Preserving Conversations with Contemporary Holocaust Witnesses

Conversations with Holocaust survivors are an integral part of education at schools and universities as well as part of the German memory culture. The goal of interactive stereoscopic digital Holocaust testimonies is to preserve the effects of meeting and interacting with these contemporary witnesses as faithfully as possible. These virtual humans are non-synthetic. Instead, all their actions, such as answers and movements, are pre-recorded. We conducted a preliminary study to gauge how people perceive this first German-speaking digital interactive Holocaust testimony. The focus of our investigation is the ease-of-use, the accuracy and relevance of the answers given as well as the authenticity and emotiveness of the virtual contemporary witness, as perceived by the participants. We found that digital 3D testimonies can convey emotions and lead to enjoyable experiences, which correlates with the frequency of correctly matched answers

Increased serum levels of procollagen type III peptide in severely injured patients

Objectives: To determine the serum concentrations of procollagen type in peptide in severely injured patients with different outcomes and to evaluate the relationship between serum procollagen type III peptide concentrations, sources of increased posttraumatic fibrotic activity (wounds, lung, liver, kidney), and decreased elimination of procollagen type III peptide (liver). Design: Prospective study. Setting: Surgical ICU, university hospital. Patients: Fifty-seven patients (mean injury severity score: 38.5 points, range 13 to 75 points), between 16 and 70 yrs of age, treated in our institution within 6 hrs after the accident. Measurements: Serial measurements were started on admission and continued on a 6-hr basis. After 48 hrs, the monitoring interval was extended to 24 hrs until recovery (but at least until day 14) or death. At each point of evaluation, pulmonary and circulatory function parameters and chest radiographs (once a day) were evaluated, the results were recorded, and blood samples were drawn to determine procollagen type III peptide, total bilirubin, creatinine, [gamma]-glutamyl transferase, polymorphonuclear elastase, and other parameters. Statistic evaluation was done with the Wilcoxon test, Spearman rank correlation, and a multiple regression model. Results: Mean procollagen type m peptide serum concentrations (+/- sd) were significantly different in patients who died (8.0 +/- 3.8 U/mL) compared with those patients who survived with organ failure (2.7 +/- 1.3 U/mL) or without complications (1.4 +/- 0.5 U/mL), respectively. Significant correlations of procollagen type HI peptide concentrations with the serum bilirubin concentrations (r = .7), days with need of mechanical ventilation (r = .64), Pao2/Fio2 ratio (r = -.6), polymorphonuclear elastase (r = .6), serum creatinine concentrations (r = .55), and injury severity score (r = .33) were observed. There was a tendency toward higher serum procollagen type III peptide concentrations in patients with severe skeletal injuries. Conclusions: Serum procollagen type III peptide concentrations in severely injured patients may be considerably increased in correlation with injury severity and outcome. Procollagen type III peptide serum concentrations seem to reflect the sum of increased collagen formation from wound healing and fibrogenesis of mediator-related organ damage (especially lung) and decreased procollagen type HI peptide excretion due to impaired liver function. Further data are necessary to evaluate the role of hepatic elimination in these patients

The homeodomain transcription factor Orthopedia is involved in development of the Drosophila hindgut

Background The Drosophila hindgut is commonly used model for studying various aspects of organogenesis like primordium establishment, further specification, patterning, and morphogenesis. During embryonic development of Drosophila, many transcriptional activators are involved in the formation of the hindgut. The transcription factor Orthopedia (Otp), a member of the 57B homeobox gene cluster, is expressed in the hindgut and nervous system of developing Drosophila embryos, but due to the lack of mutants no functional analysis has been conducted yet. Results We show that two different otp transcripts, a hindgut-specific and a nervous system-specific form, are present in the Drosophila embryo. Using an Otp antibody, a detailed expression analysis during hindgut development was carried out. Otp was not only expressed in the embryonic hindgut, but also in the larval and adult hindgut. To analyse the function of otp, we generated the mutant otp allele otpGT by ends-out gene targeting. In addition, we isolated two EMS-induced otp alleles in a genetic screen for mutants of the 57B region. All three otp alleles showed embryonic lethality with a severe hindgut phenotype. Anal pads were reduced and the large intestine was completely missing. This phenotype is due to apoptosis in the hindgut primordium and the developing hindgut. Conclusion Our data suggest that Otp is another important factor for hindgut development of Drosophila. As a downstream factor of byn Otp is most likely present only in differentiated hindgut cells during all stages of development rather than in stem cells

Conversion detection for improved online ad selection

Online ads sometimes continue unchanged even after the ad had resulted in a conversion, e.g., after a user has purchased the advertised product. Many users find such continued presence of the ad annoying. Also, not refreshing the ad with a different product represents lost revenue for the website publisher and the ad network. This disclosure describes techniques to detect if the user has purchased a given product by analyzing, with user consent and permission, user data such as emails and other data. Upon detecting conversion, display of ads relating to the product or similar products is discontinued

The Drosophila homeodomain transcription factor Homeobrain is involved in the formation of the embryonic protocerebrum and the supraesophageal brain commissure

During the embryonic development of Drosophila melanogaster many transcriptional activators are involved in the formation of the embryonic brain. In our study we show that the transcription factor Homeobrain (Hbn), a member of the 57B homeobox gene cluster, is an additional factor involved in the formation of the embryonic Drosophila brain. Using a Hbn antibody and specific cell type markers a detailed expression analysis during embryonic brain development was conducted. We show that Hbn is expressed in several regions in the protocerebrum, including fibre tract founder cells closely associated with the supraesophageal brain commissure and also in the mushroom bodies. During the formation of the supraesophageal commissure, Hbn and FasII-positive founder cells build an interhemispheric bridge priming the commissure and thereby linking both brain hemispheres. The Hbn expression is restricted to neural but not glial cells in the embryonic brain. In a mutagenesis screen we generated two mutant hbn alleles that both show embryonic lethality. The phenotype of the hbn mutant alleles is characterized by a reduction of the protocerebrum, a loss of the supraesophageal commissure and mushroom body progenitors and also by a dislocation of the optic lobes. Extensive apoptosis correlates with the impaired formation of the embryonic protocerebrum and the supraesophageal commissure. Our results show that Hbn is another important factor for embryonic brain development in Drosophila melanogaster

Inflammatory mediators, infection, sepsis, and multiorgan failure after severe trauma

The relation of (multiple) organ failure (OF) to the release of inflammatory mediators and the incidence of infection and sepsis was studied prospectively in 100 patients with multiple trauma (injury severity score=37). Sixteen patients died of OF, 47 patients survived OF, and 37 patients had no OF. Fifteen (24%) of the patients with OF showed no signs of infection. In patients with early onset of OF (n=45), infection followed with a lag of 2 or more days. In 16 (44%) of these patients, infection led to a deterioration in organ function. With late onset of OF (n=18), infection preceded OF in nine patients. Polymorphonuclear leukocyte—elastase, neopterin, C-reactive protein, lactate, antithrombin III, and phospholipase A discriminated significantly among the three outcome groups. Of all factors, only polymorphonuclear leukocyte—elastase showed a difference between patients with and without infection or sepsis, respectively. These data indicate that infection might not play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of posttraumatic OF in a substantial portion of patients with trauma. Early OF, especially, seems to be mainly influenced by the direct sequelae of tissue damage and shock (eg, the release of inflammatory mediators). Since infection and sepsis did not lead to an augmented release of mediators in patients with trauma, the role of both entities remains unclear