Elemental hyper-accumulation in mushrooms with a focus on arsenic

Mushrooms play an important role in the biogeochemical cycling of trace elements. They do neither belong to plants nor to animals but form their own kingdom. Some mushrooms live in symbiosis with plants or as parasites on other living organisms. Mushrooms are abundant worldwide. Although omnipresent, they only become noticeable when fruiting bodies are produced. Mushrooms are becoming a more important part of our diet and are used in various aspects of our life. They are used for antibiotics production, in the food industry(wine, cheese...) but also as biological pesticides. New applications cover plastics degradation and use as a leather replacement. Some mushrooms can grow very fast and are able to (hyper)accumulate elements from the surrounding soil. This presentation will cover elemental accumulation by mushrooms with a focus on the unique arsenic speciation in mushrooms

The contents of risk elements, arsenic speciation, and possible interactions of elements and betalains in beetroot (Beta vulgaris, L.) growing in contaminated soil

The effect of enhanced soil risk element contents on the uptake of As, Cd, Pb, and Zn was determined in two pot experiments. Simultaneously, transformation of arsenic and its compounds in beetroot (Beta vulgaris L.) plants was investigated. The mobile fractions of elements were determined in 0.05 mol L−1 (NH4)2SO4 extracts and did not exceed 2% of total soil arsenic, 9% of total cadmium, 3% of total lead, and 8% of total zinc, respectively. Although the soils were extremely contaminated the mobile portions of the elements represented only a small fragment of the total element content. Arsenic contents in beet plants reached up to 25 mg As kg−1 in roots and 48 mg As kg−1 in leaves in the soil characterized by the highest mobile arsenic portion. Arsenic portions extractable with water and phosphate buffer from the beetroot samples did not show significant differences between the extraction agents but the extractability was affected by the arsenic concentration. Arsenic was almost quantitatively extractable from the samples with the lowest total arsenic concentration, whereas in the samples with the highest total arsenic concentration less than 25% was extractable. Arsenate was the dominant arsenic compound in the extracts (70% in phosphate buffer, 50% in water extracts). A small portion of dimethylarsinic acid, not exceeding 0.5%, was detected only in the sample growing in the soil with the highest arsenic concentration. The role of betalains (betanin, isobetanin, vulgaxanthin I and vulgaxanthin II) in transformation/detoxification of arsenic in plants was not confirmed in this experiment because the plants were able to grow in the contaminated soil without any symptoms of arsenic toxicity

Component-based Design of Heterogeneous Reactive Systems in Prometheus

Designing embedded systems increasingly demands coping with heterogeneous systems, involving different models of computation, communication, and execution, on different levels of abstraction and different time scales. The component model BIP (Behavior, Interaction model, Priority) has been designed to support the construction of heterogeneous reactive systems. It enables heterogeneous modeling by separating the notions of behavior, interaction model, and execution model. We present here the design tool Prometheus, which implements the BIP component model, along with a set of algorithms for compositional verification. The use of the component framework is illustrated with two case studies involving different models of computation and communication

Traditional Islamism Confronts a New Actor: Syrian Brotherhood Discourses on Daa'sh

71 pages. A thesis presented to the Department of Social Sciences and the Clark Honors College of the University of Oregon in partial fulfillment of the requirements for degree of Bachelor of Arts, Spring 2016.Exiled from the Syrian political scene for thirty years, the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood seized upon the chaos of the 2011 uprising as an opportunity to revive their dwindling political status in the country. While they have made impressive strides towards this goal, they were certainly not the only organization to utilize the conflict for political ends. Daa' sh-the infamously barbaric Jihadi-Salafi institution-began expanding its operations into Syria as early as 2012. Daa'sh utilizes highly publicized brutality, which continues to revitalize a public dialogue on Islamism, forcing organizations like the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood to grapple with a rapidly evolving political and religious landscape. This Islamist challenge combined with the Ikhwan's struggle to unite various opposition forces has muddled the rhetorical scheme of the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood. Add to these challenges some burgeoning internal divisions, and the result is a rhetorical blunder. In this thesis, I analyze Syrian MB public statements on Daa'sh, focusing on the rhetorical tools they rely on to respond to the political Daa'sh poses to the MB's legitimacy. I conclude by suggesting alternative rhetorical tactics the Ikhwan might use to improve their political standing

