Historische und rezente Entwicklung des lebenslangen Lernens in Europa

Die Dissertationsarbeit beschreibt das Thema „Lebenslanges Lernen“ und Motivationen sowie Meinungen zum Lebenslangen Lernen älterer Menschen. Viele ältere Personen kompensieren ihre zunehmende Einsamkeit mit einem Studium an der Universität des „dritten“ Alters. Historisch gesehen entwickelte sich die Weiterbildung „50+“ erst nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg und ab den 70er Jahren mit einer größeren Intensität. In meiner Arbeit gehe ich folgenden Fragen nach: - Was motiviert Menschen aktiv an Bildung und Lernen im Alter teilzunehmen? - Welche Ansicht vertreten ältere Studierende zum Modell „Lebenslanges Lernen“ Der empirische Teil meiner Arbeit beruht auf 10 qualitativen Interviews mit Personen, die auf der „Universität des Dritten Lebensalters“ auf der Comenius Universität in Pressburg (Bratislava) studieren. Für die Interviews wurden Gesprächspartner ausgewählt, die kurz vor ihrer Pensionierung oder bereits in Pension sind. Auf das Bildungsverhalten von älteren Personen wirken neben dem sozialen Lernklima noch weitere Faktoren ein, die sich förderlich oder aber auch hemmend gestalten können. Lernfähigkeit und Lerntempo in älteren Jahren geht verloren und ist nicht immer als Voraussetzung zu erwarten. Für die Institutionen ist die „Generation 50+“ im mehrfachen Sinne interessant weiterzubilden. Die Lernaktivität und das adäquate Lernklima bleiben auch in älteren Jahren erhalten. Die sozialen, persönlichen, psychischen und kognitiven Faktoren sind auch Haupteinflussfaktoren auf die Lernmotivation. Die wichtigsten Motive für die Weiterbildung im Alter sind vor allem die Angst vor der sozialen Isolation und Einsamkeit, der Wunsch nach geistiger Fitness im Alter und das Bedürfnis einer generellen Wissenserweiterung auch auf neuen Gebieten, wie z.B. moderne Kommunikationstechnologie, Fremdsprache, Evidenzdatenerfassung usw. Das lebenslange Lernen älterer Menschen leistet einen Beitrag für die Gesellschaft und hat eine positive Bedeutung auf das Wohlbefinden älterer Menschen

The Impact Of Hybrid Infrastructure On Trust, Motivation And Knowledge Sharing In An Intentional Community: A Latvian Case Study

The role of ICT infrastructure in enhancing innovation processes through fostering knowledge and information exchange is a controversial topic in regional science. Opposing views exist, in particular, with regard to two topics: a) the persistence of a specific role of geographical proximity in knowledge exchange processes in the age of global virtual networking; b) the capability of virtual networking to recreate the social assets of a physical community (trust, solidarity?). Existing studies primarily focus on aggregated data, rely on doubtful epistemological assumptions (e.g. the equation of information with knowledge), and neglect several epistemological principles of social cognition (e.g. collective and collaborative agency of communities). It may be hypothesized that the debate would benefit from: a) analyses focused on the micro (individual) level; b) a more complex formalization of social dynamics; and c) a deeper reflection on the nature of cognitive factors at stake. The paper is aimed at investigating the effect that the co-existence of physical and virtual networking has on social assets building and knowledge sharing among members of an intentional community (in our study: the National Library of Latvia users? community). The theoretical framework draws on social and cognitive science, combining social capital theory, social learning theory, and theories of collective and collaborative action in cognitive social science. The theoretical model to be tested empirically relies on a complex taxonomy of social capital and shareable knowledge. The former takes into account both physical / virtual structural (network) assets and social resources which are embedded in such networks; the latter encompasses relevant dichotomies in applied and cognitive epistemology. Indirect positive effects of social capital on individual knowledge growth ? through the empowerment of community-oriented motivation and quality of knowledge exchange - are hypothesized. The empirical analysis is based on the collection of psychometric data at the micro (individual) level and on a methodological approach relying on advanced econometrics (structural equation modelling), able to encompass both measurement problems related to the intangible nature of variables, and an assessment of complex cause-effect dynamics. The analysis helps to compare the effect of physical and virtual networking in enhancing social resources and hence knowledge exchange and enrichment. In order to grasp such effects in a better way, the model is tested for clusters of community members stating preferences for either physical or virtual networking. The sensitivity of results is also tested against control variables accounting for socio-economic, demographic, ethno-cultural differences within the community

