RailDriVE - Ortung in der Spur

Das RailDriVE® eignet sich für vielerlei Nutzungszwecke für das DLR, Partner und Kunden. Das Spektrum reicht von der Entwicklungsbegleitung von neuen Ortungskomponenten in einer realen Umgebung im Eisenbahnbetrieb über die Untersuchung verschiedener Sensorkombinationen für unterschiedlichste Einsatzmöglichkeiten bis hin zur Erstellung von digitalen Streckenkarten

Screening red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) for possible viral causes of encephalitis

Background: Next to various known infectious and non-infectious causes, the aetiology of non-suppurative encephalitis in red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) often remains unclear. Known causes in foxes imply rabies, canine distemper, toxoplasmosis, Aujeszky’s disease, as well as parvovirus, adenovirus, circovirus and flavivirus infections. In this study, particular attention was paid on bornaviruses, since red foxes are predators of bicoloured white-toothed shrews, a reservoir of Borna disease virus 1 (BoDV-1). In addition, foxes are known to be highly susceptible for viruses of the order Mononegavirales. Methods: Analyses for the presence of anti-BoDV-1 antibodies, BoDV-1-RNA and antigen were performed on 225 blood and 59 brain samples, from a total of 232 red foxes. Foxes originated from BoDV-1 endemic and non-endemic German areas. Additional investigations for the presence of rabies, canine distemper, toxoplasmosis, Aujeszky’s disease, parvovirus, adenovirus and flavivirus infections were carried out on 16 red foxes with non-suppurative (meningo-) encephalitis. A metagenomic analysis was used on three representative brain samples displaying encephalitis. Results: Among 225 foxes, 37 displayed anti-BoDV-1 antibodies with titres ranging between 1:40 and 1:2560, regardless of geographic origin. In 6 out of 16 foxes with encephalitis, canine distemper virus was detected. No evidence of any of the other investigated agents was found in the 16 fox brains with encephalitis. Metagenomics revealed no infectious agents, except for one already known canine distemper case. Conclusion: Red foxes can exhibit BoDV-1 specific antibodies without association with geographic origin or encephalitis due to bornavirus infection. The encephalitis pattern was highly conspicuous for a viral infection, but remained unclear in 10 out of 16 foxes. Thus, presently unknown infectious and non-infectious causes need to be considered and further investigated, especially since foxes also tend to occur in human proximity

Dose-dependent T-cell Dynamics and Cytokine Cascade Following rVSV-ZEBOV Immunization.

BACKGROUND: The recent West African Ebola epidemic led to accelerated efforts to test Ebola vaccine candidates. As part of the World Health Organisation-led VSV Ebola Consortium (VEBCON), we performed a phase I clinical trial investigating rVSV-ZEBOV (a recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus-vectored Ebola vaccine), which has recently demonstrated protection from Ebola virus disease (EVD) in phase III clinical trials and is currently in advanced stages of licensing. So far, correlates of immune protection are incompletely understood and the role of cell-mediated immune responses has not been comprehensively investigated to date. METHODS: We recruited 30 healthy subjects aged 18-55 into an open-label, dose-escalation phase I trial testing three doses of rVSV-ZEBOV (3×105 plaque-forming units (PFU), 3×106 PFU, 2×107 PFU) (ClinicalTrials.gov; NCT02283099). Main study objectives were safety and immunogenicity, while exploratory objectives included lymphocyte dynamics, cell-mediated immunity and cytokine networks, which were assessed using flow cytometry, ELISpot and LUMINEX assay. FINDINGS: Immunization with rVSV-ZEBOV was well tolerated without serious vaccine-related adverse events. Ebola virus-specific neutralizing antibodies were induced in nearly all individuals. Additionally, vaccinees, particularly within the highest dose cohort, generated Ebola glycoprotein (GP)-specific T cells and initiated a cascade of signaling molecules following stimulation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells with Ebola GP peptides. INTERPRETATION: In addition to a benign safety and robust humoral immunogenicity profile, subjects immunized with 2×107 PFU elicited higher cellular immune responses and stronger interlocked cytokine networks compared to lower dose groups. To our knowledge these data represent the first detailed cell-mediated immuneprofile of a clinical trial testing rVSV-ZEBOV, which is of particular interest in light of its potential upcoming licensure as the first Ebola vaccine. VEBCON trial Hamburg, Germany (NCT02283099)

