New fossil reptil material (Reptilia: Chelonii, Crocodylia) from the Lower Oligocene of Borken (Central Germany: Hesse)

Se describen tortugas fósiles del Oligoceno inferior de la cuenca de Borken, comparándolas con especies próximas de la misma edad. Se relata la historia de la investigación, paleogeografía y posición estratigráfica. Junto a los Trionychidae, Carettochelyidae y Testudinoidea figura el cocodrilo Diplocynodon.The fossil turtles and crocodiles from the marine Early Oligocene of the Borken basin are described and compared with related species of the same stratigraphical age. Additionally, an overview is given on the history of research, the palaeogeographic and stratigraphic situation as well as on the relationships of the species mentioned. Beside the known representatives of the Trionychidae, Carettochelyidae, Testudinoidea and Diplocynodon are described

The functional subdivision of the visual brain : Is there a real illusion effect on action? A multi-lab replication study

Acknowledgements We thank Brian Roberts and Mike Harris for responding to our questions regarding their paper; Zoltan Dienes for advice on Bayes factors; Denise Fischer, Melanie Römer, Ioana Stanciu, Aleksandra Romanczuk, Stefano Uccelli, Nuria Martos Sánchez, and Rosa María Beño Ruiz de la Sierra for help collecting data; Eva Viviani for managing data collection in Parma. We thank Maurizio Gentilucci for letting us use his lab, and the Centro Intradipartimentale Mente e Cervello (CIMeC), University of Trento, and especially Francesco Pavani for lending us his motion tracking equipment. We thank Rachel Foster for proofreading. KKK was supported by a Ph.D. scholarship as part of a grant to VHF within the International Graduate Research Training Group on Cross-Modal Interaction in Natural and Artificial Cognitive Systems (CINACS; DFG IKG-1247) and TS by a grant (DFG – SCHE 735/3-1); both from the German Research Council.Peer reviewedPostprin

Molecular Line Emission as a Tool for Galaxy Observations (LEGO). I. HCN as a tracer of moderate gas densities in molecular clouds and galaxies

Trends observed in galaxies, such as the Gao \& Solomon relation, suggest a linear relation between the star formation rate and the mass of dense gas available for star formation. Validation of such relations requires the establishment of reliable methods to trace the dense gas in galaxies. One frequent assumption is that the HCN ($J=1$--0) transition is unambiguously associated with gas at $\rm{}H_2$ densities $\gg{}10^4~\rm{}cm^{-3}$. If so, the mass of gas at densities $\gg{}10^4~\rm{}cm^{-3}$ could be inferred from the luminosity of this emission line, $L_{\rm{}HCN\,(1\text{--}0)}$. Here we use observations of the Orion~A molecular cloud to show that the HCN ($J=1$--0) line traces much lower densities $\sim{}10^3~\rm{}cm^{-3}$ in cold sections of this molecular cloud, corresponding to visual extinctions $A_V\approx{}6~\rm{}mag$. We also find that cold and dense gas in a cloud like Orion produces too little HCN emission to explain $L_{\rm{}HCN\,(1\text{--}0)}$ in star--forming galaxies, suggesting that galaxies might contain a hitherto unknown source of HCN emission. In our sample of molecules observed at frequencies near 100~GHz (also including $\rm{}^{12}CO$, $\rm{}^{13}CO$, $\rm{}C^{18}O$, CN, and CCH), $\rm{}N_2H^+$ is the only species clearly associated with rather dense gas.Comment: accepted to A&A Letter

Prehistoric bird and egg shell remains from the village Sulze near Erfurt/Thuringia

Prähistorische Eierschalenfragmente der Fundstelle Sulze bei Erfurt in Thüringen werden beschrieben und diskutiert. Die folgenden Arten werden nachgewiesen: Cygnus olor, Anser anser, Anas platyrhynchos und Gallus gallus forma domestica. Auf der Grundlage von Knochenresten gelten folgende Nachweise: Columba livia forma domestica, Tyto alba, Anser anser forma domestica, Anas platyrhynchos forma domestica, Gallus gallus forma domestica, Corvus corax, Coloelus monedula, Galerida cristata, Passer domesticus und Coccothraustes coccothraustes. Besonderes Gewicht wird auf die Bestimmungsmethoden an prähistorischen Eierschalen gelegt.Prehistoric materials of bird- egg shells from the deposit Sulze are described and discussed. The following species occur: Cygnus olor, Anser anser, Anas platyrhynchos and Gallus gallus forma domestica. Furthermore, some bone remains from Columbia livia forma domestica, Tyto alba, Anser anser forma domestica, Anas platyrhynchos forma domestica, Gallus gallus forma domestica, Corvus corax, Coloelus monedula, Galerida cristata, Passer domesticus and Coccothraustes coccothraustes were collected. Special importance was attached to identification methods of prehistoric egg-shells

A microeconomic explanation of the epk paradox

Supported by some recent investigations the empirical pricing kernel paradox might be viewed as a stylized fact. In ChabiYo et al. (2008) simulation studies have been presented which suggest that this paradox might be caused by regime switching of stock prices in financial markets. Alternatively, we want to emphasize a microeconomic view. Based on an economic model with state dependent utilities for the financial investors we succeed in explaining the paradox by changes of risk attitudes. Theoretically, the change behaviour is compressed in the pricing kernels. As a starting point for empirical insights we shall develop and investigate inverse problems in terms of data fits for estimated basic values of the pricing kernel

Current Oncological Treatment of Patients with Pancreatic Cancer in Germany: Results from a National Survey on behalf of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Internistische Onkologie and the Chirurgische Arbeitsgemeinschaft Onkologie of the Germany Cancer Society

Background: No data have previously been available regarding the current treatment of patients with pancreatic cancer (PC) in German hospitals and medical practices. Methods: Between February 2007 and March 2008 we conducted a national survey {[}on behalf of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Internistische Onkologie (AIO) and the Chirurgische Arbeitsgemeinschaft Onkologie (CAO)] regarding the current surgical and oncological treatment of PC in Germany. Standardized questionnaires were sent via mailing lists to members of the AIO and CAO (n = 1,130). The data were analyzed using SPSS software (version 16.0). Pre-defined subgroup analysis was performed by grouping the results of each question with regard to the professional site of the responding physician and to the number of patients treated in their institution by year. Results: 181 (16%) of the oncological questionnaires were sent back. For 61% of the participating centers, a histological confirmation of PC diagnosis is obligatory. 21% of physicians offer neoadjuvant therapy to patients with potentially resectable PC. In the adjuvant treatment after curative-intent surgery, gemcitabine (Gem) is regarded as standard of care by 71% after R0 resection and 62% after R1 resection. For patients with locally advanced PC, 52% of the participating centers recommend systemic chemotherapy, 17% prefer combined primary chemoradiotherapy. Most centers (59%) base their decision of combination regimens for metastatic disease on the performance status of their patients. In patients with a good status, 28% apply single-agent Gem, 3% use Gem + capecitabine, 12% Gem + erlotinib, 16% Gem + oxaliplatin, and 8% Gem + cisplatin. Only 28% of the survey doctors offer second-line treatment to the majority of their patients with advanced PC. Conclusion: Not every PC patient in Germany is treated according to the present S3 guidelines. Diagnosis and treatment of PC in Germany still need to be improved. Copyright (C) 2009 S. Karger AG, Base