Changes of Gene Expression in Euglena gracilis Obtained During the 29th DLR Parabolic Flight Campaign

Parabolic flight maneuvers of Novespace’s Airbus A310 ZERO-G produce subsequent phases of hypergravity (about 20 s), microgravity (about 22 s) and another 20 s hypergravity on experiments located in the experiment area of the aircraft. The 29th DLR parabolic flight campaign consisted of four consecutive flight days with thirty-one parabolas each day. Euglena gracilis cells were fixed with TRIzol during different acceleration conditions at the first and the last parabola of each flight. Samples were collected and analyzed with microarrays for one-color gene expression analysis. The data indicate significant changes in gene expression in E. gracilis within short time. Hierarchical clustering shows that changes induced by the different accelerations yield reproducible effects at independent flight days. Transcription differed between the first and last parabolas indicating adaptation effects in the course of the flight. Different gene groups were found to be affected in different phases of the parabolic flight, among others, genes involved in signal transduction, calcium signaling, transport mechanisms, metabolic pathways, and stress-response as well as membrane and cytoskeletal proteins. In addition, transcripts of other areas, e.g., DNA and protein modification, were altered. The study contributes to the understanding of short-term effects of microgravity and different accelerations on cells at a molecular level

Was zu tun ist, damit Maschinen den Menschen dienen

Prozesse algorithmischer Entscheidungsfindung berühren in vielen Bereichen gesellschaftliche Teilhabe. Daraus ergeben sich Herausforderungen auf vier Feldern: 1. Gesellschaftliche Angemessenheit (Haben algorithmische Systeme sinnvolle Optimierungsziele?) 2. Überprüfen und erklären der Umsetzung (Verwirklichen algorithmische Systeme die sinnvollen Ziele?) 3. Schaffen von Diversität (Ist die Vielfalt der Systeme und Betreibermodelle groß genug, um gesellschaftlich angemessen zu sein?) 4. Übergreifende Rahmenbedingungen für teilhabeförderliche algorithmische Systeme (Genügen staatliche und individuelle Gestaltungskompetenzen dem gesellschaftlichen Anspruch?) Der Beitrag stellt eine Auswahl von Lösungsideen in allen vier skizzierten Handlungsfeldern vor. Die Auswahl ist nicht umfassend und abschließend. Sie veranschaulicht aber auch in dieser Form, dass Akteure aus allen drei Sektoren Möglichkeiten haben, algorithmische Entscheidungsfindung für mehr gesellschaftliche Teilhabe zu gestalten. Es gibt viele Ideen für Maßnahmen und Methoden bzgl. der gesellschaftlichen Gestaltung, Intervention und Kontrolle algorithmischer Entscheidungsfindung. Keineswegs scheint der Mensch der Maschine ausgeliefert

The presumption of the harm caused by anticompetitive conducts, jurisprudence of the German Federal Court (Bundesgerichtshof)

De acuerdo con el Tribunal Supremo Alemán o BGH se puede presumir que el intercambio anticompetitivo de información genera un incremento de precios y por tanto un efecto perjudicial. En este artículo presentamos la evolución de la jurisprudencia a través de las sentencias relativas al cártel de la cerveza, al cártel de camiones y al de productos cosméticos. Se analizan tanto las conclusiones relativas al Derecho Administrativo alemán como las relativas al Derecho Civil de daños.According to the German Supreme Court or BGH, it can be presumed that the anticompetitive exchange of information leads to a price increase and thus to a harmful effect. In this article we present the development of jurisprudence of the German Supreme Court through the rulings on the beer cartel, the truck cartel and the cosmetics cartel. The findings concerning German administrative law are analysed as well as those concerning civil tort law

