On adaptive posterior concentration rates

We investigate the problem of deriving posterior concentration rates under different loss functions in nonparametric Bayes. We first provide a lower bound on posterior coverages of shrinking neighbourhoods that relates the metric or loss under which the shrinking neighbourhood is considered, and an intrinsic pre-metric linked to frequentist separation rates. In the Gaussian white noise model, we construct feasible priors based on a spike and slab procedure reminiscent of wavelet thresholding that achieve adaptive rates of contraction under $L^2$ or $L^{\infty}$ metrics when the underlying parameter belongs to a collection of H\"{o}lder balls and that moreover achieve our lower bound. We analyse the consequences in terms of asymptotic behaviour of posterior credible balls as well as frequentist minimax adaptive estimation. Our results are appended with an upper bound for the contraction rate under an arbitrary loss in a generic regular experiment. The upper bound is attained for certain sieve priors and enables to extend our results to density estimation.Comment: Published at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/15-AOS1341 in the Annals of Statistics (http://www.imstat.org/aos/) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org

Sprachkonflikte auf den Balearen

Die vorliegende Arbeit behandelt unterschiedliche Aspekte der Sprachkonflikte auf den Balearen. Seit ihrer Eroberung durch die katalanisch-aragonesische Krone (1229) ist Katalanisch Amtssprache der Inseln. Im 18. Jahrhundert wurden die Balearen von der spanischen Krone eingenommen und die Bevölkerung per Dekret verpflichtet, im öffentlichen Leben Kastilisch zu sprechen. Dem darauffolgenden Verdrängungsprozess in der Decadència wurde erst an der Wende vom 19. zum 20. Jahrhundert, in der Renaixença, entgegengewirkt, als sich Teile der Bevölkerung für die Wiedereinführung ihrer eigenen Sprache im öffentlichen Leben einsetzten. In der Francodiktatur (1939-1975) war der öffentliche Gebrauch der katalanischen Sprache verboten. Das Autonomiestatut von 1983 legte Spanisch und Katalanisch als kooffizielle Amtssprachen der Balearen fest. Das Normalisierungsgesetz von 1986 bildet die gesetzliche Grundlage aller sprachenpolitischen Maßnahmen zur Durchsetzung des Katalanischen. Die jahrelang fehlende politische Unterstützung, die gesetzliche Pflicht aller Staatsbürger, Spanisch zu beherrschen, und die starke Immigration seit den 60er Jahren des 20. Jahrhunderts verzögern den Normalisierungsprozess noch immer. Die weltweit starke Präsenz der spanischen Sprache und die fehlende Bereitschaft der Einwanderer, Katalanisch zu lernen, tragen wesentlich zu den aktuellen Sprachkonflikten auf den Inseln bei. Um dem Substitutionsprozess durch die spanische Sprache entgegenzuwirken, bedarf es gleichermaßen politischer Unterstützung und aktiver Teilnahme der Bevölkerung. Die Anerkennung des Katalanischen außerhalb seines Sprachgebiets sowie der selbstverständliche Gebrauch durch seine Sprecher sind wichtige Faktoren auf dem Weg zur sprachlichen Normalisierung

Mechanical properties and compositional characteristics of beet (Beta vulgaris L.) varieties and their response to nitrogen application

Mechanical properties of sugar beet are important during harvesting and processing. To potentially correlate mechanical properties with structural features of cell wall polymers, four different Beta varieties (Beta vulgaris L.) were characterized for their mechanical properties and cell wall composition. In addition, the influence of nitrogen fertilization was analyzed. Additional nitrogen fertilization only slightly influenced mechanical properties and cell wall composition. Hardly any structural differences of cell wall polysaccharides were observed for all Beta varieties. Slight differences in alcohol insoluble residue and protein contents, in amino acid profiles of proteins, and in esterification degree of pectins were found. The Beta varieties differed in their contents of cell wall bound phenolic components, and particularly in their dry matter contents. Analyses of mechanical properties of the Beta varieties demonstrated differences in tissue firmness and compressive strength. However, no evidence was found that the observed differences of cell wall composition are responsible for the divergent mechanical properties, with the exception of water contents that were higher in samples with less compressive strength

