The geometry of continental displacement and its application to Arctic geology: Eugen Wegmann's early approaches published in the Geologische Rundschau in 1943

Plate tectonics developed around 1965 as a powerful tool to describe the tectonic movements of the Earth's crust. The article demonstrates that basically four already existing theoretical concepts—subduction, seafloor spreading, the application of Euler's theorem and transform faults—had to be combined to arrive at the modern theory. Alfred Wegener, father of the theory of continental displacement, is often credited as the most direct forerunner of plate tectonics. However, none of the aforementioned concepts had been developed by him. The present article deals with the hitherto not duly credited contributions of the Swiss geologist Eugen Wegmann (1896-1982). He developed in a series of highly original papers published between 1943 and 1948 (one of them in the Geologische Rundschau), a critical test of the theory of continental displacement based on the regional geology of the Arctic. Furthermore, he gave a very concise account on the geometrical principles of drift movements. As a result, he developed for the first time—25years before McKenzie and Parker's Nature 216:1276-1280, landmark paper on the Pacific (1967)—the geometrical basis to graphically test plate motion directions. However, his work has not yet received the credit it deserves, neither by scientist nor by historians of scienc

Cancer-testis antigen cyclin A1 is broadly expressed in ovarian cancer and is associated with prolonged time to tumor progression after platinum-based therapy

Background Cyclin A1 is essential for male gametopoiesis. In acute myeloid leukemia, it acts as a leukemia-associated antigen. Cyclin A1 expression has been reported in several epithelial malignancies, including testicular, endometrial, and epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). We analyzed Cyclin A1 expression in EOC and its correlation with clinical features to evaluate Cyclin A1 as a T-cell target in EOC. Methods Cyclin A1 mRNA expression in EOC and healthy tissues was quantified by microarray analysis and quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). Protein expression in clinical samples was assessed by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and was correlated to clinical features. Results Cyclin A1 protein was homogeneously expressed in 43 of 62 grade 3 tumor samples and in 1 of 10 grade 2 specimens (p < 0.001). Survival analysis showed longer time to progression (TTP) among patients with at least moderate Cyclin A1 expression (univariate: p = 0.018, multivariate: p = 0.035). FIGO stage, grading, age, macroscopic residual tumor after debulking, and peritoneal carcinomatosis / distant metastasis had no impact on TTP or overall survival (OS). Conclusion Cyclin A1 is highly expressed in most EOCs. The mechanism behind the prolonged TTP in patients with high Cyclin A1 expression warrants further investigation. The frequent, selectively high expression of Cyclin A1 in EOC makes it a promising target for T-cell therapies

Territorial Stigmatisation: Urban Renewal and Displacement in a Central Istanbul Neighbourhood

In Tarlabasi, an Istanbul neighbourhood facing massive redevelopment and displacement, marginalised residents speak about belonging, stigma, and what their community means to them. Based on a long-term ethnographic study that includes interviews, photographs, and archival research, Constanze Letsch examines how territorial stigmatisation is weaponised by the state and how differently stigmatised groups try to fight against the vilification of their neighbourhood. The contested plans of urban renewal threaten not only their homes and workplaces but a rapidly vanishing Istanbul: socio-demographic interdependencies and networks that have developed over decades

Territorial Stigmatisation

In Tarlabasi, an Istanbul neighbourhood facing massive redevelopment and displacement, marginalised residents speak about belonging, stigma, and what their community means to them. Based on a long-term ethnographic study that includes interviews, photographs, and archival research, Constanze Letsch examines how territorial stigmatisation is weaponised by the state and how differently stigmatised groups try to fight against the vilification of their neighbourhood. The contested plans of urban renewal threaten not only their homes and workplaces but a rapidly vanishing Istanbul: socio-demographic interdependencies and networks that have developed over decades

Polymorphism in COMT is associated with IgG 3 subclass level and susceptibility to infection in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome

Background Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is considered as a neuroimmunological disease but the etiology and pathophysiology is poorly understood. Patients suffer from sustained exhaustion, cognitive impairment and an increased sensitivity to pain and sensory stimuli. A subset of patients has frequent respiratory tract infections (RRTI). Dysregulation of the sympathetic nervous system and an association with genetic variations in the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) and glucocorticoid receptor genes influencing sympathetic and glucocorticoid metabolism were reported in CFS. Here, we analyzed the prevalence of SNPs of COMT and glucocorticoid receptor- associated genes in CFS patients and correlated them to immunoglobulin levels and susceptibility to RRTI. Methods We analyzed blood cells of 74 CFS patients and 76 healthy controls for polymorphisms in COMT, FKBP5 and CRHR1 by allelic discrimination PCR. Serum immunoglobulins were determined by immunoturbidimetric technique, cortisol levels by ECLIA. Results Contrary to previous reports, we found no difference between CFS patients and healthy controls in the prevalence of SNPs for COMT, FKBP5 and CRHR1. In patients with the Met/Met variant of COMT rs4680 we observed enhanced cortisol levels providing evidence for its functional relevance. Both enhanced IgE and diminished IgG 3 levels and an increased susceptibility to RRTI were observed in CFS patients with the Met/Met variant. Such an association was not observed in 68 non-CFS patients with RRTI. Conclusion Our results indicate a relationship of COMT polymorphism rs4680 with immune dysregulation in CFS providing a potential link for the association between stress and infection susceptibility in CFS

