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A new global crop water model was developed to compute blue (irrigation) water requirements and crop evapotranspiration from green (precipitation) water at a spatial resolution of 5 arc minutes by 5 arc minutes for 26 different crop classes. The model is based on soil water balances performed for each crop and each grid cell. For the first time a new global data set was applied consisting of monthly growing areas of irrigated crops and related cropping calendars. Crop water use was computed for irrigated land and the period 1998 – 2002. In this documentation report the data sets used as model input and methods used in the model calculations are described, followed by a presentation of the first results for blue and green water use at the global scale, for countries and specific crops. Additionally the simulated seasonal distribution of water use on irrigated land is presented. The computed model results are compared to census based statistical information on irrigation water use and to results of another crop water model developed at FAO.
Rising atmospheric CO2 is regarded as the main driver of global warming (Crowley, 2000). While temperature changes directly affect plants and animals (Root et al., 2003; Parmesan, 2006), the effects of CO2 on herbivores are mediated through changes in nutrient quality. Elevated concentrations of atmospheric CO2 are likely to increase photosynthetic activity and thus provide more C-based compounds which may alter plant chemical profiles and plant–herbivore–natural enemy interactions. There are several scenarios how insects will react when confronted with a different food quality. A nutrient poor diet, induced by nitrogen dilution, may result in compensatory feeding with either no adverse effects on insect performance or with negative effects on insect growth due to low digestibility of plant structural compounds (e.g. lignin) or toxic effects of secondary metabolites (e.g. tannins). Here we present data from on-tree feeding trials with larvae of the generalist herbivore Lymantria dispar and one of its natural enemies, the hymenopteran endoparasitoid Glyptapanteles liparidis, studied in 2005. The experiments were conducted at the Swiss free-air CO2 enrichment (FACE) site near Basel, in an approximately 80-100-yr-old, mixed-species forest. The data link changes in foliar chemistry of three tree species (Quercus petraea, Fagus sylvatica, Carpinus betulus) exposed to 540 ppm CO2 with herbivore and parasitoid performance.
We determine the hard-loop resummed propagator in an anisotropic QCD plasma in general covariant gauges and define a potential between heavy quarks from the Fourier transform of its static limit. We find that there is stronger attraction on distance scales on the order of the inverse Debye mass for quark pairs aligned along the direction of anisotropy than for transverse alignment.
Histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors represent a promising class of antineoplastic agents which affect tumour growth, differentiation and invasion. The effects of the HDAC inhibitor valproic acid (VPA) were tested in vitro and in vivo on pre-clinical renal cell carcinoma (RCC) models. Caki-1, KTC-26 or A498 cells were treated with various concentrations of VPA during in vitro cell proliferation 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assays and to evaluate cell cycle manipulation. In vivo tumour growth was conducted in subcutaneous xenograft mouse models. The anti-tumoural potential of VPA combined with low-dosed interferon-α (IFN-α) was also investigated. VPA significantly and dose-dependently up-regulated histones H3 and H4 acetylation and caused growth arrest in RCC cells. VPA altered cell cycle regulating proteins, in particular CDK2, cyclin B, cyclin D3, p21 and Rb. In vivo, VPA significantly inhibited the growth of Caki-1 in subcutaneous xenografts, accompanied by a strong accumulation of p21 and bax in tissue specimens of VPA-treated animals. VPA–IFN-α combination markedly enhanced the effects of VPA monotherapy on RCC proliferation in vitro, but did not further enhance the anti-tumoural potential of VPA in vivo. VPA was found to have profound effects on RCC cell growth, lending support to the initiation of clinical testing of VPA for treating advanced RCC.
The House of Falling Women
(2008)
House of Falling Women is the story of a young woman with quixotic ideas about improving the lot of women who finds out that the crusader's cloak is an uncomfortable one. Martha Elive, armed with a university education and a substantial legacy from a Dutchwoman she meets while studying abroad on a scholarship, decides to create an institute for the empowerment of women, only to find that the contradictions to be resolved are more firmly anchored in her psyche than elsewhere. In addition to her unexorcised ghosts and the legacies of a chequered love life, she has to contend with recalcitrant public opinion and moral inertia, the opposition of old-guard reactionaries, and the incomprehension of her small-town parents. House of Falling Women is a poignant, often hilarious story of the search by a group of women for a new place in society in a world where women are dissatisfied with the old values and bewildered by the new.
The impact of European integration on the German system of pharmaceutical product authorization
(2008)
The European Union has evolved since 1965 into an influential political player in the regulation of pharmaceutical safety standards. The objective of establishing a single European market for pharmaceuticals makes it necessary for member-states to adopt uniform safety standards and marketing authorization procedures. This article investigates the impact of the European integration process on the German marketing authorization system for pharmaceuticals. The analysis shows that the main focal points and objectives of European regulation of pharmaceutical safety have shifted since 1965. The initial phase saw the introduction of uniform European safety standards as a result of which Germany was obliged to undertake “catch-up” modernization. From the mid-1970s, these standards were extended and specified in greater detail. Since the mid-1990s, a process of reorientation has been under way. The formation of the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products (EMEA) and the growing importance of the European authorization procedure, combined with intensified global competition on pharmaceutical markets, are exerting indirect pressure for EU member-states to adjust their medicines policies. Consequently, over the past few years Germany has been engaged in a competition-oriented reorganization of its pharmaceutical product authorization system the outcome of which will be to give higher priority to economic interests.
This paper analyzes liquidity in an order driven market. We only investigate the best limits in the limit order book, but also take into account the book behind these inside prices. When subsequent prices are close to the best ones and depth at them is substantial, larger orders can be executed without an extensive price impact and without deterring liquidity. We develop and estimate several econometric models, based on depth and prices in the book, as well as on the slopes of the limit order book. The dynamics of different dimensions of liquidity are analyzed: prices, depth at and beyond the best prices, as well as resiliency, i.e. how fast the different liquidity measures recover after a liquidity shock. Our results show a somewhat less favorable image of liquidity than often found in the literature. After a liquidity shock (in the spread or depth or in the book beyond the best limits), several dimension of liquidity deteriorate at the same time. Not only does the inside spread increase, and depth at the best prices decrease, also the difference between subsequent bid and ask prices may become larger and depth provided at them decreases. The impacts are both econometrically and economically significant. Also, our findings point to an interaction between different measures of liquidity, between liquidity at the best prices and beyond in the book, and between ask and bid side of the market.
We report evidence that the presence of hidden liquidity is associated with greater liquidity in the order books, greater trading volume, and smaller price impact. Limit and market order submission behavior changes when hidden liquidity is present consistent with at least some traders being able to detect hidden liquidity. We estimate a model of liquidity provision that allows us to measure variations in the marginal and total payoffs from liquidity provision in states with and without hidden liquidity. Our estimates of the expected surplus to providers of visible and hidden liquidity are positive and typically of the order of one-half to one basis points per trade. The positive liquidity provider surpluses combined with the increased trading volume when hidden liquidity is present are both consistent with liquidity externalities.
The Match method for the quantification of polar chemical ozone loss is investigated mainly with respect to the impact of the transport of air masses across the vortex edge. For the winter 2002/03, we show that significant transport across the vortex edge occurred and was simulated by the Chemical Lagrangian Model of the Stratosphere. In-situ observations of inert tracers and ozone from HAGAR on the Geophysica aircraft and balloon-borne sondes, and remote observations from MIPAS on the ENVISAT satellite were reproduced well by CLaMS. The model even reproduced a small vortex remnant that remained a distinct feature until June 2003 and was also observed in-situ by a balloon-borne whole air sampler. We use this CLaMS simulation to quantify the impact of transport across the vortex edge on ozone loss estimates from the Match method. We show that a time integration of the determined vortex average ozone loss rates, as performed in Match, results in a larger ozone loss than the polar vortex average ozone loss in CLaMS. The determination of the Match ozone loss rates is also influenced by the transport of air across the vortex edge. We use the model to investigate how the sampling of the ozone sondes on which Match is based represents the vortex average ozone loss rate. Both the time integration of ozone loss and the determination of ozone loss rates for Match are evaluated using the winter 2002/2003 CLaMS simulation. These impacts can explain the majority of the differences between CLaMS and Match column ozone loss. While the investigated effects somewhat reduce the apparent discrepancy in January ozone loss rates reported earlier, a distinct discrepancy between simulations and Match remains. However, its contribution to the accumulated ozone loss over the winter is not large.
Winterweizen bedeckte 1999-2004 64 % der Ackerfläche Schleswig-Holsteins, Winterraps 31 %. Die wichtigsten Schädlinge an Winterweizen waren die drei Getreideblattlausarten (Hom., Aphididae)(Sitobion avenae und Metopolophium dirhodum, selten Rhopalosiphum padi) und die beiden Oulema-Arten (Getreidehähnchen)(O. melanopus und O. lichenis) (Col., Chrysomelidae). An Winterraps traten im Untersuchungszeitraum auf: Meligethes aeneus (F.) (Rapsglanzkäfer) (Col., Nitidulidae) und Ceutorrhynchus assimilis (Payk.) (Kohlschotenrüßler) (Col., Curculionidae). In beiden Kulturen wurden sechs Feldversuche durchgeführt, mit frühen und späten Insektizid-Applikationen (an je zwei Standorten, mit vierfacher Wiederholung). Bei Weizen waren die Parzellen 50 m² groß, bei Raps 90 m². Bei Winterweizen zeigten beide Schaderreger-Gruppen negative Einflüsse auf den Ertrag, wenn sie nicht bei Bekämpfungsschwellen bekämpft wurden. Sowohl der Getreidehähnchen - als auch der Blattlausbefall waren signifikant negativ mit dem Ertrag korreliert. Die ökonomische Auswertung ergab, dass im Untersuchungszeitraum – bei Beachtung der Bekämpfungsschwellen - die frühe Bekämpfung der Getreidehähnchen-Larven wirtschaftlicher war als die spätere der Getreideblattläuse. Bei Winterraps erwies sich die Bekämpfung des Kohlschotenrüsslers als ertraglich und ökonomisch vorteilhaft, selbst ohne Auftreten von Dasineura brassicae (Winn.), der Kohlschotenmücke. Die Bekämpfung des Rapsglanzkäfers hingegen war nur in einem von sechs Versuchen ertragsmäßig und ökonomisch erfolgreich. Die Probleme bei diesem Schädling sind 1. die zu niedrige Bekämpfungsschwelle und 2. die Resistenz gegenüber synthetischen Pyrethroiden. Wurden in Schleswig-Holstein 1999 75.000 ha Ackerfläche mit Insektiziden behandelt (22.7 % AF), stieg die Fläche bis 2004 auf 220.000 (66.5 % AF). Die Anteile der einzelnen Wirkstoffe haben sich verändert.
The execution, clearing, and settlement of financial transactions are all subject to substantial scale and scope economies which make each of these complementary functions a natural monopoly. Integration of trade, execution, and settlement in an exchange improves efficiency by economizing on transactions costs. When scope economies in clearing are more extensive than those in execution, integration is more costly, and efficient organization involves a trade-off of scope economies and transactions costs. A properly organized clearing cooperative can eliminate double marginalization problems and exploit scope economies, but can result in opportunism and underinvestment. Moreover, a clearing cooperative may exercise market power. Vertical integration and tying can foreclose entry, but foreclosure can be efficient because market power rents attract excessive entry. Integration of trading and post-trade services is the modal form of organization in financial markets, which is consistent with the hypothesis that transactional efficiencies explain organizational arrangements in these markets.
This monograph describes the overall language situation in Luxembourg, a highly multilingual country in Western Europe, from a language policy and planning perspective. The first part discusses the social and historical contexts, including major societal changes and uncertainties about the future, which are bound up with Europeanisation and the accelerated processes of globalisation. It also deconstructs the notions of Luxembourgish as a 'minority language' and French as the 'language of prestige', and describes a two-pronged language ideology that allows for either monolingual identification with Luxembourgish or trilingual identification with the languages recognised by the language law of 1984 (Luxembourgish / German / French). The second part discusses the trilingual school-system, a system in which large numbers of romanophone students are forced to go through a German-language literacy programme. The third part provides an overview of language spread in the areas of the media and literary writing. The fourth part examines language purism and tensions concerning the standardisation of Luxembourgish, as well as the debates about language requirements for citizenship. The discussion shows how language policy scholarship needs to be approached from a multidimensional perspective, that is, by taking into account dynamics on the global, regional and local levels in addition to those at the state level.
