EVERYBODY EATS: AN ANALYSIS OF CITIZENSHIP, MINORITY FOOD INSECURITY, AND COMMUNITY GARDENS

This study examines the sociological perspectives of community in order to accurately measure the scope of food insecurity in minority populations, and discuss the future of locally grown, organic produce as a potential answer to food insecurity. This thesis includes a sociological/historical examination of citizenship and community, a sufficient exploration of systemic inequalities apparent in the institutions of race and class, and a discussion of these variables’ effect on food policy with a critical race theory perspective, as well as an analysis of available census data on the racial breakdown of Bryan/College Station community in order to accurately study the patterns of inequality in food accessibility and affordability in the Bryan/College Station area. By studying the institutions of race and class, in relation to food accessibility and affordability, the goal of this thesis is to suggest preliminary political action that would alleviate the monetary stress imposed upon food insecure populations in Bryan/College Station

More than a Trail: Greenways and Heritage Tourism

Three recent projects demonstrate how communities have built supportive coalitions and expanded the value of their physical resources by layering and connecting linear corridors - greenways, roads, creek valleys and trails-- with heritage tourism and recreational, historic and interpretive opportunities. In this era of limited public resources, each project demonstrates a distinct and differing approach to leveraging a place’s assets with physical realities that, in combination, build a stronger community. These projects are located in very different geographic regions in the eastern United States, from the rural, historic landscape of the Piedmont to the urban waterfront of southeastern Washington, D.C. to a narrow valley in eastern Kentucky’s coal country. Value was added to each project through the linking together of heritage resources scattered throughout the area, the layering of storytelling, and the expansion and extension of the project’s economic value to the greater surrounding community. These projects demonstrate ways to broaden traditional linear corridors by leveraging the communities’ heritage resources to expand the economic potential and cultural value of the physical investment in a trail or greenway

Kooperation zwischen Wissenschaft und Bibliothek als kommunikative Aufgabe

ZusammenfassungVor dem Hintergrund eines Projekts zur Qualitätseinschätzung der Volltextdigitalisierung alter Drucke werden die Herausforderungen organisationskulturübergreifender Zusammenarbeit zwischen der Universitätsbibliothek Mainz und Wissenschaftlern der Universität diskutiert. Über die Vorstellung der Projektergebnisse hinaus werden die Erfahrungen der Kommunikation zwischen zwei Organisationskulturen mit sehr unterschiedlichen Regeln und Wertesystemen vorgestellt sowie Einblicke in die eingeschlagenen Wege zu erfolgreicher Projektkommunikation gegeben.AbstractWhen humanities scholars requested Mainz University Library's digitization team to prospectively evaluate digitization results on Gothic prints at first it seemed like a technical challenge. On closer inspection the digitalization team became aware that project communications and knowledge distribution between both cooperating parties posed the far greater challange. In this article we try to provide insight into the communication process between two interacting organizational cultures from a sociolinguistic and anthropological point of view. Focusing on project management as a task of communication and knowledge management we would like to give indication on how projects in multiorganizational settings can be brougth to success

Funktion und Stellenwert von Social Web Anwendungen in der Umwelt- und Nachhaltigkeitskommunikation

Das Social Web zählt aktuell zu den größten Herausforderungen für das Kommunikationsmanagement, Fragen der Nachhaltigkeit rücken immer stärker in das öffentliche Interesse. Die folgende Magisterarbeit verbindet diese beiden Themenkomplexe und analysiert das Potential von Social Web Anwendungen für die Umwelt- und Nachhaltigkeitskommunikation in den Bereichen Wirtschaft, Politik und Zivilgesellschaft. Zunächst werden die Anforderungen und Spezifika der Umwelt- Nachhaltigkeitskommunikation in Wirtschaft, Politik und Zivilgesellschaft vergleichend dargestellt, sowie Beschaffenheit, Funktionalität und Anwendungen des Social Web beschrieben. Dabei wird deutlich, dass die Dialogorientierung und soziale Netzwerkstruktur des Social Webs die verständigungsorientierte Nachhaltigkeitskommunikation unterstützen können. Mithilfe der aus der Betriebswissenschaft stammenden Methode der SWOT-Analyse werden schließlich die Stärken und Schwächen des Social Webs, sowie die Chancen und Risiken, die sich für den Einsatz in der Umwelt- und Nachhaltigkeitskommunikation ergeben, systematisch dargestellt. In der Analyse zeigt sich, dass das Social Web für die Umwelt- und Nachhaltigkeitskommunikation in Zivilgesellschaft, Wirtschaft und Politik unterschiedliche Funktionen einnehmen kann. So ist für die Nachhaltigkeitskommunikation von NGOs vor allem die Informationsfunktion von Bedeutung, in der unternehmerischen Nachhaltigkeitskommunikation kann das Social Web am Besten zum Reputationsmanagement eingesetzt werden und in der politischen Nachhaltigkeitskommunikation liegt das Potential des Social Web schließlich in der Partizipationsfunktion.The social web is considered one of the biggest challenges in public relations. At the same time, awareness of sustainability issues is growing among the public. This Master Thesis combines both topics and analyses the potential of social web use in sustainability communication, comparing the fields of economy, politics and civil society. First, the requirements and specifics of sustainability communications are illustrated and compared for the three areas of interest. Then, the social web and its characteristics and functions are described. It already becomes apparent that the dialogue oriented and interconnected social web can support the aim of sustainability communication to create social acceptance und understanding. Finally, the strengths and weaknesses of the social web, as well as the objectives and threats for its use in sustainability communications are illustrated systematically in a SWOT-Analysis. The findings of the analysis indicate that the social web has different functions in the sustainability communication of and non-profit organisations, companies and state institutions, such as information distribution, reputation-management and citizen participation

