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[Excerpt] All citizens of the European Union have a democratic right to participate in the social and economic life of the society in which they live. Access to information about their society’s culture, literature, laws, local and national policies and ethos is fundamental in order to take part in mainstream life. Only informed citizens can influence or monitor the decisions that affect their lives and the lives of their families. This applies also to information about the policies and work of the European Union which are increasingly influencing the lives of its citizens. Furthermore, the new Information Society” makes it vital to be able to use and to understand the information systems being developed today

A Flexible Link Function for Discrete-Time Duration Models

This paper proposes a discrete-time hazard regression approach based on the relation between hazard rate models and excess over threshold models, which are frequently encountered in extreme value modelling. The proposed duration model employs a flexible link function and incorporates the grouped-duration analogue of the well-known Cox proportional hazards model and the proportional odds model as special cases. The theoretical setup of the model is motivated, and simulation results are reported to suggest that it performs well. The simulation results and an empirical analysis of US import durations also show that the choice of link function in discrete hazard models has important implications for the estimation results, and that severe biases in the results can be avoided when using a flexible link function as proposed in this study

What a Difference a Day Makes: On the Common Market Microstructure of Trading Days

This paper analyzes the interday stability of the price process using transaction data. While the vast majority of empirical studies on the microstructure of financial markets rests on the tacit assumption that observed prices are generated by a time-invariant price process, we question this assumption by means of a minimum distance estimation framework. Starting from estimates specific for each day's price process, this procedure enables us to work out a common structure across trading days and allows us to disentangle the pecularities of trading days which are marked by certain news events. The determinants of transaction price changes for the BUND future trading at the LIFFE on the basis of 22 subsequent trading days are analyzed. Our empirical findings confirm that trading days do share a common structure to a large extent. However, single event dominated days are likely to show a differing price process. On the one hand, this fact renders pooled parameter estimates inconsistent. On the other hand, this procedure opens an avenue for an in depth analysis of information processing in financial markets.

Dissecting a neuron network: FIB-SEM-based 3D-reconstruction of the visual neuropils in the sea spider Achelia langi (Dohrn, 1881) (Pycnogonida)

Background: The research field of connectomics arose just recently with the development of new three-dimensional- electron microscopy (EM) techniques and increasing computing power. So far, only a few model species (for example, mouse, the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, and the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster) have been studied using this approach. Here, we present a first attempt to expand this circle to include pycnogonids, which hold a key position for the understanding of arthropod evolution. The visual neuropils in Achelia langi are studied using a focused ion beam-scanning electron microscope (FIB-SEM) crossbeam-workstation, and a three-dimensional serial reconstruction of the connectome is presented. Results: The two eyes of each hemisphere of the sea spider's eye tubercle are connected to a first and a second visual neuropil. The first visual neuropil is subdivided in two hemineuropils, each responsible for one eye and stratified into three layers. Six different neuron types postsynaptic to the retinula (R-cells) axons are characterized by their morphology: five types of descending unipolar neurons and one type of ascending neurons. These cell types are also identified by Golgi impregnations. Mapping of all identifiable chemical synapses indicates that the descending unipolar neurons are postsynaptic to the R-cells and, hence, are second-order neurons. The ascending neurons are predominantly presynaptic and sometimes postsynaptic to the R-cells and may play a feedback role. Conclusions: Comparing these results with the compound eye visual system of crustaceans and insects - the only arthropod visual system studied so far in such detail - we found striking similarities in the morphology and synaptic organization of the different neuron types. Hence, the visual system of pycnogonids shows features of both chelicerate median and mandibulate lateral eyes

Investigation of oxygen permeation through composites of PMMA and surface-modified ZnO nanoparticles

Oxygen permeabilities of nanocomposite films consisting of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and different amounts of spherical zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles were determined to investigate the barrier effect of this material with respect to particle content. A method was applied which is based on quenching of an excited phosphorescent dye by oxygen. Possible effects of the nanoparticles on the response of the dye molecules were investigated and were ruled out

Volcanic ash versus thermal barrier coatings of jet engines – a holistic experimental approach

Since the heavy interruption of North Atlantic air traffic by volcanic ash in 2010 many experimental investigations have been done in order to better understand the influence of volcanic ash on the functionality of jet engines and in particular thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) on turbine blades within them. Some of these studies used natural volcanic ash while others used a synthetic mixture from the Calcium-Magnesium-Aluminum-Silicon system (CMAS). To this day, a holistic experimental investigation on TBCs, using various natural volcanic ashes, is missing. In the framework of the CORNET research project VAsCo (“Volcanic Ash resistant thermal barrier Coatings for jet engines” – www.vasco-cornet.eu), we are going to close this gap. We use four different volcanic ashes, which represent the chemical range of possibly produced ash by explosive volcanic eruptions. As TBCs, atmospheric plasma sprayed (APS) and electron-beam physical vapor deposited (EBPVD) coatings of yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) and gadolinium zirconate (GZO) were chosen as state-of-the-art materials for first experiments. While YSZ EB-PVD coatings are prone to be fully infiltrated by molten silicates, GZO exhibits a higher resistivity against the infiltration through a rapid re-crystallization of the dissolved coating, thus closing the pathways of infiltration. This contrasting behavior of both materials makes them good candidates to study the influence of different chemical and mineralogical compositions of various volcanic ashes. The experiments are based on static and dynamic experiments: Static experiments include measurements with the heating microscope, to study the wetting and spreading of the molten ash sample on the TBC surface, and muffle furnace experiments with ash covered TBCs to study their chemical interactions. For dynamic experiments we thermally spray the ash on the TBC surfaces in order to simulate real conditions within the combuster/turbine section of a jet engine. Findings are used to modify TBCs and to improve their resistivity against molten volcanic ash. In addition to that, a feasibility study will be conducted in order to create a model synthetic volcanic ash for standard tests in the aviation industry

