Courtship behaviour and vibrational communication of the planthopper Apartus michalki (Wagner, 1948): (Hemiptera: Fulgoromorpha: Cixiidae)

Paarungsverhalten und Vibrationskommunikation von Apartus michalki (Wagner, 1948) (Hemiptera: Fulgoromorpha: Cixiidae). – Cixiidae benötigen, wie alle sich sexuell reprodu- zierende Taxa, eine Reihe von Erkennungsmerkmalen, um potentielle Paarungspartner zu identifizieren und zu lokalisieren (specific mate recognition system = SMRS). Zwar ist der Einsatz von akustischen und/oder substratgebundenen Signalen als Teil des SMRS bei Hemipteren bekannt und weit verbreitet, die Kenntnisse zum Paarungsverhalten bei Cixiiden sind jedoch noch lückenhaft. In diesem Beitrag dokumentieren wir zum ersten Mal die Vibrationskommunikation bei Apartus michalki zusammen mit weiteren Beobachtungen zum Paarungsverhalten dieser Art.Cixiidae require a set of clues in order to recognize and localize potential conspecific partners for mating (specific mate recognition system = SMRS). The use of acoustic and/or vibrational signals as part of the SMRS is ubiquitous in Hemiptera. However, the general knowledge of the mating behaviour of Cixiidae is still patchy. Here we report for the first time evidence for vibrational communication in Apartus michalki along with observations of the courtship behaviour

Umsetzung EG-WRRL in Sachsen - Untersuchung zur wirtschaftlichen Fragestellung der Europäischen Wasserrahmenrichtlinie (EG-WRRL) – Umsetzung von Artikel 9 EG-WRRL in Sachsen

Die Studie ermittelt den betriebswirtschaftlichen Kostendeckungsgrad bei 194 sächsischen Wasserver- und Abwasserentsorgern. Der Kostendeckungsgrad liegt bei den Wasserversorgungsleistungen bei 99 Prozent und bei den Abwasserentsorgungsleistungen bei 95 Prozent für Teil- bzw. bei 98 Prozent für Vollentsorgung. Damit hat der Freistaat Sachsen bei der Umsetzung des Grundsatzes der Kostendeckung nach Artikel 9 der EG-WRRL einen guten Stand erreicht. Nach der Studie können in Sachsen allerdings künftig Probleme bei der Beibehaltung dieser Kostendeckungsgrade auftreten. Ursachen sind die demografische Entwicklung, die Entwicklung der Rohstoffpreise, die prognostizierte Klimaentwicklung und höhere Anforderungen an den Reinheitsgrad. Um den erreichten Stand halten zu können, ist eine regelmäßige Überwachung der Kostendeckungsgrade erforderlich. Die Studie enthält Vorschläge zur Erhaltung bzw. Verbesserung der Kostendeckung

Evaluation of presumably disease causing SCN1A variants in a cohort of common epilepsy syndromes

Objective: The SCN1A gene, coding for the voltage-gated Na+ channel alpha subunit NaV1.1, is the clinically most relevant epilepsy gene. With the advent of high-throughput next-generation sequencing, clinical laboratories are generating an ever-increasing catalogue of SCN1A variants. Variants are more likely to be classified as pathogenic if they have already been identified previously in a patient with epilepsy. Here, we critically re-evaluate the pathogenicity of this class of variants in a cohort of patients with common epilepsy syndromes and subsequently ask whether a significant fraction of benign variants have been misclassified as pathogenic. Methods: We screened a discovery cohort of 448 patients with a broad range of common genetic epilepsies and 734 controls for previously reported SCN1A mutations that were assumed to be disease causing. We re-evaluated the evidence for pathogenicity of the identified variants using in silico predictions, segregation, original reports, available functional data and assessment of allele frequencies in healthy individuals as well as in a follow up cohort of 777 patients. Results and Interpretation: We identified 8 known missense mutations, previously reported as path

16p11.2 600 kb Duplications confer risk for typical and atypical Rolandic epilepsy

