Refine
Year of publication
- 2010 (974) (remove)
Document Type
- Article (974) (remove)
Language
- German (546)
- English (353)
- Portuguese (28)
- Croatian (26)
- French (7)
- Italian (6)
- Spanish (3)
- Multiple languages (2)
- mis (1)
- Polish (1)
Has Fulltext
- yes (974)
Is part of the Bibliography
- no (974) (remove)
Keywords
- Filmmusik (94)
- Deutsch (42)
- Literatur (20)
- Gefühl (13)
- Habitus (12)
- Linguistik (10)
- Rezension (10)
- Tschechisch (10)
- Rezeption (9)
- Cape Verde Islands (8)
Institute
- Medizin (116)
- Extern (94)
- Biochemie und Chemie (45)
- Biowissenschaften (41)
- Gesellschaftswissenschaften (40)
- Geowissenschaften (39)
- Physik (25)
- Geschichtswissenschaften (22)
- Philosophie (20)
- E-Finance Lab e.V. (17)
The intrinsic complexity of the brain can lead one to set aside issues related to its relationships with the body, but the field of embodied cognition emphasizes that understanding brain function at the system level requires one to address the role of the brain-body interface. It has only recently been appreciated that this interface performs huge amounts of computation that does not have to be repeated by the brain, and thus affords the brain great simplifications in its representations. In effect the brain’s abstract states can refer to coded representations of the world created by the body. But even if the brain can communicate with the world through abstractions, the severe speed limitations in its neural circuitry mean that vast amounts of indexing must be performed during development so that appropriate behavioral responses can be rapidly accessed. One way this could happen would be if the brain used a decomposition whereby behavioral primitives could be quickly accessed and combined. This realization motivates our study of independent sensorimotor task solvers, which we call modules, in directing behavior. The issue we focus on herein is how an embodied agent can learn to calibrate such individual visuomotor modules while pursuing multiple goals. The biologically plausible standard for module programming is that of reinforcement given during exploration of the environment. However this formulation contains a substantial issue when sensorimotor modules are used in combination: The credit for their overall performance must be divided amongst them. We show that this problem can be solved and that diverse task combinations are beneficial in learning and not a complication, as usually assumed. Our simulations show that fast algorithms are available that allot credit correctly and are insensitive to measurement noise.
Records of Nesticodes rufipes (Lucas, 1846) from Saxony, Germany are presented. The three females of Nesticodes rufipes were found associated with the zoo trade in the cities of Chemnitz and Plauen in cricket boxes. Female genitalia are illustrated.
The canopy spiders of the floodplain forest in Leipzig have become a focus of ecological studies in recent years. In 2006 we sampled 30 tree canopies in the ‘Burgaue’ nature reserve with pyrethrum knock-down fogging, recording 502 adult spiders belonging to 48 species and 11 families. Based on these data and the results of a previous fogging study, the studied spider community was dominated by forest and forest-edge species with a preference for the shrub and canopy strata as well as by spiders of the web spider feeding guild. The community structure was typical for arboreal spider communities from northern temperate forests but very different from communities in the tropics. Species richness and evenness were similar to the old growth near-primary Białowieża Forest in Poland. The checklist of 96 canopy spider species of the floodplain forest of Leipzig includes 54 additions to the spider fauna of Leipzig and vicinity by recent canopy studies and eight first canopy records for Leipzig from our field work. The theridiid Dipoena torva (Thorell, 1875) was recorded for the first time in Saxony. The floodplain forest of Leipzig sustains a large and species-rich arboreal spider community and is thus a valuable habitat for a large proportion of endangered species (12%).
Cryptachaea blattea : eine weitere nach Deutschland eingeschleppte Spinnenart (Araneae: Theridiidae)
(2010)
Cryptachaea blattea (Urquhart, 1886) has been recorded for the first time from Germany (Nordstemmen, rural district of Hildesheim, Lower Saxony). One male was found by means of pitfall traps in a tree and shrub nursery. The species was most likely introduced with plants or cargo. Information about its appearance, habitat, and distribution is given.
Pitfall traps were positioned for the investigation of the spider fauna at the northern and southern slopes of three mountain ridges (Chilchberg, Riedberg, and Buechenberg, municipalities Nunningen and Zullwil, canton Solothurn, Switzerland) within the Swiss Jura Mountains. The temperature in the upper litter was measured at three hour intervals. Independent of the weather more or less clear differences between northern and southern slopes could be observed. Maximum day temperature fluctuations of 15.8 °C were measured. There were no significant differences in spider communities based on quantitative comparison methods. However, a qualitative analysis showed major differences in species composition. More than 50% of all species per investigation area showed clear preferences for the northern or the southern slope, with more then two thirds of the individuals only found on either the north or south slopes.
