546 research outputs found
Multi-contrast photoacoustic microscopy
We developed multi-contrast photoacoustic microscopy (PAM) for in vivo anatomical, functional, metabolic, and molecular imaging. This technical innovation enables comprehensive understanding of the tumor microenvironment. With multi-contrast PAM, we longitudinally determined tumor vascular anatomy, blood flow, oxygen saturation of hemoglobin, and oxygen extraction fraction
The subjective well-being of workfare participants: insights from a day reconstruction survey
In this paper, we shed more light on the subjective well-being of workfare participants and compare it to the well-being of unemployed and employed workers. We use data from a self-conducted survey among participants in workfare schemes in Germany. We examine two subdimensions of subjective well-being â life satisfaction and emotional well-being â separately to obtain a more comprehensive view of the subjective impact of workfare jobs. Our results show that the life satisfaction of workfare participants is between that of employed and unemployed people. More surprisingly, perhaps, we find that their emotional well-being is the highest of these three groups
Multi-contrast photoacoustic microscopy
We developed multi-contrast photoacoustic microscopy (PAM) for in vivo anatomical, functional, metabolic, and molecular imaging. This technical innovation enables comprehensive understanding of the tumor microenvironment. With multi-contrast PAM, we longitudinally determined tumor vascular anatomy, blood flow, oxygen saturation of hemoglobin, and oxygen extraction fraction
AKT1 Loss Correlates with Episomal HPV16 in Vulval Intraepithelial Neoplasia
Anogenital malignancy has a significant association with high-risk mucosal alpha-human papillomaviruses (alpha-PV), particularly HPV 16 and 18 whereas extragenital SCC has been linked to the presence of cutaneous beta and gammaâHPV types. Vulval skin may be colonised by both mucosal and cutaneous (beta-, mu-, nu- and gamma-) PV types, but there are few systematic studies investigating their presence and their relative contributions to vulval malignancy. Dysregulation of AKT, a serine/threonine kinase, plays a significant role in several cancers. Mucosal HPV types can increase AKT phosphorylation and activity whereas cutaneous HPV types down-regulate AKT1 expression, probably to weaken the cornified envelope to promote viral release. We assessed the presence of mucosal and cutaneous HPV in vulval malignancy and its relationship to AKT1 expression in order to establish the corresponding HPV and AKT1 profile of normal vulval skin, vulval intraepithelial neoplasia (VIN) and vulval squamous cell carcinoma (vSCC). We show that HPV16 is the principle HPV type present in VIN, there were few detectable beta types present and AKT1 loss was not associated with the presence of these cutaneous HPV. We show that HPV16 early gene expression reduced AKT1 expression in transgenic mouse epidermis. AKT1 loss in our VIN cohort correlated with presence of high copy number, episomal HPV16. Maintained AKT1 expression correlated with low copy number, an increased frequency of integration and increased HPV16E7 expression, a finding we replicated in another untyped cohort of vSCC. Since expression of E7 reflects tumour progression, these findings suggest that AKT1 loss associated with episomal HPV16 may have positive prognostic implications in vulval malignancy
A New Targeting - A New Take-Up? Non-Take-Up of Social Assistance in Germany after Social Policy Reforms
We present first estimates of rates of non-take-up for social assistance in Germany after the implementation of major social policy reforms in 2005. The analysis is based on a microsimulation model, which includes a detailed description of the German social assistance programme. Our findings suggest a moderate decrease in non-take-up compared to estimates before the reform. In order to identify the determinants of claiming social assistance, we estimate a model of take-up behaviour which considers potential endogeneity of the benefit level. The estimations reveal that the degree of needs, measured as the social assistance benefit level a household is eligible for, and the expected duration of eligibility are the key determinants of the take-up decision, while costs of claiming seem to play a minor role.Diese Studie liefert erste SchĂ€tzungen fĂŒr Quoten der Nicht-Inanspruchnahme fĂŒr Leistungen der Grundsicherung nach SGB II und SGB XII. Die Analyse basiert auf einem Mikrosimulationsmodell, welches eine detaillierte Abbildung der deutschen Sozialgesetzgebung erlaubt. Unsere Ergebnisse deuten darauf hin, dass sich die Nicht-Inanspruchnahme im Vergleich zur Situation vor der Hartz-IV-Reform verringert hat. Um die Determinanten der Inanspruchnahme zu bestimmen, schĂ€tzen wir ein Modell des Inanspruchnahmeverhaltens. Die SchĂ€tzungen zeigen, dass die Höhe des Anspruchs sowie die erwartete Bezugsdauer die entscheidenden Einflussfaktoren darstellen, wĂ€hrend die Kosten der Inanspruchnahme eine untergeordnete Rolle spielen
