Comprehensible legal texts – utopia or a question of wording? On processing rephrased German court decisions

This paper presents a study on the comprehensibility of rephrased syntactic structures in German court decisions. While there are a number of studies using psycholinguistic methods to investigate the comprehensibility of original legal texts, we are not aware of any study looking into the effect resolving complex structures has on the comprehensibility. Our study combines three methodological steps. First, we analyse an annotated corpus of court decisions, press releases and newspaper reports on these decisions in order to detect those complex structures in the decisions which distinguish them from the other text types. Secondly, these structures are rephrased into two increasingly simple versions. Finally, all versions are subjected to a self paced reading experiment. The findings suggest that rephrasing greatly enhances the comprehensibility for the lay reader

Marine-derived fungi : a source for structurally new and bioactive secondary metabolites

The marine habitat has been proven to be a rich source for both macro- and microorganisms that produce novel and often highly bioactive natural products. Hence, the investigation of the secondary metabolite spectrum of marine fungi represents a valuable approach in the search for new and bioactive natural products. The present study thus focused on the investigation of marine-derived fungi with the aim to isolate bioactive secondary metabolites via a bioassay-guided isolation strategy. Special emphasis was placed on new structural types and their ability to act as antitumor or, in second priority, antibiotic agents. From the cytotoxicity screening program undertaken within the Institute for Pharmaceutical Biology, five fungal strains with cytotoxic activity towards cancer cells and interesting chemical features, i. e. 1H-NMR and LC-MS data, were chosen for detailed investigation. From these fungal cultures altogether 19 compounds and two peptidic mixtures have been isolated and their structures characterized. The sorbicillin derivatives trichodermanones A-D (1-4) were obtained from the sponge-derived fungus Trichoderma saturnisporium. The trichodermanones are remarkable because of their unprecedented carbon skeletons, most likely originating from two different polyketide units that have been connected via a Diels-Alder reaction during biosynthesis. One of these units can be described as sorbicillin-like, characterized by a cyclohexanone ring with an attached six-membered side chain (sorbyl moiety). The second structural part which is a pyrane ring in 1-3 and a lactone ring in 4 is possibly triketide-derived (ring C). The structures of the compounds, including the absolute stereochemistry, were determined by interpretation of their spectroscopic data (1D and 2D NMR, CD, MS, UV and IR) and molecular modelling calculations. Bioassay-guided isolation of the cytotoxic crude extract of Beauveria bassiana led to the isolation of the new cytotoxic tetramic acid derivative beauversetin. A compound of the same structural type, the tetramic acid sch210972 was found to be produced by the sea weed-derived fungus Microdiplodia sp. and showed strong human leucocyte elastase (HLE) inhibitory activity with an IC50 value of 1.04 µg mL-1. HLE plays a role in several inflammatory diseases such as pulmonary emphysema or chronic bronchitis and thus represents an important target for drug research. Our results show that tetramic acids represent a new lead structure for the development of potent HLE inhibitors. The compounds isolated during this study impressively demonstrate the structural diversity of fungal secondary metabolites. The trichodermanones are a formidable example for unique structures from marine-derived fungi. Furthermore, the discovery of tetramic acids as inhibitors of HLE showed that the marine habitat is a rich source for structurally novel compounds which can serve as lead structures for the development of novel and innovative drugs

Effects of Diode Laser, Gaseous Ozone, and Medical Dressings on Enterococcus faecalis Biofilms in the Root Canal Ex Vivo

The objective was to compare the antibacterial effects of adjunctive disinfection using diode laser and gaseous ozone compared to the medical dressings calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2) and chlorhexidine gel (CHX-Gel) on Enterococcus faecalis biofilms in human root canals ex vivo. Root canals of 180 human extracted teeth were infected by E. faecalis and divided into 3 main groups (G): G1, control; G2, instrumentation and irrigation using 0.9% NaCl; G3, instrumentation and irrigation using 1% NaOCl. In each main group, the following treatments were applied: gaseous ozone, diode laser, and medical dressings of Ca(OH)2 or CHX-Gel for 7 days (). Reduction of colony forming units (CFUs) inside the root canal of planktons and frequencies of adherent bacteria after treatment were calculated. Bacterial reduction was significantly affected by the irrigation protocol () and the disinfection method (), and a significant interaction between both factors could be observed (; ANOVA). In G3 (instrumentation using 1% NaOCl), no significant effect of disinfection methods could be demonstrated on planktonic bacteria (; ANOVA) and frequencies of adherent bacteria (; chi-square test). Instrumentation and irrigation using NaOCl combined with ozone or laser application resulted in comparable bacterial reduction on E. faecalis to the application of medical dressings

