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Metadata providing information about the stimulus, data acquisition, and experimentalconditions are indispensable for the analysis and management of experimental data withina lab. However, only rarely are metadata available in a structured, comprehensive, andmachine-readable form. This poses a severe problem for finding and retrieving data, bothin the laboratory and on the various emerging public data bases. Here, we propose a simpleformat, the Open metaData Markup Language (od ML), for collecting and exchangingmetadata in an automated, computer-based fashion. In od ML arbitrary metadata informa-tion is stored as extended key-value pairs in a hierarchical structure. Central to od ML isa clear separation of format and content, i.e. neither keys nor values are defined by theformat. This makes od ML flexible enough for storing all available metadata instantly with-out the necessity to submit new keys to an ontology or controlled terminology. Commonstandard keys can be defined in od ML terminologies for guaranteeing interoperability. Westarted to define such terminologies for neurophysiological data, but aim at a communitydriven extension and refinement of the proposed definitions. By customized terminologiesthat map to these standard terminologies, metadata can be named and organized as requiredor preferred without softening the standard. Together with the respective libraries providedfor common programming languages, the od ML format can be integrated into the labora-tory workflow, facilitating automated collection of metadata information where it becomesavailable. The flexibility of od ML also encourages a community driven collection anddefinition of terms used for annotating data in the neurosciences.

The yeast γ-tubulin Tub4 is assembled with Spc97 and Spc98 into the small Tub4 complex. The Tub4 complex binds via the receptor proteins Spc72 and Spc110 to the spindle pole body (SPB), the functional equivalent of the mammalian centrosome, where the Tub4 complex organizes cytoplasmic and nuclear microtubules. Little is known about the regulation of the Tub4 complex. Here, we isolated the Tub4 complex with the bound receptors from yeast cells. Analysis of the purified Tub4 complex by mass spectrometry identified more than 50 phosphorylation sites in Spc72, Spc97, Spc98, Spc110 and Tub4. To examine the functional relevance of the phosphorylation sites, phospho-mimicking and non-phosphorylatable mutations in Tub4, Spc97 and Spc98 were analyzed. Three phosphorylation sites in Tub4 were found to be critical for Tub4 stability and microtubule organization. One of the sites is highly conserved in γ-tubulins from yeast to human.

Channel noise is the dominant intrinsic noise source of neurons causing variability in the timing of action potentials and interspike intervals (ISI). Slow adaptation currents are observed in many cells and strongly shape response properties of neurons. These currents are mediated by finite populations of ionic channels and may thus carry a substantial noise component. Here we study the effect of such adaptation noise on the ISI statistics of an integrate-and-fire model neuron by means of analytical techniques and extensive numerical simulations. We contrast this stochastic adaptation with the commonly studied case of a fast fluctuating current noise and a deterministic adaptation current (corresponding to an infinite population of adaptation channels). We derive analytical approximations for the ISI density and ISI serial correlation coefficient for both cases. For fast fluctuations and deterministic adaptation, the ISI density is well approximated by an inverse Gaussian (IG) and the ISI correlations are negative. In marked contrast, for stochastic adaptation, the density is more peaked and has a heavier tail than an IG density and the serial correlations are positive. A numerical study of the mixed case where both fast fluctuations and adaptation channel noise are present reveals a smooth transition between the analytically tractable limiting cases. Our conclusions are furthermore supported by numerical simulations of a biophysically more realistic Hodgkin-Huxley type model. Our results could be used to infer the dominant source of noise in neurons from their ISI statistics.

Tourism is regarded as the world’s future. Agritourism is a unique symbiosis of agriculture and tourism. Based on extensive analysis of the state agritourism in the Czech Republic, it was found that information on agritourism facilities is very diverse and disorderly, lacking a specializedportalforagro-tourism. Agritourism facilities in th eCzech Republic is several thousand, but most of them have non-quality websites, or none at all. It should been sured that entrepreneurs in the agritourism (farmers) had knowledge easily and with minimum cost to present their own small farm on the web, such as using Web content management system (WCMS). It is proposed the new portal solution, which according to the principles ofWeb 2.0 will provide greater information sharing among the partners in the field of agri-tourism.

