Vom Körper als Medium zum Medium des Textes - der Körper als narrative Strategie in Tahar Ben Jellouns "L'enfant de sable"

In works of Maghrebi authors like Tahar Ben Jelloun (Morocco), the body is the central medium that generates and constitutes the narration. The authors stand in the tradition of oral folk literature, which increasingly has been displaced by French written literature. Hence there is a tendency in postcolonial Maghrebi texts to reintegrate the performative act of narrating via the body into the literary structures of the novels. This becomes manifest in poly-phonic and poly-perspectival narrative experiments in which, with recourse to the halqa (the typical oral narrative situation), a re- territorialization (Deleuze/Guattari) of the body is per-formed. In this context the body in literature plays a central role on the level of the metadiegesis: it is presented as the medium of narration. Using as an example Tahar Ben Jellouns novel L’enfant de sable (1985), the aim of this essay is to show how halqa elements and narrative influences from The Arabian Nights structure the text, which becomes a hybrid between medium and embodiment (Fischer-Lichte) by simulating eventfulness. On the level of the diegesis, the body plays likewise a decisive role as subject of the storyline, becoming the most important medium for the expression of emotions, thoughts or attitudes. Body language is deliberately utilized by the authors to discuss ways of dealing with tradi-tions, the negotiation of social relations and the (de-)construction of identity. Social order, power structures, hierarchies, existing values and norms are communicated and constituted via body language

Partikularistische UmweltsünderInnen?

Im Rahmen diese Arbeit wurde der Frage nachgegangen, inwiefern eine partikularistische Wertorientierung zur Erklärung von Umweltbewusstsein beiträgt. Unter Partikularismus wird hier das Durchsetzen von Eigeninteressen auf Kosten der Gemeinschaft verstanden. Des Weiteren stellte sich die Frage, ob Partikularisten im Angesicht persönlicher Betroffenheit von Umweltproblemen ihr Umweltbewusstsein ungleich stärker als Universalisten erhöhen. Die theoretische Grundlage bildete die Theorie des geplanten Verhaltens und das Normaktivations-Modell. Die Überprüfung der Fragestellung erfolgte anhand einer Stichprobe von 214 Personen, die im Herbst 2010 mittels Online-Befragung gezogen wurde. Unter Hinzunahme wichtiger Kovariaten, wie Kontrollüberzeugung und finanzielle Opferbereitschaft, zeigten sich signifikante Unterschiede zwischen Universalisten und Partikularisten ausschließlich in ihrer Einstellung zum Umweltschutz, nicht jedoch im Verhalten. Überraschend war zunächst die Richtung des Effektes: Partikularistisch Orientierte geben sich im Durchschnitt umweltfreundlicher eingestellt. Relativiert wird diese Erkenntnis jedoch durch die Mitberücksichtigung des Ausmaßes an subjektiver persönlicher Betroffenheit von Umweltproblemen. Es zeigt sich, dass die Umwelteinstellung der Partikularisten mit Zunahme der eigenen Betroffenheit signifikant steigt, während sie sich bei Universalisten nicht in überzufälligem Ausmaß ändert

Designing In-Store Navigation Systems in Physical Retail

Physical retail faces the challenge of remaining attractive to customers in the age of e-commerce. In-store navigation systems are one way to mitigate this issue. These software systems allow customers to be navigated through the retail store. We derive design requirements (DRs) for in-store navigation systems based on eight interviews with customers and employees of furniture stores. We illustrate the implementation of the DRs in a conceptual prototype designed with the platform “Hololink.” Initial evaluation results (n = 20) show that customers perceive such a solution for physical retail as mainly positive. We contribute to research and practice by showing how to design in-store navigation systems

Naturalistic Emotion Decoding From Facial Action Sets

Researchers have theoretically proposed that humans decode other individuals' emotions or elementary cognitive appraisals from particular sets of facial action units (AUs). However, only a few empirical studies have systematically tested the relationships between the decoding of emotions/appraisals and sets of AUs, and the results are mixed. Furthermore, the previous studies relied on facial expressions of actors and no study used spontaneous and dynamic facial expressions in naturalistic settings. We investigated this issue using video recordings of facial expressions filmed unobtrusively in a real-life emotional situation, specifically loss of luggage at an airport. The AUs observed in the videos were annotated using the Facial Action Coding System. Male participants (n = 98) were asked to decode emotions (e.g., anger) and appraisals (e.g., suddenness) from facial expressions. We explored the relationships between the emotion/appraisal decoding and AUs using stepwise multiple regression analyses. The results revealed that all the rated emotions and appraisals were associated with sets of AUs. The profiles of regression equations showed AUs both consistent and inconsistent with those in theoretical proposals. The results suggest that (1) the decoding of emotions and appraisals in facial expressions is implemented by the perception of set of AUs, and (2) the profiles of such AU sets could be different from previous theories

Simulating the dynamics of atherosclerosis to the incidence of myocardial infarction, applied to the KORA population

Analyzing epidemiological data with simplified mathematical models of disease development provides a link between the time-course of incidence and the underlying biological processes. Here we point out that considerable modeling flexibility is gained if the model is solved by simulation only. To this aim, a model of atherosclerosis is proposed: a Markov Chain with continuous state space which represents the coronary artery intimal surface area involved with atherosclerotic lesions of increasing severity. Myocardial infarction rates are assumed to be proportional to the area of most severe lesions. The model can be fitted simultaneously to infarction incidence rates observed in the KORA registry, and to the age-dependent prevalence and extent of atherosclerotic lesions in the PDAY study. Moreover, the simulation approach allows for non-linear transition rates, and to consider at the same time randomness and inter-individual heterogeneity. Interestingly, the fit revealed significant age dependence of parameters in females around the age of menopause, qualitatively reproducing the known vascular effects of female sex hormones. For males, the incidence curve flattens for higher ages. According to the model, frailty explains this flattening only partially, and saturation of the disease process plays also an important role. This study shows the feasibility of simulating subclinical and epidemiological data with the same mathematical model. The approach is very general and may be extended to investigate the effects of risk factors or interventions. Moreover, it offers an interface to integrate quantitative individual health data as assessed, for example, by imaging

