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Die vorliegende Masterthesis befasst sich mit der genderspezifischen Sprache in Stellenanzeigen, die am Beispiel der Anwendung „Scan Neutral“ untersucht wird. Zahlreiche Studien haben bestätigt, dass ein ungünstig gewähltes, genderunsensibles Wording in den Stellenanzeigen zur Verringerung des Interesses an der ausgeschriebenen Stelle sowie zur Reduktion der Anzahl an Bewerbenden führen kann. Aus diesem Grund legen viele Unternehmen beim Akquirieren von neuen Mitarbeitenden einen besonderen Wert auf geschickt formulierte Stelleninserate. So ist dies auch bei CGI – einem globalen Dienstleister für IT- und Geschäftsprozesse – der Fall. Um die Stellenausschreibungen für jede und jeden attraktiver und ansprechender zu gestalten und somit die Vielfalt in der IT-Branche zu stärken, wurde von einem CGI-Team am Standort München die Anwendung „Scan Neutral“ entwickelt. Das Tool überprüft Stellenanzeigen in Bezug auf den geschlechtergerechten Sprachgebrauch und schlägt anschließend gendergerechte Alternativen zu den identifizierten genderspezifischen Wörtern vor. Dabei ist es den Nutzenden überlassen, ob die Vorschläge angenommen und eingearbeitet werden. Somit stellt „Scan Neutral“ ein Tool dar, das eine Hilfestellung bei der Optimierung des Sprachgebrauchs leistet und die Arbeit an den geschlechtergerechten Formulierungen unterstützt. Die Anwendung verfolgt darüber hinaus das Ziel, das Bewusstsein für einen genderfairen Sprachgebrauch zu schaffen und zu schärfen. Das Hauptziel der Masterthesis besteht darin, ein zuverlässiges linguistisch motiviertes Regelwerk für die deutschsprachige Version des Tools „Scan Neutral“ zu erstellen, das aus (gender)linguistischer Sicht begründet ist. Dafür wird ein theoretischer Rahmen erstellt, in dem zwei Kategorien der genderspezifischen Sprache – gegenderte sowie geschlechterstereotype Wörter – definiert sowie ihre Verwendung in Stellenanzeigen und ihre Wirkung auf das Zielpublikum analysiert werden. Auf dieser theoretischen Basis werden

This study examines modal verbs in German press coverage of COVID-19 during the first phase of the pandemic. The data basis is an 18-million-word corpus of newspaper articles. For analysis, a sample is drawn from the total number of modal verbs in the corpus and these are categorised according to their discourse function. The corresponding annotated data are analysed quantitatively and qualitatively. For this purpose, the study draws back to Kratzer’s concept of conversational backgrounds. It turns out that in addition to normative speech backgrounds, goal formulations can be found above all. Normative backgrounds are evoked, on the one hand, to address official rules and their effects and, on the other hand in appeals and demands, to refer to social norms that are assumed as common ground. The fact that teleological backgrounds play a relatively large role indicates that the normalisation perspective is of great importance as a regulative in the crisis discourse. More positive than negative determining factors are indicated and uncertainty markings occur comparatively rarely. This points to successful crisis communication in this discourse phase.

Division of intracellular organelles often correlates with additional membrane wrapping, e.g., by the endoplasmic reticulum or the outer mitochondrial membrane. Such wrapping plays a vital role in proteome and lipidome organization. However, how an extra membrane impacts the mechanics of the division has not been investigated. Here we combine fluorescence and cryo-electron microscopy experiments with self-consistent field theory to explore the stress-induced instabilities imposed by membrane wrapping in a simple double-membrane tubular system. We find that, at physiologically relevant conditions, the outer membrane facilitates an alternative pathway for the inner-tube fission through the formation of a transient contact (hemi-fusion) between both membranes. A detailed molecular theory of the fission pathways in the double membrane system reveals the topological complexity of the process, resulting both in leaky and leakless intermediates, with energies and topologies predicting physiological events.

Der Beitrag stellt das linguistisch aufbereitete Gesamtkorpus der Plenarprotokolle des Deutschen Bundestags vor. Es ist im Rahmen des Projektes Discourse Lab aufbereitet worden und wird über die Korpusanalyseplattform CQPweb für Forschung und Lehre eingesetzt. Das Korpus enthält alle Plenarprotokolle seit 1949 und ist mit linguistischen Basisinformationen sowie mit Angaben zu Redner*innen, Parteien und Redezeitpunkten angereichert. Außerdem ermöglicht eine Linkstruktur die sequentielle Analyse der Debatten.

Der Aufsatz beschreibt den metasprachlichen Umgang mit Termini im Deutschen Bundestag. Es geht also um die sprachliche Praxis der Terminologiearbeit in einem Umfeld, in dem Begriffsarbeit und Fachsprache zwar einerseits konstitutiv sind, anderseits aber die persuasive Grundfunktion politischer Sprache Verständlichkeit und Allgemeinsprachlichkeit voraussetzt. Auf der Datenbasis der linguistisch aufbereiteten Plenarprotokolle des Deutschen Bundestags wende ich ein korpushermeneutisches Verfahren an. Die verschiedenen Praktiken des Umgangs mit Termini werden beschrieben und an exemplarischen Belegen diskursfunktional bestimmt. Ich unterscheide dabei saliente von nicht-salienten Praktiken der Terminologiearbeit. Es zeigt sich, dass sowohl das Definieren als auch der metakommunikative Umgang mit Terminologie eng mit Praktiken der politischen Positionierung und des semantischen Kampfes in politischen Debatten verflochten ist. Schließlich diskutiere ich die Anwendbarkeit sowohl des Verfahrens als auch der Ergebnisse auf die DaF-Didaktik.

In der vorliegenden Arbeit wird zunächst der Forschungsgegenstand Brief aus der Perspektive verschiedener Disziplinen betrachtet und seine Merkmale und Themen beleuchtet. Danach wird speziell auf die Sonderform des Liebesbriefes eingegangen und wie sich dieser von anderen Formen von Briefen unterscheidet. In Kapitel 3 geht es um die Grundlage zur Erforschung von und der Arbeit an Briefen: die Edition von Briefkorpora, ihre Aufbereitung und die neuen Möglichkeiten und Herausforderungen durch digitale Techniken. Ein Fokus wird hier auf die Bedeutung und die Aufgaben von Normdaten gelegt. Es wird erklärt, was sie sind, welche Möglichkeiten sie eröffnen und was ihre Rolle in der Auszeichnung von Korrespondenzen ist. Zum Schluss dieses ersten Teils über die Briefforschung und ihre Methoden geht es dann um die sozialen Netzwerke, die durch Briefwechsel zwischen Personen entstehen, erhalten und ausgebaut werden und ihre Nachbildung, Darstellung und Signifikanz für die Forschung. Die beiden Kapitel 2 und 3 bilden die Grundlage für die Überlegungen zur Auszeichnung und Auswertung des Untersuchungskorpus, der in Kapitel 4 vorgestellt wird. Die Korrespondenz, die in Teilen das Korpus dieser Arbeit bildet, stammt aus dem Liebesbriefarchiv, das zu Beginn des Kapitels vorgestellt wird. Darauffolgend werden die beiden Korrespondierenden, Cleta und Thaddäus, die Situation ihres Briefwechsels und der Kontext ihrer Biografien in diesem Zeitraum, soweit bekannt, vorgestellt. Den Schluss des vierten Kapitels bildet die Erläuterung zur Erstellung und Aufbereitung des Korpus, inklusive einer Übersicht über die in dem Datensatz enthaltenen Briefe und ihrer Metadaten. In dem folgenden fünften Kapitel wird der Prozess der Auszeichnung des Korpus beschrieben. Dabei werden fachliche Konventionen und Standards der Annotation von digitalen Texten beachtet und erläutert, und an Stellen, die es verlangen, werden diese angepasst und die Entscheidungen begründet dargelegt. An einigen ausgesuchten B

Dieses Working Paper ist das Ergebnis eines Experiments: Im Rahmen des Seminars Let’s talk about love! Linguistische und kulturhistorische Forschungen zu Liebesbriefen, das im Sommersemester 2021 an der Technischen Universität Darmstadt angeboten wurde, haben Studierende Transkriptionen und Basiserschließungen mit Briefmetadaten und Annotationen zahlreicher Liebesbriefe aus dem Bestand des Liebesbriefarchivs, das in der UB Koblenz aufbewahrt wird, erstellt. Alle Beteiligten hatten dabei mehrere Herausforderungen zu meistern: Zum einen galt es mit dem Umstand des pandemiebedingten digitalen Semesters zurechtzukommen. Zum anderen kamen im Seminar Studierende aus mehreren unterschiedlichen Studiengängen zusammen, was eine Vielfalt an unterschiedlichen Vorerfahrungen bezüglich der Transkription und Annotation von Textzeugen sowie an unterschiedlichen Leistungsvoraussetzungen der einzelnen Studierenden mit sich brachte. Anstelle der üblichen Hausarbeiten wurden daher als Seminarleistung von einzelnen Studierenden Aufsätze über seminarbezogene Themen erstellt, die wir nun neben einem Überblick über das Koblenzer Liebesbriefarchiv, das aktuelle Citizen-Science-Projekt Gruß & Kuss sowie über das durchgeführte Seminar in diesem Working Paper präsentieren.

How does the human brain react to reading intentionally poorly written fiction? This question is to be explored within this thesis, both theoretical inquiries and empirical data are used to answer the question. For this purpose, a simultaneous eye-tracking and electroencephalography experiment is conducted to measure the reception of bad fiction on readers. First, a theoretical overview of the topic of fanfiction is given, i.e. what kind of texts are written by fans and can be found in large quantities on the internet. In the context of this thesis, the fandom related to Harry Potter plays an essential role, which is why the subject of Harry Potter is explained in this chapter as well. Chapter 5 then introduces the internal fanfiction genre of bad fiction. This forms the object of investigation of this thesis, and in chapter 5 the theoretical background to bad fiction is presented. Although bad fiction is a category of its own, parallels to other genres can be drawn to a certain degree, and these parallels will be explained in chapter 5 as well. Chapters 6 and 7 focus on the measurement procedures used in the empirical experiment. The first measurement method records eye movements with the help of an eye tracker and uses this data for analysis. To enable a better understanding of the data obtained, a detailed explanation is given of the parameters to be considered in an eye-tracking experiment, which eye movements can be measured and to what extent these provide information about reception. In chapter 7, the focus is on the second measurement method used, namely electroencephalography. Here, the neuronal activity in the brain of the test subject is measured with the help of electrodes. This chapter provides an overview of the measurement procedure, i.e. which parameters need to be taken into account. It also explains in detail what can be measured with the help of electroencephalography and what the limitations are. In preparation for this thesis, a pilot study of t

