Dedicated to the memory of Pnina Werbner, this essay revisits Werbner’s ethnographic and conceptual work on the relationship between diaspora and religion through a close reading of her book on Imagined Diasporas among Manchester Muslims and her later engagements with the concept of diaspora with respect to religion and the background of her work on African and Filipino labour diasporas in the West. It argues that many of Werbner’s insights remain pertinent today, not least because in many European contexts Muslim-background citizens and non-citizens remain excluded from full belonging and are still forced to engage in constant perspectival manoeuvring similar to Werbner’s earlier interlocutors. While the notion of diaspora has lost much of its earlier conceptual verve, in its Werbnerian reading, I argue, it may still offer a scholarly tool for analysing the multiple imaginations, belongings, and ambiguities of migrants’ and religious minorities’ self-representations and complex lives.
View lessDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, the early emergence of viral variants repeatedly undermined the effects of vaccination. Our aim here is to explore strategies for improving spike vaccine gene antigenicity by merging mutations from different variants of concern (VOCs) in a single vaccine gene. To this end, newly developed recombinant vaccine genes were designed, cloned into adenoviral vectors, and applied to C57BL/6 mice; then, serum-neutralizing antibodies against the wildtype SARS-CoV-2 strains were determined in neutralization assays. The merger of mutations from different variants of concern (alpha, beta, gamma, and delta) in a single recombinant spike-based vaccine gene provided a substantial improvement in neutralizing immunity to all variants of concern, including the omicron strains. To date, only unmodified spike genes of the original SARS-CoV-2 Wuhan strain (B.1) or dominant variants (BA.1, BA.5, and XBB.1.5) have been used as vaccine genes. The employment of unmodified vaccine genes is afflicted by limited cross-protection among variant strains. In contrast, recombinant vaccine genes that combine mutations from different strains in a single gene hold the potential to broaden and improve immune protection and might help to reduce the need for frequent vaccine adaptations in the future.
View lessSomatoform disorders (SD), commencing during adolescence, represent a major problem in health care systems. While literature underlines the high presence of mental health problems among children and adolescents afflicted by somatic symptoms in the general population, limited evidence is available on the prevalence of comorbid somatic symptoms in child and adolescent psychiatric populations. We assessed the prevalence of somatic symptoms, depression, and anxiety by validated questionnaires in an inpatient cohort. We further screened for the presence of SD. Out of 434 inpatients aged 11–17 years, 371 were included and a total of n = 288 (77.6%) children and adolescents participated in the study. A total of 93.8% of the inpatients reported somatic symptoms within the past six months and still almost half (45.7%) of the sample reported at least one somatic symptom within the last seven days prior to inquiry. Relating to the past six months, 59.5% were positively screened for SD, and 44.6% reported symptoms eligible for positive screening within the past seven days prior to the survey. Somatoform symptomatology was highly associated with anxiety and depression scores, but functional decline was amenable to the number of somatic symptoms only. We provide evidence that somatic symptoms are frequent in children and adolescents being treated in child and adolescent psychiatry and are relevant to everyday functioning. Screening for somatic symptoms should be introduced in the routine diagnostic procedures for early detection of SD in the commencing stages.
