuous dose response relationship is a major characteristic of the anti-inflammatory effects of low-dose X-irradiation therapy. Although recent data indicate an involvement of a variety of molecular mechanisms in these characteristics, the impact of reactive oxygen species (ROS) production to give rise or contribute to these phenomena in endothelial cells (EC) remains elusive.
Material and methods: HUVEC derived immortalized EA.hy926 cells were stimulated by tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α, 20 ng/ml) 4 h before irradiation with doses ranging from 0.3 to 1 Gy. To analyse DNA repair capacity, phospho-histone H2AX foci were assayed at 1 h, 4 h and 24 h after irradiation. ROS production and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity were analysed by fluorometric 2',7'-dichlorodihydrofluorescein-diacetate (H2DCFDA) and colorimetric assays. A functional impact of ROS on γH2AX production was analysed by treatment with the scavenger N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC).
Results: Irrespective of stimulation by TNF-α, EA.hy926 cells revealed a linear dose response characteristic of γH2AX foci detection at 1 h and 4 h after irradiation. By contrast, we observed a discontinuity in residual γH2AX foci detection at 24 h after irradiation with locally elevated values following a 0.5 Gy exposure that was abolished by inhibition of ROS by NAC. Moreover, SOD protein expression was significantly decreased at doses of 0.5 Gy and 0.7 Gy concomitant with a reduced SOD activity.
Conclusion: These data implicate a non-linear regulation of ROS production and SOD activity in EA.hy926 EC following irradiation with doses < 1 Gy that may contribute to a discontinuous dose-response relationship of residual γH2AX foci detection.
Xylotrechus rameyi, new species, (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) is described from southern Utah. Comments on its biology including habitat, host plants and larval history are provided along with photographs of the holotype, allotype, the related species X. insignis LeConte, and the larval galleries and pupal chamber.
A new species of soft scale from Mexico, Toumeyella martinezi Kondo and Gonzalez sp. nov. (Hemiptera: Coccoidea: Coccidae) collected on Myrtillocactus geometrizans (Mart. ex Pfeiff.) Console (Cactaceae) is described and illustrated. An updated taxonomic key to the soft scale insects of the genus Toumeyella Cockerell known from Mexico is provided. A list of all currently known species of Toumeyella worldwide is given.
A new species of the genus Onychopygia Beier, 1962 Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae: Pseudophyllinae) from the northern slopes of Los Cuchumatanes Mountains, Huehuetenango, Guatemala is described and illustrated. The morphological differences and peculiarities between O. panamensis Beier, 1962 and O. brachyptera n. sp. are discussed. The finding of this new taxon extends considerably into entral America our previous knowledge on the distribution of the Eucocconotini tribe. Finally we provide a revised taxonomic key to the Eucocconotini tribe.
A new species of Nephus Mulsant (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) from southern Florida is described: Nephus (Nephus) alyssae. This represents the fi rst member of the subgenus Nephus reported in the southeastern United States. Florida species previously placed in the genus Nephus, now placed in Scymnobius Casey, are compared with the new species.
The genus Casmaria H. Adams & A. Adams, 1853 (family Cassidae) is widespread in the tropical Indo-Pacific and has been documented from some Atlantic localities as well. Two Casmaria species, C. erinaceus (Linnaeus, 1758) and C. ponderosa (Gmelin, 1791), are common in Indo-Pacific shallow-water sandy bottom communities and are characterized by high morphological variability; both species encompass multiple, often sympatric forms of uncertain status. In the present study we carry out a phylogenetic analysis of some Philippine Casmaria morphs and demonstrate that one of the distinctive morphs earlier assigned to Casmaria ponderosa is in fact a different species, which we describe as Casmaria boblehmani sp. nov. The smooth form of Casmaria ponderosa, C. ponderosa ponderosa, and the solid nodulose form, widely called “form nodulosa” despite being strikingly different in shell morphology, are shown to be conspecific. Studied specimens of these two morphs even from different localities share the same haplotype of the CO1 gene. In light of these new data on the morphological variability of Casmaria species, we discuss criteria of species delimitation in the genus Casmaria and possible affinities of Casmaria boblehmani sp. nov. within the genus.
This work is concerned with two topics at the intersection of convex algebraic geometry and optimization.
We develop a new method for the optimization of polynomials over polytopes. From the point of view of convex algebraic geometry the most common method for the approximation of polynomial optimization problems is to solve semidefinite programming relaxations coming from the application of Positivstellensätze. In optimization, non-linear programming problems are often solved using branch and bound methods. We propose a fused method that uses Positivstellensatz-relaxations as lower bounding methods in a branch and bound scheme. By deriving a new error bound for Handelman's Positivstellensatz, we show convergence of the resulting branch and bound method. Through the application of Positivstellensätze, semidefinite programming has gained importance in polynomial optimization in recent years. While it arises to be a powerful tool, the underlying geometry of the feasibility regions (spectrahedra) is not yet well understood. In this work, we study polyhedral and spectrahedral containment problems, in particular we classify their complexity and introduce sufficient criteria to certify the containment of one spectrahedron in another one.
Halirages helgae sp. nov. is recorded from the shelf slopes of the Norwegian Sea at depths of 1000 to 2600 m in the Arctic cold water masses. A total of 50 specimens were found at five stations. The
species differs from other known species in the genus Halirages Boeck, 1871 by the bilobed posterior margin of pereonite 7. A synoptic table to the northeast Atlantic species of Halirages is provided.
Coevolution of viruses and their hosts represents a dynamic molecular battle between the immune system and viral factors that mediate immune evasion. After the abandonment of smallpox vaccination, cowpox virus infections are an emerging zoonotic health threat, especially for immunocompromised patients. Here we delineate the mechanistic basis of how cowpox viral CPXV012 interferes with MHC class I antigen processing. This type II membrane protein inhibits the coreTAP complex at the step after peptide binding and peptide-induced conformational change, in blocking ATP binding and hydrolysis. Distinct from other immune evasion mechanisms, TAP inhibition is mediated by a short ER-lumenal fragment of CPXV012, which results from a frameshift in the cowpox virus genome. Tethered to the ER membrane, this fragment mimics a high ER-lumenal peptide concentration, thus provoking a trans-inhibition of antigen translocation as supply for MHC I loading. These findings illuminate the evolution of viral immune modulators and the basis of a fine-balanced regulation of antigen processing.
A multiple filter test for the detection of rate changes in renewal processes with varying variance
(2014)
The thesis provides novel procedures in the statistical field of change point detection in time series.
Motivated by a variety of neuronal spike train patterns, a broad stochastic point process model is introduced. This model features points in time (change points), where the associated event rate changes. For purposes of change point detection, filtered derivative processes (MOSUM) are studied. Functional limit theorems for the filtered derivative processes are derived. These results are used to support novel procedures for change point detection; in particular, multiple filters (bandwidths) are applied simultaneously in oder to detect change points in different time scales.
