Mittelalterlich-neuzeitliche Landschaftsentwicklung im Südsolling: die Dorfwüstung Winnefeld

Im heute forstwirtschaftlich genutzten Südsolling(Niedersachsen) wurde die Entwicklung eines Dorfes während Mittelalter und Neuzeit im Rahmen eines interdisziplinären Forschungsprojektes rekonstruiert. Zur Untersuchung der mittelalterlichen Besiedlungsgeschichte und der Veränderung der Böden und Sedimente wurden im Zentrum der mittelalterlichen Dorfwüstung Winnefeld 16 Aufschlüsse angelegt und zusammen mit weiteren 14 archäologischen Grabungsflächen aufgenommen und analysiert. Die Geländeoberfläche des Dorfzentrums veränderte sich im 14. Jh. stark. Östlich der romanischen Kirche riss in einer flachen periglazialen Delle eine Schlucht während eines Starkniederschlages 2,5 bis 2,7 m tief ein. Eine sehr wahrscheinlich hier existierende Dorfstraße wurde erodiert. Zum Ende desselben Niederschlages lagerte der nachlassende Abfluss ein steinreiches Sediment ab. Die Aue des Reiherbaches quert das Dorfzentrum. Unter Feinsedimenten wurde ein Schotterkörper identizifiert, der weit mehr als 1000 Keramikfragmente, Ziegelbruch und Metallstücke enthielt. Datierungen ergaben, dass die Akkumulation zwischen etwa 1330 und 1400 n. Chr. stattfand. Sedimentologische Untersuchungen weisen nach, dass der obere Schotterkörper in der Aue des Reiherbaches während eines einzigen Starkniederschlages im 14. Jh. abgelagert wurde. Extrem starker Abfluss hatte Gebäude am Rand der Aue des Reiherbaches fortgerissen. Bruchstücke der Gebäude (hauptsächlich Ziegel) und Teile des Inventars (vor allem Keramikbruch) sedimentierten zusammen mit Sandsteinen nach Transportdistanzen von wenigen Dekametern in der Reiherbachaue. Eine Analyse von Schriftquellen legt nahe, dass der Starkniederschlag in der zweiten Julihälfte des Jahres 1342 stattfand. Erstmals wurde konkret für eine Mittelgebirgsregion nachgewiesen, welche verheerenden Folgen der Jahrtausendniederschlag von 1342 in einer Siedlung hatte. Mit hoher Wahrscheinlichkeit wurde die Lebensgrundlage der siedelten Menschen durch dieses Ereignis nahezu vollständig vernichtet. Nicht die Unkenntnis der Menschen zu den für eine landwirtschaftliche Nutzung scheinbar ungünstigen Gegebenheiten im Solling, sondern die katastrophalen Folgen dieses Extremereignisses waren ein wesentlicher Grund für die Aufgabe wahrscheinlich auch weiterer Siedlungen in dieser Mittelgebirgsregion

An analysis of appropriate delivery of postoperative radiation therapy for endometrial cancer using the RAND/UCLA Appropriateness Method: Executive summary

PurposeTo summarize the results of American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO)'s analysis of appropriate delivery of postoperative radiation therapy (RT) for endometrial cancer using the RAND/University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Appropriateness Method, outline areas of convergence and divergence with the 2014 ASTRO endometrial Guideline, and highlight where this analysis provides new information or perspective.Methods and materialsThe RAND/UCLA Appropriateness Method was used to combine available evidence with expert opinion. A comprehensive literature review was conducted and a multidisciplinary panel rated the appropriateness of RT options for different clinical scenarios. Treatments were categorized by the median rating as Appropriate, Uncertain, or Inappropriate.ResultsThe ASTRO endometrial Guideline and this analysis using the RAND/UCLA Appropriateness Method did not recommend adjuvant RT for early-stage, low-risk endometrioid cancers and largely agree regarding use of vaginal brachytherapy for low-intermediate and high-intermediate risk patients. For more advanced endometrioid cancer, chemotherapy with RT is supported by both documents. The Guideline and the RAND/UCLA analysis diverged regarding use of pelvic radiation. For stages II and III, this analysis rated external beam RT plus vaginal brachytherapy Appropriate, whereas the Guideline preferred external beam alone. In addition, this analysis offers insight on the role of histology, extent of nodal dissection, and para-aortic nodal irradiation; the use of intensity modulated RT; and management of stage IVA.ConclusionsThis analysis based on the RAND/UCLA Method shows significant agreement with the 2014 endometrial Guideline. Areas of divergence, often in scenarios with low-level evidence, included use of external beam RT plus vaginal brachytherapy in stages II and III and external beam RT alone in early-stage patients. Furthermore, the analysis explores other important questions regarding management of this disease site

