Darstellung von Geschichte im Film anhand des Spielfilms "In jenen Tagen"

Bereits der Titel der vorliegenden Arbeit verweist auf eine der Grundfragen dieser Untersuchung, nämlich auf die Frage, ob ein Spielfilm als Quelle für historische Forschungen dienen kann, welche dann anhand des Spielfilmes „IN JENEN TAGEN“ von Helmut Käutner verifiziert werden soll. Zu diesem Zweck wird neben einem kurzen Abriss über Film und Geschichte sowie Arten und Gattungen von Filmen auch ein Überblick über die Diskussion „Film als Quelle“ gegeben, da es bis vor einigen Jahren keineswegs selbstverständlich war, Spielfilme als historische Quelle heranzuziehen. Einen wesentlichen Aspekt bei der Untersuchung von Spielfilmen stellen die Produktionsbedingungen dar, weshalb auch besonderes Augenmerk auf die Entstehungssituation des Filmes im von den Alliierten besetzten Deutschland der Nachkriegszeit gelegt wurde. Während in der Ostzone bereits im Jahr 1945 mit der Organisation einer zentralen Produktionsgesellschaft, der DEFA, begonnen wurde, forcierten die westlichen Zonen die Gründung von vielen kleineren Produktionsfirmen. Beachtenswert ist auch der Umstand, dass, trotz einheitlicher rechtlicher Rahmenbedingungen, in den Westzonen keine idente Handhabung des Wiederaufbaus der neuen deutschen Filmwirtschaft vorzufinden war. Nach diesem kurzen Überblick über die unterschiedlichen Bestrebungen der einzelnen Besatzungsmächte in den jeweiligen Zonen wird in einem weiteren Schritt auf die konkreten Umstände und Schwierigkeiten bei der Produktion des Filmes „IN JENEN TAGEN“, welcher als erster Film in der britischen Zone zu drehen begonnen worden war, eingegangen. Im Anschluss daran wird jede der insgesamt sieben Episoden des Filmes mittels einer ausführlichen Inhaltsangabe vorgestellt und auf ihren historischen Aussagewert hin analysiert. Ebenso wird die Rahmenhandlung, welche die einzelnen Geschichten miteinander verknüpft, untersucht. Die Darstellung der Rezeptionsbedingungen des Filmes schließen die Überlegungen zu Käutners „IN JENEN TAGEN“ ab. Zusammenfassend wird der Schluss gezogen, dass Spielfilme sehr wohl als Quelle für Historiker dienen können, da sie sich lediglich durch ihre äußere technische Beschaffenheit von anderen Quellen unterscheiden, nicht hingegen durch ihren inneren Erkenntniswert

Tissue specificity: the clinical importance of steroid metabolites in hormone replacement therapy

Abstract Metabolic activations or inactivations of estrogens, progesterone and androgens are important steps towards the understanding of the physiological and the pathological effects of these hormones in the female organism. Analysis of the tissue specific metabolic pathways of sex steroids will result in a better understanding of successful hormone replacement therapy on the one hand and of the occurrence of steroid hormone related side effects on the other hand. In this contribution we analyse the different mechanisms involved in the synthesis of tissue specific metabolites and discuss the therapeutical importance of these metabolites in hormone replacement therapy

Synthetic enzymes for synthetic substrates

In recent years, hydrolases like cutinases, esterases and lipases have been recognized as powerful tools for hydrolysis of synthetic polymers such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) as an environmentally friendly alternative for environmentally harmful chemical recycling methods1. PET is currently the most common type of aromatic polyester, with widespread application as packaging material, beverage bottles, and synthetic textile fibers. So far, cutinases have been the most active enzyme class regarding PET degradation. In nature, cutinases catalyze the hydrolysis of the aliphatic biopolyester cutin, the structural component of plant cuticle. Although cutinases are able to act on natural insoluble polyesters, their activities on non-natural substrates are quit low. For this reason, different engineering strategies were established to optimize “polyesterases” for synthetic polymers (Fig.1). Thereby, development of rationale enzyme-engineering strategies led to remarkable enhancement of hydrolytic activities on polyesters and clearly showed that the affinity between the enzyme and the substrate plays a key role in the enzymatic hydrolysis of synthetic polyester. Please click Additional Files below to see the full abstract

