Water architecture in South Asia: A study of types, developments and meanings.

The collection, storage and distribution of water, managed by means of dams, reservoirs, tanks and wells, are activities central to life and religious ritual in South Asia, and occasion some of the subcontinent's most spectacular architectural conceptions and engineering achievements. This study is the first to address the subject of water architecture as a whole, to relate the structures of the various regions, contexts and types to each other, and to present a comprehensive interpretation of the history and meaning of South Asian water architecture. It draws attention to the architectural splendour and sacred associations of monuments, many of which have not been documented before, or which have been considered merely as technical constructions. As such, it is the first study to attribute to water architecture a central position within the corpus of South Asian architecture alongside and on equal rank with temple and residential architecture. The dissertation is a study of architectural structures relating to water in India, Nepal and Sri Lanka, mainly between the ninth and the nineteenth centuries. The structures under examination are divided into five main types: ghats (steps into water), tanks, kundas (deep stepped basins), wells and ornamental pools in palaces and water gardens. The dissertation shows how water structures signify both practical and metaphysical importance; it investigates the various forms and parts of water monuments, and it traces their development from simple to more complex forms of architecture. In particular, it is concerned with the shapes of the structures, which favour both secular and religious activities, express sacred and royal meanings, and provide a setting for the re-enactment of mythical events. The brief general introduction summarises the present state of research, discusses the sources and explains the chosen approach to the material. This is followed by an introduction to the religious meanings and cultural associations connected with water in the main religious traditions of South Asia. The five following chapters each deal with one of the five types of water architecture, and contain the main findings of the author's field-work. It is argued that the architectural framework of each of the principal types of water architecture is common to the entire subcontinent, that regionalism has considerably less influence on them than has hitherto been assumed, and that no type is exclusive to any one context. Each chapter analyses the main characteristics and the constituent architectural parts of the type, its variations, the border cases, and developments. The final chapter summarises the main results, examines common themes in water architecture, and outlines modem continuity in South Asia

Quality assessment of surgical disc samples discriminates human annulus fibrosus and nucleus pulposus on tissue and molecular level

A discrimination of the highly specialised annulus fibrosus (AF) and nucleus pulposus (NP) cells in the mature human intervertebral disc (IVD) is thus far still not possible in a reliable way. The aim of this study was to identify molecular markers that distinguish AF and NP cells in human disc tissue using microarray analysis as a screening tool. AF and NP samples were obtained from 28 cervical discs. First, all samples underwent quality sorting using two novel scoring systems for small-sized disc tissue samples including macroscopic, haptic and histological evaluation. Subsequently, samples with clear disc characteristics of either AF or NP that were free from impurities of foreign tissue (IVD score) and with low signs of disc degeneration on cellular level (DD score) were selected for GeneChip analysis (HGU1332P). The 11 AF and 9 NP samples showed distinctly different genome-wide transcriptomes. The majority of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) could be specifically assigned to the AF, whereas no DEG was exclusively expressed in the NP. Nevertheless, we identified 11 novel marker genes that clearly distinguished AF and NP, as confirmed by quantitative gene expression analysis. The novel established scoring systems and molecular markers showed the identity of AF and NP in disc starting material and are thus of great importance in the quality assurance of cell-based therapeutics in regenerative treatment of disc degeneration

К вопросу борьбы с обледенением стальных тросов

The understanding of biological processes, e.g. related to cardio-vascular disease and treatment, can significantly be improved by numerical simulation. In this paper, we present an approach for a multiscale simulation environment, applied for the prediction of in-stent re-stenos is. Our focus is on the coupling of distributed, heterogeneous hardware to take into account the different requirements of the coupled sub-systems concerning computing power. For such a concept, which is an extension of the standard multiscale computing approach, we want to apply the term Distributed Multiscale Computing

Biomechanical testing of a polymer-based biomaterial for the restoration of spinal stability after nucleotomy

