Untersuchung der Wahrnehmung des Klimawandels im Alltag und seiner Folgen für Konsumverhalten und Vulnerabilität in der Nordwest-Region

Im Rahmen einer explorativen Studie wurden in 'nordwest2050' drei Untersuchungsgruppen nach ihrer Wahrnehmung von Klimawandel und Preisentwicklungen befragt und die Folgen insbesondere für das Konsumverhalten untersucht. Die empirischen Ergebnisse geben Aufschluss über die Sicht von KonsumentInnen auf Klimaschutz und Klimaanpassung, die Bewertung klimawandelbezogener Chancen und Risiken für die Region sowie die Einschätzung einzelner klimawandelbezogener Innovationen in den Konsumbereichen Energie, Ernährung und Mobilität

Policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in West Africa: a scoping review protocol

Introduction Four years after the devastating Ebola outbreak, governments in West Africa were quick to implement non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) in response to the rapid spread of SARS-CoV-2. The NPIs implemented included physical distancing, closure of schools and businesses, restrictions on public gatherings and mandating the use of face masks among others. In the absence of widely available vaccinations, NPIs were the only known means to try to slow the spread of COVID-19. While numerous studies have assessed the effectiveness of these NPIs in high-income countries, less is known about the processes that lead to the adoption of policies and the factors that influence their implementation and adherence in low-income and middle-income countries. The objective of this scoping review is to understand the extent and type of evidence in relation to the policy formulation, decision-making and implementation stages of NPIs in West Africa. Methods and analysis A scoping review will be undertaken following the guidance developed by Arskey and O’Malley, the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) methodology for scoping reviews and the PRISMA guidelines for Scoping Reviews. Both peer-reviewed and grey literature will be searched using Web of Science, Embase, Scopus, APA PsycInfo, WHO Institutional Repository for Information Sharing, JSTOR and Google Advanced Search, and by searching the websites of the WHO, and the West African Health Organisation. Screening will be conducted by two reviewers based on inclusion and exclusion criteria, and data will be extracted, coded and narratively synthesised. Ethics and dissemination We started this scoping review in May 2023, and anticipate finishing by April 2024. Ethics approval is not required since we are not collecting primary data. This protocol was registered at Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/gvek2/). We plan to disseminate this research through publications, conference presentations and upcoming West African policy dialogues on pandemic preparedness and response

Rethinking Child Protection in Emergencies

The humanitarian system is struggling to adapt to changes in the global political environment, trends in armed conflict and displacement, and advances in science and technology. In recent years, the international community has undertaken a number of efforts to overcome these challenges, such as the Agenda for Humanity, a plan that outlines the changes needed to alleviate suffering, reduce risk, and lessen vulnerability on a global scale. This article reviews recent evidence from a range of disciplines to inform these efforts, especially as they relate to the protection of children. Early childhood and adolescence constitute two critical periods of child development that lay the foundations for future health and wellbeing. Exposure to adversity in crisis contexts can compromise this development, with potentially life-long consequences. Evidence suggests that relationships with caregivers and peers play a central role in mediating childhood experiences of adversity. Unfortunately, interventions for children affected by crises are usually too fragmented to maximize the protective effects of healthy relationships. This article stresses the importance of developing multisectoral and relational interventions capable of promoting healthy development across the life course. Given the central role of caregivers, the household is an especially powerful level of intervention for combining approaches from different sectors. More concerted efforts are needed to develop household interventions that combine traditional sectoral approaches with innovative, cross-cutting measures, such as cash transfers and parental support. Household interventions should also be an integral part of broader community and society level actions, which together form more comprehensive systems of care

Evolutionary Origins and Molecular Mechanisms of Hostplant Adaption in Lepidopteran Herbivores

Although the defensive and counter-defensive molecules underlying many ecological interactions are known, the genetic mechanisms controlling these molecules are often unknown. Knowledge of these mechanisms, as well as the selective forces and adaptations that have shaped them, is necessary if we are to understand the evolution of ecological interactions. In the thesis presented here the molecular mechanisms underlying two plantinsect interaction systems were investigated. Adaptive mutations allowing an insect to utilize a new food plant can have different molecular origins, affecting the regulatory regions as well as the coding sequence of genes. In general it is assumed that phase I and phase II enzymes are important in insects to detoxify plant allelochemicals, but detailed knowledge is still scarce. The first system involves the Pieridae butterflies and the Brassicaceae plants that have been in a coevolutionary arms race for about 80 million years. To circumvent the activated defense system of the plants, the Pieridae caterpillars posses a unique detoxifying enzyme called Nitrile-specifier protein (NSP), that redirects the hydrolysis of glucosinolates to less toxic nitriles rather than the toxic isothiocyanates in the caterpillar gut. Here the molecular origins of this novel detoxifying mechanism were investigated. It was found that NSP is a member of an insect specific gene family, called the NSP-like gene family. Members of this family consist of variable tandem repeats, are expressed in the gut lumen of the insect and are evolving in an ongoing birth-death process. NSP and its paralog MA evolved through two tandem duplications of the single domain gene SDMA in the Pieridae caterpillars that feed on glucosinolate containing plants. While gene duplication is a common mechanism to adapt to new environments, the molecular evolution of NSP provides a rare example of proven neofunctionalization after duplication. Future research on location, mode of action and genomic location of NSP are necessary to shed light on the mechanism of duplication and neofunctionalization that gave rise to NSP and MA

Die Beurteilung von pädiatrischen Röntgenbildern des Ellbogens durch die künstliche Intelligenz Software BoneView

Hintergrund und Fragestellung: Eine korrekte Diagnostik von pädiatrischen Ellbogenfrakturen in einer Notfallstation ist essenziell. Die Beurteilung pädiatrischer Röntgenbilder ist aufgrund alterstypischer Veränderungen des wachsenden Skeletts komplexer, verglichen mit Röntgenbildern von Erwachsenen. Als Hilfe zur Frakturbeurteilung kommt die Anwendung der künstlichen Intelligenz in Frage. In dieser Studie möchte ich den Nutzen der Software BoneView von GLEAMER, einem Programm für die Anwendung der künstlichen Intelligenz in der Radiologie, für pädiatrische Ellbogenfrakturen prüfen. Methoden: Für diese Arbeit wurden sämtliche Röntgenbilder des Ellbogengelenkes von Patienten der Notfallstation des Universitäts-Kinderspitals Zürich chronologisch rückwärts vom 31.12.2021 beurteilt, bis rund 1000 Röntgenbilder eingeschlossen waren. Die Bilder sind samt der Befunde im PACS (= Picture Archiving and Communication System) abgelegt. Es wurden Daten zum Alter und Geschlecht der Patienten, dem Frakturtyp (AO-Klassifikation) und dem Vorhandensein einer Fraktur, eines Gelenkergusses oder einer Luxation gesammelt. Als Goldstandard galt die Beurteilung durch Fachärztinnen für pädiatrische Radiologie. Anschliessend wurden die Bilder anonymisiert an die Software BoneView geschickt und von dieser beurteilt. Die Beurteilungen durch BoneView bezüglich Frakturen, Ergüssen und Luxationen wurden notiert und mit dem Goldstandard verglichen. Resultate: 989 Röntgenbilder von Kindern zwischen 0 und 16 Jahren wurden für die Analyse berücksichtigt. Das Durchschnittsalter betrug 7,8 Jahre. Das Geschlecht der Patienten war zu 45% weiblich und zu 55% männlich. Die Software erkannte Frakturen mit einer Sensitivität von 77.5% und einer Spezifität von 76,7%. Für die Erkennung von Luxationen fanden wir eine Sensitivität von 58,6%. Dorsale Ellbogenergüsse als sekundäre Frakturzeichen bei radiologisch nicht erkennbaren Frakturen erkannte die Software mit einer Sensitivität von 46,2% und einer Spezifität von 91,1%. Schlussfolgerungen: Die Leistung der Software BoneView ist bei der Beurteilung von Ellbogenfrakturen, Ellbogenluxationen und Ellbogenergüssen momentan ungenügend. GLEAMER sollte die Software verbessern. Anschliessend müsste man in einer Folgestudie, die Leistung der Software neu beurteilen

Technical feasibility and clinical success of direct "free hand" EUS-guided gastroenterostomy in patients with gastric outlet obstruction

