The evolution of tangibles, financial and social security wealth over the lifecycle: estimates for Germany

"Using survey and administrative micro data, the authors describe the wealth distribution in Germany between 1978 and 2003, focusing on the birth cohort 1939 to 1953 resident in West Germany. Estimates are provided for three types of wealth, financial wealth, real wealth and social security wealth, i.e. the number of accumulated earning points in Germany's public pension insurance. While financial and real wealth are rather unequally distributed, inequality in accumulated earning points is substantially lower, indicating that Germany's pay-as-you-go pension system plays a prominent role in mitigating the inequality in overall wealth after retirement." (author's abstract

Arthroscopy or ultrasound in undergraduate anatomy education: a randomized cross-over controlled trial

Background: The exponential growth of image-based diagnostic and minimally invasive interventions requires a detailed three-dimensional anatomical knowledge and increases the demand towards the undergraduate anatomical curriculum. This randomized controlled trial investigates whether musculoskeletal ultrasound (MSUS) or arthroscopic methods can increase the anatomical knowledge uptake. Methods: Second-year medical students were randomly allocated to three groups. In addition to the compulsory dissection course, the ultrasound group (MSUS) was taught by eight, didactically and professionally trained, experienced student-teachers and the arthroscopy group (ASK) was taught by eight experienced physicians. The control group (CON) acquired the anatomical knowledge only via the dissection course. Exposure (MSUS and ASK) took place in two separate lessons (75 minutes each, shoulder and knee joint) and introduced standard scan planes using a 10-MHz ultrasound system as well as arthroscopy tutorials at a simulator combined with video tutorials. The theoretical anatomic learning outcomes were tested using a multiple-choice questionnaire (MCQ), and after cross-over an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE). Differences in student's perceptions were evaluated using Likert scale-based items. Results: The ASK-group (n = 70, age 23.4 (20--36) yrs.) performed moderately better in the anatomical MC exam in comparison to the MSUS-group (n = 84, age 24.2 (20--53) yrs.) and the CON-group (n = 88, 22.8 (20--33) yrs.; p = 0.019). After an additional arthroscopy teaching 1 % of students failed the MC exam, in contrast to 10 % in the MSUS- or CON-group, respectively. The benefit of the ASK module was limited to the shoulder area (p < 0.001). The final examination (OSCE) showed no significant differences between any of the groups with good overall performances. In the evaluation, the students certified the arthroscopic tutorial a greater advantage concerning anatomical skills with higher spatial imagination in comparison to the ultrasound tutorial (p = 0.002; p < 0.001). Conclusions: The additional implementation of arthroscopy tutorials to the dissection course during the undergraduate anatomy training is profitable and attractive to students with respect to complex joint anatomy. Simultaneous teaching of basic-skills in musculoskeletal ultrasound should be performed by medical experts, but seems to be inferior to the arthroscopic 2D-3D-transformation, and is regarded by students as more difficult to learn. Although arthroscopy and ultrasound teaching do not have a major effect on learning joint anatomy, they have the potency to raise the interest in surgery

Relative impacts of climate and landuse changes on future flood damage along River Meuse in Wallonia

Climate change is expected to increase flood hazard across most of Europe, both in terms of peak discharge intensity and frequency. Consequently, managing flood risk will remain an issue of primary importance for decades to come. Flood risk depends on territories’ flood hazard and vulnerability. Beside climate change, land use evolution is thus a key influencing factor on flood risk. The aim of this research is to quantify the relative influence of climate and land use changes on flood damage evolution during the 21st century. The study focuses on River Meuse in Wallonia for a 100-year flood. A scenario-based approach was used to model land use evolution. Nine urbanization scenarios for 2100 were developed: three of them assume a “current tend” land use evolution, characterized by urban sprawl, while six others assume a sustainable spatial planning, leading to an increase in density of residential areas as well as an increase in urban functions diversity. A study commissioned by the EU has estimated a 30 % increase in the 100-year discharge for River Meuse by the year 2100. Inundation modeling was conducted for the present day 100-year flood (HQ100) and for a discharge HQ100 + 30%, using the model Wolf 2D and a 5m grid resolution Digital Elevation Model (Ernst et al. 2009). Based on five different damage curves related to land use categories, the relative damage was deduced from the computed inundation maps. Finally, specific prices were associated to each land use category and allowed assessing absolute damages, which were subsequently aggregated to obtain a damage value for each of the 19 municipalities crossed by River Meuse. Results show that flood damage is estimated to increase by 540 to 630 % between 2009 and 2100, reaching 2.1 to 2.4 billion Euros in 2100. These increases mainly involve municipalities downstream of a point where the floodplain width becomes significantly larger. The city of Liège, which is protected against a 100-year flood in the present situation, would undergo about 450 million Euros damage for a 100-year flood in the 2100, i.e. in-between 21% and 25 % of the whole damage increase. The influence of climate is three to eight times higher than the effect of land use change according to the land use evolution scenarios considered. Nevertheless, these two factors have a comparable influence on seven municipalities. Consequently, although a careful spatial planning would not considerably reduce the overall flood damage at the level of theWalloon part of the Meuse Valley, more sustainable spatial planning could efficiently reduce future flood damage at the level of several most critical municipalities. Reference Ernst, J, Dewals, B, Detrembleur, S, Archambeau, P, Erpicum, S, & Pirotton, M. (2010). Micro-scale flood risk analysis based on detailed 2D hydraulic modelling and high resolution geographic data. Natural Hazards, 55(2), 181-209

