The Spanish variety of Malaga: From real to mental to virtual speech

Internet has affected our lives and society in manifold ways, and partly, in fundamental ways. Therefore, it is no surprise that one of the affected areas is language and communication itself. Over the last few years, online social networks have become a widespread and continuously expanding medium of communication. Being a new medium of social interaction, online social networks produce their own communication style, which in many cases differs considerably from real speech and is also perceived differently. The focus of analysis of my PhD thesis is how social network users from the city of Malaga create this virtual style by means of phonic features typical of the Andalusian variety of Spanish and how the users’ language attitude has an influence on the use of these phonic features. The data collection was fourfold: 1) a main corpus was compiled from 240 informants’ utterances on Facebook and Tuenti; 2) a corpus constituted of broad transcriptions of recordings with 120 people from Malaga served as a comparison; 3) a survey in which 240 participants rated the use of said phonetic variants on the following axes: “good–bad”, “correct–incorrect” and “beautiful–ugly” was carried out; 4) a survey with 240 participants who estimated with which frequency the analysed features are used in Malaga was conducted. For the analysis, which is quantitative and qualitative, ten variables were chosen. Results show that the studied variants are employed differently in virtual and real speech depending on how people perceive these variants. In addition, the use of the features is constrained by social factors. In general, people from Malaga have a more positive attitude towards non-­‐standard features if they are used in virtual speech than in real speech. Thus, virtual communication is seen as a style serving to create social meaning and to express linguistic identity. These stylistic practices reflect an amalgam of social presuppositions about usage conventions and individual strategies for handling a new medium. In sum, the virtual style is an initiative deliberately taken by the users, to create their, real and virtual, identities, and to define their language attitudes towards the features of their variety of speech.

Spectral bounds and basis results for non-self-adjoint pencils, with an application to Hagen-Poiseuille flow

We obtain eigenvalue enclosures and basisness results for eigen- and associated functions of a non-self-adjoint unbounded linear operator pencil A−λBA−λB in which BB is uniformly positive and the essential spectrum of the pencil is empty. Both Riesz basisness and Bari basisness results are obtained. The results are applied to a system of singular differential equations arising in the study of Hagen–Poiseuille flow with non-axisymmetric disturbances.

Site and Age Condition the Growth Responses to Climate and Drought of Relict Pinus nigra subsp. salzmannii Populations in Southern Spain

To assess if tree age may modulate the main climatic drivers of radial growth, two relict Pinus nigra subsp. salzmannii populations (Maria, most xeric site; Magina, least xeric site) were sampled in southern Spain near the limits of the species range. Tree-ring width residual chronologies for two age groups (mature trees, age <= 100 years (minimum 40 years); old trees, age > 100 years) were built to evaluate their responses to climate by relating them to monthly precipitation and temperature and a drought index (DRI) using correlation and response functions. We found that drought is the main driver of growth of relict P. nigra populations, but differences between sites and age classes were also observed. First, growth in the most xeric site depends on the drought severity during the previous autumn and the spring of the year of tree-ring formation, whereas in the relatively more mesic site growth is mainly enhanced by warm and wet conditions in spring. Second, growth of mature trees responded more to drought severity than that of old trees. Our findings indicate that drought severity will mainly affect growth of relict P. nigra populations dominated by mature trees in xeric sites. This conclusion may also apply to similar mountain Mediterranean conifer relicts.

Modulating presence and impulsiveness by external stimulation of the brain

BACKGROUND "The feeling of being there" is one possible way to describe the phenomenon of feeling present in a virtual environment and to act as if this environment is real. One brain area, which is hypothesized to be critically involved in modulating this feeling (also called presence) is the dorso-lateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), an area also associated with the control of impulsive behavior. METHODS In our experiment we applied transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to the right dlPFC in order to modulate the experience of presence while watching a virtual roller coaster ride. During the ride we also registered electro-dermal activity. Subjects also performed a test measuring impulsiveness and answered a questionnaire about their presence feeling while they were exposed to the virtual roller coaster scenario. RESULTS Application of cathodal tDCS to the right dlPFC while subjects were exposed to a virtual roller coaster scenario modulates the electrodermal response to the virtual reality stimulus. In addition, measures reflecting impulsiveness were also modulated by application of cathodal tDCS to the right dlPFC. CONCLUSION Modulating the activation with the right dlPFC results in substantial changes in responses of the vegetative nervous system and changed impulsiveness. The effects can be explained by theories discussing the top-down influence of the right dlPFC on the "impulsive system".