Challenges and Future Perspectives of Immunotherapy in Pancreatic Cancer

To date, extensive efforts to harness immunotherapeutic strategies for the treatment of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) have yielded disappointing results in clinical trials. These strategies mainly focused on cancer vaccines and immune checkpoint inhibitors alone or in combination with chemotherapeutic or targeted agents. However, the growing preclinical and clinical data sets from these efforts have established valuable insights into the immunological characteristics of PDAC biology. Most notable are the immunosuppressive role of the tumour microenvironment (TME) and PDAC's characteristically poor immunogenicity resulting from tumour intrinsic features. Moreover, PDAC tumour heterogeneity has been increasingly well characterized and may additionally limit a "one-fits-all" immunotherapeutic strategy. In this review, we first outline mechanisms of immunosuppression and immune evasion in PDAC. Secondly, we summarize recently published data on preclinical and clinical efforts to establish immunotherapeutic strategies for the treatment of PDAC including diverse combinatorial treatment approaches aiming at overcoming this resistance towards immunotherapeutic strategies. Particularly, these combinatorial treatment approaches seek to concomitantly increase PDAC antigenicity, boost PDAC directed T-cell responses, and impair the immunosuppressive character of the TME in order to allow immunotherapeutic agents to unleash their full potential. Eventually, the thorough understanding of the currently available data on immunotherapeutic treatment strategies of PDAC will enable researchers and clinicians to develop improved treatment regimens and to design innovative clinical trials to overcome the pronounced immunosuppression of PDAC

Countering Violent Extremism in Tunisia – Between Dependency and Self-Reliance

In current counter-terrorism efforts, the potential of civil society organizations is recognized by international actors for countering radical narratives and implementing prevention activities in non-Western countries. Civil society-led interventions, it is assumed, constitute a more sustainable as well as locally acceptable approach to reduce the threat of radicalization. In line with this, international actors including EU, UN and EU key-member states have lately incorporated this strategy in Tunisia, which since the fall of the Ben Ali regime in 2011 has experienced an increase in jihadist activities challenging the democratic consolidation of the country. In response to growing donor interest, the bulk of civil society organizations in Tunisia have recently started to develop policies and programs to counter violent extremism and radicalization. However, the lack of comprehensive empirical research on civil society engagement in counter- as well as de-radicalization complicates the assessment of scope and impact of these initiatives on local communities in Tunisia. To encounter this lacuna, this paper focuses on the experiences, subjective perception and practices of activists working on the ground in an arising Tunisian Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) landscape. (Critical) peacebuilding and development literature on civil society is introduced to investigate the interplay of international and local actors in the context of CVE interventions. 25 in-depth narrative interviews with local activists and international experts involved in developing CVE initiatives in Tunisia root this paper in rich empirical data that was analyzed by applying a Grounded Theory methodology. Due to the high dependency of civil society actors on external funding, international actors exert a strong influence on how preventative activities are designed and implemented and which local actors are involved. This paper further shows that this dependency does not just result in agenda adaptation, but rather that local actors, to some extent, can resist to the imposed donor agenda or strategically use the increased donor attention for their own purpose

Representation of non-bibliographic library data as linked data: data types, vocabularies and applications

Diese Thesis stellt einen Entwurf für ein Linked-Data-konformes Vokabular zur Be- schreibung von Bibliotheksdienstleistungen vor, da sich hierfür bisher in der Biblio- thekswelt noch kein entsprechender Standard etabliert hat. Dafür wird untersucht, welche Informationen in Bezug auf die Dienstleistungen wichtig sind und wie sich diese in RDF abbilden lassen können. Die Publikation von Daten aus Bibliotheken als Linked Data hat in den letzten Jahren beachtlich zugenommen. Während sich der Großteil entsprechender Aktivitäten auf bibliographische Daten konzentriert, ist die Menge der Projekte, die sich mit Informationen zu den Bibliotheken an sich befassen, noch sehr überschaubar. Diese Arbeit liefert daher einen Beitrag zur Publikation nicht-bibliographischer Bibliotheksda- ten als Linked Data.This thesis presents a design for a Linked Data compliant vocabulary for the description of library services, as to date, no corresponding standard has been established in librari- anship. For this, it is investigated which information on the services are important and how these can be mapped to RDF. The publication of data from libraries in linked data has increased considerably in recent years. While the majority of corresponding activities concentrate on bibliographic data, there are still few projects that deal with information about the libraries in itself. Therefore, this work contributes to the publication of non- bibliographic library data in Linked Data

Wavelength and energy-dispersive X-ray microanalysis with EMA and SEM-EDXRA on thin sections of soils.

Organic matter, minerals and iron-manganese nodules were studied in thin sections of soils with an electron microprobe analyzer (EMA) and a combination of a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and an energy-dispersive X-ray analyzer (EDXRA). Both instruments were used to estimate the presence and nature of chemical elements in two selected areas, one containing a combination of organic and mineral material and another inside an iron-manganese nodule. The detection of organic matter proved problematic. Of the light elements, N could not be detected with EMA and O was detected but was not specific to organic matter. EMA could not be used for C because of the C coating of the thin section. SEM-EDXRA only detected heavier elements. EMA produced somewhat better X-ray images of heavier elements, especially from an iron-manganese nodule. However, with organic material, SEM-EDXRA X-ray images were similar to or slightly better than EMA. An advantage of SEM-EDXRA over EMA is that the soil material can be analysed at various magnifications with a much higher limit, and point analysis can be made of loose material. For soil material, SEM-EDXRA was better as a routine instrument which solved most problems. EMA can be used as a complementary instrument. Other microanalytical techniques such as the ion microprobe mass analyzer (IMMA) were necessary to analyse light elements in organic material of soils. (Abstract retrieved from CAB Abstracts by CABI’s permission