High resolution aerial and field mapping of thermal features in Ragged Hills, Yellowstone National Park

High resolution aerial images taken in a cost and time effective way from low-flying platforms were used to map a hydrothermal area in the Yellowstone National Park. The mapping area called Ragged Hills is located in the Norris Geyser Basin, a major hydrothermal basin of the Park famous for its great diversity and number of thermal features. Because of an increasing thermal activity since the early 1990s numerous hydrothermal features of different sizes developed in Ragged Hills. Various changes in size and chemistry of the thermal features were observed during sporadic ground surveys. No detailed maps of the thermal inventory existed because of the difficulties in mapping this rapidly changing area by standard ground survey methods. Mapping the features in a short time to get a status quo of the feature’s form and size was the goal of the present work. Two different low-flying platforms were used during this project – a helium filled balloon and a single engine airplane (Cessna 172). To be able to georeference the aerial photos later a grid of ground control points was laid out and the points were surveyed by differential GPS as well as by theodolite. Deviations between both methods were on average 37 cm (Northing) and 61 cm (Easting). The overflights with the airplane were more cost intensive, requiring aircraft rental and trained pilots. Because the obtained images were in most cases blurred, they were served as overview only. Nevertheless the pixel resolution was quiet good with an average of 6 cm. Besides the true color images taken by a digital camera, also thermal pictures were taken from the airplane with a spatial resolution of 1.2 m. The balloon survey provided a costeffective and easy-to-handle alternative. Major restrictions are only the transport of the helium bottles to the study site, and the requirements for calm wind conditions. From an altitude of 50 to 80 m sharp and high resolution images were obtained. About 45 pictures were used to create a mosaic of the whole study area with a pixel resolution of 2.5 cm. No high-resolution thermal pictures could be taken from the balloon because the weight of the camera (3.9 kg) exceeded the balloon’s lifting capacity (1.5 kg). The created high-resolution aerial overview was included in a digital atlas together with topography and geological maps, older lowresolution aerial pictures, and hydrochemical data. The following diploma thesis gives an overview about available low-flying platforms and their individual advantages and disadvantages, describes the methods used in detail and evaluates them regarding expenditure and time it took to realize the individual working steps. Furthermore an interpretation of mapping and hydrochemical data is presented.Förderkreis Freiberger Geologie e.V.researc

Valide neuropsychologische Diagnostik bei Patienten mit Gliomen im Kontext von Wachoperationen

