@phdthesis{Wittenberg2016,
  author    = {Wittenberg, Eva},
  title     = {With Light Verb Constructions from Syntax to Concepts},
  publisher = {Universit{\"a}tsverlag Potsdam},
  address   = {Potsdam},
  isbn      = {978-3-86956-329-9},
  issn      = {2190-4545},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-82361},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam},
  pages     = {ii, 139},
  year      = {2016},
  abstract  = {This dissertation uses a common grammatical phenomenon, light verb constructions (LVCs) in English and German, to investigate how syntax-semantics mapping defaults influence the relationships between language processing, representation and conceptualization. LVCs are analyzed as a phenomenon of mismatch in the argument structure. The processing implication of this mismatch are experimentally investigated, using ERPs and a dual task. Data from these experiments point to an increase in working memory. Representational questions are investigated using structural priming. Data from this study suggest that while the syntax of LVCs is not different from other structures', the semantics and mapping are represented differently. This hypothesis is tested with a new categorization paradigm, which reveals that the conceptual structure that LVC evoke differ in interesting, and predictable, ways from non-mismatching structures'.},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Janetschek2016,
  author    = {Janetschek, Hannah},
  title     = {Water development programs in India},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-401337},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam},
  pages     = {279},
  year      = {2016},
  abstract  = {In the past decades, development cooperation (DC) led by conventional bi- and multilateral donors has been joined by a large number of small, private or public-private donors. This pluralism of actors raises questions as to whether or not these new donors are able to implement projects more or less effectively than their conventional counterparts. In contrast to their predecessors, the new donors have committed themselves to be more pragmatic, innovative and flexible in their development cooperation measures. However, they are also criticized for weakening the function of local civil society and have the reputation of being an intransparent and often controversial alternative to public services. With additional financial resources and their new approach to development, the new donors have been described in the literature as playing a controversial role in transforming development cooperation. This dissertation compares the effectiveness of initiatives by new and conventional donors with regard to the provision of public goods and services to the poor in the water and sanitation sector in India. India is an emerging country but it is experiencing high poverty rates and poor water supply in predominantly rural areas. It lends itself for analyzing this research theme as it is currently being confronted by a large number of actors and approaches that aim to find solutions for these challenges . In the theoretical framework of this dissertation, four governance configurations are derived from the interaction of varying actor types with regard to hierarchical and non-hierarchical steering of their interactions. These four governance configurations differ in decision-making responsibilities, accountability and delegation of tasks or direction of information flow. The assumption on actor relationships and steering is supplemented by possible alternative explanations in the empirical investigation, such as resource availability, the inheritance of structures and institutions from previous projects in a project context, gaining acceptance through beneficiaries (local legitimacy) as a door opener, and asymmetries of power in the project context. Case study evidence from seven projects reveals that the actors' relationship is important for successful project delivery. Additionally, the results show that there is a systematic difference between conventional and new donors. Projects led by conventional donors were consistently more successful, due to an actor relationship that placed the responsibility in the hands of the recipient actors and benefited from the trust and reputation of a long-term cooperation. The trust and reputation of conventional donors always went along with a back-up from federal level and trickled down as reputation also at local level implementation. Furthermore, charismatic leaders, as well as the acquired structures and institutions of predecessor projects, also proved to be a positive influencing factor for successful project implementation. Despite the mixed results of the seven case studies, central recommendations for action can be derived for the various actors involved in development cooperation. For example, new donors could fulfill a supplementary function with conventional donors by developing innovative project approaches through pilot studies and then implementing them as a supplement to the projects of conventional donors on the ground. In return, conventional donors would have to make room the new donors by integrating their approaches into already programs in order to promote donor harmonization. It is also important to identify and occupy niches for activities and to promote harmonization among donors on state and federal sides. The empirical results demonstrate the need for a harmonization strategy of different donor types in order to prevent duplication, over-experimentation and the failure of development programs. A transformation to successful and sustainable development cooperation can only be achieved through more coordination processes and national self-responsibility.},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Niemeyer2016,
  author    = {Niemeyer, Bastian},
  title     = {Vegetation reconstruction and assessment of plant diversity at the treeline ecotone in northern Siberia},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam},
