We have examined the global structure of the solar magnetic field using data from the Fe i spectral line at 5250.2 Angstrom obtained at the 150 foot tower telescope at the Mt. Wilson Observatory. For ...each point on the solar surface, we find the value of the magnetic field in the meridional plane, Bm, by averaging over all available observations using a cosine weighting method. We have revised our cosine weighting method by now taking into account more fully the highest latitude geometry. We use the annual variation in the latitude of the disk center, b sub(0), to deduce the tilt angle of the field relative to the local vertical so that we can find the radial component of the field, Br, from Bm. We find this tilt angle to be small except for a near-polar zone where a tilt-angle model can reduce the annual variation. The reduced annual variation in the deduced Br allows us to study d Br/dt and associated deviations in Br from a smoothed Br with a smoothing width of 2.5 yr. These functions make evident the presence of small amplitude (3-5 G) but spatially coherent ripples with a semi-regular periodicity of one to three years. At any given time, the half-wavelength (peak to trough) is between 15degrees and 30degrees of latitude. These patterns are ubiquitous and in many cases drift from near the equator to the poles over a time period of roughly two years. The drift rate pattern is not compatible with simple advection.
Abstract Background Response evaluation criteria in solid tumours (RECIST) are used to define degrees of response to anti-tumour agents. In retrospective analyses, early tumour shrinkage (ETS) has ...been investigated as an alternative early-on-treatment predictor of treatment efficacy with regard to progression-free and overall survival. While cut-off based analysis of ETS facilitates the categorisation of patients into responders and non-responders after a defined period of treatment, depth of response (DpR) serves as a continuous measure, which defines the nadir of tumour response. Methods A systematic literature search for ‘early tumour shrinkage’ or ‘tumour size decrease’ in ‘metastatic colorectal cancer’ reported from January 2000 to July 2014 was performed. The present review summarises available data concerning ETS and DpR and evaluates their potential as predictive markers for the clinical management of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). Results A total of 10 clinical trials investigated the role of ETS as a marker of clinical outcome in patients with mCRC. In addition, DpR was investigated using the efficacy data from three of these trials. Available data show that ETS differentiates patients with high sensitivity to treatment and more favourable prognosis from a heterogeneous group of patients classified as non-ETS patients. ETS is an early indicator of the potentially achievable response. In contrast, DpR estimates the nadir of tumour response as a continuous measure, which may affect the subsequent disease history, thus translating into superior survival. Conclusions The concepts of ETS and DpR offer potential as clinical end-points to aid the clinical decision making process and thus further optimise mCRC patient management in the era of tailored therapy approaches.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
Food is an important driver of individual health, and an important subject in public policy and health intervention research. Viewpoints on what constitutes healthy nutrition, however, are manifold ...and highly subjective in nature, suggesting there is no one-size-fits-all behavioral change intervention. This research explores fundamental lay theories regarding healthy nutrition with consumers in Germany. The study aimed at identifying and characterizing distinct groups of consumers based on similarities and differences in the lay theories individuals hold by means of Q methodology. Thirty German consumers ranked a Q set of 63 statements representing a vast spectrum of individual opinions and beliefs on healthy nutrition into a quasi-normal distribution. Factor analysis identified four major lay theories on healthy nutrition: (1) “Healthy is what tastes good, in moderation”, (2) “Healthy nutrition is expensive and inconvenient”, (3) “Healthy is everything that makes me slim and pretty”, and (4) “Only home-made, organic, and vegetarian food is healthy”. Consensus existed among the theories about the question of whom to trust regarding nutritional information and the low relevance of information from official sources. Disagreement existed concerning the overall importance of healthy nutrition in day-to-day lives and whether food healthiness is related to organic or conventional production methods. The findings underscore that specific consumer groups should be engaged separately when intervening in healthy nutrition issues. Implications for public policies and intervention strategies are discussed.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZRSKP
This study expands on past deceleration and slow consumption research by introducing and validating a measure of need‐for‐deceleration, an individual's motivational ability to engage in activities ...aimed at slowing down the perceived fast passage of time. Following initial scale development, two studies establish construct validity by placing need‐for‐deceleration into a nomological network. Results indicate that the measure correlated with, but was distinct from, variables involving negative affective states, such as state anxiety and neuroticism. Need‐for‐deceleration scores were not related to materialism, but negatively correlated with self‐efficacy, life satisfaction, work‐life balance, and conscientiousness. Correlations were positive with need‐for‐uniqueness, future time orientation, and susceptibility to normative influence. Need‐for‐deceleration was also associated with regulatory focus (positively with prevention, and negatively with promotion focus). To explore criterion validity, a third study establishes associations between need‐for‐deceleration and consumer lifestyle variables. Developing and validating the scale can help researching and managing products relating to the consumption of time, wellness, mindfulness, and simplicity.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
•We examine how context visual complexity affects a package's attractiveness.•Low Visual complexity of a context increases a package's attractiveness.•This effect is particularly evident with ...inherently attractive packages.•Processing fluency mediates the context complexity–attractiveness relation.•Individual field dependence and shopping goals are important moderators.