EVALUATION OF LATVIAN FLAX VARIETIES BY SEED YIELD AND QUALITY

Flax cultures give dual-purpose production – flax fibre and seeds. Flax varieties adapted to local climate conditions have breeded but up to now the profound research of its quality was not carried out. In our investigation we analysed flax varieties of Latvia selection for seed yield and quality in comparison with standard varieties ‘Vega 2’ and ‘Lirina’. In Latgale Agricultural Scientific Centre 10 Latvian flax varieties are cultivated and seed yield, 1000-seed weight, seed oil content (extracted by hot pressing method) and fatty acid content in flax seed oil (detected with gas chromatography method) have evaluated. Seed yields of fibre flax Latvian varieties are significantly higher in comparison with standard variety ‘Vega’. All analysed seed samples have high oil content (27- 47%) and there is high percentage of polyunsaturated fatty acids in oil (linoleic acid 10,6-16,9%, linolenic acid 54,7-62,1%). There is little difference in 1000-seed weight, content of oil in seeds, percentage of linoleic, linolenic, oleic, palmitic and stearic acid in oil between fibre flax and oil seed flax varieties. The difference between the varieties is more influential. Flaxes seeds from Latvian varieties are in high quality and can be used for food, medical and technical purposes

A multi-platform approach to identify a blood-based host protein signature for distinguishing between bacterial and viral infections in febrile children (PERFORM) : a multi-cohort machine learning study

Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 license. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.BACKGROUND: Differentiating between self-resolving viral infections and bacterial infections in children who are febrile is a common challenge, causing difficulties in identifying which individuals require antibiotics. Studying the host response to infection can provide useful insights and can lead to the identification of biomarkers of infection with diagnostic potential. This study aimed to identify host protein biomarkers for future development into an accurate, rapid point-of-care test that can distinguish between bacterial and viral infections, by recruiting children presenting to health-care settings with fever or a history of fever in the previous 72 h. METHODS: In this multi-cohort machine learning study, patient data were taken from EUCLIDS, the Swiss Pediatric Sepsis study, the GENDRES study, and the PERFORM study, which were all based in Europe. We generated three high-dimensional proteomic datasets (SomaScan and two via liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry, referred to as MS-A and MS-B) using targeted and untargeted platforms (SomaScan and liquid chromatography mass spectrometry). Protein biomarkers were then shortlisted using differential abundance analysis, feature selection using forward selection-partial least squares (FS-PLS; 100 iterations), along with a literature search. Identified proteins were tested with Luminex and ELISA and iterative FS-PLS was done again (25 iterations) on the Luminex results alone, and the Luminex and ELISA results together. A sparse protein signature for distinguishing between bacterial and viral infections was identified from the selected proteins. The performance of this signature was finally tested using Luminex assays and by calculating disease risk scores. FINDINGS: 376 children provided serum or plasma samples for use in the discovery of protein biomarkers. 79 serum samples were collected for the generation of the SomaScan dataset, 147 plasma samples for the MS-A dataset, and 150 plasma samples for the MS-B dataset. Differential abundance analysis, and the first round of feature selection using FS-PLS identified 35 protein biomarker candidates, of which 13 had commercial ELISA or Luminex tests available. 16 proteins with ELISA or Luminex tests available were identified by literature review. Further evaluation via Luminex and ELISA and the second round of feature selection using FS-PLS revealed a six-protein signature: three of the included proteins are elevated in bacterial infections (SELE, NGAL, and IFN-γ), and three are elevated in viral infections (IL18, NCAM1, and LG3BP). Performance testing of the signature using Luminex assays revealed area under the receiver operating characteristic curve values between 89·4% and 93·6%. INTERPRETATION: This study has led to the identification of a protein signature that could be ultimately developed into a blood-based point-of-care diagnostic test for rapidly diagnosing bacterial and viral infections in febrile children. Such a test has the potential to greatly improve care of children who are febrile, ensuring that the correct individuals receive antibiotics. FUNDING: European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (EUCLIDS), Imperial Biomedical Research Centre of the National Institute for Health Research, the Wellcome Trust and Medical Research Foundation, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Consorcio Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Respiratorias, Grupos de Refeencia Competitiva, Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation.Peer reviewe

