Refine
Year of publication
Document Type
- Article (31215) (remove)
Language
- English (15825)
- German (13382)
- Portuguese (696)
- French (387)
- Croatian (251)
- Spanish (250)
- Italian (134)
- Turkish (113)
- Multiple languages (36)
- Latin (35)
Has Fulltext
- yes (31215)
Keywords
- Deutsch (503)
- taxonomy (449)
- Literatur (299)
- new species (193)
- Hofmannsthal, Hugo von (185)
- Rezeption (178)
- Übersetzung (163)
- Filmmusik (155)
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (131)
- Vormärz (117)
Institute
- Medizin (5366)
- Physik (1919)
- Biowissenschaften (1144)
- Biochemie und Chemie (1113)
- Extern (1108)
- Gesellschaftswissenschaften (803)
- Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies (FIAS) (753)
- Geowissenschaften (592)
- Präsidium (453)
- Philosophie (448)
Managing for biodiversity: impact and action thresholds for invasive plants in natural ecosystems
(2017)
Some studies examining the impacts of invasive plant species in native plant communities have demonstrated non-linear damage functions, whereby community components, such as species richness, are seemingly unaffected by the presence of an invader until it has attained relatively high levels of abundance, whereupon there is a marked decrease with further increases in abundance. Given chronic limitations in the resources available for managing invasive species, it has been argued that the most damaging invaders would be controlled most efficiently by maintaining their abundances below such threshold levels. Because many impact studies do not involve sampling over a wide range of invader abundances it is not possible to estimate the prevalence of threshold relationships. Furthermore, studies that have employed appropriate sampling methods have shown that different life forms exhibit different threshold responses, indicating that maintenance management for biodiversity values should be designed to protect the most sensitive species or groups of species. Since control costs increase with invader abundance, economic and ecological considerations are aligned when invaders are sustainably maintained at relatively low abundances. Adopting such an approach should also minimise negative impacts where damage functions are linear.
Die Echte Katzenminze, auch Katzenkraut, Katzenmelisse oder Steinmelisse genannt, ist eine alte Heilpflanze, die bereits von den Römern in Mitteleuropa kultiviert wurde. Ihre Ver-wilderungen gehörten zur typischen Flora der Dörfer, der Umgebung von Klöstern und Gehöften. Die Art tritt aber auch im Siedlungsbereich größerer Städte auf. Sie war in der nordrhein-westfälischen Flora zumindest im letzten Jahrhundert nie häufig und ist heute nur noch sehr selten zu finden (z. B. BECKHAUS 1893, HÖPPNER & PREUSS 1926, RUNGE 1990, HAEUPLER & al. 2003, GORISSEN 2015). Derzeit steht sie landesweit als stark gefährdet auf der Roten Liste (RL 2, RAABE & al. 2011), in einigen Großlandschaften wird sie sogar als "vom Aussterben bedroht" (RL 1) oder "ausgestorben" (RL 0) eingestuft. Dabei muss man aber wissen, dass aktuelle Vorkommen der Echten Katzenminze oft als neophytisch klassifi-ziert und deswegen nicht in der Roten Liste berücksichtigt werden. Hierbei drängt sich die Frage auf, inwiefern sich solche neophytischen Vorkommen überhaupt von anderen Vorkommen unterscheiden.
Robinia pseudoacacia L. (black locust) is a North American tree, considered controversial because of the conflict between multiple uses by humans and negative environmental impacts, which have resulted in it being listed among the most invasive species in Europe. The current management of Robinia stands in Central Europe varies locally according to national legislation, preferring either socio-economic benefits or biodiversity impacts. We collected field data from our target region of Czechia, reviewed research articles including local grey literature mostly from Central and Southern Europe, unpublished results of local projects and inquired relevant specialists. Because Robinia grows in habitats ranging from urban to forest to natural grassland, neither unrestricted cultivation nor large-scale eradication is applicable as a universal practice. In this paper we suggest a complex management strategy for Robinia stands that takes into account habitat, this species’ local ability to spread, as well as economic, cultural and biodiversity aspects. We categorized Robinia stands growing in Europe into eight groups and proposed stratified approach to the management based on decisions that reflect local context. Depending on that, the management includes (i) establishment of new plantations, (ii) maintenance or utilization of existing stands, (iii) tolerance
and (iv) conversion to original vegetation. Our complex management strategy will provide a comprehensive guideline for the management of alien trees in Europe.
This paper presents an analysis of the novel 'Die fremde Frau' by the writer Paul Zifferer (1879-1929) who came from Bystřice pod Hostýnem in Moravian Wallachia. It is a largely unknown, late naturalistic text which addresses national and social issues that were topical at the end of the 19th century. The novel offers a critical reflection on both bourgeois society and national tensions in Moravian Wallachia. It oscillates between conservativism and revolution, between historical authenticity and fiction. Moreover, the analysis shows that German literature from Moravian Wallachia deserves a serious and comprehensive exploration - as does Paul Zifferer's work, especially in the context of German or Austrian naturalism and aesthetic modernism.
Plant parasitic nematodes (PPN) are known to survive periods of desiccation, an ability that increases the risk of them surviving unintentional transport between countries. To investigate nematode survival in soil subject to prolonged storage, soil collected from a native forest and an organic orchard was stored separately in cupboards at ambient temperature for 36 months. Subsamples were taken at 0, 3, 6, 12, 13, 24 and 36 months to determine the presence of plant parasitic and total nematodes using a standard misting technique. Pratylenchus was used as a model to determine if PPNs that had been under prolonged storage were able to infect plant hosts at 13, 24 and 36 months. Overall, the total number of nematodes recovered from stored soil declined over time, with differences in species diversity determined by molecular methods, related to soil origin. No PPN were recovered in soil stored beyond 13 months using the three-day misting technique. By comparison, Pratylenchus nematodes, using a baiting method, were found to successfully invade host plant roots (ryegrass and white clover) even after 36 months storage and were observed to produce offspring at 13 months. Baiting was not effective for Pratylenchus found in soil originally collected from the forest but was for orchard soil, a result attributed to the lack of suitable host plants for the Pratylenchus species found in forest soil. This study demonstrated, that in protected environments, nematodes could survive for at least 36 months and were observed to produce offspring at 13 months. Baiting with a host plant was more sensitive in detecting nematodes than using the misting extraction technique, although this approach only works where the host plant is known. Without a priori knowledge of the nematode-plant host association, plant baiting may also produce false negatives. In the context of plant biosecurity and providing an accurate risk assessment in soil contaminants, the development of a generic test for PPN that induces nematodes in a resting stage to emerge and respond to a cue would enhance the probability of detection. However, as assessments at the border are often time limited, a molecular based bioassay that can be used to indicate the presence of multiple species of live PPN species may be a more feasible option for risk assessments.
