Cartografía de un instante

Cartografía de un instante es el título que engloba el proyecto artístico llevado a cabo, el espacio en el que concurren mapas y pieles del territorio, dibujos de la geografía emocional del individuo, de su rutina, representaciones de la acumulación y de las encrucijadas que se presentan ante el espectador como la posibilidad de hallar en la propuesta artística el propio atlas existencial

Functional Parcellation of the Human Hippocampus

The hippocampus is an intriguing brain structure that is pivotally involved in numerous complex cognitive functions, including memory formation, emotional processing, and spatial navigation. Interestingly, this functional diversity is sustained by an underlying organization of the hippocampal long-axis. Although the general concept of such a long-axis organization is largely accepted, the exact topography of the hippocampal long-axis until now remains elusive. Understanding the functional organization of the hippocampus not only advances the field of fundamental neurosciences, but may also further our understanding of numerous neuropsychiatric conditions that the hippocampus is involved in. With this motivation, I set out to investigate the functional organization of the hippocampus in a sample of 22 healthy adults, using a novel analysis algorithm applied to functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data. The two key questions I addressed were (1) whether there are smooth or discrete functional transitions along the hippocampal long-axis and (2) in case of discrete transitions, how many functional subunits are distinguishable. To tackle these questions, the fMRI data was acquired while the participants performed an object-location memory task, which was facilitated by the use of a 3D virtual reality setup. The dataset was processed with a purely data-driven analysis algorithm to identify the dominant topography of functional connectivity similarity within the hippocampus, based on its functional connectivity to the rest of the brain. More precisely, the neuronal activity within the hippocampus was compared to the activity of the rest of the brain, to determine individual patterns of functional interaction for small hippocampal entities on the millimeter scale. These so-called functional connectivity profiles were then quantified and compared among each other to reveal the topography of functional connectivity similarity within the hippocampus. This topography conveys the dominant pattern of hippocampal organization. The yielded topography follows the hippocampal long-axis and reveals a modular pattern of hippocampal long-axis organization with several peaks of functional connectivity similarity. To determine the number of functional subunits, we quantified the number of peaks across participants, performed a validation approach based on a simulated null distribution of topographies, and applied the so-called elbow method, an iterative procedure to determine the optimal number of clusters. Overall, these analyses point towards an organization in three functional modules. Thus, we performed parcellations of participant-specific topographies into three parcels using k means clustering and yield consistently arranged longitudinal subunits in most participants. These results coincide with an abundance of previous studies indicating a discrete tripartition of the hippocampal long-axis. In contrast, there is a second line of research pointing towards a smooth functional long-axis gradient. Due to methodological differences and potential limitations, contradicting studies are often not entirely comparable. The analyses presented in this thesis are not able to definitively settle the matter, as certain shortcomings of our methodology cannot be ruled out, foremost including a potential lack of spatial precision due to the applied spatial smoothing and some ambiguity regarding the number of subunits. However, the opposing theories, namely smooth versus discrete transitions, could be reconciled by a recently suggested view that different patterns of long-axis organization may be superimposed. Despite the mentioned controversy, intriguing questions arise from the possibility of a tripartite hippocampal organization, including for instance the precise functional roles of three putative longitudinal modules. Previous studies have corroborated the general view that the anterior hippocampus takes part in emotional processing, whereas the posterior hippocampus is involved in spatial and cognitive processes. Within this model, the intermediate module may provide an integrative interface between emotion and cognition. Furthermore, the analyses presented here may provide a methodological basis for numerous future applications: The data driven approach could not only serve as an automated tool for hippocampal segmentation but can also be applied to any given region of interest and thereby be of use for limitless other neuroscientific questions. Moreover, since hippocampal integrity is disrupted in various neuropsychiatric diseases, including schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s disease, and depression, the applied method may one day be used as a clinical predictive tool for diagnostic purposes, for tracing a disease’s progression, or quantifying treatment responses

Strukturieren, Dokumentieren, (Ab‑)Sichern. Effekte von Forschungsdatenmanagement in der ethnografischen Forschung

Der Beitrag thematisiert, wie Forschungsdatenmanagement die ethnografische (Feld-)Forschung verändern könnte. Im Mittelpunkt stehen dabei Verfahren der informierten Einwilligung und der Anonymisierung im Schnittfeld von Recht und Forschungsethik sowie neue Dokumentationsanforderungen vor allem im Zusammenhang mit der Aufbereitung von Forschungsmaterialien für die Nachnutzung.This article addresses how research data management could change ethnographic field research. It focuses on procedures of anonymization and informed consent as part of legal regulations and research ethics, as well as new documentation requirements, especially with regard to processing research materials for subsequent use