Origin and age of the Eisenkappel gabbro to granite suite (Carinthia, SE Austrian Alps)

AbstractThe northern part of the Karawanken plutonic belt is a gabbro–granite complex located just north of the Periadriatic lineament near the Slovenian–Austrian border. Petrographic and geochemical studies of the Eisenkappel intrusive complex indicate that this multiphase plutonic suite developed by a combination of crystal accumulation, fractional crystallization and assimilation processes, magma mixing and mingling. The mafic rocks are alkaline and have within-plate geochemical characteristics, indicating anorogenic magmatism in an extensional setting and derivation from an enriched mantle source. The mafic melts triggered partial melting of the crust and the formation of granite. The granitic rocks are alkalic, metaluminous and have the high Fe/Fe+Mg characteristics of within-plate plutons. Temperature and pressure conditions, derived from amphibole-plagioclase and different amphibole thermobarometers, suggest that the analysed Eisenkappel gabbros crystallized at around 1000±20°C and 380–470MPa, whereas the granitic rock crystallized at T≤800±20°C and≤350MPa. Mineral-whole rock Sm–Nd analyses of two cumulate gabbros yielded 249±8.4Ma and 250±26Ma (εNd: +3.6), garnet-whole rock Sm–Nd analyses of two silicic samples yielded well-constrained ages of 238.4±1.9Ma and 242.1±2.1Ma (εNd: −2.6)

Evil Kingdoms - Nollywood und seine Liebe zum Horror

In Nigeria hat sich in den letzten circa 20 Jahren eine Filmindustrie entwickelt, die zu der drittgrößten der Welt gezählt wird. Mit ihren Videofilmproduktionen überschwemmt die Industrie den ganzen subsaharischen Teil Afrikas. Auch auf der globalen Ebene sind die Produktionen Nollywoods, wie die Industrie genannt wird, in allen Ländern erhältlich, in denen eine nigerianische Diaspora vorhanden ist. Diese Diplomarbeit untersucht mehrere Aspekte des Phänomens Nollywood, wobei das Hauptaugenmerk auf das Genre der Horrorfilme in diesem Filmschaffen gelegt wird. Erstens wird im Sinne einer ethnohistorischen Betrachtung die Einbettung des Phänomens in die historischen und ethnischen Gegebenheiten Nigerias untersucht. Auch die Entwicklung des Filmschaffens in Nigeria wird beleuchtet, um die Wurzeln Nollywoods besser zu verstehen. Zweitens werden, unter Anwendung Pierre Bourdieus theoretischen und methodischen Ansätzen der Praxeologie, die Produktionsbedingungen untersucht, unter denen die Videofilme Nollywoods entstehen. Im Rahmen einer Analyse der Konsumption der Videofilme wurde auch eine Feldforschung unter Mitgliedern der nigerianischen Diasporagemeinde in Wien gemacht. Dabei wurden qualitative Interviews geführt. Die Interviewpartner wurden im Rahmen von thematisch fokussierten Interviews zu ihren Sehgewohnheiten, aber auch zur Frage, warum die Produkte Nollywoods, und hier besonders die Horrorfilme, so erfolgreich sind, befragt. Die Einbettung Nollywoods in eine globalisierte Welt wird unter Zuhilfenahme von Arjun Appadurais theoretischem Konzept der „scapes“ untersucht. Mehrere Horrorfilme werden auf Elemente untersucht, die immer wieder vorkommen und daher das Genre auszeichnen. So sind zum Beispiel die Elemente von Geheimgesellschaften und Geldmagie häufig. Da viele Filme zur Zeit der Militärdiktaturen mit eingeschränkter Meinungsfreiheit entstanden sind, werden diese Elemente als Allegorien auf illegal, zum Beispiel durch Korruption, zu Geld und Macht gekommene Personen gedeutet. Dies erklärt auch zum Teil die Beliebtheit der Horrorfilme. Das Publikum versteht die Andeutungen und kann sich mit der Kritik identifizieren. Hexerei, in Nigeria oft Juju genannt, ist ein weiteres zentrales Element der Horrorfilme. Dies führt im innernigerianischen Diskurs zu großen Kontroversen. Sowohl staatliche Stellen, als auch intellektuelle Kreise, werfen den Produkten Nollywoods vor, Nigeria als rückständig und abergläubig darzustellen. Diesem innernigerianischen Diskurs um Nollywood wird in der vorliegenden Arbeit nachgegangen. Zentral an Nollywood ist, dass die Filme Wünsche und Begierden der afrikanischen Bevölkerung widerspiegeln und deshalb sind diese Filme als Quelle für die kultur- und sozialanthropologische Forschung sehr interessant. In ihnen findet ein Diskurs über die momentane Lage in Afrika statt, der sich an ein afrikanisches Publikum richtet. Die Horrorfilme präsentieren die Auseinandersetzung einer afrikanischen Gesellschaft mit der Tradition und der Modern

