Die kirchlichen Bestattungshandlungen im Wandel der Bestattungskultur: Wahrnehmungen von reformierten Pfarrpersonen im Gemeindepfarramt – Leitfadeninterviews mit 20 Pfarrpersonen

Der Beitrag von Matthias Grünewald nimmt vor dem Hintergrund massgebender Kontextbedingungen auf, was Pfarrpersonen bei Bestattungshandlungen erleben, ihren Umgang mit Anliegen und Wünschen der Angehörigen, die Umsetzung in Praktiken im Gottesdienst und an den Bestattungsorten und ihre eigenen Gestaltungsinitiativen. Mit viel Engagement und Einfühlungsvermögen wird dort versucht, eine theologisch verantwortliche und persönlich orientierte Bestattung zu ermöglichen. Als markante Veränderungen werden die weitgehende Personalisierung (die verstorbene Person als lebendig Tote) des Bestattungsgottesdienstes, die Verkürzung des Gesamtvollzugs durch Handlungen nur am Grab im kleinen Rahmen, und die steigende Anzahl von ausserfriedhöflichen Bestattungen ohne Pfarrpersonen genannt

A comparison of third-generation semi-invasive arterial waveform analysis with thermodilution in patients undergoing coronary surgery

Uncalibrated semi-invasive continous monitoring of cardiac index (CI) has recently gained increasing interest. The aim of the present study was to compare the accuracy of CI determination based on arterial waveform analysis with transpulmonary thermodilution. Fifty patients scheduled for elective coronary surgery were studied after induction of anaesthesia and before and after cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB), respectively. Each patient was monitored with a central venous line, the PiCCO system, and the FloTrac/Vigileo-system. Measurements included CI derived by transpulmonary thermodilution and uncalibrated semi-invasive pulse contour analysis. Percentage changes of CI were calculated. There was a moderate, but significant correlation between pulse contour CI and thermodilution CI both before (r(2) = 0.72, P < 0.0001) and after (r(2) = 0.62, P < 0.0001) CPB, with a percentage error of 31% and 25%, respectively. Changes in pulse contour CI showed a significant correlation with changes in thermodilution CI both before (r(2) = 0.52, P < 0.0001) and after (r(2) = 0.67, P < 0.0001) CPB. Our findings demonstrated that uncalibrated semi-invasive monitoring system was able to reliably measure CI compared with transpulmonary thermodilution in patients undergoing elective coronary surgery. Furthermore, the semi-invasive monitoring device was able to track haemodynamic changes and trends

Hypothermia and postconditioning after cardiopulmonary resuscitation reduce cardiac dysfunction by modulating inflammation, apoptosis and remodeling

Background: Mild therapeutic hypothermia following cardiac arrest is neuroprotective, but its effect on myocardial dysfunction that is a critical issue following resuscitation is not clear. This study sought to examine whether hypothermia and the combination of hypothermia and pharmacological postconditioning are cardioprotective in a model of cardiopulmonary resuscitation following acute myocardial ischemia. Methodology/Principal Findings: Thirty pigs (28–34 kg) were subjected to cardiac arrest following left anterior descending coronary artery ischemia. After 7 minutes of ventricular fibrillation and 2 minutes of basic life support, advanced cardiac life support was started according to the current AHA guidelines. After successful return of spontaneous circulation (n = 21), coronary perfusion was reestablished after 60 minutes of occlusion, and animals were randomized to either normothermia at 38°C, hypothermia at 33°C or hypothermia at 33°C combined with sevoflurane (each group n = 7) for 24 hours. The effects on cardiac damage especially on inflammation, apoptosis, and remodeling were studied using cellular and molecular approaches. Five animals were sham operated. Animals treated with hypothermia had lower troponin T levels (p<0.01), reduced infarct size (34±7 versus 57±12%; p<0.05) and improved left ventricular function compared to normothermia (p<0.05). Hypothermia was associated with a reduction in: (i) immune cell infiltration, (ii) apoptosis, (iii) IL-1beta and IL-6 mRNA up-regulation, and (iv) IL-1beta protein expression (p<0.05). Moreover, decreased matrix metalloproteinase-9 activity was detected in the ischemic myocardium after treatment with mild hypothermia. Sevoflurane conferred additional protective effects although statistic significance was not reached. Conclusions/Significance: Hypothermia reduced myocardial damage and dysfunction after cardiopulmonary resuscitation possible via a reduced rate of apoptosis and pro-inflammatory cytokine expression

