Active Faulting in Lake Constance (Austria, Germany, Switzerland) Unraveled by Multi-Vintage Reflection Seismic Data

Probabilistic seismic hazard assessments are primarily based on instrumentally recorded and historically documented earthquakes. For the northern part of the European Alpine Arc, slow crustal deformation results in low earthquake recurrence rates and brings up the necessity to extend our perspective beyond the existing earthquake catalog. The overdeepened basin of Lake Constance (Austria, Germany, and Switzerland), located within the North-Alpine Molasse Basin, is investigated as an ideal (neo-) tectonic archive. The lake is surrounded by major tectonic structures and constrained via the North Alpine Front in the South, the Jura fold-and-thrust belt in the West, and the Hegau-Lake Constance Graben System in the North. Several fault zones reach Lake Constance such as the St. Gallen Fault Zone, a reactivated basement-rooted normal fault, active during several phases from the Permo-Carboniferous to the Mesozoic. To extend the catalog of potentially active fault zones, we compiled an extensive 445 km of multi-channel reflection seismic data in 2017, complementing a moderate-size GI-airgun survey from 2016. The two datasets reveal the complete overdeepened Quaternary trough and its sedimentary infill and the upper part of the Miocene Molasse bedrock. They additionally complement existing seismic vintages that investigated the mass-transport deposit chronology and Mesozoic fault structures. The compilation of 2D seismic data allowed investigating the seismic stratigraphy of the Quaternary infill and its underlying bedrock of Lake Constance, shaped by multiple glaciations. The 2D seismic sections revealed 154 fault indications in the Obersee Basin and 39 fault indications in the Untersee Basin. Their interpretative linkage results in 23 and five major fault planes, respectively. One of the major fault planes, traceable to Cenozoic bedrock, is associated with a prominent offset of the lake bottom on the multibeam bathymetric map. Across this area, high-resolution single channel data was acquired and a transect of five short cores was retrieved displaying significant sediment thickness changes across the seismically mapped fault trace with a surface-rupture related turbidite, all indicating repeated activity of a likely seismogenic strike-slip fault with a normal faulting component. We interpret this fault as northward continuation of the St. Gallen Fault Zone, previously described onshore on 3D seismic data

Random Convex Hulls and Extreme Value Statistics

In this paper we study the statistical properties of convex hulls of $N$ random points in a plane chosen according to a given distribution. The points may be chosen independently or they may be correlated. After a non-exhaustive survey of the somewhat sporadic literature and diverse methods used in the random convex hull problem, we present a unifying approach, based on the notion of support function of a closed curve and the associated Cauchy's formulae, that allows us to compute exactly the mean perimeter and the mean area enclosed by the convex polygon both in case of independent as well as correlated points. Our method demonstrates a beautiful link between the random convex hull problem and the subject of extreme value statistics. As an example of correlated points, we study here in detail the case when the points represent the vertices of $n$ independent random walks. In the continuum time limit this reduces to $n$ independent planar Brownian trajectories for which we compute exactly, for all $n$, the mean perimeter and the mean area of their global convex hull. Our results have relevant applications in ecology in estimating the home range of a herd of animals. Some of these results were announced recently in a short communication [Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 103}, 140602 (2009)].Comment: 61 pages (pedagogical review); invited contribution to the special issue of J. Stat. Phys. celebrating the 50 years of Yeshiba/Rutgers meeting

Enhanced Conformational Sampling using Replica Exchange with Collective-Variable Tempering

The computational study of conformational transitions in RNA and proteins with atomistic molecular dynamics often requires suitable enhanced sampling techniques. We here introduce a novel method where concurrent metadynamics are integrated in a Hamiltonian replica-exchange scheme. The ladder of replicas is built with different strength of the bias potential exploiting the tunability of well-tempered metadynamics. Using this method, free-energy barriers of individual collective variables are significantly reduced compared with simple force-field scaling. The introduced methodology is flexible and allows adaptive bias potentials to be self-consistently constructed for a large number of simple collective variables, such as distances and dihedral angles. The method is tested on alanine dipeptide and applied to the difficult problem of conformational sampling in a tetranucleotide

Counting the Faces of Randomly-Projected Hypercubes and Orthants, with Applications