Size limits of magnetic-domain engineering in continuous in-plane exchange-bias prototype films

Gaul A, Emmrich D, Ueltzhöffer T, et al. Size limits of magnetic-domain engineering in continuous in-plane exchange-bias prototype films. Beilstein Journal of Nanotechnology. 2018;9:2968-2979.Background: The application of superparamagnetic particles as biomolecular transporters in microfluidic systems for lab-on-a-chip applications crucially depends on the ability to control their motion. One approach for magnetic-particle motion control is the superposition of static magnetic stray field landscapes (MFLs) with dynamically varying external fields. These MFLs may emerge from magnetic domains engineered both in shape and in their local anisotropies. Motion control of smaller beads does necessarily need smaller magnetic patterns, i.e., MFLs varying on smaller lateral scales. The achievable size limit of engineered magnetic domains depends on the magnetic patterning method and on the magnetic anisotropies of the material system. Smallest patterns are expected to be in the range of the domain wall width of the particular material system. To explore these limits a patterning technology is needed with a spatial resolution significantly smaller than the domain wall width. Results: We demonstrate the application of a helium ion microscope with a beam diameter of 8 nm as a mask-less method for local domain patterning of magnetic thin-film systems. For a prototypical in-plane exchange-bias system the domain wall width has been investigated as a function of the angle between unidirectional anisotropy and domain wall. By shrinking the domain size of periodic domain stripes, we analyzed the influence of domain wall overlap on the domain stability. Finally, by changing the geometry of artificial two-dimensional domains, the influence of domain wall overlap and domain wall geometry on the ultimate domain size in the chosen system was analyzed. Conclusion: The application of a helium ion microscope for magnetic patterning has been shown. It allowed for exploring the fundamental limits of domain engineering in an in-plane exchange-bias thin film as a prototypical system. For two-dimensional domains the limit depends on the domain geometry. The relative orientation between domain wall and anisotropy axes is a crucial parameter and therefore influences the achievable minimum domain size dramatically

Changes in the superior longitudinal fasciculus and anterior thalamic radiation in the left brain are associated with developmental dyscalculia

Developmental dyscalculia is a neurodevelopmental disorder specific to arithmetic learning even with normal intelligence and age-appropriate education. Difficulties often persist from childhood through adulthood lowering the individual’s quality of life. However, the neural correlates of developmental dyscalculia are poorly understood. This study aimed to identify brain structural connectivity alterations in developmental dyscalculia. All participants were recruited from a large scale, non-referred population sample in a longitudinal design. We studied 10 children with developmental dyscalculia (11.3 ± 0.7 years) and 16 typically developing peers (11.2 ± 0.6 years) using diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging. We assessed white matter microstructure with tract-based spatial statistics in regions-of-interest tracts that had previously been related to math ability in children. Then we used global probabilistic tractography for the first time to measure and compare tract length between developmental dyscalculia and typically developing groups. The high angular resolution diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging and crossing-fiber probabilistic tractography allowed us to evaluate the length of the pathways compared to previous studies. The major findings of our study were reduced white matter coherence and shorter tract length of the left superior longitudinal/arcuate fasciculus and left anterior thalamic radiation in the developmental dyscalculia group. Furthermore, the lower white matter coherence and shorter pathways tended to be associated with the lower math performance. These results from the regional analyses indicate that learning, memory and language-related pathways in the left hemisphere might be related to developmental dyscalculia in children

Hemispheric asymmetries in resting-state EEG and fMRI are related to approach and avoidance behaviour, but not to eating behaviour or BMI

