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Südasien, Bd. 26 Nr. 4 (2006): Formen des politischen Widerstands

Der Praxisleitfaden geht der Frage nach, wie sich die Produktion in der Metallindustrie gleichzeitig wirtschaftlich und umweltfreundlich gestalten lässt. Er basiert auf dem mit Landes- und EU-Mitteln geförderten Projekt „Lernfabrik: Ressourceneffizienz in der Produktion – Pilotprojekt Zerspanungsprozesse“ der TU Darmstadt. Im Rahmen des Projektes haben die Wissenschaftler Referenzprozesse für Bohr- und Fräsvorgänge definiert und hierzu Kennzahlen ermittelt, etwa zum Verbrauch von Schmierstoffen und Energie oder zu den entstehenden Abfallmengen. Mit Partnern aus der Praxis wurden zudem unterschiedliche Maßnahmen zur Prozessverbesserung entwickelt und analysiert. Der Praxisleitfaden dokumentiert diese Ergebnisse, soll vor allem aber auch als Anleitung für Unternehmen dienen, Kenngrößen für eigene Prozesse und Einsparpotenziale zu ermitteln. Die Neuauflage der Publikation wurde um Info-Grafiken erweitert, die einen schnelleren Einstieg in die Thematik ermöglichen.

Case Study 1: Victorian Gothic and Art Deco Ensembles of Mumbai and its Esplanade Mansion / Case Study 2: The Risk of ���Contemporising��� Historic Urban Landscapes ��� The Case of the Sacred Town of Varanasi / Case Study 3: Saving Chandni Chowk, the Mughal Ceremonial Avenue of Shahjahanabad, Heritage at Risk, H@R 2016-2019

Heritage at Risk, H@R 2016-2019

Die vorliegende Erfindung betrifft ein neues Komplexierungsmittel zur Rückgewinnung von Metallionen aus Industrieabwasser, aufweisend ein Trägermaterial, an dem Siderophore über einen Linker kovalent immobilisiert sind, wobei der Linker eine Polyethylenglykol-Kette enthält, und wobei der Linker eine Masse von 2000-3500 Da aufweist, sowie ein Verfahren zu dessen Herstellung und die Verwendung des Komplexierungsmittels bei der Rückgewinnung von Metallen aus Industrieabwässern.

The Microwaves and Radar Institute of DLR operates the airborne synthetic aperture (SAR) radar sensors F-SAR and DBFSAR. These sensors are used for investigating and demonstrating novel radar and signal processing techniques for a number of different applications. In the paper promising techniques for future Maritime Surveillance with High-Altitude Platforms (HAP) are discussed and demonstrated by using L- and X- band radar data acquired with F-SAR. A potential onboard processing concept is proposed which doesn't require conventional and time consuming SAR processing. The used techniques include automatic constant false alarm rate (CFAR) ship detection, tracking over long observation times, fusion with simultaneously acquired automatic identification system (AIS) data, and high-resolution inverse SAR (ISAR) imaging.

Die jüngsten Demonstrationen in Burma sind eine erneute Bewährungsprobe für demokratische Werte in einer Welt, die zumindest in politischer Hinsicht größtenteils demokratisch ist., südostasien – Zeitschrift für Politik • Kultur • Dialog, Bd. 23 Nr. 4 (2007): Manila–Bombay und zurück: Südasien und Südostasien

Partizipative Bio-Baumwollzüchtung mit Bäuerinnen und Bauern in Indien.

This article provides first insights into some of the fascinating aspects of astrobiology. The central focus of this research theme is directed towards questions which have interested humans for millennia: How has life developed? Where do we come from? Are we alone in the Universe? In order to approach these questions, astrobiology brings together a variety of disciplines such as astronomy, astrophysics, biology, biochemistry, chemistry, geology, mineralogy, and cosmology. In particular, scientists are more and more interested into the biological aspects and the interactions of (micro)-organisms with their geological environment. This interest is further fueled by numerous NASA and ESA missions to Mars that have spawned new insights into Mars as a potential habitat for life. Earth analog environments, which are characterized by conditions that occur in other parts of our solar system in even more extreme forms play an important role for astrobiological research. Examples include habitats that are characterized by extreme dryness and/or coldness such as the Atacama Desert in Chile, liquid asphalt lakes in Trinidad or the permafrost areas in Siberia. Extremophilic microorganisms such as cyanobacteria and methanogenic archaea or higher organisms such as lichens and bryophytes are used as model organisms to study the limits of life under simulated extreme conditions. In recent years, an active research network has been established in the Berlin-Brandenburg region that carried out joint astrobiology and habitability studies and which among other projects is currently conducting an ESA experiment onboard the International Space Station ISS.

