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During his trip to New Spain in 1803, Alexander von Humboldt visited large tracts of New Spanish territory, which includes modern Mexico and part of the United States. This trip provided the data for his geographical Atlas of the region, as well as information about the ancient Mexican cultures that he would later include in the general Atlas and in other major works, such as Vues des Cordillères. Likewise, Humboldt’s Political Essay on the Kingdom of New Spain displayed a comprehensive physical, natural, economic, and social description of Mexico in the colonial period, which will also be analysed. With these works, Humboldt presented a new geographical and cultural image of New Spain to the European audiences. In addition to this, his work made important contributions to cartographic knowledge.
Next-generation sequencing methods provide comprehensive data for the analysis of structural and functional analysis of the genome. The draft genomes with low contig number and high N50 value can give insight into the structure of the genome as well as provide information on the annotation of the genome. In this study, we designed a pipeline that can be used to assemble prokaryotic draft genomes with low number of contigs and high N50 value. We aimed to use combination of two de novo assembly tools (SPAdes and IDBA-Hybrid) and evaluate the impact of this approach on the quality metrics of the assemblies. The followed pipeline was tested with the raw sequence data with short reads (< 300) for a total of 10 species from four different genera. To obtain the final draft genomes, we firstly assembled the sequences using SPAdes to find closely related organism using the extracted 16 s rRNA from it. IDBA-Hybrid assembler was used to obtain the second assembly data using the closely related organism genome. SPAdes assembler tool was implemented using the second assembly, produced by IDBA-hybrid as a hint. The results were evaluated using QUAST and BUSCO. The pipeline was successful for the reduction of the contig numbers and increasing the N50 statistical values in the draft genome assemblies while preserving the coverage of the draft genomes.
Content: 1. Introduction 2. Early Examples of the AFP in Hiberno-English 3. Assessments of the Evidence 4. Attempts to Explain the Early HE Construction 5. Distribution and Function of the AFP in EMI and HE 5.1. The AFP with the Future Tense in Irish 5.2. The AFP with the Secondary Future or Conditional 5.3. The AFP with the Subjunctive 5.5. Functions of the AFP in Early Modern Irish and HE 6. The Restriction of the AFP to the Recent Perfect 7. Conclusions
We develop a method of finding analytical sotutions of the Bogolyubov-de Gennes equations for the excitations of a Bose condensate in the Thomas-Fermi regime in harmonic traps of any asymmetry and introduce a classification of eigenstates. In the case of cylindrical symmetry we emphasize the presence of an accidental degeneracy in the excitation spectrum at certain values of the projection of orbital angular momentum on the symmetry axis and discuss possible consequences of the degeneracy in the context of new signatures of Bose- Einstein condensation
The Sun is a star, which due to its proximity has a tremendous influence on Earth. Since its very first days mankind tried to "understand the Sun", and especially in the 20th century science has uncovered many of the Sun's secrets by using high resolution observations and describing the Sun by means of models. As an active star the Sun's activity, as expressed in its magnetic cycle, is closely related to the sunspot numbers. Flares play a special role, because they release large energies on very short time scales. They are correlated with enhanced electromagnetic emissions all over the spectrum. Furthermore, flares are sources of energetic particles. Hard X-ray observations (e.g., by NASA's RHESSI spacecraft) reveal that a large fraction of the energy released during a flare is transferred into the kinetic energy of electrons. However the mechanism that accelerates a large number of electrons to high energies (beyond 20 keV) within fractions of a second is not understood yet. The thesis at hand presents a model for the generation of energetic electrons during flares that explains the electron acceleration based on real parameters obtained by real ground and space based observations. According to this model photospheric plasma flows build up electric potentials in the active regions in the photosphere. Usually these electric potentials are associated with electric currents closed within the photosphere. However as a result of magnetic reconnection, a magnetic connection between the regions of different magnetic polarity on the photosphere can establish through the corona. Due to the significantly higher electric conductivity in the corona, the photospheric electric power supply can be closed via the corona. Subsequently a high electric current is formed, which leads to the generation of hard X-ray radiation in the dense chromosphere. The previously described idea is modelled and investigated by means of electric circuits. For this the microscopic plasma parameters, the magnetic field geometry and hard X-ray observations are used to obtain parameters for modelling macroscopic electric components, such as electric resistors, which are connected with each other. This model demonstrates that such a coronal electric current is correlated with large scale electric fields, which can accelerate the electrons quickly up to relativistic energies. The results of these calculations are encouraging. The electron fluxes predicted by the model are in agreement with the electron fluxes deduced from the measured photon fluxes. Additionally the model developed in this thesis proposes a new way to understand the observed double footpoint hard X-ray sources.
We present the fabrication of TiO2 nanotube electrodes with high biocompatibility and extraordinary spectroscopic properties. Intense surface-enhanced resonance Raman signals of the heme unit of the redox enzyme Cytochromeb(5) were observed upon covalent immobilization of the protein matrix on the TiO2 surface, revealing overall preserved structural integrity and redox behavior. The enhancement factor could be rationally controlled by varying the electrode annealing temperature, reaching a record maximum value of over 70 at 475 degrees C. For the first time, such high values are reported for non-directly surface-interacting probes, for which the involvement of charge-transfer processes in signal amplification can be excluded. The origin of the surface enhancement is exclusively attributed to enhanced localized electric fields resulting from the specific optical properties of the nanotubular geometry of the electrode.
