Crisis of the Mythological? The Melting of the Polar Ice in Greenland in Alfred Döblin’s Berge Meere und Giganten

The novel Berge Meere und Giganten was written in 1924. I would like to focus my attention on the 7th book in the novel, whose title is Die Enteisung Grönlands (The Melting of the Polar Ice in Greenland). To begin with, I will give a short summary of what the novel is about. The project to melt Greenland's polar ice forms the culmination of a history of the whole of humanity running from the 20th century all the way until the 27th century. Using all their military and technological might, the heat of the Icelandic volcanoes is captured in solid form and transported by ship to the Arctic. With the help of a gigantic net, this heat is then unloaded on to Greenland, thus melting its ice. Greenland ‘strikes back' however, firstly by casting a magical spell. My central thesis is that Döblin`s Greenland fiction is about the destruction of the myth of Greenland and that this ultimately documents a crisis of the mythological itself.&nbsp

„Mann-Weiber“ im Technikstaat

Alfred Döblins Roman Berge Meere und Giganten (1924) phantasiert die zukünftige Entwicklung der westlichen Kontinente zwischen dem 20. und 27. Jahrhundert. Strukturiert wird der in neun Bücher unterteilte Text weniger durch eine geschlossene Handlung als vielmehr durch die beständige Variation eines Grundthemas. Volker Klotz hat dieses Thema auf die Formel „Mensch und Natur“ gebracht. Es steht jedoch in enger Verbindung zu einem zweiten Thema, nämlich dem von Männlichkeit und Weiblichkeit: Di..

Sub-Poissonian statistics of Rydberg-interacting dark-state polaritons

Interfacing light and matter at the quantum level is at the heart of modern atomic and optical physics and enables new quantum technologies involving the manipulation of single photons and atoms. A prototypical atom-light interface is electromagnetically induced transparency, in which quantum interference gives rise to hybrid states of photons and atoms called dark-state polaritons. We have observed individual dark-state polaritons as they propagate through an ultracold atomic gas involving Rydberg states. Strong long-range interactions between Rydberg atoms give rise to an effective interaction blockade for dark-state polaritons, which results in large optical nonlinearities and modified polariton number statistics. The observed statistical fluctuations drop well below the quantum noise limit indicating that photon correlations modified by the strong interactions have a significant back-action on the Rydberg atom statistics.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure

Chromogenic in situ hybridisation for the assessment of HER2 status in breast cancer: an international validation ring study

ABSTRACT: INTRODUCTION: Before any new methodology can be introduced into the routine diagnostic setting it must be technically validated against the established standards. To this end, a ring study involving five international pathology laboratories was initiated to validate chromogenic in situ hybridisation (CISHTM) against fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) and immunohistochemistry (IHC) as a test for assessing human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2) status in breast cancer. METHODS: Each laboratory performed CISHTM, FISH and IHC on its own samples. Unstained sections from each case were also sent to another participating laboratory for blinded retesting by CISHTM ('outside CISHTM'). RESULTS: A total of 211 invasive breast carcinoma cases were tested. In 76 cases with high amplification (HER2/CEP17 ratio >4.0) by FISH, 73 cases (96%) scored positive (scores [greater than or equal to] 6) by 'outside CISHTM'. For FISH-negative cases (HER2/CEP17 ratio <2.0), 94 of 100 cases (94%) had CISHTM scores indicating no amplification (score GBP5), and only three cases were positive by CISHTM; in the three remaining cases, no CISHTM result could be obtained. For cases with low-level amplification using FISH (HER2/CEP17 ratio 2.0-4.0), 20 of 35 had CISHTM scores indicating gene amplification. Inter-laboratory concordance for was also very high: 95% for normal HER2 copy number (1-5 copies); and 92% for cases with HER2 copy numbers [greater than or equal to] 6. CISHTM intra-laboratory concordance with IHC was 92% for IHC-negative cases (IHC 0/1+) and 91% for IHC 3+ cases. Among IHC 2+ cases, CISHTM was 100% concordant with samples showing high amplification by FISH, and 94% concordant with FISH-negative samples. CONCLUSION: These results show that CISHTM inter-and intra-laboratory concordance to FISH and IHC is very high, even in equivocal IHC 2+ cases. Therefore, we conclude that CISHTM is a methodology that is a viable alternative to FISH in the HER2 testing algorith

Utility and validity of the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) as a transdiagnostic scale

The Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) was originally conceived to assess psychopathology in several psychiatric disorders, making it an appropriate candidate to be used as a transdiagnostic instrument. We analyzed the utility and validity of the BPRS in a diagnostically heterogeneous sample of 600 psychiatric inpatients. As a comparator, we chose the mini-ICF-APP, a scale used to measure functioning and impairment across the diagnostic spectrum. Both scales had good internal consistency. The BPRS and the mini-ICF-APP showed a moderate correlation, with good levels of agreement. We were able to identify general symptoms present across the diagnostic spectrum, influencing severity and a cluster of symptoms specific for each diagnosis. Our results show the utility and validity of the BPRS as a transdiagnostic assessment tool that could easily be introduced in routine clinical work

Does confirmatory tumor biopsy alter the management of breast cancer patients with distant metastases?

