Earthworm communities in an agroforest system: Impact of tree rows on the distribution in grassland and cropped land

Agroforest systems are highly discussed as new and innovative land use systems for arable land in temperate regions. They are recommended due to their beneficial impact on several ecosystem functions and for the general diversification of the cultured landscapes. Tree rows, known as alley cropping systems, are one of the most frequent applications. In May 2016 earthworm communities were sampled in an agroforest system in Reiffenhausen south of Göttingen using an electrical extraction system. Asking for the impact of tree rows on the spatial distribution of earthworms, sampling was done in distances of 0, 1, and 4.5m from the alleys (willow on grassland and poplar on cropland). Also grassland and cropland with no trees were sampled as a control. At Reiffenhausen we obtained 6 different species covering all ecological groups of earthworms. Abundances indicated a step gradient for earthworm numbers in the combination of poplar with cropland with decreasing numbers with increasing distance. However, the gradient was not indicated for willow rows on grassland. An effect of hypnotized earthworm supporting factors like litter entry and shading couldn’t be fully confirmed. More data is needed to value agroforest systems for their impact on key organisms and key functions of soil biota

Some integral inequalities on time scales

In this paper, some new integral inequalities on time scales are presented by using elementarily analytic methods in calculus of time scales.Comment: 8 page

Photon and dilepton production rate in the quark-gluon plasma from lattice QCD

The photon emissivity of the quark-gluon plasma (QGP) is an important input to predict the photon yield in heavy-ion collisions, particularly for transverse momenta in the range of 1 to 2 GeV. Photon production in the QGP can be probed non-perturbatively in lattice QCD via (Euclidean) time-dependent correlators. Analyzing the spatially transverse channel, as well as the difference of the transverse and longitudinal channels as a consistency check, we determine the photon emissivity based on continuum-extrapolated correlators in two-flavour QCD. Estimates of the lepton-pair production rate can be derived by combining the two aforementioned channels

A (2+1)(2+1)-flavor lattice study of the pion quasiparticle in the thermal hadronic phase at physical quark masses

We investigate the properties of the pion quasiparticle in the thermal hadronic phase of (2 + 1)-flavor QCD on the lattice at physical quark masses at a temperature T=128MeV. We find that the pion quasiparticle mass ω0 = 113(3)MeV is significantly reduced relative to the zero-temperature pion mass m0π = 128(1)MeV, by contrast with the static screening mass mπ = 144(3)MeV, which increases with temperature. On the other hand the pion quasiparticle decay constant does not change much compared to the corresponding zero-temperature decay constant. The difference of the vector- and axialvector spectral functions serves as an order parameter of chiral symmetry restoration. By analyzing this quantity we conclude that chiral symmetry restoration is already at an advanced stage in the spectral function

Carotid Artery Stenting: A Single Center “Real World” Experience

BACKGROUND:Percutaneous carotid artery stenting (CAS) became a widely used procedure in patients with symptomatic and asymptomatic carotid artery stenosis. However its role compared to carotid endarterectomy (CAD) remains questioned. We analysed the safety of carotid artery stenting program of a prospective CAS register program of a tertiary teaching hospital. METHOD:Between July 2003 and December 2010, 208 patients underwent CAS procedure. Baseline, procedural and follow-up data were prospectively collected. Primary peri-interventional outcome was defined as 30-day major adverse events (MAE), including death, stroke or myocardial infarction, and mid- to long-term follow-up outcome included ipsilateral stroke, myocardial infarction or death. Secondary outcome was restenosis rate ≥ 50% per lesion. RESULTS:Unilateral carotid artery interventions were performed in 186 patients. In 22 patients CAS was performed bilaterally as stages procedures. The 30-day MAE rate was 1.9% consisting of two contralateral strokes and two ipsilateral stroke. Mean clinically follow-up was 22 months. Mid- to long-term MAE was 8.1% with 6.3% (n = 13) deaths, 1.9% (n = 4) myocardial infarctions and 0.9% (n = 2) ipsilateral stroke. The restenosis rate ≥ 50% per lesion was 4.3% at a mean follow-up of 22 months. Target lesion revascularization was performed in one patient, because of restenosis at 9 months follow-up after first CAS. CONCLUSION:Implementation of a carotid artery stenting program at a tertiary, teaching hospital is a safe method for treatment of carotid artery stenosis. The adverse event rate during mid-to-long-term follow-up suggests an appropriate patient selection

