Vzpostavitev socialnega svetovalnega dela v avstrijskih solah - od projekta do redne ponudbe

The contribution introduces the present situation and the basic challenges of school social work in Austria. Starting with the perception of a developing “knowledge society” (Höhne, 2004), school is seen as a life place at which social subjects and problems occur and are made manifest. The analyses are based in particular on empirical studies by the University of Klagenfurt (Sting & Leitner, 2011) and the University of Graz (Gspurning, Heimgartner, Pieber, & Sing, 2011), which were carried out in school social work facilities of Carinthia and Styria, but they also include Austrian-wide research projects. A methodical view is presented along the main target groups “pupils”, “teachers” and “parents”, and the basic orientations are discussed. The thematic analysis characterizes school social work as a multi-thematic service (e.g., conflicts, love, problems at school, problems of the family) that needs to oppose the reduction to single problem areas such as drug abuse or violence. The structural analyses render visible the meaning of spatial conditions, personnel competence and the social-spatial network. Finally, the possibilities of a lasting implementation of empirical research in school social work are discussed. (DIPF/Orig.

Sting jets in simulations of a real cyclone by two mesoscale models

The existence of sting jets as a potential source of damaging surface winds during the passage of extratropical cyclones has recently been recognized However, there are still very few published studies on the subject Furthermore, although ills known that other models are capable of reproducing sting jets, in the published literature only one numerical model [the Met Office Unified Model (MetUM)] has been used to numerically analyze these phenomena This article alms to improve our understanding of the processes that contribute to the development of sting jets and show that model differences affect the evolution of modeled sting jets A sting jet event during the passage of a cyclone over the United Kingdom on 26 February 2002 has been simulated using two mesoscale models namely the MetUM and the Consortium for Small Scale Modeling (COSMO) model to compare their performance Given the known critical importance of vertical resolution in the simulation of sting jets the vertical resolution of both models has been enhanced with respect to their operational versions Both simulations have been verified against surface measurements of maximum gusts, satellite imagery and Met Office operational synoptic analyses, as well as operational analyses from the ECMWF It is shown that both models are capable of reproducing sting jets with similar, though not identical. features Through the comparison of the results from these two models, the relevance of physical mechanisms, such as evaporative cooling and the release of conditional symmetric instability, in the generation and evolution of sting jets is also discusse

Clinical effectiveness of hymenoptera venom immunotherapy

Treatment failure during venom immunotherapy (VIT) may be associated with a variety of risk factors. Our aim was to evaluate the association of baseline serum tryptase concentration (BTC) and of other parameters with the frequency of VIT failure during the maintenance phase. In this observational prospective multicenter study, we followed 357 patients with established honey bee or vespid venom allergy after the maintenance dose of VIT had been reached. In all patients, VIT effectiveness was either verified by sting challenge (n = 154) or patient self-reporting of the outcome of a field sting (n = 203). Data were collected on BTC, age, gender, preventive use of anti-allergic drugs (oral antihistamines and/or corticosteroids) right after a field sting, venom dose, antihypertensive medication, type of venom, side effects during VIT, severity of index sting reaction preceding VIT, and duration of VIT. Relative rates were calculated with generalized additive models. 22 patients (6.2%) developed generalized symptoms during sting challenge or after a field sting. A strong association between the frequency of VIT failure and BTC could be excluded. Due to wide confidence bands, however, weaker effects (odds ratios <3) of BTC were still possible, and were also suggested by a selective analysis of patients who had a sting challenge. The most important factor associated with VIT failure was a honey bee venom allergy. Preventive use of anti-allergic drugs may be associated with a higher protection rate. It is unlikely that an elevated BTC has a strong negative effect on the rate of treatment failures. The magnitude of the latter, however, may depend on the method of effectiveness assessment. Failure rate is higher in patients suffering from bee venom allergy

STING-dependent recognition of cyclic di-AMP mediates type I interferon responses during Chlamydia trachomatis infection.

UnlabelledSTING (stimulator of interferon [IFN] genes) initiates type I IFN responses in mammalian cells through the detection of microbial nucleic acids. The membrane-bound obligate intracellular bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis induces a STING-dependent type I IFN response in infected cells, yet the IFN-inducing ligand remains unknown. In this report, we provide evidence that Chlamydia synthesizes cyclic di-AMP (c-di-AMP), a nucleic acid metabolite not previously identified in Gram-negative bacteria, and that this metabolite is a prominent ligand for STING-mediated activation of IFN responses during infection. We used primary mouse lung fibroblasts and HEK293T cells to compare IFN-β responses to Chlamydia infection, c-di-AMP, and other type I IFN-inducing stimuli. Chlamydia infection and c-di-AMP treatment induced type I IFN responses in cells expressing STING but not in cells expressing STING variants that cannot sense cyclic dinucleotides but still respond to cytoplasmic DNA. The failure to induce a type I IFN response to Chlamydia and c-di-AMP correlated with the inability of STING to relocalize from the endoplasmic reticulum to cytoplasmic punctate signaling complexes required for IFN activation. We conclude that Chlamydia induces STING-mediated IFN responses through the detection of c-di-AMP in the host cell cytosol and propose that c-di-AMP is the ligand predominantly responsible for inducing such a response in Chlamydia-infected cells.ImportanceThis study shows that the Gram-negative obligate pathogen Chlamydia trachomatis, a major cause of pelvic inflammatory disease and infertility, synthesizes cyclic di-AMP (c-di-AMP), a nucleic acid metabolite that thus far has been described only in Gram-positive bacteria. We further provide evidence that the host cell employs an endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-localized cytoplasmic sensor, STING (stimulator of interferon [IFN] genes), to detect c-di-AMP synthesized by Chlamydia and induce a protective IFN response. This detection occurs even though Chlamydia is confined to a membrane-bound vacuole. This raises the possibility that the ER, an organelle that innervates the entire cytoplasm, is equipped with pattern recognition receptors that can directly survey membrane-bound pathogen-containing vacuoles for leaking microbe-specific metabolites to mount type I IFN responses required to control microbial infections