A Geoscientific Perspective on Silicate Melt Interactions with TBCs

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Dissecting a neuron network: FIB-SEM-based 3D-reconstruction of the visual neuropils in the sea spider Achelia langi (Dohrn, 1881) (Pycnogonida)

Background: The research field of connectomics arose just recently with the development of new three-dimensional- electron microscopy (EM) techniques and increasing computing power. So far, only a few model species (for example, mouse, the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, and the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster) have been studied using this approach. Here, we present a first attempt to expand this circle to include pycnogonids, which hold a key position for the understanding of arthropod evolution. The visual neuropils in Achelia langi are studied using a focused ion beam-scanning electron microscope (FIB-SEM) crossbeam-workstation, and a three-dimensional serial reconstruction of the connectome is presented. Results: The two eyes of each hemisphere of the sea spider's eye tubercle are connected to a first and a second visual neuropil. The first visual neuropil is subdivided in two hemineuropils, each responsible for one eye and stratified into three layers. Six different neuron types postsynaptic to the retinula (R-cells) axons are characterized by their morphology: five types of descending unipolar neurons and one type of ascending neurons. These cell types are also identified by Golgi impregnations. Mapping of all identifiable chemical synapses indicates that the descending unipolar neurons are postsynaptic to the R-cells and, hence, are second-order neurons. The ascending neurons are predominantly presynaptic and sometimes postsynaptic to the R-cells and may play a feedback role. Conclusions: Comparing these results with the compound eye visual system of crustaceans and insects - the only arthropod visual system studied so far in such detail - we found striking similarities in the morphology and synaptic organization of the different neuron types. Hence, the visual system of pycnogonids shows features of both chelicerate median and mandibulate lateral eyes

Opposing function of MYBBP1A in proliferation and migration of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma cells

BACKGROUND: Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is one of the most prevalent and lethal cancers worldwide and mortality mostly results from loco-regional recurrence and metastasis. Despite its significance, our knowledge on molecular, cellular and environmental mechanisms that drive disease pathogenesis remains largely elusive, and there are limited therapeutic options, with only negligible clinical benefit. METHODS: We applied global gene expression profiling with samples derived from a recently established mouse model for oral cancer recurrence and identified a list of genes with differential expression between primary and recurrent tumors. RESULTS: One differentially expressed gene codes for Myb-binding protein 1a (MYBBP1A), which is known as a transcriptional co-regulator that physically interacts with nuclear transcription factors, such as NFκB and p53. We confirmed significantly reduced MYBBP1A protein levels on tissue sections of recurrent mouse tumors compared to primary tumors by immunohistochemistry, and found aberrant MYBBP1A protein levels also in tumor samples of HNSCC patients. Interestingly, silencing of MYBBP1A expression in murine SCC7 and in human HNSCC cell lines elicited increased migration but decreased cell growth. CONCLUSION: We provide experimental evidence that MYBBP1A is an important molecular switch in the regulation of tumor cell proliferation versus migration in HNSCC and it will be a major challenge for the future to proof the concept whether regulation MYBBP1A expression and/or function could serve as a novel option for anti-cancer therapy

Targeting Metabolic Symbiosis to Overcome Resistance to Anti-angiogenic Therapy

Despite the approval of several anti-angiogenic therapies, clinical results remain unsatisfactory, and transient benefits are followed by rapid tumor recurrence. Here, we demonstrate potent anti-angiogenic efficacy of the multi-kinase inhibitors nintedanib and sunitinib in a mouse model of breast cancer. However, after an initial regression, tumors resume growth in the absence of active tumor angiogenesis. Gene expression profiling of tumor cells reveals metabolic reprogramming toward anaerobic glycolysis. Indeed, combinatorial treatment with a glycolysis inhibitor (3PO) efficiently inhibits tumor growth. Moreover, tumors establish metabolic symbiosis, illustrated by the differential expression of MCT1 and MCT4, monocarboxylate transporters active in lactate exchange in glycolytic tumors. Accordingly, genetic ablation of MCT4 expression overcomes adaptive resistance against anti-angiogenic therapy. Hence, targeting metabolic symbiosis may be an attractive avenue to avoid resistance development to anti-angiogenic therapy in patients