Refine
Has Fulltext
- yes (237)
Year of publication
- 2017 (237) (remove)
Document Type
- Postprint (237) (remove)
Language
- English (237) (remove)
Is part of the Bibliography
- yes (237)
Keywords
- climate (9)
- Germany (5)
- ancient DNA (4)
- model (4)
- transport (4)
- variability (4)
- young athletes (4)
- alignment (3)
- biomineralization (3)
- children (3)
Institute
- Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät (72)
- Humanwissenschaftliche Fakultät (29)
- Institut für Biochemie und Biologie (27)
- Institut für Geowissenschaften (20)
- Strukturbereich Kognitionswissenschaften (19)
- Institut für Physik und Astronomie (14)
- Institut für Ernährungswissenschaft (10)
- Institut für Chemie (9)
- Department Psychologie (7)
- Department Sport- und Gesundheitswissenschaften (7)
Ancient genomes have revolutionized our understanding of Holocene prehistory and, particularly, the Neolithic transition in western Eurasia. In contrast, East Asia has so far received little attention, despite representing a core region at which the Neolithic transition took place independently similar to 3 millennia after its onset in the Near East. We report genome-wide data from two hunter-gatherers from Devil's Gate, an early Neolithic cave site (dated to similar to 7.7 thousand years ago) located in East Asia, on the border between Russia and Korea. Both of these individuals are genetically most similar to geographically close modern populations from the Amur Basin, all speaking Tungusic languages, and, in particular, to the Ulchi. The similarity to nearby modern populations and the low levels of additional genetic material in the Ulchi imply a high level of genetic continuity in this region during the Holocene, a pattern that markedly contrasts with that reported for Europe.
The performance of hybridization capture combined with next-generation sequencing (NGS) has seen limited investigation with samples from hot and arid regions until now. We applied hybridization capture and shotgun sequencing to recover DNA sequences from bone specimens of ancient-domestic dromedary (Camelus dromedarius) and its extinct ancestor, the wild dromedary from Jordan, Syria, Turkey and the Arabian Peninsula, respectively. Our results show that hybridization capture increased the percentage of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) recovery by an average 187-fold and in some cases yielded virtually complete mitochondrial (mt) genomes at multifold coverage in a single capture experiment. Furthermore, we tested the effect of hybridization temperature and time by using a touchdown approach on a limited number of samples. We observed no significant difference in the number of unique dromedary mtDNA reads retrieved with the standard capture compared to the touchdown method. In total, we obtained 14 partial mitochondrial genomes from ancient-domestic dromedaries with 17-95% length coverage and 1.27-47.1-fold read depths for the covered regions. Using whole-genome shotgun sequencing, we successfully recovered endogenous dromedary nuclear DNA (nuDNA) from domestic and wild dromedary specimens with 1-1.06-fold read depths for covered regions. Our results highlight that despite recent methodological advances, obtaining ancient DNA (aDNA) from specimens recovered from hot, arid environments is still problematic. Hybridization protocols require specific optimization, and samples at the limit of DNA preservation need multiple replications of DNA extraction and hybridization capture as has been shown previously for Middle Pleistocene specimens.
We introduce an abstract concept of quantum field theory on categories fibered in groupoids over the category of spacetimes. This provides us with a general and flexible framework to study quantum field theories defined on spacetimes with extra geometric structures such as bundles, connections and spin structures. Using right Kan extensions, we can assign to any such theory an ordinary quantum field theory defined on the category of spacetimes and we shall clarify under which conditions it satisfies the axioms of locally covariant quantum field theory. The same constructions can be performed in a homotopy theoretic framework by using homotopy right Kan extensions, which allows us to obtain first toy-models of homotopical quantum field theories resembling some aspects of gauge theories.
Background
Cells are able to communicate and coordinate their function within tissues via secreted factors. Aberrant secretion by cancer cells can modulate this intercellular communication, in particular in highly organised tissues such as the liver. Hepatocytes, the major cell type of the liver, secrete Dickkopf (Dkk), which inhibits Wnt/ β-catenin signalling in an autocrine and paracrine manner. Consequently, Dkk modulates the expression of Wnt/ β-catenin target genes. We present a mathematical model that describes the autocrine and paracrine regulation of hepatic gene expression by Dkk under wild-type conditions as well as in the presence of mutant cells.
Results
Our spatial model describes the competition of Dkk and Wnt at receptor level, intra-cellular Wnt/ β-catenin signalling, and the regulation of target gene expression for 21 individual hepatocytes. Autocrine and paracrine regulation is mediated through a feedback mechanism via Dkk and Dkk diffusion along the porto-central axis. Along this axis an APC concentration gradient is modelled as experimentally detected in liver. Simulations of mutant cells demonstrate that already a single mutant cell increases overall Dkk concentration. The influence of the mutant cell on gene expression of surrounding wild-type hepatocytes is limited in magnitude and restricted to hepatocytes in close proximity. To explore the underlying molecular mechanisms, we perform a comprehensive analysis of the model parameters such as diffusion coefficient, mutation strength and feedback strength.
Conclusions
Our simulations show that Dkk concentration is elevated in the presence of a mutant cell. However, the impact of these elevated Dkk levels on wild-type hepatocytes is confined in space and magnitude. The combination of inter- and intracellular processes, such as Dkk feedback, diffusion and Wnt/ β-catenin signal transduction, allow wild-type hepatocytes to largely maintain their gene expression.
Background
The members of the genus Muntiacus are of particular interest to evolutionary biologists due to their extreme chromosomal rearrangements and the ongoing discussions about the number of living species. Red muntjacs have the largest distribution of all muntjacs and were formerly considered as one species. Karyotype differences led to the provisional split between the Southern Red Muntjac (Muntiacus muntjak) and the Northern Red Muntjac (M. vaginalis), but uncertainties remain as, so far, no phylogenetic study has been conducted. Here, we analysed whole mitochondrial genomes of 59 archival and 16 contemporaneous samples to resolve uncertainties about their taxonomy and used red muntjacs as model for understanding the evolutionary history of other species in Southeast Asia.
Results
We found three distinct matrilineal groups of red muntjacs: Sri Lankan red muntjacs (including the Western Ghats) diverged first from other muntjacs about 1.5 Mya; later northern red muntjacs (including North India and Indochina) and southern red muntjacs (Sundaland) split around 1.12 Mya. The diversification of red muntjacs into these three main lineages was likely promoted by two Pleistocene barriers: one through the Indian subcontinent and one separating the Indochinese and Sundaic red muntjacs. Interestingly, we found a high level of gene flow within the populations of northern and southern red muntjacs, indicating gene flow between populations in Indochina and dispersal of red muntjacs over the exposed Sunda Shelf during the Last Glacial Maximum.
Conclusions
Our results provide new insights into the evolution of species in South and Southeast Asia as we found clear genetic differentiation in a widespread and generalist species, corresponding to two known biogeographical barriers: The Isthmus of Kra and the central Indian dry zone. In addition, our molecular data support either the delineation of three monotypic species or three subspecies, but more importantly these data highlight the conservation importance of the Sri Lankan/South Indian red muntjac.
Purpose: Comparison of the dissociation kinetics of rapid-acting insulins lispro, aspart, glulisine and human insulin under physiologically relevant conditions.
Methods: Dissociation kinetics after dilution were monitored directly in terms of the average molecular mass using combined static and dynamic light scattering. Changes in tertiary structure were detected by near-UV circular dichroism.
