Small Band Gap Polymers Synthesized via a Modified Nitration of 4,7-Dibromo-2,1,3-benzothiadiazole

The nitration of 4,7-dibromo-2,1,3-benzothiadiazole was modified by using CF3SO3H and HNO3 as the nitrating agent, and the related yield was improved greatly. On the basis of this improvement, two new small band gap polymers, P1TPQ and P3TPQ, were developed. Bulk heterojunction solar cells based on P3TPO and [6,6]-phenyl-C-71-butyric acid methyl ester exhibit interesting results with a power conversion efficiency of 21% and photoresponse up to 1.1 mu

Spawning migration of salmon and sea trout in the Tornionjoki river

In this collaborative project between the Natural Resources Institute (Luke) and the Swedish Agricultural University (SLU), the migratory behaviour and survival of Tornionjoki (Torneälv in Swedish) salmon and sea trout were studied between 2018‒2021 by the means of radiote-lemetry. Altogether, 227 and 92 salmon were tagged at the Tornionjoki estuary and in the river, respectively. 114 sea trout were tagged in the river. Scale samples and fin clips for age-ing and genetic identification were taken from all the tagged specimens. The external condi-tion of the tagged specimen was also documented (wounds, skin colour, degree of haemor-rhage etc.). Moreover, a separate follow-up of the external condition of salmon caught in trap nets was conducted in 2020‒2021 at sea near the river mouth. The post-release behaviour of salmon tagged at the estuary was markedly different from that normally expected: a large majority (61% and 83% in 2018 and 2019, respectively) of the salmon which ascended the river after tagging aborted their riverine migration on the lower river and returned to the sea during the summer (i.e., before spawning season). Those salmon which stayed in the river until spawning time predominantly stayed on the lowermost 100 km of the river. More varying migration patterns were observed among the salmon tagged in the river. All specimens caught and tagged during the early summer of 2018 and 2019 started to drift downstream after their release and none of them was alive in the river at spawning time. However, about half of the specimens tagged in the river in early summer 2020 and 2021 continued their upstream migration and were alive in the river at spawning time. Salmon tagged in late summer 2018‒2020 stayed alive in the river and almost half of them also moved further upstream by spawning time. A large majority of salmon overwintered in the river after spawning and returned to the sea in spring. The majority of the salmon caught in the estuary had various external damages (wounds, scale losses, fin damages, and skin haem-orrhage). Most of the damages, however, were regarded as minor. No correlation between the occurrence of damages and the post-tagging behaviour of salmon could be detected. Based on the data obtained from tagged sea trout, two distinct groups of trout were recog-nised: (1) non-mature trout which ascended the river in autumn and returned to the sea in spring after overwintering in river, and (2) maturing trout which ascended the river in autumn, overwintered in the river, and continued their upstream spawning migration the following summer. Specimens belonging to either of these groups typically overwintered in the same short lowermost stretch of the river, although some of the maturing trout overwintered fur-ther upstream. At spawning season, tagged trout were located both on the main stem (Torni-onjoki and Muonionjoki rivers) and in several tributaries (Naamijoki, Äkäsjoki, Parkajoki, Paka-joki and Merasjoki rivers). After spawning time, trout which were observed in the tributaries usually moved back to the main stem where they overwintered and descended to the sea the next spring. Both the immature and the maturing overwintering trout descended to the sea at almost the same time in spring. The results of the project highlight the sensitivity of salmon to handling at/around the time of their river ascent in early summer. This sensitivity is likely linked to the recent health problems observed among Tornionjoki salmon and may have induced the unexpected (and seemingly maladaptive) migratory behaviour of salmon observed in the study. The in-river and sea to river movements observed for the Tornionjoki sea trout provides very useful information for efforts to protect this species and strengthen its stock status. In general, mature Tornionjoki sea trout have a two year in-river migratory cycle in connection with spawning, and hence spend a large majority of their life in the river, which underlines the need for good management of the riverine environment and river fisheries

Endothelial Wnt/β-catenin signaling inhibits glioma angiogenesis and normalizes tumor blood vessels by inducing PDGF-B expression