Identification of a novel coronavirus in patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome

BACKGROUND: The severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) has recently been identified as a new clinical entity. SARS is thought to be caused by an unknown infectious agent. METHODS: Clinical specimens from patients with SARS were searched for unknown viruses with the use of cell cultures and molecular techniques. RESULTS: A novel coronavirus was identified in patients with SARS. The virus was isolated in cell culture, and a sequence 300 nucleotides in length was obtained by a polymerase-chain-reaction (PCR)-based random-amplification procedure. Genetic characterization indicated that the virus is only distantly related to known coronaviruses (identical in 50 to 60 percent of the nucleotide sequence). On the basis of the obtained sequence, conventional and real-time PCR assays for specific and sensitive detection of the novel virus were established. Virus was detected in a variety of clinical specimens from patients with SARS but not in controls. High concentrations of viral RNA of up to 100 million molecules per milliliter were found in sputum. Viral RNA was also detected at extremely low concentrations in plasma during the acute phase and in feces during the late convalescent phase. Infected patients showed seroconversion on the Vero cells in which the virus was isolated. CONCLUSIONS: The novel coronavirus might have a role

Dutch Spatial Planning: The Coordination of Compact Development and Affordable Housing

This case study combines elements of exploration and description to examine the interaction of growth management and housing affordability within the Dutch system of spatial planning. In Section I, I introduce the research framework and pose the central research question: How do planners and policymakers in the Netherlands conceptualize and manage the relationship between land and housing markets, and the effects of that relationship on housing affordability? In Section II, I provide an overview of Dutch spatial planning, focusing on planning and policymaking at the national and municipal levels, and summarizing the postwar-era bundled deconcentration approach to growth management. Section III covers the economic and political shifts of the 1980s and early 1990s, a period that marked the end of bundled deconcentration and ushered in the compact city approach to spatial planning. In Section IV, I introduce contemporary issues of land scarcity and housing supply stagnation and summarize my primary interview findings. In Section V, I elaborate on my interview findings and discuss the broader perspectives offered by Dutch planners and economists. Finally, in Section VI, I conclude the case study with a review of findings, final reflections, and suggestions for future research

Die Semantik anaphorischer Pronomen : Deskriptive singuläre Terme und E-type Pronomen

E-type Pronomen bilden eine besondere Klasse anaphorischer Pronomen, die semantisch zu den deskriptiven singulären Termen zählen. Deskriptive singuläre Terme sind bezeichnende Ausdrücke, deren Bezug durch eine rein deskriptive Kennzeichnung festgelegt ist. In der Linguistik und der Sprachphilosophie sind sowohl der auf Gareth Evans zurückgehende Begriff eines E-type Pronomens, als auch der Begriff eines deskriptiven singulären Terms selber, höchst umstritten. In dieser Arbeit geht es deshalb zunächst darum, eine auf Evans' Überlegungen aufbauende kohärente Konzeption deskriptiver singulärer Terme zu entwickeln, und diese Konzeption auf E-type Pronomen zu übertragen. Im Anschluss geht es darum zu zeigen, wie sich mit einem aufgeklärtem Verständnis dieser Begriffe zahlreiche mit solchen Ausdrücken verbundene semantische Probleme lösen lassen

Isolierte koronare Bypass-Operation jenseits der achten Lebensdekade:Identifizierung von prä- und perioperativen Risikofaktoren des Kurz- und Langzeitüberlebens

Demographischer Wandel und technischer Fortschritt haben zu einer Veränderung der Patientenstruktur in der Herzchirurgie geführt. Zunehmend multimorbide Patienten im hohen Lebensalter geraten in den Mittelpunkt der Koronarchirurgie. Aus diesem Grund wurden die Daten von 365 Patienten im Alter über 80 Jahren ausgewertet, die am Universitätsklinikum Münster zwischen dem 01.01.2000 und dem 31.12.2008 eine koronare Bypass-OP erhalten haben. Das durchschnittliche Alter betrug 82,5 Jahre. Die 30-Tage-Mortalität betrug 10,8%. In der Analyse des Kurzzeitüberlebens zeigten sich die Notfall-Indikation, das Vorliegen einer PAVK und die perioperative IABP-Anwendung als Risikofaktoren. In der Auswertung des Langzeitüberlebens zeigten sich das Vorliegen von Untergewicht, Übergewicht, die Notfall-Indikation, die reduzierte und schlechte LV-Funktion, die PAVK, Herzrhythmusstörungen, eine unvollständige Revaskularisation und die perioperative IABP-Anlage als unabhängige Risikofaktoren

