The nature of micro-and nanocrystalline weathering products of sulfidic ores rich in As and Sb

The present work deals with the fundamental questions concerning the weathering of ore deposits, with special weight on the complex multi-component systems. The aim of this work is to investigate weathering processes and their nano- and microcrystalline products, which are formed from As- and Sb-rich ores. To achieve this goal, we investigated selected phases from soil and ore samples for their physicochemical properties. We used a variety of complementary measurement techniques, the main techniques being electron microprobe analysis, laser ablation spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and wet chemical analysis

Aprotinin may increase mortality in low and intermediate risk but not in high risk cardiac surgical patients compared to tranexamic acid and ε-aminocaproic acid - a meta-analysis of randomised and observational trials of over 30.000 patients

Background: To compare the effect of aprotinin with the effect of lysine analogues (tranexamic acid and ε-aminocaproic acid) on early mortality in three subgroups of patients: low, intermediate and high risk of cardiac surgery. Methods and Findings: We performed a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials and observational with the following data sources: Medline, Cochrane Library, and reference lists of identified articles. The primary outcome measure was early (in-hospital/30-day) mortality. The secondary outcome measures were any transfusion of packed red blood cells within 24 hours after surgery, any re-operation for bleeding or massive bleeding, and acute renal dysfunction or failure within the selected cited publications, respectively. Out of 328 search results, 31 studies (15 trials and 16 observational studies) included 33,501 patients. Early mortality was significantly increased after aprotinin vs. lysine analogues with a pooled risk ratio (95% CI) of 1.58 (1.13–2.21), p<0.001 in the low (n = 14,297) and in the intermediate risk subgroup (1.42 (1.09–1.84), p<0.001; n = 14,427), respectively. Contrarily, in the subgroup of high risk patients (n = 4,777), the risk for mortality did not differ significantly between aprotinin and lysine analogues (1.03 (0.67–1.58), p = 0.90). Conclusion: Aprotinin may be associated with an increased risk of mortality in low and intermediate risk cardiac surgery, but presumably may has no effect on early mortality in a subgroup of high risk cardiac surgery compared to lysine analogues. Thus, decisions to re-license aprotinin in lower risk patients should critically be debated. In contrast, aprotinin might probably be beneficial in high risk cardiac surgery as it reduces risk of transfusion and bleeding complications

Interplay of gaugino (co)annihilation processes in the context of a precise relic density calculation

The latest Planck data allow one to determine the dark matter relic density with previously unparalleled precision. In order to achieve a comparable precision on the theory side, we have calculated the full $\mathcal{O}(\alpha_s)$ corrections to the most relevant annihilation and coannihilation processes for relic density calculations within the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM). The interplay of these processes is discussed. The impact of the radiative corrections on the resulting relic density is found to be larger than the experimental uncertainty of the Planck data.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, 18th International Conference From the Planck Scale to the Electroweak Scale, 25-29 May 2015. Ioannina, Greec

Identifying Changes in Bicycle Accident Trends Using GIS and Time Series Information in the City of Zürich

In order to be effective, road safety officers must have a complete overview of the accidents in their area of responsibility, including information pertaining to the location and severity of the accidents, and how the number of accidents are developing over time. Ideally, this information is stored in a Geographic Information System (GIS) enabled database, which helps to facilitate data processing and analysis, which enables improved understanding of the reasons for the accidents and the proposals of how to improve road safety. This paper presents a case study based on accident reports from the Zurich City Police. Using a joint GIS and time series analysis based on negative binomial regression, the data is analyzed to identify trends in accident development for several accident subgroups (e.g., bicycle accidents, senior citizen accidents, e-bike accidents) and specific locations. The subgroup of bicycle accidents will be discussed in more detail. The time series analysis is corrected for exposure (e.g., the increasing number of e-bikes) and forecasts the number of accidents which are likely to occur in the future. Significantly higher numbers of accidents than those expected serve as an early warning that further investigation, leading to possible interventions, is required. The case study shows that with this information, it is possible to identify both geographical areas and accident subgroups that have deviating patterns in accident numbers, and should be further investigated. For bicycle accidents, 4 out of 12 districts exceed the average accident trend by over 95% and 3 districts have an accident number that is over 10% higher than that district's forecast, with the highest being 33% above the already increasing accident trend. Other accident subgroups are presented in summary form. The results of the analysis allow consistent and automated analysis across all potential areas for improving road safety, helping to focus the efforts of road safety managers on those areas where their efforts are most effective

Homo-Oligomerization of the Activating Natural Killer Cell Receptor NKp30 Ectodomain Increases its Binding Affinity for Cellular Ligands

