Städtische Diskurse um Migration im Wandel. Integration, diversity und soziale Bewegungen in München und Berlin

Sowohl im Kontext der kommunalen Integrationspolitik als auch in der Stadtplanung, der Repräsentationspolitik und der regionalen Standort- und Wirtschaftspolitik ist das Thema ,Migration in den Städten‘ wieder auf die politische Agenda gesetzt worden. Doch der Gegenstand, die theoretischen Konzeptualisierungen und die Perspektivierungen sind oft uneindeutig und politisch umkämpft. Gerade auf stadtpolitischer Ebene haben sich zudem starke migrantische Organisationen und Proteste formiert, die oftmals in neuen Allianzen agieren und sich hegemonialen Vorstellungen von ,Integration‘ und ,sozialer Mischung‘ verweigern. Ein Fachgespräch zwischen Natalie Bayer, Andrej Holm und Henrik Lebuhn über städtische Migrationspolitiken in München und Berlin sowie über Fragen und Probleme, die sich auf diesem Feld an der Schnittstelle zwischen kritischer Wissenschaft und praktischer Politik ergeben

Transposon Disruption of the Complex I NADH Oxidoreductase Gene (snoD) in Staphylococcus aureus Is Associated with Reduced Susceptibility to the Microbicidal Activity of Thrombin-Induced Platelet Microbicidal Protein 1

The cationic molecule thrombin-induced platelet microbicidal protein 1 (tPMP-1) exerts potent activity against Staphylococcus aureus. We previously reported that a Tn551 S. aureus transposon mutant, ISP479R, and two bacteriophage back-transductants, TxA and TxB, exhibit reduced in vitro susceptibility to tPMP-1 (tPMP-1(r)) compared to the parental strain, ISP479C (V. Dhawan, M. R. Yeaman, A. L. Cheung, E. Kim, P. M. Sullam, and A. S. Bayer, Infect. Immun. 65:3293-3299, 1997). In the current study, the genetic basis for tPMP-1(r) in these mutants was identified. GenBank homology searches using sequence corresponding to chromosomal DNA flanking Tn551 mutant strains showed that the fourth gene in the staphylococcal mnh operon (mnhABCDEFG) was insertionally inactivated. This operon was previously reported to encode a Na(+)/H(+) antiporter involved in pH tolerance and halotolerance. However, the capacity of ISP479R to grow at pH extremes and in high NaCl concentrations (1 to 3 M), coupled with its loss of transmembrane potential (DeltaPsi) during postexponential growth, suggested that the mnh gene products are not functioning as a secondary (i.e., passive) Na(+)/H(+) antiporter. Moreover, we identified protein homologies between mnhD and the nuo genes of Escherichia coli that encode components of a complex I NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase. Consistent with these data, exposures of tPMP-1-susceptible (tPMP-1(s)) parental strains (both clinical and laboratory derived) with either CCCP (a proton ionophore which collapses the proton motive force) or pieracidin A (a specific complex I enzyme inhibitor) significantly reduced tPMP-induced killing to levels seen in the tPMP-1(r) mutants. To reflect the energization of the gene products encoded by the mnh operon, we have renamed the locus sno (S. aureus nuo orthologue). These novel findings indicate that disruption of a complex I enzyme locus can confer reduced in vitro susceptibility to tPMP-1 in S. aureus