Neurons of the mammalian neocortex are produced by proliferating cells located in the ventricular zone (VZ) lining the lateral ventricles. This is a complex and sequential process, requiring precise control of cell cycle progression, fate commitment and differentiation. We have analyzed publicly available databases from mouse and human to identify candidate genes that are potentially involved in regulating early neocortical development and neurogenesis. We used a mouse in situ hybridization dataset (The Allen Institute for Brain Science) to identify 13 genes (Cdon, Celsr1, Dbi, E2f5, Eomes, Hmgn2, Neurog2, Notch1, Pcnt, Sox3, Ssrp1, Tead2, Tgif2) with high correlation of expression in the proliferating cells of the VZ of the neocortex at early stages of development (E15.5). We generated a similar human brain network using microarray and RNA-seq data (BrainSpan Atlas) and identified 407 genes with high expression in the developing human VZ and subventricular zone (SVZ) at 8–9 post-conception weeks. Seven of the human genes were also present in the mouse VZ network. The human and mouse networks were extended using available genetic and proteomic datasets through GeneMANIA. A gene ontology search of the mouse and human networks indicated that many of the genes are involved in the cell cycle, DNA replication, mitosis and transcriptional regulation. The reported involvement of Cdon, Celsr1, Dbi, Eomes, Neurog2, Notch1, Pcnt, Sox3, Tead2, and Tgif2 in neural development or diseases resulting from the disruption of neurogenesis validates these candidate genes. Taken together, our knowledge-based discovery method has validated the involvement of many genes already known to be involved in neocortical development and extended the potential number of genes by 100's, many of which are involved in functions related to cell proliferation but others of which are potential candidates for involvement in the regulation of neocortical development.
Twenty new species of the millipede genus Chaleponcus Attems, 1914, are described from the Udzungwa Mountains: C. netus sp. nov., C. quasimodo sp. nov., C. malleolus sp. nov., C. scopus sp. nov., C. nikolajscharffi sp. nov., C. mwanihanensis sp. nov., C. basiliscus sp. nov., C. krai sp. nov., C. nectarinia sp. nov., C. circumvallatus sp. nov., C. ibis sp. nov., C. vandenspiegeli sp. nov., C. vilici sp. nov., C. teres sp. nov., C. hamerae sp. nov., C. termini sp. nov., C. gracilior sp. nov., C. mwabvui sp. nov., C. howelli sp. nov. and C. tintin sp. nov. Together with C. dabagaensis Kraus, 1958, they constitute the Chaleponcus dabagaensis-group, well characterized by apparently apomorphic gonopodal characters, presumably monophyletic, and the first example of a major radiation within the Udzungwas. All species are restricted to altitudes >1390 m, all but one were found in only one, rarely two forest reserves, and the vast majority of specimens were collected in montane forest. Chaleponcus gracilior sp. nov. was collected in four forest reserves, often in secondary habitats where other species were only exceptionally found. Co-occurrence of multiple species, inter-specific differences in body size and unusual tarsal setation of a few species tentatively suggest adaptive radiation.
This paper solves a dynamic model of households' mortgage decisions incorporating labor income, house price, inflation, and interest rate risk. It uses a zero-profit condition for mortgage lenders to solve for equilibrium mortgage rates given borrower characteristics and optimal decisions. The model quantifies the effects of adjustable vs. fixed mortgage rates, loan-to-value ratios, and mortgage affordability measures on mortgage premia and default. Heterogeneity in borrowers' labor income risk is important for explaining the higher default rates on adjustable-rate mortgages during the recent US housing downturn, and the variation in mortgage premia with the level of interest rates.
Reintroductions of plant species are increasingly popular in conservation practice. Steppe grasslands contain many rare and endangered plant species that are potential objects for such reintroductions. Most reintroduction projects, however, can only target a restricted number of species, which raises the question of how species should be prioritised. Here, we present a method to select priority species for reintroduction based on species' characteristics that are widely used in conservation practice. We first determined the local species pool containing those vascular plant species that occurred both in our target region (Thuringia, Germany) and target habitat (steppe grasslands), yielding 369 species. With the help of an a priori filter that selected currently endangered species with limited distribution, 136 potential target species were determined. These potential target species had experienced stronger decline, had a narrower phytosociological amplitude and were more likely to be species of the Festuco-Brometea class and the Festucetalia valesiacae order than non-target species. Potential target species were then ranked by a points system based on ten conservation-relevant characteristics of the species from the categories "threat and protection status", "distribution and decline", and "habitat affiliation". In the ranking, six steppe grassland plant species (Astragalus exscapus, Bothriochloa ischaemum, Prunella laciniata, Pulsatilla pratensis subsp. nigricans, Scorzonera purpurea, and Seseli hippomarathrum) achieved the highest scores. An additional seven species not specifically characteristic for steppe grasslands also scored highly. A post hoc evaluation of these 13 highest scoring species based on additional conservation criteria left five species (Astragalus exscapus, Linum leonii, Orchis morio, Pulsatilla pratensis subsp. nigricans and Scorzonera purpurea) as species with highest priority for reintroductions and another five species as highly suitable for reintroductions. Associations between the ranking order and different ranking criteria revealed that a species’ threat and rarity in Thuringia and its protection status had the highest representation in the ranking, followed by threat in Germany, regional decline and habitat affiliation. In contrast, international threat and responsibility of Thuringia for its conservation had only low representation in the ranking, probably because these characteristics applied to only a few species. The ranking list gives a selection of species for reintroductions, which combined with additional information based on comprehensive local and floristic knowledge, allows the identification of the species with the highest priority. Our method can be transferred to other regions or habitat types.
On average, "young" people underestimate whereas "old" people overestimate their chances to survive into the future. We adopt a Bayesian learning model of ambiguous survival beliefs which replicates these patterns. The model is embedded within a non-expected utility model of life-cycle consumption and saving. Our analysis shows that agents with ambiguous survival beliefs (i) save less than originally planned, (ii) exhibit undersaving at younger ages, and (iii) hold larger amounts of assets in old age than their rational expectations counterparts who correctly assess their survival probabilities. Our ambiguity-driven model therefore simultaneously accounts for three important empirical findings on household saving behavior.
An adventive female Julidae (Julida), discovered in a moist, grassy depression in the Peninsula de Brunswick south of Punta Arenas, Chile, and assigned to Cylindroiulus Verhoeff, 1894, is the fi rst vouchered milliped from southern Patagonia. The southernmost milliped ever collected in Chile, South America, and the Western Hemisphere, it may also constitute the southernmost in the world as the site is only ~1,176 km (735 mi) northwest of the Antarctic Peninsula. Records are consolidated of the two families, three genera, and fi ve species of this Holarctic order that are known from South America. They are documented from Argentina, Chile, and southern Peru and Brazil; three species are known from the Juan Fernandez Islands.
A gomphid male from west-central Wisconsin (Eau Claire County, North Fork Eau Claire River, 11 June 1994, K. J. Tennessen leg) with characters that are intermediate between Ophiogomphus carolus Needham, 1897 and Ophiogomphus rupinsulensis (Walsh), 1862 is described and illustrated. The specimen appears to be a hybrid based on intermediate character states of 1) color pattern (slightly closer to O. carolus), 2) hamule morphology (shaped slightly more like those of O. carolus), and 3) anal appendage morphology (slightly more like those of O. rupinsulensis).
