„Neugier beflügelt unsere Wahrnehmung“ – eine effektive Lernmethode im Fremdsprachenunterricht

As in any human action, motivation is playing a key role in learning foreign languages. There are different types of motivation – one of them is curiosity. Curiosity is one of the strongest motivators, since it is based in the human character. Psychologists call curiosity the core of motivation. In my paper I will address a new learning technique, which consists of two didactic concepts at the same time: Learning by teaching and subject orientated learning. Subject orientated learning means the combination of a specific content to be learnt and a given person.As in any human action, motivation is playing a key role in learning foreign languages. There are different types of motivation – one of them is curiosity. Curiosity is one of the strongest motivators, since it is based in the human character. Psychologists call curiosity the core of motivation. In my paper I will address a new learning technique, which consists of two didactic concepts at the same time: Learning by teaching and subject orientated learning. Subject orientated learning means the combination of a specific content to be learnt and a given person

Черномырдинки и техника комического у Михаила Зощенко

This article considers the sphere of linguistic humour, specifically the linguistic structure of the so-called ‘chernomyrdinki’. Chernomyrdinki are written fixations of spontaneous oral statements by Viktor S. Chernomyrdin, a Soviet and post-Soviet statesman (1938–2010), which have become aphorisms. Chernomyrdinki are regularly reproduced and have not lost their popularity. Chernomyrdinki are, for the most part, Chernomyrdin’s spontaneous reactions to typical questions from journalists. The task of this study is to show that the not fully conscious, spontaneous statements by V. Chernomyrdin and the speech of Mikhail Zoshchenko’s heroes, deliberately constructed by the author in the course of the creative process, have much in common in their techniques of the comic and are at times identical. This study is based on the classification of “humour” in the speech of the heroes of M. Zoshchenko, developed by Mikhail Kreps.This article considers the sphere of linguistic humour, specifically the linguistic structure of the so-called ‘chernomyrdinki’. Chernomyrdinki are written fixations of spontaneous oral statements by Viktor S. Chernomyrdin, a Soviet and post-Soviet statesman (1938–2010), which have become aphorisms. Chernomyrdinki are regularly reproduced and have not lost their popularity. Chernomyrdinki are, for the most part, Chernomyrdin’s spontaneous reactions to typical questions from journalists. The task of this study is to show that the not fully conscious, spontaneous statements by V. Chernomyrdin and the speech of Mikhail Zoshchenko’s heroes, deliberately constructed by the author in the course of the creative process, have much in common in their techniques of the comic and are at times identical. This study is based on the classification of “humour” in the speech of the heroes of M. Zoshchenko, developed by Mikhail Kreps

Erstellung einer radargestützten Niederschlagsklimatologie

Es ist Konsens in der Klimaforschungsgemeinschaft, dass der globale Klimawandel mit großer Wahrscheinlichkeit mit einer erhöhten Häufigkeit von witterungsbedingten Naturkatastrophen einhergeht [IPCC, 2011]. Grundlage für diese Schlussfolgerung sind im Wesentlichen die Ergebnisse globaler und regionaler Klimasimulationen. Neben Windstürmen sind insbesondere Auftreten und Häufigkeit von hydrometeorologischen Extremereignissen wie z. B. Starkregen oder Dürre ursächlich für korrespondierende Naturkatastrophen, die für den Katastrophenschutz relevant sind. So sind die Anzahl von Umwelteinsätzen der Feuerwehr im Nachgang von Extremereignissen wie Starkregen oder Hagel [Geier, 2009] sowie die Zahl der wetterbedingten Einsätze des Technischen Hilfswerks in den vergangenen Jahren gestiegen [Strotmann, 2011]. Dieser Trend wird von einer Befragung der im Katastrophenschutz eingebundenen Organisationen bestätigt, nach deren Ergebnissen neben Sturmereignissen vor allem Hochwasser vermehrt Einsätze nach sich ziehen

Influence of Pin Length and Electrochemical Platings on the Mechanical Strength and Macroscopic Defect Formation in Stationary Shoulder Friction Stir Welding of Aluminium to Copper

