Main particulate matter components in Saxony (Germany)

Aerosol filter samples have been collected nearby the industrialised basin of Leipzig in Saxony (Germany) at the research station Melpitz of the Institut für Troposphärenforschung e.V. (IfT). Time series (1992–1998) and a three year comparison (1995–1997) of two different aerosol filter sampling systems, the Sierra-Andersen-PM 10 high volume sampler (daily sample, PM 10 inlet) and the Rupprecht and Patashnik Co. Inc. Model Partisol 2000 (weekly sample, PM 10 and PM 2.5 inlet) are presented and discussed. The comparison of the different sampling systems and strategies yields small differences between the daily and weekly samples for mass and different ions, which may be influenced by sampling duration and flow rates. A general trend of change in aerosol composition was observed: Soot and Sulphate concentrations decreased whereas Nitrate and Ammonium concentrations increased. During summers the mass of coarse particles is higher than in other seasons. One reason could be found in the occurence of longer periods of dry ground surfaces enabling reemission of crustal and biological material. The time series have been integrated in a longer historical aerosol mass trend for Saxony and do show a good agreement. Since 1990 a significant downward trend in gravimetric mass concentration was found.     

Functional responses of juvenile herring and sprat in relation to different prey types

The relationship between particulate-feeding rates and prey concentrations (functional response) of juvenile herring and sprat (5–9 cm total length) was investigated in controlled feeding experiments monitored by an underwater camera system. A special tank system was developed allowing the regulation and quantification of low prey concentrations (1–160 L^?1). Non-evasive Artemia nauplii was used as prey to estimate the maximum biting rate of both predators. In contrast, Acartia tonsa with a high escape ability was used as a realistic prey type. Herring and sprat showed a type II functional response for both prey types. Nonlinear mixed effects model revealed no significant difference between the functional responses of both predators, except that herring showed significantly higher biting rates than sprat at A. tonsa concentrations below ~40 L^?1. For both predators feeding rates were significantly higher with Artemia nauplii than with A. tonsa. Video analysis indicated that sprat, unlike herring, is an obligate particulate-feeder.     

The resource curse revisited and revised: A tale of paradoxes and red herrings

We critically evaluate the empirical basis for the so-called resource curse and find that, despite the topic's popularity in economics and political science research, this apparent paradox may be a red herring. The most commonly used measure of “resource abundance” can be more usefully interpreted as a proxy for “resource dependence”—endogenous to underlying structural factors. In multiple estimations that combine resource abundance and dependence, institutional, and constitutional variables, we find that (i) resource abundance, constitutions, and institutions determine resource dependence, (ii) resource dependence does not affect growth, and (iii) resource abundance positively affects growth and institutional quality.     

Vertical profile of PCDD/Fs, dioxin-like PCBs, other PCBs, PAHs, chlorobenzenes, DDX, HCHs, organotin compounds and chlorinated ethers in dated sediment/soil cores from flood-plains of the river Elbe, Germany

Concentrations of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and other organic micropollutants were determined in dated sediment/soil cores collected from the flood-plain of the river Elbe near Pevestorf (PT), approximately 125 km upstream of Hamburg, and Heuckenlock (HL) in southeast of Hamburg. Concentrations of PCDD/Fs peaked sharply at PT in the 1950s and at HL at the end of the 1940s. Cluster analyses provide evidence that the region of Bitterfeld-Wolfen (about 350-400 km upstream of Hamburg) could be the source of the PCDD/F contamination existing in the cores PT and HL since the 1940s. Obviously it is caused by sediments of the river Elbe of a similar composition. Whereas the PCDD/Fs, HCHs (hexacyclohexane isomers), DDX (DDT, DDD, DDE), and tetrachlorinated ethers in PT and HL presumably originated predominantly from the Bitterfeld-Wolfen region, organotin compounds in HL and dichlorinated haloethers in HL during the 1940s and 1950s can probably largely be attributed to emissions from the Hamburg region. Although they are separated by a large distance, in both sediment cores PT and HL concentrations and composition patterns of most organic micropollutants analyzed widely match. Inductively it can be concluded that similar contaminations will be found in many of the river bank soils between the Bitterfeld-Wolfen region and Hamburg. Excavation of top soils may uncover highly contaminated materials. Since the dated sediment cores show the variation in contaminants in the Elbe sediments over a defined time period, it is possible to make an approximate assessment of the actual degree of contamination to be expected in areas where in previous decades contaminated dredged sediments from the Elbe and from the Port of Hamburg have been deposited on land and used for building plots or for agricultural purposes.     

Cytoskeletal elements in the bacterium Mycoplasma pneumoniae

Mycoplasma pneumoniae is a pathogenic eubacterium lacking a cell wall. Three decades ago, a "rod", an intracellular cytoskeletal structure, was discovered that was assumed to define and stabilize the elongated cell shape. Later, by treatment with detergent, a "Triton shell" (i.e. a fraction of detergent-insoluble cell material) could be obtained, believed to contain additional cytoskeletal elements. Now, by application of a modified Triton X-100 treatment, we are able to demonstrate that M. pneumoniae possesses a cytoskeleton consisting of a blade-like rod and a peripheral lining located close to the inner face of the cytoplasmic membrane, exhibiting features of a highly regular network. Attached "stalks" may support the cytoplasmic membrane. The rod was connected to the cell periphery by "spokes" and showed a defined ultrastructure. Its proximal end was found to be attached to a wheel-like complex. Fibrils extended from the proximal end of the rod into the cytoplasm.