System Erde; 5

Recessive mutations in the anoctamin 5 (ANO5) gene have been recently identified in families with limb girdle muscular dystrophy (LGMD2L) and distal non-dysferlin Miyoshi myopathy. Anoctamin 5 is supposed to be a putative calcium-activated chloride channel. We report five German patients (four index patients) with muscle dystrophy due to mutations in the ANO5 gene. Sequencing of the ANO5 exons 5, 13 and 20 was performed to screen for a common c.191dupA mutation and two other reported mutations (c.1295CG and p.R758C). The whole coding region of the ANO5 gene was sequenced to identify new mutations. Phenotypically, three patients showed LGMD and one patient Miyoshi type distal myopathy. One sibling had asymptomatic hyperCKemia. The age at onset was 64, 38 and 40 years in patients with LGMD and 23 years in the patient with distal myopathy. The four symptomatic patients showed remarkable asymmetric muscle involvement. There was marked CK elevation (11 to 30 times). Electron microscopy showed multifocal gaps in the sarcolemmal membrane. All patients harboured the common c.191dupA mutation in at least one allele. Two patients with LGMD were homozygous and the third patient and his asymptomatic sister were compound heterozygous for the c.191dupA mutation and a novel p.T548I mutation. The patient with distal myopathy harboured the p.R758C mutation in the second allele. Mutations in the ANO5 gene seem to be a relatively common cause of muscular dystrophy in Germany. Cases with late onset or asymptomatic hyperCKemia can occur. Clinically, asymmetric manifestation is typical.

Nepal ist ein Land mit sehr unterschiedlicher Topographie, es erstreckt sich von 60 m bis 8848 m See- höhe mit morphologischen Einheiten vom Bergland über Hügelland bis hin zum Tiefland; seine Wirtschaft basiert überwiegend auf der Landwirtschaft. Chemische Pflanzenschutzmittel werden in- tensiv von den Landwirten in Nepal eingesetzt, um die zunehmende Nachfrage an Nahrungsmitteln für eine ständig wachsende Bevölkerung zu befriedigen. Die gebräuchlichsten Schädlingsbekämpfungs- mittel sind Malathion, Chloropyriphos, Cypermethrin, Deltametrin, Mancozeb, Methyl- Parathion, Fenvelarate, Dichlorvos, Endosulfan, Chlorpyriphos+Cypermethrin, Dimethoat, Carbendazim und Dithan. Obgleich die Regierung unsachgemäßen Gebrauch von Schädlingsbekämpfungsmitteln als Gesundheitsproblem erkannte und Schutzbestimmungen formulierte, können keine korrekten Umset- zungsstrategien für diese Verordnungen gefunden werden. Weil es kein geeignetes, lückenloses und leistungsfähiges Pestizid –Überwachungsprogramm gibt, kämpfen nepalesische Exporteure landwirtschaftlicher Produkte mit qualitätsbezogenen Problemen, wenn Nahrungsmittel wie Honig oder Tee in europäische Länder exportiert werden sollen. Die Be- wohner der größeren Städte insbesondere im Kathmandu Tal, die von Nahrungsmitteln abhängen, die in den peri-urbanen landwirtschaftlichen Bereichen produziert werden, konsumieren Schädlingsbe- kämpfungsmittel in unbekanntem Ausmaß. Darüber hinaus ist Nepal offiziell 2004 der Welthandelsorganisation (WTO) beigetreten und der Fort- bestand dieser Mitgliedschaft wird nur möglich sein, falls es ein wirkungsvolles Überwachungssystem gibt. Die detaillierten Daten des Ge- und Verbrauchs von Schädlingsbekämpfungsmitteln in den ver- schiedenen Landesteilen sind seit vielen Jahren aufgrund technischer und finanzieller Engpässe nur beschränkt aktualisiert worden. Die derzeitige Situation verlangt dringend nach der Implementierung von hoch entwickelten und für den Zweck angepasste analytische Verfahren zur genauen Überwachung von Rückständen von Schäd- lingsbekämpfungsmitteln in Nahrung, Boden und Trinkwasser. Die so gewonnen Daten könnten für das Management von Pflanzenschutzmitteln verwendet werden. Folglich war die Hauptzielsetzung dieser Studie, eine Methode zu entwickeln, Proben unter den schwierigen Bedingungen in Nepal zu analysieren, diese Methode für die Analyse von Nahrungsmit- tel- und Bodenproben aus den ausgewählten Bereichen des Kathmandu Tales anzuwenden, um die meist gebräuchlichsten Schädlingsbekämpfungsmittel und ihre Konzentration ermitteln zu können und dabei den ökonomisch vertretbaren Rahmen nicht zu sprengen.