Identification of valid reference genes during the differentiation of human myoblasts

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Analysis of RNA expression using real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) traditionally includes reference genes (RG) as an internal control. This practice is being questioned as it becomes increasingly clear that RG may vary considerably under certain experimental conditions. Thus, the validity of a particular RG must be determined for each experimental setting. We used qRT-PCR to measure the levels of six RG, which have been reported in the literature to be invariant. The RG were analyzed in human myoblast cultures under differentiation conditions. We examined the expression by qRT-PCR of mRNA encoding Beta-actin (ACTB), Beta-2-microglobulin (B2M), glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), peptidylprolyl isomerase A (PPIA), TATA box binding protein (TBP) and ribosomal protein, large, P0 (RPLPO). The mRNA expression of the following genes of interest (GOI) were analyzed: skeletal muscle alpha 1 actin (ACTA1), myogenin/myogenic factor 4 (MYOG), embryonic skeletal muscle myosin heavy chain 3 (MYH3) and the activity of creatine phosphokinase (CK). The geNorm, NormFinder and BestKeeper software programs were used to ascertain the most suitable RG to normalize the RNA input.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Using the geNorm program, RPLPO and TBP were found to be the most stable genes, additionally a suitable normalization factor (NF) was calculated. The NormFinder software showed that RPLPO was the most stable, whereas TBP ranked second. BestKeeper program also revealed that RPLPO and TBP as stable genes, but PPIA was the most stable reference gene, whereas GAPDH and ACTB were the worst ranked.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>RNA expression analyses including three independent softwares revealed that RPLPO, TBP as reference genes or NF calculated by geNorm software, are suitable to normalize the mRNA expression in myoblast after culture under differentiation conditions. Significant correlations can be identified between the differentiations markers ACTA1, MYOG, MYH3 and creatine phosphokinase (CK) activity, when the expression is normalized with the NF calculated with RPLPO and TBP.</p

Smart Adaptive Homes and Their Potential to Improve Space Efficiency and Personalisation

Over the last decades, population growth in urban areas and the subsequent rise in demand for housing have resulted in significant space and housing shortages. This paper investigates the influence of smart technologies on small urban dwellings to make them flexible, adaptive and personalised. The study builds on the hypothesis that adaptive homes and smart technology could increase efficiency and space usage up to two to three times compared to a conventional apartment. The present study encompasses a comprehensive semi-systematic literature review that includes several case studies of smart adaptive homes demonstrating various strategies that can be employed to enhance the functionality of small spaces while reducing the physical and psychological limitations associated with them. These strategies involve incorporating time-dependent functions and furniture, as well as division elements that can adapt to the changing needs of users in real-time. This review further categorises types of flexibility and adaptation regarding the size of the moving elements, the time that the transformation takes and whether it is performed manually (by a human) or automatically (by a machine). Results show that smart and adaptive technology can increase space efficiency by reducing the need for separate physical spaces for different activities. Smart technology substantially increases the versatility and multifunctionality of a room in all three dimensions and allows for adaptation and customisation for a variety of users