Much of our behaviour is driven by two motivational dimensions-approach and avoidance. These have been related to frontal hemispheric asymmetries in clinical and resting-state EEG studies: Approach was linked to higher activity of the left relative to the right hemisphere, while avoidance was related to the opposite pattern. Increased approach behaviour, specifically towards unhealthy foods, is also observed in obesity and has been linked to asymmetry in the framework of the right-brain hypothesis of obesity. Here, we aimed to replicate previous EEG findings of hemispheric asymmetries for self-reported approach/avoidance behaviour and to relate them to eating behaviour. Further, we assessed whether resting fMRI hemispheric asymmetries can be detected and whether they are related to approach/avoidance, eating behaviour and BMI. We analysed three samples: Sample 1 (n = 117) containing EEG and fMRI data from lean participants, and Samples 2 (n = 89) and 3 (n = 152) containing fMRI data from lean, overweight and obese participants. In Sample 1, approach behaviour in women was related to EEG, but not to fMRI hemispheric asymmetries. In Sample 2, approach/avoidance behaviours were related to fMRI hemispheric asymmetries. Finally, hemispheric asymmetries were not related to either BMI or eating behaviour in any of the samples. Our study partly replicates previous EEG findings regarding hemispheric asymmetries and indicates that this relationship could also be captured using fMRI. Our findings suggest that eating behaviour and obesity are likely to be mediated by mechanisms not directly relating to frontal asymmetries in neuronal activation quantified with EEG and fMRI.Peer reviewe

Der Großdolmen Lüdelsen 3 in der westlichen Altmark (Sachsen-Anhalt) – Baugeschichte, Rituale und Landschaftsrekonstruktion

The megalithic tomb Lüdelsen 3 was excavated in 2007 within the frame of the project „Megalithic landscapes of the Altmark“. A complex architectural and depositional history of one of the earliest Funnel Beaker chambered cairns (ca. 3600 cal BC) was decoded. Both early to late Funnel Beaker activities as well as a Single Grave burial could be reconstructed. The architecture and functional change was synchronised to changing local environs. The building ground was subject to deforestation und reforestation activities, related to differential ritual activities. Forest covered the surroundings of the megalithic tomb and the monument itself during most parts of the Neolithic. Accordingly, the tomb could not function as a territorial marker. In spite of a wide range of ritual activities as documented inside the chamber and at the surrounding mound, the number of deposited items is limited. This is in clear contrast to ritual activities at passage graves, within which larger assemblages of artefacts were deposited

Genome-wide association study of 23,500 individuals identifies 7 loci associated with brain ventricular volume

The volume of the lateral ventricles (LV) increases with age and their abnormal enlargement is a key feature of several neurological and psychiatric diseases. Although lateral ventricular volume is heritable, a comprehensive investigation of its genetic determinants is lacking. In this meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies of 23,533 healthy middle-aged to elderly individuals from 26 population-based cohorts, we identify 7 genetic loci associated with LV volume. These loci map to chromosomes 3q28, 7p22.3, 10p12.31, 11q23.1, 12q23.3, 16q24.2, and 22q13.1 and implicate pathways related to tau pathology, S1P signaling, and cytoskeleton organization. We also report a significant genetic overlap between the thalamus and LV volumes (ρgenetic = -0.59, p-value = 3.14 × 10-6), suggesting that these brain structures may share a common biology. These genetic associations of LV volume provide insights into brain morphology

Genetic correlations and genome-wide associations of cortical structure in general population samples of 22824 adults

Cortical thickness, surface area and volumes vary with age and cognitive function, and in neurological and psychiatric diseases. Here we report heritability, genetic correlations and genome-wide associations of these cortical measures across the whole cortex, and in 34 anatomically predefined regions. Our discovery sample comprises 22,824 individuals from 20 cohorts within the Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology (CHARGE) consortium and the UK Biobank. We identify genetic heterogeneity between cortical measures and brain regions, and 160 genome-wide significant associations pointing to wnt/β-catenin, TGF-β and sonic hedgehog pathways. There is enrichment for genes involved in anthropometric traits, hindbrain development, vascular and neurodegenerative disease and psychiatric conditions. These data are a rich resource for studies of the biological mechanisms behind cortical development and aging

Genetic Variants For Head Size Share Genes and Pathways With Cancer

The size of the human head is highly heritable, but genetic drivers of its variation within the general population remain unmapped. We perform a genome-wide association study on head size (N = 80,890) and identify 67 genetic loci, of which 50 are novel. Neuroimaging studies show that 17 variants affect specific brain areas, but most have widespread effects. Gene set enrichment is observed for various cancers and the p53, Wnt, and ErbB signaling pathways. Genes harboring lead variants are enriched for macrocephaly syndrome genes (37-fold) and high-fidelity cancer genes (9-fold), which is not seen for human height variants. Head size variants are also near genes preferentially expressed in intermediate progenitor cells, neural cells linked to evolutionary brain expansion. Our results indicate that genes regulating early brain and cranial growth incline to neoplasia later in life, irrespective of height. This warrants investigation of clinical implications of the link between head size and cancer

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements