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We studied the development of cognitive abilities related to intelligence and creativity
(N = 48, 6–10 years old), using a longitudinal design (over one school year), in order
to evaluate an Enrichment Program for gifted primary school children initiated by
the government of the German federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate (Entdeckertag
Rheinland Pfalz, Germany; ET; Day of Discoverers). A group of German primary school
children (N = 24), identified earlier as intellectually gifted and selected to join the
ET program was compared to a gender-, class- and IQ- matched group of control
children that did not participate in this program. All participants performed the Standard
Progressive Matrices (SPM) test, which measures intelligence in well-defined problem
space; the Creative Reasoning Task (CRT), which measures intelligence in ill-defined
problem space; and the test of creative thinking-drawing production (TCT-DP), which
measures creativity, also in ill-defined problem space. Results revealed that problem
space matters: the ET program is effective only for the improvement of intelligence
operating in well-defined problem space. An effect was found for intelligence as
measured by SPM only, but neither for intelligence operating in ill-defined problem space
(CRT) nor for creativity (TCT-DP). This suggests that, depending on the type of problem
spaces presented, different cognitive abilities are elicited in the same child. Therefore,
enrichment programs for gifted, but also for children attending traditional schools,
should provide opportunities to develop cognitive abilities related to intelligence,
operating in both well- and ill-defined problem spaces, and to creativity in a parallel,
using an interactive approach.
To investigate whether participants can activate only one spatially oriented number line at a time or
multiple number lines simultaneously, they were asked to solve a unit magnitude comparison task
(unit smaller/larger than 5) and a parity judgment task (even/odd) on two-digit numbers. In both these
primary tasks, decades were irrelevant. After some of the primary task trials (randomly), participants
were asked to additionally solve a secondary task based on the previously presented number. In
Experiment 1, they had to decide whether the two-digit number presented for the primary task was
larger or smaller than 50. Thus, for the secondary task decades were relevant. In contrast, in Experiment
2, the secondary task was a color judgment task, which means decades were irrelevant. In Experiment
1, decades’ and units’ magnitudes influenced the spatial association of numbers separately. In contrast,
in Experiment 2, only the units were spatially associated with magnitude. It was concluded that
multiple number lines (one for units and one for decades) can be activated if attention is focused on
multiple, separate magnitude attributes.
Durch die stetige Zunahme von dezentralen Erzeugungsanlagen, den anstehenden Smart-Meter Rollout sowie die zu erwartende Elektrifizierung des Verkehrssektors (E-Mobilität) steht die Netzplanung und Netzbetriebsführung von Niederspannungsnetzen (NS-Netzen) in Deutschland vor großen Herausforderungen. In den letzten Jahren wurden daher viele Studien, Forschungs- und Demonstrationsprojekte zu den oben genannten Themen durchge-führt und die Ergebnisse sowie die entwickelten Methoden publiziert. Jedoch lassen sich die publizierten Methoden meist nicht nachbilden bzw. validieren, da die Untersuchungsmodelle oder die angesetzten Szenarien für Dritte nicht nachvollziehbar sind. Es fehlen einheitliche Netzmodelle, die die deutschen NS-Netze abbilden und für Ver-gleichsuntersuchungen herangezogen werden können, ähnlich dem Beispiel der nordamerikanischen Verteilnetzmodelle des IEEE.
Im Gegensatz zum Übertragungsnetz, dessen Struktur hinreichend genau bekannt ist, sind passende Netzmodelle für NS-Netze wegen der hohen Anzahlen der NS-Netze und Verteilnetzbetreiber (VNB) nur schwer abzubilden. Des Weiteren ist eine detaillierte Darstellung realer NS-Netze in wissenschaftlichen Publikationen aus daten-schutzrechtlichen Gründen meist nicht erwünscht. Für Untersuchungen im Rahmen eines Forschungsprojekts wurden darum möglichst charakteristische synthetische NS-Netzmodelle erstellt, die sich an gängigen deutschen Siedlungsstrukturen und üblichen Netzplanungsgrundsätzen orientieren. In dieser Arbeit werden diese NS-Netzmodelle sowie ihre Entwicklung im Detail erklärt. Damit stehen erstmals für die Öffentlichkeit nachvollziehbare NS-Netzmodelle für den deutschsprachigen Raum zur Verfügung. Sie können als Benchmark für wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen sowie zur Methodenentwicklung verwendet werden.
The size congruity effect involves interference between numerical magnitude and physical size of visually presented numbers: congruent numbers (either both small or both large in numerical magnitude and physical size) are responded to faster than incongruent ones (small numerical magnitude/large physical size or vice versa). Besides, numerical magnitude is associated with lateralized response codes, leading to the Spatial Numerical Association of Response Codes (SNARC) effect: small numerical magnitudes are preferably responded to on the left side and large ones on the right side. Whereas size congruity effects are ascribed to interference between stimulus dimensions in the decision stage, SNARC effects are understood as (in)compatibilities in stimulus-response combinations. Accordingly, size congruity and SNARC effects were previously found to be independent in parity and in physical size judgment tasks. We investigated their dependency in numerical magnitude judgment tasks. We obtained independent size congruity and SNARC effects in these tasks and replicated this observation for the parity judgment task. The results confirm and extend the notion that size congruity and SNARC effects operate in different representational spaces. We discuss possible implications for number representation.