The internet has brought on a variety of new forms of literary expression: from self-published novels, over complex hyperfiction forms or automatically generated texts, to large forums of variegated fanfiction. A removal of authorities (”Wegfall der Kontrollinstanzen” (Simanowski 2005)) allows writers to release texts which due to their style or content most probably would not work in a traditional book setting. This can reach from curiosities like the mid-2020 release of the Kindle eBook Kissing the Coronavirus, which became an internet sensation and has been deemed as a ”masterpiece of bad erotica” by a Reddit user (see ParadoxicallyItWas 2020), to the complex system of fanfiction writing. Systemic approaches to digital literature, especially in German studies, are rare (see Ries 2021), though studying the commonalities of literature on the internet may give valuable insights on readers and writers interests. ”Fanfiction R-rated - A Quantitative Study of Sensitive Topics in German Fanfiction”, deals with fanfiction by setting it into the context of literary writing on the internet and describing the effects of the previously mentioned low boundaries for publication. Fanfictions are literary texts of appropriative-derivative or transformative nature that are produced in a fandom by fans and are based on e.g. novels, films or TV-Series (see Stemberger 2021, p. 10). Due to their fannish nature, fanfiction writers operate from a standpoint of adoration of and frustration with a specific source material (see Jenkins 1992). This results in a variety of stories that try to expand the source material and/or seek to rework it to reflect authors’ needs. Apparently, artistic freedom is used to full capacity, particularly, as Catherine Tosenberger describes it, ”with regard to non-normative and taboo forms and representations of sexuality” (Tosenberger 2014, p. 17). The research objective of this thesis is thus to study the effects of the especially low boundaries for publica

The article processing charge was funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) – 491192747 and the Open Access Publication Fund of Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin., The proper treatment of cannabis agricultural wastes can reduce the environmental impact of its cultivation and generate valuable products. This study aimed to test the potential of cannabis agricultural wastes as a substrate for the rearing of black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) and yellow mealworms (MW). In the case of BSFL, replacing the fibre component (straw) in the substrate with the hemp waste can increase the nutritional value of the substrate and led to bigger larvae. The bigger larvae had lower P and Mg, and higher Fe and Ca. Crude protein also varied based on the size of larvae and/or the content of protein in the initial substrate, which was boosted by replacing straw with hemp material. No other cannabinoids than cannabidiolic acid (CBDA), cannabigerolic acid (CBGA), and cannabidiol (CBD) were found in significant amounts in the larvae. In the case of MW, the larvae grew less on the hemp material in comparison to wheat bran. Replacing wheat bran with the hemp material led to smaller larvae with higher Ca, Fe, K, and crude protein content, but lower Mg and P values. No cannabinoids were detected in the MW fed with the hemp material., Peer Reviewed

This article was supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the Open Access Publication Fund of Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin., The growth and nutritional profile of the black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) is usually investigated and compared when the larvae feed on substrates that differ in the chemical composition as well as physical properties. This study compares BSFL growth on substrates that differ primarily in physical properties. This was achieved by using various fibres in the substrates. In the first experiment, two substrates with 20% or 14% chicken feed were mixed with three fibres (cellulose, lignocellulose, or straw). In the second experiment, the growth of BSFL was compared with a 17% chicken feed substrate that additionally contained straw with different particle sizes. We show that the substrate texture properties values did not influence the BSFL growth, but the bulk density of the fibre component did. The substrate mixed with cellulose led to higher larvae growth over time in comparison to substrates with higher bulk density fibres. BSFL grown on the substrate mixed with cellulose reached their maximum weight in 6 days instead of 7. Neither the fibres nor the nutrient level changed the crude protein content of BSFL and the values ranged between 33.5% and 38.3%, but an interaction between the fibre and nutrient level was observed. The size of straw particles in the substrates influenced the BSFL growth and led to a 26.78% difference in Ca concentration, a 12.04% difference in Mg concentration, and a 35.34% difference in P concentration. Our findings indicate that the BSFL-rearing substrates can be optimised by changing the fibre component or its particle size. This can improve the survival rate, reduce the cultivation time needed to reach the maximum weight, and alter the chemical composition of BSFL., German Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF), Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation), Open Access Publication Fund of Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Peer Reviewed

Das Forschungsprojekt „Digitales Familiennamenwörterbuch Deutschlands (DFD)“ wurde an der Mainzer Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur in Kooperation mit der Technischen Universität Darmstadt und der Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz im Jahr 2012 begonnen und hat eine voraussichtliche Laufzeit von 24 Jahren. Im Rahmen des DFD wird der komplette Grundbestand der derzeit in Deutschland vorkommenden Namen, auch der sogenannten Fremdnamen, nach neuesten Erkenntnissen der Namenforschung lexikographisch erfasst, kartiert und unter Berücksichtigung der geographischen Verbreitung etymologisiert. Das Ziel des Forschungsprojekts ist die benutzerfreundliche und leicht zugängliche digitale Präsentation von rund 200.000 Namenartikeln. Die digitale Datenbasis wurde auf der Grundlage der Telefonbucheinträge der Deutschen Telekom aus dem Jahr 2005 erstellt. Jeder Familienname mit mindestens zehn Telefonanschlüssen wird im DFD in einem eigenen Namenartikel präsentiert. Der Großteil der im Wörterbuch veröffentlichten Namenartikel enthält eine Karte, in der die geographische Verbreitung des Namens in Deutschland mithilfe von Kreisen unterschiedlicher Größe dargestellt wird. Für jeden für die Präsentation im Wörterbuch bearbeiteten Familiennamen wird die Verbreitungskarte mithilfe des derzeit für das DFD verwendeten Kartierungsprogramms individuell als statische Karte mit rudimentären geographischen Informationen erzeugt und als PDF sowie optional als SVG in der Datenbank des DFD abgelegt. Wie Benutzerbefragungen zeigen, kann diese statische Karte viele der Fragen, die die Nutzer*innen an die Visualisierung der Namensverbreitung stellen, nicht beantworten. Das Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit ist die Entwicklung und Dokumentation einer in die Website des DFD integrierbaren Software, die mithilfe von konsolidierten Technologien und basierend auf den Ergebnissen der aktuellen Forschung im Bereich der Informationsvisualisierung interaktive geographische Namensverbreitungskarten au

