Quantifying the impact of chemicals on stable carbon and oxygen isotope values of raw pollen

Purification protocols to extract pollen from lake sediments contain chemicals that alter the carbon and oxygen pollen‐isotope values according to pollen characteristics and family affiliation. Modern (raw) pollen of broad‐leaved (Alnus glutinosa, Betula pendula, Carpinus betulus, Corylus avellana, Fagus sylvatica and Quercus robur) and coniferous tree species (Picea abies and Pinus sylvestris) were treated with potassium hydroxide (KOH), hydrofluoric acid (HF), sodium hypochlorite (NaClO) and sulphuric acid (H2SO4) to test the impact on δ13Cpollen and δ18Opollen and assess the applicability in purification protocols. Pollen of broad‐leaved and coniferous trees reacted differently to chemical exposure, but response patterns are generally alike. Alterations of δ13Cpollen values vary between + 1.0‰ (B. pendula, NaClO‐treatment) and −5.0‰ (P. sylvestris, H2SO4‐treatment). The δ13Cpollen values of raw and chemically treated samples seem to be related after treatments with KOH, NaClO and HF, whereas the application of H2SO4 led to inconsistent changes among species. The impact of chemicals on δ18Opollen are more diverse and offsets range between +1.1‰ (C. avellana, NaClO‐treatment) and −17.9‰ (P. sylvestris, H2SO4‐treatment). In general, the use of isotope‐altering chemicals in purification protocols should be brought to a minimum, but the application of KOH and NaClO seems mostly unproblematic before δ13Cpollen and δ18Opollen analysis

Azithromycin inhibits IL-1 secretion and non-canonical inflammasome activation

Deregulation of inflammasome activation was recently identified to be involved in the pathogenesis of various inflammatory diseases. Although macrolide antibiotics display well described immunomodulatory properties, presumably involved in their clinical effects, their impact on inflammasome activation has not been investigated. We compared the influence of macrolides on cytokine induction in human monocytes. The role of intracellular azithromycin- accumulation was examined by interference with Ca++-dependent uptake. We have also analysed the signalling cascades involved in inflammasome activation, and substantiated the findings in a murine sepsis model. Azithromycin, but not clarithromycin or roxithromycin, specifically inhibited IL-1α and IL-1β secretion upon LPS stimulation. Interference with Ca++-dependent uptake abolished the cytokine-modulatory effect, suggesting a role of intracellular azithromycin accumulation in the modulatory role of this macrolide. Azithromycin’s inhibiting effects were observed upon LPS, but not upon flagellin, stimulation. Consistent with this observation, we found impaired induction of the LPS-sensing caspase-4 whereas NF-κB signalling was unaffected. Furthermore, azithromycin specifically affected IL-1β levels in a murine endotoxin sepsis model. We provide the first evidence of a differential impact of macrolides on the inflammasome/IL-1β axis, which may be of relevance in inflammasome-driven diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or asthma

Sub-system mechanical design for an eLISA optical bench

We present the design and development status of the opto-mechanical sub-systems that will be used in an experimental demonstration of imaging systems for eLISA. An optical bench test bed design incorporates a Zerodur® baseplate with lenses, photodetectors, and other opto-mechanics that must be both adjustable - with an accuracy of a few micrometers - and stable over a 0 to 40°C temperature range. The alignment of a multi-lens imaging system and the characterisation of the system in multiple degrees of freedom is particularly challenging. We describe the mechanical design of the precision mechanisms, including thermally stable flexure-based optical mounts and complex multi-lens, multi-axis adjuster mechanisms, and update on the integration of the mechanisms on the optical bench

Homoclinic crossing in open systems: Chaos in periodically perturbed monopole plus quadrupolelike potentials

The Melnikov method is applied to periodically perturbed open systems modeled by an inverse--square--law attraction center plus a quadrupolelike term. A compactification approach that regularizes periodic orbits at infinity is introduced. The (modified) Smale-Birkhoff homoclinic theorem is used to study transversal homoclinic intersections. A larger class of open systems with degenerated (nonhyperbolic) unstable periodic orbits after regularization is also briefly considered.Comment: 19 pages, 15 figures, Revtex

Forschungsbericht über die 1. Untersuchungsetappe der Intervallstudie (IS) "ABF-Studenten"