A grammar of Pite Saami
(2014)
Pite Saami is a highly endangered Western Saami language in the Uralic language family currently spoken by a few individuals in Swedish Lapland. This grammar is the first extensive book-length treatment of a Saami language written in English. While focussing on the morphophonology of the main word classes nouns, adjectives and verbs, it also deals with other linguistic structures such as prosody, phonology, phrase types and clauses. Furthermore, it provides an introduction to the language and its speakers, and an outline of a preliminary Pite Saami orthography. An extensive annotated spoken-language corpus collected over the course of five years forms the empirical foundation for this description, and each example includes a specific reference to the corpus in order to facilitate verification of claims made on the data. Descriptions are presented for a general linguistics audience and without attempting to support a specific theoretical approach, but this book should be equally useful for scholars of Uralic linguistics, typologists, and even learners of Pite Saami.
Irrigation intensifies land use by increasing crop yield but also impacts water resources. It affects water and energy balances and consequently the microclimate in irrigated regions. Therefore, knowledge of the extent of irrigated land is important for hydrological and crop modelling, global change research, and assessments of resource use and management. Information on the historical evolution of irrigated lands is limited. The new global Historical Irrigation Dataset (HID) provides estimates of the temporal development of the area equipped for irrigation (AEI) between 1900 and 2005 at 5 arc-minute resolution. We collected subnational irrigation statistics from various sources and found that the global extent of AEI increased from 63 million ha (Mha) in 1900 to 112 Mha in 1950 and 306 Mha in 2005. We developed eight gridded versions of time series of AEI by combining subnational irrigation statistics with different data sets on the historical extent of cropland and pasture. Different rules were applied to maximize consistency of the gridded products to subnational irrigation statistics or to historical cropland and pasture data sets. The HID reflects very well the spatial patterns of irrigated land in the western United States as shown on historical maps. Mean aridity on irrigated land increased and river discharge decreased from 1900–1950 whereas aridity decreased from 1950–2005. The dataset and its documentation are made available in an open data repository at https://mygeohub.org/publications/8 (doi:10.13019/M2MW2G).
BACKGROUND: Acetogenic bacteria are able to use CO2 as terminal electron acceptor of an anaerobic respiration, thereby producing acetate with electrons coming from H2. Due to this feature, acetogens came into focus as platforms to produce biocommodities from waste gases such as H2+CO2 and/or CO. A prerequisite for metabolic engineering is a detailed understanding of the mechanisms of ATP synthesis and electron-transfer reactions to ensure redox homeostasis. Acetogenesis involves the reduction of CO2 to acetate via soluble enzymes and is coupled to energy conservation by a chemiosmotic mechanism. The membrane-bound module, acting as an ion pump, was of special interest for decades and recently, an Rnf complex was shown to couple electron flow from reduced ferredoxin to NAD+ with the export of Na+ in Acetobacterium woodii. However, not all acetogens have rnf genes in their genome. In order to gain further insights into energy conservation of non-Rnf-containing, thermophilic acetogens, we sequenced the genome of Thermoanaerobacter kivui.
RESULTS: The genome of Thermoanaerobacter kivui comprises 2.9 Mbp with a G+C content of 35% and 2,378 protein encoding orfs. Neither autotrophic growth nor acetate formation from H2+CO2 was dependent on Na+ and acetate formation was inhibited by a protonophore, indicating that H+ is used as coupling ion for primary bioenergetics. This is consistent with the finding that the c subunit of the F1FO ATP synthase does not have the conserved Na+ binding motif. A search for potential H+-translocating, membrane-bound protein complexes revealed genes potentially encoding two different proton-reducing, energy-conserving hydrogenases (Ech).
CONCLUSIONS: The thermophilic acetogen T. kivui does not use Na+ but H+ for chemiosmotic ATP synthesis. It does not contain cytochromes and the electrochemical proton gradient is most likely established by an energy-conserving hydrogenase (Ech). Its thermophilic nature and the efficient conversion of H2+CO2 make T. kivui an interesting acetogen to be used for the production of biocommodities in industrial micobiology. Furthermore, our experimental data as well as the increasing number of sequenced genomes of acetogenic bacteria supported the new classification of acetogens into two groups: Rnf- and Ech-containing acetogens.
Futures markets are a potentially valuable source of information about market expectations. Exploiting this information has proved difficult in practice, because the presence of a time-varying risk premium often renders the futures price a poor measure of the market expectation of the price of the underlying asset. Even though the expectation in principle may be recovered by adjusting the futures price by the estimated risk premium, a common problem in applied work is that there are as many measures of market expectations as there are estimates of the risk premium. We propose a general solution to this problem that allows us to uniquely pin down the best possible estimate of the market expectation for any set of risk premium estimates. We illustrate this approach by solving the long-standing problem of how to recover the market expectation of the price of crude oil. We provide a new measure of oil price expectations that is considerably more accurate than the alternatives and more economically plausible. We discuss implications of our analysis for the estimation of economic models of energy-intensive durables, for the debate on speculation in oil markets, and for oil price forecasting.
We consider versions of the FIND algorithm where the pivot element used is the median of a subset chosen uniformly at random from the data. For the median selection we assume that subsamples of size asymptotic to c⋅nα are chosen, where 0<α≤12, c>0 and n is the size of the data set to be split. We consider the complexity of FIND as a process in the rank to be selected and measured by the number of key comparisons required. After normalization we show weak convergence of the complexity to a centered Gaussian process as n→∞, which depends on α. The proof relies on a contraction argument for probability distributions on càdlàg functions. We also identify the covariance function of the Gaussian limit process and discuss path and tail properties.
Here we present a formal description of Biremis panamae Barka, Witkowski et Weisenborn sp. nov., which was isolated from the marine littoral environment of the Pacific Ocean coast of Panama. The description is based on morphology (light and electron microscopy) and the rbcL, psbC and SSU sequences of one clone of this species. The new species is included in Biremis due to its morphological features; i.e. two marginal rows of foramina, chambered striae, and girdle composed of numerous punctate copulae. The new species also possesses a striated valve face which is not seen in most known representatives of marine littoral Biremis species. In this study we also present the relationship of Biremis to other taxa using morphology, DNA sequence data and observations of auxosporulation. Our results based on these three sources point to an evolutionary relationship between Biremis, Neidium and Scoliopleura. The unusual silicified incunabular caps present in them are known otherwise only in Muelleria, which is probably related to the Neidiaceae and Scoliotropidaceae. We also discuss the relationship between Biremis and the recently described Labellicula and Olifantiella.
Past concepts and synonymies of Anadenobolus monilicornis (Porat, 1876) (Spirobolida: Rhinocricidae), including the implied synonymy of Rhinocricus ectus Chamberlin, 1920, are consolidated into a formal account with the fi rst illustrations of the holotype. Prior to 1492, A. monilicornis was probably indigenous to an unknown number of southern Antillean islands, but through modern commerce, man has introduced it to Florida, Bermuda, Barbados, the Cayman Islands, and Jamaica, and probably repeatedly (re)introduced conspecifi c material to all the Lesser Antilles, resulting in subcontinuous gene pool mixing and reticulate evolution. A broad species concept is necessary to encompass the multitudinous variants, some of which have been recognized as species; only one true Caribbean species of Anadenobolus Silvestri, 1897, may exist, for which arboreus (Saussure, 1859) is the oldest name. The distribution of A. monilicornis presently extends from Bermuda and southern coastal Florida through the Greater and Lesser Antilles (excepting Cuba) to eastern coastal Venezuela and central Suriname, with outlier populations in Jamaica, the Cayman Islands, and Tampa Bay and the eastern Floridian panhandle; excepting Barbados, the indigenous range may have extended from Hispaniola through the same area. Introductions into Manitoba, Canada, and North Carolina, USA, have not yielded viable populations. Localities are newly recorded from St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands.
