Flexibility Properties in Complex Analysis and Affine Algebraic Geometry

In the last decades affine algebraic varieties and Stein manifolds with big (infinite-dimensional) automorphism groups have been intensively studied. Several notions expressing that the automorphisms group is big have been proposed. All of them imply that the manifold in question is an Oka–Forstnerič manifold. This important notion has also recently merged from the intensive studies around the homotopy principle in Complex Analysis. This homotopy principle, which goes back to the 1930s, has had an enormous impact on the development of the area of Several Complex Variables and the number of its applications is constantly growing. In this overview chapter we present three classes of properties: (1) density property, (2) flexibility, and (3) Oka–Forstnerič. For each class we give the relevant definitions, its most significant features and explain the known implications between all these properties. Many difficult mathematical problems could be solved by applying the developed theory, we indicate some of the most spectacular ones.

Umsetzung der Beijing Aktionsplattform (1995) und der Ergebnisse der 23. Sitzung der UNO-Generalversammlung (2000). Überprüfung des Umsetzungsstands in der Schweiz

1995 an der Vierten Weltfrauenkonferenz in Beijing haben 189 Staaten eine visionäre Aktionsplattform als Leitlinie zur Förderung der Gleichstellung von Frau und Mann verabschiedet. Zuhanden der UNO hat das IZFG 2014 – in einem partizipativen Verfahren - einen nationalen Bericht der Schweiz erstellt über 20 Jahre Umsetzung der Aktionsplattform von Beijing (Beijing+20 Bericht).

Successful prevention of transmission of integrase resistance in the Swiss HIV Cohort Study.

Prevalence of integrase inhibitor (INSTI) transmitted drug resistance (TDR) may increase with the increasing use of INSTIs. We analysed the prevalence of INSTI TDR in the Swiss HIV Cohort Study (2008-2014). In 1 of 1,316 (0.1%) drug-naïve samples a major INSTI TDR mutation was detected. Prevalence was stable although INSTIs were increasingly used. We showed that this is in contrast to the introduction of previous drug classes where more treatment failures with resistant strains occurred and TDR was observed more rapidly. We demonstrated on a population-level that it is possible to avoid TDR affecting a new drug class for years.

Single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation over the frontal eye field can facilitate and inhibit saccade triggering

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation on the triggering of saccades. The right frontal eye field was stimulated during modified gap and overlap paradigms with flashed presentation of the lateral visual target of 80 ms. In order to examine possible facilitating or inhibitory effects on saccade triggering, three different time intervals of stimulation were chosen, i.e. simultaneously with onset of the target, during the presentation and after target end. Stimulation applied simultaneously with target onset significantly decreased the latency of contralateral saccades in the gap but not in the overlap paradigm. Stimulation after target end significantly increased saccade latency for both sides in the gap paradigm and for the contralateral side in the overlap paradigm. Stimulation during presentation had no effect in either paradigm. The results show that, depending on the time interval and the paradigm tested, a facilitation or inhibition of saccade triggering can be achieved. The results are discussed in a context of two probable transcranial magnetic stimulation effects, a direct interference with the frontal eye field on the one hand and a remote interference with the superior colliculus on the other hand.

Leben für die Sache. Vera Figner, Vera Zasulič und das radikale Milieu im späten Zarenreich

