Towards a Similarity Algorithm for Controlled Vocabularies Within the Digital Humanities

With a growing amount and increasing complexity of data and metadata in the Digital Humanities, the use of semantic tools such as controlled vocabularies and taxonomies becomes more and more important to gain new research insights. Their use enables new research possibilities by introducing machine readable semantic links and standardised data and metadata. A validation and recommender system that ensures a quick development of high quality vocabularies is essential in such a scientific workflow. The base of this system is a similarity algorithm. State of the art algorithms and editors for controlled vocabularies do not meet the special requirements of the Digital Humanities domain. Therefore, this work proposes to fill the research gap in the Digital Humanities domain with a similarity algorithm and a recommender and validation system for controlled vocabularies. The methodology and evaluation for achieving this goal as well as preliminary results are presented in this contribution

Time-Referenced Effects of an Internal vs. External Focus of Attention on Muscular Activity and Compensatory Variability

The paralysis-by-analysis phenomenon, i.e., attending to the execution of one's movement impairs performance, has gathered a lot of attention over recent years (see Wulf, 2007, for a review). Explanations of this phenomenon, e.g., the hypotheses of constrained action (Wulf et al., 2001) or of step-by-step execution (Masters, 1992; Beilock et al., 2002), however, do not refer to the level of underlying mechanisms on the level of sensorimotor control. For this purpose, a “nodal-point hypothesis” is presented here with the core assumption that skilled motor behavior is internally based on sensorimotor chains of nodal points, that attending to intermediate nodal points leads to a muscular re-freezing of the motor system at exactly and exclusively these points in time, and that this re-freezing is accompanied by the disruption of compensatory processes, resulting in an overall decrease of motor performance. Two experiments, on lever sequencing and basketball free throws, respectively, are reported that successfully tested these time-referenced predictions, i.e., showing that muscular activity is selectively increased and compensatory variability selectively decreased at movement-related nodal points if these points are in the focus of attention

Surfactant protein a in cystic fibrosis: supratrimeric structure and pulmonary outcome.

The state of oligomerization of surfactant associated protein-A (SP-A) monomers differs between individuals. This likely affects SP-A's functional properties and could thereby influence clinical status in patients with lung diseases. In this study we focus on SP-A structure in cystic fibrosis (CF) compared to both healthy subjects and disease controls. SP-A composition and function were assessed in both bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid and serum of 46 CF patients with mild disease, 25 patients with chronic bronchitis and 22 healthy subjects by gel chromatography and a functional agglutination assay. Relation of SP-A agglutination ability to disease severity of the subjects was explored. SP-A was present in seven major oligomeric forms with the majority of SP-A being structurally organized as complex oligomeric forms. More complex oligomeric forms were associated with better SP-A function with regard to its agglutination ability. These forms were more frequently observed in BAL than in serum, but there were no differences between disease groups. In CF patients, more complex forms of SP-A were associated with better lung function. Organizational structure of SP-A affects its functional activity and is linked to disease severity in CF

Self-Organized Critical Noise Amplification in Human Closed Loop Control

When humans perform closed loop control tasks like in upright standing or while balancing a stick, their behavior exhibits non-Gaussian fluctuations with long-tailed distributions. The origin of these fluctuations is not known. Here, we investigate if they are caused by self-organized critical noise amplification which emerges in control systems when an unstable dynamics becomes stabilized by an adaptive controller that has finite memory. Starting from this theory, we formulate a realistic model of adaptive closed loop control by including constraints on memory and delays. To test this model, we performed psychophysical experiments where humans balanced an unstable target on a screen. It turned out that the model reproduces the long tails of the distributions together with other characteristic features of the human control dynamics. Fine-tuning the model to match the experimental dynamics identifies parameters characterizing a subject's control system which can be independently tested. Our results suggest that the nervous system involved in closed loop motor control nearly optimally estimates system parameters on-line from very short epochs of past observations

A Controlled Vocabulary for Acronyms of NFDI-MatWerk Using the Vocabulary Service EVOKS

Controlled vocabularies are comprehensive collections of domain-specific terms used to describe knowledge within a specific field. They help overcome data ambiguity and offer benefits such as referencing term definitions, promoting semantic interoperability, and facilitating the integration of ontologies. EVOKS is a general-purpose vocabulary service that enables data stewards and scientists to easily create, edit, curate, and publish controlled vocabularies using the W3C recommended SKOS data model. The service ensures access to published vocabularies through the implementation of SKOSMOS, a dedicated vocabulary browser instance. NFDI-MatWerk provides a publicly accessible SKOSMOS instance for publishing vocabularies and an EVOKS instance for editing vocabularies exclusively for its members. The poster showcases the MatWerk Acronyms Vocabulary as an example and highlights the key features and benefits of using EVOKS, including collaborative work, the application of persistent URLs to vocabulary terms, and the integration of controlled vocabularies into metadata schemas

Introducing a multivariate model for predicting driving performance: The role of driving anger and personal characteristics

