The effect of external surface properties on the thermal behaviour of a transparently insulated wall

The properties of transparent plaster covering transparent insulation materials (TIM) were investigated using a whole building simulation program (ESP-r). The outer plaster was made from glass balls of different diameter, glued together with synthetic resin. The transmittance of the whole transparent covering layer (plaster + TIM) was estimated for different solar incident angles by laboratory measurements. The innovative character of the materials required refining of ESP-r's optical database in order to take into account these new characteristics. The transparently insulated building facade was proposed as a solar energy storage system. The results of the initial analysis showed the desirable optical properties, estimated for sun incident angles on the façade at a latitude of 52 degrees north. Then, simulations based on real climatic data for Central Europe were conducted to predict the thermal TIM wall behaviour. The influence of the structure on the diurnal heat storage potential was investigated for selected periods of the year

Chironomids (Diptera, Nematocera) of Temporary Pools - an Ecological Case Study

The main aim of the present study was to determine how Chironomidae cope with the environmental changes to which temporary pools are exposed. Are the species specifically adapted to the habitat or opportunistic? The problem was approached by: (a) an emergence study done in the Lahnberge mountain range (Marburg, Hesse, Germany) on three pools that were subjected to different lengths of drought (two of which were really temporary and one semi permanent); (b) an emergence study done in order to investigate the dispersal ability of Chironomus dorsalis (colonizing experiment) in ten experimental pools that had been exposed in the field in 1998 and that mimicked spatially unstable pools; (c) laboratory investigations of some fundamental biological characteristics (role of temperature, photoperiod and density in growth and development, drought tolerance and parthenogenesis) of the four principal temporary pool dwellers Limnophyes asquamatus, Paralimnophyes hydrophilus, C. dorsalis and Polypedilum tritum. Contrasting with what is known for many other inhabitants of temporary pools (e.g. mosquitoes or water beetles), the temporary pool chironomids presently investigated showed only one programmed life history trait - the way of the annual timing - which is widespread amongst Chironomidae. All other life history traits were highly flexible and consecutively followed the actual situation within the habitat. The life histories of Limnophyes asquamatus, Paralimnophyes hydrophilus, Chironomus dorsalis and Polypedilum tritum are therefore rather opportunistic. A mixture of r- and A-selected traits achieves this enormous flexibility, which also seems to be widespread amongst Chironomidae. The ability to enter dormancy when environmental factors go below/beyond a given limit is the central element of the species? life histories. I call this capacity the quiescence strategy of Chironomidae, the knowledge of which is still fragmentary. Facultative dormancy, high levels of physiological tolerance of the larvae and many r-selected traits, lead to a high plasticity of life histories. The fine-tuning to the temporary habitat has been mainly achieved by an adaptive improvement of a few preadaptive properties present in Chironomidae: (a) The effective colonization of spatially unstable temporary pools was mainly achieved by the improvement of the dispersal abilities in Chironomus dorsalis; (b) The improvement of larval drought tolerance and its related features (such as acceleration of development at high larval densities and the capacity for terrestrial eclosion) enabled Limnophyes asquamatus, Paralimnophyes hydrophilus and Polypedilum tritum to effectively colonize spatially stable temporary pools. The evolution of an expert invader as well as of drought tolerance can be regarded as a strategy of being the first: the first species present after pool formation has the decisive advantages of (a) larger larval size in relation to other potential competitors and; (b) low numbers of predators. Many other insects of temporary waters were forced to evolve life cycles specifically linked to drought because they are able to survive drought only in a species-specific development stage (e.g. the egg stage in mosquitoes). This was quite different in the drought tolerant species investigated in the present study: all instars proved to be drought tolerant and resumed development without any risk whenever water was present. Whether the high thermal coefficients (4-6) over a wide range of favourable temperatures (5-15 °C) for growth and development that were observed in Paralimnophyes hydrophilus are really an adaptive feature still remains questionable

Enhanced Gauge Symmetries and Calabi-Yau Threefolds

We consider the general case of a type IIA string compactified on a Calabi-Yau manifold which has a heterotic dual description. It is shown that the nonabelian gauge symmetries which can appear nonperturbatively in the type II string but which are understood perturbatively in the heterotic string are purely a result of string-string duality in six dimensions. We illustrate this with some examples.Comment: 11 pages, LaTe

Seiberg-Witten theory, monopole spectral curves and affine Toda solitons

Using Seiberg-Witten theory it is known that the dynamics of N=2 supersymmetric SU(n) Yang-Mills theory is determined by a Riemann surface. In particular the mass formula for BPS states is given by the periods of a special differential on this surface. In this note we point out that the surface can be obtained from the quotient of a symmetric n-monopole spectral curve by its symmetry group. Known results about the Seiberg-Witten curves then implies that these monopoles are related to the Toda lattice. We make this relation explicit via the ADHMN construction. Furthermore, in the simplest case, that of two SU(2) monopoles, we find that the general two monopole solution is generated by an affine Toda soliton solution of the imaginary coupled theory.Comment: uuencoded latex, 15 pages, 1 figure. To appear in Physics Letters