In an era of global change, the process of biotic homogenisation by which regional biotas become more similar through time has attracted considerable attention from ecologists. Here, a retrospective look at the literature is taken and the question asked how comprehensive is the understanding of this global phenomenon? The goal is to identify potential areas for additional and future enquiries to advance this research frontier and best ensure the long-term preservation of biological diversity across the world. Six propositions are presented here to; (1) broaden our geographic and taxonomic understanding, (2) diversify the spatial and temporal scales of inquiry, (3) reconcile past and embrace new approaches to quantification, (4) improve our knowledge of the underlying drivers, (5) reveal the conservation implications and (6) forecast future homogenisation. It is argued that significant progress in the understanding of the causes, consequences and conservation implication of biotic homogenisation will come by integrating concepts and approaches from ecology, evolution and conservation across a hierarchy of spatial and temporal scales.
The paper provides an updated checklist of the alien flora of Turkey with information on its structure. The alien flora of Turkey comprises 340 taxa, among which there are 321 angiosperms, 17 gymnosperms and two ferns. Of the total number of taxa, 228 (68%) are naturalized and 112 (32%) are casual. There are 275 neophytes (172 naturalized and 103 casual) and 61 archaeophytes (52 naturalized and 9 casual); four species could not be classified with respect to the residence time. In addition, 47 frequently planted taxa with a potential to escape are also listed. The richest families are Asteraceae (38 taxa), Poaceae (30), Fabaceae (23) and Solanaceae (22). As for the naturalized alien plants, the highest species richness is found in Asteraceae (31 taxa), Poaceae (22), Amaranthaceae (18) and Solanaceae (15). The majority of alien taxa are perennial (63.8% of the total number of taxa with this life history assigned, including those with multiple life histories), annuals contribute 33.8% and 2.4% are biennial aliens. Among perennials the most common life forms are phanerophytes, of which 20.3% are trees and 12.6% shrubs; woody vines, stem succulents, and aquatic plants are comparatively less represented. Most of the 340 alien taxa introduced to Turkey have their native ranges in Americas (44.7%) and Asia (27.6%). Of other regions, 9.1% originated in Africa, 4.4% in Eurasia, 3.8% in Australia and Oceania and 3.5% in the Mediterranean. The majority of taxa (71.9%) were introduced intentionally, whereas the remaining (28.1%) were introduced accidentally. Among the taxa introduced intentionally, the vast majority are ornamental plants (55.2%), 10.0% taxa were introduced for forestry and 6.7% as crops. Casual alien plants are most commonly found in urban and ruderal habitats (40.1%) where naturalized taxa are also often recorded (27.3%). Plants that occur as agricultural weeds are typically naturalized rather than casual (16.0% vs 7.1%, respectively). However, (semi)natural habitats in Turkey are often invaded by alien taxa, especially by those that are able to naturalize.
Previously, we have synthesized a diverse range of 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA)-based semiaromatic polyamides via enzymatic polymerization. This novel class of polymers are biobased alternatives to polyphthalamides, which are petrol-based semiaromatic polyamides. From a commercial perspective, they have interesting properties as high-performance materials and engineering thermoplastics. It is even more appealing to explore novel FDCA-based polyamides with added functionality, for the development of sustainable functional materials. Here, a set of FDCA-based heteroatom polyamides have been successfully produced via Novozyme 435 (N435)-catalyzed polymerization of biobased dimethyl 2,5-furandicarboxylate with (potentially)heteroatom diamines, namely, 4,9-dioxa-1,12-dodecanediamine (DODA), diethylenetriamine, and 3,3-ethylenediiminopropylamine. We performed the enzymatic polymerization in solution and bulk. The latter approach is more sustainable and results in higher molecular weight products. Among the tested heteroatom diamines, N435 shows the highest catalytic activity toward DODA. Furthermore, we find that all obtained FDCA-based heteroatom polyamides are amorphous materials with a relatively high thermal stability. These heteroatom polyamides display a glass-transition temperature ranging from 41 to 107 °C.
Alien plants were first recorded in 1937 in the 2 million ha Kruger National Park (KNP, a savanna protected area in South Africa), and attempts to control them began in the mid-1950s. The invasive alien plant control program expanded substantially in the late 1990s, but its overall efficacy has not been determined. We present an assessment of invasive alien plant control operations over several decades in KNP. We based our assessment on available information from a range of control programs funded from various sources, including national public works programs, KNP operational funds, and foreign donor funds. Over ZAR 350 million (~ US$ 27 million) has been spent on control interventions between 1997 and 2016. We found evidence of good progress with the control of several species, notably Opuntia stricta, Sesbania punicea, Lantana camara and several aquatic weeds, often because of effective biological control. On the other hand, we found that over one third (40%) of the funding was spent on species that have subsequently been recognised as being of lower priority, most of which were alien annual weeds. The allocation of funds to non-priority species was sometimes driven by the need to meet additional objectives (such as employment creation), or by perceptions about relative impact in the absence of documented evidence. We also found that management goals were limited to inputs (funds disbursed, employment created, and area treated) rather than to ecological outcomes, and progress was consequently not adequately monitored. At a species level, four out of 36 species were considered to be under complete control, and a further five were under substantial control. Attempts to control five annual species were all considered to be ineffective. On the basis of our findings, we recommend that more studies be done to determine impacts associated with individual invasive alien species; that the criteria used to prioritise invasive alien species be documented based on such assessments, so that management can justify a focus on priority species; and that funding be re-directed to those species that clearly pose greater threats, and for which other solutions (such as biological control) are not an option.
