Kompetence za poucevanje za trajnostni razvoj na podrocju izobrazevanja uciteljev

Competences are intensively discussed in the context of cross-curricular themes, such as Sustainable Development and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), especially in light of the United Nations Decade for ESD (2004–2015). Recent literature on ESD lists a number of competences for ESD in various fields with the exception of teacher education. A competence model for ESD for educators was generated in the Austrian research project KOM-BiNE (Competences for ESD in Teacher Education) as part of a large-scale EU project. The KOM-BiNE competence model consists of areas of competences within fields of action. The constituent elements of the competence model are described in detail and are illustrated with examples. (DIPF/Orig.

From Final Dark Matter Results and Background Shape Uncertainties in XENON100 to First Light in XENON1T

The quest to directly detect dark matter, in particular weakly interactive massive particles (WIMP), lead to a development of a plethora of detector technologies. Since 2007 dual-phase time-projection chambers exploiting liquid xenon performed superior to all other technologies at WIMP masses above a few GeV/c^2. Among them, the XENON100 experiment shows the longest measurement with a combined live time of 477 days. An analysis to probe spin independent and spin dependent WIMP interactions is presented in this thesis, setting an upper limit on the WIMP-nucleon spin independent cross section at 1.1×10−45 cm^2 for a 50 GeV/c^2 WIMP mass. Furthermore, potential improvements are identified in the conventional XENON100 analysis and the outlined solution allows to consider shape uncertainties of non-parametric probability density functions by means of a profile likelihood analysis. The applicability of the method is shown by constraining the WIMP model in an astrophysical independent approach with XENON100 data. Finally, performance tests of the Hamamatsu R11410-21 3” photomultiplier tubes (PMT) are presented which are employed in the next generation experiment XENON1T. First results from the commissioning of the XENON1T detector with respect to the PMT performance are shown with a special focus on the impact of light emitting tubes

Nature Learning – early childhood nature experience and sustainability education

Recent studies confirm that children profit greatly from being in contact with nature. A large body of research focuses on children’s psychological development in this respect. While the social and physical aspects are also well researched, less studies focus on the relationship between early childhood nature experience and sustainability education. In this paper, the central research question is concerned with this nexus, asking how children, who spend a lot of time outdoors, a) perceive nature, b) in what ways they act towards protecting nature and c) which competences they show in relation to sustainable development. In order to answer these research questions, two case studies were conducted in an Austrian Kindergarten and a primary school. The findings show that the children in both institutions have a diverse image of nature, a close relationship with nature, are invested in protecting their environment and show several competences, which are considered vital for sustainability education. Thus, the findings indicate, that increasing the amount of time children spend outdoors could positively contribute towards a more sustainable future

Transformative education - one way to sustainability?