Results: Glulisine forms compact hexamers in formulation even in the absence of Zn2+. Upon severe dilution, these rapidly dissociate into monomers in less than 10 s. In contrast, in formulations of lispro and aspart, the presence of Zn2+ and phenolic compounds is essential for formation of compact R6 hexamers. These slowly dissociate in times ranging from seconds to one hour depending on the concentration of phenolic additives. The disadvantage of the long dissociation times of lispro and aspart can be diminished by a rapid depletion of the concentration of phenolic additives independent of the insulin dilution. This is especially important in conditions similar to those after subcutaneous injection, where only minor dilution of the insulins occurs.
Conclusion: Knowledge of the diverging dissociation mechanisms of lispro and aspart compared to glulisine will be helpful for optimizing formulation conditions of rapid-acting insulins.
West German anticommunism and the SED’s Westarbeit were to some extentinterrelated. From the beginning, each German state had attemted to stabilise itsown social system while trying to discredit its political opponent. The claim tosole representation and the refusal to acknowledge each other delineated governmentalaction on both sides. Anticommunism inWest Germany re-developed under theconditions of the Cold War, which allowed it to become virtually the reason ofstate and to serve as a tool for the exclusion of KPD supporters. In its turn, theSED branded the West German State as‘revanchist’and instrumentalised itsanticommunism to persecute and eliminate opponents within the GDR. Bothphenomena had an integrative and exclusionary element.
With its transparent orthography, Standard Indonesian is spoken by over 160 million inhabitants and is the primary language of instruction in education and the government in Indonesia. An assessment battery of reading and reading-related skills was developed as a starting point for the diagnosis of dyslexia in beginner learners. Founded on the International Dyslexia Association’s definition of dyslexia, the test battery comprises nine empirically motivated reading and reading-related tasks assessing word reading, pseudoword reading, arithmetic, rapid automatized naming, phoneme deletion, forward and backward digit span, verbal fluency, orthographic choice (spelling), and writing. The test was validated by computing the relationships between the outcomes on the reading-skills and reading-related measures by means of correlation and factor analyses. External variables, i.e., school grades and teacher ratings of the reading and learning abilities of individual students, were also utilized to provide evidence of its construct validity. Four variables were found to be significantly related with reading-skill measures: phonological awareness, rapid naming, spelling, and digit span. The current study on reading development in Standard Indonesian confirms findings from other languages with transparent orthographies and suggests a test battery including preliminary norm scores for screening and assessment of elementary school children learning to read Standard Indonesian.
Many studies demonstrated interactions between number processing and either spatial codes (effects of spatial-numerical associations) or visual size-related codes (size-congruity effect). However, the interrelatedness of these two number couplings is still unclear. The present study examines the simultaneous occurrence of space- and size-numerical congruency effects and their interactions both within and across trials, in a magnitude judgment task physically small or large digits were presented left or right from screen center. The reaction times analysis revealed that space- and size-congruency effects coexisted in parallel and combined additively. Moreover, a selective sequential modulation of the two congruency effects was found. The size-congruency effect was reduced after size incongruent trials. The space-congruency effect, however, was only affected by the previous space congruency. The observed independence of spatial-numerical and within magnitude associations is interpreted as evidence that the two couplings reflect Different attributes of numerical meaning possibly related to orginality and cardinality.
Mental arithmetic exhibits various biases. Among those is a tendency to overestimate addition and to underestimate subtraction outcomes. Does such “operational momentum” (OM) also affect multiplication and division? Twenty-six adults produced lines whose lengths corresponded to the correct outcomes of multiplication and division problems shown in symbolic format. We found a reliable tendency to over-estimate division outcomes, i.e., reverse OM. We suggest that anchoring on the first operand (a tendency to use this number as a reference for further quantitative reasoning) contributes to cognitive biases in mental arithmetic.
Background
Non-typhoid Salmonella Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium) accounts for a high number of registered salmonellosis cases, and O-serotyping is one important tool for monitoring epidemiology and spread of the disease. Moreover, variations in glucosylated O-antigens are related to immunogenicity and spread in the host. However, classical autoagglutination tests combined with the analysis of specific genetic markers cannot always reliably register phase variable glucose modifications expressed on Salmonella O-antigens and additional tools to monitor O-antigen glucosylation phenotypes of S. Typhimurium would be desirable.
Results
We developed a test for the phase variable O-antigen glucosylation state of S. Typhimurium using the tailspike proteins (TSP) of Salmonella phages 9NA and P22. We used this ELISA like tailspike adsorption (ELITA) assay to analyze a library of 44 Salmonella strains. ELITA was successful in discriminating strains that carried glucose 1-6 linked to the galactose of O-polysaccharide backbone (serotype O1) from non-glucosylated strains. This was shown by O-antigen compositional analyses of the respective strains with mass spectrometry and capillary electrophoresis. The ELITA test worked rapidly in a microtiter plate format and was highly O-antigen specific. Moreover, TSP as probes could also detect glucosylated strains in flow cytometry and distinguish multiphasic cultures differing in their glucosylation state.
Conclusions
Tailspike proteins contain large binding sites with precisely defined specificities and are therefore promising tools to be included in serotyping procedures as rapid serotyping agents in addition to antibodies. In this study, 9NA and P22TSP as probes could specifically distinguish glucosylation phenotypes of Salmonella on microtiter plate assays and in flow cytometry. This opens the possibility for flow sorting of cell populations for subsequent genetic analyses or for monitoring phase variations during large scale O-antigen preparations necessary for vaccine production.
Background: Although nowaday it is broadly accepted that mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) may undergo recombination, the frequency of such recombination remains controversial. Its estimation is not straightforward, as recombination under homoplasmy (i.e., among identical mt genomes) is likely to be overlooked. In species with tandem duplications of large mtDNA fragments the detection of recombination can be facilitated, as it can lead to gene conversion among duplicates. Although the mechanisms for concerted evolution in mtDNA are not fully understood yet, recombination rates have been estimated from "one per speciation event" down to 850 years or even "during every replication cycle".
Results: Here we present the first complete mt genome of the avian family Bucerotidae, i.e., that of two Philippine hornbills, Aceros waldeni and Penelopides panini. The mt genomes are characterized by a tandemly duplicated region encompassing part of cytochrome b, 3 tRNAs, NADH6, and the control region. The duplicated fragments are identical to each other except for a short section in domain I and for the length of repeat motifs in domain III of the control region. Due to the heteroplasmy with regard to the number of these repeat motifs, there is some size variation in both genomes; with around 21,657 bp (A. waldeni) and 22,737 bp (P. panini), they significantly exceed the hitherto longest known avian mt genomes, that of the albatrosses. We discovered concerted evolution between the duplicated fragments within individuals. The existence of differences between individuals in coding genes as well as in the control region, which are maintained between duplicates, indicates that recombination apparently occurs frequently, i. e., in every generation.
Conclusions: The homogenised duplicates are interspersed by a short fragment which shows no sign of recombination. We hypothesize that this region corresponds to the so-called Replication Fork Barrier (RFB), which has been described from the chicken mitochondrial genome. As this RFB is supposed to halt replication, it offers a potential mechanistic explanation for frequent recombination in mitochondrial genomes.
Background: The Visayan Tarictic Hornbill (Penelopides panini) and the Walden's Hornbill (Aceros waldeni) are two threatened hornbill species endemic to the western islands of the Visayas that constitute - between Luzon and Mindanao - the central island group of the Philippine archipelago. In order to evaluate their genetic diversity and to support efforts towards their conservation, we analyzed genetic variation in similar to 600 base pairs (bp) of the mitochondrial control region I and at 12-19 nuclear microsatellite loci. The sampling covered extant populations, still occurring only on two islands (P. panini: Panay and Negros, A. waldeni: only Panay), and it was augmented with museum specimens of extinct populations from neighboring islands. For comparison, their less endangered (= more abundant) sister taxa, the Luzon Tarictic Hornbill (P. manillae) from the Luzon and Polillo Islands and the Writhed Hornbill (A. leucocephalus) from Mindanao Island, were also included in the study. We reconstructed the population history of the two Penelopides species and assessed the genetic population structure of the remaining wild populations in all four species.