This paper analyzes serpentine figures in Eichendorff's novella 'Das Marmorbild', which are inscribed in the body of Venus in the mannerist style. These figurae serpentinatae gradually gain dynamism, move into the foreground of attention, and then condense into repulsive snake figures which evoke associations of the cunning snake of the Garden of Eden, the serpents on the back of the Frau Welt figure, and the fearsome Echidna of Greek mythology. These allusions also characterize the art which Venus represents as something abysmal and threatening. The multiple contextualization of the snake also reveals that 'Das Marmorbild' offers a double reading: in the narrower sense, Venus can be viewed as a representation of Romantic art, while in the wider sense she personifies art in general.
Fibroblasts were isolated from skin biopsies from two patients with bipolar I disorder. One patient was a 26 year old female carrying a risk haplotype in the DGKH (diacylglycerol kinase eta) gene and the other was a non-carrier 27 year old male. Patient fibroblasts were reprogrammed into human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) by using a Sendai virus vector. DGKH-risk haplotype and non-risk haplotype hiPSCs showed expression of pluripotency markers and were able to differentiate into cells of the three germ layers. These cell models are useful to investigate the role of risk gene variants in bipolar disorder.
Radiographic outcomes following lateral alveolar ridge augmentation using autogenous tooth roots
(2018)
Background: To assess and compare the radiographic outcomes following lateral alveolar ridge augmentation using autogenous tooth roots (TR) and autogenous bone (AB) blocks.
Methods: In a total of 30 patients, lateral ridge augmentation was conducted in parallel groups using either (1) healthy autogenous tooth roots (e.g., retained wisdom or impacted teeth) (n = 15) or (2) cortical autogenous bone blocks harvested from the retromolar area. Cone-beam computed tomographic (CBCT) scans taken at 26 weeks of submerged healing were analyzed for the basal graft integration (i.e., contact between the graft and the host bone in %) (BI26) and the cross-sectional grafted area (mm2) (SA26).
Results: Both groups revealed a comparable clinical width of the alveolar ridge at baseline (CWb). Mean BI26 and SA26 values amounted to 69.26 ± 26.01% (median 72.44) and 22.07 ± 12.98 mm2 (median 18.83) in the TR group and 79.67 ± 15.66% (median 78.85) and 12.42 ± 10.11 mm2 (median 11.36) in the AB group, respectively. Between-group differences in mean SA26 values were statistically significant (p = 0.031). Linear regression analysis failed to reveal any significant correlations between BI26 and CWb/SA26 values in either group.
Conclusions: TR grafts may be associated with improved SA26 values following lateral alveolar ridge augmentation.
Trial registration: DRKS00009586. Registered 10 February 2016.
Site-specific recombinases (SSR) are utilized as important genome engineering tools to precisely modify the genome of mice and other model organisms. Reporter mice that mark cells that at any given time had expressed the enzyme are frequently used for lineage tracing and to characterize newly generated mice expressing a recombinase from a chosen promoter. With increasing sophistication of genome alteration strategies, the demand for novel SSR systems that efficiently and specifically recombine their targets is rising and several SSR-systems are now used in combination to address complex biological questions in vivo. Generation of reporter mice for each one of these recombinases is cumbersome and increases the number of mouse lines that need to be maintained in animal facilities. Here we present a multi-reporter mouse line for loci-of-recombination (X) (MuX) that streamlines the characterization of mice expressing prominent recombinases. MuX mice constitutively express nuclear green fluorescent protein after recombination by either Cre, Flp, Dre or Vika recombinase, rationalizing the number of animal lines that need to be maintained. We also pioneer the use of the Vika/vox system in mice, illustrating its high efficacy and specificity, thereby facilitating future designs of sophisticated recombinase-based in vivo genome engineering strategies.
Detecting associations between genomic changes and phenotypic differences is fundamental to understanding how phenotypes evolved. By systematically screening for parallel amino acid substitutions, we detected known as well as novel cases (Strc, Tecta, and Cabp2) of parallelism between echolocating bats and toothed whales in proteins that could contribute to high-frequency hearing adaptations. Our screen also showed that echolocating mammals exhibit an unusually high number of parallel substitutions in fast-twitch muscle fiber proteins. Both echolocating bats and toothed whales produce an extremely rapid call rate when homing in on their prey, which was shown in bats to be powered by specialized superfast muscles. We show that these genes with parallel substitutions (Casq1, Atp2a1, Myh2, and Myl1) are expressed in the superfast sound-producing muscle of bats. Furthermore, we found that the calcium storage protein calsequestrin 1 of the little brown bat and the bottlenose dolphin functionally converged in its ability to form calcium-sequestering polymers at lower calcium concentrations, which may contribute to rapid calcium transients required for superfast muscle physiology. The proteins that our genomic screen detected could be involved in the convergent evolution of vocalization in echolocating mammals by potentially contributing to both rapid Ca2+ transients and increased shortening velocities in superfast muscles.
The 'Deutsche Referenzkorpus (DeReKo)' of the Mannheimer Institut für Deutsche Sprache currently contains over 28 billion words, and it is constantly being expanded. The sheer size of the corpus makes it impractical for researchers to analyze its entire content. On the other hand, the DeReKo offers the possibility of taking seriously the principle that every research project needs its own corpus - by acting as a 'reference corpus' that can be used in combination with special corpora. This paper addresses the question of whether a corpus should contain complete texts or only statistically relevant extracts; it also discusses the uses and necessity of 'small corpora'.
During the NEOBIOTA conference 2010 in Copenhagen (see http://www.neobiota.eu/conferences for an overview of all conferences), the attendants decided to transform the serial of the European Group on Biological Invasions Neobiota, edited by Ingo Kowarik and Uwe Starfinger, into an international, open access journal. In the following year, NeoBiota was relaunched under the same name, but with an upper case 'B', by Pensoft Publishers. In the editorial of the first issue, a large group of co-editors claimed for openness in covering a broad range of issues in invasion science, including the intersections with applied and social sciences, and referring to different groups of taxa and geographical regions (Kühn et al. 2011). What happened since then? We think that it is now time to shortly reflect how the new NeoBiota journal has developed in the first years of its infancy – based on some data on the published papers, the addressed topics and the geographical background of our contributing authors.