Abstract. Let A be an n by N real-valued matrix with n < N; we count the number of k-faces fk(AQ) when Q is either the standard N-dimensional hypercube IN or else the positive orthant RN +. To state results simply, consider a proportional-growth asymptotic, where for fixed δ, ρ in (0, 1), we have a sequence of matrices An,Nn and of integers kn with n/Nn → δ, kn/n → ρ as n → ∞. If each matrix An,Nn has its columns in general position, then fk(AIN)/fk(I N) tends to zero or one depending on whether ρ> min(0, 2 − δ−1) or ρ < min(0, 2 − δ−1). Also, if each An,Nn is a random draw from a distribution which is invariant under right multiplication by signed permutations, then fk(ARN +)/fk(RN +) tends almost surely to zero or one depending on whether ρ> min(0, 2 − δ−1) or ρ < min(0, 2 − δ−1). We make a variety of contrasts to related work on projections of the simplex and/or cross-polytope. These geometric face-counting results have implications for signal processing, information theory, inverse problems, and optimization. Indeed, face counting is related to conditions for uniqueness of solutions of underdetermine

Expression Analysis of the Theileria parva Subtelomere-Encoded Variable Secreted Protein Gene Family

Background The intracellular protozoan parasite Theileria parva transforms bovine lymphocytes inducing uncontrolled proliferation. Proteins released from the parasite are assumed to contribute to phenotypic changes of the host cell and parasite persistence. With 85 members, genes encoding subtelomeric variable secreted proteins (SVSPs) form the largest gene family in T. parva. The majority of SVSPs contain predicted signal peptides, suggesting secretion into the host cell cytoplasm. Methodology/Principal Findings We analysed SVSP expression in T. parva-transformed cell lines established in vitro by infection of T or B lymphocytes with cloned T. parva parasites. Microarray and quantitative real-time PCR analysis revealed mRNA expression for a wide range of SVSP genes. The pattern of mRNA expression was largely defined by the parasite genotype and not by host background or cell type, and found to be relatively stable in vitro over a period of two months. Interestingly, immunofluorescence analysis carried out on cell lines established from a cloned parasite showed that expression of a single SVSP encoded by TP03_0882 is limited to only a small percentage of parasites. Epitope-tagged TP03_0882 expressed in mammalian cells was found to translocate into the nucleus, a process that could be attributed to two different nuclear localisation signals. Conclusions Our analysis reveals a complex pattern of Theileria SVSP mRNA expression, which depends on the parasite genotype. Whereas in cell lines established from a cloned parasite transcripts can be found corresponding to a wide range of SVSP genes, only a minority of parasites appear to express a particular SVSP protein. The fact that a number of SVSPs contain functional nuclear localisation signals suggests that proteins released from the parasite could contribute to phenotypic changes of the host cell. This initial characterisation will facilitate future studies on the regulation of SVSP gene expression and the potential biological role of these enigmatic proteins

