Hausdorff Dimension of the Record Set of a Fractional Brownian Motion

We prove that the Hausdorff dimension of the record set of a fractional Brownian motion with Hurst parameter $H$ equals $H$

Integrated optics prototype beam combiner for long baseline interferometry in the L and M bands

In the last few years, integrated optics (IO) beam combiners have facilitated the emergence of 4-telescope interferometers such as PIONIER or GRAVITY, boosting the imaging capabilities of the VLTI. However, the spectral range beyond 2.2microns is not ideally covered by the conventional silica based IO. Here, we propose to consider new laser-written IO prototypes made of GLS glasses, a material that permits access to the mid-infrared spectral regime. Our goal is to conduct a full characterization of our mid-IR IO 2-telescope coupler in order to measure the performance levels directly relevant for long-baseline interferometry. We focus in particular on the exploitation of the L and M astronomical bands. We use a dedicated Michelson-interferometer setup to perform Fourier Transform spectroscopy on the coupler and measure its broadband interferometric performance. We also analyze the polarization properties of the coupler, the differential dispersion and phase degradation as well as the modal behavior and the total throughput. We measure broadband interferometric contrasts of 94.9% and 92.1% for unpolarized light in the L and M bands. Spectrally integrated splitting ratios are close to 50% but show chromatic dependence over the considered bandwidths. Additionally, the phase variation due to the combiner is measured and does not exceed 0.04rad and 0.07rad across the band L and M band, respectively. The total throughput of the coupler including Fresnel and injection losses from free-space is 25.4%. The laser-written IO GLS prototype combiners prove to be a reliable technological solution with promising performance for mid-infrared long-baseline interferometry. In the next steps, we will consider more advanced optical functions as well as a fiber-fed input and revise the optical design parameters in order the further enhance the total throughput and achromatic behavior

Struktur und Funktion der Carboxy-terminalen Domäne des Transkriptionsfaktors CbfA aus Dictyostelium discoideum

Der C-Modul-bindende Faktor A (CbfA) aus Dictyostelium discoideum wurde durch seine Interaktion mit einem Teil des 3‘-untranslatierten Bereiches des Retrotransposons TRE5-A erstmalig beschrieben. Bisherige Arbeiten über CbfA zeigten eine Beteiligung dieses Faktors an der Regulation der multizellulären Entwicklung von Dictyostelium discoideum und sein Wirken als Transkriptionsfaktor. Es wurden mit Hilfe der Microarray-Technik 162 Gene identifiziert, die in der CbfA-depletierten Mutante JH.D im Vergleich zum Wildtyp differenziell exprimiert werden. Die erlangten Daten sind mit zwei durch RNA-Sequenzierung erstellten Transkriptomanalysen sowie punktuell mit quantitativen Reverse Transkriptase-PCR-Messungen verglichen worden. Ferner wurden anhand einer Microarray-Transkriptomanalyse die Funktionen der Carboxy-terminalen Domäne (CTD) von CbfA für die Regulation CbfA-abhängiger Gene untersucht. Die Experimente lassen auf eine vom Rest des Proteins unabhängige genregulatorische Funktion schließen. Zur weiteren Charakterisierung der CTD von CbfA wurde die Beteiligung des DNA-bindenden AT-Hakens an der genregulatorischen Aktivität sowie die Kernlokalisation der Carboxy-terminalen Domäne untersucht. Zur Strukturaufklärung der Carboxy-terminalen Domäne wurde ein Protokoll zur heterologen Expression und Aufreinigung großer Mengen CTD in Bakterien entwickelt. Die DNA-bindende Aktivität und Strukturierung der rekombinanten Proteindomäne konnte nachgewiesen werden. Des Weiteren wurde das Hefe Zwei-Hybrid-System zur Identifizierung von Interaktionspartnern der CTD verwendet. Dazu sind zwei komplexe cDNA-Bibliotheken erstellt worden, welche qualitativ als hochwertig charakterisiert werden konnten. Abschließend folgten Arbeiten hinsichtlich der Phylogenie der CbfA-Domänenstruktur und des paralogen Proteins CbfB innerhalb der Dictyosteliales.The Dictyostelium discoideum C-module-binding factor A (CbfA) was discovered by its interaction with a part of the 3’-untranslated region of the retrotransposon TRE5-A. Previous studies on CbfA showed an involvement of this protein in the regulation of multicellular development of D. discoideum and its function as a transcription factor. Experiments in this work using the microarray technology showed 162 genes to be differentially expressed between the wild type AX2 and the CbfA-depleted mutant JH.D. Microarray data were compared with results obtained from two RNA sequencing experiments and in part to quantitative reverse-transcription PCR measurements. The function of the carboxy-terminal domain (CTD) of CbfA in the regulation of CbfA-dependent genes was investigated by microarray analysis. These experiments emphasize the function of carboxy-terminal domain of CbfA as an independent gene-regulatory entity. To further characterise the CTD of CbfA, the involvement of the DNA-binding AT-hook in the gene regulatory activity was investigated. A nuclear localisation site within the carboxy-terminal domain was experimentally verified. To determine the structure of CbfA’s CTD a protocol to express and purify large amounts of the protein in bacteria was developed. The functionality (i.e. DNA-binding activity) and the structuring of the recombinant domain were confirmed. Additionally the yeast two-hybrid system was used to search for proteins that intact with the CTD in vivo. Two high-quality cDNA libraries were generated from D. discoideum cells. Finally the molecular phylogeny of the domain structure of CbfA and its paralogous protein CbfB was investigated within the dictyostelid clade