Lianas are prevalent in gaps and edges of forests where they compete intensely with trees, reducing growth and recruitment. Invasive lianas have the potential to be particularly harmful as the competitive advantage of the liana life history may be coupled with the more competitive qualities of invasiveness. However, in early stages of growth of lianas and native tree seedlings, facilitatory interactions or competitive interactions associated with soil nutrients may be more prevalent. We investigated interactions at the early stages of growth between native and invasive lianas with a common rainforest tree of temperate Australian rainforests under different light conditions. Invasive lianas, as a group, were not more competitive than native lianas in reducing growth of a native rainforest seedling. At this stage in the life cycle most lianas were as competitive as a conspecific seedling. However, one invasive liana, Anredera cordifolia, was particularly competitive and reduced biomass of tree seedlings. Light had little effect on growth of lianas nor on the impact of competition, however, specific leaf area differed between low and medium light conditions.
Moderate light did improve growth in the rainforest tree seedling. When lianas were grown with a rainforest tree, three liana species overyielded, while one species was unaffected by growing with the tree seedling. Overyielding suggests a strong positive interaction with the neighbouring plant, mediated through belowground processes. We discuss the potential for these interactions to be facilitative, parasitic or competitive. We therefore show that interactions early in the life of rainforest species can be complex mixtures of interactions which are likely to influence the ability of lianas to dominate rainforests.
Functional traits are useful for comparing the resource use of invasive and native species, with goals of identifying resource overlap to predict competitive interactions. The invasion of northeastern North America by the woodwasp Sirex noctilio has resulted in competition with the native congeneric Sirex nigricornis for suppressed and weakened pines. We compared sizes of adults, venom glands, fecundity, tree species use, voltinism and abundance of the invasive woodwasp S. noctilio with the native S. nigricornis in northeastern North American pines. Rearing adults from attacked pines showed that these species used the same tree species but S. noctilio were far more abundant, especially with increasing time since establishment. Adults of the invasive S. noctilio were larger than S. nigricornis, female S. noctilio had larger glands carrying phytotoxic venom in relation to body size, average-sized S. noctilio females carried more eggs, and S. noctilio developed faster than S. nigricornis. Sirex noctilio was the dominant woodwasp infesting suppressed pines in our study areas. We hypothesize that the future abundance of S. nigricornis could depend in part on the availability of wood for oviposition by this native that is not available or acceptable to the earlier-emerging S. noctilio.
Background: In Germany, patients suffering from life-limiting conditions are eligible for specialized outpatient palliative care (SOPC). Evaluation of the quality of this service lacks currently integration of patient-relevant outcomes. There is also no scientific consensus how to prove quality of care in the special context of SOPC adequately. Existing quality reports are primarily based on descriptive structural data which do not allow for estimation of process quality or result quality. The ELSAH study ("Evaluation of Specialized Outpatient Palliative Care in the German state of Hesse") aims to choose - or, if necessary, to adopt - to evaluate and to implement a suit of measures to assess, evaluate and monitor the quality of specialized, home-based palliative care.
Methods: All 22 SOPC teams providing their services in the state of Hesse, Germany, participate in the ELSAH study. The study is divided in two phases: a preparation phase and a main study phase. Based on the findings of the preparation phase we have chosen a preliminary set of instruments including the Integrated Palliative Outcome Scale, Views on Care, Zarit Burden Interview, Phase of Illness, Goal Attainment Scaling, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status, Consumer Quality Indices Palliative Care and Sense of Security in Care. During the main study phase, we will use a mixed-methods approach to evaluate the instruments’ psychometric properties (reliability, validity, feasibility and practicability), to identify barriers, facilitators and limitations of their routine use and to explore how their use affects the care within the SOPC setting.
Discussion: At the end of this study, an outcome- and patient-centered, validated measurement approach should be provided, adapted for standardized evaluations in SOPC across patient groups, palliative care services and regions nationwide. The standardized application of instruments should allow for making valid statements and comparisons of health care quality in SOPC based on process- and outcome-evaluation rather than relying on structural data only. Moreover, the instruments might directly influence the care of patients in palliative situations.
Trial registration: German Clinical Trials Register (DRKS-ID: DRKS00012421).
Background: Many gene variants modulate the individual perception of pain and possibly also its persistence. The limited selection of single functional variants is increasingly being replaced by analyses of the full coding and regulatory sequences of pain-relevant genes accessible by means of next generation sequencing (NGS).
Methods: An NGS panel was created for a set of 77 human genes selected following different lines of evidence supporting their role in persisting pain. To address the role of these candidate genes, we established a sequencing assay based on a custom AmpliSeqTM panel to assess the exomic sequences in 72 subjects of Caucasian ethnicity. To identify the systems biology of the genes, the biological functions associated with these genes were assessed by means of a computational over-representation analysis.
Results: Sequencing generated a median of 2.85 ⋅ 106 reads per run with a mean depth close to 200 reads, mean read length of 205 called bases and an average chip loading of 71%. A total of 3,185 genetic variants were called. A computational functional genomics analysis indicated that the proposed NGS gene panel covers biological processes identified previously as characterizing the functional genomics of persisting pain.
Conclusion: Results of the NGS assay suggested that the produced nucleotide sequences are comparable to those earned with the classical Sanger sequencing technique. The assay is applicable for small to large-scale experimental setups to target the accessing of information about any nucleotide within the addressed genes in a study cohort.
Das Kleine Schneeglöckchen (Galanthus nivalis) zählt zu den klassischen Frühjahrsgeophyten, wobei die Bezeichnung Wintergeophyt an dieser Stelle viel treffender wäre, denn die Art gehört neben dem Winterling (Eranthis hyemalis) bei uns zu den allerersten blühenden Pflanzen im Jahr. Ihre Blüten erscheinen massenhaft zwischen Januar und März, in milden Jahren blühen einzelne Pflanzen auch schon im Dezember. Somit kommt dem Schneeglöckchen nicht nur unter Botanikern eine symbolische Bedeutung zu: Sein Erscheinen versinnbildlicht das allmähliche Erwachen der Natur nach der Winterruhe und den Neubeginn des Pflanzenjahres.