A consistent muscle activation strategy underlies crawling and swimming in Caenorhabditis elegans
(2014)
Although undulatory swimming is observed in many organisms, the neuromuscular basis for undulatory movement patterns is not well understood. To better understand the basis for the generation of these movement patterns, we studied muscle activity in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Caenorhabditis elegans exhibits a range of locomotion patterns: in low viscosity fluids the undulation has a wavelength longer than the body and propagates rapidly, while in high viscosity fluids or on agar media the undulatory waves are shorter and slower. Theoretical treatment of observed behaviour has suggested a large change in force–posture relationships at different viscosities, but analysis of bend propagation suggests that short-range proprioceptive feedback is used to control and generate body bends. How muscles could be activated in a way consistent with both these results is unclear. We therefore combined automated worm tracking with calcium imaging to determine muscle activation strategy in a variety of external substrates. Remarkably, we observed that across locomotion patterns spanning a threefold change in wavelength, peak muscle activation occurs approximately 45° (1/8th of a cycle) ahead of peak midline curvature. Although the location of peak force is predicted to vary widely, the activation pattern is consistent with required force in a model incorporating putative length- and velocity-dependence of muscle strength. Furthermore, a linear combination of local curvature and velocity can match the pattern of activation. This suggests that proprioception can enable the worm to swim effectively while working within the limitations of muscle biomechanics and neural control.
The riparian rainforest on the streamside levees of the coastal floodplain of the Clarence River on the North Coast of New South Wales was cleared during the 1860s by small landholders seeking fertile land. Only three small remnants remain. Using a combination of historical species lists, corner trees from surveyors’ portion plans, habitat information and the NSW Scientific Committee’s (1999) determination for lowland rainforest on floodplain a conceptual model of the original distribution of rainforest suballiances on the levees of the Clarence River coastal floodplain is proposed.
Immersion freezing is the most relevant heterogeneous ice nucleation mechanism through which ice crystals are formed in mixed-phase clouds. In recent years, an increasing number of laboratory experiments utilizing a variety of instruments have examined immersion freezing activity of atmospherically relevant ice nucleating particles (INPs). However, an inter-comparison of these laboratory results is a difficult task because investigators have used different ice nucleation (IN) measurement methods to produce these results. A remaining challenge is to explore the sensitivity and accuracy of these techniques and to understand how the IN results are potentially influenced or biased by experimental parameters associated with these techniques.
Within the framework of INUIT (Ice Nucleation research UnIT), we distributed an illite rich sample (illite NX) as a representative surrogate for atmospheric mineral dust particles to investigators to perform immersion freezing experiments using different IN measurement methods and to obtain IN data as a function of particle concentration, temperature (T), cooling rate and nucleation time. Seventeen measurement methods were involved in the data inter-comparison. Experiments with seven instruments started with the test sample pre-suspended in water before cooling, while ten other instruments employed water vapor condensation onto dry-dispersed particles followed by immersion freezing. The resulting comprehensive immersion freezing dataset was evaluated using the ice nucleation active surface-site density (ns) to develop a representative ns(T) spectrum that spans a wide temperature range (−37 °C < T < −11 °C) and covers nine orders of magnitude in ns.
Our inter-comparison results revealed a discrepancy between suspension and dry-dispersed particle measurements for this mineral dust. While the agreement was good below ~ −26 °C, the ice nucleation activity, expressed in ns, was smaller for the wet suspended samples and higher for the dry-dispersed aerosol samples between about −26 and −18 °C. Only instruments making measurement techniques with wet suspended samples were able to measure ice nucleation above −18 °C. A possible explanation for the deviation between −26 and −18 °C is discussed. In general, the seventeen immersion freezing measurement techniques deviate, within the range of about 7 °C in terms of temperature, by three orders of magnitude with respect to ns. In addition, we show evidence that the immersion freezing efficiency (i.e., ns) of illite NX particles is relatively independent on droplet size, particle mass in suspension, particle size and cooling rate during freezing. A strong temperature-dependence and weak time- and size-dependence of immersion freezing efficiency of illite-rich clay mineral particles enabled the ns parameterization solely as a function of temperature. We also characterized the ns (T) spectra, and identified a section with a steep slope between −20 and −27 °C, where a large fraction of active sites of our test dust may trigger immersion freezing. This slope was followed by a region with a gentler slope at temperatures below −27 °C. A multiple exponential distribution fit is expressed as ns(T) = exp(23.82 × exp(−exp(0.16 × (T + 17.49))) + 1.39) based on the specific surface area and ns(T) = exp(25.75 × exp(−exp(0.13 × (T + 17.17))) + 3.34) based on the geometric area (ns and T in m−2 and °C, respectively). These new fits, constrained by using an identical reference samples, will help to compare IN measurement methods that are not included in the present study and, thereby, IN data from future IN instruments.
Analysis of whole cell lipid extracts of bacteria by means of ultra-performance (UP)LC-MS allows a comprehensive determination of the lipid molecular species present in the respective organism. The data allow conclusions on its metabolic potential as well as the creation of lipid profiles, which visualize the organism's response to changes in internal and external conditions. Herein, we describe: i) a fast reversed phase UPLC-ESI-MS method suitable for detection and determination of individual lipids from whole cell lipid extracts of all polarities ranging from monoacylglycerophosphoethanolamines to TGs; ii) the first overview of a wide range of lipid molecular species in vegetative Myxococcus xanthus DK1622 cells; iii) changes in their relative composition in selected mutants impaired in the biosynthesis of α-hydroxylated FAs, sphingolipids, and ether lipids; and iv) the first report of ceramide phosphoinositols in M. xanthus, a lipid species previously found only in eukaryotes.
At the forefront of those who tenaciously pondered this issue are, I would claim, Walter Benjamin and Ludwig Wittgenstein. Benjamin and Wittgenstein both are philosophers of language who tried to establish in unique ways the doctrine of resemblance respectively: "Lehre vom Ähnlichen" and "[Lehre der] Familienähnlichkeit." What they see and find in language are not communication and mutual understanding but instead one of the weirdest phenomena in/of the world, viz., resemblance (likeness) in/of language. This phenomenon, I would insist, indicates the correlation of appearing and disappearing, of differentiating and integrating, and of dividing and imparting of language as such. For Benjamin and Wittgenstein, to sum up, language is a paradigmatic paradoxical site of (dis)appearance, differentiating integrity, and divisive imparting. For this reason, it is worthwhile to pin down where their thoughts on language converge and where they diverge.
Serial quantification of BCR–ABL1 mRNA is an important therapeutic indicator in chronic myeloid leukaemia, but there is a substantial variation in results reported by different laboratories. To improve comparability, an internationally accepted plasmid certified reference material (CRM) was developed according to ISO Guide 34:2009. Fragments of BCR–ABL1 (e14a2 mRNA fusion), BCR and GUSB transcripts were amplified and cloned into pUC18 to yield plasmid pIRMM0099. Six different linearised plasmid solutions were produced with the following copy number concentrations, assigned by digital PCR, and expanded uncertainties: 1.08±0.13 × 106, 1.08±0.11 × 105, 1.03±0.10 × 104, 1.02±0.09 × 103, 1.04±0.10 × 102 and 10.0±1.5 copies/μl. The certification of the material for the number of specific DNA fragments per plasmid, copy number concentration of the plasmid solutions and the assessment of inter-unit heterogeneity and stability were performed according to ISO Guide 35:2006. Two suitability studies performed by 63 BCR–ABL1 testing laboratories demonstrated that this set of 6 plasmid CRMs can help to standardise a number of measured transcripts of e14a2 BCR–ABL1 and three control genes (ABL1, BCR and GUSB). The set of six plasmid CRMs is distributed worldwide by the Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements (Belgium) and its authorised distributors (https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/reference-materials/catalogue/; CRM code ERM-AD623a-f).