This study presents the development and mapping of simple sequence repeat (SSR) and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers in chickpea. The mapping population is based on an inter-specific cross between domesticated and non-domesticated genotypes of chickpea (Cicer arietinum ICC 4958 × C. reticulatum PI 489777). This same population has been the focus of previous studies, permitting integration of new and legacy genetic markers into a single genetic map. We report a set of 311 novel SSR markers (designated ICCM—ICRISAT chickpea microsatellite), obtained from an SSR-enriched genomic library of ICC 4958. Screening of these SSR markers on a diverse panel of 48 chickpea accessions provided 147 polymorphic markers with 2–21 alleles and polymorphic information content value 0.04–0.92. Fifty-two of these markers were polymorphic between parental genotypes of the inter-specific population. We also analyzed 233 previously published (H-series) SSR markers that provided another set of 52 polymorphic markers. An additional 71 gene-based SNP markers were developed from transcript sequences that are highly conserved between chickpea and its near relative Medicago truncatula. By using these three approaches, 175 new marker loci along with 407 previously reported marker loci were integrated to yield an improved genetic map of chickpea. The integrated map contains 521 loci organized into eight linkage groups that span 2,602 cM, with an average inter-marker distance of 4.99 cM. Gene-based markers provide anchor points for comparing the genomes of Medicago and chickpea, and reveal extended synteny between these two species. The combined set of genetic markers and their integration into an improved genetic map should facilitate chickpea genetics and breeding, as well as translational studies between chickpea and Medicago.
The impact of shift work induced chronic circadian disruption on IL-6 and TNF-α immune responses
(2010)
Aim: Sleep disturbances induce proinflammatory immune responses, which might increase cardiovascular disease risk. So far the effects of acute sleep deprivation and chronic sleep illnesses on the immune system have been investigated. The particular impact of shift work induced chronic circadian disruption on specific immune responses has not been addressed so far.
Methods: Pittsburgh-Sleep-Quality-Index (PSQI) questionnaire and blood sampling was performed by 225 shift workers and 137 daytime workers. As possible markers the proinflammatory cytokines IL-6 and TNF-alpha and lymphocyte cell count were investigated. A medical examination was performed and biometrical data including age, gender, height, weight, waist and hip circumference and smoking habits were collected by a structured interview.
Results: Shift workers had a significantly higher mean PSQI score than day workers (6.73 vs. 4.66; p < 0.001). Day workers and shift workers had similar serum levels of IL-6 (2.30 vs. 2.67 resp.; p = 0.276), TNF-alpha (5.58 vs. 5.68, resp.; p = 0.841) or lymphocytes count (33.68 vs. 32.99, resp.; p = 0.404). Furthermore there were no differences in cytokine levels (IL-6 p = 0.761; TNF-alpha p = 0.759) or lymphocyte count (p = 0.593) comparing the sleep quality within the cohorts. When this calculation of sleep quality was stratified by shift and day workers irrespective of their sleep quality day workers and shift workers had similar serum levels of IL-6, TNF-alpha or lymphocytes count. Multiple linear regression analysis showed a significant correlation of lymphocytes count and smoking habits.
Conclusion: Shift work induces chronic sleep debt. Our data reveals that chronic sleep debt might not always lead to an activation of the immune system, as we did not observe differences in lymphocyte count or level of IL-6 or TNF-alpha serum concentration between shift workers and day workers. Therefore chronic sleep restriction might be eased by a long-term compensating immune regulation which (in healthy) protects against an overstimulation of proinflammatory immune mechanisms and moderates metabolic changes, as they are known from short-term sleep deprivation or sleep related breathing disorders.
Background: Diseases associated with smoking are a foremost cause of premature death in the world, both in developed and developing countries. Eliminating smoking can do more to improve health and prolong life than any other measure in the field of preventive medicine. Today's medical students will play a prominent role in future efforts to prevent and control tobacco use.
Methods: A cross-sectional, self-administered, anonymous survey of fifth-year medical students in Berlin, Germany was conducted in November 2007. The study explored the prevalence of smoking among medical students. We assessed their current knowledge regarding tobacco dependence and the effectiveness of smoking cessation methods. Students' perceived competence to counsel smokers and promote smoking cessation treatments was also explored. Analyses were based on responses from 258 students (86.6% response rate).
Results: One quarter of the medical students surveyed were current smokers. The smoking rate was 22.1% among women, 32.4% among men. Students underestimated smoking-related mortality and the negative effect of smoking on longevity. A considerable number of subjects erroneously assumed that nicotine causes coronary artery disease. Students' overall knowledge of the effectiveness of smoking cessation methods was inadequate. Only one third of the students indicated that they felt qualified to counsel patients about tobacco dependence.
Conclusions: This study reveals serious deficiencies in knowledge and counseling skills among medical students in our sample. The curriculum of every medical school should include a tobacco module. Thus, by providing comprehensive training in nicotine dependence interventions to medical students, smokers will have access to the professional expertise they need to quit smoking.