Was sagen uns Deutschlernende über ihre Deutschlandbilder? Potenziale und Perspektiven der Nationenbilderforschung für Forschung und Praxis am Beispiel dreier Studien im ostasiatischen Kontext

Im vorliegenden Artikel werden drei Forschungsarbeiten über Deutschlandbilder chinesischer und japanischer Deutschstudierender verglichen mit dem Ziel, die forschungsmethodische und unterrichtspraktische Relevanz der Nationenbilderforschung aufzuzeigen. Bei zwei der Studien liegt der Fokus auf unterrichtlichen Einflüssen auf die Deutschlandbilder, während die dritte Studie die Wirkungen eines bis zu einjährigen Studienaufenthalts in Deutschland beschreibt. Im Vordergrund des Vergleichs stehen Gemeinsamkeiten und Unterschiede des methodischen Vorgehens und der erzielten Ergebnisse. Darüber hinaus werden Bezüge zur sozialpsychologischen Forschung über Einstellungen und Einstellungsveränderungen hergestellt. Schließlich werden einige Schlussfolgerungen sowohl für die Forschungs- als auch die Unterrichtspraxis gezogen und Ausweitungen des forschungstheoretischen und -methodologischen Rahmens im Fach DaF angeregt

Was sagen uns Deutschlernende über ihre Deutschlandbilder? Potenziale und Perspektiven der Nationenbilderforschung für Forschung und Praxis am Beispiel dreier Studien im ostasiatischen Kontext

Im vorliegenden Artikel werden drei Forschungsarbeiten über Deutschlandbilder chinesischer und japanischer Deutschstudierender verglichen mit dem Ziel, die forschungsmethodische und unterrichtspraktische Relevanz der Nationenbilderforschung aufzuzeigen. Bei zwei der Studien liegt der Fokus auf unterrichtlichen Einflüssen auf die Deutschlandbilder, während die dritte Studie die Wirkungen eines bis zu einjährigen Studienaufenthalts in Deutschland beschreibt. Im Vordergrund des Vergleichs stehen Gemeinsamkeiten und Unterschiede des methodischen Vorgehens und der erzielten Ergebnisse. Darüber hinaus werden Bezüge zur sozialpsychologischen Forschung über Einstellungen und Einstellungsveränderungen hergestellt. Schließlich werden einige Schlussfolgerungen sowohl für die Forschungs- als auch die Unterrichtspraxis gezogen und Ausweitungen des forschungstheoretischen und -methodologischen Rahmens im Fach DaF angeregt.The following article compares three studies about images of Germany from Chinese and Japanese students of the German language, with the aim of demonstrating the relevance of research about national images for research methods and teaching practice. Two of the studies focus on the influences of the learning procedure on images of Germany, whereas the third study describes the effects of studying abroad in Germany for up to one year. The focus of the comparison is on the similarities and differences of the methodical procedure and the achieved results. Moreover, connections are made to research of attitudes and attitude change in social psychology. Finally, some conclusions are drawn for research and teaching practice, as well as encouraging an extension of the theoretical and methodological research framework in the subject of German as a foreign language

Communication Between Khepera Mini Robots For Cooperative Positioning

Grünewald M, Iske B, Klahold J, et al. Communication Between Khepera Mini Robots For Cooperative Positioning. In: Proceedings of the International Conference Automatics and Informatics’03. Vol 1. Sofia, Bulgaria; 2003: 95-98

Noisy: Identification of problematic columns in multiple sequence alignments

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Motivation</p> <p>Sequence-based methods for phylogenetic reconstruction from (nucleic acid) sequence data are notoriously plagued by two effects: homoplasies and alignment errors. Large evolutionary distances imply a large number of homoplastic sites. As most protein-coding genes show dramatic variations in substitution rates that are not uncorrelated across the sequence, this often leads to a patchwork pattern of (i) phylogenetically informative and (ii) effectively randomized regions. In highly variable regions, furthermore, alignment errors accumulate resulting in sometimes misleading signals in phylogenetic reconstruction.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We present here a method that, based on assessing the distribution of character states along a cyclic ordering of the taxa, allows the identification of phylogenetically uninformative homoplastic sites in a multiple sequence alignment. Removal of these sites appears to improve the performance of phylogenetic reconstruction algorithms as measured by various indices of "tree quality". In particular, we obtain more stable trees due to the exclusion of phylogenetically incompatible sites that most likely represent strongly randomized characters.</p> <p>Software</p> <p>The computer program noisy implements this approach. It can be employed to improving phylogenetic reconstruction capability with quite a considerable success rate whenever (1) the average bootstrap support obtained from the original alignment is low, and (2) there are sufficiently many taxa in the data set – at least, say, 12 to 15 taxa. The software can be obtained under the GNU Public License from <url>http://www.bioinf.uni-leipzig.de/Software/noisy/</url>.</p

