Samarbeid og sikkerhet i Arktis; hva er Arctic Security Forces Roundtable, hvorfor ble Arctic Security Forces Roundtable opprettet og kan Arctic Security Forces Roundtable på selvstendig grunnlag, eller som støtte for Arktisk Råd, fylle manglende styringsbehov innen samarbeid og sikkerhet i nordområdene?

Masteroppgave i samfunnsvitenskap - Nord universitet, 201

Correlations between Optical Properties and Voronoi-Cell Area of Quantum Dots

A semiconductor quantum dot (QD) can generate highly indistinguishable single-photons at a high rate. For application in quantum communication and integration in hybrid systems, control of the QD optical properties is essential. Understanding the connection between the optical properties of a QD and the growth process is therefore important. Here, we show for GaAs QDs, grown by infilling droplet-etched nano-holes, that the emission wavelength, the neutral-to-charged exciton splitting, and the diamagnetic shift are strongly correlated with the capture zone-area, an important concept from nucleation theory. We show that the capture-zone model applies to the growth of this system even in the limit of a low QD-density in which atoms diffuse over $\mu$m-distances. The strong correlations between the various QD parameters facilitate preselection of QDs for applications with specific requirements on the QD properties; they also suggest that a spectrally narrowed QD distribution will result if QD growth on a regular lattice can be achieved

Molecular cloning and functional expression of the Equine K+ channel KV11.1 (Ether à Go-Go-related/KCNH2 gene) and the regulatory subunit KCNE2 from equine myocardium

The KCNH2 and KCNE2 genes encode the cardiac voltage-gated K+ channel KV11.1 and its auxiliary β subunit KCNE2. KV11.1 is critical for repolarization of the cardiac action potential. In humans, mutations or drug therapy affecting the KV11.1 channel are associated with prolongation of the QT intervals on the ECG and increased risk of ventricular tachyarrhythmia and sudden cardiac death--conditions known as congenital or acquired Long QT syndrome (LQTS), respectively. In horses, sudden, unexplained deaths are a well-known problem. We sequenced the cDNA of the KCNH2 and KCNE2 genes using RACE and conventional PCR on mRNA purified from equine myocardial tissue. Equine KV11.1 and KCNE2 cDNA had a high homology to human genes (93 and 88%, respectively). Equine and human KV11.1 and KV11.1/KCNE2 were expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes and investigated by two-electrode voltage-clamp. Equine KV11.1 currents were larger compared to human KV11.1, and the voltage dependence of activation was shifted to more negative values with V1/2 = -14.2±1.1 mV and -17.3±0.7, respectively. The onset of inactivation was slower for equine KV11.1 compared to the human homolog. These differences in kinetics may account for the larger amplitude of the equine current. Furthermore, the equine KV11.1 channel was susceptible to pharmacological block with terfenadine. The physiological importance of KV11.1 was investigated in equine right ventricular wedge preparations. Terfenadine prolonged action potential duration and the effect was most pronounced at slow pacing. In conclusion, these findings indicate that horses could be disposed to both congenital and acquired LQTS

Optimizing Genetic Workup in Pheochromocytoma and Paraganglioma by Integrating Diagnostic and Research Approaches

Pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas (PPGL) are rare neuroendocrine tumors with a strong hereditary background and a large genetic heterogeneity. Identification of the underlying genetic cause is crucial for the management of patients and their families as it aids differentiation between hereditary and sporadic cases. To improve diagnostics and clinical management we tailored an enrichment based comprehensive multi-gene next generation sequencing panel applicable to both analyses of tumor tissue and blood samples. We applied this panel to tumor samples and compared its performance to our current routine diagnostic approach. Routine diagnostic sequencing of 11 PPGL susceptibility genes was applied to blood samples of 65 unselected PPGL patients at a single center in Dresden, Germany. Predisposing germline mutations were identified in 19 (29.2%) patients. Analyses of 28 PPGL tumor tissues using the dedicated PPGL panel revealed pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants in known PPGL susceptibility genes in 21 (75%) cases, including mutations in IDH2, ATRX and HRAS. These mutations suggest sporadic tumor development. Our results imply a diagnostic benefit from extended molecular tumor testing of PPGLs and consequent improvement of patient management. The approach is promising for determination of prognostic biomarkers that support therapeutic decision-making.Acknowledgments: We thank the patients and their families who have made this research possible. We want to thank JacquesW. Lenders for his support. We further thank Alexander Krüger, Lydia Rossow and Franziska Stübner for technical support as well as Katharina Langton and Uwe Siemon for their assistance in patient administration.S

Immunosenescence and Cytomegalovirus: where do we stand after a decade?