A Multi-disciplinary Overview of Chagas in Periurban Peru

There are between 8 and 11 million cases of America Human Trypanosomiasis, commonly known as Chagas disease, in Latin America. Chagas is endemic in southern Peru, especially the Arequipa region, where it has expanded from poor, rural areas to periurban communities. This paper summarizes the findings of four studies in periurban Arequipa: on determinants of disease-vector infestation; on prevalence, spatial patterns, and risk factors of Chagas; on links between migration, settlement patterns, and disease-vector infestation; and on the relationship between discordant test results and spatially clustered transmission hotspots. These studies identified two risk factors associated with the disease: population dynamics and the urbanization of poverty. Understanding the disease within this new urban context will allow for improved public health prevention efforts and policy initiatives. Discovered in 1909 by Brazilian physician Carlos Chagas, American Human Trypanosomiasis is a chronic and potentially life-threatening illness found throughout Latin America (Moncayo, 2003). Indeed, it is estimated that there are between 8 and 11 million cases in Mexico and Central and South America (Centers for Disease Control [CDC], 2009). Chagas disease, as it is most commonly known, is endemic in southern Peru, especially in the region of Arequipa. Once thought to be limited to poor, rural areas, the disease is now appearing in the periurban communities that surround Arequipa City, the capital of the region (Cornejo del Carpio, 2003). Understanding the urbanization of Chagas disease will allow public health and medical professionals to better combat the further transmission of the disease. After providing an overview of Chagas and introducing the scope of the disease in Latin America, this paper will summarize the findings of four recent studies conducted in periurban districts in Arequipa. Ultimately, this paper seeks to identify the risk factors associated with Chagas infection in Arequipa’s periurban communities

Cell cycle-dependent variations in protein concentration

Computational modeling of biological systems has become an effective tool for analyzing cellular behavior and for elucidating key properties of the intricate networks that underlie experimental observations. While most modeling techniques rely heavily on the concentrations of intracellular molecules, little attention has been paid to tracking and simulating the significant volume fluctuations that occur over each cell division cycle. Here, we use fluorescence microscopy to acquire single cell volume trajectories for a large population of Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells. Using this data, we generate a comprehensive set of statistics that govern the growth and division of these cells over many generations, and we discover several interesting trends in their size, growth and protein production characteristics. We use these statistics to develop an accurate model of cell cycle volume dynamics, starting at cell birth. Finally, we demonstrate the importance of tracking volume fluctuations by combining cell division dynamics with a minimal gene expression model for a constitutively expressed fluorescent protein. The significant oscillations in the cellular concentration of a stable, highly expressed protein mimic the observed experimental trajectories and demonstrate the fundamental impact that the cell cycle has on cellular functions

Assessment of Local Public Health Workers' Willingness to Respond to Pandemic Influenza through Application of the Extended Parallel Process Model

Local public health agencies play a central role in response to an influenza pandemic, and understanding the willingness of their employees to report to work is therefore a critically relevant concern for pandemic influenza planning efforts. Witte's Extended Parallel Process Model (EPPM) has been found useful for understanding adaptive behavior in the face of unknown risk, and thus offers a framework for examining scenario-specific willingness to respond among local public health workers. We thus aim to use the EPPM as a lens for examining the influences of perceived threat and efficacy on local public health workers' response willingness to pandemic influenza.We administered an online, EPPM-based survey about attitudes/beliefs toward emergency response (Johns Hopkins approximately Public Health Infrastructure Response Survey Tool), to local public health employees in three states between November 2006-December 2007. A total of 1835 responses were collected for an overall response rate of 83%. With some regional variation, overall 16% of the workers in 2006-7 were not willing to "respond to a pandemic flu emergency regardless of its severity". Local health department employees with a perception of high threat and high efficacy--i.e., those fitting a 'concerned and confident' profile in the EPPM analysis--had the highest declared rates of willingness to respond to an influenza pandemic if required by their agency, which was 31.7 times higher than those fitting a 'low threat/low efficacy' EPPM profile.In the context of pandemic influenza planning, the EPPM provides a useful framework to inform nuanced understanding of baseline levels of--and gaps in--local public health workers' response willingness. Within local health departments, 'concerned and confident' employees are most likely to be willing to respond. This finding may allow public health agencies to design, implement, and evaluate training programs focused on emergency response attitudes in health departments

Negative pressure wound therapy: Potential publication bias caused by lack of access to unpublished study results data

