Ludwig Baumann, die Handels- und Gewerbekammer in Wien Stubenring 8-10

Diese Arbeit, die sich in kunsthistorischer Hinsicht mit dem Gebäude der Handels- und Gewerbekammer in Wien I, Stubenring 8-10 (fertig gestellt 1907)und seinem Architekten Ludwig Baumann beschäftigt, wird eingeleitet durch einen Überblick über die Geschichte der Handelskammer-Organisation in Österreich, insbesondere der Geschichte der Handels- und Gewerbekammer in Wien. Bei der historischen Betrachtung der vielfältigen Aufgaben der Kammerorganisation stellte sich die Frage nach einer optimalen Lösung der Bauaufgabe eines Handelskammer-Gebäudes. Dabei wurden Vereins- und Verwaltungsgebäude des ausgehenden 19. Jahrhunderts als eventuelle Vorbilder angesprochen sowie auf das erste in der österreichisch-ungarischen Monarchie für Zwecke einer Handelskammer errichtete Gebäude, nämlich das Amtsgebäude der Handels- und Gewerbekammer in Reichenberg/Böhmen, Bezug genommen. Den Hauptteil der Diplomarbeit nimmt die Planungs- und Baugeschichte des Handelskammer-Gebäudes in Wien I, Stubenring 8-10 ein, wobei besonderes Augenmerk auf die Darstellung des stattgefundenen Wettbewerbsverfahrens sowie die nachfolgende Vergabe des Bauauftrages gerichtet ist. Dabei konnten nicht nur die Protokolle des während der Planungs- und Bauphase eingesetzten Hausbau-Komitees ausgewertet, sondern auch einige (leider nicht alle) bisher verschollene Wettbewerbs-Entwürfe zu diesem Gebäude aufgefunden und im Abbildungsteil dargestellt werden. Der anschließend eher kurz gehaltenen, aber mit ausführlichem Bildmaterial unterlegten, Beschreibung des ausgeführten Kammergebäudes folgt die Darstellung einiger wichtiger Stationen im Leben des Architekten Ludwig Baumann, der den Auftrag zur Errichtung des Amtsgebäudes der Handels- und Gewerbekammer erhalten hatte. Das letzte Kapitel dieser Diplomarbeit, das sich mit ausgewählten Problemen des Stilpluralismus um die Jahrhundertwende zum XX. Jahrhundert in Wien befasst, geht vor allem auf die Begriffe "Monumentalität“, „empirisierender Stil“, „Späthistorismus“, „Sezession“ und „Gesamtkunstwerk“ ein und beleuchtet in diesem Zusammenhang die Stellung Ludwig Baumanns als Architekt der Handels- und Gewerbekammer in Wien

Introducing Texture: An Open Source WYSIWYG Javascript Editor for JATS

Texture is a WYSIWYG editor app that allows users to turn raw content into structured content, and add as much semantic information as needed for the production of scientific publications. Texture is open source software built on top of Substance (http://substance.io), an advanced Javascript content authoring library. While the Substance library is format agnostic, the Texture editor uses JATS XML as a native exchange format. The Substance library that Texture is built on already supports real-time collaborative authoring, and the easy-to-use WYSIWYG interface would make Texture an attractive alternative to Google Docs. For some editors, the interface could be toggled to more closely resemble a professional XML suite, allowing a user to pop out a raw attribute editor for any given element. Textureauthored documents could then be brought into the journal management system directly, skipping the conversion step, and move straight into a document-centric publishing workflow. &nbsp

Differences and Commonalities in Physical, Chemical and Mineralogical Properties of Zanzibari Geophagic Soils

The function of human geophagy has long been questioned. We sought to test hypotheses concerning its potential physiological effects through analysis of soils and patterns in geophagy behavior. Eleven samples of geophagic soils consumed by pregnant women on Pemba Island, Zanzibar, Tanzania, were characterized according to their color, texture, major element chemistry, trace element chemistry, bulk mineralogy, and clay mineralogy. An epidemiological study (N = 2367) and ethnographic interviews (N = 57) on Pemba yielded information about geophagic behaviors and socio-demographic and biological characteristics of those who consumed earth. The soils varied widely in color, ranging from light red to white through various shades of brown and yellow, and texture ranged from clay to sand. Major element chemistry of the soils also varied greatly; most were low in Fe and Ca. Trace elements, whether of biological or non-biological significance, were uniformly low when compared with normal ranges of mineral soils. The sole commonality among the samples is that all clay fractions were dominated by a kaolin mineral: kaolinite, halloysite, or a mixture of both. Geophagy behavior also varied greatly, with one major exception: a greater proportion of pregnant women (7.1%) and young children (4.5%) consumed earth than non-pregnant women (0.2%) or men (0%). The presence of kaolin mineral in all samples, its palliative and detoxifying properties, and the highest prevalence of geophagy among those most biologically vulnerable suggest that geophagy may be a protective behavior

