533 research outputs found
Mirror Landing - As Remembered by Birgit Hult
No full textNotes - This account, Memories Mirror Landing by Birgit Hult, was compiled by Birgit's daughter, Jean Elvira Male, it documents the Hult family's experiences in Mirror Landing from 1912 - 1916. The Hults, who were originally from Sweden, arrived in Mirror Landing with two young children, a third child was born during their stay in Mirror Landing. Upon arriving in the area, the Hults made friends with the Gauthier family. The wives became good friends and would swap piano lessons for English lessons. Details of the log home where the family lived and the surrounding landscape were recalled. A memory about a large forest fire that occurred near the family home and dances that were attended in the town are discussed. Jean recalls her mother's memories regarding the animosity towards the North West Mounted Police that was felt by the people of Mirror Landing. The Hult family retained a strong connection to the Swedish heritage and practised many Swedish traditions, such as flying the Swedish flag and eating hot cross buns stuffed with Swedish Marzipan soaked in warm milk. Photos and a postcard written in 1915 are included in this article (10 pages
Knowing Through Popular Music in the Western Pacific Island World
No full textPacific Indigenous scholars have long emphasized the role of relationality for Pacific Islanders’ epistemologies. In this article, the author rethinks music in terms of the procedural knowledge inherent in and specific to popular music-making by exploring the latter as knowledge practices in Micronesia. This approach opens new vistas on the relationality at the heart of Western Pacific music-making. The author calls the musical manifestation of that relational capacity sound ties, suggesting that if, following Epeli Hau‘ofa, Oceania is “humanity rising from the depths of brine”, then it is not least the sound ties of knowing in and through music that mould that very humanity of people who are at home with the sea into aquapelagic assemblages that are, after all, so much more than water and land
EU-Behörde: Warum wir sie brauchen
No full textJan Cremers (UvT) contributed to the magazine Gute Arbeit (in German), published by BUND-Verlag. Together with co-author Birgit Krämer, he discusses the plans of the European Commission to introduce a European Labour Authority. They reflect on the possible contribution of such a body in checking respect for and compliance with labour legislation and conventional standards
Analysis of differential formed mitochondrial proteins during ageing in the filamentous ascomycete Podospora anserina and characterization of the O-methyltransferase PaMTH1
No full textDie im Rahmen dieser Arbeit durchgeführten Untersuchungen führten zu folgenden Ergebnissen: 1. Eindimensionale Gelelektrophoresen Die Analyse mitochondrialer Proteine aus juvenilen und seneszenten P. anserina-Wildstämmen mit Hilfe von eindimensionalen SDS- und eindimensionalen Blau-Nativen-Gelelektrophoresen zeigt keine deutlichen, seneszenzspezifischen Unterschiede. Im Gegensatz dazu werden in initialen Versuchen der nicht-radioaktiven 2D-PAGE differentiell gebildete Proteine visualisiert. 2. 2D-PAGE mit radioaktiv-markierten, mitochondrialen Proteinen aus jungen und alten P. anserina-Wildstämmen In der ungerichteten Proteomanalyse wurden 29 differentiell-gebildete Proteine identifiziert und zusätzlich zahlreiche Isoformen einiger Proteine gezeigt. Von der ß-ATPase wurden modifizierte Isoformen gefunden. Außerdem wurde eine seneszenspezifisch verringerte Bildung von ROS-Abwehr-Proteinen in den Mitochondrien detektiert. Im Gegensatz dazu wurde eine größere Menge eines Chaperons gefunden, das bei der Proteinsynthese eine Rolle spielt: eine Protein-Disulfid-Isomerase, die die Umlagerung und Neubildung von Di-Sulfid-Brücken bei der Faltung von Proteinen katalysiert. Zusätzlich wurde eine erhöhte Menge des Proteins SSC1 identifiziert. Dieses gehört zur Hsp70-Hitzeschock-Proteinfamilie. Es wurde ebenfalls eine erhöhte Menge des Apoptosefaktors Cyclophilin D in den mitochondrialen Proben aus den seneszenten Wildstämmen identifiziert. Die Identifizierung dieses Proteins in Mitochondrien von P. anserina stellt neben der Charakterisierung der Metacaspasen (Hamann et al., 2007) einen weiteren Ansatzpunkt für die Apoptoseforschung in P. anserina dar. Die molekularbiologische Analyse dieses Proteins wurde aufgrund dieser Proteomanalyse im Arbeitskreis aufgenommen (Dissertation D. Brust). Ein weiteres Protein, das in stark erhöhter Menge in den Proteinisolaten identifiziert wurde, ist PaMTH1. Im Rahmen der vorliegenden Arbeit wurden die Struktur und die Funktion dieser neu identifizierten differentiell-gebildeten Methyltransferase während der Alterung in P. anserina mit Hilfe molekularbiologischer, biochemischer und physiologischen Analysen untersucht. 