Psoriasis is associated with increased beta-defensin genomic copy number

Psoriasis is a common inflammatory skin disease with a strong genetic component. We analyzed the genomic copy number polymorphism of the beta-defensin region on human chromosome 8 in 179 Dutch individuals with psoriasis and 272 controls and in 319 German individuals with psoriasis and 305 controls. Comparisons in both cohorts showed a significant association between higher genomic copy number for beta-defensin genes and risk of psoriasis.     

Pupils' Research into School Culture: A Photographic Approach to Evaluation

Pupils are given a camera as a research instrument to explore the culture of their school as a learning organization. In researching through photographying they can become active participants in evaluation and development, and the results in the form of photo presentations offer valuable insights into how young people experience school life through the eyes of a camera. The pupils' photographic images convey a different meaning from what they would express verbally or answer in a questionnaire. Moreover, the pupils have to collaborate and work toward consensus building in deciding on images they find worth being photographed and form little communities of action researchers when they explore their daily school settings from a different perspective. By doing this kind of action research through taking photos, they have the opportunity to interrupt the usual school pattern teacher asks, pupil answers, teacher evaluates according to a right/wrong system. In this sense, photos used as a means of self-evaluation can become a valuable instrument leading to institutional change.     

Determination of infarct size in rats with86rubidium

Summary A quick method is presented which allows the determination of infarct sizes within hearts of experimental animals like rats. The method is based on the drop of⁸⁶Rb uptake in infarcted hearts, and has been compared with infarct sizes determined morphometrically. The standard deviation of this method is low (6.5%) because an internal standard is used (noninfarcted myocard-usually right ventricle tissue-has been used).     

Über den enzymatischen Zuckerumbau in Nektarien

Summary The nectaries ofEuphorbia pulcherrima secrete small quantities of invertase. This secretion is more independent of environmental factors than the production of sugar sap. Floating on C¹⁴-glucose the nectaries transform this sugar into fructose and saccharose. From these statements it is concluded that the nectaries are not merely valvelike organs for the exsudation of phloem sap, but that they represent real glands with a characteristic active metabolism.

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Die vorliegende Arbeit wurde durch Mittel der Fritz-Hoffmann-La-Roche-Stiftung zur Förderung wissenschaftlicher Arbeitsgemeinschaften in der Schweiz ermöglicht. Wir danken bestens für die Unterstützung.     

Bird song: superfast muscles control dove's trill

Bird songs frequently contain trilling sounds that demand extremely fast vocalization control. Here we show that doves control their syrinx, a vocal organ that is unique to birds, by using superfast muscles. These muscles, which are similar to those that operate highly specialist acoustic organs such as the rattle of the rattlesnake, are among the fastest vertebrate muscles known and could be much more widespread than previously thought if they are the principal muscle type used to control bird songs.     

Calcium transport by red blood cell membranes from young and adult cattle

Summary It is shown using inside-out membrane vesicles that cattle red cells extrude calcium by means of a calmodulin sensitive Ca-pump whose activity is high in calves and extremely low in adult cows. The deline is not due to loss of calmodulin susceptibility nor to a drop in Ca-affinity.     

Application of the linear partial information model to forecasting the Swiss timber market

Most often, statistical analyses only provide partial information about the appropriateness of different models, structures and parameters which may underlie the dynamic process that has generated a time series. Linear partial information (LPI), in particular, consists of linear restrictions such as LPI: p_a> p_b, p_a> p_c where p_a denotes the probability that structure a holds. Fuzzy information of this type can be put to use for decision-making by LPI analysis. In this paper, LPI analysis is applied to answer the question of whether subsidizing price, given an abnormal disturbance on the timber market, would contribute to continuous forest management, a stated goal of Swiss environmental policy.     

Vegetation and climate change during Marine Isotope Stage 3 in China

Fossil pollen records from 45 sites across China were evaluated and synthesized to document Vegetation and climate change during Marine Isotope Stage 3 （MIS 3） at 60-27 ka and to understand the large-scale controls. During MIS3, vegetation type was dominantly forest in eastern China, forest steppe/meadow in the north and Tibetan Plateau, and steppe desert in northwestern arid China. We developed a semi-quantitative vegetation index to reflect change in plant abundance （by inferring the general climate conditions）, with a vegetation score from 1 to 3 based on the different vegetation types inferred from pollen data at individual sites at intervals of 2,000 years.The reconstructed vegetation index shows higher values during MIS 3, especially during the period 53-40 ka, than at the Last Glacial Maximum. Our results also suggest that climate on the basis of vegetation change was cooler and drier during MIS 3 than during the Holocene optimum; however, MIS 3 vegetation was probably similar to modern vegetation. The close relationship between vegetation change, insolation and Asian summer monsoon strength suggests that climate variations, probably in both temper- ature and precipitation, are the primary drivers of regional vegetation change. Additional well-dated, high-resolution palaeoclimate records from many locations across China will be needed to understand the vegetation change and climate forcings on millennial and centennial scales within MIS 3.