Cascaded valorization of seaweed using microbial cell factories

Sustainable production from seaweed has grown into an area of intense research and development. Meanwhile, more than 30 million tonnes of seaweed are produced, of which 70% are used as food and 30% have other applications such as feed, fertilizer, chemicals, and energy. Towards biorefining seaweed in an environmentally friendly and economically viable manner, we need efficient approaches that convert its biomass and residuals into added value products. Smart cell factories and fermentation strategies which can be integrated into future seaweed biorefineries are at the heart of the development and therefore receive increasing attention. Here, we review advances in the field including novel fermentation routes from seaweed to chemicals, materials, pharmaceuticals, fuels and energy, and discuss challenges and opportunities

Rebel rule: a governmentally perspective

Much of the recent literature on rebel governance and violent political orders works with ‘centred’ and instrumental understandings of power. In this view, power is seen as exercised over subjects, and as situated in rebel rulers, governance institutions, or ruling networks. Drawing on the study of the armed groups known as ‘Mai-Mai’ in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, this article instead adopts a governmentality perspective on rebel governance. It demonstrates how Mai-Mai groups rule not only through direct imposition but also, more subtly, by shaping people’s subjectivities and self-conduct. We identify four clusters of techniques of Mai-Mai rule that relate respectively to ethnicity and custom; spirituality; ‘stateness’; and patronage and protection. We argue that a governmentality perspective, with its focus on rationalities and practices of power, offers a fine-grained understanding of rebel rule that moves beyond common binaries such as coercion versus freedom. By showing its relevance for the analysis of rebel rule in the eastern Congo, our findings further strengthen the case for applying a governmentality perspective to non-Western political orders

Rethinking rebel rule: how Mai-Mai groups in eastern Congo govern

Around the world, vast amounts of people live in areas marked by rebel presence. A growing body of scholarly work examines “rebel governance”, which has emerged as an interdisciplinary field of study. Scholars in this subfield typically share a desire to go beyond stereotypical images of rebels as violent savages or as greedy warlords. By focusing on how rebels govern, these scholars wish to show that rebels are engaged in creating forms of order rather than disorder

Telomerase as a Therapeutic Target in Cardiovascular Disease.

Shortened telomeres have been linked to numerous chronic diseases, most importantly coronary artery disease, but the underlying mechanisms remain ill defined. Loss-of-function mutations and deletions in telomerase both accelerate telomere shortening but do not necessarily lead to a clinical phenotype associated with atherosclerosis, questioning the causal role of telomere length in cardiac pathology. The differential extranuclear functions of the 2 main components of telomerase, telomerase reverse transcriptase and telomerase RNA component, offer important clues about the complex relationship between telomere length and cardiovascular pathology. In this review, we critically discuss relevant preclinical models, genetic disorders, and clinical studies to elucidate the impact of telomerase in cardiovascular disease and its potential role as a therapeutic target. We suggest that the antioxidative function of mitochondrial telomerase reverse transcriptase might be atheroprotective, making it a potential target for clinical trials. Graphic Abstract: A graphic abstract is available for this article.Work in the VA laboratory is supported by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MCIN) (PID2019-108489RB-I00) and the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII) (AC17/00067) with co-funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF, “Una manera de hacer Europa”), and the Progeria Research Foundation (Award PRF 2019–77). The CNIC is supported by the ISCIII, the MCIN, and the Pro CNIC Foundation. I. Spyridopoulos is funded by the British Heart Foundation (PG/18/25/33587) and National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Newcastle Biomedical Research Centre based at Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Newcastle University. The work of J. Haendeler and J. Altschmied is in part supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) SFB1116, A04 (J. Haendeler and J. Altschmied), HA2868/14-1 (J. Haendeler) and AL288/5-1 (J. Altschmied). The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR or the Department of Health’. I. Spyridopoulos also receives a grant from TA-Science for the TACTIC trial (Telomerase Activator to Reverse Immunosenescence in Acute Coronary Syndrome).S

