Archeological Sources of the Middle Ages and their Educational Development in Bavaria - with special reference to Castle Museums

Das Museum möchte nicht bloß die Hinterlassenschaften der Vergangenheit bewahren, sondern macht es sich zur Aufgabe diese selbst nachzustellen, so dass die Besucher einen lebendigen Eindruck bekommen vom Leben vor Jahrhunderten. Die Schulkinder, die das Museum betreten, befinden sich im Vergleich zur Schule mit Aufgabe und Bewertung in einem anderen für sie neuen Lernprozess. Für die Kinder bietet das Museum kein langweiliges und theoretisches Lernen, vielmehr können sie im modernen Museum vieles selbst ausprobieren und bewusst erfahren. Museen erweisen sich, wenn sie spannend gemachte und interessant gestaltete Aktionen für Kinder anbieten, als gesellschaftliche Bildungsanstalten, die einen wichtigen Platz einnehmen. Ein Museum als guter Bildungs- und Lernort steht anderen Lernorten wie Schulen nicht nach, im Gegenteil: dort begegnet man dem menschlichen geistigen und kulturellen Erbe unmittelbar. In Museen kann man das „Original“ anschauen. Mittels direkter und konkreter Erfahrung können die Kinder „ohne Umweg“ lernen. Das Museum kann ´ein völlig offener Lernort für alle´ genannt werden. Soll das Museum bewertet werden, so sind die Teilnehmerzahl bei den angebotenen Aktivitäten und der Lernfortschritt als Aktionsergebnis vorrangig zu berücksichtigen. In Kap. 2. wurde die Definition der Mittelalterarchäologie und deren Einfluss auf die Archäologie Deutschlands untersucht. Das schließt Erhaltungsprobleme von Burgen und das öffentliche Interesse an den Burgen ein. Danach wurden in Kap. 3. als archäologische Quellen des Mittelalters in Bayern (Schwerpunkt von Ausgrabungen) meiner Auswahl nach vier Orte, nämlich Roßtal, Eisenberg, Nürnberg und Wolfsegg untersucht. In Kap. 4. habe ich die Definition des Begriffs „Museum“ nach ICOM und deren nationale Ergänzung in Deutschland vorgenommen und Vermittlungsarbeiten des anerkannten außerschulischen Lernorts „Museums“ als Erziehungsort durch Erlebnislernen, besonders für Schüler untersucht. Daneben wurden Geschichte und Hintergrund der Museumspädagogik in Deutschland und drei museumspädagogische Institutionen vorgestellt. Weiterhin wurden in Kap. 5. Geschichte, Aufgabe, museumspädagogische Angebote usw. der von mir ausgewählten neun Museen untersucht: das Kaiserburg-Museum in Nürnberg, das Fränkische Schweiz-Museum in Tüchersfeld, das Mainfränkische Museum Würzburg, das Stadtmuseum Burghausen, das Heimathaus des Rupertiwinkels auf der Burg Tittmoning, das Burgmuseum Wolfsegg, das Allgäuer Burgenmuseum, das Oberhausmuseum Passau und das Haus fränkischer Geschichte auf der Burg Abenberg.Museums don’t only want to preserve the legacy of the past but also try to replicate it in such a way, that visitors get a vivid impression of life during the past centuries. School children entering the museum find themselves in a new and different learning process in comparison to their normal day at school. A modern museum does not bore children with theoretical learning, but engages them with activities and new experiences. Museums turn out to be social educational institutions, occupying an important place in our society by offering exiting and interesting events for children. A museum as a good place for education and learning is as valuable as other educational institutions such as schools, since it will place you in direct contact with human intellectual and cultural heritage. In museums you can see the "original". Utilizing direct and concrete experience will help children to learn "without detour". The museum can be called 'a totally open place of learning for everybody'. If a museum was to be ranked the number of participants in the offered activities and the learning progress should be considered as the most important indicators. Chapter 2 treats the definition of medieval archeology and its influence on German Archaeology. This includes the problems of maintenance and public interest for castles. Thereafter, within chapter 3, four places of my choice, namely Roßtal, Eisenberg, Nürnberg and Wolfsegg are analysed as archaeological sources of the Middle Ages in Bavaria (focus on excavations). In chapter 4, I review the definition of the term "museum" from ICOM and its national supplementation in Germany. Furthermore I investigate the intermediary role of the approved non-formal learning location "museum" as a place of education through experiential learning, especially for school children. In addition, history and background of museum pedagogy within Germany and three museums’ pedagogical institutions are presented. Furthermore, in chapter 5, the history, tasks, educational attractions etc. of nine museums of my choice are further analysed: the "Kaiserburg-Museum in Nürnberg", the "Fränkische Schweiz-Museum in Tüchersfeld", the "Mainfränkische Museum in Würzburg", the "Stadtmuseum Burghausen", the "Heimathaus des Rupertiwinkels auf der Burg Tittmoning", the "Burgmuseum Wolfsegg", the "Allgäuer Burgenmuseum", the "Oberhausmuseum Passau" and the "Haus fränkischer Geschichte auf der Burg Abenberg"

