Barrierefreiheit, Partizipation und Empowerment –Wege zur digitalen Teilhabe

Barrierefreiheit ist eine grundlegende Voraussetzung für die gleichberechtigte Teilhabe von Menschen mit Beeinträchtigungen. Auf europäischer und nationaler Ebene werden seit 2016 wichtige gesetzliche Voraussetzungen für die digitale Barrierefreiheit implementiert. Neben den notwendigen strukturellen Verbesserungen spielen weitere Aspekte im Kontext digitaler Teilhabe eine wichtige Rolle. Zunehmend werden zentrale sozialpolitische und behindertenpädagogische Leitideen wie Partizipation und Empowerment im Kontext der Digitalisierung diskutiert. Trotz dieser Bestrebungen gibt es immer noch Defizite bei der Barrierefreiheit digitaler Angebote. Gleichzeitig muss die Frage beantwortet werden, wie man Menschen mit Beeinträchtigungen noch besser in die Prozesse zur Herstellung digitaler Barrierefreiheit einbinden kann, da diese sie selbst betreffen. Im folgenden Beitrag werden die wichtigsten Richtlinien, Gesetze und Verordnungen zur digitalen Barrierefreiheit vorgestellt und die Relevanz der Partizipation und des Empowerments für die digitale Teilhabe von Menschen mit Beeinträchtigungen näher beleuchtet. Abschließend werden einige der relevantesten Projekte mit Beteiligung des Fachgebiets Rehabilitationstechnologie der TU Dortmund beschrieben und die gewonnenen Erkenntnisse diskutiert.Accessibility is a fundamental prerequisite for the equal participation of people with disabilities. Important legal conditions for digital accessibility have been already implemented at European and national level in Germany. However, in addition to the necessary structural improvements, other aspects also play an important role in the context of digital participation. Increasingly, concepts such as participation and empowerment, are being discussed in the context of digitalisation. Despite all these efforts, most digital resources are still not accessible. Furthermore, it is necessary to develop methods to improve the inclusion of people with disabilities in the processes of achieving digital accessibility. The article presents the most important guidelines, laws and regulations on digital accessibility and highlights the relevance of participation and empowerment for the digital participation of people with disabilities. Finally, important projects in this context under participation of the Department of Rehabilitation Technology at TU Dortmund University are described and discussed

Evidence for a large off-centered galactic outflow and its connection to the extraplanar diffuse ionized gas in IC 1553

Aims. We analyze a MUSE optical integral field spectrum of the star-forming edge-on galaxy IC 1553 in order to study its extraplanar diffuse ionized gas (eDIG) and the processes shaping its disk-halo interface. Methods. We extracted the optical emission line properties from the integral field spectrum and generated the commonly used emission line diagnostic diagrams in order to analyze the ionization conditions and the distribution of the eDIG. Furthermore, we performed gravitational potential fitting to investigate the kinematics of a suspected galactic outflow. Results. We find that the eDIG scale height has a maximum value of approximately 1.0 kpc and decreases roughly linearly with the radial distance from the galactic center in projection. The ionization state of the eDIG is not consistent with a pure photoionization scenario and instead requires a significant contribution from shock ionization. This, in addition to the gas kinematics, strongly suggests the presence of a galactic scale outflow, the origin of which lies at least 1.4 kpc away from the galactic center. The inferred shock velocity in the eDIG of approximately 225 km s-1 is comparable to the escape velocity estimated from our potential modelling. The asymmetric distribution of currently star-forming clusters produces a range of different ionization conditions in the eDIG. As a result, the vertical emission line profiles vary quantitatively and qualitatively along the major axis of the galaxy. This analysis illustrates that it is crucial in studies of the eDIG to use observations that take the spatial and kinematical distributions into account, such as those done with integral field units, to form an accurate picture of the relevant physical properties.Comment: Accepted for publication by Astronomy & Astrophysics on August 1, 202

Technologieakzeptanz als Analyserahmen zum Einsatz von Rehabilitationstechnologien