Die Studie beabsichtigt, Erscheinungsformen, Bedingungen und Zusammenhänge der Entwicklung und Erziehung von 16-18 jährigen Jugendlichen zu ermitteln, die in einem zweijährigen Studium an der ABF "Walter Ulbricht" in Halle auf ein Studium im sozialistischen Ausland vorbereitet werden. Es werden die Ergebnisse einer schriftlichen Befragung, eines Wochenprotokolls und eines Lebenstiltests (im November 1968) von 360 ABF-Studenten des ersten Studienjahres dargestellt und abschließend Schlußfolgerungen gezogen für die Verbesserung der staatlichen Leitungstätigkeit und der Führung der FDJ-Studenten durch die FDJ-Leitungen. Im wesentlichen wurden folgende Einstellungen befragt: (1) politisch-ideologische (Klassenmäßige Positionen und politische Grundeinstellung, zur Politik und gesellschaftlichen Aktivität); (2) zum Studium und Lehrkörper (Studienmotivation, zu Arbeit und Beruf, zur Berufstätigkeit der Frau); (3) zu Massenkommunikationsmitteln und (4) zu Mikrogruppen (Freundeskreis, Familie, FDJ-Mitgliederversammlungen, Freizeit, zu sexuellen Beziehungen und zum täglichen Zeitfond der Studenten). Es wird u.a. festgestellt, daß die Studenten ein relativ einheitliches zielanstrebendes Verhalten und gleichwertige Verhaltensbereitschaft im Sinne der sozialistischen Verhaltensnormen zeigen. (SM

Mucosal prior to systemic application of recombinant adenovirus boosting is more immunogenic than systemic application twice but confers similar protection against SIV-challenge in DNA vaccine-primed macaques

AbstractWe investigated the immunogenicity and efficacy of a bimodal prime/boost vaccine regimen given by various routes in the Simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) rhesus monkey model for AIDS. Twelve animals were immunized with SIV DNA-vectors followed by the application of a recombinant adenovirus (rAd5) expressing the same genes either intramuscularly (i.m.) or by oropharyngeal spray. The second rAd5-application was given i.m. All vaccinees plus six controls were challenged orally with SIVmac239 12 weeks post-final immunization.Both immunization strategies induced strong SIV Gag-specific IFN-γ and T-cell proliferation responses and mediated a conservation of CD4+ memory T-cells and a reduction of viral load during peak viremia following infection. Interestingly, the mucosal group was superior to the systemic group regarding breadth and strength of SIV-specific T-cell responses and exhibited lower vector specific immune responses. Therefore, our data warrant the inclusion of mucosal vector application in a vaccination regimen which makes it less invasive and easier to apply

Molecular MRI in the Earth's Magnetic Field Using Continuous Hyperpolarization of a Biomolecule in Water

In this work, we illustrate a method to continuously hyperpolarize a biomolecule, nicotinamide, in water using parahydrogen and signal amplification by reversible exchange (SABRE). Building on the preparation procedure described recently by Truong et al. [ J. Phys. Chem. B, 2014, 118, 13882-13889 ], aqueous solutions of nicotinamide and an Ir-IMes catalyst were prepared for low-field NMR and MRI. The 1H-polarization was continuously renewed and monitored by NMR experiments at 5.9 mT for more than 1000 s. The polarization achieved corresponds to that induced by a 46 T magnet (P = 1.6 × 10-4) or an enhancement of 104. The polarization persisted, although reduced, if cell culture medium (DPBS with Ca2+ and Mg2+) or human cells (HL-60) were added, but was no longer observable after the addition of human blood. Using a portable MRI unit, fast 1H-MRI was enabled by cycling the magnetic field between 5 mT and the Earth's field for hyperpolarization and imaging, respectively. A model describing the underlying spin physics was developed that revealed a polarization pattern depending on both contact time and magnetic field. Furthermore, the model predicts an opposite phase of the dihydrogen and substrate signal after one exchange, which is likely to result in the cancelation of some signal at low field

Viscosity and Diffusion: Crowding and Salt Effects in Protein Solutions

We report on a joint experimental-theoretical study of collective diffusion in, and static shear viscosity of solutions of bovine serum albumin (BSA) proteins, focusing on the dependence on protein and salt concentration. Data obtained from dynamic light scattering and rheometric measurements are compared to theoretical calculations based on an analytically treatable spheroid model of BSA with isotropic screened Coulomb plus hard-sphere interactions. The only input to the dynamics calculations is the static structure factor obtained from a consistent theoretical fit to a concentration series of small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) data. This fit is based on an integral equation scheme that combines high accuracy with low computational cost. All experimentally probed dynamic and static properties are reproduced theoretically with an at least semi-quantitative accuracy. For lower protein concentration and low salinity, both theory and experiment show a maximum in the reduced viscosity, caused by the electrostatic repulsion of proteins. The validity range of a generalized Stokes-Einstein (GSE) relation connecting viscosity, collective diffusion coefficient, and osmotic compressibility, proposed by Kholodenko and Douglas [PRE 51, 1081 (1995)] is examined. Significant violation of the GSE relation is found, both in experimental data and in theoretical models, in semi-dilute systems at physiological salinity, and under low-salt conditions for arbitrary protein concentrations

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead