Aktuelle Herausforderungen der Wissenschafts- und Hochschulforschung

In den letzten Jahren ist im deutschen Sprachraum, abweichend von der internationalen Nomenklatur, vermehrt von »Wissenschafts- und Hochschulforschung« die Rede. Angezeigt ist damit die Suche nach einem Überbegriff für die diversen sozialwissenschaftlichen Perspektiven auf Wissenschaft und Universität. Vor diesem Hintergrund versteht sich der vorliegende Beitrag als kollektive Standortbestimmung. Anhand von sieben Forschungsagenden zeigen die Autor/innen das Potenzial einer stärkeren Verbindung von Wissenschafts- und Hochschulforschung. Die sieben Agenden bilden zum einen Fragen und Probleme ab, die der aktuelle Forschungsstand aufwirft, zum anderen zeigen sie Relevanz der soziologischen Perspektive für die theoretische und methodische Integration der beiden Forschungsfelder. In recent years, social science perspectives that are concerned with academic research and higher education have increasingly been subsumed under the umbrella term »science and higher education studies« – a peculiar German category that is uncommon in the international context, where »science and technology studies« and »higher education studies« are developing rather independently from each other. Against this background, the current paper documents a discussion of several scholars from both science and higher education studies. Sketching seven research agendas, the contribution identifies fields of study for which a closer interaction between the two fields would be beneficial. On the one hand, these agendas highlight open questions of the current state of research. On the other hand, the agendas illustrate how a sociological perspective can contribute to integrating science and higher education studies both theoretically and methodologically

Risk governance in organizations

Dieses Buch dokumentiert 10 Jahre Risk-Governance-Forschung an der Universität Siegen. In 50 Beiträgen reflektieren Forscher und Praktiker Risk Governance vor dem Hintergrund ihrer eigenen Forschungen und/oder Erfahrungen und geben jeweils einen Entwicklungsimpuls für die Zukunft der Risk Governance. Das Buch zeigt die große Bandbreite und Tiefe des Forschungsgebietes auf und diskutiert Grundannahmen, Implementierungsfragen, die Rolle der Risk Governance als Transformationsmotor, ihre Wirkung in den verschiedenen betrieblichen Funktionen, Entwicklungsperspektiven und den Beitrag der Risk Governance zu einer nachhaltigen Ausrichtung von Unternehmen.This book documents 10 years of risk governance research at the University of Siegen. In 50 contributions, researchers and practitioners reflect on risk governance against the background of their own research and/or experience and provide a development impetus for the future of risk governance. The book shows the wide range and depth of the research field and discusses basic assumptions, implementation issues, the role of risk governance as transformation engine, its impact in the various operational functions, development perspectives, and the contribution of risk governance to a sustainable orientation of companies

The effect of mGlu(8) deficiency in animal models of psychiatric diseases

The metabotropic glutamate receptor subtype 8 (mGlu(8)) is presynaptically located and regulates the release of the transmitter. Dysfunctions of this mechanism are involved in the pathophysiology of different psychiatric disorders. mGlu(8) deficient mice have been previously investigated in a range of studies, but the results are contradictory and there are still many open questions. Therefore, we tested mGlu(8)-deficient animals in different behavioral tasks that are commonly used in neuropsychiatric research. Our results show a robust contextual fear deficit in mGlu(8)-deficient mice. Furthermore, novel object recognition, chlordiazepoxide-facilitated extinction of operant conditioning and the acoustic startle response were attenuated by mGlu(8) deficiency. We found no changes in sensory processing, locomotor activity, prepulse inhibition, phencyclidine-induced changes in locomotion or prepulse inhibition, operant conditioning, conditioned fear to a discrete cue or in animal models of innate fear and post-traumatic stress disorder. We conclude that mGlu(8) might be a potential target for disorders with pathophysiological changes in brain areas where mGlu(8) modulates glutamate and gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA) transmission. Our data especially point to anxiety disorders involving exaggerated contextual fear, such as generalized anxiety disorders, and to conditions with disturbed declarative memory

Shared genetic etiology of obesity-related traits and Barrett's esophagus/adenocarcinoma: insights from genome-wide association studies

Background: Obesity is a major risk factor for esophageal adenocarcinoma (EA) and its precursor Barrett's esophagus (BE). Research suggests that individuals with high genetic risk to obesity have a higher BE/EA risk. To facilitate understanding of biological factors that lead to progression from BE to EA, the present study investigated the shared genetic background of BE/EA and obesity-related traits. Methods: Cross-trait linkage disequilibrium score regression was applied to summary statistics from genome-wide association meta-analyses on BE/EA and on obesity traits. Body mass index (BMI) was used as a proxy for general obesity, and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) for abdominal obesity. For single marker analyses, all genome-wide significant risk alleles for BMI and WHR were compared with summary statistics of the BE/EA meta-analyses. Results: Sex-combined analyses revealed a significant genetic correlation between BMI and BE/EA (rg = 0.13, P = 2 × 10−04) and a rg of 0.12 between WHR and BE/EA (P = 1 × 10−02). Sex-specific analyses revealed a pronounced genetic correlation between BMI and EA in females (rg = 0.17, P = 1.2 × 10−03), and WHR and EA in males (rg = 0.18, P = 1.51 × 10−02). On the single marker level, significant enrichment of concordant effects was observed for BMI and BE/EA risk variants (P = 8.45 × 10−03) and WHR and BE/EA risk variants (P = 2 × 10−02). Conclusions: Our study provides evidence for sex-specific genetic correlations that might reflect specific biological mecha-nisms. The data demonstrate that shared genetic factors are particularly relevant in progression from BE to EA. Impact: Our study quantifies the genetic correlation between BE/EA and obesity. Further research is now warranted to elucidate these effects and to understand the shared pathophysiology

Nitro radical anion formation from nitro‐substituted amphetamine derivatives

The cyclic voltammetric characteristics of two nitroamphetamine derivatives (2‐nitro‐4,5‐dimethoxyamphetamine and 2‐nitro‐4,5‐methylenedioxyamphetamine) have been investigated in different media. In mixed media (aqueous buffer and DMF, dioxane, or acetonitrile) a reversible one‐electron reduction takes place to form a stable nitro radical anion. At more negative potential values, a further three‐electron reduction occurs irreversibly to give the hydroxylamine derivative. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) has been employed to study the tendency of the nitro radical anions to undergo further chemical reactions. The subsequent chemical reaction corresponds to a second‐order process, a dismutation reaction electrochemically initiated. Data about rate constants and half‐life times in mixed media are reported. Copyright © 1994 VCH Publishers, Inc

Dissecting the genetic heterogeneity of gastric cancer

Background: Gastric cancer (GC) is clinically heterogenous according to location (cardia/non-cardia) and histopathology (diffuse/intestinal). We aimed to characterize the genetic risk architecture of GC according to its subtypes. Another aim was to examine whether cardia GC and oesophageal adenocarcinoma (OAC) and its precursor lesion Barrett's oesophagus (BO), which are all located at the gastro-oesophageal junction (GOJ), share polygenic risk architecture. Methods: We did a meta-analysis of ten European genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of GC and its subtypes. All patients had a histopathologically confirmed diagnosis of gastric adenocarcinoma. For the identification of risk genes among GWAS loci we did a transcriptome-wide association study (TWAS) and expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) study from gastric corpus and antrum mucosa. To test whether cardia GC and OAC/BO share genetic aetiology we also used a European GWAS sample with OAC/BO. Findings: Our GWAS consisting of 5816 patients and 10,999 controls highlights the genetic heterogeneity of GC according to its subtypes. We newly identified two and replicated five GC risk loci, all of them with subtype-specific association. The gastric transcriptome data consisting of 361 corpus and 342 antrum mucosa samples revealed that an upregulated expression of MUC1, ANKRD50, PTGER4, and PSCA are plausible GC-pathomechanisms at four GWAS loci. At another risk locus, we found that the blood-group 0 exerts protective effects for non-cardia and diffuse GC, while blood-group A increases risk for both GC subtypes. Furthermore, our GWAS on cardia GC and OAC/BO (10,279 patients, 16,527 controls) showed that both cancer entities share genetic aetiology at the polygenic level and identified two new risk loci on the single-marker level. Interpretation: Our findings show that the pathophysiology of GC is genetically heterogenous according to location and histopathology. Moreover, our findings point to common molecular mechanisms underlying cardia GC and OAC/BO. Errata: Hess, T., Maj, C., Gehlen, J. et. al. Corrigendum to “Dissecting the genetic heterogeneity of gastric cancer”. eBioMedicine. 2023:94:104709. DOI: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2023.104709</p