The present work highlights various requirements for neuropsychological assessment in the context of glioma patients undergoing awake craniotomy. The first study assessed the validity of the Brief Cognitive Status Exam (BCSE) compared to already established cognitive screening instruments such as Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) in patients with intracranial tumors. For screening purposes, the MoCA turned out to be the best available tool, in clinical as well as research settings. However, a comprehensive neuropsychological test battery could not be replaced by any screening tool. Beside a differentiated cognitive performance profile, a test battery in particular provides additional information on a patient’s eligibility for an awake craniotomy and information for individual composition of intraoperative tasks. The second study outlined the lack of a standardized tools for sensory-motor assessment in awake craniotomies. In consequence, the “Sensory-Motor Profile - awake“ (SPM-a) was introduced as a feasible tool for pre-, intra- and postoperative assessment. Its validation with other scales for sensory and motor assessment as well as evaluation of its reliability are goals for future multicenter studies. The case report of a highgrade glioma in a patient with a congenital absent hemisphere illustrated the large potential of the human brain for neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity can be considered as key concept in the context of awake craniotomy determining multiple medical decisions. The results of the presented studies are integrated into a comprehensive model of neuropsychological assessment for glioma patients with the goal to outline the concept of a personalized therapeutic management of these patients. Long-term objective is an improvement of the neuropsychological information supply for medical decision making, and in particular the improvement of the protocol for awake surgeries.Die vorliegende Arbeit beschreibt die Anforderungen an die neuropsychologische Diagnostik bei Gliompatienten im Kontext von Wachoperationen. Die erste Studie untersuchte die Validität des Brief Cognitive Status Exam (BCSE) im Vergleich zu den bereits etablierten kognitiven Screeninginstrumenten Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) und Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) an Patienten mit intrakraniellen Tumoren. Es zeigte sich, dass der MoCA für Screeningzwecke am besten für klinische wie auch forschungsbezogene Fragestellungen geeignet war, jedoch konnte die umfassende neuropsychologische Testbatterie von keinem der Screeninginstrumente ersetzt werden. Neben einem differenzierten kognitiven Leistungsprofil stellt eine Testbatterie zusätzliche Informationen über die Eignung eines Patienten für eine Wachoperation und Informationen für die individuelle Zusammenstellung intraoperativer Aufgaben bereit. Die zweite Studie thematisierte das Fehlen eines standardisierten Diagnostikinstrumentes für senso-motorische Funktionen speziell für Wachoperationen. Infolgedessen wurde das “Sensory-Motor Profile - awake“ (SPM-a) für die prä-, intra- und postoperative Diagnostik erstellt. Seine Validierung mit anderen Skalen wie auch die Evaluation seiner Reliabilität sind Ziele zukünftiger Multicenterstudien. Die Falldarstellung eines Glioms, bei einem Patienten mit angeboren fehlender Hemisphäre, illustrierte das große Potential des menschlichen Gehirns für neuroplastische Adaptationen. Neuroplastizität bildet im Rahmen von Wachoperationen ein Schlüsselkonzept, auf welchem weitreichende medizinische Entscheidungen basieren. Die Ergebnisse der dargestellten Studien werden in ein umfassendes Model der neuropsychologischen Diagnostik für Wachoperationen integriert, mit dem Ziel ein Konzept für das personalisierte therapeutische Management dieser Patienten vorzustellen

Pequenos estados insulares e a problemática do desenvolvimento sustentável: aproximação ao debate com foco nas relações entre Cabo Verde e União Europeia

TCC (graduação) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. Centro Sócio-Econômico. Relações Internacionais.Os Pequenos Estados Insulares em Desenvolvimento são países que enfrentam consideráveis desafios ao desenvolvimento, resultantes de suas características peculiares relacionadas à pequenez, à dispersão geográfica, ao isolamento, à dependência externa e à vulnerabilidade a desastres naturais, entre outros. Desse modo, ao longo de conferências multilaterais internacionais, foi proposto que tais Estados deveriam optar por uma trajetória sustentável de desenvolvimento, com apoio de outros países. Cabo Verde é um desses Estados, e firmou parcerias com a União Europeia, especialmente a partir de 2007. O trabalho analisa o papel dessas parcerias internacionais, mais especificamente das parcerias entre Cabo Verde e União Europeia, no equacionamento das dificuldades do arquipélago e na promoção do desenvolvimento sustentável. Metodologicamente, optou-se pela realização de pesquisa bibliográfica, em diversas fontes, e de pesquisa exploratória em alguns dos projetos desenvolvidos, para avançar em uma avaliação ancorada nos pressupostos do desenvolvimento sustentável, adotados pela Agenda 2030. Concluiu-se que o papel das parcerias analisadas é ambíguo, pouco transparente e limitado, na promoção do desenvolvimento sustentável em Cabo Verde. Essas parcerias também levam à constituição de novas vulnerabilidades no arquipélago, já que muitos desses projetos são essencialmente retóricos quanto às suas intenções de promover o desenvolvimento sustentável, o que é resultado, entre outros aspectos, de uma grande assimetria de poder entre as partes e da hegemonia da agenda neoliberal

In vitro Untersuchung der Auswirkungen von Low intensity focused ultrasound (LIFU) auf die Spontanaktivität der Pyramidenzellen der hippocampalen CA1-Region

