Der "Saferinternet Day" an der GTVS Dopschstraße: Ein nachhaltiges Projekt zur Medienerziehung

Dieses Jahr im Februar fanden bereits zum fünften Mal an unserer Schule, der GTVS Dopschstraße in Wien Floridsdorf, spezielle "Saferinternet-Tage" statt. Diesmal haben Alexander Schmelzer und Martin Kern ihre Workshopreihe 'Impulse.Schule.Internet' mit den Kindern durchgeführt. Unter dem Titel "Tim, Surfer Jim und das ganze WWW" (für die 2.Klassen) und "isi Impulstag" (für die 3. und 4. Klassen) wurde auch heuer drei Tage lang zum Thema "Saferinternet" gearbeitet. Dabei wurden die Kinder der 2. Klassen mit der ersten illustrierten Saferinternet-Hörspiel-Vorlesegeschichte an die Thematik herangeführt: Der Volksschüler Tim kippt beim Onlinespiel und beim Chatten in die Tiefen des WWW, lernt die möglichen Gefahren und Fallen kennen und schafft schließlich einen altersgerechten Ausgleich zwischen virtueller Welt, seinem Familienleben und realen Spielkameraden. Die Kinder der 3. und 4. Klassen, die das Hörspiel schon kannten, vertieften diese Erfahrungen beim isi Impulstag in einem Stationenbetrieb zu allen relevanten Bereichen des Themas "Saferinternet". Ein bis zwei Wochen später gab es auch noch eine Nachbesprechung mit dem Saferinternet-Trainer Alexander Schmelzer, wo besondere klassenrelevante Themen aufgegriffen wurden

Towards low-cost sodium-ion batteries: electrode behavior of graphite electrodes obtained from spheroidization waste fractions and their structure-property relations

Electrode materials for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) typically show spherical particle shapes. For cathode materials, the spherical shape is obtained through the synthesis method. For graphite, the by far most popular anode material for LIBs, spherical particles are obtained through a spheroidization process. The yield of that process is quite low and limited to about 50%, leaving substantial amounts of by-products. Using such lower quality by-products would be quite attractive for developing low-cost energy stores like sodium-ion batteries (SIBs), for which the requirements for particle sizes and shapes might be less strict as compared to high performing LIBs. Here, we study three different graphite ‘waste fractions’ as anode material for SIBs that are obtained from the spheroidization process and how they compare to LIB battery grade material. Only negligible differences between the fractions are found when analyzing them with x-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy and elemental analysis (EA). More clear differences can be seen from N2 physisorption, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and particle size analysis. For example, the surface areas of the ‘waste fractions’ can become roughly up to twice as large as compared to the battery grade fraction and the d 50 values shift by up to 11.9 µm to lower numbers. Electrochemical measurements show that the ‘waste fractions’ can deliver the full electrode capacity and behave similar to the battery grade fraction up to 10 C. However, the higher surface areas lead to more irreversible losses in the first cycle. A surprising finding is that all graphite fractions show almost identical discharge voltages, while the charging voltages differ by as much as 200 mV. This asymmetric behavior only occurs in SIBs and not in LIBs, which indicates a more complex storage behavior in case of sodium.H2020 European Research Councilhttp://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100010663Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschunghttp://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100002347Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschafthttp://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100001659EIG Concert JapanPeer Reviewe

Influence of deposition parameters on the optical absorption of amorphous silicon thin films

Amorphous silicon (aSi) is a promising material for application in mirror coatings with low thermal noise in future gravitational-wave detectors. However, the optical absorption of aSi is currently too high to meet the requirements of these instruments. Previously measured absorption values vary significantly for different deposition methods and postdeposition treatments. To investigate the absorption of aSi, we systematically varied key deposition parameters using pulsed laser deposition. Varying the deposition temperature resulted in a spread in mobility gap energy of the aSi; however, no clear correlation of temperature and mobility gap could be observed. Varying the pulse energy and repetition frequency altered the deposition rate of the coating and produced a correlated change in the absorption

Exercise as an add-on treatment in individuals with schizophrenia: results from a large multicenter randomized controlled trial

