Histoire de la Conquête de la Floride in Time – Legitimizing and Framing the Spanish Conquest of Florida

Travel books have been around for ages and fascinated those who stayed at home with magnificent reports from abroad. The same goes for historic accounts on the conquest of the ‘New World’. This chapter deals with Histoire de la Conquête de la Floride which is a 1731 travel account on the Spanish conquest of Florida in the 16th century that is quite unique in its publication history and content. It is this study’s interest to read between the lines and find out which motivations really lie behind the publication of the book. What can a book actually reveal that was originally written 65 years after De Soto’s conquest by an outsider with a personal interest in the matter; a book that was then translated by a Frenchman after another half century had passed and was finally published by a third man in the Netherlands forty years after the translation, more than hundred years consequent to the original book and almost two hundred years after the actual conquest took place!? This already indicates that Histoire de la conquête de la Floride possibly is not ‘just’ another travel book

EU Police Cooperation (1976 - 2016). State Preferences in the Context of Differentiated Integration

European internal security has become increasingly relevant in recent years. Various incidents across EU Member States have demonstrated the transnationalisation of terrorism and organised crime as well as the need to work together to safeguard security in a progressively borderless Europe. Governments and citizens have consistently called for a growing role of the EU and coordinating at this level. In this light, it appears striking that different cooperation initiatives continue to mushroom inside and outside the EU framework. Their parallel emergence duplicates efforts at best but can also obstruct information exchange and produce security failures. This dissertation sets out to investigate why Member States acknowledge the benefits of integration, yet advance differentiation as well. Concretely, it studies the formation of state preferences in the still largely intergovernmental field of EU police cooperation. It asks which factors shape government positions and how they drive Member States to favour integration. In particular, the influence of cross-country interdependencies, politicisation and policy entrepreneurship might help explain processes of integration and differentiation in this policy area. Their relative importance as drivers of state preferences is studied across the institutional development of EU police cooperation between 1976 and 2016. The analysis is organised around four ‘milestones’ in the integration of this field: 1) the 1976 intergovernmental Trevi Group; 2) the 1995 Europol Convention establishing the European Police Office (Europol); (3) the 2009 Europol Council Decision establishing Europol as official EU agency; and (4) the 2016 Europol Regulation. This dissertation finds that interdependencies in the fight against common threats mattered most as driver of state integration preferences in the early stages of European police cooperation. More recently, supranational policy entrepreneurship has emerged as key influence of pro-integration attitudes among Member States and can be expected to grow in importance. Politicisation, against it, provides windows of opportunity to this end and acts rather as amplifier of integration pressure from interdependencies and policy entrepreneurs. In sum, the asymmetrical effects of all three drivers explains the formation of diverging governmental attitudes towards integration and can thus help account for the persistence of parallel processes of differentiation and integration

GMOs Across the Atlantic

GMOs Across the AtlanticSacrificing Precaution in the Name of Free Trade?Kofi Annan once said “[…] that arguing against globalisation is like arguing against the laws of gravity”. The world has evolved into a place of omnipresent interconnectivity where people are linked across borders by economic, political, friendly and family ties. Although risks have likewise become globalised in the process, risk management still largely constitutes a national issue. While transnational food scandals as the BSE crisis in 1997 or the horse meat scandal of 2013 have shaken consumers within and beyond the European Union (EU), Member States (MS) nonetheless continue to insist on their sovereignty to approach and handle uncertain risks by themselves. There are a variety of levels related to dealing with uncertain risks that are affected by this controversy. Amongst them are science as in risk assessment, law as in risk regulation and politics as in risk management and the overall coordinating risk governance processes. As neither science or law nor politics are able to provide fully sound and satisfying solutions for coping with uncertain risks, controversy and heated debate remains even long after a political decision has been made on a case. It is striking how all these disciplines attempt to appropriately respond to uncertainty, while they do actually add more complexity and differing opinions. There consequently is no solid ground for policy-makers to base their final decisions on and justify the particular regulation or acceptance of risks. It remains an issue how politics can effectively work in light of uncertainty. This is especially important when considering the effects of globalisation. Through international trade and the flow of goods through the world economy, products associated with uncertain risk cross national borders on a daily basis and need to be regulated. The ongoing negotiations on a free trade agreement between the European Union and the United States of America have highlighted the difficulties regarding this process. If successfully concluded, supposedly by the end of 2014, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) would constitute the largest free trade zone worldwide and both the EU and the US would benefit tremendously. However, negotiations have not gone so smoothly due to prevailing disagreement over the rules that should apply for the TTIP. With regards to food safety, the EU and the US have already had difficulties in the past to agree on a common denominator. Related differences and incompatibilities become evident in the debate on food safety. Although consumer protection is a highlyranked principle for both parties, there is little agreement on what requires strict protective measures and what should be regulated only mildly. In the past and recently, problematic issues for the EU have included US exports of genetically modified crops into the EU as well as meat imports from American hormone-treated or -fed animals and chicken meat that was treated with chlorine. On the part of the US, concerns have mostly been about EU lactic-acid washed meat, raw milk cheese and dairy imports into the States. Both parties have according precautionary measures in place, but request each other to drop the various bans and ease regulatory practices and processes on other products

