Refine
Year of publication
- 2014 (1077) (remove)
Document Type
- Article (1077) (remove)
Language
Has Fulltext
- yes (1077)
Keywords
- Benjamin, Walter (18)
- Deutsch (15)
- Literatur (14)
- red riječi (13)
- Mehrsprachigkeit (12)
- word order (12)
- Bratoljub Klaić (10)
- Rezeption (10)
- Begriff (9)
- Croatian language (8)
Institute
- Medizin (233)
- Biowissenschaften (77)
- Präsidium (62)
- Physik (56)
- Geowissenschaften (34)
- Biochemie und Chemie (32)
- Gesellschaftswissenschaften (29)
- Biodiversität und Klima Forschungszentrum (BiK-F) (28)
- Senckenbergische Naturforschende Gesellschaft (26)
- Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies (FIAS) (20)
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.
Coevolution of viruses and their hosts represents a dynamic molecular battle between the immune system and viral factors that mediate immune evasion. After the abandonment of smallpox vaccination, cowpox virus infections are an emerging zoonotic health threat, especially for immunocompromised patients. Here we delineate the mechanistic basis of how cowpox viral CPXV012 interferes with MHC class I antigen processing. This type II membrane protein inhibits the coreTAP complex at the step after peptide binding and peptide-induced conformational change, in blocking ATP binding and hydrolysis. Distinct from other immune evasion mechanisms, TAP inhibition is mediated by a short ER-lumenal fragment of CPXV012, which results from a frameshift in the cowpox virus genome. Tethered to the ER membrane, this fragment mimics a high ER-lumenal peptide concentration, thus provoking a trans-inhibition of antigen translocation as supply for MHC I loading. These findings illuminate the evolution of viral immune modulators and the basis of a fine-balanced regulation of antigen processing.
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.
As part of a wider study of floodplain vegetation along the River Murray, we carried out a field survey in 1987–1988 involving collection of floristic and vegetation condition data from 335 sample plots (each 400 m2 in area), between Hume Dam and Lake Alexandrina (including the Edward-Wakool anabranch system). The floodplain vegetation is dominated by just two tree species, River Red Gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) and Black Box (Eucalyptus largiflorens), but the composition of the understorey shows much greater variation, both along the river and across the floodplain. A total of 499 plant species, subspecies and varieties were recorded from the survey plots, of which 316 (63%) were native and 183 (37%) were exotic. From analysis of the floristic data we identified 37 vegetation communities, not including the vegetation of permanent wetlands and cleared areas; 21 communities were distinguished in the River Red Gum zone, 12 communities in the Black Box zone, and 4 communities on rises within the floodplain. The main floristic division among the River Red Gum communities was between Riverine Plain/ Headwaters Zone communities of the upper Murray, and Mallee Zone communities of the lower Murray. Among the Black Box communities, the main floristic division was between inner floodplain communities and outer floodplain communities, with a further division between South Australian communities and New South Wales/Victorian communities. Major factors influencing the floristic patterns included flooding frequency/duration and soil salinity.
Eucalypt health declined steadily downstream and was poorest in the lower reaches of the river below the Darling Junction, where 60% of the trees were healthy, 18% unhealthy (at least 40% of the canopy dead) and 22% dead. By comparison, at the upper end of the river, above Tocumwal, 84% of the trees were healthy, 14% unhealthy and only 2% dead. Overall, the condition of Black Box trees (44% unhealthy or dead) was worse than the condition of River Red Gum trees (29% unhealthy or dead). Eucaypt regeneration was also poorest below the Darling Junction, with regenerants present in 77% of plots upstream of the Darling but only 35% of plots downstream. The findings of poor tree health and sparse regeneration below the Darling coincide with the most heavily regulated part of the Murray, where the reduction in flooding due to upstream storages and water extraction, mainly for irrigation, has been greatest. Black Box regeneration was much sparser overall than River Red Gum regeneration (regenerants present in 69% of River Red Gum plots but only 29% of Black Box plots). The poor condition of the Black Box trees, coupled with their poor regeneration, suggests that the long-term future of this species along the Murray, particularly below the Darling Junction, is tenuous, even though it is a dominant component of the vegetation.
