McKean-Vlasov limit for interacting systems with simultaneous jumps

Motivated by several applications, including neuronal models, we consider the McKean-Vlasov limit for mean-field systems of interacting diffusions with simultaneous jumps. We prove propagation of chaos via a coupling technique that involves an intermediate process and that gives a rate of convergence for the $W_1$ Wasserstein distance between the empirical measures of the two systems on the space of trajectories $\mathbf{D}([0,T],\mathbb{R}^d)$

Pioneers across war zones: The lived acculturation experiences of US female military expatriates

This exploratory study focuses on the lived acculturation experiences of United States (US) female career military expatriates who worked and lived in combat settings across five war zones. Based on an analysis of oral histories that spanned over 60 years, the research revealed that these pioneering women had a strong commitment to their profession, and that this, along with camaraderie, facilitated their adaptation to living conditions characterized by extreme danger, nominal domestic comforts, and unrelenting work requirements in culturally unfamiliar contexts. The research identified the multiple physical and psychological stressors of living and working as a female in a war zone and the variety of coping strategies employed for acculturation, particularly the prominent role of relational support from family and friends, and a combination of personal coping mechanisms (such as crying or compartmentalization) and religious faith. As extant expatriate research has overwhelmingly focused on male executives in multinational corporations, this research is significant in extending the literature to an analysis of the public sector, specifically women deployed overseas in highly dangerous settings and who were pioneering in both their roles in the military and as non-traditional expatriates at a time when few women worked internationally

Alter und Altern – Herausforderungen für die theologische Ethik. Bericht über den 37. Kongress der Internationalen Vereinigung für Moraltheologie und Sozialethik 2015 in Würzburg

Bericht über den 37. Kongress der Internationalen Vereinigung für Moraltheologie und Sozialethik 2015 in Würzbur

Poéticas de la mirada en Frazadas del Estadio Nacional de Jorge Montealegre

This study suggests a close reading of Jorge Montealegre's Frazadas del Estadio Nacional (2003), focusing on the poetics of gaze and visual metaphors. The dialectics of seeing and blindness is studied as the narrator's tool to overcome traumatic experiences of the past, connect it to the present, and rebuild his identity. Montealegre's literary testimony allows exploring a social experience recalled as an intimate and personal event. The text's poetic of gaze allows discerning the past in its complexities and silences.El presente estudio propone una lectura detallada de Frazadas del Estadio Nacional (2003) de Jorge Montealegre, con especial atención a la poética de la mirada y las metáforas visuales. Se estudia la dialéctica de ver y estar cegado, la herramienta que moviliza el narrador para superar las experiencias traumáticas del pasado, conectarlo al presente y reconstruir la identidad. Este testimonio literario permite explorar una experiencia social evocada como un evento íntimo y personal. La poética de la mirada del texto permite discernir el pasado en sus complejidades y silencios.El presente estudio propone una lectura detallada de Frazadas del Estadio Nacional (2003) de Jorge Montealegre, con especial atención a la poética de la mirada y las metáforas visuales. Se estudia la dialéctica de ver y estar cegado, la herramienta que moviliza el narrador para superar las experiencias traumáticas del pasado, conectarlo al presente y reconstruir la identidad. Este testimonio literario permite explorar una experiencia social evocada como un evento íntimo y personal. La poética de la mirada del texto permite discernir el pasado en sus complejidades y silencios.El presente estudio propone una lectura detallada de Frazadas del Estadio Nacional (2003) de Jorge Montealegre, con especial atención a la poética de la mirada y las metáforas visuales. Se estudia la dialéctica de ver y estar cegado, la herramienta que moviliza el narrador para superar las experiencias traumáticas del pasado, conectarlo al presente y reconstruir la identidad. Este testimonio literario permite explorar una experiencia social evocada como un evento íntimo y personal. La poética de la mirada del texto permite discernir el pasado en sus complejidades y silencios

Ergebnisse der Befragung in Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf zu Bedarfen und Angeboten für Familien mit Kindern im Alter von 0-6 Jahren

ERGEBNISSE DER BEFRAGUNG IN CHARLOTTENBURG-WILMERSDORF ZU BEDARFEN UND ANGEBOTEN FÜR FAMILIEN MIT KINDERN IM ALTER VON 0-6 JAHREN Ergebnisse der Befragung in Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf zu Bedarfen und Angeboten für Familien mit Kindern im Alter von 0-6 Jahren / Fischer, Petra (Rights reserved) ( -