AbstractSince Looney at al. published their seminal paper a decade ago it has become clear that many of the differences in T cell immunological parameters observed between young and old people are related to the age-associated increasing prevalence of infection with the persistent beta-herpesvirus HHV-5 (Cytomegalovirus). Ten years later, studies suggest that hallmark age-associated changes in peripheral blood T cell subset distribution may not occur at all in people who are not infected with this virus. Whether the observed changes are actually caused by CMV is an open question, but very similar, rapid changes observed in uninfected patients receiving CMV-infected kidney grafts are consistent with a causative role. This meeting intensively discussed these and other questions related to the impact of CMV on human immune status and its relevance for immune function in later life.RIGHTS : This article is licensed under the BioMed Central licence at http://www.biomedcentral.com/about/license which is similar to the 'Creative Commons Attribution Licence'. In brief you may : copy, distribute, and display the work; make derivative works; or make commercial use of the work - under the following conditions: the original author must be given credit; for any reuse or distribution, it must be made clear to others what the license terms of this work are

Prioritising topics for developing e-learning resources in healthcare curricula: A comparison between students and educators using a modified Delphi survey

Background Engaging students in the e-learning development process enhances the effective implementation of e-learning, however, students’ priority on the topics for e-learning may differ from that of the educators. This study aims to compare the differences between the students and their educators in prioritising the topics in three healthcare curricula for reusable e-learning object (RLO) development. Method A modified Delphi study was conducted among students and educators from University Malaya (UM), Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) and Taylor’s University (TU) on three undergraduate programmes. In Round 1, participants were asked to select the topics from the respective syllabi to be developed into RLOs. Priority ranking was determined by using frequencies and proportions. The first quartile of the prioritised topics was included in Round 2 survey, which the participants were asked to rate the level of priority of each topic using a 5-point Likert scale. The mean score of the topics was compared between students and educators. Result A total of 43 educators and 377 students participated in this study. For UM and TU Pharmacy, there was a mismatch in the prioritised topics between the students and educators. For UPM, both the educators and students have prioritised the same topics in both rounds. To harmonise the prioritisation of topics between students and educators for UM and TU Pharmacy, the topics with a higher mean score by both the students and educators were prioritised. Conclusion The mismatch in prioritised topics between students and educators uncovered factors that might influence the prioritisation process. This study highlighted the importance of conducting needs assessment at the beginning of eLearning resources development.publishedVersio

An assessment of the Arctic Ocean in a suite of interannual CORE-II simulations. Part III: Hydrography and fluxes

In this paper we compare the simulated Arctic Ocean in 15 global ocean–sea ice models in the framework of the Coordinated Ocean-ice Reference Experiments, phase II (CORE-II). Most of these models are the ocean and sea-ice components of the coupled climate models used in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) experiments. We mainly focus on the hydrography of the Arctic interior, the state of Atlantic Water layer and heat and volume transports at the gateways of the Davis Strait, the Bering Strait, the Fram Strait and the Barents Sea Opening. We found that there is a large spread in temperature in the Arctic Ocean between the models, and generally large differences compared to the observed temperature at intermediate depths. Warm bias models have a strong temperature anomaly of inflow of the Atlantic Water entering the Arctic Ocean through the Fram Strait. Another process that is not represented accurately in the CORE-II models is the formation of cold and dense water, originating on the eastern shelves. In the cold bias models, excessive cold water forms in the Barents Sea and spreads into the Arctic Ocean through the St. Anna Through. There is a large spread in the simulated mean heat and volume transports through the Fram Strait and the Barents Sea Opening. The models agree more on the decadal variability, to a large degree dictated by the common atmospheric forcing. We conclude that the CORE-II model study helps us to understand the crucial biases in the Arctic Ocean. The current coarse resolution state-of-the-art ocean models need to be improved in accurate representation of the Atlantic Water inflow into the Arctic and density currents coming from the shelves

Menschen schützen und unterstützen: warum Solidarität weiterhin gefragt ist in der Pandemie

