From guilty conscience to collective climate action: the role of negative moral emotions in motivating individual and group-based proenvironmental behavior

Rees J. From guilty conscience to collective climate action: the role of negative moral emotions in motivating individual and group-based proenvironmental behavior. Bielefeld: Universität Bielefeld; 2015

The Structure of a Conserved Piezo Channel Domain Reveals a Topologically Distinct β Sandwich Fold

Piezo has recently been identified as a family of eukaryotic mechanosensitive channels composed of subunits containing over 2,000 amino acids, without recognizable sequence similarity to other channels. Here, we present the crystal structure of a large, conserved extramembrane domain located just before the last predicted transmembrane helix of C. elegans PIEZO, which adopts a topologically distinct β sandwich fold. The structure was also determined of a point mutation located on a conserved surface at the position equivalent to the human PIEZO1 mutation found in dehydrated hereditary stomatocytosis patients (M2225R). While the point mutation does not change the overall domain structure, it does alter the surface electrostatic potential that may perturb interactions with a yet-tobe- identified ligand or protein. The lack of structural similarity between this domain and any previously characterized fold, including those of eukaryotic and bacterial channels, highlights the distinctive nature of the Piezo family of eukaryotic mechanosensitive channels

Climate of Hate: Similar Correlates of Far Right Electoral Support and Right-Wing Hate Crimes in Germany

Rees J, Rees Y, Hellmann JH, Zick A. Climate of Hate: Similar Correlates of Far Right Electoral Support and Right-Wing Hate Crimes in Germany. Frontiers in Psychology. 2019;10: 2328.Since 2015, far right parties drawing heavily on radical anti-refugee rhetoric gained electoral support in Germany while the number of political hate crimes targeting refugees rose. Both phenomena – far right electoral support and prevalence of right-wing hate crimes – have theoretically and empirically been linked with socio-structural and contextual variables. However, systematic empirical research on these links is scattered and scarce at best. We combine official statistics on political hate crimes targeting refugees in Germany and far right electoral support of the far right party “Alternative für Deutschland” (AfD) in the German national elections 2017 with socio-structural variables (proportion of foreigners and unemployment rate) and survey data collected in a representative survey (N = 1,506) in 2016. We aggregate and combine data for all German municipalities except Berlin which were the level of analysis for the current study. In path analyses, we find socio-structural variables to be unrelated with each other but significantly correlated with both criterion variables in a systematic fashion: proportion of foreigners was negatively while unemployment rate was positively linked with far right electoral support. Right-wing crime was linked positively with unemployment rate across Germany and positively with proportion of foreigners only in East Germany while proportion of foreigners was unrelated to right-wing crime in West Germany. When including survey measures into the model, they were linked with socio-structural variables in the predicted fashion – intergroup contact correlated positively with proportion of foreigners, collective deprivation correlated positively with unemployment rates, and both predicted extreme right-wing attitudes. However, their contribution to the explained variance in outcome variables above and beyond socio-structural variables was neglectable. We argue that both far right-wing electoral support and right-wing hate crime can be conceptualized as behavioral forms of political extremism shaped through socio-structural and contextual factors and discuss implications for preventing political extremism

Bielefeld protestiert. Ergebnisse einer Online-Umfrage zu den Ereignissen rund um die Demonstrationen am 10. November 2018

Papendick M, Rees J, Rees Y, Wäschle F, Zick A. Bielefeld protestiert. Ergebnisse einer Online-Umfrage zu den Ereignissen rund um die Demonstrationen am 10. November 2018. IKG Forschungsbericht. Bielefeld: Universität Bielefeld, Institut für interdisziplinäre Konflikt- und Gewaltforschung; 2018

Multidimensionaler Erinnerungsmonitor (MEMO) I/2018

Rees J, Papendick M, Zick A, Wäschle F. Multidimensionaler Erinnerungsmonitor (MEMO) I/2018. Forschungsbericht IKG. Institut für interdisziplinäre Konflikt- und Gewaltforschung (IKG), Universität Bielefeld; 2018

Beliefs about the Strauss-Kahn case in France and Germany: Political orientation and sexual aggression myths as local versus global predictors

Helmke S, Kobusch P-R, Rees J, Meyer T, Bohner G. Beliefs about the Strauss-Kahn case in France and Germany: Political orientation and sexual aggression myths as local versus global predictors. International Journal of Conflict and Violence. 2014;8(1):171-186.In May 2011, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, head of the International Monetary Fund and a prominent member of the French Socialist Party, was charged with attempted rape. Extensive media coverage led people across the globe to speculate about intentions and responsibilities. While the case was pending, we conducted two parallel Internet surveys, with French and German participants (*N* = 1,314). We examined how strongly exoneration of the alleged perpetrator depended on acceptance of modern myths about sexual aggression (AMMSA) and identity attributes that are temporarily salient as a function of local context (gender, political left-right orientation, nationality). AMMSA was a global predictor of exonerating the alleged perpetrator across national sub-samples, whereas the predictive power of gender and left-right orientation varied locally: For French respondents, left-wing political attitudes predicted exoneration of the alleged perpetrator, whereas only for German respondents, being male predicted exoneration. We conclude that the interplay of global (sexual aggression myths) and local (social identification) factors affects the lay assessment of ambiguous cases of sexual violence

