Electrical conductivity and thermal behavior of solid electrolytes based on alkali carbonates and sulfates

Both thermal stability and electrical conductivity of alkali ion conducting Na2CO3 and Na2SO4, were improved by adding alkaline earth carbonates and sulfates, respectively, as well as insulating materials like ¿-Al2O3. The admixing of divalent compounds causes two effects. First a more or less extended solution can exist depending on the radius of the alkaline earth ion and is accompanied by an increase in electrical conductivity. Secondly, a phase mixture with an excess of dopant was observed that shows an enhancement in conductivity and mechanical stability. This phenomenon known as composite effect was observed in the following systems: Na2CO3-BaCO3, Na2CO3-SrCO3, Na2SO4-BaSO4, Na2SO4-¿-Al2O3

Orientierung in der digitalen Unübersichtlichkeit: zur medienpolitischen Relevanz der Kommunikationswissenschaft

Medienpolitik bedarf gerade in Zeiten dynamischer und disruptiver Veränderungen auf den Medienmärkten und in der gesellschaftlichen Öffentlichkeit einer auch wissenschaftlich angeleiteten Beratung und Begleitung. Dieses Potenzial zur eigenen Relevanzsteigerung nutzt die Kommunikationswissenschaft bislang nur eingeschränkt. ähnlich wie Soziologie, Wirtschafts- oder Politikwissenschaften gelingt es nur begrenzt, Praxisprobleme zu fassen und anschlussfähig für den politischen Entscheidungsprozess aufzubereiten. Hier leistet heutzutage vor allem die Rechtswissenschaft Beiträge, die im politischen Diskurs rezipiert werden. Der Beitrag ist ein Plädoyer dafür, dass die Kommunikationswissenschaft diese Herausforderung annimmt und ihre Potenziale bezogen auf die Analyse des Medienwandels, das Anwendungswissen über die Transformation der Medienproduktion, die neuen Möglichkeiten professioneller wissenschaftlicher Ausbildung, die Konsequenzen für den Regulierungsrahmen und die Instrumente der Media Governance ausschöpft.In times of dynamic and disruptive change in media markets and public sphere, Media policies need scientific guidance and advice. Just like sociology, political and economic science communication research is not yet able to live up to its political potential. Lawyers still dominate the scientific debate about media regulation. The articles argues the case of a communications science which provides insight in the change of media, practical knowledge about the transformation of media production, innovative concepts of professional media education, consequence for the regulatory framework and instruments of media governance

Übergang in alleinerziehende Elternschaft nach Geschlecht: Erläuterung der Stata-Syntax zur differenzierten Codierung der Lebensformtypen und Auswertungsbeispiel mit dem MZ-Panel 2012-2014

Alleinerziehende standen in den letzten Jahren nicht zuletzt wegen des besonders hohen Armutsrisikos dieser Lebensform im Zentrum des politischen und wissenschaftlichen Interesses. Der Mikrozensus bietet sich aufgrund der Fallzahlen besonders an, um diese Population zu untersuchen. Besonderes Potential bietet der Mikrozensus dabei seit der Möglichkeit der Längsschnittverknüpfung der einzelnen Wellen zu einem Panel (Herter-Eschweiler & Schimpl-Neimanns 2018). Momentan sind die Wellen 2012-2013-2014 verknüpfbar. Dies eröffnet die Möglichkeit, nicht nur die Population der Alleinerziehenden, sondern auch Übergänge in Alleinerziehendenschaft hinein und hinaus zu untersuchen. Das Paper skizziert einerseits die Betrachtung der Übergänge. Andererseits wird eine differenzierte Codierung der Lebensformen mit besonderem Fokus auf die differenzierte Aufschlüsselung der Alleinerziehendenpopulation vorgestellt. Dazu wird im ersten Teil eine Stata-Syntax zur Erstellung von differenzierten Lebensformtypen vorgestellt und näher erläutert (siehe auch kommentierte Syntax). Im zweiten Teil wird dann ein Analysebeispiel zum Übergang in Alleinerziehendenschaft am Beispiel des Mikrozensus-Panels 2012-2014 vorgestellt. Dazu werden kurze deskriptive Analysen gezeigt, die die Möglichkeiten und Grenzen des Mikrozensus Panels aufzeigen und einen Anhaltspunkt für weitere Forschung geben. Im Ausblick wird kurz auf weitere Analysemöglichkeiten eingegangen

Food Deprivation, Body Weight Loss and Anxiety-Related Behavior in Rats

In behavioral studies, food deprivation protocols are routinely used to initiate or maintain motivational states that are required in a particular test situation. However, there is limited evidence as to when food deprivation compromises animal welfare. This study investigated the effects of different lengths of food deprivation periods and restricted (fixed-time) feeding on body weight loss as well as anxiety-related and motivated behavior in 5–6 month old male and female Wistar rats. The observed body weight loss was not influenced by sex and ranged between 4% (16 h deprivation) to approximately 9% (fixed-time feeding). Despite significant body weight loss in all groups, the motivation to eat under the aversive test conditions of the modified open field test increased only after 48 h of food deprivation. Long-lasting effects on anxiety as measured in the elevated plus maze test 24 h after refeeding have not been observed, although fixed-time feeding could possibly lead to a lasting anxiogenic effect in female rats. Overall, female rats showed a more anxiolytic profile in both tests when compared to male rats. Despite these sex differences, results suggest that food deprivation is not always paralleled by an increased motivation to feed in a conflict situation. This is an important finding as it highlights the need for tailored pilot experiments to evaluate the impact of food deprivation protocols on animals in regard to the principles of the 3Rs introduced by Russell and Burch. View Full-Tex