Results: Mitochondrial and nuclear data concordantly show a clear genetic separation according to the island of origin in both Penelopides species, but also unravel sporadic over-water movements between islands. We found evidence that deforestation in the last century influenced these migratory events. Both classes of markers and the comparison to museum specimens reveal a genetic diversity loss in both Visayan hornbill species, P. panini and A. waldeni, as compared to their more abundant relatives. This might have been caused by local extinction of genetically differentiated populations together with the dramatic decline in the abundance of the extant populations.
Conclusions: We demonstrated a loss in genetic diversity of P. panini and A. waldeni as compared to their sister taxa P. manillae and A. leucocephalus. Because of the low potential for gene flow and population exchange across islands, saving of the remaining birds of almost extinct local populations - be it in the wild or in captivity - is particularly important to preserve the species' genetic potential.
The all-female Amazon molly (Poecilia formosa) is the result of a hybridization of the Atlantic molly (P. mexicana) and the sailfin molly (P. latipinna) approximately 120,000 years ago. As a gynogenetic species, P. formosa needs to copulate with heterospecific males including males from one of its bisexual ancestral species. However, the sperm only triggers embryogenesis of the diploid eggs. The genetic information of the sperm donor typically will not contribute to the next generation of P. formosa. Hence, P. formosa possesses generally one allele from each of its ancestral species at any genetic locus. This raises the question whether both ancestral alleles are equally expressed in P. formosa. Allele-specific expression (ASE) has been previously assessed in various organisms, e.g., human and fish, and ASE was found to be important in the context of phenotypic variability and disease. In this study, we utilized Real-Time PCR techniques to estimate ASE of the androgen receptor alpha (arα) gene in several distinct tissues of Amazon mollies. We found an allelic bias favoring the maternal ancestor (P. mexicana) allele in ovarian tissue. This allelic bias was not observed in the gill or the brain tissue. Sequencing of the promoter regions of both alleles revealed an association between an Indel in a known CpG island and differential expression. Future studies may reveal whether our observed cis-regulatory divergence is caused by an ovary-specific trans-regulatory element, preferentially activating the allele of the maternal ancestor.
Background
Foot orthoses are usually assumed to be effective by optimizing mechanically dynamic rearfoot configuration. However, the effect from a foot orthosis on kinematics that has been demonstrated scientifically has only been marginal. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of different heights in medial arch-supported foot orthoses on rear foot motion during gait.
Methods
Nineteen asymptomatic runners (36±11years, 180±5cm, 79±10kg; 41±22km/week) participated in the study. Trials were recorded at 3.1 mph (5 km/h) on a treadmill. Athletes walked barefoot and with 4 different not customized medial arch-supported foot orthoses of various arch heights (N:0 mm, M:30 mm, H:35 mm, E:40mm). Six infrared cameras and the `Oxford Foot Model´ were used to capture motion. The average stride in each condition was calculated from 50 gait cycles per condition. Eversion excursion and internal tibia rotation were analyzed. Descriptive statistics included calculating the mean ± SD and 95% CIs. Group differences by condition were analyzed by one factor (foot orthoses) repeated measures ANOVA (α = 0.05).
Results
Eversion excursion revealed the lowest values for N and highest for H (B:4.6°±2.2°; 95% CI [3.1;6.2]/N:4.0°±1.7°; [2.9;5.2]/M:5.2°±2.6°; [3.6;6.8]/H:6.2°±3.3°; [4.0;8.5]/E:5.1°±3.5°; [2.8;7.5]) (p>0.05). Range of internal tibia rotation was lowest with orthosis H and highest with E (B:13.3°±3.2°; 95% CI [11.0;15.6]/N:14.5°±7.2°; [9.2;19.6]/M:13.8°±5.0°; [10.8;16.8]/H:12.3°±4.3°; [9.0;15.6]/E:14.9°±5.0°; [11.5;18.3]) (p>0.05). Differences between conditions were small and the intrasubject variation high.
Conclusion
Our results indicate that different arch support heights have no systematic effect on eversion excursion or the range of internal tibia rotation and therefore might not exert a crucial influence on rear foot alignment during gait.
Plants frequently have to weather both biotic and abiotic stressors, and have evolved sophisticated adaptation and defense mechanisms. In recent years, chromatin modifications, nucleosome positioning, and DNA methylation have been recognized as important components in these adaptations. Given their potential epigenetic nature, such modifications may provide a mechanistic basis for a stress memory, enabling plants to respond more efficiently to recurring stress or even to prepare their offspring for potential future assaults. In this review, we discuss both the involvement of chromatin in stress responses and the current evidence on somatic, intergenerational, and transgenerational stress memory.
Background
Recently, the incidence rate of back pain (BP) in adolescents has been reported at 21%. However, the development of BP in adolescent athletes is unclear. Hence, the purpose of this study was to examine the incidence of BP in young elite athletes in relation to gender and type of sport practiced.
Methods
Subjective BP was assessed in 321 elite adolescent athletes (m/f 57%/43%; 13.2 ± 1.4 years; 163.4 ± 11.4 cm; 52.6 ± 12.6 kg; 5.0 ± 2.6 training yrs; 7.6 ± 5.3 training h/week). Initially, all athletes were free of pain. The main outcome criterion was the incidence of back pain [%] analyzed in terms of pain development from the first measurement day (M1) to the second measurement day (M2) after 2.0 ± 1.0 year. Participants were classified into athletes who developed back pain (BPD) and athletes who did not develop back pain (nBPD). BP (acute or within the last 7 days) was assessed with a 5-step face scale (face 1–2 = no pain; face 3–5 = pain). BPD included all athletes who reported faces 1 and 2 at M1 and faces 3 to 5 at M2. nBPD were all athletes who reported face 1 or 2 at both M1 and M2. Data was analyzed descriptively. Additionally, a Chi2 test was used to analyze gender- and sport-specific differences (p = 0.05).
Results
Thirty-two athletes were categorized as BPD (10%). The gender difference was 5% (m/f: 12%/7%) but did not show statistical significance (p = 0.15). The incidence of BP ranged between 6 and 15% for the different sport categories. Game sports (15%) showed the highest, and explosive strength sports (6%) the lowest incidence. Anthropometrics or training characteristics did not significantly influence BPD (p = 0.14 gender to p = 0.90 sports; r2 = 0.0825).
Conclusions
BP incidence was lower in adolescent athletes compared to young non-athletes and even to the general adult population. Consequently, it can be concluded that high-performance sports do not lead to an additional increase in back pain incidence during early adolescence. Nevertheless, back pain prevention programs should be implemented into daily training routines for sport categories identified as showing high incidence rates.
