34 research outputs found
Hyperosmotic stress memory in Arabidopsis is mediated by distinct epigenetically labile sites in the genome and is restricted in the male germline by DNA glycosylase activity
No full textInducible epigenetic changes in eukaryotes are believed to enable rapid adaptation to environmental fluctuations. We have found distinct regions of the Arabidopsis genome that are susceptible to DNA (de)methylation in response to hyperosmotic stress. The stress-induced epigenetic changes are associated with conditionally heritable adaptive phenotypic stress responses. However, these stress responses are primarily transmitted to the next generation through the female lineage due to widespread DNA glycosylase activity in the male germline, and extensively reset in the absence of stress. Using the CNI1/ATL31 locus as an example, we demonstrate that epigenetically targeted sequences function as distantly-acting control elements of antisense long non-coding RNAs, which in turn regulate targeted gene expression in response to stress. Collectively, our findings reveal that plants use a highly dynamic maternal ‘short-term stress memory’ with which to respond to adverse external conditions. This transient memory relies on the DNA methylation machinery and associated transcriptional changes to extend the phenotypic plasticity accessible to the immediate offspring
Celtic Music and Dance in Cornwall : Cornu-Copia
No full textFocusing on the Cornish Music and Dance Revival, this book investigates the revivalists’ claims about Cornwall’s cultural distinctiveness and Celtic heritage, both which are presently used as arguments to promote the English county’s political status as an independent Celtic nation. The author describes two different revival movements that aim at reviving Cornwall’s culture but seem to have entirely different ideas about the concept of authentic Celto-Cornish music and dance. In the first part, historical sources connect Cornwall to its Celtic roots, with an analysis of how the early Cornish revivalists used, changed and adapted this material during the 1980s in order to create a Celto-Cornish revival corpus. In the second part, the book addresses the desire of the the Cornish people to express their local and Celtic identities through music and dance, and various practices musicians and dancers have developed to do so. The Nos Lowen movement, which started in the year 2000, is important in this study because it has expanded and newly interpreted the concepts of 'traditional', 'Celtic' and 'authentic'
War and the politics of identity in Ethiopia: the making of enemies and allies in the Horn of Africa, by Kjetil Tronvoll
No full textObservers of the Horn of Africa are regularly puzzled by the often shifting alliances that materialize among regional power holders. While the dictum ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend’ is often cited as an explanation, War and the Politics of Identity in Ethiopia expounds the highly complex processes that determine the (un-)making of friends and foes. Drawing on fieldwork in the Tigrayan-speaking highlands of Ethiopia (and earlier research in Eritrea), Tronvoll scrutinizes the impacts of war on individual and collective identity formation in Tigray and, more broadly, Ethiopia. Most of the book’s empirical data concern the dynamics and consequences of the devastating Ethiopian–Eritrean war of 1998–2000, which claimed an estimated 200,000 casualties. The author situates these events in the longue durée of the very close, but ambivalent relations between Tigrayans in Ethiopia and Tigrinya-speaking highland Eritreans (known as kebessa) who both inhabit the trans-Mereb area. Making use of Fredrik Barth’s boundary concept, the author reviews 150 years of evolving enemy
Information system for cost estimation of communal infrastructure
No full textAs in many industrialized countries, the population of Germany is constantly getting older and smaller nowadays. These demographic changes cause adaptations of technical and social infrastructure in both quality and quantity, to ensure their aspects of economy and usability at long term. Therefore, urban development planning and municipal infrastructure planning have to work closely together. Decisions like expansion, renovation, re-dimensioning or even closing of municipal infrastructure should be based on long term strategies of urban development, in order to meet the budget of future remaining costs. For this reason, development strategies and important new projects have to be evaluated within their infrastructural running and life cycle costs. A current research project in cooperation with a German Municipality will enable the involved planning teams to systematically integrate the consequences of demographic changes in their infrastructural projects in terms of supply quality and cost efficiency. As part of the project, this first study prepares the database of cost indicators and their drivers for municipal infrastructural project cost estimation in early project phases
Beneficial Ownership - a concept in identity crisis
No full textThe aim of this thesis is to analyze and determine the meaning of the term “Beneficial Owner”, in the model treaty of the OECD and therefore its meaning in bilateral negotiated treaties based on the model treaty. The term’s legacy and application is presented. While the meaning and application of the term is being presented, its application as, as well as border to, anti-abuse rules are examined. The concept establishes that certain tax treaty benefits are only available to a direct recipient of the incomes dividend/interest/royalty, if the direct recipient is also the beneficial owner of the income, that is if he beneficially owns the income. The legal and factual circumstances relevant for assessing who the beneficial owner is, are scrutinized. Traditionally, there has not been much case law on the term’s meaning, but lately increasingly more cases have dawned around the world. While several of these cases claim to apply an internationally coherent and autonomous concept, they are surprisingly diverse in their outcome. At the same time, the concept of Beneficial Ownership is getting its own meaning and impact in the EU-legal sphere. EU law is however something that is largely left out of this thesis. The commentaries to the OECD model treaty form an important aid of interpretation when studying the model treaty, additionally, case law from around the globe has been utilized in an effort to shed light on the concept and its application. The author can conclude that the concept, despite being an internationally coherent concept, is unclear and diverse in its application and the sources for interpreting it, such as the commentaries from the OECD fiscal committee, are vague and ambiguous. While the concept of “Beneficial Ownership” shares some traits with anti- abuse rules, the concept is fundamentally different. The author can determine that different approaches are apparent in jurisprudence. What seems to be most supported in the sources is that that the direct recipient’s power over a received income is the only consideration relevant when assessing whether he is the beneficial owner. In some cases, a wider approach, assessing the situation from a helicopter view has been utilized, effectively doing other largely unsupported considerations in the assessment. The author criticizes the blurred line to anti- abuse rules and carefully tries to explain the tendencies from the authorities as a mean for them to circumvent strict legality requirement and tax payer protection in an increasingly challenging globalized world
