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The new sediment record from the deep Dead Sea basin (ICDP core 5017-1) provides a unique archive for hydroclimatic variability in the Levant. Here, we present high-resolution sediment facies analysis and elemental composition by micro-X-ray fluorescence (mu XRF) scanning of core 5017-1 to trace lake levels and responses of the regional hydroclimatology during the time interval from ca. 117 to 75 ka, i. e. the transition between the last interglacial and the onset of the last glaciation. We distinguished six major micro-facies types and interpreted these and their alterations in the core in terms of relative lake level changes. The two end-member facies for highest and lowest lake levels are (a) up to several metres thick, greenish sediments of alternating aragonite and detrital marl laminae (aad) and (b) thick halite facies, respectively. Intermediate lake levels are characterised by detrital marls with varying amounts of aragonite, gypsum or halite, reflecting lower-amplitude, shorter-term variability. Two intervals of pronounced lake level drops occurred at similar to 110-108 +/- 5 and similar to 93-87 +/- 7 ka. They likely coincide with stadial conditions in the central Mediterranean (Melisey I and II pollen zones in Monticchio) and low global sea levels during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5d and 5b. However, our data do not support the current hypothesis of an almost complete desiccation of the Dead Sea during the earlier of these lake level low stands based on a recovered gravel layer. Based on new petrographic analyses, we propose that, although it was a low stand, this well-sorted gravel layer may be a vestige of a thick turbidite that has been washed out during drilling rather than an in situ beach deposit. Two intervals of higher lake stands at similar to 108-93 +/- 6 and similar to 87-75 +/- 7 ka correspond to interstadial conditions in the central Mediterranean, i. e. pollen zones St. Germain I and II in Monticchio, and Greenland interstadials (GI) 24+23 and 21 in Greenland, as well as to sapropels S4 and S3 in the Mediterranean Sea. These apparent correlations suggest a close link of the climate in the Levant to North Atlantic and Mediterranean climates during the time of the build-up of Northern Hemisphere ice shields in the early last glacial period.
Injection of fluids into deep saline aquifers causes a pore pressure increase in the storage formation, and thus displacement of resident brine. Via hydraulically conductive faults, brine may migrate upwards into shallower aquifers and lead to unwanted salinisation of potable groundwater resources. In the present study, we investigated different scenarios for a potential storage site in the Northeast German Basin using a three-dimensional (3-D) regional-scale model that includes four major fault zones. The focus was on assessing the impact of fault length and the effect of a secondary reservoir above the storage formation, as well as model boundary conditions and initial salinity distribution on the potential salinisation of shallow groundwater resources. We employed numerical simulations of brine injection as a representative fluid.
Our simulation results demonstrate that the lateral model boundary settings and the effective fault damage zone volume have the greatest influence on pressure build-up and development within the reservoir, and thus intensity and duration of fluid flow through the faults. Higher vertical pressure gradients for short fault segments or a small effective fault damage zone volume result in the highest salinisation potential due to a larger vertical fault height affected by fluid displacement. Consequently, it has a strong impact on the degree of shallow aquifer salinisation, whether a gradient in salinity exists or the saltwater-freshwater interface lies below the fluid displacement depth in the faults. A small effective fault damage zone volume or low fault permeability further extend the duration of fluid flow, which can persist for several tens to hundreds of years, if the reservoir is laterally confined. Laterally open reservoir boundaries, large effective fault damage zone volumes and intermediate reservoirs significantly reduce vertical brine migration and the potential of freshwater salinisation because the origin depth of displaced brine is located only a few decametres below the shallow aquifer in maximum.
The present study demonstrates that the existence of hydraulically conductive faults is not necessarily an exclusion criterion for potential injection sites, because salinisation of shallower aquifers strongly depends on initial salinity distribution, location of hydraulically conductive faults and their effective damage zone volumes as well as geological boundary conditions.
Individuals within populations often differ substantially in habitat use, the ecological consequences of which can be far reaching. Stable isotope analysis provides a convenient and often cost effective means of indirectly assessing the habitat use of individuals that can yield valuable insights into the spatiotemporal distribution of foraging specialisations within a population. Here we use the stable isotope ratios of southern sea lion (Otaria flavescens) pup vibrissae at the Falkland Islands, in the South Atlantic, as a proxy for adult female habitat use during gestation. A previous study found that adult females from one breeding colony (Big Shag Island) foraged in two discrete habitats, inshore (coastal) or offshore (outer Patagonian Shelf). However, as this species breeds at over 70 sites around the Falkland Islands, it is unclear if this pattern is representative of the Falkland Islands as a whole. In order to characterize habitat use, we therefore assayed carbon (delta C-13) and nitrogen (delta N-15) ratios from 65 southern sea lion pup vibrissae, sampled across 19 breeding colonies at the Falkland Islands. Model-based clustering of pup isotope ratios identified three distinct clusters, representing adult females that foraged inshore, offshore, and a cluster best described as intermediate. A significant difference was found in the use of inshore and offshore habitats between West and East Falkland and between the two colonies with the largest sample sizes, both of which are located in East Falkland. However, habitat use was unrelated to the proximity of breeding colonies to the Patagonian Shelf, a region associated with enhanced biological productivity. Our study thus points towards other factors, such as local oceanography and its influence on resource distribution, playing a prominent role in inshore and offshore habitat use.
About a quarter of anthropogenic CO2 emissions are currently taken up by the oceans, decreasing seawater pH. We performed a mesocosm experiment in the Baltic Sea in order to investigate the consequences of increasing CO2 levels on pelagic carbon fluxes. A gradient of different CO2 scenarios, ranging from ambient (similar to 370 mu atm) to high (similar to 1200 mu atm), were set up in mesocosm bags (similar to 55m(3)). We determined standing stocks and temporal changes of total particulate carbon (TPC), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), and particulate organic carbon (POC) of specific plankton groups. We also measured carbon flux via CO2 exchange with the atmosphere and sedimentation (export), and biological rate measurements of primary production, bacterial production, and total respiration. The experiment lasted for 44 days and was divided into three different phases (I: t0-t16; II: t17-t30; III: t31-t43). Pools of TPC, DOC, and DIC were approximately 420, 7200, and 25 200 mmol Cm-2 at the start of the experiment, and the initial CO2 additions increased the DIC pool by similar to 7% in the highest CO2 treatment. Overall, there was a decrease in TPC and increase of DOC over the course of the experiment. The decrease in TPC was lower, and increase in DOC higher, in treatments with added CO2. During phase I the estimated gross primary production (GPP) was similar to 100 mmol C m(-2) day(-1), from which 75-95% was respired, similar to 1% ended up in the TPC (including export), and 5-25% was added to the DOC pool. During phase II, the respiration loss increased to similar to 100% of GPP at the ambient CO2 concentration, whereas respiration was lower (85-95% of GPP) in the highest CO2 treatment. Bacterial production was similar to 30% lower, on average, at the highest CO2 concentration than in the controls during phases II and III. This resulted in a higher accumulation of DOC and lower reduction in the TPC pool in the elevated CO2 treatments at the end of phase II extending throughout phase III. The "extra" organic carbon at high CO2 remained fixed in an increasing biomass of small-sized plankton and in the DOC pool, and did not transfer into large, sinking aggregates. Our results revealed a clear effect of increasing CO2 on the carbon budget and mineralization, in particular under nutrient limited conditions. Lower carbon loss processes (respiration and bacterial remineralization) at elevated CO2 levels resulted in higher TPC and DOC pools than ambient CO2 concentration. These results highlight the importance of addressing not only net changes in carbon standing stocks but also carbon fluxes and budgets to better disentangle the effects of ocean acidification.
Molecular paleoclimate reconstructions over the last 9 ka from a peat sequence in South China
(2016)
To achieve a better understanding of Holocene climate change in the monsoon regions of China, we investigated the molecular distributions and carbon and hydrogen isotope compositions delta C-13 and delta D values) of long-chain n-alkanes in a peat core from the Shiwangutian SWGT) peatland, south China over the last 9 ka. By comparisons with other climate records, we found that the delta C-13 values of the long-chain n-alkanes can be a proxy for humidity, while the dD values of the long-chain n-alkanes primarily recorded the moisture source dD signal during 9-1.8 ka BP and responded to the dry climate during 1.8-0.3 ka BP. Together with the average chain length ACL) and the carbon preference index CPI) data, the climate evolution over last 9 ka in the SWGT peatland can be divided into three stages. During the first stage 9-5 ka BP), the delta C-13 values were depleted and CPI and Paq values were low, while ACL values were high. They reveal a period of warm and wet climate, which is regarded as the Holocene optimum. The second stage 5-1.8 ka BP) witnessed a shift to relatively cool and dry climate, as indicated by the more positive delta C-13 values and lower ACL values. During the third stage 1.8-0.3 ka BP), the delta C-13, delta D, CPI and Paq values showed marked increase and ACL values varied greatly, implying an abrupt change to cold and dry conditions. This climate pattern corresponds to the broad decline in Asian monsoon intensity through the latter part of the Holocene. Our results do not support a later Holocene optimum in south China as suggested by previous studies.
Background
Dietary calcium (Ca) concentrations might affect regulatory pathways within the Ca and vitamin D metabolism and consequently excretory mechanisms. Considering large variations in Ca concentrations of feline diets, the physiological impact on Ca homeostasis has not been evaluated to date. In the present study, diets with increasing concentrations of dicalcium phosphate were offered to ten healthy adult cats (Ca/phosphorus (P): 6.23/6.02, 7.77/7.56, 15.0/12.7, 19.0/17.3, 22.2/19.9, 24.3/21.6 g/kg dry matter). Each feeding period was divided into a 10-day adaptation and an 8-day sampling period in order to collect urine and faeces. On the last day of each feeding period, blood samples were taken.
Results
Urinary Ca concentrations remained unaffected, but faecal Ca concentrations increased (P < 0.001) with increasing dietary Ca levels. No effect on whole and intact parathyroid hormone levels, fibroblast growth factor 23 and calcitriol concentrations in the blood of the cats were observed. However, the calcitriol precursors 25(OH)D-2 and 25(OH)D-3, which are considered the most useful indicators for the vitamin D status, decreased with higher dietary Ca levels (P = 0.013 and P = 0.033). Increasing dietary levels of dicalcium phosphate revealed an acidifying effect on urinary fasting pH (6.02) and postprandial pH (6.01) (P < 0.001), possibly mediated by an increase of urinary phosphorus (P) concentrations (P < 0.001).
Conclusions
In conclusion, calcitriol precursors were linearly affected by increasing dietary Ca concentrations. The increase in faecal Ca excretion indicates that Ca homeostasis of cats is mainly regulated in the intestine and not by the kidneys. Long-term studies should investigate the physiological relevance of the acidifying effect observed when feeding diets high in Ca and P.
Neisseria gonorrhoeae is one of the most prevalent sexually transmitted diseases worldwide with more than 100 million new infections per year. A lack of intense research over the last decades and increasing resistances to the recommended antibiotics call for a better understanding of gonococcal infection, fast diagnostics and therapeutic measures against N. gonorrhoeae. Therefore, the aim of this work was to identify novel immunogenic proteins as a first step to advance those unresolved problems. For the identification of immunogenic proteins, pHORF oligopeptide phage display libraries of the entire N. gonorrhoeae genome were constructed. Several immunogenic oligopeptides were identified using polyclonal rabbit antibodies against N. gonorrhoeae. Corresponding full-length proteins of the identified oligopeptides were expressed and their immunogenic character was verified by ELISA. The immunogenic character of six proteins was identified for the first time. Additional 13 proteins were verified as immunogenic proteins in N. gonorrhoeae.
The aim of the present study was to test the functional relevance of the spatial concepts UP or DOWN for words that use these concepts either literally (space) or metaphorically (time, valence). A functional relevance would imply a symmetrical relationship between the spatial concepts and words related to these concepts, showing that processing words activate the related spatial concepts on one hand, but also that an activation of the concepts will ease the retrieval of a related word on the other. For the latter, the rotation angle of participant's body position was manipulated either to an upright or a head-down tilted body position to activate the related spatial concept. Afterwards participants produced in a within-subject design previously memorized words of the concepts space, time and valence according to the pace of a metronome. All words were related either to the spatial concept UP or DOWN. The results including Bayesian analyses show (1) a significant interaction between body position and words using the concepts UP and DOWN literally, (2) a marginal significant interaction between body position and temporal words and (3) no effect between body position and valence words. However, post-hoc analyses suggest no difference between experiments. Thus, the authors concluded that integrating sensorimotor experiences is indeed of functional relevance for all three concepts of space, time and valence. However, the strength of this functional relevance depends on how close words are linked to mental concepts representing vertical space.
The extent of gene flow during the range expansion of non-native species influences the amount of genetic diversity retained in expanding populations. Here, we analyse the population genetic structure of the raccoon dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides) in north-eastern and central Europe. This invasive species is of management concern because it is highly susceptible to fox rabies and an important secondary host of the virus. We hypothesized that the large number of introduced animals and the species' dispersal capabilities led to high population connectivity and maintenance of genetic diversity throughout the invaded range. We genotyped 332 tissue samples from seven European countries using 16 microsatellite loci. Different algorithms identified three genetic clusters corresponding to Finland, Denmark and a large 'central' population that reached from introduction areas in western Russia to northern Germany. Cluster assignments provided evidence of long-distance dispersal. The results of an Approximate Bayesian Computation analysis supported a scenario of equal effective population sizes among different pre-defined populations in the large central cluster. Our results are in line with strong gene flow and secondary admixture between neighbouring demes leading to reduced genetic structuring, probably a result of its fairly rapid population expansion after introduction. The results presented here are remarkable in the sense that we identified a homogenous genetic cluster inhabiting an area stretching over more than 1500km. They are also relevant for disease management, as in the event of a significant rabies outbreak, there is a great risk of a rapid virus spread among raccoon dog populations.
Volunteered geographical information (VGI) and citizen science have become important sources data for much scientific research. In the domain of land cover, crowdsourcing can provide a high temporal resolution data to support different analyses of landscape processes. However, the scientists may have little control over what gets recorded by the crowd, providing a potential source of error and uncertainty. This study compared analyses of crowdsourced land cover data that were contributed by different groups, based on nationality (labelled Gondor and Non-Gondor) and on domain experience (labelled Expert and Non-Expert). The analyses used a geographically weighted model to generate maps of land cover and compared the maps generated by the different groups. The results highlight the differences between the maps how specific land cover classes were under-and over-estimated. As crowdsourced data and citizen science are increasingly used to replace data collected under the designed experiment, this paper highlights the importance of considering between group variations and their impacts on the results of analyses. Critically, differences in the way that landscape features are conceptualised by different groups of contributors need to be considered when using crowdsourced data in formal scientific analyses. The discussion considers the potential for variation in crowdsourced data, the relativist nature of land cover and suggests a number of areas for future research. The key finding is that the veracity of citizen science data is not the critical issue per se. Rather, it is important to consider the impacts of differences in the semantics, affordances and functions associated with landscape features held by different groups of crowdsourced data contributors.
Exosomes are small membrane vesicles released by different cell types, including hepatocytes, that play important roles in intercellular communication. We have previously demonstrated that hepatocyte-derived exosomes contain the synthetic machinery to form sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) in target hepatocytes resulting in proliferation and liver regeneration after ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. We also demonstrated that the chemokine receptors, CXCR1 and CXCR2, regulate liver recovery and regeneration after I/R injury. In the current study, we sought to determine if the regulatory effects of CXCR1 and CXCR2 on liver recovery and regeneration might occur via altered release of hepatocyte exosomes. We found that hepatocyte release of exosomes was dependent upon CXCR1 and CXCR2. CXCR1-deficient hepatocytes produced fewer exosomes, whereas CXCR2-deficient hepatocytes produced more exosomes compared to their wild-type controls. In CXCR2-deficient hepatocytes, there was increased activity of neutral sphingomyelinase (Nsm) and intracellular ceramide. CXCR1-deficient hepatocytes had no alterations in Nsm activity or ceramide production. Interestingly, exosomes from CXCR1-deficient hepatocytes had no effect on hepatocyte proliferation, due to a lack of neutral ceramidase and sphingosine kinase. The data demonstrate that CXCR1 and CXCR2 regulate hepatocyte exosome release. The mechanism utilized by CXCR1 remains elusive, but CXCR2 appears to modulate Nsm activity and resultant production of ceramide to control exosome release. CXCR1 is required for packaging of enzymes into exosomes that mediate their hepatocyte proliferative effect.
Processes involved in late bilinguals' production of morphologically complex words were studied using an event-related brain potentials (ERP) paradigm in which EEGs were recorded during participants' silent productions of English past- and present-tense forms. Twenty-three advanced second language speakers of English (first language [L1] German) were compared to a control group of 19 L1 English speakers from an earlier study. We found a frontocentral negativity for regular relative to irregular past-tense forms (e.g., asked vs. held) during (silent) production, and no difference for the present-tense condition (e.g., asks vs. holds), replicating the ERP effect obtained for the L1 group. This ERP effect suggests that combinatorial processing is involved in producing regular past-tense forms, in both late bilinguals and L1 speakers. We also suggest that this paradigm is a useful tool for future studies of online language production.
