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Incentivized experiments in which individuals receive monetary rewards according to the outcomes of their decisions are regarded as the gold standard for preference elicitation in experimental economics. These task-related real payments are considered necessary to reveal subjects' "true preferences". Using a systematic, large-sample approach with three subject pools of private investors, professional investors, and students, we test the effect of task-related monetary incentives on risk preferences elicited in four standard experimental tasks. We find no systematic differences in behavior between subjects in the incentivized and non-incentivized regimes. We discuss implications for academic research and for applications in the field.
Dieser Entwurf eines Verhaltenskodex richtet sich an Hochschulen, die mittels Learning Analytics die Qualität des Lernens und Lehrens verbessern wollen. Der Kodex kann als Vorlage zur Erstellung von organisationsspezifischen Verhaltenskodizes dienen. Er sollte an Hochschulen, die Learning Analytics einführen wollen, durch Konsultationen mit allen Interessengruppen überprüft und an die Ziele sowie die bestehende Praxis innerhalb der jeweiligen Hochschulen angepasst werden. Der Kodex wurde auf Grundlage einer Analyse bestehender europäischer Kodizes (Engelfriet, Manderveld & Jeunink, 2017; Westerlaken, Manderveld & Jorna, 2019; Sclater & Bailey, 2015; Open University UK, 2014; University of Edinburgh, 2018) und der in Deutschland geltenden Rechtsgrundlage vom Innovationsforum Trusted Learning Analytics des hessenweiten Projektes „Digital gestütztes Lehren und Lernen in Hessen“ entwickelt.
Animal tracking and biologging devices record large amounts of data on individual movement behaviors in natural environments. In these data, movement ecologists often view unexplained variation around the mean as “noise” when studying patterns at the population level. In the field of behavioral ecology, however, focus has shifted from population means to the biological underpinnings of variation around means. Specifically, behavioral ecologists use repeated measures of individual behavior to partition behavioral variability into intrinsic among-individual variation and reversible behavioral plasticity and to quantify: a) individual variation in behavioral types (i.e. different average behavioral expression), b) individual variation in behavioral plasticity (i.e. different responsiveness of individuals to environmental gradients), c) individual variation in behavioral predictability (i.e. different residual within-individual variability of behavior around the mean), and d) correlations among these components and correlations in suites of behaviors, called ‘behavioral syndromes’. We here suggest that partitioning behavioral variability in animal movements will further the integration of movement ecology with other fields of behavioral ecology. We provide a literature review illustrating that individual differences in movement behaviors are insightful for wildlife and conservation studies and give recommendations regarding the data required for addressing such questions. In the accompanying R tutorial we provide a guide to the statistical approaches quantifying the different aspects of among-individual variation. We use movement data from 35 African elephants and show that elephants differ in a) their average behavior for three common movement behaviors, b) the rate at which they adjusted movement over a temporal gradient, and c) their behavioral predictability (ranging from more to less predictable individuals). Finally, two of the three movement behaviors were correlated into a behavioral syndrome (d), with farther moving individuals having shorter mean residence times. Though not explicitly tested here, individual differences in movement and predictability can affect an individual’s risk to be hunted or poached and could therefore open new avenues for conservation biologists to assess population viability. We hope that this review, tutorial, and worked example will encourage movement ecologists to examine the biology of individual variation in animal movements hidden behind the population mean.
From 1945 to the early 1960s, the US government undertook numerous atomic and hydrogen bomb tests. These full-scale explosions were recorded on film from various angles, and at different speeds. Indeed, it soon became required to obtain images of the very first milli-seconds of the expanding phase of the atomic fireball. Ultrahigh-speed cameras able to produce such images were specifically developed for that purpose. This article explores the different “media-temporalities” that intersect in those images. I focus on the “micro-processes happening on a technical level that are very fast,” and more specifically the ones that go into the “Rapatronic camera” designed by Harold Edgerton (head of the US national defense contractor company EG&G) to record the atomic fireball early formation. The scientific slow-motion films and high-speed photographic images operate at the junction of the micro-scale temporality of the atomic explosions’ early phases, and the macro-scale temporality of the political and ecological implications of these explosions. I argue that these films are the objects and inscriptions of micro-temporalities, macro-history and geological times.
To understand the development of public health in Croatia, there are newer insights into the life and work of John the Baptist Lalangue. John the Baptist Lalangue is most valued for implementation of the imperial law on public health and promotion of midwifery in Croatia during the second half of the 18th century. Lalangue is the author of the first printed medical textbook in Croatian, published in 1776, entitled Medicina ruralis iliti Vrachtva ladanyszka, za potrebochu musev, y sziromakov Horvatczkoga orszaga y okolu nyega, blisnesseh mest, Trattnern, Varaždin. In the same period, Lalangue published the first Croatian midwifery textbook entitled Brevis institute de reobstetritia iliti kratek navuk od mestrie pupkorezne za potrebochu muskeh y sziromaskeh ladanovskaya horvatskoga orszaga y okolo nyega blisnesseh sztrankih, Trattnern, Zagreb. In 1779, Lalangue published his balneological debut in Croatian, the book Tractatus de aquis medicati Regnorum Croatiae et Slavoniae Iliti Izpiszavanye vrachtvenih vod Horvatzkoga y Slavonskoga orszaga y od nachina nye vsivati za potrebochu lyudih, Trattnern, Zagreb. Lalangue’s works were used in systematic training and education of midwives and they, as well as Lalangue, have an inevitable place in the history of Croatian midwifery. During his life and work, John the Baptist Lalangue made immeasurable contribution to the development of Croatian public health.
In this thesis different descriptions for the non-Abelian Landau-Pomeranchuk-Migdal (LPM) effect are studied within the partonic transport approach BAMPS (Boltzmann Approach to Multi-Parton Scatterings), which numerically solves the 3+1-dimensional Boltzmann equation for massless partons based on elastic and radiative interactions calculated in perturbative quantum chromodynamics.
The LPM effect is a coherence effect originating from the finite formation time of gluon emissions leading to characteristic dependencies of the radiative energy loss of energetic partonic projectiles, as e.g. jets in ultra-relativistic heavy-ion collisions.
Due to this non-locality of interactions, such coherence effects are difficult to describe rigorously in transport theory.
Therefore we compare in this work three different implementations for the LPM effect: i) a parametric LPM suppression based on a theta function in the radiative matrix elements, ii) a stochastic LPM approach, which explicitly simulates the elastic interactions of gluons during their formation time, and iii) the thermal gluon emission rate from the AMY formalism, which is a hard-thermal-loop calculation exactly considering the non-Abelian LPM effect by resumming ladder diagrams in the large medium limit.
After discussing the numerical implementation of the three approaches, we investigate their consequences in different jet-energy loss scenarios: first the academic scenarios of eikonal and non-eikonal jets flying through a static brick of thermal quark-gluon plasma and then jets traversing the expanding medium of ultra-relativistic heavy-ion collisions at LHC energies.
We can demonstrate that although the different LPM approaches show similarities in the radiative energy loss there are differences in the underlying gluon emission spectra, which originate from the specific treatment of divergences in the matrix elements within BAMPS.
Furthermore, based on the different LPM approaches we present simulation results for recent jet quenching observables from the LHC experiments and discuss properties of the underlying heavy-ion medium.