Metabolomics reveals an entanglement of fasting leptin concentrations with fatty acid oxidation and gluconeogenesis in healthy children

Background Leptin and adiponectin communicate with organ systems in order to regulate energetic and metabolic homeostasis. Their different points of action have been well characterized;however, no study has investigated their interrelationship with the metabolism at the molecular level in vivo. Objective To examine the associations of leptin and adiponectin with the metabolic profile reflecting the intercellular and interorgan communication as well as activated metabolic pathways. Patients/Methods We measured plasma concentrations of leptin, adiponectin, and insulin along with concentrations of 196 metabolites in 400 healthy, fasting 8-years old German children who participated in the German Ulm Birth Cohort Study (UBCS). Using multiple linear mixed models, we evaluated the associations between hormones and metabolites. Results Leptin levels increased exponentially with increasing BMI. Leptin was furthermore strongly associated with alanine and aspartate (Bonferroni corrected P[P-BF] = 5.7x10(-8) and 1.7x10(-6), respectively), and negatively associated to the sum of the non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) and the sum of the long-chain acylcarnitines C12-C18 (P-BF = 0.009 and 0.0001, respectively). Insulin showed a similar association pattern, although the associations were less strong than for leptin. Adiponectin was neither related to BMI nor to any metabolite. Conclusion Although children were presumably metabolically similar, we found strong associations of insulin and leptin with the metabolite profile. High alanine concentrations and the lower concentrations of NEFA in children with high fasting leptin concentrations might arise from an increased gluconeogenesis and from the disinhibiting effect of leptin on the carnitine-palmitoyltransferase-1, respectively. As insulin had the same trend towards these associations, both hormones seem to be related to processes that provide the body with energy in fasting state

A Motif Unique to the Human Dead-Box Protein DDX3 Is Important for Nucleic Acid Binding, ATP Hydrolysis, RNA/DNA Unwinding and HIV-1 Replication

DEAD-box proteins are enzymes endowed with nucleic acid-dependent ATPase, RNA translocase and unwinding activities. The human DEAD-box protein DDX3 has been shown to play important roles in tumor proliferation and viral infections. In particular, DDX3 has been identified as an essential cofactor for HIV-1 replication. Here we characterized a set of DDX3 mutants biochemically with respect to nucleic acid binding, ATPase and helicase activity. In particular, we addressed the functional role of a unique insertion between motifs I and Ia of DDX3 and provide evidence for its implication in nucleic acid binding and HIV-1 replication. We show that human DDX3 lacking this domain binds HIV-1 RNA with lower affinity. Furthermore, a specific peptide ligand for this insertion selected by phage display interferes with HIV-1 replication after transduction into HelaP4 cells. Besides broadening our understanding of the structure-function relationships of this important protein, our results identify a specific domain of DDX3 which may be suited as target for antiviral drugs designed to inhibit cellular cofactors for HIV-1 replication