Family members provide most of the patient care and administer most of the treatments to patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Family caregivers have an important impact on clinical outcomes, such as quality of life (QoL). As a consequence of this service, family caregivers suffer high rates of psychological and physical illness as well as social and financial burdens. Hence, it is important to involve family caregivers in multimodal treatment settings and provide interventions that are both suitable and specifically tailored to their needs. In recent years, several clinical guidelines have been presented worldwide for evidence-based treatment of AD and other forms of dementia. Most of these guidelines have considered family advice as integral to the optimal clinical management of AD. This article reviews current and internationally relevant guidelines with emphasis on recommendations concerning family advice.
Es werden 66 Neu- oder Wiederfunde sowie nicht publizierte Funde von Flechten und flechtenbewohnenden Pilzen in Hessen gemeldet und kurz kommentiert. Sechs Arten sind zugleich Neufunde für Deutschland: Absconditella pauxilla, Acremonium antarcticum, Calicium adaequatum, Psammina inflata, Ramonia chrysophaea und Tubeufia heterodermiae. Die hessische Artenliste umfasst mittlerweile annähernd 1200 Flechten und flechtenbewohnende oder flechtenähnliche Pilze.
Im Jahre 2009 wurde erstmals eine umfassende Bestandsaufnahme der ehemaligen und aktuellen hessischen Vorkommen des inzwischen vom Aussterben bedrohten Lungen-Enzians (Gentiana pneumonanthe) durchgeführt. Dabei stellte sich heraus, dass etwa 85 % der früheren Wuchsorte verloren gingen und alle heutigen Vor-kommen – trotz ihrer Lage in südhessischen Schutzgebieten – auch in jüngster Zeit noch Verluste aufweisen. Für das Überleben dieser sich offenbar nur generativ vermehrenden Art in Hessen ist es deshalb notwendig, dass geeignete Schutz- und Hilfsmaßnahmen zur Sicherung und Entwicklung der letzten Bestände ergriffen werden, wobei unbedingt auch phänologische Aspekte zu berücksichtigen sind.
Die Brackwasser-Armleuchteralge (Chara canescens) und die Faden-Armleuchteralge (Chara filiformis) wurden im Juni 2009 erstmals in Hessen im Borkener See, einem Restgewässer des Braunkohleabbaus in Nordhessen, nachgewiesen. Chara filiformis wurde erstmals in Deutschland in einem künstlichen Gewässer nachgewiesen. Chara canescens kommt hier in einem elektrolytarmen Gewässer vor.
Das Gnadenkraut (Gratiola officinalis) gehört zu den seltensten hessischen Pflanzenarten und gilt seit der ersten hessischen Roten Liste der gefährdeten Pflanzenarten als vom Aussterben bedroht. Im Rahmen der von der Botanischen Ver-einigung für Naturschutz in Hessen durchgeführten Artenhilfsprogramme sollte eine umfassende Bestandsaufnahme durchgeführt und für die letzten Bestände Maßnahmen zur Sicherung und Erhaltung vorgeschlagen werden. Zwar konnten aktuell keine Vor-kommen mehr nachgewiesen werden – die Art muß deshalb für Hessen als verschollen gelten – doch erscheint es möglich, aus der noch vorhandenen Samenbank des letzten bekannten Wuchsortes neue Bestände zu begründen.
Zur Schließung von Kenntnislücken zur Flora der Gewässer Hessens wurden 2009 von der BVNH neun Altarme von Rhein und Main untersucht. Die Ergeb-nisse zeigen, dass viele als sehr selten oder verschollen geltende Gewässermakrophyten noch oder wieder in den Altarmen des hessischen Oberrheinabschnitts zu finden sind. Insgesamt wurden 51 Arten nachgewiesen, darunter fünf Armleuchteralgen.
Redewendung
(2010)
Ana
(2010)
Análise da macro e da microestrutura de dicionários bilíngues português-alemão / alemão-português
(2010)
This paper aims at analyzing macro- and microstructural features of Portuguese-German/German-Portuguese bilingual dictionaries. For this purpose, we will discuss the basic parameters that should guide the conception of a bilingual dictionary: the target users, the direction, the function, and the linguistic anisomorphism.
This article discusses the communicative and the intercultural approaches to language teaching and learning. Firstly, it describes the core theoretical principles, goals, and the roles of teachers and learners in both approaches, as well as the way they are treated in different German textbooks. Secondly, it discusses a set of core principles and concepts (‘activity’, ‘interaction’, ‘motivation’ and ‘communicative posture’), as well as the didactic-pedagogical implications of implementing a communicative approach to language teaching and learning. Finally, it includes a reflection about the necessity for the language teacher to develop an intercultural background, as well as the eclectic use of different linguistic theories and language teaching approaches to make the acquisition of communicative and intercultural competence viable.
