Chandra Observations of Six QSOs at z ≈\approx 3

We report the results of our Chandra observations of six QSOs at $z\sim 3$ from the Palomer Transit Grism Survey. Our primary goal is to investigate the possible systematic change of $\alpha_{ox}$ between $z>4$ and $z\sim 3$, between which a rapid rise of luminous QSO number density with cosmic time is observed. The summed spectrum showed a power-law spectrum with photon index of $\Gamma \approx 1.9$, which is similar to other unabsorbed AGNs. Combining our $z\sim 3$ QSOs with X-ray observations of QSOs at $z>4$ from literaure/archive, we find a correlation of $\alpha_{\rm ox}$ with optical luminosity. This is consistent with the fact that the luminosity function slope of the luminous end of the X-ray selected QSOs is steeper than that of optically-selected QSOs. We discuss an upper limit to the redshift dependence of $\alpha_{ox}$ using a Monte-Carlo simulation. Within the current statistical errors including the derived limits on the redshift dependence of $\alpha_{\rm ox}$, we found that the behaviors of the X-ray and optically-selected QSO number densities are consistent with each other.Comment: 13 Pages, 3 Figures, Astronomical Journal in press, An entry in Table 2 corrected--Log Lx for PC 1000+4751 from 44.0 (incorrect) to 45.0 (correct). A few minor errors correcte

The negative neural correlates of consciousness

For a long time, scientists and philosophers alike have been speculating about the neural correlates of consciousness (NCC). Although definitions differ, usually an NCC denotes neural events whose occurrence correlates with our phenomenal experiences. In this essay, we motivate the introduction of the concept of a 'negative neural correlate of consciousness' (NNCC). The NNCC can be conceptually understood as neural events whose occurrence inversely correlates with a given phenomenal experience. We wish to introduce this concept for two reasons. First, it is an elegant solution to the problem of sufficiency that so far has unduly neglected in the NCC debate. Secondly, based on the Integrated Information Theory of Consciousness, we argue that only by pairing each NCC with a corresponding NNCC will scientists ever be able to predict conscious experience from brain data. We discuss empirical implications of and potential objections to the suggested NNCC framework

Möglichkeiten und Grenzen eines zweistufigen Beschaffungsprozesses in der Automobilindustrie

Die Planung und Ausgestaltung der automobilen Supply Chain ist durch eine globale Beschaffung, mehrere Produktionsstandorte und einen weltweiten Absatz der Fahrzeuge heute so komplex geworden, dass diese Aufgaben mit herkömmlichen Mitteln nicht mehr bewältigt werden können. Ein Tool zur Unterstützung dieser Planungen bietet das Supply Chain Optimierungstool SCOT. In diesem Artikel wird die Modellierung und Implementierung eines zweistufigen Beschaffungsprozesses in das Tool SCOT beschrieben. Nach einer kurzen Einführung in das Tool werden zunächst die Möglichkeiten und Grenzen eines zweistufigen Beschaffungsprozesses beschrieben. Daran anschließend wird anhand eines Ausschnittes aus dem mathematischen Modell des Prozesses dessen Modellierung beschrieben. Der Artikel schließt mit der Bewertung einer Berücksichtigung des zweistufigen Beschaffungsprozesses im Rahmen des Tools.Due to global sourcing processes, multiple production sites and a worldwide sales volume of vehicles the planning of the automobile supply chain is too complex to solve its problems without the aid of special tools. The Supply Chain Optimization Tool SCOT is one of these tools that support the planning of the supply chain. Within this paper the modelling and implementation of a two-stage sourcing process into SCOT is described. After a short introduction into the tool the possibilities and limits of a two-stage sourcing process are specified. After that the modelling of the process is been described by a cut out of the mathematical model. The paper closes with a valuation of the consideration of the two-stage sourcing process within SCOT

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN REALITY AND FICTION IN ETHNOGRAPHIC AND TRAVEL SOURCES: A CONTRIBUTION TO THE HERMENEUTICS OF THE FOREIGN

