Circuitry of nuclear factor κB signaling

Over the past few years, the transcription factor nuclear factor (NF)-κB and the proteins that regulate it have emerged as a signaling system of pre-eminent importance in human physiology and in an increasing number of pathologies. While NF-κB is present in all differentiated cell types, its discovery and early characterization were rooted in understanding B-cell biology. Significant research efforts over two decades have yielded a large body of literature devoted to understanding NF-κB's functioning in the immune system. NF-κB has been found to play roles in many different compartments of the immune system during differentiation of immune cells and development of lymphoid organs and during immune activation. NF-κB is the nuclear effector of signaling pathways emanating from many receptors, including those of the inflammatory tumor necrosis factor and Toll-like receptor superfamilies. With this review, we hope to provide historical context and summarize the diverse physiological functions of NF-κB in the immune system before focusing on recent advances in elucidating the molecular mechanisms that mediate cell type-specific and stimulus-specific functions of this pleiotropic signaling system. Understanding the genetic regulatory circuitry of NF-κB functionalities involves system-wide measurements, biophysical studies, and computational modeling

Minimal surfaces from circle patterns: Geometry from combinatorics

We suggest a new definition for discrete minimal surfaces in terms of sphere packings with orthogonally intersecting circles. These discrete minimal surfaces can be constructed from Schramm's circle patterns. We present a variational principle which allows us to construct discrete analogues of some classical minimal surfaces. The data used for the construction are purely combinatorial--the combinatorics of the curvature line pattern. A Weierstrass-type representation and an associated family are derived. We show the convergence to continuous minimal surfaces.Comment: 30 pages, many figures, some in reduced resolution. v2: Extended introduction. Minor changes in presentation. v3: revision according to the referee's suggestions, improved & expanded exposition, references added, minor mistakes correcte

Visibility of Cold Atomic Gases in Optical Lattices for Finite Temperatures

In nearly all experiments with ultracold atoms time-of-flight pictures are the only data available. In this paper we present an analytical strong-coupling calculation for those time-of-flight pictures of bosons in an optical lattice in the Mott phase. This allows us to determine the visibility, which quantifies the contrast of peaks in the time-of-flight pictures, and we suggest how to use it as a thermometer.Comment: Author Information under http://www.theo-phys.uni-essen.de/tp/ags/pelster_dir

Much ado about doing nothing : the conflicts about the Black Forest National Park as a call for integrating forgotten understandings of nature

The Black Forest National Park (NP), Germany, opened in 2014 after intense societal disputes, complicated by changing political factors, scientific conservation debates, and multi-level decision-making structures. I argue that value conflicts over fundamentally opposed views on nature underlie these disputes, and that integrating these views in future NP planning may improve the sustainability of conservation efforts. Through addressing cultural, social and emotional dimensions of nature, in addition to scientific and economic concerns, conservation can gain wider public support. By analyzing qualitative semi-structured stakeholder interviews with both supporters and opponents,alongside newspaper articles, findings show that understandings of nature differ between interest groups. Proponents emphasized ecological benefits and contributions to protecting biodiversity and habitats; meanwhile, opponents feared consequences for daily life, the economy, aesthetics, livelihood and homeland identity, revealing that forests of cultural landscapes can represent more than a natural resource. The thesis situates the Black Forest debates in a broader context, incorporating historical forest use, the forest myth, morality, wilderness ideas, previous conflicts and current political charging, complementing previous natural scientific studies of the NP and quantitative analysis of its public support. The thesis contributes to sustainability science by recommending how to improve participation in and acceptance of NP planning