After the pioneering German “Aktiengesetz” of 1965 and the Brazilian “Lei das Sociedades Anónimas” of 1976, Portugal has become the third country in the world to enact a specific regulation on groups of companies. The Code of Commercial Companies (“Código das Sociedades Comerciais”, abbreviately hereinafter CSC), enacted in 1986, contains a unitary set of rules regulating the relationships between companies, in general, and the groups of companies, in particular (arts. 481° to 508°-E CSC). With this set of rules, the Portuguese legislator has dealt with one of the major topics of modern Company Law. While this branch of law is traditionally conceived as the law of the individual company, modern economic reality is characterized by the massive emergence of large-scale enterprise networks, where parts of a whole business are allocated and insulated in several legally independent companies submitted to an unified economic direction. As Tom HADDEN put it: “Company lawyers still write and talk as if the single independent company, with its shareholders, directors and employees, was the norm. In reality, the individual company ceased to be the most significant form of organization in the 1920s and 1930s. The commercial world is now dominated both nationally and internationally by complex groups of companies”. This trend, which is now observable in any of the largest economies in the world, holds also true for small markets such as Portugal. Although Portuguese economy is still dominated by small and medium-sized enterprises, the organizational structure of the group has always been extremely common. During the 70s, it was estimated that the seven largest groups of companies owned about 50% of the equity capital of all domestic enterprises and were alone responsible for 3/4 of the internal national product. Such a trend has continued and even highlighted in the next decades, surviving to different political and economic scenarios: during the 80s, due to the process of state nationalization of these groups, an enormous public group with more than one thousand controlled companies has been created (“IPE - Instituto de Participações do Estado”); and during the 90s until today, thanks to the reprivatisation movement and the opening of our national market, we assisted to the re-emergence of some large private groups, composed of several hundred subsidiaries each, some of which are listed in foreign stock exchange markets (e.g., in the banking sector, “BCP – Banco Comercial Português”, in the industrial area, “SONAE”, and in the media and communication area, “Portugal-Telecom”).
In left critiques of globalization, it is often argued that liberal-egalitarian principles are inadequate for thinking about and struggling for global justice; that they are, in fact, part of the problem. For the case of identity politics as a left alternative, the paper points at two fallacies in this notion, regarding two ‘liberal’ elements: individualism and universalism. The paper examines groupidentity claims in far right conceptions of global injustice, and shows that cultural diversity of groups does not necessitate or even favour equality and democratic participation. It then examines the left group-based claims in the global justice discourse, showing that the aspirations for equality and freedom assume the liberal notions that have been often rejected as inadequate. The paper concludes that this ambivalent position undermines the democratic and egalitarian aspirations of left critiques of the global order. The analysis is based on manifestos and publications of political parties and movements in Western Europe (France, Germany and Austria).
The market reaction to legal shocks and their antidotes : lessons from the sovereign debt market
(2008)
This Article examines the market reaction to a series of legal events concerning the judicial interpretation of the pari passu clause in sovereign debt instruments. More generally, the Article provides insights into the reactions of investors (predominantly financial institutions), issuers (sovereigns), and those who draft bond covenants (lawyers), to unanticipated changes in the judicial interpretation of certain covenant terms.
Production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by the mitochondrial respiratory chain is considered to be one of the major causes of degenerative processes associated with oxidative stress. Mitochondrial ROS has also been shown to be involved in cellular signaling. It is generally assumed that ubisemiquinone formed at the ubiquinol oxidation center of the cytochrome bc(1) complex is one of two sources of electrons for superoxide formation in mitochondria. Here we show that superoxide formation at the ubiquinol oxidation center of the membrane-bound or purified cytochrome bc(1) complex is stimulated by the presence of oxidized ubiquinone indicating that in a reverse reaction the electron is transferred onto oxygen from reduced cytochrome b(L) via ubiquinone rather than during the forward ubiquinone cycle reaction. In fact, from mechanistic studies it seems unlikely that during normal catalysis the ubisemiquinone intermediate reaches significant occupancies at the ubiquinol oxidation site. We conclude that cytochrome bc(1) complex-linked ROS production is primarily promoted by a partially oxidized rather than by a fully reduced ubiquinone pool. The resulting mechanism of ROS production offers a straightforward explanation of how the redox state of the ubiquinone pool could play a central role in mitochondrial redox signaling.
Dendrite morphology, a neuron's anatomical fingerprint, is a neuroscientist's asset in unveiling organizational principles in the brain. However, the genetic program encoding the morphological identity of a single dendrite remains a mystery. In order to obtain a formal understanding of dendritic branching, we studied distributions of morphological parameters in a group of four individually identifiable neurons of the fly visual system. We found that parameters relating to the branching topology were similar throughout all cells. Only parameters relating to the area covered by the dendrite were cell type specific. With these areas, artificial dendrites were grown based on optimization principles minimizing the amount of wiring and maximizing synaptic democracy. Although the same branching rule was used for all cells, this yielded dendritic structures virtually indistinguishable from their real counterparts. From these principles we derived a fully-automated model-based neuron reconstruction procedure validating the artificial branching rule. In conclusion, we suggest that the genetic program implementing neuronal branching could be constant in all cells whereas the one responsible for the dendrite spanning field should be cell specific.
The ACL 2008 Workshop on Parsing German features a shared task on parsing German. The goal of the shared task was to find reasons for the radically different behavior of parsers on the different treebanks and between constituent and dependency representations. In this paper, we describe the task and the data sets. In addition, we provide an overview of the test results and a first analysis.
Taxonomic, systematic, and biogeography knowledge on the Palaearctic species of Pristaulacus Kieffer 1900 is summarized. Twenty-one valid species are recognized. The most important morphological characters taken into consideration are: shape, cuticular sculpture, and pubescence of head; index length/width of antennomeres; shape, sculpture and cuticular processes of mesosoma, especially of pronotum and mesonotum; number and shape of teeth on claw; shape and sculpture of metasoma; ovipositor length compared with wing and antenna length; and colour pattern (e.g., the dark spots on fore wing, and the colour of hind tarsus). Several characters of the genital capsule of the male were proved to be very useful for species identification, e.g., the shape of the paramere, volsella, cuspis, and digitus. Based on analysis of twenty-five morphological characters, eight species groups are recognized. The critical revision of the chorological data, including many new records, introduced relevant changes of the geographical distribution pattern of most species. Twelve species are restricted to the western part of the Palaearctic Region and eight species are restricted to its eastern part; only one species, P. gibbator, has a wider distribution, including both western and eastern parts of the Palaearctics.
The dynamics of many systems are described by ordinary differential equations (ODE). Solving ODEs with standard methods (i.e. numerical integration) needs a high amount of computing time but only a small amount of storage memory. For some applications, e.g. short time weather forecast or real time robot control, long computation times are prohibitive. Is there a method which uses less computing time (but has drawbacks in other aspects, e.g. memory), so that the computation of ODEs gets faster? We will try to discuss this question for the assumption that the alternative computation method is a neural network which was trained on ODE dynamics and compare both methods using the same approximation error. This comparison is done with two different errors. First, we use the standard error that measures the difference between the approximation and the solution of the ODE which is hard to characterize. But in many cases, as for physics engines used in computer games, the shape of the approximation curve is important and not the exact values of the approximation. Therefore, we introduce a subjective error based on the Total Least Square Error (TLSE) which gives more consistent results. For the final performance comparison, we calculate the optimal resource usage for the neural network and evaluate it depending on the resolution of the interpolation points and the inter-point distance. Our conclusion gives a method to evaluate where neural nets are advantageous over numerical ODE integration and where this is not the case. Index Terms—ODE, neural nets, Euler method, approximation complexity, storage optimization.
We performed a bioinformatical analysis of protein export elements (PEXEL) in the putative proteome of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. A protein family-specific conservation of physicochemical residue profiles was found for PEXEL-flanking sequence regions. We demonstrate that the family members can be clustered based on the flanking regions only and display characteristic hydrophobicity patterns. This raises the possibility that the flanking regions may contain additional information for a family-specific role of PEXEL. We further show that signal peptide cleavage results in a positional alignment of PEXEL from both proteins with, and without, a signal peptide.
Cantharidin, which is mainly found in blister beetles (Coleoptera: Meloidae), is one of the most intensively studied natural products of insect (Dettner, 1997; McCormick & Carrel, 1987). The involvement of cantharidin in courtship behaviour has been already confirmed for certain canthariphilous insects (Eisner & al. 1996a,b; Frenzel & Dettner 1994; Frenzel & al. 1992; Schütz & Dettner, 1992; Hemp & al. 1999). The function and intrinsinc role of cantharidin in the courtship behaviour of Meloids has been never fully established. McCormick & Carrel (1987) only suggested that cantharidin might be used by female meloids when selecting a mate at close range. Pinto (1974, 1975) was, in fact, the first to consider male cuticular pores as being involved in the courtship behaviour of species from the genus Linsleya and Tegrodera (Meloidae). Based on morphology and chemical analyses of Cyaneolytta sp. (Coleoptera: Meloidae), we have hereby provided some further evidences that cantharidin may act as an infochemical in courtship behaviour of meloid beetles.
The book examines the creative industries of Cameroon and Africa and makes bold the cultural triumphant assertion that Africa is home to some of the most diverse cultural patrimony and the most versatile creative professionals. It also discusses indigenous development models and questions the rationale for Eurocentric democratic paradigms which have partly contributed to the demise of a concrete democratic development entitlement in most African countries. Ngwane weaves both the cultural and political strands into a search for a homegrown development web which he calls 'glocalisation'. Ngwane's essays, most of which have animated debate and discourse in national newspapers, online blogs and International journals are lucid in their arguments, poignant in their ideological focus, rich in their non-fiction craftsmanship and urgent in their message delivery. The essays will make good reading for students of Africa studies, Development studies, Politics and Culture.
Central counterparties (CCPs) have increasingly become a cornerstone of financial markets infrastructure. We present a model where trades are time-critical, liquidity is limited and there is limited enforcement of trades. We show a CCP novating trades implements efficient trading behaviour. It is optimal for the CCP to face default losses to achieve the efficient level of trade. To cover these losses, the CCP optimally uses margin calls, and, as the default problem becomes more severe, also requires default funds and then imposes position limits.
The "quiet life hypothesis (QLH)" posits that banks enjoy the advantages of market power in terms of foregone revenues or cost savings. We suggest a unified approach to measure competition and efficiency simultaneously to test this hypothesis. We estimate bank-specific Lerner indices as measures of competition and test if cost and profit efficiency are negatively related to market power in the case of German savings banks.We find that both market power and average revenues declined among these banks between 1996 and 2006. While we find clear evidence supporting the QLH, estimated effects of the QLH are small from an economical perspective.
Poster presentation: Purpose of the study The aim of the Rainbow Cohort is to assess the tolerability and efficacy of initiating treatment with, or switching treatment to saquinavir (SQV) 500 mg film-coated tablet formulation. We present the final 48-week subgroup analysis of antiretroviral therapy (ART)-naïve patients. ...
The Raped Amulet
(2008)
An extraordinary story of a young man from Africa who tries hard to reconcile the ways he had grown up with, and those he was experiencing in his host country - Great Britain. The story is set in Coventry, in the English Midlands and is told by Dion Ekpochaba, a postgraduate student at the University of Warwick. Dion, fresh from his motherland, Cameroon, loses an amulet, a cherished heritage of his ancestry and becomes desperate about the loss. He meets an elderly English man, Tom Jones who makes a startling revelation: the amulet had just been desecrated by his dog and thrown into the depths of a lake in the campus. Dion became so flabbergasted that Tom Jones thought he might have gone out of his mind. The two strangers tried to understand each other to no avail. However, the misfortunes of time turn the tides, resulting in a friendship, which provides grounds for mutual understanding and respect for each other's ways. Read on and spark your views on making the world a better place.
The reaction of consumer spending and debt to tax rebates – evidence from consumer credit data
(2008)
We use a new panel dataset of credit card accounts to analyze how consumer responded to the 2001 Federal income tax rebates. We estimate the monthly response of credit card payments, spending, and debt, exploiting the unique, randomized timing of the rebate disbursement. We find that, on average, consumers initially saved some of the rebate, by increasing their credit card payments and thereby paying down debt. But soon afterwards their spending increased, counter to the canonical Permanent-Income model. Spending rose most for consumers who were initially most likely to be liquidity constrained, whereas debt declined most (so saving rose most) for unconstrained consumers. More generally, the results suggest that there can be important dynamics in consumers’ response to “lumpy” increases in income like tax rebates, working in part through balance sheet (liquidity) mechanisms.