Natural killer (NK) cells are large granular lymphocytes of the innate immune system that spontaneously kill foreign, tumor and virus-infected cells without prior sensitization. In addition, NK cells act as immune regulators by secretion of chemokines and cytokines as well as direct interaction with other immune cells such as dendritic cells. NK cell function is regulated by a balance between inhibitory and activating signals that are transduced into the cell upon target cell interaction. One of the major activating NK cell receptors is the natural cytotoxicity receptor NKp30. Notably, NKp30 plays a unique role since it is the only NK cell receptor involved in triggering NK cell-mediated cytotoxicity as well as shaping the adaptive immune response. Reduced NKp30 expression has clinical implications in patients with acute myeloid leukemia, cervical cancer, and high grade squamous intraepithelial lesions as well as gastrointestinal sarcoma. Furthermore, downregulation of NKp30 expression resulted in an impaired natural cytotoxicity against leukemia cells and was directly correlated with reduced survival. NKp30 is a type I transmembrane protein of approximately 30 kDa comprised of an I-type Ig-like ligand binding domain (LBD), a flexible membrane proximal stalk domain, a single transmembrane helix, and a short cytosolic tail. For intracellular signal transduction, NKp30 associates with the immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activating motif (ITAM)-bearing adaptor molecule CD3zeta via oppositely charged amino acid residues within their transmembrane domains. In 2011, the 3D structure of the NKp30LBD was solved in an unbound and a ligand-bound form. However, so far, only few cellular ligands (BAG-6 and B7-H6) have been discovered, and the molecular details of ligand recognition by NKp30 are poorly understood. Recently, it was shown that the membrane proximal stalk domain of NKp30 is important for efficient ligand binding and signaling with respect to its length and amino acid composition. Additionally, it was demonstrated that proper N-linked glycosylation of the ligand binding domain is essential for ligand binding. But it is still vague, how this germline-encoded receptor is able to recognize multiple nonrelated ligands. Interestingly, a crystallographic dimer of the NKp30 ectodomain was observed arguing for potential intrinsic capability to self-assemble. Moreover, a fraction of NKp30 expressed in E. coli forms oligomers as detected by size exclusion chromatography. The aim of this thesis was to identify structural models and mechanisms, which enable variations of the ligand binding interface of NKp30 to recognize a multiplicity of diverse ligands. In this respect, soluble NKp30 ectodomain variants as well as an anti-NKp30 antibody specifically recognizing an epitope within the LBD of NKp30 were generated for molecular and cellular investigation to address the intrinsic ability of NKp30 to form oligomers, which might impact ligand binding affinity and the efficiency of target cell killing by NK cells. In this thesis, it was demonstrated that baculovirus-infected insect cells were a suitable expression system to produce correctly folded, post-translationally modified and ligand binding-receptive NKp30 proteins, which were functionally equivalent to those derived from human expression hosts. Furthermore, a polyclonal anti-NKp30 antibody, which is specific for an epitope located within the NKp30LBD, was purified from the blood serum of a peptide-immunized rabbit and validated for several molecular and cellular applications. Based on soluble NKp30 proteins comprising either the entire NKp30 ectodomain (LBD and stalk domain) or the ligand binding domain alone, a concentration-dependent formation of NKp30 ectodomain homo-oligomers was found, which was effected by two specific binding sites, one present within the Ig domain of NKp30 and one within its membrane proximal stalk domain. Moreover, both NKp30 ectodomain variant oligomers were functional in ligand binding and contributed to a highaffinity interaction with its cellular ligand B7-H6, which was strongly promoted by the stalk domain. Although both NKp30 ectodomain variant oligomers formed spherical particles of the same diameter in solution, in presence of the stalk domain one oligomer was composed of more monomers. Single particle electron microscopy analyses revealed that the number of calculated 2D classes increased tremendously for the particles of the longer NKp30 ectodomain variant. Therefore, a densest packing of spheres for the monomers within both NKp30 ectodomain variant oligomers is suggested, whereas the flexibility of the stalk domain might allow for a more variable orientation of these monomers within the particle, thereby increasing the heterogeneity of structural arrangements. However, based on decoration experiments with soluble NKp30 ectodomain proteins and primary NK cells facilitating more physiological conditions for NKp30 self-assembly, an ordered arrangement of several NKp30 receptors on the plasma membrane in head-to-head orientation is proposed. Based on these data, oligomerization of the NKp30 ectodomain represents a potent mechanism to modulate the ligand binding affinity of NKp30 for corresponding ligands by increased avidity. Because the degree of oligomerization is dependent on the local receptor concentration, which is upregulated by IL-2 upon NK cell activation, oligomerization of NKp30 might be a molecular transformer of NK cell activation into enhanced cytotoxicity. Future experiments are now focused to investigate NKp30 self-assembly on the plasma membrane of NK cells to enable modulation of the cytotoxicity of NK cell based therapeutics

Regenbogenfamilien - Sind homosexuelle Paare Eltern zweiter Klasse?: Kurzfassung

Universität Erfurt, Kurzfassung der Bachelorarbeit, erstellt 08/201

Regenbogenfamilien - Sind homosexuelle Paare Eltern zweiter Klasse?

Univ. Erfurt, Bachelorarbeit Neben dem konventionellen Familienmodell besteht in unserer heutigen Gesellschaft eine Vielzahl alternativer Familienkonzepte. Während beispielsweise Patchworkfamilien und alleinerziehende Elternteile bereits große Akzeptanz genießen, ist das Modell der Regenbogenfamilie bislang nur wenigen ein Begriff und kämpft scheinbar noch immer um seine Gleichstellung mit traditionellen Familienbildern. Regenbogenfamilien, die sich aus einem oder zwei zusammenlebenden homosexuellen Elternteilen zusammensetzen, lastet der Ruf an, für Kinder keine adäquate Familienform darzustellen, was sich allein auf der Sexualität der Eltern begründet. Im Rahmen unserer Bachelorarbeit gingen wir diesen Vorurteilen nach und führten eine qualitative Studie dazu durch

Does adult ADHD interact with COMT val 158 met genotype to influence working memory performance?

Peer reviewedPostprin