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In cardiomyocytes, Ca2+ influx through L-type voltage-gated calcium channels (LTCCs) following membrane depolarization regulates crucial Ca2+-dependent processes including duration and amplitude of the action potentials and excitation-contraction coupling. LTCCs are heteromultimeric proteins composed of the Cavα1, Cavβ, Cavα2δ and Cavγ subunits. Here, using ascorbate peroxidase (APEX2)-mediated proximity labeling and quantitative proteomics, we identified 61 proteins in the nanoenvironments of Cavβ2 in cardiomyocytes. These proteins are involved in diverse cellular functions such as cellular trafficking, cardiac contraction, sarcomere organization and excitation-contraction coupling. Moreover, pull-down assays and co-immunoprecipitation analyses revealed that Cavβ2 interacts with the ryanodine receptor 2 (RyR2) in adult cardiomyocytes, probably coupling LTCCs and the RyR2 into a supramolecular complex at the dyads. This interaction is mediated by the Src-homology 3 domain of Cavβ2 and is necessary for an effective pacing frequency-dependent increase of the Ca2+-induced Ca2+ release mechanism in cardiomyocytes.

These days, vast amounts of knowledge are available online, most of it in written form. Search engines help us access this knowledge, but aggregating, relating and reasoning with it is still a predominantly human effort. One of the key challenges for automated reasoning based on natural-language texts is the need to extract meaning (semantics) from texts. Natural language understanding (NLU) systems describe the conversion from a set of natural language utterances to terms in a particular logic. Tools for the co-development of grammar and target logic are currently largely missing. We will describe the Grammatical Logical Framework (GLF), a combination of two existing frameworks, in which large parts of a symbolic, rule-based NLU system can be developed and implemented: the Grammatical Framework (GF) and MMT. GF is a tool for syntactic analysis, generation, and translation with complex natural language grammars and MMT can be used to specify logical systems and to represent knowledge in them. Combining these tools is possible, because they are based on compatible logical frameworks: Martin-Löf type theory and LF. The flexibility of logical frameworks is needed, as NLU research has not settled on a particular target logic for meaning representation. Instead, new logics are developed all the time to handle various language phenomena. GLF allows users to develop the logic and the language parsing components in parallel, and to connect them for experimentation with the entire pipeline.

Sustainable sources are needed to meet the demand for long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids. Here the authors construct an artificial biosynthetic gene cluster in Y. lipolytica capable of producing a high concentration of PUFAs.

The cyst of the canal of Nuck is an extremely rare female hydrocele, usually occurring in children, but also in adult women. It is caused by pathology of the canal of Nuck, which is the female equivalent to the male processus vaginalis. Due to its rarity and the lack of awareness among physicians, the cyst of the canal of Nuck is a seldom-encountered entity in clinical practice and is commonly misdiagnosed. We report on a case of cyst of the canal of Nuck in a 42-year-old woman, who presented with a painful swelling at her right groin. In addition, we conducted a review of the current available literature. This review gives an overview of the anatomy, pathology, diagnostics, and treatment of the cyst of the canal of Nuck. The aim of this review is not only to give a survey, but also to raise awareness of the cyst of the canal of Nuck and serve as a reference for medical professionals.

In this paper, we investigate the application of using software-defined radio (SDR) and surface acoustic wave (SAW) device for wireless measurement of the response of in situ sensors. SDR uses software to realize different communication functions. After collecting the magnitude and phase of the response at discrete frequencies, we apply inverse Fourier transform to analyze the time domain responses which, in turn, allows for monitoring the changes of the response of the in situ sensor. We employ microwave signal flow graph concepts to improve the quality of the received signals. Comparing the normalized results obtained by SDR with those obtained from a commercial vector network analyzer (VNA), we demonstrate that the results are sufficiently close, and the SDR-based experiments can provide satisfactory measurement of the in-situ sensors. The objective is to eventually employ this wireless measurement system for soil nutrient sensing.

