Etablierung einer personalisierten E-Learning-Prlattform zur webbasierten Curriculumsunterstützung für das Medizinstudium an der Universität Heidelberg

Since the winter semester of 2002/03, the Medical Faculty of the University of Heidelberg has been using the electronic learning environment ATHENA. It is the "virtual bulletin board" for the exchange and provision of information on the study of medicine within the faculty. Since 2004/05, the platform has been operated using the open source system LRN. The system is used with the focus on document management. The use of the interactive learning contents and programme takes place as a web-based support of the required attendance classes and independent study. The tools available on the platform are used within the departments for the integration of computer-assisted examination concepts, and the conducting of online course evaluations.Seit dem Wintersemester 2002/03 setzt die Medizinische Fakultät Heidelberg die elektronische Lernumgebung ATHENA ein. Sie ist das "Virtuelle Schwarze Brett" für den Austausch und die Bereitstellung von Informationen zum Medizinstudium an der Fakultät. Seit 2004/05 wird die Plattform mit dem Open-Source-System .LRN betrieben. Das System wird eingesetzt mit dem Schwerpunkt der Kurs- und Dokumentenverwaltung. Die Nutzung der interaktiven Lerninhalte und -programme erfolgt als webbasierte Unterstützung der Präsenzveranstaltungen sowie im Selbststudium. Die in der Plattform verfügbaren Tools werden in den Fachbereichen zur Integration computerunterstützter Prüfungskonzepte sowie zur Durchführung von Online-Kursevaluationen eingesetzt

X-ray structure of the cyclomaltohexaicosaose triiodide inclusion complex provides a model for amylose-iodine at atomic resolution

Cyclomaltohexaicosaose (CA26) is folded into two 1 2/3 turns long V-helices that are oriented antiparallel. Crystals of complexes of CA26 with NH 4I 3 and Ba(I 3) 2 are brown and X-ray analyses show that I 3 - units are located in the ∼5 A wide central channels of the V-helices. In the complex with NH 4I 3, two CA26 molecules are stacked to form 2×1 2/3 turns long channels harbouring 3 I 3 - at 3.66-3.85 A inter I 3 - distance (shorter than van der Waals distance, 4.3 A), whereas in the Ba(I 3) 2 complex, CA26 are not stacked and only one I 3 - each fills the V-helices. Glucose I contacts are formed with C5-H, C3-H, C6-H and (at the ends of the V-helices) with O6 in (+) gauche orientation. By contrast, O2, O3, O4 and O6 in the preferred (-) gauche orientation do not interact with I because these distances are ≥4.01 A and exceed the van der Waals I⋯O sum of radii by about 0.5 A except for one O2⋯I distance of 3.68 A near the end of one V-helix. Raman spectra indicate that the complexes share the presence of I 3 - with blue amylose-iodine

Relative contribution of vowel quality and duration to native language identification in foreign-accented English

Automatic identification of a speaker’s native language background may have forensic applications. This paper explores the feasibility of automatic identification of the native language background of a foreign speaker of English, using phonetically interpretable measurements. The production of the ten monophthongs of (American) English by Dutch, Mandarin Chinese and American speakers was used as a test case. Vowel formants F1 (corresponding to articulatory vowel height), F2 (capturing vowel backness and lip rounding) and vowel duration were extracted. Clearly different duration and patterning of the vowels in the vowel space were seen. Automatic classification of the speaker’s native language was 90 percent correct when all acoustic parameters were used as predictors. Language identification was slightly poorer when only formant data were used (85% correct) and substantially poorer – but much better than chance – when only vowel duration was used (60% correct). We conclude that vowel duration provides a weaker cue to foreign-accent identification in English than the spectral properties but that the combination of both information sources yields the best results.Theoretical and Experimental Linguistic

The complete plastome of macaw palm [Acrocomia aculeata (Jacq.) Lodd. ex Mart.] and extensive molecular analyses of the evolution of plastid genes in Arecaceae

Macaw palm is a native species from tropical and subtropical Americas. It shows high production of oil per hectare reaching up to 70% of oil content in fruits and an interesting plasticity to grow in different ecosystems. Its domestication and breeding are still in the beginning, which makes the development of molecular markers essential to assess natural populations and germplasm collections. Therefore, we sequenced and characterized in detail the plastome of macaw palm. A total of 221 SSR loci were identified in the plastome of macaw palm. Additionally, eight polymorphism hotspots were characterized at level of subfamily and tribe. Moreover, several events of gain and loss of RNA editing sites were found within the subfam- ily Arecoideae. Aiming to uncover evolutionary events in Arecaceae, we also analyzed extensively the evolution of plastid genes. The analyses show that highly divergent genes seem to evolve in a species-specific manner, suggesting that gene degeneration events may be occurring within Arecaceae at the level of genus or species. Unexpectedly, we found that more than half of plastid protein-coding genes are under positive selection, including genes for photosynthesis, gene expression machinery and other essential plastid functions. Furthermore, we performed a phylogenomic analysis using whole plastomes of 40 taxa, representing all subfamilies of Arecaceae, which placed the macaw palm within the tribe Cocoseae. Finally, the data showed here are important for genetic studies in macaw palm and provide new insights into the evolution of plastid genes and environmental adaptation in Arecaceae

On the role of orthography in L2 vowel production: The case of Polish learners of German

Nimz K, Khattab G. On the role of orthography in L2 vowel production: The case of Polish learners of German . Second Language Research. 2020;36(4):623-652.This study investigates the role of orthography in German vowel production by Polish native speakers (L1) with German as a second language (L2). Eighteen intermediate to advanced Polish L2 German learners and 20 German native speakers were recorded during a picture-naming task in which half of the experimental items were explicitly marked in their orthographic representation for their vowel length (short or long). Duration measurements revealed that explicit orthographic marking helped the Polish L2 German learners produce the short-long contrast more native-like. Regarding vowel quality, group differences were interpreted to have been caused by (in)congruencies between L1 and L2 grapheme-to-phoneme correspondences. These findings have important implications for models of L2 speech learning and pronunciation training