In den Ruinen der Repräsentation? Affekt, Agencement und das Okkurente

In the Ruins of Representation? Affect, 'Agencement' and the Occurent The article examines the concept of affect from the perspective of Spinoza, Deleuze and Guattari, and Massumi. It defines affect in strict opposition to “feeling” and “emotion” as a prepersonal rather than as a-social phenomenon circulating among (human and non-human) bodies and creating “agencies” (dynamic heterogeneous connections or assemblages). Affect and desire are understood as productive forces delineating lines of flight in infinitesimal movements of affecting and being affected that undermine establishing representation “from within” and give birth to the emergence of potential transformations. The article focuses on what theories of affect offer a conception of “aesthetic politics” (Massumi 2010) within the field of interactive art in an age of biopolitical capitalism. It also highlights the possible connections with a critique of representation

Numerical and Experimental Investigation on the Self‐Healing Potential of Interpenetrating Metal–Ceramic Composites

An interpenetrating metal ceramic composite (IMCC) has been investigated regarding the potential as well as the feasibility of self-healing. Triggered by heating, cracks in the damaged composite located mainly in the Al2O3 ceramic or at the interface could be filled and closed by the liquid AlSi10Mg metal alloy. This healing procedure promises to reduce stress concentrations at crack tips and to improve the mechanical properties compared to the predamaged composite. Two different numerical approaches have been introduced to investigate this assumption and the potential of self-healed IMCCs for a best case scenario: 1) A simple 2D model to analyze the reduction of stress concentrations in front of a crack tip within the ceramic due to healing and 2) a 3D model based on CT-scan reconstructed microstructures to study how macroscopic mechanical properties can be restored depending on the amount of predamage. Further, the self-healing approach has been investigated experimentally for the same composite. Despite the fact that experimental self-healing of the investigated IMCC is only moderately feasible so far, the study shows the great potential that can still be exploited in order to extend the service life time of IMCC engineering components

Numerical and experimental investigation on the self‐healing potential of interpenetrating metal–ceramic composites

An interpenetrating metal ceramic composite (IMCC) has been investigated regarding the potential as well as the feasibility of self-healing. Triggered by heating, cracks in the damaged composite located mainly in the Al2O3 ceramic or at the interface could be filled and closed by the liquid AlSi10Mg metal alloy. This healing procedure promises to reduce stress concentrations at crack tips and to improve the mechanical properties compared to the predamaged composite. Two different numerical approaches have been introduced to investigate this assumption and the potential of self-healed IMCCs for a best case scenario: 1) A simple 2D model to analyze the reduction of stress concentrations in front of a crack tip within the ceramic due to healing and 2) a 3D model based on CT-scan reconstructed microstructures to study how macroscopic mechanical properties can be restored depending on the amount of predamage. Further, the self-healing approach has been investigated experimentally for the same composite. Despite the fact that experimental self-healing of the investigated IMCC is only moderately feasible so far, the study shows the great potential that can still be exploited in order to extend the service life time of IMCC engineering components

Mobile Media Use : Structure and Order - Three Project Reports

In diesem Band werden drei empirische Forschungsprojekte zur Nutzung von mobilen Medien im öffentlichen Raum dokumentiert. Projekt I: "Einsteigen mit Medien. Eine Studie zur Nutzung mobiler Medien im öffentlichen Stadtverkehr am Beispiel der Landeshauptstadt Stuttgart" / Projekt II: "Angst vor der Langeweile? Nutzung mobiler Medien in Wartesituationen" / Projekt III: "Musica Mobilis. Unterwegs mit der schwerelosen Musiksammlung. Eine Studie über die Auswirkungen des mobilen Musikkonsums auf die Wertschätzung von Musik

Toward the integrated marine debris observing system

Plastics and other artificial materials pose new risks to the health of the ocean. Anthropogenic debris travels across large distances and is ubiquitous in the water and on shorelines, yet, observations of its sources, composition, pathways, and distributions in the ocean are very sparse and inaccurate. Total amounts of plastics and other man-made debris in the ocean and on the shore, temporal trends in these amounts under exponentially increasing production, as well as degradation processes, vertical fluxes, and time scales are largely unknown. Present ocean circulation models are not able to accurately simulate drift of debris because of its complex hydrodynamics. In this paper we discuss the structure of the future integrated marine debris observing system (IMDOS) that is required to provide long-term monitoring of the state of this anthropogenic pollution and support operational activities to mitigate impacts on the ecosystem and on the safety of maritime activity. The proposed observing system integrates remote sensing and in situ observations. Also, models are used to optimize the design of the system and, in turn, they will be gradually improved using the products of the system. Remote sensing technologies will provide spatially coherent coverage and consistent surveying time series at local to global scale. Optical sensors, including high-resolution imaging, multi- and hyperspectral, fluorescence, and Raman technologies, as well as SAR will be used to measure different types of debris. They will be implemented in a variety of platforms, from hand-held tools to ship-, buoy-, aircraft-, and satellite-based sensors. A network of in situ observations, including reports from volunteers, citizen scientists and ships of opportunity, will be developed to provide data for calibration/validation of remote sensors and to monitor the spread of plastic pollution and other marine debris. IMDOS will interact with other observing systems monitoring physical, chemical, and biological processes in the ocean and on shorelines as well as the state of the ecosystem, maritime activities and safety, drift of sea ice, etc. The synthesized data will support innovative multi-disciplinary research and serve a diverse community of users

