Virtuelle Prototypen sichtbar machen

Mit freundlicher Genehmigung des Verlags.Neue Produkte werden oft zuerst am Computer entwickelt - es entsteht ein dreidimensionales Modell. Dieses kann nicht nur dargestellt werden, künftige Anwender können auch mit ihm interagieren, indem sie selber in die virtuelle Welt eintauchen, beispielsweise im 3D-Lab des Zentrums für Produkt- und Prozessentwicklung der ZHAW in Winterthur

'The Tropics. Views from the middle of the globe' at The South African National Gallery

Paradise, or unpredictable, menacing jungle, escape or place of damnation? This exhibition investigates the myth of “the tropics” through the juxtaposition of contemporary and pre-modern artworks. Curated by Prof Dr Viola König, Dr Peter Junge and Alfons Hug, and brought to the Iziko South African National Gallery by the Goethe-Institute, this exhibition will, for the first time, show rare pre-modern art from the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Ethnologisches Museum, in South Africa. The contemporary component of the exhibition includes photography, video-works and paintings from Germany, Spain, Brazil, Great Britain, Vietnam, Indonesia, Peru and South Africa. Contemporary artistic involvement with the myth of “the tropics” is juxtaposed with historical objects from the geographically defined belt of the tropics. Exhibits from Africa, Asia, Oceania and tropical America on loan from the Ethnologisches Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin − some of the most important worldwide − enter into a dialogue with the works of 15 contemporary artists from Germany, Spain, Brazil, Great Britain, Vietnam, Indonesia, Peru and South Africa. With the exhibition at Iziko South African National Gallery from Wednesday 1 April until Sunday 14 June 2009 (Tuesdays to Sundays 10:00 until 17:00), it is the first time that artefacts from the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin’s collection are being shown in Sub-Saharan Africa. The Tropics: Views from the Middle of the Globe has in an extended version been presented in Brasilia, Rio de Janeiro and Berlin. It was hugely acclaimed and in Brazil alone more than half a million visitors came to see the show. The exhibition is accompanied by a cultural programme of Iziko South African National Gallery as well as the Goethe-Institut. The exhibition The Tropics: Views from the Middle of the Globe is a joint project of the Goethe-Institut and the Ethnologisches Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin and was funded by the German Federal Cultural Foundation. Artists include: Pilar Albarracin, Marcos Chaves, Walmor Correa, DASPU, Theo Eshetu, Candida Höfer, Mandy Lee Jandrell, Dinh Q. Lê, Marcel Odenbach, Vong Phaophanit, Caio Reisewitz, Tracey Rose, Hans-Christian Schink, Fiona Tan, Guy Tillim, David Zink Y

Der pluralistische Korporatismus als innenpolitisches Erfolgsrezept in der schweizerischen Entwicklungspolitik

Die Finanzierung der Entwicklungszusammenarbeit stand seit Jahrzehnten nie mehr so stark unter Druck wie am Jahresende 1994. Noch lässt sich nicht abschätzen, ob die aktuelle Debatte vorübergehender Natur ist oder die Entwicklungspolitik in eine ähnliche Krise geraten wird wie zuvor andere Bereiche der schweizerischen Aussenpolitik. Es dürfte sich deshalb ein Blick auf die innenpolitischen Mechanismen lohnen, die der schweizerischen Entwicklungspolitik zum Durchbruch verholten haben. Vierzig ..

Classical, novel and atypical isoforms of PKC stimulate ANF- and TRE/AP-1-regulated-promoter activity in ventricular cardiomyocytes

Cultured neonatal rat ventricular myocytes were co-transfected with expression plasmids encoding protein kinase C (PKC) isoforms from each of the PKC subfamilies (classical PKC-α, novel PKC-ε or atypical PKC-ξ) together with an atrial natriuretic factor (ANF) reporter plasmid. Each PKC had been rendered constitutively active by a single Ala→Glu mutation or a small deletion in the inhibitory pseudosubstrate site. cPKC-α, nPKC-ε or aPKC-ξ expression plasmids each stimulated ANF-promoter activity and expression of a reporter gene under the control of a 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate-response element (TRE). Upregulation of the ANF promoter is characteristic of the hypertrophic response in the heart ventricle and a TRE is present in the ANF promoter. Thus all subfamilies of PKC may have the potential to contribute to hypertrophic response in cardiomyocytes