In this study I analysed past and recent Daphnia populations from Lake Constance and Greifensee. Herefore, I first established a set of microsatellite markers applicable to European Hyalodaphnia species (chapter 1). Primers were also identified for species specific fragment lengths. 32 markers were then available to characterize the resting egg banks of Daphnia galeata and D. hyalina. Chapter 2 presents the reconstruction of the taxonomic composition in these two ecologically different lakes. This part of my work shows that the eutrophication that occurred in both lakes in the mid of the last century has strongly influenced the Daphnia populations. In both lakes Daphnia galeata established and hybridized with the indigenous D. hyalina. Interspecific hybridization resulted in introgression on the mitochondrial and nuclear level. In chapter 3 resting eggs from the sediments of the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and 2000s were characterized with microsatellite markers. The aim was to specify the extent of interspecific hybridization and nuclear introgression assuming that the genetic exchange between both species has an impact on their adaptation to their habitat. In life history experiments D. galeata and D. galeata x hyalina clones hatched from different time periods showed significant differential responses to food quality. Therefore, the question had to be answered how the Daphnia resting egg bank and the planktonic population are connected. In chapter 4 hatching experiments were conducted to bridge this gap of scientific knowledge in the life cycle of cyclic parthenogenetic waterfleas. Only D. galeata individuals were able to establish a clonal lineage after maturity. All observed recombinant individuals did not reproduce at all or firstly went through another sexual phase of reproduction i.e. produced resting eggs. In order to compare the findings of chapter 4 with the taxon composition of the recent planktonic population of Daphnia in Lake Constance, samples were taken over one season (between May 2005 and September 2006). During the season, the taxonomic composition of Daphnia changes severely with D. galeata being most abundant during the warm season and D. hyalina in the cold season. Moreover, some individuals were detected, that did not follow this pattern. With mitochondrial analysis those individuals were identified as mitochondrial introgressants and processed to life history experiments. Significant differences in the somatic growth rate under different temperatures (5°C, 12.5°C and 20°C) were related to the origin of the mitochondrial genome rather than the nuclear taxonomic assignment of the individual.
The findings of this study show that all organisms exposed to rapid ecological changes and their microevolutionary reaction to those.
The unfolding discussion will focus on the internal representation of turbulent sounds in the phonology of German as well as pinpoint the special status of the prime defining the quality of turbulence. It will also be argued that this prime is capable of entering into special types of licensing relations, which results in specific phonetic manifestations of forms. We shall compare the effects of two processes attested in German: consonant degemination and spirantisation with a view to revealing the role of the turbulence-defining element in the two operations. Furthermore, our attention will be focused on the workings of the Obligatory Contour Principle which, as will be shown below, exerts decisive impact on prime interplay and consequently the phonetic realization of sounds and words. We shall see that segmental identity is contingent on the languagespecific interpretation of inter-element bonds.
Aware of the importance of prime autonomy in determining the manifestation of sounds, let us start with a brief outline of the fundamental segment structure principles offered by the theory of Phonological Government.
Rezension von: Rainer Forst (2007) Das Recht auf Rechtfertigung. Elemente einer konstruktivistischer Theorie der Gerechtigkeit. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp, 413 pp.
Objectives To examine the dose-response relationship between cumulative exposure to kneeling and squatting as well as to lifting and carrying of loads and symptomatic knee osteoarthritis (OA) in a population-based case-control study. Methods In five orthopedic clinics and five practices we recruited 295 male patients aged 25 to 70 with radiographically confirmed knee osteoarthritis associated with chronic complaints. A total of 327 male control subjects were recruited. Data were gathered in a structured personal interview. To calculate cumulative exposure, the self-reported duration of kneeling and squatting as well as the duration of lifting and carrying of loads were summed up over the entire working life. Results The results of our study support a dose-response relationship between kneeling/squatting and symptomatic knee osteoarthritis. For a cumulative exposure to kneeling and squatting > 10.800 hours, the risk of having radiographically confirmed knee osteoarthritis as measured by the odds ratio (adjusted for age, region, weight, jogging/athletics, and lifting or carrying of loads) is 2.4 (95% CI 1.1-5.0) compared to unexposed subjects. Lifting and carrying of loads is significantly associated with knee osteoarthritis independent of kneeling or similar activities. Conclusions As the knee osteoarthritis risk is strongly elevated in occupations that involve both kneeling/squatting and heavy lifting/carrying, preventive efforts should particularly focus on these "high-risk occupations".
Dicer and Drosha are the major enzymes involved in microRNA processing. Using siRNA targeting Dicer and Drosha, thereby downregulating a substantial number of microRNAs in EC, we demonstrate a crucial role of both enzymes in angiogenic processes. Interestingly, Dicer inhibition exerts more profound effects on processes like migration and viability of EC in comparison to Drosha inhibition. Moreover, Dicer effects in vivo angiogenesis, a process which is unaffected by Drosha. This discrepancy might be partially due to the involvement of Dicer in other cellular processes like heterochromatin formation and to the fact that Dicer and Drosha target mainly different subsets of microRNAs. In addition, we identified miR-92a as a novel endogenous repressor of the angiogenic program in EC, which impairs their angiogenic functions in vitro and in vivo. Consistent with these data, blocking miR-92a by systemic infusion of antagomirs enhances neovascularization and functional recovery after ischemia in vivo. At first sight, the anti-angiogenic function of miR-92a in EC appears to contradict the previously identified anti-apoptotic and pro-angiogenic activities of the miR-17~92 cluster in tumor cells. However, this apparent discrepancy might be well rationalized by a predominant function of miR-18a and miR-19a in tumor cells, which are responsible for the tumorigenic and non-cell autonomous pro-angiogenic functions of the miR-17~92 cluster. Instead, miR-92a expression is specifically upregulated in ischemic tissues and appears to cell-autonomously repress the angiogenic potential of EC. Among the various targets and verified regulated genes identified by microarray, we confirmed the downregulation of Integrin a5 in vitro and in vivo. The relevance of this miR-92a target is evidenced by severe vascular defects in the absence of Integrin a5. In addition, endothelial miR-92a interferes with the expression pattern of genes controlling key EC functions at various levels, some of which, e.g. eNOS, might be secondarily affected by directly targeted genes. Obviously, our data do not formally exclude effects of antagomir-92a on perivascular and other cell types, but surely include effects on EC. Regardless of this, the capacity of miR-92a to target various downstream effectors might be an advantage of miRNA-based therapeutic strategies and may overcome the limited therapeutic capacity of single growth factor or single gene therapies in ischemic diseases, since the highly organized process of vessel growth, maturation and functional maintenance is well known to require the fine-tuned regulation of a set of genes.
Sexual deception of male bees is one of the most remarkable mechanisms of pollination (Ackermann 1986, Proctor & al. 1996). Flowers of the orchid genus Ophrys mimic females of their pollinator species, usually bees and wasps, to attract males, which try to copulate with the flowers. During this so-called “pseudocopulation” the male removes the pollinia and transfers them to another flower to ensure pollination. Apart from visual and tactile cues, floral scent was shown to be most important for eliciting mating behaviour in males (Kullenberg 1961, Schiestl & al. 1999, Ayasse & al. 2003). Pollination in Ophrys is highly specific and usually each Ophrys species attracts only one pollinator species (Paulus & Gack 1990). The high degree of specialization provides the means of reproductive isolation between the intercrossable Ophrys-species (Ehrendorfer 1980). The complex odour-bouquets released by the flowers are species-specific and often consist of more than 100 different chemical compounds (Borg-Karlson & al. 1985, Ayasse 2006). Speciation in Ophrys-orchids may be brought about by changes in the pollinator attracting floral scent. The attraction of a new pollinator may act as a pre-zygotic isolation barrier (Stebbins 1970, Paulus & Gack 1990, Soliva & al. 2001). We investigated three sympatrically occuring Ophrys-species on Sardinia. O. chestermanii and O. normanii are endemic and are both pollinated by males of the bumblebee B. vestalis. O. tenthredinifera is pollinated by Eucera nigrilabris. There are different opinions concerning the taxonomic status of O. normanii. It has been described as an actual hybrid between O. chestermanii and O. tenthredinifera (Wood 1983). Paulus & Gack (1995) suggested that it is an own species, that either has developed from a hybrid between O. chestermanii and O. normanii or that has evolved by radiation from O. tenthredinifera. By conducting behavioural-tests with B. vestalis males, performing gas chromatographic analyses and electrophysiological studies we wanted to identify pollinator attracting scent and to clarify the taxonomic status of O. normanii.
The degradation of the poly(A) tail is crucial for posttranscriptional gene regulation and for quality control of mRNA. Poly(A)-specific ribonuclease (PARN) is one of the major mammalian 3’ specific exo-ribonucleases involved in the degradation of the mRNA poly(A) tail, and it is also involved in the regulation of translation in early embryonic development. The interaction between PARN and the m7GpppG cap of mRNA plays a key role in stimulating the rate of deadenylation. Here we report the solution structures of the cap-binding domain of mouse PARN with and without the m7GpppG cap analog. The structure of the cap-binding domain adopts the RNA recognition motif (RRM) with a characteristic a-helical extension at its C-terminus, which covers the b-sheet surface (hereafter referred to as PARN RRM). In the complex structure of PARN RRM with the cap analog, the base of the N7-methyl guanosine (m7G) of the cap analog stacks with the solvent-exposed aromatic side chain of the distinctive tryptophan residue 468, located at the C-terminal end of the second b-strand. These unique structural features in PARN RRM reveal a novel cap-binding mode, which is distinct from the nucleotide recognition mode of the canonical RRM domains.
Type I interferons (IFNs) signal for their diverse biological effects by binding a common receptor on target cells, composed of the two transmembrane IFNAR1 and IFNAR2 proteins. We have previously differentially enhanced the antiproliferative activity of IFN by increasing the weak binding affinity of IFN to IFNAR1. In this study, we further explored the affinity interdependencies between the two receptor subunits and the role of IFNAR1 in differential IFN activity. For this purpose, we generated a panel of mutations targeting the IFNAR2 binding site on the background of the IFNalpha2 YNS mutant, which increases the affinity to IFNAR1 by 60-fold, resulting in IFNAR2-to-IFNAR1 binding affinity ratios ranging from 1000:1 to 1:1000. Both the antiproliferative and antiviral potencies of the interferon mutants clearly correlated to the in situ binding IC(50) values, independently of the relative contributions of the individual receptors, thus relating to the integral lifetime of the complex. However, the antiproliferative potency correlated throughout the entire range of affinities, as well as with prolonged IFNAR1 receptor down-regulation, whereas the antiviral potency reached a maximum at binding affinities equivalent to that of wild-type IFNalpha2. Our data suggest that (i) the specific activity of interferon is related to the ternary complex binding affinity and not to affinity toward individual receptor components and (ii) although the antiviral pathway is strongly dependent on pSTAT1 activity, the cytostatic effect requires additional mechanisms that may involve IFNAR1 down-regulation. This differential interferon response is ultimately mediated through distinct gene expression profiling.
Freeze (1992) argued on the basis of data from several different languages that there is a close relationship between existential sentences (stating the existence of an entity) and locative sentences (stating the location of an entity). Freeze (1992) proposes that they are both derived from the same base structure and that the surface differences are rather due to the distinct information structures.This paper argues against this position with the data from Serbian existentials, which show clear syntactic differences from the locatives. Thus, the close relationship between existential and locative sentences that Freeze (1992) observes is conceptual, but not (necessarily) part of the syntax of the language. In order to account for the data, we propose that existential sentences originate from a different syntactic predication structure than the locative ones. The existential meaning arises, as we will show, from the interaction of this predication structure with the structure and meaning of the noun phrase.
The timing of feedback to early visual cortex in the perception of long-range apparent motion
(2008)
When 2 visual stimuli are presented one after another in different locations, they are often perceived as one, but moving object. Feedback from area human motion complex hMT/V5+ to V1 has been hypothesized to play an important role in this illusory perception of motion. We measured event-related responses to illusory motion stimuli of varying apparent motion (AM) content and retinal location using Electroencephalography. Detectable cortical stimulus processing started around 60-ms poststimulus in area V1. This component was insensitive to AM content and sequential stimulus presentation. Sensitivity to AM content was observed starting around 90 ms post the second stimulus of a sequence and most likely originated in area hMT/V5+. This AM sensitive response was insensitive to retinal stimulus position. The stimulus sequence related response started to be sensitive to retinal stimulus position at a longer latency of 110 ms. We interpret our findings as evidence for feedback from area hMT/V5+ or a related motion processing area to early visual cortices (V1, V2, V3).
