Bringing Structure into Summaries: Crowdsourcing a Benchmark Corpus of Concept Maps

Concept maps can be used to concisely represent important information and bring structure into large document collections. Therefore, we study a variant of multi-document summarization that produces summaries in the form of concept maps. However, suitable evaluation datasets for this task are currently missing. To close this gap, we present a newly created corpus of concept maps that summarize heterogeneous collections of web documents on educational topics. It was created using a novel crowdsourcing approach that allows us to efficiently determine important elements in large document collections. We release the corpus along with a baseline system and proposed evaluation protocol to enable further research on this variant of summarization.Comment: Published at EMNLP 201

Chloride binding to the anion transport binding sites of band 3. A 35Cl NMR study

Band 3 is an integral membrane protein that exchanges anions across the red cell membrane. Due to the abundance and the high turnover rate of the band 3 transport unit, the band 3 system is the most heavily used ion-transport system in a typical vertebrate organism. Here we show that 35Cl NMR enables direct and specific observation of substrate Cl- binding to band 3 transport sites, which are identified by a variety of criteria: (a) the sites are inhibited by 4,4'- dinitrostilbene -2,2'- disulfonate, which is known to inhibit competitively Cl- binding to band 3 transport sites; (b) the sites have affinities for 4,4'- dinitrostilbene -2,2'-disulfonate and Cl- that are quantitatively similar to the known affinities of band 3 transport sites for these anions; and (c) the sites have relative affinities for Cl-, HCO-3, F-, and I- that are quantitatively similar to the known relative affinities of band 3 transport sites for these anions. The 35Cl NMR assay also reveals a class of low affinity Cl- binding sites (KD much greater than 0.5 M) that are not affected by 4,4'- dinitrostilbene -2,2'- disulfonate. These low affinity sites may be responsible for the inhibition of band 3 catalyzed anion exchange that has been previously observed at high [Cl-]. In the following paper the 35Cl NMR assay is used to resolve the band 3 transport sites on opposite sides of the membrane, thereby enabling direct observation of the transmembrane recruitment of transport sites

The minimal structure containing the band 3 anion transport site. A 35Cl NMR study

35Cl NMR, which enables observation of chloride binding to the anion transport site on band 3, is used in the present study to determine the minimal structure containing the intact transport site. Removal of cytoskeletal and other nonintegral membrane proteins, or removal of the 40-kDa cytoskeletal domain of band 3, each leave the transport site intact. Similarly, cleavage of the 52-kDa transport domain into 17- and 35-kDa fragments by chymotrypsin leaves the transport site intact. Extensive proteolysis by papain reduces the integral red cell membrane proteins to their transmembrane segments. Papain treatment removes approximately 60% of the extramembrane portion of the transport domain and produces small fragments primarily in the range 3-7 kDa, with 5 kDa being most predominant. Papain treatment damages, but does not destroy, chloride binding to the transport site; thus, the minimal structure containing the transport site is composed solely of transmembrane segments. In short, the results are completely consistent with a picture in which the transport site is buried in the membrane where it is protected from proteolysis; the transmembrane segments that surround the transport site are held together by strong attractive forces within the bilayer; and the transport site is accessed by solution chloride via an anion channel leading from the transport site to the solution

Information needs and resources of children's librarians regarding the use of digital media

Diese Veröffentlichung geht zurück auf eine Masterarbeit im weiterbildenden Masterstudiengang im Fernstudium Bibliotheks- und Informationswissenschaft (Library and Information Science, M.A. (LIS)) an der Humboldt- Universität zu Berlin aus dem Jahr 2023.The digitization of society is making its way into libraries, and digital media is also becoming an increasingly important topic in children's libraries. Thus, it is essential for children's librarians to have sufficient information on the topic to be able to keep up to date with digital trends. However, issues such as limited staff and high workloads make staying current with rapid tech advancements a challenge for librarians, highlighting the need for easily accessible, reliable information resources on digital tools. The present thesis explores the information needs and information resources of children's librarians regarding digital tools. Previous research has not examined the information behavior of this professional group in relation to the topic of digital media. The objective is to ascertain the perceived information needs, the employed information resources, and the encountered challenges in the context of the search. Employing Diane Sonnenwald's information horizon method, the research presents a qualitative analysis of nine semi-structured interviews and nine information horizon maps of children's librarians from public libraries in Germany. The results of the study reveal that children's librarians seek information about tool specifications and contextual applicability, preferring interpersonal and web resources over intrapersonal and print resources. Furthermore, internal and external factors that pose challenges in the information-seeking process are identified. The study shows a unanimous understanding of the importance of keeping up to date with digital trends among study participants, but also emphasizes the need for better information access and comprehensive resources to meet the information needs of children's librarians

Study of the Born-Oppenheimer Approximation for Mass-Scaling of Cold Collision Properties

Asymptotic levels of the A $^1\Sigma_u^+$ state of the two isotopomers $^{39}{\rm K}_2$ and $^{39}{\rm K}^{41}{\rm K}$ up to the dissociation limit are investigated with a Doppler-free high resolution laser-spectroscopic experiment in a molecular beam. The observed level structure can be reproduced correctly only if a mass dependent correction term is introduced for the interaction potential. The applied relative correction in the depth of the potential is $10^{-6}$, which is in the order of magnitude expected for corrections of the Born-Oppenheimer approximation. A similar change in ground state potentials might lead to significant changes of mass-scaled properties describing cold collisions like the s-wave scattering length.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figure