Brain damage and addictive behavior: a neuropsychological and electroencephalogram investigation with pathologic gamblers.

BACKGROUND Gambling is a form of nonsubstance addiction classified as an impulse control disorder. Pathologic gamblers are considered healthy with respect to their cognitive status. Lesions of the frontolimbic systems, mostly of the right hemisphere, are associated with addictive behavior. Because gamblers are not regarded as "brain-lesioned" and gambling is nontoxic, gambling is a model to test whether addicted "healthy" people are relatively impaired in frontolimbic neuropsychological functions. METHODS Twenty-one nonsubstance dependent gamblers and nineteen healthy subjects underwent a behavioral neurologic interview centered on incidence, origin, and symptoms of possible brain damage, a neuropsychological examination, and an electroencephalogram. RESULTS Seventeen gamblers (81%) had a positive medical history for brain damage (mainly traumatic head injury, pre- or perinatal complications). The gamblers, compared with the controls, were significantly more impaired in concentration, memory, and executive functions, and evidenced a higher prevalence of non-right-handedness (43%) and, non-left-hemisphere language dominance (52%). Electroencephalogram (EEG) revealed dysfunctional activity in 65% of the gamblers, compared with 26% of controls. CONCLUSIONS This study shows that the "healthy" gamblers are indeed brain-damaged. Compared with a matched control population, pathologic gamblers evidenced more brain injuries, more fronto-temporo-limbic neuropsychological dysfunctions and more EEG abnormalities. The authors thus conjecture that addictive gambling may be a consequence of brain damage, especially of the frontolimbic systems, a finding that may well have medicolegal consequences.

Biological, diagnostic and therapeutic relevance of the MET receptor signaling in head and neck cancer.

Head and neck cancer constitutes the 6th most common malignancy worldwide and affects the crucial anatomical structures and physiological functions of the upper aerodigestive tract. Classical therapeutic strategies such as surgery and radiotherapy carry substantial toxicity and functional impairment. Moreover, the loco-regional control rates as well as overall survival still need to be improved in subgroups of patients. The scatter-factor/hepatocyte growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase MET is an established effector in the promotion, maintenance and progression of malignant transformation in a wide range of human malignancies, and has been gaining considerable interest in head and neck cancer over the last 15 years. Aberrant MET activation due to overexpression, mutations, tumor-stroma paracrine loops, and cooperative/redundant signaling has been shown to play prominent roles in epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, angiogenesis, and responses to anti-cancer therapeutic modalities. Accumulating preclinical and translational evidence highly supports the increasing interest of MET as a biomarker for lymph node and distant metastases, as well as a potential marker of stratification for responses to ionizing radiation. The relevance of MET as a therapeutic molecular target in head and neck cancer described in preclinical studies remains largely under-evaluated in clinical trials, and therefore inconclusive. Also in the context of anti-cancer targeted therapy, a large body of preclinical data suggests a central role for MET in treatment resistance towards multiple therapeutic modalities in malignancies of the head and neck region. These findings, as well as the potential use of combination therapies including MET inhibitors in these tumors, need to be further explored.

Functional proteomics and biochemsitry: working together to unravel mitochondrial phenomena of African trypansomes

