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Conjugated vaccines consisting of flagellin and antigen activate TLR5 and induce strong innate and adaptive immune responses. Objective of the present study was to gain further insight into the mechanisms by which flagellin fusion proteins mediate their immune modulating effects. In a mouse model of Ova-induced intestinal allergy a fusion protein of flagellin and Ova (rflaA:Ova) was used for intranasal and intraperitoneal vaccination. Aggregation status of flaA, Ova and flaA:Ova were compared by light scattering, uptake of fluorescence labeled proteins into mDC was analyzed, processing was investigated by microsomal digestion experiments. Mechanism of DC-activation was investigated using proteasome and inflammasome inhibitors. Immune responses of wildtype, IL-10−/−, TLR5−/− mDCs and Ova-transgenic T cells were investigated. Mucosal and i.p.-application of rflaA:Ova were able to prevent allergic sensitization, suppress disease-related symptoms, prevent body weight loss and reduction in food uptake. Intranasal vaccination resulted in strongest suppression of Ova-specific IgE production. These protective effects were associated with increased aggregation of rflaA:Ova and accompanied by tenfold higher uptake rates into mDC compared to the mixture of both proteins. Microsomal digestion showed that stimulation with rflaA:Ova resulted in faster degradation and the generation of different peptides compared to rOva. rflaA:Ova-mediated activation of mDC could be suppressed in a dose-dependent manner by the application of both inflammasome and proteasome inhibitors. Using TLR5−/− mDC the rflaA:Ova induced IL-10 secretion was shown to be TLR5 dependent. In co-cultures of IL-10−/− mDC with DO11.10 T cells the lack of rflaA:Ova-mediated IL-10 secretion resulted in enhanced levels of both TH2 (IL-4, IL-5) and TH1 (IL-2 and IFN-y) cytokines. In summary, mucosal vaccination with flaA:Ova showed strongest preventive effect. Stimulation with rflaA:Ova results in strong immune modulation mediated by enhanced uptake of the aggregated fusion protein, likely resulting in a different processing by DC as well as stronger TLR5 mediated cell activation.
Introduction: Multimorbidity is a major concern in primary care. Nevertheless, evidence of prevalence and patterns of multimorbidity, and their determinants, are scarce. The aim of this study is to systematically review studies of the prevalence, patterns and determinants of multimorbidity in primary care.
Methods: Systematic review of literature published between 1961 and 2013 and indexed in Ovid (CINAHL, PsychINFO, Medline and Embase) and Web of Knowledge. Studies were selected according to eligibility criteria of addressing prevalence, determinants, and patterns of multimorbidity and using a pretested proforma in primary care. The quality and risk of bias were assessed using STROBE criteria. Two researchers assessed the eligibility of studies for inclusion (Kappa = 0.86).
Results: We identified 39 eligible publications describing studies that included a total of 70,057,611 patients in 12 countries. The number of health conditions analysed per study ranged from 5 to 335, with multimorbidity prevalence ranging from 12.9% to 95.1%. All studies observed a significant positive association between multimorbidity and age (odds ratio [OR], 1.26 to 227.46), and lower socioeconomic status (OR, 1.20 to 1.91). Positive associations with female gender and mental disorders were also observed. The most frequent patterns of multimorbidity included osteoarthritis together with cardiovascular and/or metabolic conditions.
Conclusions: Well-established determinants of multimorbidity include age, lower socioeconomic status and gender. The most prevalent conditions shape the patterns of multimorbidity. However, the limitations of the current evidence base means that further and better designed studies are needed to inform policy, research and clinical practice, with the goal of improving health-related quality of life for patients with multimorbidity. Standardization of the definition and assessment of multimorbidity is essential in order to better understand this phenomenon, and is a necessary immediate step.
Tubulin-binding agents such as taxol, vincristine or vinblastine are well-established drugs in clinical treatment of metastatic cancer. However, because of their highly complex chemical structures, the synthesis and hence the supply issues are still quite challenging. Here we set on stage pretubulysin, a chemically accessible precursor of tubulysin that was identified as a potent microtubule-binding agent produced by myxobacteria. Although much simpler in chemical structure, pretubulysin abrogates proliferation and long-term survival as well as anchorage-independent growth, and also induces anoikis and apoptosis in invasive tumor cells equally potent to tubulysin. Moreover, pretubulysin posseses in vivo efficacy shown in a chicken chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) model with T24 bladder tumor cells, in a mouse xenograft model using MDA-MB-231 mammary cancer cells and finally in a model of lung metastasis induced by 4T1 mouse breast cancer cells. Pretubulysin induces cell death via the intrinsic apoptosis pathway by abrogating the expression of pivotal antiapoptotic proteins, namely Mcl-1 and Bcl-xL, and shows distinct chemosensitizing properties in combination with TRAIL in two- and three-dimensional cell culture models. Unraveling the underlying signaling pathways provides novel information: pretubulysin induces proteasomal degradation of Mcl-1 by activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase (especially JNK (c-Jun N-terminal kinase)) and phosphorylation of Mcl-1, which is then targeted by the SCF(Fbw7) E3 ubiquitin ligase complex for ubiquitination and degradation. In sum, we designate the microtubule-destabilizing compound pretubulysin as a highly promising novel agent for mono treatment and combinatory treatment of invasive cancer.
BACKGROUND: Recent findings support the idea that interleukin (IL)-22 serum levels are related to disease severity in end-stage liver disease. Existing scoring systems--Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD), Survival Outcomes Following Liver Transplantation (SOFT) and Pre-allocation-SOFT (P-SOFT)--are well-established in appraising survival rates with or without liver transplantation. We tested the hypothesis that IL-22 serum levels at transplantation date correlate with survival and potentially have value as a predictive factor for survival.
MATERIAL AND METHODS: MELD, SOFT, and P-SOFT scores were calculated to estimate post-transplantation survival. Serum levels of IL-22, IL-6, IL-10, C-reactive protein (CRP), and procalcitonin (PCT) were collected prior to transplantation in 41 patients. Outcomes were assessed at 3 months, 1 year, and 3 years after transplantation.
RESULTS: IL-22 significantly correlated with MELD, P-SOFT, and SOFT scores (Rs 0.35, 0.63, 0.56 respectively, p<0.05) and with the discrimination in post-transplantation survival. IL-6 showed a heterogeneous pattern (Rs 0.40, 0.63, 0.57, respectively, p<0.05); CRP and PCT did not correlate. We therefore added IL-22 serum values to existing scoring systems in a generalized linear model (GLM), resulting in a significantly improved outcome prediction in 58% of the cases for both the P-SOFT (p<0.01) and SOFT scores (p<0.001).
CONCLUSIONS: Further studies are needed to address the concept that IL-22 serum values at the time of transplantation provide valuable information about survival rates following orthotopic liver transplantation.
Predominant polarity in bipolar disorder and validation of the polarity index in a German sample
(2014)
Background: A large number of patients with bipolar disorder (BD) can be characterized by predominant polarity (PP), which has important implications for relapse prevention. Recently, Popovic et al. (EUR NEUROPSYCHOPHARM 22(5): 339¿346, 2012) proposed the Polarity Index (PI) as a helpful tool in the maintenance treatment of BD. As a numeric expression, it reflects the efficacy of drugs used in treatment of BD. In the present retrospective study, we aimed to validate this Index in a large and well characterized German bipolar sample.
Methods: We investigated 336 bipolar patients (BP) according to their PP and calculated the PI for each patient in order to prove if maintenance treatment differs according to their PP. Furthermore, we analysed whether PP is associated with demographic and clinical characteristics of BP.
Results: In our sample, 63.9% of patients fulfilled criteria of PP: 169 patients were classified as depressive predominant polarity (DPP), 46 patients as manic predominant polarity (MPP). The two groups differed significantly in their drug regime: Patients with DPP were more often medicated with lamotrigine and antidepressants, patients with MPP were more often treated with lithium, valproate, carbamazepine and first generation antipsychotics. However, patients with DPP and MPP did not differ significantly with respect to the PI, although they received evidence-based and guideline-driven treatment.
Conclusion: The reason for this negative finding might well be that for several drugs, which were used frequently, no PI value is available. Nevertheless we suggest PP as an important concept in the planning of BD maintenance treatment.
Background: IL28B gene polymorphism is the best baseline predictor of response to interferon alfa-based antiviral therapies in chronic hepatitis C. Recently, a new IFN-L4 polymorphism was identified as first potential functional variant for induction of IL28B expression. Individualization of interferon alfa-based therapies based on a combination of IL28B/IFN-L4 polymorphisms may help to optimize virologic outcome and economic resources.
Methods: Optimization of treatment outcome prediction was assessed by combination of different IL28B and IFN-L4 polymorphisms in patients with chronic HCV genotype 1 (n = 385), 2/3 (n = 267), and 4 (n = 220) infection treated with pegylated interferon alfa (PEG-IFN) and ribavirin with (n = 79) or without telaprevir. Healthy people from Germany (n = 283) and Egypt (n = 96) served as controls.
Results: Frequencies of beneficial IL28B rs12979860 C/C genotypes were lower in HCV genotype 1/4 infected patients in comparison to controls (20–35% vs. 46–47%) this was also true for ss469415590 TT/TT (20–35% vs. 45–47%). Single interferon-lambda SNPs (rs12979860, rs8099917, ss469415590) correlated with sustained virologic response (SVR) in genotype 1, 3, and 4 infected patients while no association was observed for genotype 2. Interestingly, in genotype 3 infected patients, best SVR prediction was based on IFN-L4 genotype. Prediction of SVR with high accuracy (71–96%) was possible in genotype 1, 2, 3 and 4 infected patients who received PEG-IFN/ribavirin combination therapy by selection of beneficial IL28B rs12979860 C/C and/or ss469415590 TT/TT genotypes (p<0.001). For triple therapy with first generation protease inhibitors (PIs) (boceprevir, telaprevir) prediction of high SVR (90%) rates was based on the presence of at least one beneficial genotype of the 3 IFN-lambda SNPs.
Conclusion: IFN-L4 seems to be the best single predictor of SVR in genotype 3 infected patients. For optimized prediction of SVR by treatment with dual combination or first generation PI triple therapies, grouping of interferon-lambda haplotypes may be helpful with positive predictive values of 71–96%.
Background: The most common spinocerebellar ataxias (SCA)—SCA1, SCA2, SCA3, and SCA6—are caused by (CAG)n repeat expansion. While the number of repeats of the coding (CAG)n expansions is correlated with the age at onset, there are no appropriate models that include both affected and preclinical carriers allowing for the prediction of age at onset.
Methods: We combined data from two major European cohorts of SCA1, SCA2, SCA3, and SCA6 mutation carriers: 1187 affected individuals from the EUROSCA registry and 123 preclinical individuals from the RISCA cohort. For each SCA genotype, a regression model was fitted using a log-normal distribution for age at onset with the repeat length of the alleles as covariates. From these models, we calculated expected age at onset from birth and conditionally that this age is greater than the current age.
Results: For SCA2 and SCA3 genotypes, the expanded allele was a significant predictor of age at onset (−0.105±0.005 and −0.056±0.003) while for SCA1 and SCA6 genotypes both the size of the expanded and normal alleles were significant (expanded: −0.049±0.002 and −0.090±0.009, respectively; normal: +0.013±0.005 and −0.029±0.010, respectively). According to the model, we indicated the median values (90% critical region) and the expectancy (SD) of the predicted age at onset for each SCA genotype according to the CAG repeat size and current age.
Conclusions: These estimations can be valuable in clinical and research. However, results need to be confirmed in other independent cohorts and in future longitudinal studies.
The present paper aims at describing different pre-verbal focus strategies in Kisikongo (H16a), spoken in the vicinity of Mbanza Kongo, northern Angola. This western Bantu language is part of the Kikongo Language Cluster (KLC), stretching from southern Gabon to northern Angola, including Cabinda and parts of Congo-Brazzaville and Congo-Kinshasa. Kikongo exhibits a clause-internal pre-verbal argument focus position, which has rarely been reported in Bantu languages, except in Mbuun (B87) (Bostoen and Mundeke 2012) and Nsong (B85d) (Koni Muluwa and Bostoen, this volume), both spoken in the neighboring Kwilu region of the DRC. The more extensively studied eastern and southern Bantu languages generally have a post-verbal argument focus position (cf. Watters 1979, Morimoto 2000, Creissels 2004, Güldemann 2007, Buell 2009, van der Wal 2009, among others). In addition to this mono-clausal argument focus strategy, Kisikongo also relies on different bi-clausal constructions to focus arguments, i.e. cleft-constructions.
There are no European recommendations on issues specifically related to lung transplantation (LTX) in cystic fibrosis (CF). The main goal of this paper is to provide CF care team members with clinically relevant CF-specific information on all aspects of LTX, highlighting areas of consensus and controversy throughout Europe. Bilateral lung transplantation has been shown to be an important therapeutic option for end-stage CF pulmonary disease. Transplant function and patient survival after transplantation are better than in most other indications for this procedure. Attention though has to be paid to pretransplant morbidity, time for referral, evaluation, indication, and contraindication in children and in adults. This review makes extensive use of specific evidence in the field of lung transplantation in CF patients and addresses all issues of practical importance. The requirements of pre-, peri-, and postoperative management are discussed in detail including bridging to transplant and postoperative complications, immune suppression, chronic allograft dysfunction, infection, and malignancies being the most important. Among the contributors to this guiding information are 19 members of the ECORN-CF project and other experts. The document is endorsed by the European Cystic Fibrosis Society and sponsored by the Christiane Herzog Foundation.
The fate of Sudan, by then the largest country in Africa, was clearly decided when results of the referendum vote were announced in February 2011. Policy makers, scholars and the international community began to grapple with critical issues that might arise after the independence of South Sudan and how different stakeholders were likely to react during the period of uncertainty. Political developments in Sudan were long-term outcomes of post-cold war revolutions in the world system after the Soviet Union collapsed. A domino effect of such events swept across Eastern Europe with some manifestations in the Horn of Africa. The fall of Mengistu Haile Mariam, marked the beginning of the redrawing of the map of Africa and posed a challenge to the long held principle of preservation of colonial borders that had been enshrined in the Charter of the Organisation of African Unity. The precedent set by the independence of Eritrea seemed to encourage southern Sudan to press forward for independence through a two pronged approach of armed struggle and diplomacy led by the Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement. This book attempts to understand national, regional and continental dimensions of the unresolved issues that could result in the escalation of conflict in the Sudan. It examines internal dynamics of the Sudan after secession of the south and how these dynamics might affect neighbouring countries in the geopolitical regions: the Horn of Africa, the Great Lakes Region and Central Africa. A section of the book is dedicated to dynamics within South Sudan as a new state. Post-conflict South Sudan as country was marked by extreme poverty, lack of infrastructure and prevalence of inter-communal armed violence. This book proposes possible policies to prevent the country from descending into a state of economic and social chaos. The book provides the argument that equitable and rational transformative socio-economic programmes and policies could greatly reduce potentials for conflict. This book calls on policy makers to pursue policies that could lead to concrete projects planned to alleviate poverty and provision of basic social services such as education, health, and safe water. The book comes to the conclusion that political stability will depend on collective actions of stakeholders to ensure that peace prevails both in the north and the south to guarantee human security in the region.
