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Obesity is associated with a plethora of health complications, including increased susceptibility to infections or decreased vaccine efficacy, partly due to dysregulated immune responses. Monocytes play a crucial role in innate immunity, yet their functional alterations in obesity remain poorly understood. Here, we employed proteomic and metabolomic analyses to investigate monocyte characteristics in individuals with overweight, obesity, impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), and type 2 diabetes (T2D), compared to lean donors. Our results revealed distinct molecular signatures in monocytes from individuals with obesity, with significant alterations in pathways related to metabolism, cellular migration, and phagocytosis. Moreover, LPS-induced activation of monocytes unveiled heightened metabolic reprogramming towards glycolysis in subjects with obesity accompanied by dysregulated cytokine responses and elevated oxidative stress. Additionally, monocytes from donors with obesity exhibited increased lipid droplet accumulation. These findings shed light on the immunometabolic dysregulation underlying obesity-associated immune dysfunction, highlighting potential targets for therapeutic intervention.
Neurodegenerative diseases (NDs) are characterized by abnormalities within neurons of the brain or spinal cord that gradually lose function, eventually leading to cell death. Upon examination of affected tissue, pathological changes reveal a loss of synapses, misfolded proteins, and activation of immune cells all indicative of disease progression before severe clinical symptoms become apparent. Early detection of NDs is crucial for potentially administering targeted medications that may delay disease advancement.
Given their complex pathophysiological features and diverse clinical symptoms, there is a pressing need for sensitive and effective diagnostic methods for NDs. Biomarkers such as microRNAs (miRNAs) have been identified as potential tools for detecting these diseases. We explore the pivotal role of miRNAs in the context of NDs, focusing on Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, Huntington’s disease, and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. The review delves into the intricate relationship between aging and NDs, highlighting structural and functional alterations in the aging brain and their implications for disease development. It elucidates how miRNAs and RNA-binding proteins are implicated in the pathogenesis of NDs and underscores the importance of
investigating their expression and function in aging. Significantly, miRNAs exert substantial influence on post-translational modifications (PTMs), impacting not just the nervous system but a wide array of tissues and cell types as well. Specific miRNAs have been found to target proteins involved in ubiquitination or deubiquitination processes, which play a significant role in regulating protein function and stability. We discuss the link between miRNA, PTM, and NDs. Additionally, the review discusses the significance of miRNAs as biomarkers for early disease detection, offering insights into diagnostic strategies.
Regular detection of land-use and land-cover (LULC) changes with high accuracy is necessary for natural resources management and sustainable urban planning. The produced LULC maps from Google Earth Engine (GEE) also illustrate the transformation of the LULC for the respective landscape over time. The selected study area, Cottbus City and the Spree-Neisse district in northeastern Germany, has undergone significant development over the past decades due to various factors, including urbanization and industrialization; also, the landscape has been converted in some areas for post-mining activities. Detection of LULC changes that have taken place over the last few decades thus plays a vital role in quantifying the impact of these factors while improving the knowledge of these developments and supporting the city planners or urban management officials before implementing further long-term development initiatives for the future. Therefore, the study aims to (i) detect LULC changes for the time slices 2002 and 2022, testing machine learning (ML) algorithms in supervised and unsupervised classification for Landsat satellite imageries, and (ii) validate the newly produced LULC maps with the available regional database (RDB) from the federal and state statistical offices, Germany, and the DynamicWorld (DW) near real-time 10 m global LULC data set powered by artificial intelligence (AI). The results of the Random Forest (RF) and the Smilecart classifiers of supervised classification using Landsat 9 OLI-2/TIRS-2 in 2022 demonstrated a validation accuracy of 88% for both, with Kappa Index (KI) of 83% and 84%, respectively. Moreover, the Training Overall Accuracy (TOA) was 100% for both years. The wekaKMeans cluster of the unsupervised classification also illustrated a similar transformation pattern in the LULC maps. Overall, the produced LULC maps offered an improved representation of the selected region’s various land-cover classes (i.e., vegetation, waterbodies, built areas, and bare ground) in the last two decades (2022 to 2022).
