Smart Institutions for Smart Cities

Smart cities employ creativity of the population for innovations supporting social and economic development. In this context, this paper explores the role of framework conditions on special supply effects of university hospitals, which can invite further research institutions for intense collaboration, thereby stimulating innovations. The case study, comparing a hospital in Russia with one in Germany, is based on the concept of the employment multiplier. The results show that exogenously given, but, more importantly, also modifiable framework conditions lead to large differences regarding the employment multiplier. Thus, it should be the concern of smart cities to make smart use of their institutions, such as university hospitals, by adjusting the conditions, under which they are operating. © 2018 Institute of Physics Publishing. All rights reserved

Flexibles Lernen: Erfolgreiche online-gestützte Lernprozesse ermöglichen

Die Digitalisierung im Gesundheitswesen erfordert eine kontinuierliche Weiterqualifikation der betroffenen Berufsgruppen. Die Universität UMIT hat daher 2017 einen online-gestützten, postgraduellen Universitätslehrgang gestartet. Beim didaktischen Design lag ein Schwerpunkt auf der Flexibilität des Lernens, um so den Anforderungen der berufstätigen Teilnehmer/innen besonders zu entsprechen. Dabei wurde neben Flexibilität von Ort und Zeit des Lernens auch Flexibilität z. B. beim Setzen eigener Lernziele und bei Lerninhalten ermöglicht. Wir stellen das gewählte didaktische Design vor und beleuchten auf Basis einer Analyse von Log-Daten, studentischer Evaluationen sowie studentischer Reflexionen die Akzeptanz sowie die Herausforderungen des flexiblen Lernens aus Sicht der Lernenden

Indikatoren für kooperative, online-basierte Lernprozesse: Entwicklung und Erprobung

Lernen als konstruktiver und sozialer Prozess funktioniert am besten in Interaktion mit anderen Personen. Insbesondere in online-basierten Lernsettings sind Interaktion und Kooperation der Studierenden ein wichtiger Faktor für erfolgreiches Lernen. In dieser Arbeit schlagen wir zunächst Indikatoren für das Monitoring der Aktivität und Interaktivität von Studierenden sowie Lehrenden in kooperativen online-basierten Lernsettings vor. In einer Fallstudie werden die Indikatoren dann am Beispiel von drei Online-Kursen eingesetzt. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die Indikatoren wichtige Aufschlüsse über die Aktivität und Interaktivität der Studierenden liefern können. Ergänzt um Daten zur Arbeitsbelastung, um Prüfungsergebnisse und um Lehrevaluierungen können auch Aussagen zur Qualität der Lernprozesse und zum Lernerfolg gemacht werden

Nernst Effect of stripe ordering La1.8−x_{1.8-x}Eu0.2_{0.2}Srx_xCuO4_4

We investigate the transport properties of La$_{1.8-x}$Eu$_{0.2}$Sr$_x$CuO$_4$ ($x=0.04$, 0.08, 0.125, 0.15, 0.2) with a special focus on the Nernst effect in the normal state. Various anomalous features are present in the data. For $x=0.125$ and 0.15 a kink-like anomaly is present in the vicinity of the onset of charge stripe order in the LTT phase, suggestive of enhanced positive quasiparticle Nernst response in the stripe ordered phase. At higher temperature, all doping levels except $x=0.2$ exhibit a further kink anomaly in the LTO phase which cannot unambiguously be related to stripe order. Moreover, a direct comparison between the Nernst coefficients of stripe ordering La$_{1.8-x}$Eu$_{0.2}$Sr$_x$CuO$_4$ and superconducting La$_{2-x}$Sr$_x$CuO$_4$ at the doping levels $x=0.125$ and $x=0.15$ reveals only weak differences. Our findings make high demands on any scenario interpreting the Nernst response in hole-doped cuprates

Physical origin of the buckling in CuO2_2: Electron-phonon coupling and Raman spectra

It is shown theoretically that the buckling of the CuO$_{2}$ planes in certain cuprate systems can be explained in terms of an electric field across the planes which originates from different valences of atoms above and below the plane. This field results also in a strong coupling of the Raman-active out-of-phase vibration of the oxygen atoms ($B_{1g}$ mode) to the electronic charge transfer between the two oxygens in the CuO$_{2}$ plane. Consequently, the electric field can be deduced from the Fano-type line shape of the $B_{1g}$ phonon. Using the electric field estimated from the electron-phonon coupling the amplitude of the buckling is calculated and found to be in good agreement with the structural data. Direct experimental support for the idea proposed is obtained in studies of YBa$_{2}$Cu$_{3}$O$_{6+x}$ and Bi$_{2}$Sr$_{2}$(Ca$_{1-x}$Y$_{x}$)Cu$_{2}$O$_{8}$ with different oxygen and yttrium doping, respectively, including antiferromagnetic samples. In the latter compound, symmetry breaking by replacing Ca partially by Y leads to an enhancement of the electron-phonon coupling by an order of magnitude.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures, and 1 tabl

Orbital-selective Mott transitions: Heavy fermions and beyond

Quantum phase transitions in metals are often accompanied by violations of Fermi liquid behavior in the quantum critical regime. Particularly fascinating are transitions beyond the Landau-Ginzburg-Wilson concept of a local order parameter. The breakdown of the Kondo effect in heavy-fermion metals constitutes a prime example of such a transition. Here, the strongly correlated f electrons become localized and disappear from the Fermi surface, implying that the transition is equivalent to an orbital-selective Mott transition, as has been discussed for multi-band transition-metal oxides. In this article, available theoretical descriptions for orbital-selective Mott transitions will be reviewed, with an emphasis on conceptual aspects like the distinction between different low-temperature phases and the structure of the global phase diagram. Selected results for quantum critical properties will be listed as well. Finally, a brief overview is given on experiments which have been interpreted in terms of orbital-selective Mott physics.Comment: 29 pages, 4 figs, mini-review prepared for a special issue of JLT

Urinary MicroRNA Profiling in the Nephropathy of Type 1 Diabetes

Background: Patients with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) are particularly vulnerable to development of Diabetic nephropathy (DN) leading to End Stage Renal Disease. Hence a better understanding of the factors affecting kidney disease progression in T1D is urgently needed. In recent years microRNAs have emerged as important post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression in many different health conditions. We hypothesized that urinary microRNA profile of patients will differ in the different stages of diabetic renal disease. Methods and Findings: We studied urine microRNA profiles with qPCR in 40 T1D with >20 year follow up 10 who never developed renal disease (N) matched against 10 patients who went on to develop overt nephropathy (DN), 10 patients with intermittent microalbuminuria (IMA) matched against 10 patients with persistent (PMA) microalbuminuria. A Bayesian procedure was used to normalize and convert raw signals to expression ratios. We applied formal statistical techniques to translate fold changes to profiles of microRNA targets which were then used to make inferences about biological pathways in the Gene Ontology and REACTOME structured vocabularies. A total of 27 microRNAs were found to be present at significantly different levels in different stages of untreated nephropathy. These microRNAs mapped to overlapping pathways pertaining to growth factor signaling and renal fibrosis known to be targeted in diabetic kidney disease. Conclusions: Urinary microRNA profiles differ across the different stages of diabetic nephropathy. Previous work using experimental, clinical chemistry or biopsy samples has demonstrated differential expression of many of these microRNAs in a variety of chronic renal conditions and diabetes. Combining expression ratios of microRNAs with formal inferences about their predicted mRNA targets and associated biological pathways may yield useful markers for early diagnosis and risk stratification of DN in T1D by inferring the alteration of renal molecular processes. © 2013 Argyropoulos et al