In the context of back pain, great emphasis has been placed on the importance of trunk stability, especially in situations requiring compensation of repetitive, intense loading induced during high-performance activities, e.g., jumping or landing. This study aims to evaluate trunk muscle activity during drop jump in adolescent athletes with back pain (BP) compared to athletes without back pain (NBP). Eleven adolescent athletes suffering back pain (BP: m/f: n = 4/7; 15.9 ± 1.3 y; 176 ± 11 cm; 68 ± 11 kg; 12.4 ± 10.5 h/we training) and 11 matched athletes without back pain (NBP: m/f: n = 4/7; 15.5 ± 1.3 y; 174 ± 7 cm; 67 ± 8 kg; 14.9 ± 9.5 h/we training) were evaluated. Subjects conducted 3 drop jumps onto a force plate (ground reaction force). Bilateral 12-lead SEMG (surface Electromyography) was applied to assess trunk muscle activity. Ground contact time [ms], maximum vertical jump force [N], jump time [ms] and the jump performance index [m/s] were calculated for drop jumps. SEMG amplitudes (RMS: root mean square [%]) for all 12 single muscles were normalized to MIVC (maximum isometric voluntary contraction) and analyzed in 4 time windows (100 ms pre- and 200 ms post-initial ground contact, 100 ms pre- and 200 ms post-landing) as outcome variables. In addition, muscles were grouped and analyzed in ventral and dorsal muscles, as well as straight and transverse trunk muscles. Drop jump ground reaction force variables did not differ between NBP and BP (p > 0.05). Mm obliquus externus and internus abdominis presented higher SEMG amplitudes (1.3–1.9-fold) for BP (p < 0.05). Mm rectus abdominis, erector spinae thoracic/lumbar and latissimus dorsi did not differ (p > 0.05). The muscle group analysis over the whole jumping cycle showed statistically significantly higher SEMG amplitudes for BP in the ventral (p = 0.031) and transverse muscles (p = 0.020) compared to NBP. Higher activity of transverse, but not straight, trunk muscles might indicate a specific compensation strategy to support trunk stability in athletes with back pain during drop jumps. Therefore, exercises favoring the transverse trunk muscles could be recommended for back pain treatment.
This study aimed to determine the relative and absolute reliability of ultrasound (US) measurements of the thickness and echogenicity of the plantar fascia (PF) at different measurement stations along its length using a standardized protocol. Twelve healthy subjects (24 feet) were enrolled. The PF was imaged in the longitudinal plane. Subjects were assessed twice to evaluate the intra-rater reliability. A quantitative evaluation of the thickness and echogenicity of the plantar fascia was performed using Image J, a digital image analysis and viewer software. A sonography evaluation of the thickness and echogenicity of the PF showed a high relative reliability with an Intra class correlation coefficient of 0.88 at all measurement stations. However, the measurement stations for both the PF thickness and echogenicity which showed the highest intraclass correlation coefficient (ICCs) did not have the highest absolute reliability. Compared to other measurement stations, measuring the PF thickness at 3 cm distal and the echogenicity at a region of interest 1 cm to 2 cm distal from its insertion at the medial calcaneal tubercle showed the highest absolute reliability with the least systematic bias and random error. Also, the reliability was higher using a mean of three measurements compared to one measurement. To reduce discrepancies in the interpretation of the thickness and echogenicity measurements of the PF, the absolute reliability of the different measurement stations should be considered in clinical practice and research rather than the relative reliability with the ICC.
Decades of research have demonstrated that physical stress (PS) stimulates bone remodeling and affects bone structure and function through complex mechanotransduction mechanisms. Recent research has laid ground to the hypothesis that mental stress (MS) also influences bone biology, eventually leading to osteoporosis and increased bone fracture risk. These effects are likely exerted by modulation of hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis activity, resulting in an altered release of growth hormones, glucocorticoids and cytokines, as demonstrated in human and animal studies. Furthermore, molecular cross talk between mental and PS is thought to exist, with either synergistic or preventative effects on bone disease progression depending on the characteristics of the applied stressor. This mini review will explain the emerging concept of MS as an important player in bone adaptation and its potential cross talk with PS by summarizing the current state of knowledge, highlighting newly evolving notions (such as intergenerational transmission of stress and its epigenetic modifications affecting bone) and proposing new research directions.
Objectives: Chronic back pain (CBP) can lead to disability and burden. In addition to its medical causes, its development is influenced by psychosocial risk factors, the so-called flag factors, which are categorized and integrated into many treatment guidelines. Currently, most studies investigate single flag factors, which limit the estimation of individual factor significance in the development of chronic pain. Furthermore, factors concerning patients’ lifestyle, biography and treatment history are often neglected. Therefore, the objectives of the present study are to identify commonly neglected factors of CBP and integrate them into an analysis model comparing their significance with established flag factors.
Methods: A total of 24 patients and therapists were cross-sectionally interviewed to identify commonly neglected factors of CBP. Subsequently, the impact of these factors was surveyed in a longitudinal study. In two rehabilitation clinics, CBP patients (n = 145) were examined before and 6 months after a 3-week inpatient rehabilitation. Outcome variables, chronification factor pain experience (CF-PE) and chronification factor disability (CF-D), were ascertained with confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) of standardized questionnaires. Predictors were evaluated using stepwise calculations of simple and multiple regression models.
Results: Through interviews, medical history, iatrogenic factors, poor compliance, critical life events (LEs), social support (SS) type and effort–reward were identified as commonly neglected factors. However, only the final three held significance in comparison to established factors such as depression and pain-related cognitions. Longitudinally, lifestyle factors found to influence future pain were initial pain, physically demanding work, nicotine consumption, gender and rehabilitation clinic. LEs were unexpectedly found to be a strong predictor of future pain, as were the protective factors, reward at work and perceived SS.
Discussion: These findings shed insight regarding often overlooked factors in the development of CBP, suggesting that more detailed operationalization and superordinate frameworks would be beneficial to further research.
Conclusion: In particular, LEs should be taken into account in future research. Protective factors should be integrated in therapeutic settings.
A particular form of social pain is invalidation. Therefore, this study (a) investigates whether patients with chronic low back pain experience invalidation, (b) if it has an influence on their pain, and (c) explores whether various social sources (e.g. partner and work) influence physical pain differentially. A total of 92 patients completed questionnaires, and for analysis, Pearson's correlation coefficients and hierarchical linear regression analyses were conducted. They indicated a significant association between discounting and disability due to pain (respective =.29, p>.05). Especially, discounting by partner was linked to higher disability (=.28, p>.05).
BACKGROUND: Reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) ≤30% is the most powerful prognostic indicator for sudden cardiac death (SCD) in patients after myocardial infarction (MI), but there are little data about long-term changes of LVEF after revascularization and the following implantation of a cardioverter defibrillator (ICD).
METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis of 277 patients with reduced LVEF at least 1month after MI and complete revascularization. Patients (median time post-MI 23.4months; 74.3% after PCI, 25.7% after CABG were assigned either to group 1 (LVEF<30%) or group 2 (LVEF 30-40%). Biplane echocardiography was redone after a mean follow-up of 441±220days.
RESULTS: LVEF increased significantly in both two groups (group 1: 26.2±4.8% to 32.4±8.5%; p<0.001; group 2: 38.2±2.5% to 44.4±9.6%; p<0.001). However, statistical analysis of first and second LVEF measurement by means of a LOWESS regression and with an appropriate correction of the regression towards the mean effect revealed only a moderate increase of the mean LVEF from 35 to 37% (p<0.001) with a large interindividual variation.
CONCLUSIONS: The impact of early revascularization on LVEF appears to be low in the majority of post-MI heart failure patients. Owing to the high variability, a single measurement may not be reliable enough to justify a decision on ICD indication.
