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Commentary: A review on the role of affective stimuli in event-related frontal alpha asymmetry
Get PDFThis commentary addresses the discrepancies in measuring and interpreting frontal alpha asymmetries (FAAs) as electrophysiological makers for motivation and affect identified by a recent review (Sabu et al., 2022). Specifically, the authors aim to identify under which circumstances FAAs yield meaningful results and index emotional or motivational states. Thus, they categorize and review the stimuli used in the literature into five categories being less to more effective in eliciting emotions: (1) images and sounds, (2) videos, (3) real cues, (4) games, and (5) other tasks. As a result, the potency to elicit pronounced FAAs seems to vary as a function of modality with planar 2D stimuli being less potent to elicit emotions as opposed to more realistic and engaging stimuli. Nevertheless, no category induces FAAs consistently, hence casting doubt on whether FAAs are a universally applicable measurement for emotion and motivation solely dependent on the potency of the stimulus. I argue that potency as an ordinally scaled factor does not account for FAAs because different stimuli types belong to different categories. Hence, if FAAs carry meaning, they might be specific to the domain in which they occur
Process-driven Innovation: An Analysis of Digital Health Technologies
No full textHealthcare is facing a major transformation driven by digitalization and the shift of responsibility to the individual patient level. Digital health enables significant improvements in terms of efficiency, effectiveness and quality of healthcare. This dissertation provides a framework, which underlines the relevance of combining innovation and process management in the healthcare system. The current and future state of research and practice of promising technologies, their benefits and their challenges were elaborated. Moreover, approaches for integrating suitable and emerging digital health technologies in existing healthcare infrastructure were investigated, in particular the motivation and acceptance of different stakeholders and users. The dissertation contributes recommendations for science, government, and healthcare actors by elaborating the concept of patient-centricity and process improvement
Molecular Modelling of Monovalent Cations in Energy-Converting Proteins
Get PDFIn this work, the evolutionary biophysics approach is applied to the two of the largest protein superfamilies present in human genomes, namely P-loop fold nucleoside triphosphatases (P-loop NTPases) and G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs). This approach combines comparative analysis of protein structures and sequences with molecular modeling techniques in order to reveal not only the conservation of particular residues among proteins within each superfamily but also their role in the fundamental mechanisms underlying common functions. The study of the hydrolysis activation mechanism in P-loop NTPases started with the molecular dynamics simulations of Mg-NTP complexes (Mg-ATP and Mg-GTP) in the presence of K+, NH4+, and Na+ ions. These simulations showed that in the presence of large cations (K+ and NH4+), the conformation of the phosphate chain of ATP and GTP is extended, with large distances between alpha- and gamma-phosphates. This conformation is similar to the shape of ATP and GTP molecules (or their analogs) in the crystal structures of various P-loop NTPases. To clarify the role of monovalent cations in P-loop NTPases, MD simulations were conducted for two cation-dependent GTPases: tRNA modification GTPase MnmE and translation factor EF-Tu. MD simulations of Mg-GTP/EF-Tu complex bound to the tRNA and ribosome fragment in the presence of K+ ions have shown consistent binding of a potassium ion from the solution between alpha- and gamma-phosphates (AG site), similar to the cation binding in MnmE and other cation-dependent P-loop GTPases. In both proteins, binding of K+ ion in the AG site led to the rotation of gamma-phosphate, making this