Herennius Philo and the Dilemma of Lexicography

This thesis seeks to explore De Diversis Verborum Significationibus, the surviving epitome of the lexicon of Herennius Philo of Byblos (ca. 64-148 CE). By placing Philo in the timeline of Greek lexica, his prescriptive style and desire for absolute correctness in speech stands out among other lexicographers, and raises this question: what is the purpose of a dictionary, to describe how words are used, or to define “correct” usage

Chancen und Probleme politischer Online-Partizipation

An neu geschaffene Medien wurde stets die Hoffnung geknüpft, dass sie neue Personenkreise erreichen, den Austausch über weite Distanzen vereinfachen und letztlich eine größere demokratische Partizipation ermöglichen und fördern würden. Mit dem Internet werden derartige Möglichkeiten erstmals voll ausgebaut. Im Folgenden wird nun untersucht, inwiefern das Internet dazu geeignet ist, „bottom up“-Prozesse zu fördern, also Bürger an der politischen Willensbildung und Entscheidungsfindung aktiv zu beteiligen und so die politische Partizipation zu stärken. Dabei ist vor allem an einen Ausbau direktdemokratischer, deliberativer und assoziativer Momente im politischen Prozess zu denken. Dabei kann festgehalten werden, dass wenn auch das Internet theoretisch das Potential besitzt, die politische Partizipation, verstanden als Einfluss von Bürgern auf die politische Willensbildung und Entscheidungsfindung, zu fördern, bleiben bislang noch eine Vielzahl von Problemen ungelöst.Newly created media are often linked to the hope that new groups of people could be addressed communication over long distances eased and ultimately greater democratic participation enabled and promoted. For the first time such possibilities are fully utilized with the Internet. Below it is examined how the Internet is capable of promoting "bottom-up" processes, e.g. actively including citizens in the political decision making process and so to strengthen political participation. Thereby especially the expansion of deliberative, associative and direct democratic processes must be considered. It can be stated that although the Internet has the theoretical potential to promote political participation, understood as the influence of citizens on the political process, a number of problems remain unsolved: the data security and reliability of online-elections, the selection of new communities, which may be deliberately integrated in the political process, the transparent design of decision making processes within the online communities as well as the promotion of a culture of political communication that serves extension of deliberative activities

Politisches Potential des Internet:die virtuelle Diaspora der Migranten aus Russland und der Türkei in Deutschland (Projektskizze)

Das Forschungsprojekt „Politisches Potential des Internet: Die virtuelle Diaspora der Migranten aus Russland und der Türkei in Deutschland“ untersucht die politischen Aktivitäten, die Migranten in Deutschland im Internet entfalten. Dabei gilt das Forschungsinteresse der Vernetzung und der Online-Beteiligung an politischen Prozessen sowohl im Herkunftsland der Migranten als auch im Aufnahmeland. Exemplarisch soll dies anhand der Migranten aus Russland und der Türkei in Deutschland untersucht werden. Zentrale Frage ist dabei, inwiefern das Internet die bereits bekannten politischen Aktivitäten von Migranten aus der Diaspora heraus verändert. Erleichtert das Internet lediglich den Kommunikations- und Informationsfluss zwischen den Mitgliedern der Diaspora oder bekommen die Aktivitäten eine ganz neue Qualität, weil neue Einflusswege erfolgreich genutzt werden? Welche Einwirkungen auf das politische Geschehen im Herkunftsland und im Aufenthaltsland sind feststellbar?The research project “Political potential of the internet - the virtual diaspora of migrants from Russia and Turkey in Germany” examines the political activities, which migrants display in Germany on the Internet. The focus hereby lies on the interconnectedness and the on-line participation in the political processes both in the host country and in the country of origin. This is investigated by a case study of immigrants from Russia and Turkey in Germany. Thereby the central question is, in what respect the Internet changes the already well-known political activities of immigrants in a diaspora. Does the internet only facilitate the information and communication flow between the members of the diaspora or do activities posess a completely new quality, as new ways of influence are used successfully? Which effects on the country of origin and in the residence country can be detected, how are they carried out and what consequences do they have

