Content-Based Video Retrieval in Historical Collections of the German Broadcasting Archive

The German Broadcasting Archive (DRA) maintains the cultural heritage of radio and television broadcasts of the former German Democratic Republic (GDR). The uniqueness and importance of the video material stimulates a large scientific interest in the video content. In this paper, we present an automatic video analysis and retrieval system for searching in historical collections of GDR television recordings. It consists of video analysis algorithms for shot boundary detection, concept classification, person recognition, text recognition and similarity search. The performance of the system is evaluated from a technical and an archival perspective on 2,500 hours of GDR television recordings.Comment: TPDL 2016, Hannover, Germany. Final version is available at Springer via DO

Fostering preservice teachers’ expectancies and values towards computational thinking

Theory Digital technologies have become an integral part of everyday life that children are exposed to. Therefore, it is important for children to acquire an understanding of these technologies early on by teaching them computational thinking (CT) as a part of STEM. However, primary school teachers are often reluctant to teach CT. Expectancy-value theory suggests that motivational components play an important role in teaching and learning. Thus, one hindrance to teachers’ willingness to teach CT might be their low expectancies of success and high emotional costs, e.g., anxiety towards CT. Aims We investigated whether a specifically designed seminar on CT affected preservice teachers’ expectancies and values towards programming.Method: A total of 311 German primary school and special education preservice teachers took part in the study. The primary school preservice teachers received a seminar on CT and programming with low-threshold programming tasks, while the special education teachers served as a baseline group. The seminar was specifically designed to enhance expectancies and values and decrease emotional costs, following implications of research on expectancy-value theory. Results The preservice teachers who visited the seminar gained higher expectancies and values towards CT and programming compared to the baseline group. Moreover, their emotional costs decreased. CT was positively related to change in expectancies and values and negatively related to emotional costs. Discussion Interventions with low-threshold programming tasks can support primary school preservice teachers in finding trust in their abilities and values towards CT. Moreover, their anxiety towards CT and programming can be alleviated. Thus, first steps in preparing preservice teachers to teach CT in their future classrooms can be taken in university

In vitro evidence for senescent multinucleated melanocytes as a source for tumor-initiating cells

Oncogenic signaling in melanocytes results in oncogene-induced senescence (OIS), a stable cell-cycle arrest frequently characterized by a bi- or multinuclear phenotype that is considered as a barrier to cancer progression. However, the long-sustained conviction that senescence is a truly irreversible process has recently been challenged. Still, it is not known whether cells driven into OIS can progress to cancer and thereby pose a potential threat. Here, we show that prolonged expression of the melanoma oncogene N-RAS61K in pigment cells overcomes OIS by triggering the emergence of tumor-initiating mononucleated stem-like cells from senescent cells. This progeny is dedifferentiated, highly proliferative, anoikis-resistant and induces fast growing, metastatic tumors. Our data describe that differentiated cells, which are driven into senescence by an oncogene, use this senescence state as trigger for tumor transformation, giving rise to highly aggressive tumor-initiating cells. These observations provide the first experimental in vitro evidence for the evasion of OIS on the cellular level and ensuing transformation

Untersuchungen zum Einfluss stabilisierter Stickstoffdünger auf die Verfügbarkeit und Aufnahme von Mangan in Weizen

Die Pflanzenverfügbarkeit von Mangan (Mn) sinkt mit steigenden pH-Werten des Bodens deutlich ab, weshalb es besonders auf kalkreichen Standorten zu pH-bedingtem Mn-Mangel im Getreide kommen kann. Oft wird dann die Verwendung saurer N-Dünger (NH4+) empfohlen, um dadurch die pH-Werte des Bodens kurzfristig zu senken und somit eine Verbesserung der Mn-Verfügbarkeit zu bewirken. Ursache für die Versauerung sind zum einen die H+-freisetzende Nitrifikation und zum anderen die Netto-Abgabe vom H+ in die unmittelbare Umgebung der Wurzel (Rhizosphäre) bei NH4+-Aufnahme (physiologische Versauerung). Dass sich eine saure Düngung, wie beispielsweise mit dem klassischen Ammoniumsulfat (SSA), tatsächlich positiv auf die Mn-Versorgung der Pflanzen auswirkt, konnte in früheren Versuchen bereits nachgewiesen werden. Weniger bekannt ist hingegen darüber, wie sich eine NH4+-Stabilisierung durch den Zusatz von Nitrifikationshemmern auf die Mn-Versorgung der Pflanzen auswirkt. Denn während die Nitrifikation unterbleibt, ist zugleich eine stärkere physiologische Versauerung zu erwarten. Die Ergebnisse aus den Versuchen lassen sich wie folgt zusammenfassen: Eine SSA-Düngung ohne Nitrifikationshemmer resultierte gegenüber einer reinen NO3--Düngung in einer deutlich besseren Mn-Versorgung der Weizenpflanzen. Erfolgte hingegen zum SSA ein Zusatz von Nitrifikationshemmern, so trat dieser positive Effekt auf die Mn-Versorgung nicht ein, obwohl die pH-Werte in der Rhizosphäre dann etwas niedriger lagen. Die Mn-Verfügbarkeit im Boden war hingegen in der SSA-Variante ohne Nitrifikationshemmer gegenüber der NO3--Variante und gegenüber den stabilisierten SSA-Varianten deutlich verbessert. Die Ergebnisse lassen den Schluss zu, dass nicht die physiologische Versauerung der Rhizosphäre, sondern die Nitrifikation ausschlaggebend für die Mn-Verfügbarkeit und somit auch für die Mn-Versorgung der Pflanzen ist. Der Zusammenhang zwischen Nitrifikation und Mn-Verfügbarkeit konnte in angegliederten Bodeninkubationsversuchen bestätigt werden

