2020, Kiani, Mahdi, Tannert, Astrid, Du, Nan, Hübner, Uwe, Skorupa, Ilona, Bürger, Danilo, Zhao, Xianyue, Blaschke, Daniel, Rebohle, Lars, Cherkouk, Charaf, Neugebauer, Ute, Schmidt, Oliver G., Schmidt, Heidemarie

We counted bacterial cells of E. coli strain K12 in several-microliter DI water or in several-microliter PBS in the low optical density (OD) range (OD = 0.05–1.08) in contact with the surface of Si-based impedance biochips with ring electrodes by impedance measurements. The multiparameter fit of the impedance data allowed calibration of the impedance data with the concentration cb of the E. coli cells in the range of cb = 0.06 to 1.26 × 109 cells/mL. The results showed that for E. coli in DI water and in PBS, the modelled impedance parameters depend linearly on the concentration of cells in the range of cb = 0.06 to 1.26 × 109 cells/mL, whereas the OD, which was independently measured with a spectrophotometer, was only linearly dependent on the concentration of the E. coli cells in the range of cb = 0.06 to 0.50 × 109 cells/mL.

2021, Lezhnina, Olga, Kismihók, Gábor

In our age of big data and growing computational power, versatility in data analysis is important. This study presents a flexible way to combine statistics and machine learning for data analysis of a large-scale educational survey. The authors used statistical and machine learning methods to explore German students’ attitudes towards information and communication technology (ICT) in relation to mathematical and scientific literacy measured by the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) in 2015 and 2018. Implementations of the random forest (RF) algorithm were applied to impute missing data and to predict students’ proficiency levels in mathematics and science. Hierarchical linear models (HLM) were built to explore relationships between attitudes towards ICT and mathematical and scientific literacy with the focus on the nested structure of the data. ICT autonomy was an important variable in RF models, and associations between this attitude and literacy scores in HLM were significant and positive, while for other ICT attitudes the associations were negative (ICT in social interaction) or non-significant (ICT competence and ICT interest). The need for further research on ICT autonomy is discussed, and benefits of combining statistical and machine learning approaches are outlined.

2013, Reusswig, F.

The article by Cook et al offers an interesting new methodological approach to the debate about (supposedly lacking) scientific consensus on global warming, showing that contrarian claims that there was no such consensus are clearly misleading. But once the attribution issue can be regarded as settled, new questions and controversies arise. They ultimately result from the different technological and organizational pathways towards a new global society model that takes its adverse climate change effects into account and seeks for new, but also risky solutions.

2020, Fathalla, S., Vahdati, S., Lange, C., Auer, Sören

One of the key channels of scholarly knowledge exchange are scholarly events such as conferences, workshops, symposiums, etc.; such events are especially important and popular in Computer Science, Engineering, and Natural Sciences.However, scholars encounter problems in finding relevant information about upcoming events and statistics on their historic evolution.In order to obtain a better understanding of scholarly event characteristics in four fields of science, we analyzed the metadata of scholarly events of four major fields of science, namely Computer Science, Physics, Engineering, and Mathematics using Scholarly Events Quality Assessment suite, a suite of ten metrics.In particular, we analyzed renowned scholarly events belonging to five sub-fields within Computer Science, namely World Wide Web, Computer Vision, Software Engineering, Data Management, as well as Security and Privacy.This analysis is based on a systematic approach using descriptive statistics as well as exploratory data analysis. The findings are on the one hand interesting to observe the general evolution and success factors of scholarly events; on the other hand, they allow (prospective) event organizers, publishers, and committee members to assess the progress of their event over time and compare it to other events in the same field; and finally, they help researchers to make more informed decisions when selecting suitable venues for presenting their work.Based on these findings, a set of recommendations has been concluded to different stakeholders, involving event organizers, potential authors, proceedings publishers, and sponsors. Our comprehensive dataset of scholarly events of the aforementioned fields is openly available in a semantic format and maintained collaboratively at OpenResearch.org.

2023, Albert, Carsten, Pospiech, Gesche

Quantenphysik gilt als eines der herausforderndsten Themen bei der Vermittlung von Physik und ist gleichzeitig von herausragender Bedeutung bei künftigen technologischen Entwicklungen. Mit Blick auf den wachsenden Stellenwert der Quantenphysik innerhalb der schulischen Bildung wurde im Rahmen eines Design-Based-Research-Projektes ein Lehrkonzept entwickelt, das einen qualitativen und anknüpfungsfähigen Zugang zur Quantenphysik bereits in Klassenstufe 9 ermöglichen soll. Die Lerninhalte bauen dabei auf dem Elektronenspin als exemplarisches Zweizustandssystem auf. Mit dem Ziel einer ersten formativen Evaluierung wurden Akzeptanzbefragungen durchgeführt, um die Vermittlungsstrategie zu überprüfen und vor einer ersten Erprobung mit Schulklassen anzupassen. Die Interviews konnten zeigen, dass mit dem Ansatz die intendierten Inhalte überwiegend erfolgreich vermittelt werden können und dass ein weiterer Einsatz des Konzeptes im Rahmen von Feldstudien legitim erscheint. Außerdem gaben sie Hinweise und Impulse für erste Anpassungen am Konzept.

