Complex Generalized Killing Spinors on Riemannian Spinc^c manifolds

In this paper, we extend the study of generalized Killing spinors on Riemannian Spin$^c$ manifolds started by Moroianu and Herzlich to complex Killing functions. We prove that such spinor fields are always real Spin$^c$ Killing spinors or imaginary generalized Spin$^c$ Killing spinors, providing that the dimension of the manifold is greater or equal to 4. Moreover, we classify Riemannian Spin$^c$ manifolds carrying imaginary and imaginary generalized Killing spinors.Comment: 15 page

Structural reforms in EMU and the role of monetary policy – a survey of the literature

The need for structural reforms in the euro area has often been advocated. These reforms would improve the welfare of euro area citizens and also, as a welcome side-effect, facilitate the conduct of monetary policy. Against this background, a particularly relevant question that can be posed is whether monetary policy should help implement structural reforms. The objective of this paper is to provide a review of the existing literature on structural reforms in Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) and to discuss the possible ways in which monetary policy could support the structural reform process. In the context of EMU, the main conclusions that emerge are that the monetary policy for the euro area is not the appropriate tool for mitigating the potential and uncertain short-term costs of reforms or for providing incentives for structural reforms at the national level. However, credible monetary policy aimed at price stability can improve the functioning of the supply side of the economy and contribute to an environment which is conducive to welfare-enhancing structural changes. In addition, the ECB’s contribution to the implementation of structural reforms takes the form of analysis, assessment and communication.

Occurrence and characteristics of extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) producing Enterobacteriaceae in food producing animals, minced meat and raw milk

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The impact of food animals as a possible reservoir for extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) producing <it>Enterobacteriaceae</it>, and the dissemination of such strains into the food production chain need to be assessed. In this study 334 fecal samples from pigs, cattle, chicken and sheep were investigated at slaughter. Additionally, 100 raw milk samples, representing bulk tank milk of 100 different dairy farms, 104 minced meat (pork and beef) samples and 67 <it>E. coli </it>isolates from cattle <it>E. coli </it>mastitis were analyzed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>As many as 15.3% of the porcine, 13.7% of the bovine, 8.6% of the sheep and 63.4% of the chicken fecal samples yielded ESBL producers after an enrichment step. In contrast, none of the minced meat, none of the bulk tank milk samples and only one of the mastitis milk samples contained ESBL producing strains. Of the total of 91 isolates, 89 were <it>E. coli</it>, one was <it>Citrobacter youngae </it>and one was <it>Enterobacter cloacae</it>. PCR analysis revealed that 78 isolates (85.7%) produced CTX-M group 1 ESBLs while six isolates (6.6%) produced CTX-M group 9 enzymes. Five detected ESBLs (5.5%) belonged to the SHV group and 2 isolates (2.2%) contained a TEM-type enzyme. A total of 27 CTX-M producers were additionally PCR-positive for TEM-beta-lactamase. The ESBL-encoding genes of 53 isolates were sequenced of which 34 produced CTX-M-1, 6 produced CTX-M-14, 5 produced CTX-M-15 and also 5 produced SHV-12. Two isolates produced TEM-52 and one isolate expressed a novel CTX-M group 1 ESBL, CTX-M-117. One isolate--aside from a CTX-M ESBL-- contained an additional novel TEM-type broad-spectrum beta-lactamase, TEM-186.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The relatively high rates of ESBL producers in food animals and the high genetic diversity among these isolates are worrisome and indicate an established reservoir in farm animals.</p

Organisation temporelle des figures d'attachement selon les milieux écologiques de l'enfant et le stade de développement. Construction d'une échelle de mesure

