La scala delle distanze in astrofisica

In questo elaborato vengono descritti i principali metodi per il calcolo delle distanze in astrofisica. Viene trattato il fenomeno della parallasse, il funzionamento e alcuni tipi di stelle variabili oltre alle supernove di tipo thermonuclear. Infine sono brevemente discussi alcuni indicatori secondari: le relazioni di Faber-Jackson, Tully-Fisher e la legge di Hubble.

Use of linezolid in neonatal and pediatric inpatient facilities-results of a retrospective multicenter survey

The purpose of this investigation was to describe the use of linezolid in pediatric inpatient facilities. A retrospective multicenter survey including data from nine participating tertiary care pediatric inpatient facilities in Germany and Austria was undertaken. Data on 126 off-label linezolid treatment courses administered to 108 patients were documented. The survey comprises linezolid treatment in a broad spectrum of clinical indications to children of all age groups; the median age was 6.8 years (interquartile range 0.6-15.5 years; range 0.1-21.2 years; ten patients were older than 18 years of age but were treated in pediatric inpatient units). Of the 126 treatment courses, 27 (21%) were administered to preterm infants, 64 (51%) to pediatric oncology patients, and 5% to patients soon after liver transplantation. In 25%, the infection was related to a medical device. Linezolid iv treatment was started after intensive pre-treatment (up to 11 other antibiotics for a median duration of 14 days) and changed to enteral administration in only 4% of all iv courses. In 39 (53%) of 74 courses administered to children older than 1 week and younger than 12 years of age, the dose was not adjusted to age-related pharmacokinetic parameters. In only 17 courses (13%) was a pediatric infectious disease consultant involved in the clinical decision algorithm. Linezolid seemed to have contributed to a favorable outcome in 70% of all treatment courses in this survey. Although retrospective, this survey generates interesting data on the off-label use of linezolid and highlights several important clinical aspects in which the use of this rescue antibiotic in children might be improved.

Distinct DNA methylation patterns in cirrhotic liver and hepatocellular carcinoma

Abberrant DNA methylation is one of the hallmarks of cancerogenesis. Our study aims to delineate differential DNA methylation in cirrhosis and hepatic cancerogenesis. Patterns of methylation of 27,578 individual CpG loci in 12 hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs), 15 cirrhotic controls and 12 normal liver samples were investigated using an array-based technology. A supervised principal component analysis (PCA) revealed 167 hypomethylated loci and 100 hypermethylated loci in cirrhosis and HCC as compared to normal controls. Thus, these loci show a "cirrhotic" methylation pattern that is maintained in HCC. In pairwise supervised PCAs between normal liver, cirrhosis and HCC, eight loci were significantly changed in all analyses differentiating the three groups (p < 0.0001). Of these, five loci showed highest methylation levels in HCC and lowest in control tissue (LOC55908, CELSR1, CRMP1, GNRH2, ALOX12 and ANGPTL7), whereas two loci showed the opposite direction of change (SPRR3 and TNFSF15). Genes hypermethylated between normal liver to cirrhosis, which maintain this methylation pattern during the development of HCC, are depleted for CpG islands, high CpG content promoters and polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) targets in embryonic stem cells. In contrast, genes selectively hypermethylated in HCC as compared to nonmalignant samples showed an enrichment of CpG islands, high CpG content promoters and PRC2 target genes (p < 0.0001). Cirrhosis and HCC show distinct patterns of differential methylation with regards to promoter structure, PRC2 targets and CpG islands.

1509 - Johannes Calvin - 2009. Sein Wirken in Kirche und Gesellschaft. Essays zum 500. Geburtstag

