Review of The Biology of Freshwater Wetlands: Biology of Habitats by Arnold G. van der Valko

Wetland ecology is a relatively new field that developed from an initial interest in a few direct benefits that wetlands provide to society. Consequently, much early scientific work was stimulated by economic returns from specific wetland services, such as production of peat and provision of habitat for economically valuable wildlife (e.g., waterfowl and furbearers). Over time, societal interest in wetlands broadened, and these unique habitats are now valued for many additional services, including some that bear non market value. Common examples include carbon sequestration, flood reduction, water purification, and aesthetics. The increased recognition of the importance of wetlands has generated a diversity of job opportunities in wetland ecology and management. Despite the increased knowledge base and enhanced job market, I am not aware of any institutions that offer specialty degrees in this new discipline. Indeed, relatively few institutions offer specific wetland ecology classes, with Arnold G. van der Valk and a few of his peers at other universities being notable exceptions.

Petroleum contamination impact on macrobenthic communities under the influence of an oil refinery: Integrating chemical and biological multivariate data

Petroleum contamination impact on macrobenthic communities in the northeast portion of Todos os Santos Bay was assessed combining in multivariate analyses, chemical parameters such as aliphatic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon indices and concentration ratios with benthic ecological parameters. Sediment samples were taken in August 2000 with a 0.05 m(2) van Veen grab at 28 sampling locations. The predominance of n-alkanes with more than 24 carbons, together with CPI values close to one, and the fact that most of the stations showed UCM/resolved aliphatic hydrocarbons ratios (UCM:R) higher than two, indicated a high degree of anthropogenic contribution, the presence of terrestrial plant detritus, petroleum products and evidence of chronic oil pollution. The indices used to determine the origin of PAH indicated the occurrence of a petrogenic contribution. A pyrolytic contribution constituted mainly by fossil fuel combustion derived PAH was also observed. The results of the stepwise multiple regression analysis performed with chemical data and benthic ecological descriptors demonstrated that not only total PAH concentrations but also specific concentration ratios or indices such as >= C24:< C24, An/178 and Fl/Fl + Py, are determining the structure of benthic communities within the study area. According to the BIO-ENV results petroleum related variables seemed to have a main influence on macrofauna community structure. The PCA ordination performed with the chemical data resulted in the formation of three groups of stations. The decrease in macrofauna density, number of species and diversity from groups III to I seemed to be related to the occurrence of high aliphatic hydrocarbon and PAH concentrations associated with fine sediments. Our results showed that macrobenthic communities in the northeast portion of Todos os Santos Bay are subjected to the impact of chronic oil pollution as was reflected by the reduction in the number of species and diversity. These results emphasise the importance to combine in multivariate approaches not only total hydrocarbon concentrations but also indices, isomer pair ratios and specific compound concentrations with biological data to improve the assessment of anthropogenic impact on marine ecosystems. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Subgroup-specific structural variation across 1,000 medulloblastoma genomes

Medulloblastoma, the most common malignant paediatric brain tumour, is currently treated with nonspecific cytotoxic therapies including surgery, whole-brain radiation, and aggressive chemotherapy. As medulloblastoma exhibits marked intertumoural heterogeneity, with at least four distinct molecular variants, previous attempts to identify targets for therapy have been underpowered because of small samples sizes. Here we report somatic copy number aberrations (SCNAs) in 1,087 unique medulloblastomas. SCNAs are common in medulloblastoma, and are predominantly subgroup-enriched. The most common region of focal copy number gain is a tandem duplication of SNCAIP, a gene associated with Parkinson's disease, which is exquisitely restricted to Group 4 alpha. Recurrent translocations of PVT1, including PVT1-MYC and PVT1-NDRG1, that arise through chromothripsis are restricted to Group 3. Numerous targetable SCNAs, including recurrent events targeting TGF-beta signalling in Group 3, and NF-kappa B signalling in Group 4, suggest future avenues for rational, targeted therapy.

