Zwischen Räumen:Wie sich Nähe und Distanz in Städten durch die Sharing Economy verändern

The article examines whether and how the sharing economy, as a specific, non-exclusive practice of owning and using property objects, reproduces but also irritates and redevelops urban spatial and social relationships. To this end, it applies a methodological framework of analysis that, based on Georg Simmel and conceptually following Hartmut Rosa, examines phenomena and practices of sharing with regard to the relationships entered into with things, with others, as well as with oneself. Drawing on Simmel, a distinction is made between the private and the public as spheres in which proximity and distance are simultaneously practically negotiated and institutionally anchored from a spatial and social point of view. Property and its usage—alone or together with others—play a central role here, because spatial structures are formed and maintained, but can also change, depending on specific property objects and their particular use. Based on own empirical findings on the shared use of living space (homesharing) and vehicles (carsharing), the article examines what impact sharing practices have on proximity and distance relationships and thus on the (re)structuring of spaces within cities

Wenn alles auf den Tisch kommt:Die Weltbeziehungen der Homesharer werden in der Küche verhandelt

The starting point of our contribution is the observation that property relations are linked to specific forms of our relationship to the world. In order to pursue the question of whether and how relationships to the world of subjects change when property relations are altered, we investigate whether irritations and changes in relationships to things, to social others, and to oneself can be observed in the practices and experiences of homesharing, and what form and direction these take. Our focus is on the empirically observable, always precarious, tentative, and temporary communalization processes that arise when sharing interpersonal space. Based on qualitative interviews with users of homesharing platforms, we show that the kitchen and situations of communal eating are central starting points for shaping communality and reconstruct three types of homesharers that oscillate between the patterns of professionalism and familiarity

CNN3 Regulates Trophoblast Invasion and Is Upregulated by Hypoxia in BeWo Cells

CNN3 is an ubiquitously expressed F-actin binding protein, shown to regulate trophoblast fusion and hence seems to play a role in the placentation process. In this study we demonstrate that CNN3 levels are upregulated under low oxygen conditions in the trophoblast cell line BeWo. Since hypoxia is discussed to be a pro-migratory stimulus for placental cells, we examined if CNN3 is involved in trophoblast invasion. Indeed, when performing a matrigel invasion assay we were able to show that CNN3 promotes BeWo cell invasion. Moreover, CNN3 activates the MAPKs ERK1/2 and p38 in trophoblast cells and interestingly, both kinases are involved in BeWo invasion. However, when we repeated the experiments under hypoxic conditions, CNN3 did neither promote cell invasion nor MAPK activation. These results indicate that CNN3 promotes invasive processes by the stimulation of ERK1/2 and/or p38 under normoxic conditions in BeWo cells, but seems to have different functions at low oxygen levels. We further speculated that CNN3 expression might be altered in human placentas derived from pregnancies complicated by IUGR and preeclampsia, since these placental disorders have been described to go along with impaired trophoblast invasion. Our studies show that, at least in our set of placenta samples, CNN3 expression is neither deregulated in IUGR nor in preeclampsia. In summary, we identified CNN3 as a new pro-invasive protein in trophoblast cells that is induced under low oxygen conditions

Running Exercise in Obese Pregnancies Prevents IL-6 Trans-signaling in Male Offspring

Purpose: Maternal obesity is known to predispose the offspring to impaired glucose metabolism and obesity associated with low-grade inflammation and hypothalamic dysfunction. Because preventive approaches in this context are missing to date, we aimed to identify molecular mechanisms in the offspring that are affected by maternal exercise during pregnancy. Methods: Diet-induced obese mouse dams were divided into a sedentary obese (high-fat diet [HFD]) group and an obese intervention (HFD-running intervention [RUN]) group, which performed voluntary wheel running throughout gestation. Male offspring were compared with the offspring of a sedentary lean control group at postnatal day 21. Results: HFD and HFD-RUN offspring showed increased body weight and white adipose tissue mass. Glucose tolerance testing showed mild impairment only in HFD offspring. Serum interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels, hypothalamic and white adipose tissue IL-6 gene expressions, and phosphorylation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 in HFD offspring were significantly increased, whereas HFD-RUN was protected against these changes. The altered hypothalamic global gene expression in HFD offspring showed partial normalization in HFD-RUN offspring, especially with respect to IL-6 action. Conclusion: Maternal exercise in obese pregnancies effectively reduces IL-6 trans-signaling and might be the underlying mechanism for the amelioration of glucose metabolism at postnatal day 21 independent of body composition

Research briefings: the 'Effects of transfusion thresholds on neurocognitive outcome of extremely low birth-weight infants (ETTNO)' study: background, aims, and study protocol

Background: Infants with extremely low birth weight uniformly develop anemia of prematurity and frequently require red blood cell transfusions (RBCTs). Although RBCT is widely practiced, the indications remain controversial in the absence of conclusive data on the long-term effects of RBCT. Objectives: To summarize the current equipoise and to outline the study protocol of the 'Effects of Transfusion Thresholds on Neurocognitive Outcome of extremely low birth-weight infants (ETTNO)' study. Methods: Review of the literature and design of a large pragmatic randomized controlled trial of restrictive versus liberal RBCT guidelines enrolling 920 infants with birth weights of 400-999 g with long-term neurodevelopmental follow-up. Results and Conclusions: The results of ETTNO will provide definite data about the efficacy and safety of restrictive versus liberal RBCT guidelines in very preterm infants