Employment Barriers and Support Needs of People Living with Psychosis

Part 1: Sustainable ProductionInternational audienceMainly activated by the ambitious global political targets in terms of electrification of transport, the demand for lithium-ion cells will rise strongly in the coming years. Currently, the request is slowed down by the high prices of battery cells. The production process of battery cells is characterized by very heterogeneous areas of expertise in the various process steps. This complicates the economic design of the whole production process considerably and leads to a focusing of the plant engineers to their original core issues. Therefore this article engages at this point and provides a methodology to support the production planner along the entire production planning process. After defining the requirements for the production line, the singular performance of technological alternatives, their suitability for the product as well as the interplay of alternatives are checked. Within in the focus of this paper, all steps are shown in context to lithium-ion-cells. Nevertheless, the presented methodology has a generic approach and can therefore also been used for other production processes

Взаимодействие водорода с интерметаллическими материалами на основе титана

В работе исследовано взаимодействие водорода с металлическими порошками на основе титана в зависимости от морфологических особенностей. Проведенные исследования показали, что максимальное количество сорбированного водорода зависит от исходного состава порошка, в частности наличия гидридов. Кроме того, скорость сорбции зависит от наличия оксидной пленки на поверхности частиц порошка. Также на кинетику сорбции влияет размер частиц, в частности, более развитая поверхность порошка титана иррегулярной формы способствует лучшей сорбции.This work research the interaction of hydrogen with metallic powders based on titanium is depended on the morphological features . The conducted studies showed that the maximum amount of sorbed hydrogen depends on the initial composition of the powder, in particular, the presence of hydrides. In addition, the rate of sorption depends on the presence of an oxide film on the surface of the powder particles. Furthermore, the size of the particles influences the sorption kinetics, in particular, the surface of the irregular shaped titanium powder promotes better sorption

Recruitment of a splicing factor to the nuclear lamina for its inactivation

Precursor messenger RNA splicing is a highly regulated process, mediated by a complex RNA protein machinery, the spliceosome, that encompasses several hundred proteins and five small nuclear RNAs in humans. Emerging evidence suggests that the spatial organization of splicing factors and their spatio temporal dynamics participate in the regulation of splicing. So far, methods to manipulate the spatial distribution of splicing factors in a temporally defined manner in living cells are missing. Here, we describe such an approach that takes advantage of a reversible chemical dimerizer, and outline the requirements for efficient, reversible re localization of splicing factors to selected sub nuclear compartments. In a proof of principle study, the partial re localization of the PRPF38A protein to the nuclear lamina in HEK293T cells induced a moderate increase in intron retention. Our approach allows fast and reversible re localization of splicing factors, has few side effects and can be applied to many splicing factors by fusion of a protein tag through genome engineering. Apart from the systematic analysis of the spatio temporal aspects of splicing regulation, the approach has a large potential for the fast induction and reversal of splicing switches and can reveal mechanisms of splicing regulation in native nuclear environment

Cyclosporine-A-induced nephrotoxicity in children with minimal-change nephrotic syndrome: long-term treatment up to 10 years

The impact of cyclosporine A (CsA) therapy in patients with steroid-dependent nephrotic-syndrome (SDNS) on long-term renal function is controversial. Data beyond 5 years are rare. Long-term renal function was evaluated in children with SDNS with and without CsA therapy, especially beyond 5 years. Twenty children were treated with CsA (study group) for a mean of 5.4 ± 2.2 years (ten patients for 5–11 years). Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was calculated before and after 3 and 12 months and at latest follow-up of therapy. Fifteen children with cyclophosphamide-treated SDNS without CsA served as controls. In the study group, GFR decreased within 12 months from 136 ± 19 to 120 ± 31, to 114 ± 14 ml/min per 1.73 m2 at latest follow-up (p < 0.0001). Patients with CsA > 5 years had a GFR of 111 ± 14 ml/min per 1.73 m2 at latest follow-up without a GFR below 90 ml/min per 1.73 m2. No CsA toxicity was found in biopsies. In the control group, GFR dropped within 3 months, from 137 ± 27 to 130 ± 24, to 126 ± 19 ml/min per 1.73 m2 at latest follow-up (p = 0.1). Patients with and without nephrotoxic CsA therapy showed a drop in GFR. In CsA-treated patients, GFR was about 12% lower at latest follow-up compared with patients without nephrotoxic therapy but always remained within normal range. CsA seems to be safe, even in long-term treatment for more than 5 years

