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Two Fragments of the Old Uyghur Saṃyuktāgama from the Berlin Turfan Collection
No full textThe Āgama s hold significant importance in the context of Old Uyghur Buddhism, as evidenced by the discovery of over 100 fragments of Old Uyghur translations from Turfan and Dunhuang. Of particular significance are the two fragments housed in the Berlin Turfan Collection, U 5464 and U 5501, which contain an Old Uyghur translation of the Chinese Saṃyuktāgama , inscribed on both sides of a repurposed Manichaean manuscript. These fragments correspond to the 22nd and 23rd fascicles of the Chinese source text. This study provides a comprehensive introduction and an edition of these two fragments, accompanied by a comparative analysis with a parallel Old Uyghur translation from Manuscript N, housed in Tokyo. The analysis reveals significant variations, particularly in translation strategies, suggesting the existence of multiple Old Uyghur versions of the text.This research received no external funding.Peer Reviewe
Brewer's spent grain: Unveiling innovative applications in the food and packaging industry
No full textBrewer's spent grain, a byproduct of beer brewing, is often discarded as waste, leading to environmental concerns. However, the growing interest in sustainability and the circular bioeconomy has prompted research into its use in food and packaging industries. The objective of this review paper is to explore recent advancements in food applications, focusing on various aspects such as processing innovations, food properties, sensory acceptability, and safety considerations. The paper highlights the role of functional bioactive compounds of BSG in food and evaluates their pharmacological activities. Additionally, it investigates the development of sustainable food‐packaging materials derived from BSG, discussing their applications, challenges, and potential for eco‐friendly packaging solutions. The inclusion of BSG significantly impacts the food matrix during processing, which can negatively affect the physical, rheological, and textural properties and sensory acceptability. To enhance BSGs desirability as a food ingredient, various approaches have been employed, including drying, fermentation, extrusion, and modifications using enzyme treatments, dough enhancers, and texture modifiers. BSG‐derived biodegradable films and coatings demonstrate a promising potential for food‐packaging applications, offering desirable properties such as sustainability and effective performance. Key challenges for adopting BSG‐based solutions in food and packaging industries include limited consumer awareness, commercialization strategies, and the need for life cycle assessment and life cycle costing for successful integration and widespread adoption.Peer Reviewe
Pathogenic built environment? Reflections on modeling spatial determinants of health in urban settings considering the example of COVID-19 studies
No full textThe triad of host, agent, and environment has become a widely accepted framework for understanding infectious diseases and human health. While modern medicine has traditionally focused on the individual, there is a renewed interest in the role of the environment. Recent studies have shifted from an early-twentieth-century emphasis on individual factors to a broader consideration of contextual factors, including environmental, climatic, and social settings as spatial determinants of health. This shifted focus has been particularly relevant in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, where the built environment in urban settings is increasingly recognized as a crucial factor influencing disease transmission. However, operationalizing the complexity of associations between the built environment and health for empirical analyses presents significant challenges. This study aims to identify key caveats in the operationalization of spatial determinants of health for empirical analysis and proposes guiding principles for future research. We focus on how the built environment in urban settings was studied in recent literature on COVID-19. Based on a set of criteria, we analyze 23 studies and identify explicit and implicit assumptions regarding the health-related dimensions of the built environment. Our findings highlight the complexities and potential pitfalls, referred to as the ‘spatial trap,' in the current approaches to spatial epidemiology concerning COVID-19. We conclude with recommendations and guiding questions for future studies to avoid falsely attributing a built environment impact on health outcomes and to clarify explicit and implicit assumptions regarding the health-related dimensions.Peer Reviewe
Light-Induced Electronic Band Realignment at the Metal Halide Perovskite/Monolayer MoS2 Heterojunction