Endothelial Wnt/β-catenin signaling is necessary for angiogenesis of the central nervous system and blood–brain barrier (BBB) differentiation, but its relevance for glioma vascularization is unknown. In this study, we show that doxycycline-dependent Wnt1 expression in subcutaneous and intracranial mouse glioma models induced endothelial Wnt/β-catenin signaling and led to diminished tumor growth, reduced vascular density, and normalized vessels with increased mural cell attachment. These findings were corroborated in GL261 glioma cells intracranially transplanted in mice expressing dominant-active β-catenin specifically in the endothelium. Enforced endothelial β-catenin signaling restored BBB characteristics, whereas inhibition by Dkk1 (Dickkopf-1) had opposing effects. By overactivating the Wnt pathway, we induced the Wnt/β-catenin–Dll4/Notch signaling cascade in tumor endothelia, blocking an angiogenic and favoring a quiescent vascular phenotype, indicated by induction of stalk cell genes. We show that β-catenin transcriptional activity directly regulated endothelial expression of platelet-derived growth factor B (PDGF-B), leading to mural cell recruitment thereby contributing to vascular quiescence and barrier function. We propose that reinforced Wnt/β-catenin signaling leads to inhibition of angiogenesis with normalized and less permeable vessels, which might prove to be a valuable therapeutic target for antiangiogenic and edema glioma therapy

The energy and mass balance of Peruvian glaciers

Peruvian glaciers are important contributors to dry season runoff for agriculture and hydropower, but they are at risk of disappearing due to climate change. We applied a physically based, energy balance melt model at five on-glacier sites within the Peruvian Cordilleras Blanca and Vilcanota. Net shortwave radiation dominates the energy balance, and despite this flux being higher in the dry season, melt rates are lower due to losses from net longwave radiation and the latent heat flux. The sensible heat flux is a relatively small contributor to melt energy. At three of the sites the wet season snowpack was discontinuous, forming and melting within a daily to weekly timescale, and resulting in highly variable melt rates closely related to precipitation dynamics. Cold air temperatures due to a strong La Niña year at Shallap Glacier (Cordillera Blanca) resulted in a continuous wet season snowpack, significantly reducing wet season ablation. Sublimation was most important at the highest site in the accumulation zone of the Quelccaya Ice Cap (Cordillera Vilcanota), accounting for 81% of ablation, compared to 2%–4% for the other sites. Air temperature and precipitation inputs were perturbed to investigate the climate sensitivity of the five glaciers. At the lower sites warmer air temperatures resulted in a switch from snowfall to rain, so that ablation was increased via the decrease in albedo and increase in net shortwave radiation. At the top of Quelccaya Ice Cap warming caused melting to replace sublimation so that ablation increased nonlinearly with air temperature

Calculation of Direct Antiretroviral Treatment Costs and Potential Cost Savings by Using Generics in the German HIV ClinSurv Cohort

BACKGROUND/AIM OF THE STUDY: The study aimed to determine the cost impacts of antiretroviral drugs by analysing a long-term follow-up of direct costs for combined antiretroviral therapy, cART, -regimens in the nationwide long-term observational multi-centre German HIV ClinSurv Cohort. The second aim was to develop potential cost saving strategies by modelling different treatment scenarios. Antiretroviral regimens (ART) from 10,190 HIV-infected patients from 11 participating ClinSurv study centres have been investigated since 1996. Biannual data cART-initiation, cART-changes, surrogate markers, clinical events and the Centre of Disease Control- (CDC)-stage of HIV disease are reported. Treatment duration was calculated on a daily basis via the documented dates for the beginning and end of each antiretroviral drug treatment. Prices were calculated for each individual regimen based on actual office sales prices of the branded pharmaceuticals distributed by the license holder including German taxes. During the 13-year follow-up period, 21,387,427 treatment days were covered. Cumulative direct costs for antiretroviral drugs of €812,877,356 were determined according to an average of €42.08 per day (€7.52 to € 217.70). Since cART is widely used in Germany, the costs for an entire regimen increased by 13.5%. Regimens are more expensive in the advanced stages of HIV disease. The potential for cost savings was calculated using non-nucleotide-reverse-transcriptase-inhibitor, NNRTI, more frequently instead of ritonavir-boosted protease inhibitor, PI/r, in first line therapy. This calculation revealed cumulative savings of 10.9% to 19.8% of daily treatment costs (50% and 90% substitution of PI/r, respectively). Substituting certain branded drugs by generic drugs showed potential cost savings of between 1.6% and 31.8%. Analysis of the data of this nationwide study reflects disease-specific health services research and will give insights into the cost impacts of antiretroviral therapy, and might allow a more rational allocation of resources within the German health care system

Synergetic Effects of Granulocyte-Colony Stimulating Factor and Cognitive Training on Spatial Learning and Survival of Newborn Hippocampal Neurons