The Tragedy of Mr No Balance
(2008)
The Travail of Dieudonné
(2008)
Dieudonnes life is spun from the threads of one of Africa's grand moral dilemmas, in which personal responsibility is intertwined with the social catharsis occasioned by ambitions of dominance and ever diminishing circles. We encounter Dieudonne at the tail end of his service as 'houseboy' to the Toubaabys, a patronising expatriate couple. In the company of a lively assortment of characters and luring music at the Grand Canari Bar, Dieudonne recounts his life. As he peels layer after layer of his vicissitudes, he depicts the everyday resilience of the African on a continent caught in the web of predatory forces. Yet, this enchanting failure also celebrates the infinite capacity of the African to find happiness and challenge victimhood.
The study investigates the contribution of tactile and auditory feedback in the adaptation of /s/ towards a palatal prosthesis. Five speakers were recorded via electromagnetic articulography, at first without the prosthesis, then with the prosthesis and auditory feedback masked, and finally with the prosthesis and auditory feedback available. Tongue position, jaw position and acoustic centre of gravity of productions of the sound were measured. The results show that the initial adaptation attempts without auditory feedback are dependent on the prosthesis type and directed towards reaching the original tongue palate contact pattern. Speakers with a prosthesis which retracted the alveolar ridge retracted the tongue. Speakers with a prosthesis which did not change the place of the alveolar ridge did not retract the tongue. All speakers lowered the jaw. In a second adaptation step with auditory feedback available speakers reorganised tongue and jaw movements in order to produce more subtle acoustic characteristics of the sound such as the high amplitude noise which is typical for sibilants.
The Wayeyi [: phrasebook]
(2008)
Wörterbuch: Redewendungen Bantu-English
A collection of six thought-provoking stories, four of which were award-winning-stories at the 1990 literary contest of the national Association of Cameroonian Poets and Writers (APEC). The stories are set in different localities in Africa and Cameroon in particular. The author in a lucid manner explores the theme of women lib- the African way in the lead story. Ebenye, the protagonist, representing the sharp-witted African woman cannot understand why she should cook food without tasting of it. So she decides to take the bold step of eating a piece of the python that she has been ordered to cook for the men of her community. The other stories tackle themes of corruption, poverty, alcoholism, endurance, love and more.
In our present-day landscape in Central Europe major parts of the xylobiontic especially of the saproxylic beetle fauna belong to the group of endangered species assemblages (Speight 1989, Geiser 1994). Oaks, in Central Europe mainly Quercus robur and Q. petraea, are well known for their large number of associated insect species and harbour the highest beetle diversity, especially for dead wood inhabiting species, of all broadleaved tree species in this region (e.g. Palm 1959). A characteristic species associated with oaks in its life-cycle is the endangered Great Capricorn Cerambyx cerdo. C. cerdo is one of the protected species explicitly named in the Habitats Directive of the European Union with the goal of maintaining existing populations and establishing long-term survival (Council of the European Communities 1992). The last remaining colonised areas of this longhorn beetle in Central Europe are well known for the enormous number of very rare xylobiontic beetle species. Thus, we are interested in the following research questions: 1) Are there typical species associated with C. cerdo? 2) If so, what kind of relationship do these associated species have to C. cerdo from a nature conservation point of view?
Theater ohne Autoren: ist die Zukunft dramatisch? : Impulsreferat beim Berliner Theatertreffen 2008
(2008)
Der Titel klingt schon wieder nach Krise, Untergang und Waldsterben. Keine Angst und auch keine Hoffnung: ich mache hier nicht die Kassandra für den angeblich oder wirklich vom Untergang bedrohten Autor. Im Gegenteil: ich möchte aufräumen und die Fenster aufreißen. Denn die Debatte um das Theater und seine angeblich immerwährenden Krisen ist weitaus verblödeter als das Theater in seinen Hervorbringungen. Sie klebt immer noch an Vorgestern. Die Klischees, mit denen Theaterleute und ihre sich antilobbyistisch gerierende kritische Lobby gern hantieren, ermüden seit langem. Mit seiner Begabung, längst geschlagene Schlachten wieder aufzuwärmen, selbst wenn sich die Konfliktlinien seit langem verschoben haben, ist das Theater übrigens in guter schlechter Gesellschaft, in der der Politik nämlich. Alte Schemata werden hier wie dort mit Lust gedankenlos weitergetragen, als ideologische Nebelkerzen gegen den wahren Stand der Dinge. Besonders beliebt ist es, im Rahmen solcher Debatten für die Unterdrückten und Entrechteten Partei zu ergreifen: das sind im Theater in der Regel der arme Schauspieler und der vergewaltigte Autor während der Folterknecht fast immer der Regisseur ist.
TheaterSport : Einar Schleef bewegt Elfriede Jelinek ; zum Verhältnis von Bild, Raum und Sprache
(2008)
Their Champagne Party Will End! Poems in Honor of Bate Besong : Poems in Honor of Bate Besong
(2008)
Das Ziel der Studie bestand einerseits in der Untersuchung der Zusammenhänge zwischen der sich im Vorschulalter entwickelnden Theory of Mind und dem sich ebenfalls zu diesem Zeitpunkt ausbildenden episodischen Gedächtnis unter der Berücksichtigung verschiedener potentieller Einflussfaktoren, wie beispielsweise den sprachlichen und exekutiven Fähigkeiten der Kinder. Auf der anderen Seite sollten zudem die Veränderungen innerhalb der einzelnen Konstrukte im zeitlichen Verlauf zwischen dem vierten und fünften Lebensjahr abgebildet werden. Dazu wurden 40 Kindern an zwei im Abstand von einem Jahr stattfindenden Erhebungszeitpunkten verschiedenste Aufgaben zur Erfassung ihrer jeweiligen Fähigkeiten in den unterschiedlichen kognitiven Bereichen vorgelegt. Das Durchschnittsalter der Kinder zum Zeitpunkt der ersten Messung betrug M = 38.73 Monate (SD = 2.84) und beim zweiten Messzeitpunkt M = 51.03 Monate (SD = 2.89). Anhand der erhobenen Daten konnte gezeigt werden, dass neben dem Zeitverständnis vor allem die Fähigkeit der dreijährigen Kinder zur Perspektivübernahme einen signifikanten Beitrag zur Erklärung ihrer späteren Kompetenzen auf dem Gebiet des episodischen Gedächtnisses leistet. Weiterhin konnten mittels der zwei Messzeitpunkte sowohl die quantitativen als auch qualitativen Veränderungen innerhalb der unterschiedlichen Theory of Mind-Kompetenzen bzw. innerhalb des sich wandelnden Repräsentationsverständnisses abgebildet werden. Zudem konnte ebenfalls die bedeutende Rolle der Sprache als optimales Medium zum verbalen Austausch über die verschiedenen Perspektiven von sich und anderen sowie über vergangene, gegenwärtige oder zukünftige Erlebnisse konstatiert werden. Im Gegensatz zu den Befunden anderer Studien scheint hingegen den vorliegenden Befunden nach dem Einfluss der exekutiven Fähigkeiten auf die Theory of Mind-Kompetenzen der Kinder keine so grundlegende Bedeutung zuzukommen.
Die vorliegende Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit den Störungen der Atem-, Sprech-, Stimm- und Schluckfunktion bei Patienten mit diagnostiziertem Morbus Parkinson. Diese Störungen zeigen sich in einem komplexen Erscheinungsbild, welches durch die charakteristische Körperfehlhaltung geprägt ist und sich in besonderer Weise über die Muskulatur der Schulter-, Hals-, und Kopfregion auf die funktionellen Abläufe der Atmung, des Sprechens und der Stimme auswirkt. Mit dieser Untersuchung sollte gezeigt werden, wie mit einem strukturierten und körperorientierten Therapieansatz, bei dem verschiedene Therapiemethoden kombiniert zum Einsatz kamen, auf dieses multikausale Erscheinungsbild eingewirkt werden kann. Während des Beobachtungszeitraums vom Februar 1997 bis August 1997 wurden im Rahmen einer Rehabilitationsmaßnahme 60 Patienten, mit einem Altersschnittvon 67;3 Jahren, zum Therapiebeginn untersucht und ausführlich zu den Störungen der Atmung, des Sprechens, der Stimme und des Schluckens befragt. Für die Auswertung wurde das Störungsbild in zwei funktionelle Gruppen unterteilt. In Gruppe eins wurden die orofazialen Störungen, also die Schluckstörungen, die Hypersalivation, die Sensibilität und die Mundmotorik dargestellt. In Gruppe zwei wurden die Störungen der Atmung, des Sprechens und der Stimme nach Schweregraden dargestellt. Die Patienten wurden mit dem beschriebenen Therapieansatz therapeutisch versorgt und die so gewonnen Ergebnisse aus zwei Messzeitpunkten retrospektiv evaluiert. Dabei ging es erstens um die Frage, inwieweit über einen körperorientierten Ansatz die Störungen der Atmung, des Sprechens, der Stimme und des Schluckens therapeutisch zu beeinflussen sind. Zweitens ob es möglich ist, über die Arbeit am Körpertonus und der Körperhaltung die Voraussetzungen für funktionelle Bewegungsabläufe zu schaffen, um diese für die Patienten auch spürbar und "übbar" zu machen. Drittens sollte geklärt werden, ob sich verschiedene Funktionskreise mit anderen Bewegungsabläufen trainieren lassen um so die Patienten über basale Übungen in die komplexen motorischen Abläufe der Atmung, des Sprechens, der Stimme und des Schluckens zu führen. Erste Ergebnisse dieser Untersuchung werden dargestellt und diskutiert.
In einer retrospektiven Analyse von 94 Fällen wurde unter besonderer Berücksichtigung des Kyphosewinkels eine Empfehlung zur Therapie der Spondylitis herausgearbeitet. Die Patienten waren in den Jahren 1991 bis einschließlich 1997 aufgrund einer Spondylitis an der Orthopädischen Universitätsklinik Friedrichsheim in Frankfurt am Main in stationärer Behandlung. Die Ergebnisse wurden durch Auswertung der Krankenakten, Ausmessung der Röntgenbilder und einer Nachuntersuchung von 61 Patienten im Mittel von 4,6 Jahren nach dem stationären Aufenthalt erhoben. Das Durchschnittsalter der Patienten lag bei 56 Jahren. Von 94 Fällen waren 12 spezifische und 82 unspezifische Spondylitiden. Der Erregernachweis gelang in 49% der Fälle; Staphylococcus aureus war der am häufigsten nachgewiesene Keim (46%). Mycobacterium tuberculosis wurde bei 6 Patienten kulturell (13%) und in 9 Fällen histologisch (10%) nachgewiesen. Bei der Nachuntersuchung war die Beurteilung der Schmerzfreiheit in der ventralen und dorso-ventralen Patientengruppe identisch. Beide Methoden hatten den größten Anteil an schmerzfreien Patienten. Eine neurologische Symptomatik zu Therapiebeginn hatten 25 Patienten. Am Therapieende hatte sich bei 16 Patienten die Neurologie vollständig zurückgebildet. Zu einer Teilrückbildung der Neurologie kam es in 4 Fällen, und bei 5 Patienten wurden zur Rückbildung der Neurologie keine Angaben gemacht. Die Blutsenkungsgeschwindigkeit und das C-reaktive Protein waren zu Behandlungsbeginn erhöht, und die Leukozyten lagen im Normbereich. 9 Patienten wurden konservativ behandelt. 34 Patienten wurden einer ventralen Spondylodese zugeführt und 37 Patienten wurden dorso-ventral operiert. Weitere 14 Patienten wurden von dorsal mittels Fixateur interne stabilisiert. Bei 8 der 14 Patienten wurde der Entzündungsherd von dorsal ausgeräumt, und 9 der 14 Patienten bekamen zusätzlich dorsal, dorso-lateral oder transpedikulär Knochenspäne implantiert. Die durchschnittliche Knochenspaneinbauzeit war bei den ventralen und dorso-ventralen Spondylodesen etwa gleich lang (Brustwirbelsäule 5 respektive 5,4 Monate, Lendenwirbelsäule 3,8 respektive 3,9 Monate). Die durchschnittliche radiologische Ausheilung der Spondylitis bei den dorsalen Spondylodesen und den konservativ behandelten Patienten dauerte ebenfalls etwa gleich lang (Brustwirbelsäule 6,9 respektive 7,8 Monate, Lendenwirbelsäule 4,4 respektive 5 Monate). Für die Dauer des Knochenspaneinbaus scheint eine zusätzliche dorsale Stabilisierung unbedeutend. In den Fällen, bei denen eine Ausräumung des Entzündungsherds und Knochenspanimplantation erfolgte, ließ sich eine schnellere knöcherne Ausheilung der Spondylitis erkennen. Demzufolge scheint die Herdausräumung mit konsekutiver Knochenspanimplantation wesentlich für die Ausheilung der Spondylitis zu sein. Die Durchbauungsrate der nochenspanspondylodesen lag in allen Gruppen jeweils bei 100% (vorausgesetzt ein zeitlich kompletter, radiologischer Verlauf eines Patienten lag zur Beurteilung vor). Eine intraoperative Aufrichtung der kyphosierten Wirbelkörper gelang in 71 von 85 Fällen (84%). Die größten effektiven Korrekturgewinne wurden mit der dorso-ventralen Spondylodese erzielt (Vergleich präoperativ zu follow-up). Der größte Korrekturverlust entstand in den ersten drei postoperativen Monaten. Postoperative Korrekturverluste traten bei den ventralen Spondylodesen bis zu 3 Monaten, bei den dorso-ventralen Spondylodesen bis zu 6 Monaten und bei den dorsalen Spondylodesen über 6 Monate hinaus auf. Ursache hierfür ist die noch mangelnde Tragfähigkeit des im Umbau befindlichen Gewebes. Eine Ausheilung der Spondylitis trat in allen Fällen ein. Zwei Patienten entwickelten 1 Jahr respektive 1,5 Jahre später ein Rezidiv (2%). Basierend auf den Erkenntnissen dieser Arbeit ist die dorso-ventrale Operation zur Therapie der Spondylitis zu favorisieren. Durch die ventrale Spondylodese kommt es zu einer beschleunigten Ausheilung der Spondylitis. Eine intraoperative Aufrichtung des erkrankten Wirbelkörpersegments kann die Statik der Wirbelsäule wiederherstellen respektive erhalten. Eine Progredienz der Kyphose wird damit dauerhaft verhindert. Außerdem können Schmerzen und neurologische Defizite schnell behoben werden. Mit einem Fixateur interne kann das Operationsgebiet von dorsal gesichert werden. Eine Frühmobilisation des Patienten wird ermöglicht, was im Hinblick auf Komplikationen durch Immobilisation insbesondere bei älteren oder multimorbiden Patienten wesentlich erscheint. Weiterhin erlaubt die intraoperative Probeentnahme eine Erregerbestimmung mit zugehörigem Antibiogramm und eine histologische Diagnose. Bei geringer knöcherner Destruktion kann eine alleinige ventrale Operation mit Herdausräumung und Knochenspanimplantation ausreichend sein. Eine mehrwöchige Phase der postoperativen Immobilisation sollte bei diesem Vorgehen berücksichtigt werden. Eine konservative Therapie empfiehlt sich bei Patienten, deren Ausmaß der Erkrankung (knöcherne Destruktionen) sehr gering ist, oder die aufgrund ihres Allgemeinzustands nicht operabel sind.
