Protective Effect of a 21-Aminosteroid during Experimental Pneumococcal Meningitis

This study investigated whether the 21-aminosteroid U74389F, an inhibitor of lipid peroxidation, attenuates pathophysiologic changes in experimental pneumococcal meningitis. Infected rats injected intravenously with vehicle and U74389F developed increases in regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF), intracranial pressure (ICP), brain water content, and white blood cells (WBC) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) within 8 h after intracisternal challenge. Pretreatment with or administration of U74389F 4 h after infection significantly reduced the increase in ICP but had no effect on rCBF increase. Moreover, U74389F pretreatment significantly reduced brain water content and CSF WBC count. In vitro, U74389F inhibited iron-dependent lipid peroxidation of astrocyte cultures and the production of tumor necrosis factor-a, interleukin-6, and nitric oxide by stimulated macrophages. These data suggest that U74389F modulates early pathophysiologic alterations in experimental pneumococcal meningiti

An Observational Estimate for the Mean Secular Evolution Rate in Spiral Galaxies

We have observationally quantified the effect of gravitational torques on stars in disk galaxies due to the stellar distribution itself and explored whether these torques are efficient at transporting angular momentum within a Hubble Time. We derive instantaneous torque maps for a sample of 24 spiral galaxies, based on stellar mass maps that were derived using the pixel-by-pixel mass-to-light estimator by Zibetti, Rix and Charlot. In conjunction with an estimate of the rotation velocity, the mass maps allow us to determine the torque-induced instantaneous angular momentum flow across different radii, resulting from the overall stellar distributions for each galaxy in the sample. By stacking the sample, which effectively replaces a time average by an ensemble average, we find that the torques due to the stellar disk act to transport angular momentum outward over much of the disk (within 3 disk scale lengths). The strength of the ensemble-averaged gravitational torques within one disk scale length have a timescale of ~ 4 Gyr for angular momentum redistribution. This study is the first to observationally determine the strength of torque-driven angular momentum flow of stars for a sample of spiral galaxies, providing an important empirical constraint on secular evolution. (abridged)Comment: 24 pages, 18 Figures A high resolution version of this paper can be found at http://www.mpia-hd.mpg.de/~foyle/papers/MN-09-1350-MJ.pd

In search of the authentic nation: landscape and national identity in Canada and Switzerland

While the study of nationalism and national identity has flourished in the last decade, little attention has been devoted to the conditions under which natural environments acquire significance in definitions of nationhood. This article examines the identity-forming role of landscape depictions in two polyethnic nation-states: Canada and Switzerland. Two types of geographical national identity are identified. The first – what we call the ‘nationalisation of nature’– portrays zarticular landscapes as expressions of national authenticity. The second pattern – what we refer to as the ‘naturalisation of the nation’– rests upon a notion of geographical determinism that depicts specific landscapes as forces capable of determining national identity. The authors offer two reasons why the second pattern came to prevail in the cases under consideration: (1) the affinity between wild landscape and the Romantic ideal of pure, rugged nature, and (2) a divergence between the nationalist ideal of ethnic homogeneity and the polyethnic composition of the two societies under consideration

Selective Abrogation of Major Histocompatibility Complex Class II Expression on Extrahematopoietic Cells in Mice Lacking Promoter IV of the Class II Transactivator Gene

MHC class II (MHCII) molecules play a pivotal role in the induction and regulation of immune responses. The transcriptional coactivator class II transactivator (CIITA) controls MHCII expression. The CIITA gene is regulated by three independent promoters (pI, pIII, pIV). We have generated pIV knockout mice. These mice exhibit selective abrogation of interferon (IFN)-γ–induced MHCII expression on a wide variety of non-bone marrow–derived cells, including endothelia, epithelia, astrocytes, and fibroblasts. Constitutive MHCII expression on cortical thymic epithelial cells, and thus positive selection of CD4+ T cells, is also abolished. In contrast, constitutive and inducible MHCII expression is unaffected on professional antigen-presenting cells, including B cells, dendritic cells, and IFN-γ–activated cells of the macrophage lineage. pIV−/− mice have thus allowed precise definition of CIITA pIV usage in vivo. Moreover, they represent a unique animal model for studying the significance and contribution of MHCII-mediated antigen presentation by nonprofessional antigen-presenting cells in health and disease

Evaluation der Berufseinstiegsbegleitung nach § 421s SGB III: Zwischenbericht 2011

