Absinthism: a fictitious 19th century syndrome with present impact

Absinthe, a bitter spirit containing wormwood (Artemisia absinthium L.), was banned at the beginning of the 20th century as consequence of its supposed unique adverse effects. After nearly century-long prohibition, absinthe has seen a resurgence after recent de-restriction in many European countries. This review provides information on the history of absinthe and one of its constituent, thujone. Medical and toxicological aspects experienced and discovered before the prohibition of absinthe are discussed in detail, along with their impact on the current situation. The only consistent conclusion that can be drawn from those 19th century studies about absinthism is that wormwood oil but not absinthe is a potent agent to cause seizures. Neither can it be concluded that the beverage itself was epileptogenic nor that the so-called absinthism can exactly be distinguished as a distinct syndrome from chronic alcoholism. The theory of a previous gross overestimation of the thujone content of absinthe may have been verified by a number of independent studies. Based on the current available evidence, thujone concentrations of both pre-ban and modern absinthes may not have been able to cause detrimental health effects other than those encountered in common alcoholism. Today, a questionable tendency of absinthe manufacturers can be ascertained that use the ancient theories of absinthism as a targeted marketing strategy to bring absinthe into the spheres of a legal drug-of-abuse. Misleading advertisements of aphrodisiac or psychotropic effects of absinthe try to re-establish absinthe's former reputation. In distinction from commercially manufactured absinthes with limited thujone content, a health risk to consumers is the uncontrolled trade of potentially unsafe herbal products such as absinthe essences that are readily available over the internet

Forschung zur Digitalisierung in der Kulturellen Bildung

Um die Konsequenzen und Potenziale, die die digitale Transformation für die Kulturelle Bildung mit sich bringt tiefergehend zu erforschen, hat das Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung im Jahr 2017 den Förderschwerpunt „Forschung zur Digitalisierung in der Kulturellen Bildung“ ins Leben gerufen. In diesem forschen 13 Verbund- und Einzelprojekte in ganz Deutschland zu digitalen Phänomenen in der Kulturellen Bildung, unter anderem in den Bereichen Musik, Literatur, Tanz, Performance und bildende Kunst. Dabei zeichnen sich die Forschungsvorhaben durch eine große Perspektivenvielfalt aus: Neben Erziehungswissenschaft und Bildungsforschung sind Sozialpädagogik, Erwachsenenbildung, Musikpädagogik, Kunst-, Tanz-, Musik-, Literatur-, Medien- und Sportwissenschaft, Humangeographie, Wirtschaftsinformatik, Medienpädagogik, Informatik und Computerlinguistik vertreten. Dieser Band verschafft einen Überblick über die Forschungsvorhaben der Förderlinie. Ziel ist es, sowohl Forschenden als auch Akteurinnen und Akteuren aus der Praxis der Kulturellen Bildung einen Einblick in die laufende Forschung zu geben und erste Ergebnisse sichtbar zu machen. Gerahmt werden die Einblicke in die aktuellen Forschungsvorhaben von zwei Texten aus dem Metaforschungsvorhaben der Förderlinie. In ihnen wird zum einen ein Versuch zur Orientierung im komplexen Feld der Digitalität und Kulturellen Bildung unternommen und zum anderen ein Einblick und Ausblick auf das Thema der Forschungssynthese in diesem Feld gegeben

