Monitoring of Deep Fluids in the Nankai Subduction Complex, SE offshore Japan

Fluids are of great importance for various geological processes. To improve our understanding of fluid generation and migration in the Nankai Trough subduction complex, SE offshore Japan, this PhD thesis uses different borehole monitoring techniques that were applied in the course of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Nankai Trough Seismogenic Zone Experiment. Long-term monitoring with a SmartPlug borehole observatory was conducted at a splay fault system cutting through the accretionary prism. Further landward, beneath the Kumano forearc basin, information about in situ composition of fluids was obtained by drilling mud gas monitoring and sampling during riser drilling with drilling vessel Chikyu. Long-term pressure data revealed that the fluid pressure data is affected by a wide range of natural signals. Tidal noise was used to estimate hydrogeological fault zone properties. Beneath the Kumano forearc basin, fluid migration and mixing in the accretionary prism is supported by analyses of drilling mud gas focusing on noble gas isotopes and hydrocarbon gas composition. Fluid pathways and mechanisms of fluid migration remain unclear

2-Sulfonylpyrimidines as Privileged Warheads for the Development of S. aureus Sortase A Inhibitors

Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most frequent causes of nosocomial and community-acquired infections, with emerging multiresistant isolates causing a significant burden to public health systems. We identified 2-sulfonylpyrimidines as a new class of potent inhibitors against S. aureus sortase A acting by covalent modification of the active site cysteine 184. Series of derivatives were synthesized to derive structure-activity relationship (SAR) with the most potent compounds displaying low micromolar K(I) values. Studies on the inhibition selectivity of homologous cysteine proteases showed that 2-sulfonylpyrimidines reacted efficiently with protonated cysteine residues as found in sortase A, though surprisingly, no reaction occurred with the more nucleophilic cysteine residue from imidazolinium-thiolate dyads of cathepsin-like proteases. By means of enzymatic and chemical kinetics as well as quantum chemical calculations, it could be rationalized that the S ( N )Ar reaction between protonated cysteine residues and 2-sulfonylpyrimidines proceeds in a concerted fashion, and the mechanism involves a ternary transition state with a conjugated base. Molecular docking and enzyme inhibition at variable pH values allowed us to hypothesize that in sortase A this base is represented by the catalytic histidine 120, which could be substantiated by QM model calculation with 4-methylimidazole as histidine analog

Elemental (im-)miscibility determines phase formation of multinary nanoparticles co-sputtered in ionic liquids

Non-equilibrium synthesis methods allow to alloy bulk-immiscible elements into multinary nanoparticles, which broadens the design space for new materials.Whereas sputtering onto solid substrates can combine immiscible elements into thin film solid solutions, this is not clear for sputtering of nanoparticles in ionicliquids. Thus, the suitability of sputtering in ionic liquids for producing nanoparticles of immiscible elements is investigated by co-sputtering the systems Au-Cu (miscible), Au-Ru and Cu-Ru (both immiscible), and Au-Cu-Ru on the surface of the ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bis-trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide [Bmim][(Tf)2N]. The sputtered nanoparticles were analyzed to obtain (i) knowledge concerning the general formation process ofnanoparticles when sputtering onto ionic liquid surfaces and (ii) information, if alloy nanoparticles of immiscible elements can be synthesized as well as (iii)evidence if the Hume-Rothery rules for solid solubility are valid for sputtered nanoparticles. Accompanying atomistic simulations using density-functional theoryfor clusters of different size and ordering confirm that the miscibility of Au-Cu and the immiscibility of Au-Ru and Cu-Ru govern the thermodynamic stabilityof the nanoparticles. Based on the matching experimental and theoretical results for the NP/IL-systems concerning NP stability, a formation model of multinaryNPs in ILs was developed

Jung und Alt im Hörsaal:Erfahrungen jüngerer Studierender mit dem „Studium im Alter“ an der Universität Münster

Das „Studium im Alter“ ist ein Weiterbildungsangebot der Universität Münster für Personen im mittleren und höheren Lebensalter, die als Gasthörer gemeinsam mit jüngeren, regulären Studierenden Vorlesungen und Seminare an der Hochschule besuchen. In der Presse erschienen von Zeit zu Zeit Berichte über Konflikte, die das Gaststudium der Älteren in den Hörsälen verursacht. Das nahm eine Gruppe von Teilnehmern am „Studium im Alter“ zum Anlass, in einem zweisemestrigen Forschungsprojekt zu untersuchen, inwiefern solche Berichte die Regel oder Einzelfälle beschreiben. Das Ergebnis der schriftlichen Befragung regulärer Studierender zu Ihren Erfahrungen mit Studierenden im Alter liegt mit dieser Studie vor. Abgesehen von wenigen Ausnahmen belegt sie ein grundsätzlich harmonisches Miteinander von jüngeren und älteren Studierenden in den Hörsälen der Universität Münster