Case report of three consecutive lues maligna infections in an HIV-infected patient

Lues maligna is a rare presentation of an infection with Treponema pallidum. Here we report three lues maligna infections with severe dermatological manifestations in a single HIV-1 infected individual. Despite the start of highly active antiretroviral therapy and a substantial increase in CD4 cell count after the first episode, he developed consecutive episodes. We assume a specific immunological predisposition to react to T. pallidum in this patient

Lost in Translation? Openness, Reflexivity and Pragmatism as Guiding Principles for Cross-Language Qualitative Research

In increasingly globalised and linguistically diverse societies, cross-language constellations in qualitative research are becoming more probable and necessary. Based on experiences we gained during our research in foreign language settings, we reflect on three guiding principles of qualitative research - openness, reflexivity and pragmatism - and how they are applied when dealing with the manifold challenges of linguistic understanding. Taking up ongoing discussions about this issue, we provide an account of a reflexive methodology aware of its preconditions and limitations. We argue in favour of a confident approach towards language difficulties and point out that qualitative research has always demanded the chosen methods to be flexible enough to adjust to challenges in the field.In zunehmend globalisierten und sprachlich vielfältigen Gesellschaften werden sprachübergreifende Konstellationen in der qualitativen Forschung immer wahrscheinlicher und notwendiger. Ausgehend von den Erfahrungen, die wir während unserer Forschung in fremdsprachlichen Kontexten gemacht haben, reflektieren wir drei Leitprinzipien qualitativer Forschung - Offenheit, Reflexivität und Pragmatismus - und wie wir sie im Umgang mit den vielfältigen Herausforderungen sprachlicher Verständigung angewendet haben. Anknüpfend an die laufenden Diskussionen zum Thema legen wir in diesem Artikel eine Darstellung einer reflexiven Methodologie vor, die sich ihrer Voraussetzungen und Grenzen bewusst ist. Wir plädieren für einen selbstbewussten Umgang mit sprachlichen Schwierigkeiten und weisen darauf hin, dass es in der qualitativen Forschung stets erforderlich war, dass die gewählten Methoden flexibel genug sind, um sie den Herausforderungen des Feldes anzupassen

Comparison of translation loads for standard and alternative genetic codes

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The (almost) universality of the genetic code is one of the most intriguing properties of cellular life. Nevertheless, several variants of the standard genetic code have been observed, which differ in one or several of 64 codon assignments and occur mainly in mitochondrial genomes and in nuclear genomes of some bacterial and eukaryotic parasites. These variants are usually considered to be the result of non-adaptive evolution. It has been shown that the standard genetic code is preferential to randomly assembled codes for its ability to reduce the effects of errors in protein translation.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Using a genotype-to-phenotype mapping based on a quantitative model of protein folding, we compare the standard genetic code to seven of its naturally occurring variants with respect to the fitness loss associated to mistranslation and mutation. These fitness losses are computed through computer simulations of protein evolution with mutations that are either neutral or lethal, and different mutation biases, which influence the balance between unfolding and misfolding stability. We show that the alternative codes may produce significantly different mutation and translation loads, particularly for genomes evolving with a rather large mutation bias. Most of the alternative genetic codes are found to be disadvantageous to the standard code, in agreement with the view that the change of genetic code is a mutationally driven event. Nevertheless, one of the studied alternative genetic codes is predicted to be preferable to the standard code for a broad range of mutation biases.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our results show that, with one exception, the standard genetic code is generally better able to reduce the translation load than the naturally occurring variants studied here. Besides this exception, some of the other alternative genetic codes are predicted to be better adapted for extreme mutation biases. Hence, the fixation of alternative genetic codes might be a neutral or nearly-neutral event in the majority of the cases, but adaptation cannot be excluded for some of the studied cases.</p

Pseudoscorpions (Arachnida: Pseudoscorpiones) in Estonia: new records and an annotated checklist

The current knowledge of pseudoscorpions in Estonia is summarized, based on specimens preserved in various Estonian collections and new material collected from 1993 to 2015. Altogether 474 studied specimens belonged to 14 species, including nine species recorded from Estonia for the first time. Supplemented by Apocheiridium rossicum, listed by literature data only, the number of known Estonian pseudoscorpions is now set at 15. The findings of Mesochelifer ressli are the northernmost known for the species. Some ecological and phenological observations were made on the most common species, along with notes on the habitat preferences of other species and the use of different trapping methods. The composition of the known Estonian fauna is compared with the published records from the neighbouring countries, revealing a highest similarity to the Finnish fauna.The possible occurrence of other species in Estonia and the latitudinal species diversity gradient in the Eastern Baltic region are shortly discussed

Die Bedeutung des Geschlechts im evangelischen Pfarramt

"In den 1970er Jahren wurde im deutschen Protestantismus der Pfarrberuf für Frauen geöffnet. Der Beitrag rekonstruiert den Prozess der Gleichstellung von Pfarrerinnen und untersucht, wie Pfarrerinnen sich das männlich konnotierte Pfarramt angeeignet haben und wie dabei auf das Geschlecht rekurriert wurde. Es werden Deutungsmuster herausgearbeitet, die sowohl die Wahrnehmung von Pfarrerinnen durch Theologen und Kirchenleitungen als auch ihre Selbstdarstellung im Hinblick auf ihre Kompetenzen und beruflichen Stile bestimmen. Gezeigt wird, dass im Prozess der Integration von Frauen ins Pfarramt traditionelle Konstruktionen der Geschlechterdifferenz aufgegriffen, reproduziert und umgeschrieben werden." (Autorenreferat)"In most protestant churches in Germany, clergywomen gained equal rights in the 1970s. The access admission of women to the ministry is a result and expression of an ongoing lasting change in the relation to the place of the sexes and the social construction of gender in the Protestant church. The article explores how clergy women adopted the formerly exclusive male ministry for themselves. It analyses how the office of clergywomen was discussed in German protestant churches by theologians, church leaders and the clergy women themselves. It demonstrates that, in the process of integration of women in the protestant ministry, traditional constructions of gender were picked up, adopted, and refined." (author's abstract

A Program for Introducing Information Literacy to Commercial Art and Design Students

This paper describes the process of developing and implementing a comprehensive, school-wide, and sustainable information literacy program at a commercial art and design school. The program requires that information literacy student learning outcomes be included in specific General Education and art and design courses across the curriculum. The results of this multi-year effort indicate that while the program is sound, teaching information literacy is an on-going effort requiring much more training of faculty and students. Best practices in information literacy in library science and art and design literature are reviewe