Loss of Deg1/Pus3 and concomitant elimination of pseudouridine in tRNA at positions 38 and 39 (ψ38/39) was shown to specifically impair the function of tRNAGlnUUG under conditions of temperature-induced down-regulation of wobble uridine thiolation in budding yeast and is linked to intellectual disability in humans. To further characterize the differential importance of the frequent ψ38/39 modification for tRNAs in yeast, we analyzed the in vivo function of non-sense suppressor tRNAs SUP4 and sup70-65 in the absence ...

Vast amounts of leaf litter have to be disposed of by city administrations. This biomass has the potential for energy conversion, but contamination with pollutants can adversely affect this usage. We investigated leaf litter samples from the city of Kassel by analyzing their heavy metal and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) concentrations. Leaf samples were indeed contaminated with heavy metals and PAHs and contamination was influenced by provenience and collection technique. A simple cleaning system of washing ...

Triacylglycerol is a universal storage molecule for metabolic energy in living organisms. However, Dictyostelium amoebae, that have accumulated storage fat from added fatty acids do not progress through the starvation period preceding the development of the durable spore. Mutants deficient in genes of fat metabolism, such as fcsA, encoding a fatty acid activating enzyme, or dgat1 and dgat2, specifying proteins that synthesize triacylglycerol, strongly increase their chances to contribute to the spore fraction of the ...

Urbanisation is a global trend rapidly transforming the biophysical and socioeconomic structures of metropolitan areas. To better understand (and perhaps control) these processes, more interdisciplinary research must be dedicated to the rural–urban interface. This also calls for a common reference system describing intermediate stages along a rural–urban gradient. The present paper constructs a simple index of urbanisation for villages in the Greater Bangalore Area, using GIS analysis of satellite images, and combining ...

According to the just-world theory, people need to – or rather want to – believe that they live in a just world where they will receive what they earn and consequently earn what they receive. In the present work, we examined the influence of people’s general and personal beliefs in a just world (BJW) on their (dis)honest behavior. Given that general BJW was found to be linked to antisocial tendencies, we expected stronger general BJW to be linked to more dishonesty. Given that personal BJW was found to be correlated ...

This study was motivated by our recent observation that the analytical reagent Nitron (2) is an “instant carbene”, whose reaction with coinage metal salts MX afforded complexes of its carbenic tautomer 1,4-diphenyl-3-phenylamino-1,2,4-triazol-5-ylidene (2′). Our aim was to establish an alkyl homologue of 2 in order to achieve a carbenic tautomer of higher donicity. For this purpose 1-tert-butyl-4-methyl-1,2,4-triazol-4-ium-3-tert-butylaminide (6) was synthesized. Its reactions with MX afforded complexes of the carbenic ...

Background Fungi play crucial roles in ecosystems and are among the species-richest organism groups on Earth. However, knowledge on their occurrence lags behind the data for animals and plants. Recent analyses of fungal occurrence data from Western, Central and Northern Europe provided important insights into response of fungi to global warming. The consequences of the global changes for biodiversity on a larger geographical scale are not yet understood. Landscapes of Eastern Europe and particularly of eastern ...

The Dark Triad traits—narcissism, Machiavellianism and psychopathy—have been found to be associated with intra- or interpersonal deception production frequency. This cross-sectional study (N = 207) investigated if the Dark Triad traits are also associated with deception detection accuracy, as implicated by the recent conception of a deception-general ability. To investigate associations between maladaptive personality space and deception, the PID-5 maladaptive personality traits were included to investigate if besides ...

Exporting organic fresh fruit and vegetables (FFV) to the European Union could represent a great opportunity for Syrian farmers and exporters. Yet, the organic sector in Syria is comparatively young and only a very small area of FFV is organically managed. To date, little is known about Syrian farmers’ attitudes towards organic FFV production. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore the intentions and attitudes of Syrian farmers of FFV towards organic farming and how likely they are to convert their farms to ...

Fast and reliable reset of a qubit is a key prerequisite for any quantum technology. For real world open quantum systems undergoing non-Markovian dynamics, reset implies not only purification, but in particular erasure of initial correlations between qubit and environment. Here, we derive optimal reset protocols using a combination of geometric and numerical control theory. For factorizing initial states, we find a lower limit for the entropy reduction of the qubit as well as a speed limit. The time-optimal solution ...