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) is widely applied, although the evidence base is weak. Previous reviews on medical interventions have shown that conclusions based on published data alone may no longer hold after consideration of unpublished data. The main objective of this study was to identify unpublished randomised controlled trials (RCTs) on NPWT within the framework of a systematic review.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>RCTs comparing NPWT with conventional wound therapy were identified using MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL and The Cochrane Library. Every database was searched from inception to May 2005. The search was updated in December 2006. Reference lists of original articles and systematic reviews, as well as congress proceedings and online trial registers, were screened for clues to unpublished RCTs. Manufacturers of NPWT devices and authors of conference abstracts were contacted and asked to provide study information. Trials were considered nonrandomised if concealment of allocation to treatment groups was classified as "inadequate". The study status was classified as "completed", "discontinued", "ongoing" or "unclear". The publication status of completed or discontinued RCTs was classified as "published" if a full-text paper on final study results (completed trials) or interim results (discontinued trials) was available, and "unpublished" if this was not the case. The type of sponsorship was also noted for all trials.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total of 28 RCTs referring to at least 2755 planned or analysed patients met the inclusion criteria: 13 RCTs had been completed, 6 had been discontinued, 6 were ongoing, and the status of 3 RCTs was unclear. Full-text papers were available on 30% of patients in the 19 completed or discontinued RCTs (495 analysed patients in 10 published RCTs vs. 1154 planned patients in 9 unpublished RCTs). Most information about conference abstracts and unpublished study information referring to trials that were unpublished at the time these documents were generated was obtained from the manufacturer Kinetic Concepts Inc. (KCI) (19 RCTs), followed by The Cochrane Library (18) and a systematic review (15). We were able to obtain some information on the methods of unpublished RCTs, but results data were either not available or requests for results data were not answered; the results of unpublished RCTs could therefore not be considered in the review. One manufacturer, KCI, sponsored the majority of RCTs (19/28; 68%). The sponsorship of the remaining trials was unclear.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Multi-source comprehensive searches identify unpublished RCTs. However, lack of access to unpublished study results data raises doubts about the completeness of the evidence base on NPWT.</p

Impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular testing in the United States versus the rest of the world

Objectives: This study sought to quantify and compare the decline in volumes of cardiovascular procedures between the United States and non-US institutions during the early phase of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the care of many non-COVID-19 illnesses. Reductions in diagnostic cardiovascular testing around the world have led to concerns over the implications of reduced testing for cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. Methods: Data were submitted to the INCAPS-COVID (International Atomic Energy Agency Non-Invasive Cardiology Protocols Study of COVID-19), a multinational registry comprising 909 institutions in 108 countries (including 155 facilities in 40 U.S. states), assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on volumes of diagnostic cardiovascular procedures. Data were obtained for April 2020 and compared with volumes of baseline procedures from March 2019. We compared laboratory characteristics, practices, and procedure volumes between U.S. and non-U.S. facilities and between U.S. geographic regions and identified factors associated with volume reduction in the United States. Results: Reductions in the volumes of procedures in the United States were similar to those in non-U.S. facilities (68% vs. 63%, respectively; p = 0.237), although U.S. facilities reported greater reductions in invasive coronary angiography (69% vs. 53%, respectively; p < 0.001). Significantly more U.S. facilities reported increased use of telehealth and patient screening measures than non-U.S. facilities, such as temperature checks, symptom screenings, and COVID-19 testing. Reductions in volumes of procedures differed between U.S. regions, with larger declines observed in the Northeast (76%) and Midwest (74%) than in the South (62%) and West (44%). Prevalence of COVID-19, staff redeployments, outpatient centers, and urban centers were associated with greater reductions in volume in U.S. facilities in a multivariable analysis. Conclusions: We observed marked reductions in U.S. cardiovascular testing in the early phase of the pandemic and significant variability between U.S. regions. The association between reductions of volumes and COVID-19 prevalence in the United States highlighted the need for proactive efforts to maintain access to cardiovascular testing in areas most affected by outbreaks of COVID-19 infection