New digital solutions are often lacking integration and acceptance by potential users. Therefore, only a small amount of innovative software solutions is really in use. The article describes a co-creation process by integrating end-users and relevant stakeholders right in the beginning in a social innovation process. Within this process, technology is seen as an enabler of innovation getting its relevance from new social practices of the people using it (e.g. working practices). Against the background of EU funded projects conducted by the authors (GT-VET, GREEN STAR, COCOP, and ROBOHARSH) the relevance of mutual learning processes of engineers / researchers / trainers on the one side and end-users / beneficiaries / learners on the other side will become evident. Moreover, new (digital and analogue) skills of employees have been identified as key for a successful digital transformation. Thereby, this article shows a twofold perspective on social innovation in education: new skills demands for employees and mutual learning processes of developers and users/stakeholders. To obtain needed skills, traditional innovation practices have to be changed by setting up a social innovation process. Such a process design has to include stakeholder and user involvement beyond pure feedback on a new technology. Co-creation means that experience, knowledge and ideas of users will be considered to ensure high usability and impact of the new technology framed by organisational and people related measures. In this respect, the innovation process and the innovation itself is much more than technological functionality–it is a contribution to new social practices and performances of the people that innovate and use the technology.

Growing evidence suggests that epigenetic mechanisms like microRNA-mediated transcriptional regulation contribute to the pathogenesis of parkinsonism. In order to study the influence of microRNAs (miRNAs), we analyzed the miRNome 2 days prior to major cell death in α-synuclein-overexpressing Lund human mesencephalic neurons, a well-established cell model of Parkinson’s disease (PD), by next-generation sequencing. The expression levels of 23 miRNAs were significantly altered in α-synuclein-overexpressing cells, 11 were down- and 12 upregulated (P < 0.01; non-adjusted). The in silico analysis of known target genes of these miRNAs was complemented by the inclusion of a transcriptome dataset (BeadChip) of the same cellular system, revealing the G0/G1 cell cycle transition to be markedly enriched. Out of 124 KEGG-annotated cell cycle genes, 15 were present in the miRNA target gene dataset and six G0/G1 cell cycle genes were found to be significantly altered upon α-synuclein overexpression, with five genes up- (CCND1, CCND2, and CDK4 at P < 0.01; E2F3, MYC at P < 0.05) and one gene downregulated (CDKN1C at P < 0.001). Additionally, several of these altered genes are targeted by miRNAs hsa-miR-34a-5p and hsa-miR-34c-5p, which also modulate α-synuclein expression levels. Functional intervention by siRNA-mediated knockdown of the cell cycle gene cyclin D1 (CCND1) confirmed that silencing of cell cycle initiation is able to substantially reduce α-synuclein-mediated cytotoxicity. The present findings suggest that α-synuclein accumulation induces microRNA-mediated aberrant cell cycle activation in post-mitotic dopaminergic neurons. Thus, the mitotic cell cycle pathway at the level of miRNAs might offer interesting novel therapeutic targets for PD.

Prediction of response to percutaneous sclerotherapy in patients with venous malformations (VM) is currently not possible with baseline clinical or imaging characteristics. This prospective single-center study aimed to predict treatment outcome of percutaneous sclerotherapy as measured by quality of life (QoL) by using radiomic analysis of diffusion-weighted (dw) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) before and after first percutaneous sclerotherapy. In all patients (n = 16) pre-interventional (PRE-) and delta (DELTA-) radiomic features (RF) were extracted from dw-MRI before and after first percutaneous sclerotherapy with ethanol gel or polidocanol foam, while QoL was assessed using the Toronto Extremity Salvage Score (TESS) and the 36-Item Short Form Survey (SF-36) health questionnaire. For selecting features that allow differentiation of clinical response, a stepwise dimension reduction was performed. Logistic regression models were fitted and selected PRE-/DELTA-RF were tested for their predictive value. QoL improved significantly after percutaneous sclerotherapy. While no common baseline patient characteristics were able to predict response to percutaneous sclerotherapy, the radiomics signature of VMs (independent PRE/DELTA-RF) revealed high potential for the prediction of clinical response after percutaneous sclerotherapy. This proof-of-concept study provides first evidence on the potential predictive value of (delta) radiomic analysis from diffusion-weighted MRI for Quality-of-Life outcome after percutaneous sclerotherapy in patients with venous malformations.

