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The dynamics of external contributions to the geomagnetic field is investigated by applying time-frequency methods to magnetic observatory data. Fractal models and multiscale analysis enable obtaining maximum quantitative information related to the short-term dynamics of the geomagnetic field activity. The stochastic properties of the horizontal component of the transient external field are determined by searching for scaling laws in the power spectra. The spectrum fits a power law with a scaling exponent β, a typical characteristic of self-affine time-series. Local variations in the power-law exponent are investigated by applying wavelet analysis to the same time-series. These analyses highlight the self-affine properties of geomagnetic perturbations and their persistence. Moreover, they show that the main phases of sudden storm disturbances are uniquely characterized by a scaling exponent varying between 1 and 3, possibly related to the energy contained in the external field. These new findings suggest the existence of a long-range dependence, the scaling exponent being an efficient indicator of geomagnetic activity and singularity detection. These results show that by using magnetogram regularity to reflect the magnetosphere activity, a theoretical analysis of the external geomagnetic field based on local power-law exponents is possible.
Iranische Präsidentschaftswahlen sind immer für eine Überraschung gut. Noch eine Woche vor der Wahl dürften die wenigsten mit einem Erdrutschsieg Hassan Rouhanis gerechnet haben. Der neue Mann ist dabei ein Altbekannter. Zahlreiche Posten hat er in der Islamischen Republik bereits bekleidet und sich als Chefunterhändler auch im Ausland einen Namen gemacht. Welche Erwartungen werden an ihn gerichtet und welche Herausforderungen gilt es nun zu meistern?
Background: The use of psychoactive substances to neuroenhance cognitive performance is prevalent. Neuroenhancement (NE) in everyday life and doping in sport might rest on similar attitudinal representations, and both behaviors can be theoretically modeled by comparable means-to-end relations (substance-performance). A behavioral (not substance-based) definition of NE is proposed, with assumed functionality as its core component. It is empirically tested whether different NE variants (lifestyle drug, prescription drug, and illicit substance) can be regressed to school stressors.
Findings: Participants were 519 students (25.8 +/- 8.4 years old, 73.1% female). Logistic regressions indicate that a modified doping attitude scale can predict all three NE variants. Multiple NE substance abuse was frequent. Overwhelming demands in school were associated with lifestyle and prescription drug NE.
Conclusions: Researchers should be sensitive for probable structural similarities between enhancement in everyday life and sport and systematically explore where findings from one domain can be adapted for the other. Policy makers should be aware that students might misperceive NE as an acceptable means of coping with stress in school, and help to form societal sensitivity for the topic of NE among our younger ones in general.
Background: Neuroenhancement (NE), the use of psychoactive substances in order to enhance a healthy individual's cognitive functioning from a proficient to an even higher level, is prevalent in student populations. According to the strength model of self-control, people fail to self-regulate and fall back on their dominant behavioral response when finite self-control resources are depleted. An experiment was conducted to test the hypothesis that ego-depletion will prevent students who are unfamiliar with NE from trying it.
Findings: 130 undergraduates, who denied having tried NE before (43% female, mean age = 22.76 +/- 4.15 years old), were randomly assigned to either an ego-depletion or a control condition. The dependent variable was taking an "energy-stick" (a legal nutritional supplement, containing low doses of caffeine, taurine and vitamin B), offered as a potential means of enhancing performance on the bogus concentration task that followed. Logistic regression analysis showed that ego-depleted participants were three times less likely to take the substance, OR = 0.37, p = .01.
Conclusion: This experiment found that trying NE for the first time was more likely if an individual's cognitive capacities were not depleted. This means that mental exhaustion is not predictive for NE in students for whom NE is not the dominant response. Trying NE for the first time is therefore more likely to occur as a thoughtful attempt at self-regulation than as an automatic behavioral response in stressful situations. We therefore recommend targeting interventions at this inter-individual difference. Students without previous reinforcing NE experience should be provided with information about the possible negative health outcomes of NE. Reconfiguring structural aspects in the academic environment (e.g. lessening workloads) might help to deter current users.
We present and discuss the results of crystallographic and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopic analyses of five tetrachloridocuprate(II) complexes to supply a useful tool for the structural characterisation of the [CuCl4]2− moiety in the liquid state, for example in ionic liquids, or in solution. Bis(benzyltriethylammonium)-, bis(trimethylphenylammonium)-, bis(ethyltriphenylphosphonium)-, bis(benzyltriphenylphosphonium)-, and bis(tetraphenylarsonium)tetrachloridocuprate(II) were synthesised and characterised by elemental, IR, EPR and X-ray analyses. The results of the crystallographic analyses show distorted tetrahedral coordination geometry of all [CuCl4]2− anions in the five complexes and prove that all investigated complexes are stabilised by hydrogen bonds of different intensities. Despite the use of sterically demanding ammonium, phosphonium and arsonium cations to obtain the separation of the paramagnetic Cu(II) centres for EPR spectroscopy no hyperfine structure was observed in the EPR spectra but the principal values of the electron Zeeman tensor, g∥ and g⊥, could be determined. With these EPR data and the crystallographic parameters we were able to carry out a correlation study to anticipate the structural situation of tetrachloridocuprates in different physical states. This correlation is in good agreement with DFT calculations.
Deep into the second half of the twentieth century the traditionalist definition of India as a country of villages remained dominant in official political rhetoric as well as cultural production. In the past two decades or so, this ruralist paradigm has been effectively superseded by a metropolitan imaginary in which the modern, globalised megacity increasingly functions as representative of India as a whole. Has the village, then, entirely vanished from the cultural imaginary in contemporary India? Addressing economic practices from upper-class consumerism to working-class family support strategies, this paper attempts to trace how ‘the village’ resurfaces or survives as a cultural reference point in the midst of the urban.
Various 1,6- and 1,8-naphthalenophanes were synthesized by using the Photo-Dehydro-Diels-Alder (PDDA) reaction of bis-ynones. These compounds are easily accessible from omega-(3-iodophenyl)carboxylic acids in three steps. The obtained naphthalenophanes are axially chiral and the activation barrier for the atropisomerization could be determined in some cases by means of dynamic NMR (DNMR) and/or dynamic HPLC (DHPLC) experiments.
TRAPID
(2013)
Transcriptome analysis through next-generation sequencing technologies allows the generation of detailed gene catalogs for non-model species, at the cost of new challenges with regards to computational requirements and bioinformatics expertise. Here, we present TRAPID, an online tool for the fast and efficient processing of assembled RNA-Seq transcriptome data, developed to mitigate these challenges. TRAPID offers high-throughput open reading frame detection, frameshift correction and includes a functional, comparative and phylogenetic toolbox, making use of 175 reference proteomes. Benchmarking and comparison against state-of-the-art transcript analysis tools reveals the efficiency and unique features of the TRAPID system. TRAPID is freely available at http://bioinformatics.psb.ugent.be/webtools/trapid/.
Background: The linear noise approximation (LNA) is commonly used to predict how noise is regulated and exploited at the cellular level. These predictions are exact for reaction networks composed exclusively of first order reactions or for networks involving bimolecular reactions and large numbers of molecules. It is however well known that gene regulation involves bimolecular interactions with molecule numbers as small as a single copy of a particular gene. It is therefore questionable how reliable are the LNA predictions for these systems.
Results: We implement in the software package intrinsic Noise Analyzer (iNA), a system size expansion based method which calculates the mean concentrations and the variances of the fluctuations to an order of accuracy higher than the LNA. We then use iNA to explore the parametric dependence of the Fano factors and of the coefficients of variation of the mRNA and protein fluctuations in models of genetic networks involving nonlinear protein degradation, post-transcriptional, post-translational and negative feedback regulation. We find that the LNA can significantly underestimate the amplitude and period of noise-induced oscillations in genetic oscillators. We also identify cases where the LNA predicts that noise levels can be optimized by tuning a bimolecular rate constant whereas our method shows that no such regulation is possible. All our results are confirmed by stochastic simulations.
Conclusion: The software iNA allows the investigation of parameter regimes where the LNA fares well and where it does not. We have shown that the parametric dependence of the coefficients of variation and Fano factors for common gene regulatory networks is better described by including terms of higher order than LNA in the system size expansion. This analysis is considerably faster than stochastic simulations due to the extensive ensemble averaging needed to obtain statistically meaningful results. Hence iNA is well suited for performing computationally efficient and quantitative studies of intrinsic noise in gene regulatory networks.
A polymer analogous reaction for the formation of imidazolium and NHC based porous polymer networks
(2013)
A polymer analogous reaction was carried out to generate a porous polymeric network with N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHC) in the polymer backbone. Using a stepwise approach, first a polyimine network is formed by polymerization of the tetrafunctional amine tetrakis(4-aminophenyl)methane. This polyimine network is converted in the second step into polyimidazolium chloride and finally to a polyNHC network. Furthermore a porous Cu(II)-coordinated polyNHC network can be generated. Supercritical drying generates polymer networks with high permanent surface areas and porosities which can be applied for different catalytic reactions. The catalytic properties were demonstrated for example in the activation of CO2 or in the deoxygenation of sulfoxides to the corresponding sulfides.
With the present theoretical study of the photochemical switching of E-methylfurylfulgide we contribute an important step towards the understanding of the photochemical processes in furylfulgide-related molecules. We have carried out large-scale, full-dimensional direct semiempirical configuration-interaction surface-hopping dynamics of the photoinduced ring-closure reaction. Simulated static and dynamical UV/Vis-spectra show good agreement with experimental data of the same molecule. By a careful investigation of our dynamical data, we were able to identify marked differences to the dynamics of the previously studied E-isopropylfurylfulgide. With our simulations we can not only reproduce the experimentally observed quantum yield differences qualitatively but we can also pinpoint two reasons for them: kinematics and pre-orientation. With our analysis, we thus offer straightforward molecular explanations for the high sensitivity of the photodynamics towards seemingly minor changes in molecular constitution. Beyond the realm of furylfulgides, these insights provide additional guidance to the rational design of photochemically switchable molecules.
