The constitution of laurotetanine, boldine and actinodaphnine

1. A complete review of the literature of aporphine alkaloids has been given.2. It has been proved that (a) laurotetanine is 2- hydroxy-3-5-6- trimethoxy- nor - aporphine and (b) boldine is 2- 6- dihydroxy -3 -5- dimethoxy -aporphine.3. It has been demonstrated that the still unknown alkaloid actinodaphnine is an aporphine base and is very likely to be 2- hydroxy -3- methoxy -5 -6- methylenedioxy- aporphine

Temperature dependence of the nonlocal voltage in an Fe/GaAs electrical spin injection device

The nonlocal spin resistance is measured as a function of temperature in a Fe/GaAs spin-injection device. For nonannealed samples that show minority-spin injection, the spin resistance is observed up to room temperature and decays exponentially with temperature at a rate of 0.018\,K$^{-1}$. Post-growth annealing at 440\,K increases the spin signal at low temperatures, but the decay rate also increases to 0.030\,K$^{-1}$. From measurements of the diffusion constant and the spin lifetime in the GaAs channel, we conclude that sample annealing modifies the temperature dependence of the spin transfer efficiency at injection and detection contacts. Surprisingly, the spin transfer efficiency increases in samples that exhibit minority-spin injection.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure

Phase diagram of an extended quantum dimer model on the hexagonal lattice

We introduce a quantum dimer model on the hexagonal lattice that, in addition to the standard three-dimer kinetic and potential terms, includes a competing potential part counting dimer-free hexagons. The zero-temperature phase diagram is studied by means of quantum Monte Carlo simulations, supplemented by variational arguments. It reveals some new crystalline phases and a cascade of transitions with rapidly changing flux (tilt in the height language). We analyze perturbatively the vicinity of the Rokhsar-Kivelson point, showing that this model has the microscopic ingredients needed for the "devil's staircase" scenario [E. Fradkin et al., Phys. Rev. B 69, 224415 (2004)], and is therefore expected to produce fractal variations of the ground-state flux.Comment: Published version. 5 pages + 8 (Supplemental Material), 31 references, 10 color figure