View lessAcute haemorrhagic diarrhoea is a common complaint in dogs. In addition to causes like intestinal parasites, dietary indiscretion, intestinal foreign bodies, canine parvovirus infection, or hypoadrenocorticism, acute haemorrhagic diarrhoea syndrome (AHDS) is an important and sometimes life-threatening differential diagnosis. There is some evidence supporting the link between Clostridium perfringens toxins and AHDS. These toxins may be partially responsible for the epithelial cell injury, but the pathogenesis of AHDS is still not fully understood. Recent studies have suggested that severe damage to the intestinal mucosa and associated barrier dysfunction can trigger chronic gastrointestinal illnesses. Besides bloodwork and classical markers for AHDS such as protein loss and intestinal bacterial dysbiosis, we focused mainly on the plasma-proteome to identify systemic pathological alterations during this disease and searched for potential biomarkers to improve the diagnosis. To accomplish the goals, we used liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. We compared the proteomic profiles of 20 dogs with AHDS to 20 age-, breed-, and sex-matched control dogs. All dogs were examined, and several blood work parameters were determined and compared, including plasma biochemistry and cell counts. We identified and quantified (relative quantification) 207 plasmatic proteins, from which dozens showed significantly altered levels in AHDS. Serpina3, Lipopolysaccharide-binding protein, several Ig-like domain-containing proteins, Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase and Serum amyloid A were more abundant in plasma from AHDS affected dogs. In contrast, other proteins such as Paraoxonase, Selenoprotein, Amine oxidases, and Apolipoprotein C-IV were significantly less abundant. Many of the identified and quantified proteins are known to be associated with inflammation. Other proteins like Serpina3 and RPLP1 have a relevant role in oncogenesis. Some proteins and their roles have not yet been described in dogs with diarrhoea. Our study opens new avenues that could contribute to the understanding of the aetiology and pathophysiology of AHDS.
View lessA flash flood is one of the hazardous phenomena, especially in dry regions. In Saudi Arabia, Jazan Province experiences data scarcity especially historical hydrological data and a lack of studies related to flash flood analysis and the rainfall and runoff interrelationship. Thus, this research aims to study the rainfall-runoff inter-relation, predict flash floods, and to map the risk areas in Jazan Province by the geological, geomorphological, and hydrogeological characteristics along with digital elevation model (DEM), watershed modeling system (WMS) and HEC-HMS models. Jazan Province encompasses 25 drainage basins, receiving a considerable amount of rainfall (ranging from 100 to 500 mm) (August, October-November, March) which intermittently cause strong and destructive flash floods. The DEM was used for delineating the catchment (drainage basins) parameters. Physiographic parameters of the catchments have been analyzed for mapping the hazard degree of the flash flood strength. Further, basins with high hazard degrees of flash floods were selected to assess rainfall-runoff inter-relation using the HEC-HMS models, GIS, and morphometric parameters. Forty %, 8%, 52% of the study area are high, medium, and low hazard degrees of flash floods, respectively. The groundwater recharge in the study area was calculated through the integration of satellite image analysis, SWAT and GIS techniques and it ranges from 0.002 mm/km2/year to 8 mm/km2/year with an average of 2.5 mm/km2/year. Rainfall-runoff inter-relation of study basins, assessed based on the integration of WMS and HEC-HMS models, indicates that the resulting runoff volume ranges from 18.5 × 106 m3 to 473.1 × 106 m3 at a recurrence period of 5 and 100 years at rainfall events of 65 mm and 116.8 mm, respectively.
View lessDie Kunsthalle in der Lichtentaler Allee in Baden-Baden ist durch die großzügige Spende des Malers Robert Engelhorn und weiterer Förderer 1909 entstanden. Nach den Kunsthallen in Karlsruhe und Mannheim war sie die dritte, den bildenden Künsten gewidmete Einrichtung im damaligen Großherzogtum Baden. Während die zuerst genannten Kunsthallen über einen Sammlungsbestand verfügten, war die Kunsthalle ausschließlich für Wechselausstellungen vorgesehen - somit dem Stiftungszweck der Förderung der zeitgenössischen Kunst entsprechend.
Während der Jahrzehnte vor und nach dem Ersten Weltkrieg entstanden neue Stilrichtungen, zunächst der Impressionismus, dann der Expressionismus, nach der Desillusion des verlorenen Kriegs der Stil der neuen Sachlichkeit. Aus den oft erbitterten Auseinandersetzungen über "traditionelle" und "moderne" Stile innerhalb der Künstlerverbände spalteten sich die "Sezessionen" ab, die häufigen Austritte der Künstler und Neugruppierungen, im Land Baden 1927 die Badische Sezession. Der 1887 geborene Maler Erwin Heinrich übernahm die Vorbereitung der Ausstellungsprojekte der Gruppe.