Antibodies against spike proteins of influenza are used as a tool for characterization of viruses and therapeutic approaches. However, development, production and quality control of antibodies is expensive and time consuming. To circumvent these difficulties, three peptides were derived from complementarity determining regions of an antibody heavy chain against influenza A spike glycoprotein. Their binding properties were studied experimentally, and by molecular dynamics simulations. Two peptide candidates showed binding to influenza A/Aichi/2/68 H3N2. One of them, termed PeB, with the highest affinity prevented binding to and infection of target cells in the micromolar region without any cytotoxic effect. PeB matches best the conserved receptor binding site of hemagglutinin. PeB bound also to other medical relevant influenza strains, such as human-pathogenic A/California/7/2009 H1N1, and avian-pathogenic A/MuteSwan/Rostock/R901/2006 H7N1. Strategies to improve the affinity and to adapt specificity are discussed and exemplified by a double amino acid substituted peptide, obtained by substitutional analysis. The peptides and their derivatives are of great potential for drug development as well as biosensing.
Fluxes of organic and inorganic carbon within the Amazon basin are considerably controlled by annual flooding, which triggers the export of terrigenous organic material to the river and ultimately to the Atlantic Ocean. The amount of carbon imported to the river and the further conversion, transport and export of it depend on temperature, atmospheric CO2, terrestrial productivity and carbon storage, as well as discharge. Both terrestrial productivity and discharge are influenced by climate and land use change. The coupled LPJmL and RivCM model system (Langerwisch et al., 2016) has been applied to assess the combined impacts of climate and land use change on the Amazon riverine carbon dynamics. Vegetation dynamics (in LPJmL) as well as export and conversion of terrigenous carbon to and within the river (RivCM) are included. The model system has been applied for the years 1901 to 2099 under two deforestation scenarios and with climate forcing of three SRES emission scenarios, each for five climate models. We find that high deforestation (business-as-usual scenario) will strongly decrease (locally by up to 90 %) riverine particulate and dissolved organic carbon amount until the end of the current century. At the same time, increase in discharge leaves net carbon transport during the first decades of the century roughly unchanged only if a sufficient area is still forested. After 2050 the amount of transported carbon will decrease drastically. In contrast to that, increased temperature and atmospheric CO2 concentration determine the amount of riverine inorganic carbon stored in the Amazon basin. Higher atmospheric CO2 concentrations increase riverine inorganic carbon amount by up to 20% (SRES A2). The changes in riverine carbon fluxes have direct effects on carbon export, either to the atmosphere via outgassing or to the Atlantic Ocean via discharge. The outgassed carbon will increase slightly in the Amazon basin, but can be regionally reduced by up to 60% due to deforestation. The discharge of organic carbon to the ocean will be reduced by about 40% under the most severe deforestation and climate change scenario. These changes would have local and regional consequences on the carbon balance and habitat characteristics in the Amazon basin itself as well as in the adjacent Atlantic Ocean.
The present study examines the effect of language experience on vocal emotion perception in a second language. Native speakers of French with varying levels of self-reported English ability were asked to identify emotions from vocal expressions produced by American actors in a forced-choice task, and to rate their pleasantness, power, alertness and intensity on continuous scales. Stimuli included emotionally expressive English speech (emotional prosody) and non-linguistic vocalizations (affect bursts), and a baseline condition with Swiss-French pseudo-speech. Results revealed effects of English ability on the recognition of emotions in English speech but not in non-linguistic vocalizations. Specifically, higher English ability was associated with less accurate identification of positive emotions, but not with the interpretation of negative emotions. Moreover, higher English ability was associated with lower ratings of pleasantness and power, again only for emotional prosody. This suggests that second language skills may sometimes interfere with emotion recognition from speech prosody, particularly for positive emotions.
Most climate change impacts manifest in the form of natural hazards. Damage assessment typically relies on damage functions that translate the magnitude of extreme events to a quantifiable damage. In practice, the availability of damage functions is limited due to a lack of data sources and a lack of understanding of damage processes. The study of the characteristics of damage functions for different hazards could strengthen the theoretical foundation of damage functions and support their development and validation. Accordingly, we investigate analogies of damage functions for coastal flooding and for wind storms and identify a unified approach. This approach has general applicability for granular portfolios and may also be applied, for example, to heat-related mortality. Moreover, the unification enables the transfer of methodology between hazards and a consistent treatment of uncertainty. This is demonstrated by a sensitivity analysis on the basis of two simple case studies (for coastal flood and storm damage). The analysis reveals the relevance of the various uncertainty sources at varying hazard magnitude and on both the microscale and the macroscale level. Main findings are the dominance of uncertainty from the hazard magnitude and the persistent behaviour of intrinsic uncertainties on both scale levels. Our results shed light on the general role of uncertainties and provide useful insight for the application of the unified approach.
Even if greenhouse gas emissions were stopped today, sea level would continue to rise for centuries, with the long-term sea-level commitment of a 2 degrees C warmer world significantly exceeding 2 m. In view of the potential implications for coastal populations and ecosystems worldwide, we investigate, from an ice-dynamic perspective, the possibility of delaying sea-level rise by pumping ocean water onto the surface of the Antarctic ice sheet. We find that due to wave propagation ice is discharged much faster back into the ocean than would be expected from a pure advection with surface velocities. The delay time depends strongly on the distance from the coastline at which the additional mass is placed and less strongly on the rate of sea-level rise that is mitigated. A millennium-scale storage of at least 80% of the additional ice requires placing it at a distance of at least 700 km from the coastline. The pumping energy required to elevate the potential energy of ocean water to mitigate the currently observed 3 mmyr(-1) will exceed 7% of the current global primary energy supply. At the same time, the approach offers a comprehensive protection for entire coastlines particularly including regions that cannot be protected by dikes.
Air pollution is the number one environmental cause of premature deaths in Europe. Despite extensive regulations, air pollution remains a challenge, especially in urban areas. For studying summertime air quality in the Berlin-Brandenburg region of Germany, the Weather Research and Forecasting Model with Chemistry (WRF-Chem) is set up and evaluated against meteorological and air quality observations from monitoring stations as well as from a field campaign conducted in 2014. The objective is to assess which resolution and level of detail in the input data is needed for simulating urban background air pollutant concentrations and their spatial distribution in the Berlin-Brandenburg area. The model setup includes three nested domains with horizontal resolutions of 15, 3 and 1 km and anthropogenic emissions from the TNO-MACC III inventory. We use RADM2 chemistry and the MADE/SORGAM aerosol scheme. Three sensitivity simulations are conducted updating input parameters to the single-layer urban canopy model based on structural data for Berlin, specifying land use classes on a sub-grid scale (mosaic option) and downscaling the original emissions to a resolution of ca. 1 km x 1 km for Berlin based on proxy data including traffic density and population density. The results show that the model simulates meteorology well, though urban 2m temperature and urban wind speeds are biased high and nighttime mixing layer height is biased low in the base run with the settings described above. We show that the simulation of urban meteorology can be improved when specifying the input parameters to the urban model, and to a lesser extent when using the mosaic option. On average, ozone is simulated reasonably well, but maximum daily 8 h mean concentrations are underestimated, which is consistent with the results from previous modelling studies using the RADM2 chemical mechanism. Particulate matter is underestimated, which is partly due to an underestimation of secondary organic aerosols. NOx (NO + NO2) concentrations are simulated reasonably well on average, but nighttime concentrations are overestimated due to the model's underestimation of the mixing layer height, and urban daytime concentrations are underestimated. The daytime underestimation is improved when using downscaled, and thus locally higher emissions, suggesting that part of this bias is due to deficiencies in the emission input data and their resolution. The results further demonstrate that a horizontal resolution of 3 km improves the results and spatial representativeness of the model compared to a horizontal resolution of 15 km. With the input data (land use classes, emissions) at the level of detail of the base run of this study, we find that a horizontal resolution of 1 km does not improve the results compared to a resolution of 3 km. However, our results suggest that a 1 km horizontal model resolution could enable a detailed simulation of local pollution patterns in the Berlin-Brandenburg region if the urban land use classes, together with the respective input parameters to the urban canopy model, are specified with a higher level of detail and if urban emissions of higher spatial resolution are used.
In recent decades, the Greenland Ice Sheet has been losing mass and has thereby contributed to global sea-level rise. The rate of ice loss is highly relevant for coastal protection worldwide. The ice loss is likely to increase under future warming. Beyond a critical temperature threshold, a meltdown of the Greenland Ice Sheet is induced by the self-enforcing feedback between its lowering surface elevation and its increasing surface mass loss: the more ice that is lost, the lower the ice surface and the warmer the surface air temperature, which fosters further melting and ice loss. The computation of this rate so far relies on complex numerical models which are the appropriate tools for capturing the complexity of the problem. By contrast we aim here at gaining a conceptual understanding by deriving a purposefully simple equation for the self-enforcing feedback which is then used to estimate the melt time for different levels of warming using three observable characteristics of the ice sheet itself and its surroundings. The analysis is purely conceptual in nature. It is missing important processes like ice dynamics for it to be useful for applications to sea-level rise on centennial timescales, but if the volume loss is dominated by the feedback, the resulting logarithmic equation unifies existing numerical simulations and shows that the melt time depends strongly on the level of warming with a critical slow-down near the threshold: the median time to lose 10% of the present-day ice volume varies between about 3500 years for a temperature level of 0.5 degrees C above the threshold and 500 years for 5 degrees C. Unless future observations show a significantly higher melting sensitivity than currently observed, a complete meltdown is unlikely within the next 2000 years without significant ice-dynamical contributions.
Climate change increases riverine carbon outgassing, while export to the ocean remains uncertain
(2016)
Any regular interaction of land and river during flooding affects carbon pools within the terrestrial system, riverine carbon and carbon exported from the system. In the Amazon basin carbon fluxes are considerably influenced by annual flooding, during which terrigenous organic material is imported to the river. The Amazon basin therefore represents an excellent example of a tightly coupled terrestrial-riverine system. The processes of generation, conversion and transport of organic carbon in such a coupled terrigenous-riverine system strongly interact and are climate-sensitive, yet their functioning is rarely considered in Earth system models and their response to climate change is still largely unknown. To quantify regional and global carbon budgets and climate change effects on carbon pools and carbon fluxes, it is important to account for the coupling between the land, the river, the ocean and the atmosphere. We developed the RIVerine Carbon Model (RivCM), which is directly coupled to the well-established dynamic vegetation and hydrology model LPJmL, in order to account for this large-scale coupling. We evaluate RivCM with observational data and show that some of the values are reproduced quite well by the model, while we see large deviations for other variables. This is mainly caused by some simplifications we assumed. Our evaluation shows that it is possible to reproduce large-scale carbon transport across a river system but that this involves large uncertainties. Acknowledging these uncertainties, we estimate the potential changes in riverine carbon by applying RivCM for climate forcing from five climate models and three CO2 emission scenarios (Special Report on Emissions Scenarios, SRES). We find that climate change causes a doubling of riverine organic carbon in the southern and western basin while reducing it by 20% in the eastern and northern parts. In contrast, the amount of riverine inorganic carbon shows a 2- to 3-fold increase in the entire basin, independent of the SRES scenario. The export of carbon to the atmosphere increases as well, with an average of about 30 %. In contrast, changes in future export of organic carbon to the Atlantic Ocean depend on the SRES scenario and are projected to either decrease by about 8.9% (SRES A1B) or increase by about 9.1% (SRES A2). Such changes in the terrigenous-riverine system could have local and regional impacts on the carbon budget of the whole Amazon basin and parts of the Atlantic Ocean. Changes in riverine carbon could lead to a shift in the riverine nutrient supply and pH, while changes in the exported carbon to the ocean lead to changes in the supply of organic material that acts as a food source in the Atlantic. On larger scales the increased outgassing of CO2 could turn the Amazon basin from a sink of carbon to a considerable source. Therefore, we propose that the coupling of terrestrial and riverine carbon budgets should be included in subsequent analysis of the future regional carbon budget.
The present study aimed to integrate findings from technology acceptance research with research on applicant reactions to new technology for the emerging selection procedure of asynchronous video interviewing. One hundred six volunteers experienced asynchronous video interviewing and filled out several questionnaires including one on the applicants' personalities. In line with previous technology acceptance research, the data revealed that perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use predicted attitudes toward asynchronous video interviewing. Furthermore, openness revealed to moderate the relation between perceived usefulness and attitudes toward this particular selection technology. No significant effects emerged for computer self-efficacy, job interview self efficacy, extraversion, neuroticism, and conscientiousness. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
In low-accumulation regions, the reliability of delta O-18-derived temperature signals from ice cores within the Holocene is unclear, primarily due to the small climate changes relative to the intrinsic noise of the isotopic signal. In order to learn about the representativity of single ice cores and to optimise future ice-core-based climate reconstructions, we studied the stable-water isotope composition of firn at Kohnen Station, Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica. Analysing delta O-18 in two 50m long snow trenches allowed us to create an unprecedented, two-dimensional image characterising the isotopic variations from the centimetre to the 100-metre scale. Our results show seasonal layering of the isotopic composition but also high horizontal isotopic variability caused by local stratigraphic noise. Based on the horizontal and vertical structure of the isotopic variations, we derive a statistical noise model which successfully explains the trench data. The model further allows one to determine an upper bound for the reliability of climate reconstructions conducted in our study region at seasonal to annual resolution, depending on the number and the spacing of the cores taken.
Isostasy is one of the oldest and most widely applied concepts in the geosciences, but the geoscientific community lacks a coherent, easy-to-use tool to simulate flexure of a realistic (i.e., laterally heterogeneous) lithosphere under an arbitrary set of surface loads. Such a model is needed for studies of mountain building, sedimentary basin formation, glaciation, sea-level change, and other tectonic, geodynamic, and surface processes. Here I present gFlex (for GNU flexure), an open-source model that can produce analytical and finite difference solutions for lithospheric flexure in one (profile) and two (map view) dimensions. To simulate the flexural isostatic response to an imposed load, it can be used by itself or within GRASS GIS for better integration with field data. gFlex is also a component with the Community Surface Dynamics Modeling System (CSDMS) and Landlab modeling frameworks for coupling with a wide range of Earth-surface-related models, and can be coupled to additional models within Python scripts. As an example of this in-script coupling, I simulate the effects of spatially variable lithospheric thickness on a modeled Iceland ice cap. Finite difference solutions in gFlex can use any of five types of boundary conditions: 0-displacement, 0-slope (i.e., clamped); 0-slope, 0-shear; 0-moment, 0-shear (i.e., broken plate); mirror symmetry; and periodic. Typical calculations with gFlex require << 1 s to similar to 1 min on a personal laptop computer. These characteristics - multiple ways to run the model, multiple solution methods, multiple boundary conditions, and short compute time - make gFlex an effective tool for flexural isostatic modeling across the geosciences.
Ongoing climate change is known to cause an increase in the frequency and amplitude of local temperature and precipitation extremes in many regions of the Earth. While gradual changes in the climatological conditions have already been shown to strongly influence plant flowering dates, the question arises if and how extremes specifically impact the timing of this important phenological phase. Studying this question calls for the application of statistical methods that are tailored to the specific properties of event time series. Here, we employ event coincidence analysis, a novel statistical tool that allows assessing whether or not two types of events exhibit similar sequences of occurrences in order to systematically quantify simultaneities between meteorological extremes and the timing of the flowering of four shrub species across Germany. Our study confirms previous findings of experimental studies by highlighting the impact of early spring temperatures on the flowering of the investigated plants. However, previous studies solely based on correlation analysis do not allow deriving explicit estimates of the strength of such interdependencies without further assumptions, a gap that is closed by our analysis. In addition to direct impacts of extremely warm and cold spring temperatures, our analysis reveals statistically significant indications of an influence of temperature extremes in the autumn preceding the flowering.
To understand past flood changes in the Rhine catchment and in particular the role of anthropogenic climate change in extreme flows, an attribution study relying on a proper GCM (general circulation model) downscaling is needed. A downscaling based on conditioning a stochastic weather generator on weather patterns is a promising approach. This approach assumes a strong link between weather patterns and local climate, and sufficient GCM skill in reproducing weather pattern climatology. These presuppositions are unprecedentedly evaluated here using 111 years of daily climate data from 490 stations in the Rhine basin and comprehensively testing the number of classification parameters and GCM weather pattern characteristics. A classification based on a combination of mean sea level pressure, temperature, and humidity from the ERA20C reanalysis of atmospheric fields over central Europe with 40 weather types was found to be the most appropriate for stratifying six local climate variables. The corresponding skill is quite diverse though, ranging from good for radiation to poor for precipitation. Especially for the latter it was apparent that pressure fields alone cannot sufficiently stratify local variability. To test the skill of the latest generation of GCMs from the CMIP5 ensemble in reproducing the frequency, seasonality, and persistence of the derived weather patterns, output from 15 GCMs is evaluated. Most GCMs are able to capture these characteristics well, but some models showed consistent deviations in all three evaluation criteria and should be excluded from further attribution analysis.