The types of nominal species of Diapriinae in the collection of the Natural History Museum, London, are catalogued. Lectotypes are designated for the following taxa: Diapria peraffinis Ashmead, 1896; D. smithii Ashmead, 1896; Galesus bipunctatus Ashmead,1894; G. (G.) foersteri var. nigricornis Kieffer, 1911; G. sexpunctatus Ashmead, 1893; G. walkeri Kieffer, 1907; Idiotypa nigriceps Kieffer, 1909; I. nigriceps Kieffer, 1911; I. pallida Ashmead, 1893; I. pallida Ashmead in Riley, Ashmead & Howard, 1894; Paramesius angustipennis Kieffer, 1911; P. cameroni Kieffer, 1911; Phaenopria cameroni Kieffer, 1911; P. halterata Kieffer, 1911; P. magniclavata Ashmead, 1896; Tropidopsis clavata Ashmead, 1893; T. clavata Ashmead in Riley, Ashmead & Howard, 1894. New combinations are proposed: Aneuropria bifurcata comb. nov. for Mantara bifurcata Dodd, 1920; Basalys quadridens comb. nov. for Microgalesus quadridens Kieffer, 1912; Coptera cratocerus comb. nov. for Galesus cratocerus Cameron, 1912; Coptera sexpunctata comb. nov. for Galesus sexpunctatus Ashmead, 1893; Doliopria magniclavata comb. nov. for Phaenopria magniclavata Ashmead, 1896; Spilomicrus aterrimus comb. nov. for Hoplopria aterrima Dodd,
1920; Spilomicrus campbellanus comb. nov. for Antarctopria campbellana Yoshimoto, 1964; Spilomicrus coelopae comb. nov. for Antarctopria coelopae Early, 1978; Spilomicrus diomedeae comb. nov. for Antarctopria diomedeae Early, 1978; Spilomicrus helosciomyzae comb. nov. for Malvina helosciomyzae Early & Horning, 1978; Spilomicrus insulae comb. nov. for Malvina insulae Early, 1980; Spilomicrus latigaster comb. nov. for Antarctopria latigaster Brues in Tillyard, 1920; Spilomicrus punctatus comb. nov. for Malvina punctata Cameron, 1889; Spilomicrus rekohua comb. nov. for Antarctopria rekohua Early, 1978; Trichopria bouceki comb. nov. for Oxypria bouceki Masner, 1959; Trichopria nigriceps comb. nov. for Tropidopria nigriceps Ashmead in Riley, Ashmead & Howard, 1894; Trichopria nigriceps comb. nov. for Xyalopria nigriceps Kieffer, 1907; Trichopria spinosiceps comb. nov. for Acidopria spinosiceps Dodd, 1920; Trichopria walkeri comb. nov. for Diapria walkeri Dalla Torre, 1890. New replacement names are proposed: Coptera mosselensis nom. nov. for C. nigricornis Nixon, 1930 preocc.; Coptera pijiguaorum nom. nov. for C. sexpunctata Montilla & García, 2008 preocc.; Spilomicrus kozlovi nom. nov. for S. punctatus Kozlov, 1978 preocc.; Trichopria fluminis nom. nov. for T. nigriceps (Kieffer, 1907) preocc.; T. thermarum nom. nov. for T. nigriceps (Kieffer, 1913) preocc. New specific synonyms are proposed: Basalys cursitans (Kieffer, 1911) = B. pedisequa (Kieffer, 1911) syn. nov. (the former removed from synonymy with B. parvus Thomson, 1858); B. iphicla Nixon, 1980 = B. macroptera (Kieffer, 1911) syn. nov.; Coptera bipunctata (Ashmead in Riley, Ashmead & Howard, 1894) = C. sexpunctata (Ashmead, 1893) syn. nov.; Idiotypa nigriceps Kieffer, 1911 = I. nigriceps Kieffer, 1909 syn. nov.; I. pallida Ashmead in Riley, Ashmead & Howard, 1894 = I. pallida Ashmead, 1893 syn. nov.; Psilus nigricornis (Kieffer, 1911) = P. fuscipennis (Curtis, 1831) syn. nov.; P. walkeri (Kieffer, 1907) = P. fuscipennis (Curtis, 1831) syn. nov.; T. bouceki (Masner, 1959) = T. conotoma (Kieffer, 1911) syn. nov.; Trichopria halterata (Kieffer, 1911) = T. halterata (Kieffer, 1909) syn. nov. New generic synonyms are proposed: Antarctopria Brues in Tillyard, 1920 = Spilomicrus Westwood, 1832 syn. nov.; Malvina Cameron, 1889 = Spilomicrus Westwood, 1832 syn. nov.; Mantara Dodd, 1920 = Aneuropria Kieffer, 1905 syn. nov.; Microgalesus Kieffer, 1912 = Basalys Westwood, 1833 syn. nov.; Xyalopria Kieffer, 1907 = Trichopria Ashmead, 1893 syn. nov. (Xyalopria is removed from synonymy with Megaplastopria Ashmead, 1903). A brief account of some aspects of the history of these types is given.
A third Supplement to the 1992 Catalog of the Scolytidae and Platypodidae (Coleoptera) of the World (Wood and Bright 1992) is presented. This Supplement updates the taxonomy, distribution, and biology pertaining to these families of Coleoptera from 2000 to the end of 2010. A few 2011 taxonomic references are included in order to make the nomenclature as current as possible. The format of this Supplement differs slightly from the format of the original 1992 Catalog and the two previous Supplements. Only references relating to general biology, systematics and distribution were selected to be included. Tribal arrangement follows the scheme established in the 1992 World Catalog, with additions. Each genus is listed alphabetically under the current tribe and the species are listed alphabetically under the current genus. Additional information on figures, distribution, hosts, and references relating to the above are given. The bibliography used with this Supplement lists 580 references, most published from 2000 to the end of 2010. New synonymy proposed: Phloeotribus carinatus Burgos and Equihua, 2003 (= Phloeotribus ebeneus Wood, 2007). New combinations proposed: Phloeosinus kinabaluensis Bright to Hyledius; Phloeosinus phyllocladus Bright to Hyledius.
An argument is made for the retention of the family status of the Scolytidae and Platypodidae as members of the superfamily Curculionoidea. A new subfamily and tribal arrangement is proposed: SCOLYTIDAE comprising 13 subfamilies, Hylesininae, with 12 tribes, Hyorrhynchinae, with one tribe; Scolytinae, with one tribe; Hexacolinae, with one tribe; Cylindrobrotinae, with one tribe; Scolytoplatypodinae, with one tribe; Cactopininae, with one tribe; Carphodicticinae, with one tribe; Micracidinae, with one tribe; Crypturginae, with one tribe; Ipinae, with six tribes; Cryphalinae, with one tribe and Corthylinae, with two tribes and PLATYPODIDAE comprising three subfamilies, Coptonotinae, with three tribes; Tesserocerinae, with two tribes and Platypodinae, with one tribe.
A Book of Rooms
(2014)
Kobus Moolman has published six previous collections of poetry, and several plays. He has been awarded the Ingrid Jonker prize, the PANSA award, the South African Literary Award, the DALRO poetry prize and the Sol Plaatje European Union Poetry award. He teaches creative writing at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.
The article reviews distribution records of Deroceras invadens (previously called D. panormitanum and D. caruanae), adding significant unpublished records from the authors’ own collecting, museum samples, and interceptions on goods arriving in the U.S.A. By 1940 D. invadens had already arrived in Britain, Denmark, California, Australia and probably New Zealand; it has turned up in many further places since, including remote oceanic islands, but scarcely around the eastern Mediterranean (Egypt and Crete are the exceptions), nor in Asia. Throughout much of the Americas its presence seems to have been previously overlooked, probably often being mistaken for D. laeve. New national records include Mexico, Costa Rica, and Ecuador, with evidence from interceptions of its presence in Panama, Peru, and Kenya. The range appears limited by cold winters and dry summers; this would explain why its intrusion into eastern Europe and southern Spain has been rather slow and incomplete. At a finer geographic scale, the occurrence of the congener D. reticulatum provides a convenient comparison to control for sampling effort; D. invadens is often about half as frequently encountered and sometimes predominates. Deroceras invadens is most commonly found in synanthropic habitats, particularly gardens and under rubbish, but also in greenhouses, and sometimes arable land and pasture. It may spread into natural habitats, as in Britain, South Africa,
Australia and Tenerife. Many identifications have been checked in the light of recent taxonomic revision, revealing that the sibling species D. panormitanum s.s. has spread much less extensively. A number of published or online records, especially in Australia, have turned out to be misidentifications of D. laeve.
In this concise volume, author and legal scholar Michael Stolleis provides an overview of the development of the modern German welfare state. Stolleis’ analysis focuses on labor law and social policy, while acknowledging the influence of economic, social, and cultural factors thereon. Origins of the German Welfare State does not emphasize a complete understanding of its subject; rather it seeks to provide insight into the development of German social policy in relation to the political/ historical eras in which it finds itself, leading to a deeper understanding of the foundations of social policy. ...
The volume under review contains the published proceedings of a conference held in 2009 with the challenging title, "Merowingische Monetarmünzen und der Beginn des Mittelalters". These Merovingian "Monetarmünzen" are a distinctive group of coins of which less than 10 000 are currently known. Quite suddenly, in the late sixth century, this type of gold coinage appears, with the name of a moneyer ( monetarius ) on the obverse and the place name on the reverse (presumably, but not necessarily in all instances, the mint). Thus, over a thousand moneyers and 722 place names are recorded, many only attested once or twice. In the late 7 th c. these coins slowly give way to a system based on the silver penny/denier, no longer showing names of moneyers. Who were these moneyers? What was their relationship with the court and the kings? To what ends were those coins produced, and how were they used in daily commerce? Why are so many different mints attested? These questions have occupied scholars for several generations now. However, Jarnut and Strothmann have added a new perspective: in how far are these coinages and the associated monetary policy a continuation of late Roman practices, or do they represent something altogether different and can, therefore, be understood as an expression of a fundamentally altered society that could be termed medieval? ...
Published in good time for the 2014 "Karlsjahr", marking 1200 years since the emperor’s death, Johannes Fried’s latest book is intended to make specialist scholarship on Charlemagne accessible to a broad audience. Judging by the impressive sales figures, it has admirably fulfilled that purpose. That is not however to say that it is an anodyne synthesis of current research. The picture of the Frankish ruler it provides is very much the author’s own, as he himself emphasises, so there is little danger that it might be lost to sight amongst the many other biographies currently available. ...
Andreas Fahrmeir’s history of the first half of the "long nineteenth century" begins with a disdainful Arthur Young travelling through France at the beginning of 1790 and ends with London’s Great Exhibition of 1851. The contrasting fortunes of France and Great Britain exemplify the contrasting concepts of the title. While the former experienced at least eleven contested regime changes – 1789, 1792, 1793, 1794, 1799, 1814, 1815 (twice), 1830, 1848 and 1850 – the British political system endured, albeit modified by reforms. Moreover, revolutionary-Napoleonic France was responsible for numerous revolutions from above elsewhere, uprooting old regimes and creating satellite states right across the continent, from the Batavian Republic to the Grand Duchy of Warsaw. Old Europe was not restored in 1815. With the Holy Roman Empire gone for good, the Low Countries combined in a single kingdom, Poland expunged from the map once again and the Habsburg Empire much more of an Italian and Balkan power than in the past, quite a new order had emerged. The shallow roots of the new creations ensured their future fragility. ...
For faunistic research on a certain animal group, knowledge of the situation in surrounding countries is a necessity. The presence of certain species in neighbouring regions, together with notes on their distribution and trends, offers valuable information for the interpretation of the status of these species in one’s own study area. Changes in the national fauna – e.g. the discovery of a new species – can often better be explained when integrating information on the status of species in nearby countries. Distribution atlases are therefore not only valuable publications for the country of concern, but also for other countries in the same region.
In the title compound, C19H24N2O2, a di-Mannich base derived from 2-methylphenol and 1,3,6,8-tetraazatricyclo[4.4.1.13,8]dodecane, the imidazolidine ring adopts a twist conformation, with a twist about the ring N—C bond [C—N—C—C torsion angle = −44.34 (14)°]. The two 2-hydroxy-3-methylbenzyl groups are located in trans positions with respect to the imidazolidine fragment. The structure displays two intramolecular O—H⋯N hydrogen bonds, which each form an S(6) ring motif. In the crystal, the molecules are linked by weak C—H⋯O interactions with a bifurcated acceptor, forming a three-dimensional network.
The radiative capture cross section of 238U is very important for the developing of new reactor technologies and the safety of existing ones. Here the preliminary results of the 238U(n,γ) cross section measurement performed at n_TOF with C6D6 scintillation detectors are presented, paying particular attention to data reduction and background subtraction.
In the title solvate, C14H12N2O·0.5C6H6, the complete benzene molecule is generated by a crystallographic inversion centre. The dihedral angle between the planes of the benzimidazole moiety and the phenol substituent is 75.28 (3)°. In the crystal, O—H⋯N hydrogen bonds link the molecules into parallel chains propagating along [100]. The molecules are further connected by C—H⋯π interactions.