Maintenance of the bacterial homeostasis initially emanates from interactions between proteins and the bacterial nucleoid. Investigating their spatial correlation requires high spatial resolution, especially in tiny, highly confined and crowded bacterial cells. Here, we present super-resolution microscopy using a palette of fluorescent labels that bind transiently to either the membrane or the nucleoid of fixed E. coli cells. The presented labels are easily applicable, versatile and allow long-term single-molecule super-resolution imaging independent of photobleaching. The different spectral properties allow for multiplexed imaging in combination with other localisation-based super-resolution imaging techniques. As examples for applications, we demonstrate correlated super-resolution imaging of the bacterial nucleoid with the position of genetic loci, of nascent DNA in correlation to the entire nucleoid, and of the nucleoid of metabolically arrested cells. We furthermore show that DNA- and membrane-targeting labels can be combined with photoactivatable fluorescent proteins and visualise the nano-scale distribution of RNA polymerase relative to the nucleoid in drug-treated E. coli cells.
Hier werden bemerkenswerte floristische Funde aus Nordrhein-Westfalen aus dem Jahr 2017 und einige Nachträge aus 2015 und 2016 zusammengestellt, die aus Sicht der Schriftleitung von landesweiter Bedeutung sind. Die Funde werden im Laufe des Jahres zunächst chronologisch auf die Homepage des Bochumer Botanischen Vereins gestellt und am Ende des Jahres zu einem Artikel zusammengefasst. Bei der Auswahl der Arten für diese Liste ist nicht an Bestätigung bereits lange bekannter Vorkommen gedacht, die an Ort und Stelle durchgehend vorkommen, sondern z. B. an Neufunde seltener Arten, Wieder-funde seltener Arten, die zwischendurch verschwunden schienen (wie z. B. Ackerunkräuter) oder auch an bekannte Vorkommen, die erloschen sind oder kurz vor dem Erlöschen stehen. Außerdem nehmen Beobachtungen von neophytischen Arten einen großen Raum ein, die entweder auf dem Wege der Einbürgerung sind, deren Einbürgerung noch nicht allgemein bekannt bzw. anerkannt ist oder deren Vorkommen bisher erst selten für Nordrhein-Westfalen veröffentlicht wurden. Ein wichtiges Kriterium für aufgeführte Arten ist die Seltenheit im Bundesland oder in der betreffenden Großlandschaft bzw. Region. Die Zuordnung der Arten zu Pflanzenfamilien richtet sich nach PAROLLY & ROHWER 2016.
Als großer Erfolg hat sich vor einigen Jahren die deutsche Kinokomödie 'Türkisch für Anfänger' erwiesen. 2012 in die Kinos gekommen, wurde sie auch als 'Multikulti-Komödie' (z.B. URL 1 und URL 2) bezeichnet. Eine wesentliche Rolle spielen darin ethnische Stereotype, die offenbar für Komik sorgen. Goldmanns Kritik in 'Spiegel online' beginnt so: "Sie Deutsche, er Ausländer, sie Zicke, er Macho: Der Kinofilm 'Türkisch für Anfänger' arbeitet sich wie die preisgekrönte TV-Serie an kulturellen Klischees ab" (URL 3). Im Mittelpunkt dieses Beitrags stehen ethnische Stereotype. Mit verschiedenen sprachlichen Mitteln beziehen sich Charaktere im Film auf die Eigengruppe oder auf die Fremdgruppe - also auf Menschen mit oder ohne (erkennbaren) Migrationshintergrund
Background: Ataxia telangiectasia (A-T) is a devastating multi-system disorder characterized by progressive cerebellar ataxia, growth retardation, immunodeficiency, chronic pulmonary disease and chromosomal instability. Cutaneous granulomas are a known phenomenon in A-T but extra-dermal manifestation of granulomas at bone and synovia has not been reported so far. The clinical presentation, immunological findings, the long-term course and treatment options of eight patients with severe granulomas will be reported.
Methods: From our cohort of 44 classical A-T patients, eight patients aged 2–11 years (18.2%) presented with granulomas. Immunological features of patients with and without granulomas were compared. Five patients suffered from cutaneous manifestation, in two patients we detected a bone and in one a joint involvement. Patients with significant extra-dermal involvement as well as one patient with massive skin manifestation were treated with TNF inhibitors. The patient with granulomas at his finger joint and elbow was treated with hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT).
Results: Interestingly, seven of eight patients with granulomas were total IgA deficient, but there were no differences in IgG and IgM levels. All lymphocytes subsets were equally distributed except patients with granuloma had significantly lower naïve CD8 cells. In patients without treatment, four of eight showed a slow but significant enlargement of the granuloma. Treatment success with TNF inhibitors was variable. In one patient, treatment with TNF inhibitors led to a total remission for 3 years up to now. In two patients, treatment with TNF inhibitors led to a partial regression of granulomas. Treatment interruptions caused deterioration again.
Conclusions: Granulomas in A-T progress slowly over years and can lead to significant morbidity.Treatment with TNF inhibitors was safe and in part successful in our patients. Interestingly HSCT leads to complete remission, and indicates that aberrant immune function is responsible for granulomas in A-T patients.
At a glance commentary:
Scientific knowledge on the subject: Little is known about the clinical presentation, course and treatment of granulomas in ataxia telangiectasia (A-T). In addition, this is the first report of extra-dermal manifestation of granulomas at bone and synovia in patients with A-T.
What This Study Adds to the Field: Granulomas in A-T progress slowly over years and can lead to significant morbidity. Treatment with TNF inhibitors was safe and in part successful in our patients.
Vorgestellt werden zwei eingebürgerte Vorkommen des Rundblättrigen Labkrauts (Galium rotundifolium) in Fichtenforsten in Attendorn und Lennestadt (Kreis Olpe/Sauerland). Die Herkunft dieser im Süden Deutschlands heimischen Art ist ungewiss. Als Quelle kommt am ehesten forstliches Pflanzgut in Frage.
Neuerdings werden in der ursprünglich nordamerikanischen Epilobium ciliatum-Gruppe drei Arten unterschieden. Intensive Studien im Aachener Raum haben gezeigt, dass weitere Sippen existieren. Im vorliegenden ersten Teil werden die Sippen, die morphologisch E. glandulosum entsprechen oder nahe stehen, besprochen. Neben E. glandulosum wird eine bisher nicht beachtete Sippe als E. pallidiglandulosum neu beschrieben. Sie unterscheidet sich von E. glandulosum unter anderem durch kleinere, zartrosa bis weißlich gefärbte Blüten, bleich- oder schwach blaugrün gefärbte Blätter und abweichend geformte Samen. Hybriden von E. glandulosum mit anderen Sippen der E. ciliatum-Gruppe werden vorgestellt.