Big Data, 5G and AI. How Europol could help von der Leyen achieve her goals

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has pledged to make Europe ‘fit for the digital age’, including in the areas of big data, 5G and artificial intelligence. On March 9, her first 100 days in office will be over and measured against her agenda for the legislative period 2019–2024. While the course has been set for an innovative and competitive EU as regards digitalisation and cyber, the Commission’s approach has so far lacked a security perspective. This Policy Paper explains why the inclusion of a security dimension is crucial and how Europol, the EU’s agency for police cooperation, could help von der Leyen to this end

TMS-EEG signatures of glutamatergic neurotransmission in human cortex

Physiological neuronal activity in the brain requires a balance between excitation and inhibition. Glutamate is the most important neurotransmitter of the excitatory system. Therefore, this thesis takes a closer look at the role of the glutamatergic system in brain activity. The combination of transcranial magnetic stimulation and electroencephalography (TMS-EEG) is a unique method for non-invasive measurements of brain physiological processes. TMS generates an EEG- response with specific positive and negative deflections called TMS evoked potentials (TEPs). TEPs can be used to quantify pharmacological effects on neuronal activity in the human cortex. In this work we tested the influence of two glutamatergic drugs on TEPs. First, perampanel, an AMPA receptor antagonist and second, dextromethorphan, a NMDA receptor antagonist. Additionally, the effect of nimodipine, a voltage-gated L-type calcium channel blocker, on TEPs. The study was conducted in a pseudorandomized, double-blind, placebo- controlled crossover design. A Total of 16 healthy subjects were included in the study after undergoing a screening protocol. All subjects participated in four measurements, in which we stimulated the hand area of the left motor cortex (M1) with single-pulse TMS and recorded TEPs before and after drug intake. Significant changes of the TEPs were observed after the intake of glutamatergic drugs. Dextromethorphan elevated the amplitude of N45, a negative potential about 45 ms after stimulation. Perampanel reduced the P70 amplitude, a positive potential about 70 ms after stimulation, in the non-stimulated hemisphere. Nimodipine and placebo had no influence on TEPs. These data complement previous pharmaco-TMS-EEG studies with important insights into the role of the glutamate receptor in the development of TEPs. More precisely, the new evidence indicates that the evolution of N45 is based on a balance of EPSPs and IPSPs generated by NMDARs and GABA-A-Rs. Whereas fast EPSP generation and interhemispheric propagation via AMPARs is responsible for P70 evolution. These new data deepen the understanding of the underlying processes of TEPs. This acts as a very important step towards TEPs as non-invasive biomarkers for excitability and propagation of neuronal activity in the human cortex in disease and health

Combatting the occurrence of needle-stick injuries in a medical school: why is it still an issue?

Abstract Background Needle-stick injuries (NSIs) pose a safety risk for healthcare workers with great potential for serious infections. The aim was to determine numbers and causes of NSIs as well as the frequency with which medical students report NSIs in the final stages of study. Methods An online questionnaire was developed and made available in January and February 2023 to all undergraduate medical students (n = 423) in the last 1.5 years of their degree course at Würzburg University, Germany. Results The response rate was 19.6% (n = 84). Among respondents, 27.4% (n = 23) reported at least one NSI. Occurrence was particularly frequent in surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology, and internal medicine. Assisting with procedures, suturing, and blood sampling were considered high-risk activities. Lack of concentration, distraction, and time pressure played a role in incidents. Respondents did not report 18.8% of NSIs with the main reasons being fear of the consequences, self-assessment of the injury as minor, or the opinion of supervisors that reporting was unnecessary. Students with previous practice on simulators or patients were significantly more likely to suffer NSIs. Instructions from occupational health specialists beforehand correlated with fewer NSIs. Conclusion We assume that trained students are more experienced in handling invasive procedures, leading to a greater adoption of corresponding activities and thus an increased risk of injuries in absolute numbers. This does not counter the need for didactic interventions prior to workplace-based training to raise awareness of NSI risks. Simultaneously, concepts must be developed and implemented to support reporting and alleviate fears regarding consequences

Anforderungen Forschenden Lernens im Praxissemester

Mit  der  in  den  meisten  Bundesländern  bereits  vollzogenen Einführung des Praxissemesters wurden studentische Forschungsprojekte fest innerhalb der ersten Phase der Lehrer_innenbildung verankert. Doch obwohl entsprechende Formate Forschenden Lernens bereits an vielen Hochschulstandorten umgesetzt  werden,  mangelt  es  ihnen  meist  an  einer  umfassenden  theoretischen und empirischen Fundierung. An diesem Desiderat setzt der vorliegende Beitrag an. Es wird ein Modell vorgestellt, das die bei der Anfertigung von Studienprojekten zu bewältigenden Anforderungen anhand von fünf Kategorien mit jeweils drei untergeordneten Kriterien  systematisiert.  Die Modellvalidierung erfolgt auf Basis von zwei Studierendenbefragungen (n = 484) und einer bundesweiten Expert_innenbefragung (n = 58). Die einzelnen Kriterien werden dabei im Hinblick auf ihre Relevanz, ihren Schwierigkeitsgrad sowie ihre (curriculare) Verankerung in der universitären Praxissemestervorbereitung beleuchtet. Die Ergebnisse bestätigen die Validität des Anforderungsmodells  und  deuten auf eine sehr große Relevanz  sowie  überwiegend  auf  einen  hohen  Schwierigkeitsgrad  der  kriterienbezogenen Anforderungen hin. Zudem zeichnet sich ab, dass  Forschendes Lernen sowohl aus Expert_innen-  als auch aus Studierendensicht noch nicht ausreichend in den Lehrcurricula der Lehramtsstudiengänge bzw. in den Veranstaltungen zur Vorbereitung auf das Praxissemester repräsentiert ist

Requirements of Research-based Learning in the German Practical Semester: Development of a Model and First Validation Results

Mit  der  in  den  meisten  Bundesländern  bereits  vollzogenen Einführung des Praxissemesters wurden studentische Forschungsprojekte fest innerhalb der ersten Phase der Lehrer_innenbildung verankert. Doch obwohl entsprechende Formate Forschenden Lernens bereits an vielen Hochschulstandorten umgesetzt  werden,  mangelt  es  ihnen  meist  an  einer  umfassenden  theoretischen und empirischen Fundierung. An diesem Desiderat setzt der vorliegende Beitrag an. Es wird ein Modell vorgestellt, das die bei der Anfertigung von Studienprojekten zu bewältigenden Anforderungen anhand von fünf Kategorien mit jeweils drei untergeordneten Kriterien  systematisiert.  Die Modellvalidierung erfolgt auf Basis von zwei Studierendenbefragungen (n = 484) und einer bundesweiten Expert_innenbefragung (n = 58). Die einzelnen Kriterien werden dabei im Hinblick auf ihre Relevanz, ihren Schwierigkeitsgrad sowie ihre (curriculare) Verankerung in der universitären Praxissemestervorbereitung beleuchtet. Die Ergebnisse bestätigen die Validität des Anforderungsmodells  und  deuten auf eine sehr große Relevanz  sowie  überwiegend  auf  einen  hohen  Schwierigkeitsgrad  der  kriterienbezogenen Anforderungen hin. Zudem zeichnet sich ab, dass  Forschendes Lernen sowohl aus Expert_innen-  als auch aus Studierendensicht noch nicht ausreichend in den Lehrcurricula der Lehramtsstudiengänge bzw. in den Veranstaltungen zur Vorbereitung auf das Praxissemester repräsentiert ist.Due to the implementation of the practical semester, which has already  been  completed  in  most  German  federal  states,  student  research  projects were firmly anchored within the first phase of teacher education. However, although corresponding formats of research-based learning have already been put to practice at many university locations, they usually lack a comprehensive theoretical and empirical foundation. The present article addresses this desideratum. We present a model that systematizes the requirements associated with the preparation of student research projects. The model comprises five categories with three subordinated criteria each. The validation of the model is based on two student surveys (n = 484) and a nationwide expert survey (n = 58). The individual criteria are examined with regard to their relevance, their degree of difficulty, and their (curricular) integration in the university courses. The results support the validity of the model and indicate a very high relevance as well as a predominantly high degree of difficulty of the criterion-related requirements. It also becomes apparent that both experts and students consider research-based  learning to be not yet sufficiently represented in the curricula of teacher training courses or in the preparatory courses of the practical semester