Between Power and Empowerment - Monitoring and Evaluation at a Grassroots Women's Fund in South Africa

In the past few years women’s empowerment and gender equality initiatives have been under increasing pressure to measure their impact. This thesis explores the stakeholders’ experiences with the monitoring and evaluation practice with a case study of a women’s fund that provides grants to grassroots women’s organizations in South Africa. The study is based on previous research, the grassroots development framework, and a combination of principal-agent theory and Kabeer’s (1999) women empowerment framework. Through a content analysis of interviews with staff members and grantees, as well as the review of documents, challenges and opportunities experienced in their current monitoring and evaluation practice are identified. It is argued that the principal-agent constellation is a key factor that creates challenges in conducting monitoring and evaluation. Furthermore, it is claimed that there is currently a gap between widely used tools and practice at grassroots level as well as between the stakeholders’ different understandings of success and how to monitor and evaluate the work of women’s organizations in the context of a grassroots women’s fund. This leads to the postulation for an alternative monitoring and evaluation model, which strengthens the systematic use of informal methods, is oriented on the agents, and captures the link between individual experience and structure

Affective-autonomic states of domestic pigs in the context of coping and animal welfare

Gaining better insight in affective states of farm animals is of importance for understanding their welfare state. One important step in this context is to establish valid proxy measures to objectively assess and interpret an individual’s subjective perception of its environment. This thesis presents a reliable tool for the objective evaluation of affective-autonomic states in free-moving pigs and gains insight into the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying the individual processing of affective states in relation to their valence and arousal dimensions.Die Untersuchung affektiver Zustände von Nutztieren ist für das Verständnis ihres Wohlbefindens von essentieller Bedeutung. Ein wichtiger Schritt in diesem Kontext ist die Etablierung zuverlässiger Messmethoden zur objektiven Beurteilung und Interpretation individueller subjektiver Wahrnehmung. Diese Arbeit stellt eine valide Methode zur objektiven Beurteilung affektiv-autonomer Zustände bei Schweinen dar und vermittelt einen Einblick in die neurophysiologischen Mechanismen, die der individuellen Verarbeitung affektiver Zustände zugrunde liegen

GPCR-SSFE: A comprehensive database of G-protein-coupled receptor template predictions and homology models

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) transduce a wide variety of extracellular signals to within the cell and therefore have a key role in regulating cell activity and physiological function. GPCR malfunction is responsible for a wide range of diseases including cancer, diabetes and hyperthyroidism and a large proportion of drugs on the market target these receptors. The three dimensional structure of GPCRs is important for elucidating the molecular mechanisms underlying these diseases and for performing structure-based drug design. Although structural data are restricted to only a handful of GPCRs, homology models can be used as a proxy for those receptors not having crystal structures. However, many researchers working on GPCRs are not experienced homology modellers and are therefore unable to benefit from the information that can be gleaned from such three-dimensional models. Here, we present a comprehensive database called the GPCR-SSFE, which provides initial homology models of the transmembrane helices for a large variety of family A GPCRs.</p> <p>Description</p> <p>Extending on our previous theoretical work, we have developed an automated pipeline for GPCR homology modelling and applied it to a large set of family A GPCR sequences. Our pipeline is a fragment-based approach that exploits available family A crystal structures. The GPCR-SSFE database stores the template predictions, sequence alignments, identified sequence and structure motifs and homology models for 5025 family A GPCRs. Users are able to browse the GPCR dataset according to their pharmacological classification or search for results using a UniProt entry name. It is also possible for a user to submit a GPCR sequence that is not contained in the database for analysis and homology model building. The models can be viewed using a Jmol applet and are also available for download along with the alignments.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The data provided by GPCR-SSFE are useful for investigating general and detailed sequence-structure-function relationships of GPCRs, performing structure-based drug design and for better understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying disease-associated mutations in GPCRs. The effectiveness of our multiple template and fragment approach is demonstrated by the accuracy of our predicted homology models compared to recently published crystal structures.</p

Keeping Up with the Joneses: Instagram Use and its Influence on Conspicuous Consumption

So far research in the area of social networking sites (SNS) has drawn surprisingly little attention to users’ conspicuous consumption (CC), even though the constant rise of younger people’s debts seems to go hand in hand with the rise of SNS. To fill this research gap, we conducted two studies based on social comparison and normative influence theory. In a preliminary study, we show that Instagram use is positively related to users’ CC. In the main study, using a sample of 283 German Instagram users, we find possible explanations for this association. While norms on Instagram seem not to account for the link between Instagram use and CC, our results suggest a mediating effect of envy. We contribute to the literature by providing insights on SNS use and CC while offering first explanations for its potentially harmful economic outcomes. Acknowledgment This work has been funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research of Germany (BMBF) under grant no. 16DII116 (“Deutsches Internet-Institut”)

