University of Konstanz

About: University of Konstanz is a education organization based out in Konstanz, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Visualization. The organization has 12115 authors who have published 27401 publications receiving 951162 citations. The organization is also known as: University of Constance & Universität Konstanz.

Comparing Welfare Capitalism: Social Policy and Political Economy in Europe, Japan and the USA

Abstract: This book challenges the popular thesis of a downward trend in the viability of welfare states in competitive market economies. With approaches ranging from historical case studies to cross-national analyses, the contributors explore various aspects of the relationships between welfare states, industrial relations, financial government and production systems. Building upon and combining comparative studies of both the varieties of capitalism and the worlds of welfare state regimes, the book considers issues such as the role of employers and unions in social policy, the interdependencies between financial markets and pension systems, and the current welfare reform process. Comparing Welfare Capitalism sheds new light on the tenuous relationship between social policies and market economies.

Regular black holes and black universes

Abstract: We give a comparative description of different types of regular static, spherically symmetric black holes (BHs) and discuss in more detail their particular type, which we suggest to call black universes. The latter have a Schwarzschild-like causal structure, but inside the horizon there is an expanding Kantowski–Sachs universe and a de Sitter infinity instead of a singularity. Thus a hypothetic BH explorer gets a chance to survive. Solutions of this kind are naturally obtained if one considers static, spherically symmetric distributions of various (but not all) kinds of phantom matter whose existence is favoured by cosmological observations. It also looks possible that our Universe has originated from phantom-dominated collapse in another universe and underwent isotropization after crossing the horizon. An explicit example of a black-universe solution with positive Schwarzschild mass is discussed.

Male Pregnancy in Seahorses and Pipefishes (Family Syngnathidae): Rapid Diversification of Paternal Brood Pouch Morphology Inferred From a Molecular Phylogeny

Abstract: In contrast to the majority of vertebrate species, primary male parental care is common in fishes and encompasses a remarkable diversity of adaptations. Seahorses and pipefishes (Family Syngnathidae) exhibit some of the most specialized forms of paternal care in animals and so are ideally suited to the study of the evolution of male parental care. During mating, female syngnathids transfer eggs to specialized morphological structures that are located on either the abdomen or tail of the male. The male provides all postfertilization parental care and has morphological and physiological adaptations to osmoregulate, aerate, and even nourish the developing embryos. While all syngnathid species are adapted for paternal care, the brooding structure with which this is accomplished varies between species, from simple ventral gluing areas to much more complex structures such as the completely enclosed pouches of the seahorses. Our combined cytochrome b-, 12S rDNA-, and 16S rDNA-based molecular phylogeny of syngnathid fishes demonstrates that rapid diversification of male brooding structures has been associated with the major evolutionary radiation of the group, suggesting that development and diversification of structures involved in paternal care may have been key evolutionary innovations of the Syngnathidae. Molecular analyses also highlight geographical centers of biodiversity and suggest interoceanic migration of Syngnathus pipefishes from their center of origin in the Pacific.

Helicobacter pylori adhesin HopQ engages in a virulence-enhancing interaction with human CEACAMs

Abstract: Helicobacter pylori specifically colonizes the human gastric epithelium and is the major causative agent for ulcer disease and gastric cancer development. Here, we identify members of the carcinoembryonic antigen-related cell adhesion molecule (CEACAM) family as receptors of H. pylori and show that HopQ is the surface-exposed adhesin that specifically binds human CEACAM1, CEACAM3, CEACAM5 and CEACAM6. HopQ-CEACAM binding is glycan-independent and targeted to the N-domain. H. pylori binding induces CEACAM1-mediated signalling, and the HopQ-CEACAM1 interaction enables translocation of the virulence factor CagA into host cells and enhances the release of pro-inflammatory mediators such as interleukin-8. Based on the crystal structure of HopQ, we found that a β-hairpin insertion (HopQ-ID) in HopQ's extracellular 3+4 helix bundle domain is important for CEACAM binding. A peptide derived from this domain competitively inhibits HopQ-mediated activation of the Cag virulence pathway, as genetic or antibody-mediated abrogation of the HopQ function shows. Together, our data suggest the HopQ-CEACAM1 interaction to be a potentially promising novel therapeutic target to combat H. pylori-associated diseases.

Polyphenolic allelochemicals from the aquatic angiosperm Myriophyllum spicatum inhibit photosystem II.

Abstract: Myriophyllum spicatum (Haloragaceae) is a highly competitive freshwater macrophyte that produces and releases algicidal and cyanobactericidal polyphenols. Among them, beta-1,2,3-tri-O-galloyl-4,6-(S)-hexahydroxydiphenoyl-D-glucose (tellimagrandin II) is the major active substance and is an effective inhibitor of microalgal exoenzymes. However, this mode of action does not fully explain the strong allelopathic activity observed in bioassays. Lipophilic extracts of M. spicatum inhibit photosynthetic oxygen evolution of intact cyanobacteria and other photoautotrophs. Fractionation of the extract provided evidence for tellimagrandin II as the active compound. Separate measurements of photosystem I and II activity with spinach (Spinacia oleracea) thylakoid membranes indicated that the site of inhibition is located at photosystem II (PSII). In thermoluminescence measurements with thylakoid membranes and PSII-enriched membrane fragments M. spicatum extracts shifted the maximum temperature of the B-band (S(2)Q(B)(-) recombination) to higher temperatures. Purified tellimagrandin II in concentrations as low as 3 microM caused a comparable shift of the B-band. This demonstrates that the target site of this inhibitor is different from the Q(B)-binding site, a common target of commercial herbicides like 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea. Measurements with electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy suggest a higher redox midpoint potential for the non-heme iron, located between the primary and the secondary quinone electron acceptors, Q(A) and Q(B). Thus, tellimagrandin II has at least two modes of action, inhibition of exoenzymes and inhibition of PSII. Multiple target sites are a common characteristic of many potent allelochemicals.