Charakterisierung humaner dizentrischer Chromosomen unter besonderer Berücksichtigung dizentrischer kleiner überzähliger Markerchromosomen (sSMC)

Dizentrische Chromosomen werden meist im Zusammenhang mit mitotischer Instabilität beschrieben. Doch seit Mitte der siebziger Jahre des letzten Jahrhunderts wurden beim Menschen stabile dizentrische Chromosomen nachgewiesen. Die vorliegende Arbeit stellt die erste große systematische Studie zur Charakterisierung humaner dizentrischer Chromosomen dar. Neben großen dizentrischen Chromosomen (DIC) wurden als Modellsystem geeigneten dizentrische kleine überzählige Markerchromosomen (sSMC) analysiert. Nach zyto- und molekularzytogenetischer Charakteri¬sierung wurden Immunfluoreszenzfärbungen an Zentromerproteinen zur Bestimmung der Zentromer¬aktivität und Immunfluoreszenzfärbungen von Histonmodifikationen zur Untersuchung epigenetischer Veränderungen vorgenommen. Es wurden insgesamt fünf verschiedene Aktivitätsmuster bei dizentrischen sSMC und vier verschiedene Aktivitätsmuster bei großen dizentrischen Chromosomen nachgewiesen, die vornehmlich durch die chromosomale Herkunft und den Interzentromerabstand bestimmt werden. Darüber hinaus belegen die Ergebnisse erstmals sowohl eine (partielle) Deletion eines Zentromers als auch die epigenetische Inaktivierung als mögliche Mechanismen der Zentromerinaktivierung beim Menschen. Mit 3D-FISH-Untersuchungen konnten eine bevorzugte Kolokalisation der (dizentrischen) sSMC mit einem homologen Schwesterchromosom und eine Beeinflussung der Lagebeziehung zwischen beiden homo¬logen Schwesterchromosomen zueinander nachgewiesen werden. Durch immunhistochemische Histon¬modifikationsfärbung konnte nicht nur ein hochspezifisches Bänderungsmuster entlang der Metaphasechromosomen erzielt werden, das verschiedenartige Färbeverhalten der sSMC ist ein Hinweis auf die epigenetische Regulierung der Chromatinstruktur. In funktionellen Studien zur NOR-Aktivität deuten die Anzahl aktiver NOR pro Zelle und deren Verteilung innerhalb der akrozentrischen Chromosomen auf eine positive Selektion der dizentrischen sSMC bei funktioneller Beteiligung hin

Transforming Growth Factor-β1 Regulates the Expression of the High-Affinity Receptor for IgE on CD34+ Stem Cell-Derived CD1a+ Dendritic Cells In Vitro

It has been reported that monocytes, Langerhans cells (LC) and other dendritic cells (DC) express the high-affinity receptor for IgE (FcεRI) in patients with atopic diseases. These cells may be instrumental in the control of the immune response and the allergic inflammation. In this context, transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-β1) has been highlighted as a key cytokine involved in the mechanisms aimed to orchestrate tolerance and has been suggested as a candidate gene in atopic diseases. In this report, we investigate the putative role of TGF-β1 in the regulation of FcεRI on cord blood CD34+ stem cell-derived CD1a+ DC (CD34-derived CD1a+ DC). Kinetic experiments show that FcεRI spontaneously appears on the surface of CD1a+ DC, but decreases when exogenous TGF-β1 is added at high doses (10 ng per mL) or when endogenous TGF-β1 is neutralized in the culture conditions. In contrast, low-dose TGF-β1 (0.5 ng per mL) stabilizes surface FcεRI expression on DC. Increasing TGF-β1 concentrations leads to the generation of LC-like DC showing an augmentation in stimulatory capacity towards allogeneic T cells. In view of these data, a picture emerges that FcεRI+ on DC is finely modified by the TGF-β1 concentration in the microenvironment and could be of primary relevance in the context of atopic diseases