No full textvan der Waals (vdW) heterojunctions offer many routes for advanced interface engineering toward superior optoelectronic functionality. To this end, the combination of 2D transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) with metal halide perovskites has shown great potential for applications in photovoltaics and photodetectors. The electronic energy level alignment at such heterojunctions, i.e., the relative alignment of valence and conduction bands of the two materials, is crucial for their functionality, but its experimental determination is notoriously challenging. In this contribution, we determine the energy level alignment for the vdW heterojunction composed of monolayer molybdenum disulfide (ML-MoS2) and a triple cation-mixed halide perovskite, enabled by surface cleaning by argon cluster sputtering. This effectively removes surface contaminants from the perovskite/ML-MoS2 stack without causing damage, enabling direct determination of the band alignment at the interface using ultraviolet and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Our results reveal a type-II band alignment at the perovskite/ML-MoS2 interface. Importantly, the interfacial energy levels are not fixed once the heterojunction is formed, but the MoS2 energy levels shift relative to those of the perovskite under 1 sun illumination compared to the dark, by up to 0.25 eV. This energy level realignment, under conditions mimicking a photovoltaic device under operation, is attributed to photogenerated electron accumulation in the ML-MoS2. Microscopic photoluminescence (PL) measurements reveal significant quenching of the perovskite PL signal in the heterojunction, confirming efficient charge transfer and the establishment of a type-II heterojunction. These results demonstrate a “living” heterojunction energy landscape, opening up novel avenues for engineering perovskite/TMDCs vdW heterojunctions for optoelectronic devices.Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt 10.13039/100007636Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft 10.13039/501100001659Helmholtz Innovation Lab HySPRINT NAPeer Reviewe
Recent Developments and Emerging Challenges in Tracer‐Aided Modeling
No full textDuring the last decade, tracer‐aided hydrological models (TAMs) have been applied in numerous studies and have successfully evolved for different purposes. Such studies confirmed the value of tracer data in hydrological modeling, offering insights into internal storages, water sources, flow pathways, mixing processes, and water ages, which cannot be derived from hydrometric data alone. The direct coupling of tracers into flux tracking and the water balance of hydrological models can reduce model uncertainty through increased hydrological and biogeochemical process knowledge. More specifically, such models can simultaneously capture the celerity of hydrological responses with the velocities (and age) of water particles. As a result of the increased availability of high‐resolution tracer data characterizing hydrological functioning across the Critical Zone and entire landscapes, together with the rapid improvement of computing capacity, four major advances reshaped the capability of TAMs, which we review in this paper: (1) enhanced representation of spatial heterogeneity, (2) more explicit conceptualization of ecohydrological partitioning, (3) application to larger catchment scales, and (4) incorporation of non‐conservative tracers in coupled water quality modeling. However, persistent challenges have also emerged, particularly in relation to data acquisition, mismatches between the information content of data and scale of application, uncertainties in model structures, as well as adaptation of multi‐criteria calibration. In this review, recent advances and remaining challenges of TAMs have been summarized and discussed with a particular focus on conservative tracers and flux tracking models.Leibniz Collaborative ExcellencePeer Reviewe
Interaktionskompetenz von (angehenden) Lehrpersonen in der DaZ-Förderung – zum Potential eines videobasierten Lernprogramms
No full textMehrsprachig aufwachsende Kinder brauchen interaktionskompetente Lehrpersonen. Interaktionskompetenz von Lehrpersonen bezieht sich auf die Fähigkeit, interaktiv, also im (Unterrichts-)Gespräch, Lerngelegenheiten zu schaffen und durch den bewussten Einsatz sprachlich-interaktionaler Strategien die aktive Teilhabe und Involvierung der Lernenden zu erhöhen und so den komplexen Prozess der Sprachaneignung voranzutreiben (vgl. Walsh 2013). Im Beitrag wird das Projekt „Lingusti – die kreative Sprachwerkstatt“ vorgestellt, das als Praxis-Forschungslabor in der Lehramtsbildung Primarstufe an der Pädagogischen Hochschule Steiermark entwickelt wurde. Im Fokus des Projekts stand die Frage, wie (angehende) Lehrpersonen durch den Einsatz von Videovignetten für relevante Aspekte eines spracherwerbsunterstützenden Interaktionsverhaltens und den sinnhaften Einsatz von Focus-on-Form-Techniken sensibilisiert werden können und die Anbahnung bzw. Weiterentwicklung von Interaktionskompetenz unterstützt werden kann.Children growing up multilingually need teachers with strong interaction skills. The interaction competence of teachers refers to the ability to create learning opportunities interactively, i.e. in (classroom) conversations, and to increase the active participation and involvement of learners through the conscious use of linguistic-interactional strategies, thus promoting the complex process of language acquisition (cf. Walsh 2013). The article presents the project “Lingusti - the creative language workshop”, which serves as a practical research laboratory in primary school teacher training at the University College of Teacher Education Styria. The project focused on the question of how (prospective) teachers can be sensitized to relevant aspects of interaction behaviors that support language acquisition and the meaningful use of focus-on-form techniques through the use of video vignettes, as well as how the initiation and further development of interaction skills can be supported
Search for very-high-energy gamma-ray emission from astrophysical transients with VERITAS
