The freshwater jellyfish Craspedacusta sowerbii Lankester, 1880 (Limnomedusa: Olindiidae) in Germany, with a brief note on its nomenclature

The freshwater jellyfish Craspedacusta sowerbii Lankester is distributed worldwide in temperate, freshwater habitats. However, such a successful, worldwide dispersion of the medusa and its minute, less obvious polyp is unique among the freshwater jellyfish species (Limnomedusae, Olinidiae). Although numerous reports were given shortly after its discovery, the interest did not cease over the years. In cooperation with the German Underwater Federation (Verband Deutscher Sporttaucher e. V.) additional data of freshwater jellyfish occurrences could be obtained. In combination with previously published discovery reports, these data provide an area- wide observation of the distribution of freshwater jellyfish within the Federal Republic of Germany, adding 21 to the previously known C. sowerbii locations. Indications are that there is a far more wide spread distribution of the medusa than thought and the potentially even wider distribution of the often times overlooked polyp

A natural renormalizable model of metastable SUSY breaking

We propose a model of metastable dynamical supersymmetry breaking in which all scales are generated dynamically. Our construction is a simple variant of the Intriligator-Seiberg-Shih model, with quark masses induced by renormalizable couplings to an auxiliary supersymmetric QCD sector. Since all scales arise from dimensional transmutation, the model has no fundamental dimensionful parameters. It also does not rely on higher-dimensional operators.Comment: 9 pages; v2: typos correcte

Holographic metastability

We show how supersymmetric QCD in a slice of AdS can naturally acquire metastable vacua. The formulation closely follows that of Intriligator, Seiberg and Shih (ISS), with an "electric" sector on the UV brane and a "magnetic" sector on the IR brane. However the 't Hooft anomaly matching that constrains the Seiberg duality central to ISS is replaced by anomaly inflow and cancellation, and the source of strong coupling is the CFT to which the theory couples rather than the gauge groups. The theory contains an anomaly free R-symmetry that, when broken by UV effects, leads to an O'Raifeartaigh model on the IR brane. In contrast to ISS, the R-symmetry breaking in the UV can be maximal, and yet the R-symmetry breaking in the IR theory remains under strict control: there is no need for retrofitting of small parameters.Comment: 20 pages, 2 figure

Reduced ageing in the frozen state in the tardigrade Milnesium inceptum (Eutardigrada: Apochela)

Tardigrades can survive harsh environmental conditions, such as drought and low temperature. To withstand freezing, they enter cryobiosis, a state of biological organization in which metabolic activity slows down or comes reversibly to a standstill. Thus, cryobiosis resembles anhydrobiosis, where tardigrades (and a few other invertebrate groups) undergo extreme desiccation and appear not to age in the dry state. The lack of ageing in the anhydrobiotic state, the so‐called ‘Sleeping Beauty’ hypothesis, is assumed also to pertain to cryobiosis, but this has not been investigated. To test this, a group of tardigrades was subjected to sub‐zero temperature treatment by alternating weekly periods of freezing at -30°C and feeding at 20°C. The temporarily frozen tardigrades lived twice as long as the control group, but both control and temporarily frozen groups had similar lifespans if the time spent frozen was excluded. This represents the first demonstration that the ‘Sleeping Beauty’ hypothesis applies to cryobiosis, meaning that tardigrades do not age while frozen.Projekt DEA

Cultivation-Independent Analysis of the Bacterial Community Associated With the Calcareous Sponge Clathrina clathrus and Isolation of Poriferisphaera corsica Gen. Nov., Sp. Nov., Belonging to the Barely Studied Class Phycisphaerae in the Phylum Planctomycetes

Marine ecosystems serve as global carbon sinks and nutrient source or breeding ground for aquatic animals. Sponges are ancient parts of these important ecosystems and can be found in caves, the deep-sea, clear waters, or more turbid environments. Here, we studied the bacterial community composition of the calcareous sponge Clathrina clathrus sampled close to the island Corsica in the Mediterranean Sea with an emphasis on planctomycetes. We show that the phylum Planctomycetes accounts for 9% of the C. clathrus-associated bacterial community, a 5-fold enrichment compared to the surrounding seawater. Indeed, the use of C. clathrus as a yet untapped source of novel planctomycetal strains led to the isolation of strain KS4T. The strain represents a novel genus and species within the class Phycisphaerae in the phylum Planctomycetes and displays interesting cell biological features, such as formation of outer membrane vesicles and an unexpected mode of cell division

Physics at the e+ e- Linear Collider

A comprehensive review of physics at an e+e- Linear Collider in the energy range of sqrt{s}=92 GeV--3 TeV is presented in view of recent and expected LHC results, experiments from low energy as well as astroparticle physics.The report focuses in particular on Higgs boson, Top quark and electroweak precision physics, but also discusses several models of beyond the Standard Model physics such as Supersymmetry, little Higgs models and extra gauge bosons. The connection to cosmology has been analyzed as well.Comment: 179 pages, plots and references updated, version to be published at EPJ

Farmer Participation in Supermarket Channels, Production Technology, and Efficiency: The Case of Vegetables in Kenya

Supermarkets are gaining ground in the agri-food systems of many developing countries. While recent research has analyzed income effects in the small farm sector, impacts on productivity and efficiency have hardly been studied. We use a meta-frontier approach and combine this with propensity score matching to estimate treatment effects among vegetable farmers in Kenya. Participation in supermarket channels increases farm productivity in terms of meta-technology ratios by 45%. We also find positive and significant impacts on technical efficiency and scale efficiency. Supermarket expansion therefore presents opportunities for agricultural growth in the small farm sector, which is crucial for poverty reduction in Africa

Theory and Applications of X-ray Standing Waves in Real Crystals

Theoretical aspects of x-ray standing wave method for investigation of the real structure of crystals are considered in this review paper. Starting from the general approach of the secondary radiation yield from deformed crystals this theory is applied to different concreat cases. Various models of deformed crystals like: bicrystal model, multilayer model, crystals with extended deformation field are considered in detailes. Peculiarities of x-ray standing wave behavior in different scattering geometries (Bragg, Laue) are analysed in detailes. New possibilities to solve the phase problem with x-ray standing wave method are discussed in the review. General theoretical approaches are illustrated with a big number of experimental results.Comment: 101 pages, 43 figures, 3 table