Euro area exports and imports: Do determinants of intra- and extra-EMU trade differ?

The attempt is to explain EMU exports and imports, treating the euro area as one single economy. EMU trade is analysed separately for intra- and extra-EMU trade. One result of this approach is that extra- and intra-EMU trade seem to follow a different pattern. Therefore, a separate estimation seems preferable. This is especially true for exports. For imports, the mistake made seems to be smaller. Interestingly, the aggregate of intra- and extra-EMU trade seems to be dominated by the pattern of extra-EMU trade, although both sub-aggregates are of a similar size: Estimation equations for aggregate EMU exports are quite similar to those for extra-EMU exports and the equations for aggregate EMU imports resemble those for extra-EMU imports.

Euro area exports and imports: Do determinants of intra- and extra-EMU trade differ?

The attempt is to explain EMU exports and imports, treating the euro area as one single economy. EMU trade is analysed separately for intra- and extra-EMU trade. One result of this approach is that extra- and intra-EMU trade seem to follow a different pattern. Therefore, a separate estimation seems preferable. This is especially true for exports. For imports, the mistake made seems to be smaller. Interestingly, the aggregate of intra- and extra-EMU trade seems to be dominated by the pattern of extra-EMU trade, although both sub-aggregates are of a similar size: Estimation equations for aggregate EMU exports are quite similar to those for extra-EMU exports and the equations for aggregate EMU imports resemble those for extra-EMU imports

Parallel Structural Evolution of Mitochondrial Ribosomes and OXPHOS Complexes

The five macromolecular complexes that jointly mediate oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) in mitochondria consist of many more subunits than those of bacteria, yet, it remains unclear by which evolutionary mechanism(s) these novel subunits were recruited. Even less well understood is the structural evolution of mitochondrial ribosomes (mitoribosomes): while it was long thought that their exceptionally high protein content would physically compensate for their uniquely low amount of ribosomal RNA (rRNA), this hypothesis has been refuted by structural studies. Here, we present a cryo- electron microscopy structure of the 73S mitoribosome from Neurospora crassa, together with genomic and proteomic analyses of mitoribosome composition across the eukaryotic domain. Surprisingly, our findings reveal that both structurally and compositionally, mitoribosomes have evolved very similarly to mitochondrial OXPHOS complexes via two distinct phases: A constructive phase that mainly acted early in eukaryote evolution, resulting in the recruitment of altogether approximately 75 novel subunits, and a reductive phase that acted during metazoan evolution, resulting in gradual length-reduction of mitochondrially encoded rRNAs and OXPHOS proteins. Both phases can be well explained by the accumulation of (slightly) deleterious mutations and deletions, respectively, in mitochondrially encoded rRNAs and OXPHOS proteins. We argue that the main role of the newly recruited (nuclear encoded) ribosomal- and OXPHOS proteins is to provide structural compensation to the mutationally destabilized mitochondrially encoded components. While the newly recruited proteins probably provide a selective advantage owing to their compensatory nature, and while their presence may have opened evolutionary pathways toward novel mitochondrion-specific functions, we emphasize that the initial events that resulted in their recruitment was nonadaptive in nature. Our framework is supported by population genetic studies, and it can explain the complete structural evolution of mitochondrial ribosomes and OXPHOS complexes, as well as many observed functions of individual proteins

Aneignungs- und Aushandlungsprozesse im öffentlichen Raum - Ergebnisse aus der Vorbereitung eines Projekts zu sich verändernden Raumwahrnehmungen im Zuge der Zuwanderung von Flüchtlingen