Welche bleibenden Impulse haben Johannes Calvin und der Calvinismus Kirche und Gesellschaft bis heute gegeben? Mit dieser Frage beschäftigen sich anlässlich des 500. Geburtstags des Genfer Reformators die Autorinnen und die Autoren der vorliegenden Beiträge anhand ausgewählter theologischer und wirkungsgeschichtlicher Themen. Gleichzeitig bieten sie eine grundlegende und allgemein verständliche Einführung in Calvins Leben und Theologie, in seine kontinuierliche Relevanz für kirchliche, gesellschaftliche und politische Fragen sowie in die Geschichte der Reformation in der Schweiz und weltweit. Sie blenden dabei auch die kritischen Anfragen an Calvin nicht aus. Der im Auftrag des Schweizerischen Evangelischen Kirchenbunds herausgegebene Sammelband ist eine wissenschaftlich fundierte, leserfreundliche Einführung, die Fragestellungen anregt, Perspektiven eröffnet und Austausch ermöglicht. Mit Beiträgen von Philip Benedict, James D. Bratt, Emidio Campi, Eva-Maria Faber, Eric Fuchs, Wulfert de Greef, Christopher L. Elwood, Ulrich H. J. Körtner, Christian Link, Christian Moser, Andrew Pettegree, Christoph Strohm, Mario Turchetti

John Calvin's Impact on Church and Society, 1509-2009. Essays for the 500th birthday of Calvin

A tribute to the monumental influence of John Calvin in the 500 years since his birth. / What legacies, still enduring today, have John Calvin and Calvinism given to the church and society in Europe and North America? An international group of scholars tackles that question in this volume honoring Calvin's 500th birthday. These chapters together provide a comprehensive and accessible introduction to Calvin's life and thought, the history of the Reformation in Switzerland and worldwide, and his continuing relevance for ecclesial, social, and political questions today. / Contributors: Philip Benedict, James D. Bratt, Emidio Campi, Wulfert de Greef, Christopher Elwood, Eva-Maria Faber, Eric Fuchs, Ulrich H. J. Krtner, Christian Link, Christian Moser, Andrew Pettegree, Christoph Strohm, Mario Turchetti./ The essays in this book fit beautifully together to provide a solid, complete work that gives precise insight into the many different facets of Calvin and Calvinism. The high-level research found here clearly shows the great impact that Calvin has had on both church and society. It is a great pleasure to see Calvin here anew. Eberhard Busch / University of Gttingen / That John Calvin made a deep and lasting impact on many aspects of history is common knowledge but the character of the man and the nature of his influence are perhaps as controversial as any that can be named. It is thus a challenge to examine even a fraction of the many ways that Calvins life and thought have contributed to the shaping of later ages in both church and society. This volume offers essays on key points from an appropriately international group of authors appreciative but critical, drawing on a rich range of recent scholarship, presented in a pleasing and accessible form. It is a fine place for the new reader of Calvin to get a glimpse of his impact, while offering a fresh summary of some significant issues for more advanced students of the Reformer. Elsie Anne McKee / Princeton Theological Seminary / Hirzel and Sallmann have succeeded in gathering essays by an illustrious circle of experts both historians and theologians on important areas of Calvins thought and impact. Ranging from an insignificant city at the edge of the Swiss Confederation in the 1530s to the Accra Confession of 2004, these essays will serve to correct popular misconceptions. A fine introduction for a broader readership that wants more than mere armchair theology. Peter Opitz / University of Zurich

EEG microstate duration and syntax in acute, medication-naive, first-episode schizophrenia: a multi-center study

In young, first-episode, productive, medication-naive patients with schizophrenia, EEG microstates (building blocks of mentation) tend to be shortened. Koenig et al. [Koenig, T., Lehmann, D., Merlo, M., Kochi, K., Hell, D., Koukkou, M., 1999. A deviant EEG brain microstate in acute, neuroleptic-naïve schizophrenics at rest. European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience 249, 205–211] suggested that shortening concerned specific microstate classes. Sequence rules (microstate concatenations, syntax) conceivably might also be affected. In 27 patients of the above type and 27 controls, from three centers, multichannel resting EEG was analyzed into microstates using k-means clustering of momentary potential topographies into four microstate classes (A–D). In patients, microstates were shortened in classes B and D (from 80 to 70 ms and from 94 to 82 ms, respectively), occurred more frequently in classes A and C, and covered more time in A and less in B. Topography differed only in class B where LORETA tomography predominantly showed stronger left and anterior activity in patients. Microstate concatenation (syntax) generally were disturbed in patients; specifically, the class sequence A→C→D→A predominated in controls, but was reversed in patients (A→D→C→A). In schizophrenia, information processing in certain classes of mental operations might deviate because of precocious termination. The intermittent occurrence might account for Bleuler's “double bookkeeping.” The disturbed microstate syntax opens a novel physiological comparison of mental operations between patients and controls.

