Transnational Cooperation along Core Network Corridors: The Role of Corridor Fora

Corridor Fora is a young, yet important tool to promote transnational cooperation along TEN-T corridors, worthwhile scrutinizing. They bring together various stakeholders and perspectives. Public authorities and infrastructure providers and operators are the main stakeholder groups in the Corridor Fora. Experience shows that the members use the forum meetings for policy coordination and lobbying, networking and learning, but also as a source of inspiration. However, it is also important to note that some interests are underrepresented in the Fora and synergies between the corridors are not yet fully exploited. Corridor Fora are embedded in a wider system of European transport and cooperation policies. To promote transnational cooperation along the Orient/East-Med Corridor and develop understanding and trust, additional tools such as INTERREG A, INTERREG B, macro-regional strategies and bottom-up initiatives are important complementary activities. In this way, corridor development can be addressed from different perspectives to further build on cooperation traditions.Korridor-Foren sind ein junges, aber bedeutsames Instrument zur Förderung der transnationalen Zusammenarbeit entlang von TEN-V-Korridoren, das sich für eine vertiefte Betrachtung anbietet. Die Foren bringen verschiedene Akteure und Perspektiven zusammen. Öffentliche Behörden sowie Anbieter und Betreiber von Infrastrukturen sind die zentralen Akteursgruppen in den Korridor-Foren. Die Erfahrung zeigt, dass die Mitglieder die Forumssitzungen zur Koordination und Lobbyarbeit, zur Netzwerkpflege und für Lernprozesse, aber auch als Inspirationsquelle nutzen. Es muss jedoch auch darauf hingewiesen werden, dass einige Interessen in den Foren unterrepräsentiert sind und Synergien zwischen den Korridoren noch nicht vollständig genutzt werden. Korridor-Foren sind in ein umfassendes System der europäischen Verkehrspolitik und Zusammenarbeit integriert. Um die transnationale Zusammenarbeit entlang des Orient/East-Med Corridors zu fördern und gegenseitiges Verständnis und Vertrauen zu entwickeln, stellen Instrumente wie INTERREG A, INTERREG B, makroregionale Strategien und Bottom-up-Initiativen wichtige ergänzende Maßnahmen dar. Auf diese Weise kann die Korridorentwicklung aus verschiedenen Perspektiven betrachtet werden, um so auf bereits bestehenden Kooperationsbeziehungen aufzubauen

Single cell cultures of Drosophila neuroectodermal and mesectodermal central nervous system progenitors reveal different degrees of developmental autonomy

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The <it>Drosophila </it>embryonic central nervous system (CNS) develops from two sets of progenitor cells, neuroblasts and ventral midline progenitors, which behave differently in many respects. Neuroblasts derive from the neurogenic region of the ectoderm and form the lateral parts of the CNS. Ventral midline precursors are formed by two rows of mesectodermal cells and build the CNS midline. There is plenty of evidence that individual identities are conferred to precursor cells by positional information in the ectoderm. It is unclear, however, how far the precursors can maintain their identities and developmental properties in the absence of normal external signals.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>To separate the respective contributions of autonomous properties versus extrinsic signals during their further development, we isolated individual midline precursors and neuroectodermal precursors at the pre-mitotic gastrula stage, traced their development <it>in vitro</it>, and analyzed the characteristics of their lineages in comparison with those described for the embryo. Although individually cultured mesectodermal cells exhibit basic characteristics of CNS midline progenitors, the clones produced by these progenitors differ from their <it>in situ </it>counterparts with regard to cell numbers, expression of molecular markers, and the separation of neuronal and glial fate. In contrast, clones derived from individually cultured precursors taken from specific dorsoventral zones of the neuroectoderm develop striking similarities to the lineages of neuroblasts that normally delaminate from these zones and develop <it>in situ</it>.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This <it>in vitro </it>analysis allows for the first time a comparison of the developmental capacities <it>in situ </it>and <it>in vitro </it>of individual neural precursors of defined spatial and temporal origin. The data reveal that cells isolated at the pre-mitotic and pre-delamination stage express characteristics of the progenitor type appropriate to their site of origin in the embryo. However, presumptive neuroblasts, once specified in the neuroectoderm, exhibit a higher degree of autonomy regarding generation of their lineages compared to mesectodermal midline progenitors.</p

Diversos casos teratológicos en Cleridae (Coleoptera: Cleroidea) de Chile

Se describen y comentan 15 casos teratológicos en Cleridae (Coleoptera: Cleroidea) de Chile, que incluyen una asimetría cromática elitral, una distrofia ocular, una invaginación abdominal, tres distrofias apendiculares (dos en patas y una del palpo labial y maxilar), tres sinfisocerias y seis malformaciones elitrales (una plicatura, dos recogimientos y tres trematoelitrías). Estos casos se convierten en las primeras teratosis descritas en cléridos chilenos