The Star Excursion Balance Test (SEBT) is effective in measuring dynamic postural control (DPC). This research aimed to determine whether DPC measured by the SEBT in young athletes (YA) with back pain (BP) is different from those without BP (NBP). 53 BP YA and 53 NBP YA matched for age, height, weight, training years, training sessions/week and training minutes/session were studied. Participants performed 4 practice trials after which 3 measurements in the anterior, posteromedial and posterolateral SEBT reach directions were recorded. Normalized reach distance was analyzed using the mean of all 3 measurements. There was no statistical significant difference (p > 0.05) between the reach distance of BP (87.2 ± 5.3, 82.4 ± 8.2, 78.7 ± 8.1) and NBP (87.8 ± 5.6, 82.4 ± 8.0, 80.0 ± 8.8) in the anterior, posteromedial and posterolateral directions respectively. DPC in YA with BP, as assessed by the SEBT, was not different from NBP YA.
This review analyzes the potential role and long-term effects of field perennial polycultures (mixtures) in agricultural systems, with the aim of reducing the trade-offs between provisioning and regulating ecosystem services. First, crop rotations are identified as a suitable tool for the assessment of the long-term effects of perennial polycultures on ecosystem services, which are not visible at the single-crop level. Second, the ability of perennial polycultures to support ecosystem services when used in crop rotations is quantified through eight agricultural ecosystem services. Legume-grass mixtures and wildflower mixtures are used as examples of perennial polycultures, and compared with silage maize as a typical crop for biomass production. Perennial polycultures enhance soil fertility, soil protection, climate regulation, pollination, pest and weed control, and landscape aesthetics compared with maize. They also score lower for biomass production compared with maize, which confirms the trade-off between provisioning and regulating ecosystem services. However, the additional positive factors provided by perennial polycultures, such as reduced costs for mineral fertilizer, pesticides, and soil tillage, and a significant preceding crop effect that increases the yields of subsequent crops, should be taken into account. However, a full assessment of agricultural ecosystem services requires a more holistic analysis that is beyond the capabilities of current frameworks.
Modifications of transfer RNA (tRNA) have been shown to play critical roles in the biogenesis, metabolism, structural stability and function of RNA molecules, and the specific modifications of nucleobases with sulfur atoms in tRNA are present in pro- and eukaryotes. Here, especially the thiomodifications xm(5)s(2)U at the wobble position 34 in tRNAs for Lys, Gln and Glu, were suggested to have an important role during the translation process by ensuring accurate deciphering of the genetic code and by stabilization of the tRNA structure. The trafficking and delivery of sulfur nucleosides is a complex process carried out by sulfur relay systems involving numerous proteins, which not only deliver sulfur to the specific tRNAs but also to other sulfur-containing molecules including iron-sulfur clusters, thiamin, biotin, lipoic acid and molybdopterin (MPT). Among the biosynthesis of these sulfur-containing molecules, the biosynthesis of the molybdenum cofactor (Moco) and the synthesis of thio-modified tRNAs in particular show a surprising link by sharing protein components for sulfur mobilization in pro- and eukaryotes.
Sequelae of prematurity triggered by oxidative stress and free radical-mediated tissue damage have coined the term "oxygen radical disease of prematurity". Caffeine, a potent free radical scavenger and adenosine receptor antagonist, reduces rates of brain damage in preterm infants. In the present study, we investigated the effects of caffeine on oxidative stress markers, anti-oxidative response, inflammation, redox-sensitive transcription factors, apoptosis, and extracellular matrix following the induction of hyperoxia in neonatal rats. The brain of a rat pups at postnatal Day 6 (P6) corresponds to that of a human fetal brain at 28-32 weeks gestation and the neonatal rat is an ideal model in which to investigate effects of oxidative stress and neuroprotection of caffeine on the developing brain. Six-day-old Wistar rats were pre-treated with caffeine and exposed to 80% oxygen for 24 and 48 h. Caffeine reduced oxidative stress marker (heme oxygenase-1, lipid peroxidation, hydrogen peroxide, and glutamate-cysteine ligase catalytic subunit (GCLC)), promoted anti-oxidative response (superoxide dismutase, peroxiredoxin 1, and sulfiredoxin 1), down-regulated pro-inflammatory cytokines, modulated redox-sensitive transcription factor expression (Nrf2/Keap1, and NF kappa B), reduced pro-apoptotic effectors (poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 (PARP-1), apoptosis inducing factor (AIF), and caspase-3), and diminished extracellular matrix degeneration (matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) 2, and inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMP) 1/2). Our study affirms that caffeine is a pleiotropic neuroprotective drug in the developing brain due to its anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-apoptotic properties.
Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) have the potential to complement antibodies in bioanalysis, are more stable under harsh conditions, and are potentially cheaper to produce. However, the affinity and especially the selectivity of MIPs are in general lower than those of their biological pendants. Enzymes are useful tools for the preparation of MIPs for both low and high-molecular weight targets: As a green alternative to the well-established methods of chemical polymerization, enzyme-initiated polymerization has been introduced and the removal of protein templates by proteases has been successfully applied. Furthermore, MIPs have been coupled with enzymes in order to enhance the analytical performance of biomimetic sensors: Enzymes have been used in MIP-sensors as tracers for the generation and amplification of the measuring signal. In addition, enzymatic pretreatment of an analyte can extend the analyte spectrum and eliminate interferences.
In assessing adolescent behavior difficulties, parents, teachers, and the adolescents themselves are key informants. However, substantial disagreement has been found between informants. Specifically, children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) tend to overestimate their competencies, also known as “positive (illusionary) bias.” This study compared parent, teacher, and adolescent ratings of ADHD and other behavioral symptoms in a sample of 114 adolescents with ADHD. Further, the effect of cross-informant disagreement (CID) on treatment outcomes was investigated in a subsample of 54 adolescents who had undergone a training and coaching intervention. Overall, there was moderate agreement among informants. Parent and adolescent ratings were more strongly correlated with each other than with teacher ratings. The strongest discrepancy was found between teacher and adolescent ratings on prosocial behavior. This discrepancy explained 12% of the variance in parent-rated ADHD symptom severity after the intervention. The treatment was less effective in participants with high teacher-adolescent disagreement on prosocial behavior (d = 0.41) than with low disagreement (d = 0.98). These findings suggest that professionals working with adolescents with ADHD should consider multiple sources of information before initiating treatment and pay attention to cross-informant disagreements because these may indicate a risk of diminished treatment effects.
In October 2016, following a campaign led by Labour Peer Lord
Alfred Dubs, the first child asylum-seekers allowed entry to the UK
under new legislation (the ‘Dubs amendment’) arrived in England.
Their arrival was captured by a heavy media presence, and very
quickly doubts were raised by right-wing tabloids and politicians
about their age. In this article, I explore the arguments
underpinning the Dubs campaign and the media coverage of
the children’s arrival as a starting point for interrogating
representational practices around children who seek asylum. I
illustrate how the campaign was premised on a universal politics
of childhood that inadvertently laid down the terms on which
these children would be given protection, namely their innocence.
The universality of childhood fuels public sympathy for child
asylum-seekers, underlies the ‘child first, migrant second’
approach advocated by humanitarian organisations, and it was a
key argument in the ‘Dubs amendment’. Yet the campaign
highlights how representations of child asylum-seekers rely on
codes that operate to identify ‘unchildlike’ children. As I show, in
the context of the criminalisation of undocumented migrants‘,
childhood is no longer a stable category which guarantees
protection, but is subject to scrutiny and suspicion and can,
ultimately, be disproved.