Brief communication
(2016)
In March 2015, a new international blueprint for disaster risk reduction (DRR) was adopted in Sendai, Japan, at the end of the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (WCDRR, 14-18 March 2015). We review and discuss the agreed commitments and targets, as well as the negotiation leading the Sendai Framework for DRR (SF-DRR) and discuss briefly its implication for the later UN-led negotiations on sustainable development goals and climate change.
It has been proposed that in online sentence comprehension the dependency between a reflexive pronoun such as himself/herself and its antecedent is resolved using exclusively syntactic constraints. Under this strictly syntactic search account, Principle A of the binding theory which requires that the antecedent c-command the reflexive within the same clause that the reflexive occurs in constrains the parser's search for an antecedent. The parser thus ignores candidate antecedents that might match agreement features of the reflexive (e.g., gender) but are ineligible as potential antecedents because they are in structurally illicit positions. An alternative possibility accords no special status to structural constraints: in addition to using Principle A, the parser also uses non-structural cues such as gender to access the antecedent. According to cue -based retrieval theories of memory (e.g., Lewis and Vasishth, 2005), the use of non-structural cues should result in increased retrieval times and occasional errors when candidates partially match the cues, even if the candidates are in structurally illicit positions. In this paper, we first show how the retrieval processes that underlie the reflexive binding are naturally realized in the Lewis and Vasishth (2005) model. We present the predictions of the model under the assumption that both structural and non-structural cues are used during retrieval, and provide a critical analysis of previous empirical studies that failed to find evidence for the use of non-structural cues, suggesting that these failures may be Type II errors. We use this analysis and the results of further modeling to motivate a new empirical design that we use in an eye tracking study. The results of this study confirm the key predictions of the model concerning the use of non-structural cues, and are inconsistent with the strictly syntactic search account. These results present a challenge for theories advocating the infallibility of the human parser in the case of reflexive resolution, and provide support for the inclusion of agreement features such as gender in the set of retrieval cues.
This paper will turn into a contribution to a book on community obligations. It focusses on third parties' rights and obligations in armed conflict.
It is often said that international law has developed from a legal order which is designed to protect sovereignty to a system which also promotes community interests. This shift is said to be reflected in structural changes of the legal system. The creation of rights and obligations for third parties is generally seen as a part of this perceived paradigmatic shift. Community interests can be furthered either by negative duties of abstention, by an entitlement for third states, or even by duties to take positive measures. Since the shift towards protecting community interests apparently requires some form of cooperation, positive rights and duties to protect and to promote appear to be indispensable. Authors relying on a community perspective often dismiss duties of abstention as an expression of indifference in the face of a violation of a fundamental norm. Solidarity seems to require that third states take a more proactive role in actively enforcing community interests.
The paper aims to test this understanding on the basis of an analysis of rights and obligations of third states in armed conflict. In order to argue that duties of abstention of third states are a central instrument for promoting community interests in relation to armed conflicts, the paper will first trace pertinent structural changes in international law. In particular, it will question the extent to which positive rights and obligations of third states have been firmly established in international law. In a second step, this contribution will evaluate the overall tendencies in the ongoing lawmaking process for promoting community interests in relation to armed conflict.
Caribbean States organised in CARICOM recently brought forward reparation claims against several European States to compensate slavery and (native) genocides in the Caribbean and even threatened to approach the International Court of Justice. The paper provides for an analysis of the facts behind the CARICOM claim and asks whether the law of state responsibility is able to provide for the demanded compensation. As the intertemporal principle generally prohibits retroactive application of today’s international rules, the paper argues that the complete claim must be based on the law of state responsibility governing in the time of the respective conduct. An inquiry into the history of primary (prohibition of slavery and genocide) as well as secondary rules of State responsibility reveals that both sets of rules were underdeveloped or non-existent at the times of slavery and alleged (native) genocides. Therefore, the author concludes that the CARICOM claim is legally flawed but nevertheless worth the attention as it once again exposes imperial and colonial injustices of the past and their legitimization by historical international law and international/natural lawyers.
Das dritte Working Paper in der KFG Working Paper Series analysiert Zustand und Perspektiven völkerrechtlicher Abrüstungsverträge unter der Ägide der Vereinten Nationen. Während die dreißig Jahre zwischen der Kuba-Krise und dem Fall des Eisernen Vorhangs für die Abrüstung eine erfolgreiche Periode gewesen seien, seien in den Vereinten Nationen seither außer dem Waffenhandelsvertrag keine weiteren Abrüstungsverträge abgeschlossen worden. Die gegenwärtige Stimmung sei abwartend bis negativ, obwohl es ein Nachholbedürfnis gebe, Abrüstungsverträge an die heutigen politischen Gegebenheiten sowie an den Stand der Technik anzupassen. Die Verfasserin schlägt als Lösung vor, durch eine Politik der kleinen Schritte ein besseres Abrüstungsklima zu schaffen, indem dem Diskurs auf Grundlage zusätzlicher Protokolle zu bestehenden Verträgen und notfalls auch durch ein Ausweichen auf andere Gremien eine neue Richtung verliehen werde.
This article re-examines the relationship between Africa and the International Criminal Court (ICC). It traces the successive changes of the African attitude towards this Court, from states' euphoria, to hostility against its work, to regional counter-initiatives through the umbrella of the African Union (AU). The main argument goes beyond the idea of "the Court that Africa wants" in order to identify concrete reasons behind such a formal argument which may have fostered, if not enticed, the majority of African states to become ICC members and actively cooperate with it, when paradoxically some great powers have decided to stay outside its jurisdiction. It also seeks to understand, from a political and legal viewpoint, which parameters have changed since then to provoke that hostile attitude against the Court's work and the entrance of the AU into the debate through the African Common Position on the ICC. Lastly, this article explores African alternatives to the contested ICC justice system. It examines the need to reform the Rome Statute in order to give more independence, credibility and legitimacy to the ICC and its duplication to some extent by the new "Criminal Court of the African Union". Particular attention is paid to the resistance against this idea to reform the ICC justice system.
The paper undertakes a preliminary assessment of current developments of international law for the purpose of mapping the ground for a larger research project. The research project pursues the goal of determining whether public international law, as it has developed since the end of the Cold War, is continuing its progressive move towards a more human-rights- and multi-actor-oriented order, or whether we are seeing a renewed emphasis of more classical elements of international law. In this context the term “international rule of law” is chosen to designate the more recent and “thicker” understanding of international law. The paper discusses how it can be determined whether this form of international law continues to unfold, and whether we are witnessing challenges to this order which could give rise to more fundamental reassessments.
Do properties of individual languages shape the mechanisms by which they are processed? By virtue of their non-concatenative morphological structure, the recognition of complex words in Semitic languages has been argued to rely strongly on morphological information and on decomposition into root and pattern constituents. Here, we report results from a masked priming experiment in Hebrew in which we contrasted verb forms belonging to two morphological classes, Paal and Piel, which display similar properties, but crucially differ on whether they are extended to novel verbs. Verbs from the open-class Piel elicited familiar root priming effects, but verbs from the closed-class Paal did not. Our findings indicate that, similarly to other (e.g., Indo-European) languages, down-to-the-root decomposition in Hebrew does not apply to stems of non-productive verbal classes. We conclude that the Semitic word processor is less unique than previously thought: Although it operates on morphological units that are combined in a non-linear way, it engages the same universal mechanisms of storage and computation as those seen in other languages.
Background: The goal of this study was to estimate the prevalence of and risk factors for diagnosed depression in heart failure (HF) patients in German primary care practices.
Methods: This study was a retrospective database analysis in Germany utilizing the Disease Analyzer (R) Database (IMS Health, Germany). The study population included 132,994 patients between 40 and 90 years of age from 1,072 primary care practices. The observation period was between 2004 and 2013. Follow-up lasted up to five years and ended in April 2015. A total of 66,497 HF patients were selected after applying exclusion criteria. The same number of 66,497 controls were chosen and were matched (1:1) to HF patients on the basis of age, sex, health insurance, depression diagnosis in the past, and follow-up duration after index date.
Results: HF was a strong risk factor for diagnosed depression (p < 0.0001). A total of 10.5% of HF patients and 6.3% of matched controls developed depression after one year of follow-up (p < 0.001). Depression was documented in 28.9% of the HF group and 18.2% of the control group after the five-year follow-up (p < 0.001). Cancer, dementia, osteoporosis, stroke, and osteoarthritis were associated with a higher risk of developing depression. Male gender and private health insurance were associated with lower risk of depression.
Conclusions: The risk of diagnosed depression is significantly increased in patients with HF compared to patients without HF in primary care practices in Germany.
Changes in free symptom attributions in hypochondriasis after cognitive therapy and exposure therapy
(2016)
Background: Cognitive-behavioural therapy can change dysfunctional symptom attributions in patients with hypochondriasis. Past research has used forced-choice answer formats, such as questionnaires, to assess these misattributions; however, with this approach, idiosyncratic attributions cannot be assessed. Free associations are an important complement to existing approaches that assess symptom attributions. Aims: With this study, we contribute to the current literature by using an open-response instrument to investigate changes in freely associated attributions after exposure therapy (ET) and cognitive therapy (CT) compared with a wait list (WL). Method: The current study is a re-examination of a formerly published randomized controlled trial (Weck, Neng, Richtberg, Jakob and Stangier, 2015) that investigated the effectiveness of CT and ET. Seventy-three patients with hypochondriasis were randomly assigned to CT, ET or a WL, and completed a 12-week treatment (or waiting period). Before and after the treatment or waiting period, patients completed an Attribution task in which they had to spontaneously attribute nine common bodily sensations to possible causes in an open-response format. Results: Compared with the WL, both CT and ET reduced the frequency of somatic attributions regarding severe diseases (CT: Hedges's g = 1.12; ET: Hedges's g = 1.03) and increased the frequency of normalizing attributions (CT: Hedges's g = 1.17; ET: Hedges's g = 1.24). Only CT changed the attributions regarding moderate diseases (Hedges's g = 0.69). Changes in somatic attributions regarding mild diseases and psychological attributions were not observed. Conclusions: Both CT and ET are effective for treating freely associated misattributions in patients with hypochondriasis. This study supplements research that used a forced-choice assessment.
Much research on language control in bilinguals has relied on the interpretation of the costs of switching between two languages. Of the two types of costs that are linked to language control, switching costs are assumed to be transient in nature and modulated by trial-specific manipulations (e.g., by preparation time), while mixing costs are supposed to be more stable and less affected by trial-specific manipulations. The present study investigated the effect of preparation time on switching and mixing costs, revealing that both types of costs can be influenced by trial-specific manipulations.
Rhythm perception is assumed to be guided by a domain-general auditory principle, the Iambic/Trochaic Law, stating that sounds varying in intensity are grouped as strong-weak, and sounds varying in duration are grouped as weak-strong. Recently, Bhatara et al. (2013) showed that rhythmic grouping is influenced by native language experience, French listeners having weaker grouping preferences than German listeners. This study explores whether L2 knowledge and musical experience also affect rhythmic grouping. In a grouping task, French late learners of German listened to sequences of coarticulated syllables varying in either intensity or duration. Data on their language and musical experience were obtained by a questionnaire. Mixed-effect model comparisons showed influences of musical experience as well as L2 input quality and quantity on grouping preferences. These results imply that adult French listeners' sensitivity to rhythm can be enhanced through L2 and musical experience.
Background: Dementia is a psychiatric condition the development of which is associated with numerous aspects of life. Our aim was to estimate dementia risk factors in German primary care patients.
Methods: The case-control study included primary care patients (70-90 years) with first diagnosis of dementia (all-cause) during the index period (01/2010-12/2014) (Disease Analyzer, Germany), and controls without dementia matched (1:1) to cases on the basis of age, sex, type of health insurance, and physician. Practice visit records were used to verify that there had been 10 years of continuous follow-up prior to the index date. Multivariate logistic regression models were fitted with dementia as a dependent variable and the potential predictors.
Results: The mean age for the 11,956 cases and the 11,956 controls was 80.4 (SD: 5.3) years. 39.0% of them were male and 1.9% had private health insurance. In the multivariate regression model, the following variables were linked to a significant extent with an increased risk of dementia: diabetes (OR: 1.17; 95% CI: 1.10-1.24), lipid metabolism (1.07; 1.00-1.14), stroke incl. TIA (1.68; 1.57-1.80), Parkinson's disease (PD) (1.89; 1.64-2.19), intracranial injury (1.30; 1.00-1.70), coronary heart disease (1.06; 1.00-1.13), mild cognitive impairment (MCI) (2.12; 1.82-2.48), mental and behavioral disorders due to alcohol use (1.96; 1.50-2.57). The use of statins (OR: 0.94; 0.90-0.99), proton-pump inhibitors (PPI) (0.93; 0.90-0.97), and antihypertensive drugs (0.96, 0.94-0.99) were associated with a decreased risk of developing dementia.
Conclusions: Risk factors for dementia found in this study are consistent with the literature. Nevertheless, the associations between statin, PPI and antihypertensive drug use, and decreased risk of dementia need further investigations.
An egalitarian approach to the fair representation of voters specifies three main institutional requirements: proportional representation, legislative majority rule and a parliamentary system of government. This approach faces two challenges: the under-determination of the resulting democratic process and the idea of a trade-off between equal voter representation and government accountability. Linking conceptual with comparative analysis, the article argues that we can distinguish three ideal-typical varieties of the egalitarian vision of democracy, based on the stages at which majorities are formed. These varieties do not put different relative normative weight onto equality and accountability, but have different conceptions of both values and their reconciliation. The view that accountability is necessarily linked to clarity of responsibility', widespread in the comparative literature, is questioned - as is the idea of a general trade-off between representation and accountability. Depending on the vision of democracy, the two values need not be in conflict.
Background: Given the well-established association between perceived stress and quality of life (QoL) in dementia patients and their partners, our goal was to identify whether relationship quality and dyadic coping would operate as mediators between perceived stress and QoL.
Methods: 82 dyads of dementia patients and their spousal caregivers were included in a cross-sectional assessment from a prospective study. QoL was assessed with the Quality of Life in Alzheimer's Disease scale (QoL-AD) for dementia patients and the WHO Quality of Life-BREF for spousal caregivers. Perceived stress was measured with the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-14). Both partners were assessed with the Dyadic Coping Inventory (DCI). Analyses of correlation as well as regression models including mediator analyses were performed.
Results: We found negative correlations between stress and QoL in both partners (QoL-AD: r = -0.62; p < 0.001; WHO-QOL Overall: r = -0.27; p = 0.02). Spousal caregivers had a significantly lower DCI total score than dementia patients (p < 0.001). Dyadic coping was a significant mediator of the relationship between stress and QoL in spousal caregivers (z = 0.28; p = 0.02), but not in dementia patients. Likewise, relationship quality significantly mediated the relationship between stress and QoL in caregivers only (z = -2.41; p = 0.02).
Conclusions: This study identified dyadic coping as a mediator on the relationship between stress and QoL in (caregiving) partners of dementia patients. In patients, however, we found a direct negative effect of stress on QoL. The findings suggest the importance of stress reducing and dyadic interventions for dementia patients and their partners, respectively.
Observed recent and expected future increases in frequency and intensity of climatic extremes in central Europe may pose critical challenges for domestic tree species. Continuous dendrometer recordings provide a valuable source of information on tree stem radius variations, offering the possibility to study a tree's response to environmental influences at a high temporal resolution. In this study, we analyze stem radius variations (SRV) of three domestic tree species (beech, oak, and pine) from 2012 to 2014. We use the novel statistical approach of event coincidence analysis (ECA) to investigate the simultaneous occurrence of extreme daily weather conditions and extreme SRVs, where extremes are defined with respect to the common values at a given phase of the annual growth period. Besides defining extreme events based on individual meteorological variables, we additionally introduce conditional and joint ECA as new multivariate extensions of the original methodology and apply them for testing 105 different combinations of variables regarding their impact on SRV extremes. Our results reveal a strong susceptibility of all three species to the extremes of several meteorological variables. Yet, the inter-species differences regarding their response to the meteorological extremes are comparatively low. The obtained results provide a thorough extension of previous correlation-based studies by emphasizing on the timings of climatic extremes only. We suggest that the employed methodological approach should be further promoted in forest research regarding the investigation of tree responses to changing environmental conditions.