Reform of the securities class action is once again the subject of national debate. The impetus for this debate is the reports of three different groups – The Committee on Capital Market Regulation, The Commission on the Regulation of U.S. Capital Markets In the 21st Century, and McKinsey & Company. Each of the reports focuses on a single theme: how the contemporary regulatory culture places U.S. capital markets at a competitive disadvantage to foreign markets. While multiple regulatory forces are targeted by each report’s call for reform, each of the reports singles out securities class actions as one of the prime villains that place U.S. capital markets at a competitive disadvantage. The reports’ recommendations range from insignificant changes to drastic curtailments of private class actions. Surprisingly, these current-day cries echo calls for reform heeded by Congress in the not too distant past. Major reform of the securities class action occurred with the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.5 Among the PSLRA’s contributions is the introduction of procedures by which the court chooses from among competing petitioners a lead plaintiff for the class. The statute commands that the petitioner with the largest financial loss suffered as a consequence of the defendant’s alleged misrepresentation is presumed to be the most adequate plaintiff. Thus, the lead plaintiff provision supplants the traditional “first to file” rule for selecting the suit’s plaintiff with a mechanism that seeks to harness to the plaintiff’s economic self interest to the suits’ prosecution. Also, by eliminating the race to be the first to file, the lead plaintiff provision seeks to avoid “hair trigger” filings by overly eager plaintiffs’ counsel which Congress believed too frequently gave rise to incomplete and insubstantially pled causes of action. The PSLRA also introduced for securities class actions a heightened pleading requirement8 as well as a bar to the plaintiff obtaining any discovery prior to the district court disposing of the defendants’ motions to dismiss. By introducing the requirement that allegations involving fraud must be plead not only with particularity, but also that the pled facts must establish a “strong inference” of fraud, the PSLRA cast aside, albeit only for securities actions, the much lower notice pleading requirement that has been a fixture of American civil procedure for decades. Substantive changes to the law were also introduced by the PSLRA. With few exceptions, joint and several liability was replaced by proportionate liability so that a particular defendant’s liability is capped by that defendant’s relative degree of fault. Similarly, contribution rights among co-violators are also based on proportionate fault of each defendant. Three years after the PSLRA, Congress returned to the topic again by enacting the Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act;13 this provision was prompted by aggressive efforts of plaintiff lawyers to bypass the limitations, most notably the bar to discovery and higher pleading requirement, of the PSLRA by bringing suit in state court. Post-SLUSA, securities fraud class actions are exclusively the domain of the federal court. In this paper, we examine the impact of the PSLRA and more particularly the impact the type of lead plaintiff on the size of settlements in securities fraud class actions. We thus provide insight into whether the type of plaintiff that heads the class action impacts the overall outcome of the case. Furthermore, we explore possible indicia that may explain why some suits settle for extremely small sums – small relative to the “provable losses” suffered by the class, small relative to the asset size of the defendantcompany, and small relative to other settlements in our sample. This evidence bears heavily on the debate over “strike suits.” Part I of this paper sets forth the contemporary debate surrounding the need for further reforms of securities class actions. In this section, we set forth the insights advanced in three prominent reports focused on the competitiveness of U.S. capital markets. In Part II we first provide descriptive statistics of our extensive data set, and thenuse multivariate regression analysis to explore the underlying relationships. In Part III, we closely examine small settlements for clues to whether they reflect evidence of strike suits. We conclude in Part IV with a set of policy recommendations based on our analysis of the data. Our goals in this paper are more modest than the Committee Report, the Chamber Report and the McKinsey Report, each of which called for wide-ranging reforms: we focus on how the PSLRA changed securities fraud settlements so as to determine whether the reforms it introduced accomplished at least some of the Act’s important goals. If the PSLRA was successful, and we think it was, then one must be somewhat skeptical of the need for further cutbacks in private securities class action so soon after the Act was passed.
In the field of strongly correlated electron systems, there is a long standing discussion on whether lattice degrees of freedom play a role for several physical phenomena, among them the Mott MI transition and charge-ordering transition. Charge-transfer salts of the ..-(BEDT-TTF)2X and (TMTCF)2X families have been revealed as model systemss for the study of the latter phenomena. The (TMTCF)2X salts have been recognized as model systems for studying correlation effects in 1D, while the (BEDT-TTF)-based materials for such studies in 2D. In this work, high-resolution dilatometry experiments were performed in order to address these issues. The main results obtained are summarized below. ...
In this proceeding the emergence of a composite, adjoint-scalar field as an average over (trivial holonomy) calorons and anti-calorons is reviewed. This composite field acts as a background field to the dynamics of perturbative gluons, to which it is coupled via an effective, gauge invariant Lagrangian valid for temperatures above the deconfinement phase transition. Moreover a Higgs mechanism is induced by the composite field: two gluons acquire a quasi-particle thermal mass. On the phenomenological side the composite field acts as a bag pressure which shows a linear dependence on the temperature. As a result the linear rise with temperature of the trace anomaly is obtained and is compared to recent lattice studies.
Three-dimensional structure of the glycine-betaine transporter BetP by cryo electron crystallography
(2008)
The soil bacterium Corynebacterium glutamicum has five secondary transporters for compatible solutes allowing it to cope with osmotic stress. The most abundant of them, the transporter BetP, performs a high affinity uptake of glycine-betain when encountering hyperosmotic stress. BetP belongs to the betaine/carnitine/choline/transporter (BCCT) family, and is predicted to have twelve transmembrane helices with both termini facing the cytoplasm. The goal of this thesis is to facilitate understanding of BetP function by determining a three dimensional (3D) model of its structure. Two-dimensional (2D) crystallization of wild-type (WT) BetP has been successfully performed by reconstitution into a mixture of E. coli lipids and bovine cardiolipin, which resulted in vesicular crystals diffracting to 7.5 Å resolution (Ziegler, Morbach et al. 2004). Diffraction patterns of these crystals however showed unfocused spots, generally due to high mosaicity. Better results were obtained by using the constitutively active mutant BetPdeltaC45 in which the first 45 amino acids of the positively charged C-terminus were removed. BetPdeltaC45 crystals obtained under the same conditions for BetP WT were concluded to be pseudo crystals, based on the inconsistence of symmetry. These crystals had BetPdeltaC45 molecules randomly up/downwards inserted into membrane crystals, and cannot be used for structure determination, even though they diffracted up to 7 Å. The problem of pseudo crystal formation could be solved by changing the lipids used for 2D crystallization to a native lipid extract from C. glutamicum cells. This change of lipids improved the crystals to well-ordered packing with exclusive p121_b symmetry. To understand the role of lipids in crystal packing and order, lipids were extracted at different stages during crystallization, and identified by using multiple precursor ion scanning mass spectrometry. The results show that phosphatidyl glycerol (PG) 16:0-18:1 is the most dominant lipid species in C. glutamicum membranes, and that BetP has a preference for the fatty acid moieties 16:0-18:1. Crystallization with synthetic PG 16:0-18:1 proved that an excess of this lipid prevents pseudo crystal formation, but these crystals did not reach the quality as previously achieved by using the C. glutamicum lipids. Apart from the effect of lipids in crystallinity, the concentration and type of salts influenced crystal growth and morphology. High salt conditions (>400 mM LiCl or KCl) yielded tubular crystals, whereas low salt conditions (<300 mM LiCl, NaCl or KCl) led to formation of up to 10 µm large sheet-like crystals. The intermediate concentration gave a mixture of sheet-like and tubular crystals. In terms of resolution, sheets diffracted better than tubes. The sheet-like crystals used for 3D map reconstruction were obtained from a dialysis buffer containing 200 mM NaCl combined with using C. glutamicum lipids. Electron microscopic images were taken from frozen-hydrated crystals using a helium-cooled JEOL 300 SFF microscope or a liquid nitrogen-cooled FEI Tecnai G2 microscope at 300 kV, which allowed optimal data collection and minimized radiation damage to the sample. More than 1000 images of tilt angles up to 50° were taken and evaluated using optical diffraction of a laser beam. The best 200 images were processed with the MRC image processing software package, and 79 images from different tilt angles were merged to the final data set used for calculation of a 3D map at a planar resolution of 8 Å. The structure shows BetPdeltaC45 as a trimer with each monomer consisting of 12 transmembrane alpha-helices. Protein termini and loop regions could not be determined due to the limited resolution of the map. Six of the twelve helices line a central cavity forming a potential substrate-binding chamber. Each monomer shows a central cavity in different sizes and shapes. Thus, the constitutively active BetPdeltaC45 thus forms an unusual asymmetric homotrimer. BetP most likely reflects three different conformational states of secondary transporters: the cytoplasmically open (C), the occluded (O), and the periplasmically open (P) states. The C and O states are similar to BetP WT projection structure, while the P state is discrepant and highly flexible due to the shape and size of the central cavity as well as the lowest intensity of the density. The observation of the P state corresponds well to the constitutively active property of BetPdeltaC45. For the high resolution structure of the C and O states are available, this work presents the first structural information of the P state of a secondary transporter.
Im Folgenden werde ich auf Texte von zwei Autoren eingehen, in denen das genaue Hinhören und das leise Rauschen zentrale Motive sind und zum Anlass für Schock und nervlichen Zusammenbruch werden. Es sind Erzählungen von Poe und Kafka, in denen das leise Ticken und Rauschen einer technisierten Moderne die Protagonisten heimsucht. Es ist wichtig für meine vergleichende Diskussion der beiden Texte, dass hier Geräusch nicht nur auf der Plotebene eingebettet ist, sondern auch in beiden Fällen an den medienhistorischen Kontext anschließt; in ihm sind das Ticken und Pochen in Poes Texten und das Rascheln und Rauschen in Kafkas Erzählungen zu verorten.