ABSTRACT Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic human pathogen, particularly noted for causing infections in the lungs of people with cystic fibrosis (CF). Previous studies have shown that the gene expression profile of P. aeruginosa appears to converge toward a common metabolic program as the organism adapts to the CF airway environment. However, we still have only a limited understanding of how these transcriptional changes impact metabolic flux at the systems level. To address this, we analyzed the transcriptome, proteome, and fluxome of P. aeruginosa grown on glycerol or acetate. These carbon sources were chosen because they are the primary breakdown products of an airway surfactant, phosphatidylcholine, which is known to be a major carbon source for P. aeruginosa in CF airways. We show that the fluxes of carbon throughout central metabolism are radically different among carbon sources. For example, the newly recognized “EDEMP cycle” (which incorporates elements of the Entner-Doudoroff [ED] pathway, the Embden-Meyerhof-Parnas [EMP] pathway, and the pentose phosphate [PP] pathway) plays an important role in supplying NADPH during growth on glycerol. In contrast, the EDEMP cycle is attenuated during growth on acetate, and instead, NADPH is primarily supplied by the reaction catalyzed by isocitrate dehydrogenase(s). Perhaps more importantly, our proteomic and transcriptomic analyses revealed a global remodeling of gene expression during growth on the different carbon sources, with unanticipated impacts on aerobic denitrification, electron transport chain architecture, and the redox economy of the cell. Collectively, these data highlight the remarkable metabolic plasticity of P. aeruginosa; that plasticity allows the organism to seamlessly segue between different carbon sources, maximizing the energetic yield from each. IMPORTANCE Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic human pathogen that is well known for causing infections in the airways of people with cystic fibrosis. Although it is clear that P. aeruginosa is metabolically well adapted to life in the CF lung, little is currently known about how the organism metabolizes the nutrients available in the airways. In this work, we used a combination of gene expression and isotope tracer (“fluxomic”) analyses to find out exactly where the input carbon goes during growth on two CF-relevant carbon sources, acetate and glycerol (derived from the breakdown of lung surfactant). We found that carbon is routed (“fluxed”) through very different pathways during growth on these substrates and that this is accompanied by an unexpected remodeling of the cell’s electron transfer pathways. Having access to this “blueprint” is important because the metabolism of P. aeruginosa is increasingly being recognized as a target for the development of much-needed antimicrobial agents.

Passive radar is a technology that has huge potential for airspace monitoring, taking advantage of existing transmissions. However, to predict whether particular targets can be measured in a particular scenario, it is necessary to be able to model the received signal. In this paper, we present the results of a campaign in which a Pilatus PC-12 single-engine aircraft was measured with a passive radar system relying on DVB-T transmission from a single transmitter. We then present our work to simulate the bistatic RCS of the aircraft along its flight track, using both the method of moments and the shooting and bouncing ray solvers, assess the uncertainty in the simulations, and compare against the measurements. We find that our simulated RCS values are useful in predicting whether or not detection occurs. However, we see poor agreement between simulated and measured RCS values where measurements are available, which we attribute primarily to the difficulties in extracting RCS measurements from the data and to unmodeled transmission and received path effects.