The DNA-polymorphism rs849142 is associated with skin toxicity induced by targeted anti-EGFR therapy using cetuximab

Skin toxicity (ST) is a frequent adverse effect (AE) in anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-targeted treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) resulting in decreased quality of life and problems in clinical management. We wanted to identify biomarkers predicting ST in this setting and focused on 70 DNA polymorphisms associated with acne, the (immunoglobulin fragment crystallizable region) Fcγ-receptor pathway, and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) applying next-generation-sequencing (NGS). For the analysis patients with mCRC treated with cetuximab were selected from the FIRE-3 study. A training group consisting of the phenotypes low (1) - and high-grade (3) ST (n = 16) and a validation group (n = 55) representing also the intermediate grade (2) were genotyped and investigated in a genotype-phenotype association analysis. The single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs849142 significantly associated with ST in both the training- (p < 0.01) and validation-group (p = 0.04). rs849142 is located in an intron of the juxtaposed with another zinc finger protein 1 (JAZF1) gene. Haplotype analysis demonstrated significant linkage disequilibrium of rs849142 with JAZF1. Thus, rs849142 might be a predictive biomarker for ST in anti-EGFR treated mCRC patients. Its value in the clinical management of AE has to be validated in larger cohorts

Die Idee dahinter ... : Aspekte zur Gestaltung lernreicher Lehre

Der Band umfasst zahlreiche Beispiele von Lehrenden, die ihre Veranstaltungen in mehreren Aspekten ‚lernreich(er)’ gestaltet haben. Die Konzepte wurden alle im Rahmen des Vertiefungsmoduls des Programms „Professionelle Lehrkompetenz für die Hochschule“ des Netzwerks "hochschuldidaktik nrw" an der Universität Siegen entwickelt oder weiterentwickelt. Die elf Beiträge umfassen ein breites Spektrum an Veranstaltungsformaten und Fächern: Natur- und Ingenieurwissenschaften sind ebenso vertreten wie Architektur, Pädagogik, Soziale Arbeit und Literaturwissenschaft. Bei den Veranstaltungen handelt es sich um Praktika, Seminare, Übungen usw., oft mit Projektcharakter bzw. -elementen, häufig auch mit wechselnden Lernorten, semester-begleitend oder kompakt

Noisy: Identification of problematic columns in multiple sequence alignments

Motivation Sequence-based methods for phylogenetic reconstruction from (nucleic acid) sequence data are notoriously plagued by two effects: homoplasies and alignment errors. Large evolutionary distances imply a large number of homoplastic sites. As most protein-coding genes show dramatic variations in substitution rates that are not uncorrelated across the sequence, this often leads to a patchwork pattern of (i) phylogenetically informative and (ii) effectively randomized regions. In highly variable regions, furthermore, alignment errors accumulate resulting in sometimes misleading signals in phylogenetic reconstruction. Results We present here a method that, based on assessing the distribution of character states along a cyclic ordering of the taxa, allows the identification of phylogenetically uninformative homoplastic sites in a multiple sequence alignment. Removal of these sites appears to improve the performance of phylogenetic reconstruction algorithms as measured by various indices of 'tree quality'. In particular, we obtain more stable trees due to the exclusion of phylogenetically incompatible sites that most likely represent strongly randomized characters. Software The computer program noisy implements this approach. It can be employed to improving phylogenetic reconstruction capability with quite a considerable success rate whenever (1) the average bootstrap support obtained from the original alignment is low, and (2) there are sufficiently many taxa in the data set – at least, say, 12 to 15 taxa. The software can be obtained under the GNU Public License from http://www.bioinf.uni-leipzig.de/Software/noisy/