Abschlussprüfungen aus Konferenzdolmetschen

In dieser Masterarbeit geht es um die Beurteilungskriterien der Simultandol-metschungen in Abschlussprüfungen aus Konferenzdolmetschen. Zuerst wird erklärt, welche verschiedenen Arten von Beurteilung und Tests es gibt. Anschließend werden relevante Aspekte des Dolmetschens mit Fokus auf die notwendigen Fähigkeiten und Kompetenzen in verschiedenen Dolmetschsituationen der DolmetscherInnen beleuchtet. Weiters wird auf Qualität von Dolmetschleistungen eingegangen und dabei das Hauptaugenmerk auf die in der Qualitätsforschung ermittelten Beurteilungskriterien gelegt, weil diese Kriterien auch für die Bewertung der Abschlussprüfungen maßgeblich sind. Anschließend wurden Bewertungsmodelle für Simultandolmetschleistungen vorgestellt. Um herauszufinden, welche Beurteilungskriterien bei Abschlussprüfungen herangezogen werden, wurde eine Fallstudie am ZTW durchgeführt. Hierfür wurden im Zeitraum von Dezember 2011 bis März 2012 Prüfungen aus Konferenzdolmetschen mit einer Videokamera aufgenommen. Die Aufnahmen wurden anschließend transkribiert und in Konsekutiv- und Simultandolmetschungen geteilt. Letztere wurden in der vorliegenden Arbeit untersucht, während Andrea Bednarik sich in ihrer Masterarbeit mit den Konsekutivteilen beschäftigte. Aus den Transkriptionen wurden Beurteilungsindikatoren gefiltert, anhand derer verschiedene Analysen der Daten durchgeführt wurde: Analyse zur Häufigkeit der Indikatoren, Analyse nach positiv, negativ oder neutral verwendeten Indikatoren, Zusammenhang zwischen positiven bzw. negativen Äußerungen und der Benotung, Berücksichtigung des Schwierigkeitsgrades des Originals, unterschiedliche Beurteilung der PrüferInnen, Einbezug der Semesterleistungen und Rahmenbedingungen der Abschlussprüfungen. Hierbei wurde festgestellt, dass Unterschiede zwischen den in der Literatur verlangten Anforderungen an Abschlussprüfungen und der tatsächlichen Beurteilungspraxis bestehen. Aus den Ergebnissen geht hervor, dass ein einheitliches Beurteilungsmodell erstellt werden sollte, um Objektivität sicherzustellen und Transparenz von Abschlussprüfungen zu erhöhen.This Master thesis investigates the evaluation criteria of simultaneous interpretations in final exams in conference interpreting. After an overview of the different types of tests and assessment, relevant aspects of interpreting are examined, focusing on the skills and competences required of interpreters in different interpreting situations. The issue of quality assessment in conference interpreting is discussed with a focus on quality criteria as described in various studies on quality in interpreting as these criteria also apply to the assessment of final exams. Furthermore, models for assessing the quality of interpreting are presented. In order to find out which quality criteria are used in assessing students’ interpreting performances in final examinations, a case study was carried out at the Center for Translation Studies in Vienna. Final examination sessions in conference interpreting held between December 2011 and March 2012 were video-recorded, and the recordings were transcribed and divided into consecutive and simultaneous interpreting performances. The latter are examined in the present study, whereas data relating to consecutive interpreting exams are analyzed in the MA thesis by Andrea Bednarik. Assessment indicators were identified in the transcribed comments of examination committee members, and various analyses were conducted to answer the following research questions: how often are the various indicators mentioned? Are they mentioned in a positive, negative or neutral sense? Is there a correlation between the positive and negative comments and the grading? Was the degree of difficulty of the source text factored into the assessment? Do the various examiners assess differently? Do the examiners take prior interpreting performances of the examinee into account? And what are the general conditions under which the final exams are administered? The findings show that differences exist between the requirements of final examinations described in the literature and the actual examination practices observed. Moreover, the results highlight the need for a uniform assessment model in order to ensure objectivity and increase the transparency of test administration

Expected Valence Predicts Choice in a Recurrent Decision Task

There is empirical evidence that expected yet not current affect predicts decisions. However, common research designs in affective decision-making show consistent methodological problems (e.g., conceptualization of different emotion concepts; measuring only emotional valence, but not arousal). We developed a gambling task that systematically varied learning experience, average feedback balance and feedback consistency. In Experiment 1 we studied whether predecisional current affect or expected affect predict recurrent gambling responses. Furthermore, we exploratively examined how affective information is represented on a neuronal level in Experiment 2. Expected and current valence and arousal ratings as well as Blood Oxygen Level Dependent (BOLD) responses were analyzed using a within-subject design. We used a generalized mixed effect model to predict gambling responses with the different affect variables. Results suggest a guiding function of expected valence for decisions. In the anticipation period, we found activity in brain areas previously associated with valencegeneral processing (e.g., anterior cingulate cortex, nucleus accumbens, thalamus) mostly independent of contextual factors. These findings are discussed in the context of the idea of a valence-general affective work-space, a goal-directed account of emotions, and the hypothesis that current affect might be used to form expectations of future outcomes. In conclusion, expected valence seems to be the best predictor of recurrent decisions in gambling tasks