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Surgery for disc herniations can be complicated by two major problems: painful degeneration of the spinal segment and re-herniation. Therefore, we examined an absorbable poly-glycolic acid (PGA) biomaterial, which was lyophilized with hyaluronic acid (HA), for its utility to (a) re-establish spinal stability and to (b) seal annulus fibrosus defects. The biomechanical properties range of motion (ROM), neutral zone (NZ) and a potential annulus sealing capacity were investigated.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Seven bovine, lumbar spinal units were tested in vitro for ROM and NZ in three consecutive stages: (a) intact, (b) following nucleotomy and (c) after insertion of a PGA/HA nucleus-implant. For biomechanical testing, spinal units were mounted on a loading-simulator for spines. In three cycles, axial loading was applied in an excentric mode with 0.5 Nm steps until an applied moment of ± 7.5 Nm was achieved in flexion/extension. ROM and NZ were assessed. These tests were performed without and with annulus sealing by sewing a PGA/HA annulus-implant into the annulus defect.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Spinal stability was significantly impaired after nucleotomy (p < 0.001). Intradiscal implantation of a PGA-HA nucleus-implant, however, restored spinal stability (p < 0.003). There was no statistical difference between the stability provided by the nucleus-implant and the intact stage regarding flexion/extension movements (p = 0.209). During the testing sequences, herniation of biomaterial through the annulus defect into the spinal canal regularly occurred, resulting in compression of neural elements. Sewing a PGA/HA annulus-implant into the annulus defect, however, effectively prevented herniation.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>PGA/HA biomaterial seems to be well suited for cell-free and cell-based regenerative treatment strategies in spinal surgery. Its abilities to restore spinal stability and potentially close annulus defects open up new vistas for regenerative approaches to treat intervertebral disc degeneration and for preventing implant herniation.</p

Quantification of endogenous auxin levels and polyphenoloxidase enzymatic activity in olive (Olea europaea L.)

A actividade enzimática de polifenoloxidases foi avaliada em folhas e na zona apical, média e basal de ramos de duas cultivares de oliveira (Olea europaea L.), comuns no Alentejo ( Galega vulgar e Cobrançosa ), mostrando que a actividade enzimática nas folhas foi muito superior à encontrada em tecidos de ramos do ano. Maior actividade enzimática foi também detectada na variedade Cobrançosa versus Galega vulgar . As condições óptimas para a determinação da actividade enzimática foram: pH= 5.5 e T= 40 ºC, com 20 mM de 4-metilcatecol em tampão acetato. Nestas condições o KM determinado foi: 2,60 e 3,48 mM com o método de Michaelis-Menten e Lineweaver-Burk, respectivamente. A melhor recuperação das auxinas AIA (ácido indol-3-acético) e AIB (ácido indolbutírico) em material vegetal foi conseguida através da extracção das amostras com acetona. A separação, identificação e quantificação do AIA e AIB em padrões, material vegetal dopado (tecidos de oliveira dopados com uma concentração conhecida de padrão) e não dopado, foi efectuada por técnicas cromatográficas (HPLC-DAD e LCMS), mostrando os resultados taxas de recuperação superiores a 40% para o AIA e 60% para o AIB

Does conversion to reduced tillage really increase soil organic carbon stocks in organic arable farming?

Aggravation of weather extremes increases awareness of climate change consequences. Mitigation options are in demand that aim to reduce the atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases. Amongst others, the conversion from ploughing to reduced tillage is argued to increase soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks as an accumulation of SOC in topsoil layers is commonly reported. Yet, reviews and meta-analyses describe various results from significant increases to just a redistribution of SOC in the soil profile. Reasons can be found in different sampling depths, SOC and bulk density measurement procedure, and stock calculation (equivalent soil mass vs. equal sampling depth). Furthermore, few studies evaluated the impact of organic farming systems. In nine long-term experiments on tillage systems in temperate Europe (France, Germany, Netherlands, and Switzerland), a common soil sampling campaign took place in spring and autumn 2017, and spring 2018. All trials represent common mixed organic farming systems of the respective region and contain plots with conventional and reduced tillage practices. While climatic conditions are similar, soil types vary from sandy to clayey soils. We took three undisturbed soil cores with driving hammer probes (8 cm in diameter) in each plot (minimum 3 plots per treatment) to a maximum depth of 100 cm and divided the cores in the increments 0-30, 30-50, 50-70, and 70-100 cm. The topsoil (0-30 cm) was further divided into the different tillage depths of the respective trial. We determined bulk density and organic carbon concentration as main variables and soil texture and pH as co-variates for each sample and collected C-inputs for each plot in all trails on a yearly basis. Multivariate statistics will enable the comprehensive evaluation of tillage effects on SOC stocks up to a depth of 100 cm in organic long-term trials. Texture, trial age, and the co-variate C-input will be decisive for the development of SOC stocks and enable the evaluation of carbon sequestration potentials of agricultural soils through improved tillage practices