The Economies of Urban Diversity : Ruhr Area and Istanbul

The Economics of Urban Diversity explores ethnic and religious minorities in urban economies. In this exciting work, the contributors develop an integrative approach to urban diversity and economy by employing concepts from different studies and linking historical and contemporary analyses of economic, societal, demographic, and cultural development. Contributors from a variety of disciplines-geography, economics, history, sociology, anthropology, and planning-make for a transdisciplinary analysis of past and present migration-related economic and social issues, which helps to better understand the situation of ethnic and religious minorities in metropolitan areas today.

Miniaturized bacterial biosensor system for arsenic detection holds great promise for making integrated measurement device.

Combining bacterial bioreporters with microfluidics systems holds great promise for in-field detection of chemical or toxicity targets. Recently we showed how Escherichia coli cells engineered to produce a variant of green fluorescent protein after contact to arsenite and arsenate can be encapsulated in agarose beads and incorporated into a microfluidic chip to create a device for in-field detection of arsenic, a contaminant of well known toxicity and carcinogenicity in potable water both in industrialized and developing countries. Cell-beads stored in the microfluidics chip at -20°C retained inducibility up to one month and we were able to reproducibly discriminate concentrations of 10 and 50 μg arsenite per L (the drinking water standards for European countries and the United States, and for the developing countries, respectively) from the blank in less than 200 minutes. We discuss here the reasons for decreasing bioreporter signal development upon increased storage of cell beads but also show how this decrease can be reduced, leading to a faster detection and a longer lifetime of the device.

Bacterial membrane injuries induced by lactacin F and nisin

The combined action of nisin and lactacin F, two bacteriocins produced by lactic acid bacteria, is additive. In this report, the basis of this effect is examined. Channels formed by lactacin F were studied by experiments using planar lipid bilayers, and bactericidal effects were analyzed by flow cytometry. Lactacin F produced pores with a conductance of 1 ns in black lipid bilayers in 1 mM KClat 10 mV at 20°C. Pore formation was strongly dependent on voltage. Although lactacin F formed pores at very low potential (10 mV), the dependence was exponentialabov e 40 mV. The injuries induced by nisin and lactacin F in the membranes of Lactobacillus helveticus produced different flow cytometric profiles. Probably, when both bacteriocins are present, each acts separately; their cooperation may be due to an increase in the number of single membrane injuries

Recommendations for term and late preterm infants at risk for perinatal bacterial infection.

Since publication of the initial guidelines for the prevention of group B streptococcal disease in 1996, the incidence of perinatal infection has decreased significantly. Intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis together with appropriate management of neonates at increased risk for early-onset sepsis not only reduces morbidity and mortality, but also decreases the burden of unnecessary or prolonged antibiotic therapy. This article provides healthcare workers in Switzerland with evidence-based and best-practice derived guidelines for the assessment and management of term and late preterm infants (>34 weeks) at increased risk for perinatal bacterial infection. Management of neonates at increased risk for early-onset sepsis depends on clinical presentation and risk factors. Asymptomatic infants with risk factors for early-onset sepsis should be observed closely in an inpatient setting for the first 48 hours of life. Symptomatic neonates must be treated promptly with intravenous antibiotics. As clinical and laboratory signs of neonatal infection are nonspecific, it is mandatory to reevaluate the need for continued antibiotic therapy after 48 hours.

The Roles of Cultural, Functional and Value Diversity in Innovativeness and Learning