clinical homogeneity and allelic heterogeneity in seven patients

Background Larsen syndrome is an autosomal dominant skeletal dysplasia characterized by large joint dislocations and craniofacial dysmorphism. It is caused by missense or small in-frame deletions in the FLNB gene. To further characterize the phenotype and the mutation spectrum of this condition, we investigated seven probands, five sporadic individuals and a mother-son-duo with Larsen syndrome. Methods The seven patients from six unrelated families were clinically and radiologically evaluated. All patients were screened for mutations in selected exons and exon-intron boundaries of the FLNB gene by Sanger sequencing. FLNB transcript analysis was carried out in one patient to analyse the effect of the sequence variant on pre-mRNA splicing. Results All patients exhibited typical facial features and joint dislocations. Contrary to the widely described advanced carpal ossification, we noted delay in two patients. We identified the five novel mutations c.4927G > A/p.(Gly1643Ser), c.4876G > T / p.(Gly1626Trp), c.4664G > A / p.(Gly1555Asp), c.2055G > C / p.Gln685delins10 and c.5021C > T / p.(Ala1674Val) as well as a frequently observed mutation in Larsen syndrome [c.5164G > A/p.(Gly1722Ser)] in the hotspot regions. FLNB transcript analysis of the c.2055G > C variant revealed insertion of 27 bp intronic sequence between exon 13 and 14 which gives rise to in-frame deletion of glutamine 685 and insertion of ten novel amino acid residues (p.Gln685delins10). Conclusions All seven individuals with Larsen syndrome had a uniform clinical phenotype except for delayed carpal ossification in two of them. Our study reveals five novel FLNB mutations and confirms immunoglobulin-like (Ig) repeats 14 and 15 as major hotspot regions. The p.Gln685delins10 mutation is the first Larsen syndrome-associated alteration located in Ig repeat 5. All mutations reported so far leave the filamin B protein intact in accordance with a gain-of-function effect. Our findings underscore the characteristic clinical picture of FLNB-associated Larsen syndrome and add Ig repeat 5 to the filamin B domains affected by the clustered mutations

Genome-wide association mapping in a diverse spring barley collection reveals the presence of QTL hotspots and candidate genes for root and shoot architecture traits at seedling stage

Figure S1. Examples of scanned root images from individual plants. Figure S2. Concatenated split network tree for the collection of 233 accessions based on 6019 SNP markers. Figure S3. LD pattern along the individual chromosomes of barley. Figure S4. Schematic representation of the eight re-sequenced candidate genes models. (DOCX 3427 kb

Schmallenberg virus pathogenesis, tropism and interaction with the innate immune system of the host

Schmallenberg virus (SBV) is an emerging orthobunyavirus of ruminants associated with outbreaks of congenital malformations in aborted and stillborn animals. Since its discovery in November 2011, SBV has spread very rapidly to many European countries. Here, we developed molecular and serological tools, and an experimental in vivo model as a platform to study SBV pathogenesis, tropism and virus-host cell interactions. Using a synthetic biology approach, we developed a reverse genetics system for the rapid rescue and genetic manipulation of SBV. We showed that SBV has a wide tropism in cell culture and “synthetic” SBV replicates in vitro as efficiently as wild type virus. We developed an experimental mouse model to study SBV infection and showed that this virus replicates abundantly in neurons where it causes cerebral malacia and vacuolation of the cerebral cortex. These virus-induced acute lesions are useful in understanding the progression from vacuolation to porencephaly and extensive tissue destruction, often observed in aborted lambs and calves in naturally occurring Schmallenberg cases. Indeed, we detected high levels of SBV antigens in the neurons of the gray matter of brain and spinal cord of naturally affected lambs and calves, suggesting that muscular hypoplasia observed in SBV-infected lambs is mostly secondary to central nervous system damage. Finally, we investigated the molecular determinants of SBV virulence. Interestingly, we found a biological SBV clone that after passage in cell culture displays increased virulence in mice. We also found that a SBV deletion mutant of the non-structural NSs protein (SBVΔNSs) is less virulent in mice than wild type SBV. Attenuation of SBV virulence depends on the inability of SBVΔNSs to block IFN synthesis in virus infected cells. In conclusion, this work provides a useful experimental framework to study the biology and pathogenesis of SBV

The Maintenance and Exploitation of ex situ Genebank Collections – Association Mapping for Flowering Time in Wheat

It is estimated that world-wide existing germplasm collections contain about 7.4 million accessions of plant genetic resources. Wheat (Triticum and Aegilops) represents the biggest group with about 900,000 accessions. One of the largest ex situ genebanks worldwide is located at the Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research in Gatersleben, Germany. This collection comprises wild and primitive forms, landraces as well as old and more recent cultivars of mainly cereals but also other crops. As on the global scale wheat is the largest group having almost 30,000 accessions. Beside the long term storage and frequent regeneration of the material phenotypic characterisation and evaluation data are collected as a prerequisite for gene identification and mapping. We report the outcome of an association-based mapping study to elucidate the genetic basis of flowering time in winter wheat. A core collection of 96 cultivars was subjected to a genome-wide scan using diversity array technology markers. The same set of accessions had been earlier evaluated for flowering time over six consecutive seasons. Some of the resulting marker-trait associations (MTAs) mapped to chromosomal locations in which known major genes affecting flowering time are known to reside. However, most of the MTAs identified genomic locations where no such genes are known to map, so providing new opportunities to exploit genetic variation for flowering time in wheat breeding programmes

Understandings of scientific inquiry: an international collaborative investigation of seventh grade students

Although understandings of scientific inquiry (as opposed to conducting inquiry) is included in science education reform documents around the world, little is known about what students have learned about inquiry during their primary school years. This is partially due to the lack of any assessment instrument to measure understandings about scientific inquiry. However, a valid and reliable assessment has recently been developed and published, Views About Scientific Inquiry (VASI) (Lederman J. et. al., 2014). The purpose of this large scale (i.e., 19 countries spanning six continents and including 2,960 students) international project was to get the first baseline data on what grade students have learned. The participating countries were: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Egypt, England, Finland, France, Germany, Israel, New Zealand, Nigeria, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, United States, Taiwan, and Turkey. In many countries, science is not formally taught until middle school, which is the rationale for choosing seventh grade students for this investigation. This baseline data will simultaneously provide information on what, if anything, students learn about inquiry in primary school, as well as their beginning knowledge as they enter secondary school