Dynamic Data Citation Service-Subset Tool for Operational Data Management

In earth observation and climatological sciences, data and their data services grow on a daily basis in a large spatial extent due to the high coverage rate of satellite sensors, model calculations, but also by continuous meteorological in situ observations. In order to reuse such data, especially data fragments as well as their data services in a collaborative and reproducible manner by citing the origin source, data analysts, e.g., researchers or impact modelers, need a possibility to identify the exact version, precise time information, parameter, and names of the dataset used. A manual process would make the citation of data fragments as a subset of an entire dataset rather complex and imprecise to obtain. Data in climate research are in most cases multidimensional, structured grid data that can change partially over time. The citation of such evolving content requires the approach of "dynamic data citation". The applied approach is based on associating queries with persistent identifiers. These queries contain the subsetting parameters, e.g., the spatial coordinates of the desired study area or the time frame with a start and end date, which are automatically included in the metadata of the newly generated subset and thus represent the information about the data history, the data provenance, which has to be established in data repository ecosystems. The Research Data Alliance Data Citation Working Group (RDA Data Citation WG) summarized the scientific status quo as well as the state of the art from existing citation and data management concepts and developed the scalable dynamic data citation methodology of evolving data. The Data Centre at the Climate Change Centre Austria (CCCA) has implemented the given recommendations and offers since 2017 an operational service on dynamic data citation on climate scenario data. With the consciousness that the objective of this topic brings a lot of dependencies on bibliographic citation research which is still under discussion, the CCCA service on Dynamic Data Citation focused on the climate domain specific issues, like characteristics of data, formats, software environment, and usage behavior. The current effort beyond spreading made experiences will be the scalability of the implementation, e.g., towards the potential of an Open Data Cube solution

Colonisation success of introduced oysters is driven by wave-related exposure

The Pacific oyster, Magallana gigas, is an extremely successful invader with established populations in marine and estuarine habitats almost all over the world. Ecological implications of the introduction of this species to indigenous communities are well documented. However, the processes by which this species successfully establishes in a recipient community is still insufficiently understood. The early detection of the oyster at the island of Helgoland (North Sea) provided the ideal opportunity to investigate whether physical mechanisms, such as wave exposure, influence their successful colonisation. We hypothesized that oyster colonisation benefits from wave-protected conditions. For this purpose, we evaluated colonisation success of M. gigas among wave-protected sites and wave-exposed sites along the island’s pier system. The densities of M. gigas were significantly higher at wave-protected sites than at wave-exposed sites, and the frequency distributions of oyster lengths indicated better growth and higher survival rates in the harbours. This higher colonisation success at wave-protected sites may be explained by the relative retention time of water masses in the harbours, probably resulting in both reduced larval drift and lower energy demands for secretion formation (i.e. firmer binding to the substrate). The fact that the density of M. gigas can vary greatly on small spatial scales depending on exposure corroborates a multiple exposure sampling approach to monitor oyster populations in order to avoid potential overestimations of population sizes in given areas

Emotion vs. cognition - Experimental evidence on cooperation from the 2014 Soccer World Cup

We investigate methods for stimulating cooperation by help of a controlled lab-inthefield experiment. This allows us to compare group-related emotional and cognitive stimuli. The experiment was carried out in a sober classroom and in an emotionally loaded environment, a Bavarian beer garden during a public viewing event with a large screen displaying the soccer game. Contrary to widespread belief, we do not find shared and contagious emotions at the public viewing event to advance cooperation. Variations of the game reveal that only cognitive factors, namely the joint attention to a common goal, substantially increase cooperation

Zwischen rechtlichen Vorgaben, Forschung und praktischer Anwendung - zur Bewertung von Siedlungsflächen im Flächennutzungsplan

Die Analyse der kommunalen Planungspraxis zur Auswahl und Bewertung von Siedlungsflächen in der Flächennutzungsplanung zeigt auf, welchen Einfluss Forschungsergebnisse auf die aktuelle Planungspraxis haben. Aufbauend auf einer Analyse des Forschungsstandes und der rechtlichen Rahmenbedingungen wird die Bewertung von Siedlungsflächen in 29 verschiedenen Flächennutzungsplänen untersucht. Als Ergebniswurde ermittelt,dass in der Planungspraxis die Anzahl der Bewertungskriterien und die Komplexität der Bewertung in den letzten Jahren stark zugenommen hat. Außerdem kann gezeigt werden, dass und wie stark sich die Planungsmethodikund die verwendeten Kriterien zur Auswahl und Bewertung von Siedlungsflächen zwischen den einzelnen Gemeinden unterscheiden. Trotz umfangreicher anwendungsorientierter Forschung seit den 1990er Jahren zur Bewertung und Auswahl von Siedlungsflächen lassen sich jedoch nur indirekte Einflüsse der Forschungsergebnisse auf die Planungspraxis identifizieren. Teilweise wurde allerdings festgestellt, dass auch von den Gemeinden selbst neue Kriterien und Vorgehensweisenentwickelt werden.The paper analyses the municipal assessment practice for the selection of settlement areas in preparatory land-use planning displays the influence of research results on current planning practice. Based on an analysis of the state of research and the legal framework conditions, the assessment of potential settlement areas for 29 preparatory land-use plans has been analysed. As a result, it was determined that the number of selection criteria and the complexity of the assessment in planning practice has increased significantly in recent years. Furthermore, it became obvious that and to what extend the planning methodology and the criteria applied to select settlement areas differ substantially between the municipalities. Despite extensive application-oriented research in recent years on the assessment and selection of settlement areas, only indirect influences of the research on planning practice can be identified. Nevertheless, the analyses revealed that municipality themselves also created new criteria and procedures

Non-Genomic AhR-Signaling Modulates the Immune Response in Endotoxin-Activated Macrophages After Activation by the Environmental Stressor BaP

Emerging studies revealed that the Aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR), a receptor sensing environmental contaminants, is executing an immunomodulatory function. However, it is an open question to which extent this is achieved by its role as a transcription factor or via non-genomic signaling. We utilized a multi-post-translational modification-omics approach to examine non-genomic AhR-signaling after activation with endogenous (FICZ) or exogenous (BaP) ligand in endotoxin-activated (LPS) monocyte-derived macrophages. While AhR activation affected abundances of few proteins, regulation of ubiquitination and phosphorylation were highly pronounced. Although the number and strength of effects depended on the applied AhR-ligand, both ligands increased ubiquitination of Rac1, which participates in PI3K/AKT-pathway-dependent macrophage activation, resulting in a pro-inflammatory phenotype. In contrast, cotreatment with ligand and LPS revealed a decreased AKT activity mediating an antiinflammatory effect. Thus, our data show an immunomodulatory effect of AhR activation through a Rac1ubiquitination-dependent mechanism that attenuated AKT-signaling, resulting in a mitigated inflammatory response

Risk of contralateral second primary breast cancer according to hormone receptor status in Germany

Introduction: Hormone receptor (HR) status has become an established target in treatment strategies of breast cancer. Population-based estimates of contralateral breast cancer (CBC) incidence by HR subtype in particular are limited. The aim of this study was to provide detailed data on CBC incidence for Germany. Methods: Invasive breast cancer data were extracted on 49,804 women yielding 594 second primaries from the cancer registries of the Federal States of Brandenburg and Saarland and the area of Munich for the period from 1998 to 2007. Multiple imputation was used on missing values for HR status. We estimated standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs). Results: SIR estimates of CBC among women diagnosed with an invasive first primary breast cancer (FBC) of any HR subtype ranged from 1.0 to 1.5 in the three registries. Pooling three registries' data, the SIR of HR-positive CBC was 0.7 (95% CI: 0.6 to 0.8) among women with HR-positive FBC. For those women with HR-negative FBC, the SIR of HR-negative CBC was 8.9 (95% CI: 7.1 to 11.1). Among women with FBC diagnosed before the age of 50 years, incidence of CBC was increased, especially for HR-negative FBC (SIR: 9.2; 95% CI: 7.1 to 11.9). Conclusions: HR status of the first primary and age at first diagnosis is relevant for predicting risk of CBC. Particularly, patients with HR-negative FBC had elevated risks

Risk of contralateral second primary breast cancer according to hormone receptor status in Germany

Introduction: Hormone receptor (HR) status has become an established target in treatment strategies of breast cancer. Population-based estimates of contralateral breast cancer (CBC) incidence by HR subtype in particular are limited. The aim of this study was to provide detailed data on CBC incidence for Germany. Methods: Invasive breast cancer data were extracted on 49,804 women yielding 594 second primaries from the cancer registries of the Federal States of Brandenburg and Saarland and the area of Munich for the period from 1998 to 2007. Multiple imputation was used on missing values for HR status. We estimated standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs). Results: SIR estimates of CBC among women diagnosed with an invasive first primary breast cancer (FBC) of any HR subtype ranged from 1.0 to 1.5 in the three registries. Pooling three registries' data, the SIR of HR-positive CBC was 0.7 (95% CI: 0.6 to 0.8) among women with HR-positive FBC. For those women with HR-negative FBC, the SIR of HR-negative CBC was 8.9 (95% CI: 7.1 to 11.1). Among women with FBC diagnosed before the age of 50 years, incidence of CBC was increased, especially for HR-negative FBC (SIR: 9.2; 95% CI: 7.1 to 11.9). Conclusions: HR status of the first primary and age at first diagnosis is relevant for predicting risk of CBC. Particularly, patients with HR-negative FBC had elevated risks

Feedback activation of neurofibromin terminates growth factor-induced Ras activation.

BACKGROUND: Growth factors induce a characteristically short-lived Ras activation in cells emerging from quiescence. Extensive work has shown that transient as opposed to sustained Ras activation is critical for the induction of mitogenic programs. Mitogen-induced accumulation of active Ras-GTP results from increased nucleotide exchange driven by the nucleotide exchange factor Sos. In contrast, the mechanism accounting for signal termination and prompt restoration of basal Ras-GTP levels is unclear, but has been inferred to involve feedback inhibition of Sos. Remarkably, how GTP-hydrolase activating proteins (GAPs) participate in controlling the rise and fall of Ras-GTP levels is unknown. RESULTS: Monitoring nucleotide exchange of Ras in permeabilized cells we find, unexpectedly, that the decline of growth factor-induced Ras-GTP levels proceeds in the presence of unabated high nucleotide exchange, pointing to GAP activation as a major mechanism of signal termination. Experiments with non-hydrolysable GTP analogues and mathematical modeling confirmed and rationalized the presence of high GAP activity as Ras-GTP levels decline in a background of high nucleotide exchange. Using pharmacological and genetic approaches we document a raised activity of the neurofibromatosis type I tumor suppressor Ras-GAP neurofibromin and an involvement of Rsk1 and Rsk2 in the down-regulation of Ras-GTP levels. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings show that, in addition to feedback inhibition of Sos, feedback stimulation of the RasGAP neurofibromin enforces termination of the Ras signal in the context of growth-factor signaling. These findings ascribe a precise role to neurofibromin in growth factor-dependent control of Ras activity and illustrate how, by engaging Ras-GAP activity, mitogen-challenged cells play safe to ensure a timely termination of the Ras signal irrespectively of the reigning rate of nucleotide exchange.We acknowledge funding by the German research council (DFG), grant # RU 860/4-1 (AH), by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), Germany, FKZ: 01EO1002 (I.R., R.M.), by the BBSRC and through the BBSRC Midlands Interdisciplinary BioSciences Training Partnership (MAE-F) (GL - BB/G01227X/1 and BB/M00015X/1) and the National Council on Science and Technology of Mexico (CONACYT) (MAE-F).This is the final published version. It first appeared at http://biosignaling.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12964-016-0128-z

Challenges in Coagulation Management in Neurosurgical Diseases: A Scoping Review, Development, and Implementation of Coagulation Management Strategies

Bleeding and thromboembolic (TE) complications in neurosurgical diseases have a detrimental impact on clinical outcomes. The aim of this study is to provide a scoping review of the available literature and address challenges and knowledge gaps in the management of coagulation disorders in neurosurgical diseases. Additionally, we introduce a novel research project that seeks to reduce coagulation disorder-associated complications in neurosurgical patients. The risk of bleeding after elective craniotomy is about 3%, and higher (14-33%) in other indications, such as trauma and intracranial hemorrhage. In spinal surgery, the incidence of postoperative clinically relevant bleeding is approximately 0.5-1.4%. The risk for TE complications in intracranial pathologies ranges from 3 to 20%, whereas in spinal surgery it is around 7%. These findings highlight a relevant problem in neurosurgical diseases and current guidelines do not adequately address individual circumstances. The multidisciplinary COagulation MAnagement in Neurosurgical Diseases (COMAND) project has been developed to tackle this challenge by devising an individualized coagulation management strategy for patients with neurosurgical diseases. Importantly, this project is designed to ensure that these management strategies can be readily implemented into healthcare practices of different types and with sustainable integration