Increased Bone Resorption during Lactation in Pycnodysostosis

Pycnodysostosis, a rare autosomal recessive skeletal dysplasia, is caused by a deficiency of cathepsin K. Patients have impaired bone resorption in the presence of normal or increased numbers of multinucleated, but dysfunctional, osteoclasts. Cathepsin K degrades collagen type I and generates N-telopeptide (NTX) and the C-telopeptide (CTX) that can be quantified. Levels of these telopeptides are increased in lactating women and are associated with increased bone resorption. Nothing is known about the consequences of cathepsin K deficiency in lactating women. Here we present for the first time normalized blood and CTX measurements in a patient with pycnodysostosis, exclusively related to the lactation period. In vitro studies using osteoclasts derived from blood monocytes during lactation and after weaning further show consistent bone resorption before and after lactation. Increased expression of cathepsins L and S in osteoclasts derived from the lactating patient suggests that other proteinases could compensate for the lack of cathepsin K during the lactation period of pycnodysostosis patients.     

METIS-II: low resource machine translation

METIS-II was an EU-FET MT project running from October 2004 to September 2007, which aimed at translating free text input without resorting to parallel corpora. The idea was to use “basic” linguistic tools and representations and to link them with patterns and statistics from the monolingual target-language corpus. The METIS-II project has four partners, translating from their “home” languages Greek, Dutch, German, and Spanish into English. The paper outlines the basic ideas of the project, their implementation, the resources used, and the results obtained. It also gives examples of how METIS-II has continued beyond its lifetime and the original scope of the project. On the basis of the results and experiences obtained, we believe that the approach is promising and offers the potential for development in various directions.     

Numerical and experimental investigations of mixing in T-shaped and cross-shaped micromixers

Mass transfer within the T-shaped and cross-shaped micromixers has been studied using CFD and confocal laser scanning microscopy methods. The concentration profiles, based on flow regimes, were used to compare the T- and cross-geometries. The cross-shaped micromixer tends to intensify the mixing and this is occurring for lower flow rates in comparison to the T shape. The improvement made by the cross geometry is attributed to the stronger vortex stretching and high shear rate, which reduces the liquid transfer length. The presence of a single outlet in the T-shaped micromixer induces a smaller degree of freedom for the fluid. A higher pressure drop is calculated in T-shaped micromixer than in cross-shaped micromixer.     

Cultural differences in complex addition: Efficient Chinese versus adaptive Belgians and Canadians.

In the present study, the authors tested the effects of working-memory load on math problem solving in 3 different cultures: Flemish-speaking Belgians, English-speaking Canadians, and Chinese-speaking Chinese currently living in Canada. Participants solved complex addition problems (e.g., 58 + 76) in no-load and working-memory load conditions, in which either the central executive or the phonological loop was loaded. The authors used the choice/no-choice method to obtain unbiased measures of strategy selection and strategy efficiency. The Chinese participants were faster than the Belgians, who were faster and more accurate than the Canadians. The Chinese also required fewer working-memory resources than did the Belgians and Canadians. However, the Chinese chose less adaptively from the available strategies than did the Belgians and Canadians. These cultural differences in math problem solving are likely the result of different instructional approaches during elementary school (practice and training in Asian countries vs. exploration and flexibility in non-Asian countries), differences in the number language, and informal cultural norms and standards. The relevance of being adaptive is discussed as well as the implications of the results in regards to the strategy choice and discovery simulation model of strategy selection (J. Shrager & R. S. Siegler, 1998). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ein empfindlicher Kaltkathodenoszillograph mit Konzentrierung durch ein Gegenfeld

Ohne ZusammenfassungHerrn Prof. Rogowski danken wir für die Anregung der Arbeit, der Notgemeinschaft der Deutschen Wissenschaften für finanzielle Unterstützung.     

Empathy in preschool children: The development of the Southampton Test of Empathy for Preschoolers (STEP).

In this study, we investigated a new instrument: the Southampton Test of Empathy for Preschoolers (STEP). The test incorporated 8 video vignettes of children in emotional scenarios, assessing a child's ability to understand (STEP-UND) and share (STEP-SHA) in the emotional experience of a story protagonist. Each vignette included 4 emotions (angry, happy, fearful, sad) that reflected emotion judgments based on the protagonist's facial expression, situation, verbal cues, and desire. The STEP was administered to 39 preschool children, and internal reliability, concurrent validity, and construct validity were addressed. The results showed good internal consistency. They also highlighted moderate concurrent validity with parent-rated empathy, a measure of facial indices, and construct validity with teacher-rated prosocial behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Exploration of the land potential for the production of biomass for energy in the Netherlands

The energy potential for energy crops and biomass residues in the Netherlands is assessed. The analysis explores the possible use of land for biomass production in the future. Various government memorandums and analyses of the expected future land use in various sectors have served as the basis for the assessment of the supply of and the demand for land in the future. In this study the potential supply of agricultural land is based on expected productivity increments in agriculture and assumptions with respect to the future demand for agricultural products. Various future claims for infrastructure, forestry, urban areas and nature are subtracted from the expected supply. The net projected supply of land ranges from zero to 52 000 ha in 2000 to 110 000-250 000 ha in 2015. The supply of agricultural land depends however on a number of supra-national factors, such as the European agricultural policy, world market developments and the agricultural production in the countries in Eastern Europe. Uncertainties remain, therefore, and the projected supply of agricultural land should be considered as a possible scenario based on current trends. If the calculated land potential is used for energy crops like miscanthus and short rotation coppice, this land could contribute 0-10 PJ in 2000 and 27-59 PJ in 2015. Secondary biomass yields, such as those from forestry, agricultural residues, wood from prunings, etc., could contribute a further 34 PJ in 2000, decreasing to approximately 28 PJ in 2015. Taken together these potentials could satisfy 1-1.5% of the energy requirements of the Netherlands in 2000 and 1.5-2.5% in 2015, provided that energy farming is an economically feasible activity for farmers.     

Elektrische Linsen für Kaltkathodenoszillographen mit einheitlichem Vakuum

Ohne ZusammenfassungHerrn Professor Rogowski danken wir für die Anregung der Arbeit und wertvolle Ratschläge, der Notgemeinschaft der Deutschen Wissenschaft für wirtschaftliche Unterstützung.