245 research outputs found
Gesellschaftliche Integrität der Forschung: Wissenschaftsforschung Jahrbuch 2005
Gesellschaftliche Integrität von Forschung bezieht sich nach Hippokrates vor allem auf das Methodische bei der Problembearbeitung: ein forschender Arzt ist verpflichtet, sich nur solcher Methoden zu bedienen, die dem Patienten nutzen, auf keinen Fall aber schaden dürfen. In diesem Sinne wird auch in unserer Zeit auf Unangemessenheiten in der Art naturwissenschaftlicher Wissensproduktion hingewiesen. „Unangemessenheit“ ist dabei als relationaler Begriff zu verstehen. Vor jeder Wertung stellt sie zunächst nur ein Verhältnis zwischen Eigenschaften der Wissenschaft und Eigenschaften des makrosystemischen Kontextes dar. Ändern sich die Systeme, die zu den Umwelten der Wissenschaften gehören, dann können sich die Bedingungen und Bestimmungen gesellschaftlicher Integrität
von Forschung ebenfalls verschieben. Dieses Problem stellt sich in analoger Weise fĂĽr jedes andere System. Auch die Politik, die Ă–konomie und gegebenfalls auch andere Systeme sind gezwungen, die Implikationen von Informationen aus der Wissenschaftsentwicklung fĂĽr die
Funktionsabläufe und Ziele des eigenen Systems zu überprüfen (eine Übersetzung der fremdsystemischen Information in den Eigencode des Systems anzufertigen) und gegebenenfalls zu handeln. Dabei gibt es nicht selten Friktionen. Nicht immer zeigt sich zum Beispiel die Politik offen für die Berücksichtigung der neuen Erkenntnisse. Es gibt Fälle, in denen sie sowohl die Gewinnung als auch die Ausnutzung neuer wissenschaftlicher Ansätze zu blockieren versucht – aus welchen Gründen auch immer. Für die Wissenschaftsforschung steht vor allem die gesellschaftliche Integrität der Forschung selbst zur Diskussion.
Die Gesellschaft fĂĽr Wissenschaftsforschung hat sich dieser Fragestellung angenommen
und sie im Rahmen ihrer Jahrestagung im Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung am 18. März 2005 unter dem Thema „Die gesellschaftliche Integrität der Forschung“ analysiert und diskutiert. Dabei ist es gelungen, theoretische Überlegungen mit historischen und aktuellen Fakten zu verbinden. Die Ergebnisse dieser Tagung werden in diesem Jahrbuch der Gesellschaft für Wissenschaftsforschung dem interessierten Leser vorgestellt.Peer Reviewe
A multi-site campaign to measure solar-like oscillations in Procyon. II. Mode frequencies
We have analyzed data from a multi-site campaign to observe oscillations in
the F5 star Procyon. The data consist of high-precision velocities that we
obtained over more than three weeks with eleven telescopes. A new method for
adjusting the data weights allows us to suppress the sidelobes in the power
spectrum. Stacking the power spectrum in a so-called echelle diagram reveals
two clear ridges that we identify with even and odd values of the angular
degree (l=0 and 2, and l=1 and 3, respectively). We interpret a strong, narrow
peak at 446 muHz that lies close to the l=1 ridge as a mode with mixed
character. We show that the frequencies of the ridge centroids and their
separations are useful diagnostics for asteroseismology. In particular,
variations in the large separation appear to indicate a glitch in the
sound-speed profile at an acoustic depth of about 1000 s. We list frequencies
for 55 modes extracted from the data spanning 20 radial orders, a range
comparable to the best solar data, which will provide valuable constraints for
theoretical models. A preliminary comparison with published models shows that
the offset between observed and calculated frequencies for the radial modes is
very different for Procyon than for the Sun and other cool stars. We find the
mean lifetime of the modes in Procyon to be 1.29 +0.55/-0.49 days, which is
significantly shorter than the 2-4 days seen in the Sun.Comment: accepted for publication in Ap
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Characterization of the Testicular Abnormality in 5a-Reductase Deficiency
The testes of five phenotypic women (from four families) with 5ÂŞ-reductase deficiency were studied. In one of the patients, the enzyme deficiency was similar in the testis and epididymis and in fibroblasts cultured from the labia majora. In testes from four of the patients, the concentrations of the 55ÂŞreduced steroids dihydrotestosterone and 3ÂŞ-androstanediol were less than 10% of those in normal subjects. We conclude that the testis is involved in 55ÂŞ-reductase deficiency. Impaired spermatogenesis was evident in testicular biopsies from all five subjects, and in two, sperm production, as estimated in testicular homogenates, was less than 10% of normal. The extent to which spermatogenic arrest is due to 55ÂŞ-reductase deficiency or testicular maldescent is not clear
Pan-Cancer Analysis of lncRNA Regulation Supports Their Targeting of Cancer Genes in Each Tumor Context
Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are commonly dys-regulated in tumors, but only a handful are known toplay pathophysiological roles in cancer. We inferredlncRNAs that dysregulate cancer pathways, onco-genes, and tumor suppressors (cancer genes) bymodeling their effects on the activity of transcriptionfactors, RNA-binding proteins, and microRNAs in5,185 TCGA tumors and 1,019 ENCODE assays.Our predictions included hundreds of candidateonco- and tumor-suppressor lncRNAs (cancerlncRNAs) whose somatic alterations account for thedysregulation of dozens of cancer genes and path-ways in each of 14 tumor contexts. To demonstrateproof of concept, we showed that perturbations tar-geting OIP5-AS1 (an inferred tumor suppressor) andTUG1 and WT1-AS (inferred onco-lncRNAs) dysre-gulated cancer genes and altered proliferation ofbreast and gynecologic cancer cells. Our analysis in-dicates that, although most lncRNAs are dysregu-lated in a tumor-specific manner, some, includingOIP5-AS1, TUG1, NEAT1, MEG3, and TSIX, synergis-tically dysregulate cancer pathways in multiple tumorcontexts
Genomic, Pathway Network, and Immunologic Features Distinguishing Squamous Carcinomas
This integrated, multiplatform PanCancer Atlas study co-mapped and identified distinguishing
molecular features of squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) from five sites associated with smokin
Pan-cancer Alterations of the MYC Oncogene and Its Proximal Network across the Cancer Genome Atlas
Although theMYConcogene has been implicated incancer, a systematic assessment of alterations ofMYC, related transcription factors, and co-regulatoryproteins, forming the proximal MYC network (PMN),across human cancers is lacking. Using computa-tional approaches, we define genomic and proteo-mic features associated with MYC and the PMNacross the 33 cancers of The Cancer Genome Atlas.Pan-cancer, 28% of all samples had at least one ofthe MYC paralogs amplified. In contrast, the MYCantagonists MGA and MNT were the most frequentlymutated or deleted members, proposing a roleas tumor suppressors.MYCalterations were mutu-ally exclusive withPIK3CA,PTEN,APC,orBRAFalterations, suggesting that MYC is a distinct onco-genic driver. Expression analysis revealed MYC-associated pathways in tumor subtypes, such asimmune response and growth factor signaling; chro-matin, translation, and DNA replication/repair wereconserved pan-cancer. This analysis reveals insightsinto MYC biology and is a reference for biomarkersand therapeutics for cancers with alterations ofMYC or the PMN
Spatial Organization and Molecular Correlation of Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes Using Deep Learning on Pathology Images
Beyond sample curation and basic pathologic characterization, the digitized H&E-stained images
of TCGA samples remain underutilized. To highlight this resource, we present mappings of tumorinfiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) based on H&E images from 13 TCGA tumor types. These TIL
maps are derived through computational staining using a convolutional neural network trained to
classify patches of images. Affinity propagation revealed local spatial structure in TIL patterns and
correlation with overall survival. TIL map structural patterns were grouped using standard
histopathological parameters. These patterns are enriched in particular T cell subpopulations
derived from molecular measures. TIL densities and spatial structure were differentially enriched
among tumor types, immune subtypes, and tumor molecular subtypes, implying that spatial
infiltrate state could reflect particular tumor cell aberration states. Obtaining spatial lymphocytic
patterns linked to the rich genomic characterization of TCGA samples demonstrates one use for
the TCGA image archives with insights into the tumor-immune microenvironment
Functional Dissection of the Proton Pumping Modules of Mitochondrial Complex I
A catalytically active subcomplex of respiratory chain complex I lacks 14 of its 42 subunits yet retains half of its proton-pumping capacity, indicating that its membrane arm has two pump modules
Weather conditions and daily television use in the Netherlands, 1996–2005
This study examines the impact of daily atmospheric weather conditions on daily television use in the Netherlands for the period 1996–2005. The effects of the weather parameters are considered in the context of mood and mood management theory. It is proposed that inclement and uncomfortable weather conditions are associated with lower human mood, and that watching entertainment and avoiding informational programs may serve to repair such mood. We consequently hypothesize that people spend more time watching television if inclement and uncomfortable weather conditions (low temperatures, little sunshine, much precipitation, high wind velocity, less daylight) coincide with more airtime for entertainment programs, but that they view less if the same weather conditions coincide with more airtime devoted to information fare. We put this interaction thesis to a test using a time series analysis of daily television viewing data of the Dutch audience obtained from telemeters (T = 3,653), merged with meteorological weather station statistics and program broadcast figures, whilst controlling for a wide array of recurrent and one-time societal events. The results provide substantial support for the proposed interaction of program airtime and the weather parameters temperature and sunshine on aggregate television viewing time. Implications of the findings are discussed
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