We report on generation of pulsed broadband terahertz radiation utilizing the inverse spin hall effect in Fe/Pt bilayers on MgO and sapphire substrates. The emitter was optimized with respect to layer thickness, growth parameters, substrates and geometrical arrangement. The experimentally determined optimum layer thicknesses were in qualitative agreement with simulations of the spin current induced in the ferromagnetic layer. Our model takes into account generation of spin polarization, spin diffusion and accumulation in Fe and Pt and electrical as well as optical properties of the bilayer samples. Using the device in a counterintuitive orientation a Si lens was attached to increase the collection efficiency of the emitter. The optimized emitter provided a bandwidth of up to 8 THz which was mainly limited by the low-temperature-grown GaAs (LT-GaAS) photoconductive antenna used as detector and the pulse length of the pump laser. The THz pulse length was as short as 220 fs for a sub 100 fs pulse length of the 800 nm pump laser. Average pump powers as low as 25 mW (at a repetition rate of 75 MHz) have been used for terahertz generation. This and the general performance make the spintronic terahertz emitter compatible with established emitters based on optical rectification in nonlinear crystals.
Ecophysiological characterizations of photoautotrophic communities are not only necessary to identify the response of carbon fixation related to different climatic factors, but also to evaluate risks connected to changing environments. In biological soil crusts (BSCs), the description of ecophysiological features is difficult, due to the high variability in taxonomic composition and variable methodologies applied. Especially for BSCs in early successional stages, the available datasets are rare or focused on individual constituents, although these crusts may represent the only photoautotrophic component in many heavily disturbed ruderal areas, such as parking lots or building areas with increasing surface area worldwide. We analyzed the response of photosynthesis and respiration to changing BSC water contents (WCs), temperature and light in two early successional BSCs. We investigated whether the response of these parameters was different between intact BSC and the isolated dominating components. BSCs dominated by the cyanobacterium Nostoc commune and dominated by the green alga Zygogonium ericetorum were examined. A major divergence between the two BSCs was their absolute carbon fixation rate on a chlorophyll basis, which was significantly higher for the cyanobacterial crust. Nevertheless, independent of species composition, both crust types and their isolated organisms had convergent features such as high light acclimatization and a minor and very late-occurring depression in carbon uptake at water suprasaturation. This particular setup of ecophysiological features may enable these communities to cope with a high variety of climatic stresses and may therefore be a reason for their success in heavily disturbed areas with ongoing human impact. However, the shape of the response was different for intact BSC compared to separated organisms, especially in absolute net photosynthesis (NP) rates. This emphasizes the importance of measuring intact BSCs under natural conditions for collecting reliable data for meaningful analysis of BSC ecosystem services.
Initiated by a task in tunable microoptics, but not limited to this application, a microfluidic droplet array in an upright standing module with 3 × 3 subcells and droplet actuation via electrowetting is presented. Each subcell is filled with a single (of course transparent) water droplet, serving as a movable iris, surrounded by opaque blackened decane. Each subcell measures 1 × 1 mm ² and incorporates 2 × 2 quadratically arranged positions for the droplet. All 3 × 3 droplets are actuated synchronously by electrowetting on dielectric (EWOD). The droplet speed is up to 12 mm/s at 130 V (Vrms) with response times of about 40 ms. Minimum operating voltage is 30 V. Horizontal and vertical movement of the droplets is demonstrated. Furthermore, a minor modification of the subcells allows us to exploit the flattening of each droplet. Hence, the opaque decane fluid sample can cover each water droplet and render each subcell opaque, resulting in switchable irises of constant opening diameter. The concept does not require any mechanically moving parts or external pumps.
In separation processes not only thermodynamic bulk but also interfacial properties play a crucial role. In
classical theory, a vapour-liquid interface is a two-dimensional object. In reality it is a region in which
properties change over a few nanometres and the density changes continuously from its liquid bulk to its gas
bulk value. Many mixtures show unexpected effects in that transition region. While the total density changes
monotonously from the bulk vapour to the bulk liquid, this does not hold for the molarities of the components.
The molarities of the light boiling component can have a distinct maximum at the interface. That maximum
would be an insurmountable obstacle to mass transfer according to Fickian theory. Even if that argument is
not adopted, it shows that there is good reason to believe that the maximum may affect mass transfer and,
hence, fluid separation processes like absorption or distillation. Unfortunately, there are currently no
experimental methods that can be used for direct studies of density profiles in such interfacial regions. But
such data can be obtained with theoretical methods, namely with molecular dynamics simulations (MD) as
well as with density gradient theory (DGT) or with density functional theory (DFT) combined with an equation
of state (EOS).