Einleitung: Das kolorektale Karzinom ist die zweithäufigste Karzinomart bei Frauen und Männern. Ziel dieser Studie war die Beschreibung der Morbidität und Mortalität nach standardisierter tiefer anteriorer Rektumresektion mit Anlage eines protektiven Ileostomas bei Patienten mit Rektumkarzinom. Sekundäres Studienziel war der Vergleich des vorbeschriebenen, standardisiert behandelten Kollektivs mit Daten aus der Literatur, in welchen zur Behandlung des Rektumkarzinoms eine Resektion desselben ohne Anlage eines protektiven Ileostomas erfolgt ist. Material und Methoden: Ein von 2000 bis 2005 therapiertes Patientengut aus 30 Männern und 20 Frauen des Klinikums Offenbach wurde detailliert retrospektiv aufgearbeitet und mit den Ergebnissen anderer Arbeitsgruppen verglichen. Die Altersgrenzen zum Zeitpunkt der Rektumresektion lagen bei 27 und 84 Jahren, der Altersmedian betrug 68. Die tiefe anteriore Rektumresektion ist die heutzutage präferierte Operationsmethode von Karzinomen des mittleren und, ganz besonders, des distalen Rektumdrittels. Ein Ileostoma dient dem Schutz der tiefen Anastomose. Ergebnisse: Bei 5 Patienten kam es zu intraoperativen Komplikationen. Häufigste Komplikation war eine Anastomoseninsuffizienz (n = 3), die bei der intraoperativen Dichtigkeitsprüfung offensichtlich wurde. In allen Fällen wurde die Anastomose intraoperativ neu angelegt beziehungsweise übernäht. Die postoperativen Komplikationen wurden im eigenen Kollektiv unterteilt nach allgemeinen und speziellen Komplikationen erfasst, wobei 16 Patienten eine allgemeine beziehungsweise 24 eine spezielle Komplikation zu beklagen hatten. Bei insgesamt 28 Karzinomträgern kam es zu einer Komplikation. Chirurgisch dominierten Wundheilungsstörungen und intraabdominelle Abszesse. Zu einer Leckage der Anastomose kam es im postoperativen Verlauf bei 3 Patienten. In 11 Fällen musste re-interventioniert werden. Bei 9 Patienten war eine Re-Operation erforderlich, während bei 2 Patienten eine CT-gesteuerte Punktion erfolgte. Im Durchschnitt (Mittelwert) betrug die Krankenhausverweildauer 30 ½ Tage. 48 Patienten des Krankenguts konnten das Krankenhaus verlassen, 2 Patienten verstarben während der postoperativen Behandlung. 14 Patienten hatten eine stomaimmanente Komplikation zu beklagen. Häufigstes Stoma-bezogenes Ereignis war eine Verwachsung des Intestinums mit der Stoma-zuführenden Ileumschlinge. Von diesen 8 Fällen mussten 2 operativ versorgt werden. Weitere Stoma-bezogene Ereignisse waren parastomale Abszesse (n = 3), parastomale Ekzeme (n = 2), parastomale Hernien (n = 2) und ein Stomaprolaps. 25 Ileostomaträger entschlossen sich, ihren künstlichen Darmausgang rückverlagern zu lassen. Die anderen 25 entschlossen sich dagegen, beziehungsweise war es bei einigen auf Grund des Allgemeinzustandes oder vorherigen Versterbens nicht möglich, die Rückverlagerung durchzuführen. Schlussfolgerung: Der Vergleich der eigenen Ergebnisse mit denen anderer Studien zeigt, dass das Auftreten einer Anastomoseninsuffizienz durch die Anlage eines protektiven Stomas nicht gänzlich verhindert werden kann, obwohl in dieser Studie die Rate mit 6% sehr gering war. Wichtiger erscheinen in diesem Zusammenhang die möglichen Folgen einer Leckage. Es wird deutlich, dass Patienten mit einem protektiven Ileostoma weniger gravierende Folgen zu beklagen haben und signifikant seltener re-operiert werden müssen. Auch die Stoma-bezogene Morbidität ist ein wichtiger Punkt in der Bewertung der Daten, wobei sich die Inzidenz schwerer Komplikationen als gering erwies. Auch wenn die meisten Stoma-bezogenen Komplikationen gelinde und selbstlimitierend verlaufen, bleibt die Inzidenz von schweren Komplikationen und die Rate an Re-Operationen bedeutend. Eine Optimierung der perioperativen Versorgung, besonders bei älteren Patienten, könnte jedoch die Inzidenz von Komplikationen bei Stoma-Patienten reduzieren. Nicht von der Hand zu weisen ist die auch in dieser Studie festgestellte Tatsache, dass eine gewisse Anzahl von Patienten ihr Ileostoma dauerhaft behält. Dies hat diverse Gründe, jedoch sollte jeder Patient vor dem Eingriff auf diese Möglichkeit hingewiesen werden, da ein dauerhaftes Stoma einen Einfluss auf die individuelle Lebensqualität hat. Des Weiteren muss auf die geringe Anzahl der Patienten im eigenen Krankengut eingegangen werden. Die statistische Aussagekraft mancher Ergebnisse ist daher begrenzt, wobei die sorgfältige Auswertung anderer Studien eine präzise Analyse der Materie gewährleistet hat. Beide Eingriffe, Anlage und Rückverlagerung eines Ileostomas, sind mit gewissen Risiken verbunden. Jedoch erscheinen die Folgen einer möglichen Komplikation bei Patienten ohne protektives Ileostoma im Vergleich deutlich schwerwiegender. Die Wahrscheinlichkeit eines letalen Verlaufs infolge einer Anastomoseninsuffizienz wird durch ein vorgeschaltetes Ileostoma beträchtlich reduziert. Schließlich bestärkt die Analyse der gewonnenen Daten und ihr Vergleich mit den angeführten Studien die eigene Ansicht, dass ein operatives Vorgehen mit Anlage eines protektiven Ileostomas die beste Methode zur Behandlung eines tiefen Rektumkarzinoms darstellt und die Indikation zur Anlage eines solchen Stomas weit gestellt werden sollte.
Die Frage nach dem Zusammenspiel von Dingen und Zeichen beherrscht Strindbergs Prosastücke, Artikel und Abhandlungen. Sein geradezu manisches Unterfangen zu vernetzen, was die Semiotik in natürliche, ikonische und symbolische Zeichen unterschieden hat, stößt nicht selten vor in weltbewegende und kosmische Dimensionen, entzündet sich aber in der Regel an einem konkreten Gegenstand. Was er schreibt, sieht wie wissenschaftliche Fallstudien aus, aber Strindbergs unruhiges Fragen überwältigt oft Strindbergs Beobachtungen. Ein Beispiel dafür ist die kleine Anhandlung "Der Totenkopfschwärmer. Versuch in rationalem Mystizismus" von 1896. Darin beschäftigt er sich mit einer Erklärungsaufgabe, mit der Frage, wie das Abbild eines Totenkopfes auf den Körper eines Schmetterlings gekommen ist.
Titabet and the Takumbeng
(2008)
Titabet and the Takumbeng is a play that relives the unprecedented political upheaval of the 1992 first ever multiparty presidential elections in Cameroon. Following the controversial elections, Bamenda - the stronghold of the main opposition party, the Social Democratic Front (SDF) - was plunged into a tense and intense civil disobedience campaign. The violence which ensued pitted SDF militants who claimed their victory was stolen against regime loyalists. The government reacted by imposing a curfew on Bamenda. The army that was dispatched to keep the peace committed ferocious kidnapping, rape, theft and torture, driving women, children and men into the arms of terror. Titabet the protagonist emerges as the leader of the oppressed. He and the sacred women's cult of Takumbeng were the only hope for the people. The sacred cleansing cult and Titabet's courageous resistance apparently brought an end to what would have been too devastating a tale to narrate. Kehbuma Langmia teaches courses in Mass Communications, Broadcast Journalism and Media Studies at Bowie State University. With previous degrees in fine arts, television and film, he earned his PhD in Mass Communication and Media Studies from Howard University. He also has an MA degree in theatre arts from the University of Yaound?, Cameroon. He is also a graduate from the Television Academy in Munich, Germany. Dr. Langmia writes, produces and directs independent productions, and serves as executive producer for students' television projects at Bowie State University.
Predmet interesa ovoga rada dvije su ustaljene sveze riječi koje su dio hrvatskoga pomorskog nazivlja, a u jeziku se često koriste s frazeološkim značenjem. U radu se analizira njihovo podrijetlo, moguća frazeološka značenja i konteksti u kojima se upotrebljavaju. Potencijalni frazemi uspoređuju se i s njihovim ruskim frazeološkim značenjskim ekvivalentima.
Ključne riječi: hrvatska frazeologija; ruska frazeologija; hrvatsko pomorsko nazivlje; potencijalni frazemi mali od palube i mali od kužine
This talk concerns the copula system in Buli, a Ghanaian language which has also been attested in Bahia (Rodrigues 1935, Zwernemann 1968). Special focus will be put on the categorization of two copula-reminiscent elements for which I will propose a discoursepragmatic analysis.
Plastids are complex plant organelles fulfilling essential physiological functions, such as photosynthesis and amino acid metabolism. The majority of proteins required for these functions are encoded in the nuclear genome and synthesized on cytosolic ribosomes as precursors, which are subsequently translocated across the outer and inner membrane of the organelle. Their targeting to the organelle is ensured by a so called transit peptide, which is specifically recognized by GTP-dependent receptors Toc159 and Toc34 at the cytosolic side of outer envelope. They cooperatively regulate the insertion of the precursor protein into the channel protein Toc75, thereby initiating the translocation process. Toc34 is regarded as the primary receptor, while Toc159 probably provides the driving force for the insertion. Precursor transfer is achieved by the physical interaction between both receptors in the GTP loaded state. One translocon unit, also called the Toc core complex, is formed by four molecules Toc34, four molecules Toc75 and one molecule Toc159. In the GDP-loaded state, Toc34 preferably forms homodimers, whose physiological function was investigated in the presented study. It could be shown that the dissociation of GDP and therefore the nucleotide exchange are inhibited by the homodimeric state of Toc34. Dissociation of the homodimer is induced by the recognition of a precursor protein, which renders the binding of GTP and subsequent interaction with Toc159 possible. Thus, the homodimeric conformation could reflect an inactive state of the translocon, preventing GTP consumption in the absence of a precursor protein. Both homodimerization as well as heterodimerization of the receptor are regulated by phosphorylation, which could be demonstrated by in vitro and in vivo approaches using atToc33 from Arabidopsis thaliana as a model system. Since the phosphorylated form of Toc34 cannot be assembled with the Toc core complex, it can be concluded that the interactions between GTPase domains not only regulate the transfer of precursor proteins, but also warrant the integrity of the translocon.
Venezuela steht wegen seiner großen Rohstoffreichtümer im Blickpunkt der Vereinigten Staaten. Aber das besondere Augenmerk der Hegemonialmacht gilt dem bolivarischen Prozeß in Venezuela, denn das Land spielt eine wichtige Rolle bei der Integration des Kontinents und der damit verbundenen Möglichkeiten für fundamentale Veränderungen, die Venezuelas internationale Politik anderen Ländern eröffnet. ...
Buli is an Oti-Volta tone language spoken in Northern Ghana. This paper outlines the basic features of its tonal system and explores whether and in which way pitch respectively phonemic tone is approached as a means to indicate the pragmatic category of focus. Pursued are cases with focus-related surface tone changes as well as cases where pitch could help to disambiguate between broad and narrow foci. It is argued that focus is not consistently encoded by pitch or tone. Parallel findings for the closely related languages Kopen o (phonetic symbol)nni and Dagbani suggest that the apparent lack of significant prosodic focus signals in Buli might pertain to a larger group of tonal languages of the Gur family.
Top Dogs, Top Actors, Top Audience : Chronik der Rezeption eines Schweizer Erfolgsstücks in Rumänien
(2008)
Piesa „Top Dogs“ a fost scrisă de Urs Widmer “la cerere” pentru Teatrul Neumarkt din Zürich şi tematizează problema concedierilor în rândurile angajaţilor de elită. Această piesă a fost prezentată şi în ţara noastră, în mai multe concepţii regizorale şi mai multe limbi: germană, română, maghiară. Articolul de faţă urmăreşte receptarea piesei „Top Dogs“ în România, compară concepţiile regizorale ale regizorilor români atât între ele cât şi cu premiera din Zürich şi evidenţiază pe lângă diferenţele regizorale şi pe cele textuale.