Post Colonial Identities
(2014)
Post Colonial Identities revisits issues regarding the newer literature within the expansive African heritage of diverse regional and national groupings. It is poised at substantiating the uniformity of Africa in terms of literary and cultural movements, and lending some inter-disciplinary insights on the whole body of literature through twentieth century history.
Nowadays a number of endemic mosquito species are known to possess vector abilities for various diseases, as e.g. the sibling species Culex pipiens and Culex torrentium. Due to their morphological similarity, ecology, distribution and vector abilities, knowledge about these species' population structure is essential. Culicidae from 25 different sampling sites were collected from March till October 2012. All analyses were performed with aligned cox1 sequences with a total length of 658 bp. Population structure as well as distribution patterns of both species were analysed using molecular methods and different statistical tests like distance based redundancy analysis (dbDRA), analysis of molecular variances (AMOVA) or McDonald & Kreitman test and Tajima's D. Within both species, we could show a genetic variability among the cox1 fragment. The construction of haplotype networks revealed one dominating haplotype for Cx. pipiens, widely distributed within Germany and a more homogeneous pattern for Cx. torrentium. The low genetic differences within Cx. pipiens could be a result of an infection with Wolbachia which can induce a sweep through populations by passively taking the also maternally inherited mtDNA through the population, thereby reducing the mitochondrial diversity as an outcome of reproductive incompatibility. Pairwise population genetic differentiation (FST) ranged significantly from moderate to very great between populations of Cx. pipiens and Cx. torrentium. Analyses of molecular variances revealed for both species that the main genetic variability exists within the populations (Cx. pipiens [88.38%]; Cx. torrentium [66.54%]). Based on a distance based redundancy analysis geographical origin explained a small but significant part of the species' genetic variation. Overall, the results confirm that Cx. pipiens and Cx. torrentium underlie different factors regarding their mitochondrial differentiation, which could be a result of endosymbiosis, dispersal between nearly located populations or human introduction.
The investigated haloarchaeal species, Halobacterium salinarum, Haloferax mediterranei, and H. volcanii, have all been shown to be polyploid. They contain several replicons that have independent copy number regulation, and most have a higher copy number during exponential growth phase than in stationary phase. The possible evolutionary advantages of polyploidy for haloarchaea, most of which have experimental support for at least one species, are discussed. These advantages include a low mutation rate and high resistance toward X-ray irradiation and desiccation, which depend on homologous recombination. For H. volcanii, it has been shown that gene conversion operates in the absence of selection, which leads to the equalization of genome copies. On the other hand, selective forces might lead to heterozygous cells, which have been verified in the laboratory. Additional advantages of polyploidy are survival over geological times in halite deposits as well as at extreme conditions on earth and at simulated Mars conditions. Recently, it was found that H. volcanii uses genomic DNA as genetic material and as a storage polymer for phosphate. In the absence of phosphate, H. volcanii dramatically decreases its genome copy number, thereby enabling cell multiplication, but diminishing the genetic advantages of polyploidy. Stable storage of phosphate is proposed as an alternative driving force for the emergence of DNA in early evolution. Several additional potential advantages of polyploidy are discussed that have not been addressed experimentally for haloarchaea. An outlook summarizes selected current trends and possible future developments.
Polo-like kinase 1 regulates the stability of the mitotic centromere-associated kinesin in mitosis
(2014)
Proper bi-orientation of chromosomes is critical for the accurate segregation of chromosomes in mitosis. A key regulator of this process is MCAK, the mitotic centromere-associated kinesin. During mitosis the activity and localization of MCAK are regulated by mitotic key kinases including Plk1 and Aurora B. We show here that S621 in the MCAK’s C-terminal domain is the major phosphorylation site for Plk1. This phosphorylation regulates MCAK’s stability and facilitates its recognition by the ubiquitin/proteasome dependent APC/CCdc20 pathway leading to its D-box dependent degradation in mitosis. While phosphorylation of S621 does not directly affect its microtubule depolymerising activity, loss of Plk1 phosphorylation on S621 indirectly enhances its depolymerization activity in vivo by stabilizing MCAK, leading to an increased level of protein. Interfering with phosphorylation at S621 causes spindle formation defects and chromosome misalignments. Therefore, this study suggests a new mechanism by which Plk1 regulates MCAK: by regulating its degradation and hence controlling its turnover in mitosis.
This article discusses the recent proposal for debt restructuring in the euro zone by Pierre Paris and Charles Wyplosz. It argues that the plan cannot realize the promised debt relief without producing moral hazard. Ester Faia revisits the Redemption Fund proposed in November 2011 by the German Council of Economic Experts and argues that this plan, up to date, still remains the most promising path towards succesful debt restructuring in Europe.
The essays collected together in this book reflect the author's varied experiences in the realms of politics and social struggle; he notes that they cannot be separated from his other experiences in his country, Egypt, over the years. These experiences extend from popular culture or folklore, through the wider political world of African liberation politics, to the Committee for the Defense of National Culture. This book is like a long trip through African culture from the 1950s to the beginning of the 21st century. These essays will most likely provoke a lot of memories, sweet and bitter; with maybe the bitter ones as the more lasting. The author notes that it appears as if the only relationship that seems to have mattered, for a long time, for the Egyptians with the rest of Africa was the river Nile, which joins the country to ten other countries, while a vast desert stands in-between. Such separation ignores the ancient relations between Pharaonic Egypt and the rest of Africa, and the role of Egypt in supporting many liberation movements on the continent. The author has set himself some tough questions in this book: Is it legitimate today to use race to sub-divide the African continent? Can this, moreover, be simply done as if race is ahistorical or an idealistic concept of identities? Or are we going to talk about Arabism in Egypt, Libya or Maghreb as if it were an identity gained with the advent of the Arabs, implying that these were 'lands with no people' - a sort of 'No Man's Land?' Or was this a fragile space that could not confront the invading empire? Or will Arabism equate with Bantuism or negroism sometimes, and Hausa and Swahili cultures at other times? These are the types of issues that Helmi Sharawy examines in this very important book. Experiences that inform this book began with the author's first encounter in March 1956, with some African youths who were in Cairo for higher studies or as representatives of liberation movements with whom he worked as an intermediary with the Egyptian national state, which work left on him an everlasting impression.
Myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) lacks non-invasive and easy to measure biomarkers, still largely relying on semi-quantitative tests for diagnostic and prognostic purposes. Muscle biopsies provide valuable data, but their use is limited by their invasiveness. microRNA (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs regulating gene expression that are also present in biological fluids and may serve as diseases biomarkers. Thus, we tested plasma miRNAs in the blood of 36 DM1 patients and 36 controls. First, a wide miRNA panel was profiled in a patient subset, followed by validation using all recruited subjects. We identified a signature of nine deregulated miRNAs in DM1 patients: eight miRNAs were increased (miR-133a, miR-193b, miR-191, miR-140-3p, miR-454, miR-574, miR-885-5p, miR-886-3p) and one (miR-27b) was decreased. Next, the levels of these miRNAs were used to calculate a "DM1-miRNAs score". We found that both miR-133a levels and DM1-miRNAs score discriminated DM1 from controls significantly and Receiver-Operator Characteristic curves displayed an area under the curve of 0.94 and 0.97, respectively. Interestingly, both miR-133a levels and DM1-miRNAs score displayed an inverse correlation with skeletal muscle strength and displayed higher values in more compromised patients. In conclusion, we identified a characteristic plasma miRNA signature of DM1. Although preliminary, this study indicates miRNAs as potential DM1 humoral biomarkers.
Many diseases have been described to be associated with inflammatory processes. The currently available anti-inflammatory drug therapy is often not successful or causes intolerable side effects. Thus, new anti-inflammatory substances are still urgently needed. Plants were the first source of remedies in the history of mankind. Since their chemical characterization in the 19th century, herbal bioactive compounds have fueled drug development. Also, nowadays, new plant-derived agents continuously enrich our drug arsenal (e.g., vincristine, galantamine, and artemisinin). The number of new, pharmacologically active herbal ingredients, in particular that of anti-inflammatory compounds, rises continuously. The major obstacle in this field is the translation of preclinical knowledge into evidence-based clinical progress. Human trials of good quality are often missing or, when available, are frequently not suitable to really prove a therapeutical value. This minireview will summarize the current situation of 6 very prominent plant-derived anti-inflammatory compounds: curcumin, colchicine, resveratrol, capsaicin, epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), and quercetin. We will highlight their clinical potential and/or pinpoint an overestimation. Moreover, we will sum up the planned trials in order to provide insights into the inflammatory disorders that are hypothesized to be beneficially influenced by the compound.
Desertification is a major problem in Sudano-sahelian West Africa, including the loss of biodiversity and vegetation cover. The loss of related ecosystem services is having a severe impact on human wellbeing. To facilitate assessments of these aspects of desertification, we decided to find plant species suitable as indicators. Based on a large database of vegetation plot data for Burkina Faso, we identified species associated with high or low levels of species richness and vegetation cover by calculating average values of these measures from vegetation plots on which they occur. To account for the differences between the dry Sahel and the more humid Sudan, we separated the plots of our study area in three vegetation zones (Sahel, North Sudan, South Sudan). Furthermore, herbs and woody plants were analysed separately, as they were usually represented in different plot sizes in the primary data. For each combination of species richness or vegetation cover, vegetation zone and growth form we identified ten species indicating low and another ten species indicating high values and assigned indicator values based on the average values of these species in the relevés.
Background: Tracks of pigeons homing to the Frankfurt loft revealed an odd phenomenon: whereas birds returning from the North approach their loft more or less directly in a broad front, pigeons returning from the South choose, from 25 km from home onward, either of two corridors, a direct one and one with a considerable detour to the West. This implies differences in the navigational process.
Methodology/Principle Findings: Pigeons released at sites at the beginning of the westerly corridor and in this corridor behave just like pigeons returning from farther south, deviating to the west before turning towards their loft. Birds released at sites within the straight corridors, in contrast, take more or less straight routes. The analysis of the short-term correlation dimension, a quantity reflecting the complexity of the system and with it, the number of factors involved in the navigational process, reveals that it is significantly larger in pigeons choosing the westerly corridor than in the birds flying straight - 3.03 vs. 2.85. The difference is small, however, suggesting a different interpretation of the same factors, with some birds apparently preferring particular factors over others.
Conclusions: The specific regional distribution of the factors which pigeons use to determine their home course seems to provide ambiguous information in the area 25 km south of the loft, resulting in the two corridors. Pigeons appear to navigate by deriving their routes directly from the locally available navigational factors which they interpret in an individual way. The fractal nature of the correlation dimensions indicates that the navigation process of pigeons is chaotic-deterministic; published tracks of migratory birds suggest that this may apply to avian navigation in general.
A phytosociological survey of weed (segetal) vegetation in Slovakia was performed. A total of 508 relevés were sampled in 2002–2008. The aims of this study were to determine the actual distribution of the segetal communities, to analyze their floristic structure, and to evaluate their relationships to selected environmental factors. Thirteen plant communities of the class Stellarietea mediae were distinguished by cluster analysis; 11 communities were included in the subclass Violenea arvensis (Lathyro tuberosi-Adonidetum aestivalis, Consolido-Anthemidetum austriacae, Euphorbio exiguae-Melandrietum noctiflori, Veronicetum trilobae-triphyllidi, Lamio amplexicauli-Thlaspietum arvensis, Taraxacum sect. Ruderalia community, Spergulo arvensis-Scleranthetum annui, Myosotido-Sonchetum arvensis, Echinochloo-Setarietum pumilae, Galinsogo-Setarietum, and Stachyo annui-Setarietum pumilae) and two in the subclass Sisymbrienea (Portulacetum oleraceae and Setario viridis-Erigeronetum canadensis). Communities were characterized by diagnostic, constant, and dominant species and their structure, ecology, and distribution were estimated. The species composition of these communities was documented in synoptic and association tables. DCA ordination and analysis of variance was used to determine the main environmental factors of floristic differentiation and to determine ecological and structural differences among the communities. The analyses showed that the most important factors affecting floristic composition and classification of the weed communities are their time of development (agroecophase), the type of crops and altitude.
Tympanal hearing organs of insects emit distortion-product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) which are indicative of nonlinear mechanical sound processing. General characteristics of insect DPOAEs are comparable to those measured in vertebrates, despite distinct differences in ear anatomy. DPOAEs appear during simultaneous stimulation with two pure tones (f1<f2) as additional spectral peaks at frequencies of nf1-(n-1)f2 and nf2-(n-1)f1, with the 2f1-f2 emission being the most prominent one. Insect DPOAEs are highly vulnerable to manipulations that interfere with the animal's physiological state and disappear after death. First evidence from locusts suggested that scolopidial mechanoreceptors might play a role in frequency-specific DPOAE generation (Möckel et al. 2007). The overall aim of this thesis was to determine the source of sensitive, nonlinear hearing at high frequencies and of DPOAE generation in tympanal organs of insects.
The first project of the present thesis involved general characteristics of DPOAE generation in the bushcricket Mecopoda elongata and the selective exclusion of the scolopidial mechanoreceptors using the neuroactive insectizide pymetrozine (Möckel et al. 2011). Pymetrozin appears to act highly effective and selectively on chordotonal organs, without affecting other sensory organs that lack scolopidial receptors. Pymetrozine solutions were applied as closely as possible to the scolopidia via a cuticle opening in the tibia, distally to the organ. Applications at concentrations between 10-3 and 10-7 M led to a pronounced and irreversible decrease of DPOAE amplitudes. Both this study on bushcrickets (Möckel et al. 2011) and an earlier one on locusts (Möckel et al. 2007) hence indicate the involvement of scolopidia in DPOAE generation in insects, by using complementary methods (pharmacological versus mechanical manipulation) and different animal models.