In order to operate in human environments, a robot's semantic perception has to overcome open-world challenges such as novel objects and domain gaps. Autonomous deployment to such environments therefore requires robots to update their knowledge and learn without supervision. We investigate how a robot can autonomously discover novel semantic classes and improve accuracy on known classes when exploring an unknown environment. To this end, we develop a general framework for mapping and clustering that we then use to generate a self-supervised learning signal to update a semantic segmentation model. In particular, we show how clustering parameters can be optimized during deployment and that fusion of multiple observation modalities improves novel object discovery compared to prior work. Models, data, and implementations can be found at https://github.com/hermannsblum/scim, Comment: accepted at ISRR 2022

Conditions of rapid processing often drive polymers to adopt nonequilibrium molecular conformations, which, in turn, can give rise to structural, dynamical, and mechanical properties that are significantly different from those in thermodynamic equilibrium. However, despite the possibility to control the desired nonequilibrium properties of polymers, a rigorous microscopic understanding of the processing-property relations is currently lacking. In an attempt to stimulate progress along this topical direction, we focus here on three prototypical and apparently different cases: spin-coated polymer films, rapidly drawn polymer fibers, and sheared polymer melts. Inspired by the presence of common observations in the chosen cases, we search for order parameters as, for example, topological correlations and heterogeneities, which may allow characterizing the processing-induced behavior of polymers. We highlight that such approaches, necessitating concerted efforts from theory, simulations, and experiments, can provide a profound understanding leading to predictable and tunable properties of polymers.

Over the last few centuries Ireland has experienced an unparalleled outflow of its inhabitants, the majority of which left their homes in the hope of finding a better life abroad. The personal experiences of these emigrants are most vividly documented in the multitude of letters they sent home to their families and loved ones they left behind. Following a data-driven approach, the current study aims to explore a collection of these Irish emigrant letters with the help of computer-aided methods. The main focus of the project lies on the thematic investigation of these correspondences, which is carried out with the help of topic modelling. Topic modelling is a fully automated methodology capable of recognising patterns of word co-occurrences in large collections of text. Thus, these algorithms allow us to gain insights into the recurring themes found in large text corpora, which would not be possible to capture manually. However, due to its inherent neglect of contextual information, topic modelling remains a controversial method in the field of corpus linguistics. For this reason, the present project also critically evaluates the validity of the results provided by the algorithm. In addition, this paper serves to outline the various steps involved in the compilation and preprocessing of the letter corpus used, thus providing a comprehensive overview of the entire research process underlying the computer-aided study of text corpora. The study is based on the electronic Irish Emigrant Letter Corpus (IELC) compiled for this project, which comprises a total of 3,247 Irish emigrant letters covering a period from the 18th to the late 20th century. The compilation, preprocessing and analysis of the corpus is conducted with the help of the programming language Python, which offers a variety of highly efficient libraries and packages for Natural Language Processing tasks. The topic model itself is implemented using McCallum’s (2002) Machine Learning for Language Toolkit (MALL

The study 'Communicating the unknown' draws on an annotation approach to examine uncertainty in British and German newspaper articles on the coronavirus pandemic. We developed a tagset in an interdisciplinary team from corpus linguistics and sociology. After working out a gold standard on a pilot corpus, we apply the annotation to the entire corpus drawing on an “annotation-by-query” approach in CQPWeb, based on uncertainty constructions that have been extracted from the gold standard data. The annotated data are then evaluated and sociologically contextualised. On this basis, we study the development of uncertainty markers in the period under study and compare media discourses in Germany and the UK. We document here the CQL queries which we used to measure uncertainty in our corpora.

Background: We aimed to determine the association between seizure termination and side effects of isoflurane for the treatment of refractory status epilepticus (RSE) and super-refractory status epilepticus (SRSE) in neurointensive care units (neuro-ICUs). Methods: This was a multicenter retrospective study of patients with RSE/SRSE treated with isoflurane for status epilepticus termination admitted to the neuro-ICUs of nine German university centers during 2011–2018. Results: We identified 45 patients who received isoflurane for the treatment of RSE/SRSE. During isoflurane treatment, electroencephalograms showed no epileptiform discharges in 33 of 41 (80%) patients, and burst suppression pattern was achieved in 29 of 41 patients (71%). RSE/SRSE was finally terminated after treatment with isoflurane in 23 of 45 patients (51%) for the entire group and in 13 of 45 patients (29%) without additional therapy. Lengths of stay in the hospital and in the neuro-ICU were significantly extended in cases of ongoing status epilepticus under isoflurane treatment (p = 0.01 for length of stay in the hospital, p = 0.049 for length in the neuro-ICU). During isoflurane treatment, side effects were reported in 40 of 45 patients (89%) and mainly included hypotension (n = 40, 89%) and/or infection (n = 20, 44%). Whether side effects occurred did not affect the outcome at discharge. Of 22 patients with follow-up magnetic resonance imaging, 2 patients (9%) showed progressive magnetic resonance imaging alterations that were considered to be potentially associated with RSE/SRSE itself or with isoflurane therapy. Conclusions; Isoflurane was associated with a good effect in stopping RSE/SRSE. Nevertheless, establishing remission remained difficult. Side effects were common but without effect on the outcome at discharge.

