Correction: The role of cumulative physical work load in symptomatic knee osteoarthritis – a case–control study in Germany (Seidler et al. 2008)

ABSTRACT: In the original paper (Seidler et al. 2008), there is a mistake in the results of the occupational group analysis. This mistake occurred when the core data set was merged with the occupational group data. According to the modified occupational group analysis (see modified Table 1), OR for chemical processers and manufacturers of plastics products are no longer significantly elevated. Having worked more than 10 years as metal worker is associated with knee osteoarthritis (OR=2.2; 95% CI 1.1-4.4). The knee osteoarthritis risk of plasterers, insulators, glaziers, terrazzo workers, construction carpenters, roofers, and upholsters approaches statistical significance in the long-duration category (OR=3.7; 95% CI 0.9-15.2). For woodworkers, the knee osteoarthritis risk is no longer significantly elevated. Having worked more than 10 years as painter or varnisher is associated with knee osteoarthritis (OR=9.6; 95% CI 1.2-77.9). Finally, we find a significantly elevated OR of 3.2 (95% CI 1.1-9.1) among subjects having worked as physically exposed service workers (storemen, nurses, refuse collectors) for more than 10 years. When subjects with non-service work as main occupation ("blue-collar workers") are compared with "white-collar workers", the odds ratio for knee osteoarthritis is still significantly elevated (OR=2.0; 95% CI 1.3-2.9)

Geschlechterdifferenzen bei der literarischen Rezeption unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Science Fiction

Die Analyse fiktionaler Erzählungen im Hinblick auf ihre geschlechtlichen Codierungen, nicht nur in Form ihrer Figurengestaltung, sondern z.B. auch in Handlungsmustern oder Raum- und Zeitdarstellungen, ist ein wichtiger literaturwissenschaftlicher Forschungsansatz. Gerade die Science Fiction bietet hierfür ein ergiebiges Forschungsfeld, wie auch die Beiträge in vorliegendem Band zeigen. Aufschlussreich kann es aber auch sein, die Textanalysen in Verbindung mit den Erkenntnissen der empirische..

Von Bertolt Brechts Radiotheorie zu den sozialen Medien. Theoretische und historische Verbindungslinien und Reflexionsanstöße für den Deutschunterricht in ein er digitalisierten Gesellschaft

Der Beitrag widmet sich zunächst historischen Phasen der Medienentwicklung sowie den diese begleitenden medienkritischen Diskursen. Ausgangspunkt sind dabei Bertolt Brechts utopische Vorstellungen zur Verwendung des damals neuen Mediums Radio in den 1920er Jahren. Brecht forderte eine die Hörerschaft beteiligende interaktive Verwendung des medialen Apparats, die er mit der Hoffnung auf eine demokratischere Gesellschaft verband. Im historischen Vergleich werden dann Parallelen zwischen Brechts radiotheoretischen Überlegungen und den Erwartungen auf-gezeigt, die sich in den 1990er Jahren mit der Ausbreitung des Internets verbanden. Verfolgt man den Diskurs um die politischen und kulturellen Auswirkungen des Internets bis in die Gegenwart, dann zeigt sich, wie utopische Erwartungen in dystopische Befürchtungen umschlagen. Diesen Beobachtungen zur Seite gestellt wird eine knappe Darstellung von Brechts praktischen Versuchen zur „interaktiven“ Nutzung des Radios für die Aufführung literarischer Texte. Das wichtigste Beispiel hierfür ist Brechts Radiolehrstück „Der Flug der Lindbergs“. Sowohl Brechts experimentelle Verwendung des Radios als auch die technikbegeisterte Botschaft des Stückes wirken aus heutiger Sicht befremdlich, geben aber gerade dadurch Anregung zum Nachdenken über das Verhältnis von Mensch, Technik und Natur.   Abstract (english): From Bertolt Brecht‘s radio theory to social media. Theoretical and historical connections and food for thought for teaching German in a digitalised society The article is first devoted to historical phases of media development and the ac-companying discourses of media criticism. The starting point is Bertolt Brecht‘s utopian ideas on the use of the then new medium of radio in the 1920s. Brecht called for an interactive use of the media apparatus that would involve the listeners, which he linked to the hope for a more democratic society. A historical comparison then reve-als parallels between Brecht‘s radio theoretical considerations and the expectations associated with the spread of the Internet in the 1990s. If one follows the discourse on the political and cultural effects of the Internet up to the present, it becomes apparent how utopian expectations turn into dystopian fears. These observations are juxtaposed with a concise account of Brecht‘s practical attempts at „interactive“ use of radio for the performance of literary texts. The most important example of this is Brecht‘s radio play Der Flug der Lindbergs. This is devoted in content to another new technology of the early 20th century, namely airplane technology. Both Brecht‘s experimental use of radio in the performance of the play and the celebration of flying as a triumph of man and technology over nature in terms of content seem disconcerting from today‘s perspective, however, and provide food for thought about the relation-ship between man, technology, and nature as well as the meaningful use of media

Efficient Implementation of Parallel Path Planning Algorithms on GPUs

In robot systems several computationally intensivetasks can be found, with path planning being one of them.Especially in dynamically changing environments, it is difficult tomeet real-time constraints with a serial processing approach. Forthose systems using standard computers, a promising option is toemploy a GPGPU as a coprocessor in order to offload those taskswhich can be efficiently parallelized. We implemented selectedparallel path planning algorithms on NVIDIA's CUDA platformand were able to accelerate all of these algorithms efficientlycompared to a multi-core implementation. We present the resultsand more detailed information about the implementation of thesealgorithms

The role of cumulative physical work load in symptomatic knee osteoarthritis – a case-control study in Germany