Chronic schizophrenics with positive symptomatology have shortened EEG microstate durations

OBJECTIVE: In young, first-episode, never-treated schizophrenics compared with controls, (a) generally shorter durations of EEG microstates were reported (Koukkou et al., Brain Topogr 6 (1994) 251; Kinoshita et al., Psychiatry Res Neuroimaging 83 (1998) 58), and (b) specifically, shorter duration of a particular class of microstates (Koenig et al., Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 249 (1999) 205). We now examined whether older, chronic schizophrenic patients with positive symptomatology also show these characteristics. METHODS: Multichannel resting EEG (62.2 s/subject) from two subject groups, 14 patients (36.1+/-10.2 years old) and 13 controls (35.1+/-8.2 years old), all males, was analyzed into microstates using a global approach for microstate analysis that clustered the microstates into 4 classes (Koenig et al., 1999). RESULTS: (a) Hypothesis testing of general microstate shortening supported a trend (P=0.064). (b) Two-way repeated measure ANOVA (two subject groupsx4 microstate classes) showed a significant group effect for microstate duration. Posthoc tests revealed that a microstate class with brain electric field orientation from left central to right central-posterior had significantly shorter microstates in patients than controls (68.5 vs. 76.1 ms, P=0.034). CONCLUSIONS: The results were in line with the results from young, never-treated, productive patients, thus suggesting that in schizophrenic information processing, one class of mental operations might intermittently cause deviant mental constructs because of premature termination of processing.

The Costs and Predictive Factors of Bovine Respiratory Disease in Standardized Steer Tests

A retrospective study of 2,146 feedlot cattle in 17 feedlot tests from 1988 to 1997 was conducted to determine the impact of bovine respiratory disease (BRD) on veterinary treatment costs, average daily gain, carcass traits, mortality, and net profit. Morbidity caused by BRD was 20.6%. The average cost to treat each case of BRD was $12.39. Mortality rate of calves diagnosed and treated for BRD was 5.9% vs. .35% for those not diagnosed with BRD. Average daily gain differed between treated and non-treated steers during the first 28 days on feed but did not differ from 28 days to harvest. Net profit was $57.48 lower for treated steers. Eighty-two percent of this difference was due to a combination of mortality and treatment costs. Eighteen percent of the net profit difference was due to improved performance and carcass value of the non-treated steers. Data from 496 steers and heifers in nine feedlot tests were used to determine the effects of age, weaning, and use of modified live virus or killed vaccines prior to the test to predict BRD. Younger calves, non-weaned calves, and calves vaccinated with killed vaccines prior to the test had higher BRD morbidity than those that were older, weaned, or vaccinated with modified live virus vaccines, respectively. Treatment regimes that precluded relapse resulting in re-treatment prevented reduced performance and loss of carcass value. Using modified live virus vaccines and weaning calves 30 days prior to shipment reduced the incidence of BRD.

CD73-generated adenosine restricts lymphocyte migration into draining lymph nodes.

After an inflammatory stimulus, lymphocyte migration into draining lymph nodes increases dramatically to facilitate the encounter of naive T cells with Ag-loaded dendritic cells. In this study, we show that CD73 (ecto-5'-nucleotidase) plays an important role in regulating this process. CD73 produces adenosine from AMP and is expressed on high endothelial venules (HEV) and subsets of lymphocytes. Cd73(-/-) mice have normal sized lymphoid organs in the steady state, but approximately 1.5-fold larger draining lymph nodes and 2.5-fold increased rates of L-selectin-dependent lymphocyte migration from the blood through HEV compared with wild-type mice 24 h after LPS administration. Migration rates of cd73(+/+) and cd73(-/-) lymphocytes into lymph nodes of wild-type mice are equal, suggesting that it is CD73 on HEV that regulates lymphocyte migration into draining lymph nodes. The A(2B) receptor is a likely target of CD73-generated adenosine, because it is the only adenosine receptor expressed on the HEV-like cell line KOP2.16 and it is up-regulated by TNF-alpha. Furthermore, increased lymphocyte migration into draining lymph nodes of cd73(-/-) mice is largely normalized by pretreatment with the selective A(2B) receptor agonist BAY 60-6583. Adenosine receptor signaling to restrict lymphocyte migration across HEV may be an important mechanism to control the magnitude of an inflammatory response.