Die spontane Ausbreitung nicht-einheimischer oder exotischer Arten, unabsichtlich eingeschleppt bzw. absichtlich eingefuehrt, ist heute ein weltweit zu beobachtendes Phaenomen. Arten werden in grossem Umfang zwischen Kontinenten ausgetauscht und innerhalb der Kontinente verfrachtet; in erster Linie eine Folge des weltweiten Handels und Reiseverkehrs. Einige (aber nicht alle) dieser verwilderten Exoten breiten sich rasant aus und ihr Massenvorkommen zieht nachteilige Auswirkungen auf Mensch und Umwelt nach sich. Solche invasive Arten sind heutzutage ein zentrales Thema im internationalen Naturschutz und in der oekologischen Forschung. Die Ausbreitung invasiver Organismen, als biologische Invasionen bezeichnet, gilt mittlerweile neben Lebensraumzerstoerung als die zweitwichtigste Ursache des weltweiten Artenrueckganges. Die Mechanismen, die zu einer biologischen Invasion fuehren koennen, sind sehr vielfaeltig und beruhen auf Eigenschaften der Arten sowie des betreffenden neuen Lebensraumes. Offene Habitate mit geringem Konkurrenzdruck anderer Arten und ohne spezialisierte Frassfeinde und Pathogene zeigen sich als besonders anfaellig fuer die Besiedlung invasiver Arten. Unter invasive Arten fallen auch solche, die in der Land- und Forstwirtschaft Schaeden verursachen oder die Gesundheit des Menschen gefaehrden. In der Schweiz sind ueber 800 exotische Pflanzen-, Tier-, und Pilz-Arten etabliert, von diesen gelten 107 Arten als invasiv. Welche Massnahmen ergriffen werden sollen, richtet sich nach der Haeufigkeit der Art, aber auch nach der Zielsetzung. Die kostenguenstigsten Massnahmen sind praeventive Massnahmen. Die Gruende, wie es zu biologischen Invasionen kommen kann, welche Eigenschaften invasive Arten aufweisen, ob und wie schnell sich verschleppte Arten im neuen Verbreitungsgebiet evolutiv veraendern koennen, und welches die beste Strategie im Umgang mit invasiven Arten ist, ist Gegenstand dieser Schrift.

We introduce LTAG-spinal, a novel variant of traditional Lexicalized Tree Adjoining Grammar (LTAG) with desirable linguistic, computational and statistical properties. Unlike in traditional LTAG, subcategorization frames and the argument–adjunct distinction are left underspecified in LTAG-spinal. LTAG-spinal with adjunction constraints is weakly equivalent to LTAG. The LTAG-spinal formalism is used to extract an LTAG-spinal Treebank from the Penn Treebank with Propbank annotation. Based on Propbank annotation, predicate coordination and LTAG adjunction structures are successfully extracted. The LTAG-spinal Treebank makes explicit semantic relations that are implicit or absent from the original PTB. LTAG-spinal provides a very desirable resource for statistical LTAG parsing, incremental parsing, dependency parsing, and semantic parsing. This treebank has been successfully used to train an incremental LTAG-spinal parser and a bidirectional LTAG dependency parser.