"Kultur" als Form symbolischer Gewalt: Grenzziehungsprozesse im Kontext von Migration am Beispiel der Schweiz
Die Schweiz gilt international als Modell eines gelungenen Multikulturalismus, dann nĂ€mlich wenn es das Zusammenleben der vier Sprachgruppen (Romands, DeutschschweizerInnen, TessinerInnen, RĂ€teromanInnen) betrifft. Ein sprachlicher wie auch religiöser Pluralismus ist und war stets ein Grundbaustein des SelbstverstĂ€ndnisses der âWillensnationâ Schweiz. Geht es aber um MigrantInnen prĂ€sentiert sich die Geschichte anders, denn in diesem Falle erscheinen religiöse und ethnisch-kulturelle PluralitĂ€t vorwiegend als problematisch. MigrantInnen gehören entsprechend den öffentlichen und politischen Diskursen nicht zum multikulturellen Staat, vielmehr sind Prozesse kollektiver Grenzziehungen und damit SchlieĂungsmechanismen zu beobachten, in denen EthnizitĂ€t, Religion und Kultur zu den wichtigsten Differenzierungsmerkmale werden, wie Gemeinsamkeiten gegen innen (SchweizerInnen) und Barrieren gegen auĂen (AuslĂ€nder, Migranten, Muslims, etc.) hergestellt werden. Ich argumentiere in diesem Kapitel, dass sich dieser âKulturdiskursâ im letzten Jahrzehnt verstĂ€rkt hat und gleichzeitig semantischen Verschiebungen unterworfen war. Mittels der Grenzziehungsperspektive wird historisch nachvollzogen, wie Zuwanderung und Integration in politischen Debatten und Gesetz zunehmend kulturalisiert und ethnisiert wurden. Ein Fallbeispiel aus der Forschung dient mir anschlieĂend der Veranschaulichung dieser theoretischen Perspektive und dieses âneuenâ Essentialismus
Wages in high-tech start-ups - do academic spin-offs pay a wage premium?
Due to their origin from universities, academic spinâoffs operate at the forefront of the
technological development. Therefore, spinâoffs exhibit a skillâbiased labour demand, i.e. spinâoffs
have a high demand for employees with cutting edge knowledge and technical skills. In order to accommodate
this demand, spinâoffs may have to pay a relative wage premium compared to other
highâtech startâups. However, neither a comprehensive theoretical assessment nor the empirical
literature on wages in startâups unambiguously predicts the existence and the direction of wage differentials
between spinâoffs and nonâspinâoffs. This paper addresses this research gap and examines
empirically whether or not spinâoffs pay their employees a wage premium. Using a unique linked
employerâemployee data set of German highâtech startâups, we estimate Mincerâtype wage regressions
applying the HausmanâTaylor panel estimator. Our results show that spinâoffs do not pay a
wage premium in general. However, a notable exception from this general result is that spinâoffs that
commercialise new scientific results or methods provide higher wages to employees with linkages to
the university sector â either as university graduates or as student workers
Micromechanical Properties of Injection-Molded StarchâWood Particle Composites
The micromechanical properties of injection molded starchâwood particle composites were investigated as a function of particle content and humidity conditions.
The composite materials were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction methods. The microhardness
of the composites was shown to increase notably with the concentration of the wood particles. In addition,creep behavior under the indenter and temperature dependence
were evaluated in terms of the independent contribution of the starch matrix and the wood microparticles to the hardness value. The influence of drying time on the density
and weight uptake of the injection-molded composites was highlighted. The results revealed the role of the mechanism of water evaporation, showing that the dependence of water uptake and temperature was greater for the starchâwood composites than for the pure starch sample. Experiments performed during the drying process at 70°C indicated that
the wood in the starch composites did not prevent water loss from the samples.Peer reviewe
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