Background and purpose: The astroglial protein GFAP is a blood biomarker indicative of intracerebral hemorrhage in patients with acute stroke. Due to its brain specificity and the necessity of brain damage for its detectability in blood, we hypothesized that GFAP could be an interesting marker in cases with primary cerebral cause of death, e.g., traumatic brain injury.
Methods: All corpses scheduled for an autopsy in the Frankfurt Department of Forensic medicine within a 15-month period were included in the study. Cases with a known history of brain disease in the 3 months before death were excluded. During autopsy, blood was collected and GFAP serum levels were determined using a commercially available ELISA. The autopsy protocols were reviewed for the presence of a primary cerebral or a primary non-cerebral cause of death. Agony time was also determined.
Results: A total of 129 autopsy cases were included. GFAP concentrations did not differ between cerebral (median 0.96 μg/l, IQR 5.03) and non-cerebral causes of death (1.21 μg/l, 3.58). GFAP levels were found to be unaffected by hemolysis or post-mortem interval. GFAP levels were found to be increased in cases with prolonged agony times (median 1.76 μg/l [IQR 4.70]) compared to short (0.58 μg/l [0.58]; p<0.001) and ultra-short agony times (0.21 μg/l [0.12]; p = 0.002).
Conclusion: Post-mortem GFAP serum concentrations correlate with agony time and might therefore be useful for the evaluation of the severity of brain damage in prolonged death. Elevated GFAP serum levels do not indicate a primary cerebral cause of death.
Es wird über ein neues Felsvorkommen von Asplenium ceterach im südwestfälischen Bergland berichtet. Die aktuelle Verbreitung der Art in Nordrhein-Westfalen wird anhand der Auflistung aller bekannten Vorkommen für das Bundesland angegeben und durch eine aktuelle Verbreitungskarte illustriert. Dabei wird die Häufigkeit von Vorkommen der Art an Naturfelsen im Vergleich zu den viel häufigeren Vorkommen auf Mauern im Gebiet diskutiert.
Introduction: To date, several meta-analyses clearly demonstrated that resistance and plyometric training are effective to improve physical fitness in children and adolescents. However, a methodological limitation of meta-analyses is that they synthesize results from different studies and hence ignore important differences across studies (i.e., mixing apples and oranges). Therefore, we aimed at examining comparative intervention studies that assessed the effects of age, sex, maturation, and resistance or plyometric training descriptors (e.g., training intensity, volume etc.) on measures of physical fitness while holding other variables constant.
Methods: To identify relevant studies, we systematically searched multiple electronic databases (e.g., PubMed) from inception to March 2018. We included resistance and plyometric training studies in healthy young athletes and non-athletes aged 6 to 18 years that investigated the effects of moderator variables (e.g., age, maturity, sex, etc.) on components of physical fitness (i.e., muscle strength and power).
Results: Our systematic literature search revealed a total of 75 eligible resistance and plyometric training studies, including 5,138 participants. Mean duration of resistance and plyometric training programs amounted to 8.9 ± 3.6 weeks and 7.1±1.4 weeks, respectively. Our findings showed that maturation affects plyometric and resistance training outcomes differently, with the former eliciting greater adaptations pre-peak height velocity (PHV) and the latter around- and post-PHV. Sex has no major impact on resistance training related outcomes (e.g., maximal strength, 10 repetition maximum). In terms of plyometric training, around-PHV boys appear to respond with larger performance improvements (e.g., jump height, jump distance) compared with girls. Different types of resistance training (e.g., body weight, free weights) are effective in improving measures of muscle strength (e.g., maximum voluntary contraction) in untrained children and adolescents. Effects of plyometric training in untrained youth primarily follow the principle of training specificity. Despite the fact that only 6 out of 75 comparative studies investigated resistance or plyometric training in trained individuals, positive effects were reported in all 6 studies (e.g., maximum strength and vertical jump height, respectively).
Conclusions: The present review article identified research gaps (e.g., training descriptors, modern alternative training modalities) that should be addressed in future comparative studies.
Es werden vier Arten mit purpurn gefärbten Blattstielen beschrieben. Sie besiedeln besonders Gebiete mit schweren, lehmigen Böden. Draba kohlscheidensis und D. strigosula sind Arten mit eher kurzen Schötchen und hauptsächlich einfachen Haaren und Gabelhaaren, die in diesen Merkmalen D. praecox ähneln. D. aquisgranensis ist eine kräftige Art mit recht langen Schötchen und intermediär geteilten Haaren. Sie ähnelt typischem D. verna s. l. D. acutidentata vermittelt morphologisch zwischen D. glabrescens s. l. und D. verna s. l. und ist charakterisiert durch auffallend schmale Blätter mit unregelmäßig angeordneten, scharfen Zähnen.
This paper compares Friedrich Dürrenmatt's drama script titled Besuch der alten Dame (The Visit, 1956) with the screenplay of the same name by Susanne Beck and Thomas Eifler (2008) with regard to emotionality in language. Due to the fact that the paper cannot focus on all aspects of emotionality, just one significant phenomenon will be addressed, namely certain features found in Dürrenmatt's text which are mostly lost in the screenplay and vice versa. The main focus is on the grotesque and absurdity on the one hand, and the text's closeness to reality and sentimentality on the other. The differences are illustrated using extracts from two selected scenes - the so-called Konradsweilerwald scene and the final scene. From the viewpoint of methodology, the linguistic text analysis of emotions will be used. Within the analysis, expression of emotions, description of emotions and evocation of emotions will be distinguished.
Erasmus of Rotterdam was a scholar with a broad range of interests living in the Renaissance and Reformation period, and he has become the eponymous figurehead of a European university mobility programme initiated thirty years ago. With reference to the partnership between the University of Ostrava (Czech Republic) and the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences (Germany), this paper demonstrates the key importance of this programme for university courses in translation studies, showing how the programme is implemented in line with Erasmus of Rotterdam's ideas and convictions.
This article deals with the literary depiction of Prince Felix Lichnowsky viewed through the lens of the Czech translation of the verse epic Atta Troll. The translation was published in 1953 and is linked to the translation work of Eduard Petiška. The aim of the study is to illuminate the correspondences or differences arising from the comparison of the original version with its translation.
