The Nachtlichter app: a citizen science tool for documenting outdoor light sources in public space

The relationship between satellite based measurements of city radiance at night and the numbers and types of physical lights installed on the ground is not well understood. Here we present the "Nachtlichter app", which was developed to enable citizen scientists to classify and count light sources along street segments over large spatial scales. The project and app were co-designed: citizen scientists played key roles in the app development, testing, and recruitment, as well as in analysis of the data. In addition to describing the app itself and the data format, we provide a general overview of the project, including training materials, data cleaning, and the result of some basic data consistency checks

Differential predictors for alcohol use in adolescents as a function of familial risk

Abstract: Traditional models of future alcohol use in adolescents have used variable-centered approaches, predicting alcohol use from a set of variables across entire samples or populations. Following the proposition that predictive factors may vary in adolescents as a function of family history, we used a two-pronged approach by first defining clusters of familial risk, followed by prediction analyses within each cluster. Thus, for the first time in adolescents, we tested whether adolescents with a family history of drug abuse exhibit a set of predictors different from adolescents without a family history. We apply this approach to a genetic risk score and individual differences in personality, cognition, behavior (risk-taking and discounting) substance use behavior at age 14, life events, and functional brain imaging, to predict scores on the alcohol use disorders identification test (AUDIT) at age 14 and 16 in a sample of adolescents (N = 1659 at baseline, N = 1327 at follow-up) from the IMAGEN cohort, a longitudinal community-based cohort of adolescents. In the absence of familial risk (n = 616), individual differences in baseline drinking, personality measures (extraversion, negative thinking), discounting behaviors, life events, and ventral striatal activation during reward anticipation were significantly associated with future AUDIT scores, while the overall model explained 22% of the variance in future AUDIT. In the presence of familial risk (n = 711), drinking behavior at age 14, personality measures (extraversion, impulsivity), behavioral risk-taking, and life events were significantly associated with future AUDIT scores, explaining 20.1% of the overall variance. Results suggest that individual differences in personality, cognition, life events, brain function, and drinking behavior contribute differentially to the prediction of future alcohol misuse. This approach may inform more individualized preventive interventions

Differential predictors for alcohol use in adolescents as a function of familial risk

Abstract: Traditional models of future alcohol use in adolescents have used variable-centered approaches, predicting alcohol use from a set of variables across entire samples or populations. Following the proposition that predictive factors may vary in adolescents as a function of family history, we used a two-pronged approach by first defining clusters of familial risk, followed by prediction analyses within each cluster. Thus, for the first time in adolescents, we tested whether adolescents with a family history of drug abuse exhibit a set of predictors different from adolescents without a family history. We apply this approach to a genetic risk score and individual differences in personality, cognition, behavior (risk-taking and discounting) substance use behavior at age 14, life events, and functional brain imaging, to predict scores on the alcohol use disorders identification test (AUDIT) at age 14 and 16 in a sample of adolescents (N = 1659 at baseline, N = 1327 at follow-up) from the IMAGEN cohort, a longitudinal community-based cohort of adolescents. In the absence of familial risk (n = 616), individual differences in baseline drinking, personality measures (extraversion, negative thinking), discounting behaviors, life events, and ventral striatal activation during reward anticipation were significantly associated with future AUDIT scores, while the overall model explained 22% of the variance in future AUDIT. In the presence of familial risk (n = 711), drinking behavior at age 14, personality measures (extraversion, impulsivity), behavioral risk-taking, and life events were significantly associated with future AUDIT scores, explaining 20.1% of the overall variance. Results suggest that individual differences in personality, cognition, life events, brain function, and drinking behavior contribute differentially to the prediction of future alcohol misuse. This approach may inform more individualized preventive interventions

Star Clusters in M51: Connection between Molecular Gas, Stars and Dust

We have mapped key molecular line probes (¹²CO, ¹³CO, C¹⁸O, HCN, HCO⁺) in two distinct regions in the spiral arms of the Whirlpool galaxy, M51. Line Velocity Gradient (LVG) analysis performed at a linear resolution of 135–210 pc (2.9–4.5 arcsec) suggests physical conditions in the Giant Molecular Cloud complexes (GMCs) of M51 very similar to those in the Milky Way: cold (T_(kin) ∼ 15 K) clouds with moderate H₂ density (n(H₂) < 10^(2.7) cm⁻³. We find indications for a galactocentric trend, with higher kinetic temperature for smaller radii. The data show little evidence for cloud heating by the massive star formation at our resolution of 135 pc. Our new deep ∼ 2 arcsec radio continuum images at 3.6 and 6 cm reveal the presence of some highly dust-obscured young star-forming regions within the molecular spiral arms

Wir zählen Lichter, weil die Nacht zählt. Transdisziplinäre Zusammenarbeit im Nachtlicht-BüHNE Projekt

Das Bürgerwissenschaftsprojekt Nachtlichter ist Teil des Nachtlicht-BüHNE Projekts (2019 - 2022), finanziert von der Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft Deutscher Forschungszentren (HGF). Im Projekt haben wir einen bisher einzigartigen und weiterhin wachsenden Datensatz erstellt. Hierzu entwickelten wir im Rahmen einer fast zweijährigen, transdisziplinären Teamleistung zunächst eine mobile Web Applikation, die Nachtlichter App. Zum Einsatz kam die App vom 31. Aug. bis 14. Nov. 2021. Über zweihundert Mitforschende zählten und dokumentierten fast eine Viertelmillion künstliche Lichtquellen auf öffentlichen Straßen und Plätzen. Nachtlichter-Kampagnen liefen vorwiegend in deutschen Städten. Dieser Projektbericht dokumentiert den bürgerwissenschaftlichen Forschungsprozess basierend auf sozialwissenschaftlichen Datenerhebungsmethoden wie Interviews, teilnehmenden Beobachtungen und einer Nachbefragung der Nachtlichter-Beteiligten, an der 97 Personen freiwillig teilnahmen. Ausgehend von unseren gemeinsamen Erfahrungen, teilen wir mit diesem Bericht unser praktisch erprobtes Verständnis von Bürgerwissenschaft als gemeinsamen Prozess auf Augenhöhe und unsere Begeisterung. Wir schließen mit drei Vorschlägen für nachhaltige partizipative Forschung

Study of genetic variability in Dicrocoelium dendriticum using the random amplified polimorphic DNA

1 page.-- Contributed to: VII European Multicolloquium of Parasitology (Parma, Italia, 2-6 Sep 1996).Dicrocoelium dendriticum (Rudolphi, 1819) Looss, 1899 is a liver fluke (Trematoda, Digenea) species responsible for dicrocoeliosis in its definitive host (usually sheep and cattle), in which it causes economic losses...This study was supported by CICYT, project number AGF92-0588, and Junta de Castilla y León, project number LE 16/94.Peer reviewe