Steady-state oscillations of linear and nonlinear systems

In this paper, an efficient algorithm is developed for the identification of stable steady-state solutions to periodically forced linear and nonlinear dynamical systems. The developed method is based on mapping techniques introduced by Henri Poincare\u27 and the theory of one-parameter transformation groups. The algorithm successfully identifies initial conditions which give rise to strictly periodic orbits. The technique is demonstrated on selected problems associated with linear as well as nonlinear systems

Development and Application of Mass Spectrometry-based Methods for the Analysis of Protease-catalyzed Reactions

Proteasen übernehmen als hydrolytische Enzyme zentrale Funktionen in den verschiedensten physiologischen sowie pathologischen Prozessen und sind deshalb von sehr großem Interesse für die Entwicklung neuer Krankheitstherapien. Zur Analyse proteasekatalysierter Reaktionen gewann die Massenspektrometrie in den letzten Jahren zunehmend an Bedeutung. In der vorliegenden Arbeit wurden auf dieser Technologie basierende Methoden entwickelt und auf drei verschiedene Fragestellungen angewendet: (i) Bestimmung der Spaltspezifität von ADAM10 und ADAM17, (ii) Zeitaufgelöste Analyse proteasekatalysierter Reaktionen mittels LC-MS und (iii) Identifizierung von Meprin-alpha/-beta Spaltstellen in Interleukin-6.Proteases are key mediators in a variety of physiological and pathological processes. For this reason the hydrolytic enzymes present as an interesting target for the development of novel drugs. Mass spectrometry-based methods became increasingly important for the analysis of protease-catalyzed reactions within the last years. The present work focuses on the development and application of mass spectrometry-based strategies with regard to three different projects: (i) deciphering the cleavage site specificities of ADAM10 and ADAM17, (ii) time-dependent monitoring of protease-catalyzed reactions by LC-MS and (iii) identification of meprin-alpha/-beta cleavage sites in interleukin-6

Charakterisierung extrazellulärer Vesikel und Analyse ihrer Bedeutung als Regulatoren der Immunantwort

Extrazelluläre Vesikel (EV) werden von nahezu allen Säugerzellen freigesetzt. Dabei sind verschiedene EV-Populationen in der Literatur bereits beschrieben worden. Mikrovesikel stehen für große Vesikel (GEV), die von der Plasmamembran freigesetzt werden, wohingegen Exosomen kleine Vesikel (KEV) sind, die von einem intrazellulärenKompartiment freigesetzt werden. In der Pathogenese des Systemischen Lupus Erythematodes (SLE) liegt eine dysregulierte Apoptose vor, die sich in einer erhöhten Apoptoserate kombiniert mit einer verringerten Clearence darstellt. Dabei akkumulieren apoptotische Zellreste und Autoantigene, wobei noch ungeklärt ist, weswegen die Autoimmunität ausbricht. Ein Kennzeichen der Apoptose ist die Freisetzung von Vesikeln, wobei Zell-Aktivierung ebenso zur Freisetzung von Vesikeln führt. Diese gegensätzlichen Freisetzungsstimuli lassen vermuten, dass verschiedene Stimuli die Freisetzung diverser EV-Populationen verursachen. Diese Arbeit widmete sich der Charakterisierung von EV, die von T-Zellen freigesetzt wurden, unter Einbeziehung des Freisetzungsstimulus (Zell-Aktivierung vs. Apoptose-Induktion). Außerdem wurde untersucht welchen Einfluss EV auf dendritische Zellen (DZ) ausüben sowie der Frage, ob und welche Rolle EV in der Pathogenese des SLE einnehmen. Die Analyse zeigt, dass EV, isoliert von humanen T-Lymphozyten, zwei voneinander trennbare EV-Populationen (KEV = 6) eine Rolle. Zusammengefasst konnte in der hier vorliegenden Arbeit gezeigt werden, (1) dass sich zwei EV-Populationen (GEV, KEV) in Größe und Proteinexpressionsmuster unterscheiden, (2) dass die differentielle Proteinexpressionen in EV abhängig vom Freisetzungsstimulus sind, (3) dass freigesetzte EV die DZ-Reifung und das von den DZ sezernierte Zytokinprofil beeinflussen können (deutliche Inhibition der MHC- Klasse II-Expression), (4) dass beim Vergleich der Proben von SLE-Patienten vs. gesunder Individuen eine deutlich reduzierte Freisetzung von GEV und KEV bei SLE-Patienten auftritt. Außerdem zeigen Proteinanalysen von SLE-Patienten verglichen mit denen gesunder Individuen Unterschiede in der Proteinbeladung der verschiedenen EV-Subpopulationen

Caderno de resumos do 5º Seminário de Ciências dos Esportes Aquáticos

Caderno de resumos do 5º Seminário de Ciências dos Esportes Aquático

Prüfung verschiedener Erbsentypen auf deren Krankheitsanfälligkeit, Biomasse und Kornertrag

Generally, purple-flowered peas are considered to be less susceptible to soil-borne diseases and pests than white-flowered peas. Besides, forage peas usually produce more aboveground biomass and less grain yields in comparison to grain peas. Tolerance to soil-borne diseases, above- and belowground biomass and grain yields of two white-flowered (forage and grain pea, respectively) and one purple-flowered (forage pea) pea were examined in a field experiment in Bavaria, Germany. Purple-flowered peas had neither obvious higher tolerance to soil-borne diseases nor more biomass yield compared to white-flowered peas. Furthermore, the grain yields in this experiment were extremely low and there was no significant difference between the two types. A possible cause could be the unsuitable weather conditions, which caused an increased disease pressure and resulted in low grain and biomass yields. Hence, it can be assumed purple-flowered peas are generally not less susceptible to soil-borne pests than white-flowered peas

In Search of Jenkins: Taste, Style, and Credibility in Gilded-Age Journalism

In the 1860s to the 1880s, the term "Jenkins," borrowed from a British expressin for a windy and obsequious society reporter, was widely used in the U.S. as a derisive term for journalists whose prose was over-rich and whose prying was viewed as excessive. A study of the use of the "Jenkins" label offers firm clues for evaluating how readers and reporters engaged with their newspapers. And it suggests that readers had a clear understanding about relationships between style and topic in journalistic prose, violations of which opened the offender to criticism

Phosphordüngewirkung karbonisierter Biogasgärreste

P-recycling from biogas residue may play a future key role for sustainable P supply in organic farming. However, in particular transportation costs of residue need to be reduced e.g. by pretreatment. One approach is carbonization by pyrolysis or hydrothermal carbonization (HTC). In a pot trial with maize on a P-deficient, acidic sandy loam P uptake after application of two chars from pyrolysis (400 and 700 °C) and HTC (6 and 8 h dwell time) all made of the same residue was compared to P uptake after application of the raw residue and water soluble KH2PO4 respectively. P uptake was the same for KH2PO4, raw residue and both HTC treatments, but was significant lower in treatments with pyrolytic chars. Neither dwell time nor temperature had an effect. However, whereas pyrolysis raised P concentration, in HTC chars it was the same as in the raw residue. Also P was extracted from soil of pots without plants at beginning, half and end of the trial using H2O, CAT, CAL and Na-formate respectively. For CAT, CAL and Na-formate significant correlations between P uptake by maize and extractable P at all dates exist, whereas for H2O this was only true for extractable P at the end of the trial

Why Marmaduke Mizzle and the Good Shipi Wabble Fooled No One: Fake News and Metajournalistic Discourse in the Era of Journalistic Professionalization

A comparative analysis of two whimsical series about overseas adventure published in New York metro papers in the early 20th century offers insights into how readers and reporters together made meaning and evaluated knowledge from the surprisingly unfamiliar text that is the historical newspaper