Vom Schweigen

Was meinen wir, wenn wir vom Schweigen sprechen? Wie interpretieren wir es und was verbinden wir damit? Welchen Wert, welche Bedeutung und Relevanz hat Schweigen im ‚Zeitalter der Kommunikation’, in der so genannten Informationsgesellschaft, welche sich oft genug als reine Datengesellschaft entpuppt? Wenn alles Kommunikation ist, wie wir bei P. Watzlawick lesen können, was ist Schweigen dann? Radikale Form der Äußerung oder Form der radikalen Nicht-Äußerung? Wie sprechen und denken wir von und über intentionales und unintentionales Schweigen? Was liegt unseren Überlegungen zugrunde, welche Assoziationen und Konstruktionen haben wir? Und nicht zuletzt, sind Sprechen und Schweigen natürlich oder kultürlicher Art? Vorliegende Diplomarbeit orientiert sich an der Kritischen Diskursanalyse (KDA) nach S. Jäger. Ihre Perspektive beinhaltet eine konstruktivistische Sichtweise und bezieht sich auf die Arbeiten von S. Schmidt, A. Schütz und J. Mitterer. Im Konstruktivismus wird nicht von einer einzigen, objektiven Realität ausgegangen, sondern postuliert dass jede und jeder eigene Wirklichkeit konstruiert. Unter diesen Umständen kann nicht von einer Wahrheit, Objektivität oder Wirklichkeit ausgegangen werden, sondern von der Parallelexistenz multipler Wirklichkeiten. Sprach- und Schweigefähigkeit bedingen sich wechselseitig. Sprache selbst ist ein künstliches Phänomen, der menschliche Sprachgebrauch jedoch bereits ‚natürlich’. Sprechen und Schweigen haben keinen Zwischenzustand. Sie verhalten sich wie ein FlipFlop in elektronischen Schaltungen, welches nur zwei Zustände kennt, entweder ‚0’ oder ‚1’. Dieser Art sind und werden sie im sozialen Kontext totale Setzungen und Voraussetzungen. Schweigen ist nicht notwendigerweise ein Signal für aufmerksames Zuhören, aber seine Voraussetzung. Sowohl Sprechen als auch Schweigen sind kommunikatives Verhalten und vermitteln Bedeutung. Sprechen kann als Selektionsprozess, Schweigen als Nicht-Selektion gedeutet werden. Das Gegenteil von Kommunikation ist Inkommunikabilität. Schweigen ist immer soziales Verhalten, welches auf andere bezogen erfolgt und von anderen auf uns bezogen erfolgt. Somit ist es niemals als einzelner Akt aufzufassen, sondern muss stets im sozialen Zusammenhang betrachtet und verstanden werden.What do we mean, when we speak from being in silence? What do we interpret and connect with this term? Which value, meaning and relevance has being in silence in the “age of communication”, in our so called informationsociety, which in reality often enough turns out to be simply a datasociety? If everything is communication as P. Watzlawick describes, what’s being in silence then? A radical way to make a statement or way of making a radical non-statement? How do we speak and think about active an passive ways of being in silence? What do we implicate in our reflections, what are our associations and constructions? And last but not least, are their characters cultural or natural? This thesis bases on the methods of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) developed by S. Jäger and it’s perspective includes a conctructivistic angle refering to the approaches of S. Schmidt, A. Schütz and J. Mitterer. Constructivism doesn’t presume the existance of one objective reality, but that each one of us creates it’s own reality in their minds. According to these cirrcumstances there’s not one truth, objectivity or reality that can be found and described, but many different co-existing. The competences of speaking and being in silence are mutual. Language itself is originally artifical (as a non-natural instrument), it’s usage by human beings got (meanwhile) ‘natural’. Talking and being in silence don’t have a state or phase in between. They behave like a binary flip-flop in electronics, wheather it is at ‘0’ or at ‘1’. In this way they are total settings and pre-settings in social interactions. Being silent is not necessarily a sign for attentive listening, but it’s precondition. Talking as well as being in silence are cultural (communicative) behaviour and carry messages in their contexts. Talking can be considered as process of selection, while being in silence means non-selection. The opposite of communication is incommunicability. Being in silence is always social behaviour related to others and others relate it to us. In that way it is never a isolated act, but has always to be analysed and understood in a contextual sense