Structural Basis for Heavy Metal Detoxification by an Atm1-Type ABC Exporter

Although substantial progress has been achieved in the structural analysis of exporters from the superfamily of adenosine triphosphate (ATP)–binding cassette (ABC) transporters, much less is known about how they selectively recognize substrates and how substrate binding is coupled to ATP hydrolysis. We have addressed these questions through crystallographic analysis of the Atm1/ABCB7/HMT1/ABCB6 ortholog from Novosphingobium aromaticivorans DSM 12444, NaAtm1, at 2.4 angstrom resolution. Consistent with a physiological role in cellular detoxification processes, functional studies showed that glutathione derivatives can serve as substrates for NaAtm1 and that its overexpression in Escherichia coli confers protection against silver and mercury toxicity. The glutathione binding site highlights the articulated design of ABC exporters, with ligands and nucleotides spanning structurally conserved elements to create adaptable interfaces accommodating conformational rearrangements during the transport cycle

Microstructural Evolution of Nb-V-Mo and V Containing TRIP assisted Steels during Thermomechanical Processing

The microstructural evolution and precipitation behaviour of Nb-V-Mo and single V containing transformation induced plasticity assisted steels were investigated during thermomechanical processing. A plane strain compression testing machine was used to simulate the thermomechanical processing. Microstructures were characterised by optical microscopy, scanning-transmission electron microscopy and microanalysis, and X-ray diffraction analysis, and Vickers hardness was obtained from the deformed specimens. The resulting microstructure of both Nb-V-Mo and V steels at room temperature primarily consisted of an acicular/bainitic ferrite, retained austenite and martensite surrounded by allotriomorphic ferrite. The TEM analysis showed that a significant number of Nb(V,Mo)(C,N) precipitates were formed in the microstructure down to the finishing stage in Nb-V-Mo steel (i.e. 830 °C). It was also found that the V(C,N) precipitation primarily occurred in both ferrite and deformed austenite below the finishing stage. The results suggested that Nb-Mo additions considerably increased the temperature stability of microalloy precipitates and controlled the microstructural evolution of austenite. However, the microalloy precipitation did not cause a significant precipitation strengthening in both Nb-V-Mo and V steels at room temperature

Extragalactic Radio Continuum Surveys and the Transformation of Radio Astronomy

Next-generation radio surveys are about to transform radio astronomy by discovering and studying tens of millions of previously unknown radio sources. These surveys will provide new insights to understand the evolution of galaxies, measuring the evolution of the cosmic star formation rate, and rivalling traditional techniques in the measurement of fundamental cosmological parameters. By observing a new volume of observational parameter space, they are also likely to discover unexpected new phenomena. This review traces the evolution of extragalactic radio continuum surveys from the earliest days of radio astronomy to the present, and identifies the challenges that must be overcome to achieve this transformational change.Comment: To be published in Nature Astronomy 18 Sept 201

Two-point functions in a holographic Kondo model

We develop the formalism of holographic renormalization to compute two-point functions in a holographic Kondo model. The model describes a $(0+1)$-dimensional impurity spin of a gauged $SU(N)$ interacting with a $(1+1)$-dimensional, large-$N$, strongly-coupled Conformal Field Theory (CFT). We describe the impurity using Abrikosov pseudo-fermions, and define an $SU(N)$-invariant scalar operator \mathcalO built from a pseudo-fermion and a CFT fermion. At large $N$ the Kondo interaction is of the form \mathcalO^\dagger \mathcalO, which is marginally relevant, and generates a Renormalization Group (RG) flow at the impurity. A second-order mean-field phase transition occurs in which \mathcalO condenses below a critical temperature, leading to the Kondo effect, including screening of the impurity. Via holography, the phase transition is dual to holographic superconductivity in $(1+1)$-dimensional Anti-de Sitter space. At all temperatures, spectral functions of \mathcalO exhibit a Fano resonance, characteristic of a continuum of states interacting with an isolated resonance. In contrast to Fano resonances observed for example in quantum dots, our continuum and resonance arise from a $(0+1)$-dimensional UV fixed point and RG flow, respectively. In the low-temperature phase, the resonance comes from a pole in the Green's function of the form $-i \langle \cal O \rangle^2$, which is characteristic of a Kondo resonance