In this study, the spatial and temporal impacts of the Ataturk Dam on agro-meteorological aspects of the Southeastern Anatolia region have been investigated. Change detection and environmental impacts due to water-reserve changes in Ataturk Dam Lake have been determined and evaluated using multi-temporal Landsat satellite imageries and meteorological datasets within a period of 1984-2011. These time series have been evaluated for three time periods. Dam construction period constitutes the first part of the study. Land cover/use changes especially on agricultural fields under the Ataturk Dam Lake and its vicinity have been identified between the periods of 1984-1992. The second period comprises the 10-year period after the completion of filling up the reservoir in 1992. At this period, Landsat and meteorological time-series analyses are examined to assess the impact of the Ataturk Dam Lake on selected irrigated agricultural areas. For the last 9-year period from 2002 to 2011, the relationships between seasonal water-reserve changes and irrigated plains under changing climatic factors primarily driving vegetation activity (monthly, seasonal, and annual fluctuations of rainfall rate, air temperature, humidity) on the watershed have been investigated using a 30-year meteorological time series. The results showed that approximately 368 km(2) of agricultural fields have been affected because of inundation due to the Ataturk Dam Lake. However, irrigated agricultural fields have been increased by 56.3% of the total area (1552 of 2756 km(2)) on Harran Plain within the period of 1984-2011.
If taking a flipped learning approach, MOOC content can be used for online pre-class instruction. After which students can put the knowledge they gained from the MOOC into practice either synchronously or asynchronously. This study examined one such, asynchronous, course in teacher education. The course ran with 40 students over 13 weeks from February to May 2020. A case study approach was followed using mixed methods to assess the efficacy of the course. Quantitative data was gathered on achievement of learning outcomes, online engagement, and satisfaction. Qualitative data was gathered via student interviews from which a thematic analysis was undertaken. From a combined analysis of the data, three themes emerged as pertinent to course efficacy: quality and quantity of communication and collaboration; suitability of the MOOC; and significance for career development.
Because of political conflicts and climate change, migration will be increased worldwide and integration in host societies is a challenge also for migrants. We hypothesize that migrants, who take up the challenge in a new social environment are taller than migrants who do not pose this challenge. We analyze by a questionnaire possible social, nutritional and ethnic influencing factors to body height (BH) of adult offspring of Turkish migrants (n = 82, 39 males) aged from 18 to 34 years (mean age 24.6 years). The results of multiple regression (downward selection) show that the more a male adult offspring of Turkish migrants feels like belonging to the Turkish culture, the smaller he is (95% CI, -3.79, -0.323). Further, the more a male adult offspring of Turkish migrants feels like belonging to the German culture, the taller he is (95% CI, -0.152, 1.738). We discussed it comparable to primates taking up their challenge in dominance, where as a result their body size increase is associated with higher IGF-1 level. IGF-1 is associated with emotional belonging and has a fundamental role in the regulation of metabolism and growth of the human body. With all pilot characteristics of our study results show that the successful challenge of integration in a new society is strongly associated with the emotional integration and identification in the sense of a personal sense of belonging to society. We discuss taller BH as a signal of social growth adjustment. In this sense, a secular trend of BH adaptation of migrants to hosts is a sign of integration.
Reading requires the assembly of cognitive processes across a wide spectrum from low-level visual perception to high-level discourse comprehension. One approach of unravelling the dynamics associated with these processes is to determine how eye movements are influenced by the characteristics of the text, in particular which features of the words within the perceptual span maximise the information intake due to foveal, spillover, parafoveal, and predictive processing. One way to test the generalisability of current proposals of such distributed processing is to examine them across different languages. For Turkish, an agglutinative language with a shallow orthography-phonology mapping, we replicate the well-known canonical main effects of frequency and predictability of the fixated word as well as effects of incoming saccade amplitude and fixation location within the word on single-fixation durations with data from 35 adults reading 120 nine-word sentences. Evidence for previously reported effects of the characteristics of neighbouring words and interactions was mixed. There was no evidence for the expected Turkish-specific morphological effect of the number of inflectional suffixes on single-fixation durations. To control for word-selection bias associated with single-fixation durations, we also tested effects on word skipping, single-fixation, and multiple-fixation cases with a base-line category logit model, assuming an increase of difficulty for an increase in the number of fixations. With this model, significant effects of word characteristics and number of inflectional suffixes of foveal word on probabilities of the number of fixations were observed, while the effects of the characteristics of neighbouring words and interactions were mixed.
Turkish is a language described as relying predominantly on non-finite subordination in the domain of clause combining. However, there are also strategies of finite subordination, as well as means of syndetic and asyndetic paratactic clause combining, especially in the informal settings.
Clause combining is and has been one of the focal points of research on heritage Turkish (h-Turkish).
One point is particularly clear: In comparison with the monolingual setting, finite means of clause combining are more frequent in h-Turkish in Germany, the U.S., and the Netherlands, while non-finite means of clause combining are less frequent.
Overall, our results confirm the findings of earlier studies: heritage speakers in Germany and the U.S. prefer paratactic means of clause combining using connectors, as opposed to monolingual speakers.
Our results also reveal that age (adolescents vs. adults) and register (informal vs. formal) significantly modulate the use of connectors.
Moreover, we find that the shift in preferences in means of clause combining triggers an expansion in the system of connectors and leads to the development of new narrative connectors, such as o zaman and derken.
The system of syndetic paratactic clause combining is expanding in heritage Turkish. This expansion calls for multifaceted modeling of change in heritage languages, which integrates language-internal factors (register), dynamics of convergence with the contact languages, and extra-linguistic factors (age and language use).