The holistic characterization of different microbiomes in anaerobic digestion (AD) systems can contribute to a better understanding of these systems and provide starting points for bioengineering. The present study investigates the microbiome of 80 European full-scale AD systems. Operational, chemical and taxonomic data were thoroughly collected, analysed and correlated to identify the main drivers of AD processes. The present study describes chemical and operational parameters for a broad spectrum of different AD systems. With this data, Spearman correlation and differential abundance analyses were applied to narrow down the role of the individual microorganisms detected. The authors succeeded in further limiting the number of microorganisms in the core microbiome for a broad range of AD systems. Based on 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing, MBA03, Proteiniphilum, a member of the family Dethiobacteraceae, the genus Caldicoprobacter and the methanogen Methanosarcina were the most prevalent and abundant organisms identified in all digesters analysed. High ratios for Methanoculleus are often described for agricultural co-digesters. Therefore, it is remarkable that Methanosarcina was surprisingly high in several digesters reaching ratios up to 47.2%. The various statistical analyses revealed that the microorganisms grouped according to different patterns. A purely taxonomic correlation enabled a distinction between an acetoclastic cluster and a hydrogenotrophic one. However, in the multivariate analysis with chemical parameters, the mainclusters corresponded to hydrolytic and acidogenic microorganisms, with SAOB bacteria being particularly important in the second group. Including operational parameters resulted in digester-type specific grouping of microbes. Those with separate acidification stood out among the many reactor types due to their unexpected behaviour. Despite maximizing the organic loading rate in the hydrolytic pretreatments, these stages turned into extremely robust methane production units. From 80 different AD systems, one of the most holistic data sets is provided. A very distinct formation of microbial clusters was discovered, depending on whether taxonomic, chemical or operational parameters were combined. The microorganisms in the individual clusters were strongly dependent on the respective reference parameters.
Field studies suggest that changes in the stable isotope ratios of phytoplankton communities can be used to track changes in the utilization of different nitrogen sources, i.e., to detect shifts from dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) uptake to atmospheric nitrogen (N₂) fixation by diazotrophic cyanobacteria as an indication of nitrogen limitation. We explored changes in the stable isotope signature of the diazotrophic cyanobacterium Trichormus variabilis in response to increasing nitrate (NO₃⁻) concentrations (0 to 170 mg L⁻¹) under controlled laboratory conditions. In addition, we explored the influence of nitrogen utilization at the primary producer level on trophic fractionation by studying potential changes in isotope ratios in the freshwater model Daphnia magna feeding on the differently grown cyanobacteria. We show that δ ¹⁵N values of the cyanobacterium increase asymptotically with DIN availability, from -0.7 ‰ in the absence of DIN (suggesting N₂ fixation) to 2.9 ‰ at the highest DIN concentration (exclusive DIN uptake). In contrast, δ ¹³C values of the cyanobacterium did not show a clear relationship with DIN availability. The stable isotope ratios of the consumer reflected those of the differently grown cyanobacteria but also revealed significant trophic fractionation in response to nitrogen utilization at the primary producer level. Nitrogen isotope turnoverrates of Daphnia were highest in the absence of DIN as a consequence of N₂ fixation and resulting depletion in ¹⁵N at the primary producer level. Our results highlight the potential of stable isotopes to assess nitrogen limitation and to explore diazotrophy in aquatic food webs.
Disturbances can be any discrete events that significantly affect ecosystem components, they can be natural events such as wildfires and floods, or anthropogenic events like farming, mining, and deforestation. Disturbances are the most important source of temporal and spatial heterogeneity and shape the composition and dynamics of natural communities. However, after many years of research, it is still difficult to predict the response patterns of natural communities to disturbances accurately. This dissertation aimed to investigate the taxonomic, functional, and trophic response of beetle communities to three types of disturbances in field studies.
Chapter 3 is based on an experiment in an unmanaged heathland area that was affected by a severe wildfire (natural disturbance). Emergence tents and wild boar carcasses were used to analyse the impact of wildfires on re-colonization and emergence of carrion-associated scavenging beetle species from local soils. Chapter 4 focused on effects of fallows at the local scale and proportions of permanent agricultural grasslands at the landscape scale on the taxonomic and functional diversity of the emerging ground beetles in intensively managed cereal fields (anthropogenic disturbance). Chapter 5 addressed the trophic links between the prey (dipterans emerging from lakes or terrestrial collembolans) and predators (ground beetles) at a post-mining lakeshore (anthropogenic disturbance) and compared the patterns of their isotopic niches (δ13C and δ15N) with data from a natural lakeshore.