The integrity of floodplain vegetation along the Murray has been severely compromised by weed invasion. Weeds were common throughout the survey area, but were most prevalent in the climatically wetter sections of the river, at both the downstream and upstream ends (below Mannum and above Tocumwal). The median number of exotic species per plot equalled or exceeded the number of native species in these sections of the river, whereas native species outnumbered exotic species in the other river sections. Communities of the River Red Gum zone and the rises were generally weedier than those of the Black Box zone. Exotic species strongly influenced the community classification. They were the dominant overstorey species in two communities (Salix species – willows) and outnumbered native species in the understorey of another eight communities. At the lower end of the river, below Mannum, the River Red Gums that originally fringed the river had been mostly replaced by dense thickets of the exotic Weeping Willow, Salix babylonica.
Other factors that have impacted on the floodplain vegetation at the plant community level have been river regulation and soil salinisation. Stabilization of water levels in the lower Murray by construction of a series of weirs and barrages has favoured the spread of some communities at the expense of others. The favoured communities, which are characterised by stands of Common Reed, Phragmites australis, along the water’s edge, appear to be artefacts of river regulation. Salinisation has resulted in death of eucalypts and replacement of eucalypt communities by shrub communities dominated by samphires, Tecticornia species. The samphire community characteristic of the most saline sites is one of the most species-poor communities on the Murray floodplain.
Logging along the Murray in New South Wales and Victoria has resulted in extensive replacement of old growth River Red Gum forests and woodlands by more even-aged stands of straight young trees. Following the recent conversion of many areas of State Forest along the Murray in both New South Wales and Victoria to National Park or Regional Park, and thus the cessation of logging in these areas, they should now revert gradually to mature forest and woodland.
This study is the first to describe broad scale floristic patterns in the floodplain vegetation of the Murray covering most of the length of the river. It also provides data on the vegetation condition in the 1980s, and provides a benchmark of conditions before the prolonged Millenium Drought in south-eastern Australia from 1997 to 2010. More recent surveys of vegetation condition have reported a severe decline in tree health during the drought. The results from our 1987–88 survey are important because they show that the deteriorating condition of the vegetation was already evident in the 1980s and although exacerbated by the subsequent drought, it is not just a consequence of that drought. The results are consistent with the conclusion that the primary cause of the decline has been river regulation and water extraction for irrigation. The rate of deterioration has increased rapidly since the 1980s because of the drought. There has been some improvement since the breaking of the drought, but the poor condition of the River Murray floodplain vegetation, an Australian icon, remains a major conservation and management issue. The impacts of climate change – higher temperatures and reduced rainfall – have compounded the problem and will continue to do so at an increasing rate. The results of the study support listing of the floodplain vegetation of the lower reaches of the river as a critically endangered ecological community.
The riparian rainforest on the streamside levees of the coastal floodplain of the Clarence River on the North Coast of New South Wales was cleared during the 1860s by small landholders seeking fertile land. Only three small remnants remain. Using a combination of historical species lists, corner trees from surveyors’ portion plans, habitat information and the NSW Scientific Committee’s (1999) determination for lowland rainforest on floodplain a conceptual model of the original distribution of rainforest suballiances on the levees of the Clarence River coastal floodplain is proposed.
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.
Acacia pendula, Weeping Myall, (family Fabaceae) is the most legislatively protected plant species in the New South Wales Hunter Valley. Under the NSW Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 it is listed as an Endangered Population (in the Hunter Valley) and as a component of two Endangered Ecological Communities (one in the Hunter, one elsewhere in NSW); it is also listed as a Critically Endangered Ecological Community (in the Hunter Valley) on the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 and listed as threatened in three other eastern Australian States.
To ascertain the likely original distribution of stands of Acacia pendula in the Hunter Valley, this paper examines the writings of early Australian explorers, herbarium and database records, and the species habitat attributes across NSW. None of the journals examined, including those of botanist/explorer Allan Cunningham (who originally collected Acacia pendula from the Lachlan River in 1817), Thomas Mitchell or Ludwig Leichhardt, make note of the species for the Hunter Valley. Several explorers do, however, record Acacia pendula regularly (>100 times) across other parts of NSW, Queensland, and South Australia.
