Untersuchungen der Wandstruktur ausgewählter rezenter Foraminiferen (Bolivina, Bulimina, Uvigerina und Hoeglundina) unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Zahnplatte

Verschiedene kalkschalige rezente Foraminiferen werden hinsichtlich ihrer Wandstruktur, des lamellaren Gehäusebaus und der Zahnplattenstruktur untersucht.Die taxonomische Wertigkeit der Zahnplatte wird kritisch diskutiert und ihre funktionsmorphologische Rolle postuliert

Gefangene in deutschem und sowjetischem Gewahrsam 1941 - 1956: Dimensionen und Definitionen

Aus der Einleitung S. 7: „Anders als in den Kriegen vergangener Epochen hat der Zweite Weltkrieg im Zeichen der totalen Kriegsführung des 20. Jahrhunderts die Grenzen zwischen dem Militär und der Zivilbevölkerung endgültig verwischt. Das gilt für die unmittelbare Kriegsführung wie für die Kriegsfolgen, zu denen neben Deportation, Flucht und Vertreibung nicht zuletzt die Gefangenschaft zählt. Gefangenschaft war ein millionenfaches Schicksal, das in den Jahren nach 1939 Soldaten wie Zivilisten traf – insbesondere in dem 1941 von Hitler begonnenen, rassenideologisch motivierten Angriffs- und Vernichtungskrieges des Deutschen Reiches gegen die Sowjetunion...

Coupling SEM-EDS and confocal Raman-in-SEM imaging: A new method for identification and 3D morphology of asbestos-like fibers in a mineral matrix

International audienceAsbestos consists in natural minerals crystallized in a specific habit and possessing in particular properties. In the case of Naturally Occurring Asbestos, usual methods applied to the identification of mineral fibers and the determination of their possible asbestiform nature seems not efficient, especially in the case of mineral fibers included in mineral matrix. We present a new in-situ method based on the use of confocal Raman-in-SEM imaging implemented in a Scanning Electron Microscope as an efficient method for in-situ mineralogy. The limitation of conventional methods is discussed. We applied 2D-Raman imaging to the identification of sub-micrometric fibers included in different mineral matrix. We were able to identify actinolite fibers down to 400 nm in diameter, included in feldspar, quartz and/or calcite matrix. Moreover, Confocal Raman allows the collection of 3D data that would provide access to critical information on the morphology of the amphibole fibers in the volume, such as aspect ratio, fibers distribution and amphibole volume fraction. We performed this method on various examples of rocks containing actinolite fibers of mean structural formula is: Na0,04-0,12Mg2,79-3,73Al0,29-0,58K0,01Ca1,79-1,98Mn0,01-0,09Fe 2+ 0,99-1,91Fe 3+ 0,12-0,25Si7,64-7,73O22(OH)2. We demonstrated that coupling confocal Raman imaging and SEM is a new and efficient in-situ method for identification and morphological characterization of amphibole fibers. Highlights New methods are requested for characterizing asbestos fibers in a mineral matrix SEM-Raman imaging is efficient for characterizing mineral fibers in-situ Confocal Raman imaging makes 3D analysis possible 3D analysis provides information on the aspect ratio and volume fraction of asbestos Fibers thinner than 400nm can be identified by confocal Raman in SEM ( = 532 nm

West Nile Virus in Germany: An Emerging Infection and Its Relevance for Transfusion Safety

West Nile virus (WNV) is an arthropod-borne virus (arbovirus). It circulates in an enzootic cycle between ornithophilic mosquitoes as vectors and reservoirs and avian host species for amplification, but humans can be infected as accidental hosts. In most individuals, WNV infection remains silent, while 20% develop mild symptoms of West Nile fever, and only 1% develop neuroinvasive disease (WNND). Human WNV cases have been identified in Southern and Eastern Europe for more than 20 years, but until 2018, Germany was considered to be a non-endemic country. This changed when in the exceptionally warm summer of 2018, conditions for viral replication in mosquitoes were ideal, and the first WNV cases among birds and horses were identified. The widespread domestic Culex mosquitoes are efficient vectors for WNV. Autochthonous mosquito-borne WNV infections in humans were reported in all following years, indicating a continuous circulation in the affected areas of Central-East Germany. So far, no clear expansion of the affected areas is discernible but may develop. WNV is a transfusion-transmissible-infection, and donor deferral or testing of donations after a stay in an affected area are effective means to ensure transfusion safety. WNV transmissions via blood products often result in WNND due to the predisposing underlying medical conditions of transfusion recipients. From 2020 onwards, roughly 80% of all blood establishments in Germany tested their donations for WNV using nucleic acid amplification techniques in the transmission season. Altogether, 19 confirmed WNV infections were identified from 2020–2021. As long as effective and affordable pathogen reduction is not available for all blood components, WNV testing or donor deferral will be essential. In order to timely identify affected areas, combined results of human and veterinary surveillance are needed. Partnerships between public health experts, transfusion medicine specialists, veterinarians, and entomologists should be strengthened to ensure a One Health approachPeer Reviewe

Diktaturdurchsetzung: Instrumente und Methoden der kommunistischen Machtsicherung in der SBZ/DDR 1945 - 1955

Aus der Einleitung S. 7: „...Der Streit um die letzten Ziele und Motive der sowjetischen Besatzungspolitik ist auch heute, über zehn Jahre nach dem Ende der zweiten deutschen Diktatur, nicht beigelegt. Die Vielzahl neuer Dokumente, die der Forschung mittlerweile in deutschen und in russischen Archiven zur Verfügung stehen, hat noch keine abschließende Klarheit bringen können. Dennoch weisen die bislang gewonnenen Einsichten und Erkenntnisse darauf hin, dass in der SBZ/DDR die diktatorische Entwicklung nicht erst im Ergebnis des Kalten Krieges oder gegenseitiger Fehlperzeptionen der Großmächte USA und UdSSR Gestalt annahm...

Event Detection by Feature Unpredictability in Phase-Contrast Videos of Cell Cultures

Abstract. In this work we propose a novel framework for generic event monitoring in live cell culture videos, built on the assumption that un-predictable observations should correspond to biological events. We use a small set of event-free data to train a multioutput multikernel Gaussian process model that operates as an event predictor by performing autore-gression on a bank of heterogeneous features extracted from consecutive frames of a video sequence. We show that the prediction error of this model can be used as a probability measure of the presence of relevant events, that can enable users to perform further analysis or monitoring of large-scale non-annotated data. We validate our approach in two phase-contrast sequence data sets containing mitosis and apoptosis events: a new private dataset of human bone cancer (osteosarcoma) cells and a benchmark dataset of stem cells

Confocal Raman-in-SEM Imaging: a New Method for 3D Morphology of Asbestos- like Fibers in a Mineral Matrix -Complementarity with SEM-FIB

International audienceAsbestos consists of natural mineral fibers crystallized in a specific way with specific properties including flexibility, high tensile strength, resistance to heat and chemical degradation. The term asbestos refers to one fibrous serpentine, and five asbestiform varieties of amphiboles [1][2]. Asbestos is considered a Category 1 human carcinogen (e.g. [1][3][4][5][6]), as inhalation of asbestos fibers causes respiratory diseases, in particular asbestosis, lung cancers and malignant mesothelioma. Due to the pathogenicity of asbestos fibers, their use has been banned in most countries around the world. The classification as "asbestos" comprises three main characteristics: sub-micrometric fibrous morphology (so-called asbestiform), chemistry and crystallography (i.e. mineralogy). The ban applies to natural materials, which are quarried and used for public works projects. Compliance with existing rules requires accurate diagnosis of the asbestos or non-asbestos nature of the materials likely to be exploited in a quarry or involved in the opening of a construction site. Conventional methods for asbestos diagnosis, mainly based on the use of TEM, are hard to apply to massive materials as the sample preparation protocol is complex, it is likely to release artifacts like cleavage fragments, or sample-piece thinning is costly and hard to achieve and thus not applicable in routine analysis. The use of a LV-FE-SEM-EDS (Low vacuum field emission gun scannning electron microscope equiped with energy dispersive spectroscopy) coupled to confocal Raman-in-SEM imaging (RISE) is a new and efficient method for identifying the mineral nature of sub-micrometer fibers or fibrous bundles. SEM coupled to EDS provides a qualitative or semi-quantitative composition of the fiber. The crystal structure is determined by confocal Raman spectroscopy (with lateral resolution down to 360 nm [7]). Thus the combination of these two kinds of information allows for accurate identification of both the nature and the morphology of the mineral. The combination of SEM, EDS and confocal Raman imaging in a unique analytical system (RISE) allows precise location of the same area / fiber and identification of its mineral nature. In addition, RISE allows the acquisition of 3D data, which is able to provide morphological information of the mineral distribution in the sample volume and leading to the determination of the aspect ratio, a critical parameter for asbestos (i.e. asbestiform or non-asbestiform). Moreover, this combination of techniques is not destructive. The coupling of SEM-EDS with RISE is a powerful analytical system that simplifies and reinforces existing analytical procedures. For highest resolution studies of fibers in the sample volume (3 D imaging), the RISE can be connected to a FIB-SEM [7]. Although FIB volume reconstruction is a destructive method, the resolution of the voxel can be extended to below 100 nm [8] – a resolution sufficient for visualizing even the thinnest fibers. Furthermore, Raman 3D view is an efficient tool for sampling TEM slices using the FIB

In-operando studies of Ag-TCNQ nanocrystals using Raman and soft x-ray microspectroscopy

Abstract We characterize individual Ag-TCNQ nanocrystals during switching their resistivity state in operando. Raman and soft X-ray absorption microspectroscopy are employed to disclose the electronic state of the organic component in dependency of applied voltage. Whereas Raman microspectroscopy offers qualitative insight into the conversion of negatively charged TCNQ molecules to their neutral counterpart, quantification of the neutral fraction can be achieved using X-ray absorption spectroscopy. These results allow a detailed investigation of resistivity switching in electrically bistable Ag-TCNQ nanocrystals