Downregulation of BTLA on NKT Cells Promotes Tumor Immune Control in a Mouse Model of Mammary Carcinoma

[EN] Natural Killer T cells (NKT cells) are emerging as critical regulators of pro- and anti-tumor immunity, both at baseline and in therapeutic settings. While type I NKT cells can promote anti-tumor immunity, their activity in the tumor microenvironment may be limited by negative regulators such as inhibitory immune checkpoints.We observed dominant expression of B- and T-lymphocyte attenuator (BTLA) on type I NKT cells in polyoma middle T oncogene-driven (PyMT) murine autochthonous mammary tumors. Other immune checkpoint receptors, such as programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) were equally distributed among T cell populations. Interference with BTLA using neutralizing antibodies limited tumor growth and pulmonary metastasis in the PyMT model in a therapeutic setting, correlating with an increase in type I NKT cells and expression of cytotoxic marker genes. While therapeutic application of an anti-PD-1 antibody increased the number of CD8+ cytotoxic T cells and elevated IL-12 expression, tumor control was not established. Expression of ZBTB16, the lineage-determining transcription factor of type I NKT cells, was correlated with a favorable patient prognosis in the METABRIC dataset, and BTLA levels were instrumental to further distinguish prognosis in patents with high ZBTB16 expression. Taken together, these data support a role of BTLA on type I NKT cells in limiting anti-tumor immunitySIThe authors thank Praveen Mathoor and Margarete Mijatovic for excellent technical assistance. The authors are supported by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (SFB 1039 TP B04 and B06; FOR 2438), Deutsche Krebshilfe (70112451), and Else Kröner Fresenius-Foundation (Graduate school Translational Research Innovation—Pharma (TRIP); and Else Kröner Fresenius Graduate School

Absence of Mycoplasma spp. in nightingales (Luscinia megarhynchos) and blue (Cyanistes caeruleus) and great tits (Parus major) in Germany and its potential implication for evolutionary studies in birds

Mycoplasma spp. are important pathogens in poultry and cause high economic losses for poultry industry worldwide. In other bird species (e.g. white storks, birds of prey, and several waterfowl species), Mycoplasma spp. are regularly found in healthy individuals, hence, considered apathogenic or part of the microbiota of the upper respiratory tract. However, as Mycoplasma spp. are absent in healthy individuals of some wild bird species, they might play a role as respiratory pathogen in these bird species, e.g. Mycoplasma gallisepticum in house finches. The knowledge on the occurrence of Mycoplasma spp. in wild birds is limited. To evaluate the relevance of Mycoplasma spp. in free-ranging nightingales and tits, 172 wild caught birds were screened for the presence of mycoplasmas. The birds were sampled via choanal swabs and examined via molecular methods (n = 172) and, when possible, via culture (n = 142). The Mycoplasma sp. was determined by sequencing the 16S rRNA gene and 16S-23S Intergenic Transcribed Spacer Region. All birds were tested negative for mycoplasmas via PCR and/or mycoplasmal culture. Hence, free-ranging nightingales and tits do not show any mycoplasma in their microbial flora of the respiratory tract. Therefore, these songbird species may suffer from clinical mycoplasmosis when being infected. We hypothesize that birds relying on their vocal ability for reproduction have excluded mycoplasmas from their respiratory flora compared to other bird species

HOPS 383: An Outbursting Class 0 Protostar in Orion

We report the dramatic mid-infrared brightening between 2004 and 2006 of HOPS 383, a deeply embedded protostar adjacent to NGC 1977 in Orion. By 2008, the source became a factor of 35 brighter at 24 microns with a brightness increase also apparent at 4.5 microns. The outburst is also detected in the submillimeter by comparing APEX/SABOCA to SCUBA data, and a scattered-light nebula appeared in NEWFIRM K_s imaging. The post-outburst spectral energy distribution indicates a Class 0 source with a dense envelope and a luminosity between 6 and 14 L_sun. Post-outburst time-series mid- and far-infrared photometry shows no long-term fading and variability at the 18% level between 2009 and 2012. HOPS 383 is the first outbursting Class 0 object discovered, pointing to the importance of episodic accretion at early stages in the star formation process. Its dramatic rise and lack of fading over a six-year period hint that it may be similar to FU Ori outbursts, although the luminosity appears to be significantly smaller than the canonical luminosities of such objects.Comment: Accepted by ApJ Letters, 6 pages, 4 figures; v2 has an updated email address for the lead autho