The second project of the present thesis investigated the temperature-dependence of DPOAEs in the locust Locusta migratoria (Möckel et al. 2012). The suggested biological origin of acoustic two-tone distortions in insects should involve metabolic processes, whose temperature-dependence would directly affect the DPOAE generation. Body temperature shifts resulted in reversible, level- and frequency-dependent effects on the 2f1–f2 emission. Using low f2 frequencies of up to 10 kHz, a body temperature increase (median +8–9°C) led to an upward shift of DPOAE amplitudes of approximately +10 dB, whereas a temperature decrease (median –7°C) was followed by a reduction of DPOAE amplitudes by 3 to 5 dB. Both effects were only present in the range of the low-level component of DPOAE growth functions below f2 stimulus levels of approximately 30-40 dB SPL. Emissions induced by higher stimulus levels and frequencies (e.g. 12 and 18 kHz) remained unaffected by any temperature shifts. The Arrhenius activation energy of the underlying cellular component amounted to 34 and 41 kJmol-1 (for growth functions measured with 8 and 10 kHz as f2, respectively). Such activation energy values provide a hint that an intact dynein-tubulin system within the scolopidial receptors could play an essential part in the DPOAE generation in tympanal organs.
The third project of this thesis demonstrated mechanical DPOAE analogs in the tympanum's vibration pattern during two-tone stimulation in the locust Schistocerca gregaria, using laser Doppler vibrometry (Möckel et al. 2014). DPOAE generation crucially relies on the integrity of the scolopidial mechanoreceptors (Möckel et al. 2007, 2011), which in locusts, directly attach to the tympanal membrane. During two-tone stimulation, DPOAEs were shown to mechanically emerge at the tympanum region where the auditory mechanoreceptors are attached. Those emission-coupled vibrations differed remarkably from tympanum waves evoked by external pure tones of the same frequency, in terms of wave propagation, energy distribution, and location of amplitude maxima. In contrast to traveling wave-like characteristics of externally evoked vibrations, intrinsically generated waves were locally restricted to the region around the high frequency receptors’ attachment position. The mechanical gradient of the tympanal membrane that leads to direction-dependent properties probably avoids the spreading of these locally evoked waves, which are then reflected and occur only in restricted areas as standing waves. Selective inactivation of mechanoreceptors by mechanical lesions did not affect the tympanum's response to external pure tones, but abolished the emission's displacement amplitude peak. These findings provide evidence that tympanal auditory receptors, comparable to the situation in mammals, comprise the required nonlinear response characteristics, which during two-tone stimulation lead to additional, highly localized deflections of the tympanum.
Background: The positive association between parental socio-economic position (PSEP) and health among adolescents may be partly explained by physical activity behaviour. We investigated the associations between physical activity, aerobic fitness and PSEP in a population based sample of German adolescents.
Methods: 5,251 participants, aged 11-17 years, in the German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents 2003-2006 (KiGGS) underwent a sub-maximal cycle ergometer test and completed a questionnaire obtaining information on physical activity and media use. The associations between physical activity, media use, aerobic fitness and PSEP were analysed with multivariate logistic regression models for boys and girls separately. Odds ratios (ORs) of PSEP (education, occupation and income) on the outcomes were calculated adjusted for age, region, and other influencing factors.
Results: Parental education was more strongly associated with the outcome variables than parental occupation and income. After adjusting for age and region, a higher parental education level was associated with better aerobic fitness - with an OR of 1.5 (95% CI 1.2-1.9) for girls whose parents had secondary education and 1.9 (1.4-2.5) for girls whose parents had tertiary education compared to girls whose parents had primary education. The corresponding ORs for boys were 1.3 (1.0-1.6) and 1.6 (1.2-2.1), respectively. Higher parental education level was associated with lower media use: an OR of 2.1 (1.5-3.0) for girls whose parents had secondary education and 2.7 (1.8-4.1) for girls whose parents had primary education compared to girls whose parents had tertiary education. The corresponding ORs for boys were 1.5 (1.2-1.9) and 1.9 (1.5-2.5), respectively. Higher parental education level was associated with a higher physical activity level only among girls: an OR of 1.3 (1.0-1.6) for girls whose parents had secondary education and 1.2 (0.9-1.5) for girls whose parents had tertiary education compared to girls whose parents had primary education. The corresponding ORs for boys were 0.9 (0.8-1.2) and 0.8 (0.6-1.0), respectively.
Conclusions: Adolescents of parents with low SEP showed a lower level of aerobic fitness and higher levels of media use than adolescents of parents with higher SEP. Health-promotion interventions need to reach adolescents of parents with low PSEP and stimulate physical activity.
This paper summarizes current knowledge about Central African pholcids. Central Africa is here defined as the area between 10°N and 7°S and between 6°E and 18°E, including mainly the Lower Guinean subregion of the Guineo-Congolian center of endemism. This includes all of Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, São Tomé and Príncipe, most of Cameroon and Congo Republic, and parts of the neighboring countries. An annotated list of the 14 genera and 79 species recorded from this area is given, together with distribution maps and an identification key to genera. Seven species are newly described: Anansus kamwai sp. nov., Leptopholcus gabonicus sp. nov., Ninetis faro sp. nov., Pholcus punu sp. nov., P. rawiriae sp. nov., Spermophora abibae sp. nov., and S. awalai sp. nov. Additional new records are given for 16 previously described species, including 17 new country records. Distribution and diversity patterns are compared with data on West and East Africa. While West Africa contains a similar set of genera it is significantly less diverse than Central Africa. East Africa is taxonomically more distinct. It has similar levels of diversity as Central Africa, but appears to be less undersampled.
The knowledge of phenotypic variation in the European range of the highly allergenic Ambrosia artemisiifolia L. (common ragweed) is not entirely complete, even though it is an invasive species of utmost concern. We hypothesized the prevalence of phenotypic differentiations between common ragweed populations in the introduced range, and we assumed that those differentiations were related to environmental conditions at the points of origin. Using a common garden experiment, we investigated biomass allocation, growth rates, and flowering phenology of 38 European common ragweed populations originating from a major geographical gradient. We observed considerable phenotypic variation in growth parameters and flowering phenology, e.g. mean aboveground biomass varied from 23.3 to 47.3 g between the populations. We were able to relate most measured traits with environmental parameters prevailing at the points of origin. For example, early growth of ruderal populations was highly correlated with temperature and precipitation at the point of origin. Late growth and flowering phenology were highly correlated with latitude, i.e. individuals from northern populations grew smaller and flowered and dispersed their pollen and seeds up to 5 weeks earlier than individuals from southern populations. We also found a longitudinal gradient in flowering phenology which has not yet been described. The existence of such a high variability in the introduced range may facilitate further range expansion. We suggest that the correlation with environmental variables rests upon genetic variation possibly due to adaptations to the respective environment. To clarify if such adaptation results from multiple events of introduction or as evolutionary response after introduction, genetic investigations are needed.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs, miRs) emerged as key regulators of gene expression. Germline hemizygous deletion of the gene that encodes the miR-17~92 miRNA cluster was associated with microcephaly, short stature and digital abnormalities in humans. Mice deficient for the miR-17~92 cluster phenocopy several features such as growth and skeletal development defects and exhibit impaired B cell development. However, the individual contribution of miR-17~92 cluster members to this phenotype is unknown. Here we show that germline deletion of miR-92a in mice is not affecting heart development and does not reduce circulating or bone marrow-derived hematopoietic cells, but induces skeletal defects. MiR-92a−/− mice are born at a reduced Mendelian ratio, but surviving mice are viable and fertile. However, body weight of miR-92a−/− mice was reduced during embryonic and postnatal development and adulthood. A significantly reduced body and skull length was observed in miR-92a−/− mice compared to wild type littermates. µCT analysis revealed that the length of the 5th mesophalanx to 5th metacarpal bone of the forelimbs was significantly reduced, but bones of the hindlimbs were not altered. Bone density was not affected. These findings demonstrate that deletion of miR-92a is sufficient to induce a developmental skeletal defect.
Background: Advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) represents a significant unmet medical need. Despite advances with targeted therapies in a small subset of patients, fewer than 20% of patients survive for more than two years after diagnosis. Cancer vaccines are a promising therapeutic approach that offers the potential for durable responses through the engagement of the patient's own immune system. CV9202 is a self-adjuvanting mRNA vaccine that targets six antigens commonly expressed in NSCLC (NY ESO-1, MAGEC1, MAGEC2, 5 T4, survivin, and MUC1).
Methods/Design: The trial will assess the safety and tolerability of CV9202 vaccination combined with local radiation designed to enhance immune responses and will include patients with stage IV NSCLC and a response or stable disease after first-line chemotherapy or therapy with an EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor. Three histological and molecular subtypes of NSCLC will be investigated (squamous and non-squamous cell with/without EGFR mutations). All patients will receive two initial vaccinations with CV9202 prior to local radiotherapy (5 GY per day for four successive days) followed by further vaccinations until disease progression. The primary endpoint of the study is the number of patients experiencing Grade >3 treatment-related adverse events. Pharmacodynamic analyses include the assessment of immune responses to the antigens encoded by CV9202 and others not included in the panel (antigen spreading) and standard efficacy assessments.
Discussion: RNActive self-adjuvanted mRNA vaccines offer the potential for simultaneously inducing immune responses to a wide panel of antigens commonly expressed in tumors. This trial will assess the feasibility of this approach in combination with local radiotherapy in NSCLC patients.
We examined substrate-induced conformational changes in MjNhaP1, an archaeal electroneutral Na+/H+-antiporter resembling the human antiporter NHE1, by electron crystallography of 2D crystals in a range of physiological pH and Na+ conditions. In the absence of sodium, changes in pH had no major effect. By contrast, changes in Na+ concentration caused a marked conformational change that was largely pH-independent. Crystallographically determined, apparent dissociation constants indicated ∼10-fold stronger Na+ binding at pH 8 than at pH 4, consistent with substrate competition for a common ion-binding site. Projection difference maps indicated helix movements by about 2 Å in the 6-helix bundle region of MjNhaP1 that is thought to contain the ion translocation site. We propose that these movements convert the antiporter from the proton-bound, outward-open state to the Na+-bound, inward-open state. Oscillation between the two states would result in rapid Na+/H+ antiport.
This book outlines perspectives of emerging and established African scholars on what one could describe as the debate on leadership and the articulation of the life of the mind in Africa's socio-economic, political and cultural life from the time of independence to date. The papers contained in the book cover the following thematic areas: Alternative Leadership Paradigm for Africa's Advancement; African Perspectives on Globalisation and international relations; Pan-Africanism and the African Renaissance; Scientific, Technological and Cultural Dimensions of African Development. The first section deals with alternative leadership paradigms for Africa's advancement. It also debates the 'thin line' separating management studies from leadership studies and untangles the hermeneutic complexities in the term 'leadership'. Section two examines among other things, the crucial challenge of globalisation and public ethics and others African perspectives. The section also interrogates the current complexities and credibility deficits in the global governance of trade and towards the end engages philosophical questions about conscience and consciousness in African development and progress. The debates in section three continue to section four and focus on the overall issues of language and liberation, the significance of Multi-, Interand Trans-Disciplinary Approaches in the analysis of the African continent, appropriate indigenous paradigms for promoting the African renaissance as well as a series of debates on the meaning and prospects of regional integration in Africa's renewal. This provides just a snapshot of a very wide ranging and interesting debate contained in the publication.
The goal of Perspectives on Student Affairs in South Africa is to generate interest in student affairs in South Africa. The papers contained herein are based on best practice, local experience and well-researched international and local theories. The papers in this book deal with matters pertaining to international and national trends in student affairs: academic development, access and retention, counselling, and material support for students coming from disadvantaged backgrounds. They are linked to national and international developments, as described in the first two papers. This publication will assist both young and experienced practitioners as they grow into their task of developing the students entrusted to them. All contributors are South Africans with a great deal of experience in student affairs, and all are committed to the advancement of student affairs in South Africa. The editors are former heads of student affairs portfolios at two leading South African universities.
The year 2013 marked 15 years of the phenomenal diplomatic relations between South Africa and China. Th e relationship between South Africa and China has been developing since diplomatic ties were established on 1 January 1998. Since then, South Africa-China's bilateral relations have undergone rapid and all-facet development. Th ere were frequent high level and other kinds of mutual exchanges between the two countries. Th e bilateral relations within the space of fifteen years have evolved from a Partnership to a Strategic Partnership, and then to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Furthermore, in the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, which was set out in the Beijing Declaration signed in 2010, the two countries expressed the desire to further strengthen and deepen cooperation in both bilateral and regional affairs by establishing a comprehensive strategic partnership based on equality, mutual benefit and common development. Th e agreements range from political dialogue, trade, investment, mineral exploration, manufacturing, and agriculture to joint efforts in the global arena, such as in the United Nations, the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), and Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS). In recognition of the aforementioned bilateral achievements, on 19 September 2013, an Ambassadorial forum was co-hosted by the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO), The Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the Republic of South Africa, and the Africa Institute of South Africa Human Science Research Council (AISA-HSRC). The objective of the Ambassadorial Forum was to provide an opportunity for refl ections on the past and outlook on the future diplomatic relations between South Africa and China. This book presents the offi cial keynote addresses which provide strategic thinking and foresight into the bilateral relations between the two countries. Th e main substance of the book is a collection of the Ambassadorial Forum papers that were submitted. The papers evaluate economic and political progress from a national interest perspective. Progress is measured against variables such as trade growth, people-to-people development, partnerships, and the implementation of state agreements, all against the background of the theory of national interest.
This paper studies the use of performance pricing (PP) provisions in debt contracts and compares accounting-based with rating-based pricing designs. We find that rating-based provisions are used by volatile-growth borrowers and allow for stronger spread increases over the credit period. Accounting-based provisions are employed by opaque-growth borrowers and stipulate stronger spread reductions. Further, a higher spread-increase potential in rating-based contracts lowers the spread at the loan’s inception and improves the borrower’s performance later on. In contrast, a higher spread-decrease potential in accounting-based contracts lowers the initial spread and raises the borrower’s leverage afterwards. The evidence indicates that rating-based contracts are indeed employed for different reasons than accounting-based contracts: the former to signal a borrower’s quality, the latter to mitigate investment inefficiencies.
Introduction: On-treatment HCV RNA measurements are crucial for the prediction of a sustained virological response (SVR) and to determine treatment futility during protease inhibitor-based triple therapies. In patients with advanced liver disease an accurate risk/benefit calculation based on reliable HCV RNA results can reduce the number of adverse events. However, the different available HCV RNA assays vary in their diagnostic performance.
Aim: To investigate the clinical relevance of concordant and discordant results of two HCV RNA assays during triple therapy with boceprevir and telaprevir in patients with advanced liver fibrosis/cirrhosis.
