Nach dem Tod von Wisława Szymborska

There are many treatises concerning the soul. Plato was not the first to write on the subject. From Greek philosophy and religion the soul wandered over to Christianity. According to this religion, the soul accompanies the body, which it inhabits for a short while in order to then return to its primary homeland embodied in areas of primary existence and truth. There are many treatises concerning the soul. Plato was not the first to write on the subject. Wisława Szymborska, in her collection of poems published in 2002 and titled A Moment, poses the most essential questions: Why does man exist? Why isn’t there nothingness? She also asks: What is the soul? Does man really possess a soul? What is the relationship between man and soul – to whom does the soul really belong? This is a treatise in the form of a poem which appears to be plain and modest, yet the questions it asks are fundamental. This interpretation aims to develop and translate from the language of poetry the religious and philosophical questions embraced by Szymborska’s poem

Typisierung von Bezirken der Agenturen für Arbeit (Classification of employment office areas)

In a project group of the Federal Employment Service, two classification systems were developed for categorizing employment office areas, one with five and the other with twelve types. The former is intended for the development of strategies of labour market policy; the latter serves to facilitate comparison of the areas themselves. Both are consistent, as the more precise division can be converted into the more approximate one by means of combination. Causal analyses of the exogenous determinants of the success of labour market policy form the basis of the classification. An innovative methodical approach is based on the linking of regression and cluster analyses. The types are now used in the Federal Employment Service for practical tasks of labour market policy, decentralised management and controlling purposes. The classification is also of scientific interest. The empirical diversity of regional disparities is reduced to just a few types which are, however, meaningful. (IAB2) ((en))Arbeitsagenturbezirke - Typologie, Benchmarking - Indikatoren, regionaler Vergleich, Westdeutschland, Ostdeutschland, Bundesrepublik Deutschland

Role of the liver in splanchnic extraction of atrial natriuretic factor in the rat

Mesenteric, hepatic and splanchnic extraction of C-terminal and N-terminal atrial natriuretic factor was investigated in male Sprague-Dawley rats. Plasma concentrations (mean ± S.E.M.) of C-terminal atrial natriuretic factor were 55.0 ± 6.1 fmol/ml, 31.2 ± 4.0 fmol/ml and 23.5 ± 3.3 fmol/ml (n = 12) in the abdominal aorta, the portal vein and the hepatic vein, respectively. N-terminal atrial natriuretic factor plasma levels in these vessels were 3031 ± 756 fmol/ml, 2264 ± 661 fmol/ml and 1618 ± 496 fmol/ml (n = 6), respectively. Although the mesenteric extraction ratio was higher (p < 0.05) for C-terminal atrial natriuretic factor (42% ± 6%) than for N-terminal atrial natriuretic factor (28% ± 4%), there were no significant differences in the hepatic extraction ratio (41% ± 5% vs. 39% ± 6%) and the splanchnic extraction ratio (56% ± 5% vs. 50% ± 7%). These data suggest a major role of the liver in the splanchnic extraction of C-terminal and of N-terminal atrial natriuretic factor in the rat. (HEPATOLOGY 1992;16:790-793

The ancient CYP716 family is a major contributor to the diversification of eudicot triterpenoid biosynthesis

Triterpenoids are widespread bioactive plant defence compounds with potential use as pharmaceuticals, pesticides and other high-value products. Enzymes belonging to the cytochrome P450 family have an essential role in creating the immense structural diversity of triterpenoids across the plant kingdom. However, for many triterpenoid oxidation reactions, the corresponding enzyme remains unknown. Here we characterize CYP716 enzymes from different medicinal plant species by heterologous expression in engineered yeasts and report ten hitherto unreported triterpenoid oxidation activities, including a cyclization reaction, leading to a triterpenoid lactone. Kingdom-wide phylogenetic analysis of over 400 CYP716s from over 200 plant species reveals details of their evolution and suggests that in eudicots the CYP716s evolved specifically towards triterpenoid biosynthesis. Our findings underscore the great potential of CYP716s as a source for generating triterpenoid structural diversity and expand the toolbox available for synthetic biology programmes for sustainable production of bioactive plant triterpenoids

Autochthonous heritage languages and social media:writing and bilingual practices in Low German on Facebook

This article analyses how speakers of an autochthonous heritage language (AHL) make use of digital media, through the example of Low German, a regional language used by a decreasing number of speakers mainly in northern Germany. The focus of the analysis is on Web 2.0 and its interactive potential for individual speakers. The study therefore examines linguistic practices on the social network site Facebook, with special emphasis on language choice, bilingual practices and writing in the autochthonous heritage language. The findings suggest that social network sites such as Facebook have the potential to provide new mediatized spaces for speakers of an AHL that can instigate sociolinguistic change

Candidate Gene Screen in the Red Flour Beetle Tribolium Reveals Six3 as Ancient Regulator of Anterior Median Head and Central Complex Development

Several highly conserved genes play a role in anterior neural plate patterning of vertebrates and in head and brain patterning of insects. However, head involution in Drosophila has impeded a systematic identification of genes required for insect head formation. Therefore, we use the red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum in order to comprehensively test the function of orthologs of vertebrate neural plate patterning genes for a function in insect head development. RNAi analysis reveals that most of these genes are indeed required for insect head capsule patterning, and we also identified several genes that had not been implicated in this process before. Furthermore, we show that Tc-six3/optix acts upstream of Tc-wingless, Tc-orthodenticle1, and Tc-eyeless to control anterior median development. Finally, we demonstrate that Tc-six3/optix is the first gene known to be required for the embryonic formation of the central complex, a midline-spanning brain part connected to the neuroendocrine pars intercerebralis. These functions are very likely conserved among bilaterians since vertebrate six3 is required for neuroendocrine and median brain development with certain mutations leading to holoprosencephaly