Tutkielman tavoite on tutkia kulttuurista, funktionaalista ja arvojen diversiteettiä, niiden suhdetta innovatiivisuuteen ja oppimiseen sekä tarjota keinoja diversiteetin johtamiseen. Tämän lisäksi selvitetään linjaesimiesten haastattelujen kautta miten diversiteetti case -organisaatiossa tällä hetkellä koetaan. Organisaation diversiteetin tämänhetkisen tilan tunnistamisen kautta voidaan esittää parannusehdotuksia diversiteetin hallintaan. Tutkimus- ja tiedonkeruumenetelmänä käytetään kvalitatiivista focus group haastattelumenetelmää. Tutkimuksessa saatiin selkeä kuva kulttuurisen, funktionaalisen ja arvojen diversiteetin merkityksistä organisaation innovatiivisuudelle ja oppimiselle sekä löydettiin keinoja näiden diversiteetin tyyppien johtamiseen. Tutkimuksen tärkeä löydös on se, että diversiteetti vaikuttaa positiivisesti organisaation innovatiivisuuteen kun sitä johdetaan tehokkaasti ja kun organisaatioympäristö tukee avointa keskustelua ja mielipiteiden jakamista. Case organisaation tämänhetkistä diversiteetin tilaa selvitettäessä havaittiin että ongelma organisaatiossa ei ole diversiteetin puute, vaan paremminkin se, ettei diversiteettia osata hyödyntää. Organisaatio ei tue erilaisten näkemysten ja mielipiteiden vapaata esittämistä jahyväksikäyttöä ja siksi diversiteetin hyödyntäminen on epätäydellistä. Haastatteluissa tärkeinä seikkoina diversiteetin hyödyntämisen parantamisessa nähtiin kulttuurin muuttaminen avoimempaan suuntaan ja johtajien esimiestaitojen parantaminen.

Diversity management and team leadership in a nonprofit organization. Case: AIESEC in Finland

Tutkimuksen tarkoituksena on selvittää kuinka moninaisuus ja sen johtaminen näkyvät voittoa tavoittelemattoman järjestön tiimityössä, kuinka moninaisuus ja tiimityö pystyvät selittämään motiiveja työskennellä voittoa tavoittelemattomassa järjestössä ja mitä tulisi huomioida tiimityön ja tiimin johtajuuden osalta, kun moninaisuus ja voittoa tavoittelemattoman järjestön luonne otetaan huomioon. Tämä tutkielma on laadullinen tutkimus, jossa tutkimusmenetelminä on käytetty yhdeksää teemahaastattelua, edellisen tutkimuksen tuloksia (Astikainen, 2005) sekä havainnointia. Tutkimuksen perusteellavoidaan todeta, että voittoa tavoittelemattoman järjestön luonne, tiimityö tai moninaisuus eivät sinällään merkitse paljoakaan tulosten kannalta, vaan niiden keskinäiset yhteydet. Nämä yhdessä, oikein hyödynnettynä, vaikuttavat työntekijöiden motivaatioon ja sitä kautta organisaation tuloksiin.

Population genetics of Capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus) in the Jura and the Pyrenees: a non-invasive approach to avian conservation genetics