Landslides are frequent natural hazards in rugged terrain, when the resisting frictional force of the surface of rupture yields to the gravitational force. These forces are functions of geological and morphological factors, such as angle of internal friction, local slope gradient or curvature, which remain static over hundreds of years; whereas more dynamic triggering events, such as rainfall and earthquakes, compromise the force balance by temporarily reducing resisting forces or adding transient loads. This thesis investigates landslide distribution and orientation due to landslide triggers (e.g. rainfall) at different scales (6-4∙10^5 km^2) and aims to link rainfall movement with the landslide distribution. It additionally explores the local impacts of the extreme rainstorms on landsliding and the role of precursory stability conditions that could be induced by an earlier trigger, such as an earthquake.
Extreme rainfall is a common landslide trigger. Although several studies assessed rainfall intensity and duration to study the distribution of thus triggered landslides, only a few case studies quantified spatial rainfall patterns (i.e. orographic effect). Quantifying the regional trajectories of extreme rainfall could aid predicting landslide prone regions in Japan. To this end, I combined a non-linear correlation metric, namely event synchronization, and radial statistics to assess the general pattern of extreme rainfall tracks over distances of hundreds of kilometers using satellite based rainfall estimates. Results showed that, although the increase in rainfall intensity and duration positively correlates with landslide occurrence, the trajectories of typhoons and frontal storms were insufficient to explain landslide distribution in Japan. Extreme rainfall trajectories inclined northwestwards and were concentrated along some certain locations, such as coastlines of southern Japan, which was unnoticed in the landslide distribution of about 5000 rainfall-triggered landslides. These landslides seemed to respond to the mean annual rainfall rates.
Above mentioned findings suggest further investigation on a more local scale to better understand the mechanistic response of landscape to extreme rainfall in terms of landslides. On May 2016 intense rainfall struck southern Germany triggering high waters and landslides. The highest damage was reported at the Braunsbach, which is located on the tributary-mouth fan formed by the Orlacher Bach. Orlacher Bach is a ~3 km long creek that drains a catchment of about ~6 km^2. I visited this catchment in June 2016 and mapped 48 landslides along the creek. Such high landslide activity was not reported in the nearby catchments within ~3300 km^2, despite similar rainfall intensity and duration based on weather radar estimates. My hypothesis was that several landslides were triggered by rainfall-triggered flash floods that undercut hillslope toes along the Orlacher Bach. I found that morphometric features such as slope and curvature play an important role in landslide distribution on this micro scale study site (<10 km^2). In addition, the high number of landslides along the Orlacher Bach could also be boosted by accumulated damages on hillslopes due karst weathering over longer time scales.
Precursory damages on hillslopes could also be induced by past triggering events that effect landscape evolution, but this interaction is hard to assess independently from the latest trigger. For example, an earthquake might influence the evolution of a landscape decades long, besides its direct impacts, such as landslides that follow the earthquake. Here I studied the consequences of the 2016 Kumamoto Earthquake (MW 7.1) that triggered some 1500 landslides in an area of ~4000 km^2 in central Kyushu, Japan. Topography, i.e. local slope and curvature, both amplified and attenuated seismic waves, thus controlling the failure mechanism of those landslides (e.g. progressive). I found that topography fails in explaining the distribution and the preferred orientation of the landslides after the earthquake; instead the landslides were concentrated around the northeast of the rupture area and faced mostly normal to the rupture plane. This preferred location of the landslides was dominated mainly by the directivity effect of the strike-slip earthquake, which is the propagation of wave energy along the fault in the rupture direction; whereas amplitude variations of the seismic radiation altered the preferred orientation. I suspect that the earthquake directivity and the asymmetry of seismic radiation damaged hillslopes at those preferred locations increasing landslide susceptibility. Hence a future weak triggering event, e.g. scattered rainfall, could further trigger landslides at those damaged hillslopes.
Quantitative estimates of sea-level rise in the Mediterranean Basin become increasingly accurate thanks to detailed satellite monitoring. However, such measuring campaigns cover several years to decades, while longer-term sea-level records are rare for the Mediterranean. We used a data archeological approach to reanalyze monthly mean sea-level data of the Antalya-I (1935–1977) tide gauge to fill this gap. We checked the accuracy and reliability of these data before merging them with the more recent records of the Antalya-II (1985–2009) tide gauge, accounting for an eight-year hiatus. We obtain a composite time series of monthly and annual mean sea levels spanning some 75 years, providing the longest record for the eastern Mediterranean Basin, and thus an essential tool for studying the region's recent sea-level trends. We estimate a relative mean sea-level rise of 2.2 ± 0.5 mm/year between 1935 and 2008, with an annual variability (expressed here as the standard deviation of the residuals, σresiduals = 41.4 mm) above that at the closest tide gauges (e.g., Thessaloniki, Greece, σresiduals = 29.0 mm). Relative sea-level rise accelerated to 6.0 ± 1.5 mm/year at Antalya-II; we attribute roughly half of this rate (~3.6 mm/year) to tectonic crustal motion and anthropogenic land subsidence. Our study highlights the value of data archeology for recovering and integrating historic tide gauge data for long-term sea-level and climate studies.
XopJ is a Xanthomonas type III effector protein that promotes bacterial virulence on susceptible pepper plants through the inhibition of the host cell proteasome and a resultant suppression of salicylic acid (SA) - dependent defense responses. We show here that Nicotiana benthamiana leaves transiently expressing XopJ display hypersensitive response (HR) -like symptoms when exogenously treated with SA. This apparent avirulence function of XopJ was further dependent on effector myristoylation as well as on an intact catalytic triad, suggesting a requirement of its enzymatic activity for HR-like symptom elicitation. The ability of XopJ to cause a HR-like symptom development upon SA treatment was lost upon silencing of SGT1 and NDR1, respectively, but was independent of EDS1 silencing, suggesting that XopJ is recognized by an R protein of the CC-NBS-LRR class. Furthermore, silencing of NPR1 abolished the elicitation of HR-like symptoms in XopJ expressing leaves after SA application. Measurement of the proteasome activity indicated that proteasome inhibition by XopJ was alleviated in the presence of SA, an effect that was not observed in NPR1 silenced plants. Our results suggest that XopJ - triggered HR-like symptoms are closely related to the virulence function of the effector and that XopJ follows a two-signal model in order to elicit a response in the non-host plant N. benthamiana.
