From so far to so close : stories from the present and the past

Storytelling lies at the very heart of the SO-CLOSE project. It focuses on the telling of tales with different protagonists, from both past and present. To represent the past, the project works with historical institutions and outstanding specialists in this area. And who better to tell the stories of today than refugees themselves? In 2020 the SO-CLOSE Consortium has conducted over 200 interviews with refugees and migrants currently given shelter in Greece, Spain, Italy, and Poland. These stories and narratives relating the experiences of forced migration from both yesterday and today are what the project wishes to show with the help of technology, by developing and creating digital tools that in the long term will help promote social cohesio

Analytical infrared intensities for periodic systems with local basis sets

We report a method for the efficient evaluation of analytic infrared (IR) intensities within generalized Kohn-Sham density functional theory using Gaussian orbitals and periodic boundary conditions. A discretized form of the Berry phase is used to evaluate a periodic dipole moment and its derivatives with respect to in-phase nuclear coordinate displacements. Benchmark calculations are presented for one-dimensional chains of water molecules and poly(paraphenylenevinylene).Comment: 16 pages, 3 figures, 4 tables, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Learning What you Really, Really Want: Towards a Conceptual Framework of New Learning in the Digital Work Environment

Digitization and globalization are leading to changing demands in the world of work. To cope with these, employees must constantly learn and develop. Analogous to the New Work movement, the future of learning seems to belong to New Learning, in which protean and empowered learners pursue learning opportunities to achieve subjectively valuable learning outcomes and personal growth. This meaningful and socially-embedded kind of learning enables learners to learn what they really, really want to learn. In the literature, however, there is a lack of models and theories on New Learning. The present paper introduces a conceptual framework of New Learning building on psychological theories in terms of a causal chain whose ten propositions can be empirically examined in future studies. An important premise is that, in addition to personal characteristics of the learner, the socio-technical environment and (digital) tools and methods play an important role for New Learning. The paper concludes by setting a future research agenda and discussing the practical implications of New Learning

Das Chemotherapie-Drugmonitoring im Rahmen des NB 97 Protokolls bei Kindern mit Neuroblastom

Das beim Neuroblastom-Chemotherapieprotokoll NB 97 durchgeführte Drugmonitoring (DM) wurde für Carboplatin, Cisplatin, Etoposid und Doxorubicin ausgewertet und mit simulierten Konzentrationserwartungswerten des jeweiligen Medikaments verglichen. Durch die Dosierungen des NB 97 Protokolls konnten überwiegend beabsichtigte Zytostatikakonzentrationen erzielt werden. Die Dosisreduktion des Etoposids führte zur erwarteten geringeren Plasmakonzentration, die Notwendigkeit einer körpergewichtsbasierten Etoposiddosisberechnung für unter Einjährige lässt sich hingegen nicht bestätigen. Auch durch individuelle, vom Protokoll abweichende Dosisberechnungen wurden Konzentrationen im Erwartungsbereich erzielt. Es wird abermals deutlich, dass die große Variabilität der Pharmakokinetik und -dynamik bei Kindern eine große Herausforderung der Pharmakotherapie in der Pädiatrie darstellt. Eine Rechtfertigung für ein generelles DM bei Kindern ergibt sich aus dieser retrospektiven Auswertung jedoch nicht

Spectroscopic studies of Lewis acid‐base complexes. III: Vibrational frequencies, assignments and normal coordinate analyses for isotopic varieties of phosphine borane and trifluorophosphine borane

Vibrational spectra of the two Lewis complexes, phosphine borane, PH 3 BH 3 , and trifluoro‐phosphine borane, PF 3 BH 3 , have been investigated for several isotopic species preserving C 3 v symmetry. New assignments are proposed and substantiated by normal coordinate analyses formulated in the compliance constant basis.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/91113/1/1250020208_ftp.pd

Immunoadsorption of agonistic autoantibodies against α1-adrenergic receptors in patients with mild to moderate dementia

