Dialectal variation in german 3-verb clusters : a surface-oriented optimality theoretic account

We present data from an empirical investigation on the dialectal variation in the syntax of German 3-verb clusters, consisting of a temporal auxiliary, a modal verb, and a predicative verb. The ordering possibilities vary greatly among the dialects. Some of the orders that we found occur only under particular stress assignments. We assume that these orders fulfil an information structural purpose and that the reordering processes are changes only in the linear order of the elements which is represented exclusively at the surface syntactic level, PF (Phonetic Form). Our Optimality theoretic account offers a multifactorial perspective on the phenomenon

Different Flavors of Astrocytes: Revising the Origins of Astrocyte Diversity and Epigenetic Signatures to Understand Heterogeneity after Injury

Astrocytes are a specific type of neuroglial cells that confer metabolic and structural support to neurons. Astrocytes populate all regions of the nervous system and adopt a variety of phenotypes depending on their location and their respective functions, which are also pleiotropic in nature. For example, astrocytes adapt to pathological conditions with a specific cellular response known as reactive astrogliosis, which includes extensive phenotypic and transcriptional changes. Reactive astrocytes may lose some of their homeostatic functions and gain protective or detrimental properties with great impact on damage propagation. Different astrocyte subpopulations seemingly coexist in reactive astrogliosis, however, the source of such heterogeneity is not completely understood. Altered cellular signaling in pathological compared to healthy conditions might be one source fueling astrocyte heterogeneity. Moreover, diversity might also be encoded cell-autonomously, for example as a result of astrocyte subtype specification during development. We hypothesize and propose here that elucidating the epigenetic signature underlying the phenotype of each astrocyte subtype is of high relevance to understand another regulative layer of astrocyte heterogeneity, in general as well as after injury or as a result of other pathological conditions. High resolution methods should allow enlightening diverse cell states and subtypes of astrocyte, their adaptation to pathological conditions and ultimately allow controlling and manipulating astrocyte functions in disease states. Here, we review novel literature reporting on astrocyte diversity from a developmental perspective and we focus on epigenetic signatures that might account for cell type specification.Fil: Villarreal, Alejandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Biología Celular y Neurociencia "Prof. Eduardo de Robertis". Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Biología Celular y Neurociencia; ArgentinaFil: Vogel, Tanja. Albert Ludwigs University of Freiburg; Alemani

Untersuchung zur epidermalen Dicke und zur alters- und tiefenabhängigen Zusammensetzung der extrazellulären dermalen Matrix mittels Multiphotonenlasertomographie

Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit war u.a. die Frage, inwieweit das Alter des Probanden und die Messtiefe die Höhe des SAAID beeinflussen. Desweiteren standen neben der morphologi-schen, horizontalen Darstellung der einzelnen epidermalen Zellschichten auch exakte Berechnungen zur epidermalen Dicke in Abhängigkeit von Körperlokalisation und Probandenalter im Vordergrund der klinisch prospektiven Studie. 30 hautgesunde, freiwillige Probanden zwi-schen 21 und 82 Jahren, die zuvor in 3 Altersgruppen aufgeteilt wurden, unterzogen sich dazu einer einmaligen, mehrstündigen Untersuchung am MLT. Unter Verwendung der JenLab Software wurden an 2 Testfeldern (Unterarm dorsal und Handrücken) zunächst in jeder epi-dermalen Hautschicht exemplarische, morphologische Bilder generiert. Anschließend erfolgte in jedem Testareal die Aufnahme von 3 sogenannten SPC Stapeln mit je 50 Bildern. Deswei-teren erfolgten bei jedem Probanden Messungen zur Faltentiefe der Haut am optischen 3 D Messgerät PRIMOS

Welfare practice in response of child neglect: reconstruction and analysis of the discourses on family, childrearing, and motherhood

Child neglect is an ongoing social problem, estimated to affect 5 - 10 per cent of children. The term neglect describes a behavior that deviates from an ideal norm. However, both the form of this ideal norm and the definition of deviation depend on contemporary discourses and scientific positions. Historically, it has been more frequently poor families and single mothers who have been disciplined for child neglect by the state, whilst their economic situation was marginalized. Parallel current findings raise questions regarding how these discourses form, how they influence decision-making processes, and whether a continuity can be ascertained in measures of social disciplining. Our ongoing research project on welfare practice in response of child neglect aims to reconstruct and analyze current discourses on family, childrearing, and motherhood in the context of child neglect. Taking a multi-perspectival approach, it will analyze and compare the expert discourse, the political/public discourse, and the perspective of affected mothers across two different time periods in five selected Swiss cantons. Preliminary findings indicate that gender categories, especially motherhood, continue to be of great importance. On the basis of a first analysis of casefiles, one could speak of a “motherism”: in case processing and in the course of the case, responsibility is attributed to the mother, and social and pedagogical contexts are neglected, even the financial situation seems to be given less importance. Instead, the willingness to cooperate often seems to be a key factor in deciding on further interventions. Furthermore, there are indications that in decision-making processes with far-reaching consequences, legal arguments are preferred while childrearing aspects are neglected. It can also be noted that normative and sometimes stigmatizing statements do not seem to belong to the past. In this article, we will give insight into the research design and first findings and discuss the necessity of reflecting on the images of family, childrearing, and motherhood in light of the rapid social changes in the spheres of family, motherhood, and fatherhood

