Right-wing populist communication of the party AfD on TikTok: To what extend does the AfD use TikTok as part of its communication to win over young voters?

This study focuses on the right-wing populist communication of the party "Alternative für Deutschland" (AfD) on TikTok because of the party's increasing popularity and social media presence. The theoretical foundations are provided by framing theory and the theory of right-wing populism. The study raises the question of the extent to which the AfD uses TikTok in its communication to win over young voters. The research leading question is answered by three research questions that deal with the content, linguistic and audiovisual means and the adaptation of the platform rules. This study draws on the content-structuring qualitative content analysis according to Kuckartz (2018). From the AfD's public TikTok videos from the end of 2022 to the end of 2023, 120 videos from six accounts, both party and member of parliament accounts, were identified as the object of investigation using the concentration principle. The analysis is based on 13 main categories and 145 subcategories, which were derived from theory and supplemented inductively. The results show that AfD communication covers topics such as security, anti-establishment attitudes and identity politics. They evoke concerns about general security, such as financial stability, fighting crime, the consequences of war and restrictions on personal freedoms. In doing so, they fuel existential fears and create a climate of insecurity. The party uses populist stylistic devices such as provocation, conspiracy rhetoric, emotionalization, and fear-mongering, simplifying complex issues and undermining rational discourse. It constructs an absolute truth through its own narratives. The AfD hardly adapts any interactive functions and does not follow any TikTok trends. The analysis shows that communication focuses more on content than entertainment. Nevertheless, the AfD relies on a strong visual identity and branding through the integration of colors and logos. Hypotheses can be derived from the results of this research, which serve as a starting point for further research. The findings underline the urgency for democratic parties to adapt their communication strategy on the TikTok platform in order to ultimately reach not only young voters, but also the growing electorate

Proteomics of diphtheria toxoid vaccines reveals multiple proteins that are immunogenic and may contribute to protection of humans against Corynebacterium diphtheriae

Introduced for mass immunization in the 1920s, vaccines against diphtheria are among the oldest and safest vaccines known. The basic principle of their production is the inactivation of purified diphtheria toxin by formaldehyde cross-linking, which converts the potentially fatal toxin in a completely harmless protein aggregate, which is still immunogenic. Since in addition to diphtheria toxin also other proteins may be secreted by Corynebacterium diphtheriae during cultivation, we assumed that diphtheria toxoid might not be the only component present in the vaccine. To address this question, we established a protocol to reverse formaldehyde cross-linking and carried out mass spectrometric analyses. Different secreted, membrane-associated and cytoplasmic proteins of C. diphtheriae were detected in several vaccine preparations from across the world. Based on these results, bioinformatics and Western blot analyses were applied to characterize if these proteins are immunogenic and may therefore support protection against C. diphtheriae. In frame of this study, we could show that the C. diphtheriae toxoid vaccines induce antibodies against different C. diphtheriae proteins and against diphtheria toxin secreted by Corynebacterium ulcerans, an emerging pathogen which is outnumbering C. diphtheriae as cause of diphtheria-like illness in Western Europe

Safety of the Intended Functionality Concept Integration into a Validation Tool Suite

Nowadays, the increasing complexity of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and Automated Driving (AD) means that the industry must move towards a scenario-based approach to validation rather than relying on established technology-based methods. This new focus also requires the validation process to take into account Safety of the Intended Functionality (SOTIF), as many scenarios may trigger hazardous vehicle behaviour. Thus, this work demonstrates how the integration of the SOTIF process within an existing validation tool suite can be achieved. The necessary adaptations are explained with accompanying examples to aid comprehension of the approach

Targeted delivery and endosomal cellular uptake of DARPin-siRNA bioconjugates: Influence of linker stability on gene silencing