Sowohl der badische Künstlerverband wie auch die badische Sezession wurden im Verlauf der nationalsozialistischen Gleichschaltung aufgelöst, nach dem Krieg neugegründet. Nordbaden gehörte zur amerikanischen Zone, Südbaden zur französischen, somit auch Baden-Baden nun Standort der französischen Militärverwaltung. Die Kunsthalle wurde als Bibliothèque de Garnison requiriert. 1952 restituiert. Dem zur Leitung berufenen Erwin Heinrich gelang es, innerhalb kürzester Zeit Ausstellungen zu ermöglichen. Aufgrund seines Alters war sein personalrechtlicher Status jedoch ungesichert, hinzu kam die Gegnerschaft des konkurrierenden Künstlerverbandes, der nach der Gründung des Landes Baden-Württemberg eskalierte. 1956 verstarb er während einer Sitzung des Beirats der Kunsthalle.
In dieser Schrift werden diese im Ergebnis dramatischen Vorgänge auf der Grundlage der Akten im Staatsarchiv Baden-Württemberg nachvollzogen, dies auch unter dem Gesichtspunkt, dass das Aufbauwerk Erwin Heinrichs in der offiziellen Präsentation der Kunsthalle nicht gewürdigt wird.
Als Verfasser dieser Schrift bin ich insofern involviert, als ich in der Hausmeisterwohnung der Kunsthalle aufgewachsen bin, insofern ein, wenn auch damals noch jugendlicher Zeitzeuge bin.
Es wird vorgeschlagen, 2027 - hundert Jahre nach Gründung der Badischen Sezession - eine der Geschichte der Kunsthalle, ihrem Stifter Robert Engelhorn und der Generation der vergessenen Künstler gewidmete Ausstellung vorzusehen.
View lessIn recent years, several jurisdictions have lowered the voting age, with many more discussing it. Sceptics question whether young people are ready to vote, while supporters argue that allowing them to vote would increase their specific engagement with politics. To test the latter argument, we use a series of register-based surveys of over 10,000 German adolescents. Knowing the exact birthdates of our respondents, we estimate the causal effect of eligibility on their information-seeking behaviour in a regression discontinuity design. While eligible and non-eligible respondents do not differ in their fundamental political dispositions, those allowed to vote are more likely to discuss politics with their family and friends and to use a voting advice application. This effect appears to be stronger for voting age 16 than for 18. The right to vote changes behaviour. Therefore, we cannot conclude from the behaviour of ineligible citizens that they are unfit to vote.
View lessIt is unclear to what extent quantum algorithms can outperform classical algorithms for problems of combinatorial optimization. In this work, by resorting to computational learning theory and cryptographic notions, we give a fully constructive proof that quantum computers feature a super-polynomial advantage over classical computers in approximating combinatorial optimization problems. Specifically, by building on seminal work by Kearns and Valiant, we provide special instances that are hard for classical computers to approximate up to polynomial factors. Simultaneously, we give a quantum algorithm that can efficiently approximate the optimal solution within a polynomial factor. The quantum advantage in this work is ultimately borrowed from Shor’s quantum algorithm for factoring. We introduce an explicit and comprehensive end-to-end construction for the advantage bearing instances. For these instances, quantum computers have, in principle, the power to approximate combinatorial optimization solutions beyond the reach of classical efficient algorithms.