International audienceIl a été montré que le lien d'attachement résulte d'un comportement inné, générateur de sécurité affective, qui doit être distingué de la sollicitation alimentaire et dissocié des autres liens affectifs (Bowlby, 1951, 1969 ; Harlow, 1958, 1969 ; Heinroth, 1910; Spitz, 1962, 1968). L'attachement est défini, selon Ainsworth (1989), comme un lien durable, caractérisé par un besoin de maintenir la proximité, par la détresse de séparation, mais aussi comme une base secure et une valeur refuge. Ces caractéristiques sont différemment impliquées selon le stade de développement (Georges & Solomon, 1996). Enfin, l'attachement naît de la durée et de la régularité des interactions (Ainsworth, 1979). Il se crée et se nourrit de signaux : la figure est perçue comme disponible et réactive aux besoins sociaux et psychologiques exprimés. Selon Montagner (2004), l'organisation temporelle des interactions avec la figure et les rythmes biopsychologiques de chacun ne doivent pas être à contretemps des rythmes familiaux, sociaux et naturels. Il existe très peu d'études sur les figures d'attachement en dehors du caregiver. Identifiée par Montagner (2006) comme une personne sécurisante, la figure d'attachement peut également être secondaire si une relation durable s'est établie dans les niches écologiques de l'enfant. Bowlby (1969) affirmait que les figures d'attachement n'ont pas la même importance et qu'il existe un ordre de préférence clair. Il est donc nécessaire d'évaluer et de hiérarchiser afin de comprendre les variations intra-individuelles des préférences, l'organisation hiérarchique et leur évolution au cours du développement (Kobak, Rosenthal & Serwik, 2005 ; Kobak, Rosenthal, Zajac & Madsen, 2007). L'objectif poursuivi ici est de présenter une échelle de mesure en seize items interrogeant les quatre caractéristiques d'attachement. Cinq items ont été adaptés de Emotional Reliance Questionnaire (Ryan, La Guardia, Solky-Butzel, Chirkov, & Kim, 2005) et de Measure of attachment features (Kudek, 2008). Onze items ont été créés et évoquent des contextes familiers aux enfants dans lesquels leur système d'attachement est susceptible d'être activé. Pour chacune des huit figures adultes proposées, l'enfant est invité à évaluer à l'aide d'échelles visuelles analogiques (EVA) la durée, la prévisibilité et la périodicité du temps passé auprès d'elles. Dans le cadre de travaux en chronopsychologie, cette échelle permettra d'identifier et de hiérarchiser les figures d'attachement issues des trois niches écologiques - famille, école et loisirs (Le Floc'h, 2009) - selon les caractéristiques d'attachement et le stade de développement. Les résultats obtenus permettront d'apprécier les effets d'une rythmicité temporelle sûre et sécurisante sur les comportements et les rythmes endogènes

Complex plant-derived organic aerosol as ice-nucleating particles – more than the sums of their parts?

Quantifying the impact of complex organic particles on the formation of ice crystals in clouds remains challenging, mostly due to the vast number of different sources ranging from sea spray to agricultural areas. In particular, there are many open questions regarding the ice nucleation properties of organic particles released from terrestrial sources such as decaying plant material. In this work, we present results from laboratory studies investigating the immersion freezing properties of individual organic compounds commonly found in plant tissue and complex organic aerosol particles from vegetated environments, without specifically investigating the contribution from biological particles, which may contribute to the overall ice nucleation efficiency observed at high temperatures. To characterize the ice nucleation properties of plant-related aerosol samples for temperatures between 242 and 267 K, we used the Aerosol Interaction and Dynamics in the Atmosphere (AIDA) cloud chamber and the Ice Nucleation SpEctrometer of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (INSEKT), which is a droplet freezing assay. Individual plant components (polysaccharides, lignin, soy and rice protein) were mostly less ice active, or similarly ice active, compared to microcrystalline cellulose, which has been suggested by recent studies to be a proxy for quantifying the primary cloud ice formation caused by particles originating from vegetation. In contrast, samples from ambient sources with a complex organic matter composition (agricultural soils and leaf litter) were either similarly ice active or up to 2 orders of magnitude more ice active than cellulose. Of all individual organic plant components, only carnauba wax (i.e., lipids) showed a similarly high ice nucleation activity as that of the samples from vegetated environments over a temperature range between 245 and 252 K. Hence, based on our experimental results, we suggest considering cellulose as being representative for the average ice nucleation activity of plant-derived particles, whereas lignin and plant proteins tend to provide a lower limit. In contrast, complex biogenic particles may exhibit ice nucleation activities which are up to 2 orders of magnitude higher than observed for cellulose, making ambient plant-derived particles a potentially important contributor to the population of ice-nucleating particles in the troposphere, even though major uncertainties regarding their transport to cloud altitude remain