Classification of clouds, cirrus, snow, shadows and clear sky areas is a crucial step in the pre-processing of optical remote sensing images and is a valuable input for their atmospheric correction. The Multi-Spectral Imager on board the Sentinel-2's of the Copernicus program offers optimized bands for this task and delivers unprecedented amounts of data regarding spatial sampling, global coverage, spectral coverage, and repetition rate. Efficient algorithms are needed to process, or possibly reprocess, those big amounts of data. Techniques based on top-of-atmosphere reflectance spectra for single-pixels without exploitation of external data or spatial context offer the largest potential for parallel data processing and highly optimized processing throughput. Such algorithms can be seen as a baseline for possible trade-offs in processing performance when the application of more sophisticated methods is discussed. We present several ready-to-use classification algorithms which are all based on a publicly available database of manually classified Sentinel-2A images. These algorithms are based on commonly used and newly developed machine learning techniques which drastically reduce the amount of time needed to update the algorithms when new images are added to the database. Several ready-to-use decision trees are presented which allow to correctly label about 91% of the spectra within a validation dataset. While decision trees are simple to implement and easy to understand, they offer only limited classification skill. It improves to 98% when the presented algorithm based on the classical Bayesian method is applied. This method has only recently been used for this task and shows excellent performance concerning classification skill and processing performance. A comparison of the presented algorithms with other commonly used techniques such as random forests, stochastic gradient descent, or support vector machines is also given. Especially random forests and support vector machines show similar classification skill as the classical Bayesian method.
The spider mite Tetranychus urticae Koch and the aphid Myzus persicae (Sulzer) both infest a number of economically significant crops, including tomato (Solanurn lycopersicum). Although used for decades to control pests, the impact of green lacewing larvae Chrysoperla carnea (Stephens) on plant biochemistry was not investigated. Here, we used profiling methods and targeted analyses to explore the impact of the predator and herbivore(s)-predator interactions on tomato biochemistry. Each pest and pest -predator combination induced a characteristic metabolite signature in the leaf and the fruit thus, the plant exhibited a systemic response. The treatments had a stronger impact on non-volatile metabolites including abscisic acid and amino acids in the leaves in comparison with the fruits. In contrast, the various biotic factors had a greater impact on the carotenoids in the fruits. We identified volatiles such as myrcene and alpha-terpinene which were induced by pest -predator interactions but not by single species, and we demonstrated the involvement of the phytohormone abscisic acid in tritrophic interactions for the first time. More importantly, C. carnea larvae alone impacted the plant metabolome, but the predator did not appear to elicit particular defense pathways on its own. Since the presence of both C. carnea larvae and pest individuals elicited volatiles which were shown to contribute to plant defense, C. carnea larvae could therefore contribute to the reduction of pest infestation, not only by its preying activity, but also by priming responses to generalist herbivores such as T urticae and M. persicae. On the other hand, the use of C. carnea larvae alone did not impact carotenoids thus, was not prejudicial to the fruit quality. The present piece of research highlights the specific impact of predator and tritrophic interactions with green lacewing larvae, spider mites, and aphids on different components of the tomato primary and secondary metabolism for the first time, and provides cues for further in-depth studies aiming to integrate entomological approaches and plant biochemistry.
The hydrological budget of a region is determined based on the horizontal and vertical water fluxes acting in both inward and outward directions. These integrated water fluxes vary, altering the total water storage and consequently the gravitational force of the region. The time-dependent gravitational field can be observed through the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) gravimetric satellite mission, provided that the mass variation is above the sensitivity of GRACE. This study evaluates mass changes in prominent reservoir regions through three independent approaches viz. fluxes, storages, and gravity, by combining remote sensing products, in-situ data and hydrological model outputs using WaterGAP Global Hydrological Model (WGHM) and Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS). The results show that the dynamics revealed by the GRACE signal can be better explored by a hybrid method, which combines remote sensing-based reservoir volume estimates with hydrological model outputs, than by exclusive model-based storage estimates. For the given arid/ semi-arid regions, GLDAS based storage estimations perform better than WGHM.
In a network with a mixture of different electrophysiological types of neurons linked by excitatory and inhibitory connections, temporal evolution leads through repeated epochs of intensive global activity separated by intervals with low activity level. This behavior mimics "up" and "down" states, experimentally observed in cortical tissues in absence of external stimuli. We interpret global dynamical features in terms of individual dynamics of the neurons. In particular, we observe that the crucial role both in interruption and in resumption of global activity is played by distributions of the membrane recovery variable within the network. We also demonstrate that the behavior of neurons is more influenced by their presynaptic environment in the network than by their formal types, assigned in accordance with their response to constant current.
The advantages of remote sensing using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are a high spatial resolution of images, temporal flexibility and narrow-band spectral data from different wavelengths domains. This enables the detection of spatio-temporal dynamics of environmental variables, like plant-related carbon dynamics in agricultural landscapes. In this paper, we quantify spatial patterns of fresh phytomass and related carbon (C) export using imagery captured by a 12-band multispectral camera mounted on the fixed wing UAV Carolo P360. The study was performed in 2014 at the experimental area CarboZALF-D in NE Germany. From radiometrically corrected and calibrated images of lucerne (Medicago sativa), the performance of four commonly used vegetation indices (VIs) was tested using band combinations of six near-infrared bands. The highest correlation between ground-based measurements of fresh phytomass of lucerne and VIs was obtained for the Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) using near-infrared band b(899). The resulting map was transformed into dry phytomass and finally upscaled to total C export by harvest. The observed spatial variability at field- and plot-scale could be attributed to small-scale soil heterogeneity in part.
Several personality dispositions with common features capturing sensitivities to negative social cues have recently been introduced into psychological research. To date, however, little is known about their interrelations, their conjoint effects on behavior, or their interplay with other risk factors. We asked N = 349 adults from Germany to rate their justice, rejection, moral disgust, and provocation sensitivity, hostile attribution bias, trait anger, and forms and functions of aggression. The sensitivity measures were mostly positively correlated; particularly those with an egoistic focus, such as victim justice, rejection, and provocation sensitivity, hostile attributions and trait anger as well as those with an altruistic focus, such as observer justice, perpetrator justice, and moral disgust sensitivity. The sensitivity measures had independent and differential effects on forms and functions of aggression when considered simultaneously and when controlling for hostile attributions and anger. They could not be integrated into a single factor of interpersonal sensitivity or reduced to other well-known risk factors for aggression. The sensitivity measures, therefore, require consideration in predicting and preventing aggression.
Background:
Plant phenotypic data shrouds a wealth of information which, when accurately analysed and linked
to other data types, brings to light the knowledge about the mechanisms of life. As phenotyping is a field of research
comprising manifold, diverse and time
‑consuming experiments, the findings can be fostered by reusing and combin‑
ing existing datasets. Their correct interpretation, and thus replicability, comparability and interoperability, is possible
provided that the collected observations are equipped with an adequate set of metadata. So far there have been no
common standards governing phenotypic data description, which hampered data exchange and reuse.
Results:
In this paper we propose the guidelines for proper handling of the information about plant phenotyping
experiments, in terms of both the recommended content of the description and its formatting. We provide a docu‑
ment called “Minimum Information About a Plant Phenotyping Experiment”, which specifies what information about
each experiment should be given, and a Phenotyping Configuration for the ISA
‑Tab format, which allows to practically
organise this information within a dataset. We provide examples of ISA
‑Tab
‑formatted phenotypic data, and a general
description of a few systems where the recommendations have been implemented.
Conclusions:
Acceptance of the rules described in this paper by the plant phenotyping community will help to
achieve findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable data.
Plasma carotenoids, tocopherols, and retinol in the age-stratified (35–74 years) general population
(2016)
Blood micronutrient status may change with age. We analyzed plasma carotenoids, α-/γ-tocopherol, and retinol and their associations with age, demographic characteristics, and dietary habits (assessed by a short food frequency questionnaire) in a cross-sectional study of 2118 women and men (age-stratified from 35 to 74 years) of the general population from six European countries. Higher age was associated with lower lycopene and α-/β-carotene and higher β-cryptoxanthin, lutein, zeaxanthin, α-/γ-tocopherol, and retinol levels. Significant correlations with age were observed for lycopene (r = −0.248), α-tocopherol (r = 0.208), α-carotene (r = −0.112), and β-cryptoxanthin (r = 0.125; all p < 0.001). Age was inversely associated with lycopene (−6.5% per five-year age increase) and this association remained in the multiple regression model with the significant predictors (covariables) being country, season, cholesterol, gender, smoking status, body mass index (BMI (kg/m2)), and dietary habits. The positive association of α-tocopherol with age remained when all covariates including cholesterol and use of vitamin supplements were included (1.7% vs. 2.4% per five-year age increase). The association of higher β-cryptoxanthin with higher age was no longer statistically significant after adjustment for fruit consumption, whereas the inverse association of α-carotene with age remained in the fully adjusted multivariable model (−4.8% vs. −3.8% per five-year age increase). We conclude from our study that age is an independent predictor of plasma lycopene, α-tocopherol, and α-carotene.
Gut bacteria exert beneficial and harmful effects in metabolic diseases as deduced from the comparison of germfree and conventional mice and from fecal transplantation studies. Compositional microbial changes in diseased subjects have been linked to adiposity, type 2 diabetes and dyslipidemia. Promotion of an increased expression of intestinal nutrient transporters or a modified lipid and bile acid metabolism by the intestinal microbiota could result in an increased nutrient absorption by the host. The degradation of dietary fiber and the subsequent fermentation of monosaccharides to short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) is one of the most controversially discussed mechanisms of how gut bacteria impact host physiology. Fibers reduce the energy density of the diet, and the resulting SCFA promote intestinal gluconeogenesis, incretin formation and subsequently satiety. However, SCFA also deliver energy to the host and support liponeogenesis. Thus far, there is little knowledge on bacterial species that promote or prevent metabolic disease. Clostridium ramosum and Enterococcus cloacae were demonstrated to promote obesity in gnotobiotic mouse models, whereas bifidobacteria and Akkermansia muciniphila were associated with favorable phenotypes in conventional mice, especially when oligofructose was fed. How diet modulates the gut microbiota towards a beneficial or harmful composition needs further research. Gnotobiotic animals are a valuable tool to elucidate mechanisms underlying diet-host-microbe interactions.
Subsurface microbial communities undertake many terminal electron-accepting processes, often simultaneously. Using a tritium-based assay, we measured the potential hydrogen oxidation catalyzed by hydrogenase enzymes in several subsurface sedimentary environments (Lake Van, Barents Sea, Equatorial Pacific, and Gulf of Mexico) with different predominant electron-acceptors. Hydrogenases constitute a diverse family of enzymes expressed by microorganisms that utilize molecular hydrogen as a metabolic substrate, product, or intermediate. The assay reveals the potential for utilizing molecular hydrogen and allows qualitative detection of microbial activity irrespective of the predominant electron-accepting process. Because the method only requires samples frozen immediately after recovery, the assay can be used for identifying microbial activity in subsurface ecosystems without the need to preserve live material. We measured potential hydrogen oxidation rates in all samples from multiple depths at several sites that collectively span a wide range of environmental conditions and biogeochemical zones. Potential activity normalized to total cell abundance ranges over five orders of magnitude and varies, dependent upon the predominant terminal electron acceptor. Lowest per-cell potential rates characterize the zone of nitrate reduction and highest per-cell potential rates occur in the methanogenic zone. Possible reasons for this relationship to predominant electron acceptor include (i) increasing importance of fermentation in successively deeper biogeochemical zones and (ii) adaptation of H(2)ases to successively higher concentrations of H-2 in successively deeper zones.
In the study of relativistic jets one of the key open questions is their interaction with the environment on the microscopic level. Here, we study the initial evolution of both electron-proton (e(-)-p(+)) and electron-positron (e(+/-)) relativistic jets containing helical magnetic fields, focusing on their interaction with an ambient plasma. We have performed simulations of "global" jets containing helical magnetic fields in order to examine how helical magnetic fields affect kinetic instabilities such as the Weibel instability, the kinetic Kelvin-Helmholtz instability (kKHI) and the Mushroom instability (MI). In our initial simulation study these kinetic instabilities are suppressed and new types of instabilities can grow. In the e(-)-p(+) jet simulation a recollimation-like instability occurs and jet electrons are strongly perturbed. In the e(+/-) jet simulation a recollimation-like instability occurs at early times followed by a kinetic instability and the general structure is similar to a simulation without helical magnetic field. Simulations using much larger systems are required in order to thoroughly follow the evolution of global jets containing helical magnetic fields.
Decreasing groundwater levels in many parts of Germany and decreasing low flows in Central Europe have created a need for adaptation measures to stabilize the water balance and to increase low flows. The objective of our study was to estimate the impact of ditch water level management on stream-aquifer interactions in small lowland catchments of the mid-latitudes. The water balance of a ditch-irrigated area and fluxes between the subsurface and the adjacent stream were modeled for three runoff recession periods using the Hydrus-2D software package. The results showed that the subsurface flow to the stream was closely related to the difference between the water level in the ditch system and the stream. Evapotranspiration during the growing season additionally reduced base flow. It was crucial to stop irrigation during a recession period to decrease water withdrawal from the stream and enhance the base flow by draining the irrigated area. Mean fluxes to the stream were between 0.04 and 0.64 ls(-1) for the first 20 days of the low-flow periods. This only slightly increased the flow in the stream, whose mean was 57 ls(-1) during the period with the lowest flows. Larger areas would be necessary to effectively increase flows in mesoscale catchments.
Die vorliegende Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit dem Einfluss der Organisationsform von Mikrofinanzinstitutionen (MFIs) auf deren soziale Performance. In diesem Kontext wird die soziale Performance als die direkte Übersetzung der sozialen Mission der MFIs in die Praxis verstanden. Konkret wird die soziale Performance der zwei Organisationsformen Shareholder Owned Firm (SOF) sowie Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) betrachtet und verglichen. Dieser Vergleich stützt sich auf die in der Fachwelt häufig vertretene Annahme, dass NGO MFIs eine höhere soziale Performance aufweisen als SOF MFIs, da sie dem Nonprofit-Sektor zugeschrieben werden können. Die bis dato vorhandenen relevanten empirischen Forschungen zu dem Thema werden anhand einer Literaturdiskussion analysiert. Bislang existiert nur eine relativ geringe Anzahl an empirischen Forschungen in diesem Themenfeld, da die Erforschung der sozialen Performance von MFIs ein recht neues Forschungsgebiet darstellt. Die Ergebnisse der Literaturdiskussion verdeutlichen zudem, dass hinsichtlich des Einflusses der Organisationsform von MFIs auf deren soziale Performance keine eindeutige Aussage getroffen werden kann, da die betrachteten Studien zu unterschiedlichen Resultaten kommen. Die Ergebnisse deuten jedoch darauf hin, dass in einigen geografischen Regionen der Welt NGO MFIs eine bessere soziale Performance aufweisen als SOF MFIs. Insgesamt liefert die Arbeit einen wichtigen Überblick über den Forschungsstand auf diesem Forschungsgebiet und deckt diverse Forschungslücken auf, welche in zukünftigen Untersuchungen berücksichtigt werden sollten.
Venomous snakes often display extensive variation in venom composition both between and within species. However, the mechanisms underlying the distribution of different toxins and venom types among populations and taxa remain insufficiently known. Rattlesnakes (Crotalus, Sistrurus) display extreme inter-and intraspecific variation in venom composition, centered particularly on the presence or absence of presynaptically neurotoxic phospholipases A2 such as Mojave toxin (MTX). Interspecific hybridization has been invoked as a mechanism to explain the distribution of these toxins across rattlesnakes, with the implicit assumption that they are adaptively advantageous. Here, we test the potential of adaptive hybridization as a mechanism for venom evolution by assessing the distribution of genes encoding the acidic and basic subunits of Mojave toxin across a hybrid zone between MTX-positive Crotalus scutulatus and MTX-negative C. viridis in southwestern New Mexico, USA. Analyses of morphology, mitochondrial and single copy-nuclear genes document extensive admixture within a narrow hybrid zone. The genes encoding the two MTX subunits are strictly linked, and found in most hybrids and backcrossed individuals, but not in C. viridis away from the hybrid zone. Presence of the genes is invariably associated with presence of the corresponding toxin in the venom. We conclude that introgression of highly lethal neurotoxins through hybridization is not necessarily favored by natural selection in rattlesnakes, and that even extensive hybridization may not lead to introgression of these genes into another species.
Effects of data and model simplification on the results of a wetland water resource management model
(2016)
This paper presents the development of a wetland water balance model for use in a large river basin with many different wetlands. The basic model was primarily developed for a single wetland with a complex water management system involving large amounts of specialized input data and water management details. The aim was to simplify the model structure and to use only commonly available data as input for the model, with the least possible loss of accuracy. Results from different variants of the model and data adaptation were tested against results from a detailed model. This shows that using commonly available data and unifying and simplifying the input data is tolerable up to a certain level. The simplification of the model has greater effects on the evaluated water balance components than the data adaptation. Because this simplification was necessary for large-scale use, we suggest that, for reasons of comparability, simpler models should always be applied with uniform data bases for large regions, though these should only be moderately simplified. Further, we recommend using these simplified models only for large-scale comparisons and using more specific, detailed models for investigations on smaller scales.