Die Frage nach einer veränderten Strategie des Westens im Atomkonflikt mit dem Iran ist wieder virulent. Bereits auf seiner ersten Pressekonferenz hat der als gemäßigt geltende neue iranische Präsident Hassan Ruhani mehr Transparenz über das Atomprogramm seines Landes in Aussicht gestellt. Ob sich damit ein Fenster der Möglichkeiten öffnet, den Konflikt doch noch einvernehmlich und vor allem friedlich zu lösen, muss sich erweisen.
Spätestens die Geschichte in der zweiten Hälfte des 20. Jahrhunderts hat gezeigt, dass es historische Lektionen gibt, deren Verinnerlichung permanent, weil von jeder nachwachsenden politischen und militärischen Elite aufs Neue verweigert wird. Dazu zählt, dass militärische Gewalt in der Regel ein komplett untaugliches Mittel ist, anderen Staaten und Völkern den eigenen politischen Willen aufzuzwingen und regime change entweder zu verhindern oder herbeizuführen.
Die genaue Anzahl einsatzfähiger Nuklearsprengköpfe Pakistans, einer nach den Standards des internationalen Regimes zur Nichtweiterverbreitung von Kernwaffen (NPT) illegalen Atommacht, ist nicht bekannt. Hans Kristensen, Direktor des Nuclear Information Project der unabhängigen Federation of American Scientists und Kenner der Materie, rechnet mit 90 bis 110, Tendenz: kontinuierlich steigend. Diese Waffen befinden sich in einem Land, das seit Jahrzehnten vom Militär beherrscht wird, das aufgrund der extremen Armut einer Mehrheit der Bevölkerung erheblichen sozialen Sprengstoff in sich birgt und in dem sich Guerilla-Angriffe separatistischer paschtunischer Taliban auch gegen Militärbasen richten, die mit den Kernstreitkräften des Landes in Verbindung gebracht werden. Experten warnen daher vor der Möglichkeit eines fundamental-islamistischen Umsturzes ebenso wie vor der Gefahr, dass einzelne Atomwaffen in die Hände terroristischer Gruppen geraten könnten. Was den letzteren Aspekt anbetrifft, so beruhigt es auch nicht, wenn die pakistanischen Taliban – wie im Mai 2011 – erklären, dass „Pakistan die einzige muslimische Atommacht“ sei und man an diesem Status nichts ändern wolle.
Das Pro und Contra hinsichtlich bewaffneter Drohnen für die Bundeswehr schwelte hierzulande bereits seit Längerem, als Bundesverteidigungsminister de Maizière 2012 mit einem befürwortenden Plädoyer aus der Deckung trat und solche Kampfmaschinen als „ethisch neutral“ einstufte. Inzwischen könnte – ohne Einbeziehung des Parlaments – eine Entscheidung der Bundesregierung gefallen sein. In der Antwort auf eine parlamentarische Anfrage der Linkspartei hieß es, „dass eine durchhaltefähige bewaffnete Aufklärung […] als Schutz bei plötzlich auftretenden gravierenden Lageänderungen unbedingt erforderlich ist“.
Background
Natural accessions of Arabidopsis thaliana are a well-known system to measure levels of intraspecific genetic variation. Leaf starch content correlates negatively with biomass. Starch is synthesized by the coordinated action of many (iso)enzymes. Quantitatively dominant is the repetitive transfer of glucosyl residues to the non-reducing ends of α-glucans as mediated by starch synthases. In the genome of A. thaliana, there are five classes of starch synthases, designated as soluble starch synthases (SSI, SSII, SSIII, and SSIV) and granule-bound synthase (GBSS). Each class is represented by a single gene. The five genes are homologous in functional domains due to their common origin, but have evolved individual features as well. Here, we analyze the extent of genetic variation in these fundamental protein classes as well as possible functional implications on transcript and protein levels.
Findings
Intraspecific sequence variation of the five starch synthases was determined by sequencing the entire loci including promoter regions from 30 worldwide distributed accessions of A. thaliana. In all genes, a considerable number of nucleotide polymorphisms was observed, both in non-coding and coding regions, and several amino acid substitutions were identified in functional domains. Furthermore, promoters possess numerous polymorphisms in potentially regulatory cis-acting regions. By realtime experiments performed with selected accessions, we demonstrate that DNA sequence divergence correlates with significant differences in transcript levels.
Conclusions
Except for AtSSII, all starch synthase classes clustered into two or three groups of haplotypes, respectively. Significant difference in transcript levels among haplotype clusters in AtSSIV provides evidence for cis-regulation. By contrast, no such correlation was found for AtSSI, AtSSII, AtSSIII, and AtGBSS, suggesting trans-regulation. The expression data presented here point to a regulation by common trans-regulatory transcription factors which ensures a coordinated action of the products of these four genes during starch granule biosynthesis. The apparent cis-regulation of AtSSIV might be related to its role in the initiation of de novo biosynthesis of granules.
