2,638 research outputs found
Quality Appraisal of Ambulatory Oral Cephalosporin and Fluoroquinolone Use in the 16 German Federal States from 2014-2019.
Background: Despite concerns about causing bacterial resistance and serious side effects, oral cephalosporins and fluoroquinolones are still frequently prescribed in Germany. We aimed to test a method for the detection of regional quality differences in the use of oral cephalosporins and fluoroquinolones and to apply this to the German federal states. Methods: Use of antibiotics from 2014–2019 was analyzed using dispensing data from community pharmacies claimed to the statutory health insurance (SHI) funds. Quality of regional antibiotic use in 2019 was assessed by calculating indicators based on defined daily doses per 1000 SHI-insured persons per day (DID). Oral cephalosporin and fluoroquinolone use was followed by linear regression analyses. Results: The method used was suitable to find meaningful quality differences in ambulatory oral cephalosporin and fluoroquinolone use between the German federal states. In 2019, DID varied from 1.62 in Brandenburg to 3.17 in Rhineland-Palatinate for cephalosporins and from 0.47 in Brandenburg to 0.89 in Saarland for fluoroquinolones. The city-states Hamburg, Bremen, and Berlin showed highest quality with the applied indicator set. From 2014–2019, a significant decrease in utilization of oral cephalosporins was found in all federal states. During 2017–2019, all states showed a significant decline of fluoroquinolone us
Studies of aging and HV break down problems during development and operation of MSGC and GEM detectors for the Inner Tracking System of HERA-B
The results of five years of development of the inner tracking system of the
HERA-B experiment and first experience from the data taking period of the year
2000 are reported. The system contains 184 chambers, covering a sensitive area
of about 20 * 20 cm2 each. The detector is based on microstrip gas counters
(MSGCs) with diamond like coated (DLC) glass wafers and gas electron
multipliers (GEMs). The main problems in the development phase were gas
discharges in intense hadron beams and aging in a high radiation dose
environment. The observation of gas discharges which damage the electrode
structure of the MSGC led to the addition of the GEM as a first amplification
step. Spurious sparking at the GEM cannot be avoided completely. It does not
affect the GEM itself but can produce secondary damage of the MSGC if the
electric field between the GEM and the MSGC is above a threshold depending on
operation conditions. We observed that aging does not only depend on the dose
but also on the spot size of the irradiated area. Ar-DME mixtures had to be
abandoned whereas a mixture of 70% Ar and 30% CO2 showed no serious aging
effects up to about 40 mC/cm deposited charge on the anodes. X-ray measurements
indicate that the DLC of the MSGC is deteriorated by the gas amplification
process. As a consequence, long term gain variations are expected. The Inner
Tracker has successfully participated in the data taking at HERA-B during
summer 2000.Comment: 29 pages, 22 figure
Spin dynamics in p-doped semiconductor nanostructures subject to a magnetic field tilted from the Voigt geometry
We develop a theoretical description of the spin dynamics of resident holes
in a p-doped semiconductor quantum well (QW) subject to a magnetic field tilted
from the Voigt geometry. We find the expressions for the signals measured in
time-resolved Faraday rotation (TRFR) and resonant spin amplification (RSA)
experiments and study their behavior for a range of system parameters. We find
that an inversion of the RSA peaks can occur for long hole spin dephasing times
and tilted magnetic fields. We verify the validity of our theoretical findings
by performing a series of TRFR and RSA experiments on a p-modulation doped
GaAs/Al_{0.3}Ga_{0.7}As single QW and showing that our model can reproduce
experimentally observed signals.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures; corrected typo
Light Meson Dynamics Workshop. Mini proceedings
The mini-proceedings of the Light Meson Dynamics Workshop held in Mainz from
February 10th to 12th, 2014, are presented. The web page of the conference,
which contains all talks, can be found at
https://indico.cern.ch/event/287442/overview .Comment: 46 pages, 17 contributions. Editors: W. Gradl, P. Masjuan, M.