No substantial changes in estrogen receptor and estrogen-related receptor orthologue gene transcription in Marisa cornuarietis exposed to estrogenic chemicals

This article is made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works License, which permits non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.Estrogen receptor orthologues in molluscs may be targets for endocrine disruptors, although mechanistic evidence is lacking. Molluscs are reported to be highly susceptible to effects caused by very low concentrations of environmental estrogens which, if substantiated, would have a major impact on the risk assessment of many chemicals. The present paper describes the most thorough evaluation to-date of the susceptibility of Marisa cornuarietis ER and ERR gene transcription to modulation by vertebrate estrogens in vivo and in vitro. We investigated the effects of estradiol-17β and 4-tert-Octylphenol exposure on in vivo estrogen receptor (ER) and estrogen-related receptor (ERR) gene transcription in the reproductive and neural tissues of the gastropod snail M. cornuarietis over a 12-week period. There was no significant effect (p > 0.05) of treatment on gene transcription levels between exposed and non-exposed snails. Absence of a direct interaction of estradiol-17β and 4-tert-Octylphenol with mollusc ER and ERR protein was also supported by in vitro studies in transfected HEK-293 cells. Additional in vitro studies with a selection of other potential ligands (including methyl-testosterone, 17α-ethinylestradiol, 4-hydroxytamoxifen, diethylstilbestrol, cyproterone acetate and ICI182780) showed no interaction when tested using this assay. In repeated in vitro tests, however, genistein (with mcER-like) and bisphenol-A (with mcERR) increased reporter gene expression at high concentrations only (>10−6 M for Gen and >10−5 M for BPA, respectively). Like vertebrate estrogen receptors, the mollusc ER protein bound to the consensus vertebrate estrogen-response element (ERE). Together, these data provide no substantial evidence that mcER-like and mcERR activation and transcript levels in tissues are modulated by the vertebrate estrogen estradiol-17β or 4-tert-Octylphenol in vivo, or that other ligands of vertebrate ERs and ERRs (with the possible exception of genistein and bisphenol A, respectively) would do otherwise.BBSR

Functional relationship of particulate matter (PM) emissions, animal species, and moisture content during manure application

Livestock manure is recycled to agricultural land as organic fertilizer. Due to the extensive usage of antibiotics in conventional animal farming, antibiotic-resistant bacteria are highly prevalent in feces and manure. The spread of wind-driven particulate matter (PM) with potentially associated harmful bacteria through manure application may pose a threat to environmental and human health. We studied whether PM was aerosolized during the application of solid and dried livestock manure and the functional relationship between PM release, manure dry matter content (DM), treatment and animal species. In parallel, manure and resulting PM were investigated for the survival of pathogenic and antibiotic-resistant bacterial species. The results showed that from manure with a higher DM smaller particles were generated and more PM was emitted. A positive correlation between manure DM and PM aerosolization rate was observed. There was a species-dependent critical dryness level (poultry: 60% DM, pig: 80% DM) where manure began to release PM into the environment. The maximum PM emission potentials were 1 and 3 kg t(-1) of applied poultry and pig manure, respectively. Dried manure and resulting PM contained strongly reduced amounts of investigated pathogenic and antibiotic-resistant microorganisms compared to fresh samples. An optimal manure DM regarding low PM emissions and reduced pathogen viability was defined from our results, which was 55-70% DM for poultry manure and 75-85% DM for pig manure. The novel findings of this study increase our detailed understanding and basic knowledge on manure PM emissions and enable optimization of manure management, aiming a manure DM that reduces PM emissions and pathogenic release into the environment