Dementia has been shown to be associated with agonistic autoantibodies. The deleterious action of autoantibodies on the {alpha}1-adrenergic receptor for brain vasculature has been demonstrated in animal studies. In the current study, 169 patients with dementia were screened for the presence of agonistic autoantibodies. 47% of patients suffering from mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease and/or vascular dementia carried these autoantibodies. Eight patients positive for autoantibodies underwent immunoadsorption. Patients treated on four consecutive days were subsequently negative for autoantibodies and displayed stabilization of cognitive and mental condition during 12-18 months' follow-up. In patients treated for 2-3 days, autoantibodies were reduced by only 78%. They suffered a rebound of autoantibodies during follow-up, benefited from immunoadsorption too, but their mental parameters worsened. We provide first data on the clinical relevance of agonistic autoantibodies in dementia and show that immunoadsorption is safe and efficient in removing autoantibodies with overall benefits for patients

Phonon Properties of Knbo3 and Ktao3 from First-Principles Calculations

The frequencies of transverse-optical $\Gamma$ phonons in KNbO$_3$ and KTaO$_3$ are calculated in the frozen-phonon scheme making use of the full-potential linearized muffin-tin orbital method. The calculated frequencies in the cubic phase of KNbO$_3$ and in the tetragonal ferroelectric phase are in good agreement with experimental data. For KTaO$_3$, the effect of lattice volume was found to be substantial on the frequency of the soft mode, but rather small on the relative displacement patterns of atoms in all three modes of the $T_{1u}$ symmetry. The TO frequencies in KTaO$_3$ are found to be of the order of, but somehow higher than, the corresponding frequencies in cubic KNbO$_3$.Comment: 8 pages + 1 LaTeX figure, Revtex 3.0, SISSA-CM-94-00

The vibrational spectrum of CaCO3 aragonite: A combined experimental and quantum-mechanical investigation

The vibrational properties of CaCO3 aragonite have been investigated both theoretically, by using a quantum mechanical approach (all electron Gaussian type basis set and B3LYP HF-DFT hybrid functional, as implemented in the CRYSTAL code) and experimentally, by collecting polarized infrared (IR) reflectance and Raman spectra. The combined use of theory and experiment permits on the one hand to analyze the many subtle features of the measured spectra, on the other hand to evidentiate limits and deficiencies of both approaches. The full set of TO and LO IR active modes, their intensities, the dielectric tensor (in its static and high frequency components), and the optical indices have been determined, as well as the Raman frequencies. Tools such as isotopic substitution and graphical animation of the modes are available, that complement the analysis of the spectrum

Efficacy of five ‘sporicidal’ surface disinfectants against Clostridioides difficile spores in suspension tests and 4-field tests

Background: A sporicidal surface disinfection is recommended both for the outbreak and the endemic setting but a comparative evaluation on the efficacy of ‘sporicidal’ surface disinfectants using suspension tests and 4-field tests has not been performed. Aim: To determine the efficacy of five ‘sporicidal’ surface disinfectants (three ready-to-use wipes (A, B, E), two concentrates (C, D) based on peroxides or aldehydes against C. difficile spores. Methods: The efficacy was determined under clean conditions using a suspension test and the 4-field test. Each test was performed in duplicate in two separate laboratories. Wipes were wrung to collect the solution for the suspension tests. Results: Product A (peracetic acid; 5 min), product C (peracetic acid; 2% solution in 15 min or 1% solution in 30 min) and product D (peracetic acid; only 2% solution in 15 min) were effective with at least a 4 log10-reduction of C. difficile spores in suspension and on surfaces. Product B (hydrogen peroxide) was not effective in suspension (0.9 log10 after 15 min; 3.2 log10 after 1 h) and on surfaces (2.8 log10 after 15 and 60 min). Product E based on glutaraldehyde, (ethylendioxy)dimethanol and DDAC demonstrated 0.9 log10 after 4 h in suspension and 4.5 log10 after 4 h on surfaces. Conclusions: Not all surface disinfectants with a sporicidal claim were effective against C. difficile spores in standardized suspension tests and in the 4-field test. In clinical practice preference should be given to products that reliably pass the efficacy criteria of both types of tests.Peer Reviewe