XopJ is a Xanthomonas type III effector protein that promotes bacterial virulence on susceptible pepper plants through the inhibition of the host cell proteasome and a resultant suppression of salicylic acid (SA) - dependent defense responses. We show here that Nicotiana benthamiana leaves transiently expressing XopJ display hypersensitive response (HR) -like symptoms when exogenously treated with SA. This apparent avirulence function of XopJ was further dependent on effector myristoylation as well as on an intact catalytic triad, suggesting a requirement of its enzymatic activity for HR-like symptom elicitation. The ability of XopJ to cause a HR-like symptom development upon SA treatment was lost upon silencing of SGT1 and NDR1, respectively, but was independent of EDS1 silencing, suggesting that XopJ is recognized by an R protein of the CC-NBS-LRR class. Furthermore, silencing of NPR1 abolished the elicitation of HR-like symptoms in XopJ expressing leaves after SA application. Measurement of the proteasome activity indicated that proteasome inhibition by XopJ was alleviated in the presence of SA, an effect that was not observed in NPR1 silenced plants. Our results suggest that XopJ - triggered HR-like symptoms are closely related to the virulence function of the effector and that XopJ follows a two-signal model in order to elicit a response in the non-host plant N. benthamiana.
The Proteasome Acts as a Hub for Plant Immunity and Is Targeted by Pseudomonas Type III Effectors
(2016)
Recent evidence suggests that the ubiquitin-proteasome system is involved in several aspects of plant immunity and that a range of plant pathogens subvert the ubiquitin-proteasome system to enhance their virulence. Here, we show that proteasome activity is strongly induced during basal defense in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). Mutant lines of the proteasome subunits RPT2a and RPN12a support increased bacterial growth of virulent Pseudomonas syringae pv tomato DC3000 (Pst) and Pseudomonas syringae pv maculicola ES4326. Both proteasome subunits are required for pathogen-associated molecular pattern-triggered immunity responses. Analysis of bacterial growth after a secondary infection of systemic leaves revealed that the establishment of systemic acquired resistance (SAR) is impaired in proteasome mutants, suggesting that the proteasome also plays an important role in defense priming and SAR. In addition, we show that Pst inhibits proteasome activity in a type III secretion-dependent manner. A screen for type III effector proteins from Pst for their ability to interfere with proteasome activity revealed HopM1, HopAO1, HopA1, and HopG1 as putative proteasome inhibitors. Biochemical characterization of HopM1 by mass spectrometry indicates that HopM1 interacts with several E3 ubiquitin ligases and proteasome subunits. This supports the hypothesis that HopM1 associates with the proteasome, leading to its inhibition. Thus, the proteasome is an essential component of pathogen-associated molecular pattern-triggered immunity and SAR, which is targeted by multiple bacterial effectors.
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.
Many studies on biological and soft matter systems report the joint presence of a linear mean-squared displacement and a non-Gaussian probability density exhibiting, for instance, exponential or stretched-Gaussian tails. This phenomenon is ascribed to the heterogeneity of the medium and is captured by random parameter models such as ‘superstatistics’ or ‘diffusing diffusivity’. Independently, scientists working in the area of time series analysis and statistics have studied a class of discrete-time processes with similar properties, namely, random coefficient autoregressive models. In this work we try to reconcile these two approaches and thus provide a bridge between physical stochastic processes and autoregressive models.Westart from the basic Langevin equation of motion with time-varying damping or diffusion coefficients and establish the link to random coefficient autoregressive processes. By exploring that link we gain access to efficient statistical methods which can help to identify data exhibiting Brownian yet non-Gaussian diffusion.
Many studies on biological and soft matter systems report the joint presence of a linear mean-squared displacement and a non-Gaussian probability density exhibiting, for instance, exponential or stretched-Gaussian tails. This phenomenon is ascribed to the heterogeneity of the medium and is captured by random parameter models such as ‘superstatistics’ or ‘diffusing diffusivity’. Independently, scientists working in the area of time series analysis and statistics have studied a class of discrete-time processes with similar properties, namely, random coefficient autoregressive models. In this work we try to reconcile these two approaches and thus provide a bridge between physical stochastic processes and autoregressive models.Westart from the basic Langevin equation of motion with time-varying damping or diffusion coefficients and establish the link to random coefficient autoregressive processes. By exploring that link we gain access to efficient statistical methods which can help to identify data exhibiting Brownian yet non-Gaussian diffusion.
We show that the codifference is a useful tool in studying the ergodicity breaking and non-Gaussianity properties of stochastic time series. While the codifference is a measure of dependence that was previously studied mainly in the context of stable processes, we here extend its range of applicability to random-parameter and diffusing-diffusivity models which are important in contemporary physics, biology and financial engineering. We prove that the codifference detects forms of dependence and ergodicity breaking which are not visible from analysing the covariance and correlation functions. We also discuss a related measure of dispersion, which is a nonlinear analogue of the mean squared displacement.
