Anaerobic Oxidation of Methane at a Marine Methane Seep in a Forearc Sediment Basin off Sumatra, Indian Ocean

A cold methane seep was discovered in a forearc sediment basin off the island Sumatra, exhibiting a methane-seep adapted microbial community. A defined seep center of activity, like in mud volcanoes, was not discovered. The seep area was rather characterized by a patchy distribution of active spots. The relevance of anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) was reflected by 13C-depleted isotopic signatures of dissolved inorganic carbon. The anaerobic conversion of methane to CO2 was confirmed in a 13C-labeling experiment. Methane fueled a vital microbial community with cell numbers of up to 4 × 109 cells cm−3 sediment. The microbial community was analyzed by total cell counting, catalyzed reporter deposition–fluorescence in situ hybridization (CARD–FISH), quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR), and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). CARD–FISH cell counts and qPCR measurements showed the presence of Bacteria and Archaea, but only small numbers of Eukarya. The archaeal community comprised largely members of ANME-1 and ANME-2. Furthermore, members of the Crenarchaeota were frequently detected in the DGGE analysis. Three major bacterial phylogenetic groups (δ-Proteobacteria, candidate division OP9, and Anaerolineaceae) were abundant across the study area. Several of these sequences were closely related to the genus Desulfococcus of the family Desulfobacteraceae, which is in good agreement with previously described AOM sites. In conclusion, the majority of the microbial community at the seep consisted of AOM-related microorganisms, while the relevance of higher hydrocarbons as microbial substrates was negligible

Pygmy dipole strength close to particle-separation energies - the case of the Mo isotopes

The distribution of electromagnetic dipole strength in 92, 98, 100 Mo has been investigated by photon scattering using bremsstrahlung from the new ELBE facility. The experimental data for well separated nuclear resonances indicate a transition from a regular to a chaotic behaviour above 4 MeV of excitation energy. As the strength distributions follow a Porter-Thomas distribution much of the dipole strength is found in weak and in unresolved resonances appearing as fluctuating cross section. An analysis of this quasi-continuum - here applied to nuclear resonance fluorescence in a novel way - delivers dipole strength functions, which are combining smoothly to those obtained from (g,n)-data. Enhancements at 6.5 MeV and at ~9 MeV are linked to the pygmy dipole resonances postulated to occur in heavy nuclei.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, proceedings Nuclear Physics in Astrophysics II, May 16-20, Debrecen, Hungary. The original publication is available at www.eurphysj.or

Photon-induced Nucleosynthesis: Current Problems and Experimental Approaches

Photon-induced reactions play a key role in the nucleosynthesis of rare neutron-deficient p-nuclei. The paper focuses on (gamma,alpha), (gamma,p), and (gamma,n) reactions which define the corresponding p-process path. The relation between stellar reaction rates and laboratory cross sections is analyzed for photon-induced reactions and their inverse capture reactions to evaluate various experimental approaches. An improved version S_C(E) of the astrophysical S-factor is suggested which is based on the Coulomb wave functions. S_C(E) avoids the apparent energy dependence which is otherwise obtained for capture reactions on heavy nuclei. It is found that a special type of synchrotron radiation available at SPring-8 that mimics stellar blackbody radiation at billions of Kelvin is a promising tool for future experiments. By using the blackbody synchrotron radiation, sufficient event rates for (gamma,alpha) and (gamma,p) reactions in the p-process path can be expected. These experiments will provide data to improve the nuclear parameters involved in the statistical model and thus reduce the uncertainties of nucleosynthesis calculations.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures, EPJA, accepte

Begleitevaluation der arbeitsmarktpolitischen Integrationsmaßnahmen für Geflüchtete: Schlussbericht

Dieser Schlussbericht präsentiert wissenschaftliche Erkenntnisse über Umsetzung, Inanspruchnahme, Wirkungen und Wirtschaftlichkeit der arbeitsmarktpolitischen Integrationsmaßnahmen für Geflüchtete. Es werden die Fragen beantwortet, wie effektiv und effizient die zentralen Maßnahmen der Arbeitsförderung in den Rechtskreisen SGB II und SGB III für Personen im Kontext von Fluchtmigration im Hinblick auf ihre Arbeitsmarktintegration und soziale Teilhabe sind, und welche Faktoren, wie etwa Sprachförderung und individuelle und lokale Kontextfaktoren, die Maßnahmenwirksamkeit verstärken oder hemmen. Die kausalanalytisch angelegte Auswertung administrativer Daten wird durch die Untersuchung von Befragungsdaten und eine umfassende Implementationsanalyse ergänzt. Aus den empirischen Erkenntnissen abgeleitete Handlungsempfehlungen geben schließlich Impulse, um die Organisation, Prozesse und Rahmenbedingungen der arbeitsmarktpolitischen Integrationsmaßnahmen für Geflüchtete so zu gestalten, dass ihre positiven Wirkungen weiter verstärkt werden können.This final report presents findings on the implementation, utilization, effects and economic efficiency of labor market integration measures for refugees. It answers the questions of how effective and efficient the central employment measures of SGB II and SGB III are for refugee migrants with regard to their labor market integration and social participation, and which factors, such as language support and individual and local context factors, strengthen or inhibit the effectiveness of the measures. The causal analysis of administrative data is complemented by the examination of survey data and a comprehensive implementation analysis. Finally, policy recommendations derived from the empirical findings provide impulses for designing the organization, processes and framework conditions of labor market integration measures for refugees in such a way that their positive effects can be further enhanced

Соціологія сім'ї. Частина 1. Сім'я як соціальний інститут

Конспект містить теоретичний матеріал за темами першого модуля курсу "Соціологія сім'ї", що надає можливість студентам засвоїти базові поняття з соціології сім'ї, розкриває сутність основних функцій, етапів розвитку сім'ї та типів сімейних структур. Призначено для студентів спеціальності 054 "Соціологія"

Anticholinesterase Activity Of Endemic Plant Extracts From Soqotra

A total of 30 chloroform and methanol extracts from the following endemic Soqotran plants Acridocarpus socotranus Olive, Boswellia socotranao Balf.fil, Boswellia elongata Balf. fil., Caralluma socotrana N. Br, Cephalocroton socotranus Balf.f, Croton socotranus Balf. fil.., Dendrosicycos socotrana Balf.f., Dorstenia gigas Schweinf. ex Balf. fil., Eureiandra balfourii Cogn. & Balf. fil., Kalanchoe farinaceae Balf.f, Limonium sokotranum (Vierh) Radcl. Sm), Oldenlandia pulvinata , Pulicaria diversifolia ( Balf. and Pulicaria stephanocarpa Balf. were screened for their acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity by using in vitro Ellman method at 50 and 200 µg/ml concentrations. Chloroform extracts of Croton socotranus, Boswellia socotrana, Dorstenia gigas, and Pulicaria stephanocarpa as well as methanol extracts of Eureiandra balfourii exhibited inhibitory activities higher than 50 % at concentration of 200 ·g. At a concentrations of 50 ·g, the chloroform extract of Croton socotranus exhibited an inhibition of 40.6 %