Under standard conditions the cross metathesis of allyl alcohols and methyl acrylate is accompanied by the formation of ketones, resulting from uncontrolled and undesired double bond isomerization. By conducting the CM in the presence of phenol, the catalyst loading and the reaction time required for quantiative conversion can be reduced, and isomerization can be suppressed. On the other hand, consecutive isomerization can be deliberately promoted by evaporating excess methyl acrylate after completing cross metathesis and by adding a base or silane as chemical triggers.
4-Phenol diazonium salts undergo Pd-catalyzed Heck reactions with various styrenes to 4’-hydroxy stilbenes. In almost all cases higher yields and fewer side products were observed, compared to the analogous 4-methoxy benzene diazonium salts. In contrast, the reaction fails completely with 2- and 3-phenol diazonium salts. For these substitution patterns the methoxy-substituted derivatives are superior.
In Germany, active bat rabies surveillance was conducted between 1993 and 2012. A total of 4546 oropharyngeal swab samples from 18 bat species were screened for the presence of EBLV-1- , EBLV-2- and BBLV-specific RNA. Overall, 0 center dot 15% of oropharyngeal swab samples tested EBLV-1 positive, with the majority originating from Eptesicus serotinus. Interestingly, out of seven RT-PCR-positive oropharyngeal swabs subjected to virus isolation, viable virus was isolated from a single serotine bat (E. serotinus). Additionally, about 1226 blood samples were tested serologically, and varying virus neutralizing antibody titres were found in at least eight different bat species. The detection of viral RNA and seroconversion in repeatedly sampled serotine bats indicates long-term circulation of the virus in a particular bat colony. The limitations of random-based active bat rabies surveillance over passive bat rabies surveillance and its possible application of targeted approaches for future research activities on bat lyssavirus dynamics and maintenance are discussed.
Die westliche Diplomatie wurde mit der Absetzung des gewählten Präsidenten Mohammed Mursi, der Verhaftung der Führungsriege der Muslimbruderschaft und der Aussetzung der Verfassung durch die ägyptische Militärführung vor vollendete Tatsachen gestellt. Damit sind die Bemühungen Deutschlands, der EU und der USA um eine politische Lösung, die alle Kräfte einbezieht, vorerst gescheitert. Gab es anfangs die Hoffnung, dass der Militärputsch in Kairo Auftakt für einen demokratischen Neustart sein könnte,so ist mittlerweile deutlich geworden, dass Ägypten in autoritäre Herrschaftsmechanismen der Mubarak-Ära zurückfällt.
This article presents the results of a study on the interpretation and acceptance of adjectival resultatives of German children between 6 and 9 years of age and adults. These results brought to light significant differences, due to age, in the interpretation and acceptance of these resultatives, that is to say, sentences with an adjective in the final position. The youngest participants were prone to accept ungrammatical sentences by assigning a resultative meaning. The ungrammaticality of the sentences in question was not due to semantic inconsistencies but to violations of the selectional properties of verbs, as for instance in *die Kinder erschrecken die Katze ängstlich ‘the children frighten the cat scared’. In contrast, the adults rejected or amended those sentences. The conclusion is (a) that the children seemed to rely on the sentence structure as a primary cue to compute the meaning of an utterance and (b) that, in contrast with adults, the youngest children in particular had not yet learned the relevant semantic properties of verbs that determine the selectional restrictions and thus the syntactic options of verbs. This means that differences in interpretation and acceptance of sentences are due to differences in knowledge of semantic verb properties between adults and children. The relevant semantic knowledge increases in gradual stages during language acquisition.
Despite recent growth of research on the effects of prosocial media, processes underlying these effects are not well understood. Two studies explored theoretically relevant mediators and moderators of the effects of prosocial media on helping. Study 1 examined associations among prosocial- and violent-media use, empathy, and helping in samples from seven countries. Prosocial-media use was positively associated with helping. This effect was mediated by empathy and was similar across cultures. Study 2 explored longitudinal relations among prosocial-video-game use, violent-video-game use, empathy, and helping in a large sample of Singaporean children and adolescents measured three times across 2 years. Path analyses showed significant longitudinal effects of prosocial- and violent-video-game use on prosocial behavior through empathy. Latent-growth-curve modeling for the 2-year period revealed that change in video-game use significantly affected change in helping, and that this relationship was mediated by change in empathy.
Rechtsruck in Japan
(2013)
Ein dreifacher Rechtsruck geht nach den Wahlen durch Japan: Die rechtsradikale Restaurationspartei feiert ihren Aufstieg zur drittstärksten Macht, der rechte Flügel des Wahlverlierers, der Demokratischen Partei, hat überlebt und der rückwärtsgewandte Wahlsieger der Liberaldemokratischen Partei, Abe Shinzō, regiert wieder. Wie werden diese Veränderungen die Außen- und Sicherheitspolitik Japans beeinflussen?