"Transformation" (auch "social change" oder "global cultural change") bezeichnet eine Umgestaltung des Bestehenden im Sinne eines tiefgreifenden kulturellen und strukturellen Wandels. Was kann pädagogisches Handeln für den gesellschaftlichen Wandel, für die Transformation in eine nachhaltige Weltgesellschaft leisten? Und welches Veränderungspotenzial haben Lernen und Bildung für den einzelnen Menschen? Diese Fragen stehen hinter den Begriffen "Transformative Bildung" oder "Transformatives Lernen", die auf Jack Mezirow zurückgehen, über dessen Lerntheorie aus den 1970er Jahren aber hinausgehen. Beide Begriffe werden oft als Zauberformeln für gesellschaftliche Transformation missverstanden. Tatsächlich implizieren sie aber kritische Fragen. Zum Beispiel: Wie kann sich Pädagogik im Spannungsfeld zwischen normativen gesellschaftlichen Zielen und dem Ziel der Autonomie der Lernenden bewegen? Ein Ansatz wäre, statt normativer Vorgaben für einen nachhaltigen Lebensstil die Menschen aufzufordern, sich mit ihren konkreten Lebensbedingungen und deren Auswirkungen auseinanderzusetzen. Auch Pädagog*innen und Erwachsenenbildner*innen müssen sich selbst immer wieder kritisch hinterfragen und in Kontakt und Austausch mit politischen Bewegungen treten, die an sozial-ökologischer Transformation arbeiten. Ansatzpunkte, wie dies gelingen kann, finden sich in den Traditionen des Globalen Lernens und von Global Citizenship Education, in der Entwicklungspädagogik und in der Bildung für nachhaltige Entwicklung (BNE). (DIPF/Orig.)"Transformation" (also "social change" or "global cultural change") refers to a reorganization of what currently exists in the sense of far-reaching cultural and structural change. What can educational action accomplish for societal change, for the transformation to a sustainable global society? And what potential for change do learning and education offer the individual? These questions are associated with the terms "transformative education" or "transformative learning, which date back to Jack Mezirow but go beyond his theory of learning from the 1970s. The two concepts are often misunderstood as a magic formula for societal transformation. In fact, they imply critical questions. For example: How can pedagogy change given the conflict between the priorities of normative societal goals and the goal of learner autonomy? One approach would be to demand that people examine their specific living conditions and their impacts instead of providing normative guidelines for a sustainable lifestyle. Educators and adult educators must also critically analyse themselves and come into contact and exchange with political movements working on socio-ecological transformation. Points of departure for how this can be achieved are found in the traditions of global learning and global citizenship education, in developmental education and in education for sustainable development (ESD). (DIPF/Orig.

High susceptibility to fatty liver disease in two-pore channel 2-deficient mice

Endolysosomal organelles play a key role in trafficking, breakdown and receptor-mediated recycling of different macromolecules such as low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol, epithelial growth factor (EGF) or transferrin. Here we examine the role of two-pore channel (TPC) 2, an endolysosomal cation channel, in these processes. Embryonic mouse fibroblasts and hepatocytes lacking TPC2 display a profound impairment of LDL-cholesterol and EGF/EGF-receptor trafficking. Mechanistically, both defects can be attributed to a dysfunction of the endolysosomal degradation pathway most likely on the level of late endosome to lysosome fusion. Importantly, endolysosomal acidification or lysosomal enzyme function are normal in TPC2-deficient cells. TPC2-deficient mice are highly susceptible to hepatic cholesterol overload and liver damage consistent with non-alcoholic fatty liver hepatitis. These findings indicate reduced metabolic reserve of hepatic cholesterol handling. Our results suggest that TPC2 plays a crucial role in trafficking in the endolysosomal degradation pathway and, thus, is potentially involved in the homoeostatic control of many macromolecules and cell metabolites

A Dissection of Trading Capital: Trade in the Aftermath of the Fall of the Iron Curtain

Abstract We study trade in Europe after the fall of the Iron Curtain, and show that the countries of the former Austro-Hungarian monarchy trade significantly more with one another after 1989 than predicted by a standard gravity model. This surplus trade declines linearly and monotonically over time. We suggest that the surplus comes from a mixture of increased trust, as well as better communication and information given Austria's relationship with its eastern neighbors before the wars and during isolation. Trading capital, established under Habsburg rule and maintained in the period of the Iron Curtain, seems to have survived over four decades of separation and gives an initial boost to trade. This surplus trade disappeared rapidly after 1990 as countries rearranged themselves with the new geopolitical circumstances. We document the rate of decay of these forces. Keywords: Trade, Gravity, Habsburg Empire JEL codes: F14, F15, N33, N34, N94 * This paper has been improved by the comments and suggestions of numerous colleagues and seminar participants including but not limited t

Case Reports1. A Late Presentation of Loeys-Dietz Syndrome: Beware of TGFβ Receptor Mutations in Benign Joint Hypermobility