Mittels In-vitro-Experimenten an Ratten-Hippocampus-Schnitten konnte gezeigt werden, dass die Applikation von LIFU (hier: 480 mW/cm²) variierender Frequenz- und Zeitparameter die spontane Aktivität der Pyramidenzellen der hippo-campalen CA1-Region maßgeblich beeinflusst. Hierbei ändern sich sowohl die extrazellulären als auch die intrazellulären Parameter signifikant

Regulation of Breeding Behavior: Do Energy-Demanding Periods Induce a Change in Prolactin or Corticosterone Baseline Levels in the Common Tern (Sterna hirundo)?

ABSTRACT Hormones are involved in reproductive decisions, linking environmental cues and body condition and adapting behavior. Mass loss is often accompanied by decreased prolactin and increased corticosterone concentrations, influencing incubation and brooding behavior and ultimately triggering nest desertion. Using blood-sucking bugs (Dipetalogaster maxima), we measured baseline prolactin, corticosterone, and ketone body values in incubating common terns (Sterna hirundo) between 2006 and 2009 during energy-demanding periods: 50 pairs were sampled hungry (after an incubation bout) and again fed (after foraging). In a second approach, we sampled 57 other pairs (experienced and inexperienced birds) three times over their individual breeding period, because reproduction, especially chick rearing, is a very energy-demanding process. In line with the common physiological pattern of fasting, we found significantly lower baseline prolactin values in hungry terns, which were negatively related to mass loss over the incubation bout, whereas corticosterone and ketone body levels were marginally increased. Compared to that in the incubation phase, the prolactin level dropped after hatching of chicks in inexperienced birds, perhaps indicating lower parental expenditure. Corticosterone, on the other hand, increased after hatching in males, probably linked to higher foraging activity, as males mainly deliver food during the first days. These energy-demanding periods clearly influenced hormones and ketone bodies, maybe reinforced by the low energy margin of this small seabird species, but energy reserves were not depleted to a level affecting behavior or reproductive success

Neural Correlates of Recognition Memory in Children with Febrile Seizures: Evidence from Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Febrile seizures (FS) are assumed to not have adverse long-term effects on cognitive development. Nevertheless, FS are often associated with hippocampal sclerosis which can imply episodic memory deficits. This interrelation has hardly been studied so far. In the current study 13 children who had suffered from FS during infancy and 14 control children (7 to 9-years-old) were examined for episodic and semantic memory with standardized neuropsychological tests. Furthermore, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) we studied neuronal activation while the children performed a continuous recognition memory task. The analysis of the behavioral data of the neuropsychological tests and the recognition memory experiment did not reveal any between-group differences in memory performance. Consistent with other studies fMRI revealed repetition enhancement effects for both groups in a variety of brain regions (e.g., right middle frontal gyrus, left parahippocampal gyrus) and a repetition suppression effect in the right superior temporal gyrus. Different neural activation patterns between both groups were obtained selectively within the right supramarginal gyrus (BA 40). In the control group correct rejections of new items were associated with stronger activation than correctly identified old items (HITs) whereas in the FS group no difference occurred. On the background that the right supramarginal gyrus is assumed to mediate a top-down process to internally direct attention toward recollected information, the results could indicate that control children used strategic recollection in order to reject new items (recall-to-reject). In contrast, the missing effect in the FS group could reflect a lack of strategy use, possibly due to impaired recollective processing. This study demonstrates that FS, even with mainly benign courses, can be accompanied by selective modifications in the neural structures underlying recognition memory

Differences in Shedding of the Interleukin-11 Receptor by the Proteases ADAM9, ADAM10, ADAM17, Meprin α, Meprin β and MT1-MMP