Wurde uns ein neuer Star geboren? Die Begeisterung im globalen Süden, sofern katholisch, und besonders in Argentinien, die mit der Wahl von Jorge María Bergoglio zum Papst Franziskus verbunden war, scheint dies zu belegen. Diese Freude ließ die Probleme, die mit der Wahl dieses neuen Papstes sowohl in der katholischen Kirche als auch mit seiner „argentinischen Geschichte“ verbunden sind, in den Hintergrund, ja fast in Vergessenheit geraten.
Introduction: We examined patterns of genetic divergence in 26 Mediterranean populations of the semi-terrestrial beachflea Orchestia montagui using mitochondrial (cytochrome oxidase subunit I), microsatellite (eight loci) and allozymic data. The species typically forms large populations within heaps of dead seagrass leaves stranded on beaches at the waterfront. We adopted a hierarchical geographic sampling to unravel population structure in a species living at the sea-land transition and, hence, likely subjected to dramatically contrasting forces.
Results: Mitochondrial DNA showed historical phylogeographic breaks among Adriatic, Ionian and the remaining basins (Tyrrhenian, Western and Eastern Mediterranean Sea) likely caused by the geological and climatic changes of the Pleistocene. Microsatellites (and to a lesser extent allozymes) detected a further subdivision between and within the Western Mediterranean and the Tyrrhenian Sea due to present-day processes. A pattern of isolation by distance was not detected in any of the analyzed data set.
Conclusions: We conclude that the population structure of O. montagui is the result of the interplay of two contrasting forces that act on the species population genetic structure. On one hand, the species semi-terrestrial life style would tend to determine the onset of local differences. On the other hand, these differences are partially counter-balanced by passive movements of migrants via rafting on heaps of dead seagrass leaves across sites by sea surface currents. Approximate Bayesian Computations support dispersal at sea as prevalent over terrestrial regionalism.
Previous research has shown that high phonotactic frequencies
facilitate the production of regularly inflected verbs in English-learning
children with specific language impairment (SLI) but not with typical
development (TD). We asked whether this finding can be replicated
for German, a language with a much more complex inflectional
verb paradigm than English. Using an elicitation task, the production
of inflected nonce verb forms (3 rd person singular with -t suffix)
with either high- or low-frequency subsyllables was tested in
sixteen German-learning children with SLI (ages 4;1–5 ;1), sixteen
TD-children matched for chronological age (CA) and fourteen TD-
children matched for verbal age (VA) (ages 3;0–3 ;11). The findings
revealed that children with SLI, but not CA- or VA-children, showed
differential performance between the two types of verbs, producing
more inflectional errors when the verb forms resulted in low-frequency
subsyllables than when they resulted in high-frequency subsyllables,
replicating the results from English-learning children.
A rare example of in situ linker generation with the formation of soft porous Zn- and Co-MOFs (IFP-9 and -10, respectively) is reported. The flexible ethoxy groups of IFP-9 and -10 protrude into the 1D hexagonal channels. The gas-sorption behavior of both materials for H2, CO2 and CH4 showed wide hysteretic isotherms, typical for MOFs having a flexible substituent which can give rise to a gate effect.
A Co(II)–imidazolate-4-amide-5-imidate based MOF, IFP-5, is synthesized by using an imidazolate anion-based novel ionic liquid as a linker precursor under solvothermal conditions. IFP-5 shows significant amounts of gas (N2, CO2, CH4 and H2) uptake capacities. IFP-5 exhibits an independent high spin Co(II) centre and antiferromagnetic coupling.
Sugar-based molecules and polysaccharide biomass can be turned into porous functional carbonaceous products at comparably low temperatures of 400 °C under a nitrogen atmosphere in the presence of an ionic liquid (IL) or a poly(ionic liquid) (PIL). The IL and PIL act as “activation agents” with own structural contribution, and effectively promote the conversion and pore generation in the biomaterials even at a rather low doping ratio (7 wt%). In addition, this “induced carbonization” and pore forming phenomenon enables the preservation of the biotemplate shape to the highest extent and was employed to fabricate shaped porous carbonaceous materials from carbohydrate-based biotemplates, exemplified here with cellulose filter membranes, coffee filter paper and natural cotton. These carbonized hybrids exhibit comparably good mechanical properties, such as bendability of membranes or shape recovery of foams. Moreover, the nitrogen atoms incorporated in the final products from the IL/PIL precursors further improve the oxidation stability in the fire-retardant tests.
Continuous synthesis of pyridocarbazoles and initial photophysical and bioprobe characterization
(2013)
Pyridocarbazoles when ligated to transition metals yield high affinity kinase inhibitors. While batch photocyclizations enable the synthesis of these heterocycles, the non-oxidative Mallory reaction only provides modest yields and difficult to purify mixtures. We demonstrate here that a flow-based Mallory cyclization provides superior results and enables observation of a clear isobestic point. The flow method allowed us to rapidly synthesize ten pyridocarbazoles and for the first time to document their interesting photophysical attributes. Preliminary characterization reveals that these molecules might be a new class of fluorescent bioprobe.