  pages     = {146},
  year      = {2016},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Klier2016,
  author    = {Klier, Dennis Tobias},
  title     = {Upconversion luminescence in Er-codoped NaYF4 nanoparticles},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-98486},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam},
  pages     = {ix, 89},
  year      = {2016},
  abstract  = {In the context of an increasing population of aging people and a shift of medical paradigm towards an individualized medicine in health care, nanostructured lanthanides doped sodium yttrium fluoride (NaYF4) represents an exciting class of upconversion nanomaterials (UCNM) which are suitable to bring forward developments in biomedicine and -biodetection. Despite the fact that among various fluoride based upconversion (UC) phosphors lanthanide doped NaYF4 is one of the most studied upconversion nanomaterial, many open questions are still remaining concerning the interplay of the population routes of sensitizer and activator electronic states involved in different luminescence upconversion photophysics as well as the role of phonon coupling. The collective work aims to explore a detailed understanding of the upconversion mechanism in nanoscaled NaYF4 based materials co-doped with several lanthanides, e.g. Yb3+ and Er3+ as the "standard" type upconversion nanoparticles (UCNP) up to advanced UCNP with Gd3+ and Nd3+. Especially the impact of the crystal lattice structure as well as the resulting lattice phonons on the upconversion luminescence was investigated in detail based on different mixtures of cubic and hexagonal NaYF4 nanoscaled crystals. Three synthesis methods, depending on the attempt of the respective central spectroscopic questions, could be accomplished in the following work. NaYF4 based upconversion nanoparticles doped with several combination of lanthanides (Yb3+, Er3+, Gd3+ and Nd3+) were synthesized successfully using a hydrothermal synthesis method under mild conditions as well as a co-precipitation and a high temperature co-precipitation technique. Structural information were gathered by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), electron microscopy (TEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), Raman spectroscopy and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). The results were discussed in detail with relation to the spectroscopic results. A variable spectroscopic setup was developed for multi parameter upconversion luminescence studies at various temperature 4 K to 328 K. Especially, the study of the thermal behavior of upconversion luminescence as well as time resolved area normalized emission spectra were a prerequisite for the detailed understanding of intramolecular deactivation processes, structural changes upon annealing or Gd3+ concentration, and the role of phonon coupling for the upconversion efficiency. Subsequently it became possible to synthesize UCNP with tailored upconversion luminescence properties. In the end, the potential of UCNP for life science application should be enunciated in context of current needs and improvements of a nanomaterial based optical sensors, whereas the "standard" UCNP design was attuned according to the special conditions in the biological matrix. In terms of a better biocompatibility due to a lower impact on biological tissue and higher penetrability for the excitation light. The first step into this direction was to use Nd3+ ions as a new sensitizer in tridoped NaYF4 based UCNP, whereas the achieved absolute and relative temperature sensitivity is comparable to other types of local temperature sensors in the literature.},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{ShahnejatBushehri2016,
  author    = {Shahnejat-Bushehri, Sara},
  title     = {Unravelling the role of the Arabidopsis NAC transcription factor JUNGBRUNNEN1 (JUB1) for the regulation of growth and stress responses},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam},
  pages     = {155},
  year      = {2016},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Olen2016,
  author    = {Olen, Stephanie M.},
  title     = {Understanding Himalayan denudation at the catchment and orogen scale},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-91423},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam},
  pages     = {xx, 174},
  year      = {2016},
  abstract  = {Understanding the rates and processes of denudation is key to unraveling the dynamic processes that shape active orogens. This includes decoding the roles of tectonic and climate-driven processes in the long-term evolution of high- mountain landscapes in regions with pronounced tectonic activity and steep climatic and surface-process gradients. Well-constrained denudation rates can be used to address a wide range of geologic problems. In steady-state landscapes, denudation rates are argued to be proportional to tectonic or isostatic uplift rates and provide valuable insight into the tectonic regimes underlying surface denudation. The use of denudation rates based on terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide (TCN) such as 10Beryllium has become a widely-used method to quantify catchment-mean denudation rates. Because such measurements are averaged over timescales of 102 to 105 years, they are not as susceptible to stochastic changes as shorter-term denudation rate estimates (e.g., from suspended sediment measurements) and are therefore considered more reliable for a comparison to long-term processes that operate on geologic timescales. However, the impact of various climatic, biotic, and surface processes on 10Be concentrations and the resultant denudation rates remains unclear and is subject to ongoing discussion. In this thesis, I explore the interaction of climate, the biosphere, topography, and geology in forcing and modulating denudation rates on catchment to orogen scales. There are many processes in highly dynamic active orogens that may effect 10Be