Identifying factors that influence bird richness and abundance on farms

Capsule: Farmers can influence species richness and abundance of typical farmland birds positively, even on rather small farms (20–50 ha) within intensively farmed areas. Aims: To assess the impact of farm settings, farm characteristics and heterogeneity of habitats on bird species richness and abundance, and to indicate which actions and measures farmers can take to promote farmland birds at a farm level. Methods: Farmland bird species richness and abundance were modelled as a function of farm settings, farm characteristics and semi-natural habitats on 133 farms. The data were analysed at the farm scale, as this is the ‘operating range’ of a farmer, but also at the territory scale, which represents the range birds (mainly passerines) use during the breeding season. Additionally, effects of the farm variables on species abundance/occurrence were investigated for nine widespread species. Results: Farmland bird species abundance (but not richness) was elevated on organic compared to non-organic farms. Farmland bird species richness and abundance increased with decreasing mean field size. Crop diversity had positive effects on five species at the territory scale. Several seminatural habitats, especially hedgerows, were associated with higher bird species richness and abundance at both farm and territory scales. Settlement revealed rather negative effects at the farm scale, but several positive relations at the territory scale. Conclusion: Birds, especially passerines, are restricted to a small area during the breeding season, and so even small farms can contribute to their protection by growing diverse crops, reducing field size and managing a diversity of semi-natural, uncropped habitats. These measures should ideally be accessible within the relatively small scale of a bird territory

High-efficiency production of 5-hydroxyectoine using metabolically engineered Corynebacterium glutamicum

Background: Extremolytes enable microbes to withstand even the most extreme conditions in nature. Due to their unique protective properties, the small organic molecules, more and more, become high-value active ingredients for the cosmetics and the pharmaceutical industries. While ectoine, the industrial extremolyte fagship, has been successfully commercialized before, an economically viable route to its highly interesting derivative 5-hydroxyectoine (hydroxyectoine) is not existing. Results: Here, we demonstrate high-level hydroxyectoine production, using metabolically engineered strains of C. glutamicum that express a codon-optimized, heterologous ectD gene, encoding for ectoine hydroxylase, to convert supplemented ectoine in the presence of sucrose as growth substrate into the desired derivative. Fourteen out of sixteen codon-optimized ectD variants from phylogenetically diverse bacterial and archaeal donors enabled hydroxyectoine production, showing the strategy to work almost regardless of the origin of the gene. The genes from Pseudomonas stutzeri (PST) and Mycobacterium smegmatis (MSM) worked best and enabled hydroxyectoine production up to 97% yield. Metabolic analyses revealed high enrichment of the ectoines inside the cells, which, inter alia, reduced the synthesis of other compatible solutes, including proline and trehalose. After further optimization, C. glutamicum Ptuf ectDPST achieved a titre of 74 g L−1 hydroxyectoine at 70% selectivity within 12 h, using a simple batch process. In a two-step procedure, hydroxyectoine production from ectoine, previously synthesized fermentatively with C. glutamicum ectABCopt, was successfully achieved without intermediate purifcation. Conclusions: C. glutamicum is a well-known and industrially proven host, allowing the synthesis of commercial products with granted GRAS status, a great beneft for a safe production of hydroxyectoine as active ingredient for cosmetic and pharmaceutical applications. Because ectoine is already available at commercial scale, its use as precursor appears straightforward. In the future, two-step processes might provide hydroxyectoine de novo from sugar

Establishment of a Laboratory Scale Set-Up with Controlled Temperature and High Humidity to Investigate Dry Matter Losses of Wood Chips from Poplar during Storage

The aim of this work was to improve the understanding of dry matter losses (DML) that occur in wood chips during the initial phase of storage in outdoor piles. For this purpose, a laboratory scale storage chamber was developed and investigated regarding its ability to recreate the conditions that chips undergo during the initial phase of outdoor storage. Three trials with poplar Max-4 (Populus maximowiczii Henry  Populus nigra L.) chips were performed for 6–10 weeks in the storage chamber under controlled temperature and assisted humidity. Two different setups were investigated to maintain a high relative humidity (RH) inside the storage chamber; one using water containers, and one assisted with a humidifier. Moisture content (MC) and DML of the chips were measured at different storage times to evaluate their storage behaviour in the chamber. Additionally, microbiological analyses of the culturable fraction of saproxylic microbiota were performed, with a focus on mesophilic fungi, but discriminating also xerophilic fungi, and mesophilic bacteria, with focus on actinobacteria, in two trials, to gain a view on the poplar wood chip-inhabiting microorganisms as a function of storage conditions (moisture, temperature) and time. Results show that DML up to 8.8–13.7% occurred in the chips within 6–10 storage weeks. The maximum DML were reached in the trial using the humidifier, which seemed a suitable technique to keep a high RH in the testing chamber, and thus, to analyse the wood chips in conditions comparable to those in outdoor piles during the initial storage phase