This study compares the dramas König Ottokars Glück und Ende by the Austrian dramatist Franz Grillparzer and Král Přemysl Otakar Druhý by the Czech writer František Zavřel. The focus is on the character of the Bohemian King Otakar II. The king is depicted by both authors as a strong and remarkable figure, but while Grillparzer presents him as an anti-hero who falls victim to his own ruthless politics, Zavřel shows him to be a form of superman, whose downfall is caused by the pettiness of those around him. The study explores these differences and seeks to explain their origins
The article presents the first German-Czech handbook and textbook about forestry (written by Wenzel Elias Lenhardt). The text is of particular interest due to the language situation and the practical use of both German and Czech in the Bohemian Crown Lands during the 18th century. The paper also discusses several aspects of the handbook and textbook - including the author and the addressee from a pragmalinguistic perspective - and summarizes the results of an analysis of its textual characteristics, writing style, syntax and lexis.
In Europe, anthroponyms have undergone a complex development, as simple one-word personal names have developed into multi-word structures containing one, two or more personal names and a stable surname. The article predominantly characterizes the development of surnames on the basis of their origin. Attention is also paid to different trends in the development of personal names. The article analyses this phenomenon from various perspectives, using an example of one specific living person’s anthroponyms.
Due to its specific features, the German participle has numerous functions and uses in word-formation. As partially deverbalized adjectives, participles take on the syntactic role of an adjective while at the same time retaining the valency of a verb. The paper presents the various steps in an analysis using graded (partial) corpora. Drawing on research into the properties and functions of various participle forms, it explores their specific uses in texts.
Objects that are semantically related to the visual scene context are typically better recognized than unrelated objects. While context effects on object recognition are well studied, the question which particular visual information of an object’s surroundings modulates its semantic processing is still unresolved. Typically, one would expect contextual influences to arise from high-level, semantic components of a scene but what if even low-level features could modulate object processing? Here, we generated seemingly meaningless textures of real-world scenes, which preserved similar summary statistics but discarded spatial layout information. In Experiment 1, participants categorized such textures better than colour controls that lacked higher-order scene statistics while original scenes resulted in the highest performance. In Experiment 2, participants recognized briefly presented consistent objects on scenes significantly better than inconsistent objects, whereas on textures, consistent objects were recognized only slightly more accurately. In Experiment 3, we recorded event-related potentials and observed a pronounced mid-central negativity in the N300/N400 time windows for inconsistent relative to consistent objects on scenes. Critically, inconsistent objects on textures also triggered N300/N400 effects with a comparable time course, though less pronounced. Our results suggest that a scene’s low-level features contribute to the effective processing of objects in complex real-world environments.
The aim of this paper is to show that the users of social media and the members of various networks make great efforts to achieve as original, innovative and creative ways of expression as possible. In this respect, the social networking site called Facebook is no exception. However, what differs is the occasions on which the texts are created (in the form of contributions, postings, comments etc.), their particular language forms as well as their distance in relation to both private and public virtual communities. The corpus explored comprises the profiles of different Facebook-users who release their birthday wishes online
Background: Transient elastography (TE) has been validated as an effective noninvasive tool for the assessment of liver fibrosis. The XL probe is a new probe that was initially designed for use in patients with obesity. A meta-analysis was performed to assess the feasibility and efficacy of TE using the XL probe.
Methods: In September 2016, we systematically searched the PubMed and Science Direct search engines. The feasibility of TE was evaluated based on the failure rate and the results of the unreliable liver stiffness measurement (LSM). The efficacy of TE was measured using sensitivity, specificity, and summary receiver-operating characteristic as measures/indices assessed in different stages of fibrosis. Heterogeneity was measured using the chi-squared test and the Q-statistic. We used the 95% confidence interval (95% CI) as an effect measure.
Results: We included 8 studies in the meta-analysis. When the XL was compared to the M probe, the former showed a lower risk of failure rate [relative risk (RR) 0.24, 95% CI 0.14–0.38]. In patients with a body mass index ≥30 kg/m2, the XL probe showed a statistically significantly lower risk of failure rate (RR 0.16, 95% CI 0.08–0.32) but no significant improvement (RR 0.76, 95% CI 0.50–1.16) in the unreliable LSM result. In patients showing liver fibrosis stage ≥F2, the XL probe showed a sensitivity of 0.56 (95% CI 0.39–0.72), specificity of 0.71 (95% CI 0.61–0.79), and an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.71. The results observed in patients with liver fibrosis stage F4 were more promising with a sensitivity of 0.84 (95% CI 0.76–0.90), specificity of 0.78 (95% CI 0.70–0.84), and an AUC of 0.88.
Conclusion: TE using the XL probe demonstrates significant diagnostic utility in patients with liver fibrosis and is likely to be more reliable than the M probe in patients with obesity. Large prospective multicenter studies are, however, necessary to establish the new cut-off values to be used for the XL probe in patients with obesity.
The paper presents the possibilities for analyzing deverbal derivatives from verbs ending in -ier(en); in many cases these exist as doublets, with the suffix -ung and/or the suffix -(at)ion. Based on selected examples of these doublets, the paper demonstrates how both monolingual and bilingual dictionaries fail to take sufficient account of the semantic differences between such competing forms. The author also presents research questions connected with this issue, and outlines a methodology for addressing these questions based on metalexicographic and corpus analysis; this methodology is demonstrated using the example of the doublet Diskrimination and Diskriminierung
The access to information on the dynamic behaviour of large proteins is usually hindered as spectroscopic methods require the site-specific attachment of biophysical probes. A powerful emerging tool to tackle this issue is amber codon suppression. Till date, its application on large and complex multidomain proteins of MDa size has not been reported. Herein, we systematically investigate the feasibility to introduce different non-canonical amino acids into a 540 kDa homodimeric fatty acid synthase type I by genetic code expansion with subsequent fluorescent labelling. Our approach relies on a microplate-based reporter assay of low complexity using a GFP fusion protein to quickly screen for sufficient suppression conditions. Once identified, these findings were successfully utilized to upscale both the expression scale and the protein size to full-length constructs. These fluorescently labelled samples of fatty acid synthase were subjected to initial biophysical experiments, including HPLC analysis, activity assays and fluorescence spectroscopy. Successful introduction of such probes into a molecular machine such as fatty acid synthases may pave the way to understand the conformational variability, which is a primary intrinsic property required for efficient interplay of all catalytic functionalities, and to engineer them.