concentrations in modern river sands and therefore impact 10Be-derived denudation rates. The calculation of denudation rates from 10Be concentrations, however, requires a suite of simplifying assumptions that may not be valid or applicable in many orogens. I investigate how these processes affect 10Be concentrations in the Arun Valley of Eastern Nepal using 34 new 10Be measurements from the main stem Arun River and its tributaries. The Arun Valley is characterized by steep gradients in climate and topography, with elevations ranging from <100 m asl in the foreland basin to >8,000 asl in the high sectors to the north. This is coupled with a five-fold increase in mean annual rainfall across strike of the orogen. Denudation rates from tributary samples increase toward the core of the orogen, from <0.2 to >5 mm/yr from the Lesser to Higher Himalaya. Very high denudation rates (>2 mm/yr), however, are likely the result of 10Be TCN dilution by surface and climatic processes, such as large landsliding and glaciation, and thus may not be representative of long-term denudation rates. Mainstem Arun denudation rates increase downstream from ~0.2 mm/yr at the border with Tibet to 0.91 mm/yr at its outlet into the Sapt Kosi. However, the downstream 10Be concentrations may not be representative of the entire upstream catchment. Instead, I document evidence for downstream fining of grains from the Tibetan Plateau, resulting in an order-of-magnitude apparent decrease in the measured 10Be concentration. In the Arun Valley and across the Himalaya, topography, climate, and vegetation are strongly interrelated. The observed increase in denudation rates at the transition from the Lesser to Higher Himalaya corresponds to abrupt increases in elevation, hillslope gradient, and mean annual rainfall. Thus, across strike (N-S), it is difficult to decipher the potential impacts of climate and vegetation cover on denudation rates. To further evaluate these relationships I instead took advantage of an along-strike west-to-east increase of mean annual rainfall and vegetation density in the Himalaya. An analysis of 136 published 10Be denudation rates from along strike of the revealed that median denudation rates do not vary considerably along strike of the Himalaya, ~1500 km E-W. However, the range of denudation rates generally decreases from west to east, with more variable denudation rates in the northwestern regions of the orogen than in the eastern regions. This denudation rate variability decreases as vegetation density increases (R=- 0.90), and increases proportionately to the annual seasonality of vegetation (R=0.99). Moreover, rainfall and vegetation modulate the relationship between topographic steepness and denudation rates such that in the wet, densely vegetated regions of the Himalaya, topography responds more linearly to changes in denudation rates than in dry, sparsely vegetated regions, where the response of topographic steepness to denudation rates is highly nonlinear. Understanding the relationships between denudation rates, topography, and climate is also critical for interpreting sedimentary archives. However, there is a lack of understanding of how terrestrial organic matter is transported out of orogens and into sedimentary archives. Plant wax lipid biomarkers derived from terrestrial and marine sedimentary records are commonly used as paleo- hydrologic proxy to help elucidate these problems. I address the issue of how to interpret the biomarker record by using the plant wax isotopic composition of modern suspended and riverbank organic matter to identify and quantify organic matter source regions in the Arun Valley. Topographic and geomorphic analysis, provided by the 10Be catchment-mean denudation rates, reveals that a combination of topographic steepness (as a proxy for denudation) and vegetation density is required to capture organic matter sourcing in the Arun River. My studies highlight the importance of a rigorous and careful interpretation of denudation rates in tectonically active orogens that are furthermore characterized by strong climatic and biotic gradients. Unambiguous information about these issues is critical for correctly decoding and interpreting the possible tectonic and climatic forces that drive erosion and denudation, and the manifestation of the erosion products in sedimentary archives.},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Schroeder2016,
  author    = {Schr{\"o}der, Henning},
  title     = {Ultrafast electron dynamics in Fe(CO)5 and Cr(CO)6},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-94589},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam},
  pages     = {v, 87},
  year      = {2016},
  abstract  = {In this thesis, the two prototype catalysts Fe(CO)₅ and Cr(CO)₆ are investigated with time-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy at a high harmonic setup. In both of these metal carbonyls, a UV photon can induce the dissociation of one or more ligands of the complex. The mechanism of the dissociation has been debated over the last decades. The electronic dynamics of the first dissociation occur on the femtosecond timescale. For the experiment, an existing high harmonic setup was moved to a new location, was extended, and characterized. The modified setup can induce dynamics in gas phase samples with photon energies of 1.55eV, 3.10eV, and 4.65eV. The valence electronic structure of the samples can be probed with photon energies between 20eV and 40eV. The temporal resolution is 111fs to 262fs, depending on the combination of the two photon energies. The electronically excited intermediates of the two complexes, as well as of the reaction product Fe(CO)₄, could be observed with photoelectron spectroscopy in the gas phase for the first time. However, photoelectron spectroscopy gives access only to the final ionic states. Corresponding calculations to simulate these spectra are still in development. The peak energies and their evolution in time with respect to the initiation pump pulse have been determined, these peaks have been assigned based on literature data. The spectra of the two complexes show clear differences. The dynamics have been interpreted with the assumption that the motion of peaks in the spectra relates to the movement of the wave packet in the multidimensional energy landscape. The results largely confirm existing models for the reaction pathways. In both metal carbonyls, this pathway involves a direct excitation of the wave packet to a metal-to-ligand charge transfer state and the subsequent crossing to a dissociative ligand field state. The coupling of the electronic dynamics to the nuclear dynamics could explain the slower dissociation in Fe(CO)₅ as compared to Cr(CO)₆.},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Hildebrand2016,