Molecular adaptations of skeletal muscle in health and disease

Appropriate function of skeletal muscle is essential for locomotion, everyday activities and athletic performance. In addition to its mechanic tasks, skeletal muscle communicates with other organs via metabolic pathways and regulatory processes. Skeletal muscle is a plastic tissue that adapts to external stimuli, including hormonal signalling, exercise, physical inactivity and prolonged disuse. Molecular adaptations at the muscle fibre level have local effects on force-production and fatigue-resistance. In addition, they can alter metabolic pathways and regulatory processes with effects on whole-body physiology. The aim of this thesis was to study local and systemic effects of molecular adaptations of skeletal muscle in physiologic and pathologic conditions. In paper I, we investigated the consequences of muscular adaptations to sprint interval training (SIT) on contractile force. We demonstrate that a single session of SIT induces modifications of the ryanodine receptor (RyR1) in untrained humans and that repeated exposure to SIT provides some protection from SIT-induced RyR1 modifications. We moreover show that a three-week SIT program improves exercise performance but does not accelerate recovery of neuromuscular function after SIT. In the second paper, we studied molecular adaptations of skeletal muscle in a mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a neuromuscular disease that causes denervation and muscle weakness. The aim of this study was to determine whether muscle weakness in ALS is caused by the degeneration of motor neurons and subsequent atrophy or whether muscle fibre intrinsic defects (ie, altered Ca2+ handling or altered contractile properties) contribute to the loss of contractile force. Muscles of symptomatic ALS mice exhibited motor neuron loss, atrophy and reduced absolute force. However, at the single fibre level, Ca2+ handling was preserved, force-generating capacity intact and fibres displayed endurance training-like adaptations with increased fatigue-resistance and signs of mitochondrial biogenesis. Hence, surviving muscle fibres of ALS mice were strong and adaptable and muscle weakness was caused by muscle atrophy and not by muscle fibre intrinsic defects. Papers III and IV looked at molecular adaptations of skeletal muscle that have systemic effects on regulatory and metabolic pathways. In paper III, we studied skeletal muscles of humans lacking the structural protein α-actinin-3 (ACTN3) due to a common null polymorphism in the ACTN3 gene. The lack of ACTN3 has undergone positive selection in recent evolution and seems to provide a survival advantage in cold areas potentially linked to increased skeletal muscle Ca2+ cycling. In our study, humans with ACTN3 deficiency showed improved cold-resilience when exposed to an acute cold-challenge in conjunction with a shift in the expression of the Ca2+ handling proteins SERCA and calsequestrin. In addition, we observed altered muscle fibre distribution in ACTN3 deficient subjects with an increased proportion of type I and a decreased proportion of type IIx fibres. In summary, ACTN3 deficient subjects are more efficient at maintaining their body temperature during acute cold exposure potentially linked to an increased proportion of type I muscle fibres. In paper IV, we looked at molecular adaptations of skeletal muscle in response to endurance exercise that affect peripheral kynurenine (KYN) metabolism and cross-talk between muscle and brain. The degradation of KYN to NAD+ produces neurotoxic metabolites, which have been associated with depression. In an alternative pathway, KYN is converted to the neuroprotective kynurenic acid (KYNA) and this process is catalysed by kynurenine aminotransferases (KATs). Recent animal studies have shown that endurance exercise increases the expression of KATs in skeletal muscle resulting in a shift of the peripheral KYN metabolism towards the neuroprotective branch, thereby protecting from stress-induced depression. In our study, we show that healthy humans who participate in regular endurance training have increased expression of skeletal muscle KATs. We moreover demonstrate that acute endurance exercise increases the flux through the neuroprotective branch of the KYN pathway resulting in a transient increase of circulating KYNA. In contrast, high-intensity eccentric exercise did not affect circulating KYN metabolites. In summary, our study shows that prolonged, metabolically demanding exercise alters peripheral KYN metabolism which may have bearing on training recommendations for patients with depression. Taken together, the four studies presented in this thesis underline the multifacetedness of skeletal muscle as a tissue and the implications of molecular adaptations for athletic performance and for chronic disease

Ciclagem de Nutrientes em Mata de Brejo e Mata Estacional Semidecidual no município de Brotas, SP, Brasil.

Foram estudadas a produção e a decomposição da serapilheira em dois ecossistemas tropicais, além da transferência nutrientes para o solo durante dois anos consecutivos (2006-2007). Na mata de brejo a produção anual da serapilheira alcançou o valor de 6.464 ((± 723) kg.ha-¹, com uma taxa de decomposição de k =1,23. A transferência anual de nutrientes para o solo foi estimada em: N = 151,8 kg.ha-¹, Ca = 60,6 kg.ha-¹, Mg = 46,4 kg.ha-¹, P = 2,4 kg.ha-¹. A mata estacional produziu anualmente 8.952 (± 937) kg.ha-¹, com uma taxa de decomposição equivalente a k =1,21. A transferência anual de nutrientes foi estimada em: N = 197,9 kg.ha-¹, Ca = 91,0 kg.ha-¹, Mg = 57.9 kg.ha-¹ e P = 3,4 kg.ha-¹. A sazonalidade destas transferências foi semelhante nos dois ecossistemas estudados

Machine Learning Operations : vom Modell als Datei zum Prototyp mit Userinteraktion