1D-3D hybrid modeling : from multi-compartment models to full resolution models in space and time
(2014)
Investigation of cellular and network dynamics in the brain by means of modeling and simulation has evolved into a highly interdisciplinary field, that uses sophisticated modeling and simulation approaches to understand distinct areas of brain function. Depending on the underlying complexity, these models vary in their level of detail, in order to cope with the attached computational cost. Hence for large network simulations, single neurons are typically reduced to time-dependent signal processors, dismissing the spatial aspect of each cell. For single cell or networks with relatively small numbers of neurons, general purpose simulators allow for space and time-dependent simulations of electrical signal processing, based on the cable equation theory. An emerging field in Computational Neuroscience encompasses a new level of detail by incorporating the full three-dimensional morphology of cells and organelles into three-dimensional, space and time-dependent, simulations. While every approach has its advantages and limitations, such as computational cost, integrated and methods-spanning simulation approaches, depending on the network size could establish new ways to investigate the brain. In this paper we present a hybrid simulation approach, that makes use of reduced 1D-models using e.g., the NEURON simulator—which couples to fully resolved models for simulating cellular and sub-cellular dynamics, including the detailed three-dimensional morphology of neurons and organelles. In order to couple 1D- and 3D-simulations, we present a geometry-, membrane potential- and intracellular concentration mapping framework, with which graph- based morphologies, e.g., in the swc- or hoc-format, are mapped to full surface and volume representations of the neuron and computational data from 1D-simulations can be used as boundary conditions for full 3D simulations and vice versa. Thus, established models and data, based on general purpose 1D-simulators, can be directly coupled to the emerging field of fully resolved, highly detailed 3D-modeling approaches. We present the developed general framework for 1D/3D hybrid modeling and apply it to investigate electrically active neurons and their intracellular spatio-temporal calcium dynamics.
The subject of this thesis is the experimental investigation of the neutron-capture cross sections of the neutron-rich, short-lived boron isotopes 13B and 14B, as they are thought to influence the rapid neutron-capture process (r process) nucleosynthesis in a neutrino-driven wind scenario.
The 13;14B(n,g)14;15B reactions were studied in inverse kinematics via Coulomb dissociation at the LAND/R3B setup (Reactions with Relativistic Radioactive Beams). A radioactive beam of 14;15B was produced via in-flight fragmentation and directed onto a lead-target at about 500 AMeV. The neutron breakup of the projectile within the electromagnetic field of the target nucleus was investigated in a kinematically complete measurement. All outgoing reaction products were detected and analyzed in order to reconstruct the excitation energy.
The differential Coulomb dissociation cross sections as a function of the excitation energy were obtained and first experimental constraints on the photoabsorption and the neutron-capture cross sections were deduced. The results were compared to theoretical approximations of the cross sections in question. The Coulomb dissociation cross section of 15B into 14B(g.s.) + n was determined to be s(15B;14B(g:s:)+n) CD = 81(8stat)(10syst) mb ; while the Coulomb dissociation cross section of 14B into a neutron and 13B in its ground state was found to be s(14B;13B(g:s:)+n) CD = 281(25stat)(43syst) mb: Furthermore, new information on the nuclear structure of 14B were achieved, as the spectral shape of the differential Coulomb dissociation cross section indicates a halolike structure of the nucleus.
Additionally, the Coulomb dissociation of 11Be was investigated and compared to previous measurements in order to verify the present analysis. The corresponding Coulomb dissociation cross section of 11Be into 10Be(g.s.) + n was found to be 450(40stat)(54syst ) mb, which is in good agreement with the results of Palit et al.
The asymmetric unit of the title compound, C28H42N2O5·H2O, consists of one half of the organic molecule and one half-molecule of water, both of which are located on a mirror plane which passes through the central C atoms and the hydroxyl group of the heterocyclic system. The hydroxyl group at the central ring is disordered over two equally occupied positions. The six-membered ring adopts a chair conformation, and the 2-hydroxybenzyl substituents occupy the sterically preferred equatorial positions. The aromatic rings make dihedral angles of 75.57 (9)° with the mean plane of the heterocyclic ring. The dihedral angle between the two aromatic rings is 19.18 (10)°. The molecular structure features two intramolecular phenolic O-H...N hydrogen bonds with graph-set motif S(6). In the crystal, molecules are connected via O-H...O hydrogen bonds into zigzag chains running along the a-axis direction.
To explicate what distinguishes pain, Benjamin elaborates: "Of all corporeal feelings, pain alone is like a navigable river which never dries up and which leads man down to the sea. [...] Pain [...] is a link between worlds. This is why organic pleasure is intermittent, whereas pain can be permanent. This comparison of pleasure and pain explains why the cause of pain is irrelevant for the understanding of man's nature, whereas the source of his greatest pleasure is extremely important. For every pain, even the most trivial one, can lead upward to the highest religious suffering, whereas pleasure is not capable of any enhancement, and owes any nobility it possesses to the grace of its birth - that is to say, its source. (SW I, 397)" In these important lines, pain's unique strength is linked not to its origin (this is reserved for pleasure), but rather to the way that its strenuous flow throughout the suffering body has the power to lead it to infinite heights. In contrast to pleasure, which is forever seeking out its sources, pain manifests itself most consummately when it is intensified; it fulfills itself most deeply by gradually reenforcing its own fortitude. To make sense of pain, therefore, we must understand the nature of its 'movement': and in Benjamin's metaphor of the "navigable river" - its flow. In what follows, I develop Benjamin's idea of the nature of pain as manifested in the internal law of its ,ow in two other of Benjamin's texts: 'Berlin Childhood Around 1900' (1934) and 'Thought Figures' (1933).
Background: Health Authorities recommend influenza vaccination of healthcare personnel (HCP) to decrease the transmission of influenza to vulnerable patients. Recent studies have almost exclusively used quantitative questionnaires in order to identify determinants of vaccination behaviour. Interviews enable HCP to express freely why they think they are (not) willing to get vaccinated against influenza.
Methods: By means of semi-structured one-on-one interviews with 123 Belgian, Dutch and German HCP, reasons for and against vaccination, experiences with influenza vaccination, intention to get vaccinated and possible barriers, as well as willingness to advice influenza vaccination to patients were investigated. Data were processed with QSR NVivo 8.0 and analysed using a combination of a deductive and a general inductive approach.
Results: Across countries, self-protection, patient protection, and protection of family members were reported as most important reasons to get vaccinated against influenza. Reasons to not get vaccinated against influenza were fear of side effects caused by the vaccine, a low risk-perception, the disbelief in the effectiveness of influenza vaccination, organizational barriers, misconceptions, and undefined negative emotions.
Conclusions: The social cognitive variables underlying the decision of HCP to get vaccinated against influenza (or not) seem to be similar in Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands, even though some differences surfaced. A quantitative investigation of those social cognitive variables is needed in order to determine the importance of the social cognitive variables in explaining the intention to get vaccinated and the importance of the similarities and differences between countries that have been found in this study.