Studies from our group on the vapour-liquid interface of several real mixtures and a model fluid using these
methods yield consistent results and reveal an important enrichment in some cases. Strong enrichment is
found at vapour-liquid interfaces in the systems in which one of the components is supercritical. These results
indicate that mixtures, which are typical for absorption processes usually show an important enrichment,
whereas this is not the case for mixtures that are typically separated by distillation.
Based on the Lindblad master equation approach we obtain a detailed microscopic model of photons in a dye-filled cavity, which features condensation of light. To this end we generalise a recent non-equilibrium approach of Kirton and Keeling such that the dye-mediated contribution to the photon-photon interaction in the light condensate is accessible due to an interplay of coherent and dissipative dynamics. We describe the steady-state properties of the system by analysing the resulting equations of motion of both photonic and matter degrees of freedom. In particular, we discuss the existence of two limiting cases for steady states: photon Bose-Einstein condensate and laser-like. In the former case, we determine the corresponding dimensionless photon-photon interaction strength by relying on realistic experimental data and find a good agreement with previous theoretical estimates. Furthermore, we investigate how the dimensionless interaction strength depends on the respective system parameters.
We isolated an encysted ciliate from a geothermal field in Iceland. The morphological features of this isolate fit the descriptions of Dexiotricha colpidiopsis (Kahl, 1926) Jankowski, 1964 very well. These comprise body shape and size in vivo, the number of somatic kineties, and the positions of macronucleus and contractile vacuole. Using state-of-the-art taxonomic methods, the species is redescribed, including phylogenetic analyses of the small subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU rRNA) gene as molecular marker. In the phylogenetic analyses, D. colpidiopsis clusters with the three available SSU rRNA gene sequences of congeners, suggesting a monophyly of the genus Dexiotricha. Its closest relative in phylogenetic analyses is D. elliptica, which also shows a high morphological similarity. This is the first record of a Dexiotricha species from a hot spring, indicating a wide temperature tolerance of this species at least in the encysted state. The new findings on D. colpidiopsis are included in a briefly revision of the scuticociliate genus Dexiotricha and an identification key to the species.
Słowa kluczowe: Dexiotricha, hot spring, morphology, phylogeny, SSU rRNA gene
In this paper, we demonstrate the power of functional data models for a statistical analysis of stimulus-response experiments which is a quite natural way to look at this kind of data and which makes use of the full information available. In particular, we focus on the detection of a change in the mean of the response in a series of stimulus-response curves where we also take into account dependence in time.
Influence of the Crystal Surface on the Austenitic and Martensitic Phase Transition in Pure Iron
(2018)
Using classical molecular dynamics simulations, we studied the influence that free
surfaces exert on the austenitic and martensitic phase transition in iron. For several single-indexed
surfaces—such as (100)bcc and (110)bcc as well as (100)fcc and (110)fcc surfaces—appropriate
pathways exist that allow for the transformation of the surface structure. These are the Bain,
Mao, Pitsch, and Kurdjumov–Sachs pathways, respectively. Tilted surfaces follow the pathway
of the neighboring single-indexed plane. The austenitic transformation temperature follows the
dependence of the specific surface energy of the native bcc phase; here, the new phase nucleates at
the surface. In contrast, the martensitic transformation temperature steadily decreases when tilting
the surface from the (100)fcc to the (110)fcc orientation. This dependence is caused by the strong
out-of-plane deformation that (110)fcc facets experience under the transformation; here, the new
phase also nucleates in the bulk rather than at the surface.
The scales of white beetles strongly scatter light within a thin disordered network of
chitin filaments. There is no comparable artificial material achieving such a high scat-
tering strength within a thin layer of low refractive index material. Several analyses
investigated the scattering but could not explain the underlying concept. Here a model
system is described, which has the same optical properties as the white beetles’ scales
in the visible wavelength range. With some modification, it also explains the behavior
of the structures in the near infrared range. The comparison of the original structure and
the model system is done by finite-difference time-domain calculations. The calcula-
tions show excellent agreement with the beetles’ scales with respect to the reflectance,
the time-of-flight, and the intensity distribution in the far-field.
Poor posture in childhood and adolescence is held responsible for the occurrence
of associated disorders in adult age. This study aimed to verify whether body
posture in adolescence can be enhanced through the improvement of neuromuscular
performance, attained by means of targeted strength, stretch, and body perception
training, and whether any such improvement might also transition into adulthood. From
a total of 84 volunteers, the posture development of 67 adolescents was checked
annually between the age of 14 and 20 based on index values in three posture
situations. 28 adolescents exercised twice a week for about 2 h up to the age of 18, 24
adolescents exercised continually up to the age of 20. Both groups practiced other
additional sports for about 1.8 h/week. Fifteen persons served as a non-exercising
control group, practicing optional sports of about 1.8 h/week until the age of 18,
after that for 0.9 h/week. Group allocation was not random, but depended on the
participants’ choice. A linear mixed model was used to analyze the development
of posture indexes among the groups and over time and the possible influence of
anthropometric parameters (weight, size), of optional athletic activity and of sedentary
behavior. The post hoc pairwise comparison was performed applying the Scheffé test.
