The evolution of genome mining in microbes – a review

This article reviews the development of genome mining strategies in bacteria during the last decade.</p

Förderung gesundheitsbezogenen Verhaltens an der Fakultät Soziale Arbeit der Hochschule Mittweida am Beispiel einer selbst organisiertenstudentischen Sportgruppe

Die Bachelorarbeit befasst sich mit den von der Fakultät Soziale Arbeit ausgehenden Hilfestellungen zur Unterstützung gesundheitsrelevanten Verhaltens von Studierenden. Untersucht wird dies am Beispiel der Sportgruppe „Bauch-Beine-Po“, die durch studentische Eigeninitiative gegründet wurde. Neben der Literaturrecherche bezüglich der Notwendigkeit zur Förderung der Gesundheit wurden auch schriftliche Experteninterviews mit der studentischen Sportgruppenleiterin und der Dekanin der Fakultät Soziale Arbeit geführt. Die Experteninterviews stellen keine empirischen Untersuchungen im Sinne einer Beweisführung dar, sondern dienen der Klärung der vorhandenen Fragestellunge

Facet-based Indexing of Multiple Artifacts - A Framework to Cope with Vague Search Requests in the Domain of Product Development

Durch den zunehmenden Einsatz von Informations- und Kommunikationstechnologien sowie den schnellen Technologiefortschritt steht die Entwicklung technischer Produkte vor immer neuen Herausforderungen. Dabei ist die Aufgabe der Produktentwicklung selbst als Problemlösungsprozess zu betrachten, in dem Lösungen mittels intensiver Informationsverarbeitung gefunden werden. Somit werden täglich unterschiedlichste Arten von Informationen erstellt, benötigt und verarbeitet, die primär in digitaler Form vorliegen. Diese werden in heterogenen Anwendungssystemen verwaltet, was eine Wiederverwendung bereits existierender Informationen erschwert. Damit beansprucht die Suche nach Informationen noch immer einen erheblichen Anteil der Entwicklungszeit. Zur Verbesserung der Informationsversorgung im Bereich der technischen Produktentwicklung wird ein interaktives Information Retrieval-System – das LFRP-Framework – vorgestellt. Dieses kombiniert die vier Basiskonzepte der multiplen Ebenen, der facettierten Suche, des Rankings und der parallelen Koordinaten, um hochkomplexe Informationsbedürfnisse zu befriedigen. Seine Realisierung erfordert neben einer geeigneten Suchoberfläche die Entwicklung einer Indexierungskomponente, welche die vorhandenen Informationen in eine für das LFRP-Framework rechnerverarbeitbare Form transformiert. Dieser als Indexierung bezeichnete Prozess stellt die Grundvoraussetzung für die Funktionsfähigkeit eines Suchsystems dar und liegt daher im Fokus der Betrachtung. Es wird ein Lösungsansatz vorgestellt, welcher eine Indexierung in Form facettenbasierter Suchkriterien ermöglicht und dabei nicht nur Informationen aus heterogenen Anwendungssystemen, sondern insbesondere aus entwicklungsspezifischen Dokumenten, wie CAD-Modellen, technischen Zeichnungen oder Stücklisten, berücksichtigt.Due to both the increasing use of information and communication technology as well as the fast technological progress the domain of product development has to face new challenges. Thereby, the task of developing products is a problem solving process itself and requires intensive information processing activities in order to find appropriate solutions. Thus, a variety of information is generated, needed and processed every day. Mostly available in digital form, this data is archived in heterogenous application systems. This makes it difficult to re-use already existing data. Consequently, a significant part of the development time is still affected by searching for information. In order to improve the supply of data and information in the domain of product development an interactive information retrieval system – the LFRP framework – is proposed. This framework combines four core concepts – multiple layers, facetted search, ranking, and parallel coordinates – to satisfy information needs of high complexity. Besides an appropriate search interface, realizing this framework necessitates an indexing component, too. This component is the prerequisite for operating a search system and therefore presents the main issue of this work. The proposed approach enables an indexing process by using facetted search criteria. For this purpose, data provided not only by heterogenous application systems but also by documents characteristic for the development of products such as CAD models, technical drawings, or bills of materials is considered

Urban Challenges and Urban Design Approaches for Resource-Efficient and Climate-Sensitive Urban Design in the MENA Region

Printausgabe unter ISBN 978-3-7983-2534-0, ISSN 2193-6099 erschienenIn an era defined by climate change, huge resource consumption, a lack of social cohesion, rapidly accelerating technological innovations, economic shifts, and the transformation of political systems, solutions must be pursued at every level of action. This book shows how solutions from urban design and planning can, by integrating the approaches of multiple disciplines, be the first steps toward envisioning the sustainable, energy-efficient, and climate-sensitive city of the future. This book is compiled for readers from a range of professional backgrounds. Its intended audience includes the government bodies, municipalities, urban planners, engineers, architects, civil servants, and citizens who are part of urban development, from initiation through implementation. The facts and findings presented herein are relevant to any national or international debate concerning urban development which aims to create sustainable, resource-efficient, and climate-sensitive urbanization processes. The text and visuals of this book are intended to serve as a comprehensive decision support tool, taking into account that current and future urban challenges and planning tasks can only be tackled through an interlinked and stakeholder driven iterative process. As a result of the Young Cities research project, this book acts as a multilayered reference manual by providing: (a) a brief outline of the MENA region’s urban challenges; (b) a proposal for generic principles and actions for creating an energy- and resource-efficient as well as environmentally sustainable urban environment; (c) the opportunities and impacts of each discipline involved in an integrated planning process; and (d) the findings of the applied principles in the 35 ha “Shahre Javan Community” pilot project