Recent advances in single particle tracking and supercomputing techniques demonstrate the emergence of normal or anomalous, viscoelastic diffusion in conjunction with non-Gaussian distributions in soft, biological, and active matter systems. We here formulate a stochastic model based on a generalised Langevin equation in which non-Gaussian shapes of the probability density function and normal or anomalous diffusion have a common origin, namely a random parametrisation of the stochastic force. We perform a detailed analysis demonstrating how various types of parameter distributions for the memory kernel result in exponential, power law, or power-log law tails of the memory functions. The studied system is also shown to exhibit a further unusual property: the velocity has a Gaussian one point probability density but non-Gaussian joint distributions. This behaviour is reflected in the relaxation from a Gaussian to a non-Gaussian distribution observed for the position variable. We show that our theoretical results are in excellent agreement with stochastic simulations.
Recent advances in single particle tracking and supercomputing techniques demonstrate the emergence of normal or anomalous, viscoelastic diffusion in conjunction with non-Gaussian distributions in soft, biological, and active matter systems. We here formulate a stochastic model based on a generalised Langevin equation in which non-Gaussian shapes of the probability density function and normal or anomalous diffusion have a common origin, namely a random parametrisation of the stochastic force. We perform a detailed analysis demonstrating how various types of parameter distributions for the memory kernel result in exponential, power law, or power-log law tails of the memory functions. The studied system is also shown to exhibit a further unusual property: the velocity has a Gaussian one point probability density but non-Gaussian joint distributions. This behaviour is reflected in the relaxation from a Gaussian to a non-Gaussian distribution observed for the position variable. We show that our theoretical results are in excellent agreement with stochastic simulations.
We show that the codifference is a useful tool in studying the ergodicity breaking and non-Gaussianity properties of stochastic time series. While the codifference is a measure of dependence that was previously studied mainly in the context of stable processes, we here extend its range of applicability to random-parameter and diffusing-diffusivity models which are important in contemporary physics, biology and financial engineering. We prove that the codifference detects forms of dependence and ergodicity breaking which are not visible from analysing the covariance and correlation functions. We also discuss a related measure of dispersion, which is a nonlinear analogue of the mean squared displacement.
While estimated numbers of past and future climate migrants are alarming, the growing empirical evidence suggests that the association between adverse climate-related events and migration is not universally positive. This dissertation seeks to advance our understanding of when and how climate migration emerges by analyzing heterogeneous climatic influences on migration in low- and middle-income countries. To this end, it draws on established economic theories of migration, datasets from physical and social sciences, causal inference techniques and approaches from systematic literature review. In three of its five chapters, I estimate causal effects of processes of climate change on inequality and migration in India and Sub-Saharan Africa. By employing interaction terms and by analyzing sub-samples of data, I explore how these relationships differ for various segments of the population. In the remaining two chapters, I present two systematic literature reviews. First, I undertake a comprehensive meta-regression analysis of the econometric climate migration literature to summarize general climate migration patterns and explain the conflicting findings. Second, motivated by the broad range of approaches in the field, I examine the literature from a methodological perspective to provide best practice guidelines for studying climate migration empirically. Overall, the evidence from this dissertation shows that climatic influences on human migration are highly heterogeneous. Whether adverse climate-related impacts materialize in migration depends on the socio-economic characteristics of the individual households, such as wealth, level of education, agricultural dependence or access to adaptation technologies and insurance. For instance, I show that while adverse climatic shocks are generally associated with an increase in migration in rural India, they reduce migration in the agricultural context of Sub-Saharan Africa, where the average wealth levels are much lower so that households largely cannot afford the upfront costs of moving. I find that unlike local climatic shocks which primarily enhance internal migration to cities and hence accelerate urbanization, shocks transmitted via agricultural producer prices increase migration to neighboring countries, likely due to the simultaneous decrease in real income in nearby urban areas. These findings advance our current understanding by showing when and how economic agents respond to climatic events, thus providing explicit contexts and mechanisms of climate change effects on migration in the future. The resulting collection of findings can guide policy interventions to avoid or mitigate any present and future welfare losses from climate change-related migration choices.
In this paper, we move from the large strand of research that looks at evidence of climate migration to the questions: who are the climate migrants? and where do they go? These questions are crucial to design policies that mitigate welfare losses of migration choices due to climate change. We study the direct and heterogeneous associations between weather extremes and migration in rural India. We combine ERAS reanalysis data with the India Human Development Survey household panel and conduct regression analyses by applying linear probability and multinomial logit models. This enables us to establish a causal relationship between temperature and precipitation anomalies and overall migration as well as migration by destination. We show that adverse weather shocks decrease rural-rural and international migration and push people into cities in different, presumably more prosperous states. A series of positive weather shocks, however, facilitates international migration and migration to cities within the same state. Further, our results indicate that in contrast to other migrants, climate migrants are likely to be from the lower end of the skill distribution and from households strongly dependent on agricultural production. We estimate that approximately 8% of all rural-urban moves between 2005 and 2012 can be attributed to weather. This figure might increase as a consequence of climate change. Thus, a key policy recommendation is to take steps to facilitate integration of less educated migrants into the urban labor market.
The large literature that aims to find evidence of climate migration delivers mixed findings. This meta-regression analysis i) summarizes direct links between adverse climatic events and migration, ii) maps patterns of climate migration, and iii) explains the variation in outcomes. Using a set of limited dependent variable models, we meta-analyze thus-far the most comprehensive sample of 3,625 estimates from 116 original studies and produce novel insights on climate migration. We find that extremely high temperatures and drying conditions increase migration. We do not find a significant effect of sudden-onset events. Climate migration is most likely to emerge due to contemporaneous events, to originate in rural areas and to take place in middle-income countries, internally, to cities. The likelihood to become trapped in affected areas is higher for women and in low-income countries, particularly in Africa. We uniquely quantify how pitfalls typical for the broader empirical climate impact literature affect climate migration findings. We also find evidence of different publication biases.
