Large wind energy converter: Growian 3 MW

The main features of the Growian wind energy converter are presented. Energy yield, environmental impact, and construction of the energy converter are discussed. Reliability of the windpowered system is assessed

Generalized geometry, calibrations and supersymmetry in diverse dimensions

We consider type II backgrounds of the form R^{1,d-1} x M^{10-d} for even d, preserving 2^{d/2} real supercharges; for d = 4, 6, 8 this is minimal supersymmetry in d dimensions, while for d = 2 it is N = (2,0) supersymmetry in two dimensions. For d = 6 we prove, by explicitly solving the Killing-spinor equations, that there is a one-to-one correspondence between background supersymmetry equations in pure-spinor form and D-brane generalized calibrations; this correspondence had been known to hold in the d = 4 case. Assuming the correspondence to hold for all d, we list the calibration forms for all admissible D-branes, as well as the background supersymmetry equations in pure-spinor form. We find a number of general features, including the following: The pattern of codimensions at which each calibration form appears exhibits a (mod 4) periodicity. In all cases one of the pure-spinor equations implies that the internal manifold is generalized Calabi-Yau. Our results are manifestly invariant under generalized mirror symmetry.Comment: 28 pages, 1 tabl

Surface immobilization of hexa-histidine-tagged adeno-associated viral vectors for localized gene delivery.

Adeno-associated viral (AAV) vectors, which are undergoing broad exploration in clinical trials, have significant promise for therapeutic gene delivery because of their safety and delivery efficiency. Gene delivery technologies capable of mediating localized gene expression may further enhance the potential of AAV in a variety of therapeutic applications by reducing spread outside a target region, which may thereby reduce off-target side effects. We have genetically engineered an AAV variant capable of binding to surfaces with high affinity through a hexa-histidine metal-binding interaction. This immobilized AAV vector system mediates high-efficiency delivery to cells that contact the surface and thus may have promise for localized gene delivery, which may aid numerous applications of AAV delivery to gene therapy

Maßnahmen und Ansatzpunkte zur Verbesserung quantitativer Marktinformationen für den Öko-Markt

Marktbeteiligte aus Politik, Wissenschaft und Wirtschaft hatten Bedarf an systematisch abrufbaren, geprüften Daten zum Öko-Markt angemeldet. In einer Projekt-Datenbank wurden die verfügbaren europäischen Strukturdaten zum gesamten und ökologischen Landbau ab 2000 zusammengeführt und so miteinander verknüpft, dass jeweils ein konsistenter Datensatz pro Land und Jahr abgerufen werden kann. Zusätzlich werden konkurrierende Angaben in einem Quellenvergleich übersichtlich dargestellt und ermöglichen es, die Datengenauigkeit einzuschätzen. Für Deutschland stehen zudem aggregierte Umsatzdaten zur Verfügung. Der Aufbau aus den einzelnen Quellen erfolgte nach der Methode Multiple Data Integration der Firma fleXinfo. Systematische Koordinaten und Kennzahlen ermöglichen dem User eine flexible Auswahl, Gliederung und Zusammenfassung. Alle Daten können von den projekteigenen Internetseiten www.zmp.de/biodaten herunter geladen werden. Somit existiert erstmals eine zentrale Datenbank, die es allen Interessenten ermöglicht, nach den jeweiligen Fragestellungen Daten für die EU-25 Länder zu recherchieren und geprüfte Ergebnisse zu erhalten, die dem derzeit bestmöglichen Informationsstand entsprechen. Die drei Methoden zur Erhebung der Strukturdaten im deutschen Öko-Landbau (durch Statistisches Bundesamt, BLE und ZMP) wurden miteinander verglichen und auf mögliche Fehlerquellen hin analysiert. Schließlich wurden unterschiedliche Umsatzdaten für den Naturkostfachhandel methodisch überprüft und anhand verschiedener Stichproben verifiziert. Es wurde eine einheitliche Methodik erarbeitet, die künftig als Benchmark für die deutsche Naturkostbranche dienen kann

Mrgprd Enhances Excitability in Specific Populations of Cutaneous Murine Polymodal Nociceptors

The Mas-related G protein-coupled receptor D (Mrgprd) is selectively expressed in nonpeptidergic nociceptors that innervate the outer layers of mammalian skin. The function of Mrgprd in nociceptive neurons and the physiologically relevant somatosensory stimuli that activate Mrgprd^-expressing (Mrgprd^+) neurons are currently unknown. To address these issues, we studied three Mrgprd knock-in mouse lines using an ex vivo somatosensory preparation to examine the role of the Mrgprd receptor and Mrgprd+ afferents in cutaneous somatosensation. In mouse hairy skin, Mrgprd, as marked by expression of green fluorescent protein reporters, was expressed predominantly in the population of nonpeptidergic, TRPV1-negative, C-polymodal nociceptors. In mice lacking Mrgprd, this population of nociceptors exhibited decreased sensitivity to cold, heat, and mechanical stimuli. Additionally, in vitro patch-clamp studies were performed on cultured dorsal root ganglion neurons from Mrgprd^(–/–) and Mrgprd^(+/–) mice. These studies revealed a higher rheobase in neurons from Mrgprd^(–/–) mice than from Mrgprd^(+/–) mice. Furthermore, the application of the Mrgprd ligand β-alanine significantly reduced the rheobase and increased the firing rate in neurons from Mrgprd^(+/–) mice but was without effect in neurons from Mrgprd^(–/–) mice. Our results demonstrate that Mrgprd influences the excitability of polymodal nonpeptidergic nociceptors to mechanical and thermal stimuli