The significance level was set at 0.05. The group that exercised continually (TR20)
exhibited a significant posture parameter improvement in all posture situations from
the 2nd year of exercising on. The group that terminated their training when reaching
adulthood (TR18) retained some improvements, such as conscious straightening of the
body posture. In other posture situations (habitual, closed eyes), their posture results
declined again from age 18. The effect sizes determined were between Eta² = 0.12 and
Eta² = 0.19 and represent moderate to strong effects. The control group did not exhibit
any differences. Anthropometric parameters, additional athletic activities and sedentary
behavior did not influence the posture parameters significantly. An additional athletic
training of 2 h per week including elements for improved body perception seems to
have the potential to improve body posture in symptom free male adolescents and
young adults.
Während des Forschungsprozesses zur Erstellung einer wissenschaftlichen Arbeit müssen zahlreiche Entscheidungen getroffen und auch gerechtfertigt werden. Dies gilt nicht nur für konzeptionelle Arbeiten, sondern insbesondere auch für empirisch ausgerichtete Arbeiten. In diesem Zusammenhang leistet der vorliegende Leitfaden einen Beitrag zur konzeptionellen sowie anwendungsbezogenen empirischen Grundlagenforschung im Controlling unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Vorgehensweise am Lehrstuhl für Unternehmensrechnung und Controlling. Das zentrale
Ziel des Leitfadens liegt dabei in dem Aufzeigen eines Überblicks über die Grundlagen der empirischen Forschung im Controlling. Hierzu wird in einem ersten Schritt die wissenschaftstheoretische Relevanz der fundierten empirischen Forschung im Kontext realwissenschaftlicher Untersuchungen aufgezeigt und diese mit dem Forschungskonzept des Lehrstuhls verknüpft. Hieran anschließend werden einige empirische Forschungsdesigns vorgestellt, wobei insbesondere die Methodik der Vignetten-studie näher erörtert wird. Abschließend befasst sich der folgende Beitrag mit der konzeptionell fundierten Durchführung einer empirischen Studie anhand des 6-Phasen-Modells nach Reiß und Sarris (2012).
Betrachtet man sowohl die klassische betriebs-wirtschaftliche Literatur als auch die Literatur der Controlling-Forschung, so ist ersichtlich, dass jeweils eine Anspruchskongruenz der Eigenkapitalgeber unterstellt wird, welche zu einem einheitlichen Diskontsatz führt, wie dies insbesondere auch im Shareholder Value-Ansatz deutlich wird. Grundlage dieses Postulates ist die neoklassische Theorie, welche unter restriktiven Prämissen die Einmütigkeit der Shareholder hinsichtlich des Formalziels „Shareholder Value“-Maximierung modelltheoretisch abzuleiten vermag. Hierbei werden jedoch ein vollkommener Kapitalmarkt sowie eine Entscheidungssituation unter Sicherheit vorausgesetzt. Beide Prämissen sind auf realen Märkten nicht gegeben. Trotz dieser fehlenden modelltheoretisch strengen Einmütigkeit können jedoch Unternehmen, wie auch empirisch zu sehen ist, offensichtlich durchaus (in gewissen Grenzen) divergierende Shareholderansprüche inkorporieren, welches mit den traditionellen Modellen nicht plausibel abzubilden ist.
Die Frage, wie dies dennoch konzeptionell begründet werden könnte, konstituiert die Ausgangsgrundlage dieses Forschungsbeitrags. Hierbei werden zuerst die standardökonomischen Ansätze zur Klärung der Einmütigkeitsfrage kritisch reflektiert, bevor mit dem Konzept der bounded rationality nach Simon und Gigerenzer eine verhaltenswissenschaftliche Gegenposition eingenommen wird. Diese kann, wie gezeigt wird, als konzeptionelle Grundlage dienen, um die empirisch evidente, hinreichende Einmütigkeit unter den Eigenkapitalgebern eines Unternehmens zu erklären. Hierbei stellt sich jedoch für das Management die zentrale Frage, wie hoch die erwarteten Renditeansprüche der Shareholder legitimer Weise ausfallen dürfen. Diese Frage gewinnt an zusätzlicher Relevanz, wenn man davon ausgeht, dass die Eigenkapitalrenditen im Bezug zum zusätzlichen Risiko, welches die Eigenkapitalgeber tragen, überproportional hoch ausfallen. Das Controlling kann in diesem Kontext einen bedeutenden Beitrag zur Führungsunterstützung des Managements – und damit zu einem dauerhaften Erfolg des Unternehmens – leisten.