RÉSUMÉ Le Grand tétras est un galliforme de montagne apparenté au faisan et au tétras lyre. Il est distribué de manière continue à travers la toundra et les montagnes de moyenne altitude en Europe de l'ouest. Toutefois, les populations d'Europe de l'ouest ont subi un déclin constant au cours des derniers siècles. Les causes de ce déclin sont probablement liées à l'activité humaine, telle .que l'élevage ou le tourisme, qui ont engendré une modification et une fragmentation de l'habitat de l'espèce. Malheureusement, les populations soumises à de forts déclins démographiques peuvent subir des effets génétiques (augmentation de la consanguinité et perte de diversité génétique) pouvant diminuer leur potentiel de reproduction et conduire irrémédiablement à l'extinction. Cette thèse présente les analyses conduites dans le but d'estimer l'impact du déclin démographique des populations de Grand tétras sur l'étendue et la distribution de leur variabilité génétique dans le Jura et dans les Pyrénées. Du fait de la législation locale protégeant les tétraonidés en général, mais également en raison de la biologie très cryptique du Grand tétras, l'ensemble des analyses de cette étude a été réalisé à partir de matériel génétique extrait des fientes (ou échantillonnage génétique non invasif). Dans la première partie de l'étude, je détaille les protocoles d'extraction. d'ADN et d'amplification par PCR modifiés à partir des protocoles classiques utilisant des échantillons conventionnels, riches en ADN. L'utilisation d'ADN fécal impose des contraintes dues à la mauvaise qualité et à la faible quantité du matériel génétique à disposition dans les fientes. Ces contraintes ont pu être partiellement contournées en réalisant des répétitions multiples du génotypage afin d'obtenir un degré de fiabilité suffisante. J'ai également analysé les causes de la dégradation de l'ADN dans les excréments. Parmi les causes les plus communes, telles que l'activité bactérienne, l'hydrolyse spontanée et la dégradation enzymatique par les DNases libres, c'est ce dernier facteur qui apparaît comme étant la cause majeure et la plus rapide responsable de la dégradation de la qualité des échantillons. La rapidité de l'action enzymatique suggère que les plans d'échantillonnages de excréments sur le terrain pourraient être optimisés en les réalisant dans des conditions climatiques froides et sèches, favorisant ainsi l'inhibition des DNases. La seconde partie de la thèse est une étude par simulation visant à déterminer la capacité du logiciel Structure à identifier les structures génétiques complexes et hiérarchiques fréquemment rencontrées dans les populations naturelles, et ce en utilisant différents types de marqueurs génétiques. Les troisième et quatrième parties de cette thèse décrivent le statut génétique des populations résiduelles du Jura et des Pyrénées à partir de l'analyse de 11 loci microsatellites. Nous n'avons pas pu mettre en évidence dans les deux populations des effets liés à la consanguinité ou à la réduction de la diversité génétique. De plus, la différenciation génétique entre les patches d'habitats favorables reste modérée et corrélée à la distance géographique, ce qui suggère que la dispersion d'individus entre les patches a été importante au moins pendant ces dernières générations. La comparaison des paramètres de la diversité génétique avec ceux d'autres populations de Grand tétras, ou d'autres espèces proches, indique que la population du Jura a retenu une proportion importante de sa diversité originelle. Ces résultats suggèrent que le déclin récent des populations a jusqu'ici eu un impact modéré sur les facteurs génétiques et que ces populations semblent avoir conservé le potentiel génétique nécessaire à leur survie à long terme. Finalement, en cinquième partie, l'analyse de l'apparentement entre les mâles qui participent à la parade sur les places de chant (leks) indique que ces derniers sont distribués en agrégats de manière non aléatoire, préférentiellement entre individus apparentés. De plus, la corrélation entre les distances génétique et géographique entre les leks est en accord avec les motifs d'isolement par la distance mis en évidence à d'autres niveaux hiérarchiques (entre patches d'habitat et populations), ainsi qu'avec les études menées sur d'autres espèces ayant choisi ce même système de reproduction. En conclusion, cette première étude basée uniquement sur de l'ADN nucléaire aviaire extrait à partir de fèces a fourni des informations nouvelles qui n'auraient pas pu être obtenues par une méthode d'observation sur le terrain ou d'échantillonnage génétique classique. Aucun oiseau n'a été dérangé ou capturé, et les résultats sont comparables à d'autres études concernant des espèces proches. Néanmoins, la taille de ces populations approche des niveaux au-dessous desquels la survie à long terme est fortement incertaine. La persistance de la diversité génétique pour les prochaines générations reste en conséquence liée à la survie des adultes et à une reprise du succès de la reproduction. ABSTRACT Capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus) is a large grouse that is continuously distributed across the tundra and the mid-high mountains of Western Europe. However, the populations in Western Europe have been showing a constant decline during the last decades. The causes for this decline are possibly related to human activities, such as cattle breeding and tourism that have both led to habitat modification and fragmentation. Unfortunately, populations that have undergone drastic demographic bottlenecks often go through genetic processes of inbreeding and loss of diversity that decrease their fitness and eventually lead to extinction. This thesis presents the investigations conducted to estimate the impact of the demographic decline of capercaillie populations on the extent and distribution of their genetic variability in the Jura and in the Pyrenees mountains. Because grouse are protected by wildlife legislation, and also because of the cryptic behaviour of capercaillie, all DNA material used in this study was extracted from faeces (non-invasive genetic sampling). In the first part of my thesis, I detail the protocols of DNA extraction and PCR amplification adapted from classical methods using conventional DNA-rich samples. The use of faecal DNA imposes specific constraints due to the low quantity and the highly degraded genetic material available. These constraints are partially overcome by performing multiple genotyping repetitions to obtain sufficient reliability. I also investigate the causes of DNA degradation in faeces. Among the main degraders, namely bacterial activity, spontaneous hydrolysis, and free-¬DNase activities, the latter was pointed out as the most important according to our experiments. These enzymes degrade DNA very rapidly, and, as a consequence, faeces sampling schemes must be planned preferably in cold and dry weather conditions, allowing for enzyme activity inhibition. The second part of the thesis is a simulation study aiming to assess the capacity of the software Structure to detect population structure in hierarchical models relevant to situations encountered in wild populations, using several genetic markers. The methods implemented in Structure appear efficient in detecting the highest hierarchical structure. The third and fourth parts of the thesis describe the population genetics status of the remaining Jura and Pyrenees populations using 11 microsatellite loci. In either of these populations, no inbreeding nor reduced genetic diversity was detected. Furthermore, the genetic differentiation between patches defined by habitat suitability remains moderate and correlated with geographical distance, suggesting that significant dispersion between patches was at work at least until the last generations. The comparison of diversity indicators with other species or other populations of capercaillie indicate that population in the Jura has retained a large part of its original genetic diversity. These results suggest that the recent decline has had so forth a moderate impact on• genetic factors and that these populations might have retained the potential for long term survival, if the decline is stopped. Finally, in the fifth part, the analysis of relatedness between males participating in the reproduction parade, or lek, indicate that capercaillie males, like has been shown for some other grouse species, gather on leks• among individuals that are more related than the average of the population. This pattern appears to be due to both population structure and kin-association. As a conclusion, this first study relying exclusively on nuclear DNA extracted from faeces has provided novel information that was not available through field observation or classical genetic sampling. No bird has been captured or disturbed, and the results are consistent with other studies of closely related species. However, the size of these populations is approaching thresholds below which long-term survival is unlikely. The persistence of genetic diversity for the forthcoming generations remains therefore bond to adult survival and to the increase of reproduction success.