Current treatment methods do not achieve recovery for most individuals with schizophrenia, and symptoms such as negative symptoms and cognitive deficits often persist. Aerobic endurance training has been suggested as a potential add-on treatment targeting both physical and mental health. We performed a large-scale multicenter, rater-blind, parallel-group randomized controlled clinical trial in individuals with stable schizophrenia. Participants underwent a professionally supervised six-month training comprising either aerobic endurance training (AET) or flexibility, strengthening, and balance training (FSBT, control group), follow-up was another six months. The primary endpoint was all-cause discontinuation (ACD); secondary endpoints included effects on psychopathology, cognition, functioning, and cardiovascular risk. In total, 180 participants were randomized. AET was not superior to FSBT in ACD and most secondary outcomes, with dropout rates of 59.55% and 57.14% in the six-month active phase, respectively. However, both groups showed significant improvements in positive, general, and total symptoms, levels of functioning and in cognitive performance. A higher training frequency additionally promoted further memory domains. Participants with higher baseline cognitive abilities were more likely to respond to the interventions. Our results support integrating exercise into schizophrenia treatment, while future studies should aim to develop personalized training recommendations to maximize exercise-induced benefits

Association of early life stress and cognitive performance in patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls

As core symptoms of schizophrenia, cognitive deficits contribute substantially to poor outcomes. Early life stress (ELS) can negatively affect cognition in patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls, but the exact nature of the mediating factors is unclear. Therefore, we investigated how ELS, education, and symptom burden are related to cognitive performance. The sample comprised 215 patients with schizophrenia (age, 42.9 ± 12.0 years; 66.0 % male) and 197 healthy controls (age, 38.5 ± 16.4 years; 39.3 % male) from the PsyCourse Study. ELS was assessed with the Childhood Trauma Screener (CTS). We used analyses of covariance and correlation analyses to investigate the association of total ELS load and ELS subtypes with cognitive performance. ELS was reported by 52.1 % of patients and 24.9 % of controls. Independent of ELS, cognitive performance on neuropsychological tests was lower in patients than controls (p < 0.001). ELS load was more closely associated with neurocognitive deficits (cognitive composite score) in controls (r = −0.305, p < 0.001) than in patients (r = −0.163, p = 0.033). Moreover, the higher the ELS load, the more cognitive deficits were found in controls (r = −0.200, p = 0.006), while in patients, this correlation was not significant after adjusting for PANSS. ELS load was more strongly associated with cognitive deficits in healthy controls than in patients. In patients, disease-related positive and negative symptoms may mask the effects of ELS-related cognitive deficits. ELS subtypes were associated with impairments in various cognitive domains. Cognitive deficits appear to be mediated through higher symptom burden and lower educational level

Osteoclast Activated FoxP3+ CD8+ T-Cells Suppress Bone Resorption in vitro

BACKGROUND: Osteoclasts are the body's sole bone resorbing cells. Cytokines produced by pro-inflammatory effector T-cells (T(EFF)) increase bone resorption by osteoclasts. Prolonged exposure to the T(EFF) produced cytokines leads to bone erosion diseases such as osteoporosis and rheumatoid arthritis. The crosstalk between T-cells and osteoclasts has been termed osteoimmunology. We have previously shown that under non-inflammatory conditions, murine osteoclasts can recruit naïve CD8 T-cells and activate these T-cells to induce CD25 and FoxP3 (Tc(REG)). The activation of CD8 T-cells by osteoclasts also induced the cytokines IL-2, IL-6, IL-10 and IFN-γ. Individually, these cytokines can activate or suppress osteoclast resorption. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: To determine the net effect of Tc(REG) on osteoclast activity we used a number of in vitro assays. We found that Tc(REG) can potently and directly suppress bone resorption by osteoclasts. Tc(REG) could suppress osteoclast differentiation and resorption by mature osteoclasts, but did not affect their survival. Additionally, we showed that Tc(REG) suppress cytoskeletal reorganization in mature osteoclasts. Whereas induction of Tc(REG) by osteoclasts is antigen-dependent, suppression of osteoclasts by Tc(REG) does not require antigen or re-stimulation. We demonstrated that antibody blockade of IL-6, IL-10 or IFN-γ relieved suppression. The suppression did not require direct contact between the Tc(REG) and osteoclasts. SIGNIFICANCE: We have determined that osteoclast-induced Tc(REG) can suppress osteoclast activity, forming a negative feedback system. As the CD8 T-cells are activated in the absence of inflammatory signals, these observations suggest that this regulatory loop may play a role in regulating skeletal homeostasis. Our results provide the first documentation of suppression of osteoclast activity by CD8 regulatory T-cells and thus, extend the purview of osteoimmunology