Decelerating molecules with microwave fields

We here report on the experimental realization of a microwave decelerator for neutral polar molecules, suitable for decelerating and focusing molecules in high-field-seeking states. The multi-stage decelerator consists of a cylindrical microwave cavity oscillating on the TE 11n mode, with n=12 electric field maxima along the symmetry axis. By switching the microwave field on and off at the appropriate times, a beam of state-selected ammonia molecules with an incident mean velocity of 25 m/s is guided while being spatially focussed in the transverse direction and bunched in the forward direction. Deceleration from 20.0 m/s to 16.9 m/s and acceleration from 20.0 m/s to 22.7 m/s is demonstrated.Comment: 4 Pages, 3 Figure

GPS-Prot: A web-based visualization platform for integrating host-pathogen interaction data

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The increasing availability of HIV-host interaction datasets, including both physical and genetic interactions, has created a need for software tools to integrate and visualize the data. Because these host-pathogen interactions are extensive and interactions between human proteins are found within many different databases, it is difficult to generate integrated HIV-human interaction networks.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We have developed a web-based platform, termed GPS-Prot <url>http://www.gpsprot.org</url>, that allows for facile integration of different HIV interaction data types as well as inclusion of interactions between human proteins derived from publicly-available databases, including MINT, BioGRID and HPRD. The software has the ability to group proteins into functional modules or protein complexes, generating more intuitive network representations and also allows for the uploading of user-generated data.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>GPS-Prot is a software tool that allows users to easily create comprehensive and integrated HIV-host networks. A major advantage of this platform compared to other visualization tools is its web-based format, which requires no software installation or data downloads. GPS-Prot allows novice users to quickly generate networks that combine both genetic and protein-protein interactions between HIV and its human host into a single representation. Ultimately, the platform is extendable to other host-pathogen systems.</p

β2-Syntrophin Is a Cdk5 Substrate That Restrains the Motility of Insulin Secretory Granules

The molecular basis for the interaction of insulin granules with the cortical cytoskeleton of pancreatic β-cells remains unknown. We have proposed that binding of the granule protein ICA512 to the PDZ domain of β2-syntrophin anchors granules to actin filaments and that the phosphorylation/dephosphorylation of β2-syntrophin regulates this association. Here we tested this hypothesis by analyzing INS-1 cells expressing GFP-β2-syntrophin through the combined use of biochemical approaches, imaging studies by confocal and total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy as well as electron microscopy. Our results support the notion that β2-syntrophin restrains the mobility of cortical granules in insulinoma INS-1 cells, thereby reducing insulin secretion and increasing insulin stores in resting cells, while increasing insulin release upon stimulation. Using mass spectrometry, in vitro phosphorylation assays and β2-syntrophin phosphomutants we found that phosphorylation of β2-syntrophin on S75 near the PDZ domain decreases its binding to ICA512 and correlates with increased granule motility, while phosphorylation of S90 has opposite effects. We further show that Cdk5, which regulates insulin secretion, phosphorylates S75. These findings provide mechanistic insight into how stimulation displaces insulin granules from cortical actin, thus promoting their motility and exocytosis

Phenotype screens of murine pancreatic cancer identify a Tgf-α-Ccl2-paxillin axis driving human-like neural invasion

Publisher Copyright: Copyright: © 2023, Wang et al.Solid cancers like pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), a type of pancreatic cancer, frequently exploit nerves for rapid dissemination. This neural invasion (NI) is an independent prognostic factor in PDAC, but insufficiently modeled in genetically engineered mouse models (GEMM) of PDAC. Here, we systematically screened for human-like NI in Europe’s largest repository of GEMM of PDAC, comprising 295 different genotypes. This phenotype screen uncovered 2 GEMMs of PDAC with human-like NI, which are both characterized by pancreas-specific overexpression of transforming growth factor α (TGF-α) and conditional depletion of p53. Mechanistically, cancer-cell-derived TGF-α upregulated CCL2 secretion from sensory neurons, which induced hyperphosphorylation of the cytoskeletal protein paxillin via CCR4 on cancer cells. This activated the cancer migration machinery and filopodia formation toward neurons. Disrupting CCR4 or paxillin activity limited NI and dampened tumor size and tumor innervation. In human PDAC, phospho-paxillin and TGF-α–expression constituted strong prognostic factors. Therefore, we believe that the TGF-α-CCL2-CCR4-p-paxillin axis is a clinically actionable target for constraining NI and tumor progression in PDAC.Peer reviewe

