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.

Cultural Memory and Early Civilization: Writing, Remembrance, and Political Imagination

Abstract: Introduction Part I. The Theoretical Basis: 1. Memory culture 2. Written culture 3. Cultural identity and political imagination Part II. Case Studies: 4. Egypt 5. Israel and the invention of religion 6. The birth of history from the spirit of the law 7. Greece and disciplined thinking Cultural memory: a summary.

Nanometer resolution and coherent optical dipole coupling of two individual molecules.

Abstract: By performing cryogenic laser spectroscopy under a scanning probe electrode that induces a local electric field, we have resolved two individual fluorescent molecules separated by 12 nanometers in an organic crystal. The two molecules undergo a strong coherent dipole-dipole coupling that produces entangled sub- and superradiant states. Under intense laser illumination, both molecules are excited via a two-photon transition, and the fluorescence from this doubly excited system displays photon bunching. Our experimental scheme can be used to optically resolve molecules at the nanometer scale and to manipulate the degree of entanglement among them.

Evolutionary genomics of the cold-adapted diatom Fragilariopsis cylindrus

Abstract: The Southern Ocean houses a diverse and productive community of organisms. Unicellular eukaryotic diatoms are the main primary producers in this environment, where photosynthesis is limited by low concentrations of dissolved iron and large seasonal fluctuations in light, temperature and the extent of sea ice. How diatoms have adapted to this extreme environment is largely unknown. Here we present insights into the genome evolution of a cold-adapted diatom from the Southern Ocean, Fragilariopsis cylindrus, based on a comparison with temperate diatoms. We find that approximately 24.7 per cent of the diploid F. cylindrus genome consists of genetic loci with alleles that are highly divergent (15.1 megabases of the total genome size of 61.1 megabases). These divergent alleles were differentially expressed across environmental conditions, including darkness, low iron, freezing, elevated temperature and increased CO2. Alleles with the largest ratio of non-synonymous to synonymous nucleotide substitutions also show the most pronounced condition-dependent expression, suggesting a correlation between diversifying selection and allelic differentiation. Divergent alleles may be involved in adaptation to environmental fluctuations in the Southern Ocean.

Methane oxidation in the soil surface layer of a flooded rice field and the effect of ammonium

Abstract: The CH4 flux from intact soil cores of a flooded rice field in Italy was measured under aerobic and anaerobic incubation conditions. The difference between the anaerobic and aerobic CH4 fluxes was apparently due to CH4 oxidation in the oxic soil surface layer. This conclusion was supported by measurements of the vertical CH4 profile in the upper 2-cm layer, and of the V max of CH4 oxidation in slurried samples of the soil surface layer. About 80% of the CH4 was oxidized during its passage through the soil surface layer. CH4 oxidation was apparently limited by the concentration of CH4 and/or O2 in the active surface layer. The addition of ammonium to the water layer on top of the soil core reversibly increased the aerobic CH4 fluxes due to inhibition of CH4 oxidation in the soil surface layer.