Utility of a Sequence-Independent, Single-Primer-Amplification (SISPA) and Nanopore Sequencing Approach for Detection and Characterization of Tick-Borne Viral Pathogens

Currently, next generation sequencing (NGS) is the mainly used approach for identification and monitorization of viruses with a potential public health threat in clinical and environmental samples. To facilitate detection in NGS, the sequence-independent, single-primer-amplification (SISPA) is an effective tool for enriching virus sequences. We performed a preliminary assessment of SISPA-nanopore sequencing as a potential approach for screening tick-borne viruses in six specimens with detectable Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV) and Jingmen tick virus (JMTV) sequences. A comparison of unbiased NGS and SISPA followed by nanopore sequencing was carried out in 4 specimens with single and pooled ticks. The approach was further used for genome sequencing in culture-grown viruses. Overall, total/virus-specific read counts were significantly elevated in cell culture supernatants in comparison to single or pooled ticks. Virus genomes could be successfully characterized by SISPA with identities over 99%. Genome coverage varied according to the segment and total read count. Base calling errors were mainly observed in tick specimens and more frequent in lower viral loads. Culture-grown viruses were phylogenetically-related to previously-reported local viruses. In conclusion, the SISPA + nanopore sequencing was successful in generating data comparable to NGS and will provide an effective tool for broad-range virus detection in ticks

Sensitive on-site detection of SARS-CoV-2 by ID NOW COVID-19

Point of care detection of SARS-CoV-2 is one pillar in a containment strategy and important to break infection chains. Here we report the sensitive, specific and robust detection of SARS-CoV-2 and respective variants of concern by the ID NOW COVID-19 device.Peer Reviewe

Differences in signal activation by LH and hCG are mediated by the LH/CG receptor’s extracellular hinge region

The human lutropin (hLH)/choriogonadotropin (hCG) receptor (LHCGR) can be activated by binding two slightly different gonadotropic glycoprotein hormones, choriogonadotropin (CG) – secreted by the placenta, and lutropin (LH) – produced by the pituitary. They induce different signaling profiles at the LHCGR. This cannot be explained by binding to the receptor’s leucine-rich- repeat domain (LRRD), as this binding is similar for the two hormones. We therefore speculate that there are previously unknown differences in the hormone/receptor interaction at the extracellular hinge region, which might help to understand functional differences between the two hormones. We have therefore performed a detailed study of the binding and action of LH and CG at the LHCGR hinge region. We focused on a primate-specific additional exon in the hinge region, which is located between LRRD and the serpentine domain. The segment of the hinge region encoded by exon10 was previously reported to be only relevant to hLH signaling, as the exon10-deletion receptor exhibits decreased hLH signaling, but unchanged hCG signaling. We designed an advanced homology model of the hormone/LHCGR complex, followed by experimental characterization of relevant fragments in the hinge region. In addition, we examined predictions of a helical exon10-encoded conformation by block-wise polyalanine (helix supporting) mutations. These helix preserving modifications showed no effect on hormone-induced signaling. However, introduction of a structure-disturbing double-proline mutant LHCGR-Q303P/E305P within the exon10-helix has, in contrast to exon10-deletion, no impact on hLH, but only on hCG signaling. This opposite effect on signaling by hLH and hCG can be explained by distinct sites of hormone interaction in the hinge region. In conclusion, our analysis provides details of the differences between hLH- and hCG-induced signaling that are mainly determined in the L2-beta loop of the hormones and in the hinge region of the receptor

GPCR-SSFE 2.0—a fragment-based molecular modeling web tool for Class A G-protein coupled receptors

G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) are key players in signal transduction and therefore a large proportion of pharmaceutical drugs target these receptors. Structural data of GPCRs are sparse yet important for elucidating the molecular basis of GPCR-related diseases and for performing structure-based drug design. To ameliorate this problem, GPCR-SSFE 2.0 (http://www.ssfa- 7tmr.de/ssfe2/), an intuitive web server dedicated to providing three- dimensional Class A GPCR homology models has been developed. The updated web server includes 27 inactive template structures and incorporates various new functionalities. Uniquely, it uses a fingerprint correlation scoring strategy for identifying the optimal templates, which we demonstrate captures structural features that sequence similarity alone is unable to do. Template selection is carried out separately for each helix, allowing both single- template models and fragment-based models to be built. Additionally, GPCR-SSFE 2.0 stores a comprehensive set of pre-calculated and downloadable homology models and also incorporates interactive loop modeling using the tool SL2, allowing knowledge-based input by the user to guide the selection process. For visual analysis, the NGL viewer is embedded into the result pages. Finally, blind-testing using two recently published structures shows that GPCR-SSFE 2.0 performs comparably or better than other state-of-the art GPCR modeling web servers