Adversarial Anomaly Detection using Gaussian Priors and Nonlinear Anomaly Scores

Anomaly detection in imbalanced datasets is a frequent and crucial problem, especially in the medical domain where retrieving and labeling irregularities is often expensive. By combining the generative stability of a $\beta$-variational autoencoder (VAE) with the discriminative strengths of generative adversarial networks (GANs), we propose a novel model, $\beta$-VAEGAN. We investigate methods for composing anomaly scores based on the discriminative and reconstructive capabilities of our model. Existing work focuses on linear combinations of these components to determine if data is anomalous. We advance existing work by training a kernelized support vector machine (SVM) on the respective error components to also consider nonlinear relationships. This improves anomaly detection performance, while allowing faster optimization. Lastly, we use the deviations from the Gaussian prior of $\beta$-VAEGAN to form a novel anomaly score component. In comparison to state-of-the-art work, we improve the $F_1$ score during anomaly detection from 0.85 to 0.92 on the widely used MITBIH Arrhythmia Database.Comment: accepted at AI4TS @ ICDMW 202

Un caso teratológico en Eucaliga sanguinicollis Fairmaire & Germain, 1861 (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae: Alleculinae)

A teratologic case is described in a female of the beetle species Eucaliga sanguinicollis Fairmaire &amp; Germain, 1861 (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae: Alleculinae) collected in the Malleco Province, Chile (37°49’40” S; 73°00’35” W). The specimen exhibits meiomelia in both antennae, characterized by the lack of three and one antennomeres in the right and left antennae, respectively. The possible causes of the origin of these malformations are discussed.Se describe un caso teratológico en una hembra del escarabajo Eucaliga sanguinicollis Fairmaire &amp; Germain, 1861 (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae: Alleculinae), recolectada en la Provincia de Malleco, Chile (37°49’40” S; 73°00’35” W). El espécimen exhibe una meiomelia en ambas antenas, caracterizada por la falta de tres antenómeros en la antena derecha y uno en la izquierda. Se discuten las posibles causas que originaron estas malformaciones

The glutamyl-tRNA reductase from Escherichia coli: substrate recognition and interaction with the glutamate-1-semialdehyde-2,1-aminomutase

Die Tetrapyrrolbiosynthese in Pflanzen, Archaea und den meisten Bakterien beginnt mit der NADPH-abhängigen Reduktion von tRNA-gebundenem Glutamat zu Glutamat-1-semialdehyd (GSA), katalysiert durch die Glutamyl-tRNA Reduktase (GluTR). Dieser hochreaktive Aldehyd wird im folgenden Schritt von der Glutamat-1-semialdehyd-2,1-Aminomutase (GSA-AM) zu 5-Aminolävulinsäure (ALA) umgewandelt. Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit konnte die Wechselwirkung zwischen der Escherichia coli GluTR und der GSA-AM mittels Co-Immunopräzipitation und Gelfiltrationsanalysen nachgewiesen werden. Es wurde gezeigt, dass zur Komplexbildung weder Substrate noch beteiligte Cofaktoren benötigt werden. Eine wesentliche Funktion des GluTR/GSA-AM Komplexes ist die Vermeidung von unerwünschten Nebenreaktionen des reaktiven GSA mit dem Lösungsmittel durch das „metabolic channeling“, wodurch eine effiziente ALA-Bildung gewährleistet wird. Im zweiten Teil der Arbeit konnte durch Mutagenesestudien sechs konservierter Aminosäurereste des aktiven Zentrums der E. coli GluTR ein genaues Bild der Erkennung des Glutamat-Teils des Substrats im aktiven Zentrum erstellt werden. Mit Hilfe der misacylierten [14C]Gln-tRNA(Glu) wurde gezeigt, dass die Erkennung des Glutamats durch Arginin 52 und dem umgebenden Wasserstoffbrückennetzwerk nicht essentiell für die GluTR-Erkennung ist. Eine strukturelle Flexibilität der Region um Arginin 52 wurde abgeleitet. Diese eher unerwarteten Ergebnisse deuten wiederum auf eine Funktion der Aminosäurereste dieses Teils des aktiven Zentrums beim „metabolic channeling“ hin. Weiterhin konnte gezeigt werden, dass Glutamin 116 eine wichtige Funktion bei der Positionierung des NADPH Cofaktors für einen möglichst effektiven Hydridtransfer besitzt. Über das molekulare Verständnis der Funktion der Aminosäurereste im aktiven Zentrum der E. coli GluTR wurden neue Ansatzpunkte zur Identifizierung von neuen Inhibitoren und damit zur Entwicklung neuer Antibiotika und Herbizide geschaffen.The biosynthesis of tetrapyrroles in plants, archaea and most bacteria starts with the NADPH-dependent reduction of tRNA-bound glutamate to glutamate-1-semialdehyde (GSA), catalyzed by glutamyl-tRNA reductase (GluTR). During the following step this highly reactive aldehyde is transformed into 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) by glutamate-1-semialdehyde-2,1-aminomutase (GSA-AM). Within the scope of this work the interaction between the Escherichia coli GluTR and GSA-AM was shown via co-immunoprecipitation and gel permeation chromatography analysis. Complex formation was found independent of substrate and cofactors. An essential function of the GluTR/GSA-AM complex is the prevention of undesirable side reactions of the reactive GSA with the solvent via metabolic channeling, by which an efficient ALA-formation is guaranteed. During the second part of this thesis a detailed picture of recognition of the glutamate part of the substrate in the active site was achieved through mutagenesis studies of six conserved amino acid residues in the active site. Using misacylated [14C]Gln-tRNA(Glu) it was shown that glutamate recognition through arginine 52 and the surrounding hydrogen bonding network is not essential for GluTR-recognition. A structural malleability of the region around arginine 52 was deduced. These rather unexpected results indicate towards a function of the amino acid residues from this part of the active site during the metabolic channeling. Furthermore it was shown, that glutamine 116 may be crucial in the positioning of the NADPH cofactor to allow for productive hydride transfer. About the distinct function of the active site residues of the E. coli GluTR new information was provided and so new starting points to identify new inhibitors and for the development of new antibiotics and herbicides were created