group more eclipsed with alpha-phosphate. The new rotated position of gamma-phosphate was stabilized by a novel H-bond with the backbone nitrogen of the K-3 residue (relative to the ubiquitously conserved Lys) of the P-loop motif. The activation mechanism observed in MD simulations of MnmE and EF-Tu could be envisioned as basic for P-loop NTPases, as these cation-dependent proteins are among the most ancient members of the P-loop superfamily. This mechanism was used as a basis for extensive comparative analysis of representative proteins from all major classes of P-loop NTPases. Based on the established conservation and presence of the key features in active sites of P-loop NTPases, the chain of events where rotation of gamma-phosphate triggers the nucleophilic attack and gamma-phosphate cleavage has been proposed as the basic universal activation mechanism of NTP hydrolysis in P-loop NTPases. The second part of this work explores the activation of GPCRs as sodium-translocating receptors. Crystal structures of the novel Na-pumping microbial rhodopsin along with the recent avalanche of GPCR structures provided the basis for comparative structure analysis, focused on investigating the similarities in the Na-binding sites of the two superfamilies. Structure superposition of GPCRs and microbial rhodopsins (MRs) based on comparison of their Na-binding sites was used to produce structure-guided sequence alignments of the two superfamilies. The only residue universally conserved between the two superfamilies was Trp in the helix 6/F (Trp6.48 in GPCRs). In both families, the signaling mechanism directly involves this residue, which is likely to be an ancient feature inherited from the common ancestor of MRs and GPCRs – the Na-pumping light-activated rhodopsin. The similarity of GPCRs with light-activated sodium pumps endorses the suggestion that GPCRs may also function as Na+ ion translocators. A model of GPCR activation accompanied by translocation of Na+ was constructed to demonstrate how this mechanism can explain the voltage sensitivity of certain Class A GPCRs. Two modes of activation were modeled – one where Na+ ion is transported into the cytoplasm and the one where Na+ ion is expelled to the intracellular space. The two modes quantitatively describe the behavior of voltage-activated and voltage-suppressed GPCRs, respectively. Finally, further structure scrutiny and rotamer analysis provided a plausible pathway of Na+ transmembrane translocation through the helical bundle of GPCRs
Lehrergesundheit - Belastungsschwerpunkte von Lehrkräften and berufsbildenden Schulen. Eine qualitative Untersuchung aus der Perspektive der Lehrkräfte
Get PDFThema dieser Arbeit ist die subjektive Erfahrung von Belastungen im Lehrerberu
Die Kollision Allgemeiner Geschäftsbedingungen im unternehmerischen Geschäftsverkehr
Get PDFIm unternehmerischen Geschäftsverkehr ist die Verwendung von AGB üblich. Laut einer empirischen Untersuchung werden bei jedem fünften Vertrag im unternehmerischen Rechtsverkehr von beiden Vertragsparteien Allgemeine Geschäftsbedingungen (AGB) verwendet. Dabei kommt es häufig vor, dass die AGB kollidieren, denn die Vertragsbedingungen werden nur in den seltensten Fällen miteinander abgestimmt sein. Kommt es sodann in der Vertragsabwicklung zu Schwierigkeiten, gewinnen die AGB erheblich an Bedeutung. Dies Arbeit befasst sich mit den Fragen, ob trotz Kollision ein Vertrag wirksam zustande gekommen ist und welche AGB Vertragsinhalt geworden sind. Hierzu werden die bisherigen Rechtsansichten dargestellt, ein Vergleich mit anderen Rechtsordnungen vorgenommen und ein Ansatz erarbeitet, der sowohl rechtssicher als auch darstellbar ist. Abschließend wird geprüft, inwieweit sich die erarbeitete Lösung auf Sonderprobleme, wie das kaufmännische Bestätigungsschreiben und den Eigentumsvorbehalt, anwenden lässt und zu einer Lösung beiträgt
Die dunkle Seite der Sprache. Wie man mit Sprache verunglimpfen und abwerten kann. Eine sprachphilosophische Betrachtung.
No full textBeitrag im Jahrbuch der Osnabrücker Friedensgespräche 202
Die Ängste der Deutschen. Macht Angst Politik?
