The vascular development is modulated by endostatin and restin

Endostatin and restin are proteolytic fragments of collagen XVIII and XV. They are described in literature as anti-angiogenic and consequently tumour-inhibitory proteins. The observation of endostatin and restin distribution as well as the distribution of their binding sites in the Embryoid Body (EB), in the embryo and during wound healing, suggests that they have an important role during vessel development. During vessel development of differentiated embryonic stem cells this two factors show both, an angiogenic and an anti-angiogenic effect by increasing endothelial proliferation and migration, processes which play an important role for vessel development and neovascularisation. On the other hand they induce endothelial apoptosis. The effect if endostatin and restin on neovascularisation and vessel development can therefore be described as an angio-modulatory. But endostatin and restin do not only influence endothelial proliferation, migration and apoptosis, they also influence endothelial morphogenesis by inducing a contraction or retraction of vessels. This phenomena was observed by vital-microscopy and deconvolution microscopy of embryonic vessels as well as during wound healing. The influence on morphogenesis leads to the question to which signaling pathways are involved. Especially for the morphogenesis our results imply that these processes are regulated by the VEGF signaling pathway or by molecules of the VEGF-signaling pathway. On cellulary level endostatin and restin show an influence of signaling molecules in endothelial cells. They lead to a dephosphorylation of the activated ERK1/2-kinase as well as to a down-regulation of the solouble Guanylate Cyclase (sGC) in a time course of 6 hours. The modulation of signaltransduction is induced by the protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) because of the fact that inhibition of PP2A prevents dephosphorylation of activated ERK1/2-kinase and down-regulation of the sGC. The dephosphorylation of the activated ERK1/2-kinase is preventable by additional cGMP. Modulatory experiments by using cGMP and ODQ suggest that cGMP, under definitive conditions is able to stabilise the phosphorylation of the activated ERK1/2-kinase

The Association between Cleaning and Disinfection of Lairage Pens and the Prevalence of Salmonella enterica in Swine at Harvest

A series of four field trials were conducted to evaluate the ability of a cleaning and disinfection procedure in swine lairage pens to reduce the prevalence of Salmonella enterica in slaughtered pigs. A cleaning and disinfection procedure was applied to lairage pens at a large Midwest abattoir. Each trial consisted of a cleaned (alkaline chloride detergent) and disinfected (H2O2 plus peracetic acid sanitizer) pen (treated) and a control pen, each holding 90 to 95 pigs for 2 to 3 h before slaughter. Ileocecal lymph nodes, cecal contents, and rectal contents were collected from 45 pigs from each study pen at harvest and cultured for S. enterica. In all trials, cleaning and disinfection reduced the prevalence of S. enterica–positive floor swabs in the treated pen (P , 0.05). However, the postharvest prevalence of S. enterica–positive pigs varied between trials. In trial 1, there was no significant difference in the prevalence of S. enterica in pigs between treatment and control groups. In trials 2 and 3, the prevalence of S. enterica was higher in pigs from treated pens versus pigs from control pens (91% versus 40%, P , 0.0001, and 91% versus 24%, P , 0.0001, respectively). In trial 4, the prevalence of S. enterica was lower in pigs from treated pens compared with pigs from control pens (5% versus 42%, P , 0.0001). This study indicates that cleaning and disinfection effectively reduces the amount of culturable S. enterica in lairage pens, but the ability of cleaned and disinfected pens to reduce the prevalence of S. enterica in market-weight pigs remains inconclusive

