Europäische Raumentwicklungspolitik - Schimäre oder Chance?: Betrachtungen aus der Perspektive der deutschen Raumwissenschaften

Von einer Europäischen Raumentwicklungspolitik wird heute viel gesprochen, oft mit einer Mischung aus Hoffnung und Sorge. Doch ist dabei keineswegs immer deutlich, was eigentlich Inhalt und Anliegen einer Europäischen Raumentwicklungspolitik ausmachen, in welchen Formen sie sich darstellt und welches ihre Wirkungen sind. Hier zur Klarheit beizutragen, ist Aufgabe der Raumwissenschaften. Der Autor versucht, diese Aufgabe näher zu umreißen. Seine zentrale Forderung ist, dass die deutschen Raumwissenschaften sich weitaus stärker als bisher internationalisieren müssen, dass zumindest die Kategorie "Europäische Raumwissenschaft" ein integraler Bestandteil von Forschung und Lehre in Deutschland werden muss. Ausgehend von dem 1999 verabschiedeten Europäischen Raumentwicklungskonzept (EUREK) werden dazu als Beispiele drei Arbeitsfelder beschrieben: Nachhaltige Raumentwicklung, wirtschaftlicher und sozialer Zusammenhalt sowie die Zukunft der regionalen Ebene in Europa. Wenn die deutschen Raumwissenschaften zu diesen Themen etwas Substanzielles zu sagen haben, werden sie auch -so die Schlussthese- in der internationalen Diskussion mehr Aufmerksamkeit finden als bisher.Observations from the perspective of German regional sciences European regional development policies are much and often discussed at the moment, often mixing hope with concern. However, it is not always clear what the content and purpose of European regional development policies are, ho w they present themselves and how they take effect. It is the task of regional sciences to provide clarity in this respect. The author attempts the describe this task in greater detail. His central demand is that German regional sciences must much more deal with international aspects than is presently the case, that at least the category "European regional sciences" is made an integral part of the research and teaching in Germany. Based on the European regional development concept (EUREK) passed in 1999, three fields of work are described as examples: Sustainable regional development, economic and social interdependency and the future of the regional level in Europe. If German regional sciences can make a substantial contribution to these topics, they will find more attention in the international community than before - according to the final thesis

13C, 15N Resonance Assignment of Parts of the HET-s Prion Protein in its Amyloid Form

The partial 15N and 13C solid-state NMR resonance assignment of the HET-s prion protein fragment 218-289 in its amyloid form is presented. It is based on experiments measured at MAS frequencies in the range of 20-40kHz using exclusively adiabatic polarization-transfer schemes. The resonance assignment within each residue is based on two-dimensional 13C--13C correlation spectra utilizing the DREAM mixing scheme. The sequential linking of the assigned residues used a set of two- and three-dimensional 15N--13C correlation experiments. Almost all cross peaks visible in the spectra are assigned, but only resonances from 43 of the 78 amino-acid residues could be detected. The missing residues are thought to be highly disordered and/or highly dynamic giving rise to broad resonance lines that escaped detection in the experiments applied. The line widths of the observed resonances are narrow and comparable to line widths observed in micro-crystalline samples. The 43 assigned residues are located in two fragments of about 20 residue

Spatial development policy in the European Constitutional Treaty: position paper from the ARL, Hanover