On doubling unconditionals
(2019)
Research on novel and advanced biomaterials is an indispensable step towards their applications in desirable fields such as tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, cell culture, or biotechnology. The work presented here focuses on such a promising material: polyelectrolyte multilayer (PEM) composed of hyaluronic acid (HA) and poly(L-lysine) (PLL). This gel-like polymer surface coating is able to accumulate (bio-)molecules such as proteins or drugs and release them in a controlled manner. It serves as a mimic of the extracellular matrix (ECM) in composition and intrinsic properties. These qualities make the HA/PLL multilayers a promising candidate for multiple bio-applications such as those mentioned above. The work presented aims at the development of a straightforward approach for assessment of multi-fractional diffusion in multilayers (first part) and at control of local molecular transport into or from the multilayers by laser light trigger (second part).
The mechanism of the loading and release is governed by the interaction of bioactives with the multilayer constituents and by the diffusion phenomenon overall. The diffusion of a molecule in HA/PLL multilayers shows multiple fractions of different diffusion rate. Approaches, that are able to assess the mobility of molecules in such a complex system, are limited. This shortcoming motivated the design of a novel evaluation tool presented here.
The tool employs a simulation-based approach for evaluation of the data acquired by fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) method. In this approach, possible fluorescence recovery scenarios are primarily simulated and afterwards compared with the data acquired while optimizing parameters of a model until a sufficient match is achieved. Fluorescent latex particles of different sizes and fluorescein in an aqueous medium are utilized as test samples validating the analysis results. The diffusion of protein cytochrome c in HA/PLL multilayers is evaluated as well.
This tool significantly broadens the possibilities of analysis of spatiotemporal FRAP data, which originate from multi-fractional diffusion, while striving to be widely applicable. This tool has the potential to elucidate the mechanisms of molecular transport and empower rational engineering of the drug release systems.
The second part of the work focuses on the fabrication of such a spatiotemporarily-controlled drug release system employing the HA/PLL multilayer. This release system comprises different layers of various functionalities that together form a sandwich structure. The bottom layer, which serves as a reservoir, is formed by HA/PLL PEM deposited on a planar glass substrate. On top of the PEM, a layer of so-called hybrids is deposited. The hybrids consist of thermoresponsive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) -based hydrogel microparticles with surface-attached gold nanorods. The layer of hybrids is intended to serve as a gate that controls the local molecular transport through the PEM–solution-interface. The possibility of stimulating the molecular transport by near-infrared (NIR) laser irradiation is being explored.
From several tested approaches for the deposition of hybrids onto the PEM surface, the drying-based approach was identified as optimal. Experiments, that examine the functionality of the fabricated sandwich at elevated temperature, document the reversible volume phase transition of the PEM-attached hybrids while sustaining the sandwich stability. Further, the gold nanorods were shown to effectively absorb light radiation in the tissue- and cell-friendly NIR spectral region while transducing the energy of light into heat. The rapid and reversible shrinkage of the PEM-attached hybrids was thereby achieved. Finally, dextran was employed as a model transport molecule. It loads into the PEM reservoir in a few seconds with the partition constant of 2.4, while it spontaneously releases in a slower, sustained manner. The local laser irradiation of the sandwich, which contains the fluorescein isothiocyanate tagged dextran, leads to a gradual reduction of fluorescence intensity in the irradiated region.
The release system fabricated employs renowned photoresponsivity of the hybrids in an innovative setting. The results of the research are a step towards a spatially-controlled on-demand drug release system that paves the way to spatiotemporally controlled drug release.
The approaches developed in this work have the potential to elucidate the molecular dynamics in ECM and to foster engineering of multilayers with properties tuned to mimic the ECM. The work aims at spatiotemporal control over the diffusion of bioactives and their presentation to the cells.
This book presents an overview of European migration policy and the various institutional arrangements within and between various actors, such as local councils, local media, local economies, and local civil society initiatives. Both the role of local authorities in this policy field and their cooperation with civil society initiatives or networks are under-explored topics for research. In response, this book provides a range of detailed case studies focusing on the six main groups of national and administrative traditions in Europe: Germanic, Scandinavian, Napoleonic, Southeastern European, Central-Eastern European and Anglo-Saxon.
During the phases of mobile warfare, the ethnically and religiously very heterogeneous population in the border regions of the multi-ethnic empires suffered in particular. Even if the real military situation in the course of the war hardly gave cause for concern, the image of disloyal ethnic and national minorities was widespread. This was particularly the case when ethnic groups lived on both sides of the border and social and political tensions had already established themselves along ethnic or religious lines of conflict before the war. Displacements, deportations and mass violence were the result. The genocide of the Armenian population is the most extreme example of this development. This anthology examines the border regions of the Ottoman, Russian and Habsburg empires during the First World War with regard to radical population policy and genocidal violence from a comparative perspective in order to draw a more precise picture of escalating and deescalating factors.
In ihren Beiträgen verbinden die Autoren grundsätzliche philosophische Überlegungen zur grundlegenden Bedeutung von Menschenwürde für die Menschenrechte mit konkreteren Forderungen, wie mit der Befriedigung lebensnotwendiger Bedürfnisse umzugehen und was zur Beendigung von Armut notwendig ist. Ihre rechtlichen und politischen Argumente stützen sich auf jüngere Rechtsprechung regionaler Gerichtshöfe und internationaler Menschenrechtsorgane. Sie berufen sich auf die Verpflichtungsdimensionen der Menschenrechte und fragen nach der Verantwortlichkeit für deren Umsetzung. Die Autorinnen kommen aus Universitäten in Deutschland, der Schweiz, den Niederlanden und dem Vereinigten Königreich.