Beliefs about leisure time writing of elementary school children

Wenn Kinder in ihrer Freizeit schreiben, erwerben sie nicht nur Kompetenzen, sondern üben auch eine kulturelle Aktivität mit Eigenwert aus. Zu den Determinanten freizeitlichen Schreibens von Kindern liegen nur wenige Arbeiten vor. Basierend auf der Theorie des geplanten Verhaltens wurde ein Fragebogen zur Erfassung der Determinanten freizeitlichen Schreibens bei Grundschulkindern entwickelt. Ausgehend von einer qualitativen und einer quantitativen Vorstudie wurden Items generiert und in einer Studie mit N = 244 Kindern der dritten Jahrgangsstufe verwendet. Die Überzeugungen bzgl. thematisch kongruenter Folgen, Überzeugungen bzgl. thematisch inkongruenter Folgen, Kontrollierbarkeit und der intrinsische Wert erwiesen sich als relevante Prädiktoren von Schreibhäufigkeit, Schreibdauer und produzierter Textmenge, wobei der intrinsische Wert die Effekte der anderen Prädiktoren mediierte. Insgesamt wurden jeweils 42 % der Varianz in den Kriteriumsitems durch die Skalen erklärt. Für die Konstruktvalidität des Fragebogens spricht, dass Jungen in mehreren Prädiktoren ungünstigere Werte als Mädchen aufwiesen. Perspektiven für die weitere Forschung werden diskutiert. (DIPF/Orig.)When elementary school students write in their leisure time, they acquire competences. Moreover, writing is a cultural activity with value in itself. However, there are only few studies regarding determinants of children’s leisure time writing. Therefore, a questionnaire based on the theory of planned behavior was developed to examine the determinants of leisure time writing in elementary school students. Departing from a qualitative and a quantitative pilot study, items were generated and used in a study with N = 244 children. Beliefs concerning congruent consequences, beliefs concerning incongruent consequences, controllability, and intrinsic value proved to be statistically significant predictors of writing frequency, writing time, and produced amount of text. The intrinsic value mediated the effects of the other predictors. Overall, the scales explained 42 % of the variance in each of the three criterion variables. The questionnaire’s construct validity is supported by the boy’s lower values in several predictors compared to the girl’s values. Perspectives for further research are discussed. (DIPF/Orig.

Development of an Indoor Drone Designed for the Needs of the Creative Industries

[EN] With this contribution, we want to show how the AiRT system could change the future way of working of a part of the creative industry and what new economic opportunities could arise for them. Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS), also more commonly known as drones, are now essential tools used by many different companies for their creative outdoor work. However, using this very flexible applicable tool indoor is almost impossible, since safe navigation cannot be guaranteed by the operator due to the lack of a reliable and affordable indoor positioning system which ensures a stable flight, among other issues. Here we present our first results of a European project, which consists of developing an indoor drone for professional footage especially designed for the creative industries. One of the main achievements of this project is the successful implication of the end-users in the overall design process from the very beginning. To ensure safe flight in confined spaces, our drone incorporates a positioning system based on ultra-wide band technology, an RGB-D (depth) camera for 3D environment reconstruction and the possibility to fully pre-program automatic flights. Since we also want to offer this tool for inexperienced pilots, we have always focused on user-friendly handling of the whole system throughout the entire process.The AiRT project has been funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement nº 732433Santamarina Campos, V.; De-Miguel-Molina, M.; Kröner, SU.; De-Miguel-Molina, B. (2018). Development of an Indoor Drone Designed for the Needs of the Creative Industries. World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology. 12(5):519-523. https://doi.org/10.1999/1307-6892/10009012S51952312

The Impact of Symmetry: Explaining Contradictory Results Concerning Working Memory, Reasoning, and Complex Problem Solving

Findings of studies on the unique effects of reasoning and working memory regarding complex problem solving are inconsistent. To find out if these inconsistencies are due to a lack of symmetry between the studies, we reconsidered the findings of three published studies on this issue, which resulted in conflicting conclusions regarding the inter-relations between reasoning, working memory, and complex problem solving. This was achieved by analysing so far unpublished problem solving data from the study of Bühner, Krumm, Ziegler, and Plücken (2006) (N= 124). One of the three published studies indicated unique effects of working memory and reasoning on complex problem solving using aggregated scores, a second study found no unique contribution of working memory using only figural scores, and a third study reported a unique influence only for reasoning using only numerical scores. Our data featured an evaluation of differences across content facets and levels of aggregation of the working memory scores. Path models showed that the results of the first study could not be replicated using content aggregated scores; the results of the second study could be replicated if only figural scores were used, and the results of the third study could be obtained by using only numerical scores. For verbal content, none of the published results could be replicated. This leads to the assumption that not only symmetry is an issue when correlating non-symmetrical data, but that content also has to be taken into account when comparing different studies on the same topi

Metacognitive confidence judgments and their link to complex problem solving

With the aim to better understand the nature of complex problem solving (CPS), we investigated the link between confidence judgments, which represent a major constituent of metacognitive self-monitoring, and CPS by regressing the two facets of CPS (i.e., knowledge acquisition and knowledge application) on confidence in CPS. To ensure that the link between confidence in CPS and CPS is distinct, we controlled for reasoning, which is the strongest known correlate of CPS. Using structural equation modeling in a sample of 471 German eventh- grade students, we found that confidence in CPS explained 67% of the variance in CPS knowledge acquisition and 55% of the variance in CPS knowledge application. These links were reduced but remained substantial when we controlled for reasoning. The results indicate that confidence judgments as indicators of metacognitive monitoring in CPS are substantially linked to successful CPS, thus bringing us one step closer to a full understanding of CPS