Beta decay and the origin of biological chirality: New experimental results

The proposed connection between the parity-violating handedness of beta particles in radioactive decay and the sign (L) of biological chirality (the Vester-Ulbricht [V-U] hypothesis) is being investigated by measuring the theoretically predicted asymmetry in the formation of triplet positronium in amino acid enantiomers by low energy positrons under reversal of the helicity of the positrons. We find the asymmetry in leucine to be (0.8±1.0)×10 −4 , i.e. consistent with the theoretical, prediction of 10 −6 to 10 −7 . The apparatus is now sensitive enough to test the predicted asymmetry in optically active molecules which have heavy atoms at their chiral centers. The connection between these results and asymmetry in radiolysis by beta-decay electrons is made, and the implications of our limits for the V-U hypothesis discussed. Although the above limits are 10 6 times lower than direct measurements of radiolysis, they are still not small enough to allow us to rule out the V-U hypothesis.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/43347/1/11084_2004_Article_BF00933685.pd

Determinants of legacy effects in pine trees - implications from an irrigation-stop experiment

Tree responses to altered water availability range from immediate (e.g. stomatal regulation) to delayed (e.g. crown size adjustment). The interplay of the different response times and processes, and their effects on long-term whole-tree performance, however, is hardly understood. Here we investigated legacy effects on structures and functions of mature Scots pine in a dry inner-Alpine Swiss valley after stopping an 11-yr lasting irrigation treatment. Measured ecophysiological time series were analysed and interpreted with a system-analytic tree model. We found that the irrigation stop led to a cascade of downregulations of physiological and morphological processes with different response times. Biophysical processes responded within days, whereas needle and shoot lengths, crown transparency, and radial stem growth reached control levels after up to 4 yr only. Modelling suggested that organ and carbon reserve turnover rates play a key role for a tree's responsiveness to environmental changes. Needle turnover rate was found to be most important to accurately model stem growth dynamics. We conclude that leaf area and its adjustment time to new conditions is the main determinant for radial stem growth of pine trees as the transpiring area needs to be supported by a proportional amount of sapwood, despite the growth-inhibiting environmental conditions.Peer reviewe

On the complexity of resource-bounded logics

We revisit decidability results for resource-bounded logics and use decision problems for vector addition systems with states (VASS) to characterise the complexity of (decidable) model-checking problems. We show that the model-checking problem for the logic RB+-ATL is 2EXPTIME-complete by using recent results on alternating VASS. In addition, we establish that the model-checking problem for RBTL is decidable and has the same complexity as for RBTL* (the extension of RBTL with arbitrary path formulae), namely EXPSPACE-complete, proving a new decidability result as a by-product of the approach. Finally, we establish that the model-checking problem for RB+-ATL* is decidable by a reduction to parity games, and show how to synthesise values for resource parameters

Position-dependent effects of locked nucleic acid (LNA) on DNA sequencing and PCR primers

Genomes are becoming heavily annotated with important features. Analysis of these features often employs oligonucleotides that hybridize at defined locations. When the defined location lies in a poor sequence context, traditional design strategies may fail. Locked Nucleic Acid (LNA) can enhance oligonucleotide affinity and specificity. Though LNA has been used in many applications, formal design rules are still being defined. To further this effort we have investigated the effect of LNA on the performance of sequencing and PCR primers in AT-rich regions, where short primers yield poor sequencing reads or PCR yields. LNA was used in three positional patterns: near the 5′ end (LNA-5′), near the 3′ end (LNA-3′) and distributed throughout (LNA-Even). Quantitative measures of sequencing read length (Phred Q30 count) and real-time PCR signal (cycle threshold, C(T)) were characterized using two-way ANOVA. LNA-5′ increased the average Phred Q30 score by 60% and it was never observed to decrease performance. LNA-5′ generated cycle thresholds in quantitative PCR that were comparable to high-yielding conventional primers. In contrast, LNA-3′ and LNA-Even did not improve read lengths or C(T). ANOVA demonstrated the statistical significance of these results and identified significant interaction between the positional design rule and primer sequence