Linguistic hybridity
(2022)
This volume deals with different linguistic phenomena representing grammaticalization and lexicalization processes and combines different approaches of contact linguistics and variational linguistics. It contains papers on clitic placement in Angolan Portuguese, on the use of subject pronouns in French, Brazilian Portuguese and Caribbean Spanish, on evidential marking in Paraguayan Spanish, on Paraguayan Guaraní, on evidentiality in different varieties of Spanish, on discourse markers in Latin America, on modal particles in Italian and their translation into German, on bilingual communities in Southern Brazil, on Spanish-German-Russian language contact and on Romance aspectual periphrases in contact with English progressives.
Africa today
(2022)
Africa Today publishes peer-reviewed, scholarly articles and book reviews in a broad range of academic disciplines on topics related to contemporary Africa. We seek to be a venue for interdisciplinary approaches, diverse perspectives, and original research in the humanities and social sciences. This includes work on social, cultural, political, historical, and economic subjects. Recent special issues have been on topics such as the future of African artistic practices, the socio-cultural life of bus stations in Africa, and family-based health care in Ghana. Africa Today has been on the forefront of African Studies research since 1954. Please review our submission guidelines and then contact the Managing Editor or any of the editors with any questions you might have about publishing in Africa Today.
Drug target miRNA
(2017)
This volume provides a concise and technical discussion of recently developed approaches to overcome challenges in miRNA drug discovery. Drug Target miRNA: Methods and Protocols explores strategies to overcome pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics challenges. These strategies cover anti-sense agents targeting miRNA that are applied in advanced formulations or are chemically optimized to increase delivery; small molecule miRNA modulators to overcome anti-sense agents’ limitations; general enhancers of miRNA maturation; and Argonaute 2 protein and its pharmacokinetic parameters. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls.Cutting-edge and thorough, Drug Target miRNA: Methods and Protocols is a valuable resource for anyone interested in the ever-evolving field of miRNA drug discovery.
This book explores how capitalism shapes the formation of the economic subject in modern European writing. How are subject positions determined by the subject’s relationship to money and work? How fair is a society that predicates social inclusion upon employment? And what happens when full employment is impossible? The volume traces how literary authors and social theorists have answered these questions in different social and historical contexts from the nineteenth century to the present day. The contributions confront the imperatives of productivity, notions of success and failure, the construction of work cultures and environments, the (in)visibility of certain labour groups, and the implications of the body as a productive site.
Palaeoseismic records and seismological data from continental interiors increasingly show that these areas of slow strain accumulation are more subject to seismic and associated natural hazards than previously thought. Moreover, some of our instincts developed for assessing hazards at plate boundaries might not apply here. Hence assessing hazards and drawing implications for the future is challenging, and how well it can be done heavily depends on the ability to assess the spatiotemporal distribution of past large earthquakes. This book explores some key issues in understanding hazards in slowly deforming areas. Examples include classic intraplate regions, such as Central and Northern Europe, Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, Australia, and North and South America, and regions of widely distributed strain, such as the Tien Shan Mountains in Central Asia. The papers in this volume are grouped into two sections. The first section deals with instrumental and historical earthquake data and associated hazard assessments. The second section covers methods from structural geology, palaeoseismology and tectonic geomorphology, and incorporates field evidence
An idealized image of European concert-goers has long prevailed in historical overviews of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. This act of listening was considered to be an invisible and amorphous phenomenon, a naturally given mode of perception. This narrative influenced the conditions of listening from the selection of repertoire to the construction of concert halls and programmes. However, as listening moved from the concert hall to the opera house, street music, and jazz venues, new and visceral listening traditions evolved. In turn, the art of listening was shaped by phenomena of the modern era including media innovation and commercialization.
This Handbook asks whether, how, and why practices of music listening changed as the audience moved from pleasure gardens and concert venues in the eighteenth century to living rooms in the twentieth century, and mobile devices in the twenty-first. Through these questions, chapters enable a differently conceived history of listening and offer an agenda for future research.
Anglistentag 2012 Potsdam
(2013)
Katrin Röder and Ilse Wischer (Potsdam) Preface Section I: Recent Ireland: Visions and Revisions of Irishness from the 1990s to Today Sarah Heinz (Mannheim), Anton Kirchhofer (Oldenburg), Katharina Rennhak (Wuppertal) and Michaela Schrage-Früh (Mainz/Limerick) Recent Ireland: Visions and Revisions of Irishness from the 1990s to Today: Introduction Christopher Morash (Maynooth) Spectral Ireland: After the Celtic Tiger Jochen Achilles (Würzburg) Transnational Ireland and Elizabeth Kuti's Drama Silke Stroh (Münster) Revisioning Irish Postcolonialism: The Scottish Connection Joanna Rostek (Passau) Migration, Capital, Space: Econotopic Constellations in Recent Literature about Polish Migrants in Ireland Joachim Fischer (Limerick) Images of Germany in Irish Writing of the Last Ten Years (2002-2012) Werner Huber (Wien) The Brothers McDonagh, Filmmakers Christian Lassen (Oldenburg) The Passion of Saint Kitten, or: Desperately Seeking Mitzi, the Phantom Lady. Camp Responses to Interpellation and Subjection in Neil Jordan's Breakfast on Pluto Section II: Recent Trends in Romantic Studies Stefanie Fricke (LMU München), Rosa Karl (Erlangen-Nürnberg) and Gerold Sedlmayr (Dortmund) Recent Trends in