Specific cell targeting and efficient intracellular delivery are major hurdles for the widespread therapeutic use of nucleic acid technologies, particularly siRNA mediated gene silencing. To enable receptor-mediated cell-specific targeting, we designed a synthesis scheme that can be generically used to engineer Designed Ankyrin Repeat Protein (DARPin)-siRNA bioconjugates. Different linkers, including labile disulfide-, and more stable thiol-maleimide- and triazole- (click chemistry) tethers were employed. Crosslinkers were first attached to a 3’-terminal aminohexyl chain on the siRNA sense strands. On the protein side thiols of a C-terminal cysteine were used as anchoring site for disulfide- and thiol-maleimide conjugate formation, while strain-promoted azido-alkyne cycloadditions were carried out at a metabolically introduced N-terminal azidohomoalanine. After establishing efficient purification methods, highly pure products were obtained. Bioconjugates of EpCAM-targeted DARPins with siRNA directed at the luciferase gene were evaluated for cell-specific binding, uptake and gene silencing. As shown by flow cytometry and fluorescence microscopy, all constructs retained the highly specific and high-affinity antigen recognition properties of the native DARPin. As expected, internalization was observed only in EpCAM-positive cell lines, and predominantly endolysosomal localization was detected. Disulfide linked conjugates showed lower serum stability against cleavage at the linker and thus lower internalization into endosomes compared to thiol-maleimide- and triazole-linked conjugates, yet induced more pronounced gene silencing. This indicates that the siRNA payload needs to be liberated from the protein in the endosome. Our data confirm the promise of DARPin-siRNA bioconjugates for tumor targeting, but also identified endosomal retention and limited cytosolic escape of the siRNA as the rate-limiting step for more efficient gene silencing

The gap distance to the set of singular matrix pencils

We study matrix pencils sE-A using the associated linear subspace ker[A,-E]. The distance between subspaces is measured in terms of the gap metric. In particular, we investigate the gap distance of a regular matrix pencil to the set of singular pencils and provide upper and lower bounds for it. A relation to the distance to singularity in the Frobenius norm is provided

Measuring the cellular memory B cell response after vaccination in patients after allogeneic stem cell transplantation

Abstract After allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), patients are repetitively vaccinated to reduce the risk of infection caused by the immune deficiency following allogeneic HSCT. By the vaccination of transplanted patients, the humoral memory function can be restored in the majority of cases. It is unknown, however, to what extent memory B cells derived from the donor contribute to the mobilization of antibody-secreting cells and long-term humoral memory in patients after allogeneic HSCT. We therefore analyzed patients after allogeneic HSCT for memory B cell responses 7 days after single vaccination against tetanus toxoid (TT), diphtheria toxoid (DT), pertussis toxoid (PT), Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), and poliovirus. Patients showed an insufficient mobilization of plasmablasts (PB) after vaccination, whereas healthy subjects (HD, n = 13) exhibited a significant increase of PB in the peripheral blood. Regarding vaccine-specific antibody-secreting PB, all HD responded against all vaccine antigens, as expected. However, only 65% of the patients responded with a measurable increase in IgG-secreting PB against TT, 65% against DT, 33% against PT, and 53% against poliovirus. Correspondingly, the antibody titers on day 7 after vaccination did not increase in patients. A significant increase of serum titers for the vaccine antigens was detectable in the majority of patients only after repetitive vaccinations. In contrast to the low mobilization of vaccine-specific PB after vaccination, a high number of PB before vaccination was detectable in patients following allogeneic HSCT. High frequencies of circulating PB correlated with the incidence of moderate/severe chronic GVHD. In summary, patients showed a weak mobilization of antigen-specific PB and an inadequate increase in antibody titers 7 days after the first vaccination. Patients with moderate or severe chronic GVHD in their history had a significantly higher percentage of IgG-secreting PB prior to vaccination. The antigen specificity of these IgG-secreting PB is currently unknown

Learning outcomes physiotherapy in neurology – a structured consensus finding of the Austrian University Network Physiotherapy in Neurology (ÖHPN)

Gesundhei

Written information about individual medicines for consumers.

Medicines are the most common intervention in most health services. As with all treatments, those taking medicines need sufficient information: to enable them to take and use the medicines effectively, to understand the potential harms and benefits, and to allow them to make an informed decision about taking them. Written medicines information, such as a leaflet or provided via the Internet, is an intervention that may meet these purposes

Hybrid spintronic materials from conducting polymers with molecular quantum bits

Hybrid materials consisting of organic semiconductors and molecular quantum bits promise to provide a novel platform for quantum spintronic applications. However, investigations of such materials, elucidating both the electrical and quantum dynamical properties of the same material have never been reported. Here the preparation of hybrid materials consisting of conducting polymers and molecular quantum bits is reported. Organic field‐effect transistor measurements demonstrate that the favorable electrical properties are preserved in the presence of the qubits. Chemical doping introduces charge carriers into the material, and variable‐temperature charge transport measurements reveal the existence of mobile charge carriers at temperatures as low as 15 K. Importantly, quantum coherence of the qubit is shown to be preserved up to temperatures of at least 30 K, that is, in the presence of mobile charge carriers. These results pave the way for employing such hybrid materials in novel molecular quantum spintronic architectures.European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation ProgrammeCenter for Integrated Quantum Science and Technology (IQST)Carl Zeiss FoundationProjekt DEA