Developmental Growth Control Exerted via the Protein A Kinase Tpk2 in Ashbya gossypii.

Sporulation in Ashbya gossypii is induced by nutrient-limited conditions and leads to the formation of haploid spores. Using RNA-seq, we have determined a gene set induced upon sporulation, which bears considerable overlap with that of Saccharomyces cerevisiae but also contains A. gossypii-specific genes. Addition of cyclic AMP (cAMP) to nutrient-limited media blocks sporulation and represses the induction of sporulation specific genes. Deletion of the protein kinase A (PKA) catalytic subunits encoded by TPK1 and TPK2 showed reduced growth in tpk1 but enhanced growth in the tpk2 strain; however, both mutants sporulated well. Sporulation can be blocked by cAMP in tpk1 but not in tpk2 strains. Similarly, TPK2 acts at a second developmental switch promoting the break in spore dormancy. In S. cerevisiae, PKA phosphorylates and inhibits Msn2/4. The transcript profiles of the tpk1 and msn2/4 mutants were very similar to that of the wild type under sporulation conditions. However, deletion of the single A. gossypii MSN2/4 homolog generated a specific sporulation defect. We identified a set of genes involved in spore wall assembly that was downregulated in the msn2/4 mutant, particularly DIT2, suggesting that poor spore viability may be due to lysis of spores. Our results reveal specific functional differences between the two catalytic PKA subunits in A. gossypii and identified Tpk2 as the key A kinase that transduces developmental decisions of growth. Our data also suggest that Msn2/4 is involved only at a late step of sporulation in A. gossypii and is not a major regulator of IME1

The complexity of gene expression dynamics revealed by permutation entropy

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: High complexity is considered a hallmark of living systems. Here we investigate the complexity of temporal gene expression patterns using the concept of Permutation Entropy (PE) first introduced in dynamical systems theory. The analysis of gene expression data has so far focused primarily on the identification of differentially expressed genes, or on the elucidation of pathway and regulatory relationships. We aim to study gene expression time series data from the viewpoint of complexity. RESULTS: Applying the PE complexity metric to abiotic stress response time series data in Arabidopsis thaliana, genes involved in stress response and signaling were found to be associated with the highest complexity not only under stress, but surprisingly, also under reference, non-stress conditions. Genes with house-keeping functions exhibited lower PE complexity. Compared to reference conditions, the PE of temporal gene expression patterns generally increased upon stress exposure. High-complexity genes were found to have longer upstream intergenic regions and more cis-regulatory motifs in their promoter regions indicative of a more complex regulatory apparatus needed to orchestrate their expression, and to be associated with higher correlation network connectivity degree. Arabidopsis genes also present in other plant species were observed to exhibit decreased PE complexity compared to Arabidopsis specific genes. CONCLUSIONS: We show that Permutation Entropy is a simple yet robust and powerful approach to identify temporal gene expression profiles of varying complexity that is equally applicable to other types of molecular profile data

Living Conditions and the Mental Health and Well-being of Refugees: Evidence from a Large-Scale German Survey

Refugees are at an increased risk of mental health problems and low subjective well-being. Living circumstances in the host country are thought to play a vital role in shaping these health outcomes, which, in turn, are prerequisites for successful integration. Using data from a representative survey of 4325 adult refugees who arrived in Germany between 2013 and 2016, we investigated how different living conditions, especially those subject to integration policies, are associated with psychological distress and life satisfaction using linear regression models. Our findings show that an uncertain legal status, separation from family, and living in refugee housing facilities are related to higher levels of distress and decreased life satisfaction. Being employed, contact to members of the host society, and better host country language skills, by contrast, are related to reduced distress and higher levels of life satisfaction. These associations should inform decision making in a highly contested policy area

Proton irradiation of gold targets for 197(m)Hg production

Introduction Irradiation of gold with protons provides access to no-carrier-added 197mHg and 197Hg. Interests in these radionuclides were awakened by the unique chemical and physical properties of mercury and its compounds combined with convenient nuclear properties like suitable half life (197mHg: T1/2 = 23.8 h, 197Hg: T1/2 = 64.14 h), low energy gamma radiations for imaging, Auger – and conversion electrons for therapy. The high thermal conductivity of gold enables high current irradiations and the monoisotopic natural abundance of 197Au supersedes expensive enrichment of the target material. The 197Au(p,n)197(m)Hg reaction was applied until now only for beam monitoring1, stacked foil meas-urements2 or very small scale tracer production. Material and Methods The irradiations were performed at a Cyclone 18/9 (IBA, Louvain la Neuve, Belgium). Its beam-line was sealed with a 1.0 mm vacuum foil (high purity aluminum, 99.999 %) from Goodfellow (Huntingdon, England). High purity gold disks (23 mm diameter, 2 mm thickness, 99.999% pure, 1 ppm Cu) as target material were purchased from ESPI (Ashland, USA). Gold foils as alternative gold targets (12.5×12.5 mm, 0.25 mm thickness, 99.99+ %, 1 ppm Cu) between an aluminum disk (22 mm diameter, 1 mm thickness, 99.0 %, hard) and an aluminum lid (23 mm diameter, 99.0 %, hard) were purchased from Goodfellow (Huntingdon, England). Hydrochloric acid (30%) and nitric acid (65%) were purchased from Roth (Karlsruhe, Germany) in Rotipuran® Ultra quality. Deionized water with > 18 MΩcm resistivity was prepared by a Milli-Q® system (Millipore, Molsheim, France). For separation of target material and side products a liquid-liquid extraction method (Gold was extracted with methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK) from 2 M HCl target solution) and an ion exchange method (cation exchange resin (Dowex50W-x8, 100–200 mesh, H+ form) were applied. Results and Conclusion No-carrier-added 197(m)Hg was produced from gold via the 197Au(p,n)197(m)Hg reaction at proton energies of 10 MeV in sufficient quantity and quality for imaging studies. Two different methods were studied for the separation of Hg radionuclides generated from Au targets. The results demonstrate the possibility to produce 197(m)Hg from gold at low proton energies. Combined with the presented radiochemical separation methods, the 197Au(p,n) reaction could be the basis for repeatable production of 197(m)Hg for imaging and therapy research on sufficient activity level

Wie nötig ist ein »Anti-Rezessionsprogramm«?