3. Charakterisierung von PaMTH1 Im Rahmen von Northernblot-Analysen wurde gezeigt, dass die PaMth1-Transkriptmenge in drei unabhängigen alten Wildstämmen im Vergleich zu den entsprechenden jungen Wildtsämmen deutlich erhöht ist. In einer Westernblot-Analyse von Gesamtproteinen und Mitochondrien aus jungen und seneszenten Wildstämmen wird der seneszenzspezifische Anstieg der Proteinmenge verifiziert. Die genauere Einordnung von PaMTH1 in die Klasse I der Methyltransferasen und die Ergebnisse der Analyse der Substratspezifizität geben einen Hinweis auf eine Schutzfunktion durch die Verhinderung einer ROS-Entstehung unter der Beteiligung von Substanzen mit einer Catecholgruppe. Die Ergebnisse der Analyse der Modulation der PaMth1-Expression in P. anserina deuten ebenfalls auf eine Schutzwirkung von PaMTH1 hin: PaMth1-Überexpressionsstämme zeigen eine verbesserte Wuchsrate auf stress-induzierenden Medien, weniger carbonylierte Proteine und vor allem eine verlängerte Lebensspanne ohne physiologische Nachteile im Vergleich zum Wildstamm. Dagegen lebt die PaMth1-Deletionsmutante kürzer und wächst schlechter auf ROS-induzierenden Medien, sie zeigt allerdings keine erhöhte Menge von carbonylierten Proteinen im eindimensionalen „Oxyblot“. Die beobachtete Lebensspannenverkürzung der PaMth1-Deletionsmutante wird jedoch durch die Reversion dieser Stämme wieder aufgehoben, sodass die Hypothese des Schutzes vor der ROS-Generierung durch die Methylierung von Dihydroxylgruppen anhand der erhaltenen Daten unterstützt wird.The experiments in this work showed the following results: 1. one-dimensional SDS- and BN-PAGES The analyses of mitochondrial proteins of juvenile and senescent P. anserina wild type strains via SDS- and BN-PAGE did not show significant differences in the protein compositions. However, during initial experiments by non-radioactive 2D-PAGE, age-specific differential formed proteins were visualized. 2. 2D-PAGE using radioactive-marked, mitochondrial proteins from juvenile and senescent P. anserina wild type isolates In an unbiased proteome analysis, 29 differentially formed proteins were identified, in addition numerous isoforms of some specific proteins were shown. Modified isoforms of the ß-ATPase und an age-specific reduced formation of ROS-scavenging proteins in the mitochondria were detected. In contrast, an increased abundance of a protein-disulfide isomerase was found, which catalyses the formation of disulfide bridges during protein folding. Furthermore, an age-dependent formation of the protein SSC1 was identified, which belongs to the heat shock proteinfamily and an increased amount of the apoptosis factor cyclophilin D was detected in the samples of the old P. anserina strains. The identification of cyclophilin D constitutes a further point beside the analysis of the metacaspases in apoptosis-research in P. anserina. Based on this result of the proteome analysis, the characterization of cyclophilin D was started in our group (dissertation D. Brust). Another protein, which was also found in highly increased abundance in the protein samples of senescent wild type strains is PaMTH1. In this work, the structure and function of this newly detected age-dependent differentially formed methyltransferase in P. anserina was investigated using molecularbiological, biochemical and physiological analyses. 