  author    = {Hildebrand, Viet},
  title     = {Twofold switchable block copolymers based on new polyzwitterions},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-101372},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam},
  pages     = {xvi, 170, LXXX},
  year      = {2016},
  abstract  = {In complement to the well-established zwitterionic monomers 3-((2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl)dimethylammonio)propane-1-sulfonate ("SPE") and 3-((3-methacrylamidopropyl)dimethylammonio)propane-1-sulfonate ("SPP"), the closely related sulfobetaine monomers were synthesized and polymerized by reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization, using a fluorophore labeled RAFT agent. The polyzwitterions of systematically varied molar mass were characterized with respect to their solubility in water, deuterated water, and aqueous salt solutions. These poly(sulfobetaine)s show thermoresponsive behavior in water, exhibiting upper critical solution temperatures (UCST). Phase transition temperatures depend notably on the molar mass and polymer concentration, and are much higher in D2O than in H2O. Also, the phase transition temperatures are effectively modulated by the addition of salts. The individual effects can be in parts correlated to the Hofmeister series for the anions studied. Still, they depend in a complex way on the concentration and the nature of the added electrolytes, on the one hand, and on the detailed structure of the zwitterionic side chain, on the other hand. For the polymers with the same zwitterionic side chain, it is found that methacrylamide-based poly(sulfobetaine)s exhibit higher UCST-type transition temperatures than their methacrylate analogs. The extension of the distance between polymerizable unit and zwitterionic groups from 2 to 3 methylene units decreases the UCST-type transition temperatures. Poly(sulfobetaine)s derived from aliphatic esters show higher UCST-type transition temperatures than their analogs featuring cyclic ammonium cations. The UCST-type transition temperatures increase markedly with spacer length separating the cationic and anionic moieties from 3 to 4 methylene units. Thus, apparently small variations of their chemical structure strongly affect the phase behavior of the polyzwitterions in specific aqueous environments. Water-soluble block copolymers were prepared from the zwitterionic monomers and the non-ionic monomer N-isopropylmethacrylamide ("NIPMAM") by the RAFT polymerization. Such block copolymers with two hydrophilic blocks exhibit twofold thermoresponsive behavior in water. The poly(sulfobetaine) block shows an UCST, whereas the poly(NIPMAM) block exhibits a lower critical solution temperature (LCST). This constellation induces a structure inversion of the solvophobic aggregate, called "schizophrenic micelle". Depending on the relative positions of the two different phase transitions, the block copolymer passes through a molecularly dissolved or an insoluble intermediate regime, which can be modulated by the polymer concentration or by the addition of salt. Whereas, at low temperature, the poly(sulfobetaine) block forms polar aggregates that are kept in solution by the poly(NIPMAM) block, at high temperature, the poly(NIPMAM) block forms hydrophobic aggregates that are kept in solution by the poly(sulfobetaine) block. Thus, aggregates can be prepared in water, which switch reversibly their "inside" to the "outside", and vice versa.},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Hohenbrink2016,
  author    = {Hohenbrink, Tobias Ludwig},
  title     = {Turning a problem into a solution: heterogeneities in soil hydrology},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-101485},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam},
  pages     = {x, 123},
  year      = {2016},
  abstract  = {It is commonly recognized that soil moisture exhibits spatial heterogeneities occurring in a wide range of scales. These heterogeneities are caused by different factors ranging from soil structure at the plot scale to land use at the landscape scale. There is an urgent need for effi-cient approaches to deal with soil moisture heterogeneity at large scales, where manage-ment decisions are usually made. The aim of this dissertation was to test innovative ap-proaches for making efficient use of standard soil hydrological data in order to assess seep-age rates and main controls on observed hydrological behavior, including the role of soil het-erogeneities. As a first step, the applicability of a simplified Buckingham-Darcy method to estimate deep seepage fluxes from point information of soil moisture dynamics was assessed. This was done in a numerical experiment considering a broad range of soil textures and textural het-erogeneities. The method performed well for most soil texture classes. However, in pure sand where seepage fluxes were dominated by heterogeneous flow fields it turned out to be not applicable, because it simply neglects the effect of water flow heterogeneity. In this study a need for new efficient approaches to handle heterogeneities in one-dimensional water flux models was identified. As a further step, an approach to turn the problem of soil