Visual appeal is an important consideration in the design of brand packages because attractiveness guides behavior. The visual complexity of a context (i.e., the quantity, irregularity, detail, and dissimilarity of objects) in which a retailer displays a package may impact its attractiveness by influencing attention and processing fluency. Employing consumer samples, and stimuli ranging from the abstract to the realistic, three studies provide evidence that people process a package more fluently, thus increasing its attractiveness, when it is presented in a low rather than high complexity context. This effect is more pronounced with inherently appealing packages, and with people who are more field-dependent or pursuing utilitarian shopping goals. Study 1 establishes effects by employing psychometric measures and abstract stimuli; study 2 corroborates findings with another product category and realistic stimuli; and study 3 complements psychometric measures with eye tracking data to demonstrate that visually more complex contexts divert viewer attention, hereby lowering processing fluency and target attractiveness. The authors discuss the theoretical contribution and strategic insights the research provides for retailers, brand managers, and designers.
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CEKLJ, GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
Bacterial infection has been discussed as a potential etiologic factor in the pathophysiology of coronary heart disease (CHD). This study analyzes molecular phylogenies to systematically explore the ...presence, frequency, and diversity of bacteria in atherosclerotic lesions in patients with CHD.
We investigated 16S rDNA signatures in atherosclerotic tissue obtained through catheter-based atherectomy of 38 patients with CHD, control material from postmortem patients (n=15), and heart-beating organ donors (n=11) using clone libraries, denaturating gradient gel analysis, and fluorescence in situ hybridization. Bacterial DNA was found in all CHD patients by conserved PCR but not in control material or in any of the normal/unaffected coronary arteries. Presence of bacteria in atherosclerotic lesions was confirmed by fluorescence in situ hybridization. A high overall bacterial diversity of >50 different species, among them Staphylococcus species, Proteus vulgaris, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Streptococcus species, was demonstrated in >1500 clones from a combined library and confirmed by denaturating gradient gel analysis. Mean bacterial diversity in atheromas was high, with a score of 12.33+/-3.81 (range, 5 to 22). A specific PCR detected Chlamydia species in 51.5% of CHD patients.
Detection of a broad variety of molecular signatures in all CHD specimens suggests that diverse bacterial colonization may be more important than a single pathogen. Our observation does not allow us to conclude that bacteria are the causative agent in the etiopathogenesis of CHD. However, bacterial agents could have secondarily colonized atheromatous lesions and could act as an additional factor accelerating disease progression.
Recent estimates of the crustal thickness of Mars show a bimodal result of either ∼20 or ∼40 km beneath the InSight lander. We propose an approach based on random matrix theory applied to receiver ...functions (RFs) to further constrain the subsurface structure. Assuming a spiked covariance model for our data, we first use the phase transition properties of the singular value spectrum of random matrices to detect coherent arrivals in the waveforms. Examples from terrestrial data show how the method works in different scenarios. We identify three previously undetected converted arrivals in the InSight data, including the first multiple from a deeper third interface. We then use this information to jointly invert RFs with the absolute S‐wave velocity information in the polarization of body waves. Results show a crustal thickness of 43 ± 5 km beneath the lander with two mid‐crustal interfaces at depths of 8 ± 1 and 21 ± 3 km.
Plain Language Summary
Recent analysis of seismic data from InSight shows that the crustal thickness beneath the InSight lander can be either 20 or 40 km. To resolve this ambiguity, we apply results from random matrix theory to receiver function (RF) analysis. The distribution of singular values of a random matrix shows well‐behaved deterministic properties that can be used to separate them from those of an underlying coherent signal if present. We use examples from terrestrial data to show how the method works. When applied to RFs computed from InSight seismic data, we identify three new energy arrivals, including one that supports the existence of a deeper third layer. Using this information, we simultaneously inverted the RF data along with the measured incidence angle of body waves. Results show a crustal thickness of 43 ± 5 km beneath the lander with two mid‐crustal interfaces at depths of 8 ± 1 and 21 ± 3 km.
Key Points
We apply recent results from random matrix theory to identify crustal phases in noisy receiver functions for Mars from InSight data
Once identified, we jointly invert these phases with frequency‐dependent apparent S‐wave velocity curves
Results show a crustal thickness of 43 km with two inter‐crustal discontinuities at 8 and 21 km beneath the lander
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FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
1 Clinic for General Internal Medicine, I. Medical Department, University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein (UKSH), Campus Kiel, Brunswiker Str. 10, D-24105 Kiel, Germany
2 Institute for Clinical Molecular ...Biology (IKMB), Christian-Albrechts-Universität (CAU) Kiel, Schittenhelmstr. 12, D-24105 Kiel, Germany
Correspondence Stephan J. Ott s.ott{at}mucosa.de
Received October 25, 2007
Accepted August 24, 2008
TM7 is a recently described subgroup of Gram-positive uncultivable bacteria originally found in natural environmental habitats. An association of the TM7 bacterial division with the inflammatory pathogenesis of periodontitis has been previously shown. This study investigated TM7 phylogenies in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs). The mucosal microbiota of patients with active Crohn's disease (CD; n =42) and ulcerative colitis (UC; n =31) was compared with that of controls ( n =33). TM7 consortia were examined using molecular techniques based on 16S rRNA genes, including clone libraries, sequencing and in situ hybridization. TM7 molecular signatures could be cloned from mucosal samples of both IBD patients and controls, but the composition of the clone libraries differed significantly. Taxonomic analysis of the sequences revealed a higher diversity of TM7 phylotypes in CD (23 different phylotypes) than in UC (10) and non-IBD controls (12). All clone libraries showed a high number of novel sequences (21 for controls, 34 for CD and 29 for UC). A highly atypical base substitution for bacterial 16S rRNA genes associated with antibiotic resistance was detected in almost all sequences from CD (97.3 %) and UC (100 %) patients compared to only 65.1 % in the controls. TM7 bacteria might play an important role in IBD similar to that previously described in oral inflammation. The alterations of TM7 bacteria and the genetically determined antibiotic resistance of TM7 species in IBD could be a relevant part of a more general alteration of bacterial microbiota in IBD as recently found, e.g. as a promoter of inflammation at early stages of disease.
Abbreviations: CD, Crohn's disease; IBD, inflammatory bowel disease; OTUs, operational taxonomic units; UC, ulcerative colitis.
These authors contributed equally to this work.
The GenBank/EMBL/DDBJ accession numbers for the TM7 clone sequences are EU056368–EU056522 and EU056524–EU056533.
Social insects vary considerably in their social organization both between and within species. In the California harvester ant, Pogonomyrmex californicus (Buckley 1867), colonies are commonly founded ...and headed by a single queen (haplometrosis, primary monogyny). However, in some populations in California (USA), unrelated queens cooperate not only during founding (pleometrosis) but also throughout the life of the colony (primary polygyny). The genetic architecture and evolutionary dynamics of this complex social niche polymorphism (haplometrosis vs pleometrosis) have remained unknown.
We provide a first analysis of its genomic basis and evolutionary history using population genomics comparing individuals from a haplometrotic population to those from a pleometrotic population. We discovered a recently evolved (< 200 k years), 8-Mb non-recombining region segregating with the observed social niche polymorphism. This region shares several characteristics with supergenes underlying social polymorphisms in other socially polymorphic ant species. However, we also find remarkable differences from previously described social supergenes. Particularly, four additional genomic regions not in linkage with the supergene show signatures of a selective sweep in the pleometrotic population. Within these regions, we find for example genes crucial for epigenetic regulation via histone modification (chameau) and DNA methylation (Dnmt1).
Altogether, our results suggest that social morph in this species is a polygenic trait involving a potential young supergene. Further studies targeting haplo- and pleometrotic individuals from a single population are however required to conclusively resolve whether these genetic differences underlie the alternative social phenotypes or have emerged through genetic drift.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
This study bridges the gap between the managerial view and the consumer view integrating research on storytelling with consumer perceptions of brand heritage. It identifies key elements of the ...stories told by managers of heritage product brands and consumer responses to these elements. Adopting a mixed‐methods approach, four empirical studies (in‐depth interviews with managers, content analysis of brand websites, a survey, and an experiment) provide evidence for relevant story elements, their use by heritage brand managers and their effects on consumers' responses. With several variables included as controls (consumer age, anxiety state, biological sex, brand familiarity, category involvement, category knowledge and verbal processing style), the findings indicate that brand managers' assumptions about the effectiveness of specific narrative elements do not entirely reflect consumer' responses to these elements. Managers (Studies 1 and 2) commonly employ the story elements of the date of foundation, people, technology, omni‐temporality, struggle, and the place of foundation. While consumers (Studies 3 and 4) infer heritage from the brand's date of foundation, omni‐temporality, and technology, the results are less unanimous for the story elements of people, struggle, and place of foundation.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
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