Enrichment cultures should be performed in the detection of bacterial oral human pathogens in DUWLs

Water delivered by dental units during routine dental practice is densely contaminated by bacteria. The aim of this study was to determine actual isolation of the microorganisms sprayed from Dental Unit Water Lines (DUWLs) when enrichment cultures are performed and to compare frequencies with those obtained without enrichment cultures. Moreover, the antimicrobial susceptibilities of the microorganisms isolated were also studied. Water samples were collected from one hundred dental equipments in use at Dental Hospital of our University in order to evaluate the presence/absence of microorganisms and to perform their presumptive identification. Aliquots from all of the samples were inoculated in eight different media including both enrichment and selective media. Minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) were determined by the broth dilution method. The results herein reported demonstrate that most of the DUWLs were colonized by bacteria from human oral cavity; when enrichment procedures were applied the percentage of DUWLs with detectable human bacteria was one hundred percent. The results showed that in order to evaluate the actual risk of infections spread by DUWLs the inclusion of a step of pre-enrichment should be performed. The need for devices preventing bacterial contamination of DUWLs is a goal to be achieved in the near future that would contribute to maintain safety in dental medical assistance

Global Diversity Lines-A Five-Continent Reference Panel of Sequenced Drosophila melanogaster Strains.

Reference collections of multiple Drosophila lines with accumulating collections of "omics" data have proven especially valuable for the study of population genetics and complex trait genetics. Here we present a description of a resource collection of 84 strains of Drosophila melanogaster whose genome sequences were obtained after 12 generations of full-sib inbreeding. The initial rationale for this resource was to foster development of a systems biology platform for modeling metabolic regulation by the use of natural polymorphisms as perturbations. As reference lines, they are amenable to repeated phenotypic measurements, and already a large collection of metabolic traits have been assayed. Another key feature of these strains is their widespread geographic origin, coming from Beijing, Ithaca, Netherlands, Tasmania, and Zimbabwe. After obtaining 12.5× coverage of paired-end Illumina sequence reads, SNP and indel calls were made with the GATK platform. Thorough quality control was enabled by deep sequencing one line to >100×, and single-nucleotide polymorphisms and indels were validated using ddRAD-sequencing as an orthogonal platform. In addition, a series of preliminary population genetic tests were performed with these single-nucleotide polymorphism data for assessment of data quality. We found 83 segregating inversions among the lines, and as expected these were especially abundant in the African sample. We anticipate that this will make a useful addition to the set of reference D. melanogaster strains, thanks to its geographic structuring and unusually high level of genetic diversity.

