Neuregelungen in Vorarlberg zu Spielräumen

Ein Ma?nahmenpaket, bestehend aus dem Spielraumgesetz, dem Beschluss von entsprechenden F?rderungsrichtlinien sowie Novellierungen des Baugesetzes und der Kinderspielplatzverordnung und einer überarbeitung der Wohnbaufondsrichtlinie, soll dazu beitragen, dass sich das Bundesland Vorarlberg als besonders kinder- und jugendfreundliche Region etabliert. Hiefür gilt es, ?ffentliche und private Spielpl?tze und Freir?ume bedarfsgerecht zu erhalten, zu sanieren, neu zu errichten und untereinander zu vernetzen.     

Mechanistic Insights into Cyclic Peptide Generation by DnaE Split-Inteins through Quantitative and Structural Investigation

Inteins carry out protein-splicing reactions, which are used in protein chemistry, protein engineering and biotechnological applications. Rearrangement of the order of the domains in split-inteins results in head-to-tail cyclisation of the target sequence, which can be used for genetic encoding and expression of libraries of cyclic peptides (CPs). The efficiency of the splicing reaction depends on the target sequence. Here we used mass spectrometry to assess in vivo cyclic peptide formation from different hexameric target sequences by the DnaE split-inteins from Synechocystis sp. and Nostoc punctiforme, revealing a strong impact of the target sequence and of the intein on the intracellular peptide concentration. Furthermore, we determined the crystal structures of their pre-splicing complexes, which allowed us to identify F-block Asp17 as crucial for the DnaE-mediated splicing reaction.     

Open circuit voltage profiling as diagnostic tool during stack lifetime testing

A 10-cell Mk 9 stack was characterized using current/voltage mapping during automotive drive cycle testing. A minimally invasive current mapping technique was used to determine localized polarization curves which together with open circuit voltage (OCV) profile measurements provide useful information about crossover leak formation and location. Through a systematic variation of reactant gas pressures it is further possible to distinguish between electrical shorts, diffusive and convective leaks.     

Nitrogen, land and water inputs in changing cattle farming systems.: A historical comparison for France, 19th-21st centuries

This paper provides an original account of the long-term regional metabolism in relation to the cattle rearing in western France starting by the precise formulation of animal diets at three key dates of the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. We established links between the demand in fodder of the meat and dairy sectors and the necessary inputs of nitrogen, water and land as well as the land cover changes occurring on the affected local and remote cattle acreage. The average agricultural productivity for fodder supply is estimated at about 50 kg N/ha in the mid-19th, 54 kg N/ha in the early 20th and 150 kg N/ha at the turning of the 21st century. Jointly for the dairy and meat productions, the potential efficiency in the conversion of the vegetal into animal protein more than doubled over the studied period, passing from less than 9% in the 19th to 20% in the 21st century. The current cattle sector is sustained for about 25% by land situated beyond the regional frontiers and uses water at intensities that approach or exceed the availability of renewable water. The nitrogen pollution is expressed in terms of the Net Anthropogenic Nitrogen Inputs (NANI) and, by comparison to the N recovered in products, is used to define the N-Environmental Efficiency of the farming. We discuss the historical succession of the factors that contributed to the growth of the meat and milk production and make a comparison of the impacts and policy between the local and distant resources.     

Bolus ingestion of white and green tea increases the concentration of several flavan‐3‐ols in plasma,but does not affect markers of oxidative stress in healthy non‐smokers

White tea (WT) is rich in flavan‐3‐ols as green tea (GT) and might provide health protective effects due to the strong antioxidant properties of flavan‐3‐ols. Since intervention studies with WT are lacking, we evaluated the effects of WT consumption on antioxidant status, antioxidant capacity and biomarkers of oxidative stress compared to water and GT. After an overnight fast, 70 healthy non‐smokers were randomized to consume 600 mL of WT, GT or water (control). Plasma (epi‐)catechin and epi(gallo)catechingallate, antioxidant capacity (Folin assay, trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity test), 8‐iso‐prostaglandin F_2α, ascorbic acid and uric acid were determined before and several times within 8 h after consumption. DNA strand breaks were measured in vivo and ex vivo (H₂O₂ stimulation) in leukocytes. Plasma flavan‐3‐ols significantly increased after WT and GT ingestion. Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity was lower after 5 h in controls versus WT (p=0.031) and GT (p=0.005). Folin‐Ciocalteu reducing capacity, ascorbic and uric acid as well as markers of oxidative stress (8‐iso‐prostaglandin‐F_2α, DNA strand breaks) were not affected by the beverages. A short‐term increase of catechins does not change plasma antioxidant capacity in healthy subjects. Conclusions with respect to health protective effects of WT and GT on the basis of these biomarkers can, thus, not be drawn.     

Using prior knowledge in SVD-based parameter estimation for magnetic resonance spectroscopy--the ATP example

We introduce the knowledge-based singular value decomposition (KNOB-SVD) method for exploiting prior knowledge in magnetic resonance (MR) spectroscopy based on the SVD of the data matrix. More specifically, we assume that the MR data are well modeled by the superposition of a given number of exponentially damped sinusoidal components and that the dampings alphakappa, frequencies omegakappa, and complex amplitudes rhokappa of some components satisfy the following relations: alphakappa = alpha (alpha = unknown), omegakappa = omega + (kappa- 1)delta (omega = unknown, delta = known), and rhokappa = Ckapparho (rho = unknown, ckappa = known real constants). The adenosine triphosphate (ATP) complex, which has one triple peak and two double peaks whose dampings, frequencies, and amplitudes may in some cases be known to satisfy the above type of relations, is used as a vehicle for describing our SVD-based method throughout the paper. By means of numerical examples, we show that our method provides more accurate parameter estimates than a commonly used general-purpose SVD-based method and a previously suggested prior knowledge-based SVD method.