Contribution of diet to the composition of the human gut microbiota

This paper is part of the Proceedings from the 2013 ENGIHR Conference in Valencia, Spain. More papers from this supplement can be found at http://www.microbecolhealthdis.net Microbial Ecology in Health & Disease 2015. © 2015 Daniela Graf et al. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 Unported License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/), permitting all non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors acknowledge the support of the European Science Foundation (ESF), in the framework of the Research Networking Programe, The European Network for Gastrointestinal Health Research.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Koulutuksellisen tasa-arvon näkymät suhteessa alueelliseen eriytymiseen

Tiivistelmä. Kandidaatin tutkielmassa käydään läpi alueellisen eriytymisen vaikutuksia koulutuksellisen tasa-arvon toteutumiseen suomalaisissa peruskouluissa. Koulutuksellisen tasa-arvon kannalta on tärkeää, että alueellisen eriytymisen seuraukset peruskouluun tunnistetaan. Tutkielma pyrkii yhteiskunnalliseen kontekstiin, mutta alueellisen eriytymisen tutkimusta on tehty enimmäkseen pääkaupunkiseudulla. Tutkielma toteutetaan kuvailevana kirjallisuuskatsauksena. Aineistona on hyödynnetty aiempaa tutkimusta alueellisesta eriytymisestä ja koulutuksellisesta tasa-arvosta. Aineiston keruussa on hyödynnetty Oulun yliopiston kirjastoa ja sähköisiä tiedonhakupalveluja. On havaittu, että alueellisen eriytymisen kehitys on kasvussa Suomessa. Kansainvälisellä tasolla eriytymiskehitys on kuitenkin ollut maltillista. Keskeisenä tuloksena on se, että koulut ovat eriytyneet alueellisen eriytymisen seurauksena oppilaspohjaltaan ja oppimistuloksiltaan. Alueellisen etnisen ja sosioekonomisen eriytymisen myötä jotkin koulut eriytyvät niin, että niiden mahdollisuudet saavuttaa hyviä arvosanoja, heikkenevät. Tämä näkyy erityisesti kaupungeissa, mutta myös Itä-Suomessa on havaittu merkkejä oppimistulosten eriytymisestä. Toinen esiin noussut tulos on kouluvalinta, joka osaltaan on kiihdyttänyt koulujen eriytymiskehitystä. Tutkimusten mukaan kouluvalintaa hyödyntävät todennäköisimmin korkeasti koulutetut ja hyvätuloiset vanhemmat. On havaittu, että kouluvalinnassa vältellään tiettyjä kouluja, jolloin kouluvalinta edesauttaa koulujen keskinäistä eriytymistä. Yleisesti ottaen suomalaista peruskoulujärjestelmää pidetään tasa-arvoisena ja kansainvälisessä vertailussa oppilaiden taustan vaikutukset oppimistuloksiin ovat lieviä. Alueellinen eriytyminen vaikuttaa negatiivisesti koulutuksellisen tasa-arvon toteutumiseen. Tutkielman laajuus ei riitä kuitenkaan kuvaamaan koko ilmiön laajuutta, vaan tutkielman ulkopuolelle jää paljon tutkimusta ja näkökulmia

Degrees of infinite words, polynomials and atoms

Our objects of study are finite state transducers and their power for transforming infinite words. Infinite sequences of symbols are of paramount i

The patatin-like lipase family in Gallus gallus

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In oviparous species, genes encoding proteins with functions in lipid remodeling, such as specialized lipases, may have evolved to facilitate the assembly and utilization of yolk lipids by the embryo. The mammalian gene family of patatin-like phospholipases (PNPLAs) has received significant attention, but studies in other vertebrates are lacking; thus, we have begun investigations of PNPLA genes in the chicken (<it>Gallus gallus</it>).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We scanned the draft chicken genome using human PNPLA sequences, and performed PCR to amplify and sequence orthologous cDNAs. Full-length cDNA sequences of galline <it>PNPLA2/ATGL, PNPLA4, -7, -8, -9</it>, and the activator protein <it>CGI-58</it>, as well as partial cDNA sequences of avian <it>PNPLA1, -3</it>, and <it>-6 </it>were obtained. The high degree of sequence identities (~50 to 80%) between the avian and human orthologs suggests conservation of important enzymatic functions. Quantitation by qPCR of the transcript levels of <it>PNPLA</it>s and <it>CGI-58 </it>in 21 tissues indicates that expression patterns and levels diverge greatly between species. A particularly interesting tissue in which certain PNPLAs may contribute to physiological specialization is the extraembryonic yolk sac.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Knowledge about the exact <it>in-vivo </it>functions of PNPLAs in any system is still sparse. Thus, studies about the temporal expression patterns and functions of the enzymes identified here, and of other already known extracellular lipases and co-factors, in the yolk sac and embryonic tissues during embryogenesis are called for. Based on the information obtained, further studies are anticipated to provide important insights of the roles of PNPLAs in the yolk sac and embryo development.</p

Balsam Poplar (Populus balsamifera; Salicaceae) Beyond the Tree Line in the Western Canadian Mainland Arctic (Northwest Territories)