Background: Decisions about systemic treatment of women with metastatic breast cancer are often based on estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PgR), and Her2 status of the primary tumor. This study prospectively investigated concordance in receptor status between primary tumor and distant metastases and assessed the impact of any discordance on patient management

Constitutive fusion of ubiquitin to PCNA provides DNA damage tolerance independent of translesion polymerase activities

In response to replication-blocking DNA lesions, proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) can be conjugated with a single ubiquitin (Ub) or Lys63-linked Ub chains at the Lys164 residue, leading to two modes of DNA damage tolerance (DDT), namely translesion synthesis (TLS) and error-free DDT, respectively. Several reports suggest a model whereby monoubiquitylated PCNA recruits TLS polymerases through an enhanced physical association. We sought to examine this model in Saccharomyces cerevisiae through artificial fusions of Ub to PCNA in vivo. We created N- and C- terminal gene fusions of Ub to PCNA-K164R (collectively called PCNA·Ub) and found that both conferred tolerance to DNA damage. The creation of viable PCNA·Ub strains lacking endogenous PCNA enabled a thorough analysis of roles for PCNA mono-Ub in DDT. As expected, the DNA damage resistance provided by PCNA·Ub is not dependent on RAD18 or UBC13. Surprisingly, inactivation of TLS polymerases did not abolish PCNA·Ub resistance to DNA damage, nor did PCNA·Ub cause elevated spontaneous mutagenesis, which is a defining characteristic of REV3-dependent TLS activity. Taken together, our data suggest that either the monoubiquitylation of PCNA does not promote TLS activity in all cases or PCNA·Ub reveals a currently undiscovered role for monoubiquitylated PCNA in DNA damage tolerance

Status of the VERITAS Observatory

VERITAS, an Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescope (IACT) system for gammma-ray astronomy in the GeV-TeV range, has recently completed its first season of observations with a full array of four telescopes. A number of astrophysical gamma-ray sources have been detected, both galactic and extragalactic, including sources previously unknown at TeV energies. We describe the status of the array and some highlight results, and assess the technical performance, sensitivity and shower reconstruction capabilities.Comment: Submitted to Proceedings of "4th Heidelberg International Symposium on High Energy Gamma-Ray Astronomy 2008

School-based mental health promotion in children and adolescents with StresSOS using online or face-to-face interventions: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial within the ProHEAD Consortium

Abstract Background Schools are an ideal setting in which to promote health. However, empirical data on the effectiveness of school-based mental health promotion programs are rare, and research on universal Internet-based prevention in schools is almost non-existent. Following the life skills approach, stress management training is an important component of health promotion. Mental health literacy is also associated with mental health status, and it facilitates formal help-seeking by children and adolescents (C&amp;A). The main objectives of this study are (1) the development and evaluation of an Internet-based version of a universal school-based health promotion program called StresSOS and (2) demonstrating non-inferiority of the online setting compared to the face-to-face setting. StresSOS aims to improve stress management and mental health literacy in C&amp;A. Methods/design A school-based sample of 15,000 C&amp;A (grades 6–13 and older than 12 years) will be recruited in five regions of Germany within the ProHEAD Consortium. Those with a screening result at baseline indicating no mental health problems will be invited to participate in a randomized controlled trial comparing StresSOS online to an active online control condition (Study A). In addition, 420 adolescents recruited as a separate school-based sample will participate in the StresSOS face-to-face intervention. Participants in both intervention groups (online or face-to-face) will receive the same eight treatment modules to allow for the comparison of both methods of delivery (Study B). The primary outcome is the number of C&amp;A with symptoms of mental health problems at a 12 months follow-up. Secondary outcomes are related to stress/coping (i.e., knowledge, symptoms of stress, coping resources), mental health literacy (knowledge and attitudes toward mental disorders and help-seeking), program usage patterns, cost-effectiveness, and acceptability of the intervention. Discussion This study represents the first adequately powered non-inferiority trial in the area of school-based mental health promotion. If online StresSOS proves efficacious and non-inferior to face-to-face delivery, this offers great potential for health promotion in youths, both in and outside the school environment. Trial registration German Clinical Trials Register, DRKS00014693 . Registered on 14 May 2018

Technik und Gender

Fiktionale Darstellungen von Technik scheinen von Geschlechterstereotypen bevölkert, die Klischees bedienen und auf der Opposition traditioneller, geschlechtlich assoziierter Merkmale basieren. So verkörpert Männlichkeit das technische Prinzip, während das Weibliche der Sphäre der Natur zugeordnet ist. Doch wie stereotyp sind technische Zukunftsvisionen? Der Band nimmt die geschlechtliche Kodiertheit literarischer und filmischer Technikzukünfte in den Fokus. Die Beiträge dieses Sammelbandes betrachten jeweils differenziertere Aspekte, beispielsweise im Hinblick auf stereotype, genderspezifische Rollenzuschreibungen, die Bedeutung geschlechtlicher Identitäten in den von Technik geprägten Räumen und ihre jeweilige mediale Vermittlung, und liefern ein erstes Panoptikum zur Erschließung der Fragestellung von Gender und Technikzukünften unter spezifisch kulturwissenschaftlicher Perspektive