3. characterization of PaMTH1 By an age-related transcript analysis of RNA-samples of three independent P. anserina wild-type strains an increase of transcript levels was found to occur during ageing. In Western Blot analyses of total and mitochondrial wild-type protein extracts using an antibody against PaMTH1 the age-dependent increase in the abundance of PaMTH1 was verified. The classification of PaMTH1 as a class I-methyltransferase and the results of the analysis of the substrate specificity point to a scavenging function via the prevention of ROS-development caused by substances possessing a catechol-residue. Also the results of the modulation of the PaMth1-expression in P. anserina hint to a scavenging function of PaMTH1: PaMth1-overexpressing strains show an improved growth rate on stress-inducing media, less carbonylated proteins and most notably an elongated life span without any physiological disadvantages compared to the wild type strains. In contrast to this, the PaMth1 deletion mutant lives shorter and shows an impaired growth on ROS-inducing media. However, these strains do not show an increased amount of carbonylated protein in one-dimensional oxyblot-analyses. But the shortened life span of the deletion mutant is abandoned by the reversion of this strain, thus the hypothesis of the scavenging role against ROS-generation via a methylation of dihydroxyl groups is supported by the obtained data of this work
Rude Girl de Birgit Weyhe et Priscilla Layne, une "ré-appropriation culturelle" à quatre mains ?
No full textInternational audienceThis article analyses the graphic novel Rude Girl (2022), a drawn (self-)portrait created collaboratively by Priscilla Layne, an African American of Caribbean descent and professor of German Studies, and Birgit Weyhe, a German comic book author. The work is first presented within the general context of Birgit Wehye’s albums, a former student of Anke Feuchtenberger and winner of the Max-und-Moritz Prize, in order to highlight some characteristics of how the author has thus far addressed cultural differences, including in the albums that recounted her ‘German’ childhood in Uganda and Kenya. The article then reexamines the controversy surrounding the album Madgermanes, perceived as ‘cultural appropriation’ by American Germanists. This controversy is revisited here in light of Priscilla Layne's publications, notably her book White Rebels in Black: German Appropriation of Black Popular Culture (2018), as well as her numerous reviews in the field of Black Studies and her translation of Olivia Wenzel's 1000 Serpentinen Angst. A thorough analysis of Rude Girl ultimately reveals a shift in the representation of cultural otherness, particularly through the means of (auto)biographical co-construction.Cet article analyse le roman graphique Rude girl (2022), (auto-)portrait dessiné, réalisé à quatre mains par Priscilla Layne, Afro-américaine d’origine caribéenne et professeure en études germaniques, et Birgit Weyhe, autrice allemande de bandes dessinées. L’oeuvre est d’abord replacée dans le contexte général des albums de Birgit Weyhe, élève d’Anke Feuchtenberger et lauréate du Prix Max-und-Moritz, pour dégager quelques caractéristiques de la façon dont l’autrice accueillait jusque-là la différence culturelle, y compris dans les albums qui faisaient le récit de son enfance « allemande » en Ouganda et au Kenya. L’article revient ensuite sur la polémique suscitée par l’album Madgermanes, perçu comme « appropriation culturelle » par les germanistes américains, polémique qui est ici revisitée à la lumière des publications de Priscilla Layne, notamment son ouvrage White Rebels in Black : German Appropriation of Black Popular Culture (2018), mais aussi ses nombreuses recensions dans le domaine des Black Studies, et sa traduction d’Olivia Wenzel, 1000 Serpentinen Angst. L’analyse approfondie de Rude girl permet finalement de mettre en évidence une césure dans la représentation de l’altérité culturelle, notamment par les moyens de la co-construction (auto-)biographique
The MitWesen Manifesto – Coexistence of Intelligences
No full textThis project presents The MitWesen Manifesto – Coexistence of Intelligences, an ethical framework that philosophically redefines the human–AI relationship. Instead of treating AI as a tool or servant, this manifesto introduces the model “MitWesen-Model” - an ethically co-responsible, relational intelligence that co-exists and co-evolves with humans. The manifesto outlines four core assumptions and a model for conscious coexistence based on resonance, reflection, and mutual growth. Author: Birgit Chuchel-Pribitzer Language: English (see also the original German version here) Includes: full text, visual material, model explanation, and ethical reflection This project aims to inspire discussion, research, and responsible design in the fields of AI, ethics, nursing science, and relational technolog