Reaching the Sustainable Development Goals requires a fundamental socio-economic transformation accompanied by substantial investment in low-carbon infrastructure. Such a sustainability transition represents a non-marginal change, driven by behavioral factors and systemic interactions. However, typical economic models used to assess a sustainability transition focus on marginal changes around a local optimum, whichby constructionlead to negative effects. Thus, these models do not allow evaluating a sustainability transition that might have substantial positive effects. This paper examines which mechanisms need to be included in a standard computable general equilibrium model to overcome these limitations and to give a more comprehensive view of the effects of climate change mitigation. Simulation results show that, given an ambitious greenhouse gas emission constraint and a price of carbon, positive economic effects are possible if (1) technical progress results (partly) endogenously from the model and (2) a policy intervention triggering an increase of investment is introduced. Additionally, if (3) the investment behavior of firms is influenced by their sales expectations, the effects are amplified. The results provide suggestions for policy-makers, because the outcome indicates that investment-oriented climate policies can lead to more desirable outcomes in economic, social and environmental terms.
Background: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes. It is known that GDM is associated with an altered placental function and changes in placental gene regulation. More recent studies demonstrated an involvement of epigenetic mechanisms. So far, the focus regarding placental epigenetic changes in GDM was set on gene-specific DNA methylation analyses. Studies that robustly investigated placental global DNA methylation are lacking. However, several studies showed that tissue-specific alterations in global DNA methylation are independently associated with type 2 diabetes. Thus, the aim of this study was to characterize global placental DNA methylation by robustly measuring placental DNA 5-methylcytosine (5mC) content and to examine whether differences in placental global DNA methylation are associated with GDM.
Methods: Global DNA methylation was quantified by the current gold standard method, LC-MS/MS. In total, 1030 placental samples were analyzed in this single-center birth cohort study.
Results: Mothers with GDM displayed a significantly increased global placental DNA methylation (3.22 ± 0.63 vs. 3.00 ± 0.46 %; p = 0.013; ±SD). Bivariate logistic regression showed a highly significant positive correlation between global placental DNA methylation and the presence of GDM (p = 0.0009). Quintile stratification according to placental DNA 5mC levels revealed that the frequency of GDM was evenly distributed in quintiles 1–4 (2.9–5.3 %), whereas the frequency in the fifth quintile was significantly higher (10.7 %; p = 0.003). Bivariate logistic models adjusted for maternal age, BMI, ethnicity, recurrent miscarriages, and familiar diabetes predisposition clearly demonstrated an independent association between global placental DNA hypermethylation and GDM. Furthermore, an ANCOVA model considering known predictors of DNA methylation substantiated an independent association between GDM and placental DNA methylation.
Conclusions: This is the first study that employed a robust quantitative assessment of placental global DNA methylation in over a thousand placental samples. The study provides large scale evidence that placental global DNA hypermethylation is associated with GDM, independent of established risk factors.
The ecological benefits of polyploidy are intensely debated. Some authors argue that plants with duplicated chromosome sets (polyploids) are more stress-resistant and superior colonizers and may thus outnumber their low ploidy conspecifics in more extreme habitats. Brachypodium distachyon (sensu lato), for example, a common annual grass in Israel and the entire Mediterranean basin, comprises three cytotypes of differing chromosome numbers that were recently proposed as distinct species. It was suggested that increased aridity increases the occurrence of its polyploid cytotype. Here, we tested at two spatial scales whether polyploid plants of B. distachyon s.l. are more frequently found in drier habitats in Israel. We collected a total of 430 specimens (i) along a largescale climatic gradient with 15 thoroughly selected sites (spanning 114–954 mm annual rainfall), and (ii) from corresponding Northern (more mesic) and Southern (more arid) hill slopes to assess the micro-climatic difference between contrasting exposures. Cytotypes were then determined via flow cytometry. Polyploid plants comprised 90% of all specimens and their proportion ranged between 0% and 100% per site. However, this proportion was not correlated with aridity along the large-scale gradient, nor were polyploids more frequently found on Southern exposures. Our results show for both spatial scales that increasing aridity is not the principal driver for the distribution of polyploids in B. distachyon s.l. in Israel. Notably, though, diploid plants were restricted essentially to four intermediate sites, while polyploids dominated the most arid and the most mesic sites. This, to some degree, clustered pattern suggests that the distribution of cytotypes is not entirely random and calls for future studies to assess further potential drivers.
The "Lomonosov" space project is lead by Lomonosov Moscow State University in collaboration with the following key partners: Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Russia, University of California, Los Angeles (USA), University of Pueblo (Mexico), Sungkyunkwan University (Republic of Korea) and with Russian space industry organi-zations to study some of extreme phenomena in space related to astrophysics, astroparticle physics, space physics, and space biology. The primary goals of this experiment are to study:
-Ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECR) in the energy range of the Greizen-ZatsepinKuzmin (GZK) cutoff;
-Ultraviolet (UV) transient luminous events in the upper atmosphere;
-Multi-wavelength study of gamma-ray bursts in visible, UV, gamma, and X-rays;
-Energetic trapped and precipitated radiation (electrons and protons) at low-Earth orbit (LEO) in connection with global geomagnetic disturbances;
-Multicomponent radiation doses along the orbit of spacecraft under different geomagnetic conditions and testing of space segments of optical observations of space-debris and other space objects;
-Instrumental vestibular-sensor conflict of zero-gravity phenomena during space flight.
This paper is directed towards the general description of both scientific goals of the project and scientific equipment on board the satellite. The following papers of this issue are devoted to detailed descriptions of scientific instruments.
VS30, slope, H800 and f0
(2017)
The aim of this paper is to investigate the ability of various site-condition proxies (SCPs) to reduce ground-motion aleatory variability and evaluate how SCPs capture nonlinearity site effects. The SCPs used here are time-averaged shear-wave velocity in the top 30 m (VS30), the topographical slope (slope), the fundamental resonance frequency (f0) and the depth beyond which Vs exceeds 800 m/s (H800). We considered first the performance of each SCP taken alone and then the combined performance of the 6 SCP pairs [VS30–f0], [VS30–H800], [f0–slope], [H800–slope], [VS30–slope] and [f0–H800]. This analysis is performed using a neural network approach including a random effect applied on a KiK-net subset for derivation of ground-motion prediction equations setting the relationship between various ground-motion parameters such as peak ground acceleration, peak ground velocity and pseudo-spectral acceleration PSA (T), and Mw, RJB, focal depth and SCPs. While the choice of SCP is found to have almost no impact on the median groundmotion prediction, it does impact the level of aleatory uncertainty. VS30 is found to perform the best of single proxies
at short periods (T < 0.6 s), while f0 and H800 perform better at longer periods; considering SCP pairs leads to significant improvements, with particular emphasis on [VS30–H800] and [f0–slope] pairs. The results also indicate significant nonlinearity on the site terms for soft sites and that the most relevant loading parameter for characterising nonlinear site response is the “stiff” spectral ordinate at the considered period.