This paper presents a probabilistic framework to obtain both reliable and fast uncertainty estimates for predictions with Deep Neural Networks (DNNs). Our main contribution is a practical and principled combination of DNNs with sparse Gaussian Processes (GPs). We prove theoretically that DNNs can be seen as a special case of sparse GPs, namely mixtures of GP experts (MoE-GP), and we devise a learning algorithm that brings the derived theory into practice. In experiments from two different robotic tasks -- inverse dynamics of a manipulator and object detection on a micro-aerial vehicle (MAV) -- we show the effectiveness of our approach in terms of predictive uncertainty, improved scalability, and run-time efficiency on a Jetson TX2. We thus argue that our approach can pave the way towards reliable and fast robot learning systems with uncertainty awareness., Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures and 1 table. Accepted at the 5th Conference on Robot Learning (CORL 2021), London, UK

In the future, extraterrestrial expeditions will not only be conducted by rovers but also by flying robots. The technical demonstration drone Ingenuity, that just landed on Mars, will mark the beginning of a new era of exploration unhindered by terrain traversability. Robust self-localization is crucial for that. Cameras that are lightweight, cheap and information-rich sensors are already used to estimate the ego-motion of vehicles. However, methods proven to work in man-made environments cannot simply be deployed on other planets. The highly repetitive textures present in the wastelands of Mars pose a huge challenge to descriptor matching based approaches. In this paper, we present an advanced robust monocular odometry algorithm that uses efficient optical flow tracking to obtain feature correspondences between images and a refined keyframe selection criterion. In contrast to most other approaches, our framework can also handle rotation-only motions that are particularly challenging for monocular odometry systems. Furthermore, we present a novel approach to estimate the current risk of scale drift based on a principal component analysis of the relative translation information matrix. This way we obtain an implicit measure of uncertainty. We evaluate the validity of our approach on all sequences of a challenging real-world dataset captured in a Mars-like environment and show that it outperforms state-of-the-art approaches., Comment: Accepted to IROS 2021. Updated version corresponding to IROS camera-ready. The source code is publicly available at: https://github.com/DLR-RM/granite

Background: The spatial gap between cochlear implants (CIs) and the auditory nerve limits frequency selectivity as large populations of spiral ganglion neurons (SGNs) are electrically stimulated synchronously. To improve CI performance, a possible strategy is to promote neurite outgrowth toward the CI, thereby allowing a discrete stimulation of small SGN subpopulations. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is effective to stimulate neurite outgrowth from SGNs. Method: TrkB (tropomyosin receptor kinase B) agonists, BDNF, and five known small-molecule BDNF mimetics were tested for their efficacy in stimulating neurite outgrowth in postnatal SGN explants. To modulate Trk receptor-mediated effects, TrkB and TrkC ligands were scavenged by an excess of recombinant receptor proteins. The pan-Trk inhibitor K252a was used to block Trk receptor actions. Results: THF (7,8,3 '-trihydroxyflavone) partly reproduced the BDNF effect in postnatal day 7 (P7) mouse cochlear spiral ganglion explants (SGEs), but failed to show effectiveness in P4 SGEs. During the same postnatal period, spontaneous and BDNF-stimulated neurite outgrowth increased. The increased neurite outgrowth in P7 SGEs was not caused by the TrkB/TrkC ligands, BDNF and neurotrophin-3 (NT-3). Conclusions: The age-dependency of induction of neurite outgrowth in SGEs was very likely dependent on presently unidentified factors and/or molecular mechanisms which may also be decisive for the age-dependent efficacy of the small-molecule TrkB receptor agonist THF.

OBJECTIVES: As the world population ages, psychiatrists will increasingly need instruments for measuring constructs of psychopathology that are generalizable to diverse elders. The study tested whether syndromes of co-occurring problems derived from self-ratings of psychopathology by US elders would fit self-ratings by elders in 19 other societies.METHODS/DESIGN: The Older Adult Self-Report (OASR) was completed by 12,826 60- to 102-year-olds in 19 societies from North and South America, Asia, and Eastern, Northern, Southern, and Western Europe, plus the US. Individual and multi-group confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) tested the fit of the 7-syndrome OASR model, consisting of the Anxious/Depressed, Worries, Somatic Complaints, Functional Impairment, Memory/Cognition Problems, Thought Problems, and Irritable/Disinhibited syndromes.RESULTS: In individual CFAs, the primary model fit index showed good fit for all societies, while the secondary model fit indices showed acceptable to good fit. The items loaded strongly on their respective factors, with a median item loading of .63 across the 20 societies; and 98.7% of the loadings were statistically significant. In multi-group CFAs, 98% of items demonstrated approximate or full metric invariance. Fifteen percent of items demonstrated approximate or full scalar invariance and another 59% demonstrated scalar invariance across more than half of societies.CONCLUSIONS: The findings supported the generalizability of OASR syndromes across societies. The seven syndromes offer empirically-based clinical constructs that are relevant for elders of different backgrounds. They can be used to assess diverse elders, and as a taxonomic framework to facilitate communication, services, research and training in geriatric psychiatry. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Der Beitrag befasst sich zunächst mit dem Begriff ‚Kontextualisierung‘. Dieser wird in den Zusammenhang diverser Modelle von ‚Kontext‘ gestellt und auf der Basis des Zwiebelmodells der Kontextualisierung spezifiziert. Darauf aufbauend wird eine methodologische Operationalisierung für die digitale Diskursanalyse entwickelt und an praktischen Beispielen vorgeführt. Vor diesem Hintergrund schließt der Beitrag mit einer Diskussion des hier titelgebenden Terminus ‚Rekontextualisierung‘.

Der Begriff der Rekontextualisierung hat in neueren diskursanalytischen Forschungen zu digitalen Medien einen erstaunlichen Aufschwung erfahren. Die für digitale Medien charakteristische Möglichkeit, durch serielle Reihungen, Rekombination, Einbettung und Vernetzung digitaler Objekte neuen Sinn zu generieren, wird dadurch auf den Begriff gebracht. Auch für methodologische Fragestellungen zu digitalen Forschungsinfrastrukturen und digitalen Methoden kann der Begriff der Rekontextualisierung als Leitkonzept dienen. Der Band diskutiert aus interdisziplinärer Perspektive die Potenziale des Rekontextualisierungsbegriffs als Schlüsselbegriff digitaler Forschung.