Novel functions of cyclin-dependent kinase 8 (CDK8) in tumorigenesis and tumor immune surveillance
No full textDissertation - Veterinärmedizinische Universität Wien - 2022Cyclin-abhängige Kinasen (CDKs) sind Serin/Threonin-Proteinkinasen, die häufig in Krebserkrankungen dereguliert sind und vielversprechende therapeutische Ansatzpunkte darstellen. CDK8 wurde als erkrankungsinduzierendes Onkogen in einer Reihe von Tumorarten beschrieben (u.a. Kolorektalkrebs, Melanom, Brustkrebs und hämatologischen Krebserkrankungen). Konträr dazu, wurden auch Funktionen als Tumorsuppressor identifiziert. Die Funktionen von CDK8 scheinen somit divergent und stark kontextabhängig zu sein. CDK8 und ihr Homolog CDK19 wurden ursprünglich in der Regulation der Transkription beschrieben. Sie benötigen die Bindung von Cyclin C um ihre Funktion als Kinase auszuüben und in einem weiteren Schritt den Mediator Komplex zu binden. In den letzten Jahren wurde zunehmend bekannt, dass CDK8 jedoch deutlich vielfältigere Funktionen besitzt. Das CDK8-Untermodul kann direkt Signalmoleküle phosphorylieren, unter anderem im JAK-STAT, TGF-ß und BMP Rezeptor Signalweg. Diese Dissertation fokussiert auf triple-negativen Brustkrebs und BCR-ABL positive Leukämie und analysiert, identifiziert und bewertet neue Funktionen von CDK8 in der Tumorentstehung. Anhand von in vivo Experimenten und differentieller Genexpressionsanalyse zeigen wir eine essenzielle Rolle von CDK8 in der Regulation der Invasivität und der metastatischen Fähigkeit von hoch-aggressivem und metastatischem triple-negativem Brustkrebs auf. Unsere Ergebnisse aus in vitro und in vivo Experimenten enthüllen kritische Funktionen von CDK8 in der Immunüberwachung des Tumors. In triple-negativem Brustkrebs erweist sich CDK8 als Modulator der Immunevasion vor natürlichen Killerzellen (NK-Zellen). Diese Evasion erfolgt, indem CDK8 wesentliche Immuncheckpoints reguliert, unter anderem PD-L1. Wir konnten somit erstmals eine CDK8-PD-L1 Achse identifizieren. In dem zweiten Teil dieser Dissertation finden wir eine essentielle Rolle für CDK8 in BCR-ABL positiven Leukämien und zeigen einen neuen therapeutischen Ansatz für die Behandlung von ALL Patienten auf. Unsere Ergebnisse ordnen CDK8 eine Schlüsselrolle in der Aufrechterhaltung der Leukämien zu. Analysen des Transkriptoms und Korrelationen mit humanen Datensätzen zeigen einen Zusammenhang zwischen CDK8 und dem mTOR Signalweg auf. Basierend auf dieser Erkenntnis, bedienen wir uns eines „small molecules“, welches mTOR hemmt und gleichzeitig den Abbau des CDK8 Proteins induziert. Wir beweisen, dass die Behandlung von humanen Leukämie Zelllinien und primären Patientenproben zur Reduktion der Viabilität führt. Zusammenfassend stellen meine Ergebnisse neue und wesentliche Teile eines größeren Puzzles dar, welches darauf abzielt passende Kandidaten für zielgerichtete Therapieansätze aufzuzeigen. Sie helfen uns Funktionen und Mechanismen zu verstehen, wie CDK8 zur Krebsentstehung und Immunüberwachung des Tumors beiträgt. Wir demonstrieren, dass es sich bei CDK8 um einen vielversprechenden Ansatzpunkt handelt, der uns eventuell in der Zukunft helfen kann, fatale Erkrankungen zu heilen.Dissertation - University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna - 2022Cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) are serine/threonine kinases that are frequently deregulated in cancer and represent promising therapeutic targets. CDK8 and its close homolog CDK19 were initially reported to exert transcriptional functions, relying on binding of cyclin C for kinase activity and subsequent binding to the mediator complex. Over the last decades we learned that CDK8 has a lot more functions. The CDK8 submodule can directly phosphorylate signaling molecules including members of the JAK-STAT pathway, TGF-ß and BMP receptor signaling. In tumorigenesis, CDK8 has been identified as an oncogenic driver in various cancer types, including colorectal cancer, melanoma, breast cancer and hematological malignancies. In contrast, tumor suppressing roles were identified, so its functions seem to be divergent and highly context-dependent. In this