No full textOptische Beobachtungen mit großem Sichtfeld und hoher Kadenz haben jedes Jahr zur Entdeckung mehrerer neuer Quellen am Transientenhimmel geführt. Es wird vermutet, dass bestimmte Arten von Transienten, wie z. B. tidal disruption events (TDEs) und fast blue optical transients (FBOTs), durch Beschleunigung in Schockwellen angetrieben werden. Diese Schocks könnten die kosmische Strahlung auf PeV-Energien beschleunigen, was möglicherweise zu einer nachweisbaren Gammastrahlenkomponente mit sehr hoher Energie (VHE - > 100 GeV) führt. Die Komplexität dieser Ereignisse in Verbindung mit den spärlichen Nachuntersuchungen durch atmosphärische Cherenkov-Teleskope (IACTs) schränkt jedoch unser Verständnis des nicht-thermischen Bildes in diesen Systemen ein. Darüber hinaus wird angenommen, dass die potenzielle VHE-Gammastrahlenemission durch niederenergetische Umgebungsphotonen erheblich abgeschwächt wird. Diese Arbeit konzentriert sich auf die Suche nach VHE-Gammastrahlen aus transienten Ereignissen mit VERITAS, einem bodengestützten Gammastrahlenobservatorium in Arizona. VERITAS umfasst vier IACTs und ist empfindlich für Gammastrahlen im Bereich von 80 GeV bis 40 TeV. Ich stelle eine alternative Bildbereinigungsmethode für VERITAS vor, die bei der Analyse mehrerer in dieser Arbeit vorgestellter transienter Quellen eingesetzt wird. Anschließend diskutiere ich das Nachverfolgungsprogramm für verschiedene Klassen von transienten Phänomenen und stelle die VERITAS-Analyseergebnisse vor. Obwohl für GRB 221009 und für die in dieser Arbeit behandelten TDEs und FBOTs keine VHE-Emissionen nachgewiesen wurden, haben die Festlegung von Flussobergrenzen und die Entwicklung umfassender Analysetechniken eine Grundlage für zukünftige Transientenforschung mit VERITAS geschaffen.Wide-field-of-view, high-cadence optical surveys have led to the discovery of several new sources in the transient sky each year. Certain transient classes, such as tidal disruption events (TDEs) and fast blue optical transients (FBOTs), are presumed to be powered by shock interactions. These shocks could accelerate cosmic rays to PeV energies, potentially leading to a detectable very-high-energy (VHE - > 100 GeV) gamma-ray component. Nonetheless, the complexity of these events, combined with scarce follow-ups by imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes (IACTs), limits our understanding of the non-thermal picture in these systems. In addition, the potential VHE gamma-ray emission is presumed to be significantly attenuated by lower-energy ambient photons. This thesis focuses on the search for VHE gamma rays from transient events with VERITAS, a ground-based gamma-ray observatory in Arizona. VERITAS comprises four IACTs and is sensitive to gamma rays in the range of 80 GeV to 40 TeV. I present an alternative image cleaning method for VERITAS, which is employed in the analysis of several transient sources presented in this thesis. Following, I discuss the follow-up program of different classes of transient phenomena and present the VERITAS analysis results. Although no VHE emission was detected for GRB 221009 and for the TDEs and FBOTs discussed in this thesis, the establishment of flux upper limits and the development of comprehensive analysis techniques have provided a foundation for future transient research with VERITAS
On Responsibility: Islamic Ethical Thought Engages with Jewish Ethical Thought
No full textA remarkable amount of work on the study of Islamic ethical thought is published annually, covering an unprecedented variety of topics and themes. Yet despite the strides made, these debates have not addressed vital questions about how Islamic ethical thought can contribute to ongoing discourses that affect not only the Muslim community but society at large. In other words, how can we bring Islamic ethical thought into systematic engagement with modern philosophy? Specifically, how can Islamic ethical thought learn from contemporary philosophy, as it learned from Greek philosophy in the Middle Ages? And how might it be possible to develop Islamic ethical thought that can withstand both religious and rational scrutiny? In this programmatic overview, I respond to these questions by engaging with responsibility ethics within and beyond the Islamic tradition. As much as the debate about ethics has reached new heights in contemporary philosophical discourses, so too has the debate about responsibility re-emerged in theological discourses. In this paper, I bring into conversation the thought of Taha Abdurrahman on responsibility, which is nested within his larger paradigm of contemporary Islamic ethics, and Jewish thinker Hans Jonas’ concept of an ethics of responsibility. I argue that orchestrating this scholarly dialog between a 20th-century German Jewish thinker (Jonas) and a contemporary Muslim thinker (Abdurrahman) can lead to both a productive and constructive elaboration of Islamic ethical thought. Furthermore, I suggest that Habermas’ philosophy can serve as a bridge in this discussion, facilitating a comparative exploration of the ethical frameworks presented by both thinkers. By engaging with Habermas, we can highlight how Islamic thought can approach modernity, including philosophical debates, in a manner similar to that of 20th-century Jewish scholars like Jonas. This engagement not only enhances our understanding of responsibility within these traditions but also underscores the potential for interdisciplinary dialog in navigating contemporary ethical challenges.This publication is based on research funded by the Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF), Germany (grant number: 01UD2407Y).Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF), GermanyPeer Reviewe