Rehabilitationstechnologien können die Teilhabe von Menschen mit Behinderung in verschiedenen Lebensbereichen stärken. Trotzdem werden diese häufig nicht genutzt, obwohl sie eigentlich verfügbar wären. Anhand von verschiedenen Technologieakzeptanzmodellen (z. B. TAM, TAM2, UTAUT, TAM3, UTAUT2 oder CAN-Modell) können Faktoren untersucht werden, die die tatsächliche Nutzung einer spezifischen Technologie beeinflussen. Dieser Beitrag gibt einen Überblick darüber, welche Faktoren eine Rolle bei der Nutzung von Rehabilitationstechnologien spielen, die sich an verschiedene Zielgruppen der Rehabilitationswissenschaften richten. Zudem wird eine Übersicht über einschlägige Studienergebnisse von der TU Dortmund gegeben. Es zeigt sich, dass neben den Faktoren der etablierten Technologieakzeptanzmodelle (v. a. Wahrgenommene Einfachheit der Nutzung und Wahrgenommene Nützlichkeit) je nach untersuchter Technologie und Nutzendengruppe eine Vielzahl weiterer Faktoren berücksichtigt werden muss, wenn etwa neue Technologien entwickelt, angeschafft oder in Anwendungskontexte eingeführt werden sollen.Rehabilitation technologies can strengthen the participation of people with disability in various areas of life. Nevertheless, they are often abandoned, although they would actually be available. Different technology acceptance models (e.g., TAM, TAM2, UTAUT, TAM3, UTAUT2, or CAN model) can be used to investigate factors that influence the actual use of a specific technology. This paper provides an overview of different factors that play a role in the use of rehabilitation technologies by different target groups of rehabilitation sciences. Relevant study results from TU Dortmund University are outlined. It is shown that, in addition to the factors of the established technology acceptance models (especially perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness), a variety of other factors must be taken into account depending on the technology and user group studied, for example, when new technologies are to be developed, purchased, or introduced into application contexts

Development and Integration of DOPS as Formative Tests in Head and Neck Ultrasound Education : Proof of Concept Study for Exploration of Perceptions

In Germany, progress assessments in head and neck ultrasonography training have been carried out mainly theoretically and lack standardisation. Thus, quality assurance and comparisons between certified courses from various course providers are difficult. This study aimed to develop and integrate a direct observation of procedural skills (DOPS) in head and neck ultrasound education and explore the perceptions of both participants and examiners. Five DOPS tests oriented towards assessing basic skills were developed for certified head and neck ultrasound courses on national standards. DOPS tests were completed by 76 participants from basic and advanced ultrasound courses (n = 168 documented DOPS tests) and evaluated using a 7-point Likert scale. Ten examiners performed and evaluated the DOPS after detailed training. The variables of “general aspects” (6.0 Scale Points (SP) vs. 5.9 SP; p = 0.71), “test atmosphere” (6.3 SP vs. 6.4 SP; p = 0.92), and “test task setting” (6.2 SP vs. 5.9 SP; p = 0.12) were positively evaluated by all participants and examiners. There were no significant differences between a basic and advanced course in relation to the overall results of DOPS tests (p = 0.81). Regardless of the courses, there were significant differences in the total number of points achieved between individual DOPS tests. DOPS tests are accepted by participants and examiners as an assessment tool in head and neck ultrasound education. In view of the trend toward “competence-based” teaching, this type of test format should be applied and validated in the future

Engineering Genetic Predisposition in Human Neuroepithelial Stem Cells Recapitulates Medulloblastoma Tumorigenesis.

Human neural stem cell cultures provide progenitor cells that are potential cells of origin for brain cancers. However, the extent to which genetic predisposition to tumor formation can be faithfully captured in stem cell lines is uncertain. Here, we evaluated neuroepithelial stem (NES) cells, representative of cerebellar progenitors. We transduced NES cells with MYCN, observing medulloblastoma upon orthotopic implantation in mice. Significantly, transcriptomes and patterns of DNA methylation from xenograft tumors were globally more representative of human medulloblastoma compared to a MYCN-driven genetically engineered mouse model. Orthotopic transplantation of NES cells generated from Gorlin syndrome patients, who are predisposed to medulloblastoma due to germline-mutated PTCH1, also generated medulloblastoma. We engineered candidate cooperating mutations in Gorlin NES cells, with mutation of DDX3X or loss of GSE1 both accelerating tumorigenesis. These findings demonstrate that human NES cells provide a potent experimental resource for dissecting genetic causation in medulloblastoma

Aberrant Cell Cycle Regulation in Cervical Carcinoma

Carcinoma of the uterine cervix is one of the most common malignancies among women worldwide. Human papillomaviruses (HPV) have been identified as the major etiological factor in cervical carcinogenesis. However, the time lag between HPV infection and the diagnosis of cancer indicates that multiple steps, as well as multiple factors, may be necessary for the development of cervical cancer. The development and progression of cervical carcinoma have been shown to be dependent on various genetic and epigenetic events, especially alterations in the cell cycle checkpoint machinery. In mammalian cells, control of the cell cycle is regulated by the activity of cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) and their essential activating coenzymes, the cyclins. Generally, CDKs, cyclins, and CDK inhibitors function within several pathways, including the p16INK4A-cyclin D1-CDK4/6-pRb-E2F, p21WAF1-p27KIP1-cyclinE-CDK2, and p14ARF-MDM2-p53 pathways. The results from several studies showed aberrant regulation of several cell cycle proteins, such as cyclin D, cyclin E, p16INK4A, p21WAF1, and p27KIP1, as characteristic features of HPV-infected and HPV E6/E7 oncogene-expressing cervical carcinomas and their precursors. These data suggested further that interactions of viral proteins with host cellular proteins, particularly cell cycle proteins, are involved in the activation or repression of cell cycle progression in cervical carcinogenesis