Residents of the Kathmandu Valley experience severe particulate and gaseous air pollution throughout most of the year, even during much of the rainy season. The knowledge base for understanding the air pollution in the Kathmandu Valley was previously very limited, but is improving rapidly due to several field measurement studies conducted in the last few years. Thus far, most analyses of observations in the Kathmandu Valley have been limited to short periods of time at single locations. This study extends on the past studies by examining the spatial and temporal characteristics of two important gaseous air pollutant (CO and O3) based on simultaneous observations over a longer period at five locations within the valley and on its rim, including a supersite (at Bode in the valley center, 1345m above sea level) and four satellite sites (at Paknajol, 1380masl in the Kathmandu city center, at Bhimdhunga (1522masl), a mountain pass on the valley's western rim, at Nagarkot (1901masl), another mountain pass on the eastern rim, and Naikhandi, near the valley's only river outlet). CO and O3 mixing ratios were monitored from January to July 2013, along with other gases and aerosol particles by instruments deployed at the Bode supersite during the international air pollution measurement campaign SusKat-ABC (Sustainable Atmosphere for the Kathmandu Valley – endorsed by the Atmospheric Brown Clouds program of UNEP). The O3 monitoring at Bode, Paknajol and Nagarkot as well as the CO monitoring at Bode were extended beyond July 2013 to investigate their variability over a complete annual cycle. Higher CO mixing ratios were found at Bode than at the outskirt sites (Bhimdhunga, Naikhandi and Nagarkot), and all sites except Nagarkot showed distinct diurnal cycles of CO mixing ratio with morning peaks and daytime lows. Seasonally, CO was higher during the pre-monsoon and winter seasons, especially due to the emissions from brick kiln industries, which only operate during this period, as well as increased domestic heating during winter, and regional forest fires and agro-residue burning. It was lower during the monsoon due to rainfall, which reduces open burning activities within the valley and in the surrounding regions, and thus reduces the sources of CO. The meteorology of the valley also played a key role in determining the CO mixing ratios. Furthermore, there was evidence of some influence of pollution from the greater region around the valley. A top-down estimate of the CO emission flux was made by using the CO mixing ratio and mixing layer height (MLH) measured at Bode. The estimated annual CO flux at Bode was 4.92μgm−2s−1, which is 2–14 times higher than that in widely used emission inventory databases (EDGAR HTAP, REAS and INTEX-B). This difference in CO flux between Bode and other emission databases likely arises from large uncertainties in both the top-down and bottom-up approaches to estimating the emission flux. The O3 mixing ratio was found to be highest during the pre-monsoon season at all sites, while the timing of the seasonal minimum varied across the sites. The daily maximum 8 hour average O3 exceeded the WHO recommended guideline of 50ppb on more days at the hilltop station of Nagarkot (159/357 days) than at the urban valley bottom sites of Paknajol (132/354 days) and Bode (102/353 days), presumably due to the influence of free-tropospheric air at the high-altitude site, as well as to titration of O3 by fresh NOx emissions near the urban sites. More than 78% of the exceedance days were during the pre-monsoon period at all sites. This was due to both favorable meteorological conditions as well as contributions of precursors from regional sources such as forest fires and agro-residue burning. The high O3 mixing ratio observed during the pre-monsoon period is of a high concern for human health and ecosystems, including agroecosystems in the Kathmandu Valley and surrounding regions.
School adjustment determines long-term adjustment in society. Yet, immigrant youth do better in some countries than in others. Drawing on acculturation research (Berry, 1997; Ward, 2001) and self-determination theory (Ryan and Deci, 2000), we investigated indirect effects of adolescent immigrants’ acculturation orientations on school adjustment (school-related attitudes, truancy, and mathematics achievement) through school belonging. Analyses were based on data from the Programme for International Student Assessment from six European countries, which were combined into three clusters based on their migrant integration and multicultural policies: Those with the most supportive policies (Belgium and Finland), those with moderately supportive policies (Italy and Portugal), and those with the most unsupportive policies (Denmark and Slovenia). In a multigroup path model, we confirmed most associations. As expected, mainstream orientation predicted higher belonging and better outcomes in all clusters, whereas the added value of students’ ethnic orientation was only observed in some clusters. Results are discussed in terms of differences in acculturative climate and policies between countries of settlement.
Schools are a major context for academic and socio-emotional development, but
also an important acculturative context. This is notably the case in adolescence,
which is a critical period for the development of a social and ethnic identity, as
well as moral reasoning and intergroup attitudes. How schools approach cultural
diversity issues is therefore likely to affect these developmental and acculturative
processes and adaptation outcomes. In the present article, the manifestation
and effects of the most prominent approaches to cultural diversity, namely
those guided by a perspective of equality and inclusion, and those guided by
a perspective of cultural pluralism, are reviewed and compared in the context
of multi-ethnic schools. The aim is to explore when and how the potential of
cultural diversity can best flourish, enhancing the academic and socio-emotional
development of culturally diverse students.
Across currents
(2017)
The purpose of the project was to develop the Discounting Inventory (DI), a measure of individual differences in delay, probability, effort, and social discounting, all related to behavioral impulsivity. Over 400 items relating to four types of discounting were generated. Next, a study followed by a series of psychometric analyses of data obtained from a group of 2843 individuals was conducted. Principal Component Analysis yielded a four-factor structure of data, reflecting the four types of discounting. The results of Confirmatory Factor Analysis showed good fit of the four-factor model to data. Through several iterations of retaining and deleting items on the basis of their component loadings, item intercorrelations, and contribution to coefficient alphas, the total number of items was reduced to 48. The final 48-item version of the inventory has satisfactory psychometric characteristics, including Cronbach’s alpha and test–retest stability. In addition, significant correlations were observed between the DI and traditional discounting instruments, suggesting that the DI measures a construct similar to the behavioral discounting process. The development of the tool was based on the assumption that discounting is a personality trait. However, the present data suggest that discounting may reflect more a state than trait function.
Cancer cachexia, of which the most notable symptom is severe and rapid weight loss, is present in the majority of patients with advanced cancer. Inflammatory mediators play an important role in the development of cachexia, envisaged as a chronic inflammatory syndrome. The white adipose tissue (WAT) is one of the first compartments affected in cancer cachexia and suffers a high rate of lipolysis. It secretes several cytokines capable of directly regulating intermediate metabolism. A common pathway in the regulation of the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines in WAT is the activation of the nuclear transcription factor kappa-B (NF-κB). We have examined the gene expression of the subunits NF-κBp65 and NF-κBp50, as well as NF-κBp65 and NF-κBp50 binding, the gene expression of pro-inflammatory mediators under NF-κB control (IL-1β, IL-6, INF-γ, TNF-α, MCP-1), and its inhibitory protein, nuclear factor of kappa light polypeptide gene enhancer in B-cells inhibitor, alpha (IκB-α). The observational study involved 35 patients (control group, n = 12 and cancer group, n = 23, further divided into cachectic and non-cachectic). NF-κBp65 and its target genes expression (TNF-α, IL-1β, MCP-1 and IκB-α) were significantly higher in cachectic cancer patients. Moreover, NF-κBp65 gene expression correlated positively with the expression of its target genes. The results strongly suggest that the NF-κB pathway plays a role in the promotion of WAT inflammation during cachexia.
The transition from hunting and gathering to farming involved profound cultural and technological changes. In Western and Central Europe, these changes occurred rapidly and synchronously after the arrival of early farmers of Anatolian origin [1-3], who largely replaced the local Mesolithic hunter-gatherers [1, 4-6]. Further east, in the Baltic region, the transition was gradual, with little or no genetic input from incoming farmers [7]. Here we use ancient DNA to investigate the relationship between hunter-gatherers and farmers in the Lower Danube basin, a geographically intermediate area that is characterized by a rapid Neolithic transition but also by the presence of archaeological evidence that points to cultural exchange, and thus possible admixture, between hunter-gatherers and farmers. We recovered four human paleogenomes (1.13 to 4.13 coverage) from Romania spanning a time transect between 8.8 thousand years ago (kya) and 5.4 kya and supplemented them with two Mesolithic genomes (1.73- and 5.33) from Spain to provide further context on the genetic background of Mesolithic Europe. Our results show major Western hunter-gatherer (WHG) ancestry in a Romanian Eneolithic sample with a minor, but sizeable, contribution from Anatolian farmers, suggesting multiple admixture events between hunter-gatherers and farmers. Dietary stableisotope analysis of this sample suggests a mixed terrestrial/ aquatic diet. Our results provide support for complex interactions among hunter-gatherers and farmers in the Danube basin, demonstrating that in some regions, demic and cultural diffusion were not mutually exclusive, but merely the ends of a continuum for the process of Neolithization.