Common miRNA patterns of Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease and their putative impact on commensal gut microbiota

With the rise of Next-Generation-Sequencing (NGS) methods, Micro-RNAs (miRNAs) have achieved an important position in the research landscape and have been found to present valuable diagnostic tools in various diseases such as multiple sclerosis or lung cancer. There is also emerging evidence that miRNAs play an important role in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) or Parkinson’s disease (PD). Apparently, these diseases come along with changes in miRNA expression patterns which led to attempts from researchers to use these small RNA species from several body fluids for a better diagnosis and in order to observe disease progression. Additionally, it became evident that microbial commensals might play an important role for pathology development and were shown to have a significantly different composition in patients suffering from neurodegeneration compared with healthy controls. As it could recently be shown that secreted miRNAs are able to enter microbial organisms, it is conceivable that the host’s miRNA might affect the gut microbial ecosystem. As such, miRNAs may inherit a central role in shaping the “diseased microbiome” and thereby mutually act on the characteristics of these neurodegenerative diseases. We have therefore 1) compiled a list of miRNAs known to be associated with AD and/or PD, 2) performed an in silico target screen for binding sites of these miRNA on human gut metagenome sequences and 3) evaluated the hit list for interesting matches potentially relevant to the etiology of AD and or PD. The examination of protein identifiers connected to bacterial secretion system, lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis and biofilm formation revealed an overlap of 37 bacterial proteins that were targeted by human miRNAs. The identified links of miRNAs to the biological processes of bacteria connected to AD and PD have yet to be validated via in vivo experiments. However, our results show a promising new approach for understanding aspects of these neurodegenerative diseases in light of the regulation of the microbiome

Understanding the role of health information in patients' experiences: secondary analysis of qualitative narrative interviews with people diagnosed with cancer in Germany

Objective To analyse the role and meaning of health information in individuals' experiences with either breast, colorectal or prostate cancer in order to better understand unmet information needs of people with a cancer diagnosis. Design This is a secondary analysis of data from a qualitative interview study including narrative interviews and maximum variation sampling. A thematic analysis was conducted, followed by an in-depth analysis based on the principles of grounded theory. Setting Interviewees were sought across Germany through self-help organisations, primary care clinics, rehabilitation facilities, physicians and other healthcare professionals to develop cancer modules for the website kr ankheitserfahrungen.de (illness experiences.de). Participants Women with a diagnosis of breast cancer, individuals with a diagnosis of colorectal cancer and men with a diagnosis of prostate cancer. Results The meaning and role of information in the illness experiences were clearly associated with gaining control in a seemingly uncontrollable situation in which others people, the disease take over. Four categories characterise the ways in which information helped interviewees to regain a sense of control following a diagnosis of cancer: 'becoming confident in one's treatment decision', 'taking responsibility for one's situation', 'understanding the consequences of the disease and treatment for one's life', and 'dealing with fear'. There was, however, always a fine line between information seeking and becoming overwhelmed by information. Conclusions Information needs to be understood as a management tool for handling the disease and its (potential) consequences. Patients' unmet needs for information might not be easily solved by a simple increase in the amount of information because emotional support and respect for patient autonomy might also play a role. The evaluation of one's own information behaviour and the information received is closely linked to how the illness unfolds. This makes it challenging to document unmet information needs and satisfaction with information independent of an individual's illness trajectory over time

Multifactorial diagnostic NIR imaging of CCK2R expressing tumors

AbstractOptical imaging-based diagnostics identify malignancies based on molecular changes instead of morphological criteria in a non-invasive, irradiation free process. The aim of this study was to improve imaging efficiency by the development of a new Cholecystokinin-2-receptor targeted fluorescent peptide that matches the clinical needs regarding biodistribution and pharmacokinetics while displaying superior target specificity. Furthermore we performed multifactorial imaging of Cholecystokinin-2-receptor and tumor metabolism, since simultaneous targeting of various tumor biomarkers could intensely increase tumor identification and characterization. Affinity and specificity of the fluorescent Cholecystokinin-2-receptor targeted minigastrin (dQ-MG-754) were tested in vitro. We conducted in vivo imaging of the dQ-MG-754 probe alone and in a multifactorial approach with a GLUT-1 targeted probe (IR800 2-DG) on subcutaneous xenograft bearing athymic nude mice up to 24 h after intravenous injection (n = 5/group), followed by ex vivo biodistribution analysis and histological examination. We found specific, high affinity binding (Kd = 1.77 nm ± 0.6 nm) of dQ-MG-754 to Cholecystokinin-2-receptor expressing cells and xenografts as well as favorable pharmacokinetics for fluorescence-guided endoscopy. We successfully performed multifactorial imaging for the simultaneous detection of the Cholecystokinin-2-receptor and GLUT-1 targeted probe. Prominent differences in uptake patterns of the two contrast agents could be detected. The results were validated by histological examinations. The multifactorial imaging approach presented in this study could facilitate cancer detection in diagnostic imaging and intraoperative and endoscopic applications. Especially the dQ-MG-754 probe bears great potential for translation to clinical endoscopy imaging, because it combines specific high affinity binding with renal elimination and a favorable biodistribution