Durch den Tod von Kenneth N. Waltz hat die akademische Disziplin der Internationalen Beziehungen ihren gegenwärtig größten und einflussreichsten Denker verloren. In verschiedenen Nachrufen von Schülern und Kollegen wurde zu Recht darauf hingewiesen, dass Kenneth Waltz, egal wie man zu seiner Theorie des strukturellen Realismus (der Begriff, den er dem des Neorealismus vorzog) steht, wie kein anderer die Disziplin der Internationalen Beziehungen nach dem Ende des Zweiten Weltkrieges geprägt hat.
Background: Adaptive behavioural strategies promoting co-occurrence of competing species are known to result from a sympatric evolutionary past. Strategies should be different for indirect resource competition (exploitation, e.g., foraging and avoidance behaviour) than for direct interspecific interference (e.g., aggression, vigilance, and nest guarding). We studied the effects of resource competition and nest predation in sympatric small mammal species using semi-fossorial voles and shrews, which prey on vole offspring during their sensitive nestling phase. Experiments were conducted in caged outdoor enclosures. Focus common vole mothers (Microtus arvalis) were either caged with a greater white-toothed shrew (Crocidura russula) as a potential nest predator, with an herbivorous field vole (Microtus agrestis) as a heterospecific resource competitor, or with a conspecific resource competitor.
Results: We studied behavioural adaptations of vole mothers during pregnancy, parturition, and early lactation, specifically modifications of the burrow architecture and activity at burrow entrances. Further, we measured pre- and postpartum faecal corticosterone metabolites (FCMs) of mothers to test for elevated stress hormone levels. Only in the presence of the nest predator were prepartum FCMs elevated, but we found no loss of vole nestlings and no differences in nestling body weight in the presence of the nest predator or the heterospecific resource competitor. Although the presence of both the shrew and the field vole induced prepartum modifications to the burrow architecture, only nest predators caused an increase in vigilance time at burrow entrances during the sensitive nestling phase.
Conclusion: Voles displayed an adequate behavioural response for both resource competitors and nest predators. They modified burrow architecture to improve nest guarding and increased their vigilance at burrow entrances to enhance offspring survival chances. Our study revealed differential behavioural adaptations to resource competitors and nest predators.
Derivatization of fullerene (C60) with branched aliphatic chains softens C60-based materials and enables the formation of thermotropic liquid crystals and room temperature nonvolatile liquids. This work demonstrates that by carefully tuning parameters such as type, number and substituent position of the branched chains, liquid crystalline C60 materials with mesophase temperatures suited for photovoltaic cell fabrication and room temperature nonvolatile liquid fullerenes with tunable viscosity can be obtained. In particular, compound 1, with branched chains, exhibits a smectic liquid crystalline phase extending from 84 °C to room temperature. Analysis of bulk heterojunction (BHJ) organic solar cells with a ca. 100 nm active layer of compound 1 and poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) as an electron acceptor and an electron donor, respectively, reveals an improved performance (power conversion efficiency, PCE: 1.6 ± 0.1%) in comparison with another compound, 10 (PCE: 0.5 ± 0.1%). The latter, in contrast to 1, carries linear aliphatic chains and thus forms a highly ordered solid lamellar phase at room temperature. The solar cell performance of 1 blended with P3HT approaches that of PCBM/P3HT for the same active layer thickness. This indicates that C60 derivatives bearing branched tails are a promising class of electron acceptors in soft (flexible) photovoltaic devices.
The PSM-leadership fit
(2013)
This article examines the use of performance information by public managers. It conceptualizes purposeful data use as a type of extra-role behaviour which requires additional effort on the part of the managers and which is not extrinsically rewarded. The article sheds light on one potential antecedent of performance information use – the motivation of the users. It argues that we can observe high levels of data use if managers driven by public service motivation (PSM) work under transformational leaders. Using a needs-supply perspective on supervisors and followers we suggest that there is a PSM-leadership fit which fosters the performance of this extra-role behaviour. The article is based on data from German local government and its findings contribute to the literatures on PSM as well as on performance management.
In this article, it will be argued that the concept of functional layering – an extension of Hopper’s (1991) concept of layering – can be fruitfully applied to understand the mechanisms behind the sometimes large and messy looking synchronic picture of diverse meanings which one and the same construction can fulfill at a particular point in time. The concept will be used to account for the meaning spectrum of the present-day English progressive, which, it will be argued, no monosemic approach to date can account for. Taking a look at the diachrony of the construction will help to reveal that the various “exceptions” found in the use of the progressive can be understood as reflections of different stages in its development. Older, less grammaticalized or less well-defined usage patterns thus often survive in certain restricted niches next to the newer, more grammaticalized or more clear-cut functions, representing different diachronic layers. In addition to this diachronic motivation for synchronic meaning variety, the article will also address the crucial question of how a present-day hearer of a progressive form is able to decode the specific meaning intended by the speaker based on contextual clues. The article ends with some suggestions for further applications of the concept of functional layering.
