Equivariant semi-topological K-homology and a theorem of Thomason

We generalize several comparison results between algebraic, semi-topological and topological K-theories to the equivariant case with respect to a finite group.Comment: Corrects error found by referee in Theorem 4.1. Final version, to appear in J. of K-theor

Differential requirement of bone morphogenetic protein receptors Ia (ALK3) and Ib (ALK6) in early embryonic patterning and neural crest development

Background Bone morphogenetic proteins regulate multiple processes in embryonic development, including early dorso-ventral patterning and neural crest development. BMPs activate heteromeric receptor complexes consisting of type I and type II receptor-serine/threonine kinases. BMP receptors Ia and Ib, also known as ALK3 and ALK6 respectively, are the most common type I receptors that likely mediate most BMP signaling events. Since early expression patterns and functions in Xenopus laevis development have not been described, we have addressed these questions in the present study. Results Here we have analyzed the temporal and spatial expression patterns of ALK3 and ALK6; we have also carried out loss-of-function studies to define the function of these receptors in early Xenopus development. We detected both redundant and non-redundant roles of ALK3 and ALK6 in dorso-ventral patterning. From late gastrula stages onwards, their expression patterns diverged, which correlated with a specific, non-redundant requirement of ALK6 in post-gastrula neural crest cells. ALK6 was essential for induction of neural crest cell fate and further development of the neural crest and its derivatives. Conclusions ALK3 and ALK6 both contribute to the gene regulatory network that regulates dorso-ventral patterning; they play partially overlapping and partially non-redundant roles in this process. ALK3 and ALK6 are independently required for the spatially restricted activation of BMP signaling and msx2 upregulation at the neural plate border, whereas in post-gastrula development ALK6 exerts a highly specific, conserved function in neural crest development

Orte des Gestapoterrors im heutigen Niedersachsen

Auszug aus dem Antrag im MWK-Förderprogramm Pro*Niedersachsen – Kulturelles Erbe – Sammlungen und ObjekteExcerpt from a funding proposal to the Niedersächsisches Ministerium für Wissenschaft und Kultur, the Ministry for Science and Culture of Lower Saxony

A scalable forecasting framework to predict COVID-19 hospital bed occupancy

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to capacity problems in many hospitals around the world. During the peak of new infections in Germany in April 2020 and October to December 2020, most hospitals had to cancel elective procedures for patients because of capacity shortages. We present a scalable forecasting framework with a Monte Carlo simulation to forecast the short-term bed occupancy of patients with confirmed and suspected COVID-19 in intensive care units and regular wards. We apply the simulation to different granularity and geographical levels. Our forecasts were a central part of the official weekly reports of the Bavarian State Ministry of Health and Care, which were sent to key decision makers in the individual ambulance districts from May 2020 to March 2021. Our evaluation shows that the forecasting framework delivers accurate forecasts despite data availability and quality issues

Complexity and entanglement for thermofield double states

Motivated by holographic complexity proposals as novel probes of black hole spacetimes, we explore circuit complexity for thermofield double (TFD) states in free scalar quantum field theories using the Nielsen approach. For TFD states at t = 0, we show that the complexity of formation is proportional to the thermodynamic entropy, in qualitative agreement with holographic complexity proposals. For TFD states at t > 0, we demonstrate that the complexity evolves in time and saturates after a time of the order of the inverse temperature. The latter feature, which is in contrast with the results of holographic proposals, is due to the Gaussian nature of the TFD state of the free bosonic QFT. A novel technical aspect of our work is framing complexity calculations in the language of covariance matrices and the associated symplectic transformations, which provide a natural language for dealing with Gaussian states. Furthermore, for free QFTs in 1+1 dimension, we compare the dynamics of circuit complexity with the time dependence of the entanglement entropy for simple bipartitions of TFDs. We relate our results for the entanglement entropy to previous studies on non-equilibrium entanglement evolution following quenches. We also present a new analytic derivation of a logarithmic contribution due to the zero momentum mode in the limit of vanishing mass for a subsystem containing a single degree of freedom on each side of the TFD and argue why a similar logarithmic growth should be present for larger subsystems

Psychometric Evaluation of the German Version of the Social Functioning in Dementia Scale

BACKGROUND: Dementia is one of the most common and most severe disorder in old age. In addition to cognitive decline and functional impairment, changes in social functioning occur in the course of dementia. Currently, there is no valid instrument in German language to assess social functioning in individuals with dementia. OBJECTIVE: We aim to adapt and psychometrically evaluate a German version of the Social Functioning in Dementia Scale (SF-DEM). METHODS: First, a multi-step and team-based translation process based on the TRAPD model was performed. Second, we interviewed dyads of individuals with mild dementia and caregivers to test the internal consistency, test-retest reliability, interrater reliability, construct validity, and acceptance of the German version of the SF-DEM. RESULTS: The internal consistency of the patient-rated (α= 0.72) and the caregiver-rated (α= 0.76) SF-DEM is at an acceptable level. The interrater reliability was excellent for both versions (patients: ICC = 0.98, CI [0.95-0.99]; caregiver: ICC = 0.95, CI [0.89-0.98]) and the test-retest reliability was moderate (patients: ICC = 0.57, CI [0.26-0.77]; caregiver: ICC = 0.58, CI [0.27-0.78]). Caregiver-rated SF-DEM correlated strong with LSNS-6 (rs = 0.60, p < 0.01), QoL-AD (marriage: rs = 0.61, p < 0.01; friends: rs = 0.51, p = 0.01). In addition, the SF-DEM was accepted by the participants. CONCLUSION: The German SF-DEM is a valid, reliable, and acceptable instrument to assess social functioning in individuals with dementia. Further research should address the psychometric properties in individuals with more severe dementia

BcAtf1, a global regulator, controls various differentiation processes and phytotoxin production in Botrytis cinerea

Atf1-homologous basic region leucine zipper (bZIP) transcription factors are known to act downstream of the stress-activated mitogen-activated protein kinase (SAPK) cascade in mammals, as well as in several fungi; they regulate the transcription of genes involved in the general stress response. Functional analyses of BcAtf1 in Botrytis cinerea show that it is also connected to the SAPK BcSak1, as it shares several stress response target genes. However, Dbcatf1 mutants are not hypersensitive to osmotic or oxidative stress, as are Dbcsak1 mutants. Both BcSak1 and BcAtf1 are regulators of differentiation, but their roles in these processes are almost inverse as, in contrast with Dbcsak1, Dbcatf1 mutants are significantly impaired in conidia production and do not differentiate any sclerotia. They show extremely vigorous growth in axenic culture, with a thick layer of aerial hyphae and a marked increase in colonization efficiency on different host plants and tissues. In addition, the sensitivity to cell wall-interfering agents is increased strongly. Microarray analyses demonstrate that the loss of BcAtf1 leads to extensive transcriptional changes: apart from stress response genes, the expression of a broad set of genes, probably involved in primary metabolism, cell wall synthesis and development, is affected by BcAtf1. Unexpectedly, BcAtf1 also controls secondary metabolism: the mutant contains significantly elevated levels of phytotoxins. These data indicate that BcAtf1 controls a diversity of cellular processes and has broad regulatory functions