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Objectives</p> <p>To examine the dose-response relationship between cumulative exposure to kneeling and squatting as well as to lifting and carrying of loads and symptomatic knee osteoarthritis (OA) in a population-based case-control study.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In five orthopedic clinics and five practices we recruited 295 male patients aged 25 to 70 with radiographically confirmed knee osteoarthritis associated with chronic complaints. A total of 327 male control subjects were recruited. Data were gathered in a structured personal interview. To calculate cumulative exposure, the self-reported duration of kneeling and squatting as well as the duration of lifting and carrying of loads were summed up over the entire working life.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The results of our study support a dose-response relationship between kneeling/squatting and symptomatic knee osteoarthritis. For a cumulative exposure to kneeling and squatting > 10.800 hours, the risk of having radiographically confirmed knee osteoarthritis as measured by the odds ratio (adjusted for age, region, weight, jogging/athletics, and lifting or carrying of loads) is 2.4 (95% CI 1.1–5.0) compared to unexposed subjects. Lifting and carrying of loads is significantly associated with knee osteoarthritis independent of kneeling or similar activities.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>As the knee osteoarthritis risk is strongly elevated in occupations that involve both kneeling/squatting and heavy lifting/carrying, preventive efforts should particularly focus on these "high-risk occupations".</p

Cancer risk among residents of Rhineland-Palatinate winegrowing communities: a cancer-registry based ecological study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Aim</p> <p>To investigate the cancer risk among residents of Rhineland-Palatinate winegrowing communities in an ecological study.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>On the basis of the Rhineland-Palatinate cancer-registry, we calculated age-adjusted incidence rate ratios for communities with a medium area under wine cultivation (>5 to 20 percent) and a large area under wine cultivation (>20 percent) in comparison with communities with a small area under wine cultivation (>0 to 5 percent). In a side analysis, standardized cancer incidence ratios (SIR) were computed separately for winegrowing communities with small, medium and large area under wine cultivation using estimated German incidence rates as reference.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A statistically significant positive association with the extent of viniculture can be observed for non-melanoma skin cancer in both males and females, and additionally for prostate cancer, bladder cancer, and non-Hodgkin lymphoma in males, but not in females. Lung cancer risk is significantly reduced in communities with a large area under cultivation. In the side-analysis, elevated SIR for endocrine-related tumors of the breast, testis, prostate, and endometrium were observed.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study points to a potentially increased risk of skin cancer, bladder cancer, and endocrine-mediated tumors in Rhineland-Palatinate winegrowing communities. However, due to the explorative ecologic study design and the problem of multiple testing, these findings are not conclusve for a causal relationship.</p

Male depression risk, psychological distress, and psychotherapy uptake: Validation of the German version of the male depression risk scale

Background Screening for depressive disorders in men may be complicated by traditional male role norms. The Male Depression Risk Scale (MDRS) was developed to aid screening for depression in men adhering to traditional male role norms and to facilitate identification of depression in men in general and to promote treatment uptake. Aims Validation of a German version of the MDRS and examination of its potential to predict clinical characteristics. Methods In an anonymous online survey comprising of 1605 participants (male: N = 671; 42%), information was obtained on psychological distress, diagnosed psychological disorders, psychotherapy and psychopharmacological treatment. Additional measures included a German version of the MDRS as further mental-health-related constructs. Results The German version of the MDRS showed good validity and reliability. The previously identified 6-factor structure could be replicated for the German version. Compared to the Patient Health Questionnaire 9, the MDRS showed similar detection performance in identifying men who self-reported psychological distress, psychological disorders, depression, psychotherapy usage, or usage of psychopharmacological therapy. Conclusions The German version of the MDRS shows good psychometric validity and represents a valid screening instrument for the identification of psychological distress specifically in men

The role of psychosocial working conditions on burnout and its core component emotional exhaustion – a systematic review

Aims: To analyze the association between psychosocial working conditions and burnout and its core component emotional exhaustion, a systematic literature review was undertaken including cohort studies, case–control studies, and randomized controlled trials. Methods: The literature search in Medline and PsycInfo was based on a defined search string and strict exclusion and inclusion criteria. Evaluation of the 5,599 initially identified search hits by two independent reviewers and a detailed quality assessment resulted in six methodologically adequate cohort studies considering the relationship between psychosocial working conditions and burnout (one study) as well as the burnout core component emotional exhaustion (five studies). Results: The results of our systematic review point to a relationship between psychosocial working conditions and the development of emotional exhaustion/burnout. Particularly high job demands seem to play a role in the development of emotional exhaustion. However, strong intercorrelations between workplace factors, as a matter of principle, make the identification of a single psychosocial workplace factor (being associated with an especially high or low risk of burnout) difficult. Conclusions: Multidimensional approaches including reduction of work demands, enhancement of decision latitude and improving the social climate might be promising for preventing burnout and emotional exhaustion. However, methodologically adequate intervention studies are urgently needed to prove the effectiveness of workplace interventions

Sensing dot with high output swing for scalable baseband readout of spin qubits

A key requirement for quantum computing, in particular for a scalable quantum computing architecture, is a fast and high-fidelity qubit readout. For semiconductor based qubits, one limiting factor is the output swing of the charge sensor. We demonstrate GaAs and Si/SiGe asymmetric sensing dots (ASDs), which exceed the response of a conventional charge sensing dot by more than ten times, resulting in a boosted output swing of $3\,\text{mV}$. This substantially improved output signal is due to a device design with a strongly decoupled drain reservoir from the sensor dot, mitigating negative feedback effects of conventional sensors. The large output signal eases the use of very low-power readout amplifiers in close proximity to the qubit and will thus render true scalable qubit architectures with semiconductor based qubits possible in the future.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figure