Seit Beginn der Pandemie hat sich unser Fachwissen sowohl über die Ausbreitung des Virus als auch über Präventionsmaßnahmen vervielfacht. Tests, Impfungen und Therapien sind verfügbar und viele Fragestellungen durch die Erkenntnisse der letzten Jahre gelöst worden. Trotzdem bleibt die Entscheidungsfindung für Interventionen im Sinne der öffentlichen Gesundheit weiterhin eine Herausforderung. Dafür kann die unabhängige und interdisziplinäre Wissenschaft weiterhin wichtige Impulse setzen und Perspektiven liefern. Dieses Papier stellt einige zentrale Punkte zusammen, die aus einem intensiven Diskursprozess entstanden sind, der in den letzten Monaten unter den angeführten Expert*innen und Wissenschafter*innen verschiedener Disziplinen stattgefunden hat. Es besteht der Grundkonsens, dass eine gesundheitspolitische und ethische Notwendigkeit besteht, den Schutz jener Menschen im Blick zu behalten, welche anfälliger für schwere COVID-19 Krankheitsverläufe, als auch Long Covid sind, sowie deren Umfeld und generell im Hinblick auf Gesundheitsfragen vorsichtig agierende Personen. Dieses Papier soll Bewusstsein für die Thematik stärken, und Entscheidungsträger:innen sensibilisieren und darin unterstützen, diese Personenkreise in ihren Überlegungen im Blick zu behalten

Genotype-phenotype associations in a large PTEN Hamartoma Tumor Syndrome (PHTS) patient cohort

Background: Pathogenic PTEN germline variants cause PTEN Hamartoma Tumor Syndrome (PHTS), a rare disease with a variable genotype and phenotype. Knowledge about these spectra and genotype-phenotype associations could help diagnostics and potentially lead to personalized care. Therefore, we assessed the PHTS genotype and phenotype spectrum in a large cohort study. Methods: Information was collected of 510 index patients with pathogenic or likely pathogenic (LP/P) PTEN variants (n = 467) or variants of uncertain significance. Genotype-phenotype associations were assessed using logistic regression analyses adjusted for sex and age.Results: At time of genetic testing, the majority of children (n = 229) had macrocephaly (81%) or developmental delay (DD, 61%), and about half of the adults (n = 238) had cancer (51%), macrocephaly (61%), or cutaneous pathology (49%). Across PTEN, 268 LP/P variants were identified, with exon 5 as hotspot. Missense variants (n = 161) were mainly located in the phosphatase domain (PD, 90%) and truncating variants (n = 306) across all domains. A trend towards 2 times more often truncating variants was observed in adults (OR = 2.3, 95%CI = 1.5-3.4) and patients with cutaneous pathology (OR = 1.6, 95%CI = 1.1-2.5) or benign thyroid pathology (OR = 2.0, 95%CI = 1.1-3.5), with trends up to 2-4 times more variants in PD. Whereas patients with DD (OR = 0.5, 95%CI = 0.3-0.9) or macrocephaly (OR = 0.6, 95%CI = 0.4-0.9) had about 2 times less often truncating variants compared to missense variants. In DD patients these missense variants were often located in domain C2.Conclusion: The PHTS phenotypic diversity may partly be explained by the PTEN variant coding effect and the combination of coding effect and domain. PHTS patients with early-onset disease often had missense variants, and those with later-onset disease often truncating variants

Covid-19: Szenarien für Herbst/Winter 2022 – und darüber hinaus

Die vergangenen Monate haben dynamische Entwicklungen der Pandemie verdeutlicht. Als Folge dessen kam es quasi zeitgleich in Österreich im ersten Quartal des Jahres 2022 neben dem Beschluss äußerst restriktiver Vorgaben wie der Impfpflicht auch wieder zur Aufhebung fast aller Schutzmaßnahmen im Zusammenhang mit der COVID-19-Pandemie. Die letzten beiden Jahre haben gezeigt, wie dynamisch und rasch sich die Situation phasenweise in der Pandemie ändern kann. Jede Phase erfordert – und je länger die Pandemie andauert, umso mehr – verstärkt interdisziplinäre Zugänge und klare Zielsetzungen für Public Health Interventionen. Dies ist einerseits im Sinne einer verständlichen Kommunikation gegenüber der allgemeinen Bevölkerung wichtig, und andererseits im Sinne einer effektiven Bekämpfung der Ausbreitung der Pandemie unbedingt erforderlich