Perfluoro Alkyl Hypofluorites and Peroxides Revisited

A more convenient synthesis of the perfluoro alkyl hypofluorite (F3C)3COF as well as the hitherto unknown (C2F5)(F3C)2COF compound is reported. Both hypofluorites can be prepared by use of the corresponding tertiary alcohols RFOH and elemental fluorine in the presence of CsF. An appropriate access to these highly reactive hypofluorites is crucial. The hypofluorites are then transferred into their corresponding perfluoro bisalkyl peroxides RFOORF [RF=(F3C)3C, (C2F5)(F3C)2C] by treatment with partially fluorinated silver wool. NMR, gas‐phase infrared, and solid‐state Raman spectra of the perfluoro bisalkyl peroxides are presented and their chemical properties are discussed

Neonatal Gram Negative and Candida Sepsis Survival and Neurodevelopmental Outcome at the Corrected Age of 24 Months

Objectives: To evaluate the long term neurodevelopmental outcome of premature infants exposed to either gram- negative sepsis (GNS) or neonatal Candida sepsis (NCS), and to compare their outcome with premature infants without sepsis. Methods: Historical cohort study in a population of infants born at <30 weeks gestation and admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of the Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam during the period 1997-2007. Outcome of infants exposed to GNS or NCS and 120 randomly chosen uncomplicated controls (UC) from the same NICU were compared. Clinical data during hospitalization and neurodevelopmental outcome data (clinical neurological status; Bayley -test results and vision/hearing test results) at the corrected age of 24 months were collected. An association model with sepsis as the central determinant of either good or adverse outcome (death or severe developmental delay) was made, corrected for confounders using multiple logistic regression analysis. Results: Of 1362 patients, 55 suffered from GNS and 29 suffered from NCS; cumulative incidence 4.2% and 2.2%, respectively. During the follow-up period the mortality rate was 34% for both GNS and NCS and 5% for UC. The adjusted Odds Ratio (OR) [95% CI] for adverse outcome in the GNS group compared to the NCS group was 1.4 [0.4-4.9]. The adjusted ORs [95% CI] for adverse outcome in the GNS and NCS groups compared to the UC group were 4.8 [1.5-15.9] and 3.2 [0.7-14.7], respectively. Conclusions: We found no statistically significant difference in outcome at the corrected age of 24 months between neonatal GNS and NCS cases. Suffering from either gram -negative or Candida sepsis increased the odds for adverse outcome compared with an uncomplicated neonatal period

Precision and accuracy of single-molecule FRET measurements - a multi-laboratory benchmark study

Single-molecule Förster resonance energy transfer (smFRET) is increasingly being used to determine distances, structures, and dynamics of biomolecules in vitro and in vivo. However, generalized protocols and FRET standards to ensure the reproducibility and accuracy of measurements of FRET efficiencies are currently lacking. Here we report the results of a comparative blind study in which 20 labs determined the FRET efficiencies (E) of several dye-labeled DNA duplexes. Using a unified, straightforward method, we obtained FRET efficiencies with s.d. between ±0.02 and ±0.05. We suggest experimental and computational procedures for converting FRET efficiencies into accurate distances, and discuss potential uncertainties in the experiment and the modeling. Our quantitative assessment of the reproducibility of intensity-based smFRET measurements and a unified correction procedure represents an important step toward the validation of distance networks, with the ultimate aim of achieving reliable structural models of biomolecular systems by smFRET-based hybrid methods

Murine Models for Trypanosoma brucei gambiense Disease Progression—From Silent to Chronic Infections and Early Brain Tropism

Trypanosoma brucei gambiense is responsible for more than 90% of reported cases of human African trypanosomosis (HAT). Infection can last for months or even years without major signs or symptoms of infection, but if left untreated, sleeping sickness is always fatal. In the present study, different T. b. gambiense field isolates from the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with HAT were adapted to growth in vitro. These isolates belong to the homogeneous Group 1 of T. b. gambiense, which is known to induce a chronic infection in humans. In spite of this, these isolates induced infections ranging from chronic to silent in mice, with variations in parasitaemia, mouse lifespan, their ability to invade the CNS and to elicit specific immune responses. In addition, during infection, an unexpected early tropism for the brain as well as the spleen and lungs was observed using bioluminescence analysis. The murine models presented in this work provide new insights into our understanding of HAT and allow further studies of parasite tropism during infection, which will be very useful for the treatment and the diagnosis of the disease