In der zweiten Hälfte des 19. Jahrhunderts treten in Russland vermehrt Frauen und Männer in die Öffentlichkeit, die durch radikale Veränderungen einen „neuen Menschen“ und mit ihm eine neue Gesellschaft schaffen wollen. Vera Figner und Vera Zasulič, die beiden Protagonistinnen der vorliegenden Untersuchung, sind herausragende Vertreterinnen der radikalen Bewegung im ausgehenden Zarenreich. Während Vera Zasulič mit ihrem Attentat auf den St. Petersburger Stadtkommandanten Fëdor Trepov 1878 am Beginn der ersten terroristischen Welle in Russland steht, ist Vera Figner bei ihrer Verhaftung 1883 das letzte führende Mitglied der Terrororganisation Narodnaja Volja (Volkswille), die am 1./13. März 1881 einen tödlichen Anschlag auf Zar Aleksandr II. verübt. Die beiden Frauen verbindet zwar kein engerer persönlicher Kontakt, dafür aber die Zugehörigkeit zum selben Milieu. Beeinflusst von der progressiven Debatte in der Intelligencija der 1860er Jahre entschlossen sie sich bereits in ihrer Jugend, sich von traditionellen Standes- und Geschlechterrollen zu lösen, ihr Schicksal „in die eigenen Hände zu nehmen“ und sich einer „Sache“ zu verschreiben. Zusammen mit anderen Radikalen gerieten sie dadurch in einen immer heftigeren Konflikt mit der autokratischen Staatsmacht, der sich schließlich zu einem Kampf mit terroristischen Mitteln steigerte. Stephan Rindlisbacher nutzt die Biographien dieser beiden radikalen Frauen als „Scheinwerfer“, um das radikale Milieu mit seinen Merkmalen, Funktionsmechanismen und Handlungsspielräumen auszuleuchten. Aus zwei voneinander unabhängigen aber vergleichbaren Blickwinkeln zeichnet er ein eindrucksvolles Bild nicht nur der radikalen Netzwerkstrukturen, Symbole, Praktiken und Identitätsnarrativen, sondern auch der beteiligten Menschen mit ihren Wünschen, Hoffnungen und Ängsten.

Deleterious effects of roving on learned tasks

In typical perceptual learning experiments, one stimulus type (e.g., a bisection stimulus offset either to the left or right) is presented per trial. In roving, two different stimulus types (e.g., a 30′ and a 20′ wide bisection stimulus) are randomly interleaved from trial to trial. Roving can impair both perceptual learning and task sensitivity. Here, we investigate the relationship between the two. Using a bisection task, we found no effect of roving before training. We next trained subjects and they improved. A roving condition applied after training impaired sensitivity.

National youth team football players between the conflicting priorities of sports success and vocational training

In view of the risks involved in relying on a professional career in football as a way of making a future living, most players on Swiss National Youth Football Teams pursue some form of vocational training at the same time. This paper investigates the question under what conditions a successful football career is possible when faced with such a dual burden. In order to examine the development process as holistically as possible, a person-oriented approach was chosen. 159 former Swiss National Youth Team players were retrospectively interviewed about their careers, and the data were analysed using the LICUR method (Bergman, Magnusson, & El-Khouri, 2003). This involves identifying certain patterns in the relevant variables of sports career, vocational career and family support, and then comparing these with the performance at the age of peak performance. Through this, it was possible to identify promising patterns of development. It turns out that the critical transition, at the age of about 15–16 years, is characterised overall by stability. The most successful patterns display above-average family support accompanied by above-average professional talent promotion in the clubs. In this constellation, the football players who are later successful pursue vocational training courses leading to low levels of educational qualification.

"Mir hei e Verein": Eine Studie über Vereine, Sozialkapital und Wohlstand im Kanton Bern

In diesem Beitrag untersuchen wir den Zusammenhang zwischen dem Sozialkapitalbestand der 382 Gemeinden des Kantons Bern und deren wirtschaftlichen Prosperität. Als Indikator für das Sozialkapital verwenden wir die Anzahl an Vereinen. Nach unseren Recherchen gibt es im Kanton Bern insgesamt 10 130 Vereine. Die statistischen Analysen zeigen, dass selbst unter Kontrolle von weiteren Merkmalen Gemeinden mit vielen Vereinen über ein höheres Einkommen pro Einwohner verfügen. In einer Unterstichprobe von 100 Gemeinden wurde zusätzlich eine schriftliche Befragung von 2 577 Vereinen durchgeführt. Die Resultate ergeben, dass für den Wohlstand der Gemeinden insbesondere die Anzahl an aktiven Mitgliedern ausschlaggebend ist. Vereine mit Fokussierung auf das Gemeinwohl (Putnam-Vereine) haben zudem eine grössere Bedeutung für den Wohlstand als Vereine, die eher Partikularinteressen vertreten (Olson-Vereine). Insgesamt bestätigen die Ergebnisse die Sozialkapitalthese.