The 14-3-3 protein family are molecular chaperones involved in several biological functions and neurological diseases. We previously pinpointed YWHAZ (encoding 14-3-3ζ) as a candidate gene for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) through a whole-exome sequencing study, which identified a frameshift variant within the gene (c.659-660insT, p.L220Ffs*18). Here, we explored the contribution of the seven human 14-3-3 family members in ASD and other psychiatric disorders by investigating the: (i) functional impact of the 14-3-3ζ mutation p.L220Ffs*18 by assessing solubility, target binding and dimerization; (ii) contribution of common risk variants in 14-3-3 genes to ASD and additional psychiatric disorders; (iii) burden of rare variants in ASD and schizophrenia; and iv) 14-3-3 gene expression using ASD and schizophrenia transcriptomic data. We found that the mutant 14-3-3ζ protein had decreased solubility and lost its ability to form heterodimers and bind to its target tyrosine hydroxylase. Gene-based analyses using publicly available datasets revealed that common variants in YWHAE contribute to schizophrenia (p = 6.6 × 10−7), whereas ultra-rare variants were found enriched in ASD across the 14-3-3 genes (p = 0.017) and in schizophrenia for YWHAZ (meta-p = 0.017). Furthermore, expression of 14-3-3 genes was altered in post-mortem brains of ASD and schizophrenia patients. Our study supports a role for the 14-3-3 family in ASD and schizophrenia.
Purpose: Sarcopenia, defined as a loss of muscle mass and quality, has been associated with impaired oncological outcome and treatment toxicities in several malignancies. However, its role in anal squamous cell carcinoma (ASCC) remains less well explored.
Methods/Materials: Planning CT scans were used to measure cross-sectional skeletal muscle area (SMA) to calculate the skeletal muscle index (SMI). The association of sarcopenia with clinical and treatment-related parameters, and toxicity was assessed in 114 patients with ASCC that underwent standard 5-Fluorouracil/Mitomycin C chemoradiotherapy (CRT). The prognostic impact of sarcopenia on local relapse-free survival (LRFS), disease-free survival (DFS), and overall survival was examined using a Cox regression analysis.
Results: 29 (25.4%) patients had sarcopenia. Patients with sarcopenia had lower baseline hemoglobin levels (p = 0.002), worse Karnofsky Performance Status (p = 0.001) lower BMI (p < 0.001), and a significantly lower body surface area (p = 0.03), and lower incidence of involved lymph nodes (p = 0.03). Regarding acute toxicity, sarcopenia was associated with a significantly higher incidence of ≥grade 3leukopenia (OR: 3.5; 95% CI: 1.6–7.5, p = 0.007) and ≥grade 3 thrombopenia (OR: 5.1; 95% CI: 1.3–21, p = 0.018) after CRT. Despite higher hematologic toxicity in sarcopenic patients, total treatment time was similar between patients with and without sarcopenia (median 44 vs 45 days, p = 0.95). There was no significant prognostic impact of sarcopenia on either LRFS, DFS, or OS.
Conclusion: This is the largest study to assess the impact of sarcopenia on toxicity and oncological outcome in patients with ASCC. Increased clinician awareness of higher hematological toxicity risk is needed for sarcopenic patients with ASCC undergoing CRT to facilitate closer monitoring of side effects and earlier introduction of supportive measures. Further prospective studies are needed to elucidate the prognostic role and impact of sarcopenia on CRT-related toxicity in ASCC.
Wer waren die Literaturwissenschaftler, die bei der Gründung 1914 an die Universität Frankfurt am Main berufen wurden, die das akademische Leben der Stadt Frankfurt in der Weimarer Republik mitprägten, die nach 1933 in Frankfurt weiterhin Literaturwissenschaft betrieben oder die vertrieben wurden? Ein zweisemestriges interdisziplinäres Lehrforschungsseminar am Fachbereich 10 (Neuere Philologien) hat anlässlich des Jubiläums zum 100-jährigen Bestehen der Universität im Jahr 2014 Antworten auf diese Fragen gesucht. Das Ergebnis ist eine virtuelle Ausstellung mit 20 Porträts (Goethe Universität Frankfurt am Main, 2017). Diese Ausstellung war jedoch nur ein Teil einer Reihe von Veranstaltungen, die sich im Jubiläumsjahr der Frankfurter Universität mit den Literaturwissenschaften in Frankfurt befassten.
Les trois auteurs et voyageurs étudiés dans cet article (Albert Londres, André Gide, Michel Leiris) ont prêté leurs voix à l’anticolonialisme. Ils ont critiqué les effets du colonialisme européen en Afrique noire de la fin des années 1920 au début des années 1930. Toutefois, pour des raisons diverses allant d’aspects institutionnels aux sensibilités personnelles, leur engagement ne paraissait pas tout à fait le bienvenu, d’où leur hésitation à placer la parole politique au premier plan et à assumer le rôle d’intellectuel engagé. Ils ont alors justifié leur démarche par l’expérience personnelle et singulière du voyage et par l’urgence du sujet de leurs récits. Les formes littéraires qui en résultent (grand reportage, journal intime de voyage, journal ethnographique) ont profondément modernisé le genre du récit de voyage dans un moment critique de son évolution.
The extensive scholarship devoted to the congruence of mass-elite policy preferences lacks consensus about the meaning, comparison, and measurement across political settings. This makes comparisons difficult and raises obstacles to advancing the debates. This symposium aims to identify the diversity of methodological choices and to reflect systematically on several key choices of particular importance in understanding the congruence. The contributions to the symposium compare and contrast how several types of measurement fare in diverse political contexts in Eastern Europe, Latin America, North Africa, and East Asia, and what we can learn from those methodological choices.
Der Einsatz von Portfolios in der Hochschullehre hat in den letzten Jahren deutlich zugenommen, und es bieten sich vielfältige Einsatzmöglichkeiten. So kann das Portfolio als modul- oder fachübergreifendes Entwicklungsportfolio über die gesamte Studiendauer, zur Darstellung erworbener Kompetenzen, als Präsentationsportfolio im Rahmen einzelner Lehrveranstaltungen, aber auch als Bewertungsportfolio und damit als Prüfungsinstrument eingesetzt werden (vgl. Weber, Hehn-Oldiges, Vogel & Stehle, 2017; Hornung-Prähauser, Geser, Hilzensauer & Schaffert, 2007). Neben dem klassischen Papier-Portfolio wird in den letzten Jahren der Einsatz sog. ePortfolios immer interessanter. Bei dieser digitalen Variante erstellen die Studierenden ihre Einträge direkt im Internet. Neben schriftlichen Einträgen ist das Einfügen von Bildern, Videos und Links möglich. Nach Fertigstellung wird das Portfolio von den Studierenden für den bzw. die Lehrende*n sowie ggf. für weitere oder alle Seminarteilnehmer*innen freigeschaltet, so dass auch Formen des Peer-Feedbacks einbezogen werden können. An der Goethe-Universität Frankfurt werden derzeit Einsatzmöglichkeiten des Portfolios im Rahmen der Lehrer*innenbildung erprobt. Der vorliegende Beitrag zeigt zunächst Möglichkeiten, wie ein Portfolio in der universitären Lehre als Prüfungsform eingesetzt werden kann. Im zweiten Teil wird der konkrete Einsatz im Rahmen eines Seminars für Lehramtsstudierende im Wintersemester 2018/2019 beschrieben. Zudem werden die Ergebnisse einer Befragung gezeigt, bei der die Seminarteilnehmer*innen zu ihren bisherigen Erfahrungen mit Portfolios in der Hochschullehre sowie zum Einsatz des ePortfolios als Prüfungsform im genannten Seminar befragt wurden.