Članak iz kuta europske etnologije i međunarodnog istraživanja pripovijedanja razmatra nekoliko prosudbi o odnosu stvarnosti i fikcije, ali i o viđenju sebe i slika tuđine u putopisima i etnografskoj literaturi. Primjeri tekstova sežu od antike preko srednjega vijeka u rani novi vijek do baroka i prosvjetiteljstva. Slike tuđine, što može biti prvi rezultat analize, podudarne su u međusobno udaljenim vremenima i prostorima. Stvarnost i fikcija, što je sljedeća spoznaja, ne razlikuju se tako mnogo već se međusobno plodno razmjenjuju. Bitno je i treće stajalište da putopise i etnografske izvore valja shvatiti kao kulturne konstrukte čijem smo stvaranju i mi etnolozi/folkloristi često sami pridonosili i pridonosimo. Slike tuđine imaju, četvrto i posljednje, uvijek i jedan ne manje važan dio u stvaranju slika o nama samima te time i na izgradnju identiteta.The topic of this article is the relationship between reality and fiction but also between pictures of the self and the other in ethnographic and travel literature. The texts used for closer analysis are very consciously taken from a wide range of different sources as well concerning time, space and genre: from Herodotís Historiae to Lukianís Alethes historia, from Brendan\u27s Voyage to Mandeville\u27s Travels, just to mention the most well known examples. The combination of ethnologic and folkloristic approach provides at least four findings: Firstly, pictures of the other are very much alike over time and space. Secondly, differentiation between true and false can not be our first aim. We have to realize that reality and fiction are frequently intertwined, even more that there is a fruitful exchange between both. Thirdly, we have to accept that texts about other cultures or peoples are cultural constructions and that we folklorists and cultural anthropologists are very often workers or at least coworkers in these buildings. This leads to the fourth point: Pictures of the other always play an important role in the creation of identities

An integrative clinical database and diagnostics platform for biomarker identification and analysis in ion mobility spectra of human exhaled air

Over the last decade the evaluation of odors and vapors in human breath has gained more and more attention, particularly in the diagnostics of pulmonary diseases. Ion mobility spectrometry coupled with multi-capillary columns (MCC/IMS), is a well known technology for detecting volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in air. It is a comparatively inexpensive, non-invasive, high-throughput method, which is able to handle the moisture that comes with human exhaled air, and allows for characterizing of VOCs in very low concentrations. To identify discriminating compounds as biomarkers, it is necessary to have a clear understanding of the detailed composition of human breath. Therefore, in addition to the clinical studies, there is a need for a flexible and comprehensive centralized data repository, which is capable of gathering all kinds of related information. Moreover, there is a demand for automated data integration and semi-automated data analysis, in particular with regard to the rapid data accumulation, emerging from the high-throughput nature of the MCC/IMS technology. Here, we present a comprehensive database application and analysis platform, which combines metabolic maps with heterogeneous biomedical data in a well-structured manner. The design of the database is based on a hybrid of the entity-attribute-value (EAV) model and the EAV-CR, which incorporates the concepts of classes and relationships. Additionally it offers an intuitive user interface that provides easy and quick access to the platform's functionality: automated data integration and integrity validation, versioning and roll-back strategy, data retrieval as well as semi-automatic data mining and machine learning capabilities. The platform will support MCC/IMS-based biomarker identification and validation. The software, schemata, data sets and further information is publicly available at \urlhttp://imsdb.mpi-inf.mpg.de

Eyebrow hairs from actinic keratosis patients harbor the highest number of cutaneous human papillomaviruses