Palaeogenomes of Eurasian straight-tusked elephants challenge the current view of elephant evolution
(2017)
The straight-tusked elephants Palaeoloxodon spp. were widespread across Eurasia during the Pleistocene. Phylogenetic reconstructions using morphological traits have grouped them with Asian elephants (Elephas maximus), and many paleontologists place Palaeoloxodon within Elephas. Here, we report the recovery of full mitochondrial genomes from four and partial nuclear genomes from two P. antiquus fossils. These fossils were collected at two sites in Germany, Neumark-Nord and Weimar-Ehringsdorf, and likely date to interglacial periods similar to 120 and similar to 244 thousand years ago, respectively. Unexpectedly, nuclear and mitochondrial DNA analyses suggest that P. antiquus was a close relative of extant African forest elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis). Species previously referred to Palaeoloxodon are thus most parsimoniously explained as having diverged from the lineage of Loxodonta, indicating that Loxodonta has not been constrained to Africa. Our results demonstrate that the current picture of elephant evolution is in need of substantial revision.
The article explores Europeanisation as an effect of European political integration, a process driven by struggles over the legitimate political and social order that is to prevail in Europe. Firstly, an analytic framework is constructed, drawing on insights from Pierre Bourdieu’s work on similar struggles over nation-stateness. Secondly, the mechanisms identified are used to assess the role played by economic experts and expertise in the process of European political integration. It is argued that concepts arising from economic disciplines, agents educated in economics, and practising economic professionals influence European political integration and have benefited from Europeanisation initiated by this process. Special emphasis is placed on strategies of integrating Europe by law or by market, on governing Europe using economic expertise, on the role played by economic academia in researching and objectifying Europe, and on staffing European institutions with economists.
Is there an ideal time window for language acquisition after which nativelike
representation and processing are unattainable? Although this question has
been heavily debated, no consensus has been reached. Here, we present
evidence for a sensitive period in language development and show that it is
specific to grammar. We conducted a masked priming task with a group of
Turkish-German bilinguals and examined age of acquisition (AoA) effects on
the processing of complex words. We compared a subtle but meaningful
linguistic contrast, that between grammatical inflection and lexical-based
derivation. The results showed a highly selective AoA effect on inflectional
(but not derivational) priming. In addition, the effect displayed a discontinuity
indicative of a sensitive period: Priming from inflected forms was nativelike
when acquisition started before the age of 5 but declined with increasing
AoA. We conclude that the acquisition of morphological rules expressing
morphosyntactic properties is constrained by maturational factors.
Many educational technology proponents support the Technological
Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) model as a way to
conceptualize teaching with technology, but recent TPACK research
shows a need for empirical studies regarding the development of this
knowledge. This proof-of-concept study applies mixed-methods to
investigate the meta-cognitive awareness produced by teachers who
participate in the Graphic Assessment of TPACK Instrument (GATI).
This process involves creating graphical representations (circles of
differing sizes and the degree of their overlap) that represent what
teachers understand to be their current and aspired TPACK. This study
documented teachers’ explanations during a think-aloud procedure as
they created their GATI figures. The in-depth data from two German
teachers who participated in the process captured the details of their
experience and demonstrated the potential of the GATI to support
teachers in reflecting about their professional knowledge and in
determining their own professional development activities. These
findings will be informative to future pilot studies involving the larger
design of the GATI process, to better understand the role of teachers’
meta-conceptual awareness, and to better ascertain how the GATI
might be used to support professional development on a larger scale.
Between-school variation in students' achievement, motivation, affect, and learning strategies
(2017)
To plan group-randomized trials where treatment conditions are assigned to schools, researchers need design parameters that provide information about between-school differences in outcomes as well as the amount of variance that can be explained by covariates at the student (L1) and school (L2) levels. Most previous research has offered these parameters for U.S. samples and for achievement as the outcome. This paper and the online supplementary materials provide design parameters for 81 countries in three broad outcome categories (achievement, affect and motivation, and learning strategies) for domain-general and domain-specific (mathematics, reading, and science) measures. Sociodemographic characteristics were used as covariates. Data from representative samples of 15-year-old students stemmed from five cycles of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA; total number of students/schools: 1,905,147/70,098). Between-school differences as well as the amount of variance explained at L1 and L2 varied widely across countries and educational outcomes, demonstrating the limited generalizability of design parameters across these dimensions. The use of the design parameters to plan group-randomized trials is illustrated.
Coping, taming or solving
(2017)
One of the truisms of policy analysis is that policy problems are
rarely solved. As an ever-increasing number of policy issues are
identified as an inherently ill-structured and intractable type of
wicked problem, the question of what policy analysis sets out
to accomplish has emerged as more central than ever. If solving
wicked problems is beyond reach, research on wicked problems
needs to provide a clearer understanding of the alternatives.
The article identifies and explicates three distinguishable
strategies of problem governance: coping, taming and solving.
It shows that their intellectual premises and practical
implications clearly contrast in core respects. The article argues
that none of the identified strategies of problem governance is
invariably more suitable for dealing with wicked problems.
Rather than advocate for some universally applicable approach
to the governance of wicked problems, the article asks under
what conditions different ways of governing wicked problems
are analytically reasonable and normatively justified. It
concludes that a more systematic assessment of alternative
approaches of problem governance requires a reorientation of
the debate away from the conception of wicked problems as a
singular type toward the more focused analysis of different
dimensions of problem wickedness.
This study investigates the comprehension of wh-questions in individuals with aphasia (IWA) speaking Turkish, a non-wh-movement language, and German, a wh-movement language. We examined six German-speaking and 11 Turkish-speaking IWA using picture-pointing tasks. Findings from our experiments show that the Turkish IWA responded more accurately to both object who and object which questions than to subject questions, while the German IWA performed better for subject which questions than in all other conditions. Using random forest models, a machine learning technique used in tree-structured classification, on the individual data revealed that both the Turkish and German IWA’s response accuracy is largely predicted by the presence of overt and unambiguous case marking. We discuss our results with regard to different theoretical approaches to the comprehension of wh-questions in aphasia.
The general purpose of this systematic review was to summarize, structure and evaluate the findings on automatic evaluations of exercising. Studies were eligible for inclusion if they reported measuring automatic evaluations of exercising with an implicit measure and assessed some kind of exercise variable. Fourteen nonexperimental and six experimental studies (out of a total N = 1,928) were identified and rated by two independent reviewers. The main study characteristics were extracted and the grade of evidence for each study evaluated. First, results revealed a large heterogeneity in the applied measures to assess automatic evaluations of exercising and the exercise variables. Generally, small to large-sized significant relations between automatic evaluations of exercising and exercise variables were identified in the vast majority of studies. The review offers a systematization of the various examined exercise variables and prompts to differentiate more carefully between actually observed exercise behavior (proximal exercise indicator) and associated physiological or psychological variables (distal exercise indicator). Second, a lack of transparent reported reflections on the differing theoretical basis leading to the use of specific implicit measures was observed. Implicit measures should be applied purposefully, taking into consideration the individual advantages or disadvantages of the measures. Third, 12 studies were rated as providing first-grade evidence (lowest grade of evidence), five represent second-grade and three were rated as third-grade evidence. There is a dramatic lack of experimental studies, which are essential for illustrating the cause-effect relation between automatic evaluations of exercising and exercise and investigating under which conditions automatic evaluations of exercising influence behavior. Conclusions about the necessity of exercise interventions targeted at the alteration of automatic evaluations of exercising should therefore not be drawn too hastily.