296 research outputs found
Urban water systems under climate stress : An isotopic perspective from Berlin, Germany
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This project was funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) as part of the Research Training Group “Urban Water Interfaces (UWI)” (GRK 2032, Project W1: “Ecohydrological controls on urban groundwater recharge: an isotope‐based approach”) and supported by the project “Modelling surface and groundwater with isotopes in urban catchments (MOSAIC)” funded by the Einstein‐Foundation. We thank all colleagues involved in the sample collection (A. Smith, N. Weiß, L. Kleine, L. Lachmann, E. Brakkee, W. Lehmann, A. Douinot, K. Dyck, D. Dubbert, H. Dämpfling, A. Wieland), D. Dubbert for support with the isotope analysis, our colleagues in the chemical analytics laboratory at IGB for their support with the chemical analysis, in particular T. Goldhammer, as well as T. Rossoll for help with the measurement equipment. We further thank the BWB and especially the Berlin Senate Department for the Environment, Transport and Climate Protection for the support in accessing groundwater wells and the provided data.Peer reviewedPublisher PDFPublisher PD
Controlling the configuration space topology of mechanisms
Linkages are mechanical devices constructed from rigid bars and freely
rotating joints studied both for their utility in engineering and as
mathematical idealizations in a number of physical systems. Recently, there has
been a resurgence of interest in designing linkages to perform certain tasks
from the physics community. We describe a method to design the topology of the
configuration space of a linkage by first identifying the manifold of critical
points, then perturbing around such critical configurations. We then
demonstrate our procedure by designing a mechanism to gate the propagation of a
soliton in a Kane-Lubensky chain of interconnected rotors
Using a fast-gated camera for measurements of transverse beam distributions and damping times
The DNA methylation landscape of the human oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR): data-driven clusters and their relation to gene expression and childhood adversity
The oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) is of interest when investigating the effects of early adversity on DNA methylation. However, there is heterogeneity regarding the selection of the most promising CpG sites to target for analyses. The goal of this study was to determine functionally relevant clusters of CpG sites within the OXTR CpG island in 113 mother-infant dyads, with 58 of the mothers reporting childhood maltreatment (CM). OXTR DNA methylation was analyzed in peripheral/umbilical blood mononuclear cells. Different complexity reduction approaches were used to reduce the 188 CpG sites into clusters of co-methylated sites. Furthermore, associations between OXTR DNA methylation (cluster- and site-specific level) and OXTR gene expression and CM were investigated in mothers. Results showed that, first, CpG sections differed strongly regarding their statistical utility for research of individual differences in DNA methylation. Second, cluster analyses and Partial Least Squares (PLS) suggested two clusters consisting of intron1/exon2 and the protein-coding region of exon3, respectively, as most strongly associated with outcome measures. Third, cross-validated PLS regression explained 7% of variance in CM, with low cross-validated variance explained for the prediction of gene expression. Fourth, substantial mother-child correspondence was observed in correlation patterns within the identified clusters, but only modest correspondence outside these clusters. This study makes an important contribution to the mapping of the DNA methylation landscape of the OXTR CpG island by highlighting clusters of CpG sites that show desirable statistical properties and predictive value. We provide a Companion Web Application to facilitate the choice of CpG sites
Spectroscopic Properties of a Biologically Relevant [Fe2(μ-O)2] Diamond Core Motif with a Short Iron-Iron Distance
Diiron cofactors in enzymes perform diverse challenging transformations. The structures of high valent intermediates (Q in methane monooxygenase and X in ribonucleotide reductase) are debated since Fe−Fe distances of 2.5–3.4 Å were attributed to “open” or “closed” cores with bridging or terminal oxido groups. We report the crystallographic and spectroscopic characterization of a FeIII2(μ-O)2 complex (2) with tetrahedral (4C) centres and short Fe−Fe distance (2.52 Å), persisting in organic solutions. 2 shows a large Fe K-pre-edge intensity, which is caused by the pronounced asymmetry at the TD FeIII centres due to the short Fe−μ−O bonds. A ≈2.5 Å Fe−Fe distance is unlikely for six-coordinate sites in Q or X, but for a Fe2(μ-O)2 core containing four-coordinate (or by possible extension five-coordinate) iron centres there may be enough flexibility to accommodate a particularly short Fe−Fe separation with intense pre-edge transition. This finding may broaden the scope of models considered for the structure of high-valent diiron intermediates formed upon O2 activation in biology
All-sky Kinematics and Chemistry of Monoceros Stellar Overdensity
We explore the kinematic and chemical properties of Monoceros stellar
overdensity by combining data from 2MASS, WISE, APOGEE, and .