Folate Production by Probiotic Bacteria

Probiotic bacteria, mostly belonging to the genera Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium, confer a number of health benefits to the host, including vitamin production. With the aim to produce folate-enriched fermented products and/or develop probiotic supplements that accomplish folate biosynthesis in vivo within the colon, bifidobacteria and lactobacilli have been extensively studied for their capability to produce this vitamin. On the basis of physiological studies and genome analysis, wild-type lactobacilli cannot synthesize folate, generally require it for growth, and provide a negative contribution to folate levels in fermented dairy products. Lactobacillus plantarum constitutes an exception among lactobacilli, since it is capable of folate production in presence of para-aminobenzoic acid (pABA) and deserves to be used in animal trials to validate its ability to produce the vitamin in vivo. On the other hand, several folate-producing strains have been selected within the genus Bifidobacterium, with a great variability in the extent of vitamin released in the medium. Most of them belong to the species B. adolescentis and B. pseudocatenulatum, but few folate producing strains are found in the other species as well. Rats fed a probiotic formulation of folate-producing bifidobacteria exhibited increased plasma folate level, confirming that the vitamin is produced in vivo and absorbed. In a human trial, the same supplement raised folate concentration in feces. The use of folate-producing probiotic strains can be regarded as a new perspective in the specific use of probiotics. They could more efficiently confer protection against inflammation and cancer, both exerting the beneficial effects of probiotics and preventing the folate deficiency that is associated with premalignant changes in the colonic epithelia

A Pivotal Role of Vitamin B9 in the Maintenance of Regulatory T Cells In Vitro and In Vivo

Dietary factors regulate immunological function, but the underlying mechanisms remain elusive. Here we show that vitamin B9 is a survival factor for regulatory T (Treg) cells expressing high levels of vitamin B9 receptor (folate receptor 4). In vitamin B9-reduced condition in vitro, Treg cells could be differentiated from naïve T cells but failed to survive. The impaired survival of Treg cells was associated with decreased expression of anti-apoptotic Bcl2 and independent of IL-2. In vivo depletion of dietary vitamin B9 resulted in the reduction of Treg cells in the small intestine, a site for the absorption of dietary vitamin B9. These findings provide a new link between diet and the immune system, which could maintain the immunological homeostasis in the intestine

Possible mineral contributions to the diet and health of wild chimpanzees in three East African forests

For financial support, the authors acknowledge the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund grant numbers 0925272, 10251055, 11252562, 12254904, the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, the Leverhulme Trust grant number ECF‐2013‐507, and the Boise Fund.We present new data on the ingestion of minerals from termite mound soil by East African chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) living in the Budongo Forest Reserve, Uganda, the Gombe National Park and the Mahale Mountains National Park, Tanzania. Termite mound soil is here shown to be a rich source of minerals, containing high concentrations of iron and aluminum. Termite mound soil is not, however, a source of sodium. The concentrations of iron and aluminum are the highest yet found in any of the mineral sources consumed. Levels of manganese and copper, though not so high as for iron and aluminum, are also higher than in other dietary sources. We focus on the contribution of termite mound soil to other known sources of mineral elements consumed by these apes, and compare the mineral content of termite soil with that of control forest soil, decaying wood, clay, and the normal plant‐based chimpanzee diet at Budongo. Samples obtained from Mahale Mountains National Park and Gombe National Park, both in Tanzania, show similar mineral distribution across sources. We suggest three distinct but related mechanisms by which minerals may come to be concentrated in the above‐mentioned sources, serving as potentially important sources of essential minerals in the chimpanzee diet.PostprintPeer reviewe

Human Folate Bioavailability

The vitamin folate is recognized as beneficial health-wise in the prevention of neural tube defects, anemia, cardiovascular diseases, poor cognitive performance, and some forms of cancer. However, suboptimal dietary folate intake has been reported in a number of countries. Several national health authorities have therefore introduced mandatory food fortification with synthetic folic acid, which is considered a convenient fortificant, being cost-efficient in production, more stable than natural food folate, and superior in terms of bioavailability and bioefficacy. Other countries have decided against fortification due to the ambiguous role of synthetic folic acid regarding promotion of subclinical cancers and other adverse health effects. This paper reviews recent studies on folate bioavailability after intervention with folate from food. Our conclusions were that limited folate bioavailability data are available for vegetables, fruits, cereal products, and fortified foods, and that it is difficult to evaluate the bioavailability of food folate or whether intervention with food folate improves folate status. We recommend revising the classical approach of using folic acid as a reference dose for estimating the plasma kinetics and relative bioavailability of food folate