Interleukin-11 (IL-11) has been associated with inflammatory conditions, bone homeostasis, hematopoiesis, and fertility. So far, these functions have been linked to classical IL-11 signaling via the membrane bound receptor (IL-11R). However, a signaling cascade via the soluble IL-11R (sIL-11R), generated by proteolytic cleavage, can also be induced. This process is called IL-11 trans-signaling. A disintegrin and metalloprotease 10 (ADAM10) and neutrophil elastase were described as ectodomain sheddases of the IL-11R, thereby inducing trans-signaling. Furthermore, previous studies employing approaches for the stimulation and inhibition of endogenous ADAM-proteases indicated that ADAM10, but not ADAM17, can cleave the IL-11R. Herein, we show that several metalloproteases, namely ADAM9, ADAM10, ADAM17, meprin β, and membrane-type 1 matrix metalloprotease/matrix metalloprotease-14 (MT1-MMP/MMP-14) when overexpressed are able to shed the IL-11R. All sIL-11R ectodomains were biologically active and capable of inducing signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) phosphorylation in target cells. The difference observed for ADAM10/17 specificity compared to previous studies can be explained by the different approaches used, such as stimulation of protease activity or making use of cells with genetically deleted enzymes

Characterization of clumpy adhesion of Escherichia coli to human cells and associated factors influencing antibiotic sensitivity

Escherichia coli intestinal infection pathotypes are characterized by distinct adhesion patterns, including the recently described clumpy adhesion phenotype. Here, we identify and characterize the genetic factors contributing to the clumpy adhesion of E. coli strain 4972. In this strain, the transcriptome and proteome of adhered bacteria were found to be distinct from planktonic bacteria in the supernatant. A total of 622 genes in the transcriptome were differentially expressed in bacteria present in clumps relative to the planktonic bacteria. Seven genes targeted for disruption had variable distribution in different pathotypes and non-pathogenic E. coli, with the pilV and spnT genes being the least frequent or absent from most groups. Deletion (Δ) of five differentially expressed genes, flgH, ffp, pilV, spnT, and yggT, affected motility, adhesion, or antibiotic stress. ΔflgH exhibited 80% decrease and ΔyggT depicted 184% increase in adhesion, and upon complementation, adhesion was significantly reduced to 13%. ΔflgH lost motility and was regenerated when complemented, whereas Δffp had significantly increased motility, and reintroduction of the same gene reduced it to the wild-type level. The clumps produced by Δffp and ΔspnT were more resistant and protected the bacteria, with ΔspnT showing the best clump formation in terms of ampicillin stress protection. ΔyggT had the lowest tolerance to gentamicin, where the antibiotic stress completely eliminated the bacteria. Overall, we were able to investigate the influence of clump formation on cell surface adhesion and antimicrobial tolerance, with the contribution of several factors crucial to clump formation on susceptibility to the selected antibiotics

Is it enough to be willing to win or do you have to be smart? The relationship between competitive worldviews, cognitive abilities, and applicant faking in personality tests

Recent research has highlighted competitive worldviews as a key predictor of faking—the intentional distortion of answers by candidates in the selection context. According to theoretical assumptions, applicants’ abilities, and especially their cognitive abilities, should influence whether faking motivation, triggered by competitive worldviews, can be turned into successful faking behavior. Therefore, we examined the influence of competitive worldviews on faking in personality tests and investigated a possible moderation of this relationship by cognitive abilities in three independent high school and university student samples (N1 = 133, N2 = 137, N3 = 268). Our data showed neither an influence of the two variables nor of their interaction on faking behavior. We discuss possible reasons for these findings and give suggestions for further research

Non-destructive characterization of internal surfaces in Laser Powder Bed Fused Inconel 718 channels prior and after post-treatment

The effect of surface finishing treatments for inner surfaces of additvely manufactured Inconel 718 specimens were analyzed using X-ray computed tomography (CT). The tube-shaped specimens were built by Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) at different build orientations and the inner surface characteristics such as roundness, equivalent diameter, 3D curvature distribution and distance to nominal surface as radial roughness for internal channels, both in the primary as built condition and after the subsequent treatment, were evaluated