The Darmstadt International Relations Corpus (DIReC) compiles all articles of the three most influential journals in the field of International Relations – International Organization, World Politics and International Security – from 1974 to 2000. It enables both research in the conceptual history of political science and linguistic analysis of the specialised language. This paper presents the data structure, the user interface and some use cases of DIReC.

Ziel der hier vorliegenden Arbeit ist es, die stilistische Perspektive der interaktionalen Linguistik, welche an dieser Stelle vorerst kurzum als „Stil ist sozial“ beschrieben werden soll, in die Stilanalyse der forensischen Linguistik und damit in die Aufgaben und Methoden der Autorschaftsattribution zu integrieren. Bisher folgt die forensische Stilanalyse einem Ansatz, welcher Stil als die individuelle Wahl eines jeden Individuums in Anhängigkeit zum Medium und der Textsorte beschreibt und dementsprechend auch in der Stilanalyse betrachtet. Im Kontext der modernen Forschungen und auch der voranschreitenden Kommunikation auf unterschiedlichen Ebenen erscheint die derzeitige Stilperspektive der forensischen Linguistik nicht mehr geeignet, um einen umfassenden Blick auf die stilistischen Gegebenheiten eines schriftsprachlichen Stils herauszustellen und somit den Weg für eine erfolgreiche Autorenerkennung zu ebnen. Die interaktionale Linguistik und die interaktionale Stilistik sollen im Folgenden dabei helfen, einen neuen Blickwinkel für die Autorschaftsattribution in Bezug auf den Stil des Täters zu schaffen, um somit interaktionale Kommunikation und die Bedingungen eines wechselseitigen Kontextes stärker in den Fokus dieser recht jungen Disziplin zu rücken, deren Weiterentwicklung weiterhin gesichert werden muss.

Conditions of rapid processing often drive polymers to adopt nonequilibrium molecular conformations, which, in turn, can give rise to structural, dynamical, and mechanical properties that are significantly different from those in thermodynamic equilibrium. However, despite the possibility to control the desired nonequilibrium properties of polymers, a rigorous microscopic understanding of the processing-property relations is currently lacking. In an attempt to stimulate progress along this topical direction, we focus here on three prototypical and apparently different cases: spin-coated polymer films, rapidly drawn polymer fibers, and sheared polymer melts. Inspired by the presence of common observations in the chosen cases, we search for order parameters as, for example, topological correlations and heterogeneities, which may allow characterizing the processing-induced behavior of polymers. We highlight that such approaches, necessitating concerted efforts from theory, simulations, and experiments, can provide a profound understanding leading to predictable and tunable properties of polymers.

application/pdf, Chemistry of Materials. 2019, 31(2), P.322-330

[Background]: Spread of antimicrobial resistance and shortage of novel antibiotics have led to an urgent need for new antibacterials (Maura et al. 2016, Curr Opin Microbiol 33: 41-46; Tacconelli et al. 2018, Lancet Infect Dis 18: 318-327). Although aminoglycoside antibiotics (AGs) exhibit potent antimicrobial activity, their use has been largely restricted due to serious sideeffects, mainly nephrotoxicity and ototoxicity (Forge and Schacht 2000, Audiol Neurootol 5: 3-22; Huth et al. 2011, Int J Otolaryngol 2011: 937861). It is therefore of great importance to identify AGs of strong antibacterial activity that lack their most harmful side effects., [Methods]: A large number of AGs were tested against a series of multidrug-resistant clinical isolates of the ESKAPE panel; of these, five AGs showing strong antibacterial activity were selected to evaluate their ototoxicity. A stepwise approach was followed, aiming at setting up a protocol that could be used in future high-throughput screenings. In vitro tests were initially conducted by assessing the viability of two established otic cell lines following AG treatment, and subsequently on murine cochlear organotypic cultures, by analysing hair cell survival. In vivo work was then carried out on a guinea pig model, following local round window application of the AGs., [Results]: Commercial gentamicin mixture (GM), the GM congener gentamicin C1a (GM C1a), apramycin (Apra), paromomycin (Paro) and neomycin (Neo) were selected for ototoxicity testing. In vitro analyses confirmed GM and Neo as the most toxic of the tested AGs, and Apra and Paro as those with the lowest toxicity; interestingly, GM C1a appeared to be less toxic than GM. Regarding the in vivo work, a dose-dependent effect of AGs on outer hair cell (OHC) survival and compound action potentials (CAPs) showed that GM C1a and Apra were the least toxic. Strikingly, although no changes were observed in CAP thresholds and OHC survival following treatment with low concentrations of Neo, GM and Paro, the number of inner hair cell (IHC) synaptic ribbons and the CAP amplitudes were reduced. This indication of hidden hearing loss was not observed with GM C1a or Apra at such concentrations., [Conclusion]: These findings have: (a) validated our screening approach, approach that will now be used for high-throughput testing of newly isolated AG congeners, (b) revealed the IHCs as the inner ear’;s most vulnerable element to AG treatment, and (c) identified GM C1a and Apra as promising bases for the development of clinically useful antibiotics.

The use of atomic orbitals in Hedin's GW approximation provides, in principle, an inexpensive alternative to plane-wave basis sets, especially when modeling large molecules. However, benchmarking of the algorithms and basis sets is essential for a careful balance between cost and accuracy. In this paper, we present an implementation of the GW approximation using numerical atomic orbitals and a pseudopotential treatment of core electrons. The combination of a contour deformation technique with a one-shot extraction of quasiparticle energies provides an efficient scheme for many applications. The performance of the implementation with respect to the basis set convergence and the effect of the use of pseudopotentials has been tested for the 117 closed-shell molecules from the G2/97 test set and 24 larger acceptor molecules from another recently proposed test set. Moreover, to demonstrate the potential of our method, we compute the thermally averaged GW density of states of a large photochromic compound by sampling ab initio molecular dynamics trajectories at different temperatures. The computed thermal line widths indicate approximately twice as large electron-phonon couplings with GW than with standard DFT-GGA calculations. This is further confirmed using frozen-phonon calculations.