Methods: We collected on-treatment samples of 191 patients with advanced liver fibrosis/cirrhosis treated at four European centers for testing with the Abbott RealTime (ART) and COBAS AmpliPrep/COBAS TaqMan HCV v2.0 (CTM) assays.
Results: Discordant test results for HCV RNA detectability were observed in 23% at week 4, 17% at week 8/12 and 9% at week 24 on-treatment. The ART detected HCV RNA in 41% of week 4 samples tested negative by the CTM. However, the positive predictive value of an undetectable week 4 result for SVR was similar for both assays (80% and 82%). Discordance was also found for application of stopping rules. In 27% of patients who met stopping rules by CTM the ART measured levels below the respective cut-offs of 100 and 1000 IU/ml, respectively, which would have resulted in treatment continuation. In contrast, in nine patients with negative HCV RNA by CTM at week 24 treatment would have been discontinued due to detectable residual HCV RNA by the ART assay. Importantly, only 4 of these patients failed to achieve SVR.
Conclusion: Application of stopping rules determined in approval studies by one assay to other HCV RNA assays in clinical practice may lead to over and undertreatment in a significant number of patients undergoing protease inhibitor-based triple therapy.
Background: Ribavirin (RBV) remains part of several interferon-free treatment strategies even though its mechanisms of action are still not fully understood. One hypothesis is that RBV increases responsiveness to type I interferons. Pegylated Interferon alpha (PEG-IFNa) has recently been shown to alter natural killer (NK) cell function possibly contributing to control of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. However, the effects of ribavirin alone or in combination with IFNa on NK cells are unknown.
Methods: Extensive ex vivo phenotyping and functional analysis of NK cells from hepatitis C patients was performed during antiviral therapy. Patients were treated for 6 weeks with RBV monotherapy (n = 11), placebo (n = 13) or PEG-IFNa-2a alone (n = 6) followed by PEG-IFNa/RBV combination therapy. The effects of RBV and PEG-IFNa-2a on NK cells were also studied in vitro after co-culture with K562 or Huh7.5 cells.
Results: Ribavirin monotherapy had no obvious effects on NK cell phenotype or function, neither ex vivo in patients nor in vitro. In contrast, PEG-IFNa-2a therapy was associated with an increase of CD56bright cells and distinct changes in expression profiles leading to an activated NK cell phenotype, increased functionality and decline of terminally differentiated NK cells. Ribavirin combination therapy reduced some of the IFN effects. An activated NK cell phenotype during therapy was inversely correlated with HCV viral load.
Conclusions: PEG-IFNa activates NK cells possibly contributing to virological responses independently of RBV. The role of NK cells during future IFN-free combination therapies including RBV remains to be determined.
Previous research has documented strong peer effects in risk taking, but little is known about how such social influences affect market outcomes. The consequences of social interactions are hard to isolate in financial data, and theoretically it is not clear whether peer effects should increase or decrease risk sharing. We design an experimental asset market with multiple risky assets and study how exogenous variation in real-time information about the portfolios of peer group members affects aggregate and individual risk taking. We find that peer information ameliorates under-diversification that occurs in a market without such information. One reason is that peer information increases risk aversion and induces a concern for relative income position that may reduce or amplify risk taking, depending on whether the context highlights the most or least successful trader. Thus, contrary to conventional wisdom, we show that social interactions may help to reduce earnings volatility in financial markets, and we discuss implications for institutional design.
We report on posttransplant relapsed pediatric patients with B-precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia with no further standard of care therapy who were treated with the T-cell engaging CD19/CD3-bispecific single-chain antibody construct blinatumomab on a compassionate use basis. Blast load was assessed prior to, during and after blinatumomab cycle using flow cytometry to detect minimal residual disease, quantitative polymerase chain reaction for rearrangements of the immunoglobulin or T-cell receptor genes, and bcr/abl mutation detection in one patient with Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Blinatumomab was administered as a 4-week continuous intravenous infusion at a dosage of 5 or 15 μg/m2/day. Nine patients received a total of 18 cycles. Four patients achieved complete remission after the first cycle of treatment; 2 patients showed a complete remission from the second cycle after previous reduction of blast load by chemotherapy. Three patients did not respond, of whom one patient proceeded to a second cycle without additional chemotherapy and again did not respond. Four patients were successfully retransplanted in molecular remission from haploidentical donors. After a median follow up of 398 days, the probability of hematologic event-free survival is 30%. Major toxicities were grade 3 seizures in one patient and grade 3 cytokine release syndrome in 2 patients. Blinatumomab can induce molecular remission in pediatric patients with posttransplant relapsed B-precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia and facilitate subsequent allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation from haploidentical donor with subsequent long-term leukemia-free survival.
Background: Simple peak-picking algorithms, such as those based on lineshape fitting, perform well when peaks are completely resolved in multidimensional NMR spectra, but often produce wrong intensities and frequencies for overlapping peak clusters. For example, NOESY-type spectra have considerable overlaps leading to significant peak-picking intensity errors, which can result in erroneous structural restraints. Precise frequencies are critical for unambiguous resonance assignments.
Results: To alleviate this problem, a more sophisticated peaks decomposition algorithm, based on non-negative matrix factorization (NMF), was developed. We produce peak shapes from Fourier-transformed NMR spectra. Apart from its main goal of deriving components from spectra and producing peak lists automatically, the NMF approach can also be applied if the positions of some peaks are known a priori, e.g. from consistently referenced spectral dimensions of other experiments.
Conclusions: Application of the NMF algorithm to a three-dimensional peak list of the 23 kDa bi-domain section of the RcsD protein (RcsD-ABL-HPt, residues 688-890) as well as to synthetic HSQC data shows that peaks can be picked accurately also in spectral regions with strong overlap.
Population size, and flowering and fruiting developmental stages in the Critically Endangered species Corunastylis sp. ‘Charmhaven’ (Family Orchidaceae, formerly included within genus Genoplesium), were investigated in the Warnervale-Charmhaven area over a three year period. Population size in 2012 was 11 plants, in 2013, 14 plants and in 2014 increased to 26 plants, with new plants appearing near the original plants. Proactive management, including mowing and erecting wire protective cages around groups of orchids was partly responsible for this increase in numbers because it prevented browsing by rabbits but only ten plants carried fruits to maturity in the 2014 season to produce seed. Despite an increase in numbers over a couple of years, a population of 26 individuals is very small and warrants maintaining the current conservation listing of Critically Endangered. The population began to flower between 15th and 29th February in 2012 and from 3rd to 14th March in 2013. However in 2014 flowering began on 11th February and extended to 19th March but it took until 17th June to reach the seed dispersal stage. 2014 involved two phases of flowering; whether climatic factors were responsible for this event is not known.
Efforts to control bank risk address the wrong problem in the wrong way. They presume that the financial crisis was caused by CEOs who failed to supervise risk-taking employees. The responses focus on executive pay, believing that executives will bring non-executives into line—using incentives to manage risk-taking—once their own pay is regulated. What they overlook is the effect on non-executive pay of the competition for talent. Even if executive pay is regulated, and executives act in the bank’s best interests, they will still be trapped into providing incentives that encourage risk-taking by non-executives due to the negative externality that arises from that competition. Greater risk-taking can increase short-term profits and, in turn, the amount a non-executive receives, potentially at the expense of long-term bank value. Non-executives, therefore, have an incentive to incur significant risk upfront so long as they can depart for a new employer before any losses materialize. The result is an upward spiral in compensation—reducing an executive’s ability to set non-executive pay and the ability of any one bank to adjust compensation to reflect risk-taking and long-term outcomes. New regulation must address the tension between compensation and competition. Regulators should take account of the effect of competition on market-wide levels of pay, including by non-banks who compete for talent. The ability of non-executives to jump from a bank employer to another financial firm should also be limited. In addition, banks should be required to include a long-term equity component in non-executive pay, with subsequent employers being restricted from compensating a new employee for any losses she incurs related to her prior work.
This book is a comprehensive appraisal of the political history of Nigeria since colonisation, with emphasis on political parties. The author argues that party coalitions in Nigeria can be explained by the factors of heterogeneity as well as the political systems the country has experimented with. He asserts the influence of the institution of the presidency in the current trend towards a two-party system.
We consider a class of nonautonomous nonlinear competitive parabolic systems on bounded radial domains under Neumann or Dirichlet boundary conditions. We show that, if the initial profiles satisfy a reflection inequality with respect to a hyperplane, then bounded positive solutions are asymptotically (in time) foliated Schwarz symmetric with respect to antipodal points. Additionally, a related result for (positive and sign changing solutions) of scalar equations with Neumann or Dirichlet boundary conditions is given. The asymptotic shape of solutions to cooperative systems is also discussed.
Ribosome heterogeneity is of increasing biological significance and several examples have been described for multicellular and single cells organisms. In here we show for the first time a variation in ribose methylation within the 18S rRNA of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Using RNA-cleaving DNAzymes, we could specifically demonstrate that a significant amount of S. cerevisiae ribosomes are not methylated at 2′-O-ribose of A100 residue in the 18S rRNA. Furthermore, using LC-UV-MS/MS of a respective 18S rRNA fragment, we could not only corroborate the partial methylation at A100, but could also quantify the methylated versus non-methylated A100 residue. Here, we exhibit that only 68% of A100 in the 18S rRNA of S.cerevisiae are methylated at 2′-O ribose sugar. Polysomes also contain a similar heterogeneity for methylated Am100, which shows that 40S ribosome subunits with and without Am100 participate in translation. Introduction of a multicopy plasmid containing the corresponding methylation guide snoRNA gene SNR51 led to an increased A100 methylation, suggesting the cellular snR51 level to limit the extent of this modification. Partial rRNA modification demonstrates a new level of ribosome heterogeneity in eukaryotic cells that might have substantial impact on regulation and fine-tuning of the translation process.
Parasitoid wasps new to Britain (Hymenoptera: Platygastridae,
Eurytomidae, Braconidae & Bethylidae)
(2014)
One genus and five species are recorded as new to Britain: Fidiobia, Fidiobia hispanica, Macroteleia bicolora (Platygastridae); Sycophila binotata (Eurytomidae); Schizoprymnus collaris (Braconidae); and Laelius pedatus (Bethylidae). Keys to British Macroteleia and Laelius are provided.
Provisional synonymy is proposed between Macroteleia minor and M. brevigaster, and synonymy is proposed between Laelius femoralis, L. microneurus and L. nigricrus. The possible mode of introduction of Sycophila binotata is discussed. A lectotype is designated for Schizoprymnus collaris.
A new species of the synthemistid genus Palaeosynthemis is described from the Trauna River valley in Western Highlands Province, Papua New Guinea. The new species is most similar to P. cyrene from which it can be distinguished, among other characters, by the coloration of the pterostigma (jet-black in the new species vs brownish yellow in P. cyrene) and of the wing bases (not darkened vs strongly darkened). The new species also differs from P. cyrene in having a narrow, almost parallel-sided yellow lateral synthoracic stripe and a well-defined yellow marking along most of the ventral margin of the metepimeron. In P. cyrene the lateral synthoracic stripe is markedly wider and tapered, and the yellow element along the ventral margin of the metepimeron is absent. Characters of the adult male are illustrated and the affinities of the species are discussed.
One of the cruxes of Walter Benjamin’s work is the tension between an indebting and an expiating "memoria", i. e. the afflicting and the salvific insistence of history within the present moment. On the one hand, memory inscribes itself onto spaces and bodies in the violent and painful fashion of Kafka's "Penal Colony" apparatus. On the other hand, it can, in the form of rememoration ('Eingedenken'), sublate these very inscriptions. This sublation usually involves some form of redemptive, timely (re-)verbalization, but Benjamin’s conception of it varies. To gain a better insight into this inherent, varying tension, the article will take a closer look at the connection between pain, memory and law-positing violence in some Benjaminian texts, occasionally relating them to the historical background of his discussion.
The transcription factor Tal1 is a critical activator or repressor of gene expression in hematopoiesis and leukaemia. The mechanism by which Tal1 differentially influences transcription of distinct genes is not fully understood. Here we show that Tal1 interacts with the peptidylarginine deiminase IV (PADI4). We demonstrate that PADI4 can act as an epigenetic coactivator through influencing H3R2me2a. At the Tal1/PADI4 target gene IL6ST the repressive H3R2me2a mark triggered by PRMT6 is counteracted by PADI4, which augments the active H3K4me3 mark and thus increases IL6ST expression. In contrast, at the CTCF promoter PADI4 acts as a repressor. We propose that the influence of PADI4 on IL6ST transcription plays a role in the control of IL6ST expression during lineage differentiation of hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells. These results open the possibility to pharmacologically influence Tal1 in leukaemia.
Out of area or out of business?: the bourgeois parochialism of international studies conferences
(2014)
Most face-to-face interaction with other IR types happens at conferences, and it’s easy to break conferences down by profile and inclusiveness. The ISA annual conference is supposed to rate pretty highly on both, and almost everyone has been a few times by the end of their post-grad careers. Then there are the conferences that are high profile but less inclusive. APSA, BISA, the ISA regional conferences, and the newly constituted EISA are fairly high profile in that most IR professionals have heard of them, but they’re less inclusive in that few of us would cross broad bodies of water and long customs lines to participate...
Oscillations play a critical role in cognitive phenomena and have been observed in many brain regions. Experimental evidence indicates that classes of neurons exhibit properties that could promote oscillations, such as subthreshold resonance and electrical gap junctions. Typically, these two properties are studied separately but it is not clear which is the dominant determinant of global network rhythms. Our aim is to provide an analytical understanding of how these two effects destabilize the fluctuation-driven state, in which neurons fire irregularly, and lead to an emergence of global synchronous oscillations. Here we show how the oscillation frequency is shaped by single neuron resonance, electrical and chemical synapses.The presence of both gap junctions and subthreshold resonance are necessary for the emergence of oscillations. Our results are in agreement with several experimental observations such as network responses to oscillatory inputs and offer a much-needed conceptual link connecting a collection of disparate effects observed in networks.
The children's book "Duck! Rabbit!" dramatizes the lesson that just because one is right, others don’t have to be wrong. An endless dispute is quickly settled once the quarrellers experience an aspect change or gestalt switch and thereby realize that the same picture can be seen in different ways. This simple scenario offers an intriguing model for arbitrating between conflicting positions by going back and forth between different aspects and thereby realizing that conflicting accounts can be equally valid.