The design of the fifth generation (5G) cellular network should take account of the emerging services with divergent quality of service requirements. For instance, a vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication is required to facilitate the local data exchange and therefore improve the automation level in automated driving applications. In this work, we inspect the performance of two different air interfaces (i.e., LTE-Uu and PC5) which are proposed by the third generation partnership project (3GPP) to enable the V2X communication. With these two air interfaces, the V2X communication can be realized by transmitting data packets either over the network infrastructure or directly among traffic participants. In addition, the ultra-high reliability requirement in some V2X communication scenarios can not be fulfilled with any single transmission technology (i.e., either LTE-Uu or PC5). Therefore, we discuss how to efficiently apply multi-radio access technologies (multi-RAT) to improve the communication reliability. In order to exploit the multi-RAT in an efficient manner, both the independent and the coordinated transmission schemes are designed and inspected. Subsequently, the conventional uplink is also extended to the case where a base station can receive data packets through both the LTE-Uu and PC5 interfaces. Moreover, different multicast-broadcast single-frequency network (MBSFN) area mapping approaches are also proposed to improve the communication reliability in the LTE downlink. Last but not least, a system level simulator is implemented in this work. The simulation results do not only provide us insights on the performances of different technologies but also validate the effectiveness of the proposed multi-RAT scheme.
Motivation: Mathematical models take an important place in science and engineering.
A model can help scientists to explain dynamic behavior of a system and to understand
the functionality of system components. Since length of a time series and number of
replicates is limited by the cost of experiments, Boolean networks as a structurally simple
and parameter-free logical model for gene regulatory networks have attracted interests
of many scientists. In order to fit into the biological contexts and to lower the data
requirements, biological prior knowledge is taken into consideration during the inference
procedure. In the literature, the existing identification approaches can only deal with a
subset of possible types of prior knowledge.
Results: We propose a new approach to identify Boolean networks fromtime series data
incorporating prior knowledge, such as partial network structure, canalizing property,
positive and negative unateness. Using vector form of Boolean variables and applying
a generalized matrix multiplication called the semi-tensor product (STP), each Boolean
function can be equivalently converted into a matrix expression. Based on this, the
identification problem is reformulated as an integer linear programming problem to
reveal the system matrix of Boolean model in a computationally efficient way, whose
dynamics are consistent with the important dynamics captured in the data. By using
prior knowledge the number of candidate functions can be reduced during the inference.
Hence, identification incorporating prior knowledge is especially suitable for the case of
small size time series data and data without sufficient stimuli. The proposed approach is
illustrated with the help of a biological model of the network of oxidative stress response.
Conclusions: The combination of efficient reformulation of the identification problem
with the possibility to incorporate various types of prior knowledge enables the
application of computational model inference to systems with limited amount of time
series data. The general applicability of thismethodological approachmakes it suitable for
a variety of biological systems and of general interest for biological and medical research.
Relating mathematical concepts to graphical representations is a challenging task for students. In this paper, we introduce two visual strategies to qualitatively interpret the divergence of graphical vector field representations. One strategy is based on the graphical interpretation of partial derivatives, while the other is based on the flux concept. We test the effectiveness of both strategies in an instruction-based eye-tracking study with N = 41 physics majors. We found that students’ performance improved when both strategies were introduced (74% correct) instead of only one strategy (64% correct), and students performed best when they were free to choose between the two strategies (88% correct). This finding supports the idea of introducing multiple representations of a physical concept to foster student understanding.Relevant eye-tracking measures demonstrate that both strategies imply different visual processing of the vector field plots, therefore reflecting conceptual differences between the strategies. Advanced analysis methods further reveal significant differences in eye movements between the best and worst performing students. For instance, the best students performed predominantly horizontal and vertical saccades, indicating correct interpretation of partial derivatives. They also focused on smaller regions when they balanced positive and negative flux. This mixed method research leads to new insights into student visual processing of vector field representations, highlights the advantages and limitations of eye-tracking methodologies in this context, and discusses implications for teaching and for future research. The introduction of saccadic direction analysis expands traditional methods, and shows the potential to discover new insights into student understanding and learning difficulties.
In this study, the dependence of the cyclic deformation behavior on the surface morphology of metastable austenitic HSD® 600 TWinning Induced Plasticity (TWIP) steel was investigated. This steel—with the alloying concept Mn-Al-Si—shows a fully austenitic microstructure with deformation-induced twinning at ambient temperature. Four different surface morphologies were analyzed: as-received with a so-called rolling skin, after up milling, after down milling, and a reference morphology achieved by polishing. The morphologies were characterized by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Focused Ion Beam (FIB), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) as well as confocal microscopy methods and show significant differences in initial residual stresses, phase fractions, topographies and microstructures. For specimens with all variants of the morphologies, fatigue tests were performed in the Low Cycle Fatigue (LCF) and High Cycle Fatigue (HCF) regime to characterize the cyclic deformation behavior and fatigue life. Moreover, this study focused on the frequency-dependent self-heating of the specimens caused by cyclic plasticity in the HCF regime. The results show that both surface morphology and specimen temperature have a significant influence on the cyclic deformation behavior of HSD® 600 TWIP steel in the HCF regime.