Background: Thoracic aortic aneurysms (TAA) and dissections are not uncommon causes of sudden death in young adults. Loeys-Dietz syndrome (LDS) is a rare, recently described, autosomal dominant, connective tissue disease characterized by aggressive arterial aneurysms, resulting from mutations in the transforming growth factor beta (TGFβ) receptor genes TGFBR1 and TGFBR2. Mean age at death is 26.1 years, most often due to aortic dissection. We report an unusually late presentation of LDS, diagnosed following elective surgery in a female with a long history of joint hypermobility. Methods: A 51-year-old Caucasian lady complained of chest pain and headache following a dural leak from spinal anaesthesia for an elective ankle arthroscopy. CT scan and echocardiography demonstrated a dilated aortic root and significant aortic regurgitation. MRA demonstrated aortic tortuosity, an infrarenal aortic aneurysm and aneurysms in the left renal and right internal mammary arteries. She underwent aortic root repair and aortic valve replacement. She had a background of long-standing joint pains secondary to hypermobility, easy bruising, unusual fracture susceptibility and mild bronchiectasis. She had one healthy child age 32, after which she suffered a uterine prolapse. Examination revealed mild Marfanoid features. Uvula, skin and ophthalmological examination was normal. Results: Fibrillin-1 testing for Marfan syndrome (MFS) was negative. Detection of a c.1270G > C (p.Gly424Arg) TGFBR2 mutation confirmed the diagnosis of LDS. Losartan was started for vascular protection. Conclusions: LDS is a severe inherited vasculopathy that usually presents in childhood. It is characterized by aortic root dilatation and ascending aneurysms. There is a higher risk of aortic dissection compared with MFS. Clinical features overlap with MFS and Ehlers Danlos syndrome Type IV, but differentiating dysmorphogenic features include ocular hypertelorism, bifid uvula and cleft palate. Echocardiography and MRA or CT scanning from head to pelvis is recommended to establish the extent of vascular involvement. Management involves early surgical intervention, including early valve-sparing aortic root replacement, genetic counselling and close monitoring in pregnancy. Despite being caused by loss of function mutations in either TGFβ receptor, paradoxical activation of TGFβ signalling is seen, suggesting that TGFβ antagonism may confer disease modifying effects similar to those observed in MFS. TGFβ antagonism can be achieved with angiotensin antagonists, such as Losartan, which is able to delay aortic aneurysm development in preclinical models and in patients with MFS. Our case emphasizes the importance of timely recognition of vasculopathy syndromes in patients with hypermobility and the need for early surgical intervention. It also highlights their heterogeneity and the potential for late presentation. Disclosures: The authors have declared no conflicts of interes

The neutron and its role in cosmology and particle physics

Experiments with cold and ultracold neutrons have reached a level of precision such that problems far beyond the scale of the present Standard Model of particle physics become accessible to experimental investigation. Due to the close links between particle physics and cosmology, these studies also permit a deep look into the very first instances of our universe. First addressed in this article, both in theory and experiment, is the problem of baryogenesis ... The question how baryogenesis could have happened is open to experimental tests, and it turns out that this problem can be curbed by the very stringent limits on an electric dipole moment of the neutron, a quantity that also has deep implications for particle physics. Then we discuss the recent spectacular observation of neutron quantization in the earth's gravitational field and of resonance transitions between such gravitational energy states. These measurements, together with new evaluations of neutron scattering data, set new constraints on deviations from Newton's gravitational law at the picometer scale. Such deviations are predicted in modern theories with extra-dimensions that propose unification of the Planck scale with the scale of the Standard Model ... Another main topic is the weak-interaction parameters in various fields of physics and astrophysics that must all be derived from measured neutron decay data. Up to now, about 10 different neutron decay observables have been measured, much more than needed in the electroweak Standard Model. This allows various precise tests for new physics beyond the Standard Model, competing with or surpassing similar tests at high-energy. The review ends with a discussion of neutron and nuclear data required in the synthesis of the elements during the "first three minutes" and later on in stellar nucleosynthesis.Comment: 91 pages, 30 figures, accepted by Reviews of Modern Physic