Die sich im Jahr 2015 verstärkende Flüchtlingswanderung aus den Krisenländern der Welt stellt eine gesellschaftliche Herausforderung dar, die das Leben in den Städten und Kommunen veränderte. Im öffentlichen Raum treffen - mehr als zuvor - einander fremde aufeinander. Über die mit den Flüchtlingen verbundene Vielfalt und gegenseitige Fremdheit entstehen neue Akteurskonstellationen, wechselseitige Wahrnehmungen und Wirkungsgefüge im öffentlichen Raum.Der Beitrag stellt die Vorarbeiten zum Forschungsprojekt "Aneignungs- und Aushandlungsprozesse im öffentlichen Raum - eine explorative Untersuchung zu veränderten Raumwahrnehmungen und -gestaltungen durch den Aufenthalt von Flüchtlingen in zwei Sozialräumen der Städte Dortmund und Düsseldorf" vor. Es werden Ergebnisse einer Sekundäranalyse sozialstatistischer Daten, einer Expertenbefragung sowie von Raumbeobachtungen in der Dortmunder Nordstadt zur Diskussion gestellt. Die Vorarbeiten dienten der Identifizierung und Charakterisierung von "Orten der Begegnung" aus der Sicht der Expert/-innen sowie einer ersten Benennung von Wahrnehmungsmustern bezüglich dieser Räume. Die sogenannten "Problemimmobilien" und "Incivilities" dominieren nach den ersten Ergebnissen die Raumwahrnehmung an spezifischen Orten, während an anderer Stelle Räume nach Aneignungskonflikten zu "ruhigen Orten" geworden sind. Die im Verlauf des genannten Projekts im Jahr 2017 durchgeführten Befragungen von alteingesessenen und zugewanderten Bewohnergruppen sowie Gruppendiskussionen mit eben diesen werden zeigen, welche Wahrnehmungsmuster, Unterschiede im Raumerleben und mit den Räumen verknüpfte Konflikte bei den Bewohnern selbst zu finden sind

Ankunftsquartiere - oder: Die Hoffnung auf die integrative Kraft des öffentlichen Raumes

Die Forschung fragt bisher zu wenig danach, ob und welche integrative Kraft die Begegnung im öffentlichen Raum in Ankunftsquartieren entwickeln kann. Dagegen ist die Praxis tagtäglich mit den 'Folgen' dieser Begegnung befasst. Die traditionellen innenstadtnahen Ankunftsquartiere Dortmunder Nordstadt und Düsseldorf Friedrichstadt scheinen sich statistisch gesehen zunächst sehr zu ähneln. Im Hinblick auf mögliche 'Orte der Begegnung' im öffentlichen Raum unterscheiden sie sich jedoch stark voneinander. Soziale (Des-)Integration und Prozesse der Identifikation finden in der Nordstadt u.a. über Aneignungs- und Aushandlungsprozesse in öffentlichen Räumen innerhalb des Gebiets statt. Die Bewohnergruppen der Friedrichstadt zeichnen sich dagegen durch eine hohe Außenorientierung und eine Identifizierung mit der Gesamtstadt aus

Aneignungs- und Aushandlungsprozesse im öffentlichen Raum: eine explorative Untersuchung zu veränderten Raumwahrnehmungen und -gestaltungen durch den Aufenthalt von Flüchtlingen in zwei Sozialräumen der Städte Dortmund und Düsseldorf

Infolge des Jahres 2015 standen viele Städte und Gemeinden vor der Herausforderung, eine hohe Anzahl von Geflüchteten aufzunehmen. Durch die neu Hinzukommenden und die mit ihnen verbundene gegenseitige Fremdheit entwickelten sich neue Konstellationen, wechselseitige Wahrnehmungen und Wirkungsgefüge im öffentlichen Raum, so eine Grundannahme des der Studie zugrunde liegenden Projekts. Qualitative Interviews mit unterschiedlichen Bewohnergruppen, Gruppendiskussionen und Raumbeobachtungen zeigten, dass die Gruppen der Geflüchteten in den beiden Untersuchungsräumen Dortmunder Nordstadt und Düsseldorfer Friedrichstadt nicht als eigene Gruppe wahrgenommen werden. Die befragten Geflüchteten selbst gaben an, den öffentlichen Raum nur eingeschränkt zu nutzen. Die Analyse benennt andere an den Aneignungs- und Aushandlungsprozessen im öffentlichen Raum beteiligte Gruppen und zeigt, in welchen Formen diese Prozesse ablaufen. Im Hinblick auf die soziale Integration der Geflüchteten haben sich eher niedrigschwellige institutionelle Angebote als erfolgversprechend erwiesen.Cities as well as communities have been confronted with the challenges of hosting a big number of refugees, mainly in the course of 2015’s migration. The development of new constellations, mutual perceptions and effects were the consequences on public spaces, according to the assumption of this research. The aspect of a possible spatial role of integration also could be determined in this study. By the means of a qualitative approach (interviews with different groups of inhabitants, group discussions, spatial observations) it could be shown that groups of refugees were not classified as its own or specific group in the two study areas in Dortmund Nordstadt and Düsseldorf Friedrichstadt. According to the refugees themselves, they only dwell within the public space to a limited extend of use. The analysis of this project emphasizes the processes of appropriation and negotiation nevertheless of other groups of inhabitants in the public space. Social integration of refugees rather seemed to be supported by easily accessible institutional offers