Selenium Enrichment of Green and Red Lettuce and the Induction of Radical Scavenging Potential

Selenium (Se)-enriched vegetables are promising dietary sources of Se, which provides beneficial biological effects in humans. In this study, we investigated the effects of foliar application of Se on hydroponically grown multi-leaf green (V1) and red (V2) lettuce plants. Three selenate (SeIV) amendment levels were evaluated for their influence on plant growth, elemental composition and radical scavenging capacity. Lettuce heads biofortified with 0.598 mg Se plant−1 accumulated 19.6–23.6 and 14.9–17.6 μg Se g−1 DM in the multi-leaf green (V1) and red (V2) lettuce plants, respectively. The accumulated Se levels can contribute significantly to the recommended dietary allowance of 70 µg day−1 for adult men and 60 µg day−1 for adult women. Accordingly, both V1 and V2 lettuce cultivars grown under the Se3 foliar application condition can cover the daily requirement for adult men by approximately 100% and 85% to 100%, respectively, by consuming 75–90 g or 100 g fresh weight from V1 or V2, respectively. The ABTS radical scavenging potential of green lettuce was induced at Se2 and Se3 foliar application levels, where the IC50 was 1.124 ± 0.09 μg mL−1 at Se0 and improved to 0.795 ± 0.03 and 0.697 ± 0.01 μg mL−1, respectively. There was no cytotoxicity against Vero kidney cells among all treated lettuce plants at the highest concentration tested of 1 mg/mL. Finally, a further focused investigation of the metabolic profile of lettuce plants under varied Se levels needs to be investigated in future studie

Using Theory-Based Test Construction to Develop a New Curriculum-Based Measurement for Sentence Reading Comprehension

Reading comprehension at sentence level is a core component in the students' comprehension development, but there is a lack of comprehension assessments at the sentence level, which respect the theory of reading comprehension. In this article, a new web-based sentence-comprehension assessment for German primary school students is developed and evaluated using a curriculum-based measurement (CBM) framework. The test focuses on sentence level reading comprehension as an intermediary between word and text comprehension. The construction builds upon the theory of reading comprehension using CBM-Maze techniques. It is consistent on all tasks and contains different syntactic and semantic structures within the items. This paper presents the test development, a description of the item performance, an analysis of its factor structure, and tests of measurement invariance, and group comparisons (i.e., across gender, immigration background, over two measurement points, and the presence of special educational needs; SEN). Third grade students (n = 761) with and without SEN finished two CBM tests over 3 weeks. Results reveal that items had good technical adequacy, the constructed test is unidimensional, and it is valid for students both with and without SEN. Similarly, it is valid for both sexes, and results are valid across both measurement points. We discuss our method for creating a unidimensional test based on multiple item difficulties and make recommendations for future test construction

Pyruvate: immunonutritional effects on neutrophil intracellular amino or alpha-keto acid profiles and reactive oxygen species production

For the first time the immunonutritional role of pyruvate on neutrophils (PMN), free α-keto and amino acid profiles, important reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced [superoxide anion (O2−), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)] as well as released myeloperoxidase (MPO) acitivity has been investigated. Exogenous pyruvate significantly increased PMN pyruvate, α-ketoglutarate, asparagine, glutamine, aspartate, glutamate, arginine, citrulline, alanine, glycine and serine in a dose as well as duration of exposure dependent manner. Moreover, increases in O2− formation, H2O2-generation and MPO acitivity in parallel with intracellular pyruvate changes have also been detected. Regarding the interesting findings presented here we believe, that pyruvate fulfils considerably the criteria for a potent immunonutritional molecule in the regulation of the PMN dynamic α-keto and amino acid pools. Moreover it also plays an important role in parallel modulation of the granulocyte-dependent innate immune regulation. Although further research is necessary to clarify pyruvate’s sole therapeutical role in critically ill patients’ immunonutrition, the first scientific successes seem to be very promising

Ocean acidification shows negligible impacts on high-latitude bacterial community structure in coastal pelagic mesocosms

The impact of ocean acidification and carbonation on microbial community structure was assessed during a large-scale in situ costal pelagic mesocosm study, included as part of the EPOCA 2010 Arctic campaign. The mesocosm experiment included ambient conditions (fjord) and nine mesocosms, with pCO2 range from ~145 to ~1420 μatm. Samples collected at nine time points (t-1, t1, t5, t7, t12, t14, t22, t26 to t28) in seven treatments (ambient fjord (~145), 2×~185, ~270, ~685, ~820, ~1050 μatm) were analysed for "free-living" and "particle associated" microbial community composition using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing. This high-throughput sequencing analysis produced ~20 000 000 16S rRNA V4 reads, which comprised 7000 OTUs. The main variables structuring these communities were, sample origin (fjord or mesocosms) and the filter size fraction (free-living or particle associated). The community was significantly different between the fjord and both the control and elevated 2 mesocosms (which were not significant different) after nutrients were added to the mesocosms; suggesting that the addition of nutrients is the primary driver of the change in mesocosm community structure. The relative importance of each structuring variable depended greatly on the time at which the community was sampled in relation to the phytoplankton bloom. The size fraction was the second most important factor for community structure; separating free-living from particle-associated bacteria. When free-living and particle-associated bacteria were analysed separately at different time points, the only taxon pCO2 was found to significantly affect were the Gammaproteobacteria after nutrient addition. Finally, pCO2 treatment was found to be significantly correlated (non-linear) with 15 rare taxa, most of which increased in abundance with higher CO2

A strategy to obtain axenic cultures of Arthrospira spp. cyanobacteria

A strategy to obtain axenic cultures of the cyanobacterium Arthrospira sp. (‘platensis’) Lefevre 1963/M-132-1 strain, consisting of a series of physical and chemical procedures, and the application of an optimized pool of antibiotics, is described in this paper. This strategy, which is an inexpensive and fast way to obtain axenic cultures, can be applied to Arthrospira spp. from culture collections or samples from their natural habitats to eliminate a wide spectrum of contaminants. A high alkaline treatment (pH 12, using KOH) of 72 h is a determinant initial procedure applied to eliminate protozoa and Microcystis sp. Bacteria were eliminated by an optimal antibiotic pool treatment, and Chroococcus sp. residuals were discarded by serial dilution. Optimal concentrations of the antibiotics composing the pool were obtained by a 24 factorial central composite rotatable design (CCRD) and Response Surface Methodology (RSM), resulting in: ampicillin 61.6 μg/ml, penicillin 85.8 μg/ml, cefoxitin 76.9 μg/ml, and meropenem 38.9 μg/ml. The results also indicate that cefoxitin was the most effective antibiotic of this pool. After obtaining the axenic culture, identification of Lefevre 1963/M-132-1 strain was performed using amplification and sequencing of the ITS region (including part of 16S rRNA, tRNA Ile, ITS, tRNA Ala and part of 23S rRNA region) and fatty acid composition data. Data base comparison revealed that Lefevre strain is closely related to A. platensis species (99% identity), while fatty acid composition data suggested A. maxima. These seemingly contradictory results are discussed

Levumi: A Web-Based Curriculum-Based Measruement to Monitor Learning Progress in Inclusive Classrooms

Our paper introduces and assesses the Levumi platform’s web-based assessment of reading fluency. One challenges of inclusive education is meeting the needs of the learners with special education needs (SEN). Children with SEN and other risk factors face an increased risk of failing in schools and manifesting academic and social problems over the time. Web-based curriculum-based measurement (CBM) can provide an effective tool to track progress of learners and limit such risks. In particular, it can ease the challenges of test administration in inclusive classrooms through automation and providing multiple difficulty levels without the need of different paper-forms. Furthermore, Levumi can help educators track children and thus provide support for learners. Levumi takes advantage of the strengths of web-based CBM to assess reading fluency in primary school students. We confirmed the reading fluency test’s test-retest reliability (n = 334), its ability to measure learning over time in individual learners with SEN (n = 8, across 14 MPs), and its applicability to learners with SEN (n = 300, including n = 46 with SEN). We evaluate Levumi’s overall usefulness in assessing different types of learners, and discuss its contributions to CBM research