Rote Liste der Bienen Baden-Württembergs

In der jüngsten Vergangenheit hat die Anwendung der inzwischen veralteten Liste zunehmend Probleme bereitet und zwar nicht nur im Zusammenhang mit der Begründung von Naturschutzmaßnahmen, sondern auch bei Bewertungen von Flächen z.B. im Rahmen von Umweltverträglichkeitsstudien und Eingriffsplanungen. Die Diskrepanz zwischen einer früheren Rote-Liste-Einstufung und der heutigen, auf erweiterten Erkenntnissen beruhenden Bewertung der Bestandssituation bestimmter Arten muss unweigerlich zu falschen Schlüssen hinsichtlich der Wertigkeit der zu beurteilenden Flächen führen (vgl. WESTRICH & SCHWENNINGER 1997). Es war deshalb sehr zu begrüßen, dass die Landesanstalt für Umweltschutz Karlsruhe eine Neubearbeitung ermöglicht hat. Dabei sollte gleichzeitig auch den zwischenzeitlich vom Bundesamt für Naturschutz modifizierten Gefährdungskategorien und -kriterien Rechnung getragen und die Fülle an neuen wissenschaftlichen Erkenntnissen integriert werden. Diese waren, soweit möglich, bereits in der Roten Liste der Bienen Deutschlands (WESTRICH et al. 1998) berücksichtigt worden. Da eine Rote Liste stets das im Bezugsraum nachgewiesene Artenspektrum zur Grundlage haben muss, war es erforderlich, auch die Faunenliste im Vorfeld zu aktualisieren, zumal seit dem Erscheinen des Grundlagenwerks zahlreiche Arten erstmals in Baden-Württemberg aufgefunden werden konnten

Heterotic-Heterotic String Duality and Multiple K3 Fibrations

A type IIA string compactified on a Calabi-Yau manifold which admits a K3 fibration is believed to be equivalent to a heterotic string in four dimensions. We study cases where a Calabi-Yau manifold can have more than one such fibration leading to equivalences between perturbatively inequivalent heterotic strings. This allows an analysis of an example in six dimensions due to Duff, Minasian and Witten and enables us to go some way to prove a conjecture by Kachru and Vafa. The interplay between gauge groups which arise perturbatively and nonperturbatively is seen clearly in this example. As an extreme case we discuss a Calabi-Yau manifold which admits an infinite number of K3 fibrations leading to infinite set of equivalent heterotic strings.Comment: 13 pages, LaTe

Insights into 6S RNA in lactic acid bacteria (LAB)

Background: 6S RNA is a regulator of cellular transcription that tunes the metabolism of cells. This small non-coding RNA is found in nearly all bacteria and among the most abundant transcripts. Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) constitute a group of microorganisms with strong biotechnological relevance, often exploited as starter cultures for industrial products through fermentation. Some strains are used as probiotics while others represent potential pathogens. Occasional reports of 6S RNA within this group already indicate striking metabolic implications. A conceivable idea is that LAB with 6S RNA defects may metabolize nutrients faster, as inferred from studies of Echerichia coli. This may accelerate fermentation processes with the potential to reduce production costs. Similarly, elevated levels of secondary metabolites might be produced. Evidence for this possibility comes from preliminary findings regarding the production of surfactin in Bacillus subtilis, which has functions similar to those of bacteriocins. The prerequisite for its potential biotechnological utility is a general characterization of 6S RNA in LAB. Results: We provide a genomic annotation of 6S RNA throughout the Lactobacillales order. It laid the foundation for a bioinformatic characterization of common 6S RNA features. This covers secondary structures, synteny, phylogeny, and product RNA start sites. The canonical 6S RNA structure is formed by a central bulge flanked by helical arms and a template site for product RNA synthesis. 6S RNA exhibits strong syntenic conservation. It is usually flanked by the replication-associated recombination protein A and the universal stress protein A. A catabolite responsive element was identified in over a third of all 6S RNA genes. It is known to modulate gene expression based on the available carbon sources. The presence of antisense transcripts could not be verified as a general trait of LAB 6S RNAs. Conclusions: Despite a large number of species and the heterogeneity of LAB, the stress regulator 6S RNA is well-conserved both from a structural as well as a syntenic perspective. This is the first approach to describe 6S RNAs and short 6S RNA-derived transcripts beyond a single species, spanning a large taxonomic group covering multiple families. It yields universal insights into this regulator and complements the findings derived from other bacterial model organisms.Fil: Cataldo, Pablo Gabriel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Centro de Referencia para Lactobacilos; ArgentinaFil: Klemm, Paul. Universitat Phillips; AlemaniaFil: Thüring, Marietta. Universitat Phillips; AlemaniaFil: Saavedra, Maria Lucila. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Centro de Referencia para Lactobacilos; ArgentinaFil: Hebert, Elvira Maria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Centro de Referencia para Lactobacilos; ArgentinaFil: Hartmann, Roland K.. Universitat Phillips; AlemaniaFil: Lechner, Marcus. Universitat Phillips; Alemani

Syncretism or correlation: Teilhard and Tillich's contrasting methodological approaches to science and theology

This is the pre-peer reviewed version of the article, published in Zygon 40(3) pp.739-750, which has been published in final form at http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/118699350/issueThis paper revisits Paul Tillich’s theological methodology, and contrasts his practice of correlation with the syncretistic methodological practices of Teilhard de Chardin. I argue that the method of correlation, as referred to in Robert John Russell’s 2001 Zygon article, fails to uphold Tillich’s self-limitation of his own methodology with regard to Tillich’s insistence upon the theological circle. I assert that the theological circle, as taken from Systematic Theology I, is a central facet within Tillich’s methodology and that this often ignored concept needs to be resuscitated if one is to remain authentically Tillichian in one’s approach to the science and theology dialogue