The article presents two surgical texts written in Strasbourg around 1500. The author of the first text is Hieronymus Brunschwig, and the second is by Hans Gersdorff. Although Gersdorff's book is more like a teaching text, a set of normative instructions in the manner of (legally binding) municipal records, it was published under the name 'Feldbuch'. The publisher may have chosen this designation under the influence of texts named Feldbücher, originating in the Moravian-Silesian region, which were originally intended as manuals for barber surgeons working on battlefields
Based on increasing evidence suggesting that MS pathology involves alterations in bioactive lipid metabolism, the present analysis was aimed at generating a complex serum lipid-biomarker. Using unsupervised machine-learning, implemented as emergent self-organizing maps of neuronal networks, swarm intelligence and Minimum Curvilinear Embedding, a cluster structure was found in the input data space comprising serum concentrations of d = 43 different lipid-markers of various classes. The structure coincided largely with the clinical diagnosis, indicating that the data provide a basis for the creation of a biomarker (classifier). This was subsequently assessed using supervised machine-learning, implemented as random forests and computed ABC analysis-based feature selection. Bayesian statistics-based biomarker creation was used to map the diagnostic classes of either MS patients (n = 102) or healthy subjects (n = 301). Eight lipid-markers passed the feature selection and comprised GluCerC16, LPA20:4, HETE15S, LacCerC24:1, C16Sphinganine, biopterin and the endocannabinoids PEA and OEA. A complex classifier or biomarker was developed that predicted MS at a sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of approximately 95% in training and test data sets, respectively. The present successful application of serum lipid marker concentrations to MS data is encouraging for further efforts to establish an MS biomarker based on serum lipidomics.
A point mutation in the Ncr1 signal peptide impairs the development of innate lymphoid cell subsets
(2018)
NKp46 (CD335) is a surface receptor shared by both human and mouse natural killer (NK) cells and innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) that transduces activating signals necessary to eliminate virus-infected cells and tumors. Here, we describe a spontaneous point mutation of cysteine to arginine (C14R) in the signal peptide of the NKp46 protein in congenic Ly5.1 mice and the newly generated NCRB6C14R strain. Ly5.1C14R NK cells expressed similar levels of Ncr1 mRNA as C57BL/6, but showed impaired surface NKp46 and reduced ability to control melanoma tumors in vivo. Expression of the mutant NKp46C14R in 293T cells showed that NKp46 protein trafficking to the cell surface was compromised. Although Ly5.1C14R mice had normal number of NK cells, they showed an increased number of early maturation stage NK cells. CD49a+ILC1s were also increased but these cells lacked the expression of TRAIL. ILC3s that expressed NKp46 were not detectable and were not apparent when examined by T-bet expression. Thus, the C14R mutation reveals that NKp46 is important for NK cell and ILC differentiation, maturation and function.
Objective: The correlation of depleted blood through midline shift in acute subdural hematoma remains the most reliable clinical predictor to date. On the other hand, patient’s ABO blood type has a profound impact on coagulation and hemostasis. We conducted this study to evaluate the role of patient’s blood type in terms of incidence, clinical course and outcome after acute subdural hematoma bleeding.
Methods: 100 patients with acute subdural hematoma treated between 2010 and 2015 at the author’s institution were included. Baseline characteristics and clinical findings including Glasgow coma scale, Glasgow outcome scale, hematoma volume, rebleeding, midline shift, postoperative seizures and the presence of anticoagulation were analyzed for their association with ABO blood type.
Results: Patient’s with blood type O were found to have a lower midline shift (p<0.01) and significantly less seizures (OR: 0.43; p<0.05) compared to non-O patients. Furthermore, patients with blood type A had the a significantly higher midline shift (p<0.05) and a significantly increased risk for postoperative seizures (OR: 4.01; p<0.001). There was no difference in ABO blood type distribution between acute subdural hematoma patients and the average population.
Conclusion: The ABO blood type has significant influence on acute subdural hematoma sequelae. Patient’s with blood type O benefit in their clinical course after acute subdural hematoma whereas blood type A patients are at highest risk for increased midline shift and postoperative seizures. Further studies elucidating the biological mechanisms of blood type depended hemostaseology and its role in acute subdural hematoma are required for the development of an appropriate intervention.
Locomotion circuits developed in simple animals, and circuit motifs further evolved in higher animals. To understand locomotion circuit motifs, they must be characterized in many models. The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans possesses one of the best-studied circuits for undulatory movement. Yet, for 1/6th of the cholinergic motor neurons (MNs), the AS MNs, functional information is unavailable. Ventral nerve cord (VNC) MNs coordinate undulations, in small circuits of complementary neurons innervating opposing muscles. AS MNs differ, as they innervate muscles and other MNs asymmetrically, without complementary partners. We characterized AS MNs by optogenetic, behavioral and imaging analyses. They generate asymmetric muscle activation, enabling navigation, and contribute to coordination of dorso-ventral undulation as well as anterio-posterior bending wave propagation. AS MN activity correlated with forward and backward locomotion, and they functionally connect to premotor interneurons (PINs) for both locomotion regimes. Electrical feedback from AS MNs via gap junctions may affect only backward PINs.
This paper takes as its starting point several statements by Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz on the role of the German language in literary and scholarly life during Leibniz's era. The languages of scholarship were Latin and French, and Leibniz himself published in both these languages. German was the language of practical life. Viewed from this perspective, it was almost inevitable that medieval and early modern medicine - not in the sense of academic theory, but as a practical activity - developed its own fully-fledged specialist language, which was largely based on the vernacular. In her studies of the language of historical medicine, Lenka Vaňková has shown how such vernacular language was (and potentially still is) able to function in specialist domains
On history in the present day. Laudatio to Lenka Vaňková.
This paper takes as its starting point several statements by Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz on the role of the German language in literary and scholarly life during Leibniz's era. The languages of scholarship were Latin and French, and Leibniz himself published in both these languages. German was the language of practical life. Viewed from this perspective, it was almost inevitable that medieval and early modern medicine - not in the sense of academic theory, but as a practical activity - developed its own fully-fledged specialist language, which was largely based on the vernacular. In her studies of the language of historical medicine, Lenka Vaňková has shown how such vernacular language was (and potentially still is) able to function in specialist domains.