Eukaryotic cells are compartmentalized into membrane-bound organelles in order to provide sheltered reaction rooms for various specific processes. Organelles are not randomly distributed in a cell or operate isolated from each other. At the contrary — some organelles are closely linked and their functions are tightly orchestrated. The most well-known example of two such organelles acting in concert are the ER and the mitochondrion that work together in order to coordinate cellular lipid biosynthesis, maintain Ca2+-homeostasis, regulate mitochondrial division and control mitochondrial/ER shape as well as to synchronize the movement of these organelles within a cell. To study the mitochondrion and its interface to the ER requires a simplified mitochondrial system. African trypanosomes represent such a system. The unicellular parasite that causes devastating diseases in humans and animals has only one large mitochondrion that does not undergo fission/fusion events except for the context of cell division. Moreover, mitochondrial functions and morphology are highly regulated throughout the life cycle of the protozoan. Central to the understanding of how mitochondria control their morphology, communicate with their surroundings and manage exchange of metabolites and transport of biopolymers (proteins, RNAs) is the mitochondrial outer membrane (MOM), as the MOM defines the boundary of the organelle. Recently, we have purified the MOM of T. brucei and characterized its proteome using label-free quantitative mass spectrometry for protein abundance profiling in combination with statistical analysis. Our results show that the trypanosomal MOM proteome consists of 82 proteins, two thirds of which have never been associated with mitochondria before. Among these, we identified novel factors required to regulate mitochondrial morphology and the long-elusive protein import machinery of T. brucei. A comparison with the MOM proteome of yeast defines a set of 17 common proteins that are likely present in the mitochondrial outer membrane of all eukaryotes. One of these is the Miro-GTPase Gem1. In yeast, this Ca2+-EF-Hand containing polypeptide is thought to be involved in a protein complex that physically tethers the mitochondrion to the ER. Interestingly, a putative tethering complex in mammalian cells was linked to the mitochondrial fusion/fission machinery. Thus, the concept of a protein complex-mediated connection seems to be a general and conserved feature. We are currently investigating, if such a protein complex exists in T. brucei and if the trypanosomal Gem1 protein is involved. This ER-subdomain associated with mitochondria has been termed mitochondria-associated ER-membranes or MAM. The MAM has recently been implicated to play a key role in Alzheimer’s disease. It is therefore of broad and general interest to establish other eukaryotic model systems in order to investigate the MAM-MOM connection in more detail.

Designer aminoglycosides prevent cochlear hair cell loss and hearing loss.

Bacterial infections represent a rapidly growing challenge to human health. Aminoglycosides are widely used broad-spectrum antibiotics, but they inflict permanent hearing loss in up to ~50% of patients by causing selective sensory hair cell loss. Here, we hypothesized that reducing aminoglycoside entry into hair cells via mechanotransducer channels would reduce ototoxicity, and therefore we synthesized 9 aminoglycosides with modifications based on biophysical properties of the hair cell mechanotransducer channel and interactions between aminoglycosides and the bacterial ribosome. Compared with the parent aminoglycoside sisomicin, all 9 derivatives displayed no or reduced ototoxicity, with the lead compound N1MS 17 times less ototoxic and with reduced penetration of hair cell mechanotransducer channels in rat cochlear cultures. Both N1MS and sisomicin suppressed growth of E. coli and K. pneumoniae, with N1MS exhibiting superior activity against extended spectrum β lactamase producers, despite diminished activity against P. aeruginosa and S. aureus. Moreover, systemic sisomicin treatment of mice resulted in 75% to 85% hair cell loss and profound hearing loss, whereas N1MS treatment preserved both hair cells and hearing. Finally, in mice with E. coli-infected bladders, systemic N1MS treatment eliminated bacteria from urinary tract tissues and serially collected urine samples, without compromising auditory and kidney functions. Together, our findings establish N1MS as a nonototoxic aminoglycoside and support targeted modification as a promising approach to generating nonototoxic antibiotics.

XMapTools: a MATLAB©-based program for electron microprobe X-ray image processing and geothermobarometry

XMapTools is a MATLAB©-based graphical user interface program for electron microprobe X-ray image processing, which can be used to estimate the pressure–temperature conditions of crystallization of minerals in metamorphic rocks. This program (available online at http://www.xmaptools.com) provides a method to standardize raw electron microprobe data and includes functions to calculate the oxide weight percent compositions for various minerals. A set of external functions is provided to calculate structural formulae from the standardized analyses as well as to estimate pressure–temperature conditions of crystallization, using empirical and semi-empirical thermobarometers from the literature. Two graphical user interface modules, Chem2D and Triplot3D, are used to plot mineral compositions into binary and ternary diagrams. As an example, the software is used to study a high-pressure Himalayan eclogite sample from the Stak massif in Pakistan. The high-pressure paragenesis consisting of omphacite and garnet has been retrogressed to a symplectitic assemblage of amphibole, plagioclase and clinopyroxene. Mineral compositions corresponding to ~165,000 analyses yield estimates for the eclogitic pressure–temperature retrograde path from 25 kbar to 9 kbar. Corresponding pressure–temperature maps were plotted and used to interpret the link between the equilibrium conditions of crystallization and the symplectitic microstructures. This example illustrates the usefulness of XMapTools for studying variations of the chemical composition of minerals and for retrieving information on metamorphic conditions on a microscale, towards computation of continuous pressure–temperature-and relative time path in zoned metamorphic minerals not affected by post-crystallization diffusion.