Bildung in geschlossenen Institutionen. Überlegungen zu sinnstiftenden und anschlussfähigen Bildungsangeboten für junge Menschen

Geschlossene Einrichtungen wie der Jugendstrafvollzug sind Zwangskontexte, die eine besondere pädagogische, institutionelle sowie rechtlich-festgelegte (Mit-)Verantwortung an der Bildung von jungen Menschen haben. Der Artikel spannt, ausgehend von einer Skizzierung des Bildungsbegriffs mit Blick auf geschlossene Institutionen, einen Bogen über die besonderen Voraussetzungen und Bedürfnisse der jungen Menschen in Haft, die sich nicht zuletzt aus ihren häufig fragmentierten Bildungsbiografien eindrücklich nachzeichnen lassen. Daraus lassen sich bedürfnisorientierte und individualisierte Angebote ableiten, die im Setting Strafvollzug als Bildungsmöglichkeiten eröffnet werden können. Da sich gerade der Jugendstrafvollzug in einem Spannungsfeld zwischen pädagogischen und rechtswissenschaftlichen Rahmungen bewegt, ist dabei auch die Konturierung der (sonder-)pädagogischen Verantwortung insgesamt zentral. (DIPF/Orig.

Digital Reading in Higher Education: A Comparison of Teacher Students with Other Student Groups

Digitale Lesefähigkeiten sind für Lehramtsstudierende in zweifacher Form bedeutsam: Sie werden im Rahmen der eigenen Ausbildung benötigt und stellen eine an Schülerinnen und Schüler zu vermittelnde Fähigkeit dar. Dass Lehramtsstudierende mit digitalen wissenschaftlichen Texten kompetent umgehen, gewann im Rahmen der digital organisierten ‹Corona-Semester› besondere Bedeutung. Vor diesem Hintergrund untersucht der vorliegende Beitrag, wie Lehramtsstudierende den Umgang mit digitaler Lektüre in Lehrveranstaltungen wahrnahmen, wie sie ihre eigene Arbeit mit diesen Texten – auch in emotionaler und motivationaler Hinsicht sowie mit Blick auf den Austausch über das Gelesene – einschätzten und welche Hilfestellung sie von Seiten der Universitäten und Hochschulen erhielten. Mithilfe einer online durchgeführten Umfrage wurden die Einschätzungen Lehramtsstudierender mit denen von Studierenden aus anderen Studiengängen (N = 4701) verglichen. Die Untersuchung hat gezeigt: Lehramtsstudierende berichteten nicht nur von grösseren Schwierigkeiten im effizienten Umgang mit Texten am Bildschirm, sondern schätzten auch ihre Konzentration und Stimmung beim Lesen negativer ein als Studierende anderer Fächer. Insgesamt stellten sich Lehramtsstudierende weniger selbstständig und intrinsisch motiviert dar als andere Studierende. Handlungsbedarf zeichnet sich insbesondere in dem Sinne ab, dass Studierenden verstärkt für das digitale Lesen adäquate Textformate bereitzustellen sind. Auch sollten Hochschulen Studierende insgesamt stärker im Umgang mit digitalen Texten unterstützen.  Digital reading skills are essential for teacher students in two ways: They are needed in the context of the students’ own education, and they represent a skill to be taught to pupils. The need for teacher students to be competent in dealing with digital scientific texts becomes particularly important in the context of the digitally organized ‹corona semesters›. In view of the above, this article examines how teacher students perceived the handling of digital texts in their courses, how they assessed their own work with these texts – also in emotional and motivational terms as well as with regard to the communication about what they read – and what support they received from their universities and colleges. With an online survey, the assessments of teacher students were compared with those of students from other fields of study (N = 4701). The study showed that teacher students seem to have greater difficulties in dealing efficiently with texts on the screen and rate their concentration and mood while reading more negatively than other students. Overall, teacher students were less self-reliant and intrinsically motivated than others. There is a need for action, particularly in the sense that students should be supplied with more adequate text formats for digital reading. Further, universities should provide students with more support in using digital texts