GAIS – GesprächsAnalytisches InformationsSystem. Ein hypermediales Lernsystem zur Gesprächsforschung

Der vorliegende Beitrag stellt das vom BMBF geförderte Projekt GAIS (GesprächsAnalytisches InformationsSystem) vor, welches am Institut für Deutsche Sprache (IDS) entwickelt wird. GAIS ist ein hypermediales und didaktisch aufbereitetes Lernsystem zur Gesprächsanalyse für Einsteiger und Experten. Durch die unterschiedlichen Schwierigkeitsgrade ist es sowohl für Lehrende als auch für Lernende konzipiert. GAIS bietet eine Plattform, die Theorie, Praxis, Beispiele, Links, Anwendungen und Literatur zur Gesprächsforschung bündelt. Nutzer können diese Informationen rezipieren, ihre Kenntnisse überprüfen und mit technischen Werkzeugen eigene Analysen erstellen.This paper presents a project granted by the Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF) called GAIS (GesprächsAnalytisches InformationsSystem) which is currently developed at the Institut für Deutsche Sprache (IDS). GAIS brings learning and teaching conversation analysis online. It is hypermedia which also adapts pedagogy and rethinks how to present material and conversation analysis online. It is created for teachers and students, for researchers and nonacademics as it includes different levels of complexity. GAIS wants to tie together theory, case studies, exemplars, links, online aids, tutorials and literature on conversation analysis. After receiving these informations, user can test their knowledge and carry out analyses on their own by using technical tools

Traffic-related microplastic particles, metals, and organic pollutants in an urban area under reconstruction

In urban environments, particularly areas under reconstruction, metals, organic pollutants (OP), and microplastics (MP), are released in large amounts due to heavy traffic. Road runoff, a major transport route for urban pollutants, contributes significantly to a deteriorated water quality in receiving waters. This study was conducted in Gothenburg, Sweden, and is unique because it simultaneously investigates the occurrence of OP, metals, and MP on roads and in stormwater from an urban area under reconstruction. Correlations between the various pollutants were also explored. The study was carried out by collecting washwater and sweepsand generated from street sweeping, road surface sampling, and flow-proportional stormwater sampling on several occasions. The liquid and solid samples were analyzed for metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), oxy-PAH, aliphatics, aromatics, phthalates, and MP. The occurrence of OP was also analyzed with a non-target screening method of selected samples. Microplastics, i.e. plastic fragments/fibers, paint fragments, tire wear particles (TWP) and bitumen, were analyzed with a method based on density separation with sodium iodide and identification with a stereo microscope, melt-tests, and tactile identification. MP concentrations amounted to 1500 particles/L in stormwater, 51,000 particles/L in washwater, and 2.6 7 106 particles/kg dw in sweepsand. In stormwater, washwater and sweepsand, MP ≥20 μm were found to be dominated by TWP (38%, 83% and 78%, respectively). The results confirm traffic as an important source to MP, OP, and metal emissions. Concentrations exceeding water and sediment quality guidelines for metals (e.g. Cu and Zn), PAH, phthalates, and aliphatic hydrocarbons in the C16–C35 fraction were found in most samples. The results show that the street sweeper collects large amounts of polluted materials and thereby prevents further spread of the pollutants to the receiving stormwater

Age-stratified clinical performance and survival of patients with IDH-wildtype glioblastoma homogeneously treated by radiotherapy with concomitant and maintenance temozolomide

Objective!#!Isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH)-wildtype glioblastomas are the most malignant glial tumours. Median survival is only 14-16 months after diagnosis, with patients aged ≥ 65 years reportedly showing worse outcome. This study aimed to further evaluate the prognostic role of age in a homogenously treated patient cohort.!##!Methods!#!The study includes 132 IDH-wildtype glioblastoma patients treated between 2013 and 2017 with open resection followed by radiotherapy with concomitant and maintenance temozolomide. Patients were dichotomized into a non-elderly (< 65 years) and an elderly (≥ 65 years) group. Extent of resection and the O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) promoter methylation status were determined for each tumour. Clinical and radiological follow-up data were obtained at 6 weeks after the end of radiation therapy and thereafter in 3-month intervals. Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were evaluated in univariate and multivariate cox regression analyses.!##!Results!#!The elderly group consisted of 58 patients (median age: 70.5 years) and the non-elderly group of 74 patients (median age: 55 years). Median pre- and postoperative operative Karnofsky Performance Scale (KPS), Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) score and National Institutes of Stroke Scale (NIHSS) were not significantly different between the groups, but KPS and ECOG scores became significantly worse in the elderly group at 6 weeks after termination of radiation therapy. Neither PFS nor OS differed significantly between the age groups. Patients with MGMT promoter-methylated tumours survived longer.!##!Conclusion!#!Elderly patients in good pre- and postoperative clinical conditions may show similar outcome as younger patients when treated according to standard of care. However, elderly patients may suffer more frequently from clinical deterioration following chemoradiotherapy. In both age groups, MGMT promoter methylation was linked to longer PFS and OS

