Game of Thrones und die Macht der Vergangenheit. Vom Versuch, mehr zu wissen als Jon Schnee

Eine populärwissenschaftliche Betrachtung des Romans "Das Lied von Eis und Feuer" von George R. R. Martin aus Sicht eines Historikers: Wir wirkt die Gegenwart auf die Vergangenheit, wie die Vergangenheit auf die Gegenwart? Was können wir über die Vergangenheit wissen, und wozu können wir dieses Wissen nutzen

DNA methylation analysis of the angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) gene in major depression.

The angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) has been repeatedly discussed as susceptibility factor for major depression (MD) and the bi-directional relation between MD and cardiovascular disorders (CVD). In this context, functional polymorphisms of the ACE gene have been linked to depression, to antidepressant treatment response, to ACE serum concentrations, as well as to hypertension, myocardial infarction and CVD risk markers. The mostly investigated ACE Ins/Del polymorphism accounts for ~40%-50% of the ACE serum concentration variance, the remaining half is probably determined by other genetic, environmental or epigenetic factors, but these are poorly understood. The main aim of the present study was the analysis of the DNA methylation pattern in the regulatory region of the ACE gene in peripheral leukocytes of 81 MD patients and 81 healthy controls. We detected intensive DNA methylation within a recently described, functional important region of the ACE gene promoter including hypermethylation in depressed patients (p = 0.008) and a significant inverse correlation between the ACE serum concentration and ACE promoter methylation frequency in the total sample (p = 0.02). Furthermore, a significant inverse correlation between the concentrations of the inflammatory CVD risk markers ICAM-1, E-selectin and P-selectin and the degree of ACE promoter methylation in MD patients could be demonstrated (p = 0.01 - 0.04). The results of the present study suggest that aberrations in ACE promoter DNA methylation may be an underlying cause of MD and probably a common pathogenic factor for the bi-directional relationship between MD and cardiovascular disorders

Iron Exports From Catchments Are Constrained by Redox Status and Topography

Fe(III) hydroxides stabilize organic carbon (OC) and P in soils. Observations of rising stream Fe concentrations are controversially posited to result from a flushing of iron-rich deeper soil layers or a decrease of competing electron acceptors inhibiting Fe reduction (NO3- and SO42-). Here, we argue that catchment topography constrains the release of Fe, OC, and P to streams. We therefore incubated organic topsoil and mineral subsoil and modified the availability of NO3-. We found that Fe leaching was highest in topsoil. Fe, OC, and P released at quantities proportional to their ratios in the source soil. Supply of NO3- reduced Fe leaching to 18% and increased pore water OC:Fe and P:Fe ratios. Subsoil, however, was an insignificant Fe source (<0.5%). Here, the leached quantities of Fe, OC and P were highly disproportionate to the soil source with an excess of released OC and P. We tested if experimental findings scale up using data from 88 German catchments representing gradients in NO3- concentration and topography. Average stream Fe concentrations increased with decreasing NO3- and were high in catchments with shallow topography where high groundwater levels support reductive processes and topsoils are hydrologically connected to streams; but Fe concentrations were low in catchments with steep topography where flow occurs primarily through subsoils. OC:Fe and P:Fe ratios in the streams similarly varied by NO3- and topography. This corroborates the findings from the laboratory experiment and suggests that catchment topography and competing electron acceptors constrain the formation of Fe-reducing conditions and control the release of Fe, OC, and P to streams. © 2022. The Authors

sv kompakt: quadratisch.praktisch.infomiert.

In diesem kleinen quadratischen Heft werden auf 20 Seiten die wichtigsten Themen rund um die Schülervertretungsarbeit angeschnitten. Das »sv kompakt« ist z.B. dafür gedacht, neu gewählte Klassensprecherinnen und Klassensprecher über ihre Aufgaben zu informieren, aber auch allen sächsischen Schülerinnen und Schülern einen Einblick in die Arbeit ihrer Vertretung zu geben. Das »sv kompakt« informiert kurz, übersichtlich und verständlich über Aufgaben der Klassensprecher, Schülersprecher und Schulkonferenz sowie der Kreis- und Stadtschülerräte und des LandesSchülerRat Sachsen. Redaktionsschluss: 31.10.202

Obtaining Patient-Reported Outcomes Electronically With “OncoFunction” in Head and Neck Cancer Patients During Aftercare

The disease and treatment of patients with head and neck cancer can lead to multiple late and long-term sequelae. Especially pain, psychosocial problems, and voice issues can have a high impact on patients’ health-related quality of life. The aim was to show the feasibility of implementing an electronic Patient-Reported Outcome Measure (PROM) in patients with head and neck cancer (HNC). Driven by our department’s intention to assess Patient-Reported Outcomes (PRO) based on the International Classification of Functioning during tumor aftercare, the program “OncoFunction” has been implemented and continuously refined in everyday practice. The new version of “OncoFunction” was evaluated by 20 head and neck surgeons and radiation oncologists in an interview. From 7/2013 until 7/2017, 846 patients completed the PROM during 2,833 of 3,610 total visits (78.5%). The latest software version implemented newly developed add-ins and increased the already high approval ratings in the evaluation as the number of errors and the time required decreased (6 vs. 0 errors, 1.35 vs. 0.95 min; p<0.01). Notably, patients had different requests using PRO in homecare use. An additional examination shows that only 59% of HNC patients use the world wide web. Using OncoFunction for online-recording and interpretation of PROM improved data acquisition in daily HNC patients’ follow-up. An accessory timeline grants access to former consultations and their visualization supported and simplified structured examinations. This provides an easy-to-use representation of the patient’s functional outcome supporting comprehensive aftercare, considering all aspects of the patient’s life

The Infrared Behavior of Gluon and Ghost Propagators in Landau Gauge QCD

A solvable systematic truncation scheme for the Dyson-Schwinger equations of Euclidean QCD in Landau gauge is presented. It implements the Slavnov-Taylor identities for the three-gluon and ghost-gluon vertices, whereas irreducible four-gluon couplings as well as the gluon-ghost and ghost-ghost scattering kernels are neglected. The infrared behavior of gluon and ghost propagators is obtained analytically: The gluon propagator vanishes for small spacelike momenta whereas the ghost propagator diverges stronger than a massless particle pole. The numerical solutions are compared with recent lattice data for these propagators. The running coupling of the renormalization scheme approaches a fixed point, $\alpha_c \simeq 9.5$, in the infrared.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, Revtex; revised version accepted for publication in Physical Review Letter