U ovome se radu na temelju terenskog istraživanja obrađuje toponimija danas gotovo posve napuštenoga sela Dubljani u Popovu u istočnoj Hercegovini. U mjesnoj su toponimiji najzastupljeniji toponimi antroponimnoga postanja s pomoću kojih se upoznajemo s negdašnjim i današnjim imovinsko-pravnim ustrojem srednjovjekovnog Huma, toponim Satùlija (‘Sanctus Elias’) spomen je na davne romansko-hrvatske dodire, a na primjeru toponima Sačìvišće upoznajemo se s veoma složenom dijalektnom slikom istočne Hercegovine.
The relation between reality and language, the instability of language as a signification system, the representation crisis, and the borders of interpretation are the controversial issues that have engaged not only philosophers, but also many authors, translators, and literary critics. Some philosophers like Derrida accuse Western thinking of being obsessed with binary oppositions. In Derrida's view, Western tradition resorts to external references as God, truth, origin, center and reason to stabilize the signification system. Since these concepts lack an internal sense and there is no transcendental signified that can fix these signifiers, language turns to an instable system by means of which no fixed meaning can be created. Many authors like Beckett, Stoppard, and Caryl Churchill also noticed this impossibility of language. While Derrida's deconstructive approach to this crisis has an epistemological nature, these playwrights present an aesthetic solution by turning the deconstructive potential of language against itself in text and performance. This dissertation aims at exploring their performing methods and dramatic texts to demonstrate how their delogocentric strategies work. By analyzing their plays, I will examine if their use of signifiers that have no references in reality, intentional misconceptions, disintegrated subjectivities, decentered narratives, and experimental performances can help them undermine the prevailing logocentrism of Western thought. The examination of the change in aesthetic strategies from Beckett, who belongs to earlier stages of post modernism, to Caryl Churchill, who should perform in a globalized world with increasing dominance of speed and information, is another aim of this research. In my view,Beckett's obsession with unspeakable, absurdity, and disintegration of subjectivity develops to Stoppard's language games, metadrama, and anti-representation and culminates in Churchill's anti-narrative texts and pluralistic performances. The monophony of Beckett's dramatic texts is replaced by the polyphony of Churchill's performances, which are a mixture of theater, dance and music. However, all explored dramatic texts in this dissertation have something in common: they are language games, which have no claim on a faithful representation of reality or transcendental truth.
A data set of annual values of area equipped for irrigation for all 236 countries in the world during the time period 1900 - 2003 was generated. The basis for this data product was information available through various online data bases and from other published materials. The complete time series were then constructed around the reported data applying six statistical methods. The methods are discussed in terms of reliability and data uncertainties. The total area equipped for irrigation in the world in 1900 was 53.2 million hectares. Irrigation was mainly practiced in all the arid regions of the globe and in paddy rice areas of South and East Asia. In some temperate countries in Western Europe irrigation was practiced widely on pastures and meadows. The time series suggest a modest rate of increase of irrigated areas in the first half of the 20th century followed by a more dynamic development in the second half. The turn of the century is characterized by an overall consolidating trend resulting at a total of 285.8 million hectares in 2003. The major contributing countries have changed little throughout the century. This data product is regarded as a preliminary result toward an ongoing effort to develop a detailed data set and map of areas equipped for irrigation in the world over the 20th century using sub-national statistics and historical irrigation maps.
A pergunta que move o presente artigo é: como a categoria trabalho social deveria ser incluída no marco de uma teoria social para que, dentro dela, abra uma perspectiva de melhoria qualitativa que não seja utópica? Para dar conta desse problema complexo, o autor sugere num primeiro passo, mais metodológico, o emprego da distinção entre crítica externa e imanente para o propósito de uma crítica das relações de trabalho existentes. Num segundo passo, o autor procura mostrar que o trabalho social só poderá assumir legitimamente este papel de uma norma imanente se ele for conectado às condições de reconhecimento na moderna troca de realizações (Leistungen). São reconstruídas duas condições a partir de Hegel e de Durkheim: uma organização justa do trabalho social necessita remunerar suficientemente o trabalhador para prover-lhe condições socialmente dignas de sobrevivência e precisa estar estruturado de modo a que suas tarefas permitam ao indivíduo trabalhador perceber nelas uma contribuição para a coletividade e relacioná-la com o restante dos trabalhos socialmente necessários.
Ziel: Evaluation der transpulmonalen Chemoembolisation TPCE als symptomatisches, palliatives Verfahren für die Therapie inoperabler primärer und sekundärer Lungentumoren. Material und Methoden: 69 Patienten (46 Männer, 23 Frauen; Durchschnittsalter: 60,9 Jahre) mit primären und sekundären Lungentumoren wurden mittles TPCE im Zeitraum von 2001 bis 2005 in durchschnittlich 3,36 Sitzungen (Range: 2 - 10 Sitzungen) behandelt. Dabei litten 17 Patienten (14 Männer, 3 Frauen; Durchschnittsalter: 64,5 Jahre; Range: 44 - 78 Jahre) an inoperablen primären Lungentumoren, 52 weitere (32 Männer, 20 Frauen, Durchschnittsalter: 59,8 Jahre; Range: 33 - 83 Jahre) zeigten Metastasen verschiedenen Ursprungs. Nach Punktion der Vena femoralis wurden die tumorversorgenden Pulmonalarterien selektiv sondiert und unter Ballonprotektion 5 - 10 mg Mitomycin C und 5 - 10 ml Lipidol sowie Microspheren (Spherex) (Durchmesser: 20 - 70 μm) appliziert. Pro Sitzung wurden Läsionen nur eines Lungenlappens behandelt. Die Diagnose und Auswertung erfolgte im 4-Wochen-Intervall mittels nativer sowie kontrastmittelverstärkter, computertomographischer Bildgebung. Das Follow-up erstreckte sich hierbei über einen Zeitraum von sechs Monaten bis zu zwei Jahren für Patienten mit primären Tumoren; für Patienten mit sekundären Tumoren lag die Nachsorgezeit zwischen sechs Monaten und 2,25 Jahren. Ergebnisse: Die Behandlung wurde von allen Patienten ohne größere Nebenwirkungen und Komplikationen toleriert; Laborparameter wurden nicht relevant beeinflusst. Eine hohe sowie moderate Lipiodolaufnahme konnte in 17 Fällen (24,6%) computertomographisch verifiziert werden, während sich in 52 Fällen (75,4%) eine niedrige Lipiodolaufnahme zeigte. Nach Beurteilung morphologischer Kriterien wurde eine Volumenreduktion der embolisierten Areale bei 20 Patienten (29,0%) um im Mittel 13,9 ml (53,9%) erreicht, während sich bei 14 Patienten (20,3%) eine Größenkonstanz zeigte. In 35 Fällen (50,7%) kam es zu einer Volumenzunahme der behandelten Tumoren. Hierbei betrug das durchschnittliche Tumorwachstum 29,4ml (131,0%). Schlussfolgerung: Die transpulmonale Chemoembolisation (TPCE) stellt eine gut verträgliche palliative Therapiemaßnahme zur Reduzierung der Tumorvolumina bei Patienten mit primären und sekundären Lungentumoren dar.
This paper is more about presenting phenomena and questions related to the concept of transitivity in Tibeto-Burman languages that I hope will stimulate discussion, rather than presenting strong conclusions. Sections 2 and 3 present alternative analyses of transitivity and questions about transitivity in two Tibeto-Burman languages I have worked on. In Section 4 I discuss some general issues about transitivity.
In der Vergangenheit wurden verschiedene Fusionstranskripte, welche normalerweise bei Leukämie-assoziierten chromosomalen Translokationen auftreten, in hämatopoetischen Zellen gesunder Personen gefunden. Da diese Personen keine entsprechenden chromosomalen Abberationen aufwiesen, ist es sehr wahrscheinlich, dass diese Fusionstranskripte durch trans-Spleißen entstehen. Während dieser Arbeit konnten durch inverse PCR, welche an unbehandelter cDNA gesunder Probanden durchgeführt wurde, intragenische trans-Spleiß-Produkte nachgewiesen werden. Interessanterweise weisen das MLL-Gen und seine fünf häufigsten Translokationspartner AF4, AF9, AF10, ELL und ENL ein großes Spektrum an trans-gespleißten RNAs auf. Nur in einem weiteren Mitglied der MLL-Familie (MLL3) konnte intragenisches trans-Spleißen nachgewiesen werden. Für verschiedene als Kontrolle verwendete Haushaltsgene konnte kein intragenisches trans-Spleißen nachgewiesen werden. Intergenische trans-Spleiß-Ereignisse konnten durch direkte PCR und RACEExperimente für die Gene MLL, ELL und ENL nachgewiesen werden. Bemerkenswerterweise entsprechen ein intragenisches trans-Spleiß-Produkt des MLL-Gens dem Transkript der chromosomalen Abberationen MLL-PTD und ein intergenisches trans-Spleiß-Produkt des MLL-Gens dem Transkript der chromosomalen Abberationen MLL•AF4. In Hefe konnte gezeigt werden, dass RNA als Vorlage für DNA-Reparaturen dienen kann. Somit lag der Schluß nahe, dass die oben genannten trans-gespleißten RNAs möglicherweise einen Einfluss auf die DNA-Reparatur haben. Dass RNA nicht nur in Hefen sondern auch in Menschen als Vorlage für DNA-Reparaturen dienen kann, konnte im Zuge dieser Arbeit durch mehrere in vitro Experimente mit Kernextrakten aus humanen Zelllinien bestätigt werden. Allerdings konnte keinerlei Einfluss von (trans-)gespleißter RNA auf die DNA-Reparatur in zahlreichen in vitro Experimenten nachgewiesen werden. Mit einem daraufhin etablierten in vivo System konnte ebenfalls ein Einfluss von (trans-) gespleißter RNA auf die DNA-Reparatur ausgeschlossen werden. Weiterhin konnten mit Hilfe der durchgeführten RACE-Experimente vorzeitige Polyadenylierungen von Transkripten in den Bruchpunktsregionen von MLL, AF4, AF9 und ENL identifiziert werden. Durch diese ungewöhnliche Termination der Transkription werden stark verkürzte Transkripte erzeugt, welche in kurze Proteinisoformen translatiert werden können. Ein Vergleich von 274 unterschiedlichen Bruchpunktsequenzen mit größeren direkten und indirekten Sequenzwiederholungen zwischen der Bruchpunktsregion von MLL und den Bruchpunktsregionen seiner häufigsten Translokationspartner wurde ebenfalls durchgeführt. Eine signifikante Korrelation zwischen den Sequenzwiederholungen und der Lokalisation der Bruchpunkte war jedoch nicht erkennbar. Bei diesem Vergleich fielen allerdings Häufungen von Bruchpunkten im MLL-Gen mit AF4, AF9 und ENL als Translokationspartner auf, wobei sich die Ursache für diese Häufungen auf Topoisomerase II Spaltstellen zurückführen ließ.