Science center to go: a mixed reality learning environment of miniature exhibits

Modern science museums deliver exhibits that involve visitors in sessions of active playful learning. Mixed Reality may additionally be used as a catalyst for science centre exhibits to provide new perspectives and reveal otherwise hidden phenomena. Such sophisticated exhibits might well be qualified for improved learning at school – except they are hardly available outside of science centres. Our approach addresses this challenge by bringing miniaturized Augmented Reality exhibits out of the science centre into schools. The presented miniature exhibits uncouple science centre exhibits from their traditional venue and deliver natural ways of learning whenever and wherever it is desired. Therefore a set of miniature exhibits has been designed with the ambitious goal to meet the requirements of nowadays school curriculums. In this paper a science centre in a suitcase will be presented and discussed offering tailor-made learning experiences augmented through normal computers

Treatment with the calcineurin inhibitor and immunosuppressant cyclosporine A impairs sensorimotor gating in Dark Agouti rats

Rationale Calcineurin is a protein regulating cytokine expression in T lymphocytes and calcineurin inhibitors such as cyclosporine A (CsA) are widely used for immunosuppressive therapy. It also plays a functional role in distinct neuronal processes in the central nervous system. Disturbed information processing as seen in neuropsychiatric disorders is reflected by deficient sensorimotor gating, assessed as prepulse inhibition (PPI) of the acoustic startle response (ASR). Objective Patients who require treatment with immunosuppressive drugs frequently display neuropsychiatric alterations during treatment with calcineurin inhibitors. Importantly, knockout of calcineurin in the forebrain of mice is associated with cognitive impairments and symptoms of schizophrenia-like psychosis as seen after treatment with stimulants. Methods The present study investigated in rats effects of systemic acute and subchronic administration of CsA on sensorimotor gating. Following a single injection with effective doses of CsA, adult healthy male Dark Agouti rats were tested for PPI. For subchronic treatment, rats were injected daily with the same doses of CsA for 1 week before PPI was assessed. Since calcineurin works as a modulator of the dopamine pathway, activity of the enzyme tyrosine hydroxylase was measured in the prefrontal cortex and striatum after accomplishment of the study. Results Acute and subchronic treatment with the calcineurin inhibitor CsA disrupted PPI at a dose of 20 mg/kg. Concomitantly, following acute CsA treatment, tyrosine hydroxylase activity was reduced in the prefrontal cortex, which suggests that dopamine synthesis was downregulated, potentially reflecting a stimulatory impact of CsA on this neurotransmitter system. Conclusions The results support experimental and clinical evidence linking impaired calcineurin signaling in the central nervous system to the pathophysiology of neuropsychiatric symptoms. Moreover, these findings suggest that therapy with calcineurin inhibitors may be a risk factor for developing neurobehavioral alterations as observed after the abuse of psychomotor stimulant drugs

Baseline neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio holds no prognostic value for esophageal and junctional adenocarcinoma in patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy

BACKGROUND: Several studies have reported that neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) can predict survival in esophageal and gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma, as it reflects systemic inflammation. Hence, we aimed to determine whether baseline NLR holds prognostic value for esophageal adenocarcinoma patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy (nCT) followed by surgery. METHODS: We studied the data of 139 patients that received nCT before undergoing esophagectomy with curative intent, all identified from a prospectively maintained database (1998-2016). Pretreatment hematology reports were used to calculate the baseline NLR. A receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC-curve) was plotted to determine an optimal cutoff value. NLR quartiles were used to display possible differences between groups in relation to overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) using the method of Kaplan-Meier. Cox regression analysis was performed to assess the prognostic value of NLR. RESULTS: The median OS and DFS times were 46 months (interquartile range [IQR]: 19-166) and 30 months (IQR: 13-166], respectively, for the entire cohort. The ROC-curve showed that NLR has no discriminating power for survival status (area under the curve = 0.462) and therefore no optimal cutoff value could be determined. There were no statistically significant differences in median OS times for NLR quartiles: 65 (Q1), 32 (Q2), 45 (Q3), and 46 months (Q4) (P = 0.926). Similarly, DFS showed no difference between quartile groups, with median survival times of 27 (Q1), 19 (Q2), 36 (Q3), and 20 months (Q4) (P = 0.973). Age, pN, pM, and resection margin were independent prognostic factors for both OS and DFS. On the contrary, NLR was not associated with OS or DFS in univariable and multivariable analyses. CONCLUSION: Baseline NLR holds no prognostic value for esophageal and gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma patients treated with nCT in this study, in contrast to other recently published papers. This result questions the validity of NLR as a reliable prognostic indicator and its clinical usefulness in these patients

Tumour microenvironment influences response to treatment in oesophageal adenocarcinoma

The poor treatment response of oesophageal adenocarcinoma (OAC) leads to low survival rates. Its increasing incidence makes finding more effective treatment a priority. Recent treatment improvements can be attributed to the inclusion of the tumour microenvironment (TME) and immune infiltrates in treatment decisions. OAC TME is largely immunosuppressed and reflects treatment resistance as patients with inflamed TME have better outcomes. Priming the tumour with the appropriate neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy treatment could lead to higher immune infiltrations and higher expression of immune checkpoints, such as PD-1/PDL-1, CTLA4 or emerging new targets: LAG-3, TIM-3, TIGIT or ICOS. Multiple trials support the addition of immune checkpoint inhibitors to the current standard of care. However, results vary, supporting the need for better response biomarkers based on TME composition. This review explores what is known about OAC TME, the clinical significance of the various cell populations infiltrating it and the emerging therapeutical combination with a focus on immune checkpoints inhibitors