Qualitätsmanagement zur Vorbeugung von Studienabbrüchen

Der Beitrag untersucht Möglichkeiten von Fakultäten und Fachbereichen, die Qualität der Studienvorbereitungs- und der Studieneingangsphase so zu erhöhen, dass einem frühen Studienabbruch vorgebeugt werden kann. Dabei werden mögliche Ziele, Indikatoren, Instrumente und Maßnahmen der Qualitätsentwicklung vorgestellt und zum erreichten Stand des Qualitätsmanagements in Beziehung gesetzt. Auf der Basis einer Vollerhebung unter den Fakultäten und Fachbereichen des Maschinenbaus und der Elektrotechnik in Deutschland sowie ergänzender Fallstudien bietet der Beitrag einen Überblick über laufende QM-Aktivitäten und unmittelbar praxisbezogene Anregungen zur Weiterentwicklung bestehender Systeme. 22.03.2013 | Susanne in der Smitten & Ulrich Heublein (Hannover

Exploring the cytotoxicity, uptake, cellular response, and proteomics of mono- and dinuclear DNA light-switch complexes

Drug resistance to platinum chemotherapeutics targeting DNA often involves abrogation of apoptosis, and has emerged as a significant challenge in modern, non-targeted chemotherapy. Consequently, there is great interest in the anti-cancer properties of metal complexes - particularly those that interact with DNA - and mechanisms of consequent cell death. Herein we compare a parent cytotoxic complex [Ru(phen)2(tpphz)]2+ [phen = 1,10-phenanthroline, tpphz = tetrapyridyl [3,2-a:2',3'-c:3'',2''-h:2''',3'''-j] phenazine], with a mononuclear analogue with modified intercalating ligand, [Ru(phen)2(taptp)]2+,[taptp = 4,5,9,18-tetraazaphenanthreno[9,10-b] triphenylene], and two structurally related di-nuclear, tpphz-bridged, heterometallic complexes, RuRe and RuPt. These changes result in a switch from intercalation to groove binding DNA interaction, concomitant reduction in cytotoxic potency, but no significant change in relative cytotoxicity toward platinum-resistant A2780CIS cancer cells, indicating that DNA interaction mode is not critical for the mechanism of platinum resistance. All variants exhibited a light-switch effect, which for the first time, was exploited to investigate timing of cell death by live cell microscopy. Surprisingly, cell death occurred rapidly as a consequence of oncosis, characterized by loss of cytoplasmic volume control, absence of significant mitochondrial membrane potential loss, and lack of activation of apoptotic cell death markers. Importantly, a novel, quantitative proteomic analysis of the A2780 cell genome following exposure to either mononuclear complex reveals changes in protein expression associated with global cell responses to oxidative stress, and DNA replication/repair cellular pathways. This combination of a multiple targeting modality and induction of a non-apoptotic death mechanism makes these complexes highly promising chemotherapeutic cytotoxicity leads

Using nanoscopy to probe the biological activity of antimicrobial leads that display potent activity against pathogenic, multidrug resistant, gram-negative bacteria

Medicinal leads that are also compatible with imaging technologies are attractive, as they facilitate the development of therapeutics through direct mechanistic observations at the molecular level. In this context, the uptake and antimicrobial activities of several luminescent dinuclear RuII complexes against E. coli were assessed and compared to results obtained for another ESKAPE pathogen, the Gram-positive major opportunistic pathogen Enterococcus faecalis, V583. The most promising lead displays potent activity, particularly against the Gram-negative bacteria, and potency is retained in the uropathogenic multidrug resistant EC958 ST131 strain. Exploiting the inherent luminescent properties of this complex, super-resolution STED nanoscopy was used to image its initial localization at/in cellular membranes and its subsequent transfer to the cell poles. Membrane damage assays confirm that the complex disrupts the bacterial membrane structure before internalization. Mammalian cell culture and animal model studies indicate that the complex is not toxic to eukaryotes, even at concentrations that are several orders of magnitude higher than its minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). Taken together, these results have identified a lead molecular architecture for hard-to-treat, multiresistant, Gram-negative bacteria, which displays activities that are already comparable to optimized natural product-based leads