The Effects of FGF4 Retrogenes on Canine Morphology

Two FGF4 retrogenes (FGF4L1 on chromosome 18 and FGF4L2 on chromosome 12) have been identified to cause dwarfism across many dog breeds. Some breeds are nearly homozygous for both retrogenes (e.g., Dachshunds) and others are homozygous for just one (e.g., Beagles and Scottish Terriers). Since most breeds do not segregate both of these retrogenes, it is challenging to evaluate their individual effects on long bone length and body size. We identified two dog breeds selected for hunting ability, the Alpine Dachsbracke and the Schweizer Niederlaufhund, that segregate both of these retrogenes. Using individual measurements of height at the shoulder, back length, head width, thorax depth and width, and thoracic limb measurements, we evaluated the combined effects of FGF4 retrogenes within these breeds. We applied multivariable linear regression analysis to determine the effects of retrogene copy numbers on the measurements. Copy numbers of both retrogenes had significant effects reducing height at the shoulders and antebrachial length, with FGF4L1 having a much greater effect than FGF4L2. FGF4L1 alone influenced the degree of carpal valgus and FGF4L2 alone increased head width. Neither retrogene had an effect on thorax width or depth. Selectively breeding dogs with FGF4L1 and without FGF4L2 would likely lead to a reduction in the FGF4L2-related risk of intervertebral disc herniation while maintaining the reduction in leg length resulting from FGF4L1

Eosinophils Play a Surprising Leading Role in Recurrent Urticaria in Horses

Urticaria, independent of or associated with allergies, is commonly seen in horses and often shows a high reoccurrence rate. Managing these horses is discouraging, and efficient treatment options are lacking. Due to an incidental finding in a study on horses affected by insect bite hypersensitivity using the eosinophil-targeting eIL-5-CuMV-TT vaccine, we observed the prevention of reoccurring seasonal urticaria in four subsequent years with re-vaccination. In an exploratory case series of horses affected with non-seasonal urticaria, we aimed to investigate the role of eosinophils in urticaria. Skin punch biopsies for histology and qPCR of eosinophil associated genes were performed. Further, two severe, non-seasonal, recurrent urticaria-affected horses were vaccinated using eIL-5-CuMV-TT, and urticaria flare-up was followed up with re-vaccination for several years. Eotaxin-2, eotaxin-3, IL-5, CCR5, and CXCL10 showed high sensitivity and specificity for urticarial lesions, while eosinophils were present in 50% of histological tissue sections. The eIL-5-CuMV-TT vaccine reduced eosinophil counts in blood, cleared clinical signs of urticaria, and even prevented new episodes of urticaria in horses with non-seasonal recurrent urticaria. This indicates that eosinophils play a leading role in urticaria in horses, and targeting eosinophils offers an attractive new treatment option, replacing the use of corticosteroids

The behaviour of political parties and MPs in the parliaments of the Weimar Republic

Copyright @ 2012 The Authors. This is the author's accepted manuscript. The final published article is available from the link below.Analysing the roll-call votes of the MPs of the Weimar Republic we find: (1) that party competition in the Weimar parliaments can be structured along two dimensions: an economic left–right and a pro-/anti-democratic. Remarkably, this is stable throughout the entire lifespan of the Republic and not just in the later years and despite the varying content of votes across the lifespan of the Republic, and (2) that nearly all parties were troubled by intra-party divisions, though, in particular, the national socialists and communists became homogeneous in the final years of the Republic.Zukunftskolleg, University of Konstan

Designing a Game to Help Higher Education Students Develop Their Note-Taking Skills

© 2020 Copyright is held by the owner/author(s). Taking effective notes is an important skill in academic and professional settings and one that is cultivated primarily in Higher Education (HE). However, students often find it difficult to effectively record important information in their notes [37], while it has been suggested that they often record less than 50% of the key information of a lecture [15]. Games can be a powerful way to help students learn [30]. Yet, to date, there is scarce empirical research on games specifically designed to help HE students develop note-taking skills where the design has been directly informed by note-taking learning theories. This study applies such theories in the design of the mechanics for an educational game for note-taking, entitled Investigate: Tudors, and evaluates their effectiveness and engaging potential. Results from qualitative evaluations with HE students showed that the game was a successful tool to help them develop note- taking skills. This article discusses the game design approach and the evaluation results, and contributes with effective strategies for designing serious games for note-taking.ACM SIGCHI (Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction