Mit Selbstkritik durch den Mediendschungel. Die Strukturen des deutschen Medienjournalismus und das Selbstverständnis der Medienredakteure

Die Medien sind heute allgegenwärtig - sei es in Gesellschaft und Politik, sei es in Wirtschaft oder Kultur. Das Schlagwort von der Mediengesellschaft vermag den beachtlichen Bedeutungsaufschwung, den die Medien, allen voran das Fernsehen, während der letzten Jahre erfahren haben, anzudeuten: Die Medien moderieren den gesellschaftlichen Diskurs; sie vermitteln Politik und sii:J.d damit zu einem absolut notwendigen "Unterpfand der Demokratie"! geworden. Daneben hat sich die Medienindustrie zu einer gigantischen Wachstumsbranche entwickelt, die pro Jahr immense Summen umsetzt und in Zeiten einer weitläufig stagnierenden Ökonomie gegen den allgemeinen Trend sogar Arbeitsplätze schafft. Der Wirkungskreis der Medien reicht aber über die Bereiche Politik und Wirtschaft weit hinaus - die Medien haben sich in der modernen Gesellschaft zur sprichwörtlichen "Bewusstseinsindustrie" entwickelt: Sie sind es, die unseren Alltag bestimmen_ Sie prägen unsere Gedanken und Vorstellungen. Sie beeinflussen unser Verhalten und unsere Gewohnheiten. Damit hat die Welt der Medien, erneut allen voran das Fernsehen, eine "weitreichende Definitionsmacht über die Wirklichkeit gewonnen", und das nicht nur nach Auffassung des hier zitierten französischen Soziologen und Fernsehkritikers Pierre Bourdieu. (...) EnglishThomas Linke/Daniela Pickl: Self-critical journalism in the media-jungleDuring the last decade the media scene in Germany has been so widely diversificated that it is often called a media-jungle. The media themselves, now, reacted to this tendency by more and more making their own scene to a subject matter. In this way, a new kind of journalism emerged: media-journalism. While university studies on this topic in general are still in the beginnings, at the faculty for Journalism II of the Catholic University of Eichstärt in the Wintersemester 1998/99 two degree dissertations were written: one as an opinion poll and one as an analysis of content. In the opinion poll editors of all media sections in Germany were especially questioned concerning their self-understanding while the content analysis tried to find out about the quality of media-reporting in selected newspapers. Both researches concentrated on the question which conception of media-journalism is favoured in Germany. The answer was alike in both cases: Most frequently the integrational approach is chosen collecting all media themes on one page. On second place follows the crossection model: distributing media themes - either by purpose or due to financial and personal circumstances - all over the issue. In addition, in Germany at present a positive tendency is to be found: More and more newspapers install own media editors.

Physical Attacks on the Railway System

Recent attacks encouraged public interest in physical security for railways. Knowing about and learning from previous attacks is necessary to secure against them. This paper presents a structured data set of physical attacks against railways. We analyze the data regarding the used means, the railway system's target component, the attacker type, and the geographical distribution of attacks. The results indicate a growing heterogeneity of observed attacks in the recent decade compared to the previous decades and centuries, making protecting railways more complex

Dual-Phosphorescent Heteroleptic Silver(I) Complex in Long-Lasting Red Light-Emitting Electrochemical Cells

The design of red-emitting silver(I) complexes and their implementation in thin-film lighting are still challenging as (i) their high ligand-field splitting energy leads to high-energy emissions with a controversial mechanism (thermally activated delayed fluorescence vs fluorescence/phosphorescence), and (ii) their low electrochemical stability leads to the formation of silver nanoclusters, limiting device stability to a few seconds. Herein, a thoughtful complex design [Ag(xantphos)(deebq)]PF6 combining a large-bite angle diphosphine ligand (xantphos), a rigid, sterically hindered, π-extended biquinolin (deebq) is reported. In contrast to prior-art, this complex possesses (i) efficient red-emission (λem = 660 nm; photoluminescence quantum yield of 42%) assigned to a thermally equilibrated dual-phosphorescent emission based on spectroscopic/theoretical studies and (ii) stable reduction behavior without forming silver nanoclusters. This results in the first red light-emitting electrochemical cells featuring (i) improved stability of two orders of magnitude compared to prior-art (from seconds to hours) at irradiances of 20 µW cm−2, and (ii) a new degradation mechanism exclusively related to p-doping as confirmed by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy analysis. Indeed, a multi-layered architecture to decouple hole injection/transport and exciton formation enables a further 2-fold enhanced irradiance/stability. Overall, this work illustrates that deciphering the rules for silver(I) complex design for lighting is tricky, but worthwhile.S.L. and L.M.C. contributed equally. R.D.C. acknowledges the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation MSCA-ITN STiBNite No. 956923.Open access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL.Peer reviewe

Derivation of the cubic NLS and Gross-Pitaevskii hierarchy from manybody dynamics in d=3d=3 based on spacetime norms

We derive the defocusing cubic Gross-Pitaevskii (GP) hierarchy in dimension $d=3$, from an $N$-body Schr\"{o}dinger equation describing a gas of interacting bosons in the GP scaling, in the limit $N\rightarrow\infty$. The main result of this paper is the proof of convergence of the corresponding BBGKY hierarchy to a GP hierarchy in the spaces introduced in our previous work on the well-posedness of the Cauchy problem for GP hierarchies, \cite{chpa2,chpa3,chpa4}, which are inspired by the solutions spaces based on space-time norms introduced by Klainerman and Machedon in \cite{klma}. We note that in $d=3$, this has been a well-known open problem in the field. While our results do not assume factorization of the solutions, consideration of factorized solutions yields a new derivation of the cubic, defocusing nonlinear Schr\"odinger equation (NLS) in $d=3$.Comment: 44 pages, AMS Late

The small molecule inhibitor BX-795 uncouples IL-2 production from inhibition of Th2 inflammation and induces CD4+ T cells resembling iTreg

BackgroundTreg cells have been shown to be an important part of immune-homeostasis and IL-2 which is produced upon T cell receptor (TCR)-dependent activation of T lymphocytes has been demonstrated to critically participate in Treg development.ObjectiveTo evaluate small molecule inhibitors (SMI) for the identification of novel IL-2/Treg enhancing compounds.Materials and methodsWe used TCR-dependent and allergen-specific cytokine secretion of human and mouse T cells, next generation messenger ribonucleic acid sequencing (RNA-Seq) and two different models of allergic airway inflammation to examine lead SMI-compounds.ResultsWe show here that the reported 3-phosphoinositide dependent kinase-1 (PDK1) SMI BX-795 increased IL-2 in culture supernatants of Jurkat E6-1 T cells, human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (hPBMC) and allergen-specific mouse T cells upon TCR-dependent and allergen-specific stimulation while concomitantly inhibiting Th2 cytokine secretion. RNA-Seq revealed that the presence of BX-795 during allergen-specific activation of T cells induces a bona fide Treg cell type highly similar to iTreg but lacking Foxp3 expression. When applied in mugwort pollen and house dust mite extract-based models of airway inflammation, BX-795 significantly inhibited Th2 inflammation including expression of Th2 signature transcription factors and cytokines and influx into the lungs of type 2-associated inflammatory cells such as eosinophils.ConclusionsBX-795 potently uncouples IL-2 production from Th2 inflammation and induces Th-IL-2 cells, which highly resemble induced (i)Tregs. Thus, BX-795 may be a useful new compound for the treatment of allergic diseases

Adoptive transfer of allergen-expressing B cells prevents IgE-mediated allergy

IntroductionProphylactic strategies to prevent the development of allergies by establishing tolerance remain an unmet medical need. We previously reported that the transfer of autologous hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) expressing the major timothy grass pollen allergen, Phl p 5, on their cell surface induced allergen-specific tolerance in mice. In this study, we investigated the ability of allergen-expressing immune cells (dendritic cells, CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, and CD19+ B cells) to induce allergen-specific tolerance in naive mice and identified CD19+ B cells as promising candidates for allergen-specific cell therapy.MethodsFor this purpose, CD19+ B cells were isolated from Phl p 5-transgenic BALB/c mice and transferred to naive BALB/c mice, pre-treated with a short course of rapamycin and an anti-CD40L antibody. Subsequently, the mice were subcutaneously sensitized three times at 4-week intervals to Phl p 5 and Bet v 1 as an unrelated control allergen. Allergen-expressing cells were followed in the blood to monitor molecular chimerism, and sera were analyzed for Phl p 5- and Bet v 1-specific IgE and IgG1 levels by RBL assay and ELISA, respectively. In vivo allergen-induced lung inflammation was measured by whole-body plethysmography, and mast cell degranulation was determined by skin testing.ResultsThe transfer of purified Phl p 5-expressing CD19+ B cells to naive BALB/c mice induced B cell chimerism for up to three months and prevented the development of Phl p 5-specific IgE and IgG1 antibody responses for a follow-up period of 26 weeks. Since Bet v 1 but not Phl p 5-specific antibodies were detected, the induction of tolerance was specific for Phl p 5. Whole-body plethysmography revealed preserved lung function in CD19+ B cell-treated mice in contrast to sensitized mice, and there was no Phl p 5-induced mast cell degranulation in treated mice.DiscussionThus, we demonstrated that the transfer of Phl p 5-expressing CD19+ B cells induces allergen-specific tolerance in a mouse model of grass pollen allergy. This approach could be further translated into a prophylactic regimen for the prevention of IgE-mediated allergy in humans

T cell stimulator cells, an efficient and versatile cellular system to assess the role of costimulatory ligands in the activation of human T cells.