Mannheimia haemolytica und Pasteurella multocida gehören zu den Verursachern der unter Rindern weltweit verbreiteten Enzootischen Bronchopneumonie. Derzeitige Impfstoffe und Antibiotika gegen diese Bakterien können die Verbreitung der Krankheit nicht maßgeblich einschränken, weshalb Bedarf an neuen Medikamenten besteht. Bei der Besiedelung der Lunge treffen M. haemolytica und P. multocida auf Eisenmangel. Die Aufnahme von Eisen ist ein wesentlicher Faktor bei der Kolonisierung und Persistenz pathogener Bakterien im Wirt, da Eisen essentiell ist. Medikamente, die an Proteinen der Eisenversorgung angreifen, können deshalb zur Eindämmung der Bronchopneumonie beitragen. Um einen Überblick über die Gene von M. haemolytica und P. multocida zu erhalten, die bei der Adaptation an Eisenmangel beteiligt sind, wurden die Bakterien in der vorliegenden Arbeit in vitro unter Eisenmangel kultiviert, denn die meisten bakteriellen Gene, die an der Eisenaufnahme beteiligt sind, werden erst bei Eisenmangel transkribiert. Mittels Mikroarray-Analyse der Transkriptome wurden erstmals die in vitro eisenregulierten Gene von M. haemolytica und erstmals auch die eisenregulierten Gene eines Rinder-Isolats von P. multocida identifiziert. Der in dieser Arbeit verwendete Mikroarray war ein Multigenom-Mikroarray und stellt die offenen Leserahmen beider Bakterien dar. Mit der Mikroarray-Analyse wurden 129 Gene von M. haemolytica identifiziert, die bei Wachstum unter Eisenmangel eine veränderte Transkription aufwiesen. Die größte Gruppe der Gene mit verstärkter Transkription bildeten die Gene, die für Rezeptoren und Transporter kodieren. Von diesen kodieren etwa drei Viertel für Proteine, die an der Aufnahme von Eisen aus verschiedenen Quellen beteiligt sind. Die größte Gruppe der Gene mit verminderter Transkription wurde von Genen gebildet, die für Proteine des Energie-Stoffwechsels kodieren. Damit wurde auch für M. haemolytica das Prinzip bestätigt, dass Bakterien bei Eisenmangel verstärkt Gene transkribieren, deren Proteine an der Eisenaufnahme beteiligt sind, während Gene für eisenhaltige Proteine des Energie-Stoffwechsels vermindert transkribiert werden. Bei der Analyse des Transkriptoms von P. multocida wurden 173 Gene mit veränderter Transkription identifiziert. Auch bei P. multocida konnte mit der funktionellen Klassifizierung der kodierten Proteine die größte Gruppe an Genen mit verstärkter Transkription den Transport- und Bindungsproteinen zugeordnet werden. Die größte Gruppe an Genen mit verminderter Transkription wurde auch bei P. multocida von Genen gebildet, die für Proteine des Energie-Stoffwechsels kodieren. Beim Vergleich des Transkriptoms von M. haemolytica mit dem von P. multocida wurden mehr Unterschiede als Gemeinsamkeiten festgestellt. Nur 40 der 1424 homologen Gene zeigten die gleiche Richtung in der Änderung in der Transkription. Unter den 15 homologen Genen mit verstärkter Transkription waren die Gene, die für einen Hämoglobin-Rezeptor, die ABC-Transportsysteme FbpABC und YfeABCD sowie das Energie liefernde System TonB-ExbBD kodieren. In den 25 homologen Genen mit verminderter Transkription waren 15 Gene enthalten, deren kodierte Proteine am Energie-Stoffwechsel beteiligt sind. Dies waren die Proteine NapABCDFGH des Nitrat-Reduktase-Komplexes, die Proteine NrfABCD des Nitrit-Reduktase-Komplexes und die Proteine FrdABCD des Komplexes der Fumarat-Reduktase. Ein auffälliger Unterscheid war, dass bei M. haemolytica die gesamten Gene verstärkt transkribiert wurden, deren Proteine an der Aufnahme von Eisen aus Transferrin beteiligt sind. Bei P. multocida dagegen konnte das Gen für den Transferrin-Rezeptor nicht nachgewiesen werden. Somit gehört das in dieser Arbeit verwendete Isolat von P. multocida vermutlich zu den 30% der Rinder-Isolate von P. multocida, die keinen Transferrin-Rezeptor besitzen, aber die Rinderlunge besiedeln können (Ewers et al., 2006). Im Vergleich zu M. haemolytica fielen bei P. multocida die vielen verstärkt transkribierten Gene auf, die an der Aufnahme von Eisen aus dem Blut beteiligt sind. Die Transkription dieser verschiedenen Transporter deutet auf eine gute Adaptation von P. multocida für die Verwendung von Eisen aus dem Blut des Wirts hin, die bei M. haemolytica in diesem Maß nicht gegeben scheint. Für M. haemolytica wurde die in vivo-Relevanz einiger eisenregulierter Gene überprüft, die in der Mikroarray-Analyse eine erhöhte Transkription zeigten. Dazu wurde die RNA untersucht, die aus dem Lungengewebe von infizierten Rindern isoliert worden war. In diesem Gewebe wurde die Transkription von 11 Genen mittels RT-PCR nachgewiesen. Für die Gene, die für die Hämoglobin-Rezeptoren von M. haemolytica kodieren, wurde mittels quantitativer real time PCR auch eine Verstärkung der Transkription im Lungengewebe nachgewiesen. Die Verstärkung der Transkription in vivo war der transkriptionellen Verstärkung in vitro vergleichbar, was auf eine Funktion der Hämoglobin-Rezeptoren bei der Infektion in vivo hindeutet. Zur Untersuchung der Regulation des Eisenhaushalts von M. haemolytica wurde versucht, das Gen fur zu deletieren, das für den Hauptregulator des Eisenhaushalts kodiert, was jedoch nicht gelungen ist. In einem antisense-Ansatz konnte jedoch gezeigt werden, dass der Stamm mit dem fur-antisense-Plasmid ein signifikant verzögertes Wachstum hatte, was auf die essentielle Funktion des Gens fur in M. haemolytica hinweist. Ein antisense-Ansatz ist noch kein Beweis für die essentielle Funktion eines Gens. Doch die mit Gioia et al. (2007) übereinstimmenden Schwierigkeiten bei der Herstellung einer ∆-fur-Mutante von M. haemolytica sowie das verringerte Wachstum in Gegenwart der fur-antisense-mRNA deuten stark auf eine essentielle Funktion dieses Gens hin.
Based on the microscopic transport model UrQMD in which hadronic and string degrees of freedom are employed, the HBT parameters in the longitudinal co-moving system are investigated for charged pion and kaon, and Λ sources in heavy ion collisions (HICs) at SPS and RHIC energies. In the Cascade mode, RO and the RL at high SPS and RHIC energies do not follow the mT-scaling, however, after considering a soft equation of state with momentum dependence (SM-EoS) for formed baryons and a density-dependent Skyrme-like potential for “pre-formed” particles, the HBT radii of pions and kaons and even those of Λs with large transverse momenta follow the mT-scaling function R=3/mT fairly well.
Trauer um Dieter Koch
(2008)
Flexibility and constraints in migration and breeding of the barnacle goose Maximising fitness means, to a large extent, optimising management of time and energy. This thesis investigates aspects of timing and resource acquisition and utilisation in the barnacle goose Branta leucopsis during spring migration and reproduction. The barnacle goose population wintering along the Wadden Sea coast, and traditionally migrating via a stopover in the Baltic to its breeding sites in northern Russia, has shown some remarkable developments, among them, a geometric growth rate since the 1950s and a notable change in the timing of departure from the wintering grounds. Furthermore, long being regarded as an obligate Arctic breeder, within the past three decades this species has successfully colonised a wide variety of habitats at temperate latitudes, thereby shortening the migratory distances considerably or refraining from migration altogether. These remarkable changes raise questions about the flexibility of migratory and reproductive schedules. What are the costs and benefits of different migration strategies? And, given the context of global change, to what extent are animals capable of adapting to rapidly changing environments? In order to answer these questions we tracked migratory geese by satellite and with the help of data loggers and, furthermore, explored possible relationships of migratory behaviour and breeding performance. Another central thesis topic represents a within-species comparison of major life-history traits in populations breeding along a large ecological gradient from arctic to temperate environments. Fieldwork was conducted in arctic Russia, Sweden and The Netherlands.
Treatment predictors are important tools for the management of therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis B and C virus (HBV, HCV) infection. In chronic hepatitis B, several pretreatment parameters have been identified for prediction of virologic response to interferon alfa-based antiviral therapies or treatment with polymerase inhibitors. In interferon alfa and pegylated interferon alfa-treated patients, low baseline HBV DNA concentrations, HBV genotype A (B), and high baseline ALT levels are significantly associated with treatment response. In patients treated with nucleos(t)ide analogues, low baseline HBV DNA but not viral genotype is positively associated with virologic response. During treatment the best predictor of response is HBV DNA kinetics. Early viral suppression is associated with favourable virologic response and reduced risk for subsequent resistance mutations. For the current standard treatment with pegylated interferon alfa and ribavirin in patients with chronic hepatitis C, infection with HCV genotypes 2 and 3, baseline viral load below 400,000–800,000 IU/ml, Asian and Caucasian ethnicity, younger age, low GGT levels, absence of advanced fibrosis/cirrhosis, and absence of steatosis in the liver have been identified as independent pretreatment predictors of a sustained virologic response. After initiation of treatment, initial viral decline with undetectable HCV-RNA at week 4 of therapy (RVR) is the best predictor of sustained virologic response independent of HCV genotype.
Objective: To develop comprehensive recommendations for the treatment of the various clinical manifestations of psoriatic arthritis (PsA) based on evidence obtained from a systematic review of the literature and from consensus opinion. Methods: Formal literature reviews of treatment for the most significant discrete clinical manifestations of PsA (skin and nails, peripheral arthritis, axial disease, dactylitis and enthesitis) were performed and published by members of the Group for Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis (GRAPPA). Treatment recommendations were drafted for each of the clinical manifestations by rheumatologists, dermatologists and PsA patients based on the literature reviews and consensus opinion. The level of agreement for the individual treatment recommendations among GRAPPA members was assessed with an online questionnaire. Results: Treatment recommendations were developed for peripheral arthritis, axial disease, psoriasis, nail disease, dactylitis and enthesitis in the setting of PsA. In rotal, 19 recommendations were drafted, and over 80% agreement was obtained on 16 of them. In addition, a grid that factors disease severity into each of the different disease manifestations was developed to help the clinician with treatment decisions for the individual patient from an evidenced-based perspective. Conclusions: Treatment recommendations for the cardinal physical manifestations of PsA were developed based on a literature review and consensus between rheumatologists and dermatologists. In addition, a grid was established to assist in therapeutic reasoning and decision making for individual patients. It is anticipated that periodic updates will take place using this framework as new data become available.
In this paper we present a parsing architecture that allows processing of different mildly context-sensitive formalisms, in particular Tree-Adjoining Grammar (TAG), Multi-Component Tree-Adjoining Grammar with Tree Tuples (TT-MCTAG) and simple Range Concatenation Grammar (RCG). Furthermore, for tree-based grammars, the parser computes not only syntactic analyses but also the corresponding semantic representations.
In this paper, we present an open-source parsing environment (Tübingen Linguistic Parsing Architecture, TuLiPA) which uses Range Concatenation Grammar (RCG) as a pivot formalism, thus opening the way to the parsing of several mildly context-sensitive formalisms. This environment currently supports tree-based grammars (namely Tree-Adjoining Grammars (TAG) and Multi-Component Tree-Adjoining Grammars with Tree Tuples (TT-MCTAG)) and allows computation not only of syntactic structures, but also of the corresponding semantic representations. It is used for the development of a tree-based grammar for German.
U radu se analiziraju glagolske tvorenice u Tadijanovićevu jezikoslovnom priručniku "Svašta po malo iliti kratko složenje imena i riči u ilirski i njemački jezik" (1761.), što je nastavak cjelovitoga istraživanja Tadijanovićevih tvorbenih modela. Autorice otvaraju i neka bitna teorijska pitanja iz područja glagolske tvorbe te upozoravaju na probleme, nedosljednosti i različita tumačenja pri raščlambi tvorbenih načina koje nalazimo u relevantnoj literaturi.
G. A. Cohen argues that John Rawls’s focus on the basic structure of society as the exclusive subject of social justice is misguided. I argue that two understandings of the notion of basic structure seem to be present in the literature, either in implicit or in explicit terms. (1) According to the first, the basic structure is to be equated with a given set of institutions: if they endorse the right principles of justice, the basic structure of society is just; (2) According to the second, a society has a just basic structure if and only if its institutional web manages to realize the relevant principles of justice as well it can. In (2), the institutional structure is not a given: different social circumstances call for different institutional solutions in order to achieve a just basic structure overall. The first part of the paper make a case for (2), and explores some of its normative implications. The second part asks which consequences this understanding may have for the idea of a global basic structure.
A wall-sized canvas by Twombly hanging in a purpose-built pavilion by Renzo Piano, commissioned by the Menil Collection in Houston, bears the scrawled inscription »Anatomy of Melancholy.« Untitled (Say Goodbye Catullus, to the Shores of Asia Minor) is the culminating statement of the artist’s maturity: begun in 1972, it was first exhibited in 1994. In this monumental cenotaph, Twombly’s painting displays phrases from Archilochos, Catullus, Keats and Rilke, as well as the title of Burton’s famous tome, worked into the fabric of the composition, integral to the iconic content. It is the aching heart of the select permanent exhibition of his oeuvre at the pavilion, known as the Twombly Gallery (www.menil.org/twombly.html). The austerity of Piano’s architectural setting, as well as the cunningly filtered Texas sunlight, makes this a site of cult, like the chapel containing the dark, final canvases of Mark Rothko, situated around the corner in the same urban grove of old oak. The setting is a modern Dodona, remote seat of the oaken oracle of Zeus, and it makes an evocative home for Twombly’s enigmatic constructions. These disarm conventional vocabularies of aesthetic response, drawing attention to words and snatches of verse as points of association and recognition. Looking at them involves siting a phrase such as »Anatomy of Melancholy« in other dimensions – in lines, patches, figures, colors.