The use of cyclododecane as a separating layer during the moulding of porous stones

This paper is published in the book ‘Subliming Surfaces: Volatile Binding Media in Heritage Conservation’, ed. Christina Rozeik (University of Cambridge Museums, 2018), pp. 123-125.The physicochemical properties of outdoor moveable artworks are modified by degradative environmental agents and biodeterioration. In many cases, the most effective action or intervention is to replace an artwork with a copy, moving the original into a museum or another more protected place. In general, this process entails moulding of the original and its reproduction using restoration mortars. This study evaluates the possibility of using cyclododecane (CDD) as a temporary barrier film during the moulding of extremely porous stone sculptures and ornaments. For this, samples of a travertine (calcium carbonate rock) called Tosca Rocafort were prepared. These travertines, exceptionally porous with numerous cavities, can be percolated in an irreversible way by moulding materials during the process of making a copy. By using a CDD barrier layer, the pores are sealed without losing the texture of stone substrate, and at the same time the silicone moulding material is prevented from penetrating the porous stone. To solve the problem of an affinity between the CDD and the silicone (both of which are non polar materials), several polar substances (4% agar-agar in water and pure latex) were tested as an intermediate insulation layer. This proposed method, based on a system of layers with different polarities, allowed us to isolate and protect the porous stone from the silicone elastomer, which is the cause of irreversible stains on stone substrates during mould-making. As an isolation layer, agar-agar proved unsatisfactory as it formed heterogeneous layers with low physical resistance, resulting in residues of moulding materials on the stone suface. In contrast, latex created homogenous layers while transmitting all details of the surface of the original work – and without leaving residues. The presented multi-layer system for moulding of porous materials has a number of advantages that make it appropriate for conservation and restoration work: good film-forming properties, very low toxicity, and ready reversibility (due to the ability of CDD to sublimate). The CDD film remains in place for long enough to allow the silicone moulding material to become vulcanised. However, it is easily removed through sublimation, which means that no intervention (possibly damaging to the surface of the stone) is necessary to remove the barrier layer. We conclude that CDD is a suitable temporary barrier material on porous stones, creating a homogeneous, impervious and inert film

Intervención de la escultura de la mare de déu dels desemparats y pedestal del escultor silvestre d'Edeta, la Pobla Llarga (Valencia)

El presente estudio expone la intervención llevada a cabo sobre la escultura de la Mare de Déu dels Desemparats y el pedestal de material pétreo del escultor valenciano Silvestre de Edeta. El conjunto está situado en la Plaza de la Virgen de los Desamparados de la localidad de la Pobla Llarga (Ribera Alta, Valencia) y, posee unas dimensiones de (193x47x45) cm. El objetivo se centró en restablecer y salvaguardar las propiedades físicas y estéticas de la escultura y el pedestal desarrollando un exhaustivo proceso de limpieza y tratamiento de sustitución. La obra presentaba un avanzado estado de deterioro originado por causas físicas, químicas y biológicas siendo el agua, en sus diversos estados, el agente de degradación más grave que motivó la oxidación de elementos metálicos y la proliferación de costras biogénicas. Las fases desarrolladas siguieron el principio de mínima intervención, respeto por el original y afinidad de los materiales empleados. El resultado final pone de manifiesto la cuidada elección de los materiales, técnicas de análisis y procedimientos desarrollados, así como la acertada medida adoptada en cuanto a la sustitución del original por una copia, trasladando éste al Museo Municipal bajo unas condiciones ambientales controladas.Mas Barberà, X.; Kröner, SUG.; Albiol Ibáñez, JR.; Rodríguez Rodríguez, MA. (2017). Intervención de la escultura de la mare de déu dels desemparats y pedestal del escultor silvestre d'Edeta, la Pobla Llarga (Valencia). Arché. (11 - 12):119-130. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/10128611913011 - 1

Estudio del ciclododecano como separador temporal en el proceso de moldeado de materiales pétreos macroporosos