Roll-to-Roll pilot line for large-scale manufacturing of microfluidic devices

Roll-to-roll (R2R) technologies with roller-based nanoimprinting methods enable manufacturing of highly cost-effective and large-scale sheets of flexible polymer film with precise structures on a micro- and nanoscale 1. Areas that can benefit strongly from such large scale technologies are microfluidics, biosensors, and lab-on-chip products for point of care diagnostics, drug discovery and food control. Here, R2R fabrication could greatly reduce production costs and increase manufacturing capacity with respect to currently used products. A pilot line with this technology is investigated in the European Horizon 2020 project R2R Biofluidics and its capabilities are tested on two Demonstrators: - Demonstrator 1: In-vitro diagnostic chip with imprinted microfluidic channels based on optical chemiluminescence measurement by photodetectors. - Demonstrator 2: Neuronal cell culture plate with imprinted cavities and channels for controlled culturing and fluorescence imaging of neurons, for high throughput drug screening. Please click Additional Files below to see the full abstract

Risk factors of anterior cruciate ligament tears: Neuromuscular status

Peer reviewe

Etablierung einer Methodik zur Differenzierung glatter Muskelzellen

Ziel meiner Diplomarbeit war es, die Differenzierung von porcinen (PASMC) und humanen (HUVSMC) glatten Muskelzellen (smooth muscle cells; SMC) zu modulieren. Die Funktionen glatter Muskelzellen in vivo spiegeln sich in einer Reihe von unterschiedlichen Phänotypen, welche vom kontraktilen (S-SMC) bis zum synthetischen Typ (R-SMC) reichen, wider. Studien zeigen, dass glatte Muskelzellen durch die Kultivierung ihre kontraktilen Fähigkeiten verlieren und ihren Phänotyp in einen synthetisch, proliferativen ändern. Es gibt jedoch eine Reihe von Faktoren, welche die Ausprägung des Phänotyps beeinflussen. In der vorliegenden Arbeit wurde die Kultivierung der SMC unter verschiedenen Bedingungen durchgeführt. Als Kontrolle wurde die Inkubation mit DMEM, dem 10 % Kälberserum (FCS) zugesetzt wurde, definiert. Weiters wurde der Zusatz von 200 g/ml Heparin, und/oder die Reduktion der FCS Konzentration auf 1 % getestet. Durch Wahl der unterschiedlichen Kulturbedingungen wurde versucht, eine Methode zu etablieren, welche die Differenzierung der SMC in Richtung des kontraktilen Phänotyps verschiebt. Um den Differenzierungsstatus zu charakterisieren, wurden durch Western Blot und qPCR-Experimente die Expression etablierter Differenzierungsmarker (-Actin, MYH11, Calmodulin, Smoothelin, Desmin) untersucht. Unter Heparinzusatz konnte eine Erhöhung der Expression von -Actin (PASMC) und Desmin (HUVSMC) beobachtet werden. Auf die Expression der anderen Differenzierungsmarker hatten die unterschiedlichen Kulturbedingungen keinen Effekt. Weiters war es das Ziel der Diplomarbeit, die Agonisten-induzierte intrazelluläre Ca2+-Konzentration mittels Fura-2-AM Fluoreszenz zu messen. Durch stark unterschiedliche Zellzahlen innerhalb der verschiedenen Kulturbedingungen war der Vergleich jedoch nicht möglich. Unter Kontrollbedingungen konnten jedoch für beide Zelltypen Effekte von ATP, Angiotensin II und Bradykinin gemessen werden.The aim of my diploma thesis was to modulate the differentiation of porcine (PASMC) and human (HUVSMC) smooth muscle cells (SMC). In vivo, different phenotypes of SMC, ranging from contractile (S-SMC) to synthethic types (R-SMC), are described to be responsible for distinct physiological functions. However, it is well established that during the cultivation process, SMC often lose their contractile abilities by changing the phenotype into a synthethical, proliferative one. There are a number of factors that are known to affect the expression of the phenotype. In this study, SMC were cultivated under four different conditions. Control incubations were performed in DMEM containing 10% fetal calf serum (FCS) as additive. Moreover, the effect of 200 g / ml heparin and/or the reduction of FCS to 1% were tested. Applying these different culture conditions, we tried to establish a method that shifts the differentiation of SMC to the contractile phenotype. To characterize the differentiation status, a series of well-known differentiation markers (-actin, MYH11, calmodulin, smoothelin, desmin) were analyzed by Western blot and qPCR. Addition of heparin induced an increase in the expression of -actin (PASMC) and desmin (HUVSMC). Expression of other differentiation markers were not affected. Another aim of this study was to analyze the agonist-induced intracellular Ca2+ concentration of SMC by the use of Fura-2-AM fluorescence. Experiments were hampered by considerably differing cell numbers withing the different culture conditions. However, for control conditions, effects of ATP, angiotensin II, and bradykinin were reproducibly measured for both cell types.vorgelegt von Sarah LadenhaufZusammenfassungen in Deutsch und EnglischAbweichender Titel laut Übersetzung des Verfassers/der VerfasserinKarl-Franzens-Universität Graz, Diplomarbeit, 2018(VLID)282749