Massive sequencing of artisan cheeses from raw sheep's milk

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are used in the food industry to confer aromatic characteristicsand their antibacterial capacity. In this study the native flora of LAB that participates in thetraditional fermentation of semi-hard cheeses made with raw sheep?s milk from the regionof Andalusia, Spain was analyzed. Three samples of four different commercial cheeses weretaken. Massive sequencing was carried out to identify the lactic and accompanying flora.Predominant lactic flora was Lactococcus lactis, Streptococcus thermophilus, Lactobacillusparacasei and Lactococcus raffinolactis, and to a lesser extent other species of the generaLactobacillus, Streptococcus, Pediococcus and Leuconestoc. The accompanying florawas composed of species of the genera Mycoplasma, Pseudomonas, Acinetobacter,Chryseobacterium, Mannheimia, Trueperella, Enterococcus, Vibrio, Serratia, Macrococcus,Staphylococcus, Massilia, Flavobacterium, Yersinia, Gallaecimonas, Hafnia, Leclercia,Obesumbacterium, Morganella and Kluyvera. These results show that modern moleculartechniques are very good tools to identify natural LABs of artisanal dairy products.The characterization of the native flora of the artisanal cheese allows us to evaluate themicrobiological diversity of the natural population of LAB and the symbiosis with anothertype of flora.Fil: Ruiz, María Julia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tandil. Centro de Investigación Veterinaria de Tandil. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Centro de Investigación Veterinaria de Tandil. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comision de Investigaciones Científicas. Centro de Investigación Veterinaria de Tandil; ArgentinaFil: Etcheverría, Analía Inés. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tandil. Centro de Investigación Veterinaria de Tandil. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Centro de Investigación Veterinaria de Tandil. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comision de Investigaciones Científicas. Centro de Investigación Veterinaria de Tandil; ArgentinaFil: Padola, Nora Lía. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tandil. Centro de Investigación Veterinaria de Tandil. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Centro de Investigación Veterinaria de Tandil. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comision de Investigaciones Científicas. Centro de Investigación Veterinaria de Tandil; ArgentinaFil: Krüger, Alejandra. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tandil. Centro de Investigación Veterinaria de Tandil. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Centro de Investigación Veterinaria de Tandil. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comision de Investigaciones Científicas. Centro de Investigación Veterinaria de Tandil; ArgentinaFil: Medina, Luis. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba; Argentin

NOA1, a Novel ClpXP Substrate, Takes an Unexpected Nuclear Detour Prior to Mitochondrial Import

The mitochondrial matrix GTPase NOA1 is a nuclear encoded protein, essential for mitochondrial protein synthesis, oxidative phosphorylation and ATP production. Here, we demonstrate that newly translated NOA1 protein is imported into the nucleus, where it localizes to the nucleolus and interacts with UBF1 before nuclear export and import into mitochondria. Mutation of the nuclear localization signal (NLS) prevented both nuclear and mitochondrial import while deletion of the N-terminal mitochondrial targeting sequence (MTS) or the C-terminal RNA binding domain of NOA1 impaired mitochondrial import. Absence of the MTS resulted in accumulation of NOA1 in the nucleus and increased caspase-dependent apoptosis. We also found that export of NOA1 from the nucleus requires a leptomycin-B sensitive, Crm1-dependent nuclear export signal (NES). Finally, we show that NOA1 is a new substrate of the mitochondrial matrix protease complex ClpXP. Our results uncovered an unexpected, mandatory detour of NOA1 through the nucleolus before uptake into mitochondria. We propose that nucleo-mitochondrial translocation of proteins is more widespread than previously anticipated providing additional means to control protein bioavailability as well as cellular communication between both compartments.Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Scienc

Determining graphene's induced band gap with magnetic and electric emitters

We present numerical and analytical results for the lifetime of emitters in close proximity to graphene sheets. Specifically, we analyze the contributions from different physical channels that participate in the decay processes. Our results demonstrate that measuring the emitters’ decay rates provides an efficient route for sensing graphene’s optoelectronic properties, notably the existence and size of a potential band gap in its electronic band structure

Neural Underpinnings of the Perception of Emotional States Derived From Biological Human Motion: A Review of Neuroimaging Research

Research on the perception of biological human motion shows that people are able to infer emotional states by observing body movements. This article reviews the methodology applied in fMRI research on the neural representation of such emotion perception. Specifically, we ask how different stimulus qualities of bodily expressions, individual emotional valence, and task instructions may affect the neural representation of an emotional scene. The review demonstrates the involvement of a variety of brain areas, thereby indicating how well the human brain is adjusted to navigate in multiple social situations. All stimulus categories (i.e., full-light body displays, point-light displays, and avatars) can induce an emotional percept and are associated with increased activation in an extensive neural network. This network seems to be organized around areas belonging to the so-called action observation network (PMC, IFG, and IPL) and the mentalizing network (TPJ, TP, dmPFC, and lOFC) as well as areas processing body form and motion (e.g., EBA, FBA, and pSTS). Furthermore, emotion-processing brain sites such as the amygdala and the hypothalamus seem to play an important role during the observation of emotional body expressions. Whereas most brain regions clearly display an increased response to emotional body movements in general, some structures respond selectively to negative valence. Moreover, neural activation seems to depend on task characteristics, indicating that certain structures are activated even when attention is shifted away from emotional body movements