Ostrick, and S. Schere
Secreted Frizzled-related Protein 2 (sFRP2) Redirects Non-canonical Wnt Signaling from Fz7 to Ror2 during Vertebrate Gastrulation
This is the final version of the article. Available from American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology via the DOI in this record.Convergent extension movements during vertebrate gastrulation require a balanced activity of non-canonical Wnt signaling pathways, but the factors regulating this interplay on the molecular level are poorly characterized. Here we show that sFRP2, a member of the secreted frizzled-related protein (sFRP) family, is required for morphogenesis and papc expression during Xenopus gastrulation. We further provide evidence that sFRP2 redirects non-canonical Wnt signaling from Frizzled 7 (Fz7) to the receptor tyrosine kinase-like orphan receptor 2 (Ror2). During this process, sFRP2 promotes Ror2 signal transduction by stabilizing Wnt5a-Ror2 complexes at the membrane, whereas it inhibits Fz7 signaling, probably by blocking Fz7 receptor endocytosis. The cysteine-rich domain of sFRP2 is sufficient for Ror2 activation, and related sFRPs can substitute for this function. Notably, direct interaction of the two receptors via their cysteine-rich domains also promotes Ror2-mediated papc expression but inhibits Fz7 signaling. We propose that sFRPs can act as a molecular switch, channeling the signal input for different non-canonical Wnt pathways during vertebrate gastrulation
Learnings from Regional Market Dynamics of Originator and Biosimilar Infliximab and Etanercept in Germany.
Drug budget and prescription control measures are implemented regionally in Germany, meaning that the uptake of pharmaceuticals, including biosimilars, can vary by region. We examine regional market dynamics of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) inhibitor originators and biosimilars in Germany and studied the influence of biosimilar policies on these dynamics. This study is based on: (1) a literature review in which German biosimilar policies are identified, (2) the analysis of dispensing data (2010-2018) for the class of TNFα inhibitors, and (3) ten semi-structured interviews investigating prescribers' and insurers' views on factors potentially influencing biosimilar uptake. The analysis of biosimilar market shares of infliximab and etanercept revealed wide variations across the 17 German Regional Associations of Statutory Health Insurance Accredited Physicians (PA regions). Quantitative analyses indicated that biosimilar market shares for infliximab and etanercept were significantly lower in former East Germany when compared to former West Germany regions. Through qualitative interview analyses, this study showed that the use of infliximab and etanercept biosimilars across Germany is primarily influenced by (1) the regional-level implementation of biosimilar quotas and the presence of monitoring/sanctioning mechanisms to ensure adherence to these quotas, (2) the different insurer-manufacturer discount contracts, and (3) gainsharing arrangements established at the insurer-prescriber level
Issues and Opportunities in Exotic Hadrons
The last few years have been witness to a proliferation of new results
concerning heavy exotic hadrons. Experimentally, many new signals have been
discovered that could be pointing towards the existence of tetraquarks,
pentaquarks, and other exotic configurations of quarks and gluons.
Theoretically, advances in lattice field theory techniques place us at the cusp
of understanding complex coupled-channel phenomena, modelling grows more
sophisticated, and effective field theories are being applied to an ever
greater range of situations. It is thus an opportune time to evaluate the
status of the field. In the following, a series of high priority experimental
and theoretical issues concerning heavy exotic hadrons is presented.Comment: White paper from INT workshop, "Modern Exotic Hadrons". References
added. Version to appear in Chinese Physics
Search for the Flavor-Changing Neutral Current Decay with the HERA-B Detector
We report on a search for the flavor-changing neutral current decay using events recorded with a dimuon trigger in
interactions of 920 GeV protons with nuclei by the HERA-B experiment. We find
no evidence for such decays and set a 90% confidence level upper limit on the
branching fraction .Comment: 17 pages, 4 figures (of which 1 double), paper to be submitted to
Physics Letters
Measurement of the transverse target and beam-target asymmetries in meson photoproduction at MAMI
We present new data for the transverse target asymmetry T and the very first
data for the beam-target asymmetry F in the
reaction up to a center-of-mass energy of W=1.9 GeV. The data were obtained
with the Crystal-Ball/TAPS detector setup at the Glasgow tagged photon facility
of the Mainz Microtron MAMI. All existing model predictions fail to reproduce
the new data indicating a significant impact on our understanding of the
underlying dynamics of meson photoproduction. The peculiar nodal
structure observed in existing T data close to threshold is not confirmed.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in PR
Open and Hidden Charm Production in 920 GeV Proton-Nucleus Collisions
The HERA-B collaboration has studied the production of charmonium and open
charm states in collisions of 920 GeV protons with wire targets of different
materials. The acceptance of the HERA-B spectrometer covers negative values of
xF up to xF=-0.3 and a broad range in transverse momentum from 0.0 to 4.8
GeV/c. The studies presented in this paper include J/psi differential
distributions and the suppression of J/psi production in nuclear media.
Furthermore, production cross sections and cross section ratios for open charm
mesons are discussed.Comment: 5 pages, 9 figures, to be published in the proceedings of the 6th
International Conference on Hyperons, Charm & Beauty Hadrons (BEACH04),
Chicago, IL, June 27 - July 3, 200
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