Genomic investigations of unexplained acute hepatitis in children

Funding Information: UKHSA funded the metagenomics and HAdV sequencing. We thank A. Nathwani for helpful discussions. We acknowledge the considerable contribution from the GOSH microbiology laboratory. We thank the medical students who contributed to the DIAMOND consortium. All research at GOSH and UCL GOSH Institute of Child Health is made possible by the NIHR GOSH Biomedical Research Centre. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NHS, the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), the UKRI or the Department of Health and Social Care. The work was part funded by the NIHR Blood and Transplant Research Unit in Genomics to Enhance Microbiology Screening (GEMS), the National Institute for Health and Care Research (CO-CIN-01) or jointly by NIHR and UK Research and Innovation (CV220-169, MC_PC_19059). S. Morfopoulou is funded by a W.T. Henry Wellcome fellowship (206478/Z/17/Z). S.B. and O.E.T.M. are funded by the NIHR Blood and Transplant Research Unit (GEMS). M.M.M. and M.L. are supported in part by the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre of Imperial College NHS Trust. J.B. receives NIHR Senior Investigator Funding. M.N. and J.B. are supported by the Wellcome Trust (207511/Z/17/Z and 203268/Z/16/Z). M.N., J.B. and G.P. are supported by the NIHR University College London Hospitals Biomedical Research Centre. P. Simmonds is supported by the NIHR (NIHR203338). T.S.J. is grateful for funding from the Brain Tumour Charity, Children with Cancer UK, GOSH Children’s Charity, Olivia Hodson Cancer Fund, Cancer Research UK and the NIHR. DIAMONDS is funded by the European Union (Horizon 2020; grant 848196). PERFORM was funded by the European Union (Horizon 2020; grant 668303). Publisher Copyright: © 2023, The Author(s).Since its first identification in Scotland, over 1,000 cases of unexplained paediatric hepatitis in children have been reported worldwide, including 278 cases in the UK1. Here we report an investigation of 38 cases, 66 age-matched immunocompetent controls and 21 immunocompromised comparator participants, using a combination of genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic and immunohistochemical methods. We detected high levels of adeno-associated virus 2 (AAV2) DNA in the liver, blood, plasma or stool from 27 of 28 cases. We found low levels of adenovirus (HAdV) and human herpesvirus 6B (HHV-6B) in 23 of 31 and 16 of 23, respectively, of the cases tested. By contrast, AAV2 was infrequently detected and at low titre in the blood or the liver from control children with HAdV, even when profoundly immunosuppressed. AAV2, HAdV and HHV-6 phylogeny excluded the emergence of novel strains in cases. Histological analyses of explanted livers showed enrichment for T cells and B lineage cells. Proteomic comparison of liver tissue from cases and healthy controls identified increased expression of HLA class 2, immunoglobulin variable regions and complement proteins. HAdV and AAV2 proteins were not detected in the livers. Instead, we identified AAV2 DNA complexes reflecting both HAdV-mediated and HHV-6B-mediated replication. We hypothesize that high levels of abnormal AAV2 replication products aided by HAdV and, in severe cases, HHV-6B may have triggered immune-mediated hepatic disease in genetically and immunologically predisposed children.publishersversionPeer reviewe

