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This thesis deals with the methodological advances of diagnostic PCR including reliability of PCR and pre-PCR processing of food and feed samples. Diagnostic PCR has been greatly improved by the introduction of the second generation of PCR, so-called real-time PCR. Automated closed-tube quantitative real-time PCR favours the analysis of food-borne pathogenic bacteria. However, in common with conve
In several twin studies the relative contribution of genetic factors for personality traits has amounted to figures between 40 and 60%. In the present study we investigated to which degree polymorphisms in the 5-HTT and AP-2 beta genes are implicated in the neural processes involved in the formation of Temperament and Character traits, as estimated by Cloninger's TCI. Considering the background of
A model for a special configuration in triaxial odd-odd nuclei is constructed which exhibits degenerate chiral bands with a sizable rotation, a manifestation of dynamical spontaneous symmetry breaking. A quantum number obtained from the invariance of the model Hamiltonian, which characterizes observable states, is given and selection rules for electromagnetic transition probabilities in chiral ban
In a prospective study, peripheral pulses, claudication, peripheral oedema, and rest pain were evaluated in 314 sequentially presenting diabetic patients with foot ulcers. In the ulcerated limb pedal pulses were found to be present in 44% of the patients, peripheral oedema in 38%, and rest pain in 19%. Twelve per cent had claudication. Presence of pedal pulses was more common in patients whose ulc
We showed earlier that over-expression of protein kinase C (PKC) epsilon induces neurite outgrowth. The effect is mediated by a region (PKC epsilon PSC1V3) encompassing the pseudosubstrate, the two C1 domains and part of the V3 region, and is independent of the catalytic activity of the enzyme. In this region, residues immediately N-terminal of the C1b domain are crucial for neurite outgrowth. How
Bruchid beetles in the genus Zabrotes are important pests of field and stored beans all around the world and cause enormous economical losses in Mexico and Central America. Native parasitoids have been successfully used to suppress infestations by bruchid beetles in Africa, but few studies have assessed their potential to reduce seed damage in the New World and no successful biological control pro
The helicity dependence of the (γ) over right arrow(p) over right arrow -->ppi(0) reaction has been measured for the first time in the photon-energy range from 550 to 790 MeV. The experiment, performed at the Mainz microtron MAMI, used a 4pi -detector system, a circularly polarized, tagged photon beam, and a longitudinally polarized frozen-spin target. These data are predominantly sensitive to the
Methods for rapid and direct quantification of enzyme kinetics independent of the substrate stand in high demand for both fundamental research and bioprocess development. This study addresses the need for a generic method by developing an automated, standardizable HPLC platform monitoring reaction progress in near real-time. The method was applied to amine transaminase (ATA) catalyzed reactions in
SPECIES is an undulator-based soft X-ray beamline that replaced the old I511 beamline at the MAX II storage ring. SPECIES is aimed at high-resolution ambient-pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (APXPS), near-edge X-ray absorption fine-structure (NEXAFS), X-ray emission spectroscopy (XES) and resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS) experiments. The beamline has two branches that use a comm
The Skylark Alauda arvensis is a European passerine species lacking plumage dimorphism and having a complete post-nuptial moult in adults, and a complete post-juvenile moult in young birds. Tongue spots were thought to allow age discrimination after moult. Based on data from a study population in the Netherlands, where the age of many birds was known, we show that tongue spots are not useful for a
The hyperfine-structure splitting for the 4 and 52P1/2 states of sodium was measured using step-wise laser excitation combined with rf-resonance techniques. The magnetic dipole interaction constants were found to be a(42P1/2)=30.4(5) MHz and a(52P1/2) =13.3(2) MHz. The results are compared with a theoretical calculation, taking polarization effects into account.
Stimulation of endogenous kinin receptors promotes growth of androgen-independent prostate cancer PC3 cells via activation of the mitogenic extracellular-signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathway. In the present study, we show that kinin-mediated mitogenic signalling and prostate-cell growth involves two subtypes of bradykinin (BK) receptors, B1R and B2R. Specific stimulation of either B1R or B2R by t
Mate preferences are abundant throughout the animal kingdom with female preferences receiving the most empirical and theoretical attention. Although recent work has acknowledged the existence of male mate preferences, whether they have evolved and are maintained as a direct result of selection on males or indirectly as a genetically correlated response to selection for female choice remains an ope
A measurement of the parity-violating decay asymmetry parameter, ab, and the helicity amplitudes for the decay.Lambda(0)(b) -> J/psi(mu(+) mu(-)) Lambda(0)(p pi(-)) is reported. The analysis is based on 1400 Lambda(0)(b)and (Lambda) over bar (0)(b) baryons selected in 4.6 fb(-1) of proton-proton collision data with a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV recorded by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC. By co
Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) is a largely promoted, but also heavily contested solution to the problem of climate change. Whilst removing carbon from the atmosphere, it potentially leads to detrimental side effects. This thesis provides guidance for NGOs, industry and policymakers in Germany and the wider EU context on how to assess the sustainability of BECCS implementation p
Payments for watershed services (PWS) are intended to provide incentives to land users to adopt sustainable land management practices. They are also increasingly viewed as having positive impacts on the livelihood of local communities around protected areas. The St. Paul River, located in the St. Paul River basin, is the main source of potable water and hydroelectricity to Monrovia, a city with ab
Pressurized liquid extractions were performed on eight sediments in order to investigate if a modified US EPA method (100 degrees C, 100 bar, n-heptane/acetone (1:1), 2 x 5 min) provided exhaustive extractions of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from sediment, and to study if the extractability of PCBs from the different sediments was affected by characteristics of the sediment. The recovery from