Orisa Ibeji
(2014)
Ahmed Yerima's play celebrates the phenomenon of twins among the Yoruba people. Orisa Ibeji is also about man's fear of death and love of life; destiny and reincarnation; and the place of the gods in human affairs. Yerima employs simple and beautiful language, dynamic characters and deft skill to navigate the labyrinth that is Orisa Ibeji.
We develop a model of an order-driven exchange competing for order flow with off-exchange trading mechanisms. Liquidity suppliers face a trade-off between benefits and costs of order exposure. If they display trading intentions, they attract additional trade demand. We show, in equilibrium, hiding trade intentions can induce mis-coordination between liquidity supply and demand, generate excess price fluctuations and harm price efficiency. Econometric high-frequency analysis based on unique data on hidden orders from NASDAQ reveals strong empirical support for these predictions: We find abnormal reactions in prices and order flow after periods of high excess-supply of hidden liquidity.
This is a book about the Tonga of Northern Malawi, sometimes called the Lakeshore Tonga to distinguish them from other ethnic groups with the same name further west in Central Africa. The Lakeshore Tonga were the first ethnic group to identify themselves with the Christian faith. The purpose of the research was to investigate the use of Tonga myths, folktales, proverbs and rituals for their role in Moral Education and assess and evaluate their contribution towards value formation for the youth. Each chapter in the book aims to discuss some ideas in the anthropology of religion and to illustrate them with specific case studies formed primarily through conversation with friends, both young and old, over some years.
The Solvency II standard formula employs an approximate Value-at-Risk approach to define risk-based capital requirements. This paper investigates how the standard formula’s stock risk calibration influences the equity position and investment strategy of a shareholder-value-maximizing insurer with limited liability. The capital requirement for stock risks is determined by multiplying a regulation-defined stock risk parameter by the value of the insurer’s stock portfolio. Intuitively, a higher stock risk parameter should reduce risky investments as well as insolvency risk. However, we find that the default probability does not necessarily decrease when reducing the investment risk (by increasing the stock investment risk parameter). We also find that depending on the precise interaction between assets and liabilities, some insurers will invest conservatively, whereas others will prefer a very risky investment strategy, and a slight change of the stock risk parameter may lead from a conservative to a high risk asset allocation.
Genome-wide association studies are widely used to correlate phenotypic traits with genetic variants. These studies usually compare the genetic variation between two groups to single out certain Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) that are linked to a phenotypic variation in one of the groups. However, it is necessary to have a large enough sample size to find statistically significant correlations. Direct-To-Consumer (DTC) genetic testing can supply additional data: DTC-companies offer the analysis of a large amount of SNPs for an individual at low cost without the need to consult a physician or geneticist. Over 100,000 people have already been genotyped through Direct-To-Consumer genetic testing companies. However, this data is not public for a variety of reasons and thus cannot be used in research. It seems reasonable to create a central open data repository for such data. Here we present the web platform openSNP, an open database which allows participants of Direct-To-Consumer genetic testing to publish their genetic data at no cost along with phenotypic information. Through this crowdsourced effort of collecting genetic and phenotypic information, openSNP has become a resource for a wide area of studies, including Genome-Wide Association Studies. openSNP is hosted at http://www.opensnp.org, and the code is released under MIT-license at http://github.com/gedankenstuecke/snpr.
In this thesis hard probes are studied in the partonic transport model BAMPS (Boltzmann Approach to MultiParton Scatterings). Employing Monte Carlo techniques, this model describes the 3+1 dimensional evolution of the quark gluon plasma phase in ultra-relativistic heavy-ion collisions by propagating all particles in space and time and carrying out their collisions according to the Boltzmann equation. Since hard probes are produced in hard processes with a large momentum transfer, the value of the running coupling is small and their interactions should be describable within perturbative QCD (pQCD). This work focuses on open heavy flavor, but also addresses the suppression of light parton jets, in particular to highlight differences due to the mass. For light partons, radiative processes are the dominant contribution to their energy loss. For heavy quarks, we show that also binary interactions with a running coupling and an improved Debye screening matched to hard-thermal-loop calculations play an important role. Furthermore, the impact of the mass in radiative interactions, prominently named the dead cone effect, and the interplay with the Landau-Pomeranchuk-Migdal (LPM) effect are studied in great detail. Since the transport model BAMPS has access to all medium properties and the space time information of heavy quarks, it is the ideal tool to study the dissociation and regeneration of J/psi mesons, which is also investigated in this thesis.
We study the effect of weakening creditor rights on distress risk premia via a bankruptcy reform that shifts bargaining power in financial distress toward shareholders. We find that the reform reduces risk factor loadings and returns of distressed stocks. The effect is stronger for firms with lower firm-level shareholder bargaining power. An increase in credit spreads of riskier relative to safer firms, in particular for firms with lower firm-level shareholder bargaining power, confirms a shift in bargaining power from bondholders to shareholders. Out-of-sample tests reveal that a reversal of the reform's effects leads to a reversal of factor loadings and returns.
Donald Siegel's 1971 film entitled "The Beguiled" is compared to Tale 1 of Day 3 from Giovanni Boccaccio’s "The Decameron". Both stories are about a man who arrives in a garden setting and finds nine sexually starved women. In Boccaccio's tale, a male gardener finds himself in a convent occupied by nine nuns with whom he proceeds to have sexual relations to everyone's satisfaction. Siegel's film is about a wounded soldier taken in at a girls' finishing school whose nine female residents become the objects of the hero's amorous attention. While Boccaccio adopts a philogynist tone with respect to the material, "The Beguiled" appears to be a virulently misogynist film projecting its female characters as jealous demons who end up mutilating and then killing their male suitor. Findings from evolutionary psychology pertaining to female jealousy and reproductive strategies are used to consider the respective attitudes toward women in the medieval tale and the twentieth-century film. Conclusions are drawn about the difficulty of placing either of the stories within a clear-cut philogynist or misogynist category.
In the framework of an interference setup in which only two outcomes are possible (such as in the case of a Mach–Zehnder interferometer), we discuss in a simple and pedagogical way the difference between a standard, unitary quantum mechanical evolution and the existence of a real collapse of the wavefunction. This is a central and not-yet resolved question of quantum mechanics and indeed of quantum field theory as well. Moreover, we also present the Elitzur–Vaidman bomb, the delayed choice experiment, and the effect of decoherence. In the end, we propose two simple experiments to visualize decoherence and to test the role of an entangled particle.
The osteology of “Coccodus” lindstroemi is studied in detail and it is demonstrated that this species does not belong to the genus Coccodus, but is a rather primitive member of the pycnodontiform family Gladiopycnodontidae. Indeed, the snout of “Coccodus” lindstroemi is elongated in a rostrum formed by the prefrontal and the premaxilla. This rostrum extends beyond the lower jaw level. The toothless premaxilla is sutured by its upper margin to the lower margin of the long and broad prefrontal.
The pectoral fin is lost and replaced by a pectoral spine which articulates on the cleithrum. A long nuchal spine resting on the dermosupraoccipital is present. The body is entirely covered by scales that are flakelike in the abdominal region and scute-like in the caudal region. Joinvillichthys gen. nov. is thus erected
with “Coccodus” lindstroemi as the type species. It is also shown that specimens with dumpier head and body, usually ranged in “Coccodus” lindstroemi, represent another species of the same genus for which the taxon Joinvillichthys kriweti gen. et sp. nov. is created. Specimens sometimes considered as possible juveniles of “Coccodus” lindstroemi form a distinctive new genus and species of gladiopycnodontid fish, Pankowskichthys libanicus gen. et sp. nov. Pankowskichthys differs from Joinvillichthys by many
osteological structures.
The Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR), under construction at Darmstadt will provide intense relativistic beams of exotic nuclei at its Superconducting-FRagment Separator. High-resolution in-beam γ-ray spectroscopy will be performed in the HISPEC experiment, using the European Advanced GAmma-ray Tracking Array (AGATA). The PreSPEC-AGATA campaign is the predecessor of HISPEC and runs from 2012 to 2014 at GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung GmbH. Up to19 AGATA modules were used at GSI's F Ragment Separator in 2012. We report on the status of the experiment including preliminary results from performance commissioning.
Political theology’s recent rise to academic prominence has, no doubt, been inspired by the sense of a certain staleness of standard (read: Anglo-American) analytical political and legal theory. Especially postcolonial and postmodern philosophy has resuscitated debates about the reality of secularization in Europe, pointing out that much of our shared political metaphysic is indeed that – a metaphysic – with close historical links to debates in theology. That should be no surprise. For almost half a millennium theology stood as the primus inter pares among the three "higher faculties" at European universities. The best minds at work in Europe explained the social and political changes to European audiences within a fully God-centric intellectual universe. Awareness of that fact, as Wim Decock points out in this massive and brilliant work, not only assists us in understanding the development of our political and legal vocabularies. It also enables us to grasp the contingency of our present debates, the way opposite standpoints on political and legal obligation refer back to assumptions about human nature, the roles of individual and society and the nature of "law" that are hard to detach from religious speculation. ...
In old and heavily weathered soils, the availability of P might be so small that the primary production of plants is limited. However, plants have evolved several mechanisms to actively take up P from the soil or mine it to overcome this limitation. These mechanisms involve the active uptake of P mediated by mycorrhiza, biotic de-occlusion through root clusters, and the biotic enhancement of weathering through root exudation. The objective of this paper is to investigate how and where these processes contribute to alleviate P limitation on primary productivity. To do so, we propose a process-based model accounting for the major processes of the carbon, water, and P cycles including chemical weathering at the global scale. Implementing P limitation on biomass synthesis allows the assessment of the efficiencies of biomass production across different ecosystems. We use simulation experiments to assess the relative importance of the different uptake mechanisms to alleviate P limitation on biomass production. We find that active P uptake is an essential mechanism for sustaining P availability on long timescales, whereas biotic de-occlusion might serve as a buffer on timescales shorter than 10 000 yr. Although active P uptake is essential for reducing P losses by leaching, humid lowland soils reach P limitation after around 100 000 yr of soil evolution. Given the generalized modelling framework, our model results compare reasonably with observed or independently estimated patterns and ranges of P concentrations in soils and vegetation. Furthermore, our simulations suggest that P limitation might be an important driver of biomass production efficiency (the fraction of the gross primary productivity used for biomass growth), and that vegetation on old soils has a smaller biomass production rate when P becomes limiting. With this study, we provide a theoretical basis for investigating the responses of terrestrial ecosystems to P availability linking geological and ecological timescales under different environmental settings.
Examination of the type material of the forgotten species Liocranum ochraceum Simon, 1867 reveals this species has to be transferred to the genus Anagraphis comb. nov. and that Anagraphis pallida (Hadjissarantos, 1940) is its junior synonym (syn. nov.). Furthermore, the monotypic genus Macedoniella Drensky, 1935 is a junior synonym of Anagraphis and M. karamani a junior synonym of Anagraphis ochraceum (L. Koch, 1867) (syn. nov.).
Three new species of Pachygnatha, P. bispiralis sp. nov., P. intermedia sp. nov. and P. ventricosa sp. nov., are described from forest areas in western Burundi. The presence of P. procincta Bosmans & Bosselaers, 1994 in Burundi confirms its very wide distribution spanning most of Africa.
Pachygnatha appears to be an important element of the afromontane spider fauna.
On January 29, 2014, EU Commissioner Barnier published a draft law proposing a ban for proprietary trading by big banks in Europe. In this opinion piece, published in a German newspaper on 30 January, 2014, Jan Pieter Krahnen, who was a member of the Liikanen Commission, argues that the proposal could prove to be effective in preventing systemic risk.
We examine the impact of so-called "Crisis Contracts" on bank managers' risk-taking incentives and on the probability of banking crises. Under a Crisis Contract, managers are required to contribute a pre-specified share of their past earnings to finance public rescue funds when a crisis occurs. This can be viewed as a retroactive tax that is levied only when a crisis occurs and that leads to a form of collective liability for bank managers. We develop a game-theoretic model of a banking sector whose shareholders have limited liability, so that society at large will suffer losses if a crisis occurs. Without Crisis Contracts, the managers' and shareholders' interests are aligned, and managers take more than the socially optimal level of risk. We investigate how the introduction of Crisis Contracts changes the equilibrium level of risk-taking and the remuneration of bank managers. We establish conditions under which the introduction of Crisis Contracts will reduce the probability of a banking crisis and improve social welfare. We explore how Crisis Contracts and capital requirements can supplement each other and we show that the efficacy of Crisis Contracts is not undermined by attempts to hedge.
Die zentralen Objekte der Dissertation sind Translationsflächen. Dabei handelt es sich um Riemann’sche Flächen, die aus in die euklidische Ebene eingebetteten Polygonen durch Verkleben von parallelen gleichlangen Seiten entstehen. Zwei Translationsflächen sind gleich, wenn es möglich ist, die Polygone durch ”Zerschneiden und mittels Translationen neu Zusammenkleben“ ineinander zu überführen. Die Gruppe GL_2(R) operiert auf der Menge der Translationsflächen via der linearen Abbildungen auf den Polygonen. Der Stabilisator einer Translationsfläche X unter dieser Operation wird die Veech-Gruppe von X genannt und mit SL(X) bezeichnet. Die Veech-Gruppe ist eine diskrete Untergruppe von SL_2(R) und damit eine Fuchs’sche Gruppe.
Fuchs’sche Gruppen werden je nach ihrer Limesmenge in elementare und nicht-elementare Gruppen eingeteilt. Letztere wiederum unterteilt man in Gruppen erster oder zweiter Art. Fuchs’sche Gruppen mit endlichem co-Volumen heißen Gitter und sind genau die endlich erzeugten Gruppen erster Art. Translationsflächen, deren Veech-Gruppe ein Gitter ist, heißen Veech-Flächen und sind von besonderem Interesse, da für sie die Veech Alternative gilt.
Ein feineres Maß für die Größe einer Fuchs’schen Gruppe ist der kritische Exponent. Er ist definiert als das Infimum aller reellen Zahlen, für die die Poincaré Reihe konvergiert und liegt für alle unendlichen Fuchs’schen Gruppen zwischen 0 und 1. Hauptziel der Dissertation ist der Beweis von Theorem 1. Es gibt Translationsflächen, für die der kritische Exponent ihrer Veech-Gruppe echt zwischen 1/2 und 1 liegt.
Der kritische Exponent von elementaren Gruppen ist höchstens 1/2, Translationsflächen mit elementaren Veech-Gruppen sind also als Kandidaten für das Theorem ausgeschlossen. Der kritische Exponent von Gittern ist 1. Also scheiden auch Veech-Flächen für das Theorem aus.