The cadherin superfamily comprises transmembrane glycoproteins that mediate calciumdependent homophilic cell-cell adhesion. In addition to their pivotal role in mechanical adhesion between cells, cadherins have multiple functions in tissue morphogenesis, cell recognition and sorting, regulated cell motility and the induction and maintenance of tissue/cell polarity. T-cadherin (T-cad) is unusual member of cadherin superfamily; while possessing the Nterminal tandem cadherin repeat structure (EC domain), it lacks both transmembrane and cytoplasmic domains, and is bound to the plasma membrane via a glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchor. T-cad has five EC domains and a propeptide in its precursor form (130kDa), which upon cleavage gets converted to mature form (105kDa). A role for T-cad in tissue organization was first demonstrated in the avian embryonic nervous system where the protein influenced the pattern of neural crest cell migration and maintained somite polarity. Many cancer cell lines (e.g. breast, colon, lung, inter alia) display allelic loss of T-cad which is correlated with tumor progression, and hence T-cad has been described as tumor suppressor gene. T-cad is widely expressed in the vasculature and is upregulated in proliferative vascular disorders such as atherosclerosis and restenosis. GPI-anchored T-cad is not localized at adherent junctions but rather distributed globally over the cell surface. T-cad is localized within lipid rafts. In vitro data supports participation of T-cad in many cellular processes such as vascular differentiation, migration and proliferation of smooth muscle cells (SMC) and endothelial cells (EC) and angiogenesis. Adenoviral mediated overexpression of T-cad in EC and SMC results in cell cycle progression and a concomitant promotion of proliferation. T-cad exhibits deadhesive functions upon homophilic ligation with antibody against T-cad or with immobilized recombinant protein. Homophilic ligation of T-cad induces polarization and migration of endothelial cells in a RhoA/ROCK and Rac dependent fashion. T-cad stimulates in-gel outgrowth of endothelial sprouts in 3-dimensional EC-spheroid and heart tissue models of angiogenesis. In vivo, myoblast-mediated delivery of recombinant soluble T-cad to mouse skeletal muscle facilitates VEGF-induced angiogenesis, supporting a physiological role for Tcad as a proangiogenic protein. The present thesis is focused on the regulation of T-cad expression and the signaling mechanisms whereby T-cad affects vascular cell behavior. The conditions of proliferative vascular cell disorders in which T-cad is upregulated are associated with oxidative stress and cell survival/cell death. We observed an elevation in T-cad levels under condition of oxidative stress induced by serum-deprivation and H2O2; this response was normalized upon inclusion of an antioxidant, N-acetyl cysteine or NADPH oxidase inhibitor diphenyleneiodonium, suggesting T- cad induction by reactive oxygen species is NADPH oxidase dependent. Adenoviral mediated overexpression of T-cad in EC facilitated EC survival upon induction of apoptosis by serumdeprivation and various apoptosis-inducing pharmacologicals. Western blot analysis of lysates infected with Empty –adenovirus (E-EC) and T-cad adenovirus (T-cad+-EC) resulted in hyperactivity of anti-apoptotic proteins (Akt and mTOR target p70S6 kinase) and diminished activity of pro-apoptotic proteins (p38MAPK and active caspase3). PI3 kinase inhibitor, wortmannin, and mTOR inhibitor, rapamycin, normalized anti-apoptotic effects of T-cad; these data suggest that upregulation of T-cad in response to oxidative stress functions to protect EC by concomitant induction of PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway and suppression of p38/caspase3 pathways. Subsequently we focused on identifying downstream targets of Akt and candidate proximal molecular mediators for T-cad. T-cad+-EC exhibited hyperphosphorylation of glycogen synthase kinase β (GSK3β) and concomitant nuclear accumulation of active β-catenin, a transcription factor regulating cell cycle proteins. Using various GSK3β-carrying adenovectors (kinase mutant, dominant negative or wild type) we demonstrated that T-cad induced nuclear accumulation of β-catenin is GSK3β-dependent. siRNA mediated knockdown of T-cad resulted in decreased phosphorylation of