Information asymmetry and its implications in online purchasing behaviour: a country case study
(2020)
The objective of this study is to analyse how certain variables in the online market affect the decision-making trajectory and actions toward reducing the information asymmetry faced in online purchasing. A survey and observation are conducted in order to understand the behavior and perceptions of online buyers toward the information given in online platforms. Descriptive and correlation analysis have been employed in order to evaluate the data collected and test the correlation between variables of the research model. It results that most participants take for granted the fact that sellers have more information than them when entering into a transaction agreement and this makes them feel inferior towards the superior power sellers possess in such interactions. This makes the traditional markets more preferred for them, however multiple sources such as reviews and ratings result as an alternative way of reducing the perceived information asymmetry.
In einer digital geprägten Welt stehen Lehrkräfte vor zahllosen Herausforderungen bezüglich der Mediennutzung in ihrem Unterricht. Kinder und Jugendliche konsumieren Medien durch soziale Netzwerke, Messenger und vor allem in Form von Videos, Filmen und Serien. An der Goethe-Universität werden die aktuellen bildungspolitischen und gesellschaftlichen Forderungen nach medienkompetenten Lehrkräften u.a. in der ersten Phase der Ausbildung aufgegriffen. Im hier vorgestellten bildungswissenschaftlichen Seminar «Mediendidaktik im Kontext Schule» werden Studierende daher unter Anwendung der Methode «Lernen durch Lehren» zur Produktion eigener Erklärvideos in Kleingruppen angeleitet. Dadurch werden die Studierenden zu Expertinnen und Experten, während sie den Videoerstellungsprozess kennenlernen und Mediennutzungskompetenzen ausbilden. Durch die Verzahnung mit Feedbackschleifen und Reflexionsaufgaben als Teil des studentischen Portfolios wurde der bewusste und reflektierte Umgang mit Medien in der späteren Berufspraxis angestrebt. Die Lehrveranstaltung wurde prozessbegleitend und anhand eines Online-Fragebogens summativ evaluiert. Die Ergebnisse zeigen zwar den anhaltenden Bedarf zur Instruktion während der Medienproduktion, aber vor allem das Interesse an digitalen Medien. Die Studierenden erlebten den Lernprozess als leistungsmotivierend, produktiv und betonten die Relevanz der Themen und Ziele des Seminars für die spätere Berufspraxis. Zukünftige Lehrkräfte können in jeder Ausbildungsphase von Praxiserfahrung im Umgang mit digitalen Medien profitieren und sollten dahingehend weitere Angebote während des Studiums und darüber hinaus erhalten.
Failed jump landings represent a key mechanism of musculoskeletal trauma. It has been speculated that cognitive dual-task loading during the flight phase may moderate the injury risk. This study aimed to explore whether increased visual distraction can compromise landing biomechanics. Twenty-one healthy, physically active participants (15 females, 25.8 ± 0.4 years) completed a series of 30 counter-movement jumps (CMJ) onto a capacitive pressure platform. In addition to safely landing on one leg, they were required to memorize either one, two or three jersey numbers shown during the flight phase (randomly selected and equally balanced over all jumps). Outcomes included the number of recall errors as well as landing errors and three variables of landing kinetics (time to stabilization/TTS, peak ground reaction force/pGRF, length of the centre of pressure trace/COPT). Differences between the conditions were calculated using the Friedman test and the post hoc Bonferroni-Holm corrected Wilcoxon test. Regardless of the condition, landing errors remained unchanged (p = .46). In contrast, increased visual distraction resulted in a higher number of recall errors (chi² = 13.3, p = .001). Higher cognitive loading, furthermore, appeared to negatively impact mediolateral COPT (p < .05). Time to stabilization (p = .84) and pGRF (p = .78) were unaffected. A simple visual distraction in a controlled experimental setting is sufficient to adversely affect landing stability and task-related short-term memory during CMJ. The ability to precisely perceive the environment during movement under time constraints may, hence, represent a new injury risk factor and should be investigated in a prospective trial.
Tropical cyclones (TC) represent a substantial threat to life and property for Caribbean and adjacent populations. The prospective increase of TC magnitudes, expressed in the 15th chapter of the IPCC AR5 report, entails a rising probability of ecological and social disasters, which were tragically exemplified by several severe Caribbean TC strikes during the past 20 years. Modern IPCC-grade climate models, however, still lack the required spatial and temporal resolution to accurately consider the underlying boundary conditions that modulate long-time TC patterns beyond the Instrumental Era. It is thus necessary to provide a synoptic mechanistic understanding regarding the origin of such long-time patterns, in order to predict reliable changes of TC magnitude and frequency under future climate scenarios. Caribbean TC records are still rare and often lack the necessary continuity and resolution to overcome these limitations. Here, we report on an annually-resolved sedimentary archive from the bottom of the Great Blue Hole (Lighthouse Reef, Belize). The TC record encompasses 1885 years and extends all existing site-specific TC archives both in terms of resolution and duration. We identified a likely connection between long-term TC patterns and climate phenomena responses to Common Era climate variations and offer a conceptual and comparative view considering several involved tropospheric and oceanographic control mechanisms such as the El-Niño-Southern-Oscillation, the North Atlantic Oscillation and the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation. These basin-scaled climate modes exercise internal control on TC activity by modulating the thermodynamic environment (sea-surface temperature and vertical wind shear stress dynamics) for enhanced/suppressed TC formation both on millennial (primary) and multi-decadal (secondary) time scales. We interpret the beginning of the Medieval Warm Period (MWP) as an important time interval of the Common Era record and suspect that the southward migration of the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) caused, in combination with extensive hydro-climate changes, a shift in the tropical Atlantic TC regime. The TC activity in the south-western Caribbean changed in general from a stable and less active stage (100–900 CE) to a more active and variable state (1,100 CE-modern).
This work presents, to our knowledge, the first completely passive imaging with human-body-emitted radiation in the lower THz frequency range using a broadband uncooled detector. The sensor consists of a Si CMOS field-effect transistor with an integrated log-spiral THz antenna. This THz sensor was measured to exhibit a rather flat responsivity over the 0.1–1.5-THz frequency range, with values of the optical responsivity and noise-equivalent power of around 40 mA/W and 42 pW/√Hz, respectively. These values are in good agreement with simulations which suggest an even broader flat responsivity range exceeding 2.0 THz. The successful imaging demonstratestheimpressivethermalsensitivitywhichcanbeachievedwithsuchasensor. Recording of a 2.3×7.5-cm2-sized image of the fingers of a hand with a pixel size of 1 mm2 at a scanning speed of 1 mm/s leads to a signal-to-noise ratio of 2 and a noise-equivalent temperature difference of 4.4 K. This approach shows a new sensing approach with field-effect transistors as THz detectors which are usually used for active THz detection.