The fabrication of dissimilar joints for electrical applications raises challenges for conventional joining technologies. Within solid-state processes, friction stir welding (FSW) provides numerous advantages to realize different joint configurations. However, depending on the intermixing of the materials, defects like hooking and significant intermetallic compound formation around copper fragments are observed and lead to a decrease in joint properties. Therefore, stationary shoulder FSW was applied to produce 2 mm EN AW1050/CW024A lap joints with minimized intermixing at the interface. Compared to conventional FSW, the range of the friction-based heat input can be increased without risking excessive plastification under the tool shoulder. The influence of the pin length on the interfacial structure as well as the mechanical properties were investigated. A pin length of 2.2 mm and hence a plunging of approximately 0.2 mm into the lower copper sheet was found to obtain the highest failure load. A further increase caused the formation of hooking defects, which led to void formation at the interface and failure within the area of the thinned aluminium sheet. The results were also transferred to lap joints with a tin and silver interlayer of 10 µm and also showed good results in terms of bond strength and contact area

Spherical silica functionalized by 2-naphthalene methanol luminophores as a phosphorescence sensor

Photoluminescence is known to have huge potential for applications in studying biological systems. In that respect, phosphorescent dye molecules open the possibility to study the local slow solvent dynamics close to hard and soft surfaces and interfaces using the triplet state (TSD: triplet state solvation dynamics). However, for that purpose, probe molecules with efficient phosphorescence features are required with a fixed location on the surface. In this article, a potential TSD probe is presented in the form of a nanocomposite: we synthesize spherical silica particles with 2-naphthalene methanol molecules attached to the surface with a predefined surface density. The synthesis procedure is described in detail, and the obtained materials are characterized employing transmission electron microscopy imaging, Raman, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Finally, TSD experiments are carried out in order to confirm the phosphorescence properties of the obtained materials and the route to develop phosphorescent sensors at silica surfaces based on the presented results is discussed

Sharing MEI: common semantics in diverse musics?

In this panel, we consider the role of MEI in providing common structures and meanings for heterogeneous musical practices and notations and, to a lesser extent, uses. Drawing on direct experience of working with particular cultural or historical material, we consider the robustness of the fundamental modelling of MEI, and its challenges and strengths. From a practical standpoint, we evaluate strategies for successfully working with MEI, whether through extension of the standard or linking to it from external data structures. We will engage the community with the problems of standardising musical semantics from a non-CMN (Common Music Notation) perspective, and will start the process of developing recommendations for those who wish to engage with the standard to extend further our range of digitised and shareable musics

Twist-tailoring Coulomb correlations in van der Waals homobilayers

The recent discovery of artificial phase transitions induced by stacking monolayer materials at magic twist angles represents a paradigm shift for solid state physics. Twist-induced changes of the single-particle band structure have been studied extensively, yet a precise understanding of the underlying Coulomb correlations has remained challenging. Here we reveal in experiment and theory, how the twist angle alone affects the Coulomb-induced internal structure and mutual interactions of excitons. In homobilayers of WSe2, we trace the internal 1s-2p resonance of excitons with phase-locked mid-infrared pulses as a function of the twist angle. Remarkably, the exciton binding energy is renormalized by up to a factor of two, their lifetime exhibits an enhancement by more than an order of magnitude, and the exciton-exciton interaction is widely tunable. Our work opens the possibility of tailoring quasiparticles in search of unexplored phases of matter in a broad range of van der Waals heterostructures. The crystallographic orientation of monolayers in van der Waals multi-layers controls their electronic and optical properties. Here the authors show how the twist angle affects Coulomb correlations governing the internal structure and the mutual interaction of excitons in homobilayers of WSe2

A systematic review of progranulin concentrations in biofluids in over 7,000 people—assessing the pathogenicity of GRN mutations and other influencing factors

