In-depth HPC-LES investigation for the flow around a circular cylinder using TELEMAC3D

Water Qualit

Wall-Adapting Local Eddy-Viscosity Turbulence Model for TELEMAC3D

Water Qualit

Simulation of the flow around a submerged structure using the Immersed Boundary Method

Water Qualit

Shares in the EMCA : the time is ripe for true no par value shares in the EU, and the 2nd directive is not an obstacle

The most interesting proposal in the draft European Model Companies Act ( EMCA) concerning shares and the focus of this Article is the recommendation to introduce true no par value shares, as they have been in use in the US for many years and were introduced in Australia, New Zealand but also Finland more recently. Contrary to what has often been assumed, the 2nd EU Company Law Directive does not preclude no par value shares. There is nothing in the wording of the Directive to suggest otherwise, and the reference in the Directive to shares without a nominal value is a reference to Belgian law, which has allowed true no par value shares in all but name since at least 1913. EU member states could therefore introduce such shares even for public companies. True no par value shares offer a far more flexible framework in case of capital increases or mergers, but since under a no par value system there is no link between par value and shareholder rights, additional disclosure about these rights might be warranted under a no par value system. Traditional par value shares offer no protection to creditors, shareholders or other stakeholders, so that their abolition should not be mourned. The threat of new share issues at an unacceptably high discount is more efficiently countered by disclosure and shareholder decision rights

1,1′-Di-n-butyl-4,4′-bipyridinium 2.375-bromido-1.625-chloridocadmate

The title salt, (C18H26N2)[CdBr2.375Cl1.625], consists of non-inter­acting cations and tetra­hedral cadmate(II) anions. The halogen atoms are all disordered, the bromine components being in 0.9035 (17):0.0965 (17), 0.6581 (18):0.3419 (18), 0.5019 (19):0.4981 (19) and 0.6847 (19):0.3153 (18) ratios. The aromatic rings of the cation are twisted by 25.0 (1)°

Ghrelin Stimulates Hepatocyte Proliferation via Regulating Cell Cycle Through GSK3β/Β-Catenin Signaling Pathway

Background/Aims: Obesity is associated with a reduction in ghrelin, a 28 aa gastric hormone. Whether reduced ghrelin contributes to the impaired proliferation of hepatocytes associated with obesity-related steatosis remains largely unknown. Here we examined the effects of ghrelin on the proliferation of hepatocytes derived from lean and obese mice. Methods: AML 12 cells or hepatocytes isolated from mice fed normal chow diet (NCD) or high fat diet (HFD) were used. Effects of ghrelin on hepatocyte proliferation were detected with CCK8 assay and EdU staining. Cell cycle was analyzed by flow cytometry. Levels of proliferation markers was examined by Western blot. Results: Growth hormone secretagogue receptor 1a (GHS-R1a) mRNA and protein were present in hepatocytes. Levels of GHS-R1a were increased upon ghrelin treatment. Ghrelin significantly increased hepatocyte proliferation measured by Cell Counting Kit-8(CCK8) assay and EdU staining in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Proportion of cells in S phase was markedly increased upon treatment with ghrelin. Ghrelin significantly increased levels of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and cyclin D1, while reducing p27 in hepatocytes from mice fed NCD or HFD. Deletion of GHS-R1a completely abolished the effects of ghrelin in cultured hepatocytes. Ghrelin stimulated the phosphorylation of glycogen synthase kinase 3 beta (GSK3β), leading to subsequent increase of nuclear β-catenin in hepatocytes derived from lean and obese mice. This effect was dependent on the GHS-R1a. Conclusion: Ghrelin activates GHS-R1a to stimulate hepatocyte proliferation via GSK3/β-catenin signaling pathway

Soil Abiotic Properties and Plant Functional Traits Mediate Associations Between Soil Microbial and Plant Communities During a Secondary Forest Succession on the Loess Plateau

In the context of secondary forest succession, aboveground-belowground interactions are known to affect the dynamics and functional structure of plant communities. However, the links between soil microbial communities, soil abiotic properties, plant functional traits in the case of semi-arid and arid ecosystems, are unclear. In this study, we investigated the changes in soil microbial species diversity and community composition, and the corresponding effects of soil abiotic properties and plant functional traits, during a ≥150-year secondary forest succession on the Loess Plateau, which represents a typical semi-arid ecosystem in China. Plant community fragments were assigned to six successional stages: 1–4, 4–8, 8–15, 15–50, 50–100, and 100–150 years after abandonment. Bacterial and fungal communities were analyzed by high-throughput sequencing of the V4 hypervariable region of the 16S rRNA gene and the internal transcribed spacer (ITS2) region of the rRNA operon, respectively. A multivariate variation-partitioning approach was used to estimate the contributions of soil properties and plant traits to the observed microbial community composition. We found considerable differences in bacterial and fungal community compositions between the early (S1–S3) and later (S4–S6) successional stages. In total, 18 and 12 unique families were, respectively, obtained for bacteria and fungi, as indicators of microbial community succession across the six stages. Bacterial alpha diversity was positively correlated with plant species alpha diversity, while fungal diversity was negatively correlated with plant species diversity. Certain fungal and bacterial taxa appeared to be associated with the occurrence of dominant plant species at different successional stages. Soil properties (pH, total N, total C, NH4-N, NO3-N, and PO4-P concentrations) and plant traits explained 63.80% and 56.68% of total variance in bacterial and fungal community compositions, respectively. These results indicate that soil microbial communities are coupled with plant communities via the mediation of microbial species diversity and community composition over a long-term secondary forest succession in the semi-arid ecosystem. The bacterial and fungal communities show distinct patterns in response to plant community succession, according to both soil abiotic properties and plant functional traits