This article corrects the following: Hope in political philosophy,
Claudia Blöser Jakob Huber Darrel Moellendorf. Volume 15Issue 5Philosophy Compass First Published online: April 17, 2020.
It has come to the author's attention that the reference citation of ‘Meirav, 2009’ on page 2 of his published article entitled, ‘Hope in political philosophy’ does not provide bibliographical details regarding the article and does not include it in its list of works cited.
Here is the bibliographical information: Meirav, A. (2009). The nature of hope. Ratio, 22, 216–233.
Hope in political philosophy
(2020)
The language of hope is a ubiquitous part of political life, but its value is increasingly contested. While there is an emerging debate about hope in political philosophy, an assessment of the prevalent scepticism about its role in political practice is still outstanding. The aim of this article is to provide an overview of historical and recent treatments of hope in political philosophy and to indicate lines of further research. We argue that even though political philosophy can draw on recent analyses of hope in analytic philosophy, there are distinct challenges for an account of hope in political contexts. Examples such as racial injustice or climate change show the need for a systematic normative account that is sensitive to the unavoidability of hope in politics as much as its characteristic dangers.
Responsibility for increasing mitigation ambition in light of the right to sustainable development
(2020)
The international community is currently in the midst of a facilitative dialogue about how to increase mitigation ambition under the terms of Paris Agreement. This dialogue concerns centrally considerations of equity, which includes matters of both justice and responsibility. I defend the importance of the right to sustainable development in this regard. I argue that if the right of states to pursue poverty eradicating human development is to be respected, then there is plausible interpretation of responsibility for mitigation in which a state’s ability to pay is the central consideration, where that ability is measured by its human development level. That conception of responsibility should be applied to considerations of how increase mitigation ambition.
Depletion of yeast/fly Ataxin-2 rescues TDP-43 overexpression toxicity. In mouse models of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis via TDP-43 overexpression, depletion of its ortholog ATXN2 mitigated motor neuron degeneration and extended lifespan from 25 days to >300 days. There is another ortholog in mammals, named ATXN2L (Ataxin-2-like), which is almost uncharacterized but also functions in RNA surveillance at stress granules. We generated mice with Crispr/Cas9-mediated deletion of Atxn2l exons 5-8, studying homozygotes prenatally and heterozygotes during aging. Our novel findings indicate that ATXN2L absence triggers mid-gestational embryonic lethality, affecting female animals more strongly. Weight and development stages of homozygous mutants were reduced. Placenta phenotypes were not apparent, but brain histology showed lamination defects and apoptosis. Aged heterozygotes showed no locomotor deficits or weight loss over 12 months. Null mutants in vivo displayed compensatory efforts to maximize Atxn2l expression, which were prevented upon nutrient abundance in vitro. Mouse embryonal fibroblast cells revealed more multinucleated giant cells upon ATXN2L deficiency. In addition, in human neural cells, transcript levels of ATXN2L were induced upon starvation and glucose and amino acids exposure, but this induction was partially prevented by serum or low cholesterol administration. Neither ATXN2L depletion triggered dysregulation of ATXN2, nor a converse effect was observed. Overall, this essential role of ATXN2L for embryogenesis raises questions about its role in neurodegenerative diseases and neuroprotective therapies.
Manufacturing processes of custom implant abutments may contaminate their surfaces with micro wear deposits and generic pollutants. Such particulate debris, if not removed, might be detrimental and provoke inflammatory reactions in peri-implant tissues. Although regulatory guidelines for adequate cleaning, disinfection, or sterilization exist, there does not appear to be a consistent application and data on the amount and extent of such contaminants is lacking. The aim of the present in vitro study was to evaluate the quality and quantity of processing-related surface contamination of computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) abutments in the state of delivery and after ultrasonic cleaning. A total of 28 CAD/CAM monotype and hybrid abutments were cleaned and disinfected applying a three-stage ultrasonic protocol (Finevo protocol). Before and after cleaning, the chemical composition and the contamination of the abutments were assessed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), dispersive X-ray spectroscopy(EDX),andcomputer-aidedplanimetricmeasurement(CAPM).Inthedeliverycondition, monotype abutments showed a significantly higher amount of debris compared to hybrid abutments (4.86±6.10% vs. 0.03 ± 0.03%, p < 0.001). The polishing process applied in the laboratory after bonding the hybrid abutment components reduces the surface roughness and thus contributes substantially to their purity. The extent of contamination caused by computer-aided manufacturing of custom abutments can be substantially minimized using a three-stage ultrasonic protocol.
Alcoholism is one of the leading and increasingly prevalent reasons of liver associated morbidity and mortality worldwide. Alcoholic hepatitis (AH) constitutes a severe disease with currently no satisfying treatment options. Lipoxin A4 (LXA4), a 15-lipoxygenase (ALOX15)-dependent lipid mediator involved in resolution of inflammation, showed promising pre-clinical results in the therapy of several inflammatory diseases. Since inflammation is a main driver of disease progression in alcoholic hepatitis, we investigated the impact of endogenous ALOX15-dependent lipid mediators and exogenously applied LXA4 on AH development. A mouse model for alcoholic steatohepatitis (NIAAA model) was tested in Alox12/15+/+ and Alox12/15−/− mice, with or without supplementation of LXA4. Absence of Alox12/15 aggravated parameters of liver disease, increased hepatic immune cell infiltration in AH, and elevated systemic neutrophils as a marker for systemic inflammation. Interestingly, i.p. injections of LXA4 significantly lowered transaminase levels only in Alox12/15−/− mice and reduced hepatic immune cell infiltration as well as systemic inflammatory cytokine expression in both genotypes, even though steatosis progressed. Thus, while LXA4 injection attenuated selected parameters of disease progression in Alox12/15−/− mice, its beneficial impact on immunity was also apparent in Alox12/15+/+ mice. In conclusion, pro-resolving lipid mediators may be beneficial to reduce inflammation in alcoholic hepatitis.
Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are highly heritable and are characterized by deficits in social communication and restricted and repetitive behaviors. Twin studies on phenotypic subdomains suggest a differing underlying genetic etiology. Studying genetic variation explaining phenotypic variance will help to identify specific underlying pathomechanisms. We investigated the effect of common variation on ASD subdomains in two cohorts including >2500 individuals. Based on the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R), we identified and confirmed six subdomains with a SNP-based genetic heritability h2SNP = 0.2–0.4. The subdomains nonverbal communication (NVC), social interaction (SI), and peer interaction (PI) shared genetic risk factors, while the subdomains of repetitive sensory-motor behavior (RB) and restricted interests (RI) were genetically independent of each other. The polygenic risk score (PRS) for ASD as categorical diagnosis explained 2.3–3.3% of the variance of SI, joint attention (JA), and PI, 4.5% for RI, 1.2% of RB, but only 0.7% of NVC. We report eight genome-wide significant hits—partially replicating previous findings—and 292 known and novel candidate genes. The underlying biological mechanisms were related to neuronal transmission and development. At the SNP and gene level, all subdomains showed overlap, with the exception of RB. However, no overlap was observed at the functional level. In summary, the ADI-R algorithm-derived subdomains related to social communication show a shared genetic etiology in contrast to restricted and repetitive behaviors. The ASD-specific PRS overlapped only partially, suggesting an additional role of specific common variation in shaping the phenotypic expression of ASD subdomains.