Overall, species composition, trait diversity and trophic interactions were more sensitive to indicate the disturbance conditions than traditional diversity indices, independent on the nature of disturbance (natural or anthropogenic). When the intensity and frequency of disturbance is moderate, the habitat complexity can be maintained, and the taxonomic and functional diversity of beetle communities could even be promoted by the disturbance, rare species with specialized preferences could be conserved. Disturbances, however, do not just affect consumers at higher trophic levels (e.g. predators or scavengers), but may have even greater impact on communities at basal trophic levels (e.g. aquatic dipterans, Collembola, herbivorous beetles) and could further affect the feeding preferences of predatory beetles that utilize such organisms as prey. The findings not only provided unique data and novel insights to effects of land-use and management on the conservation of beetle communities in disturbed landscapes, but also highlighted the need to better understand the impacts of disturbances on integrated aspects of the ecological communities.
Driven by the continuous research progress in integrated electronics towards increasing complexity and miniaturization, semiconductor technology has not only yielded very powerful electronic devices, but also provided the necessary tools for miniaturization of mechanical, optical and other functions into micro- and nanoscale devices. While transistor scaling approaches the physical limits mainly governed by heat dissipation, further advances are predicted to stem from the integration of additional functionality into integrated circuits instead. For the case of photonics and optoelectronics, which have plenty of applications in computing, communications and sensing, silicon devices have been applied commercially for several years. While being compatible with mainstream electronics, silicon does not offer the optimum properties for mediation between optics and electronics compared to, for example, III-V materials. To alleviate this, properties can be improved both through wavelength-scale structuring and exploitation of resonances, and through alloying with other group-IV materials like germanium and tin.
Both of these avenues are studied within this work. On one hand, nanophotonic structures, most notably metasurfaces, and corresponding simulation and optimization algorithms, are developed for selective filtering and enhancement of light-matter interactions. On the other hand, group-IV materials are studied, most notably their non-destructive characterization with optical methods.
Inspiring heritage in contemporary architekture : a case study of Aga Khan Award for Architecture
(2024)
The Arab countries have notably rich and valuable architectural history; however, the buildings of the last 80 years are predominantly featureless or only use superficially decorative traditional architectural elements. This debate has been discussed by historians, architects, and urban planners for more than five decades. The Aga Khan Award for Architecture, one of the most momentous pioneering awards in Islamic countries concerning architectural identity and the improvement of built environments, has significantly contributed to this discussion.
In the 1950s and 1960s, the Western International Style was imported into Arab countries without considering its compatibility with the local climate and culture; Arab architects, holders of European graduate degrees, and Western planners and architects were invited by the newly liberated countries' national governments to lead the architecture modernization process. As a response to the International Style and the resulting global mono-architecture that emerged after the 1960s, new trends such as New Vernacular (the contemporary reinterpretation of Vernacular techniques and traditions in architecture), Contextualism, and Critical Regionalism arose to show that architecture should reference the physical and cultural contexts. In addition, the current climate crisis has raised awareness of a rethinking.
This study uses crucial research and architectural examples to show a way toward contextual architecture in Arab countries. In particular, it draws on Paul Ricoeur's work in History and Truth to ask the following questions: “How can traditional architecture be part of the modernization process and at the same time retain its distinct entity?” “Can approaches based on tradition solve the identity crisis in Arabic architecture? ”and "Can lessons be learned for future projects? "
The most worthwhile contemporary buildings in the Arab countries inspired by the architectural heritage and/or awarded the Aga Khan Award for Architecture have been researched.
The author comes to the conclusion that the study of traditional architecture can contribute to improving the ecological balance of future architecture, while preserving the architectural and cultural identity of the Arab countries. A combination of understanding the environmental performance of Vernacular Architecture with sustainable features and the current knowledge of building science and technology may help in finding effective contextual strategies both culturally and climatically. These strategies may be used today to provide sustainable heritage for future generations.