Diabetic Foot Osteomyelitis: Frequent Pathogens and Conservative Antibiotic Therapy

Chronic diabetic foot osteomyelitis (DFO) is a frequent complication in adult polyneuropathy patients with long-standing diabetes mellitus. Regarding the conservative therapy, there are several crucial steps in adequate diagnosing and approaches. The management should be performed in a multidisciplinary approach following the findings of recent research, general principles of antibiotic therapy for bone; and according to (inter-)national guidance. In this chapter we emphasize the overview on the state-of-the-art management regarding the diagnosis and antibiotic therapy in DFO. In contrast, in this general narrative review and clinical recommendation, we skip the surgical, vascular and psychological aspects

National interest organisations in EU policy-making

Comparative and EU interest group studies are marked by a progression towards theory-driven, large-N empirical studies in the past 20 years. With the study of national interest organisations in EU policy-making, this special issue puts centre stage a theoretically and empirically neglected topic in this research field. The individual contributions include interest group characteristics, institutional contexts as well as issue contexts as explanatory factors in their empirical analyses of multilevel interest representation. They present novel developments in the study of political alignments among interest groups and political institutions, the Europeanisation of domestic interest organisations, and the question of bias in interest group populations. Thereby, they not only contribute to the comparative study of interest groups, but also to the analysis of policy-making, multilevel governance, and political representation in the EU

Associations of Green Spaces and Streets in the Living Environment with Outdoor Activity, Media Use, Overweight/Obesity and Emotional Wellbeing in Children and Adolescents

Aspects of the living environment can affect health and wellbeing of children and adolescents. Whereas most previous studies assessed the more distant residential urban environment, less is known on possible effects of the close environment. The present study investigated associations of the proportion of streets and green spaces in the immediate urban living environment (50, 100 and 400 m around the home) with media use, outdoor activity, overweight/obesity and emotional problems in two samples of younger (age 3–10, n = 395) and older children (age 10–19, n = 405). Independently of socioeconomic parameters, a higher proportion of streets was associated with overweight/obesity (in younger and older children), higher media use (in younger children), less outdoor activity and more emotional problems (in older children). Older children’s outdoor activity in winter increased with increasing proportions of green spaces. The observations suggest that the immediate urban living environment is a factor that can affect leisure behavior and health in children

TGFβ-signaling and FOXG1-expression are a hallmark of astrocyte lineage diversity in the murine ventral and dorsal forebrain

Heterogeneous astrocyte populations are defined by diversity in cellular environment, progenitor identity or function. Yet, little is known about the extent of the heterogeneity and how this diversity is acquired during development. To investigate the impact of TGF (transforming growth factor) β-signaling on astrocyte development in the telencephalon we deleted the TGFBR2 (transforming growth factor beta receptor 2) in early neural progenitor cells in mice using a FOXG1 (forkhead box G1)-driven CRE-recombinase. We used quantitative proteomics to characterize TGFBR2-deficient cells derived from the mouse telencephalon and identified differential protein expression of the astrocyte proteins GFAP (glial fibrillary acidic protein) and MFGE8 (milk fat globule-EGF factor 8). Biochemical and histological investigations revealed distinct populations of astrocytes in the dorsal and ventral telencephalon marked by GFAP or MFGE8 protein expression. The two subtypes differed in their response to TGFβ-signaling. Impaired TGFβ-signaling affected numbers of GFAP astrocytes in the ventral telencephalon. In contrast, TGFβ reduced MFGE8-expression in astrocytes deriving from both regions. Additionally, lineage tracing revealed that both GFAP and MFGE8 astrocyte subtypes derived partly from FOXG1-expressing neural precursor cells.Fil: Weise, Stefan Christopher. Universität Freiburg Im Breisgau; AlemaniaFil: Villarreal, Alejandro. Universität Freiburg Im Breisgau; Alemania. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Biología Celular y Neurociencia "Prof. Eduardo de Robertis". Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Biología Celular y Neurociencia; ArgentinaFil: Heidrich, Stefanie. Universität Freiburg Im Breisgau; AlemaniaFil: Dehghanian, Fariba. University Of Isfahan; Irán. Universität Freiburg Im Breisgau; AlemaniaFil: Schachtrup, Christian. Universität Freiburg Im Breisgau; AlemaniaFil: Nestel, Sigrun. Universität Freiburg Im Breisgau; AlemaniaFil: Schwarz, Jennifer. Universität Freiburg Im Breisgau; AlemaniaFil: Thedieck, Kathrin. Universität Oldenburg; Argentina. University of Groningen; Países BajosFil: Vogel, Tanja. Universität Freiburg Im Breisgau; Alemani