Introduction End-of-life care is an essential task performed by most healthcare providers and often involves decision-making about how and where patients want to receive care. To provide decision support to healthcare professionals and patients in this difficult situation, we will systematically review a knowledge cluster of the end-of-life care preferences of older patients with multimorbidity that we previously identified using an evidence map.
Methods and analysis We will systematically search for studies reporting end-of-life care preferences of older patients (mean age ≥60) with multimorbidity (≥2 chronic conditions) in MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Social Sciences Citation Index, Social Sciences Citation Index Expanded, PSYNDEX and The Cochrane Library from inception to September 2019. We will include all primary studies that use quantitative, qualitative and mixed methodologies, irrespective of publication date and language.
Two independent reviewers will assess eligibility, extract data and describe evidence in terms of study/population characteristics, preference assessment method and end-of-life care elements that matter to patients (eg, life-sustaining treatments). Risk of bias/applicability of results will be independently assessed by two reviewers using the Mixed-Methods Appraisal Tool. Using a convergent integrated approach on qualitative/quantitative studies, we will synthesise information narratively and, wherever possible, quantitatively.
Ethics and dissemination Due to the nature of the proposed systematic review, ethics approval is not required. Results from our research will be disseminated at relevant (inter-)national conferences and via publication in peer-reviewed journals. Synthesising evidence on end-of-life care preferences of older patients with multimorbidity will improve shared decision-making and satisfaction in this final period of life.
Geochemical analyses result of prehistoric pottery from the site of Tol-e Kamin (Fars, Iran) by pXRF
(2020)
A series of pottery samples from the Iranian site Tol-e Kamin, ranging from pre-historical period to the New Elamite, were analyzed in order to study the geochemical variability of the pottery assemblage. A total amount of 168 measurements were obtained using a portable XRF device and were statistically handled. The results could successfully distinguish the geochemical composition of potteries from the chalcolithic to the New Elamite periods in the Kur River Basin. A major shift in the use of different clay sources could be detected since the Proto Elamite period and afterward, in which the carbonated and marl content clays represented by Ca, Ba and Sr shifted to clay sources with a tendency to non-carbonate silty clay Al, Ti, and Fe from a different geological background. The results stress the importance of further provenance studies to address issues of trade and exchange possibilities in southwestern Iran.
Recent studies suggested an important contribution of sphingosine-1-phospate (S1P) signaling via its specific receptors (S1PRs) in the production of pro-inflammatory mediators such as Interleukin (IL)-1β in cancer and inflammation. In an inflammation-driven cancer setting, we previously reported that myeloid S1PR1 signaling induces IL-1β production by enhancing NLRP3 (NOD-, LRR- and Pyrin Domain-Containing Protein 3) inflammasome activity. However, the autocrine role of S1P and enzymes acting on the S1P rheostat in myeloid cells are unknown. Using human and mouse macrophages with pharmacological or genetic intervention we explored the relative contribution of sphingosine kinases (SPHKs) in NLRP3 inflammasome activity regulation. We noticed redundancy in SPHK1 and SPHK2 activities towards macrophage NLRP3 inflammasome transcriptional induction and IL-1β secretion. However, pharmacological blockade of both kinases in unison completely abrogated NLRP3 inflammasome induction and IL-1β secretion. Interestingly, human and mouse macrophages demonstrate varied responses towards SPHKs inhibition and IL-1β secretion. Clinical datasets of renal cell carcinoma and psoriasis patients showed a positive correlation between enzymes affecting the S1P rheostat with NLRP3 inflammasome components expression, which corroborates our finding. Our data provide a better understanding on the role of SPHKs and de novo synthesized S1P in macrophage NLRP3 inflammasome activation
Discussions regarding the planned European Deposit Insurance Scheme (EDIS), the missing third pillar of the European Banking Union, have been ongoing since the Commission published its initial legisla-tive proposal in 2015. A breakthrough in negotiations has yet to be achieved. The gridlock on EDIS is most commonly attributed to moral hazard concerns over insufficient risk reduction harboured on the side of northern member states, particularly Germany, due to the weak state of some other member states’ banking sectors. While moral hazard based on uneven risk reduction is helpful for explaining divergent member-state preferences on the scope of necessary risk reduction, this does not explain preferences on the institutional design of EDIS. In this paper, we argue that contrary to persistent differences on necessary risk reduction, preferences regarding the institutional design of EDIS have become more closely aligned. We analyse how preferences on EDIS developed in the key member states of Germany, France, and Italy. In all sampled countries, we find path-dependent benefits con-nected to the current design of national Deposit Guarantee Schemes (DGS) that shifted preferences of the banking sector or significant subsectors in favour of retaining national DGSs. Overall, given that a compromise on risk-reduction can be accomplished, we argue that current preferences in these key member states provide an opportunity to implement EDIS in the form of a reinsurance system that maintains national DGSs in combination with a supranational fund.
Background: Lipoprotein(a) concentration is associated with cardiovascular events. Alirocumab, a proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 inhibitor, lowers lipoprotein(a) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C).
Objectives: A pre-specified analysis of the placebo-controlled ODYSSEY Outcomes trial in patients with recent acute coronary syndrome (ACS) determined whether alirocumab-induced changes in lipoprotein(a) and LDL-C independently predicted major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE).
Methods: One to 12 months after ACS, 18,924 patients on high-intensity statin therapy were randomized to alirocumab or placebo and followed for 2.8 years (median). Lipoprotein(a) was measured at randomization and 4 and 12 months thereafter. The primary MACE outcome was coronary heart disease death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, ischemic stroke, or hospitalization for unstable angina.
Results: Baseline lipoprotein(a) levels (median: 21.2 mg/dl; interquartile range [IQR]: 6.7 to 59.6 mg/dl) and LDL-C [corrected for cholesterol content in lipoprotein(a)] predicted MACE. Alirocumab reduced lipoprotein(a) by 5.0 mg/dl (IQR: 0 to 13.5 mg/dl), corrected LDL-C by 51.1 mg/dl (IQR: 33.7 to 67.2 mg/dl), and reduced the risk of MACE (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.85; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.78 to 0.93). Alirocumab-induced reductions of lipoprotein(a) and corrected LDL-C independently predicted lower risk of MACE, after adjustment for baseline concentrations of both lipoproteins and demographic and clinical characteristics. A 1-mg/dl reduction in lipoprotein(a) with alirocumab was associated with a HR of 0.994 (95% CI: 0.990 to 0.999; p = 0.0081).
Conclusions: Baseline lipoprotein(a) and corrected LDL-C levels and their reductions by alirocumab predicted the risk of MACE after recent ACS. Lipoprotein(a) lowering by alirocumab is an independent contributor to MACE reduction, which suggests that lipoprotein(a) should be an independent treatment target after ACS. (ODYSSEY Outcomes: Evaluation of Cardiovascular Outcomes After an Acute Coronary Syndrome During Treatment With Alirocumab; NCT01663402).