Combined Layer/Particle Approaches in Surface Molecular Imprinting of Proteins: Signal Enhancement and Competition

Herein we report novel approaches to the molecular imprinting of proteins utilizing templates sizing around 10 nm and some 100 nm. The first step comprised synthesizing nanoparticles of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIP) towards bovine serum albumin (BSA) and characterizing them according to size and binding capacity. In a second step, they were utilized as templates. Quartz crystal microbalances (QCM) coated with MIP thin films based on BSA MIP nanoparticles lead to a two-fold increase in sensor responses, compared with the case of directly using the protein as the template. This also established that individual BSA molecules exhibit different “epitopes” for molecular imprinting on their outer surfaces. In light of this knowledge, a possible MIP-based biomimetic assay format was tested by exposing QCM coated with BSA MIP thin films to mixtures of BSA and imprinted and non-imprinted polymer (NIP) nanoparticles. At high protein concentrations (1000 ppm) measurements revealed aggregation behavior, i.e., BSA binding MIP NP onto the MIP surface. This increased sensor responses by more than 30% during proof of concept measurements. At lower a BSA concentration (500 ppm), thin films and particles revealed competitive behavior

Medial Patellofemoral Ligament Reconstruction Using Hamstring Autograft in Children and Adolescents

We introduce an anatomic reconstruction technique for the medial patellofemoral ligament using a free hamstring autograft in skeletally immature patients. We dock the 2 ends of the graft in the superior-medial patella using sockets and secure the femoral graft attachment in a socket tunnel distal to the physis. This technique minimizes the risk of injury to the growth plate and still enables accurate and successful anatomic positioning of the hamstring autograft

Persistent Inflammation Leads to Proliferative Neoplasia and Loss of Smooth Muscle Cells in a Prostate Tumor Model12

In prostate cancers, epidemiological data suggest a link between prostate inflammation and subsequent cancer development, but proof for this concept in a tumor model is lacking. A constitutively active version of IκB kinase 2 (IKK2), which is activated by many inflammatory stimuli, was expressed specifically in the prostate epithelium. Constitutive activation of the IKK2/nuclear factor κB axis was insufficient for prostate transformation. However, in combination with heterozygous loss of phosphatase and tensin homolog, IKK2 activation led to an increase in tumor size, formation of cribriform structures, and increase in fiber in the fibroblastic stroma. This phenotype was coupled with persistent inflammation evoked by chemokine expression in the epithelium and stroma. The hyperplastic and dysplastic epithelia correlated with changes evoked by decreased androgen receptor activation. Conversely, inflammation correlated with stromal changes highlighted by loss of smooth muscle cells around prostate ducts. Despite the loss of the smooth muscle barrier, tumors were rarely invasive in a C57BL/6 background. Data mining revealed that smooth muscle markers are also downregulated in human prostate cancers, and loss of these markers in primary tumors is associated with subsequent metastasis. In conclusion, our data show that loss of smooth muscle and invasiveness of the tumor are not coupled in our model, with inflammation leading to increased tumor size and a dedifferentiated stroma

From building information models to simplified geometries for energy performance simulation

A major future challenge in the building industry is to reduce primary energy use of buildings. EU law now requires energy performance certificates to be issued for all buildings. Hence, energy performance simulation becomes an increasingly important topic. Accurate, yet efficient simulation depends on simple building models. Most of the required data can be found in Building Information Models (BIM), following the buildingSMART alliance's Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) schema. IFC has become an ISO standard and enjoys increasing support by CAD software. However, typical IFC models contain a lot of irrelevant data, in particular geometric representations, which are too detailed for energy performance simulation. Therefore, an algorithm is proposed for extracting input models for simulations directly from IFC models in a semi-automatic process, to overcome the current situation where simple models are manually built from scratch. The key aspect of the algorithm is geometry simplification subject to semantic and functional groups; more specifically, the 3D representations of walls, slabs, windows, doors, etc. are reduced to a collection of surfaces describing the building's thermal shell on one hand, and the material layers associated with it on the other hand. Test models from simple fictitious houses to complex models of real-world buildings have been provided to guide the development of the algorithm in an incremental manner. This paper presents the resulting algorithm and the current status of prototype software implementing it

Peritumoural Strain Elastography of Newly Diagnosed Breast Tumours: Does Maximum Peritumoural Halo Depth Correlate with Tumour Differentiation and Grade?

To evaluate the diagnostic utility of the maximum ultrasound strain elastography (SE) halo depth in newly diagnosed and histologically confirmed breast lesions, a retrospective study approval was granted by the local Ethical Review Board. Overall, the maximum strain elastography peritumoural halos (SEPHmax)—the maximum distance between the SE stiffening area and the B-mode lesion size—in 428 cases with newly diagnosed breast lesions were retrospectively analysed alongside patient age, affected quadrant, tumour echogenicity, size, acoustic shadowing, and vascularity. Statistical analysis included an ordinary one-way ANOVA to compare the SEPHmax between BI-RADS 2, 3, and 5 groups and between tumour grades 1, 2, and 3. A binary regression analysis was used to determine the correlation between tumour malignancy and the above-mentioned demographic and imaging factors. SEPHmax was significantly higher in BI-RADS 5 tumours (5.5 ± 3.9 mm) compared to BI-RADS 3 (0.9 ± 1.7 mm, p p p = 0.001) and 3 (6.8 ± 4.2 mm, p p = 0.005) and intermediate-risk (p = 0.013) tumours showed smaller SEPHmax than high-risk tumours. Multivariate analysis revealed a significant correlation between malignant differentiation and SEPHmax (standardized regression coefficient 3.17 [95% confidence interval (CI) 2.42–3.92], p p = 0.03), and higher patient age (0.89 [95% CI 0.52–1.26], p < 0.0001). High SEPHmax is a strong predictor for tumour malignancy and a higher tumour grade and can be used to improve tumour characterisation before histopathological evaluation. It may also enable radiologists to identify lesions warranting observation rather than immediate biopsy