Machine Learning (ML) gewinnt zunehmend an Bedeutung und wird in zahlreichen Domänen zur datengetriebenen Entscheidungsfindung und Kreierung von innovativen Produkten und Dienstleistungen verwendet. Die Komplexität zur Entwicklung und Anwendung von ML-Algorithmen wurde im Laufe der letzten Jahre stark abstrahiert, was in einer signifikant verbesserten Zugänglichkeit resultiert. Der Prozess zur Entwicklung eines ML-Modells endet meist mit dem trainierten Modell als Datei, welche wiederum mit statischen Aufrufen im Code auf dem Computer der entwickelnden Person getestet wird. Damit eine Interaktion zwischen dem ML-Modell und Menschen möglich ist, wird eine Schnittstelle mit grafischer Oberfläche benötigt. Die Integration eines Modells in eine solche Applikation ist geprägt von repetitiven Arbeitsschritten und erfordert fundierte Kenntnisse im Bereich der Backend- und Frontend-Entwicklung. Sowohl diese Programmierkenntnisse als auch das nötige Wissen für das Deployment einer Webapplikation gehören jedoch nicht zu den typischen Fähigkeiten einer ML-Fachkraft. Diese Arbeit entwickelt ein Framework, welches die Integration eines ML-Modells in eine Webapplikation vereinfacht. Die Zielgruppe des erstellten Artefakts sind Personen aus der Lehre und Studierende. Der Einsatz im Unterricht der ZHAW School of Management and Law (SML) im Studiengang Wirtschaftsinformatik bildet die Ausgangslage für den ersten Einsatzbereich der erstellten Lösung. Die anwendenden Personen möchten ihre ML-Modelle aus Studienprojekten oder Semesterarbeiten als Prototyp der Öffentlichkeit zugänglich machen. Um die Zielarchitektur und die benötigten Funktionalitäten zu definieren, wird der Prozess zur Generierung einer Modellvorhersage analysiert und abstrahiert. Davon ausgehend wird ein zu unterstützendes Modellformat evaluiert, welches sowohl den Einsatz an der SML als auch die Zugänglichkeit für weitere interessierte Personen sicherstellt. Anschliessend beschäftigt sich diese Arbeit hauptsächlich mit der Erstellung einer Codebasis zusammen mit einem detaillierten Handbuch. Das erstellte Framework mit dem Namen ML-Starter ermöglicht es, eine Webapplikation ohne Kenntnisse im Front- oder Backend-Bereich in Betrieb zu nehmen und diese im Internet zu veröffentlichen. Mithilfe der Publizierung der Codebasis auf GitHub1 sowie einem Beitrag auf der Online Publikationsplattform Medium2 wird der Diskurs über das erstellte Artefakt gefördert. ML-Starter leistet somit einen wertvollen Beitrag für einen holistischeren Entwicklungsprozess von ML-Modellen im Bereich der Lehre. Durch die Verwendung des erstellten Artefakts im Rahmen des Unterrichts an der ZHAW School of Management and Law wird die Weiterentwicklung und kontinuierliche Verbesserung des Frameworks vorangetrieben. Zukünftige Arbeiten können den Prozess zur Inbetriebnahme eines Prototyps zusätzlich automatisieren

David Hume the Innovative Scientist : a Reading Centered on the Naturalism-imagination Interface�

Because of the difficulties and the space limitation, this thesis presents only the first fragments of a larger, more exciting project. Originally I had intended to offer an alternative to the traditional understanding about the relationship between David Hume and Immanuel Kant. I was attempting to change the traditional view by focusing on the unnoticed agreement Hume and Kant had concerning the significant role imagination played in our epistemic experience. This paper will only present my findings as they relate to the Hume half of the story. Hume is presented as a revolutionary scientist who was trying to reconceptualize human understanding as an extension of natural abilities, which we shared with other natural organisms. I attempt to highlight Hume's attempt to develop and clarify the way this naturalism expresses itself through imagination.Philosoph

Dívida pública, déficit e taxa de juros : os efeitos distributivos do pagamento de juros no Brasil

Orientador: Prof. Dr. Fabiano Abranches Silva DaltoMonografia (graduação) - Universidade Federal do Paraná, Setor de Ciências Sociais Aplicadas, Curso de Ciências EconômicasInclui referênciasResumo : Este trabalho tem como objetivo desmistificar premissas e afirmações teóricas, sobre a dívida pública, o gasto do governo e a taxa de juros, que ao longo do tempo foram se ancorando em decisões de política econômica. Tomando como sustentação teórica, a Teoria Monetária moderna, sob a perspectiva heterodoxa de moeda endógena e taxa de juros exógena, o estudo busca demonstrar que tais afirmações são insustentáveis se trazidas à realidade da economia brasileira, através da análise de dados. Por fim, esclarecidos esses equívocos, será colocado em pauta um debate acerca da natureza distributiva do gasto com juros no Brasil, em contrapartida à alocação de gastos sociais no orçamento público, demonstrando assim, o caráter político das decisões de gasto do governo