Abstract Background Cis, cis-muconic acid (MA) is a dicarboxylic acid of recognized industrial value. It provides direct access to adipic acid and terephthalic acid, prominent monomers of commercial plastics. Results In the present work, we engineered the soil bacterium Corynebacterium glutamicum into a stable genome-based cell factory for high-level production of bio-based MA from aromatics and lignin hydrolysates. The elimination of muconate cycloisomerase (catB) in the catechol branch of the β-ketoadipate pathway provided a mutant, which accumulated MA at 100% molar yield from catechol, phenol, and benzoic acid, using glucose as additional growth substrate. The production of MA was optimized by constitutive overexpression of catA, which increased the activity of the encoded catechol 1,2-dioxygenase, forming MA from catechol, tenfold. Intracellular levels of catechol were more than 30-fold lower than extracellular levels, minimizing toxicity, but still saturating the high affinity CatA enzyme. In a fed-batch process, the created strain C. glutamicum MA-2 accumulated 85 g L−1 MA from catechol in 60 h and achieved a maximum volumetric productivity of 2.4 g L−1 h−1. The strain was furthermore used to demonstrate the production of MA from lignin in a cascade process. Following hydrothermal depolymerization of softwood lignin into small aromatics, the MA-2 strain accumulated 1.8 g L−1 MA from the obtained hydrolysate. Conclusions Our findings open the door to valorize lignin, the second most abundant polymer on earth, by metabolically engineered C. glutamicum for industrial production of MA and potentially other chemicals.

The reception of the Study „Anti-Semitism as a problem and a symbol“ (2015), examining perceptions of Anti-Semitism among stakeholders in Berlin was diverse. Despite this diversity in the study’s reception underlying communicative patterns of a ritualized public communication regarding anti-Semitism become obvious: the dominance of quantifying anti-Semitic phenomena (1), vague definitions of Antisemitism and dichotomization of the debate (2), dedifferentiation of anti-Semitic phenomena and the neglect of their symbolic meanings (3). The authors conclude that there is an urgent need for a sociology of knowledge approach to Anti-Semitism, embedding the analysis of anti-Semitic phenomena (problem dimension) into their communicative preconditions in the different approaches to anti-Semitism (symbolic dimension).

Die Studie „Antisemitismus als Problem und Symbol“ untersuchte die divergierenden Sichtweisen auf Antisemitismus bei Akteuren aus Berlin, die auf verschiedene Konzepte, Beobachtungsfelder, Organisationslogiken und Auseinandersetzungen um die symbolischen Aufladungen des Themas Antisemitismus zurückzuführen sind. Die Rezeption der Studie durch Massenmedien und politische Akteure war ebenso divers und ist Gegenstand des Aufsatzes. Trotz aller Divergenz in den Lesarten offenbaren sich in der Rezeption positionsübergreifende Deutungsmuster einer ritualisierten öffentlichen Kommunikation über Antisemitismus. Dies wird in drei Aspekten ausgeführt: Dominanz der Quantifizierung antisemitischer Phänomene (Quantitätsframe) und inhaltliche Entkonkretisierung (1), vage Antisemitismusdefinitionen und Dichotomisierung des Feldes (2), Entdifferenzierung von Antisemitismusphänomenen und Unterschätzung ihrer Symboldimension (3). Die Autoren schlussfolgern, dass es einer wissenssoziologisch ausgerichteten Antisemitismusforschung bedarf, die die Analyse von antisemitischen Phänomenen (Problemdimension) einbettet in die Analyse ihrer Thematisierungsweisen (Symboldimension).

The monoclonal anti-CD20 IgG1 antibody rituximab is used as a first-line treatment for B cell lymphoma. Like all therapeutic antibodies, it is a complex protein for which both safety and efficacy heavily depend on the integrity of its three-dimensional structure. Aptamers, short oligonucleotides with a distinct fold, can be used to detect minor modifications or structural variations of a molecule or protein. To detect antibody molecules in a fold state occurring prior to protein precipitation, we generated DNA aptamers that were selected for extensively heat-treated rituximab. Using the magnetic bead-based systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX), we obtained six DNA aptamer sequences (40-mers) specific for 80°C heat-treated rituximab. In silico fold prediction and circular dichroism analysis revealed a G-quadruplex structure for one aptamer, while all others exhibited a B-DNA helix. Binding affinities ranging from 8.8-86.7 nM were determined by an enzyme-linked apta-sorbent assay (ELASA). Aptamers additionally detected structural changes in rituximab treated for 5 min at 70°C, although with lower binding activity. Notably, none of the aptamers recognized rituximab in its native state nor did they detect the antibody after it was exposed to lower temperatures or different physical stressors. Aptamers also reacted with the therapeutic antibody adalimumab incubated at 80°C suggesting similar aptamer binding motifs located on extensively heat-treated IgG1 antibodies. Within this work, we obtained the first aptamer panel, which is specific for an antibody fold state specifically present prior to protein aggregation. This study demonstrates the potential of aptamer selection for specific stress-based protein variants, which has potential impact for quality control of biopharmaceuticals.