Este estudio evalúa la posibilidad del uso del ciclododecano como aislante durante el moldeado de esculturas y ornamentos pétreos con extrema porosidad. Para ello, se prepararon probetas con un tipo de caliza travertínica Tosca de Rocafort (TR). Las rocas travertínicas, por su textura y porosidad extrema, presentan problemas al filtrarse, de manera irreversible, la sustancia de moldeo en el interior de la piedra. Con el ciclododecano se consigue obturar el poro sin perder la textura del soporte pétreo e impide que la silicona penetre en su interior. Debido a la afinidad apolar entre el ciclododecano y la silicona, varias sustancias polares (goma arábiga y látex) fueron aplicadas como capa aislante entre ambas sustancias. Todas las probetas de material pétreo preparadas fueron sometidas a ensayo de envejecimiento acelerado por irradiación con luz ultravioleta. Los resultados se han obtenido a través de espectrofotometría, microscopía óptica (MO) y espectroscopia infrarroja por transformada de Fourier (FTIR). Asimismo, fue posible caracterizar las películas de ciclododecano resultantes, por medio de la microscopía electrónica de barrido criogénica (cryo- SEM/EDX). El ciclododecano aplicado como separador en materiales pétreos con extrema porosidad se ha mostrado idóneo obteniéndose una película homogénea, impermeable e inerte.Mas Barberà, X.; Kröner, SU.; Martínez Bazán, ML.; Grafiá Sales, JV.; Orozco Messana, J. (2011). Estudio del ciclododecano como separador temporal en el proceso de moldeado de materiales pétreos macroporosos. Arché. (6):279-284. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/34066279284

Ancient xenocrystic zircon in young volcanic rocks of the southern Lesser Antilles island arc

The Lesser Antilles arc is one of the best global examples in which to examine the effects of the involvement of subducted sediment and crustal assimilation in the generation of arc crust. Most of the zircon recovered in our study of igneous and volcaniclastic rocks from Grenada and Carriacou (part of the Grenadines chain) is younger than 2 Ma. Within some late Paleogene to Neogene (~ 34–0.2 Ma) lavas and volcaniclastic sediments however, there are Paleozoic to Paleoarchean (~ 250–3469 Ma) xenocrysts, and Late Jurassic to Precambrian zircon (~ 158–2667 Ma) are found in beach and river sands. The trace element characteristics of zircon clearly differentiate between different types of magmas generated in the southern Lesser Antilles through time. The zircon population from the younger arc (Miocene, ~ 22–19 Ma, to Present) has minor negative Eu anomalies, well-defined positive Ce anomalies, and a marked enrichment in heavy rare earth elements (HREE), consistent with crystallization from very oxidized magmas in which Eu2 + was in low abundance. In contrast, zircon from the older arc (Eocene to mid-Oligocene, ~ 30–28 Ma) has two different REE patterns: 1) slight enrichment in the light (L)REE, small to absent Ce anomalies, and negative Eu anomalies and 2) enriched High (H)REE, positive Ce anomalies and negative Eu anomalies (a similar pattern is observed in the xenocrystic zircon population). The combination of positive Ce and negative Eu anomalies in the zircon population of the older arc indicates crystallization from magmas that were variably, but considerably less oxidized than those of the younger arc. All the igneous zircon has positive εHf(t), reflecting derivation from a predominantly juvenile mantle source. However, the εHf(t) values vary significantly within samples, reflecting considerable Hf isotopic heterogeneity in the source. The presence of xenocrystic zircon in the southern Lesser Antilles is evidence for the assimilation of intra-arc crustal sediments and/or the recycling and incorporation of sediments into the magma sources in the mantle wedge. Most likely however, primitive magmas stalling and fractionating during their ascent through the Antilles crust entrained ancient zircon. This is evidence by the geochemistry of the study samples, which is inconsistent with any involvement of partially melted subducted sediment. Paleogeographic reconstructions show that the old zircon could derive from distant regions such as the Eastern Andean Cordillera of Colombia, the Merida Andes, and the northern Venezuela coastal ranges, transported for example by the Proto-Maracaibo River precursor of the Orinoco River.This study was supported by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) grants KR590/85-1 to AK and RO4174/2-1 to YRA, and Spanish MINECO grants CGL2015-65824 and CGL2012-36263 and University of Granada research program (CIC) to AGC and CLC. This research also received support from the SYNTHESYS Project (http://www.synthesys.info/) which is financed by the European Community Research Infrastructure Action under the FP7 “Capacities” Program, the Intra-University Research Support Program of Mainz University (Universitätsinterne Forschungsförderung (FoFö)