Production of human factor VIII-FL in 293T cells using the bicistronic MGMT(P140K)-retroviral vector

Hemophilia A is the most common X-linked bleeding disorder; it is caused by deficiency of coagulation factor VIII (FVIII). Replacement therapy with rFVIII produced from human cell line is a major goal for treating hemophilia patients. We prepared a full-length recombinant FVIII (FVIII-FL), using the pMFG-P140K retroviral vector. The IRES DNA fragment was cloned upstream to the P140K gene, providing a 9.34-kb bicistronic vector. FVIII-FL cDNA was then cloned upstream to IRES, resulting in a 16.6-kb construct. In parallel, an eGFP control vector was generated, resulting in a 10.1-kb construct. The 293T cells were transfected with these constructs, generating the 293T-FVIII-FL/P140K and 293T-eGFP/P140K cell lines. In 293T-FVIII-FL/P140K cells, FVIII and P140K mRNAs levels were 4,410 (+/- 931.7)- and 295,400 (+/- 75,769)-fold higher than in virgin cells. In 293T-eGFP/P140K cells, the eGFP and P140K mRNAs levels were 1,501,000 (+/- 493,700)- and 308,000 (+/- 139,300)-fold higher than in virgin cells. The amount of FVIII-FL was 0.2 IU/mL and 45 ng/mL FVIII cells or 4.4 IU/mu g protein. These data demonstrate the efficacy of the bicistronic retroviral vector expressing FVIII-FL and MGMT(P140K), showing that it could be used for producing the FVIII-FL protein in a human cell line.

Encapsulation of small magnetic clusters in fullerene cages: A density functional theory investigation within van der Waals corrections

The encapsulation of magnetic transition-metal (TM) clusters inside carbon cages (fullerenes, nanotubes) has been of great interest due to the wide range of applications, which spread from medical sensors in magnetic resonance imaging to photonic crystals. Several theoretical studies have been reported; however, our atomistic understanding of the physical properties of encapsulated magnetic TM 3d clusters is far from satisfactory. In this work, we will report general trends, derived from density functional theory within the generalized gradient approximation proposed by Perdew, Burke, and Ernzerhof (PBE), for the encapsulation properties of the TMm@C-n (TM = Fe, Co, Ni; m = 2-6, n = 60,70,80,90) systems. Furthermore, to understand the role of the van der Waals corrections to the physical properties, we employed the empirical Grimme's correction (PBE + D2). We found that both PBE and PBE + D2 functionals yield almost the same geometric parameters, magnetic and electronic properties, however, PBE + D2 strongly enhances the encapsulation energy. We found that the center of mass of the TMm clusters is displaced towards the inside C-n surfaces, except for large TMm clusters (m = 5 and 6). For few cases, e. g., Co-4 and Fe-4, the encapsulation changes the putative lowest-energy structure compared to the isolated TMm clusters. We identified few physical parameters that play an important role in the sign and magnitude of the encapsulation energy, namely, cluster size, fullerene equatorial diameter, shape, curvature of the inside C-n surface, number of TM atoms that bind directly to the inside C-n surface, and the van der Waals correction. The total magnetic moment of encapsulated TMm clusters decreases compared with the isolated TMm clusters, which is expected due to the hybridization of the d-p states, and strongly depends on the size and shape of the fullerene cages.

Ethanol and Water Adsorption on Close-Packed 3d, 4d, and 5d Transition-Metal Surfaces: A Density Functional Theory Investigation with van der Waals Correction

