Erich Fromm's Concept of Social Character

The term "social character" is at the center of Erich Fromm's psychoanalytical thought. The significance of this term in Fromm's approach to psychoanalysis, how he understands it, how it is molded and what its function is will be the first topic of this paper. Since I have already dealt with the concept of social character elsewhere, I would like to confine myself to a summary and say some words on the background against which Fromm developed his psychoanalytical approach

Qualität und Ertrag von Öko-Zwiebeln: Vergleich von Pflanzung und Direktsaat

Yield and quality (bulb size, sugar content and composition, pungency, initial sprout growth) of early and late transplanted and directly sown onions (cv. Sturon) were compared in field experiments (2009-2011) at different intensities of weeding (weed-free or mechanical weed control only). Early transplanting (weed-free) resulted in the highest yield and best quality performance, whereas late transplanting combined with mechanical weed control only (including harrowing weeds before transplanting onions) resulted in medium yield and quality, however, at a relatively low work-input. It is suggested that infection by powdery mildew was the key limiting factor in the development of yield and quality in late-transplanted and directly-sown onions

Ubc9 fusion-directed SUMOylation identifies constitutive and inducible SUMOylation

Constitutive and induced protein SUMOylation is involved in the regulation of a variety of cellular processes, such as regulation of gene expression and protein transport, and proceeds mainly in the nucleus of the cell. So far, several hundred SUMOylation targets have been identified, but presumably they represent only a part of the total of proteins which are regulated by SUMOylation. Here, we used the Ubc9 fusion-dependent SUMOylation system (UFDS) to screen for constitutive and induced SUMOylation of 46 randomly chosen proteins with proven or potential nuclear localization. Fourteen new UFDS-substrate proteins were identified of which eight could be demonstrated to be SUMOylated in a UFDS-independent manner in vivo. Of these, three were constitutively SUMOylated (FOS, CRSP9 and CDC37) while the remaining five substrates (CSNK2B, TAF10, HSF2BP, PSMC3 and DRG1) showed a stimulation-dependent SUMOylation induced by the MAP3 kinase MEKK1. Hence, UFDS is appropriate for the identification and characterization of constitutive and, more importantly, induced protein SUMOylation in vivo

Polyomavirus BK with rearranged noncoding control region emerge in vivo in renal transplant patients and increase viral replication and cytopathology

Immunosuppression is required for BK viremia and polyomavirus BK–associated nephropathy (PVAN) in kidney transplants (KTs), but the role of viral determinants is unclear. We examined BKV noncoding control regions (NCCR), which coordinate viral gene expression and replication. In 286 day–matched plasma and urine samples from 129 KT patients with BKV viremia, including 70 with PVAN, the majority of viruses contained archetypal (ww-) NCCRs. However, rearranged (rr-) NCCRs were more frequent in plasma than in urine samples (22 vs. 4%; P < 0.001), and were associated with 20-fold higher plasma BKV loads (2.0 × 104/ml vs. 4.4 × 105/ml; P < 0.001). Emergence of rr-NCCR in plasma correlated with duration and peak BKV load (R2 = 0.64; P < 0.001). This was confirmed in a prospective cohort of 733 plasma samples from 227 patients. For 39 PVAN patients with available biopsies, rr-NCCRs were associated with more extensive viral replication and inflammation. Cloning of 10 rr-NCCRs revealed diverse duplications or deletions in different NCCR subregions, but all were sufficient to increase early gene expression, replication capacity, and cytopathology of recombinant BKV in vitro. Thus, rr-NCCR BKV emergence in plasma is linked to increased replication capacity and disease in KTs

Cytomegalovirus and polyomavirus BK posttransplant

Virus replication and progression to disease in transplant patients is determined by patient-, graft- and virus-specific factors. This complex interaction is modulated by the net state of immunosuppression and its impact on virus-specific cellular immunity. Due to the increasing potency of immunosuppressive regimens, graft rejections have decreased, but susceptibility to infections has increased. Therefore, cytomegalovirus (CMV) remains the most important viral pathogen posttransplant despite availability of effective antiviral drugs and validated strategies for prophylactic, preemptive and therapeutic intervention. CMV replication can affect almost every organ system, with frequent recurrences and increasing rates of antiviral resistance. Together with indirect long-term effects, CMV significantly reduces graft and patient survival after solid organ and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. The human polyomavirus called BK virus (BKV), on the other hand, only recently surfaced as pathogen with organ tropism largely limited to the reno-urinary tract, manifesting as polyomavirus-associated nephropathy in kidney transplant and hemorrhagic cystitis in hematopoetic stem cell transplant patients. No licensed anti-polyoma viral drugs are available, and treatment relies mainly on improving immune functions to regain control over BKV replication. In this review, we discuss diagnostic and therapeutic aspects of CMV and BKV replication and disease posttransplantatio

Threshold behavior and electro-optical properties of twisted nematic layers with weak anchoring in the tilt and twist angle

Analytical and numerical calculations of threshold behavior and electro-optical characteristics in twisted chiral nematic layers are presented, when weak anchoring in the tilt and twist angle of the director is assumed. An analytical expression for the effective twist angle and the Freedericksz threshold voltage is derived. In cells with bistabilities, we investigate the influence of the anchoring parameters and device parameters on the width of the hysteresis. Using the 4X4-matrix formalism of Berreman [J. Opt. Soc. Am. 62, 502 (1972)], we demonstrate the influence of the weak anchoring on the transmission-versus-voltage characteristic

Physical and Biogeochemical Studies in the Subtropical and Tropical Atlantic

Maria S. Merian Cruise Report MSM18/L2 Cruise No. 18, Leg 2 May 11 – June 19, 2011 Mindelo (Cape Verde Islands) – Mindelo (Cape Verde Islands

Potent Stimulation of Blood Flow in Fingers of Volunteers after Local Short-Term Treatment with Low-Frequency Magnetic Fields from a Novel Device

A novel hand-held low-frequency magnetic stimulator (MagCell-SR) was tested for its ability to stimulate microcirculation in fingers of healthy volunteers. Blood flow during and after 5 minutes exposure was quantified using Laser Doppler Perfusion Imaging Technique. The device was positioned between the wrist and the dorsal part of the backhand. Because the increase in blood flow could be caused by a release of nitric oxide (NO) from the vascular endothelial cells we tested NO production with a fluorescence marker and quantified the measurements in cell cultures of human umbilical endothelial cells (HUVEC). Exposure increased blood flow significantly, persisted several minutes, and then disappeared gradually. In order to assess the effect of a static magnetic field, the measurements were also carried out with the device shutoff. Here, only a small increase in blood flow was noted. The application of the rotating MagCell-SR to the HUVEC cultures leads to a rapid onset and a significant increase of NO release after 15 minutes. Thus, frequencies between 4 and 12 Hz supplied by the device improve microcirculation significantly. Therefore, this device can be used in all clinical situations where an improvement of the microcirculation is useful like in chronic wound healing deficits