It could be said that learner’s dictionaries are the most reliable expression of lexicography in terms of providing the necessary tools to help the learning process of a foreign language. This paper analyses three English learner’s dictionaries in order to establish its stylistic patterns as well as to compare them with four German learner’s dictionaries. Undoubtly, the lexicography of English learner’s dictionaries is a model. However, we argue that this model can not be transfered to German lexicography since each language has its own particularities which demand specific solutions.
This contribution focuses on the conditions of literary production in Germany during the Nazi regime. The article analyzes the work of writer Ricarda Huch as one of the representatives of the so-called "Inner Emigration", literary trend promoted by writers that were not placed to serve the interests of the State, but instead sought to convey - through their work - humanistic values and critics of the status quo, despite the censorship and often putting their lives at risk. The poetic anthology Herbstfeuer ("Fire of Autumn"), published in 1944, is one of the most significant examples of the literature of resistance under the yoke of Nazism.
This study presents a global scale analysis of cropping intensity, crop duration and fallow land extent computed by using the global dataset on monthly irrigated and rainfed crop areas MIRCA2000. MIRCA2000 was mainly derived from census data and crop calendars from literature. Global cropland extent was 16 million km2 around the year 2000 of which 4.4 million km2 (28%) was fallow, resulting in an average cropping intensity of 0.82 for total cropland extent and of 1.13 when excluding fallow land. The lowest cropping intensities related to total cropland extent were found for Southern Africa (0.45), Central America (0.49) and Middle Africa (0.54), while highest cropping intensities were computed for Eastern Asia (1.04) and Southern Asia (1.0). In remote or arid regions where shifting cultivation is practiced, fallow periods last 3–10 years or even longer. In contrast, crops are harvested two or more times per year in highly populated, often irrigated tropical or subtropical lowlands where multi-cropping systems are common. This indicates that intensification of agricultural land use is a strategy that may be able to significantly improve global food security. There exist large uncertainties regarding extent of cropland, harvested crop area and therefore cropping intensity at larger scales. Satellite imagery and remote sensing techniques provide opportunities for decreasing these uncertainties and to improve the MIRCA2000 inventory.
We report on screening tests of 66 extracts obtained from 35 marine sponge species from the Caribbean Sea (Curaçao) and from eight species from the Great Barrier Reef (Lizard Island). Extracts were prepared in aqueous and organic solvents and were tested for hemolytic, hemagglutinating, antibacterial and anti-acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activities, as well as their ability to inhibit or activate cell protein phosphatase 1 (PP1). The most interesting activities were obtained from extracts of Ircinia felix, Pandaros acanthifolium, Topsentia ophiraphidites, Verongula rigida and Neofibularia nolitangere. Aqueous and organic extracts of I. felix and V. rigida showed strong antibacterial activity. Topsentia aqueous and some organic extracts were strongly hemolytic, as were all organic extracts from I. felix. The strongest hemolytic activity was observed in aqueous extracts from P. acanthifolium. Organic extracts of N. nolitangere and I. felix inhibited PP1. The aqueous extract from Myrmekioderma styx possessed the strongest hemagglutinating activity, whilst AChE inhibiting activity was found only in a few sponges and was generally weak, except in the methanolic extract of T. ophiraphidites.
Spontaneous symmetry breaking is a general principle that constitutes the underlying concept of a vast number of physical phenomena ranging from ferromagnetism and superconductivity in condensed matter physics to the Higgs mechanism in the standard model of elementary particles. I focus on manifestations of spontaneously broken symmetries in systems that are not Lorentz invariant, which include both nonrelativistic systems as well as relativistic systems at nonzero density, providing a self-contained review of the properties of spontaneously broken symmetries specific to such theories. Topics covered include: (i) Introduction to the mathematics of spontaneous symmetry breaking and the Goldstone theorem. (ii) Minimization of Higgs-type potentials for higher-dimensional representations. (iii) Counting rules for Nambu–Goldstone bosons and their dispersion relations. (iv) Construction of effective Lagrangians. Specific examples in both relativistic and nonrelativistic physics are worked out in detail.
Surface measurements of aerosol and ice nuclei (IN) at a Central European mountain site during an episode of dust transport from the Sahara are presented. Transport is simulated by the Eulerian regional dust model DREAM. Ice nuclei and mineral dust are significantly correlated. The highest correlation is found between IN concentration and aerosol surface area. The ice nucleating characteristics of the aerosol with respect to temperature and supersaturation are similar during the dust episode than during the course of the year. This suggests that dust is always a dominant constituent of ice nucleating aerosols in Central Europe.
Surface measurements of aerosol and ice nuclei (IN) at a Central European mountain site during an episode of dust transport from the Sahara are presented. Ice nuclei were sampled by electrostatic precipitation on silicon wafers and were analyzed in an isothermal static vapor diffusion chamber. The transport of mineral dust is simulated by the Eulerian regional dust model DREAM. Ice nuclei and mineral dust are significantly correlated, in particular IN number concentration and aerosol surface area. The ice nucleating characteristics of the aerosol as analyzed with respect to temperature and supersaturation are similar during the dust episode than during the course of the year. This suggests that dust may be a main constituent of ice nucleating aerosols in Central Europe.
