Technical University of Dortmund

About: Technical University of Dortmund is a education organization based out in Dortmund, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Context (language use) & Large Hadron Collider. The organization has 13028 authors who have published 27666 publications receiving 615557 citations. The organization is also known as: Dortmund University & University of Dortmund.

Effect of artificial reconstitution of the interaction between the plant Camptotheca acuminata and the fungal endophyte Fusarium solani on camptothecin biosynthesis.

Abstract: Fungal endophytes inhabit healthy tissues of all terrestrial plant taxa studied and occasionally produce host-specific compounds. We recently isolated an endophytic fungus, Fusarium solani, from Camptotheca acuminata, capable of biosynthesizing camptothecin (CPT, 1), but this capability substantially decreased on repeated subculturing. The endophyte with an impaired 1 biosynthetic capability was artificially inoculated into the living host plants and then recovered after colonization. Although the host-endophyte interaction could be reconstituted, biosynthesis of 1 could not be restored. Using a homology-based approach and high-precision isotope-ratio mass spectrometry (HP-IRMS), a cross-species biosynthetic pathway is proposed where the endophyte utilizes indigenous G10H (geraniol 10-hydroxylase), SLS (secologanin synthase), and TDC (tryptophan decarboxylase) to biosynthesize precursors of 1. However, the endophyte requires host STR (strictosidine synthase) in order to condense the nitrogen-containing moiety (tryptamine, 2) with the carbon-containing moiety (secologanin, 3) to form strictosidine (4) and complete the biosynthesis of 1. Biosynthetic genes of 1 in the seventh subculture generation of the endophyte revealed random and unpredictable nonsynonymous mutations. These random base substitutions led to dysfunction at the amino acid level. The controls, Top1 gene and rDNA, remained intact over subculturing, revealing that instability of biosynthetic genes of 1 was not reflected in the primary metabolic processes and functioning of the housekeeping genes. The present results reveal the causes of decreased production of 1 on subculturing, which could not be reversed by host-endophyte reassociation.

Parental experiences of homeschooling during the COVID-19 pandemic: differences between seven European countries and between children with and without mental health conditions.

Abstract: The aim of the present study was to examine parental experiences of homeschooling during the COVID-19 pandemic in families with or without a child with a mental health condition across Europe. The study included 6720 parents recruited through schools, patient organizations and social media platforms (2002 parents with a child with a mental health condition and 4718 without) from seven European countries: the UK (n = 508), Sweden (n = 1436), Spain (n = 1491), Belgium (n = 508), the Netherlands (n = 324), Germany (n = 1662) and Italy (n = 794). Many parents reported negative effects of homeschooling for themselves and their child, and many found homeschooling to be of poor quality, with insufficient support from schools. In most countries, contact with teachers was limited, leaving parents with primary responsibility for managing homeschooling. Parents also reported increased levels of stress, worry, social isolation, and domestic conflict. A small number of parents reported increased parental alcohol/drug use. Some differences were found between countries and some negative experiences were more common in families with a child with a mental health condition. However, differences between countries and between families with and without a mental health condition were generally small, indicating that many parents across countries reported negative experiences. Some parents also reported positive experiences of homeschooling. The adverse effects of homeschooling will likely have a long-term impact and contribute to increased inequalities. Given that school closures may be less effective than other interventions, policymakers need to carefully consider the negative consequences of homeschooling during additional waves of the COVID-19 pandemic and future pandemics.

Cache-aware scratchpad allocation algorithm

Abstract: In the context of portable embedded systems, reducing energy is one of the prime objectives. Most high-end embedded microprocessors include onchip instruction and data caches, along with a small energy efficient scratchpad. Previous approaches for utilizing scratchpad did not consider caches and hence fail for the au courant architecture. In the presented work, we use the scratchpad for storing instructions and propose a generic cache aware scratchpad allocation (CASA) algorithm. We report an average reduction of 8-29% in instruction memory energy consumption compared to a previously published technique for benchmarks from the mediabench suite. The scratchpad in the presented architecture is similar to a preloaded loop cache. Comparing the energy consumption of our approach against preloaded loop caches, we report average energy savings of 20-44%.

Interacting with Recommenders—Overview and Research Directions

Abstract: Automated recommendations have become a ubiquitous part of today’s online user experience. These systems point us to additional items to purchase in online shops, they make suggestions to us on movies to watch, or recommend us people to connect with on social websites. In many of today’s applications, however, the only way for users to interact with the system is to inspect the recommended items. Often, no mechanisms are implemented for users to give the system feedback on the recommendations or to explicitly specify preferences, which can limit the potential overall value of the system for its users. Academic research in recommender systems is largely focused on algorithmic approaches for item selection and ranking. Nonetheless, over the years a variety of proposals were made on how to design more interactive recommenders. This work provides a comprehensive overview on the existing literature on user interaction aspects in recommender systems. We cover existing approaches for preference elicitation and result presentation, as well as proposals that consider recommendation as an interactive process. Throughout the work, we furthermore discuss examples of real-world systems and outline possible directions for future works.