Die "puls" – Experimentalarchäologische Untersuchungen zu einer antiken römischen Getreidebreizubereitung
No full textStudies by the author in experimental archaeology have been dealing with the (re-)production of the ancient Roman meal “puls” since 2012. This porridge puls was mainly prepared with wheat and other grains and it can be considered as the ancient Roman “national dish” par excellence, according to literary evidence. Concerning the recipes, puls is mentioned by the author Cato and especially by a recipe collection attributed to the legendary gourmet and gourmand Apicius. Additionally, puls is also proven by archaeological evidence. Due to the simple preparation, archaeological as well as historical sources, and ethnographic comparisons, it can be assumed that puls was a very common meal in both the civil and military sectors. The experimental archaeological investigations deal with the production process (both in laboratory and field tests), the physical properties of the porridge puls during the cooking process, and an analysis of the sensory characteristics
Fitness Ranking of Individual Mutants Drives Patterns of Epistatic Interactions in HIV-1
No full textThis is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited
The Commodification of African Politics:Book review of Alex de Waal (2015) 'The Real Politics of the Horn of Africa' ISBN: 9780745695587
No full textCan a book be both inspiring and disappointing? The Real Politics of the Horn of Africa might just fall into this rare category. Alex de Waal’s writing is theoretically original and empirically rich, but it is also reductionist and, in the case of Ethiopia, biased. The book makes sense of the Horn of Africa’s complex contemporary politics through the prism of three elements. Firstly, de Waal proposes an innovative theory centered on the idea of the ‘political marketplace’. Secondly, as the title suggests, the book sets out to explain the Horn of Africa’s ‘real politics’, i.e. the actors, interests, practices and dynamics that dominate political life. Individual chapters are devoted to Darfur, Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, Somaliland, Eritrea, and Ethiopia, leaving only Djibouti out from the region. De Waal writes eloquently and with great wit, offering the reader many insights. Thirdly, The Real Politics of the Horn of Africa captures three decades of research and policy involvement in the Horn of Africa by the author
Om ränteavdragsbegränsningsreglernas förenlighet med EU–rättens etableringsfrihet
No full textMålet med uppsatsen är att utröna om de svenska ränteavdragsbegränsningsreglerna i 24 kap. 10 a – 10 f §§ IL är förenliga med den EU-rättsliga etableringsfrihet som regleras i art. 49 FEUF. Med anledning av att EU-kommissionen hösten 2014 har översänt en formell underrättelse till Sveriges regering med budskapet att de svenska reglerna anses kränka etableringsfriheten är ämnet högaktuellt och det finns flera argument både för och emot reglernas förenlighet med unionsrätten. I uppsatsen gås de svenska reglerna igenom och diskuteras i ljuset av relevant EU-rättslig praxis och doktrin. Genom diskussion och jämförelse kan författaren konstatera att den svenska regleringen med största sannolikhet bryter mot etableringsfriheten då den både är diskriminerande och oproportionerlig. Tolkning av praxis ger uppfattningen att EUD vid en prövning av reglerna skulle komma att underkänna dem.The aim of this thesis is to decide whether the Swedish interest deduction limitation rules in 24 kap. 10 a – 10 f §§ IL (The Swedish income tax act) are compatible with the freedom of establishment as it is embodied in art. 49 of the TFEU. Due to the recent undertakings of the European Commission where the Swedish government has been sent a letter of formal notice being informed about the eventual breach of the freedom of establishment, the subject at matter is very topical. There are several arguments both for and against the Swedish rules’ conformity with EU-law. The Swedish rules are presented and discussed in the light of relevant EU case law and literature. Trough discussion and comparison the author can conclude that the Swedish legislation almost certainly constitutes a breach of the freedom of establishment since it is both discriminatory and disproportional. Interpretation of case law gives the opinion that the ECJ in a trial would find the rules not in conformity with EU-law
Sleep and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical activity : biological processes associated with psychosocial adjustment during childhood and adolescence
No full textABSTRACT: Sleep and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) activity are two biological processes that play a vital role for physical and mental health as well as general well-being. The aim of this cumulative dissertation containing three studies is to complement and extend existing research on the role of sleep and the HPA activity for psychosocial adjustment during childhood and adolescence, as well as in very preterm children and to further extend knowledge on in-home PSG sleep. Taken together, findings showed that less restorative sleep and a shorter sleep duration were associated with poorer psychosocial adjustment during mid- dle childhood and adolescence. A meditational model further showed that less restorative sleep partially accounted for poorer psychosocial adjustment in very preterm children. In ado- lescence, the association of sleep and psychosocial adjustment was mediated by daytime tiredness and behavioral persistence and furthermore, a delayed school start time was associ- ated with longer sleep duration and less daytime tiredness. Additionally, a blunted HPA activ- ity was related to more externalizing problems. Although very preterm children showed a faster decline in evening cortisol levels compared to full-term children, HPA activity did not mediate the association between prematurity and psychosocial adjustment. Furthermore, find- ings showed that sleep assessed via in-home PSG remained stable over one and a half years and thus indicated that in-home PSG constitutes a reliable measure of childrenÕs habitual sleep. The present dissertation emphasizes the importance of restorative and sufficient sleep for psychosocial adjustment during middle childhood and adolescents and even more so in very preterm children representing a population of children at risk for poor psychosocial ad- justment