Historical herbarium and database records show a paucity of records from the Hunter prior to the year 2000, after which a 37-fold increase in observations since 1951 is apparent. For the first 128 years of botanical exploration (1823 to 1951), there are no validated collections or records of Acacia pendula from the Hunter Valley. The single exception is a specimen collected by Cunningham from 1825 (lodged at Kew, UK), purported to be from ‘Hunters River’, but which is morphologically different to other collections of Acacia pendula from that time. There is some uncertainty over the origins of this specimen.
Analysis of habitats supporting Acacia pendula in NSW outside of the Hunter show them to differ significantly in geological age, soil type, rainfall and elevation from those in the Hunter.
Collectively, these findings provide a strong circumstantial case that Acacia pendula was absent from the Hunter at the time of European settlement; this has important implications for the conservation and management of Hunter stands. Rather than being a threatened species in the Hunter Valley, it is postulated that Acacia pendula has been intentionally and/or accidentally introduced to the region, and may now be imposing a new and emerging threat to the endangered grassy woodlands and forests there. There is now an urgent need for genetic studies to clarify the origins of the current Hunter Valley stands, and to define the taxonomic limits of Acacia pendula and its close relatives.
Dieser Beitrag untersucht das Verhältnis von Intimität und Sexualität, Freundschaft und Liebe in der mittelalterlichen Adelsdichtung. Er zeigt, dass das Konzept der höfischen Liebe, das im 12. Jahrhundert entwickelt wurde, unter dem Einfluss des antiken Freundschaftsdiskurses steht. Im Grunde ist die höfische Liebe des Mittelalters als heterosexuelle Transformation eines Freundschaftsethos zu verstehen, das ursprünglich für Männer reserviert war. Diese Konstellation, in der Sexualität eine prekäre Rolle einnimmt, wird mit Hilfe der Thesen erläutert, die Niklas Luhmann in seinem Buch "Liebe als Passion" (1982) formuliert hat. Luhmann unterscheidet drei historische Stufen des Liebesdiskurses: die höfische Liebe des Mittelalters, die passionierte Liebe der frühen Neuzeit und die romantische Liebe des 19. Jahrunderts, die bis heute den Liebesdiskurs prägt. Im Gegensatz zur Luhmanns These des Nacheinanders zeigt der Beitrag, dass in der mittelalterlichen Poesie alle drei Formen der Liebe gleichzeitig vorhanden waren.
Trojanows Roman über den britischen Kolonialoffizier Richard F. Burton wurde als Beispiel einer neuen deutschen Literatur gefeiert, die endlich "Vielstimmigkeit" zu ihrem Programm erhoben habe. In diesem Beitrag wird der spezifische Einsatz von Polyglossie im "Weltensammler" untersucht. Dabei interessiert im (post-)kolonialen Kontext, in dem der Roman verortet wird, ob man tatsächlich von einer "Poethik [!] der Mehrsprachigkeit" (Schmitz-Emans) ausgehen kann, oder ob die "fremden Stimmen" der "Subalternen", die der Roman hören lässt, nur ein weiteres Mal exotische Fremdheit vorführen.
Werke der Konkreten Dichtung schaffen es – so eine in der Forschung verbreitete Annahme –, durch die Dekonstruktion des konventionellen Sprachsystems mehrere Sprachen in sich zu vereinen und dabei übersprachlich oder interlingual verständlich zu sein. Diese These wird anhand von ausgesuchten internationalen Beispielen und unter Berücksichtigung der Theorie der Konkretisten nachvollzogen und überprüft. Es zeigt sich, dass der utopische Anspruch zwar nicht vollständig erfüllt wird, die Konkrete Dichtung aber durch geschickte Verwendung intermedialer und semiotischer Prozesse die Beschränkungen der Standardsprache teilweise überschreiten kann und eine eigene polyglotte Ästhetik entwickelt.