2013, Cornell, S., Berkhout, F., Tuinstra, W., Tàbara, J.D., Jäger, J., Chabay, I., de Wit, B., Langlais, R., Mills, D., Moll, P., Otto, I.M., Petersen, A., Pohl, C., van Kerkhoff, L.

Linking knowledge with action for effective societal responses to persistent problems of unsustainability requires transformed, more open knowledge systems. Drawing on a broad range of academic and practitioner experience, we outline a vision for the coordination and organization of knowledge systems that are better suited to the complex challenges of sustainability than the ones currently in place. This transformation includes inter alia: societal agenda setting, collective problem framing, a plurality of perspectives, integrative research processes, new norms for handling dissent and controversy, better treatment of uncertainty and of diversity of values, extended peer review, broader and more transparent metrics for evaluation, effective dialog processes, and stakeholder participation. We set out institutional and individual roadmaps for achieving this vision, calling for well-designed, properly resourced, longitudinal, international learning programs.

2013, Avitabile, D., Salchert, K., Werner, C., Capogrossi, M.C., Pesce, M.

Various reports have indicated low survival of injected progenitors into unfavorable environments such as the ischemic myocardium or lower limb tissues. This represents a major bottleneck in stem-cell-based cardiovascular regenerative medicine. Strategies to enhance survival of these cells in recipient tissues have been therefore sought to improve stem cell survival and ensure long-term engraftment. In the present contribution, we show that embedding human cord blood-derived CD34+ cells into a collagen I-based hydrogel containing cytokines is a suitable strategy to promote stem cell proliferation and protect these cells from anoxia-induced apoptosis.

2020, Guns, P.-J.D., Guth, B.D., Braam, S., Kosmidis, G., Matsa, E., Delaunois, A., Gryshkova, V., Bernasconi, S., Knot, H.J., Shemesh, Y., Chen, A., Markert, M., Fernández, M.A., Lombardi, D., Grandmont, C., Cillero-Pastor, B., Heeren, R.M.A., Martinet, W., Woolard, J., Skinner, M., Segers, V.F.M., Franssen, C., Van Craenenbroeck, E.M., Volders, P.G.A., Pauwelyn, T., Braeken, D., Yanez, P., Correll, K., Yang, X., Prior, H., Kismihók, G., De Meyer, G.R.Y., Valentin, J.-P.

Safety pharmacology is an essential part of drug development aiming to identify, evaluate and investigate undesirable pharmacodynamic properties of a drug primarily prior to clinical trials. In particular, cardiovascular adverse drug reactions (ADR) have halted many drug development programs. Safety pharmacology has successfully implemented a screening strategy to detect cardiovascular liabilities, but there is room for further refinement. In this setting, we present the INSPIRE project, a European Training Network in safety pharmacology for Early Stage Researchers (ESRs), funded by the European Commission's H2020-MSCA-ITN programme. INSPIRE has recruited 15 ESR fellows that will conduct an individual PhD-research project for a period of 36 months. INSPIRE aims to be complementary to ongoing research initiatives. With this as a goal, an inventory of collaborative research initiatives in safety pharmacology was created and the ESR projects have been designed to be complementary to this roadmap. Overall, INSPIRE aims to improve cardiovascular safety evaluation, either by investigating technological innovations or by adding mechanistic insight in emerging safety concerns, as observed in the field of cardio-oncology. Finally, in addition to its hands-on research pillar, INSPIRE will organize a number of summer schools and workshops that will be open to the wider community as well. In summary, INSPIRE aims to foster both research and training in safety pharmacology and hopes to inspire the future generation of safety scientists.

2012, Haberl, H., Sprinz, D., Bonazountas, M., Cocco, P., Desaubies, Y., Henze, M., Hertel, O., Johnson, R.K., Kastrup, U., Laconte, P., Lange, E., Novak, P., Paavola, J., Reenberg, A., van den Hove, S., Vermeire, T., Wadhams, P., Searchinger, T.

Many international policies encourage a switch from fossil fuels to bioenergy based on the premise that its use would not result in carbon accumulation in the atmosphere. Frequently cited bioenergy goals would at least double the present global human use of plant material, the production of which already requires the dedication of roughly 75% of vegetated lands and more than 70% of water withdrawals. However, burning biomass for energy provision increases the amount of carbon in the air just like burning coal, oil or gas if harvesting the biomass decreases the amount of carbon stored in plants and soils, or reduces carbon sequestration. Neglecting this fact results in an accounting error that could be corrected by considering that only the use of 'additional biomass' - biomass from additional plant growth or biomass that would decompose rapidly if not used for bioenergy - can reduce carbon emissions. Failure to correct this accounting flaw will likely have substantial adverse consequences. The article presents recommendations for correcting greenhouse gas accounts related to bioenergy.

2013, Rybski, D.

[No abstract available]