Die Anforderungen an Schülerinnen und Schüler zwei Jahre vor ihrem Schulabschluss sind hoch. Schulisch sind sie mit vielen Prüfungen gefordert. Daneben müssen sie Bewerbungen für Ausbildungsplätze schreiben. Wenn es zum Bewerbungsgespräch kommt, stehen sie vor einer unbekannten Situation. Viele sind unsicher darüber, wie es nach der Schule weitergeht. Das Berufsleben - später meist selbstverständlich - ist die große Unbekannte. In dieser Phase hilft die Berufseinstiegsbegleitung nach dem Arbeitsförderungsrecht derzeit in einer modellhaften Erprobung an rund 1.000 Schulen denjenigen, die besondere Schwierigkeiten beim Schulabschluss und beim Übergang in die berufliche Zukunft haben. Bisher wurden dabei rund 37.000 Schülerinnen und Schülern durch die Bundesagentur für Arbeit gefördert. Die begleitende Wirkungsforschung (Evaluation) zeigt nun, dass sich bei den Teilnehmenden leichte Verbesserungen der Noten in Mathematik, Deutsch und Englisch zeigen. Von denjenigen, die die Schule „in Begleitung“ verlassen haben, haben 22,8 % eine betriebliche und 5,1 % eine schulische Berufsausbildung begonnen. Vergleichszahlen zu Übergängen von der Schule in den Beruf von jungen Menschen "ohne entsprechende Begleitung" liegen noch nicht vor. Nach der Schule verteilen sich die Schülerinnen und Schüler auf verschiedene Betriebe, Berufsschulen und andere Einrichtungen. Für die Tätigkeit der Berufseinstiegsbegleiterinnen und -begleiter stellt dies eine räumliche und eine organisatorische Herausforderung dar. Denn die Berufseinstiegsbegleitung endet in der Berufsausbildung normalerweise erst nach sechs Monaten. Damit soll die kritische Anfangsphase, in der die meisten Abbrüche stattfinden, stabilisiert werden. Die bisherigen positiven Erfahrungen mit der Berufseinstiegsbegleitung haben die Bundesregierung dazu veranlasst, im Entwurf eines Gesetzes zur Verbesserung der Eingliederungschancen am Arbeitsmarkt die Entfristung der Berufseinstiegsbegleitung vorzuschlagen. Der Deutsche Bundestag hat dieses Gesetz am 23. September 2011 verabschiedet

Gêneses urbanas do colonialismo: síntese de encontros culturais

Investigações sobre a gênese das vilas litorâneas de Cananeia, Iguape, São Vicente, Santos, São Sebastião e Ubatuba, no atual estado de São Paulo, evidenciam a significativa contribuição das sociedades indígenas nas ocupações do colonialismo. Presentes alguns séculos antes da chegada dos europeus, elas elegeram essa frente atlântica como habitat, estabelecendo em nichos ecológicos seus lugares de vivência. Tais escolhas balizaram as futuras instalações. Uma recorrência simboliza o encontro cultural entre indígenas e europeus: a articulação do módulo espacial da Matriz com a contiguidade da "rua direita"

Les droits disciplinaires des fonctions publiques : « unification », « harmonisation » ou « distanciation ». A propos de la loi du 26 avril 2016 relative à la déontologie et aux droits et obligations des fonctionnaires

The production of tt‾ , W+bb‾ and W+cc‾ is studied in the forward region of proton–proton collisions collected at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV by the LHCb experiment, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.98±0.02 fb−1 . The W bosons are reconstructed in the decays W→ℓν , where ℓ denotes muon or electron, while the b and c quarks are reconstructed as jets. All measured cross-sections are in agreement with next-to-leading-order Standard Model predictions.The production of $t\overline{t}$, $W+b\overline{b}$ and $W+c\overline{c}$ is studied in the forward region of proton-proton collisions collected at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV by the LHCb experiment, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.98 $\pm$ 0.02 \mbox{fb}^{-1}. The $W$ bosons are reconstructed in the decays $W\rightarrow\ell\nu$, where $\ell$ denotes muon or electron, while the $b$ and $c$ quarks are reconstructed as jets. All measured cross-sections are in agreement with next-to-leading-order Standard Model predictions

Dissecting the Shared Genetic Architecture of Suicide Attempt, Psychiatric Disorders, and Known Risk Factors

Background Suicide is a leading cause of death worldwide, and nonfatal suicide attempts, which occur far more frequently, are a major source of disability and social and economic burden. Both have substantial genetic etiology, which is partially shared and partially distinct from that of related psychiatric disorders. Methods We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of 29,782 suicide attempt (SA) cases and 519,961 controls in the International Suicide Genetics Consortium (ISGC). The GWAS of SA was conditioned on psychiatric disorders using GWAS summary statistics via multitrait-based conditional and joint analysis, to remove genetic effects on SA mediated by psychiatric disorders. We investigated the shared and divergent genetic architectures of SA, psychiatric disorders, and other known risk factors. Results Two loci reached genome-wide significance for SA: the major histocompatibility complex and an intergenic locus on chromosome 7, the latter of which remained associated with SA after conditioning on psychiatric disorders and replicated in an independent cohort from the Million Veteran Program. This locus has been implicated in risk-taking behavior, smoking, and insomnia. SA showed strong genetic correlation with psychiatric disorders, particularly major depression, and also with smoking, pain, risk-taking behavior, sleep disturbances, lower educational attainment, reproductive traits, lower socioeconomic status, and poorer general health. After conditioning on psychiatric disorders, the genetic correlations between SA and psychiatric disorders decreased, whereas those with nonpsychiatric traits remained largely unchanged. Conclusions Our results identify a risk locus that contributes more strongly to SA than other phenotypes and suggest a shared underlying biology between SA and known risk factors that is not mediated by psychiatric disorders.Peer reviewe