This paper presents an analysis of the recent tropospheric molecular hydrogen (H2) budget with a particular focus on soil uptake and surface emissions. A variational inversion scheme is combined with observations from the RAMCES and EUROHYDROS atmospheric networks, which include continuous measurements performed between mid-2006 and mid-2009. Net H2 surface flux, soil uptake distinct from surface emissions and finally, soil uptake, biomass burning, anthropogenic emissions and N2 fixation-related emissions separately were inverted in several scenarios. The various inversions generate an estimate for each term of the H2 budget. The net H2 flux per region (High Northern Hemisphere, Tropics and High Southern Hemisphere) varies between −8 and 8 Tg yr−1. The best inversion in terms of fit to the observations combines updated prior surface emissions and a soil deposition velocity map that is based on soil uptake measurements. Our estimate of global H2 soil uptake is −59 ± 4.0 Tg yr−1. Forty per cent of this uptake is located in the High Northern Hemisphere and 55% is located in the Tropics. In terms of surface emissions, seasonality is mainly driven by biomass burning emissions. The inferred European anthropogenic emissions are consistent with independent H2 emissions estimated using a H2/CO mass ratio of 0.034 and CO emissions considering their respective uncertainties. To constrain a more robust partition of H2 sources and sinks would need additional constraints, such as isotopic measurements.
In this paper we present evidence that the observed increase in tropical upwelling after the year 2000 may be attributed to a change in the Brewer-Dobson circulation pattern. For this purpose, we use the concept of transit times derived from residual circulation trajectories and different in-situ measurements of ozone and nitrous dioxide. Observations from the Canadian midlatitude ozone profile record, probability density functions of in-situ N2O observations and a shift of the N2O-O3 correlation slopes, taken together, indicate that the increased upwelling in the tropics after the year 2000 appears to have triggered an intensification of tracer transport from the tropics into the extratropics in the lower stratosphere below about 500 K. This finding is corroborated by the fact that transit times along the shallow branch of the residual circulation into the LMS have decreased for the same time period (1993–2003). On a longer time scale (1979–2009), the transit time of the shallow residual circulation branch show a steady decrease of about −1 month/decade over the last 30 years, while the transit times of the deep branch remain unchanged. This highlights the fact that a change in the upwelling across the tropical tropopause is not a direct indicator for changes of the whole Brewer-Dobson circulation.
Palystes kreutzmanni sp. n. is described from habitats close to Kleinmond, in the Western Cape Province, South Africa. Spiders of this new species live in the typical fynbos vegetation of the Western Cape region. They build retreats between apical leaves of Leucadendron bushes. The systematic position of Palystes kreutzmanni sp. n. is discussed. Male and female show characters of different species groups, especially the female copulatory organ seems to be unique within the genus Palystes L. Koch, 1875.
The design, construction, and commissioning of the ALICE Time-Projection Chamber (TPC) is described. It is the main device for pattern recognition, tracking, and identification of charged particles in the ALICE experiment at the CERN LHC. The TPC is cylindrical in shape with a volume close to 90 m3 and is operated in a 0.5 T solenoidal magnetic field parallel to its axis.
In this paper we describe in detail the design considerations for this detector for operation in the extreme multiplicity environment of central Pb–Pb collisions at LHC energy. The implementation of the resulting requirements into hardware (field cage, read-out chambers, electronics), infrastructure (gas and cooling system, laser-calibration system), and software led to many technical innovations which are described along with a presentation of all the major components of the detector, as currently realized. We also report on the performance achieved after completion of the first round of stand-alone calibration runs and demonstrate results close to those specified in the TPC Technical Design Report.
New projects, services and collaborations have recently brought the infrastructural services for African Studies a big step forward. This report gives an account of new subject gateways and digitisation projects. It discusses recent European cooperation ventures in the field of librarianship. Additionally, new developments and services of the Africa Collection at Frankfurt University Library are presented, which help to address the changing needs of researchers and to handle information overload, while keeping up with the latest developments. Nevertheless, the fragmentation and compartmentalisation of the different services still hinder more integrated information services.
This paper introduces a new methodology for the fabrication of strain-sensor elements for MEMS and NEMS applications based on the tunneling effect in nano-granular metals. The strain-sensor elements are prepared by the maskless lithography technique of focused electron-beam-induced deposition (FEBID) employing the precursor trimethylmethylcyclopentadienyl platinum [MeCpPt(Me)3]. We use a cantilever-based deflection technique to determine the sensitivity (gauge factor) of the sensor element. We find that its sensitivity depends on the electrical conductivity and can be continuously tuned, either by the thickness of the deposit or by electron-beam irradiation leading to a distinct maximum in the sensitivity. This maximum finds a theoretical rationale in recent advances in the understanding of electronic charge transport in nano-granular metals.