Rezidivverhalten und klinischer Verlauf von atypischen und malignen Meningeomen im Vergleich zu benignen Meningeomen unter Berücksichtigung der Vollständigkeit der operativen Resektion

Um den Unterschied zwischen atypischen und malignen Meningeomen und benignen Meningeomen in Bezug auf das Rezidivverhalten sowie den klinischen Verlauf darzustellen, wurde eine retrospektive Studie mit 310 operierten Patienten durchgeführt. Der klinische Verlauf der atypischen und malignen Meningeome unterscheidet sich nicht grundlegend von dem der benignen Meningeome, es blieb jedoch kein Patient mit einem atypischen/malignen Meningeom symptomfrei. Die wichtigste Einflussgröße auf das Rezidivverhalten ist der Grad der Malignität, gefolgt vom Vollständigkeitsgrad der Operation. Die Lokalisation stellt eine indirekte Einflussgröße dar. Die Rezidivrate der atypischen und malignen Meningeome signifikant höher ist als die der Benignen

Differential effects of glycoprotein B epitope-specific antibodies on human cytomegalovirus-induced cell–cell fusion

Attachment of, and cell–cell fusion induced by, human cytomegalovirus were studied in the presence of neutralizing monospecific antibodies against antigenic domains 1 (AD-1) or 2 (AD-2) of glycoprotein B (gB, gpUL55). Efficient inhibition of the virion-mediated fusion event was consistently observed for the human AD-2-specific antibody as determined by a reporter gene activation assay based on permissive astrocytoma cells. In contrast, antibodies directed against the major neutralizing gB epitope AD-1 reduced fusion only by 20–60 %. Virus attachment via heparan sulfate was unaffected by the antibodies under the conditions used. Virus receptor binding as examined by heparin treatment of adsorbed virus was significantly reduced only if the virus had been coated with the AD-2-specific antibody. Neutralization of virus infectivity by the AD-2-specific antibody thus seems most likely to result from interference with a receptor-binding event during initial virus–host cell interaction

Implementing the Patient Needs in Asthma Treatment (NEAT) questionnaire in routine care:a qualitative study among patients and health professionals

Abstract Background Many patients with asthma report unmet health care needs. The Patient Needs in Asthma Treatment (NEAT) questionnaire is a validated instrument to quantify these unmet needs. We explored how health professionals evaluated the instrument’s utility as well as patients’ and professionals’ perspectives of how NEAT could be incorporated into routine clinical practice. Methods Qualitative interviews were conducted by telephone between February and September 2021 with 19 patients with asthma and 21 health professionals (i.e., general practitioners, pneumologists, health professionals in pulmonary rehabilitation, and medical assistants). Interview recordings were transcribed verbatim and content-analyzed using both deductive and inductive approaches using MAXQDA. Results Health professionals could see the potential value of using NEAT to inform clinical decisions. However, health professionals tended to be skeptical towards the routine use of NEAT in outpatient settings, mainly due to a lack of time. Implementation of NEAT was seen as more valuable in the context of patient education (i.e., in Disease Management Programs [DMPs] or pulmonary rehabilitation) by patients and health professionals alike, because it offered greater opportunities to address any unmet needs identified. Both patients and health professionals considered it more useful to use the questionnaire for the first time some time after the initial diagnosis has been made (e.g., when the treatment regime is found rather than at time of initial diagnosis). In the context of DMPs and pulmonary rehabilitation, NEAT could be used twice, i.e., before and after patient education to support patient-centered planning and evaluation. Conclusion Both patients and health professionals consider the use of the NEAT, in particular in educational programs (i.e., during DMPs or pulmonary rehabilitation), as feasible and useful. There is now a need to undertake a feasibility trial in routine care