Hypereosinophiliesyndrome

In den vergangenen Jahren wurden zahlreiche neue Erkenntnisse zur Biologie eosinophiler Granulozyten, ihrer Rolle für die Gesundheit und bei Krankheiten gewonnen. Differenzierte Kenntnisse zur Pathogenese, neue diagnostische Methoden und Therapeutika haben das Verständnis zur Hypereosinophilie und damit assoziierten Erkrankungen und Syndromen fundamental geändert. In dieser Übersichtsarbeit diskutieren wir die gegenwärtige Klassifikation der Hypereosinophiliesyndrome und neue Therapieansätze.

Into the abyss of Lake Geneva: the elemo interdisciplinary field investigation using the MIR submersibles

In summer 2011, the two Russian MIR sub- mersibles were brought to Switzerland to perform deep water dives in Lake Geneva. Research teams from several environmental science institutes, both national and inter- national, participated in this interdisciplinary effort to investigate the deeper parts of Lake Geneva. Using the MIRs allowed the scientists to see and precisely select the sites where they could extract specific sediment cores and carry out detailed in situ measurements at the sediment– water boundary. One focus site was the surrounding of the outlet of the wastewater treatment plant of the City of Lausanne, which discharges into the Vidy Bay. The investigations concentrated on the pollution of the local sediments, pollution-related ecotoxicological risks, micro- bial activity and spreading and removal of the effluents from the bay to the open waters of the lake. The other focus site was the Rhoˆne River delta and its subaquatic canyons, which formed as a result of the long-term interplay of the deposition of river-borne sediments and flood-triggered canyon erosion events.

Eosinophils

In 1846, T. Wharton-Jones described a coarsely granular stage in the development of granulocytic cells in animal and human blood. Shortly thereafter, Max Schultze redefined the coarsely granular cells as a type distinct from finely granular cells, rather than just a developmental stage. It was, however, not until 1879, when Paul Ehrlich introduced a method to distinguish granular cells by the staining properties of their granules, that a classification became possible. An intensive staining for eosin, among other aniline dyes, was eponymous for the coarsely granular cell type, which thereupon became referred to as eosinophil granulocyte. Eosinophilia had already been described in many diseases by the late 19th century. The role of these cells, however, today remains a matter of continuing speculation and investigation. Many functions have been attributed to the eosinophil over the years, often linked to increasing knowledge about the granular and cytoplasmatic contents. A better understanding of the regulatory mechanisms of eosinopoiesis has led to the development of knock-out mice strains as well as therapeutic strategies for reducing the eosinophil load in patients. The effect of these therapeutics and the characterization of the knock-out phenotypes have led to a great increase in the knowledge of the role of the eosinophil in disease. Today we think of the eosinophil as a multifunctional cell involved in host defense, tissue damage and remodeling, as well as immunomodulation.

Atlas-based Segmentation of Tumor-bearing Brain Images

In diagnostic neuroradiology as well as in radiation oncology and neurosurgery, there is an increasing demand for accurate segmentation of tumor-bearing brain images. Atlas-based segmentation is an appealing automatic technique thanks to its robustness and versatility. However, atlas-based segmentation of tumor-bearing brain images is challenging due to the confounding effects of the tumor in the patient image. In this article, we provide a brief background on brain tumor imaging and introduce the clinical perspective, before we categorize and review the state of the art in the current literature on atlas-based segmentation for tumor-bearing brain images. We also present selected methods and results from our own research in more detail. Finally, we conclude with a short summary and look at new developments in the field, including requirements for future routine clinical use.