Although throughout the history of anthropology the ethnography of urban societies was never an important topic, investigations on cities in Africa contributed to the early theoretical development of urban studies in social sciences. As the ethnography of rural migrants in towns made clear, cultural diversity and creativity are foundational and permanent elements of urban cultures in Africa (and beyond). Currently, two new aspects complement these insights: 1) Different forms of mobility have received a new awareness through the concept of transnationalism. They are much more complex, including not only rural–urban migration, but also urban–urban migration, and migrations with a destination beyond the continent. 2) Urban life-worlds also include the appropriation of globally circulating images and lifestyles, which contribute substantially to the current cultural dynamics of cities in Africa. These two aspects are the reasons for the high complexity of urban contexts in Africa. Therefore, whether it is still appropriate to speak about the “locality” of these life-worlds has become questionable. At the same time, these new aspects explain the self-consciousness of members of urban cultures in Africa. They contribute to the expansive character of these societies and to the impression that cities in Africa host the most innovative and creative societies worldwide.
Pancreatic resections for advanced M1-pancreatic carcinoma : the value of synchronous metastasectomy
(2010)
Background: For M1 pancreatic adenocarcinomas pancreatic resection is usually not indicated. However, in highly selected patients synchronous metastasectomy may be appropriate together with pancreatic resection when operative morbidity is low.
Materials and Methods: From January 1, 2004 to December, 2007 a total of 20 patients with pancreatic malignancies were retrospectively evaluated who underwent pancreatic surgery with synchronous resection of hepatic, adjacent organ, or peritoneal metastases for proven UICC stage IV periampullary cancer of the pancreas. Perioperative as well as clinicopathological parameters were evaluated.
Results: There were 20 patients (9 men, 11 women; mean age 58 years) identified. The primary tumor was located in the pancreatic head (n=9, 45%), in pancreatic tail (n=9, 45%), and in the papilla Vateri (n=2, 10%). Metastases were located in the liver (n=14, 70%), peritoneum (n=5, 25%), and omentum majus (n=2, 10%). Lymphnode metastases were present in 16 patients (80%). All patients received resection of their tumors together with metastasectomy. Pylorus preserving duodenopancreatectomy was performed in 8 patients, distal pancreatectomy in 8, duodenopancreatectomy in 2, and total pancreatectomy in 2. Morbidity was 45% and there was no perioperative mortality. Median postoperative survival was 10.7 months (2.6–37.7 months) which was not significantly different from a matched-pair group of patients who underwent pancreatic resection for UICC adenocarcinoma of the pancreas (median survival 15.6 months; =.1).
Conclusion: Pancreatic resection for M1 periampullary cancer of the pancreas can be performed safely in well-selected patients. However, indication for surgery has to be made on an individual basis.
In the past, the genetically diabetic-obese diabetes/diabetes (db/db) and obese/obese (ob/ob) mouse strains were used to investigate mechanisms of diabetes-impaired wound healing. Here we determined patterns of skin repair in genetically normal C57Bl/6J mice that were fed using a high fat diet (HFD) to induce a diabetes-obesity syndrome. Wound closure was markedly delayed in HFD-fed mice compared to mice which had received a standard chow diet (CD). Impaired wound tissue of HFD mice showed a marked prolongation of wound inflammation. Expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) was delayed and associated with the disturbed formation of wound margin epithelia and an impaired angiogenesis in the reduced granulation tissue. Normal wound contraction was retarded and disordered. Wound disorders in obese C57Bl/6J mice were paralleled by a prominent degradation of the inhibitor of NFκB (IκB-α) in the absence of an Akt activation. By contrast to impaired wound conditions in ob/ob mice, late wounds of HFD mice did not develop a chronic inflammatory state and were epithelialized after 11 days of repair. Thus, only genetically obese and diabetic ob/ob mice finally developed chronic wounds and therefore represent a better suited experimental model to investigate diabetes-induced wound healing disorders.
Cells can respond to stress in various ways ranging from the activation of survival pathways to the initiation of cell death that eventually eliminates damaged cells. Whether cells mount a protective or destructive stress response depends to a large extent on the nature and duration of the stress as well as the cell type. Also, there is often the interplay between these responses that ultimately determines the fate of the stressed cell. The mechanism by which a cell dies (i.e., apoptosis, necrosis, pyroptosis, or autophagic cell death) depends on various exogenous factors as well as the cell's ability to handle the stress to which it is exposed. The implications of cellular stress responses to human physiology and diseases are manifold and will be discussed in this review in the context of some major world health issues such as diabetes, Parkinson's disease, myocardial infarction, and cancer.