Federal coordination of complex policy issues in the energy transition: hydrogen governance in Germany

With its National Hydrogen Strategy, the German federal government defined an initial framework for the integration of hydrogen into the energy system. At the subnational level, most states have also adopted own hydrogen strategies and are pursuing regional hydrogen policies within the national framework. This article examines how the interdependent but partly differing regional strategies are coordinated in the German multilevel system. We find different coordination processes among state governments but also between subnational and national level and discuss their pattern in the context of the coordination literature ranging from unilateral decision-making to integrated strategy building

Does Energy Community Membership Change Sustainable Attitudes and Behavioral Patterns? Empirical Evidence from Community Wind Energy in Germany

Community energy is seen as a helping hand for local, decentralized energy transition. Besides the main goal of supporting the community-friendly and socially acceptable development of renewable energies, the hope is also that a pro-environmental influence on sustainability behavior will be triggered when joining a community energy project. An analysis of a survey among 16 community energy projects in Germany, with 565 completed questionnaires, shows that a certain part of the members pays more attention to their energy behavior and develop a more positive attitude towards a decentralized energy transition and citizen participation after joining the community energy project. Therefore, we can empirically support that climate protection projects, such as community energy, influence pro-environmental attitudes and behavior, but this does not apply equally to all population groups. Members with higher income and stronger interest in returns are less likely to change their behavior. Based on these findings, we recommend the development of community energy policies that are more responsive to differences in social structure and address both privileged and underprivileged groups in a sophisticated way using specific offers and modes of involvement within the associations

Health Literacy Among University Students: A Systematic Review of Cross-Sectional Studies

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this systematic review was to provide an overview of cross-sectional studies that examined health literacy among university students and to identify possible determinants related to health literacy. METHOD: The current review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). Three databases (PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science) were systematically searched for cross-sectional studies that examined health literacy among university students. Results of included studies were narratively summarized. RESULTS: The systematic review includes twenty-one research studies. The majority of studies report health literacy scores among university students that are lower compared to reference samples. The health literacy of students is influenced by different variables (age, gender, number of semesters, course of studies/curriculum, parental education, and socioeconomic background). DISCUSSION: Health literacy activities should target all students. Universities should make use of their resources and offer health literacy courses for students in which content is used from disciplines available at the university (e.g., medicine, health, or psychology). To increase effectiveness, health literacy courses should be adapted according to the different needs and characteristics of the student subgroups

New Interaction Partners For Nek4.1 And Nek4.2 Isoforms: From The Dna Damage Response To Rna Splicing.