Spread of antimicrobial resistance and shortage of novel antibiotics have led to an urgent need for new antibacterials. Although aminoglycoside antibiotics (AGs) are very potent anti-infectives, their use is largely restricted due to serious side-effects, mainly nephrotoxicity and ototoxicity. We evaluated the ototoxicity of various AGs selected from a larger set of AGs on the basis of their strong antibacterial activities against multidrug-resistant clinical isolates of the ESKAPE panel: gentamicin, gentamicin C1a, apramycin, paromomycin and neomycin. Following local round window application, dose-dependent effects of AGs on outer hair cell survival and compound action potentials showed gentamicin C1a and apramycin as the least toxic. Strikingly, although no changes were observed in compound action potential thresholds and outer hair cell survival following treatment with low concentrations of neomycin, gentamicin and paromomycin, the number of inner hair cell synaptic ribbons and the compound action potential amplitudes were reduced. This indication of hidden hearing loss was not observed with gentamicin C1a or apramycin at such concentrations. These findings identify the inner hair cells as the most vulnerable element to AG treatment, indicating that gentamicin C1a and apramycin are promising bases for the development of clinically useful antibiotics.

This thesis describes the stacking of multiple applications on a single lithium-ion battery energy storage system under current (2017) German legislation with included technical, legal and market analyses. Case studies for several applications and business models for multi-purpose stationary lithium-ion battery energy storage systems are performed and analyzed using a mathematical model. By simulation, applications can be combined to indicate market performance and technical feasibility., Diese Arbeit beschreibt das Stapeln von mehreren Anwendungen auf einem einzelnen Lithium-Ionen-Batterie-Energiespeichersystem unter aktueller (2017) deutscher Gesetzgebung hinsichtlich technisch, rechtlich und okönomischer Apsekte. Fallstudien für mehrere Anwendungen und Geschäftsmodelle für stationäre Mehrzweck-Lithium-Ionen-Batterie-Energiespeichersysteme werden mit einem mathematischen Modell durchgeführt und analysiert. Eine neue Methode beschreibt wie durch Simulation Anwendungen kombiniert werden können, um die ökonomische und technische Machbarkeit aufzuzeigen.

Mobile robotics will play a key role in future space, ocean and deep sea exploration activities. Besides the actual development of the robotic systems, the different ways of commanding those systems, using technologies varying from teleoperation with the human in the loop, through shared autonomy towards highly autonomous systems, will be the main challenges of these missions. This paper describes the robotic activities of the DLR institutions within the Helmholtz projects ROBEX and ARCHES, dealing with robots for autonomous space and ocean exploration applications. Furthermore, it describes the challenges, the overlap and the synergies of those domains, the different approaches of operating robots from far distances in extreme environments and gives an outlook on future mission possibilities.

This thesis describes the stacking of multiple applications on a single lithium-ion battery energy storage system under current (2017) German legislation with included technical, legal and market analyses. Case studies for several applications and business models for multi-purpose stationary lithium-ion battery energy storage systems are performed and analyzed using a mathematical model. By simulation, applications can be combined to indicate market performance and technical feasibility., Diese Arbeit beschreibt das Stapeln von mehreren Anwendungen auf einem einzelnen Lithium-Ionen-Batterie-Energiespeichersystem unter aktueller (2017) deutscher Gesetzgebung hinsichtlich technisch, rechtlich und okönomischer Apsekte. Fallstudien für mehrere Anwendungen und Geschäftsmodelle für stationäre Mehrzweck-Lithium-Ionen-Batterie-Energiespeichersysteme werden mit einem mathematischen Modell durchgeführt und analysiert. Eine neue Methode beschreibt wie durch Simulation Anwendungen kombiniert werden können, um die ökonomische und technische Machbarkeit aufzuzeigen.

Cochlear implants (CI) allow for hearing rehabilitation in patients with sensorineural hearing loss or deafness. Restricted CI performance results from the spatial gap between spiral ganglion neurons and the CI, causing current spread that limits spatially restricted stimulation and impairs frequency resolution. This may be substantially improved by guiding peripheral processes of spiral ganglion neurons towards and onto the CI electrode contacts. An injectable, peptide-based hydrogel was developed which may provide a permissive scaffold to facilitate neurite growth towards the CI. To test hydrogel capacity to attract spiral ganglion neurites, neurite outgrowth was quantified in an in vitro model using a custom-designed hydrogel scaffold and PuraMatrix(®). Neurite attachment to native hydrogels is poor, but significantly improved by incorporation of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), covalent coupling of the bioactive laminin epitope IKVAV and the incorporation a full length laminin to hydrogel scaffolds. Incorporation of full length laminin protein into a novel custom-designed biofunctionalized hydrogel (IKVAV-GGG-SIINFEKL) allows for neurite outgrowth into the hydrogel scaffold. The study demonstrates that peptide-based hydrogels can be specifically biofunctionalized to provide a permissive scaffold to attract neurite outgrowth from spiral ganglion neurons. Such biomaterials appear suitable to bridge the spatial gap between neurons and the CI.