Natural history of facultative social taxa is important for understanding the evolution of Eusociality. However, data for the social status of many species are missing. Social status of seven European Ceratina bees was studied in Cyprus. Multifemale nests were found in five species of three different subgenera: C. (Euceratina) mandibularis, C. (E.) cypriaca, C. (E.) chrysomalla, C. (Dalyatina) parvula and C. (Neoceratina) bispinosa. No social nests were found in C. (E.) dallatoreana and C. (N.) schwarzi, in which the sample size was also small. We compared nest productivity between solitary and multifemale nests in C. cypriaca, C. mandibularis, and C. parvula. It is apparent that multifemale nests have a higher number of brood cells than solitary nests. Per capita productivity was equal in both nest types. We can conclude that facultative sociality is common in Ceratina bees of subtropical climate and social nesting is the successful strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Modern personalized medicine strategies builds on therapy companion diagnostics to stratify patients into subgroups with differential benefit/risk. In general, stratification for drug response implies a treatment-by-subgroup interaction. This interaction is usually suggested by the drug's mechanism of action and investigated in pharmacological research or in clinical studies. In these candidate genes or pathway approaches, either biological reasons for a differential benefit/risk or statistical interaction regarding a pharmacological or clinical endpoint or both may be given. For successful drug approval, demonstration of a positive benefit/risk balance in the intended patient population is required. This also applies to situations with biomarker-selected populations. However, further regulatory considerations relate to the usefulness and plausibility of the selected patients and benefit/risk extrapolations or alternative therapy options in biomarker-negative populations. Methods: To facilitate the specification of regulatory requirements and support the design of clinical development programmes, a systematic classification of biomarker-drug pairs is needed, in particular with regard to the expected underlying molecular mechanism and the clinical evidence. Results: A classification of five biomarker-drug categories is proposed related to increasing evidence on the biomarker's predictive value in relation to a specific drug. We classified biomarkers into five ascending categories with increasing evidence on the predictive nature of the biomarker in relation to a specific drug according to the comparative pharmacological and clinical evidence. Conclusions: The proposed classification will facilitate regulatory decision-making and support drug development with respect to biomarker-related subgrouping, both, during clinical programme and at the time of marketing authorization application, since the grade of evidence on the differential power of the biomarker can be considered as an indicator for the usefulness of a biomarker-related subgrouping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globalization comes with law and law comes with actors. The manner in which law travels is rarely a matter of straightforward reception, but involves processes of translation, adjustment, and capturing by a diverse range of actors. This paper looks at some systemic features of legal pluralism to pursue two aims. One is to show that Southeast Asia has centuries long histories in which religious and secular laws have become entangled with local legal orders. These histories show a multitude of trajectories depending on specific political constellations from the time of introduction onwards. The trajectories are also a result of degrees to which introduced law was (in)compatible with locally existing laws. A second aim is to highlight how intensified globalization has brought new actors on the stage. The dynamic negotiation and translating processes that occur generate shifting legal landscapes with new entanglements. Such shifting plural legal orders form the conditions under which people pursue their interests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, I undertake a critical interrogation of the complex relations of control operating in the contemporary workplace of the knowledge worker by drawing on Foucault's theorisation of power and resistance. I plot the risks to which the knowledge worker are exposed, the conditions of possibility as well as the challenges that complicate productive resistance in the workplace. In the process, I make use of an array of existing scholarly research that utilises the Foucauldian framework of the relationality of power and develops some Foucauldian concepts further and applies them to our present context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2016–2018, we carried out bat acoustic surveys in the northern part of the island of Cyprus and used two types of methods: stationary recordings (24 stations, 47:45 hours) and mobile acoustic driving transects (22 transects, 1,131 km, 54:20 hours). All bat acoustic records were attributed to habitat types obtained from CORINE Land Cover (CLC) data. We compared results from both methods and analysed seasonal and habitat associations with bat species that utilize the semi-arid Mediterranean landscape. Six selected bat species were associated with a total of 20 habitat types. The most frequent species, Pipistrellus kuhlii, was associated with almost all habitat types, with the highest flight activity in agricultural, urbanized and forested / seminatural habitats. Eptesicus serotinus and Hypsugo savii indicated preference of agricultural areas and avoidance of artificial surfaces. A χ2 test of independence revealed stronger habitat associations for stationary surveys, while habitat associations were weak for mobile transects. Given the vulnerability of Mediterranean landscapes, our study could be considered as a basis for establishing a long-term monitoring scheme with the goal of documenting predicted changes in bat communities as habitat is altered and as global temperatures rise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous work has demonstrated that short-term systemic administration of cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen-4 (CTLA-4) Ig blocks human pancreatic islet xenograft rejection in mice and induces long-term, donor-specific tolerance, whereas studies on pig pancreatic islet rejection in mice have failed to demonstrate a role for CTLA4Ig in preventing rejection. Treatment with anti-CD40 ligand (L) monoclonal antibodies alone is somewhat effective in prolonging the survival of islet xenografts, but ineffective when applied to skin xenografts. However, simultaneous blockade of the CD28 and CD40 co-stimulatory pathways prolongs the survival of pig skin on recipient mice. To evaluate the role of CD28 and CD40 co-stimulatory pathways in pig islet-like cell cluster (ICC) xenograft rejection in mice, CD40L-deficient mice transplanted with fetal porcine ICCs were given posttransplant treatment with human (h) CTLA4Ig or a human IgG1 chimeric mAb (hL6). Xenografts were evaluated 6 or 12 days after transplantation. Fetal porcine ICC xenografts were protected from rejection in hCTLA4Ig-treated CD40L-deficient mice, whereas xenograft rejection persisted in untreated CD40L-deficient mice. Simultaneous blockade of the CD28 and CD40 co-stimulatory pathways is mandatory to inhibit ICC xenograft rejection in the pig-to-mouse model, because the CD28 and CD40 co-stimulatory pathways seem capable of efficiently substituting for one another.

Knowledge of the solar radiation available on the earth’s surface is essential for the development of solar energy devices and for estimating of their performance efficiencies. For this purpose it is helpful to study the attenuation of direct normal irradiance by the atmosphere, in terms of fundamental quantities, including optical thickness, relative optical air mass, water vapor content, and aerosol amount. In the present article, we will not deal with cloudy atmospheres because of their great variability in space and time, but will focus our attention on atmospheres characterized by the complete absence of condensed water. The objectives of this article are to report data on aerosol optical depth and atmospheric turbidity coefficients for a desert climate, and to compare them with those of a temperate climate. Aerosol optical depth, the Linke turbidity factor, TL, and ngström turbidity coefficients, _, are calculated from measurements of broadband filters at Helwan, Egypt, which has a desert climate. A linear regression model is to be determined between the Linke factor and the ngström turbidity coefficient. This relation is compared with similar relations reported for a temperate climate [Prague, Czech Republic]. This comparison is made to determine whether a universal relation exists between these two important coefficients, or whether the relation is location dependent.