It is well established that full activation of T cells requires the interaction of the TCR complex with the peptide-MHC complex (Signal 1) and additional signals (Signal 2). These second signals are generated by the interaction of costimulatory ligands expressed on antigen presenting cells with activating receptors on T cells. In addition, T cell responses are negatively regulated by inhibitory costimulatory pathways. Since professional antigen presenting cells (APC) harbour a plethora of stimulating and inhibitory surface molecules, the contribution of individual costimulatory molecules is difficult to assess on these cells. We have developed a system of stimulator cells that can give signal 1 to human T cells via a membrane bound anti-CD3 antibody fragment. By expressing human costimulatory ligands on these cells, their role in T cell activation processes can readily be analyzed. We demonstrate that T cell stimulator cells are excellent tools to study various aspects of human T cell costimulation, including the effects of immunomodulatory drugs or how costimulatory signals contribute to the in vitro expansion of T cells. T cell stimulator cells are especially suited for the functional evaluation of ligands that are implicated in costimulatory processes. In this study we have evaluated the role of the CD2 family member CD150 (SLAM) and the TNF family member TL1A (TNFSF15) in the activation of human T cells. Whereas our results do not point to a significant role of CD150 in T cell activation we found TL1A to potently costimulate human T cells. Taken together our results demonstrate that T cell stimulator cells are excellent tools to study various aspects of costimulatory processes

CD146 expression is associated with a poor prognosis in human breast tumors and with enhanced motility in breast cancer cell lines.

INTRODUCTION: Metastasis is a complex process involving loss of adhesion, migration, invasion and proliferation of cancer cells. Cell adhesion molecules play a pivotal role in this phenomenon by regulating cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions. CD146 (MCAM) is associated with an advanced tumor stage in melanoma, prostate cancer and ovarian cancer. Studies of CD146 expression and function in breast cancer remain scarce except for a report concluding that CD146 could act as a tumor suppressor in breast carcinogenesis. METHODS: To resolve these apparent discrepancies in the role of CD146 in tumor cells, we looked at the association of CD146 expression with histoclinical features in human primary breast cancers using DNA and tissue microarrays. By flow cytometry, we characterized CD146 expression on different breast cancer cell lines. Using siRNA or shRNA technology, we studied functional consequences of CD146 downmodulation of MDA-MB-231 cells in migration assays. Wild-type, mock-transfected and downmodulated transfected cells were profiled using whole-genome DNA microarrays to identify genes whose expression was modified by CD146 downregulation. RESULTS: Microarray studies revealed the association of higher levels of CD146 with histoclinical features that belong to the basal cluster of human tumors. Expression of CD146 protein on epithelial cells was detected in a small subset of cancers with histoclinical features of basal tumors. CD146+ cell lines displayed a mesenchymal phenotype. Downmodulation of CD146 expression in the MDA-MB-231 cell line resulted in downmodulation of vimentin, as well as of a set of genes that include both genes associated with a poor prognosis in a variety of cancers and genes known to promote cell motility. In vitro functional assays revealed decreased migration abilities associated with decreased CD146 expression. CONCLUSIONS: In addition to its expression in the vascular compartment, CD146 is expressed on a subset of epithelial cells in malignant breast. CD146 may directly or indirectly contribute to tumor aggressiveness by promoting malignant cell motility. Changes in molecular signatures following downmodulation of CD146 expression suggest that CD146 downmodulation is associated with the reversal of several biological characteristics associated with epithelial to mesenchymal transition, and the phenomenon associated with the metastatic process.RIGHTS : This article is licensed under the BioMed Central licence at http://www.biomedcentral.com/about/license which is similar to the 'Creative Commons Attribution Licence'. In brief you may : copy, distribute, and display the work; make derivative works; or make commercial use of the work - under the following conditions: the original author must be given credit; for any reuse or distribution, it must be made clear to others what the license terms of this work are

Human Rhinovirus 14 Enters Rhabdomyosarcoma Cells Expressing ICAM-1 by a Clathrin-, Caveolin-, and Flotillin-Independent Pathway ▿

Intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1) mediates binding and entry of major group human rhinoviruses (HRVs). Whereas the entry pathway of minor group HRVs has been studied in detail and is comparatively well understood, the pathway taken by major group HRVs is largely unknown. Use of immunofluorescence microscopy, colocalization with specific endocytic markers, dominant negative mutants, and pharmacological inhibitors allowed us to demonstrate that the major group virus HRV14 enters rhabdomyosarcoma cells transfected to express human ICAM-1 in a clathrin-, caveolin-, and flotillin-independent manner. Electron microscopy revealed that many virions accumulated in long tubular structures, easily distinguishable from clathrin-coated pits and caveolae. Virus entry was strongly sensitive to the Na+/H+ ion exchange inhibitor amiloride and moderately sensitive to cytochalasin D. Thus, cellular uptake of HRV14 occurs via a pathway exhibiting some, but not all, characteristics of macropinocytosis and is similar to that recently described for adenovirus 3 entry via αv integrin/CD46 in HeLa cells