Nowadays, there is a great interest in the economic success of direct ethanol fuel cells; however, our atomistic understanding of the designing of stable and low-cost catalysts for the steam reforming of ethanol is still far from satisfactory, in particular due to the large number of undesirable intermediates. In this study, we will report a first-principles investigation of the adsorption properties of ethanol and water at low coverage on close-packed transition-metal (TM) surfaces, namely, Fe(110), Co(0001), Ni(111), Cu(111), Ru(0001), Rh(111), Pd(111), Ag(111), Os(0001), Ir(111), Pt(111), and Au(111), employing density functional theory (DFT) calculations. We employed the generalized gradient approximation with the formulation proposed by Perdew, Burke, and Erzenholf (PBE) to the exchange correlation functional and the empirical correction proposed by S. Grimme (DFT+D3) for the van der Waals correction. We found that both adsorbates binds preferentially near or on the on top sites of the TM surfaces through the 0 atoms. The PBE adsorption energies of ethanol and water decreases almost linearly with the increased occupation of the 4d and 5d d-band, while there is a deviation for the 3d systems. The van der Waals correction affects the linear behavior and increases the adsorption energy for both adsorbates, which is expected as the van der Waals energy due to the correlation effects is strongly underestimated by DFT-PBE for weak interacting systems. The geometric parameters for water/TM are not affected by the van der Waals correction, i.e., both DFT and DFT+D3 yield an almost parallel orientation for water on the TM surfaces; however, DFT+D3 changes drastically the ethanol orientation. For example, DFT yields an almost perpendicular orientation of the C-C bond to the TM surface, while the C-C bond is almost parallel to the surface using DFT +D3 for all systems, except for ethanol/Fe(110). Thus, the van der Waals correction decreases the distance of the C atoms to the TM surfaces, which might contribute to break the C-C bond. The work function decreases upon the adsorption of ethanol and water, and both follow the same trends, however, with different magnitude (larger for ethanol/TM) due to the weak binding of water to the surface. The electron density increases mainly in the region between the topmost layer and the adsorbates, which explains the reduction of the substrate work function.

Claves de lo portante en la arquitectura moderna : la villa Savoye de Le Corbusier y Pierre Jeanneret, y la casa Tugendhat de Mies van der Rohe

Programa de doctorado: Restauración y rehabilitación arquitectónica.

Arnt van Tricht : Werkkatalog eines Bildhauers am Niederrhein im 16. Jahrhundert

Arnt van Tricht, gest. 1570, unterhielt bis in die späten 50er Jahre des 16. Jahrhunderts, wahrschein-lich aus Antwerpen kommend, in Kalkar am Niederrhein eine sehr erfolgreiche Werkstatt. Die bis dahin vorherrschende spätgotische Formensprache der langjährig ansässigen Bildhauer löste er durch die der Renaissance ab, führte jedoch deren Arbeitsfelder und Materialwahl weiter. Arnt van Tricht schuf Arbeiten sowohl religiöser als auch profaner Natur innerhalb des Gebiets der damals sehr bedeutenden Vereinigten Herzogtümer Kleve-Mark-Jülich-Berg und Geldern. Seine wohlhabenden Auftraggeber entstammten dem Klerus, der Bürgerschaft und dem Adel.rnIm Rahmen der Arbeit zeigte sich, dass sich für den Künstler die Verlegung der herzoglichen Residenz nach Düsseldorf und der wirtschaftliche Niedergang der Region letztlich stärker auswirkte als die religiösen Veränderungen durch die Reformation.rnArnt van Tricht schuf die meisten seiner religiösen Bildwerke für die Stiftskirche St. Viktor in Xanten, die durch die Bürgerschaft ausgestattete Pfarrkirche von St. Nicolai in Kalkar und umliegende Gemeinden. Einzelne Stücke sind, wohl über familiäre Verflechtungen vermittelt, in einem weiteren Radius zu finden. Van Tricht arbeitete Schnitzretabel mitsamt ihrer ornamentalen und figuralen Aus-stattung sowie Skulpturen(-gruppen) in Eichenholz. Daneben finden sich im Werk zahlreiche in Sandstein gearbeitete Skulpturen, die teilweise an Pfeilern und Portalen der Kirchen architektur-gebunden sind. Neben diesen rundplastischen Werken schuf Arnt van Tricht eine große Anzahl an steinernen Reliefarbeiten. Hierbei nehmen die überwiegend für die lokalen Kanoniker gearbeiteten Epitaphien mit biblischem Reliefbild in Ornamentrahmen den größten Teil ein.rnEin zweiter, gleichwertiger Werkkomplex, überwiegend in Sandstein gearbeitet, ist profaner Natur und fällt durch die Größe der Aufträge ins Gewicht. Arnt van Tricht war an einigen groß angelegten Modernisierungsprojekten an Stadthäusern und Kastellen des lokalen Adels beschäftigt. Für mehrere aufwendig gestaltete Fassadendekorationen arbeitete er Architekturglieder mit figürlicher Darstellung oder Ornament, Büsten und freiplastische Skulpturen. Arnt van Tricht war aber auch an der Aus-gestaltung der Innenräume beteiligt. Aufwendig skulptierte und reliefverzierte Kaminverkleidungen stehen dabei neben reduzierteren Arbeiten für offensichtlich weniger repräsentative Räume. Neben in Eichenholz gearbeiteter Vertäfelung schuf Arnt van Tricht hölzerne figurale Handtuchhalter. Diese zeigen, wie auch die Reliefbilder der Kamine, die darüber hinaus Wappen und Porträts der Bauherren aufnehmen, eine religiöse oder profane, auch antikisierende Thematik, bei der ein moralisierender Unterton mitschwingt.rnIn dieser Arbeit werden erstmals alle Werkstücke des Künstlers zusammengeführt dargestellt, so dass ein Werkkatalog mit einem Überblick über das sehr breit gefächerte Spektrum des Opus Arnt van Trichts vorliegt. Häufig durch bloße Nennung mit Arnt van Tricht in Verbindung gebrachte Arbeiten werden bewertet und die Zu- oder Abschreibung begründet. Auch können einige Stücke neu zugeschrieben werden.