Arctic, Antarctic and alpine biological soil crusts (BSCs) are formed by adhesion of soil particles to exopolysaccharides (EPSs) excreted by cyanobacterial and green algal communities, the pioneers and main primary producers in these habitats. These BSCs provide and influence many ecosystem services such as soil erodibility, soil formation and nitrogen (N) and carbon (C) cycles. In cold environments degradation rates are low and BSCs continuously increase soil organic C; therefore, these soils are considered to be CO2 sinks. This work provides a novel, nondestructive and highly comparable method to investigate intact BSCs with a focus on cyanobacteria and green algae and their contribution to soil organic C. A new terminology arose,basedonconfocallaserscanningmicroscopy(CLSM) 2-D biomaps, dividing BSCs into a photosynthetic active layer (PAL) made of active photoautotrophic organisms and a photosynthetic inactive layer (PIL) harbouring remnants of cyanobacteria and green algae glued together by their remaining EPSs. By the application of CLSM image analysis (CLSM–IA) to 3-D biomaps, C coming from photosynthetic activeorganismscouldbevisualizedasdepthprofileswithC peaks at 0.5 to 2mm depth. Additionally, the CO2 sink character of these cold soil habitats dominated by BSCs could be highlighted, demonstrating that the first cubic centimetre of soil consists of between 7 and 17% total organic carbon, identified by loss on ignition.
Cyanobacteria of biological soil crusts (BSCs) represent an important part of circumpolar
and Alpine ecosystems, serve as indicators for ecological condition and climate
change, and function as ecosystem engineers by soil stabilization or carbon and nitrogen
input. The characterization of cyanobacteria from both polar regions remains
extremely important to understand geographic distribution patterns and community
compositions. This study is the first of its kind revealing the efficiency of combining
denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE), light microscopy and culture-based
16S rRNA gene sequencing, applied to polar and Alpine cyanobacteria dominated
BSCs. This study aimed to show the living proportion of cyanobacteria as an extension
to previously published meta-transcriptome
data of the same study sites.
Molecular fingerprints showed a distinct clustering of cyanobacterial communities
with a close relationship between Arctic and Alpine populations, which differed from
those found in Antarctica. Species richness and diversity supported these results,
which were also confirmed by microscopic investigations of living cyanobacteria
from the BSCs. Isolate-based
sequencing corroborated these trends as cold biome
clades were assigned, which included a potentially new Arctic clade of Oculatella.
Thus, our results contribute to the debate regarding biogeography of cyanobacteria
of cold biomes.
For modeling approaches in systems biology, knowledge of the absolute abundances of cellular proteins is essential. One way to gain this knowledge is the use of quantification concatamers (QconCATs), which are synthetic proteins consisting of proteotypic peptides derived from the target proteins to be quantified. The QconCAT protein is labeled with a heavy isotope upon expression in E. coli and known amounts of the purified protein are spiked into a whole cell protein extract. Upon tryptic digestion, labeled and unlabeled peptides are released from the QconCAT and the native proteins, respectively, and both are quantified by LC-MS/MS. The labeled Q-peptides then serve as standards for determining the absolute quantity of the native peptides/proteins. Here we have applied the QconCAT approach to Chlamydomonas reinhardtii for the absolute quantification of the major proteins and protein complexes driving photosynthetic light reactions in the thylakoid membranes and carbon fixation in the pyrenoid. We found that with 25.2 attomol/cell the Rubisco large subunit makes up 6.6% of all proteins in a Chlamydomonas cell and with this exceeds the amount of the small subunit by a factor of 1.56. EPYC1, which links Rubisco to form the pyrenoid, is eight times less abundant than RBCS, and Rubisco activase is 32-times less abundant than RBCS. With 5.2 attomol/cell, photosystem II is the most abundant complex involved in the photosynthetic light reactions, followed by plastocyanin, photosystem I and the cytochrome b6/f complex, which range between 2.9 and 3.5 attomol/cell. The least abundant complex is the ATP synthase with 2 attomol/cell. While applying the QconCAT approach, we have been able to identify many potential pitfalls associated with this technique. We analyze and discuss these pitfalls in detail and provide an optimized workflow for future applications of this technique.
Neuronal inhibition is mediated by glycine and/or GABA. Inferior colliculus (IC) neurons receive glycinergic and GABAergic
inputs, whereas inhibition in hippocampus (HC) predominantly relies on GABA. Astrocytes heterogeneously
express neurotransmitter transporters and are expected to adapt to the local requirements regarding neurotransmitter
homeostasis. Here we analyzed the expression of inhibitory neurotransmitter transporters in IC and HC astrocytes using
whole-cell patch-clamp and single-cell reverse transcription-PCR. We show that most astrocytes in both regions expressed
functional glycine transporters (GlyTs). Activation of these transporters resulted in an inward current (IGly) that
was sensitive to the competitive GlyT1 agonist sarcosine. Astrocytes exhibited transcripts for GlyT1 but not for
GlyT2. Glycine did not alter the membrane resistance (RM) arguing for the absence of functional glycine receptors (GlyRs).
Thus, IGly was mainly mediated by GlyT1. Similarly, we found expression of functional GABA transporters (GATs) in all IC
astrocytes and about half of the HC astrocytes. These transporters mediated an inward current (IGABA) that was sensitive to
the competitive GAT-1 and GAT-3 antagonists NO711 and SNAP5114, respectively. Accordingly, transcripts for GAT-1 and
GAT-3 were found but not for GAT-2 and BGT-1. Only in hippocampal astrocytes, GABA transiently reduced
RM demonstrating the presence of GABAA receptors (GABAARs). However, IGABA was mainly not contaminated
by GABAAR-mediated currents as RM changes vanished shortly after GABA application. In both regions, IGABA
was stronger than IGly. Furthermore, in HC the IGABA/IGly ratio was larger compared to IC. Taken together, our
results demonstrate that astrocytes are heterogeneous across and within distinct brain areas. Furthermore, we
could show that the capacity for glycine and GABA uptake varies between both brain regions.
III/V semiconductor quantum dots (QD) are in the focus of optoelectronics research for about 25 years now. Most of the work
has been done on InAs QD on GaAs substrate. But, e.g., Ga(As)Sb (antimonide) QD on GaAs substrate/buffer have also gained
attention for the last 12 years.There is a scientific dispute on whether there is a wetting layer before antimonide QD formation, as
commonly expected for Stransky-Krastanov growth, or not. Usually ex situ photoluminescence (PL) and atomic force microscope
(AFM) measurements are performed to resolve similar issues. In this contribution, we show that reflectance anisotropy/difference
spectroscopy (RAS/RDS) can be used for the same purpose as an in situ, real-time monitoring technique. It can be employed not
only to identify QD growth via a distinct RAS spectrum, but also to get information on the existence of a wetting layer and its
thickness. The data suggest that for antimonide QD growth the wetting layer has a thickness of 1 ML (one monolayer) only.
Areal optical surface topography measurement is an emerging technology for industrial quality control. However, neither calibration procedures nor the utilization of material measures are standardized. State of the art is the calibration of a set of metrological characteristics with multiple calibration samples (material measures). Here, we propose a new calibration sample (artefact) capable of providing the entire set of relevant metrological characteristics within only one single sample. Our calibration artefact features multiple material measures and is manufactured with two-photon laser lithography (direct laser writing, DLW). This enables a holistic calibration of areal topography measuring instruments with only one series of measurements and without changing the sample.
Background: Aneuploidy, or abnormal chromosome numbers, severely alters cell physiology and is widespread in
cancers and other pathologies. Using model cell lines engineered to carry one or more extra chromosomes, it has
been demonstrated that aneuploidy per se impairs proliferation, leads to proteotoxic as well as replication stress
and triggers conserved transcriptome and proteome changes.
Results: In this study, we analysed for the first time miRNAs and demonstrate that their expression is altered in
response to chromosome gain. The miRNA deregulation is independent of the identity of the extra chromosome
and specific to individual cell lines. By cross-omics analysis we demonstrate that although the deregulated miRNAs
differ among individual aneuploid cell lines, their known targets are predominantly associated with cell development,
growth and proliferation, pathways known to be inhibited in response to chromosome gain. Indeed, we show that up
to 72% of these targets are downregulated and the associated miRNAs are overexpressed in aneuploid cells, suggesting
that the miRNA changes contribute to the global transcription changes triggered by aneuploidy. We identified
hsa-miR-10a-5p to be overexpressed in majority of aneuploid cells. Hsa-miR-10a-5p enhances translation of a
subset of mRNAs that contain so called 5’TOP motif and we show that its upregulation in aneuploids provides
resistance to starvation-induced shut down of ribosomal protein translation.
Conclusions: Our work suggests that the changes of the microRNAome contribute on one hand to the adverse
effects of aneuploidy on cell physiology, and on the other hand to the adaptation to aneuploidy by supporting
translation under adverse conditions.
Keywords: Aneuploidy, Cancer, miRNA, miR-10a-5p, Trisomy
Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) are a common element of the Queensland (Australia) dry savannah ecosystem and are composed of cyanobacteria, algae, lichens, bryophytes, fungi and heterotrophic bacteria. Here we report how the CO2 gas exchange of the cyanobacteria-dominated biocrust type from Boodjamulla National Park in the north Queensland Gulf Savannah responds to the pronounced climatic seasonality and on their quality as a carbon sink using a semi-automatic cuvette system. The dominant cyanobacteria are the filamentous species Symplocastrum purpurascens together with Scytonema sp. Metabolic activity was recorded between 1 July 2010 and 30 June 2011, during which CO2 exchange was only evident from November 2010 until mid-April 2011, representative of 23.6 % of the 1-year recording period. In November at the onset of the wet season, the first month (November) and the last month (April) of activity had pronounced respiratory loss of CO2. The metabolic active period accounted for 25 % of the wet season and of that period 48.6 % was net photosynthesis (NP) and 51.4 % dark respiration (DR). During the time of NP, net photosynthetic uptake of CO2 during daylight hours was reduced by 32.6 % due to water supersaturation. In total, the biocrust fixed 229.09 mmol CO2 m−2 yr−1, corresponding to an annual carbon gain of 2.75 g m−2 yr−1. Due to malfunction of the automatic cuvette system, data from September and October 2010 together with some days in November and December 2010 could not be analysed for NP and DR. Based on climatic and gas exchange data from November 2010, an estimated loss of 88 mmol CO2 m−2 was found for the 2 months, resulting in corrected annual rates of 143.1 mmol CO2 m−2 yr−1, equivalent to a carbon gain of 1.7 g m−2 yr−1. The bulk of the net photosynthetic activity occurred above a relative humidity of 42 %, indicating a suitable climatic combination of temperature, water availability and light intensity well above 200 µmol photons m−2 s−1 photosynthetic active radiation. The Boodjamulla biocrust exhibited high seasonal variability in CO2 gas exchange pattern, clearly divided into metabolically inactive winter months and active summer months. The metabolic active period commences with a period (of up to 3 months) of carbon loss, likely due to reestablishment of the crust structure and restoration of NP prior to about a 4-month period of net carbon gain. In the Gulf Savannah biocrust system, seasonality over the year investigated showed that only a minority of the year is actually suitable for biocrust growth and thus has a small window for potential contribution to soil organic matter.