Verification of predicted alternatively spliced Wnt genes reveals two new splice variants (CTNNB1 and LRP5) and altered Axin-1 expression during tumour progression

BACKGROUND: Splicing processes might play a major role in carcinogenesis and tumour progression. The Wnt pathway is of crucial relevance for cancer progression. Therefore we focussed on the Wnt/β-catenin signalling pathway in order to validate the expression of sequences predicted as alternatively spliced by bioinformatic methods. Splice variants of its key molecules were selected, which may be critical components for the understanding of colorectal tumour progression and may have the potential to act as biological markers. For some of the Wnt pathway genes the existence of splice variants was either proposed (e.g. β-Catenin and CTNNB1) or described only in non-colon tissues (e.g. GSK3β) or hitherto not published (e.g. LRP5). RESULTS: Both splice variants – normal and alternative form – of all selected Wnt pathway components were found to be expressed in cell lines as well as in samples derived from tumour, normal and healthy tissues. All splice positions corresponded totally with the bioinformatical prediction as shown by sequencing. Two hitherto not described alternative splice forms (CTNNB1 and LRP5) were detected. Although the underlying EST data used for the bioinformatic analysis suggested a tumour-specific expression neither a qualitative nor a significant quantitative difference between the expression in tumour and healthy tissues was detected. Axin-1 expression was reduced in later stages and in samples from carcinomas forming distant metastases. CONCLUSION: We were first to describe that splice forms of crucial genes of the Wnt-pathway are expressed in human colorectal tissue. Newly described splicefoms were found for β-Catenin, LRP5, GSK3β, Axin-1 and CtBP1. However, the predicted cancer specificity suggested by the origin of the underlying ESTs was neither qualitatively nor significant quantitatively confirmed. That let us to conclude that EST sequence data can give adequate hints for the existence of alternative splicing in tumour tissues. That no difference in the expression of these splice forms between cancerous tissues and normal mucosa was found, may indicate that the existence of different splice forms is of less significance for cancer formation as suggested by the available EST data. The currently available EST source is still insufficient to clearly deduce colon cancer specificity. More EST data from colon (tumour and healthy) is required to make reliable predictions

Obesity, colorectal cancer and MACC1 expression : a possible novel molecular association

Obesity is a major and increasing public health concern, associated with an increased risk of and mortality from several types of cancer including colorectal cancer (CRC), being associated with cancer progression, metastasis and resistance to therapy. It was hypothesized that the expression of cancer/metastasis‑inducing gene metastasis‑associated in colon cancer 1 (MACC1) is increased in obesity, which may constitute a link to obesity‑induced cancer. The present study thus analyzed circulating cell‑free plasma MACC1 expression levels in human obese (vs. normal weight) adult individuals from independent studies, namely the Martin Luther University (MLU) study (n=32) and the Metabolic syndrome study (MetScan, Berlin) (n=191). Higher plasma MACC1 levels were found in obese individuals, increasing with a greater body fat mass and body mass index; these levels were predominantly observed in male and to a lesser extent in female individuals, although the results were not significant. A reduction in body fat mass following dietary intervention and physical exercise decreased the MACC1 expression levels in the MLU study. Furthermore, Wistar rats with diet‑induced obesity exhibited slightly increased plasma MACC1 levels compared with rats of normal weight. The obese Wistar rats exposed to azoxymethane to induce colon cancer exhibited a more severe colon tumor outcome, which was associated with significantly increased MACC1 levels compared with their non‑obese littermates. On the whole, the findings of the present study suggest an association between MACC1 and obesity, as well as with obesity‑induced CRC