TY - THES A1 - Grewe, Sina T1 - Hydro- and biogeochemical investigations of lake sediments in the Kenyan Rift Valley T1 - Hydro- und biogeochemische Untersuchungen von Seesedimenten aus dem Kenianischen Rift Valley N2 - Die Seen im kenianischen Riftsystem bieten die einmalige Gelegenheit eine große Bandbreite an hydrochemischen Umweltbedingungen zu studieren, die von Süßwasserseen bis hin zu hochsalinen und alkalinen Seen reichen. Da wenig über die hydro- und biogeochemischen Bedingungen in den darunterliegenden Seesedimenten bekannt ist, war es das Ziel dieser Arbeit, bereits existierende Datensätze mit Daten aus der Porenwasser- und Biomarker-Analyse zu erweitern. Zusätzlich wurden reduzierte Schwefelkomponenten und Sulfatreduktionsraten in den Sedimenten bestimmt. Mit den neu gewonnenen Daten wurde der anthropogene und mikrobielle Einfluss auf die Seesedimente untersucht sowie der Einfluss der Wasserchemie auf den Abbau und den Erhalt von organischem Material im Sediment. Zu den untersuchten Seen gehörten: Logipi, Eight (ein kleiner Kratersee in der Region Kangirinyang), Baringo, Bogoria, Naivasha, Oloiden und Sonachi. Die Biomarker-Zusammensetzungen in den untersuchten Seesedimenten waren ähnlich; allerdings gab es einige Unterschiede zwischen den salinen Seen und den Süßwasserseen. Einer dieser Unterschiede war das Vorkommen eines mit β-Carotin verwandten Moleküls, das nur in den salinen Seen gefunden wurde. Dieses Molekül stammt wahrscheinlich von Cyanobakterien, Einzellern die in großer Anzahl in salinen Seen vorkommen. In den beiden Süßwasserseen wurde Stigmasterol gefunden, ein für Süßwasseralgen charakteristisches Sterol. In dieser Studie hat sich gezeigt, dass Bogoria und Sonachi für Umweltrekonstruktionen mit Biomarkern besonders gut geeignet sind, da die Abwesenheit von Sauerstoff an deren Seegründen den Abbau von organischem Material verlangsamt. Andere Seen, wie zum Beispiel Naivasha, sind aufgrund des großen anthropogenen Einflusses weniger gut für solche Rekonstruktionen geeignet. Die Biomarker-Analyse bot jedoch die Möglichkeit, den menschlichen Einfluss auf den See zu studieren. Desweiteren zeigte diese Studie, dass sich Horizonte mit einem hohen Anteil an elementarem Schwefel als temporale Marker nutzen lassen. Diese Horizonte wurden zu einer Zeit abgelagert, als die Wasserpegel sehr niedrig waren. Der Schwefel wurde von Mikroorganismen abgelagert, die zu anoxygener Photosynthese oder Sulfidoxidation fähig sind. N2 - The lakes in the Kenyan Rift Valley offer the unique opportunity to study a wide range of hydrochemical environmental conditions, ranging from freshwater to highly saline and alkaline lakes. Because little is known about the hydro- and biogeochemical conditions in the underlying lake sediments, it was the aim of this study to extend the already existing data sets with data from porewater and biomarker analyses. Additionally, reduced sulphur compounds and sulphate reduction rates in the sediment were determined. The new data was used to examine the anthropogenic and microbial influence on the lakes sediments as well as the influence of the water chemistry on the degradation and preservation of organic matter in the sediment column. The lakes discussed in this study are: Logipi, Eight (a small crater lake in the region of Kangirinyang), Baringo, Bogoria, Naivasha, Oloiden, and Sonachi. The biomarker compositions were similar in all studied lake sediments; nevertheless, there were some differences between the saline and freshwater lakes. One of those differences is the occurrence of a molecule related to β-carotene, which was only found in the saline lakes. This molecule most likely originates from cyanobacteria, single-celled organisms which are commonly found in saline lakes. In the two freshwater lakes, stigmasterol, a sterol characteristic for freshwater algae, was found. In this study, it was shown that Lakes Bogoria and Sonachi can be used for environmental reconstructions with biomarkers, because the absence of oxygen at the lake bottoms slowed the degradation process. Other lakes, like for example Lake Naivasha, cannot be used for such reconstructions, because of the large anthropogenic influence. But the biomarkers proved to be a useful tool to study those anthropogenic influences. Additionally, it was observed that horizons with a high concentration of elemental sulphur can be used as temporal markers. Those horizons were deposited during times when the lake levels were very low. The sulphur was deposited by microorganisms which are capable of anoxygenic photosynthesis or sulphide oxidation. KW - Ostafrikansches Rift KW - saline Seen KW - Biomarker KW - Umweltrekonstruktion KW - Sulfatreduktion KW - Seesediment KW - East African Rift KW - saline lakes KW - biomarker KW - environmental reconstruction KW - sulphate reduction KW - lake sediment Y1 - 2016 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-98342 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Li, Jian A1 - Lu, Yong Ping A1 - Reichetzeder, Christoph A1 - Kalk, Philipp A1 - Kleuser, Burkhard A1 - Adamski, Jerzy A1 - Hocher, Berthold T1 - Maternal PCaaC38:6 is Associated With Preterm Birth - a Risk Factor for Early and Late Adverse Outcome of the Offspring JF - Journal of European public policy N2 - Background/Aims: Preterm birth (PTB) and low birth weight (LBW) significantly influence mortality and morbidity of the offspring in early life and also have long-term consequences in later life. A better understanding of the molecular mechanisms of preterm birth could provide new insights regarding putative preventive strategies. Metabolomics provides a powerful analytic tool to readout complex interactions between genetics, environment and health and may serve to identify relevant biomarkers. In this study, the association between 163 targeted maternal blood metabolites and gestational age was investigated in order to find candidate biomarkers for PTB. Methods: Five hundred twenty-three women were included into this observational study. Maternal blood was obtained before delivery. The concentration of 163 maternal serum metabolites was measured by flow injection tandem mass spectrometry. To find putative biomarkers for preterm birth, a three-step analysis was designed: bivariate correlation analysis followed by multivariable regression analysis and a comparison of mean values among gestational age groups. Results: Bivariate correlation analysis showed that 2 acylcarnitines (C16:2, C2), 1 amino acids (xLeu), 8 diacyl-PCs (PCaaC36:4, PCaaC38:4, PCaaC38:5, PCaaC38:6, PCaaC40:4, PCaaC40:5, PCaaC40:6, PCaaC42:4), and 1 Acylalkyl-PCs (PCaeC40:5) were inversely correlated with gestational age. Multivariable regression analysis confounded for PTB history, maternal body mass index (BMI) before pregnancy, systolic blood pressure at the third trimester, and maternal body weight at the third trimester, showed that the diacyl-PC PCaaC38:6 was the only metabolite inversely correlated with gestational age. Conclusions: Maternal blood concentrations of PCaaC38:6 are independently associated with gestational age. (C) 2016 The Author(s) Published by S. Karger AG, Basel KW - Metabolomics KW - PCaaC38:6 KW - Biomarker KW - Preterm birth Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1159/000443428 SN - 1420-4096 SN - 1423-0143 VL - 41 SP - 250 EP - 257 PB - Karger CY - Basel ER -