One of the hallmarks of human cancers is the intrinsic or acquired resistance to apoptosis. Evasion of apoptosis can be part of a cellular stress response to ensure the cell's survival upon exposure to stressful stimuli. Apoptosis resistance may contribute to carcinogenesis, tumor progression, and also treatment resistance, since most current anticancer therapies including chemotherapy as well as radio- and immunotherapies primarily act by activating cell death pathways including apoptosis in cancer cells. Hence, a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms regarding how cellular stress stimuli trigger antiapoptotic mechanisms and how this contributes to tumor resistance to apoptotic cell death is expected to provide the basis for a rational approach to overcome apoptosis resistance mechanisms in cancers.
Cell stress and cell death
(2010)
Editorial: This special issue on Cell Stress and Cell Death is aimed at bringing together recent developments in the fields of cellular stress and cell death and, in particular, the interplay between cell stress responses and cell death. The special issue opens with a review by S. Fulda et al. which provides an overview of how cells can respond to stress in a variety of ways ranging from the activation of survival pathways to the initiation of cell death that eventually eliminates damaged cells. Whether cells mount a protective response or succumb to death depends to a large extent on the nature and duration of the stress as well as the cell type. For example, milder stresses can lead to protection through activation of the heat shock response or the unfolded protein response (UPR). This review also describes several types of cell death (e.g., apoptosis, necrosis, pyroptosis, or autophagic cell death) and the mechanism by which a cell dies often depends on various exogenous factors as well as the cell’s ability to handle the stress to which it is exposed. The implications of cellular stress responses for human physiology and disease are multifold and are discussed in this review in the context of some major world health issues such as diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, myocardial infarction, and cancer. ...
An information system is more than just the information technology; it is the system that emerges from the complex interactions and relationships between the information technology and the organization. However, what impact information technology has on an organization and how organizational structures and organizational change influence information technology remains an open question. We propose a theory to explain how communication structures emerge and adapt to environmental changes. We operationalize the interplay of information technology and organization as language communities whose members use and develop domain-specific languages for communication. Our theory is anchored in the philosophy of language. In developing it as an emergent perspective, we argue that information systems are self-organizing and that control of this ability is disseminated throughout the system itself, to the members of the language community. Information technology influences the dynamics of this adaptation process as a fundamental constraint leading to perturbations for the information system. We demonstrate how this view is separated from the entanglement in practice perspective and show that this understanding has far-reaching consequences for developing, managing, and examining information systems.
Theory building is not only underdeveloped in IT services management research, but in
general in IS. Given the paradigm shift that comes from the development away from a
networked economy towards a network economy, the lack of spending enough attention to
theorizing in IS becomes even more obvious. In the light of other "megatrends" in IS
research, such as the increasing professionalization and use of statistical methods and the
exploitation of extremely large sets of data (often harvested from social media sites), we
might lose interest in theorizing in the presence of the tremendous amount of available
empirical data. In this position paper, the author advocates that services science researchers
should focus on rigor and relevance in their research approaches.
Ao apelo da Universidade de Coimbra para que, no âmbito da sua semana Cultural, as Faculdades e outros organismos que nela se acolhem glosem o tema da “Imaginação”, responde o Instituto de Estudos Alemães com o colóquio Imaginação do mesmo: a diferença na repetição. No texto que enquadra o conjunto de contributos que hoje aqui se apresentam, se afirma, a dado passo, que “Há inovação e transformação não na impossível invenção de uma origem, mas sim na capacidade de articulação produtiva”. Pode esta ser uma boa síntese daquilo que a moderna descendência da espécie homo leva a cabo, enquanto homo sapiens (sapiens) e, portanto, homo loquens, no exercício da faculdade que é, a um tempo, o seu mais poderoso instrumento de cognição e o mais eficaz e económico veículo de comunicação – competição e cooperação são, recordo, os principais pilares em que assenta o processo da sua sobrevivência enquanto espécie.
Criadas as línguas, de que espaço de manobra dispõe o “homem que fala”, que é também um homo socialis, para as recriar, reinventar, adaptando-as às sempre renovadas coordenadas sociológicas em que se situa e de que ele próprio é o arquitecto?
Zarathustra in den Tropen : der Text als Spirale der Wiederholung in Nietzsche und Robert Müller
(2010)
Der Einfluss Nietzsches auf die Autoren des Fin-de-Siècle und des so genannten „Expressionistischen Jahrzehnts“ wird unumstritten von der Kritik akzeptiert. Jedoch beschränkt sich diese Einschätzung auch in den jüngsten Abhandlungen (Ester 2001) aufgrund von Thesen aus den 70er Jahren (zum Beispiel die des kanonischen Bandes von Martens von 1971) auf den Parameter des Vitalismus. Die Untersuchungen zur Rezeption Nietzsches in dieser Zeit konzentrieren sich größtenteils auf 'Also sprach Zarathustra' und ignorieren oder unterschätzen somit andere philosophische Texte des Autors. Auf jeden Fall kann man den deutlichen Einfluss Nietzsches auf den deutschsprachigen Modernismus weder auf den 'Zarathustra' und sein vorherrschendes Thema den Übermenschen, noch auf die metaphysische Dimension seiner Philosophie beschränken, ein Umstand, den auch das fiktionale und essayistische Werk des Wiener Autors Robert Müller (1887-1924) musterhaft unter Beweis stellt. 'Der Mythos der Reise. Urkunden eines deutschen Ingenieurs' (1915) ist ein Beispiel für einen essayistischen Roman, der nicht nur direkt von der Philosophie Nietzsches, sondern auch gerade von der jeweiligen begrifflichen und diskursiven Methodologie sowie dem jeweiligen textuellen Konzept profitiert. Es handelt sich damit um Faktoren, die auch unter dem Zeichen des Essayismus gesehen werden müssen.