Krueppel-Like Factor 4 Expression in Phagocytes Regulates Early Inflammatory Response and Disease Severity in Pneumococcal Pneumonia

The transcription factor Krueppel-like factor (KLF) 4 fosters the pro-inflammatory immune response in macrophages and polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs) when stimulated with Streptococcus pneumoniae, the main causative pathogen of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). Here, we investigated the impact of KLF4 expression in myeloid cells such as macrophages and PMNs on inflammatory response and disease severity in a pneumococcal pneumonia mouse model and in patients admitted to hospital with CAP. We found that mice with a myeloid-specific knockout of KLF4 mount an insufficient early immune response with reduced levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and increased levels of the anti-inflammatory cytokine interleukin (IL) 10 in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and plasma and an impaired bacterial clearance from the lungs 24 hours after infection with S. pneumoniae. This results in higher rates of bacteremia, increased lung tissue damage, more severe symptoms of infection and reduced survival. Higher KLF4 gene expression levels in the peripheral blood of patients with CAP at hospital admission correlate with a favourable clinical presentation (lower sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score), lower serum levels of IL-10 at admission, shorter hospital stay and lower mortality or requirement of intensive care unit treatment within 28 days after admission. Thus, KLF4 in myeloid cells such as macrophages and PMNs is an important regulator of the early proinflammatory immune response and, therefore, a potentially interesting target for therapeutic interventions in pneumococcal pneumonia

A fungal ascorbate oxidase with unexpected laccase activity

Ascorbate oxidases are an enzyme group that has not been explored to a large extent. So far, mainly ascorbate oxidases from plants and only a few from fungi have been described. Although ascorbate oxidases belong to the well-studied enzyme family of multi-copper oxidases, their function is still unclear. In this study, Af_AO1, an enzyme from the fungus Aspergillus flavus, was characterized. Sequence analyses and copper content determination demonstrated Af_AO1 to belong to the multi-copper oxidase family. Biochemical characterization and 3D-modeling revealed a similarity to ascorbate oxidases, but also to laccases. Af_AO1 had a 10-fold higher affinity to ascorbic acid (KM = 0.16 ± 0.03 mM) than to ABTS (KM = 1.89 ± 0.12 mM). Furthermore, the best fitting 3D-model was based on the ascorbate oxidase from Cucurbita pepo var. melopepo. The laccase-like activity of Af_AO1 on ABTS (Vmax = 11.56 ± 0.15 µM/min/mg) was, however, not negligible. On the other hand, other typical laccase substrates, such as syringaldezine and guaiacol, were not oxidized by Af_AO1. According to the biochemical and structural characterization, Af_AO1 was classified as ascorbate oxidase with unusual, laccase-like activityPeer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Recommendations, guidelines, and best practice for the use of human induced pluripotent stem cells for neuropharmacological studies of neuropsychiatric disorders

The number of individuals suffering from neuropsychiatric disorders (NPDs) has increased worldwide, with 3 million disability-adjusted life-years calculated in 2019. Though research using various approaches including genetics, imaging, clinical and animal models has advanced our knowledge regarding NPDs, we still lack basic knowledge regarding the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms. Moreover, there is an urgent need for highly effective therapeutics for NPDs. Human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) generated from somatic cells enabled scientists to create brain cells in a patient-specific manner. However, there are challenges to the use of hiPSCs that need to be addressed. In the current paper, consideration of best practices for neuropharmacological and neuropsychiatric research using hiPSCs will be discussed. Specifically, we provide recommendations for best practice in patient recruitment, including collecting demographic, clinical, medical (before and after treatment and response), diagnostic (including scales) and genetic data from the donors. We highlight considerations regarding donor genetics and sex, in addition to discussing biological and technical replicates. Furthermore, we present our views on selecting control groups/lines, experimental designs, and considerations for conducting neuropharmacological studies using hiPSC-based models in the context of NPDs. In doing so, we explore key issues in the field concerning reproducibility, statistical analysis, and how to translate in vitro studies into clinically relevant observations. The aim of this article is to provide a key resource for hiPSC researchers to perform robust and reproducible neuropharmacological studies, with the ultimate aim of improving identification and clinical translation of novel therapeutic drugs for NPDs