TY - JOUR A1 - Bornhorst, Dorothee A1 - Xia, Peng A1 - Nakajima, Hiroyuki A1 - Dingare, Chaitanya A1 - Herzog, Wiebke A1 - Lecaudey, Virginie A1 - Mochizuki, Naoki A1 - Heisenberg, Carl-Philipp A1 - Yelon, Deborah A1 - Abdelilah-Seyfried, Salim T1 - Biomechanical signaling within the developing zebrafish heart attunes endocardial growth to myocardial chamber dimensions JF - Nature Communications N2 - Intra-organ communication guides morphogenetic processes that are essential for an organ to carry out complex physiological functions. In the heart, the growth of the myocardium is tightly coupled to that of the endocardium, a specialized endothelial tissue that lines its interior. Several molecular pathways have been implicated in the communication between these tissues including secreted factors, components of the extracellular matrix, or proteins involved in cell-cell communication. Yet, it is unknown how the growth of the endocardium is coordinated with that of the myocardium. Here, we show that an increased expansion of the myocardial atrial chamber volume generates higher junctional forces within endocardial cells. This leads to biomechanical signaling involving VE-cadherin, triggering nuclear localization of the Hippo pathway transcriptional regulator Yap1 and endocardial proliferation. Our work suggests that the growth of the endocardium results from myocardial chamber volume expansion and ends when the tension on the tissue is relaxed. Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-12068-x SN - 2041-1723 VL - 10 PB - Nature Publ. Group CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ayzel, Georgy A1 - Varentsova, Natalia A1 - Erina, Oxana A1 - Sokolov, Dmitriy A1 - Kurochkina, Liubov A1 - Moreydo, Vsevolod T1 - OpenForecast BT - The First Open-Source Operational Runoff Forecasting System in Russia JF - Water : Molecular Diversity Preservation International N2 - The development and deployment of new operational runoff forecasting systems are a strong focus of the scientific community due to the crucial importance of reliable and timely runoff predictions for early warnings of floods and flashfloods for local businesses and communities. OpenForecast, the first operational runoff forecasting system in Russia, open for public use, is presented in this study. We developed OpenForecast based only on open-source software and data-GR4J hydrological model, ERA-Interim meteorological reanalysis, and ICON deterministic short-range meteorological forecasts. Daily forecasts were generated for two basins in the European part of Russia. Simulation results showed a limited efficiency in reproducing the spring flood of 2019. Although the simulations managed to capture the timing of flood peaks, they failed in estimating flood volume. However, further implementation of the parsimonious data assimilation technique significantly alleviates simulation errors. The revealed limitations of the proposed operational runoff forecasting system provided a foundation to outline its further development and improvement. KW - OpenForecast KW - open KW - operational service KW - runoff KW - forecasting KW - Russia Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/w11081546 SN - 2073-4441 VL - 11 IS - 8 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Amaechi, Mary Chimaobi A1 - Georgi, Doreen T1 - Quirks of subject (non-)extraction in Igbo JF - Glossa : a journal of general linguistics N2 - In this paper we present new data on a subject/non-subject extraction asymmetry in Igbo constituent questions. We provide evidence that the superficially morphological phenomenon reflects a deeper syntactic asymmetry: Unlike wh-non-subjects, wh-subjects cannot undergo local (A) over bar -movement to the left periphery (SpecFoc); rather, they have to stay in their canonical position SpecT. The same constraint also leads to the that-trace effect (absence of the complementizer) in the embedded clause of long subject wh-movement. We argue that what is responsible for the special status of wh-subjects is their high structural position. We provide an optimality-theoretic analysis of the asymmetry that is based on anti-locality: Local subject (A) over bar -movement is excluded because it is too short. Moreover, we address the nature of apparent wh-in-situ in Igbo. KW - extraction asymmetries KW - wh-movement KW - wh-in-situ KW - focus marking KW - that-trace effect Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.5334/gjgl.607 SN - 2397-1835 VL - 4 IS - 1 PB - Ubiquity Press CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bruun, Kristina A1 - Hille, Carsten T1 - Study on intracellular delivery of liposome encapsulated quantum dots using advanced fluorescence microscopy JF - Scientific reports N2 - Quantum dots increasingly gain popularity for in vivo applications. However, their delivery and accumulation into cells can be challenging and there is still lack of detailed information. Thereby, the application of advanced fluorescence techniques can expand the portfolio of useful parameters for a more comprehensive evaluation. Here, we encapsulated hydrophilic quantum dots into liposomes for studying cellular uptake of these so-called lipodots into living cells. First, we investigated photophysical properties of free quantum dots and lipodots observing changes in the fluorescence decay time and translational diffusion behaviour. In comparison to empty liposomes, lipodots exhibited an altered zeta potential, whereas their hydrodynamic size did not change. Fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) and fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS), both combined with two-photon excitation (2P), were used to investigate the interaction behaviour of lipodots with an insect epithelial tissue. In contrast to the application of free quantum dots, their successful delivery into the cytosol of salivary gland duct cells could be observed when applying lipodots. Lipodots with different lipid compositions and surface charges did not result in considerable differences in the intracellular labelling pattern, luminescence decay time and diffusion behaviour. However, quantum dot degradation after intracellular accumulation could be assumed from reduced luminescence decay times and blue-shifted luminescence signals. In addition to single diffusing quantum dots, possible intracellular clustering of quantum dots could be assumed from increased diffusion times. Thus, by using a simple and manageable liposome carrier system, 2P-FLIM and 2P-FCS recording protocols could be tested, which are promising for investigating the fate of quantum dots during cellular interaction. Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-46732-5 SN - 2045-2322 VL - 9 PB - Nature Publ. Group CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kwiatek, Grzegorz A1 - Saarno, Tero A1 - Ader, Thomas A1 - Blümle, Felix A1 - Bohnhoff, Marco A1 - Chendorain, Michael A1 - Dresen, Georg A1 - Heikkinen, Pekka A1 - Kukkonen, Ilmo A1 - Leary, Peter A1 - Leonhardt, Maria A1 - Malin, Peter A1 - Martinez-Garzon, Patricia A1 - Passmore, Kevin A1 - Passmore, Paul A1 - Valenzuela, Sergio A1 - Wollin, Christopher T1 - Controlling fluid-induced seismicity during a 6.1-km-deep geothermal stimulation in Finland JF - Science Advances N2 - We show that near-real-time seismic monitoring of fluid injection allowed control of induced earthquakes during the stimulation of a 6.1-km-deep geothermal well near Helsinki, Finland. A total of 18,160 m(3) of fresh water was pumped into crystalline rocks over 49 days in June to July 2018. Seismic monitoring was performed with a 24-station borehole seismometer network. Using near-real-time information on induced-earthquake rates, locations, magnitudes, and evolution of seismic and hydraulic energy, pumping was either stopped or varied-in the latter case, between well-head pressures of 60 and 90 MPa and flow rates of 400 and 800 liters/min. This procedure avoided the nucleation of a project-stopping magnitude M-W 2.0 induced earthquake, a limit set by local authorities. Our results suggest a possible physics-based approach to controlling stimulation-induced seismicity in geothermal projects. Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aav7224 SN - 2375-2548 VL - 5 IS - 5 PB - American Association for the Advancement of Science CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Zhang, Su-Yun A1 - Kochovski, Zdravko A1 - Lee, Hui-Chun A1 - Lu, Yan A1 - Zhang, Hemin A1 - Zhang, Jie A1 - Sun, Jian-Ke A1 - Yuan, Jiayin T1 - Ionic organic cage-encapsulating phase-transferable metal clusters JF - Chemical science N2 - Exploration of metal clusters (MCs) adaptive to both aqueous and oil phases without disturbing their size is promising for a broad scope of applications. The state-of-the-art approach via ligand-binding may perturb MCs' size due to varied metal–ligand binding strength when shuttling between solvents of different polarity. Herein, we applied physical confinement of a series of small noble MCs (<1 nm) inside ionic organic cages (I-Cages), which by means of anion exchange enables reversible transfer of MCs between aqueous and hydrophobic solutions without varying their ultrasmall size. Moreover, the MCs@I-Cage hybrid serves as a recyclable, reaction-switchable catalyst featuring high activity in liquid-phase NH3BH3 (AB) hydrolysis reaction with a turnover frequency (TOF) of 115 min−1. Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1039/c8sc04375b SN - 2041-6520 SN - 2041-6539 VL - 10 IS - 5 SP - 1450 EP - 1456 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry CY - Cambridge ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Coch, Caroline A1 - Juhls, Bennet A1 - Lamoureux, Scott F. A1 - Lafreniere, Melissa J. A1 - Fritz, Michael A1 - Heim, Birgit A1 - Lantuit, Hugues T1 - Comparisons of dissolved organic matter and its optical characteristics in small low and high Arctic catchments JF - Biogeosciences N2 - Climate change is affecting the rate of carbon cycling, particularly in the Arctic. Permafrost degradation through deeper thaw and physical disturbances results in the release of carbon dioxide and methane to the atmosphere and to an increase in lateral dissolved organic matter (DOM) fluxes. Whereas riverine DOM fluxes of the large Arctic rivers are well assessed, knowledge is limited with regard to small catchments that cover more than 40% of the Arctic drainage basin. Here, we use absorption measurements to characterize changes in DOM quantity and quality in a low Arctic (Herschel Island, Yukon, Canada) and a high Arctic (Cape Bounty, Melville Island, Nunavut, Canada) setting with regard to geographical differences, impacts of permafrost degradation, and rainfall events. We find that DOM quantity and quality is controlled by differences in vegetation cover and soil organic carbon content (SOCC). The low Arctic site has higher SOCC and greater abundance of plant material resulting in higher chromophoric dissolved organic matter (cDOM) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) than in the high Arctic. DOC concentration and cDOM in surface waters at both sites show strong linear relationships similar to the one for the great Arctic rivers. We used the optical characteristics of DOM such as cDOM absorption, specific ultraviolet absorbance (SUVA), ultraviolet (UV) spectral slopes (S275-295), and slope ratio (SR) for assessing quality changes downstream, at base flow and storm flow conditions, and in relation to permafrost disturbance. DOM in streams at both sites demonstrated optical signatures indicative of photodegradation downstream processes, even over short distances of 2000 m. Flow pathways and the connected hydrological residence time control DOM quality. Deeper flow pathways allow the export of permafrost-derived DOM (i.e. from deeper in the active layer), whereas shallow pathways with shorter residence times lead to the export of fresh surface- and near-surface-derived DOM. Compared to the large Arctic rivers, DOM quality exported from the small catchments studied here is much fresher and therefore prone to degradation. Assessing optical properties of DOM and linking them to catchment properties will be a useful tool for understanding changing DOM fluxes and quality at a pan-Arctic scale. Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-4535-2019 SN - 1726-4170 SN - 1726-4189 VL - 16 IS - 23 SP - 4535 EP - 4553 PB - Copernicus CY - Göttingen ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Irrgang, Anna Maria A1 - Lantuit, Hugues A1 - Gordon, Richard R. A1 - Piskor, Ashley A1 - Manson, Gavin K. T1 - Impacts of past and future coastal changes on the Yukon coast - threats for cultural sites, infrastructure, and travel routes JF - Arctic Science N2 - Yukon’s Beaufort coast, Canada, is a highly dynamic landscape. Cultural sites, infrastructure, and travel routes used by the local population are particularly vulnerable to coastal erosion. To assess threats to these phenomena, rates of shoreline change for a 210 km length of the coast were analyzed and combined with socioeconomic and cultural information. Rates of shoreline change were derived from aerial and satellite imagery from the 1950s, 1970s, 1990s, and 2011. Using these data, conservative (S1) and dynamic (S2) shoreline projections were constructed to predict shoreline positions for the year 2100. The locations of cultural features in the archives of a Parks Canada database, the Yukon Archaeological Program, and as reported in other literature were combined with projected shoreline position changes. Between 2011 and 2100, approximately 850 ha (S1) and 2660 ha (S2) may erode, resulting in a loss of 45% (S1) to 61% (S2) of all cultural features by 2100. The last large, actively used camp area and two nearshore landing strips will likely be threatened by future coastal processes. Future coastal erosion and sedimentation processes are expected to increasingly threaten cultural sites and influence travelling and living along the Yukon coast. KW - Arctic coastal dynamics KW - permafrost coast KW - shoreline projection KW - Inuvialuit cultural features Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2017-0041 SN - 2368-7460 VL - 5 IS - 2 SP - 107 EP - 126 PB - Canadian Science Publishing CY - Ottawa ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Laquai, Rene A1 - Gouraud, Fanny A1 - Müller, Bernd Randolf A1 - Huger, Marc A1 - Chotard, Thierry A1 - Antou, Guy A1 - Bruno, Giovanni T1 - Evolution of Thermal Microcracking in Refractory ZrO2-SiO2 after Application of External Loads at High Temperatures JF - Materials N2 - Zirconia-based cast refractories are widely used for glass furnace applications. Since they have to withstand harsh chemical as well as thermo-mechanical environments, internal stresses and microcracking are often present in such materials under operating conditions (sometimes in excess of 1700 °C). We studied the evolution of thermal (CTE) and mechanical (Young’s modulus) properties as a function of temperature in a fused-cast refractory containing 94 wt.% of monoclinic ZrO2 and 6 wt.% of a silicate glassy phase. With the aid of X-ray refraction techniques (yielding the internal specific surface in materials), we also monitored the evolution of microcracking as a function of thermal cycles (crossing the martensitic phase transformation around 1000 °C) under externally applied stress. We found that external compressive stress leads to a strong decrease of the internal surface per unit volume, but a tensile load has a similar (though not so strong) effect. In agreement with existing literature on β-eucryptite microcracked ceramics, we could explain these phenomena by microcrack closure in the load direction in the compression case, and by microcrack propagation (rather than microcrack nucleation) under tensile conditions. KW - electro-fused zirconia KW - microcracking KW - synchrotron x-ray refraction radiography (SXRR) KW - thermal expansion Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12071017 SN - 1996-1944 VL - 12 IS - 7 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Corti, Giacomo A1 - Cioni, Raffaello A1 - Franceschini, Zara A1 - Sani, Federico A1 - Scaillet, Stephane A1 - Molin, Paola A1 - Isola, Ilaria A1 - Mazzarini, Francesco A1 - Brune, Sascha A1 - Keir, Derek A1 - Erbello Doelesso, Asfaw A1 - Muluneh, Ameha A1 - Illsley-Kemp, Finnigan A1 - Glerum, Anne T1 - Aborted propagation of the Ethiopian rift caused by linkage with the Kenyan rift JF - Nature Communications N2 - Continental rift systems form by propagation of isolated rift segments that interact, and eventually evolve into continuous zones of deformation. This process impacts many aspects of rifting including rift morphology at breakup, and eventual ocean-ridge segmentation. Yet, rift segment growth and interaction remain enigmatic. Here we present geological data from the poorly documented Ririba rift (South Ethiopia) that reveals how two major sectors of the East African rift, the Kenyan and Ethiopian rifts, interact. We show that the Ririba rift formed from the southward propagation of the Ethiopian rift during the Pliocene but this propagation was short-lived and aborted close to the Pliocene-Pleistocene boundary. Seismicity data support the abandonment of laterally offset, overlapping tips of the Ethiopian and Kenyan rifts. Integration with new numerical models indicates that rift abandonment resulted from progressive focusing of the tectonic and magmatic activity into an oblique, throughgoing rift zone of near pure extension directly connecting the rift sectors. Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-09335-2 SN - 2041-1723 VL - 10 PB - Nature Publ. Group CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Buljak, Vladimir A1 - Oesch, Tyler A1 - Bruno, Giovanni T1 - Simulating Fiber-Reinforced Concrete Mechanical Performance Using CT-Based Fiber Orientation Data JF - Materials N2 - The main hindrance to realistic models of fiber-reinforced concrete (FRC) is the local materials property variation, which does not yet reliably allow simulations at the structural level. The idea presented in this paper makes use of an existing constitutive model, but resolves the problem of localized material variation through X-ray computed tomography (CT)-based pre-processing. First, a three-point bending test of a notched beam is considered, where pre-test fiber orientations are measured using CT. A numerical model is then built with the zone subjected to progressive damage, modeled using an orthotropic damage model. To each of the finite elements within this zone, a local coordinate system is assigned, with its longitudinal direction defined by local fiber orientations. Second, the parameters of the constitutive damage model are determined through inverse analysis using load-displacement data obtained from the test. These parameters are considered to clearly explain the material behavior for any arbitrary external action and fiber orientation, for the same geometrical properties and volumetric ratio of fibers. Third, the effectiveness of the resulting model is demonstrated using a second, control experiment. The results of the control experiment analyzed in this research compare well with the model results. The ultimate strength was predicted with an error of about 6%, while the work-of-load was predicted within 4%. It demonstrates the potential of this method for accurately predicting the mechanical performance of FRC components. KW - Fiber-reinforced concrete KW - X-ray computed tomography (CT) KW - anisotropic fiber orientation KW - inverse analysis Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12050717 SN - 1996-1944 VL - 12 IS - 5 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Mishurova, Tatiana A1 - Artzt, Katia A1 - Haubrich, Jan A1 - Requena, Guillermo A1 - Bruno, Giovanni T1 - Exploring the correlation between subsurface residual stresses and manufacturing parameters in laser powder bed fused Ti-6Al-4V JF - Metals N2 - Subsurface residual stresses (RS) were investigated in Ti-6Al-4V cuboid samples by means of X-ray synchrotron diffraction. The samples were manufactured by laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) applying different processing parameters, not commonly considered in open literature, in order to assess their influence on RS state. While investigating the effect of process parameters used for the calculation of volumetric energy density (such as laser velocity, laser power and hatch distance), we observed that an increase of energy density led to a decrease of RS, although not to the same extent for every parameter variation. Additionally, the effect of support structure, sample roughness and LPBF machine effects potentially coming from Ar flow were studied. We observed no influence of support structure on subsurface RS while the orientation with respect to Ar flow showed to have an impact on RS. We conclude recommending monitoring such parameters to improve part reliability and reproducibility. KW - residual stress KW - synchrotron X-ray diffraction KW - additive manufacturing KW - Ti-6Al-4V Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/met9020261 SN - 2075-4701 VL - 9 IS - 2 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Trukenbrod, Hans Arne A1 - Barthelme, Simon A1 - Wichmann, Felix A. A1 - Engbert, Ralf T1 - Spatial statistics for gaze patterns in scene viewing BT - effects of repeated viewing JF - Journal of vision N2 - Scene viewing is used to study attentional selection in complex but still controlled environments. One of the main observations on eye movements during scene viewing is the inhomogeneous distribution of fixation locations: While some parts of an image are fixated by almost all observers and are inspected repeatedly by the same observer, other image parts remain unfixated by observers even after long exploration intervals. Here, we apply spatial point process methods to investigate the relationship between pairs of fixations. More precisely, we use the pair correlation function, a powerful statistical tool, to evaluate dependencies between fixation locations along individual scanpaths. We demonstrate that aggregation of fixation locations within 4 degrees is stronger than expected from chance. Furthermore, the pair correlation function reveals stronger aggregation of fixations when the same image is presented a second time. We use simulations of a dynamical model to show that a narrower spatial attentional span may explain differences in pair correlations between the first and the second inspection of the same image. KW - scene viewing KW - pair correlation function KW - spatial correlations Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1167/19.6.5 SN - 1534-7362 VL - 19 IS - 5 SP - 1 EP - 19 PB - Association for Research in Vision and Opthalmology CY - Rockville ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schütt, Heiko Herbert A1 - Rothkegel, Lars Oliver Martin A1 - Trukenbrod, Hans Arne A1 - Engbert, Ralf A1 - Wichmann, Felix A. T1 - Disentangling bottom-up versus top-down and low-level versus high-level influences on eye movements over time JF - Journal of vision N2 - Bottom-up and top-down as well as low-level and high-level factors influence where we fixate when viewing natural scenes. However, the importance of each of these factors and how they interact remains a matter of debate. Here, we disentangle these factors by analyzing their influence over time. For this purpose, we develop a saliency model that is based on the internal representation of a recent early spatial vision model to measure the low-level, bottom-up factor. To measure the influence of high-level, bottom-up features, we use a recent deep neural network-based saliency model. To account for top-down influences, we evaluate the models on two large data sets with different tasks: first, a memorization task and, second, a search task. Our results lend support to a separation of visual scene exploration into three phases: the first saccade, an initial guided exploration characterized by a gradual broadening of the fixation density, and a steady state that is reached after roughly 10 fixations. Saccade-target selection during the initial exploration and in the steady state is related to similar areas of interest, which are better predicted when including high-level features. In the search data set, fixation locations are determined predominantly by top-down processes. In contrast, the first fixation follows a different fixation density and contains a strong central fixation bias. Nonetheless, first fixations are guided strongly by image properties, and as early as 200 ms after image onset, fixations are better predicted by high-level information. We conclude that any low-level, bottom-up factors are mainly limited to the generation of the first saccade. All saccades are better explained when high-level features are considered, and later, this high-level, bottom-up control can be overruled by top-down influences. KW - saliency KW - fixations KW - natural scenes KW - visual search KW - eye movements Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1167/19.3.1 SN - 1534-7362 VL - 19 IS - 3 PB - Association for Research in Vision and Opthalmology CY - Rockville ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Rothkegel, Lars Oliver Martin A1 - Schütt, Heiko Herbert A1 - Trukenbrod, Hans Arne A1 - Wichmann, Felix A. A1 - Engbert, Ralf T1 - Searchers adjust their eye-movement dynamics to target characteristics in natural scenes JF - Scientific reports N2 - When searching a target in a natural scene, it has been shown that both the target’s visual properties and similarity to the background influence whether and how fast humans are able to find it. So far, it was unclear whether searchers adjust the dynamics of their eye movements (e.g., fixation durations, saccade amplitudes) to the target they search for. In our experiment, participants searched natural scenes for six artificial targets with different spatial frequency content throughout eight consecutive sessions. High-spatial frequency targets led to smaller saccade amplitudes and shorter fixation durations than low-spatial frequency targets if target identity was known. If a saccade was programmed in the same direction as the previous saccade, fixation durations and successive saccade amplitudes were not influenced by target type. Visual saliency and empirical fixation density at the endpoints of saccades which maintain direction were comparatively low, indicating that these saccades were less selective. Our results suggest that searchers adjust their eye movement dynamics to the search target efficiently, since previous research has shown that low-spatial frequencies are visible farther into the periphery than high-spatial frequencies. We interpret the saccade direction specificity of our effects as an underlying separation into a default scanning mechanism and a selective, target-dependent mechanism. Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-37548-w SN - 2045-2322 VL - 9 PB - Nature Publ. Group CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Pahnke, Rike A1 - Mau-Möller, Anett A1 - Junge, Martin A1 - Wendt, Julia A1 - Weymar, Mathias A1 - Hamm, Alfons O. A1 - Lischke, Alexander T1 - Oral Contraceptives Impair Complex Emotion Recognition in Healthy Women JF - Frontiers in neuroscience N2 - Despite the widespread use of oral contraceptives (OCs), remarkably little is known about the effects of OCs on emotion, cognition, and behavior. However, coincidental findings suggest that OCs impair the ability to recognize others’ emotional expressions, which may have serious consequences in interpersonal contexts. To further investigate the effects of OCs on emotion recognition, we tested whether women who were using OCs (n = 42) would be less accurate in the recognition of complex emotional expressions than women who were not using OCs (n = 53). In addition, we explored whether these differences in emotion recognition would depend on women’s menstrual cycle phase. We found that women with OC use were indeed less accurate in the recognition of complex expressions than women without OC use, in particular during the processing of expressions that were difficult to recognize. These differences in emotion recognition did not depend on women’s menstrual cycle phase. Our findings, thus, suggest that OCs impair women’s emotion recognition, which should be taken into account when informing women about the side-effects of OC use. KW - oral contraceptives KW - menstrual cycle KW - estrogen KW - progesterone KW - emotion recognition KW - social cognition Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2018.01041 SN - 1662-453X VL - 12 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Henkel, Carsten A1 - Jacob, Georg A1 - Stopp, Felix A1 - Schmidt-Kaler, Ferdinand A1 - Keil, Mark A1 - Japha, Yonathan A1 - Folman, Ron T1 - Stern-Gerlach splitting of low-energy ion beams JF - New journal of physics : the open-access journal for physics N2 - We present a feasibility study with several magnetic field configurations for creating spin-dependent forces that can split a low-energy ion beam by the Stern-Gerlach (SG) effect. To the best of our knowledge, coherent spin-splittings of charged particles have yet to be realised. Our proposal is based on ion source parameters taken from a recent experiment that demonstrated single-ion implantation from a high-brightness ion source combined with a radio-frequency Paul trap. The inhomogeneous magnetic fields can be created by permanently magnetised microstructures or from current-carrying wires with sizes in the micron range, such as those recently used in a successful implementation of the SG effect with neutral atoms. All relevant forces (Lorentz force and image charges) are taken into account, and measurable splittings are found by analytical and numerical calculations. KW - spin-dependent forces KW - Stern-Gerlach effect KW - ion optics KW - beam splitter KW - magnetic microstructures Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/ab36c7 SN - 1367-2630 VL - 21 PB - IOP Publ. Ltd. CY - Bristol ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Tabares Jimenez, Ximena del Carmen A1 - Zimmermann, Heike Hildegard A1 - Dietze, Elisabeth A1 - Ratzmann, Gregor A1 - Belz, Lukas A1 - Vieth-Hillebrand, Andrea A1 - Dupont, Lydie A1 - Wilkes, Heinz A1 - Mapani, Benjamin A1 - Herzschuh, Ulrike T1 - Vegetation state changes in the course of shrub encroachment in an African savanna since about 1850 CE and their potential drivers JF - Ecology and evolution N2 - Shrub encroachment has far-reaching ecological and economic consequences in many ecosystems worldwide. Yet, compositional changes associated with shrub encroachment are often overlooked despite having important effects on ecosystem functioning. We document the compositional change and potential drivers for a northern Namibian Combretum woodland transitioning into a Terminalia shrubland. We use a multiproxy record (pollen, sedimentary ancient DNA, biomarkers, compound-specific carbon (delta C-13) and deuterium (delta D) isotopes, bulk carbon isotopes (delta(13)Corg), grain size, geochemical properties) from Lake Otjikoto at high taxonomical and temporal resolution. We provide evidence that state changes in semiarid environments may occur on a scale of one century and that transitions between stable states can span around 80 years and are characterized by a unique vegetation composition. We demonstrate that the current grass/woody ratio is exceptional for the last 170 years, as supported by n-alkane distributions and the delta C-13 and delta(13)Corg records. Comparing vegetation records to environmental proxy data and census data, we infer a complex network of global and local drivers of vegetation change. While our delta D record suggests physiological adaptations of woody species to higher atmospheric pCO(2) concentration and drought, our vegetation records reflect the impact of broad-scale logging for the mining industry, and the macrocharcoal record suggests a decrease in fire activity associated with the intensification of farming. Impact of selective grazing is reflected by changes in abundance and taxonomical composition of grasses and by an increase of nonpalatable and trampling-resistant taxa. In addition, grain-size and spore records suggest changes in the erodibility of soils because of reduced grass cover. Synthesis. We conclude that transitions to an encroached savanna state are supported by gradual environmental changes induced by management strategies, which affected the resilience of savanna ecosystems. In addition, feedback mechanisms that reflect the interplay between management legacies and climate change maintain the encroached state. KW - climate change KW - fossil pollen KW - land-use change KW - savanna ecology KW - sedimentary ancient DNA KW - state and transition KW - tree-grass interactions Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.5955 SN - 2045-7758 VL - 10 IS - 2 SP - 962 EP - 979 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Guske, Anna-Lena A1 - Jacob, Klaus A1 - Hirschnitz-Garbers, Martin A1 - Peuckert, Jan A1 - Schridde, Stefan A1 - Stinner, Sven A1 - Wolff, Franziska A1 - Zahrnt, Dominik A1 - Ziesemer, Florence T1 - Stories that Change Our World? BT - Narratives of the sustainable economy JF - Sustainability N2 - Narratives are shaping our understanding of the world. They convey values and norms and point to desirable future developments. In this way, they justify and legitimize political actions and social practices. Once a narrative has emerged and this world view is supported by broad societal groups, narratives can provide powerful momentum to trigger innovation and changes in the course of action. Narratives, however, are not necessarily based on evidence and precise categories, but can instead be vague and ambiguous in order to be acceptable and attractive to different actors. However, the more open and inclusive a narrative is, the less impact can be expected. We investigate whether there is a shared narrative in research for the sustainable economy and how this can be evaluated in terms of its potential societal impact. The paper carves out the visions for the future that have been underlying the research projects conducted within the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) funding programme "The Sustainable Economy". It then analyzes whether these visions are compatible with narratives dominating societal discourse on the sustainable economy, and concludes how the use of visions and narratives in research can contribute to fostering societal transformations. KW - narratives KW - sustainable economy KW - societal impact of research KW - research communication Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/su11216163 SN - 2071-1050 VL - 11 IS - 21 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kotthoff, Lisa A1 - Lisec, Jan A1 - Schwerdtle, Tanja A1 - Koch, Matthias T1 - Prediction of transformation products of monensin by electrochemistry compared to microsomal assay and hydrolysis JF - Molecules N2 - The knowledge of transformation pathways and identification of transformation products (TPs) of veterinary drugs is important for animal health, food, and environmental matters. The active agent Monensin (MON) belongs to the ionophore antibiotics and is widely used as a veterinary drug against coccidiosis in broiler farming. However, no electrochemically (EC) generated TPs of MON have been described so far. In this study, the online coupling of EC and mass spectrometry (MS) was used for the generation of oxidative TPs. EC-conditions were optimized with respect to working electrode material, solvent, modifier, and potential polarity. Subsequent LC/HRMS (liquid chromatography/high resolution mass spectrometry) and MS/MS experiments were performed to identify the structures of derived TPs by a suspected target analysis. The obtained EC-results were compared to TPs observed in metabolism tests with microsomes and hydrolysis experiments of MON. Five previously undescribed TPs of MON were identified in our EC/MS based study and one TP, which was already known from literature and found by a microsomal assay, could be confirmed. Two and three further TPs were found as products in microsomal tests and following hydrolysis, respectively. We found decarboxylation, O-demethylation and acid-catalyzed ring-opening reactions to be the major mechanisms of MON transformation. KW - transformation products KW - monensin KW - veterinary drugs KW - electrochemistry KW - hydrolysis KW - LC/HRMS Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules24152732 SN - 1420-3049 VL - 24 IS - 15 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kayhan Wagner, Ezgi A1 - Meyer, Marlene A1 - O’Reilly, J.X. A1 - Hunnius, Sabine A1 - Bekkering, Harold T1 - Nine-month-old infants update their predictive models of a changing environment JF - Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience : a journal for cognitive, affective and social developmental neuroscience N2 - Humans generate internal models of their environment to predict events in the world. As the environments change, our brains adjust to these changes by updating their internal models. Here, we investigated whether and how 9-month-old infants differentially update their models to represent a dynamic environment. Infants observed a predictable sequence of stimuli, which were interrupted by two types of cues. Following the update cue, the pattern was altered, thus, infants were expected to update their predictions for the upcoming stimuli. Because the pattern remained the same after the no-update cue, no subsequent updating was required. Infants showed an amplified negative central (Nc) response when the predictable sequence was interrupted. Late components such as the PSW were also evoked in response to unexpected stimuli; however, we found no evidence for a differential response to the informational value of surprising cues at later stages of processing. Infants rather learned that surprising cues always signal a change in the environment that requires updating. Interestingly, infants responded with an amplified neural response to the absence of an expected change, suggesting a top-down modulation of early sensory processing in infants. Our findings corroborate emerging evidence showing that infants build predictive models early in life. KW - Internal models KW - Predictive models KW - Predictive processing KW - Development KW - Event-Related potentials Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcn.2019.100680 SN - 1878-9293 SN - 1878-9307 VL - 38 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ciaccio, Laura Anna A1 - Jacob, Gunnar T1 - Native speakers like affixes, L2 speakers like letters? BT - An overt visual priming study investigating the role of orthography in L2 morphological processing JF - PLoS one N2 - In an overt visual priming experiment, we investigate the role of orthography in native (L1) and non-native (L2) processing of German morphologically complex words. We compare priming effects for inflected and derived morphologically related prime-target pairs versus otherwise matched, purely orthographically related pairs. The results show morphological priming effects in both the L1 and L2 group, with no significant difference between inflection and derivation. However, L2 speakers, but not L1 speakers, also showed significant priming for orthographically related pairs. Our results support the claim that L2 speakers focus more on surface-level information such as orthography during visual word recognition. This can cause orthographic priming effects in morphologically related prime-target pairs, which may conceal L1-L2 differences in morphological processing. Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0226482 SN - 1932-6203 VL - 14 IS - 12 PB - PLoS CY - San Fransisco ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Dong, Yanni A1 - Gupta, Saurabh A1 - Sievers, Rixta A1 - Wargent, Jason J. A1 - Wheeler, David A1 - Putterill, Joanna A1 - Macknight, Richard A1 - Gechev, Tsanko S. A1 - Müller-Röber, Bernd A1 - Dijkwel, Paul P. T1 - Genome draft of the Arabidopsis relative Pachycladon cheesemanii reveals environment JF - BMC genomics N2 - BackgroundPachycladon cheesemanii is a close relative of Arabidopsis thaliana and is an allotetraploid perennial herb which is widespread in the South Island of New Zealand. It grows at altitudes of up to 1000m where it is subject to relatively high levels of ultraviolet (UV)-B radiation. To gain first insights into how Pachycladon copes with UV-B stress, we sequenced its genome and compared the UV-B tolerance of two Pachycladon accessions with those of two A. thaliana accessions from different altitudes.ResultsA high-quality draft genome of P. cheesemanii was assembled with a high percentage of conserved single-copy plant orthologs. Synteny analysis with genomes from other species of the Brassicaceae family found a close phylogenetic relationship of P. cheesemanii with Boechera stricta from Brassicaceae lineage I. While UV-B radiation caused a greater growth reduction in the A. thaliana accessions than in the P. cheesemanii accessions, growth was not reduced in one P. cheesemanii accession. The homologues of A. thaliana UV-B radiation response genes were duplicated in P. cheesemanii, and an expression analysis of those genes indicated that the tolerance mechanism in P. cheesemanii appears to differ from that in A. thaliana.ConclusionAlthough the P. cheesemanii genome shows close similarity with that of A. thaliana, it appears to have evolved novel strategies allowing the plant to tolerate relatively high UV-B radiation. KW - Abiotic stress KW - Arabidopsis KW - Genome assembly KW - Pachycladon KW - UV-B tolerance Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1186/s12864-019-6084-4 SN - 1471-2164 VL - 20 IS - 1 PB - BMC CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Naseri, Gita A1 - Behrend, Jessica A1 - Rieper, Lisa A1 - Müller-Röber, Bernd T1 - COMPASS for rapid combinatorial optimization of biochemical pathways based on artificial transcription factors JF - Nature Communications N2 - Balanced expression of multiple genes is central for establishing new biosynthetic pathways or multiprotein cellular complexes. Methods for efficient combinatorial assembly of regulatory sequences (promoters) and protein coding sequences are therefore highly wanted. Here, we report a high-throughput cloning method, called COMPASS for COMbinatorial Pathway ASSembly, for the balanced expression of multiple genes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. COMPASS employs orthogonal, plant-derived artificial transcription factors (ATFs) and homologous recombination-based cloning for the generation of thousands of individual DNA constructs in parallel. The method relies on a positive selection of correctly assembled pathway variants from both, in vivo and in vitro cloning procedures. To decrease the turnaround time in genomic engineering, COMPASS is equipped with multi-locus CRISPR/Cas9-mediated modification capacity. We demonstrate the application of COMPASS by generating cell libraries producing n-carotene and co-producing p-ionone and biosensor-responsive naringenin. COMPASS will have many applications in synthetic biology projects that require gene expression balancing. Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-10224-x SN - 2041-1723 VL - 10 PB - Nature Publ. Group CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kluth, Oliver A1 - Stadion, Mandy A1 - Gottmann, Pascal A1 - Aga-Barfknecht, Heja A1 - Jähnert, Markus A1 - Scherneck, Stephan A1 - Vogel, Heike A1 - Krus, Ulrika A1 - Seelig, Anett A1 - Ling, Charlotte A1 - Gerdes, Jantje A1 - Schürmann, Annette T1 - Decreased expression of cilia genes in pancreatic islets as a risk factor for type 2 diabetes in mice and humans JF - Cell reports N2 - An insufficient adaptive beta-cell compensation is a hallmark of type 2 diabetes (T2D). Primary cilia function as versatile sensory antennae regulating various cellular processes, but their role on compensatory beta-cell replication has not been examined. Here, we identify a significant enrichment of downregulated, cilia-annotated genes in pancreatic islets of diabetes-prone NZO mice as compared with diabetes-resistant B6-ob/ob mice. Among 327 differentially expressed mouse cilia genes, 81 human orthologs are also affected in islets of diabetic donors. Islets of nondiabetic mice and humans show a substantial overlap of upregulated cilia genes that are linked to cell-cycle progression. The shRNA-mediated suppression of KIF3A, essential for ciliogenesis, impairs division of MINE beta cells as well as in dispersed primary mouse and human islet cells, as shown by decreased BrdU incorporation. These findings demonstrate the substantial role of cilia-gene regulation on islet function and T2D risk. Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2019.02.056 SN - 2211-1247 VL - 26 IS - 11 SP - 3027 EP - 3036 PB - Cell Press CY - Maryland Heights ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Decker, Régis A1 - Born, Artur A1 - Büchner, Robby A1 - Ruotsalainen, Kari A1 - Stråhlman, Christian A1 - Neppl, Stefan A1 - Haverkamp, Robert A1 - Pietzsch, Annette A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander T1 - Measuring the atomic spin-flip scattering rate by x-ray emission spectroscopy JF - Scientific reports N2 - While extensive work has been dedicated to the measurement of the demagnetization time following an ultra-short laser pulse, experimental studies of its underlying microscopic mechanisms are still scarce. In transition metal ferromagnets, one of the main mechanism is the spin-flip of conduction electrons driven by electron-phonon scattering. Here, we present an original experimental method to monitor the electron-phonon mediated spin-flip scattering rate in nickel through the stringent atomic symmetry selection rules of x-ray emission spectroscopy. Increasing the phonon population leads to a waning of the 3d -> 2p(3/2) decay peak intensity, which reflects an increase of the angular momentum transfer scattering rate attributed to spin-flip. We find a spin relaxation time scale in the order of 50 fs in the 3d-band of nickel at room temperature, while consistantly, no such peak evolution is observed for the diamagnetic counterexample copper, using the same method. Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-45242-8 SN - 2045-2322 VL - 9 PB - Nature Publ. Group CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Loibl, David A1 - Bookhagen, Bodo A1 - Valade, Sebastien A1 - Schneider, Christoph T1 - OSARIS, the "Open Source SAR Investigation System" for Automatized Parallel InSAR Processing of Sentinel-1 Time Series Data With Special Emphasis on Cryosphere Applications JF - Frontiers in Earth Science N2 - With the advent of the two Sentinel-1 (S1) satellites, Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data with high temporal and spatial resolution are freely available. This provides a promising framework to facilitate detailed investigations of surface instabilities and movements on large scales with high temporal resolution, but also poses substantial processing challenges because of storage and computation requirements. Methods are needed to efficiently detect short term changes in dynamic environments. Approaches considering pair-wise processing of a series of consecutive scenes to retain maximum temporal resolution in conjunction with time series analyses are required. Here we present OSARIS, the “Open Source SAR Investigation System,” as a framework to process large stacks of S1 data on high-performance computing clusters. Based on Generic Mapping Tools SAR, shell scripts, and the workload manager Slurm, OSARIS provides an open and modular framework combining parallelization of high-performance C programs, flexible processing schemes, convenient configuration, and generation of geocoded stacks of analysis-ready base data, including amplitude, phase, coherence, and unwrapped interferograms. Time series analyses can be conducted by applying automated modules to the data stacks. The capabilities of OSARIS are demonstrated in a case study from the northwestern Tien Shan, Central Asia. After merging of slices, a total of 80 scene pairs were processed from 174 total input scenes. The coherence time series exhibits pronounced seasonal variability, with relatively high coherence values prevailing during the summer months in the nival zone. As an example of a time series analysis module, we present OSARIS' “Unstable Coherence Metric” which identifies pixels affected by significant drops from high to low coherence values. Measurements of motion provided by LOSD measurements require careful evaluation because interferometric phase unwrapping is prone to errors. Here, OSARIS provides a series of modules to detect and mask unwrapping errors, correct for atmospheric disturbances, and remove large-scale trends. Wall clock processing time for the case study (area ~9,000 km2) was ~12 h 4 min on a machine with 400 cores and 2 TB RAM. In total, ~12 d 10 h 44 min (~96%) were saved through parallelization. A comparison of selected OSARIS datasets to results from two state-of-the-art SAR processing suites, ISCE and SNAP, shows that OSARIS provides products of competitive quality despite its high level of automatization. OSARIS thus facilitates efficient S1-based region-wide investigations of surface movement events over multiple years. KW - remote sensing KW - InSAR KW - high mountain environments KW - rock glacier KW - sentinel-1 KW - time series analysis Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2019.00172 SN - 2296-6463 VL - 7 PB - Frontiers Media CY - Lausanne ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Dalleau, Mayeul A1 - Kramer-Schadt, Stephanie A1 - Gangat, Yassine A1 - Bourjea, Jerome A1 - Lajoie, Gilles A1 - Grimm, Volker T1 - Modeling the emergence of migratory corridors and foraging hot spots of the green sea turtle JF - Ecology and evolution N2 - Environmental factors shape the spatial distribution and dynamics of populations. Understanding how these factors interact with movement behavior is critical for efficient conservation, in particular for migratory species. Adult female green sea turtles, Chelonia mydas, migrate between foraging and nesting sites that are generally separated by thousands of kilometers. As an emblematic endangered species, green turtles have been intensively studied, with a focus on nesting, migration, and foraging. Nevertheless, few attempts integrated these behaviors and their trade‐offs by considering the spatial configurations of foraging and nesting grounds as well as environmental heterogeneity like oceanic currents and food distribution. We developed an individual‐based model to investigate the impact of local environmental conditions on emerging migratory corridors and reproductive output and to thereby identify conservation priority sites. The model integrates movement, nesting, and foraging behavior. Despite being largely conceptual, the model captured realistic movement patterns which confirm field studies. The spatial distribution of migratory corridors and foraging hot spots was mostly constrained by features of the regional landscape, such as nesting site locations, distribution of feeding patches, and oceanic currents. These constraints also explained the mixing patterns in regional forager communities. By implementing alternative decision strategies of the turtles, we found that foraging site fidelity and nesting investment, two characteristics of green turtles' biology, are favorable strategies under unpredictable environmental conditions affecting their habitats. Based on our results, we propose specific guidelines for the regional conservation of green turtles as well as future research suggestions advancing spatial ecology of sea turtles. Being implemented in an easy to learn open‐source software, our model can coevolve with the collection and analysis of new data on energy budget and movement into a generic tool for sea turtle research and conservation. Our modeling approach could also be useful for supporting the conservation of other migratory marine animals. KW - connectivity KW - corridors KW - individual-based model KW - migration KW - movement KW - sea turtle Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.5552 SN - 2045-7758 VL - 9 IS - 18 SP - 10317 EP - 10342 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Cheng, Xiao A1 - Böker, Alexander A1 - Tsarkova, Larisa T1 - Temperature-Controlled Solvent Vapor Annealing of Thin Block Copolymer Films JF - Polymers N2 - Solvent vapor annealing is as an effective and versatile alternative to thermal annealing to equilibrate and control the assembly of polymer chains in thin films. Here, we present scientific and practical aspects of the solvent vapor annealing method, including the discussion of such factors as non-equilibrium conformational states and chain dynamics in thin films in the presence of solvent. Homopolymer and block copolymer films have been used in model studies to evaluate the robustness and the reproducibility of the solvent vapor processing, as well as to assess polymer-solvent interactions under confinement. Advantages of utilizing a well-controlled solvent vapor environment, including practically interesting regimes of weakly saturated vapor leading to poorly swollen states, are discussed. Special focus is given to dual temperature control over the set-up instrumentation and to the potential of solvo-thermal annealing. The evaluated insights into annealing dynamics derived from the studies on block copolymer films can be applied to improve the processing of thin films of crystalline and conjugated polymers as well as polymer composite in confined geometries. KW - solvent vapor annealing KW - block copolymer films KW - ellipsometry KW - guided self assembly Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/polym11081312 SN - 2073-4360 VL - 11 IS - 8 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Reinicke, Stefan A1 - Fischer, Thilo A1 - Bramski, Julia A1 - Pietruszka, Jörg A1 - Böker, Alexander T1 - Biocatalytically active microgels by precipitation polymerization of N-isopropyl acrylamide in the presence of an enzyme JF - RSC Advances N2 - We present a novel protocol for the synthesis of enzymatically active microgels. The protocol is based on the precipitation polymerization of N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAm) in the presence of an enzyme and a protein binding comonomer. A basic investigation on the influence of different reaction parameters such as monomer concentration and reaction temperature on the microgel size and size distribution is performed and immobilization yields are determined. Microgels exhibiting hydrodynamic diameters between 100 nm and 1 mu m and narrow size distribution could be synthesized while about 31-44% of the enzyme present in the initial reaction mixture can be immobilized. Successful immobilization including a verification of enzymatic activity of the microgels is achieved for glucose oxidase (GOx) and 2-deoxy-d-ribose-5-phosphate aldolase (DERA). The thermoresponsive properties of the microgels are assessed and discussed in the light of activity evolution with temperature. The positive correlation of enzymatic activity with temperature for the GOx containing microgel originates from a direct interaction of the enzyme with the PNIPAm based polymer matrix whose magnitude is highly influenced by temperature. Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1039/c9ra04000e SN - 2046-2069 VL - 9 IS - 49 SP - 28377 EP - 28386 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry CY - Cambridge ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Naolou, Toufik A1 - Lendlein, Andreas A1 - Neffe, Axel T. T1 - Amides as non-polymerizable catalytic adjuncts enable the ring-opening polymerization of lactide with ferrous acetate under mild conditions JF - Frontiers in Chemistry N2 - Sn-based catalysts are effective in the ring-opening polymerization (ROP) but are toxic. Fe(OAc)(2) used as an alternative catalyst is suitable for the ROP of lactide only at higher temperatures (>170 degrees C), associated with racemization. In the ROP of ester and amide group containing morpholinediones with Fe(OAc)(2) to polydepsipeptides at 135 degrees C, ester bonds were selectively opened. Here, it was hypothesized that ROP of lactones is possible with Fe(OAc)(2) when amides are present in the reactions mixture as Fe-ligands could increase the solubility and activity of the metal catalytic center. The ROP of lactide in the melt with Fe(OAc)(2) is possible at temperatures as low as 105 degrees C, in the presence of N-ethylacetamide or N-rnethylbenzamide as non-polymerizable catalytic adjuncts (NPCA), with high conversion (up to 99 mol%) and yield (up to 88 mol%). Polydispersities of polylactide decreased with decreasing reaction temperature to <= 1.1. NMR as well as polarimetric studies showed that no racemization occurred at reaction temperatures <= 145 degrees C. A kinetic study demonstrated a living chain-growth mechanism. MALDI analysis revealed that no side reactions (e.g., cyclization) occurred, though transesterification took place. KW - ring-opening polymerization KW - polyester KW - catalyst KW - iron KW - amide ligand Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fchem.2019.00346 SN - 2296-2646 VL - 7 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Lehmann, Frederike A1 - Franz, Alexandra A1 - Toebbens, Daniel M. A1 - Levcenco, Sergej A1 - Unold, Thomas A1 - Taubert, Andreas A1 - Schorr, Susan T1 - The phase diagram of a mixed halide (Br, I) hybrid perovskite obtained by synchrotron X-ray diffraction JF - RSC Advances N2 - By using synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction, the temperature dependent phase diagram of the hybrid perovskite tri-halide compounds, methyl ammonium lead iodide (MAPbI3, MA+ = CH3NH3+) and methyl ammonium lead bromide (MAPbBr3), as well as of their solid solutions, has been established. The existence of a large miscibility gap between 0.29 ≤ x ≤ 0.92 (±0.02) for the MAPb(I1−xBrx)3 solid solution has been proven. A systematic study of the lattice parameters for the solid solution series at room temperature revealed distinct deviations from Vegard's law. Furthermore, temperature dependent measurements showed that a strong temperature dependency of lattice parameters from the composition is present for iodine rich compositions. In contrast, the bromine rich compositions show an unusually low dependency of the phase transition temperature from the degree of substitution. Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1039/c8ra09398a SN - 2046-2069 VL - 9 IS - 20 SP - 11151 EP - 11159 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry CY - Cambridge ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Breternitz, Joachim A1 - Lehmann, Frederike A1 - Barnett, Sarah A. A1 - Nowell, Harriott A1 - Schorr, Susan T1 - Zur Rolle der Iodid-Methylammonium-Interaktion in der Ferroelektrizität in CH3NH3PbI3 JF - Angewandte Chemie N2 - Ihre außergewöhnlich hohen Konversionseffizienzen von über 20 % und die einfache Zellherstellung machen Hybridperowskite zu heißen Kandidaten für alternative Solarzellenmaterialien. CH3NH3PbI3 als Archetyp dieser Materialklasse besitzt außergewöhnliche Eigenschaften wie eine sehr effiziente Umwandlung von Solarenergie, wobei besonders Ferroelektrizität als mögliche Erklärung in den Fokus gerückt ist. Diese erfordert allerdings eine nicht-zentrosymmetrische Kristallstruktur als notwendige Voraussetzung. Wir stellen hier eine Erklärung des Symmetriebruchs in diesem Material auf kristallographischem, d. h. fernordnungs-basiertem, Wege vor. Während das Molekülkation CH3NH3+ intrinsisch polar ist, ist es extrem fehlgeordnet und kann deshalb nicht die einzige Erklärung darstellen. Es verzerrt allerdings das umgebende Kristallgitter und ruft dadurch eine Verschiebung der Iod-Atome von den zentrosymmetrischen Positionen hervor. KW - ferroelectricity KW - hybrid perovskites KW - inorganic chemistry KW - photovoltaic materials KW - structure elucidation Y1 - 2019 VL - 132 IS - 1 PB - John Wiley & Sons, Inc. CY - New Jersey ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Breternitz, Joachim A1 - Lehmann, Frederike A1 - Barnett, Sarah A. A1 - Nowell, Harriott A1 - Schorr, Susan T1 - Role of the Iodide-methylammonium interaction in the ferroelectricity of CH3NH3PbI3 JF - Angewandte Chemie - international edition N2 - Excellent conversion efficiencies of over 20% and facile cell production have placed hybrid perovskites at the forefront of novel solar cell materials, with CH3NH3PbI3 being an archetypal compound. The question why CH3NH3PbI3 has such extraordinary characteristics, particularly a very efficient power conversion from absorbed light to electrical power, is hotly debated, with ferroelectricity being a promising candidate. This does, however, require the crystal structure to be non-centrosymmetric and we herein present crystallographic evidence as to how the symmetry breaking occurs on a crystallographic and, therefore, long-range level. Although the molecular cation CH3NH3+ is intrinsically polar, it is heavily disordered and this cannot be the sole reason for the ferroelectricity. We show that it, nonetheless, plays an important role, as it distorts the neighboring iodide positions from their centrosymmetric positions. Y1 - 2019 VL - 59 IS - 1 PB - John Wiley & Sons, Inc. CY - New Jersey ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Lozada Gobilard, Sissi Donna A1 - Stang, Susanne A1 - Pirhofer-Walzl, Karin A1 - Kalettka, Thomas A1 - Heinken, Thilo A1 - Schröder, Boris A1 - Eccard, Jana A1 - Joshi, Jasmin Radha T1 - Environmental filtering predicts plant-community trait distribution and diversity BT - Kettle holes as models of meta-community systems JF - Ecology and evolution N2 - Meta-communities of habitat islands may be essential to maintain biodiversity in anthropogenic landscapes allowing rescue effects in local habitat patches. To understand the species-assembly mechanisms and dynamics of such ecosystems, it is important to test how local plant-community diversity and composition is affected by spatial isolation and hence by dispersal limitation and local environmental conditions acting as filters for local species sorting.We used a system of 46 small wetlands (kettle holes)natural small-scale freshwater habitats rarely considered in nature conservation policiesembedded in an intensively managed agricultural matrix in northern Germany. We compared two types of kettle holes with distinct topographies (flat-sloped, ephemeral, frequently plowed kettle holes vs. steep-sloped, more permanent ones) and determined 254 vascular plant species within these ecosystems, as well as plant functional traits and nearest neighbor distances to other kettle holes.Differences in alpha and beta diversity between steep permanent compared with ephemeral flat kettle holes were mainly explained by species sorting and niche processes and mass effect processes in ephemeral flat kettle holes. The plant-community composition as well as the community trait distribution in terms of life span, breeding system, dispersal ability, and longevity of seed banks significantly differed between the two habitat types. Flat ephemeral kettle holes held a higher percentage of non-perennial plants with a more persistent seed bank, less obligate outbreeders and more species with seed dispersal abilities via animal vectors compared with steep-sloped, more permanent kettle holes that had a higher percentage of wind-dispersed species. In the flat kettle holes, plant-species richness was negatively correlated with the degree of isolation, whereas no such pattern was found for the permanent kettle holes.Synthesis: Environment acts as filter shaping plant diversity (alpha and beta) and plant-community trait distribution between steep permanent compared with ephemeral flat kettle holes supporting species sorting and niche mechanisms as expected, but we identified a mass effect in ephemeral kettle holes only. Flat ephemeral kettle holes can be regarded as meta-ecosystems that strongly depend on seed dispersal and recruitment from a seed bank, whereas neighboring permanent kettle holes have a more stable local species diversity. KW - biodiversity KW - dispersal KW - disturbance KW - landscape diversity KW - life-history traits KW - plant diversity KW - seed bank KW - species assembly KW - wetland vegetation Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.4883 SN - 2045-7758 VL - 9 IS - 4 SP - 1898 EP - 1910 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Taubert, Andreas A1 - Leroux, Fabrice A1 - Rabu, Pierre A1 - de Zea Bermudez, Veronica T1 - Advanced hybrid nanomaterials JF - Beilstein journal of nanotechnology KW - colloidal chemistry KW - environmental remediation KW - hybrid nanomaterials KW - nanocomposite KW - nanofillers KW - nanomedicine KW - nanostructures KW - polymer fillers KW - pore templating KW - smart materials Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3762/bjnano.10.247 SN - 2190-4286 VL - 10 SP - 2563 EP - 2567 PB - Beilstein-Institut zur Förderung der Chemischen Wissenschaften CY - Frankfurt am Main ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Raatz, Larissa A1 - Bacchi, Nina A1 - Walzl, Karin Pirhofer A1 - Glemnitz, Michael A1 - Müller, Marina E. H. A1 - Jasmin Radha, Jasmin A1 - Scherber, Christoph T1 - How much do we really lose? BT - yield losses in the proximity of natural landscape elements in agricultural landscapes JF - Ecology and evolution N2 - Natural landscape elements (NLEs) in agricultural landscapes contribute to biodiversity and ecosystem services, but are also regarded as an obstacle for large-scale agricultural production. However, the effects of NLEs on crop yield have rarely been measured. Here, we investigated how different bordering structures, such as agricultural roads, field-to-field borders, forests, hedgerows, and kettle holes, influence agricultural yields. We hypothesized that (a) yield values at field borders differ from mid-field yields and that (b) the extent of this change in yields depends on the bordering structure. We measured winter wheat yields along transects with log-scaled distances from the border into the agricultural field within two intensively managed agricultural landscapes in Germany (2014 near Gottingen, and 2015-2017 in the Uckermark). We observed a yield loss adjacent to every investigated bordering structure of 11%-38% in comparison with mid-field yields. However, depending on the bordering structure, this yield loss disappeared at different distances. While the proximity of kettle holes did not affect yields more than neighboring agricultural fields, woody landscape elements had strong effects on winter wheat yields. Notably, 95% of mid-field yields could already be reached at a distance of 11.3 m from a kettle hole and at a distance of 17.8 m from hedgerows as well as forest borders. Our findings suggest that yield losses are especially relevant directly adjacent to woody landscape elements, but not adjacent to in-field water bodies. This highlights the potential to simultaneously counteract yield losses close to the field border and enhance biodiversity by combining different NLEs in agricultural landscapes such as creating strips of extensive grassland vegetation between woody landscape elements and agricultural fields. In conclusion, our results can be used to quantify ecocompensations to find optimal solutions for the delivery of productive and regulative ecosystem services in heterogeneous agricultural landscapes. KW - crop production KW - ecosystem services KW - edge effect KW - land sharing vs KW - land sparing KW - natural habitats KW - winter wheat Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.5370 SN - 2045-7758 VL - 9 IS - 13 SP - 7838 EP - 7848 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Mikolaj, Michal A1 - Güntner, Andreas A1 - Brunini, Claudio A1 - Wziontek, Hartmut A1 - Gende, Mauricio A1 - Schröder, Stephan A1 - Cassino, Augusto M. A1 - Pasquare, Alfredo A1 - Reich, Marvin A1 - Hartmann, Anne A1 - Oreiro, Fernando Ariel A1 - Pendiuk, Jonathan A1 - Guarracino, Luis A1 - Antokoletz, Ezequiel D. T1 - Hydrometeorological and gravity signals at the Argentine-German Geodetic Observatory (AGGO) in La Plata JF - Earth system science data N2 - The Argentine-German Geodetic Observatory (AGGO) is one of the very few sites in the Southern Hemisphere equipped with comprehensive cutting-edge geodetic instrumentation. The employed observation techniques are used for a wide range of geophysical applications. The data set provides gravity time series and selected gravity models together with the hydrometeorological monitoring data of the observatory. These parameters are of great interest to the scientific community, e.g. for achieving accurate realization of terrestrial and celestial reference frames. Moreover, the availability of the hydrometeorological products is beneficial to inhabitants of the region as they allow for monitoring of environmental changes and natural hazards including extreme events. The hydrological data set is composed of time series of groundwater level, modelled and observed soil moisture content, soil temperature, and physical soil properties and aquifer properties. The meteorological time series include air temperature, humidity, pressure, wind speed, solar radiation, precipitation, and derived reference evapotranspiration. These data products are extended by gravity models of hydrological, oceanic, La Plata estuary, and atmospheric effects. The quality of the provided meteorological time series is tested via comparison to the two closest WMO (World Meteorological Organization) sites where data are available only in an inferior temporal resolution. The hydrological series are validated by comparing the respective forward-modelled gravity effects to independent gravity observations reduced up to a signal corresponding to local water storage variation. Most of the time series cover the time span between April 2016 and November 2018 with either no or only few missing data points. The data set is available at https://doi.org/10.588/GFZ.5.4.2018.001 (Mikolaj et al., 2018). Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-11-1501-2019 SN - 1866-3508 SN - 1866-3516 VL - 11 IS - 4 SP - 1501 EP - 1513 PB - Copernicus CY - Göttingen ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Solger, Franziska A1 - Kunz, Tobias C. A1 - Fink, Julian A1 - Paprotka, Kerstin A1 - Pfister, Pauline A1 - Hagen, Franziska A1 - Schumacher, Fabian A1 - Kleuser, Burkhard A1 - Seibel, Jürgen A1 - Rudel, Thomas T1 - A role of sphingosine in the intracellular survival of Neisseria gonorrhoeae JF - Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology N2 - Obligate human pathogenic Neisseria gonorrhoeae are the second most frequent bacterial cause of sexually transmitted diseases. These bacteria invade different mucosal tissues and occasionally disseminate into the bloodstream. Invasion into epithelial cells requires the activation of host cell receptors by the formation of ceramide-rich platforms. Here, we investigated the role of sphingosine in the invasion and intracellular survival of gonococci. Sphingosine exhibited an anti-gonococcal activity in vitro. We used specific sphingosine analogs and click chemistry to visualize sphingosine in infected cells. Sphingosine localized to the membrane of intracellular gonococci. Inhibitor studies and the application of a sphingosine derivative indicated that increased sphingosine levels reduced the intracellular survival of gonococci. We demonstrate here, that sphingosine can target intracellular bacteria and may therefore exert a direct bactericidal effect inside cells. KW - Neisseria gonorrhoeae KW - sphingosine KW - sphingolipids KW - sphingosine kinases KW - invasion KW - survival KW - click chemistry Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fcimb.2020.00215 SN - 2235-2988 VL - 10 PB - Frontiers Media CY - Lausanne ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Derakhshani, Shaghayegh A1 - Kurz, Andreas A1 - Japtok, Lukasz A1 - Schumacher, Fabian A1 - Pilgram, Lisa A1 - Steinke, Maria A1 - Kleuser, Burkhard A1 - Sauer, Markus A1 - Schneider-Schaulies, Sibylle A1 - Avota, Elita T1 - Measles Virus Infection Fosters Dendritic Cell Motility in a 3D Environment to Enhance Transmission to Target Cells in the Respiratory Epithelium JF - Frontiers in immunology N2 - Transmission of measles virus (MV) from dendritic to airway epithelial cells is considered as crucial to viral spread late in infection. Therefore, pathways and effectors governing this process are promising targets for intervention. To identify these, we established a 3D respiratory tract model where MV transmission by infected dendritic cells (DCs) relied on the presence of nectin-4 on H358 lung epithelial cells. Access to recipient cells is an important prerequisite for transmission, and we therefore analyzed migration of MV-exposed DC cultures within the model. Surprisingly, enhanced motility toward the epithelial layer was observed for MV-infected DCs as compared to their uninfected siblings. This occurred independently of factors released from H358 cells indicating that MV infection triggered cytoskeletal remodeling associated with DC polarization enforced velocity. Accordingly, the latter was also observed for MV-infected DCs in collagen matrices and was particularly sensitive to ROCK inhibition indicating infected DCs preferentially employed the amoeboid migration mode. This was also implicated by loss of podosomes and reduced filopodial activity both of which were retained in MV-exposed uninfected DCs. Evidently, sphingosine kinase (SphK) and sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) as produced in response to virus-infection in DCs contributed to enhanced velocity because this was abrogated upon inhibition of sphingosine kinase activity. These findings indicate that MV infection promotes a push-and-squeeze fast amoeboid migration mode via the SphK/S1P system characterized by loss of filopodia and podosome dissolution. Consequently, this enables rapid trafficking of virus toward epithelial cells during viral exit. KW - dendritic cell KW - cell migration KW - measles virus KW - 3D tissue model KW - sphingosine-1-phosphate Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2019.01294 SN - 1664-3224 VL - 10 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Eiteljoerge, Sarah F. V. A1 - Adam, Maurits A1 - Elsner, Birgit A1 - Mani, Nivedita T1 - Word-object and action-object association learning across early development JF - PLoS one N2 - Successful communication often involves comprehension of both spoken language and observed actions with and without objects. Even very young infants can learn associations between actions and objects as well as between words and objects. However, in daily life, children are usually confronted with both kinds of input simultaneously. Choosing the critical information to attend to in such situations might help children structure the input, and thereby, allow for successful learning. In the current study, we therefore, investigated the developmental time course of children’s and adults’ word and action learning when given the opportunity to learn both word-object and action-object associations for the same object. All participants went through a learning phase and a test phase. In the learning phase, they were presented with two novel objects which were associated with a distinct novel name (e.g., “Look, a Tanu”) and a distinct novel action (e.g., moving up and down while tilting sideways). In the test phase, participants were presented with both objects on screen in a baseline phase, then either heard one of the two labels or saw one of the two actions in a prime phase, and then saw the two objects again on screen in a recognition phase. Throughout the trial, participants’ target looking was recorded to investigate whether participants looked at the target object upon hearing its label or seeing its action, and thus, would show learning of the word-object and action-object associations. Growth curve analyses revealed that 12-month-olds showed modest learning of action-object associations, 36-month-olds learned word-object associations, and adults learned word-object and action-object associations. These results highlight how children attend to the different information types from the two modalities through which communication is addressed to them. Over time, with increased exposure to systematic word-object mappings, children attend less to action-object mappings, with the latter potentially being mediated by word-object learning even in adulthood. Thus, choosing between different kinds of input that may be more relevant in their rich environment encompassing different modalities might help learning at different points in development. Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0220317 SN - 1932-6203 VL - 14 IS - 8 PB - PLoS CY - San Fransisco ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Eiteljoerge, Sarah Fe Vivian A1 - Adam, Maurits A1 - Elsner, Birgit A1 - Mani, Nivedita T1 - Consistency of co-occurring actions influences young children’s word learning learning JF - Royal Society Open Science N2 - Communication with young children is often multimodal in nature, involving, for example, language and actions. The simultaneous presentation of information from both domains may boost language learning by highlighting the connection between an object and a word, owing to temporal overlap in the presentation of multimodal input. However, the overlap is not merely temporal but can also covary in the extent to which particular actions co-occur with particular words and objects, e.g. carers typically produce a hopping action when talking about rabbits and a snapping action for crocodiles. The frequency with which actions and words co-occurs in the presence of the referents of these words may also impact young children’s word learning. We, therefore, examined the extent to which consistency in the co-occurrence of particular actions and words impacted children’s learning of novel word–object associations. Children (18 months, 30 months and 36–48 months) and adults were presented with two novel objects and heard their novel labels while different actions were performed on these objects, such that the particular actions and word–object pairings always co-occurred (Consistent group) or varied across trials (Inconsistent group). At test, participants saw both objects and heard one of the labels to examine whether participants recognized the target object upon hearing its label. Growth curve models revealed that 18-month-olds did not learn words for objects in either condition, and 30-month-old and 36- to 48-month-old children learned words for objects only in the Consistent condition, in contrast to adults who learned words for objects independent of the actions presented. Thus, consistency in the multimodal input influenced word learning in early childhood but not in adulthood. In terms of a dynamic systems account of word learning, our study shows how multimodal learning settings interact with the child’s perceptual abilities to shape the learning experience. KW - word learning KW - actions KW - consistency KW - variability KW - cross-domain influences Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.190097 SN - 2054-5703 VL - 6 IS - 8 PB - Royal Society CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Seroussi, Helene A1 - Nowicki, Sophie A1 - Simon, Erika A1 - Abe-Ouchi, Ayako A1 - Albrecht, Torsten A1 - Brondex, Julien A1 - Cornford, Stephen A1 - Dumas, Christophe A1 - Gillet-Chaulet, Fabien A1 - Goelzer, Heiko A1 - Golledge, Nicholas R. A1 - Gregory, Jonathan M. A1 - Greve, Ralf A1 - Hoffman, Matthew J. A1 - Humbert, Angelika A1 - Huybrechts, Philippe A1 - Kleiner, Thomas A1 - Larourl, Eric A1 - Leguy, Gunter A1 - Lipscomb, William H. A1 - Lowry, Daniel A1 - Mengel, Matthias A1 - Morlighem, Mathieu A1 - Pattyn, Frank A1 - Payne, Anthony J. A1 - Pollard, David A1 - Price, Stephen F. A1 - Quiquet, Aurelien A1 - Reerink, Thomas J. A1 - Reese, Ronja A1 - Rodehacke, Christian B. A1 - Schlegel, Nicole-Jeanne A1 - Shepherd, Andrew A1 - Sun, Sainan A1 - Sutter, Johannes A1 - Van Breedam, Jonas A1 - van de Wal, Roderik S. W. A1 - Winkelmann, Ricarda A1 - Zhang, Tong T1 - initMIP-Antarctica BT - an ice sheet model initialization experiment of ISMIP6 JF - The Cryosphere : TC ; an interactive open access journal of the European Geosciences Union N2 - Ice sheet numerical modeling is an important tool to estimate the dynamic contribution of the Antarctic ice sheet to sea level rise over the coming centuries. The influence of initial conditions on ice sheet model simulations, however, is still unclear. To better understand this influence, an initial state intercomparison exercise (initMIP) has been developed to compare, evaluate, and improve initialization procedures and estimate their impact on century-scale simulations. initMlP is the first set of experiments of the Ice Sheet Model Intercomparison Project for CMIP6 (ISMIP6), which is the primary Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) activity focusing on the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets. Following initMlP-Greenland, initMlP-Antarctica has been designed to explore uncertainties associated with model initialization and spin-up and to evaluate the impact of changes in external forcings. Starting from the state of the Antarctic ice sheet at the end of the initialization procedure, three forward experiments are each run for 100 years: a control run, a run with a surface mass balance anomaly, and a run with a basal melting anomaly beneath floating ice. This study presents the results of initMlP-Antarctica from 25 simulations performed by 16 international modeling groups. The submitted results use different initial conditions and initialization methods, as well as ice flow model parameters and reference external forcings. We find a good agreement among model responses to the surface mass balance anomaly but large variations in responses to the basal melting anomaly. These variations can be attributed to differences in the extent of ice shelves and their upstream tributaries, the numerical treatment of grounding line, and the initial ocean conditions applied, suggesting that ongoing efforts to better represent ice shelves in continental-scale models should continue. Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-1441-2019 SN - 1994-0416 SN - 1994-0424 VL - 13 IS - 5 SP - 1441 EP - 1471 PB - Copernicus CY - Göttingen ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Dietrich, Julia A1 - Lazarides, Rebecca T1 - Gendered development of motivational belief patterns in mathematics across a school year and career plans in math-related fields JF - Frontiers in psychology N2 - Rooted in Eccles and colleagues' expectancy-value theory, this study aimed to examine how expectancies and different facets of task value combine to diverse profiles of motivational beliefs, how such complex profiles develop across a school year, and how they relate to gender and career plans. Despite abundant research on the association between gender and motivational beliefs, there is a paucity of knowledge regarding the gendered development of student motivational belief profiles in specific domains. Using latent-transition analysis in a sample of N = 751 ninth to tenth graders (55.9% girls), we investigated girls' and boys' development of motivational belief profiles (profile paths) in mathematics across a school year. We further analyzed the association between these profile paths and math-related career plans. The results revealed four motivational belief profiles: high motivation (intrinsic and attainment oriented), balanced above average motivation, average motivation (attainment and cost oriented), and low motivation (cost oriented). Girls were less likely than expected by chance to remain in the high motivation profile, while the opposite was true for boys. The math-relatedness of students' career plans was significantly higher in the "stable high motivation" profile path than in all other stable profile paths. KW - motivation in mathematics KW - latent transition analysis/latent profile analysis KW - expectancy-value theory KW - heterogeneity KW - adolescence Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01472 SN - 1664-1078 VL - 10 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Fairey, Brenton J. A1 - Timmerman, Martin Jan A1 - Sudo, Masafumi A1 - Tsikos, Harilaos T1 - The role of hydrothermal activity in the formation of Karst-hosted manganese deposits of the Postmasburg Mn Field, Northern Cape Province, South Africa JF - Minerals N2 - The Postmasburg Manganese Field (PMF), Northern Cape Province, South Africa, once represented one of the largest sources of manganese ore worldwide. Two belts of manganese ore deposits have been distinguished in the PMF, namely the Western Belt of ferruginous manganese ores and the Eastern Belt of siliceous manganese ores. Prevailing models of ore formation in these two belts invoke karstification of manganese-rich dolomites and residual accumulation of manganese wad which later underwent diagenetic and low-grade metamorphic processes. For the most part, the role of hydrothermal processes and metasomatic alteration towards ore formation has not been adequately discussed. Here we report an abundance of common and some rare Al-, Na-, K- and Ba-bearing minerals, particularly aegirine, albite, microcline, banalsite, serandite-pectolite, paragonite and natrolite in Mn ores of the PMF, indicative of hydrothermal influence. Enrichments in Na, K and/or Ba in the ores are generally on a percentage level for most samples analysed through bulk-rock techniques. The presence of As-rich tokyoite also suggests the presence of As and V in the hydrothermal fluid. The fluid was likely oxidized and alkaline in nature, akin to a mature basinal brine. Various replacement textures, particularly of Na- and K- rich minerals by Ba-bearing phases, suggest sequential deposition of gangue as well as ore-minerals from the hydrothermal fluid, with Ba phases being deposited at a later stage. The stratigraphic variability of the studied ores and their deviation from the strict classification of ferruginous and siliceous ores in the literature, suggests that a re-evaluation of genetic models is warranted. New Ar-Ar ages for K-feldspars suggest a late Neoproterozoic timing for hydrothermal activity. This corroborates previous geochronological evidence for regional hydrothermal activity that affected Mn ores at the PMF but also, possibly, the high-grade Mn ores of the Kalahari Manganese Field to the north. A revised, all-encompassing model for the development of the manganese deposits of the PMF is then proposed, whereby the source of metals is attributed to underlying carbonate rocks beyond the Reivilo Formation of the Campbellrand Subgroup. The main process by which metals are primarily accumulated is attributed to karstification of the dolomitic substrate. The overlying Asbestos Hills Subgroup banded iron formation (BIF) is suggested as a potential source of alkali metals, which also provides a mechanism for leaching of these BIFs to form high-grade residual iron ore deposits. KW - manganese ore KW - Postmasburg manganese field KW - hydrothermal KW - karst KW - South Africa Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/min9070408 SN - 2075-163X VL - 9 IS - 7 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Meiners, Jana A1 - Palmieri, Vittoria A1 - Klopfleisch, Robert A1 - Ebel, Jana-Fabienne A1 - Japtok, Lukasz A1 - Schumacher, Fabian A1 - Yusuf, Ayan Mohamud A1 - Becker, Katrin Anne A1 - Zöller, Julia A1 - Hose, Matthias A1 - Kleuser, Burkhard A1 - Hermann, Dirk Matthias A1 - Kolesnick, Richard N. A1 - Buer, Jan A1 - Hansen, Wiebke A1 - Westendorf, Astrid M. T1 - Intestinal acid sphingomyelinase protects from severe Pathogen-Driven Colitis JF - Frontiers in immunology N2 - Inflammatory diseases of the gastrointestinal tract are emerging as a global problem with increased evidence and prevalence in numerous countries. A dysregulated sphingolipid metabolism occurs in patients with ulcerative colitis and is discussed to contribute to its pathogenesis. In the present study, we determined the impact of acid sphingomyelinase (Asm), which catalyzes the hydrolysis of sphingomyelin to ceramide, on the course of Citrobacter (C.) rodentium-driven colitis. C. rodentium is an enteric pathogen and induces colonic inflammation very similar to the pathology in patients with ulcerative colitis. We found that mice with Asm deficiency or Asm inhibition were strongly susceptible to C. rodentium infection. These mice showed increased levels of C. rodentium in the feces and were prone to bacterial spreading to the systemic organs. In addition, mice lacking Asm activity showed an uncontrolled inflammatory T(h)1 and T(h)17 response, which was accompanied by a stronger colonic pathology compared to infected wild type mice. These findings identified Asm as an essential regulator of mucosal immunity to the enteric pathogen C. rodentium. KW - Citrobacter rodentium KW - colitis KW - acid sphingomyelinase KW - amitriptyline KW - T(h)1 KW - T(h)17 Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2019.01386 SN - 1664-3224 VL - 10 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Shi, Jiang A1 - Xie, Dongchao A1 - Qi, Dandan A1 - Peng, Qunhua A1 - Chen, Zongmao A1 - Schreiner, Monika A1 - Lin, Zhi A1 - Baldermann, Susanne T1 - Methyl jasmonate-induced changes of flavor profiles during the processing of Green, Oolong, and Black Tea JF - Frontiers in plant science N2 - Tea aroma is one of the most important factors affecting the character and quality of tea. Here we describe the practical application of methyl jasmonate (MeJA) to improve the aroma quality of teas. The changes of selected metabolites during crucial tea processing steps, namely, withering, fixing and rolling, and fermentation, were analyzed. MeJA treatment of tea leaves (12, 24, 48, and 168 h) greatly promotes the aroma quality of green, oolong, and black tea products when comparing with untreated ones (0 h) and as confirmed by sensory evaluation. MeJA modulates the aroma profiles before, during, and after processing. Benzyl alcohol, benzaldehyde, 2-phenylethyl alcohol, phenylacetaldehyde, and trans-2-hexenal increased 1.07- to 3-fold in MeJA-treated fresh leaves and the first two maintained at a higher level in black tea and the last two in green tea. This correlates with a decrease in aromatic amino acids by more than twofold indicating a direct relation to tryptophan- and phenylalanine-derived volatiles. MeJA-treated oolong tea was characterized by a more pleasant aroma. Especially the terpenoids linalool and oxides, geraniol, and carvenol increased by more than twofold. KW - methyl jasmonate KW - aroma quality KW - volatile compounds KW - amino acids KW - tea processing Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2019.00781 SN - 1664-462X VL - 10 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Klopsch, Rebecca A1 - Baldermann, Susanne A1 - Voss, Alexander A1 - Rohn, Sascha A1 - Schreiner, Monika A1 - Neugart, Susanne T1 - Narrow-Banded UVB Affects the Stability of Secondary Plant Metabolites in Kale (Brassica oleracea var. sabellica) and Pea (Pisum sativum) Leaves Being Added to Lentil Flour Fortified Bread: A Novel Approach for Producing Functional Foods JF - Foods N2 - Young kale and pea leaves are rich in secondary plant metabolites (SPMs) whose profile can be affected by ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation. Carotenoids and flavonoids in kale and pea exposed to narrow-banded UVB, produced by innovative light-emitting diodes (LEDs), and subsequently used for breadmaking were investigated for the first time, thus combining two important strategies to increase the SPMs intake. Breads were also fortified with protein-rich lentil flour. Antioxidant activity in the ‘vegetable breads’ indicated health-promoting effects. Lentil flour increased the antioxidant activity in all of the ‘vegetable breads’. While carotenoids and chlorophylls showed a minor response to UVB treatment, kaempferol glycosides decreased in favor of increasing quercetin glycosides, especially in kale. Additionally, breadmaking caused major decreases in carotenoids and a conversion of chlorophyll to bioactive degradation products. In ‘kale breads’ and ‘pea breads’, 20% and 84% of flavonoid glycosides were recovered. Thus, kale and pea leaves seem to be suitable natural ingredients for producing innovative Functional Foods. KW - narrow-banded UVB KW - thermal processing KW - antioxidant activity KW - kale KW - pea KW - flavonoids KW - carotenoids Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/foods8100427 SN - 2304-8158 VL - 8 IS - 10 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Dreher, Dorothee A1 - Baldermann, Susanne A1 - Schreiner, Monika A1 - Hause, Bettina T1 - An arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus and a root pathogen induce different volatiles emitted by Medicago truncatula roots JF - Journal of Advanced Research N2 - Plants are in permanent contact with various microorganisms and are always impacted by them. To better understand the first steps of a plant’s recognition of soil-borne microorganisms, the early release of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from roots of Medicago truncatula in response to the symbiont Rhizophagus irregularis or the pathogenic oomycete Aphanomyces euteiches was analysed. More than 90 compounds were released from roots as detected by an untargeted gas chromatography-mass spectrometry approach. Principal component analyses clearly distinguished untreated roots from roots treated with either R. irregularis or A. euteiches. Several VOCs were found to be emitted specifically in response to each of the microorganisms. Limonene was specifically emitted from wild-type roots after contact with R. irregularis spores but not from roots of the mycorrhiza-deficient mutant does not make infections3. The application of limonene to mycorrhizal roots, however, did not affect the mycorrhization rate. Inoculation of roots with A. euteiches zoospores resulted in the specific emission of several sesquiterpenes, such as nerolidol, viridiflorol and nerolidol-epoxyacetate but application of nerolidol to zoospores of A. euteiches did not affect their vitality. Therefore, plants discriminate between different microorganisms at early stages of their interaction and respond differently to the level of root-emitted volatiles. KW - Arbuscular mycorrhiza KW - Oomycetous pathogen KW - Volatile organic compound (VOC) KW - Aeroponic cultivation KW - Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jare.2019.03.002 SN - 2090-1232 SN - 2090-1224 VL - 19 SP - 85 EP - 90 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Chen, Xinwei A1 - Chen, Hanlin A1 - Sobel, Edward A1 - Lin, Xiubin A1 - Cheng, Xiaogan A1 - Yan, Jiakai A1 - Yang, Shaomei T1 - Convergence of the Pamir and the South Tian Shan in the late Cenozoic BT - Insights from provenance analysis in the Wuheshalu section at the convergence area JF - Lithosphere N2 - In response to collision and convergence between India and Asia during the Cenozoic, convergence took place between the Pamir and South Tian Shan. Here we present new detrital zircon U-Pb ages coupled with conglomerate clast counting and sedimentary data from the late Cenozoic Wuheshalu section in the convergence zone, to shed light on the convergence process of the Pamir and South Tian Shan. Large Triassic zircon U-Pb age populations in all seven samples suggest that Triassic igneous rocks from the North Pamir were the major source area for the late Cenozoic Wuheshalu section. In the Miocene, large populations of the North Pamir component supports rapid exhumation in the North Pamir and suggest that topography already existed there since the early Miocene. Exhumation of the South Tian Shan was relatively less important in the Miocene and its detritus could only reach a limited area in the foreland area. Gradually increasing sediment loading and convergence of the Pamir and South Tian Shan caused rapid subsidence in the convergence area. Since ca. 6-5.3 Ma, the combination of a major North Pamir component and a minor South Tian Shan component at the Wuheshalu section is consistent with active deformation of the South Tian Shan and the North Pamir. During deposition of the upper Atushi Formation, a larger proportion of North Pamir-derived sediments was deposited in the Wuheshalu section, maybe because faulting and northward propagation of the North Pamir caused northward displacement of the depocenter to north of the Wuheshalu section. Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1130/L1028.1 SN - 1941-8264 SN - 1947-4253 VL - 11 IS - 4 SP - 507 EP - 523 PB - American Institute of Physics CY - Boulder ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Batista, Rita A. A1 - Moreno-Romero, Jordi A1 - Qiu, Yichun A1 - van Boven, Joram A1 - Santos-Gonzalez, Juan A1 - Figueiredo, Duarte Dionisio A1 - Köhler, Claudia T1 - The MADS-box transcription factor PHERES1 controls imprinting in the endosperm by binding to domesticated transposons JF - eLife N2 - MADS-box transcription factors (TFs) are ubiquitous in eukaryotic organisms and play major roles during plant development. Nevertheless, their function in seed development remains largely unknown. Here, we show that the imprinted Arabidopsis thaliana MADS-box TF PHERES1 (PHE1) is a master regulator of paternally expressed imprinted genes, as well as of non-imprinted key regulators of endosperm development. PHE1 binding sites show distinct epigenetic modifications on maternal and paternal alleles, correlating with parental-specific transcriptional activity. Importantly, we show that the CArG-box-like DNA-binding motifs that are bound by PHE1 have been distributed by RC/Helitron transposable elements. Our data provide an example of the molecular domestication of these elements which, by distributing PHE1 binding sites throughout the genome, have facilitated the recruitment of crucial endosperm regulators into a single transcriptional network. Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.50541 SN - 2050-084X VL - 8 PB - eLife Sciences Publications CY - Cambridge ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Batista, Rita A. A1 - Figueiredo, Duarte Dionisio A1 - Santos-Gonzalez, Juan A1 - Köhler, Claudia T1 - Auxin regulates endosperm cellularization in Arabidopsis JF - Genes & Development N2 - The endosperm is an ephemeral tissue that nourishes the developing embryo, similar to the placenta in mammals. In most angiosperms, endosperm development starts as a syncytium, in which nuclear divisions are not followed by cytokinesis. The timing of endosperm cellularization largely varies between species, and the event triggering this transition remains unknown. Here we show that increased auxin biosynthesis in the endosperm prevents its cellularization, leading to seed arrest. Auxin-overproducing seeds phenocopy paternal-excess triploid seeds derived from hybridizations of diploid maternal plants with tetraploid fathers. Concurrently, auxin-related genes are strongly overexpressed in triploid seeds, correlating with increased auxin activity. Reducing auxin biosynthesis and signaling reestablishes endosperm cellularization in triploid seeds and restores their viability, highlighting a causal role of increased auxin in preventing endosperm cellularization. We propose that auxin determines the time of endosperm cellularization, and thereby uncovered a central role of auxin in establishing hybridization barriers in plants. KW - auxin KW - cellularization KW - endosperm KW - hybridization barrier KW - seed development KW - triploid block Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1101/gad.316554.118 SN - 0890-9369 SN - 1549-5477 VL - 33 IS - 7-8 SP - 466 EP - 476 PB - Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press CY - Cold Spring Harbor, NY ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Tiberius, Victor T1 - Scenarios in the strategy process BT - A framework of affordances and constraints JF - European Journal of Futures Research N2 - This paper challenges the solely rational view of the scenario technique as a strategy and foresight tool designed to cope with uncertainty by considering multiple possible future states. The paper employs an affordance-based view that allows for the identification and structuring of hidden, emergent attributes of the scenario technique beyond the intended ones. The suggested framework distinguishes between affordances (1) that are intended by the organization and relate to its goals, (2) that emergently generate organizational benefits, and (3) that do not relate to organizational but individual interests. Also, constraints in the use of scenarios are discussed. Affordance theory’s specific lens shows that the emergence of such attributes depends on the users’ specific intentions. KW - Affordances KW - Management KW - Organizations KW - Scenario planning KW - Strategic foresight Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1186/s40309-019-0160-5 SN - 2195-4194 SN - 2195-2248 VL - 7 PB - Springer Open CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Borghini, Alessia A1 - Ferrero, Silvio A1 - O’Brien, Patrick J. A1 - Laurent, Oscar A1 - Günter, Christina A1 - Ziemann, Martin Andreas T1 - Cryptic metasomatic agent measured in situ in Variscan mantle rocks BT - Melt inclusions in garnet of eclogite, Granulitgebirge, Germany N2 - Garnet of eclogite (formerly termed garnet clinopyroxenite) hosted in lenses of orogenic garnet peridotite from the Granulitgebirge, NW Bohemian Massif, contains unique inclusions of granitic melt, now either glassy or crystallized. Analysed glasses and re‐homogenized inclusions are hydrous, peraluminous, and enriched in highly incompatible elements characteristic of the continental crust such as Cs, Li, B, Pb, Rb, Th, and U. The original melt thus represents a pristine, chemically evolved metasomatic agent, which infiltrated the mantle via deep continental subduction during the Variscan orogeny. The bulk chemical composition of the studied eclogites is similar to that of Fe‐rich basalt and the enrichment in LILE and U suggest a subduction‐related component. All these geochemical features confirm metasomatism. In comparison with many other garnet+clinopyroxene‐bearing lenses in peridotites of the Bohemian Massif, the studied samples from Rubinberg and Klatschmühle are more akin to eclogite than pyroxenites, as reflected in high jadeite content in clinopyroxene, relatively low Mg, Cr, and Ni but relatively high Ti. However, trace elements of both bulk rock and individual mineral phases show also important differences making these samples rather unique. Metasomatism involving a melt requiring a trace element pattern very similar to the composition reported here has been suggested for the source region of rocks of the so‐called durbachite suite, that is, ultrapotassic melanosyenites, which are found throughout the high‐grade Variscan basement. Moreover, the Th, U, Pb, Nb, Ta, and Ti patterns of these newly studied melt inclusions (MI) strongly resemble those observed for peridotite and its enclosed pyroxenite from the T‐7 borehole (Staré, České Středhoři Mountains) in N Bohemia. This suggests that a similar kind of crustal‐derived melt also occurred here. This study of granitic MI in eclogites from peridotites has provided the first direct characterization of a preserved metasomatic melt, possibly responsible for the metasomatism of several parts of the mantle in the Variscides. KW - clinopyroxenite KW - eclogite KW - melt inclusions KW - metasomatism KW - orogenic peridotite Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/jmg.12519 SN - 1525-1314 SN - 0263-4929 VL - 38 SP - 207 EP - 234 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Oxford [u.a.] ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Zaitsev-Doyle, John J. A1 - Puchert, Anke A1 - Pfeifer, Yannik A1 - Yan, Hao A1 - Yorke, Briony A. A1 - Müller-Werkmeister, Henrike A1 - Uetrecht, Charlotte A1 - Rehbein, Julia A1 - Huse, Nils A1 - Pearson, Arwen R. A1 - Sans, Marta T1 - Synthesis and characterisation of alpha-carboxynitrobenzyl photocaged l-aspartates for applications in time-resolved structural biology JF - RSC Advances N2 - We report a new synthetic route to a series of a-carboxynitrobenzyl photocaged L-aspartates for application in time-resolved structural biology. The resulting compounds were characterised in terms of UV/Vis absorption properties, aqueous solubility and stability, and photocleavage rates (tau = ms to ms) and quantum yields (phi = 0.05 to 0.14). Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1039/c9ra00968j SN - 2046-2069 VL - 9 IS - 15 SP - 8695 EP - 8699 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry CY - Cambridge ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schmidt, Martin A1 - Nendel, Claas A1 - Funk, Roger A1 - Mitchell, Matthew G. E. A1 - Lischeid, Gunnar T1 - Modeling Yields Response to Shading in the Field-to-Forest Transition Zones in Heterogeneous Landscapes JF - Agriculture N2 - In crop modeling and yield predictions, the heterogeneity of agricultural landscapes is usually not accounted for. This heterogeneity often arises from landscape elements like forests, hedges, or single trees and shrubs that cast shadows. Shading from forested areas or shrubs has effects on transpiration, temperature, and soil moisture, all of which affect the crop yield in the adjacent arable land. Transitional gradients of solar irradiance can be described as a function of the distance to the zero line (edge), the cardinal direction, and the height of trees. The magnitude of yield reduction in transition zones is highly influenced by solar irradiance-a factor that is not yet implemented in crop growth models on a landscape level. We present a spatially explicit model for shading caused by forested areas, in agricultural landscapes. With increasing distance to forest, solar irradiance and yield increase. Our model predicts that the shading effect from the forested areas occurs up to 15 m from the forest edge, for the simulated wheat yields, and up to 30 m, for simulated maize. Moreover, we estimated the spatial extent of transition zones, to calculate the regional yield reduction caused by shading of the forest edges, which amounted to 5% to 8% in an exemplary region. KW - edge effect KW - transition zone KW - solar irradiance KW - crop growth KW - maize KW - wheat Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture9010006 SN - 2077-0472 VL - 9 IS - 1 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Landholm, David M. A1 - Pradhan, Prajal A1 - Wegmann, Peter A1 - Romero Sanchez, Miguel Antonio A1 - Suarez Salazar, Juan Carlos A1 - Kropp, Jürgen T1 - Reducing deforestation and improving livestock productivity: greenhouse gas mitigation potential of silvopastoral systems in Caqueta JF - Environmental research letters N2 - Colombia's agriculture, forestry and other land use sector accounts for nearly half of its total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The importance of smallholder deforestation is comparatively high in relation to its regional counterparts, and livestock agriculture represents the largest driver of primary forest depletion. Silvopastoral systems (SPSs) are presented as agroecological solutions that synergistically enhance livestock productivity, improve local farmers' livelihoods and hold the potential to reduce pressure on forest conversion. The department of Caquetá represents Colombia's most important deforestation hotspot. Targeting smallholder livestock farms through survey data, in this work we investigate the GHG mitigation potential of implementing SPSs for smallholder farms in this region. Specifically, we assess whether the carbon sequestration taking place in the soil and biomass of SPSs is sufficient to offset the per-hectare increase in livestock GHG emissions resulting from higher stocking rates. To address these questions we use data on livestock population characteristics and historic land cover changes reported from a survey covering 158 farms and model the carbon sequestration occurring in three different scenarios of progressively-increased SPS complexity using the CO2 fix model. We find that, even with moderate tree planting densities, the implementation of SPSs can reduce GHG emissions by 2.6 Mg CO2e ha−1 yr−1 in relation to current practices, while increasing agriculture productivity and contributing to the restoration of severely degraded landscapes. KW - deforestation KW - silvopastoral systems KW - greenhouse gas emissions KW - livestock KW - carbon sequestration Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ab3db6 SN - 1748-9326 VL - 14 IS - 11 PB - IOP Publ. Ltd. CY - Bristol ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kriewald, Steffen A1 - Pradhan, Prajal A1 - Costa, Luís Fílípe Carvalho da A1 - Ros, Anselmo Garcia Cantu A1 - Kropp, Jürgen T1 - Hungry cities: how local food self-sufficiency relates to climate change, diets, and urbanisation JF - Environmental research letters N2 - Using a newly developed model approach and combining it with remote sensing, population, and climate data, first insights are provided into how local diets, urbanisation, and climate change relates to local urban food self-sufficiency. In plain terms, by utilizing the global peri-urban (PU) food production potential approximately lbn urban residents (30% of global urban population) can be locally nourished, whereby further urbanisation is by far the largest pressure factor on PU agriculture, followed by a change of diets, and climate change. A simple global food transport model which optimizes transport and neglects differences in local emission intensities indicates that CO2 emissions related to food transport can be reduced by a factor of 10. KW - peri-urban agriculture KW - urbanization KW - dietary patterns KW - agricultural productivity KW - food systems KW - local food Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ab2d56 SN - 1748-9326 VL - 14 IS - 9 PB - IOP Publ. Ltd. CY - Bristol ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ribeiro, Haroldo V. A1 - Rybski, Diego A1 - Kropp, Jürgen T1 - Effects of changing population or density on urban carbon dioxide emissions JF - Nature Communications N2 - The question of whether urbanization contributes to increasing carbon dioxide emissions has been mainly investigated via scaling relationships with population or population density. However, these approaches overlook the correlations between population and area, and ignore possible interactions between these quantities. Here, we propose a generalized framework that simultaneously considers the effects of population and area along with possible interactions between these urban metrics. Our results significantly improve the description of emissions and reveal the coupled role between population and density on emissions. These models show that variations in emissions associated with proportionate changes in population or density may not only depend on the magnitude of these changes but also on the initial values of these quantities. For US areas, the larger the city, the higher is the impact of changing its population or density on its emissions; but population changes always have a greater effect on emissions than population density. Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-11184-y SN - 2041-1723 VL - 10 PB - Nature Publ. Group CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kuberski, Stephan R. A1 - Gafos, Adamantios I. T1 - The speed-curvature power law in tongue movements of repetitive speech JF - PLoS one N2 - The speed-curvature power law is a celebrated law of motor control expressing a relation between the kinematic property of speed and the geometric property of curvature. We aimed to assess whether speech movements obey this law just as movements from other domains do. We describe a metronome-driven speech elicitation paradigm designed to cover a wide range of speeds. We recorded via electromagnetic articulometry speech movements in sequences of the form /CV…/ from nine speakers (five German, four English) speaking at eight distinct rates. First, we demonstrate that the paradigm of metronome-driven manipulations results in speech movement data consistent with earlier reports on the kinematics of speech production. Second, analysis of our data in their full three-dimensions and using advanced numerical differentiation methods offers stronger evidence for the law than that reported in previous studies devoted to its assessment. Finally, we demonstrate the presence of a clear rate dependency of the power law’s parameters. The robustness of the speed-curvature relation in our datasets lends further support to the hypothesis that the power law is a general feature of human movement. We place our results in the context of other work in movement control and consider implications for models of speech production. Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0213851 SN - 1932-6203 VL - 14 IS - 3 PB - PLoS CY - San Fransisco ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Beckmann, Nadine A1 - Becker, Katrin Anne A1 - Kadow, Stephanie A1 - Schumacher, Fabian A1 - Kramer, Melanie A1 - Kuehn, Claudine A1 - Schulz-Schaeffer, Walter J. A1 - Edwards, Michael J. A1 - Kleuser, Burkhard A1 - Gulbins, Erich A1 - Carpinteiro, Alexander T1 - Acid Sphingomyelinase Deficiency Ameliorates Farber Disease JF - International journal of molecular sciences N2 - Farber disease is a rare lysosomal storage disorder resulting from acid ceramidase deficiency and subsequent ceramide accumulation. No treatments for Farber disease are clinically available, and affected patients have a severely shortened lifespan. We have recently reported a novel acid ceramidase deficiency model that mirrors the human disease closely. Acid sphingomyelinase is the enzyme that generates ceramide upstream of acid ceramidase in the lysosomes. Using our acid ceramidase deficiency model, we tested if acid sphingomyelinase could be a potential novel therapeutic target for the treatment of Farber disease. A number of functional acid sphingomyelinase inhibitors are clinically available and have been used for decades to treat major depression. Using these as a therapeutic for Farber disease, thus, has the potential to improve central nervous symptoms of the disease as well, something all other treatment options for Farber disease can’t achieve so far. As a proof-of-concept study, we first cross-bred acid ceramidase deficient mice with acid sphingomyelinase deficient mice in order to prevent ceramide accumulation. Double-deficient mice had reduced ceramide accumulation, fewer disease manifestations, and prolonged survival. We next targeted acid sphingomyelinase pharmacologically, to test if these findings would translate to a setting with clinical applicability. Surprisingly, the treatment of acid ceramidase deficient mice with the acid sphingomyelinase inhibitor amitriptyline was toxic to acid ceramidase deficient mice and killed them within a few days of treatment. In conclusion, our study provides the first proof-of-concept that acid sphingomyelinase could be a potential new therapeutic target for Farber disease to reduce disease manifestations and prolong survival. However, we also identified previously unknown toxicity of the functional acid sphingomyelinase inhibitor amitriptyline in the context of Farber disease, strongly cautioning against the use of this substance class for Farber disease patients. KW - Farber disease KW - lysosomal storage disorders KW - acid ceramidase KW - acid sphingomyelinase KW - amitriptyline Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms20246253 SN - 1422-0067 VL - 20 IS - 24 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Grafen, Anika A1 - Schumacher, Fabian A1 - Chithelen, Janice A1 - Kleuser, Burkhard A1 - Beyersdorf, Niklas A1 - Schneider-Schaulies, Jürgen T1 - Use of Acid Ceramidase and Sphingosine Kinase Inhibitors as Antiviral Compounds Against Measles Virus Infection of Lymphocytes in vitro JF - Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology N2 - As structural membrane components and signaling effector molecules sphingolipids influence a plethora of host cell functions, and by doing so also the replication of viruses. Investigating the effects of various inhibitors of sphingolipid metabolism in primary human peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) and the human B cell line BJAB we found that not only the sphingosine kinase (SphK) inhibitor SKI-II, but also the acid ceramidase inhibitor ceranib-2 efficiently inhibited measles virus (MV) replication. Virus uptake into the target cells was not grossly altered by the two inhibitors, while titers of newly synthesized MV were reduced by approximately 1 log (90%) in PBL and 70-80% in BJAB cells. Lipidomic analyses revealed that in PBL SKI-II led to increased ceramide levels, whereas in BJAB cells ceranib-2 increased ceramides. SKI-II treatment decreased sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) levels in PBL and BJAB cells. Furthermore, we found that MV infection of lymphocytes induced a transient (0.5-6 h) increase in S1P, which was prevented by SKI-II. Investigating the effect of the inhibitors on the metabolic (mTORC1) activity we found that ceranib-2 reduced the phosphorylation of p70 S6K in PBL, and that both inhibitors, ceranib-2 and SKI-II, reduced the phosphorylation of p70 S6K in BJAB cells. As mTORC1 activity is required for efficient MV replication, this effect of the inhibitors is one possible antiviral mechanism. In addition, reduced intracellular S1P levels affect a number of signaling pathways and functions including Hsp90 activity, which was reported to be required for MV replication. Accordingly, we found that pharmacological inhibition of Hsp90 with the inhibitor 17-AAG strongly impaired MV replication in primary PBL. Thus, our data suggest that treatment of lymphocytes with both, acid ceramidase and SphK inhibitors, impair MV replication by affecting a number of cellular activities including mTORC1 and Hsp90, which alter the metabolic state of the cells causing a hostile environment for the virus. KW - measles virus KW - sphingolipids KW - acid ceramidase KW - acid ceramidase inhibitor ceranib-2 KW - sphingosine kinase KW - sphingosine kinase inhibitor SKI-II Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fcell.2019.00218 SN - 2296-634X VL - 7 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Börtlein, Charlene A1 - Schumacher, Fabian A1 - Kleuser, Burkhard A1 - Dölken, Lars A1 - Avota, Elita T1 - Role of Neutral Sphingomyelinase-2 (NSM 2) in the Control of T Cell Plasma Membrane Lipid Composition and Cholesterol Homeostasis JF - Frontiers in cell and developmental biology N2 - The activity of neutral sphingomyelinase-2 (NSM2) to catalyze the conversion of sphingomyelin (SM) to ceramide and phosphocholine at the cytosolic leaflet of plasma membrane (PM) is important in T cell receptor (TCR) signaling. We recently identified PKC zeta as a major NSM2 downstream effector which regulates microtubular polarization. It remained, however, unclear to what extent NSM2 activity affected overall composition of PM lipids and downstream effector lipids in antigen stimulated T cells. Here, we provide a detailed lipidomics analyses on PM fractions isolated from TCR stimulated wild type and NSM2 deficient (Delta NSM) Jurkat T cells. This revealed that in addition to that of sphingolipids, NSM2 depletion also affected concentrations of many other lipids. In particular, NSM2 ablation resulted in increase of lyso-phosphatidylcholine (LPC) and lyso-phosphatidylethanolamine (LPE) which both govern PM biophysical properties. Crucially, TCR dependent upregulation of the important T cell signaling lipid diacylglycerol (DAG), which is fundamental for activation of conventional and novel PKCs, was abolished in Delta NSM cells. Moreover, NSM2 activity was found to play an important role in PM cholesterol transport to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and production of cholesteryl esters (CE) there. Most importantly, CE accumulation was essential to sustain human T cell proliferation. Accordingly, inhibition of CE generating enzymes, the cholesterol acetyltransferases ACAT1/SOAT1 and ACAT2/SOAT2, impaired TCR driven expansion of both CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells. In summary, our study reveals an important role of NSM2 in regulating T cell functions by its multiple effects on PM lipids and cholesterol homeostasis. KW - neutral sphingomyelinase-2 KW - T cell receptor KW - plasma membrane KW - lyso-phospholipids KW - diacylglycerol KW - cholesteryl ester Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fcell.2019.00226 SN - 2296-634X VL - 7 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Gohlke, Sabrina A1 - Zagoriy, Vyacheslav A1 - Inostroza, Alvaro Cuadros A1 - Meret, Michael A1 - Mancini, Carola A1 - Japtok, Lukasz A1 - Schumacher, Fabian A1 - Kuhlow, Doreen A1 - Graja, Antonia A1 - Stephanowitz, Heike A1 - Jähnert, Markus A1 - Krause, Eberhard A1 - Wernitz, Andreas A1 - Petzke, Klaus-Juergen A1 - Schürmann, Annette A1 - Kleuser, Burkhard A1 - Schulz, Tim Julius T1 - Identification of functional lipid metabolism biomarkers of brown adipose tissue aging JF - Molecular Metabolism N2 - Objective: Aging is accompanied by loss of brown adipocytes and a decline in their thermogenic potential, which may exacerbate the development of adiposity and other metabolic disorders. Presently, only limited evidence exists describing the molecular alterations leading to impaired brown adipogenesis with aging and the contribution of these processes to changes of systemic energy metabolism. Methods: Samples of young and aged murine brown and white adipose tissue were used to compare age-related changes of brown adipogenic gene expression and thermogenesis-related lipid mobilization. To identify potential markers of brown adipose tissue aging, non-targeted proteomic and metabolomic as well as targeted lipid analyses were conducted on young and aged tissue samples. Subsequently, the effects of several candidate lipid classes on brown adipocyte function were examined. Results: Corroborating previous reports of reduced expression of uncoupling protein-1, we observe impaired signaling required for lipid mobilization in aged brown fat after adrenergic stimulation. Omics analyses additionally confirm the age-related impairment of lipid homeostasis and reveal the accumulation of specific lipid classes, including certain sphingolipids, ceramides, and dolichols in aged brown fat. While ceramides as well as enzymes of dolichol metabolism inhibit brown adipogenesis, inhibition of sphingosine 1-phosphate receptor 2 induces brown adipocyte differentiation. Conclusions: Our functional analyses show that changes in specific lipid species, as observed during aging, may contribute to reduced thermogenic potential. They thus uncover potential biomarkers of aging as well as molecular mechanisms that could contribute to the degradation of brown adipocytes, thereby providing potential treatment strategies of age-related metabolic conditions. KW - Brown adipose tissue KW - Aging KW - Ceramides KW - Sphingolipids