The core muscles play a central role in stabilizing the head during headers in soccer. The objective of this study was to examine the influence of a fatigued core musculature on the acceleration of the head during jump headers and run headers. Acceleration of the head was measured in a pre-post-design in 68 soccer players (age: 21.5 ± 3.8 years, height: 180.0 ± 13.9 cm, weight: 76.9 ± 8.1 kg). Data were recorded by means of a telemetric 3D acceleration sensor and with a pendulum header. The treatment encompassed two exercises each for the ventral, lateral, and dorsal muscle chains. The acceleration of the head between pre- and post-test was reduced by 0.3 G (p = 0.011) in jump headers and by 0.2 G (p = 0.067) in run headers. An additional analysis of all pretests showed an increased acceleration in run headers when compared to stand headers (p < 0.001) and jump headers (p < 0.001). No differences were found in the sub-group comparisons: semi-professional vs. recreational players, offensive vs. defensive players. Based on the results, we conclude that the acceleration of the head after fatiguing the core muscles does not increase, which stands in contrast to postulated expectations. More tests with accelerated soccer balls are required for a conclusive statement.
The extraction kinetics of polyphenols, which are leached from red vine leaves, are studied and evaluated using a laboratory robot and nonconventional processing techniques such as ultrasonic (US)-, microwave (MW)-, and pulsed electric field (PEF)-assisted extraction processes. The robotic high-throughput screening reveals optimal extraction conditions at a pH value of 2.5, a temperature of 56 °C, and a solvent mixture of methanol:water:HCl of 50:49:1 v/v/v. Nonconventional processing techniques, such as MW- and US-assisted extraction, have the fastest kinetics and produce the highest polyphenol yield. The non-conventional techniques yield is 2.29 g/L (MW) resp. 2.47 g/L (US) for particles that range in size from 450 to 2000 µm and 2.20 g/L (MW) resp. 2.05 g/L (US) for particles that range from 2000 to 4000 µm. PEF has the lowest yield of polyphenols with 0.94 g/L (450–2000 µm), resp. 0.64 g/L (2000–4000 µm) in comparison to 1.82 g/L (2000 to 4000 µm) in a standard stirred vessel (50 °C). When undried red vine leaves (2000 to 4000 µm) are used the total phenol content is 1.44 g/L with PEF.
Postmortem Analysis of Decayed Online Social Communities: Cascade Pattern Analysis and Prediction
(2018)
Recently, many online social networks, such as MySpace, Orkut, and Friendster, have faced inactivity decay of their members, which contributed to the collapse of these networks. The reasons, mechanics, and prevention mechanisms of such inactivity decay are not fully understood. In this work, we analyze decayed and alive subwebsites from the Stack Exchange platform. The analysis mainly focuses on the inactivity cascades that occur among the members of these communities. We provide measures to understand the decay process and statistical analysis to extract the patterns that accompany the inactivity decay. Additionally, we predict cascade size and cascade virality using machine learning. The results of this work include a statistically significant difference of the decay patterns between the decayed and the alive subwebsites. These patterns are mainly cascade size, cascade virality, cascade duration, and cascade similarity. Additionally, the contributed prediction framework showed satisfactorily prediction results compared to a baseline predictor. Supported by empirical evidence, the main findings of this work are (1) there are significantly different decay patterns in the alive and the decayed subwebsites of the Stack Exchange; (2) the cascade’s node degrees contribute more to the decay process than the cascade’s virality, which indicates that the expert members of the Stack Exchange subwebsites were mainly responsible for the activity or inactivity of the Stack Exchange subwebsites; (3) the Statistics subwebsite is going through decay dynamics that may lead to it becoming fully-decayed; (4) the decay process is not governed by only one network measure, it is better described using multiple measures; (5) decayed subwebsites were originally less resilient to inactivity decay, unlike the alive subwebsites; and (6) network’s structure in the early stages of its evolution dictates the activity/inactivity characteristics of the network.