Functional proteomics and biochemistry: working together to unravel mitochondrial phenomena of African trypanosomes

Eukaryotic cells are compartmentalized into membrane-bound organelles in order to provide sheltered reaction rooms for various specific processes. Organelles are not randomly distributed in a cell or operate isolated from each other. At the contrary — some organelles are closely linked and their functions are tightly orchestrated. The most well-known example of two such organelles acting in concert are the ER and the mitochondrion that work together in order to coordinate cellular lipid biosynthesis, maintain Ca2+-homeostasis, regulate mitochondrial division and control mitochondrial/ER shape as well as to synchronize the movement of these organelles within a cell. To study the mitochondrion and its interface to the ER requires a simplified mitochondrial system. African trypanosomes represent such a system. The unicellular parasite that causes devastating diseases in humans and animals has only one large mitochondrion that does not undergo fission/fusion events except for the context of cell division. Moreover, mitochondrial functions and morphology are highly regulated throughout the life cycle of the protozoan. Central to the understanding of how mitochondria control their morphology, communicate with their surroundings and manage exchange of metabolites and transport of biopolymers (proteins, RNAs) is the mitochondrial outer membrane (MOM), as the MOM defines the boundary of the organelle. Recently, we have purified the MOM of T. brucei and characterized its proteome using label-free quantitative mass spectrometry for protein abundance profiling in combination with statistical analysis. Our results show that the trypanosomal MOM proteome consists of 82 proteins, two thirds of which have never been associated with mitochondria before. Among these, we identified novel factors required to regulate mitochondrial morphology and the long-elusive protein import machinery of T. brucei. A comparison with the MOM proteome of yeast defines a set of 17 common proteins that are likely present in the mitochondrial outer membrane of all eukaryotes. One of these is the Miro-GTPase Gem1. In yeast, this Ca2+-EF-Hand containing polypeptide is thought to be involved in a protein complex that physically tethers the mitochondrion to the ER. Interestingly, a putative tethering complex in mammalian cells was linked to the mitochondrial fusion/fission machinery. Thus, the concept of a protein complex-mediated connection seems to be a general and conserved feature. We are currently investigating, if such a protein complex exists in T. brucei and if the trypanosomal Gem1 protein is involved. This ER-subdomain associated with mitochondria has been termed mitochondria-associated ER-membranes or MAM. The MAM has recently been implicated to play a key role in Alzheimer’s disease. It is therefore of broad and general interest to establish other eukaryotic model systems in order to investigate the MAM-MOM connection in more detail.

Comprehension of Co-Speech Gestures in Aphasic Patients: An Eye Movement Study.

BACKGROUND: Co-speech gestures are omnipresent and a crucial element of human interaction by facilitating language comprehension. However, it is unclear whether gestures also support language comprehension in aphasic patients. Using visual exploration behavior analysis, the present study aimed to investigate the influence of congruence between speech and co-speech gestures on comprehension in terms of accuracy in a decision task. METHOD: Twenty aphasic patients and 30 healthy controls watched videos in which speech was either combined with meaningless (baseline condition), congruent, or incongruent gestures. Comprehension was assessed with a decision task, while remote eye-tracking allowed analysis of visual exploration. RESULTS: In aphasic patients, the incongruent condition resulted in a significant decrease of accuracy, while the congruent condition led to a significant increase in accuracy compared to baseline accuracy. In the control group, the incongruent condition resulted in a decrease in accuracy, while the congruent condition did not significantly increase the accuracy. Visual exploration analysis showed that patients fixated significantly less on the face and tended to fixate more on the gesturing hands compared to controls. CONCLUSION: Co-speech gestures play an important role for aphasic patients as they modulate comprehension. Incongruent gestures evoke significant interference and deteriorate patients' comprehension. In contrast, congruent gestures enhance comprehension in aphasic patients, which might be valuable for clinical and therapeutic purposes.