Biclonal myelodysplastic syndrome involving six chromosomes and monoallelic loss of RB1 - A rare case

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) represents a group of clonal hematological disorders characterized by progressive cytopenia, and reflects to defects in erythroid, myeloid and megakaryocytic maturation. MDS is more frequently observed in older aged patients with cytogenetic abnormalities like monosomy of chromosome(s) 5 and/or 7. In 50% of de novo MDS cases, chromosomal aberrations are found and rearrangements involving the retinoblastoma (<it>RB1</it>) gene in 13q14 are found.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Here, we are presenting a case report of a rare biclonal MDS with a karyotype of 45, XY,-4, der(6)t(4;6)(p15.1;p21.3), der(8)t(4;8)(q31.2;q22), t(13;16)(q21.3;p11.2)<abbrgrp><abbr bid="B11">11</abbr></abbrgrp>/45, XY, der(7)t(7;13)(p22.2~22.3;q21.3),-13 <abbrgrp><abbr bid="B9">9</abbr></abbrgrp>. The patient was diagnosed according to WHO classification as refractory anemia with excess of blasts (RAEB-II).</p> <p>Immunophenotyping was positive for CD11b, CD11c, CD10, CD13, CD15, CD16 and CD33.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We report, a novel and cytogenetically rare case of a biclonal MDS with complex chromosomal aberrations and deletion of <it>RB1</it>-gene in both clones. These findings are associated with a poor prognosis as the patient died 3 months after diagnosis.</p

Scanning near-field optical microscopy: from single-tip to dual-tip operation

Scanning Near-field Optical Microscopy (SNOM) is a powerful and widely-used method in nano- and micro-optics. In aperture SNOM, a dielectric tip with an opaque coating featuring a sub-wavelength aperture at the tip apex is used either to locally illuminate the sample under investigation, or to map the sample’s optical near-fields. In contrast to classical microscopy, SNOM provides access to the evanescent fields at the sample surface and is thus able to break the diffraction limit. In this thesis, several new near-field characterization methods were developed: By combining two SNOMs with fiber tips into a Dual-SNOM setup, samples can be near-field illuminated at a freely chosen position by the first tip, while the second tip scans the sample surface and maps the optical near-fields, thus giving access to the near-field Green’s function. The Dual-SNOM was used for polarization-selective mapping of plasmonic aperture emission and for the investigation of plasmonic modes in metal strip waveguides. Furthermore, two single-tip techniques were developed and were applied to map whispering-gallery modes (WGM) in fused silica microdisk resonators. In scanning thermocouple-probe microscopy, the sample surface is scanned by a miniature thermocouple tip, which is heated by optical absorption and thus converts the optical signal into an electrical signal directly at the measurement location. In the second mapping method for WGM, a sharp, fully metal-coated fiber tip is used as a scatterer whose position influences the resonance positions and the coupling between WGMs and their respective counter-propagating, degenerate modes. Consequently, the transmission and reflection that can be measured at the ends of the tapered fiber loop which serves for excitation of the WGMs are also modified by the tip’s presence. By correlating the transmission and reflection signals with the tip’s position, highly resolved images were obtained. As an application example of aperture SNOM, near-field mapping of non-broadening plasmonic Airy beams and of plasmonic hot-spots generated by interference of two such beams is demonstrated

Metabolic changes associated with two endocrine abnormalities in dogs : elevated fructosamine and low thyroxine

Introduction Metabolomics studies in canine endocrine abnormalities are sparse and basic information on these abnormalities must be generated. Objectives To characterize the metabolic changes associated with elevated fructosamine, reflecting poor glycemic control, and low thyroxine, a thyroid hormone controlling metabolism. Methods Leftovers of clinical serum samples; 25 controls, 79 high fructosamine, and 47 low thyroxine, were analyzed using H-1 NMR and differences were evaluated using Firth logistic regression. Results Both high fructosamine and low thyroxine were associated with changes in concentrations of multiple metabolites, including glycoprotein acetyls and lipids. Conclusion These findings suggest promising makers for further research and clinical validation.Peer reviewe