Nordhorner Volksfront?

Das niedersächsische Nordhorn war historisch lange eine Hochburg der Kommunistischen Partei Deutschlands (KPD) sowie später der Deutschen Kommunistischen Partei (DKP), bis in die 1990er-Jahre hinein konnten sie hier lokalpolitische Ämter erringen. Von welchen Kontextbedingungen hing der lokale Erfolg der Nordhorner DKP ab? Wie fügte sich die Partei historisch in die Protestgeschichte ein und welches sind die zentralen Charakteristika der örtlichen gegenkulturellen Szene? Diesen Fragen geht die vorliegende FoDEx-Studie nach. Sie skizziert die zentralen Charakteristika und langfristigen Entwicklungstendenzen der linksradikalen bzw. linken Szene vor Ort und setzt diese in Bezug zum stadtpolitischen Erbe der Textilindustrie Nordhorns und der andauernden materialistischen Konfliktlinie. In einer mehrschrittigen Analyse werden wichtige Resonanz- und Verständigungsräume ebenso beleuchtet wie das individuelle Akteurshandeln vor Ort

Current achievements to reduce deforestation in Kalimantan

Indonesia has developed its forest reference emission level (FREL), using a historical reference period of 1990-2012. Based on official Ministry of Environment and Forestry (MoEF) data, this paper analyses gross deforestation rates and emissions from deforestation in the five provinces of the island of Kalimantan which occurred in the time after 2012, i.e. 2013 until 2015, and puts them in relation to the average annual deforestation and emission rates of each province in the reference period. Even though the overall linear trend of deforestation and emission rates in Kalimantan from 1990 until 2015 goes down, this trend is not reflected in all of the five provinces equally. West and North Kalimantan’s rates even seem to be on the rise. The potentials to achieve emission reduction targets thus remain unequal for each province in Kalimantan Island

Arthropod abundance modulates bird community responses to urbanization

Aim We analysed the role of species interactions in wildlife community responses to urbanization. Specifically, we investigated non‐trophic associations within a bird community and the role of trophic interactions in the responses of bird species to the urbanization gradient. Location City‐state of Berlin, Central Europe. Methods Arthropod and bird abundances were sampled across the study area and analysed using hierarchical joint species distribution models (JSDMs). Urbanization gradient was defined by environmental predictors reflecting anthropogenic disturbances, for example noise level and human population density, as well as nature‐like features, for example tree cover and open green area. Relevant environmental predictors for each group and relevant spatial resolution were selected a priori using AICc. Arthropod abundances were modelled for the bird sampling transects and included as additional predictor variable in the bird community model. In this model, we used abundances and traits of 66 breeding bird species as response variables. Results Bird species responses to urbanization were captured by the interaction between invertebrate abundance and environmental predictors. We identified three groups of birds: the urban group (12 species) showed no decrease in abundance along the urbanization gradient and were not related to arthropods abundance; the woodland group (18 species) were positively related to tree cover and arthropod abundance, also in areas with high anthropogenic disturbance; and the nature group (36 species) were positively related to arthropod abundance, but the species abundance decreased sharply with increasing anthropogenic disturbance. All the non‐trophic associations found within the bird community were positive. Main conclusions Arthropod abundance clearly modulated birds’ responses to the urbanization gradient for most species. Especially at moderate levels of anthropogenic disturbance, the abundance of arthropods is key for the occurrence and abundance of bird species in urban areas. To maintain bird diversity in urban green areas, management measures should focus on maintaining and increasing invertebrate abundance

Chronic Hepatitis B Finite Treatment: similar and different concerns with new drug classes

Chronic hepatitis B, a major cause of liver disease and cancer, affects over 250 million people worldwide. Currently there is no cure, only suppressive therapies. Efforts to develop finite curative HBV therapies are underway, consisting of combinations of multiple novel agents +/- nucleos(t)ide reverse transcriptase inhibitors. The HBV Forum convened a webinar in July 2021, and subsequent working group discussions to address how and when to stop finite therapy for demonstration of sustained off-treatment efficacy and safety responses. Participants included leading experts in academia, clinical practice, pharmaceutical companies, patient representatives and regulatory agencies. This Viewpoint outlines areas of consensus within our multi-stakeholder group for stopping finite therapies in chronic Hepatitis B investigational studies, including trial design, patient selection, outcomes, biomarkers, pre-defined stopping criteria, pre-defined retreatment criteria, duration of investigational therapies, and follow up after stopping therapy. Future research of unmet needs are discussed

Can We Reduce Eating Disorder Risk Factors in Female College Athletes? A Randomized Exploratory Investigation of Two Peer-Led Interventions

Female athletes are at least as at risk as other women for eating disorders (EDs) and at risk for the female athlete triad (i.e., inadequate energy availability, menstrual disorders, and osteoporosis). This study investigated whether two evidence-based programs appear promising for future study if modified to address the unique needs of female athletes. Athletes were randomly assigned to athlete-modified dissonance prevention or healthy weight intervention (AM-HWI). ED risk factors were assessed pre/post-treatment, and 6-week and 1-year follow-up. Results (analyzed sample, N = 157) indicated that both interventions reduced thin-ideal internalization, dietary restraint, bulimic pathology, shape and weight concern, and negative affect at 6 weeks, and bulimic pathology, shape concern, and negative affect at 1 year. Unexpectedly we observed an increase in students spontaneously seeking medical consultation for the triad. Qualitative results suggested that AM-HWI may be more preferred by athletes