Navigare necesse est : de Magalhães a Vespúcio ; três navegadores reinventados por Stefan Zweig
(2010)
"Navigare necesse est" [...] Ao longo dos tempos, esta expressão de ousadia conservou-se no discurso literário da cultura ocidental. No século XX, serviram-se dela, por exemplo, dois autores indelevelmente inscritos na memória cultural da língua portuguesa: o poeta Fernando Pessoa, como vimos, e ainda o cantautor Caetano Veloso. […] Nesta linha de apropriação se situa também o escritor austríaco Stefan Zweig quando, em 1937, intitula “Navigare necesse est” o capítulo introdutório da biografia “Magellan. Der Mann und seine Tat”. Ao contrário dos autores de língua portuguesa acima mencionados, Zweig adopta apenas o primeiro segmento do axioma, pois no fenómeno de intertextualidade [...]. Zweig aproveita a expressão no enquadramento semântico original – as navegações –, para a aplicar à linhagem de bravos homens do mar e de eruditos cosmógrafos que tornaram possível a era dos Descobrimentos. Nesse capítulo inicial da narração biográfica, a voz autoral traça uma panorâmica da primeira fase das Descobertas, mostrando como o móbil económico, que desencadeou todo o processo, acabou por trazer à Humanidade ganhos de outra natureza. Assim, os Descobrimentos não terão permitido apenas chegar à Índia e às tão desejadas especiarias: a demanda corajosa e continuada ter-se-á justificado principalmente por desafiar os mitos do oceano, afastar os medos do mar e alargar a nossa dimensão do mundo.
Passaram já mais de vinte anos sobre a apresentação no Centro Pompidou, em Paris, da exposição 'Vienne, 1880-1938, naissance d'un siècle'. Tratou-se, como alguns se recordarão, de um acontecimento de grande repercussão em toda a Europa. A definitiva consolidação do mito cultural da “Viena de 1900” está estreitamente associada a este acontecimento. A ressonância do evento, contudo, não poderá ser cabalmente entendida se não se tiver presente que, em meados dos anos oitenta a controvérsia sobre o pós-modernismo estava no auge. A verdade é que o comissário da exposição, Jean Clair, programou-a expressamente como uma espécie de manifesto pós-moderno, à luz de uma interpretação da modernidade vienense como um sítio arqueológico maior da pós-modernidade. […] É evidente que esta afirmação distintamente pós-histórica e pós-filosófica se baseia numa imagem da 'Wiener Moderne' como lugar de uma critica implícita à narrativa do progresso como perpétua inovação. A actualidade da Viena de 1900 reside, aos olhos de Jean Clair, justamente, numa específica noção de temporalidade que é hostil à ideia do novo como ruptura irreversível […]. É este, de facto, o núcleo da “hipótese vienense”, para usar a expressão proposta na época por Paolo Portoghesi, um dos mais influentes teóricos da arquitectura pós-modernista nos anos oitenta (Portoghesi 1984). Não vou ocupar-me aqui dos equívocos, por vezes grotescos, gerados em torno dessa hipótese no âmbito da teoria do pós-modernismo. Vou, simplesmente, concentrar-me no conceito de repetição e nas suas consequências para um entendimento mais lato do paradigma modernista, já que, na verdade, a “hipótese vienense”, as lições literalmente excêntricas da 'Wiener Moderne', representam, no fundamental, a percepção do carácter aberto e plural das respostas modernistas à condição moderna.
O romance em apreço poderá […] ser compreendido com o resultado desta duplicidade identitária e interpretado como uma metáfora da amnésia social generalizada que o autor observa na sociedade onde actua. Neste texto é sua intenção criticar a ausência de altruísmo, a indiferença, o preconceito e as generalizações a que muitas das personagens do romance são sujeitas. Enquanto algumas destas figuras, especialmente as que pertencem a minorias negligenciadas, aspiram à sua integridade pessoal e ao reconhecimento social, as restantes figuras personificam a incapacidade de relembrar da qual a sociedade civil genericamente parece sofrer. Na visão de Rabinovici, devido a este esquecimento colectivo a sociedade incorre nos mesmos erros do passado, do passado nacional-socialista, na medida em que, adoptando o papel de mera espectadora, continua passivamente a ignorar a necessidade de legitimação e de aceitação de um conjunto de indivíduos.