Variabilität der Kopienzahl des TSPY-Gens auf dem Y-Chromosom unter besonderer Berücksichtigung von Hodengewebe und Hodentumoren

Die Genkopienzahl von TSPY (Testis-spezifische Protein des Y-Chromosoms) wird nach Southern Blot-Analyse auf 30 60 geschätzt. In dieser Arbeit erfolgt die Quantifizierung der TSPY-Genkopienzahl N TSPY durch Echtzeit-PCR. An Blut 51 gesunder Männer ergaben sich Werte von 26 - 180 N TSPY (Mittelwert 54). Wegen einer möglichen Rolle von N TSPY für die Prädisposition zu Hodentumoren erfolgten Analysen an Blut von 13 Seminompatienten, dies zeigte 29 60 N TSPY (Mittelwert 46). Die Ergebnisse der beiden Gruppen unterschieden sich nicht signifikant. Die TSPY-Genkopienzahlbestimmung in gesundem Hodengewebe und in Seminomen zeigte keine signifikanten Unterschiede, im Gegensatz zu Blut war allerdings die Kopienzahl im gonadalen Gewebe mit durchschnittlich 179 N TSPY signifikant erhöht. Die genomische N TSPY korreliert offensichtlich nicht mit der Prädisposition für Seminome. Es ergaben sich Hinweise auf eine physiologische somatische Variation der TSPY-Genkopienzahl

A note on the depth-from-defocus mechanism of jumping spiders

Jumping spiders are capable of estimating the distance to their prey relying only on the information from one of their main eyes. Recently, it has been shown that jumping spiders perform this estimation based on image defocus cues. In order to gain insight into the mechanisms involved in this blur-to-distance mapping as performed by the spider and to judge whether inspirations can be drawn from spider vision for depth-from-defocus computer vision algorithms, we constructed a three-dimensional (3D) model of the anterior median eye of the Metaphidippus aeneolus, a well studied species of jumping spider. We were able to study images of the environment as the spider would see them and to measure the performances of a well known depth-from-defocus algorithm on this dataset. We found that the algorithm performs best when using images that are averaged over the considerable thickness of the spider's receptor layers, thus pointing towards a possible functional role of the receptor thickness for the spider's depth estimation capabilities

The benefits of social sustainability reporting for companies and stakeholders :evidence from the German chemical industry

Companies’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities respond to the increasing expectations of society. One of the three dimensions of sustainability, also known as the triple bottom line, is social sustainability. Compared to economic and environmental sustainability, the social dimension is often neglected by companies. Especially actors in the chemical industry are having a great social responsibility and are thus constantly monitored with regard to their activities and performance. Consequently, the firms need to care for their ocial sustainability in order to secure their license to operate. This study therefore aims at identifying the current state of social sustainability reporting within chemical companies in Germany. A data set of 14 CSR reports is tested regarding the use and fulfillment of the Global Reporting Initiative’s (GRI) guidelines and indicators regarding social aspects. The results clearly indicate that social sustainability reporting is handled quite diverse concerning structure and extent among the analyzed companies. The study concludes with recommendations of how to improve the comparability of social sustainability reporting for internal and external use

Editorial: Re-Enacting Sensorimotor Experience for Cognition

Peer Reviewe