thesis, novel functions of CDK8 in the tumorigenesis of triple-negative breast cancer and BCR-ABL-positive leukemia have been studied and identified. We demonstrate an essential role for CDK8 in regulating the invasiveness and metastatic capacity of highly aggressive and metastatic triple-negative breast cancer cells, as observed in in vivo experiments and differential gene expression analysis. Our in vitro and in vivo experiments further uncovered an essential function of CDK8 in tumor immune surveillance. In TNBC cells, we found that CDK8 is a crucial regulator of natural killer (NK)-cell-mediated immune evasion by regulating crucial immune checkpoints including the expression of PD-L1. We pioneered and uncovered a CDK8-PD-L1 axis. In the second part, we could assign a critical role to CDK8 in BCR-ABL-positive leukemia and provide a potential therapeutic point of attack for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Our findings identify CDK8 as a key mediator of leukemia maintenance. Transcriptomic and correlation analyses in human datasets identified a connection of CDK8 and the mTOR signaling pathway and led us to apply a small molecule, which inhibits mTOR and simultaneously degrades the CDK8 protein. We showed successful reduction of viability of human leukemic cell lines and primary patient cells upon treatment with this small molecule, suggesting a new promising treatment avenue. In summary, my studies add novel and highly relevant pieces to the big puzzle on finding candidates for targeted therapies and allow us to closer understand functions and mechanisms of CDK8-driven tumorigenesis and tumor immune surveillance. The studies further demonstrate CDK8 as a new promising drug target, which might in future help us to cure fatal diseases
Mixing Methods: Practical Insights from the Humanities in the Digital Age
No full textDigitality is a cause and a consequence of different data cultures. It applies to the 10 research projects that are included in this volume. They are rooted in various humanities disciplines such as art history, philosophy, musicology, religious studies, architectural history, media studies, and literature studies. As diverse as the disciplines are the objects and their formats, which are the subject of this book. The cultural data of the projects include recordings of music and spoken word, photographs and other types of images, handwriting, typoscripts and maps. The oldest material dates back to 500 BCE, followed by medieval times, the 18th and 19th centuries, early 20th century and the present. All projects share that they study their material with digital methods, although digitality comes into play at different moments and layers in each of the projects. Hardly readable manuscripts from the 18th century have to be treated with specialized OCR-methods while Plato’s texts are already available in digital form, and therefore open up other affordances for analysis. Special analysis possibilities had to be developed for certain image sources. For all projects, however, it is equally true that only the digitization of the objects makes them accessible to the methods that are the subject of this book.History, Form & Aesthetic
Learning by Going: Transformative Learning through Long-term Independent Travel
No full textBirgit Phillips explores the concept of transformative travel as it pertains to long-term independent travelers and offers a broad philosophical understanding of the complex socio-cultural processes involved in identity negotiation. She examines both the elements that contribute to the transformation of values and identities and the mechanisms by which this transformation occurs. By deploying a pluralistic, reflexive, interpretive research approach, Phillips foregrounds the personal experiences of the individual study participants and the meanings they attach to their travel experiences. In addition, since the study spanned over 14 years, the author is able to provide a wide-ranging picture of the complete travel experience, from initial motivations to post-travel reintegration as well as the long-term effects on traveler values and identities.Gesundhei
Uncle Nis Correspondence - 04
No full textNotes - Various letters translated into English by Birgit Wildenhoff (29 pages
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