Background:
Skewed body size distributions and the high relative richness of small-bodied taxa are a fundamental
property of a wide range of animal clades. The evolutionary processes responsible for generating these distributions
are well described in vertebrate model systems but have yet to be explored in detail for other major terrestrial
clades. In this study, we explore the macro-evolutionary patterns of body size variation across families of Hexapoda
(insects and their close relatives), using recent advances in phylogenetic understanding, with an aim to investigate
the link between size and diversity within this ancient and highly diverse lineage.
Results:
The maximum, minimum and mean-log body lengths of hexapod families are all approximately log-normally
distributed, consistent with previous studies at lower taxonomic levels, and contrasting with skewed distributions
typical of vertebrate groups. After taking phylogeny and within-tip variation into account, we find no evidence for a
negative relationship between diversification rate and body size, suggesting decoupling of the forces controlling these
two traits. Likelihood-based modeling of the log-mean body size identifies distinct processes operating within
Holometabola and Diptera compared with other hexapod groups, consistent with accelerating rates of size evolution
within these clades, while as a whole, hexapod body size evolution is found to be dominated by neutral processes
including significant phylogenetic conservatism.
Conclusions:
Based on our findings we suggest that the use of models derived from well-studied but atypical clades,
such as vertebrates may lead to misleading conclusions when applied to other major terrestrial lineages. Our results
indicate that within hexapods, and within the limits of current systematic and phylogenetic knowledge, insect
diversification is generally unfettered by size-biased macro-evolutionary processes, and that these processes over large
timescales tend to converge on apparently neutral evolutionary processes. We also identify limitations on available
data within the clade and modeling approaches for the resolution of trees of higher taxa, the resolution of which may
collectively enhance our understanding of this key component of terrestrial ecosystems.
Lake Towuti is a tectonic basin, surrounded by ultramafic rocks. Lateritic soils form through weathering and deliver abundant iron (oxy)hydroxides but very little sulfate to the lake and its sediment. To characterize the sediment biogeochemistry, we collected cores at three sites with increasing water depth and decreasing bottom water oxygen concentrations. Microbial cell densities were highest at the shallow site a feature we attribute to the availability of labile organic matter (OM) and the higher abundance of electron acceptors due to oxic bottom water conditions. At the two other sites, OM degradation and reduction processes below the oxycline led to partial electron acceptor depletion. Genetic information preserved in the sediment as extracellular DNA (eDNA) provided information on aerobic and anaerobic heterotrophs related to Nitrospirae. Chloroflexi, and Therrnoplasmatales. These taxa apparently played a significant role in the degradation of sinking OM. However, eDNA concentrations rapidly decreased with core depth. Despite very low sulfate concentrations, sulfate-reducing bacteria were present and viable in sediments at all three sites, as confirmed by measurement of potential sulfate reduction rates. Microbial community fingerprinting supported the presence of taxa related to Deltaproteobacteria and Firmicutes with demonstrated capacity for iron and sulfate reduction. Concomitantly, sequences of Ruminococcaceae, Clostridiales, and Methanornicrobiales indicated potential for fermentative hydrogen and methane production. Such first insights into ferruginous sediments showed that microbial populations perform successive metabolisms related to sulfur, iron, and methane. In theory, iron reduction could reoxidize reduced sulfur compounds and desorb OM from iron minerals to allow remineralization to methane. Overall, we found that biogeochemical processes in the sediments can be linked to redox differences in the bottom waters of the three sites, like oxidant concentrations and the supply of labile OM. At the scale of the lacustrine record, our geomicrobiological study should provide a means to link the extant subsurface biosphere to past environments.
Background:
Deception can distort psychological tests on socially sensitive topics. Understanding the cerebral
processes that are involved in such faking can be useful in detection and prevention of deception. Previous research
shows that faking a brief implicit association test (BIAT ) evokes a characteristic ERP response. It is not yet known
whether temporarily available self-control resources moderate this response. We randomly assigned 22 participants
(15 females, 24.23
±
2.91
years old) to a counterbalanced repeated-measurements design. Participants first com-
pleted a Brief-IAT (BIAT ) on doping attitudes as a baseline measure and were then instructed to fake a negative dop
-
ing attitude both when self-control resources were depleted and non-depleted. Cerebral activity during BIAT perfor
-
mance was assessed using high-density EEG.
Results:
Compared to the baseline BIAT, event-related potentials showed a first interaction at the parietal P1,
while significant post hoc differences were found only at the later occurring late positive potential. Here, signifi-
cantly decreased amplitudes were recorded for ‘normal’ faking, but not in the depletion condition. In source space,
enhanced activity was found for ‘normal’ faking in the bilateral temporoparietal junction. Behaviorally, participants
were successful in faking the BIAT successfully in both conditions.
Conclusions:
Results indicate that temporarily available self-control resources do not affect overt faking success on
a BIAT. However, differences were found on an electrophysiological level. This indicates that while on a phenotypical
level self-control resources play a negligible role in deliberate test faking the underlying cerebral processes are markedly different.
Background:
Arising from the relevance of sensorimotor training in the therapy of nonspecific low back pain patients and from the value of individualized therapy, the present trial aims to test the feasibility and efficacy of individualized sensorimotor training interventions in patients suffering from nonspecific low back pain.
Methods and study design:
A multicentre, single-blind two-armed randomized controlled trial to evaluate the
effects of a 12-week (3 weeks supervised centre-based and 9 weeks home-based) individualized sensorimotor exercise program is performed. The control group stays inactive during this period. Outcomes are pain, and pain-associated function as well as motor function in adults with nonspecific low back pain. Each participant is scheduled to five measurement dates: baseline (M1), following centre-based training (M2), following home-based training (M3) and at two follow-up time points 6 months (M4) and 12 months (M5) after M1. All investigations and the assessment of the primary and secondary outcomes are performed in a standardized order: questionnaires – clinical examination – biomechanics (motor function). Subsequent statistical procedures are executed after the examination of underlying assumptions for parametric or rather non-parametric testing.
Discussion:
The results and practical relevance of the study will be of clinical and practical relevance not only for researchers and policy makers but also for the general population suffering from nonspecific low back pain.
Trial registration:
Identification number DRKS00010129. German Clinical Trial registered on 3 March 2016.
Background:
All living cells display a rapid molecular response to adverse environmental conditions, and
the heat shock protein family reflects one such example. Hence, failing to activate heat shock proteins can impair
the cellular response. In the present study, we evaluated whether the loss of different isoforms of heat shock
protein (
hsp
) genes in
Caenorhabditis elegans
would affect their vulnerability to Manganese (Mn) toxicity.
Methods:
We exposed wild type and selected
hsp
mutant worms to Mn (30 min) and next evaluated
further the most susceptible strains. We analyzed survi
val, protein carbonylation (as a marker of oxidative
stress) and Parkinson
’
s disease related gene expression immediately after Mn exposure. Lastly, we observed
dopaminergic neurons in wild type worms and in
hsp-70
mutants following Mn treatment. Analysis of the
data was performed by one-way or two way ANOVA, depending on the case, followed by post-hoc
Bonferroni test if the overall
p
value was less than 0.05.
Results:
We verified that the loss of
hsp-70, hsp-3 and chn-1
increased the vulnerability to Mn, as
exposed mutant worms showed lower survival rate and increased protein oxidation. The importance of
hsp-70
against Mn toxicity was then corroborated in dopaminergic neurons, where Mn neurotoxicity was
aggravated. The lack of
hsp-70
also blocked the transcriptional upregulation of
pink1
, a gene that has been
linked to Parkinson
’
sdisease.
Conclusions:
Taken together, our data suggest that Mn exposu
re modulates heat shock protein expression,
particularly HSP-70, in
C. elegans
.Furthermore,lossof
hsp-70
increases protein oxidation and dopaminergic
neuronal degeneration following manganese exposure, which is associated with the inhibition of
pink1
increased expression, thus pot
entially exacerbating the v
ulnerability to this metal.
Background:
Environmental stress puts organisms at risk and requires specific stress-tailored responses to maximize
survival. Long-term exposure to stress necessitates a global reprogramming of the cellular activities at different
levels of gene expression.
Results:
Here, we use ribosome profiling and RNA sequencing to globally profile the adaptive response of
Arabidopsis thaliana
to prolonged heat stress. To adapt to long heat exposure, the expression of many genes is
modulated in a coordinated manner at a transcriptional and translational level. However, a significant group of
genes opposes this trend and shows mainly translational regulation. Different secondary structure elements are
likely candidates to play a role in regulating translation of those genes.
Conclusions:
Our data also uncover on how the subunit stoichiometry of multimeric protein complexes in plastids
is maintained upon heat exposure.
Background:
First metabolomics studies have indicated that metabolic fingerprints from accessible tissues might
be useful to better understand the etiological links between metabolism and cancer. However, there is still a lack
of prospective metabolomics studies on pre-diagnostic metabolic alterations and cancer risk.
Methods:
Associations between pre-diagnostic levels of 120 circulating metabolites (acylcarnitines, amino acids,
biogenic amines, phosphatidylcholines, sphingolipids, and hexoses) and the risks of breast, prostate, and colorectal
cancer were evaluated by Cox regression analyses using data of a prospective case-cohort study including 835
incident cancer cases.
Results:
The median follow-up duration was 8.3 years among non-cases and 6.5 years among incident cases of
cancer. Higher levels of lysophosphatidylcholines (lysoPCs), and especially lysoPC a C18:0, were consistently related
to lower risks of breast, prostate, and colorectal cancer, independent of background factors. In contrast, higher
levels of phosphatidylcholine PC ae C30:0 were associated with increased cancer risk. There was no heterogeneity
in the observed associations by lag time between blood draw and cancer diagnosis.
Conclusion:
Changes in blood lipid composition precede the diagnosis of common malignancies by several years.
Considering the consistency of the present results across three cancer types the observed alterations point to a
global metabolic shift in phosphatidylcholine metabolism that may drive tumorigenesis.
Aim: We aimed to identify patient characteristics and comorbidities that correlate with the initial exercise capacity of
cardiac rehabilitation (CR) patients and to study the significance of patient characteristics, comorbidities and training
methods for training achievements and final fitness of CR patients.
Methods: We studied 557 consecutive patients (51.7 Æ 6.9 years; 87.9% men) admitted to a three-week in-patient CR.
Cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPX) was performed at discharge. Exercise capacity (watts) at entry, gain in training
volume and final physical fitness (assessed by peak O 2 utilization (VO 2peak ) were analysed using analysis of covariance
(ANCOVA) models.
Results: Mean training intensity was 90.7 Æ 9.7% of maximum heart rate (81% continuous/19% interval training, 64%
additional strength training). A total of 12.2 Æ 2.6 bicycle exercise training sessions were performed. Increase of training
volume by an average of more than 100% was achieved (difference end/beginning of CR: 784 Æ 623 watts  min). In the
multivariate model the gain in training volume was significantly associated with smoking, age and exercise capacity at
entry of CR. The physical fitness level achieved at discharge from CR as assessed by VO 2peak was mainly dependent on
age, but also on various factors related to training, namely exercise capacity at entry, increase of training volume and
training method.
Conclusion: CR patients were trained in line with current guidelines with moderate-to-high intensity and reached a
considerable increase of their training volume. The physical fitness level achieved at discharge from CR depended on
various factors associated with training, which supports the recommendation that CR should be offered to all cardiac
patients.
Editorial
(2016)
Background
Antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) can be detected in asymptomatic carriers and infectious patients. The aim was to investigate whether a novel line immunoassay (LIA) differentiates between antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) and asymptomatic aPL+ carriers or patients with infectious diseases (infectious diseases controls (IDC)).
Methods
Sixty-one patients with APS (56 primary, 22/56 with obstetric events only, and 5 secondary), 146 controls including 24 aPL+ asymptomatic carriers and 73 IDC were tested on a novel hydrophobic solid phase coated with cardiolipin (CL), phosphatic acid, phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylinositol, phosphatidylserine, beta2-glycoprotein I (β2GPI), prothrombin, and annexin V. Samples were also tested by anti-CL and anti-β2GPI ELISAs and for lupus anticoagulant activity. Human monoclonal antibodies (humoAbs) against human β2GPI or PL alone were tested on the same LIA substrates in the absence or presence of human serum, purified human β2GPI or after CL-micelle absorption.
Results
Comparison of LIA with the aPL-classification assays revealed good agreement for IgG/IgM aß2GPI and aCL. Anti-CL and anti-ß2GPI IgG/IgM reactivity assessed by LIA was significantly higher in patients with APS versus healthy controls and IDCs, as detected by ELISA. IgG binding to CL and ß2GPI in the LIA was significantly lower in aPL+ carriers and Venereal Disease Research Laboratory test (VDRL) + samples than in patients with APS. HumoAb against domain 1 recognized β2GPI bound to the LIA-matrix and in anionic phospholipid (PL) complexes. Absorption with CL micelles abolished the reactivity of a PL-specific humoAb but did not affect the binding of anti-β2GPI humoAbs.
Conclusions
The LIA and ELISA have good agreement in detecting aPL in APS, but the LIA differentiates patients with APS from infectious patients and asymptomatic carriers, likely through the exposure of domain 1.
A model analysis of mechanisms for radial microtubular patterns at root hair initiation sites
(2016)
Plant cells have two main modes of growth generating anisotropic structures. Diffuse growth where whole cell walls extend in specific directions, guided by anisotropically positioned cellulose fibers, and tip growth, with inhomogeneous addition of new cell wall material at the tip of the structure. Cells are known to regulate these processes via molecular signals and the cytoskeleton. Mechanical stress has been proposed to provide an input to the positioning of the cellulose fibers via cortical microtubules in diffuse growth. In particular, a stress feedback model predicts a circumferential pattern of fibers surrounding apical tissues and growing primordia, guided by the anisotropic curvature in such tissues. In contrast, during the initiation of tip growing root hairs, a star-like radial pattern has recently been observed. Here, we use detailed finite element models to analyze how a change in mechanical properties at the root hair initiation site can lead to star-like stress patterns in order to understand whether a stress-based feedback model can also explain the microtubule patterns seen during root hair initiation. We show that two independent mechanisms, individually or combined, can be sufficient to generate radial patterns. In the first, new material is added locally at the position of the root hair. In the second, increased tension in the initiation area provides a mechanism. Finally, we describe how a molecular model of Rho-of-plant (ROP) GTPases activation driven by auxin can position a patch of activated ROP protein basally along a 2D root epidermal cell plasma membrane, paving the way for models where mechanical and molecular mechanisms cooperate in the initial placement and outgrowth of root hairs.
Infants start learning the prosodic properties of their native language before 12 months, as shown by the emergence of a trochaic bias in English-learning infants between 6 and 9 months (Jusczyk et al., 1993), and in German-learning infants between 4 and 6 months (Huhle et al., 2009, 2014), while French-learning infants do not show a bias at 6 months (Hohle et al., 2009). This language-specific emergence of a trochaic bias is supported by the fact that English and German are languages with trochaic predominance in their lexicons, while French is a language with phrase-final lengthening but lacking lexical stress. We explored the emergence of a trochaic bias in bilingual French/German infants, to study whether the developmental trajectory would be similar to monolingual infants and whether amount of relative exposure to the two languages has an impact on the emergence of the bias. Accordingly, we replicated Hohle et al. (2009) with 24 bilingual 6-month-olds learning French and German simultaneously. All infants had been exposed to both languages for 30 to 70% of the time from birth. Using the Head Preference Procedure, infants were presented with two lists of stimuli, one made up of several occurrences of the pseudoword /GAba/ with word-initial stress (trochaic pattern), the second one made up of several occurrences of the pseudoword /gaBA/ with word-final stress (iambic pattern). The stimuli were recorded by a native German female speaker. Results revealed that these French/German bilingual 6-month olds have a trochaic bias (as evidenced by a preference to listen to the trochaic pattern). Hence, their listening preference is comparable to that of monolingual German-learning 6-month-olds, but differs from that of monolingual French-learning 6-month-olds who did not show any preference (Noble et al., 2009). Moreover, the size of the trochaic bias in the bilingual infants was not correlated with their amount of exposure to German. The present results thus establish that the development of a trochaic bias in simultaneous bilinguals is not delayed compared to monolingual German-learning infants (Hohle et al., 2009) and is rather independent of the amount of exposure to German relative to French.
Liverwort Blasia pusilla L. recruits soil nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria of genus Nostoc as symbiotic partners. In this work we compared Nostoc community composition inside the plants and in the soil around them from two distant locations in Northern Norway. STRR fingerprinting and 16S rDNA phylogeny reconstruction showed a remarkable local diversity among isolates assigned to several Nostoc clades. An extensive web of negative allelopathic interactions was recorded at an agricultural site, but not at the undisturbed natural site. The cell extracts of the cyanobacteria did not show antimicrobial activities, but four isolates were shown to be cytotoxic to human cells. The secondary metabolite profiles of the isolates were mapped by MALDI-TOF MS, and the most prominent ions were further analyzed by Q-TOF for MS/MS aided identification. Symbiotic isolates produced a great variety of small peptide-like substances, most of which lack any record in the databases. Among identified compounds we found microcystin and nodularin variants toxic to eukaryotic cells. Microcystin producing chemotypes were dominating as symbiotic recruits but not in the free-living community. In addition, we were able to identify several novel aeruginosins and banyaside-like compounds, as well as nostocyclopeptides and nosperin.
Drugs as instruments
(2016)
Neuroenhancement (NE) is the non-medical use of psychoactive substances to produce a subjective enhancement in psychological functioning and experience. So far empirical investigations of individuals' motivation for NE however have been hampered by the lack of theoretical foundation. This study aimed to apply drug instrumentalization theory to user motivation for NE. We argue that NE should be defined and analyzed from a behavioral perspective rather than in terms of the characteristics of substances used for NE. In the empirical study we explored user behavior by analyzing relationships between drug options (use over-the-counter products, prescription drugs, illicit drugs) and postulated drug instrumentalization goals (e.g., improved cognitive performance, counteracting fatigue, improved social interaction). Questionnaire data from 1438 university students were subjected to exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis to address the question of whether analysis of drug instrumentalization should be based on the assumption that users are aiming to achieve a certain goal and choose their drug accordingly or whether NE behavior is more strongly rooted in a decision to try or use a certain drug option. We used factor mixture modeling to explore whether users could be separated into qualitatively different groups defined by a shared "goal X drug option" configuration. Our results indicate, first, that individuals decisions about NE are eventually based on personal attitude to drug options (e.g., willingness to use an over-the-counter product but not to abuse prescription drugs) rather than motivated by desire to achieve a specific goal (e.g., fighting tiredness) for which different drug options might be tried. Second, data analyses suggested two qualitatively different classes of users. Both predominantly used over-the-counter products, but "neuroenhancers" might be characterized by a higher propensity to instrumentalize over-the-counter products for virtually all investigated goals whereas "fatigue-fighters" might be inclined to use over-the-counter products exclusively to fight fatigue. We believe that psychological investigations like these are essential, especially for designing programs to prevent risky behavior.
Calcularis is a computer-based training program which focuses on basic numerical skills, spatial representation of numbers and arithmetic operations. The program includes a user model allowing flexible adaptation to the child's individual knowledge and learning profile. The study design to evaluate the training comprises three conditions (Calcularis group, waiting control group, spelling training group). One hundred and thirty-eight children from second to fifth grade participated in the study. Training duration comprised a minimum of 24 training sessions of 20 min within a time period of 6-8 weeks. Compared to the group without training (waiting control group) and the group with an alternative training (spelling training group), the children of the Calcularis group demonstrated a higher benefit in subtraction and number line estimation with medium to large effect sizes. Therefore, Calcularis can be used effectively to support children in arithmetic performance and spatial number representation.
Effects of resistance training in youth athletes on muscular fitness and athletic performance
(2016)
During the stages of long-term athlete development (LTAD), resistance training (RT) is an important means for (i) stimulating athletic development, (ii) tolerating the demands of long-term training and competition, and (iii) inducing long-term health promoting effects that are robust over time and track into adulthood. However, there is a gap in the literature with regards to optimal RT methods during LTAD and how RT is linked to biological age. Thus, the aims of this scoping review were (i) to describe and discuss the effects of RT on muscular fitness and athletic performance in youth athletes, (ii) to introduce a conceptual model on how to appropriately implement different types of RT within LTAD stages, and (iii) to identify research gaps from the existing literature by deducing implications for future research. In general, RT produced small -to -moderate effects on muscular fitness and athletic performance in youth athletes with muscular strength showing the largest improvement. Free weight, complex, and plyometric training appear to be well -suited to improve muscular fitness and athletic performance. In addition, balance training appears to be an important preparatory (facilitating) training program during all stages of LTAD but particularly during the early stages. As youth athletes become more mature, specificity, and intensity of RT methods increase. This scoping review identified research gaps that are summarized in the following and that should be addressed in future studies: (i) to elucidate the influence of gender and biological age on the adaptive potential following RT in youth athletes (especially in females), (ii) to describe RT protocols in more detail (i.e., always report stress and strain based parameters), and (iii) to examine neuromuscular and tendomuscular adaptations following RT in youth athletes.
Previous research on the interplay between static manual postures and visual attention revealed enhanced visual selection near the hands (near-hand effect). During active movements there is also superior visual performance when moving toward compared to away from the stimulus (direction effect). The "modulated visual pathways" hypothesis argues that differential involvement of magno- and parvocellular visual processing streams causes the near-hand effect. The key finding supporting this hypothesis is an increase in temporal and a reduction in spatial processing in near-hand space (Gozli et al., 2012). Since this hypothesis has, so far, only been tested with static hand postures, we provide a conceptual replication of Gozli et al.'s (2012) result with moving hands, thus also probing the generality of the direction effect. Participants performed temporal or spatial gap discriminations while their right hand was moving below the display. In contrast to Gozli et al (2012), temporal gap discrimination was superior at intermediate and not near hand proximity. In spatial gap discrimination, a direction effect without hand proximity effect suggests that pragmatic attentional maps overshadowed temporal/spatial processing biases for far/near-hand space.
An exploration of rhythmic grouping of speech sequences by french- and german-learning infants
(2016)
Rhythm in music and speech can be characterized by a constellation of several acoustic cues. Individually, these cues have different effects on rhythmic perception: sequences of sounds alternating in duration are perceived as short-long pairs (weak-strong/iambicpattern), whereas sequences of sounds alternating in intensity or pitch are perceived as loud-soft, or high-low pairs (strong-weak/trochaic pattern). This perceptual bias-called the lambic-Trochaic Law (ITL) has been claimed to be an universal property of the auditory system applying in both the music and the language domains. Recent studies have shown that language experience can modulate the effects of the ITL on rhythmic perception of both speech and non-speech sequences in adults, and of non-speech sequences in 7.5-month-old infants. The goal of the present study was to explore whether language experience also modulates infants' grouping of speech. To do so, we presented sequences of syllables to monolingual French- and German-learning 7.5-month-olds. Using the Headturn Preference Procedure (HPP), we examined whether they were able to perceive a rhythmic structure in sequences of syllables that alternated in duration, pitch, or intensity. Our findings show that both French- and German-learning infants perceived a rhythmic structure when it was cued by duration or pitch but not intensity. Our findings also show differences in how these infants use duration and pitch cues to group syllable sequences, suggesting that pitch cues were the easier ones to use. Moreover, performance did not differ across languages, failing to reveal early language effects on rhythmic perception. These results contribute to our understanding of the origin of rhythmic perception and perceptual mechanisms shared across music and speech, which may bootstrap language acquisition.
Relatedness strongly influences social behaviors in a wide variety of species. For most species, the highest typical degree of relatedness is between full siblings with 50% shared genes. However, this is poorly understood in species with unusually high relatedness between individuals: clonal organisms. Although there has been some investigation into clonal invertebrates and yeast, nothing is known about kin selection in clonal vertebrates. We show that a clonal fish, the Amazon molly (Poecilia formosa), can distinguish between different clonal lineages, associating with genetically identical, sister clones, and use multiple sensory modalities. Also, they scale their aggressive behaviors according to the relatedness to other females: they are more aggressive to non-related clones. Our results demonstrate that even in species with very small genetic differences between individuals, kin recognition can be adaptive. Their discriminatory abilities and regulation of costly behaviors provides a powerful example of natural selection in species with limited genetic diversity.
Background:
Exercising at intensities where fat oxidation rates are high has been shown to induce metabolic benefits in recreational and health-oriented sportsmen. The exercise intensity (Fat peak ) eliciting peak fat oxidation rates is therefore of particular interest when aiming to prescribe exercise for the purpose of fat oxidation and related metabolic effects. Although running and walking are feasible and popular among the target population, no reliable protocols are available to assess Fat peak as well as its actual velocity (V PFO ) during treadmill ergometry. Our purpose was therefore, to assess the reliability and day-to-day variability of V PFO and Fat peak during treadmill ergometry running.
Methods:
Sixteen recreational athletes (f = 7, m = 9; 25 ± 3 y; 1.76 ± 0.09 m; 68.3 ± 13.7 kg; 23.1 ± 2.9 kg/m 2 ) performed 2 different running protocols on 3 different days with standardized nutrition the day before testing. At day 1, peak oxygen uptake (VO 2peak ) and the velocities at the aerobic threshold (V LT ) and respiratory exchange ratio (RER) of 1.00 (V RER ) were assessed. At days 2 and 3, subjects ran an identical submaximal incremental test (Fat-peak test) composed of a 10 min warm-up (70 % V LT ) followed by 5 stages of 6 min with equal increments (stage 1 = V LT , stage 5 = V RER ). Breath-by-breath gas exchange data was measured continuously and used to determine fat oxidation rates. A third order polynomial function was used to identify V PFO and subsequently Fat peak . The reproducibility and variability of variables was verified with an int raclass correlation coef ficient (ICC), Pearson ’ s correlation coefficient, coefficient of variation (CV) an d the mean differences (bias) ± 95 % limits of agreement (LoA).
Results:
ICC, Pearson ’ s correlation and CV for V PFO and Fat peak were 0.98, 0.97, 5.0 %; and 0.90, 0.81, 7.0 %, respectively. Bias ± 95 % LoA was − 0.3 ± 0.9 km/h for V PFO and − 2±8%ofVO 2peak for Fat peak.
Conclusion:
In summary, relative and absolute reliability indicators for V PFO and Fat peak were found to be excellent. The observed LoA may now serve as a basis for future training prescriptions, although fat oxidation rates at prolonged exercise bouts at this intensity still need to be investigated.
Background The prognostic effect of multi-component cardiac rehabilitation (CR) in the modern era of statins and acute revascularisation remains controversial. Focusing on actual clinical practice, the aim was to evaluate the effect of CR on total mortality and other clinical endpoints after an acute coronary event.
Design Structured review and meta-analysis.
Methods Randomised controlled trials (RCTs), retrospective controlled cohort studies (rCCSs) and prospective controlled cohort studies (pCCSs) evaluating patients after acute coronary syndrome (ACS), coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) or mixed populations with coronary artery disease (CAD) were included, provided the index event was in 1995 or later.
Results Out of n=18,534 abstracts, 25 studies were identified for final evaluation (RCT: n=1; pCCS: n=7; rCCS: n=17), including n=219,702 patients (after ACS: n=46,338; after CABG: n=14,583; mixed populations: n=158,781; mean follow-up: 40 months). Heterogeneity in design, biometrical assessment of results and potential confounders was evident. CCSs evaluating ACS patients showed a significantly reduced mortality for CR participants (pCCS: hazard ratio (HR) 0.37, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.20-0.69; rCCS: HR 0.64, 95% CI 0.49-0.84; odds ratio 0.20, 95% CI 0.08-0.48), but the single RCT fulfilling Cardiac Rehabilitation Outcome Study (CROS) inclusion criteria showed neutral results. CR participation was also associated with reduced mortality after CABG (rCCS: HR 0.62, 95% CI 0.54-0.70) and in mixed CAD populations.
Conclusions CR participation after ACS and CABG is associated with reduced mortality even in the modern era of CAD treatment. However, the heterogeneity of study designs and CR programmes highlights the need for defining internationally accepted standards in CR delivery and scientific evaluation.
SOPARSE predicts so-called local coherence effects: locally plausible but globally impossible parses of substrings can exert a distracting influence during sentence processing. Additionally, it predicts digging-in effects: the longer the parser stays committed to a particular analysis, the harder it becomes to inhibit that analysis. We investigated the interaction of these two predictions using German sentences. Results from a self-paced reading study show that the processing difficulty caused by a local coherence can be reduced by first allowing the globally correct parse to become entrenched, which supports SOPARSE’s assumptions.
Consonants have been proposed to carry more of the weight of lexical processing than vowels. This consonant bias has consistently been found in adults and has been proposed to facilitate early language acquisition. We explore the origins of this bias over the course of development and in infants learning different languages. Although the consonant bias was originally thought to be present at birth, evidence suggests that it arises from the early stages of phonological and (pre-)lexical acquisition. We discuss two theories that account for the acquisition of the consonant bias: the lexical and acoustic-phonetic hypotheses.
Skipping a grade, one specific form of acceleration, is an intervention used for gifted students. Quantitative research has shown acceleration to be a highly successful intervention regarding academic achievement, but less is known about the social-emotional outcomes of grade-skipping. In the present study, the authors used the grounded theory approach to examine the experiences of seven gifted students aged 8 to 16 years who skipped a grade. The interviewees perceived their feeling of being in the wrong place before the grade-skipping as strongly influenced by their teachers, who generally did not respond adequately to their needs. We observed a close interrelationship between the gifted students' intellectual fit and their social situation in class. Findings showed that the grade-skipping in most of the cases bettered the situation in school intellectually as well as socially, but soon further interventions, for instance, a specialized and demanding class- or subject-specific acceleration were added to provide sufficiently challenging learning opportunities.
Robust appraisals of climate impacts at different levels of global-mean temperature increase are vital to guide assessments of dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system. The 2015 Paris Agreement includes a two-headed temperature goal: "holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 degrees C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees C". Despite the prominence of these two temperature limits, a comprehensive overview of the differences in climate impacts at these levels is still missing. Here we provide an assessment of key impacts of climate change at warming levels of 1.5 degrees C and 2 degrees C, including extreme weather events, water availability, agricultural yields, sea-level rise and risk of coral reef loss. Our results reveal substantial differences in impacts between a 1.5 degrees C and 2 degrees C warming that are highly relevant for the assessment of dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system. For heat-related extremes, the additional 0.5 degrees C increase in global-mean temperature marks the difference between events at the upper limit of present-day natural variability and a new climate regime, particularly in tropical regions. Similarly, this warming difference is likely to be decisive for the future of tropical coral reefs. In a scenario with an end-of-century warming of 2 degrees C, virtually all tropical coral reefs are projected to be at risk of severe degradation due to temperature-induced bleaching from 2050 onwards. This fraction is reduced to about 90% in 2050 and projected to decline to 70% by 2100 for a 1.5 degrees C scenario. Analyses of precipitation-related impacts reveal distinct regional differences and hot-spots of change emerge. Regional reduction in median water availability for the Mediterranean is found to nearly double from 9% to 17% between 1.5 degrees C and 2 degrees C, and the projected lengthening of regional dry spells increases from 7 to 11%. Projections for agricultural yields differ between crop types as well as world regions. While some (in particular high-latitude) regions may benefit, tropical regions like West Africa, South-East Asia, as well as Central and northern South America are projected to face substantial local yield reductions, particularly for wheat and maize. Best estimate sea-level rise projections based on two illustrative scenarios indicate a 50cm rise by 2100 relative to year 2000-levels for a 2 degrees C scenario, and about 10 cm lower levels for a 1.5 degrees C scenario. In a 1.5 degrees C scenario, the rate of sea-level rise in 2100 would be reduced by about 30% compared to a 2 degrees C scenario. Our findings highlight the importance of regional differentiation to assess both future climate risks and different vulnerabilities to incremental increases in global-mean temperature. The article provides a consistent and comprehensive assessment of existing projections and a good basis for future work on refining our understanding of the difference between impacts at 1.5 degrees C and 2 degrees C warming.