Aim: Endothelin-1 (ET-1) and angiotensin II (Ang II) are multifunctional peptide hormones that regulate the function of the cardiovascular and renal systems. Both hormones increase the intracellular production of inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) by activating their membrane-bound receptors. We have previously demonstrated that IP3-mediated sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca2+ release results in mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake and activation of ATP production. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that intact SR/mitochondria microdomains are required for metabolic IP3-mediated SR/mitochondrial feedback in ventricular myocytes.Methods: As a model for disrupted mitochondrial/SR microdomains, cardio-specific tamoxifen-inducible mitofusin 2 (Mfn2) knock out (KO) mice were used. Mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake, membrane potential, redox state, and ATP generation were monitored in freshly isolated ventricular myocytes from Mfn2 KO mice and their control wild-type (WT) littermates.Results: Stimulation of ET-1 receptors in healthy control myocytes increases mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake, maintains mitochondrial membrane potential and redox balance leading to the enhanced ATP generation. Mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake upon ET-1 stimulation was significantly higher in interfibrillar (IFM) and perinuclear (PNM) mitochondria compared to subsarcolemmal mitochondria (SSM) in WT myocytes. Mfn2 KO completely abolished mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake in IFM and PNM mitochondria but not in SSM. However, mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake induced by beta-adrenergic receptors activation with isoproterenol (ISO) was highest in SSM, intermediate in IFM, and smallest in PNM regions. Furthermore, Mfn2 KO did not affect ISO-induced mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake in SSM and IFM mitochondria; however, enhanced mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake in PNM. In contrast to ET-1, ISO induced a decrease in ATP levels in WT myocytes. Mfn2 KO abolished ATP generation upon ET-1 stimulation but increased ATP levels upon ISO application with highest levels observed in PNM regions.Conclusion: When the physical link between SR and mitochondria by Mfn2 was disrupted, the SR/mitochondrial metabolic feedback mechanism was impaired resulting in the inability of the IP3-mediated SR Ca2+ release to induce ATP production in ventricular myocytes from Mfn2 KO mice. Furthermore, we revealed the difference in Mfn2-mediated SR-mitochondrial communication depending on mitochondrial location and type of communication (IP3R-mRyR1 vs. ryanodine receptor type 2-mitochondrial calcium uniporter).

Autologous skin grafting was developed more than 3500 years ago. Several approaches and techniques have been discovered and established in burn care since then. Great achievements were made during the 19th and 20th century. Many of these techniques are still part of the surgical burn care. Today, autologous skin grafting is still considered to be the gold standard for burn wound coverage. The present paper gives an overview about the evolution of skin grafting and its usage in burn care nowadays.

This article presents the statistical analysis of bistatic radar rural ground clutter for different terrain types under low grazing angles. Compared to most state-of-the-art analysis, we present country-specific clutter analysis for subgroups of rural environments rather than for the rural environment as a whole. Therefore, the rural environment analysis is divided into four dominant subgroup terrain types, namely fields with low vegetation, fields with high vegetation, plantations of small trees and forest environments representing a typical rural German environment. We will present the results for both the summer and the winter vegetation. Therefore, bistatic measurement campaigns have been carried out during the summer 2019 and the winter of 2019/20 in the aforementioned four different rural terrain types. The measurements were performed in the radar relevant X-band at a center frequency of 8.85 GHz and over a bandwidth of 100 MHz according to available transmit permission. The distinction of the rural terrain into different subgroups enables a more precise and accurate clutter analysis and modeling of the statistical properties as will be shown in the presented results. The statistical properties are derived from the calculated clutter amplitudes probability density functions and corresponding cumulative distribution functions for each of the four terrain types and the corresponding season. The data basis for the clutter analysis are the processed range-Doppler maps from the bistatic radar measurements. According to the authors’ current knowledge, a similar investigation based on real bistatic radar measurement data with the division into terrain subgroups has not yet been carried out and published for a German rural environment.