Monoceros is a structure located towards the Galactic anticenter and close to
the disk. We identified that its stars have azimuthal velocity in the range of
. Combining their kinematics and
spatial distribution, we designed a new method to select stars from this
overdensity. This method allows us to easily identify the structure in both
hemispheres and estimate their distances. Our analysis was supported by
comparison with simulated data from the entire sky generated by
code. Furthermore, we characterized, for the first time, the
Monoceros overdensity in several chemical-abundance spaces. Our results confirm
its similarity to stars found in the thin disk of the Galaxy and suggest an
formation. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the southern
(Mon-S) and northern (Mon-N) regions of Monoceros exhibit indistinguishable
chemical compositions.Comment: Paper accepted for publication in Ap
The Chemodynamical Nature of the Triangulum-Andromeda Overdensity
We present a chemodynamical study of the Triangulum-Andromeda overdensity
(TriAnd) employing a sample of 31 candidate stars observed with the GRACES
high-resolution (=40,000) spectrograph at the Gemini North (8.1 m)
telescope. TriAnd is a stellar substructure found toward the outer disk of the
Milky Way, located at kpc from the Sun, toward Galactic
latitude {\deg}. Most stars in our sample have dynamical properties
compatible with a disk stellar population. In addition, by applying an
eccentricity cut, we are able to detect a stellar contamination that seems to
be consistent with an accreted population. In chemical abundance space, the
majority of our TriAnd candidates are similar to the outer thin-disk
population, suggesting that the overdensity has an \textit{in situ} origin.
Finally, the found accreted halo interlopers spatially overlapping with TriAnd
should explain the historical discussion of the overdensity's nature due to its
complex chemical patterns.Comment: Published in The Astrophysical Journal (ApJ
Gastric cancer and Helicobacter pylori: a combined analysis of 12 case control studies nested within prospective cohorts
BACKGROUND: The magnitude of the association
between Helicobacter pylori and
incidence of gastric cancer is unclear. H
pylori infection and the circulating antibody
response can be lost with development
of cancer; thus retrospective studies
are subject to bias resulting from classifi-
cation of cases as H pylori negative when
they were infected in the past.
AIMS: To combine data from all case control
studies nested within prospective
cohorts to assess more reliably the relative
risk of gastric cancer associated with H
pylori infection.To investigate variation in
relative risk by age, sex, cancer type and
subsite, and interval between blood sampling
and cancer diagnosis.
METHODS: Studies were eligible if blood
samples for H pylori serology were collected
before diagnosis of gastric cancer in
cases. Identified published studies and two
unpublished studies were included. Individual
subject data were obtained for
each. Matched odds ratios (ORs) and 95%
confidence intervals (95% CI) were calculated
for the association between H pylori
and gastric cancer.
RESULTS: Twelve studies with 1228 gastric
cancer cases were considered. The association
with H pylori was restricted to noncardia
cancers (OR 3.0; 95% CI 2.3–3.8)
and was stronger when blood samples for
H pylori serology were collected 10+ years
before cancer diagnosis (5.9; 3.4–10.3). H
pylori infection was not associated with an
altered overall risk of cardia cancer (1.0;
0.7–1.4).
CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that
5.9 is the best estimate of the relative risk
of non-cardia cancer associated with H
pylori infection and that H pylori does not
increase the risk of cardia cancer. They
also support the idea that when H pylori
status is assessed close to cancer diagnosis,
the magnitude of the non-cardia
association may be underestimated
Potato tuber pectin structure is influenced by pectin methyl esterase activity and impacts on cooked potato texture
Although cooked potato tuber texture is an important trait that influences consumer preference, a detailed understanding of tuber textural properties at the molecular level is lacking. Previous work has identified tuber pectin methyl esterase activity (PME) as a potential factor impacting on textural properties. In this study, tuber PME isoform and gene expression profiles have been determined in potato germplasm with differing textural properties as assessed using an amended wedge fracture method and a sloughing assay, revealing major differences between the potato types. Differences in pectin structure between potato types with different textural properties were revealed using monoclonal antibodies specific for different pectic epitopes. Chemical analysis of tuber pectin clearly demonstrated that, in tubers containing a higher level of total PME activity, there was a reduced degree of methylation of cell wall pectin and consistently higher peak force and work done values during the fracture of cooked tuber samples, demonstrating the link between PME activity, the degree of methylation of cell wall pectin, and cooked tuber textural properties
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