Cryogenic temperature effects on sting-balance deflections in the National Transonic Facility

An investigation was conducted at the National Transonic Facility (NTF) to document the change in sting-balance deflections from ambient to cryogenic temperatures. Space limitations in some NTF models do not allow the use of on-board angle of attack instrumentation. In order to obtain angle of attack data, pre-determined sting-balance bending data must be combined with arc sector angle measurements. Presently, obtaining pretest sting-balance data requires several cryogenic cycles and cold loadings over a period of several days. A method of reducing the calibration time required is to obtain only ambient temperature sting-balance bending data and correct for changes in material properties at cryogenic temperatures. To validate this method, two typical NTF sting-balance combinations were tested. The test results show excellent agreement with the predicted values and the repeatability of the data was 0.01 degree

Fatal anaphylactic sting reaction in a patient with mastocytosis

We report on a 33-year-old female patient with indolent systemic mastocytosis and urticaria pigmentosa who died of an anaphylactic reaction after a yellow jacket sting. As she had no history of previous anaphylactic sting reaction, there was no testing performed in order to detect hymenoptera venom sensitization. But even if a sensitization had been diagnosed, no venom immunotherapy (VIT) would have been recommended. It is almost certain that VIT would have saved her life and it is most likely that VIT is indicated in some patients with mastocytosis with no history of anaphylactic sting reaction. However, no criteria have been established in order to allow a selection of mastocytosis patients eligible for such a `prophylactic' VIT. Copyright (C) 2008 S. Karger AG, Basel

On the mark? Responses to a sting

A series of responses to John Bohannon's "sting" operation on OA journals

A TRAF3-NIK module differentially regulates DNA vs RNA pathways in innate immune signaling.

Detection of viral genomes by the innate immune system elicits an antiviral gene program mediated by type I interferons (IFNs). While viral RNA and DNA species induce IFN via separate pathways, the mechanisms by which these pathways are differentially modulated are unknown. Here we show that the positive regulator of IFN in the RNA pathway, TRAF3, has an inhibitory function in the DNA pathway. Loss of TRAF3 coincides with increased expression of the alternative NF-κB-inducing molecule, NIK, which interacts with the DNA pathway adaptor, STING, to enhance IFN induction. Cells lacking NIK display defective IFN activation in the DNA pathway due to impaired STING signaling, and NIK-deficient mice are more susceptible to DNA virus infection. Mechanistically, NIK operates independently from alternative NF-κB signaling components and instead requires autophosphorylation and oligomerization to activate STING. Thus a previously undescribed pathway for NIK exists in activating IFN in the DNA pathway

Sting of passion

A new exhibition of contemporary jewellery by 12 up-and-coming international jewellery artists opens at Manchester Art Gallery this July. Curated by Manchester-based jewellery artist Jo Bloxham, the exhibition features new conceptual works of jewellery by artists from as far afield as the USA and Mexico. All the works on display have been inspired by Pre-Raphaelite paintings from Manchester Art Gallery’s prestigious collections. The paintings have all been selected by the exhibition curator, Jo Bloxham and include Pre-Raphaelite favourites such as Arthur Hughes’ Ophelia and Rossetti’s The Bower Meadow and Astarte Syriaca. The works portray women as a femme fatale, a seductress, and in some cases, purely as an object of beauty. Bloxham comments that each of the jewellers has responded individually, the works have provoked some strong reactions, and astonishing results: “The jewellers have created an exciting body of work using a diverse selection of materials, from gold and garnets to concrete and broken glass. The Sting of Passion is an opportunity to explore an area of jewellery design rarely seen in the UK.” Polish jeweller, Arek Wolski has added modern irony to his work for Eve Tempted by John Stanhope. Playing on words, Wolski has created a t-shirt brooch, changing the phrase ‘Last Forever’ to a more cynical ‘Lust Forever’. French jeweller, Benjamin Lignel found The Bower Meadow by Dante Gabriel Rossetti deeply unsettling. Lignel says “Here are the real desperate housewives: typecast for maximum excitement. Rossetti’s dancing beauties live the test-tube lives of neutered she-monsters in a tree-lined water-tank.” Nanna Melland from Germany has created a fine, gold chain, to sit around the waist of Rossetti’s Astarte Syriaca in the form of a new girdle

The Last Ship from Broadway to Newcastle: A feminist political musical for the Brexit era

Sting’s musical, The Last Ship premiered on Broadway in 2014. Four years later, following a series of workshops at Northern Stage, the musical embarked on its UK tour featuring a number of revisions to its narrative and structure. What emerges from the revised production is a narrative, which places women at the centre through affording them agency and allowing them to occupy powerful, liminal spaces. Whilst The Last Ship remains a tale for the working classes, its UK revisions do well to reposition the central role of the women in this community. Through removing principal characters, which previously served to reinforce a patriarchal hierarchy, the fictional women of Wallsend now drive the plot, allowing for The Last Ship to communicate a morality tale, which echoes the ideologies of a feminist, post-Brexit era