Differences and similarities between ecological and economic models for biodiversity conservation

In this paper we investigate an important obstacle which substantially complicates cooperation between ecologists and economists but which has received little attention so far: differences between the modelling approaches in economics and ecology. To understand these differences, 60 models addressing issues relevant to biodiversity conservation have been selected randomly from eight international economic and ecological journals. The models have been compared according to a number of criteria including the level of generality/universality the models aim at; the mathematical technique employed for formulation and solution of the model; the level of complexity and the way time, space and uncertainty are taken into account. The economic models sampled are formulated and analysed analytically, tend to be relatively simple and are generally used to investigate general questions. Furthermore, they often ignore space, dynamics and uncertainty. Although some ecological models have similar properties, there is also a substantial number of another type of ecological models that are relatively complex and analysed by simulation. These models tend to be rather specific and often explicitly consider dynamics, space and uncertainty. The integrated ecological-economic models are observed to lie 'in the middle' between ecological and economic models, an unexpected result being that they are not more complex than ecological and economic models (as one could have expected from a simple 'merger' of both modelling attitudes), but have an intermediate complexity. --Ecological-economic modelling,modelling,biodiversity,conservation

Impact of Natural or Synthetic Singletons in the Capsid of Human Bocavirus 1 on Particle Infectivity and Immunoreactivity

Human bocavirus 1 (HBoV1) is a parvovirus that gathers increasing attention due to its pleiotropic role as a pathogen and emerging vector for human gene therapy. Curiously, albeit a large variety of HBoV1 capsid variants has been isolated from human samples, only one has been studied as a gene transfer vector to date. Here, we analyzed a cohort of HBoV1-positive samples and managed to PCR amplify and sequence 29 distinct HBoV1 capsid variants. These differed from the originally reported HBoV1 reference strain in 32 nucleotides or four amino acids, including a frequent change of threonine to serine at position 590. Interestingly, this T590S mutation was associated with lower viral loads in infected patients. Analysis of the time course of infection in two patients for up to 15 weeks revealed a gradual accumulation of T590S, concurrent with drops in viral loads. Surprisingly, in a recombinant vector context, T590S was beneficial and significantly increased titers compared to that of T590 variants but had no major impact on their transduction ability or immunoreactivity. Additional targeted mutations in the HBoV1 capsid identified several residues that are critical for transduction, capsid assembly, or DNA packaging. Our new findings on the phylogeny, infectivity, and immunoreactivity of HBoV1 capsid variants improve our understanding of bocaviral biology and suggest strategies to enhance HBoV1 gene transfer vectors. IMPORTANCE The family of Parvoviridae comprises a wide variety of members that exhibit a unique biology and that are concurrently highly interesting as a scaffold for the development of human gene therapy vectors. A most notable example is human bocavirus 1 (HBoV1), which we and others have recently harnessed to cross-package and deliver recombinant genomes derived from another parvovirus, the adeno-associated virus (AAV). Here, we expanded the repertoire of known HBoV1 variants by cloning 29 distinct HBoV1 capsid sequences from primary human samples and by analyzing their properties as AAV/HBoV1 gene transfer vectors. This led to our discovery of a mutational hot spot at HBoV1 capsid position 590 that accumulated in two patients during natural infection and that lowers viral loads but increases vector yields. Thereby, our study expands our current understanding of HBoV1 biology in infected human subjects and concomitantly provides avenues to improve AAV/HBoV1 gene transfer vectors.Peer reviewe

El Origen de la Obra de Arte y la Verdad en Heidegger

Lo que intentamos con las páginas que siguen -el título que se les da podría provocar justa "admiración"- es introducir al lector en la obra que hemos traducido, no introducir a Heidegger. Desmenuzar las tan condensadas y difíciles páginas, explicar su contenido, señalar los pasajes en los que haya que detenerse y que haya que releer y repensar, las dificultades de intelección, de traducción, por tanto, a veces son insuperables

El Origen de la obra de arte y la verdad en Heidegger

seguido de la traducción del ensayo de Heidegger. El origen de la obra de arte, y del vocabulario filosófico de HeideggerBogot

Plasmapyrolyseverfahren zur effektiven Herstellung chemischer Grundstoffe Schlussbericht

The aimd of the present project is to develop plasma-chemical / plasma-technical processes and requisite plants for the pollution-free disposal of CFC-containing by-products arising in the microelectronics, chemistry, and trade sectors. Knowledge derived from the laboratory is being put to practice on a 30 kW plant. In this plant halogen-containing hydrocarbons, in particular the more persistent ones, are made to react in thermal plasma (steam) at temperatures between 3000 and 4000 C where they are converted to pollutant-free products. These temperatures and the extreme reactiveness of steam they give rise to are sufficient to exclude re-formation of problem substances such as dioxins. (orig./SR)Ziel des Projektes ist es, Verfahren und Anlagen zur schadstofffreien Entsorgung von FCKW-haltigen Abprodukten im Bereich der Mikroelektronik, der Chemie und im gewerblichen Bereich auf der Grundlage der Plasmachemie/-technologie zu entwickeln. In einer 30 kW-Anlage werden die im Labor gewonnenen Erkenntnisse umgesetzt. Halogenhaltige, insbesondere schwer-zerstoerbare Kohlenwasserstoffe, wie PCB, werden in einem thermischen Plasma (Wasserdampf) bei einer Reaktionstemperatur von 3000-4000 C in schadstoffreie Produkte umgewandelt. Eine Rueckbildung zu problematischen Schadstoffen (z.B. Dioxinen) ist auf Grund der hohen Temperaturen und des bei diesen Temperaturen sehr reaktionsfreudigen Wasserdampfes ausgeschlossen. (orig./SR)Available from TIB Hannover: DtF QN1(42,39) / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekSIGLEBundesministerium fuer Forschung und Technologie (BMFT), Bonn (Germany)DEGerman

Ecce, gehalten in den jahren ...

An annual collection of obituary notices of graduates of the school at Grimma deceased during the year.Mode of access: Internet

Vergleich von Einflussfaktoren und Bedingungen des mikrobiellen Kohlenwasserstoff-Abbaus in kontaminierten Boeden unter besonderer Beruecksichtigung der erreichbaren Restkonzentrationen Abschlussbericht

SIGLEAvailable from TIB Hannover: F95B1276+a / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekBundesministerium fuer Forschung und Technologie (BMFT), Bonn (Germany)DEGerman