No full textTextdokumentation zur Podiumsveranstaltung der Osnabrücker Friedensgespräche am 23. Mai 201
The Spatial Leaky Competing Accumulator Model
No full textThe Leaky Competing Accumulator model (LCA) of Usher and McClelland is able to simulate the time course of perceptual decision making between an arbitrary number of stimuli. Reaction times, such as saccadic latencies, produce a typical distribution that is skewed toward longer latencies and accumulator models have shown excellent fit to these distributions. We propose a new implementation called the Spatial Leaky Competing Accumulator (SLCA), which can be used to predict the timing of subsequent fixation durations during a visual task. SLCA uses a pre-existing saliency map as input and represents accumulation neurons as a two-dimensional grid to generate predictions in visual space. The SLCA builds on several biologically motivated parameters: leakage, recurrent self-excitation, randomness and non-linearity, and we also test two implementations of lateral inhibition. A global lateral inhibition, as implemented in the original model of Usher and McClelland, is applied to all competing neurons, while a local implementation allows only inhibition of immediate neighbors. We trained and compared versions of the SLCA with both global and local lateral inhibition with use of a genetic algorithm, and compared their performance in simulating human fixation latency distribution in a foraging task. Although both implementations were able to produce a positively skewed latency distribution, only the local SLCA was able to match the human data distribution from the foraging task. Our model is discussed for its potential in models of salience and priority, and its benefits as compared to other models like the Leaky integrate and fire network
Genetic and Physiological Characterization of Fructose-1,6-Bisphosphate Aldolase and Glyceraldehyde-3-Phosphate Dehydrogenase in the Crabtree-Negative Yeast Kluyveromyces lactis
No full textoai:osnadocs.ub.uni-osnabrueck.de:ds-202301278073The milk yeast Kluyveromyces lactis degrades glucose through glycolysis and the pentose phosphate pathway and follows a mainly respiratory metabolism. Here, we investigated the role of two reactions which are required for the final steps of glucose degradation from both pathways, as well as for gluconeogenesis, namely fructose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolase (FBA) and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH). In silico analyses identified one gene encoding the former (KlFBA1), and three genes encoding isoforms of the latter (KlTDH1, KlTDH2, KlGDP1). Phenotypic analyses were performed by deleting the genes from the haploid K. lactis genome. While Klfba1 deletions lacked detectable FBA activity, they still grew poorly on glucose. To investigate the in vivo importance of the GAPDH isoforms, different mutant combinations were analyzed for their growth behavior and enzymatic activity. KlTdh2 represented the major glycolytic GAPDH isoform, as its lack caused a slower growth on glucose. Cells lacking both KlTdh1 and KlTdh2 failed to grow on glucose but were still able to use ethanol as sole carbon sources, indicating that KlGdp1 is sufficient to promote gluconeogenesis. Life-cell fluorescence microscopy revealed that KlTdh2 accumulated in the nucleus upon exposure to oxidative stress, suggesting a moonlighting function of this isoform in the regulation of gene expression. Heterologous complementation of the Klfba1 deletion by the human ALDOA gene renders K. lactis a promising host for heterologous expression of human disease alleles and/or a screening system for specific drugs
Familial transmission of attention allocation towards one’s own and a peer’s body: An eye-tracking study with male adolescents and their fathers
Get PDFPrevious research provides evidence of maternally transmitted body-related attentional biases in female adolescents. In contrast, it remains unclear whether a familial transmission of body-related attentional biases also exists within father-son dyads. Therefore, the current study examined n = 42 male adolescents and their fathers with respect to direct and indirect paternal influences on body-related attention patterns and specific body-related concerns in sons. Besides completing specific body image questionnaires, participants were shown pictures of their own and a respective peer’s body, while their eye movements were tracked. The fathers additionally viewed the body pictures of their own son and an adolescent peer. Contrary to the assumed direct and indirect paternal transmission processes, the sons’ body-related attention patterns were not significantly associated with the perceived amount of paternal body-related feedback, with the fathers’ attention patterns towards their own son’s and the adolescent peer’s body, or with the fathers’ attention patterns towards their own and the adult peer’s body. Similarly, no significant associations were found between direct or indirect paternal influences and the sons’ drives for muscularity and thinness, body dissatisfaction, and muscularity-related body-checking behavior. Comparing the present findings with previous research indicating a maternal transmission of body-related attentional biases and body-related concerns in female adolescents, alternative (not gender-linked) familial transmission processes, e.g., via one’s own mother, or a comparatively higher relevance of other sociocultural influences, e.g., via peers or the media, might be assumed for male adolescents