PTBP1 Is Required for Embryonic Development before Gastrulation

Polypyrimidine-tract binding protein 1 (PTBP1) is an important cellular regulator of messenger RNAs influencing the alternative splicing profile of a cell as well as its mRNA stability, location and translation. In addition, it is diverted by some viruses to facilitate their replication. Here, we used a novel PTBP1 knockout mouse to analyse the tissue expression pattern of PTBP1 as well as the effect of its complete removal during development. We found evidence of strong PTBP1 expression in embryonic stem cells and throughout embryonic development, especially in the developing brain and spinal cord, the olfactory and auditory systems, the heart, the liver, the kidney, the brown fat and cartilage primordia. This widespread distribution points towards a role of PTBP1 during embryonic development. Homozygous offspring, identified by PCR and immunofluorescence, were able to implant but were arrested or retarded in growth. At day 7.5 of embryonic development (E7.5) the null mutants were about 5x smaller than the control littermates and the gap in body size widened with time. At mid-gestation, all homozygous embryos were resorbed/degraded. No homozygous mice were genotyped at E12 and the age of weaning. Embryos lacking PTBP1 did not display differentiation into the 3 germ layers and cavitation of the epiblast, which are hallmarks of gastrulation. In addition, homozygous mutants displayed malformed ectoplacental cones and yolk sacs, both early supportive structure of the embryo proper. We conclude that PTBP1 is not required for the earliest isovolumetric divisions and differentiation steps of the zygote up to the formation of the blastocyst. However, further post-implantation development requires PTBP1 and stalls in homozygous null animals with a phenotype of dramatically reduced size and aberration in embryonic and extra-embryonic structures

Pyruvate dehydrogenase fuels a critical citrate pool that is essential for Th17 cell effector functions

Pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) is the central enzyme connecting glycolysis and the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle. The importance of PDH function in T helper 17 (Th17) cells still remains to be studied. Here, we show that PDH is essential for the generation of a glucose-derived citrate pool needed for Th17 cell proliferation, survival, and effector function. In vivo, mice harboring a T cell-specific deletion of PDH are less susceptible to developing experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. Mechanistically, the absence of PDH in Th17 cells increases glutaminolysis, glycolysis, and lipid uptake in a mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR)-dependent manner. However, cellular citrate remains critically low in mutant Th17 cells, which interferes with oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS), lipid synthesis, and histone acetylation, crucial for transcription of Th17 signature genes. Increasing cellular citrate in PDH-deficient Th17 cells restores their metabolism and function, identifying a metabolic feedback loop within the central carbon metabolism that may offer possibilities for therapeutically targeting Th17 cell-driven autoimmunity

Photography-based taxonomy is inadequate, unnecessary, and potentially harmful for biological sciences

The question whether taxonomic descriptions naming new animal species without type specimen(s) deposited in collections should be accepted for publication by scientific journals and allowed by the Code has already been discussed in Zootaxa (Dubois & Nemésio 2007; Donegan 2008, 2009; Nemésio 2009a–b; Dubois 2009; Gentile & Snell 2009; Minelli 2009; Cianferoni & Bartolozzi 2016; Amorim et al. 2016). This question was again raised in a letter supported by 35 signatories published in the journal Nature (Pape et al. 2016) on 15 September 2016. On 25 September 2016, the following rebuttal (strictly limited to 300 words as per the editorial rules of Nature) was submitted to Nature, which on 18 October 2016 refused to publish it. As we think this problem is a very important one for zoological taxonomy, this text is published here exactly as submitted to Nature, followed by the list of the 493 taxonomists and collection-based researchers who signed it in the short time span from 20 September to 6 October 2016

An archaeal compound as a driver of Parkinson’s disease pathogenesis

Patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) exhibit differences in their gut microbiomes compared to healthy individuals. Although differences have most commonly been described in the abundances of bacterial taxa, changes to viral and archaeal populations have also been observed. Mechanistic links between gut microbes and PD pathogenesis remain elusive but could involve molecules that promote α-synuclein aggregation. Here, we show that 2-hydroxypyridine (2-HP) represents a key molecule for the pathogenesis of PD. We observe significantly elevated 2-HP levels in faecal samples from patients with PD or its prodrome, idiopathic REM sleep behaviour disorder (iRBD), compared to healthy controls. 2-HP is correlated with the archaeal species Methanobrevibacter smithii and with genes involved in methane metabolism, and it is detectable in isolate cultures of M. smithii. We demonstrate that 2-HP is selectively toxic to transgenic α-synuclein overexpressing yeast and increases α-synuclein aggregation in a yeast model as well as in human induced pluripotent stem cell derived enteric neurons. It also exacerbates PD-related motor symptoms, α-synuclein aggregation, and striatal degeneration when injected intrastriatally in transgenic mice overexpressing human α-synuclein. Our results highlight the effect of an archaeal molecule in relation to the gut-brain axis, which is critical for the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of PD.