Der Beitrag beschreibt die Bedeutung der Zensuserhebung 2011 in der amtlichen Statistik der Privathaushalte sowie für die kleinräumige Haushaltsvorausschätzung. Der Fokus liegt dabei auf den qualitativen und quantitativen Unterschieden der beiden Datenquellen der amtlichen Statistik für Haushaltsstrukturen und -kennziffern, dem Mikrozensus und dem Zensus 2011 sowie ersten methodischen Ansätzen, um eine Vergleichbarkeit zwischen beiden Erhebungen herzustellen. Dabei kommt der Betrachtung der Wohngemeinschaften, als eine an Bedeutung gewinnende individuelle Wohnform, eine gesonderte Rolle zu.

Gene therapy approaches using recombinant adeno-associated virus serotype 2 (rAAV2) and serotype 8 (rAAV8) have achieved significant clinical benefits. The generation of rAAV Reference Standard Materials (RSM) is key to providing points of reference for particle titer, vector genome titer, and infectious titer for gene transfer vectors. Following the example of the rAAV2RSM, here we have generated and characterized a novel RSM based on rAAV serotype 8. The rAAV8RSM was produced using transient transfection, and the purification was based on density gradient ultracentrifugation. The rAAV8RSM was distributed for characterization along with standard assay protocols to 16 laboratories worldwide. Mean titers and 95% confidence intervals were determined for capsid particles (mean, 5.50×1011 pt/ml; CI, 4.26×1011 to 6.75×1011 pt/ml), vector genomes (mean, 5.75×1011 vg/ml; CI, 3.05×1011 to 1.09×1012 vg/ml), and infectious units (mean, 1.26×109 IU/ml; CI, 6.46×108 to 2.51×109 IU/ml). Notably, there was a significant degree of variation between institutions for each assay despite the relatively tight correlation of assay results within an institution. This outcome emphasizes the need to use RSMs to calibrate the titers of rAAV vectors in preclinical and clinical studies at a time when the field is maturing rapidly. The rAAV8RSM has been deposited at the American Type Culture Collection (VR-1816) and is available to the scientific community., SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

The aim of this work is to provide an overview on the recent advances in the selective area growth (SAG) of (In)GaN nanostructures by plasma assisted molecular beam epitaxy, focusing on their potential as building blocks for next generation LEDs. The first three sections deal with the basic growth mechanisms of GaN SAG and the emission control in the entire ultraviolet to infrared range, including approaches for white light emission, using InGaN disks and thick segments on axial nanocolumns. SAG of axial nanostructures is eveloped on both GaN/sapphire templates and GaN-buffered Si(111). As an alternative to axial nanocolumns, section 4 reports on the growth and characterization of InGaN/GaN core-shell structures on an ordered array of top-down patterned GaN microrods. Finally, section 5 reports on the SAG of GaN, with and without InGaN insertion, on semi-polar (11-22) and non-polar (11-20) templates. Upon SAG the high defect density present in the templates is strongly reduced as indicated by a dramatic improvement of the optical properties. In the case of SAG on nonpolar (11-22) templates, the formation of nanostructures with a low aspect ratio took place allowing for the fabrication of high-quality, non-polar GaN pseudo-templates by coalescence of these nanostructures.

The inner ear is a fluid-filled sensory organ that transforms mechanical stimuli into the senses of hearing and balance. These neurosensory functions depend on the strict regulation of the volume of the two major extracellular fluid domains of the inner ear, the perilymph and the endolymph. Water channel proteins, or aquaporins (AQPs), are molecular candidates for the precise regulation of perilymph and endolymph volume. Eight AQP subtypes have been identified in the membranous labyrinth of the inner ear. Similar AQP subtypes are also expressed in the kidney, where they function in whole-body water regulation. In the inner ear, AQP subtypes are ubiquitously expressed in distinct cell types, suggesting that AQPs have an important physiological role in the volume regulation of perilymph and endolymph. Furthermore, disturbed AQP function may have pathophysiological relevance and may turn AQPs into therapeutic targets for the treatment of inner ear diseases. In this review, we present the currently available knowledge regarding the expression and function of AQPs in the inner ear. We give special consideration to AQP subtypes AQP2, AQP4 and AQP5, which have been studied most extensively. The potential functions of AQP2 and AQP5 in the resorption and secretion of endolymph and of AQP4 in the equilibration of cell volume are described. The pathophysiological implications of these AQP subtypes for inner ear diseases, that appear to involve impaired fluid regulation, such as Menière's disease and Sjögren's syndrome, are discussed.

Sensory transduction in the cochlea depends on perilymphatic-endolymphatic potassium (K+) recycling. It has been suggested that the epithelial supporting cells (SCs) of the cochlear duct may form the intracellular K+ recycling pathway. Thus, they must be endowed with molecular mechanisms that facilitate K+ uptake and release, along with concomitant osmotically driven water movements. As yet, no molecules have been described that would allow for volume-equilibrated transepithelial K+ fluxes across the SCs. This study describes the subcellular co-localisation of the Kir4.1 K+ channel (Kir4.1) and the aquaporin-4 water channel (AQP4) in SCs, on the basis of immunohistochemical double-labelling experiments in rat and human cochleae. The results of this study reveal the expression of Kir4.1 in the basal or basolateral membranes of the SCs in the sensory domain of the organ of Corti that are adjacent to hair cells and in the non-sensory domains of the inner and outer sulci that abut large extracellular fluid spaces. The SCs of the inner sulcus (interdental cells, inner sulcus cells) and the outer sulcus (Hensen’s cells, outer sulcus cells) display the co-localisation of Kir4.1 and AQP4 expression. However, the SCs in the sensory domain of the organ of Corti reveal a gap in the expression of AQP4. The outer pillar cell is devoid of both Kir4.1 and AQP4. The subcellular co-localisation of Kir4.1 and AQP4 in the SCs of the cochlea described in this study resembles that of the astroglia of the central nervous system and the glial Mueller cells in the retina.