West African provenance for Saxo-Thuringia (Bohemian Massif): Did Armorica ever leave pre-Pangean Gondwana? - U/Pb-SHRIMP zircon evidence and the Nd-isotopic record.

Neoproterozoic rocks in the Saxo-Thuringian part of Armorica formed in an active margin setting and were overprinted during Cadomian orogenic processes at the northern margin of Gondwana. The Early Palaeozoic overstep sequence in Saxo-Thuringia was deposited in a Cambro-Ordovician rift setting that reflects the separation of Avalonia and other terranes from the Gondwana mainland. Upper Ordovician and Silurian to Early Carboniferous shelf sediments of Saxo-Thuringia were deposited at the southern passive margin of the Rheic Ocean. SHRIMP U/Pb geochronology on detrital and inherited zircon grains from pre-Variscan basement rocks of the northern part of the Bohemian Massif (Saxo-Thuringia, Germany) demonstrates a distinct West African provenance for sediments and magmatic rocks in this part of peri-Gondwana. Nd-isotope data of Late Neoproterozoic to Early Carboniferous sedimentary rocks show no change in sediment provenance from the Neoproterozoic to the Lower Carboniferous, which implies that Saxo-Thuringia did not leave its West African source before the Variscan Orogeny leading to the Lower Carboniferous configuration of Pangea. Hence, large parts of the pre-Variscan basement of Western and Central Europe often referred to as Armorica or Armorican Terrane Assemblage may have remained with Africa in pre-Pangean time, which makes Armorica a remnant of a Greater Africa in Gondwanan Europe. The separation of Armorica from the Gondwana mainland and a long drift during the Palaeozoic is not supported by the presented data

Reduced mitochondrial resilience enables non-canonical induction of apoptosis after TNF receptor signaling in virus-infected hepatocytes

Background & Aims: Selective elimination of virus-infected hepatocytes occurs through virus-specific CD8 T cells recognizing peptide-loaded MHC molecules. Herein, we report that virus-infected hepatocytes are also selectively eliminated through a cell-autonomous mechanism. Methods: We generated recombinant adenoviruses and genetically modified mouse models to identify the molecular mechanisms determining TNF-induced hepatocyte apoptosis in vivo and used in vivo bioluminescence imaging, immunohistochemistry, immunoblot analysis, RNAseq/proteome/phosphoproteome analyses, bioinformatic analyses, mitochondrial function tests. Results: We found that TNF precisely eliminated only virus-infected hepatocytes independently of local inflammation and activation of immune sensory receptors. TNF receptor I was equally relevant for NF-kB activation in healthy and infected hepatocytes, but selectively mediated apoptosis in infected hepatocytes. Caspase 8 activation downstream of TNF receptor signaling was dispensable for apoptosis in virus-infected hepatocytes, indicating an unknown non-canonical cell-intrinsic pathway promoting apoptosis in hepatocytes. We identified a unique state of mitochondrial vulnerability in virus-infected hepatocytes as the cause for this non-canonical induction of apoptosis through TNF. Mitochondria from virus-infected hepatocytes showed normal biophysical and bioenergetic functions but were characterized by reduced resilience to calcium challenge. In the presence of unchanged TNF-induced signaling, reactive oxygen species-mediated calcium release from the endoplasmic reticulum caused mitochondrial permeability transition and apoptosis, which identified a link between extrinsic death receptor signaling and cell-intrinsic mitochondrial-mediated caspase activation. Conclusion: Our findings reveal a novel concept in immune surveillance by identifying a cell-autonomous defense mechanism that selectively eliminates virus-infected hepatocytes through mitochondrial permeability transition. Lay summary: The liver is known for its unique immune functions. Herein, we identify a novel mechanism by which virus-infected hepatocytes can selectively eliminate themselves through reduced mitochondrial resilience to calcium challenge. (C) 2020 European Association for the Study of the Liver. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved