Rezension: Interessen und Strategien beim fremdsprachlichen Lesen. Wie Schülerinnen und Schüler englische Texte lesen und verstehen

In ihrer umfangreichen Monographie vereint Claudia Finkbeiner die teilweise schon aus Artikeln bekannten Einzelergebnisse ihres Habilitationsprojektes und zieht daraus Konsequenzen für den Fremdsprachenunterricht. Die Arbeit, deren Ziel es ist, den bisher von der Forschung vernachlässigten Zusammenhang zwischen Interessen und Strategien beim fremdsprachlichen Lesen zu klären, lässt sich in drei große Teile gliedern: Einen ersten, in dem sich die Autorin mit den für das Projekt zentralen Begriffen theoretisch auseinandersetzt, einen zweiten, der der Konzeption, Durchführung und Auswertung ihrer eigenen empirischen Studie gewidmet ist, und einen dritten, in dem basierend auf den Ergebnissen der Studie verschiedene Lernszenarien entworfen werden und somit die Brücke zur Unterrichtspraxis geschlagen wird. Brücken schlägt Finkbeiner auch zwischen den einzelnen Kapiteln mit einem Paragraphen zur Zusammenfassung des letzten und Hinführung zum nächsten, um dem Leser so das Querlesen zu erleichtern. Eine 155-seitige Forschungsdokumentation im Anhang komplettiert das Werk und ist der zunächst augenfälligste Hinweis darauf, dass die Autorin in der gesamten Darstellung großen Wert darauf legt, ihr Vorgehen offen zu legen und für den Leser nachvollziehbar zu machen

Titanium and titanium oxides at the K- and L-edges: validating theoretical calculations of X-ray absorption and X-ray emission spectra with measurements

Using well-calibrated experimental data we validate theoretical X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) as well as X-ray emission spectroscopy (XES) calculations for titanium (Ti), titanium oxide (TiO), and titanium dioxide (TiO$_2$) at the Ti K- and L-edges as well as O K-edge. XAS and XES in combination with a multi-edge approach offer a detailed insight into the electronic structure of materials since both the occupied and unoccupied states, are probed. The experimental results are compared with ab initio calculations from the OCEAN package which uses the Bethe-Salpeter equation (BSE) approach. Using the same set of input parameters for each compound for calculations at different edges, the transferability of the OCEAN calculations across different spectroscopy methods and energy ranges is validated. Thus, the broad applicability for analysing and interpreting the electronic structure of materials with the OCEAN package is shown

Investigation of A1g phonons in YBa2Cu3O7 by means of LAPW atomic-force calculations

We report first-principles frozen-phonon calculations for the determination of the force-free geometry and the dynamical matrix of the five Raman-active A1g modes in YBa2Cu3O7. To establish the shape of the phonon potentials atomic forces are calculated within the LAPW method. Two different schemes - the local density approximation (LDA) and a generalized gradient approximation (GGA) - are employed for the treatment of electronic exchange and correlation effects. We find that in the case of LDA the resulting phonon frequencies show a deviation from experimental values of approximately -10%. Invoking GGA the frequency values are significantly improved and also the eigenvectors are in very good agreement with experimental findings.Comment: 15 page

Gait Stability and Its Influencing Factors in Older Adults

A stable gait pattern is a prerequisite to successfully master various activities of daily living. Furthermore, reduced gait stability is associated with a higher risk of falling. To provide specific intervention strategies to improve gait stability, gaining detailed knowledge of the underlying mechanism and influencing factors is of utmost importance. The effects of relevant influencing factors on gait stability are poorly examined, yet. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to quantify the effects of various influencing factors on gait stability. In a cross-sectional study, we assessed dynamic gait stability and relevant influencing factors in 102 older adults (age >65 years). In addition to dynamic gait stability (largest Lyapunov exponent [LLE] and gait variability measures) during normal over-ground (single-task: ST) and dual-task (DT) walking, we registered the following influencing factors: health status (SF12), pain status (painDETECT, SES), fear of falling (falls efficacy scale), depression (CES-D), cognition performance (Stroop test), physical activity (Freiburger Fragebogen zur körperlichen Aktivität), proprioception (joint position sense), peripheral sensation (mechanical and vibration detection threshold), balance performance (static balance on force plate) and muscular fitness (instrumented sit-to-stand test). We used a principal components regression to link the identified principal components with the gait stability and gait variability responses. The four principal components “strength and gender” (e.g., p = 0.001 for LLE during ST), “physical activity” (e.g., p = 0.006 for LLE during ST), “pain” (e.g., p = 0.030 for LLE during DT) and “peripheral sensation” (e.g., p = 0.002 for LLE during ST) were each significantly associated with at least two of the analyzed gait stability/variability measures. The dimension “balance” was a significant predictor in only one gait measure. While “proprioception” tends to correlate with a gait variability measure, we did not find a dependency of mental health on any gait measure. In conclusion, the participants' ability to recover from small perturbations (as measured with the largest Lyapunov exponent) seems to be related to gender and strength, the amount of physical activity the participants spent every week, peripheral sensation and pain status. Since the explained variance is still rather low, there could be more relevant factors that were not addressed, yet

Intercalation of Lithium Ions from Gaseous Precursors into beta-MnO2 Thin Films Deposited by Atomic Layer Deposition

LiMn2O4 is a promising candidate for a cathode material in lithium-ion batteries because of its ability to intercalate lithium ions reversibly through its three-dimensional manganese oxide network. One of the promising techniques for depositing LiMn2O4 thin-film cathodes is atomic layer deposition (ALD). Because of its unparalleled film thickness control and film conformality, ALD helps to fulfill the industry demands for smaller devices, nanostructured electrodes, and all-solid-state batteries. In this work, the intercalation mechanism of Li+ ions into an ALD-grown beta-MnO2 thin film was studied. Samples were prepared by pulsing (LiOBu)-Bu-t and H2O for different cycle numbers onto about 100 nm thick MnO2 films at 225 degrees C and characterized with X-ray absorption spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray reflectivity, time-of-flight elastic recoil detection analysis, and residual stress measurements. It is proposed that forPeer reviewe

Effect of high-dose glucocorticoid treatment on human brown adipose tissue activity: a randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled cross-over trial in healthy men

BACKGROUND Glucocorticoids (GCs) are widely applied anti-inflammatory drugs that are associated with adverse metabolic effects including insulin resistance and weight gain. Previous research indicates that GCs may negatively impact brown adipose tissue (BAT) activity in rodents and humans. METHODS We performed a randomised, double-blinded cross-over trial in 16 healthy men (clinicaltrials.govNCT03269747). Participants received 40 mg of prednisone per day for one week or placebo. After a washout period of four weeks, participants crossed-over to the other treatment arm. Primary endpoint was the increase in resting energy expenditure (EE) in response to a mild-cold stimulus (cold-induced thermogenesis, CIT). Secondary outcomes comprised mean $^{18}$F-FDG uptake into supraclavicular BAT (SUV$_{mean}$) as determined by FDG-PET/CT, volume of the BAT depot as well as fat content determined by MRI. The plasma metabolome and the transcriptome of supraclavicular BAT and of skeletal muscle biopsies after each treatment period were analysed. FINDINGS Sixteen participants were recruited to the trial and completed it successfully per protocol. After prednisone treatment resting EE was higher both during warm and cold conditions. However, CIT was similar, 153 kcal/24 h (95% CI 40-266 kcal/24 h) after placebo and 186 kcal/24 h (95% CI 94-277 kcal/24 h, p = 0.38) after prednisone. SUV$_{mean}$ of BAT after cold exposure was not significantly affected by prednisone (3.36 g/ml, 95% CI 2.69-4.02 g/ml, vs 3.07 g/ml, 95% CI 2.52-3.62 g/ml, p = 0.28). Results of plasma metabolomics and BAT transcriptomics corroborated these findings. RNA sequencing of muscle biopsies revealed higher expression of genes involved in calcium cycling. No serious adverse events were reported and adverse events were evenly distributed between the two treatments. INTERPRETATION Prednisone increased EE in healthy men possibly by altering skeletal muscle calcium cycling. Cold-induced BAT activity was not affected by GC treatment, which indicates that the unfavourable metabolic effects of GCs are independent from thermogenic adipocytes. FUNDING Grants from Swiss National Science Foundation (PZ00P3_167823), Bangerter-Rhyner Foundation and from Nora van der Meeuwen-Häfliger Foundation to MJB. A fellowship-grant from the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF211053) to WS. Grants from German Research Foundation (project number: 314061271-TRR 205) and Else Kröner-Fresenius (grant support 2012_A103 and 2015_A228) to MR

Helden in der Schule. Akten der Tagung Kloster Banz 2014

Ausgehend von der Feststellung, dass die Integration mittelalterlicher Texte im Deutschunterricht in der Schulpraxis weitgehend ein Desiderat darstellt, präsentierten Beitragende aus Schule und Wissenschaft bei der Tagung „Helden in der Schule“ im Oktober 2014 ihre Projekte und Ideen zu und Erfahrungen mit der Implementation germanistisch-mediävistischer Inhalte im Deutschunterricht. Dabei reichen die Beiträge von allgemeinen Überlegungen zum Nutzen mittelalterlicher Literatur in der Schule über konkrete Unterrichtsentwürfe bis hin zur Umsetzung in der Waldorfschule und der Integration schulbezogener Lehrveranstaltungen in der Universität. Bei aller Verschiedenheit in den Herangehensweisen wird in allen Beiträgen eindrucksvoll deutlich gemacht, dass mittelalterliche Literatur auch im 21. Jahrhundert überaus lohnend in die Unterrichtspraxis einbezogen werden kann.Since medieval texts are not treated enough in school, lecturers working in school and university presented their projects, ideas and experiences concerning the implementation of German-mediavistic contents in German school lessons during the conference “Heroes in School” in October 2014. The topics concern general reflection about the profitability of medieval literature in school, concrete lesson plans, the implementation in Rudolf Steiner schools, the integration of seminars in university that deal with the work in school etc. All articles demonstrate that the integration of medieval literature in school worth the effort – also in the 21st century

Measuring self-regulation in everyday life: reliability and validity of smartphone-based experiments in alcohol use disorder

Self-regulation, the ability to guide behavior according to one’s goals, plays an integral role in understanding loss of control over unwanted behaviors, for example in alcohol use disorder (AUD). Yet, experimental tasks that measure processes underlying self-regulation are not easy to deploy in contexts where such behaviors usually occur, namely outside the laboratory, and in clinical populations such as people with AUD. Moreover, lab-based tasks have been criticized for poor test–retest reliability and lack of construct validity. Smartphones can be used to deploy tasks in the field, but often require shorter versions of tasks, which may further decrease reliability. Here, we show that combining smartphone-based tasks with joint hierarchical modeling of longitudinal data can overcome at least some of these shortcomings. We test four short smartphone-based tasks outside the laboratory in a large sample (N = 488) of participants with AUD. Although task measures indeed have low reliability when data are analyzed traditionally by modeling each session separately, joint modeling of longitudinal data increases reliability to good and oftentimes excellent levels. We next test the measures’ construct validity and show that extracted latent factors are indeed in line with theoretical accounts of cognitive control and decision-making. Finally, we demonstrate that a resulting cognitive control factor relates to a real-life measure of drinking behavior and yields stronger correlations than single measures based on traditional analyses. Our findings demonstrate how short, smartphone-based task measures, when analyzed with joint hierarchical modeling and latent factor analysis, can overcome frequently reported shortcomings of experimental tasks