As the implementation of the European single market has continued, it has become increasingly clear that a more closely integrated Europe cannot simply have an exclusively economic dimension. For a harmonious overall development, a large number of other policy areas clearly have to be included. One of these is spatial policy (spatial development policy), which aims to contribute to a more balanced spatial development. In the view of the ARL, the time has now come to initiate the institutional steps which have thus far emerged from the Europe-wide debate. The "territorial cohesion" of the Union cannot be achieved until we have clear legal foundations and definitions, which must also apply to spatial development policy in Europe. For that reason, the constitutional aspects of a European spatial development policy must form part of the agenda of the European Constitutional Convention.Mit der fortschreitenden Verwirklichung des Europäischen Binnenmarktes ist im Laufe der Zeit immer deutlicher geworden, dass das zusammenwachsende Europa nicht lediglich eine ökonomische Dimension haben kann, sondern dass für eine harmonische Gesamtentwicklung zahlreiche weitere Politikfelder einbezogen werden müssen. Dazu gehört auch die Raumpolitik (Raumentwicklungspolitik) mit dem Ziel einer ausgewogenen räumlichen Entwicklung. Nach Auffassung der Akademie ist es an der Zeit, aus dem bisherigen europaweiten Diskussionsstand endlich institutionelle Konsequenzen zu ziehen. Der "territoriale Zusammenhalt" der Union kann nicht gesichert werden, solange es keine klaren rechtlichen Grundlagen und Abgrenzungen auch für die Raumentwicklungspolitik in Europa gibt. Deshalb gehören die konstitutionellen Fragen einer europäischen Raumentwicklungspolitik auf die Agenda des Europäischen Verfassungskonvents.L'achèvement progressif du Grand marché intérieur de l'Union européenne a fait ressortir de plus en plus clairement au fil du temps que l'Europe, en s'intégrant, ne doit pas se limiter à la seule dimension économique. Son évolution harmonieuse globale requiert plutôt une approche qui englobe de nombreux autres champs politiques comme par exemple la politique spatiale (politique de développement de l'espace) envisageant un développement spatial équilibré. De l'avis de l'ARL, il est temps de tirer enfin des conclusions d'ordre institutionnel de l'état d'avancement des discussions en Europe. Il ne sera pas possible d'assurer la "cohésion territoriale" de l'Union européenne sans avoir créé des bases et des délimitations juridiques claires pour la politique du développement de l'espace européen. C'est pourquoi il appartient à la Convention européenne de traiter les questions constitutionnelles relatives à la politique européenne de développement de l'espace

A fast spinning magnetic white dwarf in the double degenerate, super-Chandrasekhar system NLTT 12758

We present an analysis of the close double degenerate NLTT 12758, which is comprised of a magnetic white dwarf with a field of about 3.1 MG and an apparently non-magnetic white dwarf. We measured an orbital period of 1.154 d and found that the magnetic white dwarf is spinning around its axis with a period of 23 min. An analysis of the atmospheric parameters has revealed that the cooling ages of the two white dwarfs are comparable, suggesting that they formed within a short period of time from each other. Our modelling indicates that the non-magnetic white dwarf is more massive (M = 0.83 M) than its magnetic companion (M = 0.69 M) and that the total mass of the system is higher than the Chandrasekhar mass. Although the stars will not come into contact over a Hubble time, when they do come into contact, dynamically unstable mass transfer will take place leading to either an accretion induced collapse into a rapidly spinning neutron star or a Type Ia supernova

Between Qasbas and Cities: Language Shifts and Literary Continuities in North India in the Long Eighteenth Century

The cultural memory of Awadh is almost exclusively identified with Urdu poetry and courtesan culture, and already in the colonial period it came to stand as the epitome of the “last phase of Oriental culture” (‘Abdul Halim Sharar). But if instead of taking a retrospective, nostalgic view we approach literary culture in Awadh prospectively and multilingually and broaden our lens to consider not just the capitals, Faizabad and Lucknow, but also the qasbas (small towns), the small rural courts, the nearby growing city of Banaras, and the colonial capital of Calcutta, a different set of literary dynamics and shifts comes into view. The prevalent image of Awadh as identified with Urdu and Lucknow is not wrong, of course, but it does obscure the other stories, trajectories, and languages. This essay considers some of them. A multilingual and prospective approach helps us consider the circulation of literary tastes across the colonial divide and recognize the production of forgetfulness and ignorance that accompanied modern narratives of languages and literary histories, both colonial and Indian, and that made a host of texts “homeless” (Mohamad Tavakoli-Targhi)

Daily Rhythm of Melanopsin-Expressing Cells in the Mouse Retina

In addition to some other functions, melanopsin-expressing retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) constitute the principal mediators of the circadian photoentrainment, a process by which the suprachiasmatic nucleus (the central clock of mammals), adjusts daily to the external day/night cycle. In the present study these RGCs were immunohistochemically labelled using a specific polyclonal antiserum raised against mouse melanopsin. A daily oscillation in the number of immunostained cells was detected in mice kept under a light / dark (LD) cycle. One hour before the lights were on (i.e., the end of the night period) the highest number of immunopositive cells was detected while the lowest was seen 4 h later (i.e., within the first hours of the light period). This finding suggests that some of the melanopsin-expressing RGCs “turn on” and “off” during the day/night cycle. We have also detected that these daily variations already occur in the early postnatal development, when the rod/cone photoreceptor system is not yet functional. Two main melanopsin-expressing cell subpopulations could be found within the retina: M1 cells showed robust dendritic arborization within the OFF sublamina of the inner plexiform layer (IPL), whilst M2 cells had fine dendritic processes within the ON sublamina of the IPL. These two cell subpopulations also showed different daily oscillations throughout the LD cycle. In order to find out whether or not the melanopsin rhythm was endogenous, other mice were maintained in constant darkness for 6 days. Under these conditions, no defined rhythm was detected, which suggests that the daily oscillation detected either is light-dependent or is gradually lost under constant conditions. This is the first study to analyze immunohistochemically the daily oscillation of the number of melanopsin-expressing cells in the mouse retina

Coverage, Continuity and Visual Cortical Architecture

The primary visual cortex of many mammals contains a continuous representation of visual space, with a roughly repetitive aperiodic map of orientation preferences superimposed. It was recently found that orientation preference maps (OPMs) obey statistical laws which are apparently invariant among species widely separated in eutherian evolution. Here, we examine whether one of the most prominent models for the optimization of cortical maps, the elastic net (EN) model, can reproduce this common design. The EN model generates representations which optimally trade of stimulus space coverage and map continuity. While this model has been used in numerous studies, no analytical results about the precise layout of the predicted OPMs have been obtained so far. We present a mathematical approach to analytically calculate the cortical representations predicted by the EN model for the joint mapping of stimulus position and orientation. We find that in all previously studied regimes, predicted OPM layouts are perfectly periodic. An unbiased search through the EN parameter space identifies a novel regime of aperiodic OPMs with pinwheel densities lower than found in experiments. In an extreme limit, aperiodic OPMs quantitatively resembling experimental observations emerge. Stabilization of these layouts results from strong nonlocal interactions rather than from a coverage-continuity-compromise. Our results demonstrate that optimization models for stimulus representations dominated by nonlocal suppressive interactions are in principle capable of correctly predicting the common OPM design. They question that visual cortical feature representations can be explained by a coverage-continuity-compromise.Comment: 100 pages, including an Appendix, 21 + 7 figure

Lithium induced hypercalcemia:an expert opinion and management algorithm

Background: Lithium is the gold standard prophylactic treatment for bipolar disorder. Most clinical practice guidelines recommend regular calcium assessments as part of monitoring lithium treatment, but easy-to-implement specific management strategies in the event of abnormal calcium levels are lacking. Methods: Based on a narrative review of the effects of lithium on calcium and parathyroid hormone (PTH) homeostasis and its clinical implications, experts developed a step-by-step algorithm to guide the initial management of emergent hypercalcemia during lithium treatment. Results: In the event of albumin-corrected plasma calcium levels above the upper limit, PTH and calcium levels should be measured after two weeks. Measurement of PTH and calcium levels should preferably be repeated after one month in case of normal or high PTH level, and after one week in case of low PTH level, independently of calcium levels. Calcium levels above 2.8 mmol/l may require a more acute approach. If PTH and calcium levels are normalized, repeated measurements are suggested after six months. In case of persistent PTH and calcium abnormalities, referral to an endocrinologist is suggested since further examination may be needed. Conclusions: Standardized consensus driven management may diminish the potential risk of clinicians avoiding the use of lithium because of uncertainties about managing side-effects and consequently hindering some patients from receiving an optimal treatment

Coordinated optimization of visual cortical maps (II) Numerical studies

It is an attractive hypothesis that the spatial structure of visual cortical architecture can be explained by the coordinated optimization of multiple visual cortical maps representing orientation preference (OP), ocular dominance (OD), spatial frequency, or direction preference. In part (I) of this study we defined a class of analytically tractable coordinated optimization models and solved representative examples in which a spatially complex organization of the orientation preference map is induced by inter-map interactions. We found that attractor solutions near symmetry breaking threshold predict a highly ordered map layout and require a substantial OD bias for OP pinwheel stabilization. Here we examine in numerical simulations whether such models exhibit biologically more realistic spatially irregular solutions at a finite distance from threshold and when transients towards attractor states are considered. We also examine whether model behavior qualitatively changes when the spatial periodicities of the two maps are detuned and when considering more than 2 feature dimensions. Our numerical results support the view that neither minimal energy states nor intermediate transient states of our coordinated optimization models successfully explain the spatially irregular architecture of the visual cortex. We discuss several alternative scenarios and additional factors that may improve the agreement between model solutions and biological observations.Comment: 55 pages, 11 figures. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1102.335