Bei der Aufmerksamkeitsdefizit-/Hyperaktivitätsstörung (ADHS) handelt es sich um eine hochprävalente Erkrankung, die bisher insbesondere im Erwachsenenalter nur unzureichend berücksichtigt wurde. Neben den Kernsymptomen bestehend aus Einschränkungen in der Aufmerksamkeit sowie einem erhöhten Maß an Hyperaktivität und Impulsivität gilt es, Komorbiditäten und Beeinträchtigungen zu berücksichtigen, die mit dieser Erkrankung einhergehen. In früheren Studien konnte bereits nachgewiesen werden, dass sowohl Kinder als auch Erwachsene mit einer ADHS vermehrte Unfälle und infolgedessen eine erhöhte Rate an stationären Behandlungen aufweisen. Zusätzlich besteht bei ADHS-Betroffenen ein höheres Risiko, frühzeitig zu versterben, wobei Unfälle als unnatürliche Todesursache den häufigsten Grund darstellen. Bisher existieren auf internationaler Ebene einige Studien, die sich mit den Zusammenhängen von adulter ADHS und Unfallraten beschäftigten. Eine differenzierte Betrachtung, die eine deutsche Population einschließt und den Einfluss des Geschlechts auf das Unfallgeschehen bei ADHS-Betroffenen untersucht, wurde bisher nicht realisiert. Aus diesen Gründen führten wir eine Querschnittsstudie auf unfallchirurgischen Stationen an zwei Kliniken in Frankfurt am Main durch. Im Rahmen der Studie sollte die Prävalenz von adulter ADHS bei stationär betreuten Unfallopfern ermittelt und mögliche unfallcharakteristische Unterschiede zwischen den Geschlechtern der ADHS-Positivkohorte erfasst werden.
Mithilfe der etablierten Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS v1.1) der WHO wurden alle Unfallopfer, die den Einschlusskriterien entsprachen, auf adulte ADHS gescreent. Bei der Auswertung des ASRS verwendeten wir zwei unterschiedliche Methoden, die bereits in früheren Studien zur Anwendung kamen. Durch einen eigens erstellten Unfallfragebogen konnten Unfallcharakteristika sowie psychische Komorbiditäten der ADHSPositivkohorte erfasst werden. Zusätzlich erhoben wir zum Vergleich die Unfallcharakteristika bei einer nicht von ADHS betroffenen Kontrollgruppe. Bei einem Teil der positiv gescreenten Patienten wurde eine ausführliche Testung in der ADHS Spezialambulanz des Universitätsklinikums Frankfurt am Main vorgenommen. Mittels diagnostischer Interviews und weiteren Selbstauskunftsfragebögen (DIVA, HASE) konnte eine definitive ADHS-Diagnose gestellt und das positive Screeningergebnis verifiziert werden.
Wir stellten fest, dass die Prävalenz adulter ADHS unter Unfallopfern mit 6,89 % bzw. 8,68 % in Abhängigkeit der ASRS Auswertungskriterien im Vergleich zu der Prävalenz der adulten ADHS in der Allgemeinbevölkerung erhöht war. Des Weiteren gab es mehr Männer mit einem positiven ADHS-Screeningergebnis und einem Unfallgeschehen. Es konnten keine signifikanten geschlechtsspezifischen Unterschiede in den Unfallcharakteristika und Unfallorten in der ADHS Positivkohorte festgestellt werden. Auch in dem Vorhandensein psychischer Komorbiditäten unterschieden sich die beiden Geschlechtergruppen der ADHS-Positivkohorte nicht. Unabhängig der Geschlechterzugehörigkeit wurden die meisten Unfälle der ADHS-Positivkohorte im Straßenverkehr verzeichnet und als selbstverschuldet eingestuft. Es konnten signifikant mehr Unfälle außerhalb des Straßenverkehrs in der nicht von ADHS betroffenen Kontrollgruppe im Vergleich zu der ADHS Positivkohorte nachgewiesen werden. Insgesamt war nur bei 14 % aller positiv gescreenten Patienten eine ADHS-Erkrankung bereits bekannt und diagnostiziert worden.
Auf Grundlage der Ergebnisse dieser Studie lässt sich schlussfolgern, dass Menschen mit einer ADHS-Symptomatik vermehrt auf unfallchirurgischen Stationen anzutreffen sind und im Einklang mit früheren Forschungsergebnissen ein erhöhtes Unfall- und Verletzungsrisiko aufweisen. Darüber hinaus folgern wir aus unseren Ergebnissen, dass sich Männer und Frauen mit einer ADHS-Erkrankung hinsichtlich Symptomatik, Komorbidität und spezifischer Unfallcharakteristika ähnlicher sein könnten, als dass sie sich in diesen Bereichen unterscheiden. Im Hinblick auf die geringen vorbestehenden ADHS-Diagnosen in der Positivkohorte erscheint eine Etablierung eines Screeningsystems bei Patienten sinnvoll, die im Rahmen von Unfallgeschehen gehäuft stationär betreut werden müssen. Da ADHS-Betroffene ein erhöhtes Risiko für multiple Unfälle zu haben scheinen, könnte unter diesen Voraussetzungen eine adulte ADHS-Symptomatik früher erkannt und negative Folgen wie eine erhöhte Unfallrate reduziert werden. Methodologische Limitierungen bestanden in unserer Erhebung durch eine geringe Anzahl an ausführlichen Testungen zur Verifizierung der ADHS-Diagnose sowie dem Informationsgewinn auf der Basis einer Selbstauskunft. Um Ergebnisse aussagekräftiger zu gestalten und auch kleinere Unfälle zu erfassen, erscheint eine Ausweitung der Testung in Ambulanzen sinnvoll.
Chronic inflammation is considered to be a cause of the autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis, etc. The search for effective compounds with anti-inflammatory properties to combat these diseases is still ongoing. Natural compound narciclasine, derived from plants of Narcissus species, demonstrated its anti-inflammatory activity in in vivo arthritis models. Further investigation of narciclasine’s anti-inflammatory activity together with its impact on the interaction between leukocytes and endothelial cells was the main focus of this PhD thesis.
Narciclasine reduced the infiltration of monocytes and neutrophils to the abdomen and the concentration of the pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF, IL-6 and IL-1β. Together with this, it reduced acute visceral pain caused by zymosan injection. Narciclasine interfered with leukocyte-endothelial cell interaction in both in vivo and in vitro models. In vivo microscopy revealed that the compound reduced rolling, adhesion and transmigration of leukocytes in the vessels of an injured murine cremaster muscle. This observation was confirmed in the in vitro models for adhesion and transmigration where narciclasine reduced the level of leukocyte’s interaction with HUVECs. Narciclasine demonstrated profound anti-inflammatory properties based on its interference with leukocyte-endothelium interaction by downregulation of endothelial cell adhesion molecules expression (ICAM-1, VCAM-1, E-selectin, CX3CL1) and shutdown of NF-κB pathway. All these effects were a result of the TNF receptor 1 protein translation blocking by narciclasine.
In this work the ability of the compound to reduce visceral pain, downregulate the expression of the endothelial cell adhesion molecules and to interfere with the interaction between leukocytes and endothelial cells was demonstrated for narciclasine for the first time. Obtained results open a promising insight into the understanding of narciclasine’s anti-inflammatory properties and justify further investigation of its potential for treatment of inflammatory diseases.
