Investigating the Interactions Between Protocadherin-19 and Ryk and its Effect on Neurogenesis

Protocadherins are a large, diverse family of neural cell adhesion proteins, but their functions are not understood. Mutations or in several protocadherins have been associated with neurological disorders. For example, Protocadherin19 (PCDH19) causes epilepsy in females with mental retardation (EFMR). In this X chromosome-linked disease, girls randomly express one good allele or one mutant allele per cell due to a phenomenon known as X-linked inactivation. This mosaic expression leads to the symptoms classified as EFMR, but the effects on cellular pathways for the disease are not known. In zebrafish, the loss of Pcdh19 leads to the loss of columnar organization in the developing optic tectum through the loss of adhesion and an increase in neuronal proliferation and differentiation. The literature shows that Pcdh19 interacts with Ryk, a noncanonical Wnt receptor involved in neurogenesis. Based on previous data and the literature, we hypothesize that Pcdh19 binds to the extracellular domain of Ryk to inhibit binding of the Wnt3 ligand, preventing the intracellular domain of Ryk from being cleaved and translocated to the nucleus where it would initiate pathways for neuronal proliferation. Immunohistochemistry and co-immunoprecipitation were attempted to show if Pcdh19 affects cleavage of the Ryk intracellular domain, its nuclear translocation, and subsequent Wnt signaling. Transgenic and Ryk-knockout fish are being developed to perform experiments in vivo.School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences Honors CommitteeUndergraduate Research Office Summer Funding AwardA three-year embargo was granted for this item.Academic Major: Biomedical Scienc

Considering Emigration: German University Graduates Are Moving Abroad - But Only Temporarily

Much of the current German debate about the integration of immigrants overlooks the fact that Germany is not solely a country of immigration, but also - and to a substantial degree - a country of emigration. One of the largest groups of emigrants is made up of Germans themselves. The percentage of German natives in the total population of emigrants has risen substantially over the last few years. In 2009, of the almost 750,000 individuals who emigrated from Germany, 155,000 were German citizens. Data from the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) show that in 2009, one in every eight German citizens seriously considered moving abroad. Of these, one in three considered leaving Germany permanently and one in eleven considered leaving within the next twelve months. Of the factors that tend to favor emigration, previous experiences and friends abroad play a crucial role. University graduates are more inclined to move abroad temporarily. Concerns that Germany is suffering a "brain drain," losing its best and brightest to other countries, are therefore unjustified at the present time.SOEP, Migration, Mobility

A voice recording, a portrait photo and three drawings: tracing the life of a colonial soldier

Out of a total of approximately 1.4 million South Asians fighting in the First World War, more than 90,000 combatants fought on the Western Front in France and Belgium. Nearly 50,000 South Asian labourers were also sent to France and Flanders to support the British troops. During the First World War, South Asian combatants and non-combatants were taken prisoner in France, Belgium, Mesopotamia, East Africa, and other theatres of war. Around a thousand South Asian military POWs and approximately the same number of civilian South Asians living in Europe were detained in German camps. Within this article, these years of captivity in the life of the colonial soldier Gangaram Gurung are reconstructed - by exploring visual, auditory and textual evidence about him

Cultural Education and Digitisation: Experiences and Perspectives in German‐Chinese Dialogue

Many actors in the field of cultural education work and cooperate internationally. This international context repeatedly provides illustration that the concept of cultural education is not based on a universal understanding. Thus, international dialogue forums are even more important - in particular, when societies are facing similar structural challenges, which also affect cultural education. Digitisation, which is transforming each area of life, is such a challenge. As it constitutes a significant aspect of a fundamental global and local cultural shift, the question of how the challenges of digitisation can be handled is of utmost importance for the extent, form and content of cultural education. It is not only about developing new ways of mediation, but also about understanding digitisation itself as a cultural transformation in order to shape and handle it in the best possible manner."Cultural Education and Digitisation" was the subject of the German‐Chinese expert forum which took place in Berlin from 27 to 30 November 2017. The Mercator Foundation and the China Soong Ching Ling Foundation initiated and funded the event as the second in the German‐Chinese forum "Cultural Education Across Cultural Borders", and carried it out in cooperation with ifa (Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen). This Input summarises the core findings of the expert forum and shows perspectives for connecting digitisation and cultural education in Germany and China. Which discourses determine the debates on cultural education in both countries? Which hopes and concerns are connected to digitisation in general, but also to cultural education in specific? Which perspectives can be shown for future development, and which significance will be attributed to the international dialogue between Germany and China