Rolandic epilepsy (RE) is the most common idiopathic focal childhood epilepsy. Its molecular basis is largely unknown and a complex genetic etiology is assumed in the majority of affected individuals. The present study tested whether six large recurrent copy number variants at 1q21, 15q11.2, 15q13.3, 16p11.2, 16p13.11 and 22q11.2 previously associated with neurodevelopmental disorders also increase risk of RE. Our association analyses revealed a significant excess of the 600 kb genomic duplication at the 16p11.2 locus (chr16: 29.5-30.1 Mb) in 393 unrelated patients with typical (n = 339) and atypical (ARE; n = 54) RE compared with the prevalence in 65 046 European population controls (5/393 cases versus 32/65 046 controls; Fisher's exact test P = 2.83 × 10−6, odds ratio = 26.2, 95% confidence interval: 7.9-68.2). In contrast, the 16p11.2 duplication was not detected in 1738 European epilepsy patients with either temporal lobe epilepsy (n = 330) and genetic generalized epilepsies (n = 1408), suggesting a selective enrichment of the 16p11.2 duplication in idiopathic focal childhood epilepsies (Fisher's exact test P = 2.1 × 10−4). In a subsequent screen among children carrying the 16p11.2 600 kb rearrangement we identified three patients with RE-spectrum epilepsies in 117 duplication carriers (2.6%) but none in 202 carriers of the reciprocal deletion. Our results suggest that the 16p11.2 duplication represents a significant genetic risk factor for typical and atypical R

Evaluation of Presumably Disease Causing SCN1A Variants in a Cohort of Common Epilepsy Syndromes

A. Palotie on työryhmän jäsen.Objective The SCN1A gene, coding for the voltage-gated Na+ channel alpha subunit NaV1.1, is the clinically most relevant epilepsy gene. With the advent of high-throughput next-generation sequencing, clinical laboratories are generating an ever-increasing catalogue of SCN1A variants. Variants are more likely to be classified as pathogenic if they have already been identified previously in a patient with epilepsy. Here, we critically re-evaluate the pathogenicity of this class of variants in a cohort of patients with common epilepsy syndromes and subsequently ask whether a significant fraction of benign variants have been misclassified as pathogenic. Methods We screened a discovery cohort of 448 patients with a broad range of common genetic epilepsies and 734 controls for previously reported SCN1A mutations that were assumed to be disease causing. We re-evaluated the evidence for pathogenicity of the identified variants using in silico predictions, segregation, original reports, available functional data and assessment of allele frequencies in healthy individuals as well as in a follow up cohort of 777 patients. Results and Interpretation We identified 8 known missense mutations, previously reported as pathogenic, in a total of 17 unrelated epilepsy patients (17/448; 3.80%). Our re-evaluation indicates that 7 out of these 8 variants (p.R27T; p.R28C; p.R542Q; p.R604H; p.T1250M; p.E1308D; p.R1928G; NP_001159435.1) are not pathogenic. Only the p. T1174S mutation may be considered as a genetic risk factor for epilepsy of small effect size based on the enrichment in patients (P = 6.60 x 10(-4); OR = 0.32, fishers exact test), previous functional studies but incomplete penetrance. Thus, incorporation of previous studies in genetic counseling of SCN1A sequencing results is challenging and may produce incorrect conclusions.Peer reviewe

Wie hätten sie's denn gern? Wünsche der Museumsbesucher an Ausstellungen und Ausstellungsgestaltung

Rahmprogramm / Accompanying eventsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Umsetzung EG-WRRL in Sachsen - Untersuchung zur wirtschaftlichen Fragestellung der Europäischen Wasserrahmenrichtlinie (EG-WRRL) – Umsetzung von Artikel 9 EG-WRRL in Sachsen

Die Studie ermittelt den betriebswirtschaftlichen Kostendeckungsgrad bei 194 sächsischen Wasserver- und Abwasserentsorgern. Der Kostendeckungsgrad liegt bei den Wasserversorgungsleistungen bei 99 Prozent und bei den Abwasserentsorgungsleistungen bei 95 Prozent für Teil- bzw. bei 98 Prozent für Vollentsorgung. Damit hat der Freistaat Sachsen bei der Umsetzung des Grundsatzes der Kostendeckung nach Artikel 9 der EG-WRRL einen guten Stand erreicht. Nach der Studie können in Sachsen allerdings künftig Probleme bei der Beibehaltung dieser Kostendeckungsgrade auftreten. Ursachen sind die demografische Entwicklung, die Entwicklung der Rohstoffpreise, die prognostizierte Klimaentwicklung und höhere Anforderungen an den Reinheitsgrad. Um den erreichten Stand halten zu können, ist eine regelmäßige Überwachung der Kostendeckungsgrade erforderlich. Die Studie enthält Vorschläge zur Erhaltung bzw. Verbesserung der Kostendeckung