View lessAmidst tremendous changes in the worlds of work in light of digitalization, non-attachmental work designs, where individuals gain income without being bound by a fixed administrative attachment to an employer, hold promises of self-actualization along with threats of insecurity. Today’s technology boom and the consequent flexibility and uncertainty it brings into workers’ lives may translate into inspiring growth opportunities or overloading pressure, contingent upon mental health and wellbeing impacts. This paper first provides a conceptualization of the non-attachmental work designs of the 21st century, before proceeding to an extensive mapping of literature at their intersection with psychological health. This involves a machine-learning-driven review of 1094 scientific articles using topic modeling, combined with in-depth manual content analyses and inductive-deductive cycles of pattern discovery and category building. The resulting scholarly blueprint reveals several tendencies, including a prevalence of positive psychology concepts in research on work designs with high levels of autonomy and control, contrasted with narratives of disempowerment in service- and task-based work. We note that some psychological health issues are researched with respect to specific work designs but not others, for instance neurodiversity and the role of gender in ownership-based work, self-image and digital addiction in content-based work, and ratings-induced anxiety in platform-mediated task-based work. We also find a heavy representation of ‘heroic’ entrepreneurs, quantitative methods, and western contexts in addition to a surprising dearth of analyses on the roles of policy and technological interventions. The results are positioned to guide academics, decision-makers, technologists, and workers in the pursuit of healthier work designs for a more sustainable future.
View lessThis paper explores the impact of state antiquity (the length of established statehood) on capitalism. We argue that extractive institutions may prevail in societies with ancient roots and offer the in-depth analysis of one particular channel through which these institutions may impair economic growth: the finance-growth nexus. We propose that in countries with ancient statehood, the financial sector might be captured by powerful economic and political elites leading to a distorted finance-growth relationship. We build a model in which the equilibrium relationship between companies and banks depends on elites' entrenchment and the length of established statehood. To validate our argument, we run panel-threshold regressions on a global sample between 1975 and 2014. The results show that financial development—measured by the amount of credit—is indeed negative for growth in states with ancient institutional origins, while it is positive in relatively younger ones. Based on firm-level data, we also find that corruption in lending increases with antiquity.
View lessWe propose a test for time-varying impulse responses in heteroskedastic structural vector autoregressions that can be used when the shocks are identified by external proxy variables as a group but not necessarily individually. The test is robust to the identification scheme for identifying the shocks individually and can be used even if the shocks are not identified individually. The asymptotic analysis is supported by small sample simulations which show good properties of the test. An investigation of the impact of productivity shocks in a small macroeconomic model for the U.S. illustrates the importance of the issue for empirical work.
View lessExtracellular polymeric substances (EPS) are produced by microorganisms and interact to form a complex matrix called biofilm. In soils, EPS are important contributors to the microbial necromass and, thus, to soil organic carbon (SOC). Amino sugars (AS) are used as indicators for microbial necromass in soil, although the origin of galactosamine and mannosamine is largely unknown. However, indications exist that they are part of EPS. In this study, two bacteria and two fungi were grown in starch medium either with or without a quartz matrix to induce EPS production. Each culture was separated in two fractions: one that directly underwent AS extraction (containing AS from both biomass and EPS), and another that first had EPS extracted, followed then by AS determination (exclusively containing AS from EPS). We did not observe a general effect of the quartz matrix neither of microbial type on AS production. The quantified amounts of galactosamine and mannosamine in the EPS fraction represented on average 100% of the total amounts of these two AS quantified in cell cultures, revealing they are integral parts of the biofilm. In contrast, muramic acid and glucosamine were also quantified in the EPS, but with much lower contribution rates to total AS production, of 18% and 33%, respectively, indicating they are not necessarily part of EPS. Our results allow a meaningful ecological interpretation of mannosamine and galactosamine data in the future as indicators of microbial EPS, and also attract interest of future studies to investigate the role of EPS to SOC and its dynamics.
View lessMotivation
Local alignments of query sequences in large databases represent a core part of metagenomic studies and facilitate homology search. Following the development of NCBI Blast, many applications aimed to provide faster and equally sensitive local alignment frameworks. Most applications focus on protein alignments, while only few also facilitate DNA-based searches. None of the established programs allow searching DNA sequences from bisulfite sequencing experiments commonly used for DNA methylation profiling, for which specific alignment strategies need to be implemented.
