The brain generates its own sentence melody: A Gestalt phenomenon in speech perception

8

A Cosmic Census of Radio Pulsars with the SKA

The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) will make ground breaking discoveries in pulsar science. In this chapter we outline the SKA surveys for new pulsars, as well as how we will perform the necessary follow-up timing observations. The SKA's wide field-of-view, high sensitivity, multi-beaming and sub-arraying capabilities, coupled with advanced pulsar search backends, will result in the discovery of a large population of pulsars. These will enable the SKA's pulsar science goals (tests of General Relativity with pulsar binary systems, investigating black hole theorems with pulsar-black hole binaries, and direct detection of gravitational waves in a pulsar timing array). Using SKA1-MID and SKA1-LOW we will survey the Milky Way to unprecedented depth, increasing the number of known pulsars by more than an order of magnitude. SKA2 will potentially find all the Galactic radio-emitting pulsars in the SKA sky which are beamed in our direction. This will give a clear picture of the birth properties of pulsars and of the gravitational potential, magnetic field structure and interstellar matter content of the Galaxy. Targeted searches will enable detection of exotic systems, such as the ~1000 pulsars we infer to be closely orbiting Sgr A*, the supermassive black hole in the Galactic Centre. In addition, the SKA's sensitivity will be sufficient to detect pulsars in local group galaxies. To derive the spin characteristics of the discoveries we will perform live searches, and use sub-arraying and dynamic scheduling to time pulsars as soon as they are discovered, while simultaneously continuing survey observations. The large projected number of discoveries suggests that we will uncover currently unknown rare systems that can be exploited to push the boundaries of our understanding of astrophysics and provide tools for testing physics, as has been done by the pulsar community in the past.Comment: 20 pages, 7 figures, to be published in: "Advancing Astrophysics with the Square Kilometre Array", Proceedings of Science, PoS(AASKA14)04

Advances in the knowledge of the inocybe mixtilis group (Inocybaceae, Agaricomycetes), through molecular and morphological studies

Inocybe mixtilis constitutes a complex of species characterized by nodulose-angulose spores, absence of cortina and a more or less bulbous marginate stipe that is not darkening when desiccated. In order to elucidate species limits within the I. mixtilis complex, an ITS-RPB2 phylogeny was performed and interpreted using morphological and ecological characters. Six supported clades were obtained in our analyses that correspond to I. mixtilis, I. subtrivialis, and four new species to science: I. ceskae, I. johannis-stanglii, I. nothomixtilis and I. occulta. Species within this complex can be morphologically recognized through a unique combination of morphological characters, such as the spore shape, cystidial length and shape, presence and development of the velipellis and pileus colour and viscidity. Nevertheless, those characters overlap, especially among I. mixtilis, I. ceskae and I. occulta, and intermediate collections are therefore more reliably identified through ITS-sequencing. Two species, I. ceskae and I. occulta are present in both North America and Europe, while the rest are so far only known in Europe, or Europe and Asia (I. mixtilis). All species, except I. johannis-stanglii, seem to be able to establish ectomycorrhizal association both with conifers and angiosperms. Descriptions, colour illustrations and a key to all known species in the I. mixtilis group are provided

Miet- und Immobilienpreissteigerungen: Droht eine Immobilienblase?