Background and study aims  Endoscopic ultrasound-guided gastroenterostomy (EUS-GE) with lumen-apposing metal stents (LAMS) appears to be a promising intervention in management of gastroduodenal out obstruction (GOO), particularly for patients for whom surgery is high risk or in a palliative setting. This study aimed to evaluate the technical feasibility, procedure-associated adverse events (AEs), and clinical outcome of direct "free hand" EUS-GE. Patients and methods  This retrospective two-center study included patients who underwent direct "free hand" EUS-GE (April 2017 to March 2021) investigating technical success (correctly placed LAMS), clinical outcome (successful oral nutrition), and management of procedure-associated AEs. "Free hand" was defined as the use of the electrocautery enhanced stent delivery system alone without additional guidewire-assistance for EUS-GE creation. Results  Forty-five patients (58 % women/42 % men; mean age 65 years) with malignant (n = 39), benign (n = 4) or unclear (n = 2) GOO underwent direct "free hand" EUS-GE. The technical success rate was 98 % (44/45). Of the patients, 95% (42/44) had less vomiting and increased ability to tolerate oral food intake after the intervention. In one patient, a second EUS-GE was necessary to achieve sufficient clinical improvement. Procedure-associated AEs were observed in 24 % (11/45) of cases including stent misplacement (n = 7), leakage (n = 1), development of a gastrojejunocolic fistula (n = 1), and bleeding (n = 2), which could be all managed endoscopically. Conclusions  Direct EUS-GE has a favorable risk-benefit profile for patients with GOO, showing high technical success rates, manageable AEs, and rapid symptom relief

Practice what you preach: The moderating role of teacher attitudes on the relationship between prejudice reduction and student engagement

The current study examined the relationship between teachers' prejudice reduction practices, focusing on dialogue about issues around diversity, and their students' engagement. We additionally investigated the potential moderation of this relationship by teachers' explicit multicultural attitudes and implicit attitudes towards ethnic minorities. Our multilevel models using 35 primary school teachers and 711 students showed that for teachers who reported above-average multicultural attitudes, prejudice reduction was positively associated with student engagement. Our results suggest that these teachers might not only promote multiculturalism as an abstract ideal, but they actually “walk the talk” and hence can improve educational lives of their students

Crystal chemical characterization of mullite-type aluminum borate compounds

Al-rich aluminum borates were prepared by different synthesis routes using various Al/B ratios, characterized by diffraction methods, spectroscopy and prompt gamma activation analysis. The 11B NMR data show a small amount of BO4 species in all samples. The chemical analysis indicates a trend in the Al/B ratio instead of a fixed composition. Both methods indicate a solid solution Al5−xB1+xO9 where Al is substituted by B in the range of 1–3%. The structure of B-rich Al4B2O9 (C2/m, a=1488 pm, b=553 pm, c=1502 pm, ß=90.6°), was re-investigated by electron diffraction methods, showing that structural details vary within a crystallite. In most of the domains the atoms are orderly distributed, showing no signal for the postulated channel oxygen atom O5. The absence of O5 is supported by density functional theory calculations. Other domains show a probable disordered configuration of O5 and O10, indicated by diffuse scattering along the b direction.17318

Phylogenetic relatedness and host plant growth form influence gene expression of the polyphagous comma butterfly (Polygonia c-album)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The mechanisms that shape the host plant range of herbivorous insect are to date not well understood but knowledge of these mechanisms and the selective forces that influence them can expand our understanding of the larger ecological interaction. Nevertheless, it is well established that chemical defenses of plants influence the host range of herbivorous insects. While host plant chemistry is influenced by phylogeny, also the growth forms of plants appear to influence the plant defense strategies as first postulated by Feeny (the "plant apparency" hypothesis). In the present study we aim to investigate the molecular basis of the diverse host plant range of the comma butterfly (<it>Polygonia c-album</it>) by testing differential gene expression in the caterpillars on three host plants that are either closely related or share the same growth form.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In total 120 genes were identified to be differentially expressed in <it>P. c-album </it>after feeding on different host plants, 55 of them in the midgut and 65 in the restbody of the caterpillars. Expression patterns could be confirmed with an independent method for 14 of 27 tested genes. Pairwise similarities in upregulation in the midgut of the caterpillars were higher between plants that shared either growth form or were phylogenetically related. No known detoxifying enzymes were found to be differently regulated in the midgut after feeding on different host plants.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our data suggest a complex picture of gene expression in response to host plant feeding. While each plant requires a unique gene regulation in the caterpillar, both phylogenetic relatedness and host plant growth form appear to influence the expression profile of the polyphagous comma butterfly, in agreement with phylogenetic studies of host plant utilization in butterflies.</p