Results
Here, we introduce Lambda3, a new version of the local alignment application Lambda. Lambda3 is the first solution that enables the search of protein, nucleotide as well as bisulfite-converted nucleotide query sequences. Its protein mode achieves comparable performance to that of the highly optimized protein alignment application Diamond, while the nucleotide mode consistently outperforms established local nucleotide aligners. Combined, Lambda3 presents a universal local alignment framework that enables fast and sensitive homology searches for a wide range of use-cases.
Availability and implementation
Lambda3 is free and open-source software publicly available at https://github.com/seqan/lambda/.
View lessFerrocene and its derivatives have fascinated chemists for more than 70 years, not least due to the analogies with the properties of benzene. Despite these similarities, the obvious difference between benzene and ferrocene is the presence of an iron ion and hence the availability of d-orbitals for properties and reactivity. Phenylnitrene with its rich photochemistry can be considered an analogue of nitrenoferrocene. As with most organic and inorganic nitrenes, nitrenoferrocene can be obtained by irradiating the azide precursor. We study the photophysical and photochemical processes of dinitrogen release from 1,1′-diazidoferrocene to form 1-azido-1′-nitrenoferrocene with UV-pump–mid-IR-probe transient absorption spectroscopy and time-dependent density functional theory calculations including spin–orbit coupling. An intermediate with a bent azide moiety is identified that is pre-organised for dinitrogen release via a low-lying transition state. The photochemical decay paths on the singlet and triplet surfaces including the importance of spin–orbit coupling are discussed. We compare our findings with the processes discussed for photochemical dinitrogen activation and highlight implications for the photochemistry of azides more generally.
View lessThe ground state of the toric code, that of the two-dimensional class D superconductor, and the partition sum of the two-dimensional Ising model are dual to each other. This duality is remarkable in as much as it connects systems commonly associated to different areas of physics—that of long-range entangled topological order, (topological) band insulators, and classical statistical mechanics, respectively. Connecting fermionic and bosonic systems, the duality construction is intrinsically nonlocal, a complication that has been addressed in a plethora of different approaches, including dimensional reduction to one dimension, conformal field theory methods, and operator algebra. In this paper, we propose a unified approach to this duality, whose main protagonist is a tensor network (TN) assuming the role of an intermediate translator. Introducing a fourth node into the net of dualities offers several advantages: the formulation is integrative in that all links of the duality are treated on an equal footing, (unlike in field theoretical approaches) it is formulated with lattice precision, a feature that becomes key in the mapping of correlation functions, and their possible numerical implementation. Finally, the passage from bosons to fermions is formulated entirely within the two-dimensional TN framework where it assumes an intuitive and technically convenient form. We illustrate the predictive potential of the formalism by exploring the fate of phase transitions, point and line defects, topological boundary modes, and other structures under the mapping between system classes. Having condensed-matter readerships in mind, we introduce the construction pedagogically in a manner assuming only minimal familiarity with the concept of TNs.
View lessIn order to examine the progressive chemical evolution of halogens (F, Cl, Br, I) in altered ocean crust (AOC) during prograde subduction, this study compares bulk and in situ halogen concentrations in mafic samples from three petrogenetically related exhumed terrains in the Western Alps (the Chenaillet ophiolite, the Queyras ophiolites of the Schistes Lustrés, and the Monviso ophiolite). Samples from the Chenaillet ophiolite represent oceanic crust unaffected by metamorphic halogen loss and define a protolith halogen content (122 μg/g F, 29 μg/g Cl, 82 ng/g Br, and 98 ng/g I). Samples from the Queyras ophiolites experienced blueschist facies conditions, undergoing recrystallization and halogen loss (74 μg/g F, 19 μg/g Cl, 70 ng/g Br, and 63 ng/g I). Eclogite facies samples from the Monviso meta-ophiolite exhibit markedly reduced Cl (8 μg/g Cl) and Br (42 ng/g Br) contents relative to samples from Chenaillet and Queyras. Using electron probe microanalysis (EPMA), F and Cl host minerals (e.g., amphibole, chlorite, epidote) are identified and characterized in selected samples, showing a broad distribution of F and Cl, lending support to the view that halogen devolatilization in the subducting slab occurs continuously and is not dependent on the breakdown of a particular phase. In situ Cl concentrations decrease significantly between sub-greenschist and blueschist assemblages. Fluorine is retained within subducting AOC and is decoupled from the heavy halogens (Cl, Br, I), which undergo continuous devolatilization during prograde metamorphism.