Therapeutic targeting of ependymoma as informed by oncogenic enhancer profiling

Genomic sequencing has driven precision-based oncology therapy; however, the genetic drivers of many malignancies remain unknown or non-targetable, so alternative approaches to the identification of therapeutic leads are necessary. Ependymomas are chemotherapy-resistant brain tumours, which, despite genomic sequencing, lack effective molecular targets. Intracranial ependymomas are segregated on the basis of anatomical location (supratentorial region or posterior fossa) and further divided into distinct molecular subgroups that reflect differences in the age of onset, gender predominance and response to therapy1,2,3. The most common and aggressive subgroup, posterior fossa ependymoma group A (PF-EPN-A), occurs in young children and appears to lack recurrent somatic mutations2. Conversely, posterior fossa ependymoma group B (PF-EPN-B) tumours display frequent large-scale copy number gains and losses but have favourable clinical outcomes1,3. More than 70% of supratentorial ependymomas are defined by highly recurrent gene fusions in the NF-κB subunit gene RELA (ST-EPN-RELA), and a smaller number involve fusion of the gene encoding the transcriptional activator YAP1 (ST-EPN-YAP1)1,3,4. Subependymomas, a distinct histologic variant, can also be found within the supratetorial and posterior fossa compartments, and account for the majority of tumours in the molecular subgroups ST-EPN-SE and PF-EPN-SE. Here we describe mapping of active chromatin landscapes in 42 primary ependymomas in two non-overlapping primary ependymoma cohorts, with the goal of identifying essential super-enhancer-associated genes on which tumour cells depend. Enhancer regions revealed putative oncogenes, molecular targets and pathways; inhibition of these targets with small molecule inhibitors or short hairpin RNA diminished the proliferation of patient-derived neurospheres and increased survival in mouse models of ependymomas. Through profiling of transcriptional enhancers, our study provides a framework for target and drug discovery in other cancers that lack known genetic drivers and are therefore difficult to treat.This work was supported by an Alex's Lemonade Stand Young Investigator Award (S.C.M.), The CIHR Banting Fellowship (S.C.M.), The Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas (S.C.M., RR170023), Sibylle Assmus Award for Neurooncology (K.W.P.), the DKFZ-MOST (Ministry of Science, Technology & Space, Israel) program in cancer research (H.W.), James S. McDonnell Foundation (J.N.R.) and NIH grants: CA154130 (J.N.R.), R01 CA169117 (J.N.R.), R01 CA171652 (J.N.R.), R01 NS087913 (J.N.R.) and R01 NS089272 (J.N.R.). R.C.G. is supported by NIH grants T32GM00725 and F30CA217065. M.D.T. is supported by The Garron Family Chair in Childhood Cancer Research, and grants from the Pediatric Brain Tumour Foundation, Grand Challenge Award from CureSearch for Children’s Cancer, the National Institutes of Health (R01CA148699, R01CA159859), The Terry Fox Research Institute and Brainchild. M.D.T. is also supported by a Stand Up To Cancer St. Baldrick’s Pediatric Dream Team Translational Research Grant (SU2C-AACR-DT1113)

Multi-epoch variability of AT 2000ch (SN 2000ch) in NGC 3432

Context. AT 2000ch is a highly variable massive star and supernova imposter in NGC 3432 first detected in 2000. It is similar and often compared to SN 2009ip, and it is therefore expected to undergo a core-collapse supernova (SN) – a SN imposter of similar brightness – in the near future. Aims. We characterize the long-term variability of AT 2000ch in the radio and optical regimes with archival data reaching back to the year 1984. We use these newly reduced observations in addition to observations in the literature to restrict the mass-loss rates of AT 2000ch at multiple epochs based on different approaches, and to infer the general properties of its circumstellar nebula with respect to the detected radio brightness. Methods. We extend the known optical light curve of AT 2000ch up to the beginning of 2022 by performing point spread function (PSF) photometry on archival data from the Palomar Transient Factory and the Zwicky Transient Facility. We reduced archival radio continuum observations obtained with the Very Large Array using standard calibration and imaging methods and complemented these with pre-reduced CHANG-E