Genome Instability and Bleomicin Sensitivity Test

Procjena individualne osjetljivosti na mutagene često je dio istraživanja u epidemiološkim studijama koje prate pojavnost zloćudnih bolesti u populacijama. Posljedica djelovanja mutagena u genomu izloženih osoba jest nastanak određene, manje ili veće, količine oštećenja, uvjetovane individualnim razlikama u osjetljivosti. Viša razina takve genomske nestabilnosti znači opasnost (rizik) od razvoja zloćudnih bolesti. Interindividualne razlike u odgovoru na mutagene obično se povezuju i s promijenjenom (većinom smanjenom) sposobnosti (kapacitetom) za popravak DNA. Citogenetičke studije su pokazale da je genom tumorskih stanica nestabilniji od normalnih, a time i skloniji akumuliranju oštećenja, bilo da je nestabilnost uzrokovana nasljeđem, izloženošću ili kombinacijom tih dvaju učinaka. U oboljelih ispitanika utvrđena je povećana učestalost kromatidnih i kromosomskih aberacija naspram normalne populacije te sklonost razvoju određenih vrsta neoplazija. U praćenju povezanosti promijenjenog odgovora i pojavnosti tumora služe nam različiti biomarkeri. Kao indirektni pokazatelji uspješnosti popravka DNA često se rabe testovi osjetljivosti na mutagene u kulturama limfocita periferne krvi. Jedan od takvih testova je i bleomicinski test. Radiomimetik i citostatik, a po strukturi glikopeptid, bleomicin se u stanici prevodi u aktivni oblik sposoban cijepati molekulu DNA što uzrokuje brojne jednolančane i dvolančane lomove. Kao jednostavna i jeftina metoda, zasniva se na utvrđivanju ukupnog broja jednolančanih lomova u kromosomima limfocita uzgajanih u staničnoj kulturi koji su u uvjetima in vitro tijekom kasne G2-faze staničnog ciklusa bili izloženi bleomicinu. Ovaj revijalni rad daje pregled utjecaja raznih faktora na rezultate samog testa i pokazuje njegovu široku primjenu u proučavanju genomske nestabilnosti koju najčešće uzrokuje kombinacija raznih faktora.Estimation of individual susceptibility to mutagens is often a part of epidemiological studies monitoring the appearance of malignant disease in different populations. Genome exposure to mutagens can lead to DNA damage. The rate of damage depends on individual differences in response, which are usually associated with differences in DNA repair capacity. Cytogenetic studies have shown that the genome of tumour cells is less stable than normal cells and therefore accumulates more damage. Tumour patients show a higher frequency of chromatid and chromosomal aberrations and a predisposition to certain types of tumours. One of the common biomarkers used in monitoring tumour appearance and changed response to DNA damage is the bleomycin test. In its active form, bleomycin (glycopeptid) is a radiomimetic cytostatic that can damage the DNA molecule and cause multiple single and double strands. The bleomycin test is simple and inexpensive, and is based on scoring chromatid breaks in lymphocytes in vitro exposed to bleomycin during the late G2 phase of the cell cycle. This review looks into different factors that may affect test results and discusses its wide implementation in studies of genome instability usually caused by a combination of factors

Veränderungen des Erlebens und Verhaltens schizophren Erkrankter in Therapiegruppen verbessern Funktionsfertigkeiten und Symptome: RCT mit 154 ambulanten Patienten unter kognitiver Remediation verglichen mit Standardbehandlung

Heute liegen einige evidenzbasierte gruppenpsychotherapeutische Ansätze für schizophren Erkrankte mit teilweise unterschiedlichen Behandlungszielen vor. Doch bis anhin gibt es nur wenige Daten zum (unspezifischen) Wirkfaktor Gruppe als solches und noch weniger entsprechende Daten für die Behandlung der Schizophrenie. Diese Lücke in der Wirkungsweise von Gruppenpsychotherapie versucht die vorliegende Studie am Beispiel eines Kognitiven Remediationsansatzes zu schliessen. Methode: Innerhalb eines RCT-Designs wurden 154 ambulante Patienten mit einer Schizophreniediagnose (ICD-10) der von uns entwickelten Integrierten Neurokognitiven Therapie (INT, n=79) zur Verbesserung verschiedener neuro- und sozialkognitiver Funktionen oder einer Standardbehandlung (TAU, n=75) zugewiesen. Der Behandlungszeitraum betrug 15 Wochen mit 2 wöchentlichen INT-Sitzungen. Eine Testerhebung erfolgte vor und nach dem Behandlungszeitraum sowie nach einer 1-jahres Katamnese. Diese umfasste neben Symptom-, kognitiven und sozialen Parametern auch den von uns entwickelte Fragebogen zur „Erfassung des Erlebens und Verhaltens in der Therapiegruppe (EVIT)“. Ergebnisse: die INT-Gruppe erzielte signifikant bessere Ergebnisse im EVIT-Outcome während der Therapiephase im Gesamtscore (Summe aller Items: ALM: F=5.42, p <.01) sowie in beiden mittels Faktorenanalyse empirisch hergeleiteten Faktoren „Inaktivität und Angst“ (GLM: F=5.05; p <.01) sowie „Augenkontakt Aufmerksamkeit in der Kommunikation“ (F=4.02; p=.02). Verbesserungen in diesen EVIT-Scores sind signifikant mit Verbesserungen in kognitiven und sozialen Funktionen und der Negativsymptomatik nach Therapieende assoziiert wie auch mit höherer Therapiemotivation und -teilnahmeraten, aber nicht mit der Medikation oder den Positivsymptomen. Im Gegensatz zum Gruppenfaktor (EVIT-Scores) konnten die signifikanten Ergebnisse in der Symptomatik, den kognitiven und sozialen Funktionen nach der 1-jahres Katamnese zu Gunsten der INT aufrechterhalten werden