Strukturieren, Dokumentieren, (Ab‑)Sichern. Effekte von Forschungsdatenmanagement in der ethnografischen Forschung

Der Beitrag thematisiert, wie Forschungsdatenmanagement die ethnografische (Feld-)Forschung verändern könnte. Im Mittelpunkt stehen dabei Verfahren der informierten Einwilligung und der Anonymisierung im Schnittfeld von Recht und Forschungsethik sowie neue Dokumentationsanforderungen vor allem im Zusammenhang mit der Aufbereitung von Forschungsmaterialien für die Nachnutzung.This article addresses how research data management could change ethnographic field research. It focuses on procedures of anonymization and informed consent as part of legal regulations and research ethics, as well as new documentation requirements, especially with regard to processing research materials for subsequent use

Inhalte für das Physikpraktikum der Biologen

Um das Physikpraktikum für Studierende der Biologie an der Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU) adressatenspezifisch zu gestalten, gilt es zu klären, welche physikalischen Inhalte im Praktikum vermittelt werden sollen. Dazu wurden die Inhalte des Moduls Tierphysiologie analysiert, welches viel physikalisches Vorwissen verlangt und ein Semester nach dem Physikpraktikum stattfindet. Darauf aufbauend wurde eine Befragung unter den Dozenten der Biologie durchgeführt. Die Ergebnisse werden mit denen einer Umfrage unter Studierenden der Biologie zum bestehenden Physikpraktikum an der LMU und mit Studienergebnissen von Borawski et al. [1] und Kissmann et al. [2] verglichen

Inhalte für das Physikpraktikum der Biologen

Um das Physikpraktikum für Studierende der Biologie an der Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU) adressatenspezifisch zu gestalten, gilt es zu klären, welche physikalischen Inhalte im Praktikum vermittelt werden sollen. Dazu wurden die Inhalte des Moduls Tierphysiologie analysiert, welches viel physikalisches Vorwissen verlangt und ein Semester nach dem Physikpraktikum stattfindet. Darauf aufbauend wurde eine Befragung unter den Dozenten der Biologie durchgeführt. Die Ergebnisse werden mit denen einer Umfrage unter Studierenden der Biologie zum bestehenden Physikpraktikum an der LMU und mit Studienergebnissen von Borawski et al. [1] und Kissmann et al. [2] verglichen

Assessing Diabetes Self-Management with the Diabetes Self-Management Questionnaire (DSMQ) Can Help Analyse Behavioural Problems Related to Reduced Glycaemic Control

AIM:To appraise the Diabetes Self-Management Questionnaire (DSMQ)'s measurement of diabetes self-management as a statistical predictor of glycaemic control relative to the widely used SDSCA. METHODS:248 patients with type 1 diabetes and 182 patients with type 2 diabetes were cross-sectionally assessed using the two self-report measures of diabetes self-management DSMQ and SDSCA; the scales were used as competing predictors of HbA1c. We developed a structural equation model of self-management as measured by the DSMQ and analysed the amount of variation explained in HbA1c; an analogue model was developed for the SDSCA. RESULTS:The structural equation models of self-management and glycaemic control showed very good fit to the data. The DSMQ's measurement of self-management showed associations with HbA1c of -0.53 for type 1 and -0.46 for type 2 diabetes (both P < 0.001), explaining 21% and 28% of variation in glycaemic control, respectively. The SDSCA's measurement showed associations with HbA1c of -0.14 (P = 0.030) for type 1 and -0.31 (P = 0.003) for type 2 diabetes, explaining 2% and 10% of glycaemic variation. Predictive power for glycaemic control was significantly higher for the DSMQ (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS:This study supports the DSMQ as the preferred tool when analysing self-reported behavioural problems related to reduced glycaemic control. The scale may be useful for clinical assessments of patients with suboptimal diabetes outcomes or research on factors affecting associations between self-management behaviours and glycaemic control

Bestimmung der Fledermausaktivität in Agroforstsystemen und angrenzenden Habitaten mittels N-mixture Modellen

Bat activity in agroforestry systems at the research station Scheyern was analyzed using a N-mixture model approach. Results show low bat activity but provide hints that agroforestry structures can increase bat activity in open agricultural habitats