Experimental manipulation of radiographic density in mouse mammary gland

INTRODUCTION: Extensive mammographic density in women is associated with increased risk for breast cancer. Mouse models provide a powerful approach to the study of human diseases, but there is currently no model that is suited to the study of mammographic density. METHODS: We performed individual manipulations of the stromal, epithelial and matrix components of the mouse mammary gland and examined the alterations using in vivo and ex vivo radiology, whole mount staining and histology. RESULTS: Areas of density were generated that resembled densities in mammographic images of the human breast, and the nature of the imposed changes was confirmed at the cellular level. Furthermore, two genetic models, one deficient in epithelial structure (Pten conditional tissue specific knockout) and one with hyperplastic epithelium and mammary tumors (MMTV-PyMT), were used to examine radiographic density. CONCLUSION: Our data show the feasibility of altering and imaging mouse mammary gland radiographic density by experimental and genetic means, providing the first step toward modelling the biological processes that are responsible for mammographic density in the mouse

Comparative structural and functional analysis of Bunyavirus and Arenavirus cap-snatching Endonucleases

Segmented negative strand RNA viruses of the arena-, bunya- and orthomyxovirus families uniquely carry out viral mRNA transcription by the cap-snatching mechanism. This involves cleavage of host mRNAs close to their capped 5′ end by an endonuclease (EN) domain located in the N-terminal region of the viral polymerase. We present the structure of the cap-snatching EN of Hantaan virus, a bunyavirus belonging to hantavirus genus. Hantaan EN has an active site configuration, including a metal co-ordinating histidine, and nuclease activity similar to the previously reported La Crosse virus and Influenza virus ENs (orthobunyavirus and orthomyxovirus respectively), but is more active in cleaving a double stranded RNA substrate. In contrast, Lassa arenavirus EN has only acidic metal co-ordinating residues. We present three high resolution structures of Lassa virus EN with different bound ion configurations and show in comparative biophysical and biochemical experiments with Hantaan, La Crosse and influenza ENs that the isolated Lassa EN is essentially inactive. The results are discussed in the light of EN activation mechanisms revealed by recent structures of full-length influenza virus polymerase

The effectiveness of e-& mHealth interventions to promote physical activity and healthy diets in developing countries: a systematic review

Background: Promoting physical activity and healthy eating is important to combat the unprecedented rise in NCDs in many developing countries. Using modern information-and communication technologies to deliver physical activity and diet interventions is particularly promising considering the increased proliferation of such technologies in many developing countries. The objective of this systematic review is to investigate the effectiveness of e-& mHealth interventions to promote physical activity and healthy diets in developing countries.Methods: Major databases and grey literature sources were searched to retrieve studies that quantitatively examined the effectiveness of e-& mHealth interventions on physical activity and diet outcomes in developing countries. Additional studies were retrieved through citation alerts and scientific social media allowing study inclusion until August 2016. The CONSORT checklist was used to assess the risk of bias of the included studies.Results: A total of 15 studies conducted in 13 developing countries in Europe, Africa, Latin-and South America and Asia were included in the review. The majority of studies enrolled adults who were healthy or at risk of diabetes or hypertension. The average intervention length was 6.4 months, and text messages and the Internet were the most frequently used intervention delivery channels. Risk of bias across the studies was moderate (55.7 % of the criteria fulfilled). Eleven studies reported significant positive effects of an e-& mHealth intervention on physical activity and/or diet behaviour. Respectively, 50 % and 70 % of the interventions were effective in promoting physical activity and healthy diets.Conclusions: The majority of studies demonstrated that e-& mHealth interventions were effective in promoting physical activity and healthy diets in developing countries. Future interventions should use more rigorous study designs, investigate the cost-effectiveness and reach of interventions, and focus on emerging technologies, such as smart phone apps and wearable activity trackers.Trial registration: The review protocol can be retrieved from the PROSPERO database (Registration ID: CRD42015029240)

Endothelial SARS-CoV-2 infection is not the underlying cause of COVID-19-associated vascular pathology in mice

Endothelial damage and vascular pathology have been recognized as major features of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. Two main theories regarding how severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) damages endothelial cells and causes vascular pathology have been proposed: direct viral infection of endothelial cells or indirect damage mediated by circulating inflammatory molecules and immune mechanisms. However, these proposed mechanisms remain largely untested in vivo. In the present study, we utilized a set of new mouse genetic tools developed in our lab to test both the necessity and sufficiency of endothelial human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (hACE2) in COVID-19 pathogenesis. Our results demonstrate that endothelial ACE2 and direct infection of vascular endothelial cells do not contribute significantly to the diverse vascular pathology associated with COVID-19