BACKGROUND: Cutaneous human papillomavirus (HPV) infections seem to be associated with the onset of actinic keratosis (AK). This study compares the presence of cutaneous HPV types in eyebrow hairs to those in tissues of normal skin and skin lesions of 75 immunocompetent AK patients. METHODS: Biopsies from AK lesions, normal skin and plucked eyebrow hairs were collected from each patient. DNA from these specimens was tested for the presence of 28 cutaneous HPV (betaPV and gammaPV) by a PCR based method. RESULTS: The highest number of HPV prevalence was detected in 84% of the eyebrow hairs (63/75, median 6 types) compared to 47% of AK lesions (35/75, median 3 types) (p< 0.001) and 37% of normal skin (28/75, median 4 types) (p< 0.001), respectively. A total of 228 HPV infections were found in eyebrow hairs compared to only 92 HPV infections in AK and 69 in normal skin. In all three specimens HPV20, HPV23 and/or HPV37 were the most prevalent types. The highest number of multiple types of HPV positive specimens was found in 76% of the eyebrow hairs compared to 60% in AK and 57% in normal skin. The concordance of at least one HPV type in virus positive specimens was 81% (three specimens) and 88-93% of all three combinations with two specimens. CONCLUSIONS: Thus, eyebrow hairs revealed the highest number of cutaneous HPV infections, are easy to collect and are an appropriate screening tool in order to identify a possible association of HPV and AK

Using the dendro-climatological signal of urban trees as a measure of urbanization and urban heat island

Using dendroclimatological techniques this study investigates whether inner city tree-ring width (TRW) chronologies from eight tree species (ash, beech, fir, larch, lime, sessile and pedunculate oak, and pine) are suitable to examine the urban heat island of Berlin, Germany. Climate-growth relationships were analyzed for 18 sites along a gradient of increasing urbanization covering Berlin and surrounding rural areas. As a proxy for defining urban heat island intensities at each site, we applied urbanization parameters such as building fraction, impervious surfaces, and green areas. The response of TRW to monthly and seasonal air temperature, precipitation, aridity, and daily air-temperature ranges were used to identify climate-growth relationships. Trees from urban sites were found to be more sensitive to climate compared to trees in the surrounding hinterland. Ring width of the deciduous species, especially ash, beech, and oak, showed a high sensitivity to summer heat and drought at urban locations (summer signal), whereas conifer species were found suitable for the analysis of the urban heat island in late winter and early spring (winter signal). The summer and winter signals were strongest in tree-ring chronologies when the urban heat island intensities were based on an area of about 200 m to 3000 m centered over the tree locations, and thus reflect the urban climate at the scale of city quarters. For the summer signal, the sensitivity of deciduous tree species to climate increased with urbanity. These results indicate that urban trees can be used for climate response analyses and open new pathways to trace the evolution of urban climate change and more specifically the urban heat island, both in time and space

Kupfer‐katalysierte Monooxygenierung von Phenolen: Evidenz für einen mononuklearen Reaktionsmechanismus

Die CuI-Salze [Cu(CH3CN)4]PF und [Cu(oDFB)2]PF mit dem sehr schwach koordinierenden Anion Al(OC(CF3)3)4− (PF), sowie [Cu(NEt3)2]PF mit dem einzigartigen, linearen Bis-Triethylamin-Komplex [Cu(NEt3)2]+ wurden synthetisiert und als Katalysatoren für die Umwandlung von Monophenolen zu o-Chinonen untersucht. Die Aktivitäten dieser CuI-Salze bei der Monooxygenierung von 2,4-Di-tert-butylphenol (DTBP-H) wurden mit denen der [Cu(CH3CN)4]X-Salze mit “klassischen” Anionen (BF4−, OTf−, PF6−) verglichen, wobei ein Anioneneffekt auf die Aktivität des Katalysators und ein Ligandeneffekt auf die Reaktionsgeschwindigkeit festgestellt wurden. Letztere wird durch den Einsatz von CuII-Semichinon-Komplexen als Katalysatoren drastisch erhöht, was darauf hinweist, dass die Bildung eines CuII-Komplexes dem eigentlichen katalytischen Zyklus vorausgeht. Diese und andere experimentelle Erkenntnisse zeigen, dass die Oxygenierung von Monophenolen mit den oben genannten Systemen nicht einem dinuklearen, sondern einem mononuklearen Weg folgt, analog zur Topachinon-Cofaktor-Biosynthese im Enzym Aminoxidase