Background: Pathogenic heterozygous mutations in the progranulin gene (GRN) are a key cause of frontotemporal dementia (FTD), leading to significantly reduced biofluid concentrations of the progranulin protein (PGRN). This has led to a number of ongoing therapeutic trials aiming to treat this form of FTD by increasing PGRN levels in mutation carriers. However, we currently lack a complete understanding of factors that affect PGRN levels and potential variation in measurement methods. Here, we aimed to address this gap in knowledge by systematically reviewing published literature on biofluid PGRN concentrations. Methods: Published data including biofluid PGRN concentration, age, sex, diagnosis and GRN mutation were collected for 7071 individuals from 75 publications. The majority of analyses (72%) had focused on plasma PGRN concentrations, with many of these (56%) measured with a single assay type (Adipogen) and so the influence of mutation type, age at onset, sex, and diagnosis were investigated in this subset of the data. Results: We established a plasma PGRN concentration cut-off between pathogenic mutation carriers and non-carriers of 74.8 ng/mL using the Adipogen assay based on 3301 individuals, with a CSF concentration cut-off of 3.43 ng/mL. Plasma PGRN concentration varied by GRN mutation type as well as by clinical diagnosis in those without a GRN mutation. Plasma PGRN concentration was significantly higher in women than men in GRN mutation carriers (p = 0.007) with a trend in non-carriers (p = 0.062), and there was a significant but weak positive correlation with age in both GRN mutation carriers and non-carriers. No significant association was seen with weight or with TMEM106B rs1990622 genotype. However, higher plasma PGRN levels were seen in those with the GRN rs5848 CC genotype in both GRN mutation carriers and non-carriers. Conclusions: These results further support the usefulness of PGRN concentration for the identification of the large majority of pathogenic mutations in the GRN gene. Furthermore, these results highlight the importance of considering additional factors, such as mutation type, sex and age when interpreting PGRN concentrations. This will be particularly important as we enter the era of trials for progranulin-associated FTD.</p

Cumulative Burden of Colorectal Cancer-Associated Genetic Variants Is More Strongly Associated With Early-Onset vs Late-Onset Cancer.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Early-onset colorectal cancer (CRC, in persons younger than 50 years old) is increasing in incidence; yet, in the absence of a family history of CRC, this population lacks harmonized recommendations for prevention. We aimed to determine whether a polygenic risk score (PRS) developed from 95 CRC-associated common genetic risk variants was associated with risk for early-onset CRC. METHODS: We studied risk for CRC associated with a weighted PRS in 12,197 participants younger than 50 years old vs 95,865 participants 50 years or older. PRS was calculated based on single nucleotide polymorphisms associated with CRC in a large-scale genome-wide association study as of January 2019. Participants were pooled from 3 large consortia that provided clinical and genotyping data: the Colon Cancer Family Registry, the Colorectal Transdisciplinary Study, and the Genetics and Epidemiology of Colorectal Cancer Consortium and were all of genetically defined European descent. Findings were replicated in an independent cohort of 72,573 participants. RESULTS: Overall associations with CRC per standard deviation of PRS were significant for early-onset cancer, and were stronger compared with late-onset cancer (P for interaction = .01); when we compared the highest PRS quartile with the lowest, risk increased 3.7-fold for early-onset CRC (95% CI 3.28-4.24) vs 2.9-fold for late-onset CRC (95% CI 2.80-3.04). This association was strongest for participants without a first-degree family history of CRC (P for interaction = 5.61 × 10-5). When we compared the highest with the lowest quartiles in this group, risk increased 4.3-fold for early-onset CRC (95% CI 3.61-5.01) vs 2.9-fold for late-onset CRC (95% CI 2.70-3.00). Sensitivity analyses were consistent with these findings. CONCLUSIONS: In an analysis of associations with CRC per standard deviation of PRS, we found the cumulative burden of CRC-associated common genetic variants to associate with early-onset cancer, and to be more strongly associated with early-onset than late-onset cancer, particularly in the absence of CRC family history. Analyses of PRS, along with environmental and lifestyle risk factors, might identify younger individuals who would benefit from preventive measures