Balsam poplar is the northernmost tree species in North America, with a reported range that extends generally to the tree line across the continent and beyond the tree line in Alaska, where extralimital stands growing in Arctic ecosystems on the North Slope have been documented and studied. Here we summarize existing information and report new data on extralimital stands of balsam poplar from the Arctic ecozone in the northeastern mainland Northwest Territories. These occurrences extend the geographical and ecological range of the species fully into the mainland Canadian Arctic. In this region, balsam poplar is known from four sites: two in Tuktut Nogait National Park and two along the Hornaday and Brock rivers just beyond the northwestern Park boundary. Balsam poplar was first reported from two of these sites more than 50 years ago, but those data have not been considered in most subsequent floristic and ecological work. A balsam poplar grove in Tuktut Nogait National Park consists of four discrete stands of shrubby plants growing on a low ridge adjacent to the Hornaday River; their tallest ramets measure 1.1 – 1.86 m. A larger grove along the edge of the lower Brock River consists of three large stands, the tallest ramets measuring 3.5 – 4 m. The boreal and subarctic regions of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut have large areas where balsam poplar has not been documented by herbarium specimens, including most of the forest-tundra and tree-line zones. Collections from these areas and other potential extralimital sites in the Canadian Arctic are urgently needed to document the current distribution of balsam poplar. Such data could serve as a baseline for assessing potential future alteration of the range of this species as a result of climate change.Le peuplier baumier est l’espèce arborescente qui pousse le plus au nord de l’Amérique du Nord. Son aire d’extension s’étendrait généralement jusqu’à la limite forestière du continent et au-delà de la limite forestière de l’Alaska, où des peuplements extralimites qui croissent dans les écosystèmes arctiques ont été répertoriés et étudiés sur le versant nord. Nous résumons ici des données recueillies antérieurement et publions de nouvelles données sur les peuplements extralimites de peupliers baumiers de l’écozone arctique se situant dans la partie continentale nord-est des Territoires du Nord-Ouest. Ces occurrences ont pour effet d’étendre la portée géographique et écologique de l’espèce entièrement sur la partie continentale de l’Arctique canadien. Dans cette région, le peuplier baumier se retrouve dans quatre emplacements : deux d’entre eux se trouvent dans le parc national Tuktut Nogait et les deux autres, le long des rivières Hornaday et Brock, juste au-delà de la limite nord-ouest du parc. Le peuplier baumier a été signalé dans deux de ces emplacements il y a plus de 50 ans, mais ces données n’ont pas été considérées dans la plupart des études floristiques et écologiques subséquentes. Un bocage de peupliers baumiers du parc national Tuktut Nogait consiste en quatre peuplements discrets de végétation arbustive poussant sur une dorsale basse adjacente à la rivière Hornaday; les plus grands ramets y mesurent de 1,1 à 1,86 mètre. Un bocage plus volumineux le long du rivage de la rivière Brock inférieure est composé de trois gros peuplements, où les ramets les plus grands mesurent de 3,5 à 4 mètres. Les régions boréale et subarctique des Territoires du Nord-Ouest et du Nunavut sont dotées de grandes sections où le peuplier baumier n’a pas été répertorié dans les échantillons d’herbiers, ce qui comprend la plus grande partie de la toundra forestière et les zones de limite forestière. Il faudrait procéder promptement à la collecte d’échantillons de ces régions et d’autres emplacements extralimites potentiels de l’Arctique canadien afin de pouvoir consigner la répartition actuelle du peuplier baumier. De telles données pourraient servir de point de référence pour évaluer la modification éventuelle de l’aire d’extension de cette espèce, modification attribuable au changement climatique

On growth and fluctuation of k-abelian complexity

An extension of abelian complexity, so called k-abelian complexity, has been considered recently in a number of articles. This paper considers two particular aspects of this extension: First, how much the complexity can increase when moving from a level k to the next one. Second, how much the complexity of a given word can fluctuate. For both questions we give optimal solutions. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Ideal Bose gas in fractal dimensions and superfluid 4^4He in porous media

Physical properties of ideal Bose gas with the fractal dimensionality between D=2 and D=3 are theoretically investigated. Calculation shows that the characteristic features of the specific heat and the superfluid density of ideal Bose gas in fractal dimensions are strikingly similar to those of superfluid Helium-4 in porous media. This result indicates that the geometrical factor is dominant over mutual interactions in determining physical properties of Helium-4 in porous media.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figure

Quantum sticking, scattering and transmission of 4He atoms from superfluid 4He surfaces

We develop a microscopic theory of the scattering, transmission, and sticking of 4He atoms impinging on a superfluid 4He slab at near normal incidence, and inelastic neutron scattering from the slab. The theory includes coupling between different modes and allows for inelastic processes. We find a number of essential aspects that must be observed in a physically meaningful and reliable theory of atom transmission and scattering; all are connected with multiparticle scattering, particularly the possibility of energy loss. These processes are (a) the coupling to low-lying (surface) excitations (ripplons/third sound) which is manifested in a finite imaginary part of the self energy, and (b) the reduction of the strength of the excitation in the maxon/roton region