Electronic properties of Van der Waals heterostructures

L’interazione spin-orbita (SOI) nel grafene è attualmente oggetto di intensa ricerca grazie alla recente scoperta di una nuova classe di materiali chiamati isolanti topologici. Questi materiali, la cui esistenza è strettamente legata alla presenza di una forte SOI, sono caratterizzati dall’interessante proprietà di avere un bulk isolante ed allo stesso tempo superfici conduttrici. La scoperta teorica degli isolanti topologici la si deve ad un lavoro nato con l’intento di studiare l’influenza dell’interazione spin-orbita sulle proprietà del grafene. Poichè questa interazione nel grafene è però intrinsecamente troppo piccola, non è mai stato possibile effettuare verifiche sperimentali. Per questa ragione, vari lavori di ricerca hanno recentemente proposto tecniche volte ad aumentare questa interazione. Sebbene alcuni di questi studi abbiano mostrato un effettivo aumento dell’interazione spin-orbita rispetto al piccolo valore intrinseco, sfortunatamente hanno anche evidenziato una consistente riduzione della qualità del grafene. L’obbiettivo che ci si pone in questa tesi è di determinare se sia possibile aumentare l’interazione spin-orbita nel grafene preservandone allo stesso tempo le qualità. La soluzione proposta in questo lavoro si basa sull’utilizzo di due materiali semiconduttori, diselenio di tungsteno WSe2 e solfuro di molibdeno MoS2, utilizzati da substrato su cui sopra verrà posizionato il grafene formando così un’eterostruttura -nota anche di “van der Waal” (vdW)-. Il motivo di questa scelta è dovuto al fatto che questi materiali, appartenenti alla famiglia dei metalli di transizione dicalcogenuri (TMDS), mostrano una struttura reticolare simile a quella del grafene, rendendoli ideali per formare eterostrutture e ancora più importante, presentano una SOI estremamente grande. Sostanzialmente l’idea è quindi di sfruttare questa grande interazione spin-orbita del substrato per indurla nel grafene aumentandone così il suo piccolo valore intrinseco.