Prevalence and diversity of Chlamydiales in Swiss ruminant farms.

Chlamydia and Chlamydia-related bacteria are known to infect various organisms and may cause a wide range of diseases, especially in ruminants. To gain insight into the prevalence of these bacteria in the ruminant environment, we applied a pan-Chlamydiales PCR followed by sequencing to 72 ruminant environmental samples from water, feed bunks and floors. Chlamydiales from four family-level lineages were detected indicating a high biodiversity of Chlamydiales in ruminant farms. Parachlamydiaceae were detected in all three types of environmental samples and was the most abundant family-level taxon (60%). In contrast, only one bacterium from each of the following family-level lineages was identified: Chlamydiaceae, Criblamydiaceae and Simkaniaceae. The observed high prevalence of Parachlamydiaceae in water samples may suggest water as the main source of contamination for ruminants as well as their environment due to spoilage. The absence of reported infections in the investigated ruminant farms might indicate that either detected Chlamydiales are of reduced pathogenicity or infective doses have not been reached.

Effect of cattle on Salmonella carriage, diversity and antimicrobial resistance in free-ranging wild boar (Sus scrofa) in northeastern Spain

Salmonella is distributed worldwide and is a pathogen of economic and public health importance. As a multi-host pathogen with a long environmental persistence, it is a suitable model for the study of wildlife-livestock interactions. In this work, we aim to explore the spill-over of Salmonella between free-ranging wild boar and livestock in a protected natural area in NE Spain and the presence of antimicrobial resistance. Salmonella prevalence, serotypes and diversity were compared between wild boars, sympatric cattle and wild boars from cattle-free areas. The effect of age, sex, cattle presence and cattle herd size on Salmonella probability of infection in wild boars was explored by means of Generalized Linear Models and a model selection based on the Akaike’s Information Criterion. Prevalence was higher in wild boars co-habiting with cattle (35.67%, CI 95% 28.19–43.70) than in wild boar from cattle-free areas (17.54%, CI 95% 8.74–29.91). Probability of a wild boar being a Salmonella carrier increased with cattle herd size but decreased with the host age. Serotypes Meleagridis, Anatum and Othmarschen were isolated concurrently from cattle and sympatric wild boars. Apart from serotypes shared with cattle, wild boars appear to have their own serotypes, which are also found in wild boars from cattle-free areas (Enteritidis, Mikawasima, 4:b:- and 35:r:z35). Serotype richness (diversity) was higher in wild boars co-habiting with cattle, but evenness was not altered by the introduction of serotypes from cattle. The finding of a S. Mbandaka strain resistant to sulfamethoxazole, streptomycin and chloramphenicol and a S. Enteritidis strain resistant to ciprofloxacin and nalidixic acid in wild boars is cause for public health concern.

Diversity and genetic struture in cajá tree (spondias mombin l.) populations in northeastern Brazil

Spondias mombin L. is a fruit tree from the American continent from the Anacardiaceae family. In Brazil it is common in different vegetation types but is more frequent in the Atlantic and Amazonian rainforests. It is economically important because of its fruits, which are widely consumed raw or processed as fruit jellies, juices and ice creams. The leaves have great importance in the pharmaceutical industry because of their antibacterial properties. In the state of Pernambuco, cajá tree is widely distributed in the Zona da Mata region and less frequently in the Agreste and Sertão areas. In this work diversity and genetic structure were studied in four populations of cajá tree from Pernambuco's Zona da Mata, Northeast Brazil, using isozymes polymorphism analyses from electrophoreses. The result showed 100% of polymorphism (P) for nine alleles and the average of alleles per locus s was 2.4. The expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.530 to 0.574 and the observed heterozygosity , from 0.572 to 0.735. It was not observed inbreeding and the average F IT was -0.175, whereas within population inbreeding (f) varied from -0.08 to- 0.37. The genetic divergence among the populations (F ST) ranged from 0.006 to 0.028 and the average was 0.026. The average of estimated gene flow (Nm) was high (5.27). The CG-IPA population, corresponding to the germplasm collection of IPA, showed more than 96% of genetic similarity with other populations; therefore, it is a good representative of the existent genetic diversity in the Zona da Mata region.