Akt and GSK3β and also in reduced nuclear accumulation of β- catenin. T cell factor (TCF) and Leukocyte enhancer factor (LEF) are co-factors for β-catenin; we found that luciferase (reporter) activity of TCF/LEF elements in T-cad+-EC was markedly increased as compared to E-EC. Cyclin D1, one of the important regulators of the cell cycle is a target of β-catenin/TCF/LEF transcription machinery; T-cad+-EC showed increased mRNA and protein levels of cyclin D1 and increased cell proliferation. In searching for molecular mediators of T-cad we considered Integrin linked kinase (ILK) as a putative candidate because both the proteins are located in rafts and ILK acts upstream of Akt and GSK3β in a PI3K-dependent fashion. T-cad+-EC exhibited increased ILK “kinase” activity in a pull-down assay. RNAimediated knockdown of ILK abrogated effects of T-cad on both phosphorylation of Akt and GSK3β and the nuclear accumulation β-catenin, suggesting involvement of ILK in T-cad signaling. Confocal microscopy studies revealed colocalisation of T-cad and ILK in EC which was most prominent within leading edges of migratory cells and at focal adhesions. Anti-ILK immunoprecipitates contained T-cad indicating the existence of T-cad/ILK complexes, and supporting our hypothesis that ILK can function as a proximal molecular mediator for T-cadelicited PI3K/Akt/GSK3β signaling. Transcriptional regulation of T-cad in endothelial cells is poorly understood. To characterize the minimal promoter region of T-cad, we cloned serially deleted fragments of Tcad promoter stretches into luciferase reporter vector (pGL3). Reporter gene analysis exhibited basal levels of luciferase activity within -285bps suggesting existence of minimal promoter region within -285bps from translational start site. Oxidative stress elevated reporter activity of -285 bps construct, suggesting the minimal promoter region might be responsible for the redox sensitivity of T-cad expression. To identify regulatory elements (transcription factors) responsible for T-cad regulation gel shift assays were performed using nuclear extracts of EC and various oligos designed from T-cad promoter region from -1 to -284 bps We identified specific binding of regulatory protein(s) between -156 to -203 bps. Nuclear extracts from serumdeprived EC exhibited increased binding to -156 to -203 bps oligo, suggesting that the identified nucleoprotein complex could function to induce T-cad expression under conditions of oxidative stress. To identify transcription factor(s) within the identified nucleoprotein complex we performed pull-down assay using nuclear extracts of EC, biotinylated -156 to -203 bps and streptavidin agarose beads. Proteins pulled down were subjected to microsequencing by mass spectrometry. Interestingly thioredoxin (TRX1) was found to be present. TRX1 is a 12kDa protein induced by NADPH oxidase under stress and it acts as an antioxidant by facilitating the reduction of other proteins by cysteine thiol-disulfide exchange. Following its translocation to the nucleus TRX1 reduces transcription factors, enabling their binding to regulatory elements. Preliminary data using RNAi-mediated knockdown of TRX1 abrogates oxidative stress-induced upregulation of T-cad in EC, suggesting that NADPH dependent-induction of T-cad involves nuclear translocation of TRX1. These data may explain the observations of upregulation of Tcad on vascular cells in atherosclerotic lesions where oxidative stress plays a key pathogenic role.

The Golden Apple Snail (GAS), Pomacea canaliculata (Lamarck), is a major pest of rice and other aquatic crops in many Asian farms. Farmers’ first line of defense is to use non-specific chemicals for “instant” kill of GAS, without considering its effect on their health, the environment, and non-target organisms. However, some organic rice farmers in Japan, Korea, and the Philippines do not kill GAS but manage them as bio-weeders in rice fields. We evaluated organic farmers’ innovation at the PhilRice Central Experimental Station (CES) using large fields. Then we demonstrated GAS paddy-weeding effects in several farmers’ fields in the Philippines, during the 2003 and 2004 dry (DS) and wet seasons (WS). Our own experiences and that of the farmers’ in the Philippines and Japan on the role of GAS in weed management, promotion of organic rice farming, and lessons learned are discussed.