Umsetzung EG-WRRL in Sachsen - Untersuchung zur wirtschaftlichen Fragestellung der Europäischen Wasserrahmenrichtlinie (EG-WRRL) – Umsetzung von Artikel 9 EG-WRRL in Sachsen

Die Studie ermittelt den betriebswirtschaftlichen Kostendeckungsgrad bei 194 sächsischen Wasserver- und Abwasserentsorgern. Der Kostendeckungsgrad liegt bei den Wasserversorgungsleistungen bei 99 Prozent und bei den Abwasserentsorgungsleistungen bei 95 Prozent für Teil- bzw. bei 98 Prozent für Vollentsorgung. Damit hat der Freistaat Sachsen bei der Umsetzung des Grundsatzes der Kostendeckung nach Artikel 9 der EG-WRRL einen guten Stand erreicht. Nach der Studie können in Sachsen allerdings künftig Probleme bei der Beibehaltung dieser Kostendeckungsgrade auftreten. Ursachen sind die demografische Entwicklung, die Entwicklung der Rohstoffpreise, die prognostizierte Klimaentwicklung und höhere Anforderungen an den Reinheitsgrad. Um den erreichten Stand halten zu können, ist eine regelmäßige Überwachung der Kostendeckungsgrade erforderlich. Die Studie enthält Vorschläge zur Erhaltung bzw. Verbesserung der Kostendeckung

Proceedings of the 5th annual symposium of the German Society for Paleo Nutrition held in 2017

We present the scientific abstracts of the 5th Annual Symposium of the German Society for Paleo Nutrition (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Paläoernährung) which took place on September 23rd 2017 in Giessen, Germany. Besides an overview on existing interventional studies on Paleolithic diets, a focus of this year´s symposium was on secondary plant metabolites: presence, standardization by phytoneering and the role of phytomedicine for prevention and treatment of cancer. Further topics were the role of vitamin-D and omega-3 fatty acids, as well as molecular anthropology and personalized nutrition

Initiation of an international database of geoelectrical surveys on permafrost to promote data sharing, survey repetition and standardized data reprocessing 

Geoelectrical methods are widely used for permafrost investigations by research groups, government agencies and industry. Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) surveys are typically performed only once to detect the presence or absence of permafrost. Exchange of data and expertise among users is limited and usually occurs bilaterally. Neither complete information about the existence of geophysical surveys on permafrost nor the data itself is available on a global scale. Given the potential gain for identifying permafrost evidence and their spatiotemporal changes, there is a strong need for coordinated efforts regarding data, metadata, guidelines, and expertise exchange. Repetition of ERT surveys is rare, even though it could provide a quantitative spatio-temporal measure of permafrost evolution, helping to quantify the effects of climate change at local (where the ERT survey takes place) and global scales (due to the inventory).Our International Permafrost Association (IPA) action group (2021-2023) has the main objective of bringing together the international community interested in geoelectrical measurements on permafrost and laying the foundations for an operational International Database of Geoelectrical Surveys on Permafrost (IDGSP). Our contribution presents a new international database of electrical resistivity datasets on permafrost. The core members of our action group represent more than 10 research groups, who have already contributed their own metadata (currently > 200 profiles covering 15 countries). These metadata will be fully publicly accessible in the near future whereas access to the resistivity data may be either public or restricted. Thanks to this open access policy, we aim at increasing the level of transparency, encouraging further data providersand fostering survey repetitions by new users.The database is set up on a virtual machine hosted by the University of Fribourg. The advanced open-source relational database system PostgreSQL is used to program the database. Homogenization and standardization of a large number of data and metadata are among thegreatest challenges, yet are essential to a structured relational database. In this contribution, we present the structure of the database, statistics of the metadata uploaded, as well as first results of repetitions from legacy geoelectrical measurements on permafrost. Guidelines and strategiesare developed to handle repetition challenges such as changing survey configuration, changing geometry or inaccurate/missing metadata. First steps toward transparent and reproducible automated filtering and inversion of a great number of datasets will also be presented. Byarchiving geoelectrical data on permafrost, the ambition of this project is the reanalysis of the full database and its climatic interpretation