View lessQuantum repeaters have long been established to be essential for distributing entanglement over long distances. Consequently, their experimental realization constitutes a core challenge of quantum communication. However, there are numerous open questions about implementation details for realistic near-term experimental setups. In order to assess the performance of realistic repeater protocols, here we present ReQuSim, a comprehensive Monte Carlo–based simulation platform for quantum repeaters that faithfully includes loss and models a wide range of imperfections such as memories with time-dependent noise. Our platform allows us to perform an analysis for quantum repeater setups and strategies that go far beyond known analytical results: This refers to being able to both capture more realistic noise models and analyze more complex repeater strategies. We present a number of findings centered around the combination of strategies for improving performance, such as entanglement purification and the use of multiple repeater stations, and demonstrate that there exist complex relationships between them. We stress that numerical tools such as ours are essential to model complex quantum communication protocols aimed at contributing to the quantum Internet.
View lessThe manipulation of topologically ordered phases of matter to encode and process quantum information forms the cornerstone of many approaches to fault-tolerant quantum computing. Here we demonstrate that fault-tolerant logical operations in these approaches can be interpreted as instances of anyon condensation. We present a constructive theory for anyon condensation and, in tandem, illustrate our theory explicitly using the color-code model. We show that different condensation processes are associated with a general class of domain walls, which can exist in both spacelike and timelike directions. This class includes semitransparent domain walls that condense certain subsets of anyons. We use our theory to classify topological objects and design novel fault-tolerant logic gates for the color code. As a final example, we also argue that dynamical “Floquet codes” can be viewed as a series of condensation operations. We propose a general construction for realizing planar dynamically driven codes based on condensation operations on the color code. We use our construction to introduce a new Calderbank-Shor-Steane–type Floquet code that we call the Floquet color code.
View lessQuantum information processing architectures typically only allow for nearest-neighbor entanglement creation. In many cases, this prevents the direct generation of GHZ states, which are commonly used for many communication and computation tasks. Here, we show how to obtain GHZ states between nodes in a network that are connected in a straight line, naturally allowing them to initially share linear cluster states. We prove a strict upper bound of ⌊(n+3)/2⌋ on the size of the set of nodes sharing a GHZ state that can be obtained from a linear cluster state of n qubits, using local Clifford unitaries, local Pauli measurements, and classical communication. Furthermore, we completely characterize all selections of nodes below this threshold that can share a GHZ state obtained within this setting. Finally, we demonstrate these transformations on the IBMQ Montreal quantum device for linear cluster states of up to n=19 qubits.
View lessAgent-based vegetation models are a widely used tool in ecology, for example, to understand and predict the response of vegetation to environmental change. Models are based on well-established descriptions of processes such as vegetation establishment, growth and mortality. However, they are often developed from scratch, which can be inefficient. Here we present pyMANGA, a free and open-source platform for plant growth modelers. pyMANGA's modular design allows for the combination of different concepts and theories of how plants establish, grow or compete in response to above- and below-ground resource availability. New or alternative modules describing, e.g., competition or facilitation, can be easily added. The interchangeability of modules supports the systematic testing of different hypotheses, e.g., on dominant processes in soil-plant feedback loops. Here we further present the thorough benchmarking strategy to maintain the platform and how pyMANGA can be used to compare models with different levels of abstraction and complexity.
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