Bis zum Jahr 2003 waren Gitter die einzigen bekannten nicht-elementaren Veech-Gruppen. McMullen klassifizierte die Veech-Flächen vom Geschlecht 2 und zeigte, dass jede solche Fläche, die nur eine Singularität besitzt, in der GL_2(R)-Bahn der Fläche L_D liegt, die aus einem L-förmigen Polygon mit geeigneten von D abhängigen Seitenlängen entsteht.
Während auch heute noch keine Translationsfläche mit Veech-Gruppe zweiter Art bekannt ist, fanden McMullen und unabhängig davon Hubert und Schmidt Konstruktionen unendlich erzeugter Veech-Gruppen erster Art. Eine Abschätzung des kritischen Exponenten dieser Gruppen war 10 Jahre lang eine wichtige offene Frage, die nun durch Theorem 1 beantwortet wird.
Zentral in der Konstruktion von Hubert und Schmidt sind spezielle Punkte, nämlich Verbindungspunkte. Hubert und Schmidt konstruieren Translationsflächen, deren Veech-Gruppen kommensurabel zum Stabilisator SL(X;P) von P sind und damit den gleichen kritischen Exponenten haben. Für Verbindungspunkte mit unendlicher SL(X)- Bahn (diese Punkte heißen nicht-periodisch) ist SL(X;P) unendlich erzeugt und von erster Art.
Wir zeigen Theorem 1, indem wir zeigen, dass für jedes D kongruent 0 mod 4, (kein Quadrat), und jeden nicht-periodischen Verbindungspunkt P in L_D der kritische Exponent der Gruppe SL(L_D;P) echt zwischen 1/2 und 1 liegt.
Eine natürliche Frage in diesem Zusammenhang ist die Abhängigkeit von P: Punkte Q in der SL(L_D)-Bahn von P sind auch er nicht-periodische Verbindungspunkte und die zugehö̈rigen Gruppen SL(L_D;P) und SL(L_D;Q) sind konjugiert zueinander. Daher widmen wir uns in Kapitel 4 der Bestimmung der Bahnen nicht-periodischer Verbindungspunkte.
Die Verbindungspunkte haben die Form P=(x_r+x_iw;y_r+y_iw) mit x_r,x_i,y_r,y_i aus Q. Wir zeigen, dass der Hauptnenner N(P) dieser (gekürzten) Brüche eine Invariante der Bahn ist. Daraus folgt:
Theorem 2. Es gibt unendlich viele verschiedene Bahnen von Verbindungspunkten von L_D.
Wir kennen die Operation der horizontalen und der vertikalen Scherungen A und B aus SL(L_D). Im Spezialfall D=8 erzeugen diese beiden Elemente die ganze Gruppe und wir geben je ein Verfahren an, um eine untere und eine obere Schranke an die Anzahl der Bahnen von nicht-periodischen Verbindungspunkten P mit fixiertem Hauptnenner N(P) zu finden. Damit zeigen wir:
Theorem 3. Die Menge der Verbindungspunkte P mit festem Wert N(P) zerfällt in eine endliche Anzahl von SL(L_8)-Bahnen.
Im Beweis von Theorem 1 ist es nötig, die Nicht-Mittelbarkeit eines Graphen zu zeigen. Da wir nur sehr wenige Informationen über dessen Struktur in unserer konkreten Situation haben, entwickeln wir in Kapitel 1 die folgende Methode:
Theorem 4. Sei G ein Graph, den man durch Weglassen von Kanten in einen Wald G′ ohne Blätter überführen kann, bei dem das Supremum der Längen von zusammenhängenden Valenz-2-Teilgraphen von G′ beschränkt ist. Dann ist G nicht mittelbar.
Um diese Methode anzuwenden, ordnen wir jeder Ecke P von G ein Komplexitätsmaß s(P) zu und weisen nach, dass dieser Wert für die Operation von Worten in A- und B-Potenzen mit wachsender Wortlänge ”tendenziell wächst“.
Panel Sample Selection ModelsThe empirical evidence currently available in the literature regarding the effects of a country's IMF program participation on its output growth is rather inconclusive. In this paper we propose and estimate a panel data sample selection model featuring state dependence. As in this model the output growth effects of program participation can be conditional on the realization of a state variable (conditional pooling), our framework may reconcile previous empirical evidence based on models without state-dependent effects. We find that the effects of IMF program participation on output growth vary systematically with an index reflecting a country's institutional record, and that output growth effects of program participation are significantly positive only if the program participation is coupled with sufficient improvement of the institutional record.
The formation of particles from precursor vapors is an important source of atmospheric aerosol. Research at the Cosmics Leaving OUtdoor Droplets (CLOUD) facility at CERN tries to elucidate which vapors are responsible for this new particle formation, and how in detail it proceeds. Initial measurement campaigns at the CLOUD stainless-steel aerosol chamber focused on investigating particle formation from ammonia (NH3) and sulfuric acid (H2SO4). Experiments were conducted in the presence of water, ozone and sulfur dioxide. Contaminant trace gases were suppressed at the technological limit. For this study, we mapped out the compositions of small NH3-H2SO4 clusters over a wide range of atmospherically relevant environmental conditions. We covered [NH3] in the range from <2 to 1400 pptv, [H2SO4] from 3.3 × 106 to 1.4 × 109 cm−3, and a temperature range from −25 to +20 °C. Negatively and positively charged clusters were directly measured by an atmospheric pressure interface time-of-flight (APi-TOF) mass spectrometer, as they initially formed from gas-phase NH3 and H2SO4, and then grew to larger clusters containing more than 50 molecules of NH3 and H2SO4, corresponding to mobility-equivalent diameters greater than 2 nm. Water molecules evaporate from these clusters during sampling and are not observed. We found that the composition of the NH3-H2SO4 clusters is primarily determined by the ratio of gas-phase concentrations [NH3] / [H2SO4], as well as by temperature. Pure binary H2O-H2SO4 clusters (observed as clusters of only H2SO4) only form at [NH3] / [H2SO4]<0.1 to 1. For larger values of [NH3] / [H2SO4], the composition of NH3-H2SO4 clusters was characterized by the number of NH3 molecules m added for each added H2SO4 molecule n (Δm / Δn), where n is in the range 4–18 (negatively charged clusters) or 1–17 (positively charged clusters). For negatively charged clusters, Δm / Δn saturated between 1 and 1.4 for [NH3] / [H2SO4]>10. Positively charged clusters grew on average by Δm / Δn = 1.05 and were only observed at sufficiently high [NH3] / [H2SO4]. The H2SO4 molecules of these clusters are partially neutralized by NH3, in close resemblance to the acid-base bindings of ammonium bisulfate. Supported by model simulations, we substantiate previous evidence for acid-base reactions being the essential mechanism behind the formation of these clusters under atmospheric conditions and up to sizes of at least 2 nm. Our results also suggest that yet unobservable electrically neutral NH3-H2SO4 clusters grow by generally the same mechanism as ionic clusters, particularly for [NH3] / [H2SO4]>10. We expect that NH3-H2SO4 clusters form and grow also mostly by Δm / Δn>1 in the atmosphere's boundary layer, as [NH3] / [H2SO4] is mostly larger than 10. We compared our results from CLOUD with APi-TOF measurements of NH3-H2SO4 anion clusters during new particle formation in the Finnish boreal forest. However, the exact role of NH3-H2SO4 clusters in boundary layer particle formation remains to be resolved.
In a recent article of major importance (2013), Tijmen Pronk has treated the accentuation of l-participles of the type neslъ in western South Slavic. Pronk points out correctly that Dybo’s law did not shift the accent onto final jers, e.g. in *kòņь, *bòbъ, and that the short vowel was preserved in Slovak osem < *òsmь, oheň < *ògņь, mohol < *mòglъ. Contrary to what Pronk claims, Slovene nę́sǝlis the phonetic reflex of *néslъ < *neslъ̀, Slovak niesol. The Slovene doublets (v)ǫ̑gǝl < *ǫ̀glь and (v)ózǝl < *ǫ̀zlъ suggest an earlier paradigm with vǫ̑- < ǫ̑- in the nom.sg. form and ó- < *ǫ̀- in the oblique cases. The vowel of ógǝnj < *ògņь also stems from the oblique cases. The expected neo-circumflex in the nom.sg. form is actually attested in rę̑bǝr < *rèbrь beside rę́bǝr with the reflex of Stang’s law from the oblique cases. There is no reason to assume that the accent was not retracted at an early stage in *neslъ̀, nor is there any reason to assume that Dybo’s law shifted the accent to the final jer in *dòbrъ and *sèdmь, as Pronk claims.
The article analyzes the accentuation of western South Slavic l-participles of verbal stems ending in an occlusive that are formed by adding the formant *-l- directly to the stem, e.g. *nes-lъ, Croatian nȅsao, Slovene nesel. Data from Slovene, Čakavian, Kajkavian and Štokavian dialects are compared and discussed against the background of late Proto-Slavic and early dialectal accentual and phonological changes. The operation of accentological changes such as Dybo’s law, Stang’s law and the rise of the neocircumflex, as well as the reduction of weak jers caused alternations in tone, vowel-length and position of the ictus. These alterations could be analogically eliminated or extended at different times and in different areas during the linguistic history of western South Slavic, thus causing the rise of some of the earliest isoglosses in the area in which western South Slavic is spoken.
Previously we reported modulation of endothelial prostacyclin and interleukin-8 production, cyclooxygenase-2 expression and vasorelaxation by oleoyl-lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC 18:1). In the present study, we examined the impact of this LPC on nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability in vascular endothelial EA.hy926 cells. Basal NO formation in these cells was decreased by LPC 18:1. This was accompanied with a partial disruption of the active endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS)-dimer, leading to eNOS uncoupling and increased formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). The LPC 18:1-induced ROS formation was attenuated by the superoxide scavenger Tiron, as well as by the pharmacological inhibitors of eNOS, NADPH oxidases, flavin-containing enzymes and superoxide dismutase (SOD). Intracellular ROS-formation was most prominent in mitochondria, less pronounced in cytosol and undetectable in endoplasmic reticulum. Importantly, Tiron completely prevented the LPC 18:1-induced decrease in NO bioavailability in EA.hy926 cells. The importance of the discovered findings for more in vivo like situations was analyzed by organ bath experiments in mouse aortic rings. LPC 18:1 attenuated the acetylcholine-induced, endothelium dependent vasorelaxation and massively decreased NO bioavailability. We conclude that LPC 18:1 induces eNOS uncoupling and unspecific superoxide production. This results in NO scavenging by ROS, a limited endothelial NO bioavailability and impaired vascular function.
Oil Thefts and Pipeline Vandalization in Nigeria focuses on leakages in oil revenue through thefts and vandalisation which has now become a national shame and embarrassment. The book presents a scholarly evaluation of the evolution, etiology, causes, nature, extent, characteristics, legal aspects, trends rationale and modus operandi of the phenomena in the country. This study is a substantial academic contribution to our knowledge on the subject matter for further research by social scientists and scholars, legal practitioners, law enforcement professionals, criminal justicians, corporate officials and other interest groups and stakeholders.
The results of two expeditions into the Ulu Baleh and Ulu Balui areas of the interior of Sarawak are presented, including data from forest that was pristine at the time of sampling but that was subsequently logged. A total of 74 species are recorded, notably including Coeliccia campioni, Coeliccia new species borneensis-group, Pericnemis spp., Heliogomphusblandulus, Leptogomphus pendleburyi, Chlorogomphus ?manauand Procordulia ?new species. A discussion of the results and potential differences in the odonate fauna of comparable logged and unlogged forest sites is given.
Odonata fauna of karst streams and rivers of South Herzegovina (Bosnia and Herzegovina, West Balkan)
(2014)
Results of the odonatological survey in the Neretva River Basin in South Herzegovinakarst region of Bosnia and Herzegovina conducted from April to August 2013 are presented. The area had been pre-assessed as insufficiently known in term of its Odonata fauna, but believed to be important habitat for several species of conservation concern, particularly Coenagrion ornatum, Ceriagrion tenellum, Caliaeschna microstigma, Lindenia tetraphylla and Cordulegaster heros. Moreover, freshwater habitats of the region are increasingly threatened due to climate change and the habitat destruction due to infrastructure and hydroenergy production projects. The focus of the study was set on the streams and rivers in Neretva, Trebižat, Trebišnjica and Bregava river valleys, Hutovo blato wetland, Mostarsko blato, Dabarsko and Fatničko polje. The survey resulted in 482 Odonata records of 49 species from 52 surveyed localities. Notable results include new distribution data on species of conservation concern, particularly six new localities of C. ornatum, nine of C. microstigma and five of C. heros. Comments on species of conservation concern and brief description of habitats at all surveyed localities are provided. New data on species of conservation concern are important for better conservation planning of dragonfly species and habitats in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Balut and Sarangani islands are two small landmasses situated off the coast of Davao Occidental, Mindanao Island. Despite recent increase on odonatological data from various islands in the Philippines, these two remote islands have never been explored. Hence, a short survey was conducted on first week of April and November 7 – November 14, 2010 on all freshwater systems in these two islands. Twenty-five species under seven families and 21 genera were found representing the first Odonata record for the two islands.
In the second half of February 2014, Odonata were searched for nine days on Bali andfour days on Lombok, the western Lesser Sundas, Indonesia. One species, Orthetrum chrysishas been for the first time recorded for Bali and six species, Nosostictaemphyla, Idionyx murcia, Brachydiplax chalybea, Agrionoptera insignis, Neurothemisramburii, Rhyothemis phyllishave been for the first time recorded for Lombok. The previous lit-erature concerning the two islands is analysed. To the moment, 55 Odonata species (3 unidentified) are known for Bali and 39 for Lombok, although the actual faunas of both islands are supposed to be equally rich, and further studies on Lombok are necessary. Odonata faunas of Bali and Lombok mirror each other in respect of high shares,29 and 23%, of Odonata species ranging to the west and east of the two islands, respectively. Efficiency of Lombok Strait as a biogeographical boundary was estimated as high as 0.6, so Wallace Line is of importance for Odonata. Some diagnostic characters of N. emphyla, N. ramburii, R. phyllis phyllisand Procordulia sambawanaand a taxo-nomical situation around Prodasineura autumnalisand P. humeralis, which is not justified biogeographically, are discussed. Short notes on habitats and assemblages of Odonata are added.
The objective of the present doctoral thesis was to investigate the occurrence, distribution, and behaviour of six hydrophilic ethers: ethyl tert-butyl ether (ETBE), 1,4-dioxane, ethylene glycol dimethyl ether (monoglyme), diethylene glycol dimethyl ether (diglyme), triethylene glycol dimethyl ether (triglyme), and tetraethylene glycol dimethyl ether (tetraglyme) in surface-, waste-, ground- and drinking water samples. Solid phase extraction and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry were used to analyze the six hydrophilic ethers. Altogether more than 150 surface water samples, almost 100 of each groundwater and wastewater samples, and 10 raw and drinking water samples were analyzed during the research project.
Initially, the method was validated in order to simultaneously determine the analytes of interest in various aquatic environments. A solid phase extraction method that uses coconut charcoal (Resprep® activated coconut charcoal, Restek) or carbon molecular sieve material (SupelcleanTM Envi-CarbTM Plus, Supelco) for analyte absorption were found suitable for determination of ETBE, 1,4-dioxane, and glymes in surface-, drinking-, ground- and wastewater samples. Precision and accuracy of both methods was demonstrated for all analytes of interest. The recovery of target compounds from the ultrapure water spiked at 1.0 µg L−1 was between 86.8 % and 98.2 %, with relative standard deviation below 6 %. The samples spiked at 10.0 µg L−1 gave slightly higher recovery of 90.6 % to 112.2 % with a relative standard deviation below 3.4 % for each analyte. Detection and quantification limits in ultrapure water and surface waters were furthermore established. The limit of quantitation (LOQ) in ultrapure water ranged between 0.024 µg L−1 to 0.057 µg L−1 using Restek cartridges, and 0.030 µg L−1 to 0.069 µg L−1 using Supelco cartridges. In the surface water samples the calculated LOQ was 0.032 µg L−1 to 0.067µg L−1 using coconut charcoal material and 0.032 µg L−1 to 0.052 µg L−1 using the carbon molecular sieve material. Moreover, stability of the unpreserved and preserved water samples as well as the extracts was determined. Preservation of samples with sodium bisulfate (at 1 gram per Liter) resulted in much better stability of the ethers in water samples. Subsequently, 27 samples obtained from seven surface water bodies in Germany (Rivers Rhine, Lippe, Main, Oder, Rur, Schwarzbach and Wesel-Datteln Canal) were analyzed for the six hydrophilic ethers. ETBE was present in only two surface waters (Rhine River and Wesel-Datteln Canal) with concentrations close to the LOQ (up to 0.065 µg L−1). 1,4-Dioxane was detected in all of the water samples at concentrations reaching 1.93 µg L–1. Monoglyme was identified only in the Main and Rhine Rivers at the maximum concentration of 0.114 µg L–1 and 0.427 µg L–1, respectively. Very high concentrations (up to 1.73 µg L−1) of diglyme, triglyme, and tetraglyme were detected in the samples from the Oder River. These glymes were also detected in the Rhine River; however the concentrations did not exceed 0.200 µg L–1. Furthermore, tetraglyme was detected in the Main River at an average concentration of 0.409 µg L–1 (n = 6) and in one sample from the Rur River at 0.192 µg L–1.
Four sampling campaigns were conducted at the Oderbruch polder between October 2009 and May 2012, in order to study the behavior of the hydrophilic ethers and organophosphates during riverbank filtration and in the anoxic aquifer. Moreover the suitability of these target compounds was assessed for their use as groundwater organic tracers. At the time of each sampling campaign, concentrations of triglyme and tetraglyme in the Oder River were between 20–185 ng L–1 (n = 4) and 273¬–1576 ng L–1 (n = 4). Monoglyme, diglyme, and 1,4-dioxane were analyzed only during the two last sampling campaigns. At that time, the concentration of diglyme in Oder River was 65¬–94 ng L-1 (n = 2) and 1,4-dioxane 1610¬–3290 ng L–1 (n = 2). In the drainage ditch, following bank filtration, concentrations of ethers ranged between 1090 ng L–1 and 1467 ng L–1 for 1,4-dioxane, 23¬ng L–1 and 41 ng L–1 for diglyme, 37 ng L–1 and 149 ng L–1 for triglyme, and 496 ng L–1 and 1403 ng L–1 for tetraglyme. In the anoxic aquifer, 1,4-dioxane showed the greatest persistence during the groundwater passage. At the distance of 1150 m from the river and an estimated groundwater age of 41.9 years, a concentration above 200 ng L−1 was detected. A positive correlation was found for the inorganic tracer chloride (Cl−) with 1,4-dioxane and tetraglyme. Similarities in the behavior of Cl− and the organic compound suggested that 1,4-dioxane and tetraglyme are controlled by the same hydraulic process and therefore can be used as additional tracers to study the dynamics of the groundwater system. These results show that high concentrations of ethers are present in the surface water and are not removed during bank filtration processes. Moreover, the hydrophilic ethers persist in the anoxic aquifer and little or no degradation is expected, supporting, their possible application as organic tracers.
A separate sampling project was conducted for 1,4-dioxane that focused primarily on its fate in the aquatic environment. This study provided missing information on the extent of water pollution with 1,4-dioxane is Germany. Numerous waste-, surface-, ground- and drinking water samples were collected in order to determine the persistence of 1,4-dioxane in the aquatic environment. The occurrence of 1,4-dioxane was determined in wastewater samples from four municipal sewage treatment plants (STP). The influent and effluent samples were collected during weekly campaigns. The average influent concentrations in all four plants ranged from 262 ± 32 ng L−1 to 834 ± 480 ng L−1, whereas the average effluents concentrations were between 267 ± 35 ng L−1 and 62,260 ± 36,000 ng L−1. The source of increased 1,4-dioxane concentrations in one of the effluents was identified to originate from impurities in the methanol used in the postanoxic denitrification process. Spatial and temporal distribution of 1,4-dioxane in the river Main, Rhine, and Oder was also examined. Concentrations reaching 2,200 ng L−1 in the Oder River, and 860 ng L−1 in both Main and Rhine River were detected. The average load during the sampling was estimated to be 6.5 kg d−1 in the Main, 34.1 kg d−1 in the Oder, and 134.5 kg d−1 in the Rhine River. In all of the sampled rivers, concentrations of 1,4-dioxane increased with distance from the mouth of the river and were found to negatively correlate with the discharge of the river. In order to determine if 1,4-dioxane can reach drinking water supplies, samples from a Rhine River bank filtration site and potable water from two drinking water production facilities were analyzed for the presence of 1,4-dioxane in the raw water and finished potable water. The raw water (following bank filtration) contained 650 ng L−1 to 670 ng L−1 of 1,4-dioxane, whereas the concentration in the finished drinking water fell only to 600 ng L−1 and 490 ng L−1, respectively.
During the final project, investigations of the source identification of high glyme concentrations in the Oder River were carried out. During four sampling campaigns between January, 2012 and April, 2013, 50 samples from the Oder River in the Oderbruch region and Poland were collected. During the first two samplings in the Oderbruch polder, glymes were detected at concentration reaching 0.07 µg L-1 (diglyme), 0.54 µg L−1 (triglyme) and 1.73 µg L−1 (tetraglyme) in the Oder River. The extensive sampling campaign of the Oder River (about 500 km) in Poland helped to identify the area of possible glyme entry into the river. During that sampling the maximum concentrations of triglyme and tetraglyme were 0.46 µg L−1 and 2.21 µg L−1, respectively. A closer investigation of the identified area of pollution, helped to determine the possible sources of glymes in the Oder River. Hence, the final sampling focused on the Kaczawa River, a left tributary of the Oder River and Czarna Woda, a left tributary of Kaczawa River. Moreover, samples from an industrial wastewater treatment plant were collected. Samples from Czarna Woda stream and Kaczawa River contained even higher concentrations of diglyme, triglyme, and tetraglyme, reaching 5.18 µg L−1, 12.87 µg L−1 and 80.81 µg L−1, respectively. Finally, three water samples from a wastewater treatment plant receiving influents from a copper smelter were analyzed. Diglyme, triglyme, and tetraglyme were present at an average concentration of 569 µg L−1, 4300 µg L−1, and 65900 µg L−1, respectively in the wastewater. Further research helped to identify the source of the glymes in the wastewater. The gas desulfurization process – Solinox implemented in the nearby copper smelter uses glymes as physical absorption medium for sulfur dioxide.
Results of this doctoral research provide important information about the occurrence, distribution, and behavior of hydrophilic ethers: 1,4-dioxane, monoglyme, diglyme, triglyme, and tetraglyme in the aquatic environment. A method capable of analyzing a wide range of ether compounds: from a volatile ETBE to a high molecular weight tetraglyme was validated. 1,4-Dioxane and tetraglyme were found to be applicable as organic tracers, since they are not easily attenuated during bank filtration and the anoxic groundwater passage. The extent of water pollution with 1,4-dioxane was shown in waste-, surface-, ground-, and drinking waters. One source of extremely high concentrations of 1,4-dioxane in a municipal sewage treatment plant applying postanoxic denitrification was identified, however more information is needed on the entry of 1,4-dioxane into surface waters. Moreover, 1,4-dioxane was present in drinking water samples from river bank filtration, which demonstrates its persistence in the aquatic environment and its low degradation potential during bank filtration and subsequent water treatment. Furthermore, this was the first study that focused primarily on identifying sources of glymes in surface waters. Glymes find a widespread use in industrial sectors, hence establishing their origin in the surface water is difficult (as with 1,4-dioxane). In this work, a gas desulphurization process was identified to be a dominating source of glyme pollution in the Oder River.
Obstetrical care as a matter of time: ultrasound screening in anticipatory regimes of pregnancy
(2014)
This article explores the ways in which ultrasound screening influences the temporal dimensions of prevention in the obstetrical management of pregnancy. Drawing on praxeographic perspectives and empirically based on participant observation of ultrasound examinations in obstetricians’ offices, it asks how ultrasound scanning facilitates anticipatory modes of pregnancy management, and investigates the entanglement of different notions of time and temporality in the highly risk-oriented modes of prenatal care in Germany. Arguing that the paradoxical temporality of prevention – acting now in the name of the future – is intensified by ultrasound screening, I show how the attribution of risk regarding foetal growth in prenatal check-ups is based on the fragmentation of procreative time and ask how time standards come into play, how pregnancy is located in calendrical time, and how notions of foetal time and the everyday life times of pregnant women clash during negotiations between obstetricians and pregnant women about the determination of the due date. By analysing temporality as a practical accomplishment via technological devices such as ultrasound, the paper contributes to debates in feminist STS studies on the role of time in reproduction technologies and the management of pregnancy and birth in contemporary societies.
Obesity and associated lifestyle in a large sample of multi-morbid German primary care attendees
(2014)
Background: Obesity and the accompanying increased morbidity and mortality risk is highly prevalent among older adults. As obese elderly might benefit from intentional weight reduction, it is necessary to determine associated and potentially modifiable factors on senior obesity. This cross-sectional study focuses on multi-morbid patients which make up the majority in primary care. It reports on the prevalence of senior obesity and its associations with lifestyle behaviors.
Methods: A total of 3,189 non-demented, multi-morbid participants aged 65–85 years were recruited in primary care within the German MultiCare-study. Physical activity, smoking, alcohol consumption and quantity and quality of nutritional intake were classified as relevant lifestyle factors. Body Mass Index (BMI, general obesity) and waist circumference (WC, abdominal obesity) were used as outcome measures and regression analyses were conducted.
Results: About one third of all patients were classified as obese according to BMI. The prevalence of abdominal obesity was 73.5%. Adjusted for socio-demographic variables and objective and subjective disease burden, participants with low physical activity had a 1.6 kg/m2 higher BMI as well as a higher WC (4.9 cm, p<0.001). Current smoking and high alcohol consumption were associated with a lower BMI and WC. In multivariate logistic regression, using elevated WC and BMI as categorical outcomes, the same pattern in lifestyle factors was observed. Only for WC, not current but former smoking was associated with a higher probability for elevated WC. Dietary intake in quantity and quality was not associated with BMI or WC in either model.
Conclusions: Further research is needed to clarify if the huge prevalence discrepancy between BMI and WC also reflects a difference in obesity-related morbidity and mortality. Yet, age-specific thresholds for the BMI are needed likewise. Encouraging and promoting physical activity in older adults might a starting point for weight reduction efforts.
Strong seasonal variability of hygric and thermal soil conditions are a defining environmental feature in northern Australia. However, how such changes affect the soil–atmosphere exchange of nitrous oxide (N2O), nitric oxide (NO) and dinitrogen (N2) is still not well explored. By incubating intact soil cores from four sites (three savanna, one pasture) under controlled soil temperatures (ST) and soil moisture (SM) we investigated the release of the trace gas fluxes of N2O, NO and carbon dioxide (CO2). Furthermore, the release of N2 due to denitrification was measured using the helium gas flow soil core technique. Under dry pre-incubation conditions NO and N2O emissions were very low (<7.0 ± 5.0 μg NO-N m−2 h−1; <0.0 ± 1.4 μg N2O-N m−2 h−1) or in the case of N2O, even a net soil uptake was observed. Substantial NO (max: 306.5 μg N m−2 h−1) and relatively small N2O pulse emissions (max: 5.8 ± 5.0 μg N m−2 h−1) were recorded following soil wetting, but these pulses were short lived, lasting only up to 3 days. The total atmospheric loss of nitrogen was generally dominated by N2 emissions (82.4–99.3% of total N lost), although NO emissions contributed almost 43.2% to the total atmospheric nitrogen loss at 50% SM and 30 °C ST incubation settings (the contribution of N2 at these soil conditions was only 53.2%). N2O emissions were systematically higher for 3 of 12 sample locations, which indicates substantial spatial variability at site level, but on average soils acted as weak N2O sources or even sinks. By using a conservative upscale approach we estimate total annual emissions from savanna soils to average 0.12 kg N ha−1 yr−1 (N2O), 0.68 kg N ha−1 yr−1 (NO) and 6.65 kg N ha−1 yr−1 (N2). The analysis of long-term SM and ST records makes it clear that extreme soil saturation that can lead to high N2O and N2 emissions only occurs a few days per year and thus has little impact on the annual total. The potential contribution of nitrogen released due to pulse events compared to the total annual emissions was found to be of importance for NO emissions (contribution to total: 5–22%), but not for N2O emissions. Our results indicate that the total gaseous release of nitrogen from these soils is low and clearly dominated by loss in the form of inert nitrogen. Effects of seasonally varying soil temperature and moisture were detected, but were found to be low due to the small amounts of available nitrogen in the soils (total nitrogen <0.1%).