moisture heterogeneity into a solu-tion was presented: Principal component analysis was applied to make use of the variability among soil moisture time series for analyzing apparently complex soil hydrological systems. It can be used for identifying the main controls on the hydrological behavior, quantifying their relevance, and describing their particular effects by functional averaged time series. The ap-proach was firstly tested with soil moisture time series simulated for different texture classes in homogeneous and heterogeneous model domains. Afterwards, it was applied to 57 mois-ture time series measured in a multifactorial long term field experiment in Northeast Germa-ny. The dimensionality of both data sets was rather low, because more than 85 \% of the total moisture variance could already be explained by the hydrological input signal and by signal transformation with soil depth. The perspective of signal transformation, i.e. analyzing how hydrological input signals (e.g., rainfall, snow melt) propagate through the vadose zone, turned out to be a valuable supplement to the common mass flux considerations. Neither different textures nor spatial heterogeneities affected the general kind of signal transfor-mation showing that complex spatial structures do not necessarily evoke a complex hydro-logical behavior. In case of the field measured data another 3.6\% of the total variance was unambiguously explained by different cropping systems. Additionally, it was shown that dif-ferent soil tillage practices did not affect the soil moisture dynamics at all. The presented approach does not require a priori assumptions about the nature of physical processes, and it is not restricted to specific scales. Thus, it opens various possibilities to in-corporate the key information from monitoring data sets into the modeling exercise and thereby reduce model uncertainties.},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Wutke2016,
  author    = {Wutke, Saskia},
  title     = {Tracing Changes in Space and Time},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam},
  pages     = {x, 84},
  year      = {2016},
  abstract  = {The horse is a fascinating animal symbolizing power, beauty, strength and grace. Among all the animal species domesticated the horse had the largest impact on the course of human history due to its importance for warfare and transportation. Studying the process of horse domestication contributes to the knowledge about the history of horses and even of our own species. Research based on molecular methods has increasingly focused on the genetic basis of horse domestication. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analyses of modern and ancient horses detected immense maternal diversity, probably due to many mares that contributed to the domestic population. However, mtDNA does not provide an informative phylogeographic structure. In contrast, Y chromosome analyses displayed almost complete uniformity in modern stallions but relatively high diversity in a few ancient horses. Further molecular markers that seem to be well suited to infer the domestication history of horses or genetic and phenotypic changes during this process are loci associated with phenotypic traits. This doctoral thesis consists of three different parts for which I analyzed various single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with coat color, locomotion or Y chromosomal variation of horses. These SNPs were genotyped in 350 ancient horses from the Chalcolithic (5,000 BC) to the Middle Ages (11th century). The distribution of the samples ranges from China to the Iberian Peninsula and Iceland. By applying multiplexed next-generation sequencing (NGS) I sequenced short amplicons covering the relevant positions: i) eight coat-color-associated mutations in six genes to deduce the coat color phenotype; ii) the so-called 'Gait-keeper' SNP in the DMRT3 gene to screen for the ability to amble; iii) 16 SNPs previously detected in ancient horses to infer the corresponding haplotype. Based on these data I investigated the occurrence and frequencies of alleles underlying the respective phenotypes as well as Y chromosome haplotypes at different times and regions. Also, selection coefficients for several Y chromosome lineages or phenotypes were estimated. Concerning coat color differences in ancient horses my work constitutes the most comprehensive study to date. I detected an increase of chestnut horses in the Middle Ages as well as differential selection for spotted and solid phenotypes over time which reflects changing human preferences. With regard to ambling horses, the corresponding allele was present in medieval English and Icelandic horses. Based on these results I argue that Norse settlers, who frequently invaded parts of Britain, brought ambling individuals to Iceland from the British Isles which can be regarded the origin of this trait. Moreover, these settlers appear to have selected for ambling in Icelandic horses. Relating to the third trait, the paternal diversity, these findings represent the largest ancient dataset of Y chromosome variation in non-humans. I proved the existence of several Y chromosome haplotypes in early domestic horses. The decline of Y chromosome variation coincides with the movement of nomadic peoples from the Eurasian steppes and later with different breeding practices in the Roman period. In conclusion, positive selection was estimated for several phenotypes/lineages in different regions or times which indicates that these were preferred by humans. Furthermore, I could successfully infer the distribution and dispersal of horses in association with human movements and actions. Thereby, a better understanding of the influence of people on the changing appearance and genetic diversity of domestic horses could be gained. My results also emphasize the close relationship of ancient genetics and archeology or history and that only in combination well-founded conclusions can be reached.},
  language  = {en}
}