Introduction: Maladaptive driving is an important source of self-inflicted accidents and this driving style could include high speeds, speeding violations, and poor lateral control of the vehicle. The literature suggests that certain groups of drivers, such as novice drivers, males, highly motivated drivers, and those who frequently experience anger in traffic, tend to exhibit more maladaptive driving patterns compared to other drivers. Remarkably, no coherent framework is currently available to describe the relationships and distinct influences of these factors. Method: We conducted two studies with the aim of creating a multivariate model that combines the aforementioned factors, describes their relationships, and predicts driving performance more precisely. The studies employed different techniques to elicit emotion and different tracks designed to explore the driving behaviors of participants in potentially anger-provoking situations. Study 1 induced emotions with short film clips. Study 2 confronted the participants with potentially anger-inducing traffic situations during the simulated drive. Results: In both studies, participants who experienced high levels of anger drove faster and exhibited greater longitudinal and lateral acceleration. Furthermore, multiple linear regressions and path-models revealed that highly motivated male drivers displayed the same behavior independent of their emotional state. The results indicate that anger and specific risk characteristics lead to maladaptive changes in important driving parameters and that drivers with these specific risk factors are prone to experience more anger while driving, which further worsens their driving performance. Driver trainings and anger management courses will profit from these findings because they help to improve the validity of assessments of anger related driving behavior

Учет влияния времени коммутации полупроводниковых приборов на форму импульсов напряжения на нагрузке импульсного трансформаторного источника напряжения

Розглянутo вплив часу комутації напівпровідникових приладів на форму, амплітудні і часові параметри імпульсів напруги на навантаженні трансформаторного джерела. Встановлена залежність тривалості фронту імпульсу від власних параметрів джерела і часу комутації напівпро-відникових приладів.Influence of time of commutation of semiconductor devices is considered on a form, peak and temporal parameters of pulses of voltage in a load of transformer source. Dependence of duration of pulse front is set on the own parameters of source and time of commutation of semiconductor devices

The accumulation of plutonium isotopes (239+240) in the components of the natural environment in the territory of the Karaganda region adjacent to the Semipalatinsk test site

Presents the results of a radiological survey of the territory of the Karaganda region. The data obtained on contamination of isotopes of plutonium (239+240), assessed the impact of nuclear testing on Semipalatinsk testing nuclear polygon. Currently, the pollution of the examined areas of technogenic radionuclides in most places, does not exceed the background level of global fallout, and only at some points noted in the reading background of global fallout. However, there are local areas of contamination, which could be formed as a result of testing of BRV, or other atmospheric fallout from nuclear testing

Characterization of the rice pathogen-related protein Rir1a and regulation of the corresponding gene

In rice (Oryza sativa L.), local acquired resistance against Pyricularia oryzae (Cav.), the causal agent of rice blast, can be induced by a preinoculation with the non-host pathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae. We have cloned a cDNA (Rir1a) and a closely related gene (Rir1b) corresponding to transcripts that accumulate in leaf tissue upon inoculation with P. syringae pv. syringae. The cDNA encodes a putative 107 amino acid protein, Rir1a, that exhibits a putative signal peptide cleavage site in its hydrophobic N-terminal part and a C-terminal part that is relatively rich in glycine and proline. The Rir1b gene contains a Tourist and a Wanderer miniature transposable element in its single intron and encodes a nearly identical protein. Rir1a is similar in sequence (ca. 35% identical and ca. 60% conservatively changed amino acids) to the putative Wir1 family of proteins that are encoded by pathogen-induced transcripts in wheat. Using antibodies raised against a Rir1a-fusion protein we show that Rir1a is secreted from rice protoplasts transiently expressing a 35S::Rir1a construct and that the protein accumulates in the cell wall compartment of rice leaves upon inoculation with P. syringae pv. syringae. Possible roles of Rir1a in pathogen defense are discusse

Students in the Sex Industry: Motivations, Feelings, Risks, and Judgments

Student sex work is a current phenomenon all over the world, increasingly reported by the media in recent years. However, student sex work remains under-researched in Germany and is lacking direct first-hand reports from the people involved. Further, sex work remains stigmatized, and therefore, students practicing it could be at risk of social isolation and emotional or physical danger. Therefore, this study examines students working in the sex industry focusing on their personal experiences and attitudes toward them. An online questionnaire was completed by 4386 students from Berlin universities. Students who identified themselves as sex workers (n = 227) were questioned with respect to their motivations to enter the sex industry, characteristics of their job, feelings after the intercourse, and perceived risks. Student non-sex workers (n = 2998) were questioned regarding knowledge of and attitudes toward student sex workers. Most student sex workers reported that they entered the sex industry due to financial reasons (35.7%). The majority reported offering services involving direct sexual intercourse. Disclosing their job to friends, family, or others was associated with less problems with social isolation and in romantic relationships. With a total of 22.9%, student non-sex workers reported never having heard about students working in the sex industry. The most frequent emotions mentioned by them with regard to student sex workers were compassion and dismay (48.9%). There was no difference in happiness between student sex workers and non-sex working students. Through this research, it becomes evident that there are similarities between the student's motivations to enter the sex industry, their feelings, and the problems they have to face. Moreover, prejudices still prevail about the life of student sex workers. Increasing understanding of student sex work might help those sex workers to live a less stigmatized life and thereby to make use of support from others. The universities as institutions could form the basis for this, e.g., by openly supporting student sex workers. This could help to encourage the rights of student sex workers and to gain perspective with respect to the sex industry