KW - Dolichol lipids Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molmet.2019.03.011 SN - 2212-8778 VL - 24 SP - 1 EP - 17 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Rancan, Fiorenza A1 - Volkmann, Hildburg A1 - Giulbudagian, Michael A1 - Schumacher, Fabian A1 - Stanko, Jessica Isolde A1 - Kleuser, Burkhard A1 - Blume-Peytavi, Ulrike A1 - Calderon, Marcelo A1 - Vogt, Annika T1 - Dermal Delivery of the High-Molecular-Weight Drug Tacrolimus by Means of Polyglycerol-Based Nanogels JF - Pharmaceutics : Molecular Diversity Preservation International N2 - Polyglycerol-based thermoresponsive nanogels (tNGs) have been shown to have excellent skin hydration properties and to be valuable delivery systems for sustained release of drugs into skin. In this study, we compared the skin penetration of tacrolimus formulated in tNGs with a commercial 0.1% tacrolimus ointment. The penetration of the drug was investigated in ex vivo abdominal and breast skin, while different methods for skin barrier disruption were investigated to improve skin permeability or simulate inflammatory conditions with compromised skin barrier. The amount of penetrated tacrolimus was measured in skin extracts by liquid chromatography tandem-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), whereas the inflammatory markers IL-6 and IL-8 were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Higher amounts of tacrolimus penetrated in breast as compared to abdominal skin or in barrier-disrupted as compared to intact skin, confirming that the stratum corneum is the main barrier for tacrolimus skin penetration. The anti-proliferative effect of the penetrated drug was measured in skin tissue/Jurkat cells co-cultures. Interestingly, tNGs exhibited similar anti-proliferative effects as the 0.1% tacrolimus ointment. We conclude that polyglycerol-based nanogels represent an interesting alternative to paraffin-based formulations for the treatment of inflammatory skin conditions. KW - tacrolimus formulation KW - nanogels KW - skin penetration KW - drug delivery KW - human excised skin KW - Jurkat cells Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics11080394 SN - 1999-4923 VL - 11 IS - 8 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Vaz da Cruz, Vinicius A1 - Eckert, Sebastian A1 - Iannuzzi, Marcella A1 - Ertan, Emelie A1 - Pietzsch, Annette A1 - Couto, Rafael C. A1 - Niskanen, Johannes A1 - Fondell, Mattis A1 - Dantz, Marcus A1 - Schmitt, Thorsten A1 - Lu, Xingye A1 - McNally, Daniel A1 - Jay, Raphael Martin A1 - Kimberg, Victor A1 - Föhlisch, Alexander A1 - Odelius, Michael T1 - Probing hydrogen bond strength in liquid water by resonant inelastic X-ray scattering JF - Nature Communications N2 - Local probes of the electronic ground state are essential for understanding hydrogen bonding in aqueous environments. When tuned to the dissociative core-excited state at the O1s pre-edge of water, resonant inelastic X-ray scattering back to the electronic ground state exhibits a long vibrational progression due to ultrafast nuclear dynamics. We show how the coherent evolution of the OH bonds around the core-excited oxygen provides access to high vibrational levels in liquid water. The OH bonds stretch into the long-range part of the potential energy curve, which makes the X-ray probe more sensitive than infra-red spectroscopy to the local environment. We exploit this property to effectively probe hydrogen bond strength via the distribution of intramolecular OH potentials derived from measurements. In contrast, the dynamical splitting in the spectral feature of the lowest valence-excited state arises from the short-range part of the OH potential curve and is rather insensitive to hydrogen bonding. Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-08979-4 SN - 2041-1723 VL - 10 PB - Nature Publ. Group CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Omotosho, Adebayo A1 - Ayegba, Peace A1 - Emuoyibofarhe, Justice A1 - Meinel, Christoph T1 - Current State of ICT in Healthcare Delivery in Developing Countries JF - International Journal of Online and Biomedical Engineering N2 - Electronic health is one of the most popular applications of information and communication technologies and it has contributed immensely to health delivery through the provision of quality health service and ubiquitous access at a lower cost. Even though this mode of health service is increasingly becoming known or used in developing nations, these countries are faced with a myriad of challenges when implementing and deploying e-health services on both small and large scale. It is estimated that the Africa population alone carries the highest percentage of the world’s global diseases despite its certain level of e-health adoption. This paper aims at analyzing the progress so far and the current state of e-health in developing countries particularly Africa and propose a framework for further improvement. KW - E-health KW - developing countries KW - framework KW - ICT KW - healthcare Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3991/ijoe.v15i08.10294 SN - 2626-8493 VL - 15 IS - 8 SP - 91 EP - 107 PB - Kassel University Press CY - Kassel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Opel, Thomas A1 - Murton, Julian B. A1 - Wetterich, Sebastian A1 - Meyer, Hanno A1 - Ashastina, Kseniia A1 - Günther, Frank A1 - Grotheer, Hendrik A1 - Mollenhauer, Gesine A1 - Danilov, Petr P. A1 - Boeskorov, Vasily A1 - Savvinov, Grigoriy N. A1 - Schirrmeister, Lutz T1 - Past climate and continentality inferred from ice wedges at Batagay Highlands, interior Yakutia JF - Climate of the past : an interactive open access journal of the European Geosciences Union N2 - Ice wedges in the Yana Highlands of interior Yakutia - the most continental region of the Northern Hemisphere - were investigated to elucidate changes in winter climate and continentality that have taken place since the Middle Pleistocene. The Batagay megaslump exposes ice wedges and composite wedges that were sampled from three cryostratigraphic units: the lower ice complex of likely pre-Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 6 age, the upper ice complex (Yedoma) and the upper sand unit (both MIS 3 to 2). A terrace of the nearby Adycha River provides a Late Holocene (MIS 1) ice wedge that serves as a modern reference for interpretation. The stable-isotope composition of ice wedges in the MIS 3 upper ice complex at Batagay is more depleted (mean delta O-18 about -35 parts per thousand) than those from 17 other ice-wedge study sites across coastal and central Yakutia. This observation points to lower winter temperatures and therefore higher continentality in the Yana Highlands during MIS 3. Likewise, more depleted isotope values are found in Holocene wedge ice (mean delta O-18 about -29 parts per thousand) compared to other sites in Yakutia. Ice-wedge isotopic signatures of the lower ice complex mean delta O-18 about -33 parts per thousand) and of the MIS 3-2 upper sand unit (mean delta O-18 from about -33 parts per thousand to -30 parts per thousand) are less distinctive regionally. The latter unit preserves traces of fast formation in rapidly accumulating sand sheets and of post-depositional isotopic fractionation. Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-1443-2019 SN - 1814-9324 SN - 1814-9332 VL - 15 IS - 4 SP - 1443 EP - 1461 PB - Copernicus CY - Göttingen ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Weger, Lindsey B. A1 - Lupaşcu, Aura A1 - Cremonese, Lorenzo A1 - Butler, Tim T1 - Modeling the impact of a potential shale gas industry in Germany and the United Kingdom on ozone with WRF-Chem JF - Elementa-sccience of the anthropocene N2 - Germany and the United Kingdom have domestic shale gas reserves which they may exploit in the future to complement their national energy strategies. However gas production releases volatile organic compounds (VOC) and nitrogen oxides (NOx), which through photochemical reaction form ground-level ozone, an air pollutant that can trigger adverse health effects e.g. on the respiratory system. This study explores the range of impacts of a potential shale gas industry in these two countries on local and regional ambient ozone. To this end, comprehensive emission scenarios are used as the basis for input to an online-coupled regional chemistry transport model (WRF-Chem). Here we simulate shale gas scenarios over summer (June, July, August) 2011, exploring the effects of varying VOC emissions, gas speciation, and concentration of NOx emissions over space and time, on ozone formation. An evaluation of the model setup is performed, which exhibited the model’s ability to predict surface meteorological and chemical variables well compared with observations, and consistent with other studies. When different shale gas scenarios were employed, the results show a peak increase in maximum daily 8-hour average ozone from 3.7 to 28.3 μg m–3. In addition, we find that shale gas emissions can force ozone exceedances at a considerable percentage of regulatory measurement stations locally (up to 21% in Germany and 35% in the United Kingdom) and in distant countries through long-range transport, and increase the cumulative health-related metric SOMO35 (maximum percent increase of ~28%) throughout the region. Findings indicate that VOC emissions are important for ozone enhancement, and to a lesser extent NOx, meaning that VOC regulation for a future European shale gas industry will be of especial importance to mitigate unfavorable health outcomes. Overall our findings demonstrate that shale gas production in Europe can worsen ozone air quality on both the local and regional scales. KW - Shale gas KW - WRF-Chem KW - European air quality KW - Ozone KW - Methane leakage KW - Emission scenarios Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1525/elementa.387 SN - 2325-1026 VL - 7 PB - Univ California Press CY - Oakland ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Spooner, Cameron A1 - Scheck-Wenderoth, Magdalena A1 - Götze, Hans-Jürgen A1 - Ebbing, Jörg A1 - Hetenyi, Gyoergy T1 - Density distribution across the Alpine lithosphere constrained by 3-D gravity modelling and relation to seismicity and deformation JF - Solid earth N2 - The Alpine orogen formed as a result of the collision between the Adriatic and European plates. Significant crustal heterogeneity exists within the region due to the long history of interplay between these plates, other continental and oceanic blocks in the region, and inherited crustal features from earlier orogenies. Deformation relating to the collision continues to the present day. Here, a seismically constrained, 3-D structural and density model of the lithosphere of the Alps and their respective forelands, derived from integrating numerous geoscientific datasets, was adjusted to match the observed gravity field. It is shown that the distribution of seismicity and deformation within the region correlates well to thickness and density changes within the crust, and that the present-day Adriatic crust is both thinner and denser (22.5 km, 2800 kg m(-3) ) than the European crust (27.5 km, 2750 kg m(-3)). Alpine crust derived from each respective plate is found to show the same trend, with zones of Adriatic provenance (Austro-Alpine unit and Southern Alps) found to be denser and those of European provenance (Helvetic zone and Tauern Window) to be less dense. This suggests that the respective plates and related terranes had similar crustal properties to the present-day ones prior to orogenesis. The model generated here is available for open-access use to further discussions about the crust in the region. Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.5194/se-10-2073-2019 SN - 1869-9510 SN - 1869-9529 VL - 10 IS - 6 SP - 2073 EP - 2088 PB - Copernicus CY - Göttingen ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Freymark, Jessica A1 - Bott, Judith A1 - Cacace, Mauro A1 - Ziegler, Moritz 0. A1 - Scheck-Wenderoth, Magdalena T1 - Influence of the Main Border Faults on the 3D Hydraulic Field of the Central Upper Rhine Graben JF - Geofluids N2 - The Upper Rhine Graben (URG) is an active rift with a high geothermal potential. Despite being a well-studied area, the three-dimensional interaction of the main controlling factors of the thermal and hydraulic regime is still not fully understood. Therefore, we have used a data-based 3D structural model of the lithological configuration of the central URG for some conceptual numerical experiments of 3D coupled simulations of fluid and heat transport. To assess the influence of the main faults bordering the graben on the hydraulic and the deep thermal field, we carried out a sensitivity analysis on fault width and permeability. Depending on the assigned width and permeability of the main border faults, fluid velocity and temperatures are affected only in the direct proximity of the respective border faults. Hence, the hydraulic characteristics of these major faults do not significantly influence the graben-wide groundwater flow patterns. Instead, the different scenarios tested provide a consistent image of the main characteristics of fluid and heat transport as they have in common: (1) a topography-driven basin-wide fluid flow perpendicular to the rift axis from the graben shoulders to the rift center, (2) a N/NE-directed flow parallel to the rift axis in the center of the rift and, (3) a pronounced upflow of hot fluids along the rift central axis, where the streams from both sides of the rift merge. This upflow axis is predicted to occur predominantly in the center of the URG (northern and southern model area) and shifted towards the eastern boundary fault (central model area). Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/7520714 SN - 1468-8115 SN - 1468-8123 PB - Wiley-Hindawi CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kokhanovsky, Alexander A1 - Lamare, Maxim A1 - Danne, Olaf A1 - Brockmann, Carsten A1 - Dumont, Marie A1 - Picard, Ghislain A1 - Arnaud, Laurent A1 - Favier, Vincent A1 - Jourdain, Bruno A1 - Le Meur, Emmanuel A1 - Di Mauro, Biagio A1 - Aoki, Teruo A1 - Niwano, Masashi A1 - Rozanov, Vladimir A1 - Korkin, Sergey A1 - Kipfstuhl, Sepp A1 - Freitag, Johannes A1 - Hoerhold, Maria A1 - Zuhr, Alexandra A1 - Vladimirova, Diana A1 - Faber, Anne-Katrine A1 - Steen-Larsen, Hans Christian A1 - Wahl, Sonja A1 - Andersen, Jonas K. A1 - Vandecrux, Baptiste A1 - van As, Dirk A1 - Mankoff, Kenneth D. A1 - Kern, Michael A1 - Zege, Eleonora A1 - Box, Jason E. T1 - Retrieval of Snow Properties from the Sentinel-3 Ocean and Land Colour Instrument JF - Remote sensing N2 - The Sentinel Application Platform (SNAP) architecture facilitates Earth Observation data processing. In this work, we present results from a new Snow Processor for SNAP. We also describe physical principles behind the developed snow property retrieval technique based on the analysis of Ocean and Land Colour Instrument (OLCI) onboard Sentinel-3A/B measurements over clean and polluted snow fields. Using OLCI spectral reflectance measurements in the range 400-1020 nm, we derived important snow properties such as spectral and broadband albedo, snow specific surface area, snow extent and grain size on a spatial grid of 300 m. The algorithm also incorporated cloud screening and atmospheric correction procedures over snow surfaces. We present validation results using ground measurements from Antarctica, the Greenland ice sheet and the French Alps. We find the spectral albedo retrieved with accuracy of better than 3% on average, making our retrievals sufficient for a variety of applications. Broadband albedo is retrieved with the average accuracy of about 5% over snow. Therefore, the uncertainties of satellite retrievals are close to experimental errors of ground measurements. The retrieved surface grain size shows good agreement with ground observations. Snow specific surface area observations are also consistent with our OLCI retrievals. We present snow albedo and grain size mapping over the inland ice sheet of Greenland for areas including dry snow, melted/melting snow and impurity rich bare ice. The algorithm can be applied to OLCI Sentinel-3 measurements providing an opportunity for creation of long-term snow property records essential for climate monitoring and data assimilation studies-especially in the Arctic region, where we face rapid environmental changes including reduction of snow/ice extent and, therefore, planetary albedo. KW - snow characteristics KW - optical remote sensing KW - snow grain size KW - specific surface area KW - albedo KW - Sentinel 3 KW - OLCI Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/rs11192280 SN - 2072-4292 VL - 11 IS - 19 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Perscheid, Cindy A1 - Grasnick, Bastien A1 - Uflacker, Matthias T1 - Integrative Gene Selection on Gene Expression Data BT - Providing Biological Context to Traditional Approaches JF - Journal of Integrative Bioinformatics N2 - The advance of high-throughput RNA-Sequencing techniques enables researchers to analyze the complete gene activity in particular cells. From the insights of such analyses, researchers can identify disease-specific expression profiles, thus understand complex diseases like cancer, and eventually develop effective measures for diagnosis and treatment. The high dimensionality of gene expression data poses challenges to its computational analysis, which is addressed with measures of gene selection. Traditional gene selection approaches base their findings on statistical analyses of the actual expression levels, which implies several drawbacks when it comes to accurately identifying the underlying biological processes. In turn, integrative approaches include curated information on biological processes from external knowledge bases during gene selection, which promises to lead to better interpretability and improved predictive performance. Our work compares the performance of traditional and integrative gene selection approaches. Moreover, we propose a straightforward approach to integrate external knowledge with traditional gene selection approaches. We introduce a framework enabling the automatic external knowledge integration, gene selection, and evaluation. Evaluation results prove our framework to be a useful tool for evaluation and show that integration of external knowledge improves overall analysis results. KW - Gene Expression Data Analysis KW - Integrative Gene Selection KW - Pattern Recognition KW - Prior Knowledge KW - Knowledge Bases Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1515/jib-2018-0064 SN - 1613-4516 VL - 16 IS - 1 PB - De Gruyter CY - Berlin ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Han, Sungju A1 - Kuhlicke, Christian T1 - Reducing Hydro-Meteorological Risk by Nature-Based Solutions: What Do We JF - Water N2 - Nature-based solutions (NBS) have recently received attention due to their potential ability to sustainably reduce hydro-meteorological risks, providing co-benefits for both ecosystems and affected people. Therefore, pioneering research has dedicated efforts to optimize the design of NBS, to evaluate their wider co-benefits and to understand promoting and/or hampering governance conditions for the uptake of NBS. In this article, we aim to complement this research by conducting a comprehensive literature review of factors shaping people’s perceptions of NBS as a means to reduce hydro-meteorological risks. Based on 102 studies, we identified six topics shaping the current discussion in this field of research: (1) valuation of the co-benefits (including those related to ecosystems and society); (2) evaluation of risk reduction efficacy; (3) stakeholder participation; (4) socio-economic and location-specific conditions; (5) environmental attitude, and (6) uncertainty. Our analysis reveals that concerned empirical insights are diverse and even contradictory, they vary in the depth of the insights generated and are often not comparable for a lack of a sound theoretical-methodological grounding. We, therefore, propose a conceptual model outlining avenues for future research by indicating potential inter-linkages between constructs underlying perceptions of NBS to hydro-meteorological risks. KW - disaster risk reduction KW - climate change adaptation KW - river restoration KW - green infrastructure KW - ecosystem services KW - acceptability KW - attitudes KW - co-benefits KW - preferences KW - participation Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/w11122599 SN - 2073-4441 VL - 11 IS - 12 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Levermann, Anders A1 - Feldmann, Johannes T1 - Scaling of instability timescales of Antarctic outlet glaciers based on one-dimensional similitude analysis JF - The Cryosphere : TC ; an interactive open access journal of the European Geosciences Union N2 - Recent observations and ice-dynamic modeling suggest that a marine ice-sheet instability (MISI) might have been triggered in West Antarctica. The corresponding outlet glaciers, Pine Island Glacier (PIG) and Thwaites Glacier (TG), showed significant retreat during at least the last 2 decades. While other regions in Antarctica have the topographic predisposition for the same kind of instability, it is so far unclear how fast these instabilities would unfold if they were initiated. Here we employ the concept of similitude to estimate the characteristic timescales of several potentially MISI-prone outlet glaciers around the Antarctic coast. Our results suggest that TG and PIG have the fastest response time of all investigated outlets, with TG responding about 1.25 to 2 times as fast as PIG, while other outlets around Antarctica would be up to 10 times slower if destabilized. These results have to be viewed in light of the strong assumptions made in their derivation. These include the absence of ice-shelf buttressing, the one-dimensionality of the approach and the uncertainty of the available data. We argue however that the current topographic situation and the physical conditions of the MISI-prone outlet glaciers carry the information of their respective timescale and that this information can be partially extracted through a similitude analysis. Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-1621-2019 SN - 1994-0416 SN - 1994-0424 VL - 13 IS - 6 SP - 1621 EP - 1633 PB - Copernicus CY - Göttingen ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Harms, Laura M. A1 - Scalbert, Augustin A1 - Zamora-Ros, Raul A1 - Rinaldi, Sabina A1 - Jenab, Mazda A1 - Murphy, Neil A1 - Achaintre, David A1 - Tjønneland, Anne A1 - Olsen, Anja A1 - Overvad, Kim A1 - Aleksandrova, Krasimira T1 - Plasma polyphenols associated with lower high-sensitivity C-reactive protein concentrations BT - a cross-sectional study within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort JF - British Journal of Nutrition N2 - Experimental studies have reported on the anti-inflammatory properties of polyphenols. However, results from epidemiological investigations have been inconsistent and especially studies using biomarkers for assessment of polyphenol intake have been scant. We aimed to characterise the association between plasma concentrations of thirty-five polyphenol compounds and low-grade systemic inflammation state as measured by high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP). A cross-sectional data analysis was performed based on 315 participants in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition cohort with available measurements of plasma polyphenols and hsCRP. In logistic regression analysis, the OR and 95 % CI of elevated serum hsCRP (>3 mg/l) were calculated within quartiles and per standard deviation higher level of plasma polyphenol concentrations. In a multivariable-adjusted model, the sum of plasma concentrations of all polyphenols measured (per standard deviation) was associated with 29 (95 % CI 50, 1) % lower odds of elevated hsCRP. In the class of flavonoids, daidzein was inversely associated with elevated hsCRP (OR 0 center dot 66, 95 % CI 0 center dot 46, 0 center dot 96). Among phenolic acids, statistically significant associations were observed for 3,5-dihydroxyphenylpropionic acid (OR 0 center dot 58, 95 % CI 0 center dot 39, 0 center dot 86), 3,4-dihydroxyphenylpropionic acid (OR 0 center dot 63, 95 % CI 0 center dot 46, 0 center dot 87), ferulic acid (OR 0 center dot 65, 95 % CI 0 center dot 44, 0 center dot 96) and caffeic acid (OR 0 center dot 69, 95 % CI 0 center dot 51, 0 center dot 93). The odds of elevated hsCRP were significantly reduced for hydroxytyrosol (OR 0 center dot 67, 95 % CI 0 center dot 48, 0 center dot 93). The present study showed that polyphenol biomarkers are associated with lower odds of elevated hsCRP. Whether diet rich in bioactive polyphenol compounds could be an effective strategy to prevent or modulate deleterious health effects of inflammation should be addressed by further well-powered longitudinal studies. KW - polyphenols KW - plasma measurements KW - C-reactive protein KW - inflammation KW - chronic diseases Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007114519002538 SN - 0007-1145 SN - 1475-2662 VL - 123 IS - 2 SP - 198 EP - 208 PB - Cambridge University Press CY - Cambridge ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Herden, Jasmin A1 - Eckert, Silvia A1 - Stift, Marc A1 - Joshi, Jasmin Radha A1 - van Kleunen, Mark T1 - No evidence for local adaptation and an epigenetic underpinning in native and non-native ruderal plant species in Germany JF - Ecology and evolution N2 - Many invasive species have rapidly adapted to different environments in their new ranges. This is surprising, as colonization is usually associated with reduced genetic variation. Heritable phenotypic variation with an epigenetic basis may explain this paradox. Here, we assessed the contribution of DNA methylation to local adaptation in native and naturalized non-native ruderal plant species in Germany. We reciprocally transplanted offspring from natural populations of seven native and five non-native plant species between the Konstanz region in the south and the Potsdam region in the north of Germany. Before the transplant, half of the seeds were treated with the demethylation agent zebularine. We recorded survival, flowering probability, and biomass production as fitness estimates. Contrary to our expectations, we found little evidence for local adaptation, both among the native and among the non-native plant species. Zebularine treatment had mostly negative effects on overall plant performance, regardless of whether plants were local or not, and regardless of whether they were native or non-native. Synthesis. We conclude that local adaptation, at least at the scale of our study, plays no major role in the success of non-native and native ruderal plants. Consequently, we found no evidence yet for an epigenetic basis of local adaptation. KW - biological invasions KW - epigenetics KW - local adaptation KW - reciprocal transplant experiment KW - ruderal plant species KW - zebularine Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.5325 SN - 2045-7758 VL - 9 IS - 17 SP - 9412 EP - 9426 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ueckerdt, Falko A1 - Frieler, Katja A1 - Lange, Stefan A1 - Wenz, Leonie A1 - Luderer, Gunnar A1 - Levermann, Anders T1 - The economically optimal warming limit of the planet JF - Earth system dynamics N2 - Both climate-change damages and climate-change mitigation will incur economic costs. While the risk of severe damages increases with the level of global warming (Dell et al., 2014; IPCC, 2014b, 2018; Lenton et al., 2008), mitigating costs increase steeply with more stringent warming limits (IPCC, 2014a; Luderer et al., 2013; Rogelj et al., 2015). Here, we show that the global warming limit that minimizes this century's total economic costs of climate change lies between 1.9 and 2 ∘C, if temperature changes continue to impact national economic growth rates as observed in the past and if instantaneous growth effects are neither compensated nor amplified by additional growth effects in the following years. The result is robust across a wide range of normative assumptions on the valuation of future welfare and inequality aversion. We combine estimates of climate-change impacts on economic growth for 186 countries (applying an empirical damage function from Burke et al., 2015) with mitigation costs derived from a state-of-the-art energy–economy–climate model with a wide range of highly resolved mitigation options (Kriegler et al., 2017; Luderer et al., 2013, 2015). Our purely economic assessment, even though it omits non-market damages, provides support for the international Paris Agreement on climate change. The political goal of limiting global warming to “well below 2 degrees” is thus also an economically optimal goal given above assumptions on adaptation and damage persistence. Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-10-741-2019 SN - 2190-4979 SN - 2190-4987 VL - 10 IS - 4 SP - 741 EP - 763 PB - Copernicus CY - Göttingen ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schlemm, Tanja A1 - Levermann, Anders T1 - A simple stress-based cliff-calving law JF - The Cryosphere : TC ; an interactive open access journal of the European Geosciences Union N2 - Over large coastal regions in Greenland and Antarctica the ice sheet calves directly into the ocean. In contrast to ice-shelf calving, an increase in calving from grounded glaciers contributes directly to sea-level rise. Ice cliffs with a glacier freeboard larger than approximate to 100 m are currently not observed, but it has been shown that such ice cliffs are increasingly unstable with increasing ice thickness. This cliff calving can constitute a self-amplifying ice loss mechanism that may significantly alter sea-level projections both of Greenland and Antarctica. Here we seek to derive a minimalist stress-based parametrization for cliff calving from grounded glaciers whose freeboards exceed the 100m stability limit derived in previous studies. This will be an extension of existing calving laws for tidewater glaciers to higher ice cliffs. To this end we compute the stress field for a glacier with a simplified two-dimensional geometry from the two-dimensional Stokes equation. First we assume a constant yield stress to derive the failure region at the glacier front from the stress field within the glacier. Secondly, we assume a constant response time of ice failure due to exceedance of the yield stress. With this strongly constraining but very simple set of assumptions we propose a cliff-calving law where the calving rate follows a power-law dependence on the freeboard of the ice with exponents between 2 and 3, depending on the relative water depth at the calving front. The critical freeboard below which the ice front is stable decreases with increasing relative water depth of the calving front. For a dry water front it is, for example, 75 m. The purpose of this study is not to provide a comprehensive calving law but to derive a particularly simple equation with a transparent and minimalist set of assumptions. Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-2475-2019 SN - 1994-0416 SN - 1994-0424 VL - 13 IS - 9 SP - 2475 EP - 2488 PB - Copernicus CY - Göttingen ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Feldmann, Johannes A1 - Levermann, Anders A1 - Mengel, Matthias T1 - Stabilizing the West Antarctic Ice Sheet by surface mass deposition JF - Science Advances N2 - There is evidence that a self-sustaining ice discharge from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) has started, potentially leading to its disintegration. The associated sea level rise of more than 3m would pose a serious challenge to highly populated areas including metropolises such as Calcutta, Shanghai, New York City, and Tokyo. Here, we show that the WAIS may be stabilized through mass deposition in coastal regions around Pine Island and Thwaites glaciers. In our numerical simulations, a minimum of 7400 Gt of additional snowfall stabilizes the flow if applied over a short period of 10 years onto the region (-2 mm year(-1) sea level equivalent). Mass deposition at a lower rate increases the intervention time and the required total amount of snow. We find that the precise conditions of such an operation are crucial, and potential benefits need to be weighed against environmental hazards, future risks, and enormous technical challenges. Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aaw4132 SN - 2375-2548 VL - 5 IS - 7 PB - American Assoc. for the Advancement of Science CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Dondapati, Srujan Kumar A1 - Lübberding, Henning A1 - Zemella, Anne A1 - Thoring, Lena A1 - Wüstenhagen, Doreen Anja A1 - Kubick, Stefan T1 - Functional Reconstitution of Membrane Proteins Derived From Eukaryotic Cell-Free Systems JF - Frontiers in pharmacology N2 - Cell-free protein synthesis (CFPS) based on eukaryotic Sf21 lysate is gaining interest among researchers due to its ability to handle the synthesis of complex human membrane proteins (MPs). Additionally Sf21 cell-free systems contain endogenous microsomal vesicles originally derived from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). After CFPS, MPs will be translocated into the microsomal vesicles membranes present in the lysates. Thus microsomal membranes offer a natural environment for de novo synthesized MPs. Despite the advantage of synthesizing complex MPs with post translational modifications directly into the microsomal membranes without any additional solubilization supplements, batch based Sf21 cell-free synthesis suffers from low yields. The bottleneck for MPs in particular after the synthesis and incorporation into the microsomal membranes is to analyze their functionality. Apart from low yields of the synthesized MPs with batch based cell-free synthesis, the challenges arise in the form of cytoskeleton elements and peripheral endogenous proteins surrounding the microsomes which may impede the functional analysis of the synthesized proteins. So careful sample processing after the synthesis is particularly important for developing the appropriate functional assays. Here we demonstrate how MPs (native and batch synthesized) from ER derived microsomes can be processed for functional analysis by electrophysiology and radioactive uptake assay methods. Treatment of the microsomal membranes either with a sucrose washing step in the case of human serotonin transporter (hSERT) and sarco/endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+/ATPase (SERCA) pump or with mild detergents followed by the preparation of proteoliposomes in the case of the human voltage dependent anionic channel (hVDAC1) helps to analyze the functional properties of MPs. KW - membrane proteins KW - Sf21 lysates KW - microsomes KW - cell-free protein synthesis KW - proteoliposomes KW - transporter KW - ion channel KW - pump Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2019.00917 SN - 1663-9812 VL - 10 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kurths, Jürgen A1 - Agarwal, Ankit A1 - Shukla, Roopam A1 - Marwan, Norbert A1 - Maheswaran, Rathinasamy A1 - Caesar, Levke A1 - Krishnan, Raghavan A1 - Merz, Bruno T1 - Unravelling the spatial diversity of Indian precipitation teleconnections via a non-linear multi-scale approach JF - Nonlinear processes in geophysics N2 - A better understanding of precipitation dynamics in the Indian subcontinent is required since India's society depends heavily on reliable monsoon forecasts. We introduce a non-linear, multiscale approach, based on wavelets and event synchronization, for unravelling teleconnection influences on precipitation. We consider those climate patterns with the highest relevance for Indian precipitation. Our results suggest significant influences which are not well captured by only the wavelet coherence analysis, the state-of-the-art method in understanding linkages at multiple timescales. We find substantial variation across India and across timescales. In particular, El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) mainly influence precipitation in the south-east at interannual and decadal scales, respectively, whereas the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) has a strong connection to precipitation, particularly in the northern regions. The effect of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) stretches across the whole country, whereas the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) influences precipitation particularly in the central arid and semi-arid regions. The proposed method provides a powerful approach for capturing the dynamics of precipitation and, hence, helps improve precipitation forecasting. Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.5194/npg-26-251-2019 SN - 1023-5809 SN - 1607-7946 VL - 26 IS - 3 SP - 251 EP - 266 PB - Copernicus CY - Göttingen ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Meier, Lars A. A1 - Krauze, Patryk A1 - Prater, Isabel A1 - Horn, Fabian A1 - Schaefer, Carlos Ernesto Reynaud A1 - Scholten, Thomas A1 - Wagner, Dirk A1 - Müller, Carsten Werner A1 - Kühn, Peter T1 - Pedogenic and microbial interrelation in initial soils under semiarid climate on James Ross Island, Antarctic Peninsula region JF - Biogeosciences N2 - James Ross Island (JRI) offers the exceptional opportunity to study microbial-driven pedogenesis without the influence of vascular plants or faunal activities (e.g., penguin rookeries). In this study, two soil profiles from JRI (one at Santa Martha Cove - SMC, and another at Brandy Bay BB) were investigated, in order to gain information about the initial state of soil formation and its interplay with prokaryotic activity, by combining pedological, geochemical and microbiological methods. The soil profiles are similar with respect to topographic position and parent material but are spatially separated by an orographic barrier and therefore represent windward and leeward locations towards the mainly southwesterly winds. These different positions result in differences in electric conductivity of the soils caused by additional input of bases by sea spray at the windward site and opposing trends in the depth functions of soil pH and electric conductivity. Both soils are classified as Cryosols, dominated by bacterial taxa such as Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria, Gemmatimonadetes and Chloroflexi. A shift in the dominant taxa was observed below 20 cm in both soils as well as an increased abundance of multiple operational taxonomic units (OTUs) related to potential chemolithoautotrophic Acidiferrobacteraceae. This shift is coupled by a change in microstructure. While single/pellicular grain microstructure (SMC) and platy microstructure (BB) are dominant above 20 cm, lenticular microstructure is dominant below 20 cm in both soils. The change in microstructure is caused by frequent freeze-thaw cycles and a relative high water content, and it goes along with a development of the pore spacing and is accompanied by a change in nutrient content. Multivariate statistics revealed the influence of soil parameters such as chloride, sulfate, calcium and organic carbon contents, grain size distribution and pedogenic oxide ratios on the overall microbial community structure and explained 49.9% of its variation. The correlation of the pedogenic oxide ratios with the compositional distribution of microorganisms as well as the relative abundance certain microorganisms such as potentially chemolithotrophic Acidiferrobacteraceae-related OTUs could hint at an interplay between soil-forming processes and microorganisms. Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-2481-2019 SN - 1726-4170 SN - 1726-4189 VL - 16 IS - 12 SP - 2481 EP - 2499 PB - Copernicus CY - Göttingen ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Perera, Upeksha A1 - Böckmann, Christine T1 - Solutions of Direct and Inverse Even-Order Sturm-Liouville Problems Using Magnus Expansion JF - Mathematics N2 - In this paper Lie group method in combination with Magnus expansion is utilized to develop a universal method applicable to solving a Sturm–Liouville problem (SLP) of any order with arbitrary boundary conditions. It is shown that the method has ability to solve direct regular (and some singular) SLPs of even orders (tested for up to eight), with a mix of (including non-separable and finite singular endpoints) boundary conditions, accurately and efficiently. The present technique is successfully applied to overcome the difficulties in finding suitable sets of eigenvalues so that the inverse SLP problem can be effectively solved. The inverse SLP algorithm proposed by Barcilon (1974) is utilized in combination with the Magnus method so that a direct SLP of any (even) order and an inverse SLP of order two can be solved effectively. KW - higher-order Sturm–Liouville problems KW - inverse Sturm–Liouville problems KW - Magnus expansion Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/math7060544 SN - 2227-7390 VL - 7 IS - 6 PB - MDPI CY - Basel, Schweiz ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kayler, Zachary E. A1 - Premke, Katrin A1 - Gessler, Arthur A1 - Gessner, Mark O. A1 - Griebler, Christian A1 - Hilt, Sabine A1 - Klemedtsson, Leif A1 - Kuzyakov, Yakov A1 - Reichstein, Markus A1 - Siemens, Jan A1 - Totsche, Kai-Uwe A1 - Tranvik, Lars A1 - Wagner, Annekatrin A1 - Weitere, Markus A1 - Grossart, Hans-Peter T1 - Integrating Aquatic and Terrestrial Perspectives to Improve Insights Into Organic Matter Cycling at the Landscape Scale JF - Frontiers in Earth Science N2 - Across a landscape, aquatic-terrestrial interfaces within and between ecosystems are hotspots of organic matter (OM) mineralization. These interfaces are characterized by sharp spatio-temporal changes in environmental conditions, which affect OM properties and thus control OM mineralization and other transformation processes. Consequently, the extent of OM movement at and across aquatic-terrestrial interfaces is crucial in determining OM turnover and carbon (C) cycling at the landscape scale. Here, we propose expanding current concepts in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystem sciences to comprehensively evaluate OM turnover at the landscape scale. We focus on three main concepts toward explaining OM turnover at the landscape scale: the landscape spatiotemporal context, OM turnover described by priming and ecological stoichiometry, and anthropogenic effects as a disruptor of natural OM transfer magnitudes and pathways. A conceptual framework is introduced that allows for discussing the disparities in spatial and temporal scales of OM transfer, changes in environmental conditions, ecosystem connectivity, and microbial-substrate interactions. The potential relevance of priming effects in both terrestrial and aquatic systems is addressed. For terrestrial systems, we hypothesize that the interplay between the influx of OM, its corresponding elemental composition, and the elemental demand of the microbial communities may alleviate spatial and metabolic thresholds. In comparison, substrate level OM dynamics may be substantially different in aquatic systems due to matrix effects that accentuate the role of abiotic conditions, substrate quality, and microbial community dynamics. We highlight the disproportionate impact anthropogenic activities can have on OM cycling across the landscape. This includes reversing natural OM flows through the landscape, disrupting ecosystem connectivity, and nutrient additions that cascade across the landscape. This knowledge is crucial for a better understanding of OM cycling in a landscape context, in particular since terrestrial and aquatic compartments may respond differently to the ongoing changes in climate, land use, and other anthropogenic interferences. KW - landscape connectivity KW - organic matter mineralization KW - priming effects KW - ecological stoichiometry KW - aquatic-terrestrial interfaces KW - anthropogenic interferences Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2019.00127 SN - 2296-6463 VL - 7 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Lundgreen, Regitze B. C. A1 - Jaspers, Cornelia A1 - Traving, Sachia J. A1 - Ayala, Daniel J. A1 - Lombard, Fabien A1 - Grossart, Hans-Peter A1 - Nielsen, Torkel G. A1 - Munk, Peter A1 - Riemann, Lasse T1 - Eukaryotic and cyanobacterial communities associated with marine snow particles in the oligotrophic Sargasso Sea JF - Scientific reports N2 - Marine snow aggregates represent heterogeneous agglomerates of dead and living organic matter. Composition is decisive for their sinking rates, and thereby for carbon flux to the deep sea. For oligotrophic oceans, information on aggregate composition is particularly sparse. To address this, the taxonomic composition of aggregates collected from the subtropical and oligotrophic Sargasso Sea (Atlantic Ocean) was characterized by 16S and 18S rRNA gene sequencing. Taxonomy assignment was aided by a collection of the contemporary plankton community consisting of 75 morphologically and genetically identified plankton specimens. The diverse rRNA gene reads of marine snow aggregates, not considering Trichodesmium puffs, were dominated by copepods (52%), cnidarians (21%), radiolarians (11%), and alveolates (8%), with sporadic contributions by cyanobacteria, suggesting a different aggregate composition than in eutrophic regions. Composition linked significantly with sampling location but not to any measured environmental parameters or plankton biomass composition. Nevertheless, indicator and network analyses identified key roles of a few rare taxa. This points to complex regulation of aggregate composition, conceivably affected by the environment and plankton characteristics. The extent to which this has implications for particle densities, and consequently for sinking rates and carbon sequestration in oligotrophic waters, needs further interrogation. Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-45146-7 SN - 2045-2322 VL - 9 PB - Nature Publ. Group CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Numberger, Daniela A1 - Dreier, Carole A1 - Vullioud, Colin A1 - Gabriel, Gülsah A1 - Greenwood, Alex D. A1 - Grossart, Hans-Peter T1 - Recovery of influenza a viruses from lake water and sediments by experimental inoculation JF - PLoS one N2 - Influenza A viruses (IAV) are zoonotic pathogens relevant to human, domestic animal and wildlife health. Many avian IAVs are transmitted among waterfowl via a faecal-oral-route. Therefore, environmental water where waterfowl congregate may play an important role in the ecology and epidemiology of avian IAV. Water and sediment may sustain and transmit virus among individuals or species. It is unclear at what concentrations waterborne viruses are infectious or remain detectable. To address this, we performed lake water and sediment dilution experiments with varying concentrations or infectious doses of four IAV strains from seal, turkey, duck and gull. To test for infectivity of the IAV strains in a concentration dependent manner, we applied cultivation to specific pathogen free (SPF) embryonated chicken eggs and Madin-Darby Canine Kidney (MDCK) cells. IAV recovery was more effective from embryonated chicken eggs than MDCK cells for freshwater lake dilutions, whereas, MDCK cells were more effective for viral recovery from sediment samples. Low infectious dose (1 PFU/200 mu L) was sufficient in most cases to detect and recover IAV from lake water dilutions. Sediment required higher initial infectious doses (>= 100 PFU/200 mu L). Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0216880 SN - 1932-6203 VL - 14 IS - 5 PB - PLoS CY - San Fransisco ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bornhorst, Julia A1 - Nustede, Eike Jannik A1 - Fudickar, Sebastian T1 - Mass Surveilance of C. elegans-Smartphone-Based DIY Microscope and Machine-Learning-Based Approach for Worm Detection JF - Sensors N2 - The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) is often used as an alternative animal model due to several advantages such as morphological changes that can be seen directly under a microscope. Limitations of the model include the usage of expensive and cumbersome microscopes, and restrictions of the comprehensive use of C. elegans for toxicological trials. With the general applicability of the detection of C. elegans from microscope images via machine learning, as well as of smartphone-based microscopes, this article investigates the suitability of smartphone-based microscopy to detect C. elegans in a complete Petri dish. Thereby, the article introduces a smartphone-based microscope (including optics, lighting, and housing) for monitoring C. elegans and the corresponding classification via a trained Histogram of Oriented Gradients (HOG) feature-based Support Vector Machine for the automatic detection of C. elegans. Evaluation showed classification sensitivity of 0.90 and specificity of 0.85, and thereby confirms the general practicability of the chosen approach. KW - Caenorhabditis elegans KW - machine learning KW - smartphone KW - microscope KW - SVM KW - HOG Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/s19061468 SN - 1424-8220 VL - 19 IS - 6 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Witzel, Katja A1 - Abu Risha, Marua A1 - Albers, Philip A1 - Börnke, Frederik A1 - Hanschen, Franziska S. T1 - Identification and Characterization of Three Epithiospecifier Protein Isoforms in Brassica oleracea JF - Frontiers in plant science N2 - Glucosinolates present in Brassicaceae play a major role in herbivory defense. Upon tissue disruption, glucosinolates come into contact with myrosinase, which initiates their breakdown to biologically active compounds. Among these, the formation of epithionitriles is triggered by the presence of epithiospecifier protein (ESP) and a terminal double bond in the glucosinolate side chain. One ESP gene is characterized in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana (AtESP; At1g54040.2). However, Brassica species underwent genome triplication since their divergence from the Arabidopsis lineage. This indicates the presence of multiple ESP isoforms in Brassica crops that are currently poorly characterized. We identified three B. oleracea ESPs, specifically BoESP1 (LOC106296341), BoESP2 (LOC106306810), and BoESP3 (LOC106325105) based on in silico genome analysis. Transcript and protein abundance were assessed in shoots and roots of four B. oleracea vegetables, namely broccoli, kohlrabi, white, and red cabbage, because these genotypes showed a differential pattern for the formation of glucosinolate hydrolysis products as well for their ESP activity. BoESP1 and BoESP2 were expressed mainly in shoots, while BoESP3 was abundant in roots. Biochemical characterization of heterologous expressed BoESP isoforms revealed different substrate specificities towards seven glucosinolates: all isoforms showed epithiospecifier activity on alkenyl glucosinolates, but not on non-alkenyl glucosinolates. The pH-value differently affected BoESP activity: while BoESP1 and BoESP2 activities were optimal at pH 6-7, BoESP3 activity remained relatively stable from pH 4 to 7. In order test their potential for the in vivo modification of glucosinolate breakdown, the three isoforms were expressed in A. thaliana Hi-0, which lacks AtESP expression, and analyzed for the effect on their respective hydrolysis products. The BoESPs altered the hydrolysis of allyl glucosinolate in the A. thaliana transformants to release 1-cyano-2,3-epithiopropane and reduced formation of the corresponding 3-butenenitrile and allyl isothiocyanate. Plants expressing BoESP2 showed the highest percentage of released epithionitriles. Given these results, we propose a model for isoform-specific roles of B. oleracea ESPs in glucosinolate breakdown. KW - epithionitrile KW - expression profile KW - functional complementation KW - glucosinolate hydrolysis KW - nitrile KW - specifier proteins KW - tissue specificity Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2019.01552 SN - 1664-462X VL - 10 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Radchuk, Viktoriia A1 - Reed, Thomas A1 - Teplitsky, Celine A1 - van de Pol, Martijn A1 - Charmantier, Anne A1 - Hassall, Christopher A1 - Adamik, Peter A1 - Adriaensen, Frank A1 - Ahola, Markus P. A1 - Arcese, Peter A1 - Miguel Aviles, Jesus A1 - Balbontin, Javier A1 - Berg, Karl S. A1 - Borras, Antoni A1 - Burthe, Sarah A1 - Clobert, Jean A1 - Dehnhard, Nina A1 - de Lope, Florentino A1 - Dhondt, Andre A. A1 - Dingemanse, Niels J. A1 - Doi, Hideyuki A1 - Eeva, Tapio A1 - Fickel, Jörns A1 - Filella, Iolanda A1 - Fossoy, Frode A1 - Goodenough, Anne E. A1 - Hall, Stephen J. G. A1 - Hansson, Bengt A1 - Harris, Michael A1 - Hasselquist, Dennis A1 - Hickler, Thomas A1 - Jasmin Radha, Jasmin A1 - Kharouba, Heather A1 - Gabriel Martinez, Juan A1 - Mihoub, Jean-Baptiste A1 - Mills, James A. A1 - Molina-Morales, Mercedes A1 - Moksnes, Arne A1 - Ozgul, Arpat A1 - Parejo, Deseada A1 - Pilard, Philippe A1 - Poisbleau, Maud A1 - Rousset, Francois A1 - Rödel, Mark-Oliver A1 - Scott, David A1 - Carlos Senar, Juan A1 - Stefanescu, Constanti A1 - Stokke, Bard G. A1 - Kusano, Tamotsu A1 - Tarka, Maja A1 - Tarwater, Corey E. A1 - Thonicke, Kirsten A1 - Thorley, Jack A1 - Wilting, Andreas A1 - Tryjanowski, Piotr A1 - Merila, Juha A1 - Sheldon, Ben C. A1 - Moller, Anders Pape A1 - Matthysen, Erik A1 - Janzen, Fredric A1 - Dobson, F. Stephen A1 - Visser, Marcel E. A1 - Beissinger, Steven R. A1 - Courtiol, Alexandre A1 - Kramer-Schadt, Stephanie T1 - Adaptive responses of animals to climate change are most likely insufficient JF - Nature Communications N2 - Biological responses to climate change have been widely documented across taxa and regions, but it remains unclear whether species are maintaining a good match between phenotype and environment, i.e. whether observed trait changes are adaptive. Here we reviewed 10,090 abstracts and extracted data from 71 studies reported in 58 relevant publications, to assess quantitatively whether phenotypic trait changes associated with climate change are adaptive in animals. A meta-analysis focussing on birds, the taxon best represented in our dataset, suggests that global warming has not systematically affected morphological traits, but has advanced phenological traits. We demonstrate that these advances are adaptive for some species, but imperfect as evidenced by the observed consistent selection for earlier timing. Application of a theoretical model indicates that the evolutionary load imposed by incomplete adaptive responses to ongoing climate change may already be threatening the persistence of species. Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-10924-4 SN - 2041-1723 VL - 10 PB - Nature Publ. Group CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Castro, Jose Pedro A1 - Fernando, Raquel A1 - Reeg, Sandra A1 - Meinl, Walter A1 - Almeida, Henrique A1 - Grune, Tilman T1 - Non-enzymatic cleavage of Hsp90 by oxidative stress leads to actin aggregate formation BT - A novel gain-of-function mechanism JF - Redox Biology N2 - Aging is accompanied by the accumulation of oxidized proteins. To remove them, cells employ the proteasomal and autophagy-lysosomal systems; however, if the clearance rate is inferior to its formation, protein aggregates form as a hallmark of proteostasis loss. In cells, during stress conditions, actin aggregates accumulate leading to impaired proliferation and reduced proteasomal activity, as observed in cellular senescence. The heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) is a molecular chaperone that binds and protects the proteasome from oxidative inactivation. We hypothesized that in oxidative stress conditions a malfunction of Hsp90 occurs resulting in the aforementioned protein aggregates. Here, we demonstrate that upon oxidative stress Hsp90 loses its function in a highly specific non-enzymatic iron-catalyzed oxidation event and its breakdown product, a cleaved form of Hsp90 (Hsp90cl), acquires a new function in mediating the accumulation of actin aggregates. Moreover, the prevention of Hsp90 cleavage reduces oxidized actin accumulation, whereas transfection of the cleaved form of Hsp90 leads to an enhanced accumulation of oxidized actin. This indicates a clear role of the Hsp90cl in the aggregation of oxidized proteins. KW - Oxidative stress KW - Protein oxidation KW - Heat shock protein 90 KW - Proteasome KW - Protein aggregates Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.redox.2019.101108 SN - 2213-2317 VL - 21 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kehm, Richard A1 - Rückriemen, Jana A1 - Weber, Daniela A1 - Deubel, Stefanie A1 - Grune, Tilman A1 - Höhn, Annika T1 - Endogenous advanced glycation end products in pancreatic islets after short-term carbohydrate intervention in obese, diabetes-prone mice JF - Nutrition & Diabetes N2 - Diet-induced hyperglycemia is described as one major contributor to the formation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) under inflammatory conditions, crucial in type 2 diabetes progression. Previous studies have indicated high postprandial plasma AGE-levels in diabetic patients and after long-term carbohydrate feeding in animal models. Pancreatic islets play a key role in glucose metabolism; thus, their susceptibility to glycation reactions due to high amounts of dietary carbohydrates is of special interest. Therefore, diabetes-prone New Zealand Obese (NZO) mice received either a carbohydrate-free, high-fat diet (CFD) for 11 weeks or were additionally fed with a carbohydrate-rich diet (CRD) for 7 days. In the CRD group, hyperglycemia and hyperinsulinemia were induced accompanied by increasing plasma 3-nitrotyrosine (3-NT) levels, higher amounts of 3-NT and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) within pancreatic islets. Furthermore, N-epsilon-carboxymethyllysine (CML) was increased in the plasma of CRD-fed NZO mice and substantially higher amounts of arg-pyrimidine, pentosidine and the receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) were observed in pancreatic islets. These findings indicate that a short-term intervention with carbohydrates is sufficient to form endogenous AGEs in plasma and pancreatic islets of NZO mice under hyperglycemic and inflammatory conditions. Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41387-019-0077-x SN - 2044-4052 VL - 9 PB - Nature Publ. Group CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Mühlenbruch, Kristin A1 - Zhuo, Xiaohui A1 - Bardenheier, Barbara A1 - Shao, Hui A1 - Laxy, Michael A1 - Icks, Andrea A1 - Zhang, Ping A1 - Gregg, Edward W. A1 - Schulze, Matthias Bernd T1 - Selecting the optimal risk threshold of diabetes risk scores to identify high-risk individuals for diabetes prevention BT - a cost-effectiveness analysis JF - Acta Diabetologica N2 - Aims: Although risk scores to predict type 2 diabetes exist, cost-effectiveness of risk thresholds to target prevention interventions are unknown. We applied cost-effectiveness analysis to identify optimal thresholds of predicted risk to target a low-cost community-based intervention in the USA. Methods: We used a validated Markov-based type 2 diabetes simulation model to evaluate the lifetime cost-effectiveness of alternative thresholds of diabetes risk. Population characteristics for the model were obtained from NHANES 2001-2004 and incidence rates and performance of two noninvasive diabetes risk scores (German diabetes risk score, GDRS, and ARIC 2009 score) were determined in the ARIC and Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS). Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) were calculated for increasing risk score thresholds. Two scenarios were assumed: 1-stage (risk score only) and 2-stage (risk score plus fasting plasma glucose (FPG) test (threshold 100 mg/dl) in the high-risk group). Results: In ARIC and CHS combined, the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for the GDRS and the ARIC 2009 score were 0.691 (0.677-0.704) and 0.720 (0.707-0.732), respectively. The optimal threshold of predicted diabetes risk (ICER < $50,000/QALY gained in case of intervention in those above the threshold) was 7% for the GDRS and 9% for the ARIC 2009 score. In the 2-stage scenario, ICERs for all cutoffs >= 5% were below $50,000/QALY gained. Conclusions: Intervening in those with >= 7% diabetes risk based on the GDRS or >= 9% on the ARIC 2009 score would be cost-effective. A risk score threshold >= 5% together with elevated FPG would also allow targeting interventions cost-effectively. KW - diabetes mellitus KW - type 2 KW - cost-effectiveness analysis KW - lifestyle risk reduction KW - clinical prediction rule Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00592-019-01451-1 SN - 0001-5563 SN - 0940-5429 SN - 1432-5233 VL - 57 IS - 4 SP - 447 EP - 454 PB - Springer CY - Mailand ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Didovets, Iulii A1 - Krysanova, Valentina A1 - Bürger, Gerd A1 - Snizhko, Sergiy A1 - Balabukh, Vira A1 - Bronstert, Axel T1 - Climate change impact on regional floods in the Carpathian region JF - Journal of hydrology : Regional studies N2 - Study region: Tisza and Prut catchments, originating on the slopes of the Carpathian mountains. Study focus: The study reported here investigates (i) climate change impacts on flood risk in the region, and (ii) uncertainty related to hydrological modelling, downscaling techniques and climate projections. The climate projections used in the study were derived from five GCMs, downscaled either dynamically with RCMs or with the statistical downscaling model XDS. The resulting climate change scenarios were applied to drive the eco-hydrological model SWIM, which was calibrated and validated for the catchments in advance using observed climate and hydrological data. The changes in the 30-year flood hazards and 98 and 95 percentiles of discharge were evaluated for the far future period (2071-2100) in comparison with the reference period (1981-2010). New hydrological insights for the region: The majority of model outputs under RCP 4.5 show a small to strong increase of the 30-year flood level in the Tisza ranging from 4.5% to 62%, and moderate increase in the Prut ranging from 11% to 22%. The impact results under RCP 8.5 are more uncertain with changes in both directions due to high uncertainties in GCM-RCM climate projections, downscaling methods and the low density of available climate stations. KW - Climate change impact KW - Floods KW - Hydrological modelling KW - SWIM KW - Tisza KW - Prut KW - Carpathians KW - Ukraine Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejrh.2019.01.002 SN - 2214-5818 VL - 22 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Koelman, Liselot A. A1 - Pivovarova-Ramich, Olga A1 - Pfeiffer, Andreas F. H. A1 - Grune, Tilman A1 - Aleksandrova, Krasimira T1 - Cytokines for evaluation of chronic inflammatory status in ageing research BT - reliability and phenotypic characterisation JF - Immunity & Ageing N2 - Background: There is a growing interest in the role of inflammageing for chronic disease development. Cytokines are potent soluble immune mediators that can be used as target biomarkers of inflammageing; however, their measurement in human samples has been challenging. This study aimed to assess the reliability of a pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokine panel in a sample of healthy people measured with a novel electrochemiluminescent multiplex immunoassay platform (Meso Scale Discovery, MSD), and to characterize their associations with metabolic and inflammatory phenotypes. KW - Reliability KW - Cytokines KW - Multiplex platforms KW - Inflammaging KW - Biomarkers KW - Ageing KW - BMI Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1186/s12979-019-0151-1 SN - 1742-4933 VL - 16 PB - BMC CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Fritze, Marcus A1 - Costantini, David A1 - Fickel, Jörns A1 - Wehner, Dana A1 - Czirjak, Gsbor A. A1 - Voigt, Christian Claus T1 - Immune response of hibernating European bats to a fungal challenge JF - Biology open N2 - Immunological responses of hibernating mammals are suppressed at low body temperatures, a possible explanation for the devastating effect of the white-nose syndrome on hibernating North American bats. However, European bats seem to cope well with the fungal causative agent of the disease. To better understand the immune response of hibernating bats, especially against fungal pathogens, we challenged European greater mouse-eared bats (Myotis myotis) by inoculating the fungal antigen zymosan. We monitored torpor patterns, immune gene expressions, different aspects of the acute phase response and plasma oxidative status markers, and compared them with sham-injected control animals at 30 min, 48 h and 96 h after inoculation. Torpor patterns, body temperatures, body masses, white blood cell counts, expression of immune genes, reactive oxygen metabolites and non-enzymatic antioxidant capacity did not differ between groups during the experiment. However, zymosan injected bats had significantly higher levels of haptoglobin than the control animals. Our results indicate that hibernating greater mouse-eared bats mount an inflammatory response to a fungal challenge, with only mild to negligible consequences for the energy budget of hibernation. Our study gives a first hint that hibernating European bats may have evolved a hibernation-adjusted immune response in order to balance the trade-off between competent pathogen elimination and a prudent energy-saving regime. KW - Fungal challenge KW - Torpor KW - Body temperature KW - Zymosan KW - Acute phase response KW - Oxidative stress KW - Myotis myotis Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1242/bio.046078 SN - 2046-6390 VL - 8 IS - 10 PB - Company biologists ltd CY - Cambridge ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schröter, David A1 - Neugart, Susanne A1 - Schreiner, Monika A1 - Grune, Tilman A1 - Rohn, Sascha A1 - Ott, Christiane T1 - Amaranth’s 2-Caffeoylisocitric Acid—An Anti-Inflammatory Caffeic Acid Derivative That Impairs NF-κB Signaling in LPS-Challenged RAW 264.7 Macrophages JF - Nutrients N2 - For centuries, Amaranthus sp. were used as food, ornamentals, and medication. Molecular mechanisms, explaining the health beneficial properties of amaranth, are not yet understood, but have been attributed to secondary metabolites, such as phenolic compounds. One of the most abundant phenolic compounds in amaranth leaves is 2-caffeoylisocitric acid (C-IA) and regarding food occurrence, C-IA is exclusively found in various amaranth species. In the present study, the anti-inflammatory activity of C-IA, chlorogenic acid, and caffeic acid in LPS-challenged macrophages (RAW 264.7) has been investigated and cellular contents of the caffeic acid derivatives (CADs) were quantified in the cells and media. The CADs were quantified in the cell lysates in nanomolar concentrations, indicating a cellular uptake. Treatment of LPS-challenged RAW 264.7 cells with 10 µM of CADs counteracted the LPS effects and led to significantly lower mRNA and protein levels of inducible nitric oxide synthase, tumor necrosis factor alpha, and interleukin 6, by directly decreasing the translocation of the nuclear factor κB/Rel-like containing protein 65 into the nucleus. This work provides new insights into the molecular mechanisms that attribute to amaranth’s anti-inflammatory properties and highlights C-IA’s potential as a health-beneficial compound for future research. KW - inflammation KW - caffeic acid derivatives KW - RAW 264 KW - 7 macrophages KW - NF-kappa B KW - amaranth Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11030571 SN - 2072-6643 VL - 11 IS - 3 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Eichelmann, Fabian A1 - Schulze, Matthias Bernd A1 - Wittenbecher, Clemens A1 - Menzel, Juliane A1 - Weikert, Cornelia A1 - di Giuseppe, Romina A1 - Biemann, Ronald A1 - Isermann, Berend A1 - Fritsche, Andreas A1 - Boeing, Heiner A1 - Aleksandrova, Krasimira T1 - Association of Chemerin Plasma Concentration With Risk of Colorectal Cancer JF - JAMA network open N2 - IMPORTANCE Inflammatory processes have been suggested to have an important role in colorectal cancer (CRC) etiology. Chemerin is a recently discovered inflammatory biomarker thought to exert chemotactic, adipogenic, and angiogenic functions. However, its potential link with CRC has not been sufficiently explored. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the prospective association of circulating plasma chemerin concentrations with incident CRC. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Prospective case-cohort study based on 27 548 initially healthy participants from the European Prospective Investigation Into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)-Potsdam cohort who were followed for up to 16 years. Baseline study information and samples were collected between August 23, 1994, and September 25, 1998. Recruitment was according to random registry sampling from the geographical area of Potsdam, Germany, and surrounding municipalities. The last date of study follow-up was May 10, 2010. Statistical analysis was conducted in 2018. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Incident CRC, colon cancer, and rectal cancer. Baseline chemerin plasma concentrations were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE This study found that the association between chemerin concentration and the risk of incident CRC was linear and independent of established CRC risk factors. Further studies are warranted to evaluate chemerin as a novel immune-inflammatory agent in colorectal carcinogenesis. Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.0896 SN - 2574-3805 VL - 2 IS - 3 PB - American Veterinary Medical Association CY - Chicago ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Mengüllüoğlu, Deniz A1 - Fickel, Jörns A1 - Hofer, Heribert A1 - Förster, Daniel W. T1 - Non-invasive faecal sampling reveals spatial organization and improves measures of genetic diversity for the conservation assessment of territorial species BT - Caucasian lynx as a case species JF - PLoS one N2 - The Caucasian lynx, Lynx lynx dinniki, has one of the southernmost distributions in the Eurasian lynx range, covering Anatolian Turkey, the Caucasus and Iran. Little is known about the biology and the genetic status of this subspecies. To collect baseline genetic, ecological and behavioural data and benefit future conservation of L. l. dinniki, we monitored 11 lynx territories (396 km(2)) in northwestern Anatolia. We assessed genetic diversity of this population by non-invasively collecting 171 faecal samples and trapped and sampled 12 lynx individuals using box traps. We observed high allelic variation at 11 nuclear microsatellite markers, and found no signs of inbreeding despite the potential isolation of this population. We obtained similar numbers of distinct genotypes from the two sampling sources. Our results indicated that first order female relatives occupy neighbouring territories (female philopatry) and that territorial male lynx were highly unrelated to each other and to female territorial lynx, suggesting long distance male dispersal. Particular male and female resident territorial lynx and their offspring (kittens and subadults) were more likely to be trapped than resident floaters or dispersing (unrelated) lynx. Conversely, we obtained more data for unrelated lynx and higher numbers of territorials using non-invasive sampling (faeces). When invasive and non-invasive samples were analysed separately, the spatial organisation of lynx (in terms of female philopatry and females and males occupying permanent ranges) affected measures of genetic diversity in such a way that estimates of genetic diversity were reduced if only invasive samples were considered. It appears that, at small spatial scales, invasive sampling using box traps may underestimate the genetic diversity in carnivores with permanent ranges and philopatry such as the Eurasian lynx. As non-invasive sampling can also provide additional data on diet and spatial organisation, we advocate the use of such samples for conservation genetic studies of vulnerable, endangered or data deficient territorial species. Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0216549 SN - 1932-6203 VL - 14 IS - 5 PB - PLoS CY - San Fransisco ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Nishikawa, Ken-Ichi A1 - Mizuno, Yosuke A1 - Gomez, Jose L. A1 - Duţan, Ioana A1 - Meli, Athina A1 - Niemiec, Jacek A1 - Kobzar, Oleh A1 - Pohl, Martin A1 - Sol, Hélène A1 - MacDonald, Nicholas A1 - Hartmann, Dieter H. T1 - Relativistic jet simulations of the weibel instability in the slab model to cylindrical jets with helical magnetic fields JF - Galaxies : open access journal N2 - The particle-in-cell (PIC) method was developed to investigate microscopic phenomena, and with the advances in computing power, newly developed codes have been used for several fields, such as astrophysical, magnetospheric, and solar plasmas. PIC applications have grown extensively, with large computing powers available on supercomputers such as Pleiades and Blue Waters in the US. For astrophysical plasma research, PIC methods have been utilized for several topics, such as reconnection, pulsar dynamics, non-relativistic shocks, relativistic shocks, and relativistic jets. PIC simulations of relativistic jets have been reviewed with emphasis placed on the physics involved in the simulations. This review summarizes PIC simulations, starting with the Weibel instability in slab models of jets, and then focuses on global jet evolution in helical magnetic field geometry. In particular, we address kinetic Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities and mushroom instabilities. KW - particle-in-cell simulations KW - relativistic jets KW - the Weibel instability KW - kink-like instability KW - mushroom instability KW - global jets KW - helical magnetic fields KW - recollimation shocks Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/galaxies7010029 SN - 2075-4434 VL - 7 IS - 1 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER -