The A-theoretic Farrell–Jones conjecture for virtually solvable groups

We prove the A -theoretic Farrell–Jones conjecture for virtually solvable groups. As a corollary, we obtain that the conjecture holds for S -arithmetic groups and lattices in almost connected Lie groups

Phenomenological scaling laws for ‘‘semidilute’’ macromolecule solutions from light scattering by optical probe particles

Polymer solution dynamics may be inferred from light scattering spectra of dissolved optical probe particles. We compare a variety of probes in solutions of several polymers. In the ‘‘overlapping’’ concentration/molecular weight regime, the Stokes–Einstein equation fails by up to a factor of 2, while the probe diffusion coefficient D follows a scaling law D/D0=exp(−aMγcνRδ) (c, M, and R are the polymer concentration, molecular weight, and the probe radius, respectively). Experimentally, γ=0.8±0.1, ν=0.6–1.0, and δ=−0.1 to 0, contrary to the theoretical predictions γ=0 and δ=1. With very high molecular‐weight polymers, we observe a further ‘‘entangled’’ regime, characterized by huge (104) failures of the Stokes–Einstein equation and the appearance of ‘‘fast’’ modes in the scattering spectrum.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/70873/2/JCPSA6-82-11-5242-1.pd

Der Einfluss des ökologischen Landbaus auf das Raumnutzungsverhalten von Feldhasen (Lepus europaeus)

Agricultural intensification (AI) negatively affects biodiversity due to e.g. high-input farming. Organic farming can counteract this negative trend. Here, we studied movement behavior of the European brown hare (Lepus europaeus), which frequently occurs in agricultural landscapes but also suffers from AI with declining population densities. We measured home range sizes in relation to local field management (organic vs. conventional farming) in Upper Bavarian, Germany. Results showed that home ranges sizes decreased with increasing amount of organically managed area, while there was no relationship between conventional farmed area and hares’ movement behavior. Higher resource availability in organic fields decrease home range sizes and may therefore positively influences individual fitness and possibly boosts hare densities

Taphonomic and Diagenetic Pathways to Protein Preservation, Part II: The Case of Brachylophosaurus canadensis Specimen MOR 2598

Recent recoveries of peptide sequences from two Cretaceous dinosaur bones require paleontologists to rethink traditional notions about how fossilization occurs. As part of this shifting paradigm, several research groups have recently begun attempting to characterize biomolecular decay and stabilization pathways in diverse paleoenvironmental and diagenetic settings. To advance these efforts, we assessed the taphonomic and geochemical history of Brachylophosaurus canadensis specimen MOR 2598, the left femur of which was previously found to retain endogenous cells, tissues, and structural proteins. Combined stratigraphic and trace element data show that after brief fluvial transport, this articulated hind limb was buried in a sandy, likely-brackish, estuarine channel. During early diagenesis, percolating groundwaters stagnated within the bones, forming reducing internal microenvironments. Recent exposure and weathering also caused the surficial leaching of trace elements from the specimen. Despite these shifting redox regimes, proteins within the bones were able to survive through diagenesis, attesting to their remarkable resiliency over geologic time. Synthesizing our findings with other recent studies reveals that oxidizing conditions in the initial ~48 h postmortem likely promote molecular stabilization reactions and that the retention of early-diagenetic trace element signatures may be a useful proxy for molecular recovery potential

Engaging the community in multidisciplinary TEL research: a case-study from networking in Europe

The STELLAR Network of Excellence was launched in February 2009 with the explicit intention of Sustaining Large Scale Multi-Disciplinary Research in Technology Enhanced Learning. So as to support this aim, the network has defined a number of different activity tracks, aimed at building capacity amongst senior-level researchers/decision makers, mid-level researchers and junior researchers/PhD students as well with a separate track dedicated to building community level capacity. In the abstract, the ‘community’ around any research study might usually be defined as the subject of the research. However, the focus of the community-capacity building activities of STELLAR, considers the role of the community as object of the research – a main consumer of the products of research, and having a stake in setting the research agenda itself. Thus, on the one hand, the STELLAR consortium needs to inform its actions and activities based on needs and wishes of stakeholders, while at the same time it intends to mobilise the same stakeholders, to forge common policy positions with respect to future development of TEL in Europe. This paper takes these activities as a case-study in structured social-network design, and considers the impact such activities may have on the field of technology enhanced learning in the coming years. The data is based on the first year of activities of the network, which are intended to last 40 months and are designed around the overlapping activities of connecting, orchestrating and contextualising stakeholders. The paper describes the elements of the stakeholder engagement plan as deployed by the STELLAR network in TELeurope, the activities conducted so far, and the plans for the future. It explains the consortium’s approach to stakeholder analysis, particularly the adaptation of existing methodologies, to produce a numerical ranking of stakeholders, by ‘alliance potential’. With regards to TELeurope, an emerging social platform being deployed by the STELLAR consortium so as to help this process of networking, it explains the current state of the affairs and plans for development of the platform, while referencing the work of Svensen & Laberge, and adapts the work of Bryson to contextualise these activities within a broader theoretical framework. Finally, the paper considers the quality monitoring elements and evaluation approach of the consortium, and makes recommendations as to how the networking strategy can be further energised, and as to how the process of evaluation can be improved. It concludes that the TELeurope strategy shows a high potential for stimulating engagement of stakeholders, subject to a number of caveats, which can be avoided through judicious policy choices within the next year

Optical probe study of a nonentangling macromolecule solution--bovine serum albumin: Water

The diffusion coefficient D of polystyrene latex spheres in bovine serum albumin:water was studied as a function of protein concentration c for 0 c D fails by as much as 25 to 50%, D being larger than predicted from the sphere radius R and the solution viscosity. Probe particles with R as large as 0.62 [mu]m were used. D fits well to the form D = Doexp(-[alpha]cv) for [alpha] = 0.004 to 0.008 and v = 0.96 to 0.99. Serum albumin is a globular protein, so chain entanglement cannot cause these non-Stokes--Einsteinian effects, which are presumably due to sphere:albumin interactions. Polystyrene spheres in semidilute polyethylene oxide:water (G. S. Ullmann, K. Ullmann, R. M. Lindner, and G. D. J. Phillies, J. Phys. Chem. 89, 692 (1985)) behave similarly to spheres in serum albumin:water, suggesting that chain entanglement may also not be important in probe diffusion through semidilute polymer solutions.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/25653/1/0000205.pd

A mosaic maternal splice donor mutation in the EHMT1 gene leads to aberrant transcripts and to Kleefstra syndrome in the offspring

The euchromatic histone-lysine N-methyltransferase 1 (EHMT1) gene was examined in a 3-year-old boy with characteristic clinical features of Kleefstra syndrome. Sequencing of all 27 EHMT1 exons revealed a novel mutation, NM_024757.4:c.2712+1G>A, which affects the splice donor of intron 18. Whereas the index patient is heterozygous for that mutation, his phenotypically normal mother shows tissue-specific mosaicism. Sequencing of EHMT1 RT-PCR products revealed two aberrant transcript variants: in one variant, exon 18 was skipped; in the other, a near-by GT motif was used as splice donor and intronic sequence was inserted between exons 18 and 19. Both transcript variants were found in the patient and his mother. The latter had lower amounts of these transcripts consistent with mosaic status. This is the first description of an EHMT1 point mutation being inherited from a parent with verified mosaicism. The constitutive c.2712+1G>A splice site mutation in EHMT1 is fully pathogenic, and the transcript variants produced do not attenuate the severity of the disease.European Journal of Human Genetics advance online publication, 12 December 2012; doi:10.1038/ejhg.2012.267