The scope of science for the International Polar Year, 2007-2008

The International Polar Year 2007““2008 will be the largest internationally coordinated research programme in 50 years. It will be an intensive period of interdisciplinary science focused on the Arctic and the Antarctic. IPY 2007““2008 research activities were assembled from the ideas of researchers in more than 60 countries. A total of 228 projects have been endorsed by the ICSU/WMO Joint Committee for IPY 2007““2008. These projects have a strong interdisciplinary emphasis and address the six themes as well as education and outreach objectives. IPY projects will exploit new technological and logistical capabilities and strengthen international coordination of research. They aim to attract, engage and develop a new generation of researchers and raise the awareness, interest and understanding of polar residents, educators, students, the general public and decision makers worldwide. IPY projects will collect a broad-ranging set of samples, data and information which will be made available to an unprecedented degree. IPY 2007““2008 aims to leave a legacy of enhanced observational systems, facilities and infrastructure. The observational networks to be established during IPY include integrated ocean observing systems in both the Arctic and Southern Oceans, coordinated acquisition of satellite data products from multiple space agencies and observational systems for astronomy, sun““earth physics, atmospheric chemistry, meteorology, ecosystems, permafrost, glaciers and geophysics. Many observing systems within IPY will be developed within the framework of existing international global observing systems

The GB Virus C (GBV-C) NS3 Serine Protease Inhibits HIV-1 Replication in a CD4+ T Lymphocyte Cell Line without Decreasing HIV Receptor Expression

Introduction: Persistent infection with GBV-C (GB Virus C), a non-pathogenic virus related to hepatitis C virus (HCV), prolongs survival in HIV infection. Two GBV-C proteins, NS5A and E2, have been shown previously to inhibit HIV replication in vitro. We investigated whether the GBV-C NS3 serine protease affects HIV replication. Results: GBV-C NS3 protease expressed in a human CD4+ T lymphocyte cell line significantly inhibited HIV replication. Addition of NS4A or NS4A/4B coding sequence to GBV-C NS3 increased the effect on HIV replication. Inhibition of HI

The neutron and its role in cosmology and particle physics

Experiments with cold and ultracold neutrons have reached a level of precision such that problems far beyond the scale of the present Standard Model of particle physics become accessible to experimental investigation. Due to the close links between particle physics and cosmology, these studies also permit a deep look into the very first instances of our universe. First addressed in this article, both in theory and experiment, is the problem of baryogenesis ... The question how baryogenesis could have happened is open to experimental tests, and it turns out that this problem can be curbed by the very stringent limits on an electric dipole moment of the neutron, a quantity that also has deep implications for particle physics. Then we discuss the recent spectacular observation of neutron quantization in the earth's gravitational field and of resonance transitions between such gravitational energy states. These measurements, together with new evaluations of neutron scattering data, set new constraints on deviations from Newton's gravitational law at the picometer scale. Such deviations are predicted in modern theories with extra-dimensions that propose unification of the Planck scale with the scale of the Standard Model ... Another main topic is the weak-interaction parameters in various fields of physics and astrophysics that must all be derived from measured neutron decay data. Up to now, about 10 different neutron decay observables have been measured, much more than needed in the electroweak Standard Model. This allows various precise tests for new physics beyond the Standard Model, competing with or surpassing similar tests at high-energy. The review ends with a discussion of neutron and nuclear data required in the synthesis of the elements during the "first three minutes" and later on in stellar nucleosynthesis.Comment: 91 pages, 30 figures, accepted by Reviews of Modern Physic

Libraries/Digitisation/Cultural Education. Horizon 2018

The introduction and increased use of digital media are bringing about transformation processes in all areas of society. The increasing possibilities for communication and mobility are not only opening up new forms of cultural perception and design for everyday, private use, but also for public cultural institutions. So far, there are hardly any representative findings on the topic of "digital change" - even less so in the interaction with cultural education. This also applies to public libraries, which are among the educational and cultural institutions that have dealt with digitalisation at an early stage. This gives them a significant wealth of experience from which other cultural and educational institutions can also benefit. For the development of cultural education in Germany, it is therefore a crucial question how public libraries shape the digital transformation and what significance cultural education plays in this. Against this background, the Rat für Kulturelle Bildung, in cooperation with the German Library Association (dbv), conducted a nationwide and representative survey on the shaping of the digital transformation among full-time public libraries. In addition to taking stock, the findings of the study highlight central areas of development for libraries with regard to cultural education in the course of digitalisation. The survey focused on the following questions: - How are libraries, as a place of cultural education, shaping the digital transformation? - What (digital) cultural education services are available in the libraries? - How does digitalisation affect the services, cultural education, users, the space situation and cooperation? - How do libraries assess the financial leeway available to them in the context of digitalisation? The survey was addressed to all library directors of the approximately 1900 full-time public libraries in Germany. A total of 668 libraries took part in the survey (35 percent response rate). The survey was conducted as a standardised online survey.Durch die Einführung und verstärkte Nutzung digitaler Medien werden Transformationsprozesse in allen Gesellschaftsbereichen herbeigeführt. Die zunehmenden Kommunikationsmöglichkeiten und Mobilitätsmöglichkeiten eröffnen nicht nur neue kulturelle Wahrnehmungsformen und Gestaltungsformen für den alltäglichen, privaten Gebrauch, sondern auch für die öffentlichen Kulturinstitutionen. Bislang existieren kaum repräsentative Befunde zum Thema „Digitaler Wandel“ – noch weniger im Zusammenspiel mit Kultureller Bildung. Das gilt auch für die Öffentlichen Bibliotheken, die zu den Bildungs- und Kulturinstitutionen gehören, die sich schon früh mit der Digitalisierung beschäftigt haben. Dadurch verfügen sie über einen bedeutsamen Erfahrungsschatz, von dem auch andere Kultur- und Bildungseinrichtungen profitieren können. Für die Entwicklung der Kulturellen Bildung in Deutschland ist es daher eine entscheidende Frage, wie die Öffentlichen Bibliotheken den digitalen Wandel gestalten und welche Bedeutung Kulturelle Bildung dabei spielt. Vor diesem Hintergrund hat der Rat für Kulturelle Bildung in Kooperation mit dem Deutschen Bibliotheksverband e.V. (dbv) eine bundesweite und repräsentative Umfrage zur Gestaltung des digitalen Wandels unter den hauptamtlich geführten Öffentlichen Bibliotheken durchgeführt. Neben einer Bestandsaufnahme stellen die Befunde der Studie zentrale Entwicklungsfelder der Bibliotheken mit Blick auf Kulturelle Bildung im Zuge der Digitalisierung heraus. Im Zentrum der Befragung standen folgende Fragen: - Wie gestalten die Bibliotheken als Ort der Kulturellen Bildung den digitalen Wandel? - Welche (digitalen) Angebote Kultureller Bildung sind in den Bibliotheken vorhanden? - Wie wirkt sich die Digitalisierung auf die Angebote, die Kulturvermittlung, die Nutzerinnen und Nutzer, die Raumsituation und die Kooperationen aus? - Wie werden von den Bibliotheken die finanziellen Spielräume, die ihnen im Kontext der Digitalisierung zur Verfügung stehen, bewertet? Die Erhebung richtete sich an alle Bibliotheksleitungen der rund 1900 hauptamtlich geleiteten Öffentlichen Bibliotheken in Deutschland. An der Befragung teilgenommen haben insgesamt 668 Bibliotheken (Rücklauf von 35 Prozent). Die Befragung wurde als standardisierte Online-Befragung durchgeführt