Die Formation des literarischen Humors

An Texten von Laurence Sterne, Jean Paul, Joseph von Eichendorff und Heinrich Heine untersucht Dieter Hörhammer in seiner interdisziplinären Studie sowohl Form als auch Genese des humoristischen Romans. Die psychoanalytischen Interpretationen entdecken dabei eine Textstruktur, in der sich das Muster bürgerlicher Subjektivität abzeichnet. Deren notorischer Konflikt zwischen konkreter Lebenserfahrung und dem davon mythisch abgehobenen Humanitätsideal bildet den impliziten Angriffspunkt des literarischen Humors. Er gewinnt symptomatische Bedeutung, indem er die chronische Spannung im liberalen Menschenbild vorübergehend aufhebt durch die Präsentation einer Figur, an der die widersprüchlichen Faktoren auf ambivalente Weise exponiert werden. Der Band erscheint bei transcript in erweiterter Neuauflage mit aktualisierter theoretischer Kontextualisierung

Finite quantum dissipation: the challenge of obtaining specific heat

We consider a free particle coupled with finite strength to a bath and investigate the evaluation of its specific heat. A harmonic oscillator bath of Drude type with cutoff frequency omega_D is employed to model an ohmic friction force with dissipation strength gamma. Two scenarios for obtaining specific heat are presented. The first one uses the measurement of the kinetic energy of the free particle while the second one is based on the reduced partition function. Both descriptions yield results which are consistent with the Third Law of thermodynamics. Nevertheless, the two methods produce different results that disagree even in their leading quantum corrections at high temperatures. We also consider the regime where the cutoff frequency is smaller than the friction strength, i.e. omega_D<gamma. There, we encounter puzzling results at low temperatures where the specific heat based on the thermodynamic prescription becomes negative. This anomaly is rooted in an ill-defined density of states of the damped free particle which assumes unphysical negative values when gamma/omega_D>1.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figure

Field-induced dynamics in the quantum Brownian oscillator: An exact treatment

We consider a quantum linear oscillator coupled to a bath in equilibrium at an arbitrary temperature and then exposed to an external field arbitrary in form and strength. We then derive the reduced density operator in closed form of the coupled oscillator in a non-equilibrium state at an arbitrary time.Comment: Accepted for publication in Physics Letters

Leaders' support for using online symptom checkers in Finnish primary care : Survey study

Online symptom checkers (SCs) are eHealth solutions that offer healthcare organizations the possibility to empower their patients to independently assess their symptoms. The successful implementation of eHealth solutions, such as SCs, requires a supportive organizational culture and leadership. However, there is limited knowledge about the factors associated with leaders' support for the use of SCs. The aim of the study was to identify the factors associated to primary care leaders' support for SCs in triage and their experiences of the benefits and challenges related to the use of SCs. An online survey was used to collect data from 84 Finnish primary care leaders. The data were analyzed using statistical analysis methods and content analysis. Vision clarity, perceiving efficiency improvements, and considering the service to be beneficial for patients were associated with leaders' support for the service (beta ranging from 0.41 to 0.44, p < 0.001). Leaders' support for the service was also associated with how well the leaders provided information about the service to their subordinates (beta =0.22, p < 0.048). SCs present slightly more challenges than benefits regarding health professionals' work. The developers of SCs should focus more on features that decrease health professionals' workload as well as how the solution can benefit patients.Peer reviewe

Thermodynamics of quantum Brownian motion with internal degrees of freedom: the role of entanglement in the strong-coupling quantum regime

We study the influence of entanglement on the relation between the statistical entropy of an open quantum system and the heat exchanged with a low temperature environment. A model of quantum Brownian motion of the Caldeira-Leggett type - for which a violation of the Clausius inequality has been stated by Th.M. Nieuwenhuizen and A.E. Allahverdyan [Phys. Rev. E 66, 036102 (2002)] - is reexamined and the results of the cited work are put into perspective. In order to address the problem from an information theoretical viewpoint a model of two coupled Brownian oscillators is formulated that can also be viewed as a continuum version of a two-qubit system. The influence of an additional internal coupling parameter on heat and entropy changes is described and the findings are compared to the case of a single Brownian particle.Comment: 10 pages, 11 figure

Health self-management of older employees: identifying critical peak experiences of a patient portal

Digitalization could provide efficient and cost-effective health and well-being services to the rapidly aging population. However, digital services do not always meet their needs. We investigated the experiences and service needs of older employees by collecting quantitative and qualitative data through a survey (n = 497). The results suggested a negative association between user satisfaction and age during retirement transition. Peak experiences were meaningful, explaining a 26% variation in the overall evaluation of the portal. The negative peak experiences concerned poorly functioning features, and the positive ones the ability to take care of one’s health smoothly and easily. The respondents had high expectations for functionality, efficiency, and ease of use. They wanted more support for self-managing health: controlling weight, sleeping, recovery, and exercising

Information and entropy in quantum Brownian motion: Thermodynamic entropy versus von Neumann entropy

We compare the thermodynamic entropy of a quantum Brownian oscillator derived from the partition function of the subsystem with the von Neumann entropy of its reduced density matrix. At low temperatures we find deviations between these two entropies which are due to the fact that the Brownian particle and its environment are entangled. We give an explanation for these findings and point out that these deviations become important in cases where statements about the information capacity of the subsystem are associated with thermodynamic properties, as it is the case for the Landauer principle.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figure

Eight-year post-trial follow-up of morbidity and mortality of telephone health coaching

Publisher Copyright: © 2021, The Author(s).Background: Health coaching is a patient-centred approach to supporting self-management for the chronic conditions. However, long-term evidence of effectiveness of health coaching remains scarce. The object of this study was to evaluate the long-term effect of telephone health coaching (THC) on mortality and morbidity among people with type 2 diabetes (T2D), coronary artery disease (CAD) and congestive heart failure (CHF). Methods: 1535 T2D, CAD and CHF patients with unmet treatment targets were randomly allocated into an intervention group (n = 1034) and control group (n = 501). Intervention group received monthly individual strength-based, autonomy supportive THC sessions (average 30 min) for behavior change with a specially trained nurse for 12 months additional to usual health care. Control group received usual health care services. The primary outcome was a composite of death from cardiovascular causes or non-fatal stroke or non-fatal myocardial infarction (AMI) or unstable angina pectoris (UAP) during a follow-up of 8 years Three other composite endpoints with distinct combinations of fatal and non-fatal cardiovascular events and death from any cause were used as secondary outcomes. Other outcomes followed were the most relevant components of the composite endpoints. Randomized controlled trial (RCT) data was linked to Finnish national health and social care registries and electronic health records (EHR). Post-trial eight-year evaluation was conducted using intention-to-treat (ITT) and per-protocol (PP) analysis. Results: The composite primary outcome event rate per 100 person years was lower in the intervention group (3.45) than in control group (3.88) in ITT -analysis, but the difference was not statistically significant (hazard ratio in the intervention group 0.87; 95% CI, 0.71 to 1.07; P = 0.19). In the subgroup (T2D, CAD/CHF) analysis, there were no statistically significant effects. The secondary PP-analysis showed statistically significant benefits for those who participated in the study. Conclusions: No statistically significant effect of health coaching on mortality and morbidity was found in intention to treat analysis. The per protocol results suggest, however, that the intervention may be effective among patients who are willing and able to participate in health coaching. More research is needed to identify patients most likely to benefit from low-intensity health coaching. Trial registration: NCT00552903 (registration date: the 1st of November 2007, updated the 3rd of February 2009).Peer reviewe