In der durchgeführten Studie erfolgte die Untersuchung des visuellen Arbeits-gedächtnisses von bipolaren Patienten im Vergleich zu gesunden Kontrollen. Es erfolgten bereits viele Untersuchungen an Patienten mit bipolarer Störung. Wird das Hauptaugenmerk auf die kognitiven Funktionen der Patienten gelegt, so konnte bereits in einigen Studien gezeigt werden, dass nicht nur in depressi-ver oder manischer, sondern auch in euthymer Stimmungslage kognitive Defizi-te vorliegen. Zur näheren Untersuchung der Funktionen des visuellen Arbeits-gedächtnisses der Patienten mit bipolarer Störung wurde daher eine fMRT-Untersuchung durchgeführt. Hier wurden Patienten, die an bipolarer Störung erkrankt sind, mit gesunden Kontrollen verglichen. Dabei wurden die bipolaren Patienten in euthymer Stimmungslage untersucht. Weder in Antwortrichtigkeit noch Reaktionsgeschwindigkeit konnte ein signifikanter Gruppenunterschied nachgewiesen werden. Außerdem wurde in der Untersuchung eine Differenzie-rung zwischen den einzelnen Phasen gemacht, die eine Gedächtnisinformation durchläuft. Bei diesen Phasen handelt es sich um Enkodierungs-, Halte- und Abrufphase. Hierbei konnten veränderte Aktivierungsmuster an diversen Hirn-strukturen der bipolaren Patienten dargestellt werden. Diese Veränderungen ziehen sich durch alle drei Phasen der Gedächtniskonsolidierung und können vor allem im präfrontalen Kortex nachgewiesen werden. Es handelt sich dabei vor allem um eine schwächere Aktivierung des präfrontalen Kortex (PFC) der bipolaren Patienten im Vergleich zu gesunden Kontrollen. Unter anderem ist das Arbeitsgedächtnis im PFC lokalisiert. Diese Ergebnisse scheinen ein Hin-weis dafür zu sein, dass bei den bipolaren Patienten neuronale Defizite im visu-ellen Arbeitsgedächtnis vorliegen.
The one-dimensionality of econometric data: the Frankfurt School and the critique of quantification
(2020)
Econometric data are used to produce authoritative facts about the world. Yet, as numbers enjoy a central place in modern reasoning (particularly in government as their presumed objectivity and neutrality assist impartial decision-making), it is important that they receive scrutiny. Using methodological techniques from Western Marxism, with special reference to the work of Lukács, Horkheimer and Adorno, and Marcuse to inform a critique of Acemoglu and Robinson, I argue that the historical emergence of econometrics as a mode of mediated knowledge is a reified practice within the broader technical administration of social life, a practice that is not a transparent representation of social phenomena. This is because when econometrics transforms the thing being measured into a statistical indicator it eclipses political disputes with technical disputes, sidestepping good faith democratic deliberation about what goods are worth pursuing. Effectively, one-dimensional thought cannot perceive the origins of items put into circulation and so ideology is produced – what seems value-free is value-laden.
Este artigo pretende analisar o efeito da operação de enquadramento editorial levada a cabo pela Editora Sur, vinculada à Revista Sur, na circulação do repertório frankfurtiano na Argentina da década de 1960. Ao traduzirem e divulgarem autores como Adorno, Horkheimer e Benjamin, a partir de sua posição específica no campo cultural argentino, a coleção Estudios Alemanes contribui para que seus autores sejam desvinculados da tradição marxista e alocados em uma categoria mais ampla de “pensamento alemão”. Com isso, a circulação desses autores fica restritra a certo público, já cativo da perspectiva teórica e política da Revista Sur. Neste artigo, descrevo a coleção nos marcos da difusão mais ampla da tradição alemã no campo letrado argentino, atentando para os deslocamentos de prestígio que ela mobiliza e, sobretudo, para a composição de uma “atitude intelectual” que, a despeito do conteúdo dos textos em circulação, condiciona a recepção e ressignificação dos textos frankfurtianos.
Historiadora do cinema, Miriam Hansen examinou e sistematizou as contribuições de Siegfried Kracauer, Walter Benjamin e Theodor Adorno para a teorização do cinema. Nesta pesquisa bibliográfica, buscamos sintetizar e apresentar aos leitores de língua portuguesa o desenvolvimento de sua investigação sobre o tema. Mostramos como Hansen foi capaz de identificar as principais diferenças entre os teóricos frankfurtianos, bem como evidenciar que eles, em comum, pensaram este fenômeno cultural contemporâneo em relação às condições sociais e econômicas de produção. Em suas reflexões, o cinema aparece como expressão da sociedade urbano-industrial, como um elemento sintomático da cultura de massa.
Hope and reasons
(2020)
This paper argues that hope can be understood as an attitude or an attitudinal complex that is partially sensitive to reasons. One way that an attitude is sensitive to reasons is that it is permitted given the reasons available. A second way in which an attitude is sensitive to reasons is that it might be required in light of available reasons. This paper argues that hope may be permitted by the available reasons, and although it is sometimes good or praiseworthy to hope, hope is never categorically required. In that sense, hope is partially sensitive to reasons.
Light is one of the most important abiotic factors for plant physiological processes. In addition to light intensity, the spectral quality of light can also influence the plant morphology and the content of secondary metabolites. In the horticultural industry, artificial light is used in to enable year-round production of herbs, ornamental plants and vegetables in winter terms.
Until today, discharge lamps like high-pressure sodium (HPS) lamps, emitting predominantly orange and red light and high amounts of infrared radiation, are the most common lamp systems in greenhouses. In the last decades, light-emitting diodes (LEDs) emerged as an efficient alternative light source. LEDs have the advantage of distinct adjustments to the light spectrum. For a usage in horticultural industry LEDs are often too expensive. Furthermore, reduced plant growth can occur due to incorrectly adjusted light spectra and lower leaf temperatures caused by the lack of infrared radiation.
In a research project (LOEWE, funding no. 487/15-29) funded by the Hessen State Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Arts, Microwave plasma lamps (MPL) were tested as new light sources for horticultural industry and plant research. The electrodeless lamp systems emit light in similar properties like sun light. The aim of the study was to determine the influence of artificial sunlight of the MPL on the accumulation of secondary metabolites, plant architecture and plant physiology of three different species (coleus, basil and potted roses). The MPL was compared with other light systems such as commercial HPS lamps, LEDs or ceramic metal halide lamps (CDM). In addition to morphological parameters such as plant height, internode length or fresh and dry weight, the phenolic content of leaves grown under the respective light sources were examined.
Overall an increased far-red light content in the emission spectra of the MPL showed high influence on the plant architecture which was observed in all three plant species. Artificial sunlight from MPL induced stem elongation in coleus and basil plants, compared to the other tested light sources. In potted roses a reduced branching degree was observed under MPL light compared to HPS grown plants.
In addition to the impact of far-red light also the blue light content of the emission spectra was found to be a strong influencing factor for plant physiological processes. A positive correlation between blue light content and leaf thickness was determined in coleus cultivated under MPL, LED, HPS and CDM lamps. Low blue light content in HPS emission spectra resulted in shade-adapted leaves with low photosynthetic capacity and susceptibility to high irradiances. Blue light was assumed to increase phenolic metabolites in basil and rose leaves. Furthermore, the different light treatments resulted in an alteration of the composition of essential oils of basil.