Wenn ein neuer Mann (das gilt auch für entsprechende Frauen) an die Spitze des Staates oder der Regierung tritt, macht er Besuche im Ausland. Allerdings hatte schon der chinesische Philosoph Laotse im 6. Jahrhundert v. u. Z. festgestellt: „Auch der längste Marsch beginnt mit dem ersten Schritt.“ Es gibt immer nur einen ersten Schritt, bereits der zweite ist nicht mehr der erste. So kann auch ein Staatsoberhaupt nur einen ersten Auslandsbesuch machen.
In this paper, we determine necessary and sufficient conditions for Bruck-Reilly and generalized Bruck-Reilly ∗-extensions of arbitrary monoids to be regular, coregular and strongly π-inverse. These semigroup classes have applications in various field of mathematics, such as matrix theory, discrete mathematics and p-adic analysis (especially in operator theory). In addition, while regularity and coregularity have so many applications in the meaning of boundaries (again in operator theory), inverse monoids and Bruck-Reilly extensions contain a mixture fixed-point results of algebra, topology and geometry within the purposes of this journal.
Proposing relevant perturbations to biological signaling networks is central to many problems in biology and medicine because it allows for enabling or disabling certain biological outcomes. In contrast to quantitative methods that permit fine-grained (kinetic) analysis, qualitative approaches allow for addressing large-scale networks. This is accomplished by more abstract representations such as logical networks. We elaborate upon such a qualitative approach aiming at the computation of minimal interventions in logical signaling networks relying on Kleene's three-valued logic and fixpoint semantics. We address this problem within answer set programming and show that it greatly outperforms previous work using dedicated algorithms.
Calcium phosphate nanofibers with a diameter of only a few nanometers and a cotton-ball-like aggregate morphology have been reported several times in the literature. Although fiber formation seems reproducible in a variety of conditions, the crystal structure and chemical composition of the fibers have been elusive. Using scanning transmission electron microscopy, low dose electron (nano)diffraction, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and energy-filtered transmission electron microscopy, we have assigned crystal structures and chemical compositions to the fibers. Moreover, we demonstrate that the mineralization process yields true polymer/calcium phosphate hybrid materials where the block copolymer template is closely associated with the calcium phosphate.
Movement of organisms is one of the key mechanisms shaping biodiversity, e.g. the distribution of genes, individuals and species in space and time. Recent technological and conceptual advances have improved our ability to assess the causes and consequences of individual movement, and led to the emergence of the new field of ‘movement ecology’. Here, we outline how movement ecology can contribute to the broad field of biodiversity research, i.e. the study of processes and patterns of life among and across different scales, from genes to ecosystems, and we propose a conceptual framework linking these hitherto largely separated fields of research. Our framework builds on the concept of movement ecology for individuals, and demonstrates its importance for linking individual organismal movement with biodiversity. First, organismal movements can provide ‘mobile links’ between habitats or ecosystems, thereby connecting resources, genes, and processes among otherwise separate locations. Understanding these mobile links and their impact on biodiversity will be facilitated by movement ecology, because mobile links can be created by different modes of movement (i.e., foraging, dispersal, migration) that relate to different spatiotemporal scales and have differential effects on biodiversity. Second, organismal movements can also mediate coexistence in communities, through ‘equalizing’ and ‘stabilizing’ mechanisms. This novel integrated framework provides a conceptual starting point for a better understanding of biodiversity dynamics in light of individual movement and space-use behavior across spatiotemporal scales. By illustrating this framework with examples, we argue that the integration of movement ecology and biodiversity research will also enhance our ability to conserve diversity at the genetic, species, and ecosystem levels.
This study presents results from a cross-modal priming experiment investigating inflected verb forms of German. A group of late learners of German with Russian as their native language (L1) was compared to a control group of German L1 speakers. The experiment showed different priming patterns for the two participant groups. The L1 German data yielded a stem-priming effect for inflected forms involving regular affixation and a partial priming effect for irregular forms irrespective of stem allomorphy. By contrast, the data from the late bilinguals showed reduced priming effects for both regular and irregular forms. We argue that late learners rely more on lexically stored inflected word forms during word recognition and less on morphological parsing than native speakers.
A water soluble fluorescent polymer as a dual colour sensor for temperature and a specific protein
(2013)
We present two thermoresponsive water soluble copolymers prepared via free radical statistical copolymerization of N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAm) and of oligo(ethylene glycol) methacrylates (OEGMAs), respectively, with a solvatochromic 7-(diethylamino)-3-carboxy-coumarin (DEAC)- functionalized monomer. In aqueous solutions, the NIPAm-based copolymer exhibits characteristic changes in its fluorescence profile in response to a change in solution temperature as well as to the presence of a specific protein, namely an anti-DEAC antibody. This polymer emits only weakly at low temperatures, but exhibits a marked fluorescence enhancement accompanied by a change in its emission colour when heated above its cloud point. Such drastic changes in the fluorescence and absorbance spectra are observed also upon injection of the anti-DEAC antibody, attributed to the specific binding of the antibody to DEAC moieties. Importantly, protein binding occurs exclusively when the polymer is in the well hydrated state below the cloud point, enabling a temperature control on the molecular recognition event. On the other hand, heating of the polymer–antibody complexes releases a fraction of the bound antibody. In the presence of the DEAC-functionalized monomer in this mixture, the released antibody competitively binds to the monomer and the antibody-free chains of the polymer undergo a more effective collapse and inter-aggregation. In contrast, the emission properties of the OEGMA-based analogous copolymer are rather insensitive to the thermally induced phase transition or to antibody binding. These opposite behaviours underline the need for a carefully tailored molecular design of responsive polymers aimed at specific applications, such as biosensing.
We demonstrate new fluorophore-labelled materials based on acrylamide and on oligo(ethylene glycol) (OEG) bearing thermoresponsive polymers for sensing purposes and investigate their thermally induced solubility transitions. It is found that the emission properties of the polarity-sensitive (solvatochromic) naphthalimide derivative attached to three different thermoresponsive polymers are highly specific to the exact chemical structure of the macromolecule. While the dye emits very weakly below the LCST when incorporated into poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (pNIPAm) or into a polyacrylate backbone bearing only short OEG side chains, it is strongly emissive in polymethacrylates with longer OEG side chains. Heating of the aqueous solutions above their cloud point provokes an abrupt increase of the fluorescence intensity of the labelled pNIPAm, whereas the emission properties of the dye are rather unaffected as OEG-based polyacrylates and methacrylates undergo phase transition. Correlated with laser light scattering studies, these findings are ascribed to the different degrees of pre-aggregation of the chains at low temperatures and to the extent of dehydration that the phase transition evokes. It is concluded that although the temperature-triggered changes in the macroscopic absorption characteristics, related to large-scale alterations of the polymer chain conformation and aggregation, are well detectable and similar for these LCST-type polymers, the micro-environment provided to the dye within each polymer network differs substantially. Considering sensing applications, this finding is of great importance since the temperature-regulated fluorescence response of the polymer depends more on the macromolecular architecture than the type of reporter fluorophore.
Growing out of the crisis
(2013)
Greece’s currently planned institutional reforms will help to get the country going with limited economic growth. With an economy based primarily on tourism, trade, and agriculture, Greece lacks an established competitive industry and an innovation-friendly environment, resulting in a low export ratio given the small size of the country and its long-time EU-membership. Instead, Greece exports only its nation's talent, with low returns. To become prosperous, the country must better capitalize on its Eurozone membership and add innovative sectors to its economic structure. Given Greece's hidden assets, such as the attractiveness of the country, a small number of strong research centers and an impressive diaspora in research, finance and business, we envision a Greek “Silicon Valley” and propose a ten point policy plan to achieve that goal.
Background
Appearance-related social pressure plays an important role in the development of a negative body image and self-esteem as well as severe mental disorders during adolescence (e.g. eating disorders, depression). Identifying who is particularly affected by social pressure can improve targeted prevention and intervention, but findings have either been lacking or controversial. Thus the aim of this study is to provide a detailed picture of gender, weight, and age-related variations in the perception of appearance-related social pressure by peers and parents.
Methods
1112 German students between grades 7 and 9 (mean age: M = 13.38, SD = .81) filled in the Appearance-Related Social Pressure Questionnaire (German: FASD), which considers different sources (peers, parents) as well as various kinds of social pressure (e.g. teasing, modeling, encouragement).
Results
Girls were more affected by peer pressure, while gender differences in parental pressure seemed negligible. Main effects of grade-level suggested a particular increase in indirect peer pressure (e.g. appearance-related school and class norms) from early to middle adolescence. Boys and girls with higher BMI were particularly affected by peer teasing and exclusion as well as by parental encouragement to control weight and shape.
Conclusion
The results suggest that preventive efforts targeting body concerns and disordered eating should bring up the topic of appearance pressure in a school-based context and should strengthen those adolescents who are particularly at risk - in our study, girls and adolescents with higher weight status. Early adolescence and school transition appear to be crucial periods for these efforts. Moreover, the comprehensive assessment of appearance-related social pressure appears to be a fruitful way to further explore social risk-factors in the development of a negative body image.
Italien ist ein Land des Wandels, vor allem wechseln seine Regierungen sehr häufig. Regierungen in Italien haben es nicht leicht, ihre Legislaturperiode zu beenden. Der neue Mann nach dem verhängnisvollen Berlusconi und dem kurzen Intermezzo des Technokraten Monti ist der Politiker Enrico Letta. Wird er eine regierungsfähige Koalition erhalten und kann er die ernsten Probleme des Landes nachhaltig lösen?
Open Government
(2013)
Bis heute gelingt es kaum, Begriffe rund um die Verwaltungsreform – von New Public Management bis zu den E-Modellen – schlüssig voneinander abzugrenzen. Dieses Defizit wird bei der Betrachtung des Konzepts Open Government erneut sichtbar. Der Begriff Open Government ist dabei nicht nur aus verwaltungswissenschaftlicher, sondern mit Blick auf die Instrumente der direkten Demokratie auch aus politikwissenschaftlicher Perspektive zu betrachten. Handelt es sich um einen Sammelbegriff für hauptsächlich schon Dagewesenes?