ObjectiveTo compare the efficacy and safety as well as associated image quality of catheter-directed CT angiography (CCTA) with a low dose of iodine contrast agent compared to intravenous CTA in patients undergoing endovascular aortic aneurysm repair (EVAR).MethodsRetrospective data analysis of 92 patients undergoing EVAR between January 2009 and December 2017 was performed. Patients were divided in two groups; those receiving CTA (n = 59) after intravenous contrast agent application and those receiving CCTA (n = 33) via an intraarterial catheter placed in the descending aorta. Demographic and cardiovascular risk factors as well as renal function parameters before, immediately after and 6-60 months after EVAR were evaluated. As primary endpoint, changes in serum creatinine levels in the two groups were evaluated. Secondary endpoints encompassed complications associated with intraarterial catheter placement. Objective (signal-to-noise ratios) and subjective image quality (5-point Likert scale) were compared.ResultsAmount of contrast medium was significantly lower in CCTA compared to i.v. CTA (23 ± 7 ml vs. 119 ± 15 ml, pConclusionsCatheter-directed CTA is safe and provides comparable image quality with a substantial retrenchment of the needed amount of iodine-based contrast medium. However, no benefit of the reduced contrast medium protocol with respect to renal function was observed.

Background. Liver transplantation (LT) is a curative treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and the underlying primary liver disease; however, tumor recurrence is still a major issue. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess predictors and risk factors for HCC recurrence after LT in patients within and outside the Milan criteria with a special focus on the impact of different bridging strategies. Methods. All patients who underwent LT for HCC between 07/2002 and 09/2016 at the University Hospital of Muenster were consecutively included in this retrospective study. Database research was performed and a multivariable regression analysis was conducted to explore potential risk factors for HCC recurrence. Results. A total of 82 patients were eligible for the statistical analysis. Independent of bridging strategy, achieving complete remission (CR) was significantly associated with a lower risk for tumor recurrence (p = 0.029; OR = 0.426, 95% CI 0.198-0.918). A maximal diameter of lesion < 3 cm was also associated with lower recurrence rates (p = 0.040; OR = 0.140, 95% CI 0.022-0.914). Vascular invasion proved to be an independent risk factor for HCC recurrence (p = 0.004; OR = 11.357, 95% CI 2.142-60.199). Conclusion. Achieving CR prior to LT results in a significant risk reduction of HCC recurrence after LT independent of the treatment modalities applied.

Proposed in 1994, the ``QED project'' was one of the seminally influential initiatives in automated reasoning: It envisioned the formalization of ``all of mathematics'' and the assembly of these formalizations in a single coherent database. Even though it never led to the concrete system, communal resource, or even joint research envisioned in the QED manifesto, the idea lives on and shapes the research agendas of a significant part of the communityThis paper surveys a decade of work on representation languages and knowledge management tools for mathematical knowledge conducted in the KWARC research group at Jacobs University Bremen.It assembles the various research strands into a coherent agenda for realizing the QED dream with modern insights and technologies.