Topical curcumin can inhibit deleterious effects of upper respiratory tract bacteria on human oropharyngeal cells in vitro: potential role for patients with cancer therapy induced mucositis?

Purpose: Curcumin exerts its anti-inflammatory activity via inhibition of nuclear factor κB. Oropharyngeal epithelia and residing bacteria closely interact in inflammation and infection. This in vitro model investigated the effects of curcumin on bacterial survival, adherence to, and invasion of upper respiratory tract epithelia, and studied its anti-inflammatory effect. We aimed to establish a model, which could offer insights into the host-pathogen interaction in cancer therapy induced mucositis. Methods: Moraxella catarrhalis (Mcat) and the oropharyngeal epithelial cell line Detroit 562 were used. Time-kill curves assessed the inhibition of bacterial growth and adherence assays and gentamicin protection assays determined the effect of curcumin-preincubated cells on bacterial adherence and invasion. Curcumin-mediated inhibition of pro-inflammatory activation by Mcat was determined via interleukin-8 concentrations in the supernatants. The synergistic role of secretory IgA (sIgA) on adherence was investigated. Results: Curcumin was bactericidal at concentrations >50µM. Preincubation of Detroit cells for 60min demonstrated that concentrations >100µM inhibited bacterial adherence. Together with sIgA, curcumin inhibited adherence at concentrations ≥50µM. Both 100 and 200µM curcumin significantly inhibited Mcat cell invasion. Finally, curcumin inhibited Mcat-induced pro-inflammatory activation by strongly suppressing IL-8 release. At a concentration of 200µM, 10min of curcumin exposure inhibited IL-8 release significantly, and complete suppression required a pre-exposure time of ≥45min. Conclusion: Curcumin, in clinically relevant concentrations for topical use, displayed strong antibacterial effect against a facultative upper respiratory tract pathogen by inhibiting bacterial growth, adherence, invasion, and pro-inflammatory activation of upper respiratory tract epithelial cells in vitr

Design, synthesis and RAFT polymerisation of a quinoline-based monomer for use in metal-binding composite microfibres

Metal-binding polymer fibres have attracted major attention for diverse applications in membranes for metal sequestration from waste waters, non-woven wound dressings, matrices for photocatalysis, and many more. This paper reports the design and synthesis of an 8-hydroxyquinoline-based zinc-binding styrenic monomer, QuiBoc. Its subsequent polymerisation by reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) yielded well-defined polymers, PQuiBoc, of controllable molar masses (6 and 12 kg mol−1) with low dispersities (Đ, Mw/Mn < 1.3). Protected (PQuiBoc) and deprotected (PQuiOH) derivatives of the polymer exhibited a high zinc-binding capacity, as determined by semi-quantitative SEM/EDXA analyses, allowing the electrospinning of microfibres from a PQuiBoc/polystyrene (PS) blend without the need for removal of the protecting group. Simple “dip-coating” of the fibrous mats into ZnO suspensions showed that PQuiBoc/PS microfibres with only 20% PQuiBoc content had almost three-fold higher loadings of ZnO (29%) in comparison to neat PS microfibres (11%)