Claimed Co-ethnics and Kin-State Citizenship in Southeastern Europe

The paper introduces the often neglected concept of 'claimed co-ethnics' in the analysis of citizenship policies. It argues that this is an interstitial category that further complicates the triadic nexus between national minorities, nationalising states and kin-states. The 'claimed co-ethnics' are defined as people who are recognised by the citizenship (or ethnizenship) conferring state as belonging to its main ethnic group, although they themselves do not embrace that definition. In addition to bringing the issue of claimed co-ethnics into focus, the paper elucidates how citizenship policies can affect groups that challenge the exact fit between ethnicity and nation, showing how national governments through particular citizenship policies and categorisation practices engage in the construction of these groups. The paper shows that the triadic nexus framework, which has had a strong influence on citizenship and minorities scholarship, needs to be revised to include unidirectional relations between the elements of the triadic nexus. The paper is based on the comparison between the cases of ethnic Vlachs (in the context of Albania and Greece) and Bunjevci (in the context of Serbia and Croatia).European Commission - Seventh Framework Programme (FP7

Prognostic Relevance of Neutrophil to Lymphocyte Ratio (NLR) in Luminal Breast Cancer: A Retrospective Analysis in the Neoadjuvant Setting

The neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is a promising predictive and prognostic factor in breast cancer. We investigated its ability to predict disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) in patients with luminal A- or luminal B-HER2-negative breast cancer who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT). Pre-treatment complete blood cell counts from 168 consecutive patients with luminal breast cancer were evaluated to assess NLR. The study population was stratified into NLRlow or NLRhigh according to a cut-off value established by receiving operator curve (ROC) analysis. Data on additional pre- and post-treatment clinical-pathological characteristics were also collected. Kaplan-Meier curves, log-rank tests, and Cox proportional hazards models were used for statistical analyses. Patients with pre-treatment NLRlow showed a significantly shorter DFS (HR: 6.97, 95% CI: 1.65-10.55, p = 0.002) and OS (HR: 7.79, 95% CI: 1.25-15.07, p = 0.021) compared to those with NLRhigh. Non-ductal histology, luminal B subtype, and post-treatment Ki67 ≥ 14% were also associated with worse DFS (p = 0.016, p = 0.002, and p = 0.001, respectively). In a multivariate analysis, luminal B subtype, post-treatment Ki67 ≥ 14%, and NLRlow remained independent prognostic factors for DFS, while only post-treatment Ki67 ≥ 14% and NLRlow affected OS. The present study provides evidence that pre-treatment NLRlow helps identify women at higher risk of recurrence and death among patients affected by luminal breast cancer treated with NACT

Chest wall and intrathoracic desmoid tumors: surgical experience and review of the literature

Desmoid tumors are fibroblastic/myofibroblastic neoplasms, which originate from musculo-aponeurotic structures and are classified as deep fibromatoses. Despite their benign histologic appearance and lack of metastatic potential, desmoid tumors may cause aggressive local infiltrations and compression of surrounding structures. They are often associated with female gender, familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) and sporadically may occur at sites of previous trauma, scars or irradiation. Molecular studies have demonstrated that these patients are associated with a bi-allelic APC mutation in the affected tissue. Radical tumor resection with free margins remains the first therapy of choice. In cases with anatomical or technical limitations for a wide excision, radiation therapy represents a proven and effective alternative or supplementary treatment

Imaging Molecular Structure through Femtosecond Photoelectron Diffraction on Aligned and Oriented Gas-Phase Molecules

This paper gives an account of our progress towards performing femtosecond time-resolved photoelectron diffraction on gas-phase molecules in a pump-probe setup combining optical lasers and an X-ray Free-Electron Laser. We present results of two experiments aimed at measuring photoelectron angular distributions of laser-aligned 1-ethynyl-4-fluorobenzene (C8H5F) and dissociating, laseraligned 1,4-dibromobenzene (C6H4Br2) molecules and discuss them in the larger context of photoelectron diffraction on gas-phase molecules. We also show how the strong nanosecond laser pulse used for adiabatically laser-aligning the molecules influences the measured electron and ion spectra and angular distributions, and discuss how this may affect the outcome of future time-resolved photoelectron diffraction experiments.Comment: 24 pages, 10 figures, Faraday Discussions 17