Language in a Fijian village : an ethnolinguistic study

This thesis investigates sociolinguistic variation in the Fijian village of Waitabu. The aim is to investigate how particular uses, functions and varieties of language relate to social patterns and modes of interaction. ·The investigation focuses on the various ways of speaking which characterise the Waitabu repertoire, and attempts to explicate basic sociolinguistic principles and norms for contextually appropriate behaviour.The general purpose is to explicate what the outsider needs to know to communicate appropriately in Waitabu community. Chapter one discusses relevant literature and the theoretical perspective of the thesis. I also detail the fieldwork setting, problems and restrictions, and thesis plan. Chapter two provides the necessary background information to this study, describing the geographical, demographical and sociohistorical setting. Description is given of the contemporary language situation, structure of Fijian (Bouma dialect), and Waitabu social structure and organisation. In Chapter 3, the kinship system which lies at the heart of Waitabu social organisation, and kin-based sociolinguistic roles are analysed. This chapter gives detailed description of the kin categories and the established modes of sociolinguistic behaviour which are associated with various kin-based social identities. Chapter 4 focuses on discourse of everyday life, dealing with the general rules and norms by which Waitabu individuals construct their everyday sociolinguistic behaviour including: male and female speech; greetings and leave-taking; deference and politeness markers; and conversational strategies. Chapter 5 provides detailed investigation of the ceremonial speech event. This event is characterised by special rules of speech and nonverbal behaviour, and is distinguishable by clearly defined opening and closing sequences with set sequencing of components in between. The chapter describes the specific principles and norms governing the linguistic, social and kinesic behaviour. In chapter 6, the decline of chiefly respect language is described. First, I detail distinguishing lexical, grammatical and speech act features of the speech style traditionally used towards the village chief. Then, I investigate the loss of these specific rules and norms in contemporary Waitabu, exploring factors in this change. Chapter 7 gives detailed description of dialect levelling evident in Waitabu. The various dialect varieties and their domains are described. Language attitudes and factors conducive to dialect shift are also investigated. Then follows analysis of how individuals creatively use these dialect differences in constructing their sociolinguistic behaviour, to mark certain contexts and role-relationships as distinct. Focus is on the specific rules and norms for sociolinguistic behaviour in the netball peer-group and in interaction with Indians. Chapter 8 investigates the special patterns of language use which characterise two institutionalised modes of communication in Waitabu society - religion and education. Chapter 9 gives a summary of the Waitabu investigation

Der Wirtschaftsstandort Vorderpfalz im Rhein-Neckar-Dreieck : Standortfaktoren, Neugründungen, Beschäftigungsentwicklung ; Expertise zur vorderpfälzischen Teilregion des Wirtschaftsstandorts "Rhein-Neckar-Dreieck" im Auftrag des Ministeriums fiir Wirtschaft, Verkehr, Landwirtschaft und Weinbau Rheinland-Pfalz

In der vorliegenden Expertise werden die Besonderheiten des rheinland-pfälzischen Teils des Rhein-Neckar-Dreiecks (RND) als Wirtschaftsstandort herausgearbeitet. Grundlage für diese Analyse bildet die im Jahre 1995 vom ZEW durchgeführte Untersuchung "Der Wirtschaftsstandort Rhein-Neckar-Dreieck - Standortprofil und Unternehmensdynamik". Die Untersuchung beschreibt und analysiert die Besonderheiten des zur Planungsgemeinschaft Rheinpfalz gehörenden Teiles des Rhein-Neckar-Dreiecks, der im folgenden mit "Vorderpfalz" bezeichnet wird. Als Vergleichsmaßstab der statistischen Auswertungen dienen das gesamte Rhein-Neckar-Dreieck und teilweise die westliche Bundesrepublik (alte Bundesländer). Der verdichtete Wirtschaftsraum Rhein-Neckar-Dreieck steht im nationalen und internationalen Wettbewerb der Wirtschaftsregionen. In der genannten Studie (Egeln et al., 1996) wurden für den Gesamtraum die Stärken und Schwächen der Region, ihre Beurteilung durch die befragten Unternehmen sowie eine Analyse der Unternehmensdynamik und Beschäftigungsentwicklung durchgeführt, Die vorliegende Expertise bildet hier eine interessante Erweiterung des Blickfeldes auf die interne Struktur des Wirtschaftsraumes, dessen strukturelle Unterscheidungen von den rechtsrheinischen Teilen des Rhein-Neckar-Dreiecks im folgenden kurz beschrieben werden,