Anatomy of the nail unit and the nail biopsy

The nail unit is the largest and a rather complex skin appendage. It is located on the dorsal aspect of the tips of fingers and toes and has important protective and sensory functions. Development begins in utero between weeks 7 and 8 and is fully formed at birth. For its correct development, a great number of signals are necessary. Anatomically, it consists of 4 epithelial components: the matrix that forms the nail plate; the nail bed that firmly attaches the plate to the distal phalanx; the hyponychium that forms a natural barrier at the physiological point of separation of the nail from the bed; and the eponychium that represents the undersurface of the proximal nail fold which is responsible for the formation of the cuticle. The connective tissue components of the matrix and nail bed dermis are located between the corresponding epithelia and the bone of the distal phalanx. Characteristics of the connective tissue include: a morphogenetic potency for the regeneration of their epithelia; the lateral and proximal nail folds form a distally open frame for the growing nail; and the tip of the digit has rich sensible and sensory innervation. The blood supply is provided by the paired volar and dorsal digital arteries. Veins and lymphatic vessels are less well defined. The microscopic anatomy varies from nail subregion to subregion. Several different biopsy techniques are available for the histopathological evaluation of nail alterations.

Trends in Phonetics and Phonology

This volume was inspired by the 9th edition of the Phonetik and Phonologie conference, held in Zürich in October 2013. It includes state of the art research on phonetics and phonology in various languages and from interdisciplinary contributors. The volume is structured into the following eight sections: segmentals, suprasegmentals, articulation in spoken and sign language, perception, phonology, crowdsourcing phonetic data, second language speech, and arts (with inevitable overlap between these areas).

The Gut Microbiome and Cirrhosis: Basic Aspects

In this chapter the basic aspects helping to understand the microbiome in terms of quantity, diversity, complexity, function, and interaction with the host are discussed. First the nomenclature, definitions of taxa, and measures of diversity as well as methods to unravel this kingdom are outlined. A brief summary on its physiological relevance for general health and the functions exerted specifically by the microbiome is presented. Differences in the composition of the microbiome along the gastrointestinal tract and across the gut wall and its interindividual variations, enterotypes, and stability are highlighted. The reader will be familiarized with all different modulators impacting on the microbiome, namely, intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Intrinsic factors include gastrointestinal secretions (gastric acid, bile, pancreatic juice, mucus), antimicrobial peptides, motility, enteric nervous system, and host genotype. Extrinsic factors are mainly dietary choices, hygiene, stress, alcohol consumption, exercise, and medications. The second part of the chapter focuses on quantitative and qualitative changes in microbiome in liver cirrhosis. The mechanisms contributing to dysbiosis, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, and bacterial translocation are delineated underscoring their role for the liver-gut axis.

How gender fair are German schoolbooks in the twenty-first century? An analysis of language and illustrations in schoolbooks for mathematics and German

Schoolbooks convey not only school-relevant knowledge; they also influence the development of stereotypes about different social groups. Particularly during the 1970s and 1980s, many studies analysed schoolbooks and criticised the overall predominance of male persons and of traditional role allocations. Since that time, women’s and men’s occupations and social functions have changed considerably. The present research investigated gender portrayals in schoolbooks for German and mathematics that were recently published in Germany. We examined the proportions of female and male persons in pictures and texts and categorized their activities, occupational and parental roles. Going beyond previous studies, we added two criteria: the use of gender-fair language and the spatial arrangements of persons in pictures. Our results show that schoolbooks for German contained almost balanced depictions of girls and boys, whereas women were less frequently shown than men. In mathematics books, males outnumbered females in general. Across both types of books, female and male persons were engaged in many different activities, not only gendertyped ones; however, male persons were more often described via their profession than females. Use of gender-fair language has found its way into schoolbooks but is not used consistently. Books for German were more gender fair in terms of linguistic forms than books for mathematics. For spatial arrangements, we found no indication for gender biases. The results are discussed with a focus on how schoolbooks can be optimized to contribute to gender equality.