"I Am a Hottentot" : africanist mimicry and green xenophilia in Hans Paasche and Karen Blixen
(2014)
Claims that industrialized western countries must reform their environmental practices have often been made with reference to less-developed non-western societies living in greater "harmony" or "balance" with the natural world. Examples of what I call green xenophilia (from the Greek "xenos", meaning strange, unknown or foreign, and "philia", meaning love or attraction), are myriad, wide-ranging and culturally dispersed. They range from the appearance of the iconic "crying Indian" in anti-pollution TV and newspaper spots in the months leading up to the first Earth Day on April 22 1970 to numerous environmentalist individuals' and groups' use of the fabricated "Chief Seattle's Speech" as an authoritative touchstone of ecological consciousness, and from the British Schumacher College's endorsement of India as a source of simplicity, holism, humility, vegetarianism etc. to leading deep ecologists' advocacy of East Asian religions (especially Buddhism, Jainism and Taoism) as "biocentric" alternatives to "anthropocentric" Christianity (Rolston 1987; Dunaway 2008; Krupat 2011; Corrywright 2010). Invocations of non-western cultures, identities and worldviews have proved potent heuristic devices, enabling greens both to critique the status quo and to gesture (however schematically) towards the possibility of alternatives. Pervasive media-borne ideas and images like "the Green Tibet" (Huber 1997) and "the ecological Indian" (Krech 1999) have given environmentalist ideas about the good life physical incarnation, making them seem less remote and abstract. Yet the prevalence of xenophile dis course has also made environmentalism vulnerable to recurrent accusations of romantic primitivism, orientalism and exoticism, as western greens have sometimes (though not always) appeared to buttress traditional socio-cultural norms in the very act of challenging them (Guha 1989; Lohmann 1993; Bartholomeusz 1998). What is gained and what is risked when western greens speak about, with, for or as "the other"? In this essay I engage with two early-twentieth-century North European writers, the German Hans Paasche (1881-1921) and the Dane Karen Blixen (1885-1962), whose works bring this question to the forefront. Critical of European industrialization, and awkwardly positioned vis-a-vis their upper-class social milieus, Paasche and Blixen wrote as self-made "Africans", testing the limits between colonialism, anti-colonialism and emergent forms of environmentalism and green" lifestyle reform. More precisely, Paasche in "Die Forschungsreise des Afrikaners Lukanga Kukara ins Innerste Deutschland" ("The African Lukanga Mukara's Research Joumey into the Innermost of Germany" (1912-1913) and Blixen in "Out of Africa" (1937) deploy the ambiguous form of mimicry that Susan Gubar labels "racechange", impersonating or appropriating culturally other voices and perspectives on animals, food, physical embodiment and human-natural relations (Gubar 1997). Paasche and Blixen, I argue, used their considerable intercultural insight to construct images of Africa that they hoped would stand in redemptive contrast to the humanly and environmentally ruinous beliefs and practices of European modernity. I am interested in the acts of ethnic and textual self-alienation that these writers perform because they highlight the discursive, ethical and political ambiguities of green xenophilia - ambiguities that can be explored from different positions within the developing field of ecocritical studies.
"Great technology, football and ..." : Malaysian language learners' stereotypes about Germany
(2014)
This study focuses on stereotypes about Germany, its culture and people, held by learners of German in a big public university in Malaysia. It examines not only the stereotypical representations of the target language country but also assesses its favourability and salience, which has not been done previously. The findings revealed that the students' stereotypes about Germany were varied and diverse. Also, they were overwhelmingly positive. The top three salient categories of images about Germany were related to technology, famous personalities – for the most part football players and scientists – and cars. The findings also indicated that very few references had been made to German culture and to its great cultural figures. The results of the present study suggest that students could benefit from a wider and deeper exposure to German culture in the language classroom.
Vasointestinal peptide metabolism plays a key physiological role in multimodular levels of vasodilatory, smooth muscle cell proliferative, parenchymal, and inflammatory lung reactions. In animal studies, vasointestinal peptide relaxes isolated pulmonary arterial segments from several mammalian species in vitro and neutralizes the pulmonary vasoconstrictor effect of endothelin. In some animal models, it reduces pulmonary vascular resistance in vivo and in monocrotaline-induced pulmonary hypertension. A 58-year-old woman presented with dyspnea and mild edema of the lower extremities. A bronchoscopy was performed without any suspicious findings suggesting a central tumor or other infiltrative disease. Endobronchial ultrasound revealed enlarged pulmonary arteries containing thrombi, a few enlarged lymph nodes, and enlarged mediastinal tissue anatomy with suspicion for mediastinal infiltration of a malignant process. We estimated that less than 10% of the peripheral vascular bed of the lung was involved in direct consolidated fibrosis as demonstrated in the left upper lobe apex. Further, direct involvement of fibrosis around the main stems of the pulmonary arteries was assumed to be low from positron emission tomography and magnetic resonance imaging scans. Assuming a positive influence of low-dose radiation, it was not expected that this could have reduced pulmonary vascular resistance by over two thirds of the initial result. However; it was noted that this patient had idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension mixed with "acute" (mediastinal) fibrosis which could have contributed to the unexpected success of reduction of pulmonary vascular resistance. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of successful treatment of idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension, probably as a result of low-dose radiation to the pulmonary arterial main stems. The patient continues to have no specific complaints concerning her idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension.
Franz Kafka's (1883-1924) "Die Brücke" is one of the less well-known texts by one of the most prolific authors of literary modernity. However, this short prose text embodies prevalent questions of literary modernity and philosophy as it reflects the crisis of language in regard of identity, communication, and literary production. Placed in the context of fin-de-siècle's discourse of language crisis, this article provides a dialogue between Kafka's "Die Brücke" and Hannah Arendt's (1906-1975) philosophy of thinking and speaking in "The Life of the Mind". Contrary to Arendt's understanding of the metaphor as "a carrying over" between the mental activities of the solitude thinker and a reconciliation with the pluralistic world shared with others, this article argues for a deconstructionist reading of "Die Brücke" as a tool to reevaluate Arendt"s notion of a shared human experience ensured through language and illustrates the advantages of poetic texts within philosophical discourses.
This paper uses laboratory experiments to provide a systematic analysis of how di↵erent presentation formats a↵ect individuals’ investment decisions. The results indicate that the type of presentation as well as personal characteristics influence both, the consistency of decisions and the riskiness of investment choices. However, while personal characteristics have a larger impact on consistency, the chosen risk level is determined more by framing e↵ects. On the level of personal characteristics, participants’ decisions show that better financial literacy and a better understanding of the presentation format enhance consistency and thus decision quality. Moreover, female participants on average make less consistent decisions and tend to prefer less risky alternatives. On the level of framing dimensions, subjects choose riskier investments when possible outcomes are shown in absolute values rather than rates of return and when the loss potential is less obvious. In particular, reducing the emphasis on downside risk and upside potential simultaneously leads to a substantial increase in risk taking.
The paper is aimed at contributing to an empirically grounded understanding of the psychosocial dynamics that underlie the relation between heteronormative images of masculinity, internalized heterosexism and health behavior of gay men in the global North. It is based on a qualitative interview study that focuses on the consequences of the internalization of dominant images of masculinity for the identity constructions of gay men and their HIV-related sexual risk behavior in Germany. In the paper it will be argued that 1) the tension between the authoritative image of masculinity that is determined by heteronormative discourses one the one hand and the gendered self-image that is shaped and threatened by connotations of a non-masculine homosexuality on the other constitutes a decisive issue of gay identity constructions, 2) a higher sexual risk behavior can be understood as a possible consequence of the internalization of masculine images and its impact on the self-esteem, if the self-image does not match the male ideal, and 3) this may include a paradoxical desire for the imagined masculinity that is experienced as violent with regard to one’s own psychodynamics. Finally, perspectives on gay masculinities that may transgress dominant heteronormative modes of subjectification are discussed.
“WAR IS PEACE, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY, AND IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH”. The slogan from George Orwell’s “1984” dystopia appears to capture the state of Russia’s 2014 official discourse quite accurately. This has not gone unnoticed by public and academic spectators in and outside Russia: while Bild magazine is counting Putin’s lies in his recent ARD interview, a Zeit article declares Russia itself to be a post-modern “lie”...