Universal de Sitter solutions at tree-level

Type IIA string theory compactified on SU(3)-structure manifolds with orientifolds allows for classical de Sitter solutions in four dimensions. In this paper we investigate these solutions from a ten-dimensional point of view. In particular, we demonstrate that there exists an attractive class of de Sitter solutions, whose geometry, fluxes and source terms can be entirely written in terms of the universal forms that are defined on all SU(3)-structure manifolds. These are the forms J and Omega, defining the SU(3)-structure itself, and the torsion classes. The existence of such universal de Sitter solutions is governed by easy-to-verify conditions on the SU(3)-structure, rendering the problem of finding dS solutions purely geometrical. We point out that the known (unstable) solution coming from the compactification on SU(2)x SU(2) is of this kind.Comment: 20 pages, 3 figures, v2: added reference

The problematic backreaction of SUSY-breaking branes

In this paper we investigate the localisation of SUSY-breaking branes which, in the smeared approximation, support specific non-BPS vacua. We show, for a wide class of boundary conditions, that there is no flux vacuum when the branes are described by a genuine delta-function. Even more, we find that the smeared solution is the unique solution with a regular brane profile. Our setup consists of a non-BPS AdS_7 solution in massive IIA supergravity with smeared anti-D6-branes and fluxes T-dual to ISD fluxes in IIB supergravity.Comment: 27 pages, Latex2e, 5 figure

Genetic identification of C fibres that detect massage-like stroking of hairy skin in vivo

Stroking of the skin produces pleasant sensations that can occur during social interactions with conspecifics, such as grooming. Despite numerous physiological studies (reviewed in ref. 2), molecularly defined sensory neurons that detect pleasant stroking of hairy skin in vivo have not been reported. Previously, we identified a rare population of unmyelinated sensory neurons in mice that express the G-protein-coupled receptor MRGPRB4. These neurons exclusively innervate hairy skin with large terminal arborizations that resemble the receptive fields of C-tactile (CT) afferents in humans. Unlike other molecularly defined mechanosensory C-fibre subtypes, MRGPRB4^+ neurons could not be detectably activated by sensory stimulation of the skin ex vivo. Therefore, we developed a preparation for calcium imaging in the spinal projections of these neurons during stimulation of the periphery in intact mice. Here we show that MRGPRB4^+ neurons are activated by massage-like stroking of hairy skin, but not by noxious punctate mechanical stimulation. By contrast, a different population of C fibres expressing MRGPRD was activated by pinching but not by stroking, consistent with previous physiological and behavioural data. Pharmacogenetic activation of Mrgprb4-expressing neurons in freely behaving mice promoted conditioned place preference, indicating that such activation is positively reinforcing and/or anxiolytic. These data open the way to understanding the function of MRGPRB4 neurons during natural behaviours, and provide a general approach to the functional characterization of genetically identified subsets of somatosensory neurons in vivo

Revisiting the S-matrix approach to the open superstring low energy effective lagrangian

The conventional S-matrix approach to the (tree level) open string low energy effective lagrangian assumes that, in order to obtain all its bosonic ${\alpha'}^N$ order terms, it is necessary to know the open string (tree level) $(N+2)$-point amplitude of massless bosons, at least expanded at that order in $\alpha'$. In this work we clarify that the previous claim is indeed valid for the bosonic open string, but for the supersymmetric one the situation is much more better than that: there are constraints in the kinematical bosonic terms of the amplitude (probably due to Spacetime Supersymmetry) such that a much lower open superstring $n$-point amplitude is needed to find all the ${\alpha'}^N$ order terms. In this `revisited' S-matrix approach we have checked that, at least up to ${\alpha'}^4$ order, using these kinematical constraints and only the known open superstring 4-point amplitude, it is possible to determine all the bosonic terms of the low energy effective lagrangian. The sort of results that we obtain seem to agree completely with the ones achieved by the method of BPS configurations, proposed about ten years ago. By means of the KLT relations, our results can be mapped to the NS-NS sector of the low energy effective lagrangian of the type II string theories implying that there one can also find kinematical constraints in the $N$-point amplitudes and that important informations can be inferred, at least up to ${\alpha'}^4$ order, by only using the (tree level) 4-point amplitude.Comment: 34 pages, 3 figure, Submitted on Aug 4, 2012, Published on Oct 15, 201