Ist die Forderung nach staatlichen Maßnahmen angesichts der sich abkühlenden Konjunktur sinnvoll, oder ist ein Konjunkturprogramm teuer und wenig effizient? Walther Otremba, Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Technologie, warnt davor, die wirtschaftlichen Probleme in den USA und in Europa zu leicht zu nehmen. Otremba unterstreicht, dass kurzfristige Konjunkturentwicklungen und längerfristige Wachstumsbewegungen eng miteinander verbunden sind. Deshalb sei es sinnvoll, bestimmte wirtschafts- und finanzpolitische Maßnahmen phasengerecht zu verwirklichen. Jürgen Rüttgers, Ministerpräsident von Nordrhein-Westfalen, fordert ein langfristig angelegtes Anti-Rezessionsprogramm für eine Politik für mehr Wachstum und Innovation. Unter anderem geht es ihm um eine Vereinfachung des Steuerrechts, ein nationales Rohstoffkonzept und bessere Regeln für die Finanzmärkte. Für Michael Hüther, Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft Köln, ist die derzeitige zyklische Abschwächung vor allem durch die Kreditmarktkrise und die Entwicklung an den internationalen Rohstoffmärkten verursacht. Da die beiden Schocks in erster Linie die volkswirtschaftliche Angebotsseite beträfen, liege die wirtschaftspolitische Herausforderung darin, insbesondere die Anpassungsflexibilität der Unternehmen zu stärken. Denn nur so könne der angebotsseitige Schock angemessen und hinreichend schnell verarbeitet werden. Für Otto Kentzler, Zentralverband des Deutschen Handwerks, zeigen alle bisherigen Erfahrungen, dass der Versuch, durch kreditfinanzierte staatliche Ausgabenprogramme die Konjunktur zu steuern und zu verstetigen, zum Scheitern verurteilt ist. Auch Volker Treier, Deutscher Industrie- und Handelskammertag, warnt vor Anti-Rezessionsprogrammen: Sie enden in der Schuldenfalle, kommen regelmäßig zur Unzeit und verdrängen privates Engagement. Und für Kurt J. Lauk, Wirtschaftsrat der CDU, sind die meisten Konjunkturprogramme wirkungslos und teuer.Konjunktur, Wachstumspolitik, Staat, Deutschland

Auto, Motor, Schrott

Die Schließung von Stoffströmen über Wiederverwendung und -verwertung von Produkten ist im Sinne einer effektiven Kreislaufwirtschaft wünschenswert. Dies kann über eine vorgeschriebene Produktverantwortung der Hersteller befördert werden und auch ökonomisch sinnvoll sein. Doch mit beiden Ansätzen sind zahlreiche Probleme verbunden

Ultrafast Photo-Induced Charge Transfer Unveiled by Two-Dimensional Electronic Spectroscopy

The interaction of exciton and charge transfer (CT) states plays a central role in photo-induced CT processes in chemistry, biology and physics. In this work, we use a combination of two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy (2D-ES), pump-probe measurements and quantum chemistry to investigate the ultrafast CT dynamics in a lutetium bisphthalocyanine dimer in different oxidation states. It is found that in the anionic form, the combination of strong CT-exciton interaction and electronic asymmetry induced by a counter-ion enables CT between the two macrocycles of the complex on a 30 fs timescale. Following optical excitation, a chain of electron and hole transfer steps gives rise to characteristic cross-peak dynamics in the electronic 2D spectra, and we monitor how the excited state charge density ultimately localizes on the macrocycle closest to the counter-ion within 100 fs. A comparison with the dynamics in the radical species further elucidates how CT states modulate the electronic structure and tune fs-reaction dynamics. Our experiments demonstrate the unique capability of 2D-ES in combination with other methods to decipher ultrafast CT dynamics.Comment: 14 pages, 11 figures, and Supporting informatio

Atomic Layer Deposition Derived Zirconia Coatings on Ni‐Rich Cathodes in Solid‐State Batteries: Correlation Between Surface Constitution and Cycling Performance

Protective coatings are required to address interfacial incompatibility issues in composite cathodes made from Ni-rich layered oxides and lithium thiophosphate solid electrolytes (SEs), one of the most promising combinations of materials for high energy and power density solid-state battery (SSB) applications. Herein, the preparation of conformal ZrO2 nanocoatings on a LiNi0.85Co0.10Mn0.05O2 (NCM85) cathode-active material (CAM) by atomic layer deposition (ALD) is reported and the structural and chemical evolution of the modified NCM85 upon heat treatment—a post-processing step often required to boost battery performance—is investigated. The coating properties are shown to have a strong effect on the cyclability of high-loading SSB cells. After mild annealing (≈400 °C), the CAM delivers high specific capacities (≈200 mAh g−1 at C/10) and exhibits improved rate capability (≈125 mAh g−1 at 1C) and stability (≈78% capacity retention after 200 cycles at 0.5C), enabled by effective surface passivation. In contrast, annealing temperatures above 500 °C lead to the formation of an insulating interphase that negatively affects the cycling performance. The results of this study demonstrate that the preparation conditions for a given SE/CAM combination need to be tailored carefully and ALD is a powerful surface-engineering technique toward this goal