Folate Absorption Across the Colon and the Modulation of Bacterial Folate Synthesis by Diet

While assessment of folate requirements has been based only on dietary intakes, folate produced by the colonic microflora can exceed amounts consumed in food. Bacterially synthesized folate is absorbed across the rat and piglet colon. In vitro studies suggest, but direct evidence is lacking that folate is absorbed across the intact human colon. If indeed folate is absorbed, the amount synthesized may be susceptible to manipulation by fibre and prebiotics intake. We therefore performed two studies to investigate folate absorption across the colon. To confirm absorption across the intact human colon, in our first study, 684 nmol (320 µg) 13C5-glutamyl-[6S]-5-formyltetrahydrofolate was infused into the cecum of six adults and blood samples were collected. Tandem mass spectrometry confirmed folate absorption across the colon by appearance in plasma of 13C5-[6S]-5-methyltetrahydrofolate, at a rate of 0.6±0.2 nmol/h versus 7±1.2 nmol/h after intravenous injection of 172 nmol 13C5-5-formyltetrahydrofolate. Since bifidobacteria are potent folate producers, in our second study we evaluated the influence of bifidogenic oligosaccharides on colonic folate production and host folate status, using a piglet animal model. Piglets (n=12) were randomly assigned a milk-based formula with 5g/L inulin + 5g/L galactooligosaccharides, or 5g/L maltodextrin (control). After 28 days, the weights of colon contents (178 %) and colon tissue (37.9 %) of piglets fed oligosaccharides were greater than controls (P=0.0003, P=0.0044, respectively). The bacterial load and folate contents in the colons of piglets fed oligosaccharides were greater than controls (P=0.0022, P=0.0218, respectively). Body weights, blood folate status and liver and kidney folate concentrations did not differ. In conclusion, folate is absorbed across the human colon. Supplementation of the piglet diet with 5g/L inulin and 5g/L galactooligosaccharides increased the amounts of microbial folate, and the weights of colon tissue and contents, but folate concentrations in colon contents, blood and organs were not affected.Ph

Folate Absorption Across the Colon and the Modulation of Bacterial Folate Synthesis by Diet

While assessment of folate requirements has been based only on dietary intakes, folate produced by the colonic microflora can exceed amounts consumed in food. Bacterially synthesized folate is absorbed across the rat and piglet colon. In vitro studies suggest, but direct evidence is lacking that folate is absorbed across the intact human colon. If indeed folate is absorbed, the amount synthesized may be susceptible to manipulation by fibre and prebiotics intake. We therefore performed two studies to investigate folate absorption across the colon. To confirm absorption across the intact human colon, in our first study, 684 nmol (320 µg) 13C5-glutamyl-[6S]-5-formyltetrahydrofolate was infused into the cecum of six adults and blood samples were collected. Tandem mass spectrometry confirmed folate absorption across the colon by appearance in plasma of 13C5-[6S]-5-methyltetrahydrofolate, at a rate of 0.6±0.2 nmol/h versus 7±1.2 nmol/h after intravenous injection of 172 nmol 13C5-5-formyltetrahydrofolate. Since bifidobacteria are potent folate producers, in our second study we evaluated the influence of bifidogenic oligosaccharides on colonic folate production and host folate status, using a piglet animal model. Piglets (n=12) were randomly assigned a milk-based formula with 5g/L inulin + 5g/L galactooligosaccharides, or 5g/L maltodextrin (control). After 28 days, the weights of colon contents (178 %) and colon tissue (37.9 %) of piglets fed oligosaccharides were greater than controls (P=0.0003, P=0.0044, respectively). The bacterial load and folate contents in the colons of piglets fed oligosaccharides were greater than controls (P=0.0022, P=0.0218, respectively). Body weights, blood folate status and liver and kidney folate concentrations did not differ. In conclusion, folate is absorbed across the human colon. Supplementation of the piglet diet with 5g/L inulin and 5g/L galactooligosaccharides increased the amounts of microbial folate, and the weights of colon tissue and contents, but folate concentrations in colon contents, blood and organs were not affected.Ph