Susceptibility induced gray–white matter MRI contrast in the human brain

AbstractMR phase images have shown significantly improved contrast between cortical gray and white matter regions compared to magnitude images obtained with gradient echo sequences. A variety of underlying biophysical mechanisms (including iron, blood, myelin content, macromolecular chemical exchange, and fiber orientation) have been suggested to account for this observation but assessing the individual contribution of these factors is limited in vivo.For a closer investigation of iron and myelin induced susceptibility changes, postmortem MRI of six human corpses (age range at death: 56–80years) was acquired in situ. Following autopsy, the iron concentrations in the frontal and occipital cortex as well as in white matter regions were chemically determined. The magnetization transfer ratio (MTR) was used as an indirect measure for myelin content. Susceptibility effects were assessed separately by determining R2* relaxation rates and quantitative phase shifts. Contributions of myelin and iron to local variations of the susceptibility were assessed by univariate and multivariate linear regression analysis.Mean iron concentration was lower in the frontal cortex than in frontal white matter (26±6 vs. 45±6mg/kg wet tissue) while an inverse relation was found in the occipital lobe (cortical gray matter: 41±10 vs. white matter: 34±10mg/kg wet tissue). Multiple regression analysis revealed iron and MTR as independent predictors of the effective transverse relaxation rate R2* but solely MTR was identified as source of MR phase contrast. R2* was correlated with iron concentrations in cortical gray matter only (r=0.42, p<0.05).In conclusion, MR phase contrast between cortical gray and white matter can be mainly attributed to variations in myelin content, but not to iron concentration. Both, myelin and iron impact the effective transverse relaxation rate R2* significantly. Magnitude contrast is limited because it only reflects the extent but not the direction of the susceptibility shift

METAL CONTENTS IN FISH AND CRUSTACEANS FROM BRACKISH, FRESHWATER AND MARINE SYSTEMS IN SOUTH-WESTERN NIGERIA

Prikazanom studijom istražene su koncentracije elemenata u tragovima u mišićima ili cijelim uzorcima 37 riba i rakova sakupljenim mrežama stajačicama u slatkovodnim (Olomore), morskim (Eti osa) i boćatim vodama nigerijskih država Ogun i Lagos, od lipnja do kolovoza 2013. Elementi u tragovima utvrđeni su pomoću ICP-MS nakon digestije u mikrovalnom autoklavnom sustavu. Razultati su otkrili kako je opći trend elemenata u tragovima u uzorkovanim ribama i rakovima morski > boćati > slatkovodni. Uzimajući u obzir sve uzorke, 16,2% i 13,5% prekoračilo je granice bakra i cinka (20 µg g-1 i 30 µg g-1), propisane od strane Europske Unije, dok je 71%, 50%, 79% morskih, slatkovodnih i boćatih uzoraka prekoračilo granicu od 48mg željeza na 60kg čovjeka, koju je postavila FAO/WHO. Uzorci su premašili prihvatljivu granicu postavljenu od strane FAO/WHO, čime je dokazano kako je potrebno uložiti trud u monitoring otpadnih voda koje se ispuštaju u otvorene vode Nigerije.Present study investigated trace element concentrations in either muscles or whole samples of 37 finfish and crustaceans harvested with gillnet from fresh (Olomore), marine (Eti osa) and brackish (Lekki Lagoon) waters of Ogun and Lagos states, Nigeria between June and August 2013. Trace elements were determined using ICP-MS after digestion with a microwave autoclave system. The results revealed that the general trend of trace elements in the sampled finfish and crustaceans was marine > brackish > freshwater. If all the samples are considered, 16.2% and 13.5% exceeded the 20 µg g-1 and 30 µg g-1 limits for Cu and Zn, respectively, as set by the European Union, while 71%, 50%, 79% of marine, fresh and brackish samples, respectively, exceeded the limit of 48 mg Fe per 60 kg person as set by FAO/WHO. In addition, samples exceeded the acceptable limit set by WHO/FAO, thus adequate efforts should be placed on the monitoring of effluents that are being discharged into open water bodies in Nigeria