When Thinking Impairs Sleep : Trait, Daytime and Nighttime Repetitive Thinking in Insomnia

We like to thank Dorien van Baar, Lisette van Breen, Rachel Renet, Marlene Stone, Britt van Hest, and Noraly Dekkers for their help with the data acquisition.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Organic Certification is now available by a Bulgarian company

Balkan Biocert LTD was registered in January 2003 and has conducted the first inspections in Bulgaria. BALKAN BIOCERT Ltd, a private shareholder company which is fully owned by Bulgarian shareholders, offers inspection and certification services for organic production, processing and trade in Bulgaria and its neighbouring countries. Certification is done in accordance with Bulgarian legislation as well as EU-Regulation. BALKAN BIOCERT technically collaborates with the reputed Swiss Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), which has been active in Bulgaria for several years, and with IMO (Institute for Market Ecology), a certification body based in Switzerland that is well-recognised internationally

Power, Sect and State

Review of A. Maria A. Kastrinou, Power, Sect and State in Syria: The Politics of Marriage and Identity amongst the Druze. London and New York: I.B. Tauris, 2016

On the Front Lines of Public Policy

UM Law students get in the thick of tobacco policy, international terrorism regulations, drug treatment, even the mundane yet complex rules of homeowners\u27 associations. The lives they change, now and in the jobs they secure, reach well beyond their own

Restoration of endangered epiphytic lichens in fragmented forest landscapes

In a situation with increasingly rapid changes in landscape mosaics, driven by large-scale forestry and future climate change, a number of epiphytic lichens are now becoming threatened. Many of these species are limited either by dispersal or the subsequent processes of immobilisation on the substrate and germination. Overcoming the bottleneck of dispersal and/or reproduction may therefore constitute a key factor in species conservation. The main aim of this thesis is to evaluate different strategies to optimise efficiency in restoration of populations of endangered epiphytic lichens in fragmented forest landscapes, with a special emphasis on the importance of habitat quality and transplantation techniques. The thesis includes the development of a modeling tool for habitat evaluation in relation to photosynthetic performance of individual species (III); exploration of underlying causes for habitat restrictions in hydrophilic lichens (IV); and identification of habitat and substrate characteristics that 1) are associated with high vitality in natural populations of hydrophilic lichens (II), 2) are beneficial for establishment during active transplantation of thallus fragments (I) or isidia (V), and 3) are beneficial for photosynthetic activity in adult thalli (III, IV). The occurrence of pronounced photosynthetic activation time lags among hydrophilic species, with full activity for some species being reached first 24 h after hydration, is reported for the first time in the present study and may be one of the physiological causes explaining habitat restrictions in rare hydrophilic lichens (IV). Using a dynamic water and activity model, we assessed the capacities of four hydrophilic (Bryoria bicolor, Lobaria amplissima, Platismatia norvegica and Usnea longissima) and a generalist species (Platismatia glauca) to rehydrate and activate photosynthesis by liquid water and humid air available in natural habitats (III). Simulations show that for three of the four studied hydrophilic species, species-specific PSII activation time lags can, in combination with microclimatic differences, control photosynthetic performance in a most dramatic manner (III, IV). The distribution patterns of hydrophilic lichens coincide very well with habitat features that generate high realised activity among the slowly activated species studied here (II, III, IV). Both close proximity to streams and the presence of turbulent water had a consistent strong positive impact on realised activity among the studied species (IV). The occurrence of activation time lags may explain both the higher abundances in oceanic core habitats, and the affinity for stream habitats and turbulent water displayed by marginal populations of suboceanic lichens such as P. norvegica (II). Further, we have shown that transplantations of fragments (using Evernia divaricata and Ramalina dilacerata) or isidia (using P. norvegica) can constitute a valuable tool for restoration of endangered lichen populations, and that both habitat characteristics (I) and the mode of transplantation (I, V) is of vital importance to fragment vitality. In Paper V, where isidia of P. norvegica were transplanted into six sites in the regions of Jämtland and Trøndelag in Central Scandinavia, we have shown that preparation of transplant surfaces with an adhesive Ac-Di-Sol® solution may constitute a highly efficient tool for enhancing the outcome of restorative transplantations targeting epiphytic lichens (V). However, in order to enhance the possibilities for long-term viability and persistence of the population, it is essential that restoration efforts are concentrated to habitats and substrates that can be viewed as optimal for the species in question (I-V). The model developed in Paper III and used in Paper IV may provide a tool for identifying such suitable habitats. Further, this thesis highlights the importance of fringe populations for conservation of endangered suboceanic lichens in Scandinavia (II), and also underscores the importance of separating the processes of dispersal, immobilisation and establishment, when studying lichen distributional patterns (I, II, V)

Molecular factors involved in the formation of secondary vascular tissues and lignification in higher plants

The formation of secondary vascular tissues involves complex processes and many steps, a number of which have been examined in detail in this study. A novel CuZn-SOD, with a high pI and thus denoted hipI-SOD, was identified and characterized in Pinus sylvestris. Results from immunolocalisation analyses indicated that it is localised in lignified structures, suggesting that SOD might participate in the formation of secondary cell walls and lignification. To further investigate its role in these processes, a Zinnia mesophyll cell system was set up. This enabled us to follow the differentiation from mesophyll cell to tracheary element. Various inhibitors against SOD and H2O2-production were applied. The results suggested that HipI-SOD might have a novel and important function in secondary cell wall formation and lignification processes. The expression pattern and localization of the protein during formation of tracheary elements support this assumption. The other part of this study involved analysis of transcription factors and their regulation, especially in secondary vascular tissues. The genes encoding three MYB-transcription factors and one novel Zinc-finger transcription factor were found in an EST-library from the cambial region of hybrid aspen (Populus tremula L. x tremuloides Michx.). The genes were cloned and characterized and their regulation by hormones, sucrose and gravity was investigated. The genes were found to be under hormone and sucrose control, and their expression altered during tension wood formation. Transgenic plants were constructed, carrying one of two antisense constructs of MYB-genes, PttMYB46 or PttMYB76, which were strongly expressed in lignified tissues. Analysis of plants with either of these constructs displayed a complex phenotype, including reduced growth, increased concentration of some phenolic acids and changes in lignin composition. Some of the phenotypic traits were indicative of strong investment in defensive characters