Respondent-Driven Sampling

Respondent-driven sampling is a network sampling technique typically employed for hard-to-reach populations (for example, drug users, men who have sex with men, people with HIV). Similarly to snowball sampling, initial seed respondents recruit additional respondents from their network of friends. The recruiting process repeats iteratively, thereby forming long referral chains. Unlike in snowball sampling, it is crucial to obtain estimates of respondents' personal network sizes (that is, number of acquaintances in the target population) and information about who recruited whom. Markov chain theory makes it possible to derive population estimates and sampling weights. We introduce a new Stata command for respondent-driven sampling and illustrate its use.Publisher's website: http://www.stata-journal.co

Auswanderungsabsichten: deutsche Akademiker zieht es ins Ausland - jedoch nur auf Zeit

In der Diskussion um die Integration von Zuwanderern in Deutschland wird vielfach übersehen, dass Deutschland nicht nur ein Einwanderungsland, sondern in stärkerem Maße auch ein Auswanderungsland ist. Das gilt vor allem für die Deutschen selbst. So hat der Anteil der Deutschen an allen Auswanderern in den letzten Jahren deutlich zugenommen. Von den fast 750 000 Menschen, die Deutschland im Jahr 2009 verlassen haben, besitzen 155 000 die deutsche Staatsangehörigkeit. Nach den Daten des Sozio-oekonomischen Panels (SOEP) hat sich 2009 jeder achte Deutsche ernsthaft Gedanken um einen Umzug ins Ausland gemacht. Davon überlegt jeder Dritte, sein Heimatland für immer zu verlassen, und jeder Elfte denkt darüber nach, Deutschland innerhalb der nächsten zwölf Monate den Rücken zu kehren. Vor allem bereits gesammelte Auslandserfahrungen sowie Freundschaften im Ausland spielen für die Wanderungsabsichten eine wichtige Rolle. Hochschulabsolventen ziehen häufiger einen zeitlich befristeten Fortzug vor. Die Sorge, dass Deutschland immer mehr Hochqualifizierte an das Ausland verliert, ist daher zurzeit nicht begründet

"SAMs meet MEMS": surface modification with self-assembled monolayers for the dry-demolding of photoplastic MEMS/NEMS

In this contribution we demonstrate the use of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) as anti-adhesion coating to assist the removal of photoplastic MEMS/NEMS with a patterned metal layer from the surface without wet chemical sacrificial layer etching, so-called 'dry-demolding'. The SAMs functionality here is to reduce the stiction between the surface and a thin evaporated metal film. The double-layer SAM/metal provides enough stability to support subsequent micromachining step

Bildungsbiografien von Zuwanderern nach Deutschland: Migranten investieren in Sprache und Bildung

Sprachkompetenz und Bildung sind Schlüsselfaktoren für die Teilhabe von Migranten an allen Bereichen des wirtschaftlichen und sozialen Lebens. Ob es Zuwanderern gelingt, ihr im Ausland erworbenes Humankapital nach Deutschland zu transferieren, zeigen erste Ergebnisse aus der IAB-SOEP-Migrationsstichprobe. Lückenlose Bildungsbiografien der Migranten in Deutschland und in den Herkunftsländern machen deutlich, dass diese auch nach dem Zuzug ihre Deutschkenntnisse deutlich verbessern und in erheblichem Umfang berufliche Bildungsabschlüsse erwerben. Bislang hat ein Drittel der Zuwanderer die Anerkennung von ausländischen Berufsabschlüssen beantragt, die Anerkennungsquoten sind bei Migranten, die in reglementierten Berufen tätig sind, besonders hoch