Suffixreanalyse und Syllabierung : Zum Verhältnis von phonologischer und morphologischer Segmentierung

[No abstract available

Androgen Receptor and Vasopressin Receptor (AVPR1a) Genetic Polymorphisms are not associated with Marital Status or Fertility among Ariaal Men of Northern Kenya

A growing body of scholarship implicates testosterone and vasopressin in male reproductive behavior, including in humans. Since hormones exert their effects through their respective receptors, an open question has been whether genetic polymorphisms in the androgen receptor and vasopressin 1a receptor (AVPR1a) impact human male social behavior. Here, we sought to test for associations between polymorphisms in the coding region of the androgen receptor and promoter region of AVPR1a in relation to marital status and fertility among pastoralist Ariaal men of northern Kenya. None of the three polymorphisms were related to marital status (single, monogamously married, polygynously married) or fertility (number of current living children). We discuss these null findings in light of existing data

Energetics of discrete selectivity bands and mutation-induced transitions in the calcium-sodium ion channels family

We use Brownian dynamics (BD) simulations to study the ionic conduction and valence selectivity of a generic electrostatic model of a biological ion channel as functions of the fixed charge Qf at its selectivity filter. We are thus able to reconcile the discrete calcium conduction bands recently revealed in our BD simulations, M0 (Qf = 1e), M1 (3e), M2 (5e), with a set of sodium conduction bands L0 (0.5e), L1 (1.5e), thereby obtaining a completed pattern of conduction and selectivity bands vs Qf for the sodium-calcium channels family. An increase of Qf leads to an increase of calcium selectivity: L0 (sodium-selective, nonblocking channel) → M0 (nonselective channel) → L1 (sodium-selective channel with divalent block) → M1 (calcium-selective channel exhibiting the anomalous mole fraction effect). We create a consistent identification scheme where the L0 band is putatively identified with the eukaryotic sodium channel The scheme created is able to account for the experimentally observed mutation-induced transformations between nonselective channels, sodium selective channels, and calcium-selective channels, which we interpret as transitions between different rows of the identification table. By considering the potential energy changes during permeation, we show explicitly that the multi-ion conduction bands of calcium and sodium channels arise as the result of resonant barrierless conduction. The pattern of periodic conduction bands is explained on the basis of sequential neutralization taking account of self-energy, as Qf (z,i) = ze(1/2 + i), where i is the order of the band and z is the valence of the ion. Our results confirm the crucial influence of electrostatic interactions on conduction and on the Ca2+/Na+ valence selectivity of calcium and sodium ion channels. The model and results could be also applicable to biomimetic nanopores with charged walls

The extinct, giant giraffid Sivatherium giganteum: skeletal reconstruction and body mass estimation

Sivatherium giganteum is an extinct giraffid from the Plio–Pleistocene boundary of the Himalayan foothills. To date, there has been no rigorous skeletal reconstruction of this unusual mammal. Historical and contemporary accounts anecdotally state that Sivatherium rivalled the African elephant in terms of its body mass, but this statement has never been tested. Here, we present a three-dimensional composite skeletal reconstruction and calculate a representative body mass estimate for this species using a volumetric method. We find that the estimated adult body mass of 1246 kg (857—1812 kg range) does not approach that of an African elephant, but confirms that Sivatherium was certainly a large giraffid, and may have been the largest ruminant mammal that has ever existed. We contrast this volumetric estimate with a bivariate scaling estimate derived from Sivatherium's humeral circumference and find that there is a discrepancy between the two. The difference implies that the humeral circumference of Sivatherium is greater than expected for an animal of this size, and we speculate this may be linked to a cranial shift in centre of mass

Falta de imigrantes: um aspecto do atraso nordestino

Estudos recentes sobre as origens das desigualdades entre as re-giões brasileiras tem focalizado sobretudo a segunda metade do sé culo dezenove (1). Nesta época transpiraram o crescimento rápido de uma forte economia cafeeira no centro-sul, e a estagnação de uma economia açucareira outrora saudável no Nordeste .

Ficando livre: as alforrias em Campinas no século XIX

Através da análise de 2.093 cartas de alforria levantadas em Campinas, para o período de 1798 a 1888, pretende-se estudar o alforriado "padrão", tal como apresentado pela historiografia sobre o tema. Analisam-se as caracterÍsticas do alforriado (sexo, cor etc.) e da alforria (onerosa ou gratuita). Conclui-se que enquanto a maioria da população escrava era masculina, negra, crioula, em idade produtiva e sem profissão qualificada, as alforrias registradas eram na maior parte de escravas mulatas, crioulas, muito jovens ou muito velhas e empregadas no serviço doméstico. Esse quadro modificou-se nas últimas décadas da escravidão, aproximando-se o padrão do alforriado ao da população escrava.The purpose of this work is to study the "standard" freedman as he is presented by the historiography, through the analysis of 2.093 cartas de alforria found in Campinas in the 1798-1888 period. The characteristics of the freedman are studied (sex, colour etc), as well as the characteristics of the manumissions (freely given or purchased). The conclusions are that while most slaves were male, black, creole, adults of working age and unskilled, the manumissions registered were mostly of female, mulatto, Creole slaves, very young or very old and working in domestic services. This picture changed in the last decades of slavery, when the characteristics of the freedmen became similar to those of the slave population