Studies investigating the effect of increasing CO2 levels on the phosphorus cycle in natural waters are lacking although phosphorus often controls phytoplankton development in many aquatic systems. The aim of our study was to analyse effects of elevated CO2 levels on phosphorus pool sizes and uptake. The phosphorus dynamic was followed in a CO2-manipulation mesocosm experiment in the Storfjarden (western Gulf of Finland, Baltic Sea) in summer 2012 and was also studied in the surrounding fjord water. In all mesocosms as well as in surface waters of Storfjarden, dissolved organic phosphorus (DOP) concentrations of 0.26aEuro-+/- aEuro-0.03 and 0.23aEuro-+/- aEuro-0.04aEuro-A mu molaEuro-L-1, respectively, formed the main fraction of the total P-pool (TP), whereas phosphate (PO4) constituted the lowest fraction with mean concentration of 0.15aEuro-A +/- aEuro-0.02 in the mesocosms and 0.17aEuro-A +/- aEuro-0.07aEuro-A mu molaEuro-L-1 in the fjord. Transformation of PO4 into DOP appeared to be the main pathway of PO4 turnover. About 82aEuro-% of PO4 was converted into DOP whereby only 18aEuro-% of PO4 was transformed into particulate phosphorus (PP). PO4 uptake rates measured in the mesocosms ranged between 0.6 and 3.9aEuro-nmolaEuro-L(-1)aEuro-h(-1). About 86aEuro-% of them was realized by the size fraction < aEuro-3aEuro-A mu m. Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) uptake revealed that additional P was supplied from organic compounds accounting for 25-27aEuro-% of P provided by PO4 only. CO2 additions did not cause significant changes in phosphorus (P) pool sizes, DOP composition, and uptake of PO4 and ATP when the whole study period was taken into account. However, significant short-term effects were observed for PO4 and PP pool sizes in CO2 treatments > aEuro-1000aEuro-A mu atm during periods when phytoplankton biomass increased. In addition, we found significant relationships (e.g., between PP and Chl a) in the untreated mesocosms which were not observed under high fCO(2) conditions. Consequently, it can be hypothesized that the relationship between PP formation and phytoplankton growth changed with CO2 elevation. It can be deduced from the results, that visible effects of CO2 on P pools are coupled to phytoplankton growth when the transformation of PO4 into POP was stimulated. The transformation of PO4 into DOP on the other hand does not seem to be affected. Additionally, there were some indications that cellular mechanisms of P regulation might be modified under CO2 elevation changing the relationship between cellular constituents.
Introduction
Genes involved in body weight regulation that were previously investigated in genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and in animal models were target-enriched followed by massive parallel next generation sequencing.
Methods
We enriched and re-sequenced continuous genomic regions comprising FTO, MC4R, TMEM18, SDCCAG8, TKNS, MSRA and TBC1D1 in a screening sample of 196 extremely obese children and adolescents with age and sex specific body mass index (BMI) >= 99th percentile and 176 lean adults (BMI <= 15th percentile). 22 variants were confirmed by Sanger sequencing. Genotyping was performed in up to 705 independent obesity trios (extremely obese child and both parents), 243 extremely obese cases and 261 lean adults.
Results and Conclusion
We detected 20 different non-synonymous variants, one frame shift and one nonsense mutation in the 7 continuous genomic regions in study groups of different weight extremes. For SNP Arg695Cys (rs58983546) in TBC1D1 we detected nominal association with obesity (p(TDT) = 0.03 in 705 trios). Eleven of the variants were rare, thus were only detected heterozygously in up to ten individual(s) of the complete screening sample of 372 individuals. Two of them (in FTO and MSRA) were found in lean individuals, nine in extremely obese. In silico analyses of the 11 variants did not reveal functional implications for the mutations. Concordant with our hypothesis we detected a rare variant that potentially leads to loss of FTO function in a lean individual. For TBC1D1, in contrary to our hypothesis, the loss of function variant (Arg443Stop) was found in an obese individual. Functional in vitro studies are warranted.
We elicited the production of various types of relative clauses in a group of German-speaking children with specific language impairment (SLI) and typically developing controls in order to test the movement optionality account of grammatical difficulty in SLI. The results show that German-speaking children with SLI are impaired in relative clause production compared to typically developing children. The alternative structures that they produce consist of simple main clauses, as well as nominal and prepositional phrases produced in isolation, sometimes contextually appropriate, and sometimes not. Crucially for evaluating the movement optionality account, children with SLI produce very few instances of embedded clauses where the relative clause head noun is pronounced in situ; in fact, such responses are more common among the typically developing child controls. These results underscore the difficulty German-speaking children with SLI have with structures involving movement, but provide no specific support for the movement optionality account.
Comparative literature on institutional reforms in multi-level systems proceeds from a global trend towards the decentralization of state functions. However, there is only scarce knowledge about the impact that decentralization has had, in particular, upon the sub-central governments involved. How does it affect regional and local governments? Do these reforms also have unintended outcomes on the sub-central level and how can this be explained? This article aims to develop a conceptual framework to assess the impacts of decentralization on the sub-central level from a comparative and policyoriented perspective. This framework is intended to outline the major patterns and models of decentralization and the theoretical assumptions regarding de-/re-centralization impacts, as well as pertinent cross-country approaches meant to evaluate and compare institutional reforms. It will also serve as an analytical guideline and a structural basis for all the country-related articles in this Special Issue.
Although there is ample evidence linking insecure attachment styles and intimate partner violence (IPV), little is known about the psychological processes underlying this association, especially from the victim’s perspective. The present study examined how attachment styles relate to the experience of sexual and psychological abuse, directly or indirectly through destructive conflict resolution strategies, both self-reported and attributed to their opposite-sex romantic partner. In an online survey, 216 Spanish undergraduates completed measures of adult attachment style, engagement and withdrawal conflict resolution styles shown by self and partner, and victimization by an intimate partner in the form of sexual coercion and psychological abuse. As predicted, anxious and avoidant attachment styles were directly related to both forms of victimization. Also, an indirect path from anxious attachment to IPV victimization was detected via destructive conflict resolution strategies. Specifically, anxiously attached participants reported a higher use of conflict engagement by themselves and by their partners. In addition, engagement reported by the self and perceived in the partner was linked to an increased probability of experiencing sexual coercion and psychological abuse. Avoidant attachment was linked to higher withdrawal in conflict situations, but the paths from withdrawal to perceived partner engagement, sexual coercion, and psychological abuse were non-significant. No gender differences in the associations were found. The discussion highlights the role of anxious attachment in understanding escalating patterns of destructive conflict resolution strategies, which may increase the vulnerability to IPV victimization.
School shooters are often described as narcissistic, but empirical evidence is scant. To provide more reliable and detailed information, we conducted an exploratory study, analyzing police investigation files on seven school shootings in Germany, looking for symptoms of narcissistic personality disorder as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.; DSM-IV) in witnesses' and offenders' reports and expert psychological evaluations. Three out of four offenders who had been treated for mental disorders prior to the offenses displayed detached symptoms of narcissism, but none was diagnosed with narcissistic personality disorder. Of the other three, two displayed narcissistic traits. In one case, the number of symptoms would have justified a diagnosis of narcissistic personality disorder. Offenders showed low and high self-esteem and a range of other mental disorders. Thus, narcissism is not a common characteristic of school shooters, but possibly more frequent than in the general population. This should be considered in developing adequate preventive and intervention measures.
This doctoral thesis seeks to elaborate how Wittgenstein’s very sparse writings on ethics and ethical thought, together with his later work on the more general problem of normativity and his approach to philosophical problems as a whole, can be applied to contemporary meta-ethical debates about the nature of moral thought and language and the sources of moral obligation. I begin with a discussion of Wittgenstein’s early “Lecture on Ethics”, distinguishing the thesis of a strict fact/value dichotomy that Wittgenstein defends there from the related thesis that all ethical discourse is essentially and intentionally nonsensical, an attempt to go beyond the limits of sense. The first chapter discusses and defends Wittgenstein’s argument that moral valuation always goes beyond any ascertaining of fact; the second chapter seeks to draw out the valuable insights from Wittgenstein’s (early) insistence that value discourse is nonsensical while also arguing that this thesis is ultimately untenable and also incompatible with later Wittgensteinian understanding of language. On the basis of this discussion I then take up the writings of the American philosopher Cora Diamond, who has worked out an ethical approach in a very closely Wittgensteinian spirit, and show how this approach shares many of the valuable insights of the moral expressivism and constructivism of contemporary authors such as Blackburn and Korsgaard while suggesting a way to avoid some of the problems and limitations of their approaches. Subsequently I turn to a criticism of the attempts by Lovibond and McDowell to enlist Wittgenstein in the support for a non-naturalist moral realism. A concluding chapter treats the ways that a broadly Wittgensteinian conception expands the subject of metaethics itself by questioning the primacy of discursive argument in moral thought and of moral propositions as the basic units of moral belief.
Die vorliegende Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit Qualitätsmanagementsystemen in Nonprofit-Organisationen. Sie stellt dabei das Spannungsfeld verschiedener Akteursinteressen innerhalb von Nonprofit-Organisationen in den Vordergrund. Dies erfolgt anhand des mikropolitischen Ansatzes, der allen Akteuren innerhalb einer Organisation eigene Interessen zugesteht, die sie durch Taktiken und Strategien in Machtkämpfen versuchen durchzusetzen.
Untersucht wird der Prozess der Entstehung und Evaluation von konkreten Maßnahmen, den sogenannten Qualitätszielen, und den Einfluss von pädagogischen Mitarbeitenden auf deren Formulierung. Dies erfolgt anhand einer Einzelfallstudie. Mithilfe von qualitativen Interviews wurde untersucht, inwieweit pädagogische Mitarbeitende die Einflussmöglichkeiten des Qualitätsmanagementsystems zur strategischen Organisationsentwicklung und Durchsetzung eigener Interessen nutzen.
Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass es zwei Typen von Mitarbeitenden gibt, aktive und passive, die entweder einen Machtgewinn oder -verlust erleben. Aufgrund der kooperativen Art der Kommunikation und Entscheidungsfindung sowie kaum divergierenden Interessen zwischen den verschiedenen Akteuren bleiben die vorhandenen Einflussmöglichkeiten im Sinne von organisationsinternen Machtkämpfen und mikropolitischen Taktiken bisher jedoch weitestgehend ungenutzt. Diese Falleigenschaften erklären, wieso der mikropolitische Ansatz bei der Analyse nicht zu den antizipierten Resultaten geführt hat.
HPI Future SOC Lab
(2016)
The “HPI Future SOC Lab” is a cooperation of the Hasso Plattner Institute (HPI) and industrial partners. Its mission is to enable and promote exchange and interaction between the research community and the industrial partners.
The HPI Future SOC Lab provides researchers with free of charge access to a complete infrastructure of state of the art hard and software. This infrastructure includes components, which might be too expensive for an ordinary research environment, such as servers with up to 64 cores and 2 TB main memory. The offerings address researchers particularly from but not limited to the areas of computer science and business information systems. Main areas of research include cloud computing, parallelization, and In-Memory technologies.
This technical report presents results of research projects executed in 2016. Selected projects have presented their results on April 5th and November 3th 2016 at the Future SOC Lab Day events.
We do magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations of local box models of turbulent Interstellar Medium (ISM) and analyse the process of amplification and saturation of mean magnetic fields with methods of mean field dynamo theory. It is shown that the process of saturation of mean fields can be partially described by the prolonged diffusion time scales in presence of the dynamically significant magnetic fields. However, the outward wind also plays an essential role in the saturation in higher SN rate case. Algebraic expressions for the back reaction of the magnetic field onto the turbulent transport coefficients are derived, which allow a complete description of the nonlinear dynamo. We also present the effects of dynamically significant mean fields on the ISM configuration and pressure distribution. We further add the cosmic ray component in the simulations and investigate the kinematic growth of mean fields with a dynamo perspective.
Jeden Tag werden unzählige Mengen an medizinischen Patientendaten in Krankenhäusern und Arztpraxen digital gespeichert. Für Forschungszwecke werden diese Daten bisher größtenteils nicht verwendet. Ziel dieser Arbeit ist es täglich anfallende anonymisierte Patientendaten, die aus einer Praxis für ganzheitliche Innere Medizin stammen, zu analysieren. Aufgrund mangelnder Kooperation seitens des Anbieters der Praxissoftware konnten die Patientendaten nicht automatisch extrahiert werden. Daher wurde eine Auswahl an Diagnosen und anthropometrischen Parametern manuell in eine Datenbank übertragen. Informationen über die Behandlung wurden dabei nicht berücksichtigt. Data-Mining Verfahren ermöglichen die Forschung auf der Grundlage von alltäglichen Patientendaten. Durch die Anwendung maschinellen Lernens kann Präventionsmedizin und die Überwachung von Behandlungsverläufen unterstützt werden.
Das Potenzial der Analyse dieser sonst weitgehend ungenutzten Daten wird anhand von Untersuchungen zur Komorbidität verdeutlicht. Dabei zeigt sich, dass einerseits das Metabolische Syndrom und dessen Komponenten zusammen mit Krebserkrankungen ein Cluster bilden und andererseits psychosomatische Störungen vermehrt mit Autoimmunerkrankungen der Schilddrüse auftreten. Außerdem wird eine noch nicht schulmedizinisch anerkannte Stoffwechselerkrankung, die Hämopyrrollaktamurie (HPU) untersucht. Diese lässt sich durch eine vermehrte Ausscheidung von Pyrrolen im Urin nachweisen. Bezüglich der Patienten bei denen ein HPU-Test vorliegt, weisen 84 % einen erhöhten Titer auf. Diese Beobachtung steht im Widerspruch zur vorherigen Annahme, dass in etwa 10 % der Bevölkerung von HPU betroffen sind.
Präventives Handeln ermöglicht es Gesundheit zu erhalten. Zu diesem Zweck ist es notwen- dig Krankheiten möglichst früh zu erkennen. In dieser Studie können Entscheidungsbaum-Modelle die Hashimoto Thyreoiditis mit einer Genauigkeit von 87.5 % bei einem Patienten diagnostizieren. Defizite durch die fehlenden Informationen über die medikamentöse Behandlung werden anhand des Modells zur Vorhersage von Hypothyreoiditis (Genauigkeit von 60.9 %) aufgezeigt.
Mit Hilfe von STATIS, das auf einer Erweiterung der Hauptkomponentenanalyse basiert, die es ermöglicht mehrere Tabellen simultan zu vergleichen, wurde der Behandlungsverlauf von 20 Patienten über einen Zeitraum von fünf Jahren überwacht. Anhand von Hypertonie wird gezeigt, dass sich sich die Patenten bezüglich Ihrer Laborwerte voneinander unterscheiden und sich Muster für Krankheiten erkennen lassen.
Diese Arbeit demonstriert den Nutzen, der durch die vermehrte Analyse alltäglicher hochdimensionaler und heterogener Daten erbracht werden kann.
Design and Implementation of service-oriented architectures imposes a huge number of research questions from the fields of software engineering, system analysis and modeling, adaptability, and application integration. Component orientation and web services are two approaches for design and realization of complex web-based system. Both approaches allow for dynamic application adaptation as well as integration of enterprise application.
Commonly used technologies, such as J2EE and .NET, form de facto standards for the realization of complex distributed systems. Evolution of component systems has lead to web services and service-based architectures. This has been manifested in a multitude of industry standards and initiatives such as XML, WSDL UDDI, SOAP, etc. All these achievements lead to a new and promising paradigm in IT systems engineering which proposes to design complex software solutions as collaboration of contractually defined software services.
Service-Oriented Systems Engineering represents a symbiosis of best practices in object-orientation, component-based development, distributed computing, and business process management. It provides integration of business and IT concerns.
The annual Ph.D. Retreat of the Research School provides each member the opportunity to present his/her current state of their research and to give an outline of a prospective Ph.D. thesis. Due to the interdisciplinary structure of the research school, this technical report covers a wide range of topics. These include but are not limited to: Human Computer Interaction and Computer Vision as Service; Service-oriented Geovisualization Systems; Algorithm Engineering for Service-oriented Systems; Modeling and Verification of Self-adaptive Service-oriented Systems; Tools and Methods for Software Engineering in Service-oriented Systems; Security Engineering of Service-based IT Systems; Service-oriented Information Systems; Evolutionary Transition of Enterprise Applications to Service Orientation; Operating System Abstractions for Service-oriented Computing; and Services Specification, Composition, and Enactment.
Mit der Patientenmobilitätsrichtlinie (2011/24/EU) wurde eine verbindliche gesetzliche Grundlage geschaffen, im Bereich der hochspezialisierten Gesundheitsversorgung freiwillig und in strukturierter Form in europäischen Referenznetzwerken (ERN) von Gesundheits-dienstleistern und Fachzentren zusammenzuarbeiten. Dabei kommt dem Austausch von Fachwissen eine besondere Bedeutung zu. Diese qualitative Studie geht der Frage nach, wel-che wesentlichen Faktoren den Informations- und Wissensaustausch sowie das Lernen in Netzwerken beeinflussen und wie diese gefördert werden können. Es werden Netzwerkkoor-dinatoren und deren steuernde Einheiten in den hochspezialisierten Versorgungsbereichen Krebs und Seltene Erkrankungen in Deutschland und in Frankreich sowie auf europäischer Ebene befragt. Die Studie wird durch einen Literaturvergleich von bi- und trilateralen Ge-sundheitskooperationen mit multilateralen Netzwerken ergänzt. Für die ERN wird die zentra-le Bedeutung der digitalen Medien und Technologien herausgearbeitet sowie die Empfeh-lung ausgesprochen, die ERN ein systematisches Wissensverwendungs- und -generierungskonzept erarbeiten zu lassen. Durch die zukünftigen ERN wird die vernetzte Informationsgesellschaft Einzug in die medizinische Praxis halten.
This paper deals with the teaching of grammar in the English as a foreign language (EFL) classroom. In this context, a course book (English G 21 A2) is examined in regard to whether it is compatible with current theories about second language acquisition (SLA).
At the beginning of this paper, views on grammar teaching from the past and the present are summarized and this is followed by an analysis of the current curriculum concerning its guidelines for grammar teaching in the foreign language classroom. This analysis concludes that the curriculum of Brandenburg hardly gives any recommendations regarding the question of which grammatical phenomena should to be taught. This explains, at least partly, the important position course books take in the foreign language classroom. Teachers use them as a source of material as well has a guideline for which topics can be taught and in which order.
The following part gives an overview of cognitive models of SLA and foreign language teaching, among others Krashen’s Monitor Hypothesis, R. Ellis’ Weak Interface Model and Pienemann’s Processability Theory. On the basis of these models criteria for the ideal design of a course book, which would support grammar teaching according to current findings, are developed. Among those criteria are the offering of a lot of input in the target language, provision of practice activities and consciousness-raising activities, taking into consideration the sequence of acquisition and the provision of a diagnostic tool which enables the students to find out in which areas of the target language they need to improve. Furthermore, the inclusion of opportunities for (individual) revision is regarded as essential. All of those criteria are of course given under the reservation that the influence of course books on the happenings in the classroom is restricted as the final decisions are made by the teacher in the teaching situation.
In the analysis, one communicative intention which is usually a topic in the English lessons between the third and sixth year of learning is focused on. This communicative intention is talking about the future. First, the possibilities to express futurity in the English language are analysed and reduced for the use in teaching. The chosen course book is then described and analysed and the way the book deals with the topic of talking about the future is compared to the criteria which where specified earlier in the paper. This comparison showed that the book is compatible with SLA theories in many ways (e.g. concerning the explanations of grammatical structures) but that there is still room for improvement (e.g. concerning the amount of input and the number of consciousness-raising activities).
Faktor Mensch
(2016)
Eine Krisensituation ist eine Umbruchssituation. Sie kann als Chance, als Herausforderung sowie im Sinne einer SCHUMPETER’SCHEN „schöpferischen Zerstörung“ als Ausgangspunkt von bedeutsamen Veränderungen und neuen Entwicklungsmöglichkeiten begriffen werden. Die Krisensituation der 1970er und 1980er Jahre bildet dahingehend durch ihre Einzigartigkeit einen herausragenden wirtschaftshistorischen Untersuchungsgegenstand. Für die westeuropäischen Staaten waren es nicht nur Jahre einer, nach der außergewöhnlich langen Boomzeit der „Wirtschaftswunderjahre“, problematischen sozialen und wirtschaftliche Situation. Es war auch eine Zeit eines bedeutungsvollen und beschleunigten Wandels. Die Gleichzeitigkeit vieler Veränderungen, das zeitliche Zusammentreffen von konjunkturellen und strukturellen Problemlagen sowie die äußerst kritische Situation an den westeuropäischen Arbeitsmärkten bildete eine multiple Krisensituation. Deren Auswirkungen waren weitreichender, als es von den Zeitgenossen erahnt werden konnte. Es gab nicht nur Änderungen im (wirtschafts-)politischen Makrogefüge vieler Volkswirtschaften, auch bedeutende Einflüsse waren auf der Mikroebene feststellbar. Marktorientierte Unternehmen mussten sich auf die neue Situation einstellen und im Rahmen einer Neupositionierung von Betriebsstrategien, organisatorischen Umgestaltungen und einer stärkeren Ressourcenorientierung betriebswirtschaftlich handeln. Das schien letztlich zu einer stärkeren Beachtung und Entwicklung der in den Unternehmen vorhandenen humanen und sozialen Ressourcen zu führen.
Diese Arbeit stellt die Hypothese auf, dass umfassende organisatorische Veränderungen und strategische Neupositionierungen, insbesondere die effektivere Nutzung sowie der intensive Auf- und Ausbau betriebsinterner Personalressourcen Unternehmen maßgeblich halfen, die Krisensituation der 1970er und 1980er Jahre besser und nachhaltiger überwinden zu können. Anders als die bisherige wirtschaftshistorische Forschungsliteratur nimmt diese Dissertation nicht die makroökonomisch Perspektive in den Fokus, sondern untersucht die Hypothese anhand mehrerer Unternehmensfallstudien. Ausgewählt sind drei Großunternehmen der westeuropäischen Elektroindustrie. Diese Arbeit liefert mit dieser Untersuchung einen weiteren Baustein zur wirtschaftshistorischen Annäherung an die 1970er und 1980er Jahre und leistet ebenso einen Beitrag zur Fortschreibung der Firmengeschichte der drei Unternehmen.
Die Elektrobranche fand bisher wirtschaftshistorisch nur wenig Beachtung, dennoch ist sie ein gutes Beispiel für die umfassende Veränderungssituation jener Jahre. Entsprechende Sekundärquellen sind für diesen Zeitraum für die drei Unternehmen kaum vorhanden. Aus diesem Grund bildet eine Vielzahl von Archivalien das Fundament dieser Arbeit. Sie werden als Primärquellen aus den jeweiligen Unternehmensarchiven als Basis der Fallanalyse herangezogen. Mit Hilfe zahlreicher Dokumente des betrieblichen „Alltagsgeschäfts“, wie beispielsweise Daten des betrieblichen Personal- und Rechnungswesens, Protokolle von Sitzungen der Arbeitsnehmervertreter, des Aufsichtsrats oder des Vorstands sowie interne Strategiepapiere und Statistiken, wird nicht nur der anfangs aufgestellten Hypothese nachgegangen, sondern auch mehrerer sich aus ihr ergebende Fragenkomplexe. Im Rahmen derer wird untersucht, wie die Unternehmen – die Beschäftigten, die Leitungsebenen und die Aufsichtsräte – auf die Krisensituation reagierten, ob sie ggf. ihrerseits Einfluss darauf zu nehmen versuchten und welche betriebswirtschaftlichen Schlüsse daraus gezogen wurden. Es wird hinterfragt, ob eine stärkere Ressourcenorientierung wirklich eine neue Strategieperspektive bot und es diesbezüglich zu einer stärkeren Beachtung humaner und sozialer Ressourcen im Unternehmen kam. Diese Arbeit untersucht, ob gezielt zur Krisenüberwindung in diese Ressourcen investiert wurde und diese Investitionen halfen, die Krisensituation erfolgreich zu überstehen und nachhaltig den Unternehmenserfolg zu sichern.
The Milky Way is only one out of billions of galaxies in the universe. However, it is a special galaxy because it allows to explore the main mechanisms involved in its evolution and formation history by unpicking the system star-by-star. Especially, the chemical fingerprints of its stars provide clues and evidence of past events in the Galaxy’s lifetime. These information help not only to decipher the current structure and building blocks of the Milky Way, but to learn more about the general formation process of galaxies.
In the past decade a multitude of stellar spectroscopic Galactic surveys have scanned millions of stars far beyond the rim of the solar neighbourhood. The obtained spectroscopic information provide unprecedented insights to the chemo-dynamics of the Milky Way. In addition analytic models and numerical simulations of the Milky Way provide necessary descriptions and predictions suited for comparison with observations in order to decode the physical properties that underlie the complex system of the Galaxy.
In the thesis various approaches are taken to connect modern theoretical modelling of galaxy formation and evolution with observations from Galactic stellar surveys. With its focus on the chemo-kinematics of the Galactic disk this work aims to determine new observational constraints on the formation of the Milky Way providing also proper comparisons with two different models. These are the population synthesis model TRILEGAL based on analytical distribution functions, which aims to simulate the number and distribution of stars in the Milky Way and its different components, and a hybrid model (MCM) that combines an N-body simulation of a Milky Way like galaxy in the cosmological framework with a semi-analytic chemical evolution model for the Milky Way. The major observational data sets in use come from two surveys, namely the “Radial Velocity Experiment” (RAVE) and the “Sloan Extension for Galactic Understanding and Exploration” (SEGUE).
In the first approach the chemo-kinematic properties of the thin and thick disk of the Galaxy as traced by a selection of about 20000 SEGUE G-dwarf stars are directly compared to the predictions by the MCM model. As a necessary condition for this, SEGUE's selection function and its survey volume are evaluated in detail to correct the spectroscopic observations for their survey specific selection biases. Also, based on a Bayesian method spectro-photometric distances with uncertainties below 15% are computed for the selection of SEGUE G-dwarfs that are studied up to a distance of 3 kpc from the Sun.
For the second approach two synthetic versions of the SEGUE survey are generated based on the above models. The obtained synthetic stellar catalogues are then used to create mock samples best resembling the compiled sample of observed SEGUE G-dwarfs. Generally, mock samples are not only ideal to compare predictions from various models. They also allow validation of the models' quality and improvement as with this work could be especially achieved for TRILEGAL. While TRILEGAL reproduces the statistical properties of the thin and thick disk as seen in the observations, the MCM model has shown to be more suitable in reproducing many chemo-kinematic correlations as revealed by the SEGUE stars. However, evidence has been found that the MCM model may be missing a stellar component with the properties of the thick disk that the observations clearly show. While the SEGUE stars do indicate a thin-thick dichotomy of the stellar Galactic disk in agreement with other spectroscopic stellar studies, no sign for a distinct metal-poor disk is seen in the MCM model.
Usually stellar spectroscopic surveys are limited to a certain volume around the Sun covering different regions of the Galaxy’s disk. This often prevents to obtain a global view on the chemo-dynamics of the Galactic disk. Hence, a suitable combination of stellar samples from independent surveys is not only useful for the verification of results but it also helps to complete the picture of the Milky Way. Therefore, the thesis closes with a comparison of the SEGUE G-dwarfs and a sample of RAVE giants. The comparison reveals that the chemo-kinematic relations agree in disk regions where the samples of both surveys show a similar number of stars. For those parts of the survey volumes where one of the surveys lacks statistics they beautifully complement each other. This demonstrates that the comparison of theoretical models on the one side, and the combined observational data gathered by multiple surveys on the other side, are key ingredients to understand and disentangle the structure and formation history of the Milky Way.
Die vorliegende explorative empirische Untersuchung muslimischer Frauengruppen leistet einen Beitrag zur Erforschung des religiösen Wandels im religiösen Feld in Deutschland. Zum einen werden damit erstmals qualitative Daten zu religiösen Gruppen muslimischer Frauen erhoben. Zum anderen liefern die analysierten Anlässe der Gruppengründung und die Gruppenziele Einblicke in die relevanten Themen des religiös-muslimischen Engagements im Zeitverlauf. Gemäß der explorativen Konzeption interessiert sich diese Studie insbesondere für die Vielfalt muslimischer Frauengruppen in Deutschland. Es wurde gefragt, welche Selbstbeschreibungen als muslimische Frauengruppen sich derzeit erkennen lassen? Dazu wurden thematische Leitfadeninterviews mit Ansprechpartnerinnen muslimischer Frauengruppen im religiösen Feld (2006-2011) durchgeführt.
Die Gründungen der zwölf untersuchten muslimischen Frauengruppen lagen im Zeitraum von 1978 bis 2009. Dies umfasst im Hinblick auf das muslimisch-religiöse Engagement Phasen mit unterschiedlichen Schwerpunkten, die von der Verfestigung der religiösen Strukturen über den Kampf um rechtliche Gleichstellung als religiöse Minderheit bis zu einer Auseinandersetzung mit der staatlichen Islampolitik reichen. Die ältesten der untersuchten Gruppen reflektieren in ihrem historischen Verlauf den Aufbau der religiösen Strukturen, indem sie zunächst Räume für sich in den Gemeinden schufen. Diese füllten sie in Form von religiösen Bildungsprozessen und zwar indem sie einander an ihren Kenntnissen teilhaben ließen und gemeinsam die religiöse Quelle erschlossen. Andere Gruppen schlossen sich zusammen, um von den Kenntnissen religiöser Expertinnen zu profitieren, wieder andere etablierten Angebote, die über den eigenen Gruppenzusammenhang hinausreichten. Mit dieser Ausrichtung der Weltgestaltung ging auch die Gründung einer Organisation, d.h. ein Wandel der Sozialform einher.
Die Ergebnisse konstatieren eine Kontingenz hinsichtlich der Selbstzuordnung muslimische Frauengruppe. Es handelt sich um historisch spezifische Selbstzuschreibungen, die Ausdruck eines religiösen Wandels im muslimisch-religiösen Feld initiiert von muslimischen Frauen sind. Zentrales Ergebnis ist hier, dass die Gruppen zwar hinsichtlich ihrer Formen heterogen sind, allerdings eine Verbindungslinie in ihren Kernideen als Frauengruppen- und Organisationen besteht. Es zeigt sich durch alle Phasen des muslimisch-religiösen Engagements im religiösen Feld ein hohes Interesse an religiösen Bildungsthemen seitens muslimischer Frauen. Diese sind verbunden mit der Auseinandersetzung mit dem religiösen Geschlechterverhältnis.
Die Aufmerksamkeit, die das religiöse Geschlechterverhältnis im Kontext des Institutionalisierungs- und Partizipationsprozess des Islam im politischen Feld derzeit besitzt, kann einerseits als spezifisch gelten. Andererseits zeigen historische Kontextualisierungen mit der religiösen Frauenbewegung im 19. Jahrhundert, dass auch hier über religiöse Geschlechterbilder Partizipationsfragen verhandelt wurden.
Die Ergebnisse dieser Studie belegen die Relevanz von religiösen Gruppen innerhalb religiöser Wandlungsprozesse. Weiterhin liefern sie neue Erkenntnisse hinsichtlich des Verhältnisses von religiöser Individualisierung und Gruppenbindung: Muslimische Frauen vergemeinschaften sich aus religiösen Bildungszwecken innerhalb von religiösen Gruppen und behandeln dabei Themen ihre weibliche religiöse Identität und die religiöse Lebensführung als Frau betreffend und dies stärkt ihre individuelle religiöse Bindung.
In the current paradigm of cosmology, the formation of large-scale structures is mainly driven by non-radiating dark matter, making up the dominant part of the matter budget of the Universe. Cosmological observations however, rely on the detection of luminous galaxies, which are biased tracers of the underlying dark matter. In this thesis I present cosmological reconstructions of both, the dark matter density field that forms the cosmic web, and cosmic velocities, for which both aspects of my work are delved into, the theoretical formalism and the results of its applications to cosmological simulations and also to a galaxy redshift survey.The foundation of our method is relying on a statistical approach, in which a given galaxy catalogue is interpreted as a biased realization of the underlying dark matter density field. The inference is computationally performed on a mesh grid by sampling from a probability density function, which describes the joint posterior distribution of matter density and the three dimensional velocity field. The statistical background of our method is described in Chapter ”Implementation of argo”, where the introduction in sampling methods is given, paying special attention to Markov Chain Monte-Carlo techniques. In Chapter ”Phase-Space Reconstructions with N-body Simulations”, I introduce and implement a novel biasing scheme to relate the galaxy number density to the underlying dark matter, which I decompose into a deterministic part, described by a non-linear and scale-dependent analytic expression, and a stochastic part, by presenting a negative binomial (NB) likelihood function that models deviations from Poissonity. Both bias components had already been studied theoretically, but were so far never tested in a reconstruction algorithm. I test these new contributions againstN-body simulations to quantify improvements and show that, compared to state-of-the-art methods, the stochastic bias is inevitable at wave numbers of k≥0.15h Mpc^−1 in the power spectrum in order to obtain unbiased results from the reconstructions. In the second part of Chapter ”Phase-Space Reconstructions with N-body Simulations” I describe and validate our approach to infer the three dimensional cosmic velocity field jointly with the dark matter density. I use linear perturbation theory for the large-scale bulk flows and a dispersion term to model virialized galaxy motions, showing that our method is accurately recovering the real-space positions of the redshift-space distorted galaxies. I analyze the results with the isotropic and also the two-dimensional power spectrum.Finally, in Chapter ”Phase-space Reconstructions with Galaxy Redshift Surveys”, I show how I combine all findings and results and apply the method to the CMASS (for Constant (stellar) Mass) galaxy catalogue of the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS). I describe how our method is accounting for the observational selection effects inside our reconstruction algorithm. Also, I demonstrate that the renormalization of the prior distribution function is mandatory to account for higher order contributions in the structure formation model, and finally a redshift-dependent bias factor is theoretically motivated and implemented into our method. The various refinements yield unbiased results of the dark matter until scales of k≤0.2 h Mpc^−1in the power spectrum and isotropize the galaxy catalogue down to distances of r∼20h^−1 Mpc in the correlation function. We further test the results of our cosmic velocity field reconstruction by comparing them to a synthetic mock galaxy catalogue, finding a strong correlation between the mock and the reconstructed velocities. The applications of both, the density field without redshift-space distortions, and the velocity reconstructions, are very broad and can be used for improved analyses of the baryonic acoustic oscillations, environmental studies of the cosmic web, the kinematic Sunyaev-Zel’dovic or integrated Sachs-Wolfe effect.