Effektivität kooperativen Lernens:Wer lernt wieviel – und was?

<br

Ein Beitrag zur klinischen Diagnostik des ektopischen ACTH-Syndroms

Es wird über einen Fall von ektopischem ACTH-Syndrom mit Hypercortizismus und hypokaliämischer Alkalose bei einem metastasierten Pankreas-Carcinom berichtet. Das Fehlen einer Differenz zwischen den ACTH-Spiegeln im Plasma aus dem Bulbus cranialis venae jugularis und aus der Vena femoralis unterstützte die Annahme einer nicht hypophysären Herkunft der erhöhten ACTH-Spiegel.A case of ectopic ACTH syndrome is reported presenting with hypercorticism and pronounced hypokalemic alkalosis in a woman aged 55 y. with metastatic cancer of the pancreas. The failure to show a significant difference of plasma ACTH-levels from bulbus superior venae jugularis resp. femoral vein supported the clinical assumption of non pituitary origin of elevated plasma ACTH

Arrogant oder mitfühlend? Einfluss transaktiver Kommunikation auf Wissenszuwachs und Veränderung der Stereotype beim interprofessionellen Lernen

Objective: In interprofessional peer tutoring, medical students and physiotherapy trainees teach and practice examination techniques and work out profession-specific similarities and differences. In small interprofessional groups, we investigated the influence of transactive communication - alternately referring to and building on the statements made by the dialogue partner in the process of conveying information - on knowledge gains and changes in stereotypes of the other profession.Methods: A total of 132 medical students and 48 physiotherapy trainees divided into 24 small interprofessional groups indicated the extent of their stereotypes of the other profession before and after the practice session, as well as their perceived increase in knowledge. They evaluated the group work and the perceived intensity of transactive communication. We used regression analyses to test the hypotheses.Results: The intensity of transactive communication in the physiotherapy trainees was positively related to knowledge gains in the medical students. However, this did not apply to the knowledge gains in physiotherapy trainees. With regard to stereotype changes, the intensity of one's own transactive communication unexpectedly turned out to be a significant, albeit weak, influencing factor: The more intensive one's own transactive communication was, the more negative the stereotypes of the other profession became.Conclusion: Transactive communication in interprofessional groups can improve the exchange of knowledge in peer tutoring and bring about changes in stereotypes. Measures to improve transactive communication, e.g. training sessions or specific communication exercises, could help to improve the effectiveness of interprofessional learning.Zielsetzung: Im interprofessionellen Peer-Tutoring vermitteln und üben Medizinstudierende und Physiotherapieauszubildende wechselseitig Untersuchungstechniken und erarbeiten Gemeinsamkeiten und berufsgruppenspezifische Unterschiede. In interprofessionellen Kleingruppen wurde untersucht, welchen Einfluss transaktive Kommunikation, d.h. die wechselseitige Bezugnahme auf den Gesprächspartner bei der Informationsvermittlung, auf Wissenszuwachs und Veränderung der Stereotype über die andere Berufsgruppe hat.Methode: Insgesamt 132 Medizinstudierende und 48 Physiotherapieauszubildende aus 24 gemischten Kleingruppen gaben die Ausprägung der Stereotype über die andere Berufsgruppe vor und nach der Übungseinheit sowie den empfundenen Wissenszuwachs an. Sie bewerteten die Gruppenarbeit und die dabei wahrgenommene Intensität der transaktiven Kommunikation. Die Hypothesenprüfung erfolgte über Regressionsanalysen.Ergebnisse: Die Intensität der transaktiven Kommunikation der Physiotherapieauszubildenden hing mit dem Wissenszuwachs der Medizinstudierenden positiv zusammen. Dies galt jedoch nicht umgekehrt für den Wissenszuwachs der Physiotherapieauszubildenden. Bei der Veränderung der Stereotype zeigte sich überraschend die Intensität der eigenen transaktiven Kommunikation als signifikanter, wenn auch schwacher Einflussfaktor: je intensiver die eigene transaktive Kommunikation war, desto stärker zeigte sich eine Veränderung in Richtung negativer Stereotype über die andere Berufsgruppe. Schlussfolgerung: Die transaktive Kommunikation in interprofessionellen Gruppen kann beim Peer-Tutoring den Wissensaustausch verbessern und Veränderungen der Stereotype bewirken. Maßnahmen zur Verbesserung der transaktiven Kommunikation, wie z. B. Trainings oder gezielte Übungen, könnten dazu beitragen, die Wirksamkeit interprofessionellen Lernens zu verbessern

Gyrational modes of benzenelike magnetic vortex molecules

With scanning transmission x-ray microscopy we study six magnetostatically coupled vortices arranged in a ring that resembles a benzene molecule. Each vortex is contained in a ferromagnetic microdisk. When exciting one vortex of the ring molecule with an alternating magnetic high-frequency field, all six vortices perform gyrations around the equilibrium center positions in their disks. In a rigid particle model, we derive the dispersion relation for these modes. In contrast to carbon atoms, magnetic vortices have a core polarization that strongly influences the intervortex coupling. We make use of this state parameter to reprogram the dispersion relation of the vortex molecule experimentally by tuning a homogeneous and an alternating polarization pattern. In analogy to the benzene molecule, we observe motions that can be understood in terms of normal modes that are largely determined by the symmetry of the system

Electroporation of nucleic acids into prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells by square wave pulses

A novel electroporator is presented that generates adjustable square wave pulses with a maximal pulse strength of 2500 V / 100 A and a pulse length between 0.1 and 15 ms and that efficiently transfects prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. Various factors influencing DNA transfer into tissue culture cells, embryonic stem cells and E. coli K12 cells were optimized and the respective electrical pulse profiles monitored

Co-regulation of immune checkpoint PD-L1 with interferon-gamma signaling is associated with a survival benefit in renal cell cancer.

Background Programmed death ligand (PD-L1)-based immune checkpoint blockade therapy for metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) achieves significant response rates in a subgroup of patients. The relevance of PD-L1 gene regulation for disease outcome is not clear. Objective To evaluate PD-L1 expression and its dependence on interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) in RCC cell lines and tissues in relation to disease outcome. Methods and Patients Regulation of PD-L1-mRNA and PD-L1 protein was studied in cell lines from clear cell RCC (ccRCC) and papillary RCC (pRCC) by quantitative RT-PCR and Western-blot analysis. PD-L1-mRNA correlation and gene-set enrichment analysis (GSEA) of the IFN-gamma pathway were conducted with RNA-Seq from ccRCC, pRCC, and skin cutaneous melanoma (SKCM) tissue. In addition, patient overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) (cBioPortal for Cancer Genomics) were considered. Results In ccRCC-like cell lines, PD-L1 was induced by canonical IFN-gamma signaling, whereas in a pRCC-like cell line, PD-L1 was refractory towards IFN-gamma signaling. In ccRCC and SKCM tissues, GSEA revealed significant IFN-gamma pathway activation in tissue samples with high PD-L1-mRNA levels. This was not observed in pRCC tissue. ccRCC and SKMC patients with low PD-L1-mRNA levels had significantly shorter OS and DFS than those with high PD-L1-mRNA levels. In pRCC patients, no significant difference in OS and DFS with regard to PD-L1-mRNA tissue levels was obvious. Conclusions The findings suggest that ccRCC and pRCC differ with respect to PD-L1 regulation by IFN-gamma-signaling. High PD-L1-mRNA levels in tumor tissues with a positive IFN-gamma signature favorably affect OS and DFS