Deuten die aktuellen Preisanstiege auf den Immobilienmärkten auf eine Immobilienblase hin? Für Andreas Dombret, Deutsche Bundesbank, gehören Preisblasen an Immobilienmärkten zu den größten Risiken für die Finanzstabilität. Die Folgen derartiger Übertreibungen könnten Finanzintermediäre in Schieflage bringen und die Realwirtschaft nachhaltig schwächen. In Deutschland sieht er aber bisher keinen raschen Aufbau dieser Risiken für die Finanzstabilität, insbesondere aufgrund der robusten Schuldentragfähigkeit der privaten Haushalte, des moderaten Kreditwachstums sowie der konservativen Kreditvergabestandards. Nach Ansicht von Reiner Braun, empirica AG, besteht solange ein Restrisiko monetärer Blasen, wie der »Kern« des Problems, das billige Geld, nicht beseitigt ist. Nico. B. Rottke und Christopher Yvo Oertel, EBS Universität für Wirtschaft und Recht, Wiesbaden, können aktuell auf dem gesamtdeutschen Wohnimmobilienmarkt keine Überhitzungstendenzen ausmachen. Lediglich in kleinen, regionalen Teilmärkten seien Preisentwicklungen zu beobachten, die unter die Definition einer Preisblase fallen. Das Verhältnis von Kaufpreisen zu Einkommen sei trotz einer Steigerung seit dem Jahr 2010 immer noch auf einem historisch niedrigen Niveau. Angesichts historischer Erfahrungen erscheint es Andreas Mense, Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, wahrscheinlich, dass sich die jüngsten Preisanstiege in manchen deutschen Großstädten nicht auf unbestimmte Zeit fortsetzen werden. Es bestehe aber die Gefahr, dass die bisherige Entwicklung unreflektiert in die Zukunft fortgeschrieben werde, obwohl die dafür ursächlichen Elemente vornehmlich kurzfristiger Natur seien. Jens Schumacher, Bundesministerium für Verkehr, Bau und Stadtentwicklung, ist der Meinung, dass es gegenwärtig keine Immobilienblase in Deutschland gibt. Dafür sprechen u.a. die Entwicklung der Immobilienpreise in den letzten 30 Jahren, die Entwicklung der Preis-Miet-Relationen, die Einkommens- und Beschäftigungsentwicklung und die Erschw

Microcyclospora and Microcyclosporella: novel genera accommodating epiphytic fungi causing sooty blotch on apple

Recent studies have found a wide range of ascomycetes to be associated with sooty blotch and flyspeck (SBFS) blemishes on the surfaces of pomaceous fruits, specifically apples. Based on collections of such fungi from apple orchards in Germany and Slovenia we introduce two novel genera according to analyses of morphological characters and nuclear ribosomal DNA sequences (large subunit and internal transcribed spacer regions). Microcyclosporella is represented by a single species, M. mali, and is presently known from Germany and Slovenia. Microcyclosporella is Pseudocercosporella-like in morphology, but genetically and morphologically distinct from Pseudocercosporella s.str., for which an epitype is designated based on a fresh collection of P. bakeri from Laos. Furthermore, Pseudocercosporella is shown to be paraphyletic within the Capnodiales. Microcyclospora gen. nov. is Pseudocercospora-like in morphology, but is genetically and morphologically distinct from Pseudocercospora s.str., which is based on P. vitis. Three species, Microcyclospora malicola, M. pomicola (both collected in Germany), and M. tardicrescens (collected in Slovenia) are described. Finally, a new species of Devriesia, D. pseudoamericana, is described from pome fruit surfaces collected in Germany. Devriesia is shown to be paraphyletic, and to represent several lineages of which only Devriesia s.str. is thermotolerant. Further collections are required, however, before the latter generic complex can be resolved

Limited English Proficient Patients and Time Spent in Therapeutic Range in a Warfarin Anticoagulation Clinic

Background: While anticoagulation clinics have been shown to deliver tailored, high‐quality care to patients receiving warfarin therapy, communication barriers with limited English proficient (LEP) patients may lead to disparities in anticoagulation outcomes. Methods and Results: We analyzed data on 3770 patients receiving care from the Massachusetts General Hospital Anticoagulation Management Service (AMS) from 2009 to 2010. This included data on international normalized ratio (INR) tests and patient characteristics, including language and whether AMS used a surrogate for primary communication. We calculated percent time in therapeutic range (TTR for INR between 2.0 and 3.0) and time in danger range (TDR for INR 3.5) using the standard Rosendaal interpolation method. There were 241 LEP patients; LEP patients, compared with non‐LEP patients, had a higher number of comorbidities (3.2 versus 2.9 comorbidities, P=0.004), were more frequently uninsured (17.0% versus 4.3%, P<0.001), and less educated (47.7% versus 6.0% ≤high school education, P<0.001). LEP patients compared with non‐LEP patients spent less TTR (71.6% versus 74.0%, P=0.007) and more TDR (12.9% versus 11.3%, P=0.018). In adjusted analyses, LEP patients had lower TTR as compared with non‐LEP patients (OR 1.5, 95% CI [1.1, 2.2]). LEP patients who used a communication surrogate spent less TTR and more TDR. Conclusion: Even within a large anticoagulation clinic with a high average TTR, a small but significant decrease in TTR was observed for LEP patients compared with English speakers. Future studies are warranted to explore how the use of professional interpreters impact TTR for LEP patients