Impact of infection on proteome-wide glycosylation revealed by distinct signatures for bacterial and viral pathogens

Mechanisms of infection and pathogenesis have predominantly been studied based on differential gene or protein expression. Less is known about posttranslational modifications, which are essential for protein functional diversity. We applied an innovative glycoproteomics method to study the systemic proteome-wide glycosylation in response to infection. The protein site-specific glycosylation was characterized in plasma derived from well-defined controls and patients. We found 3862 unique features, of which we identified 463 distinct intact glycopeptides, that could be mapped to more than 30 different proteins. Statistical analyses were used to derive a glycopeptide signature that enabled significant differentiation between patients with a bacterial or viral infection. Furthermore, supported by a machine learning algorithm, we demonstrated the ability to identify the causative pathogens based on the distinctive host blood plasma glycopeptide signatures. These results illustrate that glycoproteomics holds enormous potential as an innovative approach to improve the interpretation of relevant biological changes in response to infection

Relationship between molecular pathogen detection and clinical disease in febrile children across Europe: a multicentre, prospective observational study

BackgroundThe PERFORM study aimed to understand causes of febrile childhood illness by comparing molecular pathogen detection with current clinical practice.MethodsFebrile children and controls were recruited on presentation to hospital in 9 European countries 2016-2020. Each child was assigned a standardized diagnostic category based on retrospective review of local clinical and microbiological data. Subsequently, centralised molecular tests (CMTs) for 19 respiratory and 27 blood pathogens were performed.FindingsOf 4611 febrile children, 643 (14%) were classified as definite bacterial infection (DB), 491 (11%) as definite viral infection (DV), and 3477 (75%) had uncertain aetiology. 1061 controls without infection were recruited. CMTs detected blood bacteria more frequently in DB than DV cases for N. meningitidis (OR: 3.37, 95% CI: 1.92-5.99), S. pneumoniae (OR: 3.89, 95% CI: 2.07-7.59), Group A streptococcus (OR 2.73, 95% CI 1.13-6.09) and E. coli (OR 2.7, 95% CI 1.02-6.71). Respiratory viruses were more common in febrile children than controls, but only influenza A (OR 0.24, 95% CI 0.11-0.46), influenza B (OR 0.12, 95% CI 0.02-0.37) and RSV (OR 0.16, 95% CI: 0.06-0.36) were less common in DB than DV cases. Of 16 blood viruses, enterovirus (OR 0.43, 95% CI 0.23-0.72) and EBV (OR 0.71, 95% CI 0.56-0.90) were detected less often in DB than DV cases. Combined local diagnostics and CMTs respectively detected blood viruses and respiratory viruses in 360 (56%) and 161 (25%) of DB cases, and virus detection ruled-out bacterial infection poorly, with predictive values of 0.64 and 0.68 respectively.InterpretationMost febrile children cannot be conclusively defined as having bacterial or viral infection when molecular tests supplement conventional approaches. Viruses are detected in most patients with bacterial infections, and the clinical value of individual pathogen detection in determining treatment is low. New approaches are needed to help determine which febrile children require antibiotics.FundingEU Horizon 2020 grant 668303

Genomic investigations of unexplained acute hepatitis in children

Since its first identification in Scotland, over 1,000 cases of unexplained paediatric hepatitis in children have been reported worldwide, including 278 cases in the UK1. Here we report an investigation of 38 cases, 66 age-matched immunocompetent controls and 21 immunocompromised comparator participants, using a combination of genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic and immunohistochemical methods. We detected high levels of adeno-associated virus 2 (AAV2) DNA in the liver, blood, plasma or stool from 27 of 28 cases. We found low levels of adenovirus (HAdV) and human herpesvirus 6B (HHV-6B) in 23 of 31 and 16 of 23, respectively, of the cases tested. By contrast, AAV2 was infrequently detected and at low titre in the blood or the liver from control children with HAdV, even when profoundly immunosuppressed. AAV2, HAdV and HHV-6 phylogeny excluded the emergence of novel strains in cases. Histological analyses of explanted livers showed enrichment for T cells and B lineage cells. Proteomic comparison of liver tissue from cases and healthy controls identified increased expression of HLA class 2, immunoglobulin variable regions and complement proteins. HAdV and AAV2 proteins were not detected in the livers. Instead, we identified AAV2 DNA complexes reflecting both HAdV-mediated and HHV-6B-mediated replication. We hypothesize that high levels of abnormal AAV2 replication products aided by HAdV and, in severe cases, HHV-6B may have triggered immune-mediated hepatic disease in genetically and immunologically predisposed children