Granulocyte-Colony Stimulating Factor (G-CSF) is an endogenous hematopoietic growth factor known for its role in the proliferation and differentiation of cells of the myeloic lineage. Only recently its significance in the CNS has been uncovered. G-CSF attenuates apoptosis and controls proliferation and differentiation of neural stem cells. G-CSF activates upstream kinases of the cAMP response element binding protein (CREB), which is thought to facilitate the survival of neuronal precursors and to recruit new neurons into the dentate gyrus. CREB is also essential for spatial long-term memory formation. To assess the role and the potential of this factor on learning and memory-formation we systemically administered G-CSF in rats engaged in spatial learning in an eight-arm radial maze. G-CSF significantly improved spatial learning and increased in combination with cognitive training the survival of newborn neurons in the hippocampus as measured by bromodeoxyuridine and doublecortin immunohistochemistry. Additionally, G-CSF improved re-acquisition of spatial information after 26 days. These findings support the hypothesis that G-CSF can enhance learning and memory formation. Due to its easy applicability and its history as a well-tolerated hematological drug, the use of G-CSF opens up new neurological treatment opportunities in conditions where learning and memory-formation deficits occur

D7.4 How to be FAIR with your data. A teaching and training handbook for higher education institutions

This handbook aims to support higher education institutions with the integration of FAIR-related content in their curricula and teaching. It was written and edited by a group of about 40 collaborators in a series of six book sprint events that took place between 1 and 10 June 2021. The document provides practical material, such as competence profiles, learning outcomes and lesson plans, and supporting information. It incorporates community feedback received during the public consultation which ran from 27 July to 12 September 2021

Web 2.0 in schools - A study about how laptops changes teaching and communication between teacher and student

Den skolform som vi har idag håller på att förändras många skolor väljer att införa En-till-En projekt. Det innebär att varje elev får en egen dator som de alltid skall ha med sig för att använda i undervisningen. Den här studien har utförts på en skola i Västsverige där de precis har infört ett En-till-En projekt. Hur ändras lärandesituationen när ny teknik kommer in i skolan och hur kan man integrera Web 2.0 i den nya skolformen? Syftet med studien var att undersöka hur kommunikationen mellan elev och lärare har ändrats genom införandet av bärbara datorer i skolan. Vi ville även med studien undersöka hur elevernas förmåga att hantera de möjligheter och frestelser som det innebär att ständigt vara uppkopplad till Internet. Studien visar på vikten av att ha engagerade lärare som är positiva till förändring för ett bra resultat i ett En-till-En projekt. När eleverna har en egen bärbar dator måste de ta mer eget ansvar i skolan och detta leder till ett ökat ansvarstagandet hos eleverna. Studien visar också hur kommunikationen mellan lärare och elever ändras när man integrerar datorer och Web 2.0 i undervisningen

Utveckling av ett grafiskt användargränssnitt för en RISC mikrodator

Detta examensarbete var en del i ett större projekt på ProElec AB i Söderhamn. Företaget ville ta fram en ny produkt i form av en displayenhet som ska kunna kommunicera med ett annat system via en operatör och ett CAN-protokoll. Användargränssnittet (GUI) i produkten understödjer växelverkan mellan en operatör och exempelvis ett hydrauliskt system på en grävskopa. Syftet med detta arbete var därför att hitta en bra metod som kan användas för att utveckla ett applikationsinterface (API) som sedan används för att implementera detta GUI på displayenheten. Enheten består av en mikrodator och en LCD-skärm och är ett system som har begränsat med minne och resurser. Därför så fanns det krav på att applikationen som använder detta API får snabba svarstider och bra prestanda, men även att den blir användarvänlig. För att kontrollera om resultatet blev bra så gjordes också en test för att se om alla krav uppfylldes. Här visade testet att resultatet blev väldigt bra och att inga kvarstående problem fanns kvar att rätta till i det API som togs fram för displayenheten

Utveckling av ett grafiskt användargränssnitt för en RISC mikrodator

Detta examensarbete var en del i ett större projekt på ProElec AB i Söderhamn. Företaget ville ta fram en ny produkt i form av en displayenhet som ska kunna kommunicera med ett annat system via en operatör och ett CAN-protokoll. Användargränssnittet (GUI) i produkten understödjer växelverkan mellan en operatör och exempelvis ett hydrauliskt system på en grävskopa. Syftet med detta arbete var därför att hitta en bra metod som kan användas för att utveckla ett applikationsinterface (API) som sedan används för att implementera detta GUI på displayenheten. Enheten består av en mikrodator och en LCD-skärm och är ett system som har begränsat med minne och resurser. Därför så fanns det krav på att applikationen som använder detta API får snabba svarstider och bra prestanda, men även att den blir användarvänlig. För att kontrollera om resultatet blev bra så gjordes också en test för att se om alla krav uppfylldes. Här visade testet att resultatet blev väldigt bra och att inga kvarstående problem fanns kvar att rätta till i det API som togs fram för displayenheten