Experiments with coleus plants demonstrated that besides light color also the infrared radiation, had an influence on secondary metabolites by causing different leaf temperatures. Coleus plants grown with MPL showed the lowest content of phenolic compounds such as rosmarinic acid per dry weight. Infrared radiation resulted in a faster plant development indicated by increased biomass production and higher leaf formation rate as observed in coleus and basil plants.
The results obtained in this study show that the influence of leaf temperature should always be considered when comparing different lamp systems. Especially when LEDs are compared to discharge lamps an overestimation of light color can be a consequence since also infrared radiation influences the content of phenolic compounds and plant growth.
Tissue injury and inflammation may result in chronic pain, a severe debilitating disease that is associated with great impairment of quality of life. An increasing body of evidence indicates that members of the Rab family of small GTPases contribute to pain processing; however, their specific functions remain poorly understood. Here, we found using immunofluorescence staining and in situ hybridization that the small GTPase Rab27a is highly expressed in sensory neurons and in the superficial dorsal horn of the spinal cord of mice. Rab27a mutant mice, which carry a single-nucleotide missense mutation of Rab27a leading to the expression of a nonfunctional protein, show reduced mechanical hyperalgesia and spontaneous pain behavior in inflammatory pain models, while their responses to acute noxious mechanical and thermal stimuli is not affected. Our study uncovers a previously unrecognized function of Rab27a in the processing of persistent inflammatory pain in mice.
Pulmonary failure is the main cause of morbidity and mortality in the human chromosomal instability syndrome Ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T). Major phenotypes include recurrent respiratory tract infections and bronchiectasis, aspiration, respiratory muscle abnormalities, interstitial lung disease, and pulmonary fibrosis. At present, no effective pulmonary therapy for A-T exists. Cell therapy using adipose-derived mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (ASCs) might be a promising approach for tissue regeneration. The aim of the present project was to investigate whether ASCs migrate into the injured lung parenchyma of Atm-deficient mice as an indication of incipient tissue damage during A-T. Therefore, ASCs isolated from luciferase transgenic mice (mASCs) were intravenously transplanted into Atm-deficient and wild-type mice. Retention kinetics of the cells were monitored using in vivo bioluminescence imaging (BLI) and completed by subsequent verification using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The in vivo imaging and the qPCR results demonstrated migration accompanied by a significantly longer retention time of transplanted mASCs in the lung parenchyma of Atm-deficient mice compared to wild type mice. In conclusion, our study suggests incipient damage in the lung parenchyma of Atm-deficient mice. In addition, our data further demonstrate that a combination of luciferase-based PCR together with BLI is a pivotal tool for tracking mASCs after transplantation in models of inflammatory lung diseases such as A-T.
The Culex pipiens complex encompasses five species and subspecies of the genus Culex. Over time, a multitude of morphologically indistinguishable species has been assigned to this complex with several species being classified as important vectors for different diseases. Some species of this complex hibernate in subterranean habitats, and it has been proven that viruses can survive this phase of hibernation. However, studies focusing on the environmental requirements, ecology and spatial and temporal distribution patterns of mosquitos in underground habitats are sparse. Here, we investigate the main environmental factors and dependencies of Culex, considering the number of individuals and survival probabilities in underground habitats during the winter months. Methods. Since the State of Hesse, Germany harbors about 3500 to 4000 subterranean shelters ample availability of subterranean habitats there provides a good opportunity to conduct detailed investigations of the Culex pipiens complex. In this study, we identified a sample of 727 specimens of overwintering females within the Culex pipiens complex from 52 different underground sites collected over a period of 23 years using qPCR. A complete data set of samplings of hibernating mosquitos from 698 subterranean habitats in Central Germany over the same period was available to study the spatial and temporal patterns and the effect of temperature and precipitation conditions on these hibernating populations using a generalized linear model (GLM). Results. Our qPCR-results show, similar to aboveground studies of mosquitos, that Culex pipiens pipiens and Culex torrentium occur sympatrically. On the other hand, Culex pipiens molestus occurred very rarely. The GLM revealed no shifts in species composition over time, but different preferences for subterranean hibernacula, chemical effects on overwintering populations as well as effects of annual and seasonal mean temperature and precipitation during the active phase from March to November. Cx. p. pipiens and Cx. torrentium are the most common species within Hessian caves and other underground habitats during winter. They co-occur with different frequency without any patterns in species composition. Weather conditions influence the number of overwintering mosquitos during the activity phase. Depending on cave parameters, the number of mosquitos decreases during the winter months.
Progressive bladder cancer growth is associated with abnormal activation of the mammalian target of the rapamycin (mTOR) pathway, but treatment with an mTOR inhibitor has not been as effective as expected. Rather, resistance develops under chronic drug use, prompting many patients to lower their relapse risk by turning to natural, plant-derived products. The present study was designed to evaluate whether the natural compound, sulforaphane (SFN), combined with the mTOR inhibitor everolimus, could block the growth and proliferation of bladder cancer cells in the short- and long-term. The bladder cancer cell lines RT112, UMUC3, and TCCSUP were exposed short- (24 h) or long-term (8 weeks) to everolimus (0.5 nM) or SFN (2.5 µM) alone or in combination. Cell growth, proliferation, apoptosis, cell cycle progression, and cell cycle regulating proteins were evaluated. siRNA blockade was used to investigate the functional impact of the proteins. Short-term application of SFN and/or everolimus resulted in significant tumor growth suppression, with additive inhibition on clonogenic tumor growth. Long-term everolimus treatment resulted in resistance development characterized by continued growth, and was associated with elevated Akt-mTOR signaling and cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK)1 phosphorylation and down-regulation of p19 and p27. In contrast, SFN alone or SFN+everolimus reduced cell growth and proliferation. Akt and Rictor signaling remained low, and p19 and p27 expressions were high under combined drug treatment. Long-term exposure to SFN+everolimus also induced acetylation of the H3 and H4 histones. Phosphorylation of CDK1 was diminished, whereby down-regulation of CDK1 and its binding partner, Cyclin B, inhibited tumor growth. In conclusion, the addition of SFN to the long-term everolimus application inhibits resistance development in bladder cancer cells in vitro. Therefore, sulforaphane may hold potential for treating bladder carcinoma in patients with resistance to an mTOR inhibitor.
Treatment of large bone defects is one of the great challenges in contemporary orthopedic and traumatic surgery. Grafts are necessary to support bone healing. A well-established allograft is demineralized bone matrix (DBM) prepared from donated human bone tissue. In this study, a fibrous demineralized bone matrix (f-DBM) with a high surface-to-volume ratio has been analyzed for toxicity and immunogenicity. f-DBM was transplanted to a 5-mm, plate-stabilized, femoral critical-size-bone-defect in Sprague-Dawley (SD)-rats. Healthy animals were used as controls. After two months histology, hematological analyses, immunogenicity as well as serum biochemistry were performed. Evaluation of free radical release and hematological and biochemical analyses showed no significant differences between the control group and recipients of f-DBM. Histologically, there was no evidence of damage to liver and kidney and good bone healing was observed in the f-DBM group. Reactivity against human HLA class I and class II antigens was detected with mostly low fluorescence values both in the serum of untreated and treated animals, reflecting rather a background reaction. Taken together, these results provide evidence for no systemic toxicity and the first proof of no basic immunogenic reaction to bone allograft and no sensitization of the recipient.