Association between Psychotic Symptoms and Cortical Thickness Reduction across the Schizophrenia Spectrum

The current study provides a complete MRI analysis of thickness throughout the cerebral cortical mantle in patients with schizophrenia (SZ) and rigorously screened and matched unaffected relatives and controls and an assessment of its relation to psychopathology and subjective cognitive function. We analyzed 3D-anatomical magnetic resonance imaging data sets, obtained at 3 Tesla, from three different subject groups: 25 SZ patients, 29 first-degree relatives and 37 healthy control subjects. We computed whole-brain cortical thickness using the Freesurfer software and assessed group differences. We also acquired clinical and psychometric data. The results showed markedly reduced cortical thickness in SZ patients compared with controls, most notably in the frontal and temporal lobes, in the superior parietal lobe and several limbic areas, with intermediate levels of cortical thickness in relatives. In both patients and relatives, we found an association between subjective cognitive dysfunction and reduced thickness of frontal cortex, and predisposition towards hallucinations and reduced thickness of the superior temporal gyrus. Our findings suggest that changes in specific cortical areas may predispose to specific symptoms, as exemplified by the association between temporal cortex thinning and hallucinations

Portable Vis-NIR und MIR Spektroskopie zur Erfassung von Bodeneigenschaften im Labor und im Gelände: Ergebnisse einer Fallstudie an Lößböden der Querfurter Platte (Sachsen-Anhalt)

Laborbasierte spektroskopische Verfahren im nahen Infrarot (inklusive dem sichtbaren Bereich; Vis-NIR, 400 – 2500 nm) und im mittleren Infrarot (MIR, 2500 – 25000 nm) stellen erprobte Methoden zur quantitativen Erfassung verschiedenster Bodeneigenschaften in Ergänzung zur klassischen Laboranalytik dar. Im MIR-Bereich hat sich als Technik die DRIFT („Diffuse Reflectance Infrared Fourier Transform“)-Spektroskopie etabliert, die, vergleichbar mit der Vis-NIR Spektroskopie, wenig Aufwand bei der Probenaufbereitung erfordert. Im Gegensatz zum Vis-NIR Bereich fehlen im MIR-Bereich Fallstudien mit „in-situ“ Messungen, da portable FTIR-Spektrometer erst seit wenigen Jahren verfügbar sind. Die vorliegende Untersuchung trägt hier zum Lückenschluss bei. Für 100 Ackerstandorte der Querfurter Platte (Tschernoseme der Mitteldeutschen Trockengebiete) wurden mit portablen Vis-NIR und MIR-Geräten (ASD FieldSpec-4 Wide-Res Feldpektroradiometer mit „Contact Probe“; aktives Agilent 4300 Handheld FTIR-Spektrometer mit „Diffuse Reflectance Sample Interface“) in-situ Messungen durchgeführt. Zusätzlich erfolgten eine Probennahme und erneute spektrale Vermessung der aufbereiteten Proben (gemahlen und luftgetrocknet) im Labor; nasschemisch wurden Referenzwerte für den gesamten und den organischen Kohlenstoff, Gesamt-Stickstoffgehalte und ph-Werte ermittelt. Auf dieser Datenbasis werden folgende Fragestellungen behandelt: 1) Vergleich beider Techniken hinsichtlich ihrer Potenziale zur Quantifizierung der genannten Bodengrößen (sowohl im Labor als auch im Gelände) mit verschiedenen multivariaten Kalibrationsansätzen (insbesondere Partial Least Squares Regression mit und ohne Spektralvariablenselektion); 2) Bewertung von Limitationen beider Techniken bei der praktischen Durchführung von Geländemessungen; 3) Möglichkeiten zur synergistischen Nutzung beider Spektralbereiche für eine verbesserte Abschätzung der Bodeneigenschaften