Group III metabotropic glutamate receptors inhibit startle-mediating giant neurons in the caudal pontine reticular nucleus but do not mediate synaptic depression/short-term habituation of startle

Short-term habituation is a basic form of learning that is analyzed in different species and using different behavioral models. Previous studies on mechanisms of short-term habituation yielded evidence for a potential role of group III metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRIIIs). Here we tested the hypothesis that mGluRIII mediate short-term habituation of startle in rats, combining electrophysiological experiments in vitro with behavioral studies in vivo. We applied different mGluRIII agonists and antagonists on rat brainstem slices while recording from startle-mediating neurons in the caudal pontine reticular nucleus (PnC) and monitoring synaptic depression presumably underlying habituation. Furthermore, we injected the mGluRIII antagonist (RS)-α-phosphonophenylglycine (MPPG) and the agonist L-(+)-2-amino-4- phosphonobutyric acid (L-AP4) into the PnC of rats in vivo and measured its effect on startle habituation. Our results show that activation of mGluRIIIs in the PnC strongly inhibits startle-mediating giant neurons in vitro. Accordingly, L-AP4 reduced startle responses in vivo. However, synaptic depression in the slice was not disrupted by mGluRIII antagonists or agonists. Correspondingly, the in vivo application of the mGluRIII antagonist MPPG failed to show any effect on short-term habituation of startle responses. We therefore conclude that mGluRs are expressed within the primary startle pathway and that they inhibit startle responses upon activation; however, this inhibition does not play any role in synaptic depression and short-term habituation of startle. This is in contrast to the role of mGluRIIIs in other forms of habituation and supports the notion that there are different mechanisms involved in habituation of sensory-evoked behaviors. Copyright © 2010 the authors

Upregulated expression of ENaC in human CF nasal epithelium

AbstractCystic fibrosis (CF) is characterised by the absence of CFTR function resulting in a reduced Cl− secretion and an increase in Na+ absorption. This Na+ hyperabsorption is mediated by the human amiloride-sensitive epithelial sodium channel (ENaC), but the underlying mechanisms are still unknown. After demonstrating functional differences of the Na+ absorption in CF and non-CF epithelia in Ussing chamber experiments with human primary cultures, we compared ENaC sequences from CF and non-CF human nasal tissue (hnENaC), investigated the mRNA transcription levels via real-time PCR and studied the protein expression in Western blot analyses. We found no differences in the sequences of CF and non-CF hnENaC, but identified some polymorphisms. The real-time experiments revealed an enhanced mRNA amount of all three hnENaC subunits in CF tissue. By comparing the two groups on the protein level, we observed differences in the abundance of the Na+ channel. While the α- and β-hnENaC protein amount was increased in CF tissue the γ-hnENaC was decreased. We conclude that the Na+ hyperabsorption in CF is not caused by mutations in hnENaC, but by an increase in the transcription of the hnENaC subunits. This could be induced by a disturbed regulation of the channel in CF

Sexual violence against children and youth: Exploring the role of congregations in addressing the protection of young girls on the Cape Flats

The Children’s Institute, a research arm of the University of Cape Town, reports that 18.5 million children live in South Africa. The institute’s vision is for ‘A society in which children are valued, nurtured and protected; their rights are realised; and where they are able to participate, develop and reach their full potential’. A quick scan of South African newspaper headlines, however, reflects numerous accounts of the abduction, rape and murder of young girls on the Cape Flats in Cape Town, South Africa, during 2016–2017. This seems to confirm the statistic that one in three children is a victim of sexual violence and physical abuse before the age of 18. Sadly, many of these instances are alleged to have been linked to a family member or close family friend. Some have even been linked to Christian church contexts. This article explores this unacceptable rise in violence against these young girls and from this vantage point continues to more specifically reflect on the role congregations can play in such instances. The article argues that such abuse takes place within an ecosystem of violence and then considers how the trauma of such an experience has affected the faith formation of these young girls. The article, furthermore, highlights the recent publication entitled ‘Children, Church and the Law’, which calls for the establishment of church policy on the protection of children in our local congregations and communities as one preventative and educative tool in addressing this issue

Synaptic depression and short-term habituation are located in the sensory part of the mammalian startle pathway

BACKGROUND: Short-term habituation of the startle response represents an elementary form of learning in mammals. The underlying mechanism is located within the primary startle pathway, presumably at sensory synapses on giant neurons in the caudal pontine reticular nucleus (PnC). Short trains of action potentials in sensory afferent fibers induce depression of synaptic responses in PnC giant neurons, a phenomenon that has been proposed to be the cellular correlate for short-term habituation. We address here the question whether both this synaptic depression and the short-term habituation of the startle response are localized at the presynaptic terminals of sensory afferents. If this is confirmed, it would imply that these processes take place prior to multimodal signal integration, rather than occurring at postsynaptic sites on PnC giant neurons that directly drive motor neurons. RESULTS: Patch-clamp recordings in vitro were combined with behavioral experiments; synaptic depression was specific for the input pathway stimulated and did not affect signals elicited by other sensory afferents. Concordant with this, short-term habituation of the acoustic startle response in behavioral experiments did not influence tactile startle response amplitudes and vice versa. Further electrophysiological analysis showed that the passive properties of the postsynaptic neuron were unchanged but revealed some alterations in short-term plasticity during depression. Moreover, depression was induced only by trains of presynaptic action potentials and not by single pulses. There was no evidence for transmitter receptor desensitization. In summary, the data indicates that the synaptic depression mechanism is located presynaptically. CONCLUSION: Our electrophysiological and behavioral data strongly indicate that synaptic depression in the PnC as well as short-term habituation are located in the sensory part of the startle pathway, namely at the axon terminals of sensory afferents in the PnC. Our results further corroborate the link between synaptic depression and short-term habituation of the startle response