Die Kommunikationsmittel im Dienst der Verständigung zwischen den Völkern. Botschaft zum 39. Welttag der Sozialen Kommunikationsmittel

1. Wir lesen im Brief des hl. Jakobus: "Aus demselben Mund kommen Segen und Fluch. Meine Brüder, so darf es nicht sein" (Jak 3, 10). Die Schrift erinnert uns daran, dass Worte eine ausserordentliche Kraft haben, Menschen zusammenzubringen oder zu entzweien, Bande der Freundschaft zu schmieden oder Feindschaft zu provozieren. Das gilt nicht nur für Worte, die zwischen zwei Menschen gewechselt werden. Es gilt gleicherweise für Kommunikation auf jeder Ebene. Die moderne Technologie stellt uns ungeahnte Möglichkeiten zur Verfügung, zum Guten, zur Verbreitung der Wahrheit von unserer Rettung in Jesus Christus und zur Stärkung von Harmonie und Versöhnung. Der Missbrauch der Technologie kann jedoch unerhörten Schaden anrichten und dabei zu Missverständnissen, Vorurteilen und sogar Konflikten führen. Das für den Welttag der Kommunikationsmittel 2005 gewählte Thema – "Die Kommunikationsmittel im Dienst der Verständigung zwischen den Völkern" – handelt von einer dringenden Aufgabe: die Einheit der Menschheitsfamilie zu fördern durch den Gebrauch, den wir von diesen grossen Möglichkeiten machen. (...

"Die schnelle Entwicklung". Apostolisches Schreiben an die Verantwortlichen der sozialen Kommunikationsmittel

1. Die schnelle Entwicklung der Technologie im Bereich der Medien ist sicher eines der Zeichen des Fortschritts in der heutigen Gesellschaft. Wenn man diese Neuerungen, die in beständiger Entwicklung sind, betrachtet, erscheint das Dekret Inter mirifica des II. Vatikanischen Konzils, das von meinem verehrten Vorgänger, dem Diener Gottes Paul VI. am 4. Dezember 1963 veröffentlicht wurde, von noch größerer Aktualität: "Unter den erstaunlichen Erfindungen der Technik, welche die menschliche Geisteskraft gerade in unserer Zeit mit Gottes Hilfe aus der Schöpfung entwickelt hat, richtet sich die besondere Aufmerksamkeit der Kirche auf jene, die sich unmittelbar an den Menschen selbst wenden und neue Wege erschlossen haben, um Nachrichten jeder Art, Gedanken und Weisungen leicht mitzuteilen." (...

Status of the BELLE II Pixel Detector

The Belle II experiment at the super KEK B-factory (SuperKEKB) in Tsukuba, Japan, has been collecting $e^+e^−$ collision data since March 2019. Operating at a record-breaking luminosity of up to $4.7×10^{34} cm^{−2}s^{−1}$, data corresponding to $424 fb^{−1}$ has since been recorded. The Belle II VerteX Detector (VXD) is central to the Belle II detector and its physics program and plays a crucial role in reconstructing precise primary and decay vertices. It consists of the outer 4-layer Silicon Vertex Detector (SVD) using double sided silicon strips and the inner two-layer PiXel Detector (PXD) based on the Depleted P-channel Field Effect Transistor (DePFET) technology. The PXD DePFET structure combines signal generation and amplification within pixels with a minimum pitch of $(50×55) μm^2$. A high gain and a high signal-to-noise ratio allow thinning the pixels to $75 μm$ while retaining a high pixel hit efficiency of about $99$. As a consequence, also the material budget of the full detector is kept low at $≈0.21$$\frac{X}{X_0}$ per layer in the acceptance region. This also includes contributions from the control, Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC), and data processing Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) as well as from cooling and support structures. This article will present the experience gained from four years of operating PXD; the first full scale detector employing the DePFET technology in High Energy Physics. Overall, the PXD has met the expectations. Operating in the intense SuperKEKB environment poses many challenges that will also be discussed. The current PXD system remains incomplete with only 20 out of 40 modules having been installed. A full replacement has been constructed and is currently in its final testing stage before it will be installed into Belle II during the ongoing long shutdown that will last throughout 2023

World Health Organization cardiovascular disease risk charts: revised models to estimate risk in 21 global regions

BACKGROUND: To help adapt cardiovascular disease risk prediction approaches to low-income and middle-income countries, WHO has convened an effort to develop, evaluate, and illustrate revised risk models. Here, we report the derivation, validation, and illustration of the revised WHO cardiovascular disease risk prediction charts that have been adapted to the circumstances of 21 global regions. METHODS: In this model revision initiative, we derived 10-year risk prediction models for fatal and non-fatal cardiovascular disease (ie, myocardial infarction and stroke) using individual participant data from the Emerging Risk Factors Collaboration. Models included information on age, smoking status, systolic blood pressure, history of diabetes, and total cholesterol. For derivation, we included participants aged 40-80 years without a known baseline history of cardiovascular disease, who were followed up until the first myocardial infarction, fatal coronary heart disease, or stroke event. We recalibrated models using age-specific and sex-specific incidences and risk factor values available from 21 global regions. For external validation, we analysed individual participant data from studies distinct from those used in model derivation. We illustrated models by analysing data on a further 123 743 individuals from surveys in 79 countries collected with the WHO STEPwise Approach to Surveillance. FINDINGS: Our risk model derivation involved 376 177 individuals from 85 cohorts, and 19 333 incident cardiovascular events recorded during 10 years of follow-up. The derived risk prediction models discriminated well in external validation cohorts (19 cohorts, 1 096 061 individuals, 25 950 cardiovascular disease events), with Harrell's C indices ranging from 0·685 (95% CI 0·629-0·741) to 0·833 (0·783-0·882). For a given risk factor profile, we found substantial variation across global regions in the estimated 10-year predicted risk. For example, estimated cardiovascular disease risk for a 60-year-old male smoker without diabetes and with systolic blood pressure of 140 mm Hg and total cholesterol of 5 mmol/L ranged from 11% in Andean Latin America to 30% in central Asia. When applied to data from 79 countries (mostly low-income and middle-income countries), the proportion of individuals aged 40-64 years estimated to be at greater than 20% risk ranged from less than 1% in Uganda to more than 16% in Egypt. INTERPRETATION: We have derived, calibrated, and validated new WHO risk prediction models to estimate cardiovascular disease risk in 21 Global Burden of Disease regions. The widespread use of these models could enhance the accuracy, practicability, and sustainability of efforts to reduce the burden of cardiovascular disease worldwide. FUNDING: World Health Organization, British Heart Foundation (BHF), BHF Cambridge Centre for Research Excellence, UK Medical Research Council, and National Institute for Health Research

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Bericht – Dokumentation – Chronik

BerichtHeinz Niederleitner: Zwischen Kirche und Zeitung. Reflexionen eines Jungredakteurs Dokumentation Johannes Paul II.: Die Medien in der Familie: Risiko und Reichtum. Botschaft zum 38. Welttag der sozialen Kommunikationsmittel 2004Chroni

Bericht – Dokumentation – Chronik

Bericht Matthias Kopp: Ein Beitrag zur "guten" Literatur. Zum Katholischen Kinder- und Jugendbuchpreis 2003Dokumentation Papst Johannes Paul II.: Die Kommunikationsmittel im Dienst am wahren Frieden im Licht von Pacem in terris - Botschaft zum 37. Welttag der sozialen KommunikationsmittelChronik