Forest landscape restoration is a widely accepted approach to sustainable forest management. In addition to revitalizing degraded sites, forest landscape restoration can increase the supply of sustainable timber and thereby reduce logging in natural forests. The current study presents a spatial land use optimization model and utilizes a linear programming algorithm that integrates timber production and timber processing chains to meet timber demand trade-offs and timber supply. The objective is to maximize yield and profit from forest plantations under volatile timber demands. The model was parameterized for a case study in Thai Nguyen Province, Vietnam, where most forest plantations grow Acacia mangium (A. mangium). Data were obtained from field surveys on tree growth, as well as from questionnaires to collect social-economic information and determine the timber demand of local wood processing mills. The integration of land use and wood utilization approaches reduces the amount of land needed to maintain a sustainable timber supply and simultaneously leads to higher yields and profits from forest plantations. This forest management solution combines economic and timber yield aspects and promotes measures focused on economic sustainability and land resource efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has long been thought that biomedical doctoral students pursue careers primarily as tenure-track/tenured faculty at research institutions. Recent reports showed, however, that the majority of biomedical doctoral alumni engage in a variety of careers. Wayne State University (WSU) undertook a project to understand the career trajectories of its biomedical doctoral alumni to create programs to better prepare its students for careers in multiple pathways. Data were collected on career outcomes of WSU's biomedical doctoral alumni who graduated in a 15-year period from 1999-2014. Careers were classified into three tiers by Employment Sector, Career Types and Job Functions and career paths were examined by alumni gender, race, U.S. citizenship status, and association with certain academic characteristics. Several statistically significant differences in career paths among all demographics were found. For example, women were more likely to be in teaching and providing healthcare, men in faculty and research; Black alumni pursued careers in Government at higher rates and Whites in For-Profit careers; Asians and non-U.S. citizens spent more time in training positions than others. There was no association of academic characteristics such as GRE, GPA, and Time-to-Degree completion with careers in the two largest sectors of Academia or For-profit. Since our trainees are engaged in this rich variety of careers essential to advancing biomedical science and research nationally, it is imperative for the graduate training community to embrace all careers as successful, and transform the model for biomedical doctoral training to foster student success across this broad career spectrum.

We investigated soluble carbohydrate transport in trees that differed in their phloem loading strategies in order to better understand the transport of photosynthetic products into the roots and the rhizosphere as this knowledge is needed to better understand the respiratory processes in the rhizosphere. We compared beech, which is suggested to use mainly passive loading of transport sugars along a concentration gradient into the phloem, with ash that uses active loading and polymer trapping of raffinose family oligosaccharides (RFOs). We pulse-labeled 20 four-year old European beech and 20 four-year old ash trees with 13CO2 and tracked the fate of the label within different plant compartments. We extracted soluble carbohydrates from leaves, bark of stems and branches, and fine roots, measured their amount and isotopic content and calculated their turnover times. In beech one part of the sucrose was rapidly transported into sink tissues without major exchange with storage pools whereas another part of sucrose was strongly exchanged with unlabeled possibly stored sucrose. In contrast the storage and allocation patterns in ash depended on the identity of the transported sugars. RFO were the most important transport sugars that had highest turnover in all shoot compartments. However, the turnover of RFOs in the roots was uncoupled from the shoot. The only significant relation between sugars in the stem base and in the roots of ash was found for the amount (r2 = 0.50; p = 0.001) and isotopic content (r2 = 0.47; p = 0.01) of sucrose. The negative relation of the amounts suggested an active transport of sucrose into the roots of ash. Sucrose concentration in the root also best explained the concentration of RFOs in the roots suggesting that RFO in the roots of ash may be resynthesized from sucrose. Our results interestingly suggest that in both tree species only sucrose directly entered the fine root system and that in ash RFOs are transported indirectly into the fine roots only. The direct transport of sucrose might be passive in beech but active in ash (sustained active up- and unloading to co-cells), which would correspond to the phloem loading strategies. Our results give first hints that the transport of carbohydrates between shoot and root is not necessarily continuous and involves passive (beech) and active (ash) transport processes, which may be controlled by the phloem unloading.

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) is a key method for studying (electro-)chemical changes in metal-ion battery electrode materials. In a recent publication, we pointed out a conflict in binding energy (BE) scale referencing at alkali metal samples, which is manifested in systematic deviations of the BEs up to several eV due to a specific interaction between the highly reactive alkali metal in contact with non-conducting surrounding species. The consequences of this phenomenon for XPS data interpretation are discussed in the present manuscript. Investigations of phenomena at surface-electrolyte interphase regions for a wide range of materials for both lithium and sodium-based applications are explained, ranging from oxide-based cathode materials via alloys and carbon-based anodes including appropriate reference chemicals. Depending on material class and alkaline content, specific solutions are proposed for choosing the correct reference BE to accurately define the BE scale. In conclusion, the different approaches for the use of reference elements, such as aliphatic carbon, implanted noble gas or surface metals, partially lack practicability and can lead to misinterpretation for application in battery materials. Thus, this manuscript provides exemplary alternative solutions.

We report on the realization of a liquid-filled optical microcavity and demonstrate photon-pair generation by spontaneous four-wave mixing. Our source has a spectral brightness of 45 ± 7 mW−2 s−1 MHz−1 and the bandwidth of the emitted photons is ∼300 MHz. We demonstrate tuning of the emission wavelength between 770 and 800 nm. Moreover, by employing a liquid as the nonlinear optical medium completely filling the microcavity, we observe more than a factor 103 increase of the pair correlation rate per unit pump power and a factor of 1.7 improvement in the coincidence/accidental ratio as compared to our previous measurements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose. To evaluate stent lumen visibility of a large sample of different peripheral arterial (iliac, renal, carotid) stents using magnetic resonance angiography in vitro. Materials and Methods. 21 different stents and one stentgraft (10 nitinol, 7 316L, 2 tantalum, 1 cobalt superalloy, 1 PET + cobalt superalloy, and 1 platinum alloy) were examined in a vessel phantom (vessel diameters ranging from 5 to 13 mm) filled with a solution of Gd-DTPA. Stents were imaged at 1.5 Tesla using a T1-weighted 3D spoiled gradient-echo sequence. Image analysis was performed measuring three categories: Signal intensity in the stent lumen, lumen visibility of the stented lumen, and homogeneity of the stented lumen. The results were classified using a 3-point scale (good, intermediate, and poor results). Results. 7 stents showed good MR lumen visibility (4x nitinol, 2x tantalum, and 1x cobalt superalloy). 9 stents showed intermediate results (5x nitinol, 2x 316L, 1x PET + cobalt superalloy, and 1x platinum alloy) and 6 stents showed poor results (1x nitinol, and 5x 316L). Conclusion. Stent lumen visibility varies depending on the stent material and type. Some products show good lumen visibility which may allow the detection of stenoses inside the lumen, while other products cause artifacts which prevent reliable evaluation of the stent lumen with this technique.

Purpose. To test different peripheral arterial stents using four image reconstruction approaches with respect to lumen visualization, lumen attenuation and image noise in dual-source multidetector row CT (DSCT) in vitro. Methods and Materials. 22 stents (nitinol, steel, cobalt-alloy, tantalum, platinum alloy) were examined in a vessel phantom. All stents were imaged in axial orientation with standard parameters. Image reconstructions were obtained with four different convolution kernels. To evaluate visualization characteristics of the stent, the lumen diameter, intraluminal density and noise were measured. Results. The mean percentage of the visible stent lumen diameter from the nominal stent diameter was 74.5% ± 5.7 for the medium-sharp kernel, 72.8% ± 6.4 for the medium, 70.8% ± 6.4 for the medium-smooth and 67.6% ± 6.6 for the smooth kernel. Mean values of lumen attenuation were 299.7HU ± 127 (medium-sharp), 273.9HU ± 68 (medium), 270.7HU ± 53 (medium-smooth) and 265.8HU ± 43. Mean image noise was: 54.6 ± 6.3, 20.5 ± 1.7, 16.3 ± 1.7, 14.0 ± 2 respectively. Conclusion. Visible stent lumen diameter varies depending on stent type and scan parameters. Lumen diameter visibility increases with the sharpness of the reconstruction kernel. Smoother kernels provide more realistic density measurements inside the stent lumen and less image noise.

We investigate cut-elimination and cut-simulation in impredicative (higher-order) logics. We illustrate that adding simple axioms such as Leibniz equations to a calculus for an impredicative logic -- in our case a sequent calculus for classical type theory -- is like adding cut. The phenomenon equally applies to prominent axioms like Boolean- and functional extensionality, induction, choice, and description. This calls for the development of calculi where these principles are built-in instead of being treated axiomatically.