Long-term injury induced plasticity in {\it Aplysia\/} neurons: Behavioral, electrophysiological, and morphological studies

Nerve injury is known to produce a variety of electrophysiological and morphological neuronal alterations (reviewed by Titmus and Faber, 1990; Bulloch and Ridgeway, 1989; Walters, 1994). Determining if these alterations are adaptive and how they are activated and maintained could provide important insight into basic cellular mechanisms of injury-induced plasticity. Furthermore, characterization of injury-induced plasticity provides a useful assay system for the identification of possible induction signals underlying these neuronal changes. Understanding fundamental mechanisms and underlying induction signals of injury-induced neuronal plasticity could facilitate development of treatment strategies for neural injury and neuropathic pain in humans.^ This dissertation characterizes long-lasting, injury-induced neuronal alterations using the nervous system of Aplysia californica as a model. These changes are examined at the behavioral, electrophysiological, and morphological levels. Injury-induced changes in the electrophysiological properties of neurons were found that increased the signaling effectiveness of the injured neurons. This increase in signalling effectiveness could act to compensate for partial destruction of the injured neuron's peripheral processes. Recovery of a defensive behavioral response which serves to protect the animal from further injury was found within 2 weeks of injury. For the behavioral recovery to occur, new neural pathways must have been formed between the denervated area and the CNS. This was found to be mediated at least in part by new axonal growth which extended from the injured cell back along the original pathway (i.e. into the injured nerve). In addition, injury produced central axonal sprouting into different nerves that do not usually contain the injured neuron's axons. This could be important for (i) finding alternative pathways to the periphery when the original pathways are impassable and (ii) the formation of additional synaptic connections with post-synaptic targets which would further enhance the signalling effectiveness of the injured cell. ^

Heterogeneity and time

Although heterogeneity and time are central aspects of economic activity, it was predominantly the Austrian School of economics that emphasized these two aspects. In this paper we argue that the explicit consideration of heterogeneity and time is of increasing importance due to the increasing environmental and resource problems faced by humankind today. It is shown that neo-Austrian capital theory, which revived Austrian ideas employing a formal approach in the 1970s, is not only well suited to address issues of structural change and of accompanying unemployment induced by technical progress but also can be employed for an encompassing ecological-economic analysis demanded by ecological economics. However, complexity, uncertainty, and real ignorance limit the applicability of formal economic analysis. Therefore, we conclude that economic analysis has to be supplemented by considerations of political philosophy. Copyright 2006 American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Inc..

Colocalization of a large heterodimeric proteoglycan with basement membrane proteins in cultured cells.

A novel large heterodimeric dermatan sulfate proteoglycan with core proteins of 460 and 300 kDa, respectively, had been described as a secretory product of human fetal skin fibroblasts (Breuer et al., J. Biol. Chem. 266, 13224-13232 (1991)). Pulse-chase experiments showed a preferential association of the proteoglycan with the cell membrane. Immunogold labeling indicated its localization in fibrils on the cell surface as well as in fibrillar extensions from the cell body. Immunofluorescence studies yielded a fibrillar and punctate staining pattern which was also seen in cultured human and porcine endothelial cells. Dot-like structures were observed in transformed human keratinocytes. Various immunocytochemical double-labeling experiments indicated a remarkable colocalization of the proteoglycan with fibronectin, laminin, perlecan, and type IV collagen whereas only occasionally a colocalization with chondroitin-6-sulfate was found. No evidence for an enrichment of the proteoglycan in vinculin-containing structures was obtained. These results suggest that the proteoglycan is a widely distributed macromolecule which can associate with basement membrane components. Preliminary findings in rat cornea supported this conclusion.