Use of plasma ctDNA as a potential biomarker for longitudinal monitoring of a patient with metastatic high-risk upper tract urothelial carcinoma receiving pembrolizumab and personalized neoepitope-derived multipeptide vaccinations: a case report

Upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) is often diagnosed late and exhibits poor prognosis. Only limited data are available concerning therapeutic regimes and potential biomarkers for disease monitoring. Standard therapies often provide only insufficient treatment options. Hence, immunotherapies and complementary approaches, such as personalized neoepitope-derived multipeptide vaccine (PNMV), come into focus. In this context, genetic analysis of tumor tissue by whole exome sequencing represents an essential diagnostic step in order to calculate tumor mutational burden (TMB) and to reveal tumor-specific neoantigens. Furthermore, disease progression is essential to be monitored. Longitudinal screening of individually known mutations in plasma circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) by the use of next-generation sequencing and digital droplet PCR (ddPCR) might be a promising method to fill this gap.Here, we present the case of a 55-year-old man who was diagnosed with high-risk metastatic UTUC in 2015. After initial surgery and palliative chemotherapy, he developed recurrence of the tumor. Genetic analysis revealed a high TMB of 41.2 mutations per megabase suggesting a potential success of immunotherapy. Therefore, in 2016, off-label treatment with the checkpoint-inhibitor pembrolizumab was started leading to strong regression of the disease. This therapy was then discontinued due to side effects and treatment with a previously produced PNMV was started that induced strong T cell responses. During both treatments, plasma Liquid Biopsies (pLBs) were performed to measure the number of mutated molecules per mL plasma (MM/mL) of a known tumor-specific variant in the MLH1 gene by ddPCR for longitudinal monitoring. Under treatment, MM/mL was constantly zero. A few months after all therapies had been discontinued, an increase of MM/mL was detected that persisted in the following pLBs. When MRI scans proved tumor recurrence, treatment with pembrolizumab was started again leading to a rapid decrease of MM/mL in the pLB to again zero. Treatment response was then also confirmed by MRI.This case shows that use of immunotherapy and PNMV might be a promising treatment option for patients with high-risk metastatic UTUC. Furthermore, measurement of individually known tumor mutations in plasma ctDNA by the use of pLB could be a very sensitive biomarker to longitudinally monitor disease

Didaktisches Fachkonzept zur digitalen und virtuell unterstützten Fallarbeit in den Gesundheitsberufen

Nauerth A, Makowsky K, Freese C, et al. Didaktisches Fachkonzept zur digitalen und virtuell unterstützten Fallarbeit in den Gesundheitsberufen. FH Bielefeld Publikationsserver; 2023

Neonatally imprinted stromal cell subsets induce tolerogenic dendritic cells in mesenteric lymph nodes

Gut-draining mesenteric lymph nodes (mLNs) are important for inducing peripheral tolerance towards food and commensal antigens by providing an optimal microenvironment for de novo generation of Foxp3(+) regulatory T cells (Tregs). We previously identified microbiota-imprinted mLN stromal cells as a critical component in tolerance induction. Here we show that this imprinting process already takes place in the neonatal phase, and renders the mLN stromal cell compartment resistant to inflammatory perturbations later in life. LN transplantation and single-cell RNA-seq uncover stably imprinted expression signatures in mLN fibroblastic stromal cells. Subsetting common stromal cells across gut-draining mLNs and skin-draining LNs further refine their location-specific immunomodulatory functions, such as subset-specific expression of Aldh1a2/3. Finally, we demonstrate that mLN stromal cells shape resident dendritic cells to attain high Treg-inducing capacity in a Bmp2-dependent manner. Thus, crosstalk between mLN stromal and resident dendritic cells provides a robust regulatory mechanism for the maintenance of intestinal tolerance