Strong seasonal variability of hygric and thermal soil conditions are a defining environmental feature in Northern Australia. However, how such changes affect the soil–atmosphere exchange of nitrous oxide (N2O), nitric oxide (NO) and dinitrogen (N2) is still 5 not well explored. By incubating intact soil cores from four sites (3 savanna, 1 pasture) under controlled soil temperatures (ST) and soil moisture (SM) we investigated the release of the trace gas fluxes of N2O, NO and carbon dioxide (CO2). Furthermore, the release of N2 due to denitrification was measured using the helium gas flow soil core technique. Under dry pre-incubation conditions NO and N2O emission were very low (< 7.0± 5.0 μgNO-Nm−2 h−1; < 0.0± 1.4 μgN2O-Nm−2 h−1) or in case of N2O, even a net soil uptake was observed. Substantial NO (max: 306.5 μgNm−2 h−1) and relatively small N2O pulse emissions (max: 5.8±5.0 μgNm−2 h−1) were recorded following soil wetting, but these pulses were short-lived, lasting only up to 3 days. The total atmospheric loss of nitrogen was dominated by N2 emissions (82.4–99.3% of total N lost), although NO emissions contributed almost 43.2% at 50% SM and 30 °C ST. N2O emissions were systematically higher for 3 of 12 sample locations, which indicates substantial spatial variability at site level, but on average soils acted as weak N2O sources or even sinks. Emissions were controlled by SM and ST for N2O and CO2, ST and pH for NO, and SM and pH for N2.
This thesis presents experimental studies of proton capture and fragmentation reactions with heavy-ion storage rings. In one experiment, the 96Ru(p, γ)97Rh cross sections near the Gamow window have been measured at the ESR of GSI. In the other experiment, the measurement of the fragmentation yields has been carried out at the CSRe of IMP.
It is essential to determine the cross sections of (γ, p) or (p, γ) reactions for p-process network calculations. However, only very few of the required cross sections have been measured and thus most of them rely solely on Hauser-Feshbach model predictions. The predictions of the model have always very large uncertainties because of the not well-known input parameters. These parameters can be constrained by experiments. Compared to the traditional activation technique, a novel method using a storage ring has been developed to measure the cross sections of (p, γ) reactions in inverse kinematics.
This proton capture experiment has been performed at the ESR, where the circulating 96Ru44+ ions interacted with a hydrogen gas target at 9, 10 and 11 MeV/u. The nuclear reaction products of (p, p), (p, α), (p, n) and (p, γ) reactions were registered by position sensitive detectors. A Geant4 simulation code has been developed to distinguish the (p, γ) reaction products unambiguously from the background reactions. In this work, a relative normalization method has been utilized to accurately determine the cross sections of the (p, γ) reaction. The 96Ru(p, γ)97Rh cross section in the Gamow window of the p process is sensitive to two parameters, i.e., the γ-ray strength function and the optical model potential, while it is mainly sensitive to the γ-ray strength function in the energy region of our experiment. Therefore, our experimental (p, γ) cross sections near 10 MeV/u have been used to directly constrain the γ-ray strength function used in the model. Furthermore, the proton potential has also been constrained by combining our results with additional experimental data for this reaction in the lower energy region. The constrained model has been used to calculate the reaction rate over a wide temperature range, which is an extremely important input for astrophysical calculations.
The yields of fragments produced by 78Kr fragmentation reactions have been measured at the CSRe for the Tz = −1/2 and Tz = 1/2 nuclei along or close to the paths of αp- and rp-processes. The measured yields present a significant odd-even staggering effect for Tz = −1/2 nuclides but they are small for Tz = 1/2 nuclides.
The magnitude of this effect for four consecutive yields has been quantified using a third-order difference formula. It is found that the largest odd-even staggering is reached near the closed shells Z = 20 and Z = 28. Our experimental results could also compared with the data from other experiments with different projectile-target combinations. All these experimental data strongly support the closed shells Z = 20 and Z = 28 for the Tz = −1/2 nuclei.
Now I See You
(2014)
Armed robbery is nothing new in South Africa. But when a pair of clever and squeaky-sounding criminals go on a looting spree that rocks several small towns in the Eastern Cape, Detective Inspector Thabisa Tswane from The Eagles, the Special Violent Crimes Unit is called to work the case. There's only one problem, one of the most important witnesses in the case is her estranged grandfather, Chief Solenkosi, who ordered her violent expulsion from the village over ten years ago. In another world of lunches at the Michelangelo, private game lodges and platinum cards, the rich and slick Ollis Sando smoothes his way through cocktail parties and networking meetings. He is rumoured to be in line for the presidency in the upcoming elections. But he has a dirty past, something to hide and a hostage to hide it for him. In Now I See You Thabisa's traditional and professional skills will be pushed to the limit. She will have to learn the difference between looking and seeing. And in stirring twists of fate, we'll see that past and present blur, everything is interconnected and nothing can be assumed.
Mary Lederer provides a valuable critical/historical survey of the genesis and development of the English novel in Botswana. This book comes as a timely correction of the notion that Botswana has no sustained fiction written in English, thus filling a gap that has existed for a long time in the literature of that country.
Background: Endometriosis is characterized by the presence of functional endometrial tissue outside of the uterine cavity. It affects 1 in 10 women of reproductive age. This chronic condition commonly leads to consequences such as pelvic pain, dysmenorrhea, infertility and an elevated risk of epithelial ovarian cancer. Despite the prevalence of endometriosis and its impact on women's lives, there are relatively few in vitro and in vivo models available for studying the complex disease biology, pathophysiology, and for use in the preclinical development of novel therapies. The goal of this study was to develop a novel three-dimensional (3D) cell culture model of ovarian endometriosis and to test whether it is more reflective of endometriosis biology than traditional two dimensional (2D) monolayer cultures.
Methods: A novel ovarian endometriosis epithelial cell line (EEC16) was isolated from a 34-year old female with severe endometriosis. After characterization of cells using in vitro assays, western blotting and RNA-sequencing, this cell line and a second, already well characterized endometriosis cell line, EEC12Z, were established as in vitro 3D spheroid models. We compared biological features of 3D spheroids to 2D cultures and human endometriosis lesions using immunohistochemistry and real-time semi-quantitative PCR.
Results: In comparison to normal ovarian epithelial cells, EEC16 displayed features of neoplastic transformation in in vitro assays. When cultured in 3D, EEC16 and EEC12Z showed differential expression of endometriosis-associated genes compared to 2D monolayer cultures, and more closely mimicked the molecular and histological features of human endometriosis lesions.
Conclusions: To our knowledge, this represents the first report of an in vitro spheroid model of endometriosis. 3D endometriosis models represent valuable experimental tools for studying EEC biology and the development of novel therapeutic approaches.
Noumenal Power
(2014)
In political or social philosophy, we speak about power all the time. Yet the meaning of this important concept is rarely made explicit, especially in the context of normative discussions. But as with many other concepts, once one considers it more closely, fundamental problems arise, such as whether a power relation is necessarily a relation of subordination and domination. In the following, I suggest a novel understanding of what power is and what it means to exercise it.
Distributional records of the 71 tiger beetle species and subspecies known for Argentina are given together with a key and habitus photos (Coleoptera: Cicindelidae). Brasiella (Brasiella) cuyabaensis Mandl, 1970 and Brasiella (Gaymara) rotundatodilatata (Horn, 1925) are reported as new for the fauna of Argentina. Brasiella (Brasiella) stamatovi (Sumlin, 1979) is transferred to Cylindera (Plectographa), becoming C. (P.) stamatovi (Sumlin), new combination. Cylindera (Plectographa) siccalacicola (Sumlin, 1979) is placed into synonymy under Cylindera (Plectographa) hassenteufeli (Mandl, 1960), new synonymy. A lectotype is designated for Cylindera (Plectographa) patagonica bergiana (Horn, 1895).
Specimens of Burmagomphus asahinai Kosterin, Makbun and Dawwrueng, 2012 and Burmagomphus divaricatus Lieftinck, 1964 from SW and NE Cambodia show differences in the development of the light pattern. One male of the latter species has unusual posterior spinules on posterior hamuli. Two males of Orientogomphus minor(Laidlaw, 1931) from the same locality in NE Cambodia have substantial differences in the thoracic and abdominal pattern. NE Cambodian specimens of Gomphidia abbotti Williamson, 1907 and Lamelligomphus castor (Lieftinck, 1941) have minor differences from data on these species from literature. Caution is necessary when composing and using keys for identification of the mentioned genera of gomphids.
The known range of Oxybleptes meridionalis Smetana (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) is expanded in Florida, USA, from Indian River and Manatee counties to now include Brevard, Highlands, Orange, Seminole and Volusia. Oxybleptes davisi (Notman) is confi rmed to exist in Florida, with records from Leon, Liberty and Wakulla counties in the Panhandle, and Orange County in central Florida. Lissohypnus texanus Casey is newly reported from Florida. A new species, Lissohypnus fullertoni, is described from Florida. Diochus schaumii Kraatz reverts to this original spelling; its widespread form in Florida is identical to that in the northeastern USA.
The cones of nonnegative polynomials and sums of squares arise as central objects in convex algebraic geometry and have their origin in the seminal work of Hilbert ([Hil88]). Depending on the number of variables n and the degree d of the polynomials, Hilbert famously characterizes all cases of equality between the cone of nonnegative polynomials and the cone of sums of squares. This equality precisely holds for bivariate forms, quadratic forms and ternary quartics ([Hil88]). Since then, a lot of work has been done in understanding the difference between these two cones, which has major consequences for many practical applications such as for polynomial optimization problems. Roughly speaking, minimizing polynomial functions (constrained as well as unconstrained) can be done efficiently whenever certain nonnegative polynomials can be written as sums of squares (see Section 2.3 for the precise relationship). The underlying reason is the fundamental difference that checking nonnegativity of polynomials is an NP-hard problem whenever the degree is greater or equal than four ([BCSS98]), whereas checking whether a polynomial can be written as a sum of squares is a semidefinite feasibility problem (see Section 2.2). Although the complexity status of the semidefinite feasibility problem is still an open problem, it is polynomial for fixed number of variables. Hence, understanding the difference between nonnegative polynomials and sums of squares is highly desirable both from a theoretical and a practical viewpoint.
Self-organization is thought to play an important role in structuring nervous systems. It frequently arises as a consequence of plasticity mechanisms in neural networks: connectivity determines network dynamics which in turn feed back on network structure through various forms of plasticity. Recently, self-organizing recurrent neural network models (SORNs) have been shown to learn non-trivial structure in their inputs and to reproduce the experimentally observed statistics and fluctuations of synaptic connection strengths in cortex and hippocampus. However, the dynamics in these networks and how they change with network evolution are still poorly understood. Here we investigate the degree of chaos in SORNs by studying how the networks' self-organization changes their response to small perturbations. We study the effect of perturbations to the excitatory-to-excitatory weight matrix on connection strengths and on unit activities. We find that the network dynamics, characterized by an estimate of the maximum Lyapunov exponent, becomes less chaotic during its self-organization, developing into a regime where only few perturbations become amplified. We also find that due to the mixing of discrete and (quasi-)continuous variables in SORNs, small perturbations to the synaptic weights may become amplified only after a substantial delay, a phenomenon we propose to call deferred chaos.
Objective: To analyze Mucograft (MG), a recently introduced collagen matrix, in vitro and in vivo, and compare it with BioGide (BG), a well-established collagen membrane, as control.
Material and methods: A detailed analysis of the materials surface and ultra-structure was performed. Cellular growth patterns and proliferation rates of human fibroblasts on MG and BG were analyzed in vitro. In addition, the early tissue reaction of CD-1 mouse to these materials was analyzed by means of histological and histomorphometrical analysis.
Results: MG showed a three-fold higher thickness both in dry and wet conditions, when compared to BG. The spongy surface of BG significantly differed from that of MG. Cells showed a characteristic proliferation pattern on the different materials in vitro. Fibroblasts tended to proliferate on the compact layers of both collagens, with the highest values on the compact side of BG. In vivo, at day three both materials demonstrated good tissue integration, with a mononuclear cell sheet of fibroblasts on all surfaces, however, without penetrating into the materials.
Conclusions: The findings of this study showed that MG and BG facilitate cell proliferation on both of their surfaces in vitro. In vivo, these two materials induce a comparable early tissue reaction, while serving as cell occlusive barriers.
Background: Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is mainly caused by ruptured cerebral aneurysms but in up to 15% of patients with SAH no bleeding source could be identified. Our objective was to analyze patient characteristics, clinical outcome and prognostic factors in patients suffering from non-aneurysmal SAH.
Methods: From 1999 to 2009, data of 125 patients with non-aneurysmal SAH were prospectively entered into a database. All patients underwent repetitive cerebral angiography. Outcome was assessed according to the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) (mRS 0-2 favorable vs. 3-6 unfavorable). Also, patients were divided in two groups according to the distribution of blood in the CT scan (perimesencephalic and non-perimesencephalic SAH).
Results: 106 of the 125 patients were in good WFNS grade (I-III) at admission (85%). Overall, favorable outcome was achieved in 104 of 125 patients (83%). Favorable outcome was associated with younger age (P < 0.001), good admission status (P < 0.0001), and absence of hydrocephalus (P = 0.001).73 of the 125 patients suffered from perimesencephalic SAH, most patients (90%) were in good grade at admission, and 64 achieved favorable outcome.52 of the 125 patients suffered from non-perimesencephalic SAH and 40 were in good grade at admission. Also 40 patients achieved favorable outcome.
Conclusions: Patients suffering from non-aneurysmal SAH have better prognosis compared to aneurysm related SAH and poor admission status was the only independent predictor of unfavorable outcome in the multivariate analysis. Patients with a non-perimesencephalic SAH have an increased risk of a worse neurological outcome. These patients should be monitored attentively.
An extensive survey of the relevant literature of dry grassland communities described for the territory of Serbia allowed us to check the validity and legitimacy of the nomenclature of this vegetation. Nomenclature rules of the International Code of Phytosociological Nomenclature were strictly followed. The syntaxonomic affiliation of communities to higher syntaxa was assessed according to existing syntaxonomic schemes for Serbia and the position determined by the original source. Higher syntaxa followed the synsystem of the socalled “EuroVegChecklist”. We have highlighted problems and some disagreement with the existing classification of dry grassland communities in Europe. A total of 134 dry grassland communities have so far been registered for Serbia. This list of syntaxa may serve for further research of grassland vegetation and its appropriate positioning within a syntaxonomical scheme of Europe.
This prolific collection of essays, with contributions from scholars from across several disciplines, on the practice and implications of naming 'Nomenclatural Poetization and Globalization' explores diverse concerns in onomastics, such as cultural and ethnic implications as well as individual identity formation processes in the age of Globalization and extends these to a variety of contemporary theories of appreciation and internationalization.