Input of terrestrial organic matter linked to deglaciation increased mercury transport to the Svalbard fjords

Deglaciation has accelerated the transport of minerals as well as modern and ancient organic matter from land to fjord sediments in Spitsbergen, Svalbard, in the European Arctic Ocean. Consequently, such sediments may contain significant levels of total mercury (THg) bound to terrestrial organic matter. The present study compared THg contents in surface sediments from three fjord settings in Spitsbergen: Hornsund in the southern Spitsbergen, which has high annual volume of loss glacier and receives sediment from multiple tidewater glaciers, Dicksonfjorden in the central Spitsbergen, which receives sediment from glacifluvial rivers, and Wijdefjorden in the northern Spitsbergen, which receive sediments from a mixture of tidewater glaciers and glacifluvial rivers. Our results showed that the THg (52 +/- 15 ng g(-1)) bound to organic matter (OM) was the highest in the Hornsund surface sediments, where the glacier loss (0.44 km(3) yr(-1)) and organic carbon accumulation rates (9.3 similar to 49.4 g m(-2) yr(-1)) were elevated compared to other fjords. Furthermore, the delta C-13 (-27 similar to -24 parts per thousand) and delta S-34 values (-10 similar to 15 parts per thousand) of OM indicated that most of OM were originated from terrestrial sources. Thus, the temperature-driven glacial melting could release more OM originating from the meltwater or terrestrial materials, which are available for THg binding in the European Arctic fjord ecosystems.11Ysciescopu

Comparison of Clinical Outcomes Following Gefitinib and Erlotinib Treatment in Non–Small-Cell Lung Cancer Patients Harboring an Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Mutation in Either Exon 19 or 21

Background:Gefitinib and erlotinib, small-molecule kinase inhibitors that block epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) signaling, have demonstrated a dramatic response rate and prolonged progression-free survival (PFS) in patients harboring an activating EGFR mutation. We compared the clinical outcomes in gefitinib- and erlotinib-treated patients harboring EGFR mutations who had recurrent or metastatic non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).Methods:A total of 375 patients with recurrent or metastatic stage IIIB/IV NSCLC, who had either exon 19 deletion or the L858R mutation in exon 21, and had received either gefitinib (n = 228) or erlotinib (n = 147), were included in the study. A matched-pair case-control study design was implemented in the analysis, where 121 pairs of gefitinib-treated and erlotinib-treated patients were matched according to sex, smoking history, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status, and types of EGFR mutation.Results:The median age of all patients was 58 years (range, 30–84), and more than half of patients had never been smokers (63.6%). Most patients had adenocarcinoma (98.3%) and good Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (0, 1) (90.9%). The median number of cycles of EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) treatment was 12.7 in the gefitinib group and 10.8 in the erlotinib group. Of the 242 patients, 63 (26%) received EGFR TKI as first-line therapy. The overall response rates and disease control rates in the gefitinib- or erlotinib-treated groups were 76.9% versus 74.4% (p = 0.575) and 90.1% versus 86.8%, respectively (p = 0.305). There was no statistically significant difference with regard to PFS (median, 11.7 versus 9.6; p = 0.056) between the gefitinib- and erlotinib-treated groups. For patients receiving EGFR TKI as the first-line treatment, there was no significant difference between the two treatment groups in overall response rates (76.7% and 90.0%) (p = 0.431) and median PFS (11.7 versus 14.5 months) (p = 0.507).Conclusion:In NSCLC patients harboring EGFR mutation, treatment with gefitinib and erlotinib resulted in similar effectiveness

Characteristics of Adolescent Patients Admitted to the Emergency Department due to Attempted Suicide by Poisoning; a Brief Report

Introduction: In the background of the increased suicide rate in the second decade of life, analysis of the characteristics of poisoning-related attempted suicide in adolescents and evaluation of the differences from adults may form an important basis for establishing measures to prevent deaths from poisoning. Objective: We aimed to investigate the types of toxic substances ingested for attempted suicide by poisoning in adolescents admitted to the emergency department (ED). Method: This cross-sectional study retrospectively analyzed and investigated the medical records of patients aged 13 or older, admitted to the ED of a tertiary medical institute over a period of 3 years, for attempted suicide by poisoning. Results: The psychiatric diagnoses among patients in the adolescent group included depression (75.8%), bipolar disorder (12.5%), and panic disorder (12.5%). In terms of the type of drug used for poisoning, antidepressants or anti-psychotics and sleeping pills were the most commonly used in the adolescent (43 subjects, 45.2%) and adult (286 subjects, 37.6%) groups, respectively. Conclusion: As there is a higher chance of poisoning by easily accessible drugs, the emergency physician needs to investigate any preceding diagnoses of psychiatric or medical illnesses in the adolescent patients attempting suicide with unknown drugs

Pyrolyzed Deketene Curcumin Controls Regulatory T Cell Generation and Gastric Cancer Metabolism Cooperate With 2-Deoxy-D-Glucose