Romantic Studies: Introduction Christoph Reinfandt (Tübingen) The Textures of Romanticism: Exploring Charlotte Smith's "Beachy Head" (1807) Ralf Haekel (Göttingen) Romantic Textualities Anthony John Harding (Saskatchewan) British Romanticism and the Transvaluation of Reading Christa Knellwolf King (Vienna) Imperial Myth-making in the Wake of Captain Cook's Death Monika Class (King's College London) Medical Case Narratives across Disciplinary and National Boundaries around 1800 Ute Berns (Hamburg) Romantic Poetry, Scientific Discourse and the Aesthetics of Nature Section III: Apocalypse and Literature Sibylle Baumbach (Mainz) and Anja Müller-Wood (Mainz) Apocalypse and Literature: Introduction Susanne Schmid (Berlin) Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials and Resistance to the Apocalypse Björn Quiring (Berlin) Judging the New Bloomusalem: Persistent Apocalyptic Remnants in Joyce's Ulysses Heike Hartung (Potsdam) Apocalypse and Old Age: Imminent Ends and Lacking Futures Apocalypse and Literature: Summaries Section IV: Comics and Graphic Novels Dirk Vanderbeke (Jena), Sebastian Domsch (Greifswald) and Astrid Böger (Hamburg) Comics and Graphic Novels: Introduction Martin Rowson (London) Towards a Theory of Literary Adaptation in Comic Book Format: A Graphic Response Nicola Glaubitz (Darmstadt) Vernacular Modernism: Martin Rowson's The Waste Land Ellen Grünkemeier (Hannover) Locating The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen in Victorian Literature and (Popular) Culture Sandra Heinen (Wuppertal) 'Indigenizing the Comic Book Medium': Techniques of Storytelling in Indian Graphic Novels Felicitas Meifert-Menhard (München) Evading the Sequence: Choose Your Own Comic Therese-Marie Meyer (Halle-Wittenberg) "My Country, My England": Warren Ellis's Graphic Novels and England at War Sandra Martina Schwab (Mainz) Richard Doyle's Sequential Art in Punch Section V: Electronic Discourse Markus Bieswanger (Bayreuth) and Andrea Sand (Trier) Electronic Discourse: Introduction Klaus P. Schneider (Bonn) Emerging E-mail Etiquette: Lay Perceptions of Appropriateness in Electronic Discourse Christian R. Hoffmann (Augsburg) E(-lectronic) Schmoozing? A Cross-Generic Study of Compliments in Blog Comments Jenny Arendholz (Augsburg) "How to stop strange people speaking to me" – A Syntactic and Interpersonal Perspective on Offering A dvice Online Tanja Angelovska and Angela Hahn (München) Features of Spoken L3 English in an Online Discourse Dagmar Deuber (Münster) and Andrea Sand (Trier) Computer-Mediated Communication in Singapore: Spoken Language Features in Weblogs and a Discussion Forum Christian Mair (Freiburg) Corpus Approaches to the Vernacular Web: Post-Colonial Diasporic Forums in West Africa and the Caribbean
Imagines
(2017)
This series seeks to broaden the scholarly community’s understanding of the reception of classical antiquity in the visual and performing arts. A particular focus will be drawn on the 20th and 21st centuries and on media that have been traditionally neglected because considered “commercial” and/or “popular”, such as comics, advertising, digital media, design, fashion, and theme parks. It challenges traditional, and still very widespread, assumptions that distinguish “high” from “popular” culture, but also demonstrates the indisputable importance that classical antiquity enjoys in the modern and postmodern world, and all across the planet, carefully looking at forms of Classical Receptions outside the “traditional” regions object of such studies. Through a consistent shift from the traditional, academic approach, the series is the product of a continuous dialogue between scholars on the one side, and “producers” of classical reception – painters, sculptors, photographs, architects, designers, etc. –on the other, who write about their mechanisms of appropriation of the Ancient world . Each book highlights the popularity of antiquity today and reveals the forms and mechanisms of its reception. The series thus explains the choice of subjects and motives, the elaboration and re-mediatization processes taking place in the creative act, as well as the complexity of the “reception chains”, which make it today impossible, for instance, to visualize the ancient world without the filter of historical movies.
Since spring 2014 the relations between the EU and Russia are stuck in an Ice Age. From a Western point of view, especially the annexation of Crimea by Russia and the intervention in the conflict in Ukraine are responsible. The EU has frozen their relations to Russia and applied sanctions against it. Russia reacted in the same way. Can this vicious circle be broken without betraying the values of the EU? This book presents the analysis and ideas of social scientists from Germany, Poland and Russia. The reasons for this crisis are seen quite differently but all try to find a way out of the current confrontation.
This book presents an agile and model-driven approach to manage scientific workflows. The approach is based on the Extreme Model Driven Design (XMDD) paradigm and aims at simplifying and automating the complex data analysis processes carried out by scientists in their day-to-day work. Besides documenting the impact the workflow modeling might have on the work of natural scientists, this book serves three major purposes: 1. It acts as a primer for practitioners who are interested to learn how to think in terms of services and workflows when facing domain-specific scientific processes. 2. It provides interesting material for readers already familiar with this kind of tools, because it introduces systematically both the technologies used in each case study and the basic concepts behind them. 3. As the addressed thematic field becomes increasingly relevant for lectures in both computer science and experimental sciences, it also provides helpful material for teachers that plan similar courses.
Reworking postcolonialism
(2015)
An interdisciplinary collection of essays, Reworking Postcolonialism explores questions of work, precarity, migration, minority and indigenous rights in relation to contemporary globalization. It focuses on the impact of global market forces on the formation of new subject positions among urban dwellers, exiles, and other disenfranchised communities. Bringing together political, economic and literary approaches to texts and events from across the postcolonial world, the essays collected here investigate the transformative effects of the global dissemination of capital and goods and the movements of people. They call for a revision of existing discourses on rights, entitlements and citizenship.