Neks are serine-threonine kinases that are similar to NIMA, a protein found in Aspergillus nidulans which is essential for cell division. In humans there are eleven Neks which are involved in different biological functions besides the cell cycle control. Nek4 is one of the largest members of the Nek family and has been related to the primary cilia formation and in DNA damage response. However, its substrates and interaction partners are still unknown. In an attempt to better understand the role of Nek4, we performed an interactomics study to find new biological processes in which Nek4 is involved. We also described a novel Nek4 isoform which lacks a region of 46 amino acids derived from an insertion of an Alu sequence and showed the interactomics profile of these two Nek4 proteins. Isoform 1 and isoform 2 of Nek4 were expressed in human cells and after an immunoprecipitation followed by mass spectrometry, 474 interacting proteins were identified for isoform 1 and 149 for isoform 2 of Nek4. About 68% of isoform 2 potential interactors (102 proteins) are common between the two Nek4 isoforms. Our results reinforce Nek4 involvement in the DNA damage response, cilia maintenance and microtubule stabilization, and raise the possibility of new functional contexts, including apoptosis signaling, stress response, translation, protein quality control and, most intriguingly, RNA splicing. We show for the first time an unexpected difference between both Nek4 isoforms in RNA splicing control. Among the interacting partners, we found important proteins such as ANT3, Whirlin, PCNA, 14-3-3ε, SRSF1, SRSF2, SRPK1 and hNRNPs proteins. This study provides new insights into Nek4 functions, identifying new interaction partners and further suggests an interesting difference between isoform 1 and isoform 2 of this kinase. Nek4 isoform 1 may have similar roles compared to other Neks and these roles are not all preserved in isoform 2. Besides, in some processes, both isoforms showed opposite effects, indicating a possible fine controlled regulation.131

Detection of X-Ray Doses with Color-Changing Hackmanites: Mechanism and Application

Hackmanites, a variety of sodalite with the general formula Na$_{8}$Al$_{6}$Si$_{6}$O$_{24}$(Cl,S)$_{2}$, are a family of nature-based smart materials having the ability for reversible photochromism upon UV or X-ray exposure. Being nontoxic, cheap, and durable, hackmanite would be an optimal material for the visual detection of the presence of X-rays in simple portable systems. However, its X-ray-induced coloring abilities are so far known only qualitatively. In this work, a combination of experimental and computational methods is used to reveal the mechanism of X-ray-induced color changing in these materials. Finally, their use is demonstrated both in color intensity-based X-ray dosimetry and photochromic X-ray imaging

Pre-Operative Continued Oral Anticoagulation Impact on Early Outcomes after Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation

Considering that there is a lack of evidence and guideline-based recommendations on the best preoperative oral anticoagulation management (OAC) for transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI), this cohort study aimed to evaluate bleeding, access site complications, and early safety in patients undergoing TAVI on continued OAC therapy vs no-OAC therapy. Three-hundred forty-four patients submitted to a TAVI procedure (66.3% no-OAC vs 33.7% OAC) were consecutively enrolled. Primary endpoint was defined as in-hospital VARC-2 life-threatening or disabling bleeding. Secondary endpoints were in-hospital VARC-2 major vascular complications and VARC-2 early safety at 30 days. Propensity score matching analysis was performed to reduce potential distribution bias, resulting in 2 well-balanced groups (92 patients in each arm). In the overall cohort, mean age, median EuroScore II, and STS-score were 78.7±7.6 years, 2.9% (1.7-5.9), and 2.3% (1.6-3.6), respectively. Despite being older (78 ± 8 vs 80 ± 6, p = 0.004) and having higher STS score (2.1 vs 2.6, p = 0.001), patients on OAC had similar incidence of in-hospital VARC-2 life-threatening or disabling bleeding (1.3% vs. 0.9%, p = 0.711), major vascular complications (4.8% vs 5.2%, p = 0.888), and VARC-2 early safety at 30 days (10.1% vs 12.1%, p = 0.575). No significant differences in the main outcomes were observed when propensity score matching was applied. In conclusion, the management of patients on OAC submitted to a TAVI procedure is challenging and requires balancing the risk of bleeding with the risk of thromboembolic events. The present study suggests that continued OAC was not associated with increased in-hospital VARC-2 life-threatening or disabling bleeding, major vascular complications, and VARC-2 early safety at 30 days