Pyrolyzed deketene curcumin GO-Y022 prevents carcinogenesis in a gastric cancer mouse model. However, it is still less clear if GO-Y022 affects tumor-induced immune suppression. In this study, we found that GO-Y022 inhibited Treg generation in the presence of transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-β). However, GO-Y022 showed less impact on Foxp3+ Tregs in the gastric tumor microenvironment. Gastric tumor cells produce a large amount of L-lactate in the presence of GO-Y022 and diminish the inhibitory role of GO-Y022 against Treg generation in response to TGF-β. Therefore, naïve CD4+ T cells co-cultured with GO-Y022 treated gastric tumor cells increased Treg generation. GO-Y022-induced tumor cell death was further enhanced by 2-deoxy-d-glucose (2DG), a glycolysis inhibitor. Combination treatment of GO-Y022 and 2DG results in reduced L-lactate production and Treg generation in gastric tumor cells. Overall, GO-Y022-treatment with restricted glucose metabolism inhibits gastric tumor cell survival and promotes anti-tumor immunity

Bioconversion of CO to formate by artificially designed carbon monoxide:formate oxidoreductase in hyperthermophilic archaea

Ferredoxin-dependent metabolic engineering of electron transfer circuits has been developed to enhance redox efficiency in the field of synthetic biology, e.g., for hydrogen production and for reduction of flavoproteins or NAD(P)+. Here, we present the bioconversion of carbon monoxide (CO) gas to formate via a synthetic CO:formate oxidoreductase (CFOR), designed as an enzyme complex for direct electron transfer between non-interacting CO dehydrogenase and formate dehydrogenase using an electron-transferring Fe-S fusion protein. The CFOR-introduced Thermococcus onnurineus mutant strains showed CO-dependent formate production in vivo and in vitro. The maximum formate production rate from purified CFOR complex and specific formate productivity from the bioreactor were 2.2????????0.2 ??mol/mg/min and 73.1????????29.0 mmol/g-cells/h, respectively. The CO-dependent CO2 reduction/formate production activity of synthetic CFOR was confirmed, indicating that direct electron transfer between two unrelated dehydrogenases was feasible via mediation of the FeS-FeS fusion protein

Valproic Acid Downregulates the Expression of MGMT and Sensitizes Temozolomide-Resistant Glioma Cells

Temozolomide (TMZ) has become a key therapeutic agent in patients with malignant gliomas; however, its survival benefit remains unsatisfactory. Valproic acid (VPA) has emerged as an anticancer drug via inhibition of histone deacetylases (HDACs), but the therapeutic advantages of a combination with VPA and TMZ remain poorly understood. The main aim of the present study was to determine whether an antitumor effect could be potentiated by a combination of VPA and TMZ, especially in TMZ-resistant cell lines. A combination of VPA and TMZ had a significantly enhanced antitumor effect in TMZ-resistant malignant glioma cells (T98 and U138). This enhanced antitumor effect correlated with VPA-mediated reduced O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) expression, which plays an important role in cellular resistance to alkylating agents. In vitro, the combination of these drugs enhanced the apoptotic and autophagic cell death, as well as suppressed the migratory activities in TMZ-resistant cell lines. Furthermore, in vivo efficacy experiment showed that treatment of combination of VPA and TMZ significantly inhibited tumor growth compared with the monotherapy groups of mice. These results suggest that the clinical efficacy of TMZ chemotherapy in TMZ-resistant malignant glioma may be improved by combination with VPA

Efficacy and safety of ginsam, a vinegar extract from Panax ginseng, in type 2 diabetic patients: Results of a double‐blind, placebo‐controlled study

Abstract Aims/Introduction: The efficacy, dose–response relationship and safety of ginsam, a vinegar extract from Panax ginseng, were evaluated in an 8‐week, double‐blind, randomized, placebo‐controlled study in drug‐naïve patients with type 2 diabetes. Materials and Methods: A total of 72 diabetic patients were randomized to receive 1500, 2000 or 3000 mg of ginsam, or placebo daily for 8 weeks (n = 18 in each group). The primary end‐point was the changes from the baseline HbA1c level. The secondary end‐points were the changes of fasting and postprandial 2‐h glucose concentration, and the proportion of patients achieving a reduction in HbA1c >0.5%. Results: In the intention‐to‐treat analysis, ginsam treatment reduced HbA1c level significantly: −0.56 ± 0.25% in the 1500 mg group, −0.31 ± 0.12% in the 2000 mg group, and −0.29 ± 0.11% in the 3000 mg group (all P 0.5% differed significantly between the placebo group (11.1%) and the 1500 mg (27.8%) and 2000 mg (27.8%) groups. No severe adverse events were observed in any group. Conclusions: An 8‐week treatment with ginsam, a vinegar extract from P. ginseng, moderately improved HbA1c level and was well tolerated in type 2 diabetic patients with inadequate glycemic control. This trial was registered with ClinicalTrial.Gov (no. NCT01008163). (J Diabetes Invest, doi: 10.1111/j.2040‐1124.2011.00185.x, 2011