Increasing effectiveness in resource management of vocational education institution

Maģistra darbā tiek analizēta ēkas energoefektivitāte konkrētā profesionālās izglītības iestādē. Darbā tiek analizētas projekta vadības metodes, to izmantošana būvniecībā, energoresursu veidi, iespējamais ES struktūrfondu finansējums un projektu vērtēšanas kritēriji, ēkas energoefektivitātes paaugstināšanas iespējas. Maģistra darba izstrādei izmantotas būvniecības nozares projektu vadības grāmatas angļu valodā, arhitektūras un projekta vadības literatūra latviešu un krievu valodā, Latvijas Republikas normatīvie akti un būvniecības standarti, kā arī profesionālās izglītības iestādes iekšējā informācija. Atslēgas vārdi: Projekta vadība būvniecībā, ēkas energoefektivitāte. Maģistra darba apjoms 86 lappuses, 13 tabulas, 9 attēli, 56 bibliogrāfiskā saraksta avoti, 31 pielikums.The author analyses energy performance of buildings in the vocational educational institution of Latvia. In the work, various project management methods and the methods used for construction, energy resources types. Those methods include the analysis of the possibilities of ES structural fund financing, project estimation criteria and increasing energy performance of buildings. For the development of Master thesis the author uses construction project management books in English, architectural and project management literature in Latvian and Russian, legislation and construction standards as well as special vocational educational institution internal documentation. Keywords: Project management of construction, energy performance of buildings. The Master's paper consists of 86 pages, 13 tables, 9 images, 56 sources of bibliography, 31 appendices

The Reflection of the Language Situation in the Latvian and Czech Press.

Darbs ir veltīts valodas situācijas atspoguļojumam Čehoslovākijas Pirmās republikas presē un mūsdienu Latvijas krievvalodīgajā presē. Autora mērķis ir noteikt „opozitīvā” pasniegšanas veidus, noteikt valodniecības līdzekļus, kuri veido valodas situācijas aprakstu Čehoslovākijas un Latvijas presē. Pirmajā daļā tiek izklāstīti pamata teorētiskie jautājumi, kas nepieciešami pētījuma veikšanai. Otrajā daļā tiek aprakstīta valodas situācija Čehoslovākijā un Latvijā un veikta izraudzīto periodu avīžu rakstu analīze un noteikti „opozitīvā” pasniegšanas veidi un valodniecības līdzekļi, kas tiek izmantoti valodas situācijas apraksta radīšanai Čehoslovākijas un Latvijas presē. Pētījums var interesēt speciālistus, kuri pēta valodas situāciju un preses valodu. Darbā tika izmantotas kontentanalīze, semantiskā un stilistiskā analīze.The thesis is dedicated to show the language situation as in the press of Czechoslovakian First Republic, as in the modern russian press of Latvia. Author’s aim is to display “opposite” information feeding, identify linguistic means appeared in Czechoslovakian and Latvian press. In the first part, the main theoretical questions that need to be researched further are treated. The second part contains description of language situation in Czechoslovakian Republic and Latvia and analysis of articles of the reviewing period and displays “opposite” information feeding and linguistic means, which form the description of language situation in Czechoslovakian and Latvian press. The research results may be interesting for specialists, dealing the language situation and press language. In the research content analysis, semantic and stylistic analysis were used