Focus asymmetries in Bura

This article presents the central aspects of the focus system of Bura (Chadic), which exhibits a number of asymmetries: Grammatical focus marking is obligatory only with focused subjects, where focus is marked by the particle án following the subject. Focused subjects remain in situ and the complement of án is a regular VP. With nonsubject foci, án appears in a cleft-structure between the fronted focus constituent and a relative clause. We present a semantically unified analysis of focus marking in Bura that treats the particle as a focusmarking copula in T that takes a property-denoting expression (the background) and an individual-denoting expression (the focus) as arguments. The article also investigates the realization of predicate and polarity focus, which are almost never marked. The upshot of the discussion is that Bura shares many characteristic traits of focus marking with other Chadic languages, but it crucially differs in exhibiting a structural difference in the marking of focus on subjects and non-subject constituents

Optimized Unrestricted Kohn-Sham Potentials from Ab Initio Spin Densities

The reconstruction of the exchange-correlation potential from accurate ab initio electron densities can provide insights into the limitations of the currently available approximate functionals and provide guidance for devising improved approximations for density-functional theory (DFT). For open-shell systems, the spin density is introduced as an additional fundamental variable in Spin-DFT. Here, we consider the reconstruction of the corresponding unrestricted Kohn-Sham potentials from accurate ab initio spin densities. In particular, we investigate whether it is possible to reconstruct the spin exchange-correlation potential, which determines the spin density in spin-unrestricted Kohn-Sham-DFT, despite the numerical difficulties inherent to the optimization of potentials with finite orbital basis sets. We find that the recently developed scheme for unambiguously singling out an optimal optimized potential [J. Chem. Phys. 135, 244102 (2011)] can provide such spin potentials accurately. This is demonstrated for two test cases, the lithium atom and the dioxygen molecule, and target (spin) densities from Full-CI and CASSCF calculations, respectively

'Imported risk' or 'health transition'? Smoking prevalence among ethnic German immigrants from the Former Soviet Union by duration of stay in Germany - analysis of microcensus data

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>It can be assumed that <it>resettlers </it>(ethnic German immigrants from the Former Soviet Union) show similar smoking patterns as persons in their countries of origin at the time of migration. We analysed how the smoking prevalence among <it>resettlers </it>differs from that among the general population of Germany and whether the prevalence differs between groups with increasing duration of stay.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>To estimate the smoking prevalence we used the scientific-use-file (n = 477,239) of the German 2005 microcensus, an annual census representing 1% of all German households. Participation in the microcensus is obligatory (unit-nonresponse <7%). We stratified the prevalence of smoking among <it>resettlers </it>and the comparison group (population of Germany without <it>resettlers</it>) by age, sex, educational level and duration of stay. In total, 14,373 (3% of the total) persons were identified as <it>resettlers</it>.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Female <it>resettlers </it>with short duration of stay had a significantly lower smoking prevalence than women in the comparison group. With increasing duration of stay their smoking prevalence appears to converge to that of the comparison group (e.g.: high educational level, age group 25-44 years: short duration of stay 15%, long duration of stay 24%, comparison group 28%). In contrast, the smoking prevalence among male <it>resettlers </it>with short duration of stay was significantly higher than that among men in the comparison group, but also with a trend towards converging (e.g.: high educational level, age group 25-44 years: short duration of stay 44%, long duration of stay 35%, comparison group 36%). Except for female <it>resettlers </it>with short duration of stay, the participants with low educational level had on average a higher smoking prevalence than those with a high educational level.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This is the first study estimating the smoking prevalence among <it>resettlers </it>by duration of stay. The results support the hypothesis that <it>resettlers </it>brought different smoking habits from their countries of origin shortly after migration. The observed convergence of the smoking habits with increasing duration of stay is in line with the hypothesis of migration as 'health transition'. However, due to the cross-sectional design of the study, further research is needed to confirm these findings.</p

Musikhochschule und Studienreform. Besonderheiten und Probleme

Die Autorin \u27beleuchtet auf der Grundlage zweier Studien an deutschen Musikhochschulen, inwiefern die durch den Bologna-Prozess formulierten Kriterien und die daran ansetzenden Maßnahmen zur Erhöhung der Qualität des Hochschulstudiums für den bisher weniger untersuchten Typus der Musikhochschule relevant bzw. praktikabel sind.\u27 (HoF/Text übernommen

Quantum Yu-Shiba-Rusinov dimers

Magnetic adatoms on a superconducting substrate undergo a quantum phase transition as their exchange coupling to the conduction electrons increases. For quantum spins, this transition is accompanied by screening of the adatom spin. Here, we explore the consequences of this screening for the phase diagrams and subgap excitation spectra of dimers of magnetic adatoms coupled by hybridization of their Yu-Shiba-Rusinov states and spin-spin interactions. We specifically account for higher spins, single-ion anisotropy, Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida coupling, and Dzyaloshinsky-Moriya interactions relevant in transition-metal and rare-earth systems. Our flexible approach based on a zero-bandwidth approximation provides detailed physical insight and is in excellent qualitative agreement with available numerical-renormalization group calculations on monomers and dimers. Remarkably, we find that even in the limit of large impurity spins or strong single-ion anisotropy, the phase diagrams for dimers of quantum spins remain qualitatively distinct from phase diagrams based on classical spins, highlighting the need for a theory of quantum Yu-Shiba-Rusinov dimers.Comment: 17 pages, 12 figure

Optimization of a mAb production process with regard to robustness and product quality using quality by design principles

Quality by Design principles are well described and widely used in biopharmaceutical industry. The characterization of a monoclonal antibody (mAb) production process is crucial for novel process development and control. Yet, the application throughout the entire upstream process was rarely demonstrated. Following previously published research, this study marks the second step toward a complete process characterization and is focused on the effect of critical process parameters on the antibody production efficiency and quality of the process. In order to conduct the complex Design of Experiments approach with optimal control and comparability, the ambr®15 micro bioreactor platform was used. Investigated parameters included the pH and dissolved oxygen set points, the initial viable cell density (iVCD) as well as the N-1 duration. Various quality attributes (e.g., growth rate, viability, mAb titer, and peak proportion) were monitored and analyzed using multivariate data analysis to evaluate the parameter effects. The pH set point and the initial VCD were identified as key process parameters with strong influence on the cell growth as well as the mAb production and its proportion to the total protein concentration. For optimization and improvement in robustness of these quality attributes the pH must be increased to 7.2, while the iVCD must be lowered to 0.2 × 106 cells/mL. Based on the defined design space, additional experiments verified the results and confirmed the intact bioactivity of the antibody. Thereby, process control strategies could be tuned toward high cell maintenance and mAb production, which enable optimal downstream processing. © 2022 The Authors. Engineering in Life Sciences published by Wiley-VCH GmbH

Quantum Magnetism and Topological Superconductivity in Yu-Shiba-Rusinov Chains

Chains of magnetic adatoms on superconductors have been discussed as promising systems for realizing Majorana end states. Here, we show that dilute Yu-Shiba-Rusinov (YSR) chains are also a versatile platform for quantum magnetism and correlated electron dynamics, with widely adjustable spin values and couplings. Focusing on subgap excitations, we derive an extended t−J model for dilute quantum YSR chains and use it to study the phase diagram as well as tunneling spectra